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Vol. 8 No. 47 Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Rajab 8, 1433 AH N150. . . putting the people first

L-R: Deputy Governor, Operations, Central Bank of Nigeria (CNB), Mr. Tunde Lemo, DeputyGovernor, Monetary Policy of CBN, Dr. Sarah Alade, and CBN Governor, Malam SanusiLamido Sanusi, during a meeting with Senate Committees on Banking, Insurance andother Financial Institutions, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, on CBN(Amendment) Bill, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: MAHMUD ISA

FRFRFRFRFRONT PONT PONT PONT PONT PAAAAAGE COMMENTGE COMMENTGE COMMENTGE COMMENTGE COMMENT

Today is Democracy Day, and marksthe thirteenth anniversary of thechange-over from military to

civilian rule on May 29, 1999.Nigerians had good cause to jubilate and

celebrate this day in 1999, having enduredalmost 13 years of military rule, with all itsimpunities, contempt for the people,ineptitude, oppressive conduct and locustbehaviour.

A democracy without its dividendsHopes were high on that day that the

change would usher in a new era ofopportunities for the people, that thepoliticians had learnt their lessons andwould now conduct themselves and thecountry’s affairs with more commitmentand better vision and foresight, and thatthe Nigerian people would see such markedimprovement in their lives and livingstandards that would empower and enable

them to participate more meaningfullyand effectively in the political process.

Thirteen years after, today, thepromises held out to the people haveremained unfulfilled, the people’s highhopes and expectations dashed. And allthis, in spite of the unprecedentedly hugeincreases in the revenues that haveaccrued to the Nigerian state in this period.

Contd on Page 16

DEMOCRACY DAY

Jonathan is ourheadache,says Tambuwal

Gunmen kill 4in Adamawa

>> PAGE 3

Nigercondemnsdefence ofman with 86wives

>> PAGE 6

Armycourtmartials14 soldiersin Jos

>> PAGE 10

NUPENG tobegin solidaritystrike withsacked doctors

>> PAGE 24

House of RepresentativesSpeaker, Alhaji AminuWaziri Tambuwal,

yesterday openly chastised theexecutive for not respecting theprinciple of separation of powersbecause of the failure of thePresident to assent to bills passedby the National Assembly.

On his part, PresidentJonathan said separation of powersbetween the executive and thelegislature is not like a wallseparating two parties.

Sharing a platform providedby the 2012 Democracy DayNational Symposium that tookplace in the Banquet Hall of theState House, Abuja, the two gavetheir separate perspectives onpower separation and partysupremacy.

The President told the Speakerthat as people elected under thesame political party, they mustwork in line with the manifesto ofthe Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) which they used tocampaign for election.

However, speaking on the topicContd on Page 2

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-11

Editorial 16

Op.Ed 17

Letters 18

Opinion 19

Metro 22-23

Business 24-27

S/Exchange 30

Agric 31-32

Newsxtra 33-34

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Why North won’tadvocate Nigeria’s

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Jonathan is our headache, says TambuwalContd from Page 1

“Our Democracy: Progress andChallenges”, Speaker Tambuwalhad noted that he was disturbedthat the executive had shied awayfrom its responsibility by notsigning bills passed by thelegislature.

Enumerating the challengesfacing the legislature, Tambuwalhad said: “Another challenge is theissue of assent to bills passed by theNational Assembly.

“Just as it is the constitutionalduty of the legislature to pass laws,it is equally the constitutionalresponsibility of Mr. President toassent to the same.

“It is, however, disturbing tonote that the executive has shiedaway from this responsibility bynot assenting to bills passed by theNational Assembly.

“This makes the legislativeprocess cumbersome because someof these bills have to be introducedafresh.

“This is not healthy forexecutive/legislature relationshipneither does it portray ourdemocracy in a good light in thecomity of nations.”

Responding to the Speaker’scomments, President Jonathan,who addressed the issue of theworkability of the principle ofseparation of powers, said thatwhile it is possible to completelyseparate the judiciary, theexecutive and the legislature must

work together in the interest of thepeople.

On the charge that thePresidency is sitting on bills passedby the National Assembly,Jonathan replied: “The Speakermade reference to bills, for example.

“We all belong to politicalparties but the judiciary does notbelong to any party.

“Every political party has amanifesto and those who contestelections to hold any office,whether in the executive arm ofgovernment as president, vice-president, governor or those whocontest election to be in thelegislative arm of governmenteither as a legislator or councillor,are supposed to campaign based ontheir parties’ manifestoes and thatis why individual governors don’thave their separate manifestoes.

“Every member of PDP, forexample, is supposed to key into thePDP manifesto. So, when we areelected into office, both arms ofgovernment are supposed to worktogether to make sure that theparty’s manifesto guides ouractions. If that is true, how do weseparate them?

“If it is the policy of PDP to carryout a programme in agriculture,it is the executive that would comeup with the programme. Mythinking is that the legislators whoare members of PDP are supposedto support that programmebecause we are there, because we

contested election on the platformof a particular political party, thePDP.

“But in Nigeria, sometimes,you see anomalies. Sometimes,people play up separation.”

President Jonathan, whorevealed that he was angry whenhe came into the State HouseBanquet Hall to find out that officialsof the different arms of governmenthad been made to sit separately,regretted the playing up of divisionsamong the arms of government.

He explained that fordemocracy to be meaningful tothis country and for it not to haveconflict but render good services,there must be a good budget.

However, he said it would bedifficult for government to plan ifthe National Assembly distorts thebudget sent to it by the executive.

“If you send your budget toNASS and they tear it to pieces andpackage what they like for you, youstart planning and managing theeconomy. We have challengesevery year,” he said.

He added: “Budgets are notcreated from the moon. It is basedon projections, commitments andfunding and what you seesometimes could be disturbing.

“This has been a major conflictbetween NASS and the executive.The Speaker mentioned it, that iswhy I am raising it. These are littlethings that need to be sorted outif both arms of government must

PAGE 2

work together.”The President regretted that

contrary to what obtains indeveloped democracies where it isnews for a lawmaker to publiclyvote against the executive, it isnews in Nigeria when a lawmakersupports the President.

“I believe if theparliamentarians and those in theexecutive maintain thattheoretical separation of powers asif there is a wall separating theexecutive from the legislature,then this country will continue tohave problems,” he said.

He, therefore, stressed the needfor both parliament and executiveto work together “for us to succeed,for Nigerians to get the dividendsof democracy, for us to even havegood governance.”

On campaigning for 2015elections, the President warnedthat elected officials should beallowed to do their jobs since theyare just one year into their tenureof four years.

The President also addressedthe issue of rule of law and theexpectations of Nigerians for himto take swift actions.

Noting that judgement debtsagainst the federal governmenthas reached N185 billion, hereiterated that he could not behavelike a dictator but would like tocarefully consider his actions beforetaking them in order for him notto run foul of the law.

A former governor of Kanostate, Malam IbrahimShekarau, has said there is

no basis for comparison betweenlevels of development in thenorthern part of the country andthose in the South.

According to him, it is unfair tocondemn governors from the northfor the region’s under-development.

“States in the south receivehuge amounts of money while thenorth gets peanuts, so people are

not fair to the northerngovernors,” Shekarau told theHausa Service of the BritishBroadcasting Corporation (BBC)monitored yesterday in Kaduna.

Using electric powerdevelopment in the north as anexample, Shekarau said thenorthern states could not afford thecost of generating independentelectric power.

As he put it, “before we camein, between 1999 to 2003, wehad already started thinkingalong this line and weconstituted a committee and

gathered some information onhow to establish independentelectric power.

“We found one big companyfrom South Korea that was readyto give us 450 megawatts.

“What strengthened (ourresolve) was the FederalGovernment under Obasanjo thathad given that company acontract to install gas pipelinesthat would come through Kanofrom Katsina.

“But unfortunately, theFederal Government revoked thatcontract with the South Korean

From Ajagu Madugba, Kaduna

North’s under-development: Stopblaming its govs, says Shekarau

company.“We were able to get another

company from China whichagreed to give 85 percent and wewould give 15 percent and the talksprogressed. But in searching forthat 15 per cent, we were lookingfor at least N300 million.

“We approached several banksbut it was difficult to get anyfacility, bureaucratic bottlenecksand other shoddy deals made itdifficult.

“I do not know if there is anystate from the north that canrelease N300 million at a go.”

President GoodluckJonathan, governors,ministers and top

government officials on Sundayfailed to demonstrate a publiccommitment to the fight againstcorruption.

At the interdenominationalchurch service held at theEcumenical Centre, Abuja, tocommemorate the 2012 NationalDemocracy Day, the guestpreacher and immediate pastPrelate of the Anglican Church ofNigeria, Most Reverend PeterAkinola, in a sermon, challengedthe congregation to join him in thefight against corruption in thecountry by committingperpetrators to God.

But the congregation,

including the President,accompanied by his wife, Patience,the Governor of Bayelsa, SeriakeDickson and Kaduna, PatrickYakowa, Deputy Governor ofNasarawa state, Dameshi Luka, aswell as some ministers failed torespond to prayers to take corruptofficials “to the court of God.”

Apparently, expecting to heara thunderous YES or AMEN fromthe congregation, the Reverend,who instead got a deafeningsilence, exclaimed: “There you go!Oh, corruption! So, you are notready to fight it, because you areall beneficiaries of it. Whether yousteal in a small or big way, stealingis stealing."

The clergyman shot angrilyat Mr. Jonathan and his

delegation, “See, it is very clear.You are not interested in fightingcorruption. If you do, let us takeour case to the court of God, if youdare. Who is deceiving who? Youare only deceiving yourselves, notGod. And you who is stealinggovernment funds, subjecting thepoor to untold hardship; you whosteal oil subsidy money, makingNigerians pay for fuel throughtheir noses; you who steal fundsmeant for improving our powersupply, deliberately makingNigerians live a life in utterdarkness, will you repent today? Idoubt it!"

“This hydra headed monster (ofcorruption) has literarily takenover the soul and eaten up the fabricof Nigeria,” Reverend Akinola said.

“Officials steal our public fundsopenly by the pen, while otherssteal by the power of the gun.Successive governments havedeclared half-hearted war againstcorruption to no avail. We knowonly too well that the fight againstcorruption is largely selectivedirected at those opposing thegovernment, with no strongpolitical connection.

“Many of those fighting it(corruption) in police andJudiciary have no clean hands.When any National AssemblyCommittee or any governmentagency is inviting anybody forquestioning it is because those beinginvestigated have not yet given theagency inviting it their due shareof the booty.”

President, ministers, decline to say ‘amen’ to prayeragainst corruption at church service — Premium Times

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012 PAGE 3

As the nation marksDemocracy Day today,Senate President David

Mark and his deputy, IkeEkweremadu, have called onNigerians to participate actively inthe democratic process, saying thatis the only way to strengthen theinstitutions that will ensure goodgovernance and fasterdevelopment.

A statement on b ehalf of thetwo by Mark’s Chief PressSecretary, Mr. Paul Mumehyesterday, said it was by design thatNigeria chose democracy as the bestform of government suited for itspluralistic society, adding thatNigerians owe it a sacred duty tonurture and sustain thedemocratic institutions.

They said democracy isparticipatory and representativeenough to carter for all interestswhere no one would be marginalizedor oppressed. He noted thatdemocracy should not be seen orperceived as those in governmentversus those outside government,saying “we must all keep faith”.

Also, Senate Leader, SenatorVictor Ndoma-Egba has saiddemocracy remains the only optionto resolve the challenges facing thecountry.

He said while Nigerians haveendorsed democracy as a system of

Mark, Ekweremadu salute NigeriansWe’ve stabilized democracy- House LeaderDeliver on your election promises, Atiku charges politicians

By Richard Ihediwa andLawrence Olaoye

government, it is more expedientto accept democracy as a mediumof expression.

He said, “Our democracy hasmatured and deepened. This is thelongest uninterrupted episode ofour democracy. We have movedfrom a transition of one term of apresident to another term; andfrom one president to anotherpresident. Then one successfulsuccession when even a presidentdied in office.

“Our challenges - economic,social, political and securitynotwithstanding, democracy stilloffers us a veritable opportunity tonegotiate, discuss and resolve thesechallenges; and the terms of ourfederalism to guarantee a stronger,more united, prosperous andsecured Nigeria, based on equity,equality, secularity, justice and arectitude in the public sphere.”

Equally commenting on theachievements made by the Houseof Representatives as the nationcommemorates Democracy Day,the Majority Leader, Rep. MulikatAkande-Adeola, yesterday said theSeventh Assembly has succeededin stabilizing the nation’sdemocracy by providing aneffective legislative platform for it

to thrive.Akande-Adeola who spoke

through her media aide, Mr.Abiodun Fadeyi, said the House isin tandem with its legislativeagenda has ensured that motionsand bills meant to make life moremeaningful and comfortable for thepeople are passed.

According to her, “The House ofRepresentatives has lived up toexpectations by ensuring thatgovernment agencies are made tobe responsive through routineoversights; we have also been ableto bring government closer to thepeople by making sure that theyare well represented in theparliament.”

She added that the seventhAssembly led by Speaker AminuWaziri Tambuwal has ensured theexposure of corruption and corrupttendencies and succeeded inengendering lost public confidencein the parliament.

Former Vice President AtikuAbubakar in his message toNigerians on the Democracy Daysaid despite the challenges facingNigeria’s current democratic order,the citizens should not lose faith inthe system of government.

In a message released by his

media office in Abuja, Atiku notedthat, while it is natural fordisappointed expectations to lead todespair, Nigerians should not giveup because democracy remains thebest form of government, despite itslimitations from one society toanother.

While commending thesacrifices of the ordinary Nigerianswho had to endure lengthy hoursat the polling units to cast theirvotes, the former Vice President alsoreminded elected office holders that“democracy should not begin andend at the polling booths.”

He maintained that thetendency of leaders forgetting theiroath of office or their covenant withthe people can lead todisillusionment, a situation, whichshould not be allowed to dampenpopular morale about democracy.

According to him, election is anevent but governance is a process,noting that the behavior andattitudes of elective leaders whiledischarging their mandate wouldinvariably affect public perceptionof power.

The former Vice President alsoargued that Nigerians didn’t comeout to vote for the sake of it. “Theyvoted because of the belief that the

democratic process can transformtheir lives for the better.”

Mohammed Soba, Chairman,Kaduna state Action Congress ofNigeria (ACN) said there wasnothing to celebrate because thenation has yet to experiencedemocracy.

According to him, “Nigeria is afunny country that practices onlya unique brand of governance thatyou can neither call democracy normilitary dictatorship. It is acombination only known to ourNigerian politicians. You cannotrun a democracy without givingthe people the right to make theirchoice. As the Constitution says thatsovereignty belongs to the peoplethrough which those elected derivetheir powers. Without thesovereignty belonging to the people,it means that the kind of what weare practicing can be calledeverything but not democracy.

“There is no cause to celebrateanything because Nigeria is not yeta democracy and we should stopdeceiving ourselves that we arerunning a democraticgovernment. Democracy is notabout civilian rulers. It is about theright of the people to elect theirrepresentatives,” Soba asserted.

Nyako bans motorcyclesas unknown gunmenkill 4 in Adamawa

Adamawa stategovernment yesterdayannounced an indefinite

ban on the use of both commercialand private motorcycles in thestate.

In a statement signed bySecretary to the stategovernment, Mr. Kobis AriThimnu, the ban becamenecessary following the recentstyle of attack on residents byunknown gunmen who usually

come on motorbikes.Thimnu announced the ban

shortly after three traders wereshot dead alongside several otherscurrently receiving treatmentfrom various degrees of bulletwounds at the Yola specialisthospital.

Peoples Daily learnt that thedeceased were shot aftersuccessfully staging a peacefulrally in protest against thekilling of an Igbo trader Sundaynight. Igbos in the state protestedby refusing to open up their

shops in mourning andsolidarity.

An eyewitness told thisreporter that four men suddenlystormed Mubi roundabout in thestate capital where some of thetraders stood in a group discussingafter the rally, and opened fire onthem killing three and injuringseveral others.

PPRO of the state Policecommand Nemuel Yoila would notpick his calls but the leader of Igbosin the state Igwe Solomon Ebisconfirmed the incident.

From Blessing Tunoh, Yola

The Nigeria Union ofTeachers (NUT) hasdescribed as a fraud to

civilized existence, the recent claimby the Academic Staff Union ofSecondary Schools (ASUSS), thatit dissociated itself from NUTbecause its interests are notprotected.

Addressing journalist in Abuja,

the President of the Union,Comrade Michael Alogba Olukoya,said that ASUSS has been deniedregistration by the Registrar ofTrade Union for being parallel withthe NUT, hinting that the refusalwas gazetted by the federalgovernment.

Comrade Olukoya furtherstated that while the group was stillstriving to survive, it alsoapproached the Trade Union

Congress (TUC), pleading to becarried along as an affiliate body,but was rather queried on itslegality by the Registrar of theTUC.

He pointed out that ASUSSwould suffer similar fate, sinceSection 3(2) and 5(2) of TradeUnion Act forbids registration ofany union where one exists tocater for the interest similarassociation seeks to cater for.

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

NUT says ASSUS is fraudulent

Nigerian farmersyesterday threatened ashowdown if members of

the National Assembly refused toapprove the 10-40 percentinclusion of cassava products intocassava confectionaries that areproduced in the country after 21days.

The farmers, who gave a 21-day ultimatum during a peacefulprotest yesterday in Abuja,matched to the NationalAssembly premises carryingplacards with several inscriptionsagainst the alleged attempt bysome members to scuttle theproposal by farmers asking themto vote at least 15 percent of thebudget to finance agriculture inNigeria.

A member of the NigerianCassava Growers Association,Chief James Awoniyi, said farmerswere ready to confront thelegislators if they failed to endorsethe proposal, adding that, cassavaproduction was the only areawhere the country had been scored

high by the internationalcommunity.

Awoniyi, who lamented thatmany Nigerians weremisinformed about cassava bread,however, noted that 10-40 percentinclusion of the product in wheatfor bread-making was not harmfulto health as speculated.

Processor at the BOLFEMCorporate Services NigeriaLimited, Pastor Soladoye Timothy,said full-wheat bread was nothealth friendly because it containsgluten, adding that, “consumptionof too much of gluten can affect theheart but, cassava is gluten-freeand is better for the people.”

Pastor Timothy appealed to theFederal Government to ban theimportation of wheat or impose1000 percent tariff so as toencourage local production of theproduct in the country.

On their part, the NigerianCassava Processors and MarketersAssociation (NICAPMA) describedthe legislators’ action as “antipeople”, saying that cassavaproduction was the mainstay of thecountry’s economy.

By Mohammed Kandi

Cassava production:Farmers threaten tocripple legislators

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012PAGE 6

Tambuwal commissions busses,projectors to aid NOA’s campaign

In his bid to extend the "dothe right thing campaign," ofthe National Orientation

Agency (NOA) to all parts of thecountry, the Speaker of the Houseof Representatives, Aminu WaziriTambuwal, yesterdaycommissioned vehicles andprojectors that will facilitateoperations at various localgovernment offices of the NOA inthe country.

Speaking during thecommissioning, Tambuwalchallenged the NOA on thecurrent security challengesfacing the country, saying, "thereis the need to ensure thatmembers of the public areproperly sensitized andenlightened on safety measures."

In his remarks, the Director-General of the Agency, MikeOmeri, said the newlycommissioned vehicles would helpthe local government areas andthe rural communities get themessage of reorientation across toall Nigerians.

Meanwhile, the Senior SpecialAdviser to the President on MDGs,Precious Kalamba Ggbeneol,expressed her organisation'sreadiness to assist the NOA indecision-making towardsnational development.

She also assure that the MDGsoffice would partner with the NOAin enhancing and coordinatingthe implementation of variousinterventions as well as establisheffective communicationchannels and working relationswith the local populations,development actors, andtechnical and financial partners.

L-R: Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omere, Speaker, House ofRepresentatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Senior Special Adviser to the President, onMillennium Development Goals (MDGs), Dr. Precious Gbeneol, during the commissioning of the busesand flag-off of the distribution of projectors to NOA local government offices, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

President of the Senate,Senator David Mark hascongratulated president of

the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) Malam Mohammed Garbaon his re-election at last Saturday'sbi-annual national conference of

the union.Mark in a congratulatory

message to Garba and his executivemembers urged them to uphold thesanctity of fairness, objectivity andtruth in the discharge of his duties.

He stated: "I earnestlycongratulate you and yourexecutive members on your

By Richard Ihediwa

NUJ polls: Mark congratulates Garba

Former governor of Kanostate, Malam IbrahimShekarau has argued that

there is no basis for comparisonbetween the levels ofdevelopment in the northernand southern parts of thecountry.

"States in the south receive

huge amount of money whilethe north gets peanuts, so,people are not fair to thenorthern governors," Shekarautold the Hausa Service of theBritish BroadcastingCorporation (BBC) monitored inKaduna yesterday.

"Before we came in, between1999 and 2003, we had alreadystarted thinking along this line

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna and we constituted a committeeand gathered some informationon how to establish independentelectric power.

"We found one big companyfrom South Korea that wasready to give us 450megawatts. What strengthenedthat was the FederalGovernment under Obasanjohad given that company a

Stop blaming northern governorsfor under development- Shekarau

contract to install gas pipelinesthat would come through Kanofrom Katsina.

"But unfortunately, theFederal Government revokedthat contract with the SouthKorean company.

"We were able to get anothercompany from China whichagreed to give 85 per cent andthey would we will give15 percent and the talks progressed.But in searching for that 15percent, we were looking for atleast N300 million.

"We approached severalbanks but it was difficult to get,bureaucratic bottlenecks andother shoddy deals made itdifficult.

"I do not think if there is anystate from the north that canrelease N300 million at a go," hesaid.

An Abuja High courtyesterday, fixed July 2,2012 to rule on two separate

applications brought before it by thesuspended chairman of the HouseCommittee on Capital Market, Hon.Herman Hembe and his deputy,Azubuogu Ifeanyi.

While Hembe is challenging thejurisdiction of the court to entertainthe two-count charge preferredagainst him by the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission(EFCC), his Deputy and 2ndaccused person is faulting the leavegranted the anti-graft agency toprefer the charge against him.

When the matter came upyesterday, Hembe's counsel, JibrinOkutepa (SAN) told the court sittingbefore Justice Abubakar SadiqUmar that he filed a preliminaryobjection on May 21, urging thecourt to quash the two-count charge

SEC probe: Court decidesHembe’s fate July 2By Sunday Ejike Benjamin on the ground that the court lacked

the inherent jurisdiction to try hisclient, more so that the subjectmatter of the suit, according to him,is still being investigated by theHouse of Representatives Committeeon Ethics and Privileges.

Okutepa further submitted that,the counter-affidavit, whichcontains "extraneous facts andpurports to make the EFCC arespondent in the suit", is contraryto the Evidence Act, adding that"there is contrivance and falsity ofinformation."

Accordingly, he asked the courtto quash the charge against Hembepointing out that, "The prosecutionis nothing but persecution and awaste of Nigeria's public money. Byvirtue of Section 89 of the 1999constitution, it is the NationalAssembly that has the jurisdictionto investigate this matter."

In aligning with Okutepa,Counsel to the 2nd accused person,Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN)argued that, since the report of theHouse' Ethics committee is yet to bereleased, it will not be in the interestof justice to try the accused person,just as he argued that "the court mustrely on an investigative report beforetrial".

In Ikpeazu's submission, "Thereis a case of inadequacy of documentsand so there is no case for the 2ndaccused person to answer to,especially as he sought to return themoney through the Clerk of theHouse, only for the Director-Generalof SEC to ask him to keep the money,since there will be anotherconference."

In citing Section 167 (b) of theEvidence Act, Ikpeazu contendedthat, "the prosecution is bound toproduce all criminal documents tothe court to warrant trial and theabsence of the DG of SEC in this caseexposes the complicity in it."

In his objection, however,EFCC'scounsel, Ojeffu Ibe prayed thecourt to dismiss the two applicationsand further urged the court todetermine whether the purpose forwhich the estacode was given wasused.

Salami: Tinubu is just lookingfor lost relevance – PDPThe Peoples Democratic

Party (PDP) has describedthe 'restlessness' in the

camp of the opposition ActionCongress of Nigeria (ACN) on theissue of the reinstatement of thesuspended President of the Courtof Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami as'a confirmation of veiled vestedinterest.'

In a statement signed by thePDP National PublicitySecretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, theparty said that: "The desperationof the Action Congress of Nigeriawhich peaked today with anunreflecting statement from itsleader, Bola Ahmed Tinubuamounts to a frontal attack onboth the President and our greatParty and is further

confirmation that ACN has adifferent agenda in the JusticeSalami saga than its touted roleas an evangelist of the rule oflaw." It continued: "For Tinubuto describe as a coup on the ruleof law, the engagement of dueprocess in the resolution of JusticeSalami's re-instatement, sketchesa graphic effigy of a hypocrite ina desperate agenda to re-shapefacts."

"This level of desperationraises a gigantic question markon the sincerity of the ACN andthe integrity of its leadershipespecially in the background ofinsinuations that four states weredelivered to the Party viajudgments that were 'morepolitical than legal' to use

Tinubu's very words. Wetherefore insist that it is hightime Tinubu told Nigerians hispolitical relationship withJustice Salami that has drivenhim and his party to cry morethan the bereaved."

"The Salami case," insistedPDP "is purely a legal issue whichTinubu is least qualified to delveinto." Metuh said, "Justice Salamican only be reinstated when allpending cases relevant to thematter are fully resolved, andtherefore we expect a measure ofdecorum from all parties, exceptfor those bent on attacking thePresident to score cheap politicalgoals or politicizing the issue inorder to demonize the rulingparty".

election. Your victory I dare say wasa reflection of the wishes of themajority of your colleagues.

"I enjoin other contestants in theelection to exhibit the spirit ofsportsmanship and come togetherfor the prosperity of your nobleprofession," the Senate Presidentsaid.

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam,Umar Mohammed, MohammedKandi

PAGE 7PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

N47.1 billion theft: Akingbolahas case to answer – EFCC

The Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission(EFCC), yesterday told

Justice Habeeb Abiru, of a LagosHigh Court sitting in Ikeja, thatsacked Managing Director of thedefunct Intercontinental BankPlc, (Now Access Bank), Erastusand his aide, Bayo Dada, has a caseto answer in the alleged N47.1billion theft case made againstthem by the agency.

This was sequel to a no case

submission filed by Akingbola’slawyer, Deji Sasegbon (SAN).

At the resumed hearing of thematter on Monday, Sasegbon(SAN) informed the court thatthough they just served theprosecution, he has a no caseapplication before the court andsubject to the court’s convenience;he is ready to move it.

The embattled bank chief inhis no case submission is askingfor an order discharging him ofthe charges and such other ordersas the court may deem fit.

Sasegbon also asked why acompany named Chartwellwhich was involved in thetransactions was not brought fortrial while also seeking todetermine the definition ofstealing, citing Section 383 (2) (f)which deals with money andfraudulent conversion.

He argued that a case of thefthas not been proved against thedefendants as ”The defendantscannot be accused of stealing thebank’s money.

“Some of the transactions are

From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

Jigawa state governor, AlhajiSule Lamido, has sacked oneof his commissioners in the

state, Mukhtari MuhammadBirniwa, for undisclosed reasons.

The decision though not clearmay not be far from thecommissioner’s role in hostingparty officials in his area duringthe visit of Katsina state governor,Ibrahim Shehu Shema recently.

According to a statementsigned by the Director of Press tothe governor, Umar Kyari, thesack was with immediate effect,while the Commissioner forLands, Barde Mohammed, has

From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse been directed to oversee theministry.

Until his sack, MukhtariMuhammad served three timesas commissioner under the formerJigawa state governor, IbrahimSaminu Turaki.

He also served ascommissioner with variousministries that included:Information, Youths, Sport andCulture, Commerce, Agricultureand Environment under theLamido administration.

A former classroom teacher,Birniwa was made commissionerof Health, then commissioner forGum Arabic under Turakiadministration.

Lamido sacks commissioner

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Peoples Media Limited, Malam Ali M. Ali, with Senior Programme Officer, Civil Society Legislative AdvocacyCentre (CISLAC), Mr. Kolawole Banwo , during CISLAC members' visit to the media house, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

based on loan and the commondenominator in loan is thatmoney will be returned.

“If there is intention to returnmoney, then they cannot becharged with theft,” Sasegbonsaid.

But EFCC counsel, EmmanuelUkala (SAN), who had first kickedagainst the defence arguing its nocase submission on the groundthat they had earlier told the courtthat they have no intention ofmoving a no case submission andare ready to open defence.

“This is why the series of dateswere given for defence to call theirseveral witnesses which theystated are eight in number.

“The stage to apply to the courtto the effect that a no casesubmission will be made is treatedin Section 239 of theAdministration of Criminaljustice Law 2011 and it indicatesthat it is at the close of evidence insupport of the charge and notwhen date is fixed for trial.

“I urge the court to rule that itis a mere ploy to waste court’s timeand delay the determination ofthe case,” Ukala concluded.

Justice Abiru thoughconfirmed that the timing of thedefence is wrong but in theinterest of justice, allowed the nocase submission to be moved.

Ukala stated that thedefendants have not done muchto reasonably discredit thetestimonies of the witnessesbrought by the anti graftcommission, adding that theyhave established a case of stealingby conversion against Akingbola.

“I urge the court todiscountenance the submissionsand hold that in thecircumstance, prosecution hadled a prima facie case in all thecounts pending before yourlordship.

“I urge the court to call uponthem to open their case and calltheir witnesses.

Justice Abiru howeveradjourned the matter tillWednesday May 30, 2012 forruling.

Kogi state Commissionerof Police, MohammedKatsina has arrested some

police officers suspected to beamong miscreants promoting oilbunkering business in the state.

The arrest followedcomplaints from soldiers, SSS,and National Security and CivilDefence Corps, that the policewere giving out information tocriminals.

A police sergeant (namewithheld), who was alleged tohave been in the business ofbunkering with his civilianaccomplices, was caught anddetained with several otherswho were alleged to be involvedin the crime.

The police sergeant, sourcessaid, had fleets of cars in hisgarage in Lokoja and his hometown residence, which drew theattention of the CP to hismovement and life style in thecommand.

It was learnt in Lokoja thatmost oil bunkerers in Itobe,Ajaokuta and Oworo in Kogistate were alleged to have theiraccomplices in the police forcewho gives them security coverfor a fee; which led to theintelligence unit of CP to trapthem.

Kogi: Officers,others heldover bunheringFrom Sam Egwu, Lokoja

The Kogi state Coordinator ofFADAMA, Paul Ogunmola,has stated that N180m has

so far been expended onFADAMA111 project across thestate.

The state coordinator, whodisclosed this during zonalinspection of FADAMA projects inthe Adavi, Okene and Okehiin central senatorial district of thestate, said for the project to besustained, each group of theFADAMA CommunityAssociation (FCA) should have equity fund meant for saving 10percent of their total recovery ratefrom the projects.

He added that henceforth, thebeneficiaries would have regularmonthly meeting where they willbe contributing some amount forthe projects.

Ogunmola said that FADAMAwould not relent in its effort tocontinue reminding thebeneficiaries of the importance ofhandling the projects with all theseriousness it deserve.

In his remarks, the FADAMAZonal Coordinator in NorthCentral, Musa Dalang, urged thestates to ensure properimplementation and growth ofFADAMA projects, stressing thatthe beneficiaries in the localgovernments inspected haveefficiently utilized its projectsfund.

Kogi expendsN180 million onFADAMA IIIFrom Sam Egwu, Lokoja

The Sultan of Sokoto, andPresident, NationalCouncil of Islamic

Affairs in Nigeria, Alhaji Sa’aduAbubakar III, has called on politicalleaders at all levels to exhibit thefear of God in everything they doas they will be asked in thehereafter to give an account theirstewardship on earth.

They should also considereveryone as their own irrespectiveof tribal, political or religiousdifferences so that peace willcontinue to reign among thepeople.

Alhaji Sa’adu made the callover the weekend in Gusau, thecapital of Zamfara state, on theoccasion of the commissioning ofthe permanent site of the state’sZakkat and endowment board.

He explained that at a crucialtime like this, Nigeria needsnothing but peace, without which,according to him, the countrycannot move forward.

The Sultan, accompanied bythe Emir of Maradun, AlhajiGarba Muh’d

Tambari, stated that thereligion of Islam teaches nothingbut peace, love, andunderstanding.

He said that it was time for all

From Salisu Zakari, Sokoto

Nigerians to pray for their leadersto find a lasting solution to thecountry’s current securitychallenges.

“I also urge you not to relent intelling the leaders the naked truth”,he said.

“Correct us where we go wrongso that we can make amends, andthis is the only way you can help usto govern well for the good of all.”

He asked the wealthy ones in

Sultans asks leaders to be accountablethe society to assist others,particularly the less privileged sothat they can have a sense ofbelonging, saying, “You should alsotry as much as you can to enlightenyour neighbours, friends, andrelatives on the importance ofpeace.

“Peace should be maintainedamong us; it is the most vitalinstrument for development allover the world”.

PAGE 10 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Scene of Sunday's explosion near the Customs bridge, Maiduguri, in which two cars were damaged butno life was lost. Photo: NAN

Army courtmartial’s 14 STF soldiers in JosThe Nigerian Army

yesterday began thec o u r t - m a r t i a l

of 14 soldiers serving in SpecialTask Forces in Maiduguri, Jos andBauchi for alleged misconduct.

The accused included twoColonels, a Master WarrantOfficer, seven Lance Corporalsand four Privates.

The GOC, 3 ArmouredDivision, Maj. Gen JackNwaogbo, while inauguratingthe court at the 3 ArmouredDivision Jos, said the trial was todetermine the culpability of theaccused in the charges brought

against them.“Court-martial is one of the

procedures in the Armed forcesto right some of the perceivedwrongdoings by either officers orsoldiers who may have erred orallegedly erred in the course ofperforming their duties.

“This court-martial is meantto try alleged offencescommitted by officers andsoldiers serving in 3 ArmouredDivision, the Special Task Forcesin Plateau and Bauchi, and theJoint Special Task Force inMaiduguri.”

Nwaogbo explained that the

3 Division was the only locationin the North authorised to set upsuch court to try erring personnel.

The GOC urged members ofthe public to always report casesof abuses and misconductby military personnel, pointingout that such reports wouldhelp the authorities enforcediscipline and the rights ofvictims.

“For now, all of them(accused) are presumedinnocent until provenotherwise by the court; it is notmy duty to pronounce any oneof them guilty for now.

a text message which reads: “OweiLakemfa is one of those going toGeneva for ILO conference andwould be back by mid June. It’snatural that someone acts for theGS in his absence,” the statementsaid.

Peoples Daily learnt on Sundaythat Lakemfa had been replacedby Chris Uyot who is expected toserve as acting secretary generalpending further instructions.

It was also learnt from sourcesthat a decision may have beenreached to rotate the post of

secretary general, but themodality for that remainsunclear, and that Lakemfa mayhave run into trouble over arecent statement he issued whichsome insiders said “went beyondhis brief.”He is being accused oftaking on some new labour centrein a manner consideredinappropriate.

Lakemfa became actingsecretary general on the heels ofthe controversial sacking of JohnOdah as secretary general. Odahis in court seeking redress.

Lakemfa not dropped, says NLC boss

The president of theNigeria Labour Congress(NLC), Comrade

Abdulwaheed Omar, yesterday,refuted the controversy that theacting general secretary of theNLC, Comrade Owei Lakemfa hasbeen dropped, clarifying that hewent for the ILO conference inGeneva and will be back in mid-June.

This was disclosed to ourreporter by the NLC boss through

By Muhammad Nasir

Nwaogbo charged thedefence counsels to look into thecharges preferred against theirclients to ensure that justice wasdone, while also urging theprosecuting counsels tocooperate with the court.

Earlier, Lt. Col. StephenAndow, General Staff Officer, 3Division, explained that the

offences leveled against theaccused were beyond the powersof their various commanders.

The President of the six-manCourt, Brig Gen AdamohSalihu, pledged to be fair andjust in the discharge of theirduties.

NAN reports that details ofthe charges were not given.

Speaker commends Kanoairport renovation project

Abuja to become world class city throughinfrastructural development – FCT Minister

The Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT) minister,Senator Bala Mohammed

has unveiled his plan to makeAbuja a world class city duringhis administration.

Senator Bala disclosed this inan interactive session with themedia executives whilespeaking on his attainments inoffice in the last 12 monthsespecially in line withTransformation Agenda.

He said his administration

intends to model Abuja into amega city through massiveinfrastructural developmentwith Public-Private Partnership(PPP) and satellite towndevelopment among others.

The minister who recountedhis achievements in the last 12months in office stressed thathis administration hasattracted direct foreigninvestment culminating intomore than N500 billion for thefunding of the 37 storey WorldTrade Centre in the city.

He hinted that the Mandate

By Muhammad Sada

The Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, HonAminu Waziri Tambuwal

has expressed his delight andsatisfaction with the state of theongoing renovation work at theAminu Kano InternationalAirport, Kano.

The commendation wasgiven by the Speaker at theweekend after an inspection ofthe airport. The KanoInternational Airport is part ofthe airports in the country beingupgraded to meet up withinternationally acceptablestandards and requirements.

According to the Speaker,

“When the renovation iscompleted, activities at theairport will receive boost, and Iurge the people of Kano and itsenvirons to make maximum useof it.” He also expressed happinesswith the level of work carried outby the contractor and urged thesupervising agency not tocompromise standards so as toavoid any hitch in theimplementation of the project.

While conducting theSpeaker round the airport, thenorthern regional generalmanager of the Federal AirportAuthority of Nigeria (FAAN),Mr. Ali Nock assured that theagreed completion date would beeffectively met.

Oil coys are insincere in fightagainst bunkering, says Army

Brig.-Gen. Tukur Buratai,the Commander of the2nd Brigade of the

Nigerian Army in PortHarcourt has accusedmultinational oil companies inNigeria of insincerity in thefight against oil theft.

The commander made theaccusation at a media briefingin Port Harcourt on Monday.

“The major stakeholders inthe oil industry are not quitesincere in their approachtowards fighting oil theft in theNiger Delta.

“If all the oil companies andindeed the NNPC will cooperateand work together, I want toassure you that we willcompletely stamp out oil theftin the Niger Delta.’’

Describing oil theft as amajor national issue, Burataisaid a lot would be achieved if

the oil companies cooperated inthe fight against oil theft in thecountry.

He said the situation hadenabled oil thieves to deal theeconomy of the country “ablow”.

Earlier, the Public RelationsOfficer of the command, Lt.-Col.Sunny Samuel, had listed someachievements of the JTF inRivers and Bayelsa in the monthof May.

He said the task forcearrested 131 suspected oilthieves after carrying out atotal of 28 raids in addition tothe arrest of 121 trucks,destruction of 96 illegalrefineries and seizure of 2,020drums of adulterated petrol.

The army spokesman alsosaid the JTF destroyed threemarine vessels, one tug boat andseven giant badges. (NAN)

By Morufat Ojulari Secretariat in hisadministration had beenmandated to deliver 159 majorprojects including the provisionof 5,000 affordable housingunits, wild life developmentproject through establishmentof game reserves among otherscome 2015.

“My dream is to sink deeplyinto the ground, seeds ofdevelopment that wouldgerminate and ultimately leadto a city which runs efficientlyon sustainable structures,” hesaid.

Don’t scrap EFCC, Bornogov advises

The governor of Borno sate, Alhaji Kashim Shettima,has joined other Nigerians

in calling for the strengthening ofthe Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission (EFCC) in away that would make itsscrapping or merger with anyother anti-graft agencyunnecessary.

According to him, theactivities of the EFCC havecontinued to reinforceaccountable governance andinstitutional sanity in thecountry and that the nationstands to benefit more from its

empowerment."Today, the existence of EFCC

has brought about self scrutiny,probity, transparency, andconsciousness on the part ofpolitical office holders who hithertobehaved differently", he noted.

He urged Nigerians to continueto support the Commission whilepromising to make the EFCC's joblighter in Borno state, by ensuringprobity and accountability in hisgovernment.

Shettima , who was the host ofa three-day retreat for Borno statepolitical office holders which heldat Maiduguri , stressed thatNigeria could only move forwardif concerted efforts are made byall Nigerians to shun corruptpractices.

By Lambert Tyem

PAGE 11PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan (3rd left), wife of Senate President, Mrs Helen Mark (middle), in a group photograph with children, duringa party organised by the First Lady to mark 2012 Children's Day, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye.

Killings: Group accusesJTF, Sayawa of complicity

The Tafawa Balewa YouthDevelopment Association,has accused the Join Task

Force, JTF, operating in TafawaBalewa local government areaof Bauchi state of connivancewith a particular community insome killings in the area.

The secretary of theassociation Hassan Dahiru madethe accusation in a pressconference held at the NUJsecretariat Bauchi yesterdaysaying that for long, the JTFhad taken sides with theSayawa community as theyfailed to stop these atrocities butinstead connive with them orbehaved in a manner thatclearly shows the JTF and theSayawa community acting inconcert.

Hassan Dahiru explainedthat recently an incidentoccurred in Fulani village inJaja, a suburb of Tafawa Balewa

town on May 14, 2012 where ateam of JTF personnel went tothe village and startedharassing, intimidating andbeating residents of the area.

He added that the securityoperatives ransacked theirhouses, vandalising othervaluables in the process beforethe Sayawa people followed upwith sophisticated weaponsduring which they shotrandomly injuring people andkilling a number of cows.

“The Sayawa communitiesdespite the presence of the JTFmen have dozens of road blocksmounted and manned by themalong the Federal Highway thatpasses through Tafawa Balewatown where innocent Muslimspassing by are being killed andtheir corpses set ablaze. Twoweeks ago, a vehicle comingfrom Yelwan Shandam inPlateau state were stopped bythe Sayawas at one of theircheck points where three

passengers, all Muslims wereslaughtered while the vehiclewas set ablaze”, he said.

The group however called onthe federal and stategovernment to take drastic stepsagainst perpetrators of thekillings, saying, “we wish to callon the Bauchi State Governmentto come out with categoricalstand on the issue ofreconstruction of houses, placesof worship, the palace of thedistrict head of Lere and otherproperties destroyed by theSayawas.”

Reacting, the spokesman ofthe JTF, Captain MarkusMdahyelya in a telephoneinterview said that the group isnot telling the truth. “If theyhave any source, they shouldcome forward and make officialcomplaints rather than tryingto castigate the JTF. JTF has noissue with religion and we arefor both Christians and Muslimsand we don’t take sides.” he said.

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

Israel celebrates 20 years of diplomatic ties with NigeriaBy Miriam Humbe

The embassy of the state ofIsrael in Nigeria during theweekend rolled out the

drums to celebrate twenty yearsof the restoration of diplomaticrelations between the two nations.

The event which took place atthe Congress Hall of the TranscorpHilton Hotel in Abuja featured abrilliant cultural display by a 20-member contingent led by arenowned female singer fromIsrael.

It will be recalled that fulldiplomatic ties between the twocountries were established shortly

after Nigeria’s independence in1960, but were severed in 1973in compliance with the thenOrganisation of African Unity,OAU resolution but in 1992however, diplomatic relationswere again restored with Nigeriaopening for the first time, anEmbassy in Israel the followingyear.

While addressing the well-attended gathering at thecultural show, Mr. Moshe Ram,Israel’s Ambassador to Nigeriadescribed the restoration ofdiplomatic relations as asignificant move symbolising thereturn of Israel to the most

FG allocates 14,800 tonnesof fertiliser to Kaduna•It’s not enough-Yakowa

The Federal Government hasallocated 14,800 metrictons of fertiliser to Kaduna

state under the FertiliserVoucher Scheme where eachregistered farmer is expected toget two bags of fertiliser.

The farmer pays for one bagand gets one free.

Governor Patrick Yakowawho announced this yesterdayregretted however that thequantity is far short of about65,000 metric tonnes requiredfor farmers in the state becausefive million farmers hadregistered for the scheme.

Yakowa spoke at the statelaunch of the FederalGovernment’s GrowthEnhancement Fertiliser Schemeat the Chief of Kagoro’s palace,Kaura local government area.

“To help bridge the gap, wehave ordered substantialquantity of assorted fertiliser andwe are here today to launch thefertilizer sale for the state. Thecost of the Fertilizer to our farmershas been subsidized by about 50per cent.

“Agriculture is our area ofcomparative advantage and wehave to take its development withall the seriousness it deserves andback the Federal Governmentinitiative in the drive to uplift thesector so as to diversify thenation’s revenue base away fromoil.

“Based on this, schemes likethe Agricultural TransformationAgenda, the GrowthEnhancement Scheme (GES) and

the Nigerian Insurance Risk –Based Sharing AgriculturalLending (NIRSAL) have been putin place by the FederalGovernment to actualize ourpotentials in the agriculturalsector to the optimum.

“In the AgriculturalTransformation Agenda, thevalue chain in agriculturaldevelopment, from production toprocessing, is fully packaged andentrenched.

“Crops such as rice, sorghum,cotton, maize, soya beans,ginger, cocoa, palm produce,livestock and fish among others,are already receivingappropriate attention.

“In order to enhance theavailability of fertiliser in ourstate, the government is workinghard towards the establishmentof one Fertilizer Blending Plantin each of its three Senatorialzones… this administration hasawarded contracts for theconstruction of dams andirrigation schemes”.

The Academic Staff Union ofUniversities (ASUU),yesterday frowned against

the recent dismissal of 788doctors by the Lagos gtategovernment and called for theirreinstatement, failure of whichmay lead to indefinite strike bythe academic union if NMAembarks on an indefinite strike.

It would be recalled that, 788doctors were sacked by the stategovernment when theyembarked on an indefinite strikeover the government’s nonimplementation of theConsolidated Medical SalaryStructure, (CONMESS) as agreedupon by the two parties in March6, 2011.

Briefing newsmen at theASUU national secretariat at theUniversity of Ibadan

(UI), the ASUU nationalpresident, Professor UkachukwuAwuzie described the action of theLagos State Government asillegal as it had no power todeclare the doctor’s strike illegal.

ASUU battlesFashola overdismissal of788 doctorsFrom Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

important country on the Africancontinent, after an absence ofabout 19 years.

Mr. Ram recalled that duringthe 1960s and early 70s whenIsrael first established diplomaticties with Nigeria, the countryplayed a very significant role inthe development of the Sub-Saharan region includingNigeria, adding that as part of theIsraeli government’s Africanpolicy, hundreds of Israeli expertsand volunteers were sent to helpin the continent’s developmentand modernisation of agriculture,education, medical institutionsand technological training

programmes.The Ambassador also disclosed

that hundreds of Nigerianfarmers , experts, educators,academicians, students, doctors,community workers andengineers were trained in Israelthrough MASHAV- the Israeliagency for InternationalDevelopment Cooperation .

He stated that there werestrong ties between the people ofIsrael and Nigeria at all levelsespecially in organising annualpilgrimages from Nigeria to Israel,every year, the largest spiritualexercise from any part of theworld.

From Agagu Madugba, Kaduna

PAGE 14 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Courts to sit daily to hearEFCC/ICPC cases, says CJN

The Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Justice DahiruMusdapher, yesterday, said

arrangements are being made tohear criminal cases filed by theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) and theIndependent Corrupt Practicesand other related OffencesCommission (ICPC) on daily basis.

The CJN, who stated this whileswearing-in 12 new Federal HighCourt judges at the SupremeCourt complex, Abuja, said theFederal High Court, has beenproperly staffed to deal with casesfiled by the EFCC and ICPCwithout any delay.

He said some of the newlysworn-in judges will be

Edo state governor,Comrade AdamsOshiomhole, yesterday,

dragged a magazine, News of thePeople to a Benin High Courtasking for N250 million asdamages libel by thepublication.

In the case No. B/556/2011,between Governor AdamsOshiomhole and DocklandCommunications Limited,publishers of the magazine, thegovernor alleged that thecontent of the publication whichwas published sometimes lastyear on page 19 titled"Oshiomhole's Sex PowerExposed: Impregnates young girlsix months after death of wife",was calculated at discrediting hisreputation.

He further told the courtpresided over by Justice (Mrs.)Efe Ikponmwonba of High Courtnumber 8 that in the edition, hewas also alleged to have boughtthe girl a Jeep and wasinterfering in the academics ofthe girl at the Ambrose AlliUniversity, Ekpoma.

Besides that, the reportalleged that Oshiomhole usedsexual performanceenhancement drugs and did thetraditional marriage rites to thealleged girl, while the editionwhich was widely circulated,coincided with the preparationsfor one of his daughter's wedding.

Under cross examination bythe lead prosecuting Counsel K.O. Igiebor why he was demandingfor damages, the governor whotestified as Principal Witness 1(PW/1), replied that the saidpublication caused him and hischildren serious psychologicaltrauma six months after the deathof his wife.

"When I called a brothergovernor to sponsor my daughter'swedding, the governor said he wasconfused, and asked me if I was theone doing the marriage or mydaughter, adding that he wasreading a magazine which saidthat he (Oshiomhole) was aboutgetting married to a universitystudent, and that the said wife tobe was already pregnant."

The governor added that thepublication also alleged that hehad marathon sex with a femalepartner in Lagos who fainted underhim, adding that he could nothave been preparing for anotherwedding just 6-months after hiswife's death.

Justice (Mrs) Ikpomwonbathereafter adjourned the case toJune the 25, 2012. for hearing.

Libel: Oshiomholeslams N250m suiton magazineBy Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

Members of the Nasarawastate chapter of theNigerian Medical

Association (NMA), have joinedtheir colleagues nationwide incalling on the Lagos stategovernment to rescind its decisionto sack the 788 doctors under itsemploy, failure of which has thepotential of snowballing into anational crisis capable of

dislocating the health sector.The association made this

known yesterday in Lafia whileaddressing a press conference.

State chairman of theassociation, Dr. Clement Onwube,flanked by other members of hisexecutive council, condemned theunprecedented mass sack of thedoctors by the Lagos stategovernment describing it as"flagrant violation of existinglabour laws and rules of

engagement".He warned that the association

in the state would not hesitate tojoin other NMA branches andaffiliate bodies in the quest toensure justice and "to proceed onsolidarity strike action if the nationalsecretariat finds it necessary."

Onwube and his colleaguesdorned the black arm bands in linewith the directives of the nationalheadquarters of the association, "tosignify dead, decay of the health

sector in Lagos, as well as the loss ofseveral lives as a result of insensitivityon the part of the Lagos stategovernment."

He appealed to President GoodluckJonathan, Governor Umaru TankoAl-makura, the national assembly,traditional rulers, the ActionCongress of Nigeria (ACN), as well asall meaning Nigerians to prevail onthe Lagos state government toreverse its decision immediately.

Nasarawa NMA wants sacked Lagos doctors reinstated

Union leader appeals to FG over NIPOST pension arrearsNational President, NationalUnion of Postal andT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n

Employees, Mr. Sunday Alhassan,has appealed to the FederalGovernment to pay the 2011 arrearsof pensions to NIPOST pensioners.

Alhassan made the pleayesterday in Abuja saying``thearrears of pensions from January toDecember 2011 are still pending withthe Federal Government".

“The Pension Board had alreadygiven the Office of the Accountant-

General the cost of the arrears andwe expect that if the money isreleased, all these issues would beresolved", he said'

It would be recalled that on May22, the Senate gave the Industrialand General Insurance (IGI) aseven-day ultimatum to pay intothe account of the Pension Board ofTrustees of the Nigerian PostalService (NIPOST) the sum of N220

million.Alhassan said that the insurance

company, IGI, recently releasedabout N110 million and NIPOST,being mindful of the agony its retiredworkers were going through,decided to lend the board additionalN65 million.

The union leader said IGI alsoprovided N45 million, making itN220 million for the payment of the

pension arrears.“All payments concerning

pensions are handled centrally by theOffice of the Head of Service andpayment is done from the Office ofthe Account-General of theFederation.

“Once money is released from theFederal Government for the purposeof payment of the pensions, the moneyis given to the underwriters.

Pupils of Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) International School, Asokoro, in a march-past during the 2012 National Children's Daycelebrations, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

BySunday Ejike Benjamin exclusively assigned to try highprofile cases on day to day basisand urged them to be dedicatedand discharge their dutieswithout fear or favour, affectionor ill-will.

While congratulating the newjudges, the CJN commended theNational Assembly for approvingthe increase in the number ofFederal High Court judges from70 to 100 and noted that the movewill go a long way in reducing thenumber of pending cases at theFederal High Court.

At present, the CJN stated thatthere are 150, 000 pending casesat both the Federal High Courts andthe State High Courts throughoutthe federation and commended thehard work and dedication to dutyof the judges who man these courts,

while urging them to sustain themomentum.

The CJN also called on them toguard against bribery and otherforms of corrupt practices andobserved that acorrupt judge is notonly a dangerous obstacle, but alsoan anathema and adisgrace to theprofession or institution to whichhe does not deserve tobelong.

“As ministers in the temple ofJustice,we must do justice to thesatisfaction of not just the partiesbut the public as well. We mustremember that as we sit at trial,we also stand on trial”, theCJNstated and urged them to shuncorruption and shrink from allactions,in-actions, omissions orcommissions of bringing thejudiciary into disrepute.

Justice Musdapher also pointed

at efforts being made to reform thejudiciary noting that in the verynear future, the process foremployment of judges will be morerigorous and may include tests andinterviews in order to choose themost suitable Nigerians to man thecourts.

It would be recalled thatPresident Goodluck Jonathan,last week, approved theappointment of 12 Judges for theFederal High Court, followingthere commendation of theNational Judicial Council (NJC)for the appointment of thejudges.

ChiefMagistrate in Rivers StateJudiciary and the Deputy ChiefRegistrar, FederalHigh Court,Abuja, Mrs. Folashade O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo.

“Pension payment is not done bythe management of any organisationwhere the workers retired. It is donedirectly by the Federal Government.

“Whenever the Accountant-General's office releases money to theunderwriters, there is a period thatthey have to remit the money toNIPOST Pension Board account beforethey can remit it to the retirees''.(NAN)

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

PEOPLES DAILY, TUSDAY, MAY 29, 2012 PAGE 15

Ogun State Governor,Senator IbikunleAmosun was yesterday

advised to be weary of sycophantsin his administration, with awarning that their {sycophants}roles will only pull downgovernance and make him loosefocus.

The advice came from DiocesanBishop Church of Nigeria {AnglicanCommunion} Cathedral of SaintPeter, Rev. Emannuel Adekunle ata Special Sunday Service incommemoration of Amosun's oneyear in office.

He emphasized that sycophantsare fond of parading corridors ofpower, hence, the urgent need tocheckmate them before they findtheir way into government andembark on destruction which willcause untold hardship to theinnocent citizens of the state.

On democracy dividends, theBishop said political office holdersshould stop the vogue ofdistributing motorcycles to theyouths as empowermentprogram and posited that it wouldbe more honorable to empowerthem with scholarship and othermeaningful programs.

The clergyman also appealedto the governor on need to

Be cautious ofsycophants, clerictells Amosun

Borno first lady empowers 100 tsangaya schools

As parts of efforts to boostalmajiri education system,wife of the Borno state

governor, Mrs. Nana KashimShettima, yesterday distributedassorted materials to over 100tsangaya schools.

Some of the items comprised ofmats, treated mosquito nets, drugsand fruit drinks, among others.

The distribution of the materials

which was facilitated under Mrs.Shettima's pet project, tagged'Foundation Support for Widows,Orphans and Almajiri (SWOT), hasdrawn thousands of tsangayapupils across the state.

Speaking at the occasion,chairman of the foundation, AlhajiMohammed Bello, said the schemewas initiated to improve the wellbeing of widows, orphans, tsangayapupils and other vulnerable peoplein the society in order to make themfeel a sense of belonging.

introduce and establishpsychiatric departments in allstate owned governmenthospitals, in the interest ofproducing mentally sound leadersin offices, 'we need thatdepartments in our generalhospitals'

He equally begged theGovernor to have a second thoughton the proposed scrapping of the TaiSolarin University ofEducation{TASUED}, Ijebu-Ode,pointing out the scrap will not dogood for the state, 'I know educationis dear to the governor, so I want tobeg you to re-consider your positionon Tai Solarin University ofEducation".

Bauchi State Governor, IsaYuguda has petitionedNigerians to put aside

ethno-religious and or politicalsentiments and support thedevelopmental efforts of thePresident Goodluck Jonathanin order to lead the country togreatness.

In a Press release issued andsigned by the Chief PressSecretary to the Governor,Ishola Michael Adeyemi madeavailable to newsmen inBauchi at the weekend, saysthat ethnicity will furtherdivide the countryadmonishing Nigerians toaccept to be their brother'skeepers as it was in the oldendays.

The Release stated thatGovernor Yuguda made theremark after he was initiatedinto the prestigious Yoruba

Yuguda preachespeaceful coexistenceFrom Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

L-R: Anambra state governor, Mr. Peter Obi, Minister of Power, Professor Bart O. Nnaji, Niger stategovernor, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, and Lagos state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, during atown hall meeting on attaining sustainable and reliable power supply in Nigeria, recently at the EkoHotel & Suites, Victoria Island, in Lagos.

From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji,Abeokuta

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

Alhaji Bello explained thatSWOT was particularly disturbedover the unfavorable condition ofthe tsangaya schools due to absentof basic needs for the pupils; hencethere was need for the foundationto come to their aid.

According to him, even beforethe latest gesture, the foundationhad also unveiled a self -relianceproject for tsangaya teachers andwidows, in which they received100 tricycles, sewing andspaghetti-making machines.

Korean showcases traditional craft works

In commemoration of secondanniversary of the opening ofthe Korean Cultural Centre in

Nigeria, it's government hasexhibited some wonderfulmasterpiece of craft works madefrom Hin-ji paper.

Korean Ambassador to Nigeria,H. E. Choi Jong-Hyun, said duringthe exhibition at the Centre that,the traditional paper was made upof mulberry, using only natural

materials in a traditional methodthat is environmentally friendly.

Some of the crafts created bythree Korean artists, he said, include"wallets, pencil cases, tea table,traditional wardrobes, and chestsof drawers.

Speaking further, Jong-Hyunnoted that via the exhibition,Nigerians will know more aboutKorea's traditional crafts as well asits rich culture.

He assured that his embassy willcontinue to promote understanding

between both countries by hostingmore events in Nigeria.

One of the artists, Mrs.Chung Hyeyoon, who said shelearnt the craft from her Mothersix years ago, observed that thework was easy to learn when thetechniques are known.

Hyeyoon also stated sheloves creating magnificentaesthetics from the work butsaid she does it with passionrather than treat it asoccupation.

By Mohammed Kandi

Tennis Club in LagosYuguda , who has the

privilege of being the onlyNortherner to be a member ofboth the Island Club and theYoruba Tennis Club explainedthat "our fore-fathers livedtogether not minding wheretheir neighbors came fromneither were they interested inthe religion being practiced, allthey were after in those dayswas peace, tranquility andtogetherness which wasdemonstrated in the variouscommunal activities done forthe good of the people."

Isa Yuguda then pledge hisloyalty to the ethics of the Clubpromising to use its popularityto promote peaceful coexistenceamong the diverse cultures ofthe country. According to him,"our cultures are not there toseparate us but to make usstronger and united in purposeand action."

Nigerian MedicalAssociation (NMA)Sokoto state chapter has

condemned the Lagos stateGovernor, Babatunde Fasholaover the recent sack of 788doctors in the state.

Addressing a press conferenceyesterday in Sokoto, Secretaryof the chapter Dr. AbubakarPanti described the action ofLagos governor asundemocratic, inequitable,autocratic and unconstitutional.

Dr. Panti said the act ofsacking the doctors whoembarked on legitimate strike topress home the demand for theirrights have shown clearly thatthe Lagos state government iswicked, insincere, hypocritical,deceitful and not conscious of theplight of the masses.

According to him, this wasclearly exemplified by the recentmedia report that the governor

NMA Sokoto condemnssack of Lagos doctorsFrom Sadeeq Aliyu, Sokoto allegedly flew his father abroad

for medical care when the entirepeople of Lagos have been left tosuffer silently and die slowly asthey cannot afford to flythemselves or their relativesabroad for medication.

The NMA traced thehistory of the crisis betweenLagos state government andthe doctors to March 2011when the state governmentagreed to implement theConsolidated Medical SalaryScale to May 7th, 2012 whenthe doctors were issued withsack letters.

He said the NMA Sokoto isin full support and solidaritywith the Lagos doctors anddiscussion and consultationswere on top gear with allrelevant stake holders on thecrisis, adding that despite hopefor a speedy resolution of thecrisis, "let no one be in doubtabout our resolve to stand fortruth we believe in".

Gov. Babangida Aliyu ofNiger says he is notbreeding anaconda snakes

in his farm and does not have auniversity in Ghana.

"I have no snakes in my farmand neither do I have aUniversity in Ghana, the lies areby enemies of progress,'' he saidwhile addressing children inMinna as part of activities tomark this year's children's day".

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the rumourmill has been awash of recentwith reports that the governorhas two large anaconda snakesin his farms and that he is alsothe proprietor of a university inGhana.

He said people should

Aliyu denies breedinganaconda snakes

disregard such talks, especiallychildren who could be easilyswayed.

He told the children to taketheir education serious as it isthe only legacy their parentsand government couldbequeath to them.

The governor urged thechildren not to respect theirparents and teachers, includingtheir mates and seniors.

Aliyu said the stategovernment "does not want to seeany child hawking or sellingthings on the streets and has noroom for truancy".

He promised to create aconducive environment forlearning by providing learningtools. (NAN)

PAGE 16 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

A democracy without its dividendsContd. from Front Page

It may be true that the worst kind ofdemocracy is better than the best formof military rule. But this is little

comfort for a people who, in these 13 years,have, for the most part, seen only aprogressive decline in their livingstandards, impoverishment and notimprovement in their lives.

In these 13 years, the masses of theNigerian people have been forced to lowertheir gaze from the prospects of a good lifeto the dreary struggles of daily survival.

And this, for no other reasons than thelack of vision, lack of commitment,planlessness, corruption and wantondisregard for the plight of the commonman on the part of our leaders.

By 1999, only about 40 percent of theNigerian people were living below thepoverty line. Today, according to evenofficial government surveys, about 113million, or 80 percent of Nigerians, areclassified as poor, living on less than onedollar a day, while 70 million are put in thecategory of “food poor.”

In an oil-rich country that has, in these13 years, earned hundreds of millions ofdollars, there is no excuse or justificationwhatsoever for this level of poverty. Or forthe high level of unemployment, high rateof illiteracy, the near-collapsed educationsystem, poor health care system and themany other failings that together make theNigerian backdrop so bleak and frightening.

The problem is to be blamed largely onthe high level of official corruption. Officialcorruption has meant that most of thebillions earned by the state have beenstolen by a few officials and their fronts,and are therefore not available fordevelopment.

Its less obvious consequence, however,is that the country’s affairs are beingconducted without good planning. For,corrupt officials plan not so much with theneeds and interests of the nation as a wholein mind as with their own selfish interests.Their planning imperative always is howthey can corner and steal more of thenation’s resources.

In these 13 years, the nation has, so far,had three governments, one bad one being

“In these 13 years, thenation has, so far, had threegovernments, one bad one

being succeeded by a worseone, each of them with a

higher level of poverty, notriches or improvements, toshow as its achievements

succeeded by a worse one, each of them witha higher level of poverty, not riches orimprovements, to show as its achievements.

The nation is today living with the direconsequences of this state of affairs. Highlevel of official corruption has significantlyincreased the level of mass poverty, which,in its turn, has helped to create a situation ofdespondency, mass disaffection and an acutesense of deprivation – just the kind of mixthat pushes otherwise sensible andresponsible people to fashion or imbibeideologies – some of which may preachviolence by which they seek to understandand/or change their situation.

Today, insecurity, as reflected in the BokoHaram insurgency, and the no less violentactivities of countless criminal groups allover Nigeria, is one of the biggest challengesfacing the nation and threatening its unityand corporate existence.

In many ways, the challenge is theconsequence, direct and indirect, of misruleand bad governance and the failings of ourpast and present leaders. It is theconsequence of their failure or refusal tochange for the better the miserableconditions under which the vast majority ofNigerians live.

It is the consequence of their failure touse the nation’s resources to buildinfrastructure, build schools andsignificantly improve both the quantity andquality of education in the country, createemployment opportunities and give hope to

the hopeless, and thereby reduce theyawning gap between the rich and the poor.

It is not so much misery, or poverty initself that fosters revolutions orinsurgencies as the gap that exists betweenwhat people expect from their lives andwhat is offered them, and their sense ofbeing deprived.

We at the Peoples Daily are particularlyworried that the Jonathan administration iscontinuing along the same path as hispredecessors and with the same traditionsthat have landed us in such dire straights.

We’ve so far seen no new ideas or signsthat the administration has what it takes tostop the rot and take the nation to newheights.

The administration’s transformationagenda is itself not built around a concreteand big idea that spells out a new and betterfuture for Nigeria and Nigerians.

Particularly disturbing is the extremelyhigh level of corruption that has so fardefined the administration. The president’sresponse to the established cases of thetheft of trillions of naira by officials andtheir fronts under the cover of oil subsidyand the more recent case of the Malabu oildeals involving the sharing of billions ofnaira by, among others, Jonathan’s aidesand friends, give us no hope or confidencethat there is the will or the intention totame the monster of corruption that hasbeen ravaging the land.

No less worrying is the administration’sopen pursuit of divisive politics andpolicies, involving the manipulation ofsentiments and inflammation of primordialpassions – acts which have been serving towiden the country’s many fault lines andfurther polarize the polity.

The administration has three more yearsto go, enough time within which to changecourse and come up with new ideas andfashion new programmes that will enable itto confront and solve the many problemsfacing the nation.

The question, though, is whether thepresident will or can do so – especially giventhe fact that, if he really has a 2015ambition, its realization will require thekind of compromises and horse-trading thatare sure to weaken his hand and capacityfor action.

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

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CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

ALI M. ALI

GM PUBLICATIONS

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HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING

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“To be the marketplace of ideas and theleading player in the

industry by putting thepeople first, upholdingthe truth, maintaining

the highestprofessional andethical standards

while delivering valueto our stakeholders”

“To be a reputable,profitable,

innovative andtechnologically

reliant mediacompany offering

world classservices and

products”

OUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISION

DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEFRUFA’I IBRAHIM

EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIALORIALORIALORIALORIAL

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012 PAGE 17

Reading the above title mostpeople would think thatthis writer is behind the

news because all those whoshould know in Nigeria havealready answered the questionin the affirmative. Most readerswould rather be expecting thiswriter to tackle the muchdisturbing question of howcorrupt is the nation’s Judiciary.

I concede to my readers theright to hold the above statedopinion but again it is right toobserve here that even thecurrent chief Justice of NigeriaDahiru Musdapher had in anexclusive interview with anational daily accepted theshameful reality that theNigerian judiciary stinks ofcorruption but he was quick todo what one may call‘argumentum ad hominem’ orrather he committed the fallacyof attacking the messengerrather than the message whenhe alluded to the claim thatjudicial corruption was notpeculiar to Nigeria since even

the United States of America hashad her own dose of corruptionin the period preceding theannouncement of thePresidential election results thatbrought in President GeorgeBush [jnr] for a second term inoffice in 2000.

The chief Justice of Nigeriaspoke through his mediaconsultant Mr. MohammedAdamu just as he disclosed thathe will this week present to theNational Assembly what heconsiders as revolutionaryrecommendation on possibleareas of amendments in theNigerian constitution so as totackle judicial corruption.

While citing the scandal thatfollowed the US Supreme Courtdecision in the dispute betweenGeorge Bush and AI Gore afterthe 2000 presidential election,the Nigerian Jurist said even theUS judiciary was not immunefrom corruption.

“The only difference is thatdemocracy is deeply entrenchedin the US and a politician therewill not insist on the do-or-dieattitude of the Nigerian

politician, otherwise, therewould have been a judicial crisisin the US,” he added.

He said Nigeria did not needthe US to tell it the problemswith the judiciary in thecountry, adding thatMusdapher understands theproblems and is implementingreforms that are within hiscapacity as the CJN.

The Chief Justice of Nigeriafailed to respond qualitatively tothe groundswell of allegations ofcorruption raised in the UnitedStates report.

Specifically, the United Statesreport titled “Department ofState’s Country report onHuman Rights practices for2011”, which was tenderedbefore the United States Congresslast week by the Secretary ofState Mrs. Hilary Clinton, hadobserved copiously thatNigerian Judiciary is verycorrupt and susceptible tomanipulations by the rich elitein business and politics.

According to the 60-pagesreport; “Although theConstitution and law provide for

an independent Judiciary, thejudicial branch remainedsusceptible to pressure from theexecutive and legislativebranches and the businesssector.”

“ U n d e r s t a f f i n g ,underfunding, inefficiency, andcorruption continued to preventthe (Nigerian) Judiciary fromfunctioning adequately”, saysthe report.

The United States furtherrevealed the obvious lapses andtraces of official ineptitude andcorruption in the NigerianJudiciary when it stated rightlythus; “Judges frequently failedto appear for trials, often becausethey were pursuing othersources of income and sometimesbecause of threats against them.In addition, court officials oftenlacked the proper equipment,training, and motivation toperform their duties, with lackof motivation primarily due toinadequate compensation”.

The United Statesgovernment was evenmagnanimous in the report tohave disclosed that the Supreme

Court justices advocated greaterautonomy for the judiciary inthe ongoing constitutionalamendment process.

I am shocked that the ChiefJustice of Nigeria attempted todefend the judicial arm ofgovernment against the wellconsidered accusations ofcorruption, bribery andineptitude on the part of Judges.Where was the Chief Justice ofNigeria when the IndependentNational Electoral Commissionfailed to tender the ballot papersof 2011 Presidential election forforensic analysis as requested bythe petitioner against PresidentJonathan, Major GeneralMuhammad Buhari [rtd] andwhy did the judiciary cave in toexecutive pressure not to wieldthe big judicial stick to compelthe production of these vitalbody of evidence that are publicproperty? Where was the ChiefJustice of Nigeria as aninstitution when the formerDelta State Governor Mr. JamesIbori was set free by the FederalHigh Court, Asaba division only

Is Nigerian judiciary corrupt?By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Continued on page 19

We hope that, by tackling thelikes of James Ibori, we’re sayingto those stealing from the statepurse, you can’t have yourchildren at private school inLondon. You can’t have amultimillion pound house in oneof the most affluent areas ofLondon. You can’t drive aroundin top of the range vehicles. Wewon’t let you move money aroundto buy multimillion pound jets.

– Detective ChiefInspector Jonathan Benton,Proceeds of Corruption Unitof London’s MetropolitanPolice.

One of the major reasonswhy our ruling eliteshave been incorrigible

about dipping their hands in thecollective purse and stealing ourresources is because they areconfident that there are placesthey could run to when troublecomes. They believe that ifNigeria becomes too hot, theirloot would be safe in the overseasaccounts where they were kept.

As we all know, family is themost important thread in everyperson’s life. This is more so withone’s children. The fact that ourlooters and dealers who callthemselves leaders could alsohide away their children inforeign schools, away fromangry Nigerians that maydescend on them in a retributivemanner, has also been a verygood incentive for theincorrigibility of the Nigeriankleptomaniacal elite.

Coupled with the above is thefact that every country isalways looking for foreigncapital as part of the globaleconomy. This way, everycountry hopes that the flow of

foreign capital in whatever formought to be encouraged to helpthe local economy and providejobs. In this activity, moralityhas often taken the back seat.Not only that, the operatingprinciple has always been one’scountry first, before others. Thisis in obeisance to the first law ofnature, which is self-preservation.

This has always been theoperating rules of the Europeancountries as well as the USA. Ithas been this way beforecolonialism. It was so duringand after colonialism. This waswhy the consciencelessexploitation of Africancontinent was carried outwithout any remorsewhatsoever. This crude Euro-American mentality has spilledover to the contemporarypolitico-economic relationshipswith mother Africa and hasencouraged the pillaging ofAfrican resources for “safe-keeping” and benefits of thecitizens of Europe and America.

To this end, our cluelessleaders, who lack the vision andcapacity to liberate andempower their own citizens,have been willing partners inthis odious endeavor. Ratherthan help to develop theircountries, they siphon their localresources for glamor in Europeand America. They buymansions in very exclusiveneighborhood, purchase top-of-the-line exotic cars, send theirchildren to the most expensiveschools in those countries andpatronize their well-equippedhospitals.

They impoverish their ownpeople for the benefits of theEuro-American economies.They commit treasonable genreof economic and political crimes

against their own countries toaccomplish these dastardly acts.They become highly irritablewhen critiqued. They transforminto blood-sucking dictators andwould mow down their people,should the people have the gutsto protest misrule. They do allthese, because they are confidentthat, if the worse comes to theworst, and they are chased out oftheir countries, they couldalways escape to these Euro-American countries to live a lifeof opulence for the rest of theirlives.

Of recent, the frontier of thesecountries willing to allow the“safe-keeping” of ill-gottenwealth has expanded into theMiddle-eastern, Asian, South-American as well as theCaribbean nations. Thecompetition elicited by the newglobal economy has made thispossible. But “Nothing ispolitically right which is morallywrong,” says Daniel O’Connell,as quoted by Chief ObafemiAwolowo in his 1961 lecture,“Politics and Religion.”

This is where Britain’s newattitude and approach tointernational moneylaundering law must becommended by those who wishNigeria well. Though, it couldbe argued that the British ascolonial overlords of Nigeriafermented the ground on whichthe present corruption hasgerminated gigantic roots, it isstill commendable that they areseeking to allow morality andlaw to operate pari-passu inchecking the excesses of theNigerian rulers.

Without doubt, there is anelement of self-interestembedded in this new attitudeof the British. Nevertheless, itmust be welcomed by all and

sundry. Nigerian leaders, aftermessing up their own land,have unleashed their stolenwealth on the British psyche.Watching a Mutallab, anunemployed student, live in afour million dollar apartmentin London; witnessingNigerians lavishly spendhundreds of thousands of poundsterling in Lloyds’, on their baddays; observing Nigerians buymansions that would takeBritish citizens two lives to payfor and seeing them buy “cashdown,” exotic cars that ninety-nine percent of them could notafford on hire purchase, couldnot be good for the psyche of apeople who work hard to makefew hundred pounds a week,

According to a report by theLondon CNN, the British Bankshave been fingered by Proceedsof Corruption Unit of London’sMetropolitan Police funded byUK government’s Departmentfor International Development,as being complicit in moneylaundering activities. The samereport noted that in March, thisyear, “the Financial ServicesAuthority fined Coutts, aprivate arm of Royal Bank ofScotland, a record $14 millionfor failing to monitor three-quarters of its high-riskcustomers, known as PoliticallyExposed Persons. AlthoughCoutts says it found no evidenceof money laundering, and itsprocesses are now robust,campaigners say London’sbanks are still playing a role inthe problem of Africancorruption.”

The TransparencyInternational has reportedlycalled for “more sanctions”against these BankingInstitutions, noting “thegreater the severity of

penalties, the greater thedeterrent effect.” Robert Palmerof anti corruption NGO, GlobalWitness, has also echoed thisposition by contending that “theonly way we’re going to getserious change is if you haveheavy penalties, you go afterindividual bankers and, in theworst cases, in the mostegregious failures, you putpeople in jail.”

Reviewing the colonialhistory of Nigeria it is difficultto miss the overt acts of theBritish in setting up Nigeria forfailure. The British corruptedNigerian demographicdistribution introducedapartheid, hounded andhaunted Nigeria’s best out ofpower play and grandfatheredthe docile, incompetent andfeudalistic into power toguarantee British continuedhold on the destiny of Nigeria.

But if this present war on theNigerian kleptocrats is what theBritish government would useto atone for its sins against thepeoples of Nigeria, then so be it.We should encourage theBritish and give them a hand.While we exercise caution toensure that this is not a “GreekGift,” Nigerians the world overshould embark on war ofexposition against these enemiesof our people. Where possible, letus institute court cases againstthem in the country where theiraccounts could be traced.International laws could beemployed to frustrate dubiouscollaborators in such countriesand bring these thieves to book.

If their stolen wealth is nolonger safe outside the shores ofNigeria, and there isunbearable pressure on themwithin Nigeria, the incentive tosteal would be greatly reduced.

War against Nigerian kleptocracyBy Remi Oyeyemi

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012PAGE 18

Boko Haram: Open letterto Hillary Rodham Clinton

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

to:

The Editor,Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza,

35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com

SMS: 07037756364

WRITE TO US

Dear Secretary Clinton,

As scholars with a specialinterest in Nigeria andbroad expertise on African

politics, we are writing to urge thatyou not designate Boko Haram aForeign Terrorist Organization(FTO). We are acutely aware of thehorrific violence perpetrated byBoko Haram, including attacks onboth Muslims and Christians inNigeria, whether governmentofficials or civilian targets. Weshare your concerns about theimpact of extremist violence onNigeria’s democratic progress andsecurity in general. However anFTO designation wouldinternationalize Boko Haram,legitimize abuses by Nigeria’ssecurity services, limit the StateDepartment’s latitude in shapinga long term strategy, andundermine the U.S. Government’sability to receive effectiveindependent analysis from theregion.

An FTO designation wouldinternationalize Boko Haram’sstanding and enhance its statusamong radical organizationselsewhere. Boko Haram’s recenttactics, including the use of suicidebombers and improvised explosivedevices, raise questions about their

foreign links. The network’s focushas been overwhelminglydomestic, despite an August 2011attack on the United Nations officein Abuja. Rhetorically, some ofBoko Haram’s critique of northernunderdevelopment and elitecorruption iswithin the realmof mainstreamp o l i t i c a ldiscourse. Butthere are clearindications thattheir tactics andtargets haveturned mostN i g e r i a n sagainst them,including localpopulations in thenorth. An FTOd e s i g n a t i o nwould potentiallyshift theorganizat ion’sposture towards the US andvalidate the more radical factions’analysis of outsider influence in

Nigeria. It would also underminethe Nigerian government’s abilityto address the problem through lawenforcement and thereby improverule of law.

An FTO designation would givedisproportionate attention to

counter-terrorism in our bilateralrelations, and increase the risk thatthe US becomes linked – whether

in reality or perception – to abusesby the security services. An FTOdesignation would effectivelyendorse excessive use of force at atime when the rule of law inNigeria hangs in the balance.There is already evidence that

abuses byN i g e r i a ’ ss e c u r i t yservices havef a c i l i t a t e dr a d i c a lrecruitment.This was madeunequivocallyclear in 2009following theextrajudicialmurder ofM o h a m m e dYusuf, whichwas broadcastacross theinternet. Thatincident was

immediately followed by BokoHaram’s radicalization,splintering, and increased

propensity for large scale violence.Moreover, the routine use of themilitary for domestic lawenforcement is a cause for alarmin a country with a deep history ofmilitary rule, and where formaldeclarations of states of emergencyhave historically led to broaderpolitical instability.

In publicizing this letter, it isalso our hope that the Departmentof Defense and other concernedagencies will reaffirm thelimitations of their roles:informing or implementingpolicy rather than making it.Accurately understanding andproperly addressing the issue ofBoko Haram will require adiplomatic, developmental, anddemilitarized framework. TheState Department and its civiliandevelopmental partners must bein the lead.

The FTO list system has itsorigins in Executive Order 12947in 1995, which was designed toprohibit transactions withorganizations that interfere in theMiddle East peace process.

Congressional legislation thefollowing year codified a processfor making such decisions underthe Effective Death Penalty andAnti-Terrorism Act. Once theState Department makes an FTOdesignation and that entity isadded to the Specially DesignatedNationals (SDN) list managed bythe Treasury Department, it isillegal for U.S. citizens to have anyinteractions with that entityunless they apply for a license. Atleast 1.1 million individuals andentities are also on secret lists,according to an audit by theFederal Bureau of Investigation’sInspector General. Lack ofinformation about the criteria forbeing listed makes it impossible tobe removed and encouragesselective enforcement.

This cumbersome andarbitrary process has made itimpossible for some humanitarianorganizations to operate in theneediest areas of Africa. Ifeconomic development is to playa role in alleviating tensions innorthern Nigeria, we should nothamper access by USAID orprivate NGOs in providing aidand assistance in the region.

Should Boko Haram bedesignated an FTO through thisregime, it would be illegal fornongovernmental organizationsto interact with members of BokoHaram – even if the purpose of suchcontact was to persuade them torenounce violence. The USSupreme Court upheld theserestrictions in 2010, declaringthat such contact would constituteproviding “material support” toterrorist groups. Commenting onthe threat this poses to the CarterCenter, former U.S. PresidentJimmy Carter said this legalrestriction “threatens our workand the work of many otherpeacemaking organizations thatmust interact directly with groupsthat have engaged in violence.” It

The NJC vs Salami – ThePresident’s dilemma (III)By Osi Okponobi

Some have also argued andasked why the Presidentacted with haste in

suspending Justice Salami, but isnot acting in haste to reinstatehim. They are two differentsituations or scenarios. One wouldexpect a responsible Employer orPresident to act timely and withhaste when the integrity of aperson occupying a sensitiveposition is being questioned.Justice Salami was still sitting overcases and the President should orought to have acted with speed tostop further miscarriage of justice,based on the recommendation ofthe NJC that Justice Salami was aman of base character, who hadcompromised his position andoffice. But now that the NJCappear to have gone back on theirdecision and eaten their vomit orwords, the President must becircumspect and ask, why? Heshould be asking WHAT HASCHANGED? For that reason heshould thread or tread cautiously!

I would be in a dilemma, if Iwere the President, and facedwith two conflicting decisionsfrom the same body, the first ofwhich has been effected orenforced, albeit, incompletely, athis (the President’s) owndiscretion. While the seconddecision contradicts the first. If thePresident had effected the formerdecision by the NJC and dismissedJustice Salami, would the NJCnow write to him to recall thedismissed Justice Salami? Wouldthey not have explained to him(with good reasons) why they took

the former decision and why theyare now taking the latter decision.Would they not be required toexplain to him and to us (since thematter has been made public byJustice Salami) why they havesuddenly changed their position,and why they now think orbelieve that he is innocent of theallegations he was recommendedfor dismissal?

The other dilemma of thePresident, I am assuming, is himpondering and asking what haschanged since the first decision?All the issues that led the NJC torecommend that Justice Salamibe dismissed, have they beenresolved? If so, HOW? Has his LIEbeen washed away? And whatabout the PERJURY? Has JusticeMusdapher recanted andcorroborated Justice Salami’stales? If so, then we have a hugeproblem with the person of JusticeDahiru Musdapher and his stateof mind, who would appear tohave vacillated from denying thatthe former CJN said the thingsthat Justice Salami accused himof, to now agreeing with JusticeSalami. This would then meanthat both Justices Katsina-Alu andDahiru Musdapher have cases toanswer for PERVERTING THECOURSE OF JUSTICE. The SokotoElections Tribunal issue wouldhave to be revisited then. ThePolice would be called in toinvestigate the matters andprosecute. However, if nothing haschanged, what happened to theconduct of Justice Salami thatwere found to be GROSSMISCONDUCT by the NJC lastyear?

What has also changed aboutthe accusation that Justice Salamibrought the Judiciary intodisrepute? The Judiciary has notbeen more embarrassed than atany other time in its history,where Judges and Justices werelooked upon with disdain. Theformer CJN (and his office) wasaccused of corruption and tryingto pervert justice and he was calledall sorts of names, and the wholeJudiciary was made a laughingstock. There is presently still acrisis of confidence in theJudiciary. And what wouldhappen with the moral burden ofhaving Justice Salami presideover cases in future and being seenor viewed as a LIAR or acompromised Justice by Counselsor even LITIGANTS that wouldappear before him in future tojudge their cases?

And what has also changed onthe issue of the ‘Telephone Call-logs’, which the MTN initiallydenied, but they have againconfirmed to be genuine and true?Should the country simply wishthese things away and pretend thatit is okay for a Judge to engage inclandestine telephone calls with aparty to a matter in his court? Whatstandards do we really seek to set inthe Country? What values are webequeathing on our on-cominggenerations? We should rememberthat our actions are being watchedby the younger generation and itis time we set good examples andstandards for the country.

It is my humble opinion thatJustice Salami carries a heavymoral burden and should not bethrust on Nigerians ever again. He

is heavily compromised and hecannot elicit TRUST andCONFIDENCE from LITIGANTSand their COUNSELS. I would notfeel confident to appear before himor come to his court, as I wouldalways view him with suspicion,not knowing what he has donethe previous night or who he hascommunicated with in the weehours of the morning. I may evenbe afraid that he hascommunicated with myopponent.

If we are serious about endingcorruption in the Judiciary, weshould start by clearing JusticeSalami and his likes out. I havedeliberately avoided inferringCORRUPTION or stating that hemay have been induced withmoney by the ACN, as I do nothave those facts. But that doesn’tmean he was not so induced.

As for the NJC, I am sorry andsad to say that this body is not fitfor purpose, as it is presentlyconstituted. Like mostINSTITUTIONS in Nigeria, it isladen with corruption, and peopleof poor morals and basecharacters. Members of the NJCshould really be ashamed ofthemselves by seeking to cover upa Justice that they had previouslyfound guilty of GROSSMISCONDUCT. The denial of theTelephone ‘Call-logs’ and thedenial of that denial (I deliberatelyused the phrase) are all in thepublic domain. WHY SHOULDJUSTICE SALAMI BEREINSTATED?

ConcludedOsi Okponobi can be reachedat Jasol2kone@yahoo.co.uk Continued on page 19

By under signed US- basedNigerian academics

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012 PAGE 19

One (or two) down, three (or seven) to go

One cannot but admire theamount of work done toremodel federal airports in

Nigeria. The MAKIA in Kano isentirely different from that of old.I came across some renovationwork going on also in a numberof airports in other states,including the stalled OmagwaInternational Airport, PortHarcourt, which is nowassuming an admirable image ofthe Garden City. That is a sectorin recent times that one seesgovernment at work and ispleased that there is actually anauthority in charge.

Social networking is anotherarea we have seen an upsurge ofactivity and free flow ofinformation since Jonathanbecame President. Thegovernment, through Reno andthe opposition, notably Nasiru el-Rufai, frequently haveinformation exchanges which

has politically broadened theminds of such site users, no doubtpeople are better informed,everyone now knows how muchit costs to feed a zoologist, andeven how much the VP’sNewspapers cost.

Another aspect of thisgovernment’s approach toleadership that I find quiteadmirable is the MinisterialPlatform, an initiative for cabinetmembers to weigh the scale aftera year of receiving federalsubventions. It appears fromthere that ministers are actuallyaccountable to the people. Apleasing initiative, I would say.

Some also think thatretaining almost the samecabinet since becoming ActingPresident also lays credence to asense of continuity that thePresident extols; he believesministers should be kept for aslong as possible to master theirart, giving examples of ministersserving for decades in Saudi and

Russia.However, the Jonathan

government radiatesunprecedented indecision and adreadful incapacity to tackleglaringly critical challenges.Even though a number of theproblems are evident of lack ofcohesive leadership from yearsago, the present government hasstill not portrayed intolerance forthe deeply rooted ills; rather, theills have assumed immeasurabledepths, leaving Nigerians tolamentation and prayers.

A government that givesexamples of how long Ministersserve in another country, butfails to remind the same Ministersto resign when indicted forcorruption or inefficiency, as isdone in other climes; doublestandards indeed.

The President has chosen tokeep intact an intelligencenetwork leadership that is largelynot trusted, an array of Ministersand aides adjudged to be greatly

self serving and a style ofleadership characterized byabominable lack of coordinationand apparent loss of focus.

If the present governmentwere a football team, thenEconomy is a player laid off by along term knee ligamentdamage, Corruption is the teamcaptain, Sycophancy is the rockdefender, Looting the holdingmidfielder, Blame is the keystriker, while Honor andIntegrity have yet to be signedand are not even considered bythe Manager. PDP is thetechnical adviser and GEJ theManager, the ball (Nigeria) isvery much in play and thespectators (Nigerians) watchhelplessly as their once glorifiedteam is now less than a shadowof its true self.

This is only the first year ofthe Jonathan government’s firstfull term. Let’s write off that otherfull year and three months afterhe ‘took’ full charge. We could say

Open letter to Hillary Clinton

Is Nigerian judiciary corrupt?

Continued from page 18

Continued from page 17

for the British magistrate courtto have found him guilty of theftof several Billions of tax payers’money belonging to the DeltaState government?

Where was the chief Justiceof Nigeria when the Federal HighCourt hierarchy specificallycreated a division in Asaba,Delta State which made itpossible for the proceedings tohave experienced theunprecedented level of allegedcompromise that made it easierfor James Ibori to have beendischarged and acquitted of allthe corruption charges only fora much lower court – LondonMagistrate Court in the UnitedKingdom to have successfullyconvicted him and to havesucceeded in recovering themonumental amount of publicassets stolen by him while hewas governor?

The agonizing fact was thatthese systematic acts of judicialcorruption and impunity tookplace during the administrationof the late President UmaruMusa Yar’adua, a man whoseadministration made respect forthe principle of rule of law as the

corner stone of his government.Does it mean that the federal

government at that time justlike under President Jonathanfailed to appreciate theauthentic import of the conceptof principle of rule of law?

Wikipedia, the onlineencyclopedia did not make amistake when it gave the conciseand precise meaning of theconcept of the principle of Rule oflaw.

Today, the concept of the ruleof law is embedded in the Charterof the United Nations. In itsPreamble, one of the aims of theUN is “to establish conditionsunder which justice and respectfor the obligations arising fromtreaties and other sources ofinternational law can bemaintained”. A primary purposeof the Organization is “tomaintain international peaceand security… and to bring aboutby peaceful means, and inconformity with the principles ofjustice and international law,adjustment or settlement ofinternational disputes orsituations which might lead to abreach of the peace.” TheUniversal Declaration of Human

Rights of 1948, the historicinternational recognition that allhuman beings have fundamentalrights and freedoms, recognizesthat”... it is essential, if man isnot to be compelled to haverecourse, as a last resort, torebellion against tyranny andoppression, that human rightsshould be protected by the rule oflaw…”

For the UN, the Secretary-General in 2004 defined the ruleof law as “a principle ofgovernance in which all persons,institutions and entities, publicand private, including the Stateitself, are accountable to laws thatare publicly promulgated,equally enforced andindependently adjudicated, andwhich are consistent withinternational human rightsnorms and standards. It requires,as well, measures to ensureadherence to the principles ofsupremacy of law, equality beforethe law, accountability to thelaw, fairness in the application ofthe law, separation of powers,participation in decision-making,legal certainty, avoidance ofarbitrariness and procedural andlegal transparency.”

Justice Musdapher should betold that his administration ofthe judiciary has failed to tacklethe all important issue ofcorruption because since heassumed office, there is no recordto show how some of thesecorrupt judges have beenpunished using the powersconferred on the NationalJudicial council. What otherpower does he need to confrontjudicial corruption?

How come that when bigthieves are charged before ourcourts, these thieving elite areset free by judges hiding underthe power to grant bail evenwhen small thieves who arecharged for petty crimes are sentstraight to jail? This is judicialcorruption at work.

For example, some so-calledfake NYSC Corpers were arrestedby the Nigerian Civil Defense inNasarawa state and charged tocourt and were instantlysentenced to harsh prison terms.But in the same week, severalprominent Nigerians includinga serving permanent secretarywere dragged before the AbujaHigh Court for alleged theftseveral Billions of Naira from

the police pension fund, but wereimmediately granted bail. Infact one of the accused ‘big men’was caught red-handed with N3Billion cash in his bedroom andyet these persons are free peoplecourtesy of the bail grantedthem by the Abuja High Court.If this is not judicial corruptionwhat is it then?

The Nigerian Judiciary mustpunish corrupt Judges orordinary Nigerians will no longerrepose their trust on the judiciarybut will resort to self help.

JP Clark, the professor ofEnglish had written a beautifulpoem depicting how dangerousit is for a nation’s political andjudicial leadership not to doanything to check corruption.

In one of the stanzas of hisbeautiful poem titled “a state ofsiege”, Professor Clark wrotethus; “…As if the wailing is notheard, at all on high, on anyday, at an hour and place knownonly to some men of strawburning the land, mayhem maymove to market, church,Mosque, then Merge silentlywith night”.Emmanuel Onwubiko wrotefrom www.huriwa.com.

By Umar Y. Mukhtar it is just one down and three orseven more years to go, dependingon what happens in 2015. A lotcan happen in this time.

Fuel subsidy imminently willbe completely withdrawn,electricity tariffs are going up,Housing deficits are widening,more deaths are being recorded,widespread violence is fastbecoming the norm andinsensitivity of government isreaching immeasurable heights.

The question is; Was “kare jini,biri jini”really a wrong call byBuhari? All things considered, Ithink PDP must be evenlymatched in 2015, hopefully to beissued a Dishonorable Discharge!

Sad and bloody first year Mr.President, hope and prayers for asatisfactory and violence-freesecond year and beyond. May Godshower you and your team withthe clues to start governing anddiscard old, bad habits. Amen.Umar Y. Mukhtar wrote infrom Kano.

would therefore be illegal for thirdparty intermediaries to play a rolein some future peace process or inthe confidence building measuresrequired to get there.

Less attention has beenbrought to the damage that thissystem does to academic inquirymore generally. An FTOdesignation would preventindependent scholarly inquiryabout Boko Haram, and increasesuspicion in the future aboutresearchers with nogovernmental ties. Public policybenefits from dialogue with publicscholars, and an FTO designationwould effectively criminalizebroad categories of research.

During a visit to Nigeria in

February, former president BillClinton commented on thesecurity crisis there by concludingthat “it is almost impossible to curea problem based on violence withviolence.” A lasting solution toBoko Haram will require robustpolitical and developmentalcomponents initiated by theNigerian government andbroadly endorsed by the Nigerianpeople through democraticprocesses that enhance the rule oflaw. We believe that an FTOdesignation for Boko Haramwould limit American policyoptions to those least likely to

work, and would undermine thedomestic political conditionsnecessary in Nigeria for anenduring solution.

We thank you for taking ourviews into consideration. Ouraffiliations are listed foridentification purposes only and donot constitute an institutionalendorsement.Sincerely,A. Carl LeVan Peter M. LewisAmerican University Johns HopkinsUniversityJean Herskovits Daniel J. SmithSUNY – Purchase Brown UniversityAdrienne LeBas R. Kiki Edozie

American University Michigan StateUniversityBrandon Kendhammer SusanSheplerOhio University American UniversityJohn Campbell David DwyerCouncil on Foreign RelationsMichigan State UniversityPaul Lubeck Pearl RobinsonUniversity of California – Santa CruzTufts UniversityDarren Kew Clarence LusaneUniversity of Massachusetts –Boston American UniversityLaura Thaut Nicolas van de WalleUniversity of Minnesota –Minneapolis Cornell University

Judith Byfield Susan M. O’BrienCornell University University ofFloridaJohn Paden Deborah BrautigamGeorge Mason University JohnsHopkins UniversityMichael WattsUniversity of California – BerkeleyAdditional names added since May21:David Laitin David WileyStanford University University ofMichiganShobana ShankarGeorgetown Universitycc: Johnnie Carson, AssistantSecretary of State for African Affairs

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012PAGE 22

Children,” organised by theleadership of AMAC council forstudents in the area council.

Jiba assured to improve thestandard of education in the councilthat was why he decided toencourage students in council byorganizing a march pass and use theopportunity to distributeeducational materials to them.

In his words: “I have always saidthat any body that is giving youeducation is giving you life, becausewithout proper education, there

Build a culture of peace and security, Jiba task Nigerianscannot be development in anydeveloping country.

“Without education our childrencannot understand our culture andpractice it, which is why I am urgingparents to encourage their childrenin the area of eduction, so that theycan become useful to themselves andthe entire country.

“Our children are the future ofthis country and when we givethem good education, we havesecured our country for a bettertomorrow, also our children owe it a

The Chairman of AbujaMunicipal Area Council(AMAC) Hon. Micah Jiba has

enjoined Nigerians to build a cultureof peace and security for theNigerian children.

Hon Jiba stated this during theMarch Pass to mark the 2012children and Youth day celebrationthemed “Let’s build a culture ofPeace and Security for the Nigerian

Abuja residents rate GEJ administrationlow on security and transportation

Abuja residents have scoredthe present administrationof President Goodluck

Jonathan low in the areas ofinsecurity and transportation, ashis administration today marksone year in office.

A cross section of residentswho spoke to Peoples Daily statedthat Jonathan has not performedas expected, while calling on himto improve the lives of the masses,particularly in the areas ofsecurity and Transportation.

According to them, thepresent administration has onlyincreased the hardship ofNigerians, owing to its decision toincrease fuel price and its inabilityto tackle the Boko Haram menaceand other security problems inthe country.

Austine Adikwu, an Abujaresident who is also a legalpractitioner, said that theJonathan's administration is the

worst administration everexperienced by Nigerians. He saidthat Nigerians have not really feltthe impact of democracy sincethis new administration tookover.

"For the past one year that thePresident had been in office, whatwe see is a chain of suffering thatthe people are subjected to certainhardship that was created bythose at the helm of affairs. Weelected them to represent us butthey only represent themselvesand their families.

"It is no news that a lot ofpeople in our country cannot seefood to eat, talk more of buyingthe new fuel price that thegovernment is forcing us to adopt.So many things are wrong withour country which the masses arespeechless to talk about. I justpray that change should comeone day and safe us from thepresent situation", Adikwu said.

Similarly, another resident,Vera Awu, told Peoples Daily that

the President has not really doneanything, as the condition ofliving in the FCT is getting worstfor the low income earner. Shesaid price of commodities are nolonger affordable and thegovernment is contributing inmaking things hard for thepeople.

"I don't know where to startfrom. The situation in Nigeria isbeyond comprehension. One cannot really point out where theproblem lies. Everything seemsto be wrong with our system andthe people who are supposed todeliver us out of the quackmareare the ones planting the seed ofsuffering on the populace.

"Our own is to pray. Manythought that this administrationwill answer our prayers, but itlooks as if we prayed for thewrong prophet. Most of us votedfor Jonathan with the hope thathe will give us the fresh air hepromised, but we found ourselvessuffocating in the middle of

FCT FRSC,CAPI unveilscustomizedreflectivearmband andjackets forstudents

In a bid to alleviate the riskchildren face every day onthe road while going to

school or elsewhere, the FCTFederal Road SafetyCommission (FRSC) incollaboration with ChildrenAccident Preventive Initiative(CAPI) has unveiled acustomized reflectivearmband and jacket for schoolchildren in Nigeria.

The sector commander,FCT FRSC sector command,Fanola J. Kayode explainedthat the need for the reflectionarmband is to protect schoolchildren who are coming backfrom their various schools andare vulnerable to roadaccident ,adding that they arethe future leaders of tomorrow.

He Sector Commandermade this known yesterdayduring the unveiling of theFCT FRSC and FME customizedReflection Armband andJacket for school Children inNigeria , tagged : “Be seen …Besafe”.

He explained that theprogramme was to reach outto school children and to savelives since they spend moretime on the road side withoutthe assistance of parents,guardians and adults to crossthe roads.

Kayode further stated thatFCT FRSC is ready to partnerwith any organization inensuring that thedevelopment is sustained, andhe also solicited for the supportof other stakeholders

Also the chairman of theNational Union of RoadTransport Workers (NURTW),Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasinwho is also the President saidNigeria has the largest roadnetwork in West Africa but toboost safe and effective Roadtransportation in the Countrywhich is a basic right of thepeople seems to be impossiblebecause our road networks arepoorly maintained and lackbasic road infrastructure.

He said the FRSCcustomized reflectivearmband and jacket for allschool children in Nigeria isworthy of support, stressingfor extensive campaign in allmotor parks to educateNURTW Members and otherroad users on the importanceof safety on the roads.

“We are very much awareof the importance of lives of thepublic and have constantlyadvised our members aboutthe dangers of reckless drivingand disobedience to trafficrules and regulations,” hesaid.

By Etuka Sunday

duty to the nation and God to be lawabiding and be agents of peaceful co-existence,” he said.

The council boss further advisedchildren to be God fearing, tolerantand be their brother’s keepers at alltime, saying that as they grow up,they should be thinking of buildinga better, secured and peacefultomorrow.

Educational materials like notebooks were distributed toparticipated twelve schools that inthe March Pass.

storm. "He said his name is Goodluck,

but he is not living his name, sowe are not happy at all. He shouldstop all these killings.Transportation has also becomevery expensive. All this is puttingpeople like us in so muchdifficulty", she said.

Also, Biturs Isa, anotherresident and a self employedgraduate, stated that the massesare really suffering in thiscountry because the economy isvery bad. There is no benefit fromthe government at all. There areno jobs; even our children cannotgo to school because we have nomoney to train them.

He added that even now thatpeople are relocating to Imo statewhere they say there is freeeducation, things are gettingworst in Abuja, people are packingout because the condition of livingis too harsh. The President has notbeen working, that is why thingsare not improving for Nigeria.

By Adeola Tukuru

By Adeola Tukuru

Fulani womenpreparing formarket to selltheir popular"Foranunu" inLugbe Abuja,yesterday.Photo: JustinImo-owo

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012 PAGE 23

Abuja residents lament hardshipsunderJonathan administration

are going, I believe everythingwill be fine. Now that the Presidenthas completed his one year, beforehis tenure elapses, I believe he willdo something tangible. Although,since he increased the fuel pumpprice, we have not been finding iteasy on our part because now webuy at the rate of N95. FromMadalla to Wuse is about N200,there is no much gain in ourbusiness anymore. What ishappening is that we are losing.We heard that the President is stillcontemplating to increase itagain. There is going to be a veryserious problem if he carries outthis plan.

This will be very unfairbecause many Nigerians have notrecovered from this increment.When you watch the situation ofthings now, you discover thatthings are now very expensive inthe market. I am pleading withthe President not to touch thepump price again. He should leaveit the way it is now, so that wecan be managing ourselves.

Vera Awu, applicantThe President has not done

anything because things are very

Austine Adikwu, legalpractitioner

In my opinion, for the pastone year that he has beenin office, President Goodluck

Jonathan has failed to deliver as Iexpected most especially in thearea of security, electricity andother sectors. All he has beentelling us is that he is on top of thesituation, security wise. Being ontop of the situation does not solvethe problem. There is no constantpower supply, even in Abuja here,but his administration wants togo ahead to increase the electricitytariff. Increasing the tariff is goingto be one of the worst things thatwill ever happen to us in thiscountry because this is somethingwe are not seeing and they wantto increase it.

Ifeanyi Innocent, hairstylist

I have neither seen with myeyes nor heard any impressingthing done by this presentadministration of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, except thatrecently, was said to haveinstructed state governors in thecountry to employ graduates intheir respective states.

The issue of Boko Haram hasbecome a serious security threatthat is creating perpetual fear inall Nigerians. The President hehas power to stop them but up tillthis time, he has failed to doanything. Before he got to theoffice, he promised us heaven andearth. Where is the heaven?People are in hell. He has not doneall that I expected because I votedfor him.

There are so many graduateswho are unemployed, yet thegovernment is not sayinganything. In this Abuja, it is verydifficult to get a job when youdon’t have connections. Whatbecomes of those that don’t knowanybody? Are we going to remainunemployed? This is not good. Weneed to tell ourselves the truth.

Christopher Geoffrey,commercial bus driver

Well, we thank God foreverything. With the way things

difficult. Boko Haram membersare killing people here and there.Corruption has taken over thewhole country, but he does notcare about all these. He said hisname is Goodluck, but he is notliving his name, so we are nothappy at all. He should stop allthese killings. Transportation hasalso become very expensive. Allthis is putting people like us in somuch difficulty.

Ikenna Umeano,businessman

From what I have seen so far,Goodluck has been trying and heneeds to be given more time to dothings Nigerians expect of him.We hope that life for us will getbetter later. In terms oftransportation and roadconstruction, he has been doingwell. We now have enoughvehicles to go wherever we wantto go to and the cost is relativelycheaper.

Ime Jonah, businessmanPresident Goodluck Jonathan

has done well for Nigeria. Thecountry has become better exceptthe security challenges. Thebombing all over the country is

now the only problem that we arefacing. We pray that God willintervene.

Biturs Isa, self employedWe are really suffering in this

country because the economy isvery bad. There is no benefit fromthe government at all. There areno jobs; even our children cannotgo to school because we have nomoney to train them. Even nowpeople are relocating to Imo statewhere they say there is freeeducation. Even in this Abujapeople are packing out because ofthe harsh condition the foundthemselves. The President has notbeen working, that is why thingsare not improving for Nigerians. Ifthe government can look into this,I believe that the country will be abetter place.

Patrick Peter, lawyerOur President knows the right

thing to do. Fight corruption andthings would be better in all sectorsof the economy. He knows theproblem, like the issue of securityhe knows the people involved, buthe has failed to finger them forprosecution because he doesn’thave the courage. He is at a parallel

VOX POP As Nigerians mark Democracy Day today, and President Goodluck Jonathan’s one full year inoffice,mixed reactions from Nigerians residing in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have trailed theperformance of the administration so far. The Metro desk, which went to the streets of Abuja tosample opinions of residents, reports that their opinions are as varied as their faces.

Austine Adikwu Ifeanyi Innocent Christopher Geoffrey Vera Awu

line with the masses. We aresuppose to fell the impact of thisgovernment but there is nothing.

In the aspect ofunemployment, we have millionsof graduates in the labour marketbut there are no employments. Allthe same, the President has comeup with certain programmes inthe area of deregulation, selfempowerment and if by the specialgrace of God he is able toimplement this, by the end of histenure, there might be a positivechange and the country will getbetter.

Tony Ugochukwu, publicservant

So far the President has tried alot but the only problem is that ofinsecurity. The major problemthat his administration has failedto address is this bomb blast issue. Apart from that, I will say that hehas done well so far in the area ofroad transport. Since they say thatthe deregulation of the oil sector isfor a while to repair our ownrefinery, it is for our own good andI think with this, things will getbetter in the countrysubsequently.

Ikenna Umeano Ime Jonah Biturs Isa Patrick Peter Tony Ugochukwu

METRO

PAGE 24 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Management Tip of the DayDon’t take that coffee break

Detaching from work isonly beneficial if it's over alonger period of time. If youneed a break — and we all do —try writing out a to-do list orgiving a colleague acompliment instead ofdrinking a caffeinatedbeverage or listening to music.

If you do something work-related during those brief timesyou'll be more engaged andenergized. At the end of the day,you can punch out and pursuethose non-work conversationsand hobbies.Source: Harvard BusinessReview

INSIDE

Most people assume it'sgood to take a fewbreaks during the day

— grab a coffee, make apersonal call, check Facebook —and then return to workrefreshed. But those non-workrelated breaks may be makingyou more tired and distracted.

BUYING SELLING

CFA 0.2817 0.3017• 197.5055 198.7822£ 244.5343 246.115RIYAL 41.2489 41.5156$ 154.7 155.7

CBN 22nd May, 2012EXCHANGE RATES

PARALLEL RATES BUYING SELLING

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

Kwara slashesshares in Aviation

College to 30%

- Pg 24

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk Mob: 08033644990

BBBBBUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESS

Flight schedule

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

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

ABJ-KANO: 18.40

KANO-ABJ: 08.35

ABJ-SOK (MON): 09.35

SOK-ABJ (MON): 11.35

LOS-ABJ: 06.50, 13.30, 19.45

ABU-LOS: 07.30, 13.00, 14.00, 19.00

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

ABJ-LOS: 07.20, 09.36, 13.05, 14.40

LOS-ABJ: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45

IRS AIRLINES

AIR NIGERIA (MONDAY - SUNDAY)

DANA AIRLINES (MON - SUN)

AEROCONTRACTORS (MON - SUN)

ABJ-SOK (FRI): 10.10

ABJ-SOK (WED/SUN): 11.20

SOK-ABJ (FRI): 12.00

SOK-ABJ (WED/SUN): 13.20

LOS-ABJ (SUN): 12.30

LOS-ABJ (SAT): 16.45

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

ABU-LOS (SAT): 18.30

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

LOS-KANO: 08.10

KANO-LOS: 11.25KANO-ABUJA: 11.25

ABUJA-KANO: 10.08

ABJ-LOS: 11.30, 3.45, 4.45

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

UBA Plc GMD/CEO, Mr. Phillips Oduoza (middle), Group Country Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, VISACard, Mr. Gerald Hawkins (2nd right), Divisional Head, e-Banking, UBA, Mr Yinka Adedeji, (left), CountryManager, West Africa, VISA Cards, Mr Ade Ashaye, (2nd left), and Head, Emerging Products, VISACards, Mr Douglas Henderson (right), during the visit of VISA officials to UBA Plc, recently in Lagos.

A new draft of the long-awaited PetroleumIndustry Bill (PIB), which

is now close to being finalised,mandates that oil firms muststop flaring gas by the end of this

year, and that if they don’t theycan be fined.

According to the bill,“Natural gas shall not be flaredor vented after 31st December,2012, in any oil and gasproduction operation, block orfield, onshore or offshore, or gasfacility,” except under

PIB to outlaw gas flaring by end-2012

NUPENG joins Lagos doctors insolidarity strike todayBy Muhammad Nasir

The on-going crisis in theL a g o s

state health sector is aboutt o

deteriorate into a nationallabour crisis as the NationalUnion of Petroleum and Gas(NUPENG) has directed workersin the oil and gas sector to embarkon an indefinite strike action,beginning today.

Lagos Zone Chairman of

NUPENG, Comrade TokunboKorodo, in a circular sent out toall oil and gas employees in Lagosstate yesterday, identified thestrike as a way of showingsolidarity with the sacked Lagosdoctors, stating that only Lagosstate oil and gas stations will beshut down during the action.

“We have resolved that if byMonday, Lagos state governmentfails to reinstate all the sackedDoctors, we shall embark onSolidarity democracy strike

where all operations of Lagosstate alone will be shut downtogether with all filling stations,tanker drivers and all Oil and Gasworkers will be sitting at homein Lagos until doctors are recalledback to their duty”, he enthused.

It could be recalled that allhealth workers in Lagos have alsocommenced a solidarity strike insympathy with their sackedcolleagues in the state.

The feud between the LagosState Government and thegrieving doctors has a historydating back to 2009, whendoctors in the state demanded forthe implementation of the policyof Consolidated?Medical Salary(CONMESS).

However, the Lagos stategovernment has opposed this.Several warning strikes and asubsequent indefinite strike wereembarked upon by the doctors,snowballing into government’smove to sack all 788 of them.

During a warning strike in2011, a National IndustrialCourt (NIC) sitting had ruledthat the doctors had the right toembark on a strike action inpressing home their demand,but it became a different ballgame recently when the Lagosstate government said it sackedits 788 doctors who hadembarked on a strike action inApril.

The doctors took their grief tocourt, but when the trial was tocommence, the LagosGovernment requested that theNIC strike out the matter, firstcontending the legal status of theMedical Guild in filing a suit onbehalf of the sacked doctors, andthen challenging the jurisdictionof the NIC in entertaining suchsuit.

By Muhammad Nasir with agencyreport

exceptional and temporarycircumstances”.

“Any licensee who flares orvents gas without thepermission of the Minister in(special) circumstances ... shallbe liable to pay a fine whichshall not be less than the valueof gas.”

Nigeria flared some 30billion standard cubic feet of gasin January, according to thelatest figures from the Nigerian National petroleum corporation(NNPC), published by the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN). That

is equivalent to a third of theannual consumption of anindustrialised country like theUnited Kingdom.

Of that, ExxonMobil toppedthe list, flaring 9.85 billioncubic feet out of 38.64 billionproduced, while Chevron flared8.25 billion cubic feet out of19.23 billion.

Leading operator Shell,which runs Nigeria’s liquefiednatural gas (LNG) plant, flared5.44 billion cubic feet, arelatively small part of the 76.4billion it produced.

All have been criticised byenvironmental groups, but theoil majors retort that theywould be happy to trap all of thegas if the government providedthem with a market for it.

Nigeria has long pledged butfailed to end flaring, andalthough officials say it hasfallen in the past decade,Nigeria remains the world’ssecond biggest burner of gasassociated with crude oilproduction after Russia. Manysee the new target date to endflaring as unrealistic. (Reuters)

Africa mustn't let growthgo to its head-AfDBAfrica's robust 4.5 percent

economic growthforecast for 2012 should

not prompt prematurecelebration, the AfricanDevelopment Bank (AfDB)cautioned yesterday, citingthe festering euro zone crisisand chronic youth joblessness.

Ranked as the poorestcontinent in the world, Africahas posted strong growth ratesin recent years, second only toAsia, drawing rising inwardinvestment and giving rise totalk of its economic resilience,accompanied by much self-congratulation amongofficials.

"I'll be cautioning againstexcessive exuberance," AfDBpresident, Donald Kaberukasaid at the launch of its AfricanEconomic Outlook, during the

start of the bank's annualmeeting.

The AfDB's forecast for2012 outpaces the 3.4 percentgrowth rate posted in 2011,after the Arab spring in NorthAfrica cut the northernregion's growth in economicoutput to 0.5 percent.

In contrast, sub-SaharanAfrica grew by more than 5percent, with the exception ofSouth Africa, the continent'smost advanced economy,which expanded output by 3.1percent.

The euro zone and otherrich nations would take sometime to resolve the issuesbedeviling their economies,Kaberuka said. (Reuters)

PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

LCCI frowns atNational LotteryRegulatoryCommissionactivities

The Lagos Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(LCCI), has frowned at the

activities of the National LotteryRegulatory Commission after itallegedly sealed the premises ofa multinational company andarrested some of its officials.

Actis sells 85% stakein Accra mall

The pan-emerging marketsprivate equity firm, Actis,with strong presence in

Nigeria, during the weekend,confirmed the sale of its85percent shareholding inAccra Mall to South Africancommercial and retail propertydeveloper, Atterbury, andfinancial services group,Sanlam.

Lafarge’s focus oncontinuousbusiness processimprovementyields, growth inearnings

Foremost cementmanufacturing andmarketing company,

Lafarge Cement WAPCONigeria Plc announced that itrecorded a profit after tax ofN8.5 billion in the 2011financial year, compared toN4.8 billion for the year ended31st December 2010; anincrease of 74.6 per cent, thecompany said recently.

Nobel Carpetsexcites marketwith new centerrug designs

Delivering on the brandpromise to consistentlyprovide best quality

Carpets & Rugs and constantlyevolve with innovations forcustomers’ satisfaction, LuckyFibres Plc., makers of Nobelpremium brand of Carpets andRugs has introduced its newdesigns for Centre Rugs into themarket.

Lubricantmanufacturersseek low tariff onraw material to liftlocal industry

Lubricant ProducersAssociation of Nigeria(LUPAN) has called on the

Federal Government tourgently take steps to protectNigeria’ s lubricantmanufacturing industry andsafeguard millions of jobs acrossthe country.

COMPANYNEWS

NITDAs task stakeholders to improve its products through ITTelemedicine, E-Commerce, E-learning and E-Governanceamongst others in government”.

He said that these newdevelopment will allow users of ITfacilities to report inferior or sub-standard products, to discourageconsumers from patronisingpirated products and to promotethe development o efficient ITproducts.

According to him, the provisionof IT standard facilities exchangeof information and documents withcurrent computer TechnologySystem and other interfacingnetworking connectivity

environment. Adding that Softwareand Hardware standards are basedon the current technology thatare available combined with thecurrent needs of end-users.

He further added that indeveloping a nation, widestandard computinginfrastructure based on hardwareand software standards greatlyimproves the day-to-day functions of government and businessoffices and also improves theoperations and interaction of departments, Federal, state andlocal government at administrativelevels.

Products and Services in Abuja. Heexplained that the currentcomputing environments arecomplex and therefore sharing ofresources between applicationssuch as word processors,spreadsheets, databases,operating systems etc, can onlybe seamless if there are efficientIT standards.

Cleopas further added thatthe current IT platforms haveprovided a wide range of servicesthat previously would have beenimpossibly. In his words: “ Thesemight include Video/AudioStreaming, Videoconferencing,

First mobile academyfor launch in Nigeria

Nokia has partnered withNigeria’s innovationincubator, Co-Creation

Hub to launch the first mobilesoftware accelerator academyin the country.

The academy, known as theNokia/CCHub GrowthAcademy programme, entails a3-month intensive programaimed at equipping early stagestart-ups and business ideaswith the required skills andresources.

According to the Director,

Pre- incubation and Research ofCo Creation Hub, AdetunjiEleso, “The Growth Academyprogramme is a novelaccelerator programme inNigeria, which will build thecapacity of Nigerian technologystart-ups to create world-classapplications that meet the realneeds of Nigerian consumers.

While speaking, the head ofEcosystem and DeveloperExperience for Nokia WestAfrica, Teemu Kiijarvi notedthat “at Nokia, our objectivewith the Growth Academy is tosupport local talents in

By Adeola Tukuru

By Muhammad Sada

L-R: National Chairman, Association of Mega Filling Station Owners of NIgeris (AMFSON), ChiefAndrew Ashiga, being presented some documents by the senior programme officer of Trade UnionCongress (TUC), Comrade Tunji Sekon duing the introduction of AMFSON into the TUC of Nigeria inAbuja, recently.

The Director-General of theNational InformationDevelopment Agency

(NITDA), Professor Cleopas Angayehas charged all stakeholders in theInformation Technology (IT)sector to use the ConsumerContribution/Complaints Platformfor ICT Products and Services toimprove the IT products andfacilities in there applications.

Dr. Angaye stated this duringthe just concluded launching ofthe Consumer Contribution/Complaints Platform for ICT

developing their skills and ingrowing their companies, andour aim is to integrate theminto both regional and globalmarkets and ensure futurefunding for growing theircompanies,”

The program aims athelping mobile softwaredevelopers develop world-classmobile applications. Followinga presentation to investors at theend of the program, funding willbe given to select participantsto enable them scale theiroperations.

Kwara reduces shares in Aviation College to 30%From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

China has increase it ordersof crude oil from Nigeria asAsian marketers are

demanding a per barrel pricereduction due to the increased costof shipping the crude.

This was after the United States(USA) slashed oil imports fromNigeria due to surging output andrefinery closures in NorthAmerica.

It is to be noted that Nigeria wasthe 5th largest supplier of crude tothe USA and the loss of volumefrom one of its major tradingpartners has caused Nigeria tohave to seek out alternativemarkets to supply its crude oil.

However, the distance betweenBonny Terminal and TianjinChina is 12,172 miles comparedwith the distance to New Yorkwhich is almost half at 5,847miles.

According to data fromBloomberg, Asian customers willincrease their daily imports ofNigerian crude in June, buying atleast 513,333 barrels of Qua Iboeper day.

By Muhammad Nasir

China increasesorders forNigeria’s crudeoil as USreducesdemand

The Kwara state Governor,Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmedhas disclosed that the state

had reduced its share at theInternational Aviation College to30 percent, to further giveprivate sector to play dominaterole in the activities of the

institution.Governor Ahmed, who

disclosed this yesterday duringthe flag-off of flight training atthe College also disclosed thatsix indigenes of the state wouldbe given scholarship in thecollege, as part of hisadministration to motivatecitizens to acquire knowledge.

The Governor, whocommended the initiative of theimmediate past governor, Dr.Bukola Saraki to establish theCollege noted that it has thecollege has started increasing thetempo of economic activities inthe state, stressing that theinstitution has opened up for thetraining of commercial pilots.

In his address, the Chairmanof Board of Directors, CaptainEdward Boyo, who recalled thatthe institution had gone throughvarious ordeals before it couldstand of time, said it wouldneeded ten more single EngineAircraft, three twin engineaircraft, three flight simulatorsand buoyant budget for moretechnical and academicpersonnel.

“Today, the College pridesitself with excellence and thefirst twelve students that startedour SPI class have been drilledand well-trained. They are ourproof to the world that Kwarastate can do it.

“We are on the process ofadmitting the SPII class and wehave received a good level ofinterest from several state of thefederation. We will be admittingtwenty students into the SPIIclass and SPIII of thirty studentswill follow by December 2012”.

PAGE 26 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

A year ago, in the heat of thebuild-up to the 2011presidential election the

team recruited to spearheadPresident Goodluck Jonathan'spolitical campaign organ,Neighbour-to-Neighbour,wassaddled with the task of spreadingthe message of transformationwhich promised "good tidings" forNigerians.

The transformation agenda,especially as it concerned puttingthe economy on the path ofgrowth, which folks at Neighbour-to-Neighbour adopted as asignature tune, is however still atground zero one year since GEJwas elected, on his own platform,the president of Africa's mostpopulous nation.

This assessment is hinged on theJonathan Presidency'sperformance in the followingcritical sectors of the economy:Power & Energy

As he campaigned for thepresidency, Jonathan repeatedlypromised to improve the epilepticnational grid. Speaking at acampaign rally in Benin City at thattime, he promised to ensurereliable electricity supply by 2015."Our idea is to transform theeconomy to create space for allof us to operate in," he said. "Weare putting the emphasis on thepower sector. Power is one of ourkey points in our process oftransforming the country. Ourfocus is to support the small andmedium-scale enterprise thatemploys more than 70% of ourpeople to be very vibrant, and wecannot do it without power."

One year on, the governmentis nowhere nearer a solution toissue of power supply which is verycritical to resuscitation ofproductive or commanding heightsof the economy. Minister of Power,Prof. Barth Nnaji, during a budgetdefence in 2011 listed a delay inthe release of budgeted funds andcash backing as major setbacks tostable power supply. He noted thatthe failure of the National Assemblyto pass the virement of his ministryand the attendant cumbersomeprocurement process also posedserious challenges.

The minister noted that anadditional generation capacity of960MW was expected to berecovered from the rehabilitationof units at Kainji, Shiroro, Ughelli,Egbin and Geregu power stationsduring the 2012 financial year.

The Egbin power station, whichcontributes about 1,080 megawattsto the national grid, has droppedto 800 megawatts and this hasadversely affected electricitydistribution and supply tocustomers.

Against this backgroundNigerians were told to prepare tostart paying higher electricity tarifffrom the second quarter of thisyear as plans have been concludedto raise the current rate.

The new tariff was initiallyscheduled to take effect onJanuary 1, this year to coincidewith the plans by the Federal

Government to sell the powergeneration, distribution andtransmission firms unbundled fromthe Power Holding Company ofNigeria.

The increase in tariff, accordingto the Nigeria ElectricityRegulatory Commission (NERC),would only go up by about 11%,not the widely speculated 88%.

The NERC Multi-Year-Tariff-Order is aimed at graduallyincreasing electricity tariff toattract private investors.

Chairman of the Commission, Dr.Sam Amadi made it clear that forNigerians to enjoy constant itshould be able to generate 22, 000to 25,000 megawatts daily, stressingthat the current generationcapacity is unacceptable.

The nation's electricitygeneration, according to him,currently stands at between 3, 600and 4,800 megawatts daily out ofwhich about 200 megawatts arekept in reserve to take care ofsystem collapse.

As way of successfullyactualizing this, Dr. the Chairmanof NERC explained that the metershave been classified into R1, R2 andC1 among others, pointing out thatR1 customers would no longer payboth the meter maintenance feeand fixed charges as they wouldonly be paying for the energy theyconsumed at the rate of N11 perkilowatt hours.

The R2 customers, accordingto him, would be paying a monthlyfixed charge of N500 in addition

to whatever they consume at therate of between N11 and N12 perkilowatt hours.

Saying that it may not bepossible for all electricityconsumers in the country to beprovided with meters before thetake off of the increase inelectricity tariff, Dr. Amadi pointedout that it would cost aboutN7billion to provide meters forconsumers nationwide.

The Senate has howeverqueried the rationale behind theproposed increase in electricitytariff by 88 per cent in the face ofpoor power supply across thecountry. Its committee on Powerhad summoned the Minister ofPower, Prof. Bart Nnaji, and theChairman, Nigeria ElectricityRegulatory Commission, Dr. SamAmadi, to explain the reasonsbehind the planned increase intariff.

AgricultureAgriculture is receiving a major

boost under the presentadministration as a major plank, interms of policy to generate andcreate wealth for the people ofNigeria.

The new agriculturalprogramme that has been unveiledby the Minister of Agriculture isrevolutionary in nature, in termsof the targeted impact and isaimed at making Nigeria sufficientin food production, to give thenation food security in the long-term.

TransportationOn transportation, the present

administration have said itrecorded major achievements fromthe dredging of River Niger, to thenear completion of the innerwaterway ports, to theconstruction of the Onne Port inPort Harcourt and the renovationof the old Warri port, and therenovation of the rail lines.

At the Apapa Ports, work isgoing on 24 hours to ensure thatthe huge demurrage incurred inthe past by both governments andprivate sector is really a thing ofthe past.

The dredging of River Niger,which was begun few years ago,has been completed according tothe Senior Special Assistant toGovernor Peter Obi on Inter PartyAffairs, Chief Ben Obi who said thatthe Onitsha port, which is one ofthe inland ports being built by theFederal Government to service thecountry's inland waters is alsoawaiting commissioning byPresident Goodluck Jonathanwhen he visits Anambra state.

According to Chief Ben Obi,the Onitsha port is alreadyproviding skeletal services as it isbeing used by some companies forthe clearing of goods, and thatbusiness at the port would peakwhen it is officially commissioned.

Oil & gasIn pursuing the transformation

and reforms, President Jonathanstated on assumption of office thathe would continue with the oil andgas industry reform in order totransform the industry into a

modern one where internationalbest practice would be the rule.

In keeping with the desire tocontinue with the reform of theoil and gas industry, PresidentJonathan's governmentreinvigorated the drive for thepassage of the Petroleum IndustryBill (PIB), which would provide alegal framework for his reformAgenda.

The refineries which are beingconstructed with the NNPC wereexpected to increase the nationsrefining capacity by 750,000 barrelsper day translating to over45million litres of pms per day. Interms of job creation, expertsforecast that the projects willcollectively attract over 20,000jobs.

While about 14,000 workerswould be required during theperiod of the plannedconstruction, an estimated 6,000workers are needed to run thethree refineries and the petro-chemical plant when they cometo stream. Other multiplier effectswill include the generation of localbusinesses for auxiliary services,including suppliers of goods andservices of all types to the industrialsites.

There was renewal of oilexploration activities in the ChadBasin which witnessed spiritedmoves by the federal governmentto build up the nations proven oilreserve through the exploration ofthe new frontiers for oil and gasproduction.

Unfolding the agenda, theMinister of Petroleum Resources,Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke statedthat the federal government is

One year on, it’s an economyBy Aminu Imam and AbdulwahabIsa

CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

One year into the Jonathan administration, the consensus isthat if the programmes contained in the transformation agenda

PAGE 27PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

focused on ensuring expeditiousimplementation of the Nigerian GasMaster Plan to attain clear-cutshort-term and some medium-termobjectives as well as to positionNigeria as a major player in theglobal gas market by securing theFID of the Brass Liquefied NaturalGas by the end of 2010, whilerefocusing on the OlokolaLiquefied Natural Gas plant.

The Minister also explain thenew pricing regime, noting thatcurrently the price of gas to poweris two cent ($0.2) per mmbtu ofgap, and that by the end of theyear, the price of gas wouldincrease to $1/mmbtu, adding thatthe price would graduate to $1.50/mmbtu by 2011 and $2/mmbtu bythe end of 2013 and by 2014, itwould increase based on inflationrate.

Many industry watchersacknowledge that besides the PIB,which is yet to be passed by theNational Assembly, the NigerianContent Act signed into law only afew weeks into the life of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan's administrationremains the single most importantpiece of legislation in more thanfifty years of oil production in thecountry.

Indeed, and as is to beexpected, the administration hashinged the successful executionof its nascent Gas IndustrialRevolution on the progress beingrecorded in the implementation ofthe Nigerian Oil and Gas IndustryContent Development Act 2010.

Macro-economy

The reforms of the bankingsector initiated by Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) under Sanusi LamidoSanusi has succeeded in calming ahitherto near to collapse sector.The banks have been repositionedto respond to optimally to theneed of depositors.

None of the existing Deposit

Money Banks (DMB) is in insolvencystate presently- courtesy ofcombine effort of CBN and NigeriaDeposit Insurance Corporation(NDIC). The creation of AssetManagement Company of Nigeria(AMCON) by the sectors'regulatory authorities to mop upbank's toxic asset has saved thebanking sector from havingnightmares.

While banks have beenrepositioned to meet depositor'sdemand; credit flow to theeconomy has been stifled andconstraint due to high lendinginterest charges by banks.Entrepreneurs have cried out ofarbitrary high lending rate, whichthey say is dis-incentive toinvestment while investors stillgroan under un-assessable creditlines from banks.

OutlookAs the Jonathan-led

administration roll out drums tocelebrate, members of theOrganized Private Sector (OPS)has scored the performance ofthe Nigerian economy as very lowin the last one year.

The National Association ofChambers of Commerce Mines andAgriculture (NACCIMA) have saidthe national macro-economicperformance since the beginningof 2012 only confirms that thechallenges as at the end ofDecember 2011 have not translatedto any significant impact on thereal sector of the economy andthe citizenry, due largely to thedelayed signing of the 2012 FederalBudget and the tempo of insecurityin the country.

NACCIMA President, Dr. AdemolaAjayi pointed out that the business

community had continued tograpple with the usual issues ofunfriendly operating environment,policy inconsistencies andinfrastructural con-straints,particularly the perennial powerand energy crisis with no end insight.

"The exchange rate, stabilisedwithin a band of N150 and N160toaUS dollar, while the inflation ratewas up from 10.3% in December2011 to 12.1% in March 2012. TheGDP growth rate was up from 7.40%in December 2011 to 7.68% inMarch 2012.

"The external reserves rosefrom US$34.4 billion in December2011 to US$37.5 in March, 2012,while the interest rate remaineddouble digit, hovering between 17%and 28% as against a single digitrate anticipated by businessoperators."

The association also cited tightmonetary policy which is affectingliquidity and delivery of credit; CashReserve Ratio (CRR) of eight percent; Liquidity Ratio (LR) of 30 percent and Monetary Policy Rate(MPR) of 12 per cent as majorconstraints to liquidity andconsequently delivery ofaffordable credit to the economy.

Also the Lagos Chamber ofCommerce (LCCI) has attributedunending incessant power outageto failures of Nigerian businessesin the last one year.

The LCCI noted that there wasan evident deterioration in powersupply in the first quarter whichtook its toll on businesses in theLagos area and other parts of thecountry. He added that the partialremoval of subsidy made theimpact more severe, especially forSMEs that use smaller capacityelectricity generators.

The LCCI noted that the sharpincrease in operating costs dueto high cost of diesel and petrolunder the present government

had caused competitivedisadvantage for local producersand manufacturers, eroding profitmargins.

The chamber also noted thatthe security situation in thecountry had assumed disturbingdimensions impacting on theinvestment environment.According to it: "It has causeddeclining investors' confidenceacross the broad spectrum ofdomestic, foreign and prospectiveinvestors in the economy furthercausing negative impact on imageand perception of the country inthe global community. It has alsoescalated the risk of doingbusiness in some parts of thecountry, thereby giving rise to therelocation of businesses away fromthe troubled spots in thecountry."

It pointed out that someorganisations reviewed theirsecurity budgets upwards in thelight of developments in thecountry, adding that the situationfurther caused significant setbackfor the tourism sector in thecountry.

However what is moredisturbing is the recent revelationwhich shows that the Northernpart of Nigeria has continued towitness decline on the region'ssocio-economic sector, losingabout N25billion daily to theprevailing insurgency.

The insecurity has cast agloomy hue on the country,particularly in the North. Theinsecurity has not only groundedmajor commercial activities in thenorthern states, it has also posedserious challenges to owners ofsmall-scale businesses such asbuying and selling at the night. Forinstance, operators of local fastfood (tea and noodles) shackshave been forced to stay out ofbusiness because of fear of beingbombed.

In Kano, the frequent attacksby gunmen since the January 20multiple attacks have haddevastating effect on theeconomy of the state.

No doubt, the coordinatedattacks have impacted negativelyon the long standing economicposition of the entire instabilityand hurt the nation’s strugglingeconomic.

that is still prostrate

Minister of Trade and Investment, Prof. Olusegun Aganga

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji

are to be realisable government should confront its challengeshead-on by 'walking' its talk.

PAGE 38 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

The mystique of‘cursed dynasties’When the lifeless body of

Mary Kennedy, theestranged wife of Robert

F Kennedy Jr, was found at herNew York home last week, it gavefresh life to a decades-longspeculation that the Kennedy's -one of America's most recognisablefamilies - are cursed.

Mary's untimely death - mediareports say she committed suicide- is far from the first tragedy toafflict the family.

The most famous member ofthe family to meet a prematureunnatural death was US PresidentJohn F Kennedy, whom HarveyLee Oswald shot to death onNovember 22, 1963 as Kennedy'smotorcade drove through Dallas,Texas.

In eight Gallup polls conductedin the past 12 years, Americanshave consistently ranked him asone of the all-time great USpresidents alongside RonaldReagan and Abraham Lincoln.

His brother, Senator Robert FKennedy, was also shot and killedin 1968 while campaigning for theDemocratic Party's presidentialnomination. Two other siblings,Kathleen and Joseph, perished infatal plane crashes.

Younger generations of theKennedy family have likewiseexperienced a slew of tragedies,including drug overdose, infantdeath, a lethal skiing accident, andanother fatal plane crash.

"America's royal family", asthey are sometimes known, is notthe only family to suffer frommisfortune: Pakistan's Bhuttos andIndia's Nehru-Gandhis are alsoworld-famous political dynastieswhose family history areseemingly cursed.

The idea of the "Kennedy curse"was coined by media outlets afterlate US senator Edward "Ted"Kennedy drove his car off a bridgein Chappaquiddick Island in 1969.Kennedy lived, but his passengerin the car, Mary Jo Kopechne,drowned.

Later, Kennedy gave atelevised speech in which hestated that the accident madehim wonder "whether someawful curse [does] actuallyhang over all the Kennedys".

Some historians believeKennedy's allusion to a cursewas a misguided attempt toexculpate himself fromresponsibility for Kopechne'sdeath.

"Mary Kopechne diedbecause of his actions, notbecause of any twist of fate. It

happened because he wasdriving late at night under theinfluence of alcohol," authorThomas Maier who has writtenextensively about the Kennedyfamily told Al Jazeera.

Edward Kennedy did notreport the incident to the police,and the accident is oftenregarded as having ruined hisfuture chances to be electedpresident.

"The curse is an absurd anddeeply offensive myth that hasbeen perpetuated by media andpeople trying to explain awaycircumstances," said Maier. "Infact, the deaths were always[except in the case of John andRobert's assassinations] causedby the actions that deliberatelyendangered their lives."

Maier added that thestaying power of the Kennedy'scurse stems from the way inwhich the family embodied theAmerican Dream.

"The Kennedy story is deeplyrooted in the story of Americaitself," he said. "They embodythe great American belief thatan immigrant can come toAmerica and through hardwork and sense of family work

their way to the top of society".That legacy, Maier believes,

was solidified by John FKennedy's charisma and fate.

"John Kennedy's rhetoric, hisappearance, his youth, and thetragic situation in which hedied indelibly left its imprint onthe American psyche and leftpeople groping for answers," hesaid. "That is part of the reasonthat he, and his family, remainpowerful figures in theAmerican imagination."

Halfway across the world,the Bhutto family - sometimesknown as the Kennedys ofPakistan - are also one of themost well-known politicaldynasties whose image has beenbranded by their unfortunatefate.

Their curse began with thedeath of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, theprime minister who wasimprisoned and hanged in 1977at the orders of General Zia-ul-Haq following a military coup.

Zulfiqar's sons Murtaza andShahnawaz were bothassassinated under mysteriouscircumstances.

Murtaza, who formed thearmed group al-Zulfiqar whileself-exiled in Afghanistan to

John F Kennedy and his brother Robert - both successful politicians - were assassinated in the1960s [GALLO/GETTY]

ANALYSIS

combat the military dictatorshipunder Zia, was supposedly shotdead in 1996 by police outside ofhis home - although a number ofpeople question the police'sinvolvement. His brotherShahnawaz was found poisoned inhis apartment in Nice, France, 11years earlier.

More recently Benazir, whoserved two terms as primeminister and succeeded her fatherat the head of the democraticsocialist Pakistan Peoples Party(PPP), died from a combinationbomb and gun attack whileleaving an election rally in 2007.

Duane Baughman, whodirected a documentary onBenazir entitled Bhutto, told AlJazeera that the Bhuttoscaptured the public imaginationthrough "their good fortune, theirwealth, their exceptional goodlooks" and the perception thatthey were martyred fordemocracy.

"Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan'sfirst democratically elected primeminister, won on the strength ofthe [PPP], which promised a poorcountry 'food, shelter, andclothing' as well as the creation ofa middle class," he explained."When you try to change the

course of your nation's history andyou are killed, you become amartyr; there will undoubtedly bea huge outpouring of sympathy."

Zarrar Khuhro, the editor of theExpress-Tribune daily's magazinesection, agreed, and said that theirviolent deaths turned both Zulfiqarand Benazir into saints.

In Zulfiqar's case, Khuhro said,"the way in which he was killed…had the effect in many ways ofputting his political legacy abovereproach, much like [President]Kennedy".

"The man did actually achievea great deal, but he was alsoautocratic... he also had manyfaults."

Khuhro also explained thatperhaps the family's mostimportant legacy was theinfluence that the Bhutto namehas had on current Pakistanipolitics.

Unlike other political parties,"the PPP, despite the best efforts ofZia-ul-Haq, the establishment, andsubsequent military dictators andcivilian political opponents, neverbroke up", he told Al Jazeera. "To alarge extent, that's really due tothe Bhutto legacy, name andmystique."

He added that currentPakistani President Asif Ali Zardaricontinues to make use of the iconicpower of the Bhuttos to further theparty's political goals.

"[The PPP] trots out Benazir'slegacy whenever they're introuble, but how many times areyou going to play that card? You'renot going to have a Bhutto die foryou every four, five years - Godforbid."

Khuhro stressed that theBhuttos also shared a number ofsimilarities with neighbouringIndia's storied Nehru-Gandhidynasty.

The Nehru-Gandhis (who arenot related to Indian independenceleader Mahatma Gandhi) havesuffered from similarly bad luck.

In 1984, Indian PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi - thedaughter of JawaharlalNehru, India's first primeminister after it gainedindependence - wasassassinated by two of her Sikhbodyguards. Because her sonSanjay, widely expected to beher political successor, haddied prematurely in a planecrash in 1980, her other sonRajiv became prime ministerafter her death. He wasassassinated seven years laterby members of LiberationTigers of Tamil Eelam, aseparatist militaryorganisation.

The family has arguablybeen the most importantpolitical force in India: amember of the dynasty hasbeen in charge of the countryfor 40 out of the last 64 years.

Like the Bhuttos, politiciansin India continue to capitaliseon the Nehru-Gandhimystique. Sonia, Rajiv's widow,heads the ruling Congress partydespite her Italian origin. Her son,Rahul, is an important partyfunctionary and touted by manyas a future prime minister.

No surprises here, since theGandhi surname does cast a spellon many, just as the Kennedys andBhuttos do.

Source: Aljazeera

By Sophie Sportiche

Indira Gandhi with Rajiv and Sanjay in 1967 [GALLO/GETTY]

“Later, Kennedy gave a televisedspeech in which he stated that the

accident made him wonder“whether some awful curse [does]

actually hang over all theKennedys”.

PAGE 39PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Rwanda‘supportingDR Congomutineers’

The UN says it has evidencethat a rebellion in theDemocratic Republic of Congo

is being fuelled by recruits andsupport from neighbouring Rwanda.

An internal UN report seen bythe Al-Jazeera cited defectingsoldiers, who said they had beentrained in Rwanda under the pretextof joining the army, before being sentover the border to fight.

The conflict broke out in Aprilafter a mutiny by some Congolesearmy officers.

Rwanda's foreign minister toldAl-Jazeera the UN report is"categorical lies".

"The UN mission in DR Congo islying; they have not verifiedanything; they are repeating claimsand rumours that we, the Rwandangovernment, have heard over thelast many weeks," Foreign MinisterLouise Mushikiwabo said.

"What would Rwanda gain increating instability around its ownborders? It does not make sense," MsMushikiwabo said.

The UN report says some of themutiny's leaders are former rebelTutsi officers who had been linked toRwanda, whose government isdominated by ethnic Tutsis.

They were incorporated into theCongolese army in 2009 as part of apeace agreement.

The area has suffered years offighting since 1994, when more thana million ethnic Hutus fled across theborder into DR Congo following theRwandan genocide, in which some800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, wereslaughtered.

Rwanda has twice invaded itsmuch larger neighbour, saying itwas trying to take action againstHutu rebels based in DR Congo.

Tens of thousands have fled therecent violence in the eastern DRCongo.

They had deserted their posts inthe mountainous jungle area on theborder between the DR Congo andRwanda.

The UN report says the deserterswere Rwandan nationals, recruitedin Rwanda under the pretext ofjoining the Rwandan military.

They were given weapons andtraining, and then sent into DRCongo.

Some of the men were recruitedas early as February 2012, the reportsays.

This is a potentially significantdetail, our correspondent says, as ifthe claim is true, it would suggestRwanda was preparing for conflictbefore the mutiny by rebelliousofficers began in April.

One of the deserters, the reportsays, is a minor.

Earlier, there was fresh fightingbetween government forces and thearmy mutineers.

Dozens injured in Nairobi blast

An explosion at a shoppingcomplex in Nairobi's businessdistrict has left at least 28

people wounded, authorities said,although the cause of the blastremained unclear.

Mathew Iteere, Kenya's policecommissioner, told reporters onMonday that it was too early todetermine the cause of the blast,but that blackened wires inside the

The explosion is the latest in a string of blasts to hit the Kenyan capital since late 2011 [Reuters]

trading centre indicated a possibleelectrical fault.

But two shopkeepers told theReuters news agencyindependently that they saw aman drop a bag inside the tradingcentre moments before the blast.

"He came into the shop twice,looking at t-shirts. He said he didn'thave money so he left. Then hecame back," said Irene Wachira.

"(He was) three shops awayfrom where I was. He left a bag anda few moments later we had anexplosion. The roof caved in anddebris started falling on us,"Wachira said.

Al Jazeera's Peter Greste,reporting from Nairobi, said thatmost of the devastation seemed tobe "in a small and confined space"and that security sources had told

him that evidence suggested agrenade might have been used.

"So although we don't have anofficial explanation for theexplosion, the indications are thatit might have been some kind ofbomb attack," said ourcorrespondent.

Raila Odinga, the Kenyanprime minister, also suggested theblast had been a deliberate attack,calling it an "act of terrorism".

"This is a heinous act, we areunder threat but we will not becowed," he said.

Al Jazeera's Peter Greste,reporting from Nairobi, said localtelevision was showing pictures ofa burning building with woundedand possibly dead people lying onthe ground.

There was no confirmation offatalities but the Kenya Red Crosssaid on Twitter that 28 people hadbeen admitted to hospital withfour patients in a criticalcondition.

A spokesman for Kenya Power,the country's sole electricitydistributor, said initialinvestigations had ruled out anyelectrical malfunction.

Kenya has experienced a seriesof attacks in recent months, bothin Nairobi and the port city ofMombasa, blamed on Somalia's al-Shabab and their sympathiserssince October when Kenya senttroops into Somalia to fight theIslamic armed group.

Libya’s first post-Gaddafi vote may face delayLibya's former deputy

election commissioner sayshe quit his post because he

does not believe the country isready for next month's elections.

Sghair Majeri has told AlJazeera that "holding electionsby June 19 is a missionimpossible" as it is a time-consuming process.

"The ratification process of thefinal list of candidates will endon the 5th or 6th of June," he said.

"Then we need to sign acontract to print the ballotpapers abroad and have themdistributed across Libya. That Libya will be holding its first general elections next month

would need at least four weeks,which means voting cannot takeplace before the second week ofJuly."

However, Libya's ElectionCommission insists everythingis still on track for holding thevote on June 19.

Over 2.7 million voters haveregistered nation-wide. Four-thousand candidates arecompeting for a seat in thenational congress that will becharged with writing a newconstitution.

Al Jazeera's Omar Al-Salehreports from Tripoli.

Abyei dispute: Sudan ‘to withdraw troops’

Ban Ki-moon calls on Sudan to withdraw forces from Abyei area

Sudan will begin pulling itstroops out of the disputedborder region of Abyei on

Tuesday, an army spokesmanhas said.

Abyei is claimed by bothSudan and South Sudan, whichbecame independent in 2011after a long civil war. Sudan'sforces seized Abyei in May 2011.

Its status was left undecided in

the 2005 peace deal between thesides, and a referendum on theissue has been postponedindefinitely.

Peace talks between the twostates are scheduled to begin onTuesday.

In the talks due to be held inthe Ethiopian capital AddisAbaba, the two countries areexpected to cover several border

disputes that have caused friction,including Abyei.

Sudan has decided to redeployits troops out of Abyei in order to"offer a good environment for thetalks", military spokesmanSawarmi Khaled Saad said in astatement quoted by the AFPnews agency.

He said Khartoum wasresponding to a request from thetalks' mediator, former SouthAfrican President Thabo Mbeki.

It has also asked for a"guarantee" recognising thatAbyei is part of its territory, thespokesman added.

On Sunday, former USPresident Jimmy Carter said aftermeeting Sudanese PresidentOmar al-Bashir that Khartoumwas ready to pull its forces out ofAbyei.

Tens of thousands of civilianswere displaced when the Sudanesearmy took control of the region inthree days of clashes with South

Sudanese troops in May 2011.The dispute in Abyei is rooted

in ethnic conflict between farmersfrom the pro-South Sudan DinkaNgok community and the pro-Sudan Misseriya nomads.

In April, cross-border clashescentred on the neighbouring oil-rich region of Heglig broughtSudan and South Sudan close toall-out war.

South Sudan says Sudanesewarplanes bombed severallocations on its border, althoughKhartoum denies this.

The same month, the South'stroops occupied Heglig for a week.It said it pulled out in response tointernational pressure, butSudan said it reconquered theterritory.

The UN Security Council hascalled on both countries to ceaseall bombing and cross-borderfighting, and to return to talksaimed at resolving theiroutstanding disputes.

PAGE 40 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Mavi Marmara: Israeli officers face Turkish trialA Turkish court has charged

four senior Israeli militarycommanders over the

killing of nine Turkish activiststrying to reach Gaza in 2010.

Ex-military chief of staff GabiAshkenazi and former heads ofmilitary intelligence, the navyand air force are expected to betried in absentia.

The nine pro-Palestinian

activists were killed after Israelitroops boarded their ship, the MaviMarmara.

They had been hoping to breachIsrael's naval blockade and deliveraid to Gaza.

A prosecutor at the court inIstanbul has called for each of thefour Israeli officers to face nine lifesentences, Turkish news agencyAnatolia reported.

The other threecommanders are ex-naval chiefVice Admiral Eliezer Marom,former head of militaryintelligence Major General AmosYadlin, and former head of theair force Brigadier GeneralAvishai Lev.

Israel has refused to co-operatewith any prosecution of thosewho took part in the attack.

If they are convicted, theTurkish court could issue awarrant for their arrest.

The Mavi Marmara wasintercepted by the Israeli navyin international waters as itsailed towards Gaza's coast on 31May 2010.

A UN inquiry found thatIsrael's blockade of Gaza was "alegitimate security measure".

It said Israeli troops had faced"significant, organised and violentresistance" when they boarded theship.

But it said Israel's decision toboard the ship and the use ofsubstantial force was "excessive andunreasonable".

The incident has led to a majorrift in relations between Turkeyand Israel

Israeli navy commandos intercepted the Mavi Marmara and other ships

Colombia's left-wing Farcrebels say they willrelease the French

journalist Romeo Langlois theyare holding on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Farc saidit would hand over Mr Langloisto an international committeethat has been negotiating hisrelease.

He was captured by rebelson 28 April during an armyanti-drugs operation in thejungles of southern Colombia.

Mr Langlois, 35, has beenreporting from Colombia forover a decade.

He was on an assignmentfor international broadcasterFrance 24, filming soldiersdestroying cocaine laboratoriesin the Caqueta region.

The army said he wasinjured in the arm when thegroup came under attack andran towards the rebels.

The Farc later describedhim as a "prisoner of war",because he was wearingmilitary uniform, bodyarmour and accompanying an

Colombia’s Farc rebels to freeFrenchman on Wednesday

army unit.In their latest statement, the

rebels say Mr Langlois will behanded over to a delegation fromthe International Committee ofthe Red Cross, a Frenchgovernment envoy and a peacegroup led by former Colombiansenator Piedad Cordoba.

"The co-ordinates of thelocation where Langlois will befreed will be submitted at anopportune time."

The rebels say they arenegotiating final details for therelease, including safetyguarantees.

Correspondents say theColombian army forces usuallycease all operations in the regionwhere hostages are beingreleased.

In February, the left-winggroup promised to stopkidnapping civilians for ransom,and last month released its lastremaining military and policecaptives.

However, anti-kidnap groupsestimate that it is still holdinghundreds of civilian hostages.

The Egyptian presidentialelection will come downto a runoff between Ahmed

Shafiq, the final prime ministerunder deposed president HosniMubarak, and Mohammed Morsi,the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate,according to final results released onMonday.

Farouq Sultan, the head of thepresidential election commission,announced the results at a pressconference. Morsi garnered thelargest share of votes, nearly 5.8million; Shafiq came in a close second,with 5.5 million.

The frontrunners MohammedMorsi: 5,764,952 Ahmed Shafiq:5,505,327 Hamdeen Sabahi:4,820,273

Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh:4,065,239 Amr Moussa: 2,588,850The two frontrunners, Morsi andShafiq, will compete in a runoffelection on June 16 and 17.

The third-place finisher wasHamdeen Sabbahi, a formerparliamentarian who had emergedas a favourite candidate for many ofEgypt's liberals. He received just over4.8 million votes.

Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, amoderate former member of theBrotherhood, received just over 4million votes, and Amr Moussa theformer Arab League chief, came infifth with 2.58 million.

Last week's election was the firstfree presidential ballot in Egyptian

Shafiq and Morsiconfirmed for Egypt runoff

history. Around 23 million peoplevoted, Sultan said, a turnout of roughly46 per cent.

Sultan said that seven candidateshad filed complaints about the results.Four were dismissed because of a lack ofevidence; the other three were rejectedbecause candidates missed the filingdeadlines.

Several candidates, includingAboul Fotouh and Sabbahi, alleged thatthousands of military conscripts - whoare prohibited from voting - cast ballotsduring the election. But Sultan rejectedthat claim, saying the commissionfound no evidence to support it.

One final challenge remains: OnJune 11, Egypt's high court will ruleon the constitutionality of a law whichbans senior Mubarak-era officials fromrunning for office. If upheld, the lawwould obviously have seriousimplications for Shafiq's candidacy.(Farouq Sultan, the head of the electioncommission, is also the chief judge onthe supreme court.)

The frontrunners will spend thenext two weeks manoeuvring to winsupport from the defeated candidates,ahead of the runoff on June 16 and17.

Two of them, Moussa and AboulFotouh, refused to endorse either of thefrontrunners during separate pressconferences on Monday. Moussa lashedout at both winners, saying that "areturn to the old regime isunacceptable, [and] so is exploitingreligion in politics".

The rebels have described Romeo Langlois as a prisoner of war

Mohammed Morsi, once dismissed as the Muslim Brotherhood's "backup candidate," receivedthe largest share of votes. [EPA]

PAGE 41PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Miami police shoot dead ‘growling cannibal’

Chile-Peru landmine blastkills at least one in carA Peruvian driver was

killed when his car hit alandmine in northern

Chile.The Chilean army said the

car - a taxi with a Peruviannumber plate - crossed theborder illegally on Friday nightin the Arica and Parinacotaregion.

It inadvertently entered aminefield and set off an anti-tankdevice, which destroyed thevehicle.

Chile planted thousands ofmines along its border in the

1970s during a period of tensionwith Peru.

Chilean prosecutor PatricioEspinoza confirmed the driverwas a Peruvian national, but didnot identify him.

The victim was apparentlydriving a taxi that belonged to aprivate company in the bordercity of Tacna.

The Chilean army said in astatement that the minefield, inan area known as QuebradosEscritos, "was expressly markedaccording to existinginternational norms."

Reports in the Chilean presssay another person was killed inthe accident.

The police said no one couldhave survived the powerfulexplosion, but only one casualtyhas been confirmed so far.

Periodic border tensions area legacy of the 19th CenturyWar of the Pacific, which endedwith Chile annexing part ofsouthern Peru as well as Bolivia'scoastline.

The mines on the Peruvianborder were planted during thegovernment of Gen AugustoPinochet (1973-90).

Chile had tense relations withArgentina at the time, and themilitary government decided tomine its northern border toprevent an invasion.

Chile's democraticgovernment later became asignatory to the Ottawa Treatybanning anti-personnel mines.It aims to be mine-free by 2020.

Since 2002, 14,000 mineshave been cleared, butthousands still remain on theborder with Peru.

In February, more than 100of them were displaced bytorrential rain and washed downa ravine into the vicinity of theroad linking Arica in Chile andTacna in Peru.

The border remained closedfor several days, while armybomb disposal experts detonateda number of devices in controlledexplosions.The Chilean army said the minefield was clearly marked

Police shot dead a naked manwho growled at an officerafter he was found eating

the face of another naked manin Miami, Florida, witnesses say.

Police reportedly told theattacker to back away and thenfired several shots, killing him,after he continued to eat thevictim.

Drugs may have played apart in the attack, police say,

which happened next to a busyroad on Saturday afternoon.

About 75% of the victim'sface was missing, local mediahave reported.

Cyclist Larry Vega said therewas "blood all over the place"when he came across the horrificscene by MacArthur Causeway.

"I told him get off," Mr Vegatold WSVN Fox 7. "The guy justkept eating the other guy away

like ripping his skin."He growled like a wild animal

and kept eating at the mans face"End Quote Armando AguilarHe said he alerted a police

officer, who warned the attackerseveral times to get off hisvictim.

"The guy just stood his headup like that with a piece of fleshin his mouth and growled," MrVega said.

Children killed in Qatar mall blaze

Picture posted online showed black smoke billowing from mall asemergency vehicles rushed to scene [via Twitter]

Authorities say 19 peoplekilled, including 13children, in fire at

shopping and entertainmentcomplex.

Qatar's interior ministry hassaid that 19 people were killed,including 13 children, after alarge fire broke out at a majorshopping mall andentertainment complex in thecapital Doha.

The ministry said on Mondaythat four teachers and twofirefighters were among thosekilled in the fire, while at least17 others were injured.

"Most of them (the injured)were from the civil defence," theministry said on its Twitteraccount.

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker,reporting from the scene, saidthat the firefighters had to gothrough the roof of the mall toget to the nursery where thechildren were trapped.

"The Gympanzee nursery,where most of the children were,is on the first floor with difficultaccess," our correspondent said.

"We were told thenationalities of the childrenincluded Japanese, Spanish,Filipino, South African, and also

European and Arab, but noQatari," she said. "Three of theteachers were Filipino and onewas African."

Dekker said that the cause ofthe fire was not confirmed, andauthorities were stillinvestigating.

Bahrain activist Rajab released on bail

Rajab has been detained and beaten several times during nearly18 months of unrest in Bahrain [via Twitter]

Nabeel Rajab, still facestravel ban and criminalcharges for "inciting"

protests and "defaming" securityforces.

Nabeel Rajab, a prominentBahraini human rightsactivists, has been released onbail, according to his lawyer.

Rajab, the director of theBahrain Centre for HumanRights, was arrested earlier thismonth at Manama'sinternational airport afterreturning from Lebanon.

He was charged with"inciting illegal rallies" throughsocial networking websites, andwith "defaming" Bahrain'ssecurity forces.

Rajab was released on 300dinars ($800) bail, but still facesa travel ban, his lawyer,Mohamed al-Jishi, said onMonday. The next hearing isscheduled for June 17.

Rajab, one of the mostprominent figures in the nearly18-month pro-democracyuprising in Bahrain, has beendetained, questioned and beatenrepeatedly by security forces. Herejected the charges against himduring a court session earlier thismonth, describing his arrest as"a political decision".

"I only practised my right tofree expression," he told thecourt. "I did not commit a crime."

The case against Rajab hasbeen widely criticised by localand international human rightsgroups.

Al-Khawaja ending hungerstrike

Meanwhile, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, the Bahraini activistwho has spent the last fourmonths on hunger strike, plansto end his fast on Monday night,according to his lawyer and oneof his daughters.

Annan condemns “appallingcrime” on visit to Syria

Peace envoy Kofi Annancondemned the killing of atleast 108 people in the

Syrian town of Houla as "anappalling crime" on Monday andurged President Bashar al-Assad toprove he wants a peacefulresolution to the crisis racking hiscountry.

Assad's forces killed at least 41people in an artillery assault on thecity of Hama, activists said, shortlyafter the U.N. Security Councilcondemned the massacre in nearbyHoula which took place on Friday.

With international criticismgrowing of Assad's methods intrying to crush a 14-month-olduprising, now accompanied by alightly armed insurgency, U.N./Arab League envoy Annan arrivedin Damascus for talks on hisfaltering peace plan.

He explicitly urged the Syriangovernment to "take bold steps tosignal that it is serious in itsintention to resolve this crisispeacefully" before adding: "Thismessage of peace is not only for thegovernment, but for everyone witha gun."

Russia and China, which hadpreviously vetoed resolutionscondening Assad, both approved anon-binding text in New York thatcriticised the use of artillery andtank shells on homes in Houla, butdeclined to blame the governmentalone. The rebels do not haveartillery and tanks.

China also used strong words

U.N.-Arab League envoy KofiAnnan delivers a statementupon his arrival at DamascusMay 28, 2012. International me-diator Annan flew to Damascuson Monday for talks with theSyrian government, a SyrianForeign Ministry spokesmansaid, a day after the U.N. Secu-rity Council condemned the kill-ing of 108 people in the town ofHoula.

about the killings."China feels deeply shocked by

the large number of civiliancasualties in Houla, and condemnsin the strongest terms the cruelkillings of ordinary citizens,especially women and children,"Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Liu Weimin said.

U.N. monitors say at least 108people were killed, among themdozens of children. Many of thevictims were also hacked to deathor shot at close range, as shown ingraphic images distributed byactivists.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, MAY 29, 2012 PAGE 42

The man who was snappedsending a text from his bike(using both hands to type)

It is one of the mostextraordinary examples ofmadness on the highway - a

motorcyclist riding with no handsas he sends a text message.

Sitting astride a powerfulmachine, the rider wasphotographed working on hisphone as he traveled alongSydney's M2 motorway at60mph.

In order to operate thephone, he had to take bothhands off the handlebars and,

Campaign: Work is being carried out to educate locals in theillegality of their actions

Virginal young girls in SouthAfrica ‘kidnapped and forced tomarry older HIV-positive men tocure them of the disease’

Innocent young girls are being'kidnapped' and forced to

' m a r r y 'older HIV-positive men

because of the myth that havingsex with a virgin will cure themof the disease.

An investigation into SouthAfrica's rural Eastern Caperevealed how children as youngas 12, from the Xhosa people, arebeing pressured into prematurenuptials.

CNN discovered how the

it is believed, switch hisexpensive bike onto cruisecontrol.

The rider wasphotographed by a passenger inanother vehicle - believed to bea bus or a lorry due to theelevated angle - as he rode,head down, his concentrationon his text message.

Had he crashed, the thinclothing he was wearing wouldhave given him no protectionfrom, at the very least, severe

cuts, grazing and broken bones.'I thought I'd seen everything,'

said morning radio host RayHadley when he posted thepicture on his website today. 'Butobviously I hadn't until now.'

There has been one otherexample of texting madness inSydney at the weekend.

A pedestrian walking up a hillin the suburb of Stanmore wasastonished to find a skateboardrider coming towards him -texting as travelled at a fast speed.

Sitting astride a powerful machine, the rider was photographed working on his phone as he travelledalong Sydney's M2 motorway at 60mph

locals in the illegality of theiractions is said to be paying off, thechannel's 'Ukuthwala - StolenInnocence' documentary details.

Timothy, a man theyinterviewed, said there wassimply no awareness about whatwas being done.

He said: 'We apologise for thatas we did not know we werebreaking the law.'

World Aids Campaign fieldworker Nombasa Gxuluwe, whowas born and raised in the area,

Crimes: Innocent young girls are being 'kidnapped' and forced to'marry' older HIV-positive men because of the myth that havingsex with a virgin will cure them of the disease

Dedicated: World AidsCampaign field workerNombasa Gxuluwe

tradition of Ukuthwala,translated to 'to pick up' or 'to take',was used as an excuse to justifythe adbuctions.

It said that, in many cases, the'kidnappings' were consented toby the youngster's parents inexchange for cash.

But a campaign to educate

dedicates herself to try and endwhat is in effect the buying andselling of child brides.

She told CNN: 'There's a mythif you sleep with a young girl whois a virgin and as a man you areHIV positive then HIV can becured. That's why they arefocusing on these young girls.'

But she said that the men,who were often widowed by HIV,simply ended up infecting theirnew brides too.

In the documentary, made byWAC, a girl from the village ofLusikisiki tells her story.

She said: 'The lady from nextdoor called me and asked me if Iwanted to get married. I said no.She said if I refused they wouldtake me by force and beat me up.

'The next night the lady cameto my house and took me to theriver. There were seven peoplewaiting there.

'They made me go with themto the house where the man lived.I couldn't believe this washappening to me. That I wasgetting married.

Swiss psychiatrist jailed after stealing a babyso she could ‘reincarnate’ her dead mother

A court in Switzerland hassentenced a derangedpsychiatrist to three years

in jail for kidnapping a baby girlfrom Romania so she could'reincarnate' her dead motherthrough her.

Constanta Albumel, 40, andher husband travelled 800 milesfrom their home in Zurich to theRomanian city of Timisoara,where they stole an infant from alocal children's hospital.

The Zurich court heard howAlbumel then performed shamanrituals and chanted over the childin a bid to bring her late mother

Timisoara, Romania: The couple travelled to the city, broke into achildren's hospital and stole a baby

Crazy plan: When police finallycaught up with Albumel sheconfessed to kidnap (file photo)

back to life.The mother-of-two - who has

Swiss citizenship but originallycomes from Bucharest - allegedlybecame 'increasingly obsessed'with the idea of taking a babygirl from Romania' in order thather dead mother could bereincarnated.

Her husband, a technologyexpert for a Swiss bank, wentalong with the kidnap planbecause she threatened todivorce him.

On 18 October 2009, thecouple 800 miles acrossSwitzerland, Austria andHungary to the city of Timisoarain Romania.

The husband - who has not

been named - cut a hole in thefence of the local children'shospital, and Albumel sneakedthrough, onto a ward and stole ababy girl.

The pair returned to theirhome in Zurich and, using fakepapers, they registered the childas their own.

But Interpol were called in byRomanian police and twomonths later they were underarrest.

'It was a crazy idea that cameover us,' they said, confessing tothe kidnap.

The judge in the case, PeterMarti, equated their crime withmurder, stating; 'You wereruthless, cynical and selfish'.

PAGE 43PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

The vitamin pills that actually work! How somesupplements can work wonders for certain ailments

understand their importance insperm quality.

THE DOSE: There is muchdebate about exact doses thatproduce the best effects butresearch suggests doses in theregion of: Vitamin C 1000mg,Vitamin E 400-600mg,selenium 100-225micrograms,B-carotene 30mg, L-carnitine2g. However, it’s easier tosimply take one of the tabletsspecifically designed to helpconception.

Fish oil for mental healthTRY: BioCare Mega EPA, 90

capsules, 2,333mg, £16.95,dolphinfitness.co.uk

THE EVIDENCE: There’s asurprising amount of researchsupporting the use of fish oils inpatients with conditionsranging from depression toschizophrenia.

Experts do not fullyunderstand how omega-3 fattyacids help reduce the symptomsof mental disorders but it isthought it helps the neurons(brain cells) communicatemore efficiently.

THE DOSE: If you sufferdepression or other mentalillness you should take one tothree grams of omega 3 daily,but speak to your GP if you areon blood-thinning medication.

Zinc for beating coldsTRY: Redoxon Double

Action Vitamin C + Zinc 30Orange Effervescent Tabs£4.91, pharmacyathand.co.uk

THE EVIDENCE: Zinc isinvolved in making white bloodcells, which help the body tofight colds. I advise elderlypatients to take Vitamin C withzinc supplements in the winteras while one fights infection, theother helps heal.

THE DOSE: One tabletcontains 10mg. Take dailythroughout winter as apreventative or as soon assymptoms begin and until theysubside. Effervescent tablets,which are dissolved in water, canbe acidic so drink with a straw.

Vatamin D for strongbones

TRY: Nature’s Plus Adult’sChewable Vitamin D3, 90tablets, 1000iu, £11.20,nutricentre.com.

THE EVIDENCE:

When my grandmothersuffered a fall and brokeher pelvis, her GP

advised her to take supplementsto help speed healing.

Initially I was sceptical –these things are not part ofmedical training and I assumedthe herbal remedies andvitamin pills in health foodshops were little more thanplacebos. But I was wrong.

With some research Idiscovered many supplementshave a good evidence base tosupport their use in specificconditions.

Together, mygrandmother’s GP and I cameup with ‘bone juice’ – a solublemix of Vitamins C and D, zincand calcium.

She was on her feet in no timeand she felt she was helpingherself by taking the juice. Shewould call me each day to sayshe had drunk it all.

My only concern is thatpeople don’t treat themselveswithout a doctor’s guidance andthat supplements should not beused instead of prescribedmedication. But, as Granshowed me, there are timeswhen they can have realbenefit.

Here is my guide to some thathave been proven to helpmaintain health and even treatdisease that I, and other doctors,recommend.

Vitamin B for brain functionTRY: Viridian High 12 B-

Complex, £14.70, 90 capsules,healthstore.uk.com.

THE EVIDENCE: All eightB vitamins are involved in awhole host of bodily functions,from controlling metabolism tothe production of red blood cells.

The Oxford Project toInvestigate Memory andAgeing (OPTIMA) found thattablets containing Vitamin B12and B6, and folic acid slowedshrinkage of the brain by anaverage of 30 per cent a year inpatients with possible earlystage dementia.

THE DOSE: It’s early stageresearch, but they suggest500micrograms of B12, 20milligrams of B6, and 800micrograms of folic acid daily.These are quite high doses soyou may need to buy separatesupplements.

Multivitamin for malefertility

TRY: Vitabiotics PregnacareHis and Hers Conception, 30tablets, £16.45,lifepharmacy.co.uk

THE EVIDENCE: Muchhas been written aboutantioxidants in preventingcancer but the real news is theemerging evidence that theycan improve male fertility.

Trials have shown that menwho took a combination of oralantioxidants – includingvitamins C and E, zinc,selenium, folate, L-carnitineand carotenoids – showed animprovement in either spermquality or pregnancy rate intheir partners after taking thesupplements. Experts are yet to

Numerous studies have foundthat elderly adults who takeVitamin D supplements havestronger bones. Manyorthopaedic surgeonsrecommend supplements tothose recovering fromfractures.

This is because Vitamin Dhelps regulate the amount ofbone-building calcium andphosphate in the body.

A recent review of all thescientific literature publishedabout Vitamin D also suggestedthat it might reduce the risk ofdeveloping certain cancers,heart disease and diabetes inlater life, too.

THE DOSE: If you are agedover 65 you should take asupplement of 10 micrograms(1000iu) each day.

Peppermint for nauseaTRY: Obbekjaers Oil of

Peppermint, extra strength, 60capsules, 200mg, £9.46,yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk.

THE EVIDENCE: A studypublished in the British Medical

J o u r n a lc o n c l u d e dt h a tp e p p e r m i n toil was theb e s ttreatment forthose whosuffer withi r r i t a b l eb o w e lsyndrome.

This isb e c a u s ep e p p e r m i n tacts as ana n t i -s p a s m o d i c ,meaning thatit prevents the stomachc r a m p i n gand has noside effects – apart frommaking yourbreath smellminty. It isalso an a t u r a lpainkiller.

T H EDOSE: Takeone capsulethree times a

Folic acid for pregnancyTRY: Centrum Pregnancy

Care, 30 tabs, £5.29,otcshop.co.uk.

THE EVIDENCE: Folic acid(Vitamin B9) is one supplementthat every woman should knowabout. It has been consistentlyshown to be of benefit inpregnant women to help reducethe risk of neural tube defects,such as spina bifida.

THE DOSE: Take 400iudaily as soon as you beginplanning a child, and continuefor the first three months ofpregnancy, when the baby’sspine is growing.

Garlic for heart healthTRY: Viridian Garlic, 90

capsules, 500mg each, £22.05,naturalwayhealth.co.uk.

THE EVIDENCE: Sincereading up on the evidence forgarlic, I’ve taken a tablet everyday. The University of Marylandhas found that it boostscirculation, reduces cholesteroland blood pressure by eight percent as well as slowingatherosclerosis (hardening of thearteries) and reducing the riskof cancer.

Although the benefits areslight in each area, when takenoverall, it has a potent effect.

THE DOSE: Up to 900mgper day has been shown to bebeneficial.

Ginger for nauseaTRY: New Chapter Ginger

Force, 30 capsules, £23.69,revital.co.uk.

THE EVIDENCE: Gingerhas been used for hundreds ofyears as a traditional remedy forsickness but there’s actuallygood evidence that it works. It’sparticularly useful in the nauseaassociated with morningsickness.

A study carried out by theUniversity of Adelaide inAustralia found ginger aseffective as anti-nauseamedication in pregnant women.

Ginger for an upset stomachmay seem so obvious it’s a clichebut studies have shown that itmay help with post-operativenausea, chemotherapy-inducednausea and sea sickness.

THE DOSE: Just one gramdaily of fresh ginger is enough tohave an effect. Or take asupplement as needed, followingthe directions on the bottle.

Green tea for fur-freeveins

TRY: Solgar Chinese GreenTea, 50 capsules, £11.73,revital.co.uk.

THE EVIDENCE: Japaneseresearch has shown that thosewho drink green tea regularlyhave lower total cholesterollevels than those who don’t,although why is not fullyunderstood.

While the effect is smallcompared with cholesterol-lowering drugs, it can be usefulin those with slightly high levelswho are trying to reduce theircholesterol levels naturally.

THE DOSE: Just one cupdaily is needed to see an effect,or take a daily supplement.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Positive results: Taking vitamin supplements cansometimes yield real health benefits.

day before meals.Ginkgo Biloba for sharp

memoryTRY: Vitabiotics Ginkgo and

Ginseng, 60 tablets, 800mg and150mg, £9.95,yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk.

THE EVIDENCE: I oftensuggest taking ginkgo biloba toelderly people who havememory problems if othertreatments haven’t worked, orif their symptoms are not severeenough to warrant prescribedmedication.

Ginkgo is a type of tree thatproduces fan-shaped leaveswhich have been used forthousands of years in traditionalChinese medicine.

THE DOSE: A trial in 2010found that just 240mg a day was significantly superior to aplacebo in treating memoryproblems.

Vitamin C for speedyhealing

TRY: Lamberts Vitamin C-Time, 1000mg 60 capsules,£7.30, healthstuff.co.uk.

THE EVIDENCE: Countlessstudies tried to prove Vitamin Cfights colds but only found itoffers little assistance. However,Vitamin C is vital for skingrowth and cell regeneration asit is involved in the productionof collagen, a key component ofskin. A surgeon I once workedwith insisted that all his patientstook a supplement post-operatively.

His reasoning was that asVitamin C is a water-solublevitamin – meaning that thebody cannot store it – we need aready supply, especially whenthe body is trying to rebuildtissue.

THE DOSE: Take 1g ofVitamin C daily while yourwounds heal. Slow-releasetablets ensure you do not excreteit too quickly.

Fish oils can help reduce symptoms connected with conditionsranging from depression to schizophrenia.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2012PAGE 44

75% of SMEs fund is idle in Bank ofIndustry, says SMEDAN DG

The Director General of theSmall and MediumEnterprises Development

Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN),Alhaji Mohammed NadadaUmar has disclosed that due topoor planning and lack ofappropriate businessknowledge among small andmedium enterprise operators,75 percent of funds made fortheir development are stil ldormant with the Bank of

Industry (BOI).Speaking at a one day

validation forum on therevised National Policy onMicro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSMES) inLagos, he said lack ofperformance among othershas necessitated the review ofthe document formulated in2004.

Alhaji Umar urgesd SMEsto develop a bankable plan toenable them access the fundmeant for the development of

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos the sector for which only 25percent has been accessed in theBank of Industry.

He said "at the moment, fundis not our problem. The fund thatthe B ank of Industry has forSMEs has not been accessed upto 25% but the problem is thatwe don't have bankable businessplan by the SMES."

Pledging that the new policywould look into its existingstructure and strategies in orderto make it responsive to theyearning of the small businesses

in Nigeria, he said SMEDANwould carry out similar

forum across the sixgeopolitical zones of the country.

"We will be holding the samething in six geopolitical zone sothat we will make sure that weleave no stone unturned becausewe want to get all the wisdomand experience of thestakeholders so that the newpolicy will be a part and parcelof the one developed bythemselves and not somethingthat is foreign in nature."

Ogun State Governmentyesterday said it hascommenced preparations in

earnest for this year exercise with thesale of forms, as well as tremendouspatronage from applicants, just as italso stated that it would solicit foradditional slots.

Chairman of the State MuslimPilgrims Welfare Board, Dr. IshaqYusuf who made this known during amedia chat in his office in Abeokutasaid government is intensifying effortstowards sustaining the successrecorded during the 2011 Hajj exercisefor which the state was adjudged bestamong others that participated.

He said, after the submission of itsreport on the 2011 Hajj to thegovernor, the board was mandated tostart preparations in earnest for thisyear's exercise with the sale of forms.

The Board Chairman stated thatthe initial slot given to the State bythe Hajj Commission was peggedat 1,550 but that the board wouldsolicit for additional slots to enablemore applicants have theopportunity to perform theexercise.

" I hope to ensure that this slot isincreased to 3,000 from 1,500before the tenure of this boardexpires", he noted

Yusuf advised those hoping topartake in this year's exercise topromptly remit initial deposits atthe board's head office, adding thatthey must also practice all the otherfour pillars of Islam before they wouldbe qualified to embark on Holypilgrimage.

Ogun startspreparationsfor 2012 Hajj

1197 transformed Gombe Kalare youth graduate in Gombe

Transformed Kalare youth, during their passing out, yesterday at Malam Sidi NYSC orientation camp,in Gombe.

Expectation has becomehigh for quickdispensation of justice

against those armed robberswho snatched a ReverendFather's car at gunpoint andwere caught on April 21, 2012,at Ankpa in Kogi state.

Reports reachingjournalists in Lokoja from thecommunity leaders from the

area yesterday, revealed thatmost of them were involved insnatching valuables fromcommuters and in some casesoutright shooting to death oftheir victims.

It was alleged that somemembers of the robbery gangwere arrested and two of themkilled by Special Task Force,STF, along Ankpa-Adoka-Otukpo-Makurdi road in acrossfire leading to the

From Sam Egwu, lokoja

From Dimeji Kayode-AdedejiAbeokuta

From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

discovery that the robbershave their network around thecommunities.

The community leaders'spokesman, Sunday Egbunustated that the boys should beproperly screened to know thelevel of their involvement sincesome of them had served prisonterms in the past for similaroffences, noting that if policecontinued to treat them withkid gloves, it would be difficult

Four unrepentant armed robbers to face trial soon in Kogi

A Briton, KhomeiniBukhari has dragged theInspector General of Police

(IGP) Mohammed Abubakar tothe Federal High Court Abujaover robbery involving twoserving policemen.

The Briton is claiming thesum of N1billion as damagescaused to him by the actions ofthe cops.

Mr. Bukhari is seeking anorder of mandamus compellingthe police high command toinvestigate the report made byhim to the authority on the 31thof October 2011 concerning therobbery incident of 29th Octoberat the Millennium Park, FCTAbuja.

He claims that the refusal andneglect of the IGP and his officersto investigate the robberyincident

amounts to a tortuous breachof a statutory duty to investigatecrime to the detriment of thepublic.

The complainant had gone tothe Millenium Park, Abuja, onthe said date to unwind and whilethere, two policemen on dutycame and molested him therebydispossessed him of his wristwatch worth N1.3million andN200,000 cash.

"The sum of N1billion asexemplary and aggravatedgeneral damages for the injurysuffered by the plaintiff as a resultof the tortuous breach by thedefendant of the duty to performhis statutory duty to investigatethe robbery incident of 29thOctober 2011 and malicious andlibelous publication against theplaintiff", the prayed.

According to the courtdocument prepared against thepolice and made available to ourcorrespondent, "N1.5 millionbeing the N200,000 and the costof the wrist watch taken from himby Samuel Ekpah and DanielMarcus, two police officers underthe operational command of thedefendant who accosted theplaintiff in the course of theirduties.

"The sum of N1billion asexemplary and aggravatedgeneral damages for the injurysuffered by the plaintiff as a resultof the tortuous breach by thedefendant of the duty to performhis statutory duty to investigatethe robbery incident of 29thOctober 2011 and malicious andlibelous publication against theplaintiff.

"Public apology to the plaintifffor the libelous statementscredited to the public relationsofficers of the defendantconcerning the Plaintiff to bepublished in three Nationaldailies circulating in Nigeria".

Robbery:Britonsuespolice forN1bnBy Lambert Tyem

for the community."Cases like Indian hemp

smoking, rape, stealing andalcoholism which werehandled without weighing thegravity among the teens wereresponsible for the presentsituation we now foundourselves", stressing, "if theboys were given punishmentcommensurate with theiroffences, the story would havebeen different".

Governor Ibrahim HassanDankwambo of Gombestate has assured people of

the state of continuous skillacquisition training and manymore programmes in the effort toreduce youth restiveness.

Dankwambo disclosed thiswhile speaking at the MallamSidi NYSC Orientation Campduring the passing out ceremonyof 1200 Kalare youthtransformed as EnvironmentalAgent, Traffic Agent and WardAgent in the state.

His words, "ouradministration would giveyouths and by extension, ourstate a brighter future, thistraining has transformed ourYouth from agent of violence anddestruction into agent of socio-economic development".

He added that out of 1200youth registrants in thetraining, only 1197 weregraduating as three were expelledon medical ground, adding that200 youth would be sent to theCitizenship and LeadershipTraining Institute, Jos foradministration course.

The governor also warnedthem not to break the law or goback to their former habits, addingthat they must abide by the rulesof engagement and the operationalguidelines of their vocations.

He said that to give legalbacking to their duties, the agentsbill to establish an Agency tomanage the three new serviceshad been sent to the stateAssembly for enactment into law,adding that their functions underthe Act did not include power ofarrest but only to monitor andreport any breach to lawenforcement outfits.

PAGE 45PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Harnessing the potentialof the film industryThe potential of the film

industry was showcased atthe just concluded 2012

Zuma Film Festival held in Abuja.Experts at the occasion opined

that the industry holds greatpotential to boost economicdevelopment,while alsopromoting national cohesion.

They stressed the need tofurther harness the potential inthe sector, pointing out that theindustry was capable of engaginga large segment of unemployedyouths.

The festival entitled: “TheHuman Story, ConnectingPeople,’’ was attended by filmmakers, film industryprofessionals and film lovers fromwithin and outside the country.

Identified as an umbilical cordthat binds humanity in theircreative activity and diversity,the experts said that film also actsas a platform to reflect on Nigeria’scurrent security challenges.

Information minister LabaranMaku said in an address that theindustry was a source of nationalpride, with capacity to providejobs to unemployed youths.

Noting that Nigeria hasbenefitted from the resourcesavailable in the industry, theminister said that film could beused as a medium to re-orientateand educate Nigerians in relationto the country’s current securitychallenges.

Maku said Nigerians should beeducated through films toappreciate the culture of peaceand national development,stressing that’ the film industrymust respond to the challenges weare facing, because in everycountry the human story reflectsthe very situation which it is told.’’

“We have so many films aboutthe Second World War and aboutthe First World War.

“Every nation faceschallenges; the film makersshould reflect that and use themedium that is available to themto get that nation out of theproblem,’’ he said.

Maku reminded the filmindustry of its duty to create greatmovies that would educate youngpeople and spur them to love theirnation.

In his speech, former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo identifiedignorance as a problem which, henoted, “leads to suspicion andmistrust’’.

Hitherto, he said, Nigerianswere peace loving people withinherent culture of respect forsanctity of life, elders andconstituted authority, butregretted that “the evasion ofthese values due to increasingacculturation and negativeexternal influences havecontributed largely to the spate ofviolent crimes and generalinsecurity we have today’’.

Gov. Ibrahim Shema ofKatsina State said film should beused to sensitise people on the needto respect each other which, henoted, would promote nationalgrowth.

Shema advised film makers inthe country to produce qualityfilms that would meetinternational standards, notingthat for the country’s film to gain

acceptance in the internationalmarket, its quality must be high.

“Currently, most of the filmswe are making require a push andsupport from the ministry andfrom all well-meaning people inthe industry to be relevantaboard.

Shema urged film producersto continue to market Nigeria’sculture and films aboard, sayingthiswould help educate theinternational community on howNigerians live,as well as effortsbeing made to develop thecountry.

“The young ones should focuson the unity of this nation, as wellas the peace and progress of ourcountry.They should focus on

lot of problems in the society,’’ heconcluded.

Mr. Afolabi Adesanya,Managing Director, NigerianFilm Corporation (NFC) restatedthe importance of the sector innational economic growth, andestimated that the industrycontributed over N522 billion tothe gross domestic product of thenation.

“When fully developed,income from the industry willoutstrip petroleum as the majorrevenue earner for the country”he said.

Adesanyanoted that for thepotential in the industry to befully harnessed, there was alsothe need for training andcapacity building of theprofessionals.

Mr. Kene Mkparu, Managing

exporting the culture of Nigeriawhich needs to be told to the restof the world.’’

Mr. Idi Nasiru, winner of thestudent category with a filmentitled: “Naked Truth’’, calledon youths to take the opportunityof the festival to develop theirtalents.

He said that film makersshould use films to expose socialvices, and also teach the peoplehow to avoid them.

“I am not saying that weshould not make money as filmmakers, but we should use film toexpose societal vices and also teachpeople how to avoid them.

“If our film makers focus onthis, I believe it will solve a whole

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku

By KaturahYashim and IkennaUwadileke

Director, Film House Cinemas,said that the country loses about50 per cent of its incomeannually, and attributed thedevelopment to low patronage ofcinema viewing centres acrossthe country.

“For every cinema that isestablished, there will be at least50 per cent direct jobs andbetween 20and 30 per centindirect jobs,” he said.

Mkparu, a beneficiary of theFederal Government’s $200million EntertainmentIntervention Fund, said the fundwould enable him to establishcinema houses across thecountry.

Also speaking, Mr. ChineduChukwuji, General Manager,Copyright Society of Nigeria(COSON) corroborated the hugepotential in the film industry,saying if well harnessed it wouldhelp reduce the unemploymentrate in the country.

He urged the government toliberalise access to theentertainment fund so that morefilm makers could benefitfrom it.

Mr. Emeka Mba, the Director-General, Nigerian Film and VideoCensors Board (NFVSB), said filmmakers would be educated on howto access the fund, adding that theindustry was not living up to theexpectations of banks and theconditions set for accessing thefund.

“What we need to do is to goround the country, to placeswhere people make films and holdsensitization workshops to explainthe policy and how it works.’’

The potential in the filmindustry is known by thegovernment, film makers andpromoters. Government hasprovided the enablingenvironment; key players shouldtherefore reciprocate byadequately utilising the fund toboost national economicdevelopment.

Source: NAN

Minister of Culture and Tourism, Edem DukeAce Nigerian nollywood actor and former president, Actors Guildof Nigeria, Segun Arinze

PAGE 46 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

President Goodluck Jonathan Dr. Ngozi Iweala-Okonjo

Jonathan’s transfixedtransformation agenda

Just like leaders before him,President GoodluckJonathan unveiled a

transformation agenda when hewas being sworn into office lastMay, after winning thepresidential election a monthearlier. He committed hisfledgling administration to fixingthe country’s dilapidatedinfrastructure, providing jobs forthe nation’s teeming youth andrestoring the country’s pride ofplace in the comity democraticnations.

However, the agenda had theworst of possible starts by nothaving any document where itsfull details and objectives areenunciated. One year one, thepicture has not changed much.

Recall that prior to Jonathan’scoming to power, the country hadbattled with utter darkness(despite huge billions invested inthe power sector by previousadministrations), dilapidatedroads, insecurity (armed robbery,kidnapping et al), lack of jobs,corruption in all facets of nationallife, a collapsing economy and allthat. May be a year is insufficientto judge an administration, but itmust be said that hardly any ofthe above problems have beensolved. In fact, most of them havegotten worse in the last one year.

Also recall that while thecountry battled the afore-mentioned challenges, a lot offactors were traced to theproblems. Factors likeunnecessary duplication of officesat all levels, the huge andundeserved amounts of moneygovernment officials (especiallylegislators) earn, wastages ingovernment quarters. But thetransformation agenda has takencare of none of these issues, we stillhave over 40 ministers and morethan one minister in mostministries as well as countlessspecial advisers and assistants.

We still have 469 lawmakersearning jumbo pay and thelegislators in charge ofconstitutional amendment aretalking about creating more stateswhen most of the ones wecurrently have are not self-sustaining. As is the tradition, thePresidency still acts as the nationalheadquarters of the ruling partyand meddles into party affairs atthe expense of more urgent

President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguralspeech on May 29, 2011, promised totransform life for Nigerians from itsdreariness to one of abundance, but ayear on, his transformation agenda istransfixed with lack of vision and politicalwill, writes Abdulrahman Abdulraheem,our State House correspondent.

ANALYSIS

national issues. The Presidencydictates who gets what and howwithin the party and all partyfaithful in all the wards across thecountry have to fall in line.Transformation has done little toour political culture andmentality. A lot of political ofobservers had expected thePresident to carry out atransformation in these areas.

President Goodluck Jonathanhas built his transformationagenda around the duo of NgoziOkonjo- Iweala and OlusegunAganga, finance and trade andinvestment ministersrespectively. Basically, theagenda seeks to put all measuresin place to revive the ailingeconomy, fix infrastructure,generate employment andwealth for the people as well astackle corruption.

Aganga, a former FinanceMinister no doubt knows the jobat hand. His ministry was taskedby the President to put allmeasures in place to drive massivelocal and foreign investments into the country to help generateemployment, wealth creation andpoverty eradication. Aganga wasasked to recommend andimplement policies that will helperadicate all trade impedimentsin the country.

There is no denying his effortsand commitment to the task buta year has been short enough tofeel his impact adequately just asthe steady progress his ministryis making in boosting investorconfidence will continue to behampered by epileptic powersupply and constant threat of thedreaded terrorists.

Aganga has done well inremoving some trade

impediments in the area of heavytaxation, delay in clearing goodsat the ports and delay in theregistration of new companies bythe Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC).

In the past one year, Agangahas held over 70 meetings in over12 countries to developinvestment interest andcommitments in key sectors of theeconomy. According to theminister, recent ones showed atotal investment commitment ofover the next 3 years of N3.9trillion.

In local investment, he said asurvey conducted by theministry showed a totalinvestment commitment in thenext three years of N2.7 trillion,adding that local companies haveshown strong growth ininvestment expansion of existingcompanies.

The ministry hasstrengthened the One StopInvestment Centre (OSIC) in theNigerian Investment PromotionCommission (NIPC), which ischarged with the responsibility ofputting all potential investorsthrough to what it takes to investin Nigeria.

Speaking further on the

progress being made in the freetrade zones, the minister disclosedthat the Onne Oil and Gas free zonescurrently employs about 30,000people with 150 companies inoperation while the investmentsare worth N930 billion withcommitments over the next 3years worth N 1.03 trillion.

The minister noted furtherthat other FTZs put togethercurrently generates 5,120 jobs butare capable of generating 495,250when completed, adding that theygenerate investments worthN682 billion.

He also revealed that Nigeriamade N428 billion from non-oilexport in the last one year.

This feat, he said, was achievedthrough proactive trade policiesand incentives for non-oil exportsintroduced by the ministry.

In the last one year, theStandards Organization of Nigeria(SON) under Aganga’s ministryhas been able to reduce thevolume of sub-standard productsfrom 85 to 74 per cent, with atarget of 30 per cent reduction bythe end of this year.

He said notable improvementwere recorded with life-endangering products, sayingthat the volume of substandardelectric bulbs had been reducedfrom 80 per cent to 50 per cent;reinforced steel bar (45 per cent to30 per cent); while the volume ofsubstandard tyres reduced from60 per cent to 50 per cent.

As for Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, theCoordinating Minister of theEconomy (CME) andanchorwoman of Jonathan’sEconomic Management Team(EMT), her stewardship so far hasbeen less than remarkable.Whatever growth she alongsideAganga and CBN governor, SanusiLamido Sanusi claims theeconomy is recording has existed

only in their books and not inreality. The so-called growth hasnot brought down the prices ofgoods in the market neither hasit put more money in the pocketsof poor Nigerians who are in themajority. We have not seen anyserious increase in jobopportunities even though theirYouWin programme has startedwell. As they increase corpsmembers’ allowances and giveworkers N18, 000 minimumwage (which has not even beenimplemented in most places),they are increasing fuel pricesand electricity tariff even whengovernment continues topurchase darkness for the peoplewith billions of dollars sunk intothe power sector.

Despite constant denials thatthe country is not broke, theystruggle to pay salaries and NYSCallowances. Theyhave commenced the process ofputting another debt burden onthe future generations ofNigerians with another 7.9billion dollars foreign loan. As thepoor masses continue to groanunder the ripple effects of the lastfuel price increase, no one is sureof SURE just like the subsidy buseshave virtually disappeared intothin air.

Defending the federalgovernment’s inability to paycivil servants early enough atmonth ends, the ministerattributed it to government’seffort at curbing ghost workerswhich she said has saved aboutN14 million for government sofar.

She noted that an integratedpayment platform for all federalgovernment agencies has beendeveloped but with a fewtechnical hitches which caused

“Despite constant denials that the countryis not broke, they struggle to pay salaries

and NYSC allowances. Theyhave commenced the process of putting

another debt burden on the futuregenerations of Nigerians with another 7.9

billion dollars foreign loanContinued on page 47

PAGE 47PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

the delay. The minister said whenfully operational all civil servantswill get their salaries as at whendue

In fairness to the former WorldBank Managing Director however,she has introduced the SingleTreasury Account which willensure that all budgetaryallocations to MDAs now reside inthe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)and not in the commercial bankaccounts of the MDAs.

As a result of this, for any MDAto access its budgetary allocationfor the year, it must raise anelectronic mandate as against theold practice of manual mandate tothe CBN authorizing the apex bankto pay for services, contracts andeven over-heads for staff salaries.

The single treasury account,when fully operational, will enableOkonjo- Iweala to monitor theaccounts of every MDA at the touchof a button online/real-time,without having to call the directorsof finance and accounts of any MDAto know how they are spendingtheir budgetary allocations or thestate of their accounts.

Okonjo-Iweala recentlyannounced that the FederalGovernment was in the process ofintroducing the policy to sweepexcess bank charges into oneaccount.

Besides the duo of Okonjo Iwealaand Aganga, other ministers havehardly done anything worthtalking about. Minister of Power,Professor Barth Nnaji has travelledto virtually all parts the world andsigned countless MoUs withuncountable power firms in all dcontinents of the universe. He hassaid a lot about the paper progressbeing made in the sector. We havehad a lot of familiar excuses aboutgas shortages to power plants andall that. We have also heard aboutthe increment of the tariff on thenon- existent electricity. The manhas done all he needs to do exceptcausing any improvement on thehopelessly epileptic power situationin the country in the last one year.

But the Presidency seemssatisfied with the ministers as itrecently came out to say there willbe no major cabinet reshuffle soon.

The Boko Haram challengeIt is difficult if not impossible for

any historian to discuss theJonathan Presidency without anadequate mention of the dreadedBoko Haram sect. While the violent

activities of sect members, whichwere restricted to Maiduguri andfew other places in the north east,hit the headlines in 2009, theirmeteoric rise to national limelightwith the gut and logistics to carryout more damaging attacks onnational assets in Abuja andenvirons, coincided with theemergence of Jonathan asPresident of the nation.Though the President has admittedunderrating the sect previously,but now after audacious andunbelievable suicide attacks on theUN House, Louis Edet House andSt Theresa’s Catholic Churchwhich left few with any doubt asto the seriousness and devastatingintent of the sect members, thiswriter is sure Mr President dreamsof that phrase ‘Boko Haram’ in hissleep.

While their consistent bomband gun attacks on several peopleand institutions in the north hasexposed the incompetence of oursecurity agencies, they have alsoexposed the incapacity of thePresident to in the last one year,handle a complex and problematicnation like ours.

Boko Haram is a serious curseto the Jonathan Presidency nodoubt as a good number of theissues that have affected hiscredibility rating have been BokoHaram-related.

For example, anytime there isa serious Boko Haram attack,Nigerians hiss at the President

especially when he comes out withhis usual rhetoric that ‘we are ontop of the situation.’

Sometimes last year, at aSunday Church Service in Abuja,the President told the whole worldthat he was aware that the BokoHaram militants or sympathisershad infiltrated all branches anddepartments of governmentincluding the security agencies andArmed Forces. So, most observersexpected a serious action to followthe statement but nothinghappened until the Kabiru Sokotosaga that further proved that thePresident knew what he wassaying. But his reluctance indealing decisively with the thenInspector General of Police (IGP),Hafiz Ringim whose mishandlingof the case caused the nationalembarrassment only reinforcedthe belief that President Jonathanis weak and indecisive. After muchpressure from all circles, thePresident finally asked theembattled IGP to proceed oncompulsory retirement.

At a time people arecomplaining that the moniesbudgeted for capital projects are toosmall to cater for the country’sshortfall in infrastructuraldevelopment, the President has hadto commit more resources to thearea of security to make ouragencies more prepared to containand curtail security threats posedby these terrorists at the expense ofother crucial areas. Truth

remains that even if potentialinvestors see huge potentials inKaduna, Kano or Maiduguri, theywill no doubt exercise restraintbefore putting their monies whereterrorists seem more in chargethan the respective stategovernments

The Boko Haram crisis is nodoubt a brake on the wheel ofprogress as far President Jonathanis concerned.

At the end of the day, thePresident may go back and exploreways of dialogue with the sect tobring lasting solutions to the crisis.

Anti- corruption crusadeThe anti-corruption stance

taken by the President has alsobeen cast in serious doubt byseveral factors in the past one year.The crusade has been on but withthe level corruption is said to havedamaged the country in all facetsof national life, one expects agovernment that is singing thetune of transformation agenda tobe more aggressive in tackling themenace.

During the time of immediatepast EFCC chairman, FaridaWaziri, the commission had andstill has a lot of cases involving exgovernors and other PoliticallyExposed Persons (PEPs) that havelasted many years in courtwithout any headway. There werehardly results not because theagency didn’t do its part but theconventional courts were too busyto grant adequate attention to EFCCcases. Then the woman kept onclamouring for a special court forgraft cases to ensure fast and easydispensation of justice but neitherthe National Assembly nor theExecutive did anything on it. ThePresident merely sacked Waziri forunknown reasons, he has not doneanything to address any of thechallenges she faced in thedischarge of her duties. In fact,President Jonathan has not takenany step to advance anticorruption; he has notdemonstrated that the battle isworth fighting.

The President said he haddiscovered a lot of shady deals inthe fuel subsidy regime. But ratherthan ordering full investigationand prosecuting those involved, hefirst of all chose to punish poorNigerians with one sadistic policythey call subsidy withdrawal.

Even when the Farouk LawanHouse of Representativescommittee exposed mind bogglingdetails of how the subsidy funds wasmerely paid into the pockets of somepeople with some key governmentfuntionaries indicted, the President,after weeks of keeping the countryin suspence over whether he wouldimplement the report or not,merely dumped it on IbrahimLamorde lap. In a nutshell, theapproach towards the anticorruption battle is not aggressive,it is non-challant and lackadaisical.

The Malabu oil block scamwhere Mr President was accused ofsupervising the sharing of someN155 billion to government officials,cronies and associates has also donea great damage to the anti graftstance of the President.

The fear of most Nigerians isthat all the people indicted in allthese pension scam, SEC, subsidytheft and all that may end up theway others before them did withslap on the wrist. This is becausegovernment is not showing interestin reforming or transforming theprocess.

President Jonathan’s records ineducation remain abysmal withthe 9 ‘political universities’ yet totake off just as the standard ofeducation in the country has beenin a free fall at all levels in the lastone year. One must howevercommend the Almajiri dualeducation programme launchedrecently in Sokoto. If sustained andwell funded, it will help take thechildren away from the streets towhere they will get both Islamicand Western education needed toensure a better future.

Aside this, no other sector haswitnessed any remarkablechange. Hardly any painstakingtransformation has taken placein two areas of our national life.The effect of the afore-mentionedones has been minimal since thePresident has left so many thingsundone.

Generally, the roads are stillin bad state, youthunemployment and restivenesson the rise, job losseseverywhere, epileptic powersupply and so on.

If a student scores 25 percentin an exam, that is very far froma pass mark.

Jonathan’stransfixedtransformationagenda

Mr. Olusegun Aganga

CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Continued on page 46

PAGE 48 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

presidential election but then,people believed that Nigeria wasgoing to be better but all of asudden, killings came, fuelsubsidy removal protests cameand maiming of individuals hereand there. But today we are stilltalking as one Nigeria and asNigerians, and I think it is anachievement because we are stilltalking as one united people ofNigeria. Government on its ownhas come up with solutions to theproblems and as we are told,dialogue is going to be the nextline of action and I believe theyhave started.

What we have in the countryis not new. Each part of thecountry has its own peculiarproblems. For example, in theEast, you have kidnapping. Iread in newspapers the other daythat in the Delta area 200-300people were kidnapped in justone year. You can imagine theamount of ransom collected.

We have the MASSOB, OPC,robbery cases, border clashesbetween communitiesthreatening the peace of thecountry. In the North, we havethe Boko Haram and religiousinsurgency from time to time.But Boko Haram is the mostthreatening one which peopleare talking about as if there hasnot been insurgency in any partof the country except in thenorth. Of course, the northerninsurgency is the most serious.It has crippled economic activity;it has killed a number of people,so it is really disheartening.

Northern elders are worriedabout it; everybody is worriedbecause other Nigerians areafraid of visiting the North.Even some of us who are residentin the north do not feelcomfortable. When you are onthe road, you’re afraid theremay be bomb explosions.Schools, churches and mosquesare not spared. These arechallenges for the governmentbecause it is responsible for the

Why North won’t advocateNigeria’s break-up, says Amb.Shuni

protection of lives and propertybut everybody must cometogether and face this insurgencyso that we live in peace andstability. I am very optimisticthat in spite of these crises,Nigeria will not break up becausewe have come to live together.We have come to like one anotherand all we need is to accept ourdifferences and live with them.

Islam and Christianity aretwo religions that are very closetogether. If you read the Koranand the Bible, you will not seemuch differences and I want tosay that any Muslim who doesnot recognize Jesus Christ is nota true Muslim. In fact, he is noteven a Muslim. Islam permitsinter-marriages betweenMuslims and Christians, and ourProphet lived side by side withJews and Christians without any

Ambassador Ladan Abdullahi Shuni

What would youconsider to be theachievements of

President Goodluck Jonathanin his first full year in office?

The fact that the Presidenthas been able to keep the countrytogether is an achievement inspite of problems here and there.We are only about 13 years intodemocratic. You can recall whathappened in the past, the way themilitary intervened in the past,toppling one civilian regime afterthe other. But since 1999, wehave not had any interruption ofour democracy. I think we haveevery reason to be grateful to God.We have had two successfuldemocratic transitions. We hadone in 1999 when generalAbdulsalami Abubakar handedover to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,who himself successfully handedover to another elected president.We have elections all over. Wemay say that we have never hadfree and fair elections but thenthere is no country in the worldthat has ever had free and fairelections, no matter howdeveloped it may be. Butconsidering our complexity anddiversity, I think we should praiseourselves for the efforts we havemade so far to conduct successfulelections at all levels ofgovernment.

Do not forget that Americansspent over 200 years to comeclose to where they are now beingcalled an advanced democracy.

Do you agree with peoplewho say Jonathan is not infirm control of the governmentbecause of his apparentinability to handle the nation’sserious challenges?

People give differentinterpretations of the insurgencyin parts of the North. Some peoplesay that it is an effort to dividethe country while others suspectthat it is a way of making thecountry ungovernable forJonathan. But as far as I amconcerned, since the death ofYar’adua, this administrationhas been tackling and handlingone problem or the other and inan attempt to transform thecountry, the government hascome across many obstacles.

People in the opposition too arenot helping matters; instead ofteaming up with the governmentto make the country moveforward they never see anythinggood in what President Jonathandoes. There are many insecuritychallenges in the country,particularly in the northern partbut what we must know is thatthis problem did not start withPresident Jonathan. The BokoHaram issue started in 2007, itwent to Borno state in 2004 andKano state in 2009. All theseproblems were inherited byPresident Jonathan. There werecrises here and there after the

INTERVIEW Ambassador Ladan Abdullahi Shuni, Danmasani Sokoto, is Vice-Chairman, Boardof Trustees of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). He was Nigeria’s ambassador to theKingdom of Morocco. In this interview with Agaju Madugba in Kaduna, the formerenvoy speaks on a number of issues, including the Boko Haram insurgency in theNorth, a rebellion he fears cannot be crushed with brute force. Excerpts:

“When you talk of Nigeria as the giant ofAfrica or a black giant it is because of oursize, population and diversity. We have no

other country but Nigeria. So, we in the northcannot wish that country breaks up. We have

Boko Haram but all the elite in Maiduguri,Borno state have relocated to Abuja

problem. So, what is happeningin the country today worriesnortherners and when people saysome elders want to scuttle theadministration of PresidentJonathan, we laugh because wein the north want peace. In fact,we fought the civil war to keepthis country together. So, howcan northerners who fought tokeep this country together turnaround to divide the country?Nigeria cannot separate becausewe need one another.

When you talk of Nigeria asthe giant of Africa or a black giantit is because of our size, populationand diversity. We have no othercountry but Nigeria. So, we in thenorth cannot wish that countrybreaks up. We have Boko Harambut all the elite in Maiduguri,Borno state have relocated toAbuja. Why? Why can’t they goback? I’m from Sokoto. If there isa crisis now in Sokoto, I shouldrelocate to Kaduna. No, that isnot how it should be. I should beable to remain in Sokoto and talkto those I should talk to who I knowrespect me in order to solve theproblem on the ground. If all theelite in Borno who relocated toAbuja should go back toMaiduguri and sit down with thetraditional rulers, governmentand the people, they should beable to discuss a way out. But mostof them have left the place,instead of sitting down with theirbrothers to talk peace.

And that is why we said thatgovernment should negotiatewith the insurgents, dialoguewith them and let the people comeout. They are Nigerians; theyhave every constitutional rightto protection. Let them come outand the government must besincere to ask what theirgrievances are. According towhat I heard, one of theirgrievances is that their leaderwas killed and that nobody wasprosecuted.

Government negotiated withthe Niger Delta militants, andgovernment gave themamnesty. So, let these peoplecome out and negotiate becausekilling will not solve the problem.Now that the government issincere to negotiate with them,let them come out and identifythemselves. If there is need togive them amnesty, let it be doneso that we can have peace. Ibelieve the Boko Haram peopletoo are not happy that things aregoing this way. No governmentis happy if there is insecurity inthe land.

The problem of Jonathan isn’tthat he is not firm. If you say heis not firm, are you saying thatJonathan should send soldiers tobe killing people anyhow? Heshould do it gradually. He has togather intelligence. It is not easyto fight these people; they are notin one place. If a whole village isBoko Haram or the whole north,you will know how to address theissue but you do not know wherethey are.

Let me tell you, PresidentJonathan and Vice-PresidentSambo are sad because everyleader wants peace; he wantspeople to be happy, no leaderwants crisis in his domain, nopresident wants crisis in hiscountry. We cannot really getthings done when there is a crisisand meeting force with forcecannot solve the problem of BokoHaram. The government hasagreed that force for force cannotsolve the problem, but BokoHaram should come out, andgovernment should be sincereabout it. It should sit down withthem, negotiate with them.

This was what governmentdid with the militant right fromObasanjo’s government to that ofYar’adua. The militants wereinvited to Abuja and they satdown with the government andthey tabled their grievances andthey were amnesty. The BokoHaram should enjoy the samefacility but they should come outas long as government gives them

Continued on page 49

PAGE 49PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Continued from page 48

Why North won’t advocateNigeria’s break-up, says Amb.Shuni

an assurance of protection.What is your view on

the agitation for aSovereign NationalConference?

It is not ideal to think ofS o v e r e i g n N a t i o n a lConference now. We cannothave a Sovereign NationalConference when we have anelected government in place,we have an elected NationalAssembly in place, we haveelected governors in placeand elected localgovernment chairmen.Perhaps the ideal thing tohave now is constitutionalreview but unfortunately forus, the Constitution we havetoday is not apeople’s Constitution. It is aConstitution which wasactually made by theMilitary. But now that theConstitution is to bereviewed, it is left for theNational Assembly to allowthe people make somecontributions to theConstitution; agree oncertain things andrecommend to the National

Assembly so that we canhave a people friendlyConstitution.

We can dialogue throughthe National Assembly, andeven through the ArewaConsultative Forum wherewe are actually putting up akind of dialogue committeethat will look at all problemsthat are not in theConstitution. Thiscommittee will submitrecommendations to theNational Assembly and thePresidency so that we can seehow we can really amend theConstitution and then livetogether.

What is important to usas Nigerians is for us to agreethat there is no negotiationconcerning Nigeria’sterritorial integrity

There must bedevelopment, the electricitypower issue must beaddressed, insecurity must beaddressed, unemploymentmust be addressed and allother problems must beaddressed.

People do not know thateconomic injustice, politicalinjustice, social injustice,

corruption are worse thanBoko Haram, MASSOB and allother problems that we have.This is because if 10 people diethrough Boko Haram orMASSOB or other insurgencyactivities, 10,000 peoplemust have died through theseinjustices. This is more sobecause if you do not havemoney you cannot getmedical attention or justice.So, these issues must beaddressed. When we talk ofpolitical injustice, peoplemust be allowed to vote theleaders they want; thejudiciary must be free ofcorruption. There should besocial justice, let the peoplehave portable water, meals ontheir tables, jobs, good roads.

But if there is corruption,any programmes you comewith will be manipulated.For example, if you come upwith a programme onAgriculture and youearmark so much moneythere and there iscorruption, the people whowill implement theprogramme are corrupt, youcannot have properimplementation.

Trust Nigerians not tofollow a script. Theyhad the guts to pour

out on the streets for almosta week, imitating peoplefrom other lands with theirshameless OccupyNigeriamovement. Who occupieshis own land and designs aT-shirt announcing it? Idon’t sit in my house with aT-shirt proclaiming “Ose’sCouch”.

What a year! It still feelslike last week when we allheld candles, singing songsof hope as GoodluckJonathan completed anunlikely journey from ajourneyman deputygovernor to the presidency.We all knew that anyonenot happy with the electionwas either suffering from aserious case of bad belle orneeds God in his or her life.

Seriously, who couldcomplain when the leaderof the main opposition partywent against his ownparty’s candidate andnodded at his followers tovote for the man with thegood luck? Or when hismain challenger plannedon a northern strategy for

The year of GooodluckBy Ose Oyamendan

an election to govern awhole nation.

I love Jonathan. I haveto put that out there in casethere’s a celestial agenda atplay here. You don’t wantto be hustled and hassled inthe hell that Nigeria issometimes and then getcondemned to an eternityof seasoning in the fires ofhell because you made thatmistake of going againstheaven’s agenda which I’msure the Jonathan groupwill lay claim to.

So, today, I have cometo sing Jonathan’s praisesand defend him. I havecome to write about a yearof unparalleled success. Fora start, I have never seen acandidate win an electionand immediately go aboutchanging the portion of theConstitution that deals withthe length of the term of hisoffice People think that ispower mongering. Well,what would you rather apresident monger?Rumours or rumours aboutthings not as salacious.

And, so what if it led tothe current accusation ofseeking a second term?What is wrong with an

ambitious man? Do peopleknow the opposite of anambitious man?

Let me tell you what youget when you get anunambitious man in power.

You’ll be lucky to havean area boy with a starchedattire. Now, we have a manwith a Ph.D. lusting afterpower and everyone joins achoir of protests. You cannever satisfy Nigerians.

I wish I wasn’t hungryand thinking about where

the next naira would comefrom otherwise I wouldhave got myself a placard,scribbled “JONATHANFOR LIFE” on it and plantedmyself in the middle of theThird Mainland Bridge sothe world would knowwhat’s what.

I truly feel bad for thepresident about theinsecurity in Nigeria. Itmakes him look, well,incompetent. But, what’s adoctor of zoology to do? BokoHaram is not a group ofanimals bouncing aroundcages. They are human.How is this even fair? Theman went to school to studyone thing and now he’sfaced with another thing!Totally unfair. And, thoseof you who think differently

just know that you’rejabbering against a divinemandate here and don’texpect Jonathan to dip hisfinger in the cool waters ofheaven and drop somewater on your hell-scotchedtongues.

I loved the fuel subsidyimbroglio in January. Iknew the president was adoctor but no one told us hehas a streak of a comicgenius in him. The way thewhole thing was managedfelt like Richard Pryor WASorchestrating it. Onemorning, Nigerians wokeup and the fuel price hadchanged. It was like in thegovernment’s infinitewisdom, it felt Nigerianswon’t notice. That’s the wayit always happens in themovie.

Trust Nigerians not tofollow a script. They had theguts to pour on the streetsfor almost a week, imitatingpeople from other landswith their shamelessOccupy Nigeriamovement. Who occupieshis own land and designs aT-shirt announcing it? Idon’t sit in my house with aT-shirt proclaiming “Ose’sCouch”.

But, what does thepresident do? He unveils amasterstroke and appointsNuhu Ribadu whose ownparty leader had sacrificedhim to pave way for theJonathan presidency to aposition that effectively

makes him the anti-oilbaron. This is what IbrahimBabangida used to do in hishey days. Find the mostpopular guys and put abucket on mud on theirhead. Then, sit back andwatch them dance theirway out of a mud spill.

I have one minorcomplaint, Mr. President.Where is the power? I’m notasking for too much. I don’teven want you to put a dateto it. I just want to know ifregular power supply wouldreturn in this lifetime?

You see, I grew up in anera when power outage wasso irregular that when ithappens we used to scream,“NEPA”. Then, as if to mockus, the power would be backwithin minutes. I knew I wasspoilt then. Is today apunishment for the past?

You and your teamprobably don’t readanything these days, Mr.President. I don’t blame you.It’s tough to get past thecongratulatory sections ofthe newspapers. All thosethick texts are

like the devil’sscribbling. But, if you oryour team are trollingthrough the web, looking atthose sites that makes aman and woman’s heart goboom-boom, I just want tosay, keep the deaf earsturned to the critics. Whatdo they know?

(Courtesy PremiumTimes)

President Goodluck Joanthan

ANALYSIS

Novak Djokovic’s bid for an historic Grand Slam enjoyedthe perfect French Open start yesterday as RogerFederer celebrated his 50th straight major with a

record-equalling 233rd Grand Slam win.Top seed Djokovic, bidding to become only the third man

to hold all four majors at the same time, and the first in 43years, eased past Italian claycourt specialist Potito Starace7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-1.

World No 1 Djokovic already has the Wimbledon, US Openand Australian Open crowns under wraps and a first FrenchOpen triumph in two weeks’ time would make him the firstman since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the sweep.

Djokovic, already the holder of the Wimbledon, US Openand Australian Open titles, has yet to reach a Paris final,having fallen three times at the semifinal stage. This year,he is scheduled to meet Federer in the last four.

Federer, the 2009 champion and four times runner-upto Rafael Nadal, endured few problems getting pastGermany’s Tomas Kamke, the world number 78, winning6-2, 7-5, 6-3.

The win, acheieved on a sixth match point, took himlevel with Jimmy Connors’ 30-year-old record of 233 GrandSlam match wins.

Monday’s victory was also his 50th against 12 losses atRoland Garros having made his debut as a wildcard in 1999where he went down to Australia’s Pat Rafter in the firstround.

PAGE 55PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Oshaniwa readyto be testedSuper Eagles’ left-back, Juwon

Oshaniwa, says he is ready to step onto the big stage in the Super Eagles’

2014 World Cup and 2013 Nations Cupqualifying matches beginning this weekendin Calabar.

Oshaniwa, who has had aboutv five capsfor Nigeria, also says underrating any teamis dangerous as it tends to shift focus fromserious preparations to lukewarm attitudewhich he believes often had adverse effectof the unwary team.

The Sharks’ defender said ahead ofNigeria’s first game against Namibia in the2014 FIFA World Cup qualification: “Thereare no small teams in football anymore. Itwill be total disrespect if we call Namibia,Malawi and Rwanda small teams in footballnowadays.

“Yesterday (on Sunday) we saw whatIceland did to France. The French nationalteam had to fight back to win 3-2 and thattells you that there are no small teams infootball again. We have also taken lessonsfrom Zambia. Not many people believedbefore the Africa Cup of Nations started thatZambia will become African champions.Even in the final, many people tipped Coted’Ivoire to win it but Zambia won.”

Oshaniwa’s focus is now on facing theBrave Warriors of Namibia on June 3 atthe UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar. Headded that the Super Eagles will only takethe three games one at a time.

“Our first game is against Namibia onSunday and I am only concentrating on thatand same goes for my teammates and thecoaches. We want to take the games one afteranother.

“Yes we all know that the three games(against Namibia, Malawi and Rwanda) areimportant but we want to focus on one gamebefore talking of the next one because thereare different approaches to every game. Soafter the Namibia game then we can talkabout the others,” he said to SuperSport.comon Monday.

However, the left wing back is unfazedby the challenge he will be facing for first-team place when the three games come upin June.

“I will give my best and by God’s grace Iwill be in the team to play for my country.I just want to play for my country in thesegames,” he remarked.

Oshaniwa faces competition for first-team football in the left-back role ahead ofthe three games from Sporting Braga’sElderson Echiejile.

Nigeria will play Namibia and Malawiin 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and faceRwanda in the second leg of a 2013 Afconqualifying.

All week 30 matches in the 2011/2012 Nigerian Premier Leaguecompetition will now be played on

June 2, an official said in Abujayesterday.

Tunji Babalola, the Acting ExecutiveSecretary of the Nigeria PremierLeague, said shift is meant to allow clubsand players to rally support for theEagles against Namibia. The Nigeria/Namibia match is scheduled for June 3at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar.

Four of the 10 week 30 matches wereearlier slated for June 2, while the restsix were scheduled for June 3.

“All week 30 matches will be playedon Saturday to allow for more support

for the all-important Super Eaglesmatch with the Namibian nationalteam in Calabar on June 3,’’ Babalolasaid.

He added that the NPL was takingthe step of bringing forward the sixmatches because it considered the SuperEagles match as crucial.

“The match is important to theEagles, no doubt, given the fact that itis their first in the qualifiers and theymust win it. But more important is thefact that our Nigeria-based players arein the team.

“The team has many Nigeria-basedplayers and it is crucial for us at theNPL that the team does well. It is our

NPL reschedules week30 matches for Eagles/Namibia game

Roland Garros: Federerlevels Connors record

belief that the team can succeed withall the necessary support,’’ Babalolasaid. The matches brought forward toSaturday from Sunday include theAkwa United FC versus Kwara UnitedFC, and Heartland FC versus RangersInternational FC.

The rest are Warri Wolves FC versusEnyimba International FC, Lobi Starsversus Kano Pillars FC, Ocean Boys FCversus 3SC, and Sunshine Stars FCversus Gombe United FC.

The other four fixtures are NigerTornadoes versus Kaduna United,Sharks FC versus Rising Stars, JigawaGolden Stars versus Dolphins FC andABS FC versus Wikki Tourists FC.

Jigawa to keep fighting

Struggling Jigawa Golden Stars havevowed that they would fight for theirlives in the remaining matches of the

Nigeria Premier League (NPL) this term.The NPL returnees on Saturday forced

debutants, Rising Stars to a 1-1 draw in aWeek 29 fixture played at the OluyemiKayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti.

Last week, the Golden Stars defied allodds as they also forced Nigeria’s CAFChampions League representatives,Sunshine Stars to a 3-3 draw in Ijebu-Ode.

The club’s captain, Adeiza Abdulazeeztold SuperSport.com that avoiding defeataway from home would help their quest ofmaintaining their status in the PremierLeague.

He added that dropping points at homewould also be disastrous for their ambition.

“We have avoided defeat in our last twoaway games which would help our target ifwe can continue this run in our subsequentaway games. I believe winning all our homematches would also help us this season,”Abdulazeez said.

Since that time, he has missed just one Grand Slam –the 1999 US Open where he failed to qualify.

Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt, a former world No1, lost 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 to Slovenia’s BlazKavcic while Spanish 15th seed Feliciano Lopez retiredagainst French qualifier Florent Serra with a stomachstrain.

American 10th seed John Isner, who took six-timechampion Nadal to five sets in the first round last year,went through by beating Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-3,6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka battled back from a setand 4-0 down to defeat Italy’s Alberta Brianti yesterdayand avoid becoming the first top seed in history to beknocked out in the French Open first round.

World No 1 Azarenka won 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-2 and willface German qualifier Dinah Pfizenmaier for a place in thelast 32, but she flirted with disaster for much of her 2hr16min battle on Philippe Chatrier Court.

Also, Chinese defending champion Li Na in 48 minutesoverpowered Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1 to advanceto the second round of the French Open, sustaining Asia’shopes of another Grand Slam title.

Li is bidding to become the first champion since JustinHenin in 2007 to defend the women’s singles title at RolandGarros.

Li Na

Roger-Federer

Novak-Djokovic

Nadal

PAGE 54 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

EURO 2012

Controversial Man City forward,Mario BaItaly and AngeloOgbonna, who is of Nigerian

parents as well as ageless Andrea Pirlo,have made the final list of Coach CesarePrandelli for Euro 2012.

The Italy manager dropped sevenplayers from his provisional squadyesterday including uncapped Pescaramidfielder Marco Verratti whose sidewon promotion to Serie A this monthalong with goalkeeper EmilianoViviano.

Domenico Criscito had already beendropped in order to clear his name ofmatch-fixing allegations while fellowdefenders Davide Astori and SalvatoreBocchetti have been left out along withmidfielders Luca Cigarini and Ezequiel

Schelotto.Prandelli’s decisions were largely

expected and the coach now has untilmidday on Tuesday to drop two moreplayers for his final 23-man Euro squad.

Criscito’s absence leaves Italy withjust centre back Giorgio Chiellini as arecognised defensive left footer.

Italy, who play Spain, Croatia andIreland at the Euros in Ukraine andPoland next month, face Luxembourgin a friendly in Parma on Tuesday.

Squad of 25:Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon

(Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis(Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris StGermain)

Defenders: Ignazio Abate (ACMilan), Federico Balzaretti (Palermo),

Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), LeonardoBonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini(Juventus), Christian Maggio(Napoli), Angelo Ogbonna (Torino),Andrea Ranocchia (Inter Milan)

Midfielders: Daniele De Rossi (ASRoma), Alessandro Diamanti(Bologna), Emanuele Giaccherini(Juventus), Claudio Marchisio(Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo(Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Paris StGermain), Antonio Nocerino (ACMilan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)

Forwards: Mario Balotelli(Manchester City), Fabio Borini (ASRoma), Antonio Cassano (AC Milan),Mattia Destro (Siena), Antonio DiNatale (Udinese), Sebastian Giovinco(Parma).

Balotteli, Ogbonna make Italy's squad, as Prandelli drops seven

Torres determined torepay Del Bosque’s faith

Germany’ll be ready,says Podolski

players.’’Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas was also

included, despite concerns about ahamsring injury, though ThiagoAlcantara and Andoni Iraola will notplay at the Euros because of fitnessconcerns.

“In the case of Cesc the doctors areoptimistic.” Del Bosque added. “Wedidn’t believe there was any chanceFernando Torres is determined to

repay the faith shown in him bySpain coach Vicente del Bosque

after a spectacular loss of form put himin serious danger of being left out ofthe world and European champions’squad for Euro 2012.

The 28-year-old striker, hero ofSpain’s triumph at the EuropeanChampionship in 2008, has struggledsince joining Chelsea from Liverpoolin January last year but has a chanceto rediscover his best form in Polandand Ukraine next month.

With record scorer David Villa ruledout through injury, Torres is likely tobe in Del Bosque’s starting lineupwhen they play Italy in their openingGroup C match on June 10, somethinghe said he would have found hard tobelieve in February when he wasdropped for a friendly againstVenezuela.

“I was left out of the squad and thatwas tough,” Torres said at a newsconference at Spain’s pre-Euro 2012training camp in Schruns, Austriayesterday.

“I started to understand that thingswere serious, that I wasn’t gettingmuch playing time with my club andthat if things carried on that way Iwouldn’t be going to Euro 2012,” headded.

“Vicente has put his faith in me andnow I need to show him I am ready toplay whenever he thinks it necessary.I hope to be able to give the team thebest of me.”

Torres, who has netted 27 times in91 appearances for his country, saidhis reprieve had made him moreenthusiastic than ever and he wasfighting fit after spending aconsiderable part of season watchingfrom the Chelsea bench.

“When you see yourself missing outand then you are selected you aremore excited even than the first day,”said the striker, whose club side liftedthe Champions League earlier thismonth.

“I have arrived feeling freshbecause I haven’t had the samephysical burden as the others and I amin good shape.

“I would have liked to have playedmore for my club but the importantthing is that everything works out inthe end.”

Meanwhile, Barcelona’s forwardPedro, 24, who has also had aninconsistent season but finished it witha flourish by scoring two goals in Barca’sCopa del Rey victory over AthleticBilbao on Friday will also be in theframe at the Poland and Ukraine jointlyhosted fiesta.

The La Masia graduate’s inclusionmeant that Adrian, who scored inSpain’s friendly victory over Serbia onSaturday, and Soldado, who scored 27goals for Los Che in 2011-12, were bothomitted from the final squad.

Alvaro Negredo, Fernando Llorenteare Vicente del Bosque’s other twoforwards alongside Pedro, with theSpain coach happy to explain thereasons behind his inclusions andexclusions of seven players.

“We always had Pedro in mind. Hehas had an irregular season like manyothers, but we valued his trajectoryover the medium term and for thisreason we have taken him. We needwide players that are efficient and cancomplement the bench.

“I didn’t have the Olympics in mindwhen it came to Adrian. Mata and JaviMartinez will be in the same position.We have preferred other options, but werecognise that he has been brilliant inthese days with us. He has doneeverything very well.

Negredo and Soldado are twoextraordinary and distinct players. Oneis quicker but the other offers more tothe play of the team.’’

Del Bosque also reflected on how thesquad had evolved since winning theWorld Cup in South Africa two yearsago, but again lamented the absence ofDavid Villa and Carles Puyol throughinjury.

“Villa is irreplaceable, for hischaracteristics and effectiveness no onecan do better than him,’’ he said. “Wefeel the same with Puyol, who is also afundamental miss for us.

“We have come four years since thelast Euros and there has been a 50%change in what was a relatively youngsquad. There were seven changes beforeSouth Africa and three since.

“It is a ratification of the fact we arebuilding usefully. Groups have to go andbe filled with new people but we have aplenitude of players and I don’t expectsuch a generation to last. However, wecannot have any doubt in these

of not naming him.“Thiago Alcantara has a problem

of certain importance that also putshis participation in the Olympics indoubt and in the case of Iraola, he hasall our appreciation but it seems hehas been playing with a great desireand is not physically right.’’

Spain squad:Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real

Madrid), Victor Valdes (Barcelona),Pepe Reina (Liverpool);

Defenders: Jordi Alba (Valencia),Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa, SergioRamos (all Real Madrid), Juanfran(Atletico Madrid), Gerard Pique(Barcelona), Javi Martinez (AthleticBilbao);

Midfielders: Xavi, AndresIniesta, Sergio Busquets, CescFabregas (all Barcelona), Xabi Alonso(Real Madrid), David Silva(Manchester City), Santi Cazorla(Villarreal), Jesus Navas (Sevilla),Juan Mata (Chelsea);

Forwards: Fernando Llorente(Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres(Chelsea), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla),Pedro (Barcelona)

Lukas Podolski says Germany will befit when it counts after a succession of recent disappointments for

Joachim Low’s tutored side.The Germans were beaten 5-3 by

Switzerland over the weekend just oneweek after Bayern Munich against highexpectation lost the final of theChampions League to Chelsea, a loss thatfurther dampened hope in Germany.

The eight Bayern players in Low’spreliminary 27-man squad were putthrough their paces in training for thefirst time after the Champions Leaguefinal yesterday and that also givesPodolski reason to be optimistic.

“There is no doubt that with the eightBayern players here, the qualityimproves,” he said.

“They are top guys and we havemissed them.”

Their experience was certainlylacking on Saturday when Germanywere humbled 5-3 by the Swiss.

Yet Podolski is not reading too muchinto that result, or the performance, ashe focuses on Germany’s first group gameagainst Portugal on June 9.

“It has been the same in previousyears, when we lost 4-1 to Italy (in 2006),for example,” Podolski said on the websiteof the German Football Association (DFB).

“Of course defeats like this shouldn’thappen and they hurt, and losing 5-3 toSwitzerland is definitely not on, but I canpromise there will be a different team onthe field (against Portugal).

“We have got to live with thecriticism. We are all focusing on Portugaland have got to be fit for that game, andwe will be fit.”

To take their minds of the defeat inBasle, 25 members of Low’s squad paid avisit to the Monaco Grand Prix yesterday.

“It was a good day for us to get ourheads free. I enjoyed it and the lads enjoyedit too, but now we are focusing on theEuros,” said Podolski.

Ogbonna

Torres

Lukas

Montpellier of France goalpoacher, John Utaka andIsrael-based goal tender

Austin Ejide swelled the number ofplayers in the Super Eagles camp inCalabar to 24, even as Head CoachStephen Keshi named Lille goalkeeperVincent Enyeama the skipper in placeof injured Joseph Yobo.

Utaka, who is returning to thesquad after being left out for about twoyears, has been in fine vein of form inthe Ligue 1 where he has scored morethan a dozen goals to help his Frenchclub clinched the league title.

The lively forward, who came inalong with Ejide another returnee tothe team (he last kept for Nigeria inthe 2-2 draw with Guinea, a result thatsent the Eagles out of the 2012 NationsCup race), later trained with the restof his colleagues in the evening session.

Already, Aberdeen forward, SoneAluko, Victor Moses of Wigan Athleticsand ever reliable Ikechukwu Uche, EfeAmbrose, Fengor Ogude, EldersonEchejile, Gege Soriola, Ekigho Ehiosun,Ahmed Musa and Vincent Enyeamawere the foreign-based Eagles onparade while the 12 home-based starswho were unveiled at the weekendwere equally in action.

Meanwhile, Keshi has named firstchoice keeper Enyeama, who thedeputy skipper the stand-in leader ofthe squad for the impendingqualifying matches. Enyeama, wholeft out of the squad by former coachSamson Siasia following his role theprotest over travelling arrangements,returned to the team for the first timewhen the Eagles played 0-0 draw withthe Amavubi of Rwanda in the 2014World Cup qualifying game.

Miffed by series of clayfooted display in thefront goal in the last

two international friendlymatches, Stephen Keshi hasdemanded an offensivecharacter from the Eagles asthe team build up for thisweekend 2014 World Cupqualifier against the Namibiain Calabar.

Keshi, who had fumed notonly over the quality of playby the players against Peru inLima, last Thursday, chargedthe forward to complement theefforts of the defence line andthe midfielders whom heequally insisted must be up anddoing in every game.

Peoples Daily Sports recallsthat though the Eagles scoredtwice against seven timesAfrican champions thePharaohs of Egypt in AbuDhabi, they barely managed tocreate chances but werelargely unable to take them inthe game against Peru.

Peerhaps, this informsKeshi’s decision to invite Utaka,Ikechukwu Uche, Victor Moses,Raheem Lawal, EkighoEhiosun, Sone Aluko, IzuAzukaEjike Uzoenyi, AhmedMusa, all strikers to the squad.

In yesterday’s trainingsessions, Keshi pointedly toldthe players that he desiresplenty of goals againstNamibia, Rwanda and alsotheir friendly duels againstwhoever.

And to drive home his point,keshi concentrated on drillingthe players on set pieces,offensive play and exploitingsame to advantage. “ I wantaggression on the ball. “In ourtime, matches against teamslike Namibia are not discussedin terms of whether we will winbut how many goals we willscore and that is what I wantus to return to in the new SuperEagles.

“They say we are the superpower and Namibians areminnows, those are only words,and until we show it on thepitch we will just be living in afool’s paradise,” he said addingthat no matter how pretty ateam plays if it failed to scoregoals it loses the essence of suchbeautiful display.

He warned the playersagainst under rating theNamibians who have beentraining in Germany and aredetermined to forestallNigeria’s quest to overcomethem.

The Super Eagles traintwice daily at 7:30 am and3:30 pm inside the UNICAlSports Ground and willcontinue when they to the UJEsuene Stadium on Thursday,where they will perfectstrategies against Namibia.

Defending champions ofthe 8-nationI n v i t a t i o n a l

Tournament, the Flying Eaglesin a must-win duel againsthosts South Africa if they hopeto progress to the last fourfinals.

The junior unexpectedlylost their opening game againstthe Black Satellites of Ghana 3-2 and only Sunday fell beforeArgentina who snatched 1-0win to send the Nigerian teamrooted on the bottom of thegroup.

But they could sneak in ifthey beat South Africa thatdefeated the Black Satellites 2-0 a task that the Nigerians are

capable of accomplishingshould they put their actstogether.

Argentina with six pointsare through but could doNigeria a huge favour if theybeat Ghana that only need adraw to edge out their WestAfrican counterparts.

The Eagles would need toscore two un-replied goals ormore to dislodge both SouthAfrica and Ghana if both losttheir last games.

Coach John Obuh and hisassistants had a showdown talkwith the players Sunday nightfollowing their disappointingdisplay and he expects them towork their promise of

redressing the situation withconvincing win.

In Sunday’s game theEagles were hardly able tocreate chances not to taking adevelopment the forced Obuhmake early substitution bywithdrawing Alhaji Gero forSikiru but all to no avail.

Meanwhile, the SouthAfricans have promised tooutrun ‘physical’ Flying Eaglestactically in today’s match.

“It’s a disadvantage (as theyare more physical than us), butwe are quicker than them andwe will try to keep the ball. Theteam spirit is high after our winover Ghana and we’re capableof getting a result against

Nigeria to march into the semi-finals,” said South Africaskipper Mbongeni Gumede.

“We need to calm downespecially after our win againstGhana. Nigeria are strong andfrom nothing they can get agoal. We therefore need to takeour chances against them. It’sa big concern that we have notbeen clinical enough evenwhen we have worked hard tocreate chances.

“Against Argentina, wecreated seven chances and onlyconverted one. Argentina hadthree chances and scored threegoals,” he said stressing thatthey must take their chancesagainst Nigeria.

Flying Eagles in make or mar clash with South Africa

Utaka, Ejide swell campto 24 as Keshi namesEnyeama skipperBy Patrick Andrew

RaheemLawal

IkechukwuUche

SoneAluko

JohnUtaka

PAGE 51PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Eagles must beaggressive, Keshicharges team

PAGE 53PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Though the pundits utterly disfavouredrule by jackboots, they, however,insisted that the kaki boys were more

favourably disposed to sports sponsorshipsand development that then their civiliancounterparts.

According to them, the presidentadministration of Goodluck Jonathan thatis one year old today has tended to tow theline of its predecessors to whom sports weremerely a pastime and who saw sports asnothing more than ‘small pikin play play’(kindergarten’s play).

They contended that in spite of the hugeimage laundry that sports had done to thebattered image and in fact corporateintegrity of Nigeria because the uglyincidences of bad leaderships, corruption andthe involvement of Nigerians in dirty dealsabroad, the government at all levels havecontinued to relegate sports to thebackground.

“One may be persuaded to see democracyas a curse rather than a blessing for sports.We recall that during the late General SaniAbacha’s military junta, Nigerian sportswere at their zenith. It proved to be a usefulweapon for international diplomacy becausewhile the leading nations treated Abacha’sGovernment like a pariah our sports menwere accorded international recognitionand respect everywhere they went.

“We recall vividly that it was duringthat so-called haunted and disreputablemilitary administration that Nigeria wonthe Atlanta ’96 Olympics gold the first byan African country. We equally won goldin long jump through Chioma Ajunwa andsilver and bronze (if I am not mistaken) inathletics.

“Even before then, under GeneralIbrahim Babangida, agreed that we neverreally won many major tournaments, butwe were always there and it was in that erathat we had three Nigerians in the finals ofWorld Athletics Championships. The GoldenEaglets won the FIFA Kodak U-17Championship in China and again the firstby an African country,” Femi Adegundarerecalls.

Some others were quick to point out thatJonathan’s government just like Late MusaYar’ Adua and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’spaid lip service to sports by sheer negligenceof the sector.

“Wasn’t it under Chief Obasanjo that thehandshake policy was introduced? Sportspersons who were often not provided for interms of adequate sponsorship or traininggrants were expected to obsequiously bowbefore the president or his representativetake an empty handshake and gleefullyleave the podium after traversing oceans toaccomplish a feat for Nigeria.

“Now, if that wasn’t callousness oroutright disdain for sports persons, then onehas to define d what disregard and contemptfor means? Sports, in my assessments, havefared poorly under this so-called democraticrule,” according to staff of the NationalSports Commission (NSC), who did not want

Democracy kills Nigeriasports, say pundits

As Nigerians celebrate thirteen years of uninterrupted democraticgovernance today, sports pundits in country have asserted thecountry has witnessed dismal performances in all facets than itused to be in the military era.

Now, if that wasn’tcallousness or outrightdisdain for sportspersons, then one has todefined what disregardand contempt for means?Sports, in myassessments, havefared poorly under thisso-called democratic rule

“to be named.

Ekeoba Izu also believes that democraticrule done little for sports. “Yes, the NSC didenjoy some latitude in terms of financialsupport sometimes directly from thepresidency deviod of the stringent budgetaryregime. One had thought that withdemocracy sports would enjoy bumperbudgetary allocation considering thatevery expenditure is subjected toappropriation by the National Assembly.

“It seems that the executive arm ofgovernment has taken delight in offeringpaltry sums even as it spends stupendousamount on frivolous endeavours thatneither yield tangible benefits to the nationnor could be credibly accounted for.”

Not a few sports journalists felt the sameway. Some could not hide their feelings aboutthe dismal attention that the variousgovernments have given to sports. “Well,may the politicians who have been smilingto the banks are celebrating 13 years ofdemocratic governance. Most sports personswould hardly have anything to rejoiceover. Military government was in allrespect lot friendly to sports development

than the civilian.“Yes, there are synthetic pitches

everywhere. But who uses them? What isthe maintenance culture like? How do weprepare our athletics for tournaments? Infact, apart from football that some stategovernments spend money on, whatattention is given to the so-called lessersports, which ironically have severalmedals?

“No, as a former sports journalist, I knowthat the past was better than today. ImagineNigeria with all our talents now narrowingour participation to seven sports. Yes, hugecontingent may well have been a jamboree,but why hasn’t the authorities streamlinedthe number sports rather than allow theathletics to work extra had hoping toparticipate in this historic event like theOlympics only to chop off ignominy?,” Sanisaid lamenting the lack of progress in thesystem.

Patrick Nkwogwu added his bit on thematter. “President Goodluck Jonathan hasnot improved our sports because our entiresporting sectors are in jeopardy, the wrongpersons are still managing our sports andthe president has done nothing to correct it.

“ If you go round the stadia in thecountry, you will find out what I am talkingabout, we don’t have facilities that we canreally call our own and be proud of. AbujaNational Stadium that cost billion of Nairais in need of rehabilitation. Is it NationalStadium Lagos or the Liberty Stadium inIbadan, now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium. Allthese facilities look like where we are raringcows.

“We are happy for Mallam BolajiAbdulahi’s appointment as Minister of Sportsafter making impact in resolving crises thatrocked the Nigeria football. But my questionis he is coming to work or to resolve thatcould have been avoided had the rightpersonnel been in charge of the varioussports federations?

“Why is the concentration on football?Why are athletes, boxing, weightlifting,wrestling, table tennis, long tennis that weused to dominate in African no longer withinour grab? Yes, we used to win gold medals inthe past, you can’t us doing well in them,not to talk about others. Another thing thatis killing our sports federations are the newway of contracting stadia withoutconsidering other sports,” Nkwogwu said.

“Democracy has not really helped oursports development but with theappointment of Bolaji as Minister of Sports,may be our sports will return to it glorydays, “Ayo Ibidapo said.

“Democratic rule is yet to exploit the fullpotential of sports since its advent 13 yearsago, it has not really done well in area ofsports because lack of security has affect thecountry badly as well as sportsdevelopment,” Arafat Aliyu said.

“As a Nigerians the truth must be told,president Gookluck Jonathan has not donewell in respect of sports development, I don’tthink the man have passion for sports if hedoes the fortune of our sports will change bynow,” said Mike Obasi.NFF president, Sani Ndanusa,

former Sports Minister

President Goodluck Jonathan

Aminu MaigariBolaji Abdullahi, newly appointedSports Minister

PAGE 52 PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

Swansea City has agreed afee with Hoffenheim forthe signing of midfielder

Gylfi Sigurdsson.Sigurdsson, 22, spent the

second half of the season on loanat Swansea from Hoffenheim,impressing at the LibertyStadium as he scored seventimes in 18 Premier Leaguematches.

The Swans stated theirintention to secure the Icelandinternational on a permanentbasis, although the Welsh clubfaced competition for hissignature.

It was confirmed onMonday, however, that a fee of£6.8 million has been agreedbetween Swansea and theirBundesliga counterparts while

Gylfi Sigurdsson

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has signeda new four-year deal at the WestLondon club, which will see him

through to the end of the 2015-16 PremierLeague season.

Cech, 30, joined the club in 2004 and isalready Chelsea’s record appearance makerfor an overseas player, having playing 369times for the Blues, winning three PremierLeague titles, four FA Cups, two CarlingCups and a Champions League title.

“I am really happy to be part of this greatclub for another four years. I hope the nextfour years will be as successful as the lasteight years I have been at the club,” Cechsaid.

The Czech stopper played a key role inChelsea’s triumph in the Champions Leaguethis campaign, saving a penalty from ArjenRobben in extra-time to keep his side in thegame.

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlayadded: “Chelsea fully appreciates the highlysignificant contribution Petr has made tothe most successful period in the club’shistory, and it is very important to our aimof continuing this level of achievement thathe has committed himself to the club until2 0 1 6 .

“It is clear to anyone who watched theclimax to the season just completed thatPetr continues to perform as well as anygoalkeeper in the world.’’

Over the course of his Chelsea careerCech has kept 178 clean sheets for the club,48% of the games he has played.

Petr Cech

Swans strikeSigurdsson deal

personal terms have also beensettled.

Sigurdsson, who joinedHoffenheim from Reading in2010 for £6 million, last monthexpressed his willingness toremain at Swansea, whofinished 11th in the 2011-12season, and will undergo amedical this week.

The season is over. Clubs are counting their blessing as well as losses and would like to make amends and even beef uptheir squads where noticeable lapses exist. And the transfer market is agog barely 24 hours after major Europeanleagues dropped the curtain.And so to keep abreast with latest rumours, we begin daily doses of movements within the market both for players andcoaches like.

Transfer

AC Milan consider move for City striker Tevez

Ivanovic admitsReal interest

Cech signsnew Bluesdeal

The Chelsea defenderBranislav Ivanovic hasadmitted that he is

aware of interest from theSpanish champions RealMadrid, but has indicated thathe is happy to remain atStamford Bridge.

Ivanovic, 28, signed acontract with Chelsea inFebruary that takes him to thesummer of 2016 but thecaptain of Serbia said onSunday: “I know there is aninterest from Madrid, who isfollowing me. But it’s not thetime to talk about it now.”

The versatile Ivanovic wassuspended for Chelsea’sChampions League finalvictory over Bayern Munich,and saw the January arrivalGary Cahill take his place inMunich.

the player who was signedby Chelsea in January 2008,four months after the departureof the current Real Madridmanager, José Mourinho, said:“I’m am very happy withChelsea. I have just won theChampions League, a change iscomplicated. I am very happyin London.”

Cuvelier signs new Stoke deal

Stoke City midfielderFlorent Cuvelier hassigned a new two-year

contract at the BritanniaStadium, with the option of anextra year to see him remainat the club until the end of the2014/15 season.

Cuvelier, 19, joined the Pottersfrom Portsmouth in 2010, havingattracted interest from the likes ofManchester City and Tottenham,but is yet to make his debut forTony Pulis’ time.

The young Belgian spent theend of the last campaign on loanat League One side Walsall, forwhom he scored four goals in 18appearances, and will now look topush on into the Stoke first-teamset-up.

He added: “There were offersfrom other football clubs so this wasa big decision for me, but I amcertain that I have made the rightchoice

AC Milan is consideringrenewing their pursuit ofManchester City striker

Carlos Tevez when the summertransfer window opens,according to reports in Italy.

They Rossoneri failed witha bid to sign Tevez in January,but are ready to move for himagain if they can offload ZlatanIbrahimovic.

The former Barcelona star

recently gave an interview inwhich he said AC Milan did nothave the money to buy thequality of players he believesthey need to bring in thissummer.

A l is t of possiblereplacements is apparentlybeing compiled and Tevez islikely to be at the top of it.

The ex-West Ham andManchester United man sat

out much of last season afterhe fe l l out with City bossRoberto Mancini and f lewhome to Argentina.

Mancini is known to ratethe Swedish str iker highlyafter working with him atInter Milan and has beenl inked with a move for the30-year-old on severaloccasions s ince takingcharge at City.

Santos seek Spurs talks

City target Silva

Giovani Dos Santos intendsto hold talks withTottenham Hotspur

chairman Daniel Levy withregards his future.

Dos Santos, 23, hasstruggled to make animpression at Tottenham sincejoining the club fromBarcelona in 2008.

The forward has been

loaned out to Racing,Galatasaray and Ipswichduring his time at White HartLane, and this season he failedto make a Premier League startfor Spurs.

Dos Santos is currentlyfocused on impressing for hisnation Mexico but will seekdiscussions with Tottenhamwhen he returns to England.

The agent of Man Citytarget Thiago Silva hasclaimed that the

defender would considerleaving the San Siro if ACMilan wanted to sell him.

The Brazilian internationalhas been linked with a move tothe Etihad stadium after Cityboss Roberto Mancini wasspotted having discussions withRossoneri vice-presidentAdriano Galliani in Milan lastweek.

Silva has also been linkedwith a move to big-spending PSGas well as Spanish giantsBarcelona and agent PauloTonietto indicated he would bewilling to listen to any offers.

“Thiago has a contract withAC Milan. PSG and Barcelona aretwo great clubs and we would behonoured by their interest, butthey have not spoken to me andAC Milan hasn’t told meanything,” Tonietto toldCalciomercato.com.

Branislav Ivanovic

FlorentCuvelier

Thiago Silva

SPORTS LALALALALATESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT: 0803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 7458BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS: 0805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 1765NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS: 0803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 3308LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS: 0805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 1969

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Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza,Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos,Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.comISSN: 2141– 6141

TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTTTTTABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETEDrDrDrDrDreams come treams come treams come treams come treams come trueueueueue..... WWWWWithoutithoutithoutithoutithout

thathathathathat possibilityt possibilityt possibilityt possibilityt possibility,,,,, na na na na naturturturturture we we we we wouldouldouldouldouldnot incite us to have themnot incite us to have themnot incite us to have themnot incite us to have themnot incite us to have them

— J— J— J— J— John Updikohn Updikohn Updikohn Updikohn Updikeeeee

Hazard to joinChelsea, asCech signsnew contract

You have now beenPresident for one year. Ortwo years, depending on

who's counting - your "friends" or"enemies". Hearty congratulationsto you, the canoe-carver's son who,eight years ago, was but a lowly"spare-tyre" (aka deputy governor)tucked away in the murky creeksof Southern Nigeria.

You did start out with a lot ofgoodwill and support - frommultitudes bowled over by yourstories of childhood deprivationand divinely -orchestratedpromotion; and your disarmingmien. You came to that officewithout the desperation or senseof entitlement that has generallymarked many contenders for AsoRock, and Nigerians seemed torealise and appreciate that.

That, however, was then. Onething is now very clear - thehoneymoon is over.

As the weeks have rolled intomonths, it has become clear thatone needs a lot more than aninspiring personal story to make apresidential difference. 500,000-plus Facebook friends will also donothing to positively influenceone's chances of being a successfulpresident.

Your "enemies" accuse you ofbeing dour and colourless; in yourdefence your spokespersonhighlights the "magnetism of[your] personality" and praisesyou for being a "fashion icon". Evenworse, your enemies accuse you ofbeing "clueless" (they haveactually almost succeeded inpermanently hitching 'clueless' toyour name, as Google wouldattest). Your friends insist you'reanything but clueless. On yourpart you tell us you "don't need tobe a lion. I don't need to beNebuchadnezzar. I don't need tooperate like the Pharaoh of Egypt.I don't need to be an army generalbut I can change this countrywithout those traits."

On the whole, the countryexpends a lot of energy trying toanswer the question: "Who isGoodluck Jonathan?"

One of the most astringentpieces of criticism I have ever comeacross regarding any nationalleader, was written in reference toyou - Lionel Barber, the Financial

fast establishing a reputation as an"accident-prone" leader. From thetenure elongation debate, to thefuel subsidy mishap (both thecorruption scandal and thesubsequent cruel attempt to makeordinary Nigerians pay for theevils of a privileged minority), tothe questionable handling of BokoHaram, to the ridiculouspredilection for multiplyingmeaningless presidentialcommittees - the shoeless kid hassince grown up to become an expertmis-stepper, it seems.

Yet, I refuse to give up hope. Ayear ago I read an article in theEconomist that compared you toa former American president(1881 - 1885), Chester Arthur:

The honeymoon is over:An anniversary letter toPresident Jonathan

H i g h l y - r e g a r d e dBelgian interna-tional midfielder

Eden Hazard has opted to joinEuropean champions Chelseaahead of Manchester City andManchester United, the playersaid yesterday.

Hazard, named the bestLigue 1 player in the last twoseasons, had been expected tojoin either Premier Leaguechampions Manchester City orrunners-up Manchester Unitedafter he said he would choosebetween the two.

The gifted playmaker,capped 27 times by Belgium,led Lille to the French title in2011 and scored 17 goals thisseason as they finished third toqualify for next season'sChampions League playoff. Heannounced in October that hewould leave Lille at the end ofthe season.

Chelsea won the ChampionsLeague for the first time thismonth, adding to their FA Cupfinal success. The London sideendured a disappointing leaguecampaign, however, finishingsixth after sacking managerAndre Villas-Boas in March.

Former player Roberto DiMatteo took interim charge andguided the team to anunexpected Champions Leaguefinal win over Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, star goalkeeperPetr Cech, who saved threepenalties to gift Chelsea theChampions league trophy,signed a new four year contractwith the team yesterday.

In that time Cech - whowears protective headgearsince suffering a serious headinjury in October 2006 - hasaccrued aside from theChampions League threePremier League titles, four FACups and two League Cups sincejoining from French sideRennes.

The former Sparta Praguekeeper, capped 89 times andone of the few survivors in thepresent Euro squad from theside that reached the Euro 2004semifinals, said he was lookingforward to more successfultimes at Chelsea.

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

Times' Editor, recently describedyou as a "Chauncey Gardinerfigure with no obvious vision forhis presidency beyond holdingoffice."

Tragically, it is a descriptionthat many are happy to agreewith. Questions are mounting bythe day - where are you takingNigeria to? Do you have an idea?Do you have a personal vision ofthe kind of Nigeria you'd like to passon to your successor, in 2015, or2019 (or whenever fate, in all itsrandomness, decrees it, as it didfor your predecessor)? Is there abig picture somewhere in yourmind?

One year (or two?) on,Nigeria's "accidental president" is

President Goodluck Jonathan

"Both men fell in with meanpolitical machines - Arthur in NewYork, Mr Jonathan in the NigerDelta - and were elevated fromtotal obscurity to the vicepresidency by scheming regionalbosses. Then the presidentsuddenly died (Garfield in 1881,Yar'Adua in 2010), and the top jobwas theirs. Arthur deserted themachine that made him and putit out of business. He created themodern American civil serviceand throttled patronage politics.He was not re-elected."

The Economist then asks:"Might Mr. Jonathan follow thesame path?"

The choice, dear President, isyours. This is about making adifference (the kind of top-drivenchange that continues to elude thiscountry), not merely holdingoffice or getting a second term. Putthe sermons and Zoology lessonsaside, and face the arduous taskbefore you. You wield the samepower your predecessors wielded;you will face more or less the samechoices they faced - to championtransformational change, or tomerely speechify, maintain thestatus quo, punish your "enemies",and enrich yourself and thearmies of sycophants thataccumulate around everyNigerian president.

And Time / History / Posteritywill no doubt judge you the sameway it has judged every single oneof them. It'll be too late to defendyourself then. Ask IbrahimBadamosi Babangida, the pre-eminent living metaphor forWasted Presidential Opportunity.

Ogunlesi was awarded a2009 CNN MultichoiceAfrican Journalism prize

“Questions are mounting by the day - where are you takingNigeria to? Do you have an idea? Do you have a personal visionof the kind of Nigeria you'd like to pass on to your successor, in2015, or 2019 (or whenever fate, in all its randomness, decrees

it, as it did for your predecessor)? Is there a big picturesomewhere in your mind?

By Tolu Ogunlesi

GUEST COLUMNIST