The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Abia approves reopening of schools on January 11

    Abia approves reopening of schools on January 11

    Our Reporter

     

    GOVERNOR Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has approved the reopening of all schools in the state on Monday, January 11, for the continuation of the first term of 2020/2021 academic session.

    Education Commissioner, Kanaelechi Nwangwa, said yesterday that all school heads and proprietors should ensure the observance of COVID-19 protocols for the safety of teachers and students.

    He said this was imperative following the second wave of the COVID-19 in Nigeria.

    “They should also note that by this directive, the first term of 2020/2021 will now officially end on Wednesday Feb. 10, 2021,” he said.

    “This is to ensure that the first term runs a full course as expected.

    Read Also: ‘APC didn’t approach Ikpeazu to join party’

    “Any school proprietor that shortchanges this schedule and decides to cut corners by running an abridged term will be appropriately sanctioned.

    “The duration of the first term for the 2020/2021 academic session is from Nov. 2, 2020 to Feb. 10, 2021 with the Christmas break in-between,” he said.

    Nwangwa urged school heads and proprietors to be properly guided by the directive to avoid unwanted consequences.

  • EPL: Brighton come from 3-1 down to draw with Wolves

    EPL: Brighton come from 3-1 down to draw with Wolves

    Agency Reporter

     

    Lewis Dunk’s header helped Brighton come from 3-1 down to earn a point against Wolves in an eventful Premier League encounter at the Amex Stadium.

    The draw leaves the Seagulls only three points above the relegation zone, but the manner of the fightback will have heartened the fans who have seen their side win only once in 15 league games.

    It began well for the home side when Aaron Connolly poked in from Leandro Trossard’s delivery in the 13th minute, but Wolves were level six minutes later as Romain Saiss sent a looping header past Robert Sanchez after Nelson Semedo had retrieved a corner to the far post.

    Worse was to follow for the hosts in the 34th minute when the ball bounced off defender Dan Burn and into the net after Sanchez had saved from Pedro Neto. Burn had seconds earlier conceded the corner which led to the goal.

    Read Also: EPL: Son, Kane fire Tottenham to victory

    Burn cut a distraught figure just before half-time when he brought down Adama Traore after the Spanish winger outpaced him on the byeline. Ruben Neves fired in from the penalty spot for his first goal since February.

    Instead of caving in, Brighton sprang out of the blocks from the restart. Within 50 seconds it was 3-2 when Neal Maupay scored from the spot after he was fouled by Joao Moutinho.

    Brighton continued to pepper the Wolves area and, after Adam Webster’s header came off the bar, they were finally level when Dunk nodded home from Trossard’s corner.

     

    (BBCSports)

     

  • FF and the restructuring debate (1)

    FF and the restructuring debate (1)

    Segun Ayobolu

     

    THE Coronavirus pandemic and its toll both on lives and the economy, the #endSARS protests, which were hijacked by murderous hoodlums, as well as the pervasive insecurity were the defining elements that made life ‘nasty, solitary, brutish and short’  across the country in 2020. Yet, there was a little noticed flicker of light towards the end of the year that portends hope for the future even as Nigeria continues to contend with severe, mostly manmade, existential challenges. That was the decision of the Ekiti State University to invite renowned human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), to deliver its 2020 Convocation lecture on 16th December, 2020.

    This seemingly insignificant but important event offers signs of future hope because the resolution of any society’s problems, no matter how seemingly intractable, lies essentially in the realm of ideas and the intellect and the Ekiti State University has led the way in demonstrating that our universities can once again be the arenas for vigorous articulation and interrogation of ideas that can lay the basis for national transformation.

    Titled ‘Restructuring and the Liberation of Nigeria’, Mr. Femi Falana’s cerebral offering did not disappoint. It was pungent, incisive, ideologically informed and the lecturer, characteristically, took no prisoners in engaging a subject that has been at the forefront of public discourse in recent times often, unfortunately, from utterly ill-informed and misleading perspectives. Right from the opening lines of his lecture, Mr. Falana takes issues with and firmly opposes the manipulation/exploitation of ethno-regional sentiments and emotions by those he describes as ‘ethnic warlords, demagogues and clairvoyants from their declared “territories” with captive audiences”. Many of them can best be described as ‘ethnic entrepreneurs’.

    Falana does not disagree with the need to restructure Nigeria. But he contends that no less important, perhaps even more so, is the imperative to urgently liberate the country from the ‘shackles of poverty, inequality and gross socio-economic injustice’. He insists that at the top of our national agenda must be the determination to ‘banish hunger, disease and ignorance’ from these otherwise richly blessed shores. Thus, in his words “These vertical and horizontal steps are important ones to take simultaneously for the development and progress of Nigeria. The implication of the foregoing is that the debates on restructuring should be reframed in the interest of social justice, geo-political equity, genuine freedom and the unity of the people of Nigeria”.

    But what exactly is the radical lawyer talking about here some may ask? Is restructuring not a necessary condition for achieving the goals of banishing hunger, disease and ignorance? Unfortunately, the most vocal and ardent voices on the pro-restructuring  platform give the impression that restructuring is essentially about fundamental adjustments and rearrangements in the ethno-regional and administrative superstructure of the Nigerian polity while largely ignoring the no less important and critical inequities and injustices that define the country’s economic substructure.

    Indeed, it is the relentless deepening of poverty and the attendant ever escalating inequality between privileged and deprived socio-economic classes that has sharpened, ironically, the saliency of ethnicity as a tool of group manipulation by largely self-serving elites who mask the naked pursuit of power for socio-economic aggrandizement under the guise of protecting the interests of particular ethnic and/or regional groups. The fact of the co-existence within one geographical space of plural ethno-cultural groups is not the fundamental problem with Nigeria and the reason for the protracted non-realization of her immense potentials. Rather, Nigeria remains a ‘crippled giant’ six decades after nominal independence because of the persistence in power, through its various factions and fractions, military and civilian, of a mindlessly corrupt, inept, visionless and ideologically as well as intellectually vacuous political class.

    No ethno-regional faction or fraction of this political class along with its business wing has demonstrated any higher sense of patriotism or standard of ethical integrity than the others. Much of the loud clamour for restructuring by vocal sections of the political class in parts of the country is thus no evidence of a more elevated altruistic commitment to the best interests of the vast majority of the people either of Nigeria as a whole or the parts of it that they purport to be fighting for. In the same vein, those who contend that ‘Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable’ just to preserve wholesale an unjust and inequitable status quo that profits them are actuated by selfish, self-centered motives.

    The sense I get from Mr. Falana’s lecture is that restructuring is not a magic cure-all prescription, a once and for all exercise, that resolves a society’s contradictions and challenges for all time. Despite the indisputably radical ideological cast of his take on restructuring, Femi Falana adopts a far more practical, pragmatic and realistic approach to the issue that contrasts sharply with those who call for the total jettisoning of the extant 1999 constitution and the creation of a new one ex-nihilo. Yet, those who make such outlandish suggestions in the name of restructuring ignore the fact that there is no reasonable consensus on what a restructured Nigeria should look like or which of the contending ideas or models of restructuring should be adopted as well as why and how this will be legitimated.

    Falana’s approach entails building on the merits of what exists, identifying its weaknesses, failings and shortcomings and systemically working to eliminate these in such a way that a more efficient, effective, functional and democratic as well as federal polity ultimately emerges. I am sure his audience would have been more enthused if he had emotively and excitedly advocated the wholesale shredding of the extant constitution and the revolutionary adoption of a totally new document of constitutive and regulative rules governing relations in the Nigerian polity. Falana takes an eminently more sensible if not particularly populist position which adheres with what is perceived in some quarters as the correct conventional wisdom.

    His words: “Restructuring alone will not automatically answer the menacing question of rising youth joblessness and hopelessness plaguing Nigerian society. To reframe the question, some myths should be exploded. First, stripped of all obfuscation, restructuring is basically about making the Nigerian federation work better for the purpose of governance and development. That should be the objective of restructuring rather than the elusive pursuit of “true federalism”. There is nothing like a true federalism. Every federation is structured for the specific purpose of each country. That is why the Indian federation is not identical to that of Australia or America. The Swiss federation is operated differently from that of Canada or Brazil. The German federation is working not because it is “true” but because it meets the specific historical need of Germans. So we should stop mystifying the debate by calling for a “true federalism” instead of asking for a workable federation for Nigeria”.

    Is Falana then not defending the status quo and thus by his position making the fundamental structural changes advocated by many exceedingly difficult or impossible to attain? The answer most certainly is no, in my view. Rather, he approaches the question of restructuring not from a fixed, rigid position of an ideologue but from the prism of the pragmatic and methodical constitutionalist. Let me quote him at some length again, “As a matter of fact, making a federation to work, building a nation or promoting national integration is never a finished business. As the experiences of countries defined by diversity and complexity have shown, the business of a functional federation is actually a work in progress. After all, what’s federalism if not a system of continuous negotiation and compromises? That’s why it is a gross misnomer when some people pronounce arrogantly that “Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable”. That’s wrong. Federations are, of course, subject to negotiations when the need arises in any generation. What is to be is to accept the reality of negotiation and compromises so as to give everyone a sense of belonging. This will invariably spur a sense of commitment to the nation.”

    After exhaustively situating the advocacy for restructuring in Nigeria in historical context right from the colonial intrusion through the first, second and aborted third republics, including the various military dispensations, to the present, Falana concludes that there now appears to be a reasonable consensus around the implementation of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference “as a way of addressing the lingering questions of Nigerian federalism”. This is against the background, which he notes, of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s inexplicable reticence in taking any positive action on restructuring or federalism despite the provisions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) manifesto as well as the total neglect of the recommendations of the governor Nasir el-Rufai panel on modalties for giving effect to the party’s manifesto in this regard.

    Since the el-Rufai panel’s recommendations reportedly was submitted complete with draft bills to be forwarded for processing into law by the National Assembly to effect necessary constitutional changes to strengthen federal practice, is the fundamental problem then not that of lack of the leadership with the requisite will to act rather than any inherently irremediable defects in the 1999 constitution?

  • How COVID-19 disrupted constitution review process —Omo-Agege

    How COVID-19 disrupted constitution review process —Omo-Agege

    Sanni ONOGU, Abuja

     

    THE planned constitution review would have gone a long way by now but for the coronavirus pandemic, Senate Deputy President, Ovie Omo-Agege, said on Friday.

    Omo-Agege, who chairs the Senate Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, said in his New Year message that the pandemic “disrupted our earlier plans to have the constitution alteration bills voted on sometime in December last year.”

    But he said the National Assembly was not relenting in getting the job done.

    He pledged that the Senate would be fair to all, while efforts are being made to ensure that the report of the panel would be ready in record time.

    “Consequently, we will have those votes taken on each of these bills separately in not too distant time,” he said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, in Abuja.

    He asked Nigerians to use the New Year to renew their commitment to collective prosperity, growth and development by contributing more to nation building.

    He also stressed the need for citizens to continue to demonstrate love and exhibit compassion towards one another.

    Read Also: Omo-Agege preaches tolerance at Christmas

    The Delta Central lawmaker acknowledged the resilience and perseverance of Nigerians in the midst of the socio-economic difficulties in the Year 2020, occasioned by the novel Coronavirus pandemic and urged them to reignite their undying spirit and enter the New Year with vigour and hope.

    He said:”COVID-19 has upended the global economy with its devastating effects not only on health, but on domestic economies and multilateral trade, cooperation and aid. It has led to recession in various countries, killed over a million people and wiped out millions of jobs.”

    “We are also confronted with security challenges in most parts of the country.

    “As Nigerians, we stand together, confident that we shall again overcome these challenges. Our ability to overcome our challenges collectively has never been in doubt, what we need now more than ever is to galvanize these unique qualities for the good of all.”

    “As a people, we must continue to imbibe the spirit of togetherness and love for one another. We must also support the government at all levels by contributing our quota to the generation of wealth and the alleviation of poverty in the land.

    “I firmly believe that we are on course to true greatness. Let us keep hope alive as we renew our collective resolve to ensure that the dreams and labour of our heroes’ past are transformed into a better future for succeeding generations.”

  • Obiano lifts suspension of three traditional rulers 

    Obiano lifts suspension of three traditional rulers 

    Nwanosike Onu, Awka 

     

    THE Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has reinstated three of the 13 suspended traditional rulers in the State, who visited Abuja without permission few months ago

    He said on Friday that his decision was in the spirit of the New Year.

    The monarchs had traveled to Abuja to visit President Mohammaduu Buhari on the instance of the oil mogul Arthur Eze without Obiano’s authorisation

    Obiano had about three weeks ago dethroned three of the monarchs by withdrawing their certificates of recognition, while suspension on five were equally, lifted .

    Amongst the dethroned monarchs were Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo of Nawfia, Igwe Anthony Onyekwere of Owelle and Igwe G.B.C. Mbakwe of Abacha.

    Those whose suspension were lifted included Igwe Simon Ikechukwu Chidubem of Umumbo, Igwe A.N. Onwuneme of Ikenga, Igwe Mark Anthony Okonkwo of Alor, Igwe Chukwuma Bob Vincent Orji of Ezinifite and Igwe S.O. Uche of Ezira

    Read Also: ‘Obiano can’t stop us from developing Anambra’

    However,  on Friday, the state government in a public service announcement by the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Greg Obi, said in the spirit of the new year, the state governor, Willie Obiano, had pardoned the monarchs whose suspensions were still being  held

    According to the government, “His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Anambra State,in a new year act of magnanimity, has decided to lift the suspension of three remaining traditional rulers effective  immediately in exercise of the powers bestowed on him under the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Law of 2007 as amended”.

    “The affected traditional rulers are : Igwe Kelly N Nkeli of Igbariam, Igwe Dr Emeka Ilouno of Ifitedunu, and Igwe Peter A Uyanwa of Ukwulu”

     

  • ‘Tougher times await Nigerians in 2021 food wise’

    ‘Tougher times await Nigerians in 2021 food wise’

    Former president of the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Sunday Bamgbose, recently delivered a paper on the nation’s outlook in terms of food security, which drew a rapturous applause. He elaborates on his position in this interview with PAUL UKPABIO and also speaks about issues concerning his private life and lifestyle.

     

     

    Your organisation is made up of experts on food issues. How prepared is Nigeria for food sufficiency?

    Sadly, Nigeria is far from food sufficiency despite the presence of many experts on food issues both on our platform (NIFST) and other similar or related platforms. This can be attributed to many factors, including insecurity, poor funding, lack of coordination among the various stakeholders in the food value chain, government’s lack of commitment to food sufficiency despite the lip service being paid to it and playing politics with food matters. These and other factors make the issue of food sufficiency to look like a mirage despite the availability of egg heads in our institute and other professions.

    Have we ever had food sufficiency in the country?

    It is obvious that we have not had food sufficiency in the past few years. From the report of the NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) in recent past, aside the fact that inflation has been on the rise generally, food inflation has been consistently above the average inflation. Foods have been scarce and very expensive. For example, I am into poultry farming. In the last one year, the price of feed has almost doubled due to shortage of major inputs into feed production, such as maize and soya bean cake. The irony of it is that we hear of billions of naira government is claiming to be spending to support food production. The pertinent question is why are these government policies, intervention and supports not resulting in abundant and cheaper food?

    With the high rate of banditry and herdsmen attacks on farmers this year, what projection should we be looking at in terms of food in the country next year?

    While I would have loved to project something positive, the reality on ground is very scary. Government needs to do more to stop the incessant attacks by herdsmen, bandits and Boko Haram on farmers in different parts of the country. Recently, 43 rice farmers were slaughtered on their farms in Borno. There have been similar attacks and kidnappings in other parts of the country. Can you imagine the impact of such attacks on the psyche of other farmers and aspiring farmers?

    The curious thing is that the government is not showing enough will power to stop the incessant attacks. Or how do we explain the fact that in the five years of this government, no single person has been prosecuted for all these crimes. Rather, government seems to come up with excuses to justify the attacks or label them as farmers-herders clashes. You then wonder if all those gory sight of babies, children and women butchered were farmers clashing with herders too. Except something drastic happens, Nigeria should brace up for tougher times in terms of food sufficiency in 2021. I pray that something drastic happens to avert this looming food scarcity. But government should wake up to her responsibility of stopping these attacks on farmers.

    Do you think that the effort of government towards production of food in the country is enough?

    Any effort that does not yield positive results is obviously not enough or wrongly channeled or not sincerely applied. For example, this government has talked more about boosting food production than previous governments, yet more people are hungry in spite of all these efforts. I think what the government is doing wrong is that this government is not clear about what they intend to achieve with each of the actions they are taking to boost food production.

    For example, if government has earmarked a certain amount to support farmers, a clear goal must be set for the percentage increase in production expected from such intervention. There must be a way of monitoring if the money got to the intended beneficiaries. Someone should be asking relevant questions. Why are prices of foods increasing when more production should lead to reduction in price? The issues of preservation of harvest, security and so on must be considered and solutions provided.

    It seems the government is more interested in getting applause for efforts made than for the results obtained. That is why the government is intolerant of any form of criticism. That is why they are quick to reel out all the schemes they have on paper rather than the impact of these schemes on the lives of Nigerians.

    The call in recent times has been for young graduates to go into farming. Fom your vantage point of view, do you think the call is achieving results?

    The call though totally in order, is, sadly, not achieving the desired results because the enabling environment to encourage such venture has not been put in place. For example, sometime earlier in the year (2020), a video of a young lady went viral. She was lamenting the high cost of feeds for her laying birds, which she could no longer afford thereby watching her birds starving to death. In another documentary video somewhere in Oyo State, a young lady farmer was kidnapped while her fiancé was killed during the kidnap by herdsmen. Such stories are disincentive to young graduates going into farming. If government creates the enabling environment, it will be easy to attract young graduates into farming.

    In what ways has your organisation been contributing to food production in the last few years?

    At both the chapter and national levels, NIFST has been collaborating with other stakeholders to address the issue of food security. This collaboration cuts across government departments like the Lagos Safety Commission; the Ministry of Agriculture; regulatory bodies like NAFDAC and SON; research institutes like FIIRO, NSPRI and so on.

    We have conducted trainings jointly or singularly to educate stakeholders along food value chain on safe handling and storage of food. We have organised training and enlightenment campaigns to address the issue of misuse of chemicals for food preservation. We have embarked on campaign to various markets in different parts of the country to address street food safety. I have personally been on 3 National TV channels on four different occasions to address mainly food safety. So also have several of our members been on different radio, TV and online channels to address issues related to food production, value addition in the food value chain, food preservation, food safety and so on.

    Our institute partnered with Wageningen University & Research of Netherlands to conduct a research on improving nutrition through increase in consumption of vegetables in Nigeria. The research and the intervention programme were recently concluded. We are currently doing another project on street food safety in conjunction with the Lagos State Government and a third party. We are conducting training on different areas of food science and technology throughout 2021. The training timetable was recently released by the institute.

    At what point do you think that the government should declare a state of emergency on food production?

    I think a state of emergency should have been declared by now. It is already getting too late. Every available data is pointing to the fact that we are in a precarious situation already. Government needs to do something urgently to address all issues affecting food sufficiency.

    Do you believe like some people do that the Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) programme of the Obasanjo-led military administration in the 1970s should be revisited?

    Well, the issues we have on ground currently go beyond revisiting OFN. While I see nothing wrong with re-visiting OFN or any other scheme, if other issues like insecurity, lack of commitment, are not addressed, it will still not achieve the desired results.

    The NIFST recently became a chartered institute. What advantage does that bring?

    I think one of the best actions taken by President Buhari since coming to power five years ago was the signing into law the bill that established the council for the regulation of the practice of food science in Nigeria. Food is about the most important thing in life and it is important that the profession should be regulated. You may not go to the hospital or see a doctor for months or years, you may not take drug for months or years, yet you cannot practice as a doctor or pharmacist without the authorization of the relevant professional bodies. It is therefore a big omission to have allowed just anybody to handle food that we must eat every day without any form of regulations. This is putting so many lives at risk.

    Therefore, the signing into law of the charter bill will bring lots of sanity into the practice of food science when fully implemented and will help to ensure safer food for Nigerians and even non-Nigerians because the food produced in Nigeria are now exported to Asia, Europe, America and other parts of the world. This will build confidence in food products produced in Nigeria irrespective of where it is consumed.

    As a former employee of Coca-Cola, do you miss regular employment?

    I would say to some extent, I missed the regular employment, especially after working for an international organisation like Coca-Cola. Like everything else, working in a corporate environment has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, working in an Organisation like Coca-Cola gave me the opportunity to meet some of the best brains around the world. It broadened my knowledge beyond my technical areas. You have the opportunity of knowing about marketing, human resources, sustainability and so on. You get opportunity to sit at meetings where all departments make presentations and opportunity to contribute. Beyond this, you are sure of regular salary, you enjoy travelling to different parts of the world, travelling business class at company expense, official car and stuffs like retreat where you can mix business with pleasure.

    However, being on my own gives me freedom that is priceless. It gives me more time for my family, which I did not have while with Coke. Also, I hate the office politics that is very entrenched in the corporate setting. By nature, I don’t know how to pretend or do eye service; I say it the way I see it. Probably because of my absolute trust and dependence on God, I was not afraid of saying it bluntly the way I see it. I guess many didn’t really like such bluntness where many have learnt to conform. Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity I had working in a corporate setting, but I will not trade it for the freedom and flexibility I now enjoy working on my own.

    How profitable has it been working exclusively as a consultant?

    Well I have cause to thank God. I left the paid employment about six years ago, and my absolute trust in God has not failed once. Aside working as a consultant, I have a small poultry farm by the side. Funny enough, consulting was not part of my plan when I left Coca-Cola. By nature, I don’t like lobbying for anything, so I hate anything that will make me to go from office to office looking for contract and soliciting for business. So I told God, ‘since you know my nature, I can’t offer bribe and I don’t know how to beg, just lead me by yourself.’

    The first job I did as a consultant came from my former Chairman at Lacasera. I got a call from him shortly after I left Coca-Cola. He said he heard that I had exited Coca-Cola. He asked me to go and bring proposals on different areas where I thought we could work together. The first job I did for them was on packaging. We were able to get an approval for their products, which they had been pursuing for about four years. I also supported them in other areas not related to my areas of expertise. I later got an opportunity to carry out some audits on behalf of Coca-Cola in some facilities supplying them raw materials. I later got a call from some of these facilities to conduct audits, carry out productivity improvement projects and so on.

    In 2018, I got opportunity to work with UNICEF as a consultant on nutrition, which gave me the opportunity to work with other stakeholders in improving the nutrition of children and other vulnerable groups. My satisfaction is not in monetary value but the opportunity to add value; the satisfaction from the fact that I am still relevant in my profession.

    How strong is NIFST in other parts of the country?

    NIFST is currently made up of 11 vibrant chapters scattered all around the country. Each chapter is vibrant and carrying out activities relevant to their areas of coverage. The level of vibrancy may differ from chapter to chapter depending on the peculiarity of the area. For example, chapters in security-challenged areas may not be as strong as Lagos or Western chapter.

    We know Nigeria can boast of good farmers. But how about food processing and preservation; where are we on that?

    So far, emphasis has been on farming or agriculture generally. However, it is becoming clearer and clearer that a country can only prosper in agriculture through value addition. This value addition comes in form of processing and preservation. Sadly, because there has not been a conscious effort or policy to include this important aspect of food production and because of neglect of food scientists in policy formulation, Nigeria is not deriving maximum benefits from agriculture.

    We have information that some of your members are calling on you to aspire to the national leadership of NIFST. Are you on that path?

    Well, I am not aware of this and it is not an aspiration. Though I have been opportune to serve in leadership roles in various associations or groups that I belong to, I have never aspired for such roles. As per national leadership of NIFST, I believe we have many capable hands that are more competent than me. Left to me, it is not an aspiration and I can’t even wait to hand over the Lagos chapter to give opportunity for others to also serve. I don’t have a plan to contest any position at the national level, not to talk of the national leadership.

    Apart from food business, what other things do you do and at your spare time too?

    I think I spend most of my spare time going on evangelism and distributing tracts and flyers.

    Between food sufficiency, production of electric cars, going to space and conducting a census, which will you advice the country to do now and why?

    If I am to wish, I will want Nigeria to start producing electric cars. However, that is just wishful thinking. I will rather advise we focus on food sufficiency or conduct credible census devoid of ethnic or religious bias that can drive true development.

    At this point in time in Nigeria, some notable voices in Benue State and other states have called for farmers to be armed when going to their farms. What’s your opinion on this?

    I pray and hope that we won’t get to that stage where farmers have to carry weapons to the farm. But if it gets to that stage, then it means Nigeria is already a failed state. You don’t expect any meaningful development under such condition. I hope the government will do something urgently to tackle insecurity all around the country.

    If you were not into your profession, what else would you have loved to be?

    I would have loved to be a Formula One driver. I am sure if I had been born in another clime, I would have taken a shot at that.

    Who has influenced you most in life?

    Several people have influenced me at different stages of my life. That includes my mum, my former boss and former NIFST president Mr. Sola Olawale and my Spiritual leader Bishop Oyedepo. Aside these people, I have other people that have influenced me in one way or the other. From some, I even learnt from their mistakes on what to avoid.

  • Let’s boo referee committee

    Let’s boo referee committee

    Ade Ojeikere

     

    THOSE who run our domestic football amuse me a lot when they try to explain their failures, blaming it on the existing systemic crises in the industry. They have forgotten so soon that they promised to effect the desired changes during their campaigns to get elected into office, having studied the trends from afar. Indeed, they have forgotten that they have spent the last decade hovering around past administrators in different capacities. Yet, opening matches began with advertised games moved forward at short notice.

    Some of the principalities hindering the growth of the game are in the Dankaro House in Abuja. In fact, some members have turned the federation into their cash cows. In other instances an ATM machine. It is, therefore, understandable why many of them pride themselves as board members, knowing they have no other credible way of identifying themselves. They are in a hurry to flash the NFF board members’ complimentary cards.

    Traditionally, the successes of FIFA and CAF rest with the calibre of people listed in their sub-committees who help to superintend over the running of the facets of the two bodies. One of such committees is the referees’ committee which is critical to both bodies’ operations, hence the inclusion of serious-minded personnel, not those angling for sitting allowances. Sitting allowances are paid by either FIFA or CAF depending on which of the bodies initiated such a meeting. It is, therefore, surprising how the organ which should utilise these referees, is being asked to pay for the sitting allowances. Such demands by the members, which were taken to the ridiculous level of not releasing referees to run the game for Week 3, should attract an immediate dissolution or query by the NFF.

    Wait a minute NFF? Have the sub-committees been inaugurated? If no, then who were the committee members that met? Those who met to take such a decision should be removed from the committee now for pouring odium on the game. NFF should then inaugurate other sub-committees now that the league season has begun.

    NFF’s executive board mustn’t sweep this shameful conduct under the carpet. This condemnable act jeopardised the conduct of genuine COVID-19 tests on the players, officials, match referees, and commissioners at this time when the Coronavirus pandemic is ravaging the world and killing people in quantum. No one can tell the collateral damage this has done to the girls and those who partook in those three matches and indeed all the week 3 fixtures because COVID-19 regulations were not observed. Truth be told.

    Nigeria became the laughing stock in world football last week when it was reported in the media that both female teams arrived at their venues without the match officials, who ought to have been in town the previous day to conduct the pre-match formalities in the morning of the matches. It is at such pre-match meetings that the officials read the rules and regulations binding the game. They also direct the  host federations on what they want to be done before, during, and after the matches otherwise, they would call off the game. Sadly, these sub-committee members were interested in getting their allowances paid by the federation’s women’s league board as if they were the ones who called for the meeting.

    The shame in the conduct of the NFF Referees Committee not releasing the match officials’ list for the week 3 fixtures in the Nigeria Women Professional League rest with the fact that each committee is headed by an executive committee member, who should know what operates in such circumstances. Indeed, it is the executive body that picks members into the sub-committees, just as it is the federation’s responsibility to fund all meetings which oil the federation’s operations. Only the NFF secretariat can call for sub-committees’ meetings and do so by providing all the required logistics that the members need to hold successful meetings. If the provision for payment wasn’t made to settle their allowances, the chairman of the body ought to have pleaded with his members to bear with the federation. The chairman of the referees’ committee ought to have asked his members to write down their account details for payment in the future. Buoyant chairmen in the past would have paid the members their entitlements and collected the refund from the federation later. It isn’t right for the Women’s Professional League Board (WPLB) to foot such a spurious bill, except the body expressly stated so.

    During the defunct Interim League Management Board (ILMB’s) tenure, its members requested the NFF to provide the list of its very competent referees who would run the league for the season which the federation obliged. The ILMB did that to stem poor officiating which had crippled the competition in the past. The ILMB then constituted a referees’ committee which was approved by the NFF to handle the critical aspect of the game. The ILMB then paid for the referees’ entitlements and ensured their contact with the clubs was reduced drastically. The essence of this noble initiative was to reduce tales of sharp practices appreciably. The defunct ILMB also paid for the referees’ transportation to the match venues and the hotels they resided.  I digress!

    The bigger shame is that the board members who head these committees also function in various sub-committees in FIFA and CAF, making them privy to how things are done in these higher football platforms. Not so for some of these board members who are not prepared to sacrifice anything for the good and development of the game. Why this committee’s refusal to do their job is condemnable, there is an urgent need for the NFF hierarchy to lay the markers on the table at their next meeting to avoid a repeat of the show of shame at match venues for week 3 fixtures. With such members, one isn’t surprised that the NFF is heavily indebted since the cash in the purse won’t foot all its bills.

    The painful aspect of these members’ action was that the girls were made to spend an extra day at the designated cities, meaning they went home immediately after the games stinking in their sweats. Imagine those girls who received knocks during the game having to bear the pain through the tortuous Nigerian roads and the attendant hazards (kidnappers, robbers, etc). Indeed, in the three venues where referees hurried onto the pitch straight from the motor park and airports, the games had to be played at night, with most of them ending some minutes to midnight. Imagine the punishments on the girls who would have to wake up in the early hours to head home.

    Agonisingly, these people tried to justify their action by alluding to the fact that it is what operates with the men’s game. What a pity. No wonder nothing good can come out of the domestic game, with such waste pipes existing in the system. It still amazes this writer why the sub-committee members didn’t opt for the virtual meeting which wouldn’t have involved any cost to them. The NFF executive members should as a matter of urgency decree that subsequent meetings on matters concerning the game must be done virtually until the vaccine to cure the deadly Coronavirus is found.

    Sports is big business especially soccer. This idea of the NFF to be enmeshed in controversies drives away potential sponsors who wouldn’t want to associate their products and services with the federation. Already, the executive committee has made promised a lot of goodies for the women who are the best team in Africa, unlike their male counterparts who couldn’t win one game in the year 2020. Mention must be made of the Aisha Falode led board which broke the ice of playing league games with a take-off date which they stuck to. Falode’s board also didn’t allow the irritation associated with the referee’s body’s tomfoolery to disrupt the Week 3 fixtures. The fact that the fixtures were completed to allow for the next week’s games to be played is a welcome development showing how the game should be run.

    Of course, one needs to wish readers of this newspaper a prosperous New Year after the dreadful Year 2020 and the Coronavirus pandemic. Please obey all the Covid-19 regulations. Use your face masks. Coronavirus is ravaging the world and is, therefore, real.

     

  • Nze Cornelius Agwunobi for burial on January 6

    Nze Cornelius Agwunobi for burial on January 6

    Kunle Akinrinade

     

    THE remains of Chief Cornelius Asuzu Agwunobi, will be interred on January 6, 2020 at his country home in Duruji –Amugbara, Isuobishi, Isu Local Government Area of Imo State.

    The renowned community leader and lawyer died at age 84.

    An obsequies released by the family signed by his son, Asiwaju Martins Agwunobi, said “a Christian wake will be held on January 5 at his country home in Duruji –Amugbara, Isuobishi.

    ‘’There will also be a requiem mass on January 6 by 10 am at St. Philomena Catholic Church at Isuobishi in Isu Local Government Area, while interment will be held  at his country home in Duruji –Amugbara, Isuobishi in Isu Local Government Area of Imo State.’’

    The deceased is survived by wife, children and grandchildren.

  • Ohanaeze Ndigbo election: Igbo groups woo OYC president for secretary general’s position

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo election: Igbo groups woo OYC president for secretary general’s position

    Innocent Duru

     

    IGBO youths, student unions, women association, key traditional rulers in Abia State, among others have called on the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (OYC), Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, to vie for the Secretary General’s position in the forthcoming election of the apex body.

    The groups made the call on Thursday, when they stormed Isiguzoro’s residence  at Ntighauzo Amairi Autonomous Community in Obingwa Local Government Area of the state to rejoice with him for successfully undergoing surgeries in India.

    According to Mr. Obinna Atuma who spoke on behalf of one of the bodies, “we are here to rejoice with our brother and leader, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, who recently returned back to Nigeria from India after fatal accident. Isiguzoro has demonstrated exemplary leadership in the promotion of Igbo interests and the welfare of the youths. There is no doubt that he has piloted the affairs of the Ohanaeze Youth Council with all sense of humility, transparency and togetherness.

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    “We thank God for sparing the life of Mazi Isiguzoro and pray that God should continue to bestow on him with more wisdoms to steer the affairs of Ndigbo and beyond.”

    They further unanimously resolved and begged Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro to join the race for the Secretary General seat of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, positing that the latter has the leadership acumen that would take Ndigbo to the next level of development and national integration.

    Isiguzoro thanked members of the Igbo groups for their solidarity, reassuring that he is unrelenting in his desire for Ndigbo to occupy their rightful place in the nation’s scheme of things.

  • NSCDC arrests 126 suspected pipeline vandals, oil thieves in Abia

    NSCDC arrests 126 suspected pipeline vandals, oil thieves in Abia

    Sunny Nwankwo, Umuahia

     

    THE State Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abia State Command; Mr. Vincent Ogu, has stated that his command arrested 126 suspected pipeline vandals/oil thieves in the year 2020.

    Ogu who disclosed this at the command’s headquarters in Umuahia, the state capital, while speaking on the achievements of the command in the year under review commended the efforts of the officers and men of the command who he said have shown unreserved commitment in carrying out the zero tolerance directives of the Commandant General, Abdulahi Gana Mohammadu, against all forms of vandalism of petroleum pipelines and other critical national assets of government within the state.

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    According to him “As a command, we appreciate the locals for having confidence in us as demonstrated by the timely and useful information they provided which helped in no small measures towards the successes the Command has recorded in the fight against all forms of Economic Sabotage against our Nation Nigeria.”

    Giving update on the prosecution of some of the suspects so far arrested, the Abia NSCDC boss stated that “The command has secured a total of 60 convictions with over 35 vehicles (Truck and Passenger Cars) used in various illegal Petroleum Products business forfeited to the federal Government.

    “We have a total of 66 cases at different stages of trial at the Federal High Court, Umuahia”.