The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • US offers micro-grants to 50 women

    Fifty women will receive  micro-grants worth  N2.9 million from the United States Diplomatic Mission.

    The US Diplomatic Mission broke the news at an event in Lagos attended by senior local government officials, health, and community leaders.

    According to the Acting U. S. Consul-General, Will Steuer, the micro-grants are to support families, particularly  vulnerable children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, in five communities in Apapa Local Government Area of Lagos.

    Under the US Ambassador’s PEPFAR Small Grants Programme, a non-governmental organisation, Blissful Life for Women and Children, will train the beneficiaries of the micro-grants in business and vocational skills and trade mentorship. They will also receive trade articles and supplies, it was learnt.

    Ten older orphans and vulnerable children whose parents are living with HIV will also benefit from the training. Blissful Life for Women and Children is one of 27 local organisations that have received funding from the US Ambassador’s PEPFAR Small Grants Programme in the year.

    Steuer said: “The people and government of the United States continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Nigeria and Nigerian families in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Today’s event highlights the importance of supporting families, especially children who are affected by HIV/AIDS through programmes that not only support treatment for the infected, but also to improve the socio-economic well-being of families affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as the PEPFAR Small Grants Programme seeks to do.”

    Beneficiaries of the training are expected to empower themselves and their families by building small businesses.

    The US-Nigeria partnership on HIV/AIDS began in 2004 through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); from 2004 to 2016, US support for HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support programmes in Nigeria has totaled

  • NTDC partners NDDC on tourism development

    The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Director-General, Mr. Folorunsho Coker, has expressed his commitment to partnering the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and enlisting its intervention on some tourism assets in the Southsouth region.

    Coker, who spoke during a visit to  NDDC Chairman, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, in his office in Abuja, said it was necessary to redefine the sector by giving it an identity that is easy to sell  to stimulate growth as well as reposition the industry.

    “There is a need to redefine the tourism sector in Nigeria. We need to start within our domain, focusing on consumption of our assets, promotion and development of domestic tourism, which will have multiple effects on job creation and poverty alleviation while strengthening the GDP and our currency.  Everyone in the value chain of tourism must work together and be ready to drive the market with a new brand TOUR NIGERIA,” he said.

    Coker, who called for an investment in the promotion of domestic tourism, described Nigeria as a  market with a vibrant and dynamic business environment.

    “One of my strategic imperatives is to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella to sell a single all inclusive tour packages for Nigerians. We need to package tourism in a simple manner that the average Nigerian can use, if we don’t package it well, individuals cannot take advantage of it. Nigerian will understand the product better, because they are a most critical audience and will demand better value for their money,” he said.

    Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba congratulated the DG on his appointment given his exploits in the Lagos State Tourism Ministry.

    “We are very happy that you are at the helms of affairs in NTDC. We are very proud of what you did in Lagos State. You are on a bigger stage now and we expect you to make a difference in the tourism sector as you did in Lagos,” he said.

    Senator Egba said NDDC was an intervention agency, whose core mandate is to integrate and create partnerships with relevant agencies’ like NTDC, especially now that there is a shift from oil.

    He noted that if tourism could change the economy of Calabar, it could also do so in Nigeria. The NDDC mission, according to him, is to facilitate the rapid, ever-growing and sustainable development of Nigeria.

    The NDDC helmsman solicited the support of the DG to intervene in the on-going case with the Calabar National Museum, a national monument and as such cannot be tampered with.

    Senator Egba expressed the willingness of the Commission to work with NTDC in sailing the ship of the tourism sector because of its enormous potentials.

  • Heavens, Earth… opens Friday

    TO mark the 50th birthday of Director, Public Affairs and Communication, Pfizer Nigeria and East African Region (NEAR), Mrs. Margaret Olele, there will be an art exhibition to raise funds for the two-year project of the Sickle Cell Aid Foundation (SCAF) – a group of young dynamic individuals living with Sickle Cell, creating awareness on SCD and fighting to help others perhaps less fortunate than them survive the challenge.
    The exhibition titled: Heaven and earth are full of God’s glory will feature 100 paintings some from persons living with sickle cell. Artworks will be sold to raise funds.
    The exhibition and cocktail will hold on June 30, at the Red Door Gallery on Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

  • ‘During civil war, art was propaganda tool for govt’

    ‘During civil war, art was propaganda tool for govt’

    Former Arts Adviser to the Federal Government and founder, TAFAS Legacy Gallery, Ikeja, Lagos, Chief Timothy Banjo Fasuyi, who turned 82 last month, spoke with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on why it took him 33 years to hold his second solo art exhibition and why art is used by the government as a propaganda tool during wars. 

    What were the responses of collectors and your friends to your last exhibition when you turned 82?

    It was very heart-warming for me when I saw my old friends and artists come round to felicitate with me, except for few who could not come. I thank Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya and Kolade Oshinowo who appreciated and recognised my contributions to the art, despite my long stay away from Lagos art scene for over 20 years in Ilesa. They were happy to see me again and I think love don’t mind time of separation.

    You were absent from the Lagos art scene for long without an exhibition. What is the significance of art exhibition in the career of an artist?

    Exhibition is the harvest time of the artist. It is also the checkpoint of the artists. When you are working as an artist, a time will come you want to assess and review what you have done and what to do with all that you have produced. The artist uses the exhibition as a time to plan for the next stage of production. That is one reason.

    If during an exhibition the sale an artist made is good, he will not only smile to the bank but replenish his collection for future show. Also, the artist may not have made money from his exhibition but got constructive criticism from the press that will spur him to do better next time. This is another reason.

    Interestingly, an exhibition also provides opportunity for friends of artist to interact with one another outside studio time. In fact, some artists may learn from your works. But there are some political commissions. For instance, during the early days of Soviet Union, art became a tool of propaganda for the promotion of communism. Every artist then was commissioned to promote the ideology of the government.

    In Nigeria during the civil war, the Federal Military Government sent eight artists, including myself, to different parts of the world for art exhibition. This was to tell the world that artists were working and Nigeria was peaceful, in spite of the crisis. The artists were sent to Italy, Germany, London and US to exhibit their artworks. It was purely propaganda because there is no reward for that. It was service to the nation then.

    Artistes, including painters, sculptors, musicians, dramatists, writers and singers, are the soul of any society. When they poured out their souls via any media, they are reflecting the state of the society. Historians and art critics collect instructive messages about the society from artistes to reinforce their writings on the society.

    It took you 33 years to hold a second art exhibition after the first one in France, Paris. Why the long delay?

    The interval between my last solo art exhibition in Paris in 1984 and this year’s outing is rather long. But, it was not  lazily used. I have occupied myself with other things that are part of my dream. Again, it is not a matter of timing but I had personal programmes I was working on all these years. My dream as a student at the Nigeria College of Arts and Science, Zaria included building a house, school, church and art gallery. I have an estate in Ilesa, built two churches and am working on my art gallery in Lagos. That I am lagging in one area does not mean that I am sleeping. I am doing well in other areas to achieve my dream. I voluntarily retired from the Federal Ministry of Education exactly on my 50th birthday, according to my plan. Some were worried about my retirement. And many thought I was been haunted by African juju because they could not comprehend why I should leave my job as director in charge of all the Federal Government’s colleges in the country. The Head of Service then, Mr. Gray Longe, called me to ask if anything was wrong with my head. I told him nothing was wrong with me. And since then, I have no regret.

    Again, the main reason I have not been able to exhibit for that long was because of the Federal Government’s order banning private practice in the civil service in the 70s. This order affected almost all professionals, including artists. But note that I was the Secretary of Society of Nigerian Artists and I participated in group exhibitions at the initial period of the association.

    However, when I left the civil service, I discovered that the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination was posing challenges to many students. So, I established a pre-varsity school at Ikeja to coach students seeking admission to varsities and polytechnics. This literarily took me away from the art.

    Last month, you celebrated your 82nd birthday with an art exhibition, symposium, award presentation and dinner. What lesson did you learn from the events?

    Since the previous exhibition, I have been working in the last five years at my Ilesa base before returning to Lagos. But, in spite of the logistics and planning costs, I was happy at the quality and turnout of guests, friends and artists at the various events marking my 82nd birthday. I specially thank the Society of Nigerian Artists and other artists, such as Dr. Kunle Adeyemi and Bolaji Ogunwo, for their support. Now that my exhibition is over, I am trying to reposition the gallery to accommodate larger collection of works. The National Gallery of Art is planning the launch of a book here very soon.

     

  • School relives Our husband has gone mad again on stage

    THE rendition by a 35-pupil choir set the stage for the plays by pupils of Halified Schools at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) recently.

    They rendered some sonorous songs to thrill their parents, guardians and guests. They were followed by pupils who danced the Fishermen dance of Epe, Lagos State, aimed at supporting the Federal Government’s agrarian policy to diversify from oil and make food abundant.

    They were all part of the schools’extra-curricular activity tagged Out-of-school session programme held bi-annually.

    Two major plays were featured. The first titled: Cinderella Rockfella was presented by the elementary section of the school. It attracted an ovation from the audience who praised the pupils’ dexterity despite their young age.

    But the play: Our husband has gone mad again written by the late dramatist, Prof Ola Rotimi, drew the loudest ovation. It was a satire of a society suffering from moral decadence.

    Many of the actors, including Efeoluwa Adeyegbe, an SS 1 pupil, whose stage name was Tkyrata, wife of Zeenat Wintope-Lejoka, gave a good account of themselves.

    She said they were trained for a year before the event held. Of her experience, she said: “Initially, it was scary but later I was able to cope.” Though she has eyes on studying architecture, she said she might ”do acting by the side”.

    The Proprietress of Halified Schools, Lagos, Mrs. Efe Oke Halima, said schools should go beyond pupils’ education and emphasise their participation in extra-curricular activities, such as plays and dramas.

    In an interview, Mrs Oke said: “The take-away from this event is that parents must recognise that their children have talents. Until these are brought out, they won’t know how good their children are. They should be developed and used for their good and that of the society. It is not all about education to pass exams, though this is good. But we believe in extra-curricular activities. We are involved in life-changing activities. We hold this programme once every two years.”

    She said the school’s vision is to train the pupils to de distinct. ”A child who is knowledgeable and can do other things can stand out in the crowd. The jobs are fewer these days than before. So, the pupils should be able to do something new to survive in this harsh economy.”

    She added that the school has a place where pupils are taught how to prepare food that are delicious but different, from the ones around. ”We assist them to produce something new, for example, adding flakes to porridge. Just something new,” she said.

    The school’s Head of Programmes, Mrs. Busola Olaogun, said the event was aimed at teaching the pupils to display their skills and be excellent in things outside what they were taught in the classrooms.

    ”The objective is to bring out the total child, not a straitjacket one,” she said. She advised parents to let their children be involved in extra-curricular activities – to exhibit their talents. ”Some of them are good in singing and dancing, while others in other areas,” she added.

     

  • ‘How multi-billion naira artefacts were repatriated’

    ‘How multi-billion naira artefacts were repatriated’

    A strategy initiated by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) some 10 years ago to recover looted national cultural objects is yielding results. No fewer than 120 objects worth billions of naira were repatriated from five countries. Some of them are on display at the National Museum, Lagos, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports. 

    Following the futility of confrontational approach hitherto adopted in repatriating the nation’s cultural priceless objects carted away during the colonial administration, the management of National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) has adopted a new strategy of collaboration.

    Recently, the strategy yielded a major dividend as the commission repatriated no fewer than 120 objects worth billions of naira from Switzerland, South Africa, Canada, United States, France and through border seizures.

    This, according to NCMM Director-General Yusuf Abdallah Usman, is the fallout of communication with countries and institutions holding Nigeria’s artefacts within the context of UNESCO, ICOM and other bilateral and multilateral frameworks. Dialogue, collaboration and cooperation, he said, were the main ingredients of the commission’s approach.

    Last Thursday, NCMM opened an exhibition of 43 of the 120 repatriated objects at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, titled Return of the lost treasure. Among the priceless objects exhibited was the controversial Opa (Okukor) bronze cockerel statue, one of the Benin bronzes mounted in Jesus College’s dining hall of Cambridge University College, London. Last year March, the college authority removed the statue following students’ outcry calling for it to be repatriated to Nigeria.

    Other objects are Oba Esigie’s ivory pendant, plaque of Oba Ozolua Nibaromi Eko, Iyoba Idia N’Iyesigie in war dress, plaque of Oba Ohen, Benin bronze figure, terra cotta heads and figures, bronze head of an Oba, Ogiso Igodomigodo bronze figure and many others.

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed said as part of the ongoing process of preventing the pillage of the nation’s cultural objects, the Federal Government was planning to establish a special unit in the Nigeria Police charged with the responsibility of protecting the priceless objects. He disclosed that he would be discussing with the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to work out plans on the formation of the special unit. He noted that in Italy, an entire division of the country’s army is dedicated to the protection of artefacts.

    Mohammed, who spoke on Thursday, at the opening of the Return of the lost treasure exhibition stated that whistle-blowing was not limited to financial crime or corruption but to everything, including the looting or stealing of the nation’s treasures. The exhibition featured 43 of the over 120 objects worth millions of dollars recently repatriated from Europe.

    According to the minister, “culture is as important as petroleum, and even more important than petroleum because when petroleum dries up, culture would remain.”

    He, however, lamented the long-sitting negative perception about culture, which, he said, must change. He observed that the two religions (Islam and Christianity) did a lot to de-market cultural objects, which was very unfortunate.

    “It is a great concern that this trade is booming in Africa and in particular Nigeria. We shall through a determined effort continue to fight against the illicit trafficking in cultural property. This is a great challenge to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments to more than double its efforts now in checking this illicit trade in cultural property.  It is my wish that the NCMM will begin to look at means and opportunities to re-invigorate its export and clearance permits operations and devise other methods of checking the illicit trafficking in cultural property.

    “This is a clear warning to the NCMM, the Nigerian Custom Service and other law enforcement agencies to be more vigilant, especially at our sea ports, airports as well as land crossing areas, to check these abuses and illicit trade,” he added.

    Mohammed reassured that Nigeria would continue to  examine how it can fully domesticate the provisions of UNESCO 1970 Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of cultural property, which was ratified by Nigeria on January 24 1972.

    Director-General NCMM, Yusuf Abdallah Usman, recalled that over the years, efforts at repatriating the looted objects had not yielded much result due to the complex nature of the issues involved. He stated that few years ago, the commission evaluated its approach and came up with a new strategy that is more pragmatic, reconciliatory and collaborative in line with the foreign policy pursuit of the government. He, therefore, called on museums and other public institutions around the globe illegally holding on to Nigerian antiquities to toe the path of honour and hand them over to the commission.

    Earlier at a discussion session on Illicit trafficking in cultural properties, retired Professor of Law and expert in intellectual property, Prof Folarin Shyllon, traced the plundering of nations’ treasures to the days when the Romans returned from the battle field parading the streets of Rome with items plundered in conquered territories. Also, in 1815 during the reign of Napoleon, France was compelled to return various objects plundered to the various countries of origin.

    “In the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural properties, it is important for countries to have effective agencies that can stop the exportation of the nations’ cultural objects.  They are Police, Custom and Immigration. There is also the Interpol, which has an excellent database of stolen objects. Some countries in order to fight illegal trafficking in cultural objects have special units in their police force to combat illicit trafficking. For example, the Italians have a special unit to forestall illicit export of cultural properties. France, Egypt and Turkey have such units,” he said.

    The professor of law urged Nigeria to have adequate inventory of its cultural objects as well as domesticate all the international conventions because in case of litigations abroad,  lawyers will ask if the nation has adopted the conventions into national laws.

    Prof Jean Borgatti, Fulbright, scholar and African art historian from the University of Benin, Benin City, decried the lack of interest by many Nigerian art students in traditional art. According to her, many of the students think traditional art is fetish, thereby neglecting the socio-economic and aesthetic values of traditional art. “They tend to be attracted to modern art at the detriment of their heritage. It is, therefore, important to train the art students adequately on the values of traditional art, the difference between original and replica objects,” she said.

    Cultural Attache French Embassy, Lagos, Monsieur Pierre Cherruou, said French government is always ready to support the fight for the repatriation of looted artfefacts, adding that 15 years ago, it was difficult to find Nok terra cotta in many Nigerian museums but easy to get in neighbouring countries like Togo and Benin museums.

    “Now, the situation has changed a lot because there are database as it is becoming more and more difficult to trade in it. French government is very optimistic that in near future more Nigerian artefacts will be repatriated,” he added.

  • Akinsete, Ohuabunwa bag Lifetime awards

    Akinsete, Ohuabunwa bag Lifetime awards

    Prof Ibironke Akinsete and Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa (MON) are to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards by organisers of the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award (NHEA 2017) in Lagos on June 23.

    The award will hold at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    NHEA Project Director Dr Wale Alabi said:”We are proud of these Nigerians because of their excellent contributions to good health and wellbeing of the people of this country. They are champions who have distinguished themselves.”

    Prof Akinsete is an haematologist and expert in women’s health. She served as pioneer chairman of the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA). She is a member of the National Medical Association (NMA), British Medical Association, Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (former President), International Society for Haematologist and Blood Transfusion, Nigerian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (Former President), Nigerian Cancer Society (Former President), International Society for Blood Transfusion, African Society for Blood Transfusion, National Expert Committee on AIDS, West African College of Physicians and National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.

    Ohuabunwa is a pharmacist who joined Pfizer in 1978 as a pharmaceutical sales representative (PSR) and rose to become the CEO/ Managing Director in 1993. In 1997, he led the Management Buy Over (MBO) of Pfizer Inc’s 60 percent shareholding in the Nigerian subsidiary. The company was then converted to Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc, a medium size research and development (R&D)-based pharmaceutical manufacturing firm.

    He was the CEO for 18 years and voluntarily retired from the company in 2011, after 33 years of service in the industry.  He is a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN), Fellow of the West African Post-Graduate College of Pharmacists (FPC. Pharm), Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy (FNA. Pharm) also has fellowships of the Nigerian Institute of Management, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and the Institute of Management Consultants. He is Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) and Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

    NHEA 2017 which is supported by PharmAccess Foundation will also recognise other organisations and individuals in about 23 award categories. NHEA is organised by Global Health Project and Resources (GHPR) in collaboration with Anadach Group, USA.

    It will be recalled that in NHEA 2016, Professor Olu Akinyanju of the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria and Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi of Juli Pharmacy were honoured with the NHEA Lifetime Achievement Awards.

  • Diaspora fiesta: Fed Govt, Lagos target 15m audience

    Diaspora fiesta: Fed Govt, Lagos target 15m audience

    At a time when many Africans in the Diaspora are eager to connect with their roots, Lagos State and the Federal Government are creating a veritable platform for such reunion. This, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, is the forthcoming Badagry Diaspora Festival.

    She said no fewer than 15 million Nigerians in Diaspora would be encouraged to trace their roots back home through the festival holding from August 23 to 25 at Badagry.

    Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Overseas Affairs and Investment, Prof Ademola Abass, represented Lagos State at the joint press conference in Lagos. Both governments said the festival, which would be a replica of the 1977 Festival of Arts and Culture otherwise known as FESTAC 77, had been designed to assist Africans in Diaspora to reunite with their ancestral roots.

    Apart from putting issues of Africans in diaspora on the front burner, the festival, according to Dabiri-Erewa, would also providea  platform to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Lagos State and Nigeria to the world and also promote tourism potentials of the country.

    The presidential aide, who praised Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for throwing his weight behind the festival, said the event would host the largest gathering of Africans in the world, and that it was a thing of joy that many Africans in diaspora had already indicated interest in tracing their roots back home.

    She said: “For the first time, we have been having in Badagry a festival that brings people in the Diaspora together but when we attended this festival few years ago, we sat together and said this would be the biggest cultural event to come out of Africa. And so after years of planning, we have been able to come out with this programme this year coming up from August 23 to 25.

    “The United Nations already has declared 10  years as its decade for Africa, and so within the said decade, Nigeria in particular, and Lagos will be putting up one of the biggest gatherings of the Diaspora all over the world in Badagry later this year.

    “One of the unique events of the festival is the ‘Door of Return’. A lot of people and things were taken out of Africa and Badagry in particular, and so our people in Diaspora would be coming back through that door that we are calling the Door of Return, which is the opposite of ‘Point of no Return. Beyond that, we will be showcasing the beauty and culture of Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general through the festival,” Dabiri-Erewa said.

    On  the number of people in the diaspora expected to grace the festival, Dabiri-Erewa said many Nigerians in the diaspora have already indicated interest to be part of it, adding: “We don’t have an accurate database but we are working on 15 million Nigerians in the diaspora and a lot of them are already coming.”

    Prof Abass said the Lagos state government was delighted to partner with the Federal Government and other promoters of the festival, as the event was in sync with the cardinal objective of the present administration in the state to use tourism, hospitality, entertainment and sport to promote excellence.

    He said apart from the fact that the festival was coming at a time the state was celebrating the 50 years of its existence, the festival would be utilised to showcase the giant strides of Governor Ambode’s administration in transforming Badagry to the next tourism hub in Africa.

    “This festival is going to be utilised to promote the huge efforts that the present administration in Lagos State has been putting into turning Badagry around in terms of infrastructure, in terms of tourism and so many other things and so this forthcoming celebration falls squarely within our government agenda to promote tourism and also promote investment.

    “As you know, we are developing a sea port in Badagry among so many other things and so the festival will be a win-win for everybody especially for us in Lagos State,” Abass said.

    One of the promoters of the festival, Mr Babatunde Mese-Waku, President of African Renaissance Foundation said a Brazilian, Baye De Santos, whose root has been traced to Ketu in Benin Republic, would be honoured at the festival for his contribution towards promoting issues relating to Africans in diaspora.

    Managing Director of Agile Communications Ltd, the marketing firm for the festival, Mr Rufai Ladipo, said series of activities have been lined up for the festival including carnival procession, boat regatta, fishing competition, dark era procession, Diaspora dinner, beauty pageant, cultural displays, heritage site visits, heritage night, festival market, international music concert and international symposium among others.

  • ‘DSO deadline: June 17 is benchmark date’

    ‘DSO deadline: June 17 is benchmark date’

    Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, has described the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) deadline of June 17 as benchmark date for the digital switchover in the country. He said many Nigerians have misconstrued the process, assuming that on that date, almost like a magic wand, Nigerians would wake up to find that Nigeria has switched off analogue and switched on digital television.

    He said the mission of the commission is to switch off analogue completely when it achieves up to 95 percent access to Free Digital Television content across the country.

    He assured that by the end of the year, at least half of the country would have access to Free Digital Television content adding that the timeline plan is to execute a phased implementation of 6 states at a period.

    Mr. Kawu who spoke at a briefing in Lagos, said DSO process is a huge financial, technical and logistical challenge and that switching on a huge country like Nigeria, requires tremendous financial commitment. He said the DSO is not a life time journey, but that the commission is considering partnership with government to source funds that will run into millions of dollars.

    According to him, digital transmitters cost huge sum of money, but what is more ‘is not the cost but the potentials we get from the digital switchover.’

    He explained that the next phase of the project starting this June will involve six states from the geo-political zones after which another set of six states, reflecting the geo-political zones, would be chosen for the next phase, until Nigeria is completely covered.

    “Following the successful launch of the Abuja switch over last December, we announced a plan to launch in one state from each of the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Consequently, the following states were chosen for the next phase of the project: Kaduna in the Northwest; Gombe in the Northeast; Kwara in the North Central; Osun in the Southwest; Delta in the South-South and Enugu in the Southeast… the decision was taken to launch in Ilorin Kwara state by the end of June; Kaduna by the beginning of July, these follow the completion of the installation of the transmission facilities in these locations; and subsequently, we would launch Osogbo in Osun; Enugu in Enugu state; and then Delta as well as Gombe state.

    “Our mission remains constant: to switch off analogue completely when we achieve up to 95 percent access to Free Digital Television content across our country. All Nigerians are entitled to access to information, irrespective of class, creed or location; and the new technology of digital broadcasting is already enhancing access in a most revolutionary manner. That would soon become a nationwide experience for all Nigerians,” he said.

    According to Kawu, the commission remains optimistic that by the end of the year, at least half of the country would have access to Free Digital Television content. “Our timeline plan is to execute a phased implementation of 6 states, at a period. So as we conclude the six states currently in progress, we would choose another set of six states, reflecting the geo-political zones, for the next phase, until the entire country is completely covered.

    “In respect of a specific switchover date, I believe that the countries of the ECOWAS sub-region would re-assess the issue, given that all member countries have not met the June switchover deadline. But again, it must be emphasised that the delicate nature of the DSO process has always obliged countries to carefully manage the process to avoid problems. Most countries of the world have had to adjust their switch off dates. Let me re-emphasise that one of the fears about delayed DSO transition, is the problem of trans-border signal interference from analogue transmitters,” he added.

    On the need to keep Nigerians abreast of the DSO project, kawu said the commission and its stakeholders were committed to achieving the completion of the process, saying “we would intensify publicity so that Nigerians can better appreciate the significance of the process and how far we have come, and what more mileage needs to be covered. The DSO process is changing the face of television in Nigeria.”

    He lamented that the DSO process was dogged by litigation by the biggest contributor to the process Pinnacle Communications Limited who has been in dispute with NBC. He disclosed that Pinnacle Communication Limited however accepted to drop the litigation against the NBC after many meetings.

    Also, he recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of the sum of N10Billion seized by EFCC to the NBC in September 2016.

    Continuing, he said: “So far, a total of 745, 480 STBs have been imported into the country; 566, 478 have been delivered, while 485, 409 have been sold and 332, 095 were activated in Jos and Abuja. Our call center has been very busy! As at June 11th, 2017, TOC has received 796, 026 calls from customers, while they received 21, 369 complaints about one or the other problem. The DSO process is also a learning experience for all of us driving it, and we have continued to enrich our experiences in a manner that can only redound to the benefit of the process as we move forwards.”

  • Clock ticks towards eternity

    Clock ticks towards eternity

    Critics have had more than a few plausible reasons to defy erroneous claims, predictions and so-termed prophetic declarations about the end time. Such efforts on eschatology, while correctly condemned as mercantilist, also do little to proselytise and establish an urgency and red alert to make the reader prepared and ready for the event of all human events since creation. Yet these-affirming the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and warning of the calamity awaiting the unrepentant at the return of the Son of God-ought to form the goal of all literature on the looming gloom.

    Now these writers on the last days ignore the core message; they opt for pseudo erudition by appending specific dates to the occurrences prognosticated in the Holy Bible. Thus thrust deep in a fruitless dates and numbers game, they fail the key duty of employing Jesus’ teaching about the future to evangelise. It is a tragic waste of given opportunity! I’m glad to report that after carefully reading Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi’s end time book, Countdown to the End-Revelation of the Great Tribulation and the Antichrist (Part One), I can vouch for the cleric’s fidelity to biblical facts. He perfectly understands that “no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.”

    Those who came before Kumuyi, including vocal members of a US-headquartered sect with a foothold in Nigeria, have ignored this warning and littered their doctrine with presumptuous timelines detailing how and when the world would drop on us. First it was 1878. Later they gave us 1881. Then the group’s caucus said 1914 would witness the end of the world. When that failed, they proposed 1918. 1925 followed with the world still standing. More projections for the landing of Armageddon were slated for 1975. They repeatedly brought on themselves avoidable ridicule.

    Kumuyi’s book has escaped these flaws and pitfalls of a date-centered enterprise because he is conscious of the Lord’s wise counsel: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” The result is a clean unadulterated book deriving its assertions exclusively from the Holy Bible. So in the entire 240-page presentation, you have only one identified secular reference (the ancient Greek historian Herodotus). All others are biblical allusions. There is little room for fictional extrapolation, storytelling or support from ex-biblical sources.

    But there is plenty of space for evangelism, profuse expository teaching and illumination on abstruse end time symbolism found notably in the books of Daniel and Revelation, which is why Kumuyi hardly leaves a chapter without an altar call, as it were.

    From the first chapter, Pastor Kumuyi, the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry popularly called Deeper Life Bible Church, makes it clear that the book isn’t addressing conditions in the world predating the Rapture. It is a post-catching-away-of-the-believers undertaking. The countdown he speaks of means the events that would lead to the Great Tribulation under the Antichrist culminating in the cataclysmic Armageddon and the great Age of the Ages when Jesus’ Glorious Kingdom will come into effect with the abolition of death and sin. This first part of the volumes ends with Satan’s Antichrist and false prophets performing misleading miracles.

    The Church in its redeemed state under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will not be in the world when this full array of the Antichrist power is at work because, Kumuyi declares solemnly: “There is no country that declares war against another without first withdrawing its Ambassadors. Similarly, before God declares war and pours out His wrath upon this world, He will take all His ambassadors out of it.”

    The early chapters open up events in Heaven after the departure of the saints from the earth to pave way for the arsenal of woes to be unleashed by Satan and his cohorts. It is Apostle John who is invited to God’s abode to serve as a witness. He observes an unparalleled celestial order characterised by salutary worship of God and His Son Jesus by elders, angels and the countless multitude of those saved from their sin by the Lamb of God, Who also performs the momentous unsealing of the book enclosing the plagues constituting the Great Tribulation.

    The book shown John is a seven-seal scroll symbolising the judgement that would come upon those who miss the Rapture. There would be famine, unprecedented crisis, suffering, wars, deprivation, torments, carnage, persecution, misery and unimaginable agony, “as was not since the beginning of the world… no, nor ever shall be.” Kumuyi refers to such Old Testament writers as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel etc to prove that the subject of Great Tribulation is not a latter day idea.

    Kumuyi writes: “The opening of the scroll as the seals are broken reveals the process by which Christ takes over the earth from Satan, the usurper. In the process, sinners and all the servants of Satan who have corrupted themselves and polluted the earth are punished severely. By the time the outpouring of divine wrath reaches its climax with the opening of the seventh seal, the kingdom of the earth will have become the kingdom of our Lord.”

    Not being a Jonah who would warn of God’s anger around the corner without presenting the other side of the coin, Kumuyi repeatedly says that the sinner can escape the wrath on the way if he repents and accepts the salvation plan of God. He can be spared the trouble of the Great Tribulation and eternal damnation in hell. The Deeper Life Bible Church Pastor speaks of a way out: “Today, the Lord pleads and asks everyone to seek His face for turnaround as the time of grace and love still abounds. The Lord does not take pleasure in the suffering and death of the sinner. Repentance from sin through faith in the Lord Jesus is the only way of escape from the fury of the Just Judge of the universe. Those who reject the call of God will face His full-scale judgement.”

    Pastor Kumuyi’s Countdown to the End-Revelation of the Great Tribulation and Antichrist (Part one) contains expressive description of the destruction humanity would encounter during the Great Tribulation. He deploys graphic yet inoffensive prose to stir our imagination. An example of this unbottling of one of the woes can be found on page 119: “These demon-locusts are revealed as invulnerable creatures with the strength, power and conquest of horses on the battle field; as intelligent creatures with the face of men; as inhuman creatures, having the teeth of lions; as indestructible creatures with breastplate of iron; as intriguing creatures, provoking curiosity with hair like those of women and as irresistible creatures with wings that make sound like those of chariots of horses running to battle. What pain and suffering would such a swarm of angry demons cause men, women and children on earth when they are released from the smoking bottomless pit where they had been suffering for thousands of years!”

    The book is also able to address some controversies. Who will make Heaven? Is it only the 144,000 sealed Jews in Revelation 7? Who are the two angelic post-rapture evangelists in Revelation 11? Are they Moses and Elijah? Kumuyi’s position differs from the popular view, notably that posited by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in Assassins, one of their Left Behind fictional series on the end time. Some readers would allege that Pastor Kumuyi seems to be contradicting himself with the claim on page 197 that there would be “no protection for Gentiles” during the Great Tribulation when earlier on, on pages 69 and 70 he had declared that other believers among them Gentiles of the Great Tribulation period will be saved though they missed the Rapture.

    Countdown to the End impresses the reader with elegant simplicity of prose and inspiring takeaways in the form of memorable one-liners. Consider these: Satan leaves no effort untried in his determination to destroy Israel, and God leaves no miracle undone in His determination to protect and preserve His people. It is unscriptural to expect to serve God without persecution. If the persecutors are strong be stronger. The Devil is not a dummy, he has reasons for performing miracles.

    Is it possible for Pastor Kumuyi to write or preach without resorting to his trademark application of the imagery of alliteration? The answer is no as this book reveals. He has a harvest of it on page 116 when he describes the torment of the locusts: “painful, protracted, personal, and perplexing”. On page 223, it’s letter ‘D’ at work: “delusion, distaste, departure, divine displeasure, death and damnation”. On page 230, it’s letter ‘F’ in action: “falsehood, force, furnace, famine, fear and flattery”.

    Does this figure of speech instill substance and life into language? Does it drive discernment? Yes, according to an expert Dr. Tunde Opeibi in his book Discourse, Politics and the 1993 Presidential Election Campaigns in Nigeria, “Although alliteration can be described as a stylistic device… it is a strong rhetorical tool deployed to evoke emotions, get attention and convey… messages in a more appealing and persuasive way. It is a figure of speech because it often creates images and conveys meaning beyond the strings of words that make it up… when creatively and effectively modulated, they can deepen meaning and enhance musicality”

    Now a word on the illustrations. Future revisions could do with full colour rendition not only to brighten the pages, but also and more importantly to deepen the reality of the message in the book. Colour does so tellingly. Secondly in picture on page 131 the presentation of the Mighty Angel’s position doesn’t match Revelation 10:2 where He has His “right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.” The opening pages also suffer some typographical travail.

    You can’t read Countdown to the End-Revelation of the Great Tribulation and the Antichrist (Part One) and not be swayed by Pastor Kumuyi’s earnest preoccupation to enlist Bible eschatology to call man back to God. There are lessons for all: the sinner, backslider and the saved. We all need the Grace of God, he says, to run from the wrath to come: the first two need God’s Grace of pardon to be redeemed; the third also need His Grace to endure to the end.

    Truly the book is a project of incontrovertible gravitas.

     

    • Ojewale is a writer in Ota, Ogun State.