The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • VARSITY ADMISSIONS SCAM How we were duped, by victims

    VARSITY ADMISSIONS SCAM How we were duped, by victims

    Owing to the frustration that comes with difficulty in securing admission into choice universities in Nigeria, many youths of university age have fallen victim to fake admission racketeers. In the process, many waste vital years ‘chasing shadows,’ only to learn of their hard reality years later. But while some victims have been able to rise above the disappointment and move on, many have been disillusioned and their  ambitions wrecked for life. Dorcas Egede explores the travails of some ‘fake admission’ victims and how they have managed to pull through.

    PROBABLY by virtue of Nigeria’s population and the sheer size of its youth demography, securing a university admission in the country has for decades been a herculean task. A quick look at Nigeria’s Demographics Profile (2014) showed that out of a whopping estimated population of 177,155,754 people, youths between the ages of 15-24 constituted 19.3%: 17,486,117 male and 16,732,533 female, totalling 34,218,650. That is not to talk of the spill-over in the 25-54 category, where the nation boasted of a whopping 54million.

    As a result, high school graduates who feel time is fast running by and that they may be losing out on the appropriate time to go for higher education usually get desperate. In the process, they fall into dubious hands, who take advantage of their predicament by offering them ‘admission’ and ultimately getting their fingers burnt – so to speak.

    Augustine Orireosobua Anyanna, 32 is one of such youths. Sitting on the pavement in front of his Surulere home, Anyanna narrated the arduous journey he had to undertake, just to get a university admission and further his education. He was a victim of fake admission, he told The Nation. After sitting for the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) examination three consecutive times: 2001-2003, without seeing his results because they were withheld purportedly because of some discrepancies, Anyanna decided it was time to try alternative routes. After all, there still exist other legal means of securing admission outside the very popular JAMB.

    He went on to undertake an A levels programme at the Kogi State Polytechnic. Being the brilliant chap that he is, he finished the programme with a whopping 11 points. That should get him any course of his choice in any university, he reckoned. Pronto, he applied to the University of Ilorin to study Economics.

    But his confidence soon began to dwindle after the merit list and first batch were released and his name was conspicuously absent. The second batch was released, and alas, his name wasn’t on it. Naturally, apprehension set in. His parents sought the help of a staff of the university (name withheld), who assured them that he would see to it that the young man got admitted. Why wouldn’t he when he had such good grades? He reassured them.

    True to his words, the supplementary list was released and Anyanna’s name was there. Unlike the first three lists that were released however, this one wasn’t put up on the notice board. One had to go to admission office to check the list. Anyanna was shown the list and his name was there. His grateful parents parted with N 100,000 in appreciation of the official’s effort.

    The problem, Anyanna revealed, began when they were given matriculation numbers. His number clashed with that of another student. “I ran to the man that helped with my admission and told him of the incident. He said it was an oversight and assigned another number to me. Things continued normally. I wrote tests and examinations. Soon the session was over. Remember I got in using my A level result, so that got me into 200 level.”

    But Anyanna was soon to discover that the whole admission was a scam. “By the time the first session ended and I was to go into 300-level, I knew for sure that something was amiss. I already envisaged that I might get evicted from the school, so I decided to go and process admission in Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka. Since that’s my state and catchment area, I believed it would be easier to get admission there. Moreover, I had an uncle who was a faculty dean at the time, and felt he should be an added advantage. This was in 2005.”

    Unfortunately however, it was another tough luck at the state university. The worst eventually happened in his 3rd fear at the University of Ilorin, as he got kicked out. All the while he was busy attending lectures, writing continuous assessment tests, and even exams, the school had no single record of him as its bonafide student. He had been a victim of fake admission.

    Unable to secure admission into DELSU with his A-level result, Anyanna decided to sit for JAMB once again. By this time, his colleagues with whom he passed out of secondary school in 2001 had either graduated or were in their final year in university. Starting all over wasn’t an easy decision for Anyanna but it was a decision he thought was best taken in isolation, probably to avoid being discouraged by anyone. “As at the time I picked the JAMB form to start afresh, I remember not having any conversation with anybody, although I had consulted with my parents on every academic decision.”

    By this time, Anyanna was also sure of his choice of course. There wasn’t a question of whether it should be Economics or Sociology. “Not to forget, I was a person who was given to some social youth development programmes. I attended youth seminars, conferences. And what these conferences did to me over time was create that self-awareness in me. I began to have a relationship with myself. By myself, I mean my passion and desires. In essence, I had discovered myself. So I had no problem filling in Sociology. I’d found passion in trying to understand society. I had also begun to pay attention to several societies and the things going on there, culture and all that.”

    Now a Sociology graduate of the University of Abuja and pursuing his Masters degree, Anyanna said his sojourn as a student in UNIABUJA opened him to a lot of opportunities. After his 100-level, he started tutoring full-time and part-time students for a fee. In the process, he discovered he has a passion for lecturing. He hopes to further study for his PhD and retire as a lecturer in the nearest future. He currently works in one of the leading new generation banks.

    Asked how he found the courage to pick up the broken pieces and begin afresh, Anyanna said, “People always say God, but I’d like to put God in a proper perspective; so I’d say the Holy Spirit. It was He who made me see that my goal should be my focus, not the means to achieving it. I just wanted to be able to hold my head high. I was on the floor and the only thing I could do was get up. They say, ‘He that is down fears no fall.’ So, in a way, I wasn’t afraid of falling because I was already down.”

    Is there something he would have done better given the same opportunity? Anyanna said, “I would be more proactive. Rather than waiting until 2007 to take JAMB, I would have taken it immediately I started noticing that my admission in UNILORIN was a fraud. Instead I spent a lot of time trying to manage a dead situation. I didn’t understand this simple principle of life that says ‘borrow yourself some sense,’ else I would have just buried the situation and moved on.”

    In similar fate, Edward Nweke also fell victim to fake admission racketeers. When in 1999 he applied to study Economics in the University of Ibadan, he didn’t think things would turn out the way they eventually did. According to him, his name didn’t appear on the first two lists that were released because he didn’t get up to the cut-off point; so his dad sought the help of a lecturer in the school, who after collecting a sum, promised them that things would be worked out.

    Soon, the supplementary list was released and true to the lecturer’s promise, Nweke’s name appeared on the list. “I matriculated, wrote tests and even exams. I also didn’t suspect anything because I was among those students whose names came out after the exams.”

    All this while, he had been in Economics department. It wasn’t until he got to 200-level that the man who helped in processing his admission told him he wasn’t actually supposed to be in Economics department. He told him that if he hoped to continue with his education in the school, he must move to Geography department.

    Ruffled and unable to understand the development, Nweke reported the matter to his dad. “We reasoned that it was possible the man had scammed us. So, instead of proceeding to Geography department as he advised or waiting until I was sent out, we decided it was best to move to another school and start afresh.”

    Nweke thus went to start a part-time programme at the Lagos State University. He however didn’t have to go the length; his church, Winners Chapel had set up a university and his father, whom Nweke said had been very supportive, suggested that he went to Covenant University.

    Nweke confessed that starting all over was “Depressing, especially when most of my mates had gone far with their studies. Some of them were in 300 and 400 levels. It was very discouraging, but I had a very close cousin that advised me that it’s not about how long it took me to get a university degree, but how well I fared.”

    Does he have any regrets? “No regrets” was his resounding response. Continuing, he said, “I don’t have any cause for regrets. I would say every disappointment is a blessing in disguise. The network of friends has expanded as a result of attending CU; besides, when people hear you’re from CU, there’s this special treatment that you get. I’m actually happy I went through the experience.”

    He however has a word of advice for young people. “The world might look oblique, and appear like it has ended, but the truth is that it is just beginning. There are many opportunities that come with every disappointment. They should not be discouraged. They should take advantage of every help they get from supportive family and friends.”

    David Asanga however had a completely different experience. After spending four academic years (2003-2006) studying Public Administration in one of the universities in the South-South region of the country, the National Universities Commissions (NUC), the body regulating university operations in the country suddenly declared that the course was not accredited for the university.

    This was a rude shock to Asanga and his colleagues, as the university never hinted them that it didn’t have accreditation for the course. They pushed, even for just a statement of result, but nothing was issued. Alas, all the years spent in the school was a waste.

    While they waited for the issue to be resolved, some of his colleagues who could afford it, Asanga revealed, paid their ways to get a certificate and also paid to be mobilised. “The discrepancy made it difficult for people to believe that I truly graduated. They said a lot of unkind things about me. Some said I was just deceiving my parents with my religious boy façade and that I just went to school to waste their money for nothing.”

    In 2008, Asange said the university assured them that the results would soon be ready; so he went to pick a masters form from the University of Lagos. “But UNILAG said they couldn’t offer me admission because I didn’t have a certificate. I wrote to them that the certificate would soon be ready, but they stood their ground.

    “So I missed that chance. 2009 came; still the result wasn’t ready. I was totally discouraged. People told my father all sorts of negative things about me and that he should send me out of the house. I took up a vocation to start training school children in music, to keep body and soul together; but I knew that wasn’t what I was cut out for.

    “Believe me; what I passed through is strong enough to make some people commit suicide. But I drew strength from God’s word. I kept getting the reassurance that if I’m patient, God will come to my rescue. I spoke to someone who advised me to start from the scratch. I wept at first. I counted the number of years I’d spent in school. 1999-2006. I first took a diploma course in Personnel management before I was admitted to study Public Administration.”

    After spending about 7 years to get a degree and waiting for another three years for its result to be released, Asanga was faced with the option of going for another degree or waiting endlessly for that which may never be released.

    After deliberating with his mum, Asanga took the decision to register for JAMB. Following that bitter experience, he thought it wise to school in a completely new environment. So, he chose UNILAG Law. He said that while he actually had an interest in studying law from the start, he decided to choose law to shut the mouth of gainsayers who had been accusing him of lying about going to school. “At least if they hear that I’m studying law, they would think that I’m pursuing my passion. After all, I’ve heard of 50-year-old men who to the university to study law.”

    Unfortunately, Asanga did not meet the cut-off for Law. After a long wait, he was offered History and Strategic studies.

    As a 100-level student, it was a completely different ball game. His course mates, Asanga noted, were mostly 17 and 18-year-olds while he was in his late twenties. He was however not embarrassed by the fact, but focused on the goal.

    “On the verge of graduating from UNILAG, I received information that NUC had finally accredited our course and others which were awaiting accreditation. So now, I have two certificates. Of course, I couldn’t serve. I was given an exemption certificate. I immediately registered for my master’s programme in History and Strategic Studies, with focus on International Relations and Conflict Resolution. As I speak with you, I’m on the verge of starting my PhD, and of course, I’m married. Everything simply fell in place within a short while.

    Commenting on how he survived the emotional trauma, Asanga said, “I never paid attention to what people were saying; I focused on what I wanted to achieve. It’s been 10 years since my first degree (was delayed); but I was able to pick up my life’s pieces and today, I have a success story to tell.”

    Late expulsion, not intended to punish students

    But how come school authorities take action on such issues late? Most times, students get notified of their true status far into their courses of study, making the students waste vital years in the process. Is it a deliberate ploy to punish or a case of late reaction? Speaking with The Nation, a senior staff of Delta State University, who spoke on condition of anonymity admitted that indeed there is such thing as fake admission in universities and other higher institutions of learning. He said it is usually referred to as ‘admission runs.’

    “In a case where a student has the qualification and his name didn’t come out on the first batch, which is purely based on merit, he or she may expect to see his name on the second list. But the second batch is also based on merit – at least that’s how we operate in our own system. In the list that follows, the governor has a list, the house of assembly has a list, the monarch has his own; so also the VC and some principal officers. This is where their allies come in. They promise to help students gain admission and collect money from them as gratification.” Our source said.

    Asked if members of staff are sometimes involved in admission runs and if the authorities have a way of punishing such erring staff, he said, “It is not only the students that are punished. Members of staff lose their job when they are caught in such practice. Any staff caught doing such will have to face the staff disciplinary committee. And if found wanting, they can be sacked, because all staff have already been warned not to indulge in admission runs. As a staff, you’re not supposed to extort money from students for the purpose of admission.”

  • Oguntokun grooms Theatre Republic

    Oguntokun grooms Theatre Republic

    Wole Oguntokun is a lawyer,  theatre practitioner, playwright and stage director.  He is one of the foremost theatre arts practitioners in the land at the moment.  A few weeks ago, he opened his new theatre outfit called The Theatre Republic in Lagos where he stages plays, dances and all sorts.  He told Edozie Udeze in this chat how his avowed love and commitment to theatre has become a norm for him and more.

    What does the new theatre outfit called The Theatre Republic stand for?

    The idea of the Theatre Republic is to have a place for stage plays.  It is a place where our own company, the Renegade Theatre and other companies in Lagos who are looking for a platform to have their shows without the exorbitant cost we usually encounter to have their shows.  This is because it is impossible for an average artiste to pay 600,000 or 400,000 to have only one show.  That’s too exorbitant.  Every weekend we pay such amount and if you continue like that, there is no way you can pay your cast and still be in business.  This is excluding production cost and the rest.  This is the reason we are doing this so that we’ll have a total renaissance in the theatre industry.  We are here: we are open to other theatre companies as well.  I looked at it for a while, the money we used to spend to book halls in parts of Lagos to host plays and shows was becoming too much for me.  Now we have to be doing up to four or five shows every week.  We no longer have to pay for a venue or the like.

    How lucrative is the theatre business in Nigeria now that you are investing so much?

    Yes, we can make it work.  This is new here now and we can make it work.  Don’t forget that this is show business and like most businesses it has its own ups and downs.  But we can make it grow.  We have to have business plan first and foremost.  It is hard to be faced with it by the look of it.  But we don’t have to be constrained by it as artistes.  In a society where there is no infrastructure; where there is no single art grant, not one art grant by the government, it becomes too difficult to operate.  Yet, I have seen in other societies where all their spaces not even fit for performances were given up to three hundred and fifty dollars to produce shows.  This was to enable them think, incubate and produce the show.  But here you have a huge bill to pay; even if you have that kind of money, family members and friends and others will become a nuisance to you.  But where we are now, this place, we are sure to make progress.

    What motivated you to actualize such a huge dream?

    I am an artiste.  Yes even though I studied Law, but I am an artiste.  That’s what I am.  That’s what I practice.  And really it was like sitting down and thinking what other ways can one do it – ways that are quite different?  That was what I did.  One must create his own venues, have his own shows.  Then if others could do it, why wouldn’t we do it?  This is why we came this far where we have to accommodate other artistes.  We grew theatre at Terra, so why wouldn’t we grow it here?  So that is the drive; that is the motivation.

    How does the name Renegade sound in relation to theatre?

    Oh, (laughs).  We call ourselves Renegade Theatre.  Oh, yes, we do.  What we’ve done is not to follow the regular path.  So that was how the idea of the name Renegade came.  We have to be innovative.  We did not have to wait for others to teach us.  We chose to have this place; the theatre of our own style.  And that’s it; that’s the idea of the Renegade Theatre.  So Renegade Theatre is the resident company here.  We also have other theatre groups that will be operating from here.  Companies like Segun Adefila’s Crown Troupe of Africa, and others.  Now we have three months in each quarter of the year.  Now in each quarter, we are going to have more companies here to join us for performances.  It now possible because we have created the atmosphere.

    So, how do you attract your own clientele?

    We will do so the way we used to get them while out there at different locations and venues.  Renegade Theatre has done more shows at Terra Kulture and MUSON Centre that our people know who we are and where to find us.  We have done enough to establish a name for ourselves in the industry.  Therefore we hope to grow this place.

    So, what sorts of people do you expect to come here?

    People who live here; who love theatre, people who want to relax after work or want to take their families out at the weekend.  It is will be easier for such people to come here to see plays.  But again we had people who drove in from Ikeja to this place at Lekki yesterday to see our play.  It is the love one has for theatre that drives one to do so.  Even in those days, people used to come from Ibadan, Oyo State to watch our plays.  I think it is a matter of interest.  People who have no other place to turn to, of course, theatre becomes their next port of call.  There are always regular shows here and once people get to know, they will be coming.  Before, we used to have shows every Sunday.  But here it is from Thursdays through Sundays.  So we are more regular and that means more days for people to come and relax.  The shows will be on and on like that.

    What sorts of dramas do you intend to stage here?

    The idea, first and foremost, is to have innovative works; innovative plays.  New and innovative works; indeed new ideas and then we represent the old ones in such a way as to appeal to the audience.  Now, you can’t tell us you’ve seen the Jero plays before and therefore you wouldn’t see it again.  Now, we will present it in a way to appeal to you the more.  That is one of the new ideas, the innovative concepts we are talking about.  When you come to see such works, they will be different.  They are legendary works that do not cease to amaze you.  After all, people have continued to see Shakespeare’s plays 400 years after, yet they are not bored.  So how old is The Death and King’s Horseman that people are saying it has been over-staged?  But if it is presented in innovative ways, in new ways, the appeal will still be there.

    Are you in liaison with playwrights before using their works?

    Oh yes.  Professor Wole Soyinka was even here for the opening ceremony a few days ago.  Any artiste or director who brings any work here has to have permission from the playwright.  That one is for sure.

    How do you combine Law and Theatre now?

    Oh, I don’t practice Law any more.  My whole life is given to theatre.  It was while I was in Ife that the name was changed on my head from the University of Ife to Obafemi Awolowo University.  But the law helps in the vision; it helps in the business side of Theatre.  When it is time to sign contracts or the like, I do not need people to do it for me.  Yes, I can protect myself.  Even the companies that are coming, I can protect them and give advice to them.  That is the essence of Law there.

    Do you combine dance and drama to make it more encompassing?

    Oh, yes.  That is what I have put in place here at the Republic.  It will be in the neighbourhood of what Segun Adefila does with the Crown Troupe of Africa.  Theatre has to be spiced with drama and dance to make it more effective and appealing.  We are having the Divorce of Lawino here.  It has that sort platform.  Adefila will also bring in a lot of dance-drama shows.  There will be a play on sexual violence.  Then my own play The Waiting Room will be showing as well.

    How do you choose your cast and crew?

    We will be doing it the same way we have been doing it.  We have to have a standing troupe, the artistes we have and the artistes we know.  Yes this dream will work, it is going to work.  Arts have to grow, we have to make it grow to accommodate more people, more artistes and more practitioners.  We had to redraw this place, to rework the extension to make it an Arts place – a village theatre like we call it.  We had to rebuild this place from the scratch.  We had to repaint to make it a better place for theatre.  So, when you come you see it is a serious place.  We want to get away from the notion that artistes are hungry people.  That notion is not good.

  • Stealing in the name of the Customs Service

    If you get a facebook friend request from someone in the Nigerian Customs Service uniform, whom as soon as you accept, you receive an advert message for the purported sale/auction of cheap cars and rice or recruitment into the service; beware that you may have taken the first step towards being defrauded. Medinat Kanabe reports.

    QUITE unlike the norm, their facebook pages are usually devoid of pictures with which one can identify their true personalities. Instead, they use one, two or three pictures of custom officers in uniform, to make out that they are genuine custom officers (or its representatives) and proceed to deceive and swindle unsuspecting members of the public. Often, they’re selling fairly used cars, or rice (or some other essential commodities) or offering recruitment for money.

    One of their victims, Mr. Kanayo (not real name) narrated to The Nation how he got a facebook friend request from a man, Sanni Kazeem Olanrewaja. He said as soon as he accepted, Olanrewaja sent him a private message that read thus: “NIGERIA CUSTOM AUCTION SERVICE; WE SELL ALL KIND OF CLEAN TOKUNBO CARS AT CHEAPER AND AFFORDABLE PRICE INTERESTED BUYER SHOUD PLEASE CONTACT* OFFICE LINE 08148274550) FOR CLEARANCE, DELIVERING, REQUITMENT FORM AND REGISTRATION AND JOB: SOME OF THE CARS LISTED ARE Golf 2.3 & 4 N250,000. to =N300,000 =Toyota Camry big daddy=N450,000. Toyota Camry Tiny-Light =N350,000. Toyota Avensis=N400,000. Toyota Avalon=N450,000. Toyota Rav4=400,000. Toyota Prado=700,000. Toyota Sienna=650,000: Toyota Corolla=500,000 Toyota Matrix=N450,000. Honda Accord=400,000. Honda CRV=450,000. Honda Pilot=650,000. Nissan Pathfinder=700,000. Nisaan Amanda=N500,000. Nissan Exterra =N550,000.Infinity Jeepfx35=N700,000. & fx45=750,000. Benz Ml350=600,000. Lexus Rx350=650,000. & RX330=N600,000. RANGEROVER SPORT N1.4M. AND MANY MORE EXCLUSIVE OFFERS. All VEHICLES ENGINES ARE IN GOOD CONDITION (THANKS FOR PATRONIZING WITH US).”

    Note that the poor spelling and grammar are characteristic of their messages.

    Said Kanayo: “As soon as I got the message, I responded because I needed a car urgently. I’d just got married and my wife was pregnant. I had also set aside about N1.5million to get a fairly used jeep. The offer thus seemed very appealing, so I decided that rather than buy one car, I could buy two with the same amount.

    “I called the number and discussed with him. I even visited his house in Lagos before giving him the money; but since I sent the money to him, I have not seen him. That was how I lost my money to Sanni Kazeem Olanrewaja.”

    Kanayo said when he visited his house, he “was told by his neighbours that he had been arrested and they couldn’t give me the name of the police station or the person that arrested him.”

    Lamenting his loss, he said: “I realised thereafter that the offer was indeed too good to be true and I may have been greedy too.”

    To confirm Kanayo’s story, this reporter searched and added a contact on facebook suspected to be of the fake custom auction syndicate. This time, it bore a picture of a female in a Nigeria Customs Service uniform with name tag Dr Iferi P.K, even though the facebook name was Patience Ifere. This should be a first warning ordinarily.

    Almost immediately, this reporter got a private message that read as follows: “PURCHASE YOUR BAGS OF RICE IN A LOWER PRICE OF #11:800 FOR DEMAND CONTACT OUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT OFFICER PATIENCE ON (08140417013) FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PURCHASE. Royal Umbrella=#9,700 Mama Gold=#10,500. Royal Stallion=#9,700 Otunba=#10,600. Rising Sun=#10,500. Special Rice=#10,500. Mama Africa=#9,300. Royal Crown=#9,500. Ade Brazil=#10,500. Super Eagle=#8,700. Elephant Gold=#9,500. PJS=#8,800. Tomato Rice=#8,500. Caprice=#9,700

    AND WE DELIVER TO ANY STATE IN NIGERIA UPON THE CUSTOMERS RIQUEST…1BAGS IS#1,000 FOR DELIVERY THANK YOU…FOR PURCHASE KINDLY CONTACT OUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT OFFICER PATIENCE ON (08140417013). NOTE: THAT PAYMENT FOR GOODS ARE MADE ON DELIVERY,WHILE DELIVERY CHARGES ARE PAID BEFORE DELIVERY.THANK FORMER YOUR PATRONAGE, FOR SERIOUS MINDED BUYERS ONLY: (ALL GOODS ARE IN THE NIGERIA CUSTOM CUSTODY)”

    When she called the number in the message, it was picked by a man who claimed that Patience, the supposed owner of the line, was not on seat. The reporter claimed that she needed eight bags of rice, as her sister was getting married in October, and some bags for domestic consumption.

    The man, who gave his name as Custom Balogun, asked this reporter her location and where exactly she’d like the bags of rice delivered. He added that there is a cost for delivery, which he said was N1, 000 per bag and must be paid before delivery.

    The reporter agreed and asked for an account detail; but he said the account detail would be sent to her when she is ready to pay-in the money and that the account detail is that of the zonal secretary, whose office is in Ogun State.

    He subsequently sent his personal phone number to her and the account details. The phone numbers were 08108249946, 09038513833; while the account detail read: 3108444125 Mudi Ocholi First Bank.

    By this time, this reporter had got enough feelers and information to convince her that this was still the same scam playing out; the sort that gulped Kanayo’s N1.5 million and his dream of owning a car (albeit momentarily); and those of several unsuspecting others. But what is the Nigerian Customs Service doing to check these scammers, who are using its name to perpetrate fraud; dragging it in the mud in the process?

    In defence of the Nigerian Customs Service

    The Deputy Public Relations Officer, DPRO, NCS, Joseph Attah who spoke with The Nation said the service is aware of these fraudsters and is doing its best to apprehend them and alert members of the public of the risks involved in dealing with them.

    She said: “If you are in this country in the last one year or two and you are a follower of customs activities, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. Several times, we have issued statements and paraded those that our network has been able to grab.

    “Just about three or four weeks ago, we secured the conviction of six people in Lagos. We have been fighting it and we believe that the most effective way is to sensitise the pubic and make sure people don’t patronise them. That is the only way to cut off their network because as long as people patronise them, they will be encouraged to do more.

    “They hide somewhere to impersonate and their intention is to defraud unsuspecting victims. We are aware that they use the social media to defraud people, so we have taken the battle there.”

    Attah revealed that the service has created an official facebook account www.facebook.com/customsng, where the public can access authentic information about the service and verify whatever information making the rounds. He said the Nigerian Custom Service is one of the very few organisations whose information can be so verified and which is also available on twitter.

    “If someone sends you a facebook request and a message about auctions or contracts or recruitments and then engages you in a discussion that includes money and thereafter sends you a personal account number, it is fraud. And we keep telling the public about this. We go on radio, television and use the newspapers, but people still fall victim. Don’t go and send money to someone whom you don’t know, whom you have not seen before.

    “We are also calling on the media to join in the sensitisation. How can someone tell you he has a brand new jeep for N60, 000 and you believe him and go ahead and make payment? Usually, it is after paying that many of the victims realise that they have been defrauded.

    “Somebody came to report that someone called to tell him the customs service was recruiting for a fee and he went ahead and made payment. The question is, why didn’t he come to us before paying?

    On the pictures of custom officers, Mr Attah said a person who wants to defraud you will use anything available to convince you. They just go on the internet to get the picture of a customs officer and give it a name.”

    As a parting shot, Attah said: “We are telling people not to patronise seemingly juicy offers on the social media. Insist on meeting them in person or visiting the office. Once the person refuses, your suspicion antenna should immediately be on the alert.’’

  • All set for Lagos-Oyotunji Cultural Heritage Fiesta

    All set for Lagos-Oyotunji Cultural Heritage Fiesta

    Anti-child trafficking activist, Rotimi Vaughan, has said plans are in top gear to hold a historic cultural heritage programme, termed: “Lagos-Oyotunji Cultural Heritage Fiesta” to hold shortly at the Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon, South Carolina, USA. Vaughan, a lawyer and social entrepreneur, said that the festival is riding on the fact that modern slavery is an “evil reminder of the terribly dehumanizing past of the African continent.” The documentary producer said that efforts are being made by his group- JCV Project Breakfree, to battle the evil practice.

    Being a direct descendant of South Carolinian Scipio Vaughan, a former slave who became a prominent and respected family man in Camden, South Carolina, United States of America until his death in 1840, Vaughan is keen to draw attention to striking data available in the area of child trafficking in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.”I have always looked forward to the day I would ably be in a position to transform my intriguing family historical account of slavery, freedom, dignity and the elevation of the black race, into a platform for promoting impactful socio-cultural relations and understanding between Africa and Americas,” he said.

    Through a project known as the “Atlantic Bond Initiative, the lawyer is set to establish Strategic Promotions, Exchanges, Relations and Ties between Lagos State [City of Badagry] Nigeria, and the State of South Carolina [City of Camden] and Oyotunji African Village, Sheldon, USA.”Under the conceptualized Atlantic Bond Initiative”, windows of opportunity are now open for the establishment of mutually beneficial bilateral relations and ties between Lagos State, its government and people and the State of South Carolina, USA, its government and people. Both areas are therefore positioned to enjoy remarkable investment and development opportunities in the areas of tourism, particularly heritage tourism, arts and culture, trade and commerce, agriculture, youth and social development, academic institutions alliances, advancing humanity while combating modern slavery,” he said.

    He stated further that, “African Americans in the US, looking to re-connect to their roots, would have a huge spring board under the Atlantic Bond Initiative, from which to dive deep into their past, thereby affecting positive changes in the present State and the future.”

    Vaughan also stated that a documentary he produced on modern slavery, child trafficking and forced child labour, telling the untold tearful and sad story of two trafficked girls who were reunited with their families in Ikwo community in Ebonyin State in South East Nigeria by Vaughan and his anti-modern slavery team, after three years of slavery, inhumanity and abuse, after being trafficked to Lagos from Ebonyin State, will soon premiere; titled They Just Want To Go Back Home.

  • Striving towards open defecation-free society

    Frank Ikpefan reviews the activities of Concern Universal, a UK-based NGO striving to rid Nigerian communities of open defecation habit.

    THE small, rustic community shares its first name with one of Lagos’ big industrial/residential area – Ikeja. Aside the shared name however, nothing else ties these two places together. Ikeja new layout, Beten in Bekwarra LGA is a small village of not less than 30 inhabitants. The village lacks the trappings of modern life – no water, no electricity, no good roads, no hospital. But despite these shortfalls, the community recently attained open defecation-free (ODF) status; a feat really significant in the rural Nigeria context.

    The journey to ODF status was however not easy. It took commitment and a lot of convincing from a set of people whom the inhabitants initially considered ‘strangers’ and ‘invaders.’ Prior to their coming, the community had battled with numerous environmental diseases as a result of poor sanitation and hygiene. ‘Shot put’ was the easiest and fastest way to defecate. And children in the community spent more time at a health care facility – a long walk to Ogoja, a nearby town.

    Following months of talks and convincing, members of the village bought into the message of Concern Universal, a non-governmental organization based in United Kingdom but with office in Calabar, Cross River state.

    The chief of the community, Ogar Inyanku, beamed with smiles as he displayed the certificate of ODF status awarded his village during a recent visit. The certificate was issued by the Cross River State government. Ikeja new layout is one of 29 communities to have attained an ODF status.

    “Before, we use to spend a lot of time in hospital, treating dysentery and diarrhoea. Now that we have this certification, we hope we will never return to the old ways,” Inyanku told our reporter through an interpreter.

    According to the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Officer of the local government, Godwin Agwayang, a community must have a toilet for it to be certified ODF free.

    “For any community to be certified free, each household must have at least a pit toilet and make use of them. The toilet must have fly-proof cover, water station, among other essentials,” he stated.

    “After they showed us how we eat our own faeces and that of other people, we came together and agreed that defecating in the bush and river must stop. So our first task was that every house in our community must have a toilet. We then formed a group and decided that we will construct toilets for each member, one after the other,” says a local WASH community member, Thomas Idaugu.

    Idaugu said the community did not stop at the construction of basic latrines but were now supporting each other to construct and use improved toilet facilities such as the flush/ pour flush toilets as well as adopt positive hygiene behaviours like hand washing, particularly after using the toilet and before eating.

    The group also designed a WASH card, through which members made contributions towards the construction of improved toilets.

    “After we finished digging pit toilet for everyone of our members, we contributed money, then loaned same to those who needed improved toilets,” he stated. The community is also not taking it lightly with defaulters, as they are made to pay a heavy fine.

    Another WASHCOM member in the community, Mary Godwin said anyone caught defecating in the bush or river is taken to the chief of that community and made to pay a fine that includes a goat, a carton of drink and some amount of money.

    Agwayang revealed that Concern Universal has been working in Nigeria for over ten years, pushing states like Ebonyi, Cross River and Benue towards the ODF status.

    “Construction of toilet is not enough; there is need to establish a Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS), which empowers an entire community to collectively change their sanitation behaviour and ensure that every member of the community uses a toilet. When we carry out a triggering session in any community, our approach is to allow the communities decide on their own what to do with the information they have been exposed to.

     

    “When we finish, we train WASHCOM, who now act as foot soldiers and go about to implement the policy and report back to the council. Based on their report, we would visit and verify things for ourselves before declaring the community ODF,” Agwayang added.

     

    Project Manager for Community-led Health Improvement through Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (CISHPiN) for Concern Universal, Oliver Okon, told our reporter that it took a lot effort for the community to achieve ODF status. By the end of next month, he said, Cross River state will celebrate an ODF free LGA, the first in Nigeria.

     

    He revealed that the programme is currently being pursued in three LGAs in Cross River State.

     

    “It is the success of RUSHPIN programme that gave birth to CISHPiN. We started the CISHPiN three months ago. We already have 30 open defecation free communities in CISHPiN. To us, Nigeria is just too weak when it comes to issues of sanitation,” Okon said.

     

    The United Nation under its special campaign targets on ending open defecation by 2025.

    However, under Goal 6 of the new SDGs, which is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, one of the targets is to: “By 2030 achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.”

     

    This target does not preclude the earlier set target by the UN, which most countries have adopted; including Nigeria. The Federal Government recently set another national target and pledged to end open defecation by 2019, as announced by the Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed in its new Nigeria Clean and Green campaign.

    This target may however be in danger if the sector continues to witness poor funding by governments at all levels.

     

    Said Okon: “The Federal Government does not have tangible funds for water and sanitation programme. We have been meeting with governments to make sure they put money into sanitation.

     

    “Politicians tend to put money in water aspect where they can benefit from projects and contracts. Nobody tends to put money in sanitation or hygiene because there is nothing to benefit from visiting communities to preach the dangers of open defecation. Yet children die annually from sanitation and hygiene diseases.

     

    “Even the budgets when they are prepared concentrate more on provision of water alone. This attitude of our government has really affected the fight against sanitation and hygiene issues.

    Counterpart funding from states remain a big problem. …Even when UNICEF, GSF or any other agency brings money for sanitation, the state governments would not provide the counterpart funding to complete such project.

     

    “We are currently battling with Cross River State government over counterpart funding of $2.5 million dollars to implement open defecation programmes in four LGAs in the state. Since the MoU was signed in 2014 by the Federal Government, the state has not been able to match the $5million brought by GSF till date.

     

    “If these guys don’t provide these counterpart funds, these projects won’t go on.” Okon said.

     

    The road map on water released recently by the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu did not stress sanitation or hygiene. Of the 166 ongoing projects across the country, almost all focused on dam construction, rehabilitation and irrigation for food security, and are expected to gulp a whopping N5.5billion. Nothing on sanitation projects or methods of eradicating open defecation. This is in spite of the fact that the country loses thousands of children annually to different diseases resulting from poor sanitation and hygiene practices.

     

    According to WHO/UNICEF in its 2015 Progress Report, nearly 45,000 children under the age of five die annually in Nigeria from diarrheal diseases caused by the nation’s poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene. But it is important to note that water, sanitation and hygiene influences illnesses and deaths beyond just diarrheal, meaning that the number of children lost yearly to water-borne diseases is in actual fact far more.

     

    According to the 2015 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), the percentage of Nigerians with access to sanitation has continued to fall from 38 per cent in 1990 to just 29 per cent in 2015. The report added that 25 per cent of Nigerians practised open defecation that year; making her one of just a handful of countries around the world with such falling standard.

     

    “This wholly unacceptable situation causes untold suffering, affecting human and sustainable development, particularly in the lives of women – who carry the burden of fetching water and caring for sick children; and for girls – who may be forced to miss school because of the absence of toilets there, thus limiting their exposure to education and consequently, opportunities to make choices that could help them overcome lives of poverty,” the report said.

     

    A former Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Engr. Samuel Ome, said poor sanitation costs Nigeria N455 billion annually. A desk study carried out by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) said Nigeria’s inadequate water and sanitation conditions damage the economy. An estimated 5 per cent of GDP is lost to illness and death. The country is also regarded one of those that account for almost three-quarters of people who still practise open defecation.

     

    According to a manual for journalists on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) issues in Nigeria, published by the Water and Sanitation (WASH) Media Network, Nigeria, 70 million Nigerians use unsanitary or shared latrines.

     

    “Children will go to school more if they have access to water and sanitation facilities in their schools. Most of our schools don’t have sanitation facilities. No toilets. That is why most of our children fall ill in schools,” Okon explained.

     

    Lamenting the poor attention given to sanitation and hygiene in the country, Okon stated that budget to the sanitation subsector over the years has continued to decline. He added that the country loses $5.5billion annually to poor sanitation, adding lies at the bottom of 25 countries with poor citizens’ access to sanitation facilities.

     

    Okon, who disclosed that Nigeria is ranked 5th in Open Defecation Index, added that 868,000 Nigerian children die annually as a result of illnesses related to open defecation.

     

    He said the RUSHPiN project has triggered awareness in 1,028 communities, out of which 823 in the 6 LGAs they are working in has been certified Open Defecation Free (ODF).

     

    He said two LGAs in Cross River State would soon be certified Open Defecation Free, adding that conflicts in Agatu, Logo and Abi communities in Benue State have affected their activities in the state.

     

  • A grand narrative on national unity

    A grand narrative on national unity

    Nation As Grand Narrative – the Nigerian Press and the politics of meaning by Wale Adebanwi, a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, USA, is a chronicle of Nigerian political history dating back to 1953.  In a reading recently in Lagos, Adebanwi took guests through those turbulent years leading to the independence of Nigeria.  He did not only give a deeper insight into those years when it wasn’t clear whether Nigerian leaders would be able to handle the teething problems of a nation on the threshold of freedom, but the book also went deeper into the political crisis that threatened to break up colonial Nigeria.  Those ugly events, as it were, made it look as if independence was no longer possible.

    Reading from the portion entitled Nation as Grand Narrative, Adebanwi, a political scientist and public commentator elaborated, on how those problems were carefully articulated, narrated, elaborated and reported by the ever-sensitive Nigerian press at that moment.  “And so on, March 31, 1953, the Honourable Anthony Enahoro submitted a motion in the House of Representatives for a resolution as a primary political objective that Nigeria achieve self –government in 1956.  Enahoro added that any other proposal short of full political independence for Nigeria has ceased to be a progressive view, because Nigerian nationalism has moved forward from that position.”

    However, “in a response that showed the fault lines of Nigerian nationalism in the late colonial era – and since then – Sir Ahmadu Bello, leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), introduced a dilatory motion substituting the phrasing ‘as soon as practicable for the year 1956 proposed by Enahoro.”  Thus, began the bitter rivalry and political acrimony between the North and the South which has up to date pitched Nigeria on a path of divisiveness, ethnicity and hatred.

    With the reading set in place, it was time for guests to begin the debate on the reason why Nigeria needs to sit up in order to make for a comprehensive society.  Present at the occasion, were Professor Niyi Osundare, Professor Adigun Agbaje, Jimi Agbaje, Olakunle Abimbola.  Others were Bisi Fayemi, Tunde Fagbemi, Tayo Koleoso, Fafaa Dan-Princewell, Funke Awolowo, Yinka Odumakin and others.

    In his response to the issue of national question which the book raised, Osundare insisted that time has come for Nigerians to move away from the normal habits of making corruption a way of life.  “I’ve known Adebanwi for a long time.  And he writes to correct the wrongs of the past and to point the way forward.  At times, I wonder whether he still finds time to sleep.  But he helps us to focus on how to make Nigeria a better place through his many scholarly works.”  For Osundare, a professor of English and a renowned poet, this is the time for both the leadership and followership in Nigeria and Africa to look at those sensitive issues to help the societies move on to the next level.

    The debates dwelt more on those salient issues needed to make the nation work.  Abimbola explained that Nigeria is a Federation and all we need is to work together to make it work.  “Yes, we can work to build on that foundation.  This is a federation,” he insisted, noting, “all we need now is to work on the fundamental issues that will help for restructuring.  This means, we have to sort out the fundamental issues that tend to put us apart.  This done, we can then fix Nigeria as a society we can be proud of,” he said.

    But for Dan-Princewell, it is not so much as to whether Nigeria can survive as a nation, but that individuals and ethnic groups should stop lording it over others.  “The Ijaws, where I belong have as much stake in this project as any other ethnic group in Nigeria.  It is unfortunate that each time we gather like this all we hear are Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani as if other groups do not exist.  But we have forgotten that the Ijaws are scattered here and there in Nigeria and can be said to have a bigger stake here”.

    He noted that if Nigeria has to be restructured, those who feel aggrieved must be allowed to air their views.  “The nation has to listen to know why they are aggrieved and what needs to be done to appease them.  This unity has to be made concrete for Nigeria to make progress.”  He, nonetheless, traced the origin of the dispersion of the Ijaws in Nigeria and their strength.  “It is time to recognize the place of the minorities and their intellectual contributions to the Nigerian project.  Is it Federation that we want?  Then let’s work seriously to let it favour everyone”, he remonstrated.

    Jimi Agbaje in his contribution drew attention to the place of the young author who has left Nigeria in search of a saner clime to operate and said, “We thought we could keep him (Adebanwi).  But he left before we could do that.  I think he is safe where he is.  This is so because we do not value what we have.  But for us to make progress as a nation we have to bring different things to the table of discussion.  It is the solution that we give to those issues that will determine our progress as a people and this is the time for it.  Leaders have to arrive at a consensus on how to make it right.”

    Odumakin who is known for his firebrand comments on national issues noted that the author is one of the most gifted writers of his generation –”a rare breed, a gift to Nigeria”.  But again, he pointed out to the gathering that the writer needs to remain in Diaspora.  “Stay where you are in the US,” Odumakin advised.  “If you are here in Nigeria, your intellectual input will be stifled or rendered useless by the system.  Our greatest problem in Nigeria is that there is no consensus among the elite.  Can Nigeria then be built without the consensus by the elite?” he asked, insisting, Nigeria has to be made a better place for us all.”

    Describing Adebanwi as a rascal, intellectual rascal for that matter, Professor Agbaje, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, said, “it takes a rascal to be a good scholar and that is what Adebanwi has proved so far.  He got distinction in his master’s degree in my class.  I supervised him.  Both in masters and Ph.D., he was so excellent.  He was always very serious and I needed very little to do.  Today, he has two Ph.Ds – one in Political Science and the second in Anthropology.  His journalism background has indeed helped him to come this far.  His respect for deadlines is indescribable.  He is not only good in the use of language but also in the area of timeliness.  From 2009 till date he has written eleven books.  He is the 4th Rhodes Professor and the first in Africa.  This is indeed unprecedented,” Agbaje, a professor of Political Science explained.

    Although there was no consensus on how to ensure a better Nigerian society, what was obvious is that time has come for Nigerian peoples to come together to rethink the society.  Whether it is restructuring, negotiation or the like, this is the time to work for a better Nigerian society where fairness to all is the key.

     

  • GTBank opens virtual art gallery

    GTBank opens virtual art gallery

    Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank)  PLC has opened a virtual art gallery, ART635, in Lagos.

    At the opening, its Managing Director, Mr Segun Agbaje, said the bank embarked on the project because it wanted to unlock people’s creativity.

    He said: “Although African art goes back in centuries, the industry on the continent is still young and untapped’’, hoping that with ART635, ‘’we can drive its evolution into a lucrative and vibrant economic sector”.

    ART635 Curator Mr. Uche Okpa-Iroha urged artists to be more critical and provocative in the execution of their works, adding that they didn’t have to shy away from being critical of their works.

    “Address issues with your art works. Let your work be petition to the authority and engage more with the spaces around you. And if we work and synergise, we can transform the sector,” Iroha said.

    Biodun Omolayo, who spoke on building the business of art, said artists had to make efforts to market their works, noting that every artist was a business man. He described the virtual gallery as a unique platform that would add value to art and artists.

    Art635 is an online repository of African artworks and is set to serve as a leading platform for the promotion of indigenous artists across the continent.

    At the moment, most budding indigenous artists in Nigeria and across Africa have limited space to showcase their works and make substantial living from their works.

    The bank said the gallery would expand the exposure of these artists, provide an enabling platform for the marketing of their works and serve as a much-needed motivation for  further development of their artistic skills and talents. It allows every artist to upload his works on to the web for the curator to okay.

    The launch of Art635 is the latest of the bank’s sustained efforts to promote African arts. Art is one of the four pillars of GTBank’s corporate social responsibility policy and its support for art over the years ranges from collecting art work from artists, to partner with Tate and other art institution to promote the value of African art in Africa and the international markets through project-lead initiatives

    With ART635, the bank aims to further its support for African arts by helping African artworks become not just seen and appreciated, but also to turn them into a much more profitable and commercially viable venture for indigenous artist who earn very little from their works. This is in line with the bank initiative to go beyond the tradition understanding of corporate social responsibility as corporate philanthropy by intervening in the economic sector to strengthen small business through capacity building initiatives to boast their expertise, exposure and business growth.

  • ‘My worry about Nigeria’

    ‘My worry about Nigeria’

    His life is typical of the wise saying ‘never despise a little beginning’. Sunmi Smart-Cole remains a motivation to many. From being a teacher at age 15 with only primary school education, he worked his way up with determination. He became an accomplished draughtsman, drummer, barber, photographer and journalist. The high society came out in large number to celebrate him last Sunday as he turned 75. During this chat with EVELYN OSAGIE, he played the drums with finesse, showing that age has not diminished his skill. Smart-Cole talked about Nigeria, his talents and friendship with the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

    It feels great being 75. I have no regrets. I feel extremely blessed and fortunate. I am grateful to God for great mercies and for sparing my life. Many born about the same time with me and some of my friends died in their 30s and 40s. I have been involved in three major accidents; and three times I escaped death. I was hit from behind by a big truck. The second time, we nearly ran into a trailer while Abike Dabiri now Dabiri-Erewa, and I were accompanying Mrs Maryam Babangida to Zaria and escaped. I fell down in a helicopter, broke my leg and neck, had my knee replaced by metal but survived.

    I am a proud father of two young men. And I thank God for giving me five talents, and making me excel in them all. I have been a successful architecture (draughtsman): I designed the house of Sierra Leonean second Prime Minister Albert Michael Margai, after his brother was Sir Milton. I designed a house for the BBC producer called Pete Mayas, whose mother was from Venezuela and that he wanted a country home built there. And the house had a swimming pool on top, and you could see the silhouette of people swimming. I ran a successful barber’s shop. By God’s grace I had exhibited my photographs in five countries, travelled around the world, and photographed very influential people. Indeed, God had been gracious to me. For example, I was on President Obasanjo’s pre-inaugural tour, to 28 countries. I have taken photograph with Fidel Castro, some of our former presidents, including Yar’Adua that died, and excluding Sir Tafawa Balewa and Dr Goodluck Jonathan. I never cared about Jonathan and I don’t regret it. The first time we fought we met in a church in Calabar when he was Deputy Governor to Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    I have also been a drummer and part of a musical group. Although I never played music for money, our group have gone to play in Ghana and America. As a journalist, I have also edited a popular paper, Lagos Life.

    My worry about Nigeria

    When I was growing up I wanted to be upright. I prayed to God that I didn’t want to become rich doing anything dubious or immoral instead, let me die poor. I won’t be the first. I had been tempted three times by some ministers – they’d steal money and I would help them to siphon it. One time, a minister who was appointed four days before called me and asked to recruit me; when he looked up and saw I was weeping, he thought I was overjoyed that it was time to become rich. But I was crying for Nigeria. He had not worked at all. All he was thinking of was how to steal money and how I would help him. This is my worry about Nigeria – it is unfortunate that there is too much corruption in the country. It is a pity that higher institutions keep giving politicians, “fly-by-night” pastors, honouree degrees. Meanwhile, there are many people who have made in-depth contribution but are not making noise about it. if I were in another country, I would have got one too.

    In most Saro houses, you’d see the maxims: Cleanliness is next to Godliness” and “Godliness and contentment”. Both have been grafted on my heart since childhood. And I’ve made up my mind a long time ago that whatever life throws at me, I’d take and be content.

    My growing up

    I was born in and grew up in Port Harcourt. It was a very cosmopolitan place with people from many countries and diverse nationalities – the lingua franca was English. But my paternal grandfather, Revd M.S. Cole, landed in Lagos Colony in 1897. So don’t come and ask me if I am a Nigerian. Chief Obasanjo asked me that in Washington once and we nearly got into a fight. My grandfather was a priest. He worked at the Cathedral Church of Christ of Nigerian Anglican Communion at Marina and also at All Saints’ Church at Montgomery Road, Yaba, from 1944 to 46. My father was also a priest in Port Harcourt but I don’t want to get into that story because I don’t want you to refuse to buy my memoir which I am working on. I have been posting photographs of me and some influential personalities on social media, and some people would have been saying “is Sunmi Smart-Cole going to die?” (Laughs) No.

    My self-education journey

    I am not poor but I’ve known what poverty is. People won’t believe there was a time we couldn’t eat rice everyday but only on Sunday after church. My formal education stopped at the age of 14. I passed the entrance examination to three secondary schools – Kings College, Lagos; Baptist High School and Stella Maris Secondary, both in Port Harcourt; but I could not go because  there no was money. My mother was a dressmaker but a lot of things led to that. Anyway, she took me to the Bishop of our church at the age of 15, hoping to get a scholarship since most of the schools were owned by the missions. And the man gave a letter to the manager of schools and I came out dancing, thinking I had been given a scholarship. But he actually instructed him to give me a job as a teacher at the age of 15. I became a teacher, teaching Infant One and Infant Two at St. Cyprians Primary School, Port Harcourt. I taught until I was 17, and resigned the job. I love the children but I hated the job because I’d wanted to be where my friends were – in school. But I have always kept my head up and never allow any situation to keep me down.

    I decided, at the age of 17, to educate myself, which was the toughest jobs I ever did. I learnt to speak English by listening, reading, and absorbing all sorts of things.

    I went to where they sold second-hand clothing, what they called “Okrika wake-up” to buy old magazines and books – Time magazine, Newsweek, Reader’s Digest and National Geographic. I was particularly influenced by the column in Reader’s Digest that says “Word Power”. I read the Bible three times – from Genesis to Revelations, not in search of religion but in search of words. I listened a lot to radio and try to speak well. Listening to broadcasters were not just a joy but greatly influenced to me. I lived in America for 10 years and refused to speak like them because they don’t speak good English. So that is how I learnt to speak English and here we are today. At the same time, by God’s grace, my educational background did not stop me from being appointed Editor of Lagos Life.

    My friendship with the late Fela

    Fela was a great musician and my friend. He had a licentiate from the Trinity College, London. He was a musicologist just like people before him, like the greatest African musician and composer Fela Sowande. Fela was very good to his friends.

    Because of my training as an architectural draughtsman, I used to design his posters for his shows. When I knew him, he drank only Fanta soft drink and couldn’t stand anybody who smoked. It was his trip to America that changed his life. Although before then, he was an Africanist; with the advent of black power movement, he was a sympathiser.

    Fela and I used to pack at Campos Square to see his girlfriend, the one we called “the Ghost”. We used to called her so behind his back because she was very tall and unusually slim, and those were the kind of women he liked. Fela was somebody who liked women; but women like him more than liked them. He liked common people too.

    His love affair with the area boys and common people had started way back then. On the day he received his salary, he would change it to small amount. And when we got to Campos Square, they would rush at him from all corners. It was like security, like he was buying their loyalty. They never deflated his tyres. One time armed robbers stopped him on the street while he was driving his brother, Beko’s ambulance, when they saw he was the one they prostrated, apologised and ran away.

    When he came back from England he had forgotten about his Koola Lobitos in England, and formed Fela Ransom-Kuti Quintet, a jazz group. I could only play conga drums then.

    My foray into the world of music

    I belonged to a music group called the Soul Assembly, led by Segun Bucknor. I was the drummer. There were also James Nelson-Cole, vocalist and rhythm guitarist and his elder brother Mike, and alto saxophonist Isaac Olasugba.We played Soul music that people can dance to and a little bit of Jazz. We made a record. Our first record was God give me Soul. I organised the very first Jazz festival in Nigeria in 1965 at Kings College Hall. Art Alade brought the money and the last European principal of the college, P.H. Davies gave me five pounds I paid for the hall. The groups listed to perform were Art Alade and the Jazz Creatures, Wole Bucknor and the Afro Jazz Group, Fela Ransom-Kuti’s Quintet and another group called the Mother Jazz Chill. Segun was on the piano, Don Amaechi on bass and I played drums. But the show was not all that successful, but it is on record and set the pace for other Jazz festivals to follow. Our group started playing American Soul Music in Nigeria because before we started playing, we had some people, led by Yinka Balogun, who were members of Elvis Presley fan club. Another group, led by Pat Fame, were Cliff Richard’s fan club for European and American musician. Nobody was playing black American music. Although we went to Kingsway and UTC to buy records but nobody played it until Segun came back from America and we, our group, the Soul Assembly started playing Soul music (African America music).

    We formed the group. And Mr Steve Rhodes, who was my boss at Rhodessoundvision, and in the business of managing groups and artistes like Fela, sacked me because of the group we formed. I was working for him. Segun worked for Niger Dam Authority, which was merged with Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) to become National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). James and Mike worked with different tobacco companies. We wanted Mr Rhodes to manage us as he was managing other people but he refused because he couldn’t get us together to go play across the Southwest.

    My barber’s shop

    That led to my sack, made me feel very disappointed, and led to my establishing the barber’s shop at Yaba, which was made popularly by Sam Amuka, the then editor of Sunday Times. He visited my shop and saw me reading Times magazine. He said, “Where are the customers?” The next day he sent a reporter and a photographer to come and interview me. And on a Sunday, it came out on centrespread, Soul Brother Sunmi Cut his Name on Head.

    The paternal grandfather of the wife of the Vice President, Dolapo Osinbajo, Chief Adetunji Soyode, was the man who gave me the money to open a barber’s shop – 20 pounds. It was initiated by my friend Niyi Soyode (Dolapo’s father’s immediate younger brother). It became very popular. I am blessed with great friends who had stood by me all my life; like the son of Nigeria’s Number one tailor M.O. Idowu, Ade, who has been making all my suits in the past 35 years.

    He asked me to come for fitting about a month ago that he wanted to give me a suit for my birthday. I went and when I got there his hair was so bushy. I had my kit in the car. I forced him to sit down and cut his hair. He is giving me a suit free and I gave him a haircut free.

  • ‘Ilojo Bar must be restored’

    ‘Ilojo Bar must be restored’

    On the eve of the Eld-El-Kabir holiday on September 11, a developer pulled down the 190-year-old national monument, Ilojo Bar, at the Tinubu Square, Lagos. Director-General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Yusuf Abdallah Usman, recalls the commission’s long battle to preserve the monument.

    Ilojo Bar (formerly known as Casa De Fernendez or Angel House) was built 190 years ago and, in all these years, it stood as the best example of Brazilian style architecture introduced by Africans who regained their freedom from their “Portuguese masters” in Brazil. Its historical, social and architectural values have been well acclaimed, thus, prompting the Federal Government to give it special protection status as a National Monument through Gazette 25 Vol. 43 of April 5, 1956.

    Since then, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments has been maintaining, promoting and preserving the monument with members of the Olaiya Family, Lagos State government and other stake holders both local and international.

    The threat to this historic building has been unfolding for sometime due to rising commercial interest in view of its strategic location. In October, last year, a member of the family wrote to the Commission saying that one of them was trying to engage a private developer to demolish the monument and clear the place for commercial development.

    In response to this, a meeting was called with the family members led by Mr. Daniel Adewale Olaiya on January 19, 2016. The meeting discussed the issues around the monument, including its legal status, how the structure is put to use and the grievances of the family members. It was finally agreed that the statues quo of the monument should remain while they submit their complains through appropriate official channel but nothing was heard from them since then.

    The recent threat to demolish the monument came on July 2, 2016, when a developer in collusion with some members of the family mobilised a bulldozer and some armed men with the intent to demolish the structure. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments got information about the move and quickly mobilised the Lagos museum staff and Lagos State government officials, who accosted the group and frustrated the attempt. In the meantime the attention of law enforcement agencies was drawn.

    On July, this year, the developer again mobilised to demolish the building and this action was again rebuffed this time through the intervention of Hon. Agboola Dabiri Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on the Lagos Central Business District.Following his intervention,a stakeholders’ meeting was summoned at Lagos State secretariat Alausa, Ikeja where Hon.AbikeDabiri-Erewa did everything possible to avert the demolition of the monument.

    Subsequently on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 a stakeholders’meeting was convened by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments at the National Museum, Lagos involving major stakeholders. This include members of the Olaiya family, management staff of National museum, Lagos, representatives of Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and that of the Brazillian Consulate, Benedita Gouveia Simonetti and Adeniran Arimoro.

    During the meeting, the stakeholders agreed that steps must be taken to safeguard the monument from any threat, including involving law enforcement agencies and placement of notice on the site notifying the public about the status of the building. The meeting also agreed to revive an earlier plan to organise a gala night to raise funds for the rehabilitation of the monument.

    To our greatest surprise however, on Saturday, August 27, 2016, the same developer again mobilised his bulldozer and actually damaged a portion of the building. A petition was written and submitted to the Area Commander of the Nigerian Police (Lion building), requesting  the arrest and prosecution of the culprits but apparently the police did not find the matter serious enough to detain or prosecute them.

    Seeing the levity with which the Area Command handled the matter, another petition was written on August 29, this year to the AIG Zone 2 Onikan. Meanwhile on Thursda, September 1, 2016, Hon Dabiri-Erewa was again approached and he gave an official letter to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development requesting the ministry to withdraw a letter of permit for demolition said to be given to the developer. Another letter was written to the Governor intimating him about the status of the monument and seeking his assistance to safeguard it.

    However, despite all the efforts of highly responsible and patriotic individuals and government agencies, the developer on the eve of Eid-el Kabir (September 11, 2016) sneaked in with his instrument of destruction and wilfully demolished the Ilojo Bar, an outstanding historic and architectural monument that has adored the cultural landscape of Lagos Island for nearly two centuries.

    This sad event is a critical turning point in the history of heritage management in Nigeria. The shocking way the action was carried out without any shame and embarrassment is a source of serious concern for the National Commission for Museums and Monuments as heritage managers and for all responsible Nigerians who love history and culture. The action is not only criminal, but it has robbed us of an important heritage resource that helps defines us as a people and assist our understanding of our past and our projection of the future.

    The demolition has destroyed a masterpiece of the only surviving Brazilian houses in Lagos with its attractive arches and fine iron works as statue described as being “Gothic in style and balustrade reminiscent of a Venetian palace”.  It has done great injustice to the credit of African craftsmanship in architecture which has exerted great influence on Yoruba architecture that is today visible in all parts of Yoruba land.

    Indeed, the demolition has eliminated the tangible evidence of social and cultural impact of the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition. It has wiped away an outstanding source of memory and history of freed slaves and their roles and impact in the evolution and development of cosmopolitan urban Lagos. At the same time it has destroyed one of the outstanding symbolic evidence of cultural ties between Nigeria and Black diaspora in general and Brazil in particular.

    This dastardly act has distorted the eminent position of Lagos in colonial history as centre where returnee slaves from Brazil built houses in the new architectural fashion when Lagos was created as a colony, thus impoverishing Lagos of its rich architectural urban history and undermining its acclaimed status as centre of excellence.

    However, the NCMM will not rest on its oars until the perpetrators of this dastardly act are brought to book. In line with the powers and responsibilities conferred on it by NCMM Act, Cap N19, Laws of the federal republic of Nigeria 2004, the NCMM will ensure that criminal action is brought on the culprits as well as demand full compensation for the demolished monument. It will be reconstructed and fully restored according to professional restoration standards. We wish to assure all Nigerians that the Ilojo Bar will be restored as it is a fully documented National Monument with an up-to-date and comprehensive documentation of its architectural history and design details.   Consequently, NCMM is poised to restore Ilojo Bar back to its original authentic form.

    In the meantime, the site of the monument being an integral heritage space is being explored for rescue archaeology and heritage impact assessment.

    We call on all well-meaning Nigerians to join the National Commission for Museums and Monument in saving, protecting and maintaining our national heritage resources.

  • My mother and I, by Wale Aboderin

    My mother and I, by Wale Aboderin

    Last week, children of the late Mrs Jadesola Aboderin celebrated her posthumous 80th birthday in Lagos. Her first son, Wale, is the Chairman of Punch Newspapers Ltd. He spoke with NNEKA NWANERI about his childhood and how running the family business prevented him from becoming a pilot.

    How has it been without your mother all these years?

    I don’t even remember that I am fatherless and motherless, because I am not Godless. You don’t have anybody to look up to than to look up to God. Everything that I have said is in the biography written in honour of my late mother, Mrs Florence Jadesola Aboderin. It is entitled: Unsung Greatness. I can guarantee you that the book was not exaggerated or made up, because the only thing that was missing from my mother was the wings of an angel; and I mean it.

    Why hasn’t her exemplary life rubbed off on society?

    It is said that the good is varied with people, and I get a heart break knowing that that will continue to be the case because we don’t have a system in place whereby even the government recognises the proper hero and all the things they have done in life.  So I cannot expect people to change or things to go in another direction, but I can do my own little part to let people know so that maybe they can turn to honour some people while they are still alive. Make people know that because they are doing good, people should know them.

    Just like the Holy Bible says, there is nothing that has happened that hasn’t happened before, and won’t happen again. But these occurrences are given to us as a testimony, so that those that see such things happening can key into it.

    This is a very good example of what happened at my mother’s 80th posthumous birthday. It was an opportunity for people to remember her and tell stories of her, and in so doing, impact on those who do not know her; most especially the younger ones who in their own way can do better than she did.

    Do you regret doing the house chores?

    It’s so long ago, but I don’t think I have any regrets. We are very independent kids, we have to stand on our own when she’s off to work, and wherever we were we always took control of things. We have always been leaders. But I don’t think there was a time I regretted her not being around to do house chores.

    Do you regret taking up the family business?

    The only regret is that it has kept me from being what I wanted to be and doing those things I really love to do. I would have been a pilot, musician, an actor, or anything in the art which I really love doing and have a flair for. But my number one ambition was to be a pilot because I really love to fly.

    What do you do at your leisure?

    I have a female basketball team which I coach at my spare time.  I love to watch basketball on TV and the Paralympic Games which inspires me.

    Why do you avoid social scenes

    I want to attend parties, but I have consciously refused to  because I don’t have the time to tell lies. I am not saying this to say politicians are liars, but I would rather use my time thinking of ways to help humanity. Look at what is happening in America: Donald Trump came out to tell the truth, the establishment didn’t like it and are now doing everything to work against him. Yet, he keeps winning. Why? Because there is someone who wants to tell the truth and do things differently.

    He does not talk like a polished politician, that is why people think that he is speaking ‘rubbish’. But we don’t need a politician…we need a leader who will speak the truth.

    As for me, I will rather in my time and space, do what I can do by telling the truth.

    When I go to places where my integrity would be compromised, the Devil sees it as an opportunity to get me. But as long as I know in my heart that what I am doing is the right thing, and that I am a brand and the brand stands for integrity; my personality, then I have no one to answer to.

    God says in the Bible that he will convert our wisdom to foolishness. The foolishness of the Lord is better than the wisdom of man. Thus the reason why I like to do those things that people can’t understand. Let them gossip and talk. It gives me no good reason to look back when working because I am not afraid of anyone, neither have I lied to anyone. I just keep moving forward.

    Why are you always playful and wear a smile?

    People have often wondered why I keep smiling even when under stress. It is the peace of the Lord that gives me strength. I just keep smiling, even when someone has annoyed me. It takes more energy to frown when people have annoyed you. When they see you are unhappy, they believe they have won and I don’t have time for such people.

    In my own corner, I’ll just keep smiling and let it expand from there, with the hope that it would be infectious.

    A word for Nigerians

    We are too populated in Nigeria. There is a saying that a child who loves his teens will remain in bondage. All we do is grumble, forgetting that if everybody can take one step forward, count the number of steps, we would have ended up going around the world doing good.  But here, nobody is ready to take that first step. If you can do a common favour to a stranger, the world would be a better place.