The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • My guy doesn’t care for me in the name of the budget

  • Has tea and lemon stopped my growth?

    Hello ma, I am a very good fan of yours because I learn a lot from you. I’m 16 years old. When I was 10, I was so big my friends used to laugh at me. Out of frustration, I started taking tea with lemon and it worked! But since then I’ve not been able to grow. My mum is tall while my dad is average, is my past deed working against me? I look small now when people see they take me for an adult. Secondly, I’ve been suffering from pile since last year. What do I do? I need your help.

    I doubt very much if tea and lemon can affect growth. I know a lot of tall people who grew up taking tea and lemon. Children in early childhood usually grow at a rate of about two to two and a half inches per year, up until they begin puberty, when their growth will slow to about one to one and half inches per year. There is acceleration in growth as they hit their peak growth velocity in puberty, to about three to three and a half inches per year for girls and four inches per year for boys. Growth then slows again in girls to about two to three inches per year after the first period until they reach their adult height. Boys and girls usually continue to grow until they are 14 to 16 years old, but this depends on when they started puberty. Remember that girls reach their pubertal growth spurt about two years earlier than boys, so in early adolescence; many girls are taller than boys.

    To evaluate whether you are short, it is important to get a growth chart to see how you have been growing. Your doctor may decide to just observe your growth over the next 3 to 6 months to decide if or not you are grow normally. Discuss the pile issue with him too. Cheers!

  • Generators and deafness in the land (2)

    Continued from last week

    In that type of noisy situation, a good night’s rest is impossible and one often wakes up most days red-eyed and irritable from sleep deprivation.

    And this applies to a large proportion of the populace who have to endure the noise emitted by these nasty generators. Now you understand why many people these days are grumpy, stressed out and generally angry with the world.

    And as if the noise from the gens are not enough trouble, other things contribute to noise pollution in the country and consequently, the deafness rate in the country. Top among these is noise emitting from religious houses like mosques and churches. Many are situated in residential areas and at times of worship, the noise from the loudspeakers they often use is on the same level, if not more than those made by the generators.

    In fact, my very good friend and namesake, Pat once lived in a house at Gbagada with a very big church as next door neighbour. On Sundays, while other faithful are heading to their places of worship, my friend will be sitting comfortably in her house.

    When you ask her why she’s not at service, she will reply:

    “There’s a church right at my doorstep so why should I bother going faraway to worship. I follow the service from the beginning till the end. I participate in the praise and worship, listen attentively to the sermon and I also partake in the blessings from God.”

    “How do you pay your tithes and offerings then?” she is asked.

    “That is between me and my God. It’s none of your business. Afterall, the Bible says the right hand should not know what the left hand is doing! So, how I pay my tithes should not be your problem!” she would retort.

    If the noise pollution is not bad enough, what about the air pollution caused by the noxious fumes emitting from the generators? Thick, poisonous fumes come out from most of them which pollute the air space. The health hazards of these fumes are many and can cause such respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, cartarrh, breathlessness among others. What about the long term effect of inhaling these fumes such as lung cancer and other forms of cancer and other diseases that might not manifest now until years to come? Besides, many people have died in their homes while sleeping with their gens on. The hazards are indeed numerous.

    From all this, it’s obvious that the onset of generators in this country has been a real ‘curse’ not just economically, socially, health wise but in other ways. They’ve caused Nigerians too much trauma and all kinds of stress and we cannot continue like this.

    So what should be done about these machines? The sensible thing is have all of them dumped in a refuse heap and destroyed. But we can’t do without them for now due to the poor power supply in the country presently.

    This is why those in charge of the power sector should intensify efforts in improving the power situation. In fact, any serious government should make it its number one priority as improved power will have a multiplier effect on the economy and improved quality of life for the people.

    That way, a time will come when we can all gladly pack up our generators and dump them in the store room for future generations, who hopefully will live in a Nigeria with 24 hour power supply, to marvel at and wonder what ‘these strange-looking machines’ were used for…

    Concluded

  • Did armed men make a call at my place?

    There are so many questions playing in my mind since this past Tuesday when I was rudely informed that armed men came visiting at my house.

    As a rule, I must empty the bin in the kitchen before going to bed every night. I like waking up to the fresh fragrance from my air freshener, and I know how bins left overnight could negate this. So once I was sure there was nothing to bin anymore that Tuesday night, I took the bin downstairs to dump in the waste bin outside the house. I was going back into the house when a neighbor stopped me from going back inside. She announced that the gateman was at his security post tied hands and legs. “He told me that some armed men came inside and tied him”, she said.

    How did he tell her that, since he was tied, I asked. She said she wanted to tell him something at the security gate when she saw he was tied. She didn’t wait to listen to more, and of course she didn’t wait to untie him before she bolted outside. Apparently, she was hiding under a tree outside the house when she saw me coming out and decided to inform me. We alerted some neighbors and the security man was untied after which we made sure that there were no unwanted visitors in the house.  Nabo, the security man said about ten armed men came visiting, bur he said he didn’t know what they did next after tying him with ropes in his room. He said they took his phone before leaving him.

    The questions I’m still not able to find answers to are: could tem armed men just come into a house and not as much as announce their presence anyhow if they meant business? How come nobody saw them apart from Nabo? Agreed, our doors are these Israel bullet-proof doors, but our windows are glass, if they actually wanted to operate, couldn’t they have knocked on the windows to get our attention?

    I don’t know why I’m having strange feelings that Nabo is working on something. He might have made up the story  for a future reason, and somebody (an accomplice of his) helped tie him. But we have reached a stage in Nigeria where fear has taken over our emotions? I’m so scared of asking Nabo direct questions because he might plan to tie me hands and legs when no one is watching the same way he was tied, that is if he knows what we all don’t know. Please, join me in praying for our safety and security in my house. We need it.

  • ‘Re-marriage? Why not?’

    ‘Re-marriage? Why not?’

    Queen Ure Ukezie the petite, but pretty ex-wife of youthful musician, Soul E, is back in the country and also back into controversy. Before she left last year for the United Kingdom, Queen Ure, as she is popularly called, battled life after a failed marriage. The church business she started with her ex-husband also packed up. But no sooner had she returned from her UK sojourn than she was spotted at Pastor Kris Okotie’s Household of God. It was Pastor Okotie who predicted then that Queen Ure’s marriage to Soul E, wouldn’t last and thus, refused to give his blessing.
    Queen Ure, in this interview, says she’s back! She spoke to Paul UKPABIO on why she retraced her steps to Pastor Okotie’s church, her new line of business, her failed church, her possible re-marriage and musical career, among others. Excerpts:

    When did you return from London?

    A few months ago.

    You were in London for a while, what was it all about?

    I actually went for two reasons, the first was for vacation, while the second reason was for training. I go for training from time to time abroad. And this time around, it was in the UK. It was an opportunity to continue my self-development and also get some kind of relaxation. I did a little bit of business here and there too.

    The last time we heard from you, you were into human development training, are you still into it?

    Yes, I’m still into it. It’s called “Dream n Become International”. We are basically into training and coaching. Some people would term it consultancy. Our core areas are service excellence, customer satisfaction and marketing skills. But we train based on the needs of the clients. When we organise our workshops, these are areas we focus mostly on.

    You used to be in the banking industry, is your present engagement related to that?

    Of course, most of the clients I train are in the corporate world, oil and gas, banking and so on. Sometimes, we work with other consulting companies, we facilitate for some other consulting companies as well.

    About your life in the entertainment industry, are you back in it, or you’ve dumped it?

    Yeah, the entertainment industry is part of me and I am part of it. I am a full-blown artiste now. Music has always been my number one passion. It has always been part of me. Now I’m doing it fully.

    When you said ‘fully’, what exactly did you mean?

    Entertainment is the number one thing I do most. I am presently an independent artiste. I am not signed on with any label. I sing. Presently, I have a promo copy which has five songs. I intend to come out soon with an album of 15 songs. I have recorded more than five songs, but I just did this promo copy ahead of the main album. I would be shooting a video for one of the songs entitled, popori, in the next couple of days. Other songs include: I have found love, Ngegere, a better place. I have been working continuously in the studio with good, competent producers and it is a whole lot of fun. Shortly, my video will be on air and that is when I will be back fully. The video goes a long way to support promo copies. It is exciting and wonderful.

    Is this your first attempt at having a musical album?

    Yes, this is the first attempt at having a musical album, but I have always been writing songs. I have been recording songs in the past, but I did not do anything with the songs. I just kept them in my house. I was always contented with singing in church, I mean singing in the church choir. I was writing for other people and other musicians.

    But this is not the first time that I will be showcasing my singing talent. But it is the first time that I am coming out with my work. At least, I still recall that on campus then, I had a musical group. That was at the University Of Jos. I was the leader of a band. It was called ‘The Rubies’. It was an all girls (laughs) stuff. Just four of us. It was a gospel group and any church that I got involved in, I had always found my way into the choir. However, I am not strictly a gospel artiste now. Right now, I’m not limiting my songs to any particular genre. I’m singing everything. Whichever way the inspiration comes, I sing. For instance, the five songs in my promo are all different. In one of the songs, I actually did real rap. So, it is quite a different kind of rap in my own style. There’s reggae, hip-hop, high life and so on.

    For me, music is about expressing myself. I have the gift and when you have the talent or gift, you use it. You do it your own way. What distinguishes anyone in anything is originality. I’m someone who believes in excellence. I’m not out to compete with anyone because we are blessed in our different ways.

    Isn’t it out of place that you were supposed to be a pastor, but you are abandoning gospel music?

    No. When I said I am not doing gospel music for now, I didn’t mean I am abandoning that class of music. Even in this promo copy, the last song is gospel. Moreover, music is a platform to express the soul. It could be spiritual, it could be romantic, whichever way, my music cuts across everything. Man is spirit, we have a soul. So I sing about the body which has to do with the romantic aspect of life. I equally do soul-lifting songs and playful songs.

    Any special reason why you are coming out at this particular time?

    Like I said, music has always been a part of me. In time past, I was busy doing other things. Now that I have more time, I’ve decided to go into it full blast. Definitely, this is the right time for me to do it.

    You said one of the tracks in your new work is entitled ‘I’ve found Love.’ Have you truly found love after your broken marriage to your ex-husband, Soul E?

    Love is in me. Love is in all of us. The first love to find is the love for one another. That is why the Bible says: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. In other words, you can’t love another, unless you love yourself. You have to love God, love yourself and then you can love another.

    Do you love another right now?

    Of course, I love people not just one. So many people.

    Is there a man presently in your life?

    Yes, there are so many men in my life.

    Is there any particular one that you are emotionally attached to right now?

    Well, if you are asking if I am in that kind of relationship, well, I am not and it is not even on my mind.

    But why not? Is it because you don’t have men showing interest in you?

    No, of course there are lots of men who want to have such relationship with me, but it is not just on my mind. And that is because it is the way I want it for now.

    Wherever you find yourself, it seems you court controversy around you. How true is this?

    Really?

    You were in London not long ago and the news all over the place was that you were involved with Tuface. And there was this salacious photo of you and him, which circulated all over the social media.

    (Laughs) Tuface at the moment is happily engaged, so it’s better to just allow him and his spouse build on what they have. All I did was to take a photo with him at the after- party of his show in London and of course, I displayed the photo and there was nothing wrong with displaying that and he’s a friend. I think they just made a whole lot of things out of it. Presently, Tuface is seriously involved, so there is nothing to it between us. He’s a great singer, we all admire him. I admire him and definitely, I will like to do a collabo with him but not now. I have to come out on my own first.

    You know, in the past, we had great female singers like the late Christy Essien-Igbokwe of blessed memory and Onyeka Onwenu and people had this notion that if you are into music and you are female, it’s likely you are not responsible. But these are women who have been into music and have distinguished themselves. So, about about females being in music and not responsible, it is not correct. We have other young girls who have been doing well in music and that is encouraging.

    How about re-marriage?

    Every woman wants to be married, but when a woman is not married, it could be perhaps, such ladies may not have found the person who they think they should be married to. So they hang in there and wait as singles. As for me, any time I want to marry, I will marry. Marriage, to me, is not a problem. For me, it’s not about being married, it’s about being happily married. And then for me, I allow life to flow. If marriage comes, it comes. I flow with life. I allow things to come to me and that is why my music is coming now. It is time and I am ready. So it has flowed to me. I allow things to happen, things flow to me. So if marriage happens to me, why not? I will allow it. It is a beautiful thing.

    So what do you tell male admirers who try to woo you?

    It’s just natural that every lady has to have those who try to woo her. It’s part of life. There will always be people asking me out and if I feel connected to any one, then why not? I am an African woman, an African girl. I’ll love to have kids, that‘s me, I love family, I believe in family, I’ll love to have my own family, have children, raise a family, it is awesome. I’ll love to have children someday.

    We hear that you are back with Pastor Kris Okotie as you have been spotted in his church.

    I have been in Household of God church for years. That is where I worship. He is just my pastor.

    Pastor Kris disapproved of your marriage which eventually fell apart as he predicted. So, you’ve gone back to his church now, what does that mean?

    Kris is my pastor whom I hold in high respect. There is no reason to do a re-think or whatever, about the matter. Since I am not doing pastoral work now, there is no reason why I cannot go back to the church. I need not have to think twice about that. Where else will I go to?

    And did he just accept you back?

    No, I don’t understand that because, there was no reason as to whether he accepted me back or not, because there was no reason for that. I just went back to my church and I won’t comment about his break-up with his wife. Every church has its uniqueness and everybody is worshipping where they feel connected to serve God. I could worship anywhere, but I feel comfortable with Household of God. God is Spirit. God is everywhere. But there are certain places you find yourself and you feel connected and blessed and God will want you to be there. So that is why I’m there.

    How about your pastoral calling and the church you set up with your ex- husband?

    My life itself is a ministration. Like Saint Paul said: ‘Our lives are epistles known and read.’ So my life itself is like a book. Ministering or serving God is not only limited to the pulpit. If God gives you the opportunity to serve in that capacity, that is fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of that when it happened.

    But why are you no longer pastoring a church?

    As I said to you, I just flow with life. Three years of pastoral work have passed and that is it! Jesus Himself did ministry work for just three years. So that is it.

    What does being beautiful mean to you?

    Beauty, they say, is in the eyes of the beholder, you can choose to see beauty in whatever you choose to see it. To me, beauty is an inner thing. Everyone is beautiful. We are all beautiful in our own ways: But after that, beauty has to come from within. You have to be a cheerful person, a happy person and that has to come from within. If you are unhappy inside, that is not beauty. No matter the tone or volume of your make-up, if you are not happy inside, then you are not beautiful. So, people should be happy and be peaceful. If you are at peace with God and people, then you will be beautiful. Apart from your inner beauty, there is your body and your skin. All that is maintained when you eat well and exercise.

    Everything has got to be maintained. People have to eat in a healthy way to maintain their body and look good. I do eat lots of fruits, vegetables and less of carbohydrates, if I must. I hardly eat carbohydrates though. I am not one who does heavy exercise, I do moderate ones.

    What do you spend money on?

    I spend my money on myself, people, family and friends. I love myself first and then I share with people. I have to wear my hair. Most times, I have my make-up on. I wear my jewelry but not all the time. Basically, I love to have beautiful things. However, I am not much of a materialistic person. There is nothing that I have today, that I cannot do without. There is nothing that I can’t let go, no matter how precious it might be. Being happy is more precious than anything. I can let go of anything! But that doesn’t mean that I don’t love life or that I don’t love beautiful things. I do.

    I don’t really take much to people who chase money up and down. Money can only make you a little bit more comfortable, like moving from a small house to a bigger house, or get a bigger car. It doesn’t change who you are, it doesn’t change your state of mind. People don’t know that. Money doesn’t give you the most important things in life. For me, the most important things in life are things you don’t see. Things like peace, happiness, non tangible things that money can’t exchange with.

  • Umuaja, home of Ethiope River

    Umuaja, home of Ethiope River

    The source of River Ethiope, in Umuaja, Ukwuani Council Area of Delta State is one of the tourism offerings of the state. It is a place rich in indigenous culture, eco-tourism and history. Okorie Uguru, as a member of the Naija Seven Wonders expedition trip to the state, was there.
    He captures the setting and mystic air around these tiny sprouts of rivulets from the roots of a giant tree that expanded to become a big river (Ethiope).

    There is something surreal about this place that may likely leave one with goose pimples. There is a maze of huge tree roots from an equally huge tree trunk zig-zagging through the grove like thousands of snakes sprouting from the head of Gorgon Medusa of the Greek mythologyas normal. Except if one considers as normal, white and red pieces of plain clothes used to tie round one huge silk tree and other smaller ones as normal, there is so much to ponder about River Ethiope. Also, a couple of candle sticks burn in different parts of the grove. There is a small enclosure with a sculpted bust of a man and a smaller bust of a female beside him, all ‘wearing light blue clothes’ with a huge red object.

    The surrounding alone, without the appurtenance of African religious worship and sacrifice to a particular deity, Onoku, attracts its own air of mystery.

    From the foot of the huge silk tree and other smaller ones, tiny sprout of crystal clean water flow out. From this tiny sprout of clean water, a little pond is formed all within the grove. The water is sparkling clean. Even the huge foliage kind of shy away from muddying the water with dead leaves. This is the source of River Ehiope, a unique river reputed to be the deepest inland waterway in Africa. The claim of Umuaja pond to being tourists site is not just about the eco-tourism and cultural setting of the place. It is the source of one major river in Delta State that has been part of the history of the area.

    Before the experience of visiting the source of River Ethiope, one had a opportunity of promenading to the bank of Ethiope River while staying at the Abraka Turf Club. At Abraka, the river is wide and still maintains its sparkling purity, despite the long distance between the town and the source of the river.

    The river is important to a large number of people in Delta State. It is a source of portable water and also for other domestic uses. The leisure activities around the water have brought joy and satisfaction to so many indigenes and visitors to the area.

    But it does not stop there, Ethiope River from the Umuaja spring was a very important river during the colonial era and it served as a route for the movement of goods from the hinterland to the coast. It is to show the importance of this river that the British colonialists put it under their protection in 1894, as a means of stopping the activities of Nana of Itsekiri.

    The colonialists made a proclamation aimed at making sure King Nana did not use the river to gain advantage over those in hinterland in their trade with the Europeans: “Whereas a state of terrorism has been established in the Benin, Sapele and Warri districts by parading of war canoes on public waterways, and many other of the natives are thereby prevented from pursuing in peace and security their ordinary vocations in life.

    “Be it therefore known to all whom it may concern that it is hereby strictly prohibited for any war canoe to appear on any of the rivers, creeks or waterways of the districts above mentioned without sanction of the consular officer in charge of the district.”

    On getting to Umuaja in Ukwuani Council Area of Delta State, one does not just walk round the source, permission has to be obtained from the keeper of the river, ‘the River King’. He has a small structure by the river. The tour guide who is from the town goes to him and pays homage. It is after that the to go ahead is given for a tour of the site and pictures taken.

    According to some indigenes of the town, people come from wide and near to the river to find solutions to their problem.

    The source of River Ethiope does not just attract tourists but suppliants who believe the river is endowed with mythical powers to solve their problems.

    The trip to the river is part of the expedition trip by the Naija Seven Wonders’ crew to Delta State. Having visited the source at Umuaja, the crew undertake a relatively long trip to Abraka to visit another tourism offering only to get there and still meet the river in full flow.

    Enegele Charles, from Okwuani, is an indigene of the area. He speaks about Umuaja and the source of River Ethiope: “The source of River Ethiope was discovered by one Ugbo. Ugbo was a hunter who left the hinterland. On his hunting trip, he got to this place and saw this river. He shouted and said he would want to come and settle down here. He went back to the hinterland, Akoku, and then returned and settled down in Umuaja. That was how the settlement in Umuaja began. He started the foundation of Umuaja because of the river he saw here.

    “So, over times, people come to do certain things close to the river bank. You see so many things like lions, tiger and others. Most times, the river brings blessings. For instance, when the farmers go to farm, they have rich harvest. They say the river is a blessing to them. Most times, stories have it that whatever you wish for yourself, good health, business, child birth and so on, come to pass. People come here to pray and seek for the things they pray for. People also come here to worship Onoku. That is why it is called sacred river.

    “This is the source of the huge River Ethiope. This river runs through seven local government areas, meandering through Sapele and Koko and then meet with tributary rivers before emptying into the ocean. As you see it coming out, it widens as it flows on. This river goes straight to Obiaruku and Abraka.”

    For visitors to the place, there are no big hotels in the area, but there are good accommodation facilities in Asaba and other nearby towns. To get to Umuaja, one could do so through the more popular Agbor town, taking a cab to Umuaja which is about 60 to 70 kilometers from Agbor, through the Abraka road.

    It is an experience and a taste of African mystery. It is worth visiting.

  • My husband won’t marry me legally even after having a child from another woman

    Good day ma thanks for solving others people’s problems which I am one of them. I’m a woman from Ondo State with 3 kids of 12, 9 and 6 years respectively. Just this year my husband had a child with another woman without my knowledge. This has caused problems between us. Now my husband said he wants to do traditional engagement with me when my family called him, but I said I want ‘REGISTRY MARRIAGE’. My husband said no, but he said he loves me that his late father had warned him against Registry EGISTRY, but his brother married through registry. I’ve said I am not interested in the marriage again because of problems presently in the marriage, please ma what do I do now?

    Dear Madam, if your husband is proposing customary marriage, then go for it. Customary marriage as far as Africa is concerned is valid, and in my own opinion, it is better to be married in the presence of your family and your bride price paid than nothing.

    Do not try to fight for a registry marriage when he has made up his mind on what he wants. He’s different from his brother and you must respect that. You have lived with this man for years without as much as a ring, now even after straying and having a child from another woman, he still finds it worthy to take you as a new bride, please dump pride and accept.

    Let me tell you something; registry marriage or not, this is Nigeria where men sleep with their girlfriends with their wedding rings firmly on. Okay, some men may remove it before the action, but does that remove the fact that they sleep with other women? Registry marriage does not make the man faithful. In your own case, he already has a child from another woman anyway. He alone knows if he wants the mother of his new child for keeps or if it will stop with just this child. If he has made up his mind that this woman will continue to have kids for him, going to the registry with you won’t stop it. You’re thinking of getting married under the Acts so you can sue him if he goes ahead to have another wife or other children? Forget it! Even the solicitor you get for your case and the judge to hear the case may be die-hard polygamists if they are men. If they are women, they are probably married to men who have other wives.

    Settle down in your marriage and be good to the man. Most men will eat out of your palms if you make them feel like kings. If you give him respect, honour, sex at the right time and laughter around the house, he is likely to stay glued to you and wonder what took him to another woman in the first place. Love this new baby as your own and win your husband’s respect. I wish you well.

  • The millionaire’s daughter (5)

    Elfreda was everything Meera was not: loving, caring and homely as well.

    She was always concerned about my welfare and to top all that, she cooked very well and often prepared the most delicious meals for me.

    One evening, I was at her apartment and as she bustled around preparing dinner, I could not help but compare the atmosphere there with the one at my home. There was a homely feel, an air of domesticity that was lacking at home. Here was a woman who knew how to take care of a home and her man unlike my wife to whom the kitchen was an alien territory never to be ventured into.

    I sighed and changed the channel on the TV.

    “What’s with the long face?” Elfreda asked, as she sat besides me on the couch.

    I smiled at her and drew her to me.

    “I was just thinking about the past. How good we were together…” I stated, a hint of regret in my voice.

    “You are right. Perhaps, that’s why I couldn’t get over you no matter how hard I tried,” she said, looking at me in a way that made me ache with longing for her.

    Cradling her face gently in my arms, I said:

    “Thanks for opening your heart to me again. I promise you that things will be different this time. I will never, ever let you go again, no matter what happens. Please trust me on this.”

    She gazed at me for a while before speaking.

    “I believe you, Dave. Besides, I don’t really have any choice as my life is meaningless without you. I tried dating other guys just to get you out of my mind but it wasn’t possible. As long as you are by my side, I’m happy,” she stated, smiling sweetly at me.

    I kissed her on the forehead and held her tightly to me.

    The runaway wife

    On getting home that night, Meera was already there. I was surprised to see her because she got home most days very late at night.

    “And where are you coming from at this time of the night? Don’t tell me it’s the office because I know you left there long ago!”

    I glanced behind me to see if she was talking to some one else. Then I looked at her in surprise.

    “Are you talking to me?” I asked her.

    “Who else could I be talking to? There are only two of us in this room!”

    “And what business is it of yours where I’m coming from?” I queried as I walked towards the staircase to go to my room.

    She stood in front of me, blocking me off.

    “I’m your wife, remember? So, it’s my business to know what happens to you,” she responded.

    I burst into laughter at her words, which made her step back a little.

    “Wife? What wife? When was the last time you played your role as a wife in this house? When did you ever care about my welfare or that of your daughter for that matter?” I enquired.

    “Is that why you’ve been running all over time with that tramp?” she asked belligently.

    “What are you talking about? What tramp?”

    “Stop acting dumb! You know who I mean? Your ex-girlfriend, Elfreda. Or you think I won’t know? That you’ve been running around town with her? Spending time with her?” she demanded angrily.

    I was surprised by her words but it didn’t show on my face as I said:

    “I see you are drunk again. If you don’t have anything better to say, just shut up. I’m tired and I need to rest,” I stated, pushing her out of the way.

    As I climbed up to my room, I could hear her screaming:

    “I don’t blame you! Now that you’ve made money and are rich, you think you are a star! Let me remind you in case you’ve forgotten; I made you whatever you are today! And with a snap of my fingers, I can unmake you! I know you are cheating on me and it must stop because nobody cheats on me! You are my husband and as long as we are still together, I can’t share you with another woman, least of all that bitch!”

    I laughed out loud as I opened the door to my room. ‘Imagine her calling someone a cheat. What is she then, with all her boyfriends?’ I thought to myself.

    I continued to see Elfreda despite Meera’s threats. It was necessary for me to retain some form of sanity because of the situation at home which was becoming impossible. Meera and I were fighting nearly everyday, a situation which made me reluctant to go home after work. Most days, it was Elfreda’s place that I went to from the office. It was like a haven of peace in a very stormy situation.

    “I don’t know how long I can go on like this,” I grumbled to Dick one day. I had gone to visit him at home and we had been talking about my problems at home.

    “You have to take it easy,” he stated.

    “For how long? Life with Meera has become impossible. She’s just driving me crazy. I can’t bear it any longer,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.

    “So, what do you intend to do?” asked Dick.

    I sighed then said:

    “I really don’t know. I’m really confused right now,” I stated sadly with my hands on my head. “The sensible thing is to just walk away. But I don’t believe in divorce. I don’t want my daughter to come from a broken home. But I can no longer stay with Meera because of her behaviour. Do you know she keeps bringing her boyfriends home and flaunting them in my face? How long can I continue to tolerate such horrible behaviour from my own wife? I don’t want to commit murder but anything can happen one of these days if she dares bring one of her men to the house again…”

    We were silent for a while then Dick said:

    “I know it’s not the time to say this, but I think you should have stayed with Elfreda. She’s the right woman for you…”

    “You think I don’t know that?” I stated vehemently. “I regret leaving her every day. I just thank God that she forgave me and accepted me back. Now, no matter what happens, I will never leave her again. I want her by my side always as she makes me happy, helps me forget my sorrows.”

    A few months later, Meera unexpectedly travelled abroad. She did not inform me about the trip. I got home one night to meet a note she had dropped for me in which she stated that she was taking a break from me and all the trouble I was causing her.

    “I’ll be away for about a year. I’ve left Cyndi behind as I believe she will be better off with you as you always accuse me of being a bad mother. You accuse me of kinds of things but you seem to forget that I, Meera made you what you are today. Instead of showing gratitude, all you do is give me stress. I’ve had enough of all the grief you give me so goodbye for now…”

    To be frank, I felt nothing but relief at her going away. I would now have some peace in my life but it was going to be temporary as she would still be returning. Right now, I’m thinking of filing for divorce on the grounds of desertion so I can be with Elfreda always. She’s the one I want to be with and I want nothing more to do with Meera. Do you think I’ve made the right decision?

    Readers’ reaction welcome.

    Concluded

    Names have been changed to protect the identity of the narrator and other individuals.

    Send advice/suggestions to 08023201831 or psaduwa@yahoo.com. The best response from a reader wins N1000 recharge card.

    Preview of next week’s edition titled ‘Bride of winter’

    Abby and Henry dated for some years before he travelled out of the country in search of a better life. After five years of being separated, Henry returned to the country so they could get married. He went back to his base abroad after the wedding, with the plan for his bride to join him later. A few months later, Abby jets out of the country to meet her husband, full of high expectations of a life of bliss and happiness abroad with her beloved. But the reality of life over there is far from what she dreamt of. Don’t miss this exciting new series in your ever sizzling The Nation!

  • Pro-Chancellors should not meddle in varsities contracts –Babalakin

    Pro-Chancellors should not meddle in varsities contracts –Babalakin

    The Chairman Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Nigerian Federal Universities and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Wale Babalakin is not a small fry far among the nation’s icons. Today, his business interest criss-crosses law, real estate, aviation, construction, oil and gas, telecoms, maritime, banking and financing, among others. But in this interview with ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA Babalakin, also the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri (Unimaid), spoke extensively on issues bordering on university education. Chancellors of Nigerian federal universities today are hell-bent in ensuring ivory towers are lifted of Chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited. Babalakin berated Pro-Chancellors of universities would always want to exercise their influence in the award of contracts which often run them on a collision course with their Vice-Chancellors and university management. The alumnus of the University of Lagos Faculty of Law and Cambridge University of London assured however assured the present crop of Pro-Chancellors under which he chairs would not dabble into such because they are worried about the state of university education and are ready to put in more efforts to reverse it. Dr. Babalakin an astute philanthropist and a member of the Body of Benchers, said the nation’s development will continue to be elusive except university education is strengthened. He also said the autonomy of Nigerian universities is the only way ivory towers can recapture their lost glory. Excerpts:

     

    There are allegations that some Pro-Chancellors of universities want to dictate how contracts are awarded, when and who gets what? Would you relate this to your experience as the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri?

    Well, I wish somebody else told me the story. Whatever I say, may fall under the category of immodesty. But if it would further education, I would then say a few things. When I assumed duty as Pro-Chancellor of Unaimaid, we took a position that we are there to solve education challenges and nothing more. As I speak today and these facts, we have expended the resources of the university of Maiduguri solely for the university.

    When we got to Unimaid, the sight of a brand new car in any faculty was unusual. Today, there is no department in that university without a brand new car. When we got to unimaid, developmental issues did not occur rapidly, we took a position that we would ensure all projects are delivered on time. To the glory of God we have achieved this. Over 20 projects which we commenced are ready for commissioning all within 15 months. The TetFUN 9tertiary Education Fund) intervention projects were carried out in a manner which we believe the commission was very happy with us.

    We also subscribed to the idea that university education requires creative funding. Waiting for government, no matter how substantial, to continue to fund university education means there will be no development in the university sector. Maiduguri is not a commercial centre comparable to Lagos or Abuja, but opportunities are there as well. As we speak today, through creative thinking, we enjoy 20 hours of uninterrupted electricity in the university everyday, and all year round. The question now is ‘why not 24’? That is our ambition. But I’m reliably told that with20 hours uninterrupted power, we are probably the only federal institution with the most amount of electricity.

    Before the end of this year, we will commission our guest house in Abuja. This has been on the drawing table for over 25 years. When we got in there, we realised this was a potential source of good revenue for the university and we pursued it. This project, when finished, would generate revenue outside the university’s resources. It will shock ypu that we did not borrow a dime to build the edifice. All we did was utilize our little IGR with lots discipline. The idea is that when this revenue starts coming, we are going to use the money to train exceptional students from Unimaid in the best universities abroad. It’s going to be a source of scholarship with the understanding that these students would come back to Unimaid and enhance scholarship there.

    I’m surprised to hear that pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors are always at loggerheads over contract awards. In my near four years in Maiduguri, there has never been any issue, no dispute, no quarrel and as the Pro-Chancellor, I have not participated or taken interest in any projects. Awards of contracts go through a system where I insist on the best value for money irrespective of who delivers it.

    Pro-chancellors as the head of universities, I feel, shouldn’t descend to the level of issuing contracts, while the management too shouldn’t it see their role as simply to award contracts; it is to create creative manner of funding g education; and if Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors realise this, they will not even have the time for arguments over contracts.

    As the Chairman of Committee of Pro-chancellors of Nigerian Universities, what is the thinking in that sector? Or are you comfortable with the state of education?

    First, let me say this with all sense of responsibility, the crop of Pro-Chancellors of Nigerians universities today are dedicated to the furtherance of university education. The country should commend them for their efforts especially in the face of their challenges. We meet quarterly and during emergencies to debate education, share ideas and assist each other. The commitment and quality of debates at these meetings is one of the highest I’ve see nationwide. I do not think there is any Pro-Chancellor who thinks the university system today is acceptable; we all believe there is great room for improving the system.

    Speaking for myself, I believe the university system is at the crossroad. I believe very strongly that the system is incapable of supporting Nigeria’s development generally. I believe there is a direct correlation between the quality of education in the system and the welfare of its people; and that today, Nigeria’s welfare is very poor because the quality of education is also poor. However, I’m not disillusioned. I believe President GooodluckJonathan is keen on education being repositioned; and he has demonstrated this at many fora.

    Could you explain how?

    One, on the tenure of university council, once the President was told the council’s tenure was statutory, he reversed the decision dissolving the Governing Council and reinstating them and stating clearly that every Council must spend their four year tenure. We need this level of stability to make these enduring changes in the university. If you do not know the tenure of your administration, how can you plan?

    Second, although the university amendment bill which gave autonomy to the university council in the appointment of university administrators was signed in 2003, but did not begin operation until 2007 under late President Mus Yar’ Adua, and President Jonathan has tried not to interfere with the appointment. With this, the university system has achieved nearly 90 per cent success within its first five years of operation.

    Third, soon after the president was elected, he held an education seminar where a roadmap was presented and discussed and now awaiting implementation. These are commendable efforts. The ball is now back in our courts as administrators to take advantage of presidential encouragement in refashioning the education system in Nigeria. I am a firm believer that in waiting for the federal, state or local government to champion the cause of education alone will not create any monumental progress.

    What efforts are you making to ensure that the Federal Government- and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Agreement signed into law in2009 is implemented to the letter?

    One of the things slowing down Nigeria today is that we have a cavalier attitude to agreement. In our culture, agreements are only to be obeyed if they are favourable to us. This is a wrong attitude that reflects the level of our underdevelopment. As the Chairman of the Implementation Monitoring Committee for the 2009 the agreement with ASUU and non-academic unions, I can say categorically that it has been a relatively good outing. We’ve had more months of peace in the universities than in previous years. But we also had two or three industrial strikes that are inconsistent with the agreement. The first one was the sympathy strike by ASUU in support of universities in the Southeast when they were all closed down for having problems with their proprietors. There is no provision in the agreement for sympathy strike. I did make a statement at the university of Maiduguri convocation condemning this action. The second strike occurred owing to the implementation of the 2009 Agreement in the area of retirement age of scholars. That strike, though avoidable, was caused by the inefficiency of the federal government. And I want it to be on record that it was promptly resolved by Mr President under the leadership of the Secretary to the Government Pius Anyim, Minister of Education, and other committed players in the education sector. Serious commendation must go to this team for the resolution of that crisis. Strike as a weapon of protest should be used when there is a demonstrable infraction, or a clear violation of agreement of stated position. And I hope my brothers in all the unions will adopt this approach. Let us explore the mechanism provided for dialogue, honour the various agreement before embarking on the industrial action.

    How can we make government wake up to this?

    Each time people mentioned government, people easily forget that government is only representatives and no more. We as citizens should be the one not only suggesting to government but providing a roadmap.

    Have you seen any government who doesn’t want to succeed? But it’s not enough for gifted citizens to say governments do this or that. Have you formed yourself into a pressure group or civil society and come up with an education agenda to be pursued? Have you as an individual, come back to your locality and said we are going to have a primary or secondary school that will be the envy of this nation? I went to one of the best, arguably the best secondary schools secondary schools in the country which was Government College Ibadan (laughs).But there is school called Loyola Jesuit in a very remote and obscure Gida Mangoro in Abuja, somebody created that oasisi of learning in the desert of ignorance. And four years consecutively best students in WAEC West Africa came from. In a particular year, the first, second third and fourth best students in WAEC emerged from the school. That is leadership. For as long as you think you can do things by cutting corners

     

  • Zoning: Why Ekwueme lost presidential ticket to Obasanjo —Kwankwaso

    Zoning: Why Ekwueme lost presidential ticket to Obasanjo —Kwankwaso

    In spite of his hectic schedule, the Governor of Kano State, Engr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, spared about 30 minutes last Saturday to interact with three newsmen at Kano Governor’s Lodge in Abuja. The session, which gave insights into the politics of the ongoing constitution amendment, was captured by our Managing Editor, Northern Operation, YUSUF ALLI. Excerpts:

    What difference did you make in Kano during your first term in office?

    Well, you see first term, as the name signifies, was the first time I became a governor. Definitely, we did things that are ordinarily given the chance again, we will do them differently. And I believe that is why the constitution made provision for second term to review what you did during your first term and see where you can improve. So, there are many areas, many things that we did during our first term in 1999 to 2003 and now by the grace of God, we have opportunity again after eight years. And we are doing them differently.

    An area that we realised that we did them correctly, we are now doubling our efforts to do more. I am happy to say that in the last one year or so, we were able to work very hard; we were able to bring in some programmes and projects that are very important to the people of Kano State.

    First of all, we worked so hard to ensure that from our own side, we do what we believe is correct, what is right and that is to ensure that right from the governor, deputy governor, commissioners down to the civil servants and politicians, everybody was made to understand that government is about service.

    And we are lucky that we made such statement right from the days of our campaign. We told everybody that anybody who was looking for money should go to the market and become a businessman. But you should not be in government and start competing with Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga and so on.

    We now have no difficulty at all in ensuring that people are doing the right thing. And that is why by the grace of God, we were able to save a lot of money for projects and programmes for our people in Kano.

    To crown it all, we looked at areas of wastages, especially various governments are used to this issue of security votes and in the opinion of the state government in Kano that is an area that governments take money for their personal use in the name of security. So, we decided to cancel the issue of security votes.

    Can you be specific?

    We have started so many programmes and projects. In education, we have done so much on primary education, including feeding our children five times a day. We are giving them free lunch, two sets of uniforms; we are rehabilitating our classrooms, hostels and so on.

    We have so far built well over 1,300 classrooms in just one year. We have also built about 600 offices and similar number of toilets or pit latrines and so on across the state. We have created four mega secondary schools, the Government College and in three other local governments. That is in addition to expanding many of them with additional hostels, classrooms and so on.

    We have employed many teachers. We employed the first batch of 1,200, the second batch is now of 1003, and most of them (in fact 70 per cent of them) are teachers. On secondary school education, we built 200 houses in various secondary schools, especially in the rural areas, for teachers to go and stay there.

    We trained all our teachers in primary and secondary schools. In the last one year, all of them have gone for various trainings.

    And of course, tertiary institutions, if you go to any of them, we are upgrading their facilities. If you go to the College of Education, Komboso, all their equipment, materials and money for accreditation have been provided for them. The state has no problem, we have settled them. The same thing Audu Bako.So also, Aminu Kano College of Islamic Studies and so on and so forth. Of course including College of Arts and Science.

    In other words, we are handling all those. I am sure you remember that the state established Kano University of Science and Technology during our first term. We have just received a report from the Visitation Committee which the state government is reviewing now and at the end of the day, we will come up with the white paper on how best to improve the university.

    Why are you establishing a new university? Will Kano State be able to sustain it?

    When we came, we realised that the state was in dire need of an additional university because the Wudil University is a specialised University of Science and Technology and we realised that there are thousands or even millions of young men and women who will want to go for higher education in Nigeria but they don’t have the opportunity because the slots are too few for them. That was why we decided to establish 21 institutes. Most of these institutes have been completed, they are working either on the temporary sites and some of them have moved into their permanent sites.

    And above all, we have the North-West University which we are officially laying the foundation on the 29th of September this year. We are inviting you to come to Kano to see what we are doing here. We are working on the permanent site of the university but we realised that we cannot finish the site before October, that was why we decided to use Ado Bayero House at Kofar Nasarawa. We have now partitioned some wings to create classrooms, laboratories, lecture theatres, libraries and so on. I am happy that the NUC has given us the approval to go ahead. We are working with JAMB for our first admission which is coming up this October.

    I am sure you are aware of the institutes, I don’t need to mention them but they range from Kano Film Institute to poultry, fishery, livestock, corporate security and Kano Journalism Institute where many of you will even come there to improve your skills. And we have a total of 21 institutes, including the university.

    I am happy to say that so much is happening in the area of education and because of these institutes, we know we will need manpower to manage them and that was why we selected 501 indigenes of Kano who have got First Class or Second Class Upper and we have almost finished the visa, we have paid the school fees and all of them would leave end of September or October to 11 countries across the globe. Next year, we are sending another 500 to go and have at least Master’s Degrees to come back and manage our institutes. And of course, if they like, they can go to Leadership or The Nation newspapers to go and work.

    What of funding of these universities?

    We are building the manpower, we are working hard and I am happy to say that the people are cooperating, especially when it comes to money. People are always asking where you get the money. It is simple. One, we decided to block all the loopholes, wastages within the government circle and even beyond. Two, we have decided to improve our Internally Generated Revenue (the IGR). And I am happy to say that when we came in, we were getting N400m and N450m from the records of the last administration but now we are well above N1.7billion per month, of course, even under the present security challenge. And our salary has come down because we had to do all sorts of screening, including biometric and the figures have gone down in terms of the total number of civil servants and money.

    Our target is that by the end of December, the state should be able to generate enough IGR to cater for salaries and allowances for government officials, civil servants and all what you can call recurrent. That is our target and we are working towards achieving that. If Kano cannot pay its own recurrent expenditure, then to me, it is an unfortunate situation. We have enough resources, we have enough ways of getting the revenue to handle them. So, the game plan is to ensure that we get enough money locally to handle recurrent and whatever money we get from Abuja or elsewhere we use it for capital projects. And that is why our budget for this year is 67 per cent capital, and 33 per cent recurrent. And that is the position of the state government.

    And any state government that cannot do much in terms of capital projects, it has to look at itself or examine itself because government is not just about coming to eat well and get big vehicles or big houses, but it is all about service.

    Is it true that your state is being deserted as a result of violence?

    You see, there was never a time in the history of any country or any state that there was no crisis. During our first term, that is why I have a lot of respect for former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Some people in Nigeria are very, very forgetful. When we came in 1999, there were all sorts of religious crises, ethnic crises, killings of northerners in the South-West and in the South-East, even in the South-South and vice versa. We were just sleeping with one eye from 1999 and 2003 because the governors of Niger, Kano and others on the road would say corpses are coming to Kano, watch it.

    We had few cases they were bringing corpses and immediately people saw them in Kano, they would start rioting in protest. And along the line, they would attack people from those areas who were living in Kano.

    These are things that people have forgotten. We also had the issue of Sharia which started in Zamfara and came through many other states, including Kano. And that was really an issue of interest at that particular time. So there were many things. I don’t think there was any time in the history of this country that leaders were not faced with challenges.

    And what we have today is our own version of the security challenge that we are facing today in Nigeria. That is why we are all up and doing, we are working around the clock to ensure that our states, especially Kano and all other states, are safe so that Nigeria can continue to be peaceful and so that people can continue to be running their normal businesses.

    I just saw somebody reporting on the situation in Kano but he has no idea of what is happening. Maybe he just went through the Internet or just phoned somebody who does not understand what is happening to say the least. You see, Kano is peaceful and I can assure you that there is no city of the size of Kano that does not have criminal activities. If you go to any state , if you go to any country, if you go to the US, the UK, France or Germany, we have people just taking guns to schools or public places like cinemas and start shooting.

    So, it is not something that is peculiar to Nigeria or peculiar to Kano. What is important is that the state, the authorities in the state are on top of the situation. We are working with security agencies, the general public is working together with everybody to ensure that Kano is peaceful. Kano is a centre for commerce and anybody who is there will always want to support commerce. And we cannot run commerce and industries without peace.

    Of course, we had an unfortunate attack on the 20th of January but if you checked the graph, you will see that it has gone down to almost zero. During the attack, we decided to put a curfew of 24 hours, it was reduced 18, 12 hours and now it is zero.

    Really? Eeeh…

    You could come out 24 hours to do your businesses. That is why if you go to Kano now, we have our street and traffic lights working, we have good roads, we have the interlocking on the walk ways, good drainages and so on. Kano has changed. And we have worked so hard to put up infrastructure, especially water.

    So far, we are able to spend over N4billion to purchase ductile and pipes and we were able to buy 600 millimeter by 42 kilometres that means a distance of 42 kilometres, the pipes are on site and contractors are working just to put all on the line. The water works is already there and all that we need to do is to connect them.

    We have millions of cubic meters of water additionally coming into Kano. So also, we purchased 1000 millimeter, that is, one meter, diameter, ductile and pipes which we are going to lay from Chalawa waterworks to the tank and we have paid. The contractor assured us that they will start moving the pipes to the city of Kano. So, we are working in all the areas you can remember.

    In agriculture, we have distributed fertilisers to farmers and they are happy. Civil servants, we pay them 26th day of the month because we have enough money to pay them. We have also started paying N18,000 minimum wage and with this level of management, we still have money to do other projects, including major roads. Go to any road that leads into the city, Zaria road, Gwarzo road, Hadeija road, these are brand new roads that we have started working on. We are dualising them, we are putting street lights and so on. If you go to Kano in the night by air, you may think that you are in Dubai.

    Let us go back to the recent violence in Kano. Is it true that aliens are the ones perpetrating it?

    I have not heard or read about such a statement or conclusion from security agencies. But you see, the security agencies are owned by the Federal Government, they don’t take permission from us to go and make any arrest or get any information and once they get that information, they pass it to Abuja. And actually some of these things we hear are from Abuja because we don’t own the police, we don’t own the Army, we don’t own SSS, I am the chief security officer but they don’t report to me.

    So, you have not got any security brief?

    No, no. I don’t have any security report on that. But all I know is that whatever information we have or people have, they pass it to the appropriate authorities.

    In the light of this experience as the chief security officer who is not in control of security agencies, why did the northern governors oppose state police?

    You see, people don’t understand really. All of us, probably 19 minus one, are totally against the issue of state police; 18 of us are bitterly against the issue of state police, we are not supporting it at least for now because there are dangers; there are issues on the ground that have to be sorted out before we land on the issue of state police. That is the position of 18 governors of the north.

    If you are opposed to state police, are you in support of state creation?

    Yes, state creation is an area really which I do not want to comment on but just recently, I was watching NTA, I was watching this presidential retreat on constitutional review and there was a comment made by the Chairman of the Constitution Review in the National Assembly, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu. Now, he made comparison between Lagos and Kano. He said Kano has 9.4million people going by 2006 census and has 40 local governments and Lagos has 9.1m people and has 2 0 or 22 local governments.

    You see, that comparison did not go well with many of us but I did not want to worry myself talking or chatting about the constitutional review. But as the governor of Kano State and somebody by all stand, who should, under any circumstance, defend the interest of the people of Kano, I think I should comment on that.

    What is your take on that?

    Before I do that, let me say that because some people don’t know me, they misunderstand my position. You see, right from my primary school, I have been lucky. After primary education, I went to boarding school in Kano and there I met so many people not even from my village or state but people from across Nigeria. I went to school when at that time, we had people from across the state and beyond. And when I came to technical school, I had people from the North-East. Our technical school was catering not only for Kano catchment area but also the North-East and of course when I went to Kaduna polytechnic for five years, I was in contact with Nigerians and people from beyond and I am happy to say that I was in the UK for about 10 years. That is in the area of education.

    When it comes to politics or work itself, I joined water board RACCA then in 1975. I was there for 17 years before I retired in 1991 and in 1991, I joined politics and I was very lucky to win my election, even though I was not surprised. I have being working with my local community, not only on the issue of politics but so also for development and so on. So, I had no difficulty winning my election to the House of Representatives and when I came to the house, I was also lucky to become the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.

    When we were overthrown by the military regime of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, I contested again and became an elected delegate to the constitutional conference in 1994 and 1995. We formed PDM together with Shehu Musa Yar’Adua that time and so many things happened between 1994 and 1995. When the PDM was not registered, I joined DPN. I spearheaded DPN in Kano and as the leader of the party then, even though it was not in the good books of the then government of Sani Abacha, against their wish, we were able to get the majority of the local governments in Kano State and of course, ex-Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, came after the death of Abacha, we joined PDP and I was the first governor during this Fourth Republic in Kano from 1999 to 2003. And I made so many friends. So also, when I was Minister of Defence, I made friends not only here, but all over the world. Of course, I was adviser to the president on Darfur and Somalia and after that, I am sure you remember that I was appointed a commissioner in the NDDC and I am sure you know what happened. When I saw things were not going well, I resigned my appointment and told them the reasons.

    What are you driving at?

    Each of these appointments and elections has its own version of experience. If you take the issue when I was deputy speaker, you see that what I learnt was how these presiding officers like the Senate President, the Speaker and others operate. You have either principal officer, minority leaders serving minorities. Majority leader serves the interest of the people in the majority. Now, we take you to be the presiding officer, who takes care of people from all over the country. When I was among the presiding officers in the 90s, all the ethnic groups were represented at that time, just as it is now. We were 593 representing each local government, which was the number of the local governments in the country at that particular time.

    When we came to the constitutional conference, based on my personal experience, we decided that 593 are too many for the House of Representatives. What was the appropriate number? We came up with 360 during the constitution review. That is how we became 360 and it was accepted in the 1999 constitution.

    Along the line, when we were in the House, I was in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). I am sure you will remember that during that time, we had an election in 1993 where Abiola won the election and I am sure you remember that I am from Kano, where Bashir Tofa who was a candidate of the NRC from Kano lost.

    In fact, our houses are within a short distance. Yet, we worked so hard to defeat him in the polling booth so also in the in the ward, local government and in the state in favour of Abiola who is from the South. And throughout the days of Abacha, I was one of those who were tagged as NADECO. Why? Because I was a member of the SDP and the supremacy of the party was very important to us. We were loyal and we were strong then and we supported our party, it did not matter if somebody was from the south or from the west or somebody was a Christian or a Muslim or a pagan. That was the nature of party politics at that particular time. We worked so hard.

    Could you be more forthcoming on why this background is necessary?

    I am coming to that. I want to dwell on the experiences of the constitutional conference because that is where the issue of this state creation and issue of zoning came from. You see, at that particular time, we had so many respected people from across the federation at the conference. Many of them were appointed by the military and some contested election and won like my humble self. We had respected people like the late Shehu Yar’Adua, ex-Vice-President Alex Ekwueme and so on. With Yar’Adua, we started the PF and we joined SDP together. We supported so many people together. I am sure you remember that our own candidate in PF contested election with that of the PSP and our own group (PF) won the election. That was how we had Babagana Kingibe as our chairman and so on and so forth and later, we had Chief Tony Anenih who was also in our group and also in our party.

    How relevant was that constitutional conference to the issue at hand now?

    In that constitutional conference, so many things happened. I am sure you know Alex Ekwueme, a much respected Nigerian, who has been our friend, brought so many ideas. Why I am giving you this background is to tell you that my personal politics is not about regional or about religion or about ethnicity. We are the Aminu Kano descendants who have worked so hard to ensure that Nigeria unites; we have worked so hard to assist the poor and ensure that they are assisted. I always talk about the poor because these are the people who need the support of government, and all those who have got the opportunity to help them should do so.

    So… (Cuts in)

    The issue of zoning came up in the constitutional conference. It was a big issue, and we did not take the issue of zoning lightly. Few of us went and confronted General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory. We said, there is the issue of zoning coming from the South-East and spearheaded by a respected Nigerian, Chief Alex Ekwueme and to us, he has been very respectful and somebody the North supported.

    We said to Yar’Adua that Alex Ekwueme was almost single-handedly picked by northerners when northerners were very powerful in the Nigerian politics. That time, there was no zoning, he was picked on merit. now, he is bringing zoning and the understanding then during our analysis was that South-East even during the First Republic included the South-South or it was plus a portion of the South-South. So, what they wanted was to carve out a particular tribe, a particular geographical location, people who have got everything in common to one zone.

    They proposed the South-South in the constitutional conference to be another zone, and of course Yorubaland in the South-West has been a zone itself, especially after the Mid-West was carved out of the then Western Nigeria. The understanding then was just to hit at the North because the North has been one. So, bringing this zoning-North-West, North-East, North-Central- was really alien.

    How did the zones come about?

    Some us tried to convince Gen. Yar’Adua to oppose it. he said no, don’t oppose it, it will not help their zone, let us support it. What Yar’Adua told us that time was that, look don’t worry.

    Well, we did not understand what he meant but in politics, if you have a leader you accept, even if you don’t agree to what he says. So, we supported it in a way and we had these zones but we refused to give in to support what some people from the same zone now are propagating. That is, giving it the constitutional backing. Yar’Adua said many things and it was later I realised what he said was right. He said: “It will not help the workers; it will not help the zone”.

    In 1998 to 1999, all of us were in PDP and that was when the issue of zoning echoed in Jos during the election. Ordinarily, people from this part of the country would have massively supported the author of the zones because Alex Ekwueme is a respected Nigerian. I respect him very much and he is our friend but you see, that issue of zoning, rightly or wrongly, people did not take it kindly and that was why despite his political credentials, being the former Vice-President from 1979 to 1983 and he went for second term with our the President, Shehu Shagari; even though Ekwueme was not VP under my party but most northerners were in NPN. So, zoning was echoed in Jos and that gave ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo an advantage and people massively voted for him.

    So, zoning palaver has been on since?

    Yes. Of course, there were other issues but this particular issue was a pillar, it was very important at that particular time. Now, you see, the North has gone through its own version of ups and downs; now, I think it is down. If I say North here, I don’t mean these 19 states we are talking about, we are talking about all those states and issues that have common things with us. Here I mean poverty, illiteracy, disease, all sorts of things. It does not matter whether you are geographically in the North or in the South. You know economists have got their own way of doing things in the world. When you say North, people understand that you are talking about Europe, North America but there are still some few exceptions that are down the line that are in the South but still by that definition part of the north, so also in Nigeria. If you say North-South, it is upside down in the economy.

    In the world economy, if you say North, you are talking about prosperous nations of the world and of course in terms of South you are talking of the opposite. So if I talk of the North, I am not talking about the 19 states, I am talking about those who have things in common with us. Even in the North, we have geography but that is not the important binding issue, the binding issues are what I just told you. If you look at it, Benue is closer to the South than Sokoto, Keffi or Kano. Kogi is closer to the South than it is to Sokoto, Kaduna or Kano. This North consists of different tribes, different religions, but these are binding factors.

    So introducing that really to us was an agenda to partition the zone and it is not flying now. How many years from 1994, 1995 to date now? It has been so many years but where is the chairman of the North-East zone? where is the chairman of North-West and others? We have one chairman because zones cannot fly in the north at least for now, you can put them in the papers but they cannot fly and it won’t work. That is the reality of this country today that is the reality of the North.

    How does the Deputy Senate President come into this?

    You see, some people, maybe because they don’t know history or they easily forget history, are bound to repeat similar mistakes. What we see Senator Ekweremadu doing, he is making a big mistake at least for himself. He is a young man, I just saw in the papers that he is just 50; at the age of 50 you will begin to wonder what he is up to and for whatever reason now, we have somebody from the South-East in the senate who is the chairman of the constitution review. We have a young man in the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, who I know very well since 1992. At that time he was one of the young people who were working in our office, the Office of the Speaker at that time. Emeka is a good man but you see, some people take advantage of some people’s weaknesses.

    What I mean is that we hear that they want to create a state from the South-East. They say the East has five states, the North-West has seven states. Yes that is the reality but the truth of the matter is that, during the constitutional conference, we tried to create eight states for Kano and other places, we applied for it.

    Kano should not be the Kano we know today under normal circumstances. Kano by 2006 census was 9.4million people, we have states today that are smaller in size and they are having three senators each to represent; the same three are representing 9.4million’

    We worked so hard during the constitutional conference to get recognition but for whatever reason, people have refused to create additional state for Kano. Kano should not be a state; it is a combination of many states by using any criteria. There is an issue of land mass, population and anything. About 1.6m or 1.7m is the population figure of some states in this country, how many 1.6m do you have in 9.4m? How many square metres do we have in our states? I have some figures based on 2006 census, Nasarawa is 1.86m. Bayelsa is 1.7m. Others like Ebonyi, Taraba, Gombe, Kwara, Ekiti, Abia, Cross River, all these states are over two million people and Enugu over three million something. I think that is where he (Ekweremadu) comes from and he wants to create a new state for them. How many square metres, how many people are there?

    Why are you personally touched?

    Is it because we are weak now, everybody is putting his suit looking good, pretending to be representing an ethnic group or state and that is why I started with my history. You see, principal officers or presiding officer, if you are presiding over the whole Senate, you are presiding over the whole house not presiding over the South-East, not presiding over PDP, not presiding over another party.

    You should be seen to be fair and you see people are taking all these weaknesses to do a few things. We hear they are inviting speakers, my speaker and other speakers of state. What business do they have on constitutional amendment? Why could they not go through the governors and along the line they are instigating them, trying to cause confusion and destabilise our state Houses of Assembly. Look at the constitution, we have these tiers of government; federal state and local government. As for federal, that is where they belong, they should stay there, they should not be poke-nosing into our own businesses, we are politicians.

    These senators, including Ekweremadu, come from states and how does it feel now if I phone my senators and members of the House of Representatives and start instigating them against the leadership of the House or the Senate? We hear recently that they are talking about independence, which independence? Independence for state Houses of assembly? They want to get more money for them, how and from where will they get the money? Will the money come from the Federal Government or from our own money in the states? You see, state assembly members are kings in their states, they are well respected. I think members of the National Assembly should start looking for independence for themselves. My state assembly members have 24hours access to me. They walk into the state Government House and see me, they tell me their problems, including personal problems. Anywhere I go, I take them along, we are friends.

    I have 40 in the state assembly, 30 are PDP. I raised their hands and call PDP and of course we won election with them, we are the same family. We are running the government with them though they are handling their own side, we are handling ours as the executive. So, for people to be talking of the independence of the state assembly, I say nonsense because they do not understand. Don’t destabilise states, don’t poke nose into our affairs. If you want to do state assembly member, go and do that and look for independence. Look for independence for yourself not for somebody. If you want to give them money, get money from Abuja and give them, we will welcome that. All these instigations, I think that will not be acceptable.

    So, what is your opinion on the constitution review by the National Assembly which is ongoing now?

    We have a situation where the chairman is already biased, he is talking of Kano having 44 local governments. How many local governments do we have in Enugu? three million population, you want to create a state and if you look at it, in North-West, we have about 36 million people, if you put the South-South and South-East together, they are just 37million. The difference in population going by 2006 census is one million. South-East plus south-south is one million difference. All these points make people feel that something is really wrong with us. Actually, the population of the South-East plus the South-South is 35, 786,000 plus and if you subtract this from the population of the North-West alone, you will have 1.6million. With two zones, just one million people difference and this is why they want to create a new state.

    What should they do? They are seeking equity and justice not population matter.

    They are not talking of Kano. When they were mentioning Kano on the television, they were clapping. I think our members should start talking about merger of states. If you have over one million people, why are you a state? I don’t know why our members are quiet on these issues. We have so many things to do, including some governors in the north behaving like our own almajiri. You know a leper in the North, they will not go and say may Almighty Allah give me health, give me money, give me job, he