The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Interview

  • Pomp across three continents as Lambo Twins come of age

    Pomp across three continents as Lambo Twins come of age

     By Tunde Ipinmisho

     

    The setting was in numerous countries across three continents and, at each location, it was simply breath-taking. It was a non-physical gathering of a distinguished group of personalities made possible by cutting edge information and communication technology which linked participants in Africa, the United States of America and Europe. It was real time; it was hitch-free.

    The participants at the celebration made possible by Zoom included a first class Nigerian traditional ruler, at least three university professors, pastors, top civil servants and other eminent professionals in Nigeria and the Diaspora. They had assembled to join Taiye Lambo and Kehinde Lambo-Aderiye to mark their golden jubilee.

    The twins are the first children of the former Minister of Health, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, and his wife, Dr. (Mrs) Esther Olufunmilayo Lambo (nee Aragbaiye). They were born on January 23, 1971 at Abegbe Memorial Hospital, Oremeji, Mokola, Ibadan.

    So, when they hit the landmark age of 50 years last week, parents, relations, friends and associates spared nothing to give them a memorable golden jubilee celebration. A live gospel music band and five pastors (two from Abuja, one from Lagos, one from Canada and one from the United States of America) were on hand to give it the needed Christian ambience. The Atlanta (Georgia,USA) home of Taiye and his wife, Adebunmi, and the Chatham (Kent, England) home of Kehinde and Yinka Aderiye were decorated with colourful buntings which proclaimed for all the Zoom participants to see the purpose of the gathering: Taiye and Kennie at 50.

    On hand to add the hue of royalty to the celebration was no less a personality than the Olowo of Owo, Ondo State, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye, a first class traditional ruler who is a first cousin to Dr. (Mrs.) Lambo and her youngest brother, Mr. Oluwadare Aragbaiye, the Ondo State Government Head of Service.

    More than 100 personalities, many of who were meeting one another for the first time or had not seen each other for several years, had been brought together in cyberspace at this unique golden jubilee of the twins, who themselves are now the parents of wonderful boys and girls. And although the celebration was non-physical, the attendees could not help but have the feeling that something great was happening.

    Three generations of the Lambos, which Prof. Lambo often refers to as the Lambo Clan, were on hand to celebrate two of theirs. Although most of the members of the clan were in Atlanta, every family celebrated in its own home. Prof. Lambo and his wife, who are holidaying in Atlanta, were also in their vacation home, participating in the event.

    The master of ceremonies, Mr. Bidemi Omokore, who took charge of the show from his London apartment, had invited the Abuja musician, RevySax, to open the show with soul-lifting gospel music, and that moment signaled to the guests that they were in for a great outing. Not a few of them, particularly the women, were seen intermittently on their feet, as the show progressed, dancing to the pulsating music from the Nigerian capital.

    The opening prayer was taken by Prof. (Rev) Olutola Kehinde Peters, who was in Canada but shielded from the nasty winter snow outside his home. Prof. Peters is a long time spiritual mentor of the Lambos, right from his days as the Pastor of UMCA Theological Seminary Chapel in Ilorin, Kwara State. That relationship and close association with the Lambos came into play in the choice of his prayer points for the celebrants.

    When it was time to speak, Taiye,  a cyber security expert and consultant with his wife, Adebunmi, by his side, made it known that he had not celebrated any birthday other than his 10th year. He noted that he did not look good in the photographs of the occasion “due to petty sibling rivalry”. He said he was particularly glad to celebrate their golden jubilee because it was an occasion of thanksgiving to God for pulling Kehinde off “the valley of the shadows of death”.

    Taiye expressed appreciation to God for keeping them and making them see that day. For their parents, he also had a lot of thanks to offer for their love and for pouring into them, the values that made them to be who they turned out to be. Taiye also thanked their siblings and friends from far and wide for their love and support over the years.

    For their parents who, with satisfaction written all over their faces and who were participating in the event, he had some assurances. He pledged that they would continue to uphold their treasured values and virtues. Recalling his knack for breaking and fixing things in his first decade in life, Taiye said he had decided to use his talents and skills for good, instead of bad. He also showered kind words on his wife, Adebunmi, and children, who he said put in much work to make the event the success it was.

    For Kehinde, she said she had only gratitude to God for sparing her life to witness their golden jubilee. She recalled that she, in 2013, had a gory encounter with gun-trotting robbers in her residence in Lagos from which she narrowly escaped death. In 2018, she said she was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo a major surgery to remove the tumor and also had some post-operation cancer treatments. The following year, she said she was again diagnosed with cancer and had to go through the required cancer treatments.

    Kehinde, a Management Accountant, said it was her faith in God that helped her to pull through those tough periods of her life. She thanked God for how he made her “amazing parents” to be great role models and for how they had always supported her for the past 50 years.

    When she took her own turn, Dr. (Mrs.) Lambo, the matriarch of the clan, expressed thanks to her late parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Aragbaiye, her husband, children, siblings and other family members.

    She recalled the traumatic labour and delivery of the twins in Ibadan half a century ago as well as the ensuing blindness for three days and a disastrous post natal fainting spell. The past 50 years, she said had been a period of passing through waters, rivers, fires and victories all the way. She admonished the twins to hold on to their faith in God as well as to love and obey Him. She also urged them to obey all constituted authorities because it was God who ordained them. Dr. (Mrs.) Lambo also enjoined her twins to choose their friends wisely, differentiating between destiny helpers and destiny destroyers, as well as to pursue holiness and righteousness.

    On his part, Prof. Lambo thanked God for giving him the wife of his dream and for seeing her through the first pregnancy and prolonged labour. He also expressed appreciation to God for keeping him and his wife alive to witness the golden jubilee of their twins.

    While praising God for seeing them through the first half of their lives’ journey and helping them to overcome the various challenges that had come their way, he reminded them that at 50, they were now old enough to know themselves real good but were still young enough to make things happen. While they are still too young to retire, he urged them to have a sense of urgency to be more intentional to find and fulfill their lives’ purposes. He urged them to be more confident and immune to the judgment of others of them as well as to make more conscious decisions because they now had the experience and trust in themselves more than before.

    According to Professor Lambo, at 50, the twins still had enough time to re-invent themselves if they so desired. He then gave them a 14 point charge to: be more intentional about their lives than before; make the development and implementation of their 15 – 30 year strategic life plan a priority; strengthen their relationship with God on a daily basis; listen more to what God is saying rather than telling Him or asking Him for things most of the time; pay more attention to helping others and giving back to the society and to support the work of God as much as they can.

    Professor Lambo also charged them to: carefully and prayerfully prepare for the time all their children would go their own ways; make good health their priority; purse something like a hobby, preferably with their spouses, that would give them fun, pleasure and joy; save more for the rainy day and live simple lives; be intentional in managing their reactions to stress; keep learning and developing themselves every day; continue to hold high the Lambo family’s values of faith in God, humility, contentment, generosity, hard work, perseverance, honesty and integrity as well as to diversify their income earning sources without outstretching themselves.

    Then, it was the turn of the nuclear families of the celebrants to pour out their hearts in love. Taiye’s wife, Adebunmi, recalled that when she and her husband first met, they had no inkling of what was ahead. “All we knew was that we were in love and we just had to be together”, she said.

    Attributing their success so far to God’s mercies, grace and love, she said they once again had reason to rejoice. She expressed appreciation to her husband for loving God with all his heart and for building the family on the solid rock of Christ. Adebunmi also praised her husband for his humanitarian work, and for being a thought leader in the field of cyber security. She also expressed her thanks to her father and mother in-law “for giving me a fine man to marry”.

    Similar thoughts also echoed from Chatham where Yinka, the husband of Kehinde, also thanked his wife for always being by his side and for always loving, supporting, caring and protecting him and their children. Describing her as their family’s super-woman, Yinka thanked Kehinde for being the kindest and most vibrant woman they knew. He had prayers for her and Taiye, “an amazing person with a big heart”, that God would spare their lives to have many more of such celebrations.

    Introducing her mum to the cross continental guests earlier, Damilola Aderiye said she stood out with two qualities of excellent time management and problem solving skills, the former she took from “Grandpa Lambo” and the latter  she inherited from “Grandma Lambo”.

    From their Atlanta home, Valerie, Taiye’s daughter described her father as an incredible leader, mentor, friend, husband and an amazing father.

    The Olowo of Owo, right from his palace in the ancient Yoruba city of Owo, poured blessings on the twins and wished them long and happy lives. Similar prayers were also offered by the former Vice Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Prof. Afolabi Soyode, and his wife as well as the Head of Service of Ondo State Government, Mr. Oluwadare Aragbaiye.

    THE master of ceremonies, at a point in the proceedings, summoned Revysax to the band stand once again and directed the twins and their spouses to the dance floor. It was not for long as the audience clapped for them. Then it was time to cut the birthday cakes, one in Chatham and the other in Atlanta. Supported by their spouses, they cut the cakes to the admiration of guests and were rewarded with a round of applause across the various countries represented in the gathering.

    Throughout the celebration and although they tried to keep a low profile, the other members of the “Lambo Clan”, Mrs. Oludolapo Oluwatosin Famakinwa, a supply chain management expert and her husband as well as Dr. (Mrs.) Abimbola Abidemi Lambo – Ogundimu, a public health specialist with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia, loomed large as they intermittently and through the chat channel on Zoom welcomed guests and expressed their thanks.

    It was indeed a night of prayers, prayers and more prayers. Pastor Dominic Ehikhuemen, formerly of Family Worship Centre, Abuja but now residing in the United States and Pastor Wilson Adegbe Akubo, also of Family Worship Centre, Abuja took turns to pronounce the blessings of God on the celebrants. Pastor Akin Romeo Akinwande gave a very powerful charge to the celebrants before praying for them, their families and parents.

    Then it was closing time and the turn of the man Prof. Lambo to call his “Senior Pastor”, Dr. (Rev.) Babajide Olowodola of Four Square Gospel Church, Asokoro, Abuja, to pray for them as guests await the next celebration in another half a century. Rev. Olowodola, having served as Special Assistant to Prof. Lambo in his days as Health Minister, left nothing behind in his arsenal of prayers to wish them well.

    Soon, it was 9:30pm in Abuja and three and a half hours since the programme started. Guests in their chats spoke of having had an exhilarating time as they, one by one, left the group. To many, it was yet another Lambo exclusive.

  • ‘We’re running centres for disease distribution’

    ‘We’re running centres for disease distribution’

    By David Adenuga, Bauchi

    • Teachers, pupils in Bauchi schools lament bad toilets, poor sanitary conditions

    • Lack of decent toilets force female pupils to drop out of school

    • Lavatory infections responsible for many cases of infertility — Health expert

    Nauseating stench of urine and decaying faeces from the pit toilets pervaded the air, causing the choking reporter to gasp for breath. The potent stench from the four-room facility, shoddily built and left uncovered, could block the nostrils of anyone unfortunate enough to inhale it.

    The surroundings also were littered with excreta, so much so that the reporter, who had gone on inspection at the Kandahar Primary and Junior Secondary School, had to tiptoe to avoid stepping on them.

    Nearby, a female primary three pupil, who obviously was scared of using the miserable pit toilets, was seen answering the call of nature in an open space. Obviously, the poor sanitary condition had posed serious health concerns to the pupils, especially the females who are more vulnerable to urinary tract infections.

    But Kandahar, located beside the railway in Bauchi metropolis, is one of the public schools in the state at the mercy of poor toilet sanitation and water scarcity. It hosts about 4,000 pupils of primary and junior secondary levels, with UBEC/SUBEB 2015 Projects boldly written on its walls.

    The Nation gathered that pupils of the school whose houses are close by usually rush home whenever they need to answer the call of nature; a development that constitutes a clear distraction to learning.

    A teacher at the school, who spoke with our correspondent in confidence, said: ”We are endangered by unhygienic toilet conditions. As you can see, our toilet facilities here are more or less centres for disease distribution.

    “Teachers and students cannot use the toilets. Those whose houses are nearby usually rush home to answer the call of nature.

    ”This affects learning because some pupils see it as an opportunity to avoid classes. They won’t come back to school once they are allowed to go home.”

    The teacher, who led our reporter to the toilets area to see for things for himself, added: “We have four toilets here and they are all in bad conditions. The only borehole available is not functioning.”

    Speaking about other challenges faced in the school, she said the classrooms were overcrowded while the pupils learn on bare floor because there are no tables or chairs.

    ”We don’t have a single chair in the school, so the pupils learn on bare floor. Even the chairs in the staff rooms were bought by teachers.

    ”The school also has no gates, so the pupils move out any time they like.”

    Also speaking to our reporter, the headmaster of Kandahar Primary School, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the school runs three shifts featuring the primary , junior secondary and the Islamiyya.

    He said that due to the  coronavirus pandemic, the primary school pupils come in the morning while the junior secondary school pupils resume in the afternoon.

    According to him, only the primary section takes care of the toilet while others don’t comply.

    Abdullahi said: ”It is only us in the primary section that are trying our best to sanitise the toilets; the rest don’t care despite being persuaded. The junior secondary and the islamiyya schools are not doing anything.

    ”Besides, the school is not fenced. That is why different people gain entry to do whatever they like.

    “Initially, we tried to construct a gate here but the people in the community refused, saying It would block their drainage. This is the major problem we are facing.

    ”One person cannot do the job of preventing the outbreak of diseases from the bad toilet facilities. There must be collaboration but the others have refused to cooperate and there is no source of income from which we can hire somebody to come and clean it for us.

    “Our pupils are too little to do the cleaning, and we have tried our best but we cannot control the situation, looking at the high population of students in the school.

    ”Source of water is an additional problem as there is no water in the school premises. We have four toilets here and they are all in bad conditions due to lack of water.”

    Asked If any complaint had been made to the government, he said: ”The government  played their part by providing the pit toilets but we are the architect of our problem because we are not given them proper maintenance.”

    Abdullahi, who also lamented the insecurity in the area, said most of the chairs and desks in the school were carried away by hoodlums in the neighborhood since there was no gate. Others, he said, had been vandalized.

    Like Kandahar like Gwallameji

    A visit to another school, Gwallameji Secondary School, located in the Bauchi metropolis, also revealed that most of the students go home to answer the call of nature whenever they are pressed.

    The school with a population of more than1,000 pupils has three toilets which are all in pathetic conditions. Some pupils who are  lucky to have friends who stay close to the school are said to be taking advantage of it to sneak out of their classrooms.

    Patience Amos, an SS2 female student of the school, said: ”I have never used any of the school’s toilets because of their bad conditions. I use to go my friend’s place which is just a stone’s throw from the school, while some of us go into the bush during or after school hours because  we don’t want to contract diseases.

    “You would often see a grown up person using the toilets without flushing. The truth is we just cannot maintain them.”

    Corroborating Amos, another female student, Janet Ishaku, said: “The toilet and the backyard are really in a mess. I have a friend that stays nearby where I do go to ease myself because I am scared of toilet infection.

    ”I want to appeal to the state government to help us renovate it because the toilets are an eyesore. We also cannot learn in the rainy season because of  the shattered roofs.”

    Speaking to our reporter in confidence, a teacher at the Gwallameji Secondary School said both students and staff were affected by the bad toilet facilities, adding that the students who dare use the toilets often have to join a long queue.

    She said: ”The school is so highly populated. In the primary section, they are up to 500. The junior secondary has a population of about 1,000 students. The secondary section also has a population of about 1,000, making it a total of about 2,500 pupils’.

    ”Students usually sneak out to the neighbourhood to ease themselves or answer the call of nature when they are not permitted to go out. And if they have to use the school’s toilets, they also have to join a queue because of the population. There is high probability of a student contracting a disease with the toilets’ unhygienic condition.

    ”There is a need for the toilets to be renovated. The government is very aware of this because they have a special team that goes round on inspection. But they are probably not getting the right feedbacks from this special team, because no action is being taken.”

    ”Even we teachers are seriously affected. At times, we have to go to our various homes to defecate, thereby spending money on transportation. That is for those of us who do not stay close by.

    “There was a time that somebody offered to help renovate It, but he ended up doing more damage in the sense that he closed the pit toilet and only plastered the floor, so there was no hole for the students to pass faeces.

    “Aside that, the school  is in a dilapidated state with some of the roofs completely blown open by rain. We also don’t have enough chairs and desks. Students sit on bare floor to learn.”

    Famous Hassan Usman College not an exception

    The General Hassan Usman Katsina Unity College (GHUKUC), one of the historic schools in northern Nigeria, is also not an exception when it comes to poor sanitation.

    It is even more alarming that a school established in 1923 and has produced prominent Nigerians, including former governor of Gombe State Danjuma Goje and the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, among others, is now a shadow of itself.

    Located in Yelwa area of Bauchi metropolis and directly opposite Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) township campus, the once prestigious school now begs for government’s attention and intervention.

    A visit to GHUKUC reveals years of neglect which has resulted in dilapidated facilities. Our correspondent gathered that pupils in the school defecate in the open; a situation which together with the refuse dump in the school’s premises exposes them to serious environmental hazards.

    A part of an abandoned hostel in the school looks more like a psychiatric home. It has also become a sanctuary for reptiles as bushes have taken over the surrounding areas.

    An authority in the school, who spoke to the reporter in confidence, said only three toilets were in good conditions while the remaining three were begging for attention.

    The source said the school only has two boreholes but water does not often come out from them. Taking our reporter round the school, he lamented that there was a paucity of funds to carry out proper maintenance in the school, adding that the students only pay N700 as tuition fee per session.

    He said: “We are under the Ministry of Education, but what I need to tell you is that there are other challenges aside toilet facilities,

    “This school is harbouring children from 19 states, but all the past governors that came into power did nothing here. So what else do you want me to tell you?

    ”We collect N700 as school fees per session. Out of the population of 1,400 students in the school, 800 are external students, and we don’t collect money from them. Thus, the money is not enough to maintain the school.

    “We don’t even have enough seats and desks. We are trying our best possible but the burden is too much on us, considering the paucity of funds.”

    Lack of decent toilets force girl pupils to drop out of school

    According to findings, more than half of young girls who drop out of school in Nigeria do so due to poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities.

    A WASH-in-School report issued by the United Nations in 2018 revealed that about 50 per cent of schools in Nigeria do not have basic water supply, sanitation and toilet facilities.

    According to the report, this implied that the brunt of the challenge of poor access to water facilities is borne by people in the lowest economic ladder and those living in rural areas and semi-urban areas.

    It warned that children’s education and health was at risk due to lack of decent WASH facilities in schools.

    “As many as 50 per cent of schools in Sub-Saharan Africa are without access to water. Access to water, sanitation and hygiene at school is also a matter of gender equality.

    “Girls are more likely to miss lessons or to drop out completely once they start menstruating if their school does not have a decent toilet where they can change menstrual cloths in dignity and privacy.

    “In fact, one in 10 adolescent girls in Africa miss school during their menstruation and eventually drop out due to lack of gender-friendly toilet facilities,” the report said.

    Urinary tract infection deadly in girls — Health expert

    An health expert, Dr Ibrahim Aminu Baba of the Department of Medicine at the State Specialist Hospital Bauchi expressed concern over the poor toilet and sanitation condition in public schools in the state, saying it poses serious danger to the health of pupils, especially girls.

    Baba, in an interview with our reporter, warned that if the hygiene in public schools  is not maintained on a regular basis, the risk of infection is very high and the complications of the infection is deadly for the female pupils.

    He explained that such infections, if not treated on time, can result in pelvic inflammatory disease which can result in primary or secondary infertility in future.

    He said: ”From the medical point of view, this is very serious, as you know that any public toilet that different people use needs to have very regular hygiene control  to avoid urinary infection.

    ”Medically, we call it urinary tract infection or vaginal infection, and it is a highly transmissible infectious disease. So if you have a public toilet where different people come, imagine one visits two to three times in a day and you count the number of people that make use of the toilets and are infected.

    ”Female pupils are more vulnerable due to the structure of their urine outlet, because anatomically, the structure of their urine outlet (that is what you call the urethra or bladder which contains the urine) is very short, unlike the male’s that is very long and  has three segments. Theirs is just short and direct, so they can easily contract germs and get infected.

    “Also looking at the connection between the urine outlet and their private parts, when infected, it can go directly to their womb. That is why they can have what we call pelvic inflammatory disease, and that pelvic inflammatory disease has a consequence. One of the worst consequences is primary or secondary infertility.

    ”In situations like this, you see a girl who is okay but cannot conceive because of that chronic infection that will go and affect the fallopian tube or the womb. In the long run, it may become permanent infertility. That is why a woman would get married and stay for long without conceiving, not knowing that part of  the problem is infection due to negligence.

    ”So, the toilet infection is very difficult to handle, especially in a public setting. When one contracts it out of thousands, you have to screen the others, if not they will be infected.

    ”The hygiene of toilets in schools or any public place is very important. In summary, it is not something to play with. We have had instances where some will come and say they have been with the problem for long and what we fear for them is not being able to conceive.”

    Hold school principals responsible for neglect —State government

    The Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Aliyu Tilde, however, blamed school principals for the poor sanitation in the schools visited by our reporter.

    Speaking to The Nation, he said: ”Are we the ones that will manage that for them?  It is their problem. I as a commissioner won’t be the one to maintain the hygiene for them.  They have wells and hand pump boreholes, Are they expecting the ministry to help maintain it for them?

    ”The government can only build. As a principal or headmaster, you are to use your human resources to maintain the sanitation condition of your school. They ought to make a roaster for maintenance.

    “We have allowed them to collect N700 from every child. I think that can be used for the maintenance of their schools.”

    On the dilapidated conditions of some of the public schools, the commissioner said there was paucity of funds to renovate all the schools, saying there were about 1,000 schools in similar conditions.

    ”There are about 1,000 schools like that, and there will always be, and we have limited resources. We will always repair and repair, and it requires billions to do that. Under this ministry alone, we have about 216 schools. The State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has over 4,000 schools. How much do you need at a time?”

    ”The wind that’s always blowing the roofs off comes every year but the problem remains with the school principals and their lackadaisical attitude. They wait for things to go completely bad before taking action, and this is indicting on them, not us.”

    ”They are to blame for all this. They are just too lazy. They only know how to extort parents and buy new cars at the time of every admission exercise or WAEC examination. That is why they are there.”

    Also speaking to our correspondent, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of SUBEB, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the board inherited dilapidated structures but the government was tackling them one step at a time.

    He said: ”What happened is that we inherited a lot of dilapidated structures. When a new government came into power, we had to plan and be proactive in tackling those issues. When you go to other schools, you will see some of the toilets built by SUBEB in collaboration with WASH.

    ”We are actually tackling the issues one by one, because there are many of them and the available funds cannot cater for all of them at once. And you know we were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

    ”We have about 4,000 schools under our care. We shall soon draw our action plan for the year and some of the affected schools will be included.

    “Part of our action plan for the year will be renovation of dilapidated classrooms, construction of toilets, boreholes and fences. We will also provide them with school gardens and sporting facilities.”’

  • Why Nigeria is not yet an attractive tourism destination — NIHOTOUR DG

    Why Nigeria is not yet an attractive tourism destination — NIHOTOUR DG

    The Turakin Kebbi, Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa, is the Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR). Before his current appointment as NIHOTOUR’s DG, he had functioned as the Special Assistant to the Kebbi State Governor on Tourism and Argungu International Fishing Festival. The ardent polo lover and owner of Nura Sani Kangiwa (NSK) Polo Club spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI on the challenges of running NIHOTOUR, his passion for polo, among other issues.

    FEW months into your appointment as the Director General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), how would describe this national assignment?

    I would say it is challenging. More so because NIHOTOUR, the apex tourism and hospitality training institute in Nigeria, has been established for over 27 years but it is still finding it difficult to carve a niche for itself. You will be surprised that not many people know about its existence, yet it is crucial for the development of tourism in Nigeria.

    I see my appointment as the Director General of the Institute not only as an opportunity to serve my beloved country in my chosen profession but also to turn around the fortunes of the institute.

    What do you think should be the role of this parastatal in developing the tourism industry?

    I agree with you that the tourism industry in Nigeria is still developing. And it is my belief that no amount of investment in infrastructure or in the expansion of tourism capacity will make it successful unless the necessary manpower in the required numbers and at the required levels of knowledge and skills are provided to manage the sector.

    NIHOTOUR was established to do just that. I don’t see us doing anything outside this mandate. However, what I see us doing differently is to provide world class training for personnel in the industry, and to proactively partner with stakeholders in making Nigeria a sustainable tourism destination.

    Tourism is the mainstay of some countries like the United Arab Emirates, The Gambia, Ethiopia and others. How can the Nigerian economy benefit from tourism like these other countries of the world?

    Immensely, I must say. We must focus on world class personnel training, which NIHOTOUR is geared to provide, and competitive tourist product development in Nigeria. These two elements go hand-in-hand in global best practice of tourism destination management. My years in the tourism private sector has revealed to me, among other things, that Nigeria is not yet an attractive tourism destination because we have not strategically built on our tourism comparative advantage, which is our cultural diversity. You see, with over 300 ethnic groups, we can create attractive cultural tourism products, hence promote Nigeria to inbound Africa tourists, as the one-stop-shop to experience African cultural festivals, fashion, music, religion, and so on. No other African country is as culturally diverse as Nigeria.

    My point is that Nigeria’s tourism unique selling points ought to be cultural tourism products. Countries in eastern and southern Africa have done the same with their wildlife safari. Additionally, policies and programmes must be tailored to make Tourism and Hospitality industry a key priority in the growth of our economy. It is only then that the country will benefit from the great export earning capacity, employment generation, wealth redistribution, infrastructural development and inter-sectoral linkage incentives derivable from tourism globally.

     Before your appointment as DG, you were SA to the Kebbi State governor on tourism and Argungu. How did that prepare you for the current task?

    A lot of things prepared me for the current task. Yes, as the SA to the Kebbi State Governor, I was literally giving the marching order to ensure that the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival held after a decade of no-show. This was an enormous responsibility and we delivered. We rebranded the festival and till now, people are still talking about it.

    There were others too that prepared me for the current task. Remember, I was the Head of Marketing and Public Relations of Abuja Carnival 2005/2006/2007; Secretary, Exhibition Sub- Committee, Nigeria at 50 2009/2010; Secretary, Publicity Sub Committee- United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Commission for Africa Meeting in Abuja – 2002; Secretary, Media and Publicity Sub Committee- 2nd Commonwealth Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in Abuja 2005; Secretary, Publicity Sub- Committee UNWTO Regional Conference on Tourism Communications (TOURCOM), Lagos 2005 and Vice President of FTAN North-West Zone. All the experience garnered both in the public and private sectors have prepared me for this task

    You are a scion of the illustrious Kangiwa family. Could you talk about your growing up years?

    I am the first male child of Ambassador Sani Kangiwa (Turakin Kebbi). My father believed so much in a child’s education and so he spared nothing to ensure that we got the best. He made sure that we took western and Islamic studies seriously. As a sport lover himself, he also encouraged me to play football and polo since I was in primary school.

    You are a polo royalty with Nura Sani Kangiwa (NSK) Polo Club. How did the Kangiwa name influence your foray and passion for polo?

    I grew up watching my father, his brother and friends play the game. I also started playing from Primary 5. Do you know that my father had “HORSE LOVER” imprinted on all my T-shirts (laughs)? Out of the two games (football and polo) I started playing in primary 5, polo is my favourite and it is no wonder that I am passionate about the game. The laurels I have won over the years are a testament to this. On the administrative side, I also work hard to make the game better. Not too long ago, I got re-elected as 2nd Vice President of Nigerian Polo Federation.

    Polo is believed to be the game of the rich. Can an average person engage in polo sport?

    Absolutely, a person of the average class can play polo. There are professional players who don’t even own a horse, yet you find patrons giving them mounts (ponies) to play for their team due to their prowess in the game. Just like other competitive sports, polo has a long economic value chain. Tournaments attract hotel patronage of both players and spectators, local transporters, restauranteurs, veterinary and equine supplements providers, horse feeds sellers, night clubs and other recreation centres owners, etc.

    How did you become the Turakin Argungu?

    I am the fifth in my family line to be turbaned Turaki. Others who had held this title before me were my grandfather Ambassador Mohammed Bello; my uncle Governor Shehu Kangiwa; my father Ambassador Sani Kangiwa. I was turbaned Turaki on the 5th of February 2011, after the passing away of my father in 2010, by His Royal Highness the Emir of Argungu Alhaji Samaila Mohammed Mera, CON.

    What influences what you wear?

    This is a question I’m often asked. To be honest, what influences what I wear are my mood and the occasion or event I will be attending. I don’t see myself as a fashionista, albeit I like to look good because it makes me feel good. I also realise that looking good is a confidence booster.

    What is your vision for NIHOTOUR?

    My vision is for NIHOTOUR to become indisputable centre of excellence for hospitality and tourism personnel training and capacity development in West Africa in the like of Utalii College Kenya which caters for East Africa. Remember, this is the vision of the founding fathers. I will not rest on my oars until I’m able to achieve this for the institute.

     What is your life philosophy?

    To do unto others what you want them to do unto you I suppose it is called the Golden Rule.

    As a blue blooded northerner, how much privilege did you enjoy while growing up?

    This is a common misconception. I have heard a few people, mostly from Southern Nigeria, expressing the same opinion and, I wondered what gave them that erroneous impression. However, I realised that most people with such mindset have either never been to the North, or they came to that conclusion because they saw that more Nigerians of Northern extraction have constantly been in position of power, politically, post-independent Nigeria. But that situation is easily explainable. The answer is politics. And you know politics is a game of numbers and it happens that Northern Nigeria, as it is presently constituted, is the most populated region in the country. To my mind, the average Northerner is, comparatively, more politically savvy, especially when there are demands for popular votes.

    Yes, I was brought up with a silver spoon, but my father never let that get into our heads. He raised me to believe in the dignity of labour. Growing up, my parents impressed it upon me that a man must strive to do the right thing and be responsible for his actions. My father was a hardworking civil servant, and he rose through the ladder because his parents invested in his education. I thank God he did the same for me. I am not privileged. I am a hardworking man.

    What would you describe as your greatest challenge in life and how did you surmount it?

    I have had a few challenges, but I will speak about the challenge of leadership and the responsibility it bestows on me. With the passing away of my father, I was turbaned the Turakin Kebbi and I suddenly had to switch from my reserved, shy nature to an out-and-out people’s servant. So, every day now, I am concerned with how best to improve myself for the service of my people.

    The same challenge continues with the additional responsibility given to me now as the Director General of NIHOTOUR. You know, I have a personal disposition of excellence on every task I set my heart on. So, my latest challenge is to meritoriously lead NIHOTOUR to massively equip the manpower with skills to sustain Nigeria’s tourism development.

    Banditry and kidnapping are gradually becoming part of us. Many ‘comfortable’ people live in fear. Do you sometimes have this feeling that you could be a victim?

    Come to think of it; who doesn’t? However, if we live our lives in fear, we would never achieve anything. Shakespeare once said that cowards die many times before their death. As a Muslim, I believe in the will of Allah; that what will be will be. Having said that, I want to believe that this is a phase and I am confident that banditry and other organised crimes shall, at some point, seize to become a part of our lives in Nigeria. I strongly believe both the Federal and state security organs will gain momentum and eventually destroy every stronghold of criminality in every enclave across Nigeria.

     How has insecurity in the country affected your industry?

    Insecurity is bad for every industry and the tourism industry is no exception. Besides, no society is totally immune from insecurity, no matter how advanced the society is. For the Tourism industry in Nigeria, one of the greatest damages insecurity has done is the international perception that Nigeria is a country of pervasive crime and criminality. As it is said, perception is reality. When a tourist destination is perceived to be generally insecure, the destination’s tourism offerings will lose its inherent attractiveness. Today, even domestic tourists do not want to travel around Nigeria. It is as bad as that.

    Do you regret not playing football considering the glamour associated with it right now?

    No, I do not. I am now fulfilled as a Polo player.

    What period would you describe as your lowest moment and how did you come out of it?

    The loss of my father. By God’s grace, I found solace in Islamic scriptures revelations about life, living and the afterlife.

    What is your attitude to polygamy?

    Polygamy is permitted in Islam. I am a faithful Muslim. So, I do not question the right of a Muslim that chooses a polygamous life.

  • How I aided Benue robbery kingpin, Gana, with charms made from human parts — Chief priest

    How I aided Benue robbery kingpin, Gana, with charms made from human parts — Chief priest

    By Linus Oota, Lafia

    Notorious robbery kingpin and militia leader in Benue State, Terwaze Akwaza a.k.a. Gana met his untimely death on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, having been shot dead by soldiers in controversial circumstances. But the man believed to be the brains behind the acclaimed supernatural powers of the late Gana, Mr Ugbe Lorlumun, is alive.

    Lorlumun had inherited Gana’s gang after the latter’s death and had carried on as the leader until soldiers arrested him in Katsina Ala, the home town of the late dreaded militia leader, last month.

    Reputed as the chief priest to the late Gana, Lorlumun said he owned a shrine from where he prepared charms with human parts and also owned a human blood boiling pot from which he was able to see the enemies of the late Gana and target them from his shrine.

    Lorlumun, the chief priest of the late Gana, was arrested by the Four Special Forces Command of the Nigerian Army in Katsina Ala, following which he led soldiers to the shrine where he prepared powerful charms for Gana to operate freely in Benue State.

    Speaking with our correspondent in Tiv language at the Command Headquarters in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State where he is kept under watch, Lorlumun said he used his shrine to shield Gana from arrest by security agents until he (Gana) voluntarily decided to come out from hiding only to meet his untimely death.

    He said: “My name is Ugbe Lorlumun. I am a harbalist and owner of a powerful shrine in Katsina Ala.

    “I used to prepare mystical powers for the late Gana. Most of the people he kidnapped were taken to the shrine where they were killed and their body parts use in preparing charms for Gana and his gang members.

    “Each time Gana boys were going out for an operation, whether assassination, kidnapping, banditry or any other form of criminal activity, they would come to me to help prepare charms that could make them disappear from danger spots to safe locations.

    “I also have a blood-boiling pot in my shrine, which enabled me to see all the enemies of Gana and their plans for him, and that helped him to launch attacks on them.”

    Our correspondent also gathered that between 2015 when the activities of Gana got to its peak and 2020, the chief priest using his blood-boiling pot in the shrine allegedly guided the late Gana in killing the District Head of Mbayongo, Chief Aloo Alvev, as well as the District Head of Michihe, Chief Chiahemba Livinus Shom, both in Katsina Ala Local Government Area.

    It was apparently with the help of the shrine also that Gana was able to kill Chief Awua Alabar, the District Head of Kundav in Ukum Local Government Area, who was gunned down in the presence of his family members.

    Speaking further, Lorlumun said: “I am a herbalist from Katsina Ala LGA of Benue State. I used to prepare charms for Gana and his boys. Recently, four of his boys came to me and I prepared charms for them.

    “The other day, they came back to me and asked me to prepare a charm that could make them disappear in danger situations because I am an expert in that. I can prepare a charm that would make one disappear to a safe place when in danger.

    “I told them that they were too small to carry such charms, so I refused and they threatened to kill me. I was arrested by the military while I was trying to run for my life from the Gana boys.”

    Lorlumum recalled that with the help of his shrine and the charms, Gana constituted himself into an alternate government and enjoyed the status of a maximum ruler in the jungle.

    The chief priest said he shielded Gana from arrest and the notorious criminal used his shrine to run a sophisticated network of criminals in the Sankara geo-political axis of Benue State, comprising Katsina Ala, Logo and Ukum LGAs.

    He confessed that from his shrine, Gana conducted his affairs in commando style and any challenge to his authority was met with death as his blood-boiling pot would locate you.

    He said: “We used to kidnap or assassinate people, kill them and use their human parts to prepare mystical powers, though part of his powers was also derived from his small daughter he buried alive.

    “With my charms, which allow one to disappear at will, he made life unbearable for the people and those who plied the federal highway between Katsina Ala-Takum and Katsina Ala Zaki-Biam – Wukari in Taraba State.

    “When he was declared wanted, I prepared a powerful charm for him and nobody was able to arrest him. He used to move freely  in his base  in Katsina Ala , Ukum and Logo, and most times, he would be in Gboko but those that were looking for him will not see him.”

    He pleaded with the military authorities not to kill him, saying that he had repented. He said he only used his shrine to prepare charms for the late Gana and his boys but never participated in their notorious activities.

    In a conversation with our correspondent, the Commander of 4 Special Forces Command of the Nigerian Army, Major General Gadzama Ali, said: “I would like to state that before now, it was unfathomable that Gana’s name would be mentioned among the Tiv, Jukun or Kuteb for fear that Gana, under the direction of his chief priest, would see you in the blood-boiling pot in his shrine and his gang members would go after you.

    “Today, I am pleased to inform you that not only did the operation of SFs (Special Forces) snatch the chief priest, I am glad to tell you that the dreaded shrine has been razed to dust.

    “The chief priest has been responsible for preparing charms for the gang, using parts of the bodies of kidnapped persons.”

  • For Nigeria to remain one, there must not be fear of insecurity — Ex-Ogun SIEC chairman

    For Nigeria to remain one, there must not be fear of insecurity — Ex-Ogun SIEC chairman

    Elder statesman, Pa Oyeniyi Adekola, is an economist and retired civil servant. In this interview with Ernest Nwokolo, Pa Adekola, who turned 80 in October, recalls the good old days of the civil service. He also bares his mind on recent agitation by the youth, what President Muhammadu Buhari ought to have done about electricity and why Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State should not pursue white elephant projects like some of his predecessors, among other issues.

     

    What kind of upbringing would you say you had with your parents?

    I think my parents were very lovely, particularly my mother. At the same time,  however, they were very strict. If you tried to take advantage of my mother, you would run into trouble with her.

    How was your early education?

    I started school very early; below the age expected of a pupil in my time. In those days, if you put your hand across your head and it would not touch the other ear, regardless your age, you would not be admitted into school. But because of the pranks I played at home, I went to school much earlier. But I was not in any class; I just stayed under the tree.

    But even though I was not in any particular class, I think I was getting to know a number of things they taught in school. So, by the time I started school properly, I think I was quite ready and willing.

    What would you say has changed about early education now compared to what obtained in your time?

    I think the situation was much different from how we are now. We are more egocentric now than we were before. For example, when I was in the eastern part of Nigeria, we used to go to the village and we were accepted. When I was in the north, I think I was living in Samaru in Zaria, I wasn’t really out of the town, but then I met trendy features. But now, I don’t know what happened.

     Having lived in the east and the north before the civil war, why do you think the country went into war at the time?

    To me, there wasn’t sufficient of understanding of ourselves, so it was a needless war. If we really bought into the ideals of independence and cared for one another in the spirit of one nation, there would not have been civil war.

    In spite of the pains of that war, some people seem to be beating the drums of war again while others are calling for restructuring…

    Such calls would not be needed, but we can see some justification for them in the sense that things are not managed properly and fairness and love are not at work. So, those who are clamouring for it saw some injustice. All we need to do is that both the powerful and the neglected should face the reality. Nigeria belongs to all of us, and if it belongs to all of us, we should behave that way. It is a sense of insecurity that is worrying us. If we must keep Nigeria one, we must remove that feeling of insecurity.

    You were a civil servant until you retired. What has changed between the civil of your era and what obtains today?

    I would say the civil service of my time was different from the civil service of today. I think the civil service of my time concentrated on development. These days, the politicians have ruined the arrangements. For example, they said they want to run government like a business, but frankly, I don’t think it can be run like a business. It is not meant to be. It is meant to be a facilitator; one that will provide an enabling environment and must be guided by some rules and regulations.

    Public Service is not personal service even when you are in office as a politician. I am not saying the civil service is a perfect institution. You can remove the imperfection, but you don’t remove imperfection and introduce another imperfection. So the way it is being run today, to me, it is not right.

    What is the best approach?

    I think the way it should have been operating is that the civil service should serve as the engine room that will service any administration that comes into power. But these days, civil servants have become politicians. There must be an improvement in the process of running the civil service. The federal government is still trying, but I’m not sure about state governments.

    You were appointed as Chairman of Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission by former Governor Olusegun Osoba but the Gbenga Daniel administration came and terminated the appoint prematurely only to reappoint you later. What really happened?

    I think when he wanted to terminate my appointment, those of us who were outgoing paid him a visit and we had a chat. I like to believe that during that chat, I spoke my mind very frankly. Maybe that was what he prompted him. I didn’t know him from Adam. He later reappointed me. But I am still at loss. I don’t know what caused it.

     You ended up as an economist. Was it really what you wanted from the outset?

    Frankly, I wanted to be a journalist. That was what I loved to do. But then, my brother came back from England. He had left me when I was in primary school. By the time he came back, I had finished secondary school. He asked what I wanted to become and I said a journalist. He said he wanted me to become a journalist who would specialise in certain areas like political reporting, economic analysis and so on like it was done in England. And he said that if I wanted to do that, I should go for a first degree in any of the subject areas, so I choose to study Economics. Along the line, Journalism swiped by. But people still credit me with my writings. There was no Mass Communication then.

    If you met President Muhammadu Buhari today, what advice would you give him?

    If I have the opportunity to meet President Buhari, I will tell him to give us freedom of electric power. Nigerians are Nigerians, no doubt about it. But if we have stable power supply, we would not be talking about the economy the way we are doing now. Any government who promises power and does well with it, I think that is enough for Nigeria.

    Sincerely, I think we should decentralize power. When everything is centralised or over-centralised, things will not work out well. Decentralisation of power will be a step forward to making sure that the economy grows rapidly. I don’t know why they have not yet seen it the way I am seeing it, but I’m talking both as a layman and an economist. As an economist, privatization is a good thing. But when we talk about privatization in this country, we need to be very careful. Any bloody person can come up to privatise, and when we privatise, you can trace a buyer to those in authority. Privatization has not taken a proper shape here in Nigeria.

    There are agitations about state being in control of most things —power generation, state police, takeover of federal roads. What is your take?

    Not in all the regions. I think the Southwest appears to be seeing the light. If they say states cannot generate electricity, blocks can. So let us have the Southwest blocks instead of staying in one block. All this Amotekun they are talking about, some people are saying they want to set up state police. Even if it is state police they want to set up, what led to setting up state police? It is the failure of the central police.

    From my inner knowledge, the governor of a state is the chief security officer of the state. But the Commissioner of Police would say he has not taken order from Abuja before he can do anything. So, what is the control about? The concept of community policing is that the police must come from the community because they know themselves. When you bring someone from Imo State or Abuja to become the Commissioner of Police in Ogun, in community police system, he’s not policing anything.

    Today, the nation is in danger because of agitations. I don’t want to blame it on the youth. The demonstration of the recklessness of we the elders is the result of nation being in danger.

    I believe the leadership has a fault. It is not that politicians didn’t make anything out of government in the past; they were sober and they set themselves limits. Today, if you criticise them now, they can send someone to kill you at home. In the past, you would not be killed for criticising a politician; they would be afraid if a journalist wrote an article against a politician. Then, politicians feared the journalists.

    So, I think the leadership and the followership are at risk now, and the followership has gone beyond expectations. Imagine, when I got into the civil service, I did not know anybody. I went to take the exam, and I was taken. Nobody cares now, and it is even worse in the civilian era. One example I will give, when Governor (Raji) Rasaki was the governor of Ogun State, he wanted to make an impact and I was in the Ministry of Works. He called me and said he wants to make impact, and I told him to go Ijebu Water Side Local Government Area. Go to Egbado, don’t say they are neglected. One day, he took me out and he came into the conclusion that I was right and that we should do something. That was when the road from Ijebu Mushin to Ibiade first started in 1987. If he had not invited me, I would not have had the opportunity to express my mind, and even if I talked and he didn’t take it, it doesn’t matter. It would be on record that somebody mentioned something like that.

    What advice will you give Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State?

    I will advise the present government to shun white elephant projects, like all these schools that were built by the immediate past administration when it first started. If you can use that money to rehabilitate the secondary schools, they should be first class. You build schools but you don’t have money to employ teachers. The Comprehensive High School Ayetoro was the first comprehensive school we had in Nigeria. It was becoming very expensive for government to maintain the school; that was why they let it merge with the old schools.

  • Woman delivered of baby from three-year-old pregnancy recalls 12-year battle with barrenness

    Woman delivered of baby from three-year-old pregnancy recalls 12-year battle with barrenness

    By Linus Oota, Lafia

    Hers was a case of jumping from frying pan into fire. For 12 years after her marriage to Mr Isaac Audu, Mrs Gloria Audu and her husband searched unsuccessfully for the fruit of the womb until she got pregnant in October, 2017.

    But just when they thought that they had triumphed over barrenness, another round of battle began as Gloria had to carry her pregnancy for more than three years before she was delivered of a baby last month.

    Gloria and her husband share a lot in common. They are both of the Migili tribe in Obi Local Government area, Nasarawa State. Both of them are also primary school teachers in Keffi, Nasarawa State, where they live.

    They had fallen in love as students of College of Agriculture Lafia; a relationship that culminated in marriage after they graduated from the school.

    Gloria recalled the intense pressure she and her husband came under from both families in the 12 years she stayed without getting pregnant, saying that it was a miracle that their marriage survived the pressure.

    The proud 40-year-old mother of a bouncing baby boy said: “I battled with infertility for quite a long time. It was much more a problem for me during the period than it was for my husband because he underwent fertility tests and the results showed that everything about him was normal.

    “I know that most men are heartbroken and are not happy with their wives when they cannot conceive, but that wasn’t my experience because my husband loves me and wants me to be happy. Yet, my failure to conceive made me feel like I was not functioning as a woman

    “When I got married after about three years of courtship, I thought pregnancy would happen straightaway as I was only about 28 years. It happened for all my friends without any concern and infertility should only be a problem with older people

    Read Also; Tears of an octogenarian who lost two sons to policemen

    “I felt guilt and anger every day having to wait for so long to get pregnant. I also felt angry with my husband for always asking me to wait for God’s time when we could have adopted a baby.

    “On a number of occasions, I went to the hospital to carry out some tests but the results kept saying normal; that I only had fibroid which doctor said was not big enough to stop me from taking in.

    “However, it was not long before the excitement of marriage turned into disappointment with tests after tests coming back negative.

    “Initially, my cycle was irregular, so my period would come when I would least expect it. To me, this was a constant reminder of my failure to conceive.

    “It was devastating. I cried many nights in my husband arms. I felt that as a woman, I was not functioning as I should.

    “My husband reminded me that we were in it together, but that did little to comfort me as I started becoming resentful of others who got pregnant so easily.

    “It became difficult for me to behold the pregnant women in the community, and

    every baby I met was a reminder of what I wanted but didn’t have.

    “I even found myself not wanting to socialise with my friends who had children, or attending functions where pregnant relatives or friends would be discussing the imminent arrival of their bundles of joy.

    “The once outgoing, full of life lady which I was became one that was questioning every move she made in case it would reduce my chances of conceiving. I even started to refuse nights out in case people would ask why I wasn’t having an outing with my husband.

    “I confided in some close friends, and Iam so grateful to those that have been very supportive. Others wouldn’t bring up the subject at all, most likely for fear of not knowing what to say. However, saying nothing made me feel even worse.

    “I eventually knew something had to change. I couldn’t continue to live my life like that, but I didn’t know what to do.

    “After about six years of my marriage, I started wearing my mask. My mask was my brave face; the invisible shield I wore when I left the comfort of my home.

    “It allowed me to smile at others and congratulate them on their great pregnancy news. It allowed me to laugh off the big question, ‘when are you going to have a baby?’ It helped me to go to work and do my job.

    “However, my mask would always come off when I got home, and tears of disappointment and frustration, the feeling of loneliness and isolation and confusion as to why this still hadn’t happen for us would take over.

    “I was lucky that my husband and I have a solid relationship. However, we were suffering in silence, and it felt like we were carrying a great big secrete that no one understood.

    “About four years ago, during an appointment in the hospital, I asked a question about fertility treatment and I was advised to go to a fertility clinic as they were the specialists. This was a real eye-opener for me.

    “I also struggled to have a baby out of envy, especially when I saw other mothers carrying their babies. I felt we deserved the chance to become parents too because we are good people.

    “But it never came and I continued to have my mask and go about my day to day life with the hope that someday, our dream of having a baby would come true.”

    Asked how she felt the first time she realised that she was pregnant, she said: “When I first took in, I knew that I was pregnant with signs and test that confirmed that I was.

    “Three months later, I went to the hospital for another test, but the result showed that I only had fibroid and not pregnancy. Subsequently, I began to experience bleeding at least once a day. Sometimes, my tummy would protrude in the semblance of pregnancy.

    “I went to different hospitals but kept receiving the same result that nothing was wrong with me. But deep down in me, I knew that all was not well.”

    She told our correspondent that she was taken aback when a middle aged woman in their church told her that she was pregnant.

    She said: “Based on the tests that showed I had  fibroid, I was angry with the woman for giving me false hope. Thereafter, I started going from one church to another and from one native doctor to another, but the result that I got from them was the same. I became so confused that I prayed for death to come

    “I went again to the middle aged woman about one and a half years later and complained to her about the pains that I was going through. She told me again that I was pregnant. She prayed with me and advised me to be more prayerful so that God would deliver me from the hands of the devil.

    “While I kept praying, I was also asking myself why the baby was not kicking if truly I was pregnant.

    “I bought a lot of herbs based on advice from many people that they would cure the fibroid. I took a lot of local cleansers but to no avail and this went on for almost two years. This whole saga lasted for almost four years. Then God took pity on me and decided to wipe away my tears on the first day of November 2020.”

    Recalling that she gave birth to a baby boy on that fateful day, she said: “Initially, I thought it was worms that were trying to come out of my body. I did not believe that it was a baby. That was what I told the middle age woman when she came to assist me at the hospital after praying for me and helping to examine and encourage me.

    “I was in deep pains, so I ignored her advice that I should push. I later became unconscious for about 27 minutes. When I regained consciousness, I heard the cry of a baby. I was surprised and confused seeing my baby. I couldn’t believe my eyes. But I thank God for my life and that of my baby.”

    Her husband, Isaac, told our correspondent on the phone that he and Gloria had been together as husband and wife for about 12 years.

    He said: “We met in the collage and dated for about three years before we tied the nuptials knot and decided to throw away the birth control pills. It felt so incredible daring to do so particularly because both of us were young and we were both just graduating from the school.

    “We knew it might take a few months to get pregnant and we figured it was best to start early. Little did we know that it would take much longer than a few months.

    “I can’t even tell you how many tests we ran during the period. But thank God it finally came after 12 years.

    “Within the waiting period, a lot of people told me stories. Some even suggested that I should quit the marriage for a fresh one. But today, God has answered my prayers. So I thank God, and that is all I can say.”

  • OGBEVIRE ASHAIKU: How I brought Omotola, others to the big screen in London

    OGBEVIRE ASHAIKU: How I brought Omotola, others to the big screen in London

    They call him Daddy Chris, his name is Ogbevire Ashaiku and happily he tells you that film making gave him this brand name. In this encounter with Yetunde Oladeinde, he talked about his passion, helping to reposition young people that are talented, the opportunities as well as working and living in the Diaspora.

     

    HOW did your passion for film making start?

    I think I got arrested, I don’t know how it happened but I found myself there. I just love to tell stories and finding myself in the Diaspora all this years, my career has been interesting, capturing our experiences as black people. My film making started here as far back as 1993. I shot a film called the Return of the Prince, it was my first film. Then the likes of Mr Ibu were with me, he was my production manager. And there was also Sam Loco, they were the people on my set.

    How would you describe that first experience?

    It was very difficult. I was like a novice and had just joined the industry and I had to learn the hard way in every way because you got people taking advantage of you as well. Some would welcome you and some just did not know what you want. At that point in time, I really don’t know what I wanted,

    Did you feel like quitting at that point?

    Oh yes! Many times I felt like quitting because these movies have gotten me divorced a couple of times. Film making exposes you to a lot of women. No woman ever trusts me and that is a really bitter experience I have from it.

    That is synonymous with the entertainment industry. Did you find a way around it?

    How do you find a way around that? It is only the women that can tell, whether I am a good guy or they are managing me. Here, I am in Nigeria now, she is in London and when I was leaving, she said be careful, not for anything but for Nigerian girls.

    So, do you consider Nigerian girls dangerous?

    I don’t think so. Considering where they find themselves, they are trying to survive. I don’t think there is anyone who won’t do this. It’s easy to call them names; like they called the youth’s names but do you ask yourself, why they are doing it. I am not interested in what is happening but I am interested in why is it happening.

    What are some of the memorable experiences working in the sector?

    One would this; another was a bitter one, when I lost my parents. Then there are times, you find yourself in the middle of a shoot and you just cannot cut it, otherwise the memorable moment would be one of this, discovering g talents.

    Another was a film that I shot in London in 2012 called Amina, it was a beautiful film. Omotola came in from Nigeria, I brought Vanviker from Ghana and the rest were top American actors and actresses. It was a big film and it was premiered in one of the biggest places, great experience and it was good to see some of our African actresses on the big screen where international boys do put their films. It was good competing with them at that level, even though you couldn’t compete with them with their level of finance but at least we were able to raise the bar.

    Talking about finance a lot of people think that government can do more?

    I think that is one of the biggest challenges. I am happy to say that I heard that the Bank of Industry is helping at the moment. But it is more than that; it is more than giving a film maker cash. So, this is part of the advice that I want to give the government. If you make a film in London, there is something called tax credit; the government gives you a per cent of your budget. If you spend one million, they give you 200,000 back. Now, they know that you are spending that money in London. But, in Nigeria, I am told they don’t pay tax, but if they do and a state encourages you to come and shoot, say my village, then the money would be spent in my village. So, encouraging films to be shot in your state is the biggest thing that you can do to the economy.

    What are you doing at the moment?

    I have branched a little bit from film making to broadcasting, so I now run SRTV. I created it out of a film I shot and I wanted to promote my own film. In film you can only tell one story but with a broadcasting station, you can tell many. So, that is where the film festival comes in and here I am telling the story of so many people. The film that I would like to show during our event is called ‘The way we lived’. We tend to forget our culture, our roots and we bestride it. They brought foreign culture and we accepted it, and it is wrong. Broadcasting therefore gives me the opportunity as an African man in London to tell the story of Africans to them and bringing this home. However, one disconnect that I have found is that we do not believe in who we are. Most of our films are something barbaric, the way the put the African tradition is not acceptable. If it is something pure, they would put the white man and black for us. And I keep wondering, we knew God before the Bible came. We are told that we are stupid and we accepted it. They say they are white and we are black, is this skin really black. That is why we don’t celebrate the Black Friday, it’s an insult to the black race. They call them African- Americans not blacks. The good thing that ever came out of Africa is Nollywood. It’s the biggest thing that happened, that is why I am celebrating Nollywood.

    Nigerian youths have complained about being neglected and not given the opportunities required, what is the place of the youths in the festival?

    Empowering the Nigerian youth is the topic, we would be looking at and it would be delivered by a Nigerian politician. The youths are the future, we have disappointed them so much, the future is at stake and they have reasons to come out the way they did. Singing, dancing, talents are areas that they have been able to distinguish themselves and so I support them and give them the necessary platform. That way they feel good. Another thing that I would like to celebrate is the fashion industry. Nigerians have done well in the fashion industry. It’s the same way they grew Hollywood from nothing that they did in fashion and music. So, I decided to celebrate this, start at home and take it everywhere.

    How would you rate the broadcasting sector in Nigeria?

    I am impressed with Channels and disappointed with NTA. The amount of resources they get, it is disappointing to see the quality that is coming out. I think that is the problem with our society in general. In the United States for instance the local government generates more money for the council than any other institution and so you cannot compete with government. But the problem with Nigeria is that things are not working, politicians hardly productive. They should tell us how they spend the money not how the use the money to generate money. Imagine Nigeria not having an airline, if Nigeria doesn’t have, cant the state have. Akwa Ibom has one now, IBOM Airline which is good. I am disappointed. Logos is great in terms of infrastructure and development. Eko City is a big one , you can imagine what would happen to Lagos in the next few years. So, it is a matter of us as a government not being productive and not that NTA refused.

    Electricity is also very important. You cannot underrate that. Even in the Bible, God said let there be light. God made light first.  Now, we are doing that last, which is wrong. We are in darkness. A country in darkness is a definition of who we are. We are still in darkness; we are not getting out of it.

    2020 is synonymous with COVID -19, how did it affect you?

    It did. This film festival was supposed to have happened. I have moved and moved it. So, I said let’s do it this year and not start next year. But again COVID -19 thought us a lot of good things; it thought us to look inwards. We now know that we need good hospitals otherwise, we are all going to die. We dropped a lot of wastages and the world is realizing it as well. If it is not well with Nigeria, it is not going to be well with the United Kingdom. God created human beings that humanity needs to come back. Nigeria is the hope of the black nation; it is the biggest black nation on earth. If Nigeria fails, then there is a big problem. So, our politicians need to understand that.

    I have hobbies, I am a philanthropist and I love to empower young people to do things.

  • RAQUEL DANIEL: Volunteering helped me when I had no skills

    RAQUEL DANIEL: Volunteering helped me when I had no skills

    Raquel Daniel is passionate about children and she makes efforts catching them young to achieve a better life.  In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she opens up on the things that inspire her, becoming an orphan as a teenager, taking care of three younger siblings, getting internally-displaced children get back to school, writing books for teenagers and life as founder of the Beyond the Classroom Foundation. 

     

    TAKE us through your journey into volunteering?

    I started volunteering when I had no idea what it was called. Growing up, my late mum emphasized the importance of service to my siblings and me, so volunteering came to me naturally. She would say ‘if you serve with all your heart, you can open any door’. Service became one of my strongest values from a very young age.

    My journey into volunteering started with my mum. She lived a life of purpose and of service. She always helped anyone who came to her for help. She had a club for children where she taught them about God. She encouraged me to serve the refreshments and clean up after everyone left. That made me see everything I do as a service.

    As a teenager, I became very active in my school. I would quickly volunteer to help when there was a need. I can say for a fact that it helped me become really confident growing up. After secondary school, I got my first job while volunteering at my mum’s friend’s store. From then onwards, I continued volunteering actively everywhere I went. In my first year in university, I joined AIESEC: an international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. Being an AIESECer showed me the rewards of volunteering and further reinforced my mum’s point about service opening doors. I got my first job offer from a firm in the UK in my final year without applying. I have volunteered for a lot of nonprofits since then.

    You recently launched an online platform for volunteering. Tell us about it? Why did you decide to launch this platform?

    Yes, I recently co-founded Nzuriaiki.com, an online platform that showcases volunteer opportunities in Nigeria and connects organizations with volunteers. I decided to launch Nzuriaiki.com because volunteering helped me gain skills when I had no skills to get a good job. I was orphaned as a teenager and was left to cater to my three younger brothers. Needing a job but having no work experience, I decided to volunteer for free to build up my capacity, which is something my mum always emphasized anyway. Through volunteering, I developed professional, technical and soft skills such as leadership and critical thinking but most importantly it boosted my self-confidence. Prior to getting into university, I used those skills to apply for jobs which I got easily. The skills I learned during my time volunteering gave me the opportunity to find flexible part-time jobs allowing me to earn and continue to take care of my siblings while paying my way through school.

    I decided to launch this platform because organizations want certain skills and work experience which a lot of graduates don’t have. Seeing that volunteering worked for me, I believe it is a solution that can tackle the problem of unemployment in Nigeria. This is because by serving and giving your time, this can turn up to learning or earning opportunity.

    Tell us about some of your volunteering activities and causes? For a very long time, I didn’t use the word “founder” as my title for the Beyond the Classroom Foundation. I see myself privileged to lead this non-profit in the last ten years first as a volunteer than the initiator. We are focused on two causes: education and sexual and reproductive health education for girls. We enrolled 107 children at the Karon Majigi Internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Abuja back to school in September 2019 and renovated a primary school in Lagos through a partnership with one of Nigeria’s leading banks in February 2020. Because we work with children and girls, when COVID-19 struck, we immediately provided learning materials to 200 children at the Karon Majigi IDP camp, extending it to other children outside the 107 we enrolled in school. During the lockdown, we also raised funds and provided food items to over 800 families with children and sanitary pads for about 700 girls through the pads in a pandemic project.

    While distributing free food items to families during the lockdown, I noticed a need and quickly designed ‘There is a New Virus in Town’, a coronavirus awareness book for children. So far, we have printed and distributed 2,000 copies of the book to children in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.

    These are some of the volunteering activities I’ve been involved in within the last year.

     What should spur people to get engaged in volunteering?

    The benefit of volunteering is enormous. After over a decade working in the non-profit space in Nigeria, I have seen firsthand how volunteer work broadens and deepens experiences of volunteers, providing them skill development in a way that is often not possible or available to them elsewhere. With the unemployment rate in Nigeria at 55.7%, young people are desperately looking for jobs. I believe knowing the benefit of volunteering can spur young people into volunteering.

    This year has witnessed a pandemic and protests; do you think more people got engaged with volunteering for these causes more than ever?

    Due to the pandemic, there has been an increase in online volunteering and lower turnout for physical volunteering activities across the world. What we’ve seen is that some nonprofit organizations currently have no ongoing projects, while others are working on the frontlines. These organizations working on the frontline have recorded a higher increase in the number of volunteer turnout. Even though the pandemic affected physical volunteering, it caused a rise in online volunteering. I allowed more people to give their time to organizations they believe in without leaving their homes.

    You have written a couple of books and most recently, ‘Flow’. What informed this decision?

    I wrote my first book, ‘Flow’, out of the desire to reach more girls with the message of menstruation. When I learned about menstruation in school, the focus was only on the biology of the menstrual cycle. The lessons left out useful information about our bodies’ anatomy and the use of sanitary products. I remember educating my friends in secondary school and many were utterly surprised by how I knew what I was teaching them. When I told them my father had taught me, they all couldn’t believe it.

    Raquel Daniel
    Raquel Daniel

    I wrote this book to help girls understand and learn about the changes in their bodies in a funny, easy and relatable way. The book includes details girls need to know about puberty, preparing for their first period, managing period cramps and types of sanitary products to use. In the book, I spoke about how my late father taught me all I needed to know about menstruation, shared my personal experiences, practical advice and information on managing menstruation. I believe this book will impact girls positively because, beyond sharing about menstruation and hygiene, I shared personal experiences and spoke about my late father. ‘Flow’, the menstruation book for girls, was designed to address the real concerns every young girl goes through during puberty. A lot of girls grow up without any knowledge of puberty and menstruation,  and I desire that the book guides and helps any girl who reads it navigate through the world of puberty with ease.

    As a mum, wife, speaker and inspiration to a lot of young people, how do you manage these portfolios and still be at your best?

    (Laughing) I always baulk at this question because it has been difficult, but I think I’m finding my way. After I had my daughter, it was hard to focus on a lot of things, and sometimes, I barely made it to the end of the day with my sanity still intact. As a working mum with a demanding schedule, it sometimes feels utterly impossible to be everything to everyone, all the time. I was constantly pulled in all directions and the weight of the fact that every time I choose to focus my attention in one area of my life, I am by default not choosing someone or something else keeps me up at night. I got to a place where I finally told myself: ‘Girl, you can do it all by yourself’. Yes, I still have a lot on my plate, and I try to manage them pretty well now with the help of scheduling apps, calendar reminders, my assistant, family and my amazing husband. This is not to say I am not failing at other things, but the things I deem as important always come first and that I take very seriously.

    What is your advice to women seeking ways to balance home front and career, while being at their best?

    In between working and raising a family, you’re going to face some struggles depending on your circumstances. But it is your tenacity to believe in yourself and your resilience that will help you stand firm even if you don’t balance it all.

    I’d advise, find a support system! My family has been my greatest source of strength and support. So, look around you and see where you can find support either physically or emotionally.

    Also, you don’t have to say yes to every single invitation or extracurricular activity. Determine how much your schedule can handle and choose the activities that you can handle without burning out. Don’t feel bad when you have to say no. Remember that it is possible to have both a successful career and a fulfilling family life. It may not look exactly like how you pictured it, but just give it your best and take it one day at a time.

    You have worked with teenage girls for over 10 years. Any advice for young girls.

    Believe in yourself! Be bold and take chances! Be authentic! Invest in yourself, including making time to network, find mentors, and eventually, become a mentor to others. Don’t sell yourself short. Go after opportunities, even if you’re not sure you can do them. This is a great way to grow.

    What next should we expect from you?

    I am working on two new books to be released in 2021. Not to give too much away, but to fuel your curiosity, one will be a comic for boys.

    December 5th is International Volunteer Day. I want to use this opportunity to encourage any young person or anyone unemployed interested in developing a new skill or gaining practical experience in a certain field to consider volunteering with a nonprofit organization.

    If you have a phone or computer, you can consider online volunteering. This might take the form of managing their social media accounts, engaging in research, designing a website, or translating documents to other languages.

    If you have limited time, no transportation, or a physical disability that inhibits you from getting around freely, online volunteering is the perfect fit for you. Employers prefer hiring fresh graduates with volunteer experience. It shows commitment and a sense of responsibility. If you’re an undergraduate, now is the time to start volunteering. Don’t just sit at home doing nothing. You can visit Nzuriaiki to find organizations that need your support.

  • ‘Why most Nigerian immigrants have problems with UK authorities’

    ‘Why most Nigerian immigrants have problems with UK authorities’

    Chief Bimbo Roberts Folayan is former chairman, Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK). The former People’s Bank chief turned civil rights activist was one of the prominent Nigerians in the clamour for the restoration of the presidential mandate of the late business mogul, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election. With the then head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha growing more and more intolerant of the clamour for Abiola’s mandate, Bimbo, as he is fondly called, had to flee the country like other pro-democracy activists, escaping to Europe through a route now popularly called the NADECO route. He continued his activism in London thereafter and later became CANUK’s chairman. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, he shares his experience living abroad for more than two decades, the widening gap between Nigerians at home and abroad, and why the People’s Bank in Nigeria collapsed, among other issues.

    You have lived outside Nigeria for more than two decades now. Are you in some kind of exile?

    Yes, it is more like being in exile. But then, it is a two-way thing. First of all, east or west, home is usually the best. But somehow, I found myself abroad because of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election which was won by MKO Abiola. I was an activist, and that was what took me abroad.

    You were comfortable as a banker. Why go into activism?

    I had a good job. I was working as a senior manager in a finance mortgage bank. But when that election was annulled, some of us formed the June 12 movement and we campaigned against the military. I was arrested and detained a couple of times. My wife was pregnant with our first son and we just got married. I decided to travel abroad to hide in exile just for a few months.

    The thing with abroad is that once your wife starts to have children, you have to make a decision whether to stay with your children or come back home. When Abacha died, I decided to stay with my children. But I am home in Nigeria these days three times a year. I am not the typical Nigerian who lives abroad. My heart is always in Nigeria.

    In those days that you were at the People’s Bank in Lagos, what was it like working with the legendary Tai Solarin and the late Mrs Maria Sokenu?

    It was brilliant. I was one of the foundation members of People’s Bank and the programe officer that set up most of the branches from Badagry up to Ojo. We were setting up the centres up to Alaba to the little towns in Agbara and all the border towns. We recruited all the staff there. It was wonderful working with a man like Tai Solarin the Chairman, who was known for integrity, Mrs Maria Sokenu too.

    Incidentally, when I came home several years later, I met Mrs Sokenu at the Abuja airport and she was joking, ‘Bimbo, you are no longer fine, you are very fat now.’ I told her I came home because I brought a Diasporan who wanted to run for governorship in Bayelsa State. The man lived in Brighton in England and was not used to Nigeria. Mrs Sokenu said, ‘You know what, I came to see Obasanjo (who was the president at the time)’. She asked me when I would be returning to England and I told her the third day. She said if I could bring my friend back in three weeks’ time, she would personally take us to Obasanjo so he could support his aspiration. She wrote her address and told me to come to an event she was to have at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    Did you go back?

    Guess what happened, I got to England and told my friend that we should buy our tickets and go back to Nigeria to meet Mrs Sokenu. My friend said he would only buy his own ticket and that I should go and buy mine. I was upset. I told him I was the one taking him there and had the connection. He said he could not afford it, so I said I wasn’t going. That was what saved my life! I was to meet Mrs Sokenu in Lagos and we were to fly together with her in that ill-fated flight with my friend. She died in that flight. I hope one day, I will meet the children and show them that diary and the appointment we made that she wrote on my diary, the date she put there. She had met Obasanjo who gave her another appointment in three weeks. She was to take us with her on that appointment. It was a great shock to me. So sad!

    What was your perception of the People’s Bank then? Did it really meet the objectives for which it was set up? What problem would you say the bank had the most?

    I think we had teething problems. But it was a fantastic concept, because when you look at Nigeria, the economy is powered by micro and small businesses. I travelled round Nigeria and that was what I saw. And that was what People’s Bank was set up to do: finance micro/small businesses and empower the people with loans. In those days, it used to be small money but it used to be impactful on them.

    The problem we had was that of collection. A lot of people were not credit worthy in terms of paying back. We had a collection team that used to go out as a team and seize their equipment. But it was powerful. I think government should have improved on that. They came to us as cooperatives and it was effective. Government needs to revisit it to help businesses grow and take people off the job market.

    How easy was it to adapt to the lifestyle abroad on arrival? Did what you met on ground meet your expectations?

    No. A lot of us, when we travel, think that we could pick money on the streets; that life is easy. It wasn’t what I thought it would be. Living abroad was completely different. The culture shock, particularly in a conservative culture like the UK, was a complete off-balance to me. Most Nigerians are American-centric in the flashy way we do things and so on. But the UK is a different society. Te principle is based more on fairness to everybody. I think one can relocate and adapt, but it is more difficult in the UK. I have tasted both worlds, so I can say.

    How long did you stay abroad before you started visiting Nigeria?

    I was abroad for five years. I didn’t have the means of coming back to Nigeria. I didn’t have enough documentation to enable me travel home. I left in 1994 and came home in 1999 for the first time.

    After staying abroad for so many years, have the conditions you left Nigeria in changed?

    I think it has changed in some regards, because now you have the social media, and with that there has been a lot of awareness in Nigeria. It has become a global village. I have made a lot of friends that I never had in Nigeria, who are very conscious and on the same page with people across the world. Now you see people on the streets in Nigeria who are more aware. That is a major change that I have seen. But physically, I don’t think there has been too much of improvement in infrastructure. Recently I went to Agbara and on the road I saw little improvement. In the Lekki axis though, there hasbeen new development.

    At what point did you become interested in involvement with the Nigerian community in the UK?

    As soon as I landed, I identified the activists in the UK and there we had the Nigerian Democratic Movement, and then the Nigerian Forum, and NADECO was there as well, and we continued with carrying placards to the Nigerian High Commission. I saw people that I had interacted with in Nigeria as an activist; people like (former) Governor John Oyegun, his deputy Obadan, Bola Tinubu, Gen. Akinrinade, Hon. Wole Oshun, Dele Momodu and Wura Abiola. They were already there. I think Dele Momodu met us much later. There was also Tokunbo Afikuyomi. All of us were campaigning and going to the High Commission almost on a daily basis.

    When (Ken) Saro-Wiwa was to be killed, we flew to Scotland to protest. Eventually, he was killed and I was part of those who fought against the military. But after some time, the Nigerian High Commission decided to put together an umbrella body for all Nigerians in the UK. But prior to that time, there were so many organisations that claimed to be speaking for Nigerians in the Diaspora, and they were all behaving like the typical Nigerian politicians, fighting one another and even going to court to be the authentic representative until Christopher Kolade and the head of the chancery at the time came together and put a body together that could speak for all Nigerians. That was how they set up CANUK (Central Association of Nigerians in the UK).

    I was invited by some of my friends who said, ‘Bimbo, we noticed you have leadership qualities, why don’t you come and run for an elective office as chairman of the community?’ I was the second chairman of the Nigerian Community in the UK. Four years down the line, they all invited me to run for a second term but I had to decline. I was not interested, but virtually all the professional bodies were rooting for me and all the state’s associations and unions were calling on me. So I contested again and won.

    What were some of the challenges you faced leading the Nigerian community in the UK?

    One of the challenges I faced was that a lot of the Nigerians abroad still carried their ‘Nigerian-ess’ abroad. And it is always difficult for them to remove. I was a volunteer and not paid by government. Some thought I was being paid, so I was getting invitations and was also being criticised by a few people for works that I had not done. They thought it was the federal government that put me in that position to be looking after them. Meanwhile, there were no funds or budget. I was actually using my money. They put too much pressure on me and expected so much from me. Another challenge was that many Nigerians abroad always want to come back home.

    How did you handle the issue of illegal Nigerian immigrants in the UK?

    We have Nigerian professionals, barristers, who always help out on good cases and understand the immigration process. They are called Nigerian-British Law Forum. Sometimes people are picked up through random visits to houses and taken to detention centres. As soon as we are called, we go there to look it over and sometimes take care of their loads or belongings. There was a time that my apartment was filled with all manner of properties of people who were trying to sort out their immigration issues.

    What do you consider the burden of African immigrants in the United Kingdom?

    I think the main burden is culture shock, particularly Nigerian immigrants who come to western countries with African mindset and that makes it difficult for them to survive. In Nigeria, for example, people will buy houses and pay cash. In Britain, it does not work like that. In Nigeria people pay millions of naira to buy cars at once. The vast majority of people in the UK don’t do that. It is a credit driven society and that is what keeps the society going. You pay in installments as you get your income. So people come here, because they are not used to the credit system, collect credit and do not pay back. And when you don’t pay back, they score your credit low until you can’t get credit to make progress in life. In UK, things are not too flowery or colorful like it is in Nigeria or the USA. It is conservative and a lot of Nigerians can’t blend.

    Some Nigerians believe that the streets of Europe are paved with gold and even illegal migrants can survive and quickly find success within months…

    It used to be so. Immigration used to be relaxed then because you could work underground for a long time if you were an illegal immigrant. But now, immigration has been tightened and employers are now fined and landlords are not allowed to give you accommodation if you don’t have a legal status. It has now become very difficult. It is not very advisable for anyone to come into Europe without perfecting their documentations before leaving their home country.

    How can Nigerians at home benefit from the wealth of exposure that Nigerians in the Diaspora are exposed to in terms of development?

    I think Nigerians are already benefiting. I am patron to 22 organisations, and most of these organisations have their inputs in Nigeria, maybe through medical missions to Nigeria or others who come to Nigeria to give trainings for free. We even have organisations in the UK who come to Nigeria during Christmas or Ileya (Sallah) to cook food for people to eat. I know them and they relate to Nigeria well. I know some who come to Nigeria for three weeks to provide free eye glasses and treat eye problems. There is one that looks after aged people in Nigeria. Then there are women organisations and so also youth organisations, which provide lots of support to Nigeria.

    With covid-19 scourge still ongoing in some parts of Europe and some other places around the globe, what advice will you give to those considering migration, lega or illega?

    My advice would be that if you want to relocate to a country like the UK, please get a lawyer who will assist you with the legal route. Please follow the legal route because it is a lot easier. It saves you a lot of headache and heart aches. If you are a medical doctor or engineer, there are one or two examinations that you have to do. Please find out. If you come in illegally, you will be hiding and hiding and you will get jobs just to survive until you are caught and deported.

    Are you looking at coming back home to settle in the near future?

    Definitely, though I am not fully settled in Nigeria. But home is home. I have a house there and now the world is a global village and London is just six hours away. So, one can shuttle between Nigeria and the UK.

    When you are in the UK, what do you miss most about Nigeria?

    I miss the weather in Nigeria. If you grow up in Nigeria, you will know that Nigerians are loud. You go anywhere, people that you don’t know talk to you. But in the UK, people keep to themselves. So this is how we grow up, meeting people in the street and talking to them. ‘Hello brother, your cap is about falling off!’ But in the UK, if you like, wear your cap on your leg; nobody is going to say a word to you! It’s so funny.

    Another thing I miss is the attachment. On my passport is written Bimbo Robert Folayan. When I got to the airport here, an immigration officer called my name, Abimbola! They tell me most often that my name is Abimbola not just Bimbo, and even go ahead to call me Afolayan! And that makes us interact further. So this is what you can never get abroad! Nigeria is friendlier, but UK people are nicer. They are very decent people who allow us to live in their country, especially when you do the right thing. In the UK, you don’t need to know anybody. Just drop your CV and you will be called if you merit the job. But in Nigeria, even if you merit the job, you need to know people. I guess when God created these countries, He gave them different qualities.

    Nigerians in Diaspora seem to just stay in foreign lands and criticise the Nigerian government. When are we going to have Nigerians in Diaspora return home to contest elections?

    Many of them have been returning and participating. I can count many names. We have the branch offices of most Nigerian popular parties in the UK. So we have those who just criticise but we also have those who return to participate. Now there has been a clamour for Diaspora voting, but it is still work in progress. Now that we have NIDCOM and people are clamouring for it to make Nigerians abroad be able to vote, when that happens, perhaps that will motivate more people abroad into Nigerian politics.

    The truth is that we abroad struggle to get into Nigerian political parties. In fact, most Nigerians abroad are treated like second class citizens in those Nigerian political parties. I attempted it too. I joined the Nigerian political party. I spent so much money and realised that I was just used. And there are so many similar experiences like that with Nigerians in the UK.

  • How my father’s killers captured him in toilet after heavy gunshots – Son of assassinated Nasarawa APC chair

    How my father’s killers captured him in toilet after heavy gunshots – Son of assassinated Nasarawa APC chair

    By Linus Oota, Lafia

    With tears streaming down his cheeks, 20 years old Samuel Shekwo, son of the assassinated APC Chairman in Nasarawa State, could not fathom why unknown gunmen would cut short his joy by sending his father into early grave.

    The late Philip Shekwo was abducted by some gunmen last Saturday at his Lafia residence opposite Peace House on Kurikyo Road, Bukan Sidi in Lafia before his lifeless body was found the next day a few metres away from his house.

    Narrating his father’s ordeal in an interview with our correspondent, Samuel recalled that the late politician was captured by his killers in the toilet after searching extensively for him in the house.

    Samuel and mom,
    •Shekwo’s son, Samuel and •Shekwo’s widow, Larai

    He said: “On Saturday night, we were all at home. My father went to play golf and came back in around 8 pm, and I went to the parlour to greet him. He had just finished eating and was telling us how the game went when I went into my room and left him in the parlour with others as they were watching the news on television.

    “A few minutes before 10 pm, one of my course mates at Nasarawa State University called me and we were discussing the whole strike issue. Then from nowhere, I started hearing gunshots all over the house.

    “I dropped my phone without even ending the call and rushed out of my room. I went into my parents’ room first to see whether they were fine, and I saw my father coming out from his room. I started switching off the lights because I noticed that we were under attack, so that they (attackers) would not be able to see through the house.

    “I went to the parlour and was looking at them from the window. They were shooting from outside the fence. Then one of them jumped the fence into the house and used the butt of his gun to heat the gate’s padlock. He then rolled the gate to the end and the rest members of the gang started trooping in.

    “They surrounded the entire house and were shooting from different directions. While four of them were trying to gain entry into the house through the front door, another four were at the backdoor trying to gain access into the house.

    “When my father rushed to the palour, I followed him. I told him, ‘Daddy, you are not supposed to be here. These people are looking for you,’ He now told me that he was looking for his phone, and his phone was just by the side stool where he used to sit in the parlour.

    “I took the phone and gave it to him, and I escorted him back to his room. He started making calls to security agencies but nobody responded.

    Gov sule

    “I was also making contacts to see if help could come. I called a friend, Mr Dominic Bako’s son, who is actually a close friend to my father and I am friends with his son too. So, I called him and he told his father that we were under attack.

    “When I called him the second time, I could hear his father making contacts, saying that the Chairman was under attack.

    “My cousins who were staying with us were also terrified. I told them to go back to their room, lie down and stay calm. But they were worried, so I took them to my room and asked them to lie on the floor while I went back to see what was happening.

    “Throughout this period, my father was in his bedroom. But when I noticed that the pressure was much, I thought that they were armed robbers. So I went back to my room and started picking certain valid items and documents to hide. I also took my car key and laptop and hid them.

    “Later on when I started hearing their voice, I locked my door and lay down together with my cousin sisters and we were just praying. Later on, I heard two gunshots in the direction of my parents’ room. I thought they had gained access into my parents’ room and I started crying and praying.

    “That was when I started hearing voices inside the house. I also noticed that one of them was opening the back door, and I started hearing more voices inside the house. I couldn’t come out at that time because I had locked my door already.

    “They were searching round the house but they could not find my father, so they went out through the back door and were lamenting. They appeared frustrated that they could not find my father. That was when they got our security guard who normally sits at the back of the house before moving to the security post at the gate.

    “When they got the security guard, they started beating him. We were hearing them from the room as they were asking him where is Oga. He told them that Oga had travelled but they said it is a lie, that Oga was around. They were actually beating him with their machetes because even from the sound, we could hear it.

    “Later on, they asked what about the children. We heard he has a son. They were speaking in Hausa. From their ascent, you would know that they were Fulani, and they were not covering their faces.

    “When they came to my room and noticed that it was luocked, they pushed the door and forced their way in. They saw us lying down together with my cousin sisters, because my blood sisters were not around.

    “They now asked us to stand up. They asked the security guard, ‘Is this Oga’s son?’ He reluctantly nodded his head in the affirmative. Their leader now held me by my shirt and dragged me up. The other one now said since they couldn’t find my father, they should just go with me.

    “They asked me to stand up and follow them; that my father must give them the money he was enjoying from the government. As they were about going out with me, one of them with a gun noticed that one of the rooms was locked, so their attention shifted to the place.

    “They now detailed one of them to keep an eye on me and the security guard, that if I moved, he should shoot.

    “They broke the door and entered but they did not see anybody. On their way out of the room, they decided to check the toilet and noticed that it was locked. That was when they forced their way into the toilet. There they saw him and my mum.

    “Even when they had broken the toilet door, they still were not able to enter because my father was pushing from the back and they could not push their way in. Their leader now said since the door was not opening, they should shoot. One of them was about to shoot when my father released the toilet’s door and they got him.

    “One thing that baffles me is that they did not manhandle him. They were not even sure if he was the one. They were calling him Moses. They assured us that they were not going to harm him; that it was just money they wanted. He was pleading with them, begging them. My mum too was begging and pleading with them, but they said there was no need begging, it was just money they wanted.

    “They left with him and we were at home throughout that night, praying and hoping that they were going to call since they said it was money they wanted, only for us to get the sad news on Sunday afternoon that they had found his body.”

    Samuel added: “Aside my mum, I think I was the closest person to my dad, so it is even affecting me more than my sisters. I’m not grieving today because my dad died; I am grieving because someone killed him.

    “Already, he has prepared me for it. He told me so many things, though I feel with my age and everything, I’m not ready to take responsibilities. But I learnt courage and wisdom through my dad. I don’t need anybody to tell me about him.

    “I know my dad so well. He used to tell me so many things. We travelled together most times and he took me to political activities because I actually told him I wanted to be a politician and he said he was going to support me in whatever I want to do. But he said I must make a difference if I want to be a politician.

    “‘You must be a politician with a difference,’ those were his words to me. So I miss him more than anybody. But I learnt to stop crying because I know my dad is in heaven. He was a righteous man and someone that was close to God. I am praying to take over from him politically by God grace.”

    A widow in agony

    Seated in the parlour and surrounded by sympathisers at the residence of her late husband, Mrs Larai Shekwo gazed into the ceiling, murmuring some inaudible words as the reporter approached her.

    Her eyes glistened wit imminent tears as she told the reporter that she spend 35 years in marriage with the late APC Chairman before his untimely death at the age of 62.

    She said their marriage is blessed with five children, noting that her husband gave her a life that can best be describe as a fairly tale, and that she has no regrets whatsoever marrying him.

    She said: “On that fateful night, around 10:30 pm, I left him in the parlour as he was watching the news and went into the bedroom to sleep. Shortly after, I started hearing gunshots. He ran and met me in the bedroom, saying armed robbers. But from the sound of the gun, I told him they were hired killers

    “We started praying and he was making calls to the police for help. We went round the house and were running helter-skelter within the house, looking for where to hide for ourselves.

    “They broke into our bedroom but they couldn’t find us. They later found us in the toilet and we were pleading with them. They went away with him. I wanted to go with him but they flung my hand.

    “They were asking him whether he was Moses, and he said he was not Moses. They asked him are you the Chairman of the party, he said yes. So they went with him. We thought it was a normal kidnapping, so we were waiting for them to say what they needed.

    “While they were going with him, they assured us that they were not going to harm him; that it was only money they wanted. We were thinking that by daybreak, we would hear from them. Unfortunately, we only found his dead body.

    “I will miss him. I will not stop missing him till the end of the world.”

    She said her husband’s untimely death is only a temporary separation as she hopes to see him again in the bosom of the Lord.

    She said late Shekwo was a wonderful husband and father.

    “He was my best friend. My marriage was a honeymoon cut short,” she added.