The Nation Newspaper

Category: Interview

  • It’s a MIRACLE I’m keeping one wife, I face temptations everyday — Popular Reggae artiste Orits Wiliki

    The long drawn battle for the registration of the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) as a corporate body has finally come to an end with its approval by the relevant government agencies. Popular reggae musician and Chairman of the board for the organisation, Orits Wiliki, says it is time for celebration. The veteran musician throws more light on the goings on in the Nigerian music industry, in this interview with PAUL UKPABIO and also speaks about his lifestyle and those of Nigerian musicians generally.

     

    WHY is MCSN holding an AGM at this time?

    Well, it is mandatory. It is a corporate responsibility. An AGM is where everyone who is a member will be able to come together to give accurate report on what the organisation has been able to do in the past one year. The board will be seated to explain to them what has been done. Where there are suggestions, the members will be able to say. Where there is kudos, they will be able to say, and where there are way forward ideas, they will be able to say. So, it is something that is supposed to be interesting and we are looking forward to it.

    When was the last time you had an AGM?

    That was in the last 12 years. But we had always had our AGM until the Nigerian Copyright Commission decided to come hard on us over approval or no approval issue. You have been in the industry, so you know the issues. We had so many cases in court and we were shut down for many years. It was only two years ago that the government of the day, after listening to our petition, addressed the injustice.

    Also, when we took the matter to the National Assembly, they were shocked by the revelation they got through the interviews and investigations that they did. And they had to instruct or direct the NCC to give us approval with immediate effect, because we had been denied unjustly over the years. Only two years ago, we got that. But even after that, we were still in court for another nine months and we won.

    Basically, this has been the only year that we had to settle down to rebuild the organization, because a lot has happened. A lot of clients have been stolen. A lot of our works has been stolen or used without authorization. We have had to slowly start gathering our wings back and address some of our issues that are addressable. One of the moves is this AGM where we will be able to tell our members how far we have gone with settling down.

    Prior to the shutting down of the organization, how buoyant would you say the MCSN was?

    As at the time we were shut down, we were distributing between N60 million and N70 million annually as royalties to artistes.

    What was your membership base like?

    We had over 3000 members across the country. And our membership is not limited to Nigeria; we have members in other countries of the world. We had a vibrant organization, but even then, it was a hard road to walk. While some commended us, others took us to court. We felt we did not need approval since as owner-assignee, we had no business with NCC’s approval, because under the law, we are guaranteed the freedom to associate, freedom to cooperate. But they said no, section 32 of the copyright law was clear, which they actually brought in as a decree through amendment in 1993, which wasn’t there before. All these were done to check us out of the system, but we told them that they imported the law but it was not even crafted well.

    But now it is clear that one is not sufficient for us all; it becomes discretional. They were capitalising on that section to raid our office, imprison some of our staff. It was indeed a hard road to travel, even at that we were able to collect and distribute, until they eventually shut us down.

    When did MCSN start?

    We started in 1984 and there was no copyright commission then. It was in our presence that copyright council was established and it came in like a regulatory body.

    But, for instance, if a regulatory body comes into the banking system, will it have to shut down all the banks or wouldn’t it be that it will have to set a standard that those in the sector would have to meet and comply with? We were the first to apply because there was no other organization apart from us.

    But little did we know that there was a hidden agenda in place at the copyright commission.

     

    ‘Why I stopped singing’

     

    So what’s the atmosphere like now that you are coming back? How many members do you think are left?

    The good thing is that only few of our members left. So we really have much to thank the members for, because throughout those tough days, membership was intact.

    What can you say about your strength as you are coming back now?

    We are coming back stronger. We are not only going to be collecting money from the users, we will also be educating users to know their value, because the MCSN is filled with professionals who should know their value.

    Who runs the organization? Is it the musicians?

    Under the law, there is no way a musician can be the CEO of MSCN. We strictly hire professionals to run the organization> But the chairman can be a musician. That is why I am the chairman. I sit on the board while professionals run the organisation. That is the proper thing to do.

    How early will you start paying artistes their royalties?

    Yes, we would have started that this year, but a lot of debt had piled up, more so with litigations here and there. There are also issues of salaries. It is not easy coming back after 10 years of not doing business. That is why this AGM is important, because we want to first of all see ourselves again and congratulate ourselves, because in some quarters, they thought that it was not going to happen. We therefore need to meet and thank and rejoice with one another for patience and then foster a way forward where we can maximise what we have now.

    We have our powers now. Just two months after we were licensed, two of our cases that were in the Supreme Court had judgments given in our favour, which furthermore underscored our initial position that as owner’s assignee, we didn’t need approval to operate. I am sure that from next year, distribution will start to take place.

    Ten years down the line, what have you lost personally and what has the body as a whole lost officially?

    What we have lost is not quantifiable. The industry has lost a lot of money. A lot of our members have died. Some died for medical bills that ought to be paid with ease but funds were not just there to meet such health needs. Some died of cancer. Some died because of lack of money to pay for typhoid treatment. Because people couldn’t get money to meet up such needs, people who ought ordinarily to be in wealth but had become so impoverished as not to be able to afford basic medical treatment. It’s a very sad and bitter thing to think about.

    Personally I know how I have suffered, blackmailed. For some time, some stations were not playing my music. They blacklisted me because I carried the battle on my head. So much money lost. I was no longer invited to shows that I used to perform at. The system was bitter that we were at the forefront of the battle. I remember the NTA demonstration that we staged. So, we did a lot to see that we are where we are today. Soon everyone will be enjoying and people will not remember the suffering we went through.

    It’s just like the case of PMAN where I was the vice president to Charley Boy. We were pained that the corporate bodies were treating us with disdain. They were bringing foreign artistes and paying them well and giving us peanuts. So we were the ones that fought so that our works are respected. Today, Nigerian artistes are well paid for these shows and are mostly used instead of foreign artistes. No one remembers that now that people like Eedris Abdulkareem became the black sheep that had to pay a high price for it. Today our youngsters are enjoying it. They don’t even know the story. They don’t know why musicians are well paid now. Today you have a popular studio.

     

    Does that mean you are still rooted in music?

    Yeah sure, I hung my guitar for a while to really see that we fight for this structure. I am still a recording artiste. However, these days, one needs a lot more money to do promos. So most promos that we do are online. Only those who have the big money can do otherwise. It is not easy for an artiste to do the recording and then promote himself the way it is being done now. So with the studio still running, I will be celebrating my 35th anniversary in the music industry come February 22nd, and I will be releasing an album then too. Actually, a lot of my works are sold online. I have my personal website and I have my works on most online shops like itune, youtube and so on. You know it is no more the traditional way of selling CDs on the streets. We have gone beyond that.

    How many songs are on your forthcoming album?

    I have 19 songs on it. And before now, I had 146 songs. So I haven’t done badly. Actually on ground presently, I am about hitting 170 songs.

    You talked about online, the new market place. Artistes are making money online. What is your advice?

    It is a good thing and it is also a bad thing because the level of digital piracy is even worse than where we are coming from. Last week, I signed an MOU with an organization to help manage my works, and in pulling it down, we realised there is someone who has been feeding from my works since 1989, and on the website, he has been collecting royalty for 70 of my songs since 1989. It is now we are pulling them down. So there is high level of digital piracy. My advice is to musicians is to get people who know how to do digital marketing professionally in order to protect their works.

    So are you planning a tour for your upcoming album?

    Definitely yes. If I have the muscles, I will want to sleep on the road playing shows. But two things have gone wrong. Early in the days we had indigenous show promoters who used to sign a deal with a musician and say, for instance, that they will take you to four city tours. Sometimes they used to be sure of how much they would get, so they paid you upfront. Sometimes they did gate sharing of profit sharing.

    We had then companies like Aibtonia, Dan Irabor and some other smaller promoters. It was the beauty of show business. But we do not have them again. And we used to have the international promoters like Benson and Hedges giving musicians opportunities to tour the whole nation and abroad. We were touring all the time, but we don’t have that again. What we have these days are some corporate shows where one or two youngsters are brought up to mime to one or two songs. That is what is happening now. We have to revive outdoor concerts.

    How did music start for you?

    I started out early in life to become a musician. I was just eight years old then, singing in the church choir in Warri, Delta State. My first mentor was my father because he was a good instrumentalist. He used to play the accordion then. When he played and sang, I used to look at him and admire him.

    When I joined the choir, he used to back us up with the accordion when we were home singing. That set my mind towards music. Later in life, two reasons made me to pot for music as a life career. The first is that my father left us early. He wasn’t even 50 when he left. Over the time he was alive, he planted churches and reached out to people through crusades as a Baptist reverend. Since I wasn’t able to do crusades, I decided to use music to reach people.

    Did your mom support you going into music?

    Yes, she did.

    But in those days, music wasn’t lucrative, so how did you intend to survive?

    It wasn’t lucrative but music brought joy and passion, which was more than money.

    Why are you planning to celebrate 35 years on stage?

    It is because a lot has gone by and few people of my generation in music are still around. And even within the few, there are only a handful that still remain tall and I am one of that few. That, to me, calls for celebration. I give God the glory.

    At what point did you take up music professionally?

    I didn’t start out as Orits Wiliki. I started out behind the scene, making other people stars. That is why there is no big star in Nigeria that didn’t pass through me or have a bit of me in his recording, whether as an arranger, a co-producer or as an instrumentalist on his project. I can talk of Ras Kimono, Majek Fashek, Mandators, Chris Mba, Alex O, the list goes on. It was in 1989 that I actually started releasing Orits Wiliki. All that time, I was understudying the rudiments of music. Thank God that I had people like the late Jake Solo; people who actually propelled us as we understudied them musically to know the ethics of music. There was also Tom Leroy, a Jamaican, and Aaron a British professional. In those days, foreigners were here with us in the music industry…

    Yes, they were. Even the foreign music companies, Sony music, Polygram and EMI, all ran away because of piracy issues.

    Orits Wiliki landed on the music scene with an identity. Tell us about that…

    (Laughs) An artiste without an identity is not an artiste! Your image is supposed to speak for you as a musician. When you step into a place, you should be seen differently. If a sports person comes in here, we should be able to notice the difference between him and others. An artiste has to create an image and not necessarily duplicate that of another.

    What was your image?

    You know me by my long hair style, my shorts which I was wearing for many years, and African stuff.

    Now that you have added business to your singing talent, has your fashion taste changed?

    These days, when I’m on stage, I dress simply because I’m also getting older. We leave most of the swag to the younger ones. People don’t expect me to be sagging at my age. So I have created a more matured style which comes with shirt, trouser and a hat, and I play around with that in different ways.

    Do you have any child who has taken after you music-wise?

    Not a direct child. But I have a lot of children, some adopted, who have taken to music but have not started releasing works. When they are ready, this studio will be here for them. I love children. They can never be enough. I love it when I am called Father Abraham, man with many children. But I can’t count the number of my children. It’s un-African.

    But how many wives do you have?

    I have only one wife.

    Now for a Nigerian musician, that’s a miracle. How was your wife able to pin you down to one man one wife status?

    I don’t know too. It’s a miracle. But I think that God has a hand in it too, because I see all those temptations every day. But the good thing is that I married my friend, sister, play mate, mother and every other good thing. So from the beginning, our marriage had overcome 50 per cent of the troubles that couples normally have. So it has been easy for us to stay as one man one wife. We have our fair share of arguments and disagreements, but ours has been a home. You know there are houses and homes. If you have a home, you run there after work. But if you have a house, after work, you go to the bar first and go home later.

    You said they were many temptations, which was the greatest temptation?

    The temptations have been big and small (laughs) but I have always known where to draw the line. I have more female friends than male friends, but I always know where to draw the line. If not, I would have had mistakes. I am not saying I am perfect or holy.

    What is your advice for young and rich musicians on how not to grow a family with baby mamas?

    Our generation of musicians is between the old and the new. We met several older musicians in this industry and we knew the mistakes that they made, having many children and many wives across the country and even outside Nigeria. Some of us were able to learn that it was a problem that they couldn’t handle. So I will ask the younger musicians to also learn from some of us who are at middle age and passed through those things without getting hurt, because if they don’t learn, they are bound to make mistakes. After a father dies, there’s usually a no-love-lost among such children and they start fighting one another over property. That, to me, is not the essence of having children.

  • CHYNA BEE: Life as Tiwa Savage’s stylist

    Chyna Bee is a celebrity stylist and also Tiwa Savage’s personal hairstylist. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she takes you into her world, working with celebrities, how she got into the Nigerian entertainment industry, travelling around the world, owning a beauty studio in New York and more.

     

    WHAT inspired you to go into hair styling?

    I know this sounds pretty clichéd, but I was born to do hair. This talent was given to me by God.

    Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been fascinated by hair. I remember when my mom would buy me Barbie dolls and I would always look forward to switching up their hairstyles and trying out different looks. It was always so much fun for me.

    I just felt an attraction towards hair and this attraction turned into a deep passion all my life. Not many people can say they are making a living from doing what they are genuinely passionate about.So I’m thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to live the life of my dreams.

    What were you doing before this?

    I’ve always been doing hair. My first time doing hair was actually on my sister. I was about 11 or 12 years old. But professionally, I would say I was 18 years old. Even though at the time, I was still charging really cheap rates. I was still young though, so charging people like 30 or $40 was okay for me.

    Over time, my skills continued to evolve and my client base expanded at a rapid rate and it was so exciting seeing people’s reactions whenever I did their hair.

    At a time when young people my age were still depending solely on their parents for finances, I was already making my own money; even though it wasn’t that much, still it felt empowering. The rest, as they say, is history.

    I had my very own beauty studio in New York.

    I have some of the biggest names in entertainment as my clients now, and I get to travel around the world as a result. And I’m also the founder of CB Beauty Bar which is located in Lekki Phase 1. It is a unisex one-stop location for all hair and beauty needs.

    What was it like at the beginning?

    The beginning of my professional career was a lot of fun because I got to experiment and explore my talents to the fullest.

    A lot of people may not know this, but professionally, I didn’t start out as just a hair stylist.

    I was a fashion stylist and makeup artist in addition to being a hair stylist.

    I got involved in the Nigerian entertainment industry in 2012. In 2012, when EME was doing their UK tour, I started helping them get outfits for their shows because I knew where to get all the stylish clothes.

    During the course of doing that, I then discovered that I had a real knack for wardrobe styling as so many artistes were so impressed with my style and creativity, and they would frequently ask me to do stuffs for them.

    I then started consulting and styling for Nigerian artists while I was still living in New York. Then in 2013, I decided to move to Nigeria, and over time I became a very popular wardrobe stylist. I worked with notable celebrities like Iyanya, Patoranking, Skales, Emma Nyra, Wizkid, Banky W etc.

    However, in 2016, I decided to fully concentrate on my first true love, which is hair styling.

    How did you meet Tiwa Savage?

    I met Tiwa through a referral. Her makeup artist at that time introduced me to her. I used to do her hair back in New York, when she lived in Philly. She used to come all the way to Brooklyn, which is three hours’ drive.

    How long have you been with her?

    The first time I ever worked with her was in 2012. After that, it was on and off because she always used to have her personal stylist. However, for the past four years, working with her has been very constant.

    What inspires her style?

    Lately, we’ve actually been doing a lot more soft braids which make her look really younger and it’s also easier to maintain when she travels. But apart from that, Tiwa is very simple when it comes to her hair. Less is always more. Her favourite hairstyle is the middle part about 20 inches long bone straight or loose waves (my fave too).

    How has working with Tiwa influenced your career?

    One very key way she has influenced my career is that I now have a better understanding about the business of showbiz from her perspective. People only see the glitz and glamour – the finished product. But what many don’t see is the massive amount of work, contract negotiations, strategy and planning that go into what you see as the final output. It’s not for the fainthearted and if you do not have a true passion for it, you can easily burn out and quit.

    I’ve also been positively influenced because my worldview has broadened. Just seeing the big role she is playing in promoting African culture worldwide is phenomenal. Who would have thought that something as seemingly mundane as hair could serve as inspiration for various trends around the world? It’s amazing.

    What do you admire most about her?

    She’s a single mom that works her butt off! She’s a go-getter, and she is always different and stands out from the crowd at all times effortlessly. Her life is a testimony of the fact that if you never give up on your dreams, and stick with whatever passion God puts in your heart, when the time is right, you will reap the rewards.

    Tell us about the other celebrities that you have worked with

     

    I’ve worked with a few celebrities in the past on various shoots and projects, including (but not limited to) Tonto Dikeh, Waje, Omawumi, Minnie Dlamini, Funke Akindele, Niyola, Lillian Esoro, and Dorcas Shola Fapson.

    You are opening you place soon. What makes it different from others?

    The launch was actually on the 24th of November.  It is a very simple, chic and classy spot.

    It’s pretty much a unisex one-stop shop for all your hair and beauty needs, where you can get everything done at the same time at a very affordable price.

    Every employee who works with me has years of vast experience in the beauty space. So you can rest assured that you will receive world class services at reasonable prices.

    It was interesting to see some people’s reactions during the launch. They were genuinely surprised that such a state-of-the-art location in Lekki could be so affordable.

    And that’s our value proposition really: you don’t have to break the bank to look good!

    The facility houses a barbing salon, hair salon (includes a variety of services including custom wig making & styling), nail bar, lash and brow bar and makeup studio.

    What are some of the memorable moments for you in the sector?

    Memories never really get old, because the joy I get alone from each client’s satisfaction can never fade. That makes me happy.

    I remember this one time when after I was done styling a lady’s hair, she actually cried! Yes, real tears of joy.

    She was a new mom and had just been so overwhelmed with her new responsibilities as a mom that she had forgotten to take care of herself.

    She was going on an anniversary date with her hubby and came to me to get her all glammed up. When she saw her hair after I was done, she cried and said I made her look so beautiful. Well, I think she was already beautiful anyway, but I guess the hairstyle enhanced her beauty and restored her confidence.

    What lessons did you learn working with celebrities?

    The most important and key value I have learned is thus: Never devalue your worth!

    What are some of the things that you treasure most in life?

    Loyalty and trust.

    Are there challenges?

    The long hours and frequently changing time zones in different countries. One minute I’m in California, next minute I’m in London and then I’m suddenly in Mombasa. It can take a toll and be quite physically and mentally exhausting.

    But then I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I love my job and I’m so privileged to be doing what I love on a daily basis. It’s a priceless gift.

    What are the other things that occupy your time?

    Well apart from travelling all over the world, my man and my family (they don’t live here, so I can be on Facetime for hours every day.) I love them so much. Talking to them and being with them occupy my time.

    Tell us about the people you admire?

    My mom – my hero!

    Oprah. She is a powerful woman!

    If you had to advise young people, what would you tell them?

    Stay true to yourself.  Don’t sell out to the world, and do not let anyone tell you that your dreams are not valid.

    Practice makes perfect. Keep working on your craft. When preparation meets opportunity, magic happens! Don’t give up; your breakthrough is just around the corner.

    Where do you hope to be in the next few years?

    Married with beautiful kids and opening more beauty studios all over the world!

  • How we handle institutions that default in intervention projects – TETFund Executive Secretary Prof. Bogoro

    Professor Suleiman Bogoro is the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). In this interview with ONYEDI OJIABOR, INNOCENT DURU and FRANK IKPEFAN,  Bogoro told the story of how the tertiary education interventionist agency is working to reposition tertiary education in the country.

    What does TETFUND stand for in relation to tertiary education in the country considering the mandate of the fund?

    The history of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) predates the mandate because the mandate is an outcome of the history of the emergence of Education Tax Fund (ETF) that is now TETFund.

    I always like to remind people;  we talk of a number of intervention agencies in Nigeria but we say TETFund is unique for many reasons.

    It is not just a creation of government, it is a fusion of ideas emanating actually from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the early 90s. We were on strike and we (ASUU) were banned by the government in 1988.

    We resurrected in 1990 and went into negotiation with government for two years. In 1992, we signed an agreement with government on what we called non-budgetary funding window for tertiary education in Nigeria.

    Because we realised that the traditional budgetary mechanism had invariably failed the nation in addressing the key challenge, which is financial commitment for the funding and sustainability of tertiary institutions.

    I still remember that time when ASUU said our universities were glorified secondary schools. That what you saw in a university campus was decrepitude instead of elegance and that it was unacceptable to continue that way.

    When we go round the world, we see fantastic infrastructure and we ask ourselves, is it the same Nigeria that,for nearly two decades, our universities were comparable to the best any where in the world.

    Professors came to Nigerian universities for sabbatical from the top league universities-the Ivy League. Call it, any of them, they will come and they were happy because there was standard. Suddenly, things started going so bad and it had to do largely with the funding mechanism.

    That was why ASUU said no, let us get an alternative non-budgetary funding window. The negotiation, like I said, went up to 1992, I think about two years or there about. We signed an agreement in 1992 for the emergence of ETF;  ETF was the original name.

    Later it was changed because of the law of 1998 because it came into being in 1993. The agreement signed in 1992 came into been in 1993. Between 1993 to 1998, it was ETF.

    It became Education Trust Fund in 1998 through the amendment of the original law and as you are aware, the monies were collected but were not applied until 1998-1999.

    I still remember with the emergence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he put up the first Board of Trustees. The late Olakunrin chaired the board. She was the first person to chair the Board of Trustees of TETFund and from 1999, effectively up to 2010, as it were, about 11 years, the funds were applied but you will discover that the money was used for anything and everything in the education sector.

    No wonder it was not impactful enough because invariably, areas that should not benefit – based on the original concept, that it should be tertiary sub-sector and only public because the private was clearly excluded. At the time we were negotiating, I am not sure there were more than three private universities at the time. So it was the public universities that were considered at that time.

    ASUU anticipated that there will be a case for private universities – but said no it is for public and thank God that how many years after, today, the number of universities, private and public, are about the same but in terms of population, you will see the difference.

    The private universities that are about the same number with the public have only less than six percent of the population.

    The public universities have 94.5 per cent of the student population. That tells you clearly that government was right to emphasize the public that has the majority.

    Historically, any government wants to intervene in areas where it impacts on the largest number of people and so there is justification numerically as it were, statistically and even then government wants to emphasize, besides the largest number, they are happier when it is the category of people that are less privileged and the majority based on the statistics and facts are more in the public institutions.

    Many of the private universities they are charging actually in dollars and some local people out there, who are selling small things on the streets may not have seen the dollar.

    I am sure the message is very clear. That is how this thing continued. When the basic sub-sector was benefiting from 1999 to 2010, it was discovered that, that was the wrong application of the funds.

    We had to refocus and that is when a case was made and government agreed and changed the name from ETF to TETFund. It was not just the name, it also changed the focus.

    In other words, instead of allowing the basic sub-sector to benefit, primary and secondary schools were benefitting.

    If you go there today, many of the public primary and secondary schools, you will see ETF projects there, until 2011 when the law was changed and now refocused to only public tertiary institutions and the law was even more specific-only universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

    So monotechnics are not supposed to benefit. Research institutes are not supposed to benefit. Colleges of agriculture, colleges of nursing and even the law schools that benefitted were all removed.

    And you will notice that from 2011, definitely and manifestly, there has been more impact by way of presence of new infrastructure, which was the major reason that the negotiation started in the first place. You saw more of them from 2011 in our public tertiary institutions.

    We just returned two days ago from Edo, Delta, Anambra and Imo states. We commissioned projects in nine institutions.

    From Delta State University in Abraka to Ambrose Ali University in Ekpoma to the University of Benin, and Edo State Polytechnic, Usen, then to Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi -Ukwu then Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Anambra.

    We came back very late in the night to Owerri to commission infrastructure in three institutions- Uwangu Polytechnic, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and finally Imo State University. I can tell you – I am quoting the heads of institutions themselves saying ‘if you took away TETFund, we don’t know what our institutions will be.’ That is an opinion that resonates across Nigeria. It is a statement of fact.

    That is why TETFund is not just a success story in the context of addressing a worrisome problem of funding as it were in our educational institutions.

    How does TETFund access funds for its projects?

    Today, TETFund has become more of a model because the law of TETFund actually protects the Fund from the vagaries of bureaucratic interference, including for instance, that our laws stipulate that our budget does not go to the National Assembly.

    It goes to Mr. President having been initiated by management to the board of trustees that recommends it subsequently to the president through the minister of education. It is supposed to protect the Fund and a number of procedures that we have adopted have helped in making sure that there are lesser leakages.

    I can say this without mentioning the name of any other agency because we are not competing to say if other agencies were named intervention agencies in this country that have had funds, massive funds, you will agree with us that any person will be right to say that TETFund is a success story.

    No wonder other African countries are coming to understudy the law and the funding mechanism and the management mechanism that has made TETFund a success.

    We are proud to say this. We are not saying we are perfect; even within us, without anybody criticising, for making an observation, we have engaged in self- correction of our own selves. As I am talking to you, we have put up an impact assessment committee made up of one per cent of external persons.

    TETFund staff are only guiding them to get the correct information but it is led and managed by external persons, experts that know what their calling is as professionals in impact assessment and we are hoping that by the time their report comes out, we would have known these things. That is about the history.

    So you’re beating your chest to say that TETFund is on course in terms of discharging its mandate?

    As far as I am concerned, the indices are clear. Let me give one example. In 2015, when we started intervention on the content component, in respect of academic staff training, 2009 to 2010 before the name of ETF moved to TETFund, Nigerian universities with lecturers with PhDs were only 40 per cent.

    That was not good. You cannot be competitive when only 40 per cent of your lecturers have PhDs.

    That was bad enough. By 2015, the percentage had moved to 60. As I am talking to you, we are waiting from the latest figures from NUC. We are confident that the percentage is anything not less than 75 per cent and if we are moving to 80 per cent, I think that is progress.

    That is an index of impact and performance in the context of improving the capacity of the teachers who facilitate the impartation of knowledge to students and mentees- MSc and PhD candidates. When we go round commissioning, the heads of institutions say it themselves that you can see the impact of our projects.

    How do the institutions access intervention funds from TETFund and the condi tions that should be met for them to qualify?

    We have guidelines. We have nearly 15 intervention lines. There are a number of intervention lines that I have not even mentioned besides that of buildings. And the buildings are many – classrooms, lecture halls, offices, laboratories and libraries.

    Recently, we said that we will not commission an infrastructure that is not equipped again. We had done that in the past because we thought, let us have the buildings first. And I think we have reasonable numbers of good buildings now. We should not be commissioning infrastructure that are not equipped or furnished.

    That is a firm decision we took recently and I remember when I commissioned an infrastructure recently, we were about going in and they said they were waiting for the equipment to come and I told them this was the last time I will do this. I was very firm because it is not good for us. We want to see the equipment there.

    If it is engineering and we just build offices for lecturers, give them air-conditioners, then you go to the workshop, no engineering equipment but a beautiful building. It doesn’t make sense. Does it? We are changing all of that. Other intervention lines, like I mentioned, include academic staff training and development which I have justified with indices and even statistics. In polytechnics, we have what we call fabrication intervention.

    You know polytechnics deal with metals and wood infrastructure for their trainings as technologists. Fabrication is an important area that will demonstrate that they are getting products out of their training and research and we have an intervention line.

    All polytechnics get that annually for fabrication. It has helped a number of innovative products from the polytechnics.

    For colleges of education, we support teaching practice. We also made available micro teaching lab equipment. That’s what they call it in the colleges of education and they are professionally desirable for colleges of education. We have provided all of that and for universities, we have entrepreneurship.

    We have entrepreneurship fund and we are deliberately encouraging it particularly at this time that we feel we must make knowledge to be relevant in respect of the product that we dish out every year. Let our graduates be job creators not only employability, which is a higher threshold than just being employable. But in many cases, embarrassingly, many are not even employable, very sadly, I am sorry to say. We cannot continue that way.

    The other intervention line I have mentioned one after the other. We are genuinely reviewing each academic staff conference attendance and even non-academic staff conference attendance. But more of the funds go to academic staff. You are supposed to go and present a paper on either international or local conference. The idea of going overseas is to learn and share knowledge with other academics from other climes and share what we have.

    Read Also: TETFund to deepen research in tertiary institutions

     

    There are things that you do but take for granted. Go and see how others do it there. Their own methodology may be slightly different. Who knows, either you or them may be getting results that are more justifiable and scientifically you can evaluate that and make a case. So conference attendance is very important. Manuscript development is also important.

    I have not mentioned it all along. It is a key intervention area. We support textbook production by lecturers and we also support the transformation of PhD thesis to textbooks.

    We support the conversion of some of the best PhD thesis, not just anyone to textbooks depending on the discipline. Some of the disciplines are a little bit difficult to turn them into textbooks but for some it is very possible. We have many that have been turned into textbooks and the technical advisory committee that we inaugurated recently is moving very fast. These are the areas.

    There is also journals, which is another area of intervention by TETFund. You just communicate the outcome of research through journals. We have gone far on that and there has been quite commendable progress.

    For the first time, we supported professional journals that had gone down. Most professional journals that had gone down have been revived, courtesy of TETFund. It may be mechanical pathology for instance, anthropology, criminology, journals of artificial intelligence, artificial dissemination- call it, any discipline out there, ICT, architects, and society of engineers and so forth. We have supported them and they have been revived and they are happy.

    We did that and then went to institutions-based journals. Many of them faculty-based journals and some an assemblage of experts across various disciplines in the universities but it is institution-based journals. We have supported them.

    We want to continue doing that. These are some of the areas we believe that we have done the much we can based on the expectations of Nigerians and to improve the ranking of Nigerian universities.

    A committee was set up to review the impact of interventions carried out by TETFund between 1999 till date. How far has the committee gone with the assignment?

    We had hoped that by now, the committee would have turned in its report. Like I said earlier, my happiness is that we have succeeded in putting up an independent committee, independent in every sense of it.

    The leadership and the composition are exclusively made up of independent persons. They are nominating and engaging while some of the personnel of TETFund is to assist them with particular information that they need in detail whether it is finance, project, monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning, ICT, call it; any of those relevant departments here. So far so good, as I am talking to you, they are out there in the field and we are hoping in two weeks time they will round off.

    They started with a sample prototype questionnaire. They tested them, verified them and they have now gone out finally. We are hoping within two weeks they should round off.

    We are hoping within one to two months in the new year we should get their report and we have another committee that will review and get us a final clean document before we go to printers before we get out these documents and finally announce to Nigerians that we have an impact assessment document that tells the story of TETFund from 1999 to 2019.

    It is our own way of opening up ourselves for scrutiny and we told them to tell us where we have done well. We also told them to be fair to us and they should also be frank to us on areas we have not done well or where we need to improve on.

    You will agree with me that this is a thing that is very rare in the public service. And to our credit, we have taken the bull by the horns to do that. It is a rare thing in Nigeria but we are confident that the report will guide us to improve on whatever that we have been doing that we think there are commendations or appreciation.

    We can improve on them. Where we have weaknesses, we will be happy to be reflective, go back and be guided by the suggestions. Because if they criticise, I imagine, naturally of course, there will be recommendations. We have criticised this area that should have been done like this. We believe there are experiences in Nigeria and beyond Nigeria that it can be done better.

    TETFund disburses funds for the infrastructure but excluded from the award of contract. Does it add up that you provide funds without knowing how the contracts are awarded?

    No, not without knowing. We do know how they are because we are supervisors. We are the custodian of the funds by law. The monies are made available to us by our law.

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service collects and sends to the Central Bank of Nigeria and remits into our intervention account. And every year, Mr. President approves and money is released to us to implement those projects. It is our responsibility to supervise but we are not supposed to be handling the projects directly. It is the institutions and it makes it easier.

    In TETFund, as I am talking to you now, our staff strength is less than 500. That is to tell you that there is no huge bureaucracy in anticipation of our handling of projects directly. And we are happy with that. Let the institutions handle it but then I can assure you that we are officially mandated to supervise and release the funds. We cannot release it and turn the other face.

    We have to make sure. We will release it and monitor it. That is why we have monitoring and evaluation department as well as project department. They advise us. We liaise with the regulatory agencies – NUC for universities, NBTE for polytechnics and NCCE for colleges of education. They liaise with the institutions and advise us.

    They liaise with the institutions that they regulate to tell them what our priorities are and so forth. They come to us and we also have to know our priorities with government advising us to make a priority as it were. We take note of that.

    We make sure we are monitoring and if there are infringements and infractions, I can tell you our guidelines are very clear. Where money is given to an institution and it does not use it or it diverts it, we will come in.

    There are cases where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offenses Commission and other agencies have had to come in to ensure that these things are done in compliance with our laws and our guidelines.

    So we just don’t give them the money and turn our face the other way. We are monitoring. Tranches of payments are normally either one or two depending on the category. In most cases, three tranches – first, second and third tranch. Majority are 50 per cent then 35 per cent and 15 per cent.

    But there are some that are 60 per cent. So yes, we don’t handle directly most of it. It is in very rare cases like the presidential projects that we have additional control.

    There are few of such, few of those projects that come once in a while. They are very rare. I can tell you that over 90 per cent of our projects are handled directly by beneficiary institutions.

    Despite your monitoring, there are cases where projects fail in institutions…

    Definitely. We had some cases. We have some projects that have been hanging out there. Some of them are even held up by litigation. Litigations at the level of procure ment protocol, of picking out through tender process. There are some litigations but most of them have to do with implementation stage.

    There are projects that you are likely going to see that they are completed but substandard. They have constituted an embarrassment to us. We are taking strong measures now and there are those that have been hanging out there, the high impact projects that should be completed in one to two years at most, will be there for eight, nine to 10 years uncompleted.

    It is unacceptable and don’t forget the value of money so approved because we will not review the money upward, no. So the value is going down to the disadvantage of the institution that is implementing it at slow pace. So there have been serious concerns by the board of trustees and so very tough actions are now being taken both by way of timely delivery, qualitative delivery, we are taking cognizance of that and sanctions have been introduced, including taking away the money after a certain period. We have done that.

    There seems to be some levels of duplication of your intervention projects by some institutions. Why is TETFund doing about this?

    You are bringing me to the latest issue that came up in respect of our interventions in some institutions. Even the University of Ibadan was mentioned.

    What we discovered is that some people worked on monitoring delivery reports rather than ultimate final report and were giving figures that contradict the reality based on what we have here. In fact, it is not as if we are as reckless. It will be very unfair of TETFund.

    Today, I can tell you that the tallest infrastructure in Lagos State is in Yaba and it is a TETFund building. Without fear of contradictions I know this. We are not careless. My director of finance came to me and said there are a lot of misrepresentations. People went to either the Senate Committee or House of Representatives Committee (on tertiary education and TETFund) instead of reconciling with us.

    Sometimes, somebody somewhere had carried the information about a particular institution and then there was a mix up. It is not as if somebody wants to misrepresent any fact. I don’t see how Prof. Ogundipe in the University of Lagos, I know him, would want to tell me that there is a 15 storey building when it is supposed to be a seven storey building, no.

    With due respect, he is a man of integrity. The collapsed building that you mentioned in UNILAG, it was not a collapsed building. It was a partial collapse, just a section of it. I went there for God sake. These things happen even in Abuja here.

    Of the number of buildings that we are putting up, if there had been so far the cases of collapsed building, it is about at most three or four so far in about four years. Let me jokingly say I don’t think we are doing badly. Honestly speaking, I don’t think we are doing badly.

    I was told that about three and a half years ago, the Nigerian Society of Engineers at their annual meeting had reported that in terms of quality delivery in the public sector, TETFund is number one, the best. Believe me. I am not an engineer. It was an engineer that was at that meeting who met me somewhere that was saying it.

    He was commending me. At that time I had been disengaged. I was not even in TETFund. He said my brother, thank God for what you did. NSE, believe me, assess the quality of infrastructure and TETFund was number one.

    We are conscious to make sure that there is no misrepresentation as it were. If there is a problem, when I mentioned the other day, I felt short of mentioning some institutions. I don’t want to do that at a press conference where I will start naming and shaming them, I won’t do that but believe me, they know themselves; some of the institutions that have disappointed us.

    We use the word “disappointed us.” We will not accept it and we have told them. They must get their acts right. We are very conscious. Whatever we need to do we will continue to do it.

    Three days between Delta, Imo, Anambra and Edo, what we commissioned were quality projects, very quality projects and I am proud to be associated with them. The institutions were happy and the students were happy. I wonder if we could be doing something more miraculous than that.

  • My 10 years of intrigue, blackmail as attorney-general — Ex-Abia Commissioner for Justice Umeh Kalu

    Chief Umeh Kalu, SAN, is the Head of Chambers, Seasons Law Firm. For 10 years, he held sway as the Abia State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, becoming the longest serving state attorney general in the South East and South South.  In this interview with OKORIE UGURU, he talks about his years of advocacy for the rights of tenants in Lagos and his experience in public service as a political appointee, among other issues.

     

    YOU functioned for 10 years as Abia State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. How did you manage to stay that long in the office?

    I first of all must state that there was no time I actually planned to go into public office as an appointee. But right from time, I have always had the opportunity to offer service even as a student in the university, because I was involved in student union politics. And when I left school, I had a desire to serve through elective positions. I made one or two attempts to get into such positions.

    I actually wanted to go to the National Assembly. I had no idea that I would be appointed as an Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. It only came in the course of my involvement in party politics. I was appointed in 2009, and I must tell you too that when I went into that office, I did not know that I would stay that long. From the first day I got into the office, I was preparing for my exit.

    Was there any reason for that?

    Well, you see, when you are appointed, it is something you can never be sure of. You are there at the mercy of whoever appointed you. I am sure you know the person would be the governor. If he wakes up one day and his mood is not good and he decides to do away with his cabinet, you are out of job. So, from day one, I had that at the back of my mind and I was prepared. Surprisingly, in the course of my service, several dissolutions were made and most times, I would be asked to remain, not even reappointed.

    It happened like that about two or three times. The governor would dissolve the EXCO and there would be an announcement that I should remain in office. So, that was how it went for year one, two, three, four, and we kept counting until…

    At a stage, it seemed you were the longest serving attorney general in Nigeria…

    Well, I don’t know about Nigeria, maybe South East and South South. Far there in the North, I know there are some of my friends who spent more than 10 years in office. I know I have a colleague in Yobe State who would have spent almost the same number of years. I also know there was one in Kogi State. But in the South East and South South, most of them spent one or two years. There is a high turnover of Attorneys-General; some within six months of coming into office. To an extent, it was a record that I spent a decade of my life in that seat.

     What was your experience in that office?

    It was a golden opportunity for me to actually get to know the politics of my state, get to feel the pulse of my people, get to be in the executive council where decisions are taken, get to know how politicians actually formulate their policies, how they are executed, their mindset and all that. To a great extent, I must say I was satisfied with some and also disappointed with others, because until you get involved, you would not know the intricacies behind most of the things that happen around you.

    It equally afforded me the opportunity to see the level of incompetence in our system, even in our civil service. You know I was in charge of a ministry for 10 good years. I interacted with the civil servants. I got to know that most of them can hardly perform their duties. In totality, the experience was enriching. I now have a wealth of experience about the way things work, especially in public service; the way government runs. Most times, decisions are not taken objectively. There are so many underlining factors and issues.

    Read Also: Senate confirms Justice Tosho as CJ Federal High Court

     

    You know I came from the private sector. I was a lawyer in Lagos, practising. In a place like Lagos, I had to be up by 5 am. If you are going to court, you are off from your residence by 6am. You have to be in court by 8:30 am because the court sits at 9am. Then you come to the public service and by 10 am, most of the offices would still be under lock and key. So, you can see there is a huge difference from your office as a lawyer, because as the head of the chamber, at the end of the month, you must pick the bills. So, you have to be on your feet.

    But back there in public service, people are just there because at the end of the month, there is no yardstick to measure performance and all that, but you will get paid.

    So, to that extent, people just move as if there is nothing at stake. I have tasted both worlds, if I must put it that way. I said it is enriching because I am now better placed to face even my private practice. If I have the opportunity of going into public service again, I will be better placed. I have a wealth of experience.

    Professionally you have got to the apex of your career as a private practice lawyer. Did you set out to achieve this milestone?

    Every professional, I’m sure, would always aspire to get to the peak of his profession. But I know most people would not get to the peak. I started practice in Lagos, and if you know how Lagos is, you can hardly find lazy lawyers there, especially in our days. I started practice in 1986. I was a struggling lawyer and I did my bit. There were models we aspired to emulate, who were in practice. I was in Lagos while the late Chief Rotimi Williams was in practice. I was there when the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi was all over the place. There were quite a number of lawyers like he late Chief G.O.K. Ajayi and others. They were all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN). We would meet them in court, watch them advocate, and to that extent, you would want to be like them. So, I had it at the back of my mind that with God on my side, I would get to the apex of the profession, which is being conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    Let me say that my foray into public service was equally of tremendous assistance to me. You see, if you get to the level of being the attorney general of a state, you are the chief law officer of that state. It exposes you to a lot of cases, the contacts you make and all that. Those cases are equally the things that would add up to you. So, if you look at those who are SAN, most of them were at one time or the other attorneys general of their states. By the time you count about 50 SANs, you would be surprised that about 30 of them were at one time or the other attorneys general of their states. This is because of the exposure you get in that office. So, my being the attorney general of Abia State for 10 good years gave me that leap. If I were in practice, who knows what would have happened. I might not have been able to meet the criteria, because there are yardsticks. You do not just wake up and get that conferment.

    I know that in the early years of your career as a lawyer, you floated an NGO that fought for indigent tenants in Lagos. What made you to found the NGO?

    Well, the NGO is not active now. As I speak, we have not been able to revive it. That is one of the prices I had to pay for going into a larger public office. The body was my idea. I founded it between 1988 and 1989 as a young lawyer. That was shortly after I was called to the bar in 1968. I had joined the firm of Chike Okoro and Co, who was my principal then. That gave me the opportunity of going to court to do matters for the firm. I discovered that the courts, most times, were overflowing with landlords/tenants cases. Most times, the tenants had nobody to defend them because they had no money. I saw a lot of injustice being meted to them, because the landlord would always have a lawyer.

    Most times, it was what we called summary trial. They would ask the landlord how many months notice he wanted to give the tenant to move out of the house. He would say one month. Most times, they would ask the tenant and he would say he had no choice other than whatever the landlord wanted. Most of them ended up being given six weeks to vacate the premises. They had kids who were in school. I’m sure you would agree with me that they did that because they were entirely at the mercy of the landlord, and most times, the magistrate adjudicating would also be a landlord. So, they were equally sympathetic to the course of the landlord. I saw it as a helpless situation for the tenants in Lagos and it touched me.

    So, I said we could not leave things the way they were. I called one or two friends and suggested that we should float a body that would give some succour to poor tenants; at least let us render free legal services to them. One of them, David, said it was a good idea. We had a meeting and my office was the secretariat, and we started. We printed handbills and started distributing, asking tenants who had cases to come to us to get free legal services. It was well received by the public. We were trail blazers in that field of advocacy. I can tell you that it was quite a great assistance to indigent tenants. Some of them who had their roof tops removed by wicked landlords had the rooftops restored. We also halted some of what they called Jankara practices then. It was quite another uplifting moment for me that we were able to provide succour to people.

    What was the response of the government to your advocacy?

    The government listened. I remember the Federal Attorney General then, Clement Akpamgbo of blessed memory, gave us audience on the plight of tenants. We met with the authorities in Lagos State and that led to the amendments that they made to the rent edict. You remember the amendment of 1997 and the one preceding it. They were all as a result of efforts made by my body, the TSO. We were household names in Lagos then. People came to us and government listened to us. We were able to draw the attention of the government to the plight of tenants. I am even happy with what is happening in Lagos, because they have made some provisions since then. I know in Lagos you don’t charge more than a year’s rent. Our efforts were not in vain. For several years, I did it, up till the time I left for Abia State.

    I am thinking about which other way I can render service now that I am back to practice. It is still one of the things I want to do. But for now, I am still thinking of the level and the model it would come. It may not just be landlords/tenants; it could be some other forms of assistance to people who need legal services.

    How did your childhood prepare you for the current position of political leadership and legal advocacy?

    I was not born with a silver spoon. Neither did I come from very poor parents. I had a father who was a business man but was struggling. I come from Ohafia. We have that fighting spirit of trying to be the best anywhere we find ourselves. I have always had that at the back of my mind, and as a growing child, I was in Aba, if you know what Aba was then. If you grew up in Aba, one would expect you to be more business inclined than education. No. If you grew up in Aba, one thing you get is street sense, and having that street sense gives us advantage in whatever field of human endeavour we find ourselves. If you are in football, you would be among the best.

    I knew I had no muscles as a young man, and I knew the only way to go was school. I had quite some encouragement from my parents who were not educated but knew the value of education.

    They assisted and encouraged me.  So, to a great extent, I had that fighting spirit and motivating factor. Most importantly, however, I always have the fear of God. I am a very religious person, and I relate with God in my own way. I do my prayers and put my faith in Him, and He has never disappointed me.

    At what point did you decide that you were going to be lawyer?

    When we were living in Aba, at a place called Ogbor Hill, there was this fair complexioned lawyer who lived behind us. I used to see him every day get dressed in his good suit. He was married to a white lady. I have forgotten his name, but I used to admire him. I also had a grandfather, my maternal grandfather. I drew some inspiration from him too because he was a warrant chief. Being a warrant chief, he was in charge of settling cases and all that. He had a title, Okpealabali, meaning the man who atones and gets back late. He was a great traditional jurist and related comfortably with the white men as a warrant chief. He was renowned and very knowledgeable. I grew up under his tutelage at a point and I took after him. People who knew him would tell you. That is why I took that title from Ohafia.

    So, when I saw that lawyer, I said this is actually the way to go. Nobody talked me into becoming a lawyer. It just came naturally. I decided to read Law and God has been faithful.

    What are the key virtues that you think guided your way to the top of your career?

    One thing I must tell you is that I have always had good people around me in form of tutelage. When I started the job as a national youth corps member, I had a law firm, a very busy one too but not very flamboyant. Also my commitment to whatever I am doing. If you know people who know me, they will tell you that I am committed to whatever I make up my mind to do. I put in my best. I don’t get tired. I want to be the best of whatever I do. I equally try to be steadfast and honest in my dealings with people. If I tell you I am going to do something, I will do it.

    When you go along that line with hard work, you are prepared to put in hours to do a job and you are committed to it; you are sincere to the clients that you meet; all the clients I have dealt with in my young age as a lawyer, if you meet them, they will tell you, most of them are still my clients. We have been there for more than 30 years. They have been faithful. Now that I am back to private practice, most of them are returning their files and all that.

    In fact, as I was coming into this office, I got a call from somebody I did a matter for about 27 years ago. More importantly, on top all this is God’s faithfulness. Once He waters your path, you find things going smoothly. That does not mean I have had a smooth sail or there have never been difficulties. But each time there has been trying moments, I have always overcome.

    What moments of your life would you describe as some of the most difficult?

    I had turbulent periods in the course of my service in Abia State. That was the most turbulent. I don’t know if I want to make these things public for now, but they will be contained in my memoir. I am coming out with a memoir. Ten years in an establishment is not 10 days. A lot of things happened to me as a person. I saw intrigues. I saw blackmail. You can see the wickedness of man in most of the things that happened. Most times you are blackmailed. Most times you are misunderstood. There were times you had to go out of your way to defend things that ordinarily you would not have been in a position to defend.

    There were expectations from people. Maybe as a commissioner, people think you have the whole world in your hands; that you can perform magic. Expectations were high. Everybody who is there would want something from you—pay the school fees of their kids because you are an appointee. Some may not even know the constraints that you have. People come to you to get their son or daughter an employment, and all that. They would not know that as a commissioner, you don’t have the power. Friends would ask you for contracts when you don’t have the power to award contracts.

    Sometimes then, when I lay in my bed, I asked myself, how did I get involved in all this? Most times, you cannot explain it. You know I was doing my practice in Lagos and I was quite successful even within the limits of what we were doing then. I had peace of mind. But when you are in politics, every other day is one problem or the other, and they are unending. Most times, you have bosses who may not feel satisfied even when you are doing your best. So, those were actually challenging moments, and I was actually happy when it came to an end temporarily, because for now, I am on sabbatical. What the future holds, I don’t know. But for now, I have relative peace. I am not at anybody’s beck and call. Nobody is after me; I mean political opponents. This is because when you are in politics, you even inherit the opponents of your principal. Even things that you are not privy to, they would say it is you. This happens more when you’ve been on that seat for so long a period like I did.

    What informs your mode of dressing? I know the average Ohafia man likes traditional attires. Does that apply to you?

    It does. In fact, if I were not a lawyer, nobody would see me in suit and tie. For me, I like comfort. I feel comfortable in my traditional wears, especially the type I am wearing now. It is a form of identity, and it is simple Igbo attire. It is only when I am going for official engagements that I put on suit and tie. For me, I must tell you, our weather is not suitable for suit and tie. But I am a lawyer and there is no running away from it.

    How did you meet your wife?

    We met in school. She is a lawyer. We actually got into the university the same year. But she had to change her course from English to law, so she lost one year. She was called to the bar in 1987 while I was called in 1986.

    What are some of the qualities you admire in her?

    Well, she gives me peace at home. I tell every man there is nothing like having a peaceful home. You go back to your place and sleep. There is nothing to compare to that. A man without peace in his home is like one who is in hell. She understands me and we’ve come a long way. We have known for more than 40 years. Those who schooled with us knew from day one.

    Do you have children following in your footsteps?

    Yes, I have two sons. One is already a qualified lawyer. He has been called to the bar. The second one is in his final year in law too. It might interest you to know too that I am a grandfather. I have two grandsons from my daughter.

  • Border closure: Our people now travel to buy 5-litre fuel — Badagry council chair Onilude

    When the Federal Government recently issued an executive order preventing the supply of petroleum products to filling stations located less than 20 kilometres away from Nigeria’s borders with neighbouring countries, not a few people hailed the move as a master stroke in the effort to check the smuggling of fuel across the nation’s international borders. It is, however, not music in the ears of the residents of Nigerian communities located on the border lines, as most of them have to travel longer than the stipulated distance to buy even five litres of petrol to power their generators. To make matters worse, they are often arrested by security agencies on their way back home for smuggling petrol. The Council Chairman of Badagry Local Government Area, Hon. Olusegun Onilude, spoke with VINCENT AKANMODE about the ordeal of border communities’ dwellers in his local government.

     

    YOU have been the chairman of Badagry Local Government Area for two years. How will you describe the experience so far?

    Well, it is a grassroots experience. It is an experience that teaches one how best to deal with people and resources. So it is a worthwhile experience, though it is hectic because it is not easy pleasing human beings. Anybody who wants to put his endurance and acumen to test should go for local government chairmanship.

    Is that you opted for politics at the grassroots while many of your contemporaries are vying for positions at state and federal levels?

    I have always been a grassroots man. I was Education Secretary for Badagry Local Government. By virtue of that position, a lot of people came around and I saw their plights. I was very close to the people at the helm of affairs then. I saw what they were doing and I was convinced within myself that I could add value to Badagry.

    Initially, my thought was about the legislative arm, and that prompted me to come out in 2011 for House of Representatives. But I was not successful. I asked myself, would I be able to touch many people’s lives as a legislator? Yes, in the area of enacting laws that will have a binding effect on everyone, but the direct touch would not be there. As a local government chairman, every day, you receive nothing less than 50 to 100 people. They come and tell you their problems. You try to solve the ones you think are solvable. But it is a daily thing; the problem you solved yesterday is not the one you will solve today. That challenge was what made me to believe that I had something I could contribute. Your people could be your greatest asset if you know how to engage them.

    Badagry happens to be one of the local government areas that host communities at Nigeria’s borders with Benin Republic. Is that an advantage or a challenge?

    Living on the border with Benin Republic is supposed to be an advantage for us, because it ought to be an opportunity to dualise our relationships. You relate with the people on this side and have the opportunity to mix freely with the people on the other side. But that fortune is turning into a very big challenge for our people, especially with the happenings around us now. The closure of the border has become a problem that is better imagined than experienced. Badagry is known for fish and coconut. Our people who are involved in legitimate trade, like those selling coconut, we cannot consume everything they produce. We also cannot convert everything into coconut oil, so we have to sell some of them. But in the process of taking them to the potential buyers, Customs men seize their wares, claiming that they are smuggled products, because they also have coconut in Benin Republic and Ghana. I was with the controller of Seme-Krake border the other time and one of the things he was asking me was to bring our coconut and the one from Ghana to show his the differences between them. It is funny. What I know is that coconut is coconut. I am not a legal person, but I know that instead of allowing an innocent man to suffer, it is better to let go the culprit. That is my understanding of the spirit of the law. But for one to assume that this one must be imported and because of that you deprive the legitimate traders of their rights, it is too bad.

    Besides that, there is this new executive order that disallows supply of fuel to filling stations located less than 20 kilometres away from the border. Even this morning, some of our fishermen were complaining that they cannot even buy fuel in jerry cans for their engine boats. So they are finding it pretty difficult to even fuel their boats. They have said they will come to my office on Monday to discuss the matter. So I have to go back again to the customs, the police, the army and others and tell them that though the laws are there, we don’t have any other place to live. We can’t say because the federal government has issued an executive order we will ask all our men and women to vacate their natural abodes and start living in Lagos. This is our home; we don’t have any other place.

    So living in the border communities has become a very big challenge. We are not finding it easy. Even to light your home now is a problem. How else can we buy fuel than in a jerry can? If they limit the quantity that can be bought, that would have been better. But it is outright cancellation. So, how do I power my generator in a country where we don’t have regular supply of electricity? It calls for concern. My own take on it is that the federal government should have paid more attention to their men at the borders. They should not have allowed all these smuggled things in. All the illegal routes taken by smugglers, they should send their men there to police them instead of subjecting our people to blanket suffering. Indeed, we are suffering in Badagry. We are really suffering.

    In other words, your people are the ones suffering dysentery for the excess sugar consumed by smugglers and dubious law enforcement agents…

    Exactly! It is the effect of the activities of smugglers that is biting hard on us. I personally appreciate the measures taken to curb smuggling. At least that will help us to look inwards and make us producers on our own. But the legitimate traders should not suffer. If you see somebody carrying imported rice and you take it, nobody will complain. If you see them bringing in frozen chicken or turkey, seize it, nobody will talk. But to say we should not buy ordinary 10 litres of fuel to power own generator, it amounts to imposing hardship on us. To say my parents who are coconut sellers should not sell their produce, how do they want me and my other siblings to survive?

    Attention should be directed at the security agencies at the borders to do their jobs the way they should do them. That should curb excesses. If they see me carrying a keg of fuel and I want to cross the border with it, they should seize it. But to buy five or ten-litre fuel within my locality you arrest me that I’m breaching a policy, I’m afraid it is not the best.

    Is the closure of the land borders with Benin Republic also affecting your people?

    Yes. The border town is a market on its own. If you go there at peak hours when things were booming, you would see people coming in, buying and selling. We are not like Ekiti State where there are lots of professors. We are not Zamfara where there are gold deposits. We are not from the Niger Delta where we can do oil bunkering and illegally refine fuel. These are our people and those are the people we trade with. I think what the federal government should do is to sort of liberalise it and find a way the government itself can benefit from the legal businesses rather than say there should not be any form of business, because literally, that is what it translates to. That is where some of our people live and they don’t know any other place. Some of them at the border have not even been to Badagry town before, not to talk of Agbara or Lagos. So what will fetch them a living if the government says they cannot trade?

    Look at somebody who sells ordinary sachet water. For it to sell, he needs power to make it cold. If he cannot get fuel to do that, I wonder. I will not be surprised if soon they start arresting people for carrying imported fish. If coconut can become contraband, then we are getting to that point. A customs officer will call me to come and show the difference between the Tilapia of Badagry and that of the Republic of Benin even when it is the same water that stretches across the two countries. The funny thing is that the people don’t know the difference between the tiers of government. As far as they are concerned, government is government. So when they see some of us in political positions, they say we hope you see the punishment you are giving us? Is this how you want to pay us back for voting for you?

    For somebody who lives around Gbaji and Owode to come to Badagry just to buy five litres of fuel. There are fishermen there who come to Badagry to but 20 litres of petrol to power their boats. Then policemen will see them on the road and arrest them. Everybody from Seme or Owode would not have access to fuel until they come to Badagry town to buy. And when they buy and are returning home, they are arrested.

    What will you regard as your biggest challenges as Badagry Local Government chairman?

    Badagry Local Government being one of the foremost local governments and an indigenous local government for that matter, we are one of the biggest if not the biggest in the state. It is the only local government with 10 wards. Most local governments in Lagos are with four, five or six wards. I think the one that is closest to us is nine. But when you look at the allocation of funds, it does not favour us. Our own infrastructure, being an old local government, is not something to write home about. Most of our infrastructure has decayed.

    What we need most is funds. The formula for allocation does not favour us. The population and the utilities we have around, those are the things they use in allocating funds. Maybe aside Ikorodu, we are one of the poorest paid local governments. But look at our landscape from Seme to Owode and Agbara. You can pick four, five or six other local government areas from it. Even the size of Alimosho I’m sure is not as big as Badagry, although they have the population. But in terms of land mass, I don’t think they can match us. The implication of this is that we have a lot of areas to cover. The focus should be decongesting the urban for the seemingly rural.

    For some of my counterparts, the problem is what they would spend the money on, because most of their structures are relatively new and they don’t even have space to develop again, so, they only do maintenance. But ours here, we have a lot of space to grow and expand but we don’t have the resources. So my appeal is whether it can be done in such a way that certain concessions would be given to the rural to decongest the urban.

    Read Also: Border Closure: Benin must mend its ways with Nigeria, says Obasanjo

     

    On Wednesday, I was going for a meeting and I left Badagry around 11 am. I had linked that Oshodi-Iyana Ipaja-Sango Expressway by 1.30 pm but I couldn’t get to Gen Adeyinka Adebayo Avenue, a distance that should not take up to 20 minutes, until around 7 pm. That is the problem we have with the urban areas. I saw a Daily Times edition of 1978 where they reported that traffic in Lagos had defied solution. This is 2019 but we are still on it. So, something fundamental needs to be done, and in my opinion, the concentration of development, of social amenities, the development of roads and infrastructure is lopsided. So, inadvertently, we are the one creating it. So, if they can start disinvesting in cosmopolitan Lagos for a seemingly rural Epe, inner Ikorodu and Badagry, there may be an end to the problem.

    Alternatively, the rail should become functional. The light rail, if they had done it during the time of Jakande, maybe we would not be where we are now. The other day I wanted to see one of my leaders at Ajegunle. I started considering the traffic. I chose to go through the lagoon, and in one hour five minutes I was there. By the time I called my driver who drove the car, he said, ‘Oga, are you not going again?’ I told him I had returned and he was shocked. So, government should do more in the area of water transportation. The state government is trying to do something in this regard. But they should do more regulation.

    What would you say you have achieved as the chairman of Badagry Local Government?

    Of course, we have done a lot. We have built schools. We’ve done LA Primary School Keta West at Gberefu. We’ve done LA Primary School Iyaafin. We are in the process of fixing LA Primary School Ajido. We are making desks and benches for the pupils. We bought GCE forms for indigent students. I feel very happy when some of them call me or text their results to me. There was a man that did not even go to secondary school but he was studying at home. He studied up to the level he was supposed to sit for GCE but he could not afford the forms. We bought him the form, and when the result came, he made seven credits, including English and Mathematics. We trained them, organizing extramural classes for them. We also organize Spelling Bee and other programmes for the students. We do exercise books for them too.

    On roads, we did a road of about 800 metres at the Ajara-Sunny Ajose and other adjoining roads. The streets were lighted too with a generator to power the light. We did Agakanme Road in Badagry town. Presently, the Agric-Salu Road, we are fixing the drainages. In the area of health, we always participate in all the federal government immunization programmes. On our own, we have organised many eye screening, sugar and BP tests and we give them the medicines. We do this quarterly. Aside that, we are renovating our health centres. Presently, what we call the flagship at Ajara is undergoing renovation. We are equally putting a touch to Etopo Health Centre.

    We organise sporting activities like football for the youth. One is currently going on. On general infrastructure, we are trying to put our international motor park in proper shape. That place was built by Hon. Kiki of blessed memory when he was the local government chairman between 1991 and 1993.  The condition had become highly deplorable. We have almost finished it. In the area of markets, we have transformed Ikoga Market. It was an ancient market whose structures had become moribund. It is now a modern market. At the Badagry Roundabout, the structure built by Hon. Kiki is aged, so we are rebuilding it. We are about starting a road in Ikoga too to ease transportation. Presently, we have a customary court in Badagry. It is an ancient building, so we demolished the structure that was weak and almost falling. Although some people wonder why we would demolish such a historical structure, my own position is that even the Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem we visit, the structures are not the ones left behind by Jesus Christ and Mohammed, yet people are still going there. The city hall in Lagos is no longer in its original shape. We need to develop.

    By the grace of God, next year, the Badagry Town Hall too will get a face lift, but the current shape will be retained so that the people that come after us know that this is how it has always looked. In the area of empowerment, we do it almost regularly. And there are categories. For somebody who cannot even feed at all, if you give him or her N5000, it is a lot of money. If you go to the market, you would see somebody who came to sell cocoyam but the worth of the whole cocoyam may not be up to N1,000. Somebody who sells pure water will be very happy with a thousand naira or two. Some of them don’t even have money to buy, so they are given the pure water to sell and bring back the money after taking their commission. For such category of people, we package food items and put N5,000 on it. That N5,000, to them, it is a big thing. So, when some people ask what N5000 can do in the life of a person, it depends on the level the person is. If he or she is at the bottom rock, it could mean a lot.  Somebody who wants to sell pure water, two bags is okay for him to begin with. Why we attach food to it is that we don’t want that person to spend the money on food.

    We also look at the people in businesses and assist them accordingly. We give sewing machines to those who are tailors, for instance. We give hairdressers hairdressing equipment. We give out pepper grinding machines and give refrigerators to those who are selling fish, and so on. Those who are into farming, we give them fertilizer, sprayers, seedlings and some other things.

    In the next level, we want to look at the poorest of the poor within the community. There is a man I call my friend. He told me that since he was born, he has never slept on a mattress. He said his roof is leaking and his mat is wet. To that person, if you give fridge or pepper grinding machine, he could sell it to meet his immediate needs. So, we have set up a committee to identify people like that so that we give them funds. Or in the case of someone like that my friend, we look into fixing his house, getting him a mattress and little fund for him to move on. We want to look into giving people we know are into petty businesses about N100,000 or N200,000 so that they can boost their trades.

    It has become a regular thing to send our staff on training even abroad, probably because I am coming from the field education. We take training very seriously. Our political office holders and management staff, we have bought official vehicles for all of them to ease movement. We even plan to have a school bus for pupils. Maybe because I am a teacher, I feel bad when I see school pupils around 9 am still looking for okada (commercial motorcycle) to take them to school. It means the pupil has already missed the first two periods. We want to ease their movements by getting a bus next year to convey them to and fro.

  • JENNIFER UMEH: Social Media is a great tool

    JENNIFER UMEH: Social Media is a great tool

    Jennifer “Blinky Blinky” is a story of courage, and determination that always results in victory. In this interview with Adeyinka Akintunde, the 23-year-old graduate of The Federal Polytechnic, Offa tells her story of Blinky Collections, her struggles with domestic violence and her dreams for girls and young women.

     

    YOU are into a big project at a very young age, what motivates you? Do you sometimes feel discouraged or not?

    I have been pushing since I was out of secondary school. Hustling has become a lifestyle. It is something I have been doing all my life; from selling newspapers in front the school gate to publishing my own magazine. I also published a book at 100 level. I have sold fruit salad in different offices on campus too. There are times when I wanted to give up on several occasions but when I look at what I have been through, I had no choice than to keep moving.

    What has been your major challenge, so far?

    My biggest challenge so far is not having the necessary machine for advanced printing. But I am saving up to be able to buy all the necessary machines I need to advance my printing career.

    You also have an NGO. Tell us about it. 

    I started a non-profit organisation called Hope for African Girls Initiative in 2016 to transform the lives of marginalised community girls through quality education and empowerment.

    We have a duty to promote creative learning by providing platforms for girls and young women to explore and develop their innovative ideas.

    Since inception, we have been able to groom young women to be responsible citizens who can actively participate and communicate with the world in a spirit of compassion.

    Our mission is to foster an educated and compassionate new generation of young African girls who will use their education to improve their lives, help their country and contribute to the world to help maintain peace and prosperity for all.

    Who is Jennifer “Blinky Blinky”? 

    I am Jennifer Umeh, a graduate of Mass communication from The Federal Polytechnic Offa. I am also the pioneer of Hope for African Girls Initiative (HAGi), an organisation founded to educate girls to be empowered enough to stand up for themselves and to discover their self-identity through quality education and empowerment. I am also the founder of a fast-growing clothing brand that has received massive support from Nigerians on social media since inception. This vision was borne out of my bullying experience as an undergraduate.

    BlinkyCollections was the result of me being relentlessly bullied for my eye sight, because I blink frequently when I speak. My brand name means to me that it does not matter what other people think about me. It is what I think about myself and I will not let anybody tell shut me down. The bullying has not stopped. It goes on each day on social media from same set of people. This has not worn me down; instead it is a motivation to me.

    How did the bullying start?

    The bullying started in school when I stood for what was right. When I got bullied then, I did nothing but most times I developed mood swings. I played and pretended as if the name calling was not affecting me in class, but when I get home from school. I cried my eyes out.

    How did you overcome bullying?

    My facebook friends helped me. They kept telling me powerful words and giving me different illustrations of how great the name Blinky would be when turned into a brand name. When my bullies started messing with me, I shared my experience on my Facebook wall updating my friends what was going on. I am really thankful to my Facebook friends. They are my number one fans.

    What’s your latest campaign against bullying?

    My latest campaign against bullying was using my T-shirt to send a message to the world. With the inscriptions (Blink Against Bullying, Bullying ends with me, You are beautiful just the way you are).

    Have you taken any steps against it; what is your message to bullies out there?

    I took some legal step recently. The bullying has graduated to the next level. I get bullied everyday by same people. This time it has resulted to cyber bullying. Taking my pictures and writing terrible things about me and posting on social media. I was recently attacked too on my way back from work.

    But recently two of them had reached out to me to apologise. I reached out to my legal adviser to tell him. He said I should be careful and be on the lookout for them. The apology might be a setup to be able to carry out another attack on me. But till then I am looking out to know if the apology is actually real or not.

    Where do we see Jennifer in the next five years, professionally?

    In five years, I want to be able to get bigger contract from big companies and organisations. I want to own a fashion house, where I can print all kind of T-shirts, polos, hoodies with no restrictions. I want to be able to collaborate with big organisations to help champion the war against bullying by making different designs of beautiful T-shirts that people can order on our website and rock to promote the fight against bullying.

     

     

  • KIIBATI BANKOLE: IT WAS DEPRESSING GROWING UP UNDER MY STRICT PASTOR PARENT

    Kiibati Bankole, a software developer-turned-entertainer, speaks to DUPE AYINLA-OLASUNKANMI on why she left her strict pastor parents to purrsue her dreams, and why she created the platform Merrybet Celebrity Fans Challenge, among other interesting issues. Enjoy

     

    HAT was it like being a software developer at age 17?

    It was incredible. So much fun. It gave me exposure and helped me establish connections globally. I felt alive for the first time in my young restricted life. The world of Information Technology opened my eyes in incredible ways. You can say I grew up.

    When did the passion for the brand you have become start?

    It started when I got my first taste of football punditry at the age of 20 after a chance encounter with prominent sports broadcaster and journalist Godwin Dudu-Orumen at a popular football viewing centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    He overheard me debating football with my friends, and was blown away. He gave me his card and asked me to come to his studio in Surulere the following week to give sports TV presentation a try.

    I did and was stunned by the ease and comfort with which I executed my scripts and how good and comfortable I looked and sounded on screen.

    I haven’t looked back since then. Sports entertainment has been my passion and in Merrybet Celebrity Fans Challenge, I have built a platform that has cleverly merged the worlds of football and music in exciting fashion.

    What were the challenges faced being in a male dominated field?

    Not many. My doggedness and ambitious nature have helped me conquer most obstacles.

    Sports is assumed to be a man’s game, how do you react, when people tell you this?

    Haha! I believe the world is slowly but surely moving on from these gender stereotypes. Moreover, sporting legends and fighters like Serena Willians, Megan Rapinoe and others are fast changing people’s perspectives on gender in sports.

    Read Also: How effective is celebrity endorsement?

     

    Tell us about the turning point in your career?

    The day I decided to start freelancing and establish my production company. Being my own boss was tough initially, but it’s been the best decision I have ever made.

    How did you come about the Merrybet Celebrity Fans Challenge?

    It started off as a football gameshow between football fans on TV and radio. I then realized that over 70% of Nigerian celebrities are football fans too. This inspired me to create a platform for them to express their passion in front of their fans.

    Putting together celebrities can be a hard job, how do you make this a success running for over five years now?

    Yes, it is tough. But I am extremely passionate about what I do. Passion drives me. But right now, my focus is on Merrybet Celebrity Fans Challenge that will hold on December 7. The event will be headlined by Naira Marley and Burna Boy. It will be the biggest edition of the event yet and I am excited.

    Dealing with celebrities they say can be frustrating. What’s your own experience?

    Haha! It depends on the celebrity in question. I have very pleasant and highly productive relationships with several stars. You can’t however, be friends with everyone.

    Share you childhood experience with us?

    My childhood was stressful; I’ve got to be honest. Growing up in a Christian home with very strict parents, both of whom are pastors, was no fun. My siblings and I weren’t allowed to watch TV, wear jewelry, make up or fix our hair artificially, we were barely allowed to keep friends or visit them. It was depressing. I used to hate my dad, but we’re best buddies now.

    How did you convince your parents to allow you pursue those dream coming from a strict Christian home?

    I didn’t really do much convincing. I just left home and pursued my dreams.

    My parents want what’s best for me. They understand the trend and are proud of what I have achieved. I appreciate their love and prayers.

    Tell us, is your career, one of the reasons you are still single?

    Haha! Relationships are tough to keep without nurture, and nurturing relationships is hard with my workload. But I do my best.

    Being in a world of men, you must have seen all sorts. Any plans to walk down the aisle soon?

    No.

    Why entertainment?

    Honestly, I had no plans to go into entertainment earlier in life. I wanted to be a lawyer but I became a software developer in my teens.  I would say I ventured into show business by accident after an encounter with a prominent television personality who put me on air as a result of my love for sports.

    I, thereafter, discovered my talent for public speaking and production. So, the full venture became a reality when I took it up professionally and the experience has been awesome and I am proud to be one of the popular entertainers in the industry.

  • RAPISTS SHOULD BE SEVERELY DEALT WITH OPENLY – VETERAN SINGER ZAAKI AZZAY

    After establishing himself as one of the pioneers of Nigeria’s hip hop music industry, Zaaki Azzay is now into giving back to the society by honouring Nigerians with the True Nigerians Award. In this interview with MORENIKEJI ALALADE and CAROLINE OCHEKWU, Zaaki shares his early beginning, what he is up to and why he wants to reward outstanding Nigerians. Excerpts

     

    WHAT has Zaaki Azzay been up to?

    Well I actually started a TV programme called ‘True Nigerians: Heroes of Our Time’ and I guess I was carried away and I didn’t know that it’s tasking to have a TV programme like that. l have no intention at all to retire or quit from the music industry. I still had performances within Nigeria and outside the country. But at the same time I was very busy with my T.V programme and my events every year. So that kind of diverted my attention and took a lot of my time, but now that the T.V programme is well-known, the event is well known, is accepted, I am stable now. The last song I did was three years ago. So, from now on there would be every song, every year, just like I have a new song I am about to release now, it’s already out on the social media but very soon it will be on T.V, because I will have a video for it.

     What informed the programme, True Nigeria?

    Well, I just thought that everybody should contribute to Nigeria as a country. For some of us like me, l love Nigeria passionately. I love Nigeria even more when I travel outside Nigeria. You know, I see the opportunities we have, I see our potentials, I see our diversity, I see our unity, I see our togetherness. You know it’s not like in other countries where everybody is ‘mind your business.’ In as much as we have our differences, in Nigeria, if you are driving on the road now and God forbid anything happens to you, you will see how everybody will give you attention immediately. So, I love Nigeria with a passion. Everybody would have expected that I should start a music programme or something, since I am an entertainer but I just think that I should do something for Nigeria. I have been successful in the entertainment industry and without Nigeria I won’t have a platform to even be successful in the first place. So, I decided that we should always try and celebrate Nigerians who have done well if we want to correct the ills in our society. That way, we will be able to encourage the young ones to also do the right thing. And honestly from my T.V programme, I have learnt a lot. It has made me a better person just by talking to these great men and women who have achieved.

     The True Nigerian programme is very encouraging but what are some things that you’ve encountered that make you think we have more work to do?

    Well, there are two major things for me now that’s a major concern. You know, I have had cases to also visit the IDP camps and there, the issue of rape becomes a major concern for me. I really think that the way and manner, of which we handle cases of rape in Nigeria is really not nice. Honestly, I think people who commit that crime should be severely dealt with openly. When you catch a yahoo fraudster, you know, you should display him. Same way if you catch a rapist. Even if you are just a suspect, they should celebrate you negatively. Everybody should know that you attempted rape or you have raped somebody. It should be a stain. It’s not fair that a 10-year old girl is giving birth to a baby, out of rape. It has become something that I think we should look into seriously. I hear of cases how people report to the police station and the police laugh about it and say, ‘wetin carry you go him house.’ I mean, that’s not fair.

    The second thing that bothers me right now is the fact that the fraudsters and Yahoo boys are trying to spoil the music industry. They are now using music to cover up for their yahoo deals.

     Refresh us on how you started in the entertainment industry

    My first song came out around November 1993. I used to mime to songs a lot in Kaduna as a very young guy. I mimed to Michael Jackson, KC and the Sunshine band and all that. So one day in Kaduna, I watched Sunny Ade performing somewhere abroad. I was very happy but I was very angry. I felt bad. I felt I was a local champion. So, why can’t I be like Sunny Ade? Why can’t I even come to Lagos? So, I started trying to come to Lagos but I was too young. I should be around 15 at that time. My parents, everybody were against it. Well, eventually I ran away from home. I came to live with my brother who was a Major in the Army in Dodan Barracks in those days. He died in a plane crash that killed those officers. He immediately called my parents to tell them that I was with him, they should just allow me do what I wanted. My major obstacle then was that they would not accept hip hop music in Nigeria at that time because all the big top notch musicians were doing reggae, dance hall – people like Blackie, Daniel Wilson, Majek Fashek, Mandators. I think it was a lady called Tolu Gaye at E.M.I Records that eventually had mercy on me after all the frustration and said, ‘OK let’s see what you have.’ That’s after she heard a rap version that I did of Onyeka Onwenu’s ‘One Love.’ When they now gave me the opportunity to record the songs, I now did my Hausa hip hop thing, gave her the Onyeka song that she wanted and eventually I won, because when the songs came out, the ‘One Love’ that they were thinking will be their hit wasn’t the hit. It was the Hausa hip hop and the rap.

     Apart from being an entertainer, what other thing do you?

    Well, I like to do charity, but it’s not the kind of charity that you announce, most people will take camera, go and give things, show the world that they are giving. But I really like to give. Giving is good. I like to make things happen for people. I am passionate about connecting people to people.

     What actually brought the idea of your black and white cap and the torch?

    In those days when I started, if you check, I had my torch from the beginning, but there was no cap in the first video. After that first hip hop song, hip hop started gaining grounds in Nigeria and I think the next year or the next two years or so, saw musicians that were very hot in America then called Naughty by Nature come to Nigeria. So, we became friends. They were in my car. I was taking them round and we had a lot of discussion. They were telling me that, you know they feel very embarrassed when they hear  Africans trying to sound like them. That they don’t like it when we rap like them or try to sing like them. You know, they call themselves African American. They are proud of Africa, they like to hear us rap with an accent, sing in our own way. You know, with all that, I said okay, that means going back to the roots is the right thing. Since I am from Benue State, let me also do something traditional – no matter how Western I dress at least, my traditional cap should be on my head. That’s how the black and white cap started.

    When you catch a yahoo fraudster, you know, you should display him. Same way if you catch a rapist

     So for the torch?

    Like I said when I was starting, there was no hip hop in Nigeria. That what happening, even when the E.M.I people sponsored me and gave money, they warned me that make sure this thing comes out a hit ooo. If it doesn’t come out a hit, you have to pay back blah! blah! blah!. So while I was recording in Kingsley Ogoro studio in those days, I was praying to God that please help me and all that. And the security man kept an old torch light in the studio. In my mind, I was saying, ‘God make me famous, make me rich, you know do not let me fail.’ So I went to the torch light, grabbed the torch light and said ‘this is a covenant that I am making with you, that if you make me rich and famous, I promise never to derail, to constantly and permanently acknowledged you and light and darkness can never meet. So, I will be light in everything, I will be positive.’ So, holding the torchlight reminds me never to derail, to keep my own part of the covenant.

    The Tivs and the Idomas who are meant to be together in Benue seem to be at loggerheads. Does it bother you?

    It’s also something I have been trying to tackle over the years. The truth is that the problem is from our politicians, they started it and instead of keeping it to theirselves, they kind of extended it to the young ones. But I am saying that, whatever situation we find ourselves in Benue state, wherever we are today, the people who have been leading us, as our political leaders in Benue state, are the ones responsible for any situation we find ourselves in terms of our dilapidated roads, in terms of security in Benue state and every other thing, if you ask me.

  • N171m burrow pit money tears Edo community apart

    Since Saturday, November 2, the Enogie of Ogan community in Orhionmwon Local Government Area, Edo State, HRH George Igbinovia, has been living like a fugitive in Benin City, the state capital. He fled his domain following protests by his subjects over the killing of one Aghahowa Pulley by some soldiers allegedly invited by him and some of his children. His palace was also razed by the irate youths.

    Besides the palace, other buildings and vehicles belonging to the traditional ruler’s children were also burnt. Some residents, who fled the community for fear of arrest by security agents, are yet to return home.

    The crisis in Ogan community was said to have been caused by the proceeds from the burrow pit owned by the community but operated by some of the sons of the embattled traditional ruler under the name of Patuyi Global Service Limited.

    Checks showed that Patuyi Global Services was given the right to prospect and excavate sand at the pit, while a sharing formula was worked out in November, 2010. The sharing formula was for the managers to collect 66 per cent, while the Enogie would get 20 per cent, his children five per cent and sons and daughters of Ogan community 13 per cent. The money was to be received from the fee each lorry paid to the community for a load of sand.

    In 2018, crisis had ensued in the community when some youths, backed by some of the Enogie’s children, demanded explanation regarding the operation of the pit and the sharing formula of the proceeds. It was gathered that the youths were peeved when the 13 per cent that was supposed to be paid to the community’s coffers was not found. The money was calculated to have amounted to over N141 million. What further fuelled the youths’ anger was that the operators of the pit, who are children of the Enogie, allegedly told them that the pit was still being test run and their operation had suffered a setback over the kidnapping of the director.

    At another meeting held on December 23, 2018, the community’s elders requested the burrow pit operators to pay the community the sum of N70 million, while they (Patuyi) continued with the sand excavation.

    He said I should die for him to take over the rulership of the community. He brought all the youths and I told him to wait for his time. He never allowed me to rest. My house has now been burnt… I have spent 34 years on the throne. Daniel said I am now using his time. I told him I cannot kill myself until God says so. Daniel and Matthew would not allow me to rest.

    Trouble reared its head again when in October 2019, the Ogan elders and youths resolved to sack Patuyi Global Services for reneging on the agreement on the backlog of money accruing to the community. They picked two youths each from all the quarters in the community to operate the pit to ascertain whether the place was yielding money or not.

    Speaking with newsmen in Benin City, HRH Igbinovia, who said he is over 90 years old, blamed his heir apparent, Daniel, as the person responsible for the revolt against him in his domain.

    He claimed that his eldest son has been asking why he is still alive.

    He said: “He said I should die for him to take over the rulership of the community. He brought all the youths and I told him to wait for his time. He never allowed me to rest. My house has now been burnt.

    “Since my wife died four years ago, it was my children that were taking care of me and their houses have been destroyed. My two cars and my son’s car were burnt.

    “On Saturday, a few minutes to six, I saw soldiers in the community. They drove to my compound. They said they heard there was trouble in the community and that was what they came to confirm. I sent my son, Wilson, to go with them. Later, l heard gunshots by the Ogan youths.

    “I have spent 34 years on the throne. Daniel said I am now using his time. I told him I cannot kill myself until God says so. Daniel and Matthew would not allow me to rest.”

    “It was not Wilson that brought the soldiers. They came on their own to confirm whether there was trouble in the community. They came to check if there was riot in the community. They have destroyed many things in the riot. It was my son who instigated the youths to trouble me.

    “Government is aware of this problem. I don’t have any house again. Daniel cannot say I relegated him for his younger brothers. He attends community meetings. Since 30th of September, he has stopped some meetings. He has not become Enogie and he has been lying.

    Read Also: A mornach and his theatrics

     

    “There was one N15million brought by a gas company. He collected the money and paid it into his account. The community said it was wrong of him since I was still alive.”

    Peter Ugiagbe, one of Ogan sons, said the allegations levelled by the Enogie were not true. He listed the Enogie’s sons operating the pit to include Patrick, Efe and Uyi.

    He said: “We follow due process in whatever we do. When the issue of this burrow pit came up, we wrote a letter to the Enogie over the sharing formula, which was written by the Enogie and Ogan community. There was a percentage which ought to be given to Ogan sons and daughters in the ratio of 13 percent to all. Five percent to the children of the Enogie.

    “For 10 years, the Enogie children, under Pat-Uyi Global Services, have been excavating sand from the pit. They reneged on their part in the payment of 13 per cent accruing to us. He bluntly refused to give us the money. We wrote to the community.

    “In the resolution, it was agreed that the pit belonged to Ogan community and not any individual. Enogie is not the owner. He is only the custodian of whatever is in the community.

    HRH George Igbinovia

    “We petitioned the AIG Zone 5 to enable us recover the sum of N171,360,000. That is the money due to us. The case is still with the AIG. The community met and attempted to broker peace. In the peace arrangement, it was agreed that the Enogie’s children should refund N70 million. They are yet to pay the money.

    “We later held a meeting at the Ogan Town Hall and it was resolved that the community takes ownership of the pit. Agreement was reached and signed by all the elders of the community. It was based on this that the seven quarters that make up Ogan community would produce two persons each to work in the sand pit in a routine manner.

    “We took possession of the pit. As we were there working, we heard that the Enogie and his sons were bringing soldiers to the community. The Crown Prince went to the 4 Brigade to ask why soldiers were deployed in the community. It was there we heard that the soldiers had started operation.

    “Wilson pointed out Agharuwa Pulley who was shot dead by the soldiers who later fled. The community got provoked and they paraded the community with the corpse.

    Another youth, Mr. Julius Agbonze, son of Odionwere of Alohonba quarters, said since 2010, they had not received a dime from Patuyi.

    He said: “Last year, we agitated and they calmed us down. Since December last year, we have not received one kobo. We wrote to the palace to know where the money was paid into and they told us they have been test running the burrow pit for the past 10 years. We went and shut the place down.

    “The Enobore of Ogan invited us for a meeting; we asked them for our money and nothing was said about it. The Enobore said the community would take over the operation of the pit to know if it is true that nothing was coming in from the pit. The Enogie agreed to the settlement.

    “Two days later, they brought soldiers and they started shooting. Someone came out of the soldiers’ Hilux vehicle and pointed at Aghahowa, who was shot four times. Prince Daniel never said he would overthrow his father. Each time he goes into the palace, the other sons will beat him up.

    On his part, Prince Daniel Igbinovia denied plotting his father’s death so that he could ascend the throne.

    He said: “There was never a time I tried to kill my father. My father never wanted me around him. He was married to three wives. I am the eldest son. Ever since he married the second wife who gave birth to Wilson, Efe and Patrick, my mother never had peace in the house. She was always beaten up by my father.

    “My mother later ran away because of the domestic violence. My father took another wife who later raised me. I never knew my mother until I was in form five. I was in the classroom when the principal sent for me. It was in his office the principal asked if I had ever seen my mother. My mother came in and started crying.

    “I have been tortured by my father for more than 44 years. I spent 20 years in the United States and came back. Each time I go to the village, my half-brothers will start harassing me. I don’t care because I know they are my younger ones.

    “A company once came and my half-brother signed in my place. It was when the youths rebelled that he came to me. It was when they brought the MOU that I saw that he signed in my column. The things they were supposed to leave for the community were monetised and the money was never seen.

    “My father does not want to see any one of us. Those tears you see on his face are not real.

    “It is a lie that I collected money on behalf of the community. It is not possible for me to tell my father to die. If he lives long, that is a precedent that I will live longer than him. The community’s youths respect me because I believe in equity. His other children never allowed my father to do the right thing.

    “It is not my making that I am the crown prince. It is divine. I always tell my father to talk about morals. If he were not an Enogie, am I not still his first son? The Wilson he is projecting is the fifth son and ninth child. I never liked violence.

    “This incident is unfortunate. I didn’t have control over it. I know the truth must prevail. The community owns the property; let them have a share, they said no, and that is greed.

    “How could I be happy that  burnt the palace? What about the things burnt that could not be recovered? My half-brothers have been boasting that I should see if I would become the Enogie. Their intention is for the Enogieship to end with our father since they cannot get it.”

  • Dayo Amusa: I’ll share my HIV result if it’s positive

    Actress and filmmaker Dayo Amusa is set to release a new movie, ‘Omoniyun’, in cinemas on November 29. In this interview with JOE AGBRO JR., Dayo who is also an entrepreneur talks about why she is telling a story of female sexual harassment, sharing her medical status and other issues. Excerpts

    So, what motivated your movie, Omoniyun?

    To start with, I’m this person that draw inspiration from things that happen around me, things I hear, things I read, things I get to see. So, I didn’t write the script. I didn’t write the story. It was written by Dayo Fawore but when I got the synopsis of the story and I read through it, I said ‘wow’, this looks good. And I’m like, can you send me the whole script, which he did. I read through. I did one or two corrections and then he had to go and make another draft. But before then, I’ve had the opportunity to experience a particular situation way back in Sagamu (Ogun State) whereby this 11-year-old girl actually fell into child molestation. So, when this story came in, I like treating stories that deal with social issues. I think I have strength in it. It’s just something that I like doing. These issues of child molestation, child abuse, girl-child marriage and all that is rampant in our society. We don’t get to address them, not because we don’t know they are existing but probably because they’re not being voiced out like it should. I’m like, this is another platform for me to get to the audience, try to educate people, the kids and the older ones.

    It’s a bit difficult for directors to work with a set dated in old period brining out challenges of getting the costumes right, the settings, the looks

    That was the unique part of it. I like works that are challenging. I try to give it my best. I say, ‘Dayo, you can do this, this is achievable.’ So, it wasn’t really very difficult getting the set and all that because we actually had location recce before the production. We went to Ijebu Ode (Ogun State), we went to Abeokuta (Ogun State) – all those places that we know we can actually get the set and houses that fall into those years, 1970s. And then, the art director really did a good job getting the antiques, the set and everything. So, it was a beautiful one.

    What was the budget?

    Truthfully, because I am still spending, I wouldn’t say this is the total cost of production. The movie is just going to the cinemas but I had a challenge while shooting the movie. We shot the movie at first in Abeokuta and then unfortunately for me, I lost like 65 per cent content of the movie. We actually lost all. So, we were trying to retrieve it, fortunately we were only able to retrieve 35 per cent of the movie and then I got frustrated. So, I had to keep it aside for a while, thinking through what I needed to do because 60 per cent is more like the entire movie is gone. So, do I want to forego this project or do I want to go ahead? So, I kept it for a while and then I said I have a message I want to pass. I have this positive view of what I have inside of me that I want to put out here. I said, ‘Dayo, you have to do this.’ I had to call everybody back and say ‘this is the situation of things. We have to re-shoot this movie.’ So, we changed location and we took the job to Ijebu Ode, called all my cast and crew. To be fair, they were wonderful because everybody came back on board. They understood the situation and they gave in their best just like they did at the very first time.

    What role did you play?

    I played the role of Omoniyun. She’s a nurse, she’s a lover of kids and she’s someone everyone loves in the community. That’s my character.

    In English, it (Omoniyun) means children are as precious as coral beads.

    Usually, advocacy films don’t make commercial success. What are your expectations at the cinemas?

    Well, as filmmakers, we all have different reasons why we make movies. And of course, nobody wants to do movies without getting back their money, without getting revenue. But there are some things that you do that go beyond the fact that I want to make this money in cinemas. Nobody says the money has to come from cinemas. And nobody says the money has to come from DVD. Or it has to come from online platform.

    Now, the movie has to do with advocacy about child marriage, child molestation, parental negligence. I have NGOs that have supported one way or the other. The Lagos State government actually are in support as well; both the ministry of women affairs and the ministry of youths and social development and all that. We went on courtesy visitation, presenting to them, this is this movie. And they saw clips of the movie. They were proud and they gave their 100 per cent support. So, things like these are enough for me. Of course, I know I’m going to make my own money but it’s not about me saying all the money has to come from the cinema or it from this platform or that platform.

    The movie also grazed on HIV and sometime ago, you posted your HIV status. What was the reason for doing that?

    Well, it wasn’t even attached to the movie. The result I posted was just a random thing. I just felt like the issue of HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases is everywhere, whether we want to admit it or not. As individuals, di thing wey cloth dey cover, no bi small thing. And I just feel like, I’ve done mine, I’m negative. You don’t have to be scared to do it. It is better for you to even have it done, know your status. But it is better for you to know your medical status in general so as to be able to do the needful.

    Would you have shared your result if it was positive?

    I would. Maybe, not exactly at that particular moment. But I would because, for me, I feel being HIV positive is not like the end of the world and it doesn’t stop you from living your life. You don’t have to die before death. You get informed, you get educated about your status so that every other person that is living around you will live healthy. So, it was just a way of (saying), ‘thank God that I am negative. Now that I am negative, biko, make una go do una own.’ That was just it.