The Nation Newspaper

Category: Weekend Treat

  • ‘Nigerian scientists have failed woefully’

    ‘Nigerian scientists have failed woefully’

    Professor Oyewale Tomori, a renowned virologist, has earned many plaudits both nationally and internationally for his contribution to the field of virology. Tomori, who is a former Vice-Chancellor, Redeemer’s University and current president, Nigerian Academy of Science, a foremost science institute in the country, has been leading the campaign against polio eradication for decades. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, he shares his concerns on the polity. Excerpts:

     

    You have been in the forefront in the campaign against polio eradication these past decades. How far are we close to winning this war?

    Nigeria’s eradication campaign faces substantial challenges. However, we can say that we have made remarkable progress. This year, we expect nearly 50percent drop in cases in 2013 compared to last year.

    But thankfully, the Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan was shared at the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, where world leaders showed their support through a series of historic commitments, including the UK’s Department for International Development commitment of £300 million. The Gates Foundation pledged US$1.8 billion, and a new group of philanthropists committed an additional total US$335 million.

    His Highness, General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, pledged US$120 million

    Qatar Charity and the Gates Foundation signed a co-operation agreement in support of the eradication effort.

    The Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi which held from April 24-25 2013, was hosted by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Bill Gates and the UN General-Secretary. The Summit endorsed the critical role that vaccines and immunisation play in saving lives and protecting children from preventable diseases such as polio. The Summit is expected to continue the momentum of the Decade of Vaccines – a vision and commitment to reach all people with the vaccines they need.

    The new commitments make clear the confidence of global leaders and the vaccine community in the new plan’s ability to both achieve a lasting polio-free world by 2018 and help build systems that will deliver critical health services, including vaccines and maternal healthcare, to those most in need. The commitments bring the world almost three-quarters of the way to the US$5.5 billion needed to fully fund the plan.

    As at the last count, a total of $3billion has so far being raised leaving a shortfall of $2.5billion.

    The endorsement of the Global Vaccine Action Plan by the World Health Assembly which again set 2018 as the new target for the global eradication of polio saying Nigeria must ensure that no single case of polio is reported anywhere in the country by 2014.

    The hope is that by the year 2014, the world will have the last country with the last case of polio and by 2018, the world will be declared free of polio.

    Is 2014 realistic as far as Nigeria is concerned?

    Presently, northern region specifically constitutes major concern for global polio fighters, who now worry over the quality of local personnel and efforts. At least, 12 per cent of the Northern children population is said to be left out of polio vaccination due to numerous issues, including itinerancy, security challenge and other socio-political concerns.

    But to answer your question, I think we are taking a gamble because the year 2014 is only subject to the fact that Nigeria, Afghanistan or Pakistan (the only three remaining endemic countries) will not have any case of polio in 2014. If we do have any of these countries having one case by 2014 it means we have to shift the year of eradication by an extra year. It is thus very important that we, as a country, must play our role, otherwise, we will be holding the world back.

    But the question to ask again is, why should we be the last? Why can’t the Federal Government and other tiers of government for instance, accord polio eradication the kind of priority given the spate of flood disasters in some parts of the country where President Goodluck Jonathan personally garnered support from individuals and corporate bodies?

    Has our President ever said anything on polio without stimulation from outside? The only time we’ve heard him make pronouncements are when he was invited by the Commonwealth, the United Nations or when Bill Gate came. We are not putting enough into polio eradication.

    We need education. We need to get our people to know the advantage of immunisation; we need good leadership and community involvement. Nobody should be left out of the fight.

    Imagine Bill Gates the other day was bearing a list of state governments in Nigeria doing little or nothing to curtail the malaria epidemic. It is a shame. After all, we don’t need outsiders to tell us how many children to give birth to so why do we have to wait on them to take care of these same children for us? It doesn’t speak well of us at all.

    Do you think the recent killing of vaccinators in northern part of the country can adversely affect the campaign against polio eradication?

    The killings drew comparisons with a series of incidents in Pakistan last December where five female polio vaccinators were gunned down, apparently by Islamist militants. It also signalled a fresh wave of hostility towards immunisation drives in the country, where some clerics have claimed the vaccines are part of a western plot to sterilise young girls and eliminate the Muslim population.

    So to answer your question directly, the sad episode is certainly a setback for polio eradication in Nigeria, but not a stop. The best we can do is to work harder and see the end of polio … so their loss will not end as a useless sacrifice.

    But like I have always advised, the war against polio should not be fought in isolation. We all must be involved.

    There are lots of misconceptions and stereotypes about what the north wants and do not want. There is need for understanding. For instance, how do you expect a family which has just lost a loved one to the cold hands of death say through measles, happily come out to partake in vaccination? These are some of the issues. Unless we understand these peculiarities, we will continue to go round and round the circles.

    If you go back in time, you will recall that the polio vaccine boycott which started in Kano in 2003 was as a result of the now famous Pfizer’s Trovan clinical trial scandal in 1996. But what we are yet to find out is who gave approval for the clinical trials? Certainly, approval didn’t come from outer-space, someone, somewhere gave the approval. But there has been a lot of blame game here and there.

    Is Nigeria still one of the countries in the yellow fever belt?

    Of course, Nigeria is one of the 17 endemic countries in the belt. Unfortunately, while every other country in the yellow fever belt had immunised their citizens against the disease, Nigeria remains the only country yet to embark on mass vaccination against the disease.

    But thankfully, the government currently had 66 million doses of the yellow fever vaccine and hopefully, should commence immunisation soon in some endemic parts of the country adding that the quantity could not cover the entire country.

    But we still don’t have enough yellow fever vaccine. There’s a plan to gradually go round the country and there’s hope that by the time we go round the country, the producer would have produced more. There’s not enough but the little that will be available, people should go for it.

    Why can’t Nigeria produce enough vaccine to serve the teeming populace?

    I agree it’s a big shame that Nigeria relies on other countries in the world for its vaccine needs. As I’m talking to you now, I know for a fact that we can’t manufacture reagents. But this wasn’t the case in the 80’s. There’s no reason why Nigeria should be depending on other countries for its vaccine. We had a vaccine manufacturing firm in Yaba, Lagos in 1994 which has gone under. We need to resuscitate it. Is it not lamentable that a country like Senegal is also one of the countries producing vaccine for us?

    But again, a number of factors might be responsible for this. Brain-drain is a major factor. Most of our doctors and scientists, especially my generation, took flight out of the country when government policy practically reduced us into paupers. There was a situation in this country where professors could no longer live decent lives. What do you make of a situation where as a professor you could not have a roof over your head talkless of being able to eat three square meals a day. It was that bad.

    So, like they say the first law of nature is the law of self-preservation. We had to leave in order to maintain our sanity. But then, those we left behind never had the benefit of good mentorship and that is why there is too much dependence on foreign vaccines because you are not so sure of the quality produced locally.

    Is this not an indictment on our local expertise?

    Yes, we all share in the blame one way or the other. In those days, we didn’t have improved techniques but we were able to detect any variant of yellow fever and thus were able to administer the right vaccines. But these days we rely too much on advanced techniques which come with a lot of baggage.

    See what China has done, despite the advancement in science, China for instance, has not done away with its roots.

    Take their traditional medicine, the acupuncture, it has become widely acclaimed. Right now, there is an acupuncture centre in New York. It is good to go back to the roots… China as a country keeps what makes them Chinese.

    Let me also make this point that our scientists have not done creditably well over the years.

    If you look at scientific journals all over the world, what make the news are the scientific discoveries, but what have Nigerian scientists done so far?

    In my acceptance speech at the Academy, I made the point that as professionals we must make our impact felt in the society. Let’s see how we can make a change. My hope is that in the next four years, Nigerian scientists will become more relevant in the scheme of things because presently we have failed the country.

    It doesn’t require a thousand people to change the world, it takes just a few people.

    Little drops of water make an ocean but I always say that you must gather the drops in one place to be able to make the ocean because if the little is scattered, you can’t achieve the utmost aim. Let’s see where each of us has a common purpose and plug our force into that.

  • I’d rather help the needy than flaunt a pet project – Ogun First Lady Olufunso Amosun

    I’d rather help the needy than flaunt a pet project – Ogun First Lady Olufunso Amosun

    Ogun State First Lady and wife of Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, was recently honoured at the City People Awards for Excellence. But unlike many other first ladies who flaunt their pet projects, she was honoured as the Best First Lady in the South-West on account of her charity work. The holder of a master’s degree in Guidance and Counselling from the University of Lagos told MERCY MICHAEL that her weakness consists in not being able to ignore the needy and the vulnerable whereever she finds them.

     

    What would you say has earned you the recent award as the Best First Lady in the South-West? Did the award come as a surprise?

    I reach out to the vulnerable in the society generally. I have assisted them in my own little ways. I have a weakness for helping them wherever possible. I am of the view that a little care for the needy in our society can make a huge difference. One of my first major outings as the wife of the governor of Ogun State was the flagging off ceremony of the 2011 Maternal Neonatal and Child Health Week in Abeokuta where I charged mothers to always ensure that their children were well fed with nourishing foods in order to reduce infant mortality. I believe that if children are adequately fed with nourishing foods, they will gain the needed immunity against the diseases that are responsible for child mortality.

    You also flagged off the school-based de-worming exercise, which was organised in collaboration with Emzor Pharmaceuticals Limited in 2011. Tell us about it.

    The exercise was conducted for primary school pupils across the 20 local government areas of the state to reduce worm infection among children. My office as the wife of the Ogun State Governor has also initiated many significant programmes aimed at supporting the present administration in its mission to rebuild the state, such as the education standard in schools in Ogun State. In a bid to wake up the motivation in the students and complement the free education scheme and free text books distributed to students in the state by my husband’s administration, I felt that a reward system of some sort could assist in motivating the students to strive to do better.

    As a guidance counsellor by profession, I decided to seek sponsorship to support a motivating programme for SS3 students. In our campaign to make life more comfortable for the less-privileged in February 2012, the UPLIFT Foundation collaborated with Tulsi Chanrai Foundation and Enpee Group to organise a free eye campaign for over 4,000 people from the 20 local government areas of the state. An event such as this became particularly necessary with my observance over the years. I mean, it is painful to see people go blind simply because of cataract, a disease that could have been cured easily through medical treatment. Ignorance has cost a lot of less- privileged people their sights, and that breaks my heart.

    After the free eye camp, we also carried out free surgeries where necessary. Through our programmes, we are giving a sense of belonging to aged people in the state. During my husband’s birthday in 2012, for example, instead of felicitations, we invited over 1,000 aged persons to join him in celebrating his day. We gave them health tips at the event, including free medical screening. Realising that this was just one day in the lives of these people, on my birthday last year, 100 of these indigent aged citizens were identified and have now been put on a monthly plan to receive essential commodities and a monthly stipend to assist them in their daily lives. We also have other programmes for the people of Ogun State, which time will not allow me to mention.

    What does this award mean to you?

    I feel it is a very reputable one. I had never attended any. I was called out from the blue and told that the work that I had been doing had qualified me for the award; which suggests that they had actually done their homework and were not just giving awards frivolously.

    Would you say you really deserve this award?

    I would like to believe so, to the glory of God. I had never gone personally to receive any award. But when this one came, stating all the work that I had done, I knew I had to be here myself because this award is obviously being given on the basis of merit.

    What is the nature of your own pet project?

    I don’t have a pet project. Unlike other governors’ wives who have pet projects, I only reach out to anybody that I can help in the society.

    What about your foundation, Understanding People’s Limiting & Inhibiting Factors Today (UPLIFT)?

    It had existed before my husband became a governor. The foundation’s activities are divided into six groups, namely, Uplifting the Widows, Uplifting Unemployed Graduates, Uplifting Women, Free Eye Camp, Uplifting the Aged and Uplifting SS3 Students. In the course of our work with widows, the foundation has supported indigent widows with business start-up items like salon starter kits, table top gas cookers, sewing machines and soft drinks business starter kits, to mention but a few.

    Furthermore, as a demonstration of our sensitivity to graduate mothers, the foundation provides emergency crèches so that they too could have the chance to take advantage of the programme. These graduates are taught skills like barbing, wireworks, millinery, fabric beading, small chops and pastry, event decoration, manicure and pedicure, shoe making, makeup and gele (headgear) tying, to mention but a few.

    We have also placed priority on the empowerment of women in the state. Therefore, we have distributed deep freezers, motorcycles, generators, sewing machines, grinding machines, among other items. at distributorship prices to be purchased by members of established cooperatives within the state. They are given the chance to spread the payment for these items over a 12-month interest-free period. Our Uplifting the Age programme gives a sense of belonging to elderly people in the state.

    How to do you manage the home front with the volume of work you do as the First Lady?

    Well, I guess it has become a part and parcel of me and a way of life because we are not new in politics. As you know, my husband had been a senator before he became a governor. So, it is just basically a way of life for me.

    You mostly appear in African attire. Why is it so?

    I am an indigene of Ogun State and a citizen of Nigeria. So, I am supposed to be an ambassador for African clothing. Besides, I love being comfortable and simple. So, I would not be caught wearing anything uncomfortable and vulgar.

    How has your free eye camp impacted on the people in the state?

    I would humbly say this has been of great benefit to thousands of indigent people in Ogun State. Eyesight is something that can be easily taken for granted, and that is why we have stepped up our awareness campaign to reduce loss of sight in the state. We are generally passionate about the health of the people in our state, especially the less-privileged.

  • How I’m tortured by telephone- Sen. Chris Anyanwu

    How I’m tortured by telephone- Sen. Chris Anyanwu

    Senator Chris Anyanwu is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy. She represents Imo East Senatorial Zone of Imo State on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). An advocate of effective representation, she is of the view that no representation is worth it when the doors are shut out on those who elected you. In this interview with Assistant Editor, LINUS OBOGO, in Abuja, Anyanwu spoke on APGA, politics of Imo State as well as the secrets of her youthful looks. Excerpts:

     

    You have always looked pretty, young and ageless, and I bet a lot of women will envy you. What is the secret behind your good looks?

    I envy them too and they are more youthful. There are many Nigerian women who are very excellent in their looks and all that. Anyway, what’s my secret? I have no secret at all. I just ascribe it to God and His works. It is the grace of God. But what I do is that I try to exercise as often as I can. I try not to live a very complicated life. I think all that comes together to help.

    Are there particular kinds of food you avoid?

    Well, we’ve been told that oily food is not good for you. This is so for children as well as some adults. You are told to avoid greasy food and try to eat less of the starchy food. You know, Nigerian diet is very starchy, but I am not going to walk around like a scare crow or a piece of iron because I want to look pretty. What I have to do is to eat in small measures.

    When I am really hungry, I eat but there is a level you will eat and you are already doing harm to yourself. I try not to get myself to that level. So, I just eat in small measures and avoid greasy, fattening and extremely starchy food. There are times you see the table is so rich and so wonderful, but it is not necessarily good food. Some of our soups are very oily and greasy; the vegetables are over cooked and all that. But you really have to watch what you eat.

    What do cosmetics have to do with your good looks?

    A  lot. You have to know how to enhance what God has created. When you get to a certain level, you have to know what is good for you, what is right for you and what is not right for you. There are a lot of people who think that cosmetics are bad and that they don’t need to enhance nature, but I am of the belief that you can do a lot to enhance what nature has gifted you with. Anyway, there is a whole lot happening in the sector. Everybody is moving away from chemically-based cosmetics because there is the fear that many of them are carcinogenic. They are shifting to natural products; cosmetics that are based on herbs.

    They seem to be much more healthy and they are very good too. The face of that sector is changing.

    Cosmetics are good if you choose the right kind of product, in quality and what suits you. It is not every kind of cosmetics that is good for you, especially if you have a dark skin.

    Many people see you as a very serious-minded person…

    Yes I am.

    And having observed you over the years and the work you do at the National Assembly, how do you relax actually? What do you spend your leisure time doing?

    Honestly, I was serious the day I was born and I will probably remain so throughout the rest of my life. So how do I relax? I drive it. I drive it for a long time and then go back and compensate. You cannot drive your system or body hard forever without compensating for that time. You must find sometime in-between those times of extremely hard work that you just sit down and put your feet up. For me, I just sit down under this shelter (behind her house in Abuja) and look at nature. Also, I do my gardening and I swim sometimes; but I continue to exercise. It is a good habit for me. And then I read. You have to feed the brain. Unfortunately, we are all so wired up. You have your I-pad; you have your mobile phone coming at you. I get calls at the rate of maybe, 10 every minute, text messages and then you have emails and all that. So, there is little time to do the things one wants to do. Sometimes the greatest thing you can do for yourself is to throw away the phone or keep it somewhere and walk away.

    Telephone is becoming a source of torture for many of us. You can’t rest, you cannot do any hobby so long as you are so wired up. And you know even the people in the villages know how to use it to torture you. They are coming at you from all over every second, even at ungodly hours including 2 am, 3 am.

    Looking at you also from a close distance, one can say that you are a fashionable person. What does fashion mean to you?

    I am not a slave of fashion. I wear what suits me. What suits, to me, is what is fashionable. Maybe at this point, that is the way I see fashion. There are classical looks, but I don’t remain there. I don’t follow what is in vogue. I think that everybody should have a strong sense of personal style. I do have my own sense of personal style; if you don’t dig it, maybe too bad. What suits me, what suits my personality, my attitude; the way I see the world and interpret things around, and my Africanness; what fits into all that is what is fashionable. And if

    you have a strong sense of personal style, sometimes you dictate the fashion.

    What is your favourite colour?

    I don’t have any particular colour, but I know that some colours are very nice. Pink suits me and sometimes I used to wear a lot of brown suntans but at some stage in my life, I know I need to add a little more colour because one is getting a little older. At this stage, you need to make some extra effort to pep up your wardrobe. But green is certainly not my colour, even though it is Nigeria’s national colour. Red is occasional; it depends on the occasion. You don’t wear red and you are walking around anyhow in broad day light. Red often is a ceremonial kind of colour.

    What puts you off?

    Bad attitude, greed, vulgarity. All these put me off easily.

    The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) was one of the parties that did not suffer the casualty of Independence National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) deregistration exercise. But the party cannot be said to be having the best of times. How disturbed are you and how does the party intend to overcome the infighting currently bedevilling it?

    Let me first of all go back to your preamble which I consider as wrong. There was no way APGA would have been considered for deregistration because it produced two governors, one senator, over 12 House of Representatives members. And in a state like mine, more than half of the state legislators are APGA. The same goes for Anambra State. There is no doubt that it fulfilled not only all the requirements expected of a serious party, but it also surpassed them. APGA is a serious party and that is why the whole country reckons with it.

    I am sufficiently disturbed by the happenings in APGA, but permit me to say that the experience is not peculiar or unique to the party. Even the PDP has its own internal problems. Isn’t the PDP in Ogun State enmeshed in crisis? The same goes for the party at the national level. Even though we don’t get to hear of the crisis in other parties so loudly, that is not to say that they do not have their own undercurrents sometimes. Every party has its own issues. Of course, that is expected. APGA is an assemblage of different people from different backgrounds and it is normal to differ on opinions and views. People will have their own personal high goals which often may not be in sync with the collective goals and objectives of the party.

    You expect these differences to come up from time to time. But it gets to a point where you must come together and say hey, enough is enough, let us sit down and talk. I think that we are getting to that point where we must sink our differences as members of APGA and where the party has to get its act together and work towards the goals and objectives that we all uphold. The Anambra governorship election is coming up this year and if the problem is not solved, it is going to affect the outcome for us as party and as a state. We all know that whatever happens in Anambra State has a way of ricocheting in Imo State as well as other South East states. That is why we have to be very cautious. And it is imperative for the leaders of the party to come together and find a way to resolve whatever disagreement that has the potential of threatening its corporate existence.

    As a party controlling two states and closely knit by a common faith, one would expect that any differences that exist should ordinarily not assume the hue of a conflagration capable of consuming it. Where would you trace the genesis of the crisis the party is embroiled in?

    We still remain a closely knit family. Do not forget that APGA is more of a national movement than a political party. It started as a movement and it is still a moment. The people who started APGA are so into the party that nothing can take them out of it. What the real people, the ordinary people of that region know is APGA. For them, it represents a movement. There is this strong sense of ownership and it is very difficult to pull them away from the party. It is, by and large, a closely knit party. There is a perceptive of cultural flare to APGA.

    Does it not bother you that for all that APGA represents, it has not been able to spread beyond Anambra and lately Imo states?

    APGA is everywhere. It is in the South South, with a strong presence in Rivers State, which was why the former governor, Mr. Celestine Omehia, ran on the platform of the party. When some candidates who fly APGA’s flag do not win, it tends to appear that the party is not everywhere. That is not true. APGA is a national party and that is why the National Secretary, Alhaji Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi, the former governor of Zamfari State, is from the North. We have membership spread across the federation. APGA has a strong membership pull also from Abuja.

    What are your thoughts on the crisis in Imo State which ultimately led to the removal of the former deputy governor, Jude Agbaso, from office?

    I am really troubled about the development in my state. But I am very optimistic that it is not going to last very long. Once in a while, it is good for things to happen like this so that people can be jolted from their revelry. Having said this, the crisis in Imo State was a temporary thing. It was about the governor wanting to displace his deputy. Of course, it was not new. After all, it happened in Akwa Ibom State where the governor also displaced his deputy governor. Heavens did not fall. It happened in Bauchi and some other states. It was not peculiar to Imo State alone. That is part of the instability that you will witness in a democratic state that is still emerging. So, for me, it is just an extension of that. It is not something novel and it will come to pass. I am sure sanity is gradually returning to the state.

    Some people have argued that the undercurrent in Imo State is as a result of 2015. Isn’t it too early in 2013 to begin to spoil for war over political office which is still far off?

    You know, Nigerians are very restless people. No sooner have they concluded an election than they will plunge into another one. So, it is never new, especially in some of these places like Imo State to see people begin to heat up the polity. I would not be surprised if it is all part of jostling for 2015. But I will hope that people will allow peace to reign and be focused on their subsisting mandate. Everybody has a mandate, part of which includes delivering on the democratic dividends to the people. Honestly for me, it is a privilege to be allowed to serve. The only way to show gratitude to the people is to do your very best. If you use all the time fighting for an expected event which is three years away from now, it is definitely not the way to go about things. For me, I will prefer that elected officers concentrate on meeting the yearnings of the people and fulfill their electoral promises to them and hope that what they do serve as testimonies that will speak for them when it comes to 2015.

    Factionalism is threatening to tear APGA apart, with Chief Victor Umeh on one hand and Maxi Okwu on the other in a battle for the soul of the party, ditto Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha seemingly charting a new ideological compass and Governor Peter Obi cleaving to the old ideology that defined the party from the outset. What do you make of these babel of voices or ideologies in the party?

    For the records, Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha is now in APC and not in APGA anymore. If he has left for APC, the APGA that he left behind in Imo is no longer his own. APGA has long taken a position and insisted that it does not want to merge with any party, but that individuals could go and join new entities on their own. As a party, it wants to retain its identity and remain so in a long while to come as a political party. And that is its position. It was clear from the beginning that the action of the governor of Imo State did not represent the position of APGA as a whole. As an individual, everyone is free to hold whatever views he or she believes in. And that is what it is.

    If you were to advocate for a merger with the APC, how much threat do you imagine this would pose to the PDP?

    I cannot speak for the PDP, but all I know is that a more pluralistic political system will help Nigeria a great deal. There is nothing wrong in having other strong political parties coming up, especially if you have two or more parties creating platforms for the people. More importantly, it will create a healthy competition for a party that has become entrenched. It will make the ruling party to sit up and be alive to its responsibilities to the electorate and not take them for granted. It will also make for more negotiation. It will lead to a more robust debate on issues rather than having a coterie of people ram it down the throats of many which does not bring the best out of the polity.

    So, for parties forming alliances and coalition, it is not a bad thing. What this means for the PDP is that it will make it sit up, make it to be more rigorous on issues than what obtained in the past and still obtains today. It will make the PDP reach out to the elements that will add value to the party. They will no longer run roughshod over other people. It might also bring internal democracy to the PDP. So, I think at the end of day, if the other new parties are not merely coming to undercut people, but to add value to the polity, it will work for the good of all..

    How do you react to the erection of bumps in the way of securing autonomy for the 774 council areas in the country in the ongoing constitution review by the National Assembly?

    The only people rejecting autonomy for the local governments are the governors. The local government chairmen have not said they do not want autonomy and the people at the grassroots have not said autonomy is not good for them. When we did the public hearing all across the country, the position from all the geo-political zones was the same: that we need to give both political and financial autonomy to the local governments. I hope that in the end, the right thing will be allowed to happen because as they say, in democracy, the view of the largest majority should weigh in the actions that we take. As for the states assemblies, we just hope that they will summon the courage to accept their own autonomy. They need to do a rethink and come to terms with the huge benefits of being weaned from the apron strings of the governors.

    Owing to the occasional instability at that level, governors themselves are afraid that if the House of Assemblies are allowed the autonomy, they will be impeaching their governors every day. That is what they are worried about. The level of maturity and experience at that level is also an issue. But by and large, it is up to the state assemblies themselves to stand up to say they want their own autonomy from their governors.

    How close are you to your constituency in terms of development and empowerment?

    I have been staying very close to my constituency and constituents. The general impression that national lawmakers are not close to their constituents is really not correct. A lot of lawmakers have been voted out for not visiting home or staying close to their people. But I will imagine that in those volatile areas of the north that have come under the onslaught of Boko Haram, lawmakers will find it hard to do so. But other than that, some of us come from where there is competition to surpass or get one up over your rival in terms of affecting your constituents. So, my people have continued to benefit from my presence as a lawmaker at the federal level. They have never had it so good. On the whole, legislators collectively are doing very well. Personally, I have been working on key projects and at the end of the day we will begin to show what we have been able to do.

    As Senate Committee Chairman on Navy, how would you rate the preparation of the navy in tackling some of the security challenges along our waterways?

    I want to say that I am very pleased with the current head of the Navy because his actions are very right headed and in the right direction. The Navy is working hard to deal with peculiar challenges of illegal oil bunkering and theft. But owing to the enormity of the challenges and how far they had been allowed to fester, we should not expect the problems to fizzle out overnight. The Navy has been more prepared than ever before in combating the illegal activities of oil theft and bunkering in the Niger Delta region. The number of vessels destroyed in the last three months has been phenomenal. But because the criminal themselves are more daring, the more of the vessels you destroy, the more they return and the more daring they get. But the Navy will continue to attack the heart of these criminal activities on our economy until the saboteurs are run out. We need to applaud the Navy. They are doing extremely very well. But they need more logistic support from the government to be more effective in policing our waterways.

  • My man’s sisters are against our union because I’m a widow with child

    Please ma, I need help on this: I am 29 and also a widow with a male child, but I am into a relationship with a guy who is an orphan. We love each other; the problem at hand now is his maternal sisters. They said that we can’t marry because I lost my man and have a child. I’ve asked the guy to go, he refused and said if I love him I won’t leave him, that he’s going to join a secret cult if I leave him. Ma, help me out, I am confused.

     

    If your man’s sisters are Christians, let him direct them to this Bible verse: “So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.” – 1 Timothy 5:14 

    And they are Muslims, let them know that in Islam, widows have a right to re-marry. There is nothing wrong with it. The majority of the women that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) married were widows.

    So, if God says widows should remarry, is it not somebody’s brother or father they would marry? And that you have a child makes it even better, at least, they know that you’re not barren. So, if he marries you, before long, you would have kids running around the house with your first child playing big brother or sister. What’s their stress?  Common, leave them and face your guy. That’s the person we have to talk to. If he’s ready to marry you, he should just go ahead and do so. He doesn’t have to take his sisters along to pay your dowry if they won’t come with him. Get the blessings of your parents and start a good life. Those going into second marriages, including widows do not need a big wedding anyway. So, just do it right.

    One word for your man though – he should stop this threat of cultism, it’s not healthy. He should learn to make you reason with him even on other things without resorting to threats.

  • My tongue ached for three days after my first kiss – Ex-Governor Victor Attah

    My tongue ached for three days after my first kiss – Ex-Governor Victor Attah

    Obong Victor Attah is an accomplished architect and former governor of Akwa Ibom State from 1999 to 2007. A man who does not believe in sitting on the fence over an issue, he once led a protest as a student at the Ahmadu Belo University Zaria, Kaduna State over alleged frustration of Nigerian architectural students by the then British lecturers. Long before then, he had protested against his parents’ church, Qua Iboe Church, by opting out to join the Catholic communion for refusing him baptism because he was too young to raise the required dues. In this interview with Assistant Editor, LINUS OBOGO, in his Abuja office, Obong Victor Attah spoke about his journey in life, regrets, his first kissing experience and sundry issues.Excerpts:

     

     How would Obong Victor Attah describe his essence?

    There is really no one essence to describe a man. Your question is a multi-dimensional one. That is, if you were to ask my staff what kind of man I am, they will define me as a type of employer that they know me to be. And if you ask any member of my family what kind of man I am, they will define me differently by telling you that I am the kind of husband, father and grandfather that they have known me to be. Similarly, if you were to ask my political associates what kind of man I am, they will also tell you that I am that kind of politician that they know me to be.

    So, you asking me about my essence, all I can tell you is that I try to be a decent human being with principles that will stand me before my Creator and I can only say that I have done my best.

     

    How would capture the kind of family were you born into?

    Without sound immodest, permit me to say that I was privileged to have been born into the family of educated parents. My father, the late Bassey Attah was the second Nigerian ever to have a university degree in Agriculture and the first to obtain a Master’s degree in the same discipline. My wife also, was an educated woman who was a school teacher. So, I can consider myself born into a privileged family.

     

    Coming from a background where you father was Nigeria’s second graduate of Agricultural Science, and the country’s first Master’s holder in the same discipline, how were you inspired or influenced by all of this, educationally?

    I was positively inspired. I grew up to realise the value of education in human development. My father believed so much in the importance of education. When he returned to Nigeria after completing his education in the U.S., he was sent to Moore Plantation in Ibadan and later to Oil Palm Research Station (OPRS), which is now called NIFOR, in Benin, Edo State. Much later, he was sent to the Cameroun. This was a time when Quinine was our only cure for Malaria. So, my father was the one who developed and grew all the Quinine plantations used for the treatment of Malaria then as well as the banana plantations in the Cameroun.

    The reason I am telling you this in relation to education is to let you know that I was born at a time when he was leaving for his studies in the US in 1938. He returned to Nigeria in 1945. He studied through the Second World War years.

    Upon his return, to Nigeria, he was moving his children of whom I was one of the seventh from one part of the country and from one station to another. I remember that in those days, even when you studied English as a language, you actually taught in the mother tongue.

    So, at Moore Plantation in Ibadan, we were trying to study Yoruba, which we eventually did not speak. In Benin, we were also at the OPRS trying to speak Edo, which we also did not speak. It was the same situation in Cameroun, trying to learn one of the languages, which we ended up not speaking.

    With this unsettled life, my father felt if we went on like that, we were not going to be educated if we continued like that. So, he sent my mother along with the rest of my siblings back to Uyo so that we could live a settled life and pursue our education. His decision was a demonstration of how much he loved education. He made sure we did not only have to go to school, but a school good and decent one at that. He was determined to push us as far as he possibly could, educationally.

     

    How was your growing up like?

    I must say that it was quite interesting. When you grow up in what could be described as a privileged family, certain things come your way naturally or as a giving. There is this story that I am going to tell you without mentioning names. There was this incident in which someone, in an attempt to abuse us, told my siblings and me that we were trying to be like the joneses. But someone else who was listening, quickly stepped in and said the family we came from, were the real joneses and so we could not be trying to be like the joneses.

    While we were growing up, one of the enduring lessons our father taught us was humility and obedience to law as the essential ingredients, if we were to grow up as complete personality. As a child, my father preferred I studied engineering, but I was rather excited studying architecture because it was more of a creative endeavour than engineering.

     

    Given the kind of family background you belonged, what sort of awe or respect would you say you inspired in your peers and neighbours?

    Fear, definitely not! We did not have to use our position to intimidate anybody. But sadly, I see that happening today. If you are truly and sufficiently educated and you are sure of yourself, then, you do not need to intimidate anybody. However, you can inspire by offering the right thought and the right direction. You must enjoy the benefit of being taken into consideration and being consulted. That is what people expect from anybody in any society. Honestly, if you try not to open your mouth too wide when you are sure of your subjects, people will definitely respect and look up to you.

    While growing up, I found out that this was not too difficult to do because people just expected that I should know everything under the sun. So, even when I did not know, I would ask questions until we arrived at a solution.

    Our father taught us three things that would help us go through life: always say please; always say thank you when someone does something nice to you, even when you paying someone for doing something and finally, do not ever hesitate to say I am sorry to even the most lowly because you can do something wrong to him or her who is the most lowly in your midst.

     

    How rascally was young Obong Victor Attah?

    To be honest with you, I really do not know whether to call it rascality, but I was very firm on my principles. So, I do not know if that was rascality. Today, I am a Catholic and a knight of the Catholic Church, but my parents were Qua Iboe and they died Qua Iboe. I can tell you the story quite simply. I was Quo Iboe, grew up in Qua Iboe where I did my baptismal exams and passed successfully, but on the day of baptism, I was told I was too young and too small and would not be able to pay the church dues and stuff like that. Before then, I could not recall ever crying like I did following that disappointment of not being baptized. I was still in elementary school and was quite young then. I returned home that day and looked at my parents in the face and told them ‘if your church baptizes people simply because they could afford the church dues, I am not accompanying you to that church again. So, if you want to call that rascality, so be it. But I will describe that as standing on principle. From that day, I stopped being Qua Iboe. After that I went through different Christian denominational churches until finally, I decided that I wanted to be catholic.

     

    So your leaving Qua Iboe was more of what could be described as a rebellion or protestation?

    My Catholicism was not because I was born into it, but to borrow your word, it was more of protestation. That protestation marked a certain milestones in my life. That protestation also went with me when I was a student at the Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria, Kaduna State, which is now the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU.

    At Zaria, I discovered that architecture was one subject Nigerians were not doing very well in. they could pass in several other subjects, but in architecture. So, I embarked on a protest. I went to our student union leader and said to him that something was wrong. How come that they would admit about 30 of us and that number would suddenly drop to half when getting to our third year and then to about three in our final year? Even then, some of the three ‘surviving’ ones would still not pass very well.

    So, what made me to protest very strongly was that most of the young Nigerian architectural students who were purportedly not passing their architectural exams found their way to England and did very well, even better than some of the English students in the same architectural course. Do not forget that at Zaria, we were being taught by British lecturers. So, I put two and two together and came to the conclusion that there must be something fundamentally wrong somewhere. If it was that we could not do very well in architecture, then these Nigerian students who left Nigeria for the UK should also not do well over there. So, I protested.

    So, I acquired the distinction or reputation, if you like, of being the first person to engineer a students’ protest in Zaria, which later became ABU in 1960. Following the protest, there was a major inquiry at the end of which it was recommended that the British lecturers in ABU Zaria would never allow me to pass out. I was a private student because my father was paying my fees. That was how I was sent abroad to study.

    So I found myself in a British school in the UK and I did very well. It was discovered that my protest had a basis. It was only when we had our independence that for the first time, a Nigerian became Head of the Department of Architecture, in the person of Professor Adeyinka Adeyemi, that we got know what the secret was. It was clearly established that the British were finding it difficult to graduate African professionals, but mostly in architecture and the building industry not only in ABU but everywhere.

    The reason for this was simple. The British had just returned from the war and could not all be absorbed in the workplace. So, they were being sent abroad. The implication was that if we qualified too early and too many, there would not be room for the British war returnees. That was why we were failing and failing and failing but would go to the UK and do very well.

     

    Given the nomadic life your father lived, having to be moved from one part of Nigeria to another a result of his profession as an agricultural officer, you must have imbibed many cultures. How much of these varied cultures would you say shaped your worldview?

    Well, the word nomadic, as you used it, would be rather too strong. But that being said, I will say that the experience exposed me very early to the country, Nigeria. We had been in the west, east, north and even as far the Cameroun, the Southern part of Cameroun. That is why when I tell people that I know Nigeria very well, I am not just making an empty boast.

    I did not speak any of the languages of the areas we lived. But the experience, however, made me to appreciate the richness of our vast cultures. It also made me to understand why certain people do certain things in a certain kind of way. I can almost certainly anticipate what their behaviour and reaction will to be.

     

    So what values would you say the different cultures you have had romance with inculcated in you?

    They inculcated tremendous values in me, because the different cultures made me a lot more tolerant of other people’s attitude and idiosyncrasies and their way of life. It taught me to be more accommodating of others, just as it has helped me to be a lot more understanding of the various people. It has also been helping me whenever I want to argue for or against certain things. For instance, if there is an issue and which I need to make an input, I should be able to say to whomever, that from the part of the country you come from, your culture does not support your position on this or that issue. And owing to my interaction with different cultures, I can afford to look at anyone in the face and say to him or her without any fear of contradiction that your action would not be permissible in your culture if you were to do that back home.

     

    As a Christian and a catholic for that matter, how often would you turn the other cheek if wacked on the other one?

    (Prolonged laughter) The scriptural requirement of turning the other cheek has been very severely abused. When God said we should turn the other cheek, He did not say we should be timid. He did not say we should be cowardly. He gave us the spirit of strength and of good understanding. If you are confronted with evil, will you close your eyes to it and turn the other cheek simply because the Bible says we should turn the other cheek? If you do not confront it, I do not think you are going to have any kind of success at all.

    Christ came and confronted the evil that he saw in the world, which led to His crucifixion and resurrection. If he had not confronted what he saw, we would not have had redemption. Let me tell you this and in all honesty, much as I do not like to be confrontational: I do not run away from taking a stance. I can take a stance and as a matter of fact, a very firm one.

     

    But was there a time that you had had to turn the other cheek?

    Very many times I have done so. We have a saying in place which goes thus ‘ekpe tuk, edu guduen’, which translate as ‘do not think the lion as cowardly just because it panics at being frightened’. Do not mistake the lion’s first reaction for cowardice as it might growl and pounce on you after realising that you are just a prey.

     

    Nigeria has continued to have more than its fair share of collapsed buildings. As an architect, what would you adduce as factors responsible for this?

    It is a phenomenon of the non-patronage of professionals in the building sector of the economy. Nigerians like to cut corners and they will always cut corners. If you go to an architect, he is going to charge you his professional fees because that is what he lives on. But if you have to deny him his professional fees, then you must seek the services of a quack. Or better still, you may decide to do it your own way, after all, who cannot build a house? That is what I often hear people say, I know how to build a house. But does that make them professional in the field of building and civil engineering? We have tried in this profession to tell the government that this is all wrong. There should be a dividing line building professionals and suppliers.

    Today, the man who sells sand sees himself as a contractor, another who supplies water at building sites is also a building contractor. So, they are all building contractors and engineers without professional expertise or skills. It is an all comers’ affairs and the government appears to be helpless. Even those who give design approvals do not insist on the design being handled by professionals.

    Occasionally, there is professional negligence on the part of the professional because he does not supervise adequately. And often, it is because the man for whom he designs says he does not want to pay you fees for supervising because he can supervise himself.

    In building, there is a cement/sand ratio for sandcrete blocks, but today, a tipper of sand is mixed with a bag of cement to produce 5000 blocks. The implication is that the building was already designed to collapse. When you build without enough reinforcement, buildings are bound to collapse.

    I can say it with all the conviction and authority that less than two per cent of our built environment is today under the design and supervision of professionals. The rampant incident of collapsed buildings must be looked at from two or more perspectives: we are building so much more now and so, the phenomenon seems to be larger than ever before; secondly, there is media spread so much more widely done now than it was in the past. Then, the media has a role to play by assisting us to tell this government and subsequent governments that the last lawyer to have ever set his foot in any Nigerian law court was Sir Dingle Foot (QC). It was a serious issue raised by the late Chief Obafemi Awolow (May his soul rest in peace), who said then that the man had no business entering the Nigerian court to practice.

    The lawyers have succeeded and the doctors have also succeeded in stamping out infiltration by non-professionals and non-Nigerians. Unless you are licensed to practice law in Nigeria, you cannot set foot in the country to practice law in our courts. For the doctors, unless you are licensed to practice medicine as a foreigner, you are not allowed to prescribe even APC. You cannot prescribe APC unless you are licensed by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). It is a serious matter, but when you come to the building industry, people who are not even qualified to practice in their own country are bringing designs and drawings which we are accepting.

    There is no regard and respect for professionals in the Nigerian building industry and there is no enforcement of our building code.

     

    What would you consider as the high point of your architectural career?

    Have I gotten there yet? In truth, I am looking for things to do now that will be my signature project and I will retire home to the Lord. I am 74 and going on 75. Soon, I should stop practicing. As creative an endeavour as architecture is, your success depends to a very large extent on the client. If your client is very understanding and is able to indulge you and you are able to produce a good design, it becomes a reference point in a long time to come. I am still looking for that client.

    The problem with most of our clients in the building industry is that they are too impatient. Why is it that projects take long years to complete and often abandoned by contractors, yet architects are rushed to produce designs? Professionally, it is difficult to shift a line on a design than to have a structure demolished.

    The closest that I came to agreeing that I have designed a good structure that could be a reference point is the NDIC head office building here in Abuja. And funnily enough, it is the only one among several buildings in Abuja that I can point to as my design.

    What interest me about that building is that a British architect who practices here in Nigeria, and whom I met at a social function said to me that he would tell me what would interest me. I asked him what would be? He said some of his foreign colleagues from the UK came on a visit and he was taking them round Abuja, and as they were going, they saw the NDIC building and asked him to stop, according to him, they said the building looked like it was designed by an architect. They drew closer and took a look at the building. That, to me, is something to be proud of. It turned out that way because my client allowed me enough time to experiment with designs.

     

    Do you have a habit and if yes, what would that be?

    Yes, I have a habit and the habit is hard work. It is a habit that people have complained about. The fact is that I enjoy what I do. But that is not to say that I do not recreate. I go on vacations every year. I do that with my family so that when we come back, we have things to talk about together. But once I return to Nigeria, nothing else takes the place of work.

     

    What has been your saddest moment in life?

    My saddest moment was to have lost my wife to the cold hands of death. That was the best companion that I had who made life very meaningful to me.

     

    Despite that there were many beautiful Nigerian women, why did you have to settle for a woman from the Barbados?

    You should have asked me where we met. Anyway, I will give a simple answer. I met my wife while in the university in Leeds, England. Again, let me borrow your word, after my protestation at ABU, I was sent to continue my university education in England. I was so young then that my father tried to persuade me to return after my graduation to marry a Nigerian lady, but my younger brother had to personally write to my father asking him to leave me alone to marry whoever that my heart agreed with. He told my father that it was a matter of market availability. He said if I had reached marriageable age and the only available market to me then was what surrounded me in the UK. So be it. That is the kind of family I come from. So it was a matter of market availability.

    If I was in Nigeria at the time I wanted to marry, it would have been a Nigeria because I would not have left Nigeria in search of a wife in Barbados. But I have no regret at all that I found the kind of wife I did. She was a wonderful woman.

     

    How disappointed was your father with your decision?

    He was not disappointed. Rather he was so pleased that I married someone he came to regard as a daughter. He was extremely happy with the choice I made.

     

    If you had a second chance, where would she come from?

    (Cuts in) Are you suggesting that I marry again? But if that were to happen, this is the available market now. There will certainly be no need of going back to Barbados to marry another wife.

     

    So, has His Excellency started receiving applications from suitable applicants from the available market?

    (Cuts in with prolonged laughter) Do you advertise for this? No, nobody places an advert for a wife. It was just a few months ago that I buried my wife. So let us leave that for the time being.

     

    What was that invaluable piece of advice that your father gave you and which you have taken along with you up to date?

    He told my siblings and me to always remember three things: to say ‘please, thank you and sorry’. He added another: remember that hard work has never killed anybody. But if you do not work hard, you might die of starvation.

     

    What is your biggest motivation in life?

    I am motivated by the desire to succeed. If I accomplish a task and it turns out successful, I feel like doing more. Success is my biggest motivation.

     

    If you were to go back 45 years, what is that thing that you would have loved to do differently?

    Please, I will beg of you not to go back that far. Just take me back to 2007 and I would have insisted that Nigeria should elect the kind of president she should have. I just regret the fact that Nigeria has never been allowed to elect freely the kind of president she ought to have. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that the leadership we have at the moment is bad or anything of sorts. That is not what I am saying. But the fact remains that we have never been allowed to choose our president freely. It is only then that we can make progress as a country. That is all I am really insisting on. I listen to former President Olusegun Obasanjo saying the last time that Nigeria lacks good leadership material. That is not true and he knows it. Why I said he knows it is because it was in his time that we said Awolowo was the best president we never had. Why did we not have him? Yet he was the best material. It was because he was not allowed to be president. It was also in his time that we came up with this theory of twelve two third. Over the years, we have been manipulating and manipulating to ensure that the best man does not get the job. Nigeria has abundant leadership potential and possibilities. So, his statement was not correct.

     

    How was the experience the first time you kissed a woman?

    (pauses) Wait a minute, wait a minute. Please don’t laugh. If you are asking about kissing someone passionately, it was something I did while I was in the UK. It was a feeling I can never forget. I kissed and kissed and kissed that after three days later, I complained to my roommate that I wanted to go and see a doctor because my tongue was aching. I told him I did not know what was wrong with my tongue. I had kissed for so long that my tongue started aching. That was how wonderful it was. It was the person who eventually became my wife. The experience was absolutely fantastic.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • My boyfriend has changed and it is difficult understand

    I am 19 and a student yet to gain admission. I have a boyfriend who used to be very caring and loving but he suddenly changed. He used to be the first to call me and the last to tell me goodnight, but all this have changed. When I told him my observation, he said it is going to be very hard to understand him. I also told his only sister and she said I should be patient with him. Please ma I need your help, I’m confused. Thanks and remain blessed.

     

    Dear girl, I think I like this your guy. I mean, he told you pointblank that it will be very difficult to understand him. He’s a very sincere person and I think you should respect that. He needs space, that’s what it means. That he’s gone off you for now doesn’t mean he’s gone off you for life. For now, he wants it that way, so adjust to the way things are now. When people require space, it may mean many things. He could be trying to sort out his life, and this relationship just doesn’t fit in for now. He might have found another love interest and if that is the case, to make him respect you, leave the shadows and give him time to study this new person. Chances are, if you’re a good person, he will soon start comparing your good points with hers and see you as an angel and come back. Whatever it is, give him the space he is silently asking for.

  • I am a girl 16, but I look 26 and I’m embarrassed when people call me ‘aunty’

    I’m Bukola. I have a little problem concerning my age and stature. I am a girl 16, but I look like a 26-year-old person, it’s not that I’m very robust nor very tall, but I look big. I always feel embarrassed when everybody calls me ‘aunty’. Ma, What should Ii do? Would cutting my hair short will make me look young?  Thanks.

     

    Dear ‘Aunty’ Bukky, first, let’s look at the advantages of having a big stature. It means that somehow (to a large extent), you’re protected from those small boys who may want to ‘chance’ you. You’re not in their class, so they may not try to take advantage of you. It also means that from your young age, you are being accorded some form of respect, which if well managed, would make you have self-confidence and make you grow into a beautiful woman.

    Bukky, you’re still growing and by the time you’re in your twenties, everything will blend and you would be glad you grew fast. I have a son who is very young but already 6 feet plus. He’s about your age but he towers over most men in the family. I guess he’s probably the tallest in his father’s family and he loves being so tall. In fact, he loves the feeling. He’s going to his second year at Babcock University now and I bet when he came in as a freshman, he couldn’t be ‘chanced’ by anybody because of his height.   Be confident in your stature darling. Confidence helps us deal with the challenges such as this and others in life. If we are confident, we believe in our abilities and feel hopeful that we can achieve our goals. We are also more willing to try new things, and this helps us to learn. Having confidence also means we are more likely to feel comfortable with ourselves and that we have something worthwhile to give. Confidence helps us interact with other people, which makes it easier for us to form relationships. We live in a social world, so our relationships with others are of considerable importance to our wellbeing. Look at yourself as that young, beautiful young woman and carry yourself with joy. Don’t go cutting your hair. Weave it into different beautiful styles and shine. Go girl!

  • I was faithful to him, yet he broke my heart

    A guy I dated for 3 years and was faithful to broke my heart and now I cry all day. I even feel like ending my life just to stop thinking about him and stop being in pain. What should I do?

     

    Yes, I know how you must be feeling. You wouldn’t like to get up from your bed in the morning because you don’t want to face the world without him and your nights are long and filled with tears. You’re probably asking yourself where it all went wrong and may be blaming yourself. Cry some more. I tell you, it will help you cope. Share with friends and allow them to point out the guy’s faults and stupidity. Deliberately talk about his not-so-perfect points and laugh about it. Spend time with people who love you and tell yourself you deserve a better person. Tell yourself that the vacancy he just created is for you to find a man deserving of your love. However, do not go into a new relationship now. Shed all feelings of bitterness and learn not to mention his name after a while. Wait until you have healed before you consider going into a new relationship.

    No, don’t be suicidal because of him. He has taken his love away; he shouldn’t take your life too. Learn to love yourself and be happy. Sit in front of a mirror and apply make-up. Sing new songs and tell yourself that you don’t need a narrow-minded person like him you dumped the good thing that you are. Shine baby. Shine!

  • Kola Ayanwale bounces back

    Whenever the story of leading advertising companies which have worked with top companies in Nigeria and carved a niche for themselves is told, Centerspread, an advertising agency owned by Kola Ayanwale, will enjoy a mention. Without an iota of doubt, Ayanwale etched his name in gold in the advertising sector as an active player for decades.

    In the last few years, his company has handled the accounts of many leading banks. One of the biggest accounts it handled was that of Skye Bank. While his childhood friend, Akinsola Akinfenwa, remained the managing director of the bank, Centerspread handled all the bank’s campaigns. He was so close to Akinfenwa that he only needed to ask and it would be given.

    But after a CBN policy sent Akinsola on compulsory retirement, Kehinde Durosimi-Etti took over and immediately terminated Centerspread’s contract with the bank. The move made by the new Skye Bank MD was said to have caused some financial setback for Ayanwale and his company. Consequently, he went on low profile.

    But Celeb Watch gathered that the dark and handsome man has bounced back with his friend now the chairman of the new Heritage Bank. Kola Ayawanle’s Centerspread Advertising Agency is now said to be in charge of Heritage Bank’s accounts. Things, certainly, are looking up for Ayanwale again.

  • Patience Jonathan dumps FFLN

    Patience Jonathan dumps FFLN

    Nigeria’ s First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, must be enjoying a new lease of life since she returned to the country after series of surgical operations abroad. The woman who once liked to be measured by the number of high networth individuals she had around her appears to have made a volte-face, preferring to stay all by herself and without some fussy groups of friends.

    And she makes no pretence about her preference for the company of her husband to friends that would only gossip and take undue advantage of her office. Her decision to shed many of her friends’ companionship might not be unconnected with her perception that many of them were behind some ugly stories that made the rounds about her ill-health.

    A group known as Friends of the First Lady of Nigeria (FFLN) had been formed few months after her husband became the President. Made up mainly of self-acclaimed society women, the association’s objective was believed to be nothing more than ‘reaping’ bountifully from Jonathan’s presidency. The same women had formed an impregnable ring around Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, wife of the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, but shifted their allegiance to Dame Patience Jonathan after Yar’Adua’s death.