The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday magazine

  • N/DELTA SOOT ARMAGEDDON: Nightmare for citizens, cash cow for criminals, security agents

    N/DELTA SOOT ARMAGEDDON: Nightmare for citizens, cash cow for criminals, security agents

    • How security operatives aide, abet oil theft

    • Govt’s ineptitude boosts demand for stolen products

    • FG, states watch while citizens die slowly, painfully

    Residents of Rivers and other states in the Niger Delta are living on borrowed time from systematic organ failure, if medical prognoses of the effect of prevailing soot pollution are anything to go by. Hapless in the face of governments’ indifference, corrupt security operatives’ collusion with criminals, residents are wondering, when, not if, they would pay the supreme prices. SOUTH-SOUTH REGIONAL EDITOR, SHOLA O’NEIL, strings together connections between Federal Government’s failures, corrupt security operatives connivance, acquiescing state and local leaders; how it weakens the fight against pollution, effects on the delicate balance of peace, security and pollution across the Niger Delta.

    In the early hours of Tuesday, January 18, 2022 this reporter left Mile 1 area of Port Harcourt, driving through the popular Aba Road where Governor Nyesom Wike is completing the last of six flyover bridges to tackle the infamous traffic gridlock that has made driving in the city a horrendous task. The governor is revitalizing infrastructure, especially roads, and the city is regaining its lost glory.

    Early morning is the best time to explore the rejuvenated city, as the roads are freer (of human and vehicle traffics), with just few pedestrians, mostly street sweepers, early morning joggers and other early risers, on the road. It was a good time to be up, out and about

    It was almost sunup (at 6am) – but a thick cloud of darkness enveloped the landscape. Rather than crisp morning air, the sky was heavy and the air thick and pungent. A first time visitor could easily mistake the ominous cumulous overhead for Harmattan or rain, but it is indeed a specter of death that is steadily spreading across the skylines of the Niger Delta, as oil thieves become more emboldened and prosperous from their nefarious acts.

    One could feel the wind scorching its way through the nostril into the lungs. As the vehicle traipsed through eight-lane highway from Air Force Base towards Artillery, the overcast overhead grew thicker, the air even more so, and its sting harsher. By the time the vehicle ascended the Artillery flyover, there was the eerie feeling of being caught in toxic haze. The distress was not only felt in the nostril and lungs, but there was a stinging sensation in one’s bleary eyes.

    Two hours later, the sun was yet struggling to break through the fog, but it was eclipsed by the sheer weight of the pollution. The dark apocalyptical fog was even larger, covering every space of the sky that the eyes could see atop the Eleme Flyover and the burning sensation on the eyes was unbearable, same with the harshly peppery sting on the skin. It was like showering under toxic rain of fine molecules.

    Hours later, well over midday, the gloom over the city continued to defy and subsume the sun. There was no sight of the blue sky. It was one of the worst days since the deadly pollution over five years ago. Its wing spanned over the city from Obigbo to Choba, through Emuoha to outside the city.

    This is a regular feeling residents have been contending with for several years in the face of soot invasion. Soot (also known as lampblack or carbon black) has become a familiar feature in skylines of towns and villages of the oil producing areas.

    Experts say soot is “a product of incomplete combustion,” which effects could be fatal for victims, as those in Rivers State. Illegal crude refiners have taken over the Niger Delta, unleashing pollution on a scale that is unseen or felt since oil was first discovered in Oloibiri in the 1950s.

    Illegal bunkering and local refining of crude oil started in the 1990s when youths took up arms to protest the region’s relegation in the scheme of the Nigerian state. From selling crude oil to international rogue traders in exchange for arms, they learnt how to produce fuel to power their speed boats. Now it has become a booming business for criminals, including ‘repentant militants’. As their operations spread, the pollution from the unregulated ‘industry’ has increased.

    The footmarks of this killer are felt in every home. Every day, people wake up to black particles in their living homes. Housekeepers spend hours mopping floors to remove the unwanted visitor, but the victory over soot is only momentary, because the purveyors never stop. Air-conditioner filters now need to be changed more frequently because of the constant invasion of the dark particles that penetrate and clog them.

    People, including the aged, children even day-old wake up with pain, their nostrils are darker than the exhaust pipes of smoky cars; phlegm from their throats is blacker than a chimney pipe. Mrs. Happiness Josiah, a resident of Igboetche Road said: “No matter how many times you shower in a day the water will come out black.”

    Chest pain and respiratory diseases are more commonplace than malaria and other ailments. In 2020 a report produced by the Prof. Roseline Konya-led technical team showed that over 22,000 persons were either admitted or required medical treatment for respiratory tract related ailments in five years. But medical experts at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and other health centres said the number has more than tripled just two years after.

    Konya, a former Commissioner of Environment in the state, blames pollution resulting from illegal bunkering activities and gas flaring. The finding only affirmed what residents and other groups already knew. Most of those who spoke on the situation said they were aware that the putrid air poses severe health hazards.

    There are no official records of the number of deaths resulting from the pollution, but it is believed to be in thousands. The situation is worrying enough for wealthy inhabitants and those with options to seek safer places away from the polluted areas. But there is no option for those without means and others whose jobs are in the area.

    “What can we do? Even if I want to relocate, I don’t have the money. If I get a job that will take me out of this pollution, I will not think twice about leaving. This is not the Port Harcourt we lived in in the ’90s and early 2000s,” a resident of Akpajo suburb of Port Harcourt told our reporter

    Chigozie (surname withheld), a driver who lives in Oyigbo, told Sunday Nation that the pollution is worse in communities around Imo River, Eleme, Ogoni, where numbers of illegal, local refineries have grown vastly in the last few years. He is one of those who has root in the area and so cannot leave. He has spent his savings to complete his dream home.

    “From morning to night there is no break. Sometimes we wake up from sleep in the middle of the night choking; it is like breathing in chemical that you don’t see yet it is burning your chest and every other part of your body. You try to cough but it is dry and your nose is blocked. When you finally cough the mucus is black like condemned oil. We cannot open our windows, even if there is no light, because it will be worse,” he lamented.

    Those living around those areas for prolonged periods of time risk early death, numerous reports have revealed. A study by the Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), an NGO, said soot particles, which are easily inhaled or absorbed through the skin, and/or assimilated into the human body, can caused up to six kinds of cancers – lung, breast, pancreatic, prostrate and sarcoma.

    Speaking at a ‘Stop the Soot’ conference organized by Rotary Club Eco in Port Harcourt, Dr. Denye Briggs said research undertaken at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) found “structural abnormality in the sperm cells of majority of men living in Port Harcourt.” Such defects, he said, could affect their ability to impregnate their spouses.

    Worried residents, NGOs and CLOS have embarked on protests to draw the attention of government and environmental agencies to their plight. Yet, there has been no action, until recently, and the air quality has worsened.

    The menace is not restricted to Port Harcourt or Rivers State, according to CEPEJ Country Chair, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, who hails from Kokodiagbene in Warri Southwest LGA of Delta State. He said the situation is worse in the suburbs, villages and communities with oil locations and pipelines right of way.

    Travellers on the East-West Highway from Elele junction through Ahoada to the Bayelsa State axis as well as on the Port Harcourt – Enugu Expressway would agree. The suffocating air around those paths is a bother for travelers on the busy roads.

    The situation is even worse in riverside communities, where soot has added to the devastation of the ecosystem; the air, water, land, and everything within are blackened, corrupted and polluted by illegal refinery operators who pour waste and oil in drinking water sources and farmland without caution.

     

    FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S FAILURE, ILLEGAL REFINERS’ GAIN

    Illegal refineries, which produced crudely extracted diesel and kerosene from oil stolen from pipelines and wellheads, have defiantly waxed stronger in a nation where government-owned refineries are wobbling and fumbling. Law enforcement agencies frequently reel out figures of numbers of illegal refineries they destroyed and set afire, still more are springing up in huge numbers and at locations that question the sincerity of those involved in the fight.

    An industry expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said  up to 60% (or higher) of diesel sold at petrol stations, including those of major marketers, are sourced from illegal refineries.

    “Some of them simply blend the unskillfully extracted diesel (kpofire in local parlance) with imported ones. The percentage of kpofire and pure diesel depends on the greed, mood and temperament of the sellers. Even some tank-farms are not left out in this brisk business: what separates one from the other is the ratio of pure to kpofire.”

    Our source said because of the huge profit involved, marketers from all over the country are joining in the business “From far and near they are financing locals to refine and sell directly to them,” he revealed.

    Numerous factors are responsible for increased demand for cheaper products in recent years. Among the drivers of this growth are the high cost of importation in the face of falling naira, inflation and failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to tackle endemic corruption in various institutions within the oil and gas sector.

    “Demands have gone up for kpofire because it is cheaper. The crude oil used is stolen, the ‘industry is not regulated and provides a local alternative to the essential fuel as kerosene and diesel that manufacturing companies, all industries, SMEs and even households rely on run plants. Epileptic power supply nationwide also means that businesses and individuals operate their own ‘power plants’ and other means to cut the cost of diesel are welcome,” a small business owner said condition of anonymity.

    “At a pump price of N230 per litre, kpofire diesel is 50% cheaper at just around N120 per liter, depending on purity and proximity to the source. Kerosene sells for N441/liter making Nigerians pay more for it than any other oil producing country in the world. Data from globalpetrolprices.com shows that N441 would get a drum (200lt) of kerosene in Iran, where it sells for N2.15. This is why despite risk of explosion risk most households continue to cling to this cheaper option, which sells for about N120/l.”

    The recent astronomical rise of cooking gas price also pushed consumers to explore the use of the locally refined kerosene. In 2021, the prices of cooking gas went up 200 percent: refilling a 12.5kg cylinder spiked to N13,000 in some parts of the country from N4,4000.  For poor families already battered by high cost of living, falling purchasing power, the switch to stoves powered by kerosene was an easy choice.

    BOOMING BUSINESS AT THE ‘EXPORT TERMINALS’

    –              Military, police collaboration

    Hundreds of trucks leave northern states and other parts of the country for the Niger Delta daily. In the past they brought farm produce and livestock, and went back with ‘products’. Now they come mostly empty just to load petroleum products. These trucks have fabricated massive storage tanks, different from their fuel tanks. These have capacity to conceal up 100 drums (up to 20,000 litres) kpofire products.

    The main ‘loading bays’ for these trucks are scattered across communities in all oil-bearing states. Some of the busiest points are between Elele-Junction and Ahoada, and Koko-Ugbenu junction (Delta State) on the East-West Highway, as well as earth roads in hidden locations across the zone.

    From midday they start trickling into the point around Ahoada. By dusk the line of trucks and tankers would increase until they totally choke the highway, sometimes reducing traffic to a single lane. The bolder ones could start filling their tanks in broad daylight; while others wait for the cover of darkness to take the stolen goods. The volume of these products lifted from the areas is not known, but it easily runs into millions of liters weekly.

    Smaller vehicles fitted with stronger suspensions are used to transport the products from different locations. Motorcycles specially tweaked to carry up to 400 litres loaded in nylon packs or jerry cans are the preferred ones for trucks taking smaller capacities.

    It’s good business for its sponsors, owners of tankers, who could be marketers, drivers, hirelings, menial workers at the site of production, motorcyclists and cart operators, who easily earn the national minimum wage in hours.

    Some local chiefs and community/youth leaders are not left out. They issue ‘operating licenses’ to operators, grant right-of-way to transport the products through their areas. Sources in various several communities told our reporter that political stalwarts, influencers and enforcers are not left out of the illegal deals.

    Last year Governor Wike ordered the demolition of a growing shanty and meeting place between buyers and sellers of the products near Ahoada. Bulldozers razed makeshift shops to the ground, but this did not stop the operators. The trucks and tankers and their collaborators started operating directly through pipeline right-of-way to load, sometimes with the assistance of security operatives.

    At 3:00pm on 19th September 2021, this reporter took a photograph of a military Toyota Landcrusier pick-up, with some armed men in Army fatigue providing cover for a heavy duty truck that was waiting to be loaded with product in public view along the East-West Highway.

    “The brazen manner in which the trucks go in and come out, even in broad daylight tells you the rot starts at the very top. Police, soldiers and other security agents now openly assist criminals to break the law under the watch of President Buhari who prides himself as pious a leader,” a resident in the community said.

    There are no roads with higher density of security checkpoints as routes where stolen petroleum passes. On every part of the East-West Highway, police and NSCDC checkpoints are so closely sited – even within hearing distance.

    Elele to Mbiama junction is a distance of 20 miles, but we counted 10 checkpoints mainly targeting transporters of stolen products. There are IGP Task Forces on pipeline vandalism, NSCDC, oil industry trade unions such as IPMAN’s and others. Men of the NSCDC use a simple testing kit – made of pet soda bottle with a string tied to its neck – to verify product sources. Our reporter watched them at work in Patani in Delta State, for over one hour. There were no arrests made, but ‘handshake’ between drivers and officers. Fees of between N1,000 and N10,000 are paid by trucks, depending on the quantity (seen from the size of tanks).

    Nights are usually busier at Ahoada loading point. As the night falls more security operative join the fray. Most of them drive their personal cars and SUVs. Among them are those on official duties (roadblocks) and those who sacrifice their personal cars for the job.

    “They are on mission targeted at the illegal products trucks, yet arrest or seizures are hardly made. The ones you see being displayed are just scapegoats who are used to justify presence on the road,” a community source at Okobe, Ahoada, told our reporter.

    The wanton manner the security agents take bribes from drivers confirm rumours that the rot reaches the high echelon of the forces. It was noticed that some of the tankers/trucks do not give money at all the checkpoints, ostensibly because they have ‘settled’ ahead of time. They simply drop a name or place a call to ‘higher authorities’ who in turn would speak to the checking officer and ask that the consignment had been cleared.

    Busoma (may not be the correct spelling), a motor-boy our reporter met at Bomadi Junction (Delta State), said: “We do not know about the arrangements; our bosses (truck/cargo owners) make the arrangements and give us number of the person to call when we run into trouble.” He added that “some ‘stubborn ofsa’ (officer)” sometimes demand ‘settlement’ in spite of the calls. He said such callous ones are usually given N500 to N2,000. It depends, also, he said, on the rank of the superior who had been settled ahead of their departure.

    Comrade Mulade, who is Country Chair, CEPEJ, affirmed that security operatives not only aid and abet the illicit trade, but are active operators who own bunkering depots across the region. He made the claim before Rivers State Government accused a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of owning an illegal refinery in the state. A local government council chair too was allegedly stopped from invading an illegal refinery by men of the NSCDC, who were allegedly securing the site

    “They (security operatives) are working with crude oil thieves and they own most of the bunkering spots along the riverside communities. They own vessels and assets that are beyond the capacity of locals. The youths and women that you see engaging in this trade are mere casual (menial) workers for highly-placed Nigerians. That is why when arrests are made, calls from ‘high quarters’ and ‘Abuja’ lead to release of the arrested vessels and persons,” Mulade said.

    Rivers State Commissioner for Police, Mr. Eboka Friday, said the command was committed to the war against illegal bunkering and assures the public he would not spare any officer indicted, no matter how highly placed they may be. The Acting Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe Koko, who spoke on behalf of the commissioner, said news of a DPO’s involvement was concerning, adding, “the officer was immediately redeployed and a panel headed by an ACP inaugurated to investigate the matter.”

    CRUDE OIL THIEVES IN POLITICAL OFFICE

    Our findings showed that beyond the influence of security operatives, some perpetrators have political connections. A secret report commissioned by one oil multinational years ago revealed participation of local politicians in the illicit deals. The report said proceeds from illegal bunkering are used to finance elections and political campaigns in return for appointments that give them protection.

    Furthermore, our independent research revealed that communities in Delta, Bayelsa and Ondo are falling into the grip of some oil thieves. “They amass arms and ammunition that give them the firepower to face military task forces. They hijack local leadership positions and security apparatuses and install their stooges. With this they acquire a platform to continue their activities.”

    Earlier this January, Rivers State Government revealed that a top director in its Ministry of Environment (names withheld) would be queried for alleged involvement in illegal bunkering activity. Kelvin Ebiri, Special Assistant to the Governor, said the Head of Service was directed to query the suspect “for abetting bunkering activities and handed him over to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.”

    The director was among a number of high profile individuals and heads of local security operatives (vigilantes) fingered for illegal bunkering in a sweeping effort to arrest the trend. Governor Wike also ordered LGA chairmen to identify sponsors and operators in their areas, go after them and destroy such operations.

    Nevertheless, Bibi Oduku, Commandant General, Riverine Security (Coast Guard of the Federation) while offering assistance in the war, urged Wike and other governors of the region to do house cleaning if they must win the battle.

    “Some governors’ aides and supporters are using the governor’s office with security agencies for illegal bunkering business. The security agencies are very much aware of the happenings in their areas. He (Wike) should change the security units in riverside communities because they are so attached to oil bunkering and they are partners too.”

    This is easier said than done. Feelers across the region indicate that operators have unions that are heavily funded from the proceeds of their crimes. They are able to ‘buy’ security operatives, including the local police chiefs, who are offered luxurious gifts, such as cars and houses. They engage good lawyers who are drafted when members run into trouble.

    GOVERNMENTS WATCHING CITIZENS DIE

    Stakeholders who spoke on the effort to clear illegal bunkering are unanimous that all tiers of government need to do more to earn citizens’ trust. The government, they said, has failed to protect the people living in oil producing communities, neglected their plight in tackling the illicit trade.

    Mulade lamented dearth of health facilities in critical areas affected by oil pollution. Bassey Edoho, a commentator, was suspicious of the Rivers government’s frenzied response to the pollution, wondering if “he (Wike) did not know about them and the effect of what they have been doing for four years now?”

    Richard Yiranee, President, Luawii Student Union, however, commended the governor’s actions as “steps in the right direction.” He said Wike and his team should be applauded for the great job they are doing to stop oil bunkering.”

    Others insisted that governments have failed to protect their people from the debilitating effects of environmental pollution caused by oil exploration and exploitation activities over the years.

    For two decades, residents of Ubeji, Jeddo, Ekpan and others in Delta State, have contended with soot and gas flares from the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company. Several protests and petitions failed to move the state government to action. A gas torch has been burning nonstop in the centre of Gelegele, Edo State for several decades.

    “Soot Armageddon is not only happening in Rivers State, the reason why we hear about Port Harcourt soot is because the governor put it on the front burner. People are dying in their 40s, 50s or 60s years. Soot in Delta is worse than Port Harcourt, but there is no one is speaking out,” Mulade said.

    He said governors of the region failed to allocate part of the 13% derivation fund to tackle effects of environmental pollution, and prepare for future health and metal fallout. He lamented the absence of functional radiotherapy centers in the South-south region. “There are three of such equipment in the country, but the nearest to the Niger Delta is in Enugu, and others in Lagos and Ibadan.”

    Mulade and other stakeholders urged federal and state governments, intervention agencies such as the NDDC and oil multinationals to take steps and provide remedial health measures for those worst hit by soot in Rivers and other affected states.

  • Armed Forces Remembrance Day: Living heroes lament neglect, non-payment of Security Debarment Allowance

    Armed Forces Remembrance Day: Living heroes lament neglect, non-payment of Security Debarment Allowance

    This year’s annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day may have come and gone, but interactions with the some ex-military personnel show that all is not well with the living heroes. They say even widows of the fallen heroes being celebrated are wallowing in penury and neglect. GBOYEGA ALAKA reports.

    When she opted to retire from the Nigerian Army at age 53 in 2016, many, including her contemporaries, queried her decision, arguing that she was still young. However, Master Warrant Officer, Esom Chinyere Juliet, insisted that the decision had already been taken. Her argument was that she joined the army quite early and it was time to go pick her pieces. She actually looked towards the future with hope, age being on her side; little did she know that she was walking into penury, and that with all her glowing Military training and experience garnered serving, winning laurels for the Nigerian Army and traveling across Nigeria and Africa, she was only going to end up peeling and selling groundnuts by the roadside.

    “I enlisted in the Nigerian Army at a very young age, I was 18. I was a regular intake; General Dominic Oneya of blessed memory took me into the army corps. I was a talented athlete; I started by running for the Nigerian Army; from there, I ran for the Nigerian Armed Forces. Bauchi ’85, while running for the Nigerian Army, I was the Queen of Tracks; I won eight gold medals. The immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, was a sprinter at that championship. Then a captain, he was doing Triple Jump and Long Jump for the Army.

    “I came in 1981 and retired in 2016 as a Master Warrant Officer after 35 years. The army was all I knew. All my life, I have never had cause to write a job application letter. I was in Liberia, I was in Sierra Leone, I was in Bakassi, I was in Sudan, I was in Cote d’Ivoire, I was in Mali. If you see me, you will know that God has been merciful to me, even with lots of injury and health hazards. My body is no longer complete. If you add 18 to 35, you’ll know how old I was when I retired. Some people said I was too young, but I told them I was not too young, I joined early. I said let me retire and go and see if I can still pick my pieces, but it has not been easy picking that pieces. And that is because the money the Federal Government was supposed to pay us to pick up out pieces called Security Debarment allowance has not been paid, almost five years after I retired. That money was supposed to enable us get out of the military and reintegrate well into civilian life socially, physically and psychologically, but as I speak to you, not a dime of it has been paid.”

    Now getting agitated and emotional, MWO Esom (Rtrd) continued, “Even the minimum wage arrears that the Federal Government approved for all Nigerians in service, none has been paid to retired military personnel, 24 months after. If you add this January, it will be 25 months. Then the war veterans who are our seniors, who fought to keep Nigeria together, some of them, as I am talking to you now are on the streets, roaming and begging. They are not receiving a kobo as their pension. All they get are promises upon promises. The health insurance that we’re supposed to be benefiting, if you go to the hospital, once the drug is costlier than paracetamol; once it is N1000 or N2000, they would tell you they don’t have it, go and buy. Like you well know, most of us in the elderly category are suffering from High BP, diabetes; some have partial stroke, some are partially blind. Now imagine that you cannot walk into any hospital and get drugs worth N5,000. So what is the essence of the health insurance? What is our offence? Is it that we missed it by serving our country? During our time, there were no moneybags; we were doing our work diligently and were happy to go on foreign mission and come back alive.”

    Remembrance Day a farce

    More disheartening for Esom is the farce that the Armed Forces Remembrance Day has become. To her, the whole annual celebration rarely has any impact on the families of those the nation is purportedly remembering; same for the living veterans.

    “If you see the families of the so-called fallen heroes and what they’re going through, you will feel sorry for them. Even the living heroes are being ignored. Every year, they celebrate Armed Forces Remembrance Day, please ask them who and who are beneficiaries of all the money they are donating? If you are able to meet widows of those fallen heroes, you will know that the grassroots widows are not seeing a dime of the money they are donating. Every 15th of January, the faces you see at the Remembrance Arcade are the same faces you see there every year. Go to the barracks and check out families of these fallen heroes, they don’t have a place to hide their heads; you’ll see them roaming around gutters, with their children. Nobody cares about them. As I am talking to you, if they hear that I’m dead, they will immediately close my account; nothing for my family. So why not give me my entitlement when I’m still alive? We are using this opportunity to beg you journalists to come to our aid and help us to be heard. After 35 years, I don’t have a shelter over my head. I don’t have a house of my own. I can’t even retire to my village in Enugu State because I was not able to build a house there before retiring. As I speak, I am a squatter. Anywhere I see space; I sit down, peel my groundnut and sell. Yes, say it loud, I, a retired Master Warrant Officer of the Nigerian Army, hawk and sell roasted groundnuts by the roadside to survive.”

    Security Debarment Allowance, my homelessness and Gen. Olonisakin

    As far as MWO Esom (rtrd) is concerned, one main reason she is homeless and has had to squat and stoop to the level of hawking groundnuts by the roadside is the refusal of the powers that be to pay her Security Debarment Allowance. For some reasons, they have also kept them in the dark as to the exact amount due to her. A case of ‘what you don’t know does not hurt you perhaps.’

    Through investigations, however, she has been able to discover that it is a handsome sum, something in the region of N17million. That money, if paid, would help her erect a two-bedroom flat in her Enugu hometown.

    What makes her situation more hurtful, she claimed, is the fact that the batch that retired a year after her – 2017, have been paid, courtesy, the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin.

    “How do you pay my junior and not pay me? If they pay me that money, it would have been enough for me to build a 2-bedroom flat for myself. I have a land in my village. If anyone wishes to build a house for me, let them come, I have a free land; I will retire happily to my village to be planting green and ugwu in my compound and be selling. I only got N3.8million as gratuity, whereas those who left after me got over N21million in total.”

    It was the Chief of Defence Staff, General  Gabriel Olonisakin (rtrd), who opened our eyes to that money, because he paid it to those who retired in 2017 during his own time. Since then, we have been writing letters, clamouring for them to pay our own but they have kept ignoring or telling us stories. As I am talking to you, they said the last letter we wrote is with the Chief of Defence Staff and he is about to take it to the presidency. Over four, five years after, that letter has not gotten to the presidency.

    “That is why we recently held a warning protest in some states – Lagos, Oyo, and Kaduna. We also had one in Abuja on the 6th; we were at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defence.

    “The Ministry of Finance said our minimum wage arrears have been captured in 2022 budget and will be hastened so that we could be paid as soon as possible. But we are also hearing that the budget will not be effective till around March. As for the Security Debarment Allowance, the Ministry of Defence is just tossing us around. Nobody knows if the letter has really gotten to The Presidency or not.”

    Esom, however, has a lot of good words for General Olonisakin. “God bless that man, General Olonisakin, man of integrity. It was he, in his magnanimity, when he was appointed as Chief of Defence Staff, who brought out the document where this money had been approved and said, ‘No, this money is these people’s entitlement, I cannot sit on it.’ He said, Enough was Enough! And once he brought out the file, there was no going back. Nice man, good man. He will make heaven!” she said, thumping her fist.

    Miserly pension

    Esom admits that her pension has been regular more recently, but was quick to say it is peanuts.

    “Imagine a veteran collecting N35,000 as monthly pension in these days of inflation. He will pay house rent, he will pay school fees and he will take care of his health. I was talking to a veteran and he told me that the N35,000 he was paid for December didn’t last him two weeks because he was sick and his child was also sick. They were not even able to buy Christmas rice. And every day, you hear politicians stealing billions. If rat does not carry the money, snake will carry. And the people who fought for the unity of this country are wallowing in pain. Most of us wake up every day, thinking. As I speak to you, I’m on BP drugs, I’m on diabetes drugs.”

    Family life

    Esom is married to a civil servant and together they have four kids – three undergraduate and one waiting to go in for his master’s. But she says that success is largely because she is always drinking garri ijebu.

    “My husband is a civil servant and I know what they are also going through.”

    Would she advise any of her children to join the military?

    Her answer was sharp. “My children are witnesses to what I have gone through and still going through, so if they decide that they want to walk into hell fire, it is not my duty to tell them. They were with me in the barracks and saw what we went through. No child is as stupid as we were in those days. They now know that they have a better choice outside the military.”

    She has however not seen any such sign in any of them. Besides, she doesn’t even discuss it with them. Hers, she claimed, is to give them full support in whatever they come up with.

    Once a soldier

    Asked what the Armed Forces Remembrance Day means to her, the retired Master Warrant Officer said it means a lot to her as somebody who went into the force with all her heart and love for country. Her only regret, she said, “is how my country is treating me, how I am being denied my benefits and entitlement by powers that be. Are they waiting to celebrate me when I’m dead? All my life, I have never owned an okada (motorcycle); how then can I own a car?”

    In spite of all her lamentations, MWO Esom is quite convinced she would still opt to be a soldier, if there was a possibility of coming back to this world a second time. Her reason? “I still have deep love for the Army. My prayer is that things get better.”

    Talk of the saying, ‘Once a soldier…’

    Remembrance Day means nothing to me because they only remember the dead

    For 83-year-old retired Warrant Officer Shuaibu Ahmed, the story isn’t much different. Like her younger compatriot, MWO Esom, Shuaibu also says he and his surviving set are equally agitating for the Security Debarment Allowance. His argument is that if they could pay some, why not the others – at least those still alive and help them live some good life before going to meet their maker.

    “We are equally agitating for the Security Debarment Allowance, those of my set who are still alive. If I have that kind of money, I know how well it will help in solving my health challenges,” Shuaibu, who joined the Nigerian Army on July 14, 1969 and retired on June 30, 1993 as Master Warrant Officer, reflected.

    To make matters worse for Shuaibu, his house in his hometown of Agbede in Edo State, which he laboured to build before retiring, was marked for demolition when the Federal Government was carrying out expansion of the Abuja to Benin Expressway. As a result, he had to vacate the building, rendering him homeless; but up till this moment, he said no compensation has been paid to him.

    “In 2011, when the Federal Government was doing the expansion of the road from Abuja to Benin, they said my house fell on the right of way and was marked for demolition. As a result, I had to vacate the building in 2014, but since then, I have not been compensated. What makes it more painful is the fact they have compensated some other people. Not even my appeal to speed up my case because I am a retired military man has swayed them. So I had to come back to Lagos to get myself settled, because I don’t know anybody anymore in the village, having left for the Army and served away from home for long years. I now live in a rented house in Ejigbo, Lagos.”

    Aside the house debacle, MWO Shuaibu (retrd) says life since retirement has not been easy.

    First, it took six months for his gratuity to be paid. Of course he tried his hand in business when the money was eventually paid, buying and selling chemicals, but the experience was not so good. “Like you well know in business, sometimes you make profit, sometimes, loses. When that was not sustaining me, I took a security job. But even that, I have had to stop due to my age. At 83, what job can I do?”

    And now that all he has to fall back on is his monthly pension, Pa Shuaibu says even that does not have an exact date. “Yes, they do not owe; but they pay anytime they like. There was even a time back in 2003 or thereabout, when we were owed for a whole seven months.”

    Besides, he now battles with sundry health issues. He is hypertensive, has ulcer and has a large heart, yet the Health Insurance he is supposed to be entitled to has proved to be a joke.

    “They gave us Health Insurance, but when you go to the hospital, you still have to pay some money. The treatment only covers headache and the likes. It does not cover any major illness. When I had eyesight challenges and went to the Military Hospital in Bonny Camp, I paid for my surgery. Even the drugs, I bought. I am hypertensive, I have ulcer and I have a large heart; but I pay for all my treatments. The hospital that was given to me is too far from where I stay, so I just patronise a nearby private hospital because there is nobody to take me there in my sight condition.”

    Going down memory lane, Pa Shuaibu said he never served outside the country, but he literally traversed the country. “I served in Kaduna, Minna, Lagos and Ibadan; in Lagos, I was posted to so many places. I retired in Lagos. I served with the likes of Lt. Gen. Fred Chijuka (rtrd) of the Military Public Relations; also Major-General Jako, with whom I served at the UCA, the final account of the Nigerian Army – I’m not sure if he has retired now. ”

    Asked why these people rose to such high ranks and he ended up as MWO; could it be education, Pa Shuaibu who speaks fluent English, said: “No, it was because of my age. I joined the army at an old age, 30 and served for 35 years, so I could not rise so much.”

    On Armed Forces Remembrance Day, MWO Shuaibu, now a widower said, “It is supposed to be the remembrance of the fallen heroes and the living. But the way it is done in Nigeria, it is only the dead they choose to remember. So it means nothing to me. You have to remember the living heroes as well.

    “Even the money they say they donate on the Remembrance Day and give to the Legion, nobody knows where it goes. For all I know, it does not get to us the living. And I have not seen any widow who says anything was given to her family. In truth, I don’t get to see or hear from most of the widows because we are all scattered, but we have Retired Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and we hold meeting every month. Although I don’t attend the meeting anymore because of my age, I get regular briefing as adviser, and I base my position on that. I’m yet to hear of anyone who has received anything. In our little ways, when we hear of any of our member or widow in dire need of help, we will go there and offer whatever help we can.”

    Would he advise any of his children to serve in the Nigerian Army? WMO Shuaibu (rtrd) said, yes, but none of them is thinking in that line, except one, who currently serves in the US Air-Force.

    Does he feel appreciated by the government?

    His answer: “In the first place, if the government appreciates me, the fact that I am a retired soldier should have spurred them to speed up and pay compensation for my house. But what did I get? At least if they pay me, I would be able to build another house and have somewhere to hide my head until the Lord calls me back.

  • N100bn contraband, unclaimed auctioned vehicles turn customs offices into junkyards

    N100bn contraband, unclaimed auctioned vehicles turn customs offices into junkyards

    Stakeholders are worried as unclaimed auctioned goods and seized vehicles parked in the premises of Customs command and federal units in Lagos and Ogun states are fast turning their offices into junkyards, reports Kunle Akinrinade.

    Some operational offices of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are currently choked by seized or unclaimed auctioned items including vehicles and hundreds of thousands of bags of rice. The goods, according to highly placed Customs sources, are worth close to N100 billion.

    Most of the items, especially vehicles, The Nation learnt, were seized from car smugglers, but they have not been claimed by the individuals who bid for them through the electronic auction arrangement put in place by the authorities of NCS.

    For instance, the government warehouse at the Federal Operations Unit (FOU ‘A’) of NCS in Ikeja, Lagos is overflowing with seized items while different brands of vehicles intercepted from smugglers litter the premises and are fast turning the place into a junkyard.

    Findings made by our correspondent revealed that most of the cargoes intercepted by men of the unit are kept at the training school within the premises of the unit, which also hosts a hostel for new trainees, thus compromising conducive learning environment for new students and trainees.

    Investigation revealed that some perishable items have decomposed due to lack of facilities to preserve them. Many of the vehicles including cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles, some of which were used to convey contraband, have started wearing out.

    Some of the vehicles were said to have been intercepted from smugglers and motorists on inter-state highways when they could not produce evidence of customs duty while others were seized for being used to convey smuggled items.

    The situation at the customs area command in Ogun State is not any different. Many vehicles intercepted over the years litter the rear of the main office complex of the Ogun 2 Command in Abeokuta and the operational office of Ogun 1 Command in Idiroko, a border town on the boundary between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.

     

    How goods, vehicles overflow customs’ warehouses, premises

    At a recent briefing, the Controller of the Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ in Lagos, Hussein Kehinde Ejibunu, said there was the need for new warehouses to be built at the Ikeja office of the zonal federal operations unit of Nigeria Customs Service.

    Ejibunu’s remarks were as a result of the space constraint at the Unit’s office premises and warehouse.

    For example, about 30,000 bags of foreign parboiled rice have been intercepted lately in addition to about 60,000 bags seized from smugglers during the time of the immediate past head of the Unit and kept at the same warehouse.

    It was also learnt that an average of 5,000 bags of foreign rice are impounded from smugglers on a weekly basis. Aside other items such as vegetable oil, used clothing, shoes, poultry products and unprocessed wood, about 13,535 bags of foreign rice were intercepted by men of the Unit in two weeks, all adding to the over bloated warehouse.

    Ejibunu noted that except for the distribution of some of the edible items in the camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) there is no other means of decongesting the already overflowing warehouses at the unit.

    The federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the distribution of seized rice to IDP camps to resolve the food crisis confronting displaced persons sheltered at the camps.

    The initiative was also a strategy by the federal government to prevent seized consignments of rice from getting spoilt or destroyed by pests and environmental condition.

    The situation is further compounded by unclaimed vehicles auctioned electronically, which worsened the already worrisome space constraint.

    It was said that successful bidders’ tardiness at removing the cars from the Customs Area Command at Idiroko, Ogun State, may not be unconnected with fear of attacks by persons described as “the original owners of the vehicles”, from whom the cars were seized but are still keeping tabs on them.

    A source who did not want his name in print said: ”Even as successful bidders, it is not easy to take the cars away, because the smugglers from whom they were seized would ambush the new owners and retrieve their  cars. Hence, they are left there to rot away.

    ”Many vehicles seized from smugglers and parked at the offices of the Command in Idiroko and Abeokuta are rotting away. Many of them are posh cars worth millions of naira and are fast turning into scraps many years after they were seized from smugglers.

    ”Many of the vehicles have become safe havens for poisonous snakes who hide in them and have been sighted on many occasions.’’

     

    Stakeholders proffer solution

    Speedy evacuation of auctioned vehicles, industry experts said, is the solution to the mess which the goods have made of Customs offices. Others are of the opinion that  the goods should be returned to their owners on payment of duty and additional fines, to discourage people from smuggling.

    Smart Orji, Chief Executive Officer of Onboard Commodities Express Ltd, said “the contraband, especially vehicles, have body components that cannot withstand long exposure to harsh climatic conditions while parked at a spot for a long time, hence the dilapidated condition of  the vehicles.

    “However, the best way of addressing the concentration of so many seized cars at the customs offices, which have virtually turned into scrap yard, is immediate evacuation of the vehicles.

    “This can be done by asking the owners to pay the exact duty they were trying to evade and additional fine.

    ”Vehicles impounded as means of conveyance should be compressed and destroyed, especially the thousands of motorcycles parked at the Idiroko Area Command.’

    He added: ”Most of the edible products, such as rice, tomato and other food items, are supposed to be stored with certain room temperature. But some of them are piled up at Customs stores without the required temperature while many of them are even being kept at makeshift structures without adequate protection.

    “Therefore, most of these items decompose and become unfit for human consumption in a country where people are battling massive hunger.”

    It will be recalled that  about 1,800 bags of rice given as palliatives to the Oyo State Government during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 were rejected by the state government on the grounds that they were not good for human consumption.

    The federal government had ordered the Nigeria Customs Service to donate 1,800 bags of rice each to Oyo, Osun and Ekiti states, and 800 bags to Ondo State as parts of efforts to alleviate the effects of coronavirus on residents of the four states.

    But Debo Akande, Executive Adviser on agribusiness to the Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, said the government had rejected its own share of the rice.

    Akande, explained that the decision to reject the rice was reached after the inspections done by the state’s food security committee of the COVID-19 task force.

    He said the state government discovered that the rice were infested by weevil and other pests, and took the decision in the interest of the health of residents of the state.

    Akande said: “We received these items from the Federal Government via the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and we brought them here to the warehouse, and it is in the process of further inspection; that we discovered that almost all the grains of rice has been infested by weevil and other pests,” he said.

    In his opinion, the Managing Director of First Marina Ltd, Abbey Fatukasi, urged Customs authorities to consider building bigger warehouses to accommodate the teeming seizures as well as building special centres where the vehicles can be parked to decongest the affected area commands and federal zonal units.

    He said: “It repulsive how the seized vehicles depreciate and other goods rot away at customs offices and warehouses with nothing being done to salvage the situation.

    ”The Nigeria Customs Service last year sufficiently met the revenue target given to it by the federal government. Therefore, part of the money should be spent on building new warehouses and large stores as well as special centres where vehicles can be kept.

    ”The two facilities are necessary to sanitise customs offices, make the environment clean and not expose the goods to attacks by pests and corrosive environmental conditions.”

    A customs clearing agent, Jimoh Gbeleyi, remarked that ”keeping seized items for too long does not make any economic sense at all.

    “For example, vehicles are rotting away and depreciating in worth when they could have been immediately auctioned to generate income for the government.

    ”When the e-auction started some years back, it initially failed because most of the cars had become scrap by the time they were displayed online for auction, and successful bidders were disappointed that what they purchased online was not what they saw when it was time to take possession of their cars.

    ”Now, leaving the vehicles to rot for so long might also result in devaluing their worth and might result in selling them as at prices that would not generate good income envisaged from their sale.”

    Efforts made to get the response of the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Joseph Attah were futile.

    The calls our correspondent made to Attah’s mobile telephone went unanswered, while he did not also respond to a text message sent to his phone.

    However, a reliable source close to the Ogun 1 Command told our correspondent that some of the auctioned vehicles were currently being removed by their owners.

    The source said: ”Removal of auctioned goods has begun in Ogun 1 Command. It has been on in the last few days, and if you come around, you would see how the items, including vehicles, are being taken away from where they are parked or stored.

    ”I have witnessed the exercise, it is being well supervised and would build the confidence of the public in the auction of goods put in place by authorities.

  • QUEEN SOPHY YAH: I draw inspiration from black actors

    QUEEN SOPHY YAH: I draw inspiration from black actors

    Sophia known by the sobriquet Queen Sophy Yah is a singer, actress, TV presenter and current UK National Director of Miss Commonwealth Beauty Pageant. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she opens up on using her talents from a very early age, memorable moments, challenges and life as a youth influencer creating awareness about drug abuse.

    Tell us about your role as UK National Director of Miss Commonwealth beauty pageant?

    Miss Commonwealth International beauty Pageant was founded in 2000.

    It is an innovative and unique pageant that produces Queen of the Commonwealth as inner beauty role models, ambassadors and vehicles for the effective and charitable promotion of the ideals of the commonwealth. It is a pageant that celebrates cultural diversity, promotion and engages people from all cultural backgrounds in the pursuit of the common goals of Quality-of-life improvement. As the UK National Director, I oversee all the Commonwealth activities, from planning the pageant to execution. I liaise with different people; I deal with all enquiries and official matters.

    What was the experience using your talent from a young age?

    Growing up I had parents that prepared me for the challenges of life, guided me and kept me on the right path. The experience was quite challenging trying to balance my school life with public engagement. However the joy I felt seeing people enjoy my song and performance is unexplainable.

    What are your memories as member of the choir that recorded the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) theme song for the 2012 Olympics?

    The experience was awesome, we had a fantastic dedicated and discipline person who prepared us for such a great event. The memory is unforgettable singing in a large choir and being appreciated by people all over the globe. It’s a memory I will cherish all my life and we also made the centre spread newspapers. The pictures from that performance are my most treasured possessions.

    Let’s talk about life as a singer and some of the people you have worked with over the years?

    I started singing when I was 10 years old and professionally when I was 16 years. I released my first album in 2014 titled “God Can”, and on the album, I did a song with someone called King Arthur, and he was a pleasure to work with. He is one of the biggest Caribbean gospel artists.

    I have also released lots of singles after then including music videos which are on YouTube, and my music is on all digital downloads. Aside King Arthur, I have shared platforms with other artists like, Chevelle Franklin, Noel Robinson, Bob Fit, Nicole C. Mullen, Damita Haddon, Sonnie Badu, Kym Mazelle, Lurine Cato, Tim Godfrey, Raymond & Co. as well as a host of other UK, African and American gospel artistes.

    What does being a youth influencer for the Truth about Drugs mean to you?

    It’s really fulfilling, being in a position where I can talk to young people about the use of drugs and the disadvantages of drug use. We are on a massive campaign at the moment to lecture young people and even adult on the dangers of taking drugs and avoidance of negative peer group pressures.

    What were the challenges you encountered with the COVID-19 pandemic? things that can affect you negatively are the things that you allow to persist in your life. My faith and hope is restored when I read God’s word.

    What inspired your career as an actress? What are some of the things you have done acting?

    I have lots of great influence when it comes to acting, especially from the black actors , people like Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Vanessa Williams, Whoopi Goldberg to mention a few. I draw lots of inspiration from them. I have featured in different films like Angels in Hell, One Life, Maid in Dockland, The Pastor, My friends and I amongst others.  I have also participated in TV Series like Secret Untold, Diva Diva, Apostle Do Good. etc.

    Tell us about your experience as a film maker and TV presenter?

    I am a Digital Film Student at the moment in SAE institute London. It’s the biggest creative Media University in the world with over 50 campuses in 20 countries. I have shot 5 Short Movies which are all on YouTube. At the moment, I am getting ready to shoot another one this January. I love being behind the camera, I am fascinated by it and I have learnt a lot about filmmaking.  I really enjoy editing films. I am in my 2nd year in the University and I am so loving it. I was a TV presenter with a cable TV in Nigeria called Time Television, I hosted 2 shows Reel Entertainment and Real People, I was running the TV shows until I relocated to the UK. I am also looking to start my own TV Show here in the UK, that’s still in the pipeline.

    Who or what do you consider as the greatest influence in your life?

    The greatest influence in my life are my parents who toiled day and night to bring me up and God almighty who has been my sustenance all this years. I have equally been blessed with good friends and good people around me.

    What advice do you have for young people who want to go into the entertainment sector?

    It’s not an easy road, there are lots of challenges. They have to learn to be patient, diligent and hard working. They should also believe in themselves and above all trust in God to help align their ways and the sky will be your starting point.

    How would you assess beauty pageants in Nigeria today?

    Beauty pageant in Nigeria is really thriving. When I was growing up, I only know of 2 Pageants namely: Miss Nigeria and The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. But today, there are tons of beauty pageants in Nigeria and I must say they are doing their best and I really commend them.

    What message do you have for Nigerian youths today?

    When life throws lemon at you, make lemonade out of it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t, follow your dream. Don’t give up and above all trust God.

    COVID- 19 came with lots of challenges, we all had to do online service, lots of events were cancelled including my UK4CHRIST gospel concert that was slated for June 13th 2020. All the acts for the concerts were already confirmed, but unfortunately we had to cancel. All my other singing engagements in UK and outside UK were all canceled as well. The advent of COVID 19 was really a trying time, but above all I am still alive and that’s what matters, when there is life there is hope.

    What are some of the memorable moments in your life and career?

    I have had lots of memorable moments in my life, but one of the moments I will cherish the most is when I was picked to join the choir that did the BBC theme song for the Olympics, it was a big honour. I will also cherish when I was named as the UK National Director for Miss Commonwealth International.

    What were the initial challenges? Did you feel like quitting at any point?

    I have come to know and realise that in life there will always be challenges and that keeps me prepared. I wouldn’t say I have felt like quitting, but just a little discouraged sometimes. But I am able to rebound from such mood because life has taught me that the things that can affect you negatively are the things that you allow to persist in your life. My faith and hope is restored when I read God’s word.

    What inspired your career as an actress? What are some of the things you have done acting?

    I have lots of great influence when it comes to acting, especially from the black actors , people like Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Vanessa Williams, Whoopi Goldberg to mention a few. I draw lots of inspiration from them. I have featured in different films like Angels in Hell, One Life, Maid in Dockland, The Pastor, My friends and I amongst others.  I have also participated in TV Series like Secret Untold, Diva Diva, Apostle Do Good. etc.

    Tell us about your experience as a film maker and TV presenter?

    I am a Digital Film Student at the moment in SAE institute London. It’s the biggest creative Media University in the world with over 50 campuses in 20 countries. I have shot 5 Short Movies which are all on YouTube. At the moment, I am getting ready to shoot another one this January. I love being behind the camera, I am fascinated by it and I have learnt a lot about filmmaking.  I really enjoy editing films. I am in my 2nd year in the University and I am so loving it. I was a TV presenter with a cable TV in Nigeria called Time Television, I hosted 2 shows Reel Entertainment and Real People, I was running the TV shows until I relocated to the UK. I am also looking to start my own TV Show here in the UK, that’s still in the pipeline.

    Who or what do you consider as the greatest influence in your life?

    The greatest influence in my life are my parents who toiled day and night to bring me up and God almighty who has been my sustenance all this years. I have equally been blessed with good friends and good people around me.

    What advice do you have for young people who want to go into the entertainment sector?

    It’s not an easy road, there are lots of challenges. They have to learn to be patient, diligent and hard working. They should also believe in themselves and above all trust in God to help align their ways and the sky will be your starting point.

    How would you assess beauty pageants in Nigeria today?

    Beauty pageant in Nigeria is really thriving. When I was growing up, I only know of 2 Pageants namely: Miss Nigeria and The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. But today, there are tons of beauty pageants in Nigeria and I must say they are doing their best and I really commend them.

    What message do you have for Nigerian youths today?

    When life throws lemon at you, make lemonade out of it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t, follow your dream. Don’t give up and above all trust God.

  • My Beauty REGIMEN: I work-out four times a week

    My Beauty REGIMEN: I work-out four times a week

    Esther Tijani is a model and she is strongly attracted to acting and film making. In this encounter with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about the secret behind her good looks, keeping fit as well as seeking regular attention from experts.

    Her journey into modeling initially was experimental but today she has carved a niche for herself on the local and international scene.

    “ I am very unconventional. I am not a conformist, I think out of the box and I don’t mind being different in my opinion. I love to do my things my way and that spots me out immediately. It separates me from others; I don’t follow popular opinions or ideologies”.

    Happily, she takes you into her world, looking good and the things that make her tick.

    Asked her about the secret of looking good and she responds this way: “God is the major secret behind my beauty but all I do to maintain my beauty is to work out and this has really worked for me. Exercise make you trim and fit which is important for my career as a model.

    Keeping fit through a variety of exercises however is something that she would not trade for anything. “I work out at least 4 days in a week and it’s been very exciting for me”.

    In addition, I drink lots of water, it is a great therapy and it really works for me”.

    In addition to the personal things that she does, Esther also seeks professional attention at the Spa pampering her body from time to time. “I go to the spa at least twice every month, honestly it’s no big deal I just do it to pamper my skin.”

    Read Also: My Beauty REGIMEN: I go to Spa for deep tissue massage

    Home remedies, she informed have helped to make the process of looking good interesting and easy.

    “Looking good is also about having a good and healthy body routine. I take my bath twice daily and that is one thing that makes me feel fresh all the time. I also don’t joke with facial and body scrubs because it works very well with my skin. I am particular about the scrub that I use on my skin. I also take a lot of fruits, honey, turmeric and lemon”.

    Next, the energetic beauty goes on to talk about the things that she loves to eat as well as avoid in her diet. “I don’t really avoid much in my diet, which I should and I think that is something that I should look into. However, I reduce my sugar in take and food with obvious or too much fat. Lastly, I try not to eat late at night and that works for me”.

    You want to know the things that she would not do in the name of fashion and Esther replies this way: “I can’t get a tattoo or dress half naked. Personally, I believe that being modest is very important to me and that is what keeps me going”.

    If you think that she has favourite products or make-up artiste that would help give her the desired transformation from time to time, then you must be in for a surprise. “I enjoy making myself up, that makes me my own make-up artist”.

    Her signature look is the low cropped hair but she also wears wigs to vary her look. Apart from beauty, she takes you into her dreams, passion and the legacy that she would like to leave behind.

    “I want to be known as a game-changer, a model with class and character. A torchlight of hope for other black women to shine bright and believe they can make it”.

    Just before she leaves, Esther talked about her passion and the inspiration she intends to bring to the younger generation. “I am interested in the redefinition of style, energy, perfection especially the feel of the African beauty and essence. My love for cultural exchange and interaction would be accentuated in my work as a model”.

  • Fasting without prayer hunger strike, clerics warn

    Fasting without prayer hunger strike, clerics warn

    As some Christians continue to fast and pray in the new year, the Anglican Bishop of Oyo, Rt. Rev. Williams Aladekugbe, has urged them to pray fervently and eschew unforgiveness.

    Aladekugbe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Ibadan that hatred and unforgiveness could hinder answers to prayers.

    He admonished Christians to be focused, prayerful, united and merciful as well as give alms to the needy.

    According to him, fasting releases God’s supernatural power that causes breakthroughs.

    “Fasting causes us to rely on God, it helps us to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit, makes us to bypass the emotions of our flesh, and opens our heart to hear God’s voice.

    “It renews our appreciation for God and His blessings, gives power to our prayers, creates an environment for miracles, it is soul-cleansing, and gives us a desire for God.

    “Fasting is a way God’s people have humbled themselves before Him for more than 3000 years,” he said.

    The Oyo State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Apostle Joshua Akinyemiju, also advised Christians to pray well during fasting.

    “After morning worship, they should go for a prayer walk so they can connect with nature and reflect on their fast.

    “Christians should remember that fasting without prayer and/or reading the Word is nothing but hunger strike.

    “Fasting is spiritual discipline to achieve intimacy with God.

    “The Bible says that when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting but only to your Father who is unseen, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you,” he said.

    Akinyemiju said that fasting could be viewed as a physical health decision and a faith-based decision.

    “When we fast, we meditate; this helps us cleanse ourselves, allowing us to receive that higher power into us once again,” he said.

    Pastor Vincent Ajiboye of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God, Jesus Assembly, Ibadan, advised Christians to fast according to the scriptures, not like hypocrites.

    “While fasting, we should pray with all seriousness, otherwise, we might just be on hunger strike; we must be connected to God in the spirit and believe that He answers prayers.

    “Moses fasted for 40 days and got the Ten Commandments according to Exodus 34.28; Jesus fasted for 40 days and started a ministry that would forgive the world’s sins and reconcile all the earth back to God according to 1 Peter 3.18 and Colossians 1.20.

    “It makes us grow closer to God, to be filled with the fruit of the spirit.

    “When we fast, there is almost nothing distracting us from hearing God’s voice,” he said.

    Ajiboye added that fasting would open one’s heart to see and understand the goodness of God.

    He said: “It gives power to our prayers, there are some breakthroughs that are only got through prayer and fasting; if we have been facing the same unanswered prayer for a long time, it may be time to fast.

    “Fasting forces the flesh to go under the authority of God’s Spirit in us; when we are effectively fasting, we are letting God have all the room.

    “His Spirit becomes powerful and mighty in our words and actions,” he said. (NAN)

  • Anchor Int’l launches ‘I am forever precious campaign’ at 20

    Anchor Int’l launches ‘I am forever precious campaign’ at 20

    Anchor International Care and Humanitarian Initiative, a faith-based Non-Governmental Organisation, has launched a zero-tolerance campaign against the use of pornography, drug abuse, child abuse, rape, sex for grades, prostitution and youth trafficking.

    Tagged “I am forever precious campaign,” the initiative, according to Anchor International founder, Dr Bolarinwa Omotosho, would sensitive youths to the dangers of the vices.

    Omotosho lamented that the vices have destroyed many youths globally and cut short their potentials, vowing the organisation would stop at nothing to empower the youths to fight them.

    Omotosho added youths under the influence of the vices have faced personal grief, illness, suicide, social crises, sexual abuse and exploitation.

    According to him: “Pornography is more destructive than HIV/AIDS and it has ravaged the lives of youths. Pornography has resulted in many forms of sexual abuse, molestation and exploitation of young people throughout Africa.”

    He called for support to assist youths to tackle the plagues through a zero-tolerance policy.

    READ ALSO: Buni launches school feeding programme

    Senior Pastor of Grace Assembly Lagos, Dr Femi Paul, while formally launching the initiative, praised Anchor International Care and Humanitarian Initiative leadership and team for spearheading the historic initiative to address the threats that society, particularly young people face.

    The summit, which drew over 425 people, featured a number of notable schools, organisations, notable personalities and partners from Nigeria and the United States of America.

    The launch was supported by notable non-governmental organizations and government agencies, including the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Bible Society of Nigeria, Nigeria Youth Works Association, and Commonwealth Alliance of Youth Workers Association.

    Other notable dignitaries and speakers during the summit were: Dr. Steve Van Horn, President of International Training and Equipping Ministries (ITEM) USA; Dr. Ranti Samuel, Senior Lecturer at Lagos State University; Dr. (Mrs.) Priscillia Omotosho, National Women Coordinator Anchor International Care and Humanitarian Initiative; Pastor (Mrs.) Moji Abiodun, Wife of the Pastor in Charge of Lagos Province 72 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Very Rev. Bukola Adeleke, Special Adviser on Religion Affairs (Christian) to Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwolu-olu

  • Cleric warns against emphasis on prosperity

    Cleric warns against emphasis on prosperity

    US-based Nigerian Pastor and Chief Servant Care Giver at the Calvary Gathering Ministry, Rev Dr.  Ademola Sodeinde has warned against yearly messages of hope that place undue emphasis on material prosperity and abundance.

    Sodeinde gave the warning recently in his New Year broadcast monitored by Church Times urged believers to ponder on the words of Psalm 90 in the New Year.

    According to him: “It is time for us to wake up and move away from our yearly fake messages of hope that focus only on material prosperity and abundance. It is time for us to examine our ways and return to the Lord in spirit and truth.”

    While noting that it is a privilege to be alive and well to give and to receive a New Year message, he said, “time and changes of time are for humans.

    “God is not bound by time. But he speaks at all times.”

    He, however, suggested that believers should listen and take necessary action whenever they have the opportunity to hear from God.

    Referring to Psalm 90 and the hymn of Isaac Watts, titled, Oh Lord Our help in ages past, he said, “Psalm 90 acknowledges our fragility and failures.”

    Sodeinde posited that in the most recent times the world has experienced a high level of incompetence, failure, lies and deception.

    ”Leaders and followers in our social, political-economic, and religious lives have been a huge disappointment. We have seen the consequence of falling short of the glory of God for failing to observe God’s instruction either in its letter or spirit. God is a God of Justice. This has been affirmed again and again,” he said.

    He advised that the concluding verses of Psalm 90 should be our watchword in the year 2022.

    Sodeinde also noted that the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness instead he is patient with us not wanting anyone to perish but that all will come to repentance.

  •  JFC President charges Christian journalists on IDPs

     JFC President charges Christian journalists on IDPs

    The President of Journalists for Christ, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin has advised Christian journalists to amplify and pay more attention to the needs, challenges and plausible solutions of the Internally Displaced Persons across Nigeria.

    Otufodunrin said this at a one-day forum organised by Journalists for Christ International Outreach sponsored by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and Brot fur die Welt held at Ogba, Lagos. It is expected to run from September 1, 2021, to August 31, 2022.

    Tagged: ‘Advancing the Rights and Welfare of IDPs through the Media,’ journalists from different media houses and other stakeholders on IDP matters were present to exchange ideas on the challenges of the phenomenal and also to chart a way forward.

    Journalists at the forum were split into three groups to share ideas on how issues around the IDPs can be well projected.

    He admonished the forum to chart a way forward for the IDP camps in Nigeria.

    He noted that there are a lot of issues around IDPs adding also that the journalists have a duty to project the situations in IDP camps so that the government will take action on them.

    Otufodunrin enjoined journalists to carry the burden of the internally displaced people. “We should be their voice, their ear and give them good representation in our various media. Journalists pay too much attention to what goes on in government to the detriment of the governed. This should not be.

    “While it is important we report to the government, we should give some good space to human angle stories. Many things are going on in IDP camps across the country that we hardly report. This forum is going to chart a way forward. The reason we are having this discussion is to come up with strategies whereby these camps can get adequate attention in the media.”

    Earlier in her words, the Executive Director of Humanity Foundation for Peace and Development (HUFFPED), Mrs. Adeyemi Adeyeye, said the greatest challenge facing IDP camps is the lack of basic education for children who are of school age.

    Rather than allow young people to move aimlessly around in the camps, she said there should be a mechanism by which they could benefit from western education.

    She added that there is also a need to train adults in skill acquisition so that when they leave the camp, they will be well integrated into the larger society.

    “The people in the camp need a source of livelihood when they leave the camp,” she said.

    She added, “People are being asked to leave the IDP camps and go back to their families and homes in some parts of the country. The question is where are they going back to? What are they going to fall back on? Many of these people have lost track of reality. Efforts should now be made to integrate them. One of the ways is for them to have a skill they can fall back on.”

    In her submission, Ms Okoro gave an account of her organization’s efforts at rehabilitating displaced women and children in Lagos. She said one of the interventions is to give loans to displaced women to do business.

    Her organization also helps women in skills acquisition and farming. “Through our efforts, many women are being helped to stand on their own. We put them through entrepreneurship and also help them to start businesses.”

    Incidentally, many of the displaced women and children are from the northern part of the country. Some of them ran to Lagos because of the threat to their lives by the insurgents. Some came due to religious persecution. Two of the women accompanied Ms. Okoro to the forum to share emotional stories on what brought them to Lagos. They also used the opportunity to thank the Sensor Empowerment Foundation.

    In his submission, Ndukwe who is a documentary filmmaker maintained that there is a need for those who live on IDP camps to have a reorientation and psychotherapy before they could fit into the larger society.

    He shared disturbing images of young people whose innocence has been shattered as a result of the situation they found themselves in.

    He recalled how a 12-year-old girl dismantled an AK- 47 ammunition before him.  Ndukwe also recalled how some young girls he encountered on IDP camps shared stories of how their sexuality have been desecrated in the camps.

    Okocha said many of the IDPs will never get to tell their full stories of their plight adding that they have gone through what many will say is humanly impossible. He recalled the story of a young boy who trekked several kilometers in the forest of Sambisa feeding only on corn.

    He then noted that those in the IDPs will need psycho-social therapy for them to be integrated back into the larger society.

  • How youths can change society, by Kumuyi

    How youths can change society, by Kumuyi

    With rising youth unemployment and the decline in the moral fabric among young people globally, the need for a platform for re-engaging the youth, re-focusing their latent talents and energies, was the focus of the Global Youth Convocation organized recently by the Deeper Christian Life Ministry.

    The programme which was held from 5th to 9th January 2022, at the Deeper Life International Conference Centre (DLICC) had participants connecting at various centers in Nigeria and other nations of the world.

    The convocation brought together hundreds of thousands of youths from every part of the world with a huge number participating virtually, globally.

    It was a unique experience

    Leading the convocation was the General Superintendent of DCLM, Pastor William Kumuyi; former Chairman of First Bank, Ibukun Awosika;, Business Innovator, Iyinola Aboyeji; and Guest Gospel Music Artiste, Dunsin Oyekan. Others were the Council Chairman of Chrisland University, Prof Ayodeji Olukoju; Vice-Chancellor of the Niger Delta University, Prof Samuel Esuomiekumo.

    The programme also featured international youth influencers, industry leaders, and other resource persons, addressing the youths on various social, economic, spiritual, and other aspects of life.

    Participants react

    The participants across the country gave thumbs-up to the programme.

    From Lagos, Victor Lanre, a student who attended the event, said that he was blessed at the programme. “I was taught the way to success in life which is embedded in Christ and hard work. I am blessed as God touch me and visited me.”

    Also, in her words, another participant, Abigail Lanre said that it was a fantastic programme. “We were treated with inspiring songs and messages from heavenly minded speakers that will stay with me for a long time to come.”

    She noted that Pastor Kumuyi’s explicit explanations about impact and examples he gave from the scriptures about people who made an Impact in their world, “are things I have promised to follow through.”

    Speaking at the event, Kumuyi said the need for Nigerian youths to adequately equip themselves spiritually and formally is imperative for them to play the role thrust on them by God, as the veritable future of nations.

    Kumuyi added: “the youth population of any nation is pivotal to its development. Also equipping the youth means targeting their creative potentials, their enthusiastic energy, and their capacity to attempt and adapt new ways of thinking. This is how change that works in societies is driven by the youth.”

    He said Impact was designed for all categories of youths from teenagers, campus and recent graduates of youths and young adults.

    Pastor Kumuyi urged young people to follow the example of his vision, drive and push.

    ”It is time for you to fly,” he said. “I’m still flying. I still have a vision, I still have a goal, I still have a project, and I still have a lot of things. If I’m still flying, follow after me. Catch up with me and then go beyond and then I will see you up there and say I hand over to you.

    “I’m much older than you are, but you see me standing, I’m strong. You see me walking, I’m strong. The mark of old age, those who are going down, the mark is in the brain, the brain goes down, cannot read, cannot learn, cannot think, and cannot do anything.

    “When the brain is gone, everything is gone. My brain is still intact.

    Pastor Kumuyi adopts Dunsin Oyekan as son

    It was an intriguing moment as gospel singers, Duceen Oyekan who ministered at the event was adopted as kingdom son by Pastor William Kumuyi. Oyekan who ministered for 33 minutes, mesmerised the participants with spiritual songs.  One of this notable song-Holy Spirit Breath on me took the youths to a greater level of worship.

    Pastor Kumuyi said: “It was a pleasure to have both Dunsin Oyekan and Aboyeji Iyinoluwa as guests at IMPACT 2022.

    ”These are young men who God has raised in the kingdom for a time like this.

    After my conversation with Minister Dunsin Oyekan yesterday, I have adopted him as a kingdom son,” he said.

    Oyekan who was born in Ilorin on 5 November 1984, is a Nigerian gospel singer, songwriter, producer, instrumentalist, and recording artist.

    He is popularly known as – The Eagle. He is also the convener of the Code Red Worship Experience.

    In a communiqué issued at the organizer highlighted some far challenges facing the youth and explore reaching recommendations: The Convocation duly acknowledged a number of government initiatives devoted to youths, such as Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOU-WIN), Training Programme (TVET), Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), the SURE-P Technical Vocational Education, Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), as well as N-Power, Government Economic Empowerment Program (GEEP), and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT).

    The convocation noted that the Nigerian government had re-classified youths as those between 15 and 29 years old and passed a Not-Too-Young-To-Run Law. It also noted that although there are youth-specific targets in a number of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals such as Goal 2 (hunger), Goal 4 (education), Goal 5 (gender equality) among others, the global agenda should have devoted a more specific goal to youths.

    At the end of the presentations, seminars and ministrations, the Convocation identified some of the issues negatively affecting the youths in Nigeria and across the world which include: The neglect of the youths, a critical and considerably predominant social demographic, and non-implementation of various policies propounded by governments and other entities;

    “The rapidly increasing instances of deviant culture among youths, decline in positive social role models; Treatment of youths as a monolithic entity without disaggregation according to age, educational and professional classification by various government policies

    “The accelerated loss of moral values and decline in ethical standards in society, global economic crisis and  high rates of youth unemployment, and social media distorted worldviews, etc. leading to high moral decadence, anti-social and criminal acts, and dysfunctional societies”.

    “Inadequate platforms for youths to express themselves in wholesome ways which make much recourse to various anti-social and anti-state behaviour. It went further to recommend that: repositioning the youths is pivotal to the growth and development of our nation and the world at large; Fundamental issues affecting teenagers, campus students and young adults be prioritized by government and other stakeholders”

    “A comprehensive youth policy be developed to address issues specific to the various categories of youths; Transformation agenda must characterize this and similar global youth-focused initiatives to address the ills in the world of youths”.

    “The void in the social life of youths must be addressed by entrenching civic, moral and ethical values in the educational curriculum”;

    It stated that governments of nations should prioritise the identified youth-specific targets in the Agenda 2030 while the global community should specifically focus on youths in future global agenda.

    “Governments at all levels should mainstream youth development initiatives, fund and implement more youth-focused intervention programmes.

    “Youths should be equipped with appropriate secular education, soft and life skills to prepare them for positive engagement in formulating and implementing policies meant for their social category.

    ”Periodic events, like Impact 2022, should be encouraged as a platform for re-engaging the youth, re-focusing their latent talents and energies, and so as to give them a voice.”

    In her words, Ibukun Awosika, who spoke on the theme: ‘Leadership & Godliness’  said an example is a bigger teacher than what we say, saying that God gave us the power to choose. To be a leader is about the divine power of God that works through you. The beginning of a journey does not define the end. Leadership has been tied to title, but that is not what it should be.

    Awosika posited that leadership is the attribute of your life that you manifest; ability to influence others through godly leadership.

    She asserted that the environment will always try to condition you to do things contrary to God’s plan. It is not about the journey, but how you finish.