The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday Interview

  • ‘To stop corruption, Nigeria must build quality people’

    • Says: Parents are the greatest headache of JAMB

    JAMB registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, in this interview with Gboyega Alaka and Frank Ikpefan, speaks about the ongoing changes in the examination board and the systems being put in place to prevent further indiscretion. Oloyede, who is also Secretary, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, also spoke on religious tolerance and the efforts the Muslim community is making to secure the release of Leah Sharibu and other kidnapped school girls.

    YOU have literally transformed JAMB in just about two years, raking in N5b in place of N3million revenue the body used to ‘make’. How did you do it?

    Mine is that I was given a mandate to go and discharge as responsibly and as honestly as possible the responsibility a duty and I did. What remains belonged to the government and we returned it to the government. It is the same thing we are doing this year. Whatever remains will be returned. Last year, people were saying maybe there were accumulated money that we met and we now returned to the government. Of course I said it was not true. This year too, the fact is that the surplus is as much, if not more than last year’s, and this shows clearly that with proper management, we could do better.

    You have also uncovered cans of worms in JAMB. The case of the JAMB official who allegedly claimed millions of naira was swallowed by a snake is a case in point. What has happened to some of them?

    That issue was an old story at the time it became public because it had been firmly dealt with and the matter had been put behind us, following the normal process and procedures. Of course the EFCC told you that they had been on the investigation at least one year ago; the ICPC had been on it too; the Police too. They were not leaving those people to just go about, and I will say I am very satisfied with the steps being taken because it is not enough to just charge people to court. It is not enough to just dismiss them. The amount of money involved is such that we believe that recovery is as important as sanctioning. As at the time the matter even became public, these people were not in the services of JAMB.

    Have they been fired in line with the recommendation of the management of the board to the minister of education?

    Normal procedures and processes have been followed. You don’t just wake up one day and say you have dismissed people who are in public service. There must be a procedure and it may be long, but the fact that they were not on duty means something was being done. You gain nothing if you are hasty and at the end of the day you commit mistakes and they are restored by the courts.

    Efforts to transit to computerised JAMB was clumsy until you came on board. This year’s JAMB was nearly flawless. How did you do it?

    We will continue to improve. We thank all the stakeholders because people willingly and freely offered us suggestions, and since we were open to suggestions, we came up with issues that were solving some of the problems. I think Nigerians are very creative. The idea of our code, for instance, was something that was brought up by one of the managers of ECO Bank in one of our meetings and it became an issue that solved most of our problems. So we want to thank Nigerians, particularly the press for unsolicited suggestions that became very useful.

    You once said that parents’ interference is a major problem of the board. What is JAMB doing to reduce this interference?

    Beyond the general public announcement and general education, it appears to me that we cannot have a forum of parents of prospective candidates. So, we will continue to educate them. It is a very serious and dangerous malaise that is afflicting our education sector, that parents want their children to be in a particular place, on a particular course at all cost. It constitutes the greatest headache examination bodies face. Parents, particularly mothers, are becoming desperate in their bid to place their wards and children in place. I think they should understand that what God does not make, nobody can make; and anything gained through illegitimate means, you have already destroyed ab initio. The same way, any child you sponsor with fraudulent money cannot make it. If you like send the child to London, to America. So, if you have to go and commit sin and crime because you want admission for your child, you are destroying the child and you are destroying the nation; and it is a very bad development that we should not allow to fester.

    One of the things we have done now is that we are going to, at the appropriate time, announce the distance that anybody who is not our candidate should keep from our centres. Once anyone is found within the distance and the child or ward is found to be in the examination centre, we will penalise them.

    Over 1.5million candidates wrote JAMB last year but the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) said only 500, 000 could be admitted. Is there a collaboration between JAMB, NUC or the universities to ensure that access to tertiary education is expanded?

    What you have said is one side of the story. We collaborate with NUC, with NBTE and with NCCE. We collaborate to make sure that we are on the same page. As true as that statement is, it is not the whole truth because if you go into my office, you will see the electronic board, which tells the whole story. Those who sat for the UTME and Direct Entry in 2017 were 1.8 million, but after the examination, even when we went as low as 120/400, 700,000 of these candidates were found not to be qualified. That is, they scored below cut-off. So, 700, 000 were cut off, leaving us with 1.1 million. The second stage was, how many of this 1.1 million had five O’ levels, English and Math. I have even found out that the credit in English and Math that we are talking about is just a paper tiger that even the first class universities in Nigeria are not honouring. They are very sensible enough to wave Mathematics when it is not needed. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that contrary to what we announce to the whole world, there are many people in our first class universities who don’t have Mathematics because they don’t need it. The official narrative is that before somebody can go to university, he/she requires a credit in Maths and English, but it is not true. When I was raising alarm, they called and said look, how many candidates will we have in humanities if we continue to insist on Mathematics? I believe it is a pleasant thing but I am pained that we are doing it under the table rather than officially. What we are saying is that, you find that another 300,000 of this 1.1 million do not have the prerequisite O’ level, so you are left with 700, 000 or 800,000 candidates. Out of this 700,000 or 800, 000, we have already admitted close to 600,000. It is still not good enough but it is not as bad as we are portraying it. What we need in my own view is to expand the facilities in some big universities, so that they can take more.

    Have you given that suggestion to the minister or the Federal Government?

    If I have, I will not even tell you. I am expressing my opinion. You asked a question, and as an academic, as somebody who sees what is going on, my own advice is that we should expand rather than proliferate the institutions. We should make first class universities like Unilorin, University of Jos, UNIMAD, ABU, expand so that they can take more. If you create a university, it will take about ten years before it can even take large numbers, no matter how well located. Even the nine sisters (12) that were created lately, let us expand their intakes.

    With the level of success you have achieved, what institutions are you putting in place to ensure that the old ways don’t come back when you leave?

    I believe that we will do our best to put in structures and we are doing so, but I also believe that there should be effective monitoring system. Without sounding patronising, if the minister of education is on your neck every time, asking you ‘give me report, what is happening?’ and even suggesting what you can do to improve, then you can only improve. So if the monitoring is kept on, monitoring that is genuine, monitoring that is sincere, not monitoring that wants to make you do what you are not supposed to do, then things will go on well. But more importantly, my own suggestions is, let us train quality human beings. No matter the number of Police, the number of EFCC, the number of ICPC, we still need to build people to know that crime, most of the crimes we commit are sins before God, and if you want to satisfy God, you will run away from sin and run away eventually from crimes. We need to train the minds of human beings to know that they don’t need to be policed. What is important is to take public life, public service as a spiritual duty, as a religious duty. Unfortunately, even religious people are now defrauding the institutions and religious houses, and that’s what is creating confusion. The Islam that I understand does not put a dichotomy between a religious service and a public service. Once you are serving, serve with sincerity, serve with honesty and leave the rest to God.

    You were recently quoted as saying that Nigeria is governed by certified thieves. Those are strong words. Do you want to expatiate on this?

    Yes, what I have explained is that the looting that is going on in public life is unimaginable, and I cited the case of JAMB – the wide gap between the returns since 2017 and what it returned in the last ten years. I was just using that as an example to say that when it comes to governance of this Nigeria, corruption issue is a matter that should be faced squarely. Nobody should underrate or feel that the fight against corruption is not an achievement. Corruption is capable of destroying the whole nation and I am saying emphatically that if we had put mechanisms in place in the past two decades, maybe we will not be where we are now. Everybody talks about the attention the president, by practice or by action, is paying to corruption – and I have not seen any sane person accuse him of corruption directly; I am saying that if we have leadership that put corruption on the front burner and pursue it both at personal and official level, Nigeria will improve. That is the message I am making.

    But a lot of people are still cynical of the president’s anti-corruption war, while some are out-rightly against it. Do you think it is a battle worth fighting, going by the level of antagonism?

    If you want to fight corruption, expect antagonism. Just be sincere in what you are doing. For me, those who are fighting corruption are undergoing a risky venture. I am experienced enough, particularly in the last two years, to see corruption in its nudity and to know that network of corruption is so comprehensive and so strong that you will just think you are fighting a corrupt person, not knowing that there are chains of connections. Corruption has such a web in this nation, that you will be surprised that the person you are even complaining to is part of the problem. My own view about the present government is that it is underrating corruption. There is need for a strategy because you are fighting a very strong enemy.

    What do you think is responsible for Nigerians’ kleptomaniac tendency? Especially public officials in government.

    I am not aware of anywhere in the world where discretion is allowed to the level that it is allowed in Nigeria. There are so many things that is being done by discretion. No procedure, no rule and when there is such a large room for discretion, the possibility of corruption will also come in. That is number one. The second one is that the monetary system is weak. You see, many people will not steal, not because they don’t want to steal, but because they know that in most cases, they will be caught. But in a situation where people know that 90 percent of the time, they will go scot free, you are encouraging corruption. I believe we need to put structures in place that will checkmate those who want to be corrupt. For instance, you sell forms for JAMB every year, let us say at N5,000; if you calculate the number of forms sold, you know what the amount is and you need to ask: what are you doing with this money? Another one that is compounding the problem is that you have instances where people out rightly tell lies. A member of the House of Representatives went before the National Assembly to tell the whole world that the cost of obtaining JAMB form is N7, 500. Since I came in, nobody has bought the form for more than N5, 000 because we have blocked the hoarding system since 2016. So, if somebody now comes before the public and say they are buying the form for N7,500 and starts calculating N7,500, you are pained. If these are people that entrusted you with the work, then it is either the man is not pleased that we are returning the money or he wants us to squander it. Where was he when the money was not being returned? He persuaded the whole assembly to go along with him, so what do you do? You are left naked. These are part of the complications in the Nigerian society.

    Since Buhari came into power, the clamour for separation has increased. What is your position on this?

    This is where I have a problem with the media. We tend to be momentary, rather go to the archives and research into issues. Whether it is ten years ago or fifteen years ago, there have always been issues of people being dissatisfied with one thing or the other. What gave rise to the Obasanjo political reform conference of 1995? What gave rise to all the constitutional conferences we have been having? Is it not agitation for one thing or the other? So, in ten or twenty years’ time, Buhari will not be there, but these issues will remain, unless we address them. The Benue-Tivs conflict, for example, is as old as Nigeria itself. Even at the time of the colonial masters, the Tiv and Fulani problem was there. If you see an average Fulani and Tiv today cracking jokes, the Fulani man will say ‘Where is my cow?’ and the Tiv will reply, ‘Munchi, I’ve eaten it.’ Is that not a joke and is it not historical? The issue of farmers killing cows because they destroyed their farms is something that has happened before. Buhari was not in power when the Emir of Gombe and the late Tor Tiv set up a committee to address this issue in 2009 when Suswam was governor. It is just that in Nigeria, we pick one issue and present it as if it had no precedence. Unless we address some of these problems, you will just scapegoat whoever is in power and commit sin unduly. How will somebody be the president of a nation and be instigating people to go and kill other people during his tenure. What is the logic there?

    Recently at The Point  Newspaper Ramadan Lecture in Lagos, you cautioned Muslims who have been clamouring for a free Friday, can you reiterate that for a larger audience?

    The level of hatred and unbridled competition among the religious people is making us to even abandon the precepts and principles of our religions. We are saying that it was Christianity that asked for a Sabbath, not Islam. Any day you choose is okay for the Muslims. I believe it is not necessary to  say ‘because Christians have Sunday, we must have Friday,’ provided that on Friday when you want to go and pray between 12 PM and 3 PM, no one stops you. Government has said, let there be no official functions between 12pm and 3pm, so that the Muslims can go and observe their Friday prayers. That is accommodating all. Let the Christians have their Saturdays and Sundays, and we all go on happily.

    But a situation where people conclude that because Muslims go on pilgrimage, we (Christians) must also have pilgrimages does not help us. We are Islamizing our Christianity, because hajj is a pillar of Islam, not a pillar of Christianity. In the same way, Sabbath is not an issue in Islam, so when you insist on a Sabbath, you are Christianizing Islam.

    When you were first appointed Registrar of JAMB, a lot of Nigerians and some of your staff expressed fears on your strong views on Islam. How have you been able to convince them that your mission in JAMB is not to Islamize the board?

    If anybody is afraid of Islam then that person has got it wrong. I am a Muslim and I have no apologies about that. Islam is everything that is good. If somebody now says that because I am JAMB registrar, I should not be a Muslim then he’d better take his JAMB registrar from me. Islam does not allow you to persecute others, twist or commit injustices against others simply because they do not share your faith. Anybody who has that feeling probably does not understand Islam, or has a bad experience with people who claim to be Muslims but are not Muslims. Public trust is public trust, justice has no creed, it has no colour or tribe. Once you are unjust, you are not godly. Islam teaches justice for all. This is not my first public office. Anybody that has the fear of being persecuted is probably someone that persecutes others. For me, in public office, you don’t serve God by committing injustice.

    Newspaper reports recently quoted you as saying that the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs is negotiating with Boko Haram to see to the release of Leah Sharibu and other girls. Has the council made contact with Boko Haram?

    Are you not aware that people are negotiating with Boko Haram at all levels?

    But sir, success has not been achieved.

    Success is with God. When an innocent girl is in captivity, every right-thinking person should spend time to reflect on what they can do, even on a personal level, to make sure she is not hurt in any way. Bodies like the council should not fold their arms and allow an innocent girl to be killed. They are doing all within their power to make sure that innocent people in captivity are released. Of course the number of Muslims that are being killed by the day by Boko Haram is more than the Christians. So if they accept the Muslim leaders as their leaders, wouldn’t they have stopped killing Muslims? We have found ourselves in this situation, and we must not fold our arms and say we have done our best. The difference between Islam and other religions is that we hardly talk. We rarely give public talks because we believe it is unnecessary. What I believe is that all human beings of conscience should do whatever is humanly possible to ensure that those in captivity, including that innocent girl should not be made to suffer. I believe that the Muslim leaders are committed to that, and I am in the position to know. Even the Sultan will tell you some daring steps he has taken, even at the expense of his personal safety, to make sure that all this mess is brought to an end, but he doesn’t dramatise it, or go to the press about it.

    Your success as Vice Chancellor at UNIILORIN has remained a talking point. How were you able to do those things you did, particularly avoiding strikes for such a long time?

    Many people do not realise that I inherited a strong university. University of Ilorin was not an ordinary university when I became Vice Chancellor. I was just lucky to have inherited such a university. I just played my role like the others before me and the success was a cumulative success. I was standing on the shoulders of great men who had, before me, administered the university and that was what helped whatever we were said to have done. I was the VC for five years, and for four of those years, I was the only Muslim among the principal officers. It didn’t really matter. I had committed people. My two Deputy Vice Chancellors were Christians, my Bursar was a Christian, my Registrar was a Christian, and we were working harmoniously. I nominated them, not that I met them and could not do anything about them. It is about the quality of the human being. We are allowing charlatans to take advantage of religion, people who have nothing to offer. They now just want to set the whole country ablaze simply because of their own narrow perception of the nation.

  • IDIA AISIEN: My style is sophisticated, edgy and elegant

    Idia Aisien is of Nigerian and Cameroonian descent. She started modelling at the age of 15 years and the exposure made her rediscover her talents. Over the years, she has proved her mettle as a model and she is also a TV host with Spice TV. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about her passion, challenges and the things that inspire her. 

    WHAT or who inspired you to go into modelling and be a TV host?

    To be honest, I was always very shy and I needed an outlet. When I was 12, I saw a profile of the famous model, Gisele Bundchen, and I admired how confident she was but I never thought it could happen for me. House of Mya was one of the big designers in Lagos when I was in my teens. I was at her store one day with my sister and she asked us to model in a show powered by UNICEF to raise money for children.

    That was my first modelling show, and from that point fashion grew into more of a deeper passion for me. That same year, we were learning about the great journalist, Dele Giwa, in my social studies class, and I admired his tenaciousness. I also always compared our foreign media outlets to the local ones and I hoped I would one day influence the growth of the Nigerian media.

    From that moment, I knew I would study journalism. So, I began to develop myself and today I am happy working as a TV host. It has been a very interesting experience for me.

    What are the other things that occupy your time?

    I am currently learning French and this is a very interesting phase for me. In addition, I am also starting my own business and always shooting a show for interviews. But I really love to travel, write and I am fascinated with surfing.

    Are you related to Elohor Aisien? She runs one of the big modelling agencies in the country.  If yes, how has she inspired you?

    She’s my sister-in-law and the mother of my two beautiful nieces. I’ve known her since I was 15 years old and I’m inspired by how strong and focused she is as a person.

    Let’s talk about some memorable moments in your life and career

    My sweetest memories are growing up spoiled by my dad, trying so hard to be like my mum, and always bugging my siblings to give me attention. I also loved living in New York during my Master’s programme, which was all practical and it involved working directly for various companies to get our grades. I also remember how amazing it was working after school at a private equity firm, working at the United Nations Peace Building Commission, where I learnt a number of things that motivated me in life. While I was doing all this, I was also running around for modelling jobs and agencies in the cold. These are all the experiences I will never forget, as they have been so impactful in shaping my ideals of the woman I want to become. A mixture of being spoiled yet so ambitious has taught me that there is no shame in dreaming big, as long as you’re willing to work for it.

    What are some of the challenges encountered?

    It bothers me so much when people attributed my success to my family because I work so hard. It’s also not very easy for a young person to make it, because everyone is always telling you to wait for your turn.

    How do you cope with them?

    I have been so persistent with everything that I wanted and I always make sure I work extremely hard for everything. With time, I noticed that people were recognising my genuine efforts.

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

    Other than my family, I’ve always been moved by strong women all over the world; women who have overcome so many hurdles and fought hard to succeed. Oprah Winfrey is my biggest influence, as she has not only built one of the greatest media platforms, but she has also used her success as a medium to help others. I also really admire Christiane Amanpour for her dedication to telling the stories of people that cannot find the courage to use their voices.

    What are some of the changes that you would like to see in the sector?

    I would like media professionals to be appreciated and celebrated more for their work. It would also be great to see more local media platforms that are dedicated to telling our African success stories on a global scale.

    What are some of the items that you treasure most in your wardrobe?

    I love any accessory or piece of clothing that has a story behind it! All the jewellery I’ve gotten from my mother is always deemed priceless to me. Also, I have a pair of glasses that I spent four months trying to get but it was sold out everywhere and I had to wait. My first two pairs of Louboutins that I bought myself for my graduation after my masters – without knowing that would be the beginning of my love affair with shoes; my first two designer handbags and a flashy watch that my brother bought me…the list goes on, but stuffs like that are always very precious.

    How do you relax?

    It is good to take a break from time to time. It helps you to refocus and get new direction. Whenever I am overwhelmed, I get up and travel. I have an account separate from my savings that is dedicated towards my getaways or for retail therapy when I am feeling down.

    I love to exercise and I am in the gym at least four or five days a week. Exercise helps me think, sweat, and gives me the energy and motivation I need daily. I, however, don’t work out much on the weekends, because I love to sleep in, and do laundry.

    Usually, I start off my day with meditation, this is followed by music and hitting the treadmill to help me think. During the day, I am always busy and on the run. If I am not shooting, I am doing interviews, fashion shoots or working on my own media and foundation projects. I love to unwind with a book in the evenings, watch a movie or go out for drinks with friends.

    What are some of the principles that you hold onto?

    Though ideals change with age, I am a firm believer in hard work. I think without it, a person could never truly be respected. I see so many people who are wealthy but I am only taken by stories of perseverance, consistency, self respect and self-investment.

    Let’s talk about the people you admire and role models

    As mentioned earlier, Oprah Winfrey and Christiane Amanpour have always been my childhood heroes. I am also very taken by Beyonce Knowles for her hard work, and Michele Obama. I admire her so much and I strongly believe that there has never been a First Lady like her.

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

    There’s no shame in dreaming big, as long as you’re willing to work for it!

    What is your definition of style?

    Style is a language; but just like there are different levels to many languages, there are different levels of style. I describe my style as sophisticated, edgy and elegant.

    How did your parents influence you?

    My dad is from Edo State, Nigeria. My mum is from Cameroon. I have a lot of siblings, so I’ve always had my best friends within my family. I am also a last child, so I was very spoiled, and also lucky to have so many elder ones that I could learn a lot from. I studied Journalism at American University in Washington, DC, and then moved to New York to study International Public Relations at New York University. I started modelling professionally in New York during my Masters, and then I got a job after school that brought me back to Nigeria.

    My parents were always very kind to people, and I watched them do a lot of volunteer work from a young age. My father gave mostly to church projects and projects in his state, while my mother was the president of the Lion’s Club and she was always travelling to aid the underprivileged. My sisters and I spent most of our birthdays and Valentine days at an orphanage in Lagos, so I have always felt a deep sense of responsibility in helping others.

    What lessons did you get working with big corporations like Discovery Communications, Fox 5 News, the AARP Foundation, and the Foreign Policy Initiative?

    The experience has been very well. Basically, I would say working for a lot of big corporations has made me very business-minded and also well-rounded in the media and communications field. Although, I am now working in fashion, I have gained invaluable skills and learned a lot about myself, and what I want in my life and career.

    What is the secret of your good looks?

    Meditation and Green tea. These days without my quiet time and space, it’s hard for me to get in my element, or get anything done during the day. Green tea is also my own little way of staying clean and it really helps my skin glow. The truth of the matter is that I eat whatever I want, but I stay away from anything with a lot of salt and sugars. I’ll sometimes do a detox to cleanse and rejuvenate, and when I’m looking for a weight fix I go high on fibre and proteins.

    What areas would you like to explore in future?

    I have always wanted to have various businesses for a long time. I have supported so many people’s brands and businesses, so it is important to now push my various lines. However, though I am so passionate about a lot of things, I still believe that there is so much room for growth in media, fashion and television, so my hands are full for now.

    What type of books do you like to read?

    My favourite books are ’26A’ by Diana Evans, which explores the complexities of twinhood. ‘A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback’, ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens, which I have read a couple of times because the story taught me persistence and working consistently towards being more.

    Let’s talk about your favourite relaxation spots

    My absolute favourite thing to do in Lagos is to go to the beach with friends or wind down at home with my family. There is also the beautiful waters behind Shiro in Victoria Island and I like to take walks there after getting drinks at the restaurant.

  • TOSIN OLAYIWOLA: Bringing love back to the widows

    Tosin Olayiwola has first degree in English Arts from the University of Ado-Ekiti. She later studied Public and International Affairs for second degree at the University of Lagos.  Young and umarried, the insurance broker behind the Tosin Quota Foundation tells Adetutu Audu why she is giving love back to the widows.

    WHAT informs your interest in widows?

    I believe in giving. I don’t like seeing people unhappy and I wanted to try in my own little way to make them happy. It was borne out of the decision to make unhappy people happy.  I realised that in the Bible we should give first before expecting.  Something like ‘give and it shall be given unto you’. I give and when and I did it is not as if I am expecting things back from the same source but it will surely come back in a bigger way.

    So, why widows?

    Widows are the most neglected. Initially, I wanted to start with the youths in my community, but I realised that the youths have a way of sorting out themselves. They still have strength to work. We have a lot of empowerment scheme for the youth s; some depend on their parents, uncles and aunts that give them money.

    But for widows, people don’t bother about them. We have this perception that they are witches and can kill if we move closer to them. Most of them in my community still go to farm despite the fact that they are old and should sit back and enjoy life. I felt that rather than abandoning them, I can contribute my quota. I am not talking about widows who can still remarry or have strength to work. It is from the age bracket of between 60 and 70 years.  My grandmother is a widow but she is not a beneficiary because she has children who can still take care of her. We have widows who cannot afford three square meal.

    So, for how long have you been doing this and has the impact been achieved?

    I started three years ago. We started in my grandmother’s compound with about 30 widows and at that time we gave free drug, little food and N500 each. The following year, the number grew to 50 and last year we had to rent a hall because we had so many crowds.  From that moment, I realised that the vision is bigger than me and we need to register them and have them in our record. Currently, the feedback has been massive. With this, I know we have a lot to do in the future. We have about 150 widows now.

    During the valentine, we add glamour to it and we had red carpet and tagged it bringing love back to the widows. I told them to wear a touch of red and also made them take pictures on the red carpet to share love among each other.

    Why Aramoko-Ekiti?

    I strongly believe in the maxim ‘charity begins at home’. Those are the people that actually needed me. Some advised that I should come to Lagos, but we will definitely spread out. The next one, we are planning to move into all the local government areas that make up the Ekiti-South constituency. We are expecting nothing less than 20 widows from each.

    Many have used such platform to launch themselves into politics. Any plan of you going into politics?

    I am an insurance marketer and agent. It is not about politics. I don’t even have a car or my own house.

    So where do you get fund to execute your plans?

    I used my commission and God has also been using my clients for me. I designed envelope which I give out for donations.  Although I am close to a few politicians who I can talk to for assistance, I don’t want politics to be attached to it.

    But don’t you see politicians hijacking it from you?

    I make sure when they are invited because they are also part of the community I tell them the rules and regulations and make them stick to them. For instance, our last outing, we had talk on widows on election and good governance. It is not a platform for political campaign.

    What would you say are your challenges?

    I am a single lady and I have siblings who also depend on me. Initially, I would say fear of unknown. Someone once called and said because I am unmarried and doing this for widows it can back fire. I was scared. But because it is a vision, I had to stick to it.

  • ‘It’s wrong to think every herdsman is a bandit’

    ‘It’s wrong to think every herdsman is a bandit’

    The clashes between herdsmen and farmers and the attendant killings have generated tensions across the country and counter-accusations among governors. In this interview Governor Umar Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, shares his thoughts with Olayinka Oyegbile, Deputy Editor.

    SIR, there are allegations that killer herdsmen have base in Nasarawa State. Is this true?

    It is not true at all. As a matter of fact, it’s false; this is because there hasn’t been and there is none that I know of any kind of bandits or militants lurking anywhere in Nasarawa State. One thing I can say categorically is that there have never any report by administrative officers, neither have I got any security reports by security operatives and others indicating the presence of any kind of militants in the state. So anyone claiming this will warrant any empirical prove. I will not want to take that matter far or too long because the person who made that allegation has already offered an apology, and I have fully accepted it. So, as long as this matter is concerned, it has never happened and they are just mere accusations.

    But you are aware these killings are happening within your domain. Who are these herdsmen attackers, where are they from? What do they want?

    I think I am not the right person to answer that question. I have the opportunity to be a citizen of Nasarawa State and since time immemorial, the herdsmen’s migration from one place to another has always been there and we’ve grown and seen this as part of our lives generally.   The issues that just recently degenerated into a mystery, militancy and all kinds of killings associated with the herdsmen are something that is not peculiar to Benue or  Nasarawa States or any other state for that matter; from Sokoto to Zamfara, to Kaduna, to Kastina or any other place here in the north. I think one can make some kind of assessment or analysis of this kind of specimen. Now that we have always known that the normal herdsmen that you see here within their domain in certain periods, season such herdsmen have only two or three types of weapons with them. They use these weapons as a weapon to protect themselves. The stick, which is always associated with the herdsmen, the cutlass and once in a while you might see a herdsman carrying a dane gun, this is a local gun. This is because as they go, you see them with penguins, guinea fowls in the bush. The other aspect of “herdsmen” in quote are bandits because I don’t think any herdsman with his herds of cattle will go grazing and also attack, where would he leave the cows

    But who are the sponsors of these killings?

    That is a one million dollar question. Until recently this kind of fear was never known. The issue of bandits killing, cattle rustling, the issue of militancy, killings and things that are happening recently across the country; it is not easy to actually identify them or know how they operate.

    Do you see an end in sight to these killings?

    I can tell you that what happened recently in Nasarawa State was a repercussion of the implementation the anti-grazing law in Benue State, especially within Nasarawa State, I wouldn’t say about another state. We have not enacted that law, but within the neighbourhood we are sharing boundaries with Benue State. Whatever challenges they are facing in Benue affects us too one way or the other. And because we share boundaries there are bound to be inter-migration of the people in both states. We have become victims of circumstance. Given the circumstances, I think the federal government and the security operatives are trying their best. In Nasarawa we have been given nine units of mobile police to ensure surveillance of people who can appear to attack from Benue.

    We have seen killings in Nasarawa State and there is no anti-grazing law in the state. What are the causes of those killings?

    There are two types of killings; there are herdsmen that are running away and on their way to Nasarawa posing dangers to citizens of both Benue and Nasarawa States. Also there has been killings by certain militants from Benue entering into Nasarawa and also perpetrating killings.

    Is there any religious agenda?

    It’s not fair for anyone to think this as a religious agenda. Whoever is carefully observing the activities of the herdsmen and farmers over the years will know it is not over religion. You will notice that these crises have happened also in Zamfara, Kastina, Kaduna, Niger, just like it is happening in Nasarawa, Benue, and Kogi.

    What do you think about the proposed cattle colony?

    Given the frequencies of this problem, any responsible administration must find a way, means to get rid of this kind of crisis. I think it is quite a wise decision to propose the issue of cattle colony.

    But you have earlier admitted that these are bandits. So who is the federal government setting up the colony for?

    No you cannot substitute herdsmen for bandits. Cattle colony is not to give freedom or leverage to bandits but to give leverage to herdsmen.

    It’s so unfortunate that the activities of bandits and these criminal militants is now stigmatizing virtually every herdsman. You cannot just generalize that every herdsman is a bandit. When the federal government thought out the idea of cattle colony, it is not to give any bandit leverage but to protect the traditional, normal and law abiding herdsmen, and to be able to do that vocationally without any hindrances and contribute to the economic growth of the country. I believe, if this issue of cattle colony takes off, the pressure on the frequency of this kind of crisis is going to subside.

    If you think the anti-grazing law will not stop the bandits what will we do?

    This issue of herdsmen is so badly misunderstood and the herdsmen themselves sometimes make themselves vulnerable to allegations and accusations. But don’t forget, the bandits are also confusing the entire concept. It’s most unfortunate but that is not to say all herdsmen are bandits or to say all bandits are herdsmen. I am not saying that. We have the bad ones amongst them that could even do what we are talking about. So since this thing has been with us for long, I’d rather that every state look at the peculiarity of its own situation and find an in-house arrangement to manage that just like we are doing in Nasarawa State. We have a community-based conflict resolution mechanism and we have committees in the four levels in the wards, towns, in the development areas and in the state. And wherever there is some kind of crisis between the farmers and herdsmen such committees become handy and solve the problems.

    With the success of this it will be crazy of me now to embark on anti-grazing law when the in-house arrangement of conflict resolution mechanism is working for me because anti grazing law comes with its different kinds of repercussions. So before you make the law, one needs to understand that the more graphic figure of the cattle that you have the size of the land and the infrastructure facility that could handle this people and how easy it is also for them to get the land. Each state should look at it from its own peculiarity like I said earlier, and then have an in-house home grown solution to it. In Nasarawa we have grazing reserves in most of the local governments; out of 13 I think we have grazing reserves in about nine to 10. So we will recover most of these grazing reserves, they are large expanse of land that could be deployed for the herdsmen to go and do their business without inconveniencing anybody.

    You recently held a security meeting with traditional rulers and security chiefs in your state. How far has that been able to help?

    That has been responsible for the peace we are enjoying in the state. For the past two years we have had a number of herdsmen/ farmers’ challenges since 2011 and we suffered it for those number of years and we were able to through trial and error to arrive at this community based conflict resolution mechanism which we have deployed to regulate activities between farmers and herdsmen and like I said, in the past one and half years we have not had any problems. Even with the influx of migration of the herdsmen from Benue to Nasarawa State. We were having so many problems but the conflict resolution mechanism is working.

    The Army is coming up with exercise ‘Rat Race’ within the axis of Benue, Nassarawa, and Taraba. How do you see this security strategy?

    It’s wonderful, it’s fantastic, and I commend the federal government for this initiative and that goes to give answer to the question you raised. Inconsistency, you can now see consistency in the action of the federal government by asking the Nigerian Army to embark on ‘Rat Race’ which deploys the army to handle issues that are going beyond the capacity of the police

    There are some very disturbing statistics in your state’s education sector. This is that more than 80 percent of teachers are not qualified. So how are you dealing with this?

    It would sound outrageous but I think to a large extent that statement is true. If you look at it from the basis of basic qualification to teach in any school in Nigeria, the national education policy says the minimum qualification of teachers should be NCE. If you go by this standard, how many states can boast of NCE teachers teaching in their primary school?

    So how are you responding to this challenge?

    When it comes to educational issue, we have been careful about two things:  we are implementing inclusiveness in governance; all children are given equal opportunities to go to school whether you have qualified teachers or not. We are taking every kid of school going age even if we don’t have enough NCE teachers. What is important is that these children don’t miss the foundation period for them to get to school. The issue about the quality of teachers is something that is already a lapse…

    Does that suggest you are avoiding taking the bold step of weeding out unqualified teachers?

    What we are doing since we cannot get enough NCE teachers to man these schools, is to employ some good secondary school leavers to fill the gap. I don’t want to be carried away by sentiments. I am concerned about the lives of the children that are supposed to be in school. Even if they are to be manned by day care minders where there are no teachers, I don’t mind. My concern as governor is the inclusiveness in governance which means equal opportunity to every school going age child Nasarawa State. And whether we have NCE teachers or we don’t have, we must be able to perform this duty. We are working quietly to ensure that we employ many teachers as possible as for those that are not qualified going by the National Council of Education, we are tolerating Grade 2 teachers and secondary school leavers to man the classes before we can get the number of NCE teachers on our list.

    Are you not worried about the quality of products that the schools will be producing being trained by unqualified teachers?

    We have qualified teachers, virtually most of our schools have qualified teachers, but we do not have all the qualified teachers we require and we cannot just leave those classrooms vacant. I’d rather have someone who is a secondary school leaver to go and man the classes rather than leave the classes without anybody.

    The special school commissioned by President Buhari during his recent visit, what was the motive? What do you hope to achieve and how?

    Thank you very much. I have come to realize over time that even though we operate constitutional democracy, that gives everybody the chance to be careful, I have come to notice that certain categories of people are being badly discriminated against and this discrimination has become so fundamental that if something is not done quickly such person gets lost in despair and hopelessness and before we realize how to manage them, they would have been down and out. I have been part of the people who are working quietly to ensure advocacy of the enactment of the disability law so that the discrimination will reduce. Let people with disability be recognized by the constitution and to be given certain basic support some of which could be justifiable if the authority chooses to provide. Once that is done, they don’t need money they don’t need pity. Give them the opportunity. If that is done every disabled person would now know that the government is also for him/her.

    We have to go to the persons, those that have the misfortune of being grown-up adults that are disabled. The law will help to some extent but as a government we cannot be forgiven if we don’t give the foundation for the children with disability, so they don’t grow up to be like the adults who go about looking for alms and pity. So, the motive behind my setting up of this special school apart from getting the law done is to ensure that we ‘catch them young’, getting them acquainted  with disability world so that they can live a worthwhile life. So, that they can also aspire to as far as their capacity or IQ. Once we do that we would have discharged our responsibilities as leaders. Inclusive governance and providing equal opportunities because once we do that a blind boy will start learning, by the time he is 13 he would have acquired the skills to live in the world of the blind effectively, so also the deaf. The school is primary and secondary and we have plans to create a tertiary institution in the future. Today, students with disability go to tertiary institution to learn different professions with the wrong method of impacting knowledge. Now we plan to have a tertiary institution that takes into consideration the disability of the students, the special things they need to fast track their educational performances.

    Have provisions been made for teachers who will teach them, I mean those trained in that field?

    We have two challenges which are conflicting. We have a responsibility to ensure every child goes to school, so as we have the responsibility to ensure that the education we give is qualitative. We can abandon qualitative education for universal and general, quantitative education and at the same time we cannot sacrifice the lives and education of the children by just limiting ourselves to ensuring standard by the number of good teachers we have. This is very pertinent and this issue is more serious in a special school. Not everyone who goes to read special education in school can be able to teach well in the special school. This is the problem I discovered. The graduates universities are producing now in special education only have general knowledge of special education and no specification. They need to go back to school to specialize. We are planning to partner with world class centres with disability management and education in the United States. We are trying to collaborate with some of these institutions, some of the teachers we are going to employ will be sent for courses so they can also train and be better.

    What are your plans after 2019?

    I have come a long way and I have encountered several challenges. God willing I will be pleased to be one of the elder statesmen of the state who would provide advice and guidance to younger ones. At an appropriate time, I will fulfil my dreams. As a believer, I leave the future in the hands of God.

  • We can use looted funds and others to complete Ajaokuta – Dogara

    We can use looted funds and others to complete Ajaokuta – Dogara

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, led some members of the House on an oversight tour to Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, in Kogi State. Dogara spoke to reporters after visiting the massive industrial complex and said the National Assembly will oppose any bid to concession the completion of the company. Victor Oluwasegun, was there. Excerpts:

    SIR, can you tell us about your mission to Ajaokuta Steel Company?  What I can tell you is that we are here because of our desire to see that we can kick-start the process of economic recovery and the bedrock of the economy of any nation is industrialisation and without developing your steel sector, you cannot develop. And as you can see, we have seen the potentials, as a matter of fact, anyone who comes here might say, “I have come to a fertilizer plant”, and he is right. He can say, “I have come to a power generating plant,” and because they have the power to generate 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power entire Kogi and Edo States, you can say he is right. He can now say, “I have come to see a workshop,” and because it is the biggest workshop in Africa, with provision for a jet that can take delivery of shipment, he will be very correct.

    This company has eluded successive governments’ attempt to complete and put it into operation, don’t you think your visit is going to be futile?

    The priority for us as leaders is to agree, first, that we want to immediately develop this place and put it into operation because of the humongous economic benefits that will arise from here; 10,000 jobs that will give automatic jobs to engineers, thousands of other jobs for technicians and other staff, and other lines that will open, engaging a lot of people that will bring prosperity to the country. And then you can start to talk about plenty of economic activities with people coming here to establish industries because of the availability of cheap sources of energy due to power generated here, as well as access to gas links to the south- south. So all the incentives are there, all the infrastructures you need to develop this place are there. Once we have come to that determination, it is upon us as leaders to start the process.

    Then the next question should be, how do we fund it, how much is required? The argument has been made that it may require about a billion dollars to put this plant into operation, but that has been faulted by our visit here. We understand that all we need is about $500 million but as legislators, we cannot pass legislation compelling the executive to devote that kind of money. That is not what we intend to do. We intend to work with, collaborate with the executive to see what sources available to government can be utilised to complete this plant. They can come through loots as suggested by Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello). What are we doing with the money, is the money yielding any interest for the country? If it is not, why can’t we use this money to complete this place? If the money is not enough, we can move to excess crude account, it belongs to all tiers of the federation, and when completed, the complex will generate income. Even if it means borrowing to complete this project, it would serve as a national pride, not only for Nigerians, but even blacks all over the world in foreign nations would be proud to say this is Nigerian steel we are using, and you know the prestige that can bring to us. Even if it means borrowing the money from excess crude account, they would need some form of legislative intervention as well, which we will be prepaid to give.

    The Executive seems to be favourably disposed to concession the plant will this not put the Legislature on collision course with the Executive? Or are you going to use your legislative powers to compel the Executive not to?

    We are talking about collaboration. It is not about controlling anybody but bringing all the stakeholders on a table to agree that this is the project that we need to execute in the general interest, welfare and well being of our people and saying that wherever the money is, as a nation, we must find it. Like I said earlier, I believe the money is there. Right now, we are taking about building the power plant in the Northeast, it is going to consume hundreds and thousands tonnes of steel. We are talking about Second Niger Bridge, do you know how many hundreds of thousands tonnes of steel it would consume? So, are we going to send all this money abroad in order to buy steel when we know that with a fraction of that amount, we can complete this plant, supply the entirety of the steel that we need to complete this power plant in Ajaokuta and build the Second Niger Bridge? So this is the dilemma we are faced with as a nation and our own resolve is that it must be completed, no matter where we are going to get this money from.  As legislators, we are compelled to give the executive the legislative backing to get it to complete this plant. Once it is completed, we can now begin to talk about how to run it and for me, I don’t care even if it is outsourced, the point is the sustenance over a long period of time so that the job does not dry up. So that what we are doing does not end at the middle of the road but completed and sustained for the economic prosperity of this great nation.

    But the concern has been that there is no money to complete the plant. Now that you are insisting on its completion, where will the money come from?

    Those in the executive are always bothered about money. I heard the minister of state, who was once our colleague, talk about the fact that government does not have the resources to put in there to finish it. We have to look elsewhere, I beg to disagree with him, we don’t need money; all we need is leadership. Wherever you see development in the world, it is not money that brought it. Some may say it is money, but it is leadership. As a matter of fact, it is even leadership that brings the money. Talking about leadership, we are not putting the blame on the door step of the executive, no. All of us are leaders and as a matter of fact, it is to our collective shame that up till now, we have not been able to finish and put in operation, this factory.

    As a matter of fact, I was told that for some years, the plant was dogged by a court action or some arbitration instituted somewhere in a foreign jurisdiction and it has taken leadership to end this thing, to exit from such arbitration that had been on since 2016 and it is just this leadership that we need to be able to complete this plant that is almost completed.

    For me, I had heard so much stories of Ajaokuta, seen resolutions but I had never been there and that was why I thought that it was important for us as legislators to come and have a feel, see what is going on here so that we can build a partnership with the executive to see that we complete this plant in time by the grace of God.

    Do you think that this government is committed to reviving the industrial complex?

    Yes, and that is why I specially thank the President, at least, for giving us the basis for this visit. That is because, for some of us, Ajaokuta has always been on our minds but practically nothing could be done before now because there were some misunderstandings that stalled the operation and concession of this plant and that was before arbitration, not even in Nigeria, but in London. With the leadership demonstrated by the president, we have been exited from that arbitration. And that is why we are calling on him to show the same kind of leadership, that just exiting from the arbitration is not enough, this plant must be up and running.

    With what you have seen in this industrial complex, will you say that the vision of those who conceived this project has been defeated?

    We are eternally indebted to those who conceived the vision of this plant that was proposed to serve as the bedrock of our social economic development. Imagine if this plant had been completed in 1986, where would Nigeria have been at the moment? Imagine that from thirty something years ago, we had provided job for ten thousand engineers, thousands of other technical staff , utilised all the potentials here; the power generating capabilities, the gas pipeline, all the basic infrastructure that an investor needs to be able to set up a manufacturing plant around this area, by now Kogi State would have been a model state because we have everything; the raw materials, the power, the gas that will link this place for industries to be set up and flourish here but why haven’t we done it? Any patriotic Nigerian that visits this place will shed tears, it doesn’t matter which side of the country he is coming from and any foreigner who comes here, by the time he leaves, even if he doesn’t say it, he will go with the wrong impression about us as a people.

    To be candid, we have no reason not to have completed this plant, no reason and that is why when we were discussing among few of us, the option of concession, I did say no, you can’t concession your future, it is never done. I am yet to see a nation that ever concessioned the bedrock of its industrialisation and succeeded. If you find one single nation, just tell me. That is why past attempts to concession this plant or company have not succeeded and if we keep repeating the same thing and thinking we will arrive at a different outcome, then we will just be foolish. As a matter of fact, that is the very definition of stupidity and we are not stupid, we will not repeat that mistake.

    Again, our global players will always want to hold us down so that we can keep importing some of these needed materials from them and what they sell to us, are sometimes not the genuine things. We were talking with the head of the company and some of the engineers, very experienced engineers, we went to one of the workshops and they said when you have problems with spare parts, they can even bring it to the workshop here and make it better than the original that you actually brought, so that means we can do better, we can make Nigeria better. So anyone who plans to outsource the completion of this plant will definitely run into problem with us.

    But government privatised its companies because of poor management, why are insisting that this one should be different?

    If it is to concession the management, we agree that government cannot be a good runner of business. But talking about completing the plant, we must do it.

    What is the way out now and what will you do going forward?

    The resolve on my own part is that very soon, there will be more activities by the legislature in order to kick start activities that will lead to the completion of this project. We have what we call in the House, sectoral debate. We want to use that medium to call on the Governor of Kogi State, representative of the community, the ministry as well as virtually all stakeholders, we will bring them to the floor of the House during live debate and we can even bring the chairman of EFCC to tell us how much they will give us and we will bring the management of Sovereign Wealth Fund, even those who are managing our Excess Crude Account, if we can’t find any money, the money is there. Truly speaking, with just $500 million dollars we need to complete this place, we have the money.

  • TORA OLAIYA: Live, learn and love life to the fullest

    TORA OLAIYA: Live, learn and love life to the fullest

    Tora Olaiya is a model, actress and TV presenter on M-NET. In this interview with Yetunde  Oladeinde, she talks about her daily routine filming for television, challenges and getting inspiration from her grandpa and uncle (Dr Victor Olaiya, high-life pioneer).

    How is life as a TV personality like? What is your typical day like? Life as a TV personality can be very unpredictable and that’s one of the things I really like about it. I loathe monotony; so it’s the perfect job for me as there is not one day that is ever the same and each day on the job brings something different.

    There is usually a process to filming for TV. There’s pre-production (before filming), production (filming) and post production (after filming). I’m generally involved in all three stages at some level. Before filming, I meet with the stylist for a wardrobe fitting so we know what I’ll be wearing for a shoot. I also meet with the team for a production meeting. I receive a brief about who or what we will be filming and I go away and prepare myself in the form of research and questions. On the day of filming, we usually start with my makeup, then we do my hair and then I change into my wardrobe (this can take up to three hours). There are times I may be required do a voice over during the post production-phase.

    What gives you the inspiration to do the things that you do?

    I draw my inspiration from my family and life experiences. I come from a family of people who were very successful in what they did. My grandfather was a very successful lawyer, my great-uncle is a renowned trumpet player and highlife pioneer (Dr. Victor Olaiya) and my father was a very successful pilot engineer who loved his job (he was happiest when he was flying in the air). When my father died, I was 14 years old and I realised at a young age that it’s important to do what you love. My father taught me that if you’re good at something, you’ll make money; but if you love what you do, you’ll be happy and make money all at the same time. Everything I do is in the pursuit of genuine happiness for myself and the people around me.

    Let’s talk about some memorable moments with MNET. How did it all begin?

    M-NET all began with me leaving my job as a radio presenter. At the time of my audition I had been unemployed for about three weeks. I had no idea what I was going to do but I knew that I was going to work on TV (in my eyes it was always the natural evolution of my career). However, some people around me were very sceptical as they felt I left a perfectly good job with no feasible plan. Everyone, except for one friend who told me that M-NET were looking for presenters. At first, I was a little sceptical because it was an open audition/competition (which was documented and broadcast on TV) and I was worried about what people would think, especially if I didn’t make the cut. But my friend convinced me to audition, which I did and it was the best thing I could have ever done. I am really thankful for my losses and my blessings. If I hadn’t left my job and if it wasn’t for my friend Lolo, I would have never known about the M-Net auditions.

    What are some of the challenges encountered on the job?

    I feel like things only become a challenge once you see them as such, so I work really hard at practicing the art of positive and alternative thinking. It’s an art I am yet to master, but I’ve learnt to accept that TV production can sometimes be about improvisation. We can plan and have all the pre-production meetings in the world, but there is always something that will not go accordingly and at that point you have to improvise. It has really put my problem-solving skill to the test and as a perfectionist I have learnt to let things go a bit more. I’m still a perfectionist though (which can sometimes be a gift and a curse).

    How do you cope with them?

    I deal with challenges by not seeing them as challenges; but by seeing them as an opportunity to think outside the box and move forward doing something different which can sometimes be better than the original plan. In that respect, my motto is really just to keep moving forward and try not to dwell on the negative.

    Tell us about your career and the other things that occupy your time

    My career is really fast-rising as a TV presenter and as my personal and professional development evolves, people will see that there is so much more to me. I am creative at heart and I’ve been trained in many arts. I have a diploma in music technology and performing arts, a degree in music business management and marketing and various certificates in video and radio production. Since my move to Nigeria, I have set up my own company and consulted as well as written and produced a number of radio programmes and video content for a few companies.

    Over the past year, I have been working on producing content for my online platform. My website and YouTube channel will be launched very soon and I’m really excited because it will be a place where people can see all the different layers to me, including my skill set in TV and video production. I also have 10 years’ experience in the youth sector and education (I’m a qualified English Language lecturer) and I’m currently developing a youth empowerment platform for young adults. Outside of that, I host a lot of events and I model and act and look forward to people seeing me in a few projects this year.

    What lessons have you learnt working in the sector?

    I have learnt so many lessons since working in media and entertainment in Nigeria. I have learnt that being yourself is key. Not everyone is going to like you and that’s okay because most of the time it’s not personal. I’ve also learnt that nothing hardly ever goes according to plan and that you just have to let it go and keep it moving. The most valuable lesson I’ve learnt is that humility and generosity can go a long way. I always try to help where I can, particularly if it’s not going to cost me anything because the truth is people have done the same for me. I work very hard, but it would be nothing without God placing people in my life who believe in me and are humble and generous enough to give me a chance. I’ve also learnt to be much more adaptable, never underestimate the power of being flexible in this industry.

    What dreams did you have while you were growing up? Did you have an alternative career?

    I remember wanting to be an architect when I was four years old because I loved to draw and was good at it. But then I got into music very early and was signed to a major recording label at the age of 15, so I probably would have been a recording artist/record producer. But the truth is I’ve always believed that I can be anything that I want to be (and I will), as there are so many things that I want to do outside of media and TV presenting.

    Let’s compare when you started and now. What has changed?

    When I started out in media in the UK, there were hardly any dark-skin woman on TV (hence my move to Nigeria). When I got here, I was quite overwhelmed by the lack of infrastructure in the sector, particularly the back-end of things. But over the past few years I’ve seen a lot of improvement and that’s mainly because of the advancement of the digital technology. The internet has pushed the power back into the creative hands. There is a lot more autonomy in the industry and the artists are making a lot of money as a result of it.

    What are some of the changes that you would like to see in the sector?

    There are a few things I would like to see change in the industry, such as unity. There’s a lot of division, particularly amongst woman which leads to a lack of empowerment. As a demographic, we complain that women are not respected and considered as equals in the industry, but I think it starts with ourselves. How can we demand respect when we don’t even empower each other? I would like to see more government backing from the sector and that starts with empowering talented young people within the creative industries. It’s my dream to see a lot more funding going into youth development within the sector.

    What is your definition of style? How would you assess Nigerian designers?

    To me, style is all about what makes you feel comfortable and more importantly what makes you look good and suits your body type. As far as I’m concerned, there’s a thin line between personal style and fashion and I feel people tend to conform to the latter of what’s in vogue as opposed to what actually looks good on them. If you study my personal style, it’s very unique to me. I design a lot of what I wear and you can see me in anything from vintage to couture to high street brands. I generally wear what I like and I tend to work with designers that understand me and my body type. I love Nigerian designers; a lot of them are bold and know how to make a statement. But some designers need to work on their customer service skills and work ethic. I’ll work with anyone once, but the minute I see a lack in customer service and overall interpersonal skills, I won’t work with them again.

    What are some of the items that you cherish most in your wardrobe?

    I absolutely adore urban footwear because I grew up in inner-city London. So, I love Jorden’s. I have a number of them, as well as my Convers and Vans. I also love my casual wear items like my ponchos and kimonos (basically anything that is quick, easy and comfortable to wear). I also love dressing up and have a few items from some Nigerian designers that I absolutely treasure; such as Luxury by Feyi, Sean Manuel Fashion House, Gigi Signature and Fab Lan by Derin. I have a few designer bags which I really treasure but only because they last forever.

    How do you relax?

    I relax by spending time with my family and friends; it really keeps me grounded because outside of work I’m a very goofy person, I don’t take myself too seriously and I love to joke around. So, my family gives me that release where I can be unfiltered and not worry about what people think. They give it to me straight and yap me all the time (in a humorous way of course) and I love that because I’m the same. Don’t judge me, but I also watch a lot of reality TV. I call it trash TV and it really is my guilty pleasure.

    Tell us about some of your awards and recognitions

    One award that I am really proud of is that which I received in the UK. I was awarded the Princess Trust Millennium Award and received a grant worth thousands of pounds to set up a project for underprivileged youths in London. It was a creative workshop that took young people off the streets and engaged them in the arts. It was very successful and I hope to do the same again in my life time and hopefully more.

    Let’s talk about the people that you admire and role models

    I really admire IK Osakioduwa. I think he’s an exceptional TV host and compere. I’ve recently come to admire Ebuka Obi-Uchendu (it’s not a fluke, the guy is really talented) and his live hosting skills are very impressive. There are also many women in the industry who I admire – from Linda Ikeji to Mo Abudu to so many others (their consistency is second to none). On the international scene, Oprah Winfrey and Ryan Seacrest are two people who have really inspired me, and when it comes to the UK, I grew up on people like June Sarpong, Andy Peters and Moira Stuart (to name a few).  As far as role models are concerned, my mother and father are two people who have set a high standard of how I measure success. My older sister (Margret) is also a huge role model in my life and my auntie (Princess Moradeun) has always been a huge source of inspiration to me. There are so many people who have inspired me in this thing called life that it would take a whole essay to mention them all. But for the most part, Nigerians as a people inspire me as we are so resilient. Despite our adversities, we still keep going. It’s something that I really admire and think about a lot.

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

    My advice to young people would be to know who you are and know what you want as early as you can in life (having a vision is key). Once you get that down pat, prefect your craft and practice as much as you possibly can. Study your field and successful people within your sector. Be hardworking and resourceful and, trust me, the rest will fall into place.

  • ‘Blow people’s minds with what you do’

    ‘Blow people’s minds with what you do’

     Adeleke Omohagbor Samuel is one of the many Nigerian youths who are determined to make it against all odds.  He is a student, makeup artist and body-art artist. In this interview with Lateef Sanni, he takes you into his passion, growing up years as the only boy in a family of five siblings

    What is your type of painting called, and what inspired you to venture into it?

    I would say that painting for me started a long time ago because I like colours. I paint comics and do some art work which have to do with colours. I have always wanted to do body-art, because of my love for art.

    But recently, I wanted everyone to see the real me; that I am more of art, more of colours, more of story-telling, more of thinking out of the box. So, that adventurous desire made me venture into nude body painting; more of creativity on the screen which I feel is different and outstanding. Interestingly, this is not what everyone does these days. This is therefore different and helps in doing what they have in mind in a creative way as well as being able to express yourself through arts.

    How do you cope with the naked bodies?

    I see this purely as art and when you do this, you are in a different world as a person. In the western world, things are different but here when we are painting a naked person, it is more like a taboo. However, one thing I know is that if you have to be different and unique, you must stand your ground. I would say that coping is normal. I have done a couple of works and professionalism has a big role to play. Also I am a free and open person, so that plays a big role.

    What do your parents say about it?

    My dad is gone (RIP). But as for my mum, there is a level of mother-to-son conversation which I won’t allow to tear apart. So while working I do have our conversations around my head because my mum is a devoted Christian and there is a legacy my mum introduced to us (the children) that immediately after secondary school we must learn a vocational skill before we get to the higher institution. Interestingly, my mum is a fashion designer and she told me to pick three vocational skills I would like to learn before my admission. So I picked disk jockey (dj), fashion designing, but mum was like dj ke? Is there gospel DJ? Then she said fashion designing takes up to at least three years to be a professional because she did one. She then said makeup would be nice.

    That, interestingly, was how the journey started for me. It has been a very creative and exciting journey and in school I fed myself with the money I made.

    Did your girlfriend complain about what you were doing?

    A girlfriend is not on the agenda.  How to get better than I was yesterday is the target. All that is in my head is to be somebody successful in life, because I am from a poor background.Honestly, even if I have one I won’t have her time; so for now, being successful comes first, after God. I strongly believe that a girlfriend can come later, so makeup artistry is the bae at the moment.

    What makes your paintings unique and what materials do you use?

    I would say that it is the grace of God. Trust me, same inspiration is given to the multitude at the same time but it is who acts fast and is able to interpret inspiration correctly and put it into action that really matters. This is because you might be doing the same thing that someone else is doing at the same time but you stand out through hard work and God being on your side.

    What kind of make ups do you do?

    Everything I do is based on beauty and it includes make-up, gele artistry (traditional, white wedding, editorials, carnival, body-art paintings)

    You are a student, you are into make-up, and you tie gele and now body painting. How do you manage all these?

    The truth is that, this is difficult, but as a young entrepreneur in Nigeria, man must chop. Apparently, it is really stressful in terms of schedules. What I do is to plan with my course mates, sometimes it may be a Gmail account, chat, sms, or call that I will get to let me know that that I am needed somewhere. It could be while I am in class with a lecturer and when I am less busy. What I do most times is to ask for permission to go to the toilet from the lecturer, then tell my course mates to keep my bag till I am back and when I am coming back from the job it is a duty to buy them goody goody (chuckles).

    It is easy for people to venture into makeup business these days. What do you have to say about this?

    I will say Youtube is everywhere for tutorials, and different makeup artists everywhere. The truth of the matter is that everyone needs makeup, at least for personal use (DIY class), as well as the gele artistry.

    Do you think there are enough clients to go round?

    There is so much opportunity in the sector. I believe that there is enough to go round and there are a lot of makeup artists in Nigeria and beyond. We all have our different selling points, which is what the different clients see or look out for. This actually gives them a variety of choices to pick from, depending on their need and who can satisfy these needs.

    Is it a lucrative business? Do clients pay?

    Definitely, it is lucrative and it brings out the creativity of the artist. You must have the passion for what you are doing, which is the main love for the job and to compensate and crown everything, money is important.

    There are more females in this business than males. As a male, how do you handle the competition that comes along?

    As a person, I don’t like competitions; I don’t see myself competing with anyone. If somebody thinks I am in a competition with them, I am sorry they are thinking wrong because it is not an easy task being an entrepreneur. I want the best for everyone.  Everyone deserves to be happy.

    What is your advice for new people in the business?

    As my mum would say, ‘whatever you know, know it well.’ So, tenacity is key; consistency is a major role, blow people’s minds left and right, up and centre. If you can’t convince, confuse them.

    Do you think you would have been more successful if you were a DJ?

    I don’t know, I will leave that to God. Interestingly, I admire some Dj in the industry and I love what they are doing.

    From your experience, how would you define life?

    Life, I must confess, can be tough. It is not easy for many. As a boy from a poor background, you can imagine what I have been through. However, that doesn’t mean that I should put my back on the ground. It’s not an easy task struggling to get money.

    How about feedbacks from your clients?

    Lovely and exciting. When you give your clients what they want, and you let them see how better another or little effect can be on every job, they would trust your judgement.

    Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

    First, I want God to be happy with whatever I am doing. That includes being celebrated as one of the best makeup artistes in the country, travelling to places, reaching out to people, making my mum and family happy.

     

  • We’ve been left to bear our losses alone -FESTAC fire victims

    We’ve been left to bear our losses alone -FESTAC fire victims

    Victims of the December 13, 2017 FESTAC diesel tanker fire that consumed over two dozen vehicles, furniture amongst others recount their losses. They also lament the fact that the police have yet to unravel the identity of the tanker driver or owner, six weeks after. Gboyega Alaka who recently visited the scene, reports.

    It was like Armageddon. So witnesses say. Roaring balls of fire; vicious fumes and flames; explosions upon explosions, as heat from diesel fire engulfed all combustible within reach. The array of exotic second-hand cars otherwise known as tokunbo cars on display just before the foot of the FESTAC-Mile 2 Link Bridge drew the most emotions, as they got engulfed, exploding in succession, as each got heated beyond tolerable temperature.

    The presence of an array of well-finished furniture on display at a furniture shop closer to the bridge did not help matters. It literally accelerated the speed of the fire, creating thick poisonous fumes that made the most daring onlooker take to their heels. Practically, the little bag and box shop sandwiched in-between the car mart and furniture shop stood no chance, as the beautiful traveling bags and boxes promptly disappeared in the fire.

    Witnesses say three commuter buses also went up in flames, just as six motorcycles turned to charred skeletons of metal and brass within minutes.

    At the end of the fire fury, victims counted their losses. Thankfully, no lives were lost. Fire fighters eventually quelled what was left. With 21 cars burnt, the car mart suffered most. This may not necessarily include a couple other cars, which frontal casings were all melted, and engine partially burnt. A Ford Escape XLT and a Toyota Highlander stood out in this category. Even a truck van deep in the yard suffered partial burns. The dealers say they would require huge sums to put them back in shape.

    Bridge closed for repair

    The right side of the FESTAC end of the bridge also suffered greatly. As a result, that portion had to be closed to vehicular activities. That leaves the Lagos State government as co-casualty.  Mr. Chen, a Chinese official of the construction firm, CCECC working on the repairs said told this reporter in his hardly comprehensible English that the repair of the two damaged pillars will take seven months. But one of its Nigerian staff, said even the seven months duration is dependent on the test being carried out on the third pillar. If it is confirmed to be damaged, then work will have to go on for much longer time. Inevitably the general public also suffers, as only the left side of the bridge is left for use, leading to monstrous traffic gridlock; especially at peak hours.

    Wednesday like no other

    The above were consequences of the vehicular mishap that took place on the afternoon of Wednesday December 13, 2017. A fully loaded 33,000-litre diesel tanker was said to have suffered mechanical hitches, as it ascended the bridge from the FESTAC end, falling off in the process. The ensuing spill and explosion turned the place into a roaring theatre of fire.

    It was less than two weeks to Christmas and none of the victims imagined they would suffer such huge loss – not at that time of the year; not at any time. The furniture maker/dealer at the foot of the bridge, as a matter of fact, said he had laboured hard to complete several sets of exotic furniture in readiness for the demands that normally come with that time of the year. Same for the box seller. He had also stocked up just a few days before. The same may also be said of the car mart. A car dealer on the same First Avenue – not one of those affected, said dealers usually get more supplies in December from Nigerians who come home from Europe and America on holidays.

    Counting the losses

    A visit to the scene of the accident last week, showed visible relics of the disaster. The car dealers are yet to evacuate the carcasses of the burnt vehicles – possibly, so there wouldn’t be arguments about the number of burnt vehicles. The furniture man had nothing on ground – understandably so. His portion remains cordoned-off by the construction workers. However, the box seller has reclaimed his space. He only came back a day before, he told this reporter.

    The car dealers, about six of them, sat in a shed chatting. If they still rue their loss, this reporter could hardly tell, but it’s been six weeks anyway. One of them, Aaron Uzor said life has to go on notwithstanding. He personally lost six cars worth about N21million. Another colleague, Oliver Okwocha said he also lost something in the region. More painful is the fact that the vehicles affected were some of the most expensive in the mart.

    “You know we normally display the best cars outside to attract customers.” Uzor said.

    Culprit driver yet to be traced

    Uzor said the most painful aspect of the whole thing is the inability of anyone, not even the police to yet trace the driver or owner of the tanker that triggered the accident. Although he admitted that he isn’t the one following the case with the police, he volunteered that the police are yet to come up with any finding on the whereabouts of the vehicle, driver or owner. He wondered why it had to take so long to trace a vehicle owner’s identity despite the chassis and engine numbers. “In truth the tanker was burnt beyond recognition, even the number plate, but I believe that the police should be able to trace a vehicle owner through its engine and chassis numbers – the same way they use them to trace stolen vehicles. I believe that’s why every vehicle is supposed to be registered.”

    Asked if the car mart was covered with any kind of insurance policy, Uzor said, “We don’t have insurance. This is because people give us these vehicles to sell for them; sometimes they even come back and take them. But people have told us that we could insure the whole park and when a car is sold or the owner comes to take it, we could remove it from the number of cars covered. So we are considering that now.”

    They are also looking up to the Lagos State government and the Amuwo Odofin Local Government to help assuage their losses, while hoping the police would come up with something. “We have appealed to the Lagos State government and they have accepted our appeal. They requested for our tax clearance evidence, land use charge, business premises fee, dealers permit and co and we are already putting these together. So we believe there is hope in that regard.”

    For me, there was no Christmas – Box seller

    Charles Onuoha lost 67 boxes in the fire. He had stocked up for the coming Christmas and end of the year travelers, so he felt really hard hit. As a result, he said: “There was no joy in my house this Christmas.”

    His sadness is compounded by the fact that there has been no reprieve in sight. He also had no insurance cover, and is only hoping that the police will someday soon uncover the identity of the tanker driver and owner. In the absence of that, the only possible reprieve would be from the (Lagos State) government, if they decide to be charitable.

    He said he never felt any need for insurance – not for mere traveling boxes, until the accident. “The police say they have not been able to locate the driver or owner of the vehicle. Can you imagine that? And this is almost two months after. What that means is that we have been left to suffer our loss all alone.”

    Psychologically, Onuoha said “It was a big shock and I’m yet to fully recover. I have never in my life experienced such a thing. In fact, I thank God that I’m still alive.”

    Family-wise, he has been hard hit and said he just been managing to keep his family together. “I am married with two kids; as we speak, I am yet to pay my children’s school fees. I told the school management to give me some time; good enough they are aware of the incident and are showing understanding.

    “To show you how bad it is, I only re-opened this shop yesterday (last Tuesday). The fire lapped up everything. I had 67 boxes in stock in readiness for Christmas/New year sales. Even my container shop was completely destroyed. I had to look for money to build a new one. As for my supply, I reached out to my importer suppliers and one of them only granted me what you see on display on credit. When I sell, I will make remittance.”

    I lost 30 sets of furniture – furniture maker.

    Anyone familiar with that axis would surely remember the vast furniture always on display by the foot of the bridge. Abiodun Rotimi Sunday is the man behind it. He cut a picture of somebody really deflated. His sagged shoulders and sober mien gave him away even before he introduced himself.

    “I lost 20 sets of furniture already finished and on display for sale. I also had ten other sets from colleagues that I was to help them sell; you know this is a very conspicuous location. Put in cash, everything should run into the region of N10million. Don’t forget it was the Christmas season and sales are usually on the high side because of people who would be moving into newly completed houses or who want to give their living room a new look.”

    Abiodun said he was away at Mushin market, where he had gone to buy materials, when he got a call about the incident. Instantly, he rushed back, but there was nothing he could do. “I couldn’t dare get close to the fire. It was bare-faced fire at its fury. People actually said it was milder, that it would have been worse and probably crossed over to the other side of the road, if it were petrol fire. But for me, that was enough fire; a fire that could destroy a bridge and ruin so many cars all in one swoop.”

    Now he and his wife and five kids survive mainly on the benevolence of his church. “It is the church that is supporting me. I don’t even know how I can cope with paying school fees.” He said.

    About Christmas, Abiodun said, “Christmas was not good. We just managed through it.”

    He is also saddened by the fact that the police are yet to find the tanker driver or its owner. He has also made a statement at the police station and joined other victims in soliciting for government’s assistance, but as at the time of speaking, nothing concrete has emerged.

     

     

    Don’t ask me about Christmas – Car dealer

    Have you got any kind of compensation for your loss yet?

    No compensation whatsoever. The police are yet to trace the driver or owner of the tanker.

    When was the last time you spoke with the police on the matter?

    I spoke with the DPO on this matter two weeks ago, but penultimate Monday, the DCO (Divisional Crime Officer) called me officially on the matter. It was in response to a call I made to him regarding investigation on the matter. After the incident, the plate number was burnt beyond recognition, so the police demanded that we copied the chassis and engine number, which we did. They collected the numbers and wrote to the Central Motor Licensing office requesting detailed information about the truck; but after some time, they said the licensing office said they didn’t have information on the vehicle. I asked the DPO if that was possible and he said yes. He said most of the tanker drivers don’t renew their documents, especially when they change their engines because police rarely stop them.

    Have you been able to scoop any information on your own?

    Nothing. When we heard that the truck may have loaded from the Satellite depot, I called and informed the police. I expect that they would shift their investigation to that end, working with the date and time space. But you know, I cannot be teaching them their job. I am not a police officer.

    How about insurance? Do you have any cover?

    We know about insurance but these are tokunbo (second-hand) vehicles. Most of them were given to us by individual importers who wanted us to help sell them; and they could come and take them anytime. So if we insure such cars, who bears the loss?

    The DPO has said investigations are ongoing; is that a consolation?

    Unless a special investigation team is taking up the matter, going by what they told me, I think they may have concluded efforts on the search. When they told me they couldn’t trace the owner from the licensing office, I asked ‘what next?’ and they told me they are not magicians.

    Any hope of reprieve?

    The only hope we have is in the government. The day the incident happened, a lot of government officials came here; the local government chairman, Amuwo Odofin Constituency representative in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Dipo Dina; representatives of the Lagos State government, even somebody came on behalf of the federal government.  On December 27, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode also visited, although we were not here on the day. They asked us to write a letter, which we did. We have got first and second correspondence; but that is as far as we have come.

    It must have been a very quiet Christmas for you and your colleagues.

    You’re talking about Christmas? How do you expect Christmas to be? My brother, we survived only by the grace of God. We have started another school session; we need to pay the fees; our rents are due…. It is only God; help is not coming from anywhere.

     

     

     

  • TOSIN BEE: Gospel music is a calling

    TOSIN BEE: Gospel music is a calling

    Contemporary gospel musician, Adejumobi Oluwatosin, better known as Tosin Bee, has years of excellent performances, music release and a lot more in his arsenal. Currently working on a second album, he speaks with OVWE MEDEME on his plans for the New Year, career, style an

    HOW would you say your career fared last year?  To me, 2017 was a fabulous year and I had a lot of events, both within and outside the country. We had quite a lot of things to do and it was a year of multiple ground breaking events.

    What are your plans for the New Year?

    This year, I’m definitely working on releasing a new album and I already dropped a single towards the end of 2017 ahead of the forthcoming album. I’m still in the studio working and I will be featuring a lot of artistes. I wouldn’t want to talk about them right now. The album dropping this year would be my second album.

    Tell us about your new single, ‘Yes Sir’.

    The song is just my own way of saying I praise and honour God. A line from the song says ‘I salute the Holy Commander. God is the Commander in Chief of our destiny and universe. He knows my end from the beginning and he determines the course of my life.’ All I’m saying is that even if the devil or someone tries to do anything in the face of adversity and challenges of life, I still come to say I salute the one that commands me.

    What kind of music do you do?

    I do Contemporary African gospel music with a fusion of some contemporary blend into it. So, it’s all-encompassing so people outside even Nigeria and Africa can have a feel of it and enjoy it but ultimately it’s gospel music.

    Tell us more about this genre of music?

    It is highly percussive as we have the talking drum, the drum set, shekere, omele and the African local instruments. On the contemporary side we have the keyboard, bass guitar, lead guitar and the saxophone. It’s a fusion of everything.

    How did you come about the name Tosin Bee?

    Tosin Bee is my stage name coined out of my name. At a point, I started bearing many names which wasn’t really sitting well. Along the line, I met someone who was supposed to be my manager at a time and we thought of a name that’s unique which will go well and we thought of having something from my name. So we took the Tosin from my name and the Bee from Adejumobi. That was how the name came about.

    How long have you been doing music?

    I’ve been in music for some time now and I started out in the choir. After a while, when I went to the university, I was the music director for my fellowship and after school I started fully and here we are today.

    Can we say music has been your calling from childhood?

    I would like to say that because some people would say they have been singing from their mother’s womb, but it’s been in me from childhood and my grandfather was a musician. But it wasn’t really developed until when I was a teenager when it became more of me.

    Which artistes have you worked with so far?

    In terms of recording, I have worked with Nosa, Mike Abdul, Big Bolaji, Big Bob and quite a number of artistes and they were all fantastic and it was cool working with them. Beyond the recording, I’m also a performing artiste and I have been on the stage with Tim Godfrey, Frank Edwards, Tope Alabi, Eben, Onos and I learnt valuable lessons from them.

    Why Gospel music?

    For me, it’s a calling and I didn’t just wake up one day and said because I didn’t have any job let me do this. It’s a calling and I went to school to study English Language. After that, I went into PR and did Adverts and Public Relations. So this is a calling for me. It wasn’t like I forced myself into it as I found myself in it. But I believe that I have an assignment and God has called me to this. I believe one of the assignments is to use worship to liberate people and win souls by depopulating the kingdom of Hell and making Jesus more popular. I believe that’s the whole essence of why I am in this.

    What makes Tosin Bee exceptional?

    First of all, if I am not going to be sounding too spiritual now I would say it’s the grace of God on me and sometimes you may have all the skills in this world and if you don’t have enough grace backing it up you may not be able to travel far. Secondly is the fact that I am versatile beyond the Fuji thing, as I said I do contemporary gospel music as it’s a fusion. A lot of people are one sided but I’m able to blend the two together, which is rare. That’s one of the things that make me unique and special.

    What’s your relationship with the Redeemed Christian Church of God?

    By God’s grace, I’m a full-fledged member of RCCG and a worship leader there and to the Glory of God the church has a record label, One Hallelujah, where I am signed as an artiste. I see myself as an integral part of the fold and I carry the banner of Christ like I carry the church too. I see myself as a tool of evangelism. So as much as the church is growing, the Kingdom of God is growing too.

    What would be your advice for up and coming gospel artistes?

    Whatever you’re doing, don’t set out for money which is obtainable generally in every field of which money will come but you most put the structure in place first. Work on yourself very well, carry the right values and make sure you have the things people would look for and don’t have any choice. One thing that really works in the gospel field more, which is the ultimate, is the anointing which will make you go far; so it’s best to seek for the anointing. And the anointing can only be gotten if you have right standing with God and definitely the money will come. Whatever you are doing, do it well and with excellence.

    How do you maintain your youthful looks?

    Funny enough, I felt that it wasn’t a cool thing as people saw me as a small boy but, eventually, I’m realising it’s actually a plus and I think it’s God and the way I take care of myself. Recently, I changed my hair style from Afro but these are calculated moves. Now, it’s a new style; so beyond that, I have the youthful look.

    What informs your dress sense?

    I have a guy who designs my outfits, but personally I have a taste for beautiful things as I like to look good. When I spot anything that’s good I go for it and I have good designers around me.

    What will be your biggest aspiration as a gospel artiste?

    When I get to the point that when I sing and the lame start to walk and the blind get to see; the deaf start to hear and I think am okay. And when I open mouth and people are giving their life to Christ. God has a way of glorifying himself.

    How do you deal with your female fans?

    I try to be very careful really and you have a lot of ladies around as it comes with this line but I try to be very careful so I don’t lose focus and won’t go off track.

    How soon do you hope to settle down?

    As regards settling down, pretty soon I will.

    d lots more

  • ‘All-inclusive governance restored peace in Plateau’

    ‘All-inclusive governance restored peace in Plateau’

    Simon Bako Lalong is the Governor of Plateau State. In this interview with the Chairman, Editorial Board of The Nation, Sam Omatseye and  Legal Editor, John Austin Unachukwu, he shares his views on the challenges of governance, how he has managed the Fulani herders and farmers’ clashes in Plateau State and other sundry national issues. Excerpts:

    WHAT is your assessment of the challenges and things you have been able to do so far in office?                 Well, we thank God for the opportunity. When we look at how we came in, we start our assessment from what we saw on ground. And I will say that when I came in as the Governor of Plateau State, the whole state was in total confusion.  There was dead civil service and we found the state in crises. And so the main news at the front burner then was crises; how many people were killed on a daily basis and then civil servants were not paid salaries for 10 months, 11 months in some cases like that of teachers and about nine months for pensioners.  But the most important thing was how to cope with the crises in the state at that time, because killings were going on here and there.  Killings were on-going on daily basis and there were crises everywhere.  Plateau was a no-go area. As a matter of fact, people were not following Plateau as transit route, people were no longer passing through Plateau State.  Those who had Plateau as their transit route had to find a way to avoid going through Plateau State.

    What do you mean by this?

    Imagine a Bauchi man would go through Kano; a Gombe man will have to go through Maiduguri because Plateau was a no-go area. Right inside Plateau itself, some areas were no go areas. You don’t go to area A because you are a Christian or go through area B because you are a Muslim. So, how to contend with that situation was a big challenge and of course, the worst was that we inherited a zero account.

    How much did you inherit?

    What they gave us was just N95million. How do we go about this, so assessment would have to start from there?  First you have to contend with the crises; secondly you have to see how to pay civil servants because at that time, everybody was an angry man. So, the civil servants were not there, the secretariat was just closed; nobody was going to work. How to bring back the workers and also pay them the backlog of arrears of salary was part of the problem. To the glory of God, within three months we were able to contain with the crises; we brought in people together and it was resolved, no more killings.

    How did you achieve this feat because you just made it look so easy? The contention was that there was this issue of settlers and the Igbo, the Hausas and so on, we also had political dimensions to it, what really went into it as a matter of fact?

    Well, I think that the issues of the Plateau were really complicated. In 2001, there was this crisis which was a little bit religious, of a worship place that led to a crisis; the one that came up again was on the issue of elections, and part of it was a carry-over of an election in a local government area. And that election of a local government took us more than five years of crises.

    Why was that local government contentious?

    The local government was contentious because in 2001, there were two aspirants one who was a Christian and the other who was a Muslim. One was saying look; I am an indigene and was claiming that the other one was not an indigene but a settler. So this settler confusion in Jos North is very tough and at that time to do the election was something else. That time I was the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and the recommendation then was not to conduct an election and the two aspirants were still struggling. Christians were saying no, we must support this one and Muslims were saying no and before you know it, ethnicity turned into a religious war.  Now at the end of the day, while the conflict was going on, we made recommendations that the two candidates should be banned. Either you suspend the candidates or no election would be conducted. So, as the move was going on, crises came up and I believe that the crisis was as a result of the conflict that was going on. And the background to the crisis was that Muslims were worshipping and a Christian woman was passing and cursing them, the rest is what the security agencies will tell you.

    What happened since that time in respect of the elections?

    So after that time, there was no election again, it was now an interim arrangement, a caretaker committee was put in place. Now, a subsequent government came, and part of the report was that at that time, it was dangerous to do any election because the anger was still there but the man said no, we must conduct election. He conducted election, did their primaries and then went into election and the result or outcome of the election was what led to crises and killings because that day of election was something else in Plateau State; because of the religious background, it turned into a religious conflict. It was either religious or ethnic and from one local government it was spilling over within the northern zone. And so when it got to the far bush, it now became a Fulani and a Berom affair. So, that is how it turned down into a fight between farmers and herdsmen. So, you see cattle rustling, you see killings, you see destruction of farmlands on daily basis and killing and destruction of villages. So that was what we inherited at that time but the one we got lingering was this farmers and the herdsmen crisis and it was strictly mostly between the Beroms and the Fulanis. The conflict had gone too far, so one thing I did was to try to bring the two warring factions together. We brought them together, had several dialogues with them and at the end of the day, they resolved among themselves that they were ready for peace, set up committees within themselves and then I put in the structure.

    They did it alone or with the support of the state government?

    I nominated people from the government side to also sit down and broker peace. Up to this moment, the committee is still there and is still working. From there, they set up the guidelines for themselves, they said no more cattle rustling, they said no more destruction of farmlands, no more grazing in the nights, no entering anyhow, you must  follow certain routes, so within themselves, they created that and within the communities themselves it was agreed that part of the role of the government was to also run an all-inclusive governance, all-inclusive because this community would complain that in the last administration we were not involved, it was not tolerant to this people, we lack this infrastructure, so we took all of that, of course you know that I was a Speaker  in the year 2001 when commissions were set up.  So many commissions and I studied some of the reports of these commissions and picked up some of the recommendations of these commissions and because of that, we now brought out our own guidelines as to how to assist and resolve these conflicts .

    For instance, the all-inclusive governance thing, we set up machinery and we captured all the 53 ethnic nationalities on the Plateau and we ensure that all the ethnic nationalities must be captured in government, mainly in appointments and elections.  Some of them were elected, so in capturing them, we ensured that key and large ethnic groups were all accommodated in government. As it is now, you will find all the 53 ethnic groups on the Plateau now while they were going on because that had been the attitude of the past administration, when you set up a commission, when you set up this machinery for dialogue, after that what else, you wait until another crises, and what we did was that we said that we must have a long lasting means of settling these  conflicts; we set up an agency by law called Peace and Conflicts Resolution Agency and that is the only one in the country now. It is like the Peace and Reconciliation Committee at the national.

    Why did you back it up by law?

    We set up that committee by law we didn’t want it to be by appointment because if you do it by appointment, it will stay for a while and die.  When you turn back, somebody will just come and dissolve it; so we said no, this must be manned by independent people, experts in that field of life who will now collect some of these resolutions and begin to implement them. Get flash points where there are crises and find out how to address those issues before we see crises again in the state. So, we brought somebody from the university. He is now the D-G of the Peace and Conflicts Management Bureau.

    What was the role of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)  in all these efforts?

    So with the Peace and Conflicts Management and all the Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that work in the Plateau came in, because when we had that prolonged crises so many people were coming in; so many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the NGOs were coming in to assist. But unfortunately they were not given the opportunity to help. I know of an NGO, Humanitarian Dialogue that has been here but when I came in, they said look, we wanted to help but the last administration did not give us the opportunity to help. So, I brought them in and said you now have the opportunity to help and they worked very hard. It is the same group that I recommended to Governor Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State. They went there, they did a lot of things; I brought them back again.

    So together with all the NGOs, we worked very hard and that was how we got peace on the Plateau. Then you cannot have peace on an empty stomach, of course then you get back to the civil servants, they were all there very angry. So, what we did with them was to assure them that we must do our best to address the arrears of salary.

    So what did you do about this?

    What we did was to bring back the teachers. I reengaged about 2000 of the teachers, those who were dismissed, those were thrown out; we brought them back to service. In addition to this, we found that number inadequate, we advertised for teachers and we are presently doing interview to re-engage additional 2000 teachers for primary schools in the state.

    Here it has always been a tradition that you don’t continue the programmes and projects of a previous administration. So, to save costs and also to make sure that the projects that were there for the people were completed, in fact, I took the first two years of my administration to complete ongoing projects, projects that were started by the last administration. So all the projects that were started by the past administration, we completed them and introduced new ones.

    Recently you imposed curfew in the state, what really happened?

    We imposed curfew on two occasions, the first reason we imposed curfew was when there was this IPOB problem. When there was the IPOB problem, we had a security report of what was going to happen in Jos. Some criminals wanted to capitalize on it; they had a meeting overnight and said that they were going to start destroying lives and property that belong to the people from the South-East and that they will start killing people from the South-East. So, what I did was to rush and impose a curfew in the state. When we did that, we saw the advantage of imposing curfew. Because apart from one or two people who ran into the hoodlum and were unfortunately killed, that helped us to maintain peace. Because I said that Plateau belonged to everybody, whoever lives here and is a law abiding citizen, will be protected by the government. So, we did that and it worked for us very well and we had no problem. And then after that, I must state that the time that we noe set out to start preparation for Local Government elections in the State, from the day we issued the requisite notices for Local Government elections, then we started seeing criminality rearing its head again. You wake up today and you hear that they have killed one person and that person was killed in reprisal attack. Second day you hear that they killed another person in so, so and so place and then another reprisal attack. Just how it started before, but fortunately for us we put a lot of measures on ground and from the report I have received from the security agents, I am very comfortable with it because a lot of arrests were made and investigations are going on and I am very comfortable with the type of investigations that are going on now. At the end of the day, I am sure that they are going to bring out their report about what is going on. Even the criminals themselves have started running away because they are beginning to realise that security is going after those who are involved in this criminality.

    A lot of criminality, you have a gang of people, they go to an area just like the way they were doing cattle rustling, cattle rustling was a business but here we stopped it because of the understanding we had earlier with the stakeholders. Even before the law, the Beroms had a very good understanding with the Fulanis; we never saw cattle rustling again in this state. Nobody was rustling cows again and that minimized the destruction of farmlands because they set the rules for themselves. You cannot graze in the night because if you send people to graze in the night they go into farmlands they accepted, you cannot destroy farmlands, they accepted, you cannot go and be putting chemicals on the grasses so that cows will die after eating them, they accepted. They created routes for themselves and said no, within this area, this is where you pass when you are grazing, they accepted; so we had peace, but these ones that are coming had some elements of criminality, high time criminals coming in different shades with the sole purpose of putting the state back to into crisis but thank God that within a very short time, we were able to address that and are on top of the situation because if you put crisis in Plateau State, there will be no development in the state but when you have peace in the state, you don’t need to tell investors to come and invest in the state.

    Several months salaries were owed the civil servants before you came in, what is the state of affairs in that respect now and how did you get there?

    Yes, when we came in we realised that the civil servants were owed about nine to 10 months’ salary. So the first thing we did before swearing in because that was the condition given to us by the civil servants during the campaigns, that they would not resume, because before we came in they were already on indefinite strike in the state for over six months. So we asked them what do you want us to do? They said well, if you will get money from wherever, we must get two months’ salaries before your swearing in because we don’t trust government. Go and look for two months’ salary for us, we supported you, we voted for you, but go and get us two months’ salary. I had to go to look for where to get money. We got money, paid them two months’ salary and they resumed work.

    How have you managed this incidence of Fulani cattle herders and farmers clashes in Plateau State?

    Part of the problems we inherited in the Plateau was this farmers and herdsmen issue. So, we looked at it and realised that part of the solution to these problems was to introduce ranches. Fortunately for us at the Nigerian Governors Forum, the President in his attempt to look for solution for this issue asked of a report of a committee set up by the past administration, the administration of President Jonathan to address this issue. That committee was headed by the former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan. They brought the same report back to us at the National Economic Council and said look, this was the report to address the issue of farmers and herdsmen crises and we saw the recommendations at that report, the recommendation was to adopt the ranching policy. So when it was agreed, we all adopted it; so many of us agreed that we should go by the recommendation because land is no more available for the people, the issue of routes is not there, there are lots of conflicts you cannot even get the routes, and then this any how grazing is causing a lot of conflicts here and there. So the Ministry of Agriculture was to address the issue, and the Ministry of Agriculture met with the CBN and they said yes, to address the issue of grazing, this is what we should do and I remember the President saying don’t force people to do the policy; let it be on the basis of those who want to go into it so states that would like to go into ranching would then apply and go into it because all you need to do is provide pieces of land and then the FGN will assist in developing the land. And then the scheme will continue, that is the pilot scheme.

    Do you mean that you went into the scheme?

    Yes, Plateaus State went into it, in the whole of the North Central zone we adopted it; I applied for it as it is there in the policy. When you adopt the policy, you go into the pilot scheme then you access the funding from the CBN for the purpose of establishing the ranch. But the key issue is don’t force anybody into it. We adopted it, we brought it down, we didn’t force anybody into it; we took about two months having consultations on the Plateau because I set up a committee headed by a professor, onetime Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Onazi, so it was the Onazi Committee. The Onazi Committee went to Abuja, under studied it with all other stakeholders involved because civil societies were there, the Christian Association were there, the JNI were there, women were there and there were all sectors representation. So, by the time they came back after understudying it at the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, they all recommended that we must adopt this policy of ranching but that we must do consultation with the people. We took two months to do consultation. There was no segment of the society that we did not consult; we started from the traditional rulers, we did with religious leaders, we did with National Assembly members, we did with key stakeholders in the state, the elders, and we ended up with the National Assembly members because some National Assembly members were on air saying that we shouldn’t go into this  and that we shouldn’t go into it but at the end of the day, when it was addressed and we came into a meeting, Plateau people adopted ranching. So, it is now left for the government to implement it. Government is still waiting for the implementation of the policy because we were always in the Federal  Ministry of Agriculture to know what is happening about ranching when this issue about Anti-grazing came up; when they started hearing about anti-grazing here and anti-grazing there, people started saying  why not do ant-grazing bill here and anti-grazing bill there, so what I did was to say no, we had done consultation and Plateau. When I read what they call Anti Open Grazing Law, in some of the laws I didn’t see the word anti grazing. There was nothing like anti grazing law, but people concluded and said that that was what the law is saying, talking about anti open grazing. For me, I don’t want to use the word Anti, anti what? For us, we adopted the ranching policy as a life stock policy to encourage people to participate in it and not against any ethnic group.

    What was the position of the Fulanis then?

    When we had the meeting both the Fulanis and other ethnic groups accepted that they wanted the ranching policy, so what is this noise all about. We all agreed here on the Plateau, we have some little delays from the ministry but however, we have prepared our laws. As a matter of fact, very soon, we are presenting the law before the State House of Assembly on ranching and if you look at the laws, they are not really different from what I saw in some states because I read the law from Ekiti State, the one from Taraba State and the one from Benue State. And I saw that they are all about ranching; may be it is the nomenclature that changed. We stand for ranching; we have record of all the consultations we made here on the Plateau. Half of Plateau State stand for ranching; it is not only one tribe that is doing grazing here in Plateau State. We have so many tribes who are into grazing, open grazing for that matter.  In our own case, what we want to do is not to chase anybody, but to organise them in such a way that it is now run according to rules and no more taking your livestock here and there, destroying farmlands. Farms have to be protected by law from the House of Assembly.

    What is noticeable here is that there seems to be great understanding between the Fulanis, the Beroms and other ethnic groups who are involved in this issue of farming and animal rearing here in the Plateau.