The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 40 years

  • 40 years of solitude

    It is wealth that beckons, beauty that seduces like a maiden, hills that kiss the clouds, scenic languor, the swagger of mountains, breath-taking channels of rivers and streams, treeless greens rolling to the horizon, moist soil, Nigeria’s highest peak, the charm of dreams. Our own Mambilla Plateau is what the poet John Dryden would describe as “here is God’s plenty.”

    Yet, it has remained one of the poorest on earth. In the west, such a magnificent panorama would hang high in the world’s elite tourist heavens.  Here it is like the poet John Gray’s flowers “born to blush unseen.” A muted paradise. An Eden of wealth. Yet the place is one of the metaphors of failing government in Nigeria.

    Nothing demonstrates this better than the instalment of a power project in that place. Government after government for 40 years have been at it, and stumbled and fell, only to rise and fall again. It has triggered litigation, punctured egos, exposed board intrigues, reflected our ineptitude and lack of will as a people, and revealed why we have failed to develop any sector of our national life.

    Like the Greek character Tantalus, who was punished with a hanging fruit that he almost touches and is ever out of reach, the power project eluded Nigeria for 40 years. Now, we seem to be coming to the end of the curse.

    Under the bellwether minister, Babatnde Raji Fashola SAN, the FEC eventually signed on to a power project and work already has started. It is about power, but it is about building a new conduit of wealth, a sort of Dubai in seed if we are determined. The power project, as Fashola has envisioned it, is the back on which all others will bloom: flourishing large-scale farming, real estate boom, infrastructural explosion, markets, schools, game reserves, etc. It is like starting a city upon the hill.

    The story of power project is the beginning. It is with the power project that the plateau’s gifts will be unleashed. Fashola accompanied President Muhammadu Buhari to China to hatch a huge partnership and the contract price is $5.7 billion, and the Export Import (EXIM) Bank China with Nigerian counterpart funding of $868,874,559.30. This will provide power of 3,050 megawatts, which is over half of what is available today. Although the Fashola power strategy has been gradualist with capacity rising to about 7000 megawatts, about 5000 megawatts are available, with such factors as gas, equipment, GENCO resistance, etc, standing in the way of the 2000 megawatts balance.

    Part of the crust of this arrangement is that three firms who had at various times in the past four decades secured federal nods that went nowhere have now coalesced into the joint venture with some arbitration still going on. This is what has been lacking because we have allowed greed and political calculation trump our ability to deliver the goods for our people. It has taken a methodical thinking and focus on the goal for the Mambilla project to take off.

    It is not just Chinese firms, but at least 40 percent of Nigerian firms are already working. At the initial stage, it is expected to put about 30,000 people to work and provide livelihood for over 120,000 persons. Cement and steel companies in Nigeria are being engaged, and four dams – Nya, Sumsum,  Nghu, and Api Weir –  headline the power project. It will take advantage of the Donga River that flows from the Benue River.

    To achieve this, about 100,000 people around the project will be evacuated and resettled, and real estate consultants are at work on this.

    This is one of the highlights of the Buhari administration, and it is a feat that must be commended for breaking the knots. Similar work is going on in the Second Niger Bridge, and as vice president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo noted to a group of business persons in Uyo last week, work on it has risen to about 12-storey building under the water, a report that drowned the President in boos in the Senate last year. Or the Itakpe-Warri railway project and the Lagos-Ibadan rail line all billed to buzz into action shortly.

    Yet, the Buhari administration, for all its work in infrastructure and social-economic support, should stop shooting itself in the foot by pivoting the country to ethnic and religious suspicion as it has done with its tendentious appointments and its failure to follow court procedure, not in the Onnoghen case, but in the cases of El Zakzaky and Sambo Dasuki.  When you say words like ‘’live peacefully with your neighbours’’ during the Benue crisis, it detracts from the glories of the Mambilla project and the Second Niger Bridge. When you fell some governors like Jolly Nyame(Taraba) and Joshua Dariye(Plateau) for corruption as we have seen, the government plays it down when it does not condemn the Ganduje dollar show, or take steps against the open contradiction of chief of army staff’s lifetime earnings that cannot afford his acclaimed property in Dubai, or the N25 billion conundrums in NNPC under Baru on his watch. Such self-inflicted drawbacks embolden Atiku and Obi to boast that they used public funds to finance private companies. Atiku abused his office as vice president to prop his company Intels by routing oil and gas deals to it, and Obi invested Anambra State funds in family business and banks in which he had interest. So we can see how the Atiku/Obi ticket is evidence of corruption fighting back.

    We have seen that even those who rail at the Sukuk funds as Islamising Nigeria are benefiting from it in infrastructure work. editorial board member and The Nation columnist Gabriel Amalu recently testified in his travel East on major road work completed in the Southeast. Jonathan’s only gift to the Southeast was appointments of its cynical elite and his name Ebele and Azikiwe. He did not flatter the Southeast with such achievements.

    “No one’s virtue is complete/ the great Galileo loved to eat,” wrote German playwright Bertolt Brecht. But Buhari should realise that social and cultural factors can downplay major achievements because they are emotional time bombs. The work on the Mambilla is the making of a legacy, and I think the minister and his president are on the right track. Irony is that even the Mambilla Plateau also witnessed death in the high fire of the herders crisis. The grass on the plateau showcases it as a viable location of ranches. Its greens shine on without trees for miles. Imagine a place where nature forbids mosquitoes or tsetse flies to visit or breed, or where Nigeria can pull off tremendous foreign exchange from tea farming, and the industries that can transform the economy.

    It has the coldest climate, and it has hills where settlements can thrive. It is higher than Plateau State and more lush. Forty years of stagnation calls to mind one of the world’s greatest ever novels titled: One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Garcia Marquez. A family of great thinkers, leaders, adventurers destroys itself systematically over a century. Thanks to this administration that this one boon that stagnated for close to half a century, actually since 1972, is now on the move. It is wealth we seem not to have seen like Christ’s disciples who were fishing all day on the wrong side of the river when prosperity was shimmering on the other side. My hope is that this does not become another false hope, and it is up to the president and his bellwether minister not to drop the ball.

    Highlands always bolster new cities as great empires. Ibadan began as a refuge during the Yoruba Wars. It has grown to become a Yoruba bastion and its biggest place and where Awolowo tenanted his genius.

     

    Udom’s futuristic ignorance

    When Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited Uyo last week, Governor Emmanuel Udom sent only his secretary to government at the airport. His excuse came a day earlier. He said he was not aware of the “purported visit.” So, he was not aware of it even if it had not happened and it was just the next day? The man is guilty of not only

    lying, but lying ahead of the fact. I call it futuristic lying. Of course, the vice president was there to support his APC, and to give a talk to some business persons. But it was in the course of courtesy and protocol to show up. Was the man bitter? Whatever it was, Udom’s attitude is a way not to bear grudge in public and an example of how not to lie.

     

  • Men above 40 years must watch out for prostrate enlargement symptoms, expert advises

    A medical practitioner, Dr Charles Esekhaigbe, has urged men above 40 to always check for symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH).

    Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) also called prostate gland enlargement, is a common condition in men, as they get older. An enlarged prostate gland can cause uncomfortable urinary symptoms, such as blocking the flow of urine out of the bladder. It can also cause bladder, urinary tract or kidney problems.

    According to Esekhaigbe, the manifestation of BPH symptoms may not lead to prostate cancer in some cases, if treated instantly, adding  that BPH condition was an inevitable state of every man above 40 years.

    “BPH begins to grow in every man from puberty, depending on the age and it continues to increase with age and genealogy.

    “Certainly, you will begin to notice it after 40 years, but that does not lead to prostate cancer in some cases depending on the person’s health condition,’’ the doctor said.

    Esekhaigbe, however, advised men at that particular age to seek advice from medical practitioners as soon as symptoms like urgency, hesitancy, urinary retention, are noticed when passing urine.

    Catholic Men Organisation (CMO), CKC Parish Kurudu, organised the medical outreach to ascertain the heath status of their members and encourage longer and healthier living.

    CMO Chairman, Mr James Eva, said the medical outreach was informed by the rampant mortality rate of members of the parish, adding that the medical outreach was imperative to prevent the ratio at which men of the parish are dying.

    According to Eva, many of the deaths are caused by ignorance and lack of knowledge of their health status, explaining that the medical outreach was necessary because many people were not in the habit of visiting hospitals for regular medical checkup.

  • 40 years of NLC: So far, so fair?

    40 years of NLC: So far, so fair?

    Four decades ago, the history of labour unions in Nigeria changed. Tony Akowe in this report chronicles the journey.

    Forty years in the life of any organisation is a milestone indeed. For labour union icons, especially those alive to witness the evolution of labour unionism in the country from its infancy to adulthood, the next best thing will be to bring out their drums and cymbals and celebrate this coming of age indeed. Which is truly what it is!

    But how did this whole thing started?

    A horse of recall

    Though labour unionism had been in place in Nigeria even before the nation attained independence, it was not until February 1978 that what is today known as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) came into existence. It is instructive to say that the labour movement played a very active role in the struggle for and attainment of independence from colonial rule with the likes of Pa Michael Imoudu of blessed memory actively involved.

    Interestingly, trade unionism in Nigeria owes its root to one Mr Henry Libert – a Sierra Leonean who first summoned a meeting of about 33 indigenous workers in August 1912. Researchers have shown that the meeting took place over a few times and by the fifth meeting on 15 November 1912 after advice was received from Sierra Leone, the aim of the union was decided and this was to promote the welfare and interests of the indigenous workers of the Nigerian Civil Service. It started with the name, Civil Service British Workers Union but later changed to the Nigerian Civil Service Union shortly before independence in 1960.

    By 1975, about one thousand trade unions have been and there was the need to harmonise them and what is today known as the Nigeria Labour Congress came into existence as the only central labour centre in the country after the four existing labour centres agreed to collapse their structures to speak with one voice. These labour centres were Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC), Labour Unity Front (LUF), United Labour Congress (ULC) and Nigeria Workers Council (NWC).

    Enter labour icons

    Hassan Summonu who became the pioneer President of the congress told The Nation that after the formation, the government wrote for the congress a constitution and named it Central Labour Organisation, but this was later changed by the workers its inaugural conference in Ibadan to Nigeria Labour Congress because that was the name preferred by the workers.

    The emergence of the NLC ended decades of rivalry and rancour involving the four centres and unions affiliated to them which were later restructured into 42 industrial unions.

    Summonu said: “We had a restructured trade union system where we had almost 1000 in house unions structured into 42 industrial unions that made up the Nigeria Labour Congress. We had no factions because four former labour centres merged, they called special conferences to formally dissolve themselves, surrendered their certificates before the present NLC was formed on the 28th of February, 1978. Don’t forget the fact that the name government wanted the NLC to be called Central Labour Organisation. It was the only thing that the constitution that was drafted for the NLC at the inaugural conference at Ibadan could amend because it was a one day conference. So, the only thing we were able to change in the constitution was the name because we wanted to maintain the name and be called Nigeria Labour congress.  From there, we started from a building that was hired for us by the federal government on Ikorodu road. We knew that one of the assets we inherited from one of the merging centres was a building along Olajuwon road which had not been completed that time.”

    Many faces of labour

    However, the NLC has gone through several phases and over came several challenges including two proscription by the military government and the imposition of sole administrators on the congress, the first proscription was by the Babangida military junta, who truncated the regime of Ali Ciroma as the second President of the Union and Summonu believed that it was because of the congress stand against the Structural Adjustment Programme being canvassed by the government which the NLC vigorously campaigned against.

    The Abacha government was to repeat the same proscription alongside NUPENG and PENGASSAN, imposing sole administrators on the three organs. The administrators are accused of plundered the finances of Congress. Peters Adeyemi, Deputy President of the NLC said the sole administrator appointed by the Abacha government squandered the money which the congress wanted to use to build a labour college.

    Going down memory lane on some of the successes of the NLC in its 40 years of existence, Comrade John Odah, the immediate past General Secretary of the congress said even though there are people who believe that the congress should not be celebrating when things are not alright with the Nigerian worker, there is actually a lot to celebrate.

    He said “from 1978 when we had the Summonu leadership of the NLC, there were those teething problems of a new organisation trying to wield together a coherent set of industrial unions under a coherent leadership. One of the major highlight of that era was the 1981 national minimum wage which the NLC got after a two day national strike and the May Day celebration, which prior to that, it was only on May 1, 1980 that the Balarabe Musa and the Abubakar Rimi led government of the PRP, gave mayday as a public holiday. This was followed by the then progressive governors of the UPN and the NPP governors in the south east and the south west and Plateau.

    “The following year, the Shagari administration, in other not to be outdone, granted may National as a national public holiday. It is part of the struggle of the last 40 years that we now have May Day as a national holiday. Thereafter, you have the Ali Ciroma led administration which took over from Summonu in Enugu in February 1984 and faced two military governments, the Buhari government and the Babangida government. This was the time when the military government was implementing the IMF Structural Adjustment Programme which made a whole lot of things to go up and the living condition of workers started coming down because government t was removing subsidy on social services. Increasing cost of education and health care,” he recalled.

    Pyrrhic victory

    However, as the congress celebrate its 40 years of existence, many believe that victory is far from being achieved as a result of the contending issues which has been left unattended to over the years, the average Nigerian worker still cannot afford a decent living, an issue that has been on the front burner over the years.

    Besides, contending issues such as nonpayment of salaries, increase in minimum wage, unilateral sack of workers, hike in cost of living and other issues good governance and workers welfare are some of the issued that have been agitating the mind of the Nigerian worker. For decades, organised labour has consistently been at loggerheads with government mover the welfare of Nigerian workers. Though opinions remain divided as to what the NLC has achieved in the last forty years, but even the worst critic of the labour movement agrees that the NLC has been a rallying point for Nigerians who feel oppressed.

    Adeyemi told The Nation that from Hassan Sunmonu who was president from 1978 to 1984 to the current president, Ayuba Wabba, the NLC has fought series of battles to protect and defend workers’ rights.

    On his part, Ayuba Wabba, President of the NLC has consistently said that workers must wake up and fight for their right because “there had never been anything that Labour got on a platter of gold since the history of the labour movement in Nigeria.”

    There is however no doubt, the road has been rough for Nigerian workers. But in its four decades of existence, the NLC has survived attempts by various military and civilian governments to dissolve it. Most significant of such challenges have been direct assaults on its existence on two occasions.

    Apart from efforts of the military junta to cripple to labour movement in the country, there were also attempt by the civilian government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to dismember the congress and apparently weaken it as the only central labour organisation in the country. This effort gave birth to the Trade Union amendment act which gave birth to the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.

    According to Odah, who described it as part of the challenges the congress had to pass through said: “In the eight years that Adams was President, the NLC had series of street battles with the Obasanjo administration over the government penchant for increasing at will, prices of petroleum products. In 2003/2004, it was so bad when the NLC called for a national strike, scores of Nigerians were killed. If Obasanjo was still a military head of state, he would have proscribed the NLC. What he then tried to do was to rush a law to the National Assembly to try to disorganised the NLC and remove from the NLC, the status of the only central Labour Organisation in the country.”

    But the single most important threat to the survival of the congress emerged immediately after the 2015 election that brought the present leadership into office when some of the aspirants alleged they were rigged out and went ahead to form a parallel leadership of congress which later dissolved into another labour centre that has been battling to get registered by government.

    Summonu who, as one of the veterans of the congress tried to broker peace said the body has not been registered because it was practically impossible for the United Labour Congress to be registered since it was one of the Labour centres that surrendered their certificate in 1978 to pave the way for the emergence of the NLC.

  • PTAD’s DBS to last 40 years

    THE transitional period within which the last pensioner under the old pension scheme, the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), will pass on is between 35 to 40 years.

    Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor, made this known yesterday at the ongoing verification exercise of 21, 295 civil service pensioners.

    She said the directorate has over 250, 000 pensioners on its database as at date.

    This she said excludes retired federal Permanent Secretary and Head of Service, who fall under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) but still draw pension from the DBS.

    Mrs. Ikeazor noted that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) is working to move them out from the DBS.

    She stated that the PTAD was established to cater for pensioners under the DBS and it is meant to exist until the last pensioner dies in about 40 years.

    She said: “The transitional period is about 40 years, which is when we envisage that the last pensioner under the old scheme would have passed on. These are people, who retired before 2007. Those who retired from 2008 are under the CPS.

    “The verification exercises have been going on smoothly in the five centres in Alausa, Agege, Amuwo Odofin, Yaba and Ketu are meant to serve the pensioners. The pensioners now see that the system is working and they are coming out with excitement, including those who don’t qualify. It has become like an interactive session between them and their old colleagues and friends.

    “The process for verification is free and your payment of pension to pensioners is also free. PTAD staff will not request for money from any pensioner.”

    As regards pensioners who are out of town and cannot come to the centre for the verification, she urged them go to PTAD Lagos office for verification.

    Members on the National Assembly’s committees on Establishment and Pension have validated the PTAD verification of eligible civil service pensioners in Lagos State.

    The committee members, led by Senator Emmanuel Paulker for the Senate and Hassan Shekarau, chairman of the House Committee on Pension, were led on oversight visit by Mrs. Ikeazor to the verification centres in Alausa, Ketu and Yaba centres.

    The members, who hailed the exercise, interacted with the pensioners and PTAD staff conducting the exercise to ascertain the processes on documents review, biodata capturing, digitising the records and biometrics and enrolling them into the database

    They will continue inspection of other verification centres in Agege and Amuwo Odofin areas of Lagos today.

  • 40 years after, old students give back to school

    Forty years after graduating from their alma mater, Class 73/77 of Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, popularly called Compro, will tomorrow kick off their four score anniversary  with the hand over of two renovated classrooms to the school.

    They will hold a special career talk to be delivered by accomplished members of the set from across varying backgrounds. The talks are meant to sensitise and motivate the current students in their career choice. Also, copies of high quality special branded exercise books will be donated to them in addition to other items.

    In a statement signed by Chairman, 40th Anniversary Publicity Committee, Adebayo Sowemimo, the grand finale holds in Abeokuta, with a special recognition awards to past teachers.

    Two posthumous awards will also be given to Pa Lamidi Sofenwa, former principal, and Dr Olumide Kuti, the school’s first Guidance Counsellor. A special recognition award will go to Olamide Balogun, an engineer, who is also the President of the National Association of Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro Old Students.

    Wale Ogunyomade, chairman of the set, said the awards were meant to  recongnise the awardees’  contributions to the school.

  • 2face Idibia @ 40

    2face Idibia @ 40

    Innocent Ujah Idibia better known as 2face or 2baba is one of the most decorated and successful music artistes ever to come out of Africa.

    2face, whose music career began in the mid 90s with his former group Plantashun Boiz, has won several local and international awards which include; The Headies, the Nigeria music awards, AMEN Awards, Sound City Awards, MTV European Music Award, MTV African Music Awards, Kora Award, Channel 0 Music Video Awards, BET Award, MOBO Awards, amongst many others.

    2face has had collaborations with a number of international music stars such as Wyclef Jean, R.Kelly, Beenie man, Reggie Rockstone, T-pain, Mary J. Blige, and recently had a rare collaboration with Nigerian highlife music legend, Victor Olaiya.

    Mr. Idibia got married to his long time girlfriend Annie Macaulay, in May, 2012, and this has helped him to stabilize his celebrity status in the eye of the media, after several cases of flimsy affairs with a fleet of ladies, which made him become a father to at least five children outside marriage.

    Outside music, 2face as a person, has over the years been through thick and thin, subjected to many attacks, both verbal and physical, but interestingly, he is still going on strongly.

    On Friday, 18th of September, 2015, 2face Idibia celebrated his 40th birthday, a stage where it is believed that life just beginning.

    As we celebrate this music icon, we take a look at those things that have made him to stand out as a person and also exceptional as a music star. These lessons are highlighted below.

    [ad id=”403656″]Humility personified

    It will not be out of place to say that 2face is humility personified. He is an individual who often exudes a very humble personality whenever he is in a public place, despite his many achievements.

    He has also exhibited this trait a lot of times when he has agreed to do music collaborations with relatively up and coming artistes even at a time when he was at peak of his career, something many other artistes would not oblige to unless there is going to be a huge monetary gain attached to it.

    Artistes who have benefitted from his magnanity include Solid Star, Bracket, and many others. He relates easily with the rest of his colleagues and everyone he comes across when in the public, in spite of his status. He is always in smiles. He also never goes about bragging about his achievements; rather all that he preaches to everyone is “one love”.

    Unique music style

    2face Idibia is not one of those artistes that do popular demand kind of music, his music often comes with a message, even when he decides to do a party song he still makes it very inspiring, and that is what has kept him going for decades even after many of his contemporaries have left the music scene.

    He has got a couple of songs that gives inspiration whenever one listens to them.

    He has Songs like Africa Queen, U No Holy Pass, Ifana Ibaga, Right Here, Only Me, E Be Like Say, Rain Drops, Be There and even party track like Implication.

    These are quality songs that not many music (past or present) in Nigeria can boast of producing.

    He has as a result of that proven that one can decide to be different, positive, do what is morally right and still be accepted by many.

    Strong personality

    He also stands out as a very good example of someone who does not go about the different social media platforms to showcase his wealth and material possessions like cars, houses, awards and the likes, just like many others do, and they refer to it as a PR stunt.

    He believes his strong and positive personality and image is good enough to keep him in high esteem in the minds of people and make him remain relevant in the media.

    His being non-materialistic has also helped him to manage his resources sensibly well and thus being able to invest and multiply them.

    Responsible father

    2face was not just a lover-boy to the ladies in his life, but he was also a very responsible man and father to his children, as he has proven by actually accepting and taking care of all of the children born to him by his ladies (his four baby mamas).

    2face has taken responsibility of all the kids, even before getting married and has been taking care of them all.

    Annie Idibia once confessed about being married to the music superstar, 2face Idibia, she said “No, I’m married to Innocent, one of the most amazing men in the world. I want to believe our marriage is almost like every other marriage. He’s a good person, a good dad, great husband, a wonderful brother-in-law and son-in-law, and he’s all that I thought he would be as a husband and more.”

  • 40 years in Catholic vineyard

    40 years in Catholic vineyard

    They call him Melody and it is all the same to Rev. Fr. Dr. John Osinachi Amadi, who has celebrated his 40 years of priesthood in the Catholic Church.

    The event took place at his newly-built St. Jude Catholic Church, Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu State.

    Although, the church service to mark the occasion was billed for 10am, the hall was already filled at 8am with worshipers, relations, Catholic priests, friends, traditional rulers, nurses, students, and Egede people, the hometown of Rev. Fr. Amadi.

    At the sermon, a visiting priest, Rev. Fr. Prof. Augustine Akubuo, of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, said that anybody who lives to celebrate Silver Jubilee or 40 years should be thankful, considering the short lifespan in Africa.

    He said, “St. Paul has called on us  to celebrate Fr. Amadi. His choice was that of the lord while he was still in the womb, and so his ordination 40 years ago was by destiny. Fr. Prof Akubuo showered praises on Fr. Amadi’s parents and all those who helped him to reach this stage.

    Describing Fr. John Osinachi Amadi, as a priest with a sound credential, big masquerade, and God-gift to the parish, the catholic legend, further stated that “He that is mighty has done many things; 40 years ago, you were nothing, but now, you have so many things to bequeath to humanity and you have passed through breaking points without breaking down”.

    While attributing all his achievements to the power of the Lord, the clergy man, noted that the past 40 years was time of trying to keep company with Christ, adding that the Lord was also using the occasion to remind you that the struggle continues, providing another window of opportunity to serve God.

    According to him “ priesthood is challenging, tasking, spiritually, intellectually and time consuming, age will change, but these  virtues stand, remember God’s mandate to be the salt of the earth and to be the ambassador of the Lord”.

    Elder sister of Fr. Amadi, Rev. Sister Mary Ikechukwu Amadi of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala, Anambra State, expressed joy that her brother had fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a catholic priest,and recalled that when they were kids, both of them had always said  they would wish to serve the Lord throughout their life time and described her brother as the light and pride of the family.

    Also speaking, Miss Sandra Amadi, the daughter of his late elder brother, Peter Amadi, who flew in from London, praised God for the huge successes achieved by her uncle, but regretted that her dear father, Peter Amadi, was not alive  to witness the celebration. She also prayed God to guide Fr. Amadi to his diamond jubilee in 2024.

    Earlier, the chief celebrant Rev. Fr. Dr. John Amadi, alias Melody, said the crowd in the church, was a practical demonstration that he was appreciated by his people, and prayed God to also guide him to his diamond jubilee in the next ten years.

    He re-affirmed his commitment to the service of God, and wept that his caring elder brother and mentor, Peter Amadi, was not alive to be a part of the history he helped to build, after training him.

    Highlight of the occasion was the presentation of a KIA  caper car to Fr. Amadi by the St. Jude Parish as a token of appreciation. Managing director of Umuchinemere Pro-credit community bank, Enugu,Mrs. Ngozi,  Mr. Fela Ogbuke and wife of Enugu State Football Association, Mrs. Juliet Egbo of Anambra State Broadcasting service, Awka, students, nurses, and over twenty catholic priests and Rev. sisters were among personalities at the event, as well as a media icon, Ben Ilechukwu.

  • Old boys reunite 40 years after

    The 1974 set of the Igbobi College Old Boy’s Association (ICOBA) celebrated its 40 years of leaving school penultimate week.

    The programme featured a thanksgiving service at the Canon Reginald Parker Chapel of Igbobi College, Lagos as well as a reception hosted at the residence of an old boy, Mr Tunji Savage.

    The association Chairman, Mr Bolaji Akerele described the event as double celebrations because it combined two sets.

    “For some of us, it is 40 years after secondary school, and for others, 42.  It is 40 for those who left after their Higher School Certificate (HSC) and 42 for those that left at school certificate,” he said.

    Akerele said celebrating the 40th anniversary has become a very special ritual for every set that graduated from the school.  They feel it is unique to celebrate 40 years of leaving school.

    He said the school provided them with quality education.

    An endowment fund to sponsor prizes for ‘Overall Best Students’ in JSS2-JSS 3 and SS2-SS3 classes was launched by the old boys to mark the occasion.

     

  • 40 years of cultural unity

    Osogbo Progressive Union (OPU) has celebrated its 40th anniversary, with a fund raiser at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja. RITA ONYEKERE reports.

    The Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, venue of the 40th anniversary of the Osogbo Progressive Union (OPU), was tastefully decorated for the event.

    The hall was designed in white, yellow and green. The special guests’ table glamoured in different colours.

    Guests were entertained by traditional dancers known as the Ijo Orunmila (the indigene faith of African) before the event began.

    Shortly after, the event began with opening prayers from different clerics. Christian, Muslim and traditional cleric prayed. Singing of the National Anthem and the Osogbo anthem followed.

    The master of the ceremony, Alhaji Akinkunmi Alabi, thereafter handed the microphone to the OPU National President, Rear Adimral Rasaq Adesokan (rtd).

    Adesokan thanked the guests for gracing the occasion.

    He spoke on the past, present and the future of the union and how God has been with them to the point of celebrating its 40th anniversary.

    Adesokan said the purpose of the event is to raise N100 million for the new branch of the union and also to set up a new public e-library.

    The Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji took to the podium to give his blessings and endorsement to the event.

    Otunba Ganiyu Layi Oyeduntan, who chaired the ceremony, said Osogbo needs to be developed politically, economically and socially.

    A brief history of the union in Lagos was given by Yinusa Ajibade Adisa.

    He stated how the union started in 1973, and the modest achievements over years.

    ‘’Before 1964, there were many Osogbo unions in Lagos, each independent of the other. Such unions included O.P.U Mushin, Isale-Eko and Agege among others,’’ he said.

    He said; “Lagos branch has also produced the highest number of political leaders like the Osun State Deputy Governor, Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori and as well as other political Leaders.”

    He thanked everyone for coming and donating generously.

    The event also featured an award session for some prominent individuals that have contributed immensely to the development of the union.

    Among them were Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola; Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola; former governor of Lagos state Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Mrs Laoye-Tomori; Oba Oyetunji; Chief Kofo Olawoye; Otunba Ganiyu Oyeduntan; Prof. Akinyinka Omigbodun; Mr Nurudeen Adeagbo; Alhaji Fatai Ajadi Badmus; the former president of the union, Prince Akin Adebisi; Mr Jimoh Adebayo; Dr Michael Adewale Adenle and Mr Amos Adekunle.