The Nation Newspaper

Tag: achievement

  • My biggest achievement as an actor-Segun Dada

    One of the casts of MTV Shuga 6, Segun Dada, has opened up on his biggest achievement as a public figure.

    Dada, known more for stage performances, but recently delved into movies, in a chat with The Nation, says that his biggest achievement is being able to follow his dream of becoming an actor, which is presently paying off.

    On not giving up, the actor stated, “My life is fun. If you’ve had to forgo your wildest dreams because society made you or expected you to be a certain person and live in a particular way, I am sorry for you, I truly am. You are not living. And money isn’t everything, trust me. But being able to do those things and still live my childhood dreams of being an actor is my greatest achievement.

    “Also being a husband, and a father of three children, I’m still living my life to the fullest as concerns chasing my dreams. My bank account as we speak is just enough to get the necessary things done.”

    The actor described MTV Shuga as the gold-standard model for use of mass-media as a means of changing the behaviour of young people, an initiative of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, made possible by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and supported by MTV Base Africa. He also revealed that it is any actor’s dream to be part of the award winning series.

  • Akande: I’II build on Ajimobi’s achievement

    Akande: I’II build on Ajimobi’s achievement

    All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Oyo State Prof. Adeolu Akande spoke with BISI OLADELE in Ibadan, the state capital, on his ambition and the need for a government of continuity in the Pacesetter State.

    What is your mission in politics?

    My coming into partisan politics, and seeking the office of the governor of Oyo State is borne out of my experience. As an academic, I studied political science and I have been exposed intellectually to how government is organized around the world so that the government could satisfy the yearnings of the majority of the people. Secondly, I have worked at the federal and state levels, as Special Assistant in the Presidency and Chief of Staff to the governor of Oyo State, where I had practical experience of the potentials we have as a country and as a state. When I combine my intellectual experience with my practical experience, I have no doubt that these things have great potential that we could explore to make life much more meaningful. I am in politics because I believe I have been equipped with theoretical intellectual background and I have the practical experience to know all the challenges and the potentials that we have in Oyo State and I believe I will make a difference, if I have the opportunity of serving as governor.

    Do you think you can survive now that you really want to go into it as a major player?

    As a journalist I have had first-hand experience about the dirty side of politics, I reported politics all of my life as a journalist. So, I have firsthand experience of the downside of politics in Nigeria. And as an academic, I have done extensive research on politics and government in Nigeria, and I also have the experience and as somebody who had been in the government I have been directly involved in the formulation of policies and practical politics. So, I am aware that there are so many challenges in partisan politics in Nigeria. But my conviction is if everybody who feels he is clean runs away from politics, then you leave it for the so-called dirty people, and the consequences of bad leadership will affect you regardless of your comfort zone.  If everybody keeps saying politics is dirty, you don’t want to go in there, then you leave politics for people who are not equipped to make life better for the people. We grew up knowing the likes of Wole Soyinka, Tai Solarin, Dele Giwa. I have come to the conclusion that it is not sufficient to stand by the ring side and criticize, we need to step into the arena and make a difference if you could, and the only way you can make a difference is be part of politics, be part of those who determine who governs, if possible, offer yourself, work with people of like minds to form a government that can bring about the Nigeria or Oyo State of our vision or of our dream.

    What difference do you intend to bring to the table now that you want to become a major player?

    There are so many challenges we have in the society. If you look at Oyo State today, I am not sure there is any household you go that you don’t see young men who have been out of the university for three to four years and are unemployed. I believe that youth unemployment is the number one problem that we have to solve in Oyo State. The incumbent government has done well to address the problem of security. When this government came in 2011, security was a major problem. No one was sure that if they leave their home and before you get to anywhere in Ibadan they will get there in one piece. The incumbent government has successfully resolved that. The government has also done well in the area of infrastructure. Now we need to shift to how do we provide jobs for our teeming youths. We have the national statistics that about 40 per cent of our graduates are unemployed and it can’t be different in Oyo State, if it is not worse. So, we need to address that. What is the way out of this problem? That is an area I am passionate about. We need to look at our education system and bring in vocational training and skills acquisition so that we will equip our youths. Before they leave secondary school they have a vocation with which to earn a living. We need to increase the budgetary allocation to education. Today, the allocation to education is not enough to prepare our youths  for the challenges of the future. So, we need to address that. We need to ensure that our schools are well equipped with laboratories, they are well equipped with libraries, they are well equipped with computer work stations. The educationist says that the illiterates of the future are not those who cannot read and write but those who cannot use the computer. Yet, computer is not commonplace in our schools. So, we need to focus on all of these so that our youths, by the time they leave secondary schools, can earn a living, so that when they go to universities, regardless of the course they study they will be able to employ themselves and employ two or three other people. It is through education that you can provide manpower for small and medium scale enterprises. If you look at the economies that are doing well all over the world, 65 per cent of employment is provided by small and medium scale enterprises and the only way that can come about is through the development of manpower in the education system and in the informal sector. We have people who are bricklayers, who are tile layers, who are mechanics, who do not have appropriate training. Many of our mechanics trained with old technology, and now they cannot handle the new cars that are coming up. When people in Oyo State are building their houses they go to Ghana and Republic of Benin to bring in brick layers because they say the brick layers here are not good. As a society we have the duty to retrain them. You cannot simply say they are not good and then when you bring in people from Ghana or from Togo, from Republic of Benin to do these jobs, you are exporting the jobs that are meant for our youths. So if there is a social problem, that our brick layers are not good, rather than all of us going to Ghana or Republic of Benin, it is the duty of the government to design a retraining programme so that all these people can now develop the manpower, so that people can earn decent living. I want to make difference in all that. I also want to look at our health sector, I am bothered because we have a huge population but our hospitals are far behind in the use of technology. The infrastructure is not good enough, and we do not have enough manpower.

    Even Oyo State is grappling with scarcity of funds. What magic are you bringing to the system?

    The first thing you need to do is to expand the economy of Oyo State. You know we are operating with an annual budget of about N50 billion. If you look at the finance of Oyo in the last one year, what we got from federal allocation is between N2.5 billion and N3 billion  per month. If you add that up in a year, that gives you about N30 billion  or N36 billion at most. If you add Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at 1.5 billion per month, you will get about N48 billion. We are operating a budget of about N50 billion for a population of about 8-9 million. It is really inadequate. We need to expand the local economy so that we create more opportunities. We need to expand the taxable revenue because the primary source of government revenue is tax. But in good conscience, there is little you can tax if the economy itself is not expanding and that’s why we keep saying the government has to provide a conducive environment for the private sector to thrive. The comparative advantage of Oyo State is in agriculture. There is vast arable land that we need to explore as a comparative advantage. Within agriculture our priorities, our advantages are cassava cultivation because we are the largest producer of cassava. In poultry, because we are the largest producer of poultry and in fishing with Ikere Dam which we are not yet exploiting. If we take cassava, Nigeria produces 54 million tons of cassava every year. Not up to 1 per cent of it is exported. What that means is that we are importing more indeed. If we look at cassava product, if you take ethanol alone, Nigeria imports 98 per cent of its ethanol consumption and that is at a value of N800 billion. So if you produce tonnes of cassava in Nigeria and Nigeria still imports cassava products in excess of N1 trillion every year then the logic of it is that multiply what you are producing, can you multiply it? Can you triple it? Can you produce it ten times fold because the market locally is huge and then the market internationally is yet unexplored. So if you do that, focusing on agriculture, we are going to quickly expand the economy of Oyo State. How do we expand agriculture? One, encourage large scale commercial farming. Two, bring young men into agriculture. The average age of farmers in Oyo State today is between 55 and 61. Yet you have a youthful population. It is difficult for old men to feed young men. It is easier for young men to feed old men.

  • Olisa Metuh’s achievement narrative

    SIR: The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Olisa Metuh was upbeat  in ascribing the modest progress made so far by President Muhammadu Buhari  to PDP and former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    While it would be unfair to deny that some activities took place under the six years of Jonathan’s presidency, the vacuum of leadership to galvanize those activities and turn them into visible deliverables of governance is the greatest albatross of the PDP and its stewardship.

    Take security for instance. The arms and ammunition narrative of Metuh was controverted by the out gone Chief of Defence Staff Alex Badeh and his Chief of Army Staff counterpart Kenneth Minimah. The duo admitted to heading an army that is ill-equipped.

    EX-President Olusegun Obasanjo in a recent interview declared that its an impossible task to get our refineries to function in spite of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM). He recommended outright sale. This further invalidates the nexus between TAM and the resuscitation of the refineries.

    The PDP publicity secretary failed to mention the improvement in power supply under President Buhari. He must also be reminded that the EFCC was ‘brain dead’ in the period under review.

    It is gratifying to note that Buhari has not performed any magic other than provide leadership, an exemplary leadership that the citizens can resonate with.

    Metuh’s propaganda of denial is sure to do more damage to the already battered image of the PDP.

    However any constructive criticism from the PDP that could incentivise actualization of deliverables would be apposite.

     

    • Bukola Ajisola.

    Lagos

  • Lawmaker promises to complement his achievement

    Lawmaker promises to complement his achievement

    A newly re-elected  member of House of Representatives Hon. Abiodun Awoleye has promised to consolidate on his past achievements as he returns to the National Assembly.

    Hon. Awoleye, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC)representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency made this known when he visited some political stalwarts, elders, community and religious leaders in his constituency to thank them for their support.

    Giving a breakdown of some of his achievements since became a member of the House of Representatives, Awoleye said he had facilitated many people-oriented projects as well as empowered over 3,000 constituents including youths, sportsmen, widows, women, artisans and traders,as against the 2,500 that he promised.

    He noted that his desire to make the students of the area compete favourably with their counterparts across the world was the rationale behind the commissioning of a N25 million ICT Centre at Anglican Commercial Grammar School, Total Garden Ibadan. The Centre is equipped with 25 desktop computers, full internet facility, generator and other ICT equipments.

    Awoleye advised the students and other beneficiaries of his other people-oriented the projects to make wise use of them as he  urged Nigerian youths to engage in activities that will promote them rather than engaging in acts that will put them in bad light.

    “Nigerians, most especially the youth should shun violence, thuggery and any other acts of social vices that may hinder free and fair elections, this is necessary because all eyes are on us, the international community is looking at us to conduct free and fair elections”

    The lawmaker who had earlier made donations of 111 laptop computers to The Polytechnic Ibadan in 2013,and  facilitated 104 computers to Oba Akinyele Memorial Grammar School, Bashorun,promised that similar projects would soon be commissioned for the use of the University of Ibadan Community, Cheshire High School Sango and St Lious Grammar School all within Ibadan North Federal Constituency.

    He noted that he had empowered many youths through a vocation centre, Hon. Awoleye Technical and Vocation Educational Centre which has trained over 200 youths in various vocations.

    While soliciting the support of his constituents for APC candidates in the April 11 elections,Awoleye urged the people to always do a follow up on their representatives through correspondences, saying this will help the representative to know what the people want.

    He noted that his doors are always open for the electorate to interact with him and respond to their requests.

    “I am your representative, you should be inviting us to your programs, send correspondences, that is why I opened two constituency offices to attend to the requests of you, the electorate. We are your representatives and you should be sending letters and meeting us to know what you need and how we will be able to respond to them.

    “The youths that constitute majority of the electorate should not allow themselves to be used by desperate politicians, they should

    engage in acts what will improve their welfare not those that will puttheir names in bad light”

    According to him, “ In my bid to improve the lives of the youth in my area, I have successfully hosted the 6th edition of my football

    competition, I have established a football club, PacesetterInternational Football Club and I have trained many youths in various vocation through HATAVEC, I urged the youth to make wise use of these opportunities and not to disrupt the peace of the society through thuggery, violence and hooliganism”.

    “The students of this school where we are commissioning the ICT centre are advised to make wise use of the centre to improve on their ICT knowledge as this will help them to compete favorably with their counterparts across the world.

    “I am of the opinion that this ICT centre will improve their knowledge of computer and its technical know-how, it will expose them to various computer programs that will enhance their skills and knowledge”

    “The people in the areas where Primary health centre, security post,transformers and boreholes are cited are also advised to guide these projects well and make wise use of the projects in order to improve their living condition.”He said.

  • Firm to unveil products

    Emel Building Materials, a member of the Emel group, is set to introduce three new productsinto the market.

    The products – Stanley Commercial Hardware and Security Systems; Associate Decor Chipboard; and Milano Sanitary Ware – would be on display at the company’s pavilion at the upcoming Archibuilt Exhibition in Abuja.

    The introduction of these products may be a mark of the firm’s  efforts at providing world-class, innovative and affordable building material products and services.

    According to its Managing Director, Mr. Mahesh Asnani, the introduction of the products form part of the firm’s strategy to become leading one stop shop for building materials.

    Besides, it is believed that the effort will also reaffirm the manufacturer’s commitment to introducing top-quality products aimed at advancing the Nigerian construction industry.

    Asnani said it is because of the group’s desire to plug all loopholes in the market – a situation which hitherto created a vacuum, making it possible for the preponderance of substandard products to hold sway in the market.

    “That is why we decided to plug this vacuum by providing high quality, yet affordable products for the benefit of Nigerians,” Asnani said.

    The Emel International Pavilion will also showcase premium roofing and door brands, including Tilcor Stone Coated Roof Tiles from New Zealand, Formet Steel Doors from Turkey and Krosswood Real Wood Doors from the USA.

    Emel Building Materials recently won ‘The Most Trusted Quality Building Material Company Award’ at the Africa Quality Achievement Awards.

  • Celebrating 70 years of achievement

    Celebrating 70 years of achievement

    The Twelve Brethren Society of the African Church Cathedral Salem in Ebute Metta, Lagos Mainland, has celebrated its 70th anniversary at the church auditorium. OLATUNDE ODEBIYI reports.

    It was a day to remember; a day of thanksgiving, jubilation and celebration at the African Church Cathedral Salem in Ebute Metta, Lagos Mainland.

    A society in the church, Twelve Brethren, ended its 70th anniversary activities with a thanksgiving service that day.

    Guests filled the venue in various traditional outfits with women displaying different styles of head gears. They all looked gorgeous.

    Members of the society were in white traditional attires. The men wore light brown with white straps and caps made with Aso Oke. The women used the same Aso Oke as head gear and Ipele.

    The society clocked 70 on January 2. The anniversary celebration started with an interactive party with the society’s honorary officers, led by its Grand Patron, Dr. Ore Falomo. It was rounded off with a thanksgiving in the church auditorium.

    The thanksgiving began around 10am with a processional hymn, Baba Ade o.

    A session of praise and worship, led by the choir followed. Guests clapped, danced and sang along with the choir.

    Rt Revd Julius Abbe, from the African Church Cathedral Bethel of the Lagos Central Diocese, gave the sermon.

    The cleric dwelt on service to humanity. He urged members of the society to continue with their selfless service.

    “They should work together as one to achieve greater heights and spread the gospel of God,” he said. Donations followed.

    The Chairman of the society, Mr Adelere Adetimirin, said the donations were for the completion of the church’s chancel windows and its beautification.

    A fundraiser was held for the bus and auditorium projects of the church.

    Guests donated generously.

    A foundation, Twelve Brethren Society foundation, was also set up. The goal of the foundation is to cater for the education of the children of any dead cleric and the less privileged children in the church.

    The Chairman, 70th Anniversary Planning Committee and Vice Chairman of the society, Mr Olutoyin Odeseye, said the society’s goal is to assist the church to grow.

    He said the society also works in harmony with others to spread the gospel.

    “We stand for the unity of the Church, integrity and winning of souls to God’s Kingdom,” he said.

    The thanksgiving ended with a recessional hymn, Lo kede Ayo Na Fun Gbogbo Aye.

    The anniversary train moved to the Angelia Hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos, where guests were treated to sumptuous meals and chilled drinks. They danced to gospel music supplied by Bunkol-Lake Versatile Band led by Lekan Ojo.

  • ‘My achievement has rattled opposition’

    ‘My achievement has rattled opposition’

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi spoke with reporters in Port Harcourt on the challenges confronting his administration and his priorities for the next two years. AUGUSTINE AVWODE was there.

    How are you coping with the challenges of the office?

    It’s been challenging because I don’t like using the word difficult. I see governance as an engineering work. Engineers proffer solutions; you really have problems to tackle and so you need solutions. So, as a governor, I have met with a lot of challenges and I think we are trying as much as we can to proffer solutions. I have always said that I don’t want to be assessed or judged now. I want to be judged by the time I leave office. There are people who are dancing to the music for constructing three or four flyovers. We have done five and I have promised the state that we will construct fifteen by the time we are leaving office because that is one of the bases for which our government will be assessed.

    All these projects have financial implications. How much have you borrowed?

    In December 2011, we borrowed N120 billion and we have paid down to less than N32 billion. Don’t forget, it is a three-year loan because we are in a hurry. When I tell people we are going to pay before 2015, they don’t believe me. The agreement is for me to pay N2.3 billion per month, but in February, I paid N6.5 billion and in March, I paid 8.2 billion, but the actual agreement I am to pay per month is N2.3 billion.

    This year, we borrowed N120 billion, even though we have not spent all because of the fact that the rains are suddenly coming in early.I call it breach financing. This is to enable us complete some of those projects we actually started. Again, they are collecting the money according to agreement. Our plan is that by the time we clear the whole debts completely, then, we will start repaying the second loan too because we have promised not to leave any debt without repaying.

    You were particular about the mono rail project and some people are doubtful about its feasibility. How far have you gone with it?

    The way Nigerians taunt and pursue their leaders worries me a bit. It takes five years to design a mono rail. It takes five years to build, but what we are doing there is design and building. To make sure it is not an elephant project, we design and we build. And if you are designing and working, you make some mistakes, but what is actually delaying it is not designing and building. But the South Africans building it advised that a mono rail should be able attract employment. So, they converted our small bench, which we call stations, to full- fledged stations with shops, eateries and all that. That is what is delaying it. They have done the alignment; it is just to do the columns. If I want to be political, I will just hurriedly complete it and the commissioning will be the first in Africa. It is a huge station that we are building at Hospital Road. So, be rest assured that we will complete it. This year, we will commission the first part of the mono rail, but if we don’t, then, it will be in January 2014 because we delayed in payment. Everything you need to complete the first phase is on ground. The coaches are on ground, the parts are on top.

    You must do something that brings you satisfaction because, at times, I feel satisfied when I drive around, when I see what our administration has done. We are looking at the possibility of doing an impact assessment of all the projects we have done so that we can know the value of our expenditures.

    How have you been tackling insecurity?

    I am a bit religious. We need quite a lot when it comes to the issue of security. But the army, police, navy and the SSS have been quite wonderful. If we fund them, we may not need state police because the problem there is that the Federal Government is not funding the police. The little funds you put in security here yields the results you’re looking for. By the grace of God, we will not only stop at prayers as Christians because they say faith without work is dead. While we believe that God is working for us, we will also add our human capacity to assist in security.

    What about employment generation?

    That is one question we respond to when we go for town hall meetings. Nobody believes that we are creating employment; there is nothing called creating employment. And so, what creates employment is infrastructure and we have carried out massive infrastructural development. We are building 750 primary schools. But as at now, we are building 500. You can imagine the number of workers that would have been employed. Imagine the number of roads we have done both rural and township roads. I am just telling you now that we have completed five flyovers and our target is to do 15. You can imagine the number of workers that brought those things to reality.

    Our power plants have a total of 545 megawatts of power. When we needed the federal government to allow us distribute and they refused, we went ahead. The Commissioner for Power had a discussion with us at the cabinet meeting and promised us that very soon, we will be 80 per cent near 24 hours of power supply to Rivers State. The reason why we don’t make noise is because it is our responsibility; we are hired by the people to work.

    The only reason you see me commissioning projects is when the politicians become mischievous. Like the first time we commissioned, we wanted to rubbish the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, then, because they were saying there were too many projects that were not being completed. So, we said 60 health centres in 60 days in 60 communities.

    The indication was that these health centres were already in existence. We are about to start 250 primary schools in 250 days and in 250 communities and they are well furnished and equipped. The promise that I made when I came into office was that, I am paid to do all these things. So, why should I beat drums for people to praise me that I have done well? It is not something you make noise about. I will continue to say that as governors, we must watch what we say because it is beyond what we claim is in public. Let what you have on ground speak for you. It is difficult for a governor to be popular while in office. We are doing all these in honesty because we believe that our people in Rivers State deserve more.

    What are the major projects you are targeting as you approach the last lap?

    I’ve finished. I am coasting home. I have finished a university, which is N59 billion. I have to finish the mono rail at N52 billion, the Trans Amadi road is N49 billion and so, I am not looking for anything new to do again. The only thing I want to do is complete all the projects that I have started. So, we are pushing on and all these things we are doing, we will complete.