The Nation Newspaper

Tag: life

  • ‘Life has turned a nightmare for me’

    ‘Life has turned a nightmare for me’

    •Woman needs N2.5m for ‘decaying hips’

    Life has become unbearable for Mrs Oladipupo Muinat Olabisi, a 34-year old petty trader since she was rendered bed-ridden by “bilateral avascular necrosis of the femoral.”

    The disease has to do with the decaying of her hips. It started with the left hip and is eating into the right hip.

    Mrs Oladipupo needs N2.5 million to be able to walk again. She has been nursing the pains for over four years.

    Her husband, Mr Yussuf Hammed, cannot help her because of his meagre income from his printing is barely enough to feed the family.

    Her doctors have advised her family to look for the money to save her life.

    She is calling on well-meaning Nigerians to assist her.

    Mrs Oladipupo has become jittery since doctors told her she might lose both hips if she does not operate the troubled part as soon as possible.

    She was treated by experts at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) before she was referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Yaba, for advanced treatment.

    “I have been nursing injuries on my hips for the past four years. I was referred from LUTH to the Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, where I am currently receiving treatment; but for me to stay alive, I was told a surgical operation must be carried out on both hips at a total cost of N2.5million,” she said.

    “I am appealing to well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to come to my aid in Allah’s name. Each day and night, I am under serious pains on both hips and most times. I hardly work as life has become a nightmare for me,” she added.

    The patient said she could be reached on 08029012433, 08161603237 or through her husband’s phone number, 08022666049.

    She gave her bank details as: First Bank; account number 3008519813 and name: Oladipupo Muinat Olabisi.

  • Theatre of life

    The Theatre Arts Students’ Association (TASA) of the Imo State University (IMSU) has inducted freshers into the department. The exercise was reminiscent of the traditional initiation. CHIDIEBERE ENYIA (400-Level English and Literary Studies) and EKENE AHANEKU (200-Level Medicine and Surgery) report.

    It was a scene to behold. The girls, in a single file, came out of the renovated Arts Theatre Complex, looking radiant like beautiful brides. They were dressed in white wrappers without tops. The men also adorned white wrappers. All have Nzu (ash) painted on their faces, chests and toes.

    The procession was led to the shrine by the ‘Chief Priest’, who held an Omu staff and a bottle of gin. A drummer, who trailed them, sounded the beat to herald what would happen. Another played tunes from a traditional flute, in a manner that brought back Igbo tradition.

    The rite was the inducton of freshers of the Theatre Arts Department. They were led to the sacred places with Omu (palm frond) across their mouths. They were ‘initiated’ one after the other by their senior colleagues.

    In Igbo tradition, holding palm fronds in the mouth symbolises protection, so to the freshers, it was a sign that they are protected in the department.

    The initiation took place on three spots: under a mango tree opposite the complex, the front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office and an open space opposite the Faculty of Humanities building.

    These places are no-go areas for students, which is why Theatre Arts students consider them as hallowed places.

    The rite was performed to cleanse the freshers of fear, shame, timidity and fright on stage. After the initiation, the students danced round the campus with masqueraders, entertaining their colleagues in other departments.

    Members of the university community watched in admiration. At the Faculty of Humanities, the initiates formed a wide circle around a calabash of sacrifice for the ‘gods’ of art and creativity. They sat on the ground and sang praises of the ‘gods’.

    Their senior colleagues joined to educate them on the rudiments of theatre arts and stage performances. They were told to obey all instructions in humility, loyalty and endurance.

    Some freshers, who were not attentive to the rituals, were given slight whips by their senior colleagues, who were narrating Igbo folklores and stage performances. They were marched back into the complex to be taught stage acts, which they would need as they progress in their studies.

    President of the department Callistus Mbam described the initiation as successful, noting that it marked the inauguration of his tenure as a students’ leader.

    “I am honoured because today is also our inauguration as the Theatre Arts Department executive. I appreciate the support of my predecessors and my senior colleagues. I am proud to be a thespian,” he said.

    Eberechukwu Nnamoko, a 300-Level student, said the event offered the freshers an opportunity to learn what theatre was about. “It is also to encourage them to develop composure while on stage because theatre is all about expressing yourself in a confident way,” he added.

    Some of the freshers expressed joy over their admission into the department. Abuchi Nwosu said: “I am happy that I have passed the rites of induction, which is traditionally done for every students of Theatre Arts. It is a nice experience for me and I shook off shyness that could prevent from embracing the spirit of art.

    Sylvester Nwokedi, a Master’s student, who spoke on behalf of the Head of the Department, said: “The significance of the initiation is to make them understand the basics of theatre. Before now, the freshers could not do stage performance. Since they participated in the initiation, they would have picked a few traits that will make them to be bold on stage.”

    After the ritual, the students gathered at the Commassie Building, where they entertained their colleagues.

  • Life after school seminar for students

    The General Secretary of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) Students’ Union Government (SUG), Chukwuemeka Iyom, has held a seminar to enlighten students on life after school.

    The event with the theme: Leadership and academic enhancement, was held at the university’s International Conference Centre.

    Speaking on Life after school, the university Bursar, Mr Peter Agi, told participants that life after school could be challenging contrary to students expectation of securing decent jobs with ease. He urged students not to depend on government to provide them with  employment, adding that job opportunities for fresh graduates were limited.

    Agi told the students to set their priorities from school and learn to preserve their future by acquiring relevant skills and winning attitudes for success.

    “While white-collar jobs are limited in the labour market, it is advisable for young graduates to explore other avenues such as self-employment and skills acquisition,” he stated.

    Other speakers at the seminar included Prof Cyril Ndifon and Prof Austin Angba.

    Highlights of the event were the presentation of awards to guests, including Mr Anthony Ezeukwu, General Manager, Pan-Ocean Oil Corporation Nigeria Limited; Chief Edwina Egwuanumku, Dr Nkem Tilije, Hon Prince Chinedu, Ogbuefi Lucky Okuji and Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

    Others were Hon. Ubong Etuk, Special Assistant to Akwa Ibom State Governor on Projects; Admiral Medani Charles and Hon David Etuk who awarded scholarship to some students in various institutions of higher learning.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Chukwuemeka said: “The challenges of life after school are quite enormous, hence we decided to prepare the students as well as open their eyes to various realities as they advance in their career lives.”

    A participant, John Essien, 500-Level Nursing Science, said: “The seminar was indeed a major eye opener. Before now, I thought life after graduation was going to be a bed of roses but I was mistaken. I have to start planning for my future now. For me, the seminar is timely.”

  • How I survived two attempts on my life —Alaba Lawson

    How I survived two attempts on my life —Alaba Lawson

    Iyalode Alaba Lawson is a woman of many parts. She is an educationist, a business woman and at present, the Chairman, Governing Council of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY). In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, she recalls how assassins twice attempted to take her life, the crisis concerning her Iyalode title and how it was resolved, as well as her current relationship with a former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, with whom she fell out while the former held sway as governor. Excerpts

    WHAT was your growing up like? I had a Christian-like upbringing. My father was a no-nonsense man. With my mother, you must do all the chores in the house before you leave for school. One thing I would also want to say about my parents, which you can see in me, is that they always put others first. All these helped us to make sure that our environment was well taken care of and other people’s interests came before ours. My upbringing with my parents was a very strict one and I am enjoying it today. I was never a rebel to my parents. I have been a blessing to them all the way.

    Would you say you are satisfied with the heights you have attained in life?

    I am contented with what I have. I always pray a lot for Jehovah to give me that guiding principle because we were taught at home when we were younger to pray as the first thing in the morning. After that, you take up your daily chores one by one. As I grew up gracefully, one thing I have enjoyed is that I allow each day to take its shape. In all the places I have been in my life, I always put the right people in the right place. I put the right peg in the right hole and we come together to discuss once in a month, because a tree never makes a forest. If there is any urgency, we call each other.

    Another hallmark of my life is honesty. It is an important aspect of my life, and it goes a long way. When we were younger, if we did anything wrong and owned up to it, we would be scolded but would be allowed to go scot free. But if you told a lie, my father would flog you mercilessly and for many days, you would be in pains. We have learnt to be honest, and that has kept the integrity in us to keep us going.

    How do you relax?

    I enjoy listening to Christian music, gardening and cooking. The other one is travelling to historical places of note. One I was enjoying in the 60s and the 70s was visiting the aged and listening to their old ideas, but I haven’t got time for that again. If I can still do it once in a month, I would adore it, because they have wisdom. Those elderly people have experiences that can lead you into another life.

    How do you feel to be appointed as the Chairman, Governing Council of MAPOLY?

    I feel very great to be the Chairman of this great institution.

    Do you think the government is doing its best in funding polytechnic education?

    They are trying, but they can do more. We don’t want to feel as if polytechnic education is inferior to university. One is technical-oriented while the other one is theory-based. The polytechnic is technical-oriented, and that is what we really need in Nigeria now that many graduates are unemployed.

    What are your objectives for the institution?

    My objectives are to ensure that we improve more on the standard of education, the welfare of the staff and as well as trying to make sure our students do not go into cultism. When I came in, we met with the council and the management of the institution, and one of the most important aspects of my objective was to make sure that students are well taken care of by having their lecture rooms well structured to suit their purposes. I also canvassed the same thing for the students’ hostels in order to make them feel at home. I also picked interest in the welfare of the staff, because it is the welfare of the staff that can make them to work efficiently and make it possible for the goals and objectives to be achieved.

    We are going to transform the institution into a university of technology. We are going to do that by the special grace of God and the cooperation of the government, especially now that we have a governor who is an old student of the institution in power. We are going to transform it and make the graduates employers of labour instead of looking for white collar jobs after their graduation.

    You appear to have a soft heart for the development of children. Where would you say you got this from?

    This is something that God must have endowed me with. Every person is endowed. I have passion for the younger ones. If you can look after the younger ones properly, the future of this great country will be well positioned, because the young shall grow. When you are able to guide them in the right way, they would never depart from it. That is why it is better to train them from the tender age and make sure that they are well disciplined.

    For the young ones, what we usually do is to give them manners and good morals. By the time they now get into the tertiary institution, they will find it very difficult to go into cultism. They would find it very difficult to do anything that would not be good for the development of the country. I have passion for it, but it has been an endowment from Jehovah God.

    When the abduction of Chibok girls happened, someone like you must have been greatly disturbed. What was your feeling like?

    Of course, I am still disturbed. There are works that I have done with the government and so many groups. These are girls at puberty age. They have emotions and should never have been taken into captivity for any reason. That is a very wrong signal, because these are children who still need everyday monitoring by their parents, especially the mothers. Most of them at this puberty age need counselling. I have been deeply touched and each day, we have continued to pray for them. We have constituted ourselves into prayer groups and will continue to pray.

    What is your take on the lingering ASUP strike?

    Well it is very unfortunate that we keep having strike after strike. I don’t believe in strike because it is something we can discuss on the table. Most of the striking lecturers I believe need to have a change of heart, because we are dealing with the future of this great country. We have a situation where students who are supposed to spend three or four years end up spending eight years. It is unacceptable. I think we should all sit down and iron it out properly. Those in government and the lecturers need to put an end to this incessant strike. I think some of them have hidden agenda. I think it is unacceptable because it is drawing this great country backward.

    Before, when our students travelled abroad, they used to place them on higher levels. Now, even if you have a first class, they will still demote you so that you spend another two years to reach the level of that country. Why are we embarking on strike when what we are asking for is still going to be given to us? And those who are supposed to give what is being asked for, what are they waiting for? It takes two to tango. They need to resolve the problem and put an end to all these strikes. I don’t like it and I don’t believe in it.

    Don’t you think that the demands of the lecturers are justifiable?

    Excuse me! I don’t want to know what they are demanding. They are really playing with the future of the youths of this country. What they are asking for is something that they can talk over, because whether you like it or not, all these strikes have really affected the lives of some youths and have derailed many. It is not all the children that went home when this strike started that would go back to school. I can tell you that. Whatever made them to embark on strike, for me, is not worth the lives of these young ones that they are toying with.

    MAPOLY has been in session all along. Does it mean that the lecturers are not members of ASUP?

    We are part of it. When I came on board, I made them to understand that we would give them all their outstanding packages; which we have done. Therefore, there is no need for them to go on strike. We are part of ASUP but we are working. Before we gave them the package, the council met and we told them we would look into it and we gave them our words. We have put our words into practice and have given them the package and we have to work. We have even told them we have to work more than before.

    For us, any demand by ASUP has been met. We have resolved it and that is exactly why I want the other polytechnics to make sure that the welfare packages of their staff are given to them. There is no point allowing them to go on strike. As a way forward, I want ASUP and those in government to put their heads together and resolve the problem.

    There was a time you wanted to float a vocational university. Is the plan still on or you have jettisoned it?

    How can we jettison it? This is going to help our students. When you get vocational training, it will make you an employer of labour, because what you have learnt will help you to start your own business. As time goes on, you will not be able to do it all alone; you will begin to employ some other people. It will help you to make money on your own and stop looking for white collar jobs from office to office.

    Once upon a time, the white collar jobs were there. When I left school, I had eight good jobs to myself. But now there are no more jobs. If going to study Accountancy, Law, Medicine, and so on was the way then, let us now change to vocational training and education so that we can now change the orientation of looking for white collar jobs.

    What would you say are your achievements so far in MAPOLY?

    We have tried, because with Jehovah God, all things are possible. I have told you about the welfare package of our staff, we have brand new buses for our students, renovation of old lecture theatres and construction of new ones for our students, fencing the school to ensure the security of lives and property and avoid encroachment on our land. We have a petrol station we are proposing to take off very soon. We have new ambulance for our health centre and the renovation of our auditorium. All these put together tell you that we are working. I believe in quiet achievement. We are also thinking of halls of residence for our male and female students.

    As a woman occupying top positions in many organisations, what is your relationship with the men who work with you, because women leaders are generally regarded as bossy?

    It depends on your upbringing and home training. I was trained to be polite. Like you rightly said, I am in the Chambers of Commerce and where we have about 20 men sitting down, sometimes, I am the only woman and I don’t feel bad. I just see it as a challenge that I must rise and live up to expectation. That doesn’t mean I should shout or become bossy. We can always work as a team.

    It is the team work that is making MAPOLY to work. And I thank God for the kind of rector that we have. He is a very experienced professor. Working with him and his management team, we can move MAPOLY to greater heights.

    As a frontline business woman, what challenges do you think confront women entrepreneurs?

    By the special grace of God, come 2017, I will be the first female national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Maritime and Agriculture. Chambers of Commerce came into Nigeria in 1898 and NACCIMA came into being in 1960. So, for one to become the first female president, it must have taken some challenges. I have passion for women and I got it from my maternal grandmother. She really took care of us. The challenges indeed are about finance and how they can breakthrough where you have the male dominating.

    The only way women can do it is by networking, and we have been able to do this very well. We meet policy makers and we lure them to let them know that women must be well taken care of. We also use advocacy and it is helping them a lot. So many of our women now are into export business. We work together with the Export Promotion Council. We just came back from Gambia, networking globally. Next year, we would be in Burundi. When we were in the Gambia, our people who were doing adire and those who were into recycling got MOUs and are supplying them now. That is the result of networking, and you can see the result in our women. We also hold seminars and workshops to enlighten them and they progress from there.

    Why are you called Iya Gomina (the governor’s mother)

    I have known Governor Ibikunle Amosun for more than 30 years, and I have known the honesty in him and his fear of God as a religious man. Since I have known him, I have known him to be fasting 24/7. We don’t appreciate something in anybody until another person realises it. I have taken interest in him, his wife and their children since then. When you see their children, they are well trained. I know this because I have lived with them for four years. You will see a high level of respect in the children. You can never see any act of hooliganism in them. All these attract me to the family.

    A few years back, for being what I am, never calling black white, I was made to go into self-exile. With all the things that culminated in my coming back, people now say Iyalode is Iya Gomina. My answer to them is yes. Because if it is during Governor Amosun’s era I feel secured enough to come back to the town where I was born and bred, then I am Iya Gomina. I will continue to pray for the goodness of this state and for the progress of everything there in. I came back during his tenure back in 2000.

    Why did you go on exile?

    I went on self-exile because my life was being threatened.

    Who were the people threatening your life?

    I would never know, but they know themselves. My house was invaded twice and they tried their possible best to come into my house. They even slaughtered my guard. I still have the picture. Thank God, I am alive today. The first time they came in, my dog chased them out. The second time they came in, they had already planted somebody in my house who caged all my dogs and even covered them up. The dogs could not even bark. The four Alsatian dogs could not bark because they knew the man that was planted in my house. What else did I need to wait for? If I had lost my life, I wouldn’t be talking to you today. So, I ran for my dear life. I can admit that it was a self-exile. But if you run away, you are coming to fight another good fight another day.

    You never planned to travel out of the country at that point in time. What were you doing while you were on self-exile?

    I was in Nigeria. I only moved away from Ogun Sate where my life was being hunted for. David in the Bible ran away to save his dear life. I also did the same to save my life.

    What lessons would you say that life has taught you?

    Life has taught me that at any point in time when you feel you are insecure, you should take the back seat. That is something that I have learnt and it has helped me a lot. But if you can keep your head when all are about you and losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when men doubt you but make allowance for their doubting, if you can wait and not be tired of waiting or being lied about or being hated, don’t give in to it and don’t look too good on top of it. Don’t let your integrity slip away even in the midst of any challenge. That is something I have learnt and it has helped me to the point I am today.

    You have been mentioning Jehovah since the beginning of this interview. As the Iyalode of Egba and Yorubaland, the popular belief is that you must be fetish…

    When I was to be installed the Iyalode in 1999, by the late kabiyesi, Oba Oyebade Lipede, the then Alake of Egbaland, I told him that I didn’t want any fetish thing and he agreed with me. You heard me mention Jehovah here because I was born into an African Church family but my parents joined Jehovah Witnesses along the line. You can see that all that I have been doing in my life has been guided by the biblical principles, if you know what the Jehovah Witness sect stands for. I also went to an Anglican school and was trained by people of high moral standards. You can see that I am into all of African church, Jehovah Witness and Anglican.

    On January 15, 2008, you were deposed as the Iyalode of Egbaland. How did that come to you?

    It had no effect on me because I did not get any letter to that effect. I only heard it on the radio. What you did not give to anybody, you cannot remove from him or her. If they had written to me, I would have taken it up legally. But for something that was just being mentioned on the radio and in the newspapers, it had no effect on me at all. Anybody can say anything, but as you can see, I am now back as the Iyalode of Egbaland without any written letter, because I was never removed. Those that were doing that were doing so for their personal gains. As the Iyalode of Yoruband, the truth has prevailed, because time will always tell.

    Some people are how you could be the Iyalode of Egbaland and that of Yorubaland. Some even say the Alaafin does not even have the power to make you the Iyalode of Yorubaland. What is your take on this?

    If anybody feels that the Alaafin has no right to do so, let them query him. He has said it over a thousand times that he has the power to install anybody with the titles in Yorubaland. He has done it for Afe Babalola. He has done it for the late Aare Arisekola Alao. He has installed so many in the Yorubaland. He has the power and the authority. And I am saying it categorically that HRM Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo kingdom, has the right to install anybody. I got the Iyalode of Yorubaland on my own merit. Everywhere I have gone with him, he always asks anybody to challenge his authority on the titles he has given out as Iyalode Yorubaland, Baamofin of Yorubaland, Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland or anyone of Yorubaland.

    Back to your question on being Iyalode of Egbaland and Iyalode of Yorubaland, the first Iyalode title I took was in 1990: the Iyalode of Ake Christians. Then I got the Iyalode of Egbaland in 1999 and then Iyalode of Yorubaland. It is in stages. As we moved from one stage to another, Yorubaland captured more territories. Egbaland was one of the territories captured from Yorubaland, whereas, Ake is one of the territories conquered by Egbaland. You can see how it happened. Always do things as the Lord has made it possible. Yorubaland, Egbaland and Ake are within a territory of which a woman and a girl herself knows that she is doing her job judiciously.

    What are your regrets in life?

    I have no regrets in my life. I am a positive-minded person. I don’t believe there is any mountain that is insurmountable in my life. I don’t have any moment of regret because I believe that Jehovah will give you the right instinct and you will do it. I don’t have any regret in my life and I will never have one.

    What is your relationship now with former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel?

    We are very cordial. We met at Sport Club recently and we accorded each other respect. I am at peace with him. We have a very cordial relationship.

    But it was during his tenure that your house was invaded. Don’t you have mistrust for him?

    I don’t think so. He will never hurt me and I don’t think he will hurt me.

  • Life after Govt House

    Life after Govt House

    Siren. Convoy. A retinue of aides. Freebies upon freebies. Power almost beyond limit. These are the words and phrases that readily come to mind when one discusses power the Nigerian way.

    As governors, there is a larger-than-life image around individuals elected or rigged in. Sirens announce their arrival and exit from events. Aides have headache on their bosses’ behalf. Things happen at a governor’s say so. A governor once asked that a boy who insulted him should be beaten to a pulp and brought him. He thereafter gave his father money to rehabilitate him. The beating was carried out by men of our security agencies who are well aware that their action was unconstitutional. But who were they to disobey the governor? Such is the power of a governor.

    It is, however, a different kettle of fish after a governor has completed his tenure of office. Some of them even go broke and unable to sustain the life in power. The flipside of power is nothing like life in power.

    That perhaps explains why some governors have tried to make provisions for their lives after power to be close to their years in power. Until three days ago,  Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio was the darling of commentators. He has less than one year to complete his tenure. He plans to take a seat at the National Assembly thereafter. Whether or not he will succeed with this can only be determined by time. The reason behind the bashing of His Excellency  was  a law he assented to, which literally meant he did not have to work again for the rest of his life.

    If the law had endured, Akpabio’s headache would have become the state’s. His pain the state’s. His worries would have been sold to the state. He could rest and the state would bear the brunt for him. Many had wondered what more can a state do for the architect of Uncommon Transformation? How better can a state pay a man who is serving a second term of four years and is getting set to take a seat for another four years, in the first instance, at the Senate?

    By virtue of the controversial law, the state would have been paying the governor, effective from May 29 next year, N100 million annual medical allowance. He would have been entitled to a brand new official car and utility vehicle once every four years; a personal aide paid for by the government would have served him for the rest of his life; his security would have been sorted out by the government; and he would have been paid some N5 million annually as payout for a cook, chauffeurs and security guards.

    Additionally, His Excellency would have been entitled to a house either in Abuja or any part of the state at the expense of the government; a furniture allowance of 300 per cent of his annual basic salary must be paid to him once every four years; an annual maintenance and fuel allowance of 300 per cent of his annual basic salary and severance gratuity of 300 per cent of his annual basic salary must be paid to him.

    His Excellency, in the wisdom of the lawmakers, also deserved a yearly utility allowance of 100 per cent of basic salary. There was also a provision which mandated the government to bear the full cost of the burial of the beneficiary and pay a condolence allowance equivalent to the annual basic salary to his next of kin. The gesture would have been extended to his predecessors.

    Akwa Ibom rakes in an average of N15 billion every month. It is on top of the chart of the top 10 on the Federal Allocation. Let us not talk about its debts which are some N150 billion. It is also instructive to add that despite Akwa Ibom’s wealth, poverty still walks on all fours in the state. Many of its citizens can still not afford three square meals and life is certainly not sweet for these people ravaged by extreme poverty. Only a fraction of the state’s population enjoys the chunk of its wealth. What the majority benefits from is nothing but crumbs.

    For a fact, Akpabio did not score first by assenting to this bill, which some have vowed was his idea in the first place. One or two governors had done something similar.

    On Tuesday, Akpabio put a seal to the whole debate by initiating a reversal. He said the state government has sent a bill to the House of Assembly requesting that a section of the controversial state Pension Act be expunged.

    He also asked the lawmakers that the act reverts to the status quo, according to a statement by the government on Tuesday.

    In his letter to the House, Akpabio said: “It is my hope that with the excision of these sections from the amendment, the agents of falsehood would lift their siege on truth and not distract the good people of this state from the task of the Uncommon Transformation of our dear state.

    “Let them remember that I am not a governorship candidate. Instead of firing brickbats at me, let them tell the good people of Akwa Ibom State their plans for Akwa Ibom State.

    “Because of the sponsored media comments and misinformation of the members of the public on the good intentions of Pension Act by the few opposition elements in the state, and because this government is a product of the people, we have, as a government, decided to forward a request to the House that those areas, which the opposition has capitalised on to misinform the people be expunged and the former law that had been in existence be made to remain the law.”

    With this decision, Akpabio seems to have silenced a former Secretary to the State Government and governorship hopeful Umana Okon Umana  who  condemned the law and promised to repeal it if he gets into power next May 29.

    He described the legislation as “obscene, provocative and insensitive”.

    In his words: “It is surprising that in spite of a nationwide public outcry against the bill, the state House of Assembly rushed to pass it within 11 days and the governor signed it into law with indecent haste within 24 hours without any inputs from members of the public who will foot the bill.”

    My final take: The amendment should not have even been contemplated in the first place not to talk of being given life. The governor’s argument about the law not being new but only an amendment to an existing law is neither here nor there. I must also add that Akpabio’s  achievements are there for all to see. The record will speak for him and he deserves to rest after office without having to grapple with a situation whereby his successor will make a mockery of the time and energy expended on making the law by doing away with it.  It is good he has repealed it himself. He has no one but himself to blame for the blows he has received on account of the misadventure.

  • In Ibadan, life is pleasurable at night

    In Ibadan, life is pleasurable at night

    Ibadan, the city of commerce and politics, is a unique place.

    This city of many hills, which used to be the largest in West Africa, is unique for its rich history, colourful political life and uniquely different residents.

    Interestingly, the city also has an exciting night life. From Oje, Ayeye and Inalende to Challenge, Alalubosa, Bodija and Akobo, residents bask in the ever changing but interesting night life.

    Before Governor Abiola Ajimobi started his urban renewal project in 2012, night life was poor due to security concern. Shop owners and residents closed early and withdrew to their homes to avoid falling victim of violence, rape, robbery and associated attacks.

    Even in the circumstance, densely populated remote communities still managed to enjoy a good night life. At major bus stops and popular locations, petty traders selling cooked food and liquour kept the areas bubbling till about midnight.

    Places such as Beere, Oje, Ojoo, Oke-Padre, Molete, Agodi/Gate, Sango, Ekotedo, Eleyele and Iwo Road interchange are still alive with such traders. They are hugely patronised by commercial drivers, commuters and local residents till about midnight daily, keeping the city aglow.

    Mokola, Ekotedo and Yemetu are three distinct areas which also enjoy this bubbling night life till date. With preponderance of such traders whose activities are strengthened by canteens, liquo-ur shops (popularly called beer palours), barbing salons and video club operators playing music in loud volume to passers-by and nearby revelers, such areas are pleasure haven for their customers.

    Hausa men keeping make-shift barbecue (Suya) shops with sex workers milling around close-by local brothels and liquour shops also add spices to the pleasure and the night’s hustle and bustle.

    For this reason, shop owners stay longer, commercial buses and motorcycles work for longer hours to meet the needs of night crawlers. The combination of these keeps the city alive till around midnight.

    So were the elite who patronised night clubs, modern restaurants and top hotels. In elitist areas, the elite croon in posh cars to these places as they enjoy traffic-free roads with delectable ladies beside them.

    For the elite, the University of Ibadan, The Polytechnic Ibadan and research institutions scattered across the nooks and crannies of the city are places for satisfying recreation activities till late in the night. They relish services and congregation of like minds at their staff clubs.

    However, Ajimobi’s urban renewal project has improved the quality of night life in the city.

    With dualisation of some roads within the city, demolition of shanties which used to become criminals’ habour after traders’ departure, increase in the number of street lights and beautification of the city, Ibadan presents bigger opportunities for night crawlers, in both local and elitist areas such as Ring Road, Bodija, Alalubosa, Akobo, Ikolaba and Felele.

    Many feeder roads are tarred within remote communities, even more than in elitist areas, bringing more life to such areas.

    This city is getting more sophisticated leading to influx of more investors establishing new night clubs, supermarkets and hotels. Today, new night clubs and hotels are sprouting in those areas – and they are all enjoying good patronage!

    In the high brow Bodija area, tha array of night clubs include G-Lounge along Awolowo Road, while Bubbles, Bevande and 23/24 night clubs have sprang up at the Ring Road areas of the city.

    Driving on dualised, cleaner roads with street lights adds more pleasure to night crawling. Of importance is the sanitised Iwo Road interchange, Mokola flyover, dualised Challenge/Toll Gate Road, Challenge/New Garrage Road, dualised Onireke Road and the dualised Eleyele Road, among others.

    Beautified roundabouts in all parts of the city create real beauty and glamour at night. Such roundabouts flood Ring Road, Total Garden, Beere and Ojoo.

    The Officers’ Mess of the 2nd Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army and the police also add to the number of elitist recreational centres in the city. While the Army Officers’ Mess is located in Ikolaba, that of the police is located near the headquarters of the state police command at Eleyele.

    By establishing a joint security outfit code named “Operation Burst” Ajimobi practically takes care of security concerns of night revelers and other residents in the city. Operation Burst men comprising soldiers, police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), patrol the city throughout the night as they do in the day, puncturing robberies and other forms of attack.

    Being a city centrally located, motorists/travellers pass throu-gh Ibadan for the entire night, increasing confidence in residents to move freely along such routes at night. Luckily, inter-city routes navigate through Ibadan from several directions.

    For instance, while travellers from Lagos navigate through Iwo Road to Oyo or Ile-Ife Road, those coming from the Ilorin navigate through Oyo Road via Ojoo to the direction they choose to ply. The directions could be University of Ibadan (UI), Sango, Iwo Road, Bodija or Eleyele routes.

    Those traveling into the city from Abeokuta navigate through Apata to either Ring Road or Dugbe or Eleyele depending on their destinations.

    For travellers coming through Ile-Ife, Osogbo and Iwo, Iwo Road interchange is their first port of habour. From there, they can veer to any direction of their choice which may mean going into the city through Idi-Ape or Ojoo or Lagos Road. So are travelers coming into the city through Ijebu-Ode Road. After bursting out at New Garrage, they face several route options that take them through the city.

    All these keep major roads within Ibadan plied all night, helping the city to be alive in a way.

    For all these travelers, they relish beautiful sceneries of an alluring city that is made modern by the Governor Ajimobi administration.

    And, for residents, Ibadan city is not just orderly and beautiful during the day, night crawlers enjoy a glittering, safe and interesting city at night.

  • More retirees embrace life annuity

    MORE retirees are turning the new pension scheme.

    Under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) governed by the Pension Reform Act 2004, a worker is expected to know what his retirement options are.

    Retirees are expected to have sufficient knowledge of the two retirement options available, which include Life Annuity and Programme Withdrawal (PW).

    PW sold by PFAs pays pension over an expected lifespan until the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance runs out. Whenever the retiree dies, the beneficiary under a will or Letter of Administration is paid enbloc the balance in the RSA.

    Life Annuity is sold by authorised life insurance firms. It is a financial contract in form of an insurance product according to which a seller, typically a financial institution such as a life insurance company makes future payments to a buyer, the annuitant in exchange for the immediate payment of a lump sum or regular payments, prior to the onset of the annuity.

    The payment stream from the seller to the annuitant has an unknown duration based principally upon the date of death of the annuitant. At this point the contract will terminate and the remainder of the fund accumulated is forfeited unless there are other annuitants or beneficiaries in the contract.

    Thus a life annuity is a form of longevity insurance, where the uncertainty of an individual’s lifespan is transferred from the individual to the insurer, which reduces its own uncertainty by pooling many clients. Annuities can be purchased to provide an income during retirement, or originate from a structured settlement of a personal injury lawsuit.

    But under the PRA Act, an annuity is purchased to provide an income during retirement for retirees and pensioners in the country.

    Before now, most retires were usually ignorant about how to make the best choice out of the two retirement options available for drawing their pension benefits especially with the problem of de-marketing that was rampant among the PFAs and the insurers in the past.

    At present, both the PFAs and insurers are trying to find a common ground to be their brother’s keeper by explaining the options to the retirees without bickering. This situation seems to be helping the retirees and pensioners their decisions. They tend to have more understanding especially on the life annuity product.

    In an interview by The Nation with some Lagos State retirees during the 10th Bond Presentation by the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) on the payment options they intend to choose and how they intend to spend their pension gratuity, many opted for Life Annuity while others picked the Programme Withdrawal.

    The retirees were excited and ready for life after retirement.

    A former inspector at the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Isaac Idiogbe, who retired in April 2012, said he was happy to receive his gratuity.

    He said he was prepared for retirement and had chosen the annuity option.

    “I have chosen life annuity and this is because when I pass on, the balance of my money will be distributed to members of my family. There are other things I have in mind. I will go into them with my gratuity,” he added.

    Mr. Hakeem, who worked for 29 years in the Ministry, also choose annuity and wants to invest his gratuity in properties.

    He said: “I believe annuity is better for me because at the time of death, my money will be paid to my beneficiary.”

    Mr. Yemi Yusuf retired in 2009 after serving for 15 years in the Lagos State Ministry of Education said: “I am ready for retirement and I think program withdrawal is better for me. I don’t believe in annuity.”

    The Head of Service, Lagos, Mrs. Oluseyi Williams advised them to be sure of their investment plans before committing their gratuity.

    She said given the responsibility of the office of the Head of Service through its major role of ensuring that the welfare of active and retired employees was given its pride of place, the office had continued to intensify efforts at ensuring that workers continued to live well in retirement.

    She said the state had continued to wax stronger and consistently maintained its leadership position in the operation of the CPS, particularly in issuing bond certificates to retirees.

    She urged the retirees to live within their means and not get involved in any business that could negatively affect their money.

    The Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Mrs. Florence Oguntuase, said her ministry had made it a priority to ensure that the retirees’ entitlements were paid promptly.

    ‘’Our resolve is to ensure that this money you have collected is not only invested wisely, but also enjoyed by you in old age,’’ she said.

  • Manager accuses colleagues of threat to life

    •Company denies allegation

    Why will co-employees threaten to eliminate a colleague with whom their employer had, in the interest of peace, entered an out-of court settlement in an employment related dispute?

    This question forms the kernel of a petition to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by a manager with the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Authority (OGFTZA), a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Funmilayo Omosule.

    Omosule said he had sued his employer and its board of directors when he was unlawfully suspended without pay, shortly after he discovered fraud in the company’s Abuja office. He said by the advice of the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja and others, an out-of court settlement arrangement was agreed on by parties.

    He said while he considered resuming back at the office, some of his colleagues, who were behind the fraud he uncovered, and had instigated his suspension, have threatened to eliminate him should he return to office.

    Omosule, in the petition titled: ”Threat to life”, filed earlier this month, alleged among others, that about four senior officials of the organisation (names withheld) have threatened to eliminate him if he return to work after a peaceful resolution of the court case between him and his employer.

    The 47-year old man said his trouble started when in 2011, he uncovered fraud in the company’s Abuja office and informed the Managing Director (MD), who promised to take prompt action.

    He alleged that rather than allow the MD look into the fraud related issues, those who were uncomfortable with his position, connived with the company’s leadership to raise a spurious allegation of certificate forgery against him.

    The petitioner stated that he was consequently suspended without pay, an action which he said, contravened Public Service Rules.

    “The above led me to sue the authority and Board Chairman, to enforce my fundamental human right to fair hearing, before the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    “The new MD, Victor Alabo, a gentleman, approached me to settle the case out of court. The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) also advised in the same vein,” he said.

    According to him, he would have returned to work after the settlement, but  four members of staff of the organisation, (whose names he included in the petition), who he accused of being the masterminds of  the criminal and illegal acts that led to the crisis, are manipulating the MD and openly threatened him not to dare to return.

    Omosule said his four colleagues resorted to threatening his life to avert his resumption and thereby, prevented their arrest and prosecution for their alleged roles in the fraud uncovered.

    His lawyer, Vera Leslie has written to the Minister of Police Affairs on the matter. A copy of the letter dated January 22 this year, was sighted by The Nation at the weekend.

    Omoosule wants the IGP to invite the four members of staff of the organisation to “sign an undertaking that my life is no longer under threat and set up a very high powered investigative team to look into the remote cause of the crisis and prosecute whoever is criminally liable to serve as a deterrent to others.”

    However, the management denied that any of its staff members has threatened to eliminate Omosule.

    A senior official at the company’s Abuja office, who wished not to be named, told The Nation that the petitioner’s suspension was informed by his alleged disobedience of a directive by the company’s board. He denied any threat to Omosule’s life.

    The official said he thought the issue had been put to rest after a team of policemen from the Force Headquarters, Abuja, investigated an earlier petition by Omosule.

    The company’s position on the issue was captured in a counter affidavit deposed to by Racheal Osibu of the firm of Paul Erokoro & Co. Osibu, who said she got her information from OGFTZA’s Company’s Secretary, Abdul-wasiu Sule, to the effect that Omsosule was suspended pending his compliance with directive to produce and submit his original certificates, which he has allegedly failed to do.

    She said under the company’s rules, disobedience is a serious misconduct, punishable at the discretion of the company’s board of directors. Omosule’s memo of February 7, 2011 forwarding the certified true copies of the certificates, she said, “did not state his reason for not submitting his original certificates as instructed.”

  • Medical mission breathes life into Osun rural community

    Medical mission breathes life into Osun rural community

    Imesi-Ile in Obokun Local Government Area of Osun State recently came alive when some medical experts from the United States visited the sleepy and an agrarian community to attend to some of its ailing residents.

    Hundreds of people, even far beyond the community’s borders, besieged the town’s almost disused health facility, which is under the management of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife.

    It was a very rare opportunity for the residents of the community, who are suffering from various life-threatening diseases and ailments to come forward for cure – all for free.

    Dr. Remi Saseun, an indigene who lives in the United States, led 24 medical personnel, including doctors, theatre nurses, surgeons, laboratory scientists and pharmacists, for the exercise.

    According to Saseun, the medical personnel were in the country under the aegis of the Association of Medical Physicians in America (AMPA). He said the immediate past medical intervention of the association was in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Saseun, who disclosed that more than N8 million was expended on medication for the five-day free mission, said two resident doctors and a matron in the health facility joined them to treat the people.

    He said they spent extra thousands of naira in procuring anti-malaria drugs from Nigeria because in the United States people don’t have malaria and, therefore, no drugs for such disease in that country. Within three days of the programme, 921 patients were treated. There were 46 surgeries.

    On top of the list of ailments treated were eye problems, such as cataract, diabetes, high blood pressure and hypertension as well as arthritis.

    The officials of the hospitals declined comment because they said they were not authorised to speak but few of the patients expressed joy for the mission which they said had restored their hope and helped them overcome some of their health challenges.

    For instance,  Kehinde Adesiyan, an indigene of the town, lamented that there was no functional government hospital in the community to treat ailments, saying they most times travel as far as Osogbo, Ilesa and Ile-Ife before the residents could receive medical attention for their ailments.

    A refrigerator technician in the community, Peter Aluko; a petty trader, Madam Eunice Esan and a retired civil servant, Pa Adebowale Ajiboye, said they had tremendously benefitted from the medical mission.

    The Secretary of the Imesi-Ile Progressive Association, Pa Jacob Babajide Awowale said, that the people would always be grateful to God and those behind the initiative, particularly, Dr. Remi Saseun.

    However, he joined Dr. Saseun to appeal to governments, both at the state and local government levels, to come to the aid of the people in the rural areas and ensure that they have access to medical care like those in the urban communities.

    “What will  make a big difference in the lives of the people in the rural areas is very small and if various authorities can help these people, their quality of lives would improve and it would make them contribute significantly to national development,” Saseun advised.

     

  • A new lease of Life for Tinapa

    A new lease of Life for Tinapa

    Driving down to Tinapa Resort from the main expressway leading to Odukpani, one feels the presence of nature with the hundreds of rubber trees lined up in a neat row. The resort itself, for first-time visitors, is always awe- striking.

    At conception, completion and opening, it held so much hope. It was supposed to be the beacon that would jump-start the tourism transformation of the Nigeria. But about six years since the doors of the business resort were opened and free trade zone kicked off, the lofty dreams and high hopes that heralded the project are giving way to disillusion as the project, so far, has failed to fly.

    Rather,the resort has been lurching from one kind of challenge to the other. Some entrepreneurs have braved the odds to set up businesses.

    Meanwhile, the huge facilities available for business are lying waste. The space has been overtaken by rodents. At inception, the vision was that six years down the line, the resort ought to be fully operational, both as a shopping resort for the whole of Africa and as a leisure resort.

    On the level of the leisure, the water park within the complex is active, receiving healthy amount of visitors, most especially during festivities.

    Lakeside Hotel, almost within the complex, is doing well under an experienced and competent indigenous manager. This has helped in steadily attracting business to the hotel.

    The Tinapa Free Zone and Resort also has facilities for retail and wholesale activities as well as leisure and entertainment. For consumers, the resort has about 80,000 square metres of lettable space for retail and wholesale made up of four emporiums of 10,000 square metres square each and smaller shops, warehouses and so on.

    An entertainment strip contains a casino, digital cinema, children’s arcade, restaurants, a mini amphitheatre, a night club and pubs. There is an artificial tidal lake that feeds from the Calabar River, a water park / leisure land and a parking space for about 4,000 cars.

    Business facilities include an open exhibition area for trade exhibitions and other events and a movie production studio commonly called “Studio Tinapa” or “Nollywood”.

    Tinapa was initiated by the former Governor Donald Duke as a way to boost business and tourism in the state. Over $350 million was spent on initial development. The first phase of Tinapa Business Resort and Free Zone, Calabar, was commissioned on the April 2, 2007. It is a 10-kilometre drive from Calabar by a roundabout route, but the Federal Government is building a more direct 2.5- kilometre access road to link it with the city. All these have not been optimally put to use.

    Although the resort is owned by the Cross River State, there are reports that due to the huge debt of the resort, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) is to take over the management of the resort following a settlement agreement with the Cross River State government for the transfer of its controlling interest in Tinapa.

    By the agreement, AMCON is to buy back Tinapa’s debts, totalling N18,509.744.797.05, and provide the sum of N26 billion for the revitalization and resuscitation of the resort to reposition it as a private sector driven enterprise.

    Many in the industry see this as the tonic needed by the resort to rebound. The Nation spoke with the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr. Chris Itta, on the AMCON take-over the resort. He explained that it was not the government of the state that negotiated with the AMCON to take over the place to reduce the huge debt burden currently hanging on the neck of the state as a result of the Tinapa project.

    He said by the arrangement, AMCON will not only remove the huge debt burden but also inject the necessary funds needed to revitalize the resort to the tune of about 26 billion. Itta said the founding vision for the project was for it to run optimally and create employment opportunities for the citizens of the state.

    He added that it was not that Cross River State government is divesting totally from the project, rather the state was still retaining a certain percentage equity.

    Itta explained further that the deal with AMCON would allow the state government to put money into other critical sectors. He said every month, the state government spends about N100m to run Tinapa. He added that during the Nigerian Bar Associaition (NBA) conference, more than N80m was spent to get the air conditioners working.

    He said the deal should not be politicised, but rather the concern is how it would help the state move forward and the government impact more positively on the people.

    For many tourism stakeholders, it is like the dawn of a new era that will place Tinapa on the path of achieving the vision behind the project. The fortune of the Nigerian tourism industry is intertwined with the success and failure of tourism in Cross River State, being the only tourism destination in Nigeria.