The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mixed

  • Carnival Calabar: Local flavour mixed with foreign hue

    Carnival Calabar: Local flavour mixed with foreign hue

    For lovers of fun, music and dance, Calabar has become an every year’s place-to-go for almost 15 years. The carnival, initiated by the former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, is a legacy that the people of Cross River State have embraced wholeheartedly  and subsequent regimes have also upheld with improvement.

    The idea of the Carnival Calabar was first conceptualized in 2004, and the first edition was in 2005. Former Governor Donald Duke held two editions of the festival in 2005 and 2006. Senator Liyel Imoke, who ruled the state from 2007 to 2015 built the carnival to become and an international event and created the buzz and hype that made every body want to pack their bags in December and head for Calabar. Imoke’s desire to grow the carnival and attention to every aspect of the festival coupled with his wife, Mrs. Obioma Imoke’s passion and participation helped in pushing the carnival culture to the next level.

    Governor Ben Ayade’s desire to also push the frontiers of the festival beyond the shores of Nigeria and permanently plant it as a global tourist event happening in Nigeria every December has made it an international carnival.

    The international carnival has succeeded in putting Calabar on the global map as a kind of hub for culture and entertainment.

    The 2017 edition had about 18 countries from Africa, America, Europe and Asia in attendance. Among these countries included the United States of America, Brazil, South Africa, Ukraine, France, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, France and many others. The artistes had opportunity to perform in a different culture.

    The advantage of this new development is that visitors not only have the best of the carnival revelry in Africa, they also have the opportunity of having a spectrum of performances from  and outside Africa. To see one of the best acrobatic displays from East Africa, one needed not go to Kenya; they were there live in Calabar holding the crowd spellbound with their display.

    The Baikoko Dancers from Tanzania were also on display. Tweaking dance is said to be a fallout of the Baikoko dance. One of the Baikoko dancers told this reporter it was a new and pleasant experience being in Nigeria for the first time. She talked about the warmness of the people and the experience of tasting the Nigerian cuisines.

    Last Carnival Calabar had huge participation with the number of visitors and crowd that came out to watch the carnival. It lived up to its reputation as Africa’s biggest street party. Calabar was shut down and there was revelry in nooks and crannies of the city. It continued till the next morning.

    The next day was taken over by the international artistes who had a highly exciting performance in the J.T. Esuene Stadium, Calabar. The large crowd was treated to a variety of music and dance.

    In a recent thank-you post written by Mr Ikechi Uko, Chief Consultant of Jedidah Promotions and the brains behind the logistics and planning of the Calabar Festival, we’ve read through many foreign nationals’ comments and expressions of what the Calabar Festival has unlurked in the way they saw and envisioned Africa.

    Sharon Palacio, one of the Mexican contingents, had a pleasant story to also say:  “This was a dream come true for the Mexican delegation along with my husband and I. It was quite an experience and adventure of a lifetime to set foot on the soil of the continent from which we originated. It remains an overwhelming life changing experience. The warm welcome at the airport by Paul touched our hearts.

    “In Calabar, we were met at the airport by our outstanding and caring Chairman Gabe Onah and team. We cannot forget to mention the warm welcome by a team of tour guards to mention a few: Bassey, Joy, Samuel and Comfort along with dedicated and pleasant drivers. I spoke to the friendly media about our impressions every step on the way. We were escorted to our hotel VIP style. Our esteemed and distinguished Tourism Consultant Ikechi Uko and team went all out to make our trip comfortable and memorable. Coordinating such a mega event can only be done by giants. Again, I say congratulations to the Calabar Commission.

    “The cultural presentations were very impressive and educational to say the least. We now know the rich cultures and history of our people. Our continent is wealthy in natural resources, beauty, talent, intelligence cultural and family values. It was imperative that we missed nothing and we didn’t! The tour of the slave museum wasn’t a pleasant experience for most of us, even with what knowledge we had about slavery and the slave trade, but it was something we had to see because we carry the ( DNA) of our people who endured that horrific ordeal; for that we must all be very grateful. That however seems to be the general consensus within our group.

    “Words cannot accurately describe how humbled we are by your warm reception and kind hospitality we received from you and your team. We certainly left the homeland with a wealth of knowledge that we will now pass on to our people here in Belize and Mexico. In the Americas, lamentably the media has done injustice to Africa. We are eternally grateful to the Calabar Commission for erasing our erroneous perceptions.

    “I cannot express how happy I was with my African cultural immersion: the cuisine: yams, ripe plantains, fish, chicken and the way it was cooked. So delicious for the stomach of a Garifuna woman. How I love the African cotoure. The music remains with a beating sensation in my entire being deeply rooted in the seat of my soul that keeps me swaying my hips. What joy to embrace our very own black people.

    “We are hoping to do this again in 2018. We definitely anticipate to lead a mixed Belizean, Mexican and Guatemalan team. We love our continent and our people. Thank you very very much.

    “On a closing note, kindly convey our profound gratitude to Governor Ben Ayade and Chairman Gabe for such a priceless gift given to the Mexican-Belizean delegation. Both gentlemen understand the power of people connectivity. Indeed we are one people and as Chairman Gabe said when we first met at Calabar Airport: ‘Welcome home..welcome too the Motherland!’ Africa is our root and our mother earth indeed! We remain eternally grateful for the best gift ever!

    “We applaud Ikechi Uko’s team, Cross River Tourism Board and all those who have made these events possible from the local organizing committee to those who stood at borders and airports to bring in everything.”

    Despite the excitement and enthusiasm of the international artistes, it was a nightmare getting to Calabar due to the bad weather. Most international artistes had to get to Calabar via Uyo, but at the end, it was another very successful outing for the Carnival Calabar.

  • Mixed reaction trails Lagos demolition

    Mixed reaction trails Lagos demolition

    •Agency identifies 114 buildings to be pulled down

    Mixed reaction has continued to trail the demolition embarked on by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA). The agency, on Monday, began the demolition of buildings it alleged were prone to collapse within the state. So far, the agency has identified 114 buildings to be demolished. Approval for demolition of 57 of the buildings in the first phase of the exercise has been given by governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    For Mrs. Adijat Adekunle, a 72-year-old fish seller on the Island, the demolition of a three-storey building at 152, Adeniji Adele Street, Lagos Island, belonging to the Aroba family is a welcome development, given the danger it posed to people in the area. She said the tenants have vacated the building a long time.

    Also, a student at kwara state polytechnic, Mr. Babatunde Afolabi, of 3, Ajanaku street, Lagos Island,   commended the state government’s effort on the demolition. He told The Nation that the demolished building was “too weak and could pose a danger to the lives of the people on the street.”

    A retiree, who pleaded for anonymity because he resides on the same street housing the demolished building, said the structure, built in the 1990s, belonged to the Adeseye family. According to him, it was clear from the time of construction that the building had structural integrity issues. Hence, according to him, it was a welcome development that the building was pulled down by government.

    At 54 Aroloya street, Lagos island, a 40-year-old barber and father of one, Mr. Bolaji Abdulahi, who has lived in the area for 15 years, explained that the house, belonging to the Olokodana family, had long been vacated by the tenants because of the state it was in. He revealed that entreaties by the community to the children of the owner to either renovate the house or pull it down fell on deaf ears. So, the LASBCA initiative of pulling down the house was a welcome development for him.

    But it was not all praises for the agency. Some residents and perceived owners were bitter with LASBCA, asking them to pay for the demolition of their properties. Although they refused to be identified with their buildings for what they termed “security reason”, but they said the cost charged for the demolition was on the high side.

    A man in his late 50s,  who identified himself as ‘Sesan’, however  described it as ridiculous when government expected him to pay to reclaim his family land after losing a property. To him, it amounted to double losses “How can they expect us to come and pay N250,000 to get the land back?” he asked rhetorically. Findings by The Nation revealed that the payment for the demolition starts from N100, 000, depending on the type of building.

    According to Sesan, such money was ridiculous and unkind, given that all LASBCA did was to use hammer to break the buildings in bits and pieces and not pulling them down completely. “As you can see, the buildings they claim to have demolished are still standing; they only used hammer to break them in bits. So, is this what they expect us to pay such amount for as demolition? They are simply after generating revenue. If they had brought tractors to level the buildings and asked us to pay such amount then it would have been a different ball game,” he said amidst bitterness.

    The demolition exercise, which began last Monday, according to LASBCA General Manager, Lekan Shodeinde, will be done in phases as soon as funding is available to the agency. “We have approval to pull down 57 houses, but we are starting today with 13 out of the 34 buildings we have identified on the Lagos Island and which we have fund for. So, as we get more fund we will continue with the exercise,” he said.

    Explaining the process leading to demolition, he said before demolishing any building the agency will require the owner to conduct a “Non Defective Test”, which will be done within three weeks with the result sent to the agency. Non compliance with this will be deemed to mean that the building is distressed. “And we as an agency seeks approval to come and remove it,”he said.

    The LASBCA boss explained that the choice of starting the demolition on the Lagos Island was premised on the preponderance of more distressed structuresalready identified in the area. He regretted that owners of such buildings have ignored advice by the government to remove the structures themselves, necessitating the agency’s proactive steps to avoid a disaster, which may result if the buildings fall off by themselves.

    Commenting on the cost implication of the demolition and the ownership of the land occupied by a demolished building after such exercise, Shodeinde explained that the land still remains the property of the owner. The property owner, he said, is however required to pay the state government for the cost of demolition, which will be communicated to the property owner in writing.

    “We are rendering a service to the property owner and not to confiscate the land because the building has not collapsed. We just remove the structure and communicate the cost to you, if you refund the cost to the government within 90 days the land is still yours; but if after 90 days of demanding for the refund of money and there is none, or we do not get a correspondence from the land owner, the land then stands forfeited to the  government,” Shodeinde explained.

    Findings by The Nation revealed that the agency opted for the breakage of the buildings instead of outright demolition using bulldozers because of the location of most of the structures. According to sources close to the agency, using heavy duty machines to demolish the buildings may affect houses beside the ones demolished.

  • Mixed legacies

    Mixed legacies

    •Sunday Adewusi, 79, former IGP, exits with sweet-and-sour records. Which one will define him?

    He rose to the summit of his profession as a model cop. But as Inspector-General of Police (1981-1983), the police under his command was anything but model, especially in its relations to political partisans of the Second Republic (1979-1983).

    That is the sweet-and-sour tale of Sunday Adedayo Adewusi, the Asiwaju of Ogbomoso and one of the most acute minds to have run the Nigeria Police, who died on January 26, at the National Hospital, Abuja.

    Chief Adewusi’s rise in the police was well and truly meteoric: Assistant Superintendent of Police (1959), Deputy Superintendent of Police (1962), Superintendent of Police (1963), Chief Superintendent of Police (1967), Assistant Commissioner of Police (1969), Deputy Commissioner of Police (1971), Commissioner of Police (1972), Assistant Inspector-General (1975) and IGP (1981).  At 45, he was also among the youngest in his generation to become IGP, just as earlier, he was among the youngest ever to attain the position of CP.

    But all of these were well earned and no fluke: for between 1972 and 1975, when Chief Adewusi burst on the public consciousness as boss at the iconic Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Alagbon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, he was undoubtedly the nation’s No. 1 crime buster. Indeed back then, hardly a week passed without Daily Times, Nigeria’s biggest and most circulated newspaper back then, reporting his exploits. Criminals feared the crack Adewusi and his no-nonsense CID, as they would the plague. The Nigeria Police was immensely richer for it.

    So, when in 1981, President Shehu Shagari announced Chief Adewusi as his new IGP, almost everyone agreed it was a near-excellent choice. But that optimism soon dissipated as IGP Adewusi turned the police under his command to one of the most awesomely partisan in Nigeria’s political history.

    To start with, the elite Mobile Police (MOPOL) became even more elite and formidable, bristling with arms, muscles and general bad grace. Such dread did Adewusi’s MOPOL evoke that an ever-resourceful Nigeria people, brimming with humour even at the most perilous of times, christened it Kill-and-go! It was tribute to its atavistic instinct to shoot — and kill — only to ask questions later; if ever!

    By electioneering 1983, IGP Adewusi’s MOPOL had become the swashbuckling partisan enforcer of the wish and will of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN); and was part and parcel of the grand heist that was the 1983 general election.

    That election awarded the ruling NPN a sickening landslide, procured by sheer force of arm and soulless arm-twisting. But that brazen electoral steal also sent the Second Republic crumbling; and eclipsed Chief Adewusi’s brilliant career, as he was retired, by the new military czars, with the Shagari ancien regime. That was another goodly police officer consumed by the god of politics.

    So, which of the two defines the late Adewusi’s police essence: his golden records as brilliant ADC to Nigeria’s first president, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and crack crime buster? Or his rusty record as IGP who unabashedly put his command at the leisure of partisan politicians, with devastating consequences for the organisation’s brand equity and operational integrity?

    But whichever way the pendulum swings, Chief Adewusi was sad metaphor for frail state institutions. He was not the first — and certainly, if unfortunately, he would not be the last. The big question, however: how long would Nigeria continue to sacrifice its best minds on the altar of expedient politics? The answer must be in strengthening state institutions, particularly the security segment, where the ethos of absolute loyalty to the state, and not to temporary occupiers of office, is ingrained.

    All in all, however, Chief Adewusi served his country to the best of his ability. During and after his high office, he remained, until death, a citizen of high community value, as his Ogbomoso folks, to who he is Asiwaju (Leader), continue to proclaim.

    May God rest his gentle soul and comfort the family he left behind.

  • DMO sells N80b 2020, 2034 debts at mixed yields

    DMO sells N80b 2020, 2034 debts at mixed yields

    The Debt Management Office has sold a total of N80.20 billion ($403 million) in bonds maturing in February 2020 and August 2034 at an auction on Wednesday with mixed yields.

    Total bids stood at N153.48 billion, more than the N119.53 billion at the previous auction.

    A total of N40 billion of the February 2020 bond was sold at the auction, while additional N10.20 billion of same tenor paper was allotted on non-competitive basis.

    It said the 2020 paper fetched a yield of 15.38 per cent, compared with 15.28 per cent at the last auction.

    The debt office sold N30 billion in the August 2034 debt at 15.19 per cent versus the 15.29 per cent the paper fetched at the last auction. The 2020 debt closed at 15.41 per cent at the secondary market on Wednesday, while the 2034 paper closed at 15.19 per cent.

    The DMO regularly issues bond instruments which creates more debts for the economy. The DMO was established on October 4, 2000 to centrally coordinate the management of Nigeria’s debt, which was hitherto being done by a myriad of establishments in an uncoordinated fashion. This diffused debt management strategy led to inefficiencies.

    It was expected that the coming of DMO would lead to good debt management practices that make positive impact on economic growth and national development, particularly in reducing debt stock and cost of public debt servicing in a manner that saves resources for investment in poverty reduction programmes.

    The body is also expected to prudently raise financing to fund government deficits at affordable costs and manageable risks in the medium- and long-term; achieve positive impact on overall macroeconomic management, including monetary and fiscal policies; avoid debt crisis and achieving an orderly growth and development of the national economy.

  • Mixed reactions trail choice of new 3SC boss

    Mixed reactions trail choice of new 3SC boss

    Following the appointment of a three-man Board for the Shooting Stars Sports Club, (3SC) of Ibadan, led by Samson Olayiwola Lakondoro, many followers of the club have expressed dismay at the choice of the octogenarian.

    The Chairman, Lakondoro, who made his first appearance as helmsman of the club at the Akinola Maja, Jericho Ibadan office on Wednesday along with Mrs. Bayo Beckley and Hon. O Peter called for the cooperation of everyone to succeed in office.

    Majority of the fans, who reacted to the new development  in Ibadan questioned the rationale behind the choice of the people by the Governor of the State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, fuming that the trio do not have the basic required qualification for the job.

    “The new chairman,  Lakondoro has never been an active sport person or managed any sports outfit in his life, yet that is the person our government deemed fit to give 3SC’s job to. And Mrs. Beckley, apart being the wife of the late former Chairman of Oyo State Sports Council does not have  football management skill such sensitive job required”, a fan who craved for anonymity noted.

    Reports also monitored on the social media reflect the feelings of the Oluyole Warrior’s fans, as one Akintunde Rasak Akinola said: “this is a joke! What do these people know about football administration for God’s sake! If the management of Chelsea or Manchester United is picked this way, would anybody watch them or sponsor them at all.

    “I am really tired of this joke. This is why things do not work right in Nigeria, everything is always upside-down. Why do you like putting unqualified people in sensitive positions, Shooting stars need successful professionals like lawyers, medical doctors, bankers, ex- footballers, ex- football coach and people with managerial skill to run its affairs”.

    Another fan, Babatunde Rahman however, noted that “Baba Lakondoro is a well known face and a true lover of Shooting Stars. A man in the class of Baba Eleran,  the late (Ganiyu Elekuru) of blessed memory. He has been with Shooting through thick and thin, I wish him and other members a successful tenure in office, Up Shooting”.

     

  • Mixed reactions in Akure, Ondo

    Mixed reactions in Akure, Ondo

    Mixed reactions yesterday trailed the Ondo State governorship election results announced by the Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office, Akure.

    At 12.26 pm, Daramola; the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure declared Governor Olusegun Mimiko winner of the poll, saying he polled the majority of the votes cast by the electorate.

    There was jubilation in Akure and Ondo by Labour Party (LP) supporters who danced round the cities.

    The LP agent at the final collation centre, Dr. Ben. Enikuomehin, said the results reflected the views, wishes and expectations of the voters.

    However, his Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) counterpart, Mr. Idowu Otetubi, disagreed with Enikuomehin, saying the election was marred by irregularities in some local governments.

    He did not give details of the irregularities and the affected councils, saying he would submit a comprehensive report to the party leadership on his findings. Otetubi said: “The results have been presented. But we have detected some irregularities in the poll. I will present my report to the leadership of the party for consideration and decision.”

    Enikuomehin, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defector to the LP, hailed the election, saying it was free and fair.

    He praised the INEC and security agencies for their patriotism, adding that democratic elections have become a reality in Nigeria.

    Enikuomehin said: “The poll was transparent, credible, free and fair. It reflected the true wishes of the people. It is an affirmation that they preferred the governor and LP. The task before the governor is to continue to work for the people of Ondo State. There is a lot of work to be done.”

    Addressing a crowd of supporters who visited him at the Government House, Alagbaka in Akure, Governor Mimiko thanked the people for re-electing him.

    He hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for fulfilling his promise to encourage free and fair elections in the country.

    Mimiko dedicated his victory to the “democracy-loving people of the state”, promising to serve them better in the second term.

    He added: “The election was free, fair and credible. It reflected the wishes of the Ondo State people for continuity. I appeal to my co-contestants to join me in the task of building the state and taking it to a greater height. I will break the jinx of non-performing second term governors.”