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  • Need a house? Try cooperative societies

    Housing is one of the essential needs of man. But because the mortgage sub-sector is not virile, building a house can take a decade or two for some while for others, it could be longer. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE writes on how a coperative society can assist not only individuals but also organisations to build their homes or estates.

    A cooperative is an association of people to achieve a common goal through contributions.

    One strategy deployed by the average Nigerian in becoming a landlord is through joining a credible cooperative socity – thrift and credit.

    The purposes of cooperatives are diverse. However, generally, they  tend to serve their members better.

    Organisations have found it  convenient to encourage their members to form cooperative societies. Blue chip companies, such as Shell, Chevron, and Nigerian National Petroleum Corportation (NNPC), have cooperative societies.

    Others are professionals groups, such as Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and their counterparts in insurance, banks, higher institutions. They have thriving cooperatives, which own upscale estates, which in most cases, participants wouldn’t have been able to build individually and these dot the cities, especially new areas.

    Prime Assets Housing Cooperative Society Managing Director  Mr. Gbadebo Adejana  said  cooperatives  create an umbrella for people.

    He said it is more prominent in the informal sector where artisans and others join one for the sake of necessity, knowing that it  is the only way they can muster strength to  access credit to buy land.

    After passing the hurdle of purchase and ownership of land  through the cooperative,  a member wil,l thereafter, access more funds to start its development and pay at by instalments, he explained.

    According to him, cooperative associations have the advantage of accessing loans and can bulk purchase building materials, such as cement, iron rods, paints, roofing sheets and locks and keys.

    He added that manufacturers prefer to deal with cooperatives when the issue of credit arises.

    On the objectives of his cooperative, he said it assists people to access funds to build their houses. Others are providing people the opportunity to buy properties and reconstruct them for their use, providing a 10-20 year’micro-mortgage scheme for members, including real estate and other investment opportunities, for members.

    Adejana continued: “For Prime Assets Housing Cooperative Society to deliver on their promises and better serve members,  we partner reputable individuals and organisations, particularly, micro-finance banks, developers, mortgage institutions, building material manufacturers, suppliers, professionals in the building industry and related government establishments and agencies.”

    For   Festus Onibanjo, chairman, Fesdap  Properties, owners of  “Be a landlord today’  Cooperative Society, the core mandate of his cooperative is to provide a well-researched and negotiated clusters of landed properties  for his members can buy.

    He said: “We also assist in developing them into mini-estates and providing other services as may be required. For example, access to mortgage facilities below the market  rate building materials, etc. We provide opportunities for members to borrow for growth in their business operations through their well-structured and professional managed thrift in association with participating micro-finance banks.”

    A cooperative expert, Mr Salako Idris said companies should encourage their workers to form cooperative societies, adding that it not only remove financial burdens from them, but that it also enable the companies to concentrate on their mandate.

    He said virile cooperative cooperatives provide members the platform to borrow money.

    According to him, the country’s  housing gap cannot be bridged by the government only and that there was the need for private sector support, especially from the cooperative societies.

  • ‘Africans in Diaspora remit $40b yearly’

    There are over 32 million Africans in the Diaspora, accounting for $40 billion remittances yearly, and savings of about $53 billion – most of it outside Africa, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has said.

    Its Senior Manager, Intra-African Trade Initiative, Gainmore Zanamwe, said the economic size of Africans in the Diaspora was staggering.

    According to him, should the collective African Diaspora be regarded as the 56th African state, it would rank top in terms of “Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” with its GDP estimated at over $500 billion and GDP per capita higher than Africa’s average.

    Zanamwe, who spoke on the sidelines of the 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos, said the number of Africans in the Diaspora would likely reach 50 million, if second and third generations are included.

    Nigeria accounts for over a third of Diaspora remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa, with Diaspora remittances to the country projected to reach $25.5 billion this year, up from $23 million last year,  PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, also said.

    Its latest report, “Strength from Abroad: The Economic Power of Nigeria’s Diaspora,” PwC also estimated that the size of the country’s Diaspora remittances will grow by $29.9billion and $34.8billion in 2021 and 2023.

    Zanamwe, however, said Afreximbank has a Diaspora strategy, which provides various ways in which their resources (both financial and expertise) can be mobilised for the promotion of intra-African trade and the development of Africa through investments, trade links, skills, and technology transfer.

    He said: “The key pillars of the bank’s Diaspora strategy include trade and investment promotion, remittances and savings mobilisation, knowledge and skills transfer, research and advocacy, and Diaspora outreach.

    “These are to be achieved through financing and facilitating the production and distribution of ethnic goods and products of interest to Africans in the Diaspora into Diaspora markets,” Zanamwe said.

    He listed some of the key growth areas of interest to the Diaspora to include ethnic foods, textiles, creative industry (music, film), tourism, manufactures, among others.

    “It is estimated, for instance, that Nigeria’s trade in ethnic foods with the United States (U.S) is estimated between $500 million and $1 billion,” he said

    On the creative industry space, Zanamwe said the bank was working with partners in Africa and the Diaspora by providing financing products and trade facilitation services to boost export of African movies, music, fashion and other creative works.

    He said the bank was developing a technology platform for high-quality African content – music, video, movies and opportunities, among others.

    Zanamwe said for instance, the Nollywood movies, an industry which employs about 300, 000 people directly and indirectly, more than one million, generating between $500 million and $1 billion yearly in revenues, is patronised across the continent and outside the continent by the Diaspora.

  • Dissent and national interest

    Recent tides in the Nigerian polity indexed some hypersensitivity against criticism and dissent – in the present circumstance, as much by supporters of the power elite as by members of the elite themselves cutting across partisan diversity of the political spectrum.

    Last week, Seun Onigbinde, a co-founder of civil society group, BudgIT, ducked out of his recent enlistment as Technical Adviser to Budget and National Planning Minister of State Clem Agba, in the face of intense lashback by supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who held him damnable for hitherto being a critic of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Onigbinde’s organisation is reputed for serially exposing duplicities in national budgets – to be sure, not just that of the federal government but also the state governments. But he, in particular, is also accused of taking criticisms of Mr. Buhari quite personal, having previously posted acerbic comments about the president on his social media platforms.

    Ordinarily, we should consider it an indication of broadmindedness on the minister’s part (and by extension, that of the Buhari government) that Onigbinde got invited to serve. Dispassion would show it was a unique challenge for the activist to come walk his talk, so that the country might benefit from the fiscal transparency skills and insights that undergirded  his organisation’s past exposes on governments’ budgetary documents. Among other cautious observers, ace campaigner and technocrat, Oby Ezekwesili, openly pointed out to Onigbinde that it was a test, which located him on a historic perch to prove his mettle.

    But supporters of government thought differently as they rose in fierce rebuff of the activist’s enlistment for national service. Some saw egregious double standard in his past criticisms and his new acceptance to serve in a government that he had been critical of. Others wagered higher, describing Onigbinde as a foreign agent being embedded in government and alleging that the civil society group he co-founded was funded by a local organisation fronting for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Perhaps the crudest blowback was from cheerleading Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), which said Onigbinde’s appointment was a travesty that desecrated the integrity of the Buhari administration.

    In flinging the job amidst that storm, Onigbinde said media reports about the appointment had “created a complex narrative” likely to engender an atmosphere of mistrust in his performance of the role. He explained: “My sincere interest is to see a Nigeria that grows and optimises resources for the benefits of all Nigerians. My loyalty to the good cause of our nation, Nigeria, compelled me to accept the call to provide technical skills, and this experience has more than strengthened it.”

    Onigbinde isn’t the only person forced out of call to national service because of their critical posture in the past towards the government or suspicion of diluted loyalty, if at all, towards the ruling party. In June, reputed columnist Festus Adedayo got the boot soon after he was appointed Special Adviser on Media and Publicity by Senate President Ahmed Lawan. Even though the legislature is an independent arm of government, the Senate helmsman backed down on Adedayo’s appointment within a week of handing him the job following a furore by Buharists who dug up past writings of the journalist that were critical of the present administration and the ruling party. The apparent logic being peddled by the supporters is: you can’t have pissed in a well and turn round to come drink from that same well. And really, there may be some sense to make of that logic at least on the face of it.

    But if you thought aversion to criticism is a syndrome peculiar to supporters of the ruling party, you need look at Cross River State where retributive stakes are even far higher: a journalist has been held in detention since late August for taking issues with Governor Ben Ayade of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Agba Jalingo, publisher of online CrossRiverWatch, was arrested in Lagos by the police on August 22 and dragged down to Calabar where he’s been under lock allegedly at the state governor’s behest.

    Before his arrest, Jalingo had been having brushes with the Ayade administration over his journalism that was critical of the state government. The last straw was a July 17 story in which he alleged diversion of N500million meant for the establishment of Cross River State Micro-Finance Bank. Following his arrest and detention, the journalist filed a suit for enforcement of his fundamental rights. But while that case awaits court hearing, the police have slammed Jalingo with a counter suit. And rather than charge him with the standard felony of libel, they have put up a four-count charge of treasonable felony, terrorism, cultism and disturbance of public peace against the journalist. It is apparently the severity of the charges that explains his being held without bail. Jalingo is also accused of working in cahoots with #RevolutionNow campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, who himself has been kept in detention since August 3 by the Department of State Security (DSS).

    The seeming counter-productivity of open dissent in our clime was theatrically highlighted recently by maverick artiste and convener of ‘OurMumuDonDo’ Movement, Charles Oputa better known as Charly Boy, when he said he was cutting out of street protests as a mode of venting displeasure over nationhood challenges because that option had proven ineffective to impact the power elite at all levels. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Charly Boy argued that successive political leaderships in Nigeria have been insensitive to the plights of ordinary citizens and were unfazed by protests to hold them accountable. Lamenting that in almost six decades of Nigeria’s independence, citizens were yet to experience “freedom from bad leadership,” he added: “I have spent over 40 years of my life leading protests for a better society, and I can tell you that street protests will not change our leaders.”

    The 68-year-old self styled ‘president of frustrated Nigerians’ recalled personal discomfiture he had suffered for dissent: “My father (the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa) always told me back then that whenever I see injustice, I should fight it because it may come to affect me someday, and that is my motivation for fighting injustice over these years. On several occasions, I have been tortured by the Nigerian police and the military for standing up to authorities to ask questions. However, on some occasions I have been regarded as their friend, depending on the sensibility of those in power. I am not a professional protester, so now I have decided to use other means to hold leaders accountable,’’ he said.

    Are dissenters or critics essentially enemies of the prevailing orders they take on? The respective experience of Onigbinde and Jalingo, among the others, suggests they are so regarded by some, if not all in the power elite and their supporters. Besides, there is a pervasive notion across partisan divide that only members of a political party or its cheerleaders qualify to participate in a government formed by that party. Thus ‘governments of national unity,’ as they are often called, have become sheer anachronism.

    But by keeping critics , dissenters or opponents at bay, we lose so much that synergy of our rich diversity could offer. Also, not only is this tendency at odds with provisions of our national code, it is the bane of our development as a nation. Chapter II, Section 14(2)(c) of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution provides that “participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.” And such provisions include Chapter IV, Section 39 (1) stipulating that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas without interference.”

    The power elite and their supporters must learn to rise above cronyism and parochialism of vision by allowing the best available hands to participate in the drive for national development.

     

    • Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • The flip side of anchor tenants

    Shop owners and entrepreneurs desirous of brand visibility and increased patronage usually prefer to locate their business premises in malls of anchor tenants. Their expectation is that the footfall generated by anchor tenants will boost their businesses.This explains why malls housing Shoprite and other big brands are most sought after . But the looting of Shoprite, in retaliation to the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and their businesses in South Africa is a flip side to this business strategy, as stores owned by Nigerians were also affected. Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE writes

    THE allure to share same trading space with big time brands, especially in merchandising can sometimes be too intimidating to be ignored. Many entrepreneurs looking to shoring up their market equity often times look beyind the cost and go for such spaces, even if it is a small space.

    Their interest is to fight for the footfall that throng such malls. And They have often hit the bull’s eye on such decision as such outlets become hugely profitable.

    Leveraging on the crowd pulled by global brand’s popularity is what is called anchor tenancy and has gained traction since big multi-national brands such as Shoprite, Spar, PEP Stores, hit the Nigerian market space.

    They are mainly departmental stores that trade consumer goods in various product categories, such as groceries, electronics, clothes, household appliances, food and drinks, among others.

    Also quite common are the retailers in the entertainment and leisure category such as cinemas and game arcades. The upsurge in the development of shopping malls and centres in the past decade is a welcome development and has changed the shopping experience from what it used to be.

    In addition, the product offering invariably defines the class of customers  coming to the mall.

    The former National Secretary of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV) and former Chairman, NIESV Lagos, Offiong Samuel Ukpong, said anchor tenant are drivers of business anywhere they are.

    He said they are usually prominent, visible and huge advertisers.

    Ukpong said this is because of the footfalls and the bargain of varied and superior products, even though it may be intrinsic.

    This true of Shoprite, a South African food and grocery retailer, which made its first entry in Lagos in December 2005. It now has 25 outlets in eight states.

    No doubt, Shoprite brand has continued to draw huge traffic and mall developers are taking advantage of the anchor tenant to sell business spaces as other businesses in the mall usually record huge profit as a result of the traffic.

    But all that may be in the past. Office space seekers are more likely to count the cost today, no thanks to the loss recorded as counter attacks by Nigerians on South Africans business interests as a result of the mindless killings and Xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

    The blurred line between Shoprite outlets and many malls that house them across the country appeared to have contributed to the misunderstanding. Many Nigerians use Shoprite interchangeably with the mall that houses them.

    Most shops looted and destroyed, including two in Lagos, were a product of such mistaken identity. Shoprite and other South African businesses, including MTN, have Nigerian investors and most of their employees are Nigerians.

    However, the looters couldn’t care.

    Ukpong, however, insisted that despite the recent attacks on some foreign-owned businesses, hosting one’s business with a brand anchor tenant remains a good business strategy.

    He said: “Shoprite drives business, but it’s possible that as a business entity, its occupancy rate may not be more than 10 per cent in Ikeja Mall.  But it towers almost above every other business there, despite the fact that there are banks, telecom giants, cinemas, boutiques etc. It is unfortunate that the attacks happened because the Shoprite shops are franchise and owned by Nigerians”.

    Ukpong, who expressed regrets over the incident, noted that most of the people involved did not  fully understand what xenophobic attacks meant; they participated in the episode out of frustration, hunger and anger.

    According to him, the protests began among Nigerians on social media after many foreign-owned properties and businesses were touched in anti-foreigners rage in South Africa.

    Ukpong said the peaceful complaints among Nigerians turned into sporadic violence and looting of South African-affiliated businesses across Nigeria.

    The attacks angered many Nigerians who have called for a boycott of South African businesses, like Shoprite.

    He said a similar scenario played out at the Adeniran Ogunsanya Shopping Mall in Surulere, where police officers struggled to control a mob that vandalised locked stores and stole valuables.

    He insisted that no matter the odds against the concept, anchor tenants, makes good business sense for increased patronage and market visibility.

    The Chairman, Lagos chapter, NIESV, Adedotun Bamigbola, said the key advantage for shop owners to locate their business in malls is for footfall, which is expectedly generated by anchor tenants.

    He stated that the combined footfall generated by all similar shop outlets creates a multiplier effect on the traffic generated and business opportunities for each shop.

    Bamigbola said: “The advantage of associating with an anchor tenant is that it generates a boom in business particularly if there is a good tenant mix.

    “Similarly, when the anchor tenants have lower business patronage, it may adversely affect other businesses in the area.”

  • Brexit uncertainty triggers first September fall in house prices since 2010

    House prices have fallen in the month for the first time since 2010 as Brexit uncertainty continues to cast a long shadow over the United Kingdom (UK) housing market, according to the estate agent Rightmove.

    The UK’s biggest property website said the traditional “autumn bounce” in the market was simply not happening this year. Instead, the average price of newly listed homes fell by 0.2 per cent, or £730, compared with August.

    September is usually the start of an upturn in housing market activity, with price rises recorded every year for the past eight years. However, this year there is growing evidence that sellers are waiting to see how Brexit plays out before deciding whether to move.

    Rightmove said the number of properties coming to market was down by 7.8 per cent this month compared with the same period a year ago. The number of sales agreed is down 5.5% in all regions.

    “In August, The Guardian, UK reported a pre-Brexit buying spree with the number of sales agreed up by over 6 per cent  compared with the prior year, as buyers and sellers decided to get deals secured well before the next Brexit deadline,” Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said.

    “But a month later, as the deadline gets closer and tensions heighten, there has been a big swing the other way with sales agreed numbers now over five per cent below those of a year ago.”

    He said the political uncertainty was particularly affecting London, where the number of new properties coming on to the market was 20 per cent down on last year.

    While Brexit uncertainty is holding the market back now, it has been predicted that prices could crash if the UK departs Europe without a deal. Last Monday, the accountancy firm KPMG warned that UK house prices could fall by as much as 20 per cent if Boris Johnson pursues a no-deal Brexit. The biggest falls would be in London and Northern Ireland, it said.

    A no-deal exit could trigger a nationwide decline of about 6 per cent in 2020, and a drop of between 10 per cent and 20 per cent was “not out of the question” if the market reacted more strongly than expected, KPMG predicted.

  • Mixed outlook for agro commodities

    Programme Co-ordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU) Elder Victor  Olowe has said a positive outlook for agriculture this year would be underpinned by good chances of weather conditions during the summer season.

    This, he noted, would be possible if the country continues to receive above-normal rainfall, which would be good for agricultural activity.

    Meanwhile, the Northcentral and western parts of the country received very little rainfall, and they have also had a drier start in the year.

    This led to delays in crop planting activity. Farmers were unable to meet their planting deadlines due to persistent dryness.

    He said the picture is now mixed as Southwest and Southsouth received good rainfall and crops are generally in a fair condition.

    Olowe said there were chances for farmers to cultivate kitchen crops such as okro although the optimal planting window has already passed.

    He said if the farms continue to receive widespread showers, there would be minimal improvement in planting activity in some areas.

    The  outlook on food inflation may not change significantly in the near to medium term due to increasing security challenges hindering farmers in the North from increasing buffer of  stocks from the previous season.

  • Taming the fangs of terrorism

    Sir: It will be difficult to totally eliminate the act of terrorism once it has been experimented in a society. It may then become a vice just like armed robbery or kidnapping. Terrorism cannot be eliminated by the act of force alone, but also by subtle diplomacy, strategy, mass education and enlightenment. Back in the 70’s, we had religious skirmishes in the north (Kaduna, Kano and Bauchi states) after the 3-7days orgy; the matter was swept under the carpet, no white paper issued, no sponsors apprehended and punished and no compensation paid. We then pretended all was well, but the evil seed had been sown.

    Then in the 80’s, we had the Maitaisine crises. Immediately the head of the organisation was killed, everything was swept under the carpet. The maitaisine has metamorphosed into Boko Haram. Also in the 80’s, we had religious crises in some northern states, but government followed the same pattern.

    The herdsmen are terrorizing citizens; what action has federal government taken? Have the farmers whose crops were destroyed been compensated? Six years ago a female teacher was beheaded in Gombe State. The matter has since been swept under the carpet and culprits freed. Also four years ago, an Igbo lady was killed in Kano. Few years ago, a lady was killed in Abuja for preaching; what has government done? Nothing.

    Early 2003, the CIA allegedly informed the Obasanjo-led federal government that they should watch the activities of some Islamic groups in the north; that they could be dangerous, but government shunned the advice. If the federal government had monitored the sect activities at that time, Boko Haram would never have manifested.

    And what is the foundation of their activities? Religion. Now the same federal government is complaining about Boko Haram. They’ve killed thousands, destroyed businesses and properties worth billions and they’ve even introduced suicide bombing into Nigeria’s terrorism dictionary. What is federal government doing? Using military force. But the root cause of these crises has not been unveiled. Since no sponsor has been apprehended and punished, the cycle will continue.

    There are over 10million almajirici kids; they should be put in schools and catered for by government. There should be free education in the North up to secondary level because the religious tolerance in the north is much lower than that of the south. There should be a befitting rehabilitation college established for ex-Boko Haram members. Exchanging captured Boko Haram members for kidnapped citizens may be a dangerous idea. A cue should be taken from Saudi government about their rehabilitation methods and federal government should consider setting up the anti- terrorism department and religious tolerance department in the presidency. Terrorism insurance scheme should be set up and compensation committee set up to compensate victims of religious crises and terrorism. That way, the Federal government should be getting closer to dealing with the root causes of terrorism.

     

    • David Atta, Abuja.

  • ‘Why Amnesty programme must be sustained’

    Mrs. Enetimi Evah popularly known as the Royal Mother is the CEO of Ezonebu Training Centre Lagos.

    The consultant to Presidential Amnesty Programme speaks on why the scheme must be sustained and dispelled rumour of her arrest by the Economic Financial and crimes commission (EFCC). Excerpts:

    How did you go suddenly from training 50 delegates of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to 137 trainees?

    First of all, I am from Ekogbene under Burutu Local Government area, in Delta State. I have been a consultant to the federal government, under the Presidential Amnesty program for eight years plus. In the last eight years, I have worked with three of the Special Assistants.  My work with ex-militants began during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    Best delegate in Fashion 2016/17

    I began with 50 delegates (agitators) and the focus of the training then was on entrepreneurship. The duration of the training was four months. The training helped the delegates develop their entrepreneurial skills and equip them with skills to transform their lives significantly.

    My first training was a huge success and I was so fulfilled to contribute to the lives of ex-militants. The delegates left the training centre with hope and joy and above all skills to better their livelihood.

    Practical work by delegates

    I dropped my report for the previous training and I was awarded another contract with more delegates than the previous training. My delegates became shop owners, employing other youths in the Niger- Delta region. This brought hope to the region as the purpose for the creation of the programme was seen to be achieved in my centre.

    Our training centre in Lagos is well equipped with the best resources in fashion designing, leather works (shoes and bag manufacturing) and ICT equipment and well trained facilitators, with a capacity of 250 delegates.

    Professor Charles Dokubo inspecting the delegates class work during the flag up

    At the time professor Charles Dokubo resumed office, we had already achieved more than 60 percent success rate in our delegates trained, meaning 60 percent of the delegates that attended our Training Institution are already self-made and  employers in their various communities.

    Presentation of cash awards to best delegates during the Graduation Ceremony at Eko hotel Lagos

    I don’t want to brag but we are one of the best training contractors this Programme has.  To this end, our success stories and capacity and passion in changing lives have contributed to the number of delegates we receive each year, so it is normal for the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to increase the number of delegates given to us due to our excellent records and our capacity to train the ex-agitators.

    Representative of the Vice president presenting the Empowerment park’s

    How impactful has the training been?

    First of all, without this amnesty programme, I am sure a lot of tension would have been going on in the Niger Delta now.

    And that is why one must appreciate and thank the President Buhari administration for retaining the programme. This programme has really helped in shaping lives. It has helped to bring out the best in some of these delegates. Some of them have become employers of labour. The dignity of labour is already inculcated in them.

    Presentation of certificate

    They are all scattered in and around in Lagos, Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta States doing wonderfully well. But for this programme, the peace the region is enjoying would have become bloody.

    137 of the delegates trained in my centre in June, 2019 graduated. Out of them, over 115 have already been empowered by the Presidential Amnesty Office, which is the instant empowerment after the graduation ceremony.

    Distribution of Empowerment items to delegates in various states

    Among the delegate is a lady, Miebi Foko, who graduated in fashion designing in the last batch. She is in Bayelsa State. She called to say she has employed four apprentices and didn’t know she could make the kind of sales she’s making. There are others, Otuma, in Ekeremo, Prince, Emelapor, Tony, so many, they’re all doing well.

    So, why were you arrested by the EFCC?

    Arrested by EFCC? That is the most ridiculous story I have heard this year.  How can I be arrested when I have not committed any offence? I render services to the government with a duly registered Training Institution company. I have never been arrested, invited or called by any law enforcement agencies before and now.

    You can only be arrested when you have been convicted of a crime. We are into Human Capacity Development, which is not a crime. Those stories were made up by people who don’t like the fact that we impact lives positively through the Presidential Amnesty Programme. It’s just beer parlor story, all tissue of lies.

  • One dead, seven arrested in Lagos cult war

    A suspected cultist Aliu Lamidi, 29, was on Saturday night stabbed to death after rival groups clashed at Chukwuma Hotel in Babashola Street, Itire, Lagos.

    The hotel and some vehicles parked around it were also set ablaze in the fight that commenced around 10:50pm.

    It was gathered that violence erupted after an altercation between rival cult groups in the hotel which led to the owner’s son stabbing Lamidi on the neck.

    Lamidi, a resident of Aboredhade Street, was said to have died at the hospital he was rushed to, a development that provoked his colleagues.

    Although the immediate cause of the altercation was unknown, The Nation reports that the Aiye and Eiye cult groups have been embroiled in age-long rivalry that has claimed many lives across the state.

    Angered by the killing of Lamidi, his members were said to have torched the hotel, vehicles and moved in droves to the home of the owner in a bid to kill anyone found.

    Wielding cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, the hoodlums were said to have threatened firefighters and policemen from Itire who got to the scene to put out the inferno.

    READ ALSO: Seven ‘killed’ in Ajah cult war

    It was gathered that the violence continued Sunday morning and extended to Oseni street which prompted the deployment of reinforcement from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the Area Command led by Deputy Commission of Police (DCP) Tunji Disu.

    The police were said to have prevented the cultists from wreaking further havoc as they chased the hoodlums and eventually arrested eight of the culprits.

    Confirming the incident spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said security has been beefed up.

    He said the hotel’s owner’s son was currently at large, adding that investigation was ongoing and all suspects would be charged to court.

  • Look inwards, Obi advises Nigerian universities

    The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Peter Obi, has advised Nigerian universities to look inwards for the development of their various schools. Obi said this during a visit to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

    Sharing managerial experiences with some principal officers of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Charles Igwe, and that of Awka, led by Prof Charles Esimone, Obi emphasised the need to work with dedicated men who understand that leadership is about service and embracing values that would encourage scholarship.

    Speaking further, Obi, by way of advice, challenged the leadership of institutions like the universities to study other successful universities worldwide, such as Harvard in the USA and Oxford in the UK, for factors that made for their successes and apply the same to their various institutions.

    Read Also: No nation can grow with election rigging – Peter Obi

    He said universities in Nigeria should seek alternative means of increasing their finances. “Alumni support and research are examples,” Obi said while quoting statistics to show that some universities in America and Europe, through effective alumni networking have billions in investment. “Frontline schools like Nsukka and Lagos can actually pioneer such efforts by diligently studying how the West does it”, Obi submitted.

    Obi contended that such effective use of alumni associations would stem what he called the “uninspiring dependence on moneybags to build structures and be given honorary degrees as if it has cash value.”

    Responding both vice chancellors thanked Obi for the visit and for his priceless advice which stemmed from his practical experiential pedigree.