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  • OML 25 crisis… Two-year long walk to resolution

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Belema Oil on Tuesday signed a dispute closure agreement in Abuja yesterday. With this, operations are expected to resume at the Oil Mining Licence (OML) 25 in the next 10 days. ROSEMARY NWISI, who has followed the crisis for over two years, wonders if peace has finally come

    SPDC, Belemaoil agree to restore operations in OML25

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, in June, directed all parties in the dispute relating to the Oil Mining Licence (OML) 25 to resolve all issues and reopen the oil facility in seven days. The deadline lapsed with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Belemaoil Limited still at loggerheads. But, if the deal sealed on Tuesday in Abuja is followed through, the end of the crisis is here.

    The sleepy oil-bearing communities of Offoin-Ama, Belema and Ngeje in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State have been in the news of late. All thanks to the controversy surrounding the continuous shut down of the OML-25 flow-stations.

    The three Kula communities, Offion-Ama, Belema and Ngeje, share hosting rights to the flow station located in a part of the island Kingdom of Rivers State.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), SPDC and Belema Oil signed the dispute closure agreement in Abuja yesterday. Operations at the oil well will take off in the next 10 days.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva, while signing the agreement, thanked all the parties stressing that the step signified the beginning of a new chapter in the industry.

    Sylva said the aim of the ministry was to ensure an oil industry that worked and operated in harmony and in unity.

    “When I came into the office, the issue was one of the problems that came on the table; there were so many letters from communities complaining about the problem.

    “I just decided to invite Shell to hear its own part of the story but fortunately, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, had intervened in the matter.

    “So, I have the honour now to thank him for this great intervention. And also thank Shell and Belema for cooperating to ensure that there is closure to this matter that has bedevilled the industry for so long,” he said.

    He said one of the aims of the petroleum industry was to ensure zero loss in the industry and production got to destination.

    According to him, zero loss is not loses from pipelines but lost to the country, especially with assets that can produce but for some reasons bug down by leakage issues.

    He said that the biggest beneficiaries of the agreement were not the companies but the communities, especially those in Belema who had been suffering since the beginning of the dispute.

    The minister commended the NNPC, Shell and the Belema Oil for agreeing to resolve the dispute.

    Kyari said the development was a big achievement for the corporation.

    The NNPC boss said the dispute around the OML 25 had been on for over two years, adding that  the end result was that communities lacked peace with the disruption of property and social lives in the area.

    “For us, the most important aspect of the dispute resolution is that, at least, the communities will have their peace restored.

    “At the back of it, you are aware that there is a complete stoppage of petroleum operations around the OML 25 and adjoining blocks.

    “What this means is shut down of production of over 35,000 barely of oil every day in the last two years and that is an enormous economic loss for all stakeholders, Nigeria and the communities.

    “This is why we engaged all stakeholders and we are happy to announce today that the closure has been obtained.

    “It means that the communities will have their peace back and also commence operations with the OML 25.

    “That means that there is prosperity for the community and also some returns to shareholders of Belema Oil, NNPC and Nigeria at large,” he said.

    Kyari commended the Belema Oil for its role and assured full engagement of the communities, adding that all the parties would be taken care of.

    The NNPC boss also said that all opportunities found would be shared equitably for overall peace and development of the country.

    He commended the minister of petroleum for his support and assured that the operations would soon commence in the area.

    Also, the Managing Director of Shell, Osagie Okunbor said that the dispute had been for two years but “we are happy that we concluded on resolving the dispute.

    “I want to convey my deep appreciation to the GMD of NNPC for the intervention to bring this issue to a closure.

    “When dispute of this nature happens, everyone suffers, especially the immediate family, recipient community not to talk of investors like ourselves.

    “We have been in discussion with communities and Belema Oil and sometimes under the auspices of government.

    “We are very pleased that we have finally brought this to a conclusion, to work on some agreements with communities to achieve speedy return to operations on that facility,” he said.

    He said to meet the plight of the host communities, Shell had paid in the Joint MOU account, over N300 million to restart community efforts it had not done because of some issues.

    Okunbor said that under the joint MOU framework money would be paid into communities’ accounts to execute projects to ensure that employment opportunities get to the people.

    He noted that SPDC remained the operator of the OML 25 but assured commitment to ensure that all parties would derive from the benefits.

    Belema Oil President and Founder  Jack Rich-Tein also said the agreement signalled that stakeholders shared common interest and value of lifting the country high and strengthening relationships.

    “What has been resolved is that, we have agreed to work together, SPDC and Belema Oil.

    “Belema Oil is now going to be able to create a lot of employment opportunities for the communities under operations and maintenance part of the operations.

    “SPDC remains the operators because they still have the licence, the communities will be happy because we will employ them and they will be able to work with SPDC.

    “The key thing there is getting back to work and creating jobs for the local communities, everybody will be happy.”

    He said Belema Oil with 7.7 per cent asset would provide the operation maintenance and employ the community members through that platform.

    The founder said Belema Oil Producing Limited would work with shell to ensure that the development needs of the people were met.

    “We have agreed that less than 10 days from today, we will visit the communities and appeal to them and then, we go to work,” he said.

    The operation in OML 25 stopped since in 2017 when the host communities sent SPDC away from operating in the facility over issues of unemployment and underdevelopment among others.

    Host communities’ grouses

    The multinational oil giant has operated in the environment for almost 40 years. Despite these long years of operation, the communities said they have become poorer while the oil giant gets richer.

    Members of the communities decried alleged gross neglect, marginalisation, impoverishment, enslavement, maltreatment, environmental devastation; failure to comply with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the host communities, among others necessitated the shutdown of the facility by women and children of the communities.

    But the company denied the alleged neglect, insisting that the welfare of their host communities remains paramount to it.

    The SPDC is operating the flow station as a consortium with 32.3 per cent stake on behalf of SPDC, Total E&P and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), in Joint Venture with the NNPC, which controls 60 per cent stake while Belema Oil Producing Limited has 7.7 per cent participating interest in the facility, which it inherited from Chevron Nigeria Limited.

    To attract the attention of wider society to the deplorable state of the oil-rich communities, their chiefs and leaders held a news conference at Offoin-Ama and the flow station in July. They also conducted reporters drawn from local and international media round the communities for on-the-spot assessment of the areas and to verify the claims by the oil firm on the developmental state of the communities.

    From Offoin-Ama to Belema down to Ngeje communities, the sights and sounds are the same tales of woe, lamentation, impoverishment and high level of poverty among the people. There are no signs of social amenities in the communities visited. There are no hospitals, good schools, no habitable houses and power supply. Houses in the areas are all shanties, made of polythene bags and trampoline. The rich among them built their houses with woods.

    Hunger, poverty, hardship and total and criminal neglect of the areas are prominent features of the areas and these are etched on the faces of the residents. There is a complete lack of government’s presence whatsoever in the places visited despite their huge financial contributions to the state and federal government coffers.

    They also lamented lack of jobs, business and no artisan workshop anywhere in the area. Apart from a small patent medicine store at Offoin-Ama which apparently serves as health care facility to the people, the other shop in the communities is a beer parlour shop at Belema community.

    Analysts put the estimate of revenue so far lost by the governments in the two years the business has been shut down to over $2 billion.

    The communities accused Wike of meddlesomeness, stressing that the governor had no business interfering in matters of oil and gas, insisting that he lacked the statutory powers to preside over any meeting on the dispute.

    The governor set up a committee led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr.  Tammy Danagogo, and gave him seven days to resolve all disputes, reunite parties and re-open the facility within one week.

    The host communities boycotted the meetings convened by the government where a Memorandum of Understanding was purportedly signed to re-open the oil facility.

    The Chairman of Kula Supreme Council of Chiefs and the Amanyanabo of Kula Kingdom, His Royal Highness Kroma Eleki was in the meeting and signed the GMoU. But he told the participants that the rightful stakeholders were absent and that his signing the agreement would not guarantee the vacation of the facility by the women.

    He said:  “I really did attend the meeting by the state government to broker peace between Shell and the host communities of OML25, flow station. As a government recognised monarch, I am supposed to attend such meetings and to advise the government on the way forward.

    “I did attend and there was settlement agreement to sign and I did sign, but before I signed, I told the government and the public that the signing of that agreement do not lead to the opening of the OML 25 flow station.

    “In any case, Shell has owed us for several years and we needed that money. So, signing the document was for us to access the money and, again, I also did tell them that the people with who they were negotiating at the meeting are not in the position to ensure the opening of OML25 and that the real stakeholders were not in the meeting.

    “I advised them to be patient until they meet with the main stakeholders and that there is a need for them to pay a visit to Kula Kingdom and the host communities to see things for themselves before they will be able to broker peace.”

    Speaking on his position in OML- 25, he said: “Since Shell began operations in Kula, they have not done any significant thing for the communities. So, I stand with the people of Kula Kingdom, because of the suffering we are going through.

    “I will not like Shell to come back to operate OML 25, it should give the right to other operators, if possible, to Belema Oil. He is our son. If on the other hand Shell feels that it has gotten a licence, they want to operate, Belema Oil has a stake in that the partnership he should be given the operatorship of that stake, so that whenever they want to sell, he should have the first option of refusal before they can sell it.”

    The spokesperson of Belema Central Women Association occupying the OML 25 flow station, Mrs. Belinda Nokiman relived their ordeal to reporters.

    She decried the poor state of the communities, adding that they do not have good drinking water in the area.

    At Offoin-Ama, Chief Ibiosiya Nath-Sukubo said: “Offoin-Ama is a co-host to OML-25 and  bellies the six and eight inches delivery lines, a myriad of oil wells, the Sego Creek manifold, riser, Eastern Gas Gathering Lines (EGGS I) and NCTL among others. It is a principal oil-producing and pipeline community and a contributor to over 200,000 barrels of oil and over 1.5 million standard cubic feet of gas (mmscf).

    “We are prone to serious ecological hazards such as earthquake and Tsunami, among others. The people’s natural source of income which is fishing has continued to diminish.”

    Nath-Sukubo reiterated the failure of SPDC to take seriously the welfare of its host communities in the area. He urged them to divest the flow-station to Belema Oil, maintaining that Shell will never be allowed back to the area.

    In the heat of the brouhaha, Shell insisted it had high regards for its host communities in the Niger Delta.

    “Shell JV’s committed to the welfare of its host communities in the Niger Delta remain unshaken, even as we debunk every allegation that we neglected the development of communities in Kula Kingdom and Belema.,” the company said.

    Will the agreement engender peace?

    Will the agreement entered into yesterday by the oil firms, NNPC and Sylva be acceptable to the host communities? The outcome of the meeting the operators are supposed to have with them in the next few days  will tell.

  • Grace Mugabe ‘ll keep her fortune, says Zimbabwe president

    Widow of Zimbabwe’s former President Robert Mugabe, Grace Mugabe, will keep the fortune accrued by her family during her husband’s 37 years in power, authorities said on Tuesday.

    “President Emmerson Mnangagwa has assured the family that they will keep their wealth,” said Obert Mpofu, secretary for administration of the ruling party, Zanu-PF.

    Read Also: Why Mugabe stood out as a leader, by Osinbajo

    The Mugabes are one of the most affluent families in Zimbabwe, owning multiple properties, including a dairy farm, a private school, and a game reserve.

    However, Mugabe’s villa, known as the “Blue Roof,” in Harare’s elite suburb of Borrowdale Brooke, and another mansion where their daughter, Bona lives, are in Zanu-PF’s name.

    Mnangagwa, whose challenge to Grace Mugabe’s leadership ambitions in part led to her husband’s overthrow by the military in 2017, had on several occasions said the family would be taken care of.

  • Tribunal: Niger governor knows fate today

    Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival, Alhaji Umar Nasko, will today know their fate regarding the outcome of the 2019 general election.

    The Niger State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal will rule on the petition challenging the re-election of Bello.

  • Stakeholders urge Fed Govt on tourism development

    Chairman, Ezeagu Local Government Council in Enugu State, Chukwudi Fred Ezinwa has urged Federal Government to partner state and local councils in the development of the nation’s tourism potentials.

    Ezinnwa who spoke at a strategic stakeholders meeting recently said that local tourism operators should be encouraged to key into such projects in order to harness the benefits accrued to host communities.

    According to Ezinwa, “we are under-utilising the rich resources which is God-given gift to the nation. He advised that monitoring and supervision should be incorporated into the systemn to achieve proper growth of the sector across states.

    Hon. Chima Obieze said: “We already have a blue print on how to work and improve heneke lake and waterfall so that the site will become more attractive to tourists. We also have plans to improve on some other tourist’s site in Ezeagu local government area. Hopefully, in the nearest future there will be a whole lot of improvement in terms of tourism development. The host communities are friendly, as they always serve as tourists guide to visitors.”

    Former Director-General, Centre for Black Arts and African Civilisation (CBAAC), Sir. Ferdinand Anikwe, said that cultural tourism is one of the most viable aspects of tourism in Enugu State that has been exploited. He noted that, unfortunately, past governments were unable to perfect it in terms of revenue generation.

    “Enugu State remains one of the most potential tourism destinations in Africa.  But tourism destination must have certain background that will make them thrive. In terms of security Enugu has remained one of the safest havens and the best way of demonstrating is to encourage holidaying which is inseparable from tourism,” he added.

    Anikwe added that there are variants of tourism such as eco-tourism, cultural tourism, tourism based on man-made heritage sites, nature and others.

  • Still on ‘okada’

    It has become imperative for us as a government to map out new policies that would guide how ‘okada’ riders operate in Lagos State. This would stem the tide of accidents and indiscriminate use of ‘okada’ on Lagos roads,” Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu  said on September 6, while marking 100 days in office. As the governor rightly noted, the review became necessary to enable the government control commercial motor cycle operations and assure Lagosians of safety.

    ‘Okada’ as a means of transportation was relatively unknown in Lagos until the late 1980s. However, the allures of the state soon became irresistible for many people in different parts of the country who left their respective towns and villages for Lagos, to have a feel of city life that Lagos offers. It was therefore a question of time for the state to witness a population explosion which, sadly, was unanticipated and therefore overstretched facilities provided for Lagosians.

    It was also a question of time for the inadequacies of ‘okada’ as a means of transportation to unfold. It is now fashionable to see them ride on the state’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system corridors even as they ride against traffic and disobey every known traffic law with impunity. Indeed, the menace of ‘okada’ riders, especially in Lagos, is beyond description. Even though they provide some crucial services, their activities in a 21st century Nigeria showcases the country in a very bad light, beyond the tragedies of accidents and some robbers using same as get-away vehicles.

    Read Also: As Lagos tinkers with okada policy

    Mercifully, the Babatunde Fashola administration that ruled the state from 2007-2015, saw through these defects in their operations and made relevant laws restricting their activities to certain roads in the state. Such was the success of the administration’s policy on ‘okada’ that the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, which had dedicated a ward specifically to casualties of ‘okada’ accidents recorded a massive drop in the number of patients brought to the ward and commended the state government for making this happen.

    Even the police authorities in the state applauded the administration for the sharp drop in crime rate. The problem was that the Ambode administration which succeeded Fashola’s government was lax in enforcing the law and, ‘okada’ riders soon returned to their old ways.

    It is against this backdrop that we commend the incumbent government for its plan to ensure that sanity returns to ‘okada’ operations in the state, if the riders must continue to be on roads in the state., Without doubt, their activities in Lagos obviously fill some gaps in the transportation sector; but then these must be regulated in the interest of Lagosians. We are therefore glad that the government, having observed these lapses in ‘okada’ operations, is ready to do what governments do – take care of the welfare of the people, which includes the riders themselves.

    We however advise that the government subtly but firmly implements the ‘okada’ policy in ways that the system does not feel the grave human shock that might be considered insensitive. Most of the operators of ‘okada’ are illiterate, unskilled and unlicensed riders with no training and no knowledge of traffic rules. They must be communicated to through institutions in the state in languages they can understand.

    Beyond these intended policies, however, the government must quickly co-opt transporters in the private sector as even the small commercial buses have outlived their usefulness. The government must be firm in implementation of well-thought-out plans to rejig the transportation sector with better roads and sea ways. Implementation must be very well planned and strictly handled to eschew political permissiveness.

    If the truth must be told, Lagos has no business sanctioning ‘okada’. Indeed, allowing their operations is a defeatist approach and not the solution to the state’s transportation crisis. ‘Okada’ is a sign of chronic underdevelopment and ultimately, it must be phased out in the state. Indeed, if we consider the social implications, no one would go near it.

  • The farce of a presidential tribunal

    Last Wednesday, the result of the February 23 Presidential election was upheld by the Presidential Elections Tribunal. The tribunal had been sitting on a petition filed by Atiku Abubakar and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. The supporters of Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president and lead petitioner, had been confident of a decision in Atiku’s favour. In preparation for the anticipated tribunal victory, they had coined the refrain “Atiku is coming”. After a relatively long wait, since the petition was filed in March, the judgment came with no vindication, no victory and no celebrations for Atiku. Now, as anyone could have predicted, the tussle is set to move to the Supreme Court.

    The flurry of election petitions that came after elections were conducted earlier in the year were expected. As at April 16th, when most of the elections had been concluded, the Court of Appeal revealed that a total of 766 petitions had been filed by politicians and their political parties. The Presidential Election Tribunal had received one ‘major’ petition from Atiku and a number of interlocutory applications, including preliminary objections.

    As the petition began to flesh out at the tribunal, it became apparent that there were two main issues on which Atiku and PDP’s action relied. They are the issue of President Muhammadu Buhari’s educational qualification and the issue of existence (or non-existence) of a central server at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. These two issues were subject to pre-judgement analysis and conclusions by legal practitioners and non-lawyers outside the tribunal for months. Despite the lay and expert opinions on the issues, it was the tribunal’s decision that was vital. And last Wednesday, it went in favour of the president.

    Read Also: Tackling the presidential tribunal’s legal technicalities

    More comments have poured in after the tribunal’s judgement, with clearly differing reactions as is wont to happen in a case such as this. For those that are consciously or unconsciously in Atiku’s camp, the judgement is seen as a travesty and a miscarriage of justice that has reduced proof of educational qualification to a mere sworn affidavit that can be obtained in a court for 500 naira. For others, the tribunal has finally put to bed the absurd petition against the results of the 2019 presidential election.

    Whichever way one swings on the issue, it is doubtful that the petition has been a constructive judicial exercise. The benefits to Nigerian law from the petition and its result is minute, to say the least. The lawyers on both sides, especially those on the side of the petitioner, had reduced an issue of national significance to an incongruous debate and a comedy of errors through their spurious allegations and absurd defence put up against them. The election petition was a case of lawyers earning their fees by all means necessary, to the exclusion of logic and national duty to the law and the flag of Nigeria.

    To begin with, section 131 and 137 of the constitution is clear about qualifications for a person standing for election as president. Specifically, and most relevant to the first issue of qualification, section 131 (d) of the constitution states that a person shall be qualified for election to the office of President, amongst other things, if “he has been educated up to at least the School Certificate level or its equivalent”. Section 318 (1) of the constitution further defines “school certificate or its equivalent” in sub section (b) and (c) as “(b) education up to secondary school certificate level; or (c) primary six school leaving certificate or its equivalent”; and (i) service in the public or private sector in the federation in any capacity acceptable to INEC for a minimum of ten years and (ii) attendance of courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to INEC totalling up to a minimum of one year.

    That section continues, to include ability to read, write and communicate in English as part of the criteria to satisfy the requirement for “school certificate or its equivalent”. As the president’s primary school education was never in issue, and as such not contested, the question of educational qualification should have been dropped instantly. The constitution is clear. That alone should have put the matter to rest without reading on to the other provisions which the president clearly fulfills. In other words, as the president’s lawyers clearly stated, the question of his secondary school certificate was immaterial.

    Military training in Nigeria and overseas (taught in English) and public service in different capacities for many years, including as Commander-in-Chief, albeit through extra-judicial means, clearly surpasses any assumed equivalent of “school certificate”. To have launched into a full scale legal argument on that moot point, Atiku’s lawyers not only took their client for a ride, but they took the entire nation for the same frivolous ride. As the courts would say, they seemed to be “on a frolic of their own” in their attempt to justify their exorbitant fees, the figures of which will drop jaws outside legal circles.

    The issue of servers brought to light the dubiousness of INEC’s lawyers. The existence of the server was flatly denied. That strange denial was both a disservice to the country and a disrespect of the courts. If the judiciary and all the lawyers involved were serious, it should have led to a charge of perjury, in the least. Without regard to whether the electoral law provides for the transmission and collation of results to/through a server – which the tribunal judged in the negative – there was a greater obligation on INEC and its lawyers to use that opportunity to furnish the country with details of its operations and the direction it is taking electoral reform.

    But INEC and its lawyers chose to rubbish the testimony of people who took part in the exercise and transmitted data through the card readers. It is one thing to say that the servers were not used for collation or were not a legally required part of the process, it is another to flatly deny the existence. Anyone in the world of technology knows that data must be transmitted to a central point which could be regarded as the “server”. In a case of national importance, it was an egregious move to lie about this.

    The other issues of electoral malpractice are notoriously difficult to prove in a presidential election in Nigeria. The volume of evidence required because of manual processes is almost impossible to acquire, and the time truly needed, prohibitive. This is why lawyers routinely dump documents on the court, as in this case. As it appears from the current position of the law, only self-incrimination and confessions can lead to a successful contest of a presidential election. Much judicial time would be saved if the lawyers are truthful to their clients. It is not an accident that no presidential election contested since 1999 has succeeded. It is unlikely that Atiku and PDP will be the exception, even in the face of the egregious denial by INEC.

    The foundations of the case against President Muhammadu Buhari’s election were shaky. To add to that, truth and logic had been suspended in the case, with personal attacks that defied logic. From the frivolous contest of the president’s certificate by Atiku’s lawyers, to the absurd argument over Atiku’s nationality by the president’s lawyers, the tribunal was an exercise in futility, made worse by INEC’s slap on the face of Nigerians about the server. In all of this, the country and its legal jurisprudence lost woefully.

    In the end, what was really on trial was the integrity of the lawyers that were involved in the case. On all sides, they failed the test and the tribunal failed to rebuke them accordingly. The Supreme Court now has the opportunity to call them out. It will not change the outcome of the election, but it will go a long way in pushing a much needed self-appraisal on the part of the lawyers.

  • More valuable than you think

    I once read the story of a teacher who stood before a class full of students and showed them a hundred Dollar bill in mint condition. He asked if anyone wanted it and instantly, all hands were up, indicating that they wanted the money. He said “hold on a moment”, and he squeezed the money in his hand thereby making it pretty rough. He straightened out the bill and showed it to the students; it didn’t look as good as it did before. He asked them, “who wants this one hundred Dollar bill?” Once again, all the students indicated interest.

    “Just a minute” he said, as he dropped the money on the floor and stamped on it several times. The students watched wide-eyed, wondering what their teacher was up to. Finally, he picked up the money with the tip of his fingers as if trying to avoid dirtying his hands, and looked at the faces of his students. Then he asked again, “Now, who still wants this money?” For the third time, all hands were up. He smiled and said, “I squeezed the money and I stamped on it. It is no more as attractive as it used to be. Why do you still want it?” One of the students responded, “for as long as the money remains in one piece, its value doesn’t change irrespective of what you do to it”.

    The story above is very instructive. Some people have been through such difficult times that they no longer believe they are worth much. From the story, we can learn that:

    • Your appearance is not your worth: there are some people you come across; a single look at them will show that they have experienced several challenges in life. But hey, look is not everything. The students in the story were smart enough to know that the dirt on the hundred Dollar bill won’t matter seconds after they have used it to buy what they wanted. They saw through the dirt to see the worth. Your looks don’t define you. Anything that is external is temporary. Clean or dirty; your worth remains intact. You just have to look within you and let the light shine out.
    • Your circumstances cannot destroy your value: You were born with a gift and situations can’t change that. Perhaps you have been so disadvantaged for so long that you are beginning to accept it as your natural state. You shouldn’t do that! A piece of gold or diamond in its natural state is unattractive and may remain in the ground like that for years until it is found. That doesn’t make it less gold or diamond. Unfortunately, some gold or diamond may never be found and they remain underground where they will never be useful to anyone. You don’t have to accept your situation as your reality because situations are, by nature, capable of changing.
    • It is not what you are but what you make out of it that matters: the students in the story did not focus on what the money is, which is dirty; rather, they focused on what they could make out of it. You don’t know the value of a piece of wood until you give it to a gifted carver. You don’t know the value of a lump of clay until you give it to an expert sculptor. A piece of paper and a pen may appear ordinary but not in the hands of a skillful writer. A lot of things in life are really ordinary until the person who knows their value processes them. Discover your gift and acquire the skill to process it or it will remain ordinary. Knowledge bestows on us a new pair of eyes; when you discover what you’ve never known, you see what you’ve never seen.
    • Dirt is good: most people like to spend currency in mint condition but sometimes, the dirty notes are safer. The new notes need to be doubly certified to be genuine while the old notes have gone from hand-to-hand. If they have been in circulation for that long, they should have passed the authenticity test. If you have been battered by situations and you are still here, you must be stronger than you think. Several people didn’t make it this far but you did. Your experiences have deposited some virtues in you. It is time to turn your challenges into the raw material for your greatness. Several bread recipes recommend punching down the dough to release air so that we can knead it and form loaves. The punching you have received is to bring something beautiful out of your life.

    Thanks for reading my article today. I would really love to hear from you. So, do share your views with me by sending SMS to 07034737394, visiting www.olanreamodu.com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu. Remember, you are currently nothing compared to what you can become. This can be your year if you want it to be!

  • Fresh FM wins best radio station award

    Ibadan-based radio station Fresh 105.9FM, has clinched the award of the Best Radio Station of the Year.

    The station, owned by renowned musician, Dr. Yinka Ayefele, beat nine other stations to clinch the position at the 13th edition of the Nigeria Media Nite-Out Awards (NMNA) which held on Sunday at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

    It was a big achievement for the four-year-old radio station, being the first station to win the award outside Lagos State.

    A Director in the company, Mr. David Ajiboye, said he was  elated that the station could win such a highly- coveted award within four years.

    “When we were adjudged the best radio station in the Southwest, we thought we’ve reached the pinnacle,” he said.

    “But with this now, it means we need to work harder so we can still retain it next year. We’ve seen television stations winning it back-to-back, so, I will say this award will only prepare us to work harder so it won’t be a one-off thing.”

    Other stations nominated alongside Fresh FM in the Radio Station of the Year category were Najia FM, Lagos, Sobi FM, Ilorin, Express Radio, Kano, Coal City FM, Enugu, Albarka FM, Bauchi, Max FM, Lagos, Freedom FM, Abuja, Peoples FM, Bayelsa, Smooth FM and Inspiration FM, Lagos.

    The event was to celebrate those who have excelled and distinguished themselves in various fields of media.

  • Turning adversity into opportunity

    Refusing to let her physical disabilities hold her back, a physically-challenged entrepreneur, Miss Maria Gorrathy Iche, got involved in several activities before finding her calling in textiles. After studying Fine and Applied Arts at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, the indigene of Imo State has opened her own textile designing business. She shared her experience with DANIEL ESSIET.

    Miss Maria Gorrathy Iche, a Fine and Applied Arts graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, is an example of a lady who did not let her physical disability hinder the pursuit of her dreams. She had treatment for years, but she did not let her disability come in between her and his dreams.

    With her strong will power and dedication to succeed, she decided to study Fine and Applied Arts. Today, she is enjoying and making a living from it. She started her business with N20, 000 after her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2016. She has set an example for those who want to live their dreams.

    She has proved that disability could be turned into an opportunity. Her dedication has made her  a notable figure and a leading  textile designer within her local community in Imo State.

    Miss Iche has overcome all the odds to write her name in gold. She is making a living from textile designing. Her collection include handmade bags, assortment of dresses and beads.

    Speaking with The Nation, Miss Iche said she received help and support along the way.

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    For her: “There is something called opportunity. God sends it and you have to grab it. When opportunities fell in my lap, I grabbed them. It has made me who I am today.”

    After she enrolled for her Ordinary National Diploma (OND), she discovered her  interest  in fashion and passion for colours.

    Miss Iche said physically challenged entrepreneurs would continue to face challenges because the society had not shown them enough support. She faced rejection, but she soldiered on.

    She said it is her dream to see her craftsmanship celebrated on a national platform, saying this is what will bring her joy.

    She is determined to work with physically challenged artisans in villages across Imo State, if the government supports her.

    Her plan is to establish an organisation that provides scholarships to underprivileged students to pursue careers in textile design and bead making.

    Her goal is to provide longtime employment to local artisans who are contributing to collections that are relevant.

  • IPOB: Enemy of democracy

    The increasing notoriety of the IPOB, this time as an external terror group, is yet another baffling example of the rising profile of counter-democratic forces in Nigeria. Gone are the days when the most potent threat to democracy was the military coup. The barrel of the gun has now been effectively replaced by the brigandage of rogue civilian individuals and groups who absurdly insist on realizing their rabid political interests by undermining established constitutional democratic institutions and processes.

    IPOB exists on the extremist edge of such political derangement, possessed by the “actualization” of the dead and buried corpse of Biafran “nationality”, as its crazy cause.  Under the misguidance of Nnamdi Kanu, a queer non-entity who lived mostly in the UK as a south London DJ with dual British-Nigerian citizenship, IPOB, which rose from the debris of its predecessor MASSOB, took on the outlandish agenda of agitating for the “Independence and restoration of the defunct state of Biafra”.

    Coming almost four decades after the generality of Igbos had re-integrated themselves into the post-war “no victor, no vanquished” Nigeria as fellow citizens across the land, exhuming Biafra as a political objective was an unthinkable farce and an abominable re-opening of healing wounds of war. But there was clearly something sinister behind the emergence of Kanu, wearing a Jewish prayer shawl and claiming to be a Jew, while fanning embers of ethnic rebellion to dismember his fatherland in inciting broadcasts from his London-based Radio Biafra.

    It was no surprise that Kanu eventually focused on “guns and bullets” aimed at “Fulani herdsmen” before coming to Nigeria to, as it were, ignite the timed upheavals of provocative posturing against law enforcement and peaceful co-existence with his rapidly revitalized private army. He had no qualms in literally imposing his delusional leadership over the mandates of elected governors in his south-eastern pockets of influence and exhibiting daring defiance of court bail conditions and the wise counsel of respected elders and statesmen to exercise caution and restraint.

    Only the no-nonsense “Python Dance” military operation decisively ended Kanu’s disaster-seeking daydreams and forced him to take to his heels in a clandestine escape that not only betrayed the zombie-loyalty of his “troops” but also lent credence to his mercenary mission as an agent provocateur. More devastating however was the quandary in which he left the so-called Igbo leaders who, in their own moment of myopic opportunism, dramatically embraced the irreverent rebel as their “son” and facilitated his bail apparently for pre-election interests.

    The latest outing of Kanu’s IPOB followers in Europe as the terrifying enforcers of former Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu’s “Nuremburg Trials”, and threats to launch similar physical assaults against Igbo leaders, including elected governors, who visit Europe henceforth, is an indication of the IPOB determination to constitute an external and internal counterforce to the stability of our democracy. It has also been rightly viewed by Ohaneze Ndigbo and the southeast governors as a direct attack on their mandates as recognized leaders of the Igbo which could indeed challenge the sustainability of democracy in the southeast.

    The unsettling scenario of the potential danger that the activities of IPOB pose to the integrity and survival of Nigeria’s democratic dispensation takes on an ominous implication in the face of  Kanu and the IPOB’s glaring lack of credibility or popular mandate to so forcefully demand the actualization of Biafra. They willfully refuse to recognize the right of all Igbos to vote for or against the proposition, as stipulated in the constitution.

    If this is not akin to a coup d’etat in the making, it surely looks like one. In which case the federal government must take a renewed serious view and take necessary action to deal decisively with the looming threat to our democratic dispensation. Particular concern should be directed at the international dimension of the IPOB menace, especially the seemingly duplicitous stance of the British government , which provides a safe haven for Kanu and his Radio Biafra to launch attacks against the Nigerian state. Even when Kanu was in legal custody in Nigeria, he was visited by members of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. There must be more than meets the eye in Britain’s interest in an enemy of Nigeria it brought up and granted citizenship but refuses to call to order!

    It is worth restating that, notwithstanding the political heresy of advocating a Biafran “renaissance”, Kanu and his clique would not be seen as enemies of the nation state if they channeled their agitation through registered political parties and the National Assembly as they know they should instead of war-mongering and seeking to destabilize Nigeria. Their deliberate choice of counter-democratic pursuit of political aspiration exposes them as unapologetic saboteurs of the Nigerian state thereby deserving maximum deterrence by all means deemed fit.

     

    • Eshet writes from Calabar.