The Nation Newspaper

Tag: strength

  • Emerhor, Aguariavwodo, Dafinone test strength in Delta Central

    In 10 days, the man who will take over the vacant Delta Central seat in the Senate will emerge.

    The seat was vacated, following the death of the late Senator Pius Akpor Ewherido. The senatorial district is populated by the Urhobo, the largest ethnic nationality in Delta State. Three prominent Urhobo sons have emerged from different platforms to slug it out on October 5.

    Former House of Representatives member and ex-Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Olorogun Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, will fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ede Dafinone will vie on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and Olorogun O’tega Emerhor will fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The election is significant in many ways to the three major parties. For the PDP, it will be working to reverse the political deficit it suffered in the zone in 2011. Then, the late Ewherido, flying the flag of the DPP, trounced the PDP standard bearer, Chief Ighoyota Amori. That defeat left the PDP with two senators instead of a clean sweep of the available three seats in the state. Therefore, the PDP family in the state will bring everything to bear on the election, particularly, being the ruling party.

    As for the DPP, it faces the Herculean task of repeating the feat of the 2011 general elections. The DPP has established itself as the major opposition party in the state under the leadership of Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru.

    The APC is saddled with the challenge of keeping aglow the passion of the late Ewherido for his people. Ewherido, shortly before his death, joined the APC as a full-fledged member and emerged as the leader of the party in the state. As a testimony to his being fully accepted by the party, the 11 progressive governors of the party jointly mourned him in a full-page advertorial in major newspapers.

    Speaking to The Nation moments after he emerged the APC candidate yesterday, Emerhor, a financial and administrative guru, who has been involved in the politics of the state for a long time, said he was happy at the opportunity to fly the flag of the progressives, adding that the APC is the only credible alternative to accommodate the Urhobo and all progressives in Delta State. He promised a robust representation and said he would do everything possible to keep the dreams of the late Ewherido alive.

     

     

     

  • ‘Strengthen security’

    A group of professionals, known as Conference of Benue Journalists (CBJ), has called on the Federal Government to address the security challenges facing Benue and Nasarawa states.

    Its Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Iffer, said in a statement that it had become necessary to strengthen security in the rural areas of the states.

    The statement urged the government to act fast so as to stem the increasing insecurity situation in Benue and Nasarawa states.

    “We urge the Federal Government to quickly do all that is necessary in checking the growing security challenges facing the people of the states, especially those in the rural areas,” it said.

     

     

     

     

    The statement noted that between May and July, some communities had witnessed three major attacks, which left many people dead in Agatu and Guma local government areas of Benue.

    “It is sad that between May and July 2013 alone, we have seen three heavy attacks on Okpanchele and Ekwo in Agatu Local Government Area, and Akuloko in Guma council area.

    “Our fear is that if something is not urgently done to end this trend, we may experience food crisis in the country because these areas are mainly farming communities,” it said.

    The statement, however, commended Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue and Gov. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State for their efforts in checking the security situation in their states.

    It also commended the Federal Government for its decision to construct a by-pass from Doma, Nasarawa State, to Abuja, as well as the Makurdi-Lafia-Abuja dual carriageway.

    “It is our belief that when the projects are completed, carnage on the roads will reduce, while the people’s economic activities will improve.

    “We, however, want to plead with the Federal Government to extend the dual carriageway beyond Makurdi in order to cover Otukpo-Enugu road,’’ the statement said.

     

  • I have the strength to act but there are limitations — Ifeanyi Dike

    I have the strength to act but there are limitations — Ifeanyi Dike

    Actor, presenter, and chairman, Board of Trustees of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ifeanyi Dike, could best be described as the proverbial cat with nine lives. After surviving two kidney transplants, he has since returned from India and is back to work in the guild. In this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, Prince Dike opens up on his past health challenges and also shares his experience in India as regards their film industry.

     

     

    NOW that you are back, hale and hearty as you say, what are the things we should be expecting?

    I am putting finishing touches to my programme. It will be starting this month. I want to believe that God has shown me the light. It’s a potpourri programme. It’s going to be a Talkshow. Its focus is going to be on sport, business, interviews, national issues. These are things I’m going to be doing on the programme. ‘The Sunday Delight’ is a potpourri Magazine Talkshow, every Sunday on NTA Channel 10 in Lagos. It’s going to be wonderful because I’m bringing some ideas from India and blending them with Nigerian ideas and you are going to see something wonderful. It’s all about entertainment.

    Are you still going back to acting?

    Of course, I want to start acting. I am now a dreamer (laughs). I want to take up roles people like Ramsey Nouah can do (laugh) but not action movie because I have limitations. There are things I cannot do.

    Concerning the Board of Trustees of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, are you still the chairman?

    I cannot answer that question. This question is better directed to the members of AGN and they will tell you who their chairman is.

    If you look at the industry, you will see it has been going through a lot of changes.

    Having spent quite some time in India, how would you rate our kind of production here compared to theirs?

    Like in India, I was opportune to meet with some of their big directors. There is this director Harman Baweja. He owns a studio. In fact, I’m a member. I’m a live member of the studio right now. They inaugurated me at the studio and it was wonderful. The thing is that the government of India supports their movie industry so well that you can go and borrow money and shoot your movie. When I got to India, I discovered that the population is very large and that if you bring a movie and convert it to Indie language you are going to make so much money. I’m even planning towards that. In fact, I did some research and some people already have started bringing their movie for me to translate.

    I have an India man that does that. They will translate from any language into Indie, then they will now take it to the cinemas. They have over thirty-two thousand cinemas. Imagine where you show your movies in about thirty-two thousand cinemas. When you show your movie in 32,000 cinemas, you will come back to Nigeria and money will be falling from all over your body. You can even charter a private plane and come back to Nigeria. The culture of cinema is lost here. People are afraid of gangsters and the rest of them. It’s only in places like Silverbird that you can go and watch a movie. But you see, the point is we should try as much as possible to guide this industry because it is employing a lot of people.

    Nollywood is employing a lot of people, so government should deal with the guild and association in the industry. I learnt that government gave us 3billion naira. It’s only in the papers that we see this money. We have not seen it. And before you know it, one thing about life is that you don’t dangle carrot to people that are desperate. Before the carrot falls they will kill themselves. What you should do is deal with the guilds. They know who to work with. Don’t deal with people that feel they have connection. Because one thing I know in this country is that if I have connection I can work into the presidency and collect something. There are people that are elected. You should deal with the people’s choice. That is why we have election in the Actors Guild of Nigeria, in the association.

    Deal with the guild, they will then show you producers you can deal with. They can tell you which producer owes actors. Some producers are owing actors. They are owing them and are not even willing to pay. Unfortunately too, most of the actors don’t sign contracts. They don’t sign contracts because they want to appear in movies. They are so desperate. In fact, they even go to the extent of saying remove so, so and so and put me there, I will do it for free. At the end of the day, they will start to complain, they didn’t pay me. Why would they pay you when you are desperate? People should learn how to sign contracts. There is a written contract paper from the guild that every actor must take to every audition.

    If they accept you, you give them the contract papers and ask them to please sign, but most of them (actors) don’t want us to know how much they are being paid. They don’t bother to pick up the contract forms because any money they pay you, you are supposed to pay some to the association. Most of our stars don’t even pay dues, you won’t believe it. So what are we saying?

    From what you just said about the association and the N3b, it is obvious that it could lead to quarrel?

    It won’t lead to quarrel. I just said something; when you deal with the wrong person, that is when it could lead to quarrel. But if you deal with the right people, the association, they are registered by the government, you minimise the chances of a quarrel. You know the story of tortoise. Tortoise went to an event and said my name is ‘Everybody’ while everybody kept shouting my name is this, my name is that.

    They now said everybody come and take. Tortoise now said my name is ‘Everybody’; I’m the one they called. Money that was supposed to be meant for everybody, tortoise now took the money. So, we don’t want ‘Everybody’ in Nollywood (laughs).

    You’ve recuperated quite alright, but definitely some of your lifestyle will have to give way…

    Everybody is prone to sickness whether you have a lifestyle or not. The issue is that just pray to God that you don’t get sick, because once you get sick a lot of people will attribute that sickness to a lot of things. Those that don’t even know you will say all sorts. Let me tell you my sister, a lot of people created stories around me that at times I wonder if they know me personally; if they have sat with me. They used to say that I drink one bottle of Hennessey and I wondered when I read or heard stuff like this because I don’t even taste hot.

    But the point is that when you are sick and have issues, Nigerians will always talk as if they know you but they don’t know you. The point is that whatever lifestyle I’m living now, I think this thing I went through is a way of making me limit some things because there are some food I cannot eat now that I used to enjoy. And now I’m a born again. You have to be. You have no choice because when God has called you back while you were walking through the valley of the shadow of death and says my son come back, you have no choice than to serve Him.

    My life is tilted towards that angle now. I talk more of things that will uplift the spirit, you know. And I now appreciate human beings more. I now appreciate life better now. You know in those days, you see somebody eating something and you say, oh boy don’t eat this thing o. The usual response is abeg, something must kill a man. Nobody should say that because if that death comes you will run. For goodness’ sake, the grave yard is not better, be alive.

    Is it right to say you are the proverbial cat with nine lives?

    If there is something bigger than a ‘cat’, that’s what I am. People look at me and wonder. In fact, I’m a miracle. I’m a working miracle. If you are sick and you touch me you will be healed. I’m serious because at times if I pronounce something it happens. God just loves me in a special way because I don’t deserve His love. I’m humbled with all that has happened to me.

    Was there a time you ever thought you won’t survive it?

    The advice I have for everybody is that once you are sick, don’t lose hope. The body might be weak but my mind was at its optimal state. I was sick and making plans. When you are sick and you shot your brain from making plans, death is coming close. But if you keep making plans, you are projecting into the future, you want to see tomorrow. And once you project into the future, your mind and soul take you there.

    The only thing is that the body is weak, you now pray to God, heal this body so that the soul can be what it is destined to be. Let me tell you one thing, will you take it? If you want to buy a car now, believe that you own a car. Just believe it. It is as simple as ABC; just believe you own a car, even if you don’t have money. Pick your colour and if you see someone driving one, appreciate it, don’t make unpleasant remarks, before you know it, the car is yours. God will be put you in a position to get the car or someone might even dash you. That’s how life is. That is how life is, but the thing is that we are filled with negative thoughts that good things cannot enter.

    How active have you been in AGN since your return?

    We finished the board meeting the other day and I was briefed on how they’ve been running things and I want to really commend the people I left everything to. They are wonderful. While I was in India they kept praying for me, they kept relating with me, sending text messages of encouragement and that was what I needed. Right now we are moving into the new scheme of things and we are going to bring about some changes.

    So much about work, tell us about the home front?

    I have a wonderful wife. In fact, if I come again, that’s the wife I want because she’s so wonderful. It’s true. I have a friend of mine that was challenged too, his wife abandoned him and he died. My wife didn’t abandon me. She was there, crying, going to my friends. Not a lot of women will do that and she’s a pretty woman, do you understand what I’m saying? But she stood back and now she’s wearing the crown. Everyone is saying you are a wonderful woman. And that is what every woman should really do because it’s for “better for worse”, not for “better for stay” and for “worse for go.”

  • Nigerian federation: Gaining strength from a weak position

    Nigerian federation: Gaining strength from a weak position

    Text of Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s speech during the nation’s Independence Anniversary

     

    Today, we are celebrating the 52nd Independence Anniversary of our country, Nigeria. While every anniversary of a great nation like Nigeria is worth celebrating, it is an obvious fact that 52 is not a landmark figure. That probably is responsible for the low-key events marking the occasion across the country. Few days ago, as I was ruminating over the obvious declining enthusiasm which the celebration of the Independence Anniversary has witnessed in recent years, my mind flashed to the fact that in two years time, we will be celebrating the Centenary Anniversary of the creation of the territory called Nigeria, following the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates by Lord Lugard in 1914.

    Thus, in 2014, there will be need to take a retrospective and introspective look into the last 100 years of the existence of the geographical entity called Nigeria and how well it has served the purpose of its founding fathers. We may also use the opportunity to do a prospective assessment of what we want to make of the future of our country.

    First, there are those who believe that the 98 year-old exercise which led to the creation of a large country out of the merger of seemingly different peoples from the Southern and Northern Protectorates was a mistake, an anomaly and the genesis of our problems as a country. The subscribers to this theory are those who continue to harp on the quote (often out of context) by one of our late nationalists that Nigeria is ‘a mere geographical expression’. However, I beg to disagree with the position that Nigeria is still anything but a country. Ours is a unique country with all potentials to neutralise the imperfections of its creation. In any case, from the experience of other federations, a federal structure is always a work-in-progress, a continuous negotiation among the federating units as well as the centre and the units. So, there is no cause for pessimism about Nigeria’s structural future. Let us look towards brighter days of the workings of the Nigerian federalism.

    It may be true that the colonialists merged two protectorates for administrative convenience and to create a viable, large and strong trade out-post for their companies, but God in His infinite mercies has given us all it takes to achieve greatness from a weak position, to rise from the debilitating design crafted by the colonial masters and to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. That is why this same God who made imperialism possible has also ensured that more and more wealth creating resources continued to be discovered in our country – Nigeria.

    From what is supposed to be a mistake and selfish, parochial agenda of the colonialists, today we have the most populated black African country, and by inference a large potential market for goods and services. Today, we have a diverse country which allows for plurality of ideas, culture, religion, resources, people and environmental factors. Today, we are one of the biggest world oil producing countries. We have some of Africa’s best managed banks. We have a Nobel laureate and one of the most vibrant arts and entertainment industries. The first television station in Africa and one of the first five in the world was established here in Nigeria. The manpower potentials of this nation are so enormous that we have produced world beaters in so many areas: science, sports, economy, arts, business, diplomacy and others.

    We have successfully pulled through a terrible civil war in which thousands of people died and the thread of unity of the country was strained up to the breaking point. On many occasions, the federating units were aggrieved over certain issues and many thought the country would disintegrate. Yet, on every occasion that our country got close to breaking point, we always find a way of pulling back from the precipice. What all these reflect is the tenacity and determination to survive as a country. It shows that Nigerians – or to put it more poignantly, the various federating units or ethnic groups, have decided to live together as a united nation to take all the advantages derivable from a large country with huge population, extensive land mass and variety of resources.

    From the above, it is therefore noticeable that what is needed at this point is for us to re-examine our federal system (since a federal arrangement is the best for a country with plurality of culture, language and ethnic nationalities) and create a strong arrangement which allows each of the federating units to plan its development in a way that is unique to its socio-cultural peculiarity. The question that should confront all of us as we move into the centenary celebration is: How do we make our federal system work for the benefit of the overwhelming majority of our people? This question is now more pertinent as our National Assembly is going into yet another round of constitutional review process.

    I am inclined to say that our present constitution itself is a bulwark against the emergence of a workable federal system. A constitution which in its exclusive list includes almost all items is definitely not promoting federalism. The present constitutional provisions on creation of local government areas make it impossible for more of these third tier-governments to be created while the present arrangement confers undue advantage on some states and skew the revenue sharing arrangement in favour of such states. This problem is already stoking the debate that creation of local government should be a wholly state affair and that it should be included in the residual list.

    Also, there is need to encourage fiscal federalism in our country. The revenue collection and allocation system needs to be reviewed to address the grievances of the states where revenue generation activities are concentrated. For example, states should be allowed to collect Value Added Tax on goods and services sold in their domains. Such states can then remit certain agreed percentage to the Federal Government. The present arrangement in which all mineral resources found in the states are under the control of the Federal Government does not augur well for the growth of federalism.

    In the same vein, a situation where Trunk A roads designated as federal roads and in various degrees of disrepair dot the landscape of our country will not aid development. Some of these roads have not witnessed any repair or maintenance in the past two decades. Truth is, no state government worth its salt will wait and watch while its residents suffer while using so-called federal roads. That is why in Ogun State our guiding philosophy about such federal roads located in our territory is that there are no federal residents or citizens, those citizens are localised in one state either by residence or origin. Thus, whatever intervention we have to make, we quickly do.

    Another example of the failure of our present federal arrangement becomes evident in the security situation. While governors are called chief security officers of their respective states, the Nigeria Police command structure, deployment of personnel and other operational modalities are centrally controlled by the Federal Government. Yet, state governments bear the burden of equipping the police and other security agencies as well as providing necessary financial support for their daily operations. That is why those canvassing the establishment of state police have a basis for their position. The reality on ground in the states have already forced their governments to have modified forms of state police with the various ‘Operation This and That’ being created and funded by the respective state governments.

    There are many other issues which we need to examine critically towards rejuvenating our federal system. For example, we should redirect our leadership evolutionary process so that it can be based on competition of ideas and quality of candidates, instead of where a person comes from. These are some of the basic issues that I believe we need to start discussing so as to build the much-needed consensus before 2014, the year of our centenary celebration. May God bless our great country – Nigeria.

    •Amosun, a chartered accountant, is Governor of Ogun State.

     

  • FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: ‘Flamingoes’ strength too much for us’

    FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: ‘Flamingoes’ strength too much for us’

    24 hours after Azerbaijan’s 11-0 bashing by Nigeria’s Flamingoes at the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, skipper of the side Amina Heydarova has confessed that the Peter Devebo girls were the superior side.

    Speaking with FIFA official website on Wednesday, Heydarova congratulated the Flamingoes for their different brand of soccer.

    “Their (Flamingoes) physical strength was too much for us.That was the great difference between the first and the second game, Nigeria were more powerful than the Colombians. But as you saw in both our previous games we fight until the end,” she said.

    Their swansong at Azerbaijan 2012 will see them face a Canada side that will be looking for at least a point to be certain of qualification for the quarter-finals. While Heydarova still thinks they can beat the Canadians when they meet at Dalga Arena, it is clear her confidence has been knocked.

    Though she never forgets the pride she feel by representing her country as captain, there have been happier times during the two years since the Azeribaijan U-17 women’s team was born for Heydarova. One particular occasion was during a friendly series against Latvia.

    “We played with them twice, winning both times – it was part of our warm-up for the World Cup. Seing Sissy’s joy, cheer and happiness was fantastic. I’ll never forget it.”

    Ultimately she is still driven to push on and represent her country for years to come and remains filled with the fire to succeed. “Of course [I want to play on as a senior]. I’m not working like a Trojan to stop it at the end of the tournament! I’m working hard to become a more talented, experienced player and hopefully I’ll become one,” she added.