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  • How my husband and I ‘connect’ even though we travel a lot—Ex- Lagos NIPR chair Nkechi Ali-Balogun

    Nkechi Ali-Balogun was the former chairperson of the Nigerian Institute for Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos Chapter, for two terms. She is also the Principal Consultant/CEO of NECCI Consult, which designs corporate public relations for organisations for optimum bottomline results. She spoke with VICTOR OLUWASEGUN on her work and personality. Excerpts:

    YOU’RE the principal consultant and CEO of NECCI Consults, what does the acronym stand for?

    There is no acronym, it’s just my name.

    A literature I read said you’ve had more than 20 years’ experience in providing solutions to management problems. What kind of solutions to what manner of management problems?

    We’re into training and PR consultancy and it comes with different issues; all we do is to provide solutions. For instance, the programme that just ended is our company’s way of providing solutions to an organisational problem. It depends on the issues. We’re into change management, crisis management; were into profiling branding, training. So whatever issues that come that relate to any of these, we try to provide very effective solutions.

    From your name, Nkechi, it’s apparent that you’re Ibo and you’re married to Mr. Alli Balogun, how did that happen?

    It happened just like every relationship; man meets woman, dates the woman and marries her, that was how it happened.

    You headed the Corporate Affairs Departments of the defunct Equatorial Trust Bank and the NEXIM Bank, how did that go?

    It went very well, it was a good experience and it laid the foundation for what I’m doing today. I started with NTA. It was from NTA that I went to NEXIM. It was from NEXIM that I actually started my public relations journey. So, I was a pioneer staff in NEXIM and I started the public affairs function of the department. And from there, we started the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, and in that regard, it helped to cast the path that I’m following today.

    What was your experience as chairperson of NIPR like?

    It was 2005 to 2009, two tenures as the chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos Chapter. It was quite illuminating because it was an eye- opening experience. It was something that helped to align my leadership focus. And then, it also helped me to understand a lot of gender issues. And it also helped me to understand public relations more.

    You’ve been consulting for MTN for some time now, was that a chance occurrence or what?

    I would say it was a chance occurrence because the first time I did it, an agency invited me and since then, we have worked together. Coming here was a chance, but I think we have been able to show that we can deliver, otherwise, we would not have been invited again.

    You’re a Ph.D student at the University of Lagos. Are you considering an eventual career in lecturing?

    I love lecturing. I actually started my life career as a teacher. And if you look at what I do, I have not really moved away from lecturing. So, I don’t mind ending my career as a lecturer.

    You won the Golden Eagle Award as the most outstanding Public Relations Practitioner from the NIPR, Lagos. And also, the Red Living Legend Industry Award in recognition of your outstanding contributions to the media industry in West Africa. How did that make you feel?

    It’s fulfilling, but at the same time, it keeps you on your toes because you know that somebody is watching, and that you’re somehow a role model for some upcoming ones. So, you’re careful because you don’t want to reduce the bar; you want to raise the bar all the time. You don’t want to fall short of the award that you have been given.

    You first had a degree in English/ Education, then a Masters in Mass Communication and subsequently a Diploma in Marketing and a MBA. Was it the education thing that swayed you into teaching? And then, what did you teach?

    I taught English and History. I actually love teaching. I love the fact that I’m able to impact knowledge. I love children. And I see children as coming in to the world blank. It’s like you’re planting a seed. You see the seed grow. That was my passion for teaching. Unfortunately, with the first dispensation of democracy, I think with the free education in Lagos State, there was a bit of mix up in education. But I think the selection system was not quite fine tuned. The class became so rowdy and all that; people Iike us couldn’t manage a rowdy class. I was very young, so I had to leave. But I didn’t really leave because teaching is my passion. I had to find my passion in other areas. I now know that I’m a people person; so, wether in teaching, as long as I’m interacting with people…  So, public relations came as an answer to finding my passion, because I was still relating with people.

    As a mother, wife and a career person, how do you combine the three?

    So far, so good, I have learnt in my life to balance what I do; knowing what is priority for me. My family comes first in everything that I do. Sometimes, yes, I have to bend a little. Everybody who knows me knows that my family is very important and every other thing is secondary.

    Obviously, you must do a lot of travelling in your career, what does your husband think of this?

    My husband is very supportive; he encourages me. He too does some travelling, but we have a way of connecting. Sometimes, we travel together. But we never really miss out on anything, especially these days that we have phones, Facebook, Skype, we’re always talking. I think we’re always connecting.

    Is there a philosophy of life that guides your daily living?

    What guides my everyday living is to put a smile on another person’s face because when I do that, I’ll be fulfilling one of God’s promises in my life.

    Do you have a mentor, somebody you look up to for guidance, even behavioral emulation?

    Without sounding arrogant, the only person I have is God.

    Nobody living on this planet?

    That’s why I said without “without sounding arrogant” I watch people, I learn a lot from them. But I have not really sat down to ask myself who is my mentor, who is my role model? I find people who do great things; I copy from them. I copy a lot, especially when the things are good. But I have never really attached myself to anybody as a role model. It’s not arrogance; I just didn’t get to do it.

    So, those that you copy from are not worthy of mention?

    There are people who inspire me…

    So, who are those that inspire you?

    There are lots of women who inspire me. That have done great things that I couldn’t dream of doing. But seeing them, I just realised that “oh, that was possible”. I could mention Oby Ezekwesili, Ibukun Awosika, you know. There are some market women in my area that I look at and say “wow! I wish I could do that!” I could go that high and I could go that low. So, as long as you’re doing something that impacts on society, you could be a role model for me.

    You’re the founder of Rights Initiative Project?

    It’s an NGO about the rural poor. We just tried to empower the rural poor.

    What about the Filles Du Roi Fellowship for Matured Singles, of which you’re the founder/minister?

    It’s a Christian Fellowship for Mature Singles. We try to encourage mature singles and assist them to make the right decisions.

    What determines your sense of dressing?

    My dress sense? My purse and sense of style.

    You’re also founder/ CEO, Lydia Christian Business Women Network. What is that about again?

    Well, that’s not running anymore. It’s a programme under Filles Du Roi Fellowship. We tried to encourage church entrepreneurs and empower them. We also tried to raise money, give them little funds to start small businesses. We used to do three days’ skill acquisitions every year. I used to fund it on my own. It got too expensive, I didn’t find another sponsor. So, we stopped doing it on that scale. But I still do it on my own. Just as a small individual.

    What is your advice to upcoming business people like yourself?

    Please, continue doing what you’re doing that are impacting people positively. There are lots of people who need help. If you have it, please give it because somebody needs it; it will help and save a life.

  • KINSMEN AT WAR: HOW CHIEFTAINCY, LAND TUSSLES TORE BENUE COMMUNITY APART

    After surviving series of mindless attacks in the hands of murderous herdsmen, the relative peace enjoyed in Aila, one of the communities making up Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, appears to have been shattered. The kinsmen, who earlier worked together to defend the community against external aggression, recently engaged in a bloody communal clash which led to the brutal killing of many residents and vandalisation of over 100 houses. Many families have consequently scattered with many parents not knowing the children’s whereabouts. INNOCENT DURU reports.

    After fighting hard together with his kinsmen to bring about lasting peace in Aila, one of the Agatu Local Government Areas ravaged by killer herdsmen’s attacks,  87-year -old Pa Adamu Olotu, had one wish for his agrarian community and that was never to see the community attacked and the blood of his people spilled again.

    Beyond wishing for a lasting peace in his community, the octogenarian made deliberate and frantic efforts to ward off any further bloody attacks against Aila.

    Unfortunately for the ex-military man, the wish soon vanished a like vapour as the community once again witnessed another round of killings and wanton destruction of houses and other valuables by its own people. The recent communal clash which has left the community desolate, was said to have been triggered by chieftaincy and land tussles between opposing clans making up the community.

    “We were at home when the disgruntled clans invaded our homes with guns and other dangerous weapons. They struck around 5pm and threw the entire area into confusion as they started shooting and burning houses. I was sleeping when I heard the gunshots. I am a retired military officer and it was my military experience that helped me to survive the onslaught.

    “The attackers killed my younger brother, Bakwo, in the process and also killed one of his sons, Jumo. They burnt my house and everything in it. As I am talking with you now, I don’t have anything again, not even a shirt. The one I am wearing now was given to me by a friend.”

    Regretting that his desire for his community to enjoy lasting peace has been shattered, Olotu said:  “After narrowly surviving the herdsmen’s menace and trying to start life afresh, it is unfortunate that our own people chose to return the community to the days of mindless killings. My wish that the lives of our people would not be wasted on the altar of needless clashes has gone with the wind.

    “I am completely helpless as I am talking with you now. I only look forward to God for assistance.  The government has not intervened because they believe it is a communal clash.”

    Much as he loved to live and possibly die in his hometown, the old man who is taking refuge in Odugbehan, a neighbouring community that is about 10 kilometeres away from Aila, was not elated when asked by this reporter if he would want to go back home soon.  “There is no hope of when to go back home for now. We can’ t just contemplate going back home because the people that attacked us are still much around in our area.  They are armed to the teeth and would not hesitate to murder anyone that crosses their path.

    “The annoying thing is that a member of that clan that is attacking us is a public office holder. When the crisis started, he came and told us not  run to away but we didn’t know it was a ploy to facilitate our extermination.  We want the government to do something drastic about this to prevent further spilling our people’s blood. Enough is enough. We have never enjoyed quality period of peace all along.  It has been crisis, from herdsmen’s attacks to attacks by members of our community.  Enough of this,” he said.

    Another member of the community, who gave his name as  Seidu Adamu, was enveloped by emotion as he also narrated how his cousin was brutally murdered during the attack. “They burn my house and killed my cousin, called Ngbede.  We were both running away from the assailants but he wasn’t as lucky as I was.  They caught up with him and murdered him in his cold blood.

    “My family is scattered now.  I have lost my means of livelihood and don’t know how to survive.  I have resorted to begging for food because there is no alternative for now. Our children have not been going to school. How can they go to school when we are talking about how to survive hunger and the unfortunate situation we have found ourselves?”

    Seidu called on the government to make sure that justice is done to assuage the pains of victims of the communal clash.

    A female, Rukiya Adamu, did not lose any of her relations in the attack but she is in deep sorrow as she still does not know the whereabouts of two of her children. The development, she said, causes her heartache because she is always thinking about them.  “I still don’t know the whereabouts of two of my children. We all ran in different directions when the attackers came.

    “How do I explain the disappearance of two children? I want my children back. I always imagine them calling and wondering why I am not responding to their calls. Their unknown whereabouts causes me heartache every minute because I am always pondering on where they could be and what they could be going through at the moment. The assailants have caused me untold sorrow. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the government to help me find my children.”

    The embattled mother added: “The attackers also burnt our house and all our belongings.  We have no roof to lay our heads if eventually we are asked to go back home today. Unfortunately for us, we can’t go back home because our land is a no go area for now. The killers are still there waiting for us to come back so that they can behead us.”

    The wobbly sprinting from Aila to Agatu would remain indelible in the mind of Aishatu Megida. For a very long time, she had not had any reason to run over a long distance. But when the assailants stormed her area that fateful day, Aishatu said she didn’t know where the energy came from to do the 10-kilometer race to Odugbehan.

    Her words: “I can’t count the number of times I fell down running from Aila to Odugbehan, which is about 10 kilometres. My body is full of injuries as a result of falling down at different times. Once I fell down, I would quickly stand up and continue running to avoid being caught and murdered by the blood-thirsty people who never care if their victims are children, women, elderly able of disabled.”

    30-year-old Salatu Haruna expressed sadness for the return of mindless killing to the community.  Sharing her experience, he said: “I was at home when they stormed the community and started shooting. I couldn’t wait to get my wife and children to escape with me.  Each one of us fled the community without informing the other. We didn’t anticipate the attack at all.

    “Most of us are yet to overcome the shock we suffered after the attack. We have lost the little we have been able to put together after the herdsmen attack. I feel so sad that this happening at a time we are hoping and praying that the days of bloodletting should not return to Agatu Local Government again.”

    Apart from adults, some children also relived their narrow escape from the bloody-thirsty invaders. A seven-year- old girl, who gave her name simply as  Patience, said: “ I ran into the bush when I heard gunshots. It didn’t even occur to me to look for my parents when the agents of death came knocking at our door.  It was a terrible experience because I had to be waddling through the thick bush. Thorns were piercing my body but I just couldn’t stop because it was better for thorns to pierce me than for bullets to hit me.

    “My pain is that we would not be able to write examinations for the term that is about ending. Our exams were to start at the beginning of the week but we can’t take part in it.”

    It was also a tale of woe for eight-year-old Bartholomew who said he still hears the sounds of gunshots and always is traumatised by them.   “When I heard the gunshots, I only saw my peers running and had to join them. We ran into the bush and kept running until we got to Odugbehan. I still feel like I am hearing sounds of gunshots. They traumatise me and I am scared of going back home. I feel the disturbing experience would continue to traumatise me.”

    Giving a hint about the cause of the clash, a survivor, Bala Haruna, said: “The problem was caused by chieftaincy and land matters. We had no weapon to fight back or repel them when they came. All we could do was to flee our fatherland to avoid being killed. We are poor farmers who do not have the means to purchase weapons. All we can do is appeal to the government to intervene so that the challenge of insecurity in our community would come to an end.

    “If the government does not intervene, they would continue to kill us. As we speak now, the academic life of our children has been badly affected because they can’t go to school not to talk of joining their peers to write promotion exams.”

    But a  leader of one of the clans, who did not want his name in print in a telephone interview with The Nation, said the clash was caused solely by chieftaincy tussle.

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    “It has been only one community that had been ruling. After sometime, the government came up with a law that established district heads that should rotate among the different communities making up Aila.  But the clan that caused this recent problem refused to accept that principle of rotation and that has been the major contention up till now. We have about eight communities here. Seven agreed that the leadership of the community should be rotated but the eighth community refused.

    “On one occasion, there was a burial ceremony here in Aila; the disgruntled clan invaded the burial venue and killed some people.  The community consequently destroyed their houses and sent them out of the land.”

    He added: “That was the situation until they, accompanied by other people from outside this area, invaded our town, Aila. The houses burnt were more than 100, while the number of people killed was eight. I am not aware of 10 people. The land problem is not in our area. It is an issue between two other towns.

    “Somebody was arrested in connection with this attack but he  has since been released. There is absolutely no peace as I speak with you. The invaders are still moving about with arms. Our children can’t go to school again. One of the secondary schools was also vandalised.”

    Contacted, the Benue State  Police Public Relations Officer, Kate Anene, said the command wasn’t aware that the disagreement  in the area had become a full-blown crisis.

    “What you are saying now was not reported to me as a crisis initially. What happened was that they went for a burial and they had a disagreement. They said the disagreement was because people who were not supposed to attend the burial attended it.  So, if it had resulted in such a crisis that has led to the people running away, I am just hearing it from you”.

    The PPRO also denied knowing that people were killed and houses burnt in Aila.

    “I am not aware of it.  The DPO sent me a situation report yesterday but he didn’t include that some people were killed. Haha! Hum! I will call him and find out. If that is true why should he not report it?  I will find out.”

  • Admission quota should not be based on the age of universities—Afe Babalola

    Founder & Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, CON, has berated the present arrangement whereby admission quota in Nigerian Universities is largely based on how long the individual universities have been in existence.

    Instead of basing admission quota on the age of a university, Babalola, a seasoned University Administrator with a seven-year stint as Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos before he established ABUAD, believed that admission quota should be based on the quantum of equipment and human capital each university is able to put in place.

    Speaking at a reception in honour of the Chairman of the Medical & Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, Prof. Abba Hassan, OON, over the weekend, Babalola blurted: “Students admission quota should not be a reward for old age but a reward for quality equipment, infrastructure and Human capital put in place by individual universities”.

    He added: “Everywhere in the world, admission quota is not a reward for the number of years a university has been in existence. Rather it is a consideration for the carrying capacity of such a university. The carrying capacity of a university is the highest number of learners (students) that a particular institution will be able to effectively manage for qualitative education, considering the human resources at its disposal.

    “This suggests that the admission of students at this level is in accordance with the facilities available and human resources on ground in any particular university. These facilities comprise of good staff/student ratio, accommodation, required number of Lecture rooms, libraries stocked with the appropriate books, renowned national and international journals among others while the human resource include quality and qualified teaching and non-teaching staff in the right number and mix”.

    The frontline Educationist recalled that in Nigeria, the issue of admission quota has basically been based on the age of institutions. But at a point, this trend was reversed by the Immediate Past Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie, who appreciated the place and import of carrying capacity because he found it to be grossly discouraging.

    The Founder equally recalled that ABUAD was given the mandatory admission quota of 50 for its Law Programme at inception as a new university, but the figure was later increased to 100 by the NUC.

    When the Council for Legal Education came for accreditation three years later, it found out that both the Council and the NUC had been unfair to the university regarding the approved admission quota for our Law Programme. It therefore increased it to 180 on account of its investment which include, but not limited to 10 different classrooms, teaching laboratories, one Moot Court, two Law Clinics, state-of-the-art E-Libraries and physical libraries, a staff/students ratio of 1/16, E-software, Lexis Nexis and Compu Law among others which can conveniently cater for more than 1,500 students.

    Following the monumental achievements of ABAUD Law Graduates at the 2018 Bar Examination where all the 165 graduates presented scored 100% pass by ABUAD with the Overall Best Student coming from ABUAD and ABUAD Graduates wining 24 out of the 36 available Prizes, its admission quota has since been increased to 300.

    Drawing from the example of ABUAD College of Law and the massive investment therein, Babalola invited the MDCN boss to borrow a leaf from the NUC and increase the admission quota for ABUAD’s MBBS programme from the present level of 120 based on the following reasons:

    ABUAD is the only university in Nigeria that has two different Teaching Hospitals: the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI), which ABUAD helped to upgrade with N2.8 billion to bring it to its present enviable status of a Teaching Hospital and its new 400-bed ultra-modern Multi-system Hospital which was commissioned at an elaborate ceremony on October 20, 2017.

    ABUAD Multi System Hospital has five Modular Theatres equipped with Pneumatic Tubes. It is also populated with the following Specialist Equipment among others: SPEC Scan, CT SCAN, MRI and Ultrasound Scan/X-ray. It also has the following Surgical Specialties: General Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic, nature Urology, Orthopedics, Neuro-Surgical Specialties, Cancer Surgery (Oncology), Endocrine Surgery.

    ABUAD Multi System Hospital is Africa Centre for Help Babies Survive (HBS Programme) and also Africa Centre for Chronic Dialysis Centre.

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    In co-operation with project CURE of the United States of America, ABUAD is now the Centre for Help Babies Survive Programme. The Centre trains students and mothers in helping mothers to survive, Cervical Cancer Screen (CCS)/ Breast Cancer Screen (BCS), Colon Cancer Screen (CCS), Prostrate Cancer Screen/ Colon Cancer Screen.

    In order to add international flavor to the nation’s health care delivery, teaching, training and research, ABUAD Multi System Hospital has entered into partnership with some reputable players in the global Heath Industry such as the world renowned Abbot Laboratories, Aster Hospital, Dubai, Project C.U.R.E., USA, Narula, India, JNC International, Trigenesis India, College of Pharmacy, Howard University, USA and Bridge of Life (BOL) USA, as well as Johns Hopkin Hospital, USA.

    To complement its Medical Training Programme and bring it at par with its Law programme which has been acknowledged by NUC as the “Best in West Africa” and its Engineering Programme which has been dubbed by the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, as the “Template for Engineering Education in Nigeria”, ABUAD deliberately went out to hire the best hands in Medicine and Allied professions to teach and mentor its students  and the results are already showing in our Academic accomplishments in Medicine.

    During its first MBBS Examination in July 2018, ABUAD recorded an unprecedented 100% with eight (8) Distinctions, the equivalent of First Class in other disciplines. This accomplishment makes ABUAD the first university in the country to produce Medical Doctors in six-and-half years after its Medical Programme flagged off when some other universities which commenced their Medical Programme some two decades ago are yet to graduate their first set of Medical Doctors.

    Babalola commended Hassan for his humility and simplicity despite his towering attainments in life which he (Babalola) said challenged him the more contrary to the notorious behavior of man as summarized by Pope Benedict in the dark ages when he said: “when man is of lowly position in life, he is invariably humble, but no sooner he attains the heights than he falls rapidly from humility”.

    According to Babalola who said that his university is out to set new standards by raising a new generation of leaders, Hassan was in ABUAD to see what the university has been doing to change the face of education in Nigeria for the better and how the 21st Century Multi-system Hospital has been impacting medical education and quality Medicare positively.

    Earlier, Hassan who said Babalola looked younger in real life than he looks on TV commended his host for the superlative work he has single-handedly been doing since the establishment of ABUAD nine years ago.

    Impressed by infrastructural development of the university within its short history of existence, Hassan said: “Sir, you are doing so much for the country for which I thank you sir. All we need in this country today is a minimum of four universities like yours and things will change for the better”.

    He added: “The whole country should be grateful to you for what you doing here. We pray we have many people like you in this country so that our education can go back to where it was shortly after independence”.

  • Edo community cries out: HELP! CHINESE FIRM IS KILLING US SLOWLY

    It is the desire of every community to have an industry established in its domain because of the likely boost in its economic activities and availability of jobs. The case is not different with the inhabitants of Ogua community in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, Edo State.

    The people naturally leapt for joy when a Chinese firm acquired 140 hectares of land about seven years ago to set up a steel company known as Yongxing. Yongxing Steel Company produces iron rods and other metals, making the youths in the community to dream of El Dorado when it commenced operation.

    The people dreamt of good schools and scholarships for their children, apart from good roads network and regular power supply. Alas, that was not to be.

    Ogua is located on the Bénin Bye-pass while Yougxing is at the entrance of the community. But the first sight that greets a visitor to the community is the heap of waste from the firm. There is also the thick smoke that generated by the firm, which makes the roofs of houses in the community to turn black.

    Although the Chinese firm enjoys 24-hour power supply from a dedicated line from the BEDC power distribution company, the remaining parts of the community are mostly in darkness.

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    Some elders of Ogua community who spoke to our reporter said some landlords were already making plans to sue the firm for environmental degradation and air pollution.

    The elders said that Yongxing Steel has performed far below the standard of corporate social responsibility expected of them in terms of employment, scholarships and other forms of largesse.

    They showed our reporter a market built by the firm but was overgrown with weed. They also alleged that it is only during festive periods that the firm usually gives them 12 bags of rice to share.

    The elders added: “We are not allowed to work with them as contractors and they would not give us any license to sell raw materials to them or serve as middlemen in the sale of their finished products.

    “The bad smoke from the company is affecting us. We can no longer use rain water because it is now black like charcoal. They are killing us slowly.”

    Around the firm is a colony of scrap collectors who are not indigenes of the community. They built shanties where they sleep and sell metal scraps.

    The Enogie (Duke) of the community, Ogiesoba Aghahowen, said the firm had failed to deliver on all the promises made to the community when the land was allocated to them through the Oba of Bénin.

    He said the only three lock-up shops built was abandoned and taken over by weed because of the non-completion of the toilets.

    He said: “When they came, they promised to provide us roads and schools in the community. On our part, we provided electricity through communal effort from Sapele Road to this place. It cost us N25 million. At a point, the company depended on our light. But once they fixed their own light, they left because now they enjoy 24 hours electricity.

    “We approached them and pleaded with them to extend the supply to us, that we were ready to pay, but they refused. You can also see the dilapidated condition of our roads. Any time they want to fix the road, they bring old excavators, and before six months, the road will fail again. lords are even threatening to go to court. Any time it rains for about 2-3 hours, the water turns black like charcoal, owing to the waste they emit into the atmosphere. It is giving us a serious cause for concern.

    “An environmentalist who visited the community said it is dangerous and a slow killer. So we are worried. Our people know about the danger and are threatening to go to court over the matter

    “We have approached them on several occasions but nothing has come out of it. In the last five years, they have not addressed the issues, and our people are complaining. We have written to them on several occasions but nothing has been done.”

    “Recently, we wrote, including the MOU we entered into with them, and sent through the local government to the governor. As we speak, they have reneged on all the agreements we entered into.  My people are threatening to shut down the company. They are making a lot of money from this community but we are suffering.

    “The lock-up store was built five years ago, and as you can see, the toilets were blown away by wind. We have appealed to them to come and fix it but they also declined. It has been like this in the last three years.

    “I also heard from a reliable source that anything they want to do for us, they delay it to discourage us from making any demand. The non-completion of the toilet has stalled the take-off of the market.”

    “The other day, they promised to build a comprehensive school which everybody could attend. But the land owners may not have access to the school. They want to do it their own way. We asked to enter an agreement that the school is a communal one.

    “They want to build a high standard school which ordinary people cannot afford, and that is what we are fighting against in the interest of our people.

    “We want the government to, as a matter of urgency, prevail on them, because we don’t want to take the law into our hands. We want good roads, schools and constant electricity. Even the community liaison officer that was employed has not been paid a dime since 2015. We have not benefitted anything from them.”

    However, there are shanties erected around the firm and they are occupied by more than 800 scrap collectors. The scrap collectors are not indigenes of Ogua. One of them, Musa Mohammadu, said he makes as much as N20,000 monthly from gathering aluminum and other metals around the firm.

    In a chat with newsmen, the spokesman for Yongxing Steel, Mr. Isaac Olufemi, debunked the allegations, saying that the firm hoped to do better.

    Olufemi said the market was built two years ago and was 90 per cent completed. He maintained that it was the responsibility of the community to clear the bush around the market.

    On power supply, he said that power supply to the firm was not even enough, not to talk of having extra power to share.

    He said: “Power is expensive. We pay for power at a very high price. We want to build a mini power station for the benefit of the community. The power we are getting is small. We are not satisfied ourselves, so we cannot give power. We shut down some machines for others to work.

    “One of our waste products, we used it to repair the road. We give the community necessary things during festive period.

    “The people in the community do not come to ask for jobs. The job is tedious. If you give the Chinese the chance, they will work for 24 hours. But it is only meant for strong people. Those who agreed to work are from the North, Delta and other states, while members of the community find it difficult to work. Those that worked there only saved some money and traveled abroad.

    “It is a lie that we sack indigenes of the community. We are six years old in operation. We want to build a secondary school with support from the Chinese government. The governor is aware of that. Apart from the groundbreaking of the school, they will talk about other forms of business.

    “We have pollution control system. We filter the emission. The community people do not fall sick. We still use the underground water. We have done environmental audit on it. Their plants have not stopped growing.

    “Our presence help to provide security. We allow the community collect rent from stores around the company. The scraps from the metal we buy help over 2000 Hausa people earn a living there. We don’t collect anything from them. But they contribute money to the community.”

    On complaints by some workers on the firm’s refusal to let them join unions, Olufemi said it was the workers’ decision.

    “When the workers realised that three per cent of their salary will be going to the union’s purse, they decided not to join. They are still talking to them. We are not forcing them not to join. We made the workers available to listen to union officials. Joining is a personal decision of the workers.”

  • Winners emerge in Home Lottery draws

    Winners have emerged in the “win-a-home-today,” an initiative of the Home Lottery Limited.

    In a well-attended event at De Santos Hotels in Lagos, the audience, comprising bettors and various regulatory bodies, six winners were selected via a live electronic raffle draw.

    None of the winners was in the audience. However, live calls were placed to them on speakers to announce their good fortune.

    In an April Fool season, it wasn’t a surprise that skepticism got the better of the winners, with the star prize winner, Joy (surname withheld) asking, “Are you sure this is not a prank?”

    Oladayo Oyelaja, the project lead of Dreamview Enterprises, a partner of Home Lottery Limited, however doused her fears, saying, “You are on phone with a live audience…, It is not a Fool’s Day prank. Congratulations.”

    However, Nkiru Onusili, a deputy director and coordinator of National Lottery Regulatory Commission, was full of conviction.

    “You know that anything lottery requires transparency, so the commission went for inspection to ensure everything was in place. And today we came to witness the event and so far, so good.” she said.

    She also pledged that the commission will “go further to ensure that the winners get their prizes.”

  • $500m modular refinery project for Ondo

    A private company, Crown Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, who are  into refining  crude oil to premium petroleum products, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) with the Ondo State government to build a refining facility in the state.

    When fully operational, the refinery would absorb no fewer than 2,000 workers. The refinery is estimated to be worth $500million.  It will be designed to process both imported paraffinic and Nigerian crude into finished petroleum products,

    The proposed project will have an initial capacity to refine about 30,000 BPSD, but is expected to be scaled to 60,000 BPSD within the next five years.

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the organisation, Kazeem Adeleke, said the project is expected to be completed within 36 months.

    According to him, “We are going into the business of refining crude oil, Ondo State government would provide the enabling environment and incentives to support us as we actualize this vital investment.”

    Apart from the project having the capacity to refine crude oil, it will also be producing 120,000 tons of base oil and 25,000 tons of lubrication oil on a yearly basis.

    Read also: Dangote to boost local refining to 1.095m

    Adeleke said the company would also provide several infrastructural projects in the state and would create massive employment opportunities for indigenes of the state. He disclosed that about 170 hectares of land would be used for the refinery.

    The MoU was signed on behalf of Ondo State government by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Ifedayo Abegunde,while  Kazeem Adeleke signed for the company.

    Adeleke said they had approached many states to site the investment, but found Ondo State more suitable because of its human and material resources and readiness to provide enabling environment coupled with incentives to support actualization of the investment. Besides, he noted the relative proximity of Ondo State to oil fields.

    Adeleke said the signing of the MoU marked the commencement of the project, expected to be completed in 36 months.

    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu who expressed delight on the coming of the investment into the state, said his administration was friendly with any investment capable of bringing development to the state.

    He noted that more investors are willing to come for business transaction in the state because of its peculiarity.

  • Only one of 100 every graduate gets job in Nigeria —SMEDAN DG

    The Director General of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda has said that, unemployment in Nigeria has reached a crisis situation, with only one out of every 100 graduates gets job.

    He, however, expressed fear that, if that is not properly addressed with sufficient job creation, civil, social and political upheaval may ensue.

    The SMEDAN boss noted that, the global population of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 was rapidly on the increase, with vast majority of that group living in emerging economies like Nigeria, hence the need to properly manage the group to yield positive demographic dividends, rather than becoming a security burden.

    Read also: Only 1 of 100 graduates get job in Nigeria – SMEDAN DG

    Dr. Radda who stated this in Kaduna while flagging-off sensitization programme on Young Business Owners in Nigeria (Y-BON) however said that, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is the surest way to diversify the economy and employ the huge youth population.

    According to the DG who was represented at the occasion by the North-West Zonal Coordinator of SMEDAN, Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad Madaki, one of the major cases of unemployment in Nigeria is skill shortages occasioned by dearth of skilled personnel and entrepreneurial competence among others.

  • Why we signed Small Doctor as brand ambassador, by betting company

    POPULAR Nigerian street music singer, Adekunle Temitope, aka Small Doctor, has been unveiled as the new brand ambassador for the country’s fast growing bet outfit, Winners Golden Bet.

    Speaking at the unveiling which held at the company’s new headquarter in Lagos, Executive Director of WGB, Olabanji Sulaiman, said the partnership signals the beginning of an interesting brand relationship between the fast growing bet outfit – Winners Golden Bet and the national pride and singing sensation, Small Doctor.

    “The base of Small Doctor’s music is grassroot and our business is too grassroot. You also remember he sang ‘Aja n sare’ which also relates to our business, the ‘Dog Race’ which is part of our product. So it makes more sense for us to come together and have Small Doctor as our brand ambassador to put the company on the next level. This will be a longtime partnership and the deal is something satisfying for both parties,” Sulaiman said.

    Immediately after Small Doctor signed a contract with the betting company, he declared: “Firstly, I’m happy to come on board as a Brand Ambassador of Winners Golden Bet. My prayer is that this new partnership will yield positive results for both parties. It is a new beginning of greatness for every one of us.

    “Being a brand ambassador and an entertainer as well, definitely we will give hope to the upcoming artists, make them to strive for the best too and keep their head up. To give them the zeal to bring out the best of themselves. Also give the industry itself more room for others to get bigger deals and endorsements,” the entertainer said.

  • Wanted: Woman Sports minister

    I’ve seen it all with the appointment of sports ministers in Nigeria. Sadly, each succeeding minister has been worse than his predecessor. No woman has been appointed sports minister; why not a woman because the men haven’t shown enough leadership qualities? They have fallen the way of others. They have been misled by influence-peddlers in the industry, most of whom have lost out in elections into various federations. Nothing improves until they are eased out.

    Most ministers vow that they won’t be football ministers, but they end up being soccer ministers, with many meddling in the activities of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). They hide under the cloak of the NFF accounting for what it got to stoke a crisis, which embarrasses the country. What these football ministers forget is that there are mechanisms to ensure accountability for funds. These former ministers create divides in the NFF, threatens to punish Nigeria and a crisis is born. Accountability? Fine, but aren’t there bodies given the responsibility to probe corruption?

    Every former minister drags NFF to EFCC or ICPC, but won’t allow the agencies’ investigators to do their jobs. Every minister either visits FIFA’s headquarters or attempts a futile tour to report the NFF as if other sports federations don’t make infractions. Every sports minister has constituted a panel to recommend to the government what to do with our football to compete with the best. Why always football? All transactions are done in foreign currencies. It doesn’t matter if the minister condescends to the level of paying sportsmen and women their allowances under the guise that the cash would be misappropriated.

    Every minister hops onto the plane to watch all our matches with a retinue of friends and government officials, yet they talk about accountability. Who pays for these busybodies? Of course, the NFF under government delegations. Panels constituted by these ministers don’t reflect these expenditures in their reports. How can they when most of them were part of waste as friends of the ministers.

    These panels submit the same recommendations, chiefly – Nigeria should stay out of football for two years for proper restructuring. No surprises when almost the same people are chosen or their lackeys.

    The latest one recommended that Nigeria should pull out of international competitions for two years, in a year where Nigeria is expected to participate at the Africa Cup of Nations in Abuja, slated for June 21 to July 19. The Super Falcons are to participate in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France in June, the Flying Eagles will be at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland and the country’s U-23 side, Olympic Eagles, will defend their title at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in November for a qualification ticket to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Nigeria finished with a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. It was the country’s only medal at the Olympics, in spite of the minister’s disparaging statement about the team –  he later apologised. Nigeria won the gold medal in 1996, silver in 2008 and a bronze in 2014, one of the few countries with such records at the Olympics’ soccer event. One isn’t surprised that former football chieftains who held positions at CAF and FIFA keep suggesting a break simply because it will stop those who replaced them from functioning. Do these ‘ban’ advocates not know that these players earn a living playing football? Today, Nigeria is the 42nd best football nation in the world, moving four places upwards on the chart just as the Super Falcons are the world’s 38th best; Africa’s best. These feats tell the story of Nigerians distinguishing themselves in Europe, Americas and the Diaspora. Yet, some people whose kids don’t do sports are pushing for a break of two years.

    Can there be NFF officials without the players and coaches playing the game? Are they not aware that Nigeria is bigger than anyone else? Can they not see what playing soccer has done to our boys and girls, who until their emergence as stars, couldn’t make the simple trip from their villages to Lagos, not to talk of travelling overseas? Do they not know how the money these boys and girls make have changed the fortunes of their families, friends, relations etc? Do they not know that these boys and girls could play for other countries if FIFA imposes a long ban on Nigeria?

    Surprisingly, this  latest panel has three former NFF chairmen and people who have acted in various capacities, including fighting to stay in the federations. Some of these chairmen were victims of former ministers’ suffocating interest in the federation’s activities. That they appended their signatures to such a document suggesting that Nigeria pulls out of football activities for two years underscores the recurrent problems at the Glasshouse.

    Most of the ministers start by organising seminars where serial orators in sports mount the podium to sermonise and pontificate on the industry’s problems, as if the models they authored in the past didn’t worsen the situation. After such showboating presentations, the minister embarks on fruitless visits to dilapidated sports centres, such as the National Stadium Lagos, National Stadium Abuja, Liberty Stadium Ibadan etc where many of them literarily cry like hungry kids.

    Every former minister promised to improve on the state of the National Stadium, Lagos. Yet, the facility is derelict, raising posers over how the Ministry of Sports spends the money earmarked for infrastructural repair. Sports City Surulere is Sodom and Gomorrah, where the unthinkable happens, depending on when you visit the place. It hurts to note that the only things that remind anyone of the once famous sports centre is the convergence of alcoholics in all the joints and attendant obscene things that follow.

    When these ministers leave such centres, work starts on the repairs of the swimming pools, which take another two to three years to complete only to return to its disused condition before the minister leaves. At such venues of lamentation over the rotten complexes, ministers suddenly remember the hosting of the National Sports Festival. They ignite another controversy of the hosting of the festival beginning with which state gets the hosting rights, which again dovetail into another round of politics about the number of events to be held.

    In fact, the National Sports Festival at the country’s best sports arena, usually hosted by the government, is the only competition the Sports Ministry should organise. They have shirked this responsibility to governors. The festival is no longer a biannual event. The minister covered the ministry’s shame by hosting the festival inside the shameful Abuja National Stadium. It didn’t matter if the athletes ran on torn tartan tracks. Nobody bothered to ask why the football event didn’t hold in the stadium. A festival without its burning flame lit by a renowned Nigerian sportsman or woman is a glorified secondary school inter-house sports.

    The symbolism of the lighting of the festival torch at the opening ceremony, coupled with the razzmatazz of the torch’s flame being extinguished at the closing event, is legendary. This event terminates with the handing over of the games’ flag to the next host. One wonders what our ministers see when they attend multi-sports competitions, such as the Olympic Games, after which the festival is modelled.

    Surprisingly, we find ourselves in the same chaotic setting when a new administration is to be inaugurated. Rustic facilities around the country and the refusal of the corporate world to identify with sports, largely because the ministers label the federations’ members as thieves because they didn’t do their biddings.

    I’m not a chauvinist, hence I’m inclined towards suggesting a woman as the next sports minister, with no one in mind. We have tried people knowledgeable in sports; they failed. One of such ministers with rich sports pedigree suggested that black people don’t win medals in swimming. He argued that swimming isn’t a sport meant for black people. Is anyone surprised that all the swimming pools in the stadia owned by the government are habitats for rodents and dangerous animals. Several others, including those who were former NFA chairmen, didn’t push the NFF Bill at the National Assembly.

    Let’s not talk about those ministers appointed without any background in sports or its administration. They take us back to the stone age with their myopic approach to issues. They are hijacked and led by the nose to the detriment of the industry. One of them wrote a recommendation to President Muhammadu Buhari, that Nigeria participating in the Senior World Cup was a huge waste because we were not going to win the trophy. He argued that it was only a platform for people to make money. This minister forgot that Nigeria got close to $12 million just for qualifying for the Mundial and preparing for it. Won’t it shock you to learn that he was at the Mundial with a government entourage. Is this how to save funds, dear minister?

    Most of our ministers have brought us shame with stories of Nigerian sports contingents sometimes being walked over in competitions due to lack of funds; other times due to denial of visas. Even the few sports federations which attend competitions do so due to patronage from sports-friendly governors, who incidentally are governors where the federations’ chairmen come from.

    Is it that government doesn’t provide funds for such events, especially where we are defending champions? After all, when we excel, ministers easily ascribe the feats to the government, rushing to the Villa to present the victorious squads to the President. The governors who hosted the events or bankrolled the trips hardly get mentioned. A few brave federation chairmen mention the governors and other sponsors, if they are allowed to speak.

    As for me, I’m done with all that pretence. I vote for a woman sports minister.

  • FG to deliver Apapa truck park this month

    The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Adedamola Kuti, said yesterday that the Apapa trailer park project in the state would be completed by the end of this month.

    Kuti told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the shoreline protection aspect of the project was 25 per cent completed, while the entire project has achieved 94 per cent completion.

    “We expect that the work will be completed this April and we should be handing the trailer park over to the NPA – Nigerian Ports Authority –  by end of this month,” he said.

    He added:”the materials we were waiting for have arrived and are being cleared in the port as we speak.

    “We have already completed 25 per cent of the shoreline protection which has been the major aspect holding us. The entire project is 94 per cent completed,” he told NAN.

    Kuti said that facilities,  including toilets and bathrooms, police post, ticketing section and boreholes to make the park comfortable for use, had been completed.

    On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, he debunked media reports about variations in the project’s cost and delivery time.

    Read also: Apapa gridlock threatens $300m export-bound cashew

    He said that additional works such as foot bridges, under passes, toll plazas and walkways were added to the project due to springing up of settlements on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway corridor.

    Kuti said  there were no variations in the cost of the project but the additional works increased its  cost.

    He said that the additional works, costing about N64 billion, made the contract sum to increase  to about N134 billion.

    He said  that the Federal Executive Council  extended the project’s completion period by four years – which would be 2021/2022 – because of the additional work.

    “This additional works cost money and must be added to the cost of the job,” he said.

    He said that the contractors for the project were on site and that the work was progressing.

    He appealed to motorists on the road and other construction zones to be patient and obey all road signs and traffic rules.

    “Right now, we are working around the MFM and RCCG area – that is Kilometers 15 and 26, we do hope that work will be completed soon on those sections.

    “We want to appeal to people to be patient as they use the road, bearing in mind that it is a construction zone; they should be very careful when they drive.

    “There are traffic officers that control the traffic; motorists should obey them as well as traffic rules and regulations; they require a lot of patience,” he said.

    According to him,  there are no alternative routes to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at the moment because the Ikorodu-Sagamu is also under construction.