The Nation Newspaper

Tag: trail

  • On the trail of Penkelemess

    Adegoke Adelabu, aka Penkelemess, is still venerated in folklores some six decades after the motor accident that claimed him at high noon. I recall that his coffin was an epithet for my classmate’s head back in the primary school. That fellow had an oddly-shaped skull that seemed to hang sideways as he walked. Back then at Bishop Phillips Primary School, Ondo, our class teacher, Mr. Arowolo, often drew a parallel between the head and the politician’s coffin. I couldn’t figure out how a head could shape like a coffin; thinking back now I guess the teacher must have meant the epithet as a metaphor. My classmate later became an architect. I learnt he graduated at the top of his class. I guess the architect would be more familiar with shapes and sizes than the nuances of epithets and metaphors.

    I was not familiar with the life and times of Adegoke Adelabu beyond the epithet and metaphor, because he did not play in our post-colonial politics. He was encrusted in the crevice of my mind like Bode Thomas, another player in the colonial milieu. For me, Adelabu belonged in a past detached from the present.

    I had a chance encounter with him some years ago on the pages of Wole Soyinka’s work, Ibadan, where the Nobel laureate chiselled the crust off the politician’s portrait in the crevice of my mind with his narration on the Penkelemess years. The man has since resurrected from the casket shaped like my classmate’s head.

    I recently journeyed to the Taj Mahal at Oke-Oluokun, where Pekelemess held court in Ibadan, in his heydays. Remember, it was from here he departed “with the Lebanese” on the journey that claimed him at age 43 in March 1958. The house now wears a new coat of paint in obvious efforts to keep pace with its past. It holds a spectre of past privilege and teaches lessons on life to discerning minds.

    The house reminds of a past when politicians dwelled in the accessible parts of town. These days, they live inside gilded fences; in unreachable the parts of town. How did this politician cope with life among common folks in the neighbourhood? How did he navigate the dusty roads in an era where cars did not come with tint-glass or air-conditioner? Did he also drive one of those finned American Chevrolets? How was life at Taj Mahal in the 1950s, when Adelabu lived here and rode on the crest of Ibadan politics?

    Robert Frost in The Abandoned House mused about “a house that lacks…mistress and master/ With doors that none but the wind ever closes/And floor all littered with glass…” The lines by the American poet raced in my mind as I thought about the current state of things at Oke-Oluokun Taj Mahal. Except for the two dutiful guards, the house was a virtual space with no din the day I visited. I made a mental note that the edifice needs a guide more than a guard; someone that could vividly draw a trajectory of its past for a visitor, someone to relate how the house pulsated while its Spartan owner was here in flesh. True, this Taj Mahal now speaks of power in past tense and tells about the flitting nature of man, it should serve more than housing Adegoke Adelabu Foundation by stepping out to tell the story of its past to visitors.

    The echoes of multiple love still resonate in the sprawling chalet that quartered the politician’s numerous wives; they were said to be 32 in number. The quarter is neatly tucked behind the main edifice away from prying eyes. Here, rooms are sliced in small, equal dimensions opening uniformly into a long corridor, as if to ease the commuting of the man that once hoed in the vast field. This is an edifice of plural love, in contrast to the Indian Taj Mahal said to have been built as memorial by a 17th Century Shah to the most-favourite wife in his harem.

    But Adelabu gladly writ bolder on politics. He gained reckoning not on the size of his harem but by standing on principles – his own principles; even when it meant backing the destination like a passenger in mammy-wagon. The man resolutely swam with his party NCNC and leader Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in the aftermath of the carpet-crossing saga in the Western Region Assembly in 1952.

    Governor-General of Nigeria, John Macpherson, had introduced a new constitution a year earlier in 1951 allowing nationalists to contest elections into the three regional assemblies. That concession was meant as answer to the growing protests of the nationalists against the British colonial rule. Chief Obafemi Awolowo had been arguing that the Indirect Rule policy of the British was a conspiracy of colonialists with unlettered Emirs, Obas and Obis to govern Nigeria indefinitely and exclude the educated class. The sage in his book The Path to Nigerian Freedom, released in 1946 urged an end to the alliance of Britain and local thrones.

    The concession by the Governor General to pander to the nationalists also sowed a seed of discord for the future of Nigeria when NCNC and the Action Group (AG) simultaneously claimed majority seats at convocation of the Western Region Assembly in 1952. Awolowo emerged from the tango to become the Leader of Government Business in a story now largely subsumed in apocryphal narrations. But it was not in doubt that Adegoke Adelabu stood by his party through it all. He called the incident a “stab in the back” in his own treatise, Africa in Ebullition. He supported Nnamdi Azikiwe until death, in spite the opportunities to feather his own nest by defecting to the ruling party. Adelabu built a brilliant career as opposition to the Action Group government; a no mean feat, considering the cerebral arsenal of that government. The Hansards are replete with his deft debates from the opposition bench in the maelstroms of those years. The landlord of Taj Mahal earned the moniker, Penkelemess on his allegation that the government had made a peculiar mess of governance in Western Region. Did the Action Group make such a peculiar mess of the West?  It is doubtful anyone would credibly think so now.

    Adegoke Adelabu is in the casket shaped like my classmate’s head, far away from the cacophony of contemporary politics and must be wondering why politics now looks more like harlotry in our country. He must be pondering why APC is easily confused with PDP and why our parliaments are largely made of neophytes and money-changers. Lately, Penkelemess must be re-thinking the true meaning of peculiar mess.

  • On trail of the scarlet ladies

    On trail of the scarlet ladies

    When American author, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote and published The Scarlet Letter: A Romance in 1850, it was to highlight how grave promiscuity was viewed even in America of yore.  Today however, it is no longer big deal and women of the night flaunt their bodies for sex unabashedly. The expression, Scarlet ladies have also stuck with women of the sex trade, ever since.  This crew of The Nation’s crack team, comprising Gboyega Alaka, photographer, Rapheal Olusegun and Graphic Designer, Sherrif Atanda, following complaints by landlords and residents of Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, had hoped this adventure would be a stroll in the park, but it took them two full nights to catch these ladies at work.

    The first evening, Wednesday, proved to be an evening of wild goose chase, as none of the girls or women was sighted. From the Bode Thomas end down to the Alhaji Masha/Stadium end, the street was calm with nothing unusual. Of course, there were the late evening taxis, young boys and girls, taking light evening strolls, hand-in-hand and the eateries winding down.

    A couple of youths hanging out near the popular Leisure Mall however volunteered that these reporters may have come out too early. Although it was about 10.00pm, they said it may take the girls another one hour to come out, if they were going to come out at all. To really catch them at work, they advised that this crew come out on Friday evening. “Bros, na Friday dey bubble for here o. I swear, you will see them in different shapes and sizes.”

    Friday, 10.30pm: These reporters took their advice seriously and returned to the sight two days later. Initially, it looked like it was going to be another fruitless night. The street was as clean as a whistle. No, not that there were nobody or activities going on the street, but sex hawkers were nowhere to be found. Aside the exclusive lounges like Temptation, which appeared to have a bit of life, nothing much seemed to be happening. However, there was plenty of life and partying at the Leisure Mall. The popular open air drink and suya joint was alive. But it was the traditional Surulere Friday evening party life. Significantly, these also appeared to be young boys and their ‘mummy’s girl’ girlfriends, enjoying their late evening dates. The girls were quite homely and timid and most of them clung to their dates like a leech would a dog’s skin. An attempt to chat a couple of them up also met a brickwall; as they quickly retreated into their shells. They would neither stop nor yield ground for any form of conversation. To top it up, they quickened their steps, as if to run away from danger.

    Surely these were not prostitutes, and yet this was far into the night. 11.25pm to be precise. But just as the crew cruised down the street one last time, they appeared in the dark horizon. They were a potpourri of girls and women. A good number of them looked to be just emerging from puberty, while several were full blown women. The shapes and sizes also varied, from the fully endowed both in front and behind, to the twiggy. They stood in twos and threes, while some, perhaps to stand out or avoid competition, stood alone. Right in front of a popular clothes shop on the street, some of the girls were busy getting ready for the business of the night. One of them, quite buxom, sat, legs wide open, as if without care, her plum laps, inviting. She was making up her face. The sight of these prospective customers didn’t bother her. There’s plenty of time, she probably thought. After all, it’s a Friday night.

    One of the girls sauntered up to the car that conveyed this crew. She is the type Wale Adenuga in his days of publishing Ikebe Super magazine would describe as ‘double land cruiser.’ “How do you want it? Short time or TDB (till day break),” she asked without wasting time. She gave her name as Sandra and said she was available. But first, she wanted to know where this reporter was taking her. When she was told it was on the Island, she asked “Where? Is it your house or a hotel?” When this reporter said “Kosoko Close,” she asked “Where is that?” Surely, she seemed to be on top of her game.

    And then she said, “I hope you know the price, 25k!”On noticing the surprise on this customer’s face, she threw back, almost coquettishly, “Yeah, I’m expensive. Abi you no see my package?”

    Going back and forth, she finally agreed 15k, but said it had to be a well known hotel, since she didn’t know any Kosoko Close.

    When this reporter asked how long she’s been plying her trade on the street, she leaned back, squinted a little and asked, “How’s that an issue. Do you want show or you want to be asking JAMB questions?”Her English wasn’t bad and you could tell that she’s had good education. But she would not divulge any information. Is this customer interested in business or just out to waste her time? As if noticing a sign of indecision on the part of this customer, she stepped back, stooped to take in the sight of the three men in the car and waltzed away without a word.

    Cynthia’s first question the moment the vehicle conveying this crew came to a halt before her was “Na the three of you?”

    To this, the three gentlemen in the car burst into laughter. “Can you handle three people?”

    “Well,” she said, sizing up the trio, “it depends. How much are you willing to pay?”

    Like Sandra, she asked “Where are we going?” She also would not like to go to the Island. Instead, she recommended a nearby hotel. But this crew insisted on the Island. The deadlock eventually became the escape route for the crew. But before then, she had volunteered that she only joined the ladies of the night train a few months back. She needed the money badly and Lagos seems a hard place to survive.

    She would however not disclose her educational background or if she’s had a child, although this crew noted that her stomach looked much like that of a mother, despite her ‘packaging effort; the sort often referred to as “After one”.

    When asked if the police ever disturbed them, her response was sharp and short. “Police no be person?”

    Asked why they chose to operate on Adeniran ogunsanya, she again said in her short and sharp manner, “Na here dey bubble now. Na here the guys wey fit spend dey.” Inadvertently, she confirmed the allegation of the landlords and residents, who said it is the presence of the highbrow clubs and lounges that is attracting them.

    Tina looked buxom in her crimson red baby-doll dress. Unlike several others who stood in clusters, she was standing alone this night. That may be due to her age, as she looked well past her youth. In spite of her effort to cover the wrinkles on her face with make-up, they were still visible enough. But still she would not take less than ten thousand naira for an all-night romp. She said it is the job she does now and that she only comes out on Fridays. Once in a while though, she does Wednesdays. As a result, she tries to maximise the day. For a short time, she would take five thousand naira.

    She said business was bad and wondered why this reporter was asking too many questions. On second thought, she asked if this reporter was a “police officer,” or wait for it, “reporter.”

    However when Sherrif asked if she would take N5,000 till dawn, she seemed to get annoyed. “How can you expect me to take N5,000 for TDB? You think say na so I cheap?”

    With this, she turned away; but this crew had had enough. The Scarlet Ladies have indeed taken over the street and it is left to see how many more will be joining them if nothing is done.

  • Police on the trail of Amuka-Pemu’s attackers

    Police on the trail of Amuka-Pemu’s attackers

    Barely 24 hours after Vanguard Publisher Sam Amuka-Pemu was attacked in his Lagos residence, the police have got a major lead on the case.

    Two of his guards at Anthony Village home identified as Francis and John, it was learnt, have been detained since Sunday.

    It is believed that the operation was carried out with “insider connection”.

    Uncle Sam’s stolen phones have been traced to outside  Anthony Village, it was learnt.

    Although the suspects have not been arrested yet, the police have visited their possible hideout and questioned some people there.

    When contacted, the state command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police  (SP), said the matter was being discreetly investigated.

    She said the police would bring the hoodlums to justice.

  • ‘Bridge Clinic blazing the trail’

    The Bridge Clinic, a fertility clinic, has attributed its high success rate in the treatment of fertility issues to the international standards it adopts in its operations. Dr Babatunde Bamidele, a fertility doctor with the clinic, made this observation at a Welcome Forum orgnised by the clinic for couples who are looking for the fruit of the womb.

    According to Dr Bamidele, the Bridge Clinic, since its inception 16 years ago, has adopted international best practices in its operations and these are the standards that have assisted it in achieving its enviable successes in the areas of number of live births and pregnancy rates.

    “We pioneered the fertility treatment service in Nigeria 16 years ago and have so far achieved 1935 live births. This translates to an average of one live birth in every three days. This is a feat no other fertility clinic in Nigeria has achieved, or is about achieving in the nearest future,” he said.

    “This achievement is as a result of the high quality management system we put in place at the Bridge Clinic, a system that ensures that our personnel, technological and infrastructural facilities and process are benchmarked with the latest developments in the global fertility management field,” Dr Bamidele said.

    He advised couples to be meticulous in choosing their fertility clinics as their choice of clinics goes a long way in determining whether or not and when they achieve pregnancies. “You should look out for clinics that have high pregnancy and birth rates, high quality management system, as well as strong ethics, good experience and cutting edge technology and infrastructural setup to boost your chances of getting pregnant.”

    He said couples, especially those who may not have the capability to do a comparative assessment of clinics by themselves to seek the opinion of their gynecologists before choosing their preferred clinic.

    Earlier in his presentation, Dr Bamidele had informed participants that global statistics have shown that infertility is not exclusive to any particular gender as it affects both males and females, and in some cases, both spouses at the same time. He urged couples having difficulties either conceiving or carrying pregnancies to term to seek the services of fertility doctors for assistance.

    He listed uterine problems, blocked fallopian tubes, ovarian issues and semen abnormalities as the major causes of infertility, and informed the couples that modern medicine has provided solutions on how to detect and solve most of these causes.

    Corporate Marketing and Customer Service Coordinator of The Bridge Clinic, Dr Ekundayo Omogbehin said that the clinic has distinguished itself in the field of fertility treatment in Nigeria. He attributed the high rate of fertility treatment failures to one or a combination of such factors as poor facilities, inexperience and flawed processes deployed in the treatment of infertility in the country.

  • On the trail of the sage’s spouse

    On the trail of the sage’s spouse

    Title: In the radiance of the sage: The life and times of HID Awolowo
    Publisher: African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc
    No of pages: 302
    Author: Dr Wale Adebanwi
    Reviewer: Dr. Kole Odutola

    The outstanding biography of HID Awolowo as presented by Dr. Wale Adebanwi follows reality as it shapes a narrative in the meaning of a constructive life. Though Ikenne is home and in its soil is where the placenta of Miss Hannah Idowu Dideolu was buried and to that city her life, times, and eventual demise revolves; places like Ibadan, Ikeja, and Apapa also feature in this story of many hills.

    The book of nine chapters (excluding the epilogue and prologue) opens when the subject is a grown woman and the following chapter presents her as a woman growing up in different cities.  As you well know, most cities are confluences of history, politics, commerce, religion and other concerns of life that help (re)shape the lives of natives and residents who call the place home.  To really know a person or a collective, a researcher must open the innards of the various spaces and places that gave birth to, and nurtured the person and the group she identifies with. This preposition is not too far from DmitiriKalugin’s injunction that “[a] particular challenge for the poetics of biography is the peculiar character of the constitution of the biographical subject. It evolves through the interaction between textual strategies and the realm of social facts such as the workings of institutions, models of behavior, notions of success and recognition, etc.” None of these elements as enunciated by Kalugin is absent in In the Radiance of the Sage.

    Like a deft surgeon Dr. Adebanwi dissects HID’s life and stitches the parts together neatly.  What a life in its many dimensions and manifestations. The reader should be patient and not ask where the genesis of the story is because the end is told in the beginning and the revelation of how the pieces became ‘one whole’ finds its rhythm eventually. This is a book into which other books are made to empty their content. To be sure that this is not the first attempt at capturing the contours and controversies that surround the lives of members of the Awolowo family, Adebanwi sought out TolaAdeniyi’s authorized biography and consulted biographies of other figures involved in HID’s life. The only book I am not sure the author consulted is Kole Omotosho’s Just Before Dawn; a book that throws a little light on the saga of Coca-Cola distributorship between Mrs. Awolowo and Mrs. Akintola. Adebanwi can be excused for not including this book which the author termed “faction”.

    As if to assist readers easily navigate the twists and turns of this book, Adebanwi includes epigrams (which are “brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statements”) as leads in all the chapters. The knowledge nationalist in Adebanwi makes his choice of sources of these epigrams so diversified he would remain the envy of most scholars based outside Nigeria. There are a total of 15 epigrams; of which about eight are drawn from the works of Africans or of African descent. This may be a minor detail to most people but for me as a media studies scholar, it goes to show a great sensitivity to knowledge produced by people of color. It goes to say that voices encoded into texts can find space(s) in scholarly works. If you doubt that assertion please content-analyze any book or article written by Africans in the diaspora.

    The book takes a personal turn for me as the skillful narrator paddles to the fourth chapter. There is something in the chapter that tells a part of my story by its absence. As the name of Moses Awolesi makes a showing; I am reminded thatinjustice done to a certain Prince Odutola Ogunajo (my grand-father) who I was told was announced as the Akarigbo in the morning but was denied the opportunity of ascending the throne of his forebears because he was not as well-read as Moses Awolesi. The truth of this story is yet to be fully documented and made a part of the history of Sagamu people. I have no documentary evidence but I can still see in my mind’s eye the day the Akarigbo visited our newly built family house in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria for a sort of reconciliation. Till today, no one has fully explained what really happened. How would I have known that my story is part of HID’s story? The search for the truth about Baba Agba (alias Baba Majiyan) must grow forth from this review.

    Let us leave the personal aside so as to allow the main protagonists in the story re-tell their version of what we know or think we know about the man Awo. In public, Pa Awo was perceived as an inflexible or ridged personality that would not bend to the wishes of others but if accounts in in Chapter 4 of this book is to be believed and I see why not, he is portrayedvery differently. According to the narrative, one of thegrand-children averred that  “We often remarked that, contrary to the erroneous talk of Papa being unforgiving, he was in fact very forgiving; the only crime we thought he would find unforgiving was one committed against his wife!” (p. 76).  Could this be a case of separation of the private from the public spheres?

    Still on the matter of public sphere where else can one encounter a vibrant public sphere if not on the pages of newspapers?  In Nigeria, the life span of an average newspaper, especially those tied to owners who are interested in politics, is less than 20 years. The long-life of HID Awolowo appears to have also bestowed a measure of longevity on the Tribune newspapers. Should you be interested in the humble beginnings of the paper; chapter 4 is the place to go. Chapter 5 picks up from where the story of the life of travails in politics begins and gives a fuller treatment to the banishment, to the pains and miraculous victory of the couple.

    Just as you expect a change in the tone of the narration, Chapter 6 dips into more tragedy. It is aptly titled “death in the dawn”. Here, Adebanwi tells a mother’s story through a harvest of deaths. The reader is not spared the unpleasantdetails or the gripping suspense of how the news grew feet and teeth to bite deep into the flesh of the living.  Even a heart of stone would surely be moved if not to tears but definitely into empathy for these endless streams of misfortunes.

    Efforts to get Awo out of prison, the set-up that never was (great piece for a Nollywood movie this one), his release from prison and the details of how he ended up in Gowon’s government are the nuggets in Chapter 7. The chapter did not end with wedding bells but those wielding cudgels that could divorce a man from earth. It would not be surprising if a reader mutters what a life under his or her breath?

    As the ship of the story anchors on the eighth chapter, Awo’s new life in Gowon’s administration fills not a few pages but it is made to commingle with HID’s life as a big-time trader and owner of businesses. As you read about trading you also get to read about fending for grand-children and how their grand-mother’s strict “Ij¹buness” shaped theirs.  As it is usual in some of the chapters; accounts of tragedies or near fatalities seem to appear before a chapter ends. One may be forced to call these sprinkles of tragedies.

    Chapter 8 had its own dose of such an account. Should you ever want a counter narrative to the text, please fix your gaze on the many pictures generously used in the book. The images do speak louder than words and in some; you will appreciate the social settings in which celebrations were held in those days or the modesty of the Awolowos. The only missing information is the identification of the photographers who froze such moments for posterity.

    Life starts and life ends. The account of how Pa Awo arrived at his own end occupies a tiny part of the ninth chapter. The chapter did not spare an account of the tentative death of the ‘Dideolu Specialist Hospital’ dream. It appears this is one dream that the name “stand up Lord” (as in DiÌdeOluwa) did not quiet live up to. How can a book about the Awolowos be written without generous pages devoted to Olusegun Obasanjo? Readers will not be disappointed because he is represented both in text and in images too.

    As a Yoruba adage says “there is no way one can pound yam without it having lumps.” The lumps in this book are manifold; they come in the guise of typos that are avoidable.  For instance, on page 58 instead of objectives the expression comes out as “aims and objected;” on page 168 the word laughs is omitted in the expression “For he who laughs last, laughs best.”Similarly on page 240, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, a non-profit medical practice is referred to as a non-profit media practice.  These oversights did not in any way stand in the way of textual comprehension or its flow neither should it be counted as a low for the publishers.

    In conclusion, Kalugin posits that “[t]he representation of human life as text and more particularly as a narrative can exist in at least two modalities. One is encomiastic or panegyrical…[the other] as a story about a member of the socially proximate group, which is only possible within a homogeneous social space.”I am still not sure in which of the categories I will like to locate Dr Adebanwi’s adroitly-crafted biography of a womanwho lived life with its many troubles and got double of fortunes and fame till the flame went out in the same city of her birth. Hers was a life filled with memories just like the narrative woven by the writer. There are memorable lines in the many inter-meshing lives the reader is presented with.  If you have a critical mind please keep your questions at bay if you really want to ‘enjoy’ this book. Please do not ask if HID Awolowo had any faults in life, just take this book as raw data that will surely give birth to other analytical efforts in the nearest future.

    As I dropped the e-version I was sent, the name John Lynn has not left my consciousness. Whatever happened to this white police officer who was used by the forces of darkness as the thorn in the lives of the Awolowo family, I may never know and you too may never know till someone presents a detailed or even lean copy of officer Lynn.

  • We’re on Tompolo’s trail – igp Arase

    We’re on Tompolo’s trail – igp Arase

    The police declared yesterday that they were on the trail of ex-MEND chief, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, following the issuance of a warrant for his arrest by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

    “We are looking for Tompolo and my men are on his trail. We will arrest him anywhere we sight him,” Police Inspector General Solomon Arase told reporters in Ado Ekiti.

    Tompolo was slammed with a 40-count  charge bordering on money laundering and fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The ex-militant has refused to heed EFCC’s summons for interrogation.

    He  also  failed to appear before the court, prompting the warrant of arrest.

    He has since been declared wanted by the EFCC.

    Charged with Tompolo is the immediate past Director General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi.

    Arase, who was on a tour of the Ekiti State Police Command, also told reporters that the police were yet to receive the warrant of arrest in respect of the embattled chieftain  of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Dr. Tope Aluko.

    Aluko had gone on television detailing how Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State and top government officials of the Jonathan administration and military officers connived to rig the 2014 governorship election in the state in favour of Fayose.

    Infuriated by the allegations, the state government approached an Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrate’s Court to seek the arrest warrant after accusing Aluko for perjury.

    Aluko has since gone to court to vacate the warrant of arrest.

    Asked yesterday when the police would effect Aluko’s arrest as ordered by the magistrate’s court, Arase said: “I am yet to see any warrant of arrest from the court.”

    “We are a law-abiding agency. I am a professional and  a lawyer. We know what to do in such a situation, but we are yet to receive any warrant of arrest.”

    At the interactive session with officers and men of the state command, Arase identified community policing as a necessary strategy  to secure lives and property and ensure synergy with the people at the grassroots to prevent crime.

    The IGP said police housing estates are being built across  the country to ensure that officers retire into their homes after serving their fatherland.

    He warned policemen  to treat  Nigerians with civility and  avoid  violating  human rights.

    His words:”Nigerians are more intelligent now. If you infringe on their rights, they will go to court and unfortunately the IG will be the person to sue, even while he is not there.

    “We must learn how to respect the fundamental rights of the citizens. The reason why we normally punish you for extra-judicial offences is that as  trained officers who carry arms, you owe the responsibility to protect lives and property and that was why you were trained”, he said.

    The state Commissioner of Police, Etop James, revealed that the command  requires a total of 4,206  officers to make up for the  shortfall in  personnel, describing this as very inimical to their performances.

  • Protests trail cancellation of Southern Ijaw poll

    There was tension yesterday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, following a protest by thousands of youths and women calling for the release of the result of last Sunday’s election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    They were angry that the local government was singled out for cancellation when there were reports of alleged malpractices and violence in other councils, including Yenagoa.

    The youths barricaded major roads in the city, criticising the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for annulling the election.

    They demanded the sack of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Baritor Kpagir, and release of the election results.

    The youths chanted solidarity songs, saying the REC erred because the election results had been collated and pasted in various wards.

    Scores of physically-challenged persons on wheelchairs also joined the protest, which was peacefully coordinated by policemen.

    On Monday, while the results of Southern Ijaw were being awaited at the State Collation Centre in Yenagoa, Kpagir announced that the Sunday election in the area had been cancelled.

    The election in Southern Ijaw was shifted from Saturday to Sunday because of violence.

    Kpagir announced its cancellation on Monday, citing violence, hijacking of electoral materials and other irregularities.

    The protesting youths of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wondered why Kpagir cancelled the result of Southern Ijaw but ignored other areas, such as Ekeremor, Nembe, and Yenagoa, which recorded similar irregularities.

    The protesters, led by APC stalwarts and some members of the party’s State Executive Council (Exco), carried placards with inscriptions:  “INEC should declare Southern Ijaw results now”; “The Ijaw reject and say no to dictatorial and draconian policies of Governor Seriake Dickson”; “INEC’s REC in Bayelsa should be sacked” and “Bayelsa rejects the cancellation of Southern Ijaw.”

    The protesters took off in the morning from the APC state secretariat at Yenizu-Egene, marching through the Mbiama-Yenagoa Road.

    They later detoured to Imgbi Road and headed to INEC’s office on Swali Road, where they were received by commission officials.

    The protesters, who carried APC’s flag and other party materials, noted that Kpagir’s decision robbed their candidate and former Governor Timipre Sylva of victory.

    On sighting protesters, security operatives on INEC’s premises took positions while an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) moved towards the crowd to stop them at the entrance of the road to the office.

    Policemen, with shields, barricaded the road. A police officer in the armoured vehicle demanded the reasons behind the demonstration.

    Leader of the protesters Mr. Famous Daumenighe said the youth had a message for the commission, which they wanted to deliver peacefully.

    He said: “INEC has conducted an election in Southern Ijaw and the results have been collated in all wards. Even the Returning officer said they were waiting for the results from Southern Ijaw. But the REC, for reasons known to him, was in a hurry to cancel an election that had taken place.

    “If the Returning officer had not cancelled the election, there wouldn’t have been a problem. But the REC, by his action, showed that he is bias. If Southern Ijaw is to be cancelled, then other councils, such as Ekeremor, Sagbama, Nembe and Yenagoa, which witnessed violence, should also be cancelled.”

    Daumenighe warned Ijaw youths from Delta and other neighbouring states, who were allegedly brought into Bayelsa to disrupt the election, to stay away.

    Other speakers said the protest would continue until INEC declared the Southern Ijaw results.

    But Kpagir, who was represented by INEC’s Head of Operation, Mr. O. Victor, thanked the youth for their peaceful protest.

    Victor was accompanied by other INEC officials and security operatives, including observers from the African Union (AU), Christian Victor and International Republican Institute, Mrs. Ben Udensi.

    He said the REC was in Abuja, adding that the directive to cancel the election was beyond them.

  • On campaign trail of Seriake Dickson

    On campaign trail of Seriake Dickson

    Politics remains one huge fascination especially to the aficionados in spite of delimiting factors for genuine democratisation of the process and benefits in our clime. Those who share this undying love for the prospects which politics offers the people for a better life in a just and humane society are wont to believe that despite the imperfections, some politicians are still worthy of leadership and should be supported in their aspirations to effect a change.

    But regrettably, this class of political leaders is few as most of those who fill the political space are seen as jobbers and charlatans, who resorted to politics as a short cut to wealth and fame. And this may be a disincentive for the people to trust and believe politicians when in their usual cycle of electioneering campaign, they go round shopping for votes.

    Thus, the challenge is for the electorate, through relevant civic education and activism, to demand for a saner approach to our politics which should seek to enhance true development and welfare of the people, a new social contract of commitment that emphasizes genuine public service rather than self-serving orientation of a political class common in the polity.

    These were issues of interest and due observation when this reporter was recently on the campaign trail of the governor of Bayelsa State, Henry Seriake Dickson, who significantly comes across as one politician making a difference in the proper sense of the utility of politics as a means to renewal.

    Perhaps, the question of values and individual convictions and of course the fervent recognition of the critical role of history in the affairs of men and verdict of posterity may be the driving force but no matter, Seriake Dickson is an emerging political leader who may play a bigger role on the national stage in the future. The nation certainly needs many of those with his attributes in our collective quest for development rather than the usual refrain of a nation of potentials.

    Dickson is real, visionary and engaging. He is arguably a grassroots mobilizer, a proud Ijaw man, pro-people and obviously a liberal. I looked at him closely, interpreted his thoughts and came to the conclusion that Bayelsans are lucky to have such a brilliant man as their governor. The tremendous achievements of his on-going first term, particularly the quality of his work, the deep thoughts shaping them and future implication for a prosperous Bayelsa State only formed background of my assessment and judicious verdict.

    Following his campaign trail reveals a man genuinely loved by his people. In Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, the “Community-to-Community meet the people tour” afforded the governor the opportunity to tell his story of a successful first term now winding down and prospects of a re-election to do more by his restoration administration and the need for the people’s endorsement.

    In presenting his case for re-election, the governor’s concern had been the need for continuity of his vision where Bayelsa State could continue to enjoy uninterrupted development in infrastructure provision, particularly opening up the state by connecting those inaccessible but important locations by roads and bridges, thereby enhancing commerce and civilization, manpower development through his free and compulsory education, scholarships,  health, job creation and the very broad plans for the diversification of the state economy focusing on such ambitious projects like the Agge Deep Seaport, the LNG in Brass, investment in power generation and the eco-industrial park as well as the completion of the airport at Amassoma now about 60 per cent ready. He is also interested in further entrenching a governance culture based on transparency and accountability just as he would want the security of the state maintained to avoid a relapse to the past.

    It was fun all the way as he presented the serious issues in the campaign to the people, mocking Sylva and the APC either in his mannerism, gesticulations or humorous demonstrations of the evil he said the APC constitutes if allowed any opportunity in the state and his repeated admonition to reject APC and its candidate, Sylva, like a plague.

    Although the presence of APC in Bayelsa State is a good thing in a democracy as it creates room for competition, its possible impact in the December 5 governorship election may not be quite positive as many had thought. Hope seems dimming following a number of strategic errors and effects especially on the part of Sylva and the inability to manage the initial semblance of success of the APC in Bayelsa State. The expectation is that one would see its huge presence in the state, especially the capital, Yenagoa, holding big rallies, campaigning strongly but it wasn’t so. Unlike the governor, who is gaining ground by the day from very strategic constituencies like one witnessed during the 4th Bayelsa State Thanksgiving Day where core and influential clergymen openly endorsed him for re-election with such a very large crowd in attendance.

    On the campaign trail, Dickson’s deep connection with the people says something about him as a politician. Besides being a compelling campaigner, hitting on the soul of those issues and concerns the people could relate with, he bonds so well with the folks as one of them, demystifying the governor status. For this street sense of believing Governor Seriake Dickson is your next door neighbor kind of leader, he is better recognised and called the ‘Contriman governor” and for his reliability as one governor who fulfills his promises you hear of “Talk na do governor” among the folks.

    At Swali, a community in Yenagoa Local Government, Dickson asked the people to remember he is a man who never forgets his friends and people he met along the way, intimating that he rewards loyalty and that those who work hard enough to actualize his re-election would be compensated. He also repeated similar messages at Abola, Azikoro, Okaka, Ekeki, shaking hands with the commercial tricycle riders and passengers  to press home his message as he walked the over one kilometer road to attend  yet another town hall meeting at Kpansia, a community in the state capital which ended late into the night.

    It is still early to pronounce a definite verdict but based on political tendencies observed and the possible effect on the election -day, Dickson is favoured to be re-elected as a reward for his performance and perhaps with a tinge of sentiment as the APC has yet to prove the important point of being truly a credible alternative.

    • Daniel Markson is the Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor

  • Controversies trail resignation of Wike’s media adviser

    • Former governor’s aide on way to USA   •SA’s action demonstration of uncommon courage- APC

    Yesterday’s resignation of the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike’s embattled Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, has continued to generate fresh controversies.

    According to investigations in Port Harcourt, Opunabo Inko-Tariah was on his way to the United States of America, as at the time his resignation was made public, making his telephone lines inaccessible for further clarifications.

    It was learnt that Inko-Tariah dropped the three-page resignation letter through a trusted senior journalist around 9 p.m. on Thursday, pleading that it must not be made public until 9 a.m. yesterday, when he would have been airborne to the USA.

    Meanwhile, the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, lauded Inko-Tariah’s courage, describing it as uncommon.

    Rivers APC said: “We welcome the uncommon courage displayed by Mr. Opunabo Inko-Tariah in resigning as the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the embattled governor of Rivers State this (yesterday) morning.

    “As a party, the APC knew that it was only a matter of time before all well-meaning proud sons and daughters of Rivers State, who find themselves in Wike’s sinking ship jumped to safety. This is not only because his governorship will soon become history, but because the malevolently unique style of Wike, whose hallmark behaviour hinges on divide-and-rule exasperates decent minds.

    “We are not surprised that the former Special Adviser, Media & Publicity is telling sordid stories of neglect and disrespect for his views and advice by the outgoing governor. These are all well-known character pattern of Nyesom Wike.”

    It was also gathered that the embattled former special adviser was to be sacked yesterday morning by the Governor Wike for embarrassing him and the Rivers government over his accusation of the election petitions tribunals and the Supreme Court of judicial terrorism and gang-up.

    Inko-Tariah, who is also the publisher of Port Harcourt-based newspaper, Hard Truth, claimed in his resignation that he resigned because Wike starved his office of funds and refused to take his professional advice.

    According to sources, Wike made up his mind on October 27 to remove Inko-Tariah shortly after he issued a press statement, titled: “Judicial Terrorism,” where he thoroughly abused the judiciary and eminent judicial officers.

    It was gathered that the judicial terrorism statement angered the governor, himself a lawyer, making him decide to sideline the controversial Inko-Tariah to avoid further embarrassment.

    The Rivers governor, while meeting with stakeholders at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Port Harcourt on October 30, disowned Inko-Tariah and denied ever authorising the controversial statement.

  • Blazing the trail in cardiology training

    Blazing the trail in cardiology training

    Want to be a seasoned cardiologist?  You no longer need to go abroad for training – thanks to Babcock University, which has just opened a new heart and vascular centre.  KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE reports.

    Today, as the Babcock University launches the Tri-State Heart and Vascular Centre, it is the hope of its Vice Chancellor, Prof Kayode Makinde, that the event would mark the beginning of the end of medical tourism for Nigerians.

    Flying abroad to fix various ailments has become a norm for Nigerian elite and others, who manage to raise the funds for life-saving surgeries.  Former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was about to embark on one of such journeys when he died of complications from cardiac arrest on October 10.

    Many experts in the health sector have estimated that these journeys cost Nigerians over N250 billion yearly- an amount that would do a world of good if invested locally.

    Describing the practice as disgraceful, Makinde told journalists on Tuesday that the Babcock University Teaching Hospital has begun to position itself to end the trend with the launch of the centre.

    He said: “I felt very bad recently when a former Governor, an industrious governor of one of our industrious states, (died) and the sitting Governor said they were just at the point of flying him abroad when he gave up the ghost.  The question I asked myself is when are we, as a people, going to ever have the public shame of not advertising our incompetence, our weaknesses, our inadequacies to the world?

    “The resources of the country with which we are flying our citizens are just a fraction of the resources of Nigeria that is going outside the country because of (poor) healthcare.  But we fly our resources out of the country and just mourn, grumble and complain about it.

    “Babcock has stood up and is rising to the challenge to speak and stand up; stand out for our country – that is why over the next five, 10 years, we are going to be bringing a number of specialised services, we are glad that the very first of those services, the Heart and Cadiovascular centre.”

    With the advances it is making in providing quality healthcare, Makinde said the university hopes to reduce health tourism by 10 per cent in the next decade.

     

    Why Build Local Capacity

    So far Babcock has invested about N2 billion in the centre, whose idea was mooted just seven months ago.

    Prof Kamar Adeleke, President and CEO of Tri-State Cardiovascular Associates, who left the United States (US) to establish the centre at the university, said he was inspired to act to reduce needless deaths from heart-related ailments, which he described as a silent killer.  He was particularly moved by the death of a colleague, whom he said was Nigeria’s only Neuro-Pathologist, as a result of cardiac arrest.

    He said: “Seven months ago it was a Saturday when I picked up the telephone and I called Prof Makinde. I was frustrated in the U.S.  It was about five in the morning in Delaware when I decided that enough was enough that things have to change in Nigeria.

    “Nigerians are very brilliant people; they are blessed people and indeed, they are hardworking people. They deserve better than what we are getting and the reason is because a couple of times they called me that somebody died of an illness that shouldn’t have killed him. I was disappointed when Prof Tope Alonge called to say, ‘Sir did you hear that the only neuro-pathologist we have in Nigeria died?’ He was only 52 or 53 years much younger than any of us on this table and I said what a loss for Nigeria.  How long did it take Nigeria to train him? So I called Prof Makinde and I said, ‘I need your help; I want to build a heart programme in Babcock University.’”

    Adeleke warned that heart disease is gradually, taking over from infectious diseases that used to result in the highest casualty in Africa in the past.

    “About 20 years ago the number one killer disease in Africa, especially in Sub Saharan Africa, was Infectious diseases, notably Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.  In the last three or four years now, the number one killer has been heart disease followed by stroke.  The average life expectancy in Kenya, I believe, is about 68-69, in the United States, it is about 79.8 this is about 2012 and we are already improved and in Nigeria it is about 51 or 52,” he said.

    Given the number of serious cases of heart diseases he and his team treated at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, recently, Adeleke said the prevalence of heart disease is underestimated in Nigeria.  He added that most of the 20 cases presently being managed by the centre are also serious.  He said failure to perform autopsy on most deaths was part of the reason the disease is underestimated in Nigeria.

    Making a case for strengthening local training and facilities to treat heart conditions, Prof Makinde said failure to strengthen the education system and build local capacity in healthcare delivery would not benefit anyone – least of them the elite.  He noted that despite their wealth, as the time and instability of the patient could render travel impossible and local intervention expedient.

    With 15 cardiovascular experts coming from the U.S. with Adeleke to run the centre for the next two years, Makinde is particularly excited that the programme provides a veritable platform for training of Nigerian cardiovascular professionals.

    “Training is one of the sustainability factors for the programme.  The first set that has come here will begin to train Nigerians.  We have 12 sub-residency programmes already. As they improve the healthcare, they would train Nigerians,” he said.

    Adeleke shared more light on a  fellowship to further train experienced experts.

    “We have 15 expatriates from abroad, who have signed two-year contracts.  We have also established Fellowship training – the first in Nigeria. We evaluated some cardiologists, who have gone through all the training and are consultants.  They were not up to par.  All these consultants will do two more years of training under us before we let them loose,” he said.

     

    Challenges:

    Establishing a centre of this magnitude in Nigeria has not been without challenges.  The cost has been much higher than what would have obtained in the US.  For instance, even raising funds from financial houses attracted up to 20 per cent interest – compared to the single digit they would have gotten abroad.  Also, Adeleke said the cost of consumables used for the surgeries are high because they have to be imported.  He said local production would reduce cost substantially.

    “All consumables we use come from abroad.  If we are manufacturing in Nigeria, the cost will reduce.  I have challenged the company supplying us to come down to Nigeria; and they have agreed to do so if the environment is conducive,” he said.

    Despite the cost of doing business in Nigeria, Adeleke is optimistic things would get better.  He noted that the university has pegged the charges for surgeries at the centre at $15,000.  In the US, the operations cost between $75,000 and $150,000.

    Prof Makinde has assured that the university would ensure that indigent patients, who need financial assistance are not turned away.

    “The policy we have at Babcock University is that nobody will be turned away because of funds.  The procedures are not cheap.  We are appealing to corporate entities to support people,” he said.

    Buoyed by the success of the centre’s first open heart surgery on a 34-year-old woman earlier this month, Adeleke and his team are ready to help more Nigerians get healthy locally, and in the process, transfer knowledge to local health professionals.

    As part of today’s programme launch, Adeleke said the Tri-State Foundation, would be launched to raise funds to support surgeries for indigent patients.

    Dignitaries expected at the event include the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, who would inaugurate the centre; Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof Temitope Alonge, the guest speaker; Chief Bisi Akande, and John Momoh, who are on the board of the foundation, among others.