The Nation Newspaper

Tag: week

  • Stanbic IBTC marks Lagos Social Media Week

    Stanbic IBTC marks Lagos Social Media Week

    Stanbic IBTC will be joining other thought leaders, innovators business practitioners, entrepreneurs, and pop culture luminaries from Nigeria and around the world to commemorate the 2018 Social Media Week (SMW Lagos).

    This year’s event, holding from February 26 to March 2, is themed “Closer,” and seeks to explore the intensifying conflict between communality and individualism.

    According to the organisers, SMW Lagos will focus on ideas, trends, business practices and policies that leverage technology to transform industries and communities across Africa.

    Chief Executive at Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Yinka Sanni, said a demonstration of the organisation’s commitment towards harnessing innovation and technology to build communities is underscored by its sponsorship of and active participation at this year’s Lagos Social Media WeeHe added that the organisation’s objective is therefore to ensure that these communities are well served with financial knowledge.

  • FirstBank marks Corporate Responsibility Week

    FirstBank marks Corporate Responsibility Week

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited(FirstBank) will, beginning from September 25, celebrate its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) initiatives. The celebration will end on September 29.

    The FirstBank CR&S Week themed “Promoting Kindness; Putting You First” will witness the consolidation of the bank’s interventions in social responsibility across communities in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, and FirstBank subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa.

    The programme is a reflection of the bank’s  brand promise to always put its customers first while it reinforces its role in driving sustainable development in the communities where it operates.

    The CR&S week is specially designed to reignite acts of kindness in our society, and the events are tailored towards re-orientating the society along the right values; encouraging the citizenry to intentionally create positive impact in their immediate environment.

    One of the major highlights of the week has been dubbed the Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) initiative.

    The week-long activities will see FirstBank’s employees give their time and resources to promote random acts of kindness within their communities, driving welfare through giving and visits to orphanage/less privileged homes and IDPs. The bank would also hold career counseling sessions with secondary school students across the regions which would have staff coordinate impactful sessions that will inculcate financial literacy and inclusion in young students.

    FirstBank’s CR&S Week is the first of its kind in the Financial Service industry in Nigeria and it would spotlight the Bank’s corporate citizenship interventions to drive positive impact across various communities all in one week.

    According to the bank’s Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney, the CRS week was mooted to stimulate a better society with random acts of kindness. “As an institution, we want to encourage the values of random kindness and we implore Nigerians and indeed everyone to go the extra mile to promote and celebrate kindness this week. Kindness does not have to be monetary but would always leave us with a better society we can all be proud of”, she enthused.

  • Scholars’ Week

    Scholars’ Week

    This is the week in which Nigeria’s renowned ‘Citadel of knowledge Emeritus’, popularly known as Markaz, Agege, celebrates scholarship in full regarlia in the month of May, every year. In the first week of May every year,  great men and women of letters from all walks of life, and from most countries of Africa, Europe and Asia, assemble on the campus of that great institution for a whole week.

    This unique innovation began in 1998, six years after the demise of Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory, the great founder of Markaz.

    The ingenuous idea initiated by the current Rector of the Institution Sheikh Habibullah Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory, is aimed at keeping aglow, the illuminating touch of learning, which was the hallmark of the late Sheikh Adam Al-Ilory’s lifestyle while alive.

     

    Presentation of Papers

    In the week, scholarly papers on various issues of interest and of concern to Islam and the Muslim Ummah are presented. Debates and symposia are also organized to resolve some knotty contemporary and primordial questions hitherto unanswered even as plenary sessions are held to deliberate and decide on further way forward.

    Markaz Alumni

    For the alumni of Markaz who often come from various parts of the world,    ‘Scholars’ Week’ is a reminding forum of the good old days to update their knowledge and broaden their views of life. It also serves as an interactive session for professionals, clerics and scholars in other fields of learning. The week is like a modern day ‘Ukaz’ of yore in the Arabian Peninsula, where all valuable elements of scholarship used to compete for global intellectual attention.

     

    Languages of discussion

    The primary language of discussion, while the celebration lasts, is Arabic. This does not however limit the exercise to Arabic language alone. Presentation of papers in English, French and Yoruba is also welcome since no particular language has monopoly of knowledge. Nevertheless, Arabic is made the primary language of discussion for two obvious reasons. First is to provide scholars with an avenue to exhibit their Arabic knowledge and thereby boost their scholarly horizon in the language of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

    Second is to encourage the current students of Markaz and those of other Arabic and Islamic Institutions of learning who may be interested in imbibing the culture of scholarship par excellence which helped the founder of Markaz to pave scholarship way for others in life.

    The 100 Greatest Nigerians of the century

    At the twilight of the 20th century in 1999, the management of that magazine, led by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, (now the Director Geneal of News Agency of Nigeria), thought of putting together in a chronicled document, the most prominent 100 Nigerian men and women of the 20th century. The publication was entitled ‘PEOPLE IN THE NEWS 1900-1999: A SURVEY OF NIGERIANS OF THE 20TH CENTURY’.

     

    Contributors

    Some prominent Nigerian newspaper, editors, columnists and other versatile (but non-journalists) writers were selected and commissioned to write about the selected great Nigerians. Yours sincerely was one of them. And the two personalities assigned to me as an Islamic columnist were the late Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory and Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. The 498 page book which was publicly presented with pump and pageantry at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos can be called Nigeria’s 20th century ‘Hall of Fame.

    Who is Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory?

    To know who this colossal personality was, please, read elow what I wrote and was published in that book about Sheikh Adam Al-Ilory and his established famous Institution called Markaz:

    “To Muslim communities of West Africa, two names (Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory and Markaz are synonymous and often used interchangeably. Only a few people know that Markaz is a name of an Institution while Sheikh Adam is the name of its founder. Both names jointly symbolize revolution not only in the method of propagating Islam in the sub-region but also in entrenching the divine language of the Qur’an in the heart and brain of those Muslims. The late Sheikh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory was both an Islamic scholar of international repute and a revolutionary.

     

     Profile of Markaz

    With the establishment of Markaz in 1952, Sheikh Adam introduced unp[recedented modernity and standardization into the study of Arabic and Islamic learning in West African sub-region, especially Nigeria.

    No 20th century Muslim scholar, dead or alive, has had such a profound impact on West African Muslim communities, in terms of Arabic scholarship and Islamic propagation as Sheikh Adam. Before he established Markaz, there were scholars and there were madrasahs, (Qur’anic schools) no doubt, but such schools operated within a very narrow scope as their teaching methodology was very primitive and anachronistic

     

    The old methodology

    In the old madrasahs pupils were merely handed over to muallims clerics by their parents for tutoring without any agreement on what to teach them and for how long. Thus a pupil could serve his teacher for as long as 20 years or more in the name of learning to recite the Qur’an.

     

    The Great Revolution

    Sheikh Adam, who also passed through this pseudo servitude, noticed the anomaly and resolved to change it. To succeed in doing that however, he realized that he needed to equip himself educationally. Therefore, he moved from scholar to scholar, as a student, searching for any relevant knowledge that could assist him in fulfilling his dream. Two of his teachers in that process were Alfa Namaji (a Nupe cleric from Niger State) and one Alfa ‘Esin nio bi wa’ an Ilorin man who settled down in Ibadan, (now Oyo State). He also studied under a number of other knowledgeable Islamic clerics.

     

    His academic sojourn in Cairo

    He arrived in Cairo, Egypt, in the early 1940s, where he had an academic sojourn at the prestigious Al-Azhar University which is the oldest University in the world today having been established about 970 C.E by one Jawhar, a ‘Fatimid’ front liner.

    In Cairo, Sheikh Adam saw with admiration how well organized madrasahs were and dreamt of estabkishing one on his return to Nigeria. He studied the Egyptian curricula of education and methodology of teaching both at the elementary and secondary schools levels.

     

    Establishment of Markaz

    With just meagre financial resources but relentless determination, he established his dreamt Markaz in Abeokuta, now Ogun State, on April 16, 1952. The Institution which was to become the centre of revolution  in the teaching of Arabic and Islamic education in Nigeria, started with just 19 pupils and four teachers including Sheikh Adam himself. The founder’s foresight, however, would not allow Markaz to remain in Abeokuta for long. He moved the Institution to Agege in 1955.

     

    Uniqueness of Markaz

    The uniqueness of Markaz is not to be seen in the quality of education taught to the students alone. The modern teaching methodology and reformation with which the Institution is characterized confirm that uniqueness. It was in Markaz that the use of chalk and blackboard for teaching Arabic and Islamic education was first introduced in Nigeria. Hitherto, the teaching instruments were wooden slates and local ink. It was in Markaz of all madrasahs, that a curriculum was first introduced which classified studies into subjects while pupils were distributed into classrooms according to their levels. It was in Markaz that pupils of Arabic and Islamic education first wore uniform and sat on chairs rather than on floor while writing with pencil or pen in notebooks. It was in Markaz that written examination was first conducted as a means of assessing and promoting pupils from class to class while certificates were issued to successful madrasah graduates as a measure of their level of education. It was in Markaz that such facilities as dormitories, library, printing press and clinic were first provided for students.

     

    Antagonism

    However, for doing all these and for teaching students such subjects as syntax, morphology, logic, semantics, philosophy, geography, History, mathematics, and literature, Sheikh Adam was confronted with implacable hostility by the local, traditional Alfas who saw the new revolution as a cultural affront. That hostility became aggravated when Sheikh Adam added a Central Jum’at Mosque different from that of Agege Township to Markaz where he translated the Friday Arabic sermon into Yoruba language. But the courageous scholar remained undaunted.

     

    First graduation ceremony

    With the first graduation ceremony of Markaz in 1957, however, which many people watched with admiration, Sheikh Adam won a landmark victory for his revolution. Following that graduation, some ambitious local Alfas swallowed their envy by shelving their pride and enrolled in Markaz as students to improve their knowledge and undergo tutelage in the modern teaching methodology.

    Some of these Alfas came from various parts of Nigeria as well as neighbouring countries like Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cote de Voire, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cameroon as well as Sierra Leone and Senegal. After graduation, each of them went back to their home countries to establish similar Institutions in their domains under the umbrella of Markaz.

     

    Products of Markaz

    Today, thousands of products of Markaz and those of the affiliate Institutions are University graduates in various fields of discipline. Scores of them are highly placed in their professional callings.

    Today, Markaz can proudly regale in the galaxy of its products who are holding sway in virtually all fields of human endeavour. Among these are Professors such as Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin and now the Registrer of JAMB; Professor Abdur-Razak Deremi Abubakar, a former Vice Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State; The late Professor Shuaib Uthman, formerly of Usman Dan Fodio University, Skoto; Professor Murtada Aderemi Bidmus, a former Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, to mention but just a few. There are many other Markaz products with Ph.D. degrees. There are also Medical Doctors; Lawyers; Engineers; Ambassadors;  Journalists (including yours sincerely), Architects; Accountants; Bankers; Pharmacists; Surveyors; Civil Servants; Business men and women as well as Secondary School Principals and teachers; name it. They all exemplify the great Institution’s anthem which we often chant emotionally with relish.

     

    His ascetic lifestyle

    Despite Sheikh Adam’s financial constraints, and his close relationship with the Arab world, he never sought financial aid from any foreign country. Not only did he believe that such a quest was capable of diminishing one’s social status and dignity, he also resented begging in whatever form as a means of fulfilling an ambition. Naturally, Sheikh Adam was an ascetic person who shunned avarice in all its ramifications. And due to his ascetic nature, he was highly respected by personalities like the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the late General Murtala Muhammed, the late Bashorun MKO Abiola, the late General Abdul Baqi Babatunde Idiagbon and even Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

     

    League of Imams and Alfas

    In 1963, Sheikh Adam initiated the formation of the League of Imams and Alfas of the South West of Nigeria. He was a co-founder of that League to which he served as Secretary General till his demise in 1992 after turning down his nomination as President. He was also the initiator and leader of the ten man team that translated the Qur’an from Arabic into Yoruba.

     

    Awards

    He was the first black African to win the coveted Egyptian intellectual Gold Medal Award in Arabic Literature, which was presented to him by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in 1989. He had earlier, in 1975, won the Muritanian International Award for Islamic Scholarship, which was presented to him by the late President Moukhtar Ould Dada of Mauritania.

    Sheikh Adam traveled far and wide in the Arab world, Europe and Asia attending many academic and Islamic conferences where he often presented scholarly papers. He was a member of many international academic and Islamic bodies in Africa, Middle East and Asia.

    Born in Ilorin to Alfa Abdul Baqi and Madam Aisha, in 1917, Sheikh Adam who died on May 3, 1992 was married and blessed with many children. One of those children, Sheikh Habibullah Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory, is the current Rector of Markaz.

  • Nuggets of the week

    We have predicted earlier on these pages that, very soon, sons will give up their fathers for a hefty five percent of recovered loot.

    The one anguish that has continued to torment Nigeria got a decent mention from different quarters this past week. It is our intention to draw attention to a few of them, at least, one positive but most, absolutely unnerving for a country that hopes to ever escape the corruption quagmire. First, on the positive side: a highly distinguished elder statesman, Mallam Alli Ciroma, was quoted as paying tribute to President Muhammadu Buhari, who he reportedly described as a military officer and a Moslem whose religion permits to marry four wives but chose to have only one and equally as a distinguished Nigerian who has occupied very high offices of state but was never accused of abusing his position.:

    Just as you read the above, and you feel elated about such a man being the leader of your country, you are immediately confronted with the brutal reality of what two of Nigeria’s most prodigious men of letters, Professors Itse Sagay and Segun Gbadegesin, have to say about our present; a present marked by an unmatchable, crippling corruption, where mountains of looted money, in their billions, are being ferreted out of all manner of crevices – thanks largely to whistle blowers. We have predicted earlier on these pages that, very soon, sons will give up their fathers for a hefty five percent of recovered loot.

    Declared Professor Sagay: “Corruption is omnipresent in Nigeria. High and low office holders, public and private sectors, the executive, legislative and judicial sectors, immigration, police, the civil service are all involved.  What is extremely disturbing is that peoples’ attitude to corruption has hardened. There is no longer any fear of consequences’. Going on, he said Nigeria has become overwhelmed by an epidemic of kleptomania; asking if we have a collective psychiatric problem. What, he further asks, would make a person steal what he could not spend in 10 lives while exposing the rest of society to misery, hunger, poverty, wretchedness, even death. Professor Gbadegesin was no less hard hitting in his description of what he called an outright Nigerian malady. According to him, something obviously ails this country or, he asks: “how do you go round the world, no matter who you are, with your heads high up given the common knowledge concerning the troubled state of your home land?” He asserts, assuredly, that God has actually turned his back on Nigeria until we come back to our senses.

    What an oddity; what manner of men/women are Nigerians that wherever they are on terra firma, they are, first and foremost, associated, rightly or wrongly,  with corruption, corruption, corruption? Where on earth were we told that money is spent in heaven or who has ever been buried with his millions? What is eating us up that neither shame nor fear of jail can tame again? What manner of people are we and why are we all so much beyond shame? What we have seen severally, with the single exception of President Muhammadu Buhari, is that the higher we are, the more the opportunities at our behest to do good, the more unashamedly corrupt we have all become. To quote Professor Sagay again on how even judges work against the anti corruption war: “In spite of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act providing that ruling on preliminary injunctions shall be made at the time of delivery of judgment, some judges are still granting adjournments running into months, and worse still, will adjourn their cases to give a ruling on a preliminary objection instead of giving the ruling at the same time of the judgment on the substantive matter concluding that the outcome of all this is that over 100 high profile cases are not going anywhere”. Obviously, DSS has every cause to carry on with those sting operations.  And concerning Customs which Nigerians  had believed a man with the reputation and integrity of Col Alli – for which reason he was appointed from outside the service – would tame their long throat, pre computer age accessories for corruption like their long and short tables are still  alive and kicking, facilitating endless  bribery all the way.

    If there was anything particularly galling during the week, and which must be brought promptly to the attention of the Acting President, it is the following story of how unbelievable scams are ongoing at the Central Bank. I read the lame attempt by its spokesperson, Isaac Okoroafor, to explain it off, but to be taken seriously, the apex bank must do much more. .

    From the wall of  citizen Maigari Sani Auwal, I culled this brief edited  snippet so that the appropriate agencies of state will not only take action but report, copiously, to poor Nigerians who have been at the receiving end  of what Professor Soludo calls, not recession, but compression.

    1 March at 00:57 · Kano ·

    BREAKING:

    Naira Gains; Why is DSS Still Detaining Mr. Gbadamosi who exposed The Govt Forex Fraud., Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi, a Lagos Businessman and former governorship candidate, who exposed in details the monumental organized foreign currency fraud by the Buhari government and officials of CBN was arrested and still detained by the Department of Security Services (DSS) since February 22, 2017.

    In a social media video which went viral, Mr. Gbadamosi frowned at the shabby practices where those that genuinely need foreign currencies for Business are not provided with any, while the President’s allies and the cronies of CBN big-wigs are receiving them at ridiculous low rates of N3/$1.

    Every effort to secure Mr. Gbadamosi’s release has proved abortive. The DSS has ensured that no one visits or sees the incarcerated voice of the Nigerian opposition in the secret detention centre he was dumped six days ago and sources close to Hope For Nigeria within the secret police headquarters in Abuja are claiming that Gbadamosi was accused of blackmailing the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Government by releasing those classified information about forex sales.

    Re-echoing the concern of Nigerians including that of the former CBN governor and the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido who revealed the operation of over 20 different foreign exchange rates by the CBN and some Nigerians making billions of Naira daily from their gardens trading dollar they bought at an alarming low rates, Mr Gbadamosi demanded that these sharp practices should stop in other for the country to survive the self-induced recession.

    Gbadamosi quoting various media sources in the Video, stated that the CBN was selling forex to some close allies of President Muhammadu Buhari for as low as N3 to $1 through what is called Bills of Collection. People were given dollars with cold claims that their Form M was filled and submitted like 35 years ago but forex was not released. They only has to claim that they made their importation in 1985 but forex was not released to them despite submitting duly completed Form M.

    With all documents perfected, the forex will then be released at the prevailing rate in 1985. They will get $3 million at N5/ $1 and selling to end users at say N480/ $1. The said customer will be making about N1.425billion in one transaction.

    He listed transactions by some individuals that got $4,327 at the rate of N23.34 to $1 through “credit card payment” for “invisible” purpose and under “invisible sector”. A bank also got $3,589.11 at the rate of N3.19 to $1 also for “invisible” purposes and under “invisible” sector. There was a transaction involving sale of $66.72 at the rate of N0.62 to $1. There was also a sale of $5.56 to a company at the rate of N0.61 also for “invisible” purposes. A particular transaction also involved the sale of $570.8 at the rate N3.17.

    In contrast, there was a company, who purchased $1,462,480.83 at the rate of N425 to $1. The document shows that individuals and companies got foreign exchange for purposes ranging from importation, PTA, school fees, “invisible”, family maintenance allowances, mortgage payments and medical travel among others…”

    If the executive has something to hide, and has therefore brought in the DSS, the legislature, working through its respective Banking Committees, should  please come to the aid of  poor Nigerians, expose this scam and save Buhari’s entire anti corruption war.

  • A decisive week for PDP

    A decisive week for PDP

    The proposed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention is two days away. But, efforts to resolve its lingering crisis at the weekend failed as the Sheriff camp shunned the reconciliation meeting. The national chairmanship aspirants have intensified their campaigns, ahead of the national congress. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the thorny road to convention.

    There are three options before the crisis-ridden Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as it prepares for its national convention billed for Port-Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, on Wednesday.

    The first option is for the two factions to make sacrifices through genuine reconciliation so that the opposition party can survive. In the last six months, the attention of the party has been diverted by the leadership crisis, thereby preventing it from playing the role of opposition in democracy.

    The second option is judicial solution. Already, there are conflicting judgments. The factions are hinging their actions on the rulings that appear favourable to their interests. The embattled National Chairman, Senator Modu Sheriff, has returned to the court. The outcome of the litigation will only be favourable to a camp. Following the judgment, the other camp will reject the verdict and return to court.

    The third option is to postpone the convention, until the two sides are ready for a truce. The Publicity Secretary of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, told reporters that the convention will hold as scheduled because the committee has the majority support.

    When the PDP ran into crisis, the chieftains sought the intervention of the founding fathers. It is ironic because these top party elders have been marginalised and neglected in the past. Following their intervention, an emergency meeting was summoned at the Gombe State Lodge, Abuja yesterday. The representatives of the Modu faction neither accepted nor rejected the suggestion of the elders that the two sides should close ranks. But, Sheriff said he needed to hold wider consultations with his group, based on the recommendation of the Reconciliation Committee.

    The PDP is divided at the centre by the power tussle between Makarfi and Sheriff groups. At the zonal level, the Southwest, to which the national chairmanship has been zoned by the National Caretaker Committee, is divided by the “zoning within zoning” and the ambition of five gladiators. The zonal leadership re-zoned the slot to Lagos/Ogun axis since the Oyo/Osun axis and Ondo/Ekiti axis have got slots at the national and zonal levels. But, the factional zonal executive, led by Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, rejected the arrangement and asked the directed that the aspirants from the six states were eligible. Efforts to resolve the zoning crisis at the zonal level has hit the rock.

    The national zoning arrangement has also been rejected by a contender from Edo State, Chief Raymond Dokpesi. But, a party source aspirants outside from the Southwest can still contest, although they will go to the convention as weak aspirants.

    The six aspirants from the Southwest are former National Deputy Chairman Chief Olabode George, former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel, former Education Minister Prof. Tunde Adeniran, former Sports and Special Duties Minister Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, and former Lagos State governorship candidate Mr. Jimi Agbaje. Based on the zoning at the zonal level, it appears that Adeniran and Adedoja may not be in contention, although they may still decide to carry on with their aspirations. Daniel may still be in the race, but not much is heard about him.

    The greatest challenge facing the Southwest is consensus candidacy. Even, if party elders prevail on Adeniran and Adedoja to step down, there is no indication that George and Agbaje will step down for one another.

     

    George

     At the meeting of Southwest stakeholders in Akure, the Ondo State capital, George was endorsed by the zone. The meeting was jointly presided over by Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayodele Fayose. But, what is worrisome to George’s associates is that the the Southeast and Southsouth colleagues of Mimiko and Fayose are backing Agbaje. When he declared his bid at the Lagos PDP Secretariat, it was like a carnival. The majority of party members endorsed his bid. Many have described him as a formidable candidate; full of experience and popular in the party. George is a founding member of the PDP. For 10 years, he worked at the national secretariat of the party. He was the National Vice Chairman (Southwest). When he was the zonal leader, the PDP won five of the six Southwest states in 2003. Later, George served as the Deputy National Chairman (South) and later, as the only National Deputy Chairman. He was the Presidential Campaign Coordinator in 2007 for the Yar’Adua/Jonathan ticket. George has also served in many committees of the party, traversing the six geo-political zones and resolving conflicts in many chapters. Before his foray into politics, he had served as a military governor in the old Ondo State. George studied Engineering at the University of Lagos, Akoka, where he also bagged a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration. He retired in the Navy as a Commodore.

    It appears that party elders are comfortable with the Board of Trustees (BoT) member. He is a household name in  the party. A former Minister of Transport and colleague in the BOT, Chief Ebenezer Babatope and former Minister of Work, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe are among party elders vigorously campaigning for the retired naval officer.  Although Agbaje has explained that he joined the race in the national interest, Ogunlewe disagreed, saying that he us being pushed by some governors. Dismissing Agbaje’s aspiration with a wave of the hand, he said he lacked the qualities of national leadership. In his view, Agbaje, who defected to the party last year, is relatively new and unknown to party leaders in other geo-political zones. He said George is a better candidate because he has contacts across the length and breadth.

    George has a major hurdle to cross to become the national chairman. He acknowledged that the PDP Governors’ Forum is an influential bloc that cannot be relegated to the background. However, he said he will laid his aspiration before the governors, ahead of the convention.

    Apart from working on Mimiko, George is linking up with top party leaders in Lagos, Osun, Oyo and Ogun, where the party does not have any governor. Party chieftains from these states witnessed his declaration.

    On Agbaje’s ambition, George said that, although he has been kind to the pharmacist-turned politician, he has not shown gratitude for the role he has played in his political career. He said the shoe of the national chairman is too big for Agbaje, who he described as a new comer who is yet to familiarise himself with the party.

     

    Agbaje

     For weeks, Agbaje, a successful businessman and former treasurer of Afenifere, pan-Yoruba socio-political group, kept a sealed lip on his ambition. When his unfolded his aspiration last week, he said he was on a rescue mission, adding that his bid was in the interest of the party and the country. Why the governors are rooting for the former Lagos PDP governorship candidate is not in the realm of conjecture. The governors want a national chairman who will not tamper with their interests. Immediately the former chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, mooted some reforms which would have whittled down the power of the governors to exclusively finance the party and retain their hold on its structures, hell was let lose. Former Governors Tukur, Okweziliese Nwodo and Adamu Muazu, who knew the tricks of the governors and who could challenge their dominance did not last in office. A source said that the governors loathed George’s ambition because he cannot be pushed around.  Therefore, they decided to settle for Agbaje, who will be learning the ropes as he leans on the Governors’ Forum.

    Agbaje’s ambition has pitched him against George, his godfather during last year’s election. His entry into the race has been decried by some Lagos PDP members who believed that he should have become George’s campaign manager, instead of throwing his hat into the ring. Although he cannot be described as a rugged politician, Agbaje is popular among Lagosians. The ca,mp of George believes that he is not known outside Lagos State. Many were taken aback when he joined the PDP. His decision, observers said, mocked his antecedent as a progressive politician.

    In 2007, Agbaje contested for the governorship election. In the Alliance for Democracy (AD) primary, he lost to Babatunde Fashola (SAN). He went to the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA). Eight years later, he came to slug it out with Senator Musiliu Obanikoro in the PDP. Although he secured the ticket, he lost to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    Some groups within the PDP have warned against the danger of installing Agbaje as chairman. They claimed that the party needed an experienced politician to preside over the party at this critical moment. According to one of the groups, “Agbaje is definitely not the fit and proper person to occupy that delicate position of a national chairman. We live in a time of extraordinary crisis. We need a tested hand to steer the machinery of our great organisation. We need a man with proven experience.”

    However, Agbaje’s supporters believe that he has the ability to reposition the party because he is a man of honour and credibility.

     

    Adeniran

     Adeniran is another man of honour and integrity. He is a loyal and committed chieftain. Despite the vicissitudes of politics. When he was dropped from the federal cabinet as the Minister of Education in the Obasanjo administration, he did not show bitterness. When he was also dropped as an ambassador, he accepted his fate.

    Adeniran is a great scholar. He became a professor of Pat the University of Ibadan. In 1986, he was a member of the Political Bureau headed by Dr. Cookey. Later, he became a Mass Mobilisation for Social and Economic Recovery (MAMSER) director. In 1999, he was the PDP governorship candidate in Ekiti State. In many party committees he had served, he has justified the confidence reposed in him.  Explaining his mission, the former university don said he joined the race to salvage the party from imminent collapse.”

     

    Adedoja

    Adedoja was a crusader for zoning to the Southwest. But, it is doubtful, if he has the support of prominent leaders beyond Oyo State. He has described himself as “a politician who had already effected handshake across the Niger, being a well-blended Southwesterner who speaks the mind and language of the North.”

  • Students’ remarkable week

    Students of the Mass Communication Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), held their yearly Week, tagged: “Jackson Week”. The event featured a vocational training, where the students learnt craftwork. JAMES OJO (300-Level Mass Communication) reports.

    It was a week they all looked forward to, but none expected the large turnout at the event. It was the yearly Week of the Department of Mass Communication of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

    Students, under the aegis of Mass Communication Students’ Association (MACSA), turned out in gorgeous attires for the event.

    The week-long event started with a vocational training, where students learnt website development, computer programming and video editing.

    The participants were also trained on how to make cakes, bags, beads and shoes. The training was followed by a seminar on finance management and how to start small scale businesses.

    On the second day, there was a novelty football match in honour of the Head of Department (HOD), Dr Greg Ezeah. Second year students of the department worn the contest.

    On the third day, the students organised a lecture with the theme: Journalism today: The realities of professional practices. It  held at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium (PAA) and was graced by speakers, including the Special Assistant to Niger State Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jide Orintunsin; Exxon Mobil’s Country General Manager on Public and Government Affairs Mr. Paul Arinze, and Dean, Faculty of Art, Prof Pat Okpoko.

    Orintunsin, a former Niger State correspondent of The Nation, spoke on the challenges confronting journalism in the country. He listed lack of professionalism, corruption and unfavourable working conditions as threats to journalism practice in Nigeria, arguing that the challenges had not helped in the development of the profession, despite its significant role in the society.

    Orintunsin stressed the need to uphold professionalism and journalism ethics, describing the pen profession as an “all-comers’ affair”. He said journalism does not have specific criteria for membership compared to other professions.

    He said: “Today, most journalists see news coverage from a commercial point of view. The integrity of contemporary journalists has been compromised by economic hardship and realities. The trend of sensationalism of news item by editors does not depict the credibility, objectivity, accuracy and trust associated with the profession.”

    The trend, he said, must be stopped at this time anti-corruption has become the new mantra.

    On the risk faced by journalists in  their duties, Orintusin urged the government and security agencies to create an enabling environment for journalists to carry out their tasks, noting that democracy would not thrive without a vibrant media.

    Arinze, who spoke on Business communication, urged students to tap from the numerous opportunities in Mass Communication, adding that the discipline prepared students to become entrepreneurs.

    He said: “Studying Mass Communication is one of the best decisions you can make as today’s communicators must necessarily become tomorrow’s business leaders. Mass Communication prepares students to report news and become newsmakers. Journalism is not limited to ink and paper reporting alone; there is more to it.”

    He advised students to be business-savvy and engage in capacity building in this age of technology and social media.

    Highpoint of the lecture was the presentation of awards to the speakers.

    The fourth day featured a cultural event. Students from all parts of the country were clad in their native attires. They also prepared their local delicacies to serve their colleagues to promote cultural understanding. The event featured a cultural dance contest, wrestling and drama, among others.

    On the last day, the students held an award night, where they honoured their colleagues who distinguished themselves in various endeavours. Students described the Week as remarkable in the history of the department.

    Chidiebere Kalu, a 400-Level student, said it was the best departmental week he had witnessed since he was admitted into the department.

    The MACSA President, Victor Agi, praised students for  attending  the event.He appreciated the association’s Staff Adviser, Mr Jude Agbo, and lecturers for their support and contributions to the success of the event.

  • Shoppers speak on consumer Appreciation Week

    Some shops and mega stores in Lagos have been appreciating loyal customers. Some are giving free gifts and shopping vouchers while others have slashed prices to thank their customers during the Appreciation Week, which ended last week.

    To some shops, the freebies are  a weekly/daily affair. Some stores do not have particular periods for consumer appreciation. They do so during festivities and other selected dates.

    Some shoppers believe appreciation is a good thing to do once in a while to make customers feel special.

    For Mrs. Ifunanya Chukwudi, it is a good thing for big shops to appreciate their customers once in a while, if not for anything, just to make them patronise the shop more. “I have been gifted once or twice by a supermarket I shop at. I was given a pen and a book at the end of my shopping and it was a very nice feeling because things like this attract people to come and shop; nothing is too small you know.”

    She added:“I believe it is a good thing to do because it’s a way of appreciating we the customers for patronising them.”

    Mrs Gloria Kunle is a shopper whose daughter has gained from consumer appreciation. She believes that it is good for some of the mega stores and supermarkets to appreciate their customers. “My daughter was once given a plastic water bottle which she really appreciated and loved. Some give books and other packages. It’s a good thing though and I really love things like that, no matter how small. It means we are being appreciated.”

    Mr Wahab Lawal was of the view that the best way to appreciate shoppers is discount sales by some stores during festive seasons.

    “I was once given a discount price on some items I bought in a boutique during a festive season and I was very excited when I asked why. I was told it was their own way of appreciating their customers for patronising them. With that I was motivated to bring some of my friends to shop there. It’s a good thing to do in one way or the other; it attracts customers to patronise shops like that.”

    Miss Folake Faith and Stanley Ameh have also received gifts from some mega stores where they shopped. They a T-shirt and a book.

    Some companies sometimes include pen, books, raffle draws ticket and recharge cards, among others, to make their customers happy.

    Consumer products – beverages, textile, and detergents – companies  also find a way to appreciate their customers.

  • Rotary ends family health week

    Rotary International at the weekend ended its yearly family health week nationwide.

    National Chairman, Rotary Family Health and Aids Prevention (RFHD), Oluwagbemiga Olowu, who said overall the turnout was impressive, described the programme as a big one in Rotary. He added that in Lagos over 1,000 participants were recorded in each site. There were over 50 of them. They included the Police College, Maryland, Onigbogbo, Isolo, Ire Ikari, and Palmgrove. “I had calls from Enugu, Abakaliki and other places. The reports were good. Despite the rain in Lagos on Thursday, many people still came,’’ he said.

    Olowu said the health programme, which started in 2012, was aimed at the people to enable them know their health status and, ultimately, avert any danger. Participants received free screening, treatment and drugs. He said assistance in terms of logistics and materials came from the Rotary Foundation, federal and state ministries of health, agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “We work with big organisations and NGOs. We are well-covered when it comes to men and materials,’’ he added.

  • A college’s memorable week

    The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Television College (TV COLLEGE) students have celebrated their week. SULEIMAN DUTSE and RAHILA AMINU (ND 1 Television Journalism) report.

    Residents of Rayfield in Jos, Plateau State capital, were caught unawares. They woke up to see a group of men, who dressed like traditional hunters, moving in a procession round the city. The ‘hunters’ were clad in animal skin with lamps on their heads, and locally-woven pouches strapped to their backs. They were ‘armed’ with bows and arrows as they walked round the city.

    A Student dress like an ancient hunter
    A Student dress like an ancient hunter

    They were not heading to the bush to hunt; they were students of the Nigerian Television Authorities (NTA) Television College (TV COLLEGE), Jos, who were marking their yearly Students’ Week.

    They thrilled the Rayfield residents with their display of culture before they returned to their campus for other activities to mark the event.

    The three-day event was jointly organised by the Television Production Students Association (TEPSA) and Television Journalism Students’ Association (TEJOSA). The event started last week Wednesday with an eating competition, where contestants were given little time to eat food meant for more than one person.

    Students at the event were shocked when Buge Zamfara, a fresher, won the contest after he consumed two loaves of big bread, two boiled eggs, two 50cl soft drink and two sachets of water in 10 minutes.

    Stephanie Pam, a 300-Level Television Journalism student, described the contest as entertaining, saying the contestants ate like gluttons.

    This was followed by a talent hunt show, where students displayed their creativity in dance and comedy.

    •The winner, Buge, eating during the competition
    •The winner, Buge, eating during the competition

    On Thursday, classrooms were almost empty as students trooped to the college auditorium to see a drama by students of Film Productions and a movie.

    The movie was at the instance of a 400-Level student, identified as Da’anon Gyang, who is known on the campus for his passion for showing educative visual material.

    Hamza Muazu, a 300-Level Television Production student, said cinema is a medium through which Television Production students gain practical understanding of their discipline.

    The TEPSA president, Samuel Bature, said the Students’ Week was an important event on the campus, noting that it was a way to relieve students of academic stress and allow them to interact with colleagues. He praised his colleagues for the participation and the support they showed in the course of the event.

    Samuel also thanked the school management and his members of TEPSA executive for contributing to the success of the Week, which marked the end to his tenure.

    The event ended on Friday with a beauty pageant, where female students contested for Miss TV College. The contest saw Mercy Onoja, a Television Journalism student, to be crowned as beauty queen.

    Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, Adebayo Oyedokun, a senior staff of the college, said the sustenance of the pageant was a proof that the beauty contest had come to stay in the college. It was gathered that there were more contestants in the contest than the previous years. The event featured musical performance by a Bauchi-based artiste, known as B.O. It also gave the beauty queen of Plateau State University an opportunity to have a special appearance at the show.

  • Citibank Nigeria marks ‘Global Money week’

    Citibank Nigeria marks ‘Global Money week’

    Citibank Nigeria Limited joined the rest of the world to commemorate the annual Global Money Week. The event, which held at Aunty Ayo Girls’ Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Lagos, featured an interactive session on financial literacy, titled “Growing Your Money”.

    The programme, the bank said in a statement, focused on educating Nigerian youths on the economic environment and the importance of savings, entrepreneurship and financial value creation.

    The event was organised in partnership with Junior Achievements of Nigeria (JAN), a financial education non-governmental organisation.

    The bank’s Executive Director and Head of Global Subsidiaries Group, Mrs. Nneka Enwereji encouraged the students to be accountable for their financial health, and prioritise their needs over their wants.

    She also stressed the need for the students to be financially aware and empowered to save and make monetary decisions.

    JAN’s Programme Officer, Ms. Efe Adefulu, at the event, also reiterated the need for the students to cultivate savings culture. Ms. Adefulu expounded on the significance of financial literacy to the fiscal independence and economic sustainability of Nigeria.

    Global money week is a yearly celebration commemorated across the world in honour of empowering the youth to be involved in reshaping their finances and their future.