The Nation Newspaper

Tag: worry

  • Basketmouth expresses worry over stand-up comedy

    A list comedian and actor, Bright Okpocha, popularly known as Basketmouth, joined a panel of communication experts at Viacom International Media Networks Africa’s (VIMN Africa) forum at Social Media Week Lagos to discuss the future of content in Africa.

    The captivating discussion, which was themed ‘Music, Content and Consumer Experiences…Changing The African Narrative’, was moderated by MTV Base VJ, Folu Storms and featured MTV Base Africa (ROA) Senior Channel Manager, Viacom International Media Networks Africa, Solafunmi Oyeneye; Founder and Principal Consultant, Peaceville Entertainment Group, Ernest Audu; CEO and Chief Creative Officer at X3M Ideas Limited and X3M Music, Steve Babaeko and Publisher of Nigerian Entertainment Today, founder of BlackHouse Media and ID Africa, Ayeni Adekunle.

    The session had about 100 people in attendance and touched on everything from creating content in the evolving music industry to how content creators can position themselves to make profit from their craft.

    Basketmouth is one of the few Nigerian stand-up comedians who has worked twice on VIMN Africa platforms. In 2011 he was approached by MTV Base to host his own show ‘The Big Friday Show’ and the TV show went on to win the best TV show. In 2013, he collaborated with Comedy Central as host of Live at Parker’s.

    Sharing his inspirational story, the comedian touched on the need for Nigerian content creators to create content that not only strikes a chord with their target audience but also outlives the creator.

    “While it is good for us to evolve, we have to remember to make content that has substance. We need to understand our target audience and what they need,” he said.

    Speaking about the comedy scene in Nigeria, Basketmouth appreciated the efforts of Comedy Central, a property of Viacom, in creating a platform not only for traditional stand-up comedians but also trendy one minute skits comedians. He, however, noted that while he has no problem with the new generation of Instagram comedians, he still does not see enough comedians taking time to hone the craft of stand-up comedy.

    Expressing his displeasure with comedians who take the easy route of only creating skits, Basketmouth said: “There’s nothing like a good joke. A joke can always be improved and even I often share some of my jokes with fellow comedians and they tell me it’s okay but tell me how to make it better. Doing skits on social media is very different from performing on stage. There is no filter on stage.”

    He also urged upcoming acts to work on their content and create a fan base for themselves before approaching brands and demanding showcase opportunities.

    With over 20,000 attendees across the week and an online social reach of 646 million, Social Media Week Lagos is now considered Africa’s largest digital media and tech event.

  • Worry for my country

    For once, I have never had any doubt that a majority of Nigerians made the best decision when they voted for President Muhammadu Buhari instead of renewing the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Given the dire circumstances the nation found itself after six years of ex-president Jonathan’s government, it would have been suicidal to retain him to continue in office.

    Buhari was our best bet against Jonathan to save the country from sliding into unimaginable economic and political crises, which would have been difficult to recover from. Thankfully, Buhari got elected and Jonathan did not behave like the typical Nigerian politician who would not accept defeat without all manners of protests.

    However, over two years into the Buhari’s administration, there are many reasons to worry why President Buhari is not living up to expectations that he is the saviour we need.

    His style of administration, which appears to take Nigerians for granted, is worrisome. Many instances that require swift actions have remained unattended to.

    Instead of speaking up on major issues, Nigerians have heard little or nothing from the president who definitely means well for the country but leaves us at the mercies of some aides who indulge in unnecessary name-calling or accusations.

    While Buhari himself is regarded as an epitome of integrity, some of his aides through their actions and inactions have put a big question mark on the anti-corruption crusade of the administration.

    While the government is yet to sufficiently deal with the accusations and counter accusations between the Minster of State of Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu ,and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) , Dr  Maikanti Baru, the scandal of the surreptitious recall of the former pension boss,  Abdulrasheed Maina, who is wanted by the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is yet another issue begging for firm action to be taken by the president.

    How can any official of this government approve the reinstatement and promotion of Maina despite all the allegations pending against him? From all indications, the Attorney General, Malami, is party to the deal which explains why he initially defended the recall on the grounds that no court has found Maina guilty.

    The Internal Affairs Minister, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, initially claimed that Maina was redeployed to his ministry by the Head of Service, only for Oyo-Ita to deny the claim. Yet another official of the government, media aide, Garba Shehu, found no other justification for the recall but that the Jonathan government was to blame for what I don’t understand.

    It is not enough for the president to sack Maina, more heads need to roll based on the report he has requested for over the incident. Unless the president takes necessary action to serve as deterrent to any other official or appointee who is not sensitive enough to the anti-corruption stance of his government, he would be further arming his critics who say there is a cabal dictating the direction of the administration.

    This is yet another test case like that of the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, which Nigerians are patiently waiting for Buhari to apply the big stick.

    The time to act is now, before those who claim that Buhari is not up to what he promised Nigerians who voted for him have the last laugh.

  • Worry less about gray hair

    While some people welcome gray hair, which many believe, is associated with old age, others cannot stand it. The good news: Scientists are hard at work on how to prevent it. However, research has shown that using natural ingredients will help to boost and rejuvenate the hair, Omolara Akintoye writes

    Every man and woman knows the day will come, and they all dread it. You look in the mirror, and there it is — your first gray hair! Men are seen shaving their hair while women start dyeing it or covering their hair with wig. While some people start experiencing it at a later age, some are not that lucky. In an interview with Mrs. Lucy Odunayo, a business woman, she recalled how she started battling gray hair from her youthful days. “My mother gave birth to me in her late forties, so my mum had been told that I would start experiencing gray hair early. So, I had no choice than to start wearing wig right from my youthful days,” she lamented. For Mr. John Iluoma, he had to have his hair shaved to keep gray hair at bay.

    What actually causes gray hair is as simple as normal aging. As we get older, we produce less of two enzymes: the first is an enzyme that helps break down hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is a well-known tool for bleaching hair, but did you know your hair cells actually make hydrogen peroxide? As we age, the amount produced increases, ultimately bleaching hair pigment. A Beauty Consultant/ Dermatologist, Temitope Faronbi, who spoke on the causes of

    gray hair, said with age, we also produce less of another enzyme that helps repair damaged hair follicles. This slow down reduces the amount of pigment, or melanin that we produce. If the amount of melanin is reduced, the hair turns gray. Once the production of melanin is stopped altogether, hair turns white.

    According to Faronbi, gray hair is not necessarily associated with old age. Many reasons can be attributed to it, such as depression, stress, inadequate rest, not eating balanced diet, lack of supplement, health issues, among others. “When someone is not happy, he/she can start having gray hair, because it leads to hormonal imbalance and this can make someone to have gray hair,” said Faronbi. A lot of people cannot manage stress, but irrespective of what you are going through, you should be able to manage your health.

    Similar to hair loss, Faronbi pointed out that gray hair is primarily the result of genetics. “You can look to your parents or grandparents for a glimpse of what the future may hold for your looks,” she said. Basically, ask your parents when they got their first gray hairs, and you may just be getting a glimpse into your future.

    Of course, you’re not going to wake up one day and be totally gray. It’s a process, and that process typically follows a pattern. Gray hairs will first appear around your temples, and slowly fill in and move up and around your scalp. While it’s not lucky that they tend to show up first right up front, at least you can take comfort in the fact that if your temples aren’t gray, there probably aren’t any in the back of your head you don’t know about, either.

    Speaking on how it can be prevented, Faronbi said do what makes you happy; ensure that you are among people with positive mindset, be happy, eat enough balanced diet, take the necessary supplement. “Go for beauty therapy and body massage; take care of your health. Gray hair is

    more common among women than men because of domestic violence as well as other things being faced by women on a daily basis. It also affects men, especially those that are financially low. They can start looking older and having gray hair, but in the course of my work it affects more women than men.”

    Faronbi warned that people should not pull off gray hair. “Once one is pulled off, it starts coming out more,” she disclosed. One of the ways it can be checked, according to Faronbi, is the use of natural shampoo made with okro and apple cinder vinegar can be used.  “Rather than using harsh chemical substance, use natural ingredients which will help to boost and rejuvenate the hair.” She stated.   Carrot oil or coconut oil can be used as hair oil. She said also that the hair can be massaged with egg oil. Egg oil contains anti-oxidant which arrests premature aging (graying) of hair and even reverses early stage gray hair.

    She advised that people should avoid dyeing their hair. Dyeing, she pointed out, will increase the grey hair.  Managing gray hair, according to her, also implies staying off smoking, as effect of smoking is also linked to premature hair graying, with the onset of gray hair occurring before the age of 30.

    Get enough vitamins: Vitamins (including B12) are essential for hair and skin health. When you have a deficiency, your hair can prematurely begin to lose some of its pigment or even fall out (it may fall out if you have a zinc deficiency), making you gray or bald (you’d want to avoid both).

    Finally, Faronbi tasked people to take multivitamin supplements to prevent going gray too early. “Taking supplements isn’t a magic potion guaranteed to keep your hair colourful, but it may give you a little extra time before it turns gray,” she said.

  • Sultan’s worry

    •Federal Government must listen to his clarion call to disarm cattle rearers

    It is a tinderbox waiting to spark into a conflagration but sadly, the Federal Government seems to be at sea as to what to do. However, the now calamitous Hausa-Fulani cattle rearers’ matter may be inching towards a certain denouement as the supreme leader of the Muslim faithful in Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, has lent his voice to it.

    In his Eid-el-Fitr message last week, he averred: “The real herdsmen do not carry guns, they only move with their cows and sticks.

    “Agreed, there are bad eggs among the Fulani, but those carrying arms and perpetrating heinous killings are not herdsmen. Those carrying arms are criminals and they should be treated as such.

    “The government should therefore probe the sources of these weapons and take appropriate action so as to minimise these attacks.”

    Since the menace of the nomadic cattle breeder took a dangerous turn about two years ago and its devastating effects became a problem of national magnitude, no call has been this strident and poignant. Initially, the refrain emanating from northern leaders, including some governors, had been that the marauding herdsmen were foreigners from across Nigeria’s borders. But for the first time, the narrative seems to be changing and about time too.

    The Federal Government must urgently take a cue from the admonition of the Sultan and initiate a series of actions towards finding a lasting solution to the problem. The reason is that the tempo of attacks has risen sharply just as the trouble spots have increased. From Taraba to Benue, Edo, Ondo, Delta, Enugu, Ebonyi, there is hardly any state in Nigeria where the herdsmen have not left their ugly imprint.

    For instance, just as the Sultan spoke in Sokoto last week, a shootout was going on in Ileyo Village in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State. It was between the police and herdsmen who had invaded the farm of Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Falae who was abducted on his farm by herdsmen in 2015 had invited the police when he noticed grazing on his farm.

    The herdsmen on sighting the police, reportedly opened fire on them; they claimed that the place was their grazing area.

    Two days after the Akure North incident, the streets of Ekpoma, the headquarters of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State were in turmoil as residents marched in protests of the alleged beheading of a woman.

    The woman was said to have been beheaded in her farm the day before and her body was found in the morning of the following day. Three weeks earlier, another woman was reportedly shot in Auchi by Fulani herdsmen in the presence of his husband and two children as they returned from the farm.

    But all these were child’s play compared to the mayhem that was unleashed on Sadauna Local Government Area of Taraba State in the feud between Fulani herdsmen and the Mambilla tribe in the Mambilla Plateau community. As at last week, it was reported that over 200 people and a lot of cattle had been killed. And it seemed morning yet as the augury is dark in that hitherto serene plateau community.

    It is against this backdrop that the Sultan’s call is most auspicious and must be attended to with utmost urgency. It must be noted that the Federal Government has been particularly remiss on this matter.

    While government must move quickly to disarm the herdsmen and curb rustling, there is need for a holistic intervention to this matter. Nomadic mode of animal husbandry is no doubt obsolete; therefore government and all stakeholders must draw up a medium-to-long term plan to create a new template.

    We note again that what is at stake here is beef, milk, leather and all the auxiliary businesses in the livestock value chain. It’s business, stupid.

  • ‘My worry about Nigeria’

    ‘My worry about Nigeria’

    His life is typical of the wise saying ‘never despise a little beginning’. Sunmi Smart-Cole remains a motivation to many. From being a teacher at age 15 with only primary school education, he worked his way up with determination. He became an accomplished draughtsman, drummer, barber, photographer and journalist. The high society came out in large number to celebrate him last Sunday as he turned 75. During this chat with EVELYN OSAGIE, he played the drums with finesse, showing that age has not diminished his skill. Smart-Cole talked about Nigeria, his talents and friendship with the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

    It feels great being 75. I have no regrets. I feel extremely blessed and fortunate. I am grateful to God for great mercies and for sparing my life. Many born about the same time with me and some of my friends died in their 30s and 40s. I have been involved in three major accidents; and three times I escaped death. I was hit from behind by a big truck. The second time, we nearly ran into a trailer while Abike Dabiri now Dabiri-Erewa, and I were accompanying Mrs Maryam Babangida to Zaria and escaped. I fell down in a helicopter, broke my leg and neck, had my knee replaced by metal but survived.

    I am a proud father of two young men. And I thank God for giving me five talents, and making me excel in them all. I have been a successful architecture (draughtsman): I designed the house of Sierra Leonean second Prime Minister Albert Michael Margai, after his brother was Sir Milton. I designed a house for the BBC producer called Pete Mayas, whose mother was from Venezuela and that he wanted a country home built there. And the house had a swimming pool on top, and you could see the silhouette of people swimming. I ran a successful barber’s shop. By God’s grace I had exhibited my photographs in five countries, travelled around the world, and photographed very influential people. Indeed, God had been gracious to me. For example, I was on President Obasanjo’s pre-inaugural tour, to 28 countries. I have taken photograph with Fidel Castro, some of our former presidents, including Yar’Adua that died, and excluding Sir Tafawa Balewa and Dr Goodluck Jonathan. I never cared about Jonathan and I don’t regret it. The first time we fought we met in a church in Calabar when he was Deputy Governor to Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

    I have also been a drummer and part of a musical group. Although I never played music for money, our group have gone to play in Ghana and America. As a journalist, I have also edited a popular paper, Lagos Life.

    My worry about Nigeria

    When I was growing up I wanted to be upright. I prayed to God that I didn’t want to become rich doing anything dubious or immoral instead, let me die poor. I won’t be the first. I had been tempted three times by some ministers – they’d steal money and I would help them to siphon it. One time, a minister who was appointed four days before called me and asked to recruit me; when he looked up and saw I was weeping, he thought I was overjoyed that it was time to become rich. But I was crying for Nigeria. He had not worked at all. All he was thinking of was how to steal money and how I would help him. This is my worry about Nigeria – it is unfortunate that there is too much corruption in the country. It is a pity that higher institutions keep giving politicians, “fly-by-night” pastors, honouree degrees. Meanwhile, there are many people who have made in-depth contribution but are not making noise about it. if I were in another country, I would have got one too.

    In most Saro houses, you’d see the maxims: Cleanliness is next to Godliness” and “Godliness and contentment”. Both have been grafted on my heart since childhood. And I’ve made up my mind a long time ago that whatever life throws at me, I’d take and be content.

    My growing up

    I was born in and grew up in Port Harcourt. It was a very cosmopolitan place with people from many countries and diverse nationalities – the lingua franca was English. But my paternal grandfather, Revd M.S. Cole, landed in Lagos Colony in 1897. So don’t come and ask me if I am a Nigerian. Chief Obasanjo asked me that in Washington once and we nearly got into a fight. My grandfather was a priest. He worked at the Cathedral Church of Christ of Nigerian Anglican Communion at Marina and also at All Saints’ Church at Montgomery Road, Yaba, from 1944 to 46. My father was also a priest in Port Harcourt but I don’t want to get into that story because I don’t want you to refuse to buy my memoir which I am working on. I have been posting photographs of me and some influential personalities on social media, and some people would have been saying “is Sunmi Smart-Cole going to die?” (Laughs) No.

    My self-education journey

    I am not poor but I’ve known what poverty is. People won’t believe there was a time we couldn’t eat rice everyday but only on Sunday after church. My formal education stopped at the age of 14. I passed the entrance examination to three secondary schools – Kings College, Lagos; Baptist High School and Stella Maris Secondary, both in Port Harcourt; but I could not go because  there no was money. My mother was a dressmaker but a lot of things led to that. Anyway, she took me to the Bishop of our church at the age of 15, hoping to get a scholarship since most of the schools were owned by the missions. And the man gave a letter to the manager of schools and I came out dancing, thinking I had been given a scholarship. But he actually instructed him to give me a job as a teacher at the age of 15. I became a teacher, teaching Infant One and Infant Two at St. Cyprians Primary School, Port Harcourt. I taught until I was 17, and resigned the job. I love the children but I hated the job because I’d wanted to be where my friends were – in school. But I have always kept my head up and never allow any situation to keep me down.

    I decided, at the age of 17, to educate myself, which was the toughest jobs I ever did. I learnt to speak English by listening, reading, and absorbing all sorts of things.

    I went to where they sold second-hand clothing, what they called “Okrika wake-up” to buy old magazines and books – Time magazine, Newsweek, Reader’s Digest and National Geographic. I was particularly influenced by the column in Reader’s Digest that says “Word Power”. I read the Bible three times – from Genesis to Revelations, not in search of religion but in search of words. I listened a lot to radio and try to speak well. Listening to broadcasters were not just a joy but greatly influenced to me. I lived in America for 10 years and refused to speak like them because they don’t speak good English. So that is how I learnt to speak English and here we are today. At the same time, by God’s grace, my educational background did not stop me from being appointed Editor of Lagos Life.

    My friendship with the late Fela

    Fela was a great musician and my friend. He had a licentiate from the Trinity College, London. He was a musicologist just like people before him, like the greatest African musician and composer Fela Sowande. Fela was very good to his friends.

    Because of my training as an architectural draughtsman, I used to design his posters for his shows. When I knew him, he drank only Fanta soft drink and couldn’t stand anybody who smoked. It was his trip to America that changed his life. Although before then, he was an Africanist; with the advent of black power movement, he was a sympathiser.

    Fela and I used to pack at Campos Square to see his girlfriend, the one we called “the Ghost”. We used to called her so behind his back because she was very tall and unusually slim, and those were the kind of women he liked. Fela was somebody who liked women; but women like him more than liked them. He liked common people too.

    His love affair with the area boys and common people had started way back then. On the day he received his salary, he would change it to small amount. And when we got to Campos Square, they would rush at him from all corners. It was like security, like he was buying their loyalty. They never deflated his tyres. One time armed robbers stopped him on the street while he was driving his brother, Beko’s ambulance, when they saw he was the one they prostrated, apologised and ran away.

    When he came back from England he had forgotten about his Koola Lobitos in England, and formed Fela Ransom-Kuti Quintet, a jazz group. I could only play conga drums then.

    My foray into the world of music

    I belonged to a music group called the Soul Assembly, led by Segun Bucknor. I was the drummer. There were also James Nelson-Cole, vocalist and rhythm guitarist and his elder brother Mike, and alto saxophonist Isaac Olasugba.We played Soul music that people can dance to and a little bit of Jazz. We made a record. Our first record was God give me Soul. I organised the very first Jazz festival in Nigeria in 1965 at Kings College Hall. Art Alade brought the money and the last European principal of the college, P.H. Davies gave me five pounds I paid for the hall. The groups listed to perform were Art Alade and the Jazz Creatures, Wole Bucknor and the Afro Jazz Group, Fela Ransom-Kuti’s Quintet and another group called the Mother Jazz Chill. Segun was on the piano, Don Amaechi on bass and I played drums. But the show was not all that successful, but it is on record and set the pace for other Jazz festivals to follow. Our group started playing American Soul Music in Nigeria because before we started playing, we had some people, led by Yinka Balogun, who were members of Elvis Presley fan club. Another group, led by Pat Fame, were Cliff Richard’s fan club for European and American musician. Nobody was playing black American music. Although we went to Kingsway and UTC to buy records but nobody played it until Segun came back from America and we, our group, the Soul Assembly started playing Soul music (African America music).

    We formed the group. And Mr Steve Rhodes, who was my boss at Rhodessoundvision, and in the business of managing groups and artistes like Fela, sacked me because of the group we formed. I was working for him. Segun worked for Niger Dam Authority, which was merged with Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) to become National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). James and Mike worked with different tobacco companies. We wanted Mr Rhodes to manage us as he was managing other people but he refused because he couldn’t get us together to go play across the Southwest.

    My barber’s shop

    That led to my sack, made me feel very disappointed, and led to my establishing the barber’s shop at Yaba, which was made popularly by Sam Amuka, the then editor of Sunday Times. He visited my shop and saw me reading Times magazine. He said, “Where are the customers?” The next day he sent a reporter and a photographer to come and interview me. And on a Sunday, it came out on centrespread, Soul Brother Sunmi Cut his Name on Head.

    The paternal grandfather of the wife of the Vice President, Dolapo Osinbajo, Chief Adetunji Soyode, was the man who gave me the money to open a barber’s shop – 20 pounds. It was initiated by my friend Niyi Soyode (Dolapo’s father’s immediate younger brother). It became very popular. I am blessed with great friends who had stood by me all my life; like the son of Nigeria’s Number one tailor M.O. Idowu, Ade, who has been making all my suits in the past 35 years.

    He asked me to come for fitting about a month ago that he wanted to give me a suit for my birthday. I went and when I got there his hair was so bushy. I had my kit in the car. I forced him to sit down and cut his hair. He is giving me a suit free and I gave him a haircut free.

  • Why we should worry about the economy

    SIR: If recent reports from Nigeria’s data powerhouse, National Bureau of Statistics, have much to glean from, then, the assertions of a dead economic nation might hold true, a glaring reason you should be worried about Nigeria.

    This is certainly not the best of season for the Nigeria’s economic profile and citizen’s welfare. To say the least, Nigeria is way below itsleast, perhaps, worst economic potential as a nation.

    Yesterday, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, released the capital importation report for the first quarter of 2016 stating that the country recorded its lowest investment inflows in nine years at N140 billion.

    According to the report, “This represents a decline of 54.34 percent in the final quarter of 2015, and a year-on-year decline of 73.79 percent. Both the quarterly and year-on-year declines were also the lowest recorded since the series began.

    “As a result of these changes, total capital importation has fallen by 89.13 percent since its peak level in the third quarter of 2014.”

    Literally, no country survives on its fortunes. Trade interaction facilitates expanded financial and non-financial gains for countries. For a consuming nation like Nigeria, the failure to increase investment inflow while outflows in forms of importation, illicit outflow (thanks to the grand corruption and impunity, here) expand, implies that local businesses that require foreign stimulation, ideas that appeal to the international community, and investments that should be propelled for external funds, are all starved to death due to a decline or seizure in investment inflows. This in turn guarantees low profit for businesses, deteriorated lifestyle, poor living conditions and shredded hope of economic welfarism for citizens.

    Compounding the economic woes on the home front, the NBS in its 2016 first quarter report, revealed that Nigeria’s annual inflation rose to a near four year high of 12.8 percent in March from 11.4 percent in February, driven by a rise in food prices with a 13.2 percent projection for April. It’s May already and the situations are not any better.

    Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades fueled by the collapse in crude prices, which has slashed government revenues, weakened the currency and caused growth to slow. The economy grew 2.8 percent last year, its slowest pace in decades.

    The consequences of this economic downturn are apparent. From massive unemployment to social dislocation, Nigerians are groaning.

    It is no longer a trending tale that the global oil market is fading, hence, the much felt impact on oil-dependent nations like Nigeria.

    The Nigerian government through synergy with relevant stakeholders must with its sense and vigour of urgency think through and implement short-term strategies that will cushion the effect of a dwindling volatile economy on Nigerians whilst working on viable medium and long-term agenda to build a more resilient economy independent of oil.

    Beyond rhetoric, this government must show itself capable of innovatively leading Nigeria out of the present economic and social quagmire.

     

    • Tayo Elegbede Jet,

     Lagos.

  • Ikuforiji: I have learnt not to worry about tomorrow

    Ikuforiji: I have learnt not to worry about tomorrow

    Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji recently held his annual media session with correspondents. During the session, he spoke on on partisan issues. OZIEGBE OKOEKI was there.

    We will like you to tell us your next move after leaving office as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly?

    That is a very difficult question for me to answer, because when I look back on the much that I can remember in my life — and I can remember more than 90 per cent of the years — I see that God has a way of making me achieve in life. One thing that I have learnt from my own life is not to worry too much about tomorrow.

    I am not clairvoyant and I don’t pretend to be a prophet, but it is not very likely that this generation would witness another three-term Speaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA).

    Really, I have so much in my hands right now and I can’t see any vacuum in my life. Many of you might have heard that I am a doctoral student in far away Liverpool in the United Kingdom, I am in my final year now and since the beginning of this year, I have not been able to do much on my thesis. I must find time to get that done because I am supposed to finish by May 2015, which is five months time. I am also a year one law student in the University of Lagos. I also like to join your world as a social/public commentator, where I can comment on national issues without any fear of political leaders. Though I have too many things to do, I am not tired of politics and I am still a senior member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Sixteen members of the 7th LSHA would not be returning in 2015. What is the implication?

    That is also a very tough one. In 2007, we fought very had for 17 members to return to the House, in 2011, it was another battle to get 22 members to return. Yes, we have 24 who already have tickets, but it is still my hope and pray for more serving legislators to return. I want to tell you, ours is a very young democracy, a lot of hitches are still on our path. I personally would not like a situation, where we have seven women in the 7th Assembly and we cannot have eight or 10 women in the 8th Assembly. If the number reduces, it doesn’t portend good omen for our democracy, not just for Lagos State House of Assembly. In 2003, there was only one woman, Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejuosho. When we resumed in June, Bola Badmus joined, following a bye-election.

    In the sixth Assembly, we had five women and in the 7th Assembly, we have seven women. That makes me feel proud and happy because it means that we are progressing. The womenfolk should be given more opportunities, which is how it is everywhere in the world.

    What made it possible for you to survive as Speaker for so many years?

    You should have asked my colleagues why they did not impeach Ikuforiji; they are in a better position to tell you that. I can tell you from my own side that it is one thing to look at a job and see the peck side of it and it is another thing to see the job done. Even in 2003, when we were coming in, I fought very hard to be Speaker of the House, thank God I was not made the Speaker then, because it gave me room to study the House and I became more conversant with its rules and procedure before I was made Speaker in December 2005. There are many things you need to understand and know if you want to lead the legislative arm. Unlike any other arm of government, the Speaker as the head should also be a great follower; he is the servant of his people. Unlike the Governor, who has the power to hire and fire, the Speaker can only persuade. If the Governor asks any of his aides to send out a message that he would be hosting press men on a particular day and he says they are invited, about one quarter or half of them would make sure that they attend. But, you cannot do that with the members of the House, they would attend at their own convenience. If you understand that they are your boss and you are not their boss there would be no problem. The seat of the Speaker is like a chair, the arms, the legs, the back and the front belong to different members. If you remove any part of the chair, you would not be able to sit very well. So, you need all the parts to be able to sit comfortably. If you are conscious of that, the number one thing is the grace of God, the Bible did not tell us to keep praying alone, you have to work. Of course, you cannot satisfy everybody, I am never carried away if they praise me that I am powerful because they delegated the powers I have to me.

    How true is the rumour that you plan to return to the Assembly in 2015?

    Well, it is not in my plan. I have no such plans. Even before the governorship primary, every opportunity I have had to talk publicly, even at the Hijrah lecture, I said that it is not my intention to return to the Assembly. God has his own plan; if they want me back, all of them must be seated with our leaders and they have to bring my mother from heaven to come and tell me to come back. Honestly, it is time to move on, after a decade. I am sure when you tell some of your friends if per adventure I have plans to return to the House, they would say ‘what happened, is he the only one, what else does he want?’ Really, I am tired; let me just go and rest.

    Was there a time you saw the position of the Speaker as being challenging?

    Yes, every second has been challenging since December 29, 2005 and I have always faced the challenges with a lot of courage. Anyone who tells you that the position is not challenging is not progressive-minded; he is not serious-minded and he is not going to take the House anywhere. Think about it, today, everyone in the country agrees that Lagos Assembly is the number one in the federation. In fact the National Assembly cannot compete with LSHA. When we were in Tanzania in July, some of the people from the National Assembly, the staffers and some Senators started greeting me unusually as soon as I came in. I was wondering what happened. It was later I heard that the President agreed to sign the National Assembly Commission Bill a day before I got there. The only thing they used to convince him was that Lagos has done it and he felt that if his rival has done it, he should sign the document. The day he was to sign it was the day I got there and they were happy that the man who made it possible had come. Now, this is having an impact on them, if you don’t see the position as challenging, you are not likely to be on your toes. If you don’t know that everyday has its own peculiarities, then you would not make progress. If I am Speaker of the House for the next 10 years, everyday would come with its own peculiarities, because there are still so many things to be done, and I would want to get them done. Those are challenges, and we must always take up the challenges and do our very best.

     

  • Cross River expresses worry over rising unemployment

    Cross River expresses worry over rising unemployment

    The Cross River  State has expressed worry over the case of rising unemployment among its youth.

    Deputy Governor Efiok Cobham, speaking during the launch of the YouLead project in Calabar, said the unemployment rate rose from 7.9 per cent in 2002 to 18.2 in 2011.

    The project in partnership with the Canadian government is a capacity building project promoting environmentally sustainable and market driven employment and entrepreneurship for young people in the state.

    Cobham said it was in recognition of the circumstances that they see entrepreneurship development as a veritable means of livelihood for our youths. .

    He said the state has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with Canada and expressed gratitude that the project would promote economic growth, employment and check rural drift.

    Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Perry Calderwood, said his country would contribute N2.4 billion to the project which would span five years.

    “The project aims to reduce youth unemployment through better quality technical vocational training in natural resource sectors. Through this project, Canada is proud to help increase employment, support small entrepreneurs and enable the youth of Cross River to achieve sustainable livelihoods,” he said.

    Calderwood said the need for meaningful, sustainable employment, especially for youth is a pressing issue in Nigeria as well as in many other developing countries.

    “Nigeria has a young population and its youth is energetic, creative and keen to realise its potential and contribute to the country’s development.

    “YouLead builds on Canada’s previous and ongoing work with various Nigerian organisation and government bodies to improve how your country manages the development of its natural resources.

    “In promoting sustainable livelihood we are committed to sharing proven Canadian approaches and experience on how best to manage natural resources,” he said.

    The Chairman of the YouLead Project Steering Committee, Prof Ndem Ayara, said 5, 000 micro-small youth entrepreneurs would be employed by the project.

  • Oshiomhole expresses worry over corruption

    Edo State Governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole at the weekend said he was surprised that no one was in jail over corruption in Nigeria.

    He said: “If, with a leadership from the Southsouth, we have not made progress on the conditions of the Niger Delta, the East West Road and the coastal railway, let us continue to hope because we are used to hoping. The elasticity of hope in Nigeria is limitless.”

    The governor, who was the guest lecturer at the 2013 convocation of Benson Idahosa University, Benin City spoke on the topic: “Education and National Development”.

    Represented by the Secretary to Edo State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Oshiomhole said Nigerians spend over N80 billion annually on medical tourism and treatment overseas, “just as we put our children in foreign and African universities and this is with over N2 trillion lost to the fuel subsidy cartel, not to mention how much is lost annually to oil thieves.

    “The list of imperfections, failures, problems and contradictions can go on and on. The important issue today is how we can relate these issues to the importance of education and therefore national development. Fleetingly, about people, it is, in the first instance, about cars, skyscrapers, money in the bank, huge bureaucracies and those things that may be symptoms of growth rather than development.

    “Our idea of development revolves round interest and exchange rates, import-export ratios, GNP per capita, even GDP and foreign reserves. These may show that growth and maybe accumulation are occurring; they do not show that development that is people-focused, people-based and people-driven is occurring.

    “Major companies, such as Unilever and Dunlop are closing down, setting up shop in Ghana and throwing thousands of families into unemployment, hunger and social pressures. I believe we should just leave the issue of power for another day after we fully understand what the GENCOS, DISCOS and TRANCOS are doing.

    “Until leadership in Nigeria changes from the arrogance of power, perpetual infighting, accommodating corruption and impunity and finding excuses for failure to meet popular expectations, I am afraid, most of our educational institutions, private and public, would never meet world standards.

    “With an unstable, non-hegemonic and unreliable state, frequent policy changes, an economy in crisis and leaders that use power and public funds for personal aggrandisement; the university must prepare to engage the negative forces in a changing global order and a reforming Nigeria.

    “When education takes citizens in the opposite direction of these values, then it becomes dangerous to societal development. In fact, an educational system that produces election riggers, intimidators, looters of the treasury, bad drivers, disregard for communal values, lazy public servants, kidnappers, inefficient and ineffective workers, political opportunists, thugs and bad politicians, who visit pain on the people and contaminate and undermine institutions of society, cannot be regarded as positive education.

    “Today, it is safe to say that our educational system has produced 10 per cent, who think, 10 per cent, who think they are thinking, 30 per cent, who do not want to think at all about anything and 50 per cent, who would rather die than think.”

  • Diarra worry for Jol

    Diarra worry for Jol

    Fulham fear Mahamadou Diarra could be ruled out for the majority of the season, manager Martin Jol has admitted.

    Jol revealed the potential extent of the injury Diarra suffered making his return from international exile with Mali this month. The 31-year-old, who had not played for his country for more than a year, damaged his left knee and was forced to miss Fulham’s 2-0 Barclays Premier League win over West Brom last weekend.

    Jol confirmed on Thursday afternoon that Diarra required some form of surgery and would miss at least another three weeks. But if it transpires he has damaged his cruciate ligament, he could be out for up to five months.

    Jol, who was expecting to learn the true extent of the damage next week, said: “There’s a little piece of cartilage floating in his knee, so we have to operate that in any case, and that can be three or four weeks.

    “But if there is damage to his cruciate ligament, for example, it will take a lot longer. It will take him three, four, five months at least.”