UN Expresses Dissatisfaction with Volume of Assistance to Bama IDPs

The United Nations is not satisfied with the volume of humanitarian assistance given to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Bama camp, Borno State, its Assistant Secretary General and regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel, Mr. Toby Lanzer said on Friday.

Lanza who was in Bama, 78km southeast of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, where he led a team of UN delegation and officials of the Borno State government to celebrate the 2016 world humanitarian day, said much more needed to be done for displaced persons.

Bama is one of the towns in Borno State that have suffered the worst of Boko Haram destructions. It gained global attention when over 100 persons were reported killed by starvation and malnutrition about three months ago.
The UN under-Secretary flew into Bama in a helicopter, a town that was virtually razed down by the terrorists after their occupation.

He said: “I am happy with what the United Nations and her partners have done to help the people of Bama. But I think we still have quite a road to travel.
“I am still not satisfied entirely and I will be calling for more assistance whether in demand for education, whether to make sure that all of your sisters and wives can give birth in a clean and safe environment; to make sure that people have roof over their heads or food in their stomachs or have access to their affairs so that they can help themselves.
“This is the aspiration of the United Nations and her partners. May they be able to share in this endeavour and to support you.”

It was no surprise that there was no infrastructure to house the displaced persons who had trooped into the town from recently liberated communities around Bama except a military controlled IDP camps, which is the town’s General Hospital.
The Borno State government had wanted to move the IDPs from the premises of the hospital into the rebuilt market complex, but the army commander in the town, had contrary view.
Commander of the 241 Battalion, Colonel Adamu Laka, said the IDPs had been provided with water and hygiene facilities as well as UN built schools for children.
He said he was worried that moving the IDPs may not be backed with resources for installation of water and hygiene facilities.

Lanza was conducted round the expansive camp to supervise the ongoing construction of tent homes being built by the UNHCR. 500 tent pavilions are being put in place for 500 families.
During the visit, thousands of children were seen learning in schools built by UNICEF.
Most of the kids who had no contact with western education before they got to the camp, were noticed reciting the Nigeria National Anthem and the 26 English alphabets, they even counted number 1 to 50.
Speaking on the essence of the World Humanitarian Day (WHD), Lanza said: “On August 19 every year is the day when the United Nations and its partner mark the world humanitarian day.

“It is the day in 2003 that the UN office in Baghdad, Iraq was attacked by a suicide bomber; we lost 20 of our colleagues in one strike. And I know that you here, across the northeast of Nigeria particularly in areas such as Bama have identified with the sufferings of the incident of that nature because of the horrors Boko Haram inflicted on the communities in Borno State.

“I am delighted to be back. I was here with the governor in the first week of April. The Bama I witnessed in April is not the Bama of today. I sense progress; I can see that the army has made Bama more stable and secured. I am happy with what the United Nations and her partners have done a little bit to help.”

Some of the high points of the visit to the camp were the distribution of clothing and shoes to children, men and women in the camp, a part of the N2 billion humanitarian aid donated by the charity foundation of Nigeria’s richest business man, Aliko Dangote.

Officials also seized the occasion to administer polio Vaccines to kids under the age of five.
Bama is less than 50km away from Gwoza which is one of the places an outbreak of the child crippling diseases was reported three weeks ago.

Military to De-mine Farmlands in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe

The Nigeria military will be embarking on massive de-mining and clearance of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from farmlands in the Northeast, it disclosed on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in Maiduguri, the head of military counter-insurgency operation in the Northeast (Operation Lafiya Dole), Major General Lucky Irabor said the troops would soon embark on the exercise across the three Northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in order to clear all farmlands of land mines and other explosives.

He disclosed that enough machines and equipment had been procured by federal government and in the possession of military to undertake the task.

He said with the determination and commitment on the side of troops, many of the displaced farmers had started going back to their liberated communities, insisting that there still remained “No go Areas” in parts of Sambisa Forest where farmlands needed to be de-mined and cleared of IEDs planted by insurgents.

He said as soon as the equipment get to the theatre, all identified farmlands would be cleared and declared safe for farmers in the region.

On the success recorded recently in the ongoing operations, Irabor said, “On 23rd July 2016 at about 0530hrs, own troops sprung an ambush against the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) element between Komala and Musafanari villages. Some BHT elements on motorcycle and bicycle were engaged while trying to cross SAMBISA Forest. Consequently, two BHT were killed while several items were recovered which include two AK47 rifles, four loaded AK47 magazines, assorted food items, laundry items, a motorcycle, two bicycles and assorted clothing.

“Similarly, on 28th July 2016 at about 0700hrs, own troops conducted a clearing operation in Shuwari 1 and the adjoining villages. The villages were successfully cleared and all BHT structures were destroyed. In all five BHT were killed while a Dane gun and a bicycle were recovered. Also, some food items which were found in several houses were destroyed. Additionally, 13 suspected hostages comprised of a man, six women and six children were rescued”.

Likewise, in an ambush operation, troops at Pulka community of Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State Crossing Point killed some terrorists, while many escaped with gunshot wounds.

Among the items recovered according to the theatre Commander were one AK47 rifle, a General Purpose Machine Gun, a bicycle, a motorcycle, several live ammunition, a TECNO phone with Nexttel SIM card and food items in sacks.

He added that: “On 29th July 2016 at about 1830hrs, own troops embarked on an ambush operation to a suspected BHT Crossing Point off Damboa- Kubwa road towards Multe village axis. As troops laid in wait, some Boko Haram terrorists (BHT) elements on bicycles appeared and were accordingly engaged. Consequently, one BHT was killed. Items recovered include an AK47 rifle with 14 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, a Dane gun (shaped like an AK47 rifle), a locally fabricated double barrel pistol and four bicycles.

“On Cordon and Search Operations and following an intelligence report that large quantity of arms and ammo were being moved into areas outskirts of Gamboru for a possible BHT attempt to retake Gamboru and Rann Local Government Areas of Borno State, own troops conducted a dawn cordon and search operations around Gamboru town. A total of three AK56 and two AK-L rifles were recovered. Also, 235 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and seven AK magazines were recovered”.

He also said: “On 1 August 2016 at about 2000hrs, own troops in response to a distress call at Yauri village came in contact with some BHT elements and engaged them. As a result of the operation, five BHT were killed and several items were recovered which included two AK47 rifle, a General Purpose Machine Gun, a 60mm mortar tube, an FN rifle, two Dane guns, two AK47 magazines and two FN magazines”. Others were 131 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 31 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, a 60mm mortar bomb, 10 bicycles and a sum of N31, 275.00.

Irabor said the insurgency attack on troop locations in Kangarwa which took place on 15th August was repelled during which 16 insurgents were killed, adding that 11 AK 47 rifles, one 60mm mortar, one RPG tube, one RPG Bomb, 12 x 60mm bombs, one hand grenade 5x magazines and one handset and a bandoliers were recovered from the terrorists.

On the recent video released by Boko Haram through the social media, Irabor claimed all the attacks shown in the video were archival materials gathered by the Boko Haram over a long time.

“The incidents were in those days that BHT lived in illusion. Currently, they have lost initiative and have been routed. The video is an elusive attempt to recruit support. I therefore implore you all to inform the public to be rest assured that there is no cause for alarm as far as the degradation of BHT capabilities is concerned.

“These are confused bad elements of the society who are suffering from shock of total defeat from the military. As you all know, these are mere BHT propaganda which could not hold any water. Let me once again use this medium to remind the remnants of BHT that their days are numbered because their future is going to be disastrous if they fail to surrender and lay down their arms”. Irabor concluded.

Man slumps and dies while arguing with friend

By Chidi Nkwopara & Chinonso Alozie, OWERRI. A bizarre scenario played out yesterday at the Okigwe Road roundabout, Owerri, as a man slumped and died while having a heated argument with his friend. The deceased, whose name could not be ascertained before press time, was said to be a block moulder and hailed from one of the communities in Ngor Okpala local council area of Imo State. According to a man who claimed to have witnessed the entire incident said, the duo were arguing over a possible business transaction. “From the way the argument flowed, they obviously had a transaction that probably went sour. There were no exchange of blows and I can’t remember hearing any of them threatening the other, but one of them slumped and died”, the man recounted with shock. Vanguard gathered that shortly after the deceased slumped, some sympathisers rushed him to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, where he was confirmed dead on arrival. However, it was also gathered that the dead man’s friend, who was identified as Dozie Eze, from Orodo, Mbaitoli local government area of the state, is said to be answering a few questions at the State Police Headquarters, Owerri. Speaking to no one in particular, a relation of the suspect, Mr. Iyke Eze, fumed that “Dozie is being persecuted for no just cause, especially as those at the scene of the incident have testified that there was no exchange of blows before the man slumped and died”. When contacted on his mobile line, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, confirmed the incident. “Yes, such a thing happened. However the report available to me is that somebody slumped and later died”, Enwerem said. Continuing, the PPRO said that it has not been established that there was a fight or verbal threat before the deceased slumped and died. When asked to confirm if anybody was detained in connection with the incident, the PPRO said he was not aware of such a development. “I am not aware that anybody was detained in connection with the incident. There are necessary indices that must be established before the police detains any suspect. The instant case can’t be one of them”, Enwerem explained.

Finance Ministry to Manage Assets Recovered from Looters

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun on Friday in Abuja revealed that her ministry had been mandated to manage assets recovered from treasury looters, lamenting that some of the recovered items were mind-boggling.
Besides over N115 billion in local and foreign currencies, the federal government had disclosed recently that it recovered 183 buildings, and five vessels, among others, from looters.

Adeosun, who said she would soon allow journalists take a look at some of the recovered assets, including a collection of very expensive jewelry, noted that if the current war against corruption was sustained, in addition to other cost-cutting measures being implemented by the present administration, the nation would swim out of recession earlier than envisaged.
The minister spoke at her maiden interactive session with finance correspondents during which she also gave an insight into why the prices of food items are hitting the rooftops.

According to her, the past administration defaulted in paying suppliers of fertilisers, who consequently failed to supply the items to farmers in the last farming season.
The development, she said, made farmers not to apply fertilisers on their crops leading to low yield and the attendant scarcity of food items, which pushed prices up.

She, however, disclosed that the current administration had already addressed the situation by paying the fertiliser suppliers, adding that farmers were availed of the product during this year’s planting season, which would culminate in better yield and lower food prices.
Adeosun said in order to preserve produce from this year’s harvest, the government was embarking on the construction of silos to avoid loss of harvest.

She also spoke on disbursements in the 2016 Budget, where she stated that N60 billion would soon be released, adding that this would raise funds already released by the government to N400 billion since May.

According to her, some contractors who had not been paid since 2012 had been motivated to return to work, adding that the nation would soon begin to feel the impact of the administration’s efforts and policies.

Adeosun stated that the administration had begun renegotiating public-private –partnership (PPP) projects, noting that the private sector money was highly needed.

“So far, we have spent N400 billion on capital, that is between May when the budget was signed and now; we are going for another capital allocation meeting where we are going to allocate another N60 billion.

“We are pumping money into the economy at a very rapid rate, but it would take a little time for the effect to be felt, she stated, noting that for the country to make serious progress, a whole-hearted fight against corruption was imperative while massive infrastructure development was required

“Fighting corruption is fundamental and if we stick with that and all the money stolen or diverted is directed at projects that could grow the economy, we would recover,’’ she said.

On why funds recovered under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) arrangement cannot be appropriated and spent by the federal government, she said the funds belonged to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and tied to specific items, which cannot be diverted and spent by the government without creating problems.

The minister also disclosed that about N200 billion had been recovered from independent revenue sources.
On why luxury items are yet to be taxed, Adeosun stated that this had not commenced due to the absence of the necessary legal framework.

According to her, the committee she inaugurated recently which is to review the National Tax Policy would seek ways to ensure that the right laws are put in place, adding that the Joint Tax Board (JTB) was also working to harmonise taxes that are overlapping among federal, states and local governments.
She said that the Joint Tax Board (JTB) was working to harmonise taxes that were overlapping among federal, states and local governments.

“It is part of the ease of doing business initiative because these are some of the things that cause businesses to close down.
“It puts one off and even in the federal government, we are working on various revenues and looking at who is the best agent to collect revenue,’’ she said.

Ciroma sends words to Buhari, Says North not afraid of restructuring

•Consult more people to solve national problems •Speaks on 2014 CONFAB, Budget padding, Dogara •Insists there’s no end to problems By Henry Umoru, Assistant Political Editor Mallam Adamu Ciroma, journalist, administrator, politician, former minister of different portfolios and erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is one of Nigeria’s leading statesmen. Ciroma, who will be 83 years old soon, was third in the 1978 presidential primaries of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN, but subsequently became a close confidant of President Shehu Shagari and served as minister in the Second Republic. The Elder Statesman was also a close confidant of President Olusegun Obasanjo in the Fourth Republic and a rallying figure in the northern opposition to the 2011 presidential bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. Ciroma has largely kept out of the public eye despite the active participation of his wife, Hajia Maryam Ciroma in the affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Ciroma and Buhari Mallam Adamu Ciroma was one of the G8 members who later metamorphosed into G34 which eventually led to the formation of the PDP. In this exclusive interview with Saturday Vanguard, Ciroma speaks on national issues, restructuring, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the 2014 National Conference, the PDP, among others. Excerpts: As someone who has been around, if you look back to the days of Nigeria’s struggle for independence by late Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and others, would you say that this is the kind of country they had envisaged during their struggle for for self governance? I don’t know, what is your business with how Dr. Azikiwe or Awolowo wanted this country to be? In the country at the moment, there are agitations by the Niger Delta Avengers in the South South; Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB and Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB in the South East as well as Boko Haram insurgency in the North East. If these are sustained, don’t you think that indivisibility of the country cannot be guaranteed? What is indivisibility? Every country has its problems and the problems arise from how people are living with one another. In the meantime, we are talking of this Nigeria where we are living in. There is Boko Haram, the government said they are going to bring it to an end at the end of last year, some of it is still there and if you are well experienced, you know that no trouble ends in one place and that is it; full stop! Something will linger. Now the Riverine people who live in the oil producing areas are having their trouble, they are called Avengers, I believe they are dealing with their problem as we see. There is this loud cry for restructuring especially from the South, they are saying Nigeria should be restructured, but the North is saying no. What is your view with regard to restructuring Nigeria and why is the North afraid of restructuring? I don’t agree that the North is afraid of restructuring. I don’t believe that even the people in the South want restructuring, but I believe every country has a problem at one time or another; some may be economic, some may be social. So every country has problems. The Americans are just having problems now with the black people and we thought the problem had been solved long ago. But the problems are arising. The South Americans are having their problems with corruption and manipulation. So everybody has problems. Europe is having problems with immigrants from Asia, from Africa, from everywhere so which country does not have problem? If you have a problem, it is the duty of the leadership to solve the problem. Professor Ben Nwabueze, an Elder Statesman said recently that north’s resistance can’t stop restructuring, what is your take on that? Why should I reply him? He is old enough to know what this country was before. He is old enough to know what this country is like now and he is old enough to propose solutions to what he thinks are the problems we have now. Why should I bother to reply him? We have discussed with him several times and we don’t always agree, but we know how to live together. So what is the way forward since the leadership has the responsibility to solve the problem but appears unable to find solution to it? What I know as a person is that problems are there to be solved. When human beings live together, they have problems, it is their duty if they want to survive together to solve this problem. We were run by the colonialists from one country that negotiated with us and they left us with the problem of living together and we are trying to live together. So what is the wonderful thing about that? It seems like we are not living together, but tolerating one another? Living together means tolerating one another. So we should continue to tolerate one another? It depends on who is talking from my own point of view. As someone who has been to school, who learnt about how people live together, I know we have to tolerate how to live together and in fact I believe Nigerians are doing well. Back to the earlier question of our forebears, is this the kind of Nigeria they had negotiated for? It can’t be the same, they are not the people living here now, we are the people living here now and we are the people that are going to solve the problem now. The economy has changed since 1960 and people are changing and they have to learn how to cope with the change. How can we tackle these issues that have continually led to agitation by the militants, IPOB, MASSOB and Boko Haram insurgents? There was a time when the economy of this country was based on cocoa, groundnut, cotton, Palm oil and stuffs like that. Gradually oil came to take a dominant position and the agricultural production has changed and this government, at least I know since independence, Nigerian leaders have been trying to ensure that agriculture is revived so that the economy can still rely on agriculture in addition to oil. So looking at solving the problems there will never be an end to this country not going to have problems. Britain is having problems, Europeans are having problems amongst themselves, Americans are having problems with the black people, a problem we thought had ended. So, these things never end, it is a question of life and survival. As long as you are alive and you are not the only one living in this world, you would have problem of how to live together with your neighbour, with your friends, with your relatives. So what are all the hullabaloo about? This may have explained why there was the convocation of 2014 National Conference by former President Goodluck Jonathan who assembled who was who in Nigeria as delegates and came up with recommendations on how to tackle the problems confronting Nigeria as a country. Do you think that President Muhammadu Buhari should revisit the confab report and if he is to revisit it, what areas should he address? The president has got his problems, handful of problems. He is to determine what is his priority, what is their business asking him to go back to 2014. Who was the president at the time of the confab? Goodluck Jonathan was the president and now it is Buhari who has got his problems to deal with. But we see past, present and future governments as forming some kind of Continuum? Government and life is about continuity. You want all the problems solved now?, then we are not being realistic.  Okay become the president (challenging the reporter) No one will bring me out as the President now…(the reporter responded which elicited laughter from him That is your mistake, nobody is brought out, everyone has to bring himself out. If you want to be president, you should tell us, then we can consider you amongst others. If you wait until we call you, then you will never be called. President Buhari’s government of change is more than one year now, in your view as former minister of various portfolios, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, former Editor, New Nigeria, among others, is this really a government of change? It is Buhari you should ask now and not me. What areas do you think President Buhari should address now that will make Nigerians happy? In my view the president should involve all people in the government and he should consult them so that the problems of this country would be analyzed and dealt with. He has got his priorities and I don’t know what his priorities are. So what is the use of asking me when I don’t know what his problems are? Do you know his problems? Nigeria and Nigerians’ problems are his problems. You are giving me in a nutshell. It is just like Britain, Turkey or France or any other country. You see everyone or any country has got its problems and it is for the leaders to analyze the problems and sort them out so that the citizens would live together in a more peaceful and more convenient pattern of life. To me, Nigeria, in spite of everything, isn’t doing badly. A lot of Nigerians are against corruption and against the things happening in the National Assembly but there are problems in Europe, problems in America, so everybody has problems. This corruption isn’t your own alone. This oil problem is not Nigeria’s alone. The president is just being persecuted for nothing, it is nothing new, but someone who has accepted the responsibility of leadership has to deal with these issues. He may take them the right way and solve them or he may take the wrong way and the problems remain. Are you comfortable with the anti corruption war of the present administration especially against the backdrop that some people have alleged that it is selective, it is one sided and targeted at the people now in the opposition party, the PDP? Take the meaning of corruption as an example, not everyone understands the same meaning of what corruption is and the truth is that corruption means different things and it takes a lot of effort to deal with the problem of corruption in all its varieties. So, it is not an easy thing, but basically the solution to corruption must rely with individuals. There are many people who, when they had the opportunity to take bribe, they would take it, but it is the man who can resist that can help solve the problem of corruption. Since Buhari came, there have been mention of corruption in the military, in the office of the National Security Adviser, in NNPC, in all sorts of places and in politics. People have been taking bribe, people have been corrupting the system, has it stopped? Isn’t it now that people are talking about National Assembly? So it takes individuals to really resist corruption. If you many of the people who condemn corruption have their own chance to indulge in corruption they will do so. Let me tell you something to be honest; I believe Buhari is one of the few people in this country who will not take government money and put it in his pocket. He will not divert government monies to enrich himself. Did you know before now that all these military leaders were sharing money amongst themselves? You didn’t know, but no one has mentioned Buhari that he has ever taken money. I don’t want to be arrogant, but have you heard my name being mentioned amongst people that I have taken and shared money?. Didn’t I pass through the places where we had money? So I am able to tell you that it takes individuals to have the power to resist corruption. A lot of these people that talk a lot, put them in position of responsibility and see how corrupt they will be. So, to me it begins from moral standards; who is morally correct to resist. I am sorry that we are talking about Northern Christians because these are the kind of things that make me not ready or willing to talk to people like you. Northern Christians are complaining that they want to break away from CAN or go back to Christian arrangement before British left. The leader of CAN had an aircraft which was used to carry weapons from South Africa between him and the president of this country; the cash was stopped in South Africa. What kind of Christian leadership is this? What kind of Islamic leadership is this? What kind of political leadership is this? It is not the normal way of dealing with money in international affairs and I can talk like this because I was the governor of the CBN. If the Christian leader in Nigeria doesn’t know how to deal with money internationally, then you have to provide your aircraft to carry money, it is only when he finishes that you can say he has succeeded. All these people talking now, we don’t know how they succeeded, we don’t know how they got the money, it is only a few that you can say how they got their money. On Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the National Assembly, Constituency or Zonal Intervention Projects, and Budget Padding Now Dogara says that padding is not an offence. What is an offence? If it is not in the law book but you should know morally that, that thing isn’t right. I was Minister of Finance from 1999 and I resigned in 2002 and then the members were talking about constituency projects and we told them look, what is constituency project, if you want something done by the government, then tell the government, put it in the budget so that it can become part of the one thing called budget. But we go round and round in circles ‘do this for my constituency’ what you are not spending on the states, you spend on the constituency of somebody. What kind of leadership is this? So even as a leader, you have to look after the ordinary people. Now, you are making me say a lot of things that I didn’t want to say, but the truth is that individuals must resist bribery and corruption. It means the National Assembly has a case to answer with regard to the issue of padding and even recently, former president Olusegun Obasanjo alleged that the lawmakers were criminals and thieves. I will not describe it that way. I have talked to you about a lot of things in different ways and you have got the answer to the question you are asking me now. Your party, the PDP has been going through some political quagmire and only recently, members of the Board of Trustees, BoT of PDP visited you. What do you think led the PDP into these problems, what did you tell the BoT members and what is the way forward to end the crisis. You ask me something you know! I don’t know sir because I am not a member of PDP, but a reporter, I want to know your own view as a founding father of the party. My own view isn’t the solution and isn’t the issue. Everyone who lives in Nigeria knows what has happened to PDP and now PDP is the only issue. APC doesn’t exist, APC doesn’t appear to exist because PDP’s problems are overwhelming. Today PDP has to solve its problems, the problems of APC are going sky ward and we don’t even know how they deal with their problems. The reason PDP is still the problem is because, PDP is the only party that was created to serve everybody in this country, to solve the problems of this country, to produce leadership that was acceptable to everybody in this country and they succeeded from 1999. It was when they departed from the principles that they set up that the problems started. Once you stop dealing with the principles, the honesty and the fairness, then you will begin to have problems. When the present leaders go back to doing things in the right way, then they would be able to solve their problems. Then we would know what the problem of APC is, but at the moment we don’t know. So you are saying if PDP solves its problem, then APC’s problem will manifest more? Can you identify some of the problems that APC is facing currently? If you don’t try to solve your problem, you would live with it. If you try to solve it, you may succeed. Hope you understand me? Did the PDP get it wrong by bringing in former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to complete the tenure of the North East which Alhaji Bamanga Tukur started? You are reducing the thing to small bits and individuals and I don’t want that. My view is that a party is an organisation that is intended to solve national problems, to deal with issues worrying the country. If they stop doing that, they get into trouble and in any case, there is no way you can have a party that will rule for over 10 years without problems. Everybody has problems, problem is problem of survival; how you live and how you survive. Everybody has got problems, but if you have a leadership that is handling the problem properly, they will succeed in dealing with the problems. At least if they solve the problems and with the zoning of 2019 Presidency to the North, PDP is sure of winning? No; I am not talking of that. We formed the party and they departed from some of the main principles and got into trouble. They lost the election, they had problems and if they do the right thing, they can solve the problem. As a founding father and a member of the first group, the G8, what must the PDP do to get out of the problem? To do the right thing, to be honest, fair and just. As a former CBN governor there are some policies of CBN that they have thrown out now, like throwing the naira into the open market and other policies. Are you comfortable with them at least for ordinary Nigerians? No! Society, individuals, organisations; as long as they are run by human beings, problem must arise. The problem there now is arising from some other things, so don’t expect that the CBN will not face problems. Government or NNPC, everybody, every organisation has problems for as long as they are alive. So it is the duty as a leader to solve the problem. Solving the problem is the duty of the leaders of the Central Bank now and don’t ask me because I am not there. Do you know since when I left central Bank? A very long time! On a lighter mood, you are looking fit, you are a great Golfer, but what other secret do you have to share with the younger generation on how to keep young and fit? I don’t keep young, I am 82 and by next year I would be 83 so I don’t remain young. What I try to do is exercise and I enjoy it. I started when I was editor of New Nigeria. I found out that the newspaper work was taking all my time and I said this is not possible and I must do something, hence I started playing golf and I am still playing golf and I enjoy it. But I am old. When you tell me this kind of story it doesn’t make any point with me. I know it is not true, I am getting older. But fit sir! How do you know? I can’t see well and when I am walking, I limp. You have spoken for almost an hour now, with your age, your memories still in order as you captured every moment, but some people go to school after three months and they fail exams. It is their fault; they went to the wrong school. I went to the University of Ibadan in 1958, a long time ago. I went to one of the best universities. You know in those days University of London set up colleges in Sierra Leone, in Ghana, Uganda and everywhere. All those colleges were high standard colleges and I went to one of them; University of Ibadan and education means you open your mind, you learn how to do things, how to solve problems. University of Ibadan produced sound people in finance, banking, whatever. You will be 83 next year. What would you tell younger Nigerians especially those that will be in position of leadership? I don’t want to be rude to you. If people have not solved their problems, how could I tell people in future how to solve their problems when I don’t know what the problem is? Do you understand me? You can’t form problems for people who are not here yet. Do you know what the problems are? When I left the university, I was employed as administrative officer in the Northern civil service and I was posted to the office of the premier of Northern Nigeria; I was working directly with the Premier, the late Sarduana and I learnt this simple thing that I am going to tell you. Sarduana was a big man and highly placed amongst the people. He was the Premier of Northern Nigeria just like Awolowo or Zik was and when Sarduana had problems, he called the people who were knowledgeable and laid the problem before them and asked them to help him solve the problem and the people from all parts of Northern Nigeria would discuss to find solution to the problem and they gave him the solutions. He did not just sit there and say he was solving problems by himself; he consulted with the people and I learnt how important it is for leaders to consult their followers because there are many things the followers know that the leaders don’t know and if the leaders consult, then they get the benefit of their advice. If he doesn’t consult with them, they don’t go to him and so the leaders will have difficulty in solving the problem. I wonder how they would know what the leader’s problem is and until he tells them his problems, they will not help him to solve it. This is why in fact I always tell people that Buhari should contact and consult more people. If you are a leader, you have to confide in the people. You think something is not a problem, it is a problem to people. You think something is a problem, tell them and they will find a solution, but you have to learn this as a leader. 

I Can’t Guarantee Conclusive Polls in 2019, Says INEC Chairman

Seeks prosecution of electoral offenders
Davidson Iriekpen, Olawale Olaleye and Charles Ajunwa

The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday said he was not in a position to guarantee conclusive polls in 2019 because he would not be pressured to step outside the lines of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the Guidelines to impress anyone.

The INEC boss, who said this last night during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos, noted that the conclusiveness or otherwise of any election owes greatly to the behavioural pattern of voters, of which he has zero control, adding that he would not dare second-guess any election.

Dismissing the swirling assumption that virtually all the elections conducted by the commission under his leadership were inconclusive, Yakubu said so far since he assumed office, the commission had concluded about 137 elections, 80 of which were rerun and the rest were isolated polls like the Kogi and Bayelsa States elections, including also, the recent elections into the Federal Capital Territory.He, however, frowned at the non-existence of any law prosecuting electoral offenders, saying the absence of such a provision or law has allowed for an abiding culture of electoral malpractices responsible for some of the many hitches the commission has been dealing with.

While noting that the commission has continued to conduct elections practically every weekend unknown to many Nigerians, Yakubu maintained that “We won’t conclude elections at all means. But we will only always conclude elections with regards to the laws of the land and the Electoral Act.”

The INEC chairman, who noted that inconclusive polls were not peculiar to his leadership, went down memory lane to recall some of the major elections that were not concluded in the past with resounding emphasis on the 1983 re-election of former President Shehu Shagari, which propelled the military takeover of the Muhammadu Buhari junta.

Although he claimed not to be proud of such developments, Yakubu said the narratives trailing some of the elections conducted under his watch have made it look like it had never happened before, citing also the start of the 2011 elections, which the former INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega had to postpone even when voting had commenced in some parts of the country.

He, therefore, reiterated that “I can’t guarantee conclusive elections in 2019. I cannot second-guess Nigerians and I don’t know where they would head in 2019,” adding that he would not step a foot outside what the laws and guidelines dictate for the conduct of elections, urging Nigerians to work with him in ensuring that the polls are conclusive through shared roles and responsibilities.

Continuing, Yakubu said “The Electoral Act envisages the commission to sufficiently comply. You can’t second-guess any election. You can’t conclude an election on behalf of the people. The Kogi election came within two weeks that we assumed office and with its peculiar challenge. I don’t think anyone should blame the commission, but we found a way out.”

Identifying some of the challenges being encountered by the commission, Yakubu said the prosecution of electoral offenders was crucial to successful elections but noted that INEC neither has its own police nor the capacity to investigate infractions during elections.

He also identified threats of violence as well as over-voting as some of the challenges that informed why some of the elections usually turned out inconclusive. He maintained that “every vote in Nigeria must count and every polling unit must account. What they do at the polling units must be recognised and respected,” he added.

In addition to some of the distractions that the commiss

ion has had to deal with, Yakubu said his leadership met about 680 litigations in which it was joined, adding that whilst 600 of them were dismissed, 80 were upheld and that 80 were part of the ones responsible for some of the reruns held so far.

Nothing special about Wizkid, says American dancer

Queen Moiika is a Jamaica-born American- based dancer,  that oozes quantum of    sex appeals that have made her a sought after dancer in the dancehall circles. The beautiful multi-faceted dancer has technical training in ballet, jazz and Afro-Caribbean dance. Queen Moiika & Wizkid Moikka who has performed alongside music heavy weights like Madonna, Puff Daddy, Wizkid and others recently paid Nigeria a visit. In a chat with Showtime, she speaks on her experience working with theOjuelegba  sensation, Wizkid. “I worked with Wizkid when I was in the US. I wish I could say something special but it was just like any gig. I have to be sincere . It wasn’t anything special. He was just like any other artiste. He was respectful. He paid me my money and I danced .That was pretty much it. In Los Angeles you don’t get the opportunity to work with ethnic artistes, this means artistes that play reggae, dancehall and Afrobeat. I was 17 when I started dancing but most dancers will tell you they have been dancing since they were born. “She said.