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PAGE 2 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022

SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 — PAGE 3

PAGE 4—SUNDAY VANGUARD,NOVEMBER 20, 2022 

The holy matrimony between former Miss Opeyemi Ibijuwon Onifade 

and Prince Olaoye Damilola Abass, held at All Souls' Anglican 

Church, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTOS: Lamidi Bamidele 

From left: Mr Adekunle Onifade, bride's father; Mrs Olufunke Oluwole, representing 

bride's mother; Prince and Mrs Olaoye Abass, the new couple; Dr (Mrs) Nike Akande and 

Chief Adebayo Akande representing groom's parents. 

•Chief Ralph Ibiwoye, left, receiving the Award of 'Omo Oro l'Oba' from the National 

President, Descendants of Omo Oro l'Oba, Chief J. Abiodun Omoniyi, in Oro, Kwara 

State. 

‘Omo Oro l’Oba’ celebrates annual 

Congress in Kwara, honours former 

Vanguard GM, Ibiwoye, others 

Mogaji Olutunde Aboderin and his wife, Olufunke 

From left: Mrs Laide Alatishe; Mrs Blessing Yesufu and Mrs Tiwa Babarinsa 

From left: Mrs Iyabo Ogunshola; Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, Chairman Emeritus, Punch 

Newspapers; Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, Publisher, Guardian Newspapers; Professor Bashir 

Akande and his wife, Mojisola Akande, at the Church service. 

By Demola Akinyemi, 

Ilorin 

The Descendants of 

‘Omo Oro l’Oba’, 

meaning children from 

house of wealth, from 

Osun, Ondo and Kwara 

States converged on Oro in 

Irepodun local government 

area of Kwara State last 

weekend to celebrate their 

annual Congress. 

The Congress, last year, 

took place in Igbajo, Osun 

State on November 13, 

2021, while that of next year 

will take place in Uso near 

Owo in Ondo State. 

The gathering of Omo Oro 

l’Oba recognized the 

deaths of their four 

distinguished members 

whose demise occurred 

between last year and now. 

They were Pa. Afolayan 

(Oba-Oro), Mr Abayomi 

Alabede (Oba-Isin), Pa 

Rev. Dr Babalola (Oke-Ila 

Orangun) and Mr. 

Oyebanji (Asiwaju Oreke), 

who had contributed 

immensely to the growth 

and development of the 

group. 

Oro township, among 

other roots, has 10 

compounds. Seven are Oba 

compounds and apparently 

has the largest membership 

of the Descendants. They 

decided to host the 

Congress this year. 

The highlights of the 

programme, which took 

place at St. Andrews 

Catholic Event Hall in 

Oro, include launching of 

Calendar 2023, bursary 

awards for selected 20 

secondary school 

students, and awards for 

distinguished members 

among whom was a 

former General Manager 

of Vanguard Newspapers, 

Chief Ralph Ibiwoye. 

The expansive Hall was 

filled with members who 

adorned themselves in 

uniform Ankara clothings, 

throwing banters at each 

other to make the annual 

event colourful. 

The National President 

of the group, Chief J. 

Abiodun Omoniyi, in his 

address, appealed to 

members to live in peace 

and harmony with one 

another and their 

neighbours. 

Omoniyi recalled that 

since the bursary award 

scheme for secondary 

school students was 

started in 2017, it has not 

failed despite financial 

challenges. 

According to him, 20 

secondary school students 

selected from Oba 

settlements would benefit 

from this year’s 

scholarship of N20,000 

each and urged the 

beneficiaries to make 

judicious use of it. 

He also said that there 

was a plan to increase the 

award sum and also 

expressed the hope to 

extend the scholarship 

scheme to tertiary 

institutions as soon as 

funds are adequately 

available. 

An associate professor 

of statistics at Federal 

University of Technology, 

Akure, Dr. Alabi Olatayo 

Olusegun, delivered the 

annual lecture with the 

theme ‘Ancestral Link: An 

Instrument for 

development, unity and 

security’. 

The university don 

traced 

the 

multidimensional 

genealogy of ‘Omo Oro 

l’Oba’ from Ora Igbomina 

in Osun State in the 11th 

century to the 12th 

century by one Prince 

Oduyale in Ile-Ife, down 

to Kwara State. 

According to him, there 

are folklores and praise 

songs which portray 

Oloba as a wealthy man 

who had hundreds of 

slaves, men and women 

that worked for him, 

hence all of them are from 

the root of richness and 

comfort. 

He harped on unity of 

members in order to 

secure the common 

heritage of members of 

Oro l’Oba, which are 

wealth and comfort. 

The royal father of the 

day, Oba Dr. T. T. 

Oyebanji, in his remark, 

urged the committee in 

charge of education to 

have the details amount 

that had been spent on 

scholarships of students 

and their records in view 

in order to guide them in 

future planning. 

The monarch, who 

called for the propagation 

of their activities in order 

to make other members of 

Omo Oro l’Oba across the 

world to be aware and be 

involved in their activities, 

urged influential 

members of the group to 

help the youths to grow in 

order to secure their 

future. 

Other traditional rulers 

present include Oba 

Adekunle Asamu 

Oyewole Tewogbade 1, 

Oloba of Oba Ile Kingdom 

in Osun State, Oba 

Timothy Titilayo 

Oyebanji, Olufemiloye 1, 

Oloba of Oba Kingdom in 

Kwara State, Oba 

Abdulkadir Hammed 

Dada, Okukondo II, the 

Oloreke of Oreke 

Kingdom in Kwara State 

and Oba Ademola 

Adebiyi Oyinbade, 

Olanipekun III Oloba of 

Uso Kingdom in Ondo 

State. 

Ibiwoye, in a short 

interview after the award, 

said that nothing could 

give comfort and 

satisfaction to one’s life 

than having close affinity 

with one’s roots. 

He made allusion to 

great people from Biblical 

days that never forgot 

their roots, as they pass on 

their culture and tradition 

which encapsulate their 

joy and prosperity from 

generation to generation. 

“So, maintaining close 

affinity with one’s roots is 

very important to one’s 

survival in life. I belong 

to a place called Oba. It’s 

my root”, the former 

Vanguard GM stated. 

“It means a lot to me 

because it’s about my 

origin. We are more 

spread than this. We are 

overseas and everywhere. 

By next year, more people 

would be knowledgeable 

about the programme. 

That’s where God has 

created them and they’re 

basking in”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022, PAGE 5 

From left: All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed 

Tinubu; a party leader, and Delta State governorship candidate of the party, Senator Ovie 

Omo-Agege, among others, during the APC rally in Warri, Delta State, yesterday. 

SOLDIER KILLING OF AID WORKER IN BORNO: 

Military launches probe, colleagues say undeterred 

by murder 

By Ndahi Marama 

AMID wide condemna 

tion trailing the alleged 

killing of an aid worker with 

the United Nations (UN), Alen 

Mulutega, an Ethiopian national 

by a soldier at a military 

base in Damboa Local Government 

Area of Borno State on 

Friday, the military command 

in Nigeria said it has commenced 

investigation to unravel 

the circumstances surrounding 

the unfortunate incident. 

In a statement by the Theatre 

Commander of the Joint Task 

Force, North East 'Operation 

Hadin Kai', Major General 

Christopher Musa, and made 

available to the newsmen 

through his spokesman, Major 

Samson Zhakom, the military 

authority sympathized with 

the United Nations, UN, over 

the killing of Mulutega. 

The statement read: "The 

Theatre Commander, Maj Gen 

CG Musa, on behalf of the officers 

and men of Joint Task 

Force (NE) Operation Hadin 

Kai, expressed sincere condolence 

to the representatives of 

the Non- Governmental Organizations 

in the North East, Mr 

Trond Jenson, Head of Office 

OCHA- Nigeria and his team 

over the loss of one of their staff 

who was shot by a soldier and 

for the injury sustained by the 

co-pilot. 

"The Theatre Commander 

also relayed condolence messages 

from the Chief of Defence 

Staff, CDS and the Service 

Chiefs after which a minute silence 

was observed in honour 

of the deceased. 

"The TC assured the officials 

that the Military Police, MP, has 

commenced an investigation 

By Anayo Okoli 

THREE policemen have 

been killed by gunmen 

at Agbani, the headquarters 

of Nkanu West Local Government 

Area of Enugu State. 

The killing occurred, yesterday 

morning, at a roundabout 

close to the Agbani Divisional 

Police Station, which is a 

short distance from the community’s 

main market. 

The policemen were said to 

be on a stop-and-search 

duty at the spot when the gunmen 

attacked and killed 

them. 

From left: Chairman, ICLED Business School, Prof Olajumoke 

Familoni, presenting ‘Africa’s Most Outstanding 

Payment Solutions Company of the Year Award 2021/2022’ 

to Xpress Payments’ Group Head, PTSP Business, Ibiyemi 

Okuwoga; Group Head, Agency Banking, Bolaji Oladoja; 

and Managing Director, Dr Markie Idowu, during the Pan 

African Int’l Conference and Awards in Lagos. 

•Slain aid worker 

to unravel the circumstances 

with the promise that they 

would be carried along 

throughout the process. He then 

requested they extend the condolence 

message to the family 

of the deceased. 

"The team appreciated the 

prompt response by the troops 

on the ground for their prompt 

response and the immediate 

medical attention offered to the 

co-pilot including the recovery 

of the corpses to Maiduguri for 

further necessary action. 

"Additionally, the team leader 

thanked the Theatre for 

reaching out to them as soon 

as the incident occurred and 

disclosed that the co-pilot involved 

in the incident is rapidly 

responding to treatment at the 

hospital. 

"Relatedly, the two parties 

agreed that the sad incident will 

not affect the cooperation, support 

and harmonious relationship 

existing between them. The 

meeting was held at the Command 

Guest House, Maiduguri.” 

INGO reacts 

Meanwhile, the International 

Non-Governmental Organisation 

Forum, INGO, community 

has condemned the 

murder. INGO, in a press statement 

by its Media and Communication 

Adviser, Ademilola 

Adesanya, said it was deeply 

saddened by Friday’s gruesome 

incident that led to the 

death of their member. 

“Our thoughts and condolences 

are with the family of our 

departed colleague; we also 

wish a quick recovery to the pilot 

working with the United 

Nations who was injured in this 

unfortunate attack”, the statement 

said. 

"NGOs remain committed to 

working around the clock to 

provide life-saving assistance to 

those in dire need of aid in 

North-East Nigeria and beyond, 

despite the prevailing insecurity 

and challenges. We are 

confident that the government 

will timely investigate yesterday’s 

(Friday) incident and take 

necessary action. We appreciate 

their outreach in support of 

the humanitarian community 

in this difficult moment. 

“The Nigeria INGO Forum 

and its 54 members reiterate 

their commitment to support 

those in need and to collaborate 

with all concerned parties 

to continue improving the operational 

environment of aid 

organizations and their staff”. 

3 policemen gunned down in Enugu, 

residents lament killings 

The gunmen were said to 

have continued to shoot sporadically 

into the air as they 

fled the scene, scaring residents 

and traders in the area. 

In a viral video of the incident, 

some sympathizers are 

heard lamenting incessant 

attacks on policemen serving 

Mohammed Haruna asks the media to hold 

decision-makers accountable 

INEC Resident Electoral 

Commissioner and former 

media chieftain, Mallam Mohammed 

Haruna, has called on 

the media to extend its focus on 

accountability beyond politicians 

and hold responsible every 

person or group whose decisions 

and actions affect society 

Ṡpeaking at the Media 

Roundtable on The Accountability 

Imperative: Why and How 

to Hold the Politicians’ Feet to 

Fire’ organised by FrontFoot 

Media Initiative, Lagos, at Bon 

Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Haruna said 

various other persons beyond 

politicians decide issues for society. 

The INEC Commissioner 

MultiChoice Unwraps Holiday Channel 

for DStv and GOtv Subscribers 

THIS festive season, DStv 

and GOtv subscribers 

will have access to a special 

holiday channel packed with 

all their favorite content as 

MultiChoice, the leading 

Pay-TV operator in Africa, is 

adding a special holiday channel 

to its lineup of channels. 

The channel called The Holiday 

Channel will feature a 

range of entertaining shows, 

concerts, festivals, and Christmas 

carols, making it the perfect 

place for family fun this holiday 

season. The channel will 

be available on Ch. 198 on DStv 

and Ch. 53 on GOtv. 

MultiChoice has a long history 

of providing fun, educating, 

and family-friendly entertainment 

via its various channels on 

DStv and GOtv. The addition of 

the Holiday Channel is in line 

with the company’s commitment 

to providing quality entertainment 

for all viewers during 

the festive season. 

Some of the content that 

will be aired on the Holiday 

in Enugu by gunmen. 

A voice of an unidentified 

young man is heard in the video 

lamenting that one of the 

victims was his brother. 

The gunmen were reported 

to have escaped towards Ugbawka 

community of the 

Council. 

Channel include the Akwa 

Ibom, Uyo Christmas Carol 

Festival, The Experience, 

Lagos, Carnival Calabar, 

Afrimma, Dakar (Feed), 

among other exciting holiday 

shows. This channel is 

sure to become a favorite 

among festival and concert 

lovers during the holiday season. 

Speaking on the thought 

behind this year’s Holiday 

Channel, the Head of Content, 

Multichoice, West Africa 

Dr. Busola Tejumola, said, 

“We are excited to add the 

Holiday Channel to our lineup 

of channels on DStv and 

GOtv. This channel aside 

from being in line with our 

commitment to providing 

best-in-class entertainment, 

will also provide our viewers 

with hours of festive entertainment 

that they can 

enjoy as they reconnect and 

bond with their families during 

the holiday season.” 

stated, “Big Business, Big Labour, 

Big Pharma, and, of 

course, Big Media, etc., all 

make decisions that affect people. 

Therefore, we must go beyond 

the Constitutional enunciations 

for the Media to hold 

the Government accountable 

to the public and hold every institution 

whose decisions and 

actions impact people and society 

to account for their decisions 

and actions”. 

The FrontFoot Media 

Roundtable featured many distinguished 

personalities in the 

media and politics including a 

former two-term governor of 

Cross River State, Mr Donald 

Duke, Dr Patrick Dele Cole, Mr 

Lade Bonuola, a former editor 

and Managing Director of The 

Guardian, Mr Dan Agbese, one 

of the founders of Newswatch 

magazine, and Mrs MotunrayoAlaka, 

Executive Director 

of the Wole Soyinka Centre for 

Investigative Journalism. Others 

included Dr (Mrs) NwadiutoIheakanwa, 

managing director 

of Champion Newspapers 

who also represented the 

Newspaper Proprietors Association 

of Nigeria and Mr Bolaji 

Adebiyi, vice president South- 

West of the Nigerian Guild of 

Editors. FrontFoot directors 

Sully Abu, Emeka Izeze and 

Sonala Olumhense hosted the 

event. 

Haruna is a Fellow of the 

Newspaper Proprietors Association 

of Nigeria, the Nigerian 

Guild of Editors, and the African 

Center for Democratic 

Governance. A former managing 

director of the New Nigerian 

newspaper and renowned 

columnist, Haruna charged 

journalists to equip themselves 

with knowledge of three critical 

rules for reporting political 

developments in the country. 

The INEC chief submitted: 

“As the leader in holding not 

just politicians but all other 

groups accountable to the people, 

the Media must be guided 

by knowledge, ethics (integrity, 

courage, professionalism, impartiality, 

etc.) and civility. The 

first step the Media must take 

in holding politicians accountable 

to the public is to be knowledgeable 

about politics and 

everything else it reports. This 

should start with knowing the 

rules that guide our politics.” 

He listed the three rules that 

“constitute the most critical elements 

of the country’s Electoral 

Legal Framework” as the 

1999 Nigerian Constitution, the 

Electoral Act 2022, and the Independent 

National Electoral 

Commission’s (INEC’s) Election 

Regulations and Guidelines 

2022. 

Other documents to enable 

proper reporting of the Nigerian 

electoral race include Manuals 

for Election Officials, political 

party constitutions, and 

case laws, Mallam Haruna 

added. 

In his paper, ‘It’s good governance, 

stupid’, Haruna disagreed 

with the widespread 

view that the constitution is 

flawed because the Military 

wrote it and that it is only federal 

in name but unitary in reality. 

He submitted: “Both claims 

are false. The Military has never 

written any of our Constitutions, 

certainly neither the current 

1999 Constitution nor that 

of 1979. Both were written by 

civilians, mostly elected, with a 

few nominated. Both drafts 

were subjected to public hearings 

in all the nooks and corners 

of this country before they 

were promulgated into law. Yes, 

the Military held a veto over 

both, but in promulgating each 

into the country’s supreme law, 

they hardly changed their substance. 

“As for the claim that 

the Constitution is unitary in 

fact, if not in theory, nothing 

could be further from the truth. 

This claim has led to the popular 

fallacy that what Nigeria 

needs is “true federalism”. A 

federation is simply a system 

of Government in which a written 

constitution distributes 

power and responsibility between 

a national government 

and a number of state or regional 

governments". 

UNIBEN alumni hold awards, dinner Dec 4 

UNIVERSITY of Benin 

Alumni Association 

(UBAA), Lagos Branch holds 

its Annual Award of Excellence 

and Dinner at 2.00pm 

on December 4, 2022 at 

Sheraton Hotels & Towers, 

Ikeja. 

A statement by branch 

chairman, Pharm. Stephen 

Onojomete, and secretary, Mr. 

David Osiezagha, said the 

event will be chaired by Elder 

Obukaroro Ovadje and Prof. 

Lilian Salami (vice chancellor 

of the UNIBEN) as the special 

guest of honour and Mother 

of the Day. A keynote address 

on the benefits of the 

2022 electoral reforms will be 

delivered by Mr. Mike Igini, 

immediate past INEC Commissioner, 

Akwa Ibom State. 

Shortlisted for awards are 

some alumni who have excelled 

in their professions and 

contributed immensely to national 

growth as well as UN- 

IBEN and UBAA, including 

Pharm. Josephine Ehimen, 

Prof. Chris Imumolen, Gabriel 

Ogbechie, Engr. Olatunji 

Akinwunmi, Victor Onyenkpa, 

Janet Adenrele, Rita 

Michael-Ojo, Dr. Cynthia 

Gregg, Olumide Akpata and 

Mitchell Elegbe. 

Others are Ernest Uduje, 

Grace Omo-Lamai, Dr. Kayode 

Thomas, Osayande Igiehon, 

Stanley Amuchie, Kendall 

Ananyi, Wole Adeniyi, 

Henry Oroh, Dr. David Isiavwe, 

Wole Abu, 

Managing Director, Augustine 

Okwah 

Manager, Pharm Henry 

Edo Chukwura, Kayode Akiode, 

Franklin Erebor, Major- 

Gen. Henry Oburo, Bashir 

Bello, Engr. Andy Olotu, Comrade 

Razaq Obe, Onome Joy 

Adewuyi, Maj-Gen. Adamu 

Jidda, Brig-Gen. Henry Oburo, 

Brig-Gen. Eruwa Emiko 

(Rtd), Engr. Nedo Osayande 

and Mike Igini among others.

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 

LAGOS STATE SCOUT COUNCIL 17TH EKO COMMISSIONER CAMP 

From left: Engr. G.O. Akinlawon, Dr Olajide Abiodun Babatunde, Special 

Adviser to Lagos State Governor and Alh. Adebesin Oyeyemi, State Scout 

Commissioner, during Lagos State Scout Council 17th Eko Commissioner 

Camp, held in Lagos, yesterday. Photos: KEHINDE SHONOLA. 

Intentional and Strategic, Lagos demonstrates resolve 

to tackle out-of-school children menace 

By Lekan Bilesanmi 

he United Nations 

TEducational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organisation’s 

(UNESCO) recent statistics on 

Nigeria’s out-of-school children 

have further bolstered the dire 

straite of education in the 

country. Recently, the 

international body released 

figures that have further alarmed 

players in the education sector; 

parents, government, teachers 

and civil society organizations. 

The figures have led to 

recriminations about the party 

responsible for the disgrace. 

Disclosing that it used a new 

and improved methodology to 

arrive at the latest figures, 

UNESCO said Nigeria’s out-ofschool 

number is no longer about 

10 million but 20 million. “The 

new estimates, published online 

by the UNESCO Institute for 

Statistics (UIS) and the Global 

Education Monitoring (GEM) 

Report, show that sub-Saharan 

Africa remains the region with 

the most children and youth out 

of school with 98 million children 

and young people excluded from 

LASUBEB field officers conducting community 

engagement for pupil enrollment 

education. It is also the only 

region where this number is 

increasing; out-of-school rates 

are falling more slowly than the 

growing school-age population. 

“The region with the second 

highest out-of-school population 

is Central and Southern Asia 

with 85 million. The top three 

countries with the most children 

and youth excluded from 

education are India, Nigeria and 

Pakistan,” the report noted. 

It added that “important data 

gaps have been filled in countries 

that have large out-of-school 

numbers but where no 

administrative data of good 

quality has been available for 

over a decade, such as Nigeria, 

which has an estimated 20.2 

million children and youth out 

of school, Ethiopia (10.5 million), 

the Democratic Republic of 

Congo (5.9 million) and Kenya 

(1.8 million).” 

While some education 

stakeholders have disputed the 

From left: Mrs Regina Amaraegbu, State Headquarters, Special Duties, Lagos, 

Senator (Dr) Bode Olajumoke, Commissioner, Special Scout, Lagos State Scout 

Council, Dr Olajide Abiodun Babatunde, Special Adviser to Lagos State 

Governor, and Justice Emmanuel Dodo, Audu, Chair NSO, during the Lagos 

State Scout Council 17th Eko Commissioner Camp. 

2023: PANDEF sticks to pact with Afenifere, Ohanaeze, 

MBF; rules out northern candidate 

S 

outh-South influential 

group, Pan Niger Delta 

Forum, PANDEF, is 

sticking to the decision of 

the Southern and Middle 

Belt Leaders Forum (SM- 

BLF) to mobilize support 

for only parties fielding 

southern candidates in the 

2023 presidential election. 

SMBLF comprises of 

PANDEF, Afenifere (South- 

West socio-political 

group), Ohanaeze Ndigbo 

of the South-East and the 

Middle Belt Forum and 

took the position to back 

southern candidates based 

on power rotation between 

the North and South of the 

country. 

The group took the decision 

sometime last year 

ahead of the emergence of 

the presidential candidates 

for the 2023 election. 

Whereas some parties 

toed the line of SMBLF by 

picking southern presidential 

candidates to succeed 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari who is from the 

North, others acted in blatant 

disregard of the position. 

The National Publicity 

Secretary of PANDEF, Mr 

Ken Robinson, at the weekend, 

said “we will not support 

any political party that 

has a northern presidential 

candidate in 2023”. 

Asked pointedly if the 

SMBLF stand stays ahead 

of the 2023 elections, Robinson 

told Sunday Vanguard 

in an interview: “Exactly, 

we will not support 

any political party that has 

a northern presidential 

candidate in 2023. 

“It is essential to emphasize 

that this is a collective 

position of the Southern 

and Middle Belt Leaders 

Forum (SMBLF) comprising 

Afenifere, Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo, the Middle Belt 

Forum and, of course, PAN- 

DEF. 

“The decision was taken 

at a meeting of SMBLF in 

Abuja on the 30th of May 

last year (2021) and it has 

maintained that position to 

date. 

“And it is based, purely, on 

the fundamental principles 

of equity, fairness and 

justice, and the age-long 

pact of power rotation between 

the North and the 

South, particularly the office 

of the President, which 

has helped to stabilize the 

nation’s polity since independence. 

“Therefore, the collective 

stance remains that President 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

a northerner, would be 

completing the statutory 

eight years for the office of 

President in May 2023, it 

would be unwelcomed to 

have another northerner, 

whether Muslim or Christian, 

as President and 

Commander-in-Chief of 

the Federal Republic of 

Tinubu vows on campaign promises: 

latest UNESCO figures, others, 

like Lagos State under Governor 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have 

continued working assiduously 

to reduce the number of out-ofschool 

children. Since assuming 

office, Sanwo-Olu has 

consistently increased 

educational budgetary allocation 

and other sustainable 

interventions. In 2022, he 

allocated the lion’s share of 

N171.6 billion to education and 

next year. It will take the third 

largest share of the budget. 

While 20.06 per cent (N339 

billion) of the 2023 budget is 

for infrastructure and 11.29 

per cent (N191 billion) for 

healthcare and the 

environment, 9.07 per cent 

(N153.5 billion) is for 

education. 

According to the Governor, the 

education allocation enables the 

government to consolidate the 

gains of previous investments in 

the sector. Though the portion 

needs parity with UNESCO’s 

recommendation, it is way higher 

than other states. It affirms the 

government’s commitment to 

education and reducing out-ofschool 

children. 

Continues on 

www.vanguardngr.com 

Nigeria, in 2023. 

“As the late South African 

Nobel Peace Prize winner, 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 

eloquently surmised, ‘If you 

are neutral in situations of 

injustice, you have chosen 

the side of the oppressor. If 

an elephant has its foot on 

the tail of a mouse, and you 

say that you are neutral, 

the mouse will not appreciate 

your neutrality.’” 

• Full interview 

to be published next 

Sunday 

Go to Lagos and see record of devt 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

residential candidate of 

Pthe All Progressives Congress, 

APC, Asiwaju Ahmed 

Bola Tinubu, has assured that 

he would deliver on his campaign 

promises if elected as 

President next year . 

Giving the assurance, yesterday, 

at a rally of his party 

in Warri, Delta State, Tinubu 

lamented the deplorable state 

of Warri, adding that he would 

work with his governorship 

candidate , Senator Ovie 

Omo Agege, to address challenges 

of underdevelopment 

in the state. 

Drumming up support for 

election of Omo Agege as governor 

of the state, he said the 

Delta steel company was not 

for sale, adding that he would 

ensure the dreams of people 

were achieved under his government. 

“I will fulfill the promises 

made to you. Your dreams 

will be realized. Warri is going 

down. They don’t know 

the way, the knowledge, the 

road to development. We 

know the way,”the candidate 

said . 

“Go to Lagos and see record 

of development and prosperity. 

I am here, hope is here , 

prosperity is here .” 

He said his government 

would work with Omo Agege 

as governor to create opportunities 

for development for 

the people of the state. 

“You know that the Senate 

President, Omo Agege, is the 

next governor. He will work 

with me , the next President to 

bring development. Omo 

Agege represents renewed 

hope. Your steel industry is not 

for sale, it is for development” 

Earlier, National Chairman 

of the party, Alhaji Abdullahi 

Adamu, handed over the 

party’s flag to Omo Agege as 

the standard bearer of the 

party in the Delta. 

The Chairman, who was 

represented by the Deputy 

National Chairman, Chief 

Emma Eneukwu, called on 

the people to vote for all candidates 

of the party in Delta. 

Omo Agege and in his 

speech earlier, challenged 

Delta State governmentto 

account for funds that accrued 

to the state from the thirteen 

percent derivation fund, internally 

generated revenue, 

stressing that the government 

had failed to meet the aspirations 

of the people.. 

Senate President Ahmed 

Lawal, a former National 

Chairman of the party, Comrade 

Adams Oshiomhole, 

and Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi, 

were among those who called 

on Deltans to vote for the party 

at the general polls. 

Governor Hope Uzodima 

of Imo State and his Plateau 

State counterpart, Simon Lalong, 

were among dignitaries 

present at the occasion. 

Jubilation as Ubabiri Emerges Agadagba 

-elect of Egbema Kingdom 

I 

t was jubilation galore on Fri 

day as the people of Egbema 

Kingdom in Warri North and Ovia 

South West Local Government 

Areas of Delta and Edo states, 

respectively, elected Agadagbaelect. 

The selection/presentation, 

done at Ajakurama Town, the 

ancestral home of Egbema Kingdom, 

had members of the Regency 

Council, Egbema Traditional 

Councl, Egbema Leaders of 

Thought, Ijaw Youth Council, 

prominent chiefs, youths and 

women in their thousands in attendance. 

High Chief Cyrus Olopele, 

Secretary of Egbema Traditional 

Council, who briefed newsmen 

after the ceremony, said it was 

an important day in the history 

of the kingdom as a new monarch 

was unveiled to the people 

of Egbema. 

Olopele noted that the gazette 

was properly followed in the presentation 

of the Agadagba-elect 

adding the process was still ongoing. 

“Today (Friday 11 November, 

2022), we unanimously selected 

the Agadagba-elect from the Ogbudugbudu 

ruling house and he 

was unanimously accepted. The 

Jamagie ruling house, who are 

in position to raise his hand and 

present him to the whole kingdom, 

performed that function accordingly 

through Chief Akin 

German, the Perekorewei of Egbema 

Kingdom,”he stated. 

“The rest is left for the, priests 

to exercise their functions, and 

you can see the priest who stood 

by him and they are the only 

priests who have the prerogative 

to perform such function as far 

as the installation of the Agadagba 

is concerned in this kingdom. 

The process is already 

ongoing”. 

Kwankwaso joins 

Carolyn Okem to 

begin senatorial 

campaign in Ogoja 

By Dickson Omobola 

igeria National Peoples 

NParty, NNPP, Presidential 

flag-bearer, Rabiu Kwankwaso, 

has teamed up with 

Northern Senatorial District 

candidate of the NNPP in 

Cross River State, Miss Carolyn 

Okem to kick-off her senatorial 

campaign in Ogoja. 

A statement released by her 

campaign team stated that 

Okem had inked her name in 

the history books of the Ogoja 

people and the country at 

large. 

The statement reads: “She 

is popular amongst her people. 

By bringing the presidential 

condidate to the Northern 

Cross River, she has written 

our name on the map as it 

is the first time that a presidential 

candidate would be 

visiting the community.” 

Okem, whose plan, among 

others, is to formulate genderspecific 

policies that would 

improve the well-being of 

women and children, disclosed 

during her campaign 

that she was keen on 

improving the global 

competitiveness of the district. 

“Together, you and I will 

improve productivity in our 

district and attract development 

across board, while ensuring 

Sustainable Development 

Goals are met,” She 

added. 

Erekosima 

for burial 

November 26 

T 

he remains of Madam 

Florence Ibiba Adelu 

Erekosima of the 

Erekosima family in 

Johnbull compound, 

Buguma, Asari-Toru Local 

Government Area, LGA; 

Eruwa family of Obitugbo 

community, Warri North 

LGA, and Eku in Ethiope 

East LGA, Delta State, will 

be laid to rest on November 

26th, 2022, at the Port 

Harcourt cemetery. 

According to burial 

programmes released by 

the families, the reception 

will follow immediately 

after the interment. 

Madam Erekosima is 

survived by a daughter, 

M r s 

Pepetual 

Ahmed, 

a 

brother, 

M r 

Jimitota 

Lucky 

Onoyume, 

uncles, 

aunties 

a n d 

m a n y 

other 

relations.

By Peter Okutu 

No fewer than two mem 

bers of Ebubeagu were 

shot dead at the popular 

Ebebe Junction, along Ogbaga 

Road in Abakaliki, Ebonyi 

State. 

The incident, which took 

place on Friday night, caused 

tension among indigenes of 

the state as many were seen 

scampering for safety. 

Sunday Vanguard gathered 

that many were injured following 

the incident. 

An eyewitness stated: “It was 

last night around 9.30 p.m. 

when I passed through that 

place and a full complement 

of Ebubeagu operatives cordoned 

off the location. 

“The victims were taken to 

the Alex Ekuweme Federal 

Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, 

FETHA 2, and before they 

could get there, two of the victims 

died while others with 

bullet injuries are now receiving 

treatment. 

“Everybody around the location 

of the incident fled into 

their houses for fear of becoming 

victims.” 

The shooting of the Ebubeagu 

operatives took place 

Obi woos North, vows to end poverty 

By John Alechenu, Abuja 

The presidential candi 

date of Labour Party (LP), 

Mr. Peter Obi, is wooing the 

North, alleged to be the nation’s 

poverty capital, saying 

the region will enjoy prosperity 

under an Obi-Datti-led LP 

administration if voted into 

power come 2023. 

Chief Spokesperson for the 

Campaign, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, 

who spoke for his principal, 

said this when he appeared on 

a live programme on Bright 

FM Abuja, yesterday. 

Tanko said Obi, who served 

for two terms as governor of 

Anambra State, was determined 

and committed to 

changing the Nigerian story 

for good. 

According to him, the candidate 

and his team of patriots 

recognize the huge potentials 

that exist in northern Nigeria 

with regards to agriculture 

hence they are determined 

to direct energy to aggressive 

agricultural production and 

Agro-allied business in order 

to pull the population out of 

poverty. 

Tanko noted that Obi 

would not only focus on agricultural 

production but 

would ensure value addition 

before export in order to earn 

the much needed foreign exchange 

for national development. 

Speaking about the LP’s 

plans to ensure credible polls, 

he explained that the party has 

started recruiting volunteers 

who will work round the 

From left: Inaugural Lecturer, Professor Temitope Oyedepo, Vice Chancellor, Professor, 

Solomon Adebola and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Luke Onuoha during the 3rd 

Inaugural Lecture of Adeleke University Ede, Osun State titled, Food as Medicine: Biological 

Activities of Some Medicinal Food Plants in Nigeria. 

few metres away from the Police 

Headquarters and the Old 

Government House, Abakaliki. 

The remains of the deceased, 

it was learnt, have 

clock to ensure that results of 

total votes cast in each polling 

booth is transmitted to the 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission (INEC) 

server before they leave.. 

The volunteers whom he 

been deposited in the morgue. 

There have been reported 

protests against the activities 

of Ebubeagu in Ebonyi as the 

opposition political parties 

see them as a threat to their 

SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022, PAGE 7 

nicknamed cell “soldiers “ 

.could be stationed at each 

polling booth all over the 

country and would be willing 

to stay until the result is announced 

and transmitted to 

INEC server. 

Tension in Ebonyi as gunmen kill Ebubeagu men near Police HQ 

aspiration in the 2023 general 

elections. 

Contacted, the Police Public 

Relations Officer, SP Chris 

Anyanwu, confirmed the incident. 

Wike dares Ayu: Sue me over PDP funds’ diversion 

allegation 

*Says G5 Governors won’t lose election in 2023 

By Egufe Yafugborhi 

Governor Nyesom Wike of 

Rivers State, yesterday, repeated 

his allegation that Peoples 

Democratic Party (PDP) National 

Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia 

Ayu,diverted N1.1billion party 

funds, daring Ayu to sue 

him over the allegation. 

Wike spoke during the Rivers 

PDP 2023 election campaign 

flag-off held at the 

Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium 

in Omagwa, Ikwerre Local 

Government Area of the 

State where he also declared 

he would exit office a fulfilled 

leader. 

The governor said, “I have 

challenged Ayu. You cannot 

lead me to campaign. I will 

not. Rivers will not. Whether 

they like it or not, Ayu cannot 

lead us to campaign". 

He alleged: “You (Ayu) are 

building a university in Benue 

State, but you have not stayed 

one year in office. I said you 

took N1billion, I told you, you 

took N100million, I told you, 

you took the money that we 

realised from the primary. Ayu, 

sue me.” 

To the G-5 governors and 

supporters over the PDP crisis, 

he said, “My dear brothers 

of the Integrity Group, 

you’ve done well. They have 

tried to break us, they couldn’t 

break us and they will never 

break us. 

“Here in Rivers, I will say it 

and let the heavens hear me. 

Let the earth hear me today. I 

will not support anybody who 

says that no other person from 

other ethnic groups can be 

President. I will not do it. 

“Nigeria belongs to all of 

us whether you’re Hausa, Fulani; 

whether you’re Yoruba, 

whether you’re Igbo, or you’re 

Ikwerre, whether you’re Urhobo, 

whether you’re Itsekiri, 

you’re Ijaw, or from anywhere, 

you are entitled to be President 

of the Federal Republic 

of Nigeria. 

“So, when you go on national 

television and tell anybody, 

don’t vote for the Yoruba, don’t 

We agree with Tinubu, Hope Uzodinma is no pushover 

By Global Association of 

Concerned Imo Youths (GACIY) 

n Thursday, November 17, 2022, the pres 

Oidential candidate of the All Progressives 

Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 

was in Owerri for a townhall meeting with the 

private sector and other stakeholders. During 

the meeting, the president-in-waiting took time 

to explain how he would run the affairs of the 

country when sworn-in in 2023. It gladdens 

the heart, therefore, that Tinubu has well 

thought out and realistic programmes to turn 

Nigeria around. 

During the meeting, Tinubu paid glowing 

tributes to our hardworking Governor, Distinguished 

Senator Hope Uzodimma. He said: 

“I have known you [Hope] from your days at 

the National Assembly. Anyone who underestimates 

you does so at his own peril”. 

Tinubu’s eulogy of Governor Hope Uzodimma 

is pregnant and has far-reaching messages. 

It reinforces our belief that we are playing 

with the best eleven and tells the story of Governor 

Uzodimma’s doggedness, political foresight 

and smartness, how he has survived political 

huddles and jumped over the traps of 

the birdcatchers. 

Governor Uzodimma had run for Governor 

twice before 2019 - in 2003 and 2007 - and 

didn’t win but didn’t split hairs. 

He was unfazed. In 2019, Imo 

people saw the need to elect him 

as Governor despite the machinations 

of wicked rulers in 

high places to shortchange 

him. God, being by Hope’s 

side, retrieved the mandate 

from their jaws and claws. 

The mandate thieves have 

continued to delude themselves, 

working themselves 

up for nothing. They gather 

and scheme for nothing. 

They thought Hope 

would not perform, but 

he has left them gnashing 

their teeth in shock. They contrived 

insecurity believing that could stop him. 

In all they contrived, they have found out 

that God is with Hope; that one with God 

is a majority. When God says yes, no minority 

party, disgruntled, wailing politician 

can twart it. That is why the counsel 

of Ahithophel will always not stand. 

Imo has been pushed through the crucible. 

Their last card is the insecurity they 

contrived. But now Imo is stronger, better 

and prosperous under Hope. Those who 

contrived insecurity in Imo believed it was 

impossible to eliminate the monster they 

Delta revokes Ughelli/Asaba 

Road contract 

By Festus Ahon 

DELTA State government, 

yesterday, revoked the 

contract for Sector ‘A’ of the 

Ughelli/Asaba dual project, 

following alleged poor performance 

of the contractor. 

The state Commissioner for 

Information, Mr Charles 

Aniagwu, who disclosed this 

while briefing Journalists in 

Asaba after the State Executive 

Council meeting, said the 

contractor had failed to perform 

to expectation of the state 

government in the contract, 

which according to him, was 

awarded in 2013. 

“So, at today’s (Friday) Exco 

meeting, we terminated the 

contract of Sector ‘A’ of the 

Ughelli/Asaba ExpressWay. 

Sector A is from Ughelli to 

Aradhe in Isoko North Local 

Government Area,”Anigwu 

stated. 

“The contractor that has 

been handling that project 

since 2013, when it was 

awarded, has not been performing 

up to expectation. 

“We have not only repudiated 

it, we have also approved 

the award of that project to 

another contractor immediately. 

Flanked by the Chief Press 

Secretary to the Governor, 

Mr Olisa Ifeajika, the Information 

Commissioner, said 

Exco approved the construction 

of Etua-Etiti, Etua-Oliogo 

roads in Ndokwa West Local 

Government Area of the state. 

2023: Kwara SDP candidate, Hakeem 

Lawal, projects N10B monthly IGR from 

current N2B 

By Demola Akinyemi 

Tcandidate he gubernatorial 

of the Social 

Democratic Party, SDP, in 

Kwara State, Alhaji Hakeem 

Oladimeji Lawal, has 

expressed his determination 

to block loopholes and raise 

the state monthly Internally 

Generation Revenue (IGR) 

from its current N2B to N10B 

if elected governor in the 2023 

election. 

Lawal, son of late former 

governor, Mohammed Alabi 

Lawal, speaking at an 

interactive session with 

journalists in Ilorin, explained 

that the dynamics of the 

vote for the Igbo, you didn’t 

even mention where I come 

from, which means, nobody 

identifies with me. Which 

means, I come from nowhere. 

But God knows that I come 

from some where. 

“Not one of the PDP Integrity 

Governors will lose governorship 

seats of their states. 

No amount of gang-up will 

make us to lose Abia, Enugu, 

Benue and Oyo states and 

who is that that will come and 

win Rivers State? 

“I am going with my shoulders 

high and going happily 

because I have never said I 

will do something and I did 

not do it. We have a lot of 

armed robbers and kidnappers 

coming to be governor. 

Please, open your eyes.” 

created. They undermine Governor Hope Uzodimma 

and do so at their own peril. They are riding the 

back of a tiger and will end in its belly. Peace is 

coming back to Imo. And soon all the vestiges of 

what they contrived will be obliterated. 

We have no doubt that in the end the result will 

be that Hope has won again, APC has won again. 

This is the reason we align ourselves completely 

with Governor Hope Uzodimma, 

that we have not seen any force or calculation 

that will ‘whisk-off APC’. 

Hope has shown wisdom, tact, 

empathy, capacity, prudence 

and resourcefulness in managing 

the affairs of Imo State. 

“And you don’t change the winning 

team as APC is wining in 

Imo State”. Those who doubt 

the good news we bring, who enjoy delusion, are on their 

own. They are enjoying their moonlight play, their hideand-seek. 

Interestingly, moonlight play, hide-and-seek 

are for children. And Hope is no child. That is why those 

who underrate him do so at their own peril. 

In 2023 they will all learn the hard way as they will 

suffer excruciating defeat and will not be able to 

rise from the ashes of their defeat. 

“Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, 

neither is there any divination against Israel: according 

to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of 

Israel, What hath God wrought!” (Numbers 23:23). 

May God cintinue to bless our homeland, Imo. 

•Hope Uzodimma 

present realities require that 

things must be done 

differently to get a refreshing 

results to positively affect the 

lives of the people. 

“What our administration 

would do is to block all 

loopholes, reduce activities of 

consultants in revenue 

generation and motivate staff 

of Kwara State Internal 

Revenue Service (KW- 

IRS),”he said/ 

“This will help the state 

accrue more revenue because 

consultants will only take a 

percentage of want they 

collect. We will also improve 

staff welfare and reward 

excellent performance by civil 

servants." 

2023: Oborevwori 

blames APC for 

insecurity, 

poverty, naira 

depreciation 

By Festus Ahon 

DELTA State PDP gover 

norship candidate for 

the 2023 general elections 

and Speaker of the state 

House of Assembly, Chief 

Sheriff Oborevwori, yesterday, 

blamed the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, led Federal 

Government for the high 

rate of insecurity, poverty and 

depreciation of the naira. 

Oborevwori, who spoke 

when led the PDP to Uvwie in 

continuation of the ward-toward 

campaign, told Nigerians 

to vote for the PDP in the 

2023 presidential election, 

adding that Alhaji Atiku 

Abubakar and Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa as President and 

Vice-President, respectively, 

would turn around the economy.. 

He said his vision is to build 

Delta ahead of others in terms 

of development in Nigeria, 

urging the Uvwie people to 

vote Chief Ighoyota Amori for 

Senate, Delta Central District, 

saying he had worked tirelessly 

through the DC-23 to ensure 

that the Governorship 

seat came to Delta Central 

District. 

The candidate told the people 

to vote Evelyn Omavowan 

Oboro for House of Representatives, 

Okpe/Sapele/ 

Uvwie Federal Constituency 

“because she is eloquent, vibrant, 

and experienced and 

Chief Solomon Okporua Ighrakpata 

for Delta State 

House of Assembly, Uvwie 

Constituency to enable him to 

use his wealth of experience 

to develop Uvwie”.

PAGE 8—SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 

By Hope Eghagha 

The 385-page book, “I Spoke at the 

American Congress: The Little Girl 

from Okere-Warri” published by Rolldat 

Publications, Lagos Nigeria, in 2022, is Dr. 

Evelyn Omawunmi Atsiangbe-Urhobo’s 

bold and detailed account of her life from 

the early ages till she retired from formal 

employment. From the remote corners of 

Okere, despite all odds, Omawumi Urhobo 

made it big to the international stage 

through hard work, common sense, courage 

and God’s help. It is therefore a written 

narrative that will, should inspire young 

people. 

By their nature, autobiographies capture 

past personal experiences and how they fit 

into an institutional, national, or 

international framework of things which the 

author believes will be useful to readers by 

informing, educating, or stimulating them 

into doing positive things in life. For Dr. 

Omawumi Urhobo, there is a deliberate 

attempt to present her experiences from 

childhood into adulthood through the 

graceful age of 70 to demonstrate the 

overwhelming power of disciple, 

commitment, determination all by the grace 

of God. So, we are dealing with a book that 

is introspective and reflective, narrated with 

the benefit of experience and time. To 

achieve these, the power of memory is 

very important. Time obliterates or 

moderates or plays tricks on 

memory. However, in the 

book under review, the 

author has a knack for 

recalling intimate details 

of experiences which 

she had some sixty-five 

years ago. And I 

wondered if she kept a 

diary from Age 10! 

Often, biographies 

tend to be 

hagiographical; 

presenting only 

palatable experiences, 

leaving out aspects of 

their encounters with 

people and institutions 

which they believe 

might portray them in 

bad light. The fighter in 

Dr. Urhobo abhors this. ‘I 

Spoke at the American 

Congress’ by all standards, is 

frank, honest and 

unpretentious in the wellarticulated 

narratives. 

Indeed, the subtext is that 

of an activist, a highly 

focused personality who 

decided very early the 

path of life she wanted 

to tow. With the help of 

Heaven, she was able to 

achieve her life’s 

dreams, concluding at 

the end of the interesting 

narrative, that ‘as I 

cruise on towards my 

seventieth birthday, I 

know that God still has a 

lot lined up for me to 

achieve. 

I spoke at the American 

Congress though 

biographical, falls into 

the motivational writing 

category. For, it details the 

personal determination 

and rise of a little girl from the povertystricken 

environment that was Okere-Warri 

in the late 1950s and early 1960s to the 

glamorous world of diplomacy. With little 

or no role models to copy, an inner spirit 

spoke to little Omawunmi that she must not 

end up like the other girls who were made 

pregnant and whose lives and dreams were 

truncated by that social accident. 

Omawumi was by her on account, ‘a 

militant child who found a cause to fight on 

every occasion’, who ‘fought for others more 

than I fought for my own personal causes, p. 

59. 

The book is divided into fourteen chapters. 

The Foreword is written by Zanele Mbeki, 

wife of Mr. Thabo Mbeki, former President 

of The Republic of South Africa. It has 

attestations from such persons as Chief 

Onyema Ugochukwu, (CON), her children, 

Mr. & Mrs. Gbubemi Ukubeyinje, Sa’adat 

(Stella) Adiah Ibrahim, Mr. John 

Onyeukwu, Mr. Emmanuel Efeni and 

others. Each chapter captures the events of 

that period in her life, told with passion and 

The 'little girl' 

from Warri 

who spoke at 

US Congress 

•Evelyn 

Omawunmi 

Atsiangbe 

attention to details. The narrative does not 

start from the beginning, which is the 

author’s way of drawing attention to issues 

and ideas that meant a great deal in her 

life. 

The first chapter titled ‘Attending at 

(sic) the Global Women in 

Management Workshop’ is an account 

of a visit to the US when she had the 

opportunity to address a Committee in 

the American Congress. That she starts 

from the middle of the story shows how 

significant that experience was to her life’s 

trajectory. The interesting part of this 

narrative and experience is that she got on 

the delegation through her commitment to 

the challenges of the ordinary poor people 

of society, a woman who never forgot her 

roots. Because her heart was for helping 

the less-privileged God continued to 

give her opportunities that would 

enable her to fulfill her dreams. 

Chapter Two takes us through her birth, 

circumstances, family, and primary school 

education. She paints a clear picture of 

Okere in the period under review. It was a 

community where there were many mothers 

and aunties and cousins all living together 

with a degree of harmony despite occasional 

fights, but with the absence of a father figure. 

It was also a community where ‘a rather 

barbaric tradition of killing of twins and 

children born from incestuous relationships’ 

(p.62) and where there was a ‘high rate of 

sexual openness and freedom (which) the 

young ones are exposed to’ p. 65. This 

chapter gives us an insight into character 

formation and development. Despite the 

predominant licentiousness, the little 

girl decided very early that she was not 

going to be a part of it. Writing about 

the Awankere festivals she observes: 

“In fact, the festival itself has its 

sexual connotations. And so, very 

many young people get pregnant 

quickly and recklessly with this 

exposure. ...Growing up there, then, 

there was this formed consciousness in 

me that I was not growing to toe this line 

of promiscuity. p. 65. 

Chapter Three titled Hussey College 

(1965-1971) chronicles her years in that 

elite secondary school and how her days there 

helped to shape her future aspirations. Some 

of the friends she made there have remained 

close after many decades. Her brilliance and 

speed in athletics started manifesting while in 

Hussey College and she represented her 

school, the state, and the country at different 

sports outings. In Chapter Four, she 

documents her National Youths Service 

experience at Ibadan. The narrative in 

this chapter is very interesting starting 

from how she secured her posting to 

Ibadan. 

Her involvement in the liberation 

struggle of South Africa using the 

International University Exchange 

Fund (IUEF) is captured in Chapter 

Five, titled ‘My Work with the 

International University 

Exchange Fund. The 

IUEF became a 

platform which 

launched her into 

the global network 

system. Chapters 

Seven, Eight, Nine, 

deal with her interaction with 

and foray into Education as a 

medium of developing 

potentials of individuals in society, 

Community Banking, and her 

business ventures. The Morgan Smart 

Development Foundation narrates 

activities of this body named for 

her late father and how it has 

impacted lives of people. We 

sense a strong devotion to the 

memory of her fate father Mr. 

Morgan Smart Urhobo a 

boxer who died rather young. 

In Chapter Nine, she gives a detailed 

account of her personal life, especially the 

issue of single parenting. As usual her frank, 

unpretentious accounts are riveting, 

educative, and almost philosophical. Her 

capacity to recall the details of her romantic 

relationships is remarkable. It shows the 

personality of the author — she took 

deliberate and unpopular decisions and has 

stood by them despite what people may say. 

Of course, she acknowledges the fact that she 

was not mentally or psychologically 

prepared for some of the consequences of 

single parenting. This did not stop her from 

rising to the occasion and doing her best. 

While Chapter Eleven — Travels/Award 

and Recognition Travels - deals with her 

travels around the world both for work and 

pleasure, with all the awards she has won in 

her colourful career, Chapter Twelve — My 

Sojourn into Politics — focuses on her foray 

into the world of politics at the grassroots 

level in Okere under the umbrella of a 

political party. In her brief romance 

with politics, she saw firsthand all the 

shenanigans of politicians and how the 

most popular candidate does not 

always win in elections. 

Chapter Thirteen, aptly titled ‘The 

Conspiracy of Silence Against the 

Women of the Niger Delta’, Dr. Urhobo 

rails against the neglect which the poor 

women in the riverine areas of the 

Niger Delta have suffered over the 

years. ‘The women live under 

excruciating poverty, but in most cases, 

are still breadwinners in their homes 

and family’. She also blames 

government officials because ‘when 

visitations are carried out by top 

government officials even from the 

legislative arms, they always end by the 

water side leading to the riverine 

communities. p. 371. 

Though well narrated in smooth and 

elegant prose, there are a few 

infelicities that should be corrected 

before the next edition is published. For 

example, the possessive apostrophe in 

nouns is completely missing throughout 

the text and the printer makes use of a 

full stop in its place. At page 369, the 

word ‘exuberant’ is used in place of 

‘exorbitant’. Also, some of the otherwise 

historical and memorable pictures are 

blurred. A better production or 

resolution could have been achieved. 

These infelicities are minor and do not 

remove the pleasure of reading a wellwritten 

book which contents are 

inspiring and educative. 

I Spoke to the American Congress 

evinces and promotes the virtues of 

commitment, love, single-mindedness, 

caring for the less-privileged through 

advocacy on behalf of the poor, 

courage, determination, fairness, hard 

work and a life of purpose. It promotes 

the culture of sowing positive seeds in 

life, seeds that later would generate 

trees. It will be a good read for the 

younger generation, especially those 

who have invested in, or channeled their 

intelligence to the notorious Yahoo 

Yahoo social menace because of their 

desire for quick money. It captures the 

essence of the old life, how schools and 

parents inculcated discipline in 

children. 

During her career the ‘little girl from 

Okere’ has won over twenty-five awards 

from within and outside the country as we 

read from page 341 of the book. Some of 

these include: 

National award as Woman of Honour 

(WHO) by the National Council of 

Women Society (2004) A Merit award by 

the Student Union Government of 

Petroleum Training Institute in 

recognition of her outstanding efforts in 

elevating lives, especially youths in the 

Niger DELTA (2005). 

Induction into the University 

of Lagos Sports Hall of 

Fame Lagos, 2005. 

The Corporate 

Woman of Excellence 

Award as 

Community Leader 

of the Year by 

Corporate Amazons 

Magazine Lagos, 

2007. 

African Icon of 

our Generation 

Award in 2007 

bestowed on her for 

exemplary life of 

excellence. 

An international Award 

as Woman Millenum 

Development Ambassador by 

Teachers Without Borders in the 

USA. 

Finally, distinguished ladies and 

gentlemen, the ‘Little Girl from Okere’ 

author of the well written ‘I Spoke to 

the American Congress’, the story of the 

Little Girl from Okere-Warri’ is no 

longer a little girl; she is now a grand 

dame at 70, for which we give thanks to 

God. Congratulations Ma! 

I spoke at the 

American Congress 

though 

biographical, 

falls into the 

motivational 

writing 

category 

*Eghagha is of the University of 

Lagos.

SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 20, 2022, PAGE 9 

AMNESTY PROGRAMME: 

•Ndiomu 

By Charles Kumolu, 

Deputy Editor 

Sometime in 2009, at Aso Rock Villa, 

Nigeria’s seat of power, the then 

First Lady, Turai Yar’Adua, was disturbed 

over the spate of restiveness in oil-producing 

states in the Niger Delta region. 

The nation was recording unquantifiable 

losses in many areas, especially the economy. 

Daily unwholesome news from the creeks 

left much to be desired. 

At the time, government seemed to have run 

out of solutions or better still deployed the 

wrong approach to such a parlous situation. 

The legitimate force employed, only 

succeeded in making the area more restive 

while the nation accelerated toward 

bankruptcy. 

Sunday Vanguard recalls that the military 

had launched a major ground, air and sea 

offensive to flush militants out of their camps 

in the area. 

Like the wife of James Madison, 4th US 

President, Dolley Madison, who understood 

the importance of national treasures and saved 

them from being destroyed when the British 

burnt down the White House in 1812, Turai 

knew the significance of peace to the success 

of her husband’s administration. 

Behind the scenes, without the knowledge of 

President Umar Yar’Adua, alongside a few like 

minded people, she laid the foundation for 

what later became the Amnesty Programme. 

This is perhaps unknown to many. 

You will be amazed to know how she set the 

stage for what later became the Presidential 

Amnesty Programme, PAP. 

Militants 

However, there was also the Niger Delta 

Technical Committee, NDTC, upon whose 

recommendations, government acted. 

But the then-First Lady played 

troubleshooting roles behind the scenes. 

“We started talking slowly with the militants, 

when it got to a stage, I told my husband that 

this is what we are doing. We used to invite 

them at about 1:30 or 2:30 at night. I used to 

have meetings with them privately in my office. 

We would just smuggle them into my office, 

even though my husband didn’t know until I 

told him what I was doing. He agreed and 

said let’s go and see them. From there, we 

handed over everything, “she stated while 

featuring in Violence Free World, VFW, 

interview. 

Some well-meaning individuals had also 

sought solutions, but the fact that the idea of 

amnesty could come from such an unlikely 

quarter spoke volumes. 

It clearly underscored the severity of the 

challenges militancy posed and as well, the 

urgent need for peace in the creeks at the time. 

Sunday Vanguard couldn’t get the official 

record of total money lost to militancy, but 

After survival, hurdles, 

expectations 

The federal 

government had, last 

September, appointed 

the Bayelsa-born exmilitary 

chief as 

Interim Coordinator of 

the Amnesty Office. 

Apart from serving as 

the Garrison 

Commander, Nigerian 

Army Headquarters 

and Chief of Training 

and Operations, 

Ndiomu held other 

sensitive positions 

before he retired in 

2017. 

At the time Ndiomu 

emerged as head of PAP, 

government had 

mulled winding down 

the programme to the 

several estimates of losses consternation of those with deep knowledge 

at certain stages of the of its performance so far. 

restiveness suggested the As of last September, this paper reported that 

nation was losing a third government had commenced the process to 

of its oil production at the effectively shut down PAP by December 31, 

peak of the crisis. 2022. 

In a-13-point terms of reference titled: 

‘Winding Down the Presidential Amnesty 

Programme’, Ndiomu was mandated to 

“ensure the cessation of all processes of contract 

award immediately, identify and profile 

beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty 

Programme from inception between 17th and 

31st October 2022.” 

However, stakeholders in the region kicked 

against the move, stating that among other 

things, a lot of its core values haven’t been 

realised. 

This resulted in government’s decision to 

shelve the earlier plan of shutting down the 

programme. 

To observers, most of the arguments against 

winding down PAP highlighted the magnitude 

of the task before the new leadership. 

Sunday Vanguard found most of the issues 

to be inherited leadership gaps. 

Losses 

For instance, between 

2006 and 2007, an 

estimated sum of 

$14.4billion tax and 

royalty income was lost by 

Nigeria. 

This was disclosed by the then Managing 

Director, Niger Delta Development 

Commission, NDDC,Mr.Basil Omiyi, at a preconference 

workshop by the Nigerian 

Association of Petroleum 

Explorationists,NAPE. 

Also, in the first quarter of 2009, a few months 

before the amnesty declaration, daily losses 

were put at 1,101,488 barrels of oil daily. 

Within the same period, about 178.9 billion 

cubic feet ,cf, of gas production was lost to the 

unrest. 

In 2016, former Minister of Petroleum, Dr. 

Ibe Kachikwu, said Nigeria lost $50-$100 

billion in oil revenue at the peak of the militant 

attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger 

Delta, which slashed oil production from 2.2 

million barrels per day to one million barrels 

per day. 

It was based on the losses and the security 

threat militancy posed, that Yar’Adua granted 

amnesty to former agitators in August 2009, 

leading to the establishment of the Presidential 

Amnesty Programme, PAP. 

From its inception to date, PAP has had six 

coordinators. They include Mr. Timi Alaibe, 

Mr. Kingsley Kuku, Brigadier Gen Boroh ,retd, 

Col Milland Dikkio, retd, and the late Charles 

Dokuboh. 

Objectives 

13 years later, observers are keen about 

knowing if the key objectives of the PAP: 

disarmament, demobilization and 

reintegration have been achieved. 

Findings by Sunday Vanguard showed that 

while what could be called total disarmament 

and demobilization have been realized, a lot 

needs to be done in terms of reintegration and 

other sub-objectives. 

For instance, incessant attacks on oil 

facilities by militants are no longer being 

recorded, leading to an improvement in oil 

production beyond the pre-amnesty period. But 

crude oil theft believed to be perpetrated by 

those in high places has nearly driven oil 

production to where it was before amnesty 

proclamation. 

On the pledge of training and educating 

30,000 people, who surrendered at the 

inception of the scheme in Obubra, Cross River 

State, some have been trained, educated and 

given vocational skills in various fields. 

Among the products of PAP are pilots, 

lawyers, engineers and welders among others. 

Irrespective of the successes recorded, 

stakeholders believe that much needs to be 

done to ensure the realization of the dreams 

envisioned by the late President Yar’Adua. 

Ndiomu 

The realisation of the total objectives is 

predicated on how well the present leadership 

of Major-General Barry Ndiomu, retd, 

addresses inherited challenges in the 

management of the scheme. 

Non-Niger Deltans 

They include the growing number of 

beneficiaries of the scheme, over N90 billion 

debt profile, alleged systemic fraud and 

existence of non-Niger Deltans in the 

programme among others. 

According to information obtained from PAP 

website, no fewer than 30, 000 people were 

captured in the programme with 65 

percent being youths from Niger 

Delta-impacted communities. 

It was learned that what 

Ndiomu met on the ground 

was a situation whereby 

some beneficiaries who 

have been trained and 

empowered were still 

receiving their 

monthly stipends. 

The irregularities on 

the payment list were 

recently uncovered by an 

internal audit that was 

instituted by the new Interim 

Administrator to clean up the 

database of the programme. 

The action had attracted criticisms 

from few, but many hailed it, saying 

the programme was structured to run 

in three phases: training, 

empowerment and 

engagement, after which 

beneficiaries exit. But that 

wasn’t the case as the 

number of beneficiaries 

kept increasing up until the 

time Ndiomu assumed 

office. 

Beneficiaries 

It is believed that the successful delisting of 

bogus beneficiaries would save costs for 

government and ensure the culture of 

exploiting the system is addressed. 

A source at the Amnesty Office, who spoke 

on the exercise undertaken by the new 

leadership, said: “The painful aspect of the 

issue is that a lot of people have fed fat from 

the PAP, many of them are called ‘billionaires’ 

today. 

“The main agitators, who really fought, are 

not part of those who are billionaires today. 

They were exploiting the programme until Gen 

Ndiomu exposed their nefarious acts.’’ 

•...as new leader 

targets re-engineering 

of scheme 

The source further revealed that over the 

years, scholarships were given to hundreds of 

non-Niger Deltans. 

The trend was said to have denied deserving 

ex-agitators training, which is one of the three 

phases of PAP. The other stages of the 

programme are empowerment and 

engagement. 

Another source drew a parallel between the 

composition of PAP and North-East 

Development Commission, saying it’s difficult 

to find any Niger Deltan working in the 

commission. He added that non-Niger Deltans, 

including those from the North, hold sensitive 

positions in PAP. 

The alleged inclusion of non-Deltans in PAP, 

was, however, corroborated in an interview 

with Sunday Vanguard by the Grand Patron 

of Ijaw Youth Council Eselemo, who said, 

“people like Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and others 

who are not from the Niger Delta benefitted, 

according to revelations.” 

Value 

Also, Ndiomu was said to have met over N90 

billion in debts, which perhaps made the 

federal government include ascertaining the 

debt profile in his mandate. 

A report sighted by Sunday Vanguard stated 

that the presidency had directed Ndiomu to, 

“propose a mechanism for the settlement of 

outstanding debts, if any, by 31st December 

2022.” 

This unarguably confirmed the worries of 

stakeholders over the indebtedness of PAP. 

Further findings showed that over the years, 

the programme has not created much value in 

terms of employment and engagement of the 

trained ex-agitators. 

It is believed that had past leaders taken 

those aspects of the amnesty deal seriously, 

many trained ex-militants would have been 

well engaged in the oil industry activities even 

beyond the region. 

Key stakeholders were of the view that had 

former agitators been fully involved in the 

massive investments in the sector, Ndiomu 

wouldn’t have inherited the challenges of 

engagement and employment. 

Work in progress 

This is why many stakeholders want the 

present leadership, having shown capacity and 

sincerity, to prioritize engagement and 

employment of many former agitators. 

For observers, apart from the likes of High 

Chief Government Ekpemupolo, 

Asari Dokubo, Ateke Tom and a 

few others, who are now in 

productive enterprises, 

many ex-agitators are still 

struggling. 

“If Tompolo, NNPC 

and other 

stakeholders had 

leveraged the 

Training and 

engagement of the 

ex-agitators in the 

p i p e l i n e 

surveillance 

contract, it would 

have reduced the 

number of untrained 

ex-agitators and it 

would have been a winwin 

situation. The 

numbers will be 

trimmed down, just as 

more value would have been 

created for government,” a 

Delta-born stakeholder, who 

pleaded anonymity, told this 

paper. 

As things stand, PAP is a work in 

progress and not a concluded assignment. 

This was largely demonstrated through calls 

by well-meaning Nigerians for President 

Buhari not to wind down the scheme as 

planned. 

Now that the President has given the 

programme a new lease of life with the 

decision not to terminate it, the onus is on 

Ndiomu to re-engineer the operations of PAP. 

In that regard, it is expected that he makes 

government see reasons the scheme should 

be redesigned as a social investment 

programme. 

Having demonstrated willingness to deliver 

through his actions so far, not a few doubt 

Ndiomu’s capacity at recalibrating PAP along 

its core objectives. 

The scheme 

should be 

redesigned as a 

social investment 

programme

PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 20 , 2022 

Why some Yoruba 

oppose Tinubu like 

they did to Obasanjo 

— Retired Col Agbede 

•Says Asiwaju fighting battle of his life 

• ’Jakande, not Tinubu, is the maker of Lagos’ 

• Believes AD governors performed as bad as Abacha 

• ON 2023: Adebanjo told me he discouraged Tinubu not to run 

• ’Afenifere people are politicians. They negotiate the negotiable’ 

The leadership of Yoruba nation 

seems polarised over the 

presidential ambition of Asiwaju 

Bola Tinubu. Is the dilemma over 

a Yoruba presidential candidate 

enough to pit elders against one 

another? 

What we are seeing are people 

with different ambitions displaying 

their discomfort. It doesn’t augur 

well for the coherence of the 

leadership of Yoruba nation. All 

Yoruba agree that Yoruba nation 

exists and we have existed for 

many centuries before the advent 

of Nigeria. At the time, we were 

lucky that our leaders were more 

patriotic. They were defending the 

people. They were for the people. 

They were not as corrupt as today’s 

leaders. They were not angels but 

they gathered Yoruba the way a 

mother hen gathers its chicks. They 

were taking every step from all 

nooks of Yoruba land to protect 

everyone. That kind of leadership 

was exhibited by the leadership of 

the Western Region under 

Awolowo. Bola Tinubu is fighting 

the battle of his life. We, the senior 

elders, feel it is probably his last 

chance. And everything humanly 

possible is being employed to 

ensure he succeeds. Not all Yoruba 

agree with Bola Tinubu because of 

his antecedents. But we, the Yoruba 

Council of Elders Senior Elders 

Forum, see beyond our noses and 

we would try to follow the 

principle of partisan politics. In 

politics, there are no permanent 

foes but permanent interests. 

Asiwaju is facing the same 

problem. He has time to make up 

By CHARLES KUMOLU, DEPUTY EDITOR 

If the rumbles among Yoruba leaders over whether to back All Progressives Congress, 

APC, presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, or Labour Party, LP’s, Peter Obi, are 

anything to go by, identity politics may be one of the major deciders of who wins next 

year’s presidential election. Speaking on this exclusive re-alliance away from party politics 

being witnessed in the South-West, former Chairman of Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, Col 

Samuel Agbede, rtd, says the Yoruba know where they are going. He says Afenifere leader, 

Chief Rueben Fasoranti, is concerned about Yoruba interests while Pa Ayo Adebanjo is 

driven by political considerations. He also weighs Afenifere’s endorsement in the context 

of Yoruba politics and what it signifies. 

with people who seemingly 

appear not to be his friends. He is 

now reaching out to all of them. 

But not all of them are amenable 

to listen to his epistle.However, 

Yoruba elders see things 

differently. 

Could you explain how the 

elders see things differently in 

this context? 

We only sympathise and pray 

for him because he was part of 

the defunct National 

Democratic Coalition, 

NADECO, of the 

old days. They 

escaped the 

country 

by the 

whiskers. 

They ran 

away 

because 

they 

thought 

Abacha 

was a 

murderer. 

He was 

merciless 

in dealing with anyone that 

challenged him. When Abacha 

was called to the other side of the 

world, they all started coming 

back. When they came back and 

started their politics, they had 

nothing. I am saying this because 

I was there. These people had 

nothing in their first political 

outings. They had no money to 

even print posters. This Asiwaju 

people are talking about and 

others had nothing when they 

came back and joined politics 

after Abacha died. And the 

•Col Agbede, retd 

Yoruba were suffering at the time 

because of the maltreatment meted out 

to them by Abacha. The Yoruba decided 

that they were the people we were going 

to choose whether they had resources or 

not. That was how the powers that be 

saw that Yoruba were serious. We asked 

our people to go to the field so that we 

would back them. Whenever Yoruba 

speak with one voice, you know that 

Nigeria would witness a big result. That 

is why they are doing everything 

possible to ensure Yoruba do not speak 

with one voice. At the time, Yoruba 

spoke with one voice. In the first 

election, the Alliance for Democracy, 

AD, swept the polls. It continued in other 

elections until the presidential election. 

The powers that be felt that if the Yoruba 

continued with the winning streak, the 

issue they were afraid of might happen 

in the presidential election. The North 

now gathered and adopted Obasanjo to 

pacify the Yoruba. 

But the Yoruba didn’t accept 

Obasanjo… 

It wasn’t all Yoruba that rejected 

Obasanjo. The non-acceptance was 

particularly from his area, Egba, in 

Ogun State. Politics is a game of 

numbers. That is why we are having a 

similar problem of rejection up till 

today in Yoruba land. The Yoruba 

Council of Elders ,YCE, accepted 

Obasanjo. It was Afenifere that didn’t 

accept him. The YCE said having had 

leadership eluding us for a long time, we 

should give him a trial. There is a 

Yoruba adage that says whether a child 

will live or not, let us first rejoice with 

the parents. That was the wisdom YCE 

employed in adopting Obasanjo when 

Afenifere and half of the Yoruba nation 

rejected him in 1999. The North 

supported him and the eastern part also 

voted for him. So, we had a 

conglomeration of different ethnic 

groups ignoring the Yoruba unfriendly 

attitude towards Obasanjo. That was 

how he won the presidential election. 

The issue is still resonating. 

Are you saying the same rejection is 

what is happening to Tinubu in Yoruba 

land? 

There are similarities. A lot of people 

in Yoruba land do not like Tinubu that 

much. But I have said that whether a 

child will live or die, you have to rejoice 

with the parents first. When you study 

the political landscape and go back to 

history, you will understand what is 

playing out in Yoruba land. I am sorry 

for the present generation that doesn’t 

study history. Unfortunately, they do not 

study history and do not know about 

Yoruba history to understand what is 

going on now. Yoruba had long existed 

before the jihad of Usmanu dan fodyo 

and amalgamation. We keep on talking 

about interest because that is what 

various actors used in our history. The 

British were driven by their interest 

when they ruled Nigeria. 

That was why they concluded that it 

was better to use the wealth of the South 

to service the North. It was done so that 

the British economy wouldn’t fund the 

North and South. Back to the NADECO 

people, when they took over 

government in the South-West 

states in 1999, they performed 

terribly on the platform of AD. 

They were doing virtually as 

bad as Abacha except that 

they didn’t kill the masses. 

It was unfortunate that 

they betrayed the 

confidence the Yoruba 

people reposed in 

them. Today, you 

could see how some 

of them amassed 

wealth. They did 

exactly the things they 

were opposed to 

during the period of 

Abacha. They had 

nothing when the 

Yoruba voted for them 

after Abacha. How 

come they amassed so 

much wealth? 

You said they, AD 

governors, didn’t do 

well. Could that have 

been the reason all of 

them, except Tinubu 

lost re-election in 

2003? 

It was part of it 

because people were 

shocked that they didn’t 

really come to serve. They 

came to serve themselves and not 

Yoruba that voted for them when they 

had nothing. Yes, they accused Obasanjo 

of working against them, but political 

games are complicated. You have to 

reach out to the masses with whatever 

instrument at your disposal. And if 

leaders are not doing well, you can 

capitalise on it and get your result. 

People will embrace those they feel will 

now serve them better. The Yoruba got 

disappointed at the performance of AD 

governors. That was the major reason 

Obasanjo was able to wield some 

Continues on page 11


By Femi Fani-Kayode 

Y dear friend and brother, Dr. Reuben 

M Abati, I watched you and a colleague of 

yours by the name of Mr. Rufai Oseni interview a 

young man by the name of David Hundeyin, who 

apparently lives abroad and who describes himself 

as an “investigative journalist”, on your Morning 

Show last Tuesday. 

The topic was on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 

and his so-called links with drug business. 

Whilst insisting that Tinubu was a drug lord, 

your guest did not answer the question that was 

put to him by Oseni. 

Oseni asked, “On Channels Television last night 

Femi Fani-Kayode said 1million USD was returned 

to Bola Tinubu by the U.S. authorities after the 

investigation was completed and only 460, 000 

USD was seized due to tax that was not paid on his 

investments. Is this true?” 

This was a good question which for obvious reasons 

your young guest David refused to answer. 

He could NOT refute the assertion and the FACT 

that the FBI returned 1million USD to Tinubu 

because he knew it was true. 

He could not explain why only 460, 000 USD 

was seized and forfeited and he refused to acknowledge 

that it was seized for tax reasons. 

Instead he claimed that the money that was 

seized was indeed drug money which is an allegation 

that the Americans themselves clearly and 

categorically REFUTED when they were asked 

about the matter by the Nigerian authorities. 

Indicted 

One Mr. Bonner wrote a letter in plain English 

on behalf of the American Embassy in Nigeria in 

which he said that Tinubu had NOT been IN- 

DICTED or CONVICTED of ANY crime. 

This means that Tinubu was neither formally 

charged to court nor convicted by any court of law 

for drug or drug related offences or indeed any 

other offences at all in America after what I am 

sure was a thorough criminal investigation into 

the source of his funds. 

He came out of it all triumphant, not wanting 

and with flying colours. 

Instead of rejoicing that his compatriot was declared 

as clean as a whistle after such a rigorous 

and thorough criminal investigation, people like 

David are still attempting to convict him for a crime 

he never committed in the court of public opinion 

•Fani-Kayode 

TINUBU: The obsessions of David Hundeyin 

30 years later. 

They actually believe that they know better than 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation and that Tinubu 

is a dangerous criminal and drug lord even 

though the Americans have said clearly and categorically 

that there is NO evidence to suggest that 

this is the case. 

Investigative journalism is one thing and I commend 

and salute the courage of those that conduct 

such investigations in good faith, with an objective 

mind and in earnest. 

However obsession and the obsessive persecution 

of an innocent man borne out of bitterness, 

hate and envy and couched in the cloak of investigative 

journalism is quite another. 

It is like the proverbial crooked, biased, corrupt, 

obsessed and, more often than not, sociopathic 

and mentally ill criminal prosecutor who is totally 

and completely obsessed with jailing his innocent 

victim even though he knows that the man has 

done no wrong. 

David reminds me of the policeman by the name 

of Javert in Victor Hugo’s famous literary and highly 

celebrated masterpiece which was originally written 

in 1810, titled ‘Les Miserables’ who dedicated 

his life to attempting to jail the hero of the book, an 

innocent, humble, pious and reformed character 

with a kind and golden heart, by the name of Jean 

Valjean. 

So obsessed was Javert with jailing his innocent 

victim Valjean that he ended up committing suicide 

after he discovered that had failed in his evil 

quest. 

Frankly I cannot fathom how people like him 

sleep at night with their inherent wickedness. 

Worse still after they tell such lies they label anyone 

that attempts to set the record straight and 

tells the plain truth with evidence proving it as 

either being ignorant or a liar. 

How this young man can get on television and 

tell such lies about his own compatriots from a 

foreign land and with such conviction I just don’t 

know. 

Obsession 

His obsession with Tinubu and his family, at the 

very best, is simply uncharitable and at the worst it 

is savage and wicked. 

Like the mystical character in Robert Browning’s 

famous book titled ‘The Pied Piper of Hamlin’, his 

sweet tongue and strange music leads to nothing 

but shattered dreams, dashed hopes, failure, loss, 

sadness, tragedy and destruction to all those that 

believe in him and follow him. 

The question he needed to answer, which he 

conveniently refused to do, was simple: 

“Why was 1million USD returned to Tinubu if 

the money were the proceeds of drugs?” 

He had NO answer for that. 

YES there WAS an investigation into the funds 

in Tinubu’s account approximately 30 years ago 

by the FBI. 

YES there WAS a civil forfeiture of $1,460,000 

USD PENDING the course of the investigation. 

And YES after the investigation was COMPLET- 

ED, 1 million USD WAS RETURNED to Tinubu. 

These are the FACTS! 

No one can refute them. 

The records are there for all to see but young 

David will not talk about that or show you those 

documents because it defeats and contradicts his 

purpose. 

Questions 

Now permit me to ask the following questions: 

Does it make sense to suggest that the FBI would 

return 1million USD if it was drug money? 

Would Tinubu not have been in jail for life by 

now in America if that 1million USD had been in 

any way linked to drugs? 

The 460,000 USD was seized only as a consequence 

of the IRS claiming and asserting that he 

had not paid tax on his numerous American investments. 

Tinubu chose not to challenge or dispute that 

claim and assertion by the IRS even though he 

was perfectly within his rights to do so and hence 

he willingly forfeited that money. 

The seizure of the 460,000 USD had NOTH- 

ING to do with drugs or links to drug trafficking. 

Rather it had EVERYTHING to do with tax and 

it was the IRS that claimed it. 

The FBI investigated Tinubu for links to drugs 

and laundering drug money and they found 

NOTHING. 

He came out clean. 

Most of the money they originally seized was 

returned. The money that was not returned had 

NOTHING to do with drugs. 

Tinubu is a clean, wholesome, hard-working and 

innocent man and those making these allegations 

are simply trying to derail his presidential ambition. 

They are also filled with hate and they resent his 

great successes in life. 

David told Arise Television that yours truly had 

lied but he was unable to say where, when and 

how. 

Was it a lie that 1million USD was returned to 

Tinubu? 

Was it a lie that the 460,000 USD that was forfeited 

was due to non-payment of taxes on his 

lawful and legitimate investments? 

Was it a lie that Tinubu was not indicted? 

Was it a lie that he was not charged or convicted? 

Was it a lie that the Americans themselves said 

he had committed no crime and that he was never 

a drug dealer? 

The answer to all these questions is a resounding 

NO! 

I never told a single lie during the course of my 

Channel’s Television ‘Politics Today’ interview with 

Seun Okinbaloye when we discussed Tinubu’s socalled 

involvement with the drug business and the 

absurd assertion and notion that he is a drug lord. 

It is rather young David that is the liar and not 

me. 

•Fani-Kayode is the Director of 

Special Media Projects, Special 

Media Operations and New Media 

of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential 

Campaign Council). 

Why some Yoruba oppose Tinubu like they did to Obasanjo — Retired Col Agbede 

Continued from page 10 

influence towards the loss of elections. It 

was their making. Tinubu was an 

exception because he was able to apply 

ingenuity in doing something, which 

made people admire him in Lagos. 

Today, he is boasting that he made 

Lagos. He is not the maker of Lagos. He 

is not. Jakande is the maker of Lagos. 

Jakande was the one who truly 

developed Lagos. Go to the nooks and 

crannies of Lagos, you would see 

Jakande estates. Right from the Ogun 

State boundary to Lekki, there are 

Jakande estates. He even built in areas 

where people never dreamt of residing. 

Apart from Awolowo, Jakande was the 

second developer of schools in Lagos. I 

saw all Jakande did in the education 

sector. It was not Tinubu that did them. 

He never built Lagos. Tinubu was 

administratively good at getting things 

done. He was prudent in the 

management of resources, which he 

exhibited when Obasanjo 

seized his allocations. 

Unfortunately, people are 

still not happy with him 

owing to his interests. 

I don’t want to deal 

with those things 

in detail. But they 

are the things his 

opponents are now 

using against him 

today. At the same 

time, if you understand 

the political trend, you 

would see that the Yoruba 

need to carefully put on 

their thinking cap and know 

where their interest lies. Politics is a 

game of interests and not 

sentiments. 

But people like 

Pa Ayo Adebanjo, 

who want an Igbo 

President are 

citing equity and 

fairness, which the 

Yoruba nation 

subscribe to… 

I heard some people saying they want 

equity and fairness. Are they living in a 

different atmosphere? Is Nigeria living 

in another world in the 21st century? 

Where is justice in Nigeria? Where is 

equity in Nigeria? Where is fairness in 

Nigeria? These things they are talking 

about, I don’t think they realise that 

Nigeria hasn’t developed to that point. 

They are not seeing beyond their nose to 

know the complexities of the Nigerian 

federation. 

Yoruba leaders are divided. And as 

things stand their followers do not 

really know where the Yoruba stand on 

the 2023 polls. Should they follow 

Adebanjo or Pa Fasoranti? 

The words of elders are words of 

wisdom. Pa Adebanjo is heavily 

politically inclined. He has his alliance. 

During the trying periods, he had those 

who supported him. And in our way of 

looking at things, he owes them 

something. He is trying to pay back. 

That is the reason he is taking the 

position he is taking. I think Pa 

Fasoranti is looking more at the 

interest of Yoruba. I don’t 

know whether he has 

declared support for 

Tinubu because 

Afenifere people are 

politicians, they negotiate 

the negotiable and nonnegotiable, 

they tend to 

mix unity and disunity 

Tinubu had been 

wooing him. During 

his 90th birthday, 

Tinubu provided 

some form of 

support. So, 

Tinubu has been 

getting close to 

him. But Tinubu 

and Papa 

Adebanjo are not 

the best of friends, 

which I know. 

Adebanjo is not 

supporting Tinubu. In 

fact, he had 

discouraged Tinubu 

several times not to even 

run. I have had meetings 

with Papa Adebanjo and he 

told me he had called Tinubu to 

drop his ambition. It is not that they 

are enemies. Tinubu still reaches out to 

him during festive periods, but for 

reasons best known to him, he doesn’t 

seem to embrace Tinubu’s ambition. 

Papa Fasoranti embraces his ambition. 

We, the Senior Elders Forum of Yoruba 

Council of Elders, are not politicians. 

But we embrace the interest of Yoruba 

people. We are saying the Yoruba should 

‘’shine their eyes’’ and identify where 

their interests lie. Maybe Fasoranti 

didn’t mince words in his case. And what 

we are thinking is in the same direction. 

Are you saying the Senior Elders 

Forum of Yoruba Council of Elders 

considers Pa Fasoranti’s position as 

being in the interest of Yoruba nation? 

Yes, his position covers the interest of 

Yoruba people all over the country. We 

admire what he said. He is a Yoruba 

elder who has seen everything. He was 

there for a long time and understands 

what Yoruba interest means. He knows 

what he is talking about. It is not that Pa 

Adebanjo hasn’t seen everything and 

doesn’t know what he is saying, but as I 

said, he is trying to pay back the favour 

some people did to him at some difficult 

moments. Adebanjo is a learned lawyer. 

He knows history, but he is trying to turn 

to the other side. He can’t say he doesn’t 

understand there is no equity in Nigeria. 

He would not say there is justice in 

Nigeria. He can’t deny knowing there is 

nepotism in Nigeria. Nobody can tell 

him all this. He is putting them aside 

because he has his sentiments. Yoruba 

people are wise. They know where they 

are going. Let Afenifere and Adebanjo 

go to their side, Yoruba know where they 

are going. It is not today that they, 

Afenifere people, have been doing so. 

They did it in the second coming of 

Obasanjo. It was only YCE that 

endorsed Obasanjo’s second coming. 

Afenifere people refused bluntly that for 

whatever reason, they were not 

supporting Obasanjo. Did Obasanjo not 

win? He won because Yoruba people 

knew where they were going and they 

still know where they are going this 

time. That is why Yoruba people are not 

taking one or two of them seriously. 

Yoruba unity and destiny are not 

negotiable. Yoruba nation knows where 

it is going. 

You have cited many instances when 

YCE differed from Afenifere. One of 

them was during Obasanjo’s first and 

second tenures. Is it correct to say that 

there are some ideological differences 

between Afenifere and YCE? 

There is. YCE is an offshoot of 

Afenifere. And it emanated during the 

traumatic process of choosing the 

presidential candidate in 1999. It was 

a time when some of them, Afenifere 

leaders, were supporting Bola Ige while 

others were supporting other candidates. 

That was when they started blackballing 

each other. That was why some 

topnotchers had to pull out of Afenifere. 

They felt they wouldn’t be part of what 

was going on. That was how YCE came 

into existence in 2000. I am a 

foundation member of the body. It was 

led by Pa Alayande and the late Justice 

Adewale Thompson. I joined them 

because Afenifere is a socio-political 

group while YCE is socio-cultural and 

traditional. That is why we take different 

positions on issues. We protect our 

culture, we protect our traditions and 

our interests. Afenifere people are 

politicians. They negotiate the 

negotiable and non-negotiable. They 

tend to mix unity and disunity. We don’t 

touch those things. We respect Afenifere 

people. They were the same people who 

called Obasanjo the white sepulcher. 

And they were the same people who went 

to him during the Goodluck Jonathan 

era to seek support for Jonathan’s reelection. 

When they felt it was in their 

interest to seek Obasanjo’s support, they 

went to him and forgot they had used 

unprintable words to describe him. YCE 

doesn’t do all that. We pursue the 

interest of the Yoruba nation. We are 

interested in moving the Yoruba nation 

forward. 

When people consider the noise 

about Afenifere , Arewa Consultative 

Forum and Ohanaeze’s position on 

candidates, they are forced to ask if 

these regional groups really wield 

political influence over voters. Do they 

influence the direction of the 

pendulum? 

When it comes to the reality on the 

ground, the Yoruba know where they are 

going. I told you that during Obasanjo’s 

second term, AD governors in the South- 

West did not win. It shows the Yoruba 

knew where they were going. Anybody 

can talk. You can’t stop people from 

talking and making noise. The Yoruba 

people know where they are going. Did 

Afenifere not endorse Jonathan, did he 

win? Afenifere rejected Obasanjo but he 

won.


Compatriots have arisen; 

hope restored 

ONCE in a long time, a 

columnist comes 

across an idea whose time has 

come. In October this year, I 

was invited to be the Media 

Consultant and mobilizer for 

one such initiative – which 

many Nigerians might be 

forgiven for being sceptical 

about its eventual success. But, 

after talking to many of its 

leaders, I am convinced that it 

is the right thing and at the 

right time in our history. Let 

me now yield the space to the 

leader of the 

COMPATRIOTS. 

Let Us Join Hands to Re- 

Invent Nigeria: 

TEXT OF PRESS 

STATEMENT BY HIS 

EXCELLENCY OBONG 

VICTOR ATTAH 

1. On behalf of The 

Compatriots, I welcome 

members of the media to our 

maiden Press Conference 

which is essentially to unveil 

the forum to the Nigerian 

public. The media is certainly 

major stakeholders in the 

conduct of public affairs of our 

dear country. As members of 

the fourth estate of the realm 

you fulfil the vital role of the 

guardians of democracy and 

defenders of the public 

interest. The Compatriots 

therefore look forward to 

fruitful partnerships with 

members of the press in their 

quest to re-invent Nigeria into 

a united, strong, secured, 

prosperous and democratic 

country where peace and 

justice reign. 

2. Nation-building is a 

process and as Frantz Fanon 

puts it "each generation must 

discover its mission, fulfil it or 

betray it, in relative capacity". 

It is in this context that a group 

Irrespective of the 

outcome, majority of 

Nigerians will still feel 

that those elected don’t 

represent them; and will 

not serve their interests 

of well-meaning and eminent 

Nigerians cutting across 

regional, ethnic, religious, 

ideological and political 

affiliations have decided to 

come together to midwife an 

initiative aimed at promoting 

national cohesion, good 

governance, peace and 

prosperity. 

3. No one is likely to dispute 

the fact that Nigeria is passing 

through a critical phase in its 

history as a single political 

entity. The problem is not 

merely a tribal, religious, 

regional or class issue. The 

magnitude of our current 

challenges or crises is selfevident 

even to the most 

hopeful of optimists 

4. On a daily basis, Nigerians 

face crippling waves of 

insecurity; acute and chronic 

shortage of electricity supply; 

lack of good or adequate social 

and economic infrastructure, 

especially healthcare, potable 

water supply and transport 

systems; a broken educational 

system with over twenty 

million of our children out of 

school; skyrocketing inflation; 

weak industrial and 

manufacturing base; an 

unproductive but thriving 

national bourgeoisie; poor 

financial services; a corrupt, 

bankrupt and riotous political 

class; a brutal and ineffectual 

military-security complex; a 

creaky and slothful judicial 

system; a dysfunctional and 

self-serving public service at all 

levels; elephantine corruption; 

mind-boggling cost of 

governance; spiraling 

unemployment and grinding 

poverty; and, worse still, a 

corrosive and catastrophic 

collapse of moral and ethical 

norms among other 

staggering failures. 

“Nation-building is a 

process and as Frantz Fanon 

puts it "each generation must 

discover its mission, fulfill it or 

betray it, in relative capacity.” 

5. This certainly is not a nice 

national portrait to sketch 

however one might wish to 

look at it. None of us here can 

deny the evidence of our own 

eyes. The question now 

therefore is how can we 

change this horrific narrative! 

The Compatriots are 

convinced that Nigeria 

possesses the human and 

material resources to develop 

and prosper as a cohesive and 

vibrant political and by 

economic community. We 

believe therefore that the need 

for fundamental social and 

political reforms has become 

urgent and imperative, failing 

which the Nigerian national 

project could slide from 

stagnation to decline or 

collapse. 

6. A starting point for the 

rebuilding of our state, the 

economy and society would 

doubtlessly require a new 

mode of political engagement 

by the elite and the masses 

alike. Without this, it is hard to 

see how we can avoid the false 

dawns of our recent, and notso-recent, 

past. Nigeria clearly 

needs new modes of political 

practices - a new kind of politics 

that has the people as its focus; 

its chief purpose being the 

material and spiritual wellbeing 

of its citizens with 

emphasis focused on wealth 

creation, popular 

participation, social justice 

and equity, environmental 

renewal as well as moral 

regeneration 

“The Compatriots are 

convinced that Nigeria 

possesses the human and 

material resources todevelop 

and prosper as a cohesive and 

vibrant political and economic 

community.” 

7.History has shown that 

multi-nationality, multiethnicity 

or even multi-racial 

and religious composition can 

be turned into a source of 

strength by a nation. Members 

of this group have decided that, 

though tribe and tongue may 

differ, we do not have to sing 

discordant tunes. We have 

therefore resolved, inthe spirit 

of our National Anthem, to 

"Arise" to dedicate the 

remaining days of our lives to 

the service of Nigeria with the 

vision to re-invent a new and 

betterNigeria for every 

Nigerian with the following 

core national values: 

a. Strong and united 

Nigeria. 

b. Equity, justice and fairness 

for every citizen. 

c. Realization of full 

potentialities of every 

Nigerian. 

d. Protection of the rights of 

every Nigerian wherever he/she 

decides to reside. 

e. Primacy of peaceful coexistence 

between and among 

Nigerian communities. 

f. A proper sense of 

nationhood and common 

nationality. 

8.Our name, THE 

COMPATRIOTS, was derived 

from our national anthem and 

the drivers of the project are: 

I. His Excellency, Obong 

Victor Attah - Chairman 

II. Dr. Hakeem Baba 

Ahmed - Deputy Chairman 

III. Mr. Tom Iseghohi - Chief 

Operating Officer 

9.In pursuit of its mission, 

the group envisages towork 

with other well meaning 

Nigerians, politicians, the 

academia, professionals, 

community leaders, indeed 

with all relevant social groups 

to reinventNigeria. The 

strategic objectives of the 

group are: 

“To play the role of a neutral 

Honest Broker and to provide 

a platform for discussion of all 

relevant local grievances of 

Nigerian communities in the 

context of Nigeria's collective 

survival and development.” 

a.To mobilize the best 

intellectual resources in 

addressing the key challenges 

that are hindering the 

development of Nigeria as a 

strong and viable political and 

economic community. 

b.To promote a network of 

concerned Nigerians towards 

assisting in the improvement 

of governance at all levels as 

well as in the provision of social 

services. 

c.To involve Nigerian 

women at all levels and in all 

aspects of the activities of The 

Compatriots in order to 

become a role model for 

gender equality in Nigeria 

d.To cultivate and assist in 

mentoring and leadership 

development initiatives so as 

to nurture younger 

generations into the 

mainstream of the Nigerian 

political economy. 

e.To assist in the 

development of the culture of 

socialaccountability in the 

Nigerian social formation 

with a view to expanding the 

political space, which will 

incubate harmonious 

partnerships between 

governments and the civil 

society. 

f.To play the role of a neutral 

Honest Broker and to provide 

a platform for discussion of all 

relevant local grievances of 

Nigerian communities in the 

context of Nigeria's collective 

survival and development. 

g.To provide a compass for 

good governance and 

establish guard rails to prevent 

any individual or group of 

people from derailing the 

entire nation. 

10.We have resolved that 

Nigeria can be, and must be 

transformed from "An 

Aspiring Nation" to "A Great 

Nation". In the process there 

will be need forreconciliation, 

there will also be meetings with 

top government officials, 

community leaders, the many 

aggrieved parties and 

particularly those who aspire 

to lead us in the future, to work 

closely to secure the future of 

the nation. 

11.We urge you members of 

the press and the generality of 

our citizens particularly 

youths and women to support 

the work of The Compatriots. 

Long Live A United, 

Harmonious, Secure and 

Prosperous Federal Republic 

of Nigeria. 

INVITATION TO ALL 

NIGERIANS 

“An invasion of armies can 

be resisted; but not an idea 

whose time has come.” Victor 

Hugo, 1802-1885. 

Today, Nigerians are 

experiencing the horrors of 

horrible politics without 

principles. Irrespective of the 

outcome, majority of 

Nigerians will still feel that 

those elected don’t represent 

them; and will not serve their 

interests. We cannot continue 

like this. 

Instead of giving way to 

despair, join the 

COMPATRIOTS to build a 

better Nigeria. If interested in 

joining, just call me. I am 

always at your service. 

His word works 

wonders 

BELOVED Brothers and 

Sisters, we have reasons 

to continuously thank God 

for life. 

A Pastor while preaching 

said, doctors have 

medication to make you 

sleep, do they have any to 

wake you up? The 

congregation roared, No! 

That makes it very clear that 

God that gave us life is the 

one that has been keeping us 

alive so that we can fulfill 

destiny and be partakers in 

his Kingdom. 

However, one thing that is 

important in the life of a 

Christian is The Word. 

What does is mean to you 

as a Christian? 

John 1 vs. 1 (KJV): “In the 

beginning was the Word, and 

the Word was with God, and 

the Word was God”. 

If you truly believe that “ 

the Word was God”, then you 

need to connect with the Word. 

The word as we know it in 

the physical sense can either 

be spoken or heard. 

However, when we talk 

about the Word of God, we 

generally mean the words 

written in the Holy Bible. 

Let’s look at examples of 

how the Word was used in the 

The more you move 

closer to God, the 

days of the your 

challenge reduce and 

you are nearer your 

day of celebration 

Holy Bible. 

Genesis 1 vs. 3: “ And God 

said, Let there be light: and 

there was light”. 

God spoke. He made a 

pronouncement and an 

action followed. 

Brethren if you are a bornagain 

Christian, you also can 

use the word to bring your 

miracle to manifestation. 

However, we must know 

that the words that we speak 

must be backed by the Holy 

Spirit. 

The words that you speak 

are propelled into action by 

the Holy Spirit of God. 

Another instance of the 

word bringing into action a 

miracle , is the message to the 

virgin Mary as recorded in 

Luke 1 vs. 26-31. For our 

purpose, we shall consider 

some of the verses. 

Verses 26& 27: “ And in the 

sixth month the angel 

Gabriel was sent from God 

unto a City of Galilee, named 

Nazareth. 

To a virgin espoused to a 

man whose name was 

Joseph, of the house of David; 

and the virgin’s name was 

Mary”. 

Note that God used his 

words to send angel Gabriel. 

Verses 30&31: And the 

angel said unto her, Fear not, 

Mary: for thou hast found 

favour with God. 

And, behold, thou shalt 

conceive in thy womb, and 

bring forth a son, and shalt 

call his name JESUS”. 

Note again the word “ 

Said”. Spoken words. 

The consequence of the 

words that the angel spoke 

that was backed by the Holy 

Spirit was the birth of Christ. 

What are we saying? We 

are establishing the fact that 

the Word of God works 

wonders. It has been working 

wonders; it is still working 

wonders and will continue to 

work wonders provided you 

know how to use it. 

For every situation in life, 

God gave us the word to 

confront any challenge with 

assured victory. 

The efficacy of the word of 

God is expressed in John 6 

vs. 63: “ It is the spirit that 

quickeneth; the flesh profiteth 

nothing: the words that I 

speak unto you, they are spirit, 

and they are life”. 

It is also stated in Isaiah 55 

vs. 11: “ So shall my word be 

that goeth forth out of my 

mouth; it shall not return unto 

me void, but it shall 

accomplish that which I 

please, and it shall prosper in 

the thing whereto I sent it”. 

Brethren, you too can speak 

the word. As a bornagain 

Christian baptized with the 

Holy Spirit, you are 

empowered to speak the word 

to that situation and 

command it to change. 

However, you cannot speak 

what you don’t know. Your 

mind must have knowledge of 

the word to be used and you 

must use it appropriately. 

For instance a couple 

waiting on the Lord may use 

Deuteronomy 7 vs. 14: “ Thou 

shalt be blessed above all 

people: there shall not be 

male or female barren among 

you, or among your cattle”. 

The word of God here 

makes it clear that you must 

have children. 

God gave a command to 

Man in Genesis 1 vs. 28: “ And 

God blessed them, and God 

said unto them, Be fruitful, 

and multiply, and replenish 

the earth, and subdue it: and 

have dominion over the fish 

of the sea, and over the fowl of 

the air, and over every living 

thing that moveth upon the 

earth”. 

We are given further 

assurance of safe delivery in 

Exodus 23 vs. 26: “ There shall 

nothing cast their young, nor 

be barren, in thy land: the 

number of thy days I will 

fulfill”. 

Brethren, you need to have 

the knowledge of these words 

to be able to use them. 

Speak to your body and with 

the backing of the Holy Spirit, 

the one who has been called 

barren would soon be seen at 

a mother of multiple babies. 

It is your duty to speak the 

word to your body with the 

backing of the Holy Spirit, 

your body will obey and your 

children will manifest. 

We are told in Psalm 107 

vs. 20: “ He sent his word, and 

healed them, and delivered 

them from their 

destructions”. 

The Word of God also 

delivers. The word of God is 

able to deliver you from any 

challenge. Barrenness, 

Miscarriages, Loneliness, 

Poverty, Joblessness all must 

bow to the power of God. 

Numbers 23 vs. 19 states 

clearly: “ God is not a man, 

that he should lie; neither the 

son of man, that he should 

repent: hath he said, and 

shall he not do it? or hath he 

spoken , and shall he not 

make it good? 

This should give you 

confidence that your miracle 

is possible no matter how 

long you have been waiting. 

That is about speaking. 

The more you speak the 

word, the more likely it is that 

you will hear from God. 

The Word of God that you 

hear from the Holy Spirit 

should lift your faith and fast 

track your miracle. 

I’ll share a testimony with 

you. 

A lady who is born-again 

had been waiting on the 

Lord for about two decades. 

Her husband was not born 

again and he had a side 

chick that has been boasting 

she would give him a son. 

This was unknown to the 

wife. 

Suddenly, the lady became 

bold enough to call the wife 

calling her barren and 

raining abuses on her. 

The woman kept her cool. 

She ignored the distraction 

and held on to God. 

One night, as she slept the 

Holy Spirit told her “ Go and 

tell your husband that all his 

children would come from 

you and not H”. 

She was sure of the still 

small voice of the Holy Spirit. 

She repeated to her husband 

what she heard. The man was 

dumbfounded. Since he 

knew that his wife did not 

know the name but the Spirit 

of God, the Spirit of Truth, 

knows the name and 

mentioned it . 

As the LORD lives and his 

word never fails, the woman 

that was abused by the side 

chick took in and delivered a 

baby boy. 

God shut the mouth of the 

side chick. Of course that was 

the end of her unholy 

relationship with the 

woman’s husband. 

Before this year ends, you 

will hear the Word of God that 

will bring forth your miracle 

in the name of Jesus. 

You must however remain 

focused. Live a holy life and 

make the Word of God your 

daily companion. 

Read the Word, digest it and 

it will move you closer to the 

Lord. 

The more you move closer 

to God, the days of the your 

challenge reduce and you are 

nearer your day of 

celebration. 

Brothers and Sisters, 

remain focused. 

Don’t allow unbelievers to 

call your faith to question. 

Key into the word of God 

and the delay would vanish. 

It is well. 

Remain Blessed in Jesus 

name.


•Princess Anne Inyang 

Princess Anne 

Inyang returns 

to music scene 

with 

'Our Helper' 

The original 'Akanam Nkwe' hitmaker, 

Princess Anne Inyang 

returns with a new hit single 

titled 'Our Helper'. This premiered on 

YouTube on Friday, November 4, 2021. 

Princess Anne is the original author of 

many popular songs used in churches not 

only in Nigeria but worldwide. She has 

four albums and her last album release 

was in 2013. 

Songs like, Things Are Getting Better, 

God Cannot Lie, Ekwak Ubok, You Are 

Worthy Lord, Yesu Uni Wangu, Twinba 

Lelo, Open The Flood Gates, Nkana 

N’comprehend, God Punish The Devil, 

Pure Fire, My Helper O, to mention a 

few were written by this legend of gospel 

music and multi-award winner. This new 

song is an adaptation from her original 

song, My Helper. 

She has ministered in many small and 

major concerts in Nigeria (like Akwa 

Ibom Christmas Carol 9999, River’s 

State Christmas Carol events, Aso Rock 

Villa concerts, Reinhard Bonnke 

Crusades, Benny Hinn’s crusades, Yinka 

Yusuf’s crusades, HOTR Jesus And Me 

JAM concerts in Abuja etc). 

She has also ministered in 35 cities in 

the USA (Black History month concerts, 

Calabar Carnival etc), U.K, Ghana, 

Congo, Canada (Ontario multicultural 

events), and South Africa to mention but 

a few. 

Now based in Ontario Canada, the 

Nigeria’s Lady of gospel songs says, “this 

song is more of a prayer and supplication 

asking for God’s divine intervention in 

the land. I love my country, I love our 

food, fashion, music etc. We are very 

intelligent people, we should not be 

where we are today”. 

uji: A Opera, the multidimensional 

entertainment 

F 

platform, is back, bigger and 

better than ever with ‘Fuji 

Vibrations.’ On December 8, Fuji 

Vibrations is set for a one-of-a-kind 

live music experience showcasing 

exceptional talents from the Fuji 

world for one night only. 10 acts 

are expected to perform on one 

single stage at Muri Okunola Park, 

one of Lagos’ most iconic music 

venues. 

The live music concert will 

feature a fantastic line-up of Fuji 

artistes, including Alhaji Sefiu 

Alao, KS1 Malaika, Taye 

Currency, King Saheed Osupa, 

and the Mayegun of Egbaland, 

K1 De Ultimate, paired with 

emerging Fuji talents to create 

dynamic sounds. 

‘Fuji: A Opera’ premiered in 

December 2020 at the Alliance 

The internationally acclaimed stage 

play HEAR WORD! Is set to tour 5 

cities across West Africa and will open 

in Lagos, Accra, Ibadan, Abuja and Benin 

City, November and December, 2022 to mark 

the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based 

Violence. Supported by the Ford Foundation, 

the powerful initiative is aimed at building 

equitable communities by shifting cultural 

norms and beliefs that perpetuate Gender 

Inequality and Gender Based Violence (GBV) 

and particularly undermine the voice and 

agency of women and girls. 

For the past 8 years, iOpenEye Africa 

Foundation has produced powerful stage 

performances, women’s skills-building 

workshops and facilitated open dialogue 

events that address factors which limit the 

safety, economic independence, leadership 

participation and societal value of women. 

According to Hear Word!’s Producer/ 

Director, Ifeoma Fafunwa, “iOpenEye 

Africa’s vision of a world 

where all citizens are 

informed, empowered, safe, 

equally valued, and can 

‘Fuji: A Opera’ returns 

with ‘Fuji Vibrations’ 

Française de Lagos/Mike 

Adenuga Centre in Lagos. 

Over 20,000 people 

attended, ranging from 

schoolchildren to 

culture custodians and 

other corporate and 

social Nigerians. 

‘Fuji Vibrations’ is 

proudly supported by 

the Lagos State 

Government, the 

Ministry of Tourism, 

Art, and Culture, the 

Lagos State Parks 

and Gardens Agency, 

the Lagos State 

Security Trust Fund, the 

Lagos State Signage 

and Advertisement 

Agency, FUMAN, Supa 

Komando, and Regal Dry 

Gin, among others. 

•Whykayy 

Busty, budding music rapper and actor, 

Adeyinka Ogunjimi a.k.a. Whykayy, in 

one of the episodes on her YouTube 

channel addresses some of the issues girls 

with big boobs encounter. In the episode 

tagged 'Big Boobs Issues', Whykayy uses 

herself as an example and highlights some 

of the issues she has faced as a busty 

woman. 

According to her, “As a girl with big 

boobs, when a guy approaches you the first 

thing he notices is your boobs. Or 

anywhere you go people begin to stare at 

you and you are wondering what’s 

happening. Nothing is wrong with you 

girl, your boobs are probably too big and 

nobody can avoid it and you can’t go 

unnoticed.” 

She pointed out that while the boobs 

may attract undue attention, busty 

girls should not see it as a curse but a 

blessing, saying they only have to 

play by certain rules not applicable 

to girls without big boobs 

—Whykayy 

contribute meaningfully to nation-building 

regardless of gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic 

status is thoroughly aligned with 

Ford Foundation’s commitment to shift 

repressive power dynamics and strengthen the 

rights and influence of those most affected by 

violence, oppression, and injustice across the 

globe. 

“With support from the Ford Foundation, 

“As a woman with unusually big boobs, 

getting your bra size is an issue. And 

another issue is that our bras are far more 

expensive. The bigger the bra the more 

expensive it is. And such big bras are very 

hard to come by. Another thing is, 

questions you get from people. Honestly, you 

get people asking you all sorts of questions, 

like, do you feel any back pain? Are they 

heavy? I don’t feel any pain and I don’t have 

any problem carrying them because I have 

the body to do so. 

“Another problem that comes with having 

big boobs is that you can’t dress the same 

way as the girls without big boobs. There are 

certain clothes you cannot wear because you 

would appear obscene. But it is not my fault 

that I’m busty. You cannot wear clothes with 

buttons in the bosom because before you 

know it all the buttons are out. There are 

some fancy clothes you cannot wear because 

before you wear them you have to wear a bra 

and if you don’t wear bra your boobs are 

going to be all over the place. And in people’s 

faces. This could even lead to accidents,” she 

noted. 

Whykayy discusses all sorts of social issues 

on her Youtube page, just for the hell of it. 

'Hear Word' stage play set to tour 5 cities 

across West Africa 

•K1 De 

Ultimate 

Problems of having 

big boobs 

•Empraiz 

Empraiz concludes US tour, 

plans 2023 world tour 

The Bishop of Praise, 

Empraiz has just 

concluded his 2022 

US tour which started in 

July and ran for about 

5 months. He toured 

several cities such as 

Maryland, New 

Jersey, Philadelphia, 

Alabama, Houston, 

Dallas, San Antonio, 

Virginia, North 

Carolina, Chicago 

and a few others, 

impacting lives and 

blessing the hearts of 

many. 

Without relenting on his 

achievements he is currently 

gearing up for a world tour 

for 2023, a live album 

recording and other projects 

which have been listed for 

HEAR WORD! is set to achieve exponential 

outreach through this powerful, 

transformative performance art experience. 

The Ford Foundation is also fundamental in 

sustaining unique and important initiatives 

such as this, which utilise popular media to 

positively impact and transform 

communities. 

Hear Word 2022 will star notable 

Nollywood stars such as Joke Silva, Taiwo 

Ajai -Lycett, Ufuoma McDermott, Elvina Ibru, 

Omonor, Zara Udofia - Ejoh, Debbie Ohiri, 

Oluchi Odii, Chika Uche Elumelu, Mofe 

Okorodudu and EjiroOghene Asagba. 

2023. 

UK, South Africa, Kenya, 

Ghana, Uganda are a few of 

the countries that have been 

confirmed for his 2023 

tour. Empraiz and his band 

also have been putting 

together compositions in 

African tunes and deliveries 

which would be done in a 

live recording in Lagos and 

Port-Harcout in Nigeria and 

Houston, Texas, USA... 

Speaking about other 

projects set for 2023, he 

stated that, “My 4th studio 

album release should be 

expected as well as my 

exporting traditional 

African gospel music to the 

continents of the world 

professionally with some of 

the band members.”

PAGE 14—SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 

Seven brand influencers 

using their endowments 

to cash out 

The narrative that 'Sex sells'cannot be over emphasized 

as there are many on social media who smile to the 

bank hugely on account of their endowments rather 

than talent. Of course, they just don’t lay it on the line, 

they understand that content is king and they create content 

with their endowment as the plot and they go for the kill. 

From purely nothing, these seven young women (though 

there are many others) have taken their lives by the scruff of 

the neck and dragged it to the front row. When the saturated 

movie and music space proved too hard for them to hang 

their hats, they found a space in the desert of Instagram 

and created their own oases. 

With Instagram as a tool in their hands, they needed no 

producer or director to decide their fates. All they needed 

was guts, their wits and a smiling face of destiny and the 

limelights soon illuminated their hustles. 

Some of them have become stars and have been accepted 

by the conventional industry. 

•Ada La Pinky 

Kofankii: 

Kofanki Efunke is just coming 

into her element as a content 

creator of note. Most of her 

content is centred around the 

ripple effects her erupting 

towers leave in their wake. She’s 

beautiful, sexy and she knows 

it. 

Ada La Pinky: 

Ada Ebere has made a name for 

herself as an actress, content 

creator and social media 

influencer but she got on the 

entertainment train as a video 

vixen. Ada doesn’t spare her 

followers with those humongous 

twin towers of hers. 

•Kofankii 

•Shirley Curvy 

ShirleyCurvy: 

Shirley uses her dose of sexuality 

to arrest her teeming followers. 

She’s the total package; an actress, 

brand influencer, dancer, 

professional masseuse and an 

aviator. 

Aniberry London: 

Anita Selestina a.k.a Aniberry 

London is hot and she 

knows it. And she has 

used this to a good 

effect. Most of her 

skits, though comedythemed, 

are not 

without some doses 

of sensuality. She 

loves to flaunt her 

perky backside. 

•Aniberry 

London 

•L-RCoordinator, RHRCI, Mrs Banire Damilola 

Mojeed Olagunju, Mrs Zainab Olagunju Mr. Yomi 

Opakunle Jamiu Olagunju, and Samuel Ogunwusi 

Dotun Taylor’s group 

to hold 10th year 

memorial concert for 

Fatai Rolling Dollar 

Ambassador 

Dotun 

Taylor’s group known 

as Roots and Heritage 

Renaissance Cultural 

Initiative (RHRCI), paid a 

surprise visit to the family of 

music maestro, Fatai Rolling 

Dollar and was received by 

the veteran’s wife, Mrs 

Zainab Olagunju and her two 

sons. 

Mrs Banire Damilola, who 

spoke on the purpose of the 

visit said the organization, 

Roots and Heritage 

Renaissance Cultural 

Initiative founded by 

Ambassador Dotun Taylor 

deemed it fit to pay the family 

a courtesy visit and supply 

them with gifts and funds to 

support the late veteran’s 

wife’s business. 

She noted that the measure 

was the beginning of great 

things to come and in part, to 

kick off the 10th year 

anniversary of the demise of 

the musician with a concert 

in Osogbo, Osun State, 

among other sterling events 

The events lined up for the 

10th year remembrance of 

the veteran musician, Fatai 

Olagunju Rolling Dollar 

which will hold next year 

2023 has kicked off with a 

courtesy visit to the family 

of the music icon by Roots and 

Heritage Renaissance 

Cultural Initiative (RHRCI). 

Fatai Rolling Dollar who 

died in 2003 is set to be 

immortalized in his country 

home in Ede, Osun State. 

According to Ambassador 

Dotun Taylor, a museum 

which will have materials, 

instruments and 

paraphernalia of the 

Agidigbo master will be 

launched in Ede. 

The events will include a 

concert in Osogbo and also 

will enjoy the support of the 

Osun State Government and 

also the Ooni of ife, Ilekoko 

and others will be involved to 

immortalize the late musician 

and celebrate his essence, life 

and times. 

On the entourage were Ms. 

Fadamitan Bolarinwa 

(RHRCI coordinator), Mr. 

Ogunwusi Samuel (GM 

Aroba Company), Mrs Banire 

Damilola (Media Head of 

Aroba Company), Mr. 

Adeyemi Hassan 

@mrsuccessguy (Online 

Influencer) and Mr. Yomi 

Opakunle (Pa Fatai’s 

Manager). 

Naija Star Search: 

2 females make 

the final five 

•Hotylioness 

Hotylioness: 

Hotylioness isn’t exactly a beauty 

queen. But what she hasn’t got in looks 

she made it up in humongous backside 

and this is what has made many skit 

makers feature her in their skits. Her 

moniker is 'Ikebe Supa'and she takes 

no prisoners with it. 

•Happiness 

Happiness: 

Happiness is a drop-dead 

gorgeous diva with killer curves. 

In most of her skits, she sets the 

pulse rising with her figurine 

shape. Her stock is growing fast 

as she has been featured by the 

likes of Nedu, Nosa Rex, Mr 

Macaroni, and even Don Jazzy. 

Kinkchic: 

Kinkchic who believes she’s going 

to win the Big Brother Naija someday 

is a 24 year-old front-back quantum 

of sensuality. Most of her skits play 

up her sensuality to the hilt. Broda 

Shaggi and many other skit makers 

have featured her. 

•Kinkchic 

•Eniola 

Before the show’s kick-off 

in September, only five 

ladies made it to the 

competition out of seventeen 

contestants. The judges were 

bashed for ignoring gender 

balance. But as the show 

enters the final round, the 

ladies have shown that they 

are amazons. 

They are Eniola and 

GreySky. Eniola is seen as the 

lady with the big voice and 

she always dominates the 

stage with her presence, voice, 

and dance steps. She amazes 

the judges with her hot lyrics 

and moves, and the audience 

is thrilled. Her vocal control 

is second to none. 

GreySky on the other hand, 

is the lady with grace. She 

made her way through this 

round of competition through 

consistency. She gets better at 

•GreySky 

every performance, a sign 

of diligence and hard work. 

In the last episode, GreySky 

wowed the judges with her 

performance, so much 

that ID Cabasa had to do a 

fist bump with Asha 

Gangali. 

Skimzo, Kachi, and Melo 

are the last guys standing. 

In the next episode, the 

finalists for the final show 

on November 27 will be 

unveiled. 

Naija Star Search is a 

collaboration between 

StarTimes Nigeria and 

Kennis Music toward 

preserving Afrobeats. 

Winners will get a 

whopping N10m in cash 

prizes, a recording 

contract, and an 

opportunity to reach the 

skies.

Nigerian Editors need to 

revisit their Owerri 

conference 

The apex Nigerian media 

association- the 

Nigerian Guild of Editors 

scored a point last week when 

it provided a formidable 

platform to Atiku Abubakar, 

the candidate of the Peoples 

Democratic Party in the 2023 

general elections to answer 

perhaps the most pertinent 

Nigerian governance issues of 

the moment.Nigerians who 

were able to access the 

platform must have been 

pleasantly delighted to hear 

Atiku deprecating the current 

situation in which virtually all 

security agencies in Nigeria 

are headed by citizens from 

one part of the country. The 

former vice president also 

promised that if elected the 

next Nigerian president, he 

would from the very first day 

in office begin a restructuring 

exercise that would address 

the subsisting over 

centralization of governance 

in the country. These are great 

ideas capable of bringing to 

an end, a long 

standingunwieldy law 

enforcement template that 

pitches citizens against the 

state. 

It is obviously unnecessary 

to plead with the Guild to 

extend same platform to other 

candidates so that the nation 

can be fully educated on what 

each of them intends to do if 

elected. First, the Guild is 

made up of persons who 

belong to a profession that is 

By Ezra Ukanwa 

THE chief of Kabusa 

Community, Samuel 

Kpowu has called on the 

Federal Government, FG, to, 

as a matter of urgency, 

provide access to free and 

quality basic healthcare 

services to citizens in Abuja 

suburbs. 

He made this call when a 

Non Governmental 

Organisation, NGO, Zed- 

Faith Foundation, in 

partnership with Nigeria Red 

Cross, FCT, stormed Kabusa 

Community, in Abuja 

Municipal Area Council, 

AMAC, with free medical 

interventions, among other 

donations. 

The free service was offered 

in the following areas; free 

health check and screening, 

free drugs and medical 

counseling, free laboratory 

test, free health talk, free 

hypertension and diabetic 

screening to residents in the 

community, including 

predicated on balance and 

objectivity as a cardinal 

principle of operation. 

Surprisingly attacks on 

the press have come 

more from the states 

than the federal level 

with an increased 

tempo since 2015 

Second, the law governing 

elections in Nigeria, the 

Electoral Act 2022 directs all 

media organs to offer equal 

opportunities to all political 

parties to explain their 

manifestos thereby assisting 

voters to make informed 

decisions. Even non-media 

organs and other interest 

groups have also taken steps 

to get different candidates to 

address all relevant issues to 

their satisfaction. That is how 

it should be considering our 

desire to change the current 

political culture in which 

elections are decided through 

violence, vote-buying and 

several other electoral 

malpractices. 

It is hoped that by its new 

posture, the Nigerian Guild of 

Editors would be ready to use 

its numerous organs to 

compel candidates when they 

get into office to live up to the 

women and children. 

The group also donated 

materials such as clothings, 

footwear, among other things 

to the residents of Kabusa 

Community. 

Reacting to the gesture, 

Kpowu advised the 

government at all levels to 

ensure that communities are 

major targets of free medical 

interventions. 

H said:"These people that 

have come with this mission 

of health, I really appreciate 

them. I am very grateful 

because we cannot lay our 

hands on the government's 

hospitality. Their health care 

doesn't reach masses like the 

way NGOs normally do, 

especially this one that came 

to our place.. 

"My call to the federal 

government, state 

government and local 

government in terms of things 

like this, they should reverse 

back and do what they were 

promises they are making 

now. If this is done, the nation 

stands the chance of enjoying 

its media better than what 

has been happening in the 

country for some time now. 

Unlike what the Nigerian 

media was traditionally 

known for, such as fighting for 

independence, tackling 

indigenous leaders of the first 

republic for failing to change 

the pains of colonialism and 

embarking on guerilla 

journalism to work against 

prolonged military rule, the 

media has been intimidated 

since 1999 when democracy 

was restored in the country. 

Surprisingly attacks on the 

press have come more from 

the states than the federal level 

with an increased tempo since 

2015. 

It is practically impossible 

to list the numerous arrests of 

journalists in the last few years 

in Nigeria without changing 

the focus of this piece. To 

mention just a few, one cannot 

forget the case of Jones Abiri, 

Editor of the Weekly Source 

Newspapers who was arrested 

for certain publications which 

security forces imagined 

could threaten the nation’s 

peace. His Nigerian 

colleagues did not even know 

of the alleged offence though 

he was detained for 157 days. 

It was foreign journalists 

attending the 2018 annual 

World Congress of the 

International Press Institute 

(IPI) hosted by Nigeria who 

raised his case at a session 

with President Muhammadu 

Buhari. He was released two 

months later. Obinna Don 

Norman of the Realm News 

was detained for allegedly 

defaming and embarrassing 

Theodore Orji, a senator 

representing Abia State. 

Another journalist Agba 

Jalingo of the Cross River 

Watch, who accused 

Governor Ben Ayade of 

corruption over a micro 

Abuja community chief begs FG for free 

grassroot medical interventions 

doing before. If it is possible, 

they should come back to the 

roots". 

On his part, the country 

director, Mr. Chinnaya 

Innocent, ZFI, said the free 

medical services were part of 

their social responsibility 

programme and a way of 

supplementing the efforts of 

FG. 

He said the gesture was 

aimed at assisting the poor 

and needy at the grassroots 

levels, adding that the 

foundation would extend 

such humanitarian 

intervention to other parts of 

Abuja. 

He said: "We're here today 

to render a service of free 

medical service to the Kabusa 

village and this will be going 

on to different villages. We're 

not being sponsored by the 

government, state 

government or local 

government." 

From left: Mr Sam Lori Skinn, Mr Tino Ebgejule, Ogbuefi Sydney Alanah, Mrs Alero 

Adebanjo the daughter of the late Mr Emmanuel Amoye, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, 

Prince Emmanuel Okotie-Eboh, former Regent of Warri Kingdom, Prince Shola Emiko 

Amoye, Mr Solo Edema and Mr Doyin Iyiola, during the burial reception of the late 

Emmanuel Amoye, in Lagos 

SUNDAY VANGUARD,NOVEMBER 20, 2022, PAGE 15 

finance bank in the state was 

held for 30 months not for 

defamation but for terrorism 

and treason- a new trend by 

which state authorities 

employ provisions of the 

Cybercrimes Act to convert 

every media criticism to 

sedition. 

Remarkably, not much is 

heard from the Nigerian 

media about the new wave of 

clamping down on journalists 

who draw attention to 

excesses in governance 

especially at state level where 

there is hardly any opposition. 

Against this background, I 

had looked forward with 

plenty of hope that the 

Nigerian Guild of Editors was 

set to throw light on the case 

of a radio operative in the Imo 

Broadcasting Service that 

had been accused of 

offending governor Hope 

Uzodinma. My belief was 

that the radio worker’s case 

may have been part of what 

influenced the choice of 

Owerri as the venue for this 

year’s 18 th All Nigeria Editors 

Conference. But by the time 

the conference ended, all I 

heard was a collection of 

speeches of commendation 

for a reported outstanding 

performance of the governor. 

In fact, anyone could have 

agreed with the evaluative 

reports because watching 

some of the projects displayed, 

Owerri was exceedingly 

beautiful. 

I waited patiently to see if 

any areas which the governor 

did nothing about would be 

pointed out, but none. Of 

course, Uzodinma being 

human cannot score 100 

percent but with no reference 

to what he did not do, it would 

be wrong for any viewer to 

derogate from the score of 

eyewitnesses. I reached out to 

some old friends in Imo over 

the generous score and one 

person testified that at the 

Gala Nite held at the Banquet 

The 

German 

International 

Development Agency (GIZ), 

said it has trained about 500 

feed millers in Ogun State in 

the last two months on how to 

combine high quality 

cassava peel to animal feed. 

A Consultant with GIZ- 

SEDIN on Cassava 

Processing Waste2Wealth 

Programme, Bayo 

Solagbade, disclosed this in 

Abeokuta, Ogun State capital 

at a High Quality Cassava 

Peel (HQCP), Market 

Linkage Workshop Forum 

for feed millers and other 

people in cassava value 

chain, put together by GIZ- 

SEDIN in partnership with 

Ogun State government. 

Solagbade said, Nigeria is 

the largest producer of 

cassava in the world, positing 

that it grows about 57 million 

tonnes annually. 

He said, while this rise has 

undoubtedly helped to 

alleviate hunger in the 

country, it creates a mountain 

of waste, estimated at 15 

million tonnes a year, which 

according to him causes 

Hall in honour of the visiting 

Editors, the governor had 

himself said he was willing to 

listen to any shortcomings 

observed by his guests; again, 

none. Quoting some of the 

Editors, a report by Thisday 

Newspaper said “Uzodinma 

was quietly changing the 

hitherto infrastructure deficit 

associated with Imo State.” 

It was my first time of 

hearing that Imo was ever so 

associated bearing in mind 

that some four years earlier, 

the state was said to be so 

beautiful that it attracted 

statutes of international 

political icons. Using LED 

solar powered streetlights to 

bring sparkling illuminations 

and shining ambience at 

night to Owerri in line with 

his‘Rescue Mission 

Government’Owelle, Rochas 

Okorocha, the then governor 

had been described as the best 

thing that happened to the 

state. The lesson today is that 

such descriptions don’t last 

because many more enduring 

issues are usually left 

untreated. For example, 

whereas beautiful roads and 

buildings are good they can’t 

compete with human capital 

development. Indeed, the 

greatest dividends of 

democracy is freedom. This 

is why the new wave of using 

security operatives to detain 

political opponents and 

media professionals for their 

dissenting opinions or 

criticism should worry our 

Senior Editors. 

The case of Casmir 

Uzomah a staff member of the 

Orient Radio-Television 

Station who was detained for 

allegedly playing a song 

considered offensive to 

governor Uzodinma deserves 

some mention. Why would 

leaders elected by citizens 

allow the breach of the 

constitutional injunction 

which presumes every such 

citizen to be innocent until 

proven otherwise? Why do our 

leaders deliberately ignore the 

constitutional provision 

which states that no citizen 

should be detained for more 

than 48 hours without a court 

order? Is detention the 

punishment for defamation 

and should such punishment 

be at the discretion of security 

agencies?Last week, President 

Akuffo-Addo of Ghana 

sacked his finance minister 

over corruption allegation 

made against him by the 

media. Is not intriguing that 

if it was Nigeria, the relevant 

journalist would have been 

accused of treason and 

detained by law enforcement 

agencies indefinitely? 

It is time to worry about the 

trend. Who says the allegation 

of corruption in the Cross 

River Micro Finance Bank 

was not true? Why would a 

state radio staff play an 

offensive music? Who 

investigated it and what was 

the outcome of such 

investigation? What charges 

have been brought against the 

staff in court and why has it 

become a norm to detain 

accused persons and send 

strong signals to the rest of us 

to desist from raising any 

observations whatsoever that 

may not please any governor? 

Why is Nigeria allowing the 

type of reported repression of 

opponents or journalists in 

states such as 

Ebonyi?Certainly, journalists 

are not above the law, those 

who offend should be taken 

through the due process of 

law. If our Editors who went 

to Imo had condemned the 

governor for poor work, they 

would have been taken up for 

not also seeing the good 

works. That is how it should 

be and we expect the Nigerian 

Guild of Editors to review its 

Imo visit without taking away 

any commendation due to 

the governor. 

German agency trains 200 on use of cassava peel 

for animal feed 

By James Ogunnaike 

Female innovator fights infant mortality with technology 

In a bid to address infant 

mortality, Executive 

Board Member of Tiny 

Hearts Technology, 

Ebinepere Orewole, has 

introduced a device, Crib 

A’glow Device, to reduce infant 

mortality rate. 

In a chat with Vanguard, 

Orewole said she went 

against all odds to ensure 

sustainable solutions to infant 

death with aid of science and 

technology. 

She said: "I was involved in 

strategic decisions. For 

instance, at the conceptual 

environmental and health 

problems. 

"This 15 million tonnes of 

waste could represent 5 

million tonnes of animal feed 

and an excellent business 

opportunity". 

He added that the main 

objective of the training was 

to train the feed millers how 

to convert wet cassava peel 

stage of crib aglow, where I 

put together a team of 

engineers to assess and advise 

on product design for the 

construction. 

“My decision to use my 

skills as a business manager/ 

data analyst, accountant, and 

mother to build sustainable 

solutions to infant deaths is 

the most fulfilling decision I 

have made in my life. 

“The journey started way 

back in 2015 when Tiny 

Hearts was founded and the 

novel Crib A’glow Device was 

designed. Hearing about the 

innovation, I volunteered to 

into energy-rich, high-quality 

animal feed and as well to 

convince millers that the 

High Quality Cassava Peels 

(HQCP), could safely be 

included in their feeds. 

"Dried fine cassava mash 

can be fed to poultry, fish, and 

pigs, while the coarser mash 

is suitable for cattle, sheep 

and goats, and pigs," he said. 

From left: Coordinator of the 9 th Foretaste Gospel Concert 

Edition, Rotn Otunba Gbemi Oyeneyin; his spouse, Mrs. 

Modupe Oyeneyin, (the lead artiste and the concert 

sponsor); another artiste, Minister Ejen; her colleague, 

Ifeoluwa Akinpelu of the Ife Worships, his colleague, Asatta 

Allwell-Brown; and the Media Consultant and Public 

Relations Guru, Sir Aramide Tola Noibi at the 9 th Annual of 

the Foretaste Gospel Concert Edition held at the Elevation 

Church, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos at the weekend 

be on the team to support the 

innovation with my skills 

“ I ensure that the 

innovation grew to a 

marketable and accessible 

product. 

“ Protecting our intellectual 

property right has over time, 

increased the value of the 

product and the organisation 

even in the global space. 

“Driven by my zeal to 

improve infant mortality, I 

retired from a corporate job 

in 2021 so that I can fully 

immerse myself in Tiny Heart 

activities."


0802 384 9036 

Nigeria’s Alex Okosi shines 

at UK Powerlist 2023 

A 

frican tech leader, Alex Okosi, has been Estate). 

honoured as a member of the UK Powerlist Okosi was first selected for The Powerlist in 

2023. Okosi, who is Managing Director, October 2021 after joining YouTube in 2020, 

Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA, received following a long and illustrious career at 

the honour for the second year running at the Viacom International Media Networks Africa 

Black Excellence Awards held at the Savoy (now Paramount International Networks), 

Hotel in London. 

where he introduced powerhouse 

Awarded annually since 2007, The Powerlist, entertainment brands like MTV Base, 

in partnership with J.P. Morgan, honours Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET to the 

incredible men and women across a wide range African continent. 

of industries including business, science, A staunch champion of African creativity, 

technology and the arts. Each year it recognizes culture and empowerment, Okosi was 

and celebrates 100 of Britain’s most influential instrumental in persuading Viacom to 

black people and showcases black role models introduce localized channel brands in Africa, 

to young people. Open to Black Britons starting with MTV Base in 2005. After moving 

wherever they live in the world and to anyone to YouTube, he has continued to support 

in the UK who is black, The Powerlist is initiatives that empower African creators and 

regarded as the leading authority on issues of businesses via initiatives such as the Black 

black influence in the UK. 

Voices Fund. He is a regular speaker on 

Commenting 

diversity and 

on The Powerlist, 

inclusion, and is an 

Okosi said, 

Executive member 

“Growing up 

of the Google and 

first in Nigeria 

Y o u T u b e 

and later in the 

committees that 

USA in the mid- 

drive and deliver the 

1980s, I found 

brands’ racial equity 

black role 

commitments 

models were few 

across Europe, the 

and far between; 

Middle East and 

I chose my role 

Africa. 

models from 

This year’s 

sports people 

Powerlist was 

and entertainers 

headed by Dame 

because those 

Sharon White, 

were the only 

Chair, John Lewis 

black faces I saw 

Partnership. Other 

in the media, in 

•Alex Okosi 

well-known names 

films, and on TV. 

on the list include 

“Fast forward 

actors Idris Elba 

to now, and I am 

(OBE), and David 

beyond thrilled to see the incredible range of 

Kaluuya, grime 

representation and diversity highlighted by the artist and philanthropist Stormzy, politician 

UK Powerlist 2023. 

and activist Lord Simon Wooley, and Royal 

“Recognizing extraordinary leaders of ballet soloist Precious Adams. 

African, Afro-Caribbean and African- 

American heritage, the list goes beyond sports 

and entertainment to encompass 

Management, Retail, the Arts, Finance, Tech, 

History, Academia, Fashion, Design, Politics, 

Law, Entrepreneurship, Social Investment and 

much more. 

“While the goal of equal representation is 

still a way off, I am thankful that my kids and 

your kids and their kids after them will have 

these shining role models and many more to 

inspire and lead them. 

“Kudos to Michael Eboda, the Powerful 

honoured 

Media team, J.P. Morgan and judges Dame 

Linda Dobbs, Tim Campbell, Dr Heather 

Melville, Ijeoma Okoli, Cecil Peters, Nicola 

Rollock, Matthew Ryder, Alwin Swales and 

O 

Daniel Taylor for their involvement in this 

oni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan 

important initiative and for considering me 

Ogunwusi, and the founder, Group 

worthy to be on the Powerlist for the second 

Managing Director of Gtext Holdings, Dr. 

year running.” 

Stephen Akintayo, have added more feathers to 

Okosi is one of multiple black tech leaders 

their colorful caps. The two were honoured at 

making the Powerlist 2023, including Apple’s 

the Titans of African Golden Edition Awards held 

Ije Nwokorie, Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE 

in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. 

(CEO & Co-Founder, STEMettes), Nneka 

Akintayo was honoured for his achievements 

Abulokwe OBE, Founder and CEO, 

in the real estate sector in the last decade and 

MicroMax Consulting, Rob Pierre (CEO, 

the fact that he is one of the 50 individuals of 

Jellyfish), Simon Hepburn (CEO, UK Cyber 

direct African descent making impact in 

Security Council), Dr. Claudia Natanson MBE •Ooni Ogunwusi 

Africa. Ogunwusi, on his part, was 

(Chair, UK Cyber Security Council), Linda 

honoured for his immense 

Morant (Chief Digital Officer, The Crown 

contributions to the propagation of 

Another Afenmai beauty queen crowned 

Miss Afenmai, Rukayat Usman, with the organizers 

he ninth edition of the annual Afenmai 

Tbeauty pageant held few days ago amidst 

pomp. 

At the event held in Auchi, headquarters of 

Etsako West local government area, Rakiya 

Usman emerged 

winner with the star 

prize of a car. 

The initiator of 

the event, Mrs 

Amidat Ilegar 

Okoh, urged young 

girls to shun drug 

and prostitution as 

the competition has 

now been thrown 

open and, from next 

year, entry would be 

free while hoping to 

get partners and 

sponsors to make it 

more elaborate. 

She said she was 

motivated to 

organize the annual show because of her 

experience as a young girl who had a child 

early and passed through tough times growing 

up and taking care of the child. 

The event, according to her, was preceded by 

visits to widows and giving them 

Ooni Ogunwusi, 

Stephen Akintayo 

empowerment and selected children who also 

enjoy some benefits from the organizers. 

“We want them to leave prostitution and 

other vices but we have to think, what other 

enabling environment are we going to give 

to them? When we are preaching, we should 

start listing out the opportunities that we can 

drive down for them that are devoid of them 

debasing themselves and have high morals.” 

Speaking on her plans for the annual event, 

Okoh said, “I want to work with big brands. 

I want to put Afenmai in the world map. I 

want everybody to know Afenmai that when 

you talk about intelligence, beauty, poise, 

Afenmai will be there where you will know 

that women who come from this pageant 

are determined, are selfless, are empowered 

to take on life’s challenges without fear, I want 

it to get to a level that when you say ‘I am 

Miss Afenmai’, you will be respected. 

“There is a former fee but we intend 

making it absolutely free from the next 

edition. We are looking to see major brands 

as our sponsors”. 

African culture and 

heritage since he 

ascended the Ife throne. 

He was also described as 

one of the individuals of 

direct African descent 

making impact in Africa. 

Akintayo, who received 

his award in person, 

praised the organizers for 

recognizing and 

rewarding Africa 

entrepreneurs and thereby 

encouraging them to do 

more. A coffee table book, 

which captures the 

journey of 50 titans of 

direct African descent 

who are currently making 

impacts in their 

communities and Africa 

as a whole, was presented 

during the ceremony by 

the United Arab Emirates 

African Networking 

Group, the organizers of 

the Titan Award. 

Pastor Adeb 

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the Gen 

Redeemed Christian Church o 

grandfather again. 

The latest addition to the revered man of 

his last child, Leke, and his wife,Titilope 

Leke, who is a Pastor in RCCG, apart fr 

the General Overseer fondly called Dad 

father’s Personal Assistant. 

An excited Leke, who clocked 40 few m 

good news and his wife’s pregnancy pict 

page as he expressed thanks to God for 

•Akintayo 

•The new 

Adejoke Adefulire 

agos State hosted the movers and 

Lpolitical circles last weekend as Pr 

Adefulire, SSA to the President on SDG 

deputy governor of the state, staged a clas 

her daughter, Oluwabukun 

The glamorous holy matri 

the bride and her 

Onyedikachim Arinze, wa 

Church of Resurrection 

Victoria Island, Lagos. 

Bukola Sara 

prayers for 

Former Senate President 

his siblings, Gbemi, Mi 

Development, Tope Edu 

late patriarch, Dr. Olusola S 

Aside family members, oth 

•Dr 

Ex-Emir of K 

hese are the best of mo 

TKano, Sanusi Lamido San 

girl with his fourth wife, Sa’ad 

The baby girl has been nam 

The former monarch had m 

daughter of Barkindo Aliyu 

Adamawa, in a low-key cerem 

2015. The ex- Emir of Kano, 

officially received her as his fo 

from a university in the Uni 

received at the Kano First Clas 

away for four years. Her Quran 

also held as well as her traditi 

Sanusi’s other wives includ 

Emir of Kano, Dr. Ado Abdu 

Rakiya. 

The former royal father and 

child together on May 5, 2020

November 20, 2022 

ICONIC INVANITY 

Taibo Bacar 

Pepper Row 

Mantsho 

Taibo Bacar 

Huishan Zhang 

Lozza maleombho 

nkwo 

GTCO 

Fashion 

Weekend 

2022 

Trend Report 

Mmuso Maxwell

6 

3 

6 

IN THIS ISSUE 

email: allurefortheworld@vanguardngr.com 

HAPPINESS 

4 Cover : GTCO Fashion Weekend 

2022: Trend Report 

6 Sexmatics: Spicy Sex Life As A 

Mother 

8 Billboard 

CELEBRATION 

3 

7 

Fashion : How To Be Red Carpet Ready 

Beauty : Five Secrets To A Dark Spots- 

Free Skin 

20 NOVEMBER 2022 

WELCOME... 

A week after the much-talkedabout 

GTCO Fashion Weekend took 

place, many attendees are still 

basking in the euphoria that this 

annual event brings. Beyond the 

opportunity for Nigerians to get 

entertained by a lineup of some 

incredibly talented, indigenous 

designers and their stunning creative 

collections, it also created a 

commercial hub where buyers and 

creators in the fashion value chain 

converged. 

Passionate about driving Africa’s progress, Guaranty 

Trust Bank has in the last five years, been at the forefront 

of promoting enterprise with the annual hosting of the 

GTCO Fashion Weekend which costs millions of Naira to 

put together. 

Leading the charge on this enterprising, journey were 

designers like Taibo Bacar, Ituen Basi and 

Rich Mnisi whose shows were most anticipated. 

Besides the millions grossed at this show by the 

volume of trading activities, and the knowledge gained in 

the various masterclasses, the runway also revealed a 

glimpse of what fashion would look like in 2023. 

Yemisi Suleiman who covered the show, reports on the 

trends spotted on the runway. Pg 4-5 

Dressing up for a red carpet-event requires a bit of 

planning and prepping. Follow these tips to help you 

achieve your desired red carpet-look. pg. 3. 

Achieving spot-free skin is possible if you follow these 

tips. Pg. 7 

So much for fashion this 

week. Enjoy the serve. 

J . E 

Jemi Ekunkunbor 

lookposh2017@gmail.com 

08052201126 

Quotes 

“Your talent is God’s 

gift to you. What you 

do with it is your gift 

back to God”. 

- Leo Buscaglia 

“Our greatest 

weakness lies in giving 

up. The most certain 

way to succeed is 

always to try just one 

more time”. 

- Thomas A. Edison 

“If you do what you 

love, it is the best way 

to relax”. 

- Christian Louboutin 

8 

EDITOR 

JEMI EKUNKUNBOR 

ASST. EDITOR 

YEMISI SULEIMAN 

REPORTER 

Josephine Agbonkhese 

ALLURE ONLINE 

RITA OKOYE 

TEMITOPE OJO 

LAYOUT / DESIGN 

OLAYIWOLA AJAGBE 

TEAM 

CONTRIBUTORS 

ADESUWA 

EWOIGBOKHAN 

BAMIYO ISELEMA EMINA 

HEAD OF PRODUCTION 

CHARLES KAMMA 

HEAD MARKETING 

JANET NAJOMOH 

(08037156911) 

PHOTO 

OSCAR OCHIOGU 

(08034746487) 

Printed and published by Vanguard Media Ltd 

Vanguard Avenue Kirikiri Canal; P.M.B 1007 

Apapa, Lagos.

How To Be 

RED CARPET 

FASHION 

READY 

By - Josephine Agbonkhese 

The last quarter of the year is 

remarkable for being a season 

of awards, shows, festivals and 

other special events. 

One thing is however 

common to all of these events 

and that’s the red carpet— 

which is usually the most 

important part to guests as 

it culminates in one pictureperfect 

moment which sums up 

their weeks-long effort ahead of 

that event. 

Usually loaded with a ton 

of photographers and media 

representatives, the red carpet 

is a place where you must look 

and act your best. That doesn’t 

usually come easy or cheap but 

the following basics can help 

you achieve your desired red 

carpet moment. 

Choose a small purse 

If you want to look as stylish as 

possible, an oversized bag is 

only going to spoil everything 

you’ve worked for. In fact, 

nothing ruins a great look like 

a big daytime purse. Instead, 

grab your cutest, most minimal 

clutch. 

Pick your outfit 

carefully 

It’s all about the outfit. 

Wear something that 

makes you feel like a 

million bucks without 

sacrificing comfort. You 

should also consider hiring 

a professional to help with 

your styling. Advisably, the 

outfit should be arranged a 

few weeks in advance so that 

there’s enough time for any 

needed adjustment for proper 

fitting. 

Rehearse a pose 

Check out some red carpet 

events. You can attend one live 

or watch it on television. Study 

how everyone poses for the 

cameras, and then rehearse 

afterwards— they all also 

rehearsed theirs. 

Osas 

Ighodaro 

Prep skin 

You can have the best dress in the world but if the skin 

isn’t polished, you won’t look polished. 

Have a proper facial and overall skin treatment so you can 

be sure your skin is photo shoot-ready. This allows your 

skin to absorb moisture that makes it the perfect canvas 

for any make-up application. 

Remember body 

shapers 

If you think 

celebrities have 

perfectly-smooth 

bodies, then you’re 

absolutely wrong. 

The secret is simply 

that they are huge 

fans of body shapers 

and are never 

without one when 

wearing skin-tight 

outfits on the red 

carpet. 

Hair and makeup 

To nail these, have an organised 

glam team so you do not have 

to stress over anything, including 

finishing touches. This should 

include a hairstylist, make-up 

artist and a before-the-show 

photographer. 

Choose stilettos 

Stilettos are the way to go; preferably about 5 to 6 

inches high. They instantly make it look like you’ve 

logged some extra hours at the gym. They also 

help elongate your curves and make your body 

proportions look better. 

November 20, 2022 / 3

FASHION 

GTCO Fashion 

Weekend 2022: 

Trend Report 

By - Yemisi Suleiman 

Rafia 

Bits and chucks of raffia details 

appeared on loose tops, skirts 

and dresses on the runway, to 

super sexy effect as shown by 

Pepper Row. 

Pepper Row 

The much anticipated 5th edition of the 

Guaranty Trust Fashion Weekend was 

held on Saturday, November 12, and 

Sunday, November 13, 2022, at the 

GTCenter, Oniru, Lagos. 

The two-day consumer focused event with the 

theme ‘The Future of Fashion Retail’ created an 

ultimate fashion experience, where the best and 

sought-after fashion houses, to the most promising 

and talented retail brands, showcased the latest 

fashion trends and products to a large and diverse 

audience of consumers, fashion aficionados and 

industry professionals. 

Returning with creativity and pop of colour after 

a two-year hiatus, the Fashion Weekend which 

debuted in 2016, has become one of the continent’s 

leading platforms for showcasing Africa’s finest, and 

promoting real commerce for small businesses in 

the fashion industry. 

This year’s event featured Entrepreneurial and 

Fashion masterclasses, free retail stalls, fashion 

presentations, a streetwear village and an ultimate 

runway show. 

Top international designers from across Africa and 

Europe, took to the runway to give fashion fans a 

taste of what to expect next fashion season. 

From 60s glam, structured dresses, athelesiure 

to ruffles and exaggerated sleeves, this season’s 

trends as sighted on the GTCO Fashion runways, 

were as feminine as they could get. 

Ruffles 

Designers couldn’t get 

enough of this feminine 

accent; frills and ruffles were 

fluttering about the neckline, 

waist and hemline. 

Huishan Zhang 

Pepper Row 

60s Glam 

ITUEN BASI 

Ituen Basi reinvented classic 

60s looks at the GTCO Fashion 

Weekend 2022, to bring chic 

optimism to our wardrobes. 

4 

Rich Mnisi 

Digital Print 

Rich Mnisi 

The fashion industry is one of the 

industries that has been most affected 

by the digital printing revolution and 

designers are making the best use of it 

to further their visions on cloth. 

/ November 20, 2022 

Rich Mnisi 

Mmuso Maxwell 

Bold Brights 

Colours continue to get 

brighter. It’s time to rid your 

wardrobe of those dark 

outfits for some exciting 

bursts of colour. 

Sheer Shapes 

Designers know that it’s always 

more elegant to leave a little to the 

imagination and on dresses, tops 

and skirts, transparency will be a 

must for your wardrobe next season. 

Fruche

FASHION 

Dramatic Sleeves 

Sleeves of tops and dresses continue to 

get dramatic as ever in shape and size. 

Intricate Details 

Upgrade your wardrobe with 

outfits with some intricate works. 

It’s chic and classy. 

nkwo 

Fruche 

Mmuso Maxwell 

Bared Midriff 

Taibo Bacar 

The bared midriff trend is officially back! 

The sudden prevalence of exposed 

midsections shows, it is the rave for today’s 

millennials, and designers are in for it all. 

Mantsho 

Mmuso Maxwell 

Taibo Mmuso Bacar Maxwell 

Resort Glam 

Resort fashion has 

never been so good as 

expressed by designers 

on the GTCO catwalk. 

Lozza maleombho 

Mmuso Maxwell 

Mantsho 

Pretty Volume 

Still Adire 

Embrace the indigneous vibes 

this season as designers 

reinvent classic adire, to bring 

chic optimism to our wardrobes. 

Bold Stripes 

Voluminous dresses and skirts 

are in and designers made the 

best of the trend on the runway. 

ITUEN BASI Mmuso Maxwell 

Pepper Row 

If the GTCO Fashion Weekend runways 

are any indication, it’s time to amp up that 

seasonal wardrobe of yours with a fun 

take on the classic stripes. 

November 20, 2022 / 

5

with Adesuwa 07052403531 | adesuwaewoigbokhan@hotmail.com 

SPICY SEX LIFE AS A MOTHER 

he longer couples are in marriage, the 

T 

more easily they tend to slip into 

traditional gender roles of ruffling the 

bedsheets. It was not always like this at 

the early stages. 

Years down the line, some couples 

actually struggle to keep their sex lives hot, 

passionate and fulfilling. “Our culture at large, tells 

us that it’s okay for men to be aggressive and for 

women to be passive. Add a layer of fatigue and it 

becomes the recipe for traditional sex roles to 

surface. It takes energy and effort to switch things 

up, and those resources now go to other parts of life 

like the kids and bills.” 

Despite struggling to redefine ourselves as 

women, there’s a big possibility of improving your 

sex life, and balancing your need including that of 

your spouse. This is one fun that’s doable and the 

beauty of it all is that, it gives your sex life a loving 

tender care ‘TLC’ that strengthens your relationship 

both inside and outside of the other room. 

One would want to believe that the time ladies 

spent at home would make them crazy for sex, 

especially when there’s nothing to do other than 

being cooped up at home with our spouses, the 

children and watching Netflix which actually should 

be a nightly activity, loading and unloading the 

dishwasher all day long, taking calls with a baby on 

your lap and doing it all over again the following 

day. 

When exhausted, intercourse becomes the last 

thing on your mind by the time the children finally retire 

for the night. No need to throw in the towel on a hot sex 

life; instead, kick-start with the following tips to keep 

things spicy in the bedroom. 

Communication is very vital - whether it is 

gentle touch, coming on too strongly, or using a little-toomuch 

tongue, your man won’t know if he is meeting your 

sexual needs unless you tell him. Two of you can actually 

explore your body to find new erotic spots that turns you 

both on, for a sense of discovery that you 

both will enjoy. 

Foreplay - Be creative; foreplay is 

more than just a precursor to sex, so try 

something new, such as, an oil massage or 

playing a fun game to get the body excited 

as intercourse is just as much of a mental 

act as it is physical. 

The last thing you want in 

your sex life is too much routine. 

To avoid this, you simply have to get out of 

the bedroom. Make use of any other room; it 

can be the bathroom, kitchen, library, empty 

visitors room, staircase and all those high 

school make-out memories. There are a 

number of options to get it on, never limit 

sex to just bedroom affair. 

Schedule sex - This may seem weird 

but, there’s actually nothing wrong in 

scheduling sex. It’s a great way to 

encourage busy couples to have sex 

regardless of how tired you may be at the 

end of the night. Mark it on your shared 

calendar, or choose specific days during the 

week and you will wake up in the morning 

knowing you will be getting sexy later. 

Remind your spouse after scheduling a day, 

this is not about forgetting the date but, to 

create sexual tension even further by texting 

them the morning of it, or talking about it 

over breakfast (in code, obviously). This 

builds anticipation and allows you both to 

get excited for love making. 

Quickies - Can be fun- Intercourse 

should not always be done on the bed with 

lit candles and rose petals. Sex can be just 

as exciting when it’s out of the blue/spot of 

the moment/spontaneous. Move to having 

sex in the morning instead of at night. It 

doesn’t have to go hours to be fun for both 

of you. It can act as one for the road thing. 

TO BE CONTINUED... 

Helpline tip: 

To report on the cases of rape, violence 

and abuse, call: [+234 8031230651 or 

+234 7053576528 

keepsakes, and games. With 

clearly defined places for 

everything, your little boy will be 

more likely to want to clean up 

after playtime. 

Ideas On How To 

Decorate A Boy’s Room 

Creating a bright and happy bedroom for the young man in your life has 

never been easier. Decorate your boy’s bedroom with these fun and 

inspiring bedroom ideas. 

Cheery Space to Play 

Kid spaces are a great opportunity to add multiple layers of colour, but resist 

the urge to go overboard with too many saturated tones. Take colour cues from 

a pillow or a cheerful striped rug, layering several muted shades that don’t 

overwhelm with competing colours. 

Organizing Made Easy 

Teach your little one the ins and outs of organization with clear bedroom 

storage. What was once a bookshelf became home to this little boy’s toys, 

6 

/ November 20, 2022 

The New Neutral 

Although many people don’t 

think of blue as a neutral, it’s 

really one of those colours that 

go with just about everything. 

Soft blue walls blend effortlessly 

with a variety of patterns and 

textures. When considering 

ideas for small rooms, turn to 

light blue, as its airy shade 

makes a space appear larger. 

Creative Beds 

To give your boys more room for 

both work and play, consider 

pushing their beds along 

adjacent walls. The open space 

in the middle of the room will be 

perfect for overnight guests or 

playtime. Consider lofted beds. 

Forest Fun 

A nature-inspired bedroom is 

great for any little boy with a love 

for the outdoors.

BEAUTY 

Avoid sun exposure 

If possible, try to avoid going out for 

prolonged periods when the sun is at its 

strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. 

Because the sun’s rays are most intense 

during this time, try to schedule outdoor 

activities for other times of the day. 

If you must be outdoor, then seek shade 

whenever possible. 

Use sunscreen 

daily 

This should be your first 

line of defence against 

dark spots. It is necessary 

to apply sunscreen with 

SPF 40 or greater and 

reapply every two hours. 

Everyone should in fact 

wear at least SPF 40 

on their face daily and 

reapply every two hours 

if outside in the sun, or 

sitting next to a window. 

Wear protective clothing 

Take additional sun protective measures 

by covering your skin with protective 

clothing such as hats, sunglasses, and long 

sleeves. For example, a wide-brimmed hat 

or sunglasses are a good choice to protect 

your eyes and scalp from the sun. 

Follow a skincare routine 

While you should also clean your skin 

regularly, it is important to follow a skincare 

routine that includes the application of retinol, 

niacinamide and vitamin C. 

Retinol works 

by speeding 

up surface cell 

turnover so that 

your skin reveals 

a fresh layer 

of skin faster, 

niacinamide is a 

potent antioxidant 

that helps visibly 

reduce dark spots, 

and vitamin C 

enhances the 

radiance and 

overall clarity of 

your complexion. 

Avoid alcohol 

Try to avoid the consumption of alcohol. 

Alcohol allows free radicals to wreak havoc 

in your body, causing skin cell damage that 

can lead to dark spots. 

Remember always that regular excessive 

drinking can lead to long-term skin 

problems aside exacerbating other preexisting 

health conditions. 

Five Secrets To 

A Dark Spots- 

Free Skin 

by - Josephine Agbonkhese 

Dark spots on the skin, or hyperpigmentation, rank as 

one of the most common reasons people with darker skin 

tones see a dermatologist. 

This occurs when some areas of the skin produce more 

melanin— the substance which gives the eyes, skin, and 

hair their colour— than usual. Although dark spots are 

harmless, it’s normal to worry about them and want to get 

rid of them for cosmetic reasons. 

Getting rid of dark spots, however, really takes time. For 

instance, a spot that is a few shades darker than your 

natural skin colour will usually fade within 6 to 12 months, 

while one that lies deep in your skin could take years. 

In other words, prevention is best. You can adopt the 

following measures to prevent the formation of dark spots 

on your skin. 

Bella Okagbue 

November 20, 2022 / 

7

Stories by - Temitope Ojo 

Showmax hosts private screening 

of original drama series, 

Flawsome 

Nollywood stars gathered on Thursday, 

November 11, 2022, at The Alliance Française 

of Lagos for the private screening of the first 

episode of Showmax’s Nigerian Original drama 

series, Flawsome. 

The screening was part of activities for the 11th 

Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). 

Speaking, director Tola Odunsi expressed joy 

at the release of the new work, which gives 

exposure to several challenges in life faced by 

women. “We wanted to tell a deeper story that 

explored these issues,” she said. 

Tobi Amusan makes 

final shortlist 

for 2022 World 

Athletics awards 

Tobi Amusan has been named on the list of five 

finalists for the 2022 Women’s Athlete of the 

Year. The World Athletics released the names 

of the athletes on its official website on Monday 

night, November 14. Amusan, who, is the 

current world record holder for 100m hurdles, 

made the shortlist following a remarkable year, 

which saw her set a new record of 12.12s 

in the 100m hurdles at the World Athletics 

Championships, Oregon 2022. 

The 24-year-old will have to battle it out with 

Leading ladies of Flawsome – Enado 

Odigie, Bisola Aiyeola, and Sharon Ooja 

revealed that being on set together was 

the best. More than once, they discussed 

scenes that were so intense that they 

cried while recording the 13-part drama 

series. The first episode of Flawsome is 

currently streaming on Showmax, with 

new episodes every Thursday. 

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, 

Kimberly Garcia of Peru, Sydney 

McLaughlin of the United States, and 

Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela for the 

prestigious award. According to WA, the 

finalists were determined through a threeway 

voting process involving fans on 

social media, World Athletics Council, and 

the World Athletics Family. The winner will 

be announced on December 5 as part of 

the World Athletics Awards 2022. 

Empress Njamah 

stuns in purple 

monostrap dress 

Nollywood actress, Empress Njamah made a bold 

statement in a purple mono-strap ball dress, to mark her 

birthday today. In a picture she posted on her verified 

Instagram page, she completed the look with a pink 

bob hairstyle, natural makeup, and silver stiletto-heeled 

sandals. The popular actress and entrepreneur thanked 

the Almighty for life, amongst many other things to be 

grateful for. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME… 

So many reasons to be thankful for Lord, it can only be 

you, thank you Almighty God for the gift of LIFE,” she 

wrote. 

Olu of Warri, wife 

mark eighth wedding 

anniversary 

Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, and his wife, Olori Atuwatse 

III on Tuesday, marked their eighth wedding anniversary. Olori 

Atuwatse took to her Instagram page to share a series of their 

pictures, and in the caption, she poetically praised her husband 

for evolving over the years from a doting husband and father, 

to a trusted friend, and now, a reputable modern monarch. 

She added that she does not just look at him, for the safe 

keeping of her heart and the protection of their home; but also, 

for the leadership of the Iwere kingdom and for statesmanship 

in matters of the nation, Nigeria. 

She then prayed that their love will continue to stand the test of 

time, not just in longevity, but in quality.

oye is grandfather again 

eral Overseer of the 

f God (RCCG), is a 

God’s family is through 

. 

om being the last son of 

dy G.O., doubles as his 

onths ago, shared the 

res on his social media 

adding to his family. 

couple 

’s classy wedding for daughter, Bukunmi 

shakers of the 

ncess Adejoke 

’s and former 

sy wedding for 

mi . 

mony between 

heartthrob, 

s held at the 

,1004 Estate, 

ano, Sanusi Lamido, gets new baby girl 

ments for former Emir of 

usi, as he welcomed a baby 

atu. 

ed Zainab Khausar. 

arried Sa’adatu, who is the 

Musdafa, the Lamido of 

ony in Yola on September 25, 

on Saturday, August 3, 2019, 

urth wife after she graduated 

ted Kingdom. Sa’adatu was 

monarch’s palace after being 

ic graduation ceremony was 

onal Budar Kai ceremony. 

Sadiya, daughter of the late 

llahi Bayero, Maryam and 

Sa’adatu welcomed their first 

. 

The First Lady of the Federal Republic of 

Nigeria, Aisha Buhari, and her children 

attended the wedding reception. Other 

guests include Lagos First Lady, Ibijoke 

Sanwoolu, Nassarawa State gov, Alhaji 

Muritala Sule, Oyo All Progressives 

Congress (APC) governorship candidate in 

the 2023 elections, Senator Teslim Folarin, 

ex-Lagos Commissioner for Transport, Mr 

Kayode Opeifa, and wife of Senior Pastor, 

ki, siblings organize 10th year memorial 

dad 

Bukola Saraki, joined by his wife, Toyin, and 

nister of State for Mining and Steel 

and Laolu, organized special prayers for their 

raki, Wazirin of Ilorin. 

er guests at the event, held in Ilorin, Kwara 

ukola Saraki (3rd right) and siblings 

Fans and well-wishers of Adeboye’s son have stormed his 

comment section to congratulate and celebrate with him. 

Many who attended Leke’s wedding to Titilope, daughter of 

Pastor Johnson Odesola, Continental Overseer, Continent 3 

of the RCCG, years ago, will not forget in a hurry the hot tears 

streaming down the cheeks of Adeboye. 

But what could make the mathematician-turned-preacher 

shed tears? 

The father and son shared close affinity: Leke is the apple of 

the eyes of the respected man of God. 

•First Lady Aisha Buhari, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, 

Mrs Adejoke Adefulire and husband 

State capital, include Bukola’s friends and political 

associates of his late father. 

The scion of the Saraki dynasty also took his social 

media page to honour the memory of the deceased 

whom he described as a philanthropist and 

quintessential statesman. 

“Today marks the 10th anniversary of the passing 

away of our father, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki”, 

Bukola wrote. 

“Oloye was a man of integrity. He was a 

philanthropist and a quintessential statesman who 

upheld the highest moral and ethical standards. 

“For decades, his charismatic leadership, his love 

for Kwarans and the nation at large has remained 

unmatched. 

“He was a wonderful husband, father, and 

grandfather. His timeless words of wisdom and 

counsel continue to guide us to this day. 

“This is why, as we remember his life and service to 

our dear nation, we must recommit ourselves to 

emulating his lifestyle and political principles — and 

continue to build on his colossal legacies. 

“May Almighty Allah (SWT) continue to retain a 

place for my dad, Oloye, in Aljannah Firdaus”. 

Emir 

Sanusi and 

wife 

RCCG City of David, Siju Iluyomade. 

The President’s wife, Aisha, prayed for 

the new couple as they started their 

marital journey. 

Bukunmi is a pharmacist at upscale 

pharmacy, Medplus, owned by Joke 

Bakare, wife of Muyiwa Bakare, former 

MD of the defunct Metropolitan Bank 

and son of popular businessman, Chief 

Stephen Bakare, of the famed 

Oluwaogbon Motors. 

•Mother 

and child 

T 

SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 , PAGE 17 

Olori Naomi goes back to school 

Former Yeyeluwa of Ile-Ife, 

Prophetess Naomi S. Ogunwusi, 

may have put the sordid tales of 

her marriage to the revered monarch, 

Ooni of Ife, HIM Oba Adeyeye 

Ogunwusi, behind her. 

This is not even after 

the royal father had gone 

on a wedding spree after 

her exit from the place. 

The beautiful mother 

of the heir apparent, 

Tadenikawo, has moved 

on to further her 

education. 

Sources say she is an 

undergraduate student at 

Elizade University, Ilara- 

Mokin, Ondo State 

where she is studying 

international relations. 

As part of the 

orientation programme 

for fresh students of the 

university, which took 

place between Tuesday, 

November 15 and 

Thursday, November 17, 

2022, the prophetess was 

MKO’s wife, Adebisi Abiola, plans 

superlative wedding for daughter 

Adebisi Abiola 

Galadima throws hat in the ring 

Candidate of the Peoples Democratic 

Party (PDP) in Nasarawa West 

Senatorial District, Alhaji Umar Musa 

Galadima, has assured the people of the zone 

that he would make a difference in 

worthy representation if elected to 

the upper chamber in next year’s 

elections. 

While currently attending the 

lesser hajj, to seek the face of 

Allah, Galadima said he’s 

focused not only to run an 

issue-based campaign but 

also looking ahead towards 

victory and delivery of critical 

dividends of democracy to 

the people. 

He emphasized his mission in 

politics as essentially predicated 

on genuine service to the people 

as basis for effective 

representative democracy. 

•Galadima 

The candidate recalled the 

Eunice Efole’s rising profile 

he lady called Dr. Ambassador Eunice 

Efole, whose guiding philosophy in life 

is hinged on raw determination, focus 

(meticulous attention to details), total 

dependence on God and a 

‘never say die’ drive in 

continuous learning, is no 

doubt a genius of sort. 

Perhaps all these attributes 

may have been the qualities 

that motivated the 

prestigious European- 

American University (EAU) 

of Dominican Republic to 

honour the Delta-born Efole 

alongside some eminent 

Nigerians and Africans via 

the conferment of honorary 

doctorate degrees/awards. 

According to the EAU 

organizers, the awards are 

meant to celebrate and 

publicly acknowledge these 

men and women who have 

become the pride of their 

people, as well as document 

their efforts to encourage the 

younger generations on the 

path to true leadership and 

prosperity. 

The event, which was indeed a most 

invited as a ‘Resource Person’ to give 

‘Motherly Advice’ to the incoming 

(fresh) students of the university at the 

Faculty of Law Auditorium. 

Silekunola Naomi, who is the founder 

and President of her own ministry, En- 

Heralds 

Interdenominational 

Ministry, Akure, Ondo 

State and also the 

Convener of an NGO, 

Women In Need of 

Guidance & Support’ 

(WINGS), before her 

royal marriage, was an 

undergraduate student 

at Adekunle Ajasin 

University Akure (AAUA) 

Akungba-Akoko but 

forfeited that 

opportunity to work for 

God. 

Few months ago, she 

received an honorary 

Doctor of Philosophy 

(PhD) degree from 

Myles Leadership 

University, Republic of 

Benin. 

Come December 8,2022, Chief 

(Mrs.) Adebisi Abiola, one of 

the widows of the late 

Bashorun MKO Abiola, will host the 

wedding of her daughter, Saudat, to 

her heartthrob, Yusuf Odutola Tikare. 

The couple will be having their 

Nikkai and traditional engagement at 

the Harbour Point, Victoria Island, 

Lagos. 

Not known to do things in half 

measure, Alhaja Adebisi Abiola is 

known for throwing big, classy parties. 

She is also blessed with a big circle 

of well-to-do friends. The bride, 

Saudat, is the last child of the society 

matriarch and an IT expert. 

•Eunice Efole 

unanimity of purpose displayed by the 

people across the entire senatorial district 

in his choice as flag bearer and why he 

was poised to pay back such confidence 

reposed in him by ensuring a worthy 

representation at the upper chamber 

if elected. 

The versatile estate surveyor 

and valuer, who is noted for his 

proactive skill in grassroots 

mobilization, averred that 

the situation in Nasarawa 

West dictated that the 

people are now given 

greater attention especially 

in basic empowerment 

among women and youths. 

Galadima underscored 

the issues in educational 

development as well as 

health and infrastructure as 

major interest to his aspiration. 

corporate day mixed with intellectual 

simulations and advice to African 

governments by many of the awardees, 

climaxed with the grand presentation of 

doctor of arts (D.ARTS) & 

doctor of science (D.Sc.). 

Efole, on her part, was 

honoured with a Honourary 

Doctorate Degree in 

Business Development & 

Managements. 

In the words of her mother, 

Mrs. J. Efole, who still 

inspires her, long after her 

demise, “Success is only 

meaningful and enjoyable if 

it feels like your own for 

genuine success comes from 

God”. 

Indeed, that seems to be 

the norm that best described 

Efole who, since the last 

decade, has consistently won 

the Best Dressed Style Icon 

Award. 

This is a testament to her 

innovative style designs. 

And just recently, she was 

made an Ambassador of a 

People’s Democratically 

Party (PDP) support group.

PAGE 18—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022

SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 — PAGE 19


No reason why married mothers shouldn’t make love every night! 

TONIGHT, once our 

“ three young children 

are in bed, my husband Fred 

and I will head upstairs 

together for an early night,” 

says Anjola, a 36-year old 

cosmetologist. “We might 

have a glass of wine each 

and, afterwards, give each 

other a massage and, 

chances are, we’ll make love 

before falling asleep in each 

other’s arms. Considering 

the chaos of family life, you 

might imagine this to be a 

special occasion but we 

have sex practically every 

night. Intimacy is a huge 

part of our 14-year 

relationship, the glue that 

bonds our marriage 

together. Having three 

children is no excuse for 

letting your love life 

dwindle.” 

Anjola is reacting to the 

view that the more children 

a couple has, the more they 

relegate sex to the back 

burner. “I feel desperately 

sorry for couples who find 

themselves boxed to this 

unfortunate corner,” she 

continues. “It is a surprise 

they would let a crucial side 

of their relationship wane. 

Luckily for me, I am selfemployed 

and work flexible 

hours. But after a day spent 

looking after the children, I 

yearn for my husband’s 

embrace. His desire for me 

makes me feel alive, 

confident and secure. It has 

boosted my self-esteem and 

I believe helped me through 

postnatal depression, as 

well as the devastation of 

two miscarriages. I could 

never imagine going for 

days – let alone months – 

without making love with 

him. 

“I was 21 and doing my 

youth service when we met 

and he was one of the bosses 

in the logistics company I 

served at. When we started 

dating, we waited months 

before making love. When 

we did, the chemistry was 

palpable – and it has 

remained so over a decade 

together and three children. 

For some women – and their 

partners – the thought of sex 

during pregnancy is a huge 

turn off. But for me, that’s 

when my libido goes 

through the roof. Fred used 

to joke: ‘Leave me alone, I’m 

exhausted!’” 

Surely, she and her 

husband couldn’t be at it 

every day?! “Of course not! 

There are times when nature 

knows best. Like most new 

mums, sex was the last thing 

on my mind immediately 

after giving birth. But it 

never even occurred to me 

that things wouldn’t pick up 

again in the bedroom as 

soon as I healed. After my 

six-week check-up, we 

became intimate again and 

it felt so natural. It was 

gentler than before the birth, 

but a relief to be able to show 

each other physical affection 

again. Not that it was plain 

– sailing – I struggled with 

over-tiredness and began to 

suffer lethargy. I also had a 

bout of postnatal depression 

and was prescribed antidepressants. 

“For some, libido vanishes 

with depression. But, if 

anything, sex became more 

important to me, as it helped 

me more than any 

medication. The endorphins 

release that sex produces 

boosted my feel-good 

hormones like no tablet ever 

could. Admittedly my body 

has changed after three 

children, but the fact that 

Fred found me attractive 

made me feel sexy and 

desirable. We are lucky that 

our children sleep well. I can 

understand why some 

mothers feel too exhausted 

to want sex. But on my most 

bleary-eyed days, I can spare 

an hour to be intimate with 

my husband’s physical 

attention as much as he 

needs me. I make an extra 

special effort for him too, 

and whatever drab clothes 

I have on, underneath them 

I always wear beautiful, 

matching, lacy lingerie. It 

is as much a treat for him 

as it is for me. 

“Today, sex is just as 

important to us as it ever 

was, if not more so. As busy 

working-parents of three 

children, you might expect 

us to have to schedule it into 

the diary, but that would 

spoil the fun. Instead, we 

simply go to bed around 

10.00pm and make love 

most nights. I’d have to reevaluate 

my entire 

relationship if I hadn’t had 

sex for more than a few 

days. It’s not that I think 

that Fred would look 

elsewhere. Some women 

say they go off sex because 

their body has changed or 

their partners body has 

altered. My husband and I 

are by no means perfect 

specimens. I was very slim 

when we met but I’ve put on 

some weight. Fred’s weight 

has fluctuated too. But in 

all that time, we’ve never 

stopped fancying each 

other. 

“Fred is my best friend. 

He was here before we had 

our children and he will be 

here when they’ve flown the 

nest. We see it happen so often 

– couples separating when 

their children have left home 

because they have nothing at 

all in common. I could never 

allow that to happen...” 

A Leopard And Its Spots! 

(Humour) 

A couple return from their 

honeymoon and it’s obvious 

to everyone that they’re not 

talking to each other. The 

groom’s best man takes him 

aside and asks what’s wrong. 

“Well” replies the man, “when 

we finished making love on 

the first night, I got up to go to 

the bath-room and placed 

three N1,000 notes on the 

pillow without thinking.” 

“Oh, I shouldn’t worry about 

that too much,” says his friend. 

“I’m sure your wife will get 

over it soon enough. She can’t 

expect you to have been saving 

yourself all these years.” The 

groom, nods his head gravely 

and continues: “I don’t know 

I’ll get over it though. She 

gave me N500 change.” 

Birds Of The Same 

Feather? (Humour) 

A woman goes to a dating 

agency saying, she doesn’t 

care about looks, money or 

background. All she wants is 

a decent, honourable man. 

Later that day, a man comes 

in and tells them the only thing 

he is seeking in a woman is 

intelligence. 

The agency matches them 

together at once. They have 

one thing in common – 

they’re both compulsive liars! 

Networking/ 

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Dear readers, please note that we neither operate, nor are we an affiliate of any match–making agency in or outside the 

country. Any reader who transacts business with any one claiming to be our agent does so at his/her own risk. Our mission 

is only to provide a platform for social networking. 

Also note that neither Vanguard, nor Yetunde Arebi will be liable for any error in the publication of requests which may 

result in any form of embarrassment to any member of the public. We therefore request that text must be sent through at 

least one of the numbers for contact. This notice is necessary to enable us serve you better in our refreshingly different 

style. You can send your requests to 33055. For enquiries, text or call 08026651636, or 08054700825 

NASS ELECTION: Dafinone solicits 

Osawota's support 

The All Progressives 

Congress (APC ) 

Delta Central Senatorial 

candidate,for 2023 

election, Chief Ede 

Dafinone, has solicited 

the support of Chief Andi 

Osawota for his political 

ambition . 

The son of late Senator 

David Dafinone who 

spoke during his visit to 

Chief Osawota's country 

home in Orogun, 

Ughelli North Local 

Government Area on 

Wednesday, remarked 

that his host is an 

influencial political 

leader not only in 

Orogun but in Urhobo 

nation. 

The APC candidate 

therefore stated that he 

was in great need of the 

of support of Chief 

Osawota in order to win 

the election in Delta 

Central. 

He also commended 

Chief Osawota for 

defecting from the 

Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP) to APC, noting 

that the move was a wise 

decision. 

In his response, Chief 

Osawota said that Chief 

Dafinone was the best 

candidate for the Delta 

Central Senatorial seat 

and therefore declared 

his total support for him 

Kola 47, a clergy resides 

in Abeokuta, needs a Godfearing 

lady for settling 

down. 08164178084 

Jovee 35, tall and 

handsome, needs an 

employed decent lady, 

aged 2I-35, who resides in 

Benin City, for marriage. 

08071937017,08060561844 

Lanre 52, a widower with 

two grown children of ages 

22 an 20, resides in Ifo 

Ogun State, a poultry 

farmer and education 

consultant, needs a 

Flooding will not affect census exercise — Odibo 

gainst the backdrop of 

Adisplacement of persons 

by flooding, the Federal 

C o m m i s s i o n e r 

representating Delta State at 

the National Population 

Commission (NPC ), Chief 

Richard Odibo has assured 

that there will be no cause for 

alarm in the event of flooding 

during next year's national 

population census. 

He gave the assurance in an 

interaction with our 

correspondent at his Ekpan, 

Uvwie Local Government 

Area residence. 

Odibo said in the event of 

flooding victims will be 

countedwhere ever they are. 

He, however, expressed 

delight that this year's 

ravaging flood has receded as 

he prayed that it should not 

occur again. 

The commissioner 

disclosed that over 30,000 ad 

hoc staff would be engaged in 

the 2023 national and 

housing population census in 

Delta State, saying that 

majority of those to be 

engaged will come from 

communities where they are 

residents . 

" They must be Nigerians, 

aged between 20 to 60 years 

who have functional phone 

number and email " he added 

Odibo mentioned other 

The honorable Federal Commissioner, representing Delta State at the National Population 

Commission (NPC), Chief Richard Odibo (middle), with other staff of the commission 

during their sensitisation walk on the 2023 National Population and Housing Census in 

Asaba, headquarters of Delta State, on Wednesday 16th November, 2022. 

qualifications to include : the 

the ability to read and write 

in English language, a 

functional (non student) 

operational bank account, 

ICT literate, a minimum 

educational qualification of 

SSCE and a National 

Identification Number . 

He therefore enjoined 

interested Deltans that have 

these requirements to apply 

online through http://2023 

responsible, faithful and 

employed lady, aged 30-45, 

for 

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Ik 44, from Imo State but 

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2023: Pela promises to end hunger 

in Delta 

G overnorship 

candidate of 

Labour Party, LP, in Delta 

State, Deacon Kennedy 

Pela, has promised to 

better the lives of Deltans 

and end hunger in the state. 

Pela gave this charge at 

a special annual 

thanksgiving service of the 

Avenue Baptist Church, 

Warri, while thanking God 

for the opportunity given 

to him to run as 

governorship flagbearer of 

the Labour Party in the 

2023 general elections. 

Sharing his vison for 

Deltans at the event, he said 

that it is a good thing to 

promote righteousness 

which will bring peace and 

harmony across the state. 

census adhocrecuitment. 

nationalpopulation.gov.ng. 

Odibo further averred that 

the e - registration portal could 

be accessed between October 

31st and December 28th 2022 

.He however disclosed that the 

portal would be temporary 

shut down between November 

7th and 13th for audit and was 

reopened for accessement on 

November 14th,2022 . 

He stressed that the 

recruitment exercise will 

strictly be based on merit. 

He said that his dream to 

succeed Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa was God's call to 

him. 

He promised to turn the 

state around for good by 

bringing enduring peace, 

creating job opportunities 

through alignment with his 

presidential candidate, Mr. 

Peter Obi, to move Delta 

from consuming to 

producing state. 

He therefore, enjoined 

Deltans to promote 

righteousness to ensure 

peace and harmony. 

Pela assured that people's 

living standard will improve 

as his administration will 

also focus on health, 

education, and many more 

when he assumes office.

New covenant giving 

What is God worth to us? Is he only 

worthy of a tithe of our income? 

Every Christian should be allowed 

to determine this for himself. Institutionalised 

tithing limits the generosity of a believer. Once 

we give 10%, we believe we have fulfilled all 

righteousness. But this limitation is shortsighted. 

Jesus says: “Give, and it will be given to you. 

A good measure, pressed down, shaken 

together, and running over, will be poured into 

your lap. For with the measure you use, it will 

be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38). 

Therefore, we must not use the measure of a 

delimited tithe. 

Hardened hearts 

Jesus says divorce is not God’s will: “From 

the beginning, it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8). 

Moses only gave the law permitting divorce 

because of the hardness of the hearts of the 

Jews. 

The same thing applies to Malachi and the 

compulsion to give tithes and offerings. From 

the beginning, people of God were not 

compelled or threatened to give. Indeed, the 

insistence of pastors on tithes and offerings 

today is anachronistic. It is tantamount to 

putting Jesus’ new wine in old bottles which 

Jesus says is inappropriate. (Matthew 9:16- 

17). 

The Law of Moses was given to the Jews 

because they did not know the right thing to 

do. But in spite of the law, the Jews were still 

not inclined to give because their hearts were 

hardened. Therefore, 

Malachi called them 

robbers of God; and he 

threatened them with 

curses, the devourer, and the 

denial of blessings. 

However, the application 

of Malachi’s invective to 

believers today is insulting. 

The believer is a lawkeeper, 

but Paul says: “The 

The only acceptable 

basis for all action in 

Christ is love 

law is not made for a righteous person, but 

for the lawless.” (1 Timothy 1:9). Indeed, 

once a man makes it a law that you must 

pay tithes and give offerings, he has spoilt 

you for the gospel. He has already 

determined that you are a hard-hearted 

lawbreaker. 

But in the believer in Christ is fulfilled 

the promise of God: “I will give them an 

undivided heart and put a new spirit in 

them; I will remove from them their heart 

of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 

Then they will follow My decrees and be 

careful to keep My laws.” (Ezekiel 11:19- 

20). 

The true believer no longer keeps God’s 

laws out of compulsion. But he or she says: 

“I desire to do your will, O my God; your 

law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8). 

Instead of the Law of Moses, God has now 

given us “the law of liberty.” Accordingly, 

we no longer give because of “legal” 

requirements. The only acceptable basis 

for all action in Christ is love. 

New spirit 

How can you get a believer in Christ to 

do the right thing? You do not have to do 


anything at all because a true believer will 

naturally do the right thing. A true believer will 

do the right thing because it is in his nature to do 

so. He gives because it is in his nature to give. 

Nobody has to compel or threaten him. Nobody 

needs to manipulate or bewitch him. Doing the 

right thing is the fruit of his spirit. 

When Samuel was explaining the dynamics of 

the kingdom of God to Saul, he told him that the 

Spirit of the Lord would come mightily upon 

him, and he would start to prophesy like one of 

the prophets. When that happens, he told Saul to 

do whatever seemed best to him for God would 

guide him. (1 Samuel 10:7). Saul would not need 

any man to teach him what to do: he would do it 

naturally. 

It is this dynamic that John was referring to 

when he wrote that believers have received the 

Holy Spirit and therefore no longer need anyone 

to teach us what is right: “You have received the 

Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, in your 

hearts, so that you don’t need anyone to teach 

you what is right.” (1 John 2:27). 

Free will giving 

This was the case of Abraham. When Abraham 

gave a tithe (tenth) of all his spoils of war to 

Melchizedec, a priest of the Most High God, 

nobody told him to do so. He did so of his own 

volition. The pureness of Abraham’s heart 

naturally led to his godly decision to honour the 

Lord with his possessions and with the first fruits 

of the increase in his resources. 

Where the Spirit of God is there is liberty. (2 

Corinthians 3:17). Even in the Old Testament, 

God only welcomed offerings not given out of 

compulsion. Thus, He instructed Moses: “Take 

from among you an offering to the LORD. 

Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as 

an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze.” 

(Exodus 35:5). 

“Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, 

and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they 

brought the LORD’S offering for the work of the 

tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for 

the holy garments.” (Exodus 35:21) 

In the construction and furnishing of the 

tabernacle, the people gave so willingly, they 

even gave too much: “The people were 

restrained from bringing, for the material they 

had was sufficient for all the work to be doneindeed 

too much. (Exodus 36:5-7). 

That is the giving that pleases the Lord; giving 

that derives from the abundance of the heart. 

Whole-hearted giving 

This principle of whole-hearted giving is 

amplified in the New Testament. Paul notes 

that: “If there is first a willing mind, it is accepted 

according to what one has, and not according 

to what he does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12). 

However, many pastors ask their congregants 

to make pledges even according to what they 

do not have. They tell them to “stretch their 

faith.” 

Such manipulation is anathema to New 

Testament precepts where compulsive giving is 

now out of date: “Let each one give as he 

purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of 

necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 

Corinthians 9:7). 

Should you give a tenth, a fifth, or half of your 

income? Decide for yourself between yourself 

and God. It is no business of your pastor. 

Tithing because of Malachi is tantamount to 

giving out of necessity. But the believer of today 

(the new creation) no longer gives because he is 

trying to avoid curses and the devourer. He gives 

because he loves to give. He gives because he 

wants to be like our heavenly Father. He gives 

because he loves God. 

This means he can decide to give this 

proportion of his income this month and another 

proportion next month. The decision is entirely 

up to him. 

Moreover, if he chooses not to give, God is 

not going to deny him His kingdom. He is not 

going to rain down curses on him. The devourer 

is not going to be let loose on him. The windows 

of heaven will not be shut against him. Let no 

one deceive you. A true believer cannot be 

cursed. You can only curse a believer who 

believes he can be cursed. 

Jesus says: “According to your faith will it be 

done to you. (Matthew 9:29). 

RUNNING WITH VISION UNTO SUCCESS: THE ART OF LEADERSHIP (6) 

INTRODUCTION 

IN the last serial, we 

introduced the subject of 

motivation as a tool for 

developing corporate success by 

the leader for an organization. 

In this serial, we will continue 

with this subject and look at 

factors that enhance 

motivation, which leaders can 

consider as the occasion 

demands. 

THE FACTORS NEEDED 

FOR MOTIVATION 

You can motivate members of 

followers with the following 

factors in their order of 

importance. 

Treating them with respect 

wins them over and wins battles. 

Next is by assigning work that 

is interesting and meaningful to 

them, because each person 

performs best in his or her field 

of expertise. Another important 

factor that is often overlooked 

is giving appropriate 

recognition for good work and 

performance. Recognition and 

appreciation for good work 

done by an individual makes 

that person perform more in 

subsequent times. Next in 

importance is making sure they 

have the opportunity to develop 

their own skills. People need to 

be personally fulfilled too while 

they are involved in matters of 

Pastor Akinola 

on and assure them of ‘job 

security’ while you also 

treasure their involvement in 

the organization. 

MOTIVATION AND 

TRAINING IN THEIR 

SPIRITS 

We must strike a balance 

between motivation and 

training them to respond to 

the stirring of the Holy spirit 

in their hearts. We must 

remember that we are more 

concerned here about 

spiritual organization; hence, 

the factor of the Holy Spirit 

leading on the individual must 

not be overlooked. In spiritual 

organizations, it is also 

pertinent to note that each 

member is almost like a 

volunteer, and must be 

encouraged accordingly. 

Motivation is not absolutely 

effective all the time, and 

hence we must look “outside 

the box” for solutions to 

Are you a Christian or just a believer? 

NOT all those who call 

on the name of the Lord 

shall enter into the kingdom 

of heaven, because they are 

not Christians, but mere 

believers in Christ, who have 

not the Spirit of Christ, as 

written in Romans 8:9c; 

“Now if any man have not the 

Spirit of Christ, he is none of 

His.” That is, such one is not 

a Christian but a mere 

believer in Christ like Judas, 

the devil amongst the twelve 

apostles. 

In Jeremiah 5:26, God said; 

“For amongst my people are 

found wicked men: they lay 

wait, as he that setteth snares; 

they set a trap, they catch 

men.” These are the workers 

of iniquity who believe in 

corporate success. Next is to 

encourage them to do better and 

more effectively the things you 

assigned. This might be by way 

of providing an enabling 

environment for their better 

performance. Next in order of 

importance is specifying the 

freedom they have to think for 

themselves in relation to the 

assignments. An independent 

thinking mindset helps 

followers to come up with 

ingenious solutions to 

problems, and harness the best 

of them for the organization. 

Next in importance is keeping 

them in focus at the end results 

of their work. It is good to make 

our followers have an eye for the 

finishing line while working. 

This is one of the reasons for 

stating ab-initio to our followers 

the Vision and Mission of the 

organization. The Scripture says 

in Hab. 2:2 that “write the 

vision, and make it plain upon 

tables, that he may run, that 

readeth it”. The reader of the 

vision sees the finishing line and 

work towards it. The next is for 

you to be an efficient manager 

and leader to your members and 

followers, and give them 

assignments that are 

challenging enough to them. 

Also, make them feel well 

informed about what is going 

Christ but they are not 

Christians, hence Jesus does 

not know them, even if they 

have done wonderful works in 

His name – Matthew 7:21-23. 

If believers in Christ must 

be Christians indeed, then they 

must be born again of the 

word of truth, which is the 

gospel of salvation that will 

seal them with the Spirit of 

Christ, as written in Ephesians 

1:13; “In whom ye also 

trusted, after that ye heard the 

word of truth, the gospel of 

your salvation: in whom also 

after that ye believed, ye were 

sealed with that Holy Spirit 

of promise.” That is why all 

believers in Christ must hear 

the word of truth, believe it 

and obey it, that they may be 

saved to become Christians 

indeed, otherwise, they will 

be eternally damned, if they 

do not believe the truth as 

written in 2 Thessalonians 

2:10,12 "And with all 

deceivableness of 

unrighteousness in them 

that perish; because they 

received not the love of the 

truth, that they might be 

saved. That they all might 

be damned who believed 

not the truth, but had 

pleasure 

in 

unrighteousness.” 

The mysteries of the 

kingdom of heaven, given 

by Jesus to the few chosen, 

who are of the truth, make 

up the truth – Matthew 

13:11. But many prophets 

and righteous men who are 

not given to know these 

mysteries, desire to see and 

corporate success. Members must 

therefore motivate themselves and 

respond to the leading of the Holy 

Spirit in their quest to contributing 

to corporate success of an 

organization. 

CONCLUSION 

Motivation is a concept that 

relates more to the followers in an 

to hear them but have not – 

Matthew 13:17. 

Those who go by the broadway, 

the way of the world, that 

leads to destruction, are the 

believers in Christ, and they are 

very many. But those who go by 

the narrow way, the way of truth, 

that leads unto eternal life, are 

the Christians, but they are very 

few – Matthew 7:13-14. The 

righteous nation who keep the 

truth are the Christians, who will 

be allowed to enter through the 

gates into heaven as written in 

Isaiah 26:2, and I quote “Open 

ye the gates, that the righteous 

nation which keepeth the truth 

may enter in.” 

But believers in Christ, who are 

adulterers/adulteresses cannot be 

said to be Christians, because they 

are in friendship with the world 

and they are the enemies of God 

– James 4:4. Therefore, 

Christians are those who practice 

organization, and it is very 

essential for leaders to consider 

the relevance of this in the lives 

of their followers. The leader, on 

the other hand, must possess 

certain charisma and character 

that will influence followers to 

run with him. In the next serial, 

we will consider the leader 

himself in this perspective of 

driving followers towards 

pure religion by keeping 

themselves unspotted from the 

world of ungodly festivities 

and ceremonies - James 1:27. 

As written in John 1:17, the 

grace that brought salvation 

came with the truth. This truth 

teaches Christians, who have 

the Spirit of Christ to deny all 

ungodliness and worldly lusts, 

and to live soberly, godly, and 

righteously in this present 

world – Titus 2:12. 

Christian Gospel Church 

(The Truth Centre), 

4 Christian Gospel 

Avenue, Beside Psychiatric 

Hospital, 

Uselu, Benin City, Edo 

State 

Email:cgc.com.ng@gmail.com 

Telephone: +234(0) 

7 0 5 2 0 6 1 1 3 5 , 

+234(0)9030731406 

W e b s i t e : 

www.thetruthcentre.com 

success. 

•J.K. Akinola. (Senior 

Pastor), The Gospel Faith 

Mission International 

(GOFAMINT), Ibadan, 

Nigeria. 

E m a i l : 

flprofenassociate@gmail.com, 

kolajoshua2003@yahoo.com 

Pastor (Dr). E.O. Abina – 

General Overseer. 

Kumuyi identifies forgiveness as panacea for peace, 

unity 

By Sam Eyoboka 

PASTOR William Kumuyi, 

the General Superintendent 

of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, 

has identified forgiveness as 

panacea for peace and unity in 

the church and society. 

The man of God said even 

though there are offences that can 

leave a deep cut in people’s hearts, 

there is always need for anybody 

who feels offended by actions of 

another person, to take the 

initiative for reconciliation and 

forgiveness. 

Pastor Kumuyi who preached 

during Monday Bible study on the 

topic, “Forgiveness in the 

fellowship of the father’s family”, 

emphasized that people should go 

beyond seeking for forgiveness 

from human to seeking 

forgiveness from God as that is 

the surest path to heaven. 

The Deeper Life founder 

who drew his reading from 

Matthew 18:15-17, urged 

Christians to stay within the 

confine of their fellowship to 

settle any case they have with 

fellow Christians. 

He added that if such a 

believer neglects all entreaties 

initiated for reconciliation, 

such a person should be 

regarded as a publican that 

should be preached to, prayed 

for and even be assisted. 

“You don't need to carry any 

grudge in your heart. As a 

believer, we must come to a 

place of maturity where were 

should forgive without bearing 

grudges against any offender. 

“Personal forgiveness 

cannot take one to heaven until 

such a person is born again.” 

The man of God revealed 

that even though Moses 

forgave the children of Israel 

for their idol worship, they 

needed the forgiveness of God 

to make it to the promised land, 

reason he said God allowed 

only Joshua and Caleb into the 

promised land. 

“As evil and terrorising Saul 

was, David forgave him even 

when he had opportunity to 

kill him. The forgiveness 

David gave was not sufficient 

to take Saul to heaven. He 

needed forgiveness from God. 

“The forgiveness we give as 

human is not enough to take 

backsliders to heaven. 

Anybody who is not free from 

sin cannot set another person 

free. If you bind yourself with 

the chord of animosity you 

cannot pray for anything to 

happen. Lose that chord of 

hatred first then you will have 

the freedom and anything you 

say God will confirm it in 

heaven.” 

Pastor Kumuyi noted that 

reason Christians bind on 

earth but those things the bind 

are not bound in heaven is 

because of sin that is binding 

such Christians . 

“When there is holiness, not 

even Satan can stop whatever 

we bind on earth to be bound 

in heaven. When you stand as 

a real child of God and 

iniquities far from you, 

whatever you agree and 

disagree on earth will be done 

same in heaven. 

“God wants us to clear off 

all sins and when we unite in 

holiness anything we do shall 

be forgiven.” the man of God 

said.

PAGE 22— SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 

It is time for God to 

honour you 

WHEN God created 

the world, He also 

designed and ordered time 

for each occurrence. So, 

every event in this world 

has a time allotted to it to 

happen. The world and its 

natural components did not 

appear at same time but in 

sequences. Heaven and 

earth were first created, 

then came the light, the 

separation of darkness from 

the light, the space and 

water, the bursting forth of 

the land with every sort of 

grass and seed bearing 

plant, the separation of day 

and night vis-à-vis sun and 

moon, the creation of fishes 

and etc. None of these 

events came same time but 

all at its own time. So 

everything in this world has 

to do with time. 

Ecc. 3: 1-4 says, “To every 

thing there is a season, and 

a time to every purpose 

under the heaven: 2 A time 

to be born, and a time to 

die; a time to plant, and a 

time to pluck up that which 

is planted; 3 A time to kill, 

and a time to heal; a time to 

break down, and a time to 

build up” 

There is a time for 

everything. We do strongly 

confess even when we go 

through times of darkness 

that our times of deliverance 

and freedom are in God’s 

hand. He alone knows 

when it is His time to visit 

and honour us. He allocates 

time to each event 

according to how it pleases 

Him. 

Therefore time is an 

integral part of our lives. We 

should always be cautious 

of what the time is, what is 

going to happen at the time, 

what we are expected to do 

and what we are really 

doing at a time. It is very 

important that we should 

know when it is our time 

for a divine honour. More 

importantly now that God 

is moving His time toward 

the final end of history, thus 

there are calamities, 

sorrows and miseries in the 

land of which only those 

honoured by God will 

escape the woes. It is a sign 

that the time allocated to 

rapture is very near. Lots of 

signs have appeared to 

properly inform us that the 

time of the end is here. We 

must not be ignorant of this 

time in order not to miss 

rapture. 

However, as the rapture 

approaches, God want to 

identify and distinguish 

His Children from among 

the people of the world. He 

has at this time decided to 

honour them. God’s 

honour is all that is needed 

to excel in all endeavours 

and be prepared for the 

second coming of our 

Master Jesus Christ. We 

should uphold the fact that, 

the time of God's gracious 

decision to honour us is 

now. I want to let ou know 

that today divine honour 

shall be your portion in 

Jesus name. 

When God honours His 

people, the barren will 

conceive, the lame will walk, 

the blind shall see, the 

captives will be set free, the 

poor will rejoice, the 

contestants of political and 

economic power will 

triumph, the hungry and 

thirsty will be satisfied, the 

sick will be healed, 

deafness and dumbness 

will be cast away, the 

incurable shall be cured, 

etc, and those that lose 

anything in life shall have 

it again with unspeakable 

advantage 

Many people are facing 

different challenges of 

dishonour of failure in their 

endeavours vis-à-vis 

business, health, family 

because they do not 

recognize the fact that there 

is honour that brings good 

health, prosperity, victory 

and progress. I don’t know 

the honour you have and 

yet suffering affliction and 

failure but I want to let you 

know that only God can 

give honour devoid of 

failure. And He has 

decided to honour you 

today and His decision 

cannot be frustrated. He 

has His decision according 

to the counsel of His will, 

and none of the devices of 

His foes can frustrate it. 

Nobody’s decision is 

expected to be carried out 

from age to age because the 

wisdom of one age may be 

the folly of another, but the 

Lord's decision changes 

not. You need not go into 

heaven or hell to know that 

it is God that decides what 

gender one would be from 

conception, what plant 

should grow in every 

given climatic zones and 

species of every animals 

because that could be 

learnt even from the beast. 

Job 12: 7-10 says, “But 

ask now the beasts, and 

they shall teach thee; and 

the fowls of the air, and 

they shall tell thee: 8 Or 

speak to the earth, and it 

shall teach thee: and the 

fishes of the sea shall 

declare unto thee. 9 Who 

knoweth not in all these 

that the hand of the LORD 

hath wrought this? 10 In 

whose hand is the soul of 

every living thing, and the 

breath of all mankind.” 

The vulture lives more 

securely than the dove, the 

lion than the ox, the shark 

than the dolphin, the rose 

•Ogoni choristers ministering during Port Harcourt 2022 crusade at Liberation 

Stadium 

When God 

honours someone 

He makes every 

other person to 

reverence and 

favour him 

than the thorn which tears 

it. That one is rich and the 

other poor is not by fortune 

or chance but the Lord 

orders these things 

according to His measure 

of grace. This is because 

He alone decides what 

happens in all creatures. 

That God allows the 

righteous to transit or the 

wicked to exist does not 

imply weakness on His 

part, and that He allows the 

economic situation or the 

leaders we have on our 

political seats today to 

remain is still to ensure His 

decision comes to fulfiment. 

So in the world, when the 

providence of God by our 

own calculation seems to 

run across His promises, it 

is all according to His 

predetermined intention. If 

one man takes this way, 

another runs that way it is 

all to accomplish the will 

and decision of the 

Almighty God. 

God has no partner, His 

decisions are His own, they 

are formed and 

established in His infinite 

wisdom, and none can 

turn them aside or prevent 

its accomplishment. I 

don’t know what the 

enemy has planned 

against you or the 

remaining weeks of this 

year, neither do I want to 

know the powers behind 

their machination, but 

what I know and is sure 

of, is that none of their 

devices will be fruitful 

except the Lord has 

decided it. If you are on 

the side of God, be 

assured that as the year 

comes to an end He has 

decided to honour and 

makes you a blessing to 

your family and 

generation. Thus you shall 

henceforth have good 

peace, abundant of grace 

and deliverance. It shall 

be well with you. 

Jer 29:11 says, “For I 

know the thoughts that I 

think toward you, saith the 

LORD, thoughts of peace, 

and not of evil, to give you 

an expected end” 

God’s love is steadfast 

toward His chosen people 

and He has decided to 

perform His good word by 

honouring them. When the 

Lord made decision to 

honour us, it is a good sign 

that He is coming toward 

us in mercy. Promises are 

given to quicken and 

encourage us that He 

means well for us. 

I want to assure you that 

as a matter of honouring us, 

all the promises He has 

determined for us this year 

shall come to realization 

and none shall elude us in 

Jesus name. The decision 

to honour us does not 

depend upon our merits, 

but upon His mercy, and 

kind thoughts and 

purposes which He has for 

the Chosen people. 

Assuredly, His hoour will 

make an end to our trouble. 

By this honour God has 

removed your old garment 

of shame in relation to 

disappointment, lack, 

poverty, sickness, affliction, 

barrenness, etc and put 

upon you a new garment 

of honour, wealth, sound 

health, prosperity, 

sanctification and divine 

immunity. So as decided by 

God these shall be your 

portion in Jesus name. 

When God honours 

someone He makes every 

other person to reverence 

and favour him. 

2Co 6:2, “For he saith, I 

have heard thee in a time 

accepted, and in the day of 

salvation have I succoured 

thee: behold, now is the 

accepted time; behold, now 

is the day of salvation.” 

There is a particular time 

wherein God is pleased to 

pour out His blessing of 

mercy. And this is that 

particular time: that time of 

a peculiar blessing. Behold, 

now is that accepted time, 

now is the day of salvation; 

that is, the very time in 

which the mercy of God is 

present to heal, deliver and 

in which every sinner who 

believes in the Lord Jesus 

Christ may be saved. 

•Bro Chigozie received instant healing of 4 yrs 11 months fractured bone during Port Harcourt 

2022 crusade at Liberation Stadium 

•Multitude of recipients of instant deliverance after Pastor's prayers during Port Harcourt 

2022 crusade at Liberation Stadium

God's power to move forward 

ISAIAH 62:1-4 

ovement is God's 

Mdivine purpose for 

man from time of the Bible till 

now, every movement directed 

of God is promotions, 

blessings and lifting. Men of 

vision long for it and it's comes 

to every man not often. 

62 For Zion's sake will I not 

hold my peace, and for 

Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, 

until the righteousness thereof 

go forth as brightness, and the 

salvation thereof as a lamp 

that burneth. 

2 And the Gentiles shall see 

thy righteousness, and all 

kings thy glory: and thou shalt 

be called by a new name, 

which the mouth of the Lord 

shall name. 

3 Thou shalt also be a crown 

of glory in the hand of the Lord, 

and a royal diadem in the 

hand of thy God. 

4 Thou shalt no more be 

termed Forsaken; neither shall 

thy land any more be termed 

Desolate: but thou shalt be 

called Hephzibah, and thy 

land Beulah: for the Lord 

delighteth in thee, and thy land 

shall be married. 

Moving forward with God's 

power means that we walk 

into our Divine purpose, which 

God determined even before 

we were born (Jeremiah 1:5 

KJV). As we strive to move 

forward, the enemy will 

attempt to persuade us that 

change is impossible. Let your 

eyes look directly forward, and 

your gaze be straight before 

you. Jesus said to him, “Get up, 

take up your bed, and walk.” 

If we confess our sins, he is 

faithful and just to forgive us 

our sins and to cleanse us from 

all unrighteousness. . 1.You 

must dream in line with the 

By Rev. Amos Ogundare 

The Deliverer 

commissioned (Exodus 

3:7-10). 

N our last issue, we saw 

I 

that adequate 

preparation must precede 

emergence, as underscored by 

the lives of Moses, David, 

Joseph, John and Our Lord 

Jesus Christ. 

In today’s edition, we want 

to take a look at what follows 

preparation. If you said 

manifestation, you are 

correct! 

Moses after his failed 

attempt at securing freedom 

through willpower, combat, 

conflict resolution and the 

subsequent status of a fugitive 

was humbly tending the 

flocks of Jethro his father-inlaw. 

He didn’t know that was 

the crucible for his making 

into a generational leader. 

Whatever you are passing 

through today, God may be 

using it to prepare you for 

years to come. While Moses 

kept at this business of flock 

tending that God called and 

commissioned him. Ages 

later the same, the same feats 

were repeated. Peter was 

called from fishing (Luke 5:4- 

10), Elisha from 

plowing(1kings 19:19-20) 

and Amos from sheepbreeding 

and tending of 

sycamore(Amos 7:14-15). It 

is amazing how so many lazy 

and inexperienced 

• Rev. Sam Ibanga 

word of God. Speak those 

things that God has shown you. 

Isa 40:31, Hab 2:1 

"I will stand my watch And 

set myself on the rampart, And 

watch to see what He will say 

to me, And what I will answer 

when I am corrected." 

2. Bold action. Gen 12:1 

Every instruction is risk laden. 

When God gives you an 

instruction, obey. Luke 5. Matt 

16:24 

When it comes to yielding to 

the will of God for your life, 

there is an element risk to it. 

Then Jesus said to His 

disciples, “If anyone desires to 

come after Me, let him deny 

himself, and take up his cross, 

and follow Me. 

3. Declare the future you see. 

Mark 11:23, Rom 4:17. Speak 

in line with the written and 

revealed word of God for your 

life. 2 Cor 4:13, Prov 18:21. 

Create the future you desire 

with the words of your mouth. 

Heb 13:6, 2 Cor 4:6 

"And since we have the same 

spirit of faith, according to 

what is written, “I believed and 

therefore I spoke,”[a] we also 

believe and therefore speak" 

4. Restlessness. Don't get 

comfortable with where you 

are. 1 Chronicles 4:9,10. God 

has a better place in store for 

you. 

And Jabez called on the 

The making of a leader (3) 

Hand versus hand 

By Snr Pastor 

Johnmark Ighosotu 

W EDNESDAY 

November 9th 2022 

is a service the entire church of 

God's Delight Gospel Assembly 

aka Free Indeed will keep in their 

hearts and in their spirits when 

The Senior Pastor preached a 

warfare message titled. THE 

BOUND HAND. 

Reading from John 11:44 and 

Genesis 2: 21 -30, he explained 

that when you have a "bound" 

hand, you begin to live an empty 

life and you cannot fulfill your 

destiny because there is a spiritual 

napkin covering you, also you 

•Rev. Amos Ogundare 

individuals lay claim to a call 

from the same God. 

Moses’ Response to the call 

Moses who has been 

humbled, was at the backside 

of the desert tending the flocks. 

And God called out to him 

and commissioned him with 

the following words: 

…God called to him from 

the midst of the bush and said, 

“Moses, Moses!” And he said, 

“Here I am”…I am the God 

of your father – the God of 

Abraham, the God of Isaac, 

and the God of Jacob.” And 

Moses hid his face for he was 

afraid to look upon God. 

And the Lord said: I have 

surely seen the oppression of 

My people who are in Egypt 

and have heard their cry 

because of their taskmasters, 

for I know their sorrows. So I 

have come down to deliver 

them out of the hand of the 

Egyptians and to bring them 

up from that land to a good 

and large land, to a land 

flowing with milk and 

•Snr. Pastor Ighosotu 

about with empty hands and life 

begins to trouble you. 

Reading further to Genesis 

21;30, he explained the "wild 

man" as the family tyrant who 

does not want to see any progress, 

peace and joy in the family. 

The "hand" is a symbol of 

business, labour, fruitfulness, 

hardwork, connection and 

God of Israel saying, “Oh, that 

You would bless me indeed, 

and enlarge my territory, that 

Your hand would be with me, 

and that You would keep me 

from evil, that I may not cause 

pain!” So God granted him 

what he requested. 

5. Forgetting the past. 

Celebrate your victories but 

don't settle where you are. Phil 

3:13,14. 

"Brethren, I do not count 

myself to have apprehended; 

but one thing I do, forgetting 

those things which are behind 

and reaching forward to those 

things which are ahead, I press 

toward the goal for the prize 

of the upward call of God in 

Christ Jesus." 

6. Embrace change. There 

are new ways to do things. Prov 

4:7, Isia 49:2 

Wisdom is the principal 

thing; 

Therefore get wisdom. 

And in all your getting, get 

understanding. 

7. Build capacity. Take the 

initiative to expand knowledge 

and develop skills needed for 

your next level. You also need 

to build spiritual capacity. 1 

Tim 4:14, 2 Tim 1:6. 

"Do not neglect the gift that 

is in you, which was given to 

you by prophecy with the 

laying on of the hands of the 

eldership." Therefore I remind 

you to stir up the gift of God 

which is in you through the 

laying on of my hands." 

There are relationships that 

take us to the next level. There 

are friends that will take us to 

the next level. May God direct 

our path and lead us to the next 

level AMEN. 

REV SAM IBANGA 

For Prayers & Concealing 

WhatsApp 08121917447 

Call 08035066039 

honey… come now, therefore, 

and I will send you to Pharoah 

that you may bring My 

people, the Children of Israel, 

out of Egypt.” Exodus 

3:4,6,7,8,10. 

Moses’ first response was 

“Who am I that I should go to 

Pharoah and that I should 

bring the Children of Israel 

out of Egypt?” 

The memory of what 

happened in Egypt which was 

why he, Moses was in a 

strange land tending flock 

was still fresh. He has 

attempted this same feat and 

failed woefully. The fear of 

being caught by Pharoah 

made him exile himself and 

here is God asking him to go 

face the same Pharoah? 

Hence, promptly backed up 

his argument with all the odds 

against his succeeding. He 

listed any and everything that 

may cause God to look in a 

different direction other than 

him. But God need not that 

any should tell him about 

men for He himself knows all 

men. Moses hasn’t learnt that 

when God chooses a leader, 

He equips him and brings 

others alongside the leader to 

compensate for his 

weaknesses. God brought 

Aaron as spokesman, Joshua 

as a general and Hur as a 

battle supporter. 

•Assemblies of God 

Rev. Amos O. Ogundare 

Assemblies of God Church 

Itire 1, Email: 

ogundareamos5@gmail.com 

breakthrough saying that life 

itself is a mystery but when Grace 

helps you , every bound hand 

becomes loosed. 

He led the church in powerful set 

of prayers and decrees that wherever 

any hand has been bound, the seal 

is removed in Jesus name, also that 

every negative handwriting 

affecting hand is hereby wiped out 

in the name of Jesus. 

Everyone prayed deeply and 

earnestly and it could be seen that 

the strength and hopes of all 

members and viewers were lifted 

up. 

•God's Delight Gospel 

Assembly (aka Free Indeed)it 

14, Peter Doro Street, Igbogidi, 

Udu, Delta State. 08134489029, 

08039350156 


Jesus paid it all and sets humanity free(3) 

JOHN 

1 

3 : 14 

4 And as Moses lifted up 

the serpent in the 

wilderness, even so must the 

Son of man be lifted up: 

Jesus died and rose again. 

Jesus Christ has been lifted up 

to heaven, Satan dominion 

over our lives is over, He is no 

more master of humanity. We 

are free from his bondage and 

captivity. 

COLOSSIANS 2 : 13-15 

13 And you, being dead in 

your trespasses and the 

uncircumcision of your flesh, 

He has made alive together 

with Him, having forgiven 

you all trespasses, 

14 having wiped out the 

[a]handwriting of 

requirements that was against 

us, which was contrary to us. 

And He has taken it out of the 

way, having nailed it to the 

cross. 

15 Having disarmed 

principalities and powers, He 

made a public spectacle of 

them, triumphing over them 

in it. 

HEB 2 : 14-15 

•Rev. Pastor Louis Oku 

14 Forasmuch then as the 

children are partakers of flesh 

and blood, he also himself 

likewise took part of the same; 

that through death he might 

destroy him that had the 

power of death, that is, the 

devil; 

15 And deliver them who 

through fear of death were all 

their lifetime subject to 

bondage. 

COLOSSIANS 1 : 13 

13 Who hath delivered us 

from the power of darkness, 

and hath translated us into the 

kingdom of his dear Son: 

Listen what Jesus said in 

John 3 : 15 

15 That whosoever believeth 

in him should not perish, but 

have eternal life. 

You don’t need to die, you 

will live because Jesus rose 

again from the dead so that 

sickness will not kill you 

because Jesus is lifted up, you 

will not be killed by armed 

robbers, kidnappers, assassins 

or wicked people because 

Jesus Christ is lifted up. 

Your marriage will not 

scatter because Jesus Christ is 

lifted up. You will not end the 

year in shame because Jesus 

Christ is lifted up, believe this 

and have peace. That is the 

reason I am praying for 

people in the church every 

Thursday by 6:30 PM and 

Sundays by 8AM in this month 

of November, 2022. See you 

in one of these days and time. 

I will continue the next 

episode of this message next 

Sunday. 

GOD BLESS YOU AMEN. 

•Liberty Gospel Church 

13 Ilamoye Street, Ijesha, 

Surulere, Lagos 

08033733877 

10th Convocation: Catholic university 

produces 381 graduates, post graduates 

By Chinedu Adonu 

No fewer than 381 

students of Godfrey 

Okoye University, GOUNI, a 

Catholic University in Enugu 

State, yesterday, were 

conferred with various 

degrees during the 10th 

convocation ceremony of the 

institution. 

The Vice Chancellor of the 

University, Prof Christian 

Anieke, who made this known 

during the convocation 

ceremony at the University’s 

permanent site in Ugwuomu 

community, expressed 

satisfaction over the 

graduation of its first set of law 

graduates. 

He said 335 first degrees and 

46 post graduate degrees were 

awarded. 

While nine graduands 

bagged first class honours, 

147 made second class upper 

division while 146 got second 

lower class. 32 made third 

class. 

Miss Emaka Adaobi 

Priscilla with registration 

number, U18/NAS/MCB/242, 

emerged the overall best 

graduating student. 

Speaking further, Anieke 

said the management would 

use the 10th convocation 

ceremony to examine the 

University’s uniqueness 

which is coined on 

connectivity. 

He, however, declared that 

the University had gotten the 

approval of National 

University Commission, 

NUC, to commence medical 

programme. 

“Parts of what makes this 

Indigenes of Ikwo Local 

Government Area in 

Ebonyi State, resident in 

Lagos will hold their annual 

end of the year party, 

popularly known as Ikwo 

Day, today . 

According to a statement by 

the Chairman, Ikwo 

Development Union, Lagos 

Branch, Chief Emmanuel 

Nwafor, the event themed 

Cultural Festival / Carnival, 

holds at Ebonyi House, 19 

Mobolaji Bank Anthony 

Way, Ikeja Lagos, under the 

year’s convocation 

memorable is that our 

University has produced the 

first set of graduates from our 

highly reputable law faculty. I 

have no doubt that we have 

given our country a crop of 

brilliant, focused, innovative 

and God-fearing lawyers, who 

will certainly call the shots in 

the legal field in their 

generation. 

Ebonyi indigenes in Lagos mark Ikwo 

Day 

Chairmanship of Prince 

Okechukwu Nwakpu, 

begining from 12 noon. 

Dignitaries expected to 

grace the occasion include, 

Former Governor Martin 

Elechi, Ebonyi State 

Deputy Governor, Dr. Eric 

Igwe, Speaker Ebonyi 

State House of Assembly, 

Hon. Ogbonna Nwifuru, 

member representing Ezza 

South / Ikwo Federal 

Constituency, Hon. 

Chinedu Oga, OON, 

President, Orient Group, Dr. 

Ifeanyi Odii, among others. 

•From left: Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria; Mohammad 

Mahmood Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; Zainab Ahmed, 

Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning; Moji Makanjuola, journalist and 

Broadcaster; Shubham Chaudhuri, Country Director, World Bank, at the maiden Gender and 

Inclusion Summit 2022 organised by the Policy Innovation Centre in Abuja 

•From left: Director, Legal Department,PPP office, Mrs Tutu Akintola; Special Adviser to the 

Governor on PPP, Mr Ope George; Chairman, House committee on PPP, Hon Lukmon 

Olumoh; Director, Investment and Strategy Department, Mr Juwon Akinyemi, at the 

Interactive session with PPP House Committee in Lagos.


It pays to take time to be a merry widow! 

“Less than a year after my brother-in-law’s 

death, I rang my sister, 

Beverly and was surprised to hear 

her giggling down the line”, said 

Tope, herself widowed at age 48. 

“When I asked what was going on, 

she told me she had a ‘gentleman 

visitor’. This was around 11a.m., 

so I told her I’d call back in the 

afternoon. When I did do, the girlish 

coyness continued. 

‘He’s staying for lunch’, she whispered 

excitedly. So I called back at 

9p.m. ‘He’s staying for dinner’, she 

said. 

“She later confessed the man 

didn’t leave until well after midnight. 

Two months down the line, 

he’d moved in with her! Their relationship 

lasted almost ten years 

until her death at age 70. Many 

children dislike their newly bereaved 

parents finding new love. 

Beverly, my sister, was like another 

figure for me. I became very close 

to her when we lost our mother and 

I knew Bev had found being alone 

very hard. So, I was pleased to hear 

her sounding so upbeat. Sadly, her 

new relationship soon became less 

idyllic – but rather than leave a man 

who turned out to be a charmless 

bully, she stayed with him. Desperately 

afraid of being alone again. 

“Sadly, a lot of single women are 

prepared to ‘settle for less’ because 

it beats being alone – the stigma of 

being single is very powerful, especially 

in later years. I do not condemn 

my sister’s decision, particularly 

as her generation believed 

there was a shame in not having a 

man. Also, her house was twice broken 

into after she was widowed, 

making her fear of being alone even 

more understandable. But I think 

it’s a pity she didn’t take time to 

grieve, push through the difficulties 

and learn the ultimate happiness 

and liberation of being truly 

self-sufficient. I speak from experience 

because I too was widowed 

in the same year as my sister! 

“Although I found myself dating 

and, subsequently in a short-lived 

relationship, I soon realised it is far 

lonelier to be in a destructive relationship 

than to be single. One of 

the difficulties for my sister was that 

her husband, for all his faults, had 

been such a lovably eccentric and 

sociable character. I couldn’t help 

but compare her new man unfavourably 

with him. Bev and her 

husband were married for over 30 

years and she was treated like a 

princess. Her husband died of a 

heart attack at 72 and shortly after 

mine was diagnosed with pancreatic 

cancer. Sadly, he had to endure 

an unimaginable painful end. 

“I too felt desolate. I couldn’t eat 

or sleep as I mourned as much for 

my lost future as for the man with 

whom I’d shared my life for 23 

years. Of course, I empathised with 

my sister’s loneliness and bewilderment 

at suddenly having to manage 

a house and finances all by 

herself. I too felt the same. But 

because of my relative youth and 

the fact that I had a career and other 

interests, I was never as desperate 

to find a replacement man. It 

was about six months after my husband’s 

death that Bev found her 

‘wonder’ man. I only discovered 

he’d moved in with her after my 

daughter went to spend some time 

with her. ‘Guess what?’ she said after 

her return, ‘there’s a man living 

with aunty Bev...’ 

“At first, I didn’t believe her. It 

seemed so quick. How could she 

go through the grieving process 

properly with another man sitting 

CBN convenes global stakeholders 

to accelerate financial inclusion 

The Central Bank of Nigeria 

under the auspices of the National 

Financial Inclusion Steering 

Committee has concluded 

plans to host its maiden International 

Financial Inclusion Conference 

in Abuja. 

The event themed “Financial 

Inclusion for all: Scaling Innovative 

Digital Models”, would hold 

on November 24 and 25h 2022. 

Speaking, CBN Governor and 

Chairman of the National Financial 

Inclusion Steering Committee, 

Godwin Emefiele said, “The conference 

presents a unique opportunity 

to showcase our financial inclusion 

journey, particularly the innovative 

use cases that continue to 

emerge within the dynamic payments 

and financial system in the 

country. These will be important as 

we work to ensure 95% of Nigerians 

are financially included by 

2024. 

His words: “The conference also 

creates a platform to spotlight other 

countries' experiences, the role 

of policy innovation, digital technology 

and out- of-the-box approaches 

in tackling exclusion in 

underserved segments, and the 

strategic importance of publicprivate 

partnerships to promote 

digital financial services and economic 

sustainability.” 

The International Financial Inclusion 

Conference 2022 therefore, 

brings together delegates, experts 

and speakers across the world to 

examine the opportunities, identifying 

concrete solutions and interventions 

that would ensure achievement 

of the nation’s financial inclusion 

objectives. 

Distinguished personalities expected 

at the conference include 

President Muhammad’s Buhari, 

Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the 

Government of the Federation, Prof 

Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications 

and Digital Economy 

amongst others. 

Policymakers to deliver keynotes 

include Mrs Elsie Addo- 

Awadzi, Deputy Governor, Bank 

of Ghana, Ambassador Chad; 

Blackman, Special Adviser to the 

President; International Labour 

Organization (ILO), Dr Alfred 

Hannig, Executive Director, Alliance 

for Financial Inclusion (AFI) 

and Mrs Aishah. N Ahmad, CFA, 

Deputy Governor, Central Bank 

of Nigeria, amongst others. Other 

speakers include Mr 

Herbert Wigwe, Group CEO Access 

Holdco Plc, Ms Anna Wallace, 

Senior Programme 

Office, Bill and Melinda Gates 

Foundation, Ms Inez Murray, CEO 

Financial Alliance for Women, Ms 

Gail Makenete, fmr Deputy Governor 

Central Bank of Lesotho & 

Chair Expert Leaders Group of the 

Graca Machel Trust, Mr Mike 

Ogbalu III, CEO PAPSS and Professor 

Olayinka David-West, As 

in her dead husband’s chair, eating 

the same meals she’d cooked for 

him? I met him weeks later only 

for my concern to be intensified. He 

was rugged and well-preserved, but 

had this faintly menacing demeanour. 

Far from being goodnatured 

like her husband, Jide 

(that’s his name) looked slightly 

threatening – like he’d stepped out 

of a Nollywood casting for a gangster 

film! Bev on the other hand, 

was all smiles – she was obviously 

relishing the attentions of a presentable 

man, so I didn’t want to spoil 

her happiness. 

“Within a few months, I noticed a 

different atmosphere in my sister’s 

house. She was a wonderful cook 

and was never happier than when 

entertaining her children, grandchildren 

and her siblings’ offspring 

– but Jide objected to this. ‘Your 

mother’s been on her feet all day!’, 

he’d say accusingly, implying rather 

obviously that perhaps we 

shouldn’t visit them at all. In time 

Bev was always moaning that Jide 

had threatened to leave or had bullied 

her in some way or the other. It 

pained me to see her manipulated 

in this way and I found myself advising 

her to kick him out. Though 

she sometimes agreed with me, she 

never found the strength to see it 

through. ‘Jide drives me around everywhere’, 

was her main excuse. 

Other times, she’d say: ‘It’s better 

than being on my own’. 

“She stayed in his abusive relationship 

for ten years when she suffered 

a fall. Jide had always been 

good at playing chauffeur – her was 

very proud of his car, the only price 

possession he brought to the relationship 

and he’s been helpful taking 

her to doctors’ appointments toward 

the end of her life. But had she 

enjoyed the tenderness of real love, 

with him? I don’t think so. When 

I’d asked her whether she really 

loved him, she’d said: ‘It’s different 

at my age – it’s not so much about 

love’. 

“The real clue to her feelings was 

the fact that she didn’t leave Jide 

anything, not even a memento in 

her will. Bev’s three children however 

gave him a few photographs 

and a modest cheque to tide him 

over until he met another sucker, but 

he sent them back with a nasty letter. 

'I cannot pretend living alone 

is absolutely wonderful – it would 

be nice to have someone with 

whom to share life’s pleasures – but 

it is far better than being constrained 

by a damaging relationship 

as my poor sister was – whatever 

the fears that kept her chained 

to it'”. 

Sweet Revenge! (Humour) 

A husband and wife are getting 

all snugly in bed. The passion is 

heating up. But then the wife stops 

and says; “I don’t feel like it. I just 

want you to hold me”. The husband 

says “WHAT???” The wife 

explains that he must not be in tune 

with her emotional needs as a 

woman. The husband realises that 

nothing is going to happen tonight 

and he might as well deal with it. 

So the next day the husband takes 

her shopping at a big department 

store. He walks around and had 

her try on three very expensive outfits. 

And then tells his wife. “We’ll 

take three of them”. Then he goes 

over and gets matching shoes 

worth N100,000 each. And then 

goes to the jewellery department 

and gets a set of diamond earrings. 

The wife is so excited (she thinks 

her husband has flipped out, but 

she doesn’t care). She goes for the 

tennis bracelet. The husband says, 

“but she doesn’t even play tennis, 

but OK if you like it, then let’s get 

it” 

Ṫhe wife is jumping up and 

down. So excited she cannot even 

believe what is going on. She says, 

“I’m ready to go, let’s go to the cash 

register”. The husband says, “nono-no, 

honey we’re not going to buy 

all this stuff”. The wife’s face goes 

blank. “No honey – I just want you 

to HOLD this stuff for a while”. Her 

face gets really hot she’s about to 

explode and then the husband says, 

“you must not be in tune with my 

financial needs as a MAN!!!” 

400 receive lRDC scholarship in Ondo oil communities 

• 8 communities get water surviving equipment 

By Dayo Johnson, Akure 

No fewer than 400 indigent stu 

dents, in the oil rich Ilaje 

council area of Ondo state, have 

benefitted in the 2021/ 2022 annual 

scholarship scheme , courtesy 

of the llaje Rural Development 

Advocacy Committee (IRDC). 

Its chairman, Adeyemi Abiye, said 

this during the distribution of water 

surviving equipment to eight communities 

in Ilaje local government. 

The eight GMoU communities 

include, Àwóy¹, MÍÌlút¹Ìyìn, 

Gbàgíra, Méècè, Jìnrìnwò, 

Òpóàkàbà, Akínsolú and Odòfádò. 

Items donated were 19 boats, 2 

NOS passport, 2 Yamaha outboat 

engines and fishing equipment. 

The donation was sponsored by 

NNPC/Chevron Joint ventures. 

Abiye, said that the association 

had commenced the fund disbursement 

of Ilaje RDC annual Initiative 

Scholarship Scheme for the 

year 2021/2022 for 400 beneficiaries. 

From left: Lilian Elue, Brand Manager, Peak Milk; Hanatu 

Agasa, Nutritionist; Nicholas Udeh, Chef; Omolara Banjoko, 

Marketing Manager, Peak Milk at the Peak Milk Breakfast Café 

activation in Onitsha Market, Anambra State. 

He noted that the gesture was to 

ensure that the oil producing communities 

in Ondo state benefit from 

Chevron and urged residents of the 

communities to continue to cooperate 

with Chevron. 

Highlighting its achievements 

in the last one year, Abiye said that 

these include free medical programme 

for the aged, pregnant 

women and children for 3 quarters 

at N7,500,000.00, each quarter for 

the year 2022. 

Others include quick impact 

projects, such as Safety Training, 

Procurement and distribution of 

PPE’s and Water Surviving Equipment 

for Ilaje RDC GMOU Communities’ 

Fishermen, Units/Sets of 

151 Rechargeable Public Address 

System with 2 Wireless Microphones 

among others. 

He thanked the state government 

Peak milk takes breakfast café to Onitsha, 

P-Harcourt 

for its support and Olugbo of Ugbo 

Kingdom; His Imperial Majesty, 

Oba Enitan Akinruntan for helping 

in creating peaceful and enabling 

environment for the multinational 

operating in Ugbo Kingdom 

including Chevron to operate. 

The baale of Akinsolu community, 

Chief Ayenumuro, urged the association 

to do more to supply the 

same HP engine to the rest of the 6 

communities that are under the 

umbrella of Ilaje RDC, to avoid 

unnecessary misunderstanding. 

The Pioneer Chairman of the 

committee, Prince Philemon 

Ebíéèsùà, urged the communities 

to make judicial use of the items 

and urged government to join 

hands with private bodies to contribute 

to the development of the 

oil producing communities. 

Leading dairy brand and flag 

ship product of 

FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Peak 

Milk has taken its latest campaign 

promoting healthy eating habits, 

quality dairy nutrition, and reviving 

the declining breakfast culture 

among Nigerians, ‘Peak Breakfast 

Café’, to the South-East and South- 

South cities of Onitsha and Port Harcourt. 

The ‘Peak Breakfast Café’ is a nationwide 

educational and fun campaign 

that began in Lagos in September 

and also took place in several 

popular markets and supermarkets 

across other Nigerian cities. 

Like it did in other cities across the 

country, the Peak Brand team served 

free nutritious breakfasts for two days 

at the popular POWA Relief Market 

in Onitsha, Anambra State with 

multiple award-winning Nollywood 

actress, Queen Nwokoye in attendance. 

Alongside other professionals, 

including nutritionists and a 

Chef, the Team also enlightened the 

people on how to get protein-rich 

breakfasts and test their protein levels 

while gifting them nutritious 

dairy products from Peak. 

The Brand Team also served free 

breakfasts for two days at two markets 

in Port Harcourt, namely: Mile 

3 Market, and NEXT Cash ‘N’ Carry 

Ṡenior Brand Manager, Peak 

Milk, Moninnuola Kassim said 

that the Peak Breakfast Café seeks 

to enlighten ordinary Nigerians 

about the importance of having 

nutritious #PeakBreakfast. 

“Due to a busy schedule, the temptation 

among many Nigerians 

would be to skip breakfast, but this 

should be avoided because personal 

well-being, mental alertness, and 

sustained energy levels throughout 

the day is very crucial,” Kassim explained.”


FALLOUT OF KADUNA PARLEY: 

Northern leaders to monitor Atiku, 

Tinubu, Peter Obi, Kwankwaso 

campaigns, scrutinize manifestoes 

— Hakeem Baba Ahmed 

• Tells Igbo: Stop lamenting insecurity, ask Peter Obi, 

others for plans for S/East 

• Stresses issue of trust, wants other regional groups to 

join in pressing candidates on specifics 

of programmes 

By Kennedy Mbele 

Hakeem Baba Ahmed is the spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum 

(NEF), one of the six groups that hosted five presidential candidates in 

Kaduna recently during which the candidates made presentations on their plans 

for the North and Nigeria ahead of the 2023 elections. The candidates include Asiwaju 

Bola Ahmed Tinubu (All Progressives Congress, APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP) and Mr. Peter Obi (Labour Party, LP). In this interview, Hakeem 

Baba Ahmed speaks on the Kaduna parley and the aftermath. Excerpts: 

Give us an understanding of what 

happened concerning your decision to 

invite the presidential candidates of 

political parties to the Kaduna parley? 

We invited six candidates, five turned 

up and exercised the privilege to address 

the North and the nation and, from their 

presentations, it was a great outing 

because you hardly get this kind of a 

platform. Secondly it wasn’t intended to 

be a decision-making platform. It was 

meant to provide the candidates an 

opportunity to engage the North and 

Nigeria directly on what they want to do 

about problems that are peculiar to the 

North and the nation in general and how 

they intend to tackle them, and then to 

get a feedback in terms of what they have 

for us as elders and other stakeholders in 

the North, what represents challenges that 

should be taken up by the next President. 

So, from our perspective, it was a 

tremendously successful exercise. 

What came up predominantly to you 

from that engagement? Was there 

anything that was surprising to you from 

the presentations of the five that 

turned up? 

The fact that they accepted to come at 

all, that was… 

Who did you think was 

not going to come? 

We thought everybody 

would come. We 

expected everybody. 

So you 

were not 

surprised 

that the five 

turned up? 

Hmmm, no. 

What is surprising 

about it is that in 

this age when there 

is a lot of divisiveness, 

suspicion, people saying 

“this is ours”, this is not ours”, 

a group from the North, six 

groups from the North, one part 

of the country which 

has a stake in 

terms of who 

becomes Mr. 

President, came 

together and said, 

“Why don’t we call 

at least the 

frontrunners to Arewa House in Kaduna 

and put them through a process that says 

‘tell us what you will do for the North’”. 

And they all came except Senator 

Kwankwaso. Five of them came. Let me 

remind you because this is something you 

What we did was simply to 

focus their attention on 

issues and then put them 

before cameras and tell 

Nigerians, “Look at them 

and look at what they are 

saying, look at what they 

promise and make a 

judgment” 

already know. This is a highly, intensely 

politicized environment. People suspect 

everything. I was listening to a program 

which featured Kingsley Moghalu and 

some of the issues raised there are 

pertinent to me. There is a very 

little faith in all (our) 

processes and there is a very 

little trust which is why 

President Buhari is going 

to find it very difficult to 

manage this transition in 

the redesigning of the 

national currency. 

Politicians are even 

more sensitive to this. 

Imagine what it 

means for a group 

of six of northern 

groups to say to 

four southern 

candidates and 

two from the 

North, “Why 

don’t you 

come over 

and tell 

northerners what you will do for them?” 

The meeting was for the interest 

of the North. Who perhaps among 

the presidential candidates did a 

better job from the position of 

leaders of the North on 

this? 

I should let you know, 

before they came, we had 

sent them 10 issues in 

form of questions or 

propositions, “What 

will you do about these: 

Insecurity, poverty 

level and education?” 

The current things we 

believe represent the 

core concerns of the 

North. All of them, in 

one way or the other, 

addressed them, 

alongside other issues. 

For me, I would say that all 

of them considered the issues 

we raised very seriously and 

they paid adequate attention to 

them. 

What do you think the 

presentations, now that you have 

listened to the candidates, portend? 

Do you think that Nigerians are 

being presented with the best 

candidates that are available? 

I am afraid that question is a little bit 

hasty now. What is available is the 

candidate. That’s the truth. We have 18 

•Hakeem Baba Ahmed 

Nigerians who are being put out by their 

parties and we have to choose one of 

them. To answer your question directly, I 

don’t think so. But, we have a democratic 

process that is broken. You have to 

understand this. Substantially, the 

candidates that are contesting are people 

who fought to be where they are today. 

Whether we like it or not, they have spent 

anything between hundreds of millions 

and hundreds of billions. The amount of 

money you have determines the quality 

of your leadership. 

So money is going to play a major 

role in this election? 

Absolutely! It will even play a bigger 

role in the election. 

Is there anything that can be done 

to stop that? 

Yes. What we did in Kaduna can be 

sustained in different ways. You can 

actually take away the money as much as 

it is possible to do and try and see if you 

can present to Nigerians, more or less, a 

clearer picture of the candidates. This is 

what they represent, this is what they look 

like, these are their thinking processes and 

perhaps add a question like, are they 

thinking through some of the issues like 

we asked them in Kaduna? “Why do you 

want to be President after President 

Buhari?” “Is it to fulfill your personal 

ambition?” “Is it because you have the 

money to contest?” Is it that you want to 

rescue the country and if you want to do 

that, how are you going to do it?” 

The personalities of some of these 

people, in the minds of many Nigerians, 

play a major role in who becomes 

President… 

I hope so. They should. When it becomes 

impossible to distinguish in terms 

of…these are hugely experienced people. 

Atiku Abubakar was Vice President, Bola 

Tinubu was governor for eight years, 

Peter Obi was governor for eight years, 

Senator Kwankwaso was governor for 

eight years, etc. These are hugely 

experienced people in terms of 

management of people. They are also 

people with enough money which enabled 

them to get to where they are now as 

candidates. So, the personalities should 

be scrutinized, absolutely… 

They are already scrutinizing 

themselves… 

Yes. It was interesting watching them 

speak and throw banters at each other but 

that was not what we were there for. Ours 

was a very serious business but politicians 

will always do this. What we did was 

simply to focus their attention on issues 

and then to put them before cameras and 

tell Nigerians, “Look at them and look at 

what they are saying, look at what they 

promise and make a judgment”. 

Peter Obi talked about purposeful 

government saddled with issues such as 

security, unity, economy, education, etc. 

He then asked Nigerians who should be 

trusted among the candidates. What is 

your take? 

Yes. This is quite interesting and this 

brings us to a point where Peter Obi was 

trying to answer one question we sent to 

all of them: Why should we trust you? Why 

do you think you are the best candidate? 

In that meeting, each of them had 30 

minutes presentation first. 

And then the question and answer 

session… 

All of them had 10 questions in advance. 

Two weeks to study the questions and set 

up teams to prepare responses. One of the 

questions we sent to each of them in 

advance was, “Tell us why we should trust 

you, why should the North trust 

you, not because you are 

wealthy, what is it that 

makes you, and not 

any of these other 

17 candidates, 

more deserving of 

our trust?” 

What are 

those things 

t h a t 

Northern 

Nigerians 

s h o u l d 

e x p e c t 

towards 

the 2023 

polls? 

If you 

listened to 

these 

three in 

particular 

(Tinubu, Atiku and Peter Obi), they were 

talking in general terms, but everybody 

will say you have to address the poverty 

in the North, everybody will say you have 

to address insecurity, everybody will say 

the North cannot continue like this, but 

what we were looking at was specificity. 

What we agreed after the engagement is 

that we are going to follow these 

candidates to the campaign, take their 

manifestoes and go through them very 

meticulously and, this is very important, 

I hope that other parts of the country will 

find a way of keying into this; if it can be 

replicated in other ways, it should be done. 

We need to press these candidates to be 

more specific in terms of what they want 

to do. Everybody is talking about security. 

I can see that five South-East governors 

are lamenting the spate of insecurity in 

their region. Challenge these people, 

including Peter Obi, to tell you what they 

want to do about South-East? Whatever 

happens about Nnamdi Kanu, whatever 

you do, you are going to end up with a 

major security problem in your hands. 

What happens for instance if President 

Buhari’s attempt to redesign the naira 

ends up in a fiasco and you end up in a 

situation where you now have to address 

the fundamentals in fiscal and monetary? 

Nigerians really need to press our 

candidates; we need to find out who 

among these people should be trusted? 

• Interview first aired on Channels 

TV Politics Today


Soludo’s sour grapes 

In one of the most debated 

statements in the Holy 

Writ, the Roman Governor of 

Palestine, Pontius Pilate asks 

the Nazarene Rabbi, Yeshua, 

brought before him for trial, 

“Qui Est Veritas?” So, What 

is Truth? It is a very 

complicated question, 

because the truth is like light 

passing. 

As it passes, you might see 

a shade of gray, or you might 

see gray itself. It is 

complicated. And this was 

precisely what Dr. Charles 

Soludo, former Professor of 

Economics at the University 

of Nigeria; former Federal 

Economic Adviser; former 

Governor of the Central 

Bank of Nigeria, and current 

Governor of Anambra State 

could not fathom when he 

wrote that long rambling 

treatise on Peter Obi last week. 

It all began when he came on 

air for an interview on 

Channels TV, and he was 

asked about the state of the 

investments purportedly 

made by Mr. Obi, who is 

running on the Labour Party 

ticket, and who has made 

capital about his prudence 

while he was in office in 

Anambra State as governor. 

He not only saved N75 

billion in cash for Anambra 

State, he made investments 

for the state from which it 

presumably still benefits. 

This question by the 

Chanel’s TV Anchor elicited 

a chuckle from Soludo, who 

categorically dismissed 

such claims. In his precise 

words, whatever 

investments made by Obi as 

governor was currently 

“worth next to nothing.” 

Yo! That was a crushing 

blow. It was clearly, 

carefully aimed directly at 

the solar plexus of Peter 

Obi’s cardinal claim, on 

which he has anchored his 

electability – his capacity, 

competence, and all what 

not. 

If Obi’s investment are 

now worth “next to 

nothing,” then it must mean 

that no one can “verify” the 

basis of his campaign’s 

thrust. His prudence. His 

integrity. His visionary 

impulse. His signature. That 

thing that makes him very 

attractive to a new 

generation of Nigerian 

voters who are searching for 

alternatives, and who are 

investing almost pagan 

hope on him. It was not long 

before the “Obidients” – those 

convinced, Internet savvy 

phalanx of Peter Obi’s 

supporters took on Dr. 

Soludo, and began to 

interrogate, and counter him 

with their own facts, which, 

they had, well, “verified.” 

The rustle grew to a din, 

and Dr. Soludo would have 

none of it. In what can now 

only be described as an excess 

of bile, he fired off a long 

treatise, in a way only a 

Professor could – long, 

coruscating, footnoted – and 

frankly tedious essay that 

took on Peter Obi. It was a 

shocking display. And 

Soludo might be ruing his 

decision to write this publicly, 

although he did claim he was 

not averse to a good fight. It 

was only part 1 of his take on 

Obi, and he is quite likely to 

come down with a second 

part. But what does the first 

part of this Soludo polemic 

on Peter Obi say? What does 

it do? What it says and what 

it does, I assure you dear 

Did Peter Obi leave 

behind substantial 

money in the 

coffers of Anambra 

State as part of a 

rainy day savings 

for the state? 

reader, are not quite the 

same. But let us start with 

what it says. In his essay, 

at the risk of needless 

rehash for the reader quite 

capable of reading 

themselves, Dr. Soludo 

began by drawing an 

analogy between himself 

and “Our Lord and 

saviour” who was crucified 

for telling the truth. He did 

not tell us that Pilate had 

asked our Lord and saviour 

– “Qui Est Veritas”? What 

is truth? But never mind. 

Charlie Nwa Mgbafor – as 

Dr. Soludo actually says he 

prefers to be called – situates 

his talk about Peter Obi’s 

investment claims in 

Anambra State as actually 

part of his campaign 

promise to the people: “I 

promised that I won’t be the 

usual politician, and will not 

knowingly lie to the 

people.” And so, the 

question remains, did he lie 

about Peter Obi’s 

accomplishments in 

Anambra, specifically to 

throw a spanner in his fast 

spinning political wheel? 

Did Peter Obi’s 

administration make 

investments on behalf of 

Anambra State government? 

Where are these investments 

and what are their current, 

verifiable worth? Did Peter Obi 

leave behind substantial 

money in the coffers of 

Anambra State as part of a 

rainy day savings for the state? 

Did he meet the Millennium 

goals set, and in spite of the 

funds he saved for Anambra 

State, did he embark on 

providing other social 

services in Education, public 

health, energy, security, and 

other social services and 

infrastructure? I do wish to say, 

on a personal note, and I do 

not intend this to be an 

endorsement of Peter Obi, but 

my personal experience 

travelling through Anambra 

state, from Owerri to Abatete 

through Orlu, and once from 

Oba, through Nnewi to Awka, 

was that compared to other 

states of the South East, and 

other places in Nigeria 

through which I had 

traversed, Anambra State had 

the best network of really 

well-built rural roads that I’d 

seen in Nigeria. 

I do not say this lightly. But 

Dr. Soludo is that man in the 

arena to which he refers in his 

essay, and ought to come 

clean, knowing that even the 

name he bears compels him 

to be wary of overreach. Yes, 

indeed. Many may not know, 

Soludo’s last name is, in the 

Igbo language, something of 

an ominous warning: SOLU- 

UDO. It basically means, 

“Beware of the deity, Udo” – 

lest he strikes one dead. I ask 

because, it does seem to me 

that Dr. Soludo spent all his 

ink circling on the questions 

of Peter Obi’s political 

decisions and the Igbo 

“emotive Nzogbu-Nzogbu 

political dance.” It is a 

shocking copout! And therein, 

I thought, lay what essentially 

was Charles Soludo’s sour 

grapes. 

In that very unambiguous 

backhand on Obi and Igbo 

political ambitions and 

action: “Let’s be clear about 

it” writes Dr. Charles Soludo, 

“Peter Obi knows that he can’t 

win and he won’t win. He 

knows the game he is playing, 

and we know too; and he 

knows we know. The game he 

is playing is the main reason 

he didn’t return to APGA. The 

brutal truth (and some will say 

God forbid) is there are only 

two persons/parties seriously 

contesting the President: the 

rest is exciting drama.” But if 

Peter Obi knows that he will 

not win, why is he 

campaigning? Who loves to 

go through this punishing 

circuit, and puts his health 

at risk, just for the fun of it? 

It is difficult to see the logic of 

Soludo’s claim. But it is 

equally foolhardy not to take 

a pause and listen to him. 

What does he know that the 

rest of us do not? He says in 

politics you don’t get what you 

deserve. That may well be true. 

He predicts, based on his own 

internally generated polling 

that Peter Obi may not even 

get more that 25% in 4 States, 

one of which would most 

likely be Anambra. 

Basically, he suggest that 

Peter Obi, is somehow 

working for Bola Tinubu. He 

says the Igbo are not 

politically organized enough 

and are not ready for power. 

So, here is the question for 

Charles: when would the Igbo 

be ready? Perhaps only when 

Charles Soludo gets to be in 

the arena? And that brings me 

to the part of what Soludo’s 

essay on Peter Obi has done. 

It fully, and squarely, exposed 

the wide chasm between Igbo 

political actors, and the mass 

of Igbo people. The 

contemporary generation of 

Igbo political leadership is 

weak and inferior. They lack 

the confidence and weight of 

the political leaders of an 

earlier generation, who were 

powerful forces. 

There is nothing more 

tragic, and moredangerous 

for a people than for their own 

leaders to be nothing more 

than servants of the leaders of 

other people. That is what has 

happened to the Igbo. What 

played out in the PDP and the 

APC Primaries, in which every 

Igbo politician was a bagcarrier 

to another politician 

either in the North, the West, 

or the South-South, highlights 

the political danger the Igbo 

faces in the current Nigerian 

environment with this current 

generation of leaders. 

There are two faces of Igbo 

politics today whom the Igbo 

can trust: Mr. Enyinnaya 

Abaribe, and Mr. Peter Obi. 

The rest have demonstrated 

that they can sell Igbo interest 

for peanuts, and therefore 

cannot be trusted. That is 

why most of them are 

ranged against Peter Obi. 

They see the kind of political 

threat he has come to be. 

Obi’s unwillingness to be a 

“Boy-Boy politician” like his 

Igbo political peers, and his 

courage to cut his ties with 

PDP just before a political 

disgrace, and cut a wide swath 

with the Labour Party is what 

has endeared him to a 

multitude of Nigerians, 

including the Igbo voters who 

are settled across Nigeria. In 

spite of what Soludo seems to 

suggest, Peter Obi has 

momentum. 

It may well be true that the 

Labour Party has not been 

able to field candidates 

nationwide, but its 

presidential candidate is 

enjoying a following that is 

much more serious than what 

Charles Soludo thinks is 

frenzied political theater. His 

readings of the electoral 

strength of the South East, 

does not take into account 

Igbo spread for instance, 

across Nigeria, which 

accounts for significant urban 

votes, North and South. He is 

also not seeing that Peter Obi 

is deliberately not 

campaigning as an “Igbo 

candidate,” or on the premise 

of the old regionalist political 

categories: he is campaigning 

as a Pan-Nigerian candidate. 

I will refer Charles Soludo to 

the factors that gave the 

NCNC a wide plurality of 

votes in the December 1959 

elections. 

Those factors may well be 

at play in the current era in 

2023. But that said, Soludo’s 

admonitions, even if it is, as 

it clearly seems to be, sour 

grapes, and left-handed 

charity, must be taken with 

some seriousness. Labour 

Party Stewards must organize 

the ground floor, if they wish 

to win,they must not only get 

out the votes, but they must 

hold the grounds, and 

demonstrate electoral 

strength. That would be the 

best way to silence Charles 

Soludo, not by bullying him. 

Charles Soludo is wrong: Peter 

Obi is in reckoning. That is 

the truth. 

The online in-laws 

I 

don’t know if you read 

it 

I did 

The story about how a 

woman could not get 

pregnant 

She sought out her Pastor 

for counselling 

He dropped his trousers 

for divine anointing of her 

womb 

He instructed her to go 

straight home to her 

husband and get him to do 

the needful 

God would complete his 

work 

That is how Baby one 

arrived 

When it was time for a 

junior one, the ‘enemies’ 

started to disturb the poor 

woman’s womb again 

Enter another round or 

rounds of divine anointing 

Sealed by the clueless 

husband 

Gbam! Baby two arrives 

The story would have 

remained unknown 

Buried in the bottomless 

pit of unspoken secrets 

The online in-laws were 

sitting in judgement of a 

case of a woman who had 

been defrauded by a Pastor 

They made the usual 

remarks about the misdeeds 

of some so-called men of 

God 

Auntie ‘miracle babies’ 

now comes and opens her 

mouth wide to tell of how 

her Pastor made it possible 

for her to become a mother 

through ‘special anointing’ 

Even the unshockable 

online in-laws were 

scandalized! 

They made all kinds of 

unsavoury comments 

A common thread being 

something about one of the 

two ‘participants’ firing 

blanks 

Auntie please 

shhhhhhhhhh. Otherwise, 

Uncle will hear and start 

looking for the nearest 

DNA lab. 

One of my wise friends 

taught me that the only 

difference between a stupid 

person and a wicked person 

is the intention 

The consequences are the 

same 

There was another matter 

brought before online inlaws 

A Nurse whose motherin-law 

is ill and bedridden 

The husband wants her to 

look after his mother – for 

free 

The sisters-in law want 

her to look after their 

mother – for free 

The Nurse said Yes - for a 

fee 

So, the online in-laws 

were asked, ‘Am I wrong to 

demand 

for 

compensation’? 

I did not understand the 

question 

So, the many answers of 

the online in-laws 

befuddled me even further 

Nurse. Mother. Husband. 

For better for worse 


split on this one 

Some advised Auntie 

Nurse to ask her husband 

and in-laws to look for 

someone else or leave their 

own jobs to care for their 

mother 

Some more reasonable 

ones remembered the ‘For 

better for worse’ vows and 

suggested a deal that 

would make both sides 

happy 

Yet another story 

Rich man passes on and 

leaves a big house for his 

daughter in Ikoyi 

Daddy’s girl gets married 

and her husband and 

family want her to sign 

over the house to him 

Pooof! The marriage is 

over 


unanimous on this one 

Daddy’s girl dodged a 

bullet 

Daddy, thank you for not 

sleeping too soundly in 

heaven 

Gold-digger husband, go 

and find work and build a 

house for your son-in-law 

to snatch from your own 

It is a rare case for 

a man to be totally 

blameless as far as 

online in-laws are 

concerned 

daughter 

Then there is the one 

about the newly-wed young 

man who had agreed with 

his wife that they would 

wait till they could afford 

a family. 

The poor man in question 

has probably not watched 

enough Nollywood movies 

He would have known 

how that story would end 

A collaboration between 

his wife, her mother and 

his mother gave birth to a 

conspiracy 

A 

condom 

‘malfunctioned’ and a baby 

arrived 

Now there is no money 

for rent, food and other 

things 

And the collaborators 

are wringing their hands 

The online in-laws are 

fully sympathetic on this 

one 

It is a rare case for a man 

to be totally blameless as 

far as online in-laws are 

concerned 

Majority of online inlaws 

are women 

They do not spare other 

women even when they 

should show empathy and 

sensitivity 

They definitely take men 

they find wanting to the 

cleaners 

Their judgement is swift 

and relentless 

Not having all the facts 

of the case is never a 

deterrent 

I often wonder 

Why do people pour out 

their souls to total 

strangers? Is there no one 

they can talk to? What 

happened to privacy? 

Sadly, we live in a world 

that has changed in ways 

that are not good for us 

There are fewer people to 

trust 

Not many to listen or to 

be listened to 

Too many angels around 

us have feet of clay 

Many are lonely, 

isolated, scared, depressed 

So, they seek solace 

In a cold, charmless, 

judgmental, yet 

anonymous world 

A place where secrets can 

be shared in plain sight 

And both senseless and 

sensible advice offered 

Perhaps we should all try 

being more supportive to 

persons we know and can 

touch and feel 

Maybe if we listened 

more and cared more and 

talked about the 

misfortunes of others less 

Then those who need us 

might actually seek us out 

And not have to turn to 

the soulless world of the 

online in-laws 

A place where many 

problems come for no 

solutions 

If you are one of the many 

online in-laws 

Please show some 

empathy 

Who knows 

It might be your turn 

tomorrow 

May we all seek for and 

find comfort in the right 

places. 

•Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is 

a Gender Specialist, 

Social Entrepreneur and 

Writer. She is the Founder 

of Abovewhispers.com, an 

online community for 

women. She can be 

reached 

at 

BAF@abovewhispers.com

How I knew I would be king 

before ascending throne 

— Oba Ilori -Faboro 

• ‘What Gov Oyebanji should do to prosper Ekiti’ 

• Speaks on Ajodun Ido 2022 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

The Olojudo of Ido Kingdom in 

Ido-Osi Local Government Area 

of Ekiti State, Oba Ayorinde Ilori- 

Faboro, in this interview, speaks on 

growing up, the challenges he faced 

before ascending the throne, how he is 

administering the town, the 2022 edition 

of Ajodun Ido, what Governor Biodun 

Oyebanji should do to make Ekiti 

prosperous under him and constitutional 

role for monarchs in Nigeria among 

other issues. Excerpts: 

Ido is an ancient town and among historical 

towns in Yoruba land. What exactly can you 

tell us about the significance of the town, 

especially in relation to Kiriji War? 

Ido became very prominent during the war. 

When the war started, Ekiti people didn’t have 

a confederate army, it was a matter of the 16 

Obas in Ekiti contributing warriors to the war 

effort but, initially, the Ibadan people were well 

organised and appeared to be overwhelming 

us. This made the people to start looking for 

professional warriors and that’s when the 

Olojudo on the throne at that time, Olayisade 

1, invited my great-grandfather, Faboro, who 

was a professional warrior in Ilorin, to come 

and defend his fatherland. When he (Faboro) 

went to the war front, Ajero, Oore and Olojudo 

followed him, and his feat and prowess at the 

war front made Ido to gain prominence. That 

was how Ido became Ido-Faboro and our 

kingdom, Ido-Ekiti, became very popular and 

very significant, among the comity of towns in 

Yoruba land. Ido is an ancient town. The first 

Oba came from Ile Ife, precisely Ido Ife, settled 

down, united all the villages around and gave 

the name Ido to this place. So, he brought the 

villages under Ido from Ifaki, Usi, Ilogbo, Orin, 

Aaye, Ora, Ifishin and Ipole together under 

the kingship of Olojudo. That’s how Ido 

became one of the prominent 16 kingdoms in 

Ekiti and, because of the contribution of Ido 

warriors under Faboro to Kiriji War, Ekiti came 

together to establish a secondary school, Ekiti 

Parapo College, here. And the first General 

Hospital in Ekiti, which later became 

Federal Teaching Hospital, was 

also cited here in recognition of 

Ido’s contribution to the 

emancipation of Ekiti land. 

How has the 

town taken 

advantage of this 

h i s t o r i c a l 

significance to 

advance its cause? 

We have done well in the 

past. In 1954, we had a 

prominent politician, Papa 

S. K. Familoni, who was 

Governor Michael Adekunle 

Ajasin’s teacher. The respect 

they had for him made Ido to make 

waves and, when they established Ekiti 

Parapo College, Chief Ade Akomolafe, 

who passed on last year at the age 

of 105, was the first 

graduate from this 

community and, being 

his hometown, he was 

appointed as the first 

Principal of the college. 

We also had Chief J.M 

Akinola, a very brilliant 

individual and a Christ’s 

School 

product who later became the first Clerk of the 

House of Assembly in the old Western Region. 

When that crop of leaders became less 

prominent, recognition of Ido started receding. 

I think because of domestic politics, there was 

a struggle for the obaship of the town which 

started in 1915, Faboro’s son was enthroned 

here but some people went to the Oyinbo 

(colonialists) people at that time to say Adewa 

was not fit to be on the throne. On the strength 

of this, the colonialists removed Adewa and 

the same thing happened in 1939. Most of the 

aggrieved people at that time consequently 

withdrew their love for the town and that 

diminished the position of Ido and then, when 

the last Oba passed on, there was interregnum 

for nine years because of prolonged infighting, 

which really damaged the town and its 

goodwill. You know we are in a state where 

people hustle and run around to acquire 

recognition and attract development and, if 

you don’t have anybody doing this for you, it 

will limit your presence. Ido had nobody to 

run around for it and it affected us. However, 

with my emergence, I made it a point of duty 

to unite of our sons and daughters and bring 

them back home together. We have started to 

make Ido prominent again. 

What was growing up like? 

I didn’t grow up here. I was born in 

Ijero at a time my father was working 

for the Ministry of Agric before he 

was transferred to Ikole. Later in 

1962, my father was transferred 

to Ado, so I went to school at 

Odo-Ado and there was an 

interval because he was 

transferred to Oyo and 

that affected me because 

I was working at Fashola 

Poultry Development 

Centre and I was in the 

bush. I had to stay with my 

father, running around 

and then my father was 

transferred to Akure where 

I finished primary school. 

In 1968, my father retired; 

that was how I came to Ido 

for the first time. In 1970, I 

entered secondary school 

and, in 1974, I travelled 

abroad. I was coming 

home at intervals but not 

many people knew me 

here, I had very few friends 

outside of my immediate 

family. But when the 

Olojudo stool became 

vacant and people started 

to mention my name, I was impressed that 

they didn’t know me yet they had so much love 

for me. This month marks my 13th year on the 

throne. I have studied the town, I know Ido 

fairly well. Kabiyesi doesn’t go out and there 

are still places I don’t know but I know a lot of 

people and this makes my administration to 

be effective. 

So, I am a typical Ekiti man. I 

grew up in Ikole, Ado, Akure; 

my mother was from Ilupeju. 

You cannot leave Ewi 

and be talking to Alawe 

and the immediate past 

governor made Alawe of 

Ilawe-Ekiti the Chairman of 

the State Traditional 

Council. How can you 

make someone who is 

under me my boss? 

So, I won’t say I grew up in 

Ido. I know Ado more 

than Ido. I attended 

Christ’s School, Ado- 

Ekiti where I spent 

most of my formative 

years. 

Did it ever occur 

to you while 

growing up that 

you would one 

day become a 

king? 

I started having the 

feeling at age 35 and 

the feeling was very 

strong that I would end 

up in Ekiti. I had that 

intuition. I would say God 

started preparing my way here. 

Before assuming the 

throne of your forefathers, you 

were a seaman, making money 

and now you are here overseeing this 

kingdom. How have you been coping? 

I wasn’t a seaman when I became kabiyesi, 

I was even better than a seaman. I retired in 

January 1992 after spending about 17 years. I 

spent all my youthful days at sea, I was a 

Master Mariner. Then I went into the oil 

industry. I worked for a British company called 

OIR in Rivers State, we were working in Shell 

terminal in Bonny and I was working as an 

expatriate and being paid in dollars. 

Imagine someone collecting $20,000 as 

salary per month and now collecting N150, 

000 monthly as king, it was a serious drop for 

me. But, that didn’t stop me, with the experience 

I went through. God assured me that I should 

go and do His work and He would look after 

me. Life is not about money alone, life is not 

about bread and butter alone, people put me 

here and they look up to me for direction and 


•Oba Ilori- 

Faboro 

leadership; this, to me, is more than silver and 

gold. This position has brought me from 

obscurity to limelight and the joy of seeing my 

people rallying round me for the development 

of our community is great. 

Tell us the challenges you faced before 

ascending the throne and how you 

surmounted them? 

There were very enormous. The number one 

challenge was spiritual pressure, financial 

problem because I told you that people didn’t 

know me. It was like my opponents, the people 

who were here before thought that the crown 

belonged to them alone, they didn’t know that 

other families were entitled to it. Though we 

are from the same stock, they thought that we 

did not exist. The former kabiyesi reigned for 

61 years, all his children were born here; they 

thought the palace belonged to them. My wife 

also disagreed with me, especially concerning 

the remuneration but I assured her that everything 

would be okay. I went through hell, the governor of 

Ekiti then, Mr Ayo Fayose, was supporting my 

opponents and he used all the paraphernalia of 

office to frustrate my ascension but God is good. 

How has it been, being the Olojudo? 

I thank God. I would say the first five, six years, 

I was still very sad. As of the time I became kabiyesi, 

the town was dead, you couldn’t even get anything 

cold to drink here, we had to drive to Mr Biggs in 

Ado-Ekiti to get cold drinks because there was no 

power supply and my wife couldn’t cope easily, she 

is from Delta and my children, bringing them here 

was challenging because they were not used to 

living like this before. I went through hell. The 

palace was not like this, it was thick bush with all 

kinds of reptiles but we built it within a year and 

moved into the palace in December 2015. From 

2009 to 2015, I was operating as king from my 

private house. We are still in the process, it’s not 

where I want it to be yet but my prayer is that God 

should take me to half of where I was before; we are 

still in the process of establishing ourselves with 

good sources of income. 

What would say are your exciting moments in 

the town? 

We celebrate Ido Day (Ajodun Ido) every last 

week of November. We used to do it in October but 

have now changed it to November to commemorate 

my coronation anniversary. We have shifted it to 

last week in November. Ido Day is a source of 

excitement, when sons and daughters of our great 

kingdom gather here and enjoy ourselves. God 

has blessed me with so many beautiful sons and 

daughters who make life worth the while. This is 

when we have Prophet Olu Alo coming home 

because he is from this town. He always holds 

revival here to pray for us, the town would be 

bubbling, so many activities and parties. It’s just 

like a carnival. 

What are the projects that have 

come into town since you ascended 

the throne and which one are you 

lacking? 

Like the palace we just built, I built it with the 

help of my people. We built the Magistrate Court 

and there are some other projects that people 

are donating to us. We are also looking towards 

building a Civic Center; we have done a lot of 

things. We have scholarships for indigent 

students. Aare Afe Babalola also did well for us 

when he brought his medical students to do 

their practical in the Federal Medical Center here 

and, in the process, it became a Teaching Hospital. 

The current Chief Medical Director, Professor 

Kunle Ajayi, is a very brilliant person, the 

place is peaceful now, a complete 

departure from the crisis-ridden past. 

That hospital alone has about 100 

consultants; it gives me a lot of joy. 

Even if we don’t have public water, 

we have boreholes. The roads that 

pass through Ido are very solid. 

Electricity is still a challenge but 

we have solar energy. If you come 

here at night, you would think you 

are in London. 

Ajodun Ido is 

approaching. What are 

your expectations and who 

are the people you are 

expecting? 

It is the people of Ido that would celebrate 

the Day. So, our sons and daughters are 

coming home. Those abroad, especially US and 

United Kingdom, may not come home but we 

would see their hands. Our friends would also 

come. Normally when we are doing Ajodun Ido, 

we always have targets. We have a new 

governor, he is home grown, ‘Ekiti Boy’. I expect 

him to be here for the occasion and, even if he 

doesn’t come here, I am sure he would send 

people. I am not forcing people to come, we know 

the governor is busy and, by the grace of God, 

our son, Cyril Fasuyi, is going to be the next 

Senator for Ekiti North. We have another one, 

Tunde Ajayi, who is going to the House of Reps. 

Hopefully, when they are there, they would bring 

their friends, we would lift ourselves up. 

What new projects are you 

envisaging for Ido? 

We are building a Civic Centre. A son of the 

land is also building a hall, many halls and hotels 

are springing up. Our son, Otunba Toyin 

Akomolafe, is also building a magnificent hall for 

the Anglican Church. When I became kabiyesi, a 

plot of land was selling for N15, 000, N20, 000 but 

now, if you want to buy a plot of land, you would 

have about a million naira. And on the outskirts, 

the price is about N300, 000 to N400, 000. People 

are coming from outside to uplift us. 

How secured is Ido-Ekiti? 

The police here have been excellent and all the 

Obas under my leadership have hunters who we 

are paying from our own pockets. Unfortunately, 

two of the kidnappers arrested were from this town. 

They are in prison now. Ever since their arrest, 

crime has reduced considerably here. 

Opinions are divided over 

constitutional roles for traditional 

rulers like what we had in the First 

Republic. Where do you stand? 

You see, in the First Republic, Obas were very 

few. In this kingdom, we had Olojudo. In Ado 

Kingdom, we had the Ewi. In Ikole, we had Elekole. 

We had Alara in Aramoko and Oore in Moba but 

now everybody is important. Presently you even 

have hunters that have been made kabiyesi. Once 

you know the governor, you are elevated. The 

problem would be who will the government talk 

to? Would they still recognize the original 

owners of the land? You cannot leave the 

Olojudo and be talking to Olufaki or Olusi, 

there would be wahala because the kingdom 

belongs to Olojudo. Ido Kingdom owns Ifaki, 

Aaye, Usi, Ilogbo. But if the Olufaki is a friend 

to the governor, he would be talking to the 

governor. Politicians have been very terrible 

when it comes to dealing with traditional 

rulers but there are individuals who rise to the 

position of governor, who are smart, who know 

what to do and respect history. Your father 

paid tribute to my father and now you want 

to claim equality with me. Now, we have 

about 180 Obas in Ekiti. You cannot leave 

Ewi and be talking to Alawe and the 

immediate past governor made Alawe of 

Ilawe-Ekiti the Chairman of the State 

Traditional Council. How can you make 

someone who is under me my boss? So, we 

have problems with politicians. If we have 

people we can trust in positions of authority, 

they will do what is right. 

What message do you have for the new 

governor? 

Like I said, the governor was one of the 

people who fought for the creation Ekiti 

State. He was a young man at that time and 

he was working with the kabiyesis at that 

time, Ewi, Alaaye, Alara, so, he knew how 

Ekiti was put together and, apart from that, 

we have a lot of confidence and hope in his 

ability to regain some of the good things 

that the state has lost in the past. So, being 

an intelligent person, I believe Ekiti would 

prosper under him.


I suffered depression, 

contemplated suicide 

but didn’t give up on 

my dream to succeed 

—Deji-Ayodele, CEO of 

Savers World Ventures 

By Temitope Adegbola 

ODeji-Ayodele, luwatoyin 

the CEO of Savers Mercy 

World 

Ventures, Veggies Farm Market and Co- 

Founder/CEO/Creative Director of Merc- 

Dees Garment Hub, is a certified coach and 

member of several bodies such as Daystar 

Leadership Academy, National Business and 

Technical Examinations Board, National 

Institute of Training and Development), 

Industrial Training Fund), Women in 

Management and Business, NECA’s Network 

of Entrepreneurship Women, Lagos 

Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Africa 

Fashion Development and Empowerment 

Centre) and Ready to Wear Pioneer. In this 

interview, the Convener of Ruby Sisters’ 

Platform speaks on her interests, how she 

made it to the top of her career, the challenges 

among other issues. Excerpts: 

What’s your take on fashion? 

My interest in fashion started when I was 

growing up when I found that fashion is life 

NIMC DG features at Tony Blair Institute 

Tech Policy Accelerator Programme 

The Tony Blair Institute 

for Global Change has 

invited the Director-General 

of the National Identity Management 

Commission 

(NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Aziz, as 

a key participant in the institute’s 

Tech Policy Accelerator, 

a tech policy programme for 

leaders. The inaugural of the 

Accelerator programme 

takes place in London, the 

United Kingdom on Monday 

November 21st, 2022. 

Giving the background to 

the Tony Blair Institute Tech 

Policy Accelerator programme 

in the invitation letter 

to Engr. Aziz and personally 

signed by Sir Tony Blair, 

the institute observed that “the 

technology revolution is the 

central issue of our age” 

which is set to present “some 

profound challenges.” 

According to the institute, 

“too often” however, “the debate 

around technology is focused 

on narrow, short-term 

issues rather than the wider 

long-term implications.” It 

stated that “the political leaders 

willing to grasp this complexity 

and harness the opportunities 

will be those who 

shape the future.” 

Blair wrote: “At my Institute, 

we have built a practical programme 

to equip current and 

prospective leaders to master 

it. This includes new ideas, but 

also new coalitions between 

those who are at the forefront 

of innovation and those shaping 

policy. Through such 

thinking, the idea is to build a 

new platform for prosperity in 

the 21st Century.” 

The former British Prime 

Minister (1997-2007) went on 

to inform Engr. Aziz that “we 

believe you are an important 

part of making this happen, 

so I want to invite you to join 

our inaugural Accelerator” 

which is for “a select group of 

leaders in policy and politics 

to reimagine the role of state 

in harnessing tech-enabled 

progress.” 

Methodist Church gets new Prelate 

By Kennedy Mbele 

ethodist Church Nige 

Mria, MCN, has invested 

its Prelate elect, Dr. Oliver 

Ali Aba, as their 4th Prelate 

and 9th head of the church in 

Nigeria. Aba, 62, succeeds Dr. 

Samuel Emeka Kalu Uche, 

JP, who retired at the age of 

70 

Ȧccording to a statement by 

Secretary of Conference, Dr. 

Babatunde Taiwo, the investiture 

was in line with the provisions 

of Section 23 (iv) of the 

Constitution of the Methodist 

Church and also in accordance 

with the resolution of 

the 48th Biennial Conference 

of the church, held August 15, 

2022 at Methodist Cathedral 

Unity, Wuse Zone 3, FCT, Abuja 

Ṡpeaking at the solemn and 

divine service held at Methodist 

Church of the Trinity, 

Tinubu Lagos, during which 

the new Prelate and his tenure 

were handed over to the 

hands of the Almighty God, 

From left: Out going Secretary 

of Conference, Methodist 

Church Nigeria, Dr. 

Michael Akinwale, with the 

out -going Prelate, His Eminence, 

Dr. Samuel Emeka 

Kalu Uche, inducting the new 

Prelate, His Eminence, Dr. 

Oliver Ali Aba, at the Methodist 

Church of Trinity, Tinubu 

Lagos, recently. 

because everyone has an experience of fashion. 

Everyone wears a fashion product be it outer 

wear or under wear. So, growing up with this 

mindset gave me a good foundation and that 

has helped me to be in the fashion industry for 

about five years now. Fashion gives me the 

boldness and courage to say that it is crucial to 

the social economic development of every 

nation, though it could be challenging at times 

as every sector also has its challenges. Fashion 

can be used to curb unemployment and to 

create wealth. Fashion ranges from garment 

making to accessories, cosmetics, etc. We can 

use fashion to create jobs and wealth to sustain 

socio-economic development of our country. 

Has there been any transformation in 

terms of the olden and modern days of 

fashion? 

Transformation for me in fashion goes 

beyond just coming up and saying “I want to 

be a fashioner, a stylist or whatever”. My 

transformation began when I had an encounter 

with importing because I had always been in 

•Deji-Ayodele 

the manufacturing industry 

and my experience which 

started in 2016 began 

when I travelled to 

China. I gathered that 

garment materials can 

be massively produced 

and done within the 

shortest period of time with 

a number of people. 

Can you share with us the 

challenges you have had in the 

fashion industry and if you ever 

felt like giving up? 

I started with N400, 000 and nice 

equipments. All went well and 

interesting but two years into 

the business, I ran into 

some difficulties. It started 

with challenges on quality 

control, outfit log and not 

putting in fitting in 

customers’ attires etc. and 

I see entrepreneurship 

as 

something that 

can be taught 

and learnt. But 

it’s better to do 

what you have 

passion for 

I lost about 84% of my clients. Many of all our 

customers were residing outside the country. 

Then I realized that on every success ladder 

such is bound to happen and I had to manage 

it. But in 2018, things became tough. I got 

depressed and almost took my life. I almost 

took a bottle of Sniper, but, just at that moment, 

a pastor called and that was what saved me. In 

the last five years, I have been depressed, 

rejected and worried but, with God’s purpose 

in my life to fulfill, He kept opening doors for 

me and the grace has kept me going, impacting 

and valuing people with purpose to which I 

have been called. 

As you celebrate your birthday, can you 

share with us what life has actually taught 

you? 

For every painful experience there is 

always a light at the end of the tunnel. Life 

has taught me to mentor, educate, 

empower, inspire and encourage others. 

Life has also taught me never to give up in 

the midst of the storm. While growing up 

in a polygamous family, I was brought to 

the level of a slave, and that has built my 

resilience in life. 

What’s your take about 

entrepreneurship in this 

kind of economy? 

I 

see 

entrepreneurship as 

something that can 

be taught and learnt. 

But it’s better to do 

what you have 

passion for. 

Everyone can be an 

entrepreneur but 

there must be 

passion for what you 

do. Fashion is my 

brand of business 

because it has so many 

values attached to it, from 

training to textile and 

lifestyle. 

Ndiomu's position on Amnesty programme commendable ----- EVAH 

C 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

OORDINATOR of the 

Ijaw Monitoring 

Group, IMG, Mr Joseph 

Evah has commended the 

new Interim Administrator 

of the Amnesty, Gen. Barry 

Ndiomu, retd, for convincing 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari and the National Security 

Adviser, NSA, Mohammed 

Monguno not to 

terminate the Presidential 

Amnesty Programme. 

Evah, in a statement, said 

Ndiomu’s commitment to 

peace, stability and progress 

in the region is not in doubt. 

He said: "It is not easy to 

convince and change the 

mind of any authority appointed 

to carry out a specific 

task under military 

fashion like terminating a 

programme or project. Only 

those who have the people 

at heart can go the extra mile 

the out-going Prelate, who 

handed over the church’s symbol 

of authority, including a 

staff of office to his successor, 

urged him to be bold, courageous, 

focused, and to always 

call a spade a spade. Recalling 

how members of the 

church, whom he said he 

knows, attempted to kill him 

with poison during his tenure, 

Kalu noted that challenges 

would come and advised Aba 

to put on his ‘thinking cap’, to 

be prayerful and most importantly, 

make holiness his 

watchword. He also recounted 

his ordeal in the hands of 

kidnappers, a few months ago 

and thanked the church for 

their prayers and the manner 

in which, they raised the 

N100m ransom that enabled 

his release, within 26 hours. 

Speaking briefly on politics, 

the clergyman eulogized 

Governor Babajide Sanwo - 

Olu for what he described as 

his good work and assured 

him of his support to his bid 

for another tenure. He cursed 

any politician that sheds 

blood to get into office, saying 

such politician will die in 

office. 

and will do what General 

Ndiomu has done. 

“We are proud of the Ndiomu’s 

patriotic effort to further 

bring the Amnesty programme 

to global attention 

by seeking international aid 

to strengthen the programme. 

This has con- 

firmed our confidence in his 

ability to add value to the 

lives of our people by any 

means necessary. 

"We urge our people to cooperate 

with the Amnesty 

Boss to make things easier 

for him to actualize his vision 

for our Homeland and 

the Nigerian nation.." 

The former Publicity Secretary 

of Ijaw National 

Congress, INC, also stated 

that Ndiomu’s appointment 

has received the blessing of 

the people of Niger Delta 

when the announcement was 

made.

2-MONTH OUTAGE: Our case against Eko 

Disco — Crown Estate Residents 

Stories by Tunde Oso 

LAGOS—Residents of 

Crown Estate, Lekki 

Peninsula in Eti Osa Local 

Government Area of Lagos 

State are groaning over two 

months of lack of electricity 

supply to the community by 

Eko Electricity Distribution 

Company (EKEDC). 

Narrating the genesis of the 

Estate’s dispute with EKEDC, 

Mr. Wole Ogungbola, Estate 

Surveyor & Valuer, and Facility 

Manager of Crown Estate, 

told Vanguard that 

EKEDC being a monopoly 

has assumed an Alpha and 

Omega role where residents 

are at their mercy. “In a country 

where there's law and order, 

we ought not to be in darkness.” 

He explained: About 12 

years ago, when we were just 

building they classified us as 

a single customer by installing 

one meter at the entrance 

of the Estate on which they 

would bill the Estate. They 

called it Maximum Demand 

Meter (MDM) on which we 

were paying the bill. Even 

when the meter developed a 

fault and they estimated the 

bill on us, we paid, even if we 

have to bill individual residents 

in the Estate. It however, 

got to a point when it became 

humongous and unrea- 

WORRIED by the rise in 

financial fraud as a result 

of identity theft, DataPro 

Limited, a compliance solutions 

and technology-driven 

rating agency in Nigeria has 

made a case for the right investment 

in technology to prevent 

such infractions. 

Citing the Financial Action 

Task Force (FATF) 2020 Guidance, 

DataPro stated that digital 

ID systems must be used 

by financial institutions (FIs) 

and designated non-financial 

businesses and professions 

(DNFBPs) to assert and prove 

a person’s identity online and/ 

or in a face-to-face environment. 

DataPro since its inception 

in 1995 has provided solutions 

to end-users in their pursuit of 

mitigating both business and 

now -EKEDC 

sonable that we complained: 

about N32 million in 2011 

and they on their own reduced 

it to N25 million. When it 

continued, we went to NERC 

in Abuja. Initially we went to 

report them at their EKEDC 

Marina Complaints Forum 

but discovered we cannot get 

justice. And the Dr. Sam Amadi, 

who was at the helm then 

listened to us and gave an order 

on 18-10-2011 that 

EKEDC must come and reconnect 

us and that they 

should not disconnect us again 

until we reconciled the account. 

Despite the NERC order 

they came twice to disconnect 

us even when we haven’t 

resolved the disparity. 

Another issue that complicated 

matters was that at a 

time in 2011 that they came 

into the Estate and were collecting 

money from individuals 

inside the Estate, even 

when they were still billing us 

by the MDM at the entrance. 

Note that they were using different 

tariffs for the general 

meter at the entrance, which 

was higher than the tariff they 

applied inside the Estate for 

the over 250 residents inside 

the Estate: Meaning 2 different 

tariffs for the MDM and 

another for 250 residents in- 

side the estate. All of these 

problems they created themselves. 

With the NERC order, they 

realised they couldn't disconnect 

us anyhow. However, 

about 2 months ago, the transformer 

supplying the Estate 

became bad and had to disconnect 

and we repaired it by 

ourselves. When we finished 

it, we asked EKEDC to reconnect 

us, but they refused, saying 

they would not do so until 

we pay our debt. 

“As we speak they have cited 

3 different indebtedness of 

N361million, Oct 28, 2022 in 

a letter said N249m, in Dec 

2020 they said N136illion, 

demonstrating an inconsistent 

monopoly. We have again 

reported to NERC and an appointment 

is scheduled for 

Tuesday next week, they said 

we should report to Abuja. We 

have repeatedly asked them 

to take over the collection of 

the bills completely,” Ogungbola 

concluded. 

Another resident, who spoke 

to Vanguard on condition of 

anonymity lamented, 

“EKEDC, from the look of 

things, will keep us in the dark 

for as long as they possibly can. 

They know we can only take 

so much pain in the face of rising 

temperatures in the 90s. 

Why banks must invest in identity theft, 

financial fraud prevention, by Adeseyoju 

OAAN Co-op holds first AGM, declares surplus 

SECTORAL advertising 

body, the Outdoor Advertising 

Association of Nigeria 

(OAAN) has inaugurated a 

committee charged with evolving 

a vibrant cooperative society 

Ṫhe action, which was conducted 

by its president, Chief 

Emmanuel Ajufo gave birth to 

the OAAN Cooperative and 

Multipurpose Society (CMS) 

was given the mandate among 

other things, to evolve a robust 

and viable cooperative society 

that will complement the 

OAAN brand and foster the interests 

and welfare of members. 

Chief Ajufo in his address said 

that in the first year of its existence, 

the CMS has surpassed 

the expectations and encouraged 

the management to continue 

to improve in every area. 

He asked those who had entertained 

some level of skepticism 

on the potentials of the 

CMS to come in and become 

part of the venture. 

Chairman of the OAAN 

CMS, Mr. Wole Odubanjo in 

his welcome address at the first 

annual general meeting of the 

body which took place at the 

OAAN house, Amuwo Odofin 

•Part of debt just paid, to be reconnected any time 

compliance risks. 

According to DataPro, Anti- 

Money Laundering and Countering 

the Financing of Terrorism 

Countering Proliferation 

Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) 

compliance onboarding for 

KYC, and Transaction Monitoring 

Systems (TMS) need to 

be fully digitised in order to 

reduce the incidences of identity 

theft, fictitious account 

opening and fraudulent transaction. 

This, it said, “Is necessary to 

support global and national 

efforts at combating money 

laundering, terrorist financing 

and proliferation financing. 

However, as it is with any new 

or emerging technology, there 

are risks involved in the adoption 

of digital ID systems that 

have to be understood and 

said that the OAAN Cooperative 

and Multipurpose Society 

(CMS) have been able to overcome 

the initial problems associated 

with the take-off of a 

joint venture like this “and we 

can safely conclude that we are 

clear on how to navigate 

through the coming years taking 

full advantage of our vibrant 

and dynamic OAAN constituency". 

Mr. Odubanjo noted that 

the membership strength is 

properly dimensioned.” 

As parts of its November 

Open-House raining programme, 

DataPro has hinted 

of plans to focus on how Compliance 

Officers, IT personnel, 

as well as the business people 

in banks, FinTechs and other 

financial institutions can understand 

and mitigate the regulatory, 

business, technology, 

cybersecurity, data protection 

and other associated risks involved 

in digital identity systems. 

The programme tagged: 

‘Digital Identity and AML/ 

CFT/CPF Compliance,’ 

will highlight emerging 

and technology risks associated 

with the adoption of 

digital ID systems for 

KYC, CDD and EDD purposes. 

• From left: Registrar, OAAN Cooperative and Multipurpose 

Society (CMS), Mr. Femi Alabi; Barrister Mrs. Nkiru Sampson; 

Chairman OAAN CMS, Mr. Wole Odubanjo; Assistant 

Area officer, Mr. Asaye Daniel, President Outdoor Advertising 

Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Chief Emmanuel Ajufo 

and Mr. Alfred Akokhia during the first Annual General 

Meeting of the body, which took place at the OAAN house, 

Amuwo Odofin, Lagos. 

on the increase and that the 

scope of operations has also 

been increased through commercial 

loans, sales of essential 

commodities and support 

for payment of school fees 

with other products being developed. 

The chairman declared 

that in the year under 

review, that they have been 

able to generate a net plus of 

N1, 012,945. 90, only out of 

which dividends will be paid 

to members. 


Life Beer assures consumers of premium 

quality at Seed-to-Sip forum mission today,” he said. 

MUSIC industry icon, 

Anderson Obiagwu, 

aka ‘Big A’, explores another 

side of his multi-layered 

personality, once again, 

donning his creative hat as he 

teams up with Afrobeats 

godfather and friend, 2Baba, 

for ‘Aristo’. 

With the release of ‘Aristo’, 

‘Big A’ ticks the A&R box in his 

amazing Afrobeats journey 

coursing through stellar stints 

as tour/concert promoter, 

facility owner, label executive, 

media mogul and award 

ceremony executive producer. 

It’s no longer news that 

Afrobeats has taken its pride 

of place in the music world, 

but besides the artistes who are 

the visible faces of this 

beautiful journey, there’s also 

the equally important behindthe-scenes 

support structure 

that have contributed to the 

beautiful story. One such 

personality is ‘Big A’. 

As CEO of ‘Big A’ 

Entertainment, publishers of 

African Music Magazine, 

organizers of AFRIMA 

Awards, amongst other 

business interests, Big A is 

In what it tagged Seed to 

Sip forum,Life Continental 

Lager Beer has re-assured 

it’s consumers of quality satisfaction 

as well as sustenance 

of its promise on the Nigeria’s 

premium beer. 

At the event, organised for 

the brand’s stakeholders at the 

Nigerian Breweries, Ama in 

Enugu State, the management 

reiterated its readiness 

to provide consumers with 

quality and satisfying products. 

Reports have it that the double-brewed 

Life Beer is produced 

through a rigorous, yet 

satisfying process to produce 

a premium lager that delightfully 

leaves the taste bud calling 

for more. From locally 

sourcing the best ingredients 

to the expert distilling and 

maturing of the beer, the double-brewed 

Life Beer delivers 

premium quality from seed to 

sip. 

The tagline ‘Life for 

Progress’ is a constant reminder 

that the brand will always 

be in support of its consumers’ 

progress journey, 

just as the brand itself is on 

a journey of consistent 

progress. 

In his welcome remarks, 

The Brewery Manager of 

Nigerian Breweries Ama 

Enugu, Mr Peter Ani stated 

that Nigerian Breweries has 

established a niche for consistent 

innovation, adding 

that the company prides itself 

in the production of 

quality and deeply satisfying 

products, one of which 

is Life Beer, a brand that 

strongly supports the Igbos. 

“This Seed to Sip forum 

is about you, our consumers, 

and we remain committed 

to ensuring that the 

brand consistently and 

maximally satisfies you. It 

is my special pleasure to 

welcome you to see how we 

make Life Lager. We want 

you to experience how we 

make Life from seed to sip, 

from grain to glass, and by 

the time we finish today you 

will see the difference between 

A and A, that is our 

Speaking on the giant strides, 

the Senior Brand Manager of 

Life Continental Lager Beer, 

Aishat Anaekwe noted that the 

Double-Brewed Seed to Sip forum 

is consumer-focused as the 

brand is continually on a progressive 

journey to satisfy and 

celebrate consumers. 

“Life Continental Lager Beer 

has become a brand, synonymous 

with progress, and this is 

why we stop at nothing to satisfy 

our consumers’ desire for quality 

lager beer. We decided to go 

a step further to ensure Life Beer 

comes with a double-brewed 

quality - Double Brewed for 

That Premium Quality Taste. 

I’m happy to announce that Life 

Beer has a premium and refreshing 

taste brewed for consumers’ 

enjoyment, and this seed-to-sip 

forum is a testament to our commitment 

to constantly keep you, 

our consumers, satisfied. Our 

tagline, “Life for Progress” is a 

constant reminder that the Life 

brand will always be in support 

of your progress journey, just like 

the brand itself is on the journey 

to making more progress.” she 

said. 

‘ARISTO’ SEASON: ‘Big A’ drops single featuring 

2Baba 

•Big A’ with 2Baba 

widely regarded as the 

foremost Afrobeats 

promoter in North America 

helping to grow the 

movement from the fringes 

to the mainstream of the 

touring space. 

2Baba reminds us of his 

playful side on the track, 

produced by Richie, with 

crisp visuals shot in Texas, USA 

and Uganda and directed by 

Patrick Ellis. 

‘Aristo’ is the first single/video, 

from the upcoming visual 

project, ‘Crossover’, an exposè 

on Big A’s contributions to the 

growth of Afrobeats delivered 

through music, visuals and 

interviews. 

Ex-agitator hails emergence of Smith as 

Amnesty chair Phase 3 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

E x-agitator 

President of and 

the 

Urhobo Youth Council, 

UYC, Abuja Chapter, Gen. 

Peter Aghogho, has 

described the emergence of 

Gen. Godday Smith 

(Bounanaowei) as the 

National Chairman of Phase 

3 of the Presidential Amnesty 

Programme, PAP, as a 

welcome development. 

Aghogho, in a statement, 

recalled that Bounanaowei 

who is also the national 

leader of the Ijaw Priests 

Association, has been in the 

struggle for about three 

decades, understands the 

Niger Delta agitations and 

could effectively handle the 

new assignment. 

The statement 

commended the new 

Amnesty boss, Major 

General Barry Ndiomu rtd, 

for facilitating the peace 

process between Gen. 

Julius Joseph and Gen. 

Tonye Bobo led by Mr. 

Angalapele, the chairman 

of the stakeholders’ 

management committee. 

“The meeting peacefully 

and naturally brought 

about the emergence of 

Gen. Godday Smith as 

national Chairman of 

phase 3 of the 

programme”, he stated. 

On Tonye Bobo, the 

Urhobo youth leader 

said: “I also want to say 

that he should be ignored. 

He was brought in by the 

former leader of the 

programme to 

destabilize it. He is not a 

leader. We are all aware 

of the effort of General 

Those displaced by 

the recent flood in 

Otu-Jeremi, Okwagbe 

communities, Ughelli 

South local government 

area of Delta State were 

full of gratitude as they 

got a live cow and several 

items at their Internally 

Displaced Persons, IDP 

camps, to cushion the 

effect of the flood. 

The Manager, 

G o v e r n m e n t / 

Community Relations 

and Security of NEPL, 

ND Western OML 34, Mr 

Sheidu Aiguedo, said the 

impact of the flood in 

several of the 

communities was 

Smith to ensure the third 

phase was approved. The 

amnesty office should ignore 

Bobo. He is not even a camp 

leader. He doesn’t have the 

right to say people should not 

attend a meeting “ 

Also speaking, the 

National Secretary of 

Meinbutus, Comr. Ebi 

Wayas, said Bounanaowei 

with his wealth of experience 

over the years would carry all 

the ex-agitators along. 

Firm donates relief materials 

to flood victims 

devastating. 

“This is the worst 

experience in many years in 

this country. We brought 

cows, rice, beans, and an 

assortment of food items to 

support them and identify 

with them because we see 

them as our major 

stakeholders and there is no 

better time than now to 

demonstrate that. It’s a 

continuous demonstration of 

our corporate social 

responsibilities and also in 

appreciation of the support 

we are getting from them”, 

Aiguedo explained. 

The Chairman of the Otu- 

Jeremi community, Mr 

Michael Oghenegueke 

thanked the firm for the 

gesture.

PAGE 30 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022

SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 — PAGE 31 

World Cup opener: FIFA appoints Italian 

ref Orsato for Qatar, Ecuador battle 

talian Daniele Orsato will 

Ireferee Sunday's opening 

World Cup match between 

hosts Qatar and Ecuador in 

group A, Fifa said on Friday. 

The 46-year-old referee will 

be making his World Cup debut 

and will be joined by compatriots 

Ciro Carbone and 

Alessandro Giallatini as his 

assistants, with Massimiliano 

Irrati on VAR. 

Romanian Itsvan Kovacs 

will be the fourth referee. 

He comes from the town of 

Schio which is close by to 

Vicenza in Northern Eastern 

Italy. 

Before becoming a referee, 

he was a coach. Named referee 

of the year by the IFFHS 

in 2020. 

Amnesty International bashes 

Infantino over comments on 

migrant workers 

A 

mnesty International have 

hit back at Gianni Infantino 

for 'dismissing the enormous 

price paid by migrant workers' 

after the FIFA President gave 

a bizarre speech defending 

Qatar on the eve of the World 

Cup. 

Infantino claimed he 'felt like 

a migrant worker' before suggesting 

that if Europe 'really 

cared' about migrant workers 

they could do as Qatar did and 

offer a 'legal' passage into the 

countries. 

It came after protests around 

the football world against the 

World Cup in Qatar, 

with Bundesliga clubs displaying 

banners in protest and 

Amnesty International demonstrating 

in Lisbon. 

In response to Infantino's 

comments, Steve Cockburn, 

Amnesty International’s Head 

of Economic and Social Justice 

has released a statement that 

reads: 'In brushing aside legitimate 

human rights criticisms, 

Gianni Infantino is dismissing 

the enormous price paid by mi- 

Qatar 2022: 

Parimatch presents 

unique offers for 

punters 

P 

arimatch, one of the leading 

sports betting companies in 

Nigeria, is turning up the heat 

in providing exciting offers to 

punters who will want to stake 

on the best odds during the 

tournament. 

One of the biggest offers by 

Parimatch during the World 

Cup season is the N10,00,000 

Terminator Jackpot. This offer 

will have bettors participate in 

several competitions to claim a 

share of the money. Bids and 

jackpots presented to punters 

for all the stages of the tournament 

in Qatar include the Totalizator, 

Ultimate Terminator, 

Multi Number Prediction, 

Multi-Number Plus, Total Plus 

and more accessed on the 

website-www.parimatch.ng. 

By Solomon Nwoke 

igerian Breweries Plc 

Nonce again deepened its 

long-standing partnership 

with the Nigerian Football 

Federation (NFF) recently 

with the announcement of 

Goldberg Premium Lager 

Beer and Life Continental 

Lager Beer, as "The Official 

Beer of the Super Eagles." 

The announcement comes 

as the brewing giant reaffirms 

its commitment to refreshing 

football fans and providing 

world-class football experiences 

football. 

"Goldberg and Life lager 

beers are set to transform the 

football experience in Nigeria," 

said Portfolio Manager, 

Mainstream Lagers, Nigerian 

•Orsato 

Refereed the 2019-20 Uefa 

Champions League between 

Paris Saint Germain and 

•Cockburn 

grant workers to make his flagship 

tournament possible – as 

well as FIFA's responsibility for 

it. 

Bayern Munich in Lisbon. 

The Italian official has 

shown an average of four yellow 

cards per game in the 

Champions League. 

Began as a player was persuaded 

at the age of 18 by a 

friend to become a referee. 

He received his Fifa inter- 

France handed Benzema, Varane injury boosts 

F 

rance duo Karim 

Benzema and Raphael 

Varane have both returned to 

full training ahead of Les 

Bleus' World Cup 2022 Group 

D opener with Australia, according 

to a report. 

The reigning world champions 

have been bedevilled by 

injuries in the build-up to the 

tournament and were handed 

concerns over Benzema and 

Varane prior to making the journey 

to Qatar. 

Ballon d'Or winner Benzema 

has struggled to stay fit 

throughout the 2022-23 season, 

having spent time out with a 

knee injury prior to dealing with 

Nigerian Breweries PLC announces Goldberg, 

Life as official beer of national teams 

Breweries, Ita Bassey. “This 

announcement today will extend 

beyond the game. It allows 

us to strengthen our 

bond with consumers and 

football fans through our 

shared values. These two 

brands share values with the 

game of football and its fans; 

values such as teamwork, 

hard work, perseverance, and 

progress. 

“With these two brands, we 

have the unique opportunity 

to engage and excite Nigerians 

using various football assets. 

It also demonstrates our 

continued commitment to 

football in Nigeria at all levels, 

especially grass root and 

community football, as well as 

our support for the communities 

in which we operate," Ita 

national refereeing badge in 

2010. 

His refereeing mentor is 

Luigi Agnolin who refereed 

the 1988 European Champions 

Club final between PSV 

Eindhoven and Benfica. 

Married to Laura and has 

two sons Gabriel and William. 

Infantino backs Qatar, says 

fans can survive without beer 

E 

mbattled FIFA President 

Gianni Infantino defended 

the Qatar World Cup 

a day before the tournament 

begins, accusing critics of the 

nation’s human rights record 

of hypocrisy. Speaking 

after months of concern over 

the country’s treatment of 

migrant workers, anger at its 

LGBTQ laws and doubts over 

the legitimacy of the decision 

to hold the tournament there, 

Infantino said it was wrong 

for Europe to lecture the 

Qataris. 

“For what we Europeans 

have been doing for the past 

3,000 years, we should be 

apologizing for the next 3,000 

years, before starting to give 

moral lessons to people,” he 

said Saturday. 

Infantino said there have 

been improvements in the 

way migrant workers are 

treated, partly due to the engagement 

that’s happened as 

a result of the World Cup. On 

the eve of one of the most criticized 

World Cups ever, 

Infantino said his experience 

as the son of Italian migrants 

in Switzerland allowed him to 

understand what it meant to 

be bullied as a foreigner in a 

foreign country. 

He began an almost-hourlong 

speech by saying: “To- 

muscular fatigue. 

The 34-year-old missed Real 

Madrid's final two La Liga 

games before the World Cup 

break and was understood to 

have still been a doubt for the 

clash with Australia on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, Varane has not 

played since coming off with a 

hamstring injury against Chelsea 

on October 22, 

missing Manchester United's 

most recent six matches in all 

tournaments. 

However, in a major double 

boost to Didier Deschamps's 

ranks, L'Equipe reports that 

both players have been able to 

participate in full training on 

Saturday evening. 

The report adds that 

there are still no guarantees 

over both players' 

chances of starting 

against Australia, with 

Deschamps not prepared 

to take any unnecessary 

risks early doors. 

Benzema and Varane 

boast a remarkable 184 

international caps be- 

Bassey said. 

Special Adviser to the Lagos 

State Governor on Special 

Duties and Inter-Governmental 

Relations, Hon. 

Mobolaji Ogunlende 

commended Nigerian Breweries 

for their continuous 

commitment to the beautiful 

game of football especially locally 

and at the grassroots 

level. 

“It is commendable that Nigerian 

Breweries is dedicated 

not just at the international 

scene but also show great 

commitment and support to 

repositioning football at the 

local level. 

“It is no surprise that this 

time, they are entering the 

space with two iconic brands," 

he said. 

•Infantino 

day I feel Qatari. Today I feel 

Arab. Today I feel African. Today 

I feel gay. Today I feel 

disabled. Today I feel a migrant 

worker.” “As a child at 

school I was bullied because I 

had red hair and freckles. Plus 

I was Italian, so imagine,” 

Infantino said. 

After a last-minute change 

on Friday to the rules 

on alcohol sales at the event, 

there are fears that other 

regulations governing the 

tournament may also be altered. 

Infantino tried to reassure 

the LGBTQ community 

they’d be safe, despite 

Qatar’s laws prohibiting homosexuality. 

“Gay people are welcome in 

Qatar,” he said. 

tween them, with the former 

racking up 87 appearances for 

the national team while the latter 

has 97 caps to his name. 

CBN Abuja branch 

lifts 2022 CBN 

Gov's trophy 

•As Emefiele 

congratulates winners 

By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo 

HE Central Bank of Ni 

Tgeria, CBN, Abuja branch, 

yesterday beat their Minna 

counterpart by 2-1 to lift the 

41st edition of the CBN Governor's 

Cup Football competition 

trophy. 

The CBN Calabar branch 

were not so lucky as they went 

down 2-1 to Kano branch 

which emerged third in the 

competition decided at the 

Godswill Akpabio International 

stadium, Uyo, Akwa 

Ibom State. 

The victory saw the Abuja 

branch lifting the trophy for 

record sixth time since the 

competition started in 1981, 

having won the football competition 

in 1998, 1999, 

2001,2008 and 2009 respectively. 

Speaking at the finals of the 

annual competition in Uyo, 

the CBN Governor, Mr 

Godwin Emefiele, said that 

the 41st edition which involved 

all the branches and 

Head office, kicked off in eight 

centres namely Akure, Ilorin, 

Abakaliki, Kano, Kaduna, 

Gombe, Enugu and 

Makurdi. 

Emefiele who was represented 

at the occasion by the 

Director Branch Operations 

Department CBN, Mrs. 

Elizabeth Fasoranti, noted 

that the preliminaries of the 

2022 competition were played 

between August 22 and September 

2, 2022 in the eight 

centres. 

His words: " The competition 

is aimed at encouraging 

social relationships between 

staff and, maintaining a 

healthy workforce through 

sporting activities. 

The Pain Continues 

P 

reparations for the 22nd FIFA World Cup started on the last 

day the last edition was held in Russia four years ago for serious 

countries. 

That is why 32 of them are gathered in the Middle East country 

of Qatar for the most glamorous football event on planet earth 

which kicks off today. 

And our dear country Nigeria is not among the serious countries 

who will showcase their soccer prowess to the whole world 

for the next four weeks. 

I make bold to say this because after we threw away a game we 

were capable of winning against a Lionel Messi fortified Argentina 

mainly for the tactical and technical ineptitude of the Super 

Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, a serious country would have thanked 

the Franco-German 'tactician' for his services and severed the 

relationship. 

For whatever reason best known to the Board of the Nigeria 

Football Federation, NFF, headed then by Amaju Melvin Pinnick, 

they procrastinated and later extended his contract to cover another 

two years hoping he could help the team become African 

Champions, for the fourth time in the 2019 AFCON in Egypt. 

Apologies to former Golden Eaglets coach, Fanny Amun, Rohr 

and his team 'wobbled and fumbled' to the semi final where, again 

like it happened in Russia a year earlier, the team lost to eventual 

winners Algeria, more on tactical and technical superiority. 

I hate to recount the signs the Super Eagles showed under 

Rohr that they were heading for disaster and the coach needed to 

be shown the way out but the NFF kept him on, maybe expecting 

some miracles to happen. 

When the log finally fell off their eyes, the NFF acted but it was 

too late. The team played most of their games jerking like a chicken 

whose head has been cut and struggling with life. 

Rather than hide his head in shame for the heartache he caused 

Nigerians with his style of play, which was less than convincing, 

Rohr has continued to blab that if he wasn't sacked, he would 

have won the 2021 AFCON and qualified the Super Eagles for 

the World Cup. 

The loss of the ticket to Ghana is beginning to sink. Football 

crazy fans will not have the opportunity to watch and support 

their team in Qatar. The players, mostly the fringe ones among 

them, will not have the opportunity to showcase their talent and 

increase their market value for a possible change of club with 

better offers when the new transfer widow opens in January. 

Corporate organisations which leverage on the Super Eagles 

participation to brand or re-brand and get quality mileage for their 

goods and services are also affected with Nigeria's no-show in 

Qatar. 

For Media houses, they would have been inundated with adverts 

in support of the Eagles from companies and in some cases, 

the three tiers of government rooting for the national team, urging 

them to do the country proud. 

Even sports journalists using the coverage of the World Cup to 

boost their profile are licking their 'wounds'. Heard of a colleague 

who was getting ready to go to Qatar but his trip, hitherto approved 

by his bosses, got a question mark from the management 

which asked him, "who are you going to Qatar to cover?" 

Of course Nigeria is not represented and so the rush by readers 

to get copies on the newsstand to get authentic gists from the 

team's camp won't be there. 

With the Super Eagles not going, teams from Europe and the 

Americas which qualified and were grouped with African teams 

naturally wanted to have a feel of how Africans play and so invited 

the Super Eagles for friendly matches. 

I remember a sarcastic headline my colleague, Tony Ubani cast 

when Costa Rica sort a friendly with the team, now handled by 

another journeyman coach, Jose Peseiro. "Costa to use Super 

Eagles as training materials", he wrote. 

Ubani, like every other sports journalist, is not happy that our 

national flag will not be hoisted in Qatar, so I can understand 

when he says the Super Eagles are being used as training materials. 

Ironically the new NFF under Ibrahim Gusau threw mostly 

home-based players into the squad they now refer to as Eagles B 

team to face Costa Rica. 

Before the blast of the whistle, pundits and fans alike were 

already speculating the number of goals the Costa Ricans will 

humiliate the team with, as most of them could be playing at such 

a big stage for the first time. 

The North American team struggled to outplay the local boys 

who were galant in their 2-0 loss. Infact one of them, Dominion 

Ohaka was singled out for praise the way he mesmerized the 

much more experienced Costa Ricans. 

The second friendly against the Super Eagles took place last 

Thursday in Lisbon against another World Cup bound team, Portugal, 

incidentally the country of their new coach, Jose Peseiro. 

Even though Napoli hitman, Victor Osimhen came up with a 

phoney injury excuse which some Italian journalists scoffed at, 

Peseiro was able to gather most of the team's regulars as their 

European leagues are now on World Cup break and the venue 

just a train ride from their bases. 

With news that Cristiano Ronaldo, still smarting from his faceoff 

with Manchester United coach, Erik ten Hag, wasn't part of 

the game, Nigerians had looked forward to the Super Eagles 

putting up a good display, at least to assuage their anger over the 

team's absence from the Qatar party. 

For the first time too, my wife, not particularly a sports fan and 

the least being football, despite knowing reporting it is my means 

of livelihood, surprised me when she sat with me in front of the 

television to watch the game. 

What made her company so exciting for me was when she 

brought out a bottle of French wine for the rare 'occasion'. You can 

imagine that on a day I expected the Super Eagles to put up an 

alluring display with which I could convince my wife to start 

watching football matches, the players, like our people say in our 

popular local parlance, "fall my hand". 

With Portugal leading 2-0 my wife became uninterested in the 

game and left. The wine I was sipping became too bitter in my 

mouth. I managed to continue watching and my hope was enlivened 

when the Super Eagles were awarded a penalty that could 

have given them a consolatory goal but Emmanuel Dennis fluffed 

it. 

My spirit was finally broken when the third and fourth goals 

were conceded in quick succession by Francis Uzoho who had 

shone brightly against Manchester United in his team, Omonia 

Nicosia's second leg Europa league game at the Old Trafford a few 

weeks earlier. 

So the pain that Nigeria is not getting it right continues. Be it 

appointment of a good coach or the coach assembling quality 

players to prosecute matches to bring succour to Nigerians in 

times of frustrations from poor governance. That is the pain as we 

try to savour a World Cup without Nigeria.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 

SEE SOLUTION ON PAGE 5 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Advert Dept: 01-7924470, Hotline: 01-4544821, Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024 

E-mail website: sundayvanguard@yahoo.com, editor@vanguard.com, news@vanguardngr.com, sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com. Advert: advert@vanguardngr.com. Internet: www.vanguardngr.com 

(ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: WALE AKINOLA 08023145556. All correspondence to P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos.

20112022

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