Suicide bomber kills four, injures 48 in Potiskum, Yobe state

There was another bomb blast today, January 18 from a
suicide bomber who drove in a Golf car. He rammed the car,
hitting a Petrol Station in Potiskum, Yobe State. He killed four,
including himself and injured 48 people. Sad!

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Stampede at Buhari’s campaign in Jos yesterday kills 2

According to a report on Vanguard two people were trampled
to death in a stampede during the APC presidential campaign
in Plateau state yesterday January 17th.
The victims were said to be trying to force their way out of
the crowded Rwang Pam Township Stadium, venue of the
event, when they were trampled on and they gave up the
ghost.

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Graphic photos: Former Peter Odili aide dies in fire inside hisroom

Abazi Bazeno Yeigbagha, a former police officer and one time
aid to Dr Peter Odili, when he was Governor or Rivers state,
died inside his room at his home at Bazeno plaza, off Aka Rd,
Rumolumini, Rivers state, yesterday morning Saturday
January 17th.
According to a family source who spoke exclusively with LIB,
Abazi was alone in his room in the morning when the fire
started, while his wife and kids were in the family sitting. They
said he was an agile man but got burnt to ashes in the fire.
No one knows the cause of the fire and family sources claim it
was only his room that got burnt down. They even sent a pic
of him after the incident that they wanted me to share...it's
quite graphic so discretion advised. See it after the cut...

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Photo: Don Jazzy wins Sun Creative person of the year award

Don Jazzy yesterday evening won the Sun Newspapers
Creative Person of the Year Award 2014 at a ceremony that
held at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos. Well deserved!
Congrats to him.

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Photo: Motorcycle Thief Stripped Unclad In Benue

This notorious motorcycle robber in Yandev a
small community in Benue State. Luck ran out
of him as he was caught, he was striped
Unclad and giving the beaten of his life.
sometimes i just wonder why Nigerians never give up on this their jungle justice stuff, are you the police? why cant you leave them to do thei work insead of helping them? sabi sabi no go kill Nigerians . abeg o people of Naija let us start leaving judgement for the right people. i no know when una change to JUDGE OO, Nigerians JOOR OOO

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Graphic Photos Showing A Calabar Boy CaughtAnd Burnt To Death For Stealing - Is thatChristianity?

Some group of boys known as 'scolombo
boys' a street in Calabar South Local Government and
some where able to escape while one was caught by the
street residents and the only thing they could think of was
to burn him alive!
I write this with so much sadness how the
world has so degenerated to killing at any given time for
any given excuses.
How fast this same people in the picture will quickly run
their mouth and say Muslims are violent! So, tell me, Are
Christians not just like the Muslims?
What has the world turned into? I know stealing is bad.
But is it enough to roast a human God created? We
scream don't kill! don't kill! don't kill! But we are very
fast to roast our fellow human for a simple thing as
stealing... Which is better now.. Sharia law that would
have cut off his hands?
I ask again, why do we love taking laws into our hands?
Why do we live like the 'hunger game' age?
It's really sad that citizens feel comfortable with
murdering a fellow human being by burning him alive. And
someone, a young woman for that matter feels so cool to
draw close and take a photo of him, like he was some art
work. This is very depressing.

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Your recognition, testament of good works, Kalu tellsawardees

Chairman of Slok Group and Publisher of The Sun, Dr Orji Uzor
Kalu, yesterday at The Sun Awards, urged the awardees to
see the recognition as a testament of their good works in the
country, urging them not to relent in doing more.
Kalu, who was represented by the Vice Chairman of Slok
Group, Rev. Emeka Abone, tendered an apology over absence
at the event held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.
He, however, thanked the readers of The Sun Newspapers for
their choice of the paper above others.
Kalu also thanked the management of The Sun for keeping the
flag flying and charged them and the editorial team to keep
The Sun shining by presenting fair, balanced and objective
reports to the readers.

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Jonathan at 2nd Niger bridge

…Promises to complete project in 40 months
Reconciles Gov. Obiano, Obi
FROM EMMANUEL UZOR, Onitsha, GEOFFERY ANYANWU,
AWKA
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday paid an unscheduled
visit to the site of the second Niger bridge project at the
Onitsha-Asaba axis as part of activities marking his official
presidential campaign tour to Anambra state.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on the Obi of Onitsha,
Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, at the Ime-Obi palace,
President Jonathan said his visit to the site of the second
Niger bridge was to ascertain the true position of work at the
multi-billion naira project which he said is very critical to his
administration.
“I decided that I must visit the site of the second Niger Bridge
to know the level of work there because some people have
been saying all sorts of things, so I said I must visit the site
before coming to pay courtesy call on His Majesty. Work is in
progress on the project,” Jonathan assured.
President Jonathan further disclosed that the federal gov­
ernment had released N10 billion for the project out of which
over N1.5b was used to pay damages as part of efforts to ac­
celerate work on the project.
His words: “We have released N10 billon for the project out of
which N1.5 billion was used to pay damages. I also
discovered that work is really in progress as the access road
that will lead to the bridge that is about 3km has been graded
just to make sure that there is access to the site and I spoke
with the management of Julius Berger and they assured me
that the project will be completed within 40 months.”
On his visit to Anambra, President Jonathan who was ac­
companied by his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan and Vice
President, Arch. Namadi Sambo said he came to seek the
support of Ndi Anambra and people of the South East in
general ahead of next month’s general elections.
He expressed optimism that his presidential aspiration would
get the support of the people of the zone, adding, “I get a very
big support from the South East and that is why I decided to
pay a courtesy call on you, Your Majesty, to tell you that your
son, Azikiwe Jonathan is contesting for the presidential
election.”
However, a mild drama played out when the Obi of Onitsha,
Igwe Alfred Achebe invited the Governor of Anambra State,
Chief Willie Obiano and his predecessor, Chief Peter Obi and
urged President Jonathan to reconcile them as the duo
started having some issues shortly after Obiano took over as
the governor.
In his remarks Governor Obiano said the entire Anambra state
irrespective of political affiliations have decided to support
President Jonathan for a second term in office, adding that the
state under his administration has witnessed great re-birth
and shall support the President.
“Mr. President, I want to assure you that Anambra people will
give you support and vote for you 100 per cent. You don’t
need to campaign in Anambra as Ndi Anambra have made up
their mind to vote for you. We have given the people hope and
I am happy to let you know that security is no longer the prob­
lem of Anambra state; feel free any day to visit because it is
also your home,” Obiano said.
In his response, Igwe Achebe thanked President Jonathan for
his vision and transformation that has been witnessed since
he assumed office and reminded him that though the entire
people of the state are behind him, there should be a level
playing field for all political parties participating in the coming
general election.
He further invited the former Governor of the state, Chief Peter
Obi and his successor, Chief Willie Obiano before the entire
presidential entourage and traditional rulers from all the
communities of the state and reconciled them by calling on
President Jonathan to serve as the bridge between the duo.

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Late Dr Adadevoh sacrificed her life to save millions ofNigerians – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday described the late Dr.
Stella Ameyo Adadevoh, as a heroine who sacrificed her life
through her heroic action to save millions of Nigerians from
the deadly Ebola disease.
President Jonathan made the remark at the 4th convocation
ceremony of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in
which the Late Dr. Adadevoh was conferred with an honorary
degree by the institution that also graduated over 7,000
students.
The President who was represented at the event by the
Executive Secretary, National University Commission (NUC),
Prof Julius Okojie, also used the occasion to state that the
security challenge and religious crisis facing the nation can be
tackle if every Nigerian is educated.
On Dr. Adadevoh, who was conferred with Doctor of Science,
President Jonathan said she was chosen by NOUN for the
honorary degree because of the sacrifice she made during the
deadly Ebola crisis.
He described Adadevoh who was represented at the award
ceremony by her son, Cardoso Bankole, as a heroine who laid
down her life for the nation and that what she did would not
be forgotten by Nigerians.
In his address, the Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Prof Vincent
Tenebe, said Adadevoh gave up her life in the cause of fighting
the Ebola virus adding ‘’NOUN having recognized her
invaluable contributions to the society decided to appreciate
her by conferring honorary degree on her.
His words: ‘’NOUN appreciates your various contributions to
the development of Nigeria and beyond. Dear Dr. Ameyo
Adadevoh of blessed memory, though you have left us, you live
in our hearts, we are testimonies of the ultimate sacrifice you
have paid’’.
Prof Tenebe also revealed that NOUN produced its first set of
First Class one of which is Mrs. Anthonia Hafunjoy Okonye,
who emerged as the best graduating student and received
several awards including one by former President Shehu
Shagari and the NOUN overall best award. She studied Peace
and Conflict Resolution from the Abuja centre.
According to him, the other First Class product is John
Enokela Ejembi, who recorded the feat from the Department of
Agric Education from the Otukpo study centre in Benue State.
The two First Class products received standing ovation from
dignitaries including their colleagues.
Among those who graduated at the convocation include three
prison inmates but of particular interest is one mid age man,
Moshood Oladapo, serving life imprisonment at Kirikiri
Maximum Prisons who was awarded B.Sc in Peace and
Conflict Resolution.
The Deputy Controller of Prisons in charge of Maximum Prison
Kirikiri, Mr. Mojeed Olaniran, said the second inmate who
graduated alongside Moshood Oladapa was discharged two
weeks ago and that in the last convocation two inmates
bagged diploma from NOUN.
He revealed that currently Moshood Oladapo is teaching other
inmates at the Prison Secondary School while 44 other
inmates are students of NOUN but was silent on the issue of
granting amnesty to Moshood Oladapo and others who are
graduates.

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Nigerians in Diaspora mount opposition against Buhari

Nigerians in Diaspora have raised their opposition against the
candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General
Muhammadu Buhari, in the February 14 presidential election.
The groundswell of opposition against the former military ruler
is coming from the United States chapter of the Nigerians in
Diaspora Organization (NIDO).
At a press conference held at the Hilton Garden, Washington
DC, Hon. Victor Ugho, the immediate past Vice-President of
NIDO, who is now the current President of the Georgia State
chapter of the association with headquarters in Atlanta, urged
the former Head of State to perish the thought of becoming
the next president of the country, saying that the world had
moved past the likes of Buhari.
Hon. Ugho berated Buhari for allowing himself to be pushed
around by people who were looking for ways to cause more
pains to Nigerians.
His words: “As a matter of sincerity, I do not think Buhari is
the best candidate for Nigeria at this period in time. He was
there as Head of State, what did he do? Besides, he has not
told us what he is going to do differently. We need continuity;
the choice should not be based on tribal sentiments. Let him
tell us how he is going to fix the so-called terrible situation
he has identified. We need somebody who will not bring
disunity.”
Also speaking, the Public Relations Officer of NIDO, Mr.
Ndubusi George, called on Nigerians at home and in the Di­
aspora to think wisely and vote for the right candidate in next
month’s presidential election.
“The devil we know is better than the angel we do not know.
What we need now in the country is for all of us to unite and
support President Jonathan who has been tested and trusted
to lead the country for another four years. It is a fact that you
should not expect something that had been damaged for years
to be fixed overnight; it requires patience and perseverance to
achieve this,” he said.
Similarly, the Diaspora Campaign Network (DCN) described
the presidential aspiration of Gen Buhari as laughable.
The National Coordinator of the organization, Mr Franklin
Ekechukwu, said Nigerians could not afford to return the
management of the nation’s economy to a vestige of the
military era during which time the nation’s economy was dam­
aged.
He said, “Nigeria has made a big stride in the right direction
since Jonathan became the president. Nigerians need to
exercise patience to allow his policies to manifest.”
“It is laughable when somebody who was a retired military
dictator suddenly becomes a father of democratic norms,
whereas, when as a ruler, he dismissed the constitution and
ruled by decree. Nigeria cannot go back to the old days where
anything goes without proper planning,” he maintained.

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Open your mouth again and I’ll take on you, Babatope warnsObasanjo

Ebenezer Babatope is one of the foot soldiers of President Goodluck Jonathan working to ensure the victory of PDP in the February 14, presidential election, especially in the Southwest part of the country. In this interview, he warned former President Olusegun Obasanjo to desist from making statements that are capable of discrediting the Jonathan administration. Excerpts: What do you think President Goodluck Jonathan is coming to do differently from what he has been doing in the last four years of the life of this present administration? The first question you should ask yourself is this: Is the man qualified to go for a second term? The answer is yes, the man is fully qualified to go for a second term. Nigeria’s constitution guarantees that a president can stay for eight years. So, he is not doing anything that is criminal, he is not doing anything that is illegal. Some people have been claiming that President Goodluck Jonathan signed an agreement not to go for a second term and it amazes me. I keep asking them: With whom did he sign the undertaken and where is the undertaken? When you have a gentleman’s agreement, even in law, you must conclusively prove that that gentleman agreement existed or still existing. Nobody among all these people making noise has been able to come up to say this is the paper signed by Jonathan. Even if he said that, is it legal? Is it constitutional? Absolutely not! So, Jonathan is free to run for his second term and by the grace of God and the grace of the Nigerian people, as a candidate for the second term, he will win the election. It appears that the issue of making agreement and breaking it has become a regular pastime of PDP. There is nothing like breaking of agreement by President Jonathan. And the constitution of our party is so clear and subjected to the workability of the Nigerian constitution. How then will the party come around to say that it is accepting such an agreement? There can only be an agreement when that agreement reconciles with constitution of the party and the constitution of the country. More than ever before, your party feels really challenged with the emergence of Gen Muhammadu Buhari as the Presidential candidate of the APC. Isn’t it? Some of them who don’t have background history of this country may think so. I have background history of this country. Buhar’s candidature can only affect those who passed through his tyranny. How can his candidature affect the fortune of PDP? The man has done a lot of things to this country when he was head of state to make Nigerians know that if they vote him to power, they are voting tyranny back into power. They are voting back into power a man who doesn’t believe in democracy. Apart from the fact that he sent many of us in the Second Republic to jail when he seized power on December 31, 1983, he came on a vengeance mission. Laws were backdated to punish innocent Nigerians. This was particularly the case of three young men- Batholomew Owo, Barab Ogedegbe and Ojulope, who were arrested at the airport for travelling with cocaine. In order to punish the boys, Buhari’s regime backdated a law to the very day the boys were arrested and got them executed. Even advanced countries of the world don’t execute people on frivolous things like that. Even examination malpractices were made to carry death penalty. Not only that, he pounced on two Guardian journalists, Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson, and sent them to jail on frivolous charges that they were going to publish something in the foreign pages of the Guardian. Many politicians were sent to jail and died there. He sent one of the commissioners under Bola Ige, Alarape Jolaoso, to prison and he became blind when he left the prison. Till today, Jolaoso is a blind man. What about Shagari? Shagari appealed to them to take him to prison, but they locked him up somewhere in Ikoyi. By the time Shagari left detention, he himself wrote that he nearly went blind. Buhari was talking then as if there will never be a return of democracy in Nigeria. Yet, it is this same man that is saying he wants to rule Nigeria. It could have been a different ballgame if APC had picked either Rabiu Kwankwaso or Atiku. Then, we will know we have a challenge. But with Buhari, we are not in any way challenged. Beyond Buhari, is it also not true that your party is facing a most formidable opposition in recent time? Formidable because they are able to come together? You mean a formidable party that has appointed a man whose record in office is such that nobody will want to associate with? APC has not lived by the history of this country by bringing a candidate whose past will haunt him until he leaves this world. The right of Nigerians to elect who they want is a right that cannot be trampled upon. So, whether APC is formidable or not will be determined by the Nigerian people. I am experienced enough to know that every political party in the world that wants to win an election is always careful in electing credible people who are going to be their candidates. No matter how tough it is, by the grace of God and the grace of the people, PDP will win the election. APC has made a wrong choice. You will see the verdict of the Nigerian people. Nigerian people will not permit someone of Buhari’s character to rule this country. You know what he did to Chief Awolowo? Three or four days after he became Head of state, he sent soldiers to ransack Baba Awolowo’s house. The soldiers went there, ransacked Baba’s house and then went on to make an announcement from Dodan Baracks where Buhari was presiding that they met Lagos Master Plan in Baba Awolowo’s house. Not only that, he asked Baba Awolowo to report to the police station. When Baba Awolowo got to Ikeja police station, he made a pronouncement and said ‘the omens are still bad.’ I was not in any government, I was just an officer of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) as Director of Publicity, Buhari pounced on me and moved me to three prisons in Nigeria. When my father died, everybody in Nigeria appealed to him to allow me bury my father, he did not. You wait, by the time we have the election, you will see what will happen. We are already hearing that plans are being made by some people in his party to murder some individuals. Somebody phoned me in Britain about two weeks ago and said my name had been put down for those to be assassinated. Both APC and PDP have said it time and again that campaign for this election is going to be issue-based. What is PDP as a political party bringing to the table to make Nigerians vote for its candidates? The past of Buhari is one of the issues. We have written our manifesto. You wait until we release our manifesto. All we know is that Nigeria must remain one Nigeria. Nigeria must not be broken into pieces. Nigerians must ensure that they collectively end the Boko Haram insurgency. Nigerians must be able to afford three square meals per day. When we release our manifesto, Nigerians will be able to see all the issues I have raised. How much electoral promise President Jonathan made in the last election has he fulfilled? You are to tell me the promises he made that he did not fulfill. He promised stable power, Nigerians have not had stable power. Is that not an issue? When have we had power problem in Nigeria? Governance is about problem solving. (Cuts in)… Was Obasanjo not involved in power project? There is conscious effort on the part of Jonathan to ensure that power problem is solved. Whether we like it or not, by the grace of God, Nigeria will have power. Could you mention one specific thing Jonathan has done that has impacted positively on the lives of the ordinary Nigerian? You are talking as a partisan journalist. That is why you are asking that question. No, I am only presenting you an opportunity to showcase what you have for the Nigerian people. To answer your question anyway; Ministry of Agriculture where Adesina is the Minister is there. We are now in the process of exporting our agricultural products. Not only that, go to the rail system. I was Minister of Transportation in this country. We now have a new rail running from Kaduna to Abuja. We are moving away from the narrow gauge system to the standard gauge system. This is a regime that has invested massively in individual’s freedom. No Nigerian can name one person who has been murdered through state sponsored assassination since the beginning of this administration. Other regimes from military to the civilians have had their names battered by executive brutality and murder of innocent Nigerians. No Nigerian can mention one individual who has been murdered during Jonathan’s regime. And, of course, investment in human being is the greatest asset to stablise democracy in this country. How would you react to Obasanjo’s statement on foreign reserve depletion by the Jonathan administration? Obasanjo is free to talk on any issue. It is true that when Obasanjo was in government, Okonjo Iweala did a lot of things to ensure that our creditors wrote off our debts. Jonathan is using the same person Obasanjo used as Minister for Finance. The fluctuations we have in our foreign reserve has come as a result of the fall in the international market price of oil. What can he do about it? He can’t do anything. America stopped buying our oil and so we have a glut in the international market. This is why Jonathan is now spending a lot on our agricultural sector to ensure that we have another means by which we can boost the economy. So, Obasanjo has made no point. As I said, he is free to talk on any issue, but it is now becoming clear that Obasanjo has some grouses against Presi­ dent Jonathan. To that extent, do you still see Obasanjo as a member of PDP? He keeps saying he is a member of the PDP National Exco. If those agents of the party still agree that he is a member, what can I do? So, he is a member. All I can say is that he should stop making statements that are capable of influencing the people to vote against our party. And I can tell you; this is the last time he will make such a statement. If he makes such statement again, I will take him up.

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The rule of law must triumph –Solanke

Eminent lawyer and first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria
(SAN), Chief Folake Solanke yesterday said that the rule of
law must thrive in Nigeria if the country must make progress.
Solanke made the submission in her remarks shortly after
receiving the Life Time Achievement Award at the annual The
Sun Awards.
She said the nation could not afford to hold the judiciary in
contempt, noting that both judges and court judgments must
be respected.
She said that the country must return to the golden age of the
legal profession when the judiciary was well respected and
pleaded with the media to make distinctions when talking
about corruption in the judiciary, as not all judges are corrupt.
Lauding The Sun newspapers, she expressed delight that de­
spite the current national challenges, the company was able
to identify some persons to be honoured and declared, “We all
need The Sun.”
Her words: “Nigeria is at the crossroads, with a lot of
challenges. Even in the midst of the challenges, we are able to
identify some people to be honoured. We must respect the rule
of law. We cannot afford to hold the judiciary in contempt.
Judgments must be respected and judges respected. The legal
profession must be respected. When judges are attacked and
documents destroyed, that is the height of infamy. We have to
go back to the golden age of the legal profession. When I
entered the legal profession, there was no talk of corruption in
the judiciary. But now, everyone is saying it with impunity.
Not all judge

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Certificate saga: APC warns PDP to stop hounding Buhari

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has urged the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to stop hounding its presidential
candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari over the issue of his
credentials, especially his school leaving certificate.
The APC Director of Publicity, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi, in a press
statement issued in Osogbo yesterday said the insinuations by
the PDP that Buhari was not qualified to contest the February
14 election only showed the level that the PDP had sunk in its
perception of decency in governance and civilised political
engagement.
“This assertion by the PDP, not only cynically assaults the
person of Gen. Buhari, it also insults the integrity of the
military as an institution’, APC said.
The party further stated: “Whoever started the vile insinuation
that Buhari was was unqualified is worthy of his own status in
the PDP hierarchy. The truth of the matter is that the ruling
party is in control of all federal institutions of government and
is by extension in possession of all Buhari’s credentials in the
military establishment.”
APC contended that Buhari is not constitutionally required to
present any certificate to INEC, going by the dictates of Sec.
131, subsection D and its interpretation clause in Part 1V of
the constitution.
“Secondly, the Electoral Act, Sec 31 subsection 5, Specifically
says that nobody who believed that there was something false
in the disposition of a candidate’s documentation to INEC,
which could disqualify that candidate from participating in the
election, should proceed to the court to seek redress,” APC
said.

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Akinjide boasts: No mercy, PDP will win 25 states

Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard
Akinjide has seen all in politics, dating back to the pre-
independence days. Now in his twilight, he x-rays the forth­
coming elections in February, and gives it squarely to the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , in all of 25 states of
the federation.
He sees the alliance of some south west politicians and the
North as crystalised in the opposition All Progressives
Congress, APC, as a gambit that is bound to backfire, vowing
that nothing will stop his party, the PDP from sending the APC
packing in the zone. Akinjide further warns proponents of
parallel government to beware as they risk treason charges.
On the insurgency in the North east, he says there is nothing
new about it.
“The problem in the North-east is not anything new. The
problem has been there for the past 40 years or more. They
have never supported the government at the centre.”
He speaks on other election related issues including the
reported endorsement of the presidential candidate of the APC,
Gen Muhammadu Buhari, retd, by the outlawed Movement For
the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, and former vice
president Alex Ekwueme’s insight that Jonathan may not get
the bloc votes of the South east, among others.
Excerpts.
Nigeria is at the threshold of a general election, and for the
first time in this dispensation, there is a major opposition
party that appears to have what it takes, in terms of capacity
to give the ruling party, the PDP, a big run. What is your own
view on this?
I don’t accept that we have a major party in the sense you
have explained. If you know the history of this country, we
used to have the NCNC, the NPC, the AG, which are very
powerful political parties. At that time Balewa was prime
minister, and I was in his cabinet. Later on Alhaji Shehu
Shagari became the president, and also I was in that cabinet.
None of the political parties you mentioned is as powerful as
those political parties of those years which were in the
opposition too. So, your question is not correct, and I can
assure you that the coming election is going to be free and
fair and PDP is going to win overwhelmingly.
I like your confidence, but you know since 1999, PDP has
dominated the political space. Suddenly last year APC sprang
up from the ashes of ACN, ANPP, a rump of APGA, and CPC,
and there were massive defections from the PDP to APC. The
way they are going and their calculations in the North and the
South west, the party is beating its chest to take over power
from the PDP this year.
That is nonsense. In the South-west, the PDP now rules in
Ondo State. The PDP rules in Ekiti State. And I can assure you
that the PDP will win in Ogun State, and very, very likely Ondo
State. So after the election, the equation of the control of
states will be different. I have very strong reasons to believe
that PDP will win the South-west in the next election.
I must make that very clear to you. In the delta where there
are six states, the dominance of PDP is very, very strong, and
I want to tell you in advance that the PDP will win all the six
states in the delta. The same thing will happen in the middle
belt. The PDP is extremely strong in the middle belt. It is the
strongest political party there. In the North-west, the PDP is
very strong, and in the North-east, PDP is the strongest
political party. So if you take the equation of Nigeria’s politics
objectively, out of the 36 states in the country today, I have
reason to believe that PDP will win not less than 24 or 25
states total. Those who are putting false possibilities on
television, radio and newspapers or magazines are wrong.
After the election they will be proved extremely wrong.
You excluded Lagos in your calculation of the states where
PDP will grab power. What makes you think that PDP will not
pick Lagos?
Lagos is controlled by the opposition party now. I am aware
of that. But if we have true free, and fair elections in Lagos
State, and there is no dominance by one single individual,
there is no corruption, I have reasons to believe that PDP has
a very strong chance of winning Lagos State. That is my
belief.
I would like you to compare the present regime of Goodluck
Jonathan and that of the Second Republic headed by Alhaji
Shehu Shagari. Both are true civilians. In both dispensations,
the presidents were accused of incompetence. They used the
word “inept” for Shagari and “incompetence” now for
Jonathan. When Shagari rolled back to power in 1985, the
military struck within three months. Are you not afraid that if
Jonathan wins, the military may also intervene?
Definitely, the military will never intervene again. And I want to
assure you that one of the best governments ever run in the
history of this country was that of Alhaji Shehu Shagari
presidential government, and the worst governments ever run
in this country were run by the military governments. I want
you to name one military government in the history of this
country that you can declare as being clear and clean. We had
extreme detentions in prison, extreme removal of governors,
dictatorships, and so on and so forth. And they were not
elected into power. And if you look at the history of corruption
in this country, the most corrupt governments in the history of
this country were the military governments. In fact, if you look
at the history of this country and the profile of the citizens,
the most affluent and richest people in the country today,
were those former military rulers, or governors, or people
whom the military are using as front to hide their wealth. So,
you must have gotten the arithmetic wrong. Some of them
have established newspapers, either directly or indirectly, and
radio and television stations, and they use them to tell all
sorts of lies. Don’t let that carry you away. After the coming
general elections, the card will be on the table face up.
The main challenger of President Good luck Jonathan, Gen
Mohammadu Buhari, led the military coup that toppled the
democratically elected regime of Shehu Shagari in 1983. He
has promised to stabilize the security situation in the
country, and of course stem the tide of corruption which this
government has been assailed with. Do you think it is a tall
order for him?
Buhari toppled a democratically elected government and we
are witnesses to how he ran a despotic government for two
years. This is the fourth time he is trying to come to power
through the ballot box that he so despised, and on each
occasion the people had always turned him back. I can tell
you categorically that he will not win. Jonathan will still win
overwhelmingly. I have reasons to say that, but I will not go
into any detail now. The equation or alliance of certain people
in the South-west to the effect that their presidential
candidate will come from the North is very clear and it is
going to work against them. It is going to make them lose
many states and many senatorial seats and House of
Representatives seats. I will not develop it more than that.
When the results are declared, many people will be shocked
and disappointed; because the PDP will win overwhelmingly.
The main opposition party APC, has also declared that it will
form a parallel government should Jonathan bounce back to
power. As you insist that Jonathan will win, and against the
backdrop of their threat, don’t you see a looming crisis?
That is the cry of a loser. If you lose election, what you do is
that you go and file election petition. There is a tribunal for
those who feel unfairly losing the election. You don’t form a
parallel government. I challenge anyone to show me anywhere
in the constitution where it states that when you lose election,
you go and form a parallel government. You cannot do that, if
you do that, that will be treason, and it will be dealt with
according to the law.
Why is the present government finding it difficult to subdue
the mounting security challenges and corruption on which the
opposition party is basing their campaigns?
The problem in the North east is not anything new. The
problem has been there for the past 40 years or more. They
have never supported the government at the centre. If you
remember, when Waziri Ibrahim was in politics before he died,
he formed his own political party. He didn’t support any
national party. He didn’t support NCNC. He didn’t support
NPC. During the Second Republic he didn’t support any other
party. They formed their own group. Well, if they want to have
their own political party, I have no problem with that. But
what I have serious problem with is your engagement in
terrorism, kidnapping innocent young girls who have
committed no offence, and who did nothing but to go to
school to be educated in order to develop their country. I can
assure you that when the elections are held, you will discover
that the PDP, will win all those states in the North-east where
there are problems. I have no doubt about that. All we need is
free and fair election.
Going by current trends now, there appears to be so much
apprehension in the air, that has elicited fears that if this
election holds, there may be crisis or war, and this can lead
to anything, including disintegration. Do you harbour such
fears?
There will be no crisis. There will be no war. Anybody who
creates crisis or war is committing treason, and that person
will be dealt with in accordance with the law. I have no fear at
all, that there is going to be amity, and the winning party will
be called upon to form the government at the centre. And
those who win at the state level will also do the same thing. I
think those talking like that are predicting their own downfall
and the coming defeat. PDP has no problem with defeat, PDP
will win overwhelmingly, fairly and the country will be in
peace.
Let me take you to the area of prediction. Most men of God
are prophesying that Jonathan will lose the election. Don’t
you believe in these seers or prophets?
I don’t accept that analysis. It is false. It is not correct. If you
look at the media, whether it is radio, television, magazine or
newspaper, it is the one controlled by the opposition party or
the one they have enormous influence on, and they talk and
write rubbish. Such a thing will never happen. Anybody who is
going into an election and is predicting anarchy and chaos is
not a democrat. Those people will be dealt with in accordance
with the law.
I am talking about prophets, those who are prophesying
failure, doom for Jonathan. Recently Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka, a
Catholic priest, who runs the Adoration Ministry in Enugu,
said Jonathan will lose the election. He put out four pigeons
to fly. The fattest one represented Jonathan refused to fly,
symbolically suggesting failure.
I don’t accept that. I think that is arrant nonsense. We don’t
do elections through prediction. We don’t do election though
religion. We do election through democratic process, and by
voting. We rely heavily on the votes and voices of Nigerians
and through that, PDP will win overwhelmingly.
Let’s look at the government of Goodluck Jonathan. There
has been accusations of profligacy, especially from his
predecessor Obasanjo, who said recently that the foreign
reserves had been depleted and that the president has lost
focus, describing his government as the worst in the history
of Nigeria. Coming from his predecessor, do you not believe
that there are gems of truth in the allegations?
That prediction is wrong. It is false. And if you have any
rationale and objective assessment of regimes in this country,
Jonathan’s government is one of the best that we have had. I
want you to turn to the price of oil. I want you to turn to the
price of groundnuts, the price of other products. Anybody, who
was former head of state, and is predicting evil and downfall
for his country cannot be said to be patriotic and I cannot
support such a person. I support the present government, and
I believe the PDP will win next election overwhelmingly.
What about the issue of the devaluation of the currency upon
which this government has taken a lot of flak. Do you believe
it is expedient for a government that is about to face election
to allow its currency to be devalued at the time it did,
instead of waiting till after the election?
You get that very wrong. Currency devaluation is worldwide.
It has affected Russia, all the European countries, all the
African countries. And Spain is in financial problem. So also is
Greece, so also is France; so also are other countries in the
Southern and Northern hemisphere. The only country that has
a stable currency now is the USA. And it is because they have
changed the mathematics of their oil. At the moment, they
don’t import much oil again. They produce their own oil, and
that is helping them a lot. But here, we depend heavily on oil
and there is a limit you can go if you depend heavily on a
single product. At the moment, we are doing a lot to develop
our agriculture and other products, and I have very strong
reason to believe that the sky is not the limit for the strength
of our economy in the future.
The Movement For the Emancipation of the Niger Delta,
MEND, a few days ago endorsed the APC. MEND is from
Jonathan’s volatile Niger Delta region. What do you read into
this endorsement of the opposition by a group from his own
region?
That endorsement is nonsense. I tell you categorically that
PDP and Jonathan will win all the six states in the Niger-
Delta overwhelmingly. I have no doubt about that. After the
elections, you can phone me and confirm it to me. People say
all sorts of things before election. I think it is either out of
ignorance or political incompetence.
But Governor Amaechi is also from the Niger Delta region and
I understand that he and his party are very strong in Rivers
State. Are you not building false hopes on Rivers State?
I know RiversState very well, and I know the six states of the
Niger Delta region very well. I can assure you again, that PDP
will sweep the votes in Rivers States. I have been there
recently several times. And each time I am there, I go round
the place, and talk to the leaders. The governor of Rivers
State at the moment, thought he was going to be the vice
presidential candidate of APC. Unfortunately, he was not
picked, so, his political arithmetic has collapsed, and there is
no strength in his calculation.
Let me take you to the South East. Former vice president Dr
Alex Ekwueme, recently declared that Jonathan will not get
the bloc votes of the Igbos over what he termed betrayal. Is
the ship sinking right under the feet of the president?
I did not read that. If he said that, I don’t know why he said
it. But I can assure you that PDP will win the whole five Igbo
states, overwhelmingly. Either Ekwueme was misquoted, or he
got what he said wrong. I have no reason to know why he
said that. I doubt if he said it.
In the South-west here, you have very strong voices in the
APC, which have been largely unchallenged, or countered by
the PDP. Looking at the history of the South-west, they have
always been in the opposition. Why do you think it is now
they will change and join the mainstream national political
movement?
That is not true. If you look at the politics of the South-west,
before the last elections, the opposition did not control it. It
was controlled by our party; and the reason why they lost the
states has been analyzed in the media. A large section of the
judiciary was corrupted; because of their leadership and
manipulation of the people who had election petitions. I don’t
want to go into the details of that, but I can assure you that,
that will never happen again.
You talk with so much confidence, but only yesterday, the
DSS, said APC had already concluded plans to hack into
INEC data base with a view to rigging the elections. That
means they can still manipulate things.
I don’t believe in corruption in election; and I have not read
what you have said. But I can assure you that nobody will be
allowed to corrupt the next election. It is going to be clean, it
is going to be clear, it is going to be democratic.
Do you have confidence in INEC?
I don’t know the personnel of the INEC. I have never met the
chairman and I don’t even know the commissioners. So, I
don’t want to comment on them.
The anti-corruption agencies in this country have been
moribund for some time now. What is the reason for that?
I don’t know the personnel of that body. I don’t know how
they operate; and I will not like to comment further. What are
the best credentials of Jonathan, you think that can sell him
best to the electorate. One, he is one of the most educated
presidents we have ever produced. He is a Ph.D. Two, he has
got enormous experience in governance. He has worked at the
state level; outside government, he has operated as deputy
governor, he has acted as governor, he has been vice
president, he has been president. He has enormous knowledge
of Nigeria’s problems and governance. So, he is one of the
best candidates to rule this country.
But he has been in power for six years now. If you add
another four years, assuming he wins, that will be
unprecedented. The North is seriously agitated, and part of
their opposition to Jonathan is because they feel he is
usurping their slot on the zoning formulae? Will that not
affect his chances at the polls?
There you go again. Jonathan is using his term as prescribed
by the law and the constitution. He is not breaking any law.
He is competent and is obeying the electoral law. Anybody
who accuses him of disobeying any law must be talking
rubbish. I don’t accept it, and I don’t agree with it at all.
Obasanjo was president or head of state during the military
regime and ruled again for another eight years as civilian
president. And he has been one of the longest serving heads
of state anybody can think of. Jonathan has not served as
much as that. How can anybody accuse Jonathan of
wrongdoing without accusing previous holders of that office of
wrongdoing?.
North as expressed by their socio-cultural organization, ACF
insist that Buhari is their candidate. Why are the cultural
organizations in the South like Afenifere, Ohanaeze, finding it
difficult to endorse a particular candidate like the North did?
Cultural bodies don’t fix candidates for governorship or for the
presidency, so anybody who talks the way you presented it
must be reading his arithmetic upside down. The political
parties are responsible for presenting candidates for elections
at the local level, at the state level, at the national level. I
reject the analysis you have put forward. Those who have
endorsed a candidate of the North are wrong, and don’t know
what they are doing.
Jonathan by his own admittance said, he is the most
criticized president ever in Nigeria. Do you agree with him?
I have not done the arithmetic. I cannot say he is right. I
cannot say he is wrong. I cannot comment on that.
Between Shagari and Jonathan who actually are Nigeria’s
only true executive presidents (Balewa was Prime Minister)
who would you vote for?
Oh! I will vote for both of them. Shagari was excellent as
president. I was in his cabinet as attorney general and I know
his performance, his competence. At that time, the country
was riddled with military interventions. The greatest
intervention we have had in governance in the history of the
country is through the military. So, I don’t want you to
compare military rule with civilian rule. They are two different
arithmetic.
What do you have against Buhari, plan to come back to
power?
I am not in his political party. What I have against him is that
I don’t want his political party to win. I want his party to
lose. And I want my party to win. That is the truth.
I would like you to give an overview of our pre-election
process?
One. It is going to be democratic. Two. The PDP will win
overwhelmingly.
Three, the opposition parties will lose. And finally, there is
going to be peace and amity after the elections.
Let me also add that an ex-militant Asari Dokubo has vowed
that should Jonathan lose the election he will go back to the
trenches.
How did he read that? I believe in the rule of law and I
support the rule of law. I don’t believe in violence and nobody
should believe in violence.

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WhyNigerians should reject Jonathan on February 14 –Tinubu

National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asi­
waju Bola Tinubu, yesterday bombed President Goodluck
Jonathan for allegedly encouraging corruption in the country.
Speaking at the flag-off of re-election campaign of Oyo State
governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at the Mapo Hill, Tinubu
flayed Jonathan for purportedly claiming that he did not know
that 400,000 barrels of oil were stolen from the country.
According to the former governor of Lagos State, Jonathan,
who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), must be voted out of office because he
reportedly claimed he was not aware that some people have
been stealing in his presence.
Tinubu, however, urged eligible voters in Oyo State to cast
their votes for Governor Ajimobi, who is the APC governorship
candidate in the state and the presidential candidate of the
party, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, during next month’s general
elections.
Tinubu, also took a swipe at the former governor of Oyo State,
Senator Rashidi Ladoja, who is the governorship candidate of
the Accord Party (AP). He stated that Ladoja was an ingrate
to APC and those of them that ensured his reinstatement
when he (Ladoja) was illegally impeached as governor in
2006. His words: “I stood behind Ladoja when he was
removed from office. I stood by him from Lagos and made
sure he was reinstated. We know how much we spent. We
brought Ajimobi and said you should support him as your
younger brother, who is intelligent and visionary, but you said
it is one Accord Party you hold. Accord Party is a party of
deception. We enjoin Ladoja to support his brother to win in
the February 28 election.”
Former governors of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi and Segun
Oni, also appealed to the electorate in the state to vote for
Buhari and Ajimobi.
Former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola,
who said he knew PDP inside out because he once acted as
its former national secretary, added: “Ajimobi should therefore
be allowed to complete all he had started. Jonathan has
completely got burnt (o ti jona tan), so don’t vote wrongly.
We should exhibit unity of purpose in the South West. Ensure
you get your voter card and vote for APC.”
In his speech, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State alleged
that proceeds from fraudulent sales of kerosene have been
used by the PDP to fund President Jonathan’s campaign team
and the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN).
“The Federal Government deliberately sells a litre of kerosene
to cronies at N40:90k while the cronies sell to marketers at
N95 per litre.

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Bags and footwear my cash cows –Ndidi Ugo, Founder,Creative Director DIDI Creations

Ndidi Ugo is resilient and determined. She has to be if she
must remain in the highly competitive fashion industry world
wide and especially as she is based in the United Kingdom.
She could have been a medical practitioner but she was
destined to be in the fashion business as she has always been
interested in fashion and being fashionable since childhood. In
this interview with CHRISTY ANYANWU, she revealed her
motivation and her staying power in the business and her goal
in the next five years.
Excerpts:
Tell us about yourself
My name is Miss Tina Ndidi Ugo and I’m the Founder and
Creative Director of DiDi Creations Ltd.
The brand is based and incorporated in the United Kingdom at
the moment.
We are a one-stop fashion company, which caters for the
fashion conscious through creating unique pieces of unisex
bags, footwear, clothing and accessories.
My aim is to nurture and grow the brand to become a lifestyle
brand which every stylish fashionista across the globe would
love to be associated with at some point.
When did you become a designer?
Professionally in 2012. However, I had been designing part
time and as a hobby since 2005.
While growing up, it was almost certain I would end up in the
fashion industry as I enjoyed to dress up and stand in front of
the mirror quite often.
My mum was a very fashionable woman and I loved to watch
her dress up and actually started emulating her early in my
life.
I had always loved to stand out from the crowd through my
dressing, hair, make-up and accessories from my teenage
years.
This continued into my university days at the University of
Ibadan where I altered already made clothes through
shredding, painting etc. just to look different.
After graduation in 2001, I worked briefly in the insurance,
aviation and publishing sectors respectively.
I quitted paid employment in 2005 to become an entrepreneur
and set up my first fashion business same year, though it was
part time at the time, as I ventured into other businesses.
DIDI Creations Ltd was berthed on June 2012, and building
the brand is my full time job at the moment.
Did you attend a fashion school?
Yes, I eventually attended a private fashion school in Hendon
Central, North London where I did some short courses on
dress making and sewing in 2012. I can sew and actually
make my clothing collections for runway exhibitions.
Why did you venture into fashion designing?
During my high school days, I actually dreamt of becoming a
medical doctor but had to let go of that dream when I didn’t
make the JAMB cut-off mark, which would enable me secure
admission to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of
Ibadan, so I had to switch courses.
However, I have no regrets for choosing the fashion industry
as it apparently suits my personality and lifestyle.
When I was working for others, I never really had job
satisfaction and kept on changing jobs annually.
It became more apparent as I grew older that this was the
industry that I would end up in as I dared to be different from
the crowd most times.
I love fashion and decided to start making a living off
something I love and enjoy doing.
I have come to realise that people thrive and succeed when
they venture into what they love and enjoy doing, hence my
setting up a fashion business.
Tell us how you started designing bags, shoes and ac­
cessories.
I started designing bags, shoes and accessories as a result of
my knack for these fashion pieces. My love and preference for
genuine leather and statement fashion pieces was also a huge
factor.
I believed I had something to offer on the fashion scene and
had been told many times by strangers, friends and family
that I was quite creative, whenever I was seen in any of my
designed custom-made sample pieces hence I decided to pull
the bull by the horns and made up my mind to start designing
as a means of livelihood.
I work with some of the trusted and tested artisans across the
globe to create my perfect finished pieces.
How do you source the materials you use?
You’re basically asking me for some of my trade secrets so I
will be as brief as possible.
I source my raw materials across the globe, but my print
fabrics popularly known as Ankara are mostly sourced from
Nigeria and other West African countries, while my hides and
leather are sourced from Italy.
How did you start-up?
I relocated to the United Kingdom for further studies and
decided to stay back after my MBA.
At this point, I was torn between getting a job in the financial
sector and setting up my own business and decided to settle
for the latter.
I was aware of how tough the job market could be, hence
decided to set up my own business upon graduation.
The fashion industry became my first option as it was obvious
I would eventually be fully involved in it at some point in my
lifetime.
I decided the brand would be a one-stop fashion centre which
will cater for fashion conscious men and women across the
globe through creating unique pieces of clothing, bags,
footwear and accessories.
Since this was going to become my full time job, I knew it had
to be done professionally and fortunately, my recently
concluded MBA at the time prepared me on the steps to follow
in setting up a business professionally:
I had to write my business plan
I decided how the business was going to be financed and
eventually settled to use personal savings, bank loan and
getting an Angel Investor on board.
As a designer, one of my major concerns was finding the
right name for the brand. After much deliberation, I decided
to use my middle name “Ndidi” because it was my native
name and I wanted my African heritage to be associated
with the brand. However, I had to shorten it by removing
the first alphabet ‘N’ and stuck with ‘DIDI’ to enable
everyone regardless of their ethnicity or nationality
pronounce it with ease and accurately.
I spoke with a few friends and family regarding my proposed
business name DIDI Creations. Some thought it was cool and
sounded great, while a few others suggested just calling the
brand ‘DIDI’. I explained to these minority that since the brand
would be all about creating different fashion pieces that I felt
it was necessary to have it as proposed hence I eventually
settled for DIDI Creations.
Afterwards I searched for the availability of the name on
Companies House , fortunately it was available and I
incorporated it immediately. However, while searching for
the domain name, myself and my IT team discovered .com
wasn’t available at the time so I had to settle for .co.uk,
hence we came up with www.didicreations. co.uk
Next I had to decide my demographics and eventually we
decided we would cater for the middle to the upper class of
the society.
I started sourcing for artisans across the globe and
eventually got a great team whom I work with to create our
perfectly finished bags, footwear and accessories.
As soon as our pieces were ready, I actually came home to
launch the brand in Nigeria on June 9th 2012. This was due
to the fact that I wanted a presence here as well.
After our successful launch, we needed distributors in
Nigeria . At the moment, we have about five outlets in
Nigeria (in Lagos and Abuja), and some online shops.
In the United Kingdom, I retail through my website
www.didicreations. co.uk, and I have about three retailers and
also sell through some online portals.
What’s your inspiration?
My inspiration come from vintage pieces, nature, colours,
African arts and culture; hence the retro, colourful and
Afrocentric theme in most of my collections.
What challenges do you face as a designer, especially as
you’re based abroad?
My challenges are quite a number; however top on the list is
that the fashion business is very competitive and capital
intensive.
Hence if one is not genuinely passionate about it, it could
become frustrating along the line as it takes a bit of time to
break-even or making any return on investment.
I would say I have not personally had any sad experience in
the industry till date.
However, I observed overtime that during the On schedule
London Fashion Week shows, you hardly see any African
designer . This I find appalling as we have quite a number of
great talents from the continent.
It is the Off Schedule shows during the fashion weeks that
tend to give us the platforms to showcase.
Also, in major departmental stores such as Harrods,
Selfridges, Harvey Nichole’s, John Lewis, House of Fraser,
Debenhams etc, there’s hardly any African brands on the
shelves. Hopefully this will change in the near future.
Which of your designs is your cash cow?
I make the most returns from the bags and footwear at the
moment.
What’s your vision for DIDI Creations in the next five years?
My vision is for the brand to break into the UK market and
eventually the rest of Europe and across the globe. The long
term goal is to be accepted on the global fashion scene just
like any other successful fashion label.
When you are not designing, what do you do?
My usual day starts the moment I get off the bed. I sort out
my “Things to do list” and try to achieve as much as I can in
a day. Lately, I have a busy work schedule on a daily basis.
As awkward as it may sound due to my boisterous nature; I
am actually a workaholic and without me realizing it, this has
affected my social life as I hardly go out to socialize these
days.
When I’m not working, I love listening to music, soaking
myself in a hot tub, reading or talking with loved ones on the
phone or Skype.
Once in a while, I go to the spa for massages because I
actually love being given a massage.
Finally, traveling is my hobby and I do as much vacation trips
as I can when I can afford it.
How did you feel the day you made your first million as a
designer?
As you are aware, I am based in the United Kingdom, so I
earn in Sterling. I am yet to make my first million Pounds
Sterling as a designer but hopefully in the near future and you
can bet, I will be elated when this happens.
However, I must have made my first million Naira as a
designer the very day I launched the label in Nigeria.

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Mikel becomes British citizen

Nigeria international and Chelsea of England midfielder, John
Obi Mikel, is now a British citizen.
The Super Eagles’ A-list player had waited patiently since he
applied for the prestigious British passport last year and was
delighted to get a positive feedback from the relevant authori­
ties last week.
Mike became eligible for citizenship, having spent more than
eight years in England following his transfer to Chelsea from
Lyn Oslo of Norway in 2006.
Before the commencement of the current English Premier
League season, speculations were rife that Chelsea’s manager,
Jose Mourinho, wanted to sacrifice him to free up a foreign
quota spot, but this is now a thing of the past.
‘’Mikel was issued a British passport last week, and he is very
happy to be in the possession of the passport,’’ a
representative of the Super Eagles’ star revealed.
‘’That’s very good news because he will no longer be counted
as a foreign player in the Chelsea squad.
‘’All the obstacles that would have prevented him playing in
Europe have been eliminated, especially in Italy.
‘’Mikel is not leaving Chelsea in the January transfer window.
He will only think about his future at the end of this season,’’
the representative added.

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Home Eagles too much for Yemen

After bowing to the superior firepower a star-studded
Elephants of Ivory Coast last Sunday with a slim 1-0 loss,
Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles yesterday vent their
spleen on Yemen in another international friendly match at the
Sevens Stadium in Dubai.
Stand-in coach, Daniel Amokachi, rung some changes to the
team that fell to Ivory Coast to make his intention clear to Ye­
men with an all attacking formation. Enyimba International
play maker, Mfon Udoh who set an all-time goal-scoring
record in Nigeria’s domestic league last season with 23 goals,
put the Eagles in front after 25 minutes.
Towering defence ace and hot-in-demand captain of Warri
Wolves, Azubuike Egwuekwe, put the game beyond the Asians
in the 64th minute with another beautiful goal to ensure that
the Eagles ended the Dubai tour on a sweet note.
Ranked 176 against Nigeria’s 43 in the FIFA monthly rankings,
Yemen bowed to the superior powers of the three-time African
Champions.
The Amokachi-tutored Eagles deployed every weapon in their
arsenal at the Asians in the international friendly match going
into the recess with a well deserved lead.
Both nations looked strong at the start of the second half, but
as the match wore on Eagles were back to their peak and
took a two-goal cushion.
Yemen failed to keep possession and withdrew inside their 18-
yard box with little threat to the Nigerian side largely made up
of home-based players. Nigeria enjoyed the lion-share of
possession but could not make its territorial superiority count
in the opening exchanges.

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Muhammad Ali out of hospital

Former heavyweight, world champion, Muhammad Ali has
been discharged from hospital after receiving follow-up
treatment for
this month before being readmitted. The American’s family
spokesman confirmed that he has now left the hospital and is
returning to one of his homes in order to celebrate his birthday
yesterday.
Ali, who won gold at the 1960 Olympics, retired from boxing in
1981.

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Congo’s Bifouma breaks Equatorial Guineans hearts

Super Eagles’ nemesis and Congo Red Devils’ forward, Tievy
Bifouma, yesterday broke the hearts of Equatorial Guineans
with his late equalizing goal to ensure that his side shared the
spoils with the host team, National Thunder, in the 2015 Africa
Cup of Nations opening.
Host, Equatorial Guinea looked set to start the tournament
with a victory in Bata after Captain Emilio Nsue struck in the
16th minute to put the National Thunder in front in the Group
A opening match but Bifouma’s goal three minutes from time
ruined the hopes of the host side going top of the group after
a 1-1 draw against the Congolese.
Middlesbrough and former Mallorca striker, Nsue, looked
offside when he took a pass from Kike to put the hosts ahead,
but was then wrongly flagged for offside when he raced onto a
long ball to net again in the 74th minute.
Equatorial Guinea was under pressure after the break and
after Francis N’Ganga hit a post, former West Bromwich
Albion striker, Bifouma, earned Congo a deserved point when
he latched onto a Dominique Malonga pass to finish under
keeper Felipe Ovono inside the near post.
Congo came close to a winner in the last minute when
Bifouma cut the ball back only for Malonga to fail to connect
properly from six yards out.
Bifouma scored twice when Congo Red Devils defeated the
Super Eagles 3-2 at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar during
the qualifies for the ongoing Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea.
The America of Spain’s prolific striker also scored the
equalizer against Nigeria in the reverse fixture of the qualifiers
in Congo which ended 1-1.

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The unraveling of Rashidi Ladoja

There is this interesting character in late South African author
and activist, Alex La Guma’s book, entitled, In the Fog of a
Season’s End. In somber prose and very lucid representation,
La Guma tries to capture the mental and physical torture of
Apartheid, the travails of prisoners like Nelson Mandela and
the long wait that freedom represented in the 1960s South
Africa. What will interest any reader of this book is not strictly
Elias and Beukes, two consequential characters whose task in
undermining the white regime was to distribute handbills
informing of a forthcoming strike and by that very fact, calling
attention to the evil of Apartheid.
In the Fog of a Season’s End begins with the story of the
capture, imprisonment and torture of one unnamed character
by the Apartheid government. Gradually, La Guma unravels
this character to his reader who only finds out his totality
only towards the end of the book.
Like this La Guma character, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, former
governor of Oyo State and leader of the Accord Party, was
unraveled to the world recently. Before now, his bush
telegraph propaganda had carved a unique place for him in the
hearts of country folks. Told with a mixture of high dosage
lies, frightening myth and illogical reverence, his disciples
went about all sorts of places, from mechanic workshops to
food vendors’ shacks, preaching the gospel of Saint Ladoja.
This endured for years. By the time he was venturing into full
politics in 1999, Ladoja came onto the political turf with a lot
of promises. A billionaire shipping magnate and businessman
who had carved a niche for himself, especially in his acclaimed
linkage to fellow billionaire, MKO Abiola, Oyo State, felt it
would benefit from his wide clientele of links and buttons. At
times when Ladoja felt it was right to preen his own feathers
like a turtle-dove, he reminded anyone who cared to listen
that his linkage with MKO Abiola was a testimony of his flirta­
tion with pro-democracy activism during the campaign
against the evil of military juntas.
At the polls however, ex-teacher and columnist, Lamidi
Adesina, made mincemeat of his party to become the
governor of Oyo State in 1999. But, between 1999 and 2003,
time for another gubernatorial poll, Ladoja had effectively
understudied the prevailing politics of the Lamidi Adedibu era
which was predicated essentially on recruiting legmen with
minds fecund enough to manufacture unimaginable falsehoods
to tar-brush incumbent administrations. Like the recruitment
drive of insurgents done through brainwashing and mind-
control, in a jiffy, he had recruited thousands of such disciples
whom he held in his palms. They in turn went round the nooks
and crannies of the state detonating political missiles and
explosives and swearing by their mothers’ graves on the
political sainthood of Senator Ladoja.
This gambit worked like a magical spell in 2003. Effectively,
the old Lam, a true born and bred Ibadan man, had been sold
to the electorate as an Ebira man from Kogi State by the
Ladoja disciples; new houses springing up in Oluyole Estate
and several other nouveau-riche estates in Ibadan had their
umbilical cords tied to the alleged acquisitory greed of the ex-
teacher by the Ladoja disciples in the bid to make him
worthless in the eyes of the electorate. Before you could shout
‘jack’, Lam was out of the Agodi Government House, for the
ascendancy of Ladoja.
But nemesis was waiting at a corner for him. Former local
government chairman and well-known sybarite, Adebayo
Akala, was nominated as his deputy by the petrel of Ibadan
politics, Adedibu. As Ladoja went about demonstrating his
ancient recalcitrance and standoffishness to elders of
Ibadanland and throwing jabs at the Obasanjo presidency,
Judases were being groomed to take him to the cross for his
political crucifixion. By the time he was taken out of the
Government House by a House of Assembly, his fabled
miserliness and bad leadership failed to rein to his side,
Ladoja had courted the hatred of the Alaafin of Oyo, the Soun
of Ogbomosho, the Olubadan of Ibadan and elders of the land
who saw his exit as good riddance to bad rubbish. But he
fought back like a beheaded puff-adder, only to be enmeshed
in allegations of financial improprieties which are still before
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) .
In spite of his political travails, the Ladoja make-me-a-saint
disciples never for once took their hands off the plough.
Rather than court disdain for his well-known miserliness to
himself and to society, as well as the uninspiring drawls that
attend his public speeches, Ladoja received adulations, no
thanks to the yeo-man job of his disciples. His zero sense of
sartorial presentation notwithstanding, Ladoja’s representation
by his retinue of make-me-a-saint disciples as a lover of the
masses sticks like a deodorant. Like a friend once said, even
though the Yoruba say that you cannot enjoy the luxury of
being miserly and at the same time court public respect, the
Ladoja make-me-a-saint disciples ensured that he had the
twain in dexterous quantity.
The fart of his well-known antecedents, especially while in
government, confronted by the gospel of the make-me-a-saint
disciples, fails to fly. Allegations of having no time for
governance while he was governor, to the extent that one of
the wives in his harem read and signed government memos,
when they stand face to face with his disciples’ deodorizing,
fall face flat. So, also is the allegation that the former
governor is a hyper polygamist whose harem is populated by
wives playing second motherhood in his home. When the
make-me-a-saint disciples tell the world that Ladoja is a man
of peace, seldom does anyone remember that his
administration was one of the ones that shed the highest
ounces of blood in the history of governance in Oyo State.
At every public forum he attends, with his flowing Ankara
apparel that he adorns like a preying-mantis, Ladoja
garnishes the well-laid pack of make-believe that constitutes
his myth with icings that make the world fall at his feet. All
through his public life, he had always had the masses in
mind; he says. While he was governor, he relished education
so much that he had only 30 students in a class. When he ac­
cuses his successor of lacking human face because he
removed traders from the streets and he is reminded that he
did same as governor and never provided alternatives to the
traders, he relapses into badinage of immense proportion.
About three weeks ago, like the house spoken eloquently
about by the Yorubas in their aphorism which was built with
spittle and which is consequently brought down in a haze of
drizzling mist, face down on the floor yakata, apology to Ze­
brudaya, was Ladoja and his propaganda-constructed house
of cards. Unlike all political parties of reckoning who
conducted party primaries to pick their candidates, Ladoja
selected his loyalists inside the living room. They were the
ones he had over the years attracted like ants are to the pee
of a diabetic. Returnee overseas residents invested their life
savings in his Accord Party, spending a fortune on the
propaganda of the party’s “Chairman Mao.” Aggrieved Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftains and later the All
Progressives Congress (APC), as well as Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) faithful nested in his party, trying to best one
another in spending for the “Chairman’s” comfort and the
party’s ascendancy. Today, they ask for a refund of their
money, for the furniture they gave “Chairman Mao” and allied
comfort for his home.
While all other parties advertised the results of their primaries,
Oyo State Accord Party put a heavy shroud on its, leading to
speculations and apprehensions. News began to trickle in and
alas, the list was unfurled. On the final list of the “Chairman’s”
nomination loomed big spenders who had oiled the palate.
Those who had weathered the storm all these years were
thrown off the saddle.
All of a sudden, a mini-war broke out in Ibadan, where
“Chairman Mao” controlled the party’s destiny like a panjan­
drum. Protesters stormed the Ondo Street residence of Ladoja,
wielding cutlasses and all forms of attack weapons. Eggs, to­
matoes, pure water sachets were flung at the “Chairman’s”
house with scalding-hot anger. Hell broke loose, so much that
police had to deploy an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to
the “Chairman’s” house. Nigeria was so hot that he fled to
his mansion in Great Britain to take few days shield from the
anger of his erstwhile lieutenants. Right now, the political
profiling of Senator Rashidi Ladoja has sunk like a punctured
balloon. It was as if an ancient veil which covered the faces of
the people just dropped off, or like a spiritually entrapped
people who were all of a sudden set free and led out of
darkness. The freedom from the Ladoja bind tells the story of
the ephemeral powers of propaganda. It confirms the ancient
Yoruba aphorism that no matter how widely a lie travels, truth
will someday overtake it and the spinner of yesterday will fall
yakata.
Adedayo is Special Adviser on Media to the Governor of
Oyo State.

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Curbing rising fire incidents

A midnight inferno on Monday, January 11, wreaked havoc on
the popular Balogun Market in Lagos, destroying goods worth
several millions of naira. The fire was said to have started
from a four-storey building in the market, from where it spread
to three other buildings, one of which houses a bank.
It was one of several such fire incidents reported in Lagos in
the last one week or so. In fact, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, head of the
Lagos Fire Service, said the agency has had to deal with 15
other fire incidents, eight of them since the Balogun incident.
The fire incidents are also not limited to Lagos, because many
such fires have been reported in other parts of the country.
One apparent reason for these rising cases of fire outbreaks is
the Harmattan, with its dry and severe winds that are
currently blowing across the country. This time especially calls
for extreme caution as the weather favours and fuels fire
outbreaks whenever they occur.
Again, optimisation of space in our markets, without any
consideration for eventualities such as fire outbreaks,
constitutes a serious problem. Shops are so closely packed
together that, in the event of a fire, the speed of spread to
adjoining structures is so high and usually devastating. Yet,
our town planners and other regulatory agencies stand by and
watch because they have probably been compromised, or they
lack the discipline to check and enforce the laws relating to
building construction.
Power surges have also been indicted in several fires, while
the inability of fire agencies to respond quickly to emergencies
increases the scope of the destruction. We are also not
unmindful of allegations of arson for sundry reasons.
Whatever the causes of these market fires, their frequency is
sufficient reason for concern. Relevant regulatory agencies
should remedy the tide. We call on the power companies, too,
to up their game. Power surges dispose buildings to fire
outbreaks and should be guarded against
The tragedies that these fires constitute are symptomatic of a
generally failed system. The absence of proper planning means
that fires are sure accidents just waiting to happen in our
markets.
Apart from the failures of town planning regulators, there is
also the issue of insurance. Checks have shown that there are
hardly insurance covers for such huge investments. The
reason may not be far from the fact that many Nigerians have
utter disregard for insurance. Nigerians should be encouraged
to embrace property insurance.
Fire-fighting agencies must be strengthened. How many do we
have and what is usually their response time? How good are
their conditions of service?
While we appear to be moving away from the era of total
neglect of this important agency, there is no doubt that a lot
still needs to be done to improve their capacity to deliver on
their very important mandate. Fires are a life-threatening
occurrence and those who fight them must be properly
equipped and remunerated.
It is also necessary to enlighten Nigerians on the human
factors that could lead to fire outbreaks. Many citizens,
because of their indiscipline and ignorance, engage in illegal
electrical connections, especially in our markets and other
business premises. This has been known to cause fires, but
the practice continues unabated.
There is the need to switch off electrical appliances after close
of business. This precautionary measure, simple as it is, is
often observed in the breach, resulting in avoidable fires. We
call for more enlightenment in this regard, and more
importantly, responsibility of market operators and their
regulators in ensuring compliance.
As we have observed, the fire incidents are occurring too
frequently and at a huge cost to lives and property. The
authorities must do everything to reduce them to the barest
minimum, while market operators should take responsibility for
their actions that lead to these fires.

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APC woos Bamidele for Buhari

Ahead of its presidential campaign slated for January, 24 in
Ekiti State, the national leaders of the All Progressives Con­
gress (APC) yesterday met with a former Labour Party (LP)
gubernatorial candidate in Ekiti State and serving member of
House of Representatives, Hon Opeyemi Bamidele, in a move
aimed at enlisting his support for the candidacy of Major Gen
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
The APC emissary, led by its deputy national chairman, South
and former Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Segun Oni, visited
Bamidele at his Iyin Ekiti residence in Irepodun / Ifelodun Local
Government Area of the state, where they held a closed door
meeting with some LP chieftains in attendance.
A source at the meeting told Sunday Sun that APC leaders
during the meeting begged the former Lagos State Governor,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to forgive ex- Governor of the State, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi of whatever wrongdoings he committed
against him.
It would be recalled that Fayemi and Bamidele had engaged in
a supremacy battle of over who flew the party’s flag for the
June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, a development
that led to Bamidele’s defection to LP shortly before the
formation of APC.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the meeting former
Governor Oni said “Don’t be surprised that I am here. I am
here to pay solidarity on the need for us to have a future to­
gether.

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London female fan embarrassed me with a kiss –UcheElendu, actress

Star actress, Uche Elendu, is back with a bang! And to make
sure she takes her rightful place among Nigeria’s galaxy of
stars in 2015, the graduate of International Relations has just
relocated from the Southeast to Lagos. Born to a family of
four, Elendu took a break from Nollywood a while ago to raise
her daughter. She came back to produce a film, Enemy At The
Gate, which is making waves in the industry. In this chat with
The Entertainer, the Abia State indigene opens up on the
journey so far and her plans in the New Year. Excerpts:
What are you currently working on?
I started an NGO for the less privileged and the motherless
babies five years ago. I kick-started it on July 14, my
birthday, and I make sure I visit at least three homes every
year, giving out gifts and scholarships to those that win our
quiz competitions. The objective is to give these children a
sense of belonging. It is my own little way of giving back to
the society that made me who I am today. And this year, I am
hoping to do something better and bigger. Though, I started
out in the east, I intend to visit other states by the grace of
God and extend my love and generosity to the less privileged.
Talking about other projects, I am working on my second
movie by the third quarter of this year; I am hoping to start
filming here in Lagos. And it is going to be a movie all my
fans are going to be proud of by the grace of God.
Tell us more about the movie you have produced?
I produced a movie which was released last year entitled,
Enemy At The Gate, starring Emeka Enyiocha, Uche Obodo,
Adaora Uko, Rita Edochie, Jim Lawson, Maureen Solomon,
Scotch, and of course, myself. Enemy At The Gate is the story
of a girl from a rich background who rejects her dying father’s
wealth and his plea to take over the family business. Rather,
she insists on doing charity work, giving the proceeds of her
father’s company to charity. However, she’s surrounded by
childhood friends she didn’t know had scores to settle with
her family. So, it is all about betrayal of trust, blackmail,
slander, conspiracy, and of course, romance. The story tells us
that in life, you don’t know who is who; your best friend could
be your worst enemy.
What inspired it?
It is actually based on a true-life story. I didn’t go to the
cinemas because it was my first shot at producing, and
besides, it was a shoe-string budget movie, so I just let it go
straight to the market. But my next movie, by the special
grace of God, will hit the cinemas.
Could you share the challenges you had as an up-and-coming
actress?
Honestly, I wouldn’t say I did not stumble on challenges and I
would also not say I encountered difficulties, harassment or
maltreatment. I actually stumbled into the industry because it
wasn’t as if I have always wanted to do movies. I just went
to deliver a message to Larry Koldsweat in Surulere, Lagos;
his daughter is my friend, when he saw me, he was with Uncle
Olu Jacobs and he said that from the way I was talking, I
could make a good actress. They were having an audition for
Fear of The Unknown . They gave me a script to read and I
read it well. That was how I got my first lead role in Fear of
The Unknown while still in school.
It sounds like you were born with a silver spoon, how was
your growing up like?
I wouldn’t say I was born with a silver spoon but I was well
taken care of. I grew up in a very humble but well-to-do
family. My father worked with the Nigerian Ports Authority
(NPA), while my mum was headmistress with, Loral
International Schools, one of the biggest schools in Lagos. We
had the best of childhood and upbringing. We grew up to fear
God and to love one another.
There was this thing about me as a child, I always outshone
my peers; I was always different and seen as a star. I sang in
church, was a lay reader in the Catholic Church, and whenever
I acted it was so real. I never thought about acting back then
even though I spent so much time watching movies. fear God
and to love one another.
You have over 200 movies to your credit, which would you
say was the most challenging?
I think Last Occult was very challenging because I had to play
the role of a goddess. And it was a bit difficult getting me into
that character because of my desire of always wanting to
make myself whatever character I am playing; you know, I
need to have a different voice and a different carriage; I had
to be in charge because I was lord over Kenneth Okonkwo. It
was a very spiritual thing and it gave me some sleepless
nights. It affected me in a way because I kept trying to be
that witch goddess; that was quite challenging for me.
You did the English version of Ada Mbano , why didn’t you
finish up the Igbo version?
I was supposed to do the Igbo and English versions of Ada
Mbano, but unfortunately, my Igbo wasn’t really strong like
that of a typical village girl that the character was supposed
to portray. I didn’t want to make a mess of that script, so I
opted to play the English version of Ada Mbano while my
colleague, Queen Nwokoye, played the Igbo version. I didn’t
feel bad; I was happy the movie was a hit and my friend
interpreted the role well. I only felt bad because my producer
wanted me to do it and I could have done it if I had insisted,
but because I knew I wasn’t going to give it my best shot
because of the language and accent barrier, I had to cede it to
Queen Nwokoye.
What would you say is the craziest thing a fan has done to
you?
That was on Oxford Street in the UK. I was shopping when a
girl walked up to me to say ‘hello’. And as I turned around to
see who was talking to me, she gave a very hot kiss on my
lips. I was so embarrassed having a girl kiss me. She said she
loved me and that I am so beautiful. She said that I was the
best and I should keep it up, adding that she’s one of my
biggest fans.
How have you been balancing your marriage and acting
career?
I was at the peak of my career when I got married. I still
believe that marriage is important in a woman’s life. After I
got married, I had a three-year break because I had to take
care of my daughter and keep my home. And after that, I
returned to my job.
Was it that easy to get back to limelight after the break?
It wasn’t easy, but funny enough, the way God made it; I
didn’t have to make much effort. The movie that launched me
back was Ada Mbano.
You are one of the few actresses without scandals, how do
you manage to do it and how do you safeguard your
marriage?
I am not in a position to judge anybody. Marriage is a union
between two different people with different background and
mentality; different thought processes, different ambitions,
different characters and behaviours. Consequently, it is a
normal thing for couples to have problems but it is your
ability to keep your head down and bring things back to the
way they used to be that matters. It is not as if I don’t
quarrel with my husband. If you stay with a man for 24 hours
in the same house, you are bound to have arguments, but it is
your ability to be mature about it and the presence of the Holy
Spirit in your life that can turn things around for good.
As a married woman, do guys still toast you?
(Laughter) Of course they do, if they don’t then I would have
to re-examine myself. Well, I handle them like I’ve always
done. I just make them my friends and tell them we can’t do
more than that. You just have to handle it maturely because
when you are in the public eye and you’re pretty, you have no
right to expect people not to admire you.
How come you have not got any endorsement deal despite
being in the industry for almost a decade and half?
Actually, I think it is because I took a break as a result of my
marriage, and the fact that I have always been in the East.
But this year, I am moving high.
Is that why you relocated from Owerri to Lagos this year?
The reason I am moving to Lagos is that I want a change of
environment; I want to give entertainment a full shot this year,
I mean give it all my time. Meanwhile, if endorsements come,
they are very welcome. I have worked hard and I am still
working hard to earn them so I will be grateful to God when it
finally happens.
Do you watch your movies? Do you sometimes feel that some
characters you played could have been better?
Oh, definitely. I am my greatest critic; I criticize myself a lot.
When I watch my movies sometimes I feel bad. However,
recently I have stopped watching my movies because when I
do, I begin to think I should have done this or that better. I
criticize myself a lot and that helps me to do better.
What lesson would you teach up-and-coming actresses from
what you have learnt so far?
My advice to the up-and-coming actress is to discover herself
first; be sure she wants to act. You shouldn’t go into acting
because you want to be seen on TV; they are two different
things. You discover your ability so as to give it your best
shot because you love acting and not because of the money
or the fame that comes with it. It is not easy being in the
limelight; you have to work hard, you have to do a lot of free
jobs at first, and you have to discomfort yourself to be able to
get there, and most importantly, put God first in everything.
What is your assessment of Nollywood?
Great! There has been a lot of improvement; we are doing so
well. And the government is also encouraging us in their own
way, even though, we wish and pray they could do better by
investing heavily in Nollywood. We are the third largest in the
world, I know that in time to come, we will do a whole lot
better and make the country proud, just as we are doing now.

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