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As Nigeria marks 40 years of independence from British colonial
administration, women’s low hurdler Gloria Alozie, has pointed the
way to a new spirit of patriotism.

GLORY-TO-GOD… Sydney 2000 Olympic Women’s 100 metres hurdles Silver
Medalist Gloria Alozie, kneels in thanks and praise to the Almighty
for crowning her effort at the Sydney Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.
Photo: Sylva Eleanya

Alozie defied personal tragedy which would have made lesser mortals
to shirk their responsibilities to win the country’s second silver
medal in the Games of the 27th Olympiad.

Going to the Olympics, Alozie had hamstring which hampered her
fortunes in the season’s track and field meets. She came to July’s
National Olympic trials in Lagos, and competed with the injury.

One week before the start of the games, precisely on September 7th,
Alozie lost a lover and friend Hyginus Aniego, in an auto crash in
Sydney, Australia.

To lose a loved one, a fianc

Tomorrow, President Olusegun Obasanjo will lead Nigerians in
celebrating the country’s 40th political independence anniversary. It
is at a whopping sum of N300m of tax payers’ money. The same tax
payers who hardly get light, water or even good roads to move about
on.

This year’s celebration is however unique in the sense that it
coincides with the closing ceremony of the 27th Olympiad in Sydney,
Australia. One man President Obasanjo would miss at the celebration
ceremony is the Sports and Social Development Minister; Damishi
Sango.

While the ceremony lasts however, the President would not hesitate to
remember the promise made by the Sports Minister that he (Sango) will
lead the Nigerian contingent from the Olympic Games to his (Obasanjo)
Aso Rock office with five gold medals won by Nigerian athletes.

This promise may have prompted President Obasanjo to approve N400m
for the contingent’s participation at the Olympics, ostensibly to
cover accommodation, feeding, flight to an from Sydney, athletes and
officials allowances and winning bonuses. The pre-Olympic training
tours must have been calculated also.

Sango got to Sydney and the officials in the advance party told him
that everything was moving on fine for the athletes. That in fact the
five gold medal target was an understatement. He was given a new
target of seven gold medals.

The minister fully aware of the ill-preparations of the various
teams, didn’t bother to ask how realistic the target was. He must
have been assured by the only official he regards as a guru in the
ministry, Dr. Amos Adamu that the preparations the athlete had was
enough to attain the target.

Dr. Adamu, who heads the Sports Development department, had told the
nation that the athletes didn’t need long camping or preparation to
excel at the Games. His postulation rubbished the belief of great
sporting countries that a successful outing at an Olympics is backed
by adequate preparation which begins the day one Olympic Games ends.
That is talking about a period of four years.

When the race for medals at the Sydney Games began, the country’s
hope for even a bronze medal faded with the speed of light. A little
shame was removed from the face of the people when Ruth Ogbeifo
picked a silver medal in the weight lifting event. Bereaved Gloria
Alozie increased their smiles with her golden effort which earned the
second silver on Wednesday morning, Nigeria time.

With the Olympic soccer crash, the boxers flop, disappointment of
athletics, the only hope for the incurable optimists amongst us are
the relays which end today. With the woeful outing in the 100m, 200m
and 400m it would be more than the biblical Joseph’s dream to hope
for any gold medal from those events.

Already the sports ministry officials are plotting a tenable excuse
to give President Obasanjo for their failure to meet his target or
not even picking a gold medal. Nigerians would be surprised the kind
of excuses that would be dished out. Bolaji Ojo-oba, who heads the
international department of the Nigerian Football Association (NFA)
has started it all with an excuse for the football house. That is,
the players did not play according to Johannes Bonfrere’s
instructions. A cheap excuse you will say.

These officials may be surprised that Nigerians are not eager to hear
of any excuse. President Obasanjo may also not be bothered by the
failure of the contingent to meet with the five gold medals target.
In this era of accountability, President Obasanjo’s concern may start
from the lies he was told before releasing the N400m for Nigeria’s
participation at the Sydney Games.

Sango may have to explain to the President why it is only the
Nigerian continent that paid for accommodation, feeding and flight of
their team to Sydney, when others had theirs free. President Obasanjo
may not have been told that the Australians promised countries free
facilities for training, free feeding and accommodation as part of
their campaign for the hosting right of this year’s games.

Even officials of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) told the
country through some radio sports programmes from Adelaide during the
training tour that the athletes were eating voraciously because of
the free food at their disposal. We wrote on the Sports Vanguard’s
pages that had the athletes been exposed to these sumptuous meals
back home they wouldn’t be eating so much to the detriment of their
medal prospects.

President Obasanjo should be shocked that this financial loopholes
has existed in sports for a very long time and the ministry officials
always came back to ask for money from the government which they keep
for themselves.

In football, FIFA usually votes about $500,000 US (about N50m) for
countries who qualify for the World Cup. This is to support them for
their preparation for the event, but the government has never been
taken into confidence about such funds because the ministry would
always go back with their mind boggling budget.

If the Federal Government won’t ask how the N400m was spent despite
all the free facilities at the ministry’s disposal, the hullabaloo of
the House of Representatives not probing themselves should be halted
because the sports ministry is dirtier and should be probed first.

As Nigeria begins the movement to her 41st independence anniversary,
President Obasanjo should do well to re-organise the sports ministry
because the people are disturbed that the only unifying factor in the
country is heading for the precipice. They feel that any person that
would bring an end to their joy derived through sports should be
shoved aside, political loyalty notwithstanding.

When uncle Bola Ige promised to revive NEPA in six months and give
Nigerians uninterrupted power supply but could not deliver, the
people cried out and called for his sack or removal. The president
accepted the second offer and redeployed uncle Bola Ige.

Nigerians had called for the removal of Sango from sports after his
meddlesomeness in football that saw to the sacking of debonair
chairman, Anthony Kojo Williams. Williams’ sin was that he sought
autonomy for football from the sports ministry to move the game
forward. He had complained that sports ministry officials merely used
football to siphon government funds. He did not last after that home
truth.

Like Chief Bola Ige was removed from NEPA for not meeting with his
promise; President Obasanjo should do sports a favour by removing
Sango because he has not only failed to meet the five gold medals he
promised but has failed to get close to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
feat and also deceived the country by collecting N400m for a
competition that was almost free for all participating countries.

It’s the twenty-first century, a new age! The most remarkable thing
that many seem to have come to associate with the age is the concept
of liberalism. Among other things, the concept of liberalism has to
do with the ability to express oneself. Many are quick to conclude
that women are the only ones today, carrying placards over their
rights to be free. Not true at all. It turns out that many men feel
quite “oppressed” but since they must not descend so low to the
status of the weaker sex, who cry out so loudly, then they simply
remain silent. But as women are crying out louder for liberation, our
men seem to have found the right opportunity to express themselves
under the pretext that they are conceding to their female
counterparts.

Guess what tune they are singing? Marriage is obsolete; marriage is
out dated, marriage is facing extinction, and all other adjectives
that they can find to qualify it.

Do women share in this idea? What would you do when you meet a nice
looking youngman, who you see at first as a “husband material,” but
who soon begins to preach to you about a perfect love relationship
that is not tied down by the yoke of nuptials.

They want relationships of convenience

Dunni, (29), an Architect

There are changing values in society today and more and more women
are under pressure to go out, excel in their various fields of
calling and then find marriage partners in order to look complete. I
know that in the past generations, women were not totally saints, but
a greater number of them were chaste and greatly priced. The society
demanded that a young woman earns her name as a maiden first and
there was a reward for it. The reward being that you had many suitors
who must necessarily earn their place in the society too, in order to
get your hand in marriage. The men earned their status not just by
being rich or coming from rich families; they had to be hard working,
come from good family and were generally believed to be deserving of
you. There wasn’t such pressure on women as we have today, a woman
had to be in the home of her parents until she got somebody to marry.

Times have changed. Most men who women look up to as future husbands
and fathers today are simply characters whose lives are tilted
towards tragedy. Many of them are grossly layabouts whose lives are
at best made for the good times and as soon as there are signs of
turbulence ahead, they pick their shirts and head for the door. The
real tragedy of our time, is that women have learnt to compete on the
basis of their potentials and some men think it is harvest time - a
time to sit back and watch movies on the screen. Take the case of a
man and a woman who started school together, the lady forges ahead in
her education and soon she is out of the university, while the guy is
still trying to select his project topic. Let us even say they finish
together. Before long, the lady gets a good job while he is still job
hunting. After a good job, what next? Our lady begins to think of
settling down. While she is on this, she meets our guy and thinks
what a luck she has stumbled on. All she sets her mind to do is to
support him until he gets a job of his own and she can then run-off
with him to the altar, after which he must begin to play his role as
the breadwinner.

What she fails to see is that there are so many women like her, even
those who are in far better positions than she out there, who are
also eyeing our guy. He is aware of the fact that many of them are
even ready to offer him more than she can, without necessarily
rushing to drag him to make the marriage vows. Why would such a man
get himself hooked by the throat simply by getting married so quickly
to this lady? They would be really stupid to do such a thing, don’t
you think? That is the story of our lives today. To tell you the
truth, it is a real tragedy. Rich and beautiful women with good
brains abound today, who are desperately looking for men they can put
on display for as long as they can, on very favourable terms. Why not
get hooked to one and when the heat is getting too much, jump out and
get into another boat? That is what many men are thinking now -
relationships of convenience. The more women excel in life, the more
men feel threatened first by the possibility of getting married to
them and the more they also want to think that women can cope better
without them. Men who preach that marriage is out-dated are usually
those who are cut in the environment of career women and as such,
have inhibitions that there is likely to be a friction in the home as
a result, should they get married to them. They get scared, but come
to think that they have a lot of time to play with at first, until
they discover they are becoming a source of concern for their friends
and family. Time tick for them too you know, but they just cover up
with their machoness. At the end, many of them get married to women
who have had at least two children outside wedlock.

Good luck to them!

Erica, (33), a Lecturer

Some men have come to see marriage like a foolish extravagance. But
do you blame them? Population statistics say women are more than men.
To further prove that, there are so many women today who are bearing
the appellation of a Ms, to which many have come to attach different
meanings. What that says most, like a male friend of mine said to me
once, is that men are scarce. For this reason, therefore, many men
take it into their heads to experiment with women, sadly both young
and old. Before the age of thirty, some men find themselves being a
father of about three children among whom luckily, are one or two
sons. Maybe, all from different women. At such a stage, marriage like
I said earlier becomes a mere extravagance and a terrible burden. The
cost of having to go through an elaborate wedding when you can simply
bring in a woman or move in with one, and drop one or two kids
without any stress, also remains a thing to be considered.

We can’t really blame these men for their great dreams of an easy
life, can we! When a man meets me for instance and discovers that I
am a single woman of one, the first impression he gets is that I
would be happy if he so much as asks me out. That is the truth,
because he believes I must be very miserable indeed. But, I think I
would just as well remain in my assumed miserable state than get
caught up in any tangle with a youngman who has only love to offer
and plenty of liability with it.

I met a young youth copper sometime ago who claimed he was hooked on
me. He said he loved my carriage and the fact that I was very cute
and when I let him know that I was about four years older than him,
he said nobody takes such matter seriously anymore. He never even
tried to pretend about wanting to pay when we went out twice for
lunch. One day, while we were having a light chat, I asked him what
plans he had for marriage, and he said he was thinking of just
getting into an understanding with someone he really loves - which
happens to be me at that moment - and leave the issue of marriage for
later. He said if it was possible, he would just forget about the
whole thing, that the subject seems to be losing its essence these
days. He probably thought that would sooth me, but I immediately let
him know that I had not banished myself to the state of a spinster. I
want to get married and the next man I want to go to bed with is my
husband. I didn’t get it right the first time, but I don’t think I
should condemn myself to such a doomed fate. Some women obviously do
not mind, or may be they just want to try their luck. I really feel
that at this stage, I can’t subject to myself to be used for some
youngman’s dream experiment. It is either a yes or no. For those who
believe that marriage is getting outdated I say simply, “good luck to
them.”

I pity them!

Princess, (27), a Graduate

I think men who share this opinion need a rethink, otherwise, they
would be heading towards a disaster. I share in their plight to be
free but freedom has its disadvantages. The fact that a man is
married does not entirely prevent him from straying and getting into
trouble from time to time, but what do we say for a man who lives
entirely on his own terms? By the time he gets three or four children
from different women, how does he cope? Many of them would always
tell you how many women had children for their own fathers, but they
forget that they are not in the same world as their fathers were.
There are men who have learnt the art of dodging women who have
children for them. I wonder how much they can run! It’s their
headache, I only pity them.

To many, they are hardworking young men, who because of one reason or
the other are forced to take to the streets. These young men are
everywhere in Lagos. You meet them on every traffic jam or “go-slow”
as it is called in Lagos parlance, they display different products,
some on their heads, others hold their products like prized trophies;
their aim is to woo the passengers in the vehicles to buy one product
or the other from them. Most often than not, they succeed. You’re
forced to buy something you don’t really need from them. Lagosians
have come to accept them as part and parcel of the Lagos traffic.

But some of these seemingly harmless young men have metarmophosed
into something else. In recent times, they have become desperate to
make quick money. Mr. Yusuf Ahmed, a businessman, was not aware of
this development. He was caught up in a traffic jam, on the section
of Third Mainland Bridge which serves as a link to Carter Bridge. It
was 6: p.m. and as usual the bridge was jam-packed with cars and
buses and hawkers were about parading their wares. He beckoned on one
of them, a newspaper vendor and two other vendors followed.

“Yes oga, which one you want?” one of them said.

“Oga TELL dey o” another offered.

“Oga I get TIME magazine” the one he called volunteered. “Give me
TIME” Mr. Ahmed requested.

The other fellows did not move away, they were still trying to
convince him to buy from them. Mr. Ahmed had no reason to suspect
these hawkers because it was normal for them to be persistent. But he
was in for a rude shock. Instead of TIME magazine, the vendor he had
asked for the magazine, poked the nose of a pistol into his face. The
other fellows brought out guns too. He was ordered to hand over the
money he had with him. Unfortunately for him, he had about N6,000
(six thousand naira) on him. He promptly obeyed them. Not satisfied,
they took his Dunhill glass and his wristwatch, before disappearing
into thin air. The operation lasted for just ten minutes.

Passengers in other vehicles who had witnessed the robbery watched in
silence.

“I was shocked. I didn’t know they were robbers, I thought they were
hawkers,” said Mr. Ahmed.

Mr. Ahmed is not alone, many people have fallen victim to these
robbers masquerading as hawkers. Mr. Terry Dafe, a banker in one of
the new generation banks is one of them.

According to him, he was robbed at Ojota in broad-day light by
robbers masquerading as bread sellers. They took his money, his
glasses and his mobile phone.

Our investigations revealed that most of the robberries usually take
place on the Oshodi bridge, at Ojota, the link bridge betweenThird
Mainland Bridge and Carter Bridge, at Ijora 7Up. These areas are
targeted because of the perennial traffic jams they experience.

The robbers’ targets include mobile phones, eye glasses,
wristwatches, necklaces, among other things. They usually carry out
their operations during rush hours.

To avoid these robbery cases, many road users now wind up their
window glasses when they’re in any traffic jam. But this seems not to
be working. Nowadays, the robbers go as far as smashing window
glasses to gain access into vehicles.

If you think only private car owners are victims, you’re wrong.
Commuters are not spared too. A gang of robbers have devised another
means of robbing citizens on the highway. They now masquerade as
passengers in commuter buses. A victim, Mr. Osato-Idemudia, narrated
his ordeal to Weekend Vanguard. “On Wednesday, I left my house at
Isheri, very early 5.30 a.m. to be precise. I boarded a bus to Ojota.
When I got to Ojota, I entered another bus going to Oshodi. The bus
was a Toyota Haice and it was painted in the colour for buses. So I
had no reason to be suspicious. I wanted to enter the front seat with
the driver, but the driver told me to go to the back seat, that he
only wanted one passenger in front. A man was already seated with
him. Since this was normal, because sometimes these drivers insist on
only a passenger in front, due to reasons, best known to them, I
wasn’t offended. I went to the back seat. Immediately I entered, I
observed that two passengers were already seated in the seat near the
engine, so two other commuters joined them from Ojota. In the middle
seat, the conductor was also seated with another passenger.

So two women joined them from Ojota. These women were sandwiched
between the conductor and the passengers. In the last seat behind
where I sat another man was already seated before I entered. A woman
and a son joined us behind. The bus was full. So we set out for our
journey to Oshodi. The conductor after collecting the fare closed the
door. As soon as he did that, the man seating beside me brought out a
gun. The conductor did too, the passengers who were already seated in
the bus when we entered all brought out their guns. My heart did a
double somersault. Robbers! It was then it dawned on me that the
passengers we met in the bus were all robbers. To cut a long story
short, they collected everything we had on us. Luckily for us, they
didn’t harm anybody. And they dropped us at Idi-Oroko bus-stop.”

But Ngozi Onwordi, wasn’t so lucky. He entered a bus from Mile 2
going to Volkswagen around 7 p.m. in the evening. To him it was a
normal bus-ride, not until some of the passengers in the bus brought
guns and demanded for their money. The driver who obviously was part
of the gang drove on as if nothing was happening. Unfortunately for
Ngozi, he had only N20 on him. The robbers dissatisfied with the
money they got from him pounced on him. They stabbed him repeatedly
on the laps with a knife, before pushing him onto the highway. He was
almost run over by an oncoming vehicle. He is still receiving
treatment for the severe injuries he sustained.

These are just two cases of the many that occur everyday in Lagos.
Some, have taken another dimension. The passengers are not only
robbed, some are even taken to unknown destinations for ritual
purposes.

The question on the lips of many people now is how long would these
robberies continue unabated?

The police seem not to have answer to this question. “They have
turned a blind eye to the activities of these robbers,” said Mr.
Julo-Bello.

In the words of Mr. Muyiwa Ademola, a legal practitioner, “our
highways, streets, are now under siege, robbers are having a field
day.”

Many youngsters who were born after 1983 may be at sea when you talk
about Ikebe Super the humour magazine which made readers laugh until
they forgot their names in the mid 70s and early ’80s. Then the names
Papa Ajasco, Mama Ajasco, Boy Alinco, Pa Jimoh and so on became
household names. Just as the signatures of ace cartoonists like Byron
Enumah, Kola Fayemi, Morak, Femi Arowolo, Aliu Eruoje, Adamson E.S.
and so on gain prominence in the Nigeria scheme of cartoon issues.
The man responsible for these creations is Adewale Adenuga, humour
merchant extra-ordinaire and educationist. Wale, a stickler to timely
appointments just as his publications never skipped a beat when it
was on was already there waiting for the appointment. He was dressed
in one of his African prints shorts jumping and prancing and putting
finishing touches to a new script. The ride to his home was a very
fast one as we had to go picksome of these good old photographs to
spice the story.

His Oshodi home is an example in aristocracy. A maroon red duplex
tastefully furnished to the teeth with the two sitting rooms one,
down and another upstairs displaying first class opulence. There are
albums showing the family man and his entire family. No one needs to
tell you that it is a closely-knit family of seven people.

Seeing him drive past you with his sleeky blue Honda Accord car does
not even tell one anything about him. Or when he runs past you in his
different shades of African prints clothes materials because he has
over 40 of them. Yet he is almost 50 and doesn’t look it.

That’s Adewale Adenuga for you. Modest, humble, practical, natural,
down to earth. You look for the exact word. He is himself all the
time. Conservative if you choose to describe him that way but never
indulging. But there is no doubt that he is a workaholic who must be
seated in the office as early as 7.00 a.m. because according to him,
the brain is cool.

In recent times, he moved his office from Adewale Adenuga Street,
Ejigbo where he literally commandeered by acquiring the several
buildings on that street turning them into the Binta School when his
complex became inadequate.

Inhabitants of the street will surely miss the hilarious gathering of
artistes who storm the street to shoot the Papa Ajasco scenes. He
moved into a very beautiful bungalow painted green white and green on
the Murtala Mohammed Airport road Mafoluku, tastefully furnished to
accommodate the shooting of the Ajasco series. The beautifully
located bungallow is ensconced by shady trees and a slightly large
compound that the producer does not have to go searching for
locations. There is a parlour, there are rooms and there is a
hospital bed for the several scenes.

It takes some reasonable amount of wealth to own some of those things
or have them when you want to make use of them. “This is a very
erroneous impression. I am not rich but by God’s grace I struggle to
work hard and God provides for me and my family. However I am not a
noise maker. And Nigerians only respect those who make noise.” What
is the secret of his success? He traces it to God, Ikebe, his wife
and family.

Wale is married to former Miss Ehinwenma Enadeghe, an Edo State
indigene whom he met during his years at University of Lagos. They
both were in the Business Administration department. Wale was a year
ahead of Ehi. “We met the same way boys and girls meet each other,”
he explains. “You watch each other and notice certain special
character. For us it was not the wam bam thanks ma kind of
relationship. I watched her for two years and found out that we were
highly compatible. I have my very peculiar ways of life. She fitted
into my philosophy and world view.”

The relationship of the two love birds must have been encouraged by
the liberal attitude of both parents. Late former commissioner of
police Enadeghe had served the force willingly and knew no tribal
bounds as he saw entire Nigeria first hand during the usual civil
service transfers. Ehi spent her early years in Yoruba land, Abeokuta
precisely. For Wale, his NTC distributor father spent most of his
life in Ife while they are of Ijebu stock.

“My parents were very liberal people and didn’t bother where anyone
came from. They were only concerned about our compatibility. Moreover
I discovered that there has always been a relationship between Bini
people and the Yorubas. My relationship with Ehi started with a
friendship, developed into love and then marriage which took place
after my NYSC in 1975, at that time Ehi was about to commence her own
NYSC service then. We have been richly blessed with five lovely
children.” How else can one describe this blessing when Biodun the
first daughter bagged a B.Sc in Business Administration from her
father’s alma mater, University of Lagos and got the prize as the
best student in her class just like her father did in 1974. Biola the
second also has a B.Sc in Accountancy followed by Bisayo who played
Binta in Binta my daughter who is an estate management student. Then
comes the boys. ‘Wale Jnr. who is at Delta State University and Wole
who is set to enter Babcock University Ilisan Remo.

“I have God to thank for the life he gave. And for all the things he
has done in my life. When I went to City Academy, Ibadan, I was
within the first 1 - 5 students and it’s been first all through.”

His classmates and contemporaries attest to the fact that he took
nine As in his School Certificate exams and won scholarship to Kings
College for his Higher School Certificate. His colleagues at
University of Lagos will remember that during the convocation of
1974, he filed out to receive prizes as the best student in Business
Administration department.

“We are instruments in the hands of God the Creator. Apart from the
academics, Ikebe became No. 1 and Super Story and Binta too in their
own time. On T.V., Papa Ajasco is rated the most watched programme
nationwide according to a recent survey.

Incidentally, my daughter Biodun went to University of Lagos and
studied Business Administration. She was the best student in her set.
She now works in a bank in Lagos. It’s something to thank God for.”

However the TV producer, artiste, businessman is not worried that non
of his children is showing interest in business like he did yet.
“There is nothing bad in people working as professionals in other
places. It is my belief that if one gives the children the best of
education, the sky will be their limit.

Publishing for Wale started on campus when he was regularly churning
out a campus magazine called Viper through which he mirrored the life
on campus. Reports say that the magazine reached an all time high
readership by the time Wale Adenuga took over as editor. He
reminisces. “We were only cyclostyling the cartoons which I drew all
by myself and it was very tedious at that time. So when I got out of
campus and had served the nation, the interest still propelled me to
continue from where I started with a popular side kind of magazine
which would appeal to the masses. You know during my NYSC, I taught
at Ososa Grammar School Etsako in the old Midwestern State (then
Bendel State).” During the orientation exercise, Wale recalls how he
was busy ruminating on the word Ikebe which was taught them in
language lesson as a slang of the people while others were thinking
of other things. It was later to make real sense to him and majority
of others who started reading his humour cartoon magazine when it hit
the newstands in 1976 as Ikebe Super.

Does being a member of the Federal House of Representatives confer on
the individual the right to oppress, threaten and even kill the
ordinary members of society? This is the question Mr. Chukie Nneji
through his lawyer Barrister Chris Ekemezie wants the Honourable
Speaker of the House of Representatives Alhaji Ghali Na’Abba and the
House’s Ethics Committee to answer and quickly too.

In a petition to the Speaker titled “A case of (alleged) Criminal Act
of Issuance of Dud Cheques and threat to life by Prince Uche Nwole,
member of the House of Representatives; a petition to investigate and
plea for protection”. Mr. Nneji alleged that the honourable member
“bought a lot of electronic components from his company and as at
July 2000 indebted to this firm in the sum of four hundred and eighty
six thousand, four hundred and ninety naira (N486,490).

Mr. Nneji further alleged that repeated demands by him on Prince
Nwole to pay him his money have only led to death threats. According
to Mr. Ekamezie in the petition to Alhaji Na’Abba.

“He (allegedly) told our client that if our client exposes him, he
(Nwole) will kill our client and bury him in a place nobody will ever
know his exact place of burial.”

Mr. Ekemezie further stated that “we do not take this threat lightly
as we know and believe that he (Nwole) (allegedly) has the clout and
capability to carry out this threat.”

As a safe measure he said they have “written to the Assistant
Inspector General of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation
Department (FCID) Alagbon Close, Ikoyi Lagos complaining and begging
for a thorough investigation of this matter.

They are also calling on the Honourable Speaker “to prevail on your
colleague and curtail his (alleged) excessiveness, lest, he drags the
good image of the honourable House to the mud by his (alleged)
further dishonourable conduct.

Ekemezie revealed that Mr. Nneji has gone into hiding for his dear
life because he “is weak and this (alleged) predator if not checked
will surely carry out his threat,” he declared.

But how did things get to this messy state? Barrister Ekemezie said
they have made several attempts and repeated demands and written
several unreplied letters to the law makers to settle his alleged
indebtedness but all to no avail. According to him, as a result of
their pressure Prince Uche Nwole allegedly issued four (4) cheques
and curiously, the entire four cheques were allegedly dishonoured.

Mr. Ekemezie who made available to Weekend Vanguard photocopies of
the allegedly dishonoured cheques revealed the identity of the
cheques as (a) Oceanic Bank Int. (Nig) Limited Ikeja branch cheque
No. 066989 A/C No. 0201308001 of 12-8-92 made in favour of Electric
Shack Limited for the sum of One hundred thousand naira (N100,000).
According to him “this cheque went for clearing and was dishonoured.
Similar treatment, according to Ekemezie was meted out to three other
cheques allegedly issued by the law maker.

“The last one was a Crystal Bank of Africa Limited, Allen Branch,
Ikeja, cheque No. 00108; A/C No. 1118133 915 - 98 of 31/1/96 made in
favour of Chukie Nneji (M.D. of both Electric Shack Limited and Happy
Chinese) for the sum of One hundred and thirty thousand naira
(N130,000) a counter cheque which Mr. Nneji took personally to the
bank and the cheque got the same treatment like the others before
it.”

Consequent upon the above, Nneji is calling on the honourable Speaker
to institute an inquest into this matter, as well as ask the lawmaker
“Prince Nwole to tender a personal and unreserved apology to our
client and withdraw forthwith his (alleged) threat to eliminate him.

He said he is prepared to “fully co-operate and tender all necessary
exhibits or give any evidence that may be used to get to the root and
truth of the matter.

“We are also prepared to hand over to them (House of Representatives,
the dishonoured cheques issued by the lawmaker on the understanding
that the cheques will be returned to us at any time we demand for
them for the final adjudication of our client’s rights to recover his
money from him (law maker) in the civil courts”, he revealed.

He further disclosed that if found guilty of the alleged act, “the
honourable member is punishable under S.1 (1). (b)(I) Cap 102, Laws
of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. And the offence is punishable by
two years imprisonment without option of fine,” he declared.

Sentor Gbenga Aluko is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in
Ekiti State. He spoke last Thursday with Weekend Vanguard on the
crisis that erupted in the state chapter of the party, patching the
Senator Lawrence Agunbiade camp with Chief Ademuwagun’s camp as well
as his role to foster peace.

Senator, Ekiti PDP was reportedly embroiled in bloody crisis last
week. As the top most elected PDP public officer in the state, how
could you situate the causes of these crises both remote and
immediate?

Well, you see, it’s very unfortunate that a situation like that arose
in Ekiti State because we’re basically a peaceful state in the PDP in
Ekiti State. We didn’t win the state, so there is no reason to fight.
What are you fighting for? Are we fighting defeat?. But you see, it’s
a situation that could be averted. Averted if advice and decision
taken were adhered to and carried out. I give you an example: On July
4 this year, I was abroad when my Personal Assistant phoned me and
said the chairman of the party, (Chief Lawrence Agunbiade) has been
removed. So I said what happened? How was he removed? He said well,
they went round the local government and they got signatories; they
made allegations against him; they accused him of financial
impropriety, they accused him of high-handedness, all kinds of
accusations. Then I said when he was accused, was he brought before
the disciplinary committee of the party? Was he constitutionally
removed? Because there is a process and procedure in the constitution
of the PDP for the removal of the chairman or any officer thereof who
misbehaves. But none of that was done. They purported to have had a
congress. Now you don’t have a congress in secrecy. When you are
going to have a state congress, you would have announced it at least
one week, two weeks before the congress. You have a congress at one
particular location. You don’t have a congress by getting someone to
go around signing signatories. That’s not what a congress is. So when
I came back from abroad and I saw that the process of his removal was
completely illegal and very disgraceful of the PDP. I mean a state
that calls itself a fountain of knowledge, you must do things as
educated people. Be that as it may, because I did not want any
friction and tension because I know the capacity of our people in
Ekiti and Ondo State. They will not take nonsense when we believe
that we’ve been cheated. So I know our people especially the group
overwhelmingly support Senator Lawrence Agunbiade. So I called both
factions. I spoke to the leaders at both groups; the overwhelming
majority of the people are in support of getting an institution.
Everybody knows Agunbiade in the West. When everybody was under UPN,
he was the only yoruba senator in the NPN. He’s a political
institution, Ademulegun is a neophyte in politics; the highest
position he held was (local government) chairman of my local
government. Of which by the special grace of God, leader in the
state. He was Obasanjo’s coordinator in the state. But the PDP gave
the impression that in the state that the PDP does not control, they
will empower the chairman and make them behave like governors. So, it
was attractive to people in the states. But after that happened,
after they were made the chairmen, all these promises did not
materialise. So I know there are frustrations, not only in Ekiti
State but from other states.

And we agreed. One of the agreements I had with Nwodo was that Chief
Agunbiade should be appointed chairman of any of the Federal
boards/parastatals and everything. Some of his supporters who are
political leaders should be appointed board members on both sides.
Even the Agunbiade’s side too said the bottom line of all these
problems, is the aspiration for power and appointment. I said it is
poverty generated and people are frustrated; elections are held,
people have been appointed into offices; 15 months have gone; they
have not seen any dividends, personal dividends from the victory of
the PDP at the centre. So massive frustration has set in on both
sides. I agreed with the national secretary Nwodo that there is a way
out, that once you give this people appointments, they will all cool
down. They say the idle mind is a play ground for the devil.

Secondly, I said go to the state, choose a 3-man committee. Go there
cool down nerves. Don’t apportion blames to any side . So Ademulegun
can continue being the chairman of the PDP having got there albeit
illegally. Agunbiade will be chairman of the board; they’ll have
something and there will be peace. So don’t apportion blame to
anybody. This was in July. But uptil September 13, this year, nothing
was done. Not even a three-man committee to go to the state to
investigate this thing and tell Agunbiade accused of financial
impropriety. They accused him of so many things that could not be
substantiated.

There are reports, though unconfirmed yet, that the Agunbiade group
enjoys your backing while Ademulegun group enjoys the support of
Minister of Education in the seeming move to control PDP in Ekiti
State. I don’t know how you want to react to this.

Well, you see, initially, when I got back, when this thing happened
in July 4, I was told the same thing; that the Minister for Education
was the one that was behind it. In fact, I was told that the Minister
of Education and the Ambassador in Canada (Ambassador Bejide) were
the ones behind it, including Chief Adeyelu who happened to be the
former chairman when we contested election in February and who became
the national financial secretary of the party. But you see, I’m not
the person that take the statements by other people without
verification. So I took the whole thing with a pinch of salt.
Although I kept the information. And I didn’t act. I was an arbiter
of peace between both groups. And I can tell you that if they had
adhered to the decision we took between myself and Nwodo who is the
national secretary of the party, if we had passed it on to the
national chairman of the party and discussed it with the chairman of
the party, I am sure some action would have been taken but it wasn’t
taken.

Now I have since spoken with the chairman of the party and he said
the impression he got was that 100% of the leaders of Ekiti were in
support of the removal of Lawrence Agunbiade. By saying so, it
confirms the fact that the Minister for Education, (Tunde Adeniran)
and Chief Awoyelu, were behind the whole thing. They must have been
telling the national secretariat that Agunbiade’s removal was legal
because the national chairman was telling me that the impression they
got was that a due congress was held, that he was removed
constitutionally, he was repeating what the Ekiti leaders who are
close to the national secretariat were saying which is a complete
fallacy because the congress is not held in secret. They’ve announced
that I’m going to hold a congress on so so and so date, so so and so
venue, delegates will come from everywhere. they’ll be an open
something: either election or removal. That was never done. I
challenge any of them to tell us where and when they held the
congress in the state. So a lot of the signatories they said they got
from executives of the local government we found out that they were
just ordinary members. So the Agunbiade group too can go round the
state and just get signatories of anybody from any of the local
government and come and say that the congress has been held. And like
you said, there is ample evidence that the minister and Chief Awoyelu
took side with the Ademulegun group. But what should interest you is
that due process should be followed because somebody from APP or AD
will not come to become party chairman of PDP. He will be your party
member so, you should carry your party members along when you start
to show preference for particular people it opens the avenue for
conflicts. So I don’t think they behaved properly. Even if they did
not like the face or the style of Lawrence Agunbiade. There are ways
and means of removing the man, not cook up a Kangaroo congress and
remove him especially when you know the man is not a pushover in the
state. Once you know the man is not a pushover in the state, you have
to be careful how you deal with him, because of his support. He’s
always had support in the state. So you must treat him with a degree
of caution because you have to avoid what happened on September 13
and that is what I have been doing. So if people say Adeniran was in
support of Ademulegun group, there is ample evidence that that is
true. If they are going to remove a man, they must remove him legally
and constitutionally. You know the role I played in Chuba Okadigbo’s
removal. My own position was that if you want to remove a man, remove
him legally and constitutionally. What you need is just 74 votes.
Once you get 74 votes, the man will be removed. The day they removed
him, they had 81 votes. He was removed legitimately and he went home.
But for you to cut corners and be doing all sorts of illegal moves
and counter-moves because you are trying to remove a man, it’s
against the rule of law.

And what is done to Lawrence Agunbiade in Ekiti State is against the
rule of law. If you accuse a man of financial impropriety, prove it!
If you accuse a man of high-handedness, send an independent committee
to go and prove the allegation. None was done. You just hang an
accusation on a man and you go ahead and take action based on a mere
accusation. Chief Lawrence Agunbiade’s removal in Ekiti State is
illegal, was unconstitutional.

One of the arguments being advanced for the upsurge of violence in
Ekiti is that they have seen your stand alongside Agunbiade as being
incapable of displacing the AD in the 2003 governorship election.
Whereas those forces behind Ademuwagun are claiming that they are the
ones well-equipped to displace the governor, the incumbent governor
because tbey say he (governor) is your friend and you will not want
to go out of your way to get him out. I don’t know how you’ll want to
react to that.

Well the taste of the pudding they say is in the eating. Ademulegun
became chairman of the PDP in Ekiti State and delivered the state to
the PDP. What happens to the House of Assembly seat in Ijero that
they lost woefully? So you see people must be logical in their
statements. Yes I have told everybody; that Niyi Adebayo is my
friend. And I will not disown my friend because of politics. It is
not in my character, and it is not in the character of my family. The
Adebayo family and the Aluko have come a very long way. His father
and my father were classmates in Christ School Ado-Ekiti and they
were best of friends. I became his (Niyi) friend and we have had a
very long history of family interaction. His wife and my elder sister
shared same room in the university. So I cannot say because of
politics, I will now be attacking him. It is not proper. Myself and
Adebayo were in UNCP together. Even with this new political
dispensation, we were in the APP together; we joined the APP together
on September 2nd at the Airport Hotel in Lagos. We sat together. Bola
Ige was the person who conducted that meeting. It was after there was
a breakdown in the group in the APP that the AD was formed. It was at
that point that I told Niyi Adebayo that the AD is a restricted
party; it is restrictively a Yoruba party. If you want to be in the
FG, I don’t think that will be the vehicle. And we agreed like gentle
and civilised people as we are that you want to be the governor of
the state, that is your ambition. The best vehicle analysed by him
was the AD vehicle. The best vehicle for me to use to be relevant in
the federal setting was the PDP vehicle; that was political
assessment which was a legitimate right. So we did not quarrel. We
did not fight. He had his own decision to take and he took an AD
decision. I had my own decision and I took an APP decision initially
and I took a PDP decision thereafter. And like I said, as a friend,
if I believe he is not performing properly, it is my responsibility
to advise him in private, not in public. If I don’t get to him, I
will give advice to his wife in private. That is the responsibility
of a friend. First and foremost, it is only in third world countries
that they take politics to a point of even family members fighting
themselves because of politics.

I’m not hungry. Adeniyi Adebayo is not hungry. We are decent men; so
when people say I cannot or I’m not capable of removing Niyi Adebayo,
it is wrong; what I believe is why go after the removal of a governor
if he’s performing. Do you remove him just for the sake of removing
him?.

What then will be the role of PDP in Ekiti State as opposition party?
Even if the governor is doing very well does it mean that the PDP
cannot come to take over and do better?

Well, there is this saying that people think that the other side of
the grass is greener; meanwhile when you get there it’s not greener.
What I’m saying there is that the level of development in Nigeria,
the state we have been politically and state we are in politically,
if somebody is doing well, there is no point going out to remove him
just for the sake of change. If Obasanjo is doing well in the Federal
government and he wants a second term, why shouldn’t he get a second
term if he’s doing well and if he’s not doing well there is no reason
where he should get a second term.

Just the same thing with Governor Adebayo, they know me in Ekiti,
that I’m a true and devoted die-hard party man, they know. I have
done elections in my local government where somebody in my own town
is wrong and I called and told him look I’m in PDP and you’re in
UNCP, I will fight this election as a party man. My own assessment of
Ekiti is that Governor Niyi Adebayo is doing well in the
circumstances he finds himself. I’ve done an analysis of those who
are aspiring to be governors of the state. Those that we know who are
aspiring to be governors of the state.And my assessment still remain
that he is doing well. As at today we know he happens to be one of
the best among the party.

Let me take you back to the issue of the chairman of the party in
Ekiti. There were feelers recently and we in Abuja have not gone out
of our way to confirm it, that the money released by the FG for
Poverty Alleviation Programme that some chairmen were deducting 10
per cent from the money. I don’t know maybe you have used your
position as the party leader, in order to confirm this allegation.

It’s not that I’ve been able to confirm. They themselves have
confirmed it. You see like I said I got a lot of complaints from
people in the state, all over not just my senatorial district. From
the North, from the central came to my town and were complaining
vehemently including the women. In fact that was what really moved
me. Women who we know suffer from the crushing effect of poverty and
finally we’re given a life-line by the poverty alleviation programme.

THE human body is composed of millions of cells (each of which is a
complex biochemical factory). These cells are grouped to form tissues
which in turn formed the various organs of the body - including the
glands.

For the organs to carryout their various functions optimally and also
to remain healthy, they must extract from the bloodstream the correct
nutrient that will be transformed into the required energy. These
nutrients must be supplied through the varieties of the foods, the
liquids, the air that we take into the body are the main sources of
the raw materials from which the body manufacture all the life
supporting organic substances including the chemical messengers in
body called hormones.

>From this brief explanation, we can now appreciate the importance of
good nutrition or the role which correct eating habit play in the
maintenance of a healthy body. However, it is important to note that,
no matter how good or balanced or how wholesome our diet is, if the
digestive system is faulty or deficient in any of its numerous
activities, the aim of a good dietary habit would be defeated and be
counter-productive. Therefore, in nature cure, A healthy digestive
system, Adequate water and air (which is also regarded as food)
intake are considered as essential part of a good nutrition.

1) The role of a healthy digestive system:

Each of the foods (carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils,
vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts) which we eat, consists of complex
and large organic molecules in their native forms. When these foods
are prepared and ingested, it is the role of a healthy digestive
system (which consist of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small and
large intestines - also the salivary glands, the gall bladder and the
liver and the pancreas) to breakdown these large molecules of foods
(through a mechanical and biochemical processes) into their
constituent smaller, absorbable and utilisable building blocks (or
units) which are capable of passing freely or actively into the
bloodstream from where they are subsequently transported to the
millions of microscopic cells in the human body where they are
utilised for the generation of energy.

The availability of correct nutrients (such as vitamins, minerals,
phytochemical, etc) that are necessary for the synthesis of hormones
and other life supporting biologically active substances which are
essential for maintaining physical health which is the main object of
a good eating habit is dependent upon an efficient digestive and
eliminative systems.

Most of the problems afflicting the digestive system today such as
indigestion, flatulence, peptic ulcer, constipation, appendicitis,
etc, are due to the lack of adequate care for this system, these
diseases which often render their functions ineffective are quite
preventable since they are in most cases self-inflicted through
unwholesome eating habits, over eating, irregular eating habits,
eating in haste, or under stress, worries, fear, anxiety and during
nervous tension, or through indiscriminate use of strong medication
that kills off the beneficial bacterial which colonise the system -
thereby promoting the proliferation of the inimical micro organisms.

2) The role of adequate water intake:

Water as we know today, is the most versatile medium in nature, that
is necessary to all forms of life here on earth.

Thirty-one years after the end of the civil war, the former Head of
State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) has given reason why Rivers State
was created saying, “it was created to actually weaken the
secessionist Biafra.”

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 80th birthday of an elder
statesman, Dr. Harold Dappa Biriye in Port Harcourt, Gowon confessed,
that the idea to create Rivers State came up to “plot the weakness of
the secessionist Biafra.”

Gowon also disclosed that the creation of the 12 States in 1967 was
also aimed at hitting Biafra, adding that the creation of the 12
states “really helped to scuttle the secessionist resolve of the
Eastern region.

The creation of the states also assisted to secure the support of the
Ijaw nationality. We really achieved what we intended to achieve by
creating both Rivers State and the 12 states in 1967,” he stated.

The former head of state prayed God to grant Dr Biriye more years
ahead, describing him as a statesman who contributed much to his
country.

In his own speech at the ceremony, Dr Biriye prayed God to keep Gowon
alive so that he can continue to fight for the unity of this country.

He said Nigerians should remain grateful to Gowon for rising to fight
for the unity of the country when it was most expedient to do so.

In a bid to compliment the Federal Government efforts to curb the
menace of Guinea worm diseases in the country, the government of
Japan has signed a contract of $86.774 (approximately N87 million)
with Global 2000/ the Nigeria Guinea Worm Eradication Programme
(NIGEP).

Speaking at the formal signing of the contract in Abuja the Charge
d’Affairs of Japan to Nigeria, Mr. Akira Ikeda said the grant was to
purchase automobiles, motorcycles bicycles first aid kits, household
filters, health education materials for the implementation of the
programme.

Mr. Ikeda noted that it is the second time, his country has signed a
grant contract with Global 2000/Carter Centre under the recently
introduced Japanese Economic Cooperation Scheme tagged “the Grant
Assistance for grassroots projects.”

He recalled that the Government of Japan started the grant named
“Projects for Guinea Worm Eradication and Water Supply” in 1988 for
some states of former Anambra, Niger and Sokoto states with a total
amount of approximately US $18.8 million.

Mr. Ikeda who noted that Guinea worm was put at 653,620 in 1988
expressed satisfaction that the number has reduced to 6,261 following
the maximum effort of the Nigerian Government, NGO’s as well as
Japan’s assistance.

He disclosed that the government of Japan intend to extend
approximately 90 billion yen grant aid over the next five years for
social development projects in Africa.

At the occasion, the country Representative of Global 2000/Nigeria
Dr. Emmanuel Miri said currently, the endemic has reduced from 30
states to 25 states, with four states having highly endemic. These
four states include Ebonyi State, Borno, Zamfara and Oyo States.

He also said that the reduction is put at 41 per cent from 1999 to
6,261 describing it as a remarkable turn-around and boost to the
collective determination to successfully ensure Guinea work disease
elimination in the country.

While commending the Japanese Government for their assistance
recalled that a similar contract was signed last year with a total of
$305,691 extended to Global 2000 for the prosecution of the campaign
against Guinea worm disease in the country.

He explained that the grant was expended on procuring programme
resources like vehicle, 67 motorcycles, 40 bicycles, 100,000 water
filters and 1,000 containers of chemicals for water treatment and
medical supplies.

3 Grant Assistance for Grassroots Project

(1) Project Title Nigeria Guinea worm Eradication Programme (in
South-West Zone)

Nigeria Guineaworm Eradication Programme (in South-East Zone)

Nigeria Guineaworm Eradication Programme (in North-West Zone)

Nigeria Guineaworm Eradication Programme (North-East Zone)

Recipient Global 2000/Nigeria Guineaworm Eradication Programme
(NIGEP)

Total Amount US$305,688 (4 Projects)

*Date of Signing on the Grant Contract: 10 March, 1999

*Date of Handover: 30 June, 1999

(2) Project Title: Provision of Boreholes in Atan Winsola village,
Oyo State

Recipient: Doctors For All Nations

Total Amount: US$8,410

*Date of Signing on the Grant Contract: 7 February, 2000

(3) Project Title: Provision of Boreholes in Awo-omama Town, Imo
State

Recipient: Youth Cultural Association of Nigeria

Total Amount: US$39,192

*Date of Signing on the Grant Contract: 7 February, 2000

(4) Project Title: Printing and Dissemination of the Report of the
Farm House

Dialogue on Leadership for Good Governance

Recipient: Africa Leadership Forum

Total Amount: US$27,789

*Date of Signing on the Grant Contract: 23 February, 2000

(5) Project Title: Provision of boreholes for six public primary
schools, Alimosho Local

Government, Lagos State

Recipient: Africa Infrastructures Foundation

Total Amount: US$38,275

*Date of Signing on the Grant Contract: 23 February, 2000

(6) Project Title: Provision of boreholes and construction of modern
toilet facilities for

Two public primary schools, Ikeja and Kosofe Local Government,

Lagos State

Recipient: Child Help in Legal Defence of Rights to Education in
Nigeria

Total Amount: US$ 39,999

*Date of Signing on the Grant Contract: 23 February, 2000

(Total Amount of 6 Projects: US$459,353)

25 September 2000

Embassy of Japan

Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Nigeria

1. Grant Aid since FY1999

1. Emergency Restoration of the Federal College of Fisheries and
Marine Technology (Bar Beach Erosion Control Project)

Date of Handover: 30 June, 1999

Total Amount: 49 million JPYen (approximately 0.5 million US$)

To build a Wave Absorbing Breakwater (120m)

(2) Increase of Food Production (2KR)

Date of Exchange of Notes: May 19, 2000

Total Amount: 400 million JPYEN (approximately 3.7 million US$)

Items: Fertilizer and Agricultural Machinery

(3) Polio Eradication Project

Date of Exchange of Notes: 1 June, 2000

Total Amount: 530 million JPYen (approximately 5 million US$)

*Items: Polio Vaccine (through UNICEF)

2. Study Teams’ Visit for Grant Aid Projects

(1) Rural Electrification

a) Project Formulation Study Team: 22 November - 17 December, 1999

b) Basic Design Study Team: 21 May - 28 June, 2000

c) Explanation of Draft Basic Design by Study Team: 2 September - 12
September, 2000

(2) Rural Water Supply

a) Project Formulation Study Team: 6 - 28 March, 2000

(3) Cold Chain System

a) Study Team on the Project for Improving: 23 July - 18 August, 2000