The Nigeria Air Force has confirmed the death of one of its pilots involved in the F-7Ni aircraft crash in Abuja.

NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, confirmed this in a statement issued on Friday.

The statement read in part, “It is with a heavy heart that I regretfully announce that one of the pilots who successfully ejected from one of the F-7Ni aircraft that crashed earlier today has passed on.

READ ALSO: Two Nigerian Air Force jets crash in Abuja

“May his soul rest in peace. Additional details on the incident will be communicated,” Daramola said.

Two NAF aircraft had crashed in the Federal Capital Territory when they were performing rehearsals for Nigeria’s 58th Independence Anniversary on Friday.

(NAN)

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja

President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has reiterated that the recently conducted supplementary election in Osun State was a charade and an embarrassment to Nigeria’s democracy.

In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Campaign Council on the governorship election, stated that the rerun was not needed in the first instance while the supplementary poll was unfair.

The statement read, “Yesterday, we witnessed another display of the subversion of the will of the Osun people during the rerun gubernatorial elections in the state. The election was characterised by widespread voter intimidation, violence and harassment. Accredited observers were denied access to polling units and duly registered voters were prevented from participating in the electoral process by thugs and compromised security agents.

“Like I said a few days ago, this needless rerun election was only designed as an avenue for the ruling party to perpetrate electoral fraud. The nature of these elections is an embarrassment to our democracy and casts an alarming pall on the institutions responsible for protecting the will of the Nigerian people as stated through their votes. That was why for more than 10 hours, the INEC could not collate and announce results in just seven polling units with just over 2000 votes.”

Saraki said it was surprising that while the two leading candidates were running neck to neck in the main election on Saturday, with the PDP candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, having an edge, the All Progressives Congress candidate was “now being credited with all the votes and some paltry number of votes were being recorded for the PDP candidate” four days later as a result of manipulations and impossible conditions.

The Senate President added, “It is important for Nigerians and the international community to insist that the hands of the clock should not be turned back in terms of the achievements we recorded in the last general elections. We should not make a mockery of democracy by conducting elections in the manner that the Osun polls were conducted.

“The Osun election is a clear indication of how the 2019 election will be conducted. It demonstrates that if we cannot conduct free, peaceful and fair elections in seven polling units spread across four local government areas of a state, then the conduct of the general elections in 774 local government areas across 36 states of the country is already endangered.

“I, therefore, call on the government, INEC, security agencies and development partners to ensure a radical change in the way and manner the next set of elections will be conducted. Osun 2018 polls is a very low point in our electoral system.”

Saraki recalled that in the 2015 elections, Nigeria witnessed several gains in its electoral process. According to him, the process was transparent and people’s votes counted. He noted that the gains made it possible for the APC, then an opposition party, to win at the centre and in many states of the nation. “That election highlighted a fine moment in Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.

Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja

The National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has resolved to hold its National Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The decision was taken at the NEC meeting which just ended at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja on Friday.

Details later …

Facebook on Friday disclosed a security flaw which could have allowed 50 million accounts to be taken over by hackers.

The large social network said it learned this week of the attack that allowed hackers to steal “access tokens,” the equivalent of digital keys that enable them to access their accounts.

READ ALSO: Nigerian Air Force probes Abuja crash

“It’s clear that attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code,” vice president of product management Guy Rosen said in a blog post.

“We’ve fixed the vulnerability and informed law enforcement.”

Details Later

(AFP)

The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has arrested one Muhammed Sanusi and Ovie Jeff for false whistle-blowing.

The suspects were said to have informed the panel about a stash of money hidden in a property in Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja, by an unidentified businessman.

The  SPIPRPP Public Relations Officer, Lucie-Aan Laha, said in a statement in Abuja on Friday that after receiving the information, the agency obtained a search warrant and raided the property, but no money was recovered.

She said, “The suspects came to us with information about money stored in large bags, both local and foreign denominations, at an apartment in Gwarimpa.

“We needed clearance to search the house, and when we got there, our investigators ransacked the entire house and we found nothing.

READ ALSO: Facebook says security flaw affected 50m accounts

“A number of Nigerians are trying to take undue advantage of the whistle-blower policy because of the monetary strings attached to reporting public loots,” she stated.

Ovie, who said he came to Abuja from Bayelsa State because of the money, said he was told the money was looted public fund, adding that he simply wanted a share of it.

He said he met Sanusi through one Alli currently at large, claiming to have spiritual powers to detect where money is kept.

Sanusi corroborated his accomplice’s account but accused him of masterminding the false alarm which led to their arrest on Thursday.

The agency explained that the case is currently under investigation, stating that the suspects would appear before a Wuse magistrates’ court on Tuesday.

The PRO said the panel had recovered numerous looted public funds since its establishment a year ago.

Success Nwogu, Ilorin

A member of the House of Representatives representing Irepodun Isin/ Ekiti /Oke Ero Federal Constituency of Kwara State, Ms. Funke Adedoyin, is dead.

Our correspondent gathered that she died in a hospital in Abuja on Friday.

It was further learnt that she had undergone treatment abroad for cancer.

A sister to the late lawmaker, Mrs. Omolola Olobayo confirmed the death of her sister when contacted on the telephone by our correspondent.

READ ALSO: Two suspects in custody for false whistle-blowing

Olobayo who is a former Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Kwara and Kogi chapter said her sister died in an Abuja hospital after returning from treatment abroad.

Ms Adedoyin was a daughter of Nigerian industrialist, Samuel Adedoyin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Friday to rebuild strained relations after a two-year crisis despite remaining differences on civil rights and other issues.

Erdogan was on a state visit to the top EU economy, home to three million people of Turkish descent, in what German media have described as a charm offensive.

Turkey is suffering economic turbulence aggravated by US sanctions stemming from a row with US President Donald Trump.

The three-day visit is being held under tight security, with over 4,000 extra police deployed in Berlin, as several protests were planned against the Turkish leader under the banner “Erdogan Not Welcome”.

READ ALSO: Two suspects in custody for false whistle-blowing

In a first rally, hundreds of mostly ethnic Kurdish demonstrators marched in Berlin with banners that showed likenesses of Erdogan shooting a journalist and devouring a peace dove.

Merkel and Erdogan meanwhile stressed the need to rebuild traditional ties that hit a historic low after a 2016 failed coup and subsequent crackdown in Turkey.

The two NATO allies agreed to jointly discuss the Syria crisis in a meeting next month with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron of France, Merkel said at a joint press conference.

But the gulf between them remained apparent on issues from press freedom to the fate of German or dual citizens being held behind bars in Turkey, and on whether Germany should extradite Erdogan’s declared foes.

– ‘Win-win’ business –
Merkel, under pressure at home for giving Erdogan the red-carpet treatment, said there was “on both sides a joint strategic interest in good relations” despite “deep differences… especially in questions about a democratic, open society”.

But she stressed that continued dialogue was the best way to overcome those differences.

She also vowed to keep pushing for the release of five German citizens still being held in Turkey.

At the height of the crisis, Berlin had urged its citizens and companies to stay away from Turkey and pulled out its troops from a NATO base.

However, relations have thawed since Turkey in February released prominent German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel.

Trump in August raised tariffs on Turkish aluminium and steel, in retaliation for the detention of an American pastor on terrorism charges in Turkey.

On Turkey’s economic woes, Merkel said that “Germany has an interest in an economically stable Turkey”.

Erdogan, who at the height of the diplomatic crisis had accused Berlin of “Nazi” style practices, also struck a conciliatory tone, pointing to “win-win” business projects on the horizon.

On the question of open trade, he said, without mentioning Trump, that “we are of the same opinion as Germany” and that protectionism “spells a great danger for global security”.

– Row over journalist –
However, Erdogan also said Germany was doing too little to deal with thousands of Kurdish militants on its soil.

And he complained that Germany was refusing to extradite followers of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he blames for the coup attempt.

Merkel said Germany regards the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as a banned militant organisation but was not convinced it should treat the Gulen movement the same way.

Ahead of Erdogan’s arrival, Turkey handed Germany a list of 69 people it wants extradited, among them alleged PKK and far-left activists and Gulen followers.

Also on the list was journalist Can Dundar, who has lived in Germany since 2016. He is evading a jail sentence for his Cumhuriyet newspaper’s reporting on alleged secret Turkish arms deliveries to Islamist rebels in Syria.

Dundar dropped plans to attend Friday’s press conference, claiming Erdogan had threatened to boycott it.

Erdogan told reporters that Dundar “is an agent, he is a person who has disclosed state secrets”.

“It is our natural right to want the extradition of a guilty individual,” he said.

In a press conference of his own, Dundar strongly denied the allegations.

“I am not an agent, I am a journalist,” he said.

(AFP)

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

The Presidency on Friday said it has stepped up efforts to convince labour unions in the country to call off their ongoing strike following the earlier meeting at which the government accepted their demand to reconvene the tripartite meeting on the proposed new national minimum wage.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.

The presidential spokesman said the meeting between the labour leadership and the representatives of the employers of labour was now scheduled to reconvene on Thursday.

He said, “By its tripartite nature, the committee is made up of persons from the public sector, (Federal and State Governments) and the private sector made up of the largest private employer group and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association.

“Other members include the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture and Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

“Invitation letters have since been dispatched to all the participants.

“At the moment, the Presidency understands that the combined leadership of the unions, having met and deliberated on the position of the government have now set in motion a process of consultations with their constituent members to determine their next line of action.”

Legal practitioner, Emmanuel Umohinyang, is the Convener of Re-elect Buhari Movement. He told Eric Dumo why he thinks Nigerians should vote the President for another term in office during next year’s election

Why do you think Buhari deserves another term in office going by what many Nigerians consider an unsatisfactory performance on his part?

President Muhammadu Buhari has contested elections since 2003 and on each of those occasions, he lost. He went to court to pursue justice over what he terms undue result. He showed faith in institutions set up to address such matters during that period.

However, in 2015 as God would have it, he won the presidential election because the previous administration failed woefully to live up to expectations. Since coming into office, we have seen traces of quality performances from him. It is true that there had been uproar here and there, but these are not coming from those who genuinely voted for his emergence. The noise, in my view, is coming from politicians who thought that it was going to be business as usual. That the looting of the country’s treasury would continue under him. They are disappointed he hasn’t come for that and that is why they are doing everything possible to blackmail his government.

President Buhari will continue to do that which is expected of him and his catchment area are the poor in the society. He was not elected to come and rule the elite alone, he was elected to cater to the needs of all Nigerians and so far he has done very well.

In what specific areas would you rate the President has having done well?

I think in the aspect of security, we can give him a pass mark regardless of the fact that in recent times we have had issues of herdsmen and farmers’ clashes resulting in a number of deaths in parts of the country. There was a time in this country that even the police headquarters in Abuja was attacked. The Eagles Square in Abuja, a prominent national symbol, was also bombed. It was that bad. But the Buhari administration has been able to push back the insurgents and our security agencies are recording great results by the day.

In terms of the economy, it was akin to a house that had been destroyed before this administration came on board, so it had to be completely rebuilt from the scratch. What President Buhari has done now is that he had laid a realistic foundation that the Nigerian economy can build upon and that’s why we are calling for his re-election and continuation in office for another term.

In terms of agriculture, the ongoing revolution can be seen and felt by all. They have put things in place to ensure that the sector functions effectively and develops at the right pace. This has brought down the cost of basic food items like rice.

This government has also done considerably well in the fight against corruption. Unlike in the past where there was so much impunity and stealing in government, there is a considerable level of discipline today because people know that if they are caught, they would be punished. Nobody can dip his hands into the national treasury and walk away with it. The country has taken a new shape and this is good for the development of Nigeria.

But analysts have said the fight against corruption by President Buhari has been a selective one, are you saying it is not?

Talk of the anti-corruption fight being a one-sided thing is not completely new; it is as old as Nigeria itself. Those who don’t have anything to hide, have nothing to fear about.

The truth is that President Buhari won’t go after those whose hands are clean. If we say there are people within the All Progressives Congress that are corrupt, all we need are evidences for such persons to be punished. It is not enough when people just make allegations and expect the President to act on that. If there is a member of the APC or the government that is corrupt, once the facts are brought before Buhari, he will deal with it.

The economic gains this administration talks about appears to be more on paper than in reality, do you really think it is having any impact on the lives of ordinary people?

It is right to say that the gains have not fully impacted the lives of the ordinary people in the country. I talked about the rebuilding process of a demolished structure earlier and how painful it can be at times. To repair something is always more difficult than to destroy it. The Nigerian economy was badly destroyed by those in power before Buhari came on board. The rebuilding process would take some time but it would be worth the pain.

It is for this reason we are calling for the re-election of President Buhari. With the speed and steps taken by this administration, I can assure Nigerians that in the next four years with this President in the saddle, things are going to improve significantly. Indeed the gains of the economic revolution may not have trickled down to the man on the street, the truth is that it is a gradual process and we must give this government time to fix things.

The Buhari administration has been accused of favouring the North; don’t you see this as capable of hurting his chances in the 2019 election?

I think as Nigerians, we should look beyond ethnicity when addressing certain issues. A man that is hungry won’t care about where the president comes from; all he wants is food on his table.

I think ahead of the 2019 elections, Nigerians would be more concerned about the candidate that can deliver good leadership. It won’t matter if people from a particular section of the country occupy all key positions, what would count to the citizens is for them to perform effectively and give them a better life.

Since coming into office in 2015, President Buhari has made a lot of medical trips abroad; do you still think Nigerians should vote for a man whose health is failing?

The President has assured Nigerians that well-equipped hospitals would be built in the country but that cannot be achieved in a day. The mere fact that President Buhari goes to London to see his doctors for routine medical checks does not mean he is not fit to lead the country for another four years. If his doctors had told him that he is not fit, I am sure he would not have thrown his hat into the ring.

We believe he is fit and would do creditably well if given the mandate to lead for another four years. As far as we are concerned, he is the best man for the job at the moment.

Many people think that the President is sometimes slow in taking actions on certain issues; don’t you see this as a problem that could work against him?

Though some people may think that President Buhari is slow in taking certain actions at times, I do not share that view. I think on those occasions, he is taking his time to make the decision that’s best for the country. To preside over the affairs of a country like Nigeria, you have to exercise a lot of patience and understanding.

On the issue of the Minister of Finance that a lot of people expected him to have sacked immediately after the allegation of NYSC certificate forgery was levelled against her, he couldn’t have done so until that allegation had been proven to be correct. The President takes his time before acting correctly.

But in saner climes, the minister would have stepped down while investigation continues?

Yes, it is the same for the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who had moved from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party even though constitutionally he had not violated any rule. But morally he should have left the position since he is no longer a member of the ruling party and those in the majority.

But the same thing happened in the build up to the 2015 election when the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, also joined the APC from the PDP?

We are not justifying any of these. The two men had not violated any law but what we are saying is that morally, they ought to have vacated their positions after leaving the party upon whose platform they emerged as leaders of the two legislative arm of government.

The Minister of Finance has a moral duty to resign while the matter is being investigated. But if she did not, it was not a crime under the law.

There appears to be many groups working for the re-election of President Buhari, is there a synergy between these different movements?

Re-elect Buhari Movement is an idea that has come to stay. We are not attached to any political party or group. We are just out to ensure that Buhari is re-elected back to office. Our relationship with other support groups is very cordial.

In three years, this administration has done what the PDP could not do in 16 years. It is good for the people to criticise when Buhari is doing wrong, and hail him when he is performing well.

Recently there have been defections from the APC to the PDP and other opposition parties; don’t you see this as a big threat to Buhari’s chances at the 2019 elections?

Defection is a normal feature of any democracy. However, in Nigeria, most of the people moving from one party to another do so for their selfish reason. So, I do not see this as having the potential to hurt his chances of returning to office at next year’s election.

If given the chance to lead this country for another four years, I believe Nigerians would be happy and better for it. The people must not give in to sentiments being weaved by some politicians whose looting agenda has been affected. Buhari is being attacked for defending ordinary Nigerians. Therefore, I urge every citizen to support this mandate to make our country greater than it is today.

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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: theeditor@punchng.com    

Toluwalope Kareem

In the spirit of the Independence Day celebration, for this edition, Saturday PUNCH chose foods with the colours of Nigeria’s flag – white and green. White is for rice and green is for vegetables. Incidentally, rice is one meal that is loved and enjoyed by many ethnic groups in the country, including the three major ones – Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. The Hausa people are known for their delicious meal – Tuwo Shinkafa, which is made from rice, while Yoruba and Igbo people equally enjoy eating rice served with stew sauce or any other soup such as vegetable.

To mark the special day, you readers could consider preparing rice and vegetable soup for yourselves, families and friends.

Ingredients

• Rice
• Water
• Salt to taste
• Sliced vegetable leaves (7-10 cups)
• 7-10 pieces of stock fish
• Assorted meat (1kg)
• Pepper
• Onions
• Half cup of ground crayfish
• 2 to 3 spoons of locust beans
• Smoked fish
• Palm oil
• Seasoning cubes

Directions

• Pour water into a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil. Add one teaspoon of salt to the water.
• Wash the rice and add it to the boiling water.
• Stir once, or just enough to separate the rice. Use a wooden spoon to separate any clumps. Don’t over-stir; that can cause the rice to become sticky.
• Cover the pot and allow it to simmer. Be sure the lid fits tightly on the pot. Turn down the heat to its lowest setting. Let rice simmer for about 18 minutes, then remove from heat and allow the rice to steam in the pot for another five minutes.
• Put rice to a sieve to dry out water.
• Place the washed meat in a pot, add some water, season with salt, sliced onions, seasoning cube and allow it to boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Add one to two cups of water and cook till the meat is tender and the water is almost dried up.
• Add the smoked fish and the stock fish, add a cup of water and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the hardness of your stock fish. You need to know that people like them better when they are very soft. The water should be almost dried up; don’t allow to burn.
• Remove the pot from heat, place another pot on heat and pour in some palm oil. Allow to heat before adding the sliced onions and pepper/tatashe. Stir and allow it to fry for another 10 minutes while stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning.
• Add the cooked meat/stock fish/smoked fish, stir and allow to simmer for five minutes, add the crayfish, locust beans, stir and allow another three minutes. Add a seasoning cube, salt to taste, stir.
• Wash the vegetable leaves then add. Stir all together and allow it to simmer for another three to five minutes. You just made a delicious pot of vegetable soup.

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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: theeditor@punchng.com      

Ted Odogwu, Kano

The Kano State government and Bovine Masters, an Egyptian investment company, have concluded arrangements to establish a multi-million dollar meat factory in the state.

It is expected that the first phase of the project will gulp an estimated $12m, which will entail cattle and small ruminant meats processing, sales and logistics, according to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

In a statement issued by his Director-General, Media and Communications, Ameen Yassar, the governor said, “The project is also expected to provide a fully certified Halal meat brand for domestic use, as well as key Halal export markets in North Africa, including the GCC countries.

“In addition, the project, in collaboration with relevant agencies, is planning to establish a Halal foods certifying body in the state.”

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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: theeditor@punchng.com    

Jesusegun Alagbe

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Ogilvy Nigeria, Mr Seni Adetu, has called on players in the creative industry in the country to develop new talents in a bid to reduce the recycle of talents.

He noted the recycle of talents could hamper the industry from reaching its full potential, adding that the country has an abundance of great but underdeveloped talents.

Adetu stated this on Friday when he visited Punch Place, the headquarters of Punch Nigeria Limited, Magboro, Ogun State, alongside the CEO of Ogilvy Worldwide, Mr Paul O’Donnell.

Ogilvy, a New York City-based advertising, marketing and public relations agency, and member of the WPP, had on Thursday announced its entry into the Nigerian market.

Speaking on Friday, Adetu said the launch of Ogilvy in the country was to make a difference in the creative industry, noting that the company aimed to stop the patronage of foreign advertising agencies by multinationals in the country.

He said, “We are not saying the operators are not doing a great job, but there is a real space for enhancing the standards we have in Nigeria.

“A big chunk of the advertising spending, especially in terms of creative production today, still goes outside the country. A lot of multinational companies for whatever reason goes to India, South Africa, Kenya and others.

“Hence, we want to use local expertise to create global standards to give confidence to multinationals to really stay here and get local models and insights and produce something that is truly Nigerian. With the birth of Ogilvy Nigeria, it becomes much more achievable.”

Adetu added, “We haven’t done as well as we could have done as an industry. We haven’t invested sufficiently in building local talents and one of the things I have had to champion is to stop recycling talents.”

Also speaking, O’Donnell said 70 years after the company’s founding, it was glad to be opening in Nigeria.

He noted that despite the poor state of the Nigerian economy currently, it had great potential.

the country had enough talents

He said, “Maybe there is some turbulence in terms of the economy. There are some markets that don’t have turbulence and if they don’t, they are usually not very interesting.

“Every market that we’re in is disruptive and some have suffered economic chaos, but with the right foundation and the right partners, there is great growth.”

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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: theeditor@punchng.com                                        

Eric Dumo

To reduce the health and environmental risks encountered by Nigerians as a result of the consumption of harmful chemicals through food, air and water pollution, stakeholders in the science and technology sector have called for safer practices to ensure the reduction of such toxicants.

The experts made this call during the maiden edition of the Nigerian Society for Toxicological Sciences conference held in Abuja earlier in the week.

The President of the NSTS, Prof. Uche Osunkwo, said as a body of professionals in the science and technology industry, they would continue to contribute meaningfully to the development of new systems and ideas in the view to safeguarding the health of citizens and protection of the environment as well.

According to him, the Nigerian economy is losing huge amount of foreign exchange annually from what should have accrued to it from agricultural exports due to the low patronage and rejection of some farm produce as a result of toxicants.

“We have a lot of toxicological challenges in Nigeria and that is why we as scientists have come together to fashion out ways to deal with these issues,” Osunkwo stated.

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Contact: theeditor@punchng.com  

In this interview with John Alechenu, a presidential aspirant on the platform of KOWA Party, Adesina Fagbenro Byron, speaks about restructuring, his chances of clinching the party ticket and the 2019 presidency and his plans for Nigeria

What do you intend to do differently if given the opportunity to be Nigeria’s President come 2019?

Basically, to solve Nigeria’s problems, just as we say in Kowa Party, we say together, we make a difference. First, we need a country that is united round certain basic things. I intend to first of all unite the county by helping Nigerians to crystalise a national interest for government which is going to be beyond the President, beyond the government, ethnicity or religion and beyond partisanship. It is going to be about the protection and preservation of Nigerian lives, lands and livelihoods. That’s how I define national interest. I will also unite Nigerians through a practical demonstration of fairness and justice in government. What unity does is; it bonds everybody together and helps everybody to galvanise towards achieving a particular purpose. The major threat facing Nigeria now has to do with security. Secondly, the massive number of children outside school which means that the next generations of Nigerians don’t have a guaranteed future because we are not training these children. The third issue is corruption. Therefore, you would want to galvanise Nigerians and guide them towards actions that would address these three issues. That is the number one dimension.

What, in specific terms, are you bringing to the table?

I am bringing into governance capability, accountability and responsiveness. I am bringing in energy and I am also bringing in a sense of urgency that is required. From what I have said so far, obviously, I don’t have all the answers on my own as an individual but because of the experience I have gathered over the years in government and the private sector – I worked for the British government, I worked as someone who provided support for the Nigerian government at various levels. I know people in this country who have solutions to these problems. Many of them may not be politicians but they are waiting for the right kind of leadership to draw them in. There are service providers in this country. I keep on telling people that Nigeria is the best kept secret because of its abundant natural resources. But most importantly, human resources, that is why Nigerians are all over the place abroad doing excellently well.

Why can’t they replicate this here in Nigeria?

The reason why they can’t replicate the same thing in Nigeria is because of the environment.  Because of the kind of leadership we provide, because of the kind of incentives or disincentives we have. So, broadly speaking, you cannot find the other aspirants with my kind of CV in terms of experience; that is just to say that I am different and definitely, I will be different from the rest. I am younger, fresh with ideas and I am in touch with the youths.  I have a plan of action that everyone can relate with. It is an attitudinal thing. For you to be a good leader, number one, you need leadership skills. Secondly, you need knowledge and understanding of the issues, the people and the factors that you can put in place to resolve or address these issues. Thirdly, you need the right attitude and I think by the special grace of God, I have everything it takes to address the issues and I intend to do so.

What is your position on restructuring?

I completely believe that Nigeria needs to be restructured. Nigeria is a vehicle whose engine is not configured to carry its weight. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, very diversified country and so, it behooves that we have two tasks in Nigeria – managing diversity and managing our mass. Now, the current constitutional arrangement we have does not help us to address diversity. Number one; there is too much power in the centre. This is where my understanding of how we can restructure comes in. There is an over centralisation of power at the centre and this has been enabled because of the weight of the exclusive legislative list. We should go to the pre-1966 balance between what is on the exclusive legislative list and what is on the concurrent list because you see, by concentrating too much power in the centre, you are encouraging corruption. They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If there is too much power given to the centre, you inadvertently corrupt the centre which is precisely what we are seeing now.  The current arrangement makes beggars of state governments, makes worse beggars of local government chairmen. I believe that restructuring has to do with the devolution of powers to what we can recognise as the constituents of Nigeria. When you devolve power, you devolve responsibility. By so doing, you allow the component units of this country to shoot for their best without necessarily looking up to a central government.

Look at the 1963 Constitution in terms of what was on the exclusive and concurrent lists. Now, you can transfer some of what you have on the exclusive list back to the states.  I believe there are certain problems in Nigeria that cannot be solved by individual states but can be so done when states in a regional block come together to solve them. I see regional integration as a mechanism for national development. Each state should have its own constitution.

If you go to the United States of America, the state of California has its constitution apart from the constitution of the USA. If you go to Australia which is another federal state, the province of South Australia has its own constitution. By having a constitution at the state level, you can increase the amount of accountability at that level; you can manage some of the relationships. I believe the state constitution can have laws that govern the appointments of people into the state police in a manner that they will account to the people, not to the governor alone; that is the difference. When I talk about state police, I don’t mean a replication of the current Nigeria Police in 36 places.  There is a major flaw in our constitution which is responsible for our inability to manage our mass and our economy. The law says that revenue allocation shall also be based on population size. When you write that in a constitution, what you are saying is that there is an incentive for people to have more children without an incentive for them to be responsible for them. It is a no brainer why we have our economic growth trailing behind our population growth rate. That means we have written poverty into our constitution and our lives.

Does the Kowa Party, the platform you have chosen to run under, have the reach to compete with the over 90 other political parties?

I am a founding member of Kowa and the party is designed in such a way that it would address and provide solutions to national problems. Kowa Party was formed in 2010 and it was formed against the backdrop of the trajectory against which the leading parties were taking us to. What is that trajectory? Godfatherism, impunity and money politics; we are not in denial that Kowa Party has its own challenges in terms of size and financials. However, we are in a world that ICT plays a huge role. We are a modern party, we are an innovative party, we will approach this election in a way that Nigerians have never seen before and will never believe. We are going to provide a compelling case that will make other parties coalesce with us and as a matter of fact, that is why we are in the Coalition of United Political Parties. Nigerians should begin to appreciate that parties, who starve them for four years only to open their purses in the year of elections, will never wish them well to rise out of poverty. These other parties-particularly, the All Progressives Congress, is a trader in poverty. They keep people poor deliberately – look at their nomination fees, it is like you keep somebody poor for a sufficient time so that by the time you come with your extra money, it gives you influence. Such a party will never wish you come out of poverty. Any political party which distributes money during elections will never pray for people to get out of poverty. The day people rise out of poverty is the day that money given out as handouts will become useless. The day poverty is dealt with in Nigeria is the day that you won’t be able to bribe people to vote for you. Tell me, why will the APC want people to get out of poverty if that (vote-buying) is their chosen style of getting into office?

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On October 1, 2018, Nigeria would mark 58 years of independence from British colonial rule. In this report, Samuel Awoyinfa, Eric Dumo and Afeez Hanafi take a look at some of first landmark monuments in the country

There are few countries in Africa and perhaps the world today that can boast the rich heritage and culture that Nigeria has. Apart from being blessed with a collection of diverse cultures and traditions, the massive size of the country is another point that dwarfs many of its rivals in this regard. It is a society unique in almost every sense.

Established by the British through an amalgamation that brought the Northern and Southern parts of the country together in 1914, Nigeria has since come a long way since gaining independence from the colonialist on October 1, 1960. To celebrate and keep the memories of those early days timeless, several monuments and facilities of public importance were erected by the authorities. While today many of such have since vanished from the landscape and little or no mention of them anymore, a few others are still standing, serving as a reminder of Nigeria’s glorious past.

For example, not much is today known of the current status of what was regarded as Nigeria’s first health institution. Erected in 1885 by the Roman Catholic Mission in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Sacred Heart Hospital is said to have ushered in a new lease of life in the country’s health care system when it emerged.

Established on June 6, 1859 by the Church Missionary Society, CMS Grammar School is the oldest of its kind in the secondary category. It started off with six students, who were boarders in a small, single storey building called the ‘Cotton House’ on Broad Street. The curriculum then included English, Logic, Greek, Arithmetic, Geometry, Geography, History, Bible Knowledge and Latin. Burlington Macaulay, the father of Herbert Macaulay, was the first principal of the school until 1878 when he died.

The school now has two-storeyed buildings and has retained its posh more than a century after; thanks to consistent renovations. Aside from the stagnant clock on colourful Bishop Kale Memorial Tower Clock, whose hands would not tick past 3:16, the school has really moved on in terms of developmental projects, Saturday PUNCH observed during a visit earlier in the week.

In an encounter with Saturday PUNCH, an ex-student, Olamide Ademola, shared fond memories about the school and how it shaped his career choice as a lawyer, describing it as a melting pot between the children of the rich and poor.

“I owe my academic excellence to CMS Grammar School. As a student, you must have a good command of English. You must also be good at Mathematics and other subjects.

“I realised that sporting activity was given a pride of place at CMS Grammar School. Our principal then, late Chief I.A Olowu, was very interested in football and other sports like hockey and basketball. I used to play football. It was a golden age for CMS Grammar School then.

“The school has produced several people of repute including, a former interim president of Nigeria, Chief Ernest Sonekan, and Chief Akintola Williams, the first African to become a chartered accountant.

“The school then was an epitome of knowledge and academy and there was religious undertone in the life of every student either Muslim or Christian. I will make sure that my two sons attend the school.”

If CMS holds the record as the oldest secondary school in the country, the Yaba College of Technology equally prides itself as the premier tertiary institution of learning in Nigeria. Founded in 1947, the school has continued to hold its place in terms of the quality of knowledge imparted in students. However, during a recent visit to the place, one of our correspondents found out that many of its iconic buildings and landmarks have since faded with time.

Life took a leave of its meaning at the entrance of Sir Alfred Jones Workshop and Lecture Theatre; a historical building located a few metres inwards the school gate, when one of our correspondents visited earlier in the week. Apart from the absence of fun at one of the school’s oldest structures, the building has become a shadow of itself.

During the visit, it was observed that time had dealt a terrible blow to the sloppy hall, transforming it from a beautiful edifice to a sickening sight. Apart from its fascinating shape, which avails students at the back of the class to have a good view of the small-sized white board in the front, the rest of its beauty is steadily fading away.  Worn-out windows, rusty bulb panels, dusty walls littered with squiggles and unkempt ceiling fans are already rubbing off on the vestige of plump left of the lecture theatre.

“Out of the three fans, only one is working,” a student, who identified himself only as Michael, chipped in as our correspondent inquired the state of the fans from his colleague.

The ambience of the school’s Department of Office Technology and Management is another dilapidating building that endures the decades of burden time has heaped on some structures at the premier college. Despite some renovations said to have been carried out on the building over the years, the irons supporting one of its pillars have started to stick out. Some of the building’s cracked walls also bear testament to the wear and tear it had endured over the years.

A visit to a section of Bakasi Hall, which was converted to a hostel, revealed a disgusting condition of the age-long building, which has remained in disarray since about two years ago when it was gutted by fire.

However, a few minutes’ walk away from the spot is the School of Arts, Design and Printing Technology holding a lovely sight. Massive and magnificent, the three-storeyed building hosts a number of beautiful sculptures modelled after sports, nature and cultural aesthetics.

The college has equally worn a new look through the imposing state of the School of Environment and Studies as well as the towering structure that houses Entrepreneurship Development unit.

Unlike in the past when students found it difficult to find a befitting place to pose for shots, the positive transformation in some sections of the college now offers some impressive locations for Ojodu Adesoji, a photographer on the campus, to attend to his customers.

“There is no motion ground to produce a beautiful background. So when students took pictures, I would edit the background so that the photos would come out nice.

“But lately, students have been taking pictures on the backgrounds of School of Arts, Design and Printing Technology, Sports Centre, Multipurpose Hall and a few others,” he said.

In a chat with our correspondent, a librarian and alumnus of the school, expressed delight to be associated with the college, saying that there have been sustained efforts to renovate the college and put up new structures.

He said, “YABATECH is the oldest higher institution in Nigeria and I am proud to be an alumnus of the college.

“I finished in 1993/1994 and studied printing. I worked briefly in a company before I secured employment at the college.

“When I started working at the college 21 years ago, the structures were not many. But now, we have new buildings.

“As a rector assumes office, they put up one structure or another. Some old structures are demolished and rebuilt or renovated. If not because this campus is not big enough, many structures would have come up.”

Recalling his days in the institution, the senior staff member, who did not want his name in print, explained how a bakery on the campus used to be a delight of many students.

“I remember when I was a student, the bakery served students and staff. It supplied bread to communities around the college.

“The bakery was shut down due to one reason or another, but I believe it will be reopened soon,” he added.

In far away Abeokuta, Ogun State, The Cathedral Church of St. Peter, the oldest church in Nigeria, still stands strong. During a visit to the place earlier in the week by one of our correspondents, Provost of the cathedral, Very Rev. (Dr.) Isaac Adeniji, revealed that the facility was built in 1900.

According to him, Christianity came to Abeokuta through the Church Missionary Society, and the cathedral was a baby of the evangelical arm of the Church of England. He said that one of the first missionaries, Rev. Henry Townsend, after landing in Abeokuta on January 4, 1843, began the building of the church shortly afterwards.

“The first  church in Nigeria, Egbaland and Ogun State, the Cathedral  Church of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta was actually built three times,” he said. “It was first built in 1846 after which idol worshippers destroyed it. It was rebuilt again and called the Exeter Church but was set ablaze again. It was the third time that it was built that they let it be.

“It was rebuilt in 1900 by Rev. Townsend and since that time, the church has remained in this place, strong as ever,” he disclosed.

It was observed during the visit that the structure of the church has remained unaltered since 1900. The architectural design belonging to the Victorian age makes the ambience look serene. It is flanked by two bungalows, a Christian bookstore and library. Though the tower in front still remained, the clock, which was an attraction had since been removed.

A resident, Razak Ademola, said the clock was valuable to the Egbas, as some of the residents saw it as a veritable source of checking time.

Another resident, Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, described the church as an historical monument, adding that Egba’s history would be incomplete without it being mentioned.

“I got to know that church about 50 years ago as a youngster,” he told Saturday PUNCH. “Some of us went there to take a look at the church because it was a beautiful monument.

“In fact, the history of Egbaland will not be complete without the mentioning of the church,” he said.

The church, which has had its pews removed, now serves as venue for vigils, seminars, youth programmes among others. Saturday PUNCH gathered it was no longer being used for Sunday services as a bigger cathedral had been built within the same compound.

Rev. Adeniji told our correspondent that the cathedral had planted many churches within the metropolis and outskirts of Egbaland.

Within the compound of the church was also the first primary school in Egbaland, St. Peter Cathedral Primary School. Since the government took over the school in 1975, the church had moved on to establish a private nursery and primary school and secondary school all located within the same premises.

“The cathedral has made steady progress,” he pointed out. “It has planted new churches both within and outside Abeokuta metropolis.

“The first church has made steady and constant progress spiritually, physically, educationally, and vocationally,” Adeniji added.

Located in Ibadan, Oyo State, the first television station in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa established in 1959, Western Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, has today metamorphosed into Nigerian Television Authority. It was said to have been established with the main aim of teaching, entertaining and stimulating the people to turn Nigeria into a booming and successful nation by the regional government headed by Chief Obafemi Awolowo at the time. Several years since those glorious and early days, the station is no more than a branch of the government-run broadcast organisation now.

Also situated in the same city, the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium formerly known as Liberty Stadium is the oldest in its league in the country. The 25,000 capacity facility was inaugurated in September 1960, drawing wide comparisons to many iconic sports centres around the globe including Wembley Stadium in London, England. The OAS was the first in the country where a football match was played under floodlights.

Sadly, over recent years, the stadium has been neglected by both the Oyo State and Federal Government, making it an old shadow of itself. The last international game at the stadium was on April 18, 1999 when Japan beat Mexico 2-0 in the quarter-final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

A former Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Oyo State, Dapo Lam-Adesina, once called for efforts to save the edifice from dying.

“This stadium being the first in Africa must not be abandoned as it is shameful and ridiculous.

“Provision was made for the restructuring and renovation in the 2016 budget but the job was abandoned,” he said.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun, while also decrying the poor state of the OAS, said all within the South West region must rally to address the situation.

“In fact, nobody is happy that this stadium doesn’t host international matches again and it is a wake-up call to us in the Southwest to revive this edifice which is a pride of the Yoruba race.

“It should not be allowed to remain in this shameful position,” he said.

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Folashade Adefisayo is an educationist and also the founder of Leading Learning Nigeria Ltd. She tells ADEMOLA OLONILUA about how she once resigned from an international finance agency because she found the job boring

What influenced you to study Zoology for your first degree at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State?

I actually studied arts subjects in secondary school and not science subjects. But I took preliminary examination and passed it. My set was the first that had their school certificate examination in June; before then, the exam was usually taken in December. I just followed my friends, cousins to sit the preliminary examination when I was in Form Five, in those days, and I was accepted. Although I was studying arts subjects as a student, I got admission into the Faculty of Science at the University of Ibadan. I did not know what to do so I had to look for easy subjects.

How were you able to cope in the department?

I was a very good student and everything I did was done very well. My school certificate result was very good and it showed that I could have done more subjects. I could have aimed for the science class initially but I think I was quite lazy. In my Chemistry and Biology examinations, I had A2. I just did not offer courses like Physics and Further Mathematics because I did not really like them. In those days, we did not have enough career counsellors and we did not do so many subjects like Economics and Business Administration so our choices were limited. I never knew what I wanted to become in school, I just offered the various subjects.

How would you describe your university days?

I must confess that I was very young when I gained admission into the university. I got into the university when I was 15 years old and I remember that I celebrated my 16th birthday at the university. I was quite young and nervous because I attended an all-girls secondary school. Gaining admission into the university was quite overwhelming but after a while, I settled down in school and was less serious. I think I got into school too young and I was not serious after a while. I offered Zoology not because I loved the course but because the university offered it to me.

But we learnt you were a university scholar…

Yes, I was. In my first two years, I was very focused and that was when I was a university scholar and I have a national award from the Federal Government for academic achievement. However, after a while, I just relaxed. Till date, I feel like I went into the university at a very young age and it was quite unplanned.

Wouldn’t you have been disappointed if your parents had delayed you from going to the university early?

I feel that I should have gone for my Advanced level examination first. If I had done that, I would have been 17 or 18 years old before gaining admission into the University of Ibadan. My classmates were all older than me when I was in school. When I was in the university, I had no career ambition or aspiration.

How would you describe your childhood?

I grew up in Lagos and Ibadan. I was not pampered by my parents but I grew up in a very happy home. We were five and I am the first. My father worked at the United Africa Company while my mother was a teacher. I grew up in Lagos as a child. I had a very happy childhood and all I did was to play and attend school. Since my mother was a teacher, I did not have extra coaching but my friends did and I was jealous of them. My father liked travelling and since his work required him to travel, he took us on trips within Nigeria. We visited places like Tarkwa Bay, so I had a happy and quiet upbringing. I was neither troublesome nor quiet.

I think I am lucky with my parents because they were not very strict. All they expected from us was to always be of good behaviour. I do not recollect a time when they were very harsh on us. My mother is a gentlewoman; she is gentle and peaceful like my father.

You said you grew up in Lagos and Ibadan, at what point did your family move to Ibadan?

I actually attended Corona School, Yaba and I remember that I used to walk to school from Surulere or my father would drop us off at WAEC bus-stop and we would walk to school with some friends. I took the common entrance examination when I was at Corona School and got admitted to Queens College, Ibadan. I was the only member of my family that was in Ibadan and it was a very trying time for me. I cried all the time because I was homesick. Ibadan was a very far place in those days, mostly because the road was not good. I was quite miserable. Suddenly, when I got to Form Two, the whole family moved to Ibadan. I do not know why. I am sure it was not because of me. Till date, my mother still resides in the house (we lived in Ibadan) even though we had moved since 1970.

At that point did you know what you wanted to become in life?

I knew that I did not want to be a zoologist. During my National Youth Service Corps programme, I taught in a school as most people do. Although I was young and the students thought I was exotic, I do not think I enjoyed the job. I served in Maiduguri, Borno State. After the programme,   I got a job at the National Cereals Research Institute in Ibadan. I was a junior pupil research officer and that was when I knew the job was not for me because I’m someone who gets bored easily. I was not excited about the job, and there was not much to do there. I started to think about my next plan in life. At the time, I had made friends with some people who had started their MBA programme, so I decided to pursue one despite the fact that the institute offered us a Master’s degree abroad at their expense. Some people opted for the Caribbean while others went to the University of Ibadan but I knew that it was not my calling. After relating with most of my friends during the NYSC programme, I realised that I would prefer to work in a bank, so I applied for the MBA and was accepted to study it at the University of Lagos.

Is it true that you quit working with an international financial agency because you were bored and that it led you to the education sector?

Yes, but before then, I had worked as a banker and I liked the job. I made a mistake by working in a finance house which collapsed eventually. My whole career collapsed around me and it looked very bleak, eventually, I got a job in a Swedish company. The money was not much but I had the opportunity to travel a lot and I had a lot of training and exposure, but I could do all the work for a month in about four days. So eventually, it started to get boring. At the time, I was back in Lagos. My children went to Corona School as well and I think my last child was still in Corona when I saw the advert that there was a vacancy for an executive director in the school. It was tilted more towards administration and since I had worked in a bank for about 16 years, I felt I had the skills. I applied and was employed as an executive director. I later worked there for over eight years.

How did you come up with the initiative to found the Leading Learning Nigeria Limited?

I had worked in Corona and from there; I worked in the secondary school as a consultant. During the period, I became an educationist; I did a certification examination and subsequently a Master’s degree simply because I fell in love with the sector. I wanted to see how I could use my skills to contribute to the sector. My vision is to make an impact on education in Nigeria.  I am very concerned about the bigger picture when it comes to the Nigerian education sector and this came about because I was the consultant of the Nigerian Economic Submit Group on education for some years. When I set up Leading Learning, it was to say that I would consult but also see how I could make an impact in the public education sector.

It is often said that a teacher’s reward is in heaven. Do you subscribe to this school of thought?

I know that my reward is in heaven and I am expecting it but I want a bit here on earth. I think I deserve some of it here.

During the course of your career, you had to work with teenagers. What are some of the challenges you faced?

I have worked for over 30 years and the best part of my career was when I lived inside the school because where the school is situated is very far from the town. That was the best job I have ever done. I do not worry about teenagers neither do I find them to be erratic. I believe that they are extremely interesting. I love working in secondary schools because of the kind of conversation I have with the children; I love their curiosity, wittiness and intelligence. I love that age. We are the ones that stifle them; if you do not stifle a teenager, you can learn anything from them, especially truthfulness because young people do not lie. If you give them a good environment, they would not lie. I think they are fantastic and I learnt from them. I keep saying it that the best time of my life is the four years I spent with the children.

After I left Corona, I worked in another school, Supreme Education. That school gave me a soft entry into Leading Learning on a permanent basis. At Supreme Education, I had to work with children all the way from crèche to secondary school. Initially, I was not a big fan of working with children in their early years but Supreme Education made me fall in love with little children. Now I am in love with the education sector.

Whenever you have to take a break what do you do to pamper yourself?

I read a lot and I like travelling. I am a fairly eclectic reader but I do not like fiction. I like books on history around certain periods. I like the Napoleonic wars and I am sure I have a lot of books on Napoleon and the wars around that time. I like reading about what led to wars because I do not understand why people would fight with each other like that; what led to the war and what happened after. I think it is so barbaric. I often say that I am an amateur historian. I also focus on the First World War, Second World War and the Cold War. I love history. I read books on war to know its impact on leadership and its aftermath on the country. I like to read about how a country can rise from such a catastrophe. It is not about the war but its aftermath that interest me. Since I consult, I look at things from that standpoint.

Where are some of your favourite vacation spots?

I have not been to some of my favourite places yet but I am widely travelled in Africa. A lot of people have been to Dubai just like me. I love travelling to the US and my dream trip is travelling across the US from coast to coast; that is, from the East Coast to the West Coast by road. I have done it by air but I want to do it by road or rail probably over a span of two weeks. Since I like history, I would want to know the history of most places that I visit. I would like to know the tribes that lived there before the Americans and where they are today.

But don’t you like watching the television?

No, not really.

Why do you not like watching the television?

What are they doing there? I do not find it interesting and the only time I watch the television is for the news and it is just for an hour. They do not show what interests me. On some occasions, I watch the history channel but they do not show what interests me. I prefer to read.

Do you like sports?

Not anymore, but I love athletics. I am a serious follower of the International Association of Athletics Federations, so I know all the top runners regardless of the distance.

Were you ever a sprinter?

Yes, I used to run back when I was at the Queen’s College, Ibadan and I represented my school on some occasions. I was a short distance runner. After I left the secondary school, I did not do active sports again but I love watching it. My dream is to go to the Olympic Games and watch the athletes. I would love to watch the athletics and maybe swimming even though I find the sports as a slow one.

What is your favourite food?

I am not a big fan of food but I think Amala is my favourite food.

Do you enjoy attending parties?

No, I do not because I do not like going out much. Whenever you attend parties you do not do much; you cannot converse because of the noise so you would be left with sitting down somewhere and eating all sorts of things. Relationship obligation is what makes me attend parties sometimes but I would rather not go. People who know me very well know that I can go for months without going to any party.  However, on a Saturday, I could tell a family member to accompany me to have lunch or dinner at a restaurant. I would rather go somewhere nice for a lunch or dinner date than attend a party.

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Prof Chris Nwamuo is a professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Calabar. In this chat with ADEMOLA OLONILUA, he relives some of his fondest memories

How would you describe your early years growing up in Abia State?

I would say that they were quite uneventful and I grew up like a normal child in a rural setting in Umuhute area of Abia State. It was a rural setting predominantly made up of farmers and there were only a few people in the village that could do serious trading or work for the government. My father was a big farmer in his time and he was a catechist in a small Anglican church in my village which we called the Mission Hill. Later on, he was converted to the Catholic faith and he got married in the Catholic Church thereafter. I went to St. Anne’s Primary School, Ahieke, and was able to travel around with my elder brother and that exposed me to various other sub-cultures in Igboland. I was just a small boy in the village who had the opportunity to travel to different parts of Igboland with my elder brother. Visiting those places exposed me to some things that I would not have known if I was just in my village.

What are some of the fond memories you have of the time that you went to the farm as a young boy?

Whenever I woke up in the morning, I swept the compound and the village square. After that, we would carry our water pots to the stream to fetch water for the house. The farmland was quite some distance from my village but it was fun going with peers and even being beaten by the sun on the way. We would roast yam and eat it with the palm oil. In the evening, we would carry some wood and yam on our heads and walk back home. It was fun. However, I did not spend so much time in my village because I was travelling with my brother so I got exposed to other things, but I did have the experience of going to the farm and working with them.

Why did your parents put you in the care of your elder brother as young as you were?

I am the last born of my family. Many people in my village were farmers and my father was a well-known farmer so he had the money to send my brother to school and he was a well-known headmaster; in fact, he was a Grade One headmaster in the place. When he graduated from the Holy Ghost College in Umuahia, a good number of people tried to associate with him. Some of them even went as far as asking their children to live with him as home helps so that they could gain something from him. When he travelled, I had to go with him and my parents did not refuse because other people were sending their children to him so that he could raise them. So there was no reason why they could not put me in my elder brother’s care. I did very well staying with him and got a share of love and care from some other people because I was the headmaster’s brother.

In fact, the first time I went on stage was when I was with him and I took part in a production called the Trials of Adolf Hitler and I acted as the court registrar. This was in 1958.

If you started doing stage play since 1958, why did you quit to become an academic instead of an actor?

Getting training in the theatre is not just about one area. In the primary school, I had played the role of an actor in the Trials of Adolf Hitler. Then I attended Stella Maris College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State in 1959 for my secondary school education. I was very active in the school and that was where the likes of James James Ene Henshaw, who wrote, ‘This is our Chance’, discovered me. We became close. During the feast of Stella Maris, which was on October 11, every year, it was always marked with a production and I featured on stage during the productions. I acted and sang, in fact, I was one of the vocalists in a popular band called – The Beach Boys, in Port Harcourt. It was from there also that Mazi Ukonu, who was a director in Nigerian Television Authority, Aba discovered me and every Saturday after our essay writing by 10 am, he would send an NTA van to take me for a live performance on the television. It was not just acting; I was singing as well. After my secondary school education, I did a bit of teaching before I was admitted to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where I studied English with emphasis on Drama and I acted in several plays in the institution. In 1969, when people were returning from the North as a result of the Nigerian Civil War and the killings of southerners in the North, I started my directing career with Ene Henshaw’s ‘This is our chance,’ using some of the people that came from the North as my cast. My training in the theatre has been really varied, not just in acting but in directing as well. After my education at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I worked at the Oxford University Press, Ibadan, and several other places before I left Nigeria for the US. I had scholarships to go to the US and UK but I chose to go to the US and studied Theatre and Speech for my Master’s degree and then Educational Theatre for my doctorate. I later did a postdoctoral Master’s degree in Media Studies and then when I went to the UK on a commonwealth academic drama fellowship, I did some directing in Bristol, Leicester and Winchester. The fellowship gave me an opportunity to travel around the UK as I did some cultural studies and directed plays. I have been exposed to the theatre in Africa, the UK and the US.

How did you elder brother react when you started acting and singing knowing how strict headmasters were at the time?

I stayed with him during my primary school days. When I got to the secondary school, I was not living with him anymore except whenever I returned for holidays. He was a disciplinarian but when he saw me on TV or heard my voice on the Radio Broadcasting Service on Sundays, singing, he could not complain. Besides, it was not affecting my studies. They loved a particular song of mine which I sang at festivals as a soloist; those in Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Lagos also heard it. The song was Panis Angelicus; it was a popular song that made me famous because in those days, if you listened to Radio Nigeria in the morning between 9 am and 10 am on Sundays, you would hear the song. Whenever my brother and parents heard the song, they were happy. They could watch me on TV, for those who could afford it in those days and I was aired on NTA, Aba. It made them happy even though there were some other people that did not like it and felt that I was wasting my time. In fact, at one time, my mother wondered if it was not going to affect my studies, but I thank God that it did not stop me.

Don’t you think if you had stuck to singing or acting, you could have been richer and more popular than you are today, even as a professor?

At that time, I did not think so, in fact, some other persons who used to be on stage with me in Stella Maris College, Theophilus Nebuwa, went on with singing and travelled to northern Nigeria. He became a good singer but I became an academic. Maybe he made all the money and the fame but I do not think that was my calling. I was not convinced that I should drop academic work to stay in professional entertainment. I do not have any regrets now. People are making money in the show business now but in those days, even parents did not encourage their children to go into showbiz. Now it is a big thing, it is a money spinner. Times have changed.

While you were into singing and acting, were you exposed to any vices such as drinking, smoking or even womanising?

I was still a small boy at the time and anytime I sang on stage, Bishop Okoye of Port Harcourt, whose house was separated from our college by a football field, was always there on the front seat. Bishop Unwedo from Umuahia, which is my hometown, was always there to watch me as well. So many important people also came to watch me. They would come to the show because it was a feast of Stella Maris, Star of the Sea. So many big people from the Catholic church were always in attendance and immediately I finished singing and was exiting the stage through the side door, a lot of women would come after me and carry me on their shoulders. They would congratulate me. In fact, after one of my shows, the two bishops came to me and told me that I must attend the seminary and become a priest. Furthermore, they arranged that I should be transferred from Stella Maris College to the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Umuahia, so that I could become a priest.

People acknowledged the fact that I was gifted in that area and could do it but I was a little boy then. There was a teacher who was in Immaculate Heart Secondary School. He appreciated what I did to the extent that he always brought his family to come and watch me and sometimes, he would invite me to their family house to sing for members of his family. That was in appreciation of the little talent that God gave me. As regards drinking, it happened while I was in school; once in a while, I drank some bottles of beer. However, as regards women, the two bishops had already told the principal and dean of student that I was someone made for the seminary. We actually went to the Holy Ghost College, Owerri, for workshops and seminars for the priesthood. It had not become the norm for little students in secondary school to be free with women. It was not the fad then.

Why did you decide to become an academic?

When I finished primary school, I had a distinction. When I went to secondary school, I made a division one. Then I went to the university and there were certain options. You could either major in drama, language or literature if you were in the English department. I decided to major in drama. When the Federal Government gave me a scholarship to study drama in the US; my emphasis at the Master’s level in drama was on directing.

I became an academic because I believed that even though there might not be a lot of us in there, there was some form of regard, integrity and respect for academics. Also, I loved the opportunity I had to share my knowledge with people and to also help to mould them. I developed a passion and love for doing this as I shared my thoughts with people. I began to like the fact that I could generate knowledge and disseminate it. I have a passion for it. When I was working with the Association of African Universities in Accra, Ghana as an academic diplomat, I had the opportunity to tour Africa. I went to virtually all the African universities because the AAU in Accra was in control of all the curriculum of all African universities. I went round African universities sharing knowledge. I got fascinated with it instead of being tucked away in a little place. I had exposure and from there, I went to the world conference on education in Paris and I represented AAU. I was also able to attend other training programmes and conferences in the UK and the US. I later became a director of a project tagged, Hopes on the Horizon, which took me to a film school in Boston and I was further trained as a director.

In what significant way did the Nigerian Civil War affect your life?

I would say that it made me more humble, especially when you found yourself running from one town to another. I was under the unit that produced the Ogbunigwe; that is, bombs. You had a protective rank of a lieutenant and you had to carry these bombs to the battleground to educate and train the real soldiers on how to deploy the mines.

Are you saying that you conveyed bombs to soldiers during the civil war?

We would carry these bombs in a car and take them to the battlegrounds and deliver them to the soldiers who would deploy them. They would use them and fire them but in order to deliver them, you had to wear some protective gear. That happened and whenever we went to the battleground, we passed through areas with dead people or those who were starving. Sometimes, the bombs devastated a place and we had to move to another place. With all I witnessed, one had to be humble and to rededicate oneself to God. Do not forget that in secondary school, two bishops had advised me to join the seminary. I went but I did not last there. If I had not become a professor in theatre, my other calling would have been to become a priest.

Those times you were transporting bombs with your colleagues, were you not scared for your life?

Do not forget that even staying with the producers and makers of Ogbunigwe and all the bombs that were used during the war was a better option than having to be conscripted into the army, while you were in the village. They would come and conscript you against your wish and put you on the battleground. So being afraid that you are in the car carrying the bomb as you moved from one command to the other to deliver these bombs was a lesser evil than to be on the battleground. It was not a question of being afraid because you had the opportunity to eat but your colleagues who were drafted against their wish to fight the war never returned.

How long did you stay at the seminary?

When we were at the seminary, we were not allowed to receive visitors except on Sundays between 10 am and 12 am. Once it was 12 noon, the bell was rung and it was time to say the Angelus, so all visitors had to leave. One Sunday, my mother came to visit me and when the bell rang by 12 noon, she turned around to leave but suddenly stopped and said to me; ‘Have you seen any man born of a woman who willingly refuses to beget another person?’ After she made the statement, she left and that gave me food for thought. What she meant was that had I seen any sane person born of a woman who would just decide that he did not want to give birth to his own child? In those days, often times, you listened more to what your mother said. After that statement, I did not stay long at the seminary before I left. I normally went there for holidays and in total, I had spent about three years with them. I was not admitted as a full-time seminarian but instead, I went there for holidays to test the waters and to be sure if that was what I wanted to do. I was still in Stella Maris College, but I went there to familiarise myself with the culture and confirm if it was what I wanted to do.

How would you describe the first time you travelled to the US?

I went to the University of South Carolina, which was a racist community. When I was at the embassy, they had to ask me why I decided to go to South Carolina because it was in the racist South and I also had admission to the New York University. I chose South Carolina because it was the first university to offer me admission. Personally, I did not experience racism even though it was there. The University of South Carolina began to admit black people in 1966 so I needed to be careful and cautious. In the first year when I registered for my comprehensive examination for my Master’s degree, my supervisor called me to his office, locked his door and said that he saw my name with the departmental secretary under those who were going to take the examination. He asked if I understood that the examination was going to be in English. I said yes. Then he asked if I thought I could take such an examination in English, then I told him I was not sure but I would try. When you take the exam, it passes through three professors for grading. After they had graded, the same professor who asked if I could take the exam in English called me into his office again, locked his door; but this time, he knelt down and apologised to me. He said that he did not know that I was intelligent until after he saw what I did in the examination. It was a racist comment but I did not see it then as such. They just had a mentality that black people could not do some certain things.  He underrated me. He did not know that before I left Nigeria I had served as a senior examination officer for the West African Examination Council and I had assistant examination officers working with me as junior workers. The racism that existed there did not really affect me and I moved on. When I finished my doctorate, I registered for my postdoctoral Master’s degree. The registrar called me and asked me what I was after. In the US at the time, people were okay with having a Master’s degree.

Were you not tempted to marry a woman when you were in the US?

My objective was to do what I went to the US for. Once in a while, we attended parties and met with Nigerian students. I was the President of the Nigerian Students’ Association in South Carolina.

So how did you meet your wife?

I had worked at the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, before I worked with the Oxford University Press, Ibadan. I applied for the Federal Government scholarship when I was at the college and the one year I stayed at Oxford University Press was when the names of the award recipients were published. So I travelled to the US. By the time I returned to Nigeria, I still had some contacts at the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education where my wife was teaching. That was how I met her.

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Timileyin Akinkahunsi

 October 1 is a remarkable date in the history of Nigeria; the giant of Africa gained independence on this date under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial measure of self-government for the country’s three regions.  In October 1963, Nigeria proclaimed itself the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and former Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwe became the country’s first President. With independence, the citizenry had high hopes and expectations for a better government, but contrary to their hopes they have sober tales to tell on the state of governance.

For instance, Raliat Adedeji is disappointed with the state of development in the country.

Adedeji is a 71-year-old grandmother of eight children. In the years she has spent on earth, Raliat has learnt to bury unpleasant memories but there is one that has refused to go away.

She was kidnapped along the Ikorodu/Itokin Expressway in Lagos on her way to her hometown, Epe, around 6pm in 2012. And after the sad event was relived over and over with all the accompanying trauma, Adedeji knew it was time to leave the shores of Nigeria for good.

Although, Adedeji has since relocated to the United States, she still sees her abductors in her sleep, with the thoughts waking her and making her break out in a sweat.

“They were all under the age of 30; I still see their faces when I sleep,” she told Saturday PUNCH in a telephone conversation.

Adedeji used to sell jewellery at Idumota Market in Lagos, a business that made her a lot of money, but even its lure was not strong enough to keep her back.

“I can never come back to Nigeria, at least, not for now. I said goodbye to Nigeria three weeks after I was released from the kidnappers’ den. Before I relocated to the US, I castigated people for leaving Nigeria, but when I had a taste of cruelty dished to me by those young men, I had a rethink.

“I will never wish that experience for my worst enemy. I know God protects but for the sake of good health and longevity, I chose to stay back in the US with my children and never return to Nigeria. When I return to Nigeria, I pray it will be my corpse.

“My experience was terrible because even after I came out of the kidnappers’ den, the police did not make any meaningful headway with their investigation. I was released because my family members paid the ransom demanded by the abductors. I love Nigeria, but the level of insecurity is high,” she said.

Adedeji misses Nigeria though, especially the fresh vegetables from her late husband’s farm, local delicacies and parties.

Admitting that living outside Nigeria doesn’t guarantee absolute security, Adedeji, who has chronic diabetics and arthritis, identified placing maximum on human life the edge the US had over her home country.

“The health care system is top notch; that is what is keeping me here. At least, I don’t have to stay in a very long and frustrating queue before doctors will attend to me.

“My friends in my age group still complain about these things anytime I speak to them on the phone; this was how I left Nigeria in 2012 and it has not changed till now; it is really sad. I wish I could come back but I want a peaceful death,” she said.

Nigerians seek greener pastures

As Nigeria is set to mark its 58th Independence anniversary on Monday, there is a general belief among citizens that the country’s situation has worsened since 1960 when it got independence from Britain.

And as a result of the poor health care, poor education, dearth of infrastructure, high rate of unemployment and so on in the country, many Nigerians have continued to seek greener pastures abroad.

For instance, according to a report of September 2017, published by the House of Commons Library in February 2018, 5,405 Nigerian health practitioners were working in England.

Similarly, an academic based in the US, Andrew Akinmoladun, left Nigeria 35 years ago when he was 24 years old.

Although he had reasons to seek greener pastures abroad at the time, he recalled that Nigeria’s economy and the standard of living of its people were much better than they are today.

“I remember changing our currency for dollars in Badagry, Lagos at a very reasonable rate when I left home. There was a crisis in schools and as an executive of my school’s students’ union, I was rusticated. But I was lucky that my father supported me and ensured I left Nigeria. Here, I had to start my university education all over again.

“My expectation at the time was that by now, Nigeria would be compared to a place like the United Kingdom, but I later realised that my expectation was too high. We have a lot of Nigerian professionals that can develop Nigeria better than what the Chinese are doing to us now but unfortunately, I think we don’t like our own complexion.

“There have been instances where professionals in the US who are Nigerians went home, but had to return to the US in frustration. I’m one of such people as I was once in Nigeria on sabbatical and wanted to stay for a long time to help the country’s educational system but I realised it wasn’t worth it.

“Our orientation as Nigerians needs to change; there should be a cultural orientation from within families. People have to realise that the government cannot do everything by themselves, so we have to help ourselves.

“I will be 60 next February; it is a pity that in those days, Nigerians used to come to school abroad and later return to work at home. But now, even kids that come here for education don’t want to return to Nigeria because there is nothing for them there. I don’t see any positive change in sight. There is no support for people in the Diaspora to return home,” he told Saturday PUNCH.

The Osun State-born academic however prayed for a Nigeria where basic amenities would be provided for the citizenry.

“The new Nigeria I would love to see is one that provides the three basic amenities – food, security and shelter. When we have those basic amenities, everything will follow.

“We need very good education system; the product of an academia determines how productive the citizens will be. For example, when I was at home, I wanted to recruit an accountant to manage the records for my little business in Nigeria but the people that came for assessment were not up to the task.

“They couldn’t do basic book-keeping and they were graduates of our universities. We need to get our education system right. In those days, we used to mock the American education system but now they mock ours.

“I would love to see a Nigeria that gives its people potable water, good roads and adequate employment; that was the kind of Nigeria that we used to have. I remember that in those days, as soon as you graduated from university, you were already entitled to a car. But things started getting bad during our own time, it is very disheartening.

“The Nigerian government needs to work on the orientation of the citizens, they need to work on bribery and corruption; there should be checks and balances. There were times I had some paperwork to do in Nigeria and I was told to bribe some people to get things done.

“The way Nigeria is going, if we don’t arrest the situation, we will have another colonial master,” he said.

Akinmoladun, however, added that many US-based Nigerians missed home but that it was difficult for them to return home as they had become used to the high standard of living of their adopted country.

“Eventually, I am going to retire in Nigeria; that is why I am putting up infrastructure that befits the kind of life I am living here. I can live comfortably in Nigeria with my retirement benefits. They say it is one Nigeria but I don’t see it as one Nigeria; people are only about their selfish gains,” he said.

Deji Smith described his departure from Nigeria as a search for greener pastures.

“I left Nigeria 12 years ago but the economy was not too bad at the time compared to the situation now. Since I left, things have gone from bad to worse.

Like Akinmoladun, the graduate of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos added that the quality of education in Nigeria was in need of improvement for the state of the nation to move forward.

“We had quality education and reasonable security measures back then compared to now. When we were growing up, there were school activities to keep students busy; it didn’t leave room for young people to go into fraud and other vices.

Smith, who said he was not willing to relocate to Nigeria, spoke passionately about the decline in the quality of health care in the country.

“I am not encouraged to come back home but I can always come to visit. In the 1950s, people used to come to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, from Saudi Arabia for medical services. Now, Nigerians go to India, Ghana and all sorts of places in search of medical care.

“There is a hospital in Glasgow, UK. The hospital bill is very pricey and it is one of the best in Europe. But the money politicians embezzle in Nigeria is enough to build that type of hospital in the country.

“Some people in the Diaspora want to come to Nigeria to change things but the political structure in Nigeria doesn’t give room for that. If you don’t have millions of naira to spend on electioneering, you cannot get into some particular positions,” he said.

An engineer, Paul Eke, left Nigeria for the UK in 2003 to advance his studies as a scholar.

He expressed his wish to return to Nigeria but added that the structure was highly discouraging.

“There is no place on this planet that is like Nigeria. There are a lot of Nigerians who wish to return home and give back to the country but the major problems discouraging them are insecurity, quality of life, and dearth of social amenities and infrastructure.

“If you get back home, you will have to struggle with the fact that these social amenities are not adequate. It is good to fight corruption, but one very important thing is the rule of law; we need to get that right. If we can get the rule of law right every other thing will follow,” he told Saturday PUNCH.

Experts lament Nigeria’s situation

A lawyer and political analyst, Mr. Liborous Oshoma, said Nigeria’s Independence Day should not be a time of celebration but a time of sober reflection; assessing how we have performed over the years and how we can get better as a country.

“Independence Day celebration has become like a ritual but it should be a time of sober reflection; a time to ask ourselves, how can we be doing the same thing over and over for decades and yet we expect a different result?” he asked.

The legal practitioner described the continuous exit of professionals from Nigeria as having grave implications for its economy.

He said, “The more people leave here, the more there is brain drain. Nigerians have broken records abroad in different fields as surgeons, engineers and so on. Imagine if those people were all contributing to the economy, America would be competing with Nigeria.

“But because of bad leadership, we are unable to manage our affairs well and the implication is that people want to leave Nigeria in droves. Also as we are not able to utilise our resources, there is a lot of insecurity. Since there are no jobs, many people take to vices.

“Anytime its independence, I always ask myself: what is really independent about Nigeria? All of these negatively add to the economy. This year alone, the number that has left Nigeria to other countries illegally is innumerable, even through the land borders to Libya.

“They would rather die on the road than remain in Nigeria. People sometimes think it is about money but it is not; people just want to live a good and comfortable life where they can access basic social amenities.

“Even the judicial system and educational system are bad. People would rather send their children to schools in Ghana because of the curriculum and the certainty that a four-year course will actually be completed in four years.

“Even our President cannot access medical facilities here; he always has to go to London because of the state of our health sector. Workers are on strike presently over minimum wage. When it comes to independence, I question our independence economically. The basic necessities of life: shelter, water, electricity good roads are not there; even in Lagos, a metropolitan city, the roads are deplorable.”

Also, an economist, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, also described the situation in Nigeria as bad.

“The implication of Nigeria professionals staying back abroad is brain drain on the economy. The incentives to work here are not there; we have lost them to the other side. The exchange rate is also another factor because when they earn in foreign currency and change it to naira, it becomes a reasonable amount. If we increase productivity in Nigeria our exchange rate will improve. If crude oil should dry up in Nigeria today, the country would be finished,” he told Saturday PUNCH.

“Delving into agriculture will also make the exchange rate better as against depending on oil alone; oil is just free money. We should increase our productivity level. Relatives even encourage themselves to stay abroad and keep sending money to them because the exchange rate is bad.

“In those days, there was serious productivity; people were working for money. Government should finance education properly. What is happening now is that we are working to make money, not for productivity,” he said.

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