80 final year students quit school, say they were tired of learning

A group of final-year students stormed out of their secondary school in eastern Kenya on Wednesday night, saying they were tired of studying.

Some 80 students left the Matungulu Boys Secondary School compound, leaving only 36 behind, according to The Standard newspaper.

The school principal said the students had discipline issues that were being dealt with.

Some of the students told local radio stations that the principal was too strict and they were tired of studying. They said they would prefer to come back just to sit for final examinations scheduled for next year.

The principal said parents had been informed and asked to bring back the students.

Schools reopened in October for final-year students after being closed because of coronavirus, while other classes will resume in January.

The ministry of education advised administrators to minimise interaction between students in boarding schools and people outside to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Some schools have reported coronavirus cases since reopening.

BREAKING: ANCIENT IFE TERRA COTTA HEAD RETURNS HOME FROM NETHERLANDS.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and others attend the presentation of the Ife terracotta head and other artifacts from the Kingdom of Netherlands in Abuja on November 26, 2020.

The Nigerian government has received the repatriated Ife terracotta head and other artifacts from the Kingdom of Netherlands.

This was announced on the official twitter page of Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, @FMICNigeria

" Honorable Minister of Information & Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed receives repatriated artifact, Ife Terra-cotta head from the Kingdom of Netherland.

 

Mr Lai Mohammed, who is the Minister of Information and Culture, took delivery of the artifacts on Thursday at an event in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Harry Van Dijk, presented the valuable pieces of art to the minister on behalf of the government of the European country.

The terracotta head from Ile-Ife in Osun State, a unique and rare artifact, was intercepted by Dutch Customs at the Schiphol Airport in 2018.

The event was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, as well as Professor Abba Tijani.

Professor Tijani, who is the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, stated that the Ife terracotta head was said to be at least 600 years old.

Read the full text of the Minister of Information at the event below:

SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, WHILE RECEIVING AN IFE TERRACOTTA ANTIQUITY RETURNED FROM THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS….IN ABUJA ON THURSDAY, 26 NOV. 2020

Protocol

It gives me profound joy to receive this very important antiquity, an Ife Terracotta, which is dated to be at least 600 years old.

I am even more delighted that our efforts at pursuing the return of Nigerian antiquities, which we launched last November, have started yielding fruits.

You will recall that at the World Press Conference held for that purpose in Lagos on November 28, 2019, I asserted that Nigeria will work towards the return and restitution of her cultural property wherever they may be in the world.

That assertion was not a fluke, as we have seen today.

Our resolve to seek the repatriation of our timeless and priceless artifacts was strengthened by Mr President’s marching order for Nigeria to tap into tourism and other fields, where Nigeria has comparative advantages, in order to generate income for the nation and secure jobs for our youths.

One way of generating income for the country is if our cultural properties are exhibited around the world to a fee-paying audience, on the basis of proper agreement that acknowledges us as owners and confers the right benefits on us.

But this is not possible for as long as most of them adorn the museums and private collections of others, who describe them as their properties.

Today’s event marks a new beginning. Our antiquities must work for our progress. Apart from the pecuniary benefits, these priceless objects wrought by our forebears are unifying factors.

It is heart-warming to note that the leadership of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments is showing renewed efforts at repatriation.

Regarding the antiquity that is being handed over to us today, the smuggler had obtained forged documents purported to be from a former Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

The smuggler ultimately passed through the airport in Ghana before getting to Europe in 2019.

The Dutch Customs at Schiphol Airport suspected that the object might be illicitly imported and alerted the antiquity protection office known as the Inspectie, which is the Information and Heritage Inspectorate of the Netherlands, to give an opinion.

The Inspectie invited Nigeria to prove her case against the suspected smuggler. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) acted swiftly by dispatching its lawyer, Mr Babatunde Adebiyi, who is with us here today, to present evidence and argue for the return of the object.

Nigeria was successful in this and the claim was determined in favour of Nigeria.

After all internal procedures, including the right of appeal, were exhausted, the Government of the Netherlands – at a very elaborate event – handed over the object to the Nigerian Embassy in the Hague on November 2, 2020.

The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, made all possible arrangements to ensure the return of the antiquity to Nigeria.

He directed the Charge d’Affaires of our Embassy in the Netherlands, Mr Kabiru Musa, to bring back the antiquity, which we are receiving today.

We want to most sincerely thank the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and his staff, both at home and in the Netherlands.

We also thank His Excellency Harry van Dijk, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Nigeria.

Our gratitude also goes to the Director and officials of the Information and Heritage Inspectorate of the Netherlands, officials of the Customs of the Netherlands as well as the National Museum of the Netherlands for rendering preservation and conservation assistance while the adjudication of the claim lasted.

The Inspectie, that is the Information and Heritage Inspectorate of the Netherlands, and the National Commission for Museums and

Monuments of Nigeria have agreed to make a joint presentation of this issue to the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris, so that other nations may take a cue from this in finding rapprochement and common ground concerning the issue of return of antiquities.

Let me state here that Nigeria believes in joint international efforts to put a stop to illicit export and import of cultural goods.

The issue of cultural property should not be a ground of rancour and discord among nations. That is if nations choose to tow the path which the Kingdom of The Netherlands has chosen by insisting on justice, fairness and amity.

I thank you all for your kind attention.

14-year-old wins UBA essay competition, gets N2.5 million

Ten of the twelve winners are girls.

The UBA Foundation, the CSR arm of the United Bank for Africa, today, held its tenth annual National Essay Competition(NEC) in a virtual ceremony that was attended by high school students from across the nation. The UBA Foundation’s Education initiative has been changing lives for a decade as the tertiary education scholarship programme continues to impact the lives of many students and their communities.

For the fourth consecutive year, the females have led this competition with 14-year-old Eshiet Abasiekeme of Bright Stars Model Secondary School from Akwa-Ibom state taking home this year’s winning prize. Eshiet received an educational grant of N2.5 million to study in any African university of her choice. She will also be supported throughout her educational career and beyond with constant mentoring by the UBA Foundation.

Abasiekeme who had joined the virtual event from her base in Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria, could not contain her excitement as she heard the announcement that she had won the first prize of the NEC 2020. “I feel honoured to be the winner of this year’s NEC, and I want to appreciate UBA and UBA Foundation as this will help towards my dream of becoming a lawyer,” she said proudly, expressing that she would like to go to university in Uyo in her home state.

Eshiet Abasiekeme with her Mother

Eshiet Abasiekeme with her Mother

The second prize was awarded to 14-year-old Mofuluwake Adesanya of Spring Forte-Lead College Lagos State, who won a N2,000,000 educational grant, whilst the third prize of N1,500,000 went to Abdulganiyy Habeeba, 16 years old. Abdulganiyy attends the International School, University of Lagos.

Eshiet and the 11 other finalists, took home their brand new laptop computers to enable them continue to work competitively in a world that is rapidly becoming fully digitalised.

Congratulating all the winners at the final event of the competition, the Managing Director/CEO of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, applauded all the participants for their exceptional brilliance. She explained that the Foundation had taken into consideration the effect that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on lives and incomes across board and had increased the prize money by 33 per cent this year to help cushion any negative or inflationary effects.

Emphasising the driving force behind the annual competition, she said, “We are passionate about the annual NEC because it changes lives and helps to improve the quality of lives of students and their families. The NEC helps to improve the quality of writing and competitiveness amongst students. We have launched in more African countries this year and would have launched the initiative in 20 countries by the end of 2021. It is not just about writing essays, the ripple effect is really quite enormous, and we are glad that it is cascading to other countries where we operate.’ she said.

Also speaking at the opening of the event, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA Plc, Kennedy Uzoka, commended all 12 finalists, expressing that UBA was happy to be touching lives and making a solid impact through its National Essay Competition, which is now in its 10th edition. He was very pleased about the fact that more females again came out tops this year, adding that notwithstanding the constraints and challenges of 2020, the Foundation received the highest number of entries ever, at over 12,000 digital submissions’.

Mr Uzoka, who is also the Chairman, UBA Foundation, said, “The NEC has been changing lives positively for 10 years, and we have awarded scholarships to students not just in Nigeria but in other parts of Africa like Ghana, Sierra Leone and Senegal. Some of these students are already graduates and contributing meaningfully to their communities’.

 

“To all 12 of you that have emerged finalists, I would like to congratulate you. If out of 12,000 entries you were able to make it to the top 12, that represents about 0.12% of the entries. You are no doubt, already a winner,” he continued.

UBA Foundation’s National Essay Competition is an initiative under the Education pillar of the Foundation. Now in its tenth year, the aim of the NEC is to ensure that more African youths have access to education. The programme also highlights the good quality of education that exists on the continent as it stresses that the grant must be used in any university of the winners’ choice on the African continent.

2020 UBAF TOP 12 FINALISTS

S/N NAME POSITION

1 Eshiet Abasiekeme Eshiet 1st

2 Mofuluwake Adesanya 2nd

3 Abdulganiyu Habeeba 3rd

4 Emenugha Hannah Amarachi 4th

5 Ibem Marylyn Anya 5th

6 Ehibor Favour 6th

7 Nwabueze Regina Ugochi 6th

8 Dimaro Tamarapreye 7th

9 Ozoke Melvin Damian Uchenna 8th

10 Enobong Flourish David 9thShowing 1 to 10 of 12 entriesPreviousNext

Your report on Lekki capable of setting Nigeria on fire’ — Lai writes CNN

The federal government has written to CNN, demanding “ an immediate and exhaustive investigation” into its report on the Lekki tollgate incident.

On October 20, 2020, the Nigerian army had dispersed #EndSARS protesters at the tollgate.

In a report on the incident, CNN had alleged that soldiers used live bullets on the protesters but the army had repeatedly denied it, saying it fired blank bullets into the air.

In a letter dated November 23 and addressed to Jonathan Hawkins, VP, communications, CNN, Lai Mohammed, minister of information, said the report “did not just fall short of journalistic standards but reinforces the disinformation that is going around on the issue”.

He said CNN failed to show a balanced reportage but rather relied “heavily on manipulated social media videos” adding that the inciting report is capable of setting the country on fire.

“Our attention has been drawn to an ‘investigation’ by CNN, entitled ‘How a Bloody Night of Bullets Quashed a Young Protest Movement’ and aired on 18 Nov. 2020, in which the international news organization said it had ”uncovered that Nigerian security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters” at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria, during the #EndSARS protest,” the letter read.

“In the first instance, the report did not live up to the most basic of the core principles of journalism – balance and fairness.

“Rushing to air such a momentous story without presenting the government’s side is inexcusable and indefensible. CNN said it contacted over 100 protesters and family members, but did not speak to one official of Nigeria’s federal government. While CNN said there was no response from the army and that officials of Lagos State would not speak in view of the Judicial Panel that is investigating the matter, it did not say what effort it made to speak with any official of the federal government.

“The truth is that CNN did not even attempt to reach the federal government. Nima Elbagir, who presented the report and most probably led the investigation, is conversant with the Minister of Information and Culture, yet did not say that she even tried to reach the Minister.

“Another serious breach by CNN, in its ‘investigation’, is that the network relied heavily on unverified footages it harvested from social media. CNN was not present at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the incident. Neither its reporter nor cameraman was there, but it relied on eyewitnesses.

“CNN has said it stands by its story, and that ‘our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched’, this is baffling, considering that the story lacks fairness and balance, as we have pointed out, and that the organization relied heavily on manipulated social media videos. This resort to an escapist cliche seems more like a face-saving measure by an otherwise respectable news network caught in the blinding glare of ‘fake news and disinformation’ headlamps.

“CNN, in its rush to nail soldiers and tell a ‘radically different story’, conveniently left out these parts of the Godson video, which could have shown that armed hoodlums invaded the Lekki Toll Gate that night, and could have hit any of the protesters as they shot sporadically. This is clearly a ploy by the CNN reporter/presenter to manipulate viewers of its ‘investigative’ report and force them to draw the reporter’s desired conclusion!

“As a form of remediation, Nigeria’s Federal Government demands an immediate and exhaustive investigation from CNN into its ‘investigative’ report on the Lekki Toll Gate incident to determine, among others, its authenticity, whether or not it met the basic standards of journalism and also the selective use of unverified social media videos to manipulate public opinion. While it is up to CNN to accede or not, please note that the Federal Government reserves the right to take any action within its laws to prevent CNN from aggravating the #EndSARS crisis with unprofessional, irresponsible, one-sided, inciting and sensational reporting that is capable of pitching Nigerians against themselves and setting the country on fire.”

The federal government also noted that this will not be the first time the CNN “has carried an inaccurate or hoax story about Nigeria”, citing an incident that happened in February 2007.

Kunle Afolayan: Actors Should Take Every Role Seriously

Known for exploring cultural themes in Nigeria, Kunle Afolayan’s most recent project entitled, Citation, focuses on sexual and gender-based violence in universities across Africa. In a recent virtual interview with OLAITAN GANIU, the actor and filmmaker gives insights and experiences on his new film and star cast.

Tell us the process of producing your new film, Citation

This journey started over two years ago. But, last year November, we started the pre-production – we went to check locations – visiting Ife, Cape Verde, Senegal, and also met with people that we could collaborate with in those locations before we finally set the date for the shoot.

Though, the entire story was meant to be shot in Nigeria but for me I am always looking at Pan-Africa movies. I was like instead of making this another Nigerian film, why not let’s explore the possibilities of making it Pan-African and I am glad I made the decision.

Was the pandemic the reason for releasing Citation on Netflix?

This movie wasn’t commissioned by Netflix, but when we were filming, Netflix came and started asking questions about it, they wanted to know our plans for the film. For me, I love big screens, as a matter of fact, I had started talking with cinemas and I was looking at August for the theatrical release. But, man proposes, God disposes. We finished filming in February, and then by March pandemic was here and we were hoping that we will be able to edit the post-production on time and release but by the mid of the year, we had a rethink to talk with Netflix who has been showing interest… and that was when we took that decision. And I can tell you for a fact that I don’t regret my action.

Of course, there was a sales projection from the beginning but putting it on the net has exposed the film to a bigger audience, all over the world. Instead of us struggling and begging people to come to the cinema and doing the cinema tour just to confused Nigerians to watch Nigeria’s film, that has been taken away. So, I’m really excited that it is on Netflix, globally and I have moved on to the next project.

How would you rate Temi Otedola’s acting as a debutante?

Temi is very disciplined. Every day, Temi was on set, she would wake up as early as 6:00am and she would leave in the night. Sometimes when I feel she is tired or tense, I will suggest whether to move the scene to the next day and she will insist saying “No, no let’s do it.” As a filmmaker, if you keep getting this from someone, there’s no way you will not want to keep them on your set because that is what you call pure discipline and passion.

Kunle Afolayan

I remember I called her (Temi) for the first time and asked her to do a monologue: ‘Imagining that a lecturer is trying to bully you and you are helpless then sit by the window, no makeup, no wig, just internalize and express yourself.’ After some time, she sent me a video and I replied with ‘Okay, that’s good.’ I just called my team that we’ve got a female lead for the film.’ You know, it is very rare to find someone who will speak English, French and Yoruba and who has the look and other characteristics. So, these are the things I found in her.

 

 

 

Do you think the movie would change Nigeria’s academic culture?

So when I make films, I put a bit of questions? When we were filming, I wanted to create balance because I don’t want to portray the lecturer as a bad person because in the university, you also have the bad student too. The take home is, even though the student comes after you as a lecturer, you should not take the advantage. If a lecturer harasses a student, they should report to the right authorities either the academic management or NGO, and vice versa. Citation treats a subject that people are quite familiar with, not just in schools but in all walks of life. What we tried dealing with in the film is not the fact that these things exist, it’s the fact that if you find yourself in this situation, what are you going to do?”

Also, this movie will encourage a lot of young people. Yes, we try to entertain people but at the same time we look at issues in society that need to be enlightened and then we try to infuse entertainment around the story.

Is that why you featured Seun Kuti in the movie?

I wanted to immortalize Fela as an icon, not just in Nigeria but all over the world and to be as realistic as possible. In those days, people organised shows to bring popular musicians like Shina Peters, Pasuma and others and they would come with live bands and perform all night. Even in secondary schools, they used to take stage play for students so I used a stone to kill two birds. Because, we are telling a very serious story about campus life, but then, we want to make it fun and entertaining for viewers.

And again, a lot of people who graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) will tell you that ‘if you haven’t seen any movie in Amphi Theatre, then you are not a student of Ife.’ More so, all the people you see in the scenes are extracts and some of them got paid. So will you shoot that amazing concert and cut it to 30 seconds?

Why did you make Yomi Fash-Lanso play a mute role?

Yomi is a veteran actor who has been around for about three decades. When I contacted him about whether he will be able to take a role without speaking, he said to me ‘Kunle, best actors don’t have to talk or say a word for them to express themselves.’ Yomi took the role and played it perfectly.

As a matter of fact, we considered some actors for that role but they gave flimsy excuses. I want other actors to understand and learn from this. When you are called for any role, don’t just look at it as anyhow. How many scenes did Samuel L. Jackson do in ‘Coming to America’? But that was one of the films that made him.

In dealing with sexual and gender-based violence, would you say our culture has a role to play?

I don’t think so. A bad person is a bad person and a good person is a good person. Our culture is really good because we are respectful people and we hold our culture in high regards.

What is your mystical ideology?

Emi o gbadun (meaning, I am abnormal). I don’t think I am normal and that is why I’m weird. That is why when I am treating societal issues, I try not to duel too much into religion because I believe more in life and humans.

I also believe that there are forces, these forces to some people they tap their energy from the churches or pastors and the Mosques or Imams. Then, the traditionalists also have their gods including Ogun, Sango, Obatala, Mermaid waters and all of that. For me, I am a free-thinker and when you are free-thinker you won’t be biased because I believe that everything works together for good.

@Thenation

HOW THE FIRST DOCUMENTED VICTIM OF POLICE BRUTALITY IN NIGERIA WAS KILLED IN 1971

Adekunle Adepeju was a second-year student of the Agricultural Economics Department, University of Ibadan, as at the time of the incident. Prior to his death, the students of the University of Ibadan protested the poor state of the University which included the quality of the catering services exacerbated by the apparent dishonesty of the hall manageress.

The students felt the manageress was inefficient and had poor public relations, and so they petitioned the Vice Chancellor, Professor Lambo, for her immediate removal.

The management was reluctant to remove the manageress and this resulted in the demonstration which was started by students of Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall, University of Ibadan. The Vice-chancellor invited the police to help contain the students’ protests which began on Saturday, January 30, 1971.

According to several accounts, Kunle Adepeju was a quiet young man who was noted for going about the campus with his flute. But on the 1st of February, 1971, right in the front of Queen Elizabeth II Hall, University of Ibadan, Kunle Adepeju was hit by a stray bullet which a police officer had fired into the protesting crowd. His lifeless body was laid near the bus stop to Queen’s Hall and covered in a white bed sheet.

It was reported that he was helping a fellow student whose leg had been shot. Kunle’s body fell, dead before touching the ground. Many other students were wounded; this killing created a strong hostile reaction from the public. 

A 4-day protest ensued in Ibadan and spread to Lagos. According to Reuters, demonstrators burned down police posts and hunted policemen who took off their uniforms to escape the violence.

In memory of a true hero, Adekunle Ademuyiwa Adepeju, the entirety of Nigerian students remembers his great bravery. The power of his sacrifice, effort, courage, bravery remains a strong fulcrum for justice.

Today, on arrival to the University of Ibadan Campus, one of the many structures one would see is the University of Ibadan Students’ Union Building popularly known as the Kunle Adepeju Building which houses the late Kunle Adepeju statue.

The location of this structure itself seems to be deliberate to remind every student there is a vibrant and progressive students’ body that will always defend students’ rights.

Source: OldNaija.

LATE ADEKUNLE ADEMUYIWA ADEPEJU; A QUINTESSENTIAL HERO – Alao Abiodun Joshua, Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan.

How Angry Protesters Stormed University of Ibadan in 1971 Over the Death of a Student – Teslim Omipidan, OldNaija

LASG TASKS RESIDENTS ON ATTITUDINAL CHANGE TO WASTE MANAGEMENT

The Lagos State Government has called on residents to change their attitude to waste management to checkmate environmental pollution and protect the ecosystem. 

The Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, who made the call during the flag-off ceremony of a seven-day intense cleaning of the Waterways by the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative (MEDIC), in collaboration with HRM Abisogun Foundation and other partners. 

Jaji said, “with the upsurge in the blockage of drainages and waterways with plastic bottles and water sachets, it is imperative for all and sundry to have a change mindset towards the environment by disposing of our waste properly and to educate our children and wards against indiscriminate disposal at all times”.

According to her, it is a known fact that plastics endure for 450 years with its damaging effects to the ecosystem and constitutes a threat to human and wildlife, as many seabirds and animals are killed yearly by plastics, stressing that the number of plastics in the sea outnumbers the marine animals by six to one. 

The SSG said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is conscious of the enormous global challenge of plastic waste management, which has been projected to reach 12 billion tonnes in landfills by Y2050, adding that out of this, only five per cent has been recycled. 

She pointed out that government under the T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda committed human and material resources to tackle waste management in all the 57 Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas.  

In her words: “All the agencies in the environment sub-sector have been directed to ensure compliance by the people, while over 200 recyclers have been registered under the ‘waste to wealth initiative’. They have been producing durable and beautiful items from the plastics”. 

Jaji further stated that government, through Lagos Waste Management Authority, in 2019 introduced the Blue Box Programme to promote the extraction of plastics and other recyclable waste to conserve the natural environment, through sorting of waste before collection while people are rewarded for picking up plastics.

She added that the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and Lagos State Waterways Authority often collaborate with a private organisation to clear the seaside to prevent pollution and water transportation accidents regularly.  

The SSG commended Doyinsola Ogunye and Lekan Bakare of MEDIC for collaborating with others on the Coastal Plastic Search Exercise in Iru and urged others to emulate such gesture, not just for plastics but other wastes for a healthy and Greater Lagos. 

Speaking on the need to preserve the life underwater, His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, the Oniru of Iru Land, said it is an antidote for sustainable living, noting that the current state of unrestrained littering of the marine is not only unacceptable but an embarrassment to tourists, which is capable of reducing the tourism value of the State.

He explained that Iru Kingdom is a coastal and peninsular settlement that is largely affected by climate change in terms of flooding, beach erosion and pressure from the incessant urban development activities.

3 Cartons Of Noodles For 34 Teachers, More Lagos Teachers Reveal What They Got As Covid-19 Palliatives

  

...Lagos Commissioner for Education describes the palliatives as unexpected gifts.

The recent distribution of COVID-19 palliatives to teachers in Lagos State continue to generate conversations among primary and secondary school teachers as many of them rejected the food items they were given.

On Wednesday, November 18, 2020, Pulse reported that many teachers in Ojo Local Government Area of the state received a sachet of noodles and a sachet of biscuit as palliatives.

While the Chairman of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) in the area, Tajudeen Oladipupo denied the report, saying no teacher was given such negligible food items, more teachers in primary and secondary schools in the state have confirmed that they received palliatives that tend to reduce their status.

The sachet of noodles and biscuit shared as palliatives to primary school teachers in Lagos (Pulse)

The NUT chairman had argued that the teachers’ claims were not true because none of them reported to him.

He said, “When I got the palliatives from our state office, I moved them straight to the office of the Chairman, Association of Nigerian Primary School Teachers, who also doubles as the Chairman of headteachers in Ojo Local Government, and I handed them over to him and took some snapshots with him and the Deputy Chairman, and nobody has reported anything to me, if they have reported to you and have not reached out to me, I don’t think I have anything to say about it”.

Some teachers, who spoke to Pulse on condition of anonymity due to fear of intimidation said the distribution of the palliatives started shortly after schools resumed following the #EndSARS crisis in the state.

Recall that during the crisis, hoodlums and looters invaded a warehouse at the Masamasa area of the state to steal COVID-19 palliatives kept in the building.

Some of the food items looted from the building included rice, noodles and garri.

However, in a chat with Pulse, many teachers disclosed that apart from noodles and biscuits, some of them were also given two cups of rice, one sachet of spaghetti and/or a tin of garri depending on the numbers of teachers in a school.

A secondary school teacher in District V said, three cartons of noodles were sent to the school for 34 teachers with an instruction that two cartons be given to the principal and vice-principal, while others would share one carton among themselves.

COVID-19 palliatives for a school with over 20 teachers in Lagos State (Pulse)

At a secondary school in Ajeromi Ifelodun, teachers were given four sachets of noodles, a cup of rice, (milk tin), N100 Dangote sugar, and a tin of garri (tomato paste tin, aka de rica).

A teacher in Ojo Local Government said all teachers in her school went home with four sachets of noodles and two cups of rice.

Describing the palliatives as an eyesore, another teacher in the area said some of the food items like pasta sent to the school had gone so bad that their packages had broken.

Another senior secondary school teacher at Amuwo Odofin area of the state disclosed that each teacher at his school was able to get four sachets of noodles because the school principal and vice-principal rejected the palliatives.

“We could not share the sugar they gave us because it was too little to be shared. They also gave us two 5kg bags of rice for about 20 teachers in the school.”

Three sachets of noodles were all some teachers got as palliatives (Pulse)

The teacher added that some schools around Ajeromi Ifelodun didn't even bother to share the palliatives because it won’t go round even if they decide to give one sachet of noodles to each teacher.

While many teachers complained about the food items, a teacher at one of the many schools at Complex in Apapa said they didn’t receive any palliatives.

Another primary school teacher, who got four sachets of noodles at Ibeju-Lekki area of the state said some teachers received expired food items.

The teacher said “I got three sachets of Indomie noodles and one other noodle, while some colleagues in other schools got just one sachet of noodles without biscuits. Some got biscuits, garri and other items that have expired due to the delay in the distribution. It is a big slap and a disgrace on us. We did not even expect anything from them, we didn’t ask, they shouldn’t have given us anything. What are we supposed to do with the food they give us?, But we collected it to have a piece of evidence.”

A secondary school teacher at Alimosho Local Government also disclosed that she was given four sachets of noodles and a pasta. Teachers at a Junior High School in Ikoyi also got the same food items.

Speaking to Pulse in a telephone conversation on Saturday, November 21, 2020, Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, said she has nothing to say about the palliatives because she was not responsible for the distribution of the food items.

Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, Commissioner for Education, Lagos State. [jaitrends]

She said, “I was not the one who gave out the palliatives. I am sure it came from one of our ministries. I really cannot comment at this time, because I don’t know who you spoke with, and I don’t know the details of it.

“Remember that Lagos State Government paid 100 percent salaries throughout, not 50 per cent. We paid full salaries on the 25th of every month, from February till the end of COVID-19 lockdown”.

Reacting to teachers’ argument that the food items shouldn't have been shared because they did not ask for it, Adefisayo wondered why Lagos teachers found faults in the palliatives, saying the food items were unexpected gifts.

“I have said I am not going to make any comment, since they didn’t request, you never look a gift horse in the mouth. You say thank you when somebody gives you an unexpected gift. I am sorry, I am not going to comment because I don’t know who gave them one sachet of noodle and a sachet of cabin biscuit. I have nothing to do with it, so I have no comment.”

On Tuesday, Pulse reached out to the Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, (LASUBEB) Mr. Wahab Alawiye-King for his comment on the distribution of palliatives in the state, but the LASUBEB boss ignored the calls and the message sent to him on Whatsapp.

Source: Pulse

Police Arrest 2 Suspects For Allegedly Eating Roasted Police Officers’ Flesh In Oyo.

The police in Oyo State have confirmed the arrest of two suspects allegedly linked with the roasting and eating of the flesh of police officers burnt in Ibadan during #EndSARS protest.

Police Spokesman at the Oyo State Command, SP Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects on Saturday in Ibadan in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The suspects, a 34-year-old expectant mother and a 43-year-old man have been transferred to the Force Intelligence Bureau at the Force Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation, he said.

The 34-year-old woman was alleged to have eaten some body parts of one of the police victims, an allegation which she denied as she said while it was true that she was at the scene, she was only given the body parts to keep by the second suspect, the 43-year-old man.

The 43-year-old suspect did not also deny being at the scene of the incident with other hoodlums, but said it was the woman who voluntarily took the body parts and only asked him for a towel or handkerchief to wrap them in.

The fallen policemen were deployed to contain the #EndSARS protest of Oct. 22, which was hijacked by hoodlums, when they met their deaths.

EXCLUSIVE: How Sanwo-Olu violated procurement law, imposed PAYTECH on Lagos schools

Gov Sanwo-Olu clearly violated the Lagos procurement law by choosing PAYTECH as the sole revenue collector for all the state-owned tertiary institutions without a competitive bidding process.

By Mojeed Alabi.

Facts have emerged on how Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, jettisoned the state’s procurement law to select Payment Technology Limited (PAYTECH) to collect revenues such as school fees, consultancy charges, rent on behalf of all the state-owned tertiary institutions.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered from reliable sources and proposals submitted to the individual schools that only grants paid either by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) or any other grantors are exempted from the new charges.

This newspaper had in September exclusively reported the imposition of PAYTECH on the institutions with an arbitrary 10 per cent commission payable to the private firm on each transaction.

However, apart from boycotting competitive bidding processes as mandated by the state’s procurement law, as revised in 2015, the governor has also violated a key section of the law which places the procurement responsibility on the chief executive officers of each of the agencies and departments of government.

What the law says

The governing rules on public procurement as specified under section 22, subsection 1, paragraphs (a)-(g) of the law clearly recommend open competitive bidding “using clearly defined criteria and offering to every interested bidder equal information and opportunities to offer the works, goods and services needed.”

However, Section 59 of the law permits restricted tendering but with a caveat as specified under subsection 1, paragraphs (a)-(c), that “subject to the approval of the state’s procurement agency, a procuring entity may by reasons of economy, efficiency, special skills, experience and proven track record of a contractor or service provider over a period of time, initiate procurement by means of restricted procurement if:

“(a) the goods, works or services are available only from a limited number of suppliers or contractors; or (b) the time and cost required to examine and evaluate a large number of tenders are disproportionate to the value of the goods, works or services to be procured, or (c) the procedure is used as an exception rather than the norm.”

The provisions of section 30, subsection 1 and 2, paragraphs (a)-(g) also clarify whose responsibility it is to account for the procurement processes.

Subsection 1 states that; “The accounting officer of a procuring entity shall be the person charged with line supervision of the conduct of all procurement processes; in the case of ministries the permanent secretary and in the case of extra-ministerial departments and corporations the director general or officer of coordinate responsibility.”

Read Also

#EndSARS supporter missing seven days after abduction

EXCLUSIVE: How Sanwo-Olu violated procurement law, imposed PAYTECH on Lagos schools

Nigeria records zero COVID-19 death in six of last seven days

 

And for failure to abide by the law, subsection 2 (a) of section 30 spells out who should be held responsible by saying that an accounting officer must; “(a) ensure compliance with the provisions of this Law by his entity and liable in person for the breach or contravention of this Law or any regulation made hereunder, whether or not the act or omission was carried out by him personally or any of his subordinates and it shall not be material that he had delegated any function, duty or power to any person or group of persons.”

The violations

Without evidence of competitive bidding processes such as placement of advertorials in dailies, subjecting bidders to open processes, among others, the unilateral selection of PAYTECH by the administration of Mr Sanwo-Olu has clearly contravened the provisions of the state’s procurement law.

The choice of PAYTECH has also clearly fallen short of the requirements for restricted tendering as stipulated by the law since the firm is not only relatively new to the financial technology system but does not also possess exceptional qualities that cannot be provided by other firms.

Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1)

Also, the selection of the company on behalf of the institutions is a clear violation of section 30 of the law which assigns such responsibility to a tenders’ board to be coordinated by the accounting officers for each of the institutions.

For instance, the rector of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu, is the institution’s accounting officer while a vice-chancellor serves as the accounting officer for the university. Provosts of the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin, and Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Epe, Idowu Okuneye and Nasiru Onibon respectively, are the accounting officers for the educational colleges.

For the school of nursing and the college of health technologies, their principals are statutorily the heads of the tenders’ boards and should be accountable for the procurement processes.

ADVERTISEMENT

About the new deal

The new deal, which is at variance with the existing revenue collection models across the various affected institutions, will, according to some officials, further deplete the revenues accruable to the schools.

On the other hand, the concerned government officials, who do not want to be named for fear of being victimised, said the new system was only targeted at enriching a private company.

For instance, the officials noted that if the Lagos State University (LASU) is forced to enrol on the PAYTECH platform as being pursued by the Sanwo-Olu-led administration, instead of N320 and N415 flat rates currently charged per transaction by Paystack Payments Limited and Systepecs Limited respectively, the university will now have to pay 10 percent on each transaction regardless of the amount involved.

A reliable source, who is privy to the new arrangement, told PREMIUM TIMES that on each N150,000 paid by any of LASU’s stream two students, the university will be paying PAYTECH N7,500 as commission.

“That is why the company has proposed to allow the institutions to pay the commissions instead of charging the payers directly. So, if any individual or institution will pay N1 million to any of the affected institutions, then PAYTECH will collect N100,000 as charges,” the source added.

The possible implication of this is that the institutions could raise their fees and charges to make up for the commissions to be paid the company.

“So the decision to make the institutions pay for every penny received is to avoid protests by the students. But directly or indirectly, the students are the victims of this fraudulent policy,” one of the sources within the treasury unit of one of the institutions told our reporter on the phone.

Government keeps mute

Many government officials including commissioners and spokespersons for the administration declined to comment on the matter.

But on his part, the special adviser to the governor on education, Tokunbo Wahab, said he would make details of the procurement processes available to our reporter.

However, many weeks after the pledge, Mr Wahab is yet to respond.

He, however, claimed during one of the telephone conversations with our reporter that he was sure the contract complied with the relevant procurement law.

“I will get you the details of the procurement processes followed on this subject. But I hope you know the government is also empowered to make a case for special situations,” Mr. Wahab said on the phone.

Meanwhile, when confronted with the fact of the failure of the contract to meet the exceptional cases cited by the state’s law, Mr Wahab promised to revert on the matter.

He, however, did not fulfil his promise as of the time of filing this report.

Assembly committee suspends contract with PAYTECH

Following a series of inquiries on the matter, the state’s House of Assembly committee on education on September 28 held a meeting with the representatives of the tertiary institutions and the PAYTECH management.

But findings by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that following the absence of a representative from the office of Mr Wahab, the chairperson of the assembly’s committee on education, Yinka Ogundimu, said the committee directed that actions be put on hold pending the conclusions of the intervention of the committee.

Another member of the assembly, who does not want to be named, said any contract entered with any of the higher institutions would be regarded as nonexistent by the state’s legislature.

“Based on our conclusions when we met the concerned parties, the fact is that there is no agreement in place and as of now, there is no contract awarded to PAYTECH by any tertiary institution that we are aware of in this state,” the source said.

The source said the special adviser as the official in charge of the tertiary institutions, and being responsible for the implementation of the policy, must appear before the committee for explanations.

But since September 28 when it met, there has been no other meeting held by the committee on the matter.

Government forges ahead as AOCOED enrols

Despite the hues and cries over the development, the government, through the office of the special adviser, has insisted that schools must enrol on the PAYTECH platform, failure of which defaulters are threatened with sanctions.

Mr Wahab has consistently insisted that the PAYTECH platform would ensure that relevant authorities, including the governor, offices of the state’s accountant general and auditor-general and the heads of various institutions are able to, “monitor, real-time, how monies are being paid into the various institutions’ accounts.”

Meanwhile, the provost of AOCOED, Mrs Okuneye, has confirmed that her institution has enrolled on the platform.

She, however, failed to give details of the contract entered with the company and whether the 10 percent proposed by the company was approved.

In her response to this newspaper’s inquiry on the subject, Mrs Okuneye, a professor of education, only tersely said via a short message that; “Yes we have enrolled. Thanks.”

But the governing council chairperson of LASPOTECH, Rasheed Ojikutu, told our reporter on the phone that the institution is yet to enrol on the platform.

He could not speak further on the phone citing his preference for physical conversations.

Source: Premiumtimes

ELEPHANT'S REPRODUCTION AND CARE FOR CALVES.

By Abdulhamid Ibrahim Saikpai

The elephants have the longest gestation period by any mammal -- 22 months in the African and 18-22 in the Asian/Indian elephant The female elephant-- the mother, gives birth to one calf at a time, twins are extremely rare but can occur. Since their lifespan reaches to about 60-70 years in the wild, females can give birth to about 5 calves in her lifetime. 

The mother provides them with milk, but the other females, like the aunties  can also nurse them (allomothers). The herd is headed by the matriarch and together with the other herdmates she helps guide the calves. Upon birth, the calves walk within an hour and within 2-3 days, they begin to join the other herd members to move around.

They take the mother's milk for up to 2-3 years, but can still suckle until 10 years. They learn what to eat from the older ones. The males reach sexual maturity between the age of 10 and 12 and this is usually when they leave the herd, but it can be longer-- about 14 - 16 when they leave to join a bachelor group. Females hardly leave the herd and usually remain within their herd for the rest of their lives.

Youth Ministry Disowns Web Link On Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, Says It Is Fake.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development says the link: https://nyif–edi.mystrikingly.com currently being circulated in the media is fake and is not from the ministry.

A statement signed by the Director Press in the Ministry, Mrs. Lere-Adams Adjobome, on Thursday in Abuja, said the application and entrepreneurship development training for the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) is free, and prospective applicants are advised to log on to: https://nmfb.com.ng/nigeria-youth-investment-fund.”

Adjobome said that after the application on the NFMB Portal, eligible applicants would be invited by the ministry for training by an approved Enterprise Development Institute (EDI).

She advised that people should not disclose their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other personal information to fraudsters, saying that BVN was not required for one to access the entrepreneurship training with and approved EDI.

“Do not access unsecure and fraudulent application portals: Apply on : https://nmfb.com.ng/nigeria-youth-investment-fund

“Do not disclose your BVN and other personal information to fraudsters, Your BVN is not required for you to access Entrepreneurship training with approved EDI’s.

“Disregard messages and advertisement inviting youth to pay any sum of money for entrepreneurship training, writing/business plan development or other services related to application for the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund ,’: Adjobome counsels applicants.

According to her, for further information and enquiries, the following phone numbers could be contacted:

07047024251- South –South ZONE

07047598382- North-East ZONE

08181127180 – North West ZONE

08152947812 – South West ZONE

07087792103- North Central ZONE

07053820081 – South East ZONE.

#EndSARS: Family Members Besiege LASUTH, Mainland Hospital Over Missing Persons

The family members visited the facilities in response to the announcement made by the Lagos State Chief Coroner, Hon. Justice M. A Dada, on Wednesday, calling for the identification of missing persons between October 19 and 27, 2020 – a period that witnessed protests against police brutality and disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Family members looking for their loved ones, who went missing during the recent #EndSARS protest, on Friday, besieged the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja and the Mainland Hospital, formerly known as Infectious Disease Hospital, IDH, Yaba.

The family members visited the facilities in response to the announcement made by the Lagos State Chief Coroner, Hon. Justice M. A Dada, on Wednesday, calling for the identification of missing persons between October 19 and 27, 2020 – a period that witnessed protests against police brutality and disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Tearful Mrs.Adijatu Ogunfowora; daughter, Mosunmola and Son in-law, Olatokunbo

In the public announcement, Dada gave next-of-kin of the missing persons two weeks to provide means of identification of themselves and their missing loved ones to assist the identification exercise.

According to the chief coroner, it is only after a definitive scientific identification that the bodies of the deceased shall be released for burial.

It was mixed feelings for the family members, who were kept at the Lecture Theatre/Demo Room of the department of pathology and forensic medicine, as some of them saw their missing loved ones while others were not so lucky, DailyTrust reports.

Seventy-three-year-old Adijatu Ogunfowora shed tears uncontrollably while narrating how her only son, 38-year-old Sunday Adeyemi Ogunfowora, was killed during the protest at Ifako Gbagada on October 15. 

The elderly woman, who is a widow and had lost a daughter as well, said she is from Ijebu in Ogun State but gave birth to her seven children in Lagos. She was in the company of her daughter, Mosunmola, and son-in-law, Nicole Olatokunbo.

“He was killed by a stray bullet during the protest. He lives on the street where the protest was held. After he was shot, we ran to Ifako Police Station, but they didn’t release his body to us. At first, they denied having his body in their custody, until much later when they said they had taken all those killed to IDH. We found his body at IDH on October 19. The attendant told us that he was brought naked around 1 am on the day he was shot. Imagine, someone that was shot around 10 am,” Olatokunbo told DailyTrust while fighting back the tears.

The relatives of the deceased said they had been visiting the hospital since October 19, but the management refused to release the body, claiming that it was awaiting approval from the state government.

“Luckily for us, we got a call on Monday that the government has asked them to release corpses related to the #EndSARS protest, but we would need to come to LASUTH to process it. We have been asked to provide his photo, our national ID cards and his. We have been here for four hours now, but we are yet to get his body,” Olatokunbo added.

The mother, who described her deceased son as easy-going, pleaded with the government to release the body so she can bury her son.

She said she had accepted her fate and was not interested in any court case or judicial panel.

“I have accepted my fate. I don’t care about what the government is going to do to the perpetrators. They killed him when he should be feeding me. The government should release his corpse, without burying him, I can’t rest. 

“ I have accepted my fate, but I should not be punished like this. Imagine, coming from Gbadaga and Bariga every week because I want to claim the body of my son at my age. I can’t sleep, I am always weeping,” she said as other relatives consoled her.

The elder sister, Mosunmola, said her brother’s dreams and aspirations were cut short in his prime as the family was planning for the first year remembrance of their father who died last year.

“He is a good, easy-going person. He does not fight. People always mock him that he is too fearful because he will always run away from trouble or anything that can cause police intervention. It is not up to a year we lost our father. We were planning the first year remembrance before his life was cut short. Our mother is a known APC stalwart in Gbagada. Four of us are also in the party but look at what has befallen us,” she wailed.

A distraught Ngozi Ojukwu was not lucky as she is still looking for her nephew, Chinedu Agbasielo, who went missing more than a month ago.

Missing Person Chinedu Agbasielo

Twenty-eight-year-old Agbasielo, a phone repairer at Ikotun, went missing on October 20 after police officers allegedly opened fire on protesters.

“He was not at the protest ground. His colleagues confirmed that he was at the shop. They said they heard gunshots and everybody ran helter-skelter but since then we have been looking for him. We don’t know if he was shot, arrested or dead. We have visited many police stations to gather information and morgues but to no avail. We couldn’t find him here, so they have asked me to go to mortuaries at Lagos Island and Ikorodu,” she said.

The management of LASUTH has clarified that it does not have any of the bodies in its facility, stressing that only the administrative aspect of the identification exercise would be carried out at the Pathology Department of the hospital.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabanwo, said the hospital does not have any direct dealing with the case.

“LASUTH, as an organisation, does not have anything to do with this incident. It only happens that the private mortuary that is serving us is located in LASUTH; it is a private venture. And the chief medical examiner for the state, who is working in conjunction with the ministry of justice about this case, is one of our pathologists here. So, as the Chief Medical Director, I don’t have any direct dealing over the case, so I don’t know how many bodies but I know they are not here,” he said.

It was gathered that the Ministry of Justice had directed the Chief Medical Examiner in the state, Prof. John Obafunw, to carry out an autopsy on the bodies “purportedly belonging to #EndSARS protesters.”

When contacted, Prof. Obafunwa declined to comment on the matter, noting that he is not the appropriate authority to contact but pledged that no falsified information would come from him.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that bodies were not released yesterday as the family members of missing persons were directed to return to LASUTH on Monday.

Olatokunbo, who confirmed this to Daily Trust Saturday, lamented that after waiting for over five hours, the family members were asked to return for documentation on Monday while the corpse would be released on Tuesday.

Another young man, who had also identified the corpse of his relative, confirmed the development to our reporter.

Meanwhile, proceedings at the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters was stalled on Friday over the inability of the lawyers for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to provide the alleged erring officers of the NPF.

The police had requested for an adjournment of the proceedings of the hearing of the two petitions slated to be heard on Friday as the affected officers were not at the sitting.

The two petitions are – Mr Ndukwe Ekekwe vs SARS and Mr Olajide Fowotade vs FSARS.

In the Ekekwe matter, the petitioner, a 34-year-old trader, was allegedly paralysed when he was pushed from a two-storey building by men of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The police counsel, Mr Emmanuel Eze, who had been cross-examining Ekekwe, had asked for an adjournment because the legal team of the police was unable to get in touch with officers of the disbanded police unit.

Ekekwe had provided the photograph and phone number of Haruna Hamza, the SARS officer who was a member of the team that allegedly pushed him from the building.

“We will apply for a very short adjournment. The reasons are because of the disbandment of SARS and other tactical teams; we have difficulty getting in touch with them

“We are in the process of getting there and the phone number that the petitioner provided here did not go through.

“I apply that the panel tries the number, it did not go through, in the overall interest of justice we apply for this adjournment,” Eze said.

In the Fowotade matter, the petitioner in his testimony on October 31 had told the panel that a policeman called ‘Ayo’ of the Ketu Police Station had brutalised him during a traffic dispute.

The petitioner said he lost his front teeth due to the police brutality.

During Friday’s proceedings, the police legal team said they were unable to contact the police officer.

“The petitioner did not mention the surname of Ayo; we could not trace the name to Zone 2 where he claimed to have reported the incident. We could not make a headway.

“We need to get the case file of Ayo and his contact. We are constrained to ask for an adjournment because we are without the Ayo or the case file,” Eze said.

Reacting, Fowotade, who appeared distressed, challenged the submission of the police counsel.

“There was the DPO Mr Akpan who took me to the hospital and there is Madam Dolapo Badmus who took me to Kayode Aderanti, the AIG’s office.

“How come you do not know the Ayo, don’t you know the station, don’t you know the DPO. How come you don’t know Ayo, is it not the Nigeria Police Force?

“Madam Dolapo Badmus knows everything, how come you do not know Ayo, is he a ghost?” Fowotade said.

Reacting, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi (Rtd), said that police were not making enough effort defending the allegations despite three police officers mentioned by the petitioner.

Responding, Eze told the panel that the legal team was encountering challenges tracing the officers.

“Akpan the DPO is retired, Mr Aderanti is retired, and he did not mention Ayo’s surname.

“Dolapo Badmus has handled so many matters, and it will be difficult to get in touch with the retired officers,” the police counsel said.

Justice Okuwobi noted that it would not augur well for the respondents (police) not to contact the police officers mentioned by the petitioners.

The retired judge said that the panel would no longer entertain adjournments made at the instance of the police.

She adjourned both cases to December 1 for hearing.

Tokunbo Abiru’s Rising Profile

On September 3, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, a former Executive Director of First Bank Plc and the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank Limited, emerged the preferred candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Lagos East senatorial bye-election in an overwhelming direct primary election. His emergence took many, especially his colleagues in the banking industry, by surprise perhaps due to risks associated with contesting elections in Nigeria.

Since his emergence, Abiru has been a victim of libellous statements and frivolous lawsuit, which the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate for the bye-election, Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi, deliberately instituted to decimate Abiru’s rising political profile. These allegations have no substance in reality and are designed to distract voters from the real issues.

On October 12, for instance, Gbadamosi claimed Abiru’s campaign team was planning to assassinate him. A statement signed by Gbadamosi’s media spokesman, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, also claimed that Abiru has two permanent voters card and that he is not registered to vote in Lagos-East. To compound the statement’s libelous character, it added that Abiru is a rogue banker, who defrauded Skye Bank.

 

Empirical evidence, however, depicts an entirely different picture. Abiru, who has more than three decades of experience in the financial sector, was appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to rescue a failing Skye Bank on July 4, 2016, shortly before the country slumped into recession.

At the time of Abiru’s appointment, the bank’s ratings were abysmally low in all ramifications. Its non-performing loans were already 80%, which according to analysts, was far above the regulatory standard. Other prudential and adequacy ratios of the defunct bank abysmally performed much below the thresholds of the apex bank.

Under his leadership, the financial institution, now named Polaris Bank, has been successfully restructured. In the first quarter of 2020, the bank posted a profit after tax of over N18 billion despite the difficult conditions imposed by COVID-19, a deadly virus that forced the federal government to lock down economies of the most affected states for about two months. In the 2019 financial year, the bank posted N27.35 billion profit after tax, which rivalled what banks that are not in crisis made.

 

That Abiru is not registered to vote in the Lagos East is a ridiculous idea. Obviously, Gbadamosi’s claim has no place neither in the 1999 Constitution (as amended nor in the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2011. But it is indisputable that Abiru is an illustrious indigene of Ikorodu, one of the five divisions in Lagos State. As a devout Muslim, there is hardly any religious celebration he does not spend in Ikorodu. He is a member of Ikorodu’s prestigious club, Oriwu and his wife runs a furniture factory along Ibeshe Road.

However, Abiru lives on Lagos Island, where he has been exercising his suffrage since 1999. Even though Abiru has been exercising his suffrage on Lagos Island, does it mean he cannot seek transfer of his permanent voters card (PVC) to Lagos East, which he now seeks to represent in the Senate? Or does it suggest that he cannot be voted for when the process of transferring his PVC has not been completed? Both the constitution and electoral act clearly outline requirements to vote and be voted for in every election.

Under these legal instruments, every citizen, who wants to vote or be voted, must be duly registered. Also, he must be sponsored for a political office by a duly registered political party. This suggests that having PVC is a requirement for every eligible to vote and be voted for. But residency is not a condition to vote and be voted for. So, the fact that a candidate cannot vote in an election cannot be interpreted to mean that he cannot be voted for.

Meanwhile, Abiru has no reason or means to assassinate Gbadamosi. He is an upstanding citizen of this country who has contributed immensely, for decades, to the growth and development of his community. Gbadamosi and the PDP are simply rabble-rousers, who have no chance of winning the imminent bye-election and will do or say anything to attract media attention. Instead of focusing on solving its raucous internal crisis, Lagos PDP has resorted to smear campaigns.

While voters in Lagos East are waiting for Gbadamosi to make his records of service public, Abiru’s record loudly speaks for itself. He started his banking career as one of the earliest employees at Guaranty Trust Bank in 1991 where he spent 10 years before moving to National Bank and then First Atlantic Bank. In 2002, the Lagos State University Economics graduate joined First Bank of Nigeria where he rose to the position of Deputy General Manager.

In 2011, he transitioned into public governance as the Lagos State Commissioner for Finance under the administration of Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN). Under Abiru’s leadership, the state successfully floated an N80 billion bond, a feat, which attracted international accolades. He also helped to improve the state’s tax collection system, among other accomplishments.

In July 2016, the CBN tapped Abiru as the new Group Managing Director and CEO of the struggling Skye Bank, which he helped to transform until his departure on August 30. In 2018, recognising his important contribution to Polaris Bank, which metamorphosed from Skye Bank, the CBN had renewed his appointment.

A consummate professional, Abiru is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, an honourary senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CBN) and has attended Harvard Business School. He has also served in various reputable boards including Airtel Mobile Networks Limited; FBN Capital Limited (now FBN Quest Merchant Bank Limited); FBN Bank Sierra –Leone Limited; and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).

 

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Abiru has the backing of his family whom he consulted before officially deciding to join the senatorial race. “I can’t describe how I felt when he told me he was going to contest for the senate position,” his wife, Feyisola, said in a recent interview. “But when he said it, we all submitted to his decision.”

At different sessions, Abiru himself cleared air about his decision to join partisan politics. He argued: “It has always been an ongoing conversation, but we were unsure of what form it will take. I told them to look at my involvement in politics as public service. Of course, we prayed about it. But we had a clear understanding that we cannot all be pulling back, we have to complement those who are also leading.”

Abiru’s family values can also be traced to his late father, Justice Mudashiru Abiru, who was a respected lawyer, a renowned jurist, a senator in the Second Republic and an loyalist of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, former Premier of Western Region.

“He was an accomplished professional, a family man, a disciplined man, and a religious man,” Abiru says of his father. “There is a lot I learned from him. And in all of this, the main burden I see that I have to carry is his legacy. To make sure I do not derail from the family values he instilled in me.”

His campaign for the Lagos East is based on a five-point agenda: Peace, by ensuring that residents have a safe environment to live and work; Prosperity, by enabling his people to achieve financial freedom through encouraging entrepreneurship; Empowerment by equipping the youths with the survival knowledge for the 21st century, while grooming their innate talents; Employment, by using his vast corporate experience to create job opportunities; and Healthcare, by committing to pass a quality insurance bill for people living less than 2 kilometres of a health centre. These are the agenda on the table, not the PDP’s diabolic campaign of calumny and retrogressive politics.

Amid the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in the country, Abiru did not keep quiet. Rather, he lent his voice to support the youth campaign against police brutality, one sign of a leader, who understands that the voice of the people is the will of God. He has advocated accountability in reforming the police even if it requires changing the laws of the land.

“Those who have promised to serve and protect must be made accountable to the people,” Abiru said on October 19. “A reformed police force begins with the process of investigating and prosecution of all police officers involved in any form of harassment, theft or extra-judicial killings particularly in the last decade.”

In all spheres of life, he has proven to be a winner in the middle of adversity and come December 5, the date of the bye-election, Abiru will once again, with the support of the people of Lagos-East, emerge victoriously. He has led a life of service – during the pandemic early this year, he reportedly affected over 8,000 lives in his Ikorodu community – and as senator, one can only expect him to do more.

Michael, a policy analyst, writes from Alimosho, Lagos.

2021 Budget: Lagos Assembly To Compensate #endsars Victims

The Lagos State House of Assembly has promised to include compensations to #EndSARS victims in the state’s 2021 Budget currently before the House.

The Chairman, House Ad Hoc Committee on the Victims of Aftermath of the #EndSARS protest in the state, Mr Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, disclosed this at the end of its three-day public hearing on Friday in Lagos.

The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, had on Oct. 26, constituted a nine-member committee to investigate the level of destruction of property and loss of lives as well as to determine compensation for the victims.

Eshinlokun-Sanni, who is also the Deputy Speaker, assured protesters that the House would attend to all genuine victims, adding that the compensation would come as early as possible.

“If your property is insured, LASACO is here to assist you. We will do our best to ensure that you are well compensated.

“We will also make budgetary allocations from the 2021 budget for compensation to be paid. We will do our best and assist you in our own way.

“We want to perform our duty and identify with you about the incident.

“It is the duty of the government to intervene in such situations. You will soon hear from us about the money we want to give you,” he said.

Eshinlokun-Sanni said the compilation and verification of claims were to ensure that compensation was paid to all the affected persons.

“Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu spoke about the issue and went to the president to present the demands of the protesters and they were accepted.

“SARS was disbanded and the government started the process of police reforms. But hoodlums hijacked the protest and started looting, maiming and started burning assets,” he said.

Speaking during the hearing, the Iyaloja of Daddy Savage Market, Fagba, Mrs Toyin Oladoyinbo, urged the government to help the traders as many of them lost their means of identification in the mayhem.

Oladoyinbo then asked the government to remove the shanties around Fagba area which was harbouring hoodlums.

Mr Oluwamayowa Ilori, another resident of Fagba, said that they were seriously affected by the violence due to a large number of miscreants in the area.

Another victim, Mrs Christiana Nwachukwu, said that her husband’s two shops were looted, adding that the shock led to his untimely death.

“He was shocked when he got to the shops and he died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

“Now, I don’t have the documents the government wanted me to bring and I have five children to cater for,” she said.

In his speech, Mr Oluyemi Samson from LASACO Assurance Plc urged the residents that have lost their documents of identification to obtain court affidavits for loss of identification documents.