Underage Marriage: We Were Blackmailed– Mark

SENATE President, David Mark, on Wednesday, broke his silence on the dust raised over the retention of the controversial Section 29(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as he said some of his colleagues were blackmailed to vote against its deletion as recommended by the Senate committee on the review of the constitution.

He made this known when he played host to some women organisations and civil societies that visited the Senate leadership to press home the need for the lawmakers to revisit the voting exercise, with a view to deleting the section.

The women organisations were led by the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina; former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwezelie; a former Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Josephine Anenih; the wife of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mrs Maryam Uwais and the chairperson of the Gender and Constitution Reform Network (GECORN), Mrs Saadatu Mahdi.

It will be recalled that 35 senators, led by Sani Ahmed Yerima, had, last week, voted against the recommendation by the Senate committee on review of the constitution that the sub-section, which stated that a woman that is married shall be deemed to be of full age, be deleted, as it was discriminatory against women in respect of renunciation of the Nigerian citizenship.

Senator Mark said Nigerians should understand that the Senate was on the side of the people, as he said this was demonstrated in the fact that 85 senators, out of the 101 present at the exercise, initially voted for the deletion of the controversial section.

He said some senators, however, got things mixed up as they introduced religious connotations and thus making the deletion of the section a sensitive issue, adding that it was subjected to voting for the second time to avoid religious crisis.

“Why we voted publicly was that everybody will know the stand of every senator on every issue. I think the problem is not whether we can delete this Section 29(4)(b) or not. That is not the issue; it is whether we can get the number to be able to delete it.

“With all due respect, the entire Senate is being castigated because there was and there is still a complete misunderstanding of what the Senate had tried to do. We are on the side of the people, that was why we put it that we should delete it (because) that was what the people wanted.

“We, in fact, are the first people that put the step in the right direction of deleting it. It didn’t go through because of other tangential issues that were brought in on the floor of the Senate, totally inconsequential issues, unconnected issues that were brought in.

“We wanted to remove it but it failed. On that day, we were a total of 101. Eighty five voted and I think about six or so abstained. There was hardly any dissenting votes, but once it got mixed up with so many other issues, it didn’t get the required 73 votes anymore.  So, first of all, I think the castigation outside is done out of misunderstanding.

“But because a religious connotation was brought into it, which is a very sensitive issue and you must agree with me that in this country, we try as must as possible not to bring issues that involves faith to the floor of the Senate and, indeed, the chamber. We keep religion completely out of it because what is good for a Christian is also good for a Muslim,” he said.

Mark, however, said the controversial issue might be revisited if there was enough enlightenment, adding that what was good for the country was for everybody and not for a particular religious body or sect.

“I think the bottom line is, when people get more educated, then we can do a re-think and probably, if the Senate agrees, go back and see whether we can get the required number once more, because that is the solution.

“Let me also talk to my own brothers and sisters who are senators, who were probably blackmailed. That is the fact, because it is in the open; that I cannot also hide it and nobody can hide it.

“They were simply blackmailed, and on that day, if they didn’t do what they did, nobody knows the outcome or how the consequences will be today, because the people outside can say this man, you are Muslim and didn’t vote for something that is of Islamic interest. If we don’t hit the nail on the head, we may never get it right,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the chairperson of GECORN, Mrs Mahdi, while calling for the deletion of the section from the constitution, said from the moment of birth, the first gift every Nigerians would receive from the state was citizenship.

“To protect this sacred gift of citizenship, we advocate for the deletion of Section 29(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It is the desire of all Nigerians, who treasure our citizenship, to remove this provision that provides that young Nigerian girls, who are not old enough to vote or to obtain a driver licence, are somehow old enough to renounce their citizenship.

“Citizenship is and must remain gender-neutral and safeguarded from any cultural, religious or social interpretations or connotations,” she said.

Mrs Ezekwezelie, who also spoke at the meeting, commended the Senator Ike Ekweremadu-led committee on the review of the constitution for deeming it fit to recommend the removal of the controversial section of the constitution.

She, however, said the Nigerian society was still rudimentary in following legislative procedures, noting that the impression the people had was that the attempt to remove the offensive section was a new bill giving the senators the liberty to marry underage children.

 She promised to educate Nigerians on the issue, adding that the controversy had become advantageous, as women and gender issues would now take the front burners in legislative business.

NigeriaVillageSquare

UK Probes Shell, ENI Nigerian Oil Block Deal

 BY MICHAEL PAUL, AGENCY REPORTS

British police are investigating a money-laundering allegation related to a big oil field bought by Shell and ENI spa from Nigeria for $1.3 billion, after most of the cash they paid ended up in a company linked to a former Nigerian petroleum minister.

The probe concerns offshore block OPL 245, which industry sources say contains up to 9.23 billion barrels of crude – more than enough to keep China running for two and a half years – the ownership of which had been in dispute for more than a decade.

“The proceeds of crime unit is investigating a money-laundering allegation in the United Kingdom in connection with OPL 245. The investigation is at an early stage,” a UK spokesman told Reuters.

Transparency campaigners, who asked the UK to look into the matter, assert that Shell and ENI used the Nigerian government as a go-between to obscure the fact that they were dealing with former oil minister Dan Etete, who also has a 2007 money-laundering conviction in France related to bribes he was alleged to have taken when in government.

In his capacity as petroleum minister, Etete awarded block OPL 245 in 1998 for a payment of just $2 million to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company in which he played a prominent role.

The critics claim that Shell and ENI, which haven’t been accused of any legal wrongdoing, wanted to distance themselves from Etete given his reputation and his involvement in the original award of the oil block to Malabu.

DailyTimesNG

Prof Soyinka Got It Wrong About The First Lady

 BY JOY BELLO

The last will and testament of the Swedish philanthropist, chemist, engineer and inventor, Alfred Nobel, established the Nobel prizes in 1895. These annual prizes are conferred on carefully selected individuals annually.
Those who win the Nobel Prize are recognized for their outstanding and exceptional achievements in a particular field of human endeavour. They must have contributed something extraordinary to advance humanity.  The recognition not only confers immense honour and pride on the recipient, but also on the country the Nobel Laureate comes from.

In 1986, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Professor Wole Soyinka. Africa and indeed Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora radiated in the euphoria that their very own son was thus honoured internationally. He stood tall like the iroko tree and became a barometer of our public conscious. Every syllable of his didactic statements, delivered in compelling oratory, has been embraced by his admiring listeners as the gospel truth. It is therefore most unbecoming and highly disappointing when a public figure of the stature of Professor Soyinka chooses to comment on the pages of the newspaper or via a “state of the nation” address on the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan or indeed the President. He has done this without ever meeting the First Lady or any of her aids, to find out the veracity of his statements about Dame Patience.

In a state of the nation address Professor Soyinka gave on Thursday 11 July, 2013 in Lagos, the Nobel Laureate called on the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to call the First Lady to order for what Soyinka imagines to be “her over bearing tendencies.” What a disrespectful and impertinent statement from an intellectual figure who should conduct himself in a much more dignified manner befitting of his intellectual and social standing.
An old Idoma proverb states, “He who has heard one side of an argument has heard nothing.” Soyinka has not met or spoken to Dame Patience about any public issue to listen to her own side. Neither has he met to discuss with the President on the political developments in the House of Assembly in Rivers State, yet he sits on his high and majestic throne to pontificate to us and deceive us with statements embellished with innuendoes and insinuations guaranteed to fan disaffection. This is not the correct thing to do.
If Prof. Soyinka was really altruistic and had the interest of the nation at heart, he would seek for audience with the President to offer advice about the First Lady, or any matter worrying him in the manner a dignified intellectual of impeccable repute would do. He would not make public utterances is a publicity-seeking, self-serving manner he did in Lagos today (Thursday).
If he did not want to meet the President or the First Lady to offer personal advice, he at least should have had the moral grace to listen to the side of Dame Patience before his unbecoming attack on her. It is truly  unfortunate when individuals like Prof. Soyinka, who we look to for ethical rectitude to guide us, lead us astray.

To say that I am disappointed with Prof Soyinka would be an understatement. He embarrasses our sense of national pride and decorum. How many Nobel Laureates have you seen casting aspersion or damaging remarks on the wife of the President of their country?
Free speech, Prof Soyinka, is your inalienable constitutional right. However, with that right comes responsibilities.  To accuse the First Lady of excesses based on what you have read on the pages of the newspaper makes you an arm chair critic of the worst kind. You have a moral obligation to seek your information dispassionately and also verify them to be true, accurate and unbiased. You have a moral duty to offer advice to Dame Patience in an inoffensive manner, with dignity. What do you want the youths to learn from your tirades and outbursts? That it is okay to be disrespectful to the First Lady? Prof Soyinka, you really got it wrong. The decent thing to do would be to apologize to Dame Patience for your unwarranted and ill advised attacks on her. If you do have genuine advice for her, please do it in a sensible way that will not denigrate from the high esteem many hold you in as a scholar and as a gentleman.  

DailyTimesNG

Bolt: ‘I’m a Clean Athlete'

Six-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt insists he is "clean" in the wake of failed drugs tests by fellow Jamaican athletes.

Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson recently tested positive, as did American Tyson Gay, the fastest man in the world this year.

Bolt, who races at the London Anniversary Games, said: "I'm clean.

"But you have to be very careful as an athlete because right now there are a lot of things on the banned list."

The Jamaican added: "You have to keep up to date with this kind of thing. It's kind of hard, but that's why you have a team to make sure.

"I get tested all the while. I got tested the day before yesterday. It's just part of the routine. "

The 26-year-old 100m and 200m world record-holder pointed to his success as a junior athlete as evidence of his innocence, reports the BBC.

"If you were following me since 2002, you would know that I've been doing phenomenal things since I was 15 years old," he said.

"I was the youngest person to win the world juniors at 15. I ran the world junior record in 19.93 at the age of 18. World youth record at 17.

"I have broken every record there is to break in every event I have ever done. I have shown I was always going to be great."

After Powell tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine at the national trials last month, Bolt sent him a text message.

"I didn't want to bombard him with questions," said Bolt, who will run the 100m and 4x100m at the London Anniversary Games.

"I told him, 'Sorry to hear what was going on.' And he said, 'Yes, it's kind of rough, it's hard."'

With Gay and Powell still waiting for the results of their 'B' samples, Bolt was keen to avoid speculation when he spoke to the media in London on Thursday.

"There are a lot of details left to be discussed," he said.

The recent spate of positive drug tests has put the focus back on a sport that has been dogged by doping scandals in the past.

"It's going to set athletics back a little bit, but as a person I can't really focus on this," added Bolt.

DailyTimesNG

Buhari Is Not a Religious Fanatic -Hajia Umar Farouk

Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouk is the Interim National Treasurer of the yet to be registered All Progressives Congress [APC].In this interview with some Editors in Abuja, she told the story of how and why she is in politics. She also spoke of the prospects of the APC and boasted that party has what it takes to sweep the polls in the South- East geo-political zones. Chuks Ehirim was there.

Madam, may we meet you?
My name is Sadiya Umar Farouk. I am the National Treasurer of the CPC as well as the Interim National Treasurer of the APC in the formation. I can say I have been working at the background. I started as a member of the Buhari Organization back in 2002. When he joined politics in 2003 we moved in with him. I have always been at the administrative level, I was with the DG of the Campaign . From there we moved on. During the ANPP days we were there and when he moved to the CPC, we followed him and then I contested the position of the National Treasurer which was zoned to my zone, North West. I contested against seven men and I won. That’s how I found myself in politics.

So from this background one will be right to say that you joined politics because of Buhari?
Yes, absolutely I joined politics, specifically, because of him because I believe in him; he has always been my mentor. I know he is a very good man, he ruled this country very well although I was very small then. He is very incorruptible; everyone knows that. I believe in his ideals and I know he is the person that can fix this country; out of my personal conviction I just followed him.
There are some other Nigerians who don’t believe in his ideals and they say a lot of things against him. Maybe for you who have been following him from your childhood days what are these qualities that you find in him that you want other people to see?
Buhari is a very, very principled person; very disciplined, you can’t take those things away from him even if you are his enemy. He is not corrupt, even his enemies know that, they cannot pin him down on that. This whole saga of people having issues with Buhari started during the Obasanjo era. It was a political move, they wanted to destroy him politically because they know he has that kind of weight to carry people, he is that kind of heavyweight, he has followers. I think that was what brought all these.
Before then everyone saw Buhari as a good man, as a principled man but since he joined politics, you know politics now. But I have not seen anything to justify what his political opponents and enemies of the Nigerian masses are attributing to him.

Some people would want to say that Buhari is a religious fanatic or a tribalist?
How is that possible? Can a military man be tribalistic person, especially one that rose to that level, it’s not fair when people say that he is a tribalistic man and religious fanatic; you know something, his cook is a Christian. He is still with him in Kaduna, Mathew, he is the one that serves General food till today. If you can trust somebody with what you eat at that level, for God’s sake what else. It’s just politics like I said.

Let’s come back to CPC. Good a thing you were a founding member. CPC came on stream in 2010.By 2011 there was a general election and people expected that the party would perform so well even when the PDP controlled many states but when the results came those expectation were not met. Can you say from your own point of view, what was responsible?
We had our issues quite right, we had internal problems but that does not warrant the kind of results we were made to have because it is the PDP that gave us that result. We know we won many states in the north but because of the rigging machinery of PDP, they were able to do what they did.
We won as many as eight to ten states in the North. But with that too, they gave us 12 million votes. It was something to reckon with for a party that was less than one year before it went into election, it is something to reckon with but it was the rigging of PDP that got us where we are today, not that we didn’t perform well.

If Buhari becomes president what are those things Nigerians will benefit that they don’t have now?
There won’t be this corruption that we have in this country. I assure you that if Gen Buhari is announced the winner of the election, 50 percent of corruption will go in this country because those people will find their way out of the country.
These corrupt people we have who are holding us to ransom in this country, they will all leave and that is a very good, positive step because by the time you leave, we know we have 50 percent of it off, we would be stable to work and there will be discipline.
We all know when he was the military Head of State, there was discipline in this country and there was orderliness.

But you remember that the military regime is over and this is democracy?
But it is the will to do it that matters most and Buhari has that will and if he has the will he will do it and everything will be in order. Nothing is working in this country for God’s sake? We have been on generator in this office since morning, there is no light, the schools are not working; the health sector is broken down. My national chairman[Prince Tony Momoh], was a victim some time ago he nearly died. Nothing is working in this country and I assure you that by the time Buhari comes on board, at least you will see changes, positive changes. I believe in that.
The thing is that he is committed to it, he is not doing this thing for himself, he wants to see things change, he wants a better Nigeria for everybody. He feels so sad when he sees what is happening in this country, when he sees the level of misery, the level of corruption by public office holders.

If Gen Buhari wants to win election in the country, there is this belief that he has to relax his incorruptible stance a bit so that those people who see him as a threat would consider him fit to govern the country. Do you share in this belief?
Gen Buhari himself has said it that he would draw a line, if he said he wants to look into the corruption cases that have taken place in this country, he would not do any work but he would draw the line when he comes on board. They know and that’s what they are afraid of, not that when he comes he would put them in jail. These people are very greedy, they want things to continue the way they are now.
But Will he have the time to put people in prison? How many people will he put in prison? It is not like in the military junta that you can just do that. There must be procedure on how to go about it. Now even the courts have compromised. He has a lot of work to do. If you prosecute them, is it not the courts that will discharge them? “Discharge and acquitted”, isn’t it (Laughs).
I don’t think Gen Buhari will do that. He would just draw a line, that it will not happen again and that’s what they don’t want. They want us to continue in this kind of mess.

You made a statement that the moment Gen Buhari is declared winner of the next election, three times he contested three times he failed. What is the guarantee that in 2015, he would not be rigged out?
That is why there is this merger. With this merger now, people have a stake. It is not an alliance, it is a merger. So we are sure of some parts of the country that would defend their votes. The reason why we get rigged out is that we don’t have people that would defend our votes for us. But now with this merger, in the South- west, you cannot go and do rigging for them there. Even some parts of the South-East, that are part of this merger now, even in the South-South, where we have a sitting Governor from the South -south. He would not allow anybody to rig him out in his domain.
So that is why this merger is very important for the people of this country. it is not for Buhari, it is for Nigerians.

You acknowledged that there were internal wrangling, part of which deprived your party of victory, in the APC what are you doing to ensure that those issues don’t come up again?
We have learnt from our past mistakes and we will ensure that it doesn’t happen again. We had this influx of aspirants coming in to contest election in CPC and when you bring them to have a consensus, nobody wanted to hear that because everybody saw Buhari as a sure way to winning election. That was our primary problem in CPC.
They would go to courts to obtain injunctions and you know our courts. We will make sure that it doesn’t happen in APC and it will not.
The issue of having moles within the party, you’ve gone into a merger and people were handpicked to form the interim exco even though they are not such progressives as you advertise here. Are you sure they will not play the usual role of spoilers?
You know the most important thing is for us to know who those moles are.At least we know most of them. We know how to deal with them. We will match them step by step. We cannot stop them from coming in, of course it is their right to associate. But we know them.

If APC is a national party, some people are complaining that a segment of the country has been left out in the formation, why is this so?
APC of course is a national party. Which segment is left out?

An official of the party resigned in protest over lack of national spread?
And from there he went to Jonathan. And he resigned immediately and went to President Jonathan. That meant that he had an agenda.

Was he one of the moles?
He was and God has exposed him. That is the proof. If you were not happy with a system, you have to stay in it and fight it. You don’t have to go out and go to the opposition immediately.

There was this speculation that the Electoral Body INEC is being tele-guided by some outside forces to ensure that APC is not registered, how true can this be?
That is what we heard but so far so good. Our relationship with INEC has been cordial. They asked for all the requirements and we have given them. They inspected the secretariat, they verified the interim officers and they told us they will get back to us in due course and we are waiting for them.

So you are very hopeful that the party would be registered?
I am very hopeful. INEC would not disappoint us

When are you expecting the registration of the party?
Within the next one week. By then thirty days would have expired. I don’t think it is up to another week.

Hajiya, APC as is presently constituted, are there not some worries within the membership because from what we hear, there were problems before they could compose this interim executive?
Not one that I know of. All I know is that we had our respective merger committees which were formed after which a nine man committee was formed. Then the parties were asked to bring nine persons each, it was the nine man committee that worked out how the sharing formula will be. That very night it was done, the slots were distributed and they came up with 35 man interim committee.

In the manner APC is structured, the national chairman is from the South West and the presidential candidate would apparently come from the North, what if the structure changes tomorrow?.
That has not been decided. When it is time I am sure we will sit down and work it out. It has not been decided whether it is the North or any particular side. What I told you about Buhari is my own view. It is not that APC has made him a presidential candidate of the party.
But I am of the opinion that if he is given the ticket that will be the best thing that can happen to this country.

And if he is not given the ticket, what happens?
We hope another good person will come up.

APC is dominant in the North and in the South West and the party has lower level of followership in the South-south, what is the interim executive which you are a member of, going to do to ensure that the party is opened up in the South East and in the South- South?
I cannot understand when people say that there is no APC in the South East. Didn’t you see what happened a fews day ago in Anambra?.

We are talking in relative terms, you have one governor in South East, one in the South South, and you have about five in the South West?
By the grace of God, we will have at least four governors in the South east. We are working towards that; we just came on board. We inherited these people to make up the APC. Even in the CPC, we have only one governor, from the north. Let’s just say that in the entire north we have only one governor and that doesn’t mean that we are not strong in the north. The fact that we have only one governor in the South East does not mean that we are not strong.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what I saw in Anambra a few days ago. I did not know that they could mobilize people like that when APC went there for rally. The crowd was very impressive, I was not expecting that.

Since Buhari entered the political arena in 2002-2003, no other politician pulls the kind of crowd like he does but when election comes you find out that the result you get will be nothing very close to the crowd that follows Buhari?
Those (were) not our votes. We (were) short-changed. It is the rigging machinery of PDP. They will do it at whatever cost asking the rest of us to go to hell; they will tell you to go to court. I was stunned at the crowd in Anambra because it is not easy to pull crowd in that part of the country. Most of them are not even politically aware. They don’t really give a damn. An average northerner is politically aware, all he needs is to switch on his radio to know the politics but our brothers over there it is business.

So what are you hoping for the Governorship in Anambra?
We will win by the Grace of God. The PDP already has about 12 aspirants now and they will oppose themselves there and we will take it. Our first test is Anambra and we will take it.

As a politician I want to know your view about what is happening in Rivers State?
What is happening in Rivers state is a disgrace; I couldn’t believe what happened on the floor of the House of Assembly. They were following somebody and beating him all in the name of democracy and you could see the handwriting is very clear. The leaning of the president is very clear on the wall. He asked a police commissioner to go and challenge a governor like that.
From what I heard, the commissioner has the instruction to shoot him and that would have been the beginning of a revolution in this country. To shoot a sitting Governor, why? The recklessness in this country has become too much. It is unimaginable. What do you expect from this kind of people, anyway?

NewsDiaryOnline

Celine Dion candidly opens up about her rocky 18-year marriage

They have been married for 18 years, which is an eternity in the showbiz world.

But Grammy Award winning singer Celine Dion and her manager husband Réne Angelil’s marriage has not always been so smooth sailing.

The My Heart Will Go On star has revealed to Vegas Deluxe magazine that the couple have been through several rough patches.

‘Réne and I had our tough times. It wasn’t always easy,’ she tells the publication.

‘We had tension between us. It’s never easy being husband and wife, but add to that we are in business together, dealing with all the added pressures of shows, concerts, tours, traveling. It was hard – a lot of hard work.’

While the couple, who share a rather large 26 year age gap, have been married for almost two decades, Celine says that ‘up until seven years ago, we weren’t communicating properly.’

It was then when Celine turned to a good friend that gave her some sage advice.

‘She taught me it never goes away. It sits there and gets worse. She taught me how to say things the right way…about the real meaning of communication, the right way to communicate,’ she explains.

‘It’s lessons that every married couple should know to hold their relationship together.’

Now the couple are back on track and Celine says they are stronger than ever.

‘It changed the way we related to each other,’ she says.

‘We laugh. We joke. We kid each other. We want our marriage to last forever.

‘Talk over everything and you’ll find you are still on the honeymoon … communication – it’s the most important. It’s the secret.’

Celine and Rene first met when the Las Vegas headliner was just 12-years-old and he was 36.

They went on their first date when Celine was 19 and he was 45.

By 1991, the couple got engaged and were eventually married in 1994, at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec.

The pair also renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas in 2000.

Celine has three children with Rene, including twin boys Nelson and Eddy, who were born in 2011, following her sixth attempt at IVF.

She had had five failed attempts and suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage before the boys were conceived.

In an interview at the time Celine said she was utterly devoting herself to the boys and was even savouring the the sleepless nights and lack of time for herself.

The couple already had a son, René-Charles, 12.

Celine won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1997 for Titanic theme tune My Heart Will Go On.

Read more: ‘We’ve had tough times’: Celine Dion candidly opens up about her rocky 18-year marriage to Rene Angelil

AfricanSpotlight

Veteran journalist, Alhaji Alade Odunewu dies at 85

Veteran journalist, Alhaji Alade Odunewu, popularly known as Allah De, is dead.

Alhaji Odunewu died Thursday at St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, at the age of 85.

Alade Odunewu, was a prominent Nigerian journalist who became famous for his satirical essays and his ‘Allah De’ columns written when he worked with the Daily Times of Nigeria. He later went on to publish a book, ‘Winner Takes All’, a compilation of some of his writings.

He once headed the Nigerian Guild of Editors, an association he co-founded and also served as the President of the National Press Council.

He later became an editor with the Service. In 1956, he became the managing director of the Nigerian Tribune and later worked with the Allied Newspapers of Nigeria as the editor-in-chief. In 1964, he moved to the Times group where he became the editor of the Daily Times, and rose to become Editor-in-Chief of the Times Publications.

He served as a commissioner for tourism in Lagos State in 1973 and was later a member of the Federal Electoral Commission, FEDECO.

AfricanSpotlight