In ancient Jewish society, acquisition of vocational skills were required. Apostle Paul of the Bible even added tent-making to his vocation while Jesus earned carpentry skill from his foster father.

Vocational education demands the training of specialists in various fields. There are institutions for imparting various types of specialized training to help people qualify for this. Our society demands specialists in every facet be it office, factory and even educational institutions. Acquisition  of special skill can lead to self-reliance.

Self-reliance is the great asset everyone ought to possess. By being self-reliant, a man gains glorious independence. He depends on his own powers and abilities and may not need to be helped by others. He has a heraic attitude to life and he is  host to himself. Life to him is a great adventure, full of interest and great excitement. He never feels dull and dispirited. Cicero, an ancient Greek once said: “Most happy is he who is entirely self-reliant and who centres all his requirements on himself.”

Thrown upon his resources, the self-dependent accepts the challenges of life and develops new ventures, new qualities.

He is full of devices and  is ready to take the initiative. He is always confident of finding a way out of difficulties economic, political or social.

At this period of radical economic reforms, the lesson of self-reliance is needed because the average Nigerian is by nature fatalistic in his altitude. He tends to depend too much on fate or chance. Fate is the scapegoat on which he places the heavy responsibility of his failures, which he always calls misfortunes.

This mindset destroys the springs of action. But if one has courage, initiative or is daring, one may become the master of his destiny.

There are many who make their fortune by their own effort and then call it fate. They think it is an act of piety and humility towards God. But even this attitude is not proper.

If it is God who has given us strength of body and power of mind, he surely expects us to help ourselves with these and not to be whining for divine help always. It is our duty to develop the gifts that he has given us.

Self-reliance is the parent of many virtues. The self-reliant man is patient and persevering.  He does not change and complain. He does not shrik his responsibilities. He is satisfied with what he can achieve by himself and is always striving after success. He does not envy others; or does he think of begging favours from others.

He faces his misfortune with a quiet courage.

Emerson calls it “the essence of heroism, the first secret of success.”

The self-reliant man feels neither fear nor shame to labour with his own hands, because he knows there is digruity in labour.

He is always learning new lessons, gathering valuable experience. His example is an inspiration to others, and his achievement is an example.   Failure cannot shake his well-grounded self-confidence. Rather it spurs him to renewed enterprise. Confidence in himself wins him the confidence of others.  In the face of failure, a self-reliant man does not self-esteem and this wins for him the regard of the world.

The great Italian artist, Michelangelo says: “The promises of the world are for the most part vain phantoms”. If we trust in them we delude ourselves.  At the proper time, they invariably  betray us, help to underline our weaknesses and breed in us a feeling of inferiority, a ruinous distrust in ourselves , a pathetic dependence on others.  As Bernard Shaw pointed out: it is easy –terribly easy- to shake a man’s faith in himself”.  And nothing does this more effectively than the habit of relying on others, of expecting the world or government to help us in the face of every difficulty.

Therefore as we howl or bay through the biting economic hardship which manifests in loss of jobs, rising inflationary trend, capital flight etc, emanating from the longing economic reforms and state of insecurity in the country, every Nigerian must imbibe the spirit of self-reliance. There is no way out of it.  This country is undergoing a strange phase of her economic life, and it is only the self-reliant that can brace the trend.

Our dependence on government largesse has to wane and those in paid employment must begin to develop their possibilities for self-reliance, as uncertainty trails every employment.  However, government has to create the enabling environment for the realization of individual  and corporate economic potentialities.

This history of human achievement is indeed a record of man’s reliance upon himself. Great heroes, great scientists, great merchants were all self-made men.  For instance, Benjamin Franklin was born of poor parents who could give him little education, yet, by relying on his own God-given powers, he made his name memorable in science and statesmanship.  Michael Faraday was a builder, but rose to be one of the greatest scientists of the world among others.

If we think properly of our own abilities, if we look to others for guidance at every step, we shall continue to faint at the mention of retrenchment or joblessness.  We shall lose our confidence.  Paupers shall we be perpetually, and be buried in unmarked grave of poverty.

Arnold Alalibo

deck to maintain its sovereignty. To achieve this, a number  of infrastructural developement must be put in place. The ideology of sovereignty of any nation is to make things possible for the citizens.  Since independence till date there has been slow pace of development in the country.  This is as a result of nonchalant attitude of the leaders in government and some citizens when projects are awarded for execution.  Often times, when it comes to solving   problems for the masses what you hear is that there is no political will to enforce the policy.  One wonders the kind of political will our leaders need before things are put in place.  The deposit of mineral resources in the land of Nigeria is a good omen for national development.

The education sector has been drifting from its original aims and objectives.  This is because the system is no longer meeting the expectations of the nation.  In any sovereign nation, education is the door way of achieving purposeful development.  Through research works in education, other sectors are managed effectively and efficiently.  The falling standard of education caused by neglect of the sector has caused influx of Nigerian students to neighbouring nations, thereby, denying our educational institutions funds to upgrade their facilities.  Today,  most of the leaders and well-to-do in Nigeria send their children and wards to Ghana, the US and the UK for university education.

It is true that no nation is an island. But that does not mean we should abandon our country for foreign facilities.  Yes, in this year’s budget, education has been favoured.  But there is need for proper implementation of the budget to meet the yearnings of the people.

Indeed, the power or energy sector is one of the sectors begging for massive improvement and upgrading of facilities. The federal government has said so much about improvement of power in the country. Yet no meaningful achievement has been recorded.  And if the government is ready to improve power in Nigeria, there is no need for the federal government to budget for generators for Aso Rock or government buildings.  That is suspicious!  In Nigeria, generators have taken over the power sector.  And so each time generators are mentioned in the budget there is need for doubt.  Over the years, Nigerians have been complaining of poor power supply in the country.  And to many the cry against epileptic electricity supply is waste of time.  All the processing and manufacturing industries use electricity from generators to power their machines.  But in some countries of the world there is constant supply for decades.  No wonder some companies are relocating to neighboring countries where electricity supply is relatively constant.  Recently, there was bidding for electricity facilities in the country. There is no need for further delay in ensuring efficiency in the power sector.  Therefore, power should not be toyed with, if Nigeria wants to be one of the biggest economies in the world. Everyone needs electricity in Nigeria.

Nigeria has been known as a developing nation for many years now and has not achieved tangible development, due to some nefarious activities of some persons in government and outside government.  Nigeria  has a wide road network but yet the roads in the country are in deplorable state, which gives room for questions.  Nigerians enjoy pot holes-free roads in UK, the US and other nations of the world.  But when road projects are awarded to some of them to construct as it is done in foreign nations, some siphon the funds or use poor quality materials to construct roads in the country.  Today our federal roads are begging for reconstruction and rehabilitation, because they are very bad.  And those who do the shoddy jobs are applauded and more multimillion projects are awarded to them to continue the bad jobs. Something has to be done to stop the ugly trend of events in the country.  Because the roads are bad, motorists take the opportunity to charge commuters heavily.  This also has led to high cost of commodities and has weakened the purchasing power of many Nigerians . Indeed, most of the staple foods we eat in the country are imported from foreign nations.  For instance, Nigeria depends on imported rice till date when there are arable lands for rice farming in the country. Abakaliki rice is still under peasant farming system till today because government has not taken any proactive measure to improve rice farming in the country. There is need for concerted effort by all to change the state of things in the country.

Health for all has been a long time slogan which no one wants to sing or recite again because of the inability of the government to deliver health services to the people. It is still very sad to hear that Nigerians can only get better medical treatment abroad.  Why? Nigeria has the resources that could make her health system the best in the world. Today, cancer screening machine is rare to come by in the country.  Few months ago there was outbreak of Lassa fever in some states of the nation.  And it was a difficult task to get treatment, because the machine to screen a victim’s blood sample is only in Benin. And it was reported that Lassa fever was first noticed before independence of our dear nation.

Indeed, today we fund foreign health system and they keep on growing faster than ours.  Almost every government functionary receives his or her medical check up abroad.  That is why our health sector is dying even when we have professionals to make it work.  It is high time our leaders pondered anew to change some things. The national and state assemblies should  enact laws that should make the government to improve its facilities.  Over dependence on foreign institutions when we need to improve and develop the ones we have is a serious threat to democracy. Therefore, there is need for government at all levels to embark on an aggressive campaign on infrastructural development in the nation.  Nigerians can enjoy the best if there is honesty and selfless service to humanity.

Ogwuonuonu is a contributor to The Tide

Frank Eneawaji Ogwuonuonu

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Bauchi State has called on wives of the local government chairmen in the state to educate rural women on government policies and gender mainstreaming issues.

Director of the agency, Hajiya Jummai Liman-Bello made the call in an interview last Friday in Bauchi.

She said that the measure would foster better understanding of gender mainstreaming issues by women at the grassroots, and commended the state’s Ministry for Women Affairs for enlightening the wives of top government functionaries in the state on gender issues.

FCT

A former Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI), Mr Anthony Ubani, has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for showing courage and good judgement in slamming state of emergency on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

In a statement in Abuja last Thursday, Ubani described the president’s state of emergency declaration as a bold and constitutional move, designed to arrest the mindless bloodletting in some parts of the north.

He expressed his optimism that the president’s action would restore peace, law and order in the three states that had been under siege because of the activities of the Islamist Boko Haram sect.

Jigawa

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Jigawa last Thursday appealed to the state assembly to enact laws to prohibit the sales of illicit drugs and substances.

The Commandant of the NDLEA, Malam Ibrahim Abdu,  who made the appeal in an interview  in Dutse said this had become necessary in view of the proliferation and abuse of drugs, including cough syrup, forte-win injection, rubber solution, tramol, and local gin (ogogoro), among others.

He said that the trade had persisted in the state because there were no laws banning the sales and consumption of these substances.

Lagos

One person is suspected to have died in a collapsed building located at Godo Blocks Estate, Ibereko in Badagry last Saturday.

The victim, Kehinde Williams (28), a carpenter, was working in the building when it collapsed.

An eyewitness, who visited the scene, learnt that the building collapsed about 10a.m. but the rescue work did not begin till 12.24p.m.

An eyewitness said that the deceased was trying to remove the planks from the deck of the building when it collapsed.

“At about 10a.m., Kehinde came to the building to remove the planks from the deck recently constructed.

“From our observations, it appeared that the blocks used for the construction were not of high quality and the cement was not yet dry before he started removing the planks from the deck.

“It was while removing the planks that the building collapsed,” the witness said.

The source said if attention was immediately rendered to the victim, he might still  be alive.

Kaduna

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), last Thursday said it would constitute a team that would monitor the conduct of the military in enforcing the state of emergency declared in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

The decision was contained in a statement issued by the ACF Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Fati Ibrahim after its National Executive Council meeting chaired by Alhaji Aliko Mohammed in Kaduna.

Sani-Sidi made the call last Thursday in Abuja when he received a delegation from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), on a tour of the agency.

The director-general said that the collaboration among government institutions, individuals and critical stakeholders would safeguard lives, property and vital infrastructure, as well as sustain the development of the country.

Kano

Bayero University Kano (BUK), has indicated interest to partner with universities in Saudi Arabia in the area of science, technology and staff exchange.

This is contained in the official bulletin of the university issued by its Publications and Documentation Unit and made available to newsmen in Kano recently.

According to the bulletin, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Abubakar Rasheed, made the proposal to the Consul-General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Majid Muhammad Al-khatani when he visited him.

Katsina

The Katsina State Government has begun the disbursement of N35.8 million under its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme to 6, 966 primary school girls in the state.

The Special Adviser to Gov. Ibrahim Shema on Girl-child Education and Development, Hajiya Bilkisu Kaikai,   said the amount was being disbursed to selected pupils under the fifth round of the programme.

She said while issuing out the grant to some of the beneficiaries at Unguwar Tsamiya village in Kaita Local Government Area of the state recently, that each of the girls would receive N5,000.

She added that the money was to support pupils from very poor homes in the pursuit of primary school education and urged parents in the state to enrol their wards especially girls into schools.

Kogi

The Kogi State Government is to partner with a U.S. firm, Carghil, to establish a starch company at Agbadu in the Kogi West Senatorial District.

Gov. Idris Wada, who made the announcement in Lokoja recently, said that the company would also produce sucrose and other sweeteners to be used in the manufacturing of other products. He said that the company would source its raw materials from a special variety of cassava which it intended to introduce to Nigeria through the Kogi Government, adding that   15, 000 hectares of land has been allocated to the company.

Oyo

The Chairman, National Certification Committee for Guinea Worm Eradication, Prof. Kayode Oyediran, has expressed optimism that Nigeria would be certified free of guinea worm by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“I believe we will be certified fully in June when the International Certification Team of the WHO comes to Nigeria for the final assessment,’’ he told newsmen in Ibadan last Saturday.

Oyediran spoke on the sideline of the sensitisation meeting organised by the Nigeria Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (NIGEP).

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan said the WHO certification team would be concerned about the number of the disease’s “rumoured cases and actual cases’’ during the period.

Plateau

Rep Godfrey Gaiya (PDP-Kaduna) has suggested the return of mobile police check points to deter criminals, especially in flash points around the country.

The lawmaker said in Jos that “their mere presence is enough to scare many criminals”.

Gaiya said that such complaints were nothing compared to the usefulness of the road blocks to the Nigerian society.

He blamed the massive insecurity on the absence of the police on the roads and decried a situation where criminals could travel very long distances without being accosted with their loots or illegal arms.

Sokoto

The Minister of Youth Development, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir,  has restated the commitment of the Federal Government to maximise the desired impact of the NYSC programme on national unity.

Abdulkadir said this in Sokoto Wednesday at the opening of the 2013 Annual Management Conference of the NYSC scheme, recently.

He noted that the NYSC Programme was in tandem with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

The theme of the conference is “The Relevance of NYSC to National Development: Achievements, Challenges, Prospects and the Way Forward.’’

Abdulkadir, however, said that the scheme would have recorded greater successes but for the current security challenges.

Zamfara

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, says police will now strengthen partnership with communities to identify potential national security threats.

The IG said this on Saturday in Gusau at the opening of a one-day Intelligence Sensitisation and Community Partnership Workshop.

Abubakar, who was represented on the occasion by the AIG North West Zone, Suleiman Fakai, said partnership with communities would now take “central role in preventing and responding to terrorism and reducing citizens’ security concerns”.

The measure, according to him, will also enhance national security, protection of lives and property and stabilise democracy.

He said through community vigilance, an effective policing of the society would be ensured as more useful information on criminals and their activities would be forthcoming.

He said the workshop, which also involved the participation of media practitioners, would encourage newsmen to assist in reducing tension.

He said through feedback methods, “the media can also help to monitor and evaluate government performances to meet the minimum expectations of the people”.

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is nursing an ambition to be the next vice president to a northern presidential candidate in 2015 started circulating, many disturbing developments have occurred.

Whether this rumoured ambition is true or not, it is totally irrelevant. The truth is that every Nigerian over the age of 40 is entitled to aspire to be president or vice president of Nigeria. This constitutional entitlement is not in any way qualified by the party or zonal relationship between an incumbent president and the aspirant. That is why the series of unfortunate events that have occurred in Rivers State since the so-called aspiration was published are most disturbing, ominous and dangerous.

The publication in- various newspapers in the last few weeks have disclosed that the following disturbing events have occurred:

1. The grounding of the official private jet of the Rivers State Government: intended apparently to cripple the Rivers State governor’s movements around the country.

2. Prevention, by police of the state House of Assembly from functioning.

3. Escorting some suspended members of the House of Assembly accompanied by hoodlums masquerading as protesters by the police with the apparent intention of initiating impeachment action.

4. Prevention of the Caretaker Committee of a local government council from functioning.

5. The withdrawal of the security details of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly.

6. The threatened withdrawal of the security detail of the governor himself.

What all these events establish is that neither democracy nor federalism is functioning properly in Nigeria. Any Nigerian, more so, a high official like a governor, is entitled to have presidential ambition. It is his constitutional and democratic right.

To lay a siege on him and his state because of the rumour of vice presidential interest is a major assault on our so-called democracy. The sort of events that have been occurring recently in Rivers State have a threatening and intimidating effect and are unworthy of any society governed by the rule of law. When any Nigerian is threatened and his environment surrounded by the sort of dark clouds and storms being witnessed in Rivers State, it is democracy and democratic rights in the whole country that are endangered.

The above developments have also demonstrated the fact that Nigeria is not a federation, but merely a unitary state pretending to be one.

In a federation, both the Federal Government and the federating units are autonomous and independent of each other. This has been stated again and again by both national and international authorities, including our own Supreme Court.  As Wheare put it, “the fundamental and distinguishing characteristic of a federal system is that neither the central nor the regional governments are sub-ordinate to each other, but rather, the two are co-ordinate and independent”. In short, in a federal system, there is no hierarchy of authorities, with the central government sitting on top of the others. All governments have a horizontal relationship with each other.” (Wheare, Federal Government, 4th Ed … OUP, 1963).

According to Professor B. O Nwabueze: “Federalism, therefore, may be described as an arrangement whereby powers within a multi-national country are shared between a federal or central authority and a number of regionalised governments in such a way that each unit including the central authority exists as a government separately and independently from the others, operating directly on persons and property within its territorial area, with a will of its own and its own apparatus for the ‘conduct of affairs and with an authority in some matters exclusive of all others. In a federation, each government enjoys autonomy, a separate existence and independence of the control of any other government. Each government exists, not as an appendage of another government (e.g. of-the federal or central government) but as an autonomous entity in the sense of being able to exercise its own will on the conduct of its affairs free from direction by any government.

Thus, the Central government on the one hand and the State governments on the other hand are autonomous in their respective spheres.” (Nwabueze, Federalism in Nigeria under the Presidential Constitution, Sweet & Maxwell, 1983, p.2.)

In Attorney-General of Lagos State v Attorney-General of the Federation [2003] 6 SC Pt. 1, p.24 at pages 35 and 57, Uwaifo JSC explained the nature of a federation lucidly as follows: “But I do not need to repeat that Nigeria operates a federal system of government. Section.,2(2) of the 1999 Constitution reenacts the doctrine of federalism.

This ensures the autonomy of each government. None of the governments is subordinate to the other. This is particularly of relevance between the State Governments and the Federal.

Government, each being, as said by Nwabueze in his book, The Presidential’ Constitution of Nigeria…pages 39-42, an autonomous entity in the sense of being able to exercise its own will in the conduct of its affairs within the Constitution, free from direction by another government. I think it is significant that shortly before and since the independence of Nigeria in 1960, all the Constitutions that have been enacted have taken the pattern of federalism. Under this system, each tier of government has its legislative competence or functions conferred on it as the case maybe”.

In conclusion, Uwaifo JSC stated thus: “it is a non-controversial political philosophy that the Federal Government does not exercise supervisory authority over the state governments.” (at p.60).

From what has been happening in recent weeks in Rivers State, it is clear that if every state has its own Police Service, there will be no need for the Federal Police to provide security for state authorities and agencies.

Therefore, to the extent that states do not have their own police forces, our federalism remains incomplete and underdeveloped. The National Assembly, therefore, has a lot of re-thinking to do about the present attempt to amend the Constitution.

What it has done so far, is, in fact, a perverse movement towards more centralism and unitarism and that is contrary to the interest of an enduring Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It is now obvious that there is need to look at our constitutional provisions in order to restructure them for the achievement of true federalism, in which states and their governors will be able to assert their autonomy and independence from the Federal Government. The current events in Rivers State are ominous and do not portend well for the future of the Federal Republic.

Sagay is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Culled from Sunday Vanguard, May 19, 2013.

Prof Itse Sagay

First, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Otelemaba Dan Amachree wrote an “Open letter to the President,” Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, calling for the removal/transfer of the State Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu over his perceived partiality in the state PDP.

The Speaker alleged in the letter that the state governor, legislators and prominent government officials have been marked for assassination, following series of meetings held in neighbouring state and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Rt Hon Amachree buttressed his allegation with the revelation that 18 unnamed notorious armed robbers and kidnappers currently in detention would be arbitrarily released to carry out the assassinations of the marked officials. He also cited instances of the partiality of the police boss, saying that the state House of Assembly had no option but to call for his redeployment.

Secondly, forty-eight hours after the Speaker raised the alarm over the alleged plan to assassinate the governor and top government functionaries, including himself, he raised another alarm over the withdrawal of all security personnel attached to him for his protection.

The chief lawmaker in the state alleged that following his open letter to President Jonathan, the state police commissioner ‘unceremoniously’ withdrew the police orderly and escort attached to him. This, he continued, confirms his earlier fears regarding plans to withdraw security operatives from the governor and top officials of the state government.

He said his fears were worsened by the recent murder of an aide to Chief Godspower U. Ake, Mr Eric Ezenekwe, and the Police Commissioner’s alleged inaction over the murder.

The killing, he said, had sent shockwaves around government circles, as politicians and government officials now see the alleged withdrawal of police orderlies and aides as a big security threat to their lives.

Although the police had denied the withdrawal of the speaker’s security details saying that they only withdrew nine additional personnel the Speaker allotted to himself, in addition to the ones officially assigned to him by law.

General Manager, Western Ports, Miss Adenike Sonaike, who said this in Lagos in a statement on Friday, said the measure became necessary to check the influx of people at the ports.

She also said the move was in line with the provisions of the International Ships and Ports Facilities Security Code.

Sonaike said, “We have severally warned people who have no business being at the port to desist from coming to the port premises.

“We are now going a step further by ensuring that such people do not have access to the port and anyone found flouting this new order will be arrested and prosecuted by operatives of security agencies.”

According to her, the port is a security area where only authorised persons are allowed to operate.

“We have responsibility to ensure the safety and security of lives and goods at the ports and we will ensure that we continue to work with relevant stakeholders in this regard,” she said.

She advised hawkers, miscreants and people wandering around the port environment to desist from such acts or risk arrest and humiliation from security operatives.

She, however, promised all genuine port users of their safety and security in the course of their transactions at the place.

“The present management of NPA places a premium on service delivery. The Managing Director of NPA, Mr.  Habib Abdulahi, has mandated us to ensure that port users get value for their money and that is what we are focused on. Genuine port users have nothing to fear under this new initiative,” Sonaike stated.

The new products are FITC Virtual Learning, FITC E-recruitment, FITC Virtual library and the Nigerian version of the IFC Corporate Governance and Board Leadership Training Curriculum.

According to the Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of FITC, Dr. Lucy Surhyel Newman, the introduction is expected to take place at the Sheraton Hotels, Lagos on May 17, 2013.

She explained that the new products are part of the transformation agenda being implemented by the management of the organisation.

The first phase of the transformation which started since 2009, involved FITC’s internal capacity and brand alignment to deliver on its brand promises to internal and external stakeholders, thus making FITC a high impact special purpose organization nationally, regionally and globally.

The second phase of the transformation had to do with infrastructure enhancements and its relocation from Apapa, Lagos, to its present office in Ebute Metta, Lagos, mid 2010.

The third phase of the transformation now has to do with introduction of additional services and products, in order to competitively position the organisation to effectively deliver on its mandate in a more efficient and cost effective manner, thereby extending its services to a diverse number of stakeholders within and outside its two physical locations in Nigeria, through appropriate application of modern technology platforms accessible to mobile devises for consumers’ conveniences.

Explaining the rationale for the introduction of the new products, Dr Newman said the virtual learning will serve as an alternative medium for delivery of some of its training programmes in a timely, convenient and more accessible manner while the e-recruitment portal is designed to enable job seekers submit their resume online to the organisation’s website and facilitate faster candidates’ selection process at optimal cost and from any part of the world.

The virtual library will provide avenue for its library users and anyone interested in the modern e-library facility to have access to approved journals and books online, once registered a library user with the organisation.

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the FITC on Board Leadership training for bank directors in Sub-Saharan Africa, the two organisations jointly developed a corporate governance curriculum for bank directors and senior managers in Nigeria, and this will be formally presented to banks during the products launching ceremony.

After months of doom and gloom for European automakers, the latest car registrations data show there may be light at the end of the tunnel.

New car registrations grew in April for the first time in 19 months, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

While the rise was small just 1.7% and the gain may be due to the fact that there were two more business days in the month compared to April 2012, industry experts were still cheered by the news.

“There is a growing sense that Europe is through the worst of it,” said Mike Tyndall, head of autos equity research at Barclays.

Shares in Europe’s major automakers, including Volkswagen, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Renault and Daimler, all pushed higher. Peugeot’s stock rallied by as much as 7%.

New car demand in the United Kingdom continued to grow, but the picture remains mixed elsewhere in the EU. Car registrations were up in Spain and Germany, but fell in Italy and France, which dipped back into recession in the first quarter of the year.

The group uses new car registration data instead of car sales to track demand across the 27 EU nations, though the data is very similar.

The latest report shows that Germany’s Volkswagen is holding its position as market leader with a 27% market share, up two percentage points compared to April 2012.

New car registrations have fallen by double-digit percentages in most European markets this year. Automakers, which are scaling back production in Europe, continue to warn that their earnings are suffering because of weak sales in the region.

Car demand has been slashed by high unemployment, falling disposable incomes and depressed consumer confidence.

This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by the Director of Press, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr Paul Onwoha.

The statement said the appointment followed the dissolution of the General Management of FHA by the President, adding that the new team would be supervised by the authority’s technical board.

“In the new dispensation, the existing corporate structure has been changed to a lean, compact, effective and more result-oriented commercialised format in line with the current reforms approved by government.”

It said that the interim management shall be responsible for the daily running of the affairs of the authority for the duration of 12 months with effect from May 20. Members of the Interim Management Team are Mr Terver Gemade, Managing Director of FHA; Mr Enato Osain, Mrs Adaze Aguele, Mr Dominic Mwanah, Malam Abubakar Ahmed, Mr Muktar Gaya and Mr William Tsokwa.

General Manager, North Central, FAAN, Mr Chris Bature, told newsmen that it was recommended by International Civil Aviation Organisation and International Air Transport Association.

He said the Federal Government also supported the exercise due to the concern for emergency issues in the aviation sector.

ature said emergencies were a collective responsibility and should not be left to a single agency to tackle.

The exercise was to help check the level of preparedness to know the strengths and weaknesses of the parastatals in case of emergency,” he said.

“In today’s simulation, earth moving equipment, emergency ambulances, conventional buses and other tools and personnel were on hand for the practice.”

He said inhabitants of communities where crashes occur also play a major role in disaster management.

“For instance, in the ADC aircraft mishap, it was the community that informed us about where exactly it happened,” he said.

He said the exercise was not limited to crash situations as it was extended to security issues like fire outbreak and bomb explosion.

He posited that apart from the paramedic aspect where a little hiccup was witnessed, the exercise was successful.

The mock exercise was conducted in collaboration with Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and FAAN personnel.

Others were the Red Cross, Julius Berger Construction Company, security agencies and handling agents.