Ex-minister, Daukoru bags Mandela leadership award

A former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Edmund Daukoru, has been awarded with the prestigious Nelson Mandela Pan-African Exemplary Leadership Award 2016.

The award was bestowed upon Daukoru, the Amanayabo (His Royal Majesty) of Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, by youths from 25 African countries comprising Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Togo, Republic of Benin, among others.

The award ceremony, which took place at King Koko Square in Nembe, witnessed a large crowd of dignitaries, well wishers and subjects of the Mingi D Xii.

The youths, under the aegis of African Youth Global Network, based in Ghana, said Daukoru was carefully selected for the award having met the criteria through his excellent public service and leadership acumen.

The Country Representative of AYGN, Mr. Paul Kekeh, said  the honour given to the septuagenarian was to promote excellence by encouraging individuals, institutions, organisations and public office holders in various human endeavours.

Kekeh also said it was an award for leaders with overwhelming records across the African continent who had distinguished themselves convincingly through quality services to humanity in the country and the continent.

In similar vein, Daukoru also received an honorary Ph.D award from ISFOP Benin University, Republic of Benin.

The President/Vice-Chancellor of ISFOP Benin University, Prof. Marius Dakpogan, said the conferment of the Honoris Causa was due to the monarch’s outstanding leadership in the field of education and humanity.

In his response, Daukoru said he was humbled by the two  prestigeous awards coming almost at the same time, noting that they would only spur him to do more for humanity.

He urged leaders across the continent to always place premium on the youth, saying that ignoring the youth would spell doom for the future.

King Daukoru, who doubles as the Chairman of South-South Traditional Rulers Council, said he was elated that youths, who were always more critical of the elders, decided to honour him.

“It is humbling that the youth, who are quite more critical of elders are honouring me today.

I will continue to be one of you and to work for the welfare of you. To ignore the youth is to say bye-bye to our future,” he said.

In their separate speeches, former military administrator of Delta and Ebonyi states, Walter Feghabor,  and former Commissioner for Information in Bayelsa, Chief Nathan Egba, both of whom are members of Nembe Council of Chiefs, said they were proud to have Daukoru as their King.

They extolled the virtues of the monarch, saying that he (Duakoru) had promoted the Nembe Kingdom beyond Nigeria and Africa.

Firearm: Grammy Award winning rapper Coolio escapes jail term

Grammy Award winning rapper, Leon Ivey, also known as Coolio, was on Wednesday sentenced to three years of probation after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of firearm.

The 53-year-old recording star was also ordered to perform 45 days of community service under a negotiated plea deal sparing him prison time.

The rap artist was charged earlier this month with illegal possession of firearm, an offence that carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. 
At his hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of carrying a concealed weapon.
 Mr Ricardo Santiago, Spokesman for prosecutors, said the rapper could return to court in a year to have his latest felony conviction reduced to misdemeanour.
 He said “this will only be possible if he fulfills his community service obligation and stays out of trouble with the law.
 “He already has two prior felony convictions on his record; one in 2001 for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and the second in 2009 for possession of cocaine,’’ Santiago said. The judge told Coolio that if he was found to be in possession of even a single bullet during the next three years, he would end up back in court and face jail term for violating his probation. 
The rap star sounded a note of contrition in remarks to reporters after the hearing, saying his latest brush with the law resulted from a “mistake. “It was a misunderstanding; I do not condone the use of firearms, legal or illegal.
 “Thanks to the court and the attorneys handling this for me; so, I can still do the work that I do,
’’ he said. The rapper was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17 with a stolen loaded handgun. 
The gun was discovered in his backpack on the X-ray screening belt as his entourage was going through the security checks to board a flight en route a concert. Coolio, a Los Angeles-area native, is perhaps best known for his 1995 Grammy Award-winning hit “Gangstar’s Paradise’’, the No. 1 U.S. chart-topper that year and one of the bestselling singles of all time.

$2.1bn arms cash: Ex-leaders, top monarchs, clerics among beneficiaries

There were indications on Thursday that former Nigerian leaders, traditional and religious leaders from across the country were listed as beneficiaries of the $2.1bn arms funds in the final report of the Presidential panel which probed military contracts from 2007 to 2015.

It was gathered that the report, which had been submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari, recommended the retrieval of undisclosed sums of money from some indicted persons, while in some cases, it recommended their prosecution.

A highly-placed security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said some former Heads of State, were listed as having received various sums of money from the Office of the National Security Adviser under  Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

The source added that a prominent northern traditional ruler was provided funds from the NSA’s office for the monarch’s coronation.

Giving further insights into what some of the funds were used for, the source explained that some were spent to pay the medical bills as well as travel expenses of some of the ex-leaders, who had to travel abroad to seek medical help for undisclosed aliments.

In one of the most notable cases, the report stated that the ONSA shouldered the cost of the medical trips of one of the ex-Heads of State to Germany.

The source added, “The list of beneficiaries from the ONSA under Col. Sambo Dasuki is very long.

“The list comprises very prominent Nigerians, including former Heads of State, many traditional rulers from the North and the South.

“Several religious leaders from the two dominant religions in the country also got funds from the ONSA.

“A former President of the country, who was sick, was flown out of the country to Germany for medical treatment. In fact, the former ONSA paid for the three trips the former leader made to Germany.”

It was learnt that the prosecution team was opposed to an open trial of Dasuki as this could result in disturbing revelations on how the $2.1bn under probe was disbursed.

The arms panel also established that the procurement processes adopted for the purchase of military hardware were arbitrarily and generally characterised by irregularities and fraud.

The highly-placed security official said the panel had interrogated some of the indicted officials, serving and retired officers, and some contractors.

The PUNCH learnt that the Federal Government would soon make public the final report just like it did with the interim report.

Barely three months after he assumed office in 2015, Buhari inaugurated a 13-man panel to probe procurement of arms and related military contracts between 2007 and 2015.

The panel had submitted two interim reports, where several serving and retired military officers were indicted.

Those indicted in the first two reports included Dasuki; a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.); two former Chiefs of Army Staff – Lt. Gen. Azubike Ihejirika (retd.), and Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah (retd.) – and ex-Chiefs of Air Staff, Air Marshal M. D. Umar (retd.), and Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.).

Others indicted were Maj. Gen. E. R. Chioba (retd.), AVM I. A. Balogun (retd.), AVM A. G. Tsakr (retd.), AVM A. G. Idowu (retd.), AVM A. M. Mamu, AVM O. T. Oguntoyinbo,  AVM T. Omenyi, AVM J. B. Adigun and AVM R. A. Ojuawo.

Among those also indicted were AVM J. A. Kayode-Beckley, Air Cdre S. A. Yushau (retd.), Air Cdre A. O. Ogunjobi, Air Cdre G. M. Gwani, Air Cdre S. O. Makinde, Air Cdre A. Y. Lassa and Col. N. Ashinze.

Several contractors, former ministers and government officials are currently being prosecuted for the roles they played in the disbursement of the funds.

In one of the interim reports, the panel said, “The procurement processes were arbitrarily carried out and generally characterised by irregularities and fraud.

“In many cases, the procured items failed to meet the purposes they were procured for, especially for the counter-insurgency efforts in the North-East.

“A major procurement activity undertaken by ONSA for NAF was that concerning the contracts awarded to Societe D’ Equipment Internationaux Nig. Limited between January 2014 and February 2015. NAF awarded 10 contracts totalling $930,500,690 to SEI Nig. Ltd.

“Letters of award and End User Certificates for all the contracts issued by NAF and ONSA respectively did not reflect the contract sums.

“Rather, these were only found in the vendor’s invoices, all dated March 19, 2015.”

A statement credited to the presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, had said the Ode-led panel “comes against the background of the myriad of challenges that the Nigerian Armed Forces have faced in the course of ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, including the apparent deficit in military platforms with its attendant negative effects of troops’ morale.”

He added, “The committee will specifically investigate allegations of non-adherence to correct equipment procurement procedures and the exclusion of relevant logistics branches from arms procurement under past administrations, which, very often resulted in the acquisition of sub-standard and unserviceable equipment.”

It was not clear on Thursday if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had received a copy of the report or not, which was said to contain a list of those for further investigation and prosecution.

The spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said he did not have information on the subject.

When asked if the commission had received the report, he simply said, “I don’t know.”

Recession: Increase minimum wage now, NLC tells Buhari

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to increase workers’ current minimum wage without further delay. He said the demand by the organized labour was in view of the economic recession, noting that N18, 000 was not an amount that any worker can survive on.

Wabba said increment was the strategy the United States used to address recession He argued that the economy cannot return to its former state unless the citizens have purchasing power. “The state of the country’s economy requires that we increase minimum wage. 
We need to empower the people to buy and sell. If the economy is at standstill and people cannot buy, the economy will not grow.
 “It is the workers’ money that keeps the economy growing. It is not the fund disbursed for big contracts that are kept in different accounts that keeps the country economy growing. “That was the logic that helped the United States to revive their economy,
” he added. Meanwhile, President Buhari has urged Nigerians to always speak positively about the country in spite of the current economic recession. Buhari made the call at the 7th National Prayer Breakfast organised by the National Assembly in Abuja. Represented at the occasion by the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, Buhari assured Nigerians that the recession would end very soon as the government was doing all within its power to restore the economy of the country.
 “As Christians and political leaders, we must strive to be the light of the world by speaking positively concerning the state of the nation. “These hard times we are in, require leaders who are aware of the situation to stand in the gap to see how to turn the situation around.
 “I have total faith that Nigeria will emerge from this crisis strong, united and prosperous, this will come to fruition in the lifetime of this government.
 “Also as Christians and leaders we should all thank God for the opportunity to be key player in this time of economic meltdown,” Lawal admonished. 
NAN

Akure protest: Police assures residents of safety

Akure – The Police Command in Ondo has assured the residents of Akure of their safety from the violent protest which erupted in the state in early hours of Friday. The protest followed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) replacement of the name of Eyitayo Jegede with Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP governorship candidate for the Nov. 26 election.

The command’s spokesman, ASP Femi Joseph, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the police were committed to the protection of the lives and property. Joseph enjoined the people to keep calm as normalcy would soon be restored, adding that the command had dispatched officer and men to the scene of protests on Oba Adesida Road. “We are aware and our men are on their way to the scene, I will speak with you more later as the incident develops. “We are trying to coordinate our men so that the incident will not escalate,” he said. The passengers had to alight from taxis and buses due to burnt tyres and debris on roads in Akure.

We must be tactful with herdsmen in Yorubaland – Ooni Ogunwusi

Ado Ekiti—The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has called for careful handling of the threat posed by some herdsmen across the country, especially in the Yoruba region of the country. The Ooni, who stated this at the palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe yesterday, said this became necessary in order not to allow the issue degenerate into a major crisis. 

Oba Ogunwusi said the anti-grazing law was a welcome development because Nigeria is a federation and Ekiti State was in a federation, but called for care in the handling of the issue because it could degenerate.

He said he was thrilled by thousands of people that had trooped out to receive him at Aramoko, at the palace of the Alara, 

and at Ijero, at the palace of the Ajero and thanked the people for their cooperation. The amphitheatre at the Ewi’s palace, where the Ooni was received was filled to capacity with people from all walks of life, including Governor Ayodele Fayose, his deputy, Dr. Kolapo Olubunmi Olusola, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Pastor Kola Oluwawole among many other top government functionaries. Oba Adejugbe expressed joy at the visit, and recalled that in 1937, Oba Adesoji Aderemi visited the Ewi; in 1980, Oba Olubuse II visited the Ewi and thanked God that in 2016, Oba Ogunwusi has visited. “I am happy because the visits are not at close intervals and prayed for long life, unity and cooperation among the people of Yorubaland,’’ he said. He particularly commended the Ooni for the meeting of traditional rulers he attended in Osogbo, which he said was a precursor for the unity among Yoruba communities of the South West. He charged him to continue in that stead to sustain the growing unity among Yoruba people. Governor Fayose thereafter, expressed joy at the visit and said it was a celebration of a lifetime – an event that so many people will live with for a very long time. Meanwhile, the Ooni, who earlier in the day had a stopover in Aramoko Ekiti, where he visited the Alara, Oba Adegoke Olu Adeyemi and the Owa Ajero of Ijero Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole in Ijero Ekiti before making his way to the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe’s palace, canvassed unity in Yoruba land to usher in a new era of peace, unity and development. He was accompanied to Ekiti State by the Orangun of Ila, Oba Wahab Oyedotun and other traditional rulers in Ife land. Oba Ogunwusi said he was happy to be in company of the Alara, the Orangun and the Ajero on the same day.

The Many Lies in John Paden’s Book on Buhari – Reno

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The book ‘Muhammadu Buhari-The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’ by Professor John Paden is not only an intellectually lazy work, it is also a fallacious document hastily put together to paint the protagonist in the borrowed garb of an effective leader who is cleaning the Augean Stable of misrule and corruption in Nigeria, but my question is this – how can you fight corruption with lies?

President Muhammadu Buhari (M) chats with former Head of State, Dr Yakubu Gowon. With are President of Niger Mr Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Tchad, Idriss Deby, Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and one other during a book launch on President Muhammadu Buhari tittle: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria by Mr John N Paden held at the International Conference Centre in Abuja I have taken my time to x-ray the book and I cannot help but agree with the national leader of the ruling All Progressive Congress that Paden has done a great disservice to the truth. If I were Paden, I would consider a career in fiction writing. His talents are much better suited for that than to scholarly and investigative work.

On page 52 of the book, Professor Paden declares that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan declared for the April 2011 Presidential election on Saturday, 18th of September 2011. But for a man who was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, Paden did not show much scholarliness because if he did, he would have established that Dr. Jonathan made world history by being the first ever Presidential candidate to make his declaration on the social media platform, facebook, on Wednesday the 15th of September, 2016, a feat which was featured on the New York Times, the Washington Post and in several international news media. If this was the only error in the book, one could forgive Paden, but the errors go on and on. For example on page 53, Paden, without citing any proof or evidence, called Dr. Jonathan’s margin of victory in the South south and Southeast ‘nonsensical’, but then he goes ahead to accept President Buhari’s margin of victory in the North as valid even though they mirrored Dr. Jonathan’s margins in the South. On page 55, Paden called to question Jonathan’s handling of the economy but then in page 60 he admits that the 7% GNP growth Nigeria attained under Jonathan was “impressive”. Does Paden suffer from a split personality? Here he is calling into question former President Jonathan’s ability to manage an economy that he himself admits generated an impressive growth yet he is praising a President Buhari under whom Nigeria has gone into recession. I don’t get it Paden! Perhaps Paden should have written a book singing Jonathan’s praises instead of President Buhari’s! Then he attacks Dr. Jonathan in page 55 over the 2012 attempt to remove fuel subsidies and pointed to the street protests that broke out in reaction, but curiously failed to mention that such protests were instigated and led by the then opposition members including President Buhari’s former running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, who was openly at the fore front of the protests and Malam Nasir Elrufai, who coordinated activities during the Occupy Nigeria protests. This is nothing short of intellectual dishonesty. On page 59, Paden says ‘President Jonathan had signed a pledge in 2011 to run for only one term’. This is just a lie and betrays the fact that Professor Paden might have replaced investigation with gossip as a means of gathering information. I make bold to say that if Professor Paden can produce a copy of the signed pledge then I would give him a million dollars! On page 65, Paden goes ad hominem saying “President Jonathan seemed more focused on hanging onto power by looting the public treasury”. The above is nothing short of libel. But before he is made to answer for his lies in court, let me ask Paden a simple question. If what he wrote about Dr. Jonathan looting the treasury is true, then how come Nigeria was able to have what he himself agrees was an ‘impressive’ economic growth and how come Nigeria made progress on the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index? On page 67, showing his inability to give credit to whom it is due, Paden accused Jonathan of appointing partisan and dishonest Resident Electoral Commissioners for States so they could assist the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rig elections but praised INEC Chairman Professor Attahiru Jega for his honesty. What he failed to mention is that it was President Jonathan who nominated and appointed the honest Jega without having ever met him and that it is this same honest Jega that was fully in charge of posting officials to states to serve as Resident Electoral Commissioners and who (along with his board) had power to recall and discipline any REC. Then on page 68, Paden outdid himself as a liar when he said “faced with these results, would Jonathan concede, or would he challenge the results in court?” Paden continues on his lying spree by saying inter alia that ‘several former African heads of state held private meetings with Jonathan….they insisted…that he accept the results”. Not yet done with his fallacies, Paden continues “there was considerable international pressure on Jonathan, including by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Western Diplomats”. All these are the figment of the imagination of either Paden or his sources. To prove that Paden is a liar, I will quote Mansur Liman, the editor of the BBC Hausa Service in Nigeria, who was at the INEC Elections Result Center in Abuja WHILE results were being released. Mr. Liman testified verbally on the BBC Hausa service and in writing on its website that while results were still being AWAITED and BEFORE INEC had declared Buhari as winner of the election, he had placed a call to the Buhari campaign and testified that his contact within the Buhari campaign “told me that Gen Buhari had just received a phone call from his rival, in which the president conceded and congratulated him.” Testifying further, Mr. Liman said that the report he received indicated that “the president (President Jonathan) took the decision to make the call without consulting anyone. They told me that if he had talked to some of his advisers, they would have objected.” This is a direct testimony from a man on the ground with timelines and records that can stand up in court. Are we to jettison his eyewitness and substantial documentary evidence for the unsubstantiated lies of Paden? But even without taking into account Liman’s testimony, I traveled to London after making calls to one of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s closest and most senior aides and after a face to face interview with one of the people involved I have established beyond reasonable doubt that the Archbishop of Canterbury DID NOT Call Dr. Jonathan to mount pressure on him to concede. Paden lied!! This is a direct quote from an official in the Palace of Lambeth when I interviewed him on Paden’s claims-“that is nonsense. The Archbishop did not call to put pressure on President Jonathan to concede. He called AFTER President Jonathan had conceded to congratulate him for conceding!” I urge Nigerian newspapers to reach out to the Palace of Lambeth to investigate John Paden’s claims themselves. Both Paden and his source are liars! If anybody has a history of problems conceding when he was defeated, that person is none other than President Muhammadu Buhari himself. In his three previous unsuccessful attempts at the Presidency, not once did Muhammadu Buhari ever concede much less congratulate the victor. Instead, his comments when he lost were at best uncharitable and at worst unpatriotic! But oh, there are more lies in Paden’s book. On page 195, Paden lies again when he said that in May of 2016 while Dr. Jonathan was in the US, he had to “cancel some of his public engagements because of protests by Nigerians living abroad”. This lie is so easy to disprove. Dr. Jonathan did not cancel any events. He could not attend two events in California and he asked me to represent there. The two events were his Keynote speech at the California State University in Sacramento and his leadership award by two California cities. The truth of the matter is that Dr. Jonathan took ill and it was the officials of Nigeria’s mission in New York who actually took him to hospital. Both Dr. Paden and President Buhari can call the head of Mission in New York to confirm if this is true. And lies are not the main problem of Paden’s book. The main problem is that for a book on President Buhari, Paden’s book places too much focus on blaming others for the President’s shortcomings. One would have thought that such a book would at least talk of President Buhari’s achievements, but on second thought, when you have a President who has little or no achievements, I suppose you would have to make do with lies and accusations as fillers for a book on him otherwise such a book would be very slim. Let me end by saying that no matter how close Professor Paden thinks he is to President Buhari, he cannot be as close to him as the President’s own wife and mother of his kids. After he finished giving his procured and false whitewashed verdict of the President, the President’s wife gave the real verdict on President Buhari just a week ago as follows: “if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again.” 
No wonder that while Paden devotes over 60 pages of his 284 page book to former President Jonathan, he only devotes a few sentences in two pages (36-37) to the President’s wife, Aisha Buhari. Of course, he tried unsuccessfully not to call too much attention to the one person who could disprove all the lies in his book. Thank God for the courage of Aisha Buhari. 

By Reno Omokri  

Omokri is the founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center in California, author of Shunpiking: No Shortcuts to God and Why Jesus Wept and the host of Transformation with Reno Omokri

No plan to reduce flight operations in Nigeria – Lufthansa Airline

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An international carrier, Lufthansa Airline, on Thursday said it had no plan to reduce its flight operations in Nigeria.

The airline’s Media Consultant, Mr. Hakeem Jimoh, made the disclosure to aviation correspondents in Lagos.

Two foreign airlines, Emirates and Kenya, recently announced suspension of their flights to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

While Emirates Airlines said it would stop flights to Abuja from Oct. 22, Kenya Airways said its flights to the nation’s capital would be suspended from Nov.15.

Both airlines attributed the decision to economic downturn in the country, foreign exchange challenges, and the shrinking passenger traffic.

Jimoh said Lufthansa Airline, which operates flights to Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt International Airports, would not be following a similar path for now.

He said, “Yes, there has been challenges, particularly with the issue of forex, but I can tell you that Lufthansa has no plan for now to reduce flight operations in Nigeria.”

Jimoh said that Lufthansa had been operating in Nigeria for over 50 years, adding that the country was important to the airline’s operation, especially in West Africa.

NAN

Any policeman checking vehicle particulars is on illegal duty – AIG

Ibadan – Mr Dan Bature, an Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police in Charge of Zone 11 comprising Oyo, Osun and Ondo states, says any policeman checking vehicle particulars on the highways is on illegal duty. Bature said this on Wednesday in Ibadan during a two-day familiarisation visit to Oyo State.

He said that the duty of the police was not to check vehicle particulars but to ensure safer roads. Bature warned policemen against blocking high ways, saying police patrol vehicles were not supposed to be toll gates. He said the Inspector General of Police (IGP) was committed to changing the negative image of the police and supporting the anticorruption war of the Federal Government. Bature advised officers unable to key into the laudable initiatives of the IGP to resign from the force. He said that a lot was expected by the public from the police, adding that this informed the monitoring of officers. “The Inspector General of Police is determined to improve on your welfare and pursue the increment of your salary. “But this can only be achieved when the people have good perception about the police, “Bature said. Earlier, Sam Adegbuyi, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, said that the officers were dedicated and patriotic. Adegbuyi said that in view of the population of Oyo State, the command needed to create three more Area Commands in addition to the existing four commands. He commended the AIG, Oyo government and the Police Community Relation Committee for the successes recorded so far in the fight against crime.

3 Lagos schools for November World Robotics Olympiad in India

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Lagos – The three schools which won this year’s National Robotics Olympiad competition in Lagos on Saturday will be heading to India for the November World Robotics Olympiad. The three schools are Imperial Gate, Lagos Island that won the Elementary Regular Category and Elementary Open Category.

The others are Model College, Meiran in the Junior Category and the Senior Category was won by Surrogate Achievers, a team of schools. They qualified for the Nov. 25 to Nov. 27 World Robotics Olympiad having score 85, 20 and 100 points respectively at the 2016 Nigeria Robotics Olympiad Qualifiers/Symposium, organised by Arc-Lights Foundation in Lagos. The competition involves bringing abstract concepts to life with a fun, hands-on approach that really engages students, using LEGO bricks to turn numbers, words, and ideas into real models that can be touched, described, and innovated upon. And by making the subjects tangible, they foster collaboration and encourage self-guided learning by creating enthusiasm and giving students the tools they need to overcome challenges. An excited Sandra Umeh from Imperial Gate, who spoke for the winners in the Elementary Regular and Open Categories, with overall score of 200 over 300, said that robotics involved creative thinking and constant practice to achieve success. Meanwhile, Mr Bayo Biyeye, the Director of Science and Technology, Lagos State Ministry of Education, has commended the Lagos State government for promoting robotics in schools. Biyeye, who described the progamme as a good one, said the government had been supporting it for over five years. “The government has also provided Leego Kits for our schools; we want to make sure that the schools have the kits so that the children can practice. “It is a good programme and an application of Information Communication Technology (ICT),’’ he said. Mrs Bisola Obasanya, the Managing Director of Arc-Light Foundation, organisers of the event, said that programme promoted science, technology, engineering and mathematics among children. Obasanya said that about 22,000 children from public and private primary, secondary and tertiary institutions participated in the completion before arriving at the qualifier. She said that robotics had made children to be critical thinkers, creative and to think out of the box. “Kids like it a lot; it is not like the normal regular boring school work. “Whenever they are on their own, it looks as if they are playing with toys but in actual sense learning. “Kids love Leego education, children learn through it, it is a different way of teaching,’’ she said. Obasanya commended the Lagos State Government for the support given to robotics or Leego education in the state. NAN reports that prior to the qualifiers, different competitions were held in the different regions before the best 48 schools that competed in the qualifier were selected.