From right are Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu and Speaker Enugu State House of Assembly, Mr. Eugene Odoh, at the 48th Independence Anniversary Service in Enugu Recently.

Emulate Awan's Examplary Leadership Qualities, Mark Enjoins Royal Fathers
President of the Senate, Senator David Mark weekend described the late Chief of Kagoro, Kaduna State, Mallam Danladi Gwamna Awan as a quintessential leader with remarkable footprints. Awan passed on last Tuesday at the ripe age of 93. He ruled as a monarch for 62 years. Mark said the death of Chief Awan was a big loss to the government and people of Kaduna State in particular and the nation in general.

He noted that the late monarch committed his life to a selfless service and created an environment of peaceful co-existence among the peoples of Kaduna State. The President of the Senate urged other traditional rulers to emulate the qualities of Chief Awan by continuing to provide just and fair leadership to the people of their respective domains. Mark also prayed that God would give the family of the deceased the fortitude to bear the loss.

Ignatius Okorocha, Abuja

Bizman Urges Ministers to Offer Quality Advice to Yar'Adua
As Nigerians mark the country's 48th anniversary as a sovereign nation, on a low key, Prince Chika Odera Obiafuna, has called on ministers to always offer quality advice to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua so that the masses would benefit more from his government. Prince Obiafuna who is the Chairman, Lugbe General Building Materials Association, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, told journalists in Abuja that for Nigeria to move forward requires the commitment of all citizens and not that of one man called the President.

He said that if all the ministers could be offering genuine advice to the President, based on their appropriate knowledge of the problems which the masses are currently facing, it will make it easier for the President to find solutions to such problems. "What the President requires to serve the Nigerian people better, is genuine, quality advice from his Ministers. I therefore appeal to the Ministers, all of them, without exception, to do exactly that", he said. The businessman added that for the ministers to do their work effectively, they must be closer to the people.

"The ministers must get closer to the people so that they would discover the problems that the people are facing. Many of them are not close to the people so they don't know their problems. This in turn, makes it difficult for them to advise the President appropriately", he said. He also called on every Nigerian to cooperate with the government by doing his utmost best towards the upliftment of the country.

"Yes, we as a nation, may not have achieved as much as we wished in the last 48 years, but that is not to say that we have lost hope. For us to achieve our desire of making the country greater than it is today, all hands must be on deck. We must all be prepared to make sacrifices for Nigeria to progress", he said. He said that every Nigerian should be proud of the country and even be ready to pay the supreme price in defence of the father land.

"I don't agree with those who keep saying that Nigeria is a failed nation. I am proud of Nigeria and I am prepared to die for Nigeria. I am calling on Nigerians to show that high level of patriotism. We must all be ready to die for our nation", he said. The Anambra Stateborn businessman also wished the President more successful years of fruitful service to the nation. "The President is a good man. He means well for the country and my prayer is that God should grant him more successful years of fruitful service to the country", he added.

Ignatius Okorocha, Abuja

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