Cherry Africa, July Edition

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July, 2016

CHERRY

AFRICA ...Harnessing Africa’s Potential

President Buhari’s First Year Accomplishments The Succession War Looms The Musevenian Economic Chutzpah

Mahama’s Retention or Akufo-Addo’s Time?

UK : £3.50 USA: $4.99 EURO: €5.00 NIGERIA: ₦1000.001 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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Nigeria

With an increased port operational efficiency, decreased port cost and decreased financial burden on government,

Nigerian Ports Authority is becoming

Nigerian Ports Authority

2 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA MARI T

ERRAQUE SERVIM

US

...To be the Leading Port in Africa...

Website: www.nigerianports.org

Email: info@nigerianports.org

Graphics Unit NPA 01/2016

the Hub of International Freighting and Trade in West and Central Africa.

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Contents

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Vol.1 No. 3 June, 2016

CHERRY

AFRICA ...Harnessing Africa’s Potential

RIO OLYMPICS THE REFUGEE TEAM BIG MOTIVATION FROM POLITICS TO PRUDENCE GOVERNOR NYESOM WIKE SETS THE PACE

Liberia: Rebooting To Rebound

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The Musevenian Economic Chutzpah PAGE 38 QUOTE “Many African countries are already on track with transforming their economies.

The role of governments in Africa is to offer inclusive and sustainable development which is important in addressing climate change and economic growth.”

AUGUSTIN MATATA PONYO

PAGE

6-10 Market Economy Beckons PAGE 23

05 13 18 25 31

42 47 49 52 54 57 60

The Succession War Looms

PAGE 26

Shelter For Rwandans PAGE 36

Thank you Africa Ghana and the IMF Periscope of President Buhari’s First Year African Passport Means Business Awakening a comatose industry What Came Over Him? Here for Girls’ Education Backtrack To ‘Afro’ Hair Folorunso Alakija: Testimony of God's Goodness Euro 2016 Lessons For Football 'They Never Believed I Could Succeed' NDDC Makes Strategic Moves

Innovation To House Refugees PAGE 44 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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CHERRY

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AFRICA

Publisher’s Note

...Harnessing Africa’s Potentials

© 2016 All rights reserved

Good News From Ethiopia

T

he news coming from Africa to the world now is good, fresh and exhilarating. While the entire world is engrossed with what the recent surprise choice by Britain to exit (Brexit) the European Union holds for them, it is cheery that a number of positive developments are happening around Africa. With glee, Ethiopia is tiptoeing into becoming Africa’s industrial powerhouse. The country continues to be attractive to economists and analysts with focus on the African continent. The reasons are not far-fetched. Besides Rwanda, a country that is still working hard to put the vestiges of the odious genocide behind and claw back to relevance, Ethiopia remains the continent’s only country with consistently high economic growth for more than a decade. While other African economies may find this observation controversial, the beauty of its inspiring growth is that it is happening without relying on a natural resource boom. The fascinating thing about it all is that the growth is buoyed mainly by a construction boom and increased agricultural productivity.

Jostein Hauge and Muhammad Irfan, PhD students at the University of Cambridge, in an article published on The Conversation say the country’s per capita growth was 8 per cent yearly between 2004 and 2014 and remained the continent’s highest.

It does not only feel good that the growth is attributed mainly to a construction boom and increased agricultural productivity, it is also a development to be replicated in other economies in the continent, that Ethiopia’s developmental orientation in various ways resembles that of successful catch-up experiences in East Asia, such as Korea and Taiwan, with a relatively “authoritarian corporatist” structure and centralised economic planning.

Interestingly, manufacturing in the country is also identified to be vital, growing at 11 per cent per year, with manufacturing exports increasing more than elevenfold, largely spurred by the increasing export earnings of the footwear and apparel industries. Although it is reported that manufacturing as a share of gross domestic product in the country at 5 per cent, is well below the African average of 10 per cent and country scores below the African average on diversification, export competitiveness, productivity and technological upgrading, it has also been established that the growth represents more than a doubling of manufactured exports’ share in total merchandise exports, which itself more than quintupled during the period.

The prevailing milieu may not be taken by many for a long-shot prediction that Ethiopia will catch up with countries like China and Vietnam in some low-tech manufacturing industries in the near future, the fact remains that the industries that are doing well in the country are those for which labour costs are very important. As pointed out by the authors, you’d be hard pressed to find a country in the world that has cheaper labour than Ethiopia, and even beyond these obvious industries, there are reasons to believe that Ethiopia might be on the right track to catch up with more advanced economies. Ethiopians are therefore, encouraged to keep aiming for the stars in following the right track until the country makes a good success of the situation.

Carolyn Isaac Publisher

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Chairman Francis Nyoyoko Editorial Team Publisher Carolyn Isaac publisher@cherryafrica.net Managing Editor Murphy Jones editor@cherryafrica.net Associate Editors Adama Bukari, Morgan Winsor, Iyowuna Obomanu, Patricia Abena-Kissi Contributing Editors Jamie Leigh-Matroos (Cape Town) Athan Tashobya (Kigali) Pascaline Ameyo (Accra) Abdoulie Nget (Banjul) Correspondents Williams Freeman (Accra) Bini Israel (Nigeria) Design and Production Kelechi Okoro – Emmanuels Country Manager Ann Ashiogwu Administration Job Peters, Becky Joseph Marketing Selasi Appiah (Ghana) Akunna Nworgu (Lagos) Frank Air (Accra) advertising@cherryafrica.net Subscription Juliet Joseph subscription@cherryafrica.net Editorial Advisory Board Tony Charles (Chairman) Dare Akpata, Salome Malema, Makwaia Wa Kuhenga, Kede Alhie, Umar Sanni, Peace King Kporvie Office 5, Owukori Crescent, Western Avenue, Alaka, Surulere Lagos Nigeria.

Tel: +2349099277714 +2349096640887 info@cherryafrica.net Ghana Bureau: +233267967272, +233244330942 ghanabureau@cherryafrica.net ISSN: 24657107

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Africa 2 THE WORLD

Thank you Africa

First solar bus from Uganda One of the world’s standout inventions and achievements that have made life a little easier accomplished by Africans.

THE KREEPY KRAULY: The swimming pool cleaner was invented by Ferdinand Chauvier, a Congolese man who moved to Springs‚ east of Johannesburg.

CARDIO PAD: Arthur Zang‚ a Cameroonian‚ invented the CardioPad in 2012 when he was just 24 years old. The CardioPad is a touch screen medical tablet that enables heart examinations to be performed from remote areas.

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COVER

Mahama’s Retention or Akufo-Addo’s Time?

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COVER

O

Adama Bukari Accra

n the staples of democratic credentials, Ghana remains Africa’s beacon of hope. This undisputed accolade has been earned on a rather perilous route when in time past, the country almost sank into the abyss following years of military upheavals and civil discontent that plunged the nation into political crisis under the guise of soldiers who saw themselves as sages of the time.

Military intervention in Ghana’s politics culminating in 5 coup d’état has been an aberration of the rule of law. This is especially true when the records of the military governments have nothing more to show except for the gross abuse of human rights and wanton dissipation of resources. Events happening since Ghana re-embraced multiparty democracy with the birth of the 4th Republican Constitution in 1992 with its sustained political stability show that democracy has come to stay. It is not surprising that the country has successfully held five general elections under the 4th Republic with political power switching hands peacefully from the current ruling National Democratic Party (NDC) to the current largest opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and vice versa. The most contentious 2012 elections also passed this test of peaceful political transition but not without acrimony and legal escapades. Suffice to recap the highlights.

Theatrical 2012 Elections

The 2012 elections will remain the most epic and dramatic of all elections in the electoral history of Ghana. Electoral violence almost occurred when the results were challenged at the country’s Supreme Court following claims by the opposition NPP that a plethora of electoral malfeasance were recorded at the polls which saw the incumbent President Mahama winning with 50.7 per cent with Nana Akufo-Addo trailing closely with 47.74 per cent of total votes cast.

This was after the elections had gone through a run-off.

The Supreme Court public hearing of the electoral petition became the scene of comedy and serious business with legal parlance raking the ears of the public. Significantly, the nation was held under siege for the eight months period of the public hearings. What remains memorable is the famous ‘pink sheets’ that has since become a household name with constant referrals being made as of today.

The NPP produced more than 11,000 "pink sheets" as evidence that laced their claims of alleged electoral malfeasance.

The hearings saw every cranny of the country becoming the pitch on which politics and legal dictum was rehashed and played with frantic efforts by not only men and women of the learned fraternity, but by market women, peasant farmers, cobblers, tradesmen, the clergy, students and ‘trotro’ drivers’ all sharing differing opinions on court proceedings. The supreme court became the butcher’s lancet ready to lay bare the verdict that could have re-written the history of political crisis had no cool heads emerged from the camp of the NPP as the verdict went in favour of the incumbent John Dramani Mahama. Indeed, the 9-member panel headed by the presiding judge Jus-

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Akufo-Addo

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tice William Atuguba ruled that President Mahama was validly elected thus rejecting the claims of the opposition NPP. Minutes after the verdict, the presidential candidate of the opposition party, Nana Akufo-Addo, in his concession speech told party faithful that although he disagreed with the 5-4 majority ruling, he accepted the decision. The outspoken septuagenarian indicated that for the sake of goodwill and peace, he would not seek a review of the ruling. His concession speech has been viewed as that which abated the raging fires that would have plunged the nation into political violence. Nana Addo has since been labeled by the international community as having exhibited the highest form of statesmanship.

Preceding the elections was the unpleasant tragic passing of President John Evans Attah Mills of the NDC whose demise occurred in July 2012, five months to the December general elections. Following his passing, the then Vice President John Dramani Mahama ascended the seat as per the 1992 Constitution. The pain of losing a likeable President left the entire nation with grief. It was symbolic show of unity when the nation came together to give him

a befitting burial. Some political pundits have argued that the NDC won the 2012 elections on the back of sympathy votes as the party manifestly sailed on the name of the demised President Mills of blessed memory; a claim that is highly contestable but with considerable merit.

The Stakes The event of 2012 election is one that the entire nation as well as political watchers and Ghana’s development partners dread a recurrence. However, issues of economic crisis especially the crippling effects of erratic power supply called ‘dumsor’; a coinage from the local akan dialect to mean the off and on occurrence of electricity, and the growing perception of corruption; unemployment and increasing cost of living, high public debt among others have spiced up agitations for change of govern-

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ment by the opposition parties.

Though there are about 19 political parties in the country, the battle is between the NDC and NPP with the former claiming for a second term for President Mahama and the latter demanding change of government. The media space is awash with heated political discourses that make the 2016 elections like a clash of the titans. This is particularly so as the 72-year old main opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo enters this election as his third-term bid having contested in the 2008 and2012 elections.

Nana, as he is aectionately called is stoically running round the entire country calling for change. On the other side, the NDC is trumpeting a call for its retention on the back so-called unprecedented infrastructural projects. Beyond the dynamics of the market forces and the case of laxity in the

current government, the opposition leader may be retired from his presidential ambition should he lose this election. That is a bargain Nana would not want to anticipate.

Accra metropolis

Is the EC Biased?

Compounding the stakes in the 2016 elections is the Electoral Commission (EC) and the avalanche of attacks it has received from the political parties and the general public. The new EC Chair, Mrs Charlotte Osei succeeded Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan who retired at the age of 70 after supervising all elections under the 4th Republic albeit accusations of biases from all sides of the political divide. The EC chair, having been appointed by the incumbent president has since been literally convicted of bias by the court of public opinion and mainly the main opposition party. The learned lawyer

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came under public criticisms when she led the commission to change the logo of the electoral commission to a new one that many claimed was a plagiarised work from a Turkish restaurant. The critique of the new logo came on two fronts; one, that it was ill-timed because the main task of the EC should be to prepare towards holding credible and peaceful elections; second, that the logo does not carry the semblance of the country when the previous logo was anchored on Ghana’s Coat of Arms with the national colours loudly represented.

Perhaps affirming the Commission’s independence, the EC went ahead to launch the new logo in April, just 8 months to the elections. With the political front widely divided, the ruling NDC is almost always rising in defence of the EC’s unpopular decisions whilst the opposition NPP has remained an avid critic of the Commission with its agents and affiliates leading public protestations for new voter register as the party doubts the credibility of the current voter list. The labelling of the EC as being biased is not new and may linger on in generations yet to come.

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Sanctity of Elections and Legal Gimmickry

The EC has recently been bashed by the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood who has hinted that the judges will not stand aloof for the EC to plunge the nation into chaos. The stern warning came when the EC played legal gimmickry to the orders of the Court to delete names of persons who registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card. In 2014, the court had held in the Abu Ramadan & Evans Nimako vrs The Electoral Commission case that the NHIS cards which some voters used to register in the previous elections lacked the ingredients of citizenry identification and thereby making the existence of such persons on the voter register unconstitutional. Fast track 2016, the plaintiffs further went back to the Supreme Court to demand that explicit actions be taken to ensure the credibility of the voter register by seeking the verification of all voters or the compilation of a new and credible voter register. The Court in 2014 had averred that all regis-

trants with NHIS cards be deleted since the principal document presented for registration remained unconstitutional.

The EC did nothing about the ruling until the plaintiffs went back to court in May 2016 insisting the deletion of such names. In a unanimous decision, the Court affirmed its earlier rulings by ordering among others that the persons who registered with NHIS cards be expunged from the register. The EC once again failed to comply with the court orders insisting that it had not ruled for the deletion of such names; arguing that the court’s ruling could not take retrospective effect. Not even when Justice Jones Dotse, one of the judges who had ruled on the matter had publicly sought to clarify that the orders of the court meant deletion of the NHIS card carriers could cause the EC to carry through the orders. This laid the plaintiffs under necessity to seek clarification from the court on its May 2016 rulings and orders. The matter was settled when the Supreme Court issued a six-day ultimatum to the EC to provide the court with the list of all persons who registered with the NHIS

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COVER cards and make same available by June, 29. In compliance, the EC submitted in excess of 56,000 names which have since been deleted with opportunities provided for their re-registration in the on-going voter exhibition exercise using approved means of citizen identification as the laws provide.

Amending the December 7 Date On July 21, 2016, Ghana’s Parliament voted on 125 majority votes to reject the bill which sought to change the December 7 voting date to November 7 as sponsored by the EC. This is one yet another slur on the EC. Critics to this have held that though the proposed amendment received consensus from the political parties, the opposition NPP party which ruffled its feathers against the bill in the last minutes preceding the voting held that the EC was saddled with too many challenges hence drawing the date forward could affect the elections; they also argue that the proposed amendment should be considered for the 2020elections. The proposed amendment had long been recommended and accepted by the Constitutional Review Committee, whose report was submitted in December, 2011 and why the EC waited all this while only to sponsor the amendment five months to elections is incomprehensible.

Tracking the Polls

Ghana does not have the kind of vibrant polls like advanced democracies where polls often come out with accurate predictions. The country draws on major international polls to gauge voter direction and determine which party or candidate is most likely to win elections. So far, the few polls conducted on the 2016 elections have pointed to the opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo as likely to emerge victorious. The Goodman Poll which draws on public opinion survey to track Ghana’s Presidential race on a monthly basis had in its March 2016 polls placed Nana Akufo-Addo ahead of President Mahama scoring the former with 79 per cent as against the latter with 15 per cent.

Similarly, polls conducted by the London-based Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its latest report on Ghana’s 2016 elections has predicted victory for the opposition leader citing the economy and

crippling energy crisis as the principal narratives that will feed into NPP’s victory especially when there is barely time for the NDC to turn the economy around into any favourable outlook with a few months to elections.

If Ghanaians are to shift away from voting on the basis of personality, and simplistic likability of which president is more youthful, affable and the likes, then the fortune teller indicators would indeed be the economy, energy, employment, electricity and corruption among others. But can the electorate wane themselves off the deceptive pleasantries of vote-buying and cheap political talks and go to the polls with issues-based convictions as happened in Nigeria where the then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan lost to the septu-

agenarian yet vibrant Buhari to the shock of many pollsters?

The Real Issues

The game changer seems to be that political party that will bring on board new ways of thinking around the problems confronting the country. Clearly, the dynamics of electoral fortunes keep changing and events of 2012 are not the same as current crisis. The discerning Ghanaian electorate have had enough of the failed promises from all fronts of the political divide. Projections are that Ghanaians will focus on political parties that will have real plans and strategies of bringing on board constant supply of electricity, gas and other petroleum products. Teaming unemployed graduates will be sampling through

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COVER political proposals engineered towards job creation. Market women will be seeking a respite from the surging inflation and high cost of capital mobilisation from financial institutions. The many thousands whose investments with micro-finance companies have gone waste following massive scams in the sector will be assessing which political party will offer drastic measures at addressing the unregulated micro-financial markets where fraudsters have had their day. Issues of bread and butter will continue to play on the minds of the electorate.

It is obvious that clandestine acts of vote-buying through the baited sharing of cloths, machetes, rice, soap and roofing sheets among others may go on as usual in the last quarter of the year. However, it is also certain that this crude political tactic may not be the winning machine after all.

Away from political ideologies, the voter is wide awake to make informed choices as opposed to ideologies and vote-buying tactics.

Doused Excitement

The usual excitements that greet electioneering campaigns seem doused in 2016 when Ghana goes to the polls. Perhaps, the economic challenge is having a toll on political activities. The usual giant bill-boards that characterised the 2008 and 2012 elections are yet to be seen in the cities, towns and on the highways. The atmosphere is solemn with a few social media postings of videos of crowds that greet presidential aspirants as they tour the country. The show of affluence is no more. This is uncharacteristic of politics in a polarised Ghana where politics has become the dividing line of symmetry. To date, none of the two main political parties has published their party manifestos for public scrutiny. The opposition NPP seeking to wrestle power is being economical with details of its programmes citing possible plagiarism by the ruling government.

On the other hand, the ruling NDC, whose management of the economy has been described as shambolic seems unwilling to showcase what it intends to do to change the game for real economic growth. The electorate are in anticipation for the new drivers of change and for now, they seem to be making their own decision based on

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their experiences.

Occupying the Flagstaff House Who wins the 2016 elections to occupy the Flagstaff House is yet to be seen. Will President Mahama get his second and final term bid to serve in government or will it be the fulfilment of Nana Addo’s dream of seeking to lead Ghana? Will it be Ivor Kobina Greenstreet who leads the Conventions People’s Party? Will it be the business mogul Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom and his Progressive People’s Party entering the Flagstaff House? Whichever way the results will go, the 2016 elections will be an important litmus test to give Ghanaians another verdict that will not be won by either of the political parties, but rather the entire nation will be the victors when peace, unity and stability of the country remain intact after the December 7 elections. Victory for democracy awaits Ghana.

It is obvious that clandestine acts of vote-buying through the baited sharing of cloths, machetes, rice, soap and roofing sheets among others may go on as usual in the last quarter of the year.

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE

GHANA

Ghana and The IMF IMF Staff Concludes Review Mission to Ghana

A

team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Joël Toujas-Bernaté, visited Accra from April 27-May 11, 2016, to conduct discussions on the third review of Ghana’s financial and economic program supported by the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF).1 The discussions focused on the implementation of the program, the medium-term outlook, and policies and structural reforms needed to restore debt sustainability, and a return to high growth and job creation, while protecting the poor.

End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessar-

ily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF's Executive Board for discussion and decision.

Mr. Toujas-Bernaté mde some statements at the end of the mission in Release No.16/212 on May 11, 2016 “Implementation of the program so far remains broadly satisfactory. Most of end-December 2015 performance criteria were met, with the exceptions of small deviations in the wage bill and net domestic assets of Bank of Ghana (BOG). Despite the more difficult global environment, with lower commodity prices and domestic power shortages, economic growth in 2015 was close to 4 percent, slightly higher than expected. Inflation, which remains still high at 19.2 percent in March 2016, is

being affected by the increase in utility tariffs, energy sector levies and transportation costs, but core inflation has started to decline in recent months.

“The required fiscal adjustment is on track, with the overall cash deficit improving from 10.6 percent of GDP in 2014 to 6.7 percent of GDP in 2015, and the primary balance close to zero, from a deficit of 4.4 percent of GDP in 2014. On a commitment basis, the adjustment is stronger still reflecting larger-than-programmed repayments of arrears. The authorities have also made progress in implementing fiscal structural reforms, although at a slower pace than expected in some areas. The mission welcomes the recent adoption of several new tax laws and progress in strengthening payroll controls and addressing payroll irregularities, along with advancing public financial management reform, July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE

GHANA

including in developing the Treasury Single Account. However, preparation of a new public finance management (PFM) law and an amended BOG Act has been delayed.

“Looking ahead, given the high level of public debt, fiscal consolidation needs to continue, notwithstanding the headwinds from low commodity prices. Recognizing these challenges, the authorities prepared, and discussed with the mission, a package of measures which would reduce the risk of expenditure overruns, in particular on the wage bill, and keep the 2016 budget outturn consistent with the program objectives, with an overall cash deficit now projected at 4.8 percent of GDP. Within the framework of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, the authorities will reduce expenditures to offset the shortfall in oil revenues. The relatively large government cash resources available at end-2015 and possible additional donor support in 2016 should allow the government to adapt the budget financing strategy to prevailing market conditions.

“The increase in BOG’s policy rate in 2015 has been instrumental in reducing exchange rate volatility. Building on continued progress in improving the effectiveness of its inflation targeting framework, BOG remains committed to maintaining an appropriate monetary policy stance to bring inflation down toward its medium-term objective.

“Underpinned by the recently introduced

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petroleum and electricity levies, a strategy is being developed to address the difficult financial situation of the state owned enterprises (SOEs) in the energy sector. This strategy will be critical to avoid additional fiscal pressures and possible spillovers on the banking system, as well as to sustain the improvement in electricity delivery achieved recently.

“The IMF team will continue to support the authorities as they finalize work in the coming weeks in a few areas, including on the new PFM law, the amended BOG Act and the strategy for addressing the financial situation of SOEs. Subject to this work being completed, the IMF Executive Board would be expected to consider the review during the summer after finalization of the required documentation.

“The mission met with President John Dramani Mahama; Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur; Finance Minister Seth Terkper; Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Abdul-Nashiri Issahaku; Minister of Labor Haruna Iddrisu; other senior officials; and the donor community. The IMF team thanks the authorities for their hospitality, the collaboration, and the high-quality and constructive discussions.” ________________________________________

1 The ECF is a lending arrangement that provides sustained program engagement over the medium to long term in case of protracted balance of payments problems. The arrangement for Ghana in an amount equivalent to SDR 664.20 million (180 percent of quota or about US$918 million) was approved on April 3, 2015 (see Press Release No.15/159).

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE

NIGERIA

President Buhari’s First Year Accomplishments A Fact Sheet By The Office of Media and Publicity to the President

Security

Fight against insurgency: •The relocation of the Nigerian Military Command Centre to Maiduguri, since May 2015, contributed to the success in the fight against insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country.

•As at February 2016, the total number of persons rescued by the Nigerian troops during the ongoing operations in the North East came to 11,595 •Since December 2015, the well-motivated and rejuvenated Nigerian Military have regained all Nigerian territories previously under Boko Haram control.

•Prioritized regional cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency and violent extremism, through the operations of the 8,500 strong Multi-National Joint Task Force in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, currently headed by a Nigeria military general.

•Nigeria has provided $21million USD to the Task Force since June 2015 and is committed to an additional $79 million USD, bringing the total of Nigeria’s commitment to the Task Force to 100 million USD. •Cohesive international support in the

fight against terrorism and assistance to victims and communities affected by terrorism, following President Buhari’s meeting with G7 leaders and other world powers.

•In May 2016, Nigeria hosted a Regional Security Summit to boost military operations against Boko Haram and forge a global support for the rehabilitation of the IDPs and rebuilding of the North East.

•In June 2015, the United States announced a 5-million-dollar support for the fight against the terrorists in the sub-region.

• In April 2016, during the visit to Ms Samantha Power, the U.S Ambassador to the UN to Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, the U.S Government further announced an additional $40 million USD for humanitarian assistance in the sub-region •Recruitment of additional 10,000 persons into the Nigeria Police Force is ongoing. The recruitment will address the manpower gap which currently exists in the Nigeria Police •Overhaul of the dysfunctional topmost hierarchy of the Nigerian military which resulted in optimal result and degradation of the Boko Haram elements.

•Was able to bring back our hitherto military allies; which saw the United States and UK governments commit their resources to the fight against the insurgents after previously backing out of negotiations with the previous administration. The Israeli government has also indicated interest in the fight against insurgency.

•Introduction of the motor cycle battalion (This is so that the Nigerian Army can travel to remote areas that were not accessible to cars/trucks) •Realigned our partnership with regional allies by embarking on foreign visits which resulted in bilateral and multilateral agreements to tackle insecurity back home.

•No more roadblocks and curfews, which normally impeded free flow of movement.

•Continuous monitoring of activities in the region of war through the use of satellite images and geographical information system is helping in fighting insurgency and strategizing against the enemy.

•The trips to our neighbouring countries showed the resolve of the President

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE to push Boko Haram elements out of existence by going for the jugular of the group, cutting their arms, food supply routes. Support has thus been mobilized through the Multinational Joint Task Force.

•Another major stride is the Trans National Organized Crime (TNOC) where the president got partnership with regional allies in the fight against the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

•As part of the reconfigured military partnership, the United States donated 24 mine-resistant armoured vehicles (MRAP) which had protected the Nigerian troops from the menace of Improvised Explosive Devices. Today we have less causalities.

• Reached out to the G7 countries and achieved the following: intelligence sharing; technical military training; arms deals/donations •Overhauling of NIMASA. A reversed policy of the past administration where national infrastructural assets were given to militia leaders to protect as against established bodies like the Nigerian Navy was stopped.

•The President Buhari government has drafted the army to partner with other security agencies in ensuring the security of our national infrastructure and this is already yielding the desired results.

•A major ring of pipeline vandals in Lagos state were captured recently in a joint operation by security forces led by the army.

•The government has renewed its fight against oil bunkering •The Nigerian Navy has recorded tremendous success lately in apprehending vessels used by oil thieves. This operation has improved security on our water ways and it has also helped improve the revenue of government.

•Deployment of sophisticated weapons to ensure vandalism is contained by setting up a pipeline security force in stamping out the menace.

•Effective Management of the Separatist Biafran Movement •Improving the technical capacity of Nigerian Police Force. We now have a forensic lab and GSM tracking device. We now have a more IT integrated Police force.

•Restructuring of Nigerian Immigration to stop cross border crimes.

•NSCDC has become more proactive in the prevention of pipeline vandalization, with arrest of several pipeline vandals.

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NIGERIA

•Joint operations involving various security outfits in curbing the menace of the herdsmen in the country has been set up.

•The use of surveys and updated mappings across the country as strategies for preventing threats among ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Corruption •Right from the moment he won the Presidential Election in 2015, the impression of the President as a ‘‘no nonsense and incorruptible leader’’ sent a signal to looters of public funds, with many of them returning funds that had been stolen under the previous administration.

•To create a frame work for prosecuting the war against corruption and institutionalize probity, President Buhari set up an Advisory Committee on War Against Corruption.

• The anti-corruption battle is gaining ground with several high profile cases already in the courts. The administration is being guided by the rule of law in the prosecution of corruption cases.

• President Buhari enlisted the support of multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF, security agencies, Western countries and other friendly nations to locate and repatriate stolen assets.

• At a London summit on anti-corrup-

tion, President Buhari announced that Nigeria will begin the full implementation of the principles of the OPEN contracting data standards.

•In the first quarter of 2016, President Buhari embarked on trips to the Middle East to sensitize the governments on the need to repatriate stolen assets and hand over the looters for trial in Nigeria.

In January, Nigeria and UAE signed Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters.

•In March 2016, the Federal Government and the Swiss Government signed a Letter of Intent On the Restitution of Illegally-Acquired Assets forfeited in Switzerland. Under the agreement, Switzerland will repatriate $ 321 million USD illicitly acquired by the Gen. Sani Abacha family.

•In March 2016, the Presidential Committee set up to probe contracts awarded by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) from 2011 to 2015 announced the recovery of over N7 billion from indicted companies and individuals.

Economy • Implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has provided greater visibility of government revenues and cash flows. Between June 2015 and April 2016,

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE the Federal Government TSA collection clocked N3trillion.

•To further instill fiscal discipline, President Buhari directed the closure of all multiple accounts in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, thereby plugging loopholes for leakages with new technology.

• The opaque accounting structure of the NNPC has been reconstructed to be more transparent with the closure of more than 40 accounts. As a corporate entity, NNPC is now accountable and more transparent in operations, publishing its monthly financial reports.

• For a nimble, measurable and effective entity, the NNPC is undergoing restructuring. The restructuring of the NNPC leaves more room for competition, predictable revenue generation and compliance with global best practice of operations.

•Initially grounded before the inauguration, Port Harcourt and Warri refineries are back in operation with 60 per cent capacity and producing 7 million litres of PMS daily. The Kaduna refinery also resumed production at the end of the April, 2016.

• The President also resolved the lingering shadowy oil swap deals that had cost the country billions of dollars and left it at the mercy of a few rich Nigerians.

•To alleviate the suffering of Nigerians in September 2015, President Buhari directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to disburse N689.5 billion as bailout to 27 states of the federation to pay salaries.

•To stimulate the economy and reduce poverty, in April, 2016, President Buhari approved deferment in the payment of the bailout as states were still reeling under the burden of the fall in commodity prices.

•Records of more than 34,000 ghost workers draining the nation’s resources were expunged from the Federal Civil Service, saving N2.29 billion monthly.

•In 2015, President Buhari ruled out the appointment of a government delegation for pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. By this decision, the government saved about one million U.S dollars and N30m of local expenses •Enforcement of the Bank Verification Number: Also the BVN has ensured that the menace of "ghost workers" are being identified and dealt with, while looters with multiple accounts can no longer hide their loot undetected.

•Social Protection: Groundwork for social intervention/palliatives for the poor is being put in place as data is being collated

NIGERIA by the economic planning office of the VP in conjunction with the World Bank.

Oil And Gas •Reorganization/restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into a focused, accountable and transparent institution with autonomous Units (Upstream; Downstream, Gas & Power; Refineries; Ventures and lean Group Headquarters) •Reduction of operational deficits in NNPC by over 50% as at March 2016 as a result of Increased Transparency and Commercial focus •Conduct of NNPC outstanding Annual Audits from 2011 to 2014, and the publication of Monthly Financial and Operations Reports to ensure transparency •Introduction of third party financing in order to eliminate direct funding of cash calls by the Federal Government •Renegotiation of existing service contracts under Joint Venture and Production sharing contracts (PSC) Operations by about 30% leading to operational efficiency improvements and cost reductions •Elimination of the Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA) through the introduction of the Direct Sales and Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme with reputable offshore refineries thereby yielding annual savings of US$1 billion •Resuscitation of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries presently producing about 7 million litres of products per/ day •Repair of products pipe lines and the resuscitation of supply of products from Atlas Cove-Mosimi- Ibadan- Ilorin after a six year lull •Repairs of Escravos/ Warri and Bonny/ Port Harcourt crude oil pipe lines •Introduction of a Price Modulation framework for downstream petroleum product pricing to encourage responsiveness to market dynamics •Guided deregulation of the downstream sector to allow market forces determine product price and eliminate subsidy payments •Introduction of the initiative on refinery co-location to increase domestic refining capacity and minimize the drain on scarce foreign exchange for product importation •Commenced policy reforms for gas monetization, flare out and infrastructure development, to fast track power supply and economic diversification.

•Under President Buhari, the Federal Government agreed to a 50 million Euro (about N11.15 billion) loan agreement with French government for capacity-building and upgrade of power training facilities in Nigeria.

•Nigeria signed a $237 million agreement with World Bank to improve power.

•Chinese solar power manufacturers agreed with the Federal Government to set up solar panel manufacturing business in Nigeria.

•President Buhari has signed an agreement with the Chinese government to improve Nigeria’s power infrastructure Environment •Presidential approval for the Implementation of United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report 2010 for the clean-up of Ogoniland with regards to oil pollution and inclusion of stakeholders in the process of implementation.

•Continuation of the implementation of the Great Green Wall project to fight and contain desertification in Northern Nigeria initiated by past administration.

Judiciary •Since assumption of office, President Buhari has maintained a clear stance on the rule of law and respect for separation of powers.

•The President has focused on the strengthening of institutions with key appointment of professionals.

•Appointment of 30 new Federal High Court Justices National Image •On assumption of office, the President undertook some foreign trips both within and outside Africa to re-establish Nigeria’s position in the global arena and solicit support for Nigeria and Africa.

• President Buhari has continually pushed the agenda for enhancing Nigeria’s global image by always demonstrating Nigeria’s credentials in the 2015 general elections, which saw the country scoring high on peaceful transition.

•President Buhari strongly supported the emergence of a Nigerian, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, as President of the Africa Development Bank.

From the Office of the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)

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His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR

Periscope of His First Year

I

Morgan Winsor t’s been one year since Africa’s most populous nation saw its first ever democratic transfer of power from a ruling party to the opposition, when Nigeria’s then-President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat in a histori-cal election and Muhammadu Buhari was peacefully sworn in as the new head of state on May 29, 2015.

The pivotal moment set an important precedent for other African leaders and struggling democracies across the continent.

Elected on an anti-corruption ticket and his promises to defeat Boko Haram, Buhari became the first presidential candidate to unseat an incum-bent in Nigeria’s history. And while locals and political analysts said Buhari has kept

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some of those campaign promises a year later, they said he also missed several opportunities for progress.

Fighting Boko Haram Since launching its insurgency in northeast Nigeria in 2009, Islamic mili-tant group Boko Haram has killed at least 20,000 people and has forced more than 2.6 million others from their homes. Jonathan was widely crit-icised for acting too slowly in response to the Boko Haram insurgency, which seeks to oust Nigeria’s government and create an Islamic state. When Buhari came into office, the former military ruler vowed to make crushing the militants a top priority.

Since his inauguration in May 2015, Buhari has replaced the entire mili-tary's top brass and moved its command cen-

ter to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and the birthplace of Boko Haram, in an effort to revive the fight against the extremist group. He also proposed Nigeria’s biggest budget ever as he looks to acquire new combat aircraft, equipment, vehi-cles and ships in the current fiscal year.

Buhari has met with leaders in neighboring Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin to strengthen regional cooperation.

A multinational force launched operations against Boko Haram along the border between Nigeria and Ni-ger last month. Buhari has also visited more distant allies, including the United States and France, to secure military assistance. He claims the Ni-gerian military has rescued 11,595 people held captive

by Boko Haram from when he was inaugurated to February this year.

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NIGERIA geria, Niger, Chad and Came-roon, where it continues to devastate local communities with its hit-and-run tactics on soft targets like churches, mosques and crowded market places.

“The militants are far from finished notwithstanding President Buhari’s boast about their ‘technical defeat,’” Pham said.

In May, Buhari canceled a trip to the Niger Delta last minute, which would have been his first visit to the restive region since taking office.

“President Buhari certainly delivered on his campaign promise to make defeating the insurgency his top priority,” said J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, an international think tank based in Washington, D.C. In a December interview with BBC News, Buhari claimed Nigeria had “technically won the war” against Boko Haram because it could no longer mount “conventional attacks” against security forces or dense cities. He has since reiterated those statements, saying the militants have been re-duced to fighting in their last stronghold, Sambisa forest, in Boko Ha-ram’s heartland of Borno state.

No doubt that security has improved significantly over the past year as the military has succeeded in taking back almost all the territories,” said Paul Gadzama, a native of Borno state who co-founded the Education Must Continue Initiative, a Nigerian non-governmental organization that runs schools for displaced children in the war-torn northeast. “Even though the terrorists still launch attacks on communities near the dense Sambisa forest, they have not succeeded in holding such territories for any length of time.”

Although locals say the security situation has improved significantly, es-pecially in the northeast, political analysts maintain the war is far from over. Boko Haram may no longer physically control large swathes of ter-ritory, but its insurgency is thriving in the vast Sambisa forest and the mountainous border regions between Ni-

The War on Corruption Buhari has sold himself as a ough-taking general who will show no mer-cy when it comes to graft. He has pledged to straighten out Nigeria’s crooked oil industry and recover a “mind-boggling” sum of money loot-ed over the years.

Within months of assuming office, Buhari announced a new managing director to run Nigeria’s state oil company, sacked its eight executive directors and dissolved the entire corporate board. He has also named himself petroleum minister, a position he briefly held in 1976 un-der military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo.

Buhari said at an international anti-corruption summit in London in May: “Corruption is a hydra-headed monster and a cankerworm that under-mines the fabric of all societies. It does not differentiate between devel-oped and developing countries. Tackling the menace of corruption is not an easy task, but it is possible even if many feathers have to be ruffled.”

Under Buhari’s watch, current and former government officials are facing trial in high-profile corruption cases, including Senate President Bukola Saraki and ex-national security adviser Sambo Dasuki.

Several people close to Jonathan’s administration have been implicated in wide-ranging graft investigations. The former president has kept quiet on the scandals. But in a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, Jonathan said: "Of course, obviously, I would be investigated. In fact, I am being investigated.”

He refused to elaborate further, saying “it would not be proper” for him to comment.

“Although the courts have yet to render verdicts and there have been some concerns about the politicization of the process, the fact that fairly senior officials are being held to account is a refreshing break from the culture of impunity that has long plagued Nigeria,” Pham said.

Forming a Cabinet While Buhari has made significant progress in fighting Boko Haram and eliminating graft, he was largely criticized for takJuly 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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NIGERIA

ing too long to form his presidential cabinet.

It took almost six months for Buhari to name a cab-inet, earning him the nickname “Baba Go Slow” among some Nigerians. In an oped in the Washington Post in July 2015, the Nigerian leader de-fended the pace of his decision making, saying that even U.S. President Barack Obama took his time to appoint cabinet members. However, U.S. presidents must adhere to a lengthy congressional confirmation process.

Buhari wrote: “It is worth noting that Obama himself did not have his full Cabinet in place for several months after first taking office; the United States did not cease to function in the interim. In Nigeria’s case, it would neither be prudent nor serve the interests of sound government to have made these appointments immediately on my elevation to the presidency; instead, Nigeria must first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place.”

Buhari may have been extra cautious in an effort to avoid appointing cor-rupt officials.

But political analysts said his methodical manner in naming a cabinet may have cost him diplomatic opportunities.

“While the historic democratic transition from one elected government to another meant that there would be some lag time, the sclerotic pace of de-cision-making by President Buhari and his closest advisors is really quite astonishing,” Pham said. “Not having a ministerial team in place meant that the visit to Washington last July was more a

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photo-op than a sub-stantive dialogue, thus missing a chance when the United States was eager to help the new administration succeed, especially in the fight against Boko Haram.”

Although Buhari has appointed 36 cabinet members, there still is no am-bassador to the United States — a key diplomatic posting for Nigeria — some ten months after the last envoy died. Adebowale Adefuye died at a hospital in Washington, D.C. after suffering a heart attack in August last year. Political analysts said Buhari’s failure to replace Adefuye months later underscores Abuja’s shortcomings and the impact that has on Nige-rian interests.

Pham further said: “We saw it during the Nuclear Security Summit at the end of March: President Buhari attended the meeting in Washington, but had no significant side events because there was no ambassador to pre-pare them. Even the presidents of much smaller African countries had made better use of their time in the American capital.”

The Niger Delta’s Revived Militancy While Buhari maintains focus on fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in the north, a new radical group has emerged from the southern swamp-lands and is threatening to wage war on one of the world’s largest oil supplies.

The group calls itself the Niger Delta Avengers and it emerged in Febru-ary 2016.

Since then, it has claimed responsibility for a spate of recent at-tacks and bombings on

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE oil pipelines and terminals in the Niger Delta, a top oil-producing region. The militants have targeted major platforms be-longing to Shell and Chevron in recent weeks, and their attacks have plunged Nigeria’s oil output to a near 22-year low.

The Niger Delta Avengers has so far demonstrated a level of sophistica-tion and technical expertise in its attacks, spurring speculation that the new group consists of former members of the long-running and powerful rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

MEND unleashed ruin on the six states in the Niger Delta from 2006 to 2009, costing Nigeria about one-third of its oil production, until then-President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua offered a multimillion-dollar amnesty program that had thousands of rebels agree to lay down their weapons in exchange for an unconditional pardon and stipend.

Like MEND, the Niger Delta Avengers demand greater ownership of lu-crative oil resources for residents in crude-producing areas. The new group also seeks environmental restoration, compensation for damage caused by oil producers and sustained government funding for the am-nesty program.

The group has vowed to shut down the nation’s produc-tion of oil and gas if its demands are not met.

Buhari extended the amnesty program for two years in February, shortly before the Niger Delta Avengers announced itself. But the 73-year-old leader angered former oil rebels by ending generous pipeline security contracts and reducing the monthly stipends.

Now he is faced with the dangerous possibility of a revived insurgency in the south while battling Boko Haram in the north.

In May, Buhari canceled a trip to the Niger Delta last minute, which would have been his first visit to the restive region since taking office. He flew to London days later to receive treatment for an ear infection. The Niger Delta Avengers has since urged the president to visit the area.

"Mr. President come and see for yourself what the host communities are going through in the hands of Nigeria government and the multination-als," the group said in a message on its website last month, adding that Buhari should visit various export terminals.

Earlier, petroleum ministry officials had told Reuters that the militants had agreed to a onemonth ceasefire, but the Niger Delta Avengers later denied that and attacks in the region persist.

“The recent uptick in violence there, which has deeply cut into Nigeria’s petroleum production, is another example of what happens

NIGERIA when a gov-ernment fails to deal with matters in a sustained and timely manner,” Pham said.

Let It Float Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy has been hit hard by the global fall in crude prices, as well as a decrease in national production from 2.2 million barrels per day at the start of 2016 to around 1.6 million barrel, largely due to pipeline destruction and vandalism by militant groups like the Ni-ger Delta Avengers.

It also hasn’t helped that Buhari didn’t sign the 2016 national budget into law until May, five months after he first presented it to the national as-sembly. The budget aims to stimulate the economy and the delay in pass-ing it has been detrimental for the economy, locals said.

“Generally, life has been hard as a result of double-digit inflation rate that is being experienced,” Gadzama said. “Economic activities have gone very low as it took a relatively long time for the president to put his team together, coupled with a very late passage of the national budget.”

Up until recently, Buhari had remained steadfast in his refusal to devalue the naira currency in the face of plunging oil prices.

Instead, the Central Bank of Nigeria has imposed restrictions on imports and curbed foreign currency flow in an attempt to conserve dwindling U.S. dollar reserves. Buhari had justified this policy as protecting consumers.

But political an-alysts and locals said it actually threatened to fuel inflation as it boosted import costs and drove the Nigerian currency to a record low on the black market while the U.S. dollar traded for more than N300.

After 16 months of keeping the naira pegged at 197 per U.S. dollar, the central bank removed the fixed exchange rate on June 20 and allowed the currency to float freely. Since then, the naira’s value has plummeted and Buhari has questioned the benefit of a free floating currency. But Central bank governor Godwin Emefiele wrote in a leaked letter on June 3 that he was “reasonably optimistic” the rate would eventually trade at around N250 per dollar following an initial period of weakness.

Still, political analysts said Buhari waited too long to let the naira float, and ordinary Nigerians took the blow.

“Markets wait for no one,” Pham said. “The result of the more than year-long delay — whether intentional or not — was that a big chunk of Nige-ria’s already diminished reserves were wasted defending a peg that could not hold, even as thousands of otherwise productive businesses and their employees suffered for want of the exchange to pay bills and buy inputs for manufacturing.”

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GHANA

Coalition of Domestic Election Observers

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NIGERIA

Market Economy Beckons Nigeria adopts a new foreign exchange regime in its march full-fledged market economy

S Jide Ade

hortly after the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rose from its two-day meeting held in Abuja, the apex bank announced the adoption of a flexible foreign exchange market, in an effort to further curtail outflow of the external reserves.

The MPC also introduced greater flexibility in the inter-bank foreign exchange market structure and retained a small special window for critical transactions.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said: “In a period of stagflation, the policy options are very limited, to avoid complicating the conditions, the Committee decided on the least risky option to hold. The foreign exchange market framework, now ready, the MPC voted unanimously to adopt greater flexibility in exchange rate policy to restore the automatic adjustment properties of the exchange rate.”

Prior to the new development, the apex

lender had pegged naira at N197 per US dollar, which became increasingly unsustainable due to a shortage of hard currency stemming from the slump in oil revenues.

At the black market, the naira was trading at 40 per cent below the official rate as manufacturers and importers paid massive premiums to avoid hefty official currency curbs which was blamed for tipping the economy towards recession.

Following the release of the revised CBN Guidelines for the operation of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange (FX) market, the two-way quote (2-WQ) inter-bank FX Market went live on the platform of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, FMDQ, on June 20, 2016, with the CBN’s Authorised Dealers (ADs) setting the pace for this market-driven trading window through the FMDQ Thomson Reuters Foreign Exchange Trading System.

The Guidelines, which set out a single and autonomous inter-bank foreign exchange market structure for the nation, support the CBN’s desire to enhance efficiency and facilitate a liquid and transparent Nigerian

Emefiele

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MARKET ECONOMY market.

The CBN will, in the emerging scenario, perform the role of a market intervention participant, in line with global standards, while market forces are left to determine demand and supply dynamics of the market. CBN foreign exchange Primary Dealers have also been introduced to help facilitate the CBN’s market interventionist role.

Through the FMDQ Thomson Reuters FX Trading System, a dealing solution for the foreign exchange trading value chain (ADs, Authorised Buyers, International Oil Companies, Oil Servicing Companies, Exporters, End-Users), towards providing an enhanced user experience, improved market access and ultimately, credibility in the nation’s market, will be provided.

Jumoke Olaniyi, Assistant Vice President of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange says: “The new Forex regime was meant to allow the market determine what the exchange rate would be. “It is also meant to allow the market to be professionally run, with high standards and punishment for infractions.”

She adds that with the new CBN list of primary dealers in place, the next few months are likely to bring a balance to the forex market and give stability to the commencement of a single market.

In the new arrangement, the CBN ADs (as well as the Primary Dealers (FXPDs)) shall buy and sell foreign exchange among themselves on a two-way quote basis using the System, trade with the CBN, and will also offer one-way quotes (bid or offer) on requests-to-quote to other Authorised participants (Corporates, End-Users).

According to Tumi Sekoni, Vice President & Divisional Head, Marketing & Business Development, “The inter-bank 2-WQ foreign exchange market will, through the concerted efforts of the over-the-counter (OTC) Exchange and all market participants, serve to engender an even greater investor confidence in the Nigerian market.

With its potential to drive transparency and liquidity, FMDQ, through the System, is adequately equipped to provide a complete and consolidated marketplace for foreign exchange trading and reporting, offering market participants and regulators a robust and flexible set of tools to support the full trade workflow.

The reforming of the 2-WQ inter-bank

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FX market brings about a lot of promise for the resuscitation of the Nigerian FX market and by extension the development of the nation’s economy.”

She further remarked that the goal of FMDQ as the front-line market organiser for the OTC fixed income, FX and derivatives markets was to make the Nigerian financial market globally competitive, operationally excellent, liquid and diverse.

Analysts at Lagos-based Afrinvest Securities maintain that the recent move by the CBN does not only have monetary policy implications, but the larger picture that Nigeria is now embracing market-oriented policies in resource pricing and allocation.

They stated: “Coming to terms with this reality has taken a long learning curve with credibility of key public institutions undermined while also constituting a huge cost to public finances, external reserves and economic growth. Yet, we think credibility could be won back if reforms continue at current pace. Indeed, we are quite positive about this as four of the five signs we listed as signals for a rebound in the market and the economy have now been met, albeit with fiscal challenges still prevalent at the sub-national level.”

It appears, however, that this is also being addressed with the “Fiscal Sustainability Plan” being driven by the Federal Ministry of Finance. The plan constitutes

22 stringent conditions aimed at restoring the fiscal health of States as a pre-condition for bailout fund. Indeed, the sub-nationals might now require much less bailout funds in the new market environment since their dollar based income from the Federal Government will now be adjusted to the new market determined foreign exchange rates.

“We envisage that the traction in reforms implementation will smoothen the adjustment of the economy to a lower-oil price environment and thus maintain our long term investment thesis for Nigeria,” they further.

According to Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Muda Yusuf: Nigeria has always operated as a market-driven economy.

“Look at the airlines, and other sectors of the economy, even the media where you belong, how many of them belong to government? It is about 90 percent private sector driven.”

He stated that the new forex regime has eliminated the incidence of forex speculations that had bedeviled the private sector of the economy. “There is no more hoarding, there is no more speculations, investors now get forex when they need it, unlike in the past when forex uncertainties pervaded the entire sector,” he added.

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RWANDA

African Passport Means Business Athan Tashobya

F

rom the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union, held in Rwanda’s Capital, Kigali, 35 Heads of State, a dozen of vice-presidents, 52 foreign affairs ministers, AU commissioners, some government officials and diplomats traveled back to their respective countries with diplomatic African Passports, signifying interest to adopt and popularise the Pan-African travel document.

The long-awaited Pan-African passport was launched, on Sunday July 17, at the opening ceremony of the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union.

While addressing Journalists, during the post-Summit press briefing on July 19, Rwanda’s Foreign affairs and cooperation minister Louise Mushikiwabo said that the summit focused on what she described as the “real issues” around the continent.

She underlined several resolutions adopted at the Kigali Summit, among them the desire by the Heads of State and Government for Africa to finance AU’s missions and development agenda, and electing the new judges for the African Court of Justice.

Mushikowabo said: “The highlight, as you know, was the launch of the Pan-African Passport that points to the necessity of us to be integrated. It was a desire for us to travel without hindrances and to take care of the interest of African people.

What brings us together as a unified continent is some of the unified matters of the continent.”

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, handed two emblematic African passports to the host President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and to the Chairperson of the African Union, President Idriss Deby of Chad.

The move to launch the African passport was reached during the Summit in January this year, with the AU’s decision that the passport would be launched in Kigali.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by requests and enquiries of other ministers, officials, and African citizens to share in this priv-

ilege of holding an African passport,” said Dlamini-Zuma.

Dlamini-Zuma urged Heads of State to create conditions for member states to issue the passport to their citizens, “within their national policies, as and when they are ready.”

Prior to receiving his African passport, President Idriss Deby. Said, “These are great steps we are taking. Our Union has great ambitions in order to ensure economic and political integration.”

Many see the launch of the Pan-African passport as one of the milestones for this year’s AU Summit—with expectations that it would facilitate the seamless mobility of Africans and ease trade across the continent, consequently leading to the continent’s economic transformation.

The passport seeks to create advantageous visa-regimes across the continent and later on create a pathway for a visa-free Africa, under the AU agenda of the “African We Want” Carlos Lopes, the Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa, described the launch of the Pan-African passport as “truly a major step “ and a powerful message Africa is sending to the rest of the world, in terms of integration for transformation.

Lopes, is one of the first diplomats to receive the African Passport during the AU Summit, in Kigali African Union deputy chairperson Erastus Mwencha, says the primary target of the new passport is enhancing inter-trade between the African nations and harnessing the continent’s demographic dividends.

Currently, all African countries with their national passports require visas to visit about 60 per cent of the countries on the continent.

The passport initiative was initially opposed by a few African nations who raised concerns about security when their borders are opened up.

But according to Mr. Mwencha, the passports will be issued from both the African Union Commission and from member states, which implies that mem-

ber states will cross check from their own records to determine the people most qualified for the passport.

Cost of limited mobility

The Africa Visa Openness report, published by the African Development Bank, in March, cast a miserable image on ability of Africans to travel across the continent.

The report showed that visa regimes have made it difficult for Africans to travel across the continent compared to European or American passport holders.

This state of affairs, economists said, was among the major issues holding back integration.

The survey to inform the report showed that, on average, Africans currently require visas to travel to 55 per cent of other African countries and can get visas on arrival in only 25 per cent of other countries.

Only 13 African countries offer liberal access to Africans, the report established, while middle income countries were found to be the hardest to access.

In his analysis of the state of affairs, AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina had said that complexities and challenges for African passport holders to travel across the continent were among the factors responsible for low levels of intra-Africa trade.

The level of intra-Africa trade is at about 12 per cent compared to over 40 per cent in Asia and close to 70 per cent in Europe.

‘Africa needs a larger, integrated market and mobility of people to be able to do that. One of the biggest challenges to intra-Africa trade is the ease of travel across the continent for African passport holders,” Adesina had said.

The Pan-African passport could provide a response to the state of affairs and open up the continent to Africans, call it a Visa-Free-Africa.

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LIBERIA

The Succession War Looms

H

aving run post war Liberia for almost 11 years and counting in her second term of six years, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in her penultimate year is dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s to hand over the mantle of leadership to the next president. And not surprisingly, the political landscape is heating up with up to 20 presidential hopefuls indicating their interest for the hot seat.

Who are the most trending candidates? Eight seem to trend most. We introduce them to you.

Amara M. Konneh was until recently Minister for Planning & Economic Affairs, and Minister for Finance.

He has an extensive education, has been involved in the rebuilding of the country and was President Sirleaf’s closest advisor.

Born 7 December 1972, Konneh is the Manager of the World Bank Group's Global Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Hub in Nairobi, Kenya.

He joined the Bank after nearly a decade of service with the Government of Liberia, most recently as Minister of Finance and Development

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Planning and National Coordinator of the Liberia Development Alliance from February 2012 to April 2016.

Earlier in his career, he worked for the Vanguard Group of Investment Companies as well as the International Rescue Committee in Guinea as Education Coordinator.

He was a core member of President Johnson Sirleaf's Economic Management Team and is credited with helping to stabilize the Liberian economy from the effects of a protracted civil war and the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) that almost brought the Liberian economy to its knees.

Mr. Konneh is also the architect of Liberia's long term development perspective and first national vision, known as Liberia RISING 2030 and current five-year development agenda (Agenda for Transformation - 2012 - 2017) that achieved average growth rate of 6% during his tenure.

As Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs, he also successfully coordinated the implementation of the Lift Liberia Poverty Reduction Strategy, the administration's three year post-conflict plan from 2008 to 2011 that achieved an average growth

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf rate of 7.5 percent. He is a graduate from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he received a master's degree in public administration with a concentration in political and economic development. He also holds a master's degree from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor's degree from Drexel University.

Mr. Konneh provided leadership for several continental, regional and sub-regional organizations. He most recently served as Chairman of Africa Group I Constituency of the IMF. Previously, he served as Chairman of the Mano River Union (MRU) Ministerial Council and the African Peer Review Mechanism's Ministerial Council.

He was the coordinator of all the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) activities in Liberia.

He is the recipient of Harvard University's Kennedy School 2016 Alumni Public Service Award and was named Africa's Finance Minister of the Year 2014 by The Banker magazine, a subsidiary of the Financial Times for his efforts to reform, stabilize and grow the Liberian economy.

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LIBERIA

Augustine K. Ngafuan

A

As Finance Minister and Liberia’s Governor to the Board of the African Development Bank (ADB), Hon. Ngafuan chaired the ADB Constituency comprising Liberia, Ghana, Gambia, Sudan and Sierra Leone

ugustine K. Ngafuan is Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is also in the president’s inner circle. Born April 7, 1970, Ngafuan served from 2012 to 2015 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia, in the administration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Ngafuan was Minister of Finance for Liberia during Johnson-Sirleaf's first term, and was then appointed to his post at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 17, 2012. He held that position until 2015 when he resigned to join the race for presidency.

As Finance Minister and Liberia’s Governor to the Board of the African Development Bank (ADB), Hon. Ngafuan chaired the ADB Constituency comprising Liberia, Ghana, Gambia, Sudan and Sierra Leone from May 2010 until his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs in January 2012. He was also Liberia’s Governor on the ADB Board of Governors from August 2008 to present, serving too as Governor representing Liberia on the Board of Governors at the World Bank and the IMF. He chaired the Board of Directors of the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI), the only significantly owned Liberian bank, from 2010 until his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is also Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the University of Liberia, a position he has held since 2006.

Ngafuan is credited for making the government’s budget process a truly public process; taking the budget to the people by ensuring openness and trans-

parency, refusing to shroud its review in secrecy.

His numerous accomplishments at the Ministry of Finance stand as towering monuments of his success. As Minister of Finance, he successfully spearheaded Liberia’s march to the HIPC completion point, paving the way for full relief of Liberia’s external debt of nearly 5 billion United States Dollars. He presided over the development and passage of Liberia’s Public Financial Management Law, the first in its history, and the adoption for the first time, of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) which seeks to ensure timely public publication of government’s financial statements and the automation of its financial management system. On the revenue side, Hon. Ngafuan introduced the ASYCUDA system that has brought efficiency and improvement in government’s controls at major custom collectorates.

Hon. Ngafuan, in his capacity as Governor of Liberia at the African Development Bank, was one of three African Finance Ministers selected by ADB President Donald Kaberuka to participate in consultative meetings for the 12th Replenishment of Resources of the African Development Fund (AFD12). In a 29 November 2010 letter of appreciation, the ADB President Donald Kaberuka wrote of him, “The timely and succinct intervention you made during [our] meetings helped the Bank present a strong case for the selected and focused areas of intervention under the ADF-12. With your assistance, ADF Deputies agreed on a replenishment level of US$9.5 billion over the next three years (2011-2013), a 10.6 percent increase in donor contributions over the ADD-11.

We remain convinced that beyond this noble mission, which you accomplished so admirably, we can continue to count on your wise and valuable counsel.”

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LIBERIA

CONTINENTAL ISSUE

George Weah

G

Analysts also noted Weah's lack of experience, calling him a "babe-in-thewoods",

eorge Weah, renowned international soccer star turned politician, was recently appointed a Peace Ambassador by the president and is also the chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee.

He is widely popular with the youth, who make up an overwhelming majority of the voting bloc. While Weah was a popular figure in Liberia, opponents cited his lack of formal education as a handicap to his ability to lead the country, in contrast with his Harvard-educated opponent, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Analysts also noted Weah's lack of experience, calling him a "babe-inthe-woods", Weah's lack of education became a campaign issue during the last two presidential elections. He has been highly critical of those who say he is not fit to govern: "With all their education and experience, they have

governed this nation for hundreds of years. They have never done anything for the nation."

He initially claimed to have a BA degree in Sports Management from Parkwood University in London.

However this is an unaccredited diploma mill which awards certificates without requiring study. Weah then pursued a degree in business administration at DeVry University in Miami.

In 2014 he ran for election to the Senate as a Congress for Democratic Change candidate in Montserrado County. He was overwhelmingly elected to the Liberian Senate on December 20, 2014. Weah defeated Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Sirleaf, becoming the first Liberian international athlete elected to represent a county in the Legislature.

He won a landslide victory, receiving 99,226 votes, which represented 78.0% of the total votes from the 141 polling centers, while Sirleaf, his closest rival received 13,692 votes, which is nearly 11% in the election marred only by a low turnout.

Jewel Howard Taylor

J

ewel Howard Taylor is former wife of Charles Taylor, currently a senior senator, and widely popular despite Taylor’s conviction in The Hague. She is also widely read, holding two MBAs and a law degree. She was married to President Charles Taylor (whom she married in 1997, but later divorced in 2006) and was First Lady of Liberia during his presidency.

In 2005, Taylor was elected to the Senate of Liberia in Bong County as a member of the National Patriotic Party. She is the Chairperson of the Senate Health and Social Welfare Committee on Gender, Women and Children.

28 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

While her husband was president, Taylor held a number of oďŹƒcial posts in the Liberian government, including Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Liberia (forerunner to the current Central Bank of Liberia), President of the Agriculture Cooperative and Development Bank (ACDB) and Mortgage Financing Underwriter of the First Union National Bank. In addition, she focused on educational, health and social projects.

Taylor holds a graduate degree in banking and two bachelors' in banking and economics. She is currently enrolled in the MBA program at Cuttington University in Liberia.

On December 21, 2011, she graduated from the Louise Arthur Grimes School of Law of the state-owned University of Liberia.

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LIBERIA

Joseph Boakai

J

oseph Boakai is the current Vice President of Liberia. He is generally liked because of his clean image, but his government will be seen as a continuation of the current one, which is losing favour with people. Boakai, is a public-spirited patriot and dedicated public servant who has served Liberia diligently. His service to the nation, which spanned more than 35 years, included various positions in government, private sector, agro-related, church and civil society Born in the remote village of Worsonga in Foya District, Lofa County, on November 30, 1944, Vice President Boakai has withstood the test of time and epitomized the Liberian adage which states: “It does not matter where you are coming from, but where you are headed.” He is a radiant of hope for his home town and a model citizen.

He is President of the Liberian Senate

and he presides two days a week over plenary sessions of that body. He performs supervisory functions over a number of institutions and agencies including the Liberia National Lotteries (LOTTO), the Liberia Marketing Association (LMA), the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE), and the National Commission on Disarmament Demobilization Resettlement and Reintegration (NCDDRR).

He is a holder of a B.A. degree in Business Administration from the University of Liberia and Advance Management Certificate GIMPA, Ghana.

Boakai, is a publicspirited patriot and dedicated public servant who has served Liberia diligently.

Leymah Gbowee

L

eymah Gbowee is co-winner of Nobel Peace prize who is not affiliated to any political party.

Born 1 February 1972, Gbowee is a peace activist responsible for leading a women's peace movement, Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace that helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Her efforts to end the war, along with her collaborator Ellen Johnson

Sirleaf, helped usher in a period of peace and enabled a free election in 2005 that Sirleaf won. She, along with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Tawakkul Karman, were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work.

Gbowee is the founder and president of "Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa" based in Monrovia which provides educational and leadership opportunities to girls, women and the youth in Liberia. She is the former executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa, based in Accra, Ghana, which builds relationships across the West African sub-region in support of women's capacity to prevent, avert,

and end conflicts. She is a founding member and former coordinator of the Women in Peacebuilding Program/ West African Network for Peacebuilding (WIPNET/WANEP). She also served as the commissioner-designate for the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission. For the 2013–2015 academic years, she is a Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College of Columbia University. In 2013, she became an Oxfam Global Ambassador. She currently serves on the boards of the Nobel Women's Initiative, the PeaceJam Foundation, and is a member of the Ara Pacis Initiative and the High Level Task for the International Conference on Population and Development. She speaks internationally to advance women's rights, and peace and security.

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LIBERIA Charles Brumskine

C

harles Brumskine is leader of the opposition Liberty Party, who ran in the 2005 and 2011 presidential elections and lost. He said he failed because he did not effectively communicate his vision for the country.

This time around Brumskine says he is running to bring about reconciliation, reform, rebuilding and recovery.

He’s urging other opposition candidates to come together to stop what he called the “hegemony” of the ruling Unity Party from wining its third consecutive presidential election.

Brumskine, born 27 April 1951, is a Liberian politician and attorney. He is considered the most popular opposition politician in Liberia Brumskine became politically prominent in the 1990s as an ally of Charles Taylor. When Taylor became President in 1997, Brumskine became President Pro Temp of the Senate. By 1999, however, they began feuding, and Brumskine fled the country after being threatened by Taylor's supporters.

Kwame Clement

K

wame Clement, former news anchor with a great academic background but lacking political expertise. Kwame Clement also studied and practices law in the United States.

Clement and his ANC have been vocal on national issues quite recently and have also been a leading voice for press freedom in Liberia.

Kwame Clement has offered pro bono services to defend perhaps Liberia’s leading journalist Rodney Sieh in a well published court case with former Agriculture Minister Chris Toe, these moves and his speaking engagements at various locations in the Diaspora and back home has kept him in the public eye and endear him to some.

However, some claim that Clement and his party executives like other politicians in the country want to win elections without putting forward the hard facts to convince Liberia’s disillusioned electorates.

He has the name recognition, although

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some Liberians bordering on the trivial say his name Kwame is a disadvantage because of its Ghanaian origins.

Utter nonsense! many Liberians have said. Liberians tend to accept names like Tubman, Tolbert or Taylor easily as authentic Liberian names, but would rather deride such names as Kofi, Kwame and Koroma as not uniquely Liberian, forgetting Liberia’s unique culture and history.

Kwame Clément is eloquent, young and seems ripe, but is not tested as a leader.

His student leadership credential has always been touted and cited but that is not enough!

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LIBERIA

Tourism: Awakening A Comatose Industry

N

Cees Harmon ot up to a dozen hotels can pass for international standard in Liberia. This was true even during the golden years of the country’s

history.

Quality hotels are an integral part of the hospitality business of any country. The lack of quality hotels affects the country’s image adversely amongst international tourists.

A number of factors, including culture, may explain the lagging state of hospitality business in Liberia. Liberians are a very welcoming people; they could literally invite virtually any stranger in need of shelter into their home, which naturally obviates the need for hotels. Of course poor transportation infrastructure, the civil war that lasted 14 years and recently the

ebola scourge are all contributing factors to the slowcoach Liberia tourism industry.

For the above reasons tourism currently forms a small part of the national economy of Liberia. According to a 2014 statistic of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Liberia was the 14th least visited country in the world, with 24,000 visitors in that year.

Liberia does not officially issue tourist visas and none of its attractions such as the 700 square mile Sapo National Park and the surfing beaches at Robertsport, have been developed for anyone other than the hardiest of visitors.

Beyond the big hotels in Monrovia, there is very little service culture or even understanding of the concept of tourism.

“It’s not recognized in this part of the world that you might want to

just come here to travel. Even explaining to immigration authorities is sometimes a challenge,” according to Alastair Goodridge, a director of London-based travel company operating in West Africa while leading a trip through Liberia recently. “They’re not suspicious, they just don’t understand. They ask: ‘What are you really here for? Are you clergymen? Are you journalists?”

Change, however, does appear to be afoot. Recently, a group of interested people, including the minister of tourism, held their first meeting with a view to setting up a tourism board once legislation has been amended.

Mark Zarwolo, a tourism facilitator says he has never seen the Government of Liberia so engaged in the sector. “In the past meetings took place but nothing changed,” he says. “This is the first time there’s a cohesive executive political will to make this in-

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dustry a priority. We’re at the stage of formulating an initial strategy and we need to get locals to buy into it first.”

Eugene Nagbe, Liberia’s transportation minister, recognises the challenges but insists “the potential outweighs the stumbling blocks”. “Our low-hanging fruit is that we have a very good location with great potential with eco-tourism,” he says. “So my strategy is to tap these things first.”

Nagbe says that despite the government being extremely short of money, the pace of development should accelerate. “When building a home you spend more time on the foundations,” he says. “If you came here 10 or 11 years ago there would have been nothing. There was zero electricity, zero water supply and zero security.

We’ve been rebuilding an entire country from below the surface. And then Ebola happened but we are confident we can move on.”

As a part of that foundational exercise, an estimated US$11 million has been budgeted for the construction of a 5-star hotel at Roberts International Airport. The opening of the lavish Royal Grand aims to attract tourists with a higher level of income and help meet the growing demand for high-quality accommodation. The Royal Grand, a few other three and four star hotels in and around Monrovia are breaching the demand gap of quality hotels in Liberia. There are a lot of beaches around Monrovia, and the town of Robertsport has some of the best

32 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

LIBERIA surfing in Africa.

Liberia recently officially became the 71st nation to join the International Surfing Association (ISA).The country’s 350 miles of pristine, white-sand coastline forms part of what constitutes its growing tourism industry.

Surfing is also getting more popular in Liberia and the ISA is trying to spread the love for the sport of riding waves in the entire African continent.

"At the ISA we are aware of all the good that surfing has done as a social, economic and cultural force for a better world. It's a sport and a lifestyle that breeds opportunity and positive energy for practitioners and fans alike.

"We know that surfing can function as a tool, a vehicle, for positive change on several levels. I'm so happy that Liberia has recognized the benefit of surfing and of working with the ISA. We're excited to help them develop the sport in their country.

"I'm happy for Liberia, for its citizens, and of course, I'm happy that surfing has started the 'ride' in Liberia," Aguerre continued. "This is all good news for the peace loving people in that part of Africa."

The addition of Liberia brings the total number of member nations to 71, nine of which are from Africa. Along with Liberia, Cape Verde, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, Somalia and South Africa are member nations of the ISA. "Liberia's membership is part of a strong push at the ISA to develop the sport of surfing in Africa." Aguerre added.

For most people, Liberia is best known for its two civil wars between 1989 and 2003. But among surfers, the country is celebrated for its faultless point breaks and, when the winds pick up, some world-class tubes. It didn't take long after hostilities died down for the more intrepid to return

to Liberia's beaches (indeed, some gnarly old U.N. hands will tell you they never left). So while the whole country can count just a handful of decent hotels, the lead surf spot at Robertsport on Liberia's western tip now boasts two full-fledged surfer resorts, the Silversand Surfer Camp and Robertsport Surf Camp, with another on the way.

All offer comfortable tents, some on stilts, with balconies, clean water and electricity and of course, surf lessons.

"The big deal is that it has three quality point breaks right next to each other," says Nathaniel Calhoun, a board rider from the U.S. who has surfed Robertsport many times. "It's unique. It's untouched." Add in great weather, spectacular beaches and villagers who'll invite you over for a seafood dinner, and that's loco Liberia.

Ecotourism: the “next big thing” in Liberia Notwithstanding the destruction caused by the war, Liberia has a huge and protected environmental biodiversity. In addition to its main cities, its natural attractions such as wildlife, stunning beaches and landscape diversity are major attractions for international tourists seeking new adventures. Through the Liberia Programme and the Eco-tourism Development project, the Liberian Government promotes the conservation of biodiversity and community development; this is a public initiative that has been helping to improve the country’s image, thereby increasing its appeal to tourists.

With the natural attractions available, coupled with some of the most hospitable people on the planet and a burgeoning commitment by the Government of Liberia to improve infrastructure and create awareness of tourism among a people with near to no knowledge of this $1.6 trillion global industry, there is some light at the end of Liberia’s sleeping tourism tunnel.

At the current tempo of commitment on the part of the Liberian Government, observers reckon that some noticeable improvement over the next five to ten years is a reasonable prognosis.

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SPECIAL REPORT REPO ORT

RIVERS R IV VERS SSTATE TATE

JJuly Ju uly uly ly 2 2016 0116 C 0 CH CHERRYAFRICA HER ERR RY YAF AFR RIICA CA

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EVENT

When The A.U Leaders met

Ndlamini -Zuma delivering a speech

34 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

India's Prime Minister, Modi visited South Africa

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EVENT

Mrs Folorunsho Alakija, Africa's richest woman celebrated her 65th Birthday in Lagos recently

Mr. & Mrs. Alakija

In the church service with family members

Chief & Mrs. Ernest Shonekan

Otunba & Mrs. Subomi Balogun

Sen. Florence Ita-Giwa, Kemi Nelson & Aunty Jibike

Mr. Jim Ovia, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija & Mr. Tony Elumelu July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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RWANDA

Shelter For Rwandans Rwanda earmarks $162M to provide affordable Housing for citizens.

Athan Tashobya reports

T

he World Bank report dubbed, ‘Stocktaking of the Housing Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa’ released last December, noted that Africa faces a major housing crisis due to rapid urbanization and a growing slum population.

Africa could have as many as 1.2 billion urban dwellers by 2050 and 4.5 million new residents in informal settlements each year and most of them will not afford basic formal housing or access mortgage loans, the report projected.

One of the worrisome findings of the report is that while slum populations in other regions are declining, Africa’s is growing and if current trends continue, the majority of people living in

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slums will be in African cities, making the need for adequate, affordable housing more urgent now more than ever before.

Experts say such revelations require the private sector to join hands with the overwhelmed governments and that incentives that promote private investors could go along away to help the situation.

“Adequate quality housing is critically important for economic growth and social inclusion,” said Mamta Murthi, the World Bank Group’s Acting Vice President for Africa.

It is from this background that the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD), a public enterprise, has earmarked Rwf130 billion (equivalent to about $162 millions) to go to credit schemes,

Mukaruliza to be extended to small and medium enterprises in critical areas mainly affordable housing and energy.

Rwanda’s capital, Kigali might enjoy envious fame for its cleanliness and security, but the issue of affordable

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housing for dwellers continues to be the Achilles heel for authorities.

Out of Kigali’s existing housing stock of 223,000 Dwelling units in 2011, only 42,710 of them were in good condition. 71,487 units were upgradable while the rest made up of some 108,903 units were found to be not only overcrowded but also of low-quality. They needed to be replaced.

The annual supply for new dwellings

by Kigali’s formal housing developers is estimated to fall within the range of 800 and 1,000 units per year, with a unit projected to cost a minimum of US$25,000.

For Kigali, the biggest challenge is a mismatched supply where private formal developers are concentrating on the high-income earners whose combined demand requires just 28,965 dwelling units by 2022.

The larger market segment of the city’s low income earners is left unsupplied; they require 306,474 dwelling units by 2022 but their current projected formal supply is just 20,404 units annually resulting in a supply gap of 294,899 units.

City Mayor Monique Mukaruliza says, if Kigali has anything to learn from other cities across the world, it has to be how best to avail affordable housing units to the people of Kigali.

She further says that if Kigali over-

RWANDA

comes this “burden,” then cases of informal housing will be minimal, consequently enabling the city to easily align its development footprints into the conceptual master plan.

A recent study conducted by the City of Kigali in collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the European Union (EU) indicated that Kigali could face a housing deficit of up to 350,000 residential units in the next 10 years if nothing is done to address the current shortage.

This housing deficit arises from the growing rate of rural-urban migration, currently at about 4.8 per cent, creating need for more houses. The demand for decent homes in the city and up-country is also driven by the high rate of urbanisation, according to experts.

Edward Kyazze, the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) urban settlements division manager, says Rwanda has limited land, but the country’s growing population necessitating concrete action and regulations to guide future land use to ensure sustainable development and also meet national growth targets.

Rwanda’s population is close to 12 million people, with the country’s population density at 446.1 people

per square kilometres. More than 7.5 per cent of the land is used for agriculture and settlements. With urbanisation increasing at about 5 per cent, and population growing at 6 per cent, the country needs to devise modern ways of optimal land use to ensure sustainable growth.

The housing authority is asking property developers to stick to stored apartments, with the new housing policy limiting the size of residential houses at 16mx20m.

At the current 35 per cent rate of urbanisation by 2020, experts say it is critical that government also attracts more investors into the real estate sector to meet the increasing demand of housing in the country.

Housing experts say the government has to offer needed incentives like infrastructure, including energy, to facilitate the development of affordable housing and offering Full Area Ratio Incentive (how high you can build the structure).

According to the Kigali city master plan, at least 43,436 social houses and 186,163 affordable houses will required annually, reflecting 54 per cent housing demand.

“We are looking at new integrated neighborhoods: in this, we will promote mixed-use, mixed-income, higher density neighborhoods and a number of projects are underway. We want houses that can cater for people who pay on a monthly basis an amount between Rwf60,000 to Rwf300,000,” Mayor Mukaluriza said, adding that, with existing affordable housing scheme, we believe that Kigali city will continue to be as inclusive as it can.

Some of the on-going housing projects in Kigali include Batsinda Affordable Housing projects to provide 536 dwelling units, Rugarama Affordable Housing projects to provide 2200 dwelling units and Kigali Urban Upgrading Project targeting 4, 500 families in Nyarugenge Sector.

With a balanced focus targeted at providing affordable homes to majority of the citizens using many of the real estate projects in the pipeline, expectations are high that the “burden” would be covered up.

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UGANDA

The Musevenian Economic Chutzpah 38 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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UGANDA

I

Cees Harmon f President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda were to leave office today he would be remembered for growing Uganda's economy by an average of eight per cent for decades, creating jobs, leading one of the most effective national responses to HIV/AIDS in Africa as well as ensuring peace in the country over his 30 years at the helm of its affairs. Yes, except for the dent Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army left on Museveni’s peace legacy, post-independence Uganda could hardly hope for much better in terms of peace.

In addition to those strides, President Museveni recently launched his strategic guidelines and directives to make Uganda a middle income country in the next five years.

In a recent address Museveni stated: “Over the past 50 plus years, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has identified four principles that shaped the movement’s ideology and ten strategic bottlenecks that had to be overcome for Uganda to become a middle income status country in the next few years and a first World Country in this generation.

The four principles are patriotism (non-sectarianism of religion or tribe and no gender – chauvinism); Pan Africanism; social economic transformation; and democracy. The ten strategic bottlenecks are ideological disorientation, a weak state, especially the army that needed strengthening, under-developed infrastructure (railways, roads, electricity, telephones, piped water), the underdevelopment of human resource (lack of education and poor health for the population), interfering with the private sector (either by policy or by corruption), a fragmented African market on account of colonialism; exporting unprocessed raw materials and, therefore, getting little money and losing jobs, lack of industrialization, the underdevelopment of the services sector (hotels, banking, transport, insurance), the underdevelopment of agriculture, and the attack on democracy.”

Giving an audit report of his government’s accomplishments over the past 30 years, Museveni claimed that the issue of ideological disorientation has been addressed, citing that as the reason why the NRM has been able to win democratic

elections with absolute majority in the last 30 years.

He said: “The issue of a weak state has been addressed. This is how we have a strong army to keep peace. With infrastructure, the issue of the deficit of electricity has been addressed. We now have a surplus of 100 megawatts even at the peak hours of electricity use. The roads are being tarmacked and the railway will be modernised. Many of the towns now have piped water. The ICT backbone has been completed and has been linked to the undersea cables in Kenya and Tanzania. The civil service is educated although they have issues of integrity. Education and improved healthcare have meant that average life expectancy has grown from 43 years to 63 years and that the adult literacy rate has gone from 56.1 per cent in 1991 to 72.2 per cent in 2014. Many youth can now read and write, have mastered numeracy and can use the internet.”

He further stated: “On the side of agriculture, we have resolved the issue of improved seeds and improved breeding stock. The problem, however, is that this information is not available to all the farmers.

The issue of the fragmented African market has been resolved. Working with our brothers and sisters in EAC and COMESA, we have created the regional market of 500 million people. We have also negoti-

Inspecting the guard of honour

He further stated: “On the side of agriculture, we have resolved the issue of improved seeds and improved breeding stock. The problem, however, is that this information is not available to all the farmers.

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Kampala Central Business District

40 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

UGANDA

ated for access to the international markets (AGOA, EBA, the Chinese market).

But there are many who hold the president’s speech to be mere words as there are cognate bottlenecks that need to be tackled but are being ignored. For example, the issue of corruption stares the government in the face, as admitted by President Museveni. According to him, there must be zero tolerance to corruption. It is a big shame to see government officials delaying or frustrating investments because they want bribes. I partly blame investors for not exposing these thieves. Indeed, the investors who want to cut corners and do shoddy jobs actually welcome the corrupt tendencies of these officials because they, then, get away with shoddy jobs or products. Otherwise, the genuine and credible investors should report these parasites for drastic action to be taken. And quite a number of Ugandans interviewed by this medium admit that one of Museveni’s failures has been to curb runaway corruption. The country, according to the World Bank, loses almost 300 million dollars annually to corruption, which is the equivalent of a trillion Uganda shillings.

Uganda’s current budget is 24 trillion.

President Museveni also says that the civil service, though educated, has issues with integrity, connoting entrenched corruption in the service. Fighting corruption in the civil service is usually a long term project that is

not done by merely giving command to stop it. The success of his five year plan depends in part, on curbing corruption.

The president’s speech sounds much like directives and orders, which taxonomy he actually employs to describe his policy push, as opposed to viable economic policies.

For example, pertaining to agriculture, president Museveni gave the following prerequisite order to meet his five year economic ambition: Converting 68 per cent of the homesteads from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture. “I have already directed you to concentrate, for this purpose, on Clonal and Arabica coffee, fruits (oranges, pineapples, mangoes, grapes and apples), zero grazing dairy cattle, poultry, piggery, fish farming, onion growing and mushroom growing.

However, for purposes of focusing for the next two financial years, concentrate on: coffee, fruits and tea. Later; we can add the others. If we get additional funding beyond the Uganda shillings 361 billion for NAADS, then we can look at including the other activities.”

People do not grow agro products by fiat; rather, the forces of supply and demand determine what products are grown in an economy. Museveni hinges his 2021 goal, in part, on growing specific agro products, which Ugandans may not be keen on producing or which requisite training they may not have to implement.

The president goes on: “There is also the high cost of finance. The privatization of Commercial Banks was supposed to inject efficiency and competition into the financial sector and bring down the interest rates.

It has not. The interest rates are shameful, 23.5% etc. This is in spite of the inflation rate being 5%. Therefore, the Uganda Development Bank (UDB), which we had deliberately kept away from privatization, should be capitalized to fund manufacturing and agriculture.”

Interest rates are not determined by directives and orders from central governments.

The forces of supply and demand, cost of doing business, and other socioeconomic factors do. Employing the Ugandan Development Bank to establish a parallel interest regime would drive commercial banks out of business, which have a huge negative impact on investment and invariably on Museveni’s 2021 dream.

The president goes on: “There is, appar-

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE ently, great potential in the minerals sector. There is iron-ore, copper, cobalt, gold, vermiculite, aluminum clays, wolfram, tin, coltan, uranium, etc. There are, however, three weaknesses in the Minerals Department that must be rectified in this financial year or, at the latest, the next one. One, that Department must be equipped with a modern laboratory to test and, therefore, help to quantify the mineral presence in an area and determine its quality. The department should not depend on the mineral prospectors to do this. This is a wrong policy.

The officials must do this themselves. They must do the drilling and the assaying of the quality and determine the quantity of the minerals present themselves rather than depending on the miners to do the drilling.”

The president, in this statement seems to be rather unsure of what natural resources and quantity are available for commercial/ economic value. Yet, the president is depending on what he’s not sure of to meet his goal in just five years, apparently disregarding the long term nature of mining projects.

Museveni further stated: “We are supposed to have one government primary school per parish, one government secondary school per sub-county and one government technical school per constituency. In these five years, this government country-wide infrastructure for education must be completed. The US$ 200 million I borrowed from the African Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) was misused by constructing “five star hotels” in the form of 650 secondary schools and 60 centres of excellence sometimes brand new but multi-billion shining secondary schools. My plan, using the old Masaba Secondary School as a model, was to spend 500 million Uganda shillings per school, at that time, to build many sub-county level schools. Once the money was received, nobody consulted me.”

Since President Museveni claims he had a definite plan for building schools at the cost of 500 million shillings, where was he when the $200 million he received from the World Bank was being misused? And what measures are being put in place to forestall such misuse of public funds during the next five years?

President Museveni continued in his speech: “No delay in decision making in relation to the self-funded private sector en-

UGANDA terprises, zero corruption and strict regulation. Now that we have the foundation, Uganda will take off. As far as corruption is concerned, we are going to impose strict discipline in the public service as we did in the army and, where possible also in the political class.”

More Ugandans interviewed by this medium than not take with a pinch of salt the possibility of Uganda becoming a middle income economy over the next five years, even as the business community struggles with a 23.5% interest regime.

John Asiimwe, who lives in Kampala says “after 30 years in power the president is in a rush to create a legacy he lost when he bribed MPs to change the constitution and remove term limits. He now wants to be remembered and these big projects are the legacy he hopes to bequeath Ugandans, no matter how much debt he heaps on the country.”

It is worthy of note that unless Museveni changes the constitution to remove the age limit, he will be above 75 in 2021 and will not be eligible to run for another round of election. Museveni is 72 this month. Already, as if to further clear the way for the next presidential election, Dr. Kizza Besigye has been jailed for treason.

President Museveni has had this plan for decades in office; so what is the momentum behind its refreshment at this point in time? Collins Hinamudi, a journalist in Kampala says it is the 6.5 billion barrels of oil, which will last 20 years and production expected to start in 2018. The government is already borrowing money using the oil as collateral.

John Asiimwe, who lives in Kampala says “after 30 years in power the president is in a rush to create a legacy he lost when he bribed MPs to change the constitution and remove term limits.

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SOUTH AFRICA

What came over him?

Pistorius

“I’m not disabled, I just don’t have any legs.”

I

Jamie Leigh-Matroos n South Africa, a woman dies every eight hours and of those murdered, 50 per cent are killed by their partners. According to a report compiled by the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, men are the biggest perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). In short, husbands, boyfriends and lovers are actors in the cycle of violence and neglect that affects one in four women within their homes. The nature of violence in South Africa is such that we’re disturbed but not surprised when a man confesses to the brutal murder of his girlfriend but denies the charge of rape on the basis that they were in a relationship. We’re also not entirely shocked when a man is burnt alive after beating a woman to death with a stone for refusing his advances. We won’t remember the names of these women or lament about the people they’ve left behind nor will be spend years unpacking the motives of their killers. As journalist Ranjeni Munusamy recently wrote, “Most of the people convicted of murder do not get a hearing on the world stage. Most of them aren’t in a position to cry

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about their treatment on television.”

Oscar Pistorius rose to stardom as an Olympic and Paralympic athlete, winning multiple gold medals for South Africa. The national hero became the first amputee to compete in the Olympics in 2012 and was often referred to as “the fastest man with no legs”. He has tried to downplay his disability throughout his career telling a journalist in 2005, “I’m not disabled, I just don’t have any legs.” But in 2016, the issue of his disability took centre stage in his murder trial as painting himself as a vulnerable man became key to his survival after he fired four high-calibre bullets into his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the bathroom door of their home in 2013.

He would later tell the Pretoria Magistrate's Court, between sobs, that he believed there was an intruder in his home. Grabbing the gun off his nightstand, he walked to the bathroom on his stumps and in a moment of panic, pulled the trigger four times. He would recount that he soon realised in horror that it was in fact his girlfriend behind the door. The prosecution failed to prove that they’d had an abusive relationship and in 2014, Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for

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SOUTH AFRICA

culpable homicide. An appeal launched by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) would see Pistorius’s conviction replaced with murder. In his new sentencing, Judge Thokozile Masipa acknowledged the "serious nature" of the crime but cited many mitigating factors, and believed long-term imprisonment "would not serve justice" in this case. He is sentenced to six years imprisonment.

In her analysis of the case that consumed the nation’s attention, Munusamy was unforgiving: “In Pistorius’s charmed life, utterly defined by exceptionalism, the justice system should have bowed to him and trundled off to hold lesser mortals accountable for their actions. Not the star athlete who overcame his disability to win gold medals for South Africa. Not the humanitarian who motivated others with disabilities to aspire to greater heights. Not the fragile victim of our crime-ridden society who became so paranoid that he was forced to shoot four bullets through a bathroom door,” she wrote. “No, not our Oscar.”

In a deeply segregated society like South Africa, it was easy for Pistorius to link his paranoia to the post-Apartheid fear of the “other” who could enter your home and steal your possessions and your life. The trial became the embodiment of “swart gevaar” on one hand and white privilege on the other as many more argued, like Munusamy, that the opportunity to represent your case to the world was not an opportunity afforded to the poor accused of murder. Many South Africans felt like his sentence would have been swift and lengthy had he been a poor person of colour.

Munusamy was responding to an interview he had conducted with ITV before his sentencing. In it, a red-eyed Pistorius told the world he believed Steenkamp would not want him to “waste” his life behind bars. “If I was afforded the opportunity of

redemption I would like to help the less fortunate like I had in my past,” he said.

“I would like to believe that if Reeva could look down upon me that she would want me to live that life.”

The interview also included a segment in which Pistorius removes his prosthesis, walking across the room on his stumps to exhibit his vulnerability as he had in court. According to Pistorius, growing up under the shadow of crime in South Africa had left him afraid: “you get this fear … It’s just the reality we live in,” he told ITV. In that lies Pistorius’ defence.

He argued that he had fired four rounds into the bathroom door to protect himself from a perceived intruder, but he also argued that he had not intended to kill whoever may be behind the bathroom door.

The courts were not completely swayed by this argument and Judge Eric Leach, writing on behalf of the Supreme Court of Appeal said: "The immediate difficulty that I have with the accused’s reliance upon putative private defence is that when he testified, he stated that he had not intended to shoot the person whom he felt was an intruder.

This immediately placed him beyond the ambit of this defence."

Masipa did not believe Pistorius had intended to kill Steenkamp, she did not believe he had been an abusive partner, as author Rian Malan writes, “When Pistorius was sent back to Masipa for re-sentencing, she was still looking at a frightened and gravely disabled man overreacting to noises in the night and accidently killing his girlfriend, which is why she exercised mercy and sentenced him to only six years in prison.”

Whether we applaud Masipa for keeping a evel head despite public outcry or berate her coddling a murderer, one thing remains true: a woman was killed. She was a paralegal and a model and she is survived by her parents. According to a report by Kate Joyner of Stellenbosch University, women will keep dying in South Africa unless shift the mindset of men and boys. “Cultural and societal norms are highly influential in shaping behaviour in intimate relationships; they can protect against violence or support and encourage it,” the report reads.

The Pistorius case will either enforce the status quo or open our eyes to the dangerous reality of being a woman in South Africa.

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SOUTH AFRICA

Innovation To House Refugees

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n 2015, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) found that 59.5 million people have been displaced worldwide. There are also 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. These refugees flee war, conflict, and poverty in their home countries but face a new set of problems in their host countries.

Inadequate shelters, inhumane living conditions in refugee camps, stigma and discrimination continue to plague the refugee community. It is for this reason that innovators around the world have come up with novel ways to provide refugees with sanitary conditions in which to live during their integration into their host countries. We look at four solutions that promise to alleviate the problems faced by refugees.

In Syria, the civilians fleeing civil war are forced to cross rough oceans on small vessels, suffer harsh weather conditions, and live in makeshift camps. Designed by Greek

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architect Spiros Koulias, the Slice Refugee Hospitality Centre is a cliff-face shelter that aims to provide a safe point of passage for the thousands of refugees arriving in countries via sea routes. The centre would be carved into the face of a coastal cliff.

The centre is designed to function in inaccessible points of crossing such as steep cliff faces or hard-to-reach landscapes along treacherous coastlines. The tower is 22-storeys high with a base that acts as a dock for boats and a roof at the top of the cliff that provides outdoor communal space. Around 80 per cent of the building is built into the rock, providing accommodation for 500 to 600 people comfortably.

Koulias has planned the architecture to be adaptable to different environments and says that “the building is constructed so that it can be flexibly applied in different geophysical fields.”

In the field of wearable technology, a team of students at the Royal College of Art, London designed a coat that doubles as a tent

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE

big enough to fit a child and an adult. Around 50 per cent of those fleeing conflict are children.

Forced to make impromptu decisions about where to spend the night, the coat is designed to be an immediate solution during a crisis.

The students designed the tent using Tyvek, a strong, light, soft and water-resistant material.

The team used an insulator in the inside of the coat, the same kind used to insulate spacesuits.

The group are using a Kickstarter campaign to pay for the costs of producing the device.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) natural disasters forced 19.2 million people out of their homes in 2015.

Emergency support is almost never readily available after the havoc of a natural disaster, leaving victims out on the streets until they can be rescued. With this problem in mind, Argentinian company Fundacionar created Cmax, an emergency shelter system that provides immediate housing for refugees. It was created to dignify and improve the quality of life of people made homeless by natural disasters, war and domestic

violence.

The Cmax system provides living and sleeping quarters for a family of up to 10, and has sanitary units. While folded, these shelters are stackable, lightweight, and small and easy to store.

The scores of refugee camps around the world serve as the legacy of the world’s conflicts. Sleeping in flimsy tents or in the open air, refugees have no option but to live in these inhumane conditions. To provide a safer more humane alternative, a group of Spanish designers from the University of Corunna created the DASY shelter.

Its modular design is easily assembled and finished using a variety of materials. Made with comfort and security in mind, the shelter oers refugees as dignified alternative to tents, helping them integrate into urban spaces.

While conflict rages on around the world. Designers are tasked with thinking up new strategies where traditional support has failed. The Refugee Challenge, hosted by the What Design Can Do Conference in Amsterdam seeks to find and celebrate these ideas and more.

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DIPLOMACY

Here for Girls’ Education

U

Morgan Winsor .S. first lady Michelle Obama travelled to Africa last month with her daughters Sasha and Malia and her mother as part of an effort to promote education for girls. They spent several days in Liberia and Morocco before flying off to Spain to continue highlighting the work of Let Girls Learn, U.S. government initiative launched by U.S. President Barack Obama and the first lady last year.

“This is a unique trip in the sense that the first lady is going to three different regions that are important to the United States -- Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and then Europe,” Ben

“I’m here to shine a big bright light on you,” the U.S. first lady reportedly told the girls.

Rhodes, assistant to the U.S. president, told reporters on a June 24 conference call prior to the six-day trip.

While in Liberia, Michelle Obama met with President Ellen Johansson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. She also visited a U.S. Peace Corps training facility in Kakata, the capital city of country’s north-central Margibi County, where she met with girls and young women participating in a Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) leadership camp.

“I’m here to shine a big bright light on you,” the U.S. first lady reportedly told the girls.

During her visit, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) pledged $27 million in funding in Liberia programming for Let

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DIPLOMACY

Girls Learn. Civil wars tore apart Liberia between 1989 and 2003, and then Ebola struck the West African nation in 2014, claiming more than 4,800 lives and shuttering schools for months.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced last month Liberia is officially free of the Ebola virus, after 42 days passed without a confirmed case of the deadly disease in the country. It’s the fourth time Liberia has been declared Ebola free since the epidemic began in December 2013.

"These girls are so bright and so eager to learn, and these investments will help them build the knowledge and skills they need to provide for themselves and their families and contribute fully to their communities and their country,” Michelle Obama said in a statement on June 27.

The Let Girls Learn initiative is part of a “U.S.-government effort to address the barriers that keep over 62 million girls around the world out of school, in particular adolescent girls,” according to Tina Tchen, the U.S. first lady’s chief of staff.

“As the president and the first lady said

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when they launched the [Let Girls Learn] initiative, we know that adolescent girls face specific challenges when they’re trying to attend school, in particular the cultural beliefs about the proper role of women and girls in their societies,” Tchen told reporters on the June 24 conference call. “And when girls don’t attend school, that doesn’t just harm their own prospects, it harms their families, their communities and, ultimately, their countries.”

Michelle Obama also visited a school in Liberia’s Unification Town, where she was joined by Indian actress Freida Pinto for a discussion with adolescent girls who have struggled to get an education, her office said.

From Liberia, the U.S. first lady traveled with her two daughters and mother to Marrakesh, Morocco, where they were joined again by Pinto and also American actress Meryl Streep. There, they participated in a conversation with adolescent girls moderated by CNN’s Isha Sesay and attended an Iftar hosted by Morocco’s Princess Lalla Salma.

Over a third of Morocco’s population of

34 million is illiterate — one of the highest rates in North Africa. The percentage is even higher for women at 41 percent, according to official data.

“I am sitting here now as the U.S. first lady, talking to you, because of my education,” Michelle Obama reportedly told a dozen girls from different towns in Marrakesh.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent U.S. government foreign aid agency, announced during the visit a nearly $100 million investment in a new model for secondary education in Morocco, which is expected to benefit 100,000 students — half of whom will be adolescent girls.

“I am so proud that the U.S. is working with the Moroccan Government to make these transformative new investments to educate and empower girls across Morocco — investments that will help these girls succeed in the workforce and fulfill their boundless promise.” Michelle Obama said in a statement on June 28.

The U.S. first lady and her entourage traveled from Morocco to Madrid, Spain, before returning to Washington, D.C., on July 1.

Michelle Obama’s interest in girls’ education deepened after Islamic militant group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, northeast Nigeria, in April 2014. Their plight garnered worldwide attention with a social media campaign that used the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Michelle Obama, along with other American politicians and celebrities, tweeted the hashtag with a photo of herself calling for the girls’ rescue.

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STYLE

Backtrack To ‘Afro’ Hair

M

eet Mrs Abibat Ibrahim.

She believes the African heritage is going into extinct and should be revived by Africans. Her vision is to bring back the African heritage. She is so concerned about bringing back the old school hair looks that she grows it for her female children too.

Mrs Ibrahim says aside regaining the African heritage, the natural hair is healthier for the carrier. ‘’No matter the cost, my children and I will continue with our natural hair. My kids have never had any problem with the edges of their hairs and I no longer experience burnt scalp as a result of relaxer usage,’’ remarks the mother of three beautiful girls, who is optimistic that Africans will regain their lost glory, including their in hair styles.

Mrs Ibrahim’s position gives impetus to the fact that the afro hair style from way back in the 1980s Is finding its way back into the hearts of many Nigerians; the afro, is not in any way a new hair style, but the newest forms of flaunting the old hair style

Natural Afro hair which many thought had gone into extinction and was only associated with a group of people known to be either too religious or reserved and sometimes regarded as the hair for school girls, is once again becoming the toast of many hair stylists. Chika Oguine reports July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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STYLE

‘’Until I was told by my beautician to cut my perm hair and go natural, so I took off my perm hair and went on low cut in September 2014 I continued using my natural hair cosmetic, they are jojoba, castor moringa, shea butter, aloe vera, kinky curly just to mention a few’’.

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are taking a firm hold on Nigerians.

Hair is nature’s endowment on the female gender, as it brings out the beauty in them. It does not matter much whether or not you are dark or light skinned, tall, or of average height, fat or slim.

However, the trend on hair has taken a really different turn as Nigerians have adopted the old school hair style popularly known as ‘’natural hair’’ but formally known as ‘’ old school hair’’ or ‘’Afro’’, Natural hairs are hairs which texture has not been altered by chemical straightening agents. Little wonder more ladies on perm hairs now cut theirs off in order to grow the natural hair.

After the fade out of the afro hair, it became associated with a particular group of people known to be too religious and too reserved. Sometimes, it was known as the hair for the school girls, as a result of no treatments for it and it was difficult

using combs on it.

Twenty-seven years old Shola Joseph, owner of a beauty salon is also on natural hair. She says she went natural as a result of not knowing what to do with her perm hair. Though she loves the natural hair, it wasn’t easy growing them because it has its own dos and don’ts.

Shola experienced some challenges trying to grow her hair at first; it wasn’t easy to pack or style all the time. She didn’t know what to do to it because it was short until she devised a means of showing off her short natural hair.

While she displayed how she twists, turns and packs up the hair, Shola smiles and maintains: ‘’It’s fun going old school.’’ She adds: ‘’There are so many things you can do with your natural hair aside from the normal afro you and I know.’’ ‘’Once you have your cosmetics to maintain it readily available, you can love your natural hair while you make your hair yourself,’’ she says confidently.

Ada tells the tale of the many cosmetics she had to apply on her hair because her front edges were chopping off. ‘’I had to use different products ranging from the least expensive to the most expensive one, it wasn’t funny at all I had to use all the cosmetics I was introduced to but none of them worked for me’’. ‘’Until I was told by my beautician to cut my perm hair and go natural, so I took off my perm hair and went on low cut in September 2014 I continued using my natural hair cosmetic, they are jojoba, castor moringa, shea butter, aloe vera, kinky curly just to mention a few’’.

She said though keeping the hair is quite expensive it helped her in growing back her lost hair, Ada added: ‘’ I would advise all ladies to go natural as it helps bring back lost hairs and takes us back to our God given beauty.’’ I might just remain on my natural hair looks.

One would wonder how these women insert combs into their unaltered hair to straighten and make it soft. Mrs Kemi Agbola, owner of a fashion school and an ambassador of the iterated decades hair style, tells us that keeping the natural hair can be very easy and expensive, she explains that in order to maintain

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STYLE softness for her hair she make use of only the very expensive soften cosmetics and products. ‘’I got tired of my front edges falling off my head, so I decided I wasn’t going to apply relaxer anymore. So in 2014 I had to cut down my relaxed hair; then I joined a group online that I follow, and ever since I have been using some expensive products and creams like Hawaiian silky, jojoba, ori mix, okro, honey mix to mention a few just to make my hair soft shiny and silky’’ Kemi stated.

In the western part of Nigeria, many more women are lovers of the natural hair. Most of them cannot see the relatively high cost as an impediment to growing the natural hair.

For Dayo Adenuga, he loves and admires his wife on the natural hair, so he made her grow it. ‘’I so much love the natural hair that I had to pay my wife to keep it for me’’, I don’t know what she uses to arrive at how soft her hair is, but I love it,’’ he says.

Although, many love the go natural hair, others still have mixed feelings

about it. Growing the natural hair is acceptable to many for the beauty it adds to their faces and how young it makes them feel, but for its bizarre cost they would rather go on the perm hair.

Chijioke Obiajulu was once a lover and an ambassador of the old school hair style as it makes his wife look younger than her age. ‘’That I want it, however, doesn’t mean I must get it,’’ he said.

The long-lost afro clawed its way back into the 21st century and is been worn by the gilts and glamours of our society remains amazing. The black women’s transition to natural hair, though having a huge impact on their economy, is back and would last a while.

Most of the keepers of the natural hair are doing it for its health benefits, some keep it because it’s in vogue, while many more are considering going in to it for reasons peculiar to them. Whatever the reason they grow the natural hair, the old school hair has bounced back to stay.

Most of the keepers of –the natural hair are doing it for its health benefits, some keep it because it’s in vogue, while many more are considering going in to it for real

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BOOK REVIEW

Folorunso Alakija: Testimony of God's Goodness Agozino Agozino

“W

e l c o m e , come share with my life story,” appears to be what this smiling, philanthropist and Africa’s richest woman and business mogul, Folorunso Alakija is saying to you. That, indeed, is the impression you get as you flip through the colourful pages of her new book recently launched in Lagos.

The autobiography, with appealing photographs and laced with quotes of the amazon is a tour de force, which detailed her exploits in various spheres of physical and spiritual endeavours.

In a country where integrity,

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strength of character of women, generally, are relegated to the background, the book attempt to celebrate Alakija, who has become the face of Africa's female leading entrepreneur, for her trail blazing achievements as a woman, for remaining steadfast, in spite of life's challenges.

Indeed, one cardinal point that makes her life interesting is that she never blows her trumpet, but, allows her achievements to do it for her.

In a sense, Alakija, according to the narration in the book, has not only become a role model, but, an amazon to the women of this generation.

The first of the two-volume book is entitled Folorunso Alakija speaks, which is a collection of her speeches, delivered over the last few de-

cades. Volume One is made up of 10 chapters while Volume Two has four chapters.

Each section of the book also has beautiful image inserts showing the author in different areas of life. The speeches contained in this book cover a broad spectrum of life, including concepts for nation building, corporate social responsibility, marriage and the home front, women empowerment and world-class interviews.

Another interesting thing about the speeches is that unlike some people who commission others to expedite speeches for them, Folorunsho Alakija, actually, writes her own speeches. “I was on a 14½-hr journey between Singapore and here and I spent 12 of those hours writing this message", she said while

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BOOK REVIEW

giving a speech on happy family and wealth creation at Royal House of Grace in Port Harcourt.

Excerpts from some of her speeches include: On the role of women which is one of her passions, she writes, “The world cannot afford to ignore the potentials of women in the industry, because they bring to bear several qualities, from running homes successfully, to running business ventures, equally successfully.”

On nation building she says, “I speak to you here today as someone who has gathered some experience in attempting to transform Nigeria with the establishment of my own NGO, The Rose of Sharon Foundation (ROSF). We are a private, voluntary, non-profit, faith-based, non-governmental organisation, focused on working to alleviate the plights of the world’s most vulnerable people, widows and orphans.

Since 2008, ROSF has amalgamated into a network of almost 1,000 empowered widows to date, with 11 currently in the university. We awarded scholarships to 1,366 widows' children and 72 orphans to the tertiary level".

In Chapter 10, she said: “ At the age of 40, on the 29th December, 1991, I was baptised and gave my life to Christ. By then, I had realised that it was God who had led my way, protected me and guided me in all my 40 years. For me, it was not only time to acknowledge God, but to also spread his Word to those in need.”

This expirence, she added, drew her closer to God and informed her adding the name Supreme Stitches to Sharon House of Fashion, one of her fashion outfits. “I spoke to everyone who cared to listen, clients, drivers, suppliers, workmen. I was just so eager to share the Word".

The book also contains some witty moments in her life. For instance, in the interview she granted CNN, while speaking on her relationship with her father, Alakija narrates a funny incident, one that reveals that the wise Folorunsho you know was once a naive little girl.

On this particular day, she said, my mother had requested that I go and give my father a note. He was taking a nap and I walked into his room and watched as he slept. His mosquito net was down, and I was about to leave when I noticed some movement under the net. I looked closer and my father said, 'You might as well put it in my mouth', so I did as I was told, all 13 years of me! My father, surprisingly, jumped up and spanked me, saying I was silly, stupid and disrespectful. I couldn’t, for the life of me, understand what I had done wrong. Had I not done exactly what he told me to do? It was many years later, as an adult, that I realised my folly.”

According to the book, while giving a speech at the Royal House of Grace, Port Harcourt, her love and submission for her husband led her to redefine submission in such a way that it could be considered worthy of being included in the canon of scriptures. She says: “Submission is to cooperate, voluntarily, with someone else, out of love and respect for that person. She added: "I am sure all men here would love this: Treat your

husband like an overgrown baby, pamper him".

According to Alakija, “Setting goals is not just enough, one must ensure that he or she is smart and realistic.

Because successful entrepreneurs have one thing going for them, they focus on their set objectives. Time is a very valuable asset; once lost, it cannot be gotten back; therefore, time management is a key skill an entrepreneur must have. Always add value to whatever you do and acquire new skills, continue learning, there is no age limit for learning.

Believe in your ideas and dreams, and give it everything you’ve got. Associate with successful people".

The next part of the book is a compilation of three books which focus on the family. Here, the author, diligently, brings out hundreds of scriptures that can be used, not only as a tool for prayer, but, also as a source of wisdom and instruction for anyone who truly wants to build a strong family and home. This section also contains hundreds of prayers that are effective for building stable homes. The book, which was borne out of the desire to give a testimony of God’s goodness, is also to underscore that everything is possible in life.

Alakija believes that humanity is limited and disadvantaged without a revelation of God; she also believes that there are many strong towers one can run into when he needs God’s mercy. Some of the tales in the book are documented in Hebrew, English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibibio, Efik, Ikwerre, Edo, Igbo, Ghana's Kuapem, Ewe, Ga. It also includes Filipino, Spanish. French, Italian, Indonesian, Swahili, Zulu, and other languages, thus, making it a cross-cultural book.

One noticeable thing in the new book is the author’s penchant for God's Word and Treasury of Knowledge, which she believes is for anyone who seeks the two. The book, definitely, is a study of the life of the amazon and Africa's leading business female mogul.

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SPORTS

Euro 2016 Lessons For Football The hard lessons were learnt by the football world that teams may have the field but not necessarily the day as was the case when Portugal won its first major trophy in Europe even with France dominating aairs on match day.

Benjamin Nwachukwu reports

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SPORTS When the final whistle went in Paris, the disappointment of France’s Euro 2016 loss to Portugal could be felt among their fans. One thing was sure; Coach Didier Deschamps has built a side almost ready to vie for the next World Cup after ten years in the doldrums.

Portugal ended their run of 10 successive defeats to France, which stretches back to 1978 with the victory to that Sunday evening.

Throughout the championship, France demonstrated that they have lethal strikers who can match any challenge after notching up 13 goals prior to the final 0-1 loss to Portugal in the final.

But the hosts were undone by the very department (attack) that had taken them all the way to the final, scoring with ease in the process. In the final, they demonstrated poor cutting edge on the night and put all the foot wrong in the match they were the bookmakers’ favourites.

But it was not all bad for the

French team; with Karim Benzema, their best striker absent at the tournament, Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette waiting in the wings and Anthony Martial still developing, the prospects are bright up front in subsequent tournaments.

In the midfield, the trio of Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba and Moussa Sissoko were on top for much of Sunday’s match, while N’Golo Kante, who did not play in the final, has shown that he can add steel to the French midfield. These are all credit to the new generation that had remained in the wilderness in the past couple of years.

Pogba still has to show that he can become the great player he aspires to be on the attack. His flashes of brilliance were too intermittent throughout the tournament.

But one lesson too obvious at the just-concluded championship is that compactness and resilience win matches as against possession.

For example, in the second semi final between Germany and France, the latter had 65 per cent of ball possession but eventually lost 0-2.

Italy also enjoyed mere 23 per cent of ball possession against Spain in the round of 16 and ended up 2-0 winners.

Also in the final on Sunday June 10, France outplayed the Portuguese in terms of possession but lost 1-0. Recalling the final in 2004, Greece had 29 per cent ball possession against then ’superior’ hosts, Portugal. At the end of the match , however, the host (Portugal) lost 0-1 to their less-fancied opponent.

From the group stage to the final, the Portuguese demonstrated compactness and resilience in defence even though their attack might not be classified as fiery or potent, especially in the final following the injury to key man, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Defender, Pepe, summoned up Portugal’s dexterity and resilience to win after Ronaldo’s substitution.

He said: “It was tough because we lost our main man and we had all our hopes pinned on him because he’s a player who can score

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SPORTS a goal at any minute. When he said he couldn’t go on, I tried to tell my teammates that we have to win it for him. That we were going to fight for him and thank God that we did.”

Portugal’s victory also revealed that wins, at times, are functions of some elements of luck.

For example, as seen in the just-concluded Euro Championship, Portugal did not win any match in 90 minutes until the semi-final when they dispatched Wales 2-0. They had a lackluster group stage performance with three draws and placing third in the pool that had Iceland Austria and Hungary. They qualified to the round of 16 as one of the fair losers.

In all the matches they played to emerge champions, the Portuguese just hung on and hitting the post on the dot of full time in the final. And when they got the winner, it was through a player (Eder), who was a surprise inclusion in the squad, being a player rejected by an EPL side, Swansea.

This scenario, though, brought out what some football fans have tagged the cruelty of the game of football, where teams hitherto tipped to win on account of performances on the field of play and record are put to the sword.

As sobbed by French captain, Lloris, after the final whistle, luck cannot be distanced from the game in most cases.

“Football can be very cruel. The overriding emotion is a lot of sadness because we don’t deserve to lose this match. We played well and still lost. I congratulate Portugal.”

This is a lesson most coaches of the game will have to learn. For instance, Iceland, which obviously remain the revelation of the championship, were not very fantastic in their attack but they realised that they cannot match oppositions in that regard.

Consequently, the tiny country adopted a compact midfield approach and constantly hit the opposition on the counter. The tactics worked so well against the superior English opposition.

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Iceland, it can be recalled, shocked the football world after eliminating former champions, England, in the round of 16. The shock defeat of England to the tournament debutantes was greeted with a mixture of shock, sensationalism and expectations.

As Spain’s El Pais newspaper put it, England's defeat was not a matter of tactics or team selection, but a product of a mindset built on past tournament failings. That was a huge lesson that football has gone beyond mere rhetoric of hinging victory on previous achievements.

Iceland, a country quite smaller than Oshodi in Lagos, Nigeria in terms of population that stands at a little above 330,000, showed that the game of football does not dwell on past records.

According to an analyst on popular pay-television station, Supersport, immediately England succumbed to that infamous defeat, the heavy foreign-infiltrated English Premier League (EPL) has done so much harm to the Three Lions (English national team), with the local league quite unable to produce quality home-grown stars.

“The heavy presence of foreigners in the EPL is really the major cause of such performance by England. For example, tell me one key player in any of the top clubs in the 20-team

EPL that is English?

“Until there is a regulation on this regard, England will continue to underperform at international stage. If you go to the La Liga, there is a good regulation and this is done to protect the game in the country.”

There is one key lesson to be learnt on the elimination of then cup holders, Spain. The defeat of Spain has pointedly shown that the golden generation, which dominated the game a couple of years ago, has started to need reinforcement.

Recall that the bulk of Spanish squad members come from FC Barcelona, which merely put up the fiery performance they were known for in the last UEFA Champions League. In the golden era, the La Furia Roja play compact football with tight defence and midfield mixed with the normal tikitaka style known in FC Barcelona.

Their performance in the just concluded tournament left mouths wide open; though they dominated possession against Italy it was hard to unlock the Italian back that was everything the formidable Italian defence known world over.

At the end, it was football that won and the aging Cristiano Ronald and his Portuguese team mates will relish the ‘European Champions’ tag for the next four years.

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SPORTS

'THEY NEVER BELIEVED I COULD SUCCEED' Chioma Ajunwa-Opara (MON) was the least athletWWe Nigerians expected to give the country her first Olympic Games gold medal. However, like the proverbial cat with nine lives, she accomplished the unthinkable, grabbing a firstever gold at Atlanta 1996. Twenty years after, the Chief Superintendent of Police, now a Divisional Police Officer in Benue State, Nigeria, tells STAN MIKEME about her childhood and her rise to global reckoning after a drug ban

A

s a child growing up, was sports the first thing you actually wanted to do in life?

I’m the last child in a family of nine children. Unfortunately our father died when we were still little kids, leaving our mother to cater for us in Mbaise, Imo State. She struggled to train us through

Making History

school. She is a very strong woman. She did everything to ensure that we were educated at least to secondary school level.

When I passed my exams into the university, I realised it would be difficult to further my education. She wanted me to go to the university but she didn’t have the money. It made her cry. I decided to learn a trade and

I told her I wanted to become a mechanic.

My mother was left speechless; she couldn’t believe it and she burst into tears. You know, in this part of the world, mechanics are usually men; it’s very rare to see women becoming mechanics. It dawned on her that I meant what I told her, when I went to the market and bought a blue mechanic jacket. So, the first thing I probably would have been in life was a mechanic.

How did you then get into sports?

I didn’t really do any form of sports growing up. When things became very difficult for the family, I decided to try sports because I discovered that in Owerri, Imo State, athletes were paid some money. But my mother didn’t like sports but she didn’t know that it was from her I inherited the sporting traits in me. As kids, we couldn’t walk with our mother when we went out with her. If you didn’t jog or even run sometimes, it was always difficult to catch up with her. So I went to Owerri and started training at the Dan Anyiam Stadium. But it was tough because some of the officials thought I was too small to run. One day, some men came to the stadium and told me that they wanted me to join the police force because I was a good and young athlete. They were police officers and they even gave me money for my mother but I was scared because I dare not tell my mother that I collected money from strangers. They followed me to our village and gave my mum N500, telling her to release me to run for the police. But I was afraid and fled to my uncle’s place in Port Harcourt, where I started playing football with a female team, Larry’s Angels. But

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SPORTS

these men traced me down to Port Harcourt and demanded to take me away but my uncle, Larry Eze, disagreed. So he followed them to the police headquarters and there he was shown a signal from the then Inspector-General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo, saying I was wanted in Lagos the next week. I went to Lagos in 1988 after a friend convinced my uncle to let me go and I was taken to the Police College, where I started training.

Three years after you joined the police, you won a gold medal in long jump at the Egypt 2001 All Africa Games, and represented the Super Falcons, at the inaugural Women’s World Cup in Sweden same year. But you were clamped with a four-year ban after testing positive to drugs in 1992…

I will always say it, ‘I never took drugs.’ I was very young and ignorant as an athlete who knew nothing apart from doing sports.

God knows that I never did it. Deliberately, Chioma Ajunwa didn’t do it. I achieved a lot in such a very short time, because as a born champion, I won in everything I was involved but I never took drugs. Do you know that I ran the worst time of my career the day they said I used drugs? Do drugs enhance or reduce your performance?

How were you able to bounce back four years later, to become the first West African woman to win a gold medal in track and field at the Olympics?

Truly, it wasn’t easy but when God says yes, can man say no? I wasn’t training for four years, I was trading and I had a shop in Jibowu (an area of Lagos). People who saw me then, still testify. People were asking me if I was still an athlete. But it takes just a second for God to turn the hand of the clock.

After being out for four years, I trained for only five months and won an Olympic gold medal in long jump. It was an act of God because I didn’t want to do sports anymore. I never knew Segun Odegbami before but God intervened and used him to help me.

So, I don’t regret anything.

What were the challenges you faced when you were passing through trying times?

If God were man, I wouldn’t have been given the gold medal. It was as bad as that.

Some Nigerians were not happy that I made the team to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Three days before the final jump, the then sports minister and officials came to cheer up the athletes. He spoke to everybody, calling them by their names but he left me out. He promised them money if they won. I felt so sad and I cried. When he was reminded that he didn’t talk to me, he said, ‘go and win first. We will see what we can do after that.’ On the final day of the women’s

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jump, there was no Nigerian official to cheer me up because our football team was playing too and everyone went to watch them.

I was neglected. I and two other athletes Mary Tombiri and Beatrice Utondu went to the Nigeria House before the event. Utondu told our director to give us the Nigerian flag that I would win the long jump event but he didn’t. He said he would bring the flag later. He gave us a small flag, what they give to people who come to watch events at the stadium. Eventually when I won the gold, the first Nigerian ever to achieve such a feat, there was no flag for me to do the lap of honour. But I thank God for using me to bring honour to my country.

Twenty years after you achieved that great feat of winning a gold medal for Nigeria how you still feel about it?

A: Well, it was a great achievement. I feel so great; I feel so proud. I thank God for making it possible. But one thing is that 20 years after we have not been able to get somebody to break that record; it doesn’t show that Nigerians are really doing well.

Because when you go to America, no record stays for more than five years, but this one we are talking about 20 years, two decades.

For me personally, it has taken too long a time and for me, it holds a lot of concern to all Nigerians that really love sports and know what sports is all about. It shows that we are not moving forward.

So what do you think needs to be done to make a head way?

Well, it’s not far-fetched. We’ve been trying so many things and we couldn’t get there.

Personally I feel what we have to do is to go to the grassroots, go back to the drawing board. The way it was in those days when we were participating. We were discovered through inter local government competition, interstate competition. There is no longer something of that nature going on. We need to ask ourselves what is going on. Why is it that there is nothing like interstate competition going on any longer? And therefore we need the government to reactivate it so that we will be able to train the league that will be able to represent this country within

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SPORTS and outside. So if we start, I believe we will be able to do something and above all, Nigeria really needs to know what it takes to start a thing like that. We need to start catching them young; other countries are doing it. I believe that Nigeria being the giant of Africa, we can do it and do it even better because we have a lot of talents all over Nigeria but the problem we are having is who wants to bail the cat. I believe somebody wants to start it so that other people will follow.

Would you attribute this to attitude to sports development or it has more to do with motivation at the national level since we have won silver again in the football category after winning the gold in 1996?

When you are talking of winning silver I think I like calling a spade a spade. You know if we are talking of winning silver, how many silver have we been able to win? We can’t spend so much money going to the Olympics and we are proud of getting one silver medal back home. The Americans will go to the Olympics; they go with more than 20 Gold Medals, 50 silver. Bahamans, Jamaicans even Kenyans go to the Olympics and they go with more than 6 gold medals.

What do you say about that? For me winning one gold medal is not the issue, the issue is that who are those people running for us?

How many of them do we have? Not that we have like 10 good athletes and they go to the Olympics and come back home with only one medal; nobody will be happy. But in this case we are talking about only few people like in this Olympics now we have only few people, you as a journalist can say these people must give us one gold medal or one Silver medal and so on. I am thinking beyond what you are saying now. Nigeria is the giant of Africa and we need to show that when we get to the Olympics. We need to be ahead of other African countries; we shouldn’t be the giant just by mere map; we should be the giant and we should be pace-setters for other African countries.

We really need to go back and know how to invest in our athletes, know how to get prepared when it comes to global competition; we have not learnt that attitude and I believe that is one of the biggest problems we have.

If you train well, invest in your athletes, definitely they will pay back.

What are some tips that you could offer to the Nigerian team to ensure a successful outing this time?

I pray as I have always been praying for them because the athletes are doing their best and they should keep on trying and I believe that one day and someday the country will be able to know how to take care of the athletes and prepare them on time not struggling on their own to get ready to serve their fatherland. When you want to serve, you should know exactly that you are serving him or her so that he will be able to

give you the tools to enable you serve well.

So I pray for them and one thing is that they should be able to make sure that they put their heads down, not to be tempted to do something funny out there, even if they didn’t participate well, they should do well so that they should be among the best and the most discipline teams. I pray that the Almighty God will grant them the grace to do well.

Can you recount the final day of the long jump event?

Like I said, there was no official to encourage me at the jump venue, except A.K. Amu, who sat with Utondu and Charity Opara. But I emerged as the highest jumper, followed

by Fiona May of Italy. I told God to help me repeat 6.8m because I had jumped 6.85m to qualify. When eventually I won, they all started crying. But it was a shame that I had no flag for me to do the lap of honour. That was why I celebrated with that small flag.

It meant they never believed that anything good could come from me.

You have inaugurated the Chioma Ajunwa Foundation. What is it about?

It’s a non-governmental organisation set up to educate young athletes against the use of drugs. After suffering because of drug problems, I think I need to play a role in the upbringing of the new generation of athletes. I never took drugs to enhance my performance, so these athletes

need to know that when they have pains, they must adhere to the doctor’s prescription, rather than using quacks or making recommendations themselves. They need to avoid what they don’t know. There are several things that I should have been involved in but because of the four-year ban I was handed, I can’t. So, I don’t want then to suffer such fate too.

If God were man, I wouldn’t have been given the gold medal. It was as bad as that. Some Nigerians were not happy that I made the team to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

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SPOTLIGHT

NDDC Makes Strategic Moves

I

Jeremy Obiora

ntervention agency, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), set up in 2000 by then president Olusegun Obasanjo, to fast-track development in Nigeria’s oil bearing region, made two strategic moves in July that may shape the way it would do things in the coming years. First, it announced a shift from operating out of rented apartments across the oil region to acquiring its offices in a move to cut down recurrent spending and shore up capital assets.

Next, the NDDC launched a scheme for partnerships and collaboration as a policy strategy to execute projects in the face of dwindling revenue available for projects.

The Commission has been paying rent in the nine states where it has offices.

Now, the agency wants to put an end to this by acquiring or building its own

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office structures.

On Thursday, July 14, 2016, the Commission until recently led by a female journalist and administrator, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, unveiled the first of such edifices, the Rivers State office complex in Port Harcourt, south-south Nigeria.

To show the necessity and importance of the new policy, Semenitari took time off on the Sunday before the unveiling to explain the logic behind the policy, saying the Commission had been made to pay outrageous rents for 16 years. She said it was sad that the Commission preferred operating as tenants in each state of the oil region in facilities that did not give much room for proficiency.

The acting managing director added that the Rivers State office complex was a model and was significant in a number of ways including leading the way for a new focus. She also said it signified the shift

in emphasis from a centralised approach to a decentralised system, and maintainedthat henceforth, more action would take place at the state offices and in the communities than in the headquarters in Port Harcourt, hence, the need for befitting office facilities in the states.

The Rivers office is situated at the business district that is Olu Obansanjo Road with many banks and other business setups. The facility has been completed and is ready for occupation.

At a pre-commissioning inspection of the new office on Monday, July 11, 2016, Semenitari said the built-to-purpose complex was a big relief for the Commission after 16 years.

She said: “It is very gratifying as it is one of the things we always wanted to do.

Now, we will no longer be chased around by landlords. So, even when we don’t have money, we know that at least we can enter

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SPOTLIGHT

into our office space and sleep well. This is why it is such a good feat for us as a Commission.”

Semenitari also stated that with the Rivers State office completed, work on the permanent headquarters of the Commission, also in Port Harcourt, would be stepped up.

Taking the NDDC chief executive officer round the new Rivers State office, the acting director, project monitoring and supervision, Felix Aomreore, said the building was on four floors with ample space for offices and a basement floor for archiving and car park.

He said that the building had provisions for several facilities, including a large reception hall, conference/multi-purpose hall for 250 people, staff canteen, sick bay and offices for drivers on the ground floor.

Aomreore explained in addition that the state office building would accommodate about 120 staff, with unique office suites for the State Representative and the Director of the state office. He added that provisions were made for some head office directorates, such as Commercial and Industrial Development; Agricultural and Youth.

The project consultant, Michael Ukpeh, pointed out that Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras had been installed to capture activities on all corridors within the building and activities on the immediate vicinity of the building with a control point at the Security Office.

He noted that apart from two staircases,

the building also had an elevator for ease of vertical circulation between the floors, adding that the cooling system was centrally controlled.

On July 14, 2016, the Commission unveiled the four story complex and re-stated its resolve to complete all on-going projects as well as take giant strides to facilitate the all-round development of the Niger Delta and its people.

Semenitari said that the completion of the project conveyed the message of brighter prospects for the development of the region.

She said: “As we commission the Rivers State office, we are celebrating our success; celebrating a milestone; celebrating a commitment to making a difference not only in the lives of the people of the Niger Delta region but in our staffers, as well. Our decision is to ensure that we exit all rented accommodation at the headquarters and across all the states to enable us conserve scarce resources we should be using to develop our communities.”

She also remarked that the ultra-modern

Ibim Semenitari, Out-going Ag MD

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SPOTLIGHT office was a testimonial to what could be achieve in the region when people work in unity. “My heart speaks more than my mouth can express as we commission this edifice which is a landmark. It is a relief that from today our workers in the Rivers State office can work in an elaborate environment deliberately textured for maximum output,” she said.

The CEO affirmed that the Commission was set-up to intervene in the provision of critical infrastructure in its mandate states, adding that the Commission was determined to create tranquillity through elaborate development of human and natural resources, in addition to fashioning “abilities into development facilities to address the deficiency we may have inherited by reason of habitat and geography.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the NDDC director Rivers State office, Mr. Benson Udo-Asubop, stated that the new office would ginger the staff to show greater responsibility and commitment to duty. He said that it would also ensure a sincere and undivided commitment to effective service delivery.

He said that the new office would be well equipped with state of the art facilities to enhance the productivity of staff, adding that Mrs. Semenitari deserved special commendation for her zeal and commitment to the development of the Niger Delta region and her commitment to staff welfare.

The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has unveiled additional development fund of $200m to fast-track development in the region. This is as the ministry has pointed to partnership and collaboration as crucial in the successful development of the region.

In another strategic move, the NDDC summoned stakeholders and development partners to the Rivers State capital on Tuesday, July 19, 2016, to brainstorm on the need to form partnerships that would aggregate the efforts of partners towards faster execution of projects in a sustainable way.

The Commission revived its Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) initiative but this time for the sake of partnership and collaboration. Welcoming stakeholders to the PSD Forum, Semenitari stated that the meeting, which was a direct product of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan, was a platform for collaboration among the development stakeholders of the Niger Delta region.

She said: “The key objective of the PSD is to provide a clearing-house of information for stakeholders during project planning, budgeting and implementation strategies, to ensure that stakeholders are aware of what others are doing and planning to do.

It also affords stakeholders the opportunity

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Victor Ndoma Egba, NDDC Chairman to devolve development functions and avoid duplication of efforts and waste of scarce resources.”

The NDDC CEO said the main objective of the forum was to jump-start a platform for effective collaboration amongst the multiplicity of stakeholders in the development of Niger Delta region. “Although the PSD forum has been meeting sparingly since December 2004, we cannot report much success in the areas of public-public or public-private partnerships,” she added.

Semenitari said the forum was an opportunity for the partners to look at various challenges plaguing the Niger Delta Region and proffer the way forward. For example, she stated, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs would discuss its intervention strategy in the region and the security situation in the region would be reviewed.

She further said: “We shall listen to other presentations on livelihoods; Partnerships/ Partnering; Driving investments in the Region; the Role of the Civil Society in Development. The goal is to bring all partners to speed on the challenges and opportunities inherent in the Region.

“The importance of this Forum in the Development of our Niger Delta Region cannot be over emphasized, especially at this auspicious time when the country is relying on major actors in the Niger Delta to come together and address the development challenges facing the region.”

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Belema Wakama, stated this on Tuesday, July 19, 2016, at the meeting of the Partners For Sustainable Development (PSD) Forum hosted by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in Port Harcourt.

Wakama underlined the development

paradox of endemic poverty in the region, despite its abundant resources, in a paper presented on her behalf by the Director of Research in the ministry, Didi Walson-Jack.

She explained that the ministry had the responsibility of coordinating the development plans for the region, which were being implemented through the Niger Delta Action plan, noting that the plan was embedded in existing strategies for the development of the region.

She called attention to the provision for a Multi-Stakeholder Trust Fund, which entailed the mobilisation of a pool of funds from donor agencies, oil companies and other development partners to drive development.

She added that “the development funding instrument envisaged a trust fund of $200 million to serve as additional funding for high-impact activities in the region.”

Wakama said that the trust fund would be an initial funding tranche that would lead to larger and more sustained investments.

The National Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities, TROMCON, Eze Akuwueze Ikegwuruka, appealed to the Federal Government to engage its members in finding solutions to the security challenges in the Niger Delta region.

Ikegwuruka, who is the paramount ruler of Mgbirichi in Imo State, said that the entire membership of TROMPCON welcomed the Federal Government’s initiative to dialogue with various militant groups in the region, maintaining TROMPCON’s position as a pivot of oil mineral dialogue and other salient environmental issues in the Niger Delta region could not be over emphasised.

He enjoined all relevant stakeholders to effectively participate to address the peculiar and perennial challenges that stared Niger Deltans .in the face.

The royal father charged the Federal Government, Oil Companies and other contributors to the NDDC funds to religiously make their statutory contributions to the funding of the Commission, noting that it was when this was done that they could hold NDDC accountable to the development of the region.

Ikegwuruka also said that the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta was taking a big toll on the National Economy. Whether the reasons were political, environmental or otherwise, the actions of the militants were condemnable as the effects were colossal, he observed, with commitment by the royal fathers, as the principal security officers and custodians of their various kingdoms to do all that was necessary to ensure that sanity returns to the region.

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SPOTLIGHT

Captain Nsima Udo Ekere Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) gets a Managing Director-designate

N

sima Udo Ekere, 51, is an entrepreneur and innovative thinker with a short but impactful public service career. He studied Estate Management at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, graduating in 1986. In the years following, he has built successful businesses and garnered cogent national and international experiences in real estate, urban and regional planning, oil and gas, power and construction.

As a public officer, Ekere served briefly as Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State between May 2011 and October 2012 before resigning on personal grounds. Prior to that, he was the Executive Chairman of the Akwa Ibom Investment and Industrial Promotion Council, AKIIPOC, the state investment agency (2007 – 2012). He also served as Chairman, Ibom Power Company (2008 – 2011).

Overall, Ekere has more than 27 years of public and private sector experience, with 19 years spent in top management positions working cross-functionally in a variety of challenging projects across various economic sectors.

His areas of expertise include construction, real estate development

and property administration, power sector development, investment management and oil & gas upstream development.

In addition to the B. Sc Honours Degree in Estate Management (1986) a number of professional qualifications support his credentials: He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Registered Member, Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria ESVRBN; Senior Certified Valuer, International Real Estate Institute IREI. Minnesota, USA; and enjoys associate memberships of the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation, IRRV, London.

As Executive Chairman of AKIIPOC, Ekere conceived and implemented the first private sector gas-to-power project in Nigeria, an innovative strategy to convert natural gas into feedstock for power generation, as a public - private partnership with the Akwa Ibom State Government.

Ekere also developed and implemented a framework for State Governments to undertake power distribution within their states. He worked with the Office of the Vice President and the National Council on Power and the Governors of Cross

River, Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom to create a special purpose vehicle, 4Power Limited, to assume responsibility for power distribution across the four states.

Ekere is the founder and principal partner Ekere and Associates, a real estate firm with offices in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Uyo, in addition to a number of other businesses.

His unstated philanthropic gestures include strong investment in human development through regular award of scholarships and educational grants; provision of potable water to rural communities in his Edemaya Clan, Ikot Abasi, and medical outreaches to rural communities. In 2012, Ekere, along with his siblings donated a state-of-the-3art Accident and Emergency Ward/Trauma Centre to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital.

Ekere is a Knight of John Wesley, KJW, of the Methodist Church Nigeria and recipient of numerous honours and merit awards including traditional titles in recognition of outstanding contributions to community development He is married to Mrs. Ese Ekere and they are blessed with children.

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OPINION

Defining Structural Transformation in Africa 1

P

Carlos

Lopes

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overty reduction has been essentially associated with a profound structural transformation of the economy, a process entailing a reallocation of economic activities from the less productive sectors to the more productive ones. The speed with which this process takes place has been a key factor that dierentiates development levels across countries. The issue of structural transformation has been at the core of economic development debates with initial empirical analyses originated with Fisher (1935, 1939) and Clark (1940) who dealt with sectoral shifts in the composition of the labor force.

The concept of structural transformation has evolved over time. It shifted from a simple reallocation of economic activity across three broad sectors (agriculture, industry and services) that accompany the process of modern economic growth to encompass issues of sustainability and inclusiveness.

Timmer (2007) defines structural transformation as a process characterized by a decline in the share of agriculture in GDP and employment; a rural-to-urban migration that stimulates the process of urbanization; a rise of a modern industrial and service economy; and a demographic transition from high to low rates of births and deaths. This requires proactive policies and strong push from state institutions, coupled with strategic capacity.

I published with Thomas Theisohn in 2003 a book entitled "Ownership, Leadership and Transformation", where the issue of understanding the role of national agency was assessed in relation to structural transformation. We said then that traditionally, the notion of capacity came from the engineering world, and was un-

derstood to involve using particular processes to transfer knowledge, especially technical and scientific skills (Morgan 2001). Little attention was paid to less sector-specific realms, including policy formulation, social and economic research, systems analysis and review and feedback mechanisms.

Today we know better: knowledge cannot be transferred. It has to be acquired, learned and reinvented. And it encompasses both the deep pool of local understanding that is the very foundation of learning, and the wealth of global information that can be reconceived to meet local needs. When adaptation fails to happen, however, there is no ownership and likely no lasting capacity development.

Structural transformation is perceived by some more in terms of a process by which the relative importance of dierent sectors and activities of an economy changes over time.

In the African context, this implies a relative decline of low productivity agriculture and low value added extractive activities, and a relative increase in manufacturing and high productivity services.

However, we have learned from past experience that there is a strong historical pattern of worsening income distribution between rural and urban economies during the initial stages of the structural transformation. Even currently, rich countries did not escape from this pattern during their early development in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The good news though is that absolute poverty does not necessarily worsen during such episodes.

In East Asia, for instance, the evidence reveals that absolute poverty actually fell very rapidly, albeit associated with inequality.

Knowledge of environmental impacts has become more profound, raising the momentum towards a

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OPINION more sustainable and inclusive structural transformation objective, accompanied by a relative decoupling of resource use and environmental impact from the economic growth process. As latecomers to this process, an effective structural trans-formation for Africans means making significant productivity gains in rural areas with vibrant hubs of agri-business and linkages across industrial activity; the translation of Africa’s youth bulge into a demographic dividend; access to social services that meet minimum standards of quality regardless of location; reduced inequality – spatial and gender; and progression towards an inclusive green growth trajectory (UNECA 2013).

Where is Africa? Africa has experienced unprecedented growth over the past decade and has been remarkably resilient to the global economic crisis.

The continent, has also made significant strides, during this period, in all dimensions of human development, comparable with other regions of theworldin similar economictrajectories.

But such a remarkable economic performance has not created enough jobs.

The continent remains also home to the world’s highest proportion of poor people. Furthermore, African economic growth has been proven vulnerable to volatility in commodity prices and demand and perception fragility.

Despite a stream of bad news, Africa is the continent that grows the most, its debt to GDP ratio only increased 2 per cent last year, is negative in relative terms, if reserves are taken into account, and that its macro-economic profile is more shaken by internal policy blunders that are fixable than commodity prices per se. We know from others’ experience that they faced a difficult time when they were embarking in their industrialization process, like Africa intends to do now, but that only contributed to acceleration, not slowing down, of their transformation ambitions.

What others have done before Structural transformation has been operated across regions and historical periods and Africa as a latecomer has the privilege to learn from others’ experience.

Over the period of1950-1980, Brazil like many countries in Latin Ameri-

ca led Debates industrial policy aiming at creating new industrial sectors, changing the prevalent pattern of specialization in primary commodities and promoting technology intensive activities. As a result, Brazil successfully entered many new industries, such as petrochemical and renewable fuels, especially ethanol, and established the bases for the development of new technologies. In the 80’s, the Government introduced a more liberal New Industrial Policy package.

In the 2000s, the Government targeted specific sectors with Guidelines for Industrial, Technology and Foreign Trade Policy (PITCE).Over the last thirty years, Brazil has been among the most active countries in terms of their use of policies designed to expand natural resource-processing industries and food production. Today, the country is among the top three producers and exporters of orange juice, sugar, coffee, soybean, beef, pork, and chicken. It has also caught up with the traditional big five grain exporters (USA, Canada, Australia, Argentina and European Union).

China has transformed its economic structure through an agro-based industrialization to accelerate growth and development. The period 1978-83 emphasized agriculture. In its Five-Year Plan (1981-1985), China encouraged foreign trade and foreign direct investment in an attempt to facilitate the importation of advanced technology. Strategic industries identified in the Five Year Plan of development have been given targeted support such as protection from foreign competition and subsidized loans from state-owned ‘policy banks’. Throughout a deliberate strategy, China has combined a variety of policies to develop both its agricultural and industrial sectors as well as the service one. China became in two decades the largest exporter of manufactured goods.

Carlos Lopesis the Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

China has transformed its economic structure through an agro-based industrialization to accelerate growth and development.

The period 197883 emphasized agriculture.

* Based on a presentation to the Africa Transformation Forum in Kigali, 14 March 2016 July 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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HR DISCOURSE

WITH TRICIA ABENA KISSI

Why Both Employees And Employers Must Care About Work–Life Balance (WLB)

W

ork-life balance (WLB) is a concept which first appeared in the 1980s when workplace dynamics started to experience change. Since then it has become a general concern for both employees and employers. A number of laws have been legislated at international and national levels to respond to crisis resulting from conflict between work and life.

In Ghana, although the labour law is not explicit on issues affecting WLB, it makes provision for reasonable leave days that employees can take advantage of to achieve WLB. Annual leave, maternity leave, sick leave, day offs, and holidays are a few of these provisions. Some organisations have even included paternity and compassionate leaves in their bid to help employees fulfil their family and social obligations.

In spite of these provisions, most employees find themselves in situations where their work lives conflict with other important aspects of their lives.

Research shows that failure to manage WLB can pose a serious threat to the health of employees, and by extension, the health of their organisations.

WLB means balancing both work and the other aspects of life such as family, health, religion, friends, in a harmony so as to facilitate physical, emotional and spiritual health and wellbeing to achieve total development. It is important for me to stress that WLB does not mean an equal balance between work and other aspects of our lives. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of our various work and personal activities is usually unrealistic. Thus, achieving a reasonable balance should be the focus.

People have various reasons for working - to get money for their personal life satisfaction; meet family ob-

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ligations; and passion for what they do. Work Life Imbalance (WLI) occurs when one is not able to meet work obligations and the obligations of other important aspects of their lives. There are varied reasons why most employees experience WLI. Notable among them are:The need to earn more to take care of personal, family and social obligations; forfeiting annual leave and other leaves; poor time management resulting in spending long hours at work; role overload; work-to-family interference; and family-to-work interference.

Most psychologists agree that the demands of an employee’s career should not overpower the individual's ability to enjoy a satisfying personal and family life. WLB is significantly linked with employee productivity, performance and job satisfaction. It is believed that where there is proper balance between work and life, employees tend to give off their best at work.

Research indicates that unsatisfied employees have trouble maintaining the quality of their work. This increases their levels of stress as well as anxiety.

On the contrary, a satisfied individual is less likely to be stressed, resulting in quality work output. Again, WLB enables employees to be effective in their work and personal roles. The more control an employee has on their lives the more able they are to balance work and family. In effect, WLB leads to employee effectiveness which in turn leads to organisational effectiveness.

Studies show that when employees spend the majority of their days on work-related activities by neglecting the other important components of their lives, they feel guilty, and become stressed and unhappy as a result. WLB makes employees feel that they are paying attention to all the important aspects of their lives; and that enables them to live a stress-free life.

Today, talented employees seek jobs that do not only offer financial security, but also give autonomy, meaning and the opportunity for personal development and advancement. Though employers are not legally responsible for providing WLB for their employees, it is important for them to assist their employees to achieve WLB. WLB breeds passion in the workplace and contributes to a better overall work environment. Research shows that employers that have concern for the WLB of their employees have lower turnover and high productivity.

WLB is particularly important to the high flyers in organisations. This group of workers want to have it all in life – a rewarding career, a happy home, and a good network of friends and associates. They are unwilling to sacrifice their personal lives for excessive work demands, and are likely to leave jobs with poor WLB. Companies like IBM, Motorola, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, and American Express have realised the importance of WLB; and have put programmes in place to ensure that their employees enjoy WLB. Some of these companies give flexible work hours, telecommuting options, childcare centres, elderly care, fitness facilities, and so forth.

It is generally agreed that the need for WLB is essential for organisational effectiveness. WLB is important not only for employees but also employers. Studies on WLB programmes have revealed benefits such as: attracting top talents, retention of valuable staff, improving morale, reducing sickness, absenteeism and attrition; increasing levels of production and satisfaction, decreasing stress and burn-out among employees, and increasing organisational performance.

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