THURSDAY 30TH MAY 2019

Banks Plan Blacklist of Chronic Debtors To create ‘Black Book,’ share details among financial institutions

Obinna Chima Tough times await chronic bank debtors as chief executive officers of financial institutions have resolved to

create and maintain what they term a ‘Black Book’ for the compilation of details of loan defaulters that will be shared among all their organisations. They also agreed to blacklist

such high-profile debtors. The Body of Banks’ CEOs, as the group is known, announced this decision in a communique titled: “Review of Harassment and

Criminalisation of Banks’ CEOs by Law Enforcement Agencies Based on Allegations by Bank Debtors,” a copy of which was obtained by THISDAY yesterday.

In addition, the meeting resolved that all banks must formally commit to collaborating with one another with a view to sharing details of chronic debtors and refusing

them access to further financial services until they settle their indebtedness They also resolved to engage Continued on page 8

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Thursday 30 May, 2019 Vol 24. No 8816. Price: N250

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Muhammadu Buhari Sworn in for Second Term with High Hopes 29 governors take oath of office in low-key ceremonies 91 world leaders to attend June 12 Democracy Day event

President Muhammadu Buhari… yesterday

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Muhammadu Buhari Sworn in for Second Term with High Hopes 29 governors take oath of office in low-key ceremonies 91 world leaders to attend June 12 Democracy Day event Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari raised eyebrows yesterday as he failed to deliver a speech at his inauguration at the Eagle Square, Abuja. But his media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, told THISDAY, that the address would be made on June 12, the new Democracy Day, which he said 91 foreign heads of government have indicated interest to attend. Shehu gave the figure of visiting heads of government while featuring on a programme on Arise News, THISDAY’s sister global television network. He also said the president, who took his oath of office yesterday in Abuja to herald the commencement of his second term in office, would formally deliver his inaugural speech on June 12. Buhari, contrary to tradition, did not deliver an inaugural address yesterday after he was sworn in along with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at a low-key ceremony. Outside Abuja, 29 governors also took the oaths of allegiance and office. Seventeen of them are returning for second term while 12 are fresh. The first term governors who mounted the rostrum for oath taking are Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara), Prof. Baba Gana Umara (Borno), Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Alhaji Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Mr. Audu Sule (Nasarawa) and Mr. Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), all of APC. Their colleagues from the PDP are: Mr. Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Hon. Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Senator Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Mr. Emeka Ihedioha (Imo) and Alhaji Garba Fintiri (Adamawa). The ranking governors were Chief Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Mr. Darius Ishaku (Taraba), Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Prof. Benedict Ayade (Cross River), Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Mr. Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Chief Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Dr. Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Hon. Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), from the PDP. The APC returning governors are Malam Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Alhaji Bello Masari (Katsina), Senator Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi), Mr. Simon Lalong (Plateau), Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar (Jigawa) and Alhaji Sani Bello (Niger). However, the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Buhari failed

to address Nigerians at the presidential inauguration because he and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), are overburdened by the guilt of the “rigged� presidential election. Giving more insight into why Buhari did not deliver his inaugural address yesterday, Shehu said the president deliberately refused to do so because he was reserving it for the elaborate ceremony that will hold on June 12, describing yesterday’s event as “low key.� The president took oaths of service for a second term in office at Eagle Square, Abuja along with Osinbajo without delivering the much-anticipated inauguration speech. Whereas the nation was waiting for the president’s speech after he was sworn in, many were, however, shocked to watch him leave the scene without any remarks. However, Shehu explained to THISDAY in another telephone conversation that the president only took oaths of service yesterday to avoid a breach of constitutional provisions, which stipulate that inauguration of a new president shall take place on May 29 of every four years. The president had last year announced his decision to change Democracy Day from May 29 to June 12, in commemoration of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by a business mogul, Chief Moshood Abiola. Abiola died in custody while fighting to reclaim his mandate that was annulled by the then military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. However, a bill seeking to amend the constitution and change May 29 Democracy Day to June 12 is still before the National Assembly. Although the bill has been passed by the Senate, the House of Representatives is yet to concur. Against this background, Shehu said every other inauguration activity, including the president's speech for a fresh four-year term, would hold on June 12 as the president had earlier explained through the immediate past Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. According to him, yesterday's inauguration was meant only for oath taking in compliance with the constitution. "The president has said it. Today (yesterday) is for oath taking. It has to take place today (yesterday) because it is the constitution. Every other thing including the inauguration speech is moved to June 12th," he explained. The president arrived at

FOUR MORE YEARS‌ L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; Chief of Sta to the president, Abba Kyari; and the president's wife, Aisha Buhari, shortly before the inauguration at the Eagle Square, Abuja‌ yesterday the Eagle Square venue of the inauguration yesterday, accompanied by his wife, Aisha, at 10.03 am and was sworn in by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammad. Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; the acting CJN and service chiefs who had arrived a few minutes earlier in ascending order of importance, received the president on arrival. However, APC National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, overreached himself by opting to join the top government functionaries listed above to receive the president. But a military officer, who viewed Oshiomhole’s action as a breach of protocol, politely walked him out of the place and directed him back to his seat. After exchanging pleasantries with the dignitaries who received him while walking through the red carpet, the president took his seat and the National Anthem was rendered to signal the beginning of the ceremony. The president formally took the oath of service at 10.40 am, immediately after Osinbajo took his own oaths of service as the vice-president. Both men took two oaths - the oath of allegiance and oath of office- respectively. After the swearing-in, the flag was lowered to mark the end of a term, and the lowered flag

was presented to the president by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin. Olonisakin in turn received the new flag from the president and handed it to sergeant majors that hoisted it to commemorate the beginning of a new tenure of four years. A 21-gun salute followed the flag-hoisting ceremony after which the president inspected the guards' parade. Thereafter, the president moved round to shake hands with dignitaries at the event and the rendition of the National Anthem at 11.22am ended the event. At the event, only General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.) was present among Buhari’s predecessors in office. Others at the event were former Chief of General Staff, Gen. Oladipo Diya (rtd.) as well as Governors Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Yahaya Bello (Kogi). Also present were a national leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu; former Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande; former APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani; former Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari; former Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, former Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio and immediate past ministers. Responding to the refusal by the president to make an

inaugural speech, the PDP said in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, that it showed Buhari’s insensitivity and the level of derision with which his handlers and party, the APC, hold Nigerians. The PDP said the failure by Buhari and the APC to make any commitment at the ceremony reinforced the “truism that a product of a flawed electoral process� cannot serve the people or meet their aspirations under a constitutional democracy. It said: “The poor attendance and passivity of the audience at the ceremony at a time that Nigerians were trooping, in their millions, to the inauguration of state governors elected on the platform of the PDP, manifestly show the despondency of Nigerians. “It is indeed pathetic that at a ceremony such as presidential inauguration, where truly elected leaders address their people, make commitments and unfold their governance direction, President Buhari did not showcase his plans or commitment to the development of critical sectors of our polity. “It also speaks volumes that President Buhari had nothing to say to the victims of mindless killings and acts of violence in various parts of our country.� The opposition party said the president had no directions toward stemming the economic distress under

his administration, for which Nigerians are now resorting to suicide and slavery mission abroad as options. “In failing to address Nigerians, President Buhari turned the inauguration to a parody. The PDP, however, urges Nigerians to take solace in their determination to retrieve our stolen presidential mandate at the tribunal so as to entrench a leadership that can lead our nation out of her present predicament,� the party added.

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NBA Cautions Buhari, Govs on Post-election Litigation Interference Davidson Iriekpen The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari and state governors against undue interference in the activities of judges engaged in the adjudication of post-election litigations in the various election tribunals across the country. The NBA urged those

who took the oath of office yesterday not to compromise the independence of the judiciary and respect for the principle of rule of law as a way of sustaining the nation’s democracy. NBA President, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), was quoted in a statement yesterday by the association’s National Publicity Secretary, Kunle Edun, as saying that the

inauguration of the elected leaders in the executive arm for another four-year term was a milestone in the country’s democratic journey. The statement reads in part: “The NBA president notes that today is a milestone in the Nigerian democratic experience as the country marks 20 years of uninterrupted civil rule. “The NBA president states that the experience of the last

20 years has evidently shown that there is no substitute for democracy, but for citizens to reap the full benefits of any democracy, government must be consciously dedicated to the observance of the rule of law at all times. “The NBA president further states that one of the indices of respect of the rule of law is the strengthening of the independence of the judiciary.

“The NBA shall not hesitate to always call on the other arms of government not to weaken the judicial arm of government. It is pertinent for government at all levels to obey and abide by orders of courts. “In this light, the NBA president brings to fore the pending election petitions challenging some of the elections that heralded the inauguration the nation is

witnessing today. “It is the hope of the Bar that the heads of governments being sworn in today shall not unduly influence the Bench, as doing so would be a contravention of the oaths of offices taken today. “The NBA president congratulates the heads of governments, charges them to engage in masses-friendly policies and wishes Nigerians a memorable inauguration day.�

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Trade Wars, Disruptions Drag Oil Price Down to $69 Ejiofor Alike with agency reports Crude oil prices dropped yesterday to $69 per barrel, representing about two percent reduction over its previous prices. The prices of the different baskets of crude oil were weighed down by equity markets as China threatened to escalate the trade war with the United States, stoking concerns that an ongoing stand-off could hurt oil demand in the global market.

Supply constraints linked to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ output cuts and political tensions in the Middle East offered some support, however. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $69.11 a barrel, down $1, or 1.4 per cent, after dropping to a session low of $68.08. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.41, or 2.4 per cent, to $57.73 per barrel, after hitting a low of $57.14.

According to a report by Reuters, amid signs of escalating tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, China and the United States, the Asian nation has signalled its readiness to use its dominant position in rare earths to strike back in a trade war with the US, Chinese newspapers warned yesterday. Rare earths are a group of 17 chemical elements used in everything from high-tech consumer electronics to military equipment. Trade worries and

slowdown fears have pressured investors to dump so-called “risk assets� such as equities and oil globally and seek safety in German and US government debts. While China has so far not explicitly said it would restrict rare earths sales to the United States, Chinese media have strongly implied this will happen. In the United States, cash crude markets in Cushing, Oklahoma and fuel markets in the area have been roiled this week by pipeline outages and

disruptions due to flooding in the Midwest after heavy rains. United States crude oil inventories were forecast to have drawn down last week, after climbing to the highest levels since July 2017, a week earlier due to near record high production and lower refinery runs in the Midwest. Despite these concerns dragging on oil markets, crude prices remain supported on overall supply tightness. Iranian May crude exports fell to less than half of April levels to around 400,000

barrels per day (bpd), after the United States tightened the screws on Tehran’s main source of income. Adding to the support are hopes that supply cuts led by OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, implemented at the start of the year to prop up the market, would be extended in a meeting next month. Russia will carefully consider extending its oil output reduction agreement with OPEC+, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister, Anton Siluanov, told Reuters yesterday.

Pension Assets Hit N9.03tn Ebere Nwoji The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that total pension assets in the country have risen to N9.030 trillion as at March 31, 2019, up from the N7.44 trillion it was in January. The commission which disclosed this in publication obtained on its website yesterday, said these assets have been judiciously and prudently invested in 24 major asset classes to yield interests to the contributors Giving a breakdown of

how the assets were invested, the commission said federal government’s securities took a lion-share of the investment as it received well over N6.51 trillion, representing 72.9 per cent of the total assets. Specifically, federal government bond got N 4,458,806.38 of the funds, representing 49.37 per cent of the total assets; while N1.94 trillion was invested in treasury bills (21.44 per cent); N11.96 billion in Agency Bonds (NMRC & FMBN), (0.13 per cent); N94.11 billion in Sukuk (1.04 per cent) and N8.51 billion in Green Bonds,

(0.09 per cent.). The commission also said in line with the Multi-fund structure, Retirement Saving Account (RSA) Fund 1, witnessed N12.73 billion investment and RSA Fund 11, recorded N3.99 trillion investment, RSA Fund 111, saw N2.15 trillion investment while RSA Fund IV, recorded N732.13 billion investment. Furthermore, the report showed that N596.61 billion, which was 6.54 per cent of the funds, was invested in domestic ordinary shares; while N62.59 billion, amounting to 0.69 per cent

was invested in foreign ordinary shares. Similarly, while N144.31 billion (1.60 per cent) was invested in state government’s securities; corporate bonds got N463.99 billion (5.4 per cent); corporate infrastructure bonds, received N8.64 billion, (0.10 per cent); corporate green bonds, N5.46 billion(0.06 per cent); supra-national bonds got N5.37 billion (0.06 per cent); local money market, N874.39 billion, (9.68 per cent) commercial papers, N64.46 billion (0.71 per cent); banks - N809.94 billion (8.97

per cent). Others were REITS - N14.27 billion, (0.16 per cent); Foreign Money Market Securities - N22.54 billion (0.25 per cent); private equity fund -N32.34 billion, (0.36 per cent), Real Estate Properties- N231.37 billion (2.56 per cent); infrastructure funds, N29.40 billion, (0.33 per cent) and cash & other assets, N25.16 billion, (0.28 per cent). The Acting DirectorGeneral, PenCom, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, in a statement to this effect, said contrary to the belief by some

Nigerians that the funds are in PenCom's custody, they had been invested 100 in various asset classes and are yielding returns into the savings account of various contributors A comparison of investment patterns of the funds between January and March, 2019 showed that whereas in January, 2019, investment in federal government securities took the lion share by having 72.91 per cent of the total fund invested, in March, it decreased slightly to 72.08 per cent of the fund.

Senate Presidency: Ndume Talks Tough, Accuses APC Leadership of Illegality Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A contestant for the position of the president of the Senate in the incoming ninth session of the National Assembly, Senate Ali Ndume, has said by declaring a candidate for the seat as the favourite of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is in the breach of Nigerian Constitution and that of the party. Ndume said what was needed was for the party to treat all members equally and provide an atmosphere for free contest among qualified lawmakers, as provided by its constitution. Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate, is contesting the position with Senator Ahmed Lawan,

the incumbent Senate leader who is the favoured candidate of the APC. “I am confident of winning. Anytime I do the numbers, I see it and I am confident that we will get there. My colleagues are in my support,� the third-term senator told Premium Times. “What the party or the party chairman wants to do is wrong. It is only patriotic for me to say this is wrong, and it should change. “I am only hoping that the national chairman will rescind on his decision to impose a candidate - to anoint a candidate or even to recommend a particular candidate because it contravenes the party's constitution. It also contravenes the national constitution, and it also runs against natural

justice,� he said. Ndume said recommending or insisting on any person against another is discriminatory and therefore in breach of principles of equality and freedom of participation. He said if free and fair contest were to be allowed, he was convinced that he has the backing of his colleagues to emerge president of the 9th Senate. Lawal was announced as the preferred candidate of the APC, the party with the majority in the Senate. There are however fears that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may go into an alliance that could unsettle APC’s planned installing of its preferred candidate. Ndume was removed as the leader of the Senate

and eventually placed on six months suspension for going against the Senate’s position on the appointment of the acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu. The senator said he did

not regret that decision to stand by President Buhari on that appointment and other decisions, which earned him the wrath of his colleagues. “I want to say, without any fear of contradiction, that if you are to classify

people that are so committed to the party and Mr. President, I can be counted among them. “When the Senate President tried to veer off from supporting Mr. President, I stood against that. My stance on the confirmation of Magu was what caused me my seat. I stood firmly for Mr. President and the party on the confirmation. “As the Senate leader, I made sure that every nominee of Mr. President was confirmed. During Magu’s case, it was the same thing. It was because of that I was removed as the Senate Leader. That did not deter me. I continued to stand with Mr. President and I will continue to stand with Mr. President in and out of government,� he said.

sharing information about those entities, and refusing to do further business with them until they settle their obligations. “This initiative would make it necessary for banks to maintain ‘Black Books’ for the purpose of maintaining records of these customers and sharing same amongst banks and the regulatory authorities. “There is need for banks to engage legal councils to advise the institution on the best approach/ strategy to avoid further harassment. “There is need to on-board and engage regulatory authorities,

especially the Central Bank of Nigeria, to adopt a “Reverse Reference� system, which would basically involve “blacklisting� of bad debtors and denying the customers as well as their directors from accessing further financial privileges through any financial services platform. “In addition to the foregoing, there is need to present these cases before the Bankers’ Committee Ethics Committee,� it added. The resolution by the chief executives of banks came exactly two weeks after the federal government resolved to bar debtors, both individuals

and organisations, owing the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, had disclosed plans by government to set up an inter-agency collaboration framework comprising relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and supervised by his office, to ensure that such debtors are not allowed to do business with government henceforth. Osinbajo had said government would deal decisively with individuals and organisations on the debtor list.

Ndume

BANKS PLAN BLACKLIST OF CHRONIC DEBTORS the Central Bank of Nigeria on behalf of all banks on its need to adopt a “Reverse Reference� system for chronic debtors. A reverse reference system involves blacklisting of bad debtors and denying such customers as well as their directors further access to financial privileges through any financial services platform. All cases of defaults would be presented and made to go through the Bankers’ Committee Ethics Committee, they noted. The bank CEOs also disclosed plan to set up an Advocacy Group to write to and engage the regulators and other

stakeholders on the dangers and implications of the continuous harassment of banks’ CEOs in the industry, the Nigerian economy and its effects on the reputation of the industry in the international community. It said: “The group would also have the responsibility to work with legal councils and come up with ways and strategies to manage related cases effectively without disrupting businesses and the system. “The meeting agreed that the activities of law enforcement agencies, working with chronic bank debt defaulters, to harass and criminalise banks’

CEOs is unacceptable, and is capable of adversely affecting the banking system vis-Ă -vis our reputation amongst international banks, destroying the economy, and therefore must be checked and managed.â€? According to the statement, members noted the urgent need for all banks to cooperate and collaborate to identify and ex-communicate chronic debt defaulters. The communique stated further: “This goes beyond publishing names of such defaulters in national media (which is inevitable), but involves all banks speaking with “one voiceâ€? and

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INAUGURATION IN PICS‌

INAUGURATION IN PICS‌

President Muhammadu Buhari (left), being sworn-in for a second term in oďŹƒce by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, at the Eagle Square in Abuja‌ yesterday

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN and wife Dolapo Osinbajo taking his Oaths of OďŹƒce

President Muhammadu Buhari acknowledging cheers during his inauguration for his second term in oďŹƒce, at the Eagle Square in Abuja‌ yesterday

L-R: Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; and President Muhammadu Buhari at the Eagle Square‌ yesterday

A cross section of service chiefs during the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, at STATE HOUSE the Eagle Square, Abuja

A cross section of members of diplomatic corps during the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari at the Eagles Square, Abuja

STATE HOUSE

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INAUGURATION IN PICS‌

Mr. Babatunde Olusola Sanwo-Olu, being sworn-in by the state Chief Judge, Justice Opeyemi Oke (left) and wife of the governor, Dr. lbijoke Sanwo-Olu, during the inauguration ceremony of Sanwo-Olu as Governor of Lagos State at Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: Wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Dapo Abiodun, her husband, Governor Dapo Abiodun; and Chief Judge of Ogun State, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, during the inauguration ceremony held at MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta KUNLE OGUNFUYI

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, taking the oath of oďŹƒce being administered by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Adama Iyaye-Laminkara during the second term inauguration of his administration at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt

Governor Nasiru el-Rufai of Kaduna State taking the oath of oďŹƒce before the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Mohammadu Laal Bello at the second term inauguration ceremony in Kaduna

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq (left), taking Oath of OďŹƒce before the state Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman Kawu, during governor's swearing-in ceremony in Government House, Ilorin

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello taking the oath of oďŹƒce being administered by acting state Chief Judge, Justice Ahmed Bima, in Minna

IDRIS EGAJI

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INAUGURATION IN PICS‌

R-L: Oyo State Chief Judge, Justice Mutar Abimbola; new Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; and his wife, Omini, during the swearing-in ceremony of the governor at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan FELIX ADEMOLA

Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (middle), being sworn in for a second term by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Priscilla Ngozi Emehelu (right), at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu‌ yesterday. With them is governor's wife, Monica.

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, supported by his wife, Linda, during his swearing in for second term in Calabar‌ yesterday

Yobe State Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni (right), taking his oath of oďŹƒce before the state Chief Judge, Justice Garba Musa Nabaruma, in Damaturu

A cross section of guests during the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Eagle Square, Abuja

STATE HOUSE

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COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

EDUCATION FOR FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT Singapore provides lessons for Foreign Direct Investment, writes Okello Oculi

P

resident Julius Kambarage Nyerere likened getting education in Africa to being a messenger sent out by a community lacking food to go and obtain food from another community and save her/his people from starvation. Lee Kuan Yew and his group of fellow Singapore students studying in Britain translated this dictum into evolving strategies for turning little Singapore into a global economic power. From Japan’s Meiji Revolution of 1868, they borrowed a resolve to build a working population trained rigorously with quality education; discipline and devotion to obeying the religious belief that work, as worship to Gods, must be done with maximum collective energy and skill. The new Singapore as a country with top quality workers would excite and attract foreign multinational corporations as employees to manage their enterprises in Singapore. Prime Minister Yew’s team also exploited their country’s geographical advantage of proximity to vast potential markets in highly populated India, China, Japan and Indonesia. This critical value of building educational institutions which create knowledge-loving; highly disciplined and productive workforce is often ignored by commentators on Singapore’s success story. South Africa and Nigeria shared the historic status of holding national elections in 2019 under conditions in which vast sections of their populations have lacked access to education. Social convulsions in the 1970s share blame for this malaise. A civil war in Nigeria, and school children boycotting classes, in South Africa (as part of a struggle against racism and oppression by European immigrants), can be noted. In both countries promises of providing hope and economic welfare to the vast masses without education won votes. In the next four years, Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Cyril Ramaphosa are destined to worship on the mat and shrine of education. Ramaphosa has to provide quality education in the face of a negative outshoots of school pupils boycotting lessons to reject the imposition of ‘’Afrikaan’’ the language of their white oppressors. In growing anger against Police beatings and murders of children with gunshots, they broke classroom furniture, stabbed and beat up teachers and school officials. Over time, a culture of stalking streets; seeking out victims to injure or kill, overtook that of reading books, conducting chemistry experiments, conducting school debates and playing sports for building bodies and minds. Sinister groups among the Boers/Afrikaaners have shown interest in reinforcing this negative anti-school subculture. This has included promoting xenophobic against African academics who, between the mid- 1960s and 1994, took high quality learning acquired in top American and European universities to teach and ensure quality learning in universities located in ‘’Bantustans’’. Some Afrikaaners have encouraged hostility and aversion to studies

SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA SHARED THE HISTORIC STATUS OF HOLDING NATIONAL ELECTIONS IN 2019 UNDER CONDITIONS IN WHICH VAST SECTIONS OF THEIR POPULATIONS HAVE LACKED ACCESS TO EDUCATION.

about other African countries and the history of savage racist governance in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Angola. Corruption among ANC Officials saw nepotism and bribery leading to the infusion unqualified persons as teachers, and denial of admission to children of poor parents – including party members. Sadistic behaviour and sexual perversion were covered up in public schools. Ramaphosa must support educational tools for channelling reservoirs of self-hatred away from rape and xenophobia into pursuing public acclaim through productive inventions. Both Buhari and Ramaphosa have the peculiar legacy of past rulers being afraid of those they oppressed taking power from them if given quality education. Afrikaaners used police violence to grab vast fertile land and forced able-bodied Blacks (or ‘’Bantus’’) into slave labour in mines, on farms, factories and in homes of white families. White land grabbers stand like Drakensberg mountain walls though Ramaphosa must use explosives to create tunnels for travel to equity for impoverished Africans. President Buhari lacks the advantages of a legacy of a country with high quality educational institutions and a culture of deep passion for education which the European immigrants reserved for themselves in South Africa. Nigeria’s 1967-70 civil war destroyed social fabrics, schools and colleges in Biafra. The withdrawal of support for social services by the post-1986 Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) deepened levels of decay in Nigeria’s educational infrastructure and culture. President Jonathan’s administration admitted a widespread loss of ‘’reading culture’’ by Nigerians. A pandemic of corruption in the educational infrastructure began to assume the character of a subversive attack on national security. Both Ramaphosa and Buhari lack that sub-culture, among their electoral base, of a cast which sees pursuing intensive education in order to fulfil its duty as leaders of a nation. The Afrikaaners did not infect a black elite with their ‘’clan’s’’ God-given obligation to dominate Black people. A top Pakistani military officer told me at Bellagio Conference Center that, unlike Nigeria and Pakistan, India has not experienced military coups because holding political power is not the duty of their cast. Accordingly, within a huge pool of poverty and illiteracy, India’s Brahmin cast built schools and educational institutions with global standards of excellence. The two presidents may need a leaf from Singapore for their campaign to attract Foreign Direct Investment into their economies. While Ramaphosa has the benefit of enclave racial groups that have always seen investment in top quality education for their tribe as a weapon for their security and monopoly of power, Buhari has to swim against an old river of fear by ruling classes against investment in quality education for their ‘’subjects’’. Both leaders lack time to affirm that it is rained brains of the mass public that build nations.

EDO ELECTRICITY THEFT REGULATION

The Edo State House of Assembly recent law on electricity theft is in order, writes Cyril Omote

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igerians are desirous of growth in the power sector. Such growth or progression hopefully is to be predicated on regular power supply, eradication of estimated billing through the provision of meters to all customers and efficient service delivery by the distribution companies (Disco) which are at the end of the power sector value chain. Observers are quick to point out that such growth coming from a background with an order of magnitude of inefficiency in the power sector caused by historical neglect, will require an associated order of magnitude of investment, commitment, focus, and patience, for its turnaround. Efficient electricity market is and continues to be a defined outcome of the power sector reform effort. The elimination of estimated billing, largely, is one of the expected outcomes for an efficient market. However, attainment of this efficiency is also predicated on other factors such as appropriate electricity pricing, increased generation, efficient regulation, forex availability, consistency of regulation and policymaking and implementation, favourable lending terms, and the reduction or absence of electricity theft that, unfortunately, have been the albatross of the sector till date. Good a thing the Muhammad Buhari-led administration has made the eradication of corruption in all facets of national life one of its cardinal focus. Analysts believe that corruption is not limited to financial crimes alone as we have the siege in many facets of national life where people contravene the normal legal convention and shortcuts the benefits of many entities or people for few individuals such as energy theft. Therefore there is no gainsaying that electricity line disruption and stealing should be considered economic crimes in Nigeria, hence under the scope of operations of the anti-graft agency, EFCC. Little wonder then that recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was reported to have begun the investigation into alleged collusion by some electricity distribution firms’ workers,

consumers and meter manufacturing companies to steal electricity by bypassing meter. It would be recalled that Nigeria’s former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola recently pointed out that electricity distribution companies in the country are facing technical and commercial losses, running at 75% in some areas. Hence, making the sector not attractive to potential investors. Electricity theft can be defined as the illegal use of electricity service with the intention to avoid billing charge. It is a problem for the electricity supply industry in many countries with huge consequences in loss of revenue and danger to life and property. In developed countries, it appears to be more controlled which is evident in low levels of non-technical losses. The deliberate stealing of electricity is widespread and happens through various schemes including – direct connection to the overhead low tension distribution cables, bypassing the meter so that only a small load is connected to it while the rest are connected directly to the supply behind the meter or tampering with the meter to make its reading inaccurate. The deliberate stealing of electricity is more often than not aided and abetted by experienced (current or past) technicians who understand how the systems work. Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigeria Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, disclosed at a recent programme in Port Harcourt on challenges faced by Discos in the country that the body has carried out a research on energy theft in the country and the result was disheartening. “One major challenge is the low level of power available for Nigerians, even the little that is available is stolen by consumers. “We have done a research that shows that 47per cent of installed prepaid meters are by-passed within the first four weeks of installation by the customers. Which means we have so many energy thieves in our country.� There is an existing federal legislation that prescribes a 21-year jail term for energy theft

offenders. The law is now being replicated at the state level as states are expected to pass the law for implementation. The evil thing about energy theft is that those not involved are indirectly paying for those involved, hence the need for all and sundry to fight the cankerworm. If there is no energy theft the efficiency desired from power service providers will be achieved. It is therefore salutary for the regulatory agency in the power sector, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to present bill to the Senate, seeking seven years jail term for electricity theft. The bill is entitled ‘A Bill for an Act to prohibit and prevent electricity theft, power infrastructure vandalism and power company protection 2017.’It was presented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, Eyinnaya Abaribe. The commission claimed that stealing and sabotage were responsible for between 30 per cent and 35 per cent energy loss in the country. It frowned on some consumers who it claimed by-passed meters and also vandalise transformers and feeder pillars, among others. “If we fail to act decisively in correcting the ills of the power sector, including public power leakage, the opportunity for the country to recover could be lost,� the commission warned. In the same vein, worried by the spate of incessant challenges in the power sector manifesting in the form of vandalism of electricity distribution network, equipment and installations, illegal tampering of meters and connections, meter bypass and other forms of electrical theft, Ekiti State government inaugurated the Ekiti State Electricity Regulation Act 2015 that makes vandals in Ekiti State risk two-year jail term following the inauguration of the Act by Governor Kayode Fayemi. The governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji said the law was made to protect suppliers and the users of electricity. The customers, he said have responsibility to BEDC Electricity Plc. (BEDC) by ensuring they do not tamper with

electrical fittings, meters or vandalise transformers while the distribution company also have the responsibility of providing efficient power with billing commensurate with power supply. According to the SSG, the content of the act seeks to deter illegal and unauthorized use of regulated electricity supply as well as to protect electricity infrastructure. Vandals and those who involved in all forms of electrical theft now risk two-year jail term with an option of N2 million fine. The law also mandates the establishment of electricity committees in all communities in the state to partner with the State Electricity Board in ensuring the prevention of trespass upon or damage to substations, buildings, cable, poles, transformers, electrical installation or premises appertaining to any supply undertaking or otherwise belonging thereto. The challenge of energy theft is so daunting to the extent that such theft and associated loss of revenue may have compelled the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (Disco) to acquire and install an Integrated Commercial Management System (InCMS) worth â‚Ź2.4 million to check repeated theft of electricity by consumers within its network coverage. Besides reducing losses, the automated system according to the Disco was equally expected to improve the service experience of its consumers. It is high time the wave of curbing energy theft took firm root in Edo State where the service providers, BEDC Electricity Plc. (BEDC) says between 30-50 per cent of energy distributed is lost to energy theft. It is therefore a timely step by the Edo State House of Assembly which mooted and passed into law the Electricity Theft and Other Related Offences, and Establishment of the Special Offences (Electricity Theft) Court and For Other Purposes Connected thereto. For illegal consumers of electricity in the state, tough times await them as the enacted law prohibits energy theft and other related offences and also establishes a special offences court to prosecute offenders. Omote wrote from Benin City

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EDITORIAL Wike’s Oil Bunkering Allegation The authorities may do well to investigate the allegation

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he accusation by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State that the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarham, runs an oil theft squad has spotlighted two important aspects of our national life, namely security and economy. The multi-dimensional allegation, casually disclosed while hosting a team of Operation Delta Safe in Port Harcourt, is weighty and target-specific: “The GOC is doing illegal bunkering, which he is using to finance his quest to emerge as the country’s Chief of Army Staff. He has his own team that is making money for him through oil bunkering. We will have a security meeting and he will release the details to criminals, and the Chief of Army Staff will leave the man here because he is playing their role. How will the security of the state be with such a man as the GOC? He will compromise when fighting to reduce crime. They sent us a WIKE’S COMPLAINT GOC who destroyed PRESENTS YET ANOTHER the security architecCHANCE TO FRONTALLY ture of the state.” CONFRONT OUR Although clearly ECONOMIC AND SECURITY vitriolic, those words inadvertently point SABOTEURS to how far the country has gone in its current democratic journey, specifically in terms of freedom of speech and the subordination of the military to civil authorities. The fact that only two decades after military dictatorship, an elected official could confidently draw attention to perceived unlawful actions of uniformed personnel right in their presence indicates how far we have come. It is indeed noteworthy that the army’s response, though counter-accusatory, is refreshingly civil. According to its spokesman, “the headquarters of 6 Division wishes to request the governor to take the most civilised way of putting up a petition to the relevant authorities to make a point. Mr Wike’s

Letters to the Editor

resentment against the GOC is based on the latter’s choice of professionalism and integrity over the billions of naira offered to him by the governor to compromise the 2019 general election. His refusal to be bought over and the rejection of such hefty offer is the genesis of Wike’s hatred and vociferous criticisms against Maj. Gen. Sarham.”

N T H I S DAY EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI DEPUTY EDITOR DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

o doubt, Wike’s poor choice of method and forum for communicating a sensitive matter of this magnitude could elicit scepticism or cynicism instead of the expeditious treatment it deserves. It is recalled, for instance, that following the multi-million dollar cash discovery at an Ikoyi, Lagos apartment in 2017, Wike claimed that the money was part of the resources of the state allegedly plundered by his predecessor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi. But at the end, he failed to prove his case in court. Also, several charges of plots by government and security agencies to assassinate him have remained unproven. Sadly, these frivolous public utterances could portray him as an alarmist. The governor’s previous missteps notwithstanding, we urge the presidency to investigate his present assertion, especially since he would not be the first to make such allegation. We recall that a late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, had in 2014 warned about top-level military complicity in the illegitimate crude oil business in Nigeria. He alleged that, “the so-called militants we celebrate, who tap oil, are only employed as escorts. If there is no buyer, we will not find a seller. The post retirement job of a senior naval officer is bunkering. None of those boys you see in the Niger Delta has the connections to bring ships to our economic zone to lift oil,” the late Alamieyeseigha said at the time. Wike’s complaint presents yet another chance to frontally confront our economic and security saboteurs. A transparent, efficient enquiry has, therefore, become urgent and mandatory for the credibility of our armed forces.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

CHILD RIGHTS LAW AND UNSAFE FUTURE “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” — Mahatma Ghandi.

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ecause human rights belong to each person, one may hastily pontificate that child rights are subsumed in human rights. Although children are human beings, human rights are insufficient protection for the array of child-specific vulnerabilities. Until a person is able to fully fend for himself, he may be marginalized by

society. Children abound ever so more, without adequate protective laws in Nigeria. By twin universal metrics – The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and The African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CRCW), Nigeria lags behind in passable protection laws for children. Across northern Nigeria, various children are termed Almajiris. Almajiri was a name for young Islamic scholars but the name now substitutes for beggars, urchins, who restlessly loiter by roadsides. Many northern states are yet to domesticate the Child Rights Act. Two kinds of disasters: natural or man-made may bedevil a nation. However, all over the world, there is an agreeable consensus over the ability of laws to maintain social equilibrium and curb fiery crimes which may arise from a failed man-made system or human intent such as Boko Haram, herdsmen crises, armed banditry and similar other menaces which are currently on the rampage.

Yet, only a few believe in proactive laws that can shape decency in and pivot children to fulfil potential. It is in this category of “few” that Nigeria finds itself. The provisions of Chapter IV (Sections 33 - 46) of the 1999 Constitution pertain to fundamental human rights and are available for the Nigerian child. However, there are no specific child rights provisions in the constitution. In fact, all through the constitution a “child” is not defined. In 1943, the British government promulgated the Children and Young Person’s Act (CYPA). The CYPA was later enacted into Nigeria’s federal laws in 1958 (formerly Chapter 32 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and Lagos). The CPYA provided for the creation of juvenile courts; see Section 6 of the CYPA. It also creates punitive measures for juvenile offences. The mainstay of the CYPA was not child welfare but the administration of justice for young offenders. Therefore, a legal instrument which would bring about better protection of the child was much desired. On 20th November 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); in July, 1990, the OAU Assembly of Heads of States and Governments adopted the African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CRCW). Both the CRC and the CRCW set out standard universal principles for the survival, protection, participation and development of a child. They emphasise the distinct rights that accords to children by virtue of their vulnerabilities. Nigeria signed and ratified both instruments in 1991 and 2000 respectively.

Importantly, according to Section 12(1) of the Constitution, no international treaty can take on legal validity in Nigeria until it is first enacted into law by the National Assembly. So, even though the CRC and the CRCW were long adopted and ratified, they could not be enforced in Nigeria until 2003 when the National Assembly domesticated the CRC and CRCW by enacting the Child Rights Act (CRA). The CRA settled the issue of age description for the child. See Section 277 of the CRA. Also, the act provides for the care and protection of children and even enables children with disabilities to enjoy their full rights by providing special measures of care and protection for them. Given that the CRA is an encompassing commendable legal instrument, one would have expected that it would repeal every other child right law and would have been in full force in all the states in Nigeria by now. However, the reverse is the case. This is the major problem with the CRA: child rights protection fall under residual list and is within the purview of states government to legislate upon. In order for the CRA to have effect at state levels, state governments are expected to internalize the provisions of the CRA into their local laws. Many Northern states like Bauchi, Yobe, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Zamfara, Gombe, Katsina, Kebbi, and Jigawa are yet to enact the Child Rights Law largely due to political, religious and cultural reasons. The Child Rights Law is not only in the best interest of the Nigerian child but also all Nigerians. Tope Akinyode, Lagos

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THURSDAY MAY 30, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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POLITICS

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG Email nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com (08114495324 SMS ONLY)

‘Paying Salaries is not an Achievement’ Iyobosa Uwugiaren dialogues with Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, a very strong voice in the political development of Nigeria, especially in Anambra State, on Nigeria’s democratic journey since 1999

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n May 29, Nigeria clocked 20 years of uninterrupted democracy. Do you think we have made any progress? I think we have every reason to celebrate. Much as I may accept that the growth has not been quite impressive, in so many areas, we have a lot to celebrate. The fact that we say it is uninterrupted for the past 20 years is in itself a major reason to celebrate. It means democracy has come to stay. When you look at the democratic processes, going by the last elections, there have been lots of improvement. It may not be in the conduct, but in the laws that are supposed to enable the process. There have been some landmark electoral laws that Mr. President has assented to. That means the future of elections in Nigeria is bright. Despite all the challenges we have seen in the past, votes might start counting very soon. That will trigger the correction of other processes that may have affected this democracy negatively. For instance, the quality of candidates that will contest in future elections and the processes of bringing up the candidates will improve. I am particularly happy that we have the candidates of the ruling party at the centre in two states, Zamfara and Rivers, who were excluded from the latest polls because of certain infractions. Who would have imagined that that could happen in Nigeria, where we simply think that once you are in power, you can have your way in everything? These little things, to me, matter a lot in assessing how far we have gone. I know also that it is taken for granted that parties in power could win certain states. I also saw in the last elections where an incumbent governor could not win a senatorial seat. These are indications that with the laws and corrections we have seen, there is hope that the future will be better. The result is that the electorate would have more confidence in the process and you may see better players coming into the process. That will increase the quality of participants. If we have quality legislators, then we should have a robust National Assembly. We will have quality people who may ordinarily not come out to partake because the process in the past has been frustrating, now coming out and emerging as governors. Economically, I don’t think that we have remained where we were 20 years ago. Today, our financial institutions are stronger and can do bigger businesses. Some of them are competing on the international stage. It is during this process that we produced billionaires. We have also seen certain sectors grown to be international leaders – the music industry and Nollywood, for instance. We have seen stronger and more independent legislature and judiciary. The National Assembly has shown that they can be independent and have views contrary to those of the executive. We have seen also similar situation with the judiciary. The opposition, especially your party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), believes that some of the strides that we made democratically have been eroded by the incumbent administration. Do you share that sentiment? I don’t have all the statistics to situate that sentiment; but I tend to look at democracy holistically in the last 20 years. It is a combination of what we have seen in the last four years and the preceding 16 years of the PDP. There is no doubt that we had less tension during the PDP days, especially during the Jonathan/ Yar’Adua period. The PDP was in power for 16 years and they played a big role while All Progressives Congress (APC) has done four years going to five. We are

pends also on what APGA is comparing itself to. If you compare APGA with many low performing states that cannot pay salaries, then you may be right. When you ask somebody like me if that is an achievement, I will say you are wrong because it is government responsibility. Paying salaries cannot be an achievement. How can a governor tell me he is doing well because he’s paying salaries? If you can’t manage the resources of the state and the people to be able to pay salaries, then you don’t need to contest in the first place. When you tell me if they have grown the size of the economy in Anambra, if you are looking at the economy in kobo terms when their source of income is chasing ‘Okada’ riders and motor parks as their of IGR, maybe they could be happy about it. For somebody like me, who knows the huge potentials of the state, I will say, ‘no’. If there is some sort of stability, compared to other states that are not performing well, they can take the first position. But have they actualized the potentials of the state? The answer is ‘no’ because, for me, your achievement depend on the target you set for yourself.

Okonkwo watching to see what would happen at the end of the APC administration. There is this argument concerning strong men as leaders as against the building of institutions. Part of the complaints in some quarters in the last four years concerns strong leadership rather than strong institutions to drive the process of development. Which would you subscribe to? I have studied development in two countries; Singapore and Russia. If I were to use these two countries as example, There must be a balance. A strong leader with the right vision and honest mission is necessary. However, we need a combination of both in this part of the world, where certain things are still at developmental stage. Many argue that if you combine both, you may blur the line between when the leader follows the process as constitutionally laid down and when he begins to drive things based on his own mission. Either of these will work in line with the constitution because when you have a strong man, he does not downplay the constitution, but he would rather use the constitution in way that it will help him to achieve his vision. Obasanjo tried to do third term. If the National Assembly had amended the constitution to allow that; I don’t think anybody will accuse him of not working with the constitution. How do you work round that and at the same time deliver development to the people, because meaning well is different from doing well? I don’t support it when it’s for personal purpose like I’ve said. If it is for the purpose of having extraordinary constitutional powers to enable you hasten processes, engage in things that ordinarily will take a long time. As a matter of fact, it’s in all constitutions. It’s only recently we saw American Presidents dishing out executive powers. But it becomes a problem when you are unlucky to have a President who wants power to actualize a selfish personal agenda and to deal with the opposition. At

that point, you expect the people to show that power actually belongs to them just like we had recently in Sudan and Algeria. Looking at Nigeria in the last 20 years, many people believe that governors have not done what they should do and; today, we have only four or five states that can stand on their own. What do you make of that? It is really a very sad story. Talking about some governors and their performance, yes, it is very disappointing. I believe in a developmental process that is from bottom up. When I say bottom up, I’m talking about local, state and federal government. Today, there are certain situations that are in some states for which we blame the Federal Government. And there are certain situations that could have been apprehended within the local government but we are sending SOS to the President. Then you wonder why you have local authorities and state governments. The reason is that the quality of governors we have produced in some states over the past 20 years is appalling. When most governors are looking for a deputy, it is an unwritten rule to choose a weak person who cannot really raise his head to give you any form of trouble or question your actions. The ideal thing is to choose a competent person to understudy you, so that in your absence or your exit, the deputy can continue with the vision you both share. That is why in many states the deputy does not succeed the governor. Look at it in terms of the electoral process, you find that because of the enormous resources in the hands of the governor, in 95 percent of the situation, it is a fait accompli that a sitting governor should return for second term even if he is not performing. A combination of all these has led to very poor quality of governors in the states and that has affected, to a very large extent, governance and dividends of democracy in the last 20 years. Your state seems to be different because it does appear that All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) leadership has done so well…. It depends on the yardstick APGA is using to measure its performance. It de-

Are you not saying this because you are in the PDP? When you look at many PDP states too, they are celebrating tokenism. It is not a matter of being a PDP state or being an APGA state. Any governor who cannot, in this age, take his state to the highest level, has nothing to celebrate, regardless of what political party he or she belongs to. I’m talking as a professional who knows what is happening around the world. Would you say the challenges we are looking at now relate to the process of the emergence of people who are chosen as leaders using yardstick such as loyalty and godfatherism? To a large extent, I say ‘yes’ from the point of view that competence, and credibility have been relegated to the background in choosing our leaders. In Anambra, we seem to have resigned to fate. The majority of the people may not be able to reverse the trend and those who are enlightened, who know better, some of them are in their different comfort zones outside the state and do not care what happens. The situation is not limited to Anambra. It is also happening in other states. I hope that with the electoral processes evolving and the new laws that make votes count, things will change, and competent people can come forward for leadership positions in states across the country. The dominant issue now in Anambra state is about zoning for elective positions. What do you make of it? I feel amused when people canvass for the zoning of governorship, especially in Anambra with the paralysis we have in government right now. Don’t get me wrong, zoning is okay where it is to create a balance and equity. But that can be done only for inconsequential positions, not for governorship. By the way, what are you zoning in Anambra? We should be talking about one state, one people and one development. Anambra is also a homogenous state. We speak the same language. We have the same faith – Christianity – 100 hundred percent. The territorial mass of Anambra is just like the ranch of one person in Texas. There is not much that divides Anambra people. What could be the basis of saying someone is not from my zone? NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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POLITICS

‘Donor Support for CSOs Increases towards Election Period’ Udora Orizu holds a conversation with Cynthia Mbamalu, Programme manager YIAGA Africa and Project Director Watching the Vote on how civil society organizations can engage the various stakeholders in the electoral process to achieve desired results

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ow would you assess the intervention of civil society organisations in the 2019 national elections? The civil society organizations played a major role in the 2019 elections by providing technical support to the electoral commission before the election. We had lots of CSOs that provided technical support to INEC. The electoral guidelines was released in January. The commission had invited CSOs to share the draft copy of the memorandum. There was a joint review and recommendations made on certain sections that needed to be reviewed. YIAGA wrote a detailed memo on the guidelines for the elections, providing specific recommendations on sections that should be reviewed to improve on the integrity of the elections. This became one of the advocacy tools to engage the commission. Before that, we had the engagement for the electoral reforms, regardless of the fact that the president declined assent in December 2018. Post that period, we had lots of CSOs that engaged the House of Representatives and the Senate committees of INEC and elections to ensure that we had an electoral amendment and that reflected our reality and provisions that will reflect the credibility of elections in Nigeria. There was also a lot of voter education that by the civil society organizations. Look at the YIAGA, ‘Watching the Vote’, pre-election observation report from the first to sixth reporting period, we highlighted that there were CSOs carrying out voter education in different local governments as we observed the activities of CSOs in the 774 local governments. In those local governments, we saw different CSOs from the national level to the grassroots level engaging in voter education, promoting consciousness among citizens. We also had groups doing a lot of security threat assessment. If you look at the CLEEN Foundation Report, you have groups tracking incidents of violence and fighting against fake news. Centre for Democracy and Development provided these reports. All those pre-election reports helped to build an early warning system against violence for the elections. They provided information to engage security agencies, INEC and international observers mission. These reports helped promote some sense of citizens participation in the electoral process. For the elections, different CSOs had different methodologies to look at specific aspects of the elections. One of the things that was achieved in each of the reports was a point of convergence which helped amplify and escalate those incidents to ensure that appropriate institutions took action and addressed the issues. When we had reports on military interference, you see reports from YIAGA Africa, Situation Room, CDD, CLEEN Foundation, which highlighted the interference of military. That way, you could see different media houses actually relying on it and brought the attention of citizens, the international community and different stakeholders on the negative role the military was playing. Also the role the political parties played, we have seen reports on disruption and manipulation of the process, reports on violence and polling unit, presiding officers subjected to inhumane treatment and violence and even reports of rape. If we didn’t have observer groups deployed, it would have gone under the carpet. We wouldn’t have seen all the malpractices and the call for a review of the electoral process. When the elections was postponed, different groups in all the press conferences expressed anger and frustration with the electoral commission on why they waited till the last hour to postpone the elections. In every statement, there were calls on citizens to remain calm. If we didn’t have groups calling on citizens to be patient and remain calm and still come out to vote, we probably would have had a lower percentage of voter turnout. The civil societies played so many critical roles to ensure that they put the

Mbamalu arms of government in check, provide that independent oversight in the process and to continually engage while also providing citizens information and ensuring that the citizens participated in a more peaceful manner and didn’t lose interest in the process. At what stage can the civil society organisations intervention be more helpful, before, during or after the elections? There’s a lot that needs to be done in the pre-election phase because elections day activities are influenced by what happened in the pre-election. That’s the period that the electoral commission is working on its internal policies on election operations and management of logistics, issues of training of adhoc personnel to be deployed and security coordination. Civil societies have a major role in building our electoral democracy. The pre-election phase is when you have the time to assess the process from a more independent position. At that point, you are thinking from a clearer perspective because you are not informed by the tension that occurs on election day. You have the attention of stakeholders that would play an important role. From what we saw in the 2019 elections, I believe there’s a lot more that needs to be done in engaging INEC in a more constructive manner beyond just the usual meetings and conversations. Questions should be asked on how INEC intends to deploy logistics. How can civil societies help in achieving that plan and all issues raised? Where do you think sensitisation or training is more needed; voters, media, security agencies or the political parties? Sensitization is needed everywhere, But I think a lot of sensitization should go to the media because they set the agenda for the elections, communicate the political parties manifesto and all of that. The media plays the role of informing the citizens so what the media puts out there is what informs how citizens participate. If the media creates a platform that enables spread of hate speech that informs how citizens participate. But if they push out information that inspire participation, you will see citizens take actions based on that. What the media makes to trend is what informs participation. The media plays an important role in shaping the discuss that’s why there’s a lot of education that needs to be done with

reporters, and editors that decide what goes out there. The other major stakeholder is the voter. They are the ones who go out to vote. If we do not have informed voters voting or citizens coming out to vote, we will not have a change in the status quo. Election is a game of numbers. Each time we have numbers, but the numbers are not informed. What you have is report on increase in vote buying, thuggery and community conspiracy. All other negatives will continuously exist. A lot of voter sensitization needs to be done so that we can start getting numbers that are informed to vote. The political parties also need to be sensitized because each time you work to build a system, the political parties are a step ahead looking for how to manipulate the process. If you neglect that class, no matter how much work you do to build a system, they will look for ways to manipulate it. CSOs have been accused of carrying out the agenda of sponsor agencies, who are representatives of their different countries, therefore they are working to achieve a particular goal, how do you react to this? Everyone has the right to an opinion. I think what people should look at is, who are those behind the organization? What is their interest? What do they stand for? That way, you can make an informed decision. In every election, that you have civil society organizations observing, funding comes from international bodies or donor organizations and most times agencies or embassies that represent different countries. However, what we need to understand is, at what point do we receive funds? For every group that receives funds, we write our proposals. We set our objectives and decide what we want to do. At the end, Nigerian citizens working in civil society organizations are those implementing their proposals but with support from donor organizations. I’m not saying that every CSO is acting in the best interest of the country. In every sector you have the ‘bad eggs.’ However, majority of the groups know that this is for our country. You have groups that have said ‘no’ to donor agencies that want to dictate to them. We live in this country and not the donors. They don’t experience the challenges we experience. If the system does not work, we are major victims. What role does confidentiality play in

your work? At YIAGA Africa, we were among groups that deployed the largest number of observers in this year’s election across the local governments. The information from our observers are sacred to us. We don’t share that with anyone. Because you are protecting the rights and privacy of these observers that you are deploying. You do not also want to put them at risks. At that point, there’s this high level of confidentiality. When it also comes to observation, our findings, with the PVC you verify the accuracy of the results, meaning that before the elections are announced, we already have the results based on our sample polling units. At that level, there’s a signed confidentiality letter with board members, management team and everyone on the project to keep the information private and if you breach that, actions will be instituted against you in court. We sign those documents to keep that information until when it’s time to release the information or data. It’s not everything you share with international partners because there are certain information you need to keep to protect the interest of your country first. For that level of information, what you need to do is to work with local partners to push for a change depending on the level of the sensitivity of the information. Confidentiality is key, with specific aspects of the work. However, because our first responsibility is to the citizens, certain information we receive on issue of governance and accountability that we believe should be out there, are freely shared. Many CSOs only become active on the scene when elections are close, thereafter they take a back seat, what can CSOs do to sustain the momentum of their intervention? Unfortunately, in Nigeria we have a civil society sector that their main source of fund is international partners. That support is lacking from business sector or philanthropist. Go to some developed countries their major source of fund is top business men and women, private sector companies to support the work they are doing. Here, we don’t have that. What happens is that groups with brilliant initiatives that do not have access to major funding are a bit limited in engaging because you need money to work. Donor support is increased towards the elections, that’s why you see more groups active because that’s when they receive funds. That shouldn’t be so. We also have individuals that are waiting for the elections to make more money. You also have political parties who want to use some groups towards the elections negatively. There are some organizations that are owned by political parties and towards the elections you see them active, to promote the agenda of the political party or elites. You also have other groups that want to build popularity and not because they care about the electoral process. But the major reason is access to funds. This is actually a call to the private business sector to start having interest in governance, invest in this sector so that when we start achieving the kind of leadership that promotes development they also benefit. They should support these groups so that reliance on international funds is reduced. We want to start having groups that can actually be independent and autonomous in Nigeria. Do you think if the CSOs pooled their resources and efforts, their intervention will be more effective? Definitely, for every advocacy effort, the fastest way to achieve results is to work together, either as a coalition or movement. When we speak together with a unified voice, we achieve results. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY t THURSDAY MAY 30 , 2019

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FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 08152252325

Film Making History for PAN Atlantic University With the aim of inculcating in students the requisite knowledge and skills required for a successful career either in film making or as an academic specialising in film, PAN Atlantic University recently made history by being the first university in Nigeria to offer a Masters programme in film making. Ogechukwu Obi and Sunday Ehigiator report

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he Nigerian Film Industry (Nollywood) is globally recognised as the second largest film producer in the world. It is one of the priority sectors identified in the Economic Recovery and Growth plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria with a planned $1billion in export revenue by 2020. The Industry is a significant part of the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Sector which contributed 2.3 per cent (NGN239biliion) to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016. Nonetheless, existing challenges would have to be addressed to take Nollywood to the next phase. And this is what PAN Atlantic University (PAU) is set to achieve with its newly-launched Masters Degree Programme in film making - first of its kind in Nigeria. As film making in Nigeria cannot attain its next height, except by consciously grooming and exposing filmmakers to world-class creatives, training, and facilities needed for it to blossom. Addressing journalists, the Dean, School of Media and Communications, PAN Atlantic University, Dr. Ikechukwu Obiaya, said the program will be a combination of the academic and professional deliveries that will animate the intersection of theory and practice in the philosophical, entrepreneurial, technological and aesthetic dimensions of film making. According to him, it is no news to anyone that the Nigerian creative industries have made great strides and have become an industry that stands out in a particular way. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review points to Nollywood as a market-leading innovation, and profiles it as one of three innovations that have helped create entirely new (frontier) markets. According to the authors of the article, Nollywood is among scores of entities that have realised enormous growth by creating entirely new markets in the least expected places. They called it ‘the power of market-creating innovation’. Obiaya said, "The Nigerian film industry is a striking phenomenon in the way its practitioners have braced up to the existing challenges and built an empire out of nothing. They have found solutions to challenges of funding and distribution, thereby creating a model that is now being emulated in so many other countries. What the practitioners have achieved is a notable case study for scholars given the contribution to knowledge in the area of routes to market, product development and market entry.” Speaking on the PAU’s involvement with film making industry in Nigeria, the Dean said, “I am proud to say, that The Pan-Atlantic University has through its School of Media and Studies been involved with the industry from the early days. We have followed the development of the industry closely and have sought through various activities and initiatives to contribute to the development of the industry. “Of particular note here are the various training programmes and the establishment of the Nollywood Studies Centre, a resource and archival centre that has in its holdings over 10,000 Nollywood films from the early days to the newer works. We are also the educational partners of Multichoice in the recently established Multichoice Talent Factory Academy. All of this goes to manifest our confidence in this industry and its tremendous potential. And we believe that it deserves all the support it can get towards furthering its development. “A key part of this required development is training. There still remains a gap in this area because the available outlets for training do not match the great number of persons wanting to enter this industry. This forms part of the reasons the PAU introduced the MSc in Film Production and will be the first to offer this level of certification in film studies in Nigeria. “The MSc Film Production course joins other

West Africa Director, DSTV Talent Factory Academy, Mr. Femi Odugbemi and PAU Dean

Renowned film producer and actor, Mr. Okechukwu Ogunjiofor aka Paulo with PAU Dean

Dean, School of Media and Communications, PAN Atlantic University (PAU), Dr. Ikechukwu Obiaya at the event

MSc courses in Communication. School of Media and Communications (SMC) commenced with graduate degree courses in communication. And a decade later, SMC has earned its pips as a foremost institution for graduate studies in communication.” Speaking further, Obiaya said the programme will cover four key knowledge areas - Scripting and Directing for the screen; Cinematography; Editing for the Screen and Sound Design for the Screen, adding that the course offers specialisation options in seven major film production areas of short film; documentary; interview and feature film. Others are serial drama, commercial filmlet and the music video. He said, “The MSc Film Production seeks to inculcate in the students the knowledge and skills required for a successful career either in film making or as an academic specialising in film. It will work to animate the intersection

of theory and practice in the philosophical, entrepreneurial, technological and the aesthetic dimensions of cinema. It is a combination theory and practice course that will produce industry-ready graduates. "It will likewise help prepare students for the new Nollywood of global standards, amidst being the link between professionalism and integrity, as based on our traditional focus on ethics in Pan AtlanticUniversity. “The many professional associations in film and associated industries will be glad to have a programme that blends theory and practice. We will continually partner with you all to ensure the courses remain best-in-class and relevant to your needs. Persons aspiring to enter the industry will be glad to know that world-class training in this field is now available in Nigeria. “There are many and growing opportunities

in this sector. The Digital Switch Over (DSO) in broadcasting in Nigeria is going to lead to increased demand for content. This means that more trained persons will be required to work in content creation, production and marketing. The skills and capabilities that the MFP will teach will contribute towards meeting this need.” Speaking on the institution’s readiness in terms of human and materials resources, the Dean said, “We have put together a world-class curriculum and a first-rate faculty to commence teaching this course. Prospective students can bank on the knowledge that they would be studying at a School renowned for graduate study of communication. The facilities include studios for audio-visual, sound and engineering; four editing suites; fifty units of Apple as well as 50 units of Windows workstations graphics and animation suite.” On the duration and cost, he said the fee per semester stands at N896, 558, while the application form costs N10, 000. “The duration of the programme is five semesters in full-time mode, and seven semesters in part-time mode. Although, we have special considerations for those who already had one or two involvement with film making; be it as a filmmaker, actor or actress, journalist or as a first degree holder in media-related causes, or theatre arts. Depending on those premises they may be starting the program from the third semester. “This duration, in either case, shall be inclusive of Internship and Industrial Attachment. Enrolment has commenced for this course, and I hope that the market and prospective participants will greet our offering with as much excitement as we have found in it together,” he noted. Speaking also, the West Africa Director, DSTV Talent Factory Academy, Mr. Femi Odugbemi underscored the uniqueness of the programme, stating that there are resources available to immerse students in the hands-on training and experience of content. He said, “I am really delighted to come here today to underscore something that I think the industry needs to take very seriously, the fact that no matter how prosperous the town is, the gown has to come in and articulate why we do what we do. I think Nollywood has found a way to tell the African story. We now need to teach the system that articulates what motivation is, also make the filmmaker to understand his own responsibility as a voice for what we call ‘the African experience’. It is very important that our filmmakers are very knowledgeable about the sale, they also need to have knowledgeable sociology, in politics, in governance and are able to use the power of cinema to drive development and I hope that is what this Masters programme will be able to do.” A renowned film producer and a key character in the film that flung the door of film production open in Nigeria (Living in Bondage), Mr. Okechukwu Ogunjiofor aka Paulo described the introduction of the MSc in Film making by the PAU as an epoch event. He said this is the first time in the history of Nigerian universities, “we are going to be having a university that dedicates a Masters degree to those who make films. “When we began filmmaking sometime back in 1992, most of us were not trained and those who were trained were trained in things like Theatre Arts and some in Mass Communication, and a few that read film didn’t read up to degree levels. And the schools that were giving out such training were very few. It was almost like a trial-and-error thing but it was driven principally by passion. And so, within that space of time – about 27 years now, the industry has traversed about three epochs and is entering into the final frontier which is the fourth epoch”.

T H I S D AY t THURSDAY MAY 30, 2019

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#THISISNIGERIA Feyi Fawehinmi

The Game is the Game

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iverpool lost the league by 2 points from 7 point lead. Manchester City won its 2nd successive Premier League title. But this post is not about politics.

What motivates footballers on the pitch to put in a good performance for their country? If a team does well and fights to come back from 2 goals down in the quarter final to win 3–2, what motivated them to put in such a performance? The easy answer that ‘makes sense’ is to say they love their country and that love pushed them to deliver such a performance. But not really. Here’s one of the most important things I learned reading The Righteous Mind last year: In September 1941, William McNeil was drafted into the US Army. He spent several months in basic training, which consisted mostly of marching around the drill field in close formation with a few dozen other men. At first McNeil thought the marching was just a way to pass the time, because his base had no weapons with which to train. But after a few weeks, when his unit began to synchronize well, he began to experience an altered state of consciousness: Words are inadequate to describe the emotion aroused by the prolonged movement in unison that drilling involved. A sense of pervasive well-being is what I recall; more specifically, a strange sense of personal enlargement; a sort of swelling out, becoming bigger than life, thanks to participation in collective ritual. McNeil fought in World War II and later became a distinguished historian. His research led him to the conclusion that they key innovation of Greek, Roman, and later European armies was the sort of synchronous drilling and marching the army had forced him to do years before. He hypothesized that the process of “muscular bonding” - moving together in time - was a mechanism that evolved long before he beginning of recorded history for shutting down the self and creating a temporary super organism. Muscular bonding enabled people to forget themselves, trust each other, function as a unit, and then crush less cohesive groups. If 2 members of that team hate each other’s guts and are not on speaking terms, that kind of issue will trump any love of country. They will sabotage the team’s efforts, knowingly or unknowingly, and the team will never perform to the level its capable of. This explains why team managers put a lot of emphasis on things that help to bond the team together—wearing the same suits, eating meals together, using secluded locations away from the public, getting players to share rooms and generally trying as much as possible to avoid any kind of preferential treatment for individual team members, no matter how talented they might be. This can help to explain why some teams can perform really well even when their country has treated them abysmally. Getting the team members to bond and be ready to fight for each other is far more important than love of country or any other consideration.

Teamwork makes the dream work

"

What motivates footballers on the pitch to put in a good performance for their country? If a team does well and fights to come back from 2 goals down in the quarter final to win 3–2, what motivated them to put in such a performance? The easy answer that ‘makes sense’ is to say they love their country and that love pushed them to deliver such a performance Ok, I lied—this is actually about politics. Conversations about politics in Nigeria that have been bubbling underneath the surface for 3 or 4 years, usually take on more urgency once the starting gun for the election has been fired. So something that keeps getting discussed a lot is how to change the political system in Nigeria. No reasonable person disagrees that the system needs changing—the question is the ‘how’.

Photo: Google

Probably the most common view is that ‘good’ or better people need to get their hands dirty by going into the system and changing it from within. That is, entryism or the long game of infiltration. This solution accepts that the problem is the abandonment of politics to bad people (I’m sure there is an ancient philosopher who said something about that) who naturally do only what they can. Once these better people enter the system, they can form a critical mass and change it from within. It is not easy to fault this argument—it sounds about right and makes sense. But when you tease out the underlying assumption, you can see the problem with it. The first major assumption is that the people who are entering the system are part of a team. That is, they will remain committed to the team even when they are having to play somewhere else. Because without this commitment, the strategy makes zero sense. Why will anyone go through the hell and torture of climbing through the ranks of a Nigerian political party and then work to overturn it either by working with other sleeper agents in the system or bringing more agents into the system? And that’s the problem—the ties are not strong enough, the bonds are too weak from the outside before going inside. As such, they snap very quickly once the person is on the inside. The only way this strategy can work is if there are some strong bonds forged before the people go inside the system. To use one example—consider the Vice-President who is/was a Pastor in RCCG before he got picked as President Buhari’s running mate.

No one is counting, but I can name a number of RCCG Pastors who are now in government in various capacities since he got in. Coincidence? I think not. Or cults. We can never tell how many people are in the system based on their membership or affiliation to one cult or the other day. As another random example—back in 2013 when a vicious fight broke out in the Rivers State House of Assembly, people remarked that they could see and hear some of the lawmakers making cult signs with their hands. And so what is the point of all this? If you settle on a strategy of sending in good people into the current system, be prepared to lose them to the system once they go in. Whatever ties them to you is not that strong and will break as soon as it comes in contact with the system. There’s a way for you to know once you have lost them. Listen out for when they start telling you ‘you don’t understand how the system works’. Once you hear that, it’s done. The best strategy still remains creating an alternative structure that solves for a lot of the problems that have been entrenched in the old order—actual direct democracy to select candidates and not delegate system, clean and easily accessible register of party members, clear system of resolving disputes internally. These three things alone, believe it or not, will go a long way in changing how Nigerian politics works. But doing this is such bloody hard work that I honestly don’t blame anyone for not trying it. - Feyi Fawehinmi is an accountant and social commentator.

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THURSDAY MAY 30, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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Quick Takes Ericsson Joins Forces on 5G

In order to highlight the importance of 5G technology, Ericsson is joining forces with thought-leading tech ďŹ rms in a ďŹ lm that pays homage to connectivity and the innovation it sparks.To ďŹ t the theme of being seamlessly connected, the 90-second cinematic was shot in a single fast-paced form.The ďŹ lm features Haben Girma, the ďŹ rst ever Deafblind Harvard Law School graduate, in a driverless car; gaming pioneer AtomicMari inside her own immersive gaming universe; singer-songwriter KIDDO; Paris Saint-Germain footballer Nadia Nadim; and scientist Danica Kragic remote-operating a pair of roboticarms. VicePresidentandHeadofEricssonResearch,Magnus Frodigh, said the scenes of the ďŹ lm would oer a glimpse of what 5G has in store for the future. “We are on the verge of making these technologies a reality, which will revolutionise our lives in ways we can’t imagine yet. With connectivity being an increasingly natural part of society, we want to show how it will enable innovation to thrive – while highlighting people who inspire us to push our limits,â€? Frodigh said. Seven additional ďŹ lms dig deeper into each setting, inviting the viewer to go “behind the scenesâ€? of each innovation and explorethetechnologiesenablingthem.TheďŹ lmstouchoneverything from IoTto mobile gaming, connected vehicles and remote robotics.

COURTESY VISIT

L – R: Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Mr. Ade Ayeyemi; Non-Executive Director, Mr. Tei Mante; Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh; President, Muhammadu Buhari; Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari; Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, during a courtesy visit by a delegation of the Pan-African bank to the president in Abuja‌recently

Operators Task Buhari on ICT Devt Bank, Others Stories by Emma Okonji In order to maintain a steady growth in the telecoms sector as well as address some of the observed anomalies in the industry in the next four years of President Buhari’s administration, telecoms operators have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency, consider the creation of an ICT Development Bank and the implementation of existing local content law in the telecoms sector. The operators who spoke to THISDAY about what they described as the expectations of the telecoms industry in the next four years, said the telecoms industry remained capital intensive and needed

TELECOM huge investments to sustain its achievements, hence the need for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Bank like Banks of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture, that are currently servicing their various sectors. The President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, said the ICT Bank, when established, would address funding issues in the telecoms sector. According to him, Nigeria needed 95,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable to provide adequate broadband connectivity across the country, saying that the current level of subsidy support for

the telecoms industry was not enough to achieve the feat, hence the need for ICT Development Bank that would provide funding for the telecoms sector. In the area of local content development, Teniola called on Buhari’s administration to consider enforcement of the implementation of exiting local content laws in the telecoms sector that would address some of the anomalies of the sector. “A situation where some multinational ICT companies employ only foreigners to top managerial positions to the detriment of qualified Nigerians, must be addressed through the implementation of existing local content laws. “Also a situation where multinational companies op-

erating in Nigeria still prefer to patronise foreign software, where local software is available, will be addressed through the law, if implemented,� Teniola said. He equally called for a Presidential Executive Order on Right of Way (RoW) for the telecoms sector, insisting that going forward, telecoms operators should pay N145 per linear metre of fibre optic cable laid across all states, as against the arbitrary amounts charged by state governments, which he said were inimical to telecoms growth in the country. The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, called on President Continued on page 24

‘Telecoms Sector Needs $30bn for Infrastructure Development’ An economist has said the Nigerian telecoms sector requires about $30 billion investment to boost infrastructure across the country. An Associate Professor at the Lagos Business School, Dr. Doyin Salami, who gave the estimate during his paper presentation at the maiden Nigerian Telecom Leadership Summit 2019, which held in Lagos, said although the telecoms sector has empowered all other sectors of the Nigerian economy, it was still fraught with infrastructure challenges across the country, a situation he said, could be addressed if

ICT additional sum of about N30 billion was invested in the sector to drive telecoms infrastructure development. Citing MainOne Broadband Company that deployed 7,000km of fibre optic submarine cable, running from Portugal through other West African countries to Nigeria, as well as the deployment of other submarine cables like Glo 1 and MTN WACS by Globacom and MTN respectively, Salami said telecoms operators were known

for building and rolling out their own infrastructure, by way of ploughing back their revenue for network expansion, without government financial support. He, however, said the sector needed huge capital to continue with the building and rolling out of telecoms infrastructure, in order to serve the increasing number of subscribers, which the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), puts at 173 million as at March 2019. The amount translated to a teledensity of 91 per cent, using the 190 million population of Nigerians

as released by the National Population Commission (NPC). Salami’s presentation, which focused on the implication of multiple taxation on investment in the Nigerian telecoms industry, called on the NCC to take a firm stand on the issue of multiple taxes coming from state governors and agencies of government, in order to protect the telecoms industry and the telecoms operators who struggle to provide telecoms services in the midst of challenging economic environment of the country. Continued on page 24

Airtel’s 4G Goes live in Ogun

Airtel has modernised its network infrastructure in Ota, Ogun State, connecting residents of the town to its 4G network. Speaking during a visit of the Airtel network team to the Chairman ofAdoodoOtaLocalGovernmentAreainOgunState,BashirOladele Adeniji, Regional Operations Director of Airtel Nigeria,West Region, Femi Oshinlaja, thanked the chairman. He said Airtel was committed to supporting government’s drive of deepening mobile internet penetration both locally and at the national level. In his response, Adeniji said he was pleased with the deployment of Airtel 4G in Ota, adding that the government was taking its responsibility of ensuring a peaceful environment for smooth business operations very seriously. “As I congratulate you on taking this huge stride, we want to assure you of a hitch-free and friendly business environmentinOta,�henoted.TheAirtelteamalsopaidacourtesycall on His Royal Highness, Olota of Ota, Oba Prof. Adeyemi Obalanlege. During the visit, the Olota commended the management of Airtel Nigeria, saying the company has been transformed and become more competitive just as he urged the telco to remain relentless in its pursuit of excellence. 4G LongTerm Evolution (LTE) improves quality of mobile internet experience, accelerates trade, commerce and business as well as boosts personal productivity.

ATCON Holds Telecom Forum

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has announced the ďŹ fth edition of telecom executives and regulators’ forum, scheduled to hold in Lagos in July this year. The association is of the opinion that today’s telecom and ICTsector in Nigeria was built on continuous strategic engagements amongst allplayersinthesectorandtheprojectedgrowthcanonlyberealised if these engagements continue. ATCON is providing the platform for the purpose of accelerating and harnessing the changes that are taking place in the industry in order to grow the industry for all its teeming members who have made huge investments in the Nigerian telecom and ICT sector. The forum is set to discuss and proer lasting solutions to the following topical industry issues; Formulation of Policy and Regulation for Over theTopTechnologies (OTTs): Challenges and Prospects; Funding Telecoms Investment in Nigeria; Eradication of the inux of cloned and fake phones and other telecoms devices in Nigeria; Regulation and Policies on Cloud ComputingandCybersecuritythreatsinNigeria“Changeisinevitable, and the truth is that our industry is changing on daily basis and it is being disrupted by new technological innovations and for our members to stay aoat and remain players in the industry, new business models must be evolved by our members but regulation and policies also need to be reviewed, ďŹ ne tuned and strengthened so that all and sundry can remain in business,â€? the organisers said.

“The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has taken a deep and predictive look at the financial health of the telecoms industry, and reached a conclusion that investments are very critical for the future growth of the telecoms sector�

ExecutiveVice Chairman of NCC,

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta

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OPERATORS TASK BUHARI ON ICT DEVT BANK, OTHERS Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, to ensure the harmonisation of telecoms taxes in the next four years of their administration. According to him, the issue of multiple taxes imposed on telecoms operators coupled with the closure of telecoms sites, portend great danger for telecoms growth in the country. He therefore called for harmonisation of most of the taxes, which he said were double-imposed on telecoms operators. He also said most of the taxes were irrelevant to telecoms operations in the country, yet state government and federal government agencies deemed it fit to impose such levies on telecoms operations. “Most of these levies do not have bearing to telecoms operations and if government continue to impose such levies, the government will end up stifling telecoms growth in the country,� Adebayo said, while calling on Buhari’s administration in the next four years, to consider harmonising all telecoms levies in order to save the telecoms industry from total collapse. ‘TELECOMS SECTOR NEEDS $30BN FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT’ He advised the NCC to take a look at the Cybercrime Law that was passed in 2015 by the former President Goodluck Jonathan, which he said contained some protective measures for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) operation in Nigeria. While wondering the height of impunity exhibited by some state governors and heads of government agencies in rolling out orders for the arbitrary closure of telecoms sites in the process of enforcing compliance on multiple taxes, Salami supported others who were calling for an Executive Order to stop multiple taxes in the telecoms sector. Professor of Corporate Governance and Founding Partner, Kenna Partners, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, who spoke on the role of mandatory corporate governance in the Nigerian telecoms sector, commended the NCC for introduction the Corporate Governance Code in the telecoms sector in 2014.

‘We Are Working Hard to Ensure DSO Rollout in Major Cities’ Stories by Emma Okonji The Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Modibbo Kawu, has retreated federal government’s commitment to complete the Digital Switchover (DSO) rollout plan in record time by rolling out in major Nigerian cities. Kawu, who spoke to journalists in Lagos, during the Nigerian Telecom Leadership Summit 2019, which held in Lagos, said the Commission had already completed rollout in some cities, with plans to extend the rollout plan to other major cities of the country. According to him, “The federal government is working on the possibility of releasing to the NBC, a total sum of N30 billion in two tranches of N15 billion each, to facilitate the rollout plan.� He, however, said the NBC would repay the money from the resources that would come out from the leasing of frequencies. He added that the current frequency that Globacom is using, which is on the 700MHz, would be auctioned, but that before the auction, Globacom would be given the first right of refusal and the funds that would be generated from the auction, would be used to accelerate the process of digital

television rollout in Nigeria. DSO is about the migration from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting. Although Nigeria had in the past missed out her rollout targets, Kawu, however, clarified that the issue of meeting rollout deadline was no longer an issue because NBC has covered large percentage of its DSO rollout plan.

“The issue of trans-border frequency signals has been a challenge for most countries for DSO rollout and the trans-border frequency signals distortions are no longer challenges to us and we are far ahead of most African countries in terms of DSO rollout. “What is important for NBC is to ensure that we can roll out in major cities across the

country, and give Nigerians the opportunity to enjoy digital television streaming,� Kawu said. He, further explained that the Commission had been involved in licensing a lot of new television channels in order to improve on the exciting 30 channels because the country do not still have dedicated channels for children, women and even dedicated sports channels.

“Digital television offers opportunities for Nigerian producers especially the younger generation to be able to go into television production, and we are going to create a national content development fund to assist the younger generation of Nigerian producers to be able to produce more programmes for digital television channels,� Kawu said.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

L-R: Deputy Managing Director, Total, Ahmadu-Kida Musa; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote and Chairman, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, when Total received the PETAN Leadership Award at the OTC 2019, in Houston, United States of America‌recently

NIMC Extends National Identity Diaspora Enrolment to US In continuation of enrolment of Nigerians in the Diaspora into the National Identity Database, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has extended the programme to the United States of America (US). The enrolment is currently going on in South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The NIN enrolment exercise which would involve the demographic and biometrics data capture of all Nigerian citizens residing in the USA, is in collaboration with ThebezGlobal Resources Ltd, Defcon Systems Limited and National eAuthentication

Limited (NeAL), which are Nigerian Companies licensed by NIMC to serve as its agents and carry out enrollment services across the globe with a view to ensuring best-in-class services and inclusivity. Given reasons for the extension to Nigerians in diaspora, the Director General/CEO of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, explained that the exercise was in line with NIMC’s mandate to ensure that all Nigerian citizens in Nigeria, those in the diaspora, as well as legal residents in Nigeria were enrolled into the National Identity Database and issued the unique National Identification Number (NIN)

to applicants upon successful enrolment. “The programme will make it easier for Nigerians in Diaspora to be identified, as the Federal Government of Nigeria has made the possession of NIN a mandatory requirement for elections, bank account opening, land transactions, access to legal/ health services, acquisition/ renewal of the international passport, driver’s license and the ECOWAS travel document, among others,� Aziz said. According to him, “The programme went live from Tuesday May 28th 2019 in Washington DC at 11900

Parklawn Drive, Suite 160 Rockville, MD 20852. Other locations were it also went live across the United States on Tuesday May 28th were; 1001 Texas Avenue, Suite 5050 (Level 5) Houston, Texas, 9894 Bissonet Street, Suite 745 Houston, and Texas TX 77036. “It is also expected to go live on Thursday May 30th in 370 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1505, New York, and NY 10017, 336 West 37th Street Suit 500, 5th Floor, New York, and NY 10018. By Friday 31st May, 2019, it will go live in 918 Holcomb Bridge Road, Suite 204 Roswell, Atlanta, Georgia, and GA 30076.�

Additional locations in other cities across the globe where Nigerians reside will be announced in due course, Aziz added. The Nigerian companies licensed to work with their respective partners across all countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and America to carry out the enrolment of Nigerian adults and children in the diaspora into the National Identity Database (NIDB) are Biosec Solutions Limited, CHAMS Consortium Limited, Defcon Systems Limited, National eAuthentication Limited, Thebez Global Resources and Venn Technology Limited, Aziz further said.

Open Data Will Enhance Transparency in Governance, Says FG Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Cap Mkt) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Reporters

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The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, Mr. Musa Istifanus, has said open data will enhance transparency in governance and help mobilise citizens to participate in governance positively. He stated this during the Nigeria Open Data Conference for the North-west zone, with the theme, ‘Harnessing Public Data Assets for Economic Recovery and Growth’, organised by the Ministry of Communications in Kano State recently. The Permanent Secretary explained that the ministry has developed a draft Open Data Policy and Action Plan that would enhance the release of certain data assets across different categories of

economic sectors in the country. According to him, “Open data is an integral part of the global data revolution. It is a programme through which countries manage their data assets as a national resource to create an innovative economy for jobs, service delivery and to promote economic growth. This, they do by making available, through online platform non-sensitive data to citizens and other stakeholders in reusable, machine readable formats for planning and economic decisions making.� He said in view of the dwindling revenues from oil and gas accruing to the nation, there was need for alternative revenue base for achieving

the main policy thrusts of government and that open data initiative would offer this new opportunity. Istifanus, stated that his ministry, in its efforts towards promoting open data economy, started holding stakeholders’ sensitisation workshops and established the Open Data Working Group saddled with the responsibility of primary governance of this new initiative. “Our efforts so far have yielded some results as many data companies and civil society groups are keying into the Open Data ecosystem and urged stakeholders present to

join the ministry in validating the draft Open Data Policy and Action Plan,� he said. In his presentation at the conference, the Managing Consultant, PacePact Consulting Limited, Mr. John Eweama, stated that data must be in open format to enable citizens access and utilise the information for innovation. In her contribution, Chindima IIechukwu from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, said Open Government Partnership (OGP) provides opportunity for government and citizens to jointly make policy for the good of the nation. She added that the key component of the OGP are access

to information, anti-corruption, citizen’s engagement and transparency, which would enable citizens to subject government policy to public scrutiny. The Director of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Ahmed Musa Jubril, who represented the Kano State Commissioner, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, said the initiative would open up non-sensitive public data assets to promote a new ICT- powered data industry. He added that open data operations would help to reduce poverty through employment creation as well as attract investment to the economy of the nation.

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Telecoms Industry in FourYears As Nigeria begins a new political dispensation for another four years of governance, Emma Okonji examines the state of the telecoms sector in the last four years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as well as expectations in the next four years Four years ago, President Mohammadu Buhari and his ministerial team raised the hopes of Nigerians, with promises to address the country’s challenges in the areas of security, electricity, job creation, food production and improved telecoms infrastructure, among several other promises. But four years down the line, majority of those promises were not kept and some targets were not met, while were some were however partially met, especially in the telecoms sector, which contributed significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in the last four years. For instance, telecommunications and information services, which is a sub-sector of the information and communications technology (ICT), contributed 77 per cent of the entire sector’s contribution to the GDP. Overall, the mobile telecommunications sub-sector contributed 7.4 per cent to the country’s total GDP in 2018, compared to 5.5 per cent in 2017, according to the 2019 Jumia Mobile Report that was released last week. In the last four years, the telecoms sector grew its broadband penetration level, internet penetration, including its subscriber number and maintained a relatively fair quality of service. But these achievements did not come without some challenges, which of course slowed down the pace of development in the telecoms sector in the last four years. eCommerce growth eCommerce, which is an emerging market in Nigeria, picked in the last four years, especially in 2018, when Zinox Group bought over Konga and merged its operations with that of Yudala to form a bigger and stronger eCommerce platform, while retaining the brand name Konga. Since the emergence of the new Konga, it has heightened competition between it and Jumia to boost eCommerce business in Nigeria. The latest Jumia Mobile Report 2019 showed improved growth in internet users and mobile device users, which according to the report, impacted positively on eCommerce business in Nigeria in 2018. Across the globe in 2018, there were over five billion unique mobile subscribers, and 60 per cent of the connection was through smartphones. Internet users peaked at 3.6 billion, that is, almost half of the world population had mobile internet access. In Nigeria, there were over 172 million mobile subscribers, accounting for a penetration rate of 87 per cent of the population. This figure represented a 6.4 per cent growth increase, compared to 162 million subscribers in 2017, the report said. Analysing the report, Head, Growth and Partnerships at Jumia Nigeria, Mr. Stanislaus Martins said: “Over 112 million Nigerians had access to the internet in 2018, representing 56 per cent of the population. This accounted for an increase of 14.32 per cent year-on-year from 2017. The availability of lower price point phones still remains the major driver of smartphone penetration. At the end of 2018, there were over 36 million smartphone users, representing a penetration of 18.37 per cent. While the number of smartphone users might have increased year-on-year, its penetration is still very insignificant.� Analysing the rise in mobile phone penetration in Nigeria, which is a key factor for the growth in e-Commerce in Nigeria, Head, Vendor Operations and Experience, Jumia Nigeria, Omobola Onasanya, said lower price point smartphones contributed immensely in growing the eCommerce sector in 2018. The report further added that Nigeria’s GDP growth leapfrogged from 0.8 per cent in 2017 to 1.9 per cent at the end of 2018, even though the growth was below the projected 2.3 per cent, majorly due to variations in prices of crude oil and its output. “The country’s economic growth, for the first time, was hinged on non-oil sectors such as Agriculture, Information and Communications Technology, Manufacturing, and Transport Storage,� the report added. Subscriber, teledensity growth In the last for years of Buhari’s administration,

take connectivity to offshore oil communities in the South-south region. The Group Chief Technical Officer at Globacom, Mr. Sanjib Roy, had said the Glo2 rollout would boost telecommunication service delivery in the country by providing economic and social empowerment for communities in oil producing regions, as well as provide high speed internet connectivity in the region that will support 5G rollout. Globacom is working with Huawei Technologies to build and roll out its Glo2 submarine cable. Roy said the planned rollout of Glo2 would be an extension of Glo1 submarine cable from Lagos to Akwa-Ibom, connecting major oil fields and providing high speed internet to the South-south region.

Buhari

the number of subscribers across networks grew from about 90 million in 2015 to 147.2 million in January 2018, with a further increase to 172.8 million in December 2018, and 173.7 million in March 2019. Just as the country experienced increase in subscriber growth, tele-density, which is the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants living within an area, and is expressed in percentage figure, also grew, even though the telecoms regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), decided to rebase the country’s teledensity in line with the current population figure of 190 million, given by the National Population Commission (NPC). Following the rebasing, which is also in line with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s calculation of teledensity, the NCC arrived at a teledensity of 91 per cent by the end of March, 2019 as against 123 per cent teledensity recorded in December 2018. Hitherto, teledensity in Nigeria was calculated using the 140 million population official figure of 2006 against the prevailing monthly subscriber base. According to the commission, as at February, 2019, when the 140 million population figure was last used and benchmarked against the active subscriber base of 173.6 million, the country’s teledensity stood at 124.05 per cent. Explaining further, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the clarification on teledensity calculation became necessary to avoid misinterpretation of the re-alignment to mean a reduction in teledensity. “Rather, the teledensity actually did not reduce because in March, active mobile subscriber base actually increased. So, what has happened is a re-alignment of the teledensity calculation with the rebased population figure of 190 million against the prevailing monthly subscriber base, which is a more realistic figure for the country in light of the latest population figure,� Danbatta said. Broadband/internet penetration In the last four years, broadband penetration also increased. The federal government, in 2013, issued the National Broadband Plan (2013-2018), which sets penetration targets for both fixed and mobile broadband throughout Nigeria. Of the many targets set by the document, the most prominent one was the projection that Nigeria must reach 30 per cent broadband penetration by December 2018. But in 2014, after the introduction and implementation of the National Broadband Plan, the penetration level increased from 10 per cent in 2014 to 12 per cent and by 2016, it rose to 20 per cent and by 2017, it reached 21 per cent. There was, however, a large dose of pessimism about the country’s ability to reach its broadband target of 30 per cent before the December 31, 2018 deadline. But few months before the deadline, Nigeria narrowly reached and surpassed the 30 per cent broadband target by a margin of 0.9 per cent, to attain 30.9 per cent broadband penetration as at November 2018.

Dabatta

As at February 2019, Nigeria attained 33 per cent broadband penetration. The growth in broadband penetration became visible in 2015, when Danbatta, was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC. Within a space of three years, the efforts of Dantatta’s 8-Point Agenda, which centered around broadband penetration, in conjunction with that of industry players, pushed broadband penetration to 30.9 per cent in November 2018, 31.48 per cent in December 2018 and 33 per cent in February 2019. The NCC revealed recently that internet access has also increased to 116 million users in Nigeria as at March 2019. Challenges Despite the achievements recorded in the telecoms sector in the last four years, the industry also faced some major challenges that also reduced its speed of development. The issue of multiple taxes, where state governments and federal government agencies imposed arbitrary levies was one of the major challenges that affected the telecoms industry in the last four years. Worried about the negative impact of multiple taxes on telecoms operations in the country, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, told THISDAY that multiple taxes and the incessant closure of telecoms sites by state governments and federal government agencies, as a result of the refusal of telecoms operators to pay some of the outrageous taxes, which in most cases were double-imposed on the telecoms operators, negatively impacted on the growth of telecoms, especially in the areas of network expansion and infrastructure rollout. Citing the recent closure of several telecoms sites in Kogi State, on the orders of the state government as a result of the refusal of telecoms operators to pay huge sums of money to the state government as telecoms taxes, Adebayo said some of the taxes were irrelevant to the operators, like Ecological Tax, Generator Emission Tax, Waste Management Tax, among others. Poor telecoms infrastructure Another major challenge that negatively impacted the telecoms industry was the poor state of telecoms infrastructure, which to a greater extent, affected the cost and quality of services rendered by telecoms operators. For lack of adequate telecoms infrastructure, especially of the national backbone infrastructure for the transmission of broadband capacity from the shores of the country to the hinterlands, telecoms operators were compelled to invest their revenue in infrastructure development, in order to transmit the huge volume of broadband capacity to the hinterlands where the demand is high. They were equally investing in telecoms masts that were built and managed by private telecoms mast operators. Globacom, for instance, embarked on the rollout of its Glo2 submarine cable outside of Lagos, that would

MTN Fine The N1.04 trillion fine slammed on MTN Nigeria Communications Plc in 2015 by the NCC over SIM card infractions, sent wrong signals to local and foreign investors who were jittered by the huge fine, which some of them said, was capable of crumbling any telecoms operator, irrespective of its strong financial status. Although NCC stood its grounds over the fine, some industry analysts commended NCC for using the fine to address the act of impunity and disregard for constituted authority displayed by the telecoms operator. NCC on October 20, 2015, imposed a fine of N1.04 trillion on MTN for infraction of the provision of the NCC Telephone Subscribers Registration Regulations 2011, for failure to disconnect 5.2 million improperly-registered Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) lines within the prescribed deadline. Danbatta said NCC had to do so because of the security implications of improperly registered SIM cards in the country. After six months of negotiation and renegotiation over the fine, which led to a reduction to N330 billion, it was agreed that MTN would pay a balance of N280 billion in six tranches in a staggered payment arrangement. This was in addition to the ‘goodwill’ payment of N50 billion earlier made by MTN to the government. Danbatta recently said MTN had so far paid N275 billion, and would complete the balance N55 billion at the end of this month. “Following a negotiated reduction of the N1.04 trillion fine on MTN Nigeria to N330 billion and in line with the staggered payment arrangement, MTN has so far paid N275 billion to the Federal Government with a balance of N55 billion that is due for payment by the end of this month,� Danbatta said. According to him, “MTN began the payment structure with the payment of N30 billion into NCC’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 30 days from the date of the agreement dated June 10 2016. Subsequently, MTN paid N30 billion on March 31, 2017; N55 billion on March 31, 2018; N55 billion on December 31, 2018 and on March 31, 2019, it paid N55 billion. The balance and final tranche of the payment will be paid by May 31, 2019, in line with the staggered payments structure agreed by MTN and Nigerian government.� Industry expectations The President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, called for the creation of a digital strategy for the country that would protect telecoms infrastructure in the next four years. Teniola called for an Executive Order that will make it a criminal offence for anyone to tamper with telecoms infrastructure across the country. According to him, “Telecoms infrastructure is capital intensive and must be protected to enhance expansion plan and to maintain good service quality across networks.� Adebayo, also called on President Buhari to consider ICT infrastructure as critical national infrastructure that must be guarded in the next four years of his administration. The ICT, sector, he said, remained the most critical sector of the Nigerian economy, that is contributing so much to the country’s GDP and must be protected as such.

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Yusuf: Innovative Solutions Will Address African Tech Challenges Managing Partner of Verraki, a business solutions firm, Mr. Niyi Yusuf, spoke with Emma Okonji about the opportunities for start-ups to innovate unique solutions that will address African challenges, as well the company’s ambition to work with enterprises and governments across the continent to achieve regional development. Excerpts: and even access to the right tools. Our focus is enabling the start-ups by providing talent, building capacity, helping them by connecting them to the right partners and providing capital as needed. Fundamentally, they need to know what to do, and how to do it. Verraki will work with them to improve and refine their ideas and validate and build their ideas. We will identify viable ideas. The advantage Verraki has being a local company, is that we can choose the most impactful areas, create a list and prioritise. So any ideas that meet the criteria and fulfils that, will be supported. We will have both internal and external ideas from local hubs and individuals from across the network. We will work with our clients, hubs, accelerators, individuals and organisations for innovative ideas for problem solving.

What led to the emergence of Verraki business solution ďŹ rm and what are its plans to address critical industry issues for organisations? Verakki is a trade name for Verraki Partners, and it comes from two words; ‘Versorium’, meaning turn-around, and ‘Meraki’ meaning working with soul, with passion. Verraki is an independent entity established by those former leaders of Accenture Nigeria, as well as other people who were previously in Accenture Nigeria and Arthur Andersen. Verraki was born out of the idea that it was time to form an African practice; a professional services firm that is owned by Africans who have global experience, who have relevant skills and who are passionate about taking the required level of risk and providing required level of flexibility that is required to be successful on the continent. This led to us coming together to form Verraki, a proudly African company that is focused on working with enterprises and government to ignite opportunities for change, to unleash and unlock potentials and to work with them to embrace the dynamics and the change in the environment. The managers of the new Verraki are from Accenture Nigeria and Arthur Andersen. Does this mean that the company still retains the same management and operations as that of Accenture? Accenture is a global firm operating in multiple countries including Nigeria. Accenture Nigeria continues to be a legal entity and its operations, up until 31st of March 2019, had leadership that included three managing directors, Niyi Tayo, Toluwaleke Adenmosun and myself. Accenture did a review of its operations in Nigeria last year and we concluded that perhaps there was a need to change the way Accenture is represented in the market and the way it operates in Nigeria for it to be more impactful. We thought it will be best if Accenture now operates through a local entity that will be more flexible, more agile to take on risks while meeting national content requirements. These reasons influenced Accenture’s decision to re-organise its presence, to remain a legal entity in Nigeria but not an operating entity. Accenture considered what is required to be competitive and impactful in Nigeria and is adopting a new positioning strategy. Verraki has been approved as a Business Intermediary of Accenture to deliver services to Accenture clients in Nigeria. Accenture will continue to support and provide services to Verraki, including delivery support and access to specialised skills on projects as applicable. Verraki is an independent entity established by those former leaders of Accenture Nigeria, as well as other people who were previously in Accenture Nigeria and through partnership, we have established Verraki as a new business that we own. Verraki will develop and provide business solutions designed inherently for Africa and specifically fit for purpose. We intend going beyond consulting to invest in the market, take measured risks and develop relevant home-grown solutions that will be needs-based and affordable, offering significant value for money.

Why has Verraki made the decision to focus and invest more in start-ups and ventures? A well-used aphorism of one of our advisors is that Africa is a continent that has not yet been built. And this is perfectly true. Every single gap we see in this continent is because a solution has not been provided. So when you have an organisation that says ‘we do not do reports, we create and deliver solutions’ that means that we must have the ability to go beyond the idea and the intention to actually creating the organisations that actually achieve the results, and sometimes, the way to do it, is enabling the capacity, providing the capital, enabling the talent to build, operate and deliver those solutions.

Yusuf

This is an incredible opportunity for growth for us in Africa and at Verraki, to expand the business and to be more relevant in the market. Whereas with Accenture we were operating in four or five industries, with Verraki, we will be operating in thirteen industries. With Verraki, we are more risk-accepting and will embrace risks that will improve outcomes for Africa. With Accenture, we could only deliver technology and consulting services but with Verraki we will deliver technology, advisory, consulting, and we will also work with startups in our ventures unit. With Accenture we were only able to work with large companies and matured companies but with Verraki we are partnering with both local and international companies, small, medium or large corporates. This is essentially an expansion of the business and provides an incredible opportunity to leverage our global experience and local insights to work with small, medium and large, local and international companies and governments, across levels of maturity and evolution to make Africa a preferred destination to live and work. Given your plans to extend your solutions to more businesses, how do you intend to support SMEs? There are 13 sectors of the economy that we will operate in and we grouped them into three broad markets; Services, Real sector and Social sector and this underscores our goal of working broadly to help transform Africa. In the Service sector we will focus on Banking, Financial services, Insurance, Telecoms, Media, and Entertainment. The real sector comprises Energy, Natural Resources, Mining, Cement,

Manufacturing, Fast Moving Consumer Goods. In the social sector, it is an understanding that transformation of the continent will go beyond just services and real sector, it must be centered on human development and so, our social sector practice will look at education, health and public service. We will be working with multi-lateral institutions and governments to improve human development in the continent. Our focus is enabling Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups by providing talent, building capacity, helping them by connecting them to the right partners to enable market access and providing capital as needed. Fundamentally, they need to know what to do, and how to do it. Verraki will work with them to improve and refine their ideas and validate and build their ideas. We will identify viable ideas. The advantage Verraki has being a local company, is that we can choose the most impactful areas, create a list and prioritise. Our ventures team will be deeply involved in the start-up ecosystem across Africa, from the CCHubs in Lagos, the Venture Platforms in Abuja, the Hackerspaces in Ghana to the SwahiliBox in Kenya. We will identify, invest in and groom start-ups that will serve the African market. How many start-ups are you willing to work with in Nigeria and how will you identify problem-solving start-ups? Generally, people believe funding is the major challenge of start-up companies. We think that solutions are solved by throwing money at it, but that’s not true. Business hurdles include access to markets, access to mentor networks

How do you intend to cope with African business challenges? It is popular for a lot of Africans to downplay their opportunities and throw up challenges. We believe that Africa’s problems present a call to innovate, not a flag to caution. Africa’s commonalities are more than its differences. Even though there are 54 countries in Africa, there are regional blocks and so there are common markets. With the operation of the African free continental trade before the end of the year, the continent will be one big common market with ease of entry for goods and services, people and movement across the borders. With technology, we can provide a mobile telephony service to 60 per cent of Africa’s one billion plus people, developing technology products that serve Africans wherever they are. Where should we expect to see Verraki in ďŹ ve years? We want to be a trusted partner embedded in the transformation and operation of our clients. We want to be a firm where people prosper and ideas bloom, where challenges turn into possibilities and where potential turns to performance. We want to be the first-choice company for people who want to start businesses or who are entrepreneurs and want to work in a company before launching their ideas into start-ups. We want to be a professional services firm that provides significant value for money, that is focused on solving the challenges of Africa, that is flexible. We also want to be a company that partners with its clients to achieve what is seemingly impossible.

Group to Boost Agriculture, EmpowerYouths Sunday Okobi and Oluchi Chibuzor Adventium Global Development Limited and Glomesam World Entertainment have partnered to boost the Nigerian agriculture sector and youth empowerment through a TV reality show. The organisers noted that the initiative was aimed at promoting the rise of agriculture entrepreneurs, while using it as an

advocacy tool for development of agri-business in Nigeria to selected participants on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). According to a statement issued to THISDAY by a representative of Adventium Global Development Limited and Glomesam World Entertainment, Isaac Oghogho, the project was endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

(IITA) and Development Banks such as Bank of Agriculture (BOA). The statement also explained that the project was aimed at sending the right message in way that would be better understood by the youths which the government had overlooked in several years. According to the statement: “The Farmhouse concept involves recruitment of selected unemployed graduates with minimum of NCE/ ND qualifications as participants

with passion for agriculture from all over the country and camp them in an integrated farm for 90 days. “Projects such as Green Revolution,’ ‘Operation Feed the Nation, and others were largely unsuccessful due to several factors. One key factor for the lack of success is the youth’s apathy to agriculture. It is our objective to stimulate, create awareness and redirect the attention of the

youthful population of Nigeria to the tremendous potentials and opportunities in agriculture using entertainment as a delivery channel that has made the promoters to embark on a reality television show project. “Glomesam World Entertainment and Adventium Global development have come together to promote a reality TV show for 50 house mates for 90 days in five years admission into the farm house training,

mentorship, entertainment, mentorship capacity, building support programme and entrepreneurship.� It added: “Government over time has not been able to send the agriculture message to the right area-which is the youths. So to send such message to the youths, we want to use the modern system of passing information- TV reality Show as several governmental agencies like FMARD, IITA and BOI have endorsed us.

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Phase3 Eyes New Market, Industry Growth Opportunities Stories by Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday in Lagos, said it approved 704 different models of equipment in 2017 for the telecoms sector. A breakdown of the figure shows that 441 mobile phone models and 263 other equipment model were approved by the NCC.

The Executive Commissioner, Technical Services at NCC, Ubale Maska made the disclosure during the inauguration of the industry working group on type approval. Maska, who was represented by the Head, Technical Standards and Networks Integrity at NCC, Bako Wakil, said it was imperative for due process to be considered in equipment approval.

Explaining why the group was inaugurated, Maska said the group would assess the bottlenecks relating to equipment authorisation and therefore solicit contributions from the stakeholders. “The Group is to assess the challenges and constraints relating to equipment authorisation. We need all the stakeholders to contribute to our Commission as we are aware

“Last year, we approved 704 different models of equipment. We have given approval for 441 mobile phones model and 263 other equipment model, which is about 8 per cent. “It is extremely important that we follow the due process in obtaining approval for equipment in the country for the general development of the country,� he said.

that the norm at the NCC is consultation� Maska stated. Speaking also, the Head, Wireless Networks at NCC, Anthony Ikemefuna, explained that the objectives of type approval were to protect public telecommunication networks, to ensure safety of public from dangerous equipment, spectrum optimisation and to facilitate quality of service.

Ikemefuna further explained that a complete application must be duly signed with completed type approval form; one sample document; soft copies containing the following documents- Equipment test report; Technical specification and operational manuals of the equipment; Equipment declaration of conformity and letters of authority.

Andela Launches New Campaign, Scales Engineering Teams Andela , the company building distributed engineering teams with Africa’s top software engineers, is recruiting mid and senior level developers in 2019, as part of a new Power of ‘X’ campaign, as it looks to scale its operations and meet growing demand. This is coming at a time when more companies seek to enhance their technology teams via distributed workforces. Since its launch in 2014, Andela has received over 140,000 applications to its Technical Leadership Programme and has trained over 1,000 software engineers, who have worked with global companies including Safaricom, Invision, Viacom, and Skillshare. Andela now accepts applications from experienced software engineers who are proficient in Ruby, Javascript (React, Node, ES6+, Angular), Python (Django or Flask) and Native Mobile Technologies for iOS or Android. The move to recruit more

senior technologists, according to Andela, was in expansion of the company’s business model. Andela engineers work on global challenges, within global engineering teams, yet play an important role in their local ecosystems. The over 1,000 Andela Software Engineers are central to Africa’s growing tech community, and are leaders or members of Forloop, Teencode, Startup Grind, Progate, and Facebook Developer Circles. Soaking in the new campaign, Country Director, Andela Nigeria, Omowale David-Ashiru, said: “The most effective way to become the best in your field is to work on the most complex problems and work alongside the best people. Andela’s value proposition is that our engineers work on global problems, within global teams, and are connected to the best engineering community in Africa. By this, we are empowering people to grow exponentially and accelerate their careers.�

Firm Unveils New Features on IT Solution Emma Okonji ManageEngine, an information technology (IT) management company, in partnership with Tranter IT, has unveiled new features on its ServiceDesk Plus solution. The new features were unveiled at an annual workshop in Lagos recently. The solution, Service Desk Plus is built on information technology infrastructure (ITIL) version 4.0 framework and information security management system (ISMS). The solution, according to the firm, was designed to deliver top of the range automated helpdesk services to enterprise organisations. Speaking about the objectives of the solution, the CEO, Tranter IT, Mr. Lanre Ayoola, said they would help organisations deliver business objectives through lowcost and optimised IT services. “The IT service desk in any organisation is intended to be a primary point of engagement between the IT department and the organisation. It is the single point of contact (SPOC) between the service provider and users for day-to-day activities. ServiceDesk Plus provides great visibility and central control in

dealing with IT issues to ensure that businesses suffer the least possible downtime drastically improving the productivity of the entire organisation. ServiceDesk Plus can be deployed on cloud and on-premise,� Ayoola said. Chief Evangelist for ManageEngine Suite of solutions, Karthik Ananda Rao, said: “ServiceDesk Plus integrates with other ManageEngine solutions such as Desktop Central, Asset Explorer, AD360, Self Service, among others. “Over 150 built in reports and analytics help organisations make informed decisions. The advanced integrations in ManageEngine solutions allow for quick access the service desk’s key performance indicators without writing complex database queries all from one console.� “The new Artificial Intelligence (AI) feature of the cloud version of ServiceDesk Plus is Zia, a customised virtual support agent, which can be the first point of contact for the service desk. Zia helps perform simple service desk activities and fetch information, so customers do not have to rely on a technician, essentially allowing the user access to the needed information to solve their own IT issues where needed,� Rao said.

MEDIA BRIEFING

L-R: Vice President of Sales, EMEAI, Western Digital, Mr. Nigel Edwards; Senior Sales Manager, Africa, Ghassan Azzi; and Senior Sales Director, Africa and Turkey, Tareq Husseini, at a media briefing on the extended product portfolio to Nigeria held in Lagos...recently

Experts Harp on Proper Data Management Information and data management experts have called on government at all levels to initiate policies and measures that will ensure proper management of information and data in the country. The experts gave the advice at an event organised by the Institute of Information Management (IIM Africa) to mark the Information Management and Literacy Week 2019 in Lagos recently. The 2019 edition of the Information Management and Literacy Week, identified various information gaps, information management needs, and also proferred required framework for effective data/information governance in regulatory agencies across the country. The literacy week also set the parameters for data/information management, usage, creating processes for resolving data/ information issues aimed at enabling regulatory bodies and other stakeholders make decisions based on high-quality data and well-managed information assets. Speaking at the event, the President, Institute of Information Management (IIM), Africa, Dr. Oyedokun Oyewole, said government had a role to play in ensuring the existence of enabling laws and providing adequate enlightenment to citizens on the need for proper data

and information management. Oyewole, said government could educate citizens by organising workshops, seminars and radio shows in form of jingles that would enlighten citizens on dangers involved when data and information are not properly managed. ‘’In other climes like America, dissemination of information by journalist is handled ethically and responsibly, considering the sensitivity of such information to national security and its importance, simply because there are known and established principles, standards, procedures, systems and policies in place to effectively handle such. Such principles, guidelines and policies, should also be encouraged and promoted in the African society for balanced reporting by journalists,� Oyewole said. He urged government regulatory agencies and private organisations to implement policies, laws, systems and best practices that would enhance proper management of data and information. He emphasised on Information Governance (IG) being the overall management of the availability, usability, integrity and security of information used in an organisation, and the need for regulatory authorities in Nigeria to ensure sound information governance program within their individual agencies.

‘Digital Africa Confab Will Leapfrog Africa into Abundance’ Organisers of this year’s Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition, with the theme: “Africa Tech Renaissance: Preparing Africa for the Age of Abundance�, which holds in June in Abuja, have said the conference would capture the salient issues and the way forward to enjoying the Age of Abundance in Africa. With the Fourth Industrial Revolution making a speedy entry into the globe via exponential technologies such as Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data and Analytics, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality (AR), Blockchain technology, among others, the global economy is now at the mercy of these disruptive technologies, a situation that the conference promises to address. As technology is changing every part of human life – jobs, relationships, economies, industries and entire regions, it has been argued that Africa’s greatest resource is its people and they alone can determine the direction for Africa’s digital revolution. There is therefore, the need for an Africa with clean water, nutritious food, affordable housing, personalised education, top-tier medical care and non-polluting, ubiquitous energy, and the time is now to position Africa for abundance through exponential change, the conference organisers said in a statement. Speaking on

the choice of the theme for this year’s event, Chairman of Digital Africa Group, Dr. Evans Woherem said: “An Age of Abundance is coming and almost here with us. It is being fuelled by the exponential technologies. With the right type of decisions and actions by citizens, we can ensure that each of the countries in Africa will benefit from this new age of abundance.� According to him, “Imagine a situation where just by wearing a t-shirt in form of a technology tool, heartbeats are measured, uploaded to the cloud via bluetooth, and algorithms process them to accurately detect the irregular heartbeats. “Imagine converting wastes from the coffee industry into biofuels for heating buildings and powering transportation or disrupting the air surrounding a fire and quenching it eventually by the pressure waves of sound. These are some of the things going to be prevalent in the Age of Abundance driven by technology.� Woherem, however, warned that in getting ready for the ‘Age of Abundance’, Africa should avoid sitting idle and letting the train of the new industrial revolution pass her by, insisting that governments must take this challenge very seriously and do something with a great sense of urgency.

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Brand Blocking: Threat or Blessing to Consumer? The debate on whether brand blocking, which puts restrictions on the advertisement of some products, especially Tobacco and Alcohol, was recently reviewed at the 3rd Africa Rising Business leadership conference in Accra. Raheem Akingbolu reports. Insertion of warning labels; ‘Drink Responsibly’ on the advert materials of alcoholic products and ‘the Federal Government has warned that smokers are liable to die young’ on tobacco products are as old as advertising in Nigeria. It is so in almost all the countries of the world. Perhaps this is one of the global advertising ethoses that practitioners and manufacturers have strictly adhered to globally. With the sole purpose of protecting the interest of consumers and discouraging underage drinking based on ad placement or content, alcohol advertising materials are also not allowed to be aired during the day on television and radio stations. Few years ago, when the issue of sugar and caffeine suddenly became tools in the hands of rivalry brands, another subtle campaign resurfaced. A cross section of analysts in major markets has since been arguing that sugary, coffee and energy drinks, should be seen in the same light as tobacco. At the third Africa Rising Business leadership conference held in Accra, Ghana last week, the issue of brand blocking was again brought to the front burner through a global debate on the continent’s regulatory environment. The panel discussion on theme, “Brand Blocking: Regulations and the threats to Consumer choice and Goods� provided an opportunity for an in-depth assessment and understanding of the current regulatory environment and the implication for brands. The debate also reviewed the socio-cultural and ethical questions arising from the disruption of existing regulation by new technologies such as online video broadcast applications and the impact of regulation brand building. The session was moderated by a Ghanaian journalist, Bernard Avle, while the founder of Endangered Species, Ron Cregan, gave a pre-panel presentation, which dwelt on views from his membership organisation working across multiple categories under what he described as;‘threat from over-zealous regulators and policymakers’. The other panelists mainly from the regulatory bodies CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board, (ARB) South Africa, include Gail Schimmel,, acting Registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Ijedi Philomena Iyoha and Deputy Chief Executive of the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), Ghana,Seth Seaneke. Earlier, the IAA’s Vice President and Area Director, Africa, Norkor Duah, while commenting on the panel discussion on the regulation at the conference, had stated that advocacy by the industry bodies such as the IAA and AAG in collaboration with stakeholders in the private sector to address issues regarding the regulation of advertisements should bring the needed balance to what regulators like the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in Ghana and their counterparts in other countries across the continent are currently doing. External regulation For the head of Nigeria’s APCON and Ghana’s FDA, who spoke from the perspective of regulators, censorship of advertising messages and restrictions put on airing hours for tobacco and alcohol are in the interest of consumers. The acting Registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON),Iyoha, who pointed out that advertising regulation is the same all over the world, argued that ad regulation in Nigeria is carried out with understanding among major stakeholders. “Advertising regulation in Nigeria is through the buy-in of all stakeholders; brand owners, advertising practitioners, The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other interest groups. Our major concern is to be sure that a particular ad is not deceitful and it is in line with the nation’s advertising code. Besides, we are also concerned on whether the said ad material

is mindful of cultural differences and meet basic principle of advertising,� she said. This was also the position of Deputy Chief Executive of the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), Ghana, Seth Seaneke, who also explained that FDA regulatory approach has always considered the interest of advertisers, advertising agencies and consumers. According to him, “We are like the referees with the major objective to make sure consumers get the best. Yes, brand owners often think we were out to frustrate or kill their brands but we tell them no, our mission is for the good of all. FDA major concern is to promote a healthy society, the body discourages deceitful messages and urges advertisers and brand owners to follow international standard. “From time to time, we involve in stakeholders’ engagement to feel the pulse of the people. FDA maintains a close relationship with the Advertising Association of Ghana and manufacturers of food and drinks on how best to run campaigns and suitable messages to use. “We have been able to go far in this direction because at the market entry point, screening is carried on about what a particular drug or drink can do and the moment the message of advertising is contradictory after launch, we move in and take necessary action. Here, regulation is based on research and evidence.� Self regulation Much as she agreed that there should be regulation, the CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board, (ARB) South Africa, Gail Schimmel, believed that any regulation at all must be by advertising practitioners for advertising practitioners. As the head of a self regulatory body in South Africa, the most important thing for any country that crave for self regulation in advertising is the need to understand global standard and respect the professional ethics. She said practitioners in South Africa decided to have self regulatory body because bureaucracy and lack of industry knowledge on the part of government can slow down businesses. She said: “To us in South Africa, we see no reason for government regulation when we

know where to draw the lines. It is about being disciplined, professional and understanding global standard. With those things in place, everybody will fall in line and businesses will move on without breaking the law,� In his contribution to the debate, the President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Ikechi Odigbo, argued that it is difficult to situate APCON as an external regulator because of the collaboration between the council and all the sectoral bodies in the marketing communication industry. “Though APCON is a creation of government, it enjoys an independent status because government doesn’t intervene in its operations. The APCON council parades members from various sectoral bodies who take major decisions as concern regulations and sanctions,� The President of the local body of IAA in Nigeria, Tunji Olugbodi, also argued that the peculiarity of the Nigerian business environment and various infrastructural challenges facing practitioners in the country may not encourage setting up of self regulatory agency in the market. Contending issues Beyond the socio-cultural and ethical questions that were raised at the session, many other sprang up. First, with the revolution of the digital world, which has made it possible for individuals to own platform as well as allowing children to access advertising on parents’ mobile phones, many participants at the conference wondered if government regulators have not been defeated. While admitting that digital has posed a serious challenge for regulators in Nigeria as in other places, Iyoha stated that there was nothing like digital when the Nigerian advertising code was put together, hence the need for review. She said: “Much as I agree that digital is a blessing, I’m concerned about its threat to advertising regulation because a lot of unregulated messages are being churned out by bloggers and influencers on products to deceive consumers and regulators have almost become helpless. There is code of advertising in Nigeria but it was dated back to many years before digital revolution. Of course,

this is a global phenomenon but like other countries, Nigeria is set to put framework in place to check the abuse of digital platform,� Besides, many contributors were eager to know whether the age long approach of putting restrictions on advert materials of a selected product, hastotally achieved its aims. In particular,Schimmel, who spoke on self-regulation expressed concern over how government is regulating alcohol advertising but pay little attention to limiting alcohol drinking culture. In view of the sudden surge of herbal products across African countries, APCON and FDA were challenged on measures being put in place to check deceitful messages through labeling and special programme on local radio and television stations by the promoters of various herbal drinks and medicines. As a result of various advertising restrictions and ban, many contributors were quick to reel out how businesses are being affected negatively and how millions of people are losing jobs globally. But despite all these, it was also revealed that the development has helped brand owners and advertising agencies to be more creative in their approach to campaigns. For instance, in an attempt to win the sugar and calories war, companies like Coca Cola, has since involved in brand extensions, which has given birth to many brand names, including Coke Zero, Coke Diet and Coke Lite. In what looked like the best advice to government on how to protect the consumption patter of children, Cregan, who gave the pre-panel presentation during the debate told THISDAY in an interview that government should have involve more in awareness campaign rather than putting scaring messages on products. He also advises parents to be there for their children when it comes to counseling on what to consume. “I don’t think we need to make life fearful for innocent children who are just starting life. Rather than putting negative messages on product packaging and advertising, I think government should have involved more in awareness campaign. In the same light, parents should be in the best position to guide their children and educate them on what to consume,� he said.

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Institute Urges Sanwo-Olu to Promote Vocational Training Ugo Aliogo Promoters of the Vocational and Educational Training Institute of Oshodi -Isolo Local Government have advised the newly elected Governor of Lagos State, Mr.Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to promote vocational training in the state. This, the institute said would help in tackling unemployment and youth restiveness. The Programme Coordinator in the local government, Mr. Babatunde Ogundiran, said this in his welcome address at the 13th graduation ceremony of the institute in Lagos recently. Ogundiran, urged the graduands to put into proper utilisation the knowledge and skills acquired in the course of the programme, saying if wellharnessed, the vocational training would put them in the vintage position to compete favourable in various industries. He further stated that formal education or certificate from

tertiary institutions was not enough to compete favourably in the 21st-century labour market without the exceptional survival skills. He said the vision and mission of the institute was to reconcile the lacuna by producing viable and economic functional members in the society. The Chairperson of OshodiIsolo Local Government, Mrs. Sarah Bolaji –Ariyoh, in her speech asserted that vocational training and skills acquisition remained a panacea for unemployment in Nigeria. She said in finding a lasting solution to the challenge of the unemployment, government, private individual and corporate organisations must look for a way of revitalising vocational education and skills acquisition through which the creative mind could be empowered to explore and bring into use their potential of creativity. According to her, “I implore you all not to relent in learning

new ideas which will help your innovative and invention mind. “Gone are the epoch that people think it is only white collar jobs that are lucrative with the radical paradigm shift now, people with skills are the one controlling the global market and also an emerging as the largest employer of labour.� The Deputy Managing Director, CFAO Motors, Mr.Kunle Jaiyesimi, who delivered a special keynote address, emphasised the importance of vocational education in a challenging economy like Nigeria, saying that unemployment was on the increase while possible solutions were suggested in curbing the menace of unemployment via vocational training and skills acquisition. The pioneer coordinator of the centre, Hon. Wale Adelana, in the same vein, appreciated the graduands with their resolved of becoming problem solvers through the creation of jobs.

Businessman Decries High Level of Fake Products in Nigeria David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka A Nigerian business man, Mr Sam Anyanwutaku, has decried the high level of fake products in Nigeria, saying that almost every product that had market value in the country had been faked. Anyanwutaku, who is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ASCO Investment, representatives of SC Johnson in Nigeria, makers of the Kiwi brand of polish spoke to journalists during the destruction of fake Kiwi polish worth over N80 million. He said, “The level of fake products in the market today is Nigeria is very high. Almost everything is now being faked. For us at ASCO Investment, we have taken measures to ensure

that we arrest the level of fake Kiwi polish in the market. “We have an Anton Piller order from the court to search and seek out our products that are faked in markets and ware houses, and that is how we were able to discover these over 500,000 tins of Kiwi polish in various markets in Onitsha and environs, which are being destroyed today.� He hailed the federal government for setting up regulatory bodies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria(SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control(NAFDAC), saying without such organs the situation would have been worse. He said, “The public execution of the court judgment is to make

sure that consumers buy only original products, while warning to those who deal in fake products to desist from doing so.� Anyanwutaku, called on other manufacturers to join in the fight against fakers of their products, by taking the same step as his company. Earlier, counsel for ASCO Investment, Tagbo Anieto, said, “When the court granted ASCO Investment the Anton Piller order, the company went into and confiscated fake Kiwi products. “We approached the court again, and this time, it ordered that the fake products be destroyed by burning; that is why we are here today in company of the police, journalists, court bailiffs to execute the order of court.�

Red Cheetah App Exceeds 100,000 Downloads Yusuf Ayomide The Android version of the Red Cheetah Free Wi-Fi App launched by Swift Networks has crossed the 100,000 downloads mark. This, however, excludes users of the web and windows versions of the platform. In addition, the usage of the app has hit an all-time high of 50,000 sessions per day, the firm disclosed in a report. The app which provides up to 1 Gigabyte of free Wi-Fi internet access per day per user is available at its dedicated 500 hotspots across Lagos State. It helps to bridge the digital divide for the teeming youths who have embraced it tightly to support their digital lifestyle. Accordingly, it is helping to address the broadband penetration target of the federal government, especially in the youth and underserved segments. The platform is currently supported by advert revenues from brands such as Milo, Nokia,

Quickteller, Shoprite, UBA and many others who use it to connect to and engage with this important demographic group. This is in addition to the SMEs who now use Red Cheetah to reach their target prospects relying on its high level of profiling and geo-targeting precision leading to minimal media waste and outstanding return on investment. Speaking on this milestone achievement, the Chief Operating Officer of Swift Networks, Mr. Chukwuma Okoye said, “the accelerating adoption rate for the Red Cheetah service is a clear testament that it is meeting a critical need in the life of its users.� “We gave ourselves the tall order to help close the digital gap in the country starting with Lagos state and we are well on our way to achieving this feat. “It’s been a challenging undertaking given the complexity of the technology and project management skills required to deliver this service model but

the rewards so far outweigh the sacrifices, especially now that users and advertisers are warming up to the platform,� he added. According to SWIFT’s General Manager SwiftMedia, Mr. Bolaji Ige, “my team will not rest on its oars in our quest to reach every nook and cranny of this country with the Red Cheetah Free Wi-Fi service and while continuously improving the user experience.� “I want to especially thank our early advertising partners whose patronage has made this laudable initiative a reality.� Red Cheetah hotspots are currently located across Lagos, especially on tertiary institution campuses, the malls, hotels, restaurants, clubs, hospitals, over 200 BRT buses, among others. The company has perfected plans to launch the iOS version of the Red Cheetah App, having been available on the Android and Windows operating systems including a web version before now. This is expected to further widen the user base.

THE ENTREPRENEUR’S BEST FRIEND

DEBBIE LARRY-IZAMOJE

How to Run Successful Digital Agency in Nigeria I feel like the proud mother of a toddler knowing that Image Boosters, a digital agency I founded is 3. I still remember how tough the beginning was, I had just moved back to Nigeria with the 2 things motivational speakers told me I needed to run a business. Passion and Vision. I cringe now at how I truly believed these were all I needed and wish someone had told me about the other elements needed to build a successful and profitable digital agency in Nigeria. People We live in a generation where the people factor is so easily dismissed. People want to tell tales of how they got to where they are without the help of others and I sometimes wonder why we have decided to make this narrative a thing of pride as I’ve quickly learnt that you need people in business. Whether these people act as investors, clients, employees or just a support system on down days. You can’t build a strong business by yourself, you can try it but at some point you’re going to need the strength of another, to carry the weight of entrepreneurship. This was the biggest wakeup call of my journey, I had lived the most part of my life as an introvert that I was starting to forget the benefits of nurturing new connections and relationships. I became intentional about this and not because of the money we needed as a startup but because I was reminded that clients, opportunities and partnerships come from people and not a box from the sky. Money Anytime someone tells you that you don’t need any money to start a digital agency, tell him or her Debbie said that’s a lie. You

need money! Having lots of it makes life a lot easier but having a little, helps with pushing that business a little further. You need money to buy data for Internet to run your agency; you need money to transport yourself to locations for client pitches. You need money to employee your first staff. You need money, maybe not as much as those starting out fashion line or bakery but money, is essential. Before you start that digital agency have at least one year salary saved for your first hire and other essential expenses. The minute you make profit save that money or invest in places that can give great return on investment and always remember to plow back into the business. Knowledge I didn’t pick a niche at first, so as a business owner I quickly became worn out in trying to learn everything in the industry. Biggest mistake! Pick a niche and invest your time into learning every single skill needed to excel in that area. Know every aspect of your niche and ensure your first two hires are people you can learn from. Get knowledge about your clients and their needs, your competitors and their weaknesses and your industry and its strengths. Constantly get knowledge. . Larry-Izamoje is the founder of Image Boosters a Communications and strategy agency aimed at assisting SME’s, with core services in social media management and business strategy consultation. Website: www.imageboosters.com.ng Instagram: @dee_larry @imageboosters_ Email: contactus@imageboosters.com. ng or debbie@imageboosters.com.ng

Heritage Bank Supports Start-ups Hamid Ayodeji Heritage Bank in collaboration with Innovation and Partnership has empowered technology-driven start-ups. The support followed three months of mentorship programmes. This was unveiled at the grand finale event of the maiden edition of the Heritage Bank Innovation Lab Accelerator programme (HB-LAB) tagged, ‘Demo Day’ that took place in Lagos recently. The Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, who spoke during the demo presentation of the start-ups to a panel of judges, said the bank knew it was in the best interest of the country to pay attention to the development to the technology and industrial sector. According to him, “the future of the country is in the hands of its youth, so we have to pay attention to developing their minds so that they would be able to solve problems the country is struggling with.� “We did not leave out the importance of financial seeds for every business which is why we have granted the winning start-up the sum of N10 million whilst the second place is granted N5 million,� he added. Continuing,

Sekibo said, “Newly starting up a business is part of the most difficult stage of the business, you would need to source for capital and manpower. Considering the fact that you are a new business those items are not so easy and cheap for you to acquire. “However, the presentations we have seen today shows how gifted Nigeria is with human resources, our youths have demonstrated that the country still has a beautiful future. “I am impressed with the start-ups, after six weeks of drilling and grooming they have been able to develop up to this point; everyone is a winner tonight as far as I am concerned. “Based on the success of this maiden edition we are going to continue this initiative, we would go back to our laboratory and create something bigger for the upcoming editions.� When asked what he felt about Artificial Intelligence being used in banks, he explained: “Technology has been playing a key role towards enhancing the banking sector. Thus, we saw the need to create an Artificial Intelligence product called Octopus, which has been piloted and its second edition is almost ready for launching.

“We see the upsides to making use of such innovation to provide better customer experiences which is why we went as far as getting a team to create the Artificial Intelligence Product we named Octopus.� On his part, the Co-founder TREP Labs, Abdulwaheed Alayande, said, “Emerging as first place and winning the ten million naira is going to help the growth of our clinical solutions. “Now we would be able to complete our clinical trials, optimise our products development and also provide enough healthcare solutions that are battling with the country.� Earlier, the bank’s Divisional Head Innovation and Partnership, Ikenna Imo, explained: “Twelve weeks ago we welcomed seven talented and diverse start-ups, at that time our intentions were clear that we were ready to create distinctive propositions that solves issues facing the country currently. “Today, I have no doubts that the start-ups we have assembled after a selective and competitive process have what it takes to accomplish that. “As Landlord to these businesses, I can say they have been very good tenants.�

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Establishing Cornflakes, Corn Chips Producing Plant Godwin Uba Nigeria is one of leading countries in Africa in the production of maize. In all over the country there is million tons of maize produced annually. For the country to grow there is need to develop on the real sector of the economy. For the development of the real sector, there is need to develop the manufacturing and the agricultural sector. With development of these two sectors employment will be generated, GDP will increase, more export will be generated and foreign exchange earned. It is also advisable to develop those products that the country has comparative advantage over other countries of the world. Such crops that do very well in Nigeria such as maize, cassava, yam etc should be processed and packaged to add value for preservation, local consumption and export to all other parts of the world. In this investment profile we discuss on how to invest in the business of corn/maize processing and packaging into cornflakes & corn-chips for local consumption and export. Cornflake is a fast food eaten almost all households in Nigeria by old and young. It can be easily prepared with milk with hot or cold water. The major raw material for production of cornflake is maize (corn). Maize is grown in all the parts of the country. Therefore, the raw material for the project is readily available. Other raw materials include sugar solution, malt and salt. These are also in abundant supply in Nigeria. Maize, the major raw material is cultivated in all parts of the country and the cultivation is very

easy, cheap and gestation period very short. Also the raw material, maize thrives well in all the states of the federation. The prevailing climatic and soil conditions in Nigeria are good for mass production of maize. From records available, there is so much wastages of maize during the growing season due to lack of inadequate storage facilities. The waste could be prevented by the provision of cheap silos for maize storage and preservation. This project is seen as one of the ways to prevent wastages. From our study, there is virtually no small scale commercial manufacturer of high quality corn flakes in Nigeria today. There are only two major companies producing cornflakes in Nigeria and their production output is very small to meet up with the increasing demand for cornflakes. Cornflakes are a consumable demanded on daily

basis. To meet up with the increasing consumption rate, more small scale investors are highly needed to boost the supply. Small scale prospective investors who carried out a comprehensive studies backed up with effective marketing strategies should be able to economize costs to reap huge benefits resulting from the existing supply-demand gap in this area. To set up this project, the required machinery and equipment include boilers, separators, sifter, mixer, granulators, rotary oven tanks, silos, screening and cooling equipment. These machines and equipment are locally available and details information will be given to prospective investors. The plant will be able to process up to 5metric tons of corn/maize in a shift of 8 hours, producing about 3 tons of cornflakes in a shift. It can be operated in a double shift of 8 hours each in a day.

The production process is simpler. Briefly put, it involves storing maize in the silos, cleaning and grinding process; mixing up with other ingredients such as sugar, malt and salt and drying the products with a rotary drying oven. After drying, the cooling process is carried out, followed by packaging process. Details will be given to prospective investors. The project can be set up in any part of the country, since maize (corn) is grown in all the parts of the country. From preliminary feasibility carried out, the project can be started with a total sum of N8.0million as shown below. Based on investment analysis carried out a turnover of N15.0million is achievable in the first year working for average of 250 working days in a year. The payback period is within two years, and return on investment is over 56%. Details including production technology, process flow, size and structure of the local markets and ECOWAS sub-region, market share and effective marketing strategies to be adopted will be incorporated in a comprehensive feasibility studies report for prospective investors. Prospective investors will be assisted in the procurement and installation of the machinery and equipment as well as sourcing of the required funds where it is not possible to embark on complete funding of the project. For details please contact the writer, Uba is of the Global Trust Consulting in Lagos, can be reached via 08034494437 and ubagodwin@yahoo.com

ITF Trains 300 Youths in Imo Amby Uneze in Owerri The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) recently graduated 300 trainees who participated in its intensive three months 2018 National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) training in the areas of aluminium fabrication, catering and event management, and tiling, in Owerri, Imo State. The agency also empowered the participants with tools ranging from aluminium cutting machine, tiling implements to baking oven and certificate to enable the beneficiaries take off their self-employment business. In his address at the closing ceremony and award of certificate and presentation of tools to the graduands, the ITF Director General, Mr. Joseph Ari, said the programme focused on skills acquisition to create jobs to stem rampant unemployment and breed a new generation of entrepreneurs, in order to transform the economic landscape of the country. According to Ari, within the last two years, the ITF, through the NISDP and other skills acquisition programmes, equipped over 450,000 Nigerian youths nationwide and over 600 youths from Imo state with skills for employability and entrepreneurship. Ari, who was represented at the occasion by the Director, Technical Vocational Skills Development Department, Mrs. Lami Dakwak, maintained that ITF commitment to skills acquisition was based on the fact that it was the most sustainable solution to combating unemployment, reducing poverty and youth restiveness in the country. “It is incontrovertible that any society that neglects the development of its human capital is bound to retrogress in terms of growth and development. In Nigeria, the situation is especially worrisome as even

in the face of existing vacancies in several sectors of the national economy, as revealed by surveys conducted by the ITF and other organisations, youths roam the streets without any form of gainful employment giving rise to crimes and other social vices that have beset our dear country today,� he stated. Ari, added that through monitoring and evaluation of earlier graduands, it was observed that training with empowering them with tools resulted to nothing, hence IFT decided to equip all beneficiaries of its skills acquisition programme with start-up tools to enable them establish their own businesses. He further maintained that further surveys had indicated that in all cases where the trainees were provided with the kits, over 90 per cent earned reasonable livelihood s entrepreneurs, adding, “it is our conviction that training the youths and women without equipping them defeats the core objectives of the programme.� He advised the beneficiaries to make use of the opportunity provided to them by ITF skills acquisition programmes. The Area Manager of ITF in the State, Simon Ogbonna, expressed gratitude to the federal government and the ITF for carrying out the programme religiously in order to create self-employment to the teeming youths of this country. Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Chidinma Echekwu, thanked the organisers for giving them lifetime skills that would put food on their family’s table. She promised that they would make use of the training and startup kits to build their lives and also create employment to others. Goodwill messages came from the State government, the partners such as Mastercraft Tiles Nig. Ltd, Apex Aluminum and other stakeholders.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

L-R: Executive Director of Quits Hospitality Limited, Mr. Uche Iwuajoku; General Manager, Legend Hotel Lagos Airport, Mr. Peter Idoko; Sales Manager, Legend Hotel Lagos Airport, Mrs Funmi Philip-Adewunmi; Managing Director, W Hospitality Group, Mr. Trevor Ward and Chairman Entertainment Foundation of Nigeria, Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola ISELI, at the celebration of Hilton’s 100 years of hospitality and existence that took place in Lagos‌recently

Trans-Forcados Pipeline Fire: NGO Berates FG, NOSDRA, IOCs Sylvester Idowu in Warri An environmental and non-governmental organisation, Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), has berated the federal government, NOSDRA and International oil companies, (IOCs) over the pipeline fire outbreak on the Trans-Forcados Pipeline around Chanomi Creek in Yeye community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State. The National Coordinator of CEPEJ, Sheriff Mulade, recently expressed the organ-

isation’s disappointment over what he described as utter disregard for the safety of the Niger Delta environment displayed by those benefiting from the resources of the region. He condemned the negligence exhibited by NOSDRA, the government agency established to cater for the people and the environment of the oil region maintaining that avoidable disasters had been allowed to wreak havoc on innocent people and the environment due to lack of proactive measures. Mulade, alleged that the

fire incident which occurred recently, when residents were already asleep, was caused by ongoing repair works at a spill site that led to the causality of a worker and several degree of injuries sustained by people. CEPEJ’s criticism of NOSDRA was due to the agency’s alleged neglect of the NGO’s invitation to the Director General of NOSDRA to visit communities and creeks in the Niger Delta Region affected by oil spill to enable him have personal knowledge of the situation on ground. He said NOSDRA’s negligence had caused numerous

oil spills and related environmental disasters, alleging that the agency lacks adequate information on the numerous oil spills in the region to enable it discharge its statutory functions effectively Mulade, reminded NOSDRA that several explosions of oil and gas pipelines had caused far-reaching environmental and ecological disasters attributing the problems to substandard oil and gas transportation facilities that were often unchecked before usage, thereby leading to leakage, spills and explosions that have been gone on in the region.

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Accelerating Digital Transformation Oluchi Chibuzor The banking industry is in a digital race. For many retail banks, online and mobile channels have become as important—if not more important—than branches and ATMs. According to a report by one of the leading global professional services firms, Deloitte, banks around the world are already realising how investments in digital technologies could benefit customer acquisition and satisfaction. The report highlighted Bank of America which currently receives more deposits from its mobile channel than it does from its branches. The bank’s CEO Brian Moynihan had stated that investing in digital banking capabilities has helped improve customer satisfaction.3 Just like the Bank of America, in Nigeria, more commercial banks have seen increased transactions from their alternative banking channels in recent times. One of such banks is Wema Bank Plc. With ALAT, Wema Bank has offered Nigerians everywhere in the world a bank that is designed to meet their needs. With this platform, the bank has recorded a significant increase in deposits even as it continues to strive to be among the leading banks in the country. The digital bank is expected to disrupt the banking landscape and is driven by three pillars – convenience, simplicity and reliability. ALAT is a platform targeted at youths, which the bank believes would increase its earnings by $200 million by year 2020. ALAT has led to a drastic reduction in the bank’s operating cost to the barest minimum and has continued to give customers the best deals on savings. Clearly, the cost of running banks in Nigeria is higher than what is obtainable Adebise in most countries considering that most banks have to generate power, among other expenses. play in the retail space. “Of course, in the SMEs’ space we have To this end, banks have come up with various different verticals that we can work with. products to encourage digital banking. To the Managing Director/Chief Executive We have the creative, the micro-businesses, Officer, Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Ademola Adebise, the agriculture value chain, and other clearly every bank needs to be innovative to remain mapped out products that we would use to appeal to these segments of the market. By competitive. Adebise said the vision of his team is to get the way, the bank was set up in 1945 as a ALAT to become the premier digital platform retail bank. We have not moved away from in Nigeria. This, according to him, would be that vision; it is just that things have been driven by the bank’s expertise in the digital evolving,� he explained. Also, the Chairman of bank, Babatunde Kasali, space and our retail partnerships. “Basically what you see is that everything in recently assured stakeholders and customers the banking industry is commoditised, talking that the financial institution would continue to about products. You will notice that product A leverage on opportunities for accelerated growth which is in one bank, is also in another bank. especially around the sectors and industries For us, we want to be an idea bank. We want such as agriculture and manufacturing. He said this at the bank’s recent Annual to be known for innovation and we want to be very agile. For you to make a mark in this General Meeting held in Lagos. According to Kasali, internally, the bank took space, you need to be very agile and speak to market with products that appeal to customers. significant steps in 2018 to ensure that in 2019 “It is not about developing products, it is it delivers value for shareholders, “and we are about appealing to the needs of the custom- prepared to achieve this.� “Another of our core commitment in 2019 ers, which for us is very key. We are going to leverage technology as much as possible. Of is to continue to use our technology edge to course, our ALAT, the fully digital bank that drive disruption to deliver on our goals for we launched two years ago, it is doing very the year. “Wema Bank is well positioned to ride the well and what we are doing now is that we are reviewing ALAT to take it to the next level. growth curve and deliver even better performance “That is, to take it to a platform where we in 2019. “As a bank, we look forward to 2019 would be appealing to lifestyles. We have a lot with great confidence as we begin to realise of value creators and value consumers, that is the Wema dream of giving all who interact buyers and sellers, on the platform. The whole with us a delightful and memorable service idea is basically to reduce the cost of doing experience,� he added. He said consistently business and improve out top-line. We have the bank’s aim has always been to scale up sectors that are clearly mapped out that we and improve market share through various

initiatives, saying that it was pleasing to know that in 2018, the bank made significant stride in that direction. “Since 2016, our business has largely focus on four major areas namely innovation and technology, providing excellent customer service, effective risk management and broadening our national footprints to achieve our targets. “ALAT, Nigeria’s first free digital bank, was borne of this renewed focus and in 2018, the bank continues to record significant growth especially around customer acquisition,� he added. Continuing, the bank chairman said: “As we effectively refocus and strategise to drive the bank in 2019, there are certain key factors that might negatively impact the domestic and international economies. These factors include the following: continuing trade tensions between developed and developing economies like the United States and China; the manner of the United Kingdom’s exit (Brexit) from the European Union will also be a significant drag on global economic growth.� In addition, he noted the slowdown in global economic growth that had been impacting commodities trading. Wema Bank’s audited financial results for the full year ended 31 December, 2018, showed that the bank’s profit tax grew by 59 per cent to N4.8 billion, up from N3.01 billion the previous year. The results also showed that the Wema Bank Group recorded gross earnings of N71.53 billion, which was a 9.6 per cent increase over the 2017 figure. Its profit after tax also climbed to N3.33 billion in the

year under review, up from N2.26 billion in 2017. The growth resulted from 8.59 per cent increase in interest income and a 13.95 per cent increase in non-interest income. The bank also recommended to its shareholders a dividend pay-out for the first time in 14 years as it has paid a dividend of three kobo per share in line with the board approved dividend policy. In the year under review, the bank continued to improve on its deposit mobilisation while at the same time working down its cost of funds. “ALAT (Nigeria’s first fully digital Bank) launched in May 2017 has improved the bank’s retail liabilities and customer base as the bank now onboards over 1,000 new customers daily on the digital platform and continues to grow its partnership profiles. “The digital bank continued to receive several accolades in 2018, including the World Finance Awards for Most innovative Bank Africa and the Asian Banker Awards for Best Digital Bank Africa,� Wema Bank insisted. Wema Bank recorded other notable achievements during the year. These included its successful tier-2 capital raising of N17 billion, even as it retained its Investment grade ratings from Fitch, GCR and Agusto. The foregoing clearly shows that customer satisfaction should be the focus of every financial institution. To continue to grow their customer base, banks will need to accelerate their digital transformation and deploy channels that would deliver convenience and satisfaction to their customers.

NBCC Organises 2019 Trade Mission The Nigerian British Chambers of Commerce (NBCC) will be leading a delegation of business owners and professionals to the United Kingdom (UK), for the chamber’s annual trade mission set to hold from June 10 to 14, 2019. The President of the NBCC, Akinola Olawore, disclosed this during a media briefing in Lagos recently. He disclosed that the trade mission was aimed at promoting business and investment opportunities between Nigeria

and the UK, whilst also offering delegates the opportunity to showcase their products and services to the UK market. According to him, the trade mission would also give business owners access to key decision makers, increase sales and exchange ideas about developing and implementing new marketing strategies across a broad range of high growth and industry sectors. Olawore said, “The sectors featuring in the 2019 trade mission themed: “Technology

and the Future of Business,� are the likes of real estate and construction businesses, professional services, information technology, financial tech payment systems, financial services, logistics and export services, oil and gas and public relations and communications marketing. “For over 40 years, the chamber has been a doorway for companies to achieve their international expansion goals by fostering potential partnerships as well as facilitating meetings

between public and private sector stakeholders. “Participation at the trade mission is an effective strategy for accessing new markets, increased exports and collaborative business enterprises. It is pivotal for knowledge exchange, building on existing links and most importantly to generate sales. “The Chamber continues to priorities missions because we believe that growth in trade and investment resulting from trade missions would create jobs in both countries and would

further support the Nigerian government in achieving its investment promotion strategy.� Furthermore, Olawore also revealed that participants would attend the London tech week, where they would have the opportunity to meet the Chief Economist for Africa in the Middle East, Standard Chartered bank and the Chief Economist for PWC Nigeria and others. “In the last three to four years we have had the trade volume between Nigeria and the UK increase between 30 per

cent per cent year-on-year and we are glad to be part of this success story,� he said. When asked about initiatives the Chamber had put in place to attract and promote business investment in the country, he disclosed that growing investment in Nigeria was a yearly mission. “We have realised that Nigeria cannot progress based on the kind of information that is going around, so we realise it is important for businesses to meet one-on-one,� he said.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Pains of Illegal Migration In this report Ugo Aliogo examines the pains of illegal migration

O

On September 4, 2014, Nelly Osas begin his journey to Europe through the Sahara Desert. The journey was filled with a lot of harrowing experience and difficulties. As he walked through the desert, he could feel some hotness on the sole of his feet. His throat and lips had become because of long hours of trekking without water. This were just very few of his numerous unpleasant experience. However, Osas’s journey to Europe was driven by a desire to break away from the claws of poverty. His family has been embattled by poverty for years. Despite the story tragic stories Osas heard about migrants dying in the Sahara Desert on their way to Europe, he was undeterred and embarked on the hideous journey. He had a renewed hope of breakthrough. His story is akin to many who have lost their lives in the Sahara Desert. The journey comes with immense pain, agony, and hunger. On the flip side, there are those who prefer using the Mediterranean Sea as a migratory route. But the route has its own fair share of horrors and tragedy. A lot of persons have lost their lives because they could not stand the intense cold on the sea, some individuals are victims of boat mishap, and others especially women have been raped, beaten and dehumanised by smugglers. The smugglers demand money from the migrants before releasing them to the streets while the soldiers do not want them to enter the country. Africa Renewal in one of its report on migration noted that of the 258 million international migrants globally, 36 million live in Africa, with 19 million living in another African country and 17 million in Europe, North America and other regions. The Pew Research Center, a Washington based group, noted that about a million migrants from sub-Saharan Africa moved to Europe between 2010 and 2017. The Director of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to the United Nations,Ashraf El Nour in a report noted that migration in Africa is dominated by Africans moving within Africa. He also noted that migrants move mostly to neighbouring countries, or within the same region. El Nour explained that Africa’s share of global migration, which overall stands at 258 million are 36 million people of which 19 million moves within the continent and 17 million move outside Africa. He further noted that African migration is predominantly pan-African, with about 53 per cent of total movements originating from Africa and staying within the continent, which he noted shows that African countries can simultaneously be source, transit and destination countries. According to him, “Africa has one of the busiest movement corridors, the fifth largest in the world. There are migratory movements that have been well-established for many years and connect migrants with destination countries because of historical, linguistic, religious or cultural ties. An example is francophone Africa and France. “Migration out of the North of Africa started post–World War II, when people were invited

Buhari

as guest workers to help with the postwar rehabilitation and reconstruction. Over time Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians and others established a presence in Europe, mainly in France and Belgium.� The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its Economic Development in Africa Report 2018: Migration and Structural Transformation, noted that More than half (53 percent) of Africa’s international migrants in 2017 remained on the continent. It explained that with the exception of Northern Africa, the share of intra-African migration was much higher, as more than 80 per cent of international migrants from the continent resided in each of the following regions: Eastern, Middle and Western Africa. The report further noted that intra-African migration can positively impact structural transformation in destination countries. UNCTAD forecasts in the report was based on existing migration scenarios which indicated that immigration flows could lead to a substantial increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita for Africa by 2030, “in economic terms, this implies reaching a GDP per capita of $3,249 in 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 3.5 per cent from 2016.� According to the report, “The average value of GDP per capita in Africa was $2,008 in 2016. Remittance inflows to Africa account for half of all private capital flows into the continent

and have risen from $38.4 billion on average in 2005–2007, to $64.9 billion in 2014–2016. “However, empirical analysis finds that, despite being recipients of relatively large amounts of remittances, sending countries experienced a weaker (indefinite) effect of 18046768 3 migration on structural transformation. “Reasons for the relatively low impact included the impact of a loss of skilled labour and lower tax revenues, structural constraints to economic development as well as regulatory hurdles such as the high costs of remittances and of recruitment services. Removing these barriers and improving policy and regulatory conditions are necessary requirements for maximizing the benefits of migration on sustainable structural transformation in these countries. “The report finds that migration can contribute to improved labour productivity in destination countries. An increase in the stock of immigration leads to a higher within sector productivity growth rate. This effect increases in magnitude for sectors that experienced relatively high migration in the past (agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction and services). “The report finds that an increase in immigration is associated with a rise in manufacturing value added, but notes the limited impact of productivity enhancements on job creation. This could be related to the relative scarcity of good quality, skilled manufacturing jobs in most African countries.

“The report’s findings on the positive impact of migration to growth and socioeconomic development in both destination and origin countries are in line with other studies that show that the estimated contribution of immigrants to GDP ranges from about 1 per cent in Ghana, to 19 per cent in CĂ´te d’Ivoire. Migration also contributes to destination countries’ development through taxes and consumption, with migrants spending approximately 85 per cent of their incomes in their destination country. Thus, besides contributing to current output, immigrants provide a demographic boost to the existing and future labour force in destination countries. “UNCTAD research into economic transmission channels of migration indicates that there is an additional positive effect of educated immigration (with higher education mostly in origin countries rather than destination countries) on structural transformation. There is also some evidence that return migration to origin countries brings knowledge and skills that can spur productivity.â€? Also lending his voice on the issue, former Deputy Director, Occupational Safety and Health Department, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Babatunde Ogunmuko, noted that images of migrants in the Sahara Desert are gory and convey signs of frustration in the economy and social conditions of the home country, adding that it also shows to a large extent governance failure in the home country. He explained that the search for greener pastures is often driven by unemployment and poverty in the countries of poor social security, therefore unemployment and poverty breed insecurity, “which equally aggressively push irregular migration.â€? He further noted that the conditions in the largest desert in the world is precarious in terms of climate, vegetation and psychosocial. the public policy analyst argued the conditions of the Sahara Desert, overstretches human limits and exits them into unstable, unfriendly and exploitative hosts in North Africa, “it is an experience; I believe such migrants would never want to repeat.â€? He remarked that some of the challenges facing migrants include extremes weather condition, long stressful journeys which he noted results in unending waiting and delays in transiting camps at borders. He added that there are also the challenges of banditry, robbery and all forms of violence from within and without, exposure to wild animals, especially poisonous reptiles and insects, “hence leading to adverse health conditions and their cronies even abandon them midway.â€? According to him: “Nigeria can gain from the global compact for migration through protection of her emigrants and citizens abroad, external support for the development of economy to stem irregular of migration, development of the economy by returning migrants to help the economy, foreign investments, capacity development and technology transfer to stem migration hence reduction in unemployment, cash inflow from more Nigerians in Diaspora and ultimately support for economic recovery by Nigerians in Diaspora.â€?

NAPTIP DG Warns against Xenophobic Attack in Mali Ugo Aliogo The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Julie OkahDonli, has notified the federal government and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament of an imminent xenophobic attack on Nigerian victims of human trafficking trapped in the mining region of Mali. According to a statement made available to THISDAY, by the Head, Press and Public Relations Unit, NAPTIP, Stella Nezan, the development came on the heel of the resolution by the ECOWAS parliament to

visit the controversial mining region of Mali where thousands of Nigerians victims of human trafficking are being held in sex slavery and exploitation in order to ensure their freedom. Okah-Donli in the statement raised the issue on the floor of the ECOWAS parliament while briefing members on the report of the fact-finding team that visited the North African Country to assess the human trafficking situation and work out the modality of evacuating the stranded victims. It would be recalled from the statement that NAPTIP’s fact finding team led by the DG had visited Mali early this year and came back with

heart-breaking report on the level of the exploitation of human trafficking victims in Mali. The statement added that apparently disturbed by the ugly development, the parliament had invited the NAPTIP boss to brief members on the situation so as to enable the Parliament take action. Okah-Donli added: “The scourge of human trafficking is a clear and present danger that threatens human and national security of member States “Honourable Speaker, unfortunately, many of these victims are first incubated in sex and labour camps in various member States of

ECOWAS “The fact-finding mission and my own visit to Mali in December 2018 and March 2019 respectively, painted a very gory picture of the situation of possibly hundreds of thousands of victims of sex trafficking within the sub-region “Nigerian girls are trafficked mainly to the mining areas in the south and Central parts of Mali, but substantial number is trafficked to rebel-held areas in the North, where they become radicalised. Nigerian girls are treated as slaves, and less than second-class citizens by some of the Malians and Law Enforcement Agencies. “Most of the madams force

the victims to sleep with numerous men without using any protection, hence the high incidences of sexually transmitted diseases and other ailments among the victim-community. “The Malian authorities collect ‘taxes’ from the victims on a weekly basis, and sell condoms and other medications compulsorily to the victims every month. Malian women are already grumbling that Nigerian girls are taking their men, and there are fears of imminent xenophobic attacks. “One of the conclusions from the visits is the need for a regional approach to addressing the problem

through legislative reviews and deliberate actions by the ECOWAS Parliament and the ECOWAS Commission.� In his remarks, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Moustapher Lo, described the situation as heart rendering matter that requires urgent action from member States in order to quickly save them. Lo, who spoke after responses and contributions from members present commended the NAPTIP DG for the presentation, adding that the appropriate committee of the Parliament would be mandated to visit Mali while ECOWAS Council of Ministers would be fully briefed thereafter.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąÍŽËœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

The Taskmaster at the Nigeria Custom Service Solomon Uche When Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) was named as the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Custom Service in August 2015, the news was accepted with a mix of apprehension and glee. He came to the office with what most people thought was his only asset- integrity-and was thought to be deficient on the technical knowhow. Not been a professional customs officer, pundits thought he may not have the grounding to understand the nuances of the service. Besides, it was thought that been an outsider, he might not enjoy the cooperation of men and women of the service.These were valid concerns for stakeholders who wanted a more responsive and more efficient customs service that could facilitate the ease of doing business while also enhancing the revenue profile of the country. But after nearly four years in charge, Alli has not only changed the NCS to a major revenue earner for the country but had also converted most of his critics to admirers. In 2017, less than two years after his appointment the NCS recorded its highest revenue collection ever of N1,012,259,006,779.74. The NCS crossed the trillion-naira threshold in a year when the Federal Government had set a target of N770 billion for it. It was also a huge lead from the N898,673,857,431.07 recorded in the previous year. It was an incredible feat at a time the economy experienced a recession which resulted in low volume of imports and restriction placed on 41 items from accessing Forex. But the spectacular performance was not a happenstance. It reflects the character and focus of Col. Ali which has made him an icon that he is today. He obviously came to the office armed with a clear mandate from Mr President to undertake reforms and re-structuring the service to enhance its capacity to generate more revenue. A huge mandate considering his

Ali

professional experience was in the military, and NCS had garnered an uncanny reputation for revenue leakages. Col. Ali knew he could not succeed without the help of the management and staff of the NCS who carry out the day to day operations of the service. So, at the first meeting with senior management staff of the Service, he pleaded with them not to see him as an outsider but as someone who had come to join hands with them to rebuild the institution. “The mandate he has given me are three basic things: go to Customs, reform Customs, restructure Customs and increase the revenue generation, simple. I don’t think that is ambiguous, I don’t think that is cumbersome. It is precise and I believe that is what all of you are here to do,� he was quoted as telling the Senior Officers. The approach has made it easier for him to execute his mandate successfully without any disrupting the system. According to NCS Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah, Col. Ali undertook some strategic measures in terms of restructuring and repositioning the service

for efficient service delivery which resulted in the huge upsurge in revenue collection. Part of these measures include strategic redeployment of officers and retraining of the operatives of Customs Intelligence Unit to improve efficiency. He also created the Customs Police to serve as an internal mechanism to check and ensure discipline among its personnel. The Customs police were trained at the Nigeria military police school in Zaria, Kaduna State. The Customs Police and the intelligent unit of the service has helped in no small measure to check smuggling and boost revenue. Smuggling had long been a challenge for the service and the menace seemed intractable. But the strategies initiated under Col. Ali has brought a dramatic trun-around and substantially curtailed the activities of smugglers. Col.Ali had provided a leadership model that teaches discipline and professionalism by the force of personal example. His work ethics are exemplary. He is one of the earliest to show up at the office and one of the last to leave. He is always a man at work and not one for the fanfare of office. And he makes similar demands from those who work with him. He had no doubt pushed many of the management and officers of the NCS beyond their best boundaries. That was why he told some visiting lawmakers who expected to see him waiting to receive them when they came to the customs headquarters on oversight assignment that he could not leave his work to be waiting for them! A man of impeccable integrity and transparent character, Col. Ali puts merit above every other consideration in the execution of the mandate of his office. Since he assumed office, there have been less circumventing of due process in the activities of the service. Customs car auctions have become more transparent and potential buyers need not

know anyone at the service to benefit from the auctions. It is a far cry from what obtained in the past when unscrupulous officers management staff favour their clients. Now the process is done online and in a highly transparent manner. Many who have benefitted have publicly confirmed the transparency of the process. Promotion and recruitment of personnel have similarly become more transparent and merit based. These have further promoted professionalism in the NCS-a development that reflects on the operations of the service. The Col. Ali example has amply demonstrated that given the right leadership and better support from Nigerians, NCS could play a more pivotal role in the security and economic well-being of the nation. Of course, there are still challenges with smuggling and ease of doing business. The Customs has been criticized for incessant interception of goods cleared at the ports, something which is against international best practices. Critics have rightly argued that there is no reason why operatives of the Customs should be stopping containers on the way, particularly within few meters after the port gate for another round of checks. Also last year, the former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi accused the NCS of frustrating the National Single Window (NSW) project meant to hasten cargo clearance process at the nation’s ports. The NSW is a platform meant to integrate all agencies involved in the clearance of cargoes at the ports with a view to ease the inspection, calculation and payment of all import duties, levies and other charges. Having achieved the mandate handed him by Mr. President, Col.Ali must now harken to frontally confront these challenges with the gusto his appointment has imposed on the service. Uche wrote in from Lagos

Green Financing in Nigeria Aaron Olajide The first green bond in Nigeria was issued in 2017. Since then, the Nigerian green bond market has continued to gain considerable traction. This year alone, we have seen North South Power Company (“NSPâ€?) Limited, a pan African power generation company, issue its first N8.5billion 15-year 15.6 percent Series 1 Guaranteed Fixed Rate Senior Green Infrastructure Bonds, due 2034; through NSP-SPV PowerCorp Plc—a special purpose vehicle for raising funds from the capital market to finance capital expenditure and optimize the capital structure of NSP. This is the first series of a N50billion senior green infrastructure bond and it was oversubscribed by 60 percent. Even more recently, Access Bank Plc listed its N15billion 5-year 15.5 percent Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Green Bond, on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), due in 2024. DeďŹ ning Green Bonds A green bond is any type of debt instrument, the proceeds of which would be exclusively applied to finance or re-finance in part or in full, new and/or existing projects that have positive environmental impact, otherwise referred to as green projects. As a viable alternative to traditional financing mechanisms, green bonds offer easy access to a large and diverse funding pool, providing a source of low-cost and much-needed capital to finance infrastructure projects and set up green funding programs. The cornerstone of a green bond is the utilisation of the proceeds of the bond for green projects, including other related and supporting expenditures. A person desirous of issuing green bonds in Nigeria is required to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SECâ€?) Green Bonds Issuance Rules (“the Green Bonds Rulesâ€?) together with SEC’s new listing rules, which codify the criteria and approval process of green bonds in Nigeria. Interestingly, the Green Bonds Rules align with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles (“the GBPâ€?). In the main,

the GBP are voluntary process guidelines for issuing green bonds. The GBP are intended for use by market participants and are designed to drive the provision of information needed to increase capital allocation to green projects. With a focus on the use of proceeds of green bonds, the GBP recommend transparency, disclosure, and reporting as way of promoting integrity in the green bond market. Qualifying as Green Projects As previously mentioned, the distinguishing element in green bonds, is the utilization of its proceeds on green projects. To qualify as a green project under the Green Bonds Rules, an investment must fall into one or more of the following: renewable and sustainable energy, clean transportation, sustainable water management, climate change adaptation, energy efficiency, sustainable waste management, sustainable land use, biodiversity conservation, green buildings (commercial real estate development) and any other categories as may be approved by SEC from time to time. Conditions for Approval of Green Bonds by SEC In addition to the general registration requirements for debt issuances as stated in the Rules and Regulations of SEC for States, Local Governments, Government, Corporate and Supranational agencies, an Issuer of a Green Bond is required to file: r" MFUUFS DPNNJUUJOH UP JOWFTU BMM UIF proceeds of the bond in projects that qualify as green projects or assets in line with the Green Bonds Rules; r" GFBTJCJMJUZ 4UVEZ BOE 3FQPSU TUBUJOH clearly, the measurable benefits of the proposed green project(s) or asset(s) such as greenhouse gas reduction, reduction of water use and reduction of harmful emissions; r" QSPTQFDUVT XIJDI TIBMM JODMVEF QSPKFDU categories, project selection criteria, decisionmaking procedures, environmental benefits, use and management of the proceeds. r"O JOEFQFOEFOU BTTFTTNFOU PS DFSUJĂ DBUJPO issued by a professional certification authority or person approved or recognized by SEC; and

r"OZ PUIFS EPDVNFOUT UIBU NBZ CF SFRVJSFE by SEC. UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PROCEEDS Again, the cornerstone of a green bond is the utilization of its proceeds. On this, the Green Bonds Rules provides that: r5IF OFU QSPDFFET TIBMM POMZ CF VUJMJ[FE for the purpose stated in the approved offer documents and shall be tracked as stated in the approved internal policy of the Issuer which shall be disclosed in the offer documents. r"O FTDSPX BDDPVOU TIBMM CF PQFOFE TQFDJà cally for the net proceeds of the offer. r5IF QSPDFFET TIBMM CF EPNJDJMFE XJUI UIF Custodian and the Trustees shall ensure that the proceeds are used for the purpose stated in the prospectus. r5IF *TTVFS BOE UIF 5SVTUFFT TIBMM CF UIF signatories to the escrow account. r5IF *TTVFS TIBMM JOWFTU QSPDFFET JO green projects within the given timeframe prescribed in the prospectus. r6OBMMPDBUFE QSPDFFET TIBMM CF JOWFTUFE CZ the Trustees in money market instruments with investment grade rating that do not include greenhouse gas intensive projects which are inconsistent with the delivery of a low carbon and climate resilient economy. Issuing Green Bonds in Nigeria Giving the need for accountability and transparency in the utilization of green bond proceeds, the Green Bonds Rules require the Issuer to provide to SEC and the Stock Exchange (where listed), at least annually, a Green Bond Report containing the list of the project(s) and asset(s) to which proceeds have been allocated for the duration of the bond. The reporting process and authority must be documented and maintained as part of the Issuer’s Green Bond Framework. Again, the rationale here is that transparency is of particular value in communicating the expected impact of projects. Accordingly, the Green Bond Report should include a brief description of the project(s)

and the amounts disbursed, including (where possible) the percentage of proceeds that have been allocated to different eligible sectors and project types and to financing and refinancing. In any case, where confidentiality agreements or competition considerations limit the amount of details that can be disclosed, the information may be presented in generic terms. Further, the report should state the expected impact of the project(s) and asset(s), qualitative performance indicators and, where feasible, quantitative performance measures of the impact of the project(s). The report should further state the methodology and underlying assumptions used to prepare performance indicators and metrics shall be disclosed. There is also a requirement on the Issuer to publish an assessment report issued by an independent professional assessment or certification agency on its website or other media, conduct and report annual follow-up assessments of the green project(s) and associated environmental benefits throughout the tenor of the bond and publish same in its annual report and on its website or other media, a copy of which should be filed with SEC. REFINANCING EXISTING GREEN ASSETS It is quite likely that an Issuer intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of the issued green bonds, towards refinancing existing green project(s) or assets. In such a case, the Issuer is required to clearly provide in the offer document, the details of the portfolio or asset(s) or project(s) which are identified for such refinancing, and to the extent relevant, the expected look-back period for refinanced project(s). CONCLUSION Whilst the Green Bond market is far from mature, this year does offers some brighter prospects, given the regulatory and participatory momentum. Olajide is an Associate at Matrix Solicitors LLP: aaronjide@gmail.com

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 08152252325

2 0 1 9 C H I L D R E N ’ S D AY

Every Nigerian child deserve happiness

Spotlight on Nigeria’s Stunted, Malnourished Future Leaders Last Monday, Nigerians, government at all levels, and many institutions celebrated Children’s Day with special attention given to the leaders of tomorrow. But amid the funfair lies the neglect of the most vulnerable group in the country with over 11 million of them stunted, 2.5 million others malnourished and over 10 million out of school, among others. Martins Ifijeh writes on the need for full implementation of the Child Rights Law as key to addressing the neglect

“O

ur children are the future of tomorrow. We will improve on our primary healthcare services and educational system so that they can become the true leaders of tomorrow we desire them to be. No child deserves to go to bed hungry. Malnutrition will soon be a thing of the past. Our administration will ensure every child is protected.” These are some of the annual recitations of governments at all level once it is May 27, which is slated for Children’s Day celebration in the country. For this year, it was more instructive given that it was themed “End malnutrition”. It is the day governments suddenly realise children are the most vulnerable group in the country. It is the day they talk about all the moribund and non-implemented laws they had put in place to protect the rights of children. It is the day organisations share free food to the millions of starved children in the country. It is that special day government officials sit in expanded football fields to watch children who are priviledged to be in school display their talents in march past and quiz competitions. But that is where it ends. A day after, millions of these children are back on the streets with plates in their hands to beg. They become lonely again ready to face hunger the best way they know how – begging. For those who are unable to beg, they take to street hawking. From Lagos to Kano, Edo to Taraba, the scenario is the same. Widespread Nutritional Neglect This widespread nutritional neglect has resulted in the stunting of over 11 million of Nigerian children with at least 2.5 million Nigerian children currently malnourished in the country, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) specialists during a two-day media dialogue on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) @ 30, held in Lagos recently. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Health,

Lanre Tejuoso in an earlier interview with THISDAY had said that Nigeria might not meet its target of becoming an economically developed nation if it continues to churn out stunted children, noting that in the next 15 years, these children would have grown into adults and must have been expected to man civil service and other areas of the economy, but that stunting would negatively affect their capacity to raise a thriving nation. UNICEF Statistics The annual recitations on promises upon promises by government has not changed the out of school indices in the country. About 10.1 million children of school age do not attend school in Nigeria, according to presentation by a Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, Denis Onoise during the two-day media dialogue. He lamented that these children may not be able to optimally contribute to the country’s economy in future, in addition to not being able to improve their own family finances when they become adults. Onoise said as of 2009, there were an estimated 17.5 million orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria, including approximately 9.7million orphans, adding that of these statistics, about 2.4 million children were orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS. He said: “An increasing number of children serve as caregivers for siblings and relatives. Boys and girls engage in multiple forms of work to support their households. 40 per cent of females in Nigeria are married at 15 years or younger, 44 per cent married before 18 years of age.” He also quoted the National Population Commission figures of 2009, which shows that 28 per cent of women reported experiencing physical violence at some point since they reached the age of 15 years, with 45 per cent reporting the perpetrator to be their husband or partner. Onoise said: “These children also suffer the accusation of being witchcrafts. This is a commonly reported issue in Akwa-ibom State in the South-south and other parts of South-east region.

Such children face multiple forms of abuse and violence and stigmatisation,” he quoted this from the Cimpric, 2010 study. On Almajiris, he said in Northern Nigeria, these children between ages seven to 15 years are sent to live with Islamic school masters, adding that in 2010, the Federal Ministry of Education estimated that there were 9.5 million almajiris in the North. He said these children are subjected to harsh living conditions and are forced to beg to support themselves and their schoolmasters. These are few among the numerous inhumane conditions Nigerian children go through despite being tagged the future leaders of tomorrow. It is Nigerian children against the world. Their crime is that they live in a country where their rights are only remembered during Children’s Day celebration. They did not plan their existence, but they have no choice than to survive. They are the most neglected. They have social rights they do not benefit from. They have right to good healthcare, including nutrition, but millions do not benefit from this. They have right to education, right to shelter, right to basic amenities of life, but they are too vulnerable to fight for themselves. Lack of Access to Health, Nutrition But the new Country Director, UNICEF, Mr. Peter Hawkins believes there may be hope at the end of the tunnel if all hands are on deck, adding that if Child Rights Law is implemented across the country, the Nigerian children will no longer suffer as the current situation suggests. Hawkins lamented that while there have been recent many innovations, Nigerian children were still not accessing health, nutrition, education and other amenities as they ought to. “Sadly, it is the most disadvantaged children who are suffering the greatest challenge in having their rights fulfilled,” he said. UN Convention for Children This year’s Children’s Day falls on the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights

of the Child, which is being commemorated this year around the world. As part of the celebrations, UNICEF also launched a “Passport to Your Rights”, a copy of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in child-friendly language. UNICEF said its target was for every child in Nigeria to have a copy by 2030, the deadline for the achievement of the sustainable development goals. “Thirty years ago, something incredible happened. World leaders came together in a moment of unity for the world’s children. They made a promise to every child to protect and fulfil their rights, by adopting the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. We want to see every Nigerian child have that kind of childhood. “On this Nigerian Children’s Day, we must look ahead to the future of childhood in this country, and re-commit to urgent, specific actions to protect the rights of every child – now, and in future generations,” Hawkins said. Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, Sharon Olajidi during the two-day media dialogue organised by UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture emphasised that despite the obvious benefits it portends for children, 12 states in the country are yet to pass the Child Rights Law. The states are Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kaduna, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Gombe and Jigawa. She said: “Children are individual human beings totally dependent on adults. So, as adults, we must be responsible for how they are treated. Healthy development of a child is crucial to the future and wellbeing of any nation,” she said. How long will the Nigerian child suffer neglect? How long until governments at all levels in Nigeria give priority to the leaders of tomorrow? Thus, until their rights are restored, any celebration done every May 27 will amount to more torment on the young citizens.

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NEWS

Health Community Celebrates Tejuoso, Usman for Championing Policies in NASS Martins

Ifijeh

The Nigerian health community has poured encomium on the outgoing Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Lanre Tejuoso and the outgoing Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Health, Hon. Mohammad Usman for championing several healthcare policies and interventions in the 8th National Assembly. They said the contribution of the two lawmakers ensured major policies and interventions have been put in place towards addressing healthcare issues in the country, especially on Universal Health Coverage, Basic Health Care Provisions

Fund (BHCPF), nutrition, health insurance and National Health Act, among others. Speaking during an event to honour Tejuoso and Usman, as well as a consultative meeting of legislators and executives to review progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Abuja recently, the Senior Health Specialist, International Finance Corporation/ World Bank Nigeria, Dr. Olumide Okunola said this was the first time in the history of the country that stakeholders, media and healthcare practitioners outside government would contribute their time and resources to honour outgoing parliamentarians who did exceptionally well in

advocating for better healthcare for the country. He said this was happening because the Nigerian health stakeholders saw tangible things that have happened because of their result-oriented representation. He said: “As you are aware, countries that have achieved UHC did it through key areas; compulsion and subsidisation. So, as Nigeria moves towards UHC, the 8th assembly brought these two principles to life. It passed into law one of the most complex laws you can imagine, which is making the NHIS mandatory for Nigerians. That is the compulsion. The other area is that the 8th as-

sembly, for the first time, made BHCPF a reality, thus fulfilling the subsidisation part. These were championed by Tejuoso in the Senate and Usman in the House of Representatives. “In the four years they have spent in parliament, Nigeria’s health sector never got a reduction in its budget. For the first time, there is now a counterpart allocation for immunisation,” Okunola said. He also emphasised that the 8th assembly had also brought recognition to the issue of stunting in the country, adding that until now, the nutrition division in the Federal Ministry of Health has always had a budget of around N2 million annually in

a country where 30 per cent of the children are stunted. “Today, and thanks to our parliamentarians, Nigeria has committed 250 million dollars to address stunting”, he noted. The representative, Development Governance International Consult, Dr. Gafar Alawode, who eulogised Tejuoso and Usman, said health committees in the Senate and the House of Representatives have laid a foundation for continuity, as they have done the sector proud. He said: “All over the world, parliamentarians play a very big role which has huge implication for the development of the people. From day one the conversation on UHC started

in Nigeria, Tejuoso including Usman had subscribed to the idea and they became its driver, especially in their respective committees. “In July 2017, they conveyed the largest summit of lawmakers to discuss healthcare accessibility and affordability. More than 250 lawmakers across the country came together to discuss this. That occasion was chaired by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki who made a commitment to make BHCPF a reality. Today, BHCPF is a reality. And a number of states have increased their consolidated revenue fund to two per cent. Without Tejuoso and Usman, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

NACA, Others Empower Women, Girls to Curb HIV Prevalence Martins Ifijeh

L-R: National Outreach Coordinator, Ask The Paediatricians Foundation, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya; National Coordinator for Medical Volunteers, Dr. Ihuoma Nwogu; Head, Specialized Nutrition, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Zatur Hassim; Chief Executive Officer, Ask The Paediatricians Foundation, Dr. Gbemisola Boyede and National Coordinator for Non Medical Volunteers, Ask The Paediatricians Foundation, Vera James at the Peak456, Ask The Paediatrician, Oworo Outreach in Lagos...recently

USAID to Distribute 2.6 Million LLITN in Cross River Bassey Inyang in Calabar The United States Agency International Development (USAID) will distribute at least 2.6 million Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITNs) in Cross River State valued at N2.3 billion, the Malaria Logistics Advisor, Global Health Supply Chain, Godwin Aidenagbon has said. Disclosing this during a sensitisation workshop on Malaria

Eradication in Calabar recently, he said the programme, which is being sponsored under the auspices of the US President’s Malaria Initiative, targets the distribution across the 18 local government areas of the state. Aidenagbon said the programme will run through nine weeks, with 11,000 people deployed to embark on distribution of the LLITN. He said: “Over 45 percent

of Nigerians sleep inside the LLITN regularly, and what we are doing is to increase the number using the net to prevent malaria and we are doing this through campaign, community distribution, schools, and antenatal clinics. “Nets protect us from the mosquito that spreads the parasite. People should sleep inside the net correctly and consistently.”

In her remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Cross River State, Dr. Inyang Asibong, said the net has a life span of three years. Represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr. Iwara Iwara, she urged the residents not to use the net to protect their garden from insect, but rather they should sleep under it every night to protect themselves from having malaria.

Nigeria, Israel Join Forces to Combat Sub-standard Drugs Ayodeji Ake In a bid to end manufacturing and distribution of sub-standard drugs, the Nigerian government, through the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and the Israeli government have joined force to improve pharmacovigilance in the country. Speaking at a three-day capacity building for NAFDAC staff, themed ‘ Serialisation and Pharmacovigilance Seminar’, recently held in Lagos, the Director General, NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the workshop was organised

to further strengthen the existing relationship between Nigeria and Isreal, and also to train NAFDAC staff on how to reduce the incidence of sub-standard drugs. She said: “I have no doubt that this collaboration will help in addressing concerns of substandard and falsified medicines, and strengthen pharmacovigilance activities in the country. “I am also optimistic that our countries will benefit immensely from this collaboration and therefore call for concerted efforts to sustain this for its mutual benefit.

Adeyeye said all drugs manufactured, imported and distributed in Nigeria must be registered with NAFDAC for quality management. “It is also important to emphasise that for medicines to be manufactured, imported, distributed and sold in Nigeria; they must be registered with NAFDAC. “In this regard, all pharmaceutical companies that are desirous of marketing their products in Nigeria are hereby encouraged to take urgent steps to register them. “This will not only ensure compliance with NAFDAC

regulations but also facilitate their importation, distribution and sales in Nigeria” she said. Representing the Ministry of Health of the State of Isreal, Ambassador Ben- Shoshan said the collaboration was mainly knowledge sharing, adding that this was done for the good of mankind. The Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Dr. Jide Idris said: “It is essential that we also look at it from the perspective of public health because it’s everybody’s business and the pharmaceutical companies also have a role to play in public health.”

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) in collaboration with the Association of Women Living with HIV in Nigeria (ASWHIN) and Tosin Alibaba Memorial Fund has empowered 50 young women and girls in Lagos as part of plans to reduce the spread of the Human Immuno Virus in Nigeria. Speaking during the presentation of empowerment packs to the beneficiaries in Lagos recently, the Acting Director General, NACA, Dr. Kayode Ogungbemi, said the agency was targeting females because the recent study done by NACA has shown that young women and girls are more prone to HIV infection, hence the need to make them economically independent so they can make choices themselves. He said: “We have come to understand that without empowering them economically, it will be difficult to address

HIV epidemic in the country. Evidence has shown that one of the major drivers of gender inequality and HIV especially amongst females is poverty and financial dependency. “The findings from the recently conducted Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) indicate almost double the number of males is females living with HIV. That is 1.9 per cent females and 1.1 per cent males while the national prevalence is 1.5 per cent. “The study estimated about 1.9 million people are living with HIV in Nigeria. 75 percent of persons with HIV are between the reproductive and working ages of 15 and 49 years. Poverty is recognised as one of the drivers of the HIV epidemic in Nigeria, and evidence suggests that economic empowerment as a social protection strategy can improve the response and coping strategies of people infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

Report: Nigeria Has Estimated 465,000 Child Brides of Ages 15 and 19 Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A new report has revealed that Nigeria has an estimated 465,000 child brides between the ages of 15 and 19 years. The report carried out by Save the Children’s Global Childhood included the annual End of Childhood Index, which revealed that circumstances for children in the majority of countries across West and Central Africa have improved since 2000. The report which was launched ahead of the International Children’s Day on June 1, showed that even though marriage rates have dropped, the absolute number of child brides has risen by more than 100,000 in eight countries. It stated: “Progress in many

African countries has been too slow to keep up with population growth. As a result, even though marriage rates have dropped, the absolute number of child brides has risen by more than 100,000 in eight countries. “In Nigeria, an estimated 465,000 more girls aged 15 to 19 are married or living in union now compared to 2000. The other countries with over 100,000 more child brides today compared to 2000 are Chad, Madagascar, Mali and Mozambique.” The report also showed that the world has made remarkable progress in protecting childhoods, thanks to strong political leadership, social investments, and the success of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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THURSDAY MAY 30, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEW MANDATE...

NEW MANDATE...

Saraki Charges Newly Sworn-in Leaders to Work for Nigeria’s Development Our Correspondents The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has urged newly sworn-in leaders to work for the development of Nigeria. Saraki also congratulated Nigerians on the country’s attainment of 20 years of uninterrupted democracy and urged the people to use democracy to institutionalise peace and genuine development. In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate president described the commemoration of 20 years of democracy as a thing of joy in view of the many positive developments the country has witnessed since May 29, 1999. He advised Nigerians to fully take ownership of democracy and its institutions and use them to “entrench peace, welfare and improved standard of living for all our people.” He said democracy is about the people, adding that the people should use democracy to achieve social justice, equity, inclusiveness and economic self-reliance. While urging the followers to hold their leaders accountable and ensure they always act in the best interest of the people and country, he also urged the people to be good followers and be law-abiding at all times. “We should avoid conflicts and bloodletting as no country can develop in the midst of chaos. We should all steer clear of issues, comments, and situations that emphasise our fault lines. He called on all newly-elected leaders who were sworn in yesterday to work for the development of the country and the continued preservation of the country’s democracy. He noted that the benefits of a constitutional democracy far outweigh the challenges that have confronted the country since the return of democracy. “It is a thing of absolute joy and national pride that we are today celebrating two decades of sustained democratic governance in the country. “It is my hope that every Nigerian will look back at how far we have come in the last 20 years and resolve to continue to preserve our democracy — not minding the observed lapses in the operation of the system. “We should continue to strive to preserve the present form of democratic governance because democracy still remains the best system of government. “We have a duty to translate this dream into measurable realities in terms of the security and welfare of the people as well as the socio-economic and political advancement of the country. “I believe that all our newly sworn-in leaders are fully abreast of the present realities and therefore would spare no effort in working to turn the country around for the better,” Saraki explained.

Bauchi Gov: I Inherited N96bn Debt The new Governor Bauchi State, Alhaji Bala Mohammed yesterday lamented that he inherited a debt of N96 billion from his predecessor, Muhammed Abubakar. Mohammed made the announcement when he and his deputy, Alhaji Baba Tela, were sworn in Bauchi. Addressing a mammoth crowd at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, after taking the oath of office administered by the acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Rabi Umar, Mohammed lamented added that the immediate past administration in the state piled up another N40 billion within four years, leading to a total debt of N136 billion. Mohammed who said his administration would focus on completion of ongoing projects and execution of news ones, assured that under his watch, civil servants’ salaries would henceforth be first line charge in word and deed. He added that steps shall be taken through committee comprising all stakeholders to devise ways and means of ensuring regular payment of gratuities while offsetting outstanding balances.

Ganduje: I will Not Disappoint Kano People Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has promised that he will not disappoint the people of the state during his second term in office even as he declared free education at all levels for the physically-challenged and all other vulnerable groups across the state. Ganduje stated this shortly after he sworn in by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nuruddeen Sagir Umar, alongside his deputy, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna for a second term in office. The governor also promised free and compulsory basic education for all school age children in the state, adding that tertiary education for Kano indigenes would also be highly subsidised. He also assured that his government would consolidate on the achievements so far recorded on healthcare delivery. He said his second term would record complete overhaul of the state water board, with the establishment of a new company known as Kano State Small Town Water Supply Agency, to carter for the water needs of communities in the rural areas.

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (left), and the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Marshall Umukoro, during the governor’s inauguration ceremony at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba...yesterday Ihedioha and his deputy, Hon. Gerald Irona, were yesterday administered with oath of office amidst jubilation and funfair. Addressing Imo people at the Dan Anyiam Stadium Owerri, after taken his oath of office administered by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Paschal Nnadi, Ihedioha said that his government would not hesitate to tackle headlong “those who recklessly plundered our commonwealth.” He said: “While this administration will be forward looking and not embark on any witch-hunt, those who have held positions of authority must prepare to tender account of their stewardship to the people because our resolve to hold their feet to the fire of probity and accountability is iron-clad”. The stated that one of the immediate actions of his government would be to take appropriate steps and measures to restore faith and confidence in government, saying “we will not waste a day getting to work to renew the Imo promise of our founding fathers.”

Tambuwal Promises Prudent People-oriented Govt Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has solicited support from groups and individuals across the state to enable him provide dividends of democracy to the citizens of the state. Speaking in Sokoto, the state capital, after taking the oath of office administered on him and his deputy, Manir Dan’Iya, by the acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Sa’idu Sifawa, the governor expressed his gratitude to the people of the state for giving him another mandate of four years. He said a number of programmes, policies and projects initiated during his first tenure have impacted positively on the lives of the residents, adding that all the valuable projects would be sustained and corrections made on areas that needed alignment. While assuring that he would continue his “prudent people centred government,” Tambuwal pointed out that his administration rehabilitated and constructed hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure across the state which he explained were all aimed at uplifting people’s lives.

We Shall Subdue Violence with Forgiveness, Says Lalong As part of his determination to rid Plateau State of the cycle of violence that has bedeviled it for close to a decade, the state Governor, Simon Lalong, has again emphasised the need to forgive one another, noting that the critical policy his administration developed and embraced was the concept of “Forgiveness”. The governor, who declared this yesterday in his inaugural speech after taking the oath of office for his second tenure in office, also granted absolute pardon to one prisoner, Mr. Evaristus C. Mozie, who was sentenced for life imprisonment. He acknowledged that the major challenge his administration contended with in the past four years was security, especially in Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Riyom and Jos South Local Government Areas, “leading to deaths and displacements of people, destruction of houses, crops and livestock and mutual mistrust among community residents”.

Ihedioha Vows to Hold Those Who I will Run an Inclusive Gov, Says Jigawa Plundered Imo Accountable State Gov

The sixth democratically-elected Governor of Imo State, Hon. Emeka

Governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State yesterday promised that his new government would continue to run an inclusive government for the betterment of the state. Delivering a speech at his inauguration ceremony held at the Aminu Kano Triangle, Dutse, Badaru appreciated the decision made by the Jigawa people for re-electing him and promised to do his best to ensure that the state moves to the next level. According to him, my four years in office as governor recorded tremendous development and success in all sectors in the state. He said despite the liabilities his administration inherited in 2015 when he came into office, coupled with additional challenges of economic recession of 2015, he was able to succeeded in moving the state to a leading transforming state in the country.

Emmanuel Calls for Healing Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel and his deputy, Obong Moses Ekpo, were yesterday sworn-in for for another term of four years, with the governor calling for the healing in the state after a bitter elections. Addressing the crowd shortly after taking the oath office and allegiance at the Nest of Champions Stadium, Uyo, the state capital, by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Godwin Abraham, Emmanuel enumerated some of the achievements recorded in the first term including security, industrialisation, health, powers, education, agriculture, infrastructure, sports and rural development among others. The governor in his 36-paragraph speech, called on stakeholders in the state to embrace peace after the 2019 general elections, stressing that the time has come for the healing of the land.

I am Ready to Tackle Insecurity, New Borno Governor Vows Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara, yesterday said he iwas ready to address security of lives and property in the state. Umara stated that the challenge of insecurity remains one of the greatest challenges of the state after a decade old Boko Haram insurgency. Speaking moment after being sworn-in with his deputy, Alhaji Usman Kadafur, Umara promised that his administration would embrace national and regional security architecture and closely collaborate with the military and civilian joint taskforce and other security agencies towards the restoration of absolute peace in the state.

Sanwo-Olu: Despite Challenges, I Won’t Be Discouraged The new Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday acknowledged the daunting challenges facing the state, but promised not be discouraged to face them. Sanwo-Olu disclosed this shortly after the state Chief Judge, Justice Opeyemi Oke swore him in alongside his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat. He acknowledged the enormity of challenges confronting the state, noting that Lagos “has many challenges before it, challenges that have the power to consume us.” “Despite these challenges, the governor assured that he “will not be discouraged by the challenges that may be apparent. Today is an opportunity for us to forge ahead in our quest for a greater Lagos. It is possible.”

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NEW MANDATE...

NEW MANDATE...

Obi Tasks Governors on Retrieving Their States from Decay Our Correspondents The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has congratulated the leaders sworn-in yesterday, reminding them that by their swearing-in, they have begun the journey of retrieving Nigeria from its present decay. In a statement made available to journalists, Obi urged them not to allow the ecstasies of their elevation to becloud their sense of purpose. Describing their swearing in as historic, coinciding with 20 years the nation has practiced uninterrupted democracy, he reminded them that they are saddled with the task of repairing our chequered democracy, which is now going through a tough time. “How you start will define how you will continue and probably end.” Thereafter, Obi charged them to start auspiciously. Further, Obi said: “Nationally, yesterday was a great day for the country and a very special day for you. My appeal is that you take the moment to reflect on the country, about the life of service and about the condition of Nigeria. Obi said that upon reflection, he was sure they would realise that they have a lot of work to do in different aspects. His words: “You are embarking on a serious journey. Our country is today negative in all indices of development. As I said in my message of yesterday, our power sector, security, health sector– all sectors – are crying for regeneration. Today, the unemployment rate in the country is alarming. It is regrettable that our electoral processes are still a far cry to what it ought to be. Therefore, urgent attention is needed to pull the country from brinks.” While pledging his support in any way he can, Obi urged them to remain close to the people by always identifying with their sufferings and needs. Most importantly, he concluded, “remain close to God” as I assure you of my prayers at all times.

Wike Vows to Make Rivers Greatest State in Nigeria The re-elected Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, yesterday in the presence of thousands of Rivers people and other prominent Nigerians, took the oath of office to commence his second term, with a promise to make Rivers the greatest state in the country. The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Adama Iyaye-Laminkara, administered the oath of office on the governor and his deputy, Ipalibo Harry Banigo, at the swearing in ceremony that took place at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt. In his address, Wike declared that he would always place Rivers State first in all his actions, saying “for us, in all things, it is Rivers State first; Rivers State is the measure; Rivers State before others. This is the essence of the political mandate and burden that we will bear for the next four years and we will not disappoint you.’ He added that he would continue to stand up for the state and defend her interest, no matter the challenges or what comes up. The governor added that his administration was not in opposition to the federal government, calling for partnership to move Rivers State and Nigeria forward.

Masari Reiterates Commitment for Improved Security, Economy Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari and his deputy, Alhaji Mannir Yakubu, were sworn-in yesterday for the second term in office by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar, with a promise to improve on security. Speaking shortly after he was sworn-in, Masari vowed to fight criminals to a standstill and reposition the economy of the state. He said in spite of the outstanding challenges in the state, he was determined to take the state to the next level, promising that his administration would continue to expand opportunities for private sector participation to boost the state’s economic growth and create more jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the state.

Mutawalle Promises to End Killings The new Governor of Zamfara State, Dr. Bello Matawalle yesterday promised to assiduously work with the federal government and security agencies to put an end to the incessant killings of innocent indigenes of the state. Matawalle disclosed this after he and his deputy, Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, were sworn-in by the state Chief Judge, Justice Kulu Isa Aliyu, at the Trade Fair Centre, Gusau, the state capital. He said: “My first priority as a governor is to tackle the issue of security bedeviling the state. “Let me tell you, my administration will do everything to contain the unwarranted killings that are ongoing in the state, he said. Thee governor warned vigilantes to stop extra-judicial killings, saying, “If anybody is caught as a kidnapper or thief, hand him over to law enforcement agencies for necessary action”.

Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, being sworn in for his second tenure in office by the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Onuoha Arisa Ogwe (sitting left) at the Umuahia Central Stadium. With the governor, is his wife, Nkechi. the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Josephine Tuktur at the Jolly Nyame Stadium in Jalingo in front an ecstatic crowd of supporters and dignitaries from across the country including former Chief of Army Staff, Gen T.Y. Danjuma (rtd). Addressing the people of the state, Ishaku stated that despite the challenges his administration was confronted with in his first term, he has succeeded in making life more meaningful for the people of the state. The governor maintained that his administration recorded significant success in the areas infrastructural development, education, health, youth and women empowerment and agriculture.

Okowa: We’re Poised to Make Delta I will Take Ogun to Next Level, Number One Abiodun Vows Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was yesterday sworn in for a second term of four years, promising to transform the state to the foremost position among the states of the federation at the completion of his eight-year tenure. Okowa who was administered with the oath of office by the state Chief Judge, Justice Marshall Umukoro, at the magnificent Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba, patted his administration on the back for successfully weathering the socioeconomic storm at the start of the first term in 2015, and emerging with outstanding performance after four years, He stressed that the good report card would have been impossible to achieve without the uncommon love and general support of the people of the state. While suing for continued demonstration of the noble values of love, understanding, support, discipline and sacrifice of the citizens of the state towards the achievement of the second term transformation agenda of his government, tagged ‘”Stronger Delta”, Okowa said that such disposition was necessary for advancement of the government’s “SMART” development agenda during his first four years in office.

I’ll Build Health Centres in All Wards, New Yobe Governor Yobe State Governor, Hon. Maimala Buni, yesterday promised to build a health centre in each of the 178 wards of the state. Buni, who took his oath of office and allegiance at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, declared a state of emergency in both primary and secondary education in the state. He said the decision was to consolidate on the solid foundation put in place by his predecessor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, promising to provide tractors to farmers at the beginning of every rainy season in the state and to promote farming in the 17 local government areas across the state. The governor also promised to complete roads inherited from the outgoing administration and construct new ones in Gujba/Ngalda, Tikau- Jajere; Dogo kuka Jajere; and Yusufari Machina, among others.

Ishaku: I Have Made Life More My Govt will Engender More Meaningful for Tarabans Massive Rural Devt, Says Ugwuanyi Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku and his deputy, Haruna Many, were yesterday sworn-in for a second term in office, with the governor saying that he made life meaningful for the people of the state. The duo were sworn-in and administered the oath of office by

years would witness massive deployment of resources to further engender development at the rural areas. Ugwuanyi stated this shortly after he was sworn in for the second term in office amidst elated audience and expressed gratitude to God for His grace and thanked the people of the state for their “overwhelming mandate and immeasurable love, self-sacrifice, sense of justice and equity, and unrivalled commitment to the peace, good governance and development of our state”. He promised further that his administration would continue to close the gap between the hinterlands and urban areas.

Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, yesterday assured the people of the state that his new administration would continue to build on the solid foundation it has lain in line with its four point agenda, promising that the next four

The new Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abodun yesterday took his oath of office as the fifth governor of the state. Speaking at his inauguration at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, the state capital, alongside his deputy, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Abiola who titled his speech as “Building Our Future Together”, pledged the commitment of his administration to embark on “Public Service Reform”. The governor declared that he was aware of the challenges confronting workers in the state, a development he noted, has resulted in low morale and productivity. He, however, promised that his administration would professionalise and empower the civil service to carry out the basic mandate of running government operations effectively and efficiently.

El-Rufai: We Will Continue to Confront Our Challenges Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has said that his administration will continue to take difficult decisions to tackle the challenges facing the state. Speaking shortly after taking the oath of office for his second term, el-Rufai asked the people for their understanding and “forgiveness in advance, for difficult and sometimes painful decisions” that may be taken by his administration. He said: “The challenges confronting us are numerous and they are hard. But if we do our job well, we will solve them with your help, support and prayers. We will continue to take very difficult and sometimes, painful decisions. We ask for your understanding and forgiveness in advance”. The governor who was sworn in alongside his new deputy, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, by the Chief Judge of Kaduna State, Justice Mohammed Bello said he was grateful for the mandate given to him and promised to discharge it responsibly.

My Emphasis is on Security, Says Sule The newly-sworn in Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has said his administration would place special emphasis on security of the state to checkmate insecurity trends that have undermined speedy development in recent times in the state. Sule stated this in Lafia in his maiden speech shortly after he was sworn in as the fourth executive governor of the state alongside his deputy, Emmanuel Akabe, by the state Chief Judge, Justice Mohammed Diko. Sule, however, promised that his government would pursue the welfare of civil servants in the state with zeal by putting in place a robust welfare package for workers on the payroll of the state government.

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NEWS

Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

Panic Grips Obasanjo, 392 Others as Aircraft Aborts Landing Chinedu Eze Panic yesterday gripped 393 passengers, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who were aboard Ethiopian airline passenger aircraft, which aborted initial landing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport due to bad weather. A report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) listed other prominent Nigerians aboard the Ethiopian Airline passenger aircraft Boeing 777-300 to include the Director General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni. Obasanjo and Olukanni were said to have attended a Stakeholders Dialogue on Continental Trade and Strengthening Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which ended on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Also in the plane was the Director of Ports Inspection, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Samson Adebayo, as well as hundreds of Nigerians and other nationals. The passenger aircraft, ET901, had departed the Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, at 7 a.m. Nigerian time. A NAN correspondent, who was among the passengers, reported that the almost five-hour flight from the Ethiopian capital to Lagos had been smooth until the pilot attempted to land at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Rather than landing on the

first touchline of the runway, the pilot overshot it, due to rain and heavy wind, landing on the third touchline. He said due to the bad weather the pilot maneuverer the plane back into the air, flying out of the Lagos airport. After hovering between Lagos and areas suspected to be in Ogun State, causing panic among passengers and crew members, the plane finally landed in Lagos airport, some 20 minutes after the initial false landing. Upon landing at the airport, many passengers broke out into worship songs and clapping, while some fell to their knees in prayer. The Duty Manager and Chief Customer Service (Nigeria) of the airline, Mr. Otori Otan, told NAN that if the pilot had continued taxing down after landing on the third touch line, he would have overshot the runway. “But this is an experienced pilot. He realised this immediately. “Fortunately, the distance between when he realised the situation still permitted him to take off and renegotiate landing,” Otori said. He added that the incident was not out of place, while confirming that the wind obscured the pilot’s vision. Otori said most of the aircraft that flew out of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport had to fly against the mid-day heavy wind. He explained: “These things happen. That is where the sophistication of the aircraft and experience of the cabin crew members come in. “The aircraft is one of the

Ramadan: US Ambassador Tasks Nigerians on Peace, Unity Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, has called on Nigerians to use the Ramadan period to foster peace and unity among themselves irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliation. The ambassador stated this on Tuesday evening in Abuja at the breaking of fast (Iftar) and feeding of indigent Muslims by Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society. He said Nigeria is a great country that needs to harness its diversity as a strength and not an hindrance. The envoy stressed on the need for peace, unity and religious tolerance among all Nigerians for the country to achieve socio-economic development and prosperity. “We need to underscore the importance of the need for unity and good relationship between people of different faith in Nigeria, because it’s actually a strength. “In the past, in Nigeria, we had people of about 500 languages, different faiths living together in peace; this is far from the senseless violence, blasphemy and deaths

now, ” he said. He commended Al-Habibiyyah for the feeding programme which catered for both Muslims and Christians and urged other organisations to emulate them. “There is need to go back to those days when you celebrate both Sallah and Christmas, Easter and Ramadan together and above all share the language of God that says love and care,” he said. He also urged Nigerians and religious leaders not to shield those who hide under religion to perpetuate violence and kill innocent people. Earlier, the National Chief Imam of Al-Habibiyyah Mosque, Adeyemi Fuad, said that more than 1,000 lessprivileged Muslims and people of other faith are fed daily throughout the Ramadan period. He said the programme was part of the Al-Habibiyyah Food Bank programme meant to help the less-privilege and foster unity among Nigerians. A cardinal, John Onaiyekan in his remarks, commended the initiative of feeding the less- privileged and called for peace and unity among Nigerians

best you can have around and we are fortunate to have pilots who know their onions.” In a statement signed by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said the flight landed safely at the airport.

“An Ethiopian Airline flight numbered ET 901 flying from Addis Ababa to Lagos today landed safely at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The flight, which tried to land at about 1157hours had earlier misapproached due to bad weather and immediately went up to

position properly for landing. The aircraft landed safely at exactly 1213 hours and parked at gate E63. The Ethiopian flight had departed Lagos for Addis Ababa at 1351hours,” she explained. Media Consultant to Ethiopian Airline, Mr. Ikechi Uko, confirmed that the aircraft

had a “missed approach” while about landing due to poor visibility caused by weather. “The aircraft thereafter made an air return before it proceeded to land successfully,” he said. He said the pilot’s effort was in line with Safety and Recommended Practices (SARPS) in aviation.

CONGRATULATIONS...

L-R: President of Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; new Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed; and Deputy President of Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, after the swearing-in of the governor... yesterday

Buhari Departs Abuja Today for OIC Summit Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari, will today, depart Abuja to attend the Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. In a statement released by Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant, (Media & Publicity), Buhari is expected to attend the 14th session of

the Summit Conference of the OIC, scheduled to hold on Friday (tomorrow). The conference would be hosted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and attended by Heads of State and Governments of Member States. Part of the statement read, “According to the OIC secretariat, the summit to be convened under the theme, “Makkah al-Mukarramah Summit: Hand in Hand toward

the Future,” seeks to develop a unified stance on events in the Islamic world. “President Buhari is expected to address the forum and underscore the need for member countries to unite and work together to combat common challenges such as terrorism and violent extremism. “The President will also push forward themes that have been at the forefront of

his domestic and international priorities, including reviving the Lake Chad Basin, investing in Nigeria to create jobs and financing for development. “On the margins of the summit, the Nigerian leader will hold bilateral meetings with world leaders to promote increased cooperation and collaboration on issues of mutual concern.” Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on June 2.

76 Oil Wells: Get Ready to Battle FG, Ayade Tells SANs ‘Cedes’ governorship position to his deputy Bassey Inyang in Calabar Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade Ayade, has called on Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) from the state to be ready to fight the federal government in a bid to get compensation for 76 oil wells that were seized and given to Akwa Ibom State by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The governor made the call at the main bowl of the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar while taking his oath of office for a second term along with his deputy, Professor Ivara Esu. Ayade also declared that his deputy would assume the position of “acting-governor” of the state, while he would

assume the position of “project manager.” “I am prepared for the industrialisation of Cross River State. The deputy governor will from today become the actinggovernor while I will be the project manager,” Ayade said. The governor said the federal government “illegally seized our oil wells. You illegally seized our lands. You brought in EPZ. You took our waterways and left us stranded. Even the ceding of Bakassi was illegal.” He said, “In 2016, I issued a report on the oil deposits in Cross River State. We have not asked for money; we are only asking for our constitutional right to explore our natural resources. Three years down the line, we are waiting.

“Cross River has been abused and reduced to nothing in body and spirit and soul. I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to please hearken to the prayer of the people of Cross River State that we know our value, we know our worth, we know our heritage. We have shown so much understanding with the absolute belief that in the fullness of time, justice will be done. All Cross River SANs (Senior Advocates of Nigeria), you better be ready because the federal government has to tell us what crimes we have committed,” he explained. He also decried the ceding of Bakassi, saying it was illegal and that government’s policies over the years had

reduced the state to want and called for redress. Meanwhile, the governor said his deputy will be acting as governor in his second term while he will serve as a project manager to enable him to complete his signature projects such as the Super Highway, Calachika, Bakassi Deep Seaport and others. “In order to see to the actualisation of our signature projects this term, though I have been sworn in as governor, I will assume duties as a project manager while my deputy will be the governor. “Don’t expect to see me in office but in the field to see to it that these projects are actualised,” Ay a d e added.

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NEWSEXTRA

Despite Presidential Order, Trucks Block Apapa Port Access Roads Eromosele Abiodun Despite the order by President Muhammadu Buhari for trucks to vacate Apapa roads, there was no respite yesterday for commuters and residents of the area despite the public holiday declared by the federal government as trucks occupied all section of port access roads THISDAY’s investigation revealed that trucks completely blocked port access roads and overwhelmed the security operatives managing the traffic. But at the Lagos Port Complex and Creek road section of the port access road, trailers and other heavy-duty vehicles were parked in orderly manner. Commuters who spoke to THISDAY wondered why the truckers refused to hid the federal

government’s directive to vacate the ports access roads. A commuter, Mrs. Ojerinde Esther, told THISDAY that, “this situation is terrible; how can we continue like this? You, the pressmen, if you have the president’s number please give it to me let me talk to him. How can he give an order last week and we are still facing this problem?” In the same vein, the Ojuelegba-CMS section of the road, which was cleared by the task force set up by the federal government last week was also blocked yesterday, forcing commercial buses and motorcycles to drive against the traffic It is a different story from Mile 2 to Liverpool Road section of Apapa-Oshodi Express way

as articulated vehicles blocked the road despite efforts by the Presidential Task Force on Apapa gridlock to remove them from the ports access roads. The dilapidated state of the Coconut and Tin-Can axis of the Apapa-Oshodi highway had prevented the task force from clearing that stretch off articulated vehicles on Sunday, thereby leaving pockets of articulated vehicles on the Mile 2 axis. National President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Remi Ogungbemi, had told THISDAY yesterday that his members are complying stressing that trucks are still on the road because the

government order was restricted to containerised trucks. Speaking on the matter recently, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, had blamed the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing for failing to complete the trailer part at the Tincan Island Port gate for over 10 years. She therefore called on the ministry to conclude the Tincan Island Port trailer park to help address the problem “I call on the Lagos State Government to use overriding public interest and withdraw some of the land allocations they have for trailer parks so that they can be developed into

standardised parks for use of the state. The traffic situation will not reduce in Apapa unless there is a concerted effort in providing trailer parks. I will also use this opportunity to call on the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to conclude the trailer park inside the Tincan Island Port, the ministry has been constructing the park around Tincan Island Port access for the past 10 years. “I have held discussions with the ministry over two years ago when I assumed duty and requested that the trailer park be handed over to the NPA so that we can conclude the shore protection and have it ready. Fixing that trailer park along

with what we have currently at Lilypond will go a long way in decongesting the traffic. The gridlock in Apapa has been lingering for long; the NPA in the last three weeks withdrew the lease for the Lilypond Terminal and converted it into a Trailer Transit Park (TTP). We have also called on the Lagos State Government to provide land for TTP for overriding public interest; we need trailer parks and holding bays to enable us to manage the traffic. We cannot have a situation where all the trailers do not have designated parking. We must have as state or local government a place for trucks to park, “she said.

I Have No Problem with Jonathan, Says Dickson Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, yesterday debunked insinuations that he was fighting former President Goodluck Jonathan over who emerges as the next governor in the state. Speaking during a media chat at the Government House in Yenagoa, the state capital, the governor accused the aides of the former Nigerian leader of taking advantage of their closeness to him to make careless statements. He was reacting to recent reports of a serious friction between him and the ex-Nigerian leader, as the November 16 governorship poll in the state draws closer. Dickson posited that when the time comes, he would consult with Jonathan and other major stakeholders on the candidate that will emerge on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform He added that their last week’s outing during the launch of the state’s Education Development Fund, should convince naysayers that the relationship between the duo was cordial. “Let me say that that event should have shown you that there is no problem between us. Jonathan is my elder brother and my leader and will continue to receive his due respect. “We know what to do quietly. Even in this transition, if there is one person I am going to sit down with; it is going to be former President Jonathan. “When I am ready after all these prayers, I will visit him because he is an elder and we will compare notes,” he said. He said that he remains in charge of the state, maintaining that even the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) does not have the capacity to win elections in the state. He added: “I have the direct responsibility of administering the state and I believe I have his support ; but sometimes from aides, you get all sorts of things. He is traveling round the world. “But we can’t keep addressing the press everyday that there is no problem, which will mean that there is a problem. “But we are united when it

comes to what is good for our people. There is no political relationship that has lasted longer than that the two of us and we are very mindful of that. “These are volatile times in terms of managing a transition and it can be quite turbulent. But it can be quite reassuring that you have his support, but the bottom line is that I am in charge of government and there has been no interference. “We will consult and rub minds. There are no issues, but I know that there are people around who make careless statements and sometimes they have expectations that are unreasonable. “And they like to take advantage of the proximity they have. But essentially there is no problem between us. “I have some experience in this game. The outcome of the prayers and consultations will address all these fears. But what is comforting is that there’s no candidate of the APC that myself leading this team and the former president on his own side, can defeat us. “They can’t win any election. But they will declare violence and the federal forces will swoop on Bayelsans. When the APC was popular we defeated them,” the governor explained. He stressed that anyone who should qualify to fly the PDP gubernatorial ticket must have the requisite qualities of courage, commitment, vision and guts to protect the interests of the state and the Ijaw nation. According to him, the candidate of the PDP should have the consciousness and capacity to play opposition politics in the country. He stressed that the stakes in the next governorship poll were too high to be left in the hands of “lilly-livered politicians who only play establishment politics and shy away from the realities on ground.” Commenting on the forthcoming local government elections, the governor emphasised that women and youths would be given priority for councillorship positions across the state in recognition of their sustained support to his administration.

ELDER STATESMEN…

L-R: Former military Governors of Lagos State, Brigadier-General Mobolaji Johnson (rtd); Rear Admiral Godwin Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd); and first civilian Governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, during the inauguration of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu as governor of the state at Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos... yesterday ABIODUN AJALA

PENGASSAN Cautions against Threats to Destroy Oil Facilities, Overthrow Buhari Solomon Elusoji The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), yesterday, described the recent reports of plots to attack and destroy oil facilities, especially in the Niger-Delta Region, and overthrow the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as inimical to the good of the country. In a statement signed by its

General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN said such threats amounted to “serious and treasonable acts punishable on conviction with maximum penalty as prescribed by the nation’s laws and other internationally recognized conventions.” The oil workers union also warned “all aggrieved groups and politicians to stay away from the oil and gas facilities, which are the engine that drive the country’s economic

and social development. “With a current population of about 200 million citizens, Nigeria cannot survive another internally instigated war. We counsel all aggrieved politicians to be patient and await the outcome of the various litigations pending at the electoral tribunals or wait till 2023 when another window of political activity will be lifted.” President Muhammadu Buhari was formally inaugurated for a second

term yesterday in Abuja, but the opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is still in court over the election results. Meanwhile, PENGASSAN also called on all elected officials “to show magnanimity in victory by accommodating and tolerating others,” while reiterating its commitment to “never engage in or support any acts capable of plunging the country into an abyss of pain and destructions.”

Osinbajo Submits Assets Declaration Forms Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has submitted his assets declaration forms to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) ahead of the oath-taking ceremony held yesterday and in compliance with the requirement of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999

(as amended). The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement issued late on Tuesday night. The submission by the vice president camed after

President Muhammadu Buhari submitted his forms. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Research, Legal and Compliance Matters, Office of the Vice President, Dr. Balkisu Saidu, submitted the completed forms to the

Chairman of the CCB, Prof. Mohammed Isa, on behalf of the vice president. Compared with the assets Osinbajo declared in 2015, the forms showed no significant changes in his assets; as there were no new real properties, shareholding or bank accounts

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Eligibility: Appeal Court Delivers Judgment in Adeleke’s Appeal Today Alex Enumah in Abuja The Court of Appeal in Abuja will today deliver judgment in the separate appeals by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke. The court announced the date of judgment in hearing notices sent to parties by its Registry. The PDP and Adeleke are, by their appeals, challenging the April 2, 2019 judgment by Justice Othman Musa of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, which voided Adeleke’s candidacy for the election on the grounds that he was not qualified, having

not possessed valid secondary school certificate. The judgment by Justice Musa was in the suit by Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, who claimed that Adeleke was not qualified, under Section 177 of the Constitution to contest the governorship election. A panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, at the conclusion of hearing in the appeals on May 14 this year, told parties that a date for judgment would be communicated to them. Adeleke’s lawyer, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), while arguing the appeal, faulted the judgment of the trial court. Ogunwumiju urged the court

SERAP Urges Buhari to Uphold Rule of Law Davidson Iriekpen The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Mohamadu Buhari to make everyday of his second tenure in office a rule of law day. SERAP’s Deputy Director, Mr. Kolawole Oluwadare, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday. He said the group had sent an open letter to the president ahead of yesterday’s inauguration. Oluwadare said the group message was centered on ensuring that every segment of Buhari’s administration daily operations is lawful and rule-of-law compliant. “SERAP expresses serious concerns that the results of the ‘rule of law MOT’ in the past four years are uniquely damaging to your government’s fight against corruption and to the country. “Making a public commitment to dedicate every day of your second term as a ‘Rule of Law’ day will help to ensure that decisions of our courts are fully obeyed, refocus, improve and reinforce the anti-corruption agenda. “It will also serve as a reminder that no one has immunity from the law, not even the government,” he said. Oluwadare said the deficits in the Rule of Law in the country have been particularly notable in three areas- failure to obey decisions of Nigerian courts, failure to push for transparency in asset declarations by high-ranking public officials. “There is also failure to push for unexplained wealth orders against former presidents and former governors and other senior public officials suspected of living on proceeds of corruption and ‘dirty money,” he said. He urged Buhari to use his second term in office to implement his oft-expressed commitment to the rule of law by immediately obeying decisions of Nigerian courts. Oluwadare also urged the president to promote transparency in asset declarations by publishing widely, details of his assets declaration as well as encourage the vice president and all ministers to publish their asset declarations. He said SERAP also want Buhari to immediately instruct

his next Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to pursue unexplained wealth court orders against all former presidents. He said the order should also include former governors, former presidents of the Senate and former speakers of the House of Representatives. He said that the action would force those suspected to be living on proceeds of corruption and ‘dirty money’ to reveal sources of their fortune or risk forfeiting it. “Nigeria’s democracy ought to have as its foundation respect for human rights and the Rule of Law. “Treating the decisions of Nigerian courts as not binding is antithetical to any contemporary notion of the Rule of Law and democracy, and clearly counterproductive to the fight against corruption. “Ignoring or refusing to obey decisions of our courts is implicitly rendering the judiciary powerless to enforce constitutional and legal rights, violating separation of powers, undermining the rule of law, and raising questions on the government’s commitment to fight grand corruption,” he said. Oluwadare said persistent disobedience of decisions of the courts by government had opened the way for many state governors to do the same within their states including using anti-media laws to suppress the civic space. He said government had refused to obey court orders including at least two highprofile judgments obtained by SERAP. He said the first is the judgment by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari ordering government to tell Nigerians about the stolen asset it allegedly recovered, with details of the amounts recovered. He said the second judgment is by Justice Mohammed Idris, ordering government to publish details on the spending of stolen funds recovered by successive governments since the return to democracy in 1999. Oluwadare said that another court order which is yet to be complied with was the order for the release of Islamic Movement of Nigeria leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah.

to uphold his client’s appeal and set aside the judgment. He faulted the claim that Adeleke forged the West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to secure clearance for the gubernatorial election Ogunwumiju stated that the certificate attached to Adeleke’s nomination Form CF 001 was lawfully issued to him and was confirmed by WAEC in its affidavit evidence submitted to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari. He added that what Adeleke presented to INEC to secure qualification for the gubernatorial election was the same result that WAEC presented before the trial court when it was ordered to do so. Ogunwumiju argued that the trial court erred in law when it ignored document, which it ordered to be presented,

in reaching the decision that Adeleke did not possess the requisite academic qualification for the office of Governor. Ogunwumiju noted that there was no case of non-qualification or forgery against Adeleke before the lower court. Lawyer to the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, urged the court to set aside the judgment of the trial court and proceed to dismiss the suit, on which it was based,for being incompetent and statute barred. Enoidem, who is also PDP’s National Legal Adviser, argued that the suit was caught by the Fourth Alteration Act, having been filed outside the 14 days allowed by law. He noted that the suit was filed after 44 days after the cause of action arose, while judgment was delivered outside the 180 days prescribed by law for a pre-election matter. Enoidem noted that the PDP conducted its primary on July

21, 2018, while the plaintiffs, who are respondents in the appeal, filed their suit before the trial court on September 4, 2018, with judgment delivered on April 2, 2019. He argued that the trial court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, because the cause of action arose in Osun State. In a counter-argument, lawyer to the respondents, Joel Akomolafe urged the court to uphold the judgment of the lower court and dismiss the appeal. Akomolafe contended that the appellants did not appeal the lower court’s pronouncement on the issue of jurisdiction. He argued that, having not been appealed against, the decision of the trial court on its jurisdiction to hear the case remains valid and subsisting. Akomolafe noted that the trial court dismissed the motion by Adeleke and PDP,

challenging its jurisdiction on the grounds that it was canvassed belatedly. Justice Musa had, in the April 2, 2019 judgement, held that Adeleke did not possess valid secondary school certificate for him to be eligible to stand election for the seat of the Governor of Osun State. The judge noted while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record to show that he actually graduated as his name was not seen in the school’s register from 1980 Justice Musa equally noted that the result Adeleke attached to his form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was fake, and was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY…

L-R: Chairman, Committee on Education, Plateau State House of Assembly, Hon. Abdul Yanga; Executive Chairman, Plateau State Universal Primary Education Board, Prof. Matthew Sule; Programme Manager, Oando Foundation, Tonia Uduimoh; Deputy Governor, Plateau State, Prof. Sonni Tyoden; and state Commissioner for Secondary Education, Jude Dakur, during the inauguration of two blocks of classrooms donated by Oando Foundation at LEA Primary School, Bungha Gida, Mangu, Plateau State … recently

Sowore Asks Court to Set Aside Order against His Chairmanship of AAC Alex Enumah in Abuja The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 23 presidential election, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, has asked Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, to set aside the interim order restraining him from parading himself as the National Chairman of the AAC. Sowore also asked the court to restrain the executive of the AAC from holding a national convention in the name of AAC pending the hearing and determination of his suit against his suspension by the party. Sowore also filed a motion on notice, urging the court to grant an interlocutory

injunction, restraining Dr. Leonard Nzenwa from functioning as Acting National Chairman of the AAC. The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had on March 13 claimed to have removed Sowore as the National Chairman of the AAC for alleged corruption. The party had appointed Nzenwa as Acting National Chairman. Ezenwa was until then the National Secretary of the party. The AAC had at its second NEC meeting in Abuja, suspended Sowore and nine other NEC members over alleged corruption and anti-party activities. Accordingly, Nzenwa, through an exparte motion

had asked the court to restrain the suspended Sowore from parading himself as the National Chairman of the party. In his ruling, Justice Ekwo granted the prayers of the applicant and in addition restrained Malcolm Fabiyi, from further parading himself as Deputy National Chairman of the AAC. The court also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from further recognising the suspended chairman, pending the determination of the motion on notice. In the order, the court restrained Sowore and Fabiyi from further exercising any power or function relating to the offices pending the hearing and determination

of the motion on notice. In the affidavit in support of the motion on notice, the party alleged that Sowore failed to fulfill the mandatory statutory requirement of holding the NEC meeting of the party quarterly. He was also accused of receiving money from foreign donors and converting same for his personal use in contravention of the provisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The party said despite appeals made to him to call for a NEC meeting of the party to respond to allegations against him, he failed to do so. The party further said that it reached a resolution on March 27, 2019 suspending them from the party for six months.

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Sit-at-home: IPOB Vows to Shut Down S’East, S’South Today David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has stated that no amount of threat from security agencies would stop it from shutting down the entire South-east and South-south today. The group had earlier announced that its annual sitat-home protest for 2019 would hold on May 30 (today). A statement issued by the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Powerful, stated that adhering strictly to the request to sit at home would

tell the Nigerian government and the international community how badly the people needed their freedom. “This is a clear demonstration to all oppressors, collaborators and traitors alike that no amount of intimidation, abductions, arrests, killings and concocted lies will stop this IPOB. May 30 is a holy day and Biafra land will be on lockdown. “Some call it rally; some say it is a protest but we hardcore call it IPOB evangelism. Across the length and breadth of Biafraland, from Asaba to Abakaliki, from Enugu, Onitsha, Owerri, Aba to

Igweocha (Port Harcourt) we will sit at home.” The group said it had sensitised the people enough and believe that everyone in the former Biafran territory would heed the order to stay at home between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. He added that the members of the group had on Tuesday marched through the streets of many towns to remind the people of the order. The IPOB spokesman noted that doing so, despite the proscription, was an indication that the security agencies did not own the land.

SEC CommencesVerification of Dantata Success Ndubuisi FrancisinAbuja The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded plans to commence a verification exercise for Nigerians who “invested” monies with Dantata Success and Profitable Company, Kano. According to the SEC, as part of the arrangements to commence a refund of their monies, the verification exercise will take place between May 31 and June 2 , to ascertain the level of their commitment to the company. In a statement, SEC said: “the Commission wishes to inform and reassure investors in Dantata Success

and Profitable Company that it is finalising plans for the repayment of investors’ funds (from assets so far being recovered from the company)” The “investors” are required to go along with the following documents: original receipt evidencing their payment or bank teller for deposit into the company’s account; valid means of identification (voters card, National Driving License, National Identity Card, international Passport etc) and investors bank account details. Pursuant to its powers under Section 13(w) of the Investments and Securities Act 2007, SEC had on February 6, 2019 sealed up the

business premises of Dantata Success and Profitable Company (DSPC). The company had been involved in unlawful solicitation of funds from the public with a promise of inexplicable high returns to investors. The action taken by the Commission was with a view to protecting investors. The commission further warned the public to exercise utmost caution before subscribing to investment schemes by confirming the registration status of any company or individual and the investment products they are offering before entering into any transaction with them.

Former NFF Boss Explains His Interest in Kogi Governorship Race A former President of Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Sani Lulu Abdullahi, has said that if he becomes the next governor of Kogi State, he will deploy his experience as a Nigerian football administrator to change the state’s negative narratives. Lulu, who spoke with THISDAY on his recent declaration to contest the November gubernatorial election in the state on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), said he plans to put in place policies and progranmmes that will improve the fortunes of the state and living standard of

the people. The former NFF boss who recalled that he met a deficit of about N300 million and left an estimated sum of N2.3 billion in the NFF coffers when he left, vowed that he would replicate similar achievements with effective management of Kogi State resources. According to him, “My vision is to attract investment into the confluence state using our advantage as the state where the two rivers met. We need to salvage the current situation in Kogi State and we can do that by

empowering our youths. “The people believe I have the track record to take Kogi to the next level. So, I am in the race basically because of my people and the need to salvage our state from the current level of poverty and backwardness. Noting that his campaign slogan is ‘Mr. Fix,’ Lulu said his government will pay special attention to the economy, especially in the areas of agriculture, education, tourism development, security, provision of critical infrastructures and sports development.

Oyo Gov Scraps School Fees The newly inaugurated Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, has said he would scrap the N3, 000 being paid by pupils of all public primary and secondary schools in the state and also promised to donate his salary to pensioners. He admitted that the greatest challenge confronting the state was the issue of poverty and promised to tackle it with a drastic leap in agriculture, just as he pledged to look into the issue of over 400, 000 out-of school-children in the state. Makinde stated this in his eightpage inaugural speech shortly after he and his deputy took the oath of office at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan. However, Makinde said the state was not capable of paying the new N30, 000 minimum wage but was

quick to add that, “I believe in true federalism. “I believe the states should decide the minimum wage of their workforce based on individual realities. All states are not created equal; so, it is against the principle of fairness to apply a blanket rule to govern them all. “That being said, our plan is to make Oyo the first state to pay above the national minimum wage. We know this is possible. We have already set our plan in motion to make this possible. But, this requires time. We propose staggered increments. “I met with organised labour during my campaigns and made a pledge to an open relationship. I intend to stand by that promise. We will have a sincere conversation and arrive at the best decision possible.

Rest assured that the decision will put your overall best interests first,” he said. He said, “Ají e bí Òyó làárí, Òyó ò kí e bí baba nìkan.” Oyo leads and others imitate. We are a state proud of our many firsts, adding that, “in 1965, just five years after Nigeria’s independence, the first skyscraper was built in the Western Region, in an area that later became part of our beloved Oyo State. Well, before independence, this same territory hosted the first TV station in Nigeria, the first university, the first housing estate in Nigeria, the first government secretariat and the first modern parliament. Let me also add that we host the first stadium in Africa, the first dual carriage road and more recently, the first private TV station in Nigeria.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2019

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THURSDAYSPORTS

ÜÙßÚ ÚÙÜÞÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ˝ Duro Ikhazuagbe ×ËÓÖ˝ duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 08111813083

UNDER-20 WORLD CUP

Flying Eagles Go for Broke against Ukraine After a below par outing against Team USA in Bielsko-Biala on Monday night, Nigeria’s Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles know they must earn a result against group leaders Ukraine at the same venue today to prolong their stay at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Poland. Goals by Sebastian Soto and a sterling performance by the entire USA squad condemned the seven-time African champions to a 2-0 defeat. They still have three points and two goals advantage from their defeat of Qatar in Tychy on Friday, but any slip could be costly for further interest in the tournament. Although they already have a spot in the Round of 16, Ukraine could still finish third on the log and be condemned to face Italy, the first-placed team in Group B. That is, if they lose to Nigeria and USA, on three points as Nigeria, racks up a big win over Qatar. Both teams go toe-to-toe at the Bielsko-Biala Stadium as from 7.30pm Nigeria time this evening, with the Flying Eagles determined to take the

game to their opponents and get a win. However, Paul Aigbogun’s boys will do well to avoid the kind of lethargic start they contrived against USA, and put together more fluent attacking moves complemented by clinical finishing. If they end up as Group D winners, the Flying Eagles will travel back to Tychy to play a third-placed team in the Round of 16 on Monday. If they finish in second place, they would be off to Bydgoszcz to play the winner of group E (which has another African flag-bearer Mali, as well as France, Panama and Saudi Arabia). And if they end up as one of the best third –placed teams, they would be off to Lodz to play the winner of Group B. Whatever their game-plan for tonight’s encounter, Aigbogun’s wards must watch out for Ukraine’s Denys Popov, who has scored two of the Ukrainian side’s three goals at the championship so far, as well as Serhi Buletsa, who scored one of their goals against USA.

Two of Africa’s three other representatives, Mali and Senegal, are also on good ground to reach the

knockout rounds. Senegal top Group A after amassing six points from beating Tahiti and Colombia, while Mali perch in

second place in group E with four points after drawing with Panama and edging Saudi Arabia in a seven-goal

thriller. South Africa, after losses to Argentina and Korea Republic, are pointless in Group F.

Chelsea players celebrating the Europa League victory against Arsenal in Baku, Azerbaijan… last night

Iwobi’s Goal for Arsenal Not Enough as Chelsea Win Europa League Okpekpe Race Promoter Super Eagles Alex Iwobi scored the Blues boss Maurizio Sarri the bursting into life early in the ing Cech the wrong way after Hails Edo Govt, Sponsors with a powerful first-time strike last night for Arsenal but it was not enough as Chelsea hammered the Gunners 4-1 to claim the Europa League trophy in Baku, Azerbaijan. Iwobi who came on for Lucas Torreira in the 66th was an instant hit. Arsenal’s ambition of winning the trophy to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League failed to materialize. Eden Hazard scored two goals and made another assist to give

first trophy of his managerial career and ensured their London rivals miss out on next season’s Champions League. With only about 5,000 fans from both sides able to make it to Azerbaijan, there was an eerie atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, which appeared less than half full. That was the surreal setting for a match played 2,500 miles away from both teams’ home, and the game itself was devoid of action before the break before

second half. Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock when he met Emerson’s clipped cross with a powerful near-post header that zipped past Petr Cech. Cech, also facing his old side and playing the final match of his career, could do nothing about Chelsea’s second goal either, with Pedro sweeping home a Hazard cross. Hazard made it 3-0 from the penalty spot soon after, send-

Ainsley Maitland-Niles fouled Giroud. Substitute Iwobi briefly gave Arsenal hope with a powerful first-time strike moments after coming on. But Hazard quickly made sure of victory, playing a one-two with Giroud and firing home Chelsea’s fourth goal. The Belgium forward said after the game it was likely to be his “goodbye” to the club as he continues to be linked to Real Madrid.

ALP/SPA Ajibade Chasing Glory against Falana in BOA Lawyers’ League Final Advocaat targets bronze in third place clash with LSMJ 2016 champions of the BOA Lawyers’ Football Tournament, Falana & Falana is aiming to return to winning ways again as the law firm takes on Africa Law Practice/ SPA Ajibade in the final of the 2019 edition on Sunday. Olisa Agbakoba Legal last year ended Falana’s domination of the tournament in the last four editions. It also ended Falana’s quest to win the tournament four consecutive times. However, the defending

champion failed to make it to this year’s final after falling to Advocaat in the quarter-final stage. While ALP/ SPA Ajibade defeated OAL conquerors Advocaat in the semis to get to the final, Falana defeated Lagos State Ministry of Justice (LSMJ) 4-3 in penalty shoot out to get here. Despite Falana’s experience in the tournament, ALP/SPA Ajibade is not likely to be an easy prey in Sunday’s final as

they also seek to win their first title of the football tournament named after Bankole Olumide Aluko, a founding partner of the law firm of Aluko & Oyebode who died 17 years ago. In the third place match before the final game, LSMJ will take on Advocaat for the bronze. Advocaat created the biggest upset of this edition. The law first’s giant killing spree ended OAL quest to defend the crown the won

last year. Except lethargy sets in, Advocaat may well walk away from the Astroturf 2000 venue of the BOA Lawyers’ Football Tournament with the consolatory bronze. That however did not mean LSMJ will not put up any fight. According to the organisers of the competition, the closing ceremony will commence at 3:00 p.m., but all the teams are expected to be at the venue at least one hour before the third place match.

The promoter of the IAAF silver label Okpekpe International 10km Road Race, Mike Itemuagbor has said that the backing of Edo State Government and sponsors and friends of the race made last Saturday’s event the huge success it turned out to be. Last Saturday’s race has been described as the most successful edition since the inaugural edition of the event in 2013 and Itemuagbor whose company, Pamodzi Sports Marketing organised it is delighted with the outcome of the event. “I really want to thank His Excellency, the executive governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki for his continued support for the race. He has provided the enabling environment for us to thrive and I am happy we have not disappointed him, the Edo State people, especially the great people of the Okpekpe community,” said Itemuagbor, an indigene of the rusty community in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. Itemuagbor is also grateful to sponsors and friends of the race whose support he said cannot be quantified especially following the last minute withdrawal of Ecobank. “I am delighted we have been able to attract corporate giants to

partner the race. Coca-Cola came in this year while Nigerian Breweries Plc, the pioneer and largest brewing company in Nigeria joined us last year and renewed their support this year. We also had the five-star Wells Carlton Hotels & Apartments as well as Dan Oil and Petrochemicals Ltd who joined us to make this year’s race the monumental success it is.’’ Itemuagbor is also grateful to the men and women who worked day and night to ensure the race got off to a perfect start and a thrilling finish. Meanwhile, Solomon Dalung, the immediate past Minister of Sports and Youth Development has described the seventh edition of the race the best ever and hailed the organisers of the one-day road running event for lifting the image of Nigeria. “I am very impressed with the high level of professionalism on display here. We have once again proved to the rest of the world we have the capacity to organise world-class events. “This race has projected Nigeria’s name in positive light and I am appealing for more corporate involvement in the years ahead,” said Dalung who was one of the VIP runners on Saturday.

African Freestyle Football Championship Organisers Promise More Thrills The 2019 African Freestyle Football Championship will be bigger and better than the two previous editions of the competition, the organisers have promised. The finals of this year’s championship, which is sanctioned by the World Freestyle Football Association and fully endorsed by WFFA co-founder

Daniel Wood, will take place at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos on September 14 and September 15. The organisers and rights holders of the competition, Feet & Tricks International, explained some of the improvements to the tournament during a press conference in

Lagos yesterday. “We’re excited to have started the drive to pave a new direction for freestyle football in Africa,” Feet & Tricks International Chairman, Valentine Ozigbo, said during the press conference. “In this year’s edition, we expect at least 30 African countries to be represented

and many have already registered. We will work on the continuous development of African freestyle talent and continually exploit all available resources to create more awareness for the sport, and we’re grateful to our sponsors and partners.” Ozigbo explained that for the first time in the championship,

there would be regional competitions to determine Nigeria’s representatives in the finals. These regional competitions will take place in Lagos (Rowe Park) on June 22 for the Southwest zone, Warri (Brownhill Event Centre) on June 30, Owerri (Cubana Lounge) for the Southeast zone on July 5and Abuja (Central

Park) on July 13. Registration for the event is open to both male and female freestylers via www. feetandtricks.com. Broadcast partners of the event, StarTimes, estimated a combined 30 million audience from their mobile app and cable television from across Africa to tune in for the championship.

THURSDAY MAY 30, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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Thursday, May 30, 2019

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Price: N250

MISSILE Tunji Bello to Akinwunmi Ambode

“Apart from lack of camaraderie compared to previous administrations, our cabinet has been less rigorous, less fulfilled, less engaged and less accomplished. And for the first time since the time of Governor Lateef Jakande, this cabinet departs unappreciated and disenchanted” — Former Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, on the major drawbacks of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s one-term administration in the state.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI Metaphor of the ‘Missing’ Loaf THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

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ast Friday, the Supreme Court sent a strong statement to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as the entire political class in Nigeria. In declaring ‘wasted’ the votes secured by APC candidates in gubernatorial, national and state assembly elections in Zamfara, the message is simple: Only when rules and regulations governing elections are binding on political parties and critical stakeholders can Nigerians begin to repose confidence in the system. Ordinarily, the essence of primaries is to strengthen the democratic process by giving party members the opportunity to have a say in their representation. But over the years, governors and godfathers have circumscribed the element of choice by imposing unpopular candidates. In the particular case of Zamfara APC, the entire exercise was marred by arbitrariness and lack of respect for democratic norms and competition. Hijacked by Governor Abdulazeez Yari, who shunned the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and threatened their members with violence, all efforts made to conduct credible primaries were rendered impossible until the date for submission of candidates lapsed. Of course by then, Yari had come up with a list of his anointed candidates. Since a free and fair process in electoral matters is a basic requirement of democratic governance and an antidote to civil disorder, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had to intervene, following the violation of its guidelines. The commission announced that it would not allow the APC to field candidates for Zamfara State. Yari would not have that. He procured a black market judgement from a high court in his state which compelled INEC to put the party and candidates on the ballot. Meanwhile, in February this year, the Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto had dismissed an earlier judgement of a Zamfara high court which granted APC the right to field candidates for the election. “Domestic affairs of political party activities must act within the confines of the law in dealing with party members and elections” said the court which held that the Zamfara lower court failed in its duty to properly evaluate the evidence before it. That was the verdict affirmed last Friday by the Supreme Court. Apparently in an effort not to be contaminated by people he described as ‘fornicators’, Yari has hardly spent three days a month in Zamfara. But when he wanted to install a successor, he never left the state. His desperation was not for the promotion of public good but rather to control state resources. This is the tragedy of Nigeria today. With everyone trying to take as much as they can for themselves, even an ‘executive’ prisoner, who probably still enjoys jumbo pension from the state he looted for eight years, is drawing a monthly N13.5 million salary from the National Assembly. Bolstered by the frequency with which they are elected or appointed into various public offices, many of our politicians see no

Yari problem with profiteering from deliberate misrule. Contempt for the system, which they use for self-gain, is evident in the manner they sabotage its functioning. That has been the case in Zamfara State for the past eight years. But, as it most often happens, Yari ultimately overreached himself. Not only did he fail in his desperate bid to install a puppet governor, he can no longer join his colleagues in what has become their retirement home. As we therefore mark 20 years of unbroken democracy, it is important for all stakeholders to reflect on how we arrived at the current sorry pass and where we are headed. Despite being blessed with abundant human and material resources, the ‘whole’ of our country is far less than the sum of its parts due largely to the unbridled greed of the leadership elite in a society where citizens are left to find a way to ‘survive’. Everybody generates their own power, provides their own security, erects boreholes for water supply while those who have the means conduct their medicals abroad where their children also school. With that, the communal sense to build a functioning society is lost. When you have a nation where the accumulation of individual greed far outweighs the collective need, it is easy to understand why the law of the jungle has become the defining ethos, even for ordinary citizens. From man hole covers to electricity and pipeline cables to street light bulbs to bridge rails, pilfering of public properties has become the norm. Criminals operate in broad daylight without being challenged. During civil protests, public properties are often targets of arson by citizens who see them as belonging to ‘government’ from which they feel disconnected. That our society is imperiled if we continue on the road we travel, is exemplified by a story told by the (former) Education Minister, Mallam Adamu Adamu at the prize-giving ceremony organized by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) last Thursday. Although Adamu’s anecdote was meant to show

the interrelationship between Islam and Christianity, essentially for the benefit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (who is a pastor), the unintended lesson that came out clearly is how a society where everybody thinks only of their own interest is endangered According to Adamu, Jesus (Prophet Isa in Islam) and a traveling companion had three loaves of bread and at a point in their journey, they stopped to eat. When the companion brought out the loaves of bread, there were only two. Despite prodding from his master, he could not account for the third. After eating, they continued their journey until they encountered an antelope. Jesus reportedly bid the animal to come and slaughtered it. After cooking, they ate part of it and then Jesus commanded the antelope back to life. As the animal stood and was leaving, according to Adamu, Jesus turned to his companion and said, “I ask you by the One who has shown you this miracle, who took the third loaf of bread?” The companion answered, “I do not know.” The journey continued until the duo reached a big river. Jesus, Adamu said, took the hand of his companion and they walked on top of the surface of the water. Jesus then said again, “I ask you by the One who has shown you this miracle, who took the third loaf of bread?” The companion repeated his earlier answer: “I do not know.” They moved on until they stopped in the middle of a wide plain where Jesus gathered some sand and ordered it to become gold. When the sand became gold, Jesus divided it into three parts, and said, “One part is for me, another for you, and the third part is for the person who took the loaf of bread.” At this point, Adamu said, the companion, with everything to gain, confessed: “I am the one who took the loaf of bread!” In fulfilment of the pledge, Jesus handed not only the third portion of the gold but his own. “You can take everything. But from now on, you can no longer be my companion.” This is a metaphor for the way too many leaders in our country take public service while the promotion of self-interest has almost become a national ideology. Our

society is now governed by the philosophy of Ayn Rand in which every man is “an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others”; and exists only for his own sake while “the pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.” Yet, if we pull resources together, we will have a more prosperous and peaceful society. Let me conclude with Adamu’s anecdote. As the errant companion of Jesus was still rejoicing over his fortune, two armed robbers came upon him. To save his life, he offered each a third of the gold, leaving him with the remaining portion. When they became hungry, one of them was chosen to get food from a nearby village. Scheming to take all the gold, he poisoned the food. But when he returned, the other two (who also had their own scheme) attacked and killed him to appropriate his share. Afterwards, they ate the poisoned food and died themselves. So when Jesus returned, he met the entire treasure out in the open, surrounded by three corpses. The moral: A society where everyone thinks only of their own interest will sooner than later end up in ruins. The greater lesson of course is for those who hold positions of public trust. While human nature predisposes people to act mostly in pursuit of self-interest, the essence of government is to subordinate the personal greed of individuals to the imperatives of the common good. The crisis of present day Nigeria is the absence of a code that makes it difficult or even impossible for that personal greed to override public good. Zamfara therefore provides a ready example of what can befall a state when a leader’s greed for absolute power and wealth overwhelms public interest. Fortunately, the Supreme court has stepped in to redefine the boundaries in favour of due process and rule of law. It is a lesson that will serve all our politicians and public officers in a season such as this. I congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari and the governors, including Hon Emeka Ihedioha—since I am writing this from Owerri where I witnessed the Imo State inauguration ceremony—and others, who were yesterday sworn in, either for their first or second terms in office.

Ministerial Yahoo Yahoo

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hat some of our young artistes glorify advance fee fraud known as 419 or ‘yahoo yahoo’ in their songs does not sit well with many Nigerians because it presents us as a people who believe that only the end justifies the means. But when a serving minister acts in a manner that suggests we are a nation without abiding principles and values, there is a problem. More than two years after the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) account was wrongly credited with the sum of $150,000 (instead of a $15,000 donation) by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the $135,000 difference is yet to be refunded, despite

repeated promises. Sadly, the (former) minister of sports at the centre of the sordid drama, Mr Solomon Dalung, is blaming the victim. “Did we steal money from them? Did we ask them to transfer money to us? They transferred money to us, they confirmed the transaction to us, then after two months, they woke up from slumber,” Dalung said in words that could easily be mistaken for the lyrics of a yet-to-be-released song by Naira Marley! With Dalung now out of office, the presidency should intervene by returning the sum of $135,000 to the IAAF coffers. It is in the interest of our nation to do so.

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