The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Qatar-based drug kingpins, Eyah Celestine Nnamdi, alias Murphy, and Ugwuoke Peter Oluchukwu following the interception of their methamphetamine consignment at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement on Sunday.
Babafemi said Ugwuoke was the first to be arrested on 9th June during the outward clearance of Qatar Airways passengers at the departure point, Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport.
The spokesman said the NDLEA officers discovered that the suspect was travelling to Doha with an Ivorian international passport with the name Hien Narcisse.
He said a further scrutiny of his black carry-on luggage led to the discovery of a false bottom concealment of two parcels of crystalline substance that tested positive to methamphetamine weighing 1.00kg.
Babafemi said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a Nigerian who had gone to obtain an Ivorian passport for his travels.
“He confessed that he travelled to Qatar in August 2022 and returned from the Arab nation about two months ago to perfect arrangement for the movement of the drug consignment,” Babafemi said.
According to the statement, a further probe led operatives to discover that his Qatar-based senior partner in the trade simply identified as Murphy was lurking around in Eziani, his home town in Nsukka LGA, Enugu State.
Babafemi said Ugwuoke who hails from Igboeze North Local Government Area of the State claims he holds a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Federal Polytechnic Oko.
He said a prompt deployment of NDLEA operatives on 10th June to Eziani community of Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, led to the arrest of ‘Murphy’ whose true identity was later discovered to be Eyah Celestine Nnamdi, who had lived in Indonesia for some years before relocating to Doha, Qatar.
The statement reads, “In the same vein, anti-narcotic officers of the Agency have arrested a female Pharmacist, Ikwebe Ori Hellen in Kaduna following her attempts to use forged documents to purchase and distribute six cartons of pentazocine injection with 2,000 ampules.
“She confessed she used fake documents of a Kaduna hospital to order the drug, which she planned to distribute in Kaduna, Abuja and Sokoto. The consignment was initially intercepted at the local wing of the MMIA, Ikeja while being sent to Kaduna by a freight agent.
“In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Niger state have seized a total of 1,072 kilograms of cannabis in two raids. On Thursday 15th June, 726kg of the illicit substance was recovered at Oyoyo filling station along Kaduna – Abuja express road where four suspects: Aminu Mohammed, 50; Nasiru Mohammed, 30; Rabiu Haruna, 29, and Hamza Abubakar, 18 were arrested.
“The following day, 16th Friday, operatives intercepted a Mercedes 1422 truck marked MKD 116ZM on its way from Umunede, Delta state with gallons of palm oil to be delivered at Garki market in Abuja.
“However, the truck driver, Jekwe Udenze, 38, along with his two assistants: Gabriel Nzekwube, 43, and Chima Uzoma, 42, stopped over at Uromi, Edo State and loaded 19 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 346kg, to be delivered at Dumez Luxury Park along Kaduna road, Suleja to Ignatius Mokwe, 47. Both the driver and his two assistants as well as the owner of the illicit consignment, Ignatius Mokwe have been arrested.
“Meanwhile, a total of 30.9 hectares of cannabis farms were destroyed in Delta, Edo and Ondo in the past week. In Delta, 18 hectares of cannabis farms were destroyed on Monday 12th June in Umuchime village, Ogume, Ndokwa West LGA by NDLEA operatives supported by soldiers. Four suspects arrested on the farms include two men and two women: Kingsley Atuola, 40; Okikiolu Adekunle, 44; Osai Doris, 40, and Ublenu Joy, 28.
“In Edo state, operatives on Wednesday 14th June stormed Awakpa forest in Owan West LGA where they arrested Malachy Amaechi; Nanmua Peter; Ojo Momoh; Afam Luke and John Danladi who were apprehended inside a hut located on 2.5 hectares of cannabis farm, which was destroyed and 102 kilograms of the substance already harvested recovered. Another farm measuring 1.294870 hectares was also destroyed with the three farms razed totalling 3.978217 hectares.
“Similarly, operatives on Saturday 17th June raided the house of a dealer, Godwin Ejiro, 45, at Uyiwnendi community, Ikpoba Oka LGA, where quantities of illicit drugs including cocaine, heroin, meth, swinol and cannabis were recovered. In Ondo state, John Emmanuel, 30, was arrested at Ofosu, with 81kg cannabis on Thursday 15th June while operatives on same day nabbed Gideon Akoh at Ala forest where a total of nine hectares of farm were destroyed and 12kg harvested substance recovered.
“While 93.7kg of the psychoactive substance was evacuated from a shop in Enugu metropolis on Saturday 17th June, a wanted notorious dealer, Kwada Vendi, 37, was arrested with 30.6kg cannabis at Mamari, Maiduguri, Borno state on Tuesday 13th June. In Bauchi state, 87,000 pills of tramadol and exol-5 were recovered from a suspect, Tony Ogbonna, 40, by NDLEA operatives at Yelwa, Bauchi town on Saturday 17th June.
“A total of 13,800 pills tramadol consignment abandoned by a suspect going to Geidam, Yobe State was recovered at Yankaba Park, Kano on Wednesday 14th June, while same day in Benue state, a suspect, Chidera Gabriel was arrested with 22,100 pills of the same pharmaceutical opioid at an NDLEA check point in Vandeikya.
“Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of MMIA,
The All Progressives Congress (APC) 2023 senatorial candidate for Benue South, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, has described sports as a key catalyst for national cohesion and development.
He spoke as the special Glguest of honour at the grande finale of the first edition of Tawari Football Talent Hunt Competition, which was held yesterday at the Tawari School Football Pitch in Tawari Council Ward, Kogi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Onjeh stated that promoting and supporting sporting activities amongst the youth can go a very long way in mitigating social vices in the society.
The former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) also advocated for the establishment of a special funding mechanism for sports development whereby corporate organisations will be encouraged to donate regularly into a common purse for the funding of sporting activities, as part of their corporate social responsibility.
On a note of encouragement to the young players, Onjeh stated that the difference between Messi, Ronaldo, and the upcoming football stars that participated in the competition was just the right platform they had in Argentina, Spain ( Messi) and Portugal ( Ronaldo), to develop and showcase their talents.
He expressed optimism that the Renewed Hope Mandate of President Bola Tinubu would birth a revival in the administration and management of sports in Nigeria. Onjeh equally commended the organizers of the event, for their initiative.
The Tawari Football Talent Hunt Competition is purely a community effort of the Tawari Council Ward.
The first edition of the competition, which began on May 2 featured 10 teams at the preliminary stages. The final match, which was played between Awyetulo Football Club, Orehi and Shane Pillars, ended 1:0 in favour of Awyetulo Football Club.
Hon. Kyauta Bawa, who was a Guest of Honour and a native of the Tawari Council Ward, stated that the competition holds great prospects for the youths of the community, as it affords them the unique exposure and the opportunity to be identified and recruited by local and international professional football scouts.
He also hinted at enhanced employment opportunities or career progression for the participants, within the various military and paramilitary sports units.
At the end of the competition, 32 successful players were selected for camping, which will commence in the first week of August this year at three different locations across the country; namely Abuja, Kaduna and Bauchi. After the camping exercise, the young players will be taken on a tour of Togo, Cotonou and Accra for further exposure.
While the winners of the competition went home with a cash price of N100,000, the runners-up carted home N50,000. The organisers of the competition said they intend to make it an annual event, with the second edition intended for much younger talents under the age of 15 years, who are still in the primary and secondary schools category.
The event had Brig. Gen. Stephen Bawa (Rtd) as Chief Host. Other dignitaries at the occasion were the Vice Chairman of Kogi LGA, Hon. Hassana Jezhi Bako and the Deputy Chairman, Kogi State Chapter of the APC, Hon. Abdulrahman Akabu.
Afrobeats superstar, Davido has declared his wife, Chioma Adeleke’s Imo State as the one with the most beautiful girls in Nigeria.
Discussing with N.O.R.E and DJ EFN on the latest episode of the Drink Champs podcast, Davido made the assertion as one of the host’s initiated the topic about country with the most beautiful women, citing Cuba.
But Davido, sharing a different opinion proudly stated Nigeria’s most beautiful women are from the State his significant other hails from.
“The most beautiful girls in Nigeria are from Imo State, where my wife is from,” he stated enthusiastically.
The ‘No Competition’ crooner, further reiterating his stance exhibiting immense love and pride for his partner added: “Wherever my wife’s from, that’s where the most beautiful girls are.”
Apex Igbo sociocultural group, the Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, has expressed concern over high level of propaganda and fake news by some persons following the notice of demolition of some distressed buildings in the Alaba International Market in Ojo Local Government of Lagos State, dominated by Igbo traders.
Following the commencement of the process toward removal of the distressed buildings by the Lagos State Government, some publications started circulating on social media alleging that the decision was to victimise the Igbo citizens domiciled in Lagos.
But reacting to the publications on Sunday, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, urged the Igbo in Lagos to remain calm, cautioning that propaganda and fake news were not necessary for them at this point.
He stated that his investigations revealed that the publications and statements were fake news and propaganda meant to raise tensions and cause disaffection between the Igbo and their Lagos hosts.
According to Iwuanyanwu, reliable information available to him showed that the State Government’s directive was not in any way related to plazas and shops on the markets or along the market road.
Iwuanyanwu, whose feelings were made in a statement by the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia on Sunday in Enugu, said: “The attention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has been drawn to several fake publications circulating on social media alleging a decision by the Lagos State Government to take actions to victimize the Igbo citizens domiciled in Lagos.
“Since the disturbing news broke out, we have made investigations in order to establish the true state of affairs. One of the reliable sources, Hon. Comrade Chinedu Ukatu, Member, Lagos State Market Advisory Council and President Ndigbo-Amaka Progressive Market Association, stated that “the Lagos State Environment and Development Authority has been issuing warnings as regards the obstruction of some water ways”.
“Ukatu added: “All that happened at Alaba and the emergency visit by the state government officials were directly about those blocking the free flow of water through the provided water ways.
“Ukatu added that the directive is “not in any way related to plazas and shops on the markets or along the market road”.
“Ukatu enjoins all and sundry to “disregard the statements and video messages trending on the internet and admonished that such propaganda is not necessary for the Igbo at this time”.
“Another Alaba resident, Chief Ikechukwu Okolo stated: “The truth is that, some structures were erected on waterways, thereby obstructing drainages and causing flooding, especially during the rainy seasons.
“According to Okolo, “the owners of the affected structures have since been notified, for months, but as we can see, each time the execution order was to be effected, corrupt government officials would get compromised, and the flooding challenge continues, until this time”.
“Chief Evaristus Ozonweke, an Ohaneze chieftain, resident in Lagos, has also validated the above position”.
Iwuanyanwu, who expressed concern over the lingering problems in Lagos, urged the Lagos State Environment and Development Authority to exercise prudence and best considerations in discharging their duties.
Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation to the President of African Development Bank, Prof. Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, in this interview with development reporters, explains fundamental structural issues the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration must tackle to move the country from low-level equilibrium, get the people out of debt trap and sustained economic growth. Assistant Editor Bola Olajuwon was there.
What should the new government and other stakeholders do to get the country out of poverty trap?
My proposal is that the next president must aim very high: target a minimum of seven per cent growth rate so we can double our GDP in 10 years. How? There are short-term macro-economic issues to quickly deal with, but what I will be emphasising are fundamental structural issues. To move from this low-level equilibrium means a structural shift of the economy.
Typically, a country’s economy has three main sectors: agriculture, industry and manufacturing and services. Poor countries are mired in low-level agriculture unlike advanced nations with extremely modern and productive agriculture. These countries have ‘industrialised’ agriculture. The Netherlands, a highly advanced industrialised nation, exported over 90 billion euros of agribusiness products in 2019.
Agriculture is where Nigeria has comparative advantage but technologically, it is decades behind. It is the sector with the lowest hanging fruit, but we must systematically invest in greater mechanisation, inputs such as fertiliser and at the heart of high productivity are seeds. Nigeria as with other African countries signed the Agricultural Delivery Compact at the conference organised by the AfDB and the African Union in Dakar this January 2023. Faithfully implemented, the country can stimulate rapid growth of the agribusiness sector. This way we re-ignite the long delayed structural transformation and accelerate economic diversification in ways that lead to food security. From our calculations, this kind of growth will lead to national food security while creating at least 12 million jobs.
As you may already know, the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ), a flagship programme of the AfDB adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria, aims to make Nigeria competitive in agriculture by promoting agro-industrialisation through value-addition and export of processed agricultural commodities. The first phase of the programme is being implemented in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The objective is to bring economic infrastructure to areas where there is high agricultural potential and marketable surplus of production. SAPZs attract investments from private sector investors to develop value chains for selected strategic crops, e.g. wheat, rice, cassava, and other crops, livestock and fisheries, to contribute to the development of rural areas, creating wealth in these areas and to stem rural-urban migration.
Nigeria has been a consumption country for many years. Can you explain ways Nigeria can become a production nation?
I see you are referencing my 2016 book titled From Consumption to Production. Let me provide a simple illustration: it is an example of a country that evolved from years of devastating conflict, moved from a beggar bowl-in-hand nation to a major player in global value chains. Vietnam exported an estimated US$348 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2020, a ten-fold difference compared with Nigeria’s exports in the same year. In macroeconomic terms, Vietnam’s total exported goods represent 30% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2020. Given Vietnam’s population of 97 million people, its total $348 billion in 2020 exports translates to roughly $3,600 for every resident.
In contrast, Nigeria’s total export of around $34 billion represents less than 8% of its GDP of $432.3 billion. Why the huge difference? Nigeria’s revenue basket remains constrained due to its export revenue concentration. We depend on crude oil and few primary commodities. Nigeria records high food imports with most processed foods coming from outside the continent.
To record high economic growth rate, Nigeria should do the following: First, move away from crude oil dependence by urgently prioritising economic and trade diversification, including exploiting our vast gas resource that is being flared. Second, the country should aggressively aim for food self-sufficiency through a combination of land intensification and massive expansion of food production over the next five years. It is a matter of urgency that Nigeria reduces dependence on imports to enhance food security and to develop markets for its farmers and firms that will engage in adding value both for local consumption and for exports.
Growth comes from a diversified portfolio. Contrasting Nigeria and Vietnam although Vietnam’s export revenue these days come largely from non-oil products such as phones and electronics goods, which are now exported to the world, it also remains a major exporter of agricultural products. That country exported agribusiness products such as footwear and textiles totaling over $30 billion. This not only equals Nigeria’s total oil revenue, but also far exceeds the less than $3 billion revenue that Nigeria received from shipping out raw leather, cocoa powder, sesame, cashew, and mainly raw agricultural commodities, which would be converted into finished products and re-exported to Nigeria
Why is the Federal Government always investing in projects that would not yield any return, like the Ajaokuta steel company and others?
The conception, design and implementation of complex industrial programmes have strong relationship with the capacity of the state. The state here includes the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The term “state capacity” refers to the state’s ability to get things done or the capacity to implement state-initiated policies.
The question you raise has to do with the nature of the state and leadership and capacity of the Nigerian state. The state is either weak/fragile or strong. Fragile states are also known as weak states. A state is fragile when it is incapable of meeting key needs of their citizens especially their security and economic wellbeing. A strong state capacity has been strongly associated with long-term economic development. This includes the capacity to establish law and order, enforce private property rights, defend a country against external threats, as well as support development by establishing a competitive market, transportation infrastructure, and mass education.
So, you have your answer. We have not succeeded to build a strong state due to a broader lack of vision and the right leadership capable of sacrificing self-interest for public interest. When you initiate laudable industrial projects like Ajaokuta refineries and so on, human beings must run them. The political, bureaucratic and corporate elites must agree on the vision. In poor countries, not just Nigeria, the attitude and actions of political and bureaucratic elite tend to determine the rate and direction of the country’s progress.
So, the new president should sit down with political and corporate elites and agree with them on what I term his “Strategic Presidential Flagship Initiatives” to appeal on behalf of Nigerians to ring-fence them from cronyism, corruption and execute them using competent people. This is what General Park Chung-Hee did with the Chaebols in South Korea in the 1960s. The new leadership needs an assurance of agreement by the elite. Our problem is not policy and plans; our challenge is the people and their purpose. Imagine the news trending in the last few days. Nigeria is groaning under lack of power supply yet a minister entrusted with fixing it is alleged by the EFCC to have stolen N340 billion! The AGF who was entrusted to help keep our money, he and his collaborators allegedly stole N109 billion. Somehow like thousands of cases, it seems nobody is talking about it again. It’s not policy; its people.
The same fate befell Nigeria’s previous efforts. The country has had a long tradition of development plans right from independence. Nigeria has gone through four national development plans in her post-independence history, followed by different Visions, V2010 and V2020, three year rolling plans between 1990 and 1998 and long-term perspective planning and so on. The federal government introduced an ambitious programme between 2003 and 2007 known as the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). These plans have not achieved the expected results.
Rather than the modern industrial economy we hoped for, there emerged a country with widespread poverty, poor infrastructural stock, massive unemployment, technological backwardness, and excessive debt burden. This is classic low-level economic equilibrium. It is not about plans and policies. It is about the motives, commitment and patriotic propensity of those who hold the levers of power. I do not see how else to explain our predicament.
You once said Nigeria should set high goals and double its GDP in a decade. How can the country achieve this?
Yes, this is my proposal. Fast and sustained economic growth is the main route to raising living standards and creating decent jobs. China did so, why not Nigeria? In 1953 when the Korean War ended, the nominal GDP of Korea was $1.3 billion. It grew rapidly for six to seven decades; to 1.65 trillion in 2019. The GDP/capita rose to $32,000 from a mere $158 in 1960. In contrast, Nigeria hardly diversified its economy. The country got locked-in into petroleum export for export earnings to the detriment of value-added agriculture and manufactures. The result is low contribution of the manufacturing sub-sector which fluctuates between 5% to 8% to aggregate output in Nigeria compared with its peers in Asia (Korea about 30% in the 1990s) is staggering.
What is the recipe? First, economic progress comes only to producers, especially those that manufacture and add value to raw materials and export. Poverty has become the lot of our country as it is with those that always buy from others. Nigeria is in a state of stalled industrialisation. This is the root of poverty. Nigeria has experienced Structural Transformation Trap. After four decades of policy implementations and effective governance, China successfully lifted 770 million of its citizens out of poverty.
What are the other challenges you want this new government to solve first to make progress?
The incoming government, in addition to my earlier suggestions, should do the following: Maintain Security and political stability at all costs. I mean by every means possible. It must also maintain macro-economic stability. The current exchange rates regime discourages investment. A non-transparent exchange regime creates uncertainty that impact investment performance.
Focus on rural modernisation through programmes like the SAPZ. SAPZ are located in peri-urban areas. This is how to use a policy to force structural transformation of the economy. This is a bottom-up reforms starting with transforming agriculture while still building the necessary industrial value chains, and manufacturing logistics; and promote Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) both farms and firms to be more efficient; and support the country’s large companies to become regionally and globally competitive firms.
Where will South Korea be without the humble origins of its Chaebols, family businesses that we now know globally? One of them is the Korean giant, Samsung Electronics, which has now surpassed Japan’s Toshiba and America’s Intel to become the world’s top chip producer by revenue. Beyond South Korean semiconductors we have Hyundai Motors, which recently became the world’s third largest carmaker after Toyota and Volkswagen – with quality to match. It is a matter of intention. Rather than ridicule Nigerian businesses, let us support and incentivise them to raise our nation’s flag. Great countries are branded by their corporate ambassadors: Amazon, Microsoft, General Electric, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, etc.
The government must incentivise the production of manufactured goods by giving strong support to local firms instead of relying only on natural resources; provide consistent government support for infrastructure buildup and ensure ease of doing business across sectors. The power sector challenges need a military-like solution and the wellbeing of Nigerians has suffered enormous degradation. So we need to prioritise, especially the first three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – namely poverty, hunger and disease.
The labour market is the most potent force for solving these challenges: create decent jobs especially for the youth, and embark on genuine and massive social housing programmes. The National Health Insurance scheme should be overhauled and made to serve the purpose for which it was created. The young people deserve explicit attention because of their energy and creativity. When a country views the youth as an angry segment to be kept quiet, it shoots itself in the foot. We need new initiatives to support and drive youth entrepreneurship.
For example, the AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, with the former Vice-President recently launched a programme called Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE). It is an initiative of the AfDB and the Federal Government of Nigeria to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the digital technology and creative industries in the context of efforts to create jobs. So far, that initiative has raised over $600 million and ready to be rolled out.
What should be the quality and capacity of Tinubu’s cabinet?
At the individual level, he must look for people with high level of competence accompanied by character, creativity and compassion for the poor. You need humble men and women who see this country as a legacy garden to tend and beautify. Not haughty and arrogant people who think citizens are doormats. We must in addition aim deliberately for good governance and strong institutions. These are essential to creating an enabling environment for economic growth. When you look at the country policy and institutional assessment (CPIA) index of the World Bank, which captures governance and institutional behaviour in Nigeria, on all counts, Nigeria scores extremely low on governance. Nigeria scores extremely low on anti-corruption.
More importantly, good governance thrives on good leadership made up of a commitment to integrity, a strong vision and plan for their nation’s future, and the ability to make the most of their available resources. Good government looks beyond short-term political cycles and quick policy fixes. The actions, behaviour choices, and the ability to keep promises made will influence the level of trust that citizens and businesses have in government. A transformational leadership which premises decisions on what structurally transforms the country is what Nigeria needs now. There is little time for the next government. A friend of mine calls it: One Chance! If we miss this chance, we have big troubles.
Suddenly, it appears the Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) law and commission bill first tabled before the national Assembly in 2016, is gathering a new momentum, especially with the confirmation by the Nigerian Army that some CSOs may be involved in money laundering and anti-state activities. But are these enough reasons to promulgate a new law and body in a sector perceived by players to be already over-regulated? Gboyega Alaka, who interacted with stakeholders in the sector, explores the issues.
PERHAPS, no issue has generated more apprehension amongst stakeholders in the civil society organisations circle in Nigeria in recent years than the Proposed NGO regulation Bill.
Known in some quarters as the Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) Bill, the bill, first sponsored and introduced to the House of Representatives by Hon. Umar Buba Jubril in June 2016, aimed at enlarging government powers to regulate, monitor the funding and operations of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and generally put them in check.
Subsequently, a similar bill was sponsored by Sada Soli, a member of the APC representing Katsina in 2017, seeking to establish the legislative framework to regulate the activities of NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). The bill passed second reading at the House of Assembly and had subsequently been referred to the Committee of Civil Society Organisations and Development Partners.
Proponents of the bill are of the argument that Non-Profit Organisations are poorly regulated and require a regulatory agency, specifically for regulating their funding streams.
According to the proposed bill: “the [regulatory commission established under the NGO Bill] shall facilitate and coordinate the work of all national and international civil society organisations and … will assist in checking any likelihood of any civil society organisation being illegally sponsored against the interest of Nigeria.”
Recall that scores of stakeholders and CSO operators had marched to the National Assembly, protesting against the bill and requesting that it be dropped on the day of its public hearing. They saw it as an attempt to gag them and stifle their operations.
For some reason, the committee did not present its report to the House, hence it was assumed that it had been shelved aside.
In 2019, however, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila announced that the bill would be revisited, following allegations by the Nigerian Army that a particular NGO, Action Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organisation then operating in the Northeast, was supplying food and medication to the terrorist Boko Haram group.
Expectedly, that NGO was blacklisted, but it again drew attention to the sector and an interest in the bill.
As recently as July, 2022, the new version of the bill by Hon. Sada Soli, was presented, for a second reading, on which occasion the Deputy Majority Leader, Peter Akpatason, recommended that copies be made available to members before further contributions be made.
That, of course, was an indication that the bill was still very much alive and it was a matter of time before it saw the light of day.
Is the Non-profit sector really poorly regulated?
However, in the opinion of Professor Deji Adekunle (SAN), Lead Research at Juritrust Centre for Legal Research and Documentation, the proposed bill and commission is ‘going nowhere.’
Admitting that he had not read the latest version, Prof. Adekunle, whose organisation reviews and studies legislations and laws and apply them to social problems, said, “I looked at a version four months ago and I told myself this is going nowhere. Even within the National Assembly, they are also very sensitive to what the civil society organisations say, because they understand that CSOs can tar or improve their image.”
This, according to him, is however not to say that the sector does not want to be regulated, as the sector is already well regulated by the Federal Inland Revenues laws, the Company and Allied Matters 2020 (CAMA), the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundry (SCUML) amongst others.
“As a corporate citizen, you cannot say you don’t want regulation; and as a Nigerian, you have not only rights-bearing but also duty-bearing responsibilities,” he argued.
Having said that, Adekunle described as ‘superfluous’ certain aspects of the proposed bill that requires NGOs to seek government’s approval before embarking on projects, arguing that “there is no NGO that is involved in development activities that will not require government’s consent if it intends to make impact. So putting it in such a law is just superfluous.”
Still Adekunle insists that the provision in some cases amounts to going extreme, asking, “How can you ask me to come to Abuja for approval for a road project in Imeko Efon in Ogun State?”
He also argued that if the target of proponents of the bill is to gag CSOs in the rights protection area, then it falls flat on its face, as the constitution already protects them.
“The constitution protects free speech; so you cannot gag them. The same constitution, for instance, also states that if anyone is indigent, you must provide legal aid. Such approval may, however, be needed for some other things like an NGO building a dam or constructing a road in certain places.”
Adekunle conceded, however, that the extra attention the sector is attracting may be due to the fact that some NPOs, especially religious bodies, have become vehicles for laundering terrorists money camouflaged as funding, while it is not impossible that some have laundered crime proceeds, knowingly or unknowingly.
“These are templates that happen in other countries. As far as terrorist funds are concerned, I know that the DSS have signposted some not-for-profit organisations, especially Quranic schools and Quranic movements as laundering funds for terrorists. Some of them were even proscribed. But do you throw away the baby with the bath water? Or do you kill a fly with a sledge hammer?”
The Lead Researcher also argued that such a trend is not as widespread as to require an extra law, stating that the move is driven by jealousy and rivalry among government officials, who feel that CSO operators are enjoying undue privileges.
“Some people’s thinking is ‘why should foreign agencies be paying citizen’s organisations money when they could donate it to the government?’ They believe that the funds that donor organisations generate can be channelled as aid to the government directly, but hey, people have control over their money.”
Besides, he argued that these are different templates. “What they give to countries is different from what they give to CSOs. The budgets are separate.”
He explained further that the rivalry he is talking about is not government per se but ‘narrow-minded’ public officers who cannot stomach how individuals could be entrusted with such huge funds while they work the whole day in the offices from 8 to 5 and never get to see a dollar.
On the allegation that some people establish CSOs with the sole aim of accessing donor funds to live large, Professor Adekunle concedes that some people have no doubt messed themselves up in the way they handle funds, but stated that (donor) organisations have a way of dealing with such people or organisations – which is by spreading the word among their network.
“You may call it blacklisting. There are many of us, bright social scientists, idealists; who want to do things and are fired by ideas but have no single skill about management or financial management. And then the dollars come and they begin to buy this and that. Before you know it, the project is moribund. And that is why they started the EU-ACT Programme of capacity building, to teach them social entrepreneurship, teach them about compliance, teach them advocacy and how to sustain their work.”
Asked what he and other stakeholders would be doing to make their grievances known to the authorities, Professor Adekunle said, “This kind of bill will not pass without a public hearing. The second is that members in the legislature, whether in the Senate or House of Representatives listen to enlightened constituents. And I can tell you that letters have been written to many of them, that do not touch that bill, if you want to come back home.”
Asked if that could be the reason the bill has been in the House since 2016, Adekunle stopped short of saying, ‘your guess is as good as mine’.
Like Professor Adekunle, Harry Udoh of the Guild of Community Development Advocacy in Akwa Ibom, an umbrella body for CSOs in Akwa Ibom State, aligns with the popular notion among fellow CSO operators that the sector is over-regulated but stated that this stems from the fact that those unleashing these regulations largely misunderstand the sector.
To regulate a sector, you need to have a proper understanding of it, the lack of which, he said is tantamount to stifling the sector, which he averred is playing very critical roles in the development of the nation.
“In all aspects of this nation’s development, civil societies are playing very critical roles, and it is not different from what obtains in developed societies. Take America for instance, the CSOs play very critical roles, and they (the authorities) realise that and work in collaboration with them. The regulation there is very straightforward and is not such that constricts or stifles the sector. But here you find that every Assembly season, some people are coming to sell the idea to some persons to take up.”
Self Regulation or Participatory Membership as panacea
As a panacea to this imbroglio, Udoh said stakeholders in the sector have agreed to come up with what they call, ‘Self Regulation; something akin to what the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) does to law practitioners.
“What we have tried to do within the civil society sector is to show integrity, legitimacy and relevance of the sector by ourselves coming up with what we call self-regulations. And this self regulation will be tied around the extant laws of the land, to show those who have doubts about the sector and the legitimacy of the sector, that we ourselves, want to ensure that our hands are clean; we want to ensure the legitimacy of what we’re doing and show that we are ready to work within the frame of the laws of the land.”
Like Adekunle, Udoh admits that no nation would allow an individual or corporate organisation to act as it likes; he therefore said the CSO community would be amenable to the proposed bill and commission, if it will be “manned collectively by people who have fair understanding of the civil society sector; the eco-system in which we operate, the different layers, the different levels, and the dynamics around it… A number of us are of the opinion that the commission would be hijacked by state actors; but if we are able to push it in the way that we want to see it go, then it’s going to be a win-win for all, and it would assuage the fears of the state actors, and also booster the image of the sector.”
Expatiating further on his idea of Self Regulation, Udoh said, “It is the coming together of the sector to develop a framework for adherence to the extant laws of the land, such as the CAMA and the SCMUL (which stipulates that if you receive certain donations, you must declare it, the purpose it is to be used for and what you’re using it for. All of these have been put together.) And then we are putting for ourselves a minimum operating standards and guiding principles, and we’re asking that CSOs to voluntarily adopt these mechanisms for their organisations and implement them in their organisations. And then we are looking forward to having a situation, where there would be a body, perhaps the commission, which would now look at what the organisations are doing to conform to their own self regulation modalities.”
He opined furthermore that a certification may be integrated into the process to accord a pass mark to any organisation that is deemed to have met and is running with the minimum standard.
In his words: “That would now endear the CSO to the donor and to the beneficiaries, who are now sure that the money collected on their behalf is been spent judiciously and they are not short-changed. This way the CSOs are working in a way that the donors, the regulators and the beneficiaries of such interventions are happy with what we are doing.”
“We’re working together with the regulators. We’re hoping to have an equal number of state actors and civil society actors as members when such commission is finally established. I am talking of people with not less than ten years experience working in the sector and pushing different thematic areas to provide that balanced contribution that would help to sanitise, not just the sector but the Nigerian environment,” Udoh elaborated.
Ayo Adebusoye, who is chairman Board of Trustees of the Lagos State CSO Platform (LACSOP) also feels strongly about the unending regulations, and is particularly suspicious of the so-called NGO Regulation and Commission Bill (as proposed by Soli), because the authorities seek to externally regulate a sector they know little about.
“Many CSOs are not even fully aware of the many control systems on ground. Yet the perception of many out there is that the NGOs are still not regulated enough, which is why they keep bringing more regulations. And whenever they bring it (new regulation) up, CSOs normally would kick back because a lot of the times, we see that the motivation is to clamp down. Meanwhile, one of the provisions of the constitution is freedom to associate.”
Having said that, he concurred with other stakeholders that there may be room for improvement, even as he insisted that the intention had to be right.
To mitigate this unending meddlesomeness from the authorities, Adebusoye, like Udoh, is also suggesting Self Regulation.
“One of the things that are coming up strongly now is that the society of CSOs has decided to self-regulate. We feel that is the most effective way that we can be independent of the civil service sector. Part of the plan is to come up with a code of conduct, which we will all subscribe to.”
The alternative, he said, is:”If the government insists on coming up with this NGO Regulation board or commission, let us begin to make suggestions – because there are gaps. There are a lot of issues regarding the cumbersome registration process for small organisations operating in a local government for instance, file documents, annual reports, annual statement of affairs, which is now one of the new regulations in the 2020 CAMA Part F….
“The civil societies are very broad, so we are of the opinion that there should be different categories, with different levels of reporting, so that we would not affect the works which they are doing.”
To buttress this point, he cited an instance where in Lagos, an NGO wanted to do some work on deworming in the health sector in some communities. “It was a three-month intervention but because the NGO had to be moving from one ministry to the other for registration, the time for the project elapsed without them even being able to commence the project. So what I’m saying is that we need to harmonise and have a one-stop shop at the national and sub-national level, where one could go and have everything done, or online from the comfort of your home through your phone device. Register; basically do everything you want to do.”
When reminded of a major criticism against the sector, which is that they do not want to be controlled, Adebusoye said: “We need to look at where that mentality is coming from. Ignorance, perhaps. Already there are regulations, especially under the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) of the EFCC, which up till last year; non-profits were also listed, where they had to be giving accounts of their various transactions. There was of course penalty and sanctions, but one thing is to have regulations, the other thing is the enforcement. So the regulations are there, but what we are saying is, like other sectors and professions such as the NBA and the ICAN, we need to be able to self regulate. And because civil society is broad, we are looking at how we can get our self regulation going, so that we ourselves can be able to effectively operate. This, of course, would also include abiding by the statutory regulations of CAMA.”
Should the government insist on going ahead with the bill, Adebusoye, whose LACSOP represents over 300 CSOs and serves as a liaison with the government of Lagos State, said the body is already talking to the authorities on bringing its own insight, based on experience, which would engender the sector and not constrict the civil society space.
This feature is supported by the Agent for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) Programme
•Say security operatives came to kill us, not just to demolish buildings
•Government orders full investigation
As Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani ordered full investigation into the alleged shooting of 12 minors and women by operatives of state owned Kaduna Vice Service (KADVS) at Sabon Gero Village, injured survivors from the incident have said that the shootings that took place in their community was meant to eliminate the innocent people, contrary to claims that it was a mere demolition exercise. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, who spoke with the survivors, reports.
SABON GERO, an agrarian community, is a village on the outskirts of Kaduna’s New Millennium City in Chikun Local Government Area. It is one of the old farming settlements from which the state government has carved out lands for mass housing as part of the Millennium City projects.
Development of buildings in the entire area has been under close monitoring by agencies of the state government to prevent encroachment into the lands set aside for the Millennium City projects
It was however reported last Monday that operatives of Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS), a state owned security outfit, who were on escort mission to Sabon Gero for demolition of buildings by Kaduna Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA), opened fire on defencelss citizens, majority of whom were young women and children.
It was reported that 12 persons were hit by the KADVS bullets, but fortunately, all of them survived the gunshot injuries.
Our correspondent, who visited the community on Thursday evening, was told by some of the recuperating survivors that both KADVS and KASUPDA were on a mission to kill people in their community.
One of the survivors, Rukkaiya Umar, said she was sent on an errand and was just passing by when the incident occurred. She said: “Unlike others, I was not even here from the beginning. I was not at the scene to watch the demolition exercise. I was just passing by when the shooting started,
“I was just unlucky to be hit by a bullet. I was sent on errand by my mum and I had got to where I was going. As I set my right foot into the house, the bullet hit my second leg.
“I fell down immediately and I started shouting. That was how people got to know that I was affected.
“We were evacuated after the people that shot at us had run away. We were taken to the police station and from there to the Hospital for treatment. “I had never felt the kind of pain I felt on that day in my life. But we thank God we survived it.”
For Zainab Sani who was hit by a bullet in the forehead, the culprits were on a mission to kill the residents. But she said that what is not clear to them is why a security outfit that was supposed to protect their lives would want them dead.
Zainab said: “We did not see the bad incident coming because it was not the first time buildings would be demolished. If not directly in our community, at least we had witnessed it elsewhere. “So, we were not scared to go and watch the KASUPDA officials carry out the demolition.
“Yes, we saw them (KASUPDA officials) accompanied by armed operatives of KADVS, but we had no reason to be scared since we are not criminals and the operatives are not after innocent citizens.
“But we were proven wrong as the KADVS operatives opened fired on us.
“So, for me, their mission was to come and kill us. What we do not understand is why we have to die by the bullets of security operatives, who are supposed to protect us.
“We had not carried arms to attack them and did not stop them from carrying out the demolition. In fact, we don’t have the capability to do so.
“If you look at us, the majority of us hit by the bullets are young women and children. How could we have prevented them from carrying out their duty?
“We want government to punish those who are responsible for this dangerous and bloody mission, because we could just have been killed.”
Narrating her own ordeal, Rukayya Lawal, who secured a bullet wound in the forehead and close to her left eye, said she thought that was going to be the end of her life.
She said: “I was hawking when the incident occurred. Immediately the bullet hit me, I felt cold in my forehead. I didn’t even know it was a bullet that hit me until I saw blood gushing out of my forehead. Then the pain came later.
“Before we got to the hospital from the police station where we were first taken to, the pain had become severe, and I thought that was going to be the end.
“I thought the bullet had entered my brain. But I thank God we were treated and I am now fine.”
Hafsat Muhammad, 17, is also one of the survivors who was hit twice in the leg by the alleged KADVS bullets.
She said: “I was at home on that day. It was a public holiday to celebrate Democracy Day, so we were all at home.
“All of a sudden, I started hearing noise in the community. I came out and I saw one of my friends, then we decided to go and catch a glimpse of what was happening.
“On getting to the village centre, we saw officials of KASUPDA demolishing a newly constructed shop.
“They finished the demolition and wanted to move to another place to demolish another structure.
“All of a sudden, we saw the KADVS operatives that followed the KASUPDA officials shooting for no reason. Then, I saw a girl close to me fall down, and before I could turn around, I was hit by bullets too.
“Immediately, I felt like my leg was no longer part of my body. I could not walk with the leg again because it became too heavy for me to carry.
“I was carried on a bike and supported by someone behind to prevent me from falling down. We were taken to the Millennium City Police Station first before we were taken to the hospital.
“It was when we got to the hospital that I realised that those of us hit by bullets were actually many.
“While we waited at the police station, I was in pains and a lot was going through my mind. I was praying to God that my leg would not be cut off because of this.
“But we were lucky; nothing bad happened to any of us. We all survived it.
“After the bullets were removed from my leg, I felt so relieved and the pain started disappearing.”
A brother to the owner of the demolished property, Aminu Suleiman, said the property was built because of him, to help him recover from the loss he suffered when the state government demolished Ungwan Rimi Market for reconstruction.
Suleiman, who claimed to have had nine shops in the demolished Ungwan Rimi Market, said: “I am the brother to the owner of the demolished property, and I am the reason he decided to build this property here.
“My brother saw my predicament. I am trader. I had nine shops in Ungwan Rimi Market before it was demolished for rebuilding, and since I could not afford to buy one of the new shops built by the government, my brother decided to buy a piece of land and build two shops here for me to use one for my trading.
“We made several attempts, followed due process to get the building permit. We took our drawing to KASUPDA but we were told that the officer in charge of this area was on suspension.
“It was in the course of our tour of KASUPDA that a member of the staff told us that we should just go and continue building.
“But when a new official was appointed for the area, he came and met us at the site and we explained all our previous efforts to him.
“But he insisted that he would punch the building, and we allowed him with agreement that when work resumed on Tuesday, since Monday was going to be public holiday to celebrate June 12, we would meet him in the office for further discussion.
“But to our surprise, on Monday June 12, which was supposed to be a public holiday, I received a phone call from one of the members of the community that our building had been demolished.
“I didn’t believe it until I arrived this place and saw it. I felt like the whole world had collapsed on my head, because I feel I am being targeted for ruin by agents of the Kaduna State Government.
“I don’t know where to turn to again. My business was ruined in the city because of the upgrade of the market, I decided to move to the rural area to do small business and now the opportunity is ruined again.
“The most painful aspect of the situation is that, after destroying our building, the security operatives from KADVS opened fire on children and women.
“Even if we cannot do anything about the demolition of our property, the attack on innocent women and children should not go unpunished.”
Speaking further on the incident, the
youth leader and Chairman of the Sabon Gero Community’s Vigilante Group, Uwaisu Yunusa, explained how the community and the police saved the survivors’ lives, saying that there was no justification for shooting innocent citizens in an attempt to demolish a building.
Yunusa said: “I was in the farm not too far from the community when I started hearing sound of gunshots. So, I rushed down.
“On entering the community, I met a block of two shops constructed by a member of the community already demolished.
“I was made to understand that the building was demolished by officials of KASUPDA, who were accompanied by men of Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS).
“After demolishing the building, the KADVS operatives just opened fire on the children and young ladies who were gathered by the side to watch the demolition.
“It was the sound of gunshots that alerted many of the community members to come out to the scene.
“It was an ugly incident. Imagine, this thing happened in broad daylight, around 1:30 pm on that fateful day.
“We don’t understand what warranted this demolition in the first place, because this place is a village, but the government attention has been here for a long time.
“The government, through the Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS), had marked the community land, taken parts of the community land and left us with space for our future expansion. So, we know the boundary between us and the land taken by the government.
“The land on which this block of shops was constructed is the community land and not on the side of the government, yet KASUPDA came to demolish it.
“Even if you have to demolish for whatever reason, what is the justification for shooting our innocent children?
“What we want now is for the government to protect the rights of our children who were shot by the KADVS operatives. We were only lucky that none of the children died.
“Immediately the incident happened and the KADVS operatives zoomed off with the KASUPDA officials who carried out the demolition, I called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Millennium City and reported the incident to him.
“He asked me to immediately bring those who sustained gunshot injuries and we took them there.
“From the Police Station, the DPO directed that some policemen take us to the hospital with their vehicle, so that the children would be attended to since hospitals would not agree to treat anyone with gunshot injuries except with police report.
“The effort of the police saved us a lot, because with their assistance, the hospital quickly attended to the survivors and removed the bullets from their bodies.
“Now all the 12 people are back at home. We thank God.”
Governor Uba Sani, in a statement issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Lawal Shehu, ordered full investigation into the matter and called on all parties in the matter to remain calm and law abiding while the investigation is being carried out.
The statement reads: “Kaduna State Governor, His Excellency Senator Uba Sani, has ordered a full investigation into the alleged shooting in Sabon Gero community in Chikun Local Government Area by the men of the Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS), who were trying to push back residents attempting to stop the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) from carrying out demolitions in the community.
“The Governor expressed deep concern about the incident and directed the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the facts of the matter and ensure that justice is served.
“The Governor who also reiterates his commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, said the development negates the SAFETY AND SECURITY agenda of the SUSTAIN manifesto of his administration.
“He however calls on all parties to remain calm and law-abiding as the investigation is carried out.
“The Governor further emphasised that his administration is committed to upholding the rule of law and will not tolerate any action that violates the rights of citizens or undermines the peace and security of the state.
“He calls on all residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.”
At press time, officials of the KADVS were still preparing a press statement to state their side of the story on the Monday incident.
One of them, who asked not to be quoted, said the community people lied about the shooting allegation saying that some youths from the community were the ones that fired gunshots at KADVS operatives and KASUPDA officials.
“As I speak with you, some of our operatives who were stoned and shot are still receiving treatment,” the KADVS official said.
In a groundbreaking development for Nigeria’s governance and education sector, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has recently signed into law the Student Loan Act. This historic move marks a significant turning point in the country’s pursuit of inclusive and accessible education. The implementation of this act promises to bring numerous benefits to students and indirectly expand access to education across the nation. This article explores the potential advantages of the Student Loan Act and its transformative impact on Nigeria’s educational landscape.
Enhancing Accessibility to Higher Education:
The implementation of the Student Loan Act in Nigeria signifies a monumental shift in addressing the longstanding financial barriers that hindered students from pursuing higher education. This legislation marks a significant game-changer, as it aims to provide accessible loans to students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. The act’s primary goal is to open up opportunities and create a level playing field for aspiring students, ultimately contributing to a more diverse and inclusive student body within colleges and universities.
One of the primary challenges students face when considering higher education is the exorbitant cost associated with tuition fees, textbooks, accommodation, and other educational expenses. These financial barriers often discourage talented individuals from pursuing their academic aspirations, particularly those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. The Student Loan Act directly addresses this issue by providing accessible loans tailored to students’ needs.
By offering student loans, the act ensures that financial constraints do not deter deserving students from enrolling in colleges and universities. This provision empowers talented individuals who may have previously been excluded from higher education due to their limited financial means. As a result, the act opens up opportunities for a wider pool of aspiring students, contributing to a more diverse and inclusive student body.
Diversity within educational institutions is crucial for fostering an enriching academic environment. When students from various socio-economic backgrounds come together, they bring unique perspectives, experiences, and talents, creating a vibrant and dynamic learning community. The Student Loan Act actively supports the enrollment of students who may have otherwise been discouraged by financial constraints, resulting in a more diverse student population.
Furthermore, an inclusive student body promotes social mobility and equal opportunities. By breaking down financial barriers, the act ensures that talent and potential, rather than financial capacity, become the primary criteria for accessing higher education. This not only empowers individuals but also contributes to the overall development and progress of the nation. Students who previously faced financial obstacles can now aspire to pursue their passions and unlock their full potential, ultimately contributing to the country’s growth in various sectors.
Moreover, an inclusive and diverse student body prepares individuals to navigate an increasingly globalized world. Exposure to a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences fosters empathy, cultural understanding, and the development of critical thinking skills. These attributes are essential in cultivating well-rounded individuals who can contribute positively to society and address complex challenges faced by Nigeria and the global community.
Reducing Financial Burden on Students:
The Student Loan Act recognizes the importance of ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder students from pursuing their educational aspirations. By offering loans that cover various aspects of the educational journey, including tuition fees, textbooks, accommodation, and other essential expenses, the act provides students with the financial support they need to focus on their studies and pursue academic excellence.
One of the primary benefits of the Student Loan Act is that it eases the financial burden on students and their families. Instead of being overwhelmed by the immediate costs associated with education, students can access loans that help cover these expenses. This alleviation of financial strain allows students to concentrate on their studies and fully engage in their academic pursuits.
When students are not constantly worried about financial constraints, they can dedicate more time and energy to their coursework, research, and extracurricular activities. This improved focus and reduced stress level can significantly enhance their learning experience and academic performance. By removing the constant worry of how to pay for tuition or afford essential resources, the Student Loan Act enables students to devote themselves fully to their education, leading to increased chances of achieving academic excellence.
Moreover, by easing the financial burden, the Student Loan Act promotes educational equity. Students from all socio-economic backgrounds can now access the necessary resources to pursue their studies, regardless of their financial capabilities. This promotes a more inclusive education system where talent and potential, rather than financial means, become the primary factors determining academic success.
Additionally, the availability of student loans encourages students to explore a wider range of educational opportunities. Students may feel more empowered to pursue their passions and interests, even if they are in fields that may not yield immediate financial returns. This freedom to choose educational paths based on personal aspirations and interests can lead to a more diverse and well-rounded workforce that benefits society as a whole.
The Student Loan Act plays a crucial role in easing the financial burden associated with education. By providing loans specifically tailored to students’ needs, covering tuition fees, textbooks, accommodation, and other essential expenses, the act relieves students and their families of the constant financial strain. This, in turn, enables students to focus on their studies and pursue academic excellence, fostering a more inclusive and equitable education system. By supporting students’ financial needs, the act opens doors to educational opportunities and contributes to the development of a highly skilled and educated workforce.
Fostering Educational Equality:
Education is widely recognized as a fundamental right that should be accessible to all individuals, irrespective of their socio-economic background. However, the reality is that financial barriers often create disparities, limiting access to higher education for those who lack the necessary resources. The implementation of the Student Loan Act in Nigeria plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between the privileged few and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, promoting equality and fostering a more equitable society.
By making higher education more affordable through accessible loans, the Student Loan Act addresses the financial barriers that have historically prevented talented individuals from pursuing their educational aspirations. It recognizes that socio-economic limitations should not be a hindrance to acquiring knowledge and skills. The act ensures that individuals who may have previously been excluded due to financial constraints now have equal opportunities to fulfill their educational dreams, regardless of their socio-economic background.
By providing loans specifically tailored to students’ needs, the act levels the playing field and promotes equality. It recognizes that talent and potential are not limited to those who can afford the high costs of education. By extending financial support to deserving students, irrespective of their financial resources, the Student Loan Act empowers individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to access higher education on an equal footing with their more privileged counterparts.
Promoting equality through the Student Loan Act has profound implications for society as a whole. By providing equal opportunities for education, the act contributes to the creation of a workforce that reflects the diversity and richness of the nation. When individuals from various socio-economic backgrounds have access to higher education, it leads to a more diverse and inclusive society. Different perspectives, experiences, and talents come together to drive innovation, creativity, and problem-solving in various sectors.
Moreover, an equitable education system promotes social mobility. It enables individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to break the cycle of poverty and improve their socio-economic status. By offering loans that make higher education more affordable, the act empowers individuals to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to secure better job opportunities and contribute meaningfully to the nation’s development.
In addition to the immediate impact on individuals, an equitable education system has broader societal benefits. It reduces income inequality, as access to education becomes less dependent on financial means. This, in turn, promotes social cohesion and stability, as individuals from diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities for personal growth and success.
The Student Loan Act plays a vital role in promoting equality and fostering a more equitable society. By bridging the gap between the privileged few and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, the act ensures that higher education is accessible to all, irrespective of their socio-economic background. This not only empowers individuals to fulfill their educational aspirations but also contributes to the development of a workforce that reflects the diversity of the nation. By promoting equality in education, the Student Loan Act lays the foundation for a more inclusive and prosperous society.
Encouraging Skills Development and Entrepreneurship:
The implementation of the Student Loan Act encourages students to pursue programs that promote skills development and entrepreneurship. With financial support available, students are empowered to choose fields of study that align with their interests and career goals, rather than being solely driven by the potential for immediate financial stability. This focus on skills development equips students with the tools they need to contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth and innovation, fostering a more prosperous future.
Boosting Human Capital and Economic Development:
Investing in education is an investment in human capital, which is essential for a country’s economic growth. The Student Loan Act recognizes this fact by prioritizing the development of human resources through increased access to education. By equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills, the act ensures a well-educated workforce capable of driving innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity. This, in turn, contributes to sustainable economic development and the nation’s overall prosperity.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s signing of the Student Loan Act represents a watershed moment in Nigeria’s governance and education sector. This visionary step demonstrates a commitment to inclusive education and the empowerment of students from all walks of life. By enhancing accessibility, reducing financial burdens, promoting educational equality, fostering skills development, and boosting human capital, the act paves the way for a brighter future for Nigeria. As this landmark legislation is implemented, it is expected to transform the educational landscape, unlocking the potential of countless aspiring students and propelling the nation towards greater progress.
What must be done to ensure this laudable program is not killed by corruption like others;
The implementation of student loans in Nigeria, funded through various sources including 1% contributions from FIRS (Federal Inland Revenue Service), NIS (Nigeria Immigration Service), and oil profits, holds immense potential for the country’s development. However, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of judicious resource utilization to ensure that these funds are effectively channeled toward education and positively impact the nation. This article explores how responsible and transparent resource management can help Nigeria overcome its history of misappropriation and create a meaningful impact for the country’s development.
Promoting Accountability and Transparency:
To effectively utilize the funds allocated for student loans, it is essential to establish a robust system of accountability and transparency. The Tinubu administration can institute stringent measures and oversight mechanisms to ensure that every naira dedicated to student loans is utilized as intended. This includes setting up independent auditing bodies, implementing regular financial reports, and conducting thorough evaluations of the loan program. By promoting transparency, the government can regain public trust and demonstrate its commitment to responsible resource management.
Strengthening Anti-Corruption Measures:
Corruption has long plagued Nigeria’s development efforts, with resources meant for public welfare being misappropriated with impunity. The success of the student loan program relies on a concerted effort to combat corruption effectively. The Tinubu administration can institute comprehensive anti-corruption measures, including stringent legal frameworks, anti-graft agencies, and a culture of zero tolerance for corruption. By prioritizing integrity and holding individuals accountable for their actions, Nigeria can rebuild its reputation and ensure that resources allocated for student loans are utilized for their intended purpose.
Investing in Robust Monitoring and Evaluation Systems:
To maximize the impact of student loans and ensure accountability, it is imperative to establish robust monitoring and evaluation systems. This involves closely tracking the allocation, disbursement, and utilization of funds, as well as regularly assessing the outcomes and impact of the loan program. By investing in comprehensive data management systems and employing skilled professionals to monitor and evaluate the program’s progress, the government can make informed decisions, identify areas of improvement, and ensure that resources are effectively utilized for the benefit of students and the country as a whole.
Prioritizing Education Infrastructure and Quality:
In addition to providing student loans, it is equally vital to invest in education infrastructure and enhance the quality of educational institutions in Nigeria. A holistic approach to education reform involves allocating resources to improve facilities, update curricula, train educators, and enhance the overall learning environment. By combining the provision of student loans with improvements in educational infrastructure, Nigeria can create an environment conducive to learning and empower students to excel academically.
Public Engagement and Participation:
To build trust and ensure the judicious utilization of resources, it is essential to engage the public in the decision-making process. The government can establish platforms for dialogue and consultation, allowing citizens, educational experts, and stakeholders to contribute their insights and hold policymakers accountable. By involving the public in the implementation and monitoring of the student loan program, the government can benefit from diverse perspectives, foster a sense of ownership, and collectively work towards ensuring the effective utilization of resources.
A lot of Nigerians said that it was long overdue when the news came that President Bola Tinubu had axed Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Over confident and arrogant, Emefiele captained the Central Bank like some kind of an emperor. He was heartless, dismissive and his monetary policies caused the needless death of very many Nigerians.
In fact, there was much rejoicing on social media when it became known that the DSS had further picked him up, and taken him into their custody for questioning.
For Emefiele, whose scorecard was already poor, he only capped it all with his ill-timed currency swap policy that even ended up as a vanishing act!
When he came on board as Central Bank Governor, the naira was going for $1 to N170 on the parallel market. Shockingly, at the time of his exit, a dollar cost N800. The interest rate at the banks climbed high during the period, and inflation rate was officially put at twenty two and a half percent. In actual fact, Nigeria fell into what economists term spiralling inflation. Each time one goes to buy a regularly purchased item, one would have no idea of the price deferential – the only sure thing would be a price rise.
However, rather than formulate policies aimed at tackling those ugly indices, Emefiele was all the while concerned with financial honey pots like the Anchor Borrowers scheme.
Here, instead of giving the available finance to the actual farmers across the states, he busied himself going from one state of the nation to the other – visiting and hobnobbing with the state governors!
I want to ask: were the governors the ‘Borrowers?’ Or, were they the ‘Anchor’?
Indeed, by the time Emefiele’s first term came to end, a lot of Nigerians expected that, with his poor performance, he would definitely be dropped. To the disappointment of many, former President Muhammadu Buhari handed him a second term in office.
It was then that the man Emefiele went haywire. He cracked down on the already existent cashless policy. But this was done without any commensurate boost to the network. Thus, transactions, no matter how big or how small, were carried out in tears.
But while Nigerians groaned, he waxed stronger and wealthier. For instance, during the COVID-19 lockdown, while airports were closed to the generality, the CBN Governor flew his family out on a private jet to the Caribbean islands, where he owns a mansion.
It was there also that he celebrated his 60th birthday with pomp. Nigeria’s billionaires as well as some top government officials flew out there for the lavish party.
Towards the end of 2022, in the run up to the 2023 general election, Emefiele announced that the last day of the year would be the final day to use the currency currently in circulation. He informed Nigerians that new notes would go into circulation while advising all to adopt the cashless policy, and pay in all existent currency to the banks.
For me, this came as a rude shock. Was this not the same CBN Governor whom Nigerians had appealed to about the need for more N100 notes in circulation? But the CBN boss only gave a dismissive command that all N100 notes should be accepted in whatever state as there was no money to print more.
This was very unlike his predecessor in office, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. During his tenure in office, there was a time that the N200 note became scarce, and out of circulation. Nigerians spoke out, and the then CBN Governor acted promptly.
But here was Emefiele who lacked funds to print sufficient N100 notes, but had enough to change the entire notes of the country’s currency.
All the networks, predictably, became jammed nationwide. People travelling to various states were trapped, with a fuel price hike also announced in the same period.
The worst of it was the new currency was not available in circulation! The banks resorted to giving N20,000 maximum to those customers who could queue at 5am, then wait all day for it.
That callous, ill-timed policy had Nigerians crying and wailing. Emefiele was adamant and insisted there was no going back.
The policy brought not only debasement and torment, but even death, to many. Imagine having to go round everywhere in search of where to buy your own money!
Hospitals bluntly refused to accept transfers during that period, insisting on cash payments, even for emergencies and those slated for surgical operations. The outcome was that many Nigerians died after being refused treatment, even as their anxious relatives developed health complications like hypertension, while running around in search of the elusive currency notes.
At the height of the nation’s suffering, Emefiele came on national television to announce that the policy had come to stay.
Then, about a month into it, the same CBN boss announced a policy somersault, asking people to begin to accept the old currency which, of course, had then become scarce.
The bitter taste of the Emefiele administration is still fresh in the mouth of all Nigerians, rich and poor. And his removal is one of the greatest reliefs of the Tinubu administration.
It has been three weeks of non-stop, everyday-grinding-and-humping for Nigeria under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and he does not seem like who wants to slow down soon. Since he his inauguration as President on May 29, Tinubu, whom the younger generation of Nigerians, especially those whose contact address is on Twitter, have re-christened as the ‘Idan-gan-gan’, a Yoruba alias, loosely translated as ‘the Real Magic’, has either made proclamations or announced decisions on issues touching on the life of every Nigerian and such proclamations, decisions have turned out to be widely accepted.
For instance, last week closed on an unexpected note of the suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, by the President. Made public late, many watchers of the activities of the administration had suggested then that fallouts from the action will feature very prominently this week and true to that projection, ripple effects from action are still unfolding. The action has also come across as one of the many actions of President Tinubu that have been universally praised as welfarist, either because of the room it will create for the healing of the nation’s monetary environment, or because of the pains of the recent past, inflicted by his Naira redesign/cash swap policy, to which many have permanently lost their livelihoods or their very lives.
Following Mr Emefiele’s suspension on Friday night and since leadership or administration, just like nature, abhors vacuum, an interim CBN Governor emerged, as directed in the statement announcing his suspension, in the person of Folashodun Sonubi, who was Deputy Governor in charge of Operations Directorate. Sonubi will act till a substantive governor is elected.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, CFR, from office with immediate effect. This is sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy. Mr Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of investigation and the reforms”, a statement issued by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) had announced Friday night.
Then signals started beaming out of the apex bank; on Wednesday, in an attempt to fist unify, then stabilise the exchange rates, the CBN floats the Naira. Floating the Naira has been explained to mean that Nigeria has allowed market forces to determine the exchange rate of its currency. Although they also warned that this will come with some initial shocks, like it has been disclosed that it lead to a significant rise in government debt in naira terms by about N12 trillion to N90 trillion that is external debt of $42bn will increase by the difference between the old and new rates. As a result of the above, the debt to GDP ratio will increase by about 5 percent. However, in the overall, they have called it a bold and positive step towards recovery.
Another event during the week, which sourced origin from the past, especially from some of the actions of the week before last, was the constitution of the 10th National Assembly, especially how the principal officers of both chambers of eventually emerged. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had instructed its members-elect, including the returning and freshers, on the path to follow; Godswill Akpabio/Barau Jibrin for the Senate and Tajudeen Abass/Benjamin Kalu for the House of Representatives. However, it took the intervention of the President, who is statutorily the leader of the party, to step in and deploy the depth of his ingenious strategy of persuasion. This week Nigeria got its brand new National Assembly, being led, at both chambers, by the preferred APC candidates.
Now the first day of work in the country, being June 12, was a national public holiday to honour democracy and its many heroes in Nigeria, especially the icon of the contemporary Nigerian democracy, Bashorun Moshood Abiola. However, since our President hardly tires, working almost round the clock, he still used the day to carry out some activities, which would set new tones for some segments of the national life.
Starting with the Democracy Day message to Nigerians, President Tinubu reminded them of the sacrifices that have been made for the country to return to the path of popular global way, charging all to protect the freedom that it has bestowed and not let the sacrifices be in vain. He reminded citizens that the democracy they have today did not come on a silver platter, a reason why it must be protected, recalling some of the many heroes of democracy in the June 12 struggle, including the wife of late Abiola, Kudirat Abiola and Chief Alfred Rewane. He likened the June 12 struggle to the struggle for Nigeria’s libration from the colonial master and described it as the country’s second independence struggle, referencing the unjust annulment of the generally acclaimed free and fair elections, which ultimately materialized with the 1999 general elections.
Watchers have qualified his Democracy Day message as part of a process, a process aimed at regenerating the feelings of nationalism in Nigerians, as well as strengthening faith and confidence in the actions of government. To those who have characterised the motive of the Democracy Day message, it came at a good time because the events that led to the 2023 general elections and the electoral process itself, did more harm to the already thinned cord of unity in the country. A message that seeks to find some common identity for all the various persuasions within the country is considered more than a soothing balm.
The message also built further on the efforts to get the majority to agree with the government on the need to do away with fuel subsidy ‘albatross’, saying “it is for this reason that, in my inauguration address on May 29, I gave effect to the decision taken by my predecessor-in-office to remove the fuel subsidy albatross and free up for collective use the much-needed resources, which had hitherto been pocketed by a few rich. I admit that the decision will impose extra burden on the masses of our people. I feel your pain. This is one decision we must bear to save our country from going under and take our resources away from the stranglehold of a few unpatriotic elements.
“Painfully, I have asked you, my compatriots, to sacrifice a little more for the survival of our country. For your trust and belief in us, I assure you that your sacrifice shall not be in vain. The government I lead will repay you through massive investment in transportation infrastructure, education, regular power supply, healthcare and other public utilities that will improve the quality of lives”, he had said.
It would be recalled that one of the President’s key economic targets, as he has constantly enumerated, at different fora, is shoring up oil and gas production and part of the plan to achieve that will be by rooting out the menace of oil-theft. It would be recalled that he has constantly indicated his worry about the steady sabotage of the nation’s economic mainstay, being the oil and gas sect. In his first meeting with the security and intelligence chiefs, the President gave the categorical charge to the chiefs to go after oil thieves and crush them. He also expressed his concern to traditional rulers, when he met with them on June 9.
So, during the course of the week, the President received various guests at the Villa and among them were those whose backgrounds and clouts would suggest that he is once again up to something especially with respect to his target at protecting the nation’s oil and gas domains. He has been meeting with key figures from the Niger Delta, like on Wednesday, he met with three key figures from the oil-rich region; the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku; former Managing Director of the NDDC, Chief Timi Alaibe; and former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Dr Dakuku Peterside. Ogbuku he reason was to update the President on developments
On Friday, he met with a former lead agitator for the Niger Delta course, Alhaji Asari Dokubo. Though the other gentlemen he met earlier did not disclose what their discussions with the President were about, Alhaji Dokubo said so much; ending oil-theft and national security: “we discussed on wide range of issues, especially on security and oil thief in the Niger Delta. Myself and my brothers, have assured the President that there would be zero oil theft and vandalization in the Niger Delta. We’re going to work with an NNPCL and the IOCs to make sure that oil theft is brought to zero”.
From all indications, he seems to be lining his cards out on the target to increase crude oil production to 4 million barrels per day and 12 billion cubic feet of gas per day capacity by 2030. What has become obvious about his modus operadi is that whenever he targets anything, he draws his plans, deploys his strategy and does not stop until the goal has been achieved. Winning the war against oil-theft and vandalism of critical infrastructure looks almost certain to be achieved.
Appealing to the sensitivities of Nigerians and firming up security and protecting the nation’s economy were the only things that kept the Presidential Villa abuzz last week, there were other important events that were worth noting.
We should remember that it was the Democracy Day week and it was not just all about the President’s speech. In the morning, he also inspected a parade mounted for him by the Guards’ Brigade and other forms of entertainment. After the parade, he held series of meetings, some of which were in readiness for the inauguration of the 10the National Assembly. It was still same day that he signed the landmark Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act 2023.
On Tuesday, after the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, Tinubu took his time to pen a message to the new leadership and the entire house, reminding them of the task and asking them to set to work without delay. He hosted students’ representatives from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), who had come to him the seek clarifications on some provision of the new Students Loans Act and make some requests. He must have answered their questions satisfactorily. Earlier that day he received briefs from former President Goodluck Jonathan, Who is the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Envoy to Mali. He had some words for him on managing crises in Africa.
The real big news of Wednesday was the suspension of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa by the President. This, curiously, turned out to be one of the most celebrated news from the office of the President since he resumed as President, almost as celebrated as Mr Emefiele’s suspension. Meanwhile, Bawa was one of the many guests that called at the President’s office that day.
In fact, he received the governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule; the former governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari; the Emir of Borgu, Muhammed Haliru Dantoro; and his counterpart from Kontagora, Mohammed Barau; the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari; and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa. Don’t forget Alaibe, Dakuku and Ogbuku were also his guests that day.
On Thursday he inaugurated the National Economic Council (NEC), headed by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima. All the states are members, so are some federal agencies, like the CBN. He once again evoked a national emotion when called on the governors to put their best into governance, reminding them that Nigerians are eager to be taking out of the despondence the see surrounding them.
He announce Mr Dele Alake his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy; Mr. Wale Edun, Special Adviser, Monetary Policies; Mr. Yau Darazo, Special Adviser, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs; Mrs. Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser, Energy; Mr. Zachaeus Adedeji, Special Adviser, Revenue; Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, Special Adviser, Security; Mr. John Ugochukwu Uwajumogu, Special Adviser, Industry, Trade and Investment; and Dr (Mrs.) Salma Ibrahim Anas, Special Adviser, Health.
He met with former Military Head of State, Abdusalami Abubakar; pioneer National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande; Leader of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Tanko Yakasai; and then the former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, whome he described as ‘Mr Monetary Policy’. Then on Friday, he met the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Dokubo.
Those who know the man the younger generation has decided to name the ‘Idan-gan-gan’, will tell you he hardly tires, so we should expect more of back-to-back as this new week commences.
