The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

Operator canvasses N250b palliative for aviation industry

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Professor Obiora Okonkwo has called on the Federal Government to set aside over N250 billion as palliatives for the aviation industry out of the proposed N500 billion intervention to cushion the effect of removal of fuel subsidy.

Okonkwo, who disclosed this in an interview in Lagos, said there was nothing wrong with the bulk sum meant to assist the most vulnerable of society, but reasoned that any intervention that would push for wealth creation, is more strategic than just distributing stipends.

The United Nigeria Airlines boss said ploying over N250 billion as soft loan for the air transport sector will not only assist indigenous carriers to increase their fleet size, but will enable them open new routes.

He said the aviation sector needs serious intervention from the government to create more commercial / economic activity in the valuechain.

Increasing commercial activity in the air transport industry, Okonkwo said besides expanding airline operations will also create a window for the government to earn revenue from taxes / levies accompanying such activities.

He said: “ For a businessman and entreprenuer, it is not in my place to begin to criticise the policies of the government. But, I am convinced that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has thought it through thoroughly to offer palliatives to the most vulnerable members of the society. But, looked at from another perspective, distributing cash does not bring about economic growth . The acceptable model for wealth creation is to put money into productive activities , like offering soft loans to airlines. Imagine if the government package special intervention for airlines to support their business. This will create more multiplier effects than just giving free money.

“The aviation sector, because of its peculiarities needs such intervention from the government.”

Last year, Okonkwo called for the provision of a window of special funding for operators in the aviation industry.

The call , he said became necessary given its essential duty nature and its growing contribution to the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

“We are just asking for a special funding window that should be of a single digit and that is easily accessible , not necessarily on paper,but it is not accessible.

Read Also: Aviation University Abuja to start admission process Monday

“We still believe that this government has done a lot for the aviation industry, though, more needs to be done and we think that the bigger legacy that this government will leave for the aviation industry is to ensure that the operators survive.

“No operator should go under, rather let there be new operators in the business of aviation.”

He said the indigenous airline operators have been very patriotic and have contributed immensely to the growth of the nation’s GDP.

“We are very patriotic Nigerians, who have contributed so much to the GDP of the nation, giving employment ,it is a sector that I advise this government and in coming government to take very seriously.

“Because, if properly harnessed , it will be a great source of foreign exchange for the country, especially , if the local operators should be empowered ,this industry, we believe remains a critical and essential industry , that should be treated are such.

“This industry can not survive further at the regular commercial rates. We know that there are priviledge given to sectors like agriculture and others. Aviation should be considered also.”

According to Okonkwo, airline transportation required special attention.

“If this is done, I have no doubt that the operators will be stronger and further render better services to the people.”

He emphasized further, that there was need for government to consider a special funding for the sector operators, saying that it was a win-win situation for both government and the operators and ultimately for the good of Nigerians.

“I also thought that the government should consider a window of “Special Funds “ at a single unit loan for the operators because it is a win -win situation for the companies and the government.

“Because this is one sector that pays the government as they receive their own ,because every ticket that is issued ,all agencies of government have their own.

“It creates high level, high powered employment, high skilled workers that pay good income tax to the government, and so this is one of the sectors that should be taken seriously and the operators are happy to work out all the new arrangements with the government.

If this capital is made “available,the individual airlines will access it as par their needs and then capitalise individually, because there is a capital you should have as a domestic operator and the required capital if you are going international or regional routes.

“If the Federal Government can set aside about N250 billion for the aviation sector as soft loans, not grant or free money to the aviation sector, what it means is that there will be more aircraft, which can be deployed to some of the new routes. It can also energize and capitalize on us going to the international routes.”

July 17, 2023
Ukraine and growing danger of nuclear war
- By Alade Fawole
Ukraine is not getting the NATO membership it has long coveted; it will instead receive more lethal armaments from NATO countries, bringing the outbreak of a third world war and use of all manner of weapons of mass destruction closer than ever. It signifies also how close to a nuclear war the world is. Though no one wants a nuclear Armageddon but its possibility is staring us in the face. Two scenarios for this eventuality: deliberate official action, or a rogue military operation. The second option is the scarier one actually. I will explain.

First, the deliberate act: President Joe Biden’s ill-advised act of fighting a total war for the destruction of Russia by proxy could trigger it. Having allowed himself to be seduced by the combination of the warmongering State Department, Congress and the military-industrial complex into the nonsensical belief that Russia could be beaten, humiliated and totally degraded through Ukraine, with the removal of Vladimir Putin from power as icing on the victory cake, Biden has been ramping up not only his Russo-phobic rhetoric, backing it up by massive weapons delivery to hapless Ukraine to fight to the death on behalf of Uncle Sam.

As with America’s overseas wars which usually never have an end game beyond regime change, Biden also has no exit strategy in the current war. Even in the face of glaring indications that Russia is far from being weakened politically, economically or militarily as envisaged, and proven evidence from the battlefields that Ukraine is not anywhere near winning nor can it ever win, he continues to double down on the delusion that Ukraine would defeat Russia, drive its forces out of Ukraine and recover every inch of territory seized since 2014. He thus continues to push Ukraine on in this national suicide mission discouraging it from considering peaceful resolution. He’d rather Ukraine bled to death!

It was a similar lack of exit strategy that kept America for 20 years in a ruinous war with the hugely determined Taliban in Afghanistan until the mercurial Donald Trump bluntly said enough was enough. Biden, who later defeated Trump in the following presidential election, with his hands already tied had to grudgingly implement his predecessor’s withdrawal commitment, which led to the most inept and chaotic pull-out of Afghanistan in 2021. Today, Washington and its Atlantic sidekicks and their corporate mass media are busy lionizing Ukrainian President Zelensky, parading him around the world as some kind of superstar leader, inebriating him with media-orchestrated adulation meant to inoculate him against the ugly reality that there won’t be much of a country left by the time the senseless war comes to an end, if it ever does.

My second notion is that a nuclear showdown could come through rogue operation. By rogue operation, I’m referring operations usually carried out by military and intelligence operatives but not directly sanctioned by government. This shouldn’t seem far-fetched – the America CIA actually has a long record of black operations or simply ‘black ops’ which for the most part are deniable. Let’s look at two infamous historical rogue operations – one was merely an attempt while the second was executed but failed spectacularly.

Read Also: Ukraine war: Russia launches second pre-dawn missile attack in three days

The first was the story of George S. Patton, the intrepid army general who commanded US troops in the allied invasion of Germany in 1944 until victory in 1945. Patton was strongly opinionated, unsparing and unambiguous in his disdain for both Nazi Germany and the Communist Soviet Union in equal measure, and believed that, having defeated Germany, America should then fight the Bolsheviks back to Moscow. He sought permission from the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower, through his chief of staff, General Walter Bedell Smith, to provoke a war with the USSR! In a phone conversation with General Smith, Patton expressed views that the war should not have ended merely in Germany but should be continued against the USSR, notwithstanding it being a fellow allied power. Patton told Smith: “In 10 days, I’ll have us a war with those sons of bitches and I’ll make it look like their fault!” Continuing he said: “You get Ike (referring to Supreme Allied Commander, Gen. Eisenhower) to give me the word, and I’ll kick their behinds back into Russia where they belong!” Fearing that this crazy general might kick-start a third world war, Eisenhower promptly shoved him off to a desk job where he could do no harm.

The second anecdote was that of General Douglas MacArthur, supreme commander of the UN forces during the Korean War in 1950 who unilaterally and arrogantly expanded the allied military operations beyond the mandate of defending South Korea into attacking into North Korean territory. This irresponsible rogue operation brought hundreds of Chinese soldiers pouring into the battlefield on the side of North Korea, invariably forcing America into an ignominious retreat. MacArthur’s action, like Patton’s before him, could have triggered a Third World War if President Harry Truman had not immediately stopped the operation and removed MacArthur from command.

Poser: Could there be similar rogue elements in today’s US decision-making hierarchy, in the intelligence or even in the military’s chain of command harbouring Patton’s predilection for direct war with Russia? Not unlikely. And might such elements surreptitiously initiate clandestine ‘black ops’ that would gravely imperil Russia’s existence? Bear in mind, Russia has asserted unequivocally that all options are on the table, including first use of nuclear weapons, if Russia’s existence is threatened in the ongoing war.

Biden’s policies might just escalate the war to a dangerous level as to trigger a nuclear showdown. More tanks, fighter jets and more dangerous armaments to Ukraine – France has just announced intention send long range missiles to Ukraine – will only escalate the danger of open and direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. Intelligence already has it that these sophisticated weapons are being operated on behalf Ukrainian forces by American and other NATO military personnel wearing Ukrainian military uniforms.

Just imagine for example the danger of a US pilot donning Ukraine air force camouflage going rogue, doing the unexpected by bombing Russian territory to trigger an all-out war with NATO countries? Should such an eventuality happen, a clear existential threat to Russia, no one would be able to rule out first use of nuclear weapons, and Putin has made this unmistakably clear.

It truly boggles the mind though that, knowing fully well that Ukraine is not of any real strategic significance to America but an existential imperative for a nuclear-armed Russia, that President Biden would still be risking a nuclear war by his rhetoric and actions. Why on earth should President Biden, an 80-year old grandpa who is perhaps in the departure hall but with his aged fingers still on America’s nuclear button, be allowed to take the rest of the world, including his grandkids, along with him to the great beyond?

It is shocking for example that American youth who have a promising future ahead of them would remain supine and allow their totally corrupt and inept leadership to incinerate them in a needless nuclear war? But again, Americans are generally ignorant about most things except sports and entertainment.

•Prof Fawole is of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
July 17, 2023
Ukraine, Sudan and the cost of war

SIR: The raging conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan forcefully remind the world that peace is the only path to progress, and war is never an option.

As the war in Ukraine hit the 500-day mark recently, it was confirmed that about 9000 persons had been killed, including many children with properties worth billions of dollars destroyed. Add the tumult within Ukraine to the surge in global food prices and the upheavals many lives have experienced since the war began, and the true cost of the war would seem unquantifiable.

In Sudan, two military generals are fighting for the soul of the country in what is another catastrophic canvas on which is displayed the immeasurable toll unbridled military intervention in government has taken on democracy on the continent.

In Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohammed Dagalo, the Sudanese are seeing shades of Omar al-Bashir, the now incarcerated dictator whose iron fist pounded Sudan for thirty years before he was forced out of office by pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Three thousand people have been killed since fighting broke out in Sudan. A further three million people have been displaced. The recent discovery of a mass grave in the Darfur Region of the country has forced the International Criminal Court to open investigations into possible war crimes in the region.

While the true price of peace can never be fully known, the catastrophic cost of war is always there for all to see in the times when conflicts flare up dragging many innocent people into unmanageable, unmitigated and utterly unseemly conditions.

To justify the war in Ukraine which it describes as a special operation, Russia has cited non-existent security concerns using the language of warmongers and the itinerary of imperialists.

In Sudan, to justify a costly conflict that has pushed entire families to the edge, the warring military generals wag a finger of blame at each other, each side blaming the other for the insidious instability roiling the nation.

War is costly and warmongers often appear cruel, crude, callous and crass. They are always wrong because there is nothing that can really justify the immeasurable toll that endless fighting takes on people.

Read Also: Kremlin ‘welcomes’ Vatican peace efforts over Ukraine

In the case of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the threat was immediate and insistent. That any European country would invade another European country was unthinkable for so long. But once it happened, it was considered otherwise. The harsh sanctions and other backbreaking measures have a formed part of a visceral response to the conflict.

For Sudan, many Western countries have been content to quickly pull their citizens out of the country while two military generals reduce a great country to ashes.

On the African continent because many countries are either led by military men or corrupt dictators, there isn’t usually enough voices to ask for accountability when the actions of a few destabilize multiple lives and livelihoods all at once.

In Europe, Ukraine may be the active theatre of war, while in Africa, Sudan has no competition currently. However, the world over is punctuated with pockets of conflict. In West Africa, ruthless terrorists continue to tug at the territories of many states, taking chunks here and there, and creating chaos in the process.

The conflict in Yemen and Syria has raged for many years now. The chaos in Afghanistan as well as the savagery in a couple of other countries has reduced those countries to active war zones.

The world could do with zero conflicts. People everywhere who already bear the brunt of climate change and the other niggles of life should not have to add the peculiar disruptions of conflict to the deleterious destabilization they already suffer.

It is for the world to commit to peace. It is for communities everywhere to commit to peace.

But it is especially important for those in positions of power and authority everywhere to commit to peace because without the commitments of those in positions of authority to peace, lasting peace would remain a mirage.

•Kene Obiezu,

keneobiezu@gmail.com

July 17, 2023
Contractors make case for cordial relationship with NDDC

Secretary General of, Niger Delta Indigenous Contractors Association (NDICA), Mr. Sodin Akiagba harped on the need for a harmonious relationship between the group and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Akiagba spoke on the sidelines of a joint news conference yesterday in Port Harcourt.

He advocated for prompt payment for jobs fully executed and advised against awarding jobs that were not covered in the year’s budget.

“The essence of the group is to foster cordial relationships between NDDC and indigenous contractors.

“With so much that has happened between NDDC and indigenous contractors; we still plead for a level-playing ground where those who executed their contracts to completion are paid on time, and any job not covered in the budget should not be awarded in the first place.”

Read Also: NDDC unveils plan for 10,000 jobs

He noted that many of the contractors being owed did the Jobs with bank loans, adding that they have gone through a lot, including losing their families, assets, and businesses over their inability to repay the loans and mounting interest rates.

“Now that NDDC is ready to establish a smooth working relationship with contractors; there is a need to make payment of contractors a priority,” he added.

Akiagba appealed to International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta to facilitate the payment of outstanding counterpart funds to the commission to ease their mandate of developing the region.

July 17, 2023
Railways as panacea to current hardship

SIR: President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the end of subsidy in his inauguration speech on May 29, emphasizing that there was no provision for it in the 2023 appropriation.

Understandably, the subsidy removal has brought untold hardship to the average Nigerian although experts agree that this, among others, is one major sacrifice we must make for the country to move forward. This is even more so, when the ever-increasing cost of maintaining the subsidy can no longer be justified at a time of drying resources.

As it is, N500 billion has been set aside from the supplementary budget of N819 billion for the provision of palliatives by the president. Interestingly, that itself has raised a lot of concerns among Nigerians, looking at how unpatriotic elements in government in the past misused or abused earlier initiatives. A good example is the Covid-19 and other similar interventions by the previous administration that was mismanaged with no one ever called to account.

In my humble opinion, rail transportation is a viable option that, if considered, will be a potential solution for reducing the untold hardship presently experienced by the populace. It has the potential to be more cost-effective and sustainable, looking at the current circumstances. It would indeed give more life to our road network; certainly, most of the trucks that too often damage our roads would be kept off the road.

Read Also: NSCDC arrests alleged railway vandals, ATM ‘fraudster’

Indeed, one of the main advantages of rail transportation is its ability to transport large numbers of passengers or goods in a single trip. Moreover, it has a higher capacity compared to other modes of transportation. Improving rail efficiency will no doubt help reduce the present hardship. Again, the cost of commodities will drastically come down especially in transporting perishable goods from one location to another.

Majority of Nigerians can’t even talk about saving when we’re all struggling desperately to survive in the face of merciless inflation that is getting worse every day. Inflation too often wipes off the little we earn to keep the wolf from the door. To me, hardship encourages corruption in all aspects.

We appreciate the intentions of the president to channel the resources to infrastructure in the country. It should roll out its infrastructure plans without further delay.

I therefore call on the government to do the needful both in terms of finding short-term and long-term solutions.

•Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani,

Azare, Bauchi State.

July 17, 2023
Norfund commits Euro 2m investment to economy

Norfund, the Norwegian Development Finance Institution, has committed Euro 2 million as a convertible loan to Wecyclers Nigeria Limited, a recycling company based in Lagos.

The investment will finance a new plant for the recycling of PET bottles for use in new bottles locally and in Europe. The plant will be located in Ogun State and will have a capacity of 12 000 tons yearly.

“By showcasing a functioning model, we can enable the development of an industry that is crucial in tackling the challenges of plastic pollution while creating a large number of jobs,” says Carl Johan Wahlund, the Senior Vice President for Green Infrastructure at Norfund.

Combating plastic pollution

More than 171 trillion pieces of plastic are estimated to be floating in the world’s oceans, an increase from 16 trillion pieces in 2005, and it could further nearly triple by 2040.

Systems for the collection of plastic are crucial in tackling plastic pollution. Establishing these with incentives and a commercially sound model across the value chain is however complicated even in many high-income countries, and still more challenging in developing countries, where waste regulation and enforcement of extended producer responsibility is lacking.

Read Also: IFC invests $1.25b in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire

“Wecyclers has managed to establish a model in one of the more difficult areas of the world, with its collection directly from households and via kiosks and franchises, combined with a close collaboration with a European plastic producer which will serve to ensure that both the process and the output quality meets highest international standards”, says Wahlund

Contributing to a circular economy, Serioplast, a leading plastic packaging manufacturer headquartered in Italy has been a minority shareholder in Wecyclers since 2018. Recently, Unilever Nigeria and Bridges Outcomes Partnership also provided Wecyclers USD 2 million to support the expansion of its collection network. The financing was provided using an innovative “Development Impact Bond,” expected to support the collection of up to 30,000 tons of recyclable plastic waste and create up to 700 jobs in the next five years.

“With these new partnerships, Wecyclers is well-positioned to contribute to a truly circular economy where we continue to create more value, support the women and small businesses we work with to increase their income and help build more resilient, healthy, and sustainable communities in the cities where we operate”, says Olawale Adebiyi CEO of Wecyclers.

“While this plant only tackles a small part of the problem, showcasing a functioning model will gradually enable the development of an industry and the promotion of a culture of waste management. We see Wecyclers as our first of many investments in the recycling sector”, says Wahlund.

Norfund’s investment in Wecyclers adds to its portfolio in West Africa which includes direct investments in Sundry Foods (Nigeria, Equity), Arnergy Solar (Nigeria, Equity), First City Monument Bank (FCMB) (Nigeria, Loan), OH Ecosystems (Nigeria, Convertible Loan), CBI Ghana (Ghana, Equity), Access Bank (Ghana/Nigeria, Loan), First National Bank Ghana (Ghana, Loan), Oasis Africa Fund (Ghana, Fund Investment), Verod Capital Growth Fund III (Nigeria/Ghana, Fund Investment), Valency International (Cote d’Ivoire, Loan), Wave Mobile Money (Cote d’Ivoire, Loan), Nouvelle Mici Embaci (NME) (Cote d’Ivoire, Equity), Aktivco (Burkina Faso/Cote d’Ivoire/Cameroon/Niger, Loan), Baobab+ (Senegal/Cote d’Ivoire/Mali, Equity), ESCOTEL (Regional, Equity & Loan) and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Regional, Loan). Norfund is also an investor in platform companies and many private equity funds which are investing in West Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.

July 17, 2023
New dawn for Nigeria’s automotive industry
- •As auto dealers forge strategic alliances to ease car ownership
Automotive trading platform Cars45, powered by e-commerce giant Jiji, on Wednesday, sealed a partnership deal with Japanese auto brand CFAO Suzuki to transform Nigerian consumers’ car-buying and selling experience. This came on the heels of its recent partnership with Chinese auto company GAC Motors to encourage more Nigerians to own quality, affordable cars. These bold and disruptive alliances may be the tonic to remake the Nigerian car market landscape by making car buying and selling a seamless and rewarding experience for all stakeholders. Assiatnat Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports

Sometime in June 2021, Africa’s e-commerce marketplace Jiji made the strategic decision to acquire online car auction service Cars45. Stakeholders in the Nigerian auto market probably never envisaged that the deal will, two years down the line, set the tone for series of partnership deals which now hold prospect of transforming the Nigerian car dealership market and delivering immense vale to various stakeholders, particularly prospective Nigerian car owners.

Admittedly, the acquisition of Cars45 was prompted by Jiji’s bid to consolidate and strengthen its position in the market, by combining its strong brand and market presence with Cars45’s deep expertise in the car market, thereby creating a one-stop solution for any car needs. Besides, the move, The Nation learnt, also came from the fact that car sales and enquiries were among the top five reasons people visit the Jiji site. Apart from real estate, the search for affordable cars constitutes a primary reason people visit the platform.

With over 10 million Nigerians visiting its platforms every month, according to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Cars45, Maxim Makarchuk, and the auto trading platform ensuring they have a diverse and broad range of choices, it is, therefore, hardly surprising that Cars45 drew strength from such favourable market dynamics to make more aggressive inroad into he make, by signing a number of startegic partnership deals with major auto brands to make car buying and selling a seamless and rewarding experience.

One of such deals that may change the dynamics in the Nigerian auto market, going forward, was the signing of a startegic partnership with Japanese brand CFAO Suzuki. he The cutting-edge partnership, which was sealed in Lagos, on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, according to partners to the alliance, was aimed at transforming the car buying and selling experience for Nigerian consumers, offering them exceptional convenience and access to a wider range of top-quality vehicles.

Under the strategic alliance, which gladdened the hearts of stakeholders in the Nigerian automotive industry, CFAO Suzuki now has the exclusive opportunity to advertise its exquisite range of cars on the Jiji platform. On the other hand, Cars45 wide network of Retail Centres across Nigeria will now serve as authorised inspection and

verification hubs for Suzuki used cars, ensuring buyers have complete peace of mind. Inspected and verified Suzuki used cars will also be prominently showcased on the Cars45 platform, creating an unmatched marketplace for Nigerian car enthusiasts.

Excited by the capacity of the strategic partnership to enhance the fortunes of the various players in the auto market, COO of Cars45, Makarchuk, said: “We’re elated to join forces with CFAO Suzuki to provide Nigerian car users with unprecedented opportunities and choices. At Cars45, our mission is to change the way Nigerians buy cars. We constantly strive to provide exceptional customer service, transparency, reliability, fair pricing, and convenience, ensuring that our customers have access to the best available options.”

According to him, the partnership with CFAO Suzuki was a natural progression in Cars45’s journey to offer unique opportunities and choices to Nigerian car users. He stated that the journey and the rationale behind the partnership go back in 2014 when Jiji was created to provide Nigerians with a safe and trusted place where buyers and sellers can meet online, covering various verticals, including but not limited to cars, real estate, and electronics.

Read Also: Eko Drive dazzles automotive enthusiasts, holds first supercar exhibition

Makarchuk, however, said the cars category has always held a significant place in the company’s platform. “In our efforts to digitalise the e-commerce market, we have become the go-to classifieds for professional car sellers of different sizes, starting from small brokers, and ending with big 3S dealers, providing them with a platform to sell their vehicles,” he said, adding that in 2021, in order to expand its presence in the car vertical, Jiji made the strategic decision to acquire Cars45.

The COO said it was the acquisition that paved the way for Jiji to combine its strong brand and market presence with Cars45’s deep expertise in the car market to create a one-stop solution for any car needs. He said as a platform, its value for buyers is determined by the variety of choice and quality of listed products.

“In order to maximise value creation for our customers, we reached a win-win partnership with our long-term partner, CFAO Suzuki. Through this collaboration, we can offer our private buyers a wide range of top-quality vehicles. Whether they are looking for affordability or specific features, our expanded inventory will cater to their diverse needs and preferences,” Makarchuk emphasized.

Dangling the proverbial carrot in form of financing For prospective Nigerian car owners, the icing on the cake of the Cars45-CFAO Suzuki strategic alliance was the fact that they now need not rob a bank, literarily, to buy their own cars. Makarchuk said, for instance, that in addition to a wider selection of vehicles, the platform has also taken steps to address the financing aspect of car ownership.

“We understand that owning a car can be a significant financial commitment. That’s why we have created infrastructure that allows individuals to access financing options from any financial institution in the country with competitive interest rates. Owning the car of their dreams has never been more attainable and affordable,” he stated.

Continuing, Makarchuk said: “Considering the recent gas price increase, having cost-efficient cars like Suzuki S-presso or Suzuki Alto is more critical now than ever. By partnering with CFAO Suzuki, we can gain a competitive edge in the market by tailoring our offer.

Our collaboration enables us to offer both affordability and a reliable and reputable brand that instils trust and confidence in our customers.

“This partnership is important not only for our companies but also for the Nigerian automotive industry as a whole. By combining our expertise, technology, resources, and reach, we are leading the growth and development of the industry. Together, we are setting an example of what can be achieved through strategic partnerships and collective innovation.”

The General Manager (GM), CFAO Suzuki, Aissatou Diouf, is no less excited by the prospects of leveraging the partnership to push possibilities to the hands of Nigerian customers. “We’re entering into this partnership with Cars45 and Jiji to offer prospective car buyers in Nigeria a full range of Suzuki models at affordable prices,” she said.

Brandishing her company’s impressive performance, Diouf said in 2022 alone, CFAO Suzuki made a big break with a record sale of over 3, 000 vehicles. According to her, this achievement placed its dealership among the top automotive marketing outlets in the local market.

She also said since the beginning of this year, CFAO Suzuki has maintained its leadership position in the market, very close to Toyota. “For us, its an achievement and we will continue to push. We have a great team and we have the right products. Suzuki is really a good company in terms of quality, and in terms of after sales service.

Suzuki is next to Toyota,” she said.

“We are very optimistic that with our new partnership with Cars45 and Jiji, coupled with the excellent product quality from Suzuki, our sales figure will increase exponentially in the months and years to come,” Diouf projected.

She also said financing is one of the interesting aspects of the partnership. “Through the partnership, we are giving a five (5) per cent discount for everybody who goes to the Jiji platform to buy a brand new Suzuki. We also offer free after sales services for a year, as well as insurance and registration,” Diouf told The Nation, in an interview.

While noting that the good thing that Cars45 by Jiji has put in place is the finance, Diouf said most Nigerians cannot, at the moment, afford between N15 million to N20 million to purchase brand new cars.

“So, the partnership said okay, you can own a brand new car now and pay in four years,” the CFAO Suzuki boss said.

According to her, economic headwinds forced by recent fiscal and monitory policy measures announced by the Federal Government including the removal of fuel subsidy, unification of the foreign exchange (forex) market, among others, impacted the nation’s auto market by forcing prices to go up by about 15 to 20 per cent.

“For now, we know that the impact (of FX unification) is there, its about 15 to 20 per cent,” Diouf said, pointing out that the Nigerian auto market in terms of new cars is about 12, 000 to 13, 000 cars annually, while the used car market is an average of 500 cars per annually. This, according to her, indicates that in Nigeria, the culture of used cars is here.

She said although, CFAO Suzuki cannot pretend to change the culture of used cars in Nigeria, its goal is to be a part of the change of that mentality so that Nigerians will be able to buy brand new cars and tohave the comfort of saying I own a brand new car. This, she said, informed the five per cent discount for Nigerians who go to the Jiji platform to buy a brand new Suzuki.

GAC Motors also

However, the alliance between Cars45 by Jiji and CFAO Suzuki came barely two months after Cars45 and Jiji entered into a similar partnership with GAC Motors. The alliance, which was aimed at encouraging more Nigerians to become owners of quality, affordable cars, has already garnered significant attention and propelled both companies to the forefront of Nigeria’s auto market.

At the signing ceremony held in GAC Motors Experience Showroom in Lagos, officials of both companies described the partnership as “strategic and revolutionary,” noting that it represented “the next phase for the Nigerian automobile industry.”

The General Manager (GM), Commercial and Group Communications, GAC Motors, Jubril Arogundade, said a project called swap has already been launched to create a platform for people that have been using GAC cars, over the years, to bring their cars back and swap them with new ones.

He explained that under the GAC Motor’s Swap Project, cars that customers will bring back to swap will be evaluated by Cars45; such cars will go on the Cars45 platform and users of vehicles in Nigeria will be able to purchase them on the Cars45 platform.

“So, what we have done, under this partnership, was to ensure that every household has a GAC car, either a brand new car or a used car,” Arogundade said, adding that the essence was to create a market where a brand new car sold here in Nigeria, the second hand value of that same car is also sold in Nigeria.

“So, the car that we are selling to you as a brand new car today, in two years’ time, will be sold to somebody else as a used car within the same ecosystem. This is revolutionary and we believe that this is the next phase for the automobile industry.

“We are very proud to be doing this with Cars45 and their parentcompany, Jiji, to make sure that you enjoy GAC cars. The functionalities and the specs of GAC cars cannot be overemphasized, Arogundade said.

The GM of GAC Motors pointed out that the benefit of the partnership and the swap arrangement is obvious, as it will help conserve foreign exchange. “What this will do is that we keep our money within Nigeria and grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this country and the economy of Nigeria,” he said.

He further said the partnership between Cars45 and their owner, Jiji, with GAC Motors was a milestone, in the sense that it will create a disruptive sales and marketing opportunity for automobile, the first of its kind in Nigeria.

“The Jiji platform and the Cars45 platform are reliable and formidable platforms in the e-commerce space. Everybody trusts Cars45 when you want to talk about buying a used car. It will almost be impossible fo us to get to the target customer if we rely only on the physical shops that we have across the country.

“So, in this light, we decided to partner with the giant in the e-commerce space and foremost automobile trading platform which is Cars45 to be able to come on that platform and provide you the opportunity to buy GAC cars,” Arogundade stated.
July 17, 2023
Suppressed voices at DICON

The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in Kaduna is a military hardware supply company and it is, thus, an agency under the Ministry of Defence. It is, however, not for that reason a unit of the core military institution; and so, it is expected to allow space for its non-military personnel to express themselves in line with the character of the civil dispensation we currently are in. But the management of the organisation seems not apprised of that point.

Recently, the DICON management called up soldiers serving at the corporation to crush a peaceful protest by civilian staff over non-payment of their allowances. It was reportedly the second attempt by the staff to press home their demand for payment of their six-month Peculiar Allowance, minimum wage arrears since 2019 and promotion arrears for 2020, 2021 and 2022. The staff members had assembled at the Kakuri, Kaduna factory of the corporation at about 8:00am three Mondays ago when soldiers drafted by the management to prevent a protest within the facility forced them away from the gates to nearby Monday Market. In the process, the soldiers who were reportedly armed to the teeth beat up one of the protesters who was using his mobile phone to record the scene, while another protesting staff identified as Bala, a civilian securityman at the factory, was arrested and taken into custody by the armed soldiers.

Read Also: Soldiers beat, arrest staff protesting non-payment of allowances at DICON

Speaking to journalists, one of the protesters cited the management’s failure to enroll staff members into the IPPIS scheme as one of the reasons for the protest, alleging that the civilian staff were suffering in their service to Nigeria through DICON. Besides, the staff demanded immediate payment of their full promotion arrears for 2020, 2021, and 2022, and their Peculiar Allowance to cushion the removal of fuel subsidy, among other demands. “We are here only to let the management and the Federal Government know how we are being treated as civilian staff of DICON. This is because we discovered that all agencies under the Ministry of Defence have been enrolled into the IPPIS, only DICON staff have not been captured. But you can see how our member was beaten and another taken into custody by soldiers,” the protesting staff told journalists, urging government to intervene by directing DICON management to respond to the demands and stop victimising workers who voiced concerns over denial of their rights.

Media attempt to get DICON’s side of the story was rebuffed, as Public Relations Officer Musa Yakubu reportedly responded via a text message by simply saying: “Sorry sir, I’m not on the ground. Thank you.” But the corporation’s management needs to face up to the workers’ demands and address these as appropriate. More importantly, allow the staff to vent their grouse so long as they do it peacefully. It’s their right.

July 17, 2023
Robin Hood economy

The Tinubu administration’s strategy for the economy brings up the concept of Robin Hood.

The English throw him up as one of their major eponymous heroes.

He was man as legend, a terror of the patrician class, a swordsman as go-getter, a lifetime as a cause, an equalizer of resources.

No self-delusion like the grandiloquent swordsman of the best novel ever written, Don Quixote, who mistook himself for the masses. Robin Hood’s vanity was in the right place: with the people.

He was no pure hero, and history has never embalmed a creature without a flaw. But Robin Hood was peculiar as a rough-hewn ancestor of Karl Marx, Fabian socialists and the welfare state.

He was a warrior who upturned his martial acumen and morphed into a traitor of the feudal class.

He would raid the rich in gold and food and hand them to the poor.

He was the people’s brigand. As a ballad, A Gest of Robin Hode, describes him, “Of the good he shall have some/if he be a poor man.” Plays, films and adventure stories have inked his heroics. Shakespeare endorsed him in two plays. Ben Jonson, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Thomas Paine cruised on his tales. He haunted the French Revolution. Even those who loathed him were villains like the Republican fellows who banned his stories as a heartthrob for communism in the United States during the McCarthy Era.

The first person to decorate President Bola Tinubu as Robin Hood is former Lagos State governor, then governor of example, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). He should know. Some see it as a term of endearment. Some have skewed it with mischief. But whatever his flaws, Robin Hood was a soul after the commoner’s heart. His lion’s heartbeat for the poor.

That was behind the policy to do away with fuel subsidy and turn the money over to the little guy. One was $800 million, and that amounts to over N500 billion. There has, however, been a mix-up in the public imagination between the supplementary budget that includes an $800 million loan for cash to the poor and the N500 billion saved from the subsidy. News hysteria should be restrained for the facts. The mistake is probably because $800 million equates a little over N500 billion. Tinubu came with a number of measures in what he described as a national emergency on food security. It is a wide swath of programmes, some of which, I hear, have not yet been unveiled. One, the $800 million that entails the N8,000 for the very poor households. Two, N19.2 billion for agriculture and that will help farmers immiserated from floods. The allocation of N70 billion whose details we are awaiting and the N35 billion to the judiciary do not belong to this programme. The N10 billion for Abuja may, in parts, address the question of poverty.

The declaration against food security is the first time we are cohering food policy with security. There has been some hoopla as to whether it made sense to give N8,000 to the poor. Such critics do not live where the real people are. It has been said in some circles that it is nothing new. The United States has done it over time. So has the United Kingdom. Covid was an example. We infested ours with corruption. What the West gave its citizens compares with ours. We only put flies in our own ointment. During the George W. Bush era, he won an election on a promise of cash transfers of a few hundred dollars. The real point is not just the amount of money but because such an infusion would stimulate demand in the economy. Economists like Keynes call it demand-pull, and it vitalised the New Deal of President Franklyn Roosevelt during the Great Depression. When such monies are doled out, no one saves. They spend them. People buy and sell and that helps drive production and boost jobs. Bringing such an amount of money into the economy through the people’s spending is one great way to nourish a system.

Read Also: From geo-political to geo-economic zones – How to grow the economy

Some have asked, how will the money get to the poor? Others have said we should have done census first. They are a little confused. We cannot wait for a census in an emergency. But that view also advertises ignorance. They do not know the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) that has a database of the Nigerian poor. The agency will cross-check its data with the National Cash Transfer Office to get this money across. Reporters should investigate it. I gathered that all beneficiaries do not have to have bank accounts but their information is documented. The document, according to my sources, is not cast in stone. The Labour Unions, my source adds, are welcome to coordinate their lists with them. Citizens without bank accounts will get codes to get cash on POS machines.

My worry is if the operators of those machines do not gouge the poor and give less than they were allocated. Some wonder if this is a good chance of fraud. The government must guard against it. Since this is a policy for the people, the people will know if they get the money. The government expects it will be the people’s evidence against a doubting elite. A hand-proof against Didymus. Doubts are not unfounded, though. They saw this recently when the former Humanitarian minister splurged billions on non-existent students.

Ekiti State had it under Governor Kayode Fayemi, except that some poor complained that his government punished the mothers of successful children. A mother of a Customs officer griped that she was being punished for being a successful parent. While rigour is required, it cannot satisfy all. We want the utilitarian maxim of happiness for the greatest number of people.

But this is different from the subsidy money that is being worked out in committees on transportation and mass transit, health and education, cost of governance, etc. Chief of Staff Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is in the centre of some of this. The subsidy money will also look at agro-industrial zones to ensure that goods are shipped without inflationary pressures. We have one in Ogun State and the African Development Bank has identified about 19 across the country.

If inflating the economy with cash will stimulate activity, it can also inflict high cost of goods. Inflation is a factor of dollar value. President Tinubu has unfettered forex, so it should bring down dollar value and prop the naira. A stronger naira will check the cost of goods. It is a smart idea. Banks must be monitored not to play Shylock with the currencies.

“The inflation will not last, especially if we enforce the policy of not exporting raw materials,” said a source.

Bringing the economy to the poor is not supposed to be easy. Even the poor will resist. The cash-for-the-poor policy is a Robin Hood idea. Nigerians who are not trusting it are those who are used to being duped by the government. Releasing money to farms also means strengthening security. Many farmers are coy to go to farm because of bandits. Farms with fertilisers but without farmers is stillborn agriculture.

On the cash transfer, getting the money across is less a test of policy than a challenge of integrity. The howls of disputers should not deter the government. Doubt is not an excuse. The goal is gold. The money is no ghost. If implementers fail, a spectre of mistrust will dog the government.

Taking from the rich to the poor in a modern Robin Hood style is more subtle than in the early Middle Ages when he reigned on horseback. It works today by stealth of policy, not the sword of valour. It is by redrawing the map of supply and demand. Shakespeare described it as “distribution undo excess and each man have enough.” That bard did not know Marx, just like Robin Hood. Shakespeare, Marx and Robin Hood knew the early Apostles’ commune and the tale of apostates.

Food security is not fool’s gold. It is a national goal.

July 17, 2023
Wike to launch Fubara’s 50.15km Port Harcourt road project

Ex-Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has been invited by his successor, Sir. Siminalayi Fubara, to inaugurate the construction of his star project, 50.15km Port Harcourt ring road.

Fubara said yesterday that the inauguration of the project would hold today and called on the people to embrace the event.

There have been mixed reactions over the decision of the governor to raise N200billion supplementary budget to begin what he described as his legacy project.

Most residents were, however, excited about the project, which they said would further decongest and beautify the state capital.

Read Also: How Wike helped APC, Tinubu to win in Rivers, by Okocha

Fubara recently signed the contract worth N195.3billion for the ring road expected to cut across six local governments.

He said the project would be completed within 36 months and mobilised the contractor with N150billion.

The governor said: “For JB, we are engaging you because you have a history in this state. Landmark developments have not been achieved in this state without you. We have cases of flyovers, wonderful medical centres, you are instrumental to them and people have acknowledged your standards.“

“Total value of the contract is N195.3billion and we are paying, mobilising you 77 per cent, which is over N150billion immediately after this event. Once will confirm 55 per cent of the initial fund release, we will begin payment of the balance.”

July 17, 2023