The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Highway to death

    Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Highway to death

    It’s been a nightmarish experience for motorists and commuters plying the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway. Journeying through the road, which links Anambra with Enugu, the North and some parts of the Southeast, is akin to passing through the valley of the shadow of death. EMMA ELEKWA (Onitsha) and DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA (Enugu) capture the daily ugly experiences and encounters by users of the highway which abandoned lanes have since been taken over by weeds.

    The Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway is a trunk A road, believed to have been inaugurated by the military administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo. It was reportedly inherited by the Shehu Shagari civilian administration before it was eventually completed. Then, the road was referred to as the ‘Star of the East’ and the lone Federal Government signature project East of the lower Niger.

    A master piece to behold, racing on the road’s perfectly-asphalted lanes was something of huge delight. It took barely two hours to cruise from Enugu to Onitsha, a distance of about 100km.

    Regrettably, today, the story is no longer the same. One can count himself lucky if he does the same stretch of road now in four hours.

    Of course, that is not without excruciating pains, with its corresponding wear and tear on the vehicle. Worse still were several lives the road had claimed.

    No week would pass without one form of fatal crash or another being recorded on the highway with their attendant deaths. Ironically, the same road had always been on the front burner as a major project of previous administrations. In fact, it became a campaign tool for successive governments, with inspiring and hope-rising promises by several of them.

    Sadly, however, those promises remained unfulfilled. Undoubtedly, the immediate past President Mohammadu Buhari-led administration had made visible and significant efforts towards changing the narrative.

    Currently, the reconstruction of one of the dual carriages – Onitsha-Awka lane- has been completed.

    Same applies with the Awka-Enugu part of the road, which construction started from Ugwu Onyeama to Awka, leaving the remaining two kilometer inside Enugu metropolis unattended to. Work, however is yet to commence on the other side of the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha lane.

    As a result, both motorists heading either Onitsha to Awka and Enugu or vice versa are compelled to ply the completed lane, a development that has resulted in increased head-on crashes along that stretch.

    While some of the crashes are caused by over-speeding, several others are attributed to wrongful overtaking.

    Recently in March, no fewer than 10 persons reportedly lost their lives in the fatal accident that occurred at Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Staff Quarters’ Bus stop, along the dilapidated Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. In that incident, a commuter bus loaded with passengers rammed into an incoming trailer conveying bags of cement after a failed overtaking attempt on the bad road.

    It was gathered that the bodies of the victims littered on the dual-carriage way Thursday morning as passers-by made frantic efforts to take both the corpses and the survivors to a nearby hospital. The accident occurred at about 9:45am when an 18-seater bus with registration number ENUGU -XL884 ENU ran into an incoming trailer carrying bags of cement.

    Eyewitnesses said the commuter bus, which loaded from Abakpa, in Enugu East local government, was heading to New Market when the fatal accident occurred. Also, more recently, six deaths were recorded in four separate crashes within three days along the same road in Anambra State.

    The crashes, surprisingly, came on the heels of “Operations show your drivers license” recently carried out by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state. One of the fatal crashes, which occurred in Ukpo, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, had a driver trapped to death, with four others injured along Onitsha-Nteje-Awka expressway.

    An articulated truck, coming from opposite direction, lost control and rammed into a Honda CRV with five passengers on board, leaving the driver attempting to negotiate the junction, dead.

    Two days after, two women involved in another ghastly accident at the popular Odumodu Junction, along Nteje-Onitsha expressway lost their lives, while six other passengers sustained serious injury in a lone crash that occurred around 6.50pm, involving a commercial Toyota Sienna with six persons on board.

    The speeding Sienna driver was said to have suddenly lost control of the vehicle and somersaulted, after hitting a woman crossing the highway.

    Confirming the crashes, FRSC Sector Commander Adeoye Irelewuyi blamed the crashes on speed, wrongful overtaking and loss of control, warning motorists to desist from excessive speed and ensure their vehicles were road worthy before embarking on any journey.

    He also urged motorists to maintain safe speed and drive within stipulated speed limit to arrive their destinations alive.

    Before these incidents, Bianca Ojukwu, Nigeria’s former ambassador to Spain and wife of late Biafra warlord, Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, had described the Ugwu Onyeama section of the Enugu-Onitsha Road as “highway to death” because of the number of deaths she personally witnessed on the road.

    Read Also: Sallah tragedy: Eleven die, eight injured in Benin-Lagos highway crash

    According to Bianca, “On Saturday, November 19, 2022, on my way back from a wedding ceremony late afternoon, I stumbled upon a horrific accident scene at the Ugwu Onyeama Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. A tanker had just collided with a coaster bus carrying passengers who were on their way back from an event.

    “Mangled bodies covered in blood were strewn everywhere, people had clustered around the scene and the sight was traumatic. I had to make a split second decision whether to move on or to stop. I noticed one of the victims was moving, and requested my drivers to stop. I alighted from my vehicle with my aides, including those in my back up vehicles and approached the scene.

     “No emergency medical response services in sight, not even Road Safety officials. I noticed a young man who introduced himself as Stanley Egbuonye from Obosi with his two relatives, and another lady, Mrs. Ambrose Egbosimba, who were equally scouting for good Samaritans to transport survivors to the nearest hospital.

     “Together with Stanley and his two co-travelers, we lifted several of the victims into our vehicles and headed for the hospital. The road was blocked with traffic but we eventually got there. The hospital staff swung into action and battled to save those that were still breathing.

    “Most of them did not survive. It was tough to keep answering calls on their handsets…worried relatives wondering why they had not yet returned, and having to inform them of the accident, and to start heading out to the hospital but unable to tell them their loved ones had passed on.

    “We left the hospital late in the evening as some of the bodies were being conveyed to the hospital mortuary. Only God knows the fate of the already dead victims at the accident scene as we were trying desperately to save those that were still breathing. I am yet to recover from the trauma of this incident, the thin thread between life and death and the callousness of everyday people to the plight of other human beings in distress.

    “The raw reality of the third world hits whenever situations like these arise. The highest point of civilization is the consideration, empathy and compassion for the other. Any country where functional emergency services or basic ambulance services is considered a luxury or even unattainable in this 21st century remains ‘underdeveloped’, not ‘developing’. It is as simple as that. This could have happened to anyone”.

    Reacting on the implications of motorists making use of only one lane as against both lanes, a Civil Engineer, Alloy Udemezue, said the development would automatically reduce the lifespan of the road as well as increase number of crashes on the road.

    He said:”The quality of the road with 100mm thickness is expected to last for 50 years. But with the current heavy traffic on the one-lane road on daily basis, that lifespan expectation would likely be a mirage. Besides, the road will continue to witness regular crashes, especially head-on collisions.”

    Speaking when the immediate past minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola visited Enugu to commission some housing units built by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in the state, immediate past deputy governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecelia Ezeilo, appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aide of the people of Enugu State and Southeast in general by fixing the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway with a particular attention to the two-kilometer road from Enugu metropolis to Ugwu Onyeama.

    “Let me first of all appreciate the Federal Government on what’s going on in Southeast: the second Niger Bridge, Enugu-Onitsha Road among other projects. At the beginning of the Buhari administration, you visited the road, particularly the portion of Ugwu Onyeama. Some portion of that Enugu-Onitsha Expressway is a death trap.

    “In February this year, a very bad accident that took 18 lives happened between Trans Ekulu Flyover and a filling station. This was one out of many. This particular portion is not up to two kilometers.

    We believe the Federal Government will answer our calls and get that road done to save lives and property,” Ezeilo said.

    However, the Anambra State Government, sometime in September last year, commenced intervention work on the failed portions of the highway, spanning about 350 meters of the road, at different locations along the same stretch of road, particularly within Amansea, Awka North Local Government Area of the State.

    The intervention work included desilting of drainages on both sides of the road and filling the failed portions with heavy stones. Engr.

    Azuka Egwuatu, an official of the Anambra Road Maintenance Agency, responsible for the rehabilitation, said Governor Chukwuma Soludo had directed that the road be made motorable within the shortest possible time to alleviate the suffering of the road users.

    Since the commencement of reconstruction of the road, several approvals have been made by Federal Government to augment the initial cost budgeted for the project. In September 2019, available information from the Budget Office of the Federation and Federal Ministry of Finance indicated that over N45 billion has been budgeted for the road since 2005.

    In August 2018, the Federal Executive Council approved the augmentation of the cost of the rehabilitation of Enugu-Onitsha road by N5.4bn. According to former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Fashola, the cost was increased to N15.7bn from N10.3bn, adding that the augmentation was meant to accommodate erosion control measures and drains on the road.

    In October, 2022, FEC also approved the takeover of the construction work on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway by MTN Nigeria at about N202.8 billion, under the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit (RITC) scheme.

    According to Fashola, the approval followed Executive Order 7 signed by the President in January 2019. This, he said, would enable the telecom giant to complete the dualisation of the 110-kilometer road.

    He said: “The Ministry of Works and Housing presented two memoranda and they are largely PPP based memoranda. In January 25, 2019 specifically, President Buhari approved Executive Order 7, which was the road infrastructure tax credit scheme, to allow private sector to invest tax liabilities in advance in infrastructure, and that policy has helped us to finance roads like Obajana to Kaba, Apapa-Oshodi, Oshodi-Ojota Expressway, the Bodo-Bonni expressway in Port Harcourt, about 1000 kilometers covering 21 roads under the NNPC investment. So, there is an increased optic for that policy. Today, we have two more.

    “The first that was approved is the one by MTN Nigeria Plc to take over and complete the ongoing Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. That road is 110 kilometres, which is being dualised. So, you have 110 kilometers times two. The outstanding work aggregated to over 91km on both sides.

    While the Enugu bound section of the road had been largely completed, more work was required on the Onitsha section.”

    Fashola further noted that the policy would allow a steady and sustained stream of funding for completion by MTN. “The second memo also was under the Tax Credit Scheme and while the first one was related to the road linking Anambra and Enugu states, this one is with respect to a road in Abuja,” he added.

    Corroborating the Minister, Chief Enterprise Officer, MTN-Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, during an occasion in Awka that witnessed the announcement of the company’s N97 billion public offer to retail investors for the sale of 575 million shares, disclosed that the telecommunication company was perfecting paper works to commence the construction work on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway project.

    She said: “The Federal Government is having a public-private partnership with companies to carry out intervention on projects in the country. It is the responsibility of the government to fix roads but MTN-Nigeria is going to construct and complete the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway on behalf of the government. We are making an investment regarding the project and once we finish the paperwork, work will commence on that road.”

    Mrs. Saint-Nwafor further hinted that sale of the 575 million shares was to offer Southeast investors the opportunity to own a share of MTN, urging people from the region to embrace the opportunity, which she described as democratised participation in share sales.

    “As a leading telecommunications company in the last 20 years, we have  worked diligently to connect 68 million subscribers onto voice and data networks and ensure that we deliver the benefits of a modern connected life,” she added.

    Amidst all these promises, work is yet to commence on the Awka-Onitsha lane of the dual carriage of the road. Instead, weeds and bushes have taken over greater portion of the road while road users and residents  have converted same road to “emergency toilets” for open defecation.

    For how long road users would wait before work would commence and be completed on the project, remains a one-million dollar question in the lips of many who daily ply the road.

    Responding, Comptroller, Federal Ministry of Works, Engr. Chukwudi Okpukpara, assured that reconstruction work on the road will soon commence, adding that equipment needed for the project had been mobilized to site. He, however, acknowledged the effects of rain as contributing factor to delay on the project.

    “Fund is not the problem. If you go to the contractors’ yard around Awkuzu, you see assemblage of various equipment ready to commence work any moment. Meanwhile, work has already started from the Enugu axis.” he said.

    Meanwhile, a top government official who spoke on condition of anonymity for obvious reasons, alleged corruption and greed among government officials involved in the project, as well as internal battle between lawmakers and MTN on management and disbursements of funds for the project.

    The source said: “After approving the takeover of the construction work on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway by MTN Nigeria at about N202.8 billion, under the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit (RITC) scheme, the same government and their cohorts are trying to frustrate the project.

    “I can authoritatively tell you that work has stopped on Enugu-Onitsha

    Expressway. It didn’t stop because of lack of fund, but because of the greed and corruption within government circle. Remember, it was the same Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, to allow the private sector to invest tax liabilities in advance in infrastructure that has helped to finance roads like Obajana to Kaba, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway by Dangote and others. We never heard stories.

    “Now, I’m hearing that politicians in the National Assembly and their counterparts in Ministry of works under the leadership of immediate past Minister, Fashola on one hand and MTN on the other hand are at loggerhead on who should be in charge of funds and disbursing of same to the contractor- Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) “You handed over a project to a financer after evaluating the cost and turn around to tell the same financer to pass the money to you to be paying the contractor after every stage of construction and raising of certificate. Is it not monitoring and oversight that you should be doing as a government?

    “What I see in this case is that the government overinflated the cost of the project. Now, they want to have their own cut before passing the rest to the contractor. Meanwhile, MTN is not agreeing with such arrangement, because I don’t think it is in line with the agreement.”

    Another official in the ministry, who also spoke in confidence, blamed delay on the project on ongoing transition process of the out-gone administration as well as internal politics between the ministry and MTN.

    “Yes, there’s an MTN intervention in the project, but there are issues with the partnership arrangements yet to be addressed. Besides, the handing over processes is also affecting the project. Let’s hope the incoming administration would hit the ground running as soon as it settles down,” he said.

  • 44 years after, NIPSS still striving for acceptance

    44 years after, NIPSS still striving for acceptance

    About 44 years after it was developed, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) is still begging governments and other institutions to patronise its products, our Correspondent Kolade Adeyemi reports.

    KNOWING that ideas rule the world must have propelled the founding fathers of Nigeria to conceptualised the establishment of an institution like the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to think for Nigeria and generate such ideas needed for growth. Hence, the institute was established in 1979 through Decree number 20 of 1979.

      The institute, based in Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State, became the nation’s “think tank” from where developmental policies are sourced and implemented for socio-economic and socio-political development of the country.

    NIPSS as high-level centre for reflection, research, dialogue

    The main objectives of the institute include to conducts courses for top-level policymakers and executors drawn from different sectors of the country, with a view to expanding their outlook and perspectives and stretching their conceptual capacity and qualities of discernment and analyses, thereby helping to improve their overall performance in their different fields. It is also meant to organise and carry out on an interdisciplinary basis, indebt research into the socio, economic, political, security, scientific, cultural and other problems facing Nigeria, with a view to contributing to the search for their solutions.

    Moreso, it is mandated to conducts seminars, workshops and other action-oriented programmes for leaders and potential leaders in the public service, the private sector, political organisations, professional bodies, and other groups to promote, define, and enhance the appreciation for long-range national plans and objectives. It is to publish books, journals, monographs, and other materials in the interest of the nation, as a contribution to knowledge and for a better national and international understanding.

    The fast pace of change and national development in countries across the world, especially over the past three decades, has been driven by paradigm transitions towards “thinking globally and acting locally”. Successful national growth and development have, therefore, been accomplished under inherently deft, visionary and people-oriented national policies and strategies.

    With these clear-cut objective, the national institute serves as a high-level centre for reflection, research and dialogue, where academics of excellence, seasoned policy initiators and executors and other citizens of mature experience and wisdom drawn from all walks of life, meet to reflect and exchange ideas on the great issues of society, particularly as they relate to Nigeria and Africa within the context of a constantly changing world.

    The role of the institute is not limited to the training of high-level policy makers and executors. As the nation’s topmost policy think-tank, the Institute, through its Directorate of Research, makes direct and regular contributions to the national policy process in terms of initiating and evaluating various policy initiatives and strategies.

    How the institute is carrying out its duties

     Manned by a team of skilled and highly competent research fellows, the Directorate of Research organises seminars, conferences and workshops, brainstorming sessions and other strategic engagements and collaborations.The directorate also provides significant support to the Senior Executive Course as well as submits regular policy briefs and reports to the government.

    Through these activities and its reports and publications, the institute has built up a rich reservoir of knowledge that can be harnessed to drive Nigeria’s national development aspirations.

     As a contribution to the deepening of democracy in Nigeria and Africa, the institute also has a centre known as The Political Parties Leadership and Policy Development Centre, which is dedicated to building the capacity of political parties to operate professionally and effectively.

    Established in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Centre is domiciled in the Directorate of Research and is involved in capacity building, election monitoring and other activities, which enhance democracy in Nigeria and Africa.

     Still struggling to get acceptance

    of political leaders

    The Director-General of the institute, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, who took over the mantle of leadership at the institute last year, is a man who likes to call a spade a spade. He said the institute has not been so visible in the affairs of the country since its inception.

    The DG is still struggling to get political leaders to make use of its products. He is still trying to get political office holders, governments, private sectors etc. to draw policies from its policy reservoir and apply them for the growth and development of the nation.

    Speaking through Prof. Sola Adeyanju, the Head of Public Affairs Department of the institute, the DG in an interview with The Nation, said the NIPSS has been going about begging governments and other institutions to patronise its products – meaning that the governments seemed not to see the relevance of the institute it set up 44 years ago.

    The Nation realised that the relevance of the national institute declined more under the current political dispensation as government now implements party manifestoes and campaign promises. In other words, campaign promises and party manifestoes have become government policies and programme, making those strategic policies generated by the institute irrelevant to political office holders.

    Therefore, it behooves on the management of NIPSS going from one ministry to another, going from one agency to another, begging them to implement policies it has generated over the years.

    Adeyanju said: “The Director General has looked inward and came up with the idea that it is not just enough to generate policies and relax. He has, therefore, decided to push its acceptability, ensure its implementations and monitor them. On the basis of that, the DG has inaugurated a committee on implementation of its policies. This committee comprises of the participants, who sat to formulate these policies in the past. Their job now is to look at the policies and identified the stakeholders that are supposed to implement them and mount a follow up. In addition to that, each SEC is supposed to have its policy implementation committee that must push for the implementation of the policy they generate.”

    In other words, participants of the institute are to market their research products in the  markets. The institute is tired of piling up its research works and it has no more space in its warehouse to store these documents. So, it has to send out marketers, called “Parley Report Policy Implementation Committees”, to market its products and make itself relevance in the same country that created it.

    “It is not part of the duties of NIPSS to force government to implement the policies we generated. But we are compelled to do that because the nation must do things right so as to avoid policy summersault that we are witnessing.

    “So, we have to go the extra miles to push for implementations and offer the strategies and technical advice needed to guide the implementation and achieve expected results,” said Adeyanju.

    The Nation learnt that the theme for studies by participants are approved by the President yearly. “These study themes for each year is provided by the President on a topical issue affecting the nation.

    At the end of the course, participants present a well-researched policy paper on their study findings at a parley with Mr. President in council.

    Within the last decade alone, the nation’s Think Tank has conducted researches in almost every sector of national economy, only to discover that policy recommendations from such researches have remain on the national library awaiting implementation.

    The national institute is 44-year-old producing policies that no one cares to implement. Yet, it plans to be one of the top three think-tanks in Africa by 2025.

  • NUC curriculum

    NUC curriculum

    •The 70 percent control over the academic programmes will stifle higher education

    Uuniversity is nothing without an intellectual tradition. And there is no better way to achieve that than a robust academic programme. The tertiary level of education in Nigerian has been shown up by periodic rankings of higher institutions in the world and Nigeria.

    Although some universities have shown flashes, we have witnessed neither a consistency nor high perch commensurate with the size and promise of our population and diversity. Hence, the action by the country’s university under the aegis of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to streamline and modernise the curriculum is an opportunity.

    The point, according to the NUC, is to set a minimum standard and modernise the courses of study for a twenty first century citizen. The NUC thus moved from what was termed the Bench Mark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) to Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).

    CCMAS is supposed to be more comprehensive and take cognisance of a global world with its dynamic of evolving technologies as well as diversities. It is, therefore, a system that should be tied to the future and a new world in flux.  The CCMAS comprises 17 disciplines and 238 academic programmes.

    But there are big setbacks. In setting the minimum standard, NUC has control of 70 percent of content, and gives the university senates a miserly 30 percent. This has raised remonstrations among some senates and intellectuals in the country. And for good reasons.

    The academic disciplines covered include, Administration and Management; Agriculture; Allied Health Sciences; Architecture; Arts; Basic Medical Sciences; Computing; Communication and Media Studies; Education; Engineering and Technology; Environmental Sciences; Law; Medicine and Dentistry; Pharmaceutical Science; Sciences; Social Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine.

    One of the drawbacks is the sense that critical stakeholders did not take part in the deliberations that produced the new document. Academic programming is supposed to be collaborative, and from what the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has observed, the decision seemed to be an imposition.

    The 70 percent control by the NUC takes away the ability of the universities to innovate and create their own characters. It is an obsession with uniformity. Academics is nothing if not creative, and when the centre gives institutions only a narrow room to assert their individuality, it implies a system only a little better than rote.

    Read Also: NUC’s Core Curriculum for Nigerian universities

    Not only that, some of the new courses either show a watering down or lack of touch with the real world. For instance, the University of Ibadan queries that “there are no Chemistry courses for students of B. Sc. Physics. Apart from Departmental and General Studies (GES/GST) courses, the 70% CCMAS has left out all other Faculty or University courses like Engineering Mathematics for Engineering students, Statistics for Science students, Philosophy and Sociology of Education courses for Education students, etc. Almost all departments reported one major deficiency or the other in the CCMAS.

    “Contrary to the stated intentions, the current 70% CCMAS documents have left out essential courses in university programmes which would render Nigerian graduates globally uncompetitive! There are omissions of core and mandatorily required contents of courses in the old BMAS from those of the 70% CCMAS; raising serious questions about the competence of the so-called experts who executed the “contracts”.

    In the field of mass communications, it seeks specialisation by breaking it into many parts. But that may be good for a post-graduate programme, not a first degree that should exhibit a breadth of knowledge.

    Again, if 30 percent is all the “locals” have, how could they pursue the idea of institutional flexibility and specialisation? How much room would a University of Sokoto have to differentiate itself from Delta State University, with all the beauties of their immediate cultures and environments.

    We call on the CCMAS to be reexamined.

  • How integrity set me apart, by philanthropist

    How integrity set me apart, by philanthropist

    Entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chiori Peter Cole has singled out integrity and good repute as the key things that set him apart from his peers.

     The CEO of Ocean Glory Commodities said that one has to know how to apply uprightness and abide by the established laws that govern the environment in order to contribute positively towards building a safe environment.

     “The word integrity means uprightness, abiding in established laws that govern the environment, and knowing how to apply them in contributing positively towards building a good and safe environment. It is also ensuring that whatever you do to add value to the system is done on the right path,” said Chiori Peter Cole.

    Read Also: Philanthropist donates borehole, water reservoir

     On how he applies integrity and merit at his firm, he said:” These two words play an important role in orientation and goals in life. How you want people to feel about you. There is a certain way you have to position yourself upright, ensure that your word is your word. They drive your business as well. People will begin to have confidence in your word; people will know that this man keeps his word.

     “So, integrity propagates merit. Integrity is uprightness; you apply it in such a way that inspires other people around you. For me, I enjoy the Bible a lot. The Bible preaches a lot about uprightness because the way you live will affect the other generation looking up to you.”

  • Empowering youths for growth

    Empowering youths for growth

    • By OPEYEMI ADEBIYI

    Empowering African youths is crucial to driving growth and development.

    With a burgeoning youth population and the potential for immense talent and innovation, investing in them  is not only imperative but also an economic necessity.

    Youth empowerment plays a pivotal role in nation building. With over 60 per cent of the continent’s population under 25, harnessing the potential of young Africans is vital.

     According to recent studies, empowering youths can significantly contribute to growth, job creation, and poverty reduction. By investing in their education, skills development, and entrepreneurship, we can unlock  economic progress.

    Data shows the significant positive effects that youth empowerment can have on the African economy. For instance, studies indicate that increasing youth employment rates by just one per cent can lead to a 1.3 per cent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By providing young people with access to quality education, vocational training, and mentorship programmes,  we can enhance their employability, productivity, and entrepreneurial potential.

    Read Also: CPS: Empowering workers for future

    By empowering  youths for impact, we lay the foundation for sustainable development and resilience. Inclusive societies not only drive economic growth, but also promote social cohesion, reduce inequality, and enhance overall well-being. When young people have equal opportunities to contribute to decision-making processes, their innovative ideas, entrepreneurial spirit, and fresh perspectives can spark transformative change across sectors. By embracing inclusiveness, Africa can build a future where every individual has a chance to thrive, thereby creating a more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable continent for generations to come.

    By providing young people with the  tools, education, and opportunities, Africa can unleash their potential as agents of change, boost growth, and pave the way for a prosperous future where no one is left behind.

    Also, Africa can redefine its narrative and position itself as a global leader in sustainable development.

  • Worthy collaboration

    Worthy collaboration

    • •We welcome NDLEA’s partnership with UK’s crime agency to fight drug cartels

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) deserves support, nationally and internationally, to battle drug cartels operating in the country and the sub-region. We therefore commend the partnership between the NDLEA and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA). Under Brigadier-Gen. Buba Marwa as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, the NDLEA has made giant strides, including bursting an international drug syndicate warehousing 2,139.55 kilograms of cocaine in Ikorodu, Lagos, last year.

    Speaking at the signing of the renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NDLEA and NCA, Gen. Marwa said: “This renewed MoU will definitely and inevitably propel High Intelligence Driven Operational Tentacles that will seek out the most complex organised criminal networks, no matter their hiding place, to face the wrath of the law.” On his part, the Regional Manager, West Africa, NCA, David Cater, said the MoU will “enable us to take the battle to the enemies, that is, the cartels.”

    The NDLEA also recently launched the Aletheia eye-based lie detector system, installed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology facilitates fast and accurate truth detection based on the analysis of the human eyes. According to the agency, the lie detector has been useful at border crossings, airports and seaports around the world. The agency also has a toll-free drug abuse call centre, which attends to Nigerians suffering from Drug Use Disorder, and is manned by experts in counselling, psychotherapy, psychology and psychiatry.

    Speaking at the commissioning, Gen. Marwa said: “The provision of this toll-free helpline is a milestone in our resolve to broaden access to quality health care for drug users in the country. This has become a necessity and a strategic intervention in our determined effort to bring under control the increasing cases of drug use disorder and related health concerns.” The NDLEA emphasises that the call-centre guarantees anonymity, confidentiality and safety for those in need of help, but are unable to access conventional treatment centres.

    Read Also: NDLEA seizes 4,560kg of skunk in Lagos, Adamawa, Osun

    No doubt, under Gen. Marwa, NDLEA has made giant strides, but a lot more work needs to be done. We note that as society evolves, the types of abusive substance also mutate. It is public knowledge that dangerous illicit drugs can now be manufactured just about anywhere, as witnessed recently with the bust of manufacturing syndicates in Lagos and Anambra states. A house serving as production factory for methamphetamine, as well as a warehouses for Tramadol 225 mg, were recently bust in Victoria Garden City, Lagos.

    Sadly, the factory-made illicit drugs have become a major affliction for the younger generation of Nigerians, and every effort should be made to curb the spread. The criminals engaged in the production site their factories sometimes in remote villages and with just one dubious pharmacist in their employ, they churn out death and madness-inducing drugs to the detriment of the young generation. There is also widespread cultivation of Indian Hemp in remote villages in some parts of south-south and south-west.

    The NDLEA is also in partnership with INTERPOL and the UK Border Force, and we believe they can gain experience and technical knowhow from those more experienced organisations. Speaking at the signing of the MoU with NCA, Gen. Marwa also said: “I look forward, with great optimism, to the requisite specialist capabilities this project will provide to the CITF (Criminal Intelligence Task Force) officials to target and disrupt drug trafficking cartels in our country, the West Africa sub-region and beyond.”

    We share in the optimism, and urge the agency to redouble its effort to reduce to the barest minimum the manufacturing, trafficking and use of illicit drugs. No nation can progress under the influence of such abuses. We also urge the federal and state governments to incorporate lectures on drug abuse in the secondary and university curricula.

  • Government’s role in enhancing internet freedom

    Government’s role in enhancing internet freedom

    SIR: The role of governments in safeguarding and promoting internet freedom has become increasingly vital. The internet serves as a platform for individuals to exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression, association, and assembly. As the primary entities responsible for protecting the rights and interests of their citizens, governments in Nigeria have a crucial responsibility in ensuring open access to the internet, guaranteeing internet freedom, and upholding the rule of law online.

    Governments, along with private-sector entities, civil society organizations, and international bodies, play a central role in shaping the development of the Communication and Information Society. They possess the power to create policies, regulations, and frameworks that define the parameters of internet access and usage. This responsibility extends beyond the national level, as the internet’s borderless nature demands global cooperation and coordination in internet governance.

    The foundation of a thriving internet lies in its openness. Governments bear the responsibility of preserving the open and free nature of the global internet ecosystem. This entails providing citizens with unimpeded access to online platforms, free from arbitrary restrictions or censorship. It also involves establishing and enforcing laws that protect individuals’ rights and interests while balancing the need for cybersecurity, privacy, and protection against speech that incites violence.

    Internet freedom is not an absolute concept. While governments aim to enhance internet freedom, they must also consider the rights and interests of all members of society. The internet can be a space where conflicts arise between individuals, groups, or institutions with divergent viewpoints. In such cases, governments have a duty to protect the rights and interests of all parties involved. This includes ensuring cybersecurity measures are in place to safeguard individuals and critical infrastructure, protecting individuals’ right to privacy, and addressing harmful speech that undermines social cohesion or incites violence.

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    Furthermore, governments must recognize that internet freedom is not solely a domestic issue but also a matter of foreign policy. As the internet transcends national borders, collaboration and engagement in global internet governance are imperative. Governments should actively participate in international discussions, working alongside other nations, organizations, and stakeholders to establish common principles, standards, and frameworks that preserve internet freedom while addressing transnational challenges.

    To fulfil their responsibility in protecting and furthering internet freedom, governments must strike a delicate balance between facilitating open access to the internet and ensuring the rights and interests of individuals are respected. This requires robust legal and regulatory frameworks that promote transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in decision-making processes. Governments should actively engage with civil society and the private sector, recognizing their valuable contributions and expertise in shaping internet policies.

    In Nigeria, the government’s commitment to enhancing internet freedom is crucial for fostering a thriving digital ecosystem, driving innovation, and facilitating economic growth. By investing in internet infrastructure, promoting digital literacy, and creating a favourable environment for digital start-ups and SMEs, the government can empower its citizens to fully participate in the digital economy.

    To conclude: the role of governments in protecting and furthering internet freedom cannot be overstated. It is their responsibility to ensure open access to the internet, guarantee internet freedom, and uphold the rule of law online. By striking a balance between protecting individual rights and addressing societal interests, governments in Nigeria can create an environment that nurtures innovation, inclusivity, and respect for fundamental freedoms in the digital realm. Collaboration at both domestic and international levels is vital to address the evolving challenges and opportunities of the digital age.

    •Wale Bakare,

     wale@webfalainitiative.org

  • On Tinubu’s plan for agriculture for the North

    On Tinubu’s plan for agriculture for the North

    SIR: On October 17, 2022, at Arewa House, the then APC presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented to the north, his blueprint for the region. He said he would fight bandits and terrorists with the technology the Buhari administration began to use in 2022. He pledged to turn the North’s fertile land into grain fields. He also said that the North will become the hub of agriculture. The dairy economy and agro-allied industries would be promoted with the Mambila Project accelerated and while rejuvenating existing power stations.

    He vowed to exploit the gold in Zamfara, and iron ore in Kogi State. Tinubu also promised to bring back to school the millions of North’s out-of-school children through incentives. He further promised to create a special commission for Almajiri education including employing Almajiri teachers.

    So far, President Tinubu has appointed eight Special Advisers (SAs), appointments seen by many political pundits as the direction of his administration’s policies and programmes. Of the portfolios of the eight SAs, agriculture gets none.  Has the president forgotten agriculture or has he other major policy and programmes planned for the sector?

    The North needs a unique recovery programme in the agriculture sector; the mainstay of the region’s economy is now devastated by banditry, insecurity, floods, and corruption. Some of the previous administrations’ beautifully designed programmes for agriculture have been abused. Many ‘real’ farmers have tearfully complained that the custodians of the programmes and projects have hijacked the benefits.

    The Anchor Borrowers Programme, Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), Youth Farm Lab, Paddy Aggregation Scheme, Agricultural Trust Fund, Presidential Economic Diversification Initiative (PEDI), Food Security Council, etc, including other CBN interventions programs, are good.

    However, the implementation and targeting were not 100 percent successful. For example, under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) fertilizer blenders benefit from government resources, and smile to the banks, while the farmers for whom the scheme was primarily designed for, buy fertilizers through their noses. Instead of the N5,000 per bag, as envisaged by the programme, a bag of fertilizer now costs between N20,000 to N25,000.

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    Despite the shortcomings of some of the programmes,  agricultural production has improved. For instance, rice milling created many productive jobs.  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that the Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) supported about 4.57 million smallholder farmers who cultivated over 6.02 million hectares of 21 agro-commodities across the country. The programme has helped to improve the national average yield per hectare of these commodities, with productivity per hectare almost doubling within the eight years of the programme’s implementation.

    Also, statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), indicated that some of these programmes contributed significantly to the increased national output of commodities, with maize and rice peaking at 12.2 and 9.0 million metric tons in 2021 and 2022.

    However, one of the fundamental bottlenecks that these projects and programmes faced, were its managers. For instance, the last two ministers of agriculture were somehow ‘disconnected’ from agriculture. Moreover, some of the managers of these programmes and projects are not agro-enthusiasts or farmer-friendly.

    With workable and real farmer-friendly agricultural policies, programmes, and projects, President Tinubu will have a golden opportunity to directly ‘talk’ to millions of northerners.

    What should President Tinubu do?

    First, his Minister of Agriculture should not only be an agricultural enthusiast, but an agile practicing farmer who understands the entire agricultural value chain, politics, and markets. A personality that understands the needs and global trends in agriculture and has  a connection with real farmers and private initiatives. Tinubu’s minister of agriculture should be someone who sees agriculture from the prisms of entrepreneurship, wealth creation, and national GDP growth. Tinubu should also appoint a special adviser on agriculture and an advisory team on agriculture which should be populated by competent real farmers.

    Tinubu should bring real farmer associations and groups on board to assist the government in redesigning the programmes. They have a good grasp of what went wrong with the schemes, programmes, and projects and how to rejuvenate them for millions of real farmers in the country.

    The redesigned and improved programmes should incorporate livestock production and the establishment of more herbicide and pesticide factories. Nigeria has no business spending billions of naira on importing water mixed with some chemicals; it should work on reducing the cost of seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs including labour and transportation costs.

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

     Abuja.

  • Widow-hood and windows of justice

    Widow-hood and windows of justice

    SIR: The United Nations celebrated the International Widows’ Day on June 23 this year, as every other year. On that day, it was as important as ever to remember and resolve to protect a group that remains vulnerable to shocking human rights violations.

    Around the world, women already lead difficult lives. Along with children, women are a vulnerable group and the unjust targets of some of the worst injustices committed anywhere on earth. During conflicts, women suffer more than any other group as they have to navigate the dangers and abuses of conflict with providing what little stability their families may enjoy.

    For those women who lose their husbands anywhere along the line, life immediately take a swift and savage turn. With the men in their lives and in most cases, their breadwinners leaving the scene, the society invariably turns against them.

    In some communities in Africa, upon the deaths of their husbands, many widows do not just have to cope with the unimaginable grief that accompanies their loss but are also subjected to all manner of inhuman and archaic practices.

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    The way some Nigerian communities treat women is in itself a reflection of the horrendous treatment women are subjected to and the way and manner they are perceived by the society as a whole. To correct this, there must be renewed and increased emphasis on the protection of women, especially those of them most vulnerable to abuses of various forms, like widows.

    There must be increased emphasis on the implementation of the laws which protect women in Nigeria. It is only by protecting women as a whole that widows can be sufficiently protected.

    These laws which protect women exist but, as usual, they find little implementation in Nigeria owing to the painfully little political will of those who should enforce them. Around the time when the Maputo Protocol on women’s rights is celebrating its 20th year, it is especially important that the protection of women and widows should move from policy and politics to potency.

    Across Nigeria, religious organizations and traditional institutions most also take their roles in protecting widows and women most seriously. A gale of unbearable scandal washed over many Nigerians sometimes last year when a video went viral of a widow being paraded naked for supposedly killing her husband in Anambra State.

    Protecting the rights of widows is a matter of human rights just like protecting the rights of women. It is significant that renewed calls and efforts in that wise should never cease.

    Until every woman and widow is safe in Nigeria, a lot of work will remain undone.

    •Ike Willie-Nwobu,

    Ikewilly9@gmail.com

  • Otti: no more jobs for the boys

    Otti: no more jobs for the boys

    Abia State Governor Alex Otti has declared an end to making appointments just to create jobs for the ‘boys’.

    Otti spoke at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Umuahia, during the swearing in of two additional commissioners. He said the appointments were meant to add value to the state, and described the appointees as square pegs in square holes.

    He said: “Every institution is as good as the people, and so my administration is in continuous search for the best.”

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    The governor, who noted that people have had to lobby and even pay for positions, said such practice has ended. He reminded the commissioners that the people have high expectations, adding that his government will not accept poor performance form them. He urged them to bring in their best to the job.

    Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Blessing Felix, who responded for her colleague, Ikechukwu Monday (Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities), thanked the governor for the opportunity given them to serve, and pledged to do their best in the service of the state.