The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Group to raise one million AI experts

    Data Science Nigeria (DSN) is leading a revolution to upskill and retool young Nigerians in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable them become more productive to the country and the world at large.

    DSN, a non-governmental organisation pursuing democratising knowledge in AI and related fields for socio-economic development held AI Summit in Lagos where it reiterated the vision to raise one million high-qualified, world-class AI talents in the next 10 years.

    The group believes that building a local data science/big data/AI ecosystem will position Nigeria to become the outsourcing hub for international Data Science/Advanced Analytics/Big Data projects with opportunity to access 10per cent share of the global data science outsourcing projects, worth $3.3 billion in revenue by 2020.

    In a keynote titled: ‘Artificial Intelligence for Development’, Prof (Emeritus) and Director of Intelligent Systems Research at Oregon State University, Prof. Thomas Dietterich, described AI as catalyst for economic advancement.

    He said AI presents opportunities for economic transformation in unique.

    Read Also: Updated: Appeal Court strikes out Lagos’ bid to suspend hijab use

     

    According to him, although the developing economies still lag behind in some areas with regards AI adoption and applications, however, organisations like Data Science Nigeria, have shown clear roadmap capable of putting the country on the right footings and build the national competitiveness given the right skills set.

    He said developing AI enabled weather management solutions, for instance, will assist the continent address some challenges faced by farmers thereby leading to improved food production/sufficiency.

    Prof Dietterich said with the growing community of AI enthusiasts and learners, Nigeria and indeed Africa will witness a major boost in skills needed for research and development focused on bringing applied AI solutions to existing community problems.

    He however, emphasised that to make progress in this direction requires making sense out of the big data and applying the results to track diseases, and make the nation safer, better, and well-structured for collective well-being

     

  • Fresh telecom sector threat from border closure

    The Federal Government’s land border closure with her West Africa’s neighbours since August 19 in an exercise code-named ‘Swift Response’ has unwittingly brought about trade tension between the country and her neighbours leading to unintended consequences. One of them is the threat to telecom services, reports LUCAS AJANAKU.

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari appears not to be bothered by the wailings that have greeted the closure of the country’s land borders with its neighbours in the West African neighbours. While cross border crimes such as smuggling of rice, small arms and many others are said to have reduced tremendously, the action has nonetheless recorded devastating unintended consequences.

    Government said it will curb illicit importation and improve local manufacturing of goods.

    Ostensibly encouraged by the ‘successes’ the action has recorded, the Federal Government has extended the closure to Jan. 31 next year

    The extension is necessary to achieve the government’s strategic objectives, the newspaper reported, an official the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Victor Dimka, was quoted to have said, adding that the operation has resulted in security and economic benefits.

    The blockade has had a ripple effect across West Africa, with factories and traders struggling to import key raw materials and having to use alternative routes for their exports, according to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    “That date is not the terminal date for the border closure, it is the end of the first phase. The border will remain closed until set objectives are achieved,” Customs spokesman, Joseph Attah said confirmed.

     

    Threat to telecoms services

     

    Telcos under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has warned that the directive of the NCS to suspend the supply of petroleum products to filling stations within 20km of all border areas, could compromise telecoms operations in the country with serious devastating effect on quality of service (QoS).

    Its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, said due to the directive, trucks that supply diesel to all telecoms sites and base transceiver stations (BTS) around the border areas were denied passage to reload telecoms sites.

    He warned that if the directive was not reversed immediately, it could lead to shutdown of telecoms sites that are interlinked to others in the area and eventually lead to service disruption and degradation in the country.

    The carriers therefore urged the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the Federal Government to urgently intervene to avoid breakdown of telecoms services in the country.

    In a letter dated November 8, 2019, addressed to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, the ALTON Chairman raised the implications of the Customs directive and called for quick intervention.

    In the letter, ALTON chairman, Adebayo, said: “So far, the Nigeria Customs Service has stopped our members’ trucks in Kebbi, Kano and Calabar from supplying diesel to the telecoms sites within the border areas, which may lead to total shut down of Communications systems and services and by implication worsen the security operations within those areas.

    “We urgently request the immediate intervention of the NCC and the Federal Government because by midday of November 9, major hub sites carrying heavy traffic will be shut down due to lack of diesel.”

     

    Read Also: FG to sustain border closure gains with e-customs

     

    Pantami steps in

     

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami has urged the NCS to allow fuel trucks access to border towns and remote villages.

    His spokesperson, Mrs Uwa Suleiman, in a statement, said the access is to enable mobile network operators to power their generators to provide services to their customers.

    The NCS had also announced a ban on petroleum products to Nigerians living within 20 kilometres of an international border.

    No fewer than 57 borders have been shut across the country since August as the government intensified steps to limit foreign products into Nigeria.

    In the statement, Mr Pantami said officers of NCS deployed to border towns should identify drivers carrying petroleum supplies and grant them concession.

    Mr Pantami urged the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to address the vexed issue of telecoms infrastructure vandalism in many parts of the country.

    He advised the governors of the affected states to take prompt actions to ensure protection of critical infrastructure.

    “Numerous complaints reaching the Minister’s office allege that men of the service(Customs), especially around border towns where BTS (Base Transceiver Stations) are located, deny passage to petrol tank drivers, thereby denying them access to refuel generators supplying power to these base stations. The effects of these acts are a threat to national security and economic growth and cannot be ignored.

    “The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, while applauding the revived efforts of the NCS in tackling the activities of smugglers, however, urges the Service to direct its officers deployed to these locations, to identify and grant concession to genuine drivers carrying petroleum supplies to remote locations and are a critical link in the chain. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of President Muhammadu Buhari is centred around a Digital Economy and the telecoms sector, occupies a central position in the scheme of things. It is of utmost importance that public institutions collaborate and form partnerships that will ensure the security and prosperity of all Nigerians,” Dr Pantami was quoted to have said in the statement.

     

    No respite

    ALTON has put the nation on notice about its helplessness on the inevitability of service disruptions.

    Its Head of Operations, Gbolahan Awonuga, in a statement, said: “Please be informed that our members have not received any intervention from the Federal Government in order to discharge fuel to the BTS sites around border town.

    “Our members diesel trucks on legitimate duties were impounded by the Customs officials and due to inability to supply fuel, some of the cell sites are already shutting down for lack of diesel.

    “We appeal to the government to grant our members permit to deliver fuel to their various sites.

    “Please be informed that any network downtime in the border towns is not necessarily the fault of the service providers but as a result of embargo placed on supply of fuel.”

     

  • “The Sky Has Never Been The Limit”

    with Ita Emmanuel

    “The Sky Has Never Been The Limit”

    What exactly are you capable of achieving? What is a realistic expectation for your life and what constitutes sheer madness? Is there a limit to how high you should aim?

    The simple answer to these questions is simply that you are capable of achieving anything you set your mind to; if you can think it, then it’s a realistic expectation; and you can aim as high as you want.

    Man’s potential is limitless. Let’s examine what exactly your potential as a human being is.

    Firstly, let’s define potential. Potential is all that you can be, but have not yet become. It is all you can accomplish, but have not yet accomplished. It is unexposed or dormant ability.

    This means that the ability to become and to do is already there. It just hasn’t been brought out and utilized.

    Consider a fertilized human egg (zygote). That single cell has the ability to form every part of the human body. Everything from your brain to your toenails can be formed by that single cell. It has unlimited potential.

    your potential is limitless

     

    Lost Senses

    Gone beyond retreat are the tell-tale eyes

    A mirror to her soul, yummy as crusty pies

    Gone is that light-up-the-night smile,

    Always keeping him in blissful high

    The sun shone waiting eagerly for the hay,

    Words unmeasured, spoken stole the gay,

    Gone yet’s another day bereft of boost,

    As Grandma’s fowls lumber home to roost

     

            Break the Ice

    Meaning: To commence a project or initiate a friendship

    Before the days of trains or cars, port cities that thrived on trade suffered during the winter because frozen rivers prevented commercial ships from entering the city. Small ships known as “icebreakers” would rescue the icebound ships by breaking the ice and creating a path for them to follow. Before any type of business arrangement today, it is now customary “break the ice” before beginning a project.

     

    Lorna Rutto; recycling waste plastic into aesthetic fencing posts

    She quit her job at the bank in 2010 and ventured into a waste recycling business. Lorna Rutto  had a clear vision of what she wanted.

    Her company, EcoPost is engaged in collecting and recycling waste plastic into aesthetic, durable and environmentally friendly fencing posts. This idea is aimed at conservation of forests by replacing timber for alternative materials.

    In 2010, Lorna applied for and won a $6,000 SEED Award and used it to start her business. Also, she won a grant award of $12,700 from the Enablis Energy Globe-Safaricom Foundation. Another business plan competition she took part was organized by the Cartier Women’s Initiative. In this competition, she received a prize award of about $12,000.

    Some of the biggest investments Lorna Rutto’s business attracted were an equity investment from the Blue Haven Initiative and the Opus Foundation amounting to $500,000. This money was used to purchase the necessary advanced recycling equipment.

    This success story of Kenyan Lorna Rutto shows how a business can start as a small venture and move to a large manufacturing facility equipped with advanced  equipment.

     

     

  • George calls for national unity

    By Musa Odoshimokhe

    Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George has called, for national unity. The PDP chieftain, who spoke during a reception organised to celebrate him by National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), said the youths are better placed to keep the country together.

    George urged the youths to preserve the unity of the country, adding that as long as people see themselves as one, there will be peace. He said: “A human being is a human being, whether you are Chinese or American, whether you are black, white or yellow. But let us work together in this country. We should shun those divisive statements and pronouncements and embrace peace and unity.”

    Read Also: Unity Festival: fostering peace, oneness

     

    The PDP chieftain said the older generation made the “small mistake” of trying to be honest with each other in a bid to unite the country. His words: “I want to appeal to the younger generation. We, the older ones, have made small mistake and that is the mistake of trying to be honest with ourselves and unite this country. We have not succeeded.

    “But, I plead with you, you can succeed. There are no differences. Yes, there are cultural differences but who chose where he is to be born? God decided where you would be born. You don’t know where you will go in the next round, you can’t determine that.”

    George said every Nigerian, irrespective of tribal, ethnic or religious differences must work together. He added: “We must work together. I don’t see differences. In fact my great grand uncle, Baba Herbert Macaulay, was struggling to unite this country against the British. He died in 1946 when he returned by train from Kano. He had gone there lobbying people to come together. So it just didn’t start today.

    “There is hardly any state in this country that I have not been to. Let’s build a nation; let us build an edifice; let us build an economic empire that all the youths of this country would come and enjoy in the future; no generation can finish it.” But if you keep dividing this one, dividing that, one day you would pack up. Will you still keep on dividing when you are away?”

     

  • Ibadan youths: we are for Makinde

     

    Youths from11 local government areas of Ibadan, have reiterated their support for Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, following the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed his victory in the March 9 election.

    The youths, under the aegis of a group known as the Ibadan Youth Progressive Indigenes Association (IYPIA), maintained that no one could bring down Makinde, who they said was massively voted into office by the people.

    The youths said Makinde’s mandate was a product of people who spoke with their votes in support of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The group, in a statement by its President-General, Comrade Kamorudeen Keji, and the Publicity Secretary, Comrade Akindele Alabi Ibrahim, warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against mischief.

    The IYPIA said that the people have already rejected the APC at the polls, adding that Governor Makinde made history on March 9 when he polled over 515,000 votes to win an unprecedented victory with a margin that no one has recorded in recent times.

    The group stated though it is non-partisan, its stance for truth, justice and progress of Oyo state would not afford it to keep quiet in the face of orchestrated attempt to steal the mandate of the people.

    The statement reads: “Ibadan Youth Progressive Indigenes Association is a registered association with the Corporate Affairs Commission and it comprises Ibadan youths.

    Read Also: ‘My opponents should wait till 2023’

     

    “We have discovered the evil effort of some sets of politicians and opposition figures to upturn the will of God for our dear state by going through the back door to snatch a popular mandate delivered to Governor Seyi Makinde.

    “As a concerned youth group in Oyo State, we feel it is time we joined other youth groups from the four other zones of the state to stand up for Governor Makinde, a leader with a human face. It is disappointing that some political leaders, parties, and groups are working day and night to bring down the Makinde government.

    “Irrespective of parties, zones or religions, we believe that it is our responsibility to work with the decision of the masses. Oyo State people gave Makinde the mandate, so, we must all support him. “We view the activities of these individuals in the opposition party within and outside the state as undemocratic and anti-people, as they are trying not only to sabotage the efforts of Governor Seyi Makinde to restore the glory of the state but also take over the governorship seat through the back door.

    “Governor Makinde is governing Oyo State today based on the majority decision. The whole state spoke in support of him with their mandate and the governorship result is there for everyone to see and everyone knows that the election was free and fair.”

     

  • Politicians should learn from Bayelsa poll, says Nkire

    From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

    ALL Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Chief Sam Nkire has urged politicians to learn from the defeat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State.

    Nkire said Governor Seriaka Dickson kissed the dust the same way pompous despots kissed the ground, in their final hours of humiliation.

    According to Nkire, the PDP lost in Bayelsa because “Governor Dickson did not believe in zoning, fairness or democracy and therefore, single-handedly chose a wrong candidate for his party”.

    He said another reason why the people rejected Senator Douye Diri was that Dickson, due to greed, wanted to replace Senator Diri at the Senate, a dream now ‘put on hold’.

    The erstwhile National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA),  advised politicians to learn from the despotic governors and political godfathers, who have bitten their fingers. He advised politicians to be humble and show gratitude to God and their people for the opportunities to serve.

    Nkire said APC will rule beyond 2023.

    Speaking after the APC National Caucus meeting in Abuja, he said those who think that President Buhari’s exit from power in 2023 will cause the party to disintegrate are in for a huge “democratic disappointment.”

    He said party has not only come to stay, but to meet needs and aspirations of Nigerians, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Nkire added: “Muhammadu Buhari is going nowhere. He remains leader, member, vote mobilizer and APC’s talisman even after he exits the presidency in 2023.”

    Read Also: 2023: Northerners will only vote for a northern presidential candidate – Ag ACF chairman

    On the criticisms and divergent views trailing the achievements and leadership style of the ruling party, Chief Nkire said people in opposition were entitled to their opinions, adding that APC would not be distracted from its set goal of service to the people.

    The Abia State born political leader also said the ruling party would continue to respect the constitutional rights of its opponents to express their opinions on policy issues affecting the lives of Nigerians.

    Contrary to the views of opponents of APC, Nkire said the recent victory in Bayelsa and Kogi states showed that Nigerians were appreciative of President Buhari’s achivements.

    Among those who attended the National Caucus meeting from Abia State were the Chief Whip of the Senate Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Nkiru Onyejiocha and the Abia State APC Caucus Leader, Chief Sam Nkire.

  • Much ado about constituency projects

    President Muhammadu Buhari has directed anti-graft agencies to probe the execution of constituency projects in the last 10 years. The directive has polarised the polity. Correspondent SANNI ONOGU examines its implications for the anti-corruption crusade of the administration and legislative/executive relations.

     

    Nobody saw it coming. But, the reality has now dawned on the legislators. Although the executive has been relentless in pillorying the National Assembly since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015, pundits thought that Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila-led Red and Green chambers would be different. The reason for this is not far-fetched, going by the active support for the election of the two presiding officers by the executive in June. However, the salvo recently fired by President Buhari at the National Assembly has seen many tongues wagging.

    Buhari’s indictment of the National Assembly over failure to execute constituency projects in the last 10 years has continued to reverberate in both chambers and beyond. While the leadership of the Senate appears reluctant to engage the executive in a tit-for-tat over the incriminating assertion, the House of Representatives would have none of it. The apparent demureness of the Senate’s leadership notwithstanding, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the Upper Chamber did not take President Buhari’s invectives kindly. The open denunciation of the President’s claim has left many Nigerians wondering whether the much trumpeted ‘cooperation’ between the executive and the ninth National Assembly still subsists.

    President Buhari, reputed for his characteristic bluntness, drew the first blood when he directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the non-execution of constituency projects amounting to N1trillion earmarked for the federal lawmakers in the last 10 years. President Buhari, who spoke in Abuja, at a National Summit on “Diminishing Corruption in the Public Service” organised by the ICPC in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said there was nothing to show for the humongous cash voted for the projects across the country.

    Following the president’s order, which went viral in both traditional and social media, the Senate on resumption of plenary last went into a closed-door session apparently to aggregate views on how to respond to the fresh onslaught. It was learnt that most Senators, including those of the majority All Progressives Congress (APC) at the session, took exception to the President’s remarks and called for an appropriate response by the Upper Chamber. It was further learnt that the session was heated, as lawmakers openly accused the executive of betrayal, in view of the resolve of the Ninth National Assembly to do its bidding. Lawan was said to have appealed for calm to enable the leadership explore other avenues of expressing its disappointment, instead of embarking in open confrontation. This, it appeared, was why the new spokesman of the Senate, Senator Godiya Akwashiki, parried the question when asked to react to the accusation against the National Assembly. Akwashiki said President’s outburst does not  deserve a response as it was not formally communicated to the National Assembly through the appropriate channel. Akwashiki said: “The President is the President of this country. He spoke as Chief Executive, but you people (the press) sometimes can be funny.” He added: “Mr President has not written to the National Assembly officially on this matter. We have modes of communication and I want to believe if he has anything, he will write to us.” Lawan has kept sealed lips on the matter. He also failed to seize the opportunity presented by the visit of the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, to respond. Sagay  had during the visit described constituency projects by lawmakers as controversial. “This issue of constituency project has been a controversial one,” Sagay said in his opening remarks. “I don’t want to express any opinion. All I want to plead is that you (Senate President) look into it and ensure that it is something of benefit to the constituents and constituencies of this country and not a subject of controversy anymore,” Sagay added. In his response, Lawan said: “You said you wish that constituency projects serve the purpose for which it is created. I say Amen.”

    However, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, described the President’s assertion as erroneous. Abaribe urged the President to look inwards for culprits over the failure of constituency projects. He said the President is not abreast with the the operations of constituency projects by lawmakers. Abaribe said: “We are not worried by the statement.” The reason we are not worried is because we know that it was a statement that was erroneous.” The Abia South Senator added: “Somebody must have written a speech and then put false information in the speech. I have done constituency projects and we have always said that they are not done by the senators or members of House of Representatives. They are domiciled in the executive who execute the projects. If the President said he has not seen anything, he should ask his ministers and the agencies under him as the executive, as they are the people who have been executing these projects.”

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gbajabiamila, directed his anger against the ICPC. He described the ICPC’s report, which elicited the President’s directive, as a breach of the collective privilege of the members of the Green Chamber. Responding to a point of order raised on the issue by the  Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, the speaker said the ICPC failed to draw a line between allocated funds for constituency projects and actual releases. Gbajabiamila urged the anti-graft body to do due diligence in their investigation and not put the welfare of people at stake. “I think it is a breach of our collective privilege as a House and not one person. My concern is the unintended consequences of words spoken,” he said. “These are words emanating from a report by ICPC. There could be unintended consequences that could come out of it. You put people’s wellbeing at risk. I feel it is okay to use the National Assembly as the whipping boys. The fact is that there is the FoI (Freedom of Information) Act.” The Speaker added:  “The ICPC could easily invoke their power of investigation and look at releases as compared to what was budgeted. The ICPC that made the report, I don’t think they will appreciate if the House, in discharge of its constitutional responsibilities, did an oversight on ICPC based on what was budgeted as opposed to what was released to them. When you break an egg, it is going to be difficult to put it together. I will use this medium to send this message across to ICPC and other agencies to do their work of investigation well. There is a difference between money budgeted and money released. It is as simple as ABC.”

    Read Also: Hate speech bill: respect views of Nigerians, Governors tell NASS 

     

    Elumelu had informed his colleagues during plenary that Nigerians had been calling members demanding to know what happened to constituency projects’ budget in their various constituencies. He said he was at a loss on how to explain that over 50 per cent of the N1 trillion referenced by Buhari had not be released by the executive.

    Elumelu said: “I saw the statement in the newspapers all dated 20th November, 2019 and one thing is very consistent in them and that is the comment credited to our amiable President, saying that N1 trillion was made available in the last 10 years to the National Assembly for constituency projects and that there was no value for the money spent. Yes, in the last 10 years, N1 trillion was actually made available by way of budgeting N100 billion annually for constituency projects. Truly, our constituents do not have value for such provisions. But, one thing I am worried about is that words have meanings. My constituents called to ask me to give account of the money that came to my constituency. I had so many calls and it was difficult for me to explain. My worry and why I am bringing this up is that, yes, N100 billion was budgeted annually, but actual releases were not up to 50 per cent. In actual sense, and even this year, we have not gotten releases of more than 40 per cent. I can conveniently tell you that only about 30 per cent has been released.”

    The lawmaker, who represents Aniocha/Oshimili Constituency, said it is the duty of the executive to implement annual appropriations after they have been approved by the National Assembly. “We don’t award contracts. I don’t know of any member who is a member of the tenders’ board. In effect, the National Assembly has nothing to do with the execution of any contract,” he said. “It is painful that the agency that generated that information failed to state that while it is true that N1 trillion was budgeted in the last 10 years, this money has not been released. I am not happy because the information is capable of giving me a bad name before my community. The ICPC that wrote this report failed to tell the truth of how much was actually released. When you say N1trillion is budgeted like the President said, if that money was released completely, there will be value commensurate to the money. I wonder why the ICPC man failed to look at what was released. Why should ours be a subject of debate that they will tell Nigerians we received N1 trillion when that was budgeted, but not released. My message is that we should let them know that while N1 trillion was budgeted for constituency projects, by way of releases, we did not receive that because what was released was less than 40 per cent,” Elumelu added.

    Tobi Okechukwu, in his contribution, said project abandonment across the country was a function of inadequate release of contractual sums. Okechukwu added: “You award contract and you pay 50 percent. What happens to the remaining 50 percent? How can you complete them? I know that in the last 10 years, this House has appropriated an average of N7 trillion and that presupposes that you spent N70 trillion and there should be commensurate performance. In the 2019 budget about N220 billion was budgeted for roads and what was released was N45 billion. If you are expecting the value of N220 billion when you give N45 billion, I don’t know what you will see.”

    The President’s directive and the furore it has generated, has left pundits wondering whether this will lead the executive and the ninth National Assembly back to the trenches as it was during the Eight Session. This is coming against the backdrop that the leadership of the present legislature is believed to have emerged through the active support of the executive. Besides, the presiding officers have left nobody in doubt that they will continue to ingratiate the executive through speedy consideration of its Bills and confirmation  of nominees for appointments all in the name of executive, legislative ‘collaboration’ – in the interest of national development. However, in view of the present outpour of anger by lawmakers, is the honeymoon between the executive and the Ninth National Assembly over?

     

  • Expert to Fed Govt: Ignore AMCON on national carrier

    KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR

    Aviation consultant Mr. Chris Aligbe has called on the Federal Government to ignore the proposal by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, to convert Arik Air and Aero Contractors to national carriers. He urged the Minister of Aviation, Captain Hadi Sirika, to take urgent steps to facilitate the formation of Nigeria Air.

    Aligbe, who spoke in an interview in Lagos on Monday, said there was no going back on achieving a national airline because of booby traps associated with converting the two carriers – Aero and Arik Air – private carriers, into a government airline.

    He said if the two carriers were owned by government , they would have been taken over by the Ministry of Aviation and not AMCON which major brief was to recover debts.

    Aligbe said the option of converting two carriers not doing well into a national carrier  was fraught with lots of challenges, which will serve as disincentive to would-be investors.

    Aligbe said the clamour for national carrier has become imperative because of the grossly inadequate operational strength of domestic airlines.

    He said: “Today, virtually the entire industry and, indeed, the vast majority of stakeholders are either clamouring for or desirous of a befitting national carrier.

    “There are still a few who believe that Aero and Arik are airlines that belong to the government. It is not true. If they were, they  would be under Aviation not AMCON that has no statutory responsibility on aviation but rather on debt collection.

    Read Also: AMCON needs judicial backing to recover N5tr debt, says MD

     

    “Any attempt to move outside this statute will occasion international litigations that could be unresolved for many years. This is because both the original owners and creditors will head to court to challenge the Federal Government.”

    He posed a few questions : “Can any healthy and virile establishment be founded on the back of unhealthy and struggling entities?

    “Will any sensible investor invest in such establishment?

    “Where no investors come, such a national carrier will exist on 100 per cent  government equity, just like the liquidated Nigeria Airways.

    “Have we so soon forgotten the bane of Nigeria Airways?

    “Can AMCON’s liabilities from Aero and Arik, vicariously or inferentially, be assigned simplicter to the Federal Government?

    Ditto the assets?

    “If not, then the argument of Federal Government owning two airlines – Aero and Arik fails to sail.”

    “Have AMCON and Supporter – Proponents stopped to consider the

    “Outline Business Case” (OBC) of its proposition on the use of Aero-Arik merger to float a national carrier?

    “I ask these because in our present dispensation, all such proposals/promoters must first submit an OBC to the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Council (ICRC) for evaluation, guidance and approval.

    Aligbe said for those who are not aware, the Nigeria Air national carrier project had gone through this process, passed two to three approvals  by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), and successfully concluded the Development stage and was at the procurement stage in compliance with ICRC approvals and guidance.

    “My simple advice to the Minister of Aviation is to just ignore Kuru and his AMCON and move on,” the expert maintained.

  • Driving air safety, security at the apron

    Rising incidents involving airlines, ground handling companies and other ancillary services providers at airport aprons are attracting the attention of regulators, especially  because of their attendant effects on safety and security. Experts say enhanced training,  improved regulation and adherence to operational procedures may reduce infractions at the air side, writes KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR.

     

    The move to improve safety at airport aprons is gathering momentum among terminal operators, airlines, ground handling companies, aviation fuel suppliers and other players in the air transport value chain.

    To this end, global bodies namely International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airport Council International (ACI) are mulling a review of operational manuals used by terminal operators, airlines, ground handling companies, fuel suppliers and others who carry out actvities at the apron.

    The apron is where aircraft are parked for passengers to embark; cargo is loaded and aviation fuel supplied into the aircraft preparatory to taxing onto the tarmac before it gets to the runway for take-off.

    Besides pre-flight activities, the apron also provides a window for safety inspectors from the regulatory body to carry out ramp checks on the aircraft to ascertain their readiness for airworthiness before any flight.

    Experts say it is for these reasons that operations at the apron remains a critical part of air travel operation.

    This, according to them, accounts for the new thinking in evolving new measures and strategies  among  industry regulators, airlines and terminal operators aimed at preventing aircraft accidents at the airside.

    To redress this ugly trend , Bi- Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2) , last week organised a ramp safety week to step up efforts at improving safety at the air side.

    Speaking at the MMA2 Safety Awareness Campaign, its Safety Manager, Mr Charles Aroguma, said the firm in the last 13 years has demonstrated commitment to safety at the terminal through the implementation of safety management systems (SMS) programmes for operators at the facility.

    He said airlines ground handling companies, aviation fuel suppliers, apron cleaning firms and others who carry out business have worked together to achieve safety on the air side.

    Aroguma said:” What we are witnessing today is part of our commitment to ensuring safety in all our activities and your presence is an attestation that it takes all of us coming and working together to make safety a reality on the apron.

    “At MMA2, we will continue to develop and practise robust safety culture across our entire aviation activities that recognises the importance and value of effective aviation safety management.

    “This will be achieved by clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders aimed towards the development and delivery of safe practice and procedures.

    “We sincerely hope that with this campaign, we would be able to address challenges that are inherent in our day-to-day activities.”

    The BASL Safety Manager said the firm has embarked on various steps to address violation of apron safety rules and regulations as well as oil spillage during fueling of aircraft at the terminal.

    According to him, operators of MMA2 are getting worried over developments at the terminal bordering on issues of working without personal protective equipment, activities of ground handling personnel as well as promoting quality reporting culture.

    Aroguma said there was need for prompt identification and intervention of potential safety related issues in and around the apron.

    He added:”We are confident that this exercise will create the required awareness and improve our attitude to safety on the apron  in particular and the airport terminal in general.”

    Also speaking, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director in charge of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards, Tayib Adetunji Odunowo said there was an urgent need for improvement on air side operations at the MMA2,

    The NCAA director called on the management of BASL to make adjustments on how operations were carried out at the air side around the aircraft that were parked at the apron .

    He said the authorities should draw a template on movement around the aircraft, which he described as the ” Circle of Safety “.

    The NCAA director also urged the terminal operator to urgently look at speeding at the air side, the criteria for issuance of  duty cards as well as measures to be put in place to reduce personnel at the airside.

    Read Also: IATA: infrastructure, funds, others frustrate Africa’s aviation

    Such measures, he said, had become imperative because of their attendant effects on safety and security.

    He said operators of airport terminals must think out of the box on ways of handling limited apron spaces, which usually impacts on airlines’ turn around time.

    The NCAA director urged management of MMA2 to evolve ways and means of eliminating Foreign Object Damage (FOD) at critical points at the airside.

    He said the regulator was getting worried over safety infractions on air side driving as it was working round the clock to evolve new regulatory framework to guide the operations and licensing of personnel saddled with such task.

    He said: “Safety at the air side is a journey not a destination . This is reason the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is interested at operations at the airside . To see how the operations of airlines could affect safety and security,  especially the movement of air side personnel around the airplanes, which must put into consideration the circle of safety.

    “There is need to look at issues concerning a well laid out apron , the equipment lay out and the need for the MMA2 operators to decide how to police the apron with the appropriate personnel.

    “Discussions are on going between the NCAA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria on new measures to improve air safety.”

    Also speaking , Head  of Security, Ehi Multi Systems, Mr Victor Okorobia urged all players to adhere to the implementation of safety management systems to improve air safety and security.

    He said the drive for safety was a collective responsibility to be pursued by all in the air travel value chain.

    Also speaking,  Manager,  Cargo Operations MMA2, Deji Aderemi said the safety awareness campaign had become imperative because it equipped players on the procedures to adopt in processing cargo for flights.

    He said without adequate enlightenment many players in the air transport value chain will not know the value of rejecting some goods meant for air freight that is on the prohibition lists.

    On her part, Safety Services Manager , Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Rukayyah Bashari urged players in the sector to cooperate towards driving safety at the air side , which could be readily achieved through the implementation of safety management measures

    A representative of AeroContractors of Nigeria, Charity Okuns praised  the operators of MMA2 for its responsiveness to safety issues, urging the firm to consolidate its drive for air side safety and security.

    Also speaking, Station Manager, Skyways Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc, Paul Awnamhobor commended the management of MMA2 for initiating the safety awareness programme, saying it is good for ground handling companies to ramp up their operations .

     

  • Hong Kong: Beyond the pale of chaos

    By Charles Onunaiju

    Despite chaos orchestrated by radical protesters in the nearly past six months that have paralyzed the iconic city of Hong Kong, residents of the special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China had their chance to vote in district elections. Notwithstanding the wolf cry of radical protesters and their foreign handlers, the unique way of life of the Hong Kong residents enshrined in the basic law or charter that weaned off the territory from hundred years of British colonial rule as it re-united with her motherland continue to subsist. The imaginative framework of one ‘country two systems,’ under which the unique way of life of the Hong Kong people are preserved, respected and upheld within the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China. At the weekend, over three million residents poured out to exercise their franchise to elect district councils, clearly indicating that despite orchestrated slander and barely disguised antics to undermine China, the unique way of life of the Hong Kong residents is in full bloom. Last month, the American Congress crafted an elaborate provocation, the so-called “Hong Kong human right and Democracy Act,” in a flagrant affront to the basic norm of international relations.

    Yet Puerto Rico, a neo-colonial backwater of Washington, lacking in the basic right of a defined political status and lags behind in functioning primary economic infrastructure, do not exercise the creative legislative overdrive of the U.S Congress to mend the dark hole in America’s opulence.

    In fact, U.S Congress, the rabid practitioner of extraterritorial legislation has turned deaf ear to the clarion appeal of the UN special committee on decolonization which just in June, 2016, called on the United States “to allow the Puerto Rican people to take decisions in a sovereign manner and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including unemployment, marginalization, insolvency and poverty.” For all its indifference to its neo-colonial backwater with one of the most notorious poverty index in the Americas, the U.S Congress found time to legislate on China’s Hong Kong and encourage rioters to take down one of the most prosperous and stable cities in the world.

    The sullen conditions of Native Americans, the aboriginal red Indians came to light recently, when some American high school students despised and openly mocked a Native American man at a Washington rally held by indigenous communities to call attention that their rights need to be respected.

    The Native Americans who rallies periodically to draw attention to their historic marginalization in a land, they were original inhabitants has yet to get the benefit of the legislative exuberance of the U.S Congress.

    Read Also: UK expresses concern over violence in Hong Kong campus

     

    Legislating to boost young radical protesters in Hong Kong to hold their city by the jugular and ruin its reputation as international centre of commerce and finance, as an orchestrated strategy to undermine China would have little or no effect. Since the protests began in June over a piece of legislation that would only serve to seamlessly integrate the process or network where criminal suspects fleeing from justice in any part of China, including the special administrative regions of Macao, Hong Kong and the region of Taiwan could be extradited to the territory of the crime to answer charges, hell has been let loose. Orchestrated claims of politically motivated rendition filled the air in Hong Kong, with local accessories to Washington’s manipulation wreaking havoc   in the streets of one Asian’s most stable and thriving cities. Yet the Hong Kong local administration in concession upon concession to appease the restive agitators, through temporary withdrawal of the bill and then out rightly scrapping of it, have had even more lethal violence unleashed on the street. In the orchestrated melee of the radical protesters, nothing is sacred including the central government office in the city, trampling on Chinese national flag and state insignia and damaging building, housing key institutions like the regional police headquarters, legislative council chambers. Yet the local ring leaders of the mayhem got openly invited to Washington to address the U.S Congress and return safely to Hong Kong. But a U.S army private first class, Bradley E Manning was convicted for 35 years for cooperating with Wikileaks in sharing US diplomatic cables. Had the young Hong Kong radical, Joshua Wong who testified to the U.S Congress in September been American who had gone to testify at China’s National people’s Congress, he would be charged of high treason of aiding the enemy. And would certainly be renditioned from any part of the world to face charges of treason in the U.S. Mr. Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee and subcontractor who blew the whistles on the U.S worldwide covert surveillance scheme that targets even U.S traditional allies, was desperately hunted by the Washington and only managed to escape to Russia, where he continues to like in relative safety.

    China clearly understood the historic circumstance of the unique way of life of her Hong Kong compatriots. In 1949, the then, Soviet Union had urged the CPC to capture Hong Kong by force. But Mao Zedong had refused, arguing the Hong Kong issue was not one of attacking or not but one of how to guarantee its stability and security and added that it would be better to preserve the status quo than to recapture a devastated city if force was used. While clearing the remnants of counter-revolutionary elements after the victory of the Communist Party in 1949, in nearby Shenzhen, the Peoples Liberation Army would have swept into Hong Kong and forcibly terminated the British colonial rule in the territory but the Chinese Central leadership exercised restraint in appreciation of the territory’s unique history. The late China’s premier Zhou Enlai personally oversaw the supply of basic staples including vegetables to the Hong Kong residents under British colonial rule. The Chinese central government waited for a hundred years for the British “rent” of the territory to expire before returning to the original sovereignty of the Peoples Republic of China. The creative formula of “One country, two systems,” is a unique contribution of China to solution of the vexed issue of colonial question. And had such unique and original measure reflected in the decolonization of Africa, where specific and unique indigenous ways of life would be considered in the institutional expression of the post-colonial states, conflicts and even wars that vitiated the hope of national independence would have given way, much earlier to stability, inclusive and sustainable development.

    The radical protesters calling for democracy should only understand that democracy is possible if there is a territory or country where it can be practiced.

    Since the Benghazi based pro-democracy agitators as they were called by western media and political establishment, who helped burnt Libya to smithereens, they have neither a country worth the name, let alone one, where to practice democracy. Western cheerleaders of pro-democracy militancy in Libya have cut and run, leaving Libyans to carry the weight of a collapsed social order.

    It took the United States, more than 200 years to give women the vote and even longer to grant voting rights to its blacks and other minorities.

    Even America’s democracy where popular votes is trumped by a concave of few state delegates is considered a specific context of America’s local democracy, without a global reproach of why the will of the majority is replaced by the concave a small delegate assembly. In the U.K, the prime minister who is usually the leader of the majority party in parliament is only elected by less than half million of party members and even a lesser number of his constituency to the parliament.

    Despite the vicissitudes of its travails, Hong Kong as the rest of China is resilient and will even soar much higher in prosperity and stability, when it finally emerges from the trauma of its recent history.

     

    • Onunaiju, is of Centre for China Studies, Utako Abuja.