The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Deafening silence on El Zakzaky

    Najeeb Maigatari, Jigawa State.

     

    SIR: Since the aborted medical trip of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife Zeenah a couple of months ago, nothing has been heard of the duo. No word from the government- or any other relevant authority, the DSS for example- regarding the ailing couple’s whereabouts and health condition.

    The events that surrounded the trip were quite unfortunate and, in truth, avoidable. The criminal justice system works in such a way that an accused is considered not guilty until proven otherwise. Here I will remind the public that Sheikh Zakzaky is still not found guilty of not a single crime by any court of law, even as he stands trial. So is his wife Zeenah!

    It is pertinent to remind the public of the fact that Sheikh Zakzaky is still suffering from the many health complications he has earlier been diagnosed with, so is his wife Zeenah; many of which are life threatening.  The truth is that the duo still requires immediate medical attention. Over the weekend, Sheikh Zakzaky’s family have expressed concern about the DSS covering up the exact health condition of the venerable Sheikh and his wife since their unfortunate return on August. Hitherto, they were denied access to the Sheikh, whose health condition and that of his wife has reportedly deteriorated from bad to worse over the past few days.

    Read Also: El-Zakzaky, wife, to travel abroad for medical treatment

    Notwithstanding the deteriorating health condition, the DSS also deny the duo access to their personal physicians here at home and even their lawyers. This, as we are all aware, is not just a violation of their fundamental right as citizens of the state but also serve as a litmus to understanding how unfairly the DSS have been treating the Sheikh and his wife since their detention.

    Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife have been in detention since December 2015 following Nigerian military’s raid on his residence in Zaria, where three of his biological children were gunned down and over a thousand of his followers killed. It could also be recalled that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has, on December 2016, ordered the release of the Sheikh and his wife which the Nigerian government has failed to comply with till date.

    The general public should stand witness to the fact that the followers of the Sheikh have even temporarily suspended their daily street protests as a sign of good faith for peace, following calls from various peace loving, respectful individuals. On this regard, the government should be thoughtful enough to live up to expectations to avoid a return to street protests with stronger momentum which is not in the interest of the country.

    The DSS should do the needful by allowing Sheikh Zakzaky’s family to, at the very least, have access to their beloved, know of their health conditions as well as provide moral support as is required of every patient; before another avoidable round of protests rock the streets of Abuja and other cities across the country. Sheikh Zakzaky’s right to treatment, even as he stands trial, should be respected. But even more, the Sheikh alongside his wife should be allowed to attend to their health.

     

     

  • INEC: Ameyo Stella, RIP

    ABCDEFGGHI=Avoid Bribery & Corruption Daily Everywhere For Good Governance Here Immediately for a Nigeria@60.

    When a man steals N1billion from the education budget is he not mad? Is he not a ‘murderer of Nigeria’s children’s mind’ and a terrorist and a high-ranking Boko Haram leader – the unarmed wing? The EFCC is alive and well. Much more please before they steal.

    We the citizens need to and want to and do love Nigeria. We know Nigeria should be much better after the huge unsung and unappreciated efforts of our parents, ourselves and our children. Those who seek and take and sometimes seize the leadership must know this and require a serious attitudinal change, otherwise Nigeria will not last forever. Nigerians mostly do not elect thieves. The elected strangely ‘elect’ to steal upon their election, ‘selection’ or ‘stealing the election’ aka ‘stealection’.

    ELECTION: Any political office holder can decide not to steal. Elections loom in Kogi and Bayelsa states. INEC is again faced with the prospect of yet another violence-prone election. INEC is not a security agency. It is merely to provide an election. The political parties should keep the peace, not INEC. Do not blame INEC or even the police if violent party people steal ballots and kill people. Blame the parties.

    Why do we loving citizens of Nigeria, to which we have given so much, live in fear of the oppressive actions of each succeeding ‘elected’ government and its local agents? Nigerians feel unprotected by government. We are under-policed and even robbed by the uniformed services. Nigerians feel they need protection from the government of the day confirmed by the current wave of insecurity, attacks in broad daylight traffic, robberies, kidnapping and mayhem even by uniformed agencies. Recently four FRSC staff were accused of murder. Can you believe that? When did traffic control authority become a ‘license to kill’? These agents, mostly unsupervised, are mostly greedy and dishonest with no psychological evaluation.

    Our police are murdered so that judges and others can be kidnapped. The press ignores the dead policemen and their families. Yet we are all equal in the sight of God.

    I know you do not remember to teach your children this. I know Nigeria, with its pathetic 10 year ‘Review Cycle’ Curriculum Review Committee Method, does not have a programme to teach all its 50million+ children this. ‘This’ is the huge story and lessons from the short life of Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, the female medical doctor and medical martyr and her co-martyrs who died and also those who survived confronting Ebola in an Ikoyi Obalende Hospital Lagos. She, Ameyo, died on Aug 19, 2014 and the episode is remembered in the film 93.  She was named by her father Professor Kwaku and Mrs. Deborah Adadevoh after her aunty, Stella Ameyo Folasade Marinho, nee Adadevoh who had a stellar nursing career in London, UCH Ibadan and then back in the UK, where she retires as a nursing sister and returned to Ibadan. ‘Aunty Stella’ was a grand-daughter of Herbert Macaulay and was much loved by her families of Marinho, Adadevoh and Macaulay and friends. Sadly this lady, the senior Stella Ameyo, has also died recently at 83, in Ibadan. We mourn her as we join her children Ade Jerome and Bunmi Marinho and their families in prayers for her safe repose.

    However five years after the doctor’s own premature death and as we bury her Aunt Stella Ameyo Marinho, we must use the death of her aunt to demand long overdue ‘Memorial’ action. Another death and a subsequent funeral create a powerful stage from which to join others demanding quick action from President Buhari and governors. They and their ministers and commissioners of Women Affairs, Health and Education must correct the non-recognition for Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh-Cardoso and the other medical workers, dead and alive. Living heroes and heroines are also valuable to the nation.

    The ‘Ebola-stoppers’ deserve posthumous and other awards and recognition and the naming of some permanent structure not for their sake but so that generations unborn will learn to do good. When will their story become compulsory history in the Nigerian primary and secondary school curriculum? When will their story be used as source and plot thematic material for theatre production in the many undergraduate theatre arts departments and faculties and even ‘Medical School Drama Nites’? There are many women’s groups and NGOs like Zonta, Inner Wheel, Girl Guides, women professional bodies in medicine, law, engineering, architecture et cetera. Do not forget several thousand old students and old girls associations. Each should immediately plan to award a ‘Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh [and coworkers] Prize for Selfless Service’, if they have not already done so to encourage and motivate their impressionable youth.  Perhaps the Obalende roundabout and a girl’s school and a female medical students hostel in for example Unilag where her father was vice chancellor and a female ward in General Hospital, Broad Street and a Virology Laboratory, and a corner or seat in the Gardens and Parks scattered across Nigeria can be named for her, Dr Adadevoh and the other heroes. They belong to us all and anyone can immortalise their memory. Such awards would be inspirational for all who hear about them, men and women, boys and girls to venture into science and science professions, promote girl-child education. Awards are not only for politicians.

  • Nigeria: Sliding to a debt trap?

    By Babatope Babalobi

    There are heightening concerns over the geometric rise of Nigeria’s public debts, despite assurances from Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed that there is no cause for alarm.

    The crux of the matter is that Nigeria’s total public debt  has almost risen to pre-2005 levels when through an innovative debt buy back agreement, the Obasanjo administration reduced the nation’s debt commitments to the Paris Club, from $30b to less than $5b. Nigeria’s total public debt is rising to the roof tops again, estimated to be N25.7 trillion or $83.6m as of June 30. It was N12.1trillion or $63.8m in June 30, 2015, implying that it doubled within past four years.

    Public debts is the amount a country owns to lenders in form of bonds and securities. Every individual, family, organisation, or public entity secures loans from time to time to finance its activities, when internal income is inadequate to meet financial obligations; and the debtor makes interest and principal payments at agreed dates. Sources of Nigeria’s debt according to Central Bank of Nigeria include Paris Club of creditors, London Club of creditors, mmultilateral creditors, promissory note creditors (these are refinanced uninsured trade arrears), bilateral and Private sector creditors. 

    Debts could be a benefit or burden depending on how it is managed or mismanaged. Excessive and unproductive spending leads to huge, unsustainable, internal or external debts which is antithetical to economic growth, as foreign earnings that would have otherwise been used for investment is diverted to debt repayment and servicing. Unproductive utilisation of debts invariably makes repayment difficult.

    What is the history of public debts in Nigeria?  Nigeria took its first post-independence loan -US$13.1 million from the Italian government in 1964, for the construction of the Niger dam; since, Nigeria has become a habitual borrower, resulting in high soaring debt portfolio like the eagle.

    Respite came in 2005/2006, when the Paris Club, an informal group of money lenders, formed in 1956 with a secretariat in Paris, granted Nigeria a $18m debt relief package, out of Nigeria’s $30.84b debt. Nigeria paid the balance $12.4 billion debt stock in three tranches through an innovative discounted buy back agreement and exited the Paris club on April 21, 2006.

    Nigeria’s post-Paris Club external debts   went down from $35m to less than $5m as of June 30, 2006, while debt service payment declined from $1.7 billion before the Paris Club exit to $700 million. Fourteen years later, the gains of the Paris relief seem to have been filtered away and Nigeria seems to be entering another ‘one chance’ debt trap.

    There are, however, discordant tunes on Nigeria’s debt profile. Nigeria born Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Ms Amina Mohammed, lamented few months ago: ‘We are now back again, in my country, the level of debt is worrying’. Also, Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, was quoted early this year as warning that Nigeria’s external borrowing and increasing debt level is ‘fast be approaching the pre-2005 Paris Club level’.

    Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Ms Zainab Ahmed holds a contrary view. According to her, Nigeria’s N24trillion debt is ‘reasonable and not too high’. Dismissing critics as ‘insensitive’ during the 2020 budget presentation, Minister Zainab said Nigeria’s problem is not in debt level but how to raise revenue as an alternative to borrowings.

    Her words: ‘There is a lot of insensitivity around the level of our debt. I want to restate that our debt is not too high; what we have is a revenue problem. Our debt is still very much within a reasonable fiscal limit. In fact, amongst our comparative countries, we are the least in terms of borrowing’

    The minister’s assertion is hinged on Nigeria’s low debt to GDP ratio which is 17.5% as of December 2018. The debt-to-GDP ratio is a financial instrument for measuring a country’s financial health. It could be low or high.

    How valid is the minister’s assertion? Firstly, by insisting that Nigeria’s problem is a revenue problem not a debt problem, the minister ignored the history of Nigeria’s public debts. Nigeria fell into a debt trap in the past due to fall in oil prices in 1982 and the outright refusal of the military governments of the 1983-1998 to pay their debt repayment commitments to the Paris club; rescheduling it on four occasions- 1986, 1989, 1991 and 2000.

    While it is true that Nigeria has a revenue problem due to its mono economy, everyone knows that export diversification cannot be achieved overnight. Neither is the price of crude under the control of the Nigerian government. The average price of crude oil per barrel in 2019 was $56.2, down from the 2014 average of $93.17. Tradingeconomists.com, a web-based group that monitors crude oil prices, project that oil prices will further dip to a little below $50 in 2020.

    In effect, a revenue problem created the first debt trap. Nigeria has always experienced a revenue problem (apart from occasional oil windfalls), and no government has been able to solve this. Nigeria is presently having another revenue problem that may slide us to a second debt trap.

    Second, debt to GDP ratio, a mere statistical expression, does not tell the full story of a nation’s financial health.  We all know statistics are like miniskirts, what they show is revealing, what they hide is more revealing. A low or high debt to GDP ratio does not necessarily mean good or bad financial health.  The debt to GDP ratios of Egypt and South Africa is a high 90.5% and 55% respectively, and their economies may be stronger than Nigeria’s.  A high debt to GDP ratio does not necessarily indicate a debt crisis, if the debts are largely domestic, and the economy is growing fast enough to repay the debts. A case in question is Japan, the world’s greatest debtor, yet has not been declared debt ridden as the debts are largely domestic, and the economy is strong, the third largest in the world.

    Third, Nigeria is walking into a death trap due to the huge amount it incurs on servicing its mounting debts. The World Bank defines total debt service as the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in foreign currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt, and repayments (repurchases and charges).

    Nigeria spent N2,502,822,000 on debt servicing in 2016. This represented 61.59% of its revenues, meaning N61 naira was spent on servicing debts for every 100 naira earned.

    Nigeria presently spends more money servicing debts that in educating or providing quality health care to her citizens. Out of a proposed  budget of N10.3 trillion for 2020, a quarter N2.45 trillion will be spent in debts servicing;  while N1.043 trillion (less than half of the fund for debt servicing) is the total  capital allocations for key infrastructural projects in the following key sectors: Works and Housing N259.2billion; Power N127.6billion; Transportation N123billion; Universal Basic Education: N162billion; and Health N90.9billion, Agriculture and Rural Development- N79.79billon; Water resources- N78.3Billion; Transport- N123billion;. Total capital budget for all these federal ministries is N1.043 trillion.

    Read Also: BREAKING: Nigeria’s debt hits N25.7trn

    IMF projected that Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio may rise to 36% by 2024 and interest payments could make up 74.6% of revenue.  This is a debt trap as it is not sustainable.

    Fourth, the nature and character of Nigeria’s debt gives cause for concern. Nigeria’s debt is mostly made up of commercial debts and Eurobonds, vulnerable to external shocks such as variations in oil prices and currency fluctuations. Also, some of the recent debts were incurred to refinance repayments- (treasury bills that have a short tenor). Nigeria also has a few liabilities prominent of which is the $9billlion awarded to Process and Industrial Development (P and ID) by a British Court, still a subject of litigation. Moreover, Nigeria continues to borrow to finance its budget deficit. The 2020 proposed budget has a deficit of N2.175 trillion to be financed mainly by borrowing N1.594 trillion.

    Fifth, the Nigerian factor has hindered the nation from deriving dividends from its past borrowings. An official of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Yakubu Aliyu in a paper titled: ‘Debt restructuring, Nigeria’s experience’, presented to Commonwealth Secretariat, London, said Nigeria’s past borrowings were largely spent on ‘wasteful consumption, white elephant projects, and uneconomic projects’, lamenting that ‘of 63 projects undertaken in the 1980s for which US$2.6 billion was borrowed only one project was viable’

    Finally, Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) is depleting fast. The ECA stood at $34b when  Paris  Club granted debt relief  to Nigeria, but depleted to $183m in March. Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC), has issued a warning that unless this is checked, Nigeria is on the precipice of another economic recession.

    How do we avoid another debt trap as a people and as a nation? The federal government must avoid grandstanding, accept the stark reality, admit there is a debt trap along the walkway and a debt crisis in the offing. The next step is to introduce a debt cap on further federal and state government borrowings and institute a mechanism for productive use of future unavoidable borrowings. Nigeria’s federal and state governments must also stop going to wasteful and wild parties on borrowed robes (debts), like prodigal children. Looting the treasury through slush funds such as security votes accessed by the all-powerful governors, should stop.

    Importantly, government should summon the political will to institute a comprehensive audit of all public debts, to determine their misapplication or mismanagement, identify culprits, and recover looted public debts. Finally, the revenue problem needs to be frontally addressed using a top down approach, by enforcing extant tax laws on the Nigeria’s rich and super rich, rather than a bottom up approach through increases in Value Added (VAT) tax which may hurt mostly the low-income bracket.

     

    • Babalobi is a doctorate researcher, Department of Health, University of Bath, UK.

  • Who is to blame for deluge of bank charges?

    By Cheta Nwanze

     

    Let me tell a very short story.

    On Monday, October 21, on a radio programme where I sometimes offer informed takes on topical Nigerian issues, I said that it was the chief executives of Nigeria’s banks that had insisted that new charges for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data or USSD transactions be passed to customers (instead of the standard practice where they bore the expense) and offered the telcos a sweetener to ensure that the new charges went through. In my analysis of a news report titled, “CBN opposes MTN over mobile banking transaction access,” I said the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele was being disingenuous in berating MTN for the proposed USSD price increase.

    As always, in the feedback, there were a few people who attacked my person and not my position. I find that sadly typical in our slowly evolving culture of ad hominem attacks. We have also, especially in the last few years, enabled some of our worst instincts. We Nigerians have not exactly shown ourselves to be welcoming of foreign businesses and poor MTN has been a favourite whipping boy of late. The following day, an online newspaper published an exclusive report, complete with a memo from the banks that proved I was right after all.

    What we have to understand though is that the banks are not evil. It is simply a matter of incentives. Faced with the prospect of extra charges, they did what most businesses would do and opted to pass the charges to consumers.

    Emefiele claimed he had directed all commercial banks and other financial institutions under its regulation to shun the move by the telcos to impose charges on USSD services. The regulator said banks had been directed to move their services to telecom operators that are willing to offer such service at the lowest or zero charges if possible. This is nothing short of plain grandstanding.

    This incoherent behaviour brings up the critical issue of regulatory body language. Are our regulators working for the betterment of the Nigerian consumer, or for more subversive forces? I say this because the CBN has been tacking more and more charges to the consumer, lending credence to suspicions that its balance sheet is distinctly unhealthy. For the past two years at least, Nigeria has been in the grip of a fiscal crisis. The can has thus far been kicked down the road – by taking loans at ever-increasing premiums – but even these loans are getting a bit harder to come by, so to stave off the inevitable day of reckoning, more and more stealth taxes are being placed on the man on the street. This USSD situation is cut right out of that playbook.

    The problem is, up until now, all the parties involved in the USSD issue have opted to shift responsibility for the charges on banking transactions. It bears repeating, over and over, that we only came to know about the new charge through MTN’s notice to its subscribers, and this is unfortunate. Customers from other network operators were surprised to find out that MTN wasn’t charging its subscribers for the service, which according to these customers, they had been paying long before the MTN notice. This brings up the question of how long these telcos had been ripping off their customers without notice. I think that MTN, because of its history with the current government, opted to err on the side of caution.

    Now to the dangers.

    The first is that the much-vaunted Operation Cashless has effectively died. In many places, and because of the many new charges introduced by the CBN, various vendors are behaving like some of the telcos and the banks in passing on the burden to the consumer. A few days ago, I wanted to buy petrol when I noticed a sign that warned me of a ¦ 50 charge for the use of the station’s point of sale terminal (POS) terminal. I parked my car and went to the nearest Automated Teller Machine (ATM) to withdraw cash. This kind of development and any other bank charges would be detrimental to the CBN’s financial inclusion effort in transiting Nigeria to a cashless economy. Consumers such as myself last week, are already experiencing a deluge of charges that appears to be accompanying this cashless policy thrust. We are charged for using the POS, ATM, and even settling transactions through our mobile banking apps and the web. The introduction of the new USSD charges is, in my view, the final straw that will defeat the cashless policy. As more people move back to cash, the nefarious and deviant, among others, will return.

    Back to the tussle between the banks and the telcos, the real story about the charges, as has been shown, is that the push was aided and abetted by the two regulatory bodies involved – the CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The only party that behaved well in this entire fiasco was MTN: in trying to inform their users of the new charges.

    Rather, unfortunately, our leaders know our mumu button, which is to blame the foreigner, which is why until the memo leaks we saw assorted social media accounts and even a few politicians, blaming MTN for what happened over the USSD issue. Now the memos show where the whole thing really originated from.

    The blame talk should not take our mind off what the real story is. Nigeria is in dire financial straits and rather than cutting down on their expenditure, our elite are looking to pass the costs of their hedonistic lifestyles to us, the people.

     

    • Nwanze is lead partner at financial advisory firm.

  • Pension complaints and solutions

    Pension fund contributors’ yields on N9.4trillion pension fund may soon drop, no thanks to thanks to a new policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), writes Omobola Tolu-Kusimo.

     

    YUSUF: I am Yusuf. My monthly pension is supposed to be more than N951.91. PTAD should please tell me the exact amount and the remaining arrears.

    PTAD: The issue of short payment of monthly pension. The pensioner served the Federal Government for one year three months 29 days on grade level 9 step 3. These are the parameters used in computing his pension and it was observed that he is not being short paid.

    FOLORUNSO: My name is Folorunso. I am an Ogun State pensioner with federal share. Since retirement in November 2006, the federal share of my gratuity and pension arrears between November 2006 and June 2010 have not been paid, despite verification, data submissions and appeals. I will be grateful if my case can be looked into and payments effected. Thank you.

    THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for  response from the Commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

    ZAKARI: Hello Omobola, my name is Zakari from Niger State. I am the next-of-kin, who sent SMS to seek your assistance to come between PTAD and I over the non-payment of my father’s death benefit since October 15, 2017 that I was verified by PTAD. I sincerely appreciate you and The Nation for your intervention because I have seen my complaint and response from PTAD in the newspaper. Since the publication, I have visited PTAD office in Abuja two times. After our verification in October 2017, PTAD scheduled verification for NITEL retirees and their next-of-kin on February 28, last year and it took PTAD some months before they finished the verification. Later, we heard that PTAD was about to pay the NITEL retirees and their next-of-kin, but we didn’t believe it until one of my friends, a next-of-kin, whose father is also dead received payment. I immediately travelled to Abuja to know why or how it is possible those who had their verification after us got their money before us. The response I got was that they only pay 500 next-of-kin of NITEL, but that they would pay us as soon as they received money from the Federal Government. This was between June and July, last year. This year, PTAD has abandoned our categories again and paid some next-of-kin of another organisation called Nigerian or National Savannah. I travelled again to Abuja and they still assured me that when they got money from Federal Government, they would pay us. Please help intervene again.

  • The brute

     

    He was not a kind man by all accounts. His biography intimidated many people by its sheer appeal to butchery. A man who knew Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in his younger days did not paint him as a lover of human company. “He was quiet and retiring…He spent time alone…no one really noticed him.” The man of terror did not enjoy a quiet death, was not alone but was noticed worldwide for his barbarism.

    Baghdadi was cornered by a commando raid of the United States Special Forces: The 75th Ranger Regiment and Delta Force. The target, according to reports, scurried away in a cowardly run with two of his children as he was chased by a vicious military dog into a cave where he detonated his suicide vest. The raid and suicide culminated a painstaking plan that involved other forces, including the Kurds. Combing air and ground sorties, the U.S. Special Forces, surrounded the zealot at his residence in Syria’s north eastern Idlib Province.

    U.S. President Donald Trump exhaled with a gloating tongue, saying he “died like a dog.” Baghdadi was a fierce man. He occasionally appeared for broadcast in his jihadist tunic and beard and eyes that shone with savage portent. His rhetoric was combative, iced over with contempt and bloodlust. He disguised his barbarism in a brand of Islam that celebrated all forms of human suffering. They included hacking, stoning, and burning of their victims, who were usually those who did not yield to their version of Islam, which harked back to a warped narrative of Islamic purity.

    This killing of Baghdadi happened barely eight years after another such villain, Osama Bin Laden, was despatched by U.S. Special forces in Pakistan, also after great and meticulous planning. Baghdadi had reacted to Osama’s death with a vow of vengeance. He was manically true to his word.

    Read Also: ISIS leader al-Baghdadi killed in U.S. operation in Syria

    The man who was quiet and retiring became, perhaps, the world’s most feared man. He was a serial rapist, and kept a harem of sex slaves. That was because he had seen himself as the head of a worldwide religious theocracy called the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

    He became the caliph once ISIL was launched. He challenged the powers of the world, and even the cultural liberalism of the west. In countries like the U.S., United Kingdom, France and even Belgium, the contours of ISIL’s map have stirred fear. The militants have captivated young men and women who travelled there as recruits of the caliphate’s army. There have been weddings among them while they struck their families back home with heartbreaks and bewilderment.

    ISIL under Baghdadi was not just a militia threat but also a cultural menace. As for its violence, the story was one of massive armies of occupation. They conquered territories after territories, organised kidnappings, executions, sexual predation, genocide, including the well-recorded story of the Yazidis. They made a flourish of their power in parading the victims on videos with graphic beheadings.

    He also took credits for bomb blasts and shootings of his followers in Europe, especially in France and Belgium, and struck fear to western self-comforts in their marquee spots of their cities. He expected to do more harm before he was killed. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al KashimialQurayshi, is little known, but he has boasted to continue the blood trails of his predecessor. The killing of leaders like Baghdadi tends to be no more than symbolic because he left behind a well-organised legacy of hate.

    That is why the celebration of his death is brief. But Nigeria ought to learn from the U.S. for its rigour of planning, discipline in execution and collaboration with forces that could help. We lack all these in the fight against Boko Haram, and that is why our fight is futile so far.

     

  • Tech innovators address pressing issues

    The 10 leading start-ups across Africa will be showcasing their solutions to some of the biggest challenges affecting the continent at the Startupbootcamp (SBC) AfriTech 2019 Demo Day.

    The event, which will hold tomorrow, is the culmination of another successful year for the first mentor-driven, multi-corporate backed accelerator programme for top-tier tech ventures in Africa.

    In a statement issued by the organisation, the start-ups that will show off their solutions spanning financial services, retail, agriculture, property, big data, commerce and more.

    These include Curacel Systems (Nigeria), the first health claims switch in the country. Powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) fraud detection solution that increases the efficiency of processing claims, it digitalises claims at hospitals and sends them directly to the health insurer.

    Read Also: Lagos empowers 3000 women with free skills, startup equipment

     

    Curacel saves companies up to 15 per cent of erroneous and fraudulent claims. Also from Nigeria is HouseAfrica Blockchain. It is s a Blockchain-based land registry that aggregates unique land titles and reduces the time it takes mortgage banks, lawyers and other stakeholders to query and register land titles. By providing an immutable ledger with visual map reference, HouseAfrica ensures the integrity of land titles and increases access to credit. Others are     Asilimia (Kenya)  that makes mobile money cheaper and easier to use for informal traders whilst rechanneling the transaction fees saved into critical services and products they couldn’t previously afford and access such as insurance;    Cinnamon Clubs (Uganda), helping the treasurers of savings and investment clubs to automate the bookkeeping of the transactions from members to and from the club and   Databotics (South Africa)  that opens up the power of robotic process automation to the small business  market. From automating lead generation to submitting tax, DataBotics is able to remove mundane and repetitive administrative tasks that plague almost any company across every industry.

    It include   Rentoza (South Africa) that has created a marketplace that enables people to rent premium goods through a low-cost model underwritten by product insurance, Snapslip Holdings (South Africa) that eradicates paper receipts by sending these receipts digitally to a customer’s profile, thereby giving the customer a digital receipting repository and   Survey54 (United Kingdom), a survey intelligence platform making market research easier within Africa and emerging markets.

    Yobante Express (Senegal), a web and mobile platform that connects e-commerce retailers, businesses and individuals with independent and casual couriers, that will handle deliveries from point to point and YouFarm (Zimbabwe) that provides farmers with access to collateral-free finance by getting people to invest in crops and livestock and share the profits with the farmers when the produce goes to market.

  • CIAN makes case for indigenous auctioneers

    The Certified Institute of Auctioneers of Nigeria (CIAN) said it has certified auctioneers to handle online and traditional auction in the line with best international practices.

    Its  Registrar, Mr. Hassan Adeleke, spoke with reporters in reaction to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC’s) effort to auction some items recovered in its anti-graft fight.

    Adeleke said the commission, under the leadership of Mr. Ibrahim Magu,  deserved commendations.

    When asked about the remark credited to Magu that the EFCC would invite non-Nigerians to assist the agency to sell off recovered assets, Adeleke said he believed that EFCC chairman was misquoted.

    He said: “CIAN wishes to place on record the appreciation of our institute about the effort of the Acting Chairman, EFCC Mr Ibrahim Magu and his team in the light against corruption and economic crimes in Nigeria.

    “We are however surprised about the statement credited to him in the nation newspaper of 1st November 2019 and some online newspapers that foreign auctioneers will be engaged to auction the pieces of jewellery and luxurious houses forfeited to the federal government as a result of court order made absolute against the former minister of petroleum resources as well as sales of other recovered assets within the purview of the commission. We want to believe that he was misquoted because, from our professional deduction of his pronouncement, he specifically stated ‘local and international collaboration to transparently dispose of all recovered assets by the Commission.”

    He said the group doesn’t believe the anti-graft chief is inviting foreign certified auctioneers to carry out an assignment which local certified auctioneers can do very well. We believe his assertion is simply that of collaboration.

    “Accordingly, the CIAN has capable and well-trained certified auctioneers who can handle the auction both online and traditionally in the line with the best international practice comparable to anywhere in the world.

    Mr. Adeleke said to sell these assets, particularly the houses located in different countries abroad, they believe valuers were engaged to determine their reserve prices.

    “Most countries all over the world use their local professionals to carry out this type of assignment not only for economic and security reasons but for proper accounting, monitoring and sanctions when the need arises.

    “How do you sanction foreign auctioneers?  The case of Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) is a pointer to all these. As a matter of fact, we have cases of cowboy auctioneers posing as international auctioneers. The Certified Auctioneers in Nigeria are traceable and accountable,” he said.

     

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    “For the first time in Nigeria, a public advertisement was made last year in many newspapers by the EFCC under the Acting chairman requesting the services of local Certified Auctioneers and many auctioneers were prequalified and shortlisted,” he said.

    The process was transparent and competitive among the local auctioneers. This process should be sustained by engaging local and well-trained Certified Auctioneers with international partnership and affiliation which is in no small measure will generate more foreign exchange and employment to the development of auction industry expertise in Nigeria.

    “In terms of international collaboration, The Certified Institute of Auctioneers Nigeria has a memorandum of understanding with the National Auctioneers Association [USA] National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers [UK] respectively.

    “Many members of the institute also have attended best auction courses such as Certified Auctioneers Institute [Indiana University ] Accredited Estate Auctioneers, Benefit Auctioneers, Certified Estate Specialists, Auction Technology, Auction Marketing Management and University of Ibadan Consultancy Services Advanced Diploma in Auctioneering”, he said.

    Adeleke added that with the strength of membership and professional competence of CIAN members, they in the best position to render any auction services in Nigeria and overseas and we are ready to partner with EFCC and other MDA’s to achieve best results in the interest of all Nigerians.

    “Specifically, you stated about local competent professionals with the capacity to carry out the traditional auction and e-auction technology in Nigeria, are these companies’ members of the Certified Institute of Auctioneers, Nigeria?

  • SMEs urged on technology adoption

    The co-founder, Lagos Startup Week, Olumide Olayinka, has appealed to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of technology to enhance their businesses and scale across multiple countries.

     

    He spoke at the 2019 Lagos Start up Week, held across the state and organised by Prime Start-up, Lagos Innovator, Alliance Francaise, Lagos and Africa’s Talking.

     

    Tagged Collaboration-Together, the event brought hundreds of entrepreneurs, innovators, Investors, developer, corporate and local leaders for a full week of learning and networking.

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    He said the world is changing and technology is no longer an industry but the underlying driver of change and innovation for every business everywhere.

     

    For instance, he said SMES with  e-commerce stores can easily scale across countries. He noted that collaboration is the new competition in Africa and across the world as its enable business owners build lasting and sustainable businesses.

     

    He said the commitment of the Lagos Week Start-up is to foster entrepreneurship across Africa.

  • CBN ban on OMO threatens N9.4tr pension investment returns

    The exercise of the discretionary power of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to regulate the economy may soon have a negative impact on the country’s N9.4 trillion pension funds.

    The CBN had, in a circular signed by its Director, Financial Markets Department, Angela Sere-Ejembi, directed  banks to exclude individuals and local corporates from investing in Open Market Operations (OMO) auctions with effect from October 23, this year.

    The development is expected to drive foreign inflows by restricting individuals and local corporates, leaving only the banks and foreign investors to participate at the auction.

    Before now, pension fund operators had always invested 70 per cent of the total pension fund in treasury bills, an investment window that has now been shut by the CBN.

    The operators are in a dilemma as to where to invest that could be considered as safe as investing in Federal Government securities.

    Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) President, Mrs. Aderonke Adedeji, who spoke at the PenOp’s yearly media seminar in Lagos over the weekend, stated that the return on investments (RoI) would be affected even as investment risks become very obvious.

    PenOp is the umbrella body for Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

    She also expressed concern that it has become a challenge for the operators to continue to find investment channel.

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    She said before now, CBN had expanded its operation on the OMO issuance by allowing local corporates to participate in the market.

    She said the PFAs found investment in treasury bills safe with fair yields and had invested heavily in the market.

    Adedeji added: “Within the period that CBN had allowed us participate in the market, investment in treasury bills moved from about $2trillion to $17trillion, with local corporates accounting for between $5trillion and $7trillion while foreign investment accounted for $5trillion to $6 trillion.

    “Overall issuance of OMO far outstrips what the Debt Management Office (DMO) issues in local treasury bills and we are heavily invested in the market. But with the new directive, it means that we are not able to participate in the market going forward and this has a number of limitations for PFAs.

    “The first is when those monies mature over the next 12 months, where do we go to. The development will expose us to major investment risks as those treasury bills mature. We know that rates have come down significantly as a result of the new restriction which is what the CBN wants to achieve so that hopefully borrowing rates will drop as well and banks will then be forced to lend to local corporates and use that to stimulate the economy. But on the other hand, it puts us in a difficult position where we ultimately will learn how to in the absence of other windows, invest this money. Perhaps give the banks the money as deposit for them. It’s a difficult time that we as PFAs are in and we need to find other avenues to invest the money.

    “Ultimately, it means sometime soon, we will see return figures for the PFAs on Retirement Savings Account holders (pension contributors) reflect this fact. The return will go down. It also means that investment risks become very obvious as we begin to feel the impact. We are hopeful that as CBN reduces the issuance of OMO bills than perhaps to DMOs then it will give us the opportunity to participate within the space again.”

    She further stated that it had remained a challenge for them to continue to find investment channel.

    “We have a situation where our economy is growing but in terms of investment instrument, the market is still not as deep as what we will like to see. So, our funds are growing but there isn’t enough diversification in terms of what we can do with the resources.

    “It is something that we need to keep going to the drawing board. If we had a situation where the economy is growing a lot faster, I think we will see a lot more instrument and investment innovation,” she added.

    But the pension regulatory body, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), thinks differently.

    For PenCom, the development puts to test the professional investement capacity of the PFAs.

    PenCom Head, Corporate Communication, Peter Aghahowa said the Commission believes the PFAs are professionals in terms of investment.

    “So, if one outlet closes, there are other outlets in line with the pension investment guideline. This is where professionalism comes to play. Yes, one area that has high yields by the regulation of CBN has been affected.

    “But from our point of view, we don’t think it is much of a problem. It only calls to test now, the professionalism investment department of the PFAs. We believe that there is capacity to ensure that we get fair returns from the investments. The whole idea for CBN is about liquidity management,” he added.