The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Teachers trained on substance abuse prevention

    Teachers trained on substance abuse prevention

    Teachers in Lagos have been trained on the prevention of substance abuse in school.

    The training is facilitated by the Global Initiative on Substance Abuse (GISA).

    Director and Head Child Guidance, School Counselling and Special Education, Mrs Olusola Somoye, who represented the Lagos Commissioner for Education, praised the group for its efforts towards ending drug abuse in school.

    She spoke at the opening of the second batch of a six-day training of secondary school teachers on evidence-based substance use prevention.

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    Somoye said: “We are excited that beyond the training of teachers on substance use prevention, mechanisms have been put in place to monitor the application of knowledge and skills in the respective schools. This is highly commendable and worthy of emulation.”

    Somoye said the problem of substance abuse concerns everyone and advised participants to be committed to this course for a better society.

    GISA Founder/Executive Director, Dr Martin Agwogie, said the training was to equip the school functionaries with the required tools for substance use prevention interventions in the school setting.

    Agwogie noted that the training was one of the first and most comprehensive evidence-based substances use prevention training ever organised for secondary school personnel in Nigeria.

  • I prefer training constituents, says lawmaker

    I prefer training constituents, says lawmaker

    The Chairman, House Committee on Science Research Institutes and the member representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency, Mr. Musiliu Akinremi, has said giving motorcycles, clippers, grinding machines and other items as a form of empowerment is not the best way to empower constituents.

    He spoke in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, while addressing reporters after a town hall meeting with his constituents and graduation of over 250 constituents, who were trained in vocational fields.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker said politicians should find ways to assist their constituents, to rid the country of poverty.

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    He said the best way to allow them feel the impact of their representatives is to equip them with vocational training, which will make them to become financially independent.

    “Since I became Ibadan North Federal Constituency legislator in 2019, I have purchased the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) forms for 1, 045 students. Training people in how to make money is one of the best ways I am talking about.

    “Our training centre for women and young ladies in Ibadan North Federal Constituency will soon be ready for inauguration,” Akinremi said.

     

  • NCC seeks increased reading culture

    NCC seeks increased reading culture

    By Damola Kola-Dare

    The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has called for the promotion of reading culture, especially amongst children and young persons.

    This, it said, would contribute to national development.

    Its Director-General, Mr John Asein, said the theme of this year’s event points to the role of books as veritable tools of development.

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    Asein, represented by a director, Mr Mathew Ojo, said: “Authors, publishers, printers, booksellers, teachers, librarians and readers are stakeholders in the industry.

    “Books educate, enlighten, entertain and equip individuals to function better and contribute significantly to the social, economic and political development of a nation.

    “For books to contribute meaningfully to development, they must not only be well written and published but must also be made readily available.”

    Asein said reading would help build children’s character and assist them in imbibing the core values that society cherishes.

     

  • Lagos to ensure noiseless environment

    Lagos to ensure noiseless environment

    By Tajudeen Adebanjo

    The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) has reiterated its determination at ensuring noiseless environment through the implementation of the relevant laws against noise polluters.

    Its General Manager, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, during a webinar session to mark the International Noise Awareness Day (1NAD), described noise as an essential component of urban development that cannot be totally eliminated, but can be controlled to an acceptable level.

    According to her, the government was disposed to right of individuals to the religion of choice but with total consideration and respect for the right of others to a reasonably quiet environment and peaceful living.

    She said all activities aiding disunity, disaffection and chaos amongst the residents must be totally shunned.

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    She attributed the increase in noise pollution in the state to the springing up of illegal buildings and indiscriminate conversion of residential properties to religious/leisure use.

    “Our measures to regulate noise shall include discouraging use of noisy generators, sirens, vehicle horns in certain places and loudspeakers in public places. Also, to ensure new entertainment and religious facilities are soundproofed before granting approvals,” she said.

    Declaring the event open, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Environmental services, Mrs. Belinda Odeneye, hailed LASEPA for not relenting to bequeath to the people a friendly and conducive an environment devoid of environmental hazards.

    She called for corporation and support of all in the fight against noise pollution as the government alone cannot do it.

  • Instant water heater range hits market

    Instant water heater range hits market

    By Folake Olaoni

    A new range of affordable instant water heater has been introduced into the Nigerian market.

    Launched by Ariston Thermo Heating Technology Nigeria Limited, a member of the Ariston Thermo Group, the Ariston Aures delivers a smooth and fast hot water experience.

    The Group’s Central Africa Director Gaurav Bisaria said the new Aures range was borne out of a vision of delivering sustainable comfort.  He said the heater will meet the needs of homes that do not have the hot and cold pipes required for the installation of the storage water heaters.

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    Bisaria said Aures, which is available in different power options (up to 36KW), comes with instant heating technology for unlimited hot water at a hyper-speed.

    “Aures is the fastest way to provide unlimited hot water whenever you need it, for comfort and good bathing experience.

    “One unique benefit of Aures electric instant water heaters is that the hot water is delivered instantaneously and maintains a constant temperature all through the duration of a bath,” he said.

     

  • Consortium promises better value on oil assets

    Consortium promises better value on oil assets

    By Joseph Jibueze, Deputy News Editor

    The Kaztec Engineering Limited and Salvic Petroleum Resources consortium yesterday promised to make the oil mining leases (OMLs) 123, 124, 126 and 137 more valuable to Nigeria if allowed to operate them.

    They stated that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) deserved praise for doing due diligence and following relevant laws in making them the choice operators of the assets.

    The OMLs, operated by Addax Petroleum under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was revoked in March by the DPR due to non-development of the assets by Addax.

    President Muhammadu Buhari overruled the DPR by cancelling the revocation of the assets and mandating the regulator to restore them to the NNPC, Addax’s contractual partner.

    The consortium said in a statement: “We intend to maximise the potential of the assets to ensure that the government and people of Nigeria reap their full benefits against the backdrop of the ongoing energy transition.

    “In addition to optimising production, the consortium intends to deepen relationships with local communities, boost local content in all its ramifications and increase the employment and training of Nigerians, directly and indirectly.”

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    Praising DPR, the Kaztec/Salvic consortium said their being chosen to manage the assets accorded with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010.

    “Under the Act, seasoned Nigerian independent operators like Kaztec and Salvic are to be given first consideration in the award of oil blocks and oil field licenses,” the companies said.

    They said they were chosen for their familiarity with the assets, noting that DPR proactively took concrete steps to boost the revenue accruing to the government from these underperforming assets.

    Kaztec, with vast experience in offshore and onshore petroleum exploration and production, had collaborated with the previous operator on the assets for many years.

    The consortium said the DPR also directed them to engage wth Addax for an amicable resolution of all issues, including a commercial settlement if needed.

    The companies were required to operate the OMLs under a PSC with NNPC; pay a Good and Valuable Consideration (GVC) of $340 million at the commencement of the PSC, and develop the significant oil resources that had been lying fallow to ramp up production, among others.

    The consortium said there had been no new investments in the assets, resulting in a production decline to 25,000 BPD and a significant drop in revenue accruing to the Federal Government.

  • Collateral lawlessness

    Collateral lawlessness

    Hardball

    There is something galling about loss – material or more – suffered at the hands of people who are neither identifiable for personal liability nor available to be held accountable for damage done. And some motorists must have felt that way early this week in Ojoo, Lagos, when members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and commercial motorcycle (Okada) operators clashed over ticketing tariff.

    Sporadic gunshots rent the air and missiles were freely used on Monday at the Iyana Iba / Alaba Rago market area of the Lagos suburb as members of the transport union and commercial motorcyclists, mainly Hausa-speaking, squared off in supremacy of brigandage. Reports said what began as a mild standoff rapidly degenerated with use of dangerous weapons, amidst insinuations that an ethnic conflict was underway. The fracas, according to eyewitnesses, ensued when the commercial motorcyclists rallied to protest harassment by the NURTW members after one of them was brutalised (some accounts said killed) over ticketing by agents of the union, which had raised its levy on Okada riders in the area – a move the motorcyclists resisted.

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    For over an hour, the motorcyclists blocked the Lagos-Badagry expressway with burning tyres, wielding cudgels and machetes to attack defiant motorists and hapless passers-by. Some commercial buses that dared the barricades had their wind screens smashed. Commercial establishments in the precincts hurriedly closed shop, with the operators fleeing for safety. The fracas, which started around Iyana Iba, spread to the gates of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojoo where vehicles parked by owners were wantonly vandalised by the rampaging motorcyclists. Video footages on social media showed the mob smashing those vehicles, unchallenged or restrained by security agents seen in the vicinity.

    The Lagos State police command subsequently denied that the clash had ethnic intent, arguing it was rather “a mere conflict between transport unions and their Okada units on ticketing and increment in tariff.” A statement by the command’s spokesperson said Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu had ordered deployment of additional police personnel in the area to maintain law and order, adding that he also directed the relevant Area Commander to “invite leaders of the affected Okada riders unit for an urgent meeting.”

    It is obvious that the police’s concern is to reach a negotiated truce between the feuding groups, which is fine to foster peace. But why should aggrieved motorcyclists wantonly vandalise vehicles parked by owners who had nothing to do whatsoever with the ticketing dispute? There should be accounting for such collateral lawlessness, shame that the police doesn’t seem interested. In any event, it is high time there was firm regulatory oversight on the transport union’s tariff system and enforcement, otherwise another fracas, perhaps in another area, may not be too far away.

     

     

  • Vacuum abhorred!

    Vacuum abhorred!

    By Segun Gbadegesin

    From Aristotelian theory of physics and modern theory of spiritualism, we may infer a theory of social and political life with insecurity as its signpost. Its central thesis is that insecurity is a function of the vacuum created by weak leadership, inadequate structures and policies that neglect the welfare of citizens, especially the youth. Simplistic in its formulation, its appeal is its explanatory import.

    In one of his most interesting theories, the Master of Those Who Know, observe that there cannot be an empty space in nature because for every such potential void, there is matter to fill it up. Nature abhors a vacuum. We know, of course, that later theorists refute this theory. But Aristotle’s proposition soon took on a life of its own and it has since become a popular idiom in psychology, spiritualism, business and yes, politics.

    Consider spiritualism. If we have a tripartite nature comprising body, soul, and spirit as many worldviews, including our traditional offerings suggest, then all three need to be catered to. And since we tend to prioritize the spiritual for various reasons, including personal worries about the unknown, it is not a surprise that we have grown a thriving industry to serve this need.

    But where and when moderation takes a flight, and we sense a void that is not satisfied by existing spiritual agencies, that void will be filled up quickly with the emergence of extremist and fake tendencies. Thus, cults and violent jihadists. A free society with a liberal posture to the expression of spiritual values, but limited interest in the development of the mind, is therefore susceptible to this destructive urge.

    That our society has little to no interest in the development of the mind is not a creepy observation. Our colonial and first republic experience was far more positive in the matter of a laser focus on education. The federal and regional budgets devoted a healthy attention to education and this translated into great achievements which also guaranteed us an efficient civil service, productive private enterprise and responsible governance structures.

    Now, turn to every HDI in the last 20 years and you’d be sorry for the children that we are bringing up. The 2020 figure of 0.539 which classifies us as one of the lowest in the world was the highest since 2003. This gives us a good idea of what has been the lot of our children. Without opportunities of a normal life, a void is created and nature abhors a void. Something somehow must fill the void. Cultism beckons. They answer.

    This is really what feeds into every cycle of angst in social life and we seem to have no grip on how to get out of it. The minds that we refuse to develop and equip with sellable productive skills will be available for destructive ventures. Ancestral wisdom teaches us as much: the child that we refuse to train will end up auctioning off the house that we build. While we are proud of our undistracted focus on infrastructural development, hoodlums with their minds set on making quick bucks of the expensive gadgets are busy formulating their plans. It’s already happening.

    One face of insecurity, its root cause, is the society’s abandonment of its social responsibility of educating the youth functionally and qualitatively and instead leaving them to fend for themselves. The other face is society’s neglect of its responsibility to provide adequate security for members. It’s a no brainier. If you refuse to do your part to develop your children so they can live responsibly and contribute positively to social life, then at least be sure you secure yourself firmly so your peace is not shattered by those you refuse to train. This we refuse to do. So, what do we really expect?

    I know. Someone will be quick to tell me that there is crime in every society, including the most advanced. And it includes crimes committed by the most developed minds. True indeed! What makes the difference between ours and such societies is that they have a well-developed security and crime-bursting system while we fail on both scores. The rate of unsolved crimes in such societies is negligible compared to ours. And because of our lack, the vacuum thus created is easily filled. How?

    With a weak intelligence and crime bursting system, corrupt officials are quick to fill the void, creating a graft industry that feeds on the innocent and denies them of justice. This also has its repercussions as frustrated citizens handicapped in the system seek other means. Jungle justice is born out of such frustration. It is easily predictable.

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    Bandits, kidnappers and killer herdsmen flaunt their AK-47s unchallenged. They invade farms, schools and residential neighborhoods, cowing their victims into submission. This may trigger a response from daredevil avengers with a mission, thus filling the vacuum. And they may be joined by hoodlums who have nothing to lose. It’s happening before our very eyes and we are at a loss. But we created the void.

    Our response thus far has been to create more official terror as a counter to what we consider to be illegal sources of the terror inflicted on citizens. It has not worked because even in this effort, we create huge vacuum. We pump funds into the weapons industry for use of police and soldiers but a fraction of such funds get used for the purpose.

    To avoid the anarchy of the state of nature, in which the vacuum created by an absence of a competent authority is filled by warring groups competing for scarce resources, we created government represented by the state. We reject monarchical institutions in favor of a democratic republic that is expected to cater for the social, economic, and security needs of all. But we know that the spirit of anarchy that exists in the state of nature still lurks around the state. With competent leadership, the threat of anarchy remains subdued. However, with weak leadership, a vacuum is created, and anarchical tendencies quickly rally to fill the void. This is happening.

    National unity is our buzz word. We invoke it at every opportunity as evidence of our patriotic zeal. We deplore ethnic and tribal sympathies. Surprisingly, we fail to recognize that while the latter are the first sentiments we are oriented into and they don’t need much help to be operationalized, supranationalism beyond ethnic nationalism requires hard work with a leadership that is above board. That is, a leadership that is seen as playing the role of a supranationalist without being a closet ethnic nationalist. When this is missing, a vacuum is created in national life and ethnicity quickly moves in. This is happening.

    How does a progressive government respond to this phenomenon? The success of progressivism in the last years of colonialism and the first few years of independence in this country is a pointer in the right direction for an answer to this question. Progressivism is people-centered, placing them above structures and materials. Their welfare is prioritized and the development of their mind is number one on its agenda. A progressive government that abandons this model is so only in name.

    In terms of policies, we have failed the generation of youths roaming round our cities. Take education as an example. We are granting more and more university licenses even though millions of our youths are rejected admission and we have no other avenues for them to advance. We are not even providing the budget needed to make these universities operate optimally. And we are training students to become worthless graduates who cannot complete in the marketplace of skills.

    Yet we neglect to invest in youths’ acquisition of middle level skills that can trigger development in the technological-information age. The federal government can lead efforts in technological education with the establishment of technical schools as we used to have in the first republic. If we do, we would absorb from the streets high school graduates with no prospects of university admission, whose eyes are now so deviously set on cultism and other crimes. We will fill the void with useful and productive ventures.

    Just a thought!

  • LCCI to Fed Govt: expunge security from exclusive list

    LCCI to Fed Govt: expunge security from exclusive list

    By Okwy Iroegbu­-Chikezie

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) has advised the executive arm of government to liaise with the legislative arm to take security out of the exclusive list of the Constitution and fix it in the concurrent list for efficiency.

    Its President, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, in a statement, said the impact of the security crisis on the economy remains profound and multi-dimensional.

    She said: “The crisis has crippled many private and public investments across the nation. Several businesses and investors in affected areas are counting their losses. Many households have lost their means of livelihoods, while some have been displaced.”

    On the impact on agriculture, she said many farmlands across the country, especially in the North and Middle Belt, have been destroyed.

    According to her, these have severe implications for food production and food distribution from farms to markets.

    “We recognise insecurity as a major driver of the persistent increase in food inflation in recent years. The worsening security situation will trigger further inflationary pressure on food prices thus exacerbating the poverty conditions in the country.

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    “This alarming state of insecurity in the country has hampered movement of goods, services, and persons across the country, with implications for agriculture, agro-allied services, trade and commerce especially in affected areas.

    Transportation & logistics sector, hospitality and allied investments, education, construction, and real estate have been severely impacted by the crisis”.

    Speaking on investors’ confidence, the LCCI chief said the crisis projects the economy as an unsafe investment destination, and if unaddressed, would thwart government’s efforts in encouraging private investment inflows into the economy at a time the economy is in dire need of massive investments to bolster growth recovery, create jobs and alleviate poverty.

    “We note that investors’ confidence had been weak before the covid-19 outbreak, and many investors still see the Nigerian market as a risky venture despite the oil price recovery, vaccination dissemination and growth recovery. We believe confidence will remain weak in the short-term if the situation does not abate,” she said.

    Mabogunje said the worsening security situation also impacts the fiscal position of government by making policymakers incur unplanned and unbudgeted security-related expenditure at the detriment of infrastructural development expenditure.  She reiterated that it could worsen 2021 actual fiscal deficit levels amid fragility in revenue growth from oil and non-oil sources.

    On the way forward, she stressed that it is critically important to have this challenge urgently resolved so that the pervasive fear and anxiety inflicted by the fear of insecurity can come to end.

    She canvassed the decentralization of the security eco-system, adding that it would enable other levels of government take key security-related decisions and initiatives within their domain.

    The sub nationals need to play more active roles in the restoration of peace in our country through the creation of a security machinery and architecture that would be controlled by them, subject of course to certain guidelines, especially regarding the rules of engagement.

    She also suggested the need to ensure a concrete and sustainable means of reducing youth unemployment rate through youth employment schemes and programmes as there is a strong correlation between unemployment and criminality.

  • Osinbajo: We’re working to prioritise investment in agriculture

    Osinbajo: We’re working to prioritise investment in agriculture

    By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

    The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), yesterday said Nigeria is prioritising innovation and technology investments in agriculture so as to transform the sector by attracting young people and scale up productivity.

    According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Mr Laolu Akande, Osinbajo stated this in a remark he delivered virtually at the 2021 High-Level Dialogue on Feeding Africa.

    The event is organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CGIAR System Organisation with the theme “Feeding Africa: leadership to scale up successful innovations.”

    Highlighting the programmes of the government to ensure agricultural transformation in Nigeria, Prof. Osinbajo listed the Economic Sustainability Plan, National Livestock Transformation Plan and  Green Imperative Project, among other initiatives.

    He said: “At the heart of Nigeria’s post COVID-19 recovery plan, or what we describe as our Economic Sustainability Plan is an Agriculture for Food and Jobs Plan (AFJP) where we seek to leverage suitable technologies to build a resilient food system for Nigeria especially in the light of the economic, health and food supply chain devastations caused by the pandemic. Implementation is well underway and we have quite a few impressive results already.”

    Further, the Vice President said during the COVID lockdowns, “we trained and deployed over 34,000 young graduates all over the country, covering over 8,000 local government wards in 774 local government areas. Each of these young men and women had a locally developed app on smartphones and electronic tablets to digitally register farmers and map out their farm GIS coordinates.

    “So, we have registered and mapped about 6 million small-holder farmers to their farmlands and we are also currently collecting 200,000 composite soil samples from these farms to be analyzed in 22 local soil laboratories to guide local fertilizer blending”, he said.

    Continuing, Osinbajo said “on the back of the farmer-farm database which we developed, we are creating a digital Agriculture Exchange Programme (AgExchange), working with the Alliance Rabobank and MasterCard in collaboration with some local FinTech companies. These FinTech companies (FarmCrowdy, Infinera, CropIT) are run by young Nigerians.

    “The AgExchange will be an ecosystem or one-stop-shop for providing a range of services and products to small-holder farmers such as real-time e-subsidies, credit-connect by providing credit score of farmers on the platform and linking them to financiers, insurance services, market place services for connecting producers, aggregators and off-takers based on competitive market prices. Input suppliers, weather, pests, and disease indexing services will be provided on the exchange as well. The budget for the Agriculture for Food and Jobs Plan AFJP is $1.5billion.”

    On the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), Prof Osinbajo noted that the focus is on “transiting gradually from nomadic system of cattle production to the more sedentary method of ranching. This will involve training pastoralists in new ways of producing and rearing cattle sustainably to address the challenges of resource-based violent conflicts between crop farmers and cattle herders, and the generally low milk and beef productivity of indigenous cattle breeds.”

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    The Vice President explained that “an indigenous technology company has developed a microchip for tracking the cattle and we are working on a pilot project with one of our development partners – the Netherlands government.”

    “All the energy on the ranches will be from biogas from cattle dung and solar power. The ranch will be an integration of crops, pasture, and trees. The crops for the need of the pastoral household, the trees to fight desertification and enhance carbon sequestration rather than emission.

    “Funding for this is from budgets of the Federal and State governments and bilateral support from development partners such as the Netherlands. The initial sum is in the order of 280 million USD,” he added.

    Regarding the Green Imperative Project (GIP), the Vice President said that the €995 million, a 5-year project which is funded by the Import/Export Bank of Brazil (BDES) with support from Deutsche Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and others, will aim at agriculture technology transfer from Brazilian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Research and Training Institutes to Nigeria’s entrepreneurs, Research Institutes and businesses.

    “The project involves the reactivation of dormant or partially operational privately owned agricultural equipment, assembly plants, establish 632 privately-owned primary production support service centers to sell farm mechanization services to smallholder and commercial farmers to address low productivity issues.

    “Part of the plan also is the establishment of 142 privately owned agro-processing service centres which will be to address post-harvest losses, path to market and supply chain challenges, and train about 100,000 new extension agents to address farmer advisory service delivery challenges with new technology and practice adoption”, he said.

    “An important feature of our strategy is encouraging our young techprenuers into agriculture and AGRO services and we are enjoying some success with the technology for our AGRO exchange, and our Central Bank is also licensing FinTech companies using mobile technology platforms.

    “Some of them have been able to give non-collateral credit using credit scoring algorithms to determine credit worthiness of farmers. This is a very important part of our whole financial inclusion project because these FinTech companies are able to reach farmers practically anywhere, rate them using their credit scoring algorithms and get credits across to them in many of the far-flung areas,” the VP explained.

    Other African leaders who spoke at the event included President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo; President of Senegal, Macky Sall; President of Mali, Bah N’Daw; President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré; Prime Minister of Sudan, Dr. Abdalla Hamdok; President, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde; Prime Minister of Sudan, Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, among others.

    Other speakers included President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina; Former UK Prime Minister, and Executive Chairman of the Institute for Global Change, Mr Tony Blair; President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gilbert F. Houngbo and the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on 2021 Food Systems Summit, Ms Agnes Kalibata, among others.