The Nation Newspaper

Category: Cartoon

  • Using the arts to improve learning the sciences

    Polly Alakija

    SIR: Experts in education and technology have continually said that the major problem in the oil and gas and other engineering sectors is the lacking human resource to drive growth. GE’s 2017 skills gap report on Nigeria’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors revealed a consensus from CEOs and HR managers that there is not enough for the skills they require. Research has shown that the challenge starts at the primary and secondary levels of education. Students lose interest in STEM courses for fear of failing from difficulty in learning and limited financial access.

    In Nigeria, the average expected years of schooling is 10 years, covering only primary and secondary education. About 15 million children are out of school, primarily because their parents cannot afford the tuition, amongst other things. Primary school completion rate, according to data available from Takwimu Africa, is currently at 66%.  Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) takes note of the challenges with the education system, especially limited access to and quality of basic education, limited provision of STEM education; inadequate facilities at all levels of education; and lack of structured and quality programmes for technical education. These issues, if not urgently resolved, may limit Nigeria’s capacity to actively participate in the future of work.

    The challenges of Nigeria’s education system seem enormous and almost impossible to completely address, and the woes of poor governance in Nigeria have been the topic of many debates and discussions. While valid, these debates have taken our attention of the more important issue –removing the obstacles that make our society less habitable for future generations – a feat that can only be achieved through collaboration for sustainable development. With the right partnerships, we can eliminate the barriers to quality education and prepare the next generation for the future of work.

    Across Nigeria, development actors are working tirelessly to bridge the gaps across critical areas of education. Five Cowries Initiative is one of such programmes deploying a different approach to addressing education needs, in order to change this narrative. The Nigeria-focused education programme is working in partnership with Teach For Nigeria (TFN) and other partners, within the private and public sectors, to introduce creative, arts-based teaching methods and resources to improve school attendance and outcomes, for participation in STEM courses. Children are taught that learning is fun, and they can have their own voice, which is important for increased self-esteem and decision making. The Five Cowries Initiative supports 2,000 children each year, in collaboration with its other dedicated partners locally and internationally, to deliver programmes that improve education and engage children with issues of social and global impact – from conservation, citizenship, and health, to migration, new technologies and pollution.

    In partnership with Forte Oil, Five Cowries is using the arts to improve learning in the sciences. The partners commissioned ‘My Story of Energy’ early in 2019 to encourage STEM participation. Through the visual arts, students learn the basics of science and its import for day-to-day activities within nature and the environment. Through the project, Forte Oil and Five Cowries provide teachers with on-the-job training to help introduce arts-based teaching methodologies, while also providing the materials needed, and which the schools cannot afford to provide. Participating children from public schools in Lagos State, take part in science projects, and are challenged to showcase their learnings through artworks painted on the walls of Forte Oil’s petroleum stations. At the end of the programmes, the students receive certificates as marks of achievement, which they can show to parents to encourage willingness and support for their children’s continued education.

    While this seems peculiar as an instance, the principle remains the same – collective effort that leverages existing technology and resources, is critical for solving developmental issues. Without individual or organisational partnerships, we may be unable to reach the hard-to-reach areas or achieve our objectives, talk-less of surpassing them. As a result, while private partnerships cannot and should not be a replacement for governance, it can be a stop-gap to provide some of the much needed resources required to give children the opportunity at an education.

    • Polly Alakija, Lagos

  • Lagos and prospect of waste-free future

    Muyiwa Gbadegesin

     

    Just recently, we introduced the Blue Box initiative – a waste collection programme designed to help residents sort recyclable waste from the source; that is, at the point where an item or material is considered waste. This eliminates the landfill process for recyclables, and we see this as a long term step by step and collaborative approach, to engage with the everyday Lagosian in our journey to a sustainable waste-free environment.

    Waste management is generally an inclusive practice which requires active participation and cooperation from individuals and the government, both driving a 2-way agenda to ensure a cleaner Lagos. It is important for people to understand the consequences of uncontrolled waste, as it could be very costly to both the society and the economy with significant health and environmental impacts linked to air, soil and water contamination.

    The global waste management outlook report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) identifies waste as a global issue which concerns everyone and also studies how society consumes and produces waste especially in the urban areas. Here, effective waste management is seen as a basic human need, sitting alongside the provision of potable water, shelter, food, energy, transport and other social amenities. This lays emphasis on how important the effective management of waste can greatly impact productivity and economic prosperity both from global and local levels.

    According to research, Nigeria is one of the largest waste producers in Africa, with an annual waste generation of more than 32million tons. For Lagos State which is highly industrialised and one of the fastest growing cities in Nigeria and Africa with about 22million people, we generate about 10,000 metric tons of waste daily, which makes an average of 3.65million tons per year. This means that more than any other state in Nigeria, the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) has a responsibility to ensure that waste is managed appropriately, especially starting from the household and family levels. Till date, we have increased private sector participation (PSP) by 32%, expanding access in the waste collection and transportation systems across Lagos State.

    Looking at the direct impact of improper waste management, this can be linked to two major aspects – public health and environmental pollution. Accumulated waste encourages organisms to breed, causing infectious and bacterial diseases especially for children. It also affects drinking water and can cause a widespread cholera outbreak, popular in some of the rural areas within Lagos. For the environment, this poses a serious threat to surface and groundwater, investors and tourist activities.

    Effective waste management collection, transportation and disposal processes, with the help of LAWMA and the PSPs, have become a very simplified procedure. First and most importantly, residents are encouraged to reduce activities associated with waste production, so that we can see a significant decrease in the amount of waste generated daily. Then it is also necessary for accumulated waste to be properly sealed and disposed in the waste storage materials provided by our agency across Lagos. Once this is done, the collection and transportation by the PSPs to the local landfills becomes a very straightforward and effective process and the cycle continues.

    While we continue to work to ensure our environment is clean and healthy, we must emphasise the need for an urgent shift in attitudes towards waste disposal by residents across Lagos State. Indiscriminate refuse disposal practices have proved to cause severe problems in our efforts to sustaining a waste free society. In managing this, we have involved in several educational waste management programmes like the Community Advocacy and CDA/CDC Interaction, to create awareness on how we all have a role to play in keeping the environment healthy. The state of our environment is an integral part of the quality of life we receive as humans. A cleaner environment inherently contributes to better livelihood for us, our children and many generations to come.

    As an organisation, our mandate is to ensure a more secure, clean and prosperous state. Our vision is to build a smart city which was a strong objective in the development of this initiative with components such as Residential Waste Collection and Processing, Commercial/ Industrial Waste Collection, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Drainage Maintenance, Provision of Engineered/ hazardous Sanitary Landfill and Manual/ Mechanised Street Sweeping.

    Through this initiative, LAWMA have successfully introduced 62 compactors, more than 380 waste bins, with over 600 community sanitation workers. Some of our results so far have been significant.

    In our journey to building the future of a sustainable waste free environment for all, we have prioritised recycling, positioning it at the top of the agenda. We are challenged as a government to invest in solid waste recycling, exporting biodegradable waste which can be processed to high quality agricultural manure and other raw materials for several industries. Plastic wastes have also proven to generate wealth through recycling in the production of home and other domestic reusable items.

    Recycling also creates jobs and in a broader sense, it is a significant contributor to our economy through the foreign exchange earnings associated with exporting waste. Small, medium to large scale companies are gradually exploring new ways on how to generate wealth from waste which buttresses our efforts at LAWMA in ensuring that waste collection can be simplified with initiatives such as the Blue Box, to help people sort waste for recycling.

    Socio economically, the state of our health and well-being affects the level of productivity which can either be positive or negative. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation, and we can only come together to build a sustainable and healthy environment if we collaborate to effectively manage the disposal, collection, transportation and recycling of our waste.

    We must ensure a cleaner Lagos with how we manage waste and we must begin to see the future of a waste-free Lagos, driving us to the future of a smart city. A cleaner Lagos is a better Lagos, and we remain optimistic about sustaining our environment, driving foreign direct investment and maintaining our position as one of the largest commercial hubs in Africa and the world.

    With natural disasters occurring across the world, partly as a result of environmental abuse, it should be considered a wise option for everyone to have a rethink about our attitude to the environment. It is whatever we give to the environment that it gives back to us. It is that simple!

    Dr. Gbadegesin is Chief Executive Officer, LAWMA

     

  • Human rights? Let us think!

    Asiwaju Deji Fasuan MON, JP Ado Ekiti.

    SIR: The hysterics and tone are unbelievable; the whole media are engulfed in it. Most professionals, lawyers, human rights pretenders make the headlines.

    It is as if Nigeria was at the war front, facing equally menacing opponents. Even otherwise respectable legal minds are daily competing with noise makers and street handouts to protest unwarranted assault on human rights. It all looks like the last days of colonization when the British imperialists were packing out of Nigeria.

    What is all this about? It is about a conflict between a politician and some law enforcement agents. It is about display of raw power and authority.

    It is about professionals who want to show their indispensability in our society. But this country has outgrown these childish street displays.

    We need to know some facts. Some political arithmetic. Our man, the focus of all the encounter, a bonafide Nigerian, nursed ambition to bid for the highest position in the land.

    He legitimately put himself up, contesting as a presidential candidate of a lawful political party. He was not denied the chance to bid nor was there any encumbrances placed on his way.

    He went to the polls and scored close to 48,000 votes as a presidential candidate. Several others made the bid, scoring such varying, some would say ridiculous figures.

    The highest in the contest made the millions. That is democracy. Nobody went to the streets, blocking main roads and calling for hell to descend down on the country.

    The one who felt cheated or whose votes have been stolen went to court and the courts told him he was wrong.

    It is then not surprising that one who is at the very bottom of the league feels so badly that he could invite disaster and mayhem on a nation that has deprived him of its leadership?

    If he feels so, why must all of us rush to the streets, proclaiming disaster and mayhem ….? More importantly, why should a government or its organs fold their hands as if the world around is serene and safe?

    Our democracy is working. All elements and layers of the polity are functioning. But we have to note a section of the society or organ of the democratic system should not be blackmailed-on the altar of free speech or freedom of association.

    Some of these displays we witness on the television nearly every night are certainly uncalled for. These acts do not belong to this age.

    The actors and perpetuators know themselves. You can continue to make good names without giving cheap or making scenes that will attract funny ideas every day.

    It is amusing to see lawyers who dominate the right, the center and the left of the political spectrum shout unnecessary political jargons each night, just to demonstrate that on the civil rights issue, “we are all together”.

    Such actions belong to high school children or university students who have seen or heard very little beyond their lecture theaters. People who have seen the wider world should demonstrate good judgment and be more realistic.

    Read Also: ‘Embrace human rights, rule of law for effective community policing’

     

    Today, there are many things to complain about beyond deliberate political slogans which are meant to pull wool on our face. Nearly all the roads crisscrossing the length and breadth of our country are bad, worse than any other time in our life time.

    The road network has been made worse by a protracted, heavy rainfall and predictions are that the next rainy season will be worse. Second, power supply to most parts of Nigeria is becoming worse by the day.

    There is no proof that any improvement is ahead. Worse is the security situation in the country. No one is safe on our roads. Movements on our roads are measured, calculated and unsure.

    Are these not more important and more engaging than the interest of one who did not make one percent of popular votes to now involve all of us in an unnecessary social warfare. Let us sit down and think.

    Today in Nigeria, eight out of 10 university graduates are out of gainful employment. Graduate teachers have no school to teach. Should these not bother our free wheeler socialists rather than shouting and disturbing the peace of ordinary Nigerians?

    The constant cries and appeals to the outside world –the United States, the United Nations, NATO, the UK e.t.c to save us from our government indicate nothing but immaturity and outright stupidity.

    These other nations and organizations have their problems to the seam. They only see us as “Third World” people whose understanding of international relations is low.

    Sure there are many obnoxious things to complain about. What of the ministers, who were governors, who were senators, who were honourable members and who are now drawing millions of naira in addition to their current pay as ministers.

    Should Nigeria disintegrate because of the failure of one man, for one man to realize his ambition?

    Unfortunately and unwittingly the socialist are doing exactly what they accused the politicians of doing, recruiting the judiciary.

  • Can we also have a ‘Heroes’ Day’?

    Sir: On January 15, 2020, Nigeria will celebrate another Armed Forces Remembrance Day. It is the date set aside to salute Nigeria’s fallen heroes – soldiers who died in the two world wars of 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 and those who died during the 30 month-long Nigerian civil war.

    Emphasis here is on members of the armed forces, not the millions of non-combatant casualties, especially civilians who died during needless Nigerian civil war. The civilian victims will have to wait for an imaginative government in the future to carve out a date to remember them. It is okay for Nigeria to continue to mark important dates on its calendar for as long as millions of Naira is not appropriated for the purpose as was the case before 2015. Credit must go to the Buhari/Osinbajo for effectively taking care of that!

    But there is a misnomer in celebrating Armed Forces Remembrance Day on January 15 and this takes a lot of shine off the annual ritual. Celebrating an Armed Forces Remembrance Day on the anniversary of the needless murder of some of Nigeria’s finest political leaders by some over-pampered members of the Armed Forces is simply insensitive. Similarly, it does very little to heal the wounds of the avoidable and better-forgotten war civil war to fix an Armed Forces Remembrance Day on the date the war ended.

    Let us recall, for education, some of mind-bending events in the wee hours of January 15, 1966. In Kaduna, death came to Sir Ahmadu Bello, premier of the old Northern Region through Major Patrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu who invaded the premier’s lodge and killed the main tenant and his wife in cold blood.

    Read Also: UN renews support for anti-graft war, insecurity

    In Lagos, soldiers invaded the official residence of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the nation’s first and only prime minister, took him away and killed him near Otta. The murderers are some of the members of the Armed Forces that the nation ironically salutes every January 15. Also executed, Gestapo-like, were Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, premier of the defunct Western Region and Festus Okotie-Eboh, the nation’s finance minister.

    Aside killing these political leaders, the soldiers effectively ended the nation’s bourgeoning democracy and set the stage for a long military interregnum. The immediate effect of the actions of the bloody coup was the suspicion it introduced into the Armed Forces which effectively set the pace for the needless and avoidable 30-month civil war. Nzeogwu and most of his fellow conspirators are dead, but they continue to be presented to Nigerians, alongside deserving members of the Armed Forces, as the best things to happen to Nigeria! This is for the simple reason that they were members of the Armed Forces whose fallen members are remembered every January 15.

    What makes the deaths of January 15 even more painful is that the victims were innocent of the cooked-up charges of treasury-looting levelled against them. None of the men stole public funds, none was accused of owning foreign bank accounts and, except for the flamboyant Chief Okotie-Eboh, the murdered politicians maintained Spartan life styles. Even in the case of Okotie-Eboh, his killers never substantiated claims that he amassed public funds to drive his flamboyant life style.

    What, exactly, do we celebrate on January 15? End of the civil war? Aside the estimated two million Nigerians lost to the war, the scars of the war are still there for all to see. If we still do not deem it fit to offer a public apology for the misdemeanour of some members of the Armed Forces, at least, we should be decent enough not to celebrate them on a date that sticks out like a sore thumb.

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with an Armed Forces Remembrance Day. By all means, the event should continue to be celebrated but let another date be chosen for this purpose.  For the sake of decency, there is also an urgent need to set aside a day to celebrate and salute outstanding Nigerian heroes and heroines. And, for all intent and purposes, January 15 fits the bill.

    If, however, January 15 is too appealing to be retained as Armed Forces Remembrance Day, then it is not out of place to set another date aside as Heroes Day.

     

    • Abdulrazaq Magaji,

    Abuja.

     

  • “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.

     

     

  • Cartoon

    Cartoon

  • Sowore, human rights and the rule of law

    Sir: It should become abundantly clear by now that Civil Society organisations, committed to the entrenchment of the Rule of Law and the defence of fundamental human rights must come together. This is not a new cry. They must meet, debate, and embark on a binding pact of tactical responses whenever these two pillars of civilized society are besieged by the demolition engines of state security agencies.

    The sporadic, uncoordinated responses as in the case of Omoyele Sowore, the absence of a solid strategy, ready to be activated against any threat — these continue to enable these agencies in their mission to enthrone a pattern of conduct that openly scoffs at the role of the judiciary in national life. Result? A steady entrenchment of the cult of impunity in the dealings of state with the citizenry – both individuals and organizations. The level of arrogance has crossed even the most permissive thresholds.

    It is heart-warming to witness the determined efforts of “Concerned Nigerians” in defence of these rights. Predictably, the ham-fisted response of the Directorate of State Security (DSS) continues to defy the rulings of the court. The weaponry of lies having been exploded in their faces, they resort to what else? Violence! Violence, including, as now reported, the firing of live bullets. Why the desperation?

    There answer is straightforward: the government never imagined that the bail conditions for Sowore would ever be met. Even Sowore’s supporters despaired. The bail test was clearly set to fail! It took a while for the projection to be reversed, and it left the DSS floundering. That agency then resorted to childish, cynical lies. It claimed that the ordered release was no longer in their hands, but in Sowore’s end of the transfer. The lie being exploded, what next? Bullets of course.

    Read Also: Sowore instigating violence from custody – DSS

     

    Such a development is not only callous and inhuman, it is criminal. It escalates an already untenable defiance by the state. As I remarked from the onset, this is an act of government insecurity and paranoia that merely defeats its real purpose.

    And now – bullets? This is no longer comical. Perhaps it is necessary to remind this government of precedents in other lands where, even years after the event, those who trampled on established human rights that generate homicidal impunity are called to account for abuse of power and crimes against humanity.

    The protests for Sowore’s release go beyond only acts of solidarity; they are manifestations of the judgment and authority of courts of law, under which this nation is supposedly governed. Either it is, or it isn’t. The answer stares us all in the face. The principles that now fall under threat implicate more than one individual under travail. They involve the very entitlement of a nation to lay claim to membership of any democratic, humanized union.

    Enough of this charade, nothing more than a display of crude, naked power. Release Omoyele Sowore and save us further embarrassment in the regard of the world. An apology to the nation by the DSS and the judiciary would also not be out of place. It would go some distance in redeeming the image of an increasingly fascistic agency and reduce the swelling tide of public disillusionment.

    Let the rule of law reign. Failing that, have the honesty to proclaim the death of ordered society. Then we’ll all know just where we stand.

     

    • Wole Soyinka,

    Abeokuta, Ogun State.

     

  • Hate Speech Bill: Soyinka is right

    Sir: From time immemorial, the cause of wars and other forms of conflicts have been caused by hate speech. An innocuous statement targeted against a person or a group of persons can ignite the flames and spark a gargantuan conflagration which may be impossible to diffuse. The various wars in history: The three Punic wars where the Roman Empire eventually defeated Carthage; the wars fought by the empires of Athens, Sparta, Persia; The war of the Roses which was fought between the house of York and Lancaster that brought the first Tudor King of England, Henry VII to power in 1485, the first and second world wars all happened because of the gory incidents of hate speech. Coming down home to Africa – the various wars in the continent from the wars fought by the Oyo Empire to those fought by the Ghanaian, Malian, Songhai, Egyptian, Zulu, Kanem-Borno, Ethiopian Empires etc. all had hate speech as the basis for the strife. Even the relatively recent Rwandan genocide which occurred in 1994 that saw the asphyxiation of millions of Tutsis and Hutus were all fought because some sinister politicians who had unfettered access to the media called the other tribe cockroaches.

    Senator Sabi Abdullahi, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate sponsored a bill seeking to inflict the death penalty on anyone found guilty of hate speech. The death clause has attracted condemnation from many civil society organizations and individuals prominent among who is Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka.

    He said, among others: “Do not embrace the awful responsibility of impressing homicide as a way of life on the ethical template of coming generations. The chickens have a way of coming home to roost. I may be wrong of course, but their droppings already foul the common air we all breathe. Just take a deep breath, look around you, and re-consider.’’

    It is instructive to note that the world famous dramatist never condemned the bill in its entirety as he said he was also a victim of many social media accounts being opened in his name without his authorization but the penalty of death by hanging is taking it too far.

    I totally agree with the Nobel Laureate because inasmuch as there is need for the National Assembly to make laws that criminalize hate speech for the good of all knowing the havoc it can cause if allowed to get out of hand, the murder clause makes it a bad law as it is repugnant to justice, equity and good conscience. There must be a balance by our lawmakers in the apex chamber as to what should constitute the appropriate sanction for those guilty of disseminating hate speech.

    The advent of the internet has made incidences of hate speech a source of growing concern. A bigot with a few megabytes of a data and a decrepit internet-enabled phone can make a statement that can go viral in a matter of seconds and can cause incalculable damage in the process. When you consider the fact that a sizeable number of the population is either illiterate or ‘literate’ but without the mental competence to sift the wheat from the chaff in doing a proper fact check, then there is a huge crisis on our hands.

    There is no country in the world where freedom of speech is absolute; not even the United States which prides herself as the hub of free speech and democracy. Therefore, it is in order if punishment is meted out to those found guilty of hate speech in order to stem its rising tide.

    Civil society groups and public spirited individuals should therefore rise to the occasion and condemn the death penalty clause.

     

    • Tony Ademiluyi,

    Lagos. 

  • Towards a holistic view of hate speech

    It seems that Nigeria’s government leaders are getting worried about the effects of the social media more than their political counterparts in many of the countries that had contributed to the creation of this object of culture and communication. Our leaders, like our citizens, need to realise that this communication technology is not the first of human creations that are capable of good and evil.

    The nuclear device is perhaps the most illustrative of the capacity of technology to create goods capable of being positive and negative. The nuclear fusion can provide electricity; it can also in the form of a bomb wipe out mankind. However, government leaders are right to feel uncomfortable about social media, just as their counterparts in Europe, North America, China and Russia are complaining about this source of culture propagation and reproduction. But, like the owners of this technology, political leaders in the third world ought to pay more attention to how to negotiate the use of this technology, rather than to over react to the unlimited access the technology provides for those referred to as citizen journalists, i.e. writers without any training in the journalistic ethics and social responsibility of journalists.

    Overreaction to the a-causal character of social media that allows both rulers and citizens to present their own narratives on their own terms  can be counterproductive to the point of creating laws that can destroy the foundation of the country’s democracy, and, perhaps, the values that have sustained the country’s multiethnic federation. Political leaders ought to be reminded that citizens and communities in the country hold on to the country because they have reasons to believe that they can realise their dreams in a federation of many cultures. And the most important factor in a multicultural space is freedom of expression within the framework of laws to protect the freedom of all citizens.

    Just as the existence of modern communication technologies had encouraged American politicians to interrogate Facebook over interference of fake messages in the country’s politics, Nigeria’s political leaders have a right to worry about the facilitation of fake news and of the spread of hate speech via the social media. But, just like leaders in other democracies, leaders in Nigeria ought not to act with the zeal of a believer in the dictum that the best way to cure headache is to cut the aching head. Members of the executive and the legislature need to accept that the best way to cure headache is to shop for the most effective and least invasive medication for the ailment.

    Therefore, the rush to create a new law to punish propagation of fake news and hate speech seems like an overreaction.  For example, there is nothing in the bill of Senator Abdullahi in respect of hate speech that is not covered in the Cybercrime Act of 2015, which, among other prohibitions, outlaws “Cyber-stalking and Cyber-bullying and prescribes punishment ranging from a fine of not less than N2 million or imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to both fine and imprisonment, up to a term of not less than 10 years or a fine of not less than N25 million or to both fine and imprisonment; forbids the distribution of racist and xenophobic material to the public through a computer system or network (e.g. Facebook and Twitter); and prohibits the use of threats of violence and insulting statements to persons, based on race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. Persons found guilty of this are liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years or to a fine of not less thanN10million or to both fine and imprisonment.”

    It is significant that none of the countries with considerable input into the creation of the social media had gone further than Nigeria’s efforts to regulate the social media and discourage hate speech via the media. Undoubtedly, with the Cybercrime Act 2015, Nigeria has already made strong efforts to regulate abuse of social media. Thus, additional attempts at the instance of the executive or the legislature on regulating social media and citizens’ peddling of hate speech seem superfluous and may be seen to the average citizen as needless distraction.

    If there is any difference between the Cybercrime Act of 2015 and the 2019 bills on hate speech, it may be the call for another bureaucracy, Hate Speech Commission. How can a commission prevent hate speech better than the existing law enforcement and judicial systems?  What the government’s fervor about new laws and commissions to punish and prevent hate speech signals is hysteria. The existing Cybercrime law which is designed to do what the new bill in the Senate seeks to do, has been in effect for four years without any special commission to enforce it, other than existing law enforcement and judicial systems.

    Undoubtedly, our country has entered an era of sharp ideological division, in addition to fault lines embedded in ethnic, cultural, religious differences. The ideological division is not about political parties but about widening differences between worldviews. Many communities and citizens seem to view government as the institution to socialize citizens to love their neighbours rather than abuse or hate them through the power of examples from people in government. Then there are many others that want to coerce people to do so. It is the duty of government in a multicultural state to listen more to the former than it has done. Leaders who recognized socialisation as a more effective mechanism for uniting people of diverse cultures created the National Orientation Agency several years ago.  Apart from the laws already in existence to discourage hate speech and abuse of social media under the rubric of Cybercrime Act, the government ought to further strengthen the National Orientation Agency to embark more robustly on socialising citizens about the superiority of love to hate in a diverse society. The country seems to be experiencing repressed ideological and cultural conflicts that can benefit from liberal governance that prefers to err on the part of freedom than unfreedom.

    The establishment of the Cybercrime Act indicates that members of the Nigerian media do not subscribe to freedom without responsibility. To insist on creating another set of laws on the same matter is a distraction that the country can avoid. Lawmakers and ministers enthusiastic about creating additional laws should take the advice of the Minister of State for Transportation to read or re-read the Cybercrime Act. Nothing heats the polity and scares citizens more than incessant crying wolf. Most of the security problems in the country: banditry, kidnapping, herdsmen/farmers conflicts can benefit from the attention currently going to airing of hate speech via social media, a problem that has already been given a strong legal attention by the Cybercrime Act 2015.

  • Border closure, defeatist

    Temple Ezebuike Esq, Lagos.

     

    Sir: The federal government’s complaints about smuggling are self-defeating. There would not be any smuggling if the custom officials maintained local trade and immigration laws. In 2017, The Nationwide Survey on Corruption in Nigeria by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Custom officials solicited the most bribes, ahead of Immigration officials and elected state and local representatives.  Recently, an undercover investigation brought light to a massive corruption ring in the Nigeria Customs Service. The reports brought to fore the ineptitude and corruption in the Nigeria Customs Service. The border closure merely papers over the smuggling problem; it does not address a root cause: corrupt Custom officials. Although they have reported that about N3 trillion smuggled goods have been seized since closure, without a thorough re-organization and re-orientation of Nigeria’s Customs and Immigration officials, we will be back with the same corrupt officials who facilitated goods smuggling whenever the border reopens.

    Given the CBN’s Foreign Exchange restriction on rice, the border closure combines to substantially limit rice importation, resultantly creating a scarcity-sized hole. Since local supply cannot meet local consumption, the rice prices have soared– consumer-inflation rose to 11.51% in September, up by 0.08% from 11.17% recorded in August. Ninety million Nigerians live below the poverty line, and where about 60% of income is spent on food. Rising inflation will leave Nigerians with less disposable income, placing more and more of the people below the poverty line.

    Any policy, notwithstanding sincerity of intent, which tends to leave the masses with deflating disposable income, is not well-thought. It is an economic hara-kiri that should be advocated against.

    Besides the fact that local consumption outstrips local supply, the business environment is not supportive to local producers. The FG cannot will the economy to food sufficiency in a dilapidated system.

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    Access to farm mechanization remains low due to bad roads. Some rice farmers trek as far as 30 kilometers to the nearest rice mill. After milling, channels to transport their produce to local markets are also abysmally poor. Corruption also trails mechanized farming: to ease access to rice mills and boost local production. In 2017, the government reported the procurement of 100 rice milling machines in different states, but the exact locations of the machines have remained a mystery.

    Rice farmers are also disincentivised due to lack of access to credit facilities. The Central Bank’s initiative to finance agriculture at 9% interest rate is commendable, although, it should be noted that it is lower than the 5% rate farmers had called for due to self-provision of power and transportation.

    Border closure will not address the problem of corruption in Nigeria Customs Service; neither will it improve accessibility to credit facility, nor increase local production to attain a semblance of sufficiency. The federal government should leave the border and attend to more pressing industrial challenges.

    Protectionist policies are not on the whole, bad. However, there has to be a robust industry to be protected. Where the preliminaries are prominently positioned, there will be an inflow of investments to agriculture, towards increased local production to balance consumption. Where borders are closed as in this instance, it will be to protect the local industry from high-tech foreign competition, albeit momentarily, until they become competitive. The federal government should not prance over preliminaries– laying the cart before the horse– driving up inflation that will hurt legitimate cross-border businesses, local producers and the populace.