Category: Letters

SIR: The Nigerian economy is in dire straits over the decision of the presidency and the Central Bank to redesign the naira in a move the Supreme Court has since set back.

Nigeria is a country of lofty aspirations. Its attempt at a cashless economy is a manifestation of this.

The latest attempt at a cashless economy started towards the end of last year when the Central Bank of Nigeria decided to redesign the naira. Such an audacious move which kept one eye on the 2023 general elections was justified as an attempt to reduce vote buying, payment of ransom to terrorists, as well as stimulate the economy.

The new notes of N200, N500 and N1000 began circulating in December 2022. A deadline of January 31  was set as the date to phase out the old notes. January came and passed and a slew of litigation at the Supreme Court ensured that the deadline  got to February. It was around that time that the scarcity of the new notes hit Nigeria, bringing with it a stinging reality of life in a cashless economy.

Banks and ATM machines became like pilgrimage centres as desperate Nigerians sought cash for their transactions amidst the disparate circumstances of their lives.

Living in a cashless economy has presented a kind of conundrum that Nigerians have witnessed many times previously, a conundrum of substance without structure.

Many times, those who make policies for Nigerians put the cart before the horse. They presume to set down the substance of supposedly beneficial policies without adequate structures to see them through.

If the federal government working with the Central Bank of Nigeria had decided to feed Nigerians into the crucible of a cashless economy, was it properly fine-tuned to be as foolproof as it can be?

Getting cash has remained hard and the difficulties have danced their way into people’s lives, pilfering away their productivity.

For example, a person who spends the whole day in a bank in a futile attempt to withdraw some cash would end up wasting that day.

One of the chief reasons canvassed for swapping some of the old notes for new ones was that it would curb vote-buying during the election.

It did curb vote buying as cash was so scarce around that time that all those who wanted to buy votes were simply unable to. However, electoral malpractice assumed different forms and dimensions.  There has also been a lull in the activities of terrorists who kidnap people for ransom, thereby posing a peculiar challenge to the Nigerian economy. Without cash, it is decidedly more difficult for them to collect ransom.

On March 3, the Supreme Court ruled that the old naira notes should remain in circulation with the new notes setting back the naira redesign policy and piling not a little confusion on Nigerians.

Many Nigerians have openly questioned the wisdom of going back to the old notes.?

The Nigerian economy is clearly in need of a push. The naira redesign policy may have been pushed without adequately consulting all those who should have been consulted, but what can it really achieve?

For many Nigerians, would the pesky inconvenience of it all be worth it at the end of the day? Will it give the Nigerian economy the shot in the arm it so desperately needs? Will the decision to set limits on the amount individuals and corporations can withdraw in the day be of much help?

A country that has felt many false dawns is well within its rights to be wary of another false dawn, especially in these days when a lot is at stake at different levels.

•Kenechukwu Obiezu,

<keneobiezu@gmail.com>

SIR: The right to health is recognized as a fundamental human right by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, access to healthcare and health insurance varies widely across different countries and populations.

Health insurance is one way to help ensure access to healthcare for individuals and families. It can provide financial protection against the high costs of medical treatment, which can be a barrier to seeking care. In countries with public health insurance systems, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, access to healthcare is considered a universal right and is provided to all citizens.

In other countries, such as the United States, access to healthcare and health insurance is not universal and can depend on factors such as employment status and income. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was a significant step towards expanding access to health insurance for Americans. The ACA introduced measures such as insurance marketplaces, subsidies for low-income individuals, and protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions

In Nigeria, the Adamawa State Contributory Health Management Agency and the Right to Health Cluster of the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented by Palladium are two critical programmes aimed at improving healthcare access and outcomes for citizens.

The Adamawa State Contributory Health Management Agency is a state-owned agency established in 2016 to administer health insurance in the state. The agency operates under the Adamawa State Contributory Health Management Law, which mandates all residents of Adamawa State to be covered by the scheme. The scheme aims to provide quality and affordable healthcare services to citizens, particularly those in the informal sector, through a prepayment mechanism.

The scheme is structured to allow enrollees to pay a premium, which is based on their income, and in turn, receive healthcare services at any accredited healthcare facility in the state. The scheme covers essential health services such as hospitalization, surgery, maternal and child health services, and treatment for communicable and non-communicable diseases. The agency has partnered with over 100 healthcare facilities across the state, including primary healthcare centres, general hospitals, and private hospitals, to provide healthcare services to enrollees.

Since its establishment, the agency has made significant strides in improving healthcare access and outcomes for residents of Adamawa State. As of 2021, over 600,000 individuals have enrolled in the scheme, with over 300,000 claims processed and paid by the agency. The agency has also embarked on several initiatives to improve the quality of healthcare services provided to enrollees, including the accreditation of healthcare facilities, training and retraining of healthcare workers, and the deployment of technology to improve service delivery.

However, there are still significant challenges that need to be addressed to improve healthcare delivery in the state. These challenges include inadequate funding for healthcare, insufficient healthcare personnel, and inadequate healthcare facilities. Addressing these challenges requires sustained efforts from all stakeholders, including the government, healthcare providers, and the private sector.

•Victor Okeke,

Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.

SIR: Now that the general elections are over, Nigerians are anticipating changes in several spheres of the society with a lot of expectations and questions roving round their minds. Headed for the departure lounge, the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, has accomplished a lot, one of which is the noteworthy achievements in what appears to be a major role in fighting drug abuse a clear link fuelling insecurity and unrest in major parts of Nigeria. 

This accomplishment must be maintained and expanded in order for the public and the international community to continue to have faith in the new administration and as well for the continual development of our nation going forward. Violence in the form of armed robbery, kidnapping, and insurgency are just a few of the violent crimes that have been related to drug usage and addiction. Nigerians have long been concerned about the problem of drug-related violence; this is not leaving out the crises that cause dysfunctions in many families as results of illicit substance use and abuse. These range from unintended pregnancies, follow-up abortions, HIV transmission via unprotected sex and drug sharing with syringes, fuelled by drug dependency, and other ailments brought about by drug abuse and dependency. 

The chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig-Gen Buba Marwa (Retd) said in January, that his  agency made 26,458 arrests, secured 3733 jail convictions, and counselled and treated 19,401 people in 24 months; several initiatives surely contributed to making this exploit achievable, a success that has helped in making Nigeria’s environment safer and more secure. A flash back to the week leading into the presidential elections in Nigeria recorded 1. 2million pills of tramadol and heroin consignments at Lagos Airport being seized. This is in addition to the recent arrest of over 100 drug dealers in Lagos’ Akala and Partey neighbourhoods and also the recent uncovering and burning of cannabis farms and warehouses in Edo State by agents of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, before the elections kicked off. More of such information coming from the newspapers every week, further gives me hope that a better Nigeria is coming, because “a drug-free society is a peaceful, rich, progressive and organised society,” 

While it is crucial that the new administration sustains the war against drug abuse and other related crimes by expanding the support accorded to the NDLEA and other security agencies, the efforts of the outgoing administration in curbing the menace of drug misuse, abuse dependency and harm must be distinctly commended. 

•Sini Joseph,

 Jimeta, Adamawa State.

SIR: The biggest story of the 2023 gubernatorial elections in Nigeria, for me, is the emergence of Dauda Lawal as the governor of Zamfara State. It should easily be the biggest flex that will be used by INEC, and by extension, President Buhari himself, to justify the 2022 Electoral Act. This is not only because an incumbent governor was denied re-election (which always comes as a surprise in Nigeria). It is also not because the voters were not induced to vote for the ruling party. The exercise was a ‘fair’ appraisal of the performance of the existing administration and the acceptance (or otherwise) of the status quo.

Since 1999, Zamfara State has been pillaged, misgoverned, neglected and bled dry by an unfortunate crop of leaders. Think of all of the worst developmental indices used to rank the 36 states in Nigeria, you will find Zamfara among the worst six. This could be in education and out-of-school children, health and maternal mortality, extreme poverty and hunger. All of these logically led to the security challenges the state is currently facing. It was too much for the people to take, and things had to change. The consecutive years of abuse, internal displacement and underdevelopment has stretched the elasticity of tolerance for failure on the part of the people of Zamfara State to a ‘snapping’ point.

Therefore, it was ironic, as much as it was shocking and heart-warming that the same governor who was said to have ‘delivered’ his state to his party during the presidential elections will fail to ‘deliver’ the state to himself for a second term in office. This is even more amusing when all but one of the former governors in the state had united against the eventual winner, Lawal. It was basically Dauda Lawal and the people of Zamfara versus Bello Matawalle and the most powerful politicians in the state, with the newly introduced technology, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), as the game-changer. With BVAS, a polling unit cannot have more voters than the actual people that turned out to vote. What this means is that the total votes that will be cast (and recorded as such) must be equal to the total number of people accredited by the BVAS device. Simple.

There were little surprises then, when there was a relatively lower voter turn-out compared to previous election cycles. Inflation of votes is no longer possible, which was why voter intimidation and inducement were most prevalent. This largely favored the governor-elect, Lawal.

Dauda Lawal Dare, the governor-elect, is himself a politician with specifications to die for. As a PhD holder with overseas and local degrees and certifications, coupled with an accomplished, result-oriented career in financial services, there can be little or no arguments about his capabilities or preparedness for the tasks ahead. Performance wise, there will be a palpable gulf between Lawal and his predecessors, if his antecedents are anything to by. The people of Zamfara have found themselves some succor in Dr. Lawal.

Be that as it may, the choice of the people in Zamfara and the obvious competence of Dauda Lawal are two dependent variables, and would be inconsequential without the ‘BVAS factor’. These three have combined to bring the needed change, sending Bello Matawalle out of Gusau’s seat of power, and into retrospection for at least another four years.

•Aliyu Sulaiman,

Katsina.

SIR: The federal government is likened to a story of a farmer, who fortunately was caught up in a situation where he was reaping where he did not sow. You ask:, is possible to reap without sowing? Probably yes, but the seed must have been sown by somebody else.

Manufacturers and businesses in Nigeria have been groaning under the burden of multiple taxations in Nigeria, but it seems the government is only interested in reaping without sowing. Both the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI) have spoken vociferously, and vehemently warned against the negative effect of multiple taxation on the economy. It seems the federal government has turned deaf ear to this red alert.

Early last year, the federal government introduced N10 per litre tax on all carbonated drinks into the Finance Act, 2021. The new policy was meant to discourage or reduce excess consumption of sugar in beverages, and it was implemented in June 2022. Due to this new tax policy, surveys show that prices of beverages increased by 33 per cent on the average.

In an attempt to increase government expenditure on tertiary education, the president of Association Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) proposed an increase in education tax from the current 2.5% to 10%. This would enable the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to mobilise more funds to address the decadence in the tertiary education sub-sector. Before his proposition, the education tax was already jacked up from two per cent to 2.5 per cent. In the 2022 Finance Bill, the rate has now been increased to three percent of company profits.

Also, in a bid to finance free healthcare for the vulnerable group, the federal government introduced a telecom tax, which would be charged at one kobo per second on phone calls. This proposal did not go well with some analysts, while others see it as an avenue to combat intractable problems in the nation’s health sector. Their concerns were not limited to just transparency and corruption, but also shenanigans that always shrouded the implementation of such fiscal policy.

Although, similar tax policy popped up in the United States of America with President Biden proposing taxes on the rich to cover Medicare expenses. The US president wants to increase the Medicare tax rate from 3.8 per cent to five per cent on income exceeding $400,000 per year, including salaries and capital gains. The atmosphere and economic conditions of the USA may permit such a proposal, but the same cannot be said of Nigeria.

In Nigeria, manufacturers, SMEs, and other businesses are paying through their noses in order to have access to basic public goods that ought to have been provided by the government. In a recent report by Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, inability to source for foreign exchange (forex) and credit facilities from banks is hindering the manufacturing sector. Erratic power supply has also contributed to the woes of businesses, as MAN says high energy cost is affecting manufacturing.

In all of these challenges, consumers would always bear the burden of the multiple taxations. Investors are savvy enough to transfer the burden of the tax to their customers in the form of an increase in prices; ironically, the more the price increases, the lesser the purchasing power and standard of living of the people.

Lastly, the minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, urged the incoming administration to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) from the current 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent.

Instead of going by what the minister is saying, I would implore the incoming administration to provide the enabling environment for investors to thrive. Rather than focusing on what could be gotten from tax as revenue, attention towards provision of public goods for businesses should be undivided.

•Oluwole Crowther,

Lagos.

SIR: Scapegoatism is the merchandise of selective outrage. At moments of uncertainty and chaos, ‘pallbearers’ are pencilled down to bear whatever guilt or blame for any presumed offence or crime.

The 2023 governorship elections have been one of the most turbulent in Nigeria. The days leading to the elections, in particular, were tempestuous. Incendiary comments and threats by political knockabouts simmered into the elections.

In the build-up to the Lagos governorship election, some itinerants from the mob crawling all over the ungoverned social media space threatened to upturn the political order in Lagos. Some made reckless comments that aboriginal members of the state would find offensive. The tension from these as well as the counter commination was supercharged. The election happened under this cumulus of madness.

So, it is important to situate the outbursts by some concerned citizens within this context.

Nigerians should understand that the factotums of the brawling mobs do not represent any group. These are half-witted individuals who lack knowledge of history, direction, and are constipated by anger. Let it be clear that they do not represent any ethnic group.

The harassment of citizens and the violence in the elections in Lagos and in 30 other states stand condemned and are a blot on our electoral process.

It is important that we do not construe Bayo Onanuga’s moment of righteous indignation as a judgement of his character and professional pedigree. Opinion is free. He is entitled to one, I strongly believe. Although, many have outraged against his comment on the Lagos election, they are within their rights to do so. And they have good reasons to.

Onanuga’s life is public knowledge. He is known to be one of the principal actors behind Nigeria’s struggle for democracy and one of the country’s journalism savants. In his years as a journalist, publisher and public officer, Onanuga was never at any time accused of bigotry. He never betrayed any proclivities of that complexion. It is simply not in his character.

I believe he should not be scapegoated or made to be the punch-bag for whatever grouse anyone holds. We are guilty of the same offence if we insist on singling him out for slaughter over his opinion. Onanuga is not anyone’s bigot.

The elections are over; it is time for us to turn our minds to building our nation. We must desist from scorched-earth politics and work together for the survival of our country. Nation-building is citizens building. It is our job to build Nigeria; we cannot outsource this great task to anyone.

•Fredrick Nwabufo,

<fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com>