The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Xenophobia and Africa’s entrepreneurial spirit

    I arrived South Africa on the 16th of July 2002; it was winter, the thick of it. I was brutally shocked by the intensity of the cold. But I came with a warm spirit. I was focused.

    My eye was on one thing alone. I wanted to be an entrepreneur; to add value to humanity, to create goods and services, to make a positive impact on the economic landscape of my host country and within Africa.

    The story of my sojourn to the rainbow nation reflects the story of migration of many of my compatriots and other Africans in South Africa.

    When I left Nigeria, I was only armed with basic high school education and skills acquired from my mentorship programme as a trader. For a Nigerian, that was more than enough “survival-tool-box”.

    It was up to me to add into the tool box; determination, resilience, creativity and emotional intelligence for me to navigate the reality of the South African socioeconomic terrain.

    As I soldiered on, I realised, like any other non-citizen that the political liberation of our host country was not automatic economic freedom.

    The onus was on me to confront an economic system stiffed in structured sectors and industries, white-controlled capital and infrastructures. I stumbled, fumbled, staggered and fell severally, yet, I refused to remain on the ground.

    Today, I have gained some financial stability. But it did not come to me because it was easy. I have three businesses and I have wonderful South Africans who work in those businesses, some have worked with me for as long as the businesses have started.

    Some of my shops are entirely in the hands of South Africans; my security outfit is managed by South Africans who decide what happen in the company’s operations. I am currently mentoring a young South African; using the same principle from my mentorship programme in Nigeria. I have spiced it with some degree of formality and, at 22 years of age, he runs his own IT firm from under my space.

    I tell my story to illustrate that the narratives which seek to vilify all foreigners ignore the fact that South Africa has the potential to be the melting pot for entrepreneurial creativity, ingenuity and collaboration by Africans.

    South Africa is multi-racial, hence, it is called the Rainbow Nation. It has the best of infrastructures on the continent and prides in a constitutional democracy, one of the best in the world.

    The epitaph, Rainbow Nation, denotes more than different pigmentation, it is supposed to be a reflection of diversity and ingenuity, therefore, the creativity from across the borders would add to the beauty and brightness of South Africa at the end of the day, if, the host country can tap into the positives brought by those from other countries.

    As a foreigner living in South Africa and a Nigerian in particular, I won’t keep quiet over this recent Afro-phobic attacks going on in parts of South Africa. I have the moral ground to speak because I have added value to South Africa: I boldly state that I have never indulged in any form of criminal activity to make money. Besides, I am married to a South African and her family has become mine.

    I am not the only foreigner or Nigerian with this kind of record. Crime is crime no matter who commits it. There is no crime that is only committed by only foreigners. Criminals are in every country and they should not be tagged exclusively as foreigners.

    When we call criminals foreigners we are saying that every foreigner is automatically criminal. Painting everyone with the same brush is dangerous and the ripple effect is what we are experiencing; where businesses of genuine entrepreneurs are destroyed because they are foreigners on account of wrong narrative which been allowed to gained currency, people who have something to offer will be forced to recline.

    It is true that there are foreigners whose activities are conducted in unpleasant and illegal ways. On the flip side, it is impossible for people from other nations to come to another nation to commit crime without aid from citizens.

    But intellectual laziness and populist stance have underscored the narrative which demonizes foreigners and, Nigerians in particular. Perhaps, we need to remember not to forget that Nigeria and South Africa account for almost one-third of the Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, if businesses developed by entrepreneurs like me, and against the background of the challenges to grow small businesses; it would directly compromise the targets of the current clamor for intra-African trade.

    Instead of hasty generalisation and blanket labeling of small business owners from other countries, South Africa should put in place more pragmatic methods to deal with criminality. South Africa is a great country with tremendous potentials for development but the youths need to be better capacitated; they should be made to explore entrepreneurship and boost the rate of employment in the country.

    South African citizens have better opportunity to compete with foreigners and to even overtake them. The younger people should be motivated to imbibe the passion and determination to start their own businesses. The presence of foreigners like me who came with almost nothing should be an inspiration to the citizens.

    Institutions of learning should consider tilting their approach from emphasizing soft skills but also to capacitate learners on job creation. This is key because what we have today is a situation where there are limited job opportunities and educational institutions continue to produce job seekers instead of job creators. This vicious circle will continue and its adverse effect will increase if we don’t take proactive and drastic measures in creating jobs.

    In addition, we also need to look at South African families and how the role the families play in the challenges facing the country. Looking back at the struggle and what black South Africans went through; most of the youths did not grow in households where their parents or older relatives were entrepreneurs.

    So the first level of socialisation already places them at a disadvantage where they are not exposed to the knowledge and the confidence that they can create their own businesses. So, the idea of creating their own businesses is strange to many of them even when funding and business support structures are provided.

    In conclusion, there is a proverb in Igbo language that says if a child fetches more fire wood than his mates his mates will accuse him of fetching his from the evil forest.

    • Echie is the Acting President of Nigerian Community Western Cape (NCWC).

     

  • Africa in crisis

    The two leading African nations, and perhaps her hope for economic renaissance, Nigeria and South Africa, are in a fight to finish. Unless they come to their senses, their old colonial masters and other international hegemonic agencies may egg them on, knowing that a destabilized Africa would be more easily exploited. Whether we talk of hegemony from the East or West, disunity between the two leading nations of the continent would expose black Africa to greater danger.

    The African promoters of the new Continental Free Trade States, who just got Nigeria on board, after much exertions would be wandering whether their efforts would pay. Unless reason prevails, if Nigeria and South Africa goes into an overdrive in the ongoing tango, the relatively significant inter-African economic activities between the two nations may become extinct. While Nigerian should not condone the abuse of her citizens, the two countries must stop the tit-for-tat, in the interest of Africa.

    The government of Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, must behave like a state authority, by calling on their law enforcement agencies to stop forthwith the xenophobic attack on Nigerians, and other Africans in their country, which triggered the crisis. They should learn few lessons from the West African experience. In the 1960s, Ghanaians chased Nigerians from their country, and in the 1980s, it was the turn of Nigeria to ask Ghanaians to go. Now Ghanaians are itching for a rematch, as Nigerians in that country are complaining of excruciating conditions handed to them by their hosts.

    In the West African debacle, the usual root cause of hate and xenophobic attacks is dwindling economic opportunities for the locals, after the initial boom that attracted large immigrants. So, while the people may be held responsible for the actual attacks, it is state officials who are responsible for the economic boom and bust, which cause the street wars. In South Africa, the natives have not gained the promised benefits of independence and they are visiting their frustrations on the immigrants.

    Clearly, the South Africa economy is contracting, and while foreigners may be the first line losers, unless there is a reversal, the entire country would eventually boil. The solution lies in increasing economic activities for the citizens and every legitimate resident. Instead of resorting to xenophobic attacks, which some misguided security personnel appear to be supporting, the country should tighten its immigration laws and general law enforcement.

    Agreed, some Nigerians have become nuisance in that country, such is not enough to tar every immigrant in the country. Instead of becoming international law breakers, threatening and maiming citizens of other countries living in their country, South African security agencies should deal with immigrants engaged in criminal activities. And as long as the law allow, deport such recalcitrant criminals to their home country.

    Clearly, the responsibility of ensuring that every person engaged in illegal activities face the law lies with the security agencies, not other law abiding immigrants. The world acclaimed oldest political party in Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) must realise that it is not living up to the high expectations of her citizens, especially the blacks who hoped for better life after the end of apartheid.

    Part of the challenge is corruption within the ranks of government officials. As Lew Kuan Yew, said in his book: From Third World to First: “It is easy to start off with high moral standards, strong conviction, and determination to beat down corruption. But it is difficult to live up to these good intentions unless the leaders are strong and determined enough to deal with transgressors, and without exceptions.”

    The Nigerian government has been more effective in controlling her enraged citizens. Interestingly, South Africa may be taking away from Nigeria, more than Nigeria is taking away from that country, because of South Africans’ high-end investments in Nigeria. But on the social level, South Africa has provided a haven for the teeming Nigerians looking for better economic opportunities. So, while the large corporations are making huge profits from Nigeria, selling to her about 200 million population, thousands of Nigeria migrate to South Africa daily to start small scale businesses.

    In a war without end, thousands of Nigerians, many of who have failed in their economic mission, and a large number of who engage in illegal businesses may be up for evacuation, to the embarrassment of Nigeria. On its part, South Africa would suffer huge financial losses, should Nigeria nationalize the huge corporations operating in her country. Again, because South African nationals are not in Nigeria in their numbers, the country can better manage the image-fallout of the ongoing crisis, unlike their compatriots.

    But regardless of who may have the upper hand eventually, it pays the two countries and the rest of Africa to quench the fire. In his book: Long Walk To Freedom, the immortal Nelson Mandela described an incident concerning the Soweto uprising while he was at the Robben Island prisons. The young men who took part in the uprising were jailed and some of them were brought to the prisons were Mandela was.

    According to the narrative, one Patrick ‘Terror’ Lekota, then a member of the South African Students’ Organization was attacked by his compatriots when he switched over to the African National Congress. A trial was set up in the prisons for his compatriots who attacked him, but the ANC encouraged him not to formally lunch a complaint or give evidence against them, because such will favour the apartheid regime, who wants division within the struggle.

    In the words of Mandela: “I wanted these young men to see that ANC was a great tent that could accommodate many different views and afflictions.” When South Africa needed the support of Nigeria and other southern African states, they got it. Indeed, Nigeria was reputed as a frontline state, and contributed immensely to the success of the struggle to free South Africa from the firm grip of the white supremacists, who entrenched the apartheid regime.

    It is most unfair not to remember the sacrifices made by Nigeria and other frontline states. Many top South African politicians studied in Nigeria under Nigerian government scholarship. Many others lived in Nigeria, and Nigeria expended so much and lost so much fighting to liberate the country from the shackles of apartheid. Nigeria went as far as nationalising the assets of Britain, her former colonial master to force the European power to renounce her support for the apartheid government.

    In the final analysis, while we must all condemn the xenophobic attacks, the permanent solution lies with making Nigeria and the other concerned states, viable economic entities, so that the citizens of those countries will stay in their country and earn descent living.

  • Mugabe: Garlands for the old wizard of Harare

    The Iroko tree has fallen and there was tremor in Harare and the entire Zimbabwe stood in awe.  The echoes reverberate the length and breadth of the globe, the old wizard of Harare has gone home.  Comrade Robert Mugabe, the charismatic and eloquent  former President of Zimbabwe, un-arguably an accomplished revolutionary and about the only  pan- Africanist of the 20th Century still living has bowed out.  He has just been declared a national hero in Zimbabwe which is well deserving.  He came, he saw and he conquered.

    He was undoubtedly one of the most cerebral and educated Presidents the world has ever known.  He was brave, courageous, fearless, and confronted the colonial imperialists without consideration of his personal safety.   He paid the prize for it when he was jailed and remained in prison for over a decade and came out to become the first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.  He was a founding member of the Zimbabwean African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) which was the arrow head of the liberation struggle that fought for the independence of Zimbabwe; formerly Rhodesia.  Mugabe was therefore, a product of an ideological driven organization that was to pilot the affairs of his country.

    At independence, it was the determination of the ZANU PF to dismantle and drop the vestiges of the colonial heritage and named their  country Zimbabwe.  Zimbabwe took off on a very high note in the 1980s pricing education very highly and with Mugabe himself having a doctoral degree.  The country had almost 100% literacy rate becoming an example to many other African countries which to date has not been matched.

    Like every revolutionary with human frailties, Mugabe did not feel that anybody was capable of replacing him.  He became infected with African leadership malaise like a feudal overlord and did not groom any cadre for seamless succession.  Mugabe became too obsessed with power.  This became his albatross, diminishing his stature in the history of the greats in political leadership not just in Africa but the world over.  He became too obsessed with power.  His failure was the failure of the leadership cadre of the ZANU PF who did not find courage to give honest and objective advice to sustain the momentum of what the party represented.

    Comrade Mugabe remained inflexibly principled to the end as he was noted to have told his family members that whenever he dies, he would not like to be buried in the Heroes Pouch in Zimbabwe given what he perceived was a couple against him in 2017 when he was edged out of power through the military wing of his party.  He also became too gerontocratic with amnesia and started scheming for his young wife, Grace Mugabe to succeed him in defiance to the succession plan of the party which caught the ire of the hawkish element in the party; also hungry for power.

    Where other African leaders capitulated, Mugabe stood firm against the stormy sanctions of the west which virtually paralysed the economy of Zimbabwe.  He did not give up; he was loud.  He took a solo campaign to fight western conspiracies which made Zimbabwe a pariah state for many decades making the country’s currency to become worthless that workers started demanding their wages and salaries in United States Dollars.

    Mugabe rejected the hemlock of structural adjustment programme and other alien economic policies of the World Bank which the imperialists prescribed as remedy for African politico-economy.  We may not have found an alternative African economic model,  but the truth remains that you cannot transport the reality in one clime to another lock-stock-and-barrel.

    Of the few notable African revolutionaries, Mugabe was about the only one that succeeded in leading his country to independence and this remains to the credit of his uncompromising leadership quality. Apart from the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, ZANU PF remains one of the longest political parties in Africa that fought for the liberation of their countries from colonial oppression.

    There is decline in global leadership index.  There are no internationalists any longer who could stand for human essence and defend the atrocious onslaught of perverse leadership who slaughter their people to remain in power.

    Mugabe was in power for about 37 years of his country’s independence. It was a failure that he could not develop the health sector in his country after three decades in power and had to die in a hospital in Singapore.  I am not sure many of his countrymen and women other than the pilfering politicians could afford medical tourism in any Asian country like him.  Mugabe showed remarkable disdain to the imperialists west to the end of his life and did not bother to take solace in their health facility for whatever it represented.

    Today, just like Comrade Mugabe, there is hardly any African political leadership that has made deliberate and conscious attempt to build human capital and infrastructure to reduce capital flight and develop African economy and health sector.  Our leaders have gone beyond medical tourism to developing appetite for exotic foreign gastronomy to the neglect of the abundance nature has endowed us with.

    With the kind of political leadership that we have which has become an anathema, our youths will continue to die in the Mediterranean Sea and victims of xenophobic attacks even  in the back waters of African countries that were beneficiaries of our generosity and largesse in the recent past.  History may not judge Mugabe so harshly as he cannot be said to be a villain although he may not have been a hero to all.   The name Mugabe has since become synonymous with resistance, stubbornness and opposition to imperialist dominion.  Today, we are struggling with local insurgency that has blossomed into full fledge terrorism because of leadership lethargy.  Today, banditry and insecurity are the defining features of our countries across Africa and our leaders are busy cringing from coast to coast begging for aids to fight crimes and criminality that they have become complicit.

    Today, malaria is killing our people because of poor leadership that does not see the need to invest in infrastructure, human capital and healthcare.  Today, our leaders deliberately promote divisions amongst tribes and tongues and fuel ethno-religious tensions.  Today, the lives of citizens are not worth more than a cow as we slaughter ourselves at the slightest provocation.  Today, tribal leaders and activists   give evacuation orders to our brothers and sisters who had hitherto lived with them in harmony in their regions.

    While we send garlands to Comrade Mugabe, the old wizard of Harare, there should be a peer review mechanism of what leadership should be like to save the next generation of Africans from the infantile leadership that dots the continent.  Adieu comrade Roberts Mugabe ad infinitum.

    • Kebonkwu, a lawyer, writes from Abuja.

  • Afrophobia may destroy African entrepreneurial spirit

    I arrived South Africa on the 16th of July 2002; it was winter, the thick of it. I was brutally shocked by the intensity of the cold. But I came with a warm spirit. I was focused.

    My eye was on one thing alone. I wanted to be an entrepreneur; to add value to humanity, to create goods and services, to make a positive impact on the economic landscape of my host country and within Africa.

    The story of MY sojourn to the rainbow nation reflects the story of migration of many of my compatriots and other Africans in South Africa.

    When I left Nigeria, I was only armed with basic high school education and skills acquired from my mentorship programme as a trader. For a Nigerian, that was more than enough “survival-tool-box”.

    It was up to me to add into the tool box; determination, resilience, creativity and emotional intelligence for me to navigate the reality of the South African socioeconomic terrain.

    As I soldiered on, I realised, like any other non-citizen that the political liberation of our host country was not automatic economic freedom.

    The onus was on me to confront an economic system stiffed in structured sectors and industries, white controlled capital and infrastructures. I stumbled, fumbled, staggered and fell severally, yet, I refused to remain on the ground.

    Today, I have gained some financial stability. But it did not come to me because it was easy. I have three businesses and I have wonderful South Africans who work in those businesses, some have worked with me for as long as the businesses have started.

    Some of my shops are entirely in the hands of South Africans; my security outfit is managed by South Africans who decide what happen in the company’s operations. I am currently mentoring a young South African; using the same principle from my mentorship programme in Nigeria. I have spiced it with some degree of formality and, at 22 years of age, he runs his own IT firm from under my space.

    I tell my story to illustrate that the narratives which seek to vilify all foreigners ignore the fact that South Africa has the potential to be the melting pot for entrepreneurial creativity, ingenuity and collaboration by Africans.

    South Africa is multi- racial, hence, it is called the Rainbow Nation, it has the best of infrastructures in the continent and prides in a constitutional democracy, one of the best in the world.

    The epitaph, Rainbow Nation denotes more than different pigmentation, it is supposed to be a reflection of diversity and ingenuity, therefore, the creativity from across the borders would add to the beauty and brightness of South Africa at the end of the day, if, the host country can tap into the positives brought by those from other countries.

    As a foreigner living in South Africa and a Nigerian in particular, I won’t keep quiet over this recent Afro-phobic attacks going on in parts of South Africa. I have the moral ground to speak because I have added value to South Africa: I boldly state that I have never indulged in any form of criminal activity to make money. Besides, I am married to a South African and her family has become mine.

    I am not the only foreigner or Nigerian with this kind of record. Crime is crime no matter who commits it. There is no crime that is only committed by only foreigners. Criminals are in every country and they should not be tagged exclusively as foreigners.

    When we call criminals foreigners we are saying that every foreigner is automatically criminal. Painting everyone with the same brush is dangerous and the ripple effect is what we are experiencing; where businesses of genuine entrepreneurs are destroyed because they are foreigners on account of wrong narrative which been allowed to gained currency, people who have something to offer will be forced to recline.

    It is true that there are foreigners whose activities are conducted in unpleasant and illegal ways. On the flip side, it is impossible for people from other nations to come to another nation to commit crime without aid from citizens.

    But intellectual laziness and populist stance have underscored the narrative which demonizes foreigners and, Nigerians in particular. Perhaps, we need to remember not to forget that Nigeria and South Africa account for almost one-third of the Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, if businesses developed by entrepreneurs like me, and against the background of the challenges to grow small businesses; it would directly compromise the targets of the current clamor for intra-African trade.

    Instead of hasty generalisation and blanket labeling of small business owners from other countries, South Africa should put in place more pragmatic methods to deal with criminality. South Africa is a great country with tremendous potentials for development but the youths need to be better capacitated; they should be made to explore entrepreneurship and boost the rate of employment in the country.

    READ ALSO: Afrophobia, Nigeria and bloody South African riddle

    South African citizens have better opportunity to compete with foreigners and to even overtake them. The younger people should be motivated to imbibe the passion and determination to start their own businesses. The presence of foreigners like me who came with almost nothing should be an inspiration to the citizens.

    Institutions of learning should consider tilting their approach from emphasizing soft skills but also to capacitate learners on job creation. This is key because what we have today is a situation where there are limited job opportunities and educational institutions continue to produce job seekers instead of job creators. This vicious circle will continue and its adverse effect will increase if we don’t take proactive and drastic measures in creating jobs.

    In addition, we also need to look at South African families and how the role the families play in the challenges facing the country. Looking back at the struggle and what black South Africans went through; most of the youths did not grow in households where their parents or older relatives were entrepreneurs.

    So the first level of socialisation already places them at a disadvantage where they are not exposed to the knowledge and the confidence that they can create their own businesses. So, the idea of creating their own businesses is strange to many of them even when funding and business support structures are provided.

    In conclusion, there is a proverb in Igbo language that says if a child fetches more fire wood than his mates his mates will accuse him of fetching his from the evil forest.

    Hon. Cosmos Echie, is the Acting President of Nigerian Community Western Cape (NCWC), he is also a seasoned Entrepreneur with businesses in South Africa.

  • Faulty start for Governor Abiodun

    IF the news emanating from the state ministry of education is true, Governor Dapo Abiodun may have taken off the administration of Ogun State government on a faulty start.

    It is not cheery at all to have reneged on a campaign promise to provide free education in the state, 100 days after assuming a four-year term as governor. Does that show that the governor did not do his homework well before promising free education during his electioneering campaign?

    Or was the purported circular from the Ministry of Education a hoax to cast the governor in bad light? If that is the position, a strong rebuttal must be put out, lest the impression will be abroad that the Abiodun administration conned the state electorate. It will then be dubbed a fraud and a lazy administration lacking in honour.

    Why should the state government go back on its promise to offer free education, the basis on which the education-hungry citizens of Ogun State voted for the APC? Was sufficient home work not done before the promise was freely given during the rancorous electioneering in the state?

    Or, was government calculation altered because the Amosun administration before it had cleaned the treasury out? If that was even the case, a man that sought for and planned its entry into government, must have prepared for such eventuality.

    Situations such as this, make one recall the Jakande phenomenon in 1979. A similar scenario played out in Lagos State when the grand old man was about to assume office as the first civilian governor of the state. After he had won a landslide in an election during which his party made the provision of free education a major issue, the outgoing military administrator then, Navy Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, counselled that Jakande, the governor-elect at the time, should renege on his campaign promise once he now knew there was no money in the state coffers with which to fund free education.

    Officials of the state ministry of education had recommended to the Ukiwe administration that school fees should be increased from the school resumption date in September, 1979 while his successor was promising to make education free soon as he was sworn in as governor in October, 1979.

    Jakande thanked Ukiwe for his advice but rejected it and insisted on going ahead with the implementation, saying that no man of honour would go back on his words, especially when the people with who he had entered into a social contract, had fulfilled their own part of the bargain.

    With ingenuity that was uncommon, Jakande launched the free education programme from his first day in office with gusto and never looked back on the implementation, which won a number of national and international accolades.

    If Jakande could go ahead in spite of evident paucity of funds to finance free education in his time, there’s no earthly reason why Governor Abiodun should not go ahead and implement free education in a state that bred apostles of free education like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his first minister of education in the old Western region, Professor Stephen Oluwole Awokoya. Let Abiodun put on his thinking cap like Jakande did in 1979 and he will discover that there can be a way out to keep his honour intact and give his people what he promised them  –  wholesale!

  • Thumbs up for Sanwo-Olu’s 100 days of quality service

    WHILE his colleagues elsewhere are making excuses for ineffectual take-off, Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State is flying high and making waves in just 100 days in office.

    I can hazard a guess for this impressive showing. This governor truly understands that government is a continuum and he makes no bones about it. He knows his predecessor has left him to bear some harsh financial brunt, but he’s not just sitting down to whine and moan about that. In an unobtrusive manner, he’s forging ahead, navigating through the hazy fog and making the best out of a not-too-comfortable economic weather.

    He reviewed what he met on ground and decided not to allow any of the abandoned projects he inherited to continue to rot away. The housing estate, made up of high rise buildings on the Ilubirin foreshore, for example, which was started by Raji Fashola in his time as governor but abandoned by his successor, Akinwunmi Ambode, in what can be described as an act of bad faith and clear misuse of power, has now come alive and alight with resumption of work evident and the skeletal concrete frames being beefed up.

    The terribly bad stretch of road in the Mile 2 and Okokomaiko axis of Badagry, hitherto abandoned, has also had life breathed into it and work has resumed there at a dizzying pace, to signpost a commitment to continuity and good governance.

    But there’s no greater testament to visionary and progressive administration than the 492 block of flats abandoned by Ambode in Igando which Sanwo-Olu revived and completed within his 100 days in office, and commissioned on Wednesday and named Lateef Kayode Jakande Gardens in honour of the first civilian governor of the state, who was so passionate about mass and decent accommodation for people that housing estates sprouted in his time like mushrooms in all the five divisions of the state, all within four years and three months of dynamic and people-oriented governance.

    Our people talk of what the night will look like most times known from the morning. If the way Governor Sanwo-Olu is attending to issues of state at the present time is any yardstick to measure with; and if he sustains this tempo and temperament, he is bound to join the Jakande and Tinubu ranks in the hall of enduring fame in the state of excellence at the end of his tenure.

    Can we for now give the nimble governor 100 bouquet of flowers for walking his May 29 inauguration talk? I think he deserves it.

  • In defence of country: The $9.6b judgment

    Nigerians recently received with shock the news that a foreign court had granted an enforcement order for over $9Bn (Nine Billion US Dollars) as compensatory damages in the matter of Process and Industrial Development Ltd v Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), as a consequence of the determination by an arbitration panel that the Government of Nigeria failed to live up to its contractual obligations.

    This case raises certain fundamental public policy issues which must be addressed, lest the best interests of our nation are wittingly or unwittingly mortgaged. We must also be mindful of the fact that the award represents about 25% of our annual national budget, and the enforcement of this order will have very real consequences on our national development ambitions. My position on this subject should not be taken as an endorsement of Nigeria’s sometimes unpardonable ways of not respecting the sanctity of contracts, but as a consideration of this case as a standalone matter, distinguished both by the nature of the contract, the subtext of its wider implication and the possible unintended consequences 0f enforcing this final award.

    Let us consider first whether or not the Commercial Court of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales has jurisdiction over the enforcement of the arbitral award, and following from that, whether there is a difference between the Seat of Arbitration and the Venue of Arbitration. The Agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the claimant clearly stated that the agreement shall be construed in accordance with the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This unambiguously implies that any interpretation of the contract, issues or dispute arising out of the contract shall be resolved in accordance with the Laws of Nigeria. In other words, as far as any issue arises from the entire contract, whether as to the manner or style of performance of the contract, non-performance, recourse to arbitration and enforcement of any award, the laws of the FRN will apply. Parties went further to agree that the Nigeria Arbitration and Conciliation Act CAP A18 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and its ancillary Rule shall be applied in the resolution of any dispute.

    There is as a matter of statute and precedence, a world of difference between the venue/place of arbitration and seat of arbitration (Lex Arbitiri). While the “place” or venue can be a choice of convenience to the parties, the “seat” is a legal construct which determines the court that has supervisory powers over the conduct of the arbitration. In the extant case, apart from stating that the contract between the parties shall be governed by Nigerian law, the contract equally provided that any arbitration shall be governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, which invariably means that the seat of Arbitration shall be Nigeria. This is because the Nigerian Arbitration and Conciliation Act envisages the supervision of any arbitration under the Act by Nigerian Courts and not English Courts. For the avoidance of doubt, Section 57 of the Act defines court found in the Act to mean the “High Court of a State, the High Court of a Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or the Federal High Court”. The choice of London as the venue of the arbitration is, therefore, a matter of convenience and cannot be construed to mean the seat of arbitration as determined by the Arbitral Tribunal and the judgment of Justice Butcher.

    In the extant case, the contract provides that the venue will be London but the law governing the conduct of the arbitration (seat of arbitration) is the law of Nigeria.  This to my mind is a concerted effort by the parties to clearly determine their terms to the letter. To hold anything to the contrary will amount to a butchering of the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA). It is my opinion that the High Court of England has neither the supervisory nor enforcement jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings as the letters of the GSPA is very clear on that issue. The court with the jurisdiction is the Federal High Court of Nigeria. This position is supported by the ruling of the English courts in Tonicstar v. American Home Assurance Company (2004) EWHC 1234 wherein the Court held that where a contract was made in London, signed in London, to be executed in London, made in accordance with the laws of England, it is to be inferred that the parties intended these provisions to be determined by the English court, but even when there is no implied choice of law, there is a presumption under the Rome Convention that the applicable law is that of the place of business of the party whose performance is characteristic of the contract.

    As to the question of whether under the international law, the High Court England and Wales has jurisdiction to attach the property of another sovereign nation, I submit that where a sovereign state submits to arbitration, the award emanating from the arbitration proceedings cannot be denied on the ground of immunity. However, a waiver of immunity on adjudication is different from the immunity from attachment or execution. Assuming without conceding that the FRN impliedly waived its immunity from adjudication, it did not waive its immunity from attachment or execution. Section 13(2)(b) of the State Immunity Act of England 1978 provides that a sovereign state’s property can only be attached with the state’s consent or where the property is shown to be expressly used for commercial purpose. To this extent, should the judgement eventually stand, the issue of attachment of state property will still have to be addressed. At which point a distinction would be drawn between state assets for state purposes which are beyond the reach of any enforcement judgment and state assets for commercial purposes which may be attached as per the order of a competent court.

    Every contractual dealing contains an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing presuming that the parties will act fairly to each other. As at the time of filing their claim, there was no evidence the claimant had fulfilled their part of the contract. It is the claimant’s position that the construction of a pipeline by the federal government comes in advance of their own obligation to build the gas plant, and it is as a consequence of the federal government’s failure to build that pipeline that the claimant now seeks to walk away with an award of Nine Billion US Dollars.  This is a flawed position that should have been defeated at the earliest stages of the litigation in this matter. Filing a claim against a contractual partner where you yourself are arguably in breach of the same contract is an unacceptable denunciation of the good faith and fair dealing principles that are at the heart of contract law. That both the Arbitration Panel and the British court allowed this position to stand is further reason why we must treat the outcomes of both processes with deserving scepticism.

    The Arbitration Panel determined the damages due to the claimant by calculating the claimant’s projected earnings over twenty (20) years, less capital and operating expenditure, assuming perfect market conditions. The Panel assumed that the yet to be built plant would have been delivered on time and would operate at 93% uptime for the twenty-year duration whilst the average global oil price remained above $100 (One Hundred US Dollars) for the same duration. Everything we know about the volatility of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria leads one to believe that the former assumption is based on nothing if not ephemeral hope. Already, the latter assumption has been rubbished by the real price of crude oil in the global markets since the determination of the final award. Yet, the award calculated using these fundamentally flawed indices still stands. This is neither fair nor just and we ought not to accept it without objection.

    We must all at this time avert our minds to the best options for resolution of this matter in a manner that protects the genuine commercial interests of the claimants without causing any more injury to the Nigerian state and the Nigerian people. Already, there are multiple appeals against both the arbitration award and the enforcement order by the British courts. As it is to the National Assembly, that the constitution of Nigeria grants the power of the purse, it is my opinion that the Assembly ought to be party to all ongoing litigation whether by means of joinder or by initiating fresh action. Whilst we await the final determination of these matters in the court of law, simultaneous diplomatic back-channel discussions must be ongoing. We must approach these talks with all options on the table, recognising the urgency of the situation and dire consequences of failure.

    I am heartened by the fact that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced a criminal investigation into the circumstances of the contract between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Process & Industrial Development Ltd.  I hope that this investigation will be conducted expeditiously and with due care so that where anyone is found liable for negligence, recklessness or less than professional conduct such a person will be made to face the full wrath of the law as a deterrent to others. Those who are elected and appointed to represent the interests of the people of Nigeria must recognise that they are rightly held to higher expectations, and they must live up to those expectations.

    Beyond the present matter, there is a need for the National Assembly to begin a comprehensive review of all protocols, treaties, and agreements signed by the country over the years whether or not ratified as it may be time to opt-out of those that may no longer serve our country’s interest. Time sometimes may change the dynamics and make such agreements less favourable to us as a country. Treaties are not in perpetuity and a country cannot be held in bondage by virtue of having signed one. The United States of America has a long history of conducting such reviews and acting in the best interests of the nation. Most recently, by withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal and withdrawing also from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with the latter now being renegotiated in view of present realities. This is the same approach we must adopt in the best interests of the Nigerian people.

    • Gbajabiamila is Speaker, House of Representatives

  • Ganduje and the politics of exclusion

    Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the second-term Governor of Kano State, is a well educated man. After a first degree in Science Education, he went on to earn two Masters degrees, one in Applied Educational Psychology and the other in Public Administration. He topped his formal education with a doctorate degree in Public Administration from the University of Ibadan.

    The 18-year gap between his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees were filled with doses of post-graduate education and his foray into politics. Indeed, he obtained his first Master’s degree in the same year (1979) that he became the Assistant Secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria in Kano state and also ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives.

    He would later succeed in elected office as Deputy Governor twice (1999-2003 and 2011-2015), both to Rabiu Kwankwaso. As Deputy Governor, he held the portfolio of Commissioner for Local Government. Between his two tenures as Deputy Governor, he served as Special Adviser (Political) to Kwankwaso, when the latter served as the Minister of Defence; as a member of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority; and as Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. Ganduje was eventually elected Governor of Kano in 2015 and won reelection in 2019 amidst controversies.

    Ganduje’s educational and political backgrounds confirm that he is neither unskilled in administration nor is he a political novice. You may quarrel with the way he has deployed his skills but you cannot deny him of adequate training and preparation for political office. He surely has brought his education and political skills to bear on his administration of Kano state. What is in dispute is his politics and his exercise of power.

    It is difficult to tease out Ganduje’s political ideology, given his migration from the People’s Democratic Party, which gained notoriety for corruption and electoral malpractices, to the All Progressives Congress. His political root in the defunct National Party of Nigeria with all its notoriety can only lead to more questions about his partisan politics. Perhaps the best one can say is that he shops for access to power like other political migrants or party switchers.

    What is most worrisome about Ganduje is his bulldozer approach to the quest for power and its exercise. His conception of power seems to privilege control and exclusion rather than facilitation and inclusion. Having fallen out with Kwankwaso, his former boss and friend, he engaged the state police command to prevent Kwankwaso from coming to Kano, where the latter was a two-term Governor and a serving State Senator at the time.

    True, he accused Kwankwaso of overbearing influence on local politics, referring to him as “somebody who had left office (still trying) to influence what happened in the state”. Nevertheless, barring Kwankwaso from entering the state belies Ganduje’s educational pedigree.

    If it took the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari to restore the appearance of democratic civility between him and Kwankwaso, then it means that Ganduje either lacks that quality or chose to suspend it for personal political gain. All the fight against Kwankwaso was meant to increase his (Ganduje’s) chance of winning re-election, while simultaneously reducing the chances of Kwankwaso’s PDP and its candidate.

    Ganduje was not done. He took the fight to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, by bulkanizing the Kano emirate into five, thus restricting Sanusi’s area of influence. Ganduje also instructed the traditional District heads not to participate in Sanusi’s traditional Durbar celebration. Ganduje had earlier cancelled another traditional Sallah event, which the Emir of Kano usually attends, citing security concerns.

    Anyone familiar with the eminent history of the Kano emirate would understand the extent to which Ganduje has gone to trample on emirate’s history and tradition in pursuing his own political goals (see Jide Osuntokun’s historical excursion in Ganduje and the emirate of Kano, The Nation, June 13, 2019). The District heads were not unaware of this history, hence their attendance at Sanusi’s Durbar event against Ganduje’s order.

    If Sanusi’s characteristic critical commentary were the only problem Ganduje had with the Emir, then Ganduje could be accused of lacking the necessary political spine to take criticism. However, his grouse with the Emir goes much deeper. It is not unconnected with the latter’s alliance with Kwankwaso in supporting the opposition Peoples Democratic Party candidate against Ganduje during the governorship election.

    Sanusi’s support of Kwankwaso was predictable, although he could have been much more diplomatic in showing it. It was Kwankwaso who installed him as the Emir of Kano against odds from within and outside the emirate council: There were serious protests by the supporters of other keen competitors from within, while the Jonathan presidency did all it could to stop the installation. Ganduje cannot plead ignorance as he was Kwankwaso’s Deputy at the time.

    There are several takeaways from the Ganduje-Kwankwaso and Ganduje-Sanusi conflicts. It is high time we reflected hard on the rampant conflict between politicians who previously had a boss-subordinate relationship, as between Kwankwaso and Ganduje; between Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Nyesom Wike; between Peter Obi and Willie Obiano; and between Adams Oshiomhole and Godwin Obaseki.

    The underlying theme in the disputes is the overbearing influence of the former boss. There is a lesson here for former Governors: Once you leave office, let your successor be his own man or woman. At the same time, subordinates-turn-Governor must always acknowledge and respect their benefactors. They should remember that they, too, will have to learn new ropes as ex-Governor tomorrow.

    Clearly, Emir Sanusi, as the traditional ruler of Kano, should have been much less outwardly critical of Governor Ganduje, the democratic political leader of the state. Recent events pitting them against each other show that ach of them requires much more tact and diplomacy in dealing with the other.

    On the surface, Ganduje’s treatment of Kwankwaso went too far, given the long-time relationship between them. Similarly, Ganduje’s tit-for-tat approach in responding to Sanusi went too far, having won re-election, despite the latter’s support for his rival.

    The above notwithstanding, Nigerian politicians should brace up for rancorous encounters with highly educated and exposed traditional rulers.

  • Nigeria’s crippled present

    It is a fact that today’s Nigeria is characterised by rudderlessness, a recipe for disintegration as the vast majority of the population live in utter misery.  The miseries of insecurity, unemployment, galloping inflation, despondency, and material poverty have turned most Nigerians into refugees and miscreants.  It beggars belief how things could have got this bad.

    Anybody with the faintest idea of godliness would agree with me that the Nigerian state is on the verge of collapse as the centre does not hold.  Therefore, something constitutional and yet radically inclined has to be done without further bloodletting of innocent people.  The Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970 should not be a wasted experience for this generation and posterity.  I want to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to start in a more pragmatic fashion, to change the current ugly national narrative.  Nigeria has been destined to occupy a conspicuous space in the sun, but Satanism which promotes bad governance among other things remains a serious challenge to grapple with.  The president would be remembered by posterity as a great elder statesman if he could start charting the pathway of sustainable peace and progress.  Nigerians are agonising and bleeding more than hitherto.  However, the good news is that our problems despite their enormity and complexity are not beyond redemption.  The first step towards redemption is to accept that we have difficulties that must be tackled with utmost commitment including tenacity.

    The Nigerian economy can only be successfully driven by experts who are not corruption-stained.  Appointing people solely on the basis of political, ethnic, and/or religious affiliation is an invitation to colossal failure.  An administration of mediocrities is harmful to the health of a nation.  Even a world-class leader, surrounded by mediocrities can never succeed.

    For instance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister for Finance in 2006 took Nigeria out of the woods or deprivation trap, as a result of her enormous skills and experience in political economy.  She succeeded in lifting the foreign financial burden of Nigeria.  But by 2015, this same country had N15 trillion debt to contend with.  Currently, the narrative is much more worrying because Nigeria’s foreign debt has dangerously reached monumental proportions – N24 trillion or thereabouts.  Party members carrying about guns, cutlasses and broken bottles during electioneering campaigns may be given compensatory jobs that are peripheral to the Nigerian economy.

    No matter how difficult, the marauding herdsmen and/or bandits have to be called to order.  Enough is enough!  Certainly, history would condemn this administration if it failed or refused to urgently resolve the numerous security issues in the land.  Nigerians are tired of rhetoric in the face of unprecedented killings of innocent people. Politicisation of security issues among other things, is an irritation to Providence and of course, humanity.

    According to Kantian philosophy enshrined in ethics, it is the height of immorality to see humans as tools for getting political power.  Human beings are an end in themselves as opposed to a means to an end.  However, politicisation of issues did not start with this administration, even though it (the Buhari government) promised a change from a comatose system to a near-ideal state.  Former President Goodluck Jonathan never gave an encouraging, rapid response to the case of the abducted Chibok girls numbering 276.  According to Jonathan, it was a mere gimmicky idea to discredit or de-market his administration.

    This was most worrying given the several intelligence agencies in the country.  In 2014, General Buhari as the presidential flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised to liberate all the Chibok girls and also crush the Boko Haram insurgents with some uncommon rapidity.  The promises made in 2014 had turned out to be full of sham and unfettered hypocrisy.  Even the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Advocacy Group which our former amiable presidential candidate once supported suddenly became an association of demons headed by Dr. Oby Ezekwezeli, when General Buhari won the election in 2015.

    It is the height of primitiveness for anybody to be talking about ECOWAS Protocols with a special emphasis on transhumance in the 21st century.  Transhumance is a form of pastoralism involving seasonal migrations of livestock across West Africa.  Why should Nigeria, the rhetorical African giant, be snoring so loudly in the face of territorial incursion that threatens our corporate existence?  It is very painful to note here, that such smaller West African countries as Benin, Togo and Ghana never allowed ECOWAS Protocols to rubbish their territorial integrity while Nigeria remains a dumping ground for numerous pastoralists and their cattle.

    Facets of our age-old values and value-systems are being barbarised and crippled by the political leadership due to personal aggrandisement.  It is most disturbing that the security agencies do not co-ordinate their activities any longer.  Therefore, they are under suspicion of unethical, unprofessional behaviour.  The killing of three police intelligence officers by some soldiers at a location between Ibi and Jalingo in Taraba State on August 6, coupled with the escape of the handcuffed, suspected kidnapper – Hamisu Bala Wadume reminds one of a country that has lost its soul to Satan.

    At last, Wadume has been re-arrested by the police.  Who says that kidnapping is not a sophisticated, lucrative business in Nigeria where two plus two may be equal to ten?  Mr. President, the above are some of the reasons why certain young Nigerians are calling for a radical change or revolution.  The Sowores would naturally disappear in the face of good governance.  But they (the Sowores) would be multiplying if bad governance persisted.  Rising insecurity, unemployment and hopelessness are a political time bomb for this government.

    Coercion which currently defines Nigeria is an archaic political style that runs deep in a dictatorial regime as opposed to a constitutional democracy.  But history shows us that coercion cannot last for ever and that peaceful protests are an inevitable tool for socio-political and economic change.  Democracy derives its robust legitimacy from the people.  Elections which constitute the central pillar of democracy cannot be said to be free, fair and credible in Nigeria where the umpires easily compromise on the truth.

    In Nigeria, only the executive arm dominates the political landscape as we celebrate jaundiced democracy to the chagrin of people in saner climes and cultures.  No respect for the rule of law.  This is a minus for this administration that promised to change the ugly system.  However, I’m not unaware of the fact that change can be positive or negative.  No meaningful economic progress can be made in a thoroughly crippled geo-polity like Nigeria where some criminals are sacred cows.  Given this scenario, governments at all levels would continue to find themselves confronted by massive opposition.  Nigeria can become a workable project once the political leadership especially at the centre creates a bigger space for selflessness and patriotism – two critical indices of national progress on a sustainable scale.

    • Prof Ogundele is of Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.

  • A roadmap for environment and water resources

    Lagos State Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu sold a dummy before a capacity crowd of family members, top technocrats, party leaders and new cabinet members who had gathered at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa for the swearing in of members of the state Executive Council on Tuesday, August 20. While reading out the names and portfolios of his cabinet members, he said: “Mr Tunji Bello, Commissioner for Water Resources and….. He was not allowed to  complete his sentence when the crowd went into an exclamatory ‘Haaaaa’ which was however deflated when the Governor concluded his sentence by adding “and the Environment”. The import of the remark by the crowd was not lost on many who had anticipated that a two -time commissioner for the environment, Tunji Bello might stage a return as the commissioner for the environment. What many never bargained for was that he would have an enlarged portfolio that will include water resources management.

    Before then the governor had given some inkling that with his administration, it would not be business as usual for the management of the environment as he signed his first executive order on indiscriminate refuse dumping, traffic management and public work. That singular move gave a fillip to the efforts to arrest the drift which the unresolved issue of clearing the streets and neighbourhoods of refuse has brought upon Lagos State. For all those who thought Lagos was once again returning to the notorious toga of the city of mountainous heaps of refuse, it is either you shape up or you ship out. His body language was very demonstrative that he would enforce the law as it concerns infractions which were gradually gaining a foothold in our day to day life.

    He ensured that the State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) returned to prime position of regulator in managing generated waste in the state. The organisation aggressively resumed the clearing of refuse from the streets and the several illegal dump sites that daily assaults our faces and nostril with its oozing stench. Several of the vehicles of LAWMA which had disappeared from the streets resurfaced and were complimented by Private Sector Participants (PSP) operators. It is however expected that the Private Sector Participant (PSP) waste operators who were pivotal to the successes recorded some years ago in clearing refuse from the nooks and crannies of the state would still be central to achieving a much cleaner Lagos dream of the present administration.

    There is no doubt that the capacity of the PSP operators have been greatly diminished. One expects help to noaw come from the state government to provide capacity to the operators. Presently, what we see on the roads daily are ramshackle trucks that have seen better days. If assistance is provided and new trucks procured, it will not only improve the profitability of the PSP companies, it will also improve efficiency in terms of the volume of waste carted away from the streets and tenements. Additionally, the presence of  more street sweepers in their brightly colored uniforms on the highways is highly desirable. For now, very little of their activities are being felt on many of the roads they usually operate from before now because their numbers have reduced considerably. One recall with nostalgia, couple of years ago, when they readily complimented the cleaning efforts of the state by continually sweeping the streets and highways.

    Just as the major landfill site in the state at Olusosun may get filled up in the next four or five years but before that happens, embracing a culture of waste sorting becomes desirable. Through waste sorting, biogradeable materials are set aside and leading to waste buy back which could open new vistas of limitless economic opportunities for those in the business of waste buy back. It is a venture that needs to be encouraged wholesomely. In addition to being a profitable economic venture, it will also help reduce the volume of waste generated on a daily basis in lagos  which presently stands at 14 ,000 metric tonnes from the 10,000 metric tonnes which it was some four years ago. In several ways it would be a win-win situation for all. The economic fortune of many people would be improved. Generated waste is reduced considerably and the environment is the better for it.

    By the latest decision to expand the scope of the ministry of the environment to include water resources, the governor has positioned the ministry to go beyond mere managing the drainages in Lagos State and preventing flooding but also going a notch higher by managing all the water bodies. It would also be the responsibility of the new ministry to collaborate with the Nigerian Metrological Service. We should have no apprehensions anymore whenever NIMET issues its rainfall alert because apart from having foolproof measures in place to tackle the anticipated emergencies, the state would also monitor the five major rivers discharge into the state. The time has also come for concerted efforts to be heightened to convert all the waste water in the state into safe and usable water. The reticulation of major water network should be improved upon and ensure that mini water works that are not working at optimum capacity are improved upon. When public water supply improves with attendant reticulation, a lot of the boreholes that are springing up in many neighbourhoods and causing incalculable damages and pollution to the water bed would have no uses. It would also manage the wetlands which are some of nature’s provision of balancing the eco system.

    Several parks and gardens dot the Lagos landscape and constitutes some of the beautiful exotic spots and sights of the state. However, many of such parks can still do with additional support from corporate organisations as it was the practice couple of years back. Every yuletide period evoke beautiful memories of the Zenith Bank Park at Adeola Odeku in Victoria Island. Nothing stops several others blue chip companies taking up other similar parks which would not only project such companies favorably but would also be very good corporate social responsibility steps. n this light, the State Parks and Garden Agency must also ensure that all open spaces and set backs are beautified and secured. Part of the strategy as it was adopted before, was to make use of the good boys and girls who populate the areas close to the beautified spaces to secure them by hiring them to work on the landscape areas.

    Punitive measures should also be taken against people who cut trees indiscriminately without permit and contribute to depleting the ozone layer without planting many to replace the cut trees. For now, many believe that it is nobody’s business, if a tree is fell by an individual, after all nobody own such trees but little do they realize that a tree is a living organism and that cutting a tree is akin to killing a living soul or committing murder! Until a few people are made examples of and prosecuted, the message may not sink as desired. On a yearly basis, tree planting exercises are held with fanfare at all level of government. Much more needs to be done.  The trees planted annually should be tended and monitored so that years after, such trees can grow into adulthood. This unwholesome act if not checked would make some specie of trees become extinct .The greening of Lagos and attaining a flood free, sustainable environment is a task that must be done by every resident.

    • Adeshina is Director( Public Affairs), Ministry of The Environment and Water Resources, Lagos State.