The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • EndSARS: Social action and epistemic justice

    EndSARS: Social action and epistemic justice

    By Samuel Akpobome Orovwuje

    The President hears a hundred voices telling him that he is the greatest man in the world. He must listen carefully indeed to hear the one voice that tells him he is not. “ – Harry Truman

    Social action is a proven gateway for citizens to voice or protest against what they see as fundamental political and economic injustices in any society. Such determined resistance is usually described by authoritarian rulers and the elite club, who most times do not give in to such demands, as “actions against the state”.

    The EndSARS movement provides a glimpse into successive leadership failures in the absence of a virile opposition. The campaign in no time took on a life of its own – as an ideologue for national rebirth. The actions of the indomitable youth across the country lifted the veil on corruption and police brutality. It established itself as a movement impossible to ignore in our quest for authentic leadership and good governance. The campaigners are able, fearless, resourceful, well-coordinated and ceaseless in their efforts to arouse a new nationalism. It is an article of faith for citizen-led reforms, a call to raise a new class of competent and empathetic leaders, an engagement to fix politics. The movement purposefully campaigned against widespread police brutality and championed reforms for good governance. The movement carried the weight of the failure of successive governments to deliver on their promises to the people. They are risk-takers who defy ethnicity, religion and other political persuasions to prove that change is possible. They are revolutionaries who defy a decade of an oppressive policing system.

    An effective and accountable police service is the bedrock on which peace, law and order are maintained. Therefore, public confidence in the police service (force) is of critical importance while government must also ensure that citizens’ constitutional rights are respected. Despite statements and promises by government officials on the initial demands by the protesters, it has become clear that there is a lack of concrete timelines and deliverable benchmarks, just as there is the absence of a well-crafted plan on police reforms.

    Curiously, the cocktail of judicial postmortems into alleged police brutality across the country remain to be seen as a means of truth telling and reconciliation for national healing from the unfortunate Lekki 20/10 incident. The pressure is on our leaders right now to rethink the current governance architecture in terms of inclusivity and sustainability in line with global standards. Regrettably, our political leaders have become prisoners of their own game of survival with a manifest military overhang vilifying progress.

    It is of utmost concern and a sad spectacle that governors are acting more like seat warmers for their local and Abuja godfathers, rather than as stewards of the people they are meant to serve, and have become astonishingly reckless in their pronouncements. They have shown that they lack the aptitude or responsiveness to handle protest, dissent and reforms. The governors and their collaborators are ignorant of the pitfalls that lie ahead with the End SARS panel of inquiry and the divisive nation-building narratives across the political divide. The messages resonating from those in power smacks of irresponsibility.

    A content analysis of the social media space puts the users at 3.8 billion, representing 50% of the global population, with an additional one billion internet users anticipated to come online in the coming years. The notion of business, politics and governance has taken a new significance and versatility in the digital age. Indeed, the youth represent this transition with their ever-growing network of users. It should be noted that social media attracts a younger audience and the publicity for the movement remains vibrant.  Social media will continue to shape the future of democracy in Nigeria, particularly in politics and governance. The latest bids by the executive and the National Assembly to regulate the social media space as means to combat fake news is likely to fail woefully if it is merely a smokescreen to stifle dissent. Recent events suggest that there is no room for inept leaders and authoritarian regimes masquerading as democrats.

    The soft power capabilities of the new media and citizen-to-government diplomacy, as tools for existential gatekeeping, is salutary. Going forward, the government should prioritise this relationship in understanding the nexus between social movements (such as street protests) and participatory democracy in the emerging global governance ecosystem and how it ties into the politics of restructuring over-bloated national and state assemblies and the mischievous and underperforming bureaucracy that supervises the criminal neglect of the masses in the face of state corruption by politicians and their collaborators.

    Furthermore, the government must focus their creative energy on raising dynamic, innovative and principle-centred youths, who can drive positive and far-reaching transformation and social interventions that support transitions in the areas of knowledge-based education, entrepreneurship and civic participation in governance beyond the tokenism of N-Power and other public work schemes.

    One of the norms of liberal democracy is that it is shaped by various forms of protest, movements and civil disobedience against entrenched power structures. Yet the state often believes that civil movements are unreasonable whilst demonising their leaders as terrorists and destabilising agents of opposition parties. The government should instead focus on building strategic communication with the teeming youth through their key decision-makers and influencers with a view to fostering collaborative teams that work together seamlessly to resolve the demands (such as police and constitutional reforms) of the people.

    It is imperative for the government to galvanise the youth as accountability partners for increased impact for national productivity. A sustained strategic conversation that will inspire trust and feedback mechanisms on government deliverables and policy implementation milestones will be a sweet-smelling bouquet that would assuage the people’s agitations.

    Lastly, the Buhari government must learn how to engage by considering the consequences of today’s political leadership misadventures on tomorrow’s nation- building efforts. Sixty years of oppressive leadership, unprecedented propaganda and disinformation led to the socio-economic conditions that gave rise to EndSARS. The EndSARS campaign is an unfinished business.

    • Orovwuje is founder, Humanitarian Care for Displaced Persons, Lagos.
  • What Buratai must do in Northeast operation

    What Buratai must do in Northeast operation

    By Duff Ejok

    SIR: Developments in Nigeria’s Boko Haram and bandits-infested Northeast suggest that the war against insurgency in the region is not yet over, and that it is not going to be over anytime soon. Boko Haram and banditry, a recent splinter of the diehard Islamic sect, has continued to flex muscle with troops in different military locations of the North East Operation.

    Continually, troops and the insurgents have shifted strategy and mode of operation from one to another, as the insurgency lingers. Whereas the military is dominant and the legitimate force for repressing enemies of the state, the adversary – Boko Haram and recently its splinter groups have also been resilient in their retaliatory attacks.

    In fact, goings-on in the Northeast strongly indicates that Boko Haram is not a sect of no consequence. With its guerilla warfare strategy, the group has been a hard nut to crack. In the last 10 years of existence, the group has dealt a remarkable blow to the country’s security apparatus. Military bases and personnel in the ongoing operation, the civil populace, and members of the sect under chase have all suffered setbacks.

    Boko Haram has relied on intelligence from their moles and fifth columnists to ambush troops on the move and in other instances, attack and dislodge military locations. This hit-and-run tactic by members of the group and its use of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) traps on the field have yielded several wins for the insurgents, whilst troops of the operation has also triumphed in many other instances. The death toll of soldiers arising from landmine blast increases every day.

    As it were, the insurgents and troops of the Nigeria Army are in for an endless supremacy battle with none willing to surrender to the other. And to subdue Boko Haram, the military must not only possess and sustain higher firepower but also have the political will to end the sect and its activities.

    Going forward, the Army Chief, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai should, therefore, ensure the rearmament of all military super camps and locations with specialised vehicles that can survive mine blast- that is Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP), bomb-resistant vehicles, Ground Penetrating Radar Improvised Explosive Device; and long-distance protective systems; undertake the systematic approval of pass, rotation, and redeployment of overstayed personnel in the operation, to keep up the energy of troops; introduce more incentives and improve the welfare and daily allowance of troops, to make it more attractive for troops on the battlefield.

    He should embark on a periodic staff audit to ensure that men and officers on the operation grounds tally with the total number deployed on paper; effect the immediate deployment of men and officers that have not been deployed to the Northeast even once to also have an experience of the operation, in order to diminish the growing acrimony fueled by perceived god-fathersim, favouritism, and nepotism in the Armed Forces; provide transit camps, that is accommodation for men and officers transiting to or returning to their locations, in order not for them to spend money on accommodation.

    Furthermore, he should carry out an inspection visit to all super camps and locations in the Northeast to feel the pulse of troop in the frontlines as well as see how they are faring; provide jungle kits for men in the operation ground, and, once in a while, relax the soldierly regimentation and treat men and officers in the battle zones to periodic dinner and parley, to boost the morale of troops and help in strategic/tactical planning and implementation of the anti-insurgency campaigns.

    • Duff Ejok, Abuja.
  • On ex-governors’ jumbo pensions

    On ex-governors’ jumbo pensions

    By Mikky Attah

    The governor of a Nigerian state is a very powerful individual. His access to wealth enormous. He is both chief accountant and chief spender of all the resources of state. In fact, funds for the remaining two arms of government are not paid independently but are disbursed through the executive branch. He can borrow huge funds using both domestic and external facilities- without any intention of repaying. The funds are collected in the name of his state. Governors have access to the ‘security vote’, for which there is no requirement that it be accounted for. And once there is a desire to search for “foreign investors”, then estacode is made available on demand for foreign travel and tours.

    The citizens of a lot of these states however go without salaries for many months; some states owe workers for up to one year, before paying. Retired workers often die lined-up in queues, waiting to collect their infrequently paid pensions, or waiting for verification- before even thinking of getting their pensions and gratuities. In all of it, their chief executive, while in office leads a lavish lifestyle, whether or not others receive wages, pensions or gratuities.

    Meanwhile the rosy life in office is just the good part. The best part comes after their term in office! It is then that many Nigerian governors live it up. In an act unknown to economic principles whereby the employee fixes his own salary and benefits, very many governors pay themselves jumbo pensions, salaries and  hefty allowances. Governors in 26 out of the 36 states of Nigeria have presented and passed executive bills for laws to be passed for their own stupendous jumbo ‘pension’ packages. The law usually covers their deputies; in some cases, it even extends to the principal officers of the state House of Assembly.  Expectedly, the governor demands…..EVERYTHING!

    A typical governor’s pension package will look something like this: ‘befitting’ mansions built for them by the state government in their state capital as well as in Lagos or Abuja, whichever the governor chooses (minimum specification is a five-bedroom maisonette). Furniture allowance for ‘befitting’ furnishing of aforementioned maisonette (every 3-4 years; N100 million as gratuity, 100% of current basic salary of the incumbent and deputy, that is, full salary for former governors for life. Brand new jeeps and Hilux cars to be replaced every few years , 300% basic salary for car maintenance and 300% of basic salary for utilities. N5 million monthly to pay for a steward, cook, driver, personal aide and security. Female security is required for spouses (or male security, as in the case with spouses of female deputy governors!), 100% of basic salary for entertainment. Medical allowances, within the country and overseas for UNSPECIFIED numbers of family members for life (his applies even to those who have more than one wife!).

    Now, apart from seeing to the life of ease of these governors all through their lives, their pension packages extend till even after their deaths! And so you have provisions such as: 300% of basic salary to be paid to next of kin upon the death of a former governor as ‘Condolence Allowance’. An annual sum of N12 million paid to the widow or widower for life ( N6m for the spouse of a deputy  governor). This is all in addition to the already established rule that the state government bears FULL COST of the burial of a former governor.

    What is also incredible in all this is that the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC ,already has something in place for former governors and chief judges. 300% of basic salary is the severance allowance for governors. The commission also recommends a regular change of one car. In addition, the Nigerian Police and the DSS provide paid security for former governors and their deputies. But today, former governors receive N10 million minimum monthly from their various state governments, not adding all other allowances and perks.

    It is said of Nigeria that this is the most expensive democracy in the world, with the bulk of expenses going on running costs.

    One thing that is certain is that the states that pay this jumbo pension to their former governors rank at the top of the list of states with the highest domestic debts. They also have the highest external debt, of states in Nigeria. It must also be noted that those states post the highest youth unemployment rates. Considering that an estimated 30% of available revenue is spent on maintaining former governors on average, then there is not much left of the rest 70% to add on new wages. It is shuddering to think of the number of governors those 26 states have to cater for, with the number continuously rising. In Imo State for instance, that number is put at 15, paid full salary monthly, running up billions of naira monthly, to maintain just those few. The remaining millions of citizens of that state, just like those in other states go without basic amenities and very poor health services as their states continue to cater to the increasing demands of those privileged few.

    Then came Governor Hope Uzodinma. Just as Nigerians had resigned themselves to their ‘ hopeless’ situation, the Imo State governor (pleasantly) surprised the nation with his 2020 law repealing pensions for former governors. In a year of dwindling federal allocation, increase in tariffs and “lockdown” of income- generating economic activity and now recession, this law could not have come at a better time.

    In a complete reversal of the  trend wherein successive governors simply add juicier clauses to their pension packages, for greater luxury, Uzodinma put a stop to it all, in Imo. Also, the governor of Lagos State,  Babajide Sanwo- Olu has given notice to the state House of Assembly of an impending executive bill to repeal the law providing for pensions for former governors. Sanwo-Olu stressed the need to keep the cost of governance at a minimum.

    In repealing the jumbo pension law, Uzodinma also said something every other educated Nigerian already knew, but which the privileged governors totally disregarded: that by the constitutional provision, former governors are not even entitled to any pension! The constitutional minimum for pensions is 10 years in government service; the maximum tenure for an elected governor is eight years in office. Uzodinma not only said it was illegal for former governors to be paid pensions and gratuities, he has also said he finds it ‘indefensible’ that over one third of the budget would be devoted purely to servicing ex-governors and their deputies.  Notably, Uzodinma says the jumbo pensions had “led, for a very long time, to a precedence that does not encourage diligence and prudence in service delivery”. His sentiments are shared by the Lagos State governor, who told his House of Assembly that he firmly believes there is a need for innovative ways of “engendering a spirit of selflessness in public service”.

    It would be great if the 22 other states repealed their ex- governors’ pension laws as well.

     

    • Twitter @mikky_princess
  • All that’s ‘Arabic’ is not ‘Islamic’ (II)

    All that’s ‘Arabic’ is not ‘Islamic’ (II)

    Mohammed Adamu

     

    The word ‘POCCNR’, (with the ‘N’ in up-side-down and the ‘R’ in right-side-left positions) is the transliteration of the Slavic word ‘Rossiya’ or translated into English, ‘POCCNR’, for ‘Russia’ or ‘Russian’. By the way, it is because of the inverse positions of the ‘N’ and the ‘R’ that the word is usually apprehended almost instantaneously as ‘Russian’ especially in English-speaking and non-English-speaking European nations with a phobia for communism.

    Thus in the 60s’ McCarthy communist witch-hunt in the United States when every innocuous anti-democratic heresy was persecuted as the manifestation of communism, even a ‘popcorn’ selling outfit would’ve had to act on the side of caution not to advertise ‘POPCORN’ in capital letters, lest it risked exuding a provocative communist aura around itself. The American playwright Arthur Miller in his play ‘The Crucible’ lampoons this communist hysteria by fictionalizing the true-life story of a small Massachusetts town torn by accusation and counter-accusation of witchcraft.

    Meaning that the transliterated Hausa phrase ‘Naira Goma’ written in Arabic (ajami) alphabets will be no more ludicrously ‘Islamic’ -as alleged by the lawyer who had sued CBN against its use on our currency- than the transliterated word ‘??????’ will be justifiably ‘communist’ only because its mal-positioned ‘N’ and ‘R’ reveal a uniquely odoriferous Russian fragrance.

    Christians will not be justified to be spiritually paranoid about a Hausa phrase written in Arabic alphabets any more than anti-communist Americans should be ideologically paranoid about ‘??????’ merely because the inversed positions of two of its letters conjure the phobia of instant communist repugnance. Not any more than Christians should be paranoid about the Biblical Aramaic lament of Jesus on the Cross “Elli Elli lama sabachthani” only because it hardly departs from the Arabic ‘Allah Allah lama tharacthani’.

    Forty-three percent of the world population is said to be bilingual -with a ‘first, and usually native, language’ followed by a ‘second language’ which may either be ‘indigenous’ or ‘foreign’, ‘national’ or ‘international’. In fact, virtually every European language member of the Indo-European linguistic family has one other language member of the same linguistic family foreshadowing it either as a ‘second language’ or as some form of ‘dialectal alter-ego’; or maybe even as both.

    English in the UK for example has French and German languages competing as alter ego and or ‘second language’. In the United States it (English) has Spanish both as an alter-ego and as a contender especially against French for a ‘second’ American language. Canada by the way is a bi-lingual state -speaking both French and English- because the country was jointly founded by the French and the English. But guess what, English in Australia has ‘Mandarin Chinese’ and Arabic competing as that country’s ‘second language’; just as Arabic already is, after Hebrew, in Israel -and is in fact inscripted on its ‘Shekel’ currency.

    Many Hausa-speaking northerners by the way have Arabic, Fulfulde or English as ‘second language’. In fact, many others are privileged even to be tri-lingual. And just as a Kanuri-speaking northerner or a Yoruba-speaking southerner may speak one or two more local or national languages, so may they add to those repertoires foreign or international languages especially incidental either to their colonial or their religious history.

    Nigeria has had the experienced both of Western, Anglo-Christian and Middle-Eastern Arabo-Islamic missionary activities from two geo-culturally distinct antipodes of a North and a South. And this was in addition to the entire country’s colonial experience which itself was no less Anglo-Christian in its essence. The result was that whereas an Arabo-Islamic culture was rooted firmly in the North, an Anglo-Christian tradition borne especially by the unification objective of the colonial administration, was also imposed as well on the North, as on the South.

    And so if it makes no ‘secular’ sense to demand that a largely Christian South or rather the whole country should jettison its Judeo-Christian history in deference to a more secular, more avant-garde Nigeria that wears no religious vestiges, it should equally make no ‘secular’ sense to demand that the North or more specifically, the Muslim-North should take no pride in the preservation of its Arabo-Islamic history. And if that history includes the ‘ajami’ Arabic inscription on our currency or even that on the military’s coat of arms, so be it -the same way that we cannot repudiate Judeo-Christian English as our official language merely so that we appease our mock-heroic romance with secularism.

    Arabic by the way is the language of the Muslims’ Quran just as English too is the language of the Christians’ Bible. If we are not culturally shy or secularly ashamed that the latter, in spite of its Judeo-Christian antecedent, has been elevated to official language of a multi-cultural and multi-religious Nigeria, why should we be for the trivial reason that Arabic enjoys an innocuous presence on our currency or on our military’s insignia?

    In truth Arabic should be more Judeo-Christian (having roots dating back to the very languages spoken by Jesus and the tribes, namely Aramaic and Hebrew) than English is merely for tracing its origin to Greek through Latin, -both of which although were the true Judeo-Christian vehicles by which the Bible was originally rendered, they were nonetheless not nearly as ‘kinfolk’ with Aramaic and Hebrew as Arabic is. And so it is monumentally ironic that our Christian brothers should be more spiritually tolerant of an essentially Indo-European English with a blunted navel that has no link to Jesus, than they are of a Middle-Eastern Arabic with its umbilical cord straight to the patriarchs.

    This will be no less mock-heroic than the U.S. writer and Stockbroker Clarence Shepard Day Sr. in his play ‘Life With The Father’ bragging: “Aside from a few odd words in Hebrew, I took it completely for granted that God had never spoken anything but the most dignified English”. And so if the language of the Bible is English, and if we suppose too that the language of God Himself is English (as Clarence argues), might we then have concluded -as we do always about whatever is Arabic being also Islamic- that whatever is English is therefore Christian also?

    Epilogue

    Those who used the Arabic script to put the Hausa ajami phrase ‘Naira Goma’, meaning ‘Ten Naira’, on our currency and on the Nigerian Army Crest, the statement ‘Victory Is From God’, must have had purely linguistic motives -to inform especially a preponderant number of the northern army rank-and-file and a majority of northern users of our currency who were proficient probably then only in ajami -the same way that those who accepted English as our official language would not have had any motive other than the linguistic. And so, if it is uncharitable -concerning the official use of English- to impute tribal, cultural or religious motive, it should even be more so uncharitable to impute similar motives concerning the use of Ajami.

    But the linguistic or the communicative motive may not similarly be imputed about those who inserted the ‘Star of David’ on the Nigerian Army Crest. Those who did that obviously must’ve thought that they were finding accommodation for ‘something Christian’ on an Army Crest that they believed already had ‘something Islamic’ -because it had the ajami ‘Victory Is From God’. Meaning that they must’ve deemed the ajami to be ‘Islamic’ first before they would’ve been burdened by the sense of equitable duty to balance the scale of faith by inserting the ‘Star of David’ to appease Christian sentiment. An error yes, but quite obviously a sincere one, if you ask me.

    And so truth is, it is the introduction of the ‘Star of David’ on the Nigerian Army Crest that has in it (even if innocently so) a religious motive -namely Christian; and not the inscription of the Hausa ajami, whether on the Army Crest or on our currency. That, definitely is not Islamic; nor even, technically Arabic. It is merely linguistic!

     

  • COVID-19 and UNICEF’s clarion call to save humanity

    COVID-19 and UNICEF’s clarion call to save humanity

    By Noah Dallaji

     

    IN a moving narrative, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently drew attention to the dire plight of children around the world who may suffer a generational loss except a coordinated global action is taken to prevent, mitigate and respond to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The consequences, UNICEF said, could be devastating for children and for the future of humanity.

    To avert this ugly situation, the global body has proposed a six-point action plan which could reunite the world around the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Convention of the Rights of the Children,

    Of critical concern here are children subjected to poverty, exclusion or violence, those with disabilities, children affected or displaced by humanitarian crisis and children without parental care who, UNICEF said, could live with the impact of this pandemic for decades to come, hence the call for global action.

    The plan of action proposed include: Ensure that all children return to school and learn and close the digital divide, guarantee access to health and nutrition services and make vaccines affordable to every child, support and protect the mental health of children and young people and bring an end to abuse and gender-based violence. Others are access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene, environmental degradation, reversal in the rise of child poverty and ensure inclusive recovery for all as well as redoubling efforts to protect and support children and their families living through conflict, disaster and displacement.

    Altogether, these are very relevant suggestions by UNICEF towards a pragmatic answer to the varied fallouts of the Covid-19 scourge which ravaged the world and hopefully could help to move the world closer to the attainment of the laudable contents of the Sustainable Development Goals.

    It is pertinent to state that many of the issues raised by UNICEF had been with many countries before Covid-19 but it is true that they were actually exacerbated by the pandemic, leading to untold deprivations, disruptions and sheer misery. Covid-19 compounded the vulnerabilities with scarcity of life-saving services and children were particularly hard hit worldwide.

    It is estimated that at their peak, nationwide school closures disrupted the learning of 91 per cent of students worldwide and some 463 million young people were not able to access remote learning during school shutdowns.

    Even with the reopening of schools in many countries especially in Africa where the initial predictions of experts failed to materialize in the context of cases compared to the west, the suggestion by UNICEF to close the digital divide by connecting young people to the internet by 2030 and reaching 3.5 billion children and young people with safe, quality, accessible and equitable online learning is a welcome development.

    And in spite of the staggering amount of money spent by governments across the world to mitigate the pandemic, it would appear that much more still need to be done to recover and possibly stabilize, a situation, experts said remains shaky due to the extent of damage to economies which will require a period of time to materialize and with concerted action.

    The economic crisis caused by Covid-19, report says, threatens to hit children hardest, with the number of children living below their national poverty lines expected to rise by 140 million by the end of the year. It is also observed that economic crises are often followed by cuts in government spending, including on programmes for children, a situation that could inflict poverty and deprivation.

    In the context of abuse and violence against children, UNICEF noted thus: “The world is waking to the extent -and lasting impacts- of child abuse and neglect. But Covid-19 crisis has only exacerbated violence, exploitation and abuse as children are cut off from key support services while simultaneously suffering the additional stress placed on families in turmoil. Girls are particularly vulnerable with child marriage and adolescent pregnancy already on the rise”. This is sad indeed.

    But hope is not lost. With concerted efforts regarding the UNICEF prescriptions, the world could overcome much of the challenges of development with particular reference to the plight of our children worldwide. All we need do is take action and be counted.

    Back home, Nigeria is not immune from these challenges arising from Covid-19 but it is gratifying that the government (both federal and states) commendably rose to the occasion by providing leadership and mitigating services despite the initial doubts. Understandably, even before the pandemic, the Nigerian economy had been grappling with recovery from the 2014 oil price shock, with GDP growth hovering around 2.3 per cent in 2019. In February, the IMF revised the 2020 GDP growth rate from 2.5 per cent to two per cent as a result of relatively low oil prices and related challenges which overall impacted negatively on the economy. Despite the challenges, the federal government was realistic in its response to Covid-19 by taking numerous steps to cushion the effect, including health, social and economic measures.

    In this regard were the strategic response via the Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill 2020 which provided support to businesses and individual citizens, granting free interest loans, cash transfers to millions of the poor and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stimulus package which offers N3 million to poor families impacted by Covid-19. Others were the food assistance rations distributed to Nigerians by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

    At the level of funding, it is salutary that the federal government in partnership with the private sector and multilateral institutions were committed to the $ 300 million budget to combat the pandemic to procure medical equipment, personal protective equipment and medicines for Covid-19 control.

    Notwithstanding the new lease of life which had seen the relaxation of lockdown and free movement of people and indeed the good news from Pfizer and Moderna regarding vaccines, it is instructive to continue to observe Covid-19 protocol as a precautionary measure. Covid-19 is not totally gone but quite very low across the country.

    Importantly, the situation of our children calls for critical interest by heeding the UNICEF global call for action which, in our case, will require continued funding of education and health institutions, thereby expanding access to education and essential health services for children and young people, prioritize the prevention  of and response to violence against children as a result of insurgency and displacement, access to clean water, nutrition through the school feeding programme, greater tackling of child poverty and inclusive recovery plan. Obviously, the situation is tough arising from dwindling oil sales and other social-economic issues but the clarion call for action should elicit a collaborative effort to save the children from the challenges of Covid-19 pandemic and ensure that both governments and partners work together to protect the rights of children. Perhaps realizing the enormity of the issues, the UNICEF has also offered some key economic suggestions which include debt relief and extension of current debt service suspension to middle-income countries which is a good thing in the face of global economic hiatus.

     Dallaji, founder, African Children Talent Discovery Foundation, wrote from Abuja.

  • Kidnapping on Kaduna-Abuja road

    Kidnapping on Kaduna-Abuja road

    By Ibrahim Mustapha

    SIR: Last week, as usual, dare-devil kidnappers had a successful outing along the Kaduna-Abuja road. These kidnappers stopped motorists, kidnapped the passengers and killed those who attempted to escape. According to the villagers living around the dangerous road, the kidnappers had four successful operations with many passengers losing their lives and countless victims taken into the kidnappers den.

    The return of the kidnappers to the busiest road in that part of the country is unfortunate and sad. It has come at a time when people are calling the authorities to bring to an end the abduction of helpless passengers happening on daily basis. The response of government to the rampant kidnapping is not encouraging. Although, there have been some deployments of anti-robbery squads in some strategic position which allayed fears among the people, overall, their presence has failed to checkmate the activities of kidnappers.

    The government should go beyond stationing police officers in every one or two kilometres of the road. Instead, there is the need for deployment of modern technology such as drone which will monitor the movement of these kidnappers and their hideous. The audacity with which these kidnappers carry out their attacks raises questions about the nation’s security. If this road that links Northwest States to the nation’s seat of power can be frequently attacked by daredevil kidnappers and with relatively ease, other roads in the country will become no go areas. Even with the return of rail transportation which proved effective and safe, the kidnappers often attacked train stations.

    Can we attribute the recent increase rate of kidnapping activities to the recent EndSARS protests that demoralized our men in uniform and kept them off the roads? It appears that some police officers are yet to recover from the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests that rocked the country.

    While the Kaduna-Abuja road is being deserted by travellers due to the activities of kidnappers, bad news of abduction continues to rent the air in Katsina and Zaria. The Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic Community, Zaria was thrown into confusion and sadness when recently, kidnappers entered the staff quarters, fired shots and abducted a lecturer. A similar attack on ABU staff quarters by kidnappers ended with a lecturer and his wife being taken away.

    What is really happening with our intelligence gathering? The kidnappers who operate along Kaduna -Abuja road are usually spotted in Gadan Malam Mamman and Rijana axis. They have been operating there for long time. In saner climes, these dark spots would have been thoroughly combed and those making lives difficult arrested.

    It has become imperative for government to strengthen its intelligence gathering, adopt community policing and above all deploy modern security gadgets such as drones and helicopters for effective policing. Kidnapping is taking a dangerous dimension and government should move swiftly to contain it before it consumes the country.

    • Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State.
  • Taming a monster

    Taming a monster

    DELE ADEOLUWA

     

    The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment tragedy of March 15, 2014 remains a sore thumb, an ugly spectacle of the unemployment bogey plaguing the land. Nothing reminds us more poignantly about the monstrous fiend that job crisis constitutes than that recruitment fiasco.

    In that tragedy, about 6.5 million job seekers besieged various stadia in most states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), chasing only 4,000 vacancies in the NIS. At least, 16 applicants were confirmed dead and an uncountable number injured as a result of overcrowding, stampede, exhaustion and impatience.

    The labour market is now so saturated that job seekers are getting desperate by the day. They grab every strand of space that looks like a semblance of job vacancy, as millions now compete for a few vacancies.

    The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, for instance, disclosed recently that over five million Nigerian youths had applied for the 400,000 vacancies in the Batch C of the N-Power programme as at August 9, when that batch closed.

    N-Power is one of the Buhari administration’s intervention schemes that seek to address youth unemployment. It imbues graduate and non-graduate beneficiaries with relevant technical and business skills that will enhance their work and livelihood.

    About the same period, the Oyo State government announced that 441 First Class graduates were among the candidates who applied to write the computer-based test for teaching jobs in the state’s secondary schools.

    The situation is getting grimmer and gloomier. The latest report of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), just released, is very damning. According to the report, the nation’s unemployment rate has increased to 27.1per cent, from 23.1per cent in the third quarter of 2018 when the unemployment report was last published.

    The nation’s under-employment rate has also climbed to 28.6 per cent. Under-employment reflects those working less than 40 hours a week or in jobs that under-utilise their skills, time or education.

    The unemployment rate among Nigerians, aged between 25 and 34, the largest segment of the labour force, stands at 30.7 per cent. The implication of the new unemployment rate is that about 21.7 million Nigerians remain unemployed, says the report, with the labour force of 80.2 million.

    Now, the worst fear since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has happened. The nation has slid into the second economic recession in five years and the worst in over three decades. The NBS report says the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, the second consecutive quarterly decline in GDP since the 2016 recession. The last time the nation recorded such a cumulative GDP decline was in 1987 when the GDP declined by 10.8 per cent.

    The gloomy economic picture signals spiralling inflation, which would worsen poverty and plummet the living standard further as prices of goods and services consequently shoot higher and higher.

    The NBS report says the performance of the economy is a reflection of the residual effects of the restriction placed on movements and economic activities across the country in the first quarter of 2020 in response to the global upheaval caused by COVID-19.

    In the month of March, virtually all the strata of the national life were in total lockdown, resulting in the worst all-round dislocations. The maiden report of COVID-19 impact monitoring survey released some months back by NBS revealed that 42 per cent of the respondents lost their jobs to the pandemic; many firms had to lay off a percentage of their work force to survive the hurtful pangs of the dreaded virus.

    Commerce, services and agriculture sectors, according to the report, recorded the highest layoffs during the period. About 79 per cent households also reported a sharp decline in their incomes since mid-March, 2020, resulting in debilitating deprivations.

    One of the immediate multiplier effects of the spiralling unemployment crisis, occasioned by the worsening economic downturn, is social unrest, arising from increasing insecurity. Many jobless, frustrating youths now channel their boundless energies into malevolent tendencies. They engage in all manner of larceny. Having inured themselves to debauchery, they vent their spleen on society by taking to cybercrimes, ritual killings, robberies, kidnapping for ransom, cultism and other vicious activities.

    The job crisis is partly a corollary of the under-funding of education in the country, which has engendered an increasing decline in the quality of teachers and infrastructure in schools. The problem is not helped by the incessant strikes by tertiary institutions’ lecturers, most especially the universities.

    There is also the problem of curricula in tertiary institutions, some of which are becoming too outdated to meet modern employment needs. In essence, even when the vacancies exist, very negligible number of those who apply,  in most cases, are actually employable.

    But the story is changing as many of the tertiary institutions appear to have realised this lacuna and have begun to adapt and intersperse their curricula with courses that are now, in addition to the students’ major disciplines, inculcating in them entrepreneurial or business-oriented skills that are capable of making them more employable or self-employed after graduation.

    And even in the informal sector, this entrepreneurial spirit is catching on. Many graduates and non-graduates are now exploring alternatives as the job crisis worsens. They now go for trainings in such modernised businesses or vocations as catering/baking, fashion designing, mechanical/automobile work, furniture making, tiling, bricklaying, printing, beads/hats making, leather crafts, solar power, barbing/hairdressing, fish/poultry/rice farming and other agricultural ventures.

    Many job seekers are now finding solace in many of these vocations as alternatives to trudging through streets searching  for non-existent paid employment.

    The Buhari administration is commendably encouraging this entrepreneurial spirit by frontally tackling the unemployment monster through bold intervention programmes. Some of them are initiatives through which soft loans are granted beneficiaries to venture into small and medium scale businesses.

    These beneficiaries are those who ordinarily cannot meet the stringent requirements set by normal lending institutions. So, the main attraction of these intervention funds is the interest rates that are far cheaper than normal.

    Most of these funds are managed and disbursed by the Bank of Industry and Central Bank of Nigeria for various purposes.

    This administration has, in addition to these intervention funds, established no fewer than 25 initiatives aimed at specifically empowering the youth across the country in the last five years.

    One of the boldest of such initiatives is the N75 million earmarked under the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF). The disbursement of the fund, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, was flagged off on October 15, 2020, by the minister, Sunday Dare.

    According to the minister, the loan, which was one of the government’s boldest responses to the #EndSARS protests, would be funded by the CBN and spread over three years. It will cater to youth-owned businesses and investment needs. The loan, Dare said, has an  interest rate of five per cent per annum and a tenor of five years with a moratorium of up to 12 months. These interventions are certainly the road to travel now as jobs increasingly shrink in the formal sector and we grapple with the biting fangs of recession. These emerging SMEs are capable of stimulating and reflating vibrant micro- economic activities, with the concomitant effect of gradually enhancing the beneficiaries’ financial muscle. That way, poverty and hunger are being decimated.

    It is hoped that these intervention programmes will be efficiently managed and sustained. Beneficiaries are also implored to reciprocate government’s noble gestures and repay as and when due, as they take those loans, to ensure that they(loans)revolve, to take more and more Nigerians out of crippling poverty.

     

  • Debt: From China to Brazil

    Debt: From China to Brazil

    Femi Oluwasanmi

     

    SIR: Recent acceleration in Nigeria’s debit profile and servicing has created a climate where almost everyone has become an analyst given what they see as the dire future of the country in years to come. This is perhaps inevitable, considering what happened to projects that were financed with borrowed funds in the past.

    While addressing the House of Representatives Committee on Finance in Abuja on November 3, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, stated the intention of the federal government to borrow $1.2billion from the Brazilian government to address issues in the agriculture value chain.

    Prior to this time, the nation had secured loans from different bodies at the international capital market. One of the most controversial loans was the one secured from China where the government allegedly agreed to cede the nation’s sovereignty to the lender in case there is a default.

    As it is today, Nigeria has no choice than to shop for loans because of the state of her economy against the failure of the government to carry out genuine diversification.

    However, looking at the number of abandoned projects across the country, it seems the government only borrowed because of project count rather than development.

    For instance, despite the huge amounts borrowed from both local and international capital markets since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999, the nation’s paper mills in Iwopin, Jebba and Oku Iboku remains comatose; same with the steel complex in Ajaokuta.

    Similarly, the refineries that could have save Nigeria lot of dollars in foreign exchange, if repaired and upgraded, still remains in comatose because of the thirst of the government for project count rather than development. These have really created rooms for wastage, unemployment and poverty.

    In a society where development takes preference over ‘project count’, the government would have taken count of the abandoned projects first and then move to complete them.

    Today, people are hungry, yet the government is borrowing money to construct railway to Niger Republic, paying jumbo salary and allowances to political holders, renovating the National Assembly Complex with part of the money borrowed to finance the nation’s budget. These are part of the reasons the country is trapped with humongous debts.

    Interestingly, some of the projects commenced by the government in 2016 are still uncompleted despite the promises made by the government to complete them before the end of 2019. These projects might remain uncompleted till the next electioneering period when the contractors will be made to work day and night – part of the ploy to garner votes.

    It is shocking to note that up till date, the 500,000 N-power volunteers that were transited by the government to an undisclosed next level programme in June/July are still waiting to hear the details of the programme from the government even after four months of no stipend.

    Yet, President Muhammadu Buhari promised to uplift 100millionNigerians from poverty in the next 10 years even when Npower volunteers have been returned to the unemployment pool.

    Now that Nigeria has travelled to Brazil to request for $1.2 million in order to revolutionise the agricultural sector, the government should take a step further by asking the government of the country and other developed countries how they acquired the culture of honesty and integrity so that the nation will stop traveling from North to South, East to West and to the uttermost part of the world to shop for loans to finance future budget and projects.

     

    • Femi Oluwasanmi, Ibafo, Ogun State.

     

     

  • Calling on Standard Alliance Insurance

    Calling on Standard Alliance Insurance

    Otegbolade, D. Adetola

     

    SIR:  I took up an investment plan with the company, Standard Alliance Assurance Plc. through the Ikorodu Branch in October 2013 with the view of maturity of the said policy by first week of October 2018. The policy matured on October 1, 2018. Consequently, on October 9, 2018, I presented myself for the claims at Ikorodu Branch of the company. I submitted original copy of the policy document along with the Claims Request Form which was acknowledged by the sales representative in the presence of the Branch Manager.

    It was a tug of war for the Sales Representative, to get my discharge voucher prepared. I eventually got it prepared through another staff of the company. Hence, in January 2019 it was signed and delivered to the Ikorodu Branch of the company through the Branch Account Officer.

    Since I signed the discharge voucher, neither my contribution nor additional interest has been paid. It is obvious that Standard Investment Plan is deliberately designed to frustrate subscribers as the other colleagues I introduced to the product are aggrieved and not satisfied with the handling of their investment. I was advised at the Ikorodu Branch of the company to visit the Head Office of Standard Alliance Assurance, Plot 1 Block 94, Provident Street, Lekki Phase 1, Off Lekki – Epe Express Road, Lekki, Lagos. This I have done on more than three occasions without my money being paid. Each time I visited, the Customer Care officer, gives assurance that my money would be paid at a later date not earlier than 100 days from the date of the visit. As a result of the unbearable cost of transportation, I resulted to making phone calls and WhatsApp chats. Despite these, my money remained unpaid more than two years after the maturity of the said investment plan.

    I am therefore constrained to use this medium to appeal to the directors and management of Standard Alliance Insurance Plc. to please pay my money. I also appeal to Nigeria National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to prevail on the company to do the needful and not continue to give the insurance industry in Nigeria a bad name.

    It is long overdue. If the over two and half million naira is investment is invested into a business it would have earned the government taxes and employees a means of livelihood.

     

    • Otegbolade, D. Adetola, Lagos.

     

  • #EndSARS and its aftermath

    #EndSARS and its aftermath

    By Usman Bulama

    SIR: The EndSARS protests remains until now, a subject of much discourse in both the traditional and new media. As we were told, it was a protest genuinely articulated, designed and carried out by some suave and enlightened people against a unit of the police known for its notoriety on infringing citizen rights. It was by all intent peaceful at first but unfortunately hijacked by people now blithely called hoodlums.

    If the truth be told, hunger and anger have reached a crescendo in the population without segregation. In all protests against tyranny and bad governance; and where the economy is mismanaged with corruption and nepotism pervasive, public resentment can only be expected. Nigeria is a country with about 70 percent of population made up of a bubbling, energetic youths, many of them graduates, most of whom are jobless and wasting for years on end. So it was an unorganized lot waiting for an opportunity to vent their pent up frustrations. Hence, as the peaceful and orderly #EndSARS protest started in Nigeria’s leading socio-economic city of Lagos, it was as though youths in other cities were just waiting for a cue and when Lagos went ablaze, other cities got lit as well with smoldering infernos.

    Nevertheless, no matter the level of angst or the despondency and despair, no right thinking person would, endorse the wanton destruction and desecration of public properties and revered institutions. While the police suffered most, individual properties were looted and/or destroyed.

    The police being the initial target need our sympathy and empathy. They have their shortcomings and their ubiquitous greed and itchy hands do not make a good case for them. Even then, others serving the public in other outfits are not better than the police. Unless we want to go back to our primeval past, we just can’t do without the police.

    Given that the police is a sine qua non for a functioning society, the hatred against them must stop and the police on its part must reciprocate by being disciplined and avoid the dirty acts that engender public ridicule and opprobrium. The cliché the police is your friend has so far been practiced in the reverse, friends don’t kill friends.

    It is time to re-organize the police in a way it will attract public respect. The calls for re-organization is not only about having state police but includes modernizing the police, motivating them with improved salaries, perks and what have you, that will enable them to live comfortably within their incomes. As a corollary to motivation, police/public dialogue must be promoted beyond rhetoric. Security as it is said, is everybody’s concern and hinged on that both sides will benefit from a rapport.

    • Usman Bulama,Mairi Village, Maiduguri.