The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

Let’s have more CNG stations
- By Nelson Ekujumi
Sir: For decades, Nigeria and Nigerians have grappled with the crisis in our oil sector, ranging from dysfunctional refineries, importation, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, fluctuating and recurring hike in price as a result of global price of crude oil which keeps fluctuating due to international market dynamics.

This crisis has impacted negatively on our lives as the prices of goods and services which keeps rising are fundamentally determined by logistics cost and it has also engendered acrimony between successive governments and the citizenry for decades.

Therefore, it is imperative for a government and people who want to permanently resolve this perennial crisis, to seek an alternative means which is cleaner, safer, cheaper and affordable to not only bring down the prices of goods and services, but have zero effect in depleting the ozone layer and destroying our environment.

Enter Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), a natural and environmentally friendly source of energy to fuel our cars, buses, and other automobiles at a cheaper, safer, affordable and pocket friendly price for consumers.

On a recent visit to a CNG dispensing station located in Agidingbi, Alausa area of Lagos State, one saw first-hand vehicles that have been converted to CNG drive into the station for fuelling with ease, while vehicles using fossil fuel were subjected to the inconveniences that come with it.

The CNG attendant informed that the station has been servicing vehicles for over two months now.

The price of the CNG per litre is N230, so if we compare the price of fossil fuel today at the rate of between N868 – N1100 per litre, we can see that the savings that will accrue to a vehicle owner and the impact on the prices of goods and services will be in the positive.

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One is aware of the commitment and relentless efforts of the Presidential Committee on Compressed Natural Gas PiCNG to create awareness around the transition to this cleaner source of energy and also its tour and public engagements with states governments as well as the Nigerian public across the federation. One is also aware that PiCNG) has also been meeting with stakeholders in the automobile, transportation, and petroleum business on the feasibility of establishing CNG pump stations across the country and that project, from all available evidence, is going on steadily.

The priority being given to public transportation stakeholders by the Bola Tinubu administration to convert to CNG at a zero cost gladdens the heart as it will contribute substantially to bringing down the prices of goods and services that have been impacted negatively by high transportation costs.

One calls for more CNG stations to be set up even in the remotest parts of our country so that we all can be beneficiaries of it.

•Nelson Ekujumi,

nelekujumi@gmail.com
September 12, 2024
Communalism to the rescue
- By Ganiu Bamgbose
Sir: It is not news that every segment of the Nigerian state is in a shambles– from politics, to economy, to education, and even morality. Even religion is not a rescue. The axiomatic definition of politics in Nigeria is that which considers it a dirty game. Economy has become the survival of the fittest. What shall we say about education in Nigeria? We have moved from the era of unemployment to the era of churning out unemployable graduates.

The get-rich-quick syndrome and other manifestations of moral decadence have even popularised the notion that school amounts to a waste of time – school na scam. In the face of these numerous challenges facing the country, it is sadly not in the habit of Nigeria and Nigerians to look inward for solution.

“If it will work, it has to be foreign or external”. That is unfortunately the belief. I pondered recently on the knowledge, mystery and efficacy of how the Ilaje and some other parts of Nigeria get to throw babies in rivers to test paternity. This had been with us in Nigeria but we would talk about DNA like we never had or have anything like it. One of such values we possess in Nigeria which is long neglected but capable of causing the desired change is the communal existence.

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As a form of government or political movement, communalism means, among other things, a system or theory of government in which the state is seen as a loose federation of self-governing communities; an electoral system in which ethnic groups vote separately for their own representatives, or loyalty to the interests of one’s own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole. All of these perspectives to communalism are, however, not the form of communalism practised in Nigeria. The communalism practised in Nigeria was the advocacy of communal/collective/joint living or ownership. The type where one adult’s child was every adult’s child; where a person’s fortune was the community fortune and someone’s business was everyone else’s business.

The Nigerian communalism was the one which enabled retailers to leave their goods with price tags and returned to either money or their goods intact. It was the lifestyle that made families share food among themselves during celebrations despite that all families had something to eat. It was the collectiveness that would make your neighbour spank you as a child and you would not dare to mention it at home because you would be beaten more. It was the time children in the neighbourhood knew themselves and played together. It was the time houses had no tall fences and neighbours could wave at one another. It was the era we were bound by love, empathy, compassion and support for one another.

The dynamics of times will not make it possible to return to life as it was but these good features of communal existence can still be upheld. Today, we now raise children who do not know members of their extended families, not to speak of other children in the neighbourhood. With more houses on the island, people now live like an island. We are detached from others and this has caused us peace and security.

Together, we can foster togetherness and build a happy and safe country to live in. The Ubuntu spirit described as reminding us that ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’ is what the Nigerian communal lifestyle preaches and it is only in the spirit of such humanity to others that a country can have true peace.

•Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD,

Lagos State University, Ojo.
September 12, 2024
Garbage in, garbage out educational system
- By Prince Charles Dickson
Sir: For several weeks now, it has been a back and forth between the Federal Ministry of Education and parents, on exactly the right age for a child to write the regulatory transitional exams. Let me say whether it is 18 years, or five years, a dullard or an intelligent kid, it is garbage in, garbage out.

Have you noticed the ever increasing cases of graduates and interview candidates having shallow knowledge of the subject matter, poor command of the use of English language, poor knowledge of the examination techniques, as well disregard for correct interpretation of questions before attempting them?

Or that many candidates lack requisite mathematical and manipulative skills for subjects involving calculations, while handwriting of some are illegible and their answers scripts are full of spelling errors?

Many candidates try to cut corners by engaging in various forms of examination malpractice in order to obtain marks.

A good many of us spat on the education we had yesterday, and of course what passes for education today. And there is, certainly, a stratum of our society that looks back, nostalgically, at the quality of yesterday’s education. How many of us today can argue that this is not the truth, even the generation that had its education in 2000 now looks back with nostalgia?

By and large, however, most of us believed that there was very much missing in the content of our yesterday’s education. What we have today, in spite of innovations and the bold attempts to re-orientate it, remains, as it was yesterday, orthodox, slow foot, myopic.

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Our educational system today only sharpens the head to near pin end quality and this is even rare but it also makes the possessors limb atrophied by long disuse. Our education is money centred. It is an education which goads the possessor asking “what can my country do for me?”

In 2024, we are left to define the quality of education we want for tomorrow when our peers have gone far in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore; neighbouring Ghana has even refused to wait for us. To chart out how to tread to win through, we now send our kids anywhere so far it is outside the country the education is better, be it Iraq or Zimbabwe.

Do we have an education in which a possessor wants to elevate the less privileged that surge him round? The answer is no. Today what is the value of the education given to a young man who lives or is doing his mandatory service year in a guinea worm infested area and yet is incapable of causing a revolution in the lives of the villagers by transforming their drinking water into healthy supply?

While we battle the scourge of local terrorism, bad leadership, kidnap, health, and countless issues, there is need to come up with some measures that could help both the students and schools to improve on their output, by extension resuscitate a nation’s dying if not dead educational sector.

Our students need to develop a good understanding of questions and also learn the basic rudiments of the English language for better and clearer presentation of their answers. The sex for grade, bribe for certificate syndrome needs to be checked.

There is a need to ensure the appropriate textbooks in all subjects are procured and studied side by side with the examination syllabus, and should be completed before the commencement of examination. Libraries need to go info-tech, not littered with books of 1914. While practical on-hands learning away from just examination should be incorporated.

There is a need to provide basic infrastructure, and conducive atmosphere in schools, only qualified and committed teachers who will teach their subjects effectively and guide students to become exemplary in their studies should be employed.

The question of whatever happened to the old school inspectorate system should be addressed.

We must move away from the exam-centric, conversation curriculum that takes away critical thinking and qualitative reasoning and educate with intention for a future world. If these and even more rigorous steps are taken, we may be saved the irony of the clowns we are churning out these days!

•Prince Charles Dickson, PhD,

<pcdbooks@gmail.com
September 12, 2024
Tinubu’s China Trip: The gains and vistas of opportunities for Nigeria, by Dada Olusegun

President Bola Tinubu on Friday rounded off his official visit to China with his trip to the world’s 2nd largest economy ending with very significant and mouthwatering gains for Nigeria.

It was obvious that the President was looking forward to a trip heavy on deals that would impact Nigeria’s quest to improve our infrastructure, agriculture, power, solid minerals etc judging by the public officials in his official entourage.

From the Finance Minister/Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Trade and Investment, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Minister of Power, FCT Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Transportation, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Minister of Information and National Orientation, Minister of Foreign Affairs etc, to Governors of Lagos, Kaduna and Kwara States, the President’s entourage was tailored for purpose.

Hope Rise on Completion of Lagos-Kano Railway by CRCC

Shortly after being warmly received by the Chinese government, President Bola Tinubu on Monday, September 2, visited the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), during which he acknowledged the company’s role as a reliable partner in Nigeria’s infrastructure development programme, commending its ongoing railway projects in the country.

President Tinubu right there at the headquarters of CRCC promised that the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway segments will be completed and done to the satisfaction of Nigeria and West Africa at large. Already China is providing funding through the China Development Bank for the ongoing Kaduna-Kano section of the Lagos-Kano railway project.

The Ibadan-Abuja section is set to be funded by the Chinese too thanks to renewed cooperation between Nigeria and China on the Belt and Road Initiative.

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HUAWEI announced launch of DigiTruck, a mobile ICT classroom

After the visit to CRCC headquarters in Beijing, President Tinubu also visited the Huawei Technologies’ Beijing Research Centre, where the company announced the launch of DigiTruck, a mobile ICT classroom aimed at enhancing digital literacy in underserved communities in Nigeria.

Chairman of Huawei’s Board of Directors, Mr Liang Hua said that the initiative would operate in 10 states annually, training at least 3,000 students each year. Huawei also proposed to build two major technology data storage centres in Lagos and Kaduna states, which would create employment and opportunities for more young people in Nigeria.

Fruitful Bilateral Meeting with Chinese President, Xi Jinping

President Bola Tinubu held a high-powered bilateral meeting with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, September 3.

At the bilateral meeting, the two heads of state announced the elevation of China-Nigeria relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership from just a strategic partnership, signalling deeper ties between the world’s second most populous nation and the most populous black nation on earth.

At the bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping, several bilateral MoUs were signed on the Belt and Road co-operation plan (promoting the implementation of the Global Development Initiative), economic development, application of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, nuclear energy, peanut exports to China, and news media, among other fields.

The Belt and Road MoU is particularly very crucial as it further solidifies China’s interest to continue to invest in infrastructural projects in Nigeria, especially on railways and roads/bridges. The cooperation agreement on nuclear energy is equally important as it is meant to enhance Nigeria’s capability to harness nuclear technology for electricity and also utilization in medicine.

The MoU on the export of shelled peanuts is very important for our agriculture and Nigeria’s quest to increase non-oil exports. It also signals China’s readiness to buy more processed or semi-processed goods from Nigeria. Already, with a trade volume of over $23 billion, Nigeria is China’s second-largest trading partner in Africa. With huge potential for even more trade, Nigeria can surpass South Africa as China’s largest trade partner on the continent.

The President then joined other African leaders to participate in the Forum for Africa-China Cooperation with the theme. At the Forum, the next chapter of Tinubu’s trip unfolded. On the sidelines of the conference, more MoUs were signed by Ministers and governors some of which include:

Gas-related Projects

The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) witnessed the signing of critical Project Agreements for the Brass Industrial Park, Gas Gathering Pipelines & Associated Facilities, and the Methanol Complex Project between Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Ltd. (BFPCL) and the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

This partnership involving three key projects has the potential to inject about $3.3 billion into Nigeria’s economy and particularly drive growth and innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector. These projects are very pivotal in driving Nigeria’s industrial growth and energy security. This is a big win for Nigeria.

$1bn Proposed Iron-ore-to-steel Project

During President Tinubu’s trip, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake witnessed the signing of a MoU between Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited of Nigeria and its Chinese counterpart, Sinomach-Hea, who is a market leader in solid minerals development.

The deal is for a $1 billion new iron-ore-to-steel project planned for Kogi state, which has abundant deposits of iron ore and is home to the Ajaokuta Steel complex. The Nigerian company, Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited already has a mining license approved by the Cadastral Office and needed both a proven technical and financial partner, thanks to President Bola Tinubu’s trip to China, it has gotten a partner in Sinomach-Hea.

Lagos Green Metro Line Project Deal and Lekki-Epe Link Bridge

Still on the sidelines of FOCAC and with the full guarantee of the Federal Government, the Lagos State government signed a monumental Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to reality the ambitious Green Line metro rail project in Lagos. The Green Line, which is a 68km rail line designed to run from the Lekki Free Zone to Marina and connecting with the Blue Line at Marina is projected to carry over 500,000 passengers daily at launch, rising to over a million eventually.

The Green Line is expected to transform the transport landscape of Lagos as it will complement the Blue and Red Lines and link areas such as Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah, etc. The federal government’s Ministry of Finance incorporated and CHEC would be involved in the design, financing, and construction.

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu earlier signed a MoU with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the construction of the Lekki-Epe link bridge in the Lekki-Epe axis of Lagos. With the MoU in place, Lagos state has commenced discussions to award the Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to CCECC with feasibility and design studies for the bridge already completed.

Solar Power, Water Supply Deals With Chinese Firms

During the FOCAC summit in China, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike was also on hand to sign a MoU with CCECC for the provision and installation of solar street lighting in key areas in the FCT such as Maitaima, Asokoro, Wuse, Central Business District, Airport Road.

The Minister also signed another MoU with China Geo-Engineering Corporation Overseas Construction (CGCOC) for waterworks including the completion of the Abuja Water Works project and the extension of clean water supply to Gwagwalada, Kwali and Kuje areas of the FCT. CGCOC also signed a MoU on solar street lighting and would cover Mabushi, Katampe, and Garki.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that President Bola Tinubu’s China visit was carefully planned to bring home greater infrastructural development for Nigeria.

Judging by the five focal infrastructure developmental agreements signed between Nigeria and China, Tinubu’s state visit to China and his participation in the FOCAC summit was a resounding success.

These agreements would translate to better transport infrastructure for Nigerians, would lead to greater gas utilisation by industries, and it would open doors for value addition in our solid minerals sector in line with the anti-mine-to-ports policy of the Tinubu administration in the solid minerals sector.

All these mean more jobs, increased productivity, more external trade, more FX earnings, and of course increased prosperity for Nigerians.

During the trip, the Chief Marketer of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu did not fail to interact with the Nigerian diaspora community in China.

He spoke passionately to his fellow Compatriots sojourning in China, explaining to them why his administration is taking the hard decisions necessary to reset Nigeria’s economy and place it on the path of sustainable development.

– Dada is a Special Assistant to the President on Digital Media

September 11, 2024
A golden jubilee dedicated to Owan and Akoko Edo alliance

By Sunny Ifijen

Beloveth, as I celebrate my 50th birthday, thanking God for my humble beginning, amidst the ambience of family, complexities of business, innuendos of politics, lustre of aith, transience of luxury, effervescent of knowledge, committee of friends and my benevolence of mentors. Indeed, it has been a sojourn of moments, milestones and memories, yet the mission still unaccomplished.

Irrespective of our individual fulfillment, according Prof. P.L.O.Molumba of Kenyan, “You have not succeeded if you do not have a succeeding successor.” This is my perspective of the unsuccessful leaders of Owan and Akoko-Edo extract.

My attainment of golden jubilee is an opportunity to reflect not only on my life and adventures, but to re-echo the need for Akoko-Edo and Owan people to reflect deeper in their shared fate of marginalization which seem pathological under the Afemai bond.

Due to the myopic selfishness of most Akoko-Edo and Owan leaders, we have been manipulated in a slave-master bond called Afemai.

Ironically, the current fate of Akoko-Edo and Owan is contrary to the 2004 founders brotherhood between Justice Ohiwere, Alhaji Kassim Momoh, Chief Charles Lawani, Chief Arogundade, and other Edo-North elites which was aimed at enhancing the development of human and infrastructure within Akoko-Edo, Owan and Etsako.

But from 2008, the Afemai romance became a pathological rape of the destinies of Owan and Akoko-Edo for a inordinate Etsako agenda which crescendoed in 2023 when the immediate-past Governor(Adams Oshiomole) un-Afemaily grab the Edo-North Senate seat from his own Etsako brother (Senator Francis Alimikhena) who had spent eight years, in addition to the earlier eight years of Senator Kassim Oyofo).

It’s noteworthy that Oshiomole became Senator at a time where the Etsakos had an incumbent Deputy-Governor, Minister, Ambassador, Grade ‘A’ as well as board members. This is aside the infrastructural development the area have witnessed without fair recourse to the Afemai bond.

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Oh! the sting of death on Alhaji Inu Umoru and Barr. Samson Ekhabafe, was a monumental blow on the deserved hopes of Owan and Akoko-Edo in the Afemai Union; wherein the position of Senator(our collective heritage) suppose to be rotational by principle, as well as justifiable and equitable spread of human and infrastructural development within the Afemai tripod (which is coincidentally three Federal Constituencies).

Legendary Bob Marley said “You can fool see people sometimes but you can not fool ALL the People, ALL the time.” With our array of prominent royal fathers, religious leaders, renowned intellectuals, professional gladiators, business moguls, astute diplomats, and a thriving population that have become a decisive factor in Edo equation, yet it took the benevolence of non-Afemai persons to make Owan and Akoko-Edo become Speaker and Deputy-Governor respectively.

Indeed, it is a divine new era where we must re-define the Afemai accord. Otherwise, we will begin to denounce Afemai and just maintain our geographical nomenclature as”EDO-NORTH.

Behold, this struggle goes beyond Comrade Sunny Ifijen, Hon.Omeiza Ogumah, Elder Edgar Freeman, Elder Ozamaye, Rev.Uadia,Elder Erimekena, Engr.Ayo Olowojoba, and others behind the screen.

It is a generational vision for every progressive Akoko-Edo and Owan Indigenes to propagate across politics, religion, traditional institutions, academia, social groups, civil societies, etc.

So far, this ALLIANCE appreciates the developmental trajectory of Dr. Earnest Afolabi Umakhihe. His dogged first-time guber ambition was gallant-lustre semblance of Prof. Ihonbvere’s unrivaled 2007 governorship campaign of “NA HIM BE DIS.”

This ALLIANCE is proud of Speaker Blessing Agbebaku who in the face of political pressure to betray Akoko-Edo, stood for posterity to give Akoko-Edo the 1st Deputy-Governor, Engr. Marvelous Omobayo (our son in whom Akoko-Edo is highly pleased).

Meanwhile, as I thank GOD, family and friends for their birthday gifts, yet a lifetime birthday gift will be to see a UNITY OF PURPOSE meeting organized by any of Excellency Rev. Peter Obadan, Senators Domingo Obende /Yisa Braimoh, Hon. Pally Iriase, Hon. Peter Akpatason, Hon. Abdul Oroh, Hon. Johnson Agbolagba, Otunba Oladele Balogun, Hon. Kabiru Adjoto, IGP Solomon Ariase (rtd), General Areinde rtd, C.P. Dawodu rtd, Mr. Uwaseru, Arumemi Johnson of Arik Air, etc. May they not fail the unborn generations of Akoko-Edo and Owan extraction.

Let me appreciate supporters and beneficiaries of the OWAN and AKOKO-EDO ALLIANCE who have stood firmly with us since 2022.

We appreciate those in diaspora for understanding the plight of Owan and Akoko-Edo people. Our Unity of Purpose is the only bargaining power we must explore, 2023 was a test-run, 2024 will be Louder, 2027 will be decisive.

On a final note, I wish to specifically appreciate Governor Godwin Obaseki whose tenure have been most magnificent to our people.

With two sons of Owan and Akoko-Edo occupying sensitive positions in his administration, in addition to the appreciable development in the area, I can only say thank you to the wake and see Governor for remembering Owan and Akoko-Edo after such a lengthy period of political marginalization.

•Ifijen is the convener Owan and Akoko Edo alliance

September 11, 2024
On incessant building collapse

Sir: Incessant building collapse, to say the least has become a source of concern and embarrassment to Nigerians. More embarrassing is that buildings are collapsing across the country in quick succession, giving the impression that there are no professionals and that there is no regulatory body in place.

Causes of building collapse include, but not limited to influx of substandard building materials into the market-leading to incessant complaints and defects in buildings, non-implementation of the National Building Code, soil investigation not carried out, and use of wrong foundation type on varying soils.

Other causes include failure of regulatory authorities to ensure compliance to permits and approvals, negligence or non-involvement of professionals in building and construction process.

There is no better way to prevent building collapse outside the coming-together of all building professionals- architects, engineers, builders, estate surveyors and valuers-to ensure approvals are adhered to and also to certify every stage of a building project. This way, it would be easy to know when a developer is cutting corners or compromising on regulatory permits and approvals.

Qualified builders or contractors on building projects should be adequately supervised by the architect and engineer throughout the construction period. The estate surveyor and valuer is key to the process. In most instances, he acts as a consultant to the property owner, and as an intermediary between other professionals and the property owner, until the final two stages in construction which are the disposition and maintenance stage.

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The pre-construction stage in the life of a building involves establishing a performance model for the building, and this is an essential pre-requisite for the proper and effective management of that building, including its maintenance. Since the materials used during construction are usually not purchased or supplied at once, a standard benchmarking needs to be done. This involves identifying, at the early stages, the most appropriate procurement system to be adopted through the construction phase.

The estate surveyor and valuer ensures that only approved materials are used as component input in the construction. A compromise in the standard would affect the fabrics and component maintenance requirement in future, during construction therefore, he enforces specifications in order to avoid future maintenance issues.

An architect without the guidance and direction of a maintenance expert trades functionality for aesthetic. Buildings that are designed without the maintenance implication in mind suffer functional defect from the start.

To avoid this, the estate surveyor and valuer would work hand in hand with the architect by communicating the future maintenance consequence of building design to him. This helps the architect integrate maintenance implications into his design and prevent buildings from collapsing.

•Adeyemi Moses Adeolu,Lagos.

September 11, 2024
Nigeria’s economy: No easy way out

Sir: For some time, Nigerians have been in denial about the actual state of the nation once hailed as the giant of Africa. Nigeria has deteriorated over the years to the extent that it is often referred to as ‘a failed nation’. Previous administrations failed to stem the decline in Nigeria’s economic fortunes. Therefore, the current administration inherited a nation in a state of comatose, characterized by high levels of insecurity, poverty, unemployment, inadequate access to education, non-payment of salaries and pensions by some state governments, high unsettled foreign exchange obligations, a debt service-to-revenue ratio of 97%, poor infrastructure, and other symptoms of a failing nation.

The task of putting Nigeria on the path to economic prosperity is enormous, but not insurmountable. It requires transformational and drastic changes, not incremental ones, as the nation has drifted too far from the path of economic sustainability.

The current administration, understanding this, introduced major policy shifts—what some may call shock therapy. It has also moved away from the Keynesian economic model, which promotes government intervention in the economy for stability, towards the classical economic model, which supports a limited government role in the economy. It is important to note that the classical model usually comes with some economic fluctuations in the short term, which Nigeria is currently experiencing.

The economic reforms of the current government have already started yielding results. The country’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has dropped from 97% to under 70%, freeing resources for investment in security, infrastructure, and other critical sectors of the economy. Allocations to the three tiers of government have increased. Additionally, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.19% in the second quarter of 2024 (year-on-year), which is higher than the 2.51% recorded in the second quarter of 2023 and the 2.98% recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

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Students have already started benefiting from the student loan scheme, and affordable houses are being built across the nation under the Renewed Hope Housing Scheme. The Consumer Credit Scheme is another initiative set to commence, to name just a few.

Nigerians have experienced failed leadership in the past, so many are not fully convinced of the sincerity of purpose and the efficacy of the economic reforms of the current administration. However, the role the government played in securing local government financial autonomy and the unification of foreign exchange rates are examples of its genuine commitment to transforming the nation for good. Local governments in the country are now expected to operate more effectively and contribute more to national development. It would have been convenient for President Tinubu to leave the arbitrage in the forex markets intact and benefit from it at the expense of pursuing economic recovery.

Another sign of the current government’s patriotism is its refusal to chase after popularity, instead sticking to its economic policies despite their unpopularity. In a democracy, many leaders avoid making such decisions to avert the risk of losing future elections.

There is no doubt that in addition to the current economic reforms, Nigeria like many other African countries—needs to seek some form of debt relief to free up more resources for national development. This was reiterated by the chairman of the African Union Commission during the recently concluded Africa Food Systems Summit in Kigali, who said that debt relief is an urgent imperative for many African states to give them vital economic breathing space.

Without the current economic reforms Nigeria is undertaking, which show a genuine desire to turn things around, her creditors may be reluctant to consider her plea for debt relief.

Nigerians need to be patient, as there is no quick fix or easy solution to the economic challenges the country is facing. The government should ensure the timely implementation of policies. For example, the CNG initiative and the implementation of the national minimum wage need to be fast-tracked. It will be beneficial for the government to continuously educate Nigerians about its various intervention programs and provide updates on the implementation of its economic policies. Communication is key, especially in times like this

•Kenechukwu Aguolu, <kenerek1@gmail.com>

September 11, 2024
Use housing to boost economic recovery

Sir: No country can boast of economic prosperity without providing housing or creating a suitable environment for its people to secure affordable housing.

One thing we continue to brandish in the country is housing shortage or housing deficit. I have been hearing of 17 million housing deficit for the past 15 years or thereabout, which has now been estimated to about 28 million. Nigeria’s population has also grown from about 80 million 20 years ago to about 220 million.

The key thing is that housing shortage provides incentives for development, and actually there are huge opportunities in it. Nigeria’s huge housing deficit is enough to stimulate government’s action, but the government seem not to have seen the need to make housing more attractive to stimulate economic growth.

It is the way the economy is patterned that real estate latches on. The prospects are there for the industry to thrive; the sector is heavily underdeveloped and there are still a lot of opportunities for development within the housing sector, but those opportunities can only be realized by conscious efforts of government and private sector commitment to realizing them. Real estate sector in other climes contribute hugely to Gross Domestic Product. In Nigeria, housing contributes about 5%, which is ridiculous. In the United States of America and United Kingdom, you have contributions of 18%-20% to GDP.

Compare real estate with the stock market for instance. In stock market, you buy shares today, probably the price is low, you sell it, and you get your money. If you hang on to it, there are two components of income, you have the income and then the prospects of that shares increasing, but it is in real estate that you have a much more secured investment, with expectations of capital growth and current income return. The federal government has to come up with clear incentives for the operators and the private sector participants for them to be able to plan accordingly, so that there will be activities in the economy. When there are activities in the economy, initiatives will come up within the real estate sector and other sectors.

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There is no business that does not require real estate and there is no human being that does not require real estate one way or the other, so the sector is key. The potentials are there, the opportunities are there, but we need the economy to be properly focused, properly-led and managed by policy makers and the government in particular so that other sectors including the real estate can thrive.

The mortgage sector remains a critical segment that should be explored by the government to revitalize the economy. The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), saddled with delivering quality services to National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors and mortgagors, is taking steps to ensure that Nigerians have affordable housing. The bank is forming viable partnerships to stimulate competition for the growth of the housing sector. Repositioning the bank will be the first step to achieving the desired impact in the housing sector. The bank should collaborate with other organizations of like minds to promote self-reinvention and stimulate competition for the overall growth of the housing sector.

Addressing housing deficit remains a good means of stimulating the economy. Investment in housing stimulates the economy by pushing a lot of money into circulation. Every recessive economy needs a stimulus as we can see from around the world; an injection of cash into the economy in the hands of spenders. This acts as stimuli. Money being spent at all levels at the same time will move the economics of buying and spending to revive the economy. This ability to spend creates the necessary needed monetary activity in the country. Construction of houses will initiate growth, which would assist in creating jobs. And when the economy is stimulated, it will translate invariably to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

•ESV Umoru Yakubu Ayiegbeni, Lagos.

September 11, 2024
Why President Tinubu always takes the hard road, by Temitope Ajayi

Those who think they are taking a dig at the president have been gloating. Their usual refrain is that the man they said built Lagos should build Nigeria for them to see. As Governor of Lagos, the President reformed governance and set the state on the path of irreversible progress.

President Tinubu has never claimed he did it alone or discounted the contributions of others who led the state before him. Some of the landmark projects he started are still standing, and the plans and vision he articulated are still being implemented today.

We talk about the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex at the Lekki Free Trade Zone and the transformation that has taken place within the Lagos economy in the last twenty years, and you think about Bola Tinubu, who engineered them.

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Leadership is about fixing today’s problems and thinking ahead for years. The good thing is Tinubu did not accomplish all he did in Lagos within a year. The new Lagos metro Red Line being test-run is a product of his visionary leadership, just like the Blue Line, which has carried over two million passengers in the last two years.

No sane person can argue against the considerable progress governance has delivered to Lagos State since 1999. Just last week in China, the state, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated, inked a new deal on the 68-kilometre Lagos Green Line Metro that will move from Ibeju-Lekki to join the Blue Line at Marina. That is another great leap forward: how progressive societies are built from generation to generation.

As Governor of Lagos State, President Tinubu faced numerous challenges. Many wrote him off within his first year in office. However, like a Phoenix, he rose to these challenges as a statesman. This President does not shy away from challenges. He works tirelessly to overcome and prevail.

He understands there are no easy choices to make. He has made it clear that he will make the right and intricate decisions for the country, even if those decisions are unpopular. And he has indeed made the right choices that will deliver significant gains for the country and its people.

– Ajayi is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity

September 10, 2024
Tackling the housing challenge

Sir: Housing is one of the most important needs of man, but unfortunately, housing has not received enough attention from successive governments, unlike other sectors such as defence, agriculture, health and aviation. The nation’s housing deficit as at 2023 is estimated at about 28 million, with about N21 trillion required to fill the deficit gap.

Increase in housing deficit over the years is an indication that government’s housing policy has not made much impact, which implies that deficit would continue to rise until concrete actions are taken.

Housing challenges could be categorized under three major areas. The first has to do with availability of serviced and titled plots or lands for housing development. You can only provide housing on land. You might say that land is everywhere, but are they ready for development? Most of the lands you see lack the basic facilities that will make such lands developable. They lack the much-needed official certification or title that will make such land or property built on it marketable. This is a major impediment to housing provision.

Finance is another major challenge, because housing is capital intensive; no matter the standard or scope of the project, you need quite a lot of money to accomplish it. We lack organized housing finance system in Nigeria. Mortgage financing is not really there.

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Another challenge is expertise and technology. Housing involves construction and development and sometimes, the type of skills required are not readily available, particularly when you want to go into mass production. We don’t have the capacity, technology and system that can throw up a lot of housing at a time. We still rely so much on the traditional way of mortal bricks and it takes the normal time it will take even when the population is growing at a much higher rate that it will take to meet up with what is required of housing.

These challenges point toward the absence of planning. So, we should start from the point of knowledge acquisition; most of the people who have administered housing in Nigeria knew little about the industry. In addition to making housing our utmost priority, government should allow professionals, particularly Estate Surveyors and Valuers to manage the sector. Government should put in place structures to make building materials affordable to the less affluent members of the society who constitute the larger percentage of the population and who are mostly affected by the housing deficit.

•ESV Chime Adesanya, Lagos.

September 10, 2024