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Who is in charge in Rivers State?
- By Mike Kebonkwu
This is a question that probably has no straight answer in Nigeria’s political space, even up to our homes. It may also surprise you to hear that the office of the president is sometimes held hostage; talking also about who is in charge. Political structures have been ostensibly hijacked by godfathers and moneybags who dominate the political firmament of the nation like a sceptre. The godfathers are like the ubiquitous character in George Orwell’s 1984, the ‘Big Brother’, almost intangible but ever present watching you.

The first republic politicians built lasting political structures, people and institutions; the sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Amadu Bello and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe; they remain reference point.

Today’s politicians are structures themselves with no political ideology or principle. They constitute themselves into deities without morality and integrity and people come to worship them at their sanctum with unquestionably submission. Money is the object of their veneration. The line between their purse and national till is blurred; they have remained the anathema of Nigerian politics. This is the cult of political cartel holding Nigeria hostage. They install their stooges and puppets to run the affairs of our public institutions, from state governors to other parastatals of government. The only qualification required for the political errand boys is an oath of loyalty which they must keep, or challenge at their own peril; not about competence and integrity.   Nigerians have remained unconscious of the manipulations of these selfish political elite who they wrongly assume to be representing the interest of their ethnic nationalities, tribe or religion.

The politicians hire our professors and eggheads in the ivory towers as political jobbers to run the electoral system to give credibility to their barefaced brigandage and pay them survival wages. They weaponise poverty and recruit touts and miscreants at motor parks and feed them substances to defend the interest of their political territory like predatory animals. They use the same elements and ignorant youths to rig elections and snatch ballot boxes while the security agents look the other way with conspiratorial complicity. Everybody is following political office holders like zombie because that is the only way to get the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. At the end of the day, workers are owed salaries, pensioners are ignored, infrastructures are allowed to decay and the state is not able to provide security and the nation is broke and in huge debt.

This is what is happening in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital which almost eclipsed into a political crisis a fortnight ago with impeachment of the Speaker and threat of impeachment of the governor, Siminalayi Fubara barely five months into his tenure. A stooge or puppet cannot be cocky as his own man; he will be disrobed in the public. This was what happened to governor Fubara. He was like a frightened leopard but he is humble enough to have apologized to Rivers people. The important thing is that a major political crisis was averted just by mere design not so much as the intervention of individuals who threw their hat into the ring.

The incumbent governor, Fubara is a member of the main opposition, the People Democratic Party (PDP).   Nobody can say with any degree of certainty that River State is truly a PDP controlled state in words and in deed. This is because Nyesom Wike, the former governor now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory during the last election worked for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) at the centre against his own party with his loyalists, the incumbent governor was one of them. Wike has remained the nemesis of the PDP who cannot summon the courage to sanction him and move ahead to rebuild the party. Again, no thanks to the grand political miscalculations and arrogance of PDP flag bearer during the election, Atiku Abubakar who frittered away his last chance and shot at the presidency but chose to be crying wolf where there was none.

Wike is brash with no discretion acting as if he controls the mind of the entire Rivers’ people and its institution. This was what led to the chaos and total breakdown of law and order as the chambers of the state assembly was torched. It got to the level of bizarre absurdity when it was even rumoured that the Chief Judge of the state was also removed.   Something really is wrong with us and our sense of judgment in this part of the clime. How can our people be behaving like robots with artificial intelligence; to dignify our docility. Our party system from inception has remained a hybrid with no known sustainable principle or ideology. Politicians migrate from party to party just to get pay cheques or meal tickets. We have strongmen instead of building strong institution and the rule of law.

In Rivers State as in other states, the line is blurred between political structures and the band of hooligans and brigands that are enforcers of the will of the political paymasters. Nigerians have to rise up to defend their political liberty and rights if we are to get governance right. Governor Fubara did not lose the battle, our democracy did. We should stop waiting for one civil society organization or nongovernmental organization or organized labour to go and fight for our civil and political rights. We have seen lately that the organized labour does not fight for the people on fundamental national issues when it matters.   You heard the NLC president the other day saying that it was the government that asked them to demand for palliatives and salary rise during their negotiation on the subsidy removal. Clearly, they had no idea of their own of what to do. I hear the organized labour is planning a shutdown of the country because the NLC president, Comrade Ajaero was manhandled in Imo State. Let them be well advised to perish that threat and idea. The labour union and the nation are not about individuals. Let him seek redress in court.

It is up to the Rivers people as other states to always rise in defence of their mandate and office of their governor not individuals who occupy the office or the ego of a predecessor. The problem of a godfather to a godson should not be their business. Individuals should not rise above the state and interest of the people. Fubara and Wike have the same political lineage and probably sustained also by the same structures. Wike once severed the umbilical cord between him and his onetime benefactor also, Rotimi Ameachi who has gone into political oblivion due to arrogance and reckless political misadventure. He has paid the price and may never rise again to torment his people.

What is happening in Rivers state should be of concern to every Nigerian with interest to building a lasting democratic culture where the rule of law prevails and the mandate and choice of the people, respected.

This same Wike as a serving governor once summoned traditional rulers talked down on the traditional stool in disparaging manners like a headmaster and the people laughed it off including the traditional rulers themselves; yes, they don’t want their lifeline to be cut off and denied of meal ticket. An elected governor cannot be operating under the sceptre of fear of the ultimate godfather and be expected to deliver on dividends of democracy.

Nigeria is probably the only democracy that I know where an individual takes over the symbol of a state and loyalty is pledged to him rather than the constitution. The Nigeria Police Force has virtually become an instrument in the hands of political office holders who invite them to subvert the rule of law and take on opposition on political fight without justification. This is the reason why most people are also sceptical of state police because it will soon become the private army of the governor or any other powerful politician in town. If the central police can be so easily manipulated by powerful individuals, what will happen when you have state police that looks up to the state for all its logistics?   We should rise in support of constitutionalism and the rule of law and puncture the inflated ego of godfathers and charlatans with barracks mentality for the sake of our democracy. Let elected governors enjoy the legitimacy of their mandate and be in charge of their state until they are voted out.
- Kebonkwu Esq, an attorney, writes from Abuja
November 10, 2023
The world fails Palestinians, again and again
- By Alade Fawole
Palestinians are unquestionably the most hapless people on earth and have been so since the state of Israel was created in Palestine in 1948. Not only were they slaughtered on an industrial scale in the aftermath of the Second World War to make room for Israelis to return for the creation of the state of Israel, but they have since then been subjected to the most brutal mix of colonial-apartheid domination, the kind that South Africans know so well. The Gaza Strip, that narrow space between the Mediterranean Sea and Israel, where two and half million Palestinians are consigned, is “the largest open air concentration camp” in the history of the world and are subjected to the most inhuman treatment by successive Israeli governments that see them as sub-human species qualified for extermination from the face of the earth.

Lamenting what he calls “the moral failure of Western institutions on Gaza,” in a piece published in Eurasia Review of November 7, Palestinian journalist and writer Ramzy Baroud asks in understandable exasperation: “so, what is the use of the elaborate international political, humanitarian and legal systems if they are unable to stop or even slow down a genocide that is being aired live on TV screens all across the world?”

By Western institutions, he is referring to the multitude of international institutions created since end of WWII to address and resolve critical international issues. The most consequential of these international organizations created ostensibly “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind” is the United Nations.

Its central purpose as stated in Article 1 of its Charter, is “To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.”

To answer Baroud’s question, I will contend unequivocally that these “elaborate international political, humanitarian and legal systems” did not fail on Gaza. They were created ab initio, solely for the pursuit and satisfaction of the selfish interests of the great powers only, and not what their charters or constitutions make us believe! They are simply not configured to resolve international problems except as it pleases the great powers only. It is pertinent to understand that these international bodies, from the UN, its organs and agencies, and international financial institutions, the WTO, international law, ICC, etc. are all set up to do the biddings of the great powers and also serve as mechanisms for them to impose their will on and bring the lesser members of the international system into perpetual subjection.

Read Also: Israeli airstrikes displace 264,000 Palestinians in Gaza – UN

Big powers are outside the reach of international law. That is the cruel reality we must all learn to accept. To imagine anything different is to wallow in absolute self-delusion. Why, for example, are the great powers that helped create the International Criminal Court not subject to its jurisdiction? Why do the great powers recklessly engage in trade practices that are detrimental to the interests of the small states despite the elaborate prescriptions in the World Trade Organization rules? Most of US vetoes in the UNSC have been in defence of Israeli positions and interests. Israel is the proverbial tail that wags the big dog, gets the US to do its bidding always.

Like it or not, our world is still a world of power, and as I have stressed in previous articles, the big fish still eats the small fish while small fish eats worms. Thucydides’, the historian of the Peloponnesian War, famous quote never ceases to ring in my ears anytime I am engaged in international relations analysis. According to him, “Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” It is a world where the strong and powerful are never held accountable for their misdeeds, where the justness or otherwise of an action in international relations is rarely settled on points or dictates of the law but on power, and wherever brute power holds sway, morality and justness take a back seat.

What about international law, you would ask: it is those who hold power that make and enforce laws, period. Might is always right. And that’s the way it has been throughout history. That’s why the United States wilfully and without provocation or justification invades, bombs and destroys weak countries, slaughters thousands in foreign lands, impose killer sanctions on them, simply because it can, and also will get away with it.

Dear Ramzy Baroud, that’s precisely why Israel also would conduct genocidal campaigns against innocent and defenceless Palestinians in Gaza on live television – because it possesses the brute military power and would never be held accountable! Not even the UN can do anything about it. Israel not only thumbs its nose at the UN and whatever is called international law but even arrogantly and magisterially demanded the resignation of the Secretary-General. For what crime or offence, you might ask? Simply, because he voiced the truism that the world already knows: that whilst Hamas’ October 7 horrific attacks on Israel is condemnable, “it is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in vacuum.” In response, Israel’s foreign minister, furiously justifying Israel’s genocide, not only refused to meet with the Secretary-General, but instead cold-heartedly asserted that “there is no room for a balanced approach, Hamas must be erased from the world.”

Pray, who will call Israel to order when those who have arrogated to themselves the right to be the custodians of world order are complicit in encouraging the ongoing war crimes – relentless slaughter of children, women, the aged and infirm alike in their homes, on the streets, in schools, hospitals, churches and mosques a mindless orgy of violence.

Has the world failed Gaza? Yes, spectacularly so! And that’s because the rest of the world is powerless to do anything beyond mere expression of moral outrage at the horrific genocide being perpetrated in Gaza. As for the great powers, Israel can do no wrong; it has their backing for the barbarous ethnic cleansing without consequences. In fact, the US is complicit in that the horrendous genocide being carried out with American-supplied weapons and money, as well as American political and diplomatic backing. Who then is going to hold Israel and the US accountable? Hypocritically, America will rail and rant against what it terms Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine and ensure that Russian president, Vladimir Putin is indicted for war crimes before the ICC, a court whose jurisdiction the US does not itself recognize. How just is that? Well, justness in world politics is always a one-sided decision: the powerful decide what is fair and what is foul, what is to be accepted and what is not acceptable. The heart bleeds for Palestinians.
- Prof Fawole writes from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
November 10, 2023
Stakeholders discuss mosques’ documentation
- By Halimah Balogun
The Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Sulaimon Abou- Nolla has encouraged Muslims to follow the established rules in the construction of Mosques and other related buildings across the metropolis.

He said without necessary approvals and documentation, such buildings including mosques risks being demolished by the state government.

The Chief Imam stated these at a day sensitisation programme organised by Mussodiq Adele Sanni & Co in conjuction with the Lagos Central Mosque at Shamsi Adisa Thomas Central Mosque, GRA, Ikeja.

He made reference to cases of Mosques handed over to the Muslim community in which the children of deceased owners rise up to take over the property since there were no official hand over notes.

According to him, ensuring proper documentation will also save the Mosques from falling victims of being constructed on drainage channels that could be demolished in the long run.

The Qadi of Independent Sharia Panel, Lagos, Shakirullahi Obale, cited an example of a Mosque in Mushin donated to the community but after the demise of the owner, some family members decided to take over the property.

However, he said the saving grace was that the land on which the Mosque was built was duly registered.

“People tend to lose property if after 12 years the original owner failed to take action on it when construction was going on. Our prophet encouraged professionalism in all we do as Muslims. Every land transaction must include Deeds of Assignment,” Obale said.

Alhaji Ojikutu of the Lagos Lands Bureau also reiterated the need for legal documentation on transfer of ownership of property in the state including Mosques.

He said it is very important to endorse every document including Certify True Copy to make it legal.

In buying a land in the state, Alhaji Ojikutu advised that it should stand with a search to establish the true owners of the land.

Chairman on the occasion, Mr Hakeem Bello, who is the Special Adviser Media to the former Minister for Works, Babatunde Fashola, said Allah has directed that every aspect of human affairs should be documented.

Read Also: Ganduje to politicians: don’t campaign in mosques, churches

The media expert said such encourage proper documentation among different parties to avoid clash of interests in the future.

He commended the group for the initiative aimed at sensitising the Muslim Community to correct the anomaly where necessary.

“Even for our Mosques and other properties, we must ensure proper documentation through Registration at CAC, Lands Bureau to avoid harassment or demolition by government as the case may be. Most times, the Muslim Community is challenged by the demise of those who established the Mosque when they are no more and we should endeavour to address this,” he stated.

Convener of the programme, Mussodiq Adele Sanni, said the reason for the forum was to ensure Muslims accept the reality of proper documentation to keep records for the future.

He said Islam shows much concern about documentation even in the Holy Quran making reference to when Prophet Mohammed acquired a Mosque in Medinat with proper documentation during his life.

He promised to take the sensitization programme to other divisions in the state includinng; Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu and Lagos Island.
November 10, 2023
Muslims need more awareness on Waqf

The Chief Executive Officer of Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation, Dr. Abdullahi Shuaib, has stressed the need for increased awareness campaigns on waqf in Nigeria.

Dr. Shuaib said the lack of adequate public enlightenment on waqf is one of the factors responsible for the limited waqf projects in the country.

He made this statement as the guest lecturer at a Waqf Awareness Seminar organised by the Zakat & Sadaqat Waqf Foundation on Saturday.

The seminar which took place at the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Ikeja, Lagos, had the topic ‘Understanding the Concept of Waqf as an Islamic Social Finance Instrument’.

He described waqf as an instrument under Islamic social finance which can be undertaken by both the rich and the poor for societal development and public good.

He said: “We need to step up our awareness campaign. We need to remove the fog in the eyes of those who are supposed to be the major drivers of this Waqf initiative. They need to understand the meaning of the concept; how it’s being applied in different climes; and to understand our own terrain so that we avoid those pitfalls that can make individuals or corporate organisations who want to thread the path of establishing Waqf derail or fall,” he said.

The guest lecturer also noted that most people in Nigeria only give theoretical explanations on Waqf without having concrete understanding of its practical application.

He advocated intensive cross-fertilisation of ideas among Islamic organisations so that more people would have the required expertise on waqf.

Read Also: Sultan to Muslims: Seek knowledge about other faiths for peace in Nigeria

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Z&S Waqf Foundation, Alhaji Ma’aruf Ahmed, said the foundation has achieved much in its two years of existence.

Alhaji Ahmed said: “In the last two years, we’ve been able to gather some cash to start hostel projects that will enhance accommodation for students at a cheaper rate, and still bring in revenue.

“We already have an acre of land at Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode. The objective is to get a hostel accommodation for students that will be affordable and also generate revenue to develop more of such project. We also have a building we want to secure in Sagamu.

It is very close to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, where medical students can have access to as accommodation.

“We have a building donated by a philanthropist. In Waqf, you can be specific. So, when he was donating that building, he said he wants us to use it for school. The school should generate revenue that will take care of a specific number of orphans. We have started the school this session. We hope the school will grow so that we meet the aspiration of the donor.”

He stated that the foundation is targeting a diagnostic centre project for which fundraising is ongoing.

“Most people die today not because of the severity of the ailment, but for not knowing they have the ailment in time, which would have assisted them in tackling the ailment. They can’t access diagnosis because of the cost. So, we are targeting to build a diagnostic centre where people can get cheaper rates. We have raised about 50 million for the project. However, since the fund we need is yet to complete, we have invested the one on the ground in Sukuk. The value of the capital must not diminish. By the time we get enough funds we can sell the certificate and build up.”

Chairman on the occasion, Dr. AbdulGaniy Shopeyin, said the Waqf projects of the foundation are already transforming the society.

Shopeyin, the former Chairman of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) advised the foundation to include virtual programmes in the awareness campaigns on Waqf.

“We must ensure that we do not limit our enlightenment campaigns and lectures to people working for the foundation alone. We can even engage Christians. This is a technology oriented world. We can have virtual programmes on it so that everybody will know. A lot of Muslims still do not know the meaning of Waqf. I have learnt a lot today. I believe so many people out there too need to learn. It is not difficult. It is a simple thing that everybody can do,” he said.

November 10, 2023
Expectations from Tinubu Presidency
- By Braeyi Ekiye
The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Thursday, October 26, affirmed the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The Court dismissed Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour party (LP) appeals and declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) substantially complied with the Electoral Act 2022 and the Nigerian Constitution in the presidential election held on February 25.

In the wisdom of the Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court, the election cannot be nullified due to the unavailability of results on the INEC’s IReV portal, and that, failure to secure 25 percent of votes in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja was not compulsory. The Justices further stated that the petitioners didn’t prove allegations of rigging, adding that, the court was not disposed to the claims of APC’s double nomination of Kashim Shettima, the Vice-Presidential Candidate to President Tinubu. The attempt to file fresh evidence was frowned at and dismissed.

With this verdict, the eight months legal battle for the presidency came to an end, giving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC and their supporters respite and the enabling environment to dispense governance by unleashing a programme of action for a united, secured and prosperous Nigeria.

There is no gain saying that Nigeria is in a parlous state, stunted in its overall administrative, security, political, socio-economic and infrastructural architecture. So, Mr. President has to roll up his sleeves or put the agbada aside and go to work to address these issues that have held the Nigerian state hostage.

There is the issue of interrogating the lingering ‘National Question’ – the restructuring of the country, popularly referred to as True Fiscal Federalism with devolution of powers properly spelt out between the federating units and the centre. These units should have absolute control and management of their variegated mineral and other resources for development at their own pace while competing favourably with each other and co-existing seamlessly with the central federal government; this time with lesser powers and control over the affairs of the federating units or states or geo-political zones as the case may be.

Then, there is the equally, if not more importantly, the issue of recrafting a new constitution which Nigerians can affirm to as their own document to replace the present 1999 Constitution dubbed by legal luminaries and critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project across the country, as fraudulent, unworkable and which has posed a serious threat to Nigeria’s peace, unity and progress.

It would be instructive to note that even in this hour of Nigeria’s new leadership in the person of a former NADECO chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there are calls for government to promptly look into and address. One of such calls came recently through a widely publicised communique issued at the end of an extraordinary meeting of leaders of the Niger Delta region under the auspices of the Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), held in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Wednesday, October 25.

The highpoint of the communique, signed by Elder EK Clark, Nationalist and Niger Delta Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo (Afenifere Leader), Chief Dr Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, President-General, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr Pogu Britrus, President Middle Belt Forum, Senator Ibok-Essien, National Chairman, PANDEF and General Zamani Lekwork (rtd), former Military Governor of Rivers State, the leaders and elders discussed exhaustively the current developments in the country and urged the federal government to, “as a matter of urgency, and priority, work towards the restructuring of the country and enthrone true fiscal federalism as was originally entrenched in the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions”.

According to them, “without restructuring, the future of Nigeria and democracy remain weak and must, therefore, be carried out immediately.”

Read Also: N2.17tr Supplementary Budget will be judiciously applied – Tinubu

The ‘fact of the matter’ declaration by these patriots has, in itself, sufficiently given notice to President Tinubu’s administration that Nigeria cannot continue to be administered along the lines of a unitary system, with an over bloated centre, so powerful and all-consuming, that it leaves the federating units at the mercy of the federal government.

Where there is no equity and justice in the political and administrative landscape of Nigeria, the country and her people will continue to suffer under poor and evil leadership in the hands of the three most prominent arms of government – the executive, legislature and the judiciary. In the circumstance, the nation state, Nigeria, will continue to prop up rulers at every strata whose trade in stock is in the base exercise of kleptocracy or thievocracy; a government whose corrupt leaders use political power to expropriate the wealth of the people and land they govern, typically by embezzling or misappropriating government funds at the expense of the wider population. And there are too many examples of such in our public space in recent times.

The Tinubu administration, therefore, has a compelling duty to convene an urgent conference of some sort; call it national or ethnic, to quickly work out the modalities of such a congregation to address this all-important issue of the National Question.

We should stop burying our heads in the sand like the ostrich, preferring a peace-meal review of the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly over the years; a situation which has done no good or justice to our country. The perpetuation of a skewed revenue allocation formula that robs Peter to pay Paul, and the control of mineral and other resources by the federal government to the disadvantage of states or geo-political zones, which own these resources, are yet other thorny issues to be solved by the Tinubu administration. Where is the equity? Where is the justice in the administration of the Nigerian state?

May the Tinubu presidency live to be remembered for turning the fierce currents of poverty and lack and unimaginative leadership around for the better in the country.

May the excruciating pain and burden brought upon Nigerians by corrupt, self-seeking and ostentatious administrations of the past be taken off the heavily burdened shoulders of Nigerians by Tinubu’s government.

May the expectant good governance of a Tinubu administration come with its attendant blessing and shine its glory on Nigeria and Nigerians to ease the sufferings of the people and usher in accelerated political, socio-economic and infrastructural transformation of the New Nigerian State.

•Ekiye, Publisher, writes from Yenagoa
November 9, 2023
Concrete versus asphalt for Nigeria’s roads: which is better?
- By Hussein Mohammed
Nigeria’s new works minister, David Umahi, is pushing for the use of rigid pavement in road construction, as against the flexible pavement predominantly in use. This, as the minister noted, is due to the precarious state of flexible pavements in the country.

A rigid pavement is a road surface overlaid with reinforced concrete, while a flexible or asphalt one has a bituminous (tar) overlay.

Asphalt roads are the most common type of paved roads in Nigeria. Examples include the Lagos-Ibadan, Port Harcourt-Enugu, Lokoja-Abuja and Abuja-Kaduna expressways. Concrete roads include the Kabba-Obajana road in Kogi State and Apapa-Oshodi road in Lagos State.

Road infrastructure is essential in modern economies. Economic growth and development requires mobility and accessibility.

As a professor of engineering who has researched the use of reinforced concrete and asphalt on Nigerian roads, I offer some insights into the issues raised by the minister’s decision.

The choice is between additional service and higher cost or reduced service and lower cost. This is a design challenge. The decision is not only technical, but also political.

However, there is no data to speak categorically on whether concrete pavement is better than flexible pavement for Nigeria.

Comparison of flexible and rigid pavements

Rigid pavements are generally more expensive and difficult to install and maintain. They’re made out of a cement concrete with a base, sub base and subgrade underlay. Unlike flexible pavement, rigid pavements have a high flexural strength, making every layer virtually immune to bending under pressure. Flexural strength is the material’s ability to resist deformation under load.

Flexible pavement is designed to bend and deflect according to external factors like traffic loads. Essentially, it is more adaptable to the elements to which it’s exposed. The initial cost of construction is low and with excellent regular maintenance, it has a lifespan of about 10-15 years. Regular maintenance is required for this type of pavement, and repair work is fairly easy.

Flexible pavements have low initial cost, but higher maintenance cost.

Comparatively, rigid pavements have high initial cost, but low maintenance cost.

Asphalt has a relatively smaller surface area of subgrade compared to a wider surface area for reinforced concrete. Subgrade is the material underneath the pavement structure.

Flexible pavements usually last for 10 to 15 years while rigid pavements last for 25 to 30 years.

There’s a higher water penetration rate for flexible pavement but lower rate for rigid pavement. The longer moisture remains in a flexible (asphalt) pavement structure the more likely pavement failure will occur. In particular, the continuous presence of moisture in a pavement subgrade can significantly affect the subgrade’s modulus and reduce pavement performance. Subgrade modulus is a conceptual relationship between applied pressure and deflection for a plate resting on an elastic support system.

Night driving is better on rigid pavements due to the light coloured surface.

Read Also: Atiku appeals to voters in Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa to vote PDP candidates

Extreme weather like high temperature affects flexible pavements but not rigid pavements. In flexible pavements, temperature fluctuations have a significant impact on structural performance, including stress and strain.

Noise pollution is also high on flexible pavements but lower on rigid pavements.

The way to go

The choice of any type of pavement depends on the life cycle and costs of materials, which include initial construction cost, maintenance and repair cost, and cost associated with environment factors such as emissions and energy consumption.

Consequently, a life cycle cost analysis should be carried out before choosing a pavement type.

A well-designed road will provide the intended level of service at an acceptable level of safety. It will also reflect local values and policy, which will vary from location to location, and it will place appropriate importance on cost, environmental values and appearance. These should guide the country’s decision on the issue.

Asphalt roads (flexible pavement) have less initial cost of construction, lower construction and repair periods, they are quicker to repair, absorb traffic noise and can be recycled, thereby reducing waste. However, asphalt has a short life span, requires frequent maintenance, is less able to carry heavy traffic and so is more suitable for light traffic in residential streets and rural roads. It also has a greater carbon imprint, which is detrimental to the environment, as a result of bitumen production.

Concrete roads have a heavy construction cost, longer construction period due to the time required for curing, and longer repair times. They have a longer life span, low maintenance cost, high durability, and high load bearing capability, ideal for heavy traffic areas such as highways, ports and airports. Concrete roads have a lower carbon imprint from the production of cement, and are less prone to developing pot holes, reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

•Mohammed is professor of engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. “https://theconversation.com/concrete-versus-asphalt-for-nigerias-roads-which-is-better-215355”
November 9, 2023
Tax reforms: Learning from China
- By Oche Echeija Egwa
By nature, most people would like to dodge payment of taxes if the system allows it. It’s not surprising that some easily agree with the saying that tax collectors rarely have many friends. But, for governments, taxes are a major policy instrument for shaping, and reshaping, the economic destinies of their countries. In this regard, President Bola Tinubu’s sense of urgency can be understood.

At his inauguration on May 29, economic transformation topped the president’s agenda. With the historic precedence in Lagos State as a former governor (1999-2007), the president knows the dynamics and centrality of fiscal and tax reforms in dictating the vibrancy, competitiveness and inclusiveness of an economy, especially in tackling debilitating poverty.

Barely a month into office, the president had swung into action, appointing a seasoned and national award-winning career officer, Adewale Bashir Adeniyi, MFR, as acting Comptroller General of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), which was roundly applauded. Adeniyi was confirmed four months later, in October, for making a clear difference in revenue generation, trade facilitation and staff motivation.

To further improve the reforms, the president changed the gatekeeper of another major revenue earner, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), by appointing his former Special Adviser on Revenue, Zacch Adedeji, a first-class graduate of Accountancy, as the acting chairman/CEO of that agency. Adedeji had served as Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State under the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, bringing on board a wealth of experience on tax reforms. Adedeji was confirmed by the Senate on October 31.

Walking his vision for economic turnaround, President Tinubu inaugurated an all-inclusive Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms headed by a renowned expert, Taiwo Oyedele. Their mandate was clear: simplify the tax system for more efficiency and effectiveness.

In less than two months, the committee tendered its report, October 24, detailing the “Quick-wins’’ that will ameliorate noticeable burdens within a month.

The president had directed reduction of tax regimes to a single digit, following the disclosure by the chairman of the committee that Nigerian economy was struggling with 60 legal taxes, across the federal, state and local councils, and additional illegal taxes that brought the total to about 200, which was clearly a disincentive to starting and growing businesses, particularly to the lifeblood of economies, small and medium enterprises.

While the tax reforms were going on Nigeria, at a study tour, October 10-30, organized by the Peoples Republic of China, in Beijing, with focus on Public Finance and Government Budgets for Developing Countries, Prof. Young Ho, said regular tax reforms were redemptive measures by governments, citing oft-celebrated lifting of 700 million Chinese citizens out of poverty.

Sharing the Chinese experience with participants from 10 countries, including Nigeria and bureaucrats from the African Union (AU), Prof. Ho, who is Associate Dean, School of Public Finance and Taxation, at the Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, said tax reforms must be regular, and purposeful to reflect the vision and direction of governments.

“China has grown exponentially by using tax as an instrument for development, like prioritizing on Foreign Direct Investments that will impact the economy. We had a tough time in eliminating double taxation and we had to start using either the credit or exemption method,’’ she noted.

To cure the Chinese economy of multiple taxation, the tax expert emphasized that the country invested heavily in innovative technology, that provided solutions to plug leakages, and provided access for voluntary payments, through websites and apps, which is a path Nigeria had taken with focus on data mining by the FIRS.

Ho disclosed that most transactions in China had been intentionally digitalised, with little human interference in domestic and cross-border transactions. Where a weak link was observed and exploited by corrupt people, she said the government punished the defaulters and culprits, and further tightened the bolts with new technology.

In her presentation at the Central University of Finance and Economics, titled, “International Tax Reforms and their Impacts on Foreign Direct Investments’’, Prof. Ho explained that in order to reduce poverty among the 1.4 billion population of China, the government exempted all agricultural raw materials from all forms of taxation.

“Only the end product of agricultural materials could be taxed, not the input, or the process. Our farmers were exempted from paying taxes, while financial institutions, like our policy banks, were encouraged to favour farmers with credits and subsidies,’’ she added.

The Chinese government operates four policy banks that support the vision of the government, she explained, stressing that only processed or manufactured agricultural products could be taxed in China.

“We have lower taxes of about 4-6% on small businesses, and it is based on their growth levels. Agricultural products, at raw stages, are exempted from tax base. Newspapers and journals are also excluded so we don’t pass the cost to the ordinary people,’’ the lecturer added. Other items that get preferential treatments are medical and educational equipment, and the public schools (private schools pay taxes).

She also pointed out that Chinese multinational companies pay 25 per cent taxes to the government, and where they had been taxed abroad at lower rates, they pay the balance at home. They can only be exempted when the tax in a foreign country is the same or above.

“The government tries to avoid double taxation. The Small and Medium Scale Enterprises get facilities at lower interest rates, and their taxes are between 3% to 6%.

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“The biggest tax in China is Value Added Tax (VAT). Mostly, the 13 percent VAT is on high profit businesses like banks, petroleum companies, other financial institutions, some manufacturers, some online service companies, social media and telecoms. Most times, construction companies are not included because of the focus on infrastructure development,’’ Prof Ho stated.

She disclosed that VAT contributes 32-35 per cent of the government’s total revenue, and can be preferentially staggered to 9%, 6% and 3% for various businesses at different growth levels. The lecturer said China has 19 different taxes, with the corporate, income, consumption taxes on luxury items and the VAT was controlled by the central government, which was usually shared by other structures. Local councils administer taxes on land and transportation.

“Before 2008, China had separate laws for domestic tax payers and foreigners and to attract FDI, it was harmonized, with even lower rates for the foreigners,’’ Prof. Ho said. Incentives were also given for single corporate tax laws, research and high telecom companies, which were focused on skills transfer to citizens.

To her, developing countries should design their tax to attract FDIs, and reduce the sufferings of the ordinary people. She said “The Golden Tax System’’ of China had gone through different phases, from 1-4, and graduation into online payment for flexibility and accessibility. Some taxes, like the Green Tax, favour sustainability, and encourage new technology.

In another presentation, “The Reform and Practice of China’s Fiscal and Tax Development’’, an Associate Professor, School of Accounting, Chongquin University of Technology, He Fan, pointed out that tax reforms were regular features in China, with four provinces, Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, also implementing the various aspects.

More than 80% of China’s revenue, he pointed out, comes from different taxes, spread across VAT (36.8%), Corporate Tax (8.9%), Corporate Income Tax (24.3%) and Personal Income Tax (8%). For more details, Fan told participants that cigarettes were taxed 45% because of health implications, makeup 30%, wine 20%, jewelleries 5%, solid-wood for flooring 5% and chopsticks 5%. Based on grade and emission, cars were taxed 40%-50%.

The Chinese tax researchers noted that the secret of effective tax administration lies in heavy investments in technology, and deploying intelligent systems for collection, distribution and monitoring. Fan disclosed that apps and websites play a central role in providing solutions, particularly in collection.

The lecturers also said repositioning the Chinese economy for prosperity, a long-term plan since 1978, was a deliberate policy choice, and successive governments followed through, consistently refining the process with new technology, opening up the economy for partnerships, offering cheap labour that enabled skills transfer, and imbibing global best practices.

•Egwa, Assistant Director of Information in the Presidency, participated in a three-week conference in Beijing, China
November 9, 2023
Budget hawks and the 10th National Assembly
- By Esther Ajayi
In a Washington Post article by Colby Itkowitz of May 7, 2014, the matter of buying luxury vehicles for old and new House members, whether liberals or conservatives, was critically appraised. The writer described the plethora of accents given to the discussion about the budgetary allocation for member’s car finance in such simply vivid, but not livid words such as “…Having your car bills paid is the great unifier.”

The average cost of maintenance being paid on House members’ cars by the U.S taxpayers was stated as $589 monthly, while the highest expense was put at $1318.97 which was spent by Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas).

It is not out of place that the Nigerian masses are again, as usual, fired up on the subject of House member’s car allowance. Let me put it mildly; that is how the cookies crumble where our democratic system was borrowed and copied from. Ordinarily, I would have ignored the discourse altogether, assuming that it is topical for lack of other matters to occupy the media. However, the vox populi has stirred my response, and I need not say that our people are pretentious and unfair in their recommendations of what their House members should or shouldn’t drive.

At the managerial cadre of most organizations in Nigeria, even when they are SMEs, a car is given to the manager and the cost of running it is attached to the office. These cars are referred to as official cars and one of the goals of such cars is not merely operational efficiency but also image laundering. It is ditto for ministries, agencies, and parastatals.

Hilux and black jeeps are common sight with government officials who are far below House members in the federal hierarchy. We do not seem to flinch when our wives, husbands, families, and friends who work for the government get these budgetary provisions. But at the slightest mention of senators or Reps, rapt attention is devoted and we develop goose pimples or standing hairs.

Can it be the case that we hate the government so much we desire that its proper functioning is impeded by presenting them broken stools as seats? Knowing full well that at the heart of effective governance is effective law-making, I deem it unfair that our lawmakers are constantly sent to the oral gulag and made to feel guilty for the same things we enjoy.

The allotment of cars to House members enables them operational efficiency and provides them with optimal security features when in transit. We all remember the encounter of a cleric with very sophisticated robbers. The bullet-proof car he rode in was his saving grace that day, or he would have been doomed.

The spate of insecurity in the nation was not caused by the House members and they should not be made to face winter unclad. The cars in question are beyond luxury; they offer political stability to the country at large.

If these important engine-room members of communication between constituencies and the executive are offered epileptic tools, such that their lives are easily lost in an attack while doing the much-needed travel within the country and workplace, then, expensive re-elections will be conducted and the political space will become once again enflamed, taking us back to the days when politics was like robbery. You never know when you go on your last mission.

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Whatever you want to see flourish, you nourish.

The Nigerian police and its relative ineffectiveness as popularly adjudged by the masses, is so, no thanks to sponsorship whilst the Nigerian Army is capacious, attentive to duty, and well-respected.

We directly sponsor our pastors via our tithes and offerings, in little time of starting a ministry, we all know the degree of sophistication of the cars that make it into the convoy of men who are already specially protected by God on whose errand they run, yet, they do not undermine the role of physical security in the very few travels they make.

When an average Nigerian can afford an SUV, they do not hesitate to do so, and the state of the roads is usually called as a ready witness to the unintentional demand for such vehicles. Why then do we argue against the same for our House members especially this 10th National Assembly, which will be a veritable tool of execution of duty for our president who hasn’t minced words in his just concluded three-day meeting with his ministers, to tell them in a nutshell that ‘Baba Means Business (BMB)’ and to hold them accountable or disposed in the dispensation of their duties?

I am an ardent fan of Made in Nigeria goods knowing full well that locally produced and consumed goods increase demand for local currency, thus giving it use and value. However, it is important not to be so caught up in the euphoria of what is beautiful that we leave definitions of Made in Nigeria to waste. Innoson cars are coupled in Nigeria. Every part that goes into the car is gotten from overseas by swapping the naira for the dollar, which means that as the demand for such cars increases, the demand by the company to exchange naira for dollars to either supply or take inventory increases. As such, this is a cosmetic approach to strengthening local currencies, but it is the right step if and only if the vision of the company is to develop manufacturing capacity in the long run.

Nigerians are known to be generally wary of locally unpopular car brands, no matter how affordable they are, for one reason; the relative scarcity of skilled technicians to address faults and restore proper functioning when such machines require attention. A car, especially for a government official who may be holding meetings up until as late as 3 a.m., must first be reliable, and then secure. Other features can follow in that order. The government indeed owes a duty of care to the people, and it is also not untrue that the people owe the duty of sponsorship to the government.

Allow me to conclude this piece with the biblical injunction referred to as the GOLDEN RULE. It states, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets”. May the Lord help us to be doers of his words.
- Ajayi sent this piece from Abuja
November 8, 2023
National Assembly: Cruising into infamy
- By Afolabi Ige
Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction and to forget one’s purpose, no matter the allures, is the commonest form of stupidity’.

Democracy’s most popular definition “the government of the people, by the people and for the people” is under the most challenging time of its understanding in the Nigeria system particularly in its updated version of representative democracy since population and inclusiveness expired the Greece city, Athenian version. Representative democracy allows for equality of all men by the principle of one man one vote no matter your status but it remains rarely plausible to conclude that voting begets representation in the real sense of the word.

Where and when voting does not beget representation of the true feelings, sufferings and sensibilities of the voters, the Afro beat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s satiric rhythm of democracy as “demonstration of craze” becomes very apt.

Representation as a short cut to democracy should ordinarily mean that the people elect politicians to reflect the enormity of their feeling of losses and sadness about the inadequacies of the system, just as family members of the deceased in some traditions hire professional criers or wailers at the demise of a loved one, so as not to jeopardize the real burial arrangement of the dead.

In Nigeria’s democracy, the political class has over time turned 360 degree to the status of the professional vultures that devours their constituents’ resources upon election.

It’s not that Nigerians are any different from other species of humans but our dysfunctional orientation lends our situation to nothing but pity and ignominy. Yes, its dysfunctional orientation in the sense that most of our things are copy and paste from the West without any serious peculiarity to our own growth, experiences and challenges.

For instance, whereas 50 independent states signed the American pact to become the United States of America, Nigeria’s military split the three strongly negotiated regional structure of Nigeria at independence to 36 splinter states over a period of 33 years of their incursion and despoliation of Nigeria’s federalism thus leaving us till date confoundedly confused and helpless. In the same manner, we elect politicians without clear terms of contract or sometimes in exchange for frontloaded pecuniary benefits a.k.a “vote buying” thereby blurring the service pact. Immediately politicians get elected into office, he/she gets separated from the electors into a new class of golden citizenship, a life of stupendous affluence at the expense of their wailing hirers (voters) under biting economic hardships from one regime to the other, notwithstanding the nomenclature whether “progressives” or “conservatives”. Official thievery knows no bound as the elected politicians assume the master of the slave status and treat the electorate and their concerns with lethargy; their sensibilities with insensitivity and their cries with cruelty.

One outstanding distinguishing feature of democracy apart from periodic election as method of changing government is the existence of the legislature as a third independent arm of government. The legislature in a democracy is like the peoples inclusion into the political elites ring with such a superfluous qualification as the maker of laws for the good governance, well-being and security of the people. In Nigeria, it is difficult to assert that those elected to the legislature actually knows the meaning of their election beyond being elected to change their status.

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The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration came on board on May 29 amidst serious compounded turbulence around the Nigeria ship of state from mere insecurity in 2015 to acute food inflation and worsened economic crisis by the end of the Muhammadu Buhari’s eight year rule. All the micro and macro-economic indicators were beaming red light with Nigeria itself gasping for breath of life that was almost de-oxygenated. It was a needless sermon that Nigerians should brace up for hard times of sacrifices if we escape through the electoral circle. All the three leading candidates at the 2023 presidential election promised nothing than hard time now to prosperity in future through the removal of fuel subsidy and surrendering the Naira to fair trial at the forex market and that is exactly President Bola Ahmed Tinubu courageously pronounced as policies on the day of his inauguration. The pain of the twin hard policies at once has been very devastating and debilitating to the living condition of the Nigerian electorate. Food inflation is at all-time high looking ambitiously at 30% while the Naira at the forex market has plummeted to approximately =N=1000 in exchange for just one American dollar. Living is excruciatingly expensive with government still at crossroad over adequate palliative measures and appropriate wage template in response to the hardships. While the federal government is managing to give the impression of being in serious engagement with Labour and other stakeholders for the purpose of arriving at realistic palliatives to avoid the bubble burst of a civil uprising, the people continue to groan under the intense pain of their democratic sacrifice.

Small businesses are folding up spirally while the big ones keep rationalizing staff for cost efficiency and transferring the increased costs of energy to the hapless consumers. Hard life is the prevailing lots of Nigerians today after 24 years of democracy except that their elected representatives in the 10th National Assembly have taken insensitivity to the all-time craze level.

What at first appeared a mere social media rumour has now been confirmed from authoritative sources as the newest demonstration of craze by the Nigeria political class. The National Assembly, consisting of 109 members in the red chamber of Senate and 360 members in the House of Representatives Green Chamber, totalling 469 members, has decided to award themselves a Toyota SUV Prado jeep each at the cost of =N=160 million per unit. Confirming the news, the spokesman of the Green Chamber explained that the vehicles are not attached to the representatives but rather to the constituencies!

The National Assembly since 1999 has been changing state-of-the-art autos every four years in the name of constituency vehicle as if a constituency vehicle is the problem of Nigerians at the constituencies. Most of these constituencies cannot even be accessed with vehicles because of bad roads and most constituents never get to set their eyes on either the constituency vehicle or their representative once elected. In any case, does it not amount to open demonstration of craze to buy an official vehicle of N160m to oversee a constituency envelope of N100m when the latest Hilux pick up with better suitability to the Nigerian roads will cost 60 percent far less than the SUV Prado jeeps? Who do Nigerians offend to deserve these set of callous elites?
- Ige is the chair at the Concerns for Democracy and Good Governance
November 8, 2023
Sanwo-Olu and the Film City project
- By Tayo Ogunbiyi
Many industry watchers have continued to applaud the Lagos State Government for coming up with the audacious US$100 million Lagos Film City project. So much has been said about its potential to create jobs, support creativity and advertise our culture to the world.

But, Bola Bolawole, a former editor of “The Punch”, in a piece titled, ‘Why Sanwo-Olu Should Revisit Film City project’, chose to express misgivings on the venture.

In the piece, Bolawole expressed fears on the viability of the project, advising Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to stop it. The writer’s ignorance about the project was impeccably reflected in his referring to it as “another major scam in the offing”.

He was however honest enough to admit that his major source of information on the project was gotten from a chance meeting with a veteran frontline film maker, Ola Balogun, who interrupted his discussions with a friend at the Ikeja Mall during a business lunch.

It is, however, essential to make some clarifications that could further throw more light on some of the issues raised by the writer in the article. The intention is to ensure that the public is not misinformed.

First, the writer’s fear over a supposed scam does not by any means arise. His allusion to the possibility of a scam certainly indicates his lack of understanding of the idea behind the Lagos Film City project. It, thus, needs to be stressed that the initiative is fundamentally based on the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) concept. The government will not finance the project from its balance sheet.

It is an arrangement between the state and private investors, hence, no public fund will be spent. The government’s partners of the project, Del-York, will solely be responsible for sourcing of funds and other issues relating to finances. Not a dime of public fund will be expended on it.

Second, Bolawole’s admission that a similar experience failed elsewhere is not a basis to conclude that the fate awaited the Lagos Film City project. Since coming on board in May 2019, Sanwo-Olu has demonstrated sufficient competency that has made Lagosians trust his judgment. He has successfully completed many landmark projects across various sectors. A few examples will suffice. The Lagos Blue Line project had been on for over a decade. Seeing that it is a people- oriented project capable of addressing the state’s traffic challenge, the governor promised to complete it before the end of his first tenure in office.

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He kept his word. Today, the Blue Line is a testament to the possibilities of “A Greater Lagos”. In fact, the Red Line is slated for commissioning before the end of the year.

Sanwo-Olu also promised to ensure the completion of the multi-million dollar Lekki Deep Sea Port. On this too, he kept to his word. He also pledged to complete the Lagos Rice Mill in Imota, Ikorodu, which has since been completed and commissioned.

The governor equally swore, upon his inauguration in 2019, to complete all ongoing housing schemes. By the time he was rounding off his first tenure in office, his administration had completed over 20 housing schemes.

The whole essence of recounting the governor’s string of successes is to show that Sanwo-Olu is not one to embark on wasteful expenditures.

He is a conscientious planner who meticulously goes through the minutest details of programmes and projects before spending public funds on them. This, no doubt, explains why the state is yet to experience any case of a failed project under his leadership. Sanwo-Olu has eyes for details. Nothing, no matter how seeming insignificant, escapes his scrutiny.

Now, let’s go back to the Film City. The initiative isn’t something that just happened on the impulse. It is part of the administration’s holistic and carefully thought-out plan to transform the state’s tourism and entertainment industry.

Since his first term in office, Sanwo-Olu has demonstrated a strong resolve to reposition the state’s tourism and entertainment industry. This is based on his conviction that the sector, if properly structured, has huge potential for wealth and job creation.

This, of course, is a stark reality. In America, for instance, the entertainment industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, creating jobs for thousands of young creative minds. Lagos is the entertainment capital of the country; developing the sector not only holds a brighter prospect for Lagos, but the country at large.

An integral part of the government’s plan to further develop the sector is the Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative (LACI), a partnership between the government and renowned film making academies. Through collaboration with organisations, such as EbonyLife Creative Academy, Del-York Academy and Ogidi Studio, AMAA, among others, new leaders and stars have emerged in the creative industry.

Till date, the partnership has produced over 6000 graduands with the likes of Genoveva Umeh, Moshood Fattah, Desmond Bryce, Obinna James, Promise Egwu, Peter Joshua and Hannah Sampson, among others, becoming newest super stars in the sector.

After the pandemic, the government supported the sector with a N1 billion naira interest free grant, which was accessed by several film producers. The essence is to ensure that the sector remains vibrant and productive.

Prior to the post-COVID-19 grant, the government had disbursed N200 million as loans to 37 indigenous filmmakers. This is in addition to the completion of the J.K Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture, Onikan, Lagos as well as the Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos. The latter, a state-of-the-art amphitheatre like other theatres built by the government, have been concessioned to Lufodo Production Limited, owned by veteran actress Joke Silva, for effective management.   Cheerfully, the modest efforts of the government are beginning to pay off. A recent PwC report shows that Nigeria’s film industry contributed 2.3% ($660 million (N239 billion)) to the GDP in 2021.

Lagos is not only the commercial nerve of Africa, it is the birthplace of Nollywood and the location of a majority of the cinemas in Nigeria. Lagos has also been described as the cultural, financial, and entertainment capital of Africa, and is a significant influence on commerce, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion.

In New York, the movie industry creates 185,000 jobs annually, $18.1b in wages and $81.6b in total economic output. Thus, the Lagos Film City project is part of the all-inclusive efforts of the government to further enhance the growth of the industry.

The proposed Film City will be a total hub for movie production; it’s not just about studios. It is a testament to the government’s commitment to nurturing the arts and supporting the dreams of aspiring filmmakers, actors, and technicians. It will create numerous job opportunities, stimulate economic growth and attract investments. It will be a hub for film production, post-production, visual effects, and all the ancillary services that support the film-making process.

It is envisioned to be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, sound stages, editing suites, production offices, and everything necessary to bring the magic of the silver screen to life. It is designed to be a one-stop-hub for movie production.

•Ogunbiyi is a Director (Public Affairs), Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja
November 8, 2023