The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Endangered poultry

    Endangered poultry

    • The government should explore new ways to confront a vital industry

    As a result of the current spiraling inflation in the country with the astronomical rise in food, transportation, rental housing and other costs of essential items, the Feed Industry Practitioners Association of Nigeria (FIPAN), has lamented the looming scarcity of eggs, chicken, fish and other livestock in the country. The President of the association, Raymond Isidina, attributed this envisaged scarcity to the increased cost and unavailability of maize and soya bean which are the major inputs for livestock feed.

    It is obvious that scarcity and excessive rise in the prices of this critical category of the daily food intake of Nigerians will further worsen the current harsh economic situation in the country and have debilitating implications for the general health and well-being of millions of Nigerians. These poultry products are vital sources of protein for most citizens and their scarcity would deprive majority of people of this crucial nutritional requirement for a balanced and healthy diet.

    Already the prices of these poultry products have soared beyond the reach of significant numbers of Nigerians and if the inflationary spiral persists or worsens, the situation will be very dire indeed. For instance, widespread protein deficiency will have negative consequences for the health of people within the context of our fragile and vulnerable health care system. Children will particularly be badly affected as they require sufficient protein consumption for healthy physical and mental development.

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    We thus agree with FIPAN that even as the government addresses the current high food costs through financial subsidies to the most vulnerable sections of the populace as well as release of rice and wheat from the strategic grains reserves for distribution by state governments, particular attention should be paid to providing succor for the endangering poultry industry. Apart from the release of maize and soya beans from the reserves to alleviate the challenges faced by the industry as suggested by the FIPAN, the ongoing distribution of fertilizers to farmers should specifically target those who cultivate maize and soya beans. FIPAN has also recommended the immediate halt in the exportation of soya bean seeds and also requisite intervention by the authorities to facilitate importation of maize for livestock feeds in the face of inadequate local production. We urge government to give the association a listening ear.

    Equally noteworthy is the fact that the livestock industry employs no less than 45% of the country’s Labour force and a lull in the productivity of the sector will have deleterious consequences for the already grim unemployment situation. Quite apart from those who directly produce the livestock, there is a vast food chain that will be negatively affected by a recession in the industry. These include those who cultivate and supply livestock feed and the hotel, hospitality and fast food chains for instance.

    The plight of the livestock industry and other arms of the agricultural sector should motivate the government to intensify recent efforts to curb all forms of violence including banditry, the Boko Haram insurgency and herders-farmers clashes which have displaced large numbers of farmers from their farms and hugely impacted domestic food supply negatively. The return of displaced farmers to intensive and sustained agricultural productivity is a necessary condition to achieve the country’s much desired economic recovery.

  • No more excuses 

    No more excuses 

    •Power minister has a duty to use machinery of government to override any cabal in the all-important sector

    It is a shame that 60 years after independence, and 24 years into the Fourth Republic, the power sector can only generate, transmit and distribute an average of 4000 megawatts of electricity for about 200 million citizens.

    It has always been a load of excuses. When it is not about the volume of water available for the hydro stations, it is about insufficient gas to power the thermal stations. At other times, it is about leakages along the transmission lines.

    Most times, the distribution companies, being the last leg of the relay, carry the blame. While they can only distribute what is transmitted to them, they, too, do not seem to have the technical and financial capacity to service their customers.

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    The customers are also not blameless. Many military, security and government institutions blatantly refuse to settle their bills, while households tamper with metres or tap supply from their neighbours, bypassing the official process. It is really a conundrum.

    The new Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu who spoke at a reception for him in Ibadan, has introduced a new dimension. He blamed the woes of the sector on an unknown cabal and cartel. This is strange as we have heard of a cabal at the Aso Villa, not the power sector. The onus is on Mr. Adelabu to unveil the cabal and cartel. If we are to believe his contention that a cartel, probably contractors, frustrate government efforts at revamping the sector, then, he owes Nigerians the duty of ensuring that they have their day in court.

    During the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, hopes were raised when a reputable Swedish company, Siemens was contracted to help shore up power supply. Three years after, nothing has been concluded.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) promised to pay attention to the sector with a view to injecting life to the economy. Attempting to live up to the billing, the President, early into the administration, signed a bill enabling states to generate and supply power to consumers. This is a step forward, but it remains to be seen how the Power Ministry will enunciate policies to translate the law into action. This is the challenge the minister, a respected former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, must face squarely. It is a mountain he was appointed to surmount. Nigerians have been fed with excuses for too long. We do not want to know if some cabal somewhere is throwing spanners in the work. It is a relief that the minister is aware of this as he declared at the reception that the challenge would be tackled professionally. 

    We believe that he knows the full gamut of the challenge, including so many houses unfettered, the continuous cry of bogus billing of consumers, inefficient workers of agencies under the ministry, among others.

    We advise the minister to carefully study the problems in consultation with experts outside the ministry and retired senior staff and obtaining the President’s full mandate to root out all who have constituted themselves into principalities and powers in the sector.

    Where laws, especially, those that transferred public facilities to the distribution companies are found to stand in the way of efficiency, the government should quickly explore its relationship with the National Assembly to amend such existing laws.

  • Resolve fuel queues

    Resolve fuel queues

    • Lagos is witnessing instances of empty fuel stations

    The media recently reported what was perceived as the resurfacing of long queues for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol in Lagos and Ogun states and some other locations in the South-West. Although no such queues were reported in Abuja and other parts of the North, depots in Lagos were said to be running dry of petrol and if the problem persists, it may most likely have negative implications for fuel supply nationwide since the country’s commercial nerve centre is the main avenue for importation of the product for distribution to other parts of the country.

    Since the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration on May 29, was meant to curb the massive corruption associated with the subsidy and allow market forces to determine the pump price of fuel, it was expected that the monopoly of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in the importation of refined petroleum would be broken. With more oil marketers consequently involved in importing the product and being able to make a profit above the cost of importation, it was expected that there would be sufficient supply of PMS and no need for lengthy fuel queues.

    However, the oil marketers have lamented that lack of access to foreign exchange and the unpredictability of the pricing regime have mitigated against their attempts to import refined petroleum. Three major marketers, which had ventured into the importation of fuel with the removal of fuel subsidy and subjection of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry to operations of market forces, have thus reportedly jettisoned the petroleum importation business leading to the NNPC Limited once again monopolizing refined petroleum importation.

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    The National Vice Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr Abubakar Maigadi, had alleged that the NNPCL depots have refused to sell petrol to independent marketers and that there has been a sharp reduction in the rate at which the marketers were loading the product from depots. According to him, “Up till now, only NNPCL can come with the PMS, marketers cannot buy the PMS because of the price and foreign exchange. Most of the marketers are not getting the foreign exchange from the banks. So, everybody relies on the product that NNPCL imports and shares to the market”.

    While we understand that the far-reaching reforms in the fuel pricing regime and alignment of exchange rates of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the attendant effects on the value of the Naira will take some time to begin to achieve the desired objectives, it is incumbent on the NNPCL to spare no effort to ensure sufficient availability of PMS at the fuel stations for as long as it continues to be the sole importer. For instance, it is disturbing that the fuel queues building up in Lagos and some other places in the South-West have been attributed to vandalization of oil pipelines by thieves in Lagos.

    The Chairman of the IPMAN, Satellite depot, Mr Akin Akinrinade, shed light on this problem when he stated that “IPMAN Satellite Depot are constrained with heavy heart to announce the vandalism of the NNPCL pipeline at Idimu in Alimosho Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, in front of Good Luck Estate. This continuous vandalism is a setback to the effort of IPMAN and NNPCL to ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol to Lagos and the entire South-West of Nigeria”.

    Continuing he said, “From our end, the issue has been with pipeline vandalism which we raised an alarm over since July. Satellite depot has not landed any product in the last three weeks, and whenever there is a problem here, it is going to affect Lagos and the whole of South-West”. It is bad enough that many filling stations are shutting down some of their branches because of inability to buy products due to high prices at the depots. While efforts should be intensified towards the actualization of adequate local crude oil refining, the NNPCL should do everything to secure its pipelines in the short run.

  • Judges’ pay

    Judges’ pay

    • President’s pledge to review earnings should apply to all sectors

    The recent pronouncement by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that his administration would review the salary of judicial officers, as a measure to fight corruption is reassuring. Speaking while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) led by Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), the President said: “We must deal with the review of remuneration if we truly want to fight corruption in the judiciary. We will look at the cost as well as the consequences.”

    We have many times called for a review of the salary and emoluments of judicial officers, more so as they are not in a position to speak for themselves, unlike their counterparts in the legislature and the executive, who use their positions to cater for their interests. So, if the president makes a promise to stand up for their interest, we commend him and urge him to walk his talk. We also agree that one of the measures to stop corruption in the judiciary is to pay a fair wage.

    Perhaps it would be an opportunity to bring the remuneration, salaries and emoluments of the legislature and the executive within the provisions of the constitution. A combination of sections 84, 124 and the Third Schedule Part 1N of the 1999 constitution (as amended) provides that the remuneration, salaries and allowances of certain named public officers, including the members of the legislature, executive and judiciary shall be determined by a law made by the National Assembly but not exceeding the amount as determined by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

    The president also promised to address the vacancies in the Supreme Court. Speaking to the eminent lawyers, the President said: “We will take a look at what they have and we will fill the vacancies. It’s a fulfilment of an obligation.” We agree with the president that filling the vacancies is a constitutional obligation of urgent importance. The constitution provides that the Supreme Court shall consist of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and such number of Justices of the Supreme Court not exceeding twenty-one, as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.

    Presently, there are only twelve Justices including the CJN, and that miserly number can constitute only one full panel of the apex court made up of seven Justices to determine issues arising from the provisions of sections 232 and 233(2)(b)(c) as provided by section by 234 of the constitution. To ensure the required efficiency of the Supreme Court and reduce the excessive work load of the Justices, and ensure their good health, filling the vacancies is a matter of utmost importance.

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    Many persons and bodies, including the NBA, have argued that the President has the pedigree to ensure the welfare of the Justices and Judges of our courts, considering his performance as Governor of Lagos state. Without gainsaying, the welfare of the judiciary is for the benefit of every Nigerian and those living in the country. When it is said that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man, it simply means that everyone regardless of standing in the society needs the protection of the judiciary at one time or another.

    Yet, we must state that welfare is not the prerogative of the judiciary. All sectors are equally invested in the Nigerian project. So, in reviewing the salaries and emoluments of those under the rubric of RMAFC, we also urge him to ensure a review of salaries of all public servants, particularly the thorny issue of minimum wage. The present wage structure is skewed in favour of public office holders, and it is one fundamental cause of corruption. A living wage would reduce corruption in public service, to the benefit of every Nigerian.

  • On the loose

    On the loose

    • In separate acts in Lagos, soldiers have been implicated in violence

    Two recent mysterious killings in Lagos within two weeks, with striking similarities, raised questions about security. Senator Solomon Adeola made allegations concerning the killing of his aide, Adeniyi Oluwatosin Sanni, in Lagos, on August 5. In a statement, the federal lawmaker introduced unexpected possibilities, alleging that the killers were soldiers of the Nigerian Army. He demanded justice.  

     ”Based on available facts at the disposal of the Police,” he stated, Sanni “was killed by a syndicate of soldiers operating under the newly deployed Commander of 9 Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Nsikan John Edet, through mounting of checkpoints and robbing of lone occupants of cars.”  This is a serious accusation, which should be treated as such.  

    He added that police sources informed him that “a similar brutal killing and armed robbery occurred around the same Ojodu- Berger late Thursday night of August 17, 2023 resulting in the killing of another Nigerian whose body was discovered around Iyana- Ipaja after he was taken away by soldiers from the checkpoint.”  The victim was a Lagos-based driver identified as Lawal.  

    He continued: “Unknown to the soldiers, the occupant of the car they killed, and took away his car, was the second car in a convoy of two heading towards the same destination. 

    “The first car passed the soldiers checkpoint but the second car was stopped to check his vehicle’s papers. 

    “On noticing the absence of the second car after a while, the occupant of the first car (name withheld) placed a call to his colleague in the second car who informed him that he was being taken to Iyana Ipaja by the soldiers at the checkpoint. 

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    “That was the last he heard from him and his dead body was later discovered dumped on the road just like Mr Sanni. 

    “The survivor in the first car reported the case to the Police and a pattern of armed robbery and killing in the area involving men in Army uniform was established.”

    The question is whether the so-called men in Army uniform are actually serving soldiers or criminal impostors. Whoever they may be, they must not be allowed to get away with robbery and murder.

    In Sanni’s case, he was said to have been stopped by “security agents” at a checkpoint around the Ojodu- Berger Area of Lagos on his way to his home at Isheri.  He was asked to provide the documents of the car he was driving, and he called his wife who sent the documents to his phone via WhatsApp. His bullet-riddled body was later found at the Toyota Bus Stop area of Oshodi, close to a military barracks. The senator lamented that “the black Toyota Camry of Mr Sanni, his phones and other valuables are yet to be recovered.”

    In another statement, Senator Adeola said he “has since discovered that Brig. Gen. Edet left the Cantonment in July this year after a stint from May,” and that the 9 Brigade is under Brig. Gen. A.M Adetuyi, but also stated that he stood by “all revelations” in his earlier statement.  

    The Nigerian Army authorities should be concerned about Senator Adeola’s specific details on the alleged killers, their base, and how they operate. Their silence on the legislator’s damaging allegations on the killing of Sanni is inexplicable and inexcusable.

    Though the acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 81 Division, Lt. Col. Olabisi Ayeni, issued a statement on the killing of Lawal, there were still more questions than answers. He said investigation by the Army and the Police was ongoing, and “if the suspects are identified as serving soldiers, they will be made to face the full wrath of both military and civil laws.” This is reassuring as Army personnel are not above the law, and lawless actions by soldiers should be discouraged.

    Both cases demand thorough investigations in order to bring the killers to justice. Failure to resolve these cases is dangerous as it would mean that the killers are at large.

  • Insider heists

    Insider heists

    • Banks turning victims of own sharp recruitment practices

    The fundament of universal banking is trust. But the Nigerian segment seems to thrive on investor greed.  That chicken of utmost greed is coming home to roost.  Now, banks’ bottom line bleeds with severe insider fleecing.

    The stats are simply grim.  Between Quarter 1 (January to March) and Quarter 2 (April to June) 2023, 24 banks recorded a hefty spiral in fraud: from N2.58 billion in Quarter 1 (Q1) to N9.75 billion in Q2 — almost a quadruple at 276.98 per cent flare!

    The actual loss from these fraud cases was N5.79 billion — up from N472 million for Q1 2023: more than a 10-time rise at 1,124 per cent!  What is more?  Though outsider involvement in fraud cases dropped by 6.4 per cent, insider fleecing rose by 22.2 per cent, perhaps showing a bitter corps of disgruntled staff, giving the banks’ bottom line a brutal crack. 

    Fraudulent loans accounted for N5.46 billion (94.35 per cent of the entire value).  Mobile fraud followed at N196 million (3.39 per cent).  Comparatively, web or Internet fraud was only one per cent, though it still accounted for N59.5 million.  This nevertheless is grim good news: it would appear more banks are setting up effective firewalls on their Fintech.  But the job is still undone until cyber account raids are virtually zero.

    These statistics came from the Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC), owned by the Bankers Committee, made up of who-is-who in the Nigerian financial sector: the CBN, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and all licensed banks and discount houses in Nigeria. So, could it then be a trust-deficit industry beholding and bewailing a Gorgon it has self-created?

    Indeed, the hunter just turned the hunted.  A sector randomly accused of routine stealing from its customers — with industry regulator, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), unable to figure out a stop — is now reported victim of heightened stealing by mainly own staff.

    It’s a grim threshold to plumb.  Still, what are the pathways to a saner financial sector, where trust is high, fraud is low and workers are proud defenders of their turf, not unfazed subversives of it, as borne out by this rather heightened — and worrying — insider fleecing?

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    But first: nothing justifies fraud and crime — not even rogue banking employment practices that thirst for willy-nilly profit, which cynically mocks short-changed workers.  Crime is crime and whoever does the crime should do the time, after fair and rigorous prosecution that returns guilt.

    Still, actions have consequences and evil souls often grab a sense of felt cheating to strike back.  That seems to explain the increasing number of bank staff in banking fraud.  That is why bank managements must listen to their unions to re-birth a much more humane recruitment policy all-round. 

    Yes, profit might dip a little. But that should be fitting price to pay to re-energise the banking system and gift its workers with renewed sense of belonging.

    “We had warned of this problem when the employment of contract workers without due diligence through third party organisations began to increase,” Olusoji Oluwole, president of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) told Vanguard. “These classes of workers without a clear career path, job security or even pension have become potential risks which are already crystallising.”

    That about hits the proverbial nail on the head. Inhumane recruitment policies could become clear and present danger to the balance sheet.

    Anthony Eneh, the ASSBIFI senior assistant secretary general, also chipped in his own bit: “The banks should also ensure that adequate remuneration of staff is put in place, encourage staff fraternity, interaction and also create minimal conflicts to track down impending frauds.” 

    Wise counsel.  But the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must work closely with the CBN to enforce the ministry’s financial sector recruitment protocol to eradicate the soulless casualisation of bank workers.

    Much more: the CBN, as regulator, must stamp out the routine stealing by banks from customers’ accounts with all sorts of weird charges.  That is imperative to restore high trust in the banking system and return sound business ethics to the financial sector.

  • Failed expectations

    Failed expectations

    •Caution must be exercised on the ‘japa’ syndrome to avoid tales of woe

    Many Nigerians are getting dumped in the lurch in the United Kingdom after they left their home country on skilled worker visas with which they had hoped to work abroad. Reports said these Nigerians have fallen into destitution in the UK. Meanwhile, they’ve cleared out their savings back home to pay ‘agents’ who promised  them job placements in the country of their relocation.

    Contrary to their expectations of greener pastures, however, these Nigerians are left on UK streets begging for food, shelter and other basic needs.

    A Sky News report showed Nigerians who said they paid agents – effectively, visa middlemen – who obtained skilled worker visas for them and got them documents indicating job placements in the UK that they found to be phony upon arriving the country. With no job, they find themselves lacking in means of sustenance and struggle to survive by resorting to sleeping rough and going to humanitarian food banks to beg food.

     A victim who spoke to Sky News said she arrived the UK some three months back after paying an agent £10,000 to arrange her a job as a carer, but which upon arriving in that country she found to be non-existent contrary to assurances by the agent. Another victim, who said she was destitute in the UK, showed her passport and other documents corroborating her claim of having been promised a job that she found to be phony. To boot, she was advised not to take matters up with the agency that led her on out of fear of legal reprisals. “Their pathetic stories attest to how agents or middlemen are manipulating Nigerians desperate to travel out of the country with the skilled worker visa system, who have been promised opportunities only to find out that such do not exist,” the report said.

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    And there were indications the trend was expanding. The founder of the Nigerian Community Centre in Rochdale, Mary Adekugbe, was reported as saying those on skilled worker visas now needing support had become a big issue overbearing on her schedules. According to her, about 15 out of some 40 people who come to the food bank in a week on the average have skilled worker visas. “We are overwhelmed. People are desperate. It’s so worrying: a grown-up man crying like a baby. Children crying without food because their parents can’t work to support them. No houses. No job. This is alarming,” she said.

    The reported experiences of Nigerians on skilled worker visas in the UK should serve as a cautionary line on the blind flight – known as ‘japa’ syndrome – of our compatriots from their native country owing to the prevailing anomie at home. People leave, of course, for diverse motivations they view as ‘greener pastures.’ But desperation to emigrate should always be with thorough evaluation of the prospects ahead. In other words, whatever may be the motivation, risks involved in leaving one’s country must be well calculated and prepared for. And there should be no route of emigration sufficiently attractive outside of the legal channels and procedures.

    Nigerians have been reported to have found themselves in sex exploitation and work servitude rings in the most improbable alternative countries, all because they submitted themselves to trafficking rings in the desperation to relocate from Nigeria. They’ve always had sour tales to tell of such misadventure.

    In any event, the promise of better life abroad is sometimes exaggerated compared with modest means that are freely and readily available at home. There is no question that people make much money when they have the opportunity to work abroad. But much of what is made tend to go on services for self-maintenance, whereas those services in Nigeria are much cheaper and largely underwritten by communal interrelationships. That apparently is the sense to make of the common saying that: ‘East, West, North or South, there’s no place like home.’ But this also implies that the home governments must improve the conditions in the country to reduce the desperation of our youths for the so-called greener pastures abroad.

  • Anini reborn

    Anini reborn

    •Something is wrong in a country where teenagers adopt notorious robbers’ names as nicknames

    Oyenusi! Anini!! Osunbor!!! These were names that evoked fears in the minds of Nigerians in the ’70s and ’80s. The three men at different times in the annals of armed robberies in the country gave the police and other security agents a tough time before they were, like other criminals, eventually arrested and served their due comeuppance after trial.

    Ishola Oyenusi, popularly known as Dr. Ishola, specialised in carjackings, bank robberies and other crimes that he committed in traffic hold-ups. However, he was arrested and tried alongside six other members of his gang and eventually executed on  September 8, 1971.

    Lawrence Nomanyagbon Anini (a.k.a. The Law) was another Nigerian armed robber who terrorised Benin City in the 1980s along with his sidekick, Monday Osunbor. He too was eventually captured and executed on March 28, 1987. Osunbor and other members of the gang had been executed a few weeks earlier.

    Given the notoriety associated with these names, very few people, if ever, would want their children to bear any of these names.

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    But not so three Nigerian teenagers who have not only adopted the surnames of these notorious criminals as nicknames, but have, in fact, taken to their criminal vocation — armed robbery. The trio — Sunday Ojo nicknamed ‘Oyenusi’, Timileyin Femi, ‘Anini’ and Matti Lowe, ‘Osunbor’. Ojo and Lowe are 16 years old while Timileyin is 13. But the exploits of these infamous robbers would pale into insignificance if these young ones are left to continue on this criminal trajectory till adulthood, given their record in crimes, even at their supposed tender ages. They must be stopped in their tracks early enough in their own interest and in the interest of the society at large.

    The three boys were recently arrested by Amotekun security outfit in Ondo State for sundry crimes.

    But this was not the first time that Ojo would be arrested. About three years ago, when he was just 13, he had been arrested for illegal possession of firearms. Ondo State Commander of Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said that he is not a first offender. “Right now, he’s 16. This time around, he broke into a number of shops and removed items.” Because he was underaged, all they could do three years ago was to take him to a juvenile home for rehabilitation.

    Ojo told journalists when they were being paraded in Akure, the state capital, that “l have lost count of the robbery operations I have been involved in. But they can’t be fewer than 40.” If at 16 someone had participated in about 40 operations, how many would he have participated in by the time he is 30? 

    What stories like this tell us is the rate at which the Nigerian society has sunk, the lack of values and all. What would teenagers want to do with money to make them desperate to have firearms or engage in serial robberies?

    These are children who should be in school already graduating into criminal activities. So, where are their parents in all of these? Even if they are orphans, they did not drop from the sky, they must have relatives under whose care they should be at their ages.

    The rate at which juveniles like these get involved in serious crimes nowadays is alarming. The get-rich-quick syndrome seems to have seized the society, especially as few people are interested in how the rich make their money. Even religious houses are not helping matters as they too accord respect to people with the fattest envelopes without a thought for the source of the wealth.

    The experiences of children like Ojo make it imperative for state governments to have bolster homes where people of their ages can be reformed. It is not enough to dump them in non-functional juvenile homes where they are taught nothing and therefore learnt nothing. They must be brought before judges who would conduct the usual trial and pronounce them guilty if they are, even if they would only be remanded, instead of being committed to prison.

    A 16-year-old who allegedly claimed to have participated in not less than 40 robbery incidents cannot just put the blame on the devil as Ojo has done and be unleashed on the society thereafter, only to continue terrorising law-abiding citizens. 

  • Abuse of innocence

    Abuse of innocence

    • Anambra illegal child adoption home owners must be found and prosecuted

    An investigative report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism alleging illegal activities at an orphanage embarrassed the Anambra State government, prompting belated action that suggested laxity in the regulation of orphanages in the state. The report had alleged that the orphanage was involved in illegal child adoption processes, a euphemism for buying and selling children, with the cooperation of government officials. 

    ‘’As soon as we saw the video, we rushed to the facility with police but discovered that the owners had disappeared, abandoning the entire children,’’ the state’s commissioner for women and social welfare, Ify Obinabo, explained in a statement. 

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    “We immediately sealed the facility and withdrew their licence, while we brought the entire kids to the ministry to ensure their safety and upkeep,” she said, adding that the founder of the home, Deborah Ogo, had ignored invitations from the ministry to clarify its operations following the damning report.

    According to her, “20 children were recovered from the operator, including a newborn while the founder and her staff are currently at large.” The children, she stated, were “between the ages of one year to 17 years and they are 10 boys, nine girls and a newborn.” She said there were ongoing efforts to locate their families.

    At the centre of the scandal is Arrow of God Community Children’s Home at Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of the state.  The commissioner, who said her ministry was mandated to “fight illegal adoption,” and was “in control of all adoptions,” claimed that the orphanage in question “went against the instructions.” In particular, she accused the home of not involving officially recognised signatories and designated courts in its adoption processes.

    It’s unclear when the home was founded, and for how long it had been allegedly involved in unlawful adoption operations. Also, it’s unclear how the relevant authorities carry out their regulatory roles, and why they were unaware of the alleged illegalities at the home. It is concerning that it took a journalistic investigative report to alert the authorities to the alleged irregularities.

    The Foundation for Investigative Journalism should be commended for the exposé. Importantly, the alleged irregularities may not be limited to the home in question. The relevant authorities in the state should, therefore, take this case as a wake-up call and review their approach to regulating orphanages in the state. 

    It is reassuring that the commissioner warned other children’s home operators involved in illegal adoption “to desist forthwith or face the consequences,” adding that the state government “is all out to clamp down on operators who don’t follow the stipulated standardised operational practices and processes in the state.”

    However, the situation demands more than tough talk. The state government must ensure that the orphanages that should be under its control are actually controlled by its agents.

    The founder of the home, who is said to be at large, should be found, arrested, prosecuted and sanctioned if guilty. She has a lot of explaining to do. The authorities must also find out whether government officials were involved in the racket, as the report alleged. Implicated government officials should also be tried, and punished if guilty. There is a need to send a strong signal that such illegalities are unacceptable.

    In addition, there is the issue of whether a connection exists between orphanages like the one in question and so-called baby factories, which are frequently discovered in parts of the country, where young women give birth to children who are then placed for sale on the illegal adoption market. This should be clarified.

    Children are not commodities that can be bought and sold, and should not be treated as such. Adoption irregularities that border on buying and selling children should be condemned and discouraged. Such actions amount to abuse of innocence as well as abuse of trust. 

    There can’t be a seller without a buyer. This is why the authorities must also focus on the buying aspect of the scandal, and devise ways to discourage those who make selling possible because they are willing to buy, for whatever reason. 

  • Plight of IDPs

    Plight of IDPs

    Governments can do a lot more to better their lot

    With an estimated Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) population of 3.6 million as at the end of 2022, Nigeria has the third largest number of this category of persons in Africa. Of these, about 40 per cent live in 309 camps and camp-like settlements while 60 per cent live in 2,072 host communities. While a minuscule proportion of IDPs in the country are victims of natural disasters like floods and fire outbreaks, the  majority have been forced to flee their communities of residence as a result of violence perpetrated by the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East, incessant banditry in the North-West as well as Fulani herdsmen assaults on farming communities, particularly in the North-Central and parts of the Southern region of the country.

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    The unsavoury plight of these IDPs in camps across the country is vividly illustrated by the case of inmates of Agagbe IDP camp in Gwer Local Government Area of Benue State where an alarm has been raised over the outbreak of measles and other ailments as well as the worsening starvation in the camp. But nothing demonstrated the degree of dehumanisation and erosion of dignity in this camp than the report that many pregnant women there have had to resort to giving birth in a toilet, leading to the loss of some of such babies and exposing the unfortunate mothers to communicable diseases.

    The camp manager, Jacob Ibaah, confirmed that the women have no choice but to give birth in the toilet built by an international NGO, ‘Doctors Without Borders’. Describing the situation as dire, he lamented that the women have no access to adequate pre-natal or post-natal care.

     It is disturbing that the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) is reported to be aware of the situation at the camp but has done nothing meaningful to address the problems. The agency’s acting Executive Secretary, Mr James Iorpu, is quoted as telling reporters that “I allotted 200 bags of rice to them during the last food distribution exercise”. He appears to underestimate the gravity of the challenge and thus what he considers an appropriate response is absolutely inadequate.

    The case of this camp in Benue State is representative of the unwholesome scenario in most IDP camps in different parts of the country. Residents of these camps contend with severe food shortages, overcrowding, environmental degradation, lack of safe water, spread of communicable diseases as well as poor sanitation and waste management. Routine abuse of women and girls who have to offer sexual gratification to obtain food, money and other favours have also been reported.

    Ordinarily, IDP camps are supposed to be temporary arrangements where those dislocated by factors beyond their control are sheltered and catered for before normalcy is restored and they safely return to their homes. Unfortunately, most of the camps in the country appear to have become permanent abodes for the displaced as the insecurity that caused their dislocation in the first place becomes more protracted and seemingly insoluble. There is certainly the urgent necessity for the appropriate authorities to intensify efforts to restore security across the country to ensure that the phenomenon of IDPs becomes the exception rather than the norm.

    We understand that as the vast majority of the larger population in the country are faced with escalating economic hardships, it will become even more difficult to find sufficient resources to care for those in IDP camps. However, the respective levels of government have no alternative but to do all that is necessary to alleviate their plight, which is due to no fault of the IDPs but largely that of the laxity and negligence of the state, which exists, first and foremost, to protect the security and welfare of the citizenry.

    Despite current economic hardships, better care can be taken of the IDPs if the massive corruption and gross inefficiencies associated with running the camps by government agencies are decisively curtailed. Not only are funds meant to provide for the needs of IDPs reportedly routinely misappropriated, relief materials allocated for distribution to the camps are often allegedly diverted and sold by unscrupulous officials. Such criminal acts must be urgently checked.