Category: Editorial

But for the activities of the United Nations International Children’s  Fund (UNICEF) as well as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which held a number of events to commemorate this year’s International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), on February 6, the very important occasion would have gone unmarked by all levels of government in the country. Yet, reports by UNICEF on incidence of FGM, which were presented on that day, showed that Nigeria is one of the worst hit countries by this menace described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a traditional and harmful practice that involves the partial or total removal of female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

In a press statement to commemorate the day, the UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Mr Peter Hawkins, pointed out that “FGM remains widespread in Nigeria. With an estimated 19.9 million survivors, Nigeria accounts for the third-highest number of women and girls who have gone through FGM worldwide. While the national prevalence of FGM among women in Nigeria aged 15-49  dropped from 25% in 2013 to  20% in 2018, prevalence among girls aged 0-14 increased from 16.9% to 19.2% in the same period”. Elaborating further on the features of the menace in Nigeria, Hawkins said that  incidence of FGM  is prevalent among Nigerian girls aged 0-14 with an estimated 86% of females cut before age five while eight percent were cut between ages five and 14.

The practice of FGM is widely perceived as not only being cruel, subjecting those forced to undergo the procedure to enormous torture but also a violation of the human rights of those involved. Again, as Hawkins put it, “The practice of FGM not only has no health benefits – it is deeply harmful to girls and women, both physically and psychologically. It is a practice that has no place in our society today and must be ended as many Nigerian communities have already pledged to do”. Statistics released by UNICEF indicate that “State prevalence ranges from 62% in Imo to less than one percent in Adamawa and Gombe. The incidence of FGM is highest in the South East (35%) and South -West (30%) and lowest in the North East (six percent).

There would thus appear to be little correlation between the prevalence of this practice and literacy levels across different parts of the country. This is why UNICEF concentrated the takeoff of its initiative to bring the FGM practice to an end tagged ‘The Movement for Good’ in five states, namely Ebonyi, Ekiti, Imo, Osun and Oyo where the practice is highly prevalent, as nearly three million girls and women from these states are estimated to have gone through the FGM procedure in these states over the last five years”. The ‘Movement for Good’ aims to reach five million adolescent girls and boys, women – including especially pregnant women and lactating mothers – men, grandparents and traditional, community, and religious leaders, legislators, justice sector workers, to participate in an online pledge to ‘say no’ to FGM.

The initiative by UNICEF is particularly timely and noteworthy as the agency has also noted that “As COVID-19 continues to close schools and disrupt programmes that help protect girls from this harmful practice, an additional two million cases of FGM may occur over the next decade”. UNICEF’s ‘Movement for Good’ initiative is designed to challenge misconceptions on the menace, particularly the discriminatory reasons for its practice and break the silence around FGM, working closely with communities. There are large numbers of girls and women who are known to have either died or had to live with life-long bodily harm after undergoing the procedure. Mostly carried out on children who have not yet reached the age to refuse to undergo the practice, the FGM is recognised internationally as a violation of children’s rights as well as of the human rights of girls and women.

This deeply rooted cultural practice is also reflective of the inequality in the treatment of girls and women relative to the male gender in several communities.

Also speaking on his organisation’s efforts to bring an end to the FGM menace, Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr Tony Ojukwu, lamented that there are several protection and supervisory gaps in national and international frameworks as it affects survivors of FGM. He disclosed that to cope with the challenge, the NHRC in 2017, developed a manual which “provides a general background analysis of women’s human rights and FGM which is a type of violence against women and girls. The manual also provides a guide for reporting FGM in line with prevalent standard”. In collaboration with UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) the NHRC has undertaken a joint programme on elimination of FGM which entailed training of stakeholders in this regard in five states – Imo, Ebonyi, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti.

The efforts by organisations like UNICEF and the NHRC to curtail the FGM practice can only have the desired maximum effect when the federal, states and local governments buy into and give strong support to this campaign. There is the need for intensive public enlightenment programmes, especially at the grassroots, to help dispel the mistaken sexual, gender, health and cultural prejudices that are at the root of the FGM practice which renders large numbers of women incapable of leading fulfilled lives and contributing meaningfully and productively to the wellbeing of society.

A private member bill seeking to sentence anyone who attempts suicide to compulsory counselling and community service for a period not less than six months was passed for second reading in the House of Representatives last week. The bill aims to amend the Criminal Code Act, Cap. C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 by decriminalising suicide.

Under the proposed amendment, Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act which stipulates ‘imprisonment for one year’ as penalty for attempted / failed suicide will now read: ‘Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to compulsory counselling and community service for a period not less than six months.’ Sponsored by Francis Waive (APC, Delta), the explanatory memorandum on the proposed legislation read: ‘This bill seeks to amend the Criminal Code Act Cap C38 LFN 2004 to provide for a more rational punishment for the offence of attempted suicide. The punishment proposed by this bill will be curative and punitive, thereby making it possible for victims to be able to reintegrate into society.’

Leading the debate on the motion for amendment, Waive marshalled compelling arguments on why people who attempt suicide should be viewed as victims and not criminals. He noted that suicide is today identified as the second leading cause of death among 15-35 year-olds globally, while statistics show that low and middle-income countries account for 79 percent of suicide globally. He further said over the last 45 years, suicide rates have increased by about 60 percent, thus establishing it to be a major public health problem: the World Health Organisation specifies this to be mental health.

According to Waive, mental health challenges such as depression, long term substance abuse, schizophrenia, mood disorder, psychosis and other psychiatric disorders are the most common risk factors linked to suicidal behaviour. He said nearly one-third of suicide bidders repeat the attempt within a year, and some repeated attempts have eventually succeeded. The lawmaker argued inter alia: “Research has also shown a strong link between suicide and mental illness/disorder, however, it continues to be treated as a crime in Nigeria. This means that a person who survives a suicide attempt will be harassed, arrested and punished by the state with an imprisonment term of up to one year. This bill suggests that suicidal people are in need of effective treatments, counselling and assistance, not punishment. Penalising attempted suicide is hardly a prevention method, instead the law should direct the appropriate authorities to assist the traumatised attempters…The criminal laws are better suited for prosecuting criminal acts, not an exhibited call for help and act of distress.”

Noting that suicides and suicide attempts have been on the rise in Nigeria and could be due to several reasons, but primarily the harsh economic conditions of the average Nigerian, Waive submitted: “It is therefore imperative to substitute Section 327 of the principal act which provides for rash treatment of anyone who attempts suicide with a proposed amendment which provides that ‘Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to compulsory counselling and community service for a period not less than six months.”

We are in total agreement with the argument that suicide attempts are acts of distress embedding a call for help, not criminal acts. What the suicide bidder needs is care, not punishment; and that is why we think the penalty prescribed under the proposed amendment – lessened as it is, compared to the current provision of law – is still double jeopardy for the victim. Rather than the law prescribing penalty for suicide bidders, it could mandate hospitals and other care givers to open hotlines that will be easily accessible for persons contemplating suicide to get professional help. There should be massive public enlightenment about such facility, and attempters should be referred for mental health attention rather than be punished. Moreover, governing authorities need to work at making conditions right in the society to lessen the disposition to suicide.

It has become the same, old and stale story of humongous amounts of criminally acquired funds and countless number of properties forfeited to the government by highly placed Nigerians who abuse the public offices they occupied but who, inexplicably are allowed to remain anonymous. The media was recently awash with stories and pictures of the seizure by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of assets estimated at over N10.9 billion and the forfeiture of same to the Federal Government through an order of a Federal High Court in Abuja.  In what has become routine practice for our anti-corruption agencies, unfortunately, the press statement issued by the EFCC on the matter simply stated that the seized assets belonged to “a top military officer but controlled through proxies”. Naming and shaming top public functionaries who engage in looting the treasury has been identified as one of the ways of discouraging and combatting the culture of corruption that has constituted a formidable obstacle to the country’s developmental aspirations.

The EFCC’s silence on the identity of the ‘top military officer’ in this instance is thus a disservice to the anti-corruption war. To its credit, the detailed inventory of looted assets forfeited to government by the unnamed officer shows that the anti-graft agency did a thorough job in investigating and unveiling the criminal activities of the culprit. According to the EFCC, “The 24 properties scattered across Kano, Kaduna, Borno and Cross River states comprise land, shopping complex, gas and fuel stations cumulatively valued at N10, 935, 000, 000.00”. The commission then goes on to list in meticulous details the said properties and their locations. Given the obvious industry that went into investigation of this crime, the EFCC should have gone ahead to disclose the identity of the indicted officer.

Perhaps the commission declined to identify the said officer because nobody showed up to claim ownership of the said properties when interested members of the public were invited to do so through media adverts as directed by the court. As the agency put it, “The court had ordered the publication of notices in national newspapers, inviting persons with interest in the properties to show cause why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. With no such interest shown by any entity, Justice Maha on February 14, 2022, ordered the final forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government”. But then, despite no one coming forward to claim the assets in question, the anti-graft agency was still confident enough to attribute their ownership to a top military officer acting through proxies. Its refusal to name names may create the impression in some quarters that the agency may not be sure of its facts.

True, the officer involved has been deprived of the ownership of these assets and the illicit income he derived from them. But that surely is not enough. It is also important that his identity be revealed so that he and his family become objects of derision and obloquy in the society. Furthermore, the EFCC’s statement on the issue simply described the individual involved as “a top military officer”. We are not told if he is still serving or retired. In either case, is the forfeiture of the criminally acquired assets sufficient punishment? We don’t think so. This is particularly because the inefficacy of the military to rise decisively to check the menace of banditry, terrorism and insurgency in different parts of the country over the last decade has been largely attributed to inadequate motivation and equipment as some top military officers engage in large scale looting of funds appropriated to do so.

It is not enough to titillate the public with salacious stories of illegal funds and properties seized from unnamed top military officers. The criminal actions of such officers have fatal implications not just for the lives of officers and men under their command but also for those of thousands of civilians in areas plagued by terrorism and banditry, who are casualties of the resultant ineffectiveness of the military in meeting its professional responsibility of protecting the territorial integrity of the polity. Of course, we are not saying that naming individuals involved in corrupt acts is enough to check this menace. But it is a necessary step to take in any meaningful attempt to make corrupt practices less attractive in our society.

At the onset of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015, large scale corruption involving top members of the military and political hierarchy in the previous government was uncovered to the tune of over N2.5 billion. It is unfortunate that most of these cases being prosecuted in different courts have been caught up in the labyrinthine maze of the country’s complex judicial process since then. But this should not prevent the appropriate authorities from continuing to name those involved in these corrupt acts once they are uncovered. This latest incident indicates that continued diversion of funds meant to equip the military and promote the welfare of its officers and men is still largely in practice.

Last week, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) dragged President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to a Federal High Court, Lagos, to compel them to disclose the terms of agreement with Twitter. SERAP contends that Nigerians are entitled to know the details of the agreement, so as to determine whether it is in the overall interest of citizens who are protected by the provisions of the 1999 constitution and other extant laws.

The Federal Government suspended twitter on June 5, 2021, for allegedly undermining the country by removing a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari. Although twitter objected to the suspension, a thing many Nigerians also condemned, the suspension was not lifted until January, this year, after about 222 days. The details of the agreement between both parties are however not known to Nigerians.

We identify with the public interest litigation by SERAP, particularly the need to make the agreement with twitter public. The minimum should be that before entering into such agreements, it should be scrutinised by the National Assembly, which must ensure that the public interest is protected.

While the agreement with twitter may not amount to a treaty, which section 12 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)  expressly provided for, it must be borne in mind that most multi-national companies are backed to the hilt by the governments of their home-countries. So, while the agreement with twitter is not affected by the provision of S.12 of the constitution, not being a treaty, it is trite that public oversight is exercised.

So, the agreement with twitter should be in the public domain so that citizens and their representatives know its implications. The same should be applicable to the loan agreements reached with China and other creditor-nations. Our country men and women should not be cut off guard by loan sharks that masquerade as international finance agencies. Indeed, the National Assembly should make it a right to access the details of such agreements, so that the political leadership don’t plunge the country into a debt peonage, with critical national assets as collateral.

As reported in the media, SERAP raised some fundamental questions, which it hopes will be resolved by the courts. It contends that “the operation and enforcement of the agreement may be based on broadly worded restrictive laws, which may be used as pretexts to suppress legitimate discourse.” It argues that: “any agreement with social media companies must meet the constitutional requirements of legality, necessity, proportionality and legitimacy.” Furthermore, it is apprehensive that “secretly agreed terms and conditions will fail these fundamental requirements”.

The above questions raised by SERAP are applicable to other agreements reached and binding on Nigeria, and we call for a review of all of them. We are concerned that those who negotiate these agreements may not have the requisite expertise to protect the interest of the country. Even when they do, they may not be above board as to think Nigeria first. In the agreement with twitter, Nigerians are entitled to know those who negotiated it on behalf of the federation. They are entitled to know whether the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture involved legal experts, and if they did, who guaranteed their competence?

In our view, the suit by SERAP should not be the compelling reason to address the germane issues raised with respect to the twitter agreement. We urge that such procedure should be a standard practice to ensure that at all times, those representing our country in negotiating treaties and international commercial agreements are those with requisite competence. They must also be persons of integrity. The instances where the nation is made to pay huge damages for breach of unfavourably skewed agreements should be a thing of the past.

We hope that the Federal High Court would discharge its duties in the suit filed by SERAP without fear, favour or ill-will. The country’s interest should be paramount at all times.

Until the bubble burst, following his alleged involvement in a series of illegal and unethical dealings with the popular alleged fraudster Ramon Abbas a.k.a. Hushpuppi who is currently facing charges of money laundering levelled against him by the United States Government last year, Abba Kyari was regarded as a super cop to the core. He was a dedicated police officer diligent at his duties, patriotic, fearless and hardworking. At least so we thought until July, last year. And, for all of these, he was admired by many people, including the high and the mighty, while his name was a household name in many parts of the country. In fairness to him, he did bust quite a number of high-profile crime syndicates and his exploits in unravelling some knotty criminal activities endeared him to many Nigerians.

He was, until his present travails began last year, commander of the elite Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

While many Nigerians held him in high esteem until his travails started, the reality, as at today, is that the once-upon-a-super cop has been demystified and he has come crashing, just as he had climbed the ladder, exponentially.

Hushpuppi punctured whatever was going for Kyari on July 29, 2021, when he alleged that Kyari was involved in an international scheme to defraud a Qatari school founder with a view to laundering about $1.1 million in illicit proceeds. This was sequel to a disagreement that broke among members of the syndicate which made one of them, Chibuzo Vincent, to contact the victim and told him that Abbas and one Juma (another alleged fraudster) were engaged in fraud. Abbas, in response, allegedly arranged to have Vincent jailed in Nigeria with the help of Kyari. Money was allegedly paid into Kyari’s account to facilitate the arrest and imprisonment of the said Vincent. Kyari was also said to have travelled to Dubai to see Abbas during which he had a nice time at the latter’s expense.

Although Kyari has denied these allegations, the United States Department of Justice issued a warrant of arrest on him and has ordered his extradition. The IGP however suspended Kyari in August, last year, pending the outcome of the committee set up to investigate the matter. The Nigerian authorities have so far refused to extradite Kyari.

This was the situation until Febryary 14, when the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) released the outcome of a sting operation carried out on the super cop, implicating him in an international drug syndicate that  operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline. The deal involved 25kg of cocaine which had been intercepted by the NDLEA but which Kyari allegedly wanted released, and allegedly offered the NDLEA officers about $61,000 cash.

Definitely the last has not been heard about Kyari; and although he is yet to be prosecuted and convicted of the crimes he has been accused of, home and abroad, the fact remains that he cannot emerge smelling like rose when the dust finally settles on these issues. Definitely, some things do not add up about the Abba Kyari persona.

The question that readily comes into mind, even given what is now in the public domain about our ‘super cop’ is: what is the process of recruitment into the NPF? What kind of background checks are carried out on prospective officers before they are signed on and kitted? It would seem not much background checks are carried out, and this explains the presence of all manner of persons parading themselves as officers of the NPF.

Perhaps more worrisome is the fact that, until America opened our eyes to the unfolding personality of the police officer we have been celebrating, nothing in our system triggered to warn us that we were playing with fire celebrating a man like Kyari. Imagine such a man ultimately becoming IGP, a thing he was looking forward to (and many of us would readily agree he merited, given the accolades ha had been receiving), if these sordid aspects of his life have not been exposed! Imagine the implications for our drug war, our efforts to deal with high profile crimes, etc?

It’s high time President Muhammadu Buhari took charge and arrest the tide of incompetence, corruption, lethargy, etc. that have been hobbling his administration for long. What has been playing out in the Kyari case is enough indication that the man is not alone; he is only probably a scapegoat. Otherwise, we cannot find justification for the foot-dragging in his matter on the parts of the Federal Government officials that should have dealt decisively with it. Here, we are talking of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who seems not interested in extraditing him, the IGP, among others, whose only response was to suspend him. Someone under suspension for such grievous allegations should be sober enough. We cannot see that in Kyari. Indeed, that he is free to attend social parties and even had the temerity to coordinate drug crimes under suspension tells a lot about his kind of suspension and the Buhari government’s anti-corruption crusade. It is enough evidence that Kyari has some powerful interests backing him.

Nigeria may be on the way to being treated to a can of worms if a thorough investigation is conducted on this singular case. Even the NDLEA will not escape unscathed because drug syndicates cannot operate successfully without the collusion of some unscrupulous elements in the anti-narcotic agency. They all need to be exposed for the country to have a breather and regain its respect that has been lost over the poor handling of the Kyari incident.

For nearly two weeks that the current spasm in the fuel supply chain has endured, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has expectedly moved to douse citizens’ anger. Still missing however are two important measures Nigerians expect to see happen. First is the shooing out of the officials even remotely connected to the scandal from their positions to allow for an unfettered investigation promised by President Muhammadu Buhari; and second, the calling in of the specific individuals/institutions to answer to the law for criminal dereliction.

We say this because none of the measures already taken has sought to address the million dollar question of how – between the importers and the hordes of inspectors and the regulator – the methanol content of the imported fuel would pass the threshold range of between 0.7.1 to 0.7.2 per cent, to 20 per cent without detection. From Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva’s artful evasions on the subject to NNPC Group Managing Director’s avant garde but nonetheless distracting charm offensive, the evident body language of the administration not only suggests that it has something to hide but it knows more than it’s willing to divulge.

Already, there have been heightened speculations as to the motives behind the importation of the toxic consignments. And then a related report has since surfaced which suggested that some operators are able to persuade the traders and refiners to increase methanol contents in the fuel coming to Nigeria to make more money. Some Direct Sales and Direct Purchase (DSDP) players, the report specifically inferred, not only maintained contacts with fuel suppliers abroad, but somehow, have the capacity to influence them on issues relating to crude refining and importation of petroleum products. While these allegations are ordinarily confounding enough, none however could match the admission by the NNPC that the issue of the level of methanol is outside the orbits of regulation, hence its pre-emptory move to absolve the NNPC’s foreign and domestic inspectors and the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of any responsibility.

Of course, only the government still pretends that the issues at the heart of the latest ruckus are anything but straight-forward. The facts, if we may dare to repeat them are that some persons/institutions in the fuel importation chain failed Nigerians at a critical moment; and for their dereliction, the country as indeed the ordinary citizen are being made to pay premium.

In the developed countries, those responsible for the bad fuel would either have resigned or be under pressure to do so. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to resign just for partying during the COVID-19 lockdown. His sin was that of double standard: he attended parties at a time his government directed the citizens to observe COVID-19 protocol, including a ban on social activities. It wasn’t anyway near the consequences of the adulterated fuel that Nigerians are still suffering.

Which is why Nigerians must find it unsettling that an administration which runs on an anti-corruption mantra has chosen to dither when Nigerians expected swift action.

It seems now rather late in the day for the government to press ahead with an in-house panel as it is wont to do. For now, the issue of those responsible no longer lies in the mouth of Minister Sylva. As things stand, nothing short of a comprehensive public inquiry by forensic experts drawn from the private sector and the professions and whose findings shall be made public, will do. The first reason has to do with the legendary opacity and the astounding lack of transparency for which the business of fuel importation is renowned, of which the government is its principal enabler. The other has to do with how previous efforts at investigation of similar acts of endemic corruption have ended. Here, Nigerians readily recall the bungled Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Management probe in 2012 during which the lead investigator, Farouk Lawan, would himself be charged and convicted for criminal extortion.

At this point, while the issue of whether those who presided over the scandal should be afforded the luxury of further staying on is best left for the government to answer, the least Nigerians expect from the Buhari administration is that it will for once act in their best interest.

Since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigeria has made progressive attempts at citizen care, in the many poverty alleviation programmes, by the federal and state governments.

It is under this extant policy that Chris Ngige, labour and employment minister, made a pledge in Panama that the Buhari administration planned to capture no less than half of the Nigerian population in the government’s social security net.  He was speaking at the World Social Security Summit, which was held at Panama City, Panama, in 2016.

“Some of the programmes in our integrated social protection scheme are already being implemented as evidenced in the 200, 000 graduates who will commence work by next month,” Dr. Ngige told the summit.  “More of the jobs are in the offing.  Our target is to ensure that millions of Nigerians are lifted out of poverty line, while at least 50 per cent of the population is captured in the social security net.”

Recently, the minister lamented our failure as a nation in this regard and by implication the Buhari administration while receiving Muriel Penicaud, a French candidate for the International Labour Organization in Abuja. He spoke of the “scourge of massive unemployment and underemployment.”

In truth since 1999, “safety nets” have evolved from the initial Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) and the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency; to the 200, 000 graduate job volunteers scheme which the minister mentioned in Panama, coupled with the present Federal Government’s home-grown school feeding scheme; not forgetting the conditional cash transfer to the poorest of the poor in today’s Nigeria.

Between NAPEP and the current Buhari phase of safety nets, some state governments provided an excellent nursery.  Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State in his first coming (2010-2014) did an elderly scheme, in which some seniors, judged to be indigent, were given monthly stipends.  Unfortunately, Governor Ayo Fayose, who succeeded Dr. Fayemi, scrapped that scheme. 

Still, a more comprehensive template emerged from the Osun State governorship of Rauf Aregbesola (2010-2018) where programmes like the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), the Osun school feeding programme and the Agba Osun monthly stipends laid the path which the Buhari graduate job volunteer scheme and the national conditional cash transfer seem to follow.

Still, would all of these, even in their much improved and structured form, pass for a vibrant social security scheme?  Not exactly, although the current available data that power these schemes could well be harnessed for a much more systematic citizen systemic care.  Systemic care — structured, backed by enabling laws, mandatory, comprehensive and predictable — is the hallmark of a vibrant and thriving social security system.  Nigeria is still very far from that.

By the protocols of the International Labour Organization (ILO), first developed from its Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention of 1952, with ongoing added instruments over the years, social security has nine pillars: medical care, sickness, unemployment, old age, employment injury, family, maternity, invalidity and survivors’ benefit.  A full-fledged social security regime would find citizens drawing benefits from all of these planks — all of them life emergencies of sorts — to make life and its shocks much more bearable.

However, for progressive implementation, since nations don’t have equal resources, ILO recommends that every country accepts at least three of the nine social safety pillars.  Thereafter, they could do increasing obligation for the remaining six, until they progressively attain the full implementation of the nine.

For clarity, ILO defines social security as “a human right which responds to the universal need for protection against certain life risks and social needs.  Effective social security and health protection,” it further states, “contributes to the prevention and reduction of poverty and inequality; and the promotion of social inclusion and human dignity.”

ILO also explains how social security schemes work: “They do so through the provision of benefits, in cash or in kind, intended to ensure access to medical care and health services; as well as income security throughout the life cycle, particularly in the event of illness, unemployment, injury, maternity, family responsibilities, invalidity, loss of family breadwinner, as well and during retirement and old age.”

But shorn of prescriptions and convention lingo, social security is all about dispersing state resources to the needs of the society’s most vulnerable, in a globe where all fingers are never equal.  Since the rich have enough resources to take care of themselves, social security is a conscious effort to take care of the not-so-economically buoyant, for the rich to enjoy their wealth in peace.

Indeed, part of the serious challenges of contemporary Nigeria is that there are too many poor people to have sustainable peace.  That seems the ugly fount, from which crimes like Islamist terrorism, free-wheeling banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes gush.  If the poor have a better deal, the probability is that such crimes would reduce.

But, apart from the stark contrast between the rich and the poor, the collapse of the age-old extended family support system — no thanks to biting economic pains — also makes an urgent case for basic and comprehensive citizen support system, especially access to health care at old age; and temporary help for teeming but jobless youths, as a stop-gap before getting gainful jobs.

The first challenge before the country, therefore, is to follow the ILO advisory and start with three of the nine pillars.  After choosing those pillars, there should be a backing legislation to make such a national policy.  The law should be such that no government can come and over-turn the social security policy.

From the enabling law should come rigorous processes, in which the new benefits are structured, predictable, mandatory, systemic and systematic. 

But away from the enabling law, a far bigger tax base is essential to set such support system.  That way, in the principle of progressive taxation, the rich are taxed to give up excess munificence to act as state cushion for the not-so-rich.

Still, despite Nigeria’s laggardly state in comprehensive social security, it would not be inventing any wheel.  First, the data delivering the Buhari government’s present social support schemes could be deepened; to ensure a much broader and much integrated social security system. 

Also, the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and the National Social Insurance Trust Fund ( NSITFund); as well as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should be reinvigorated and integrated in a new and comprehensive social security. 

The government can also seek help from China (which has pulled one billion people from poverty over a 10-year period).  It can also tap ILO for funding and sundry international aide to support youth employment.  If sincere efforts are made, a social security system for Nigerians is very much attainable.

You can’t miss the headlines: “Julius Berger diversifies into cashew processing”, “Julius Berger commits to zero waste, diversifies into cashew processing”, “Julius Berger diversifies into agric, cashew processing”, “Julius Berger diversifies into agric processing, sets up Nigeria’s first plant in Lagos”, “Julius Berger diversifies into agriculture, to process cashew in Lagos”. “As construction struggles, Nigeria’s Julius Berger turns to cashew”, etc.

The headlines tell it all: construction giant Julius Berger responds to dwindling revenue amidst a sluggish construction market. The answer: diversification.

Yes, diversification. The same concept that successive Nigerian governments, federal or state, have been mouthing for decades without any serious or sustained effort to actualise. Thus, the country’s economy has since the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the late 1950s remained heavily dependent on the black gold, its revenue undulating with the vagaries of the global crude market.

A statement by Julius Berger Nigeria’s (JBN) media relations officer, Moses Duku, said the plant would be located in Epe, Lagos State. In the statement, the cashew project’s commodity and marketing Manager, Oyindamola Asaaju, said the plant would implement a no-waste operational practice.

Asaaju was speaking at the Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Conference, held at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, the statement added.

“Clear national occupational standard and demand-driven international product quality would define and drive the company’s operations and productivity in the cashew processing industry in Nigeria, where only 5% of Nigeria’s production is currently locally processed,” Asaaju said.

Julius Berger’s deft move to diversify marks the difference between a private-driven business and public or government business, particularly in Nigeria.

JBN is an acclaimed construction leader in the country. It has constructed most of its roads and bridges. But the construction industry in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, has suffered at least two major recessions in recent years, affecting the company’s fortunes. The company’s shares has nosedived from N126.96 in August 2008 to about N26 last week. This is a major dip and a signal that the company would go under if the situation was not reversed.

The company has two options: think out of the box or close shop. Since the latter is no option for it as a business enterprise with shareholders to render account to, it has opted for diversification of its revenue base in order to change the narrative.

What the company has done is the rational thing to do in the circumstance. Even plants and animals, faced with extinction, engage in desperate search for survival. Not only has Julius Berger opted to diversify into the agriculture, it has done its homework to see a major area of need and plugged into it.

Nigeria is a major player in the global cashew industry. Indeed, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), says Nigeria has untapped potential of $3.4 million USD from export of cashew kernels. This is too huge to be ignored. Unfortunately, the country had, as usual, remained contented with its potential status in cashew processing as with most other sectors of the economy. The country has largely been exporting raw cashew nuts without adding any value and reaping peanuts in the process. That narrative may soon change for the better, with a giant like Julius Berger going into the cashew processing business.

Nigera’s perpetually broke governments should take tutorials from the construction giant on how to think creatively in challenging times. Our governments must stop this idea of retrenchment and subsidy removal as panacea to dwindling revenues, unless when they are used to correct certain structural imbalances in the economy. Often, these could be counterproductive. The ability to take their respective countries out of particularly difficult times is the hallmark of great leaders, not when things are rosy.

Nigeria is blessed with a lot of untapped resources such that no state in the federation should be talking of poverty if the leaders can only put on their thinking caps. If Nigeria is an acclaimed poverty capital of the world, it is nothing but a reflection of the leadership.

To turn things around, the country must learn to put round pegs in round holes. Mediocrity has to give way to merit. We cannot continue to lament the dwindling fortunes of the country’s currency if all we do is export raw items – crude oil, cashew, cocoa, etc., only to import them back as finished products at exorbitant prices. It is only by adding value to them that we can compete with other global players and reap bountifully in a way that would impact the exchange rate and make life less nightmarish for the people.

We must retrace our steps by weaning off the economy from crude oil and diversify to enhance our revenue base.