The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Over-regulating water

    Over-regulating water

    There is water in many places in Nigeria, but scarcely a drop that is clean. That has given way for the birth of the water industry in the country for the past two decades.

    But the gripe by the producers that over 25 regulatory agencies are suffocating the otherwise nascent industry gives cause for concern. Although they did not list the agencies, or the media did not report them, the body involved is known as the Association of Table Waters Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP). They are concerned about challenges in bringing good water to fellow citizens, hence they held a conference and its national president, Chinwe Ativie, openly complained.

    The challenges are also affecting their ability to make profit.

    “This is why the convention is tagged ‘Atajere’ which means you have to sell to be profitable and it has been flagged off even in the North Central and other parts of the country,” said Ativie. “We have decided that whatever we put in as our cost of production, we would input in our selling price to remain in business because water is life and if we begin to cut corners for water production, the lives of Nigerians would be at risk.”

    The idea of overlapping agencies implies, as some of the sellers have indicated, “more taxes.” It inevitably would imply a rise in the cost of producing safe water.

    It reflects a lack of coordination in the organisation of the industry. It also means state and federal agencies are chocking the water business. If agriculture is getting privileged attention, table water deserves no less.

    “Before the advent of COVID-19, we were buying one of our materials for producing water at N500 per kg, but post-COVID, we are buying it for N1,500 per kg, so it really affected our members where some of our members were closing factories across the country, giving opportunities to quacks to take over the market which might lead to an outbreak of cholera,” noted Prince Ademola Adeyeye, zonal coordinator of the southwest and Kwara part of the business.

    The challenges, other than overregulation, include poor power availability, high cost of equipment and scarcity of foreign exchange. This opens the way for quacks who endanger the lives of Nigerians because they do not adhere to safety standards.

    Such quacks do not treat the water. They, for most part, draw the water from wells and boreholes, fill bottles and sachets, label them, refrigerate them and package them for sale like other respectable organisations. The credulous consumer is placed in harm’s way with the risks of water-borne diseases as well as deaths.

    Quite a few of such quack factories have been identified and shut down. For them, business is easy. But the genuine factories that number over 16,000 in the country need quite a few essentials to operate. They need nylons, plastic and equipment, which are not cheap and have to be sourced abroad. Only in 2021, 2,153 factories were approved for operation.

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is the visible agency that works with ATWAP to ensure compliance to safety standards. And we urge them to pay attention to the quacks, while the federal and state governments must work together to ensure that the table water industry is not taxed out of existence.

    Water does not only have to be potable, but also affordable. If water is expensive, citizens may be forced to patronise quacks and access water in unclean places like rivers and sewers.

    So, what ATWAP is calling for is not merely the survival of their business, but also of their fellow citizens.

    Making water drinkable is part of the Nigerian project of making life livable.

  • The axe and tax

    The axe and tax

    It is  no longer farming as usual. Not in any part of the North. It is a measure of how bandits have not only laid waste the general routine of life in the North. It tells a graphically sad tale of the tragedy of bread and butter in the country.

    Bandits now stop farmers from going to their places of work. If they do not stop them they decide on what terms they can perform their workaday obligations. They either seek ransom or force them to pay taxes.

    The farms in the North take quite long journeys for the rustic folks. They walk long hours because of vast, often dry and scraggy landscapes. It takes long hours of sweat and exhaustion. The journey basically on foot. On their way, they meet the bad men, defiant without hoods and barking orders. They detain and order to pay taxes.

    Some analysts say it is even a happy experience that the encounters do not result in deaths. Rather they live to be taxed another day. In Borno State, earlier in 2021, some farmers dropped to saga of slaughter on their way to their farms.

    The President’s special adviser on Media, Garba Shehu, said rather glibly that they did not take permission before going out to the farm that day. It was one of the major absurdities of the year. They were, according to him, supposed to inform the military who should have escorted them to their place of work. That, in itself, typifies the precarious life of the farmer. It also explains the official helplessness to save the farm, not only for the farmer but also for the nation and its food.

    With the hoodlums in control of the farms, they have become the Lords of agriculture. But they are not Lords to bring food on the table but to suffocate it. The average farmer is a poor man. They do not run large estates, but big enough for their average needs, that is subsistence; and, afterwards, for trade. It is a combination of the farms that make up the large trucks of produce and crops that feed vast populations in the North and south of the country.

    The hefty cargoes of tomatoes, onions, millets, yams, pepper as well as livestock are at stake. They have been at stake since the bandits saw the farmers as cash cow rather than celebrate them as suppliers of cash crops as well produce that feed the average citizen. They have been doing so since they gained dreary traction in our land.

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    It is also an irony that the Federal Government’s cornerstone economic programme of the Buhari administration is agriculture with great emphasis on the local farmer. The Central Bank of Nigeria, in its activist role, has been rolling out packages of assistance to farmers across the country for loans and other forms of support. The bandits stand not only in the way of the farmer’s ability to make good their promise to translate support into productivity  but it frustrates the government’s drive to engender prosperity through policy.

    The North has had a culture of contented farming. They produced and fed the people. But we have not developed our system to support the farmer in a secure way. In the west, especially in the United States, the agricultural sector is coddled so much so that the farmer is subsidised heavily. They want it that way because the system prizes food on the table as the first step to prosperity. That is why even the farmer is pampered to the extent that they are paid not to farm. Their silos are full and to produce more will be a waste.

    That waste contrasts to Nigeria where we have had farms that produced more than we store. The food went often to waste and even still do. That shows how we have not organised our agriculture to withstand cultural perversions. We did not have enough silos. We still don’t for our potential. Now we cannot even make enough because bandits want to take from the little they allow to grow and harvest.

    This has had implications for food security. In various parts of the country complaints over rise in food prices complicate the narrative of agriculture in the country. Livestock,including live hens and cocks as well as turkeys, were not readily available during the end-of-year festivities. They were too expensive. Indeed they made the allure of imported ones stronger, such that Nigerians made their bodies susceptible to the chemicalised poisons of the imported stock with their auguries for malignancies.

    This makes the question  of security essential. It is the dinner table consequence of banditry. People cannot feed well because criminals are hungry for slaughter. In this environment, it takes courage to be a farmer. It takes courage to feed the Nigerian today. It is because of cowards who must rely on  hardworking people to make a living.

    Hoodlums cannot be allowed to continue to hold sway. In this new year, we need to tackle the bandits. It shows that peace cannot be divorced from our ability to feed ourselves. In an age where agriculture is following different chains, we are not going beyond the basic level of feeding our families.

     

  • Odunare’s suicide

    Odunare’s suicide

    An alarming viral video showing a young man jumping suicidally into the lagoon at Epe, Lagos State, on December 14, marred the festive end-of-year atmosphere.  His body was found two days later.

    It was initially unclear why 25-year-old Olamilekan Odunare decided to kill himself. He had a diploma from Lagos State Polytechnic where he studied Quantity Surveying, and worked at Alaro City, a mega estate in the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos. He had a 21-year-old wife and an 11-month-old daughter.

    But his inner life was problematic. His wife, Sofiat Amusa, revealed that “he had been acting strangely for some days before his death.  I complained about his strange behaviour to his parents but they ignored it until he died.” She also said “lack of parental care, depression and frustration” contributed to his death.

    Suicidal depression, which she blames for the tragedy, often results from a suicide victim feeling that they can’t cope with what seems to be an overwhelming life situation. If they don’t have hope for the future, they may think suicide is the only way out.

    Such feelings of hopelessness can be worsened by alcohol and drug abuse. This was possibly a factor in Odunare’s case. According to his wife, “He was a drug addict. He did not take Colorado but he took Arizona. But before the incident occurred, he didn’t do drugs.”  Colorado and Arizona are street names for strong mind-bending variants of cannabis.

    Nigeria has the highest rate of suicide and depression in Africa, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The current rate of suicide in the country is 9.50 per cent out of 100, 000 people. The global health agency also found that 80 per cent of suicides occur among low-income earners and those disempowered by poor socio-economic conditions.

    In Nigeria, those who want to kill themselves usually do so by ingesting pesticides, especially a brand known as ‘Sniper,’ self-immolation, drowning and drug overdose.  In 2019, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) banned the manufacture of small bottles of ‘Sniper,’ which were easily purchased for household use, in response to its increasing use for suicide.

    Suicide is an unacceptable approach to solving problems that life may bring. Attempted suicide is a crime under Nigerian law, punishable by one year in prison.

    However, in 2015, Lagos State introduced a law that recommends treatment for those caught attempting suicide. It is the only state in the country where there is such a law. The novel law is based on the thinking that attempted suicide is fundamentally a mental health issue requiring treatment, and should not be criminalised.

    Importantly, Odunare’s wife observed that “if he was monitored closely, it would not have led to death.”  This raises the question of help available to prevent people from taking their own lives.

    The observance of World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) since 2003 underlines international efforts to tackle the issue.  The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) and WHO collaborate to promote the event.

    Suicide prevention priorities, according to these bodies, include the need to develop and implement awareness campaigns, with the aim of increasing awareness of suicidal behaviours in the community, the need to increase the availability of mental health resources and to reduce barriers to accessing care, and the need to reduce stigma and promote mental health literacy among the general population and health care professionals.

    Also, they stressed the need to reach people who don’t seek help, and hence don’t receive treatment when they are in need of it, and the need to influence governments to develop suicide prevention strategies and to support the implementation of those strategies that have been demonstrated to save lives. The country’s authorities should take note and take action.

    It is tragic that Odunare’s suicide has made his wife and daughter more vulnerable. This pathetic case further underlines the need for society and the authorities to take suicide prevention more seriously.

  • Better late than never

    Better late than never

    It is inexplicable that such giant technological and digital companies like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter (until its ban from the country by the Federal Government), Instagram, telegram, Tiktok, among others, have maintained a strong presence in the country’s economy and enjoyed the patronage of millions of Nigerians without fulfilling any tax obligations to the country.This unhealthy and unsustainable scenario appears to be on the verge of fundamental change as the Federal Government appears determined to begin the implementation of provisions of the new 2021 Finance Bill transmitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly. The new law empowers the Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) to assess and charge Companies Income Tax (CIT) on any digital company with a significant presence in the country.

    Expatiating on the issue, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, told a delegation of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), who paid him a courtesy call that “While the Federal Government will not be raising new tax rates at this time, based on the Finance Act, 2019, it is already empowered to widen the tax net , including by collecting the taxes on the Nigerian income of global technological giants with significant economic interest here, even if they have not established an office presence or permanent establishment in Nigeria”.

    We are aware that bringing giant multinational, technological and digital companies, which operate across borders as it were, under the financial control and obligations of domestic economies is a challenge not only for Nigeria but also for many other countries. That is why we laud the new initiative of the Federal Government in this regard. It is immoral and unconscionable for companies to make humongous amounts of profits from the patronage of a country’s populace without remitting taxes as should normally be the case. Even then, are the giant technological and digital companies alone to blame? We do not think so. The point is that where there is no law, there cannot be a valid offence. Now that the country’s laws are being modified to correct this anomaly, we hope that the companies involved will act in good faith and adhere strictly to the stipulations of the law.

    Interestingly, a number of the giant digital companies involved have also begun to announce new operational measures apparently to deal with the emergent situation. For instance, Facebook has announced that as from January 1, 2022, Nigerians will commence paying 7.5% as Value Added Tax (VAT) on all advert placements on its platform, irrespective of whether such adverts are for business or personal purposes. The company emphasised that “All advertisers within Nigeria will be charged an additional 7.5% VAT on advertising services purchased beginning 1st January, 2022” although it added that those exempted from VAT payment will be able to recover their fund if they presented their Tax Identification Card.

    In a similar vein, another of such companies, Skype, said it was compelled by the Federal Government’s tax requirements to commence including the VAT on the purchase of its services by Nigerian customers. Most of the Nigerian customers targeted are mainly businesses that pay for subscriptions and other services on Skype. We believe that those who patronise the services of these companies should not be averse to paying their requisite taxes since they are businesses and not charity organisations.

    It is unfortunate that this initiative by the Federal Government, which makes eminent economic sense, given the parlous state of the country’s finances is coming after Twitter has been banned for over 200 days in Nigeria since June 4, 2021. Although the official reason for this action by the Federal Government is that it did not prevent its platform from being used by dissidents and other aggrieved persons to advocate violence in Nigeria, including the breakup of the country, many are convinced that the real reason was Twitter’s pulling down from its platform a post by President Muhammadu Buhari which it claimed violated its tenets and standards of free speech.

    Over seven months ago, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, claimed that Twitter had reached out to him for a “high level “ discussion as regards the ban of the platform in Nigeria. The big question is, what is preventing the finalisation of these discussions and thus delaying the lifting of the Twitter ban? According to a social media platform, Netblocks Cost of Shutdown Tool,  the Nigerian economy has lost N499.32 billion to the shutdown of Twitter thus far. For the over 4,800 hours that Twitter has been shut down in Nigeria, the country’s economy is reported to lose N104.02 million every hour. If all social media platforms are to commence paying taxes to the Nigerian state, then, it only makes sense for the ban on Twitter to be speedily lifted so that it can also begin to contribute its quota to boosting the country’s finances.

  • Long overdue

    Long overdue

    Nigeria has inaugurated an inter-ministerial panel with the mandate to work out enduring solution to conflicts between her citizens who are business operators in Ghana and their Ghanaian counterparts. As part of its mandate, the committee is expected to facilitate implementation of a signed joint statement that came out of a bilateral meeting between May 31 and June 2, this year, involving the Nigerian team led by industry, trade and investment minister Adeniyi Adebayo, and Ghanaian team headed by that country’s trade minister.

    A statement by the Nigerian trade ministry recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier approved the constitution of a delegation that went to Ghana to engage with the country’s officials towards finding lasting solution to the recurring dispute between Nigerian traders and their Ghanaian counterparts through a bilateral engagement. The statement noted that the dispute worsened with the eviction of Nigerian traders in 2007 and the 2018, shuttering of more than 300 shops of Nigerian traders in Ghana owing to renewed trade nationalism by Ghanaian traders who felt edged out by foreigners in retail businesses. It added that the problem “was aggravated by the country’s efforts to enforce the GIPC (Ghana Investment Promotion Council) Trade Act, which requires non-Ghanaian traders to have an investment portfolio of $1million to engage in any retail business in Ghana.”

    Following the Nigerian delegation’s consultations with relevant stakeholders in Ghana and bilateral parley with Ghanaian officials, a joint statement aiming to address the challenges was issued by both countries. The inter-ministerial panel being constituted now is to facilitate implementation of the terms mutually agreed upon, formalise trade and investment relations and address other critical issues between both countries, according to the trade ministry statement. The new committee will be bipartite – also having membership from the Ghanaian side. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment will chair the panel for the Nigerian side, with membership drawn from ministries, departments and agencies.

    We find it curious that it came this late for the inter-ministerial panel to be inaugurated; but better late, as they say, than never. Nigerian traders in Ghana have often and vociferously protested the hostility they experience in that sister country owing to trade nationalism by Ghanaian retailers, despite existing pact on free trade and movement within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc. Besides the 2018 closures cited by the trade ministry statement, those traders came under intense fire in 2020 in what was suspected to be a quest for domestic political capital by the Ghanaian power elite as the Ghanaian general election loomed. At that time, an inter-ministerial task force went round to lock up shops owned by Nigerian traders, demanding evidence of business registration, tax payment, resident permit, standard control and GIPC certification. The traders, complaining that they were being singled out for heavy hand, said they had all the documents demanded except the GIPC certification that required $1milion cash or equity to be obtained. When they took their protest to foreign affairs minister Geoffrey Onyeama, he told them that besides conventional bilateral engagements with the Ghanaian government, Nigeria might head to the ECOWAS Court for a lasting solution. Also, in the wake of that crisis, House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila launched a legislative diplomacy initiative on the basis of which he led a delegation to Accra to confer with Ghanaian lawmakers on pathways to mending fences. Ghanaian foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, however, indicated that the animosity couldn’t be divorced from Nigeria’s closure of its borders in 2019 that badly hurt Ghanaians and nearly bankrupted many Ghanaian export businesses after their goods were stuck at Seme Border for months. Nigeria has since reopened those borders.

    It is hoped the inter-ministerial panel just inaugurated will cement the truce between both countries and foster amicable environment for free trade.

  • Yielding fruit

    Yielding fruit

    When the anger of the young Nigerians erupted October 2020, it was unlike anything else before it. The young ones, well-coordinated as they sought to force reforms, occupied the streets of major cities and vowed to remain until something positive was done about their major demands. Almost immediately, seeing the tenacity of the young Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the country, the Inspector-General of Police agreed to disband the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) that was at the heart of the protest, as it was said to have been very brutal in carrying out its assignment. It was replaced with another unit, the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Squad. Former members of the SARS were withdrawn to the Police Headquarters in Abuja and psychologically evaluated with a view to showing those who failed the test out of the police force.

    But, the protesters were not satisfied. Neither were all those familiar with government tactics. It bore the marks of the usual strategies employed by successive governments in buying time and thereafter returning to status quo. The National Economic Council, a body comprising the state governors and headed by the Vice President ordered that all states should set up panels to probe police brutality in their domains. Truly, most of the states complied, invited victims of police brutality and some paid out compensation to the victims. Yet, many think it was a mere smokescreen as only Lagos followed through the process after one year, released a white paper and referred matters pertaining to the Federal Government to the centre. The state government had paid more than N400 million to the victims through the Justice Doris Okuwobi Judicial Panel of Inquiry while it yet sat.

    However, many saw that as grossly inadequate when compared to the request of the protesters and patriots who demanded fundamental reform of law enforcement agencies and their methods. The protesters were not too blind to the existential challenges at the heart of crude tactics being employed by the police in handling the youths. They had demanded upward review of their salaries and allowances, they equally asked for upgrade of their barracks accommodation and stations. Equipment is evidently in short supply, and, in total, the Nigerian Police personnel feel inferior not only to prosperous professionals, they are especially jealous of the young upwardly mobile and this informs the venom in the handling of cases being investigated. While the constitution presumes the accused innocent until pronounced guilty by a competent court of law, the police usually treat the accused as guilty unless they are able to prove their innocence. The standard police procedure is to drag suspects as sub-human when effecting arrest, keep them in unhygienic and overcrowded detention centres, and employ torture as a mode of extracting confession and extorting money for bail that is presumably free.

    All these led to the October 2020 eruption. The demand for review of the salaries and allowances of policemen was eventually granted by the Federal Executive Council on December 15, based on the 20 per cent raise recommended by the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission. Other perks of office were added and a week after, promotions were released by the Police Service Commission (PSC).

    This step has been commended by many Nigerians who think it is a good starting point. We agree with them, but there is still a long way to go. There is so much to be done in terms of building new barracks, refurbishing the existing ones and stations, revamping the curriculum for teaching in the police colleges, ensuring that they are well kitted as well as giving them good and continuous education programme. This is the way forward if Nigeria is to have a policing system it could be proud of.

    Above all, a centralised police system is unsuitable for a plural society like Nigeria. As it was in the First Republic when the country had federal, regional and Native Authority Police, the ongoing constitutional reform should decentralise the police and security architecture. Only then could the #EndSARS protest be said to have yielded not only massive devastation, but fruitful results that could fundamentally change the face of the society.

  • Kill-joy banks? 

    Kill-joy banks? 

    Of all the worries that Nigerians have to contend with at yuletide, cash crunch should – at least for those with sufficient balances in their accounts – ordinarily not be one of them. Yet, that is the reality that hit the banking customer in the build-up to the festive season. Although mum has been the word from the monetary authorities since the development became noticeable, yet, all across the states and cities in the federation, the story is virtually the same: banks, faced with insufficient cash to meet up the demand of their customers, have had to resort to imposing unilateral withdrawal limits, and asking customers to utilise the alternative platforms for the balance.

    To their chagrin, it turned out a mere decoy. With most of the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) having no cash to dispense, throngs of frustrated customers would return to the same banking halls that they had earlier left to let out their anger.

    It is an unfortunate situation. Viewed either from the prisms of its timing or the banks’ fiduciary duties to their customers, the situation can only be described as utterly deplorable, just as their kill-joy role at a time most Nigerians were already in celebratory mode is irresponsible.

    For, much as the monetary authorities might seek to make a song of their re-engineering of the payment system, the reality is that the Nigerian economy remains largely cash-driven. Although conveniently denied, that is the plain truth, particularly outside of our major cities and in the hinterland where basic infrastructure for seamless cashless transactions have either remained virtually non-existent or largely inadequate. And so, for most Nigerians who opt to carry cash, it comes basically to trading-off their security for convenience – a Hobson choice of sorts.

    In any case, cyclic surges in demand for cash, particularly during the yuletide and other festive seasons are as predictable as the attempt by the banks to feign indifference to them is hypocritical. It is the way the Nigerian economy is wired and any attempt by any institution to force an overnight change would only cause more pains for the already overburdened populace.

    We expect the Bankers Committee to swing into action to address the matter, that is, if it has not already done so. We see no reason why those who want their money cannot get it out, particularly at this time. At the risk of restating the obvious, such developments amount to a breach of a fiducial duty. As it is, we shudder to imagine the effect of the development in the long run. Will it not lead to the same unintended consequence of making people to hoard cash since the banks at their whims determine when and how much a depositor can take out of his deposits? Will that not ultimately undermine the cashless policy?

    This is not to say that we are entirely oblivious of the need for measures to tighten cash transactions as indeed for an overhaul of the cash management system. It is beyond argument that cash transactions take a toll on banks operations, both in terms of the time and the physical resources consumed. But then, the customers are already being heavily charged for this.

    Even more so, movement of cash in large volumes has since become a national security issue – a major fodder for such high crimes as terrorism, kidnapping and other illicit activities. And so we understand why the push to bring cash transactions to the barest minimum is not only desirable but has become an imperative. But then, the above situation is not the case but rather one of an entire financial services industry being thrown into spasm because the yuletide is here. It smacks of poor judgment of which the industry leaders ought to be thoroughly embarrassed.

  • Debtor-neighbours

    Debtor-neighbours

    Countries classified as international customers in the Nigerian power sector have to be up and doing in their own part of the power agreements signed between them and the Federal Government. The countries – the Republic of Benin, Niger Republic and Togo – as well as some other special customers are said to be owing about N770million, being the bill for the power they consumed in the second quarter of this year. The bills were issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) and the Market Operator (MO) of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    This state of affairs was contained in the Second Quarter Report 2021 of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). According to the report, “During the quarter under review, NBET and MO issued a total of N0.77bn in respect of energy sold by NBET and services rendered by MO to the special (Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd and other bilateral customers) and international customers (Societe Nigerienne d’electricite – NIGELEC, Societe Beninoise d’Energie Electrique – SBEE and Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo– CEET).”

    It added that “No payment was made by these customers during the quarter under review. It is hoped that as the economy of these customers improves post-COVID-19 lockdown they will resume the settlement of their bills in full.”

    Although the NERC report seems to suggest that these debtors could not pay their bills promptly due to the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on their economies, we are afraid this does not seem to be completely true. Just last year, NERC said the three countries did not pay their N32.04 billion bills for the electricity Nigeria supplied to them in 2019. A breakdown of the indebtedness showed that Societe Nigerienne electricity failed to settle about N3.01 billion bills it received in the first quarter of 2019; N3.69 billion in the second quarter, N4.1 billion in the third quarter and N2.07 in the fourth quarter. Communaute Electrique du Benin, a power firm owned by Togo and Benin, on its part, did not pay N9.74 billion for the power supplied to it in the first quarter; N7.16 billion in the second quarter; and N2.27 billion in the third quarter. It, however, did not receive any invoice for the fourth quarter of 2019. It is instructive that there was no pandemic in 2019.

    The point must be clear to all power consumers, local or foreign, that businesses thrive when they pay for services rendered to them. Power supply, like most other businesses, is dependent on prompt settlement of bills. Where customers do not pay for power consumed as and when due, it rubs off negatively on the capacity of the power firms to deliver. And, when this irregular settlement of bills persists, it ultimately affects the economies of the respective customers.

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    Nigeria bears about N30billion monthly subsidy on the power sector, a thing the government had announced its intention to stop in the coming year. Irregular settlement of bills could have been permitted in the era that power supply was under the control of government, when the service was  regarded more as social amenity rather than commercial. Then, government’s main concern was primarily about meeting the citizens’ needs, and supply to other countries was seen more as a diplomatic rather than commercial issue. But the privatisation of the sector brought a new regime of ‘willing seller willing buyer’ and TCN had indeed had cause to threaten to disconnect these countries over some legacy debts.

    It however gladdens the heart that the countries have assured that they would pay the arrears. According to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), TCN’s general manager, market operations, Edmund Eje, confirmed this development to it. “Most of them are on bi-lateral agreements with some of the generation companies since we privatised our power sector. They have already contacted us for proper auditing and have expressed readiness to clear the arrears owed,” Eje explained.

    Perhaps we run into this sort of problem because, most times, public officials who entered into agreements on behalf of the country are either sloppy or corrupt; none of which is in the country’s interest. It is significant that the power supply to the three countries was based on Multilateral Energy Sales Agreement with the Federal Government, especially since no other West African country can generate power through the River Niger because Nigeria has constructed dam on the river which runs through these countries and should therefore be open to their collective benefit.

    The Federal Government should continue to exert diplomatic pressure on these countries to honour their contractual obligations. This is not only commonsensical but would at least also assuage the anger of some Nigerians who are unhappy that the government is exporting what is not enough for local consumption to customers that would not settle their bills promptly. Much as we know that the Federal Government cannot help but continue to supply the countries power because of Nigeria’s enlightened self-interest, we cannot continue to play the role of a prodigal big brother all the time.

  • Too lenient

    Too lenient

    For many Nigerians, the sanction meted out by the National Judicial Council (NJC), to Justices Okogbule Gbasam of the Rivers State High Court, Nusirat Umar of the Kebbi State High Court, and Edem Kooffreh of the Cross River State High Court, for issuing conflicting ex-parte orders in the leadership crisis that dogged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) earlier in the year, was long expected. What some may find disagreeable is the lack of severity of the punishment, which appears to be a slap on the wrist.

    Following disagreements amongst members of the PDP over the position of the party’s chairman, Mr Uche Secondus, three conflicting ex-parte orders were issued within five days. Justice Gbasam, who ignited the first of such orders, was found guilty of issuing an ex-parte order restraining Mr Secondus from parading himself as PDP chairman, when there was no urgency to issue such an order and consequently he was barred from promotion to the higher bench for two years, whenever he is due.

    On his part, Justice Umar issued what amounted to a countermand ex-parte order, reinstating the PDP chairman, and rendering the earlier order nugatory. He was also suspended for two years from promotion to a higher bench, whenever he is due. The third, Justice Kooffreh, was given a five-year suspension, whenever he is due for promotion. The NJC berated him for allowing himself to be used for forum shopping by the litigants. All the three judges were issued warning letters, and placed on the watch list by NJC.

    While we commend the NJC for initiating a disciplinary process to punish the errant judges, unlike in the past when it would hold on to the lame excuse that no petition had been made against erring judges, we wonder whether the punishment is deterring enough. We think that barring a High Court judge from promotion to a higher bench, for a few years, may not be condign, considering that majority of them don’t get promoted to a higher bench in the first place.

    If already by their pedigree on the bench, the three don’t ordinarily qualify to be considered for elevation to a higher bench, the punishment may not matter to them. So, we urge the NJC to consider more stringent measures to stem the ugly tide of issuing conflicting ex-parte orders by judges, which sometimes threaten the peace and security of the country.

    It was an ex-parte order that was used to scuttle the 1993 presidential election, which plunged the country into a deep crisis that has continued to afflict the nation.

    So, the admonition of the NJC to chief judges to act as safeguard within their jurisdiction should be taken seriously by them. Addressing them, the NJC said: “Your job as Heads of Court is a sacred one, therefore, includes you vicariously taking the sins of others. There must be an end to this nonsense.” We agree with the NJC that the chief judges should brace up and help the NJC to stop the nonsense that emanate from some courts, in the name of ex-parte orders.

    As we have always argued here, the procedure for appointing judges should be more rigorous, so that only the best get appointed. If persons with questionable and inferior capacities are elevated to the bench, then garbage in, garbage out, will be the outcome. Also, judges must be exposed to continuous training, and also well remunerated, to keep them abreast of legal developments and off temptation.

    We enjoin the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other stakeholders to join the NJC in the fight against the abuse of court process by some judges.

  • Timely initiative

    Timely initiative

    Once upon a time Nigeria boasted of some of the most qualitative and best artisans in diverse spheres in the West African sub-region and beyond. These included carpenters, mechanics, brick layers, plumbers, electricians, painters and tile layers, among others. The thriving construction industry of the 1970s and early 1980s, largely as a result of the petro-dollar boom of the period, gave ample opportunity for these class of workers to utilise their skills, earn a living and contribute their quota  to economic growth. There was also in place a well structured system for training different categories of artisans who acquired reputable certificates affirming their competence and on the basis of which they got jobs. Indeed, in Lagos, acquiring skills in artisanship was a key part of the formal education system. It would, however, appear that the downturn in the economy due to a protracted decline in oil revenue earnings negatively affected the construction sector in particular, leading also to a marked drop in the quality of artisans across the board.

    There was also the erosion, with time, of the culture of ensuring qualitative standardised training for artisans such that those who were engaged to do such jobs became notorious for the shoddiness and utter incompetence of their workmanship. The consequence is that most of the artisans engaged across the country today are from neighbouring countries in many of which the standard of craftsmanship still remains very high.

    It is against this background that we welcome as a most timely initiative, the Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s announcement of the state’s plan to build the competencies of local artisans and craftsmen to reduce incidences of building collapse, mitigate the cost of property development and enhance quality in housing development.

    Speaking at the inauguration of 774 housing units of LagosHOMS in Sangotedo Phase 1 in the state, the governor decried the wide skill gap in the sector that forced many Nigerian developers to bring in artisans from other countries to work on their projects. This is a situation of creating job opportunities for others when the country has a teeming population of jobless youths. To address issues such as lack of precision and low level of delivery by artisans in the country, the Lagos State Ministry of Housing has thus designed a training scheme for artisans, which it has tagged MasterCraft Programme. The package will entail training 1,000 artisans in the first instance in batches of 200, to sharpen their knowledge and skills in trades and crafts connected with building, to make them professionally competitive within and outside the country.

    According to the governor, “The first leg of the programme will be for six weeks and will be centred on critical construction trades such as electrical installation and maintenance works; painting and decorating; plumbing and pipe-fitting; carpentry and furniture making and masonry (block laying and concreting)”. The huge job generation potential of this scheme is best illustrated by the scale of the Sangotedo Phase 1 housing scheme commissioned, for instance, which consists of 744 homes in 62 blocks of 12 homes each. This comprises 248 one-bedroom and 248 two-bedroom apartments and when the second phase of the project is delivered, an additional 444 homes will be added to the housing stock in the area.

    In addition to the housing apartments, the infrastructure components of the estate, which include a network of modern roads, adequate drainage system, perimeter fence, sewage treatment as well as water treatment plant and electricity provide further opportunities for the engagement of artisans. It is noteworthy that over the past 26 months, the state government has delivered 14 such housing schemes in various parts of the state. No less significant, as Governor Sanwo-Olu pointed out, is that the state government is deepening activities in the area of land allocation while also speeding up the formalisation procedures for land acquisition to boost private sector construction activities and thus employment opportunities beyond state housing schemes.

    Better trained and more knowledgeable artisans will help save costs in the economy in terms of reduction in damaged facilities, shoddy workmanship that must be redone, or avoidable wastage. This will also have some positive security spinoffs as imported artisans from other countries, who are often not properly documented, have been known to commit heinous crimes, sometimes claiming the lives of those who engage them.