The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • The coming storm

    The coming storm

    •Given the economic outlook, 2016 will  be both challenging and interesting  

    WHICHEVER way one looks at it, the 2016 fiscal year promises to be both challenging and interesting. On one side is the Federal Government’s rather ambitious, expansionary budget of N8 trillion – a figure which comes close to doubling this year’s figure of N4.4 trillion. That, no doubt, fits snugly into general expectations of massive infrastructure-building and rehabilitation, particularly of roads, rail and power, in the face of the virtual collapse of those critical enablers of the economy.

    On the other is the report of cargoes of Nigeria’s unsold crude stranded on the high seas desperately looking for buyers – a mortal threat to projected revenue.  Only last month for instance, a shipping journal, Hellenic shipping news reported “an overhang of unsold Nigerian cargoes for November” said to number 10; it also reported of some two-thirds of December’s loading schedule set at 62 cargoes – which comes to 72 cargoes unsold. And now with oil prices, rather than showing signs of imminent rebound, actually plumbing further down, budgetary projections across the board not only stand on the tenterhooks but appear imperilled.

    And if projections by analysts are anything to go by, the demand for Nigeria’s crude, which has been on the decline since oil price began its free fall last year, will follow that trend in the near, foreseeable future. With Angola crude grades currently the toast of the Asians, and United States’ – our erstwhile leading crude importer – now preferring its own huge stock of shale oil, the future of our oil-dependent economy can only be extremely grim. Ordinarily, the solution would be as simple as finding new sources of revenue to bridge the yawning expenditure-revenue gaps – something that has proven over the years to be easier said than done; or in the alternative, finding creative means to fund public expenditure, while blocking all possible avenues through which public funds are either stolen or frittered away. In all of this, the imperative to achieve what appears to be a miracle, in the face of rising but unmatchable expectations both at the federal and state levels, has never been more urgent.

    As for taxes, it isn’t exactly that a lot has not been achieved, particularly by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to revamp and modernise the machineries for tax administration at the federal level. At the level of states, some, like Lagos, Rivers and Kano have in fact, done reasonably well to boost their internally generated revenues through improved taxation.

    The overall evidence is however that most states are still doing too little in this regard; many are in fact non-starters. A good way to start is to expand the tax base. And if we may make the point at this stage – the old defeatist argument which suggests that majority of citizens are too poor to pay any form of tax should give way to proactive measures to bring all eligible taxpayers into the tax net. While there may be need to review some of the tax laws, there may in fact be need to look at the adequacy or otherwise of the existing rates.

    In the same vein, we must put on record, the Buhari administration’s efforts in drawing attention, as well as taking practical measures to block all known avenues for leakages in the federal bureaucracy. We urge the administration to ramp up the measures as there remain too many earmarks or pork to be taken out of the nation’s public finance system.

    One area where a lot needs to be done is agriculture and solid minerals. Today, despite our vast potentials, both sectors are yet to live to their full potential. The Federal Government will do well to pay greater attention to these areas. The same for manufacturing; it is the quickest route to wealth and ultimately job creation.

    It seems about time citizens are availed of the broad thrust of the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s policies and programmes. It seems to us the best way to prepare their minds for the sacrifices that may need to be made. Beyond that, there are still too many grey areas of policy. For instance, where does the Federal Government hope to get the funds to finance the yawning deficit built into the 2016 budget? Does the Private-Public-Partnership fit in – if so how? Nigerians need to be taken into confidence.

     

  • Era of standards

    Era of standards

    •We welcome developments in the corporate world to check impunity

    One of the great deficits in Nigeria, especially as a so-called developing country, is the absence of standards. We allow virtually everything and anything so long as they satisfy either a commercial greed or prurient impulse. They eventually pay back in the loss of lives, in complication of health, decay of the environment, accidents and even disasters.

    If the regulatory agencies had adhered to the minimalist prerogatives of their assignments, we will be a nation of obedience rather than the sacrifices in lives and resources. A few cardinal agencies have come in sharp focus for their adherence to the principles of standards.

    These include the Nigerian Communications Commission, the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Nigerian   Customs and, in sometimes controversial ways, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Perhaps what many see as the touchstone of this era of standards is the slamming of a N1.04 trillion ($5.2 billion) fine on the telecom company MTN.  The company, which has been an industry leader and bellwether, suffered the sanction for failing to disconnect or wipe out 5.1m unregistered subscribers. The NCC had in August directed all mobile telecoms firms to deactivate all unregistered SIM cards.

    The sum of N1.04 trillion slammed on the company raised nationalist eyebrows in some quarters who thought it was a punitive hammer on a foreign firm. But such suspicions were quelled after the law was articulated. The infraction attracted a fine of N200,000 per unregistered but activated line. Some earlier violators had suffered a similar fate but they did not attract this hysteria because, in relative terms, the fines were puny.

    It reflected a serious violation of a telecoms law because of its implication for safety in an age of kidnapping, robbery and terror. Intelligence agencies had revealed that the Boko Haram militants in the northeast had developed a technological knowhow to touch off bombs by linking the explosives to specific phone numbers. We know that the terrorist groups of today have developed deadly innovations in technology, not only in Nigeria but all over the world. Telecoms firms play a vital role in thwarting the abilities of the goons to thrive on our fears and disruptions of our ways of lives.

    Recently, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has manipulated software and cutting edge encryption systems to dangerous advantage. They have led to the new phrase “going dark.” It means some of these terror groups have devised means to communicate with such secrecy that the world’s top countries cannot access their activities. The felling of the Russian plane on the Sinai and the rash of attacks in Paris, only reinforce these fears. Boko Haram has managed to wreak havoc without trace or even anticipation. For instance, they touched off a bomb in a famous Kano market last week Wednesday.

    That was why the MTN negligence seemed not to have stirred sympathy. Again, the kidnap of a high-profile politician, Olu Falae, brought the matter into high relief. It was one of those unregistered numbers that facilitated the kidnap. But the company responded appropriately by firing its chief executive officer and owning up to its errors. It has asked for a staggered payment. We believe the NCC should allow it to work out payment arrangement.

    The reason is simple. MTN is a major player in the Nigerian economy and it employs many citizens across the country, either directly or indirectly. Those who feel that the company should squeak and die pay little attention to its implication for an economy pining for job and commercial opportunities. But it has to pay all it owes so it understands the full weight of its infractions. Many families have  either died or displaced and the economy dislocated as a result of the sort of mistake for which MTN has been fined.

    The other fine was on Guinness Nigeria Ltd that NAFDAC slammed a N1billion fine for allegedly using raw materials that had expired for their products. This is a serious charge that Guinness still disputed as at press time. NAFDAC claims that it paid a visit to Guinness factory and, according to that, “our team visited Guinness and the reported findings were true.”

    Guinness claimed that it routinely destroys its expired raw materials and that it has done nothing wrong. We want the truth on this matter in a transparent way.

    The other story relates to the Nigerian Customs. The agency since the new helmsman took office has been showing great sensitivity to illegal conveyance of foodstuff across our borders, especially rice and poultry products like chicken and turkey.  Recently, a news report said the agency destroyed many poultry products, poured acid on them and buried them in the South-south region. But some Nigerians dug them up and repackaged them for sale.

    The poultry products were not only illegally ferried to this country, they are also preserved in noxious chemicals. The same applies to rice that are shipped here from Asia after being preserved for years in warehouses.

    It is a dangerous development that such a matter should require education for Nigerians to realise that we need standards to keep us safe and healthy. But we are a largely illiterate and poor, and it is easy for our citizens to be facile to the manipulations of rapacious business persons. Nigerians have been consuming these products for years and some of the burden on our hospitals owing to the increase of so-called modern diseases, such as cancer ,may be traced to such unscrupulous activities and indulgencies.

    On corruption, we have seen the EFCC under the just-ousted Ibrahim Lamorde unleash a raft of court cases against government functionaries, including past governors. But some of the cases have doubtful authenticity, according to some commentators, who charged that they were motivated by politics.

    But a lot of these sticking to standards have been attributed to the biography of President Muhammadu Buhari. They say the agencies decided to show deference to the rule of law and due process because of this. Some have said these efforts are self-serving and opportunistic. They have asked why these agencies – except for the Nigerian Customs with a new boss – did not show such righteousness before the coming of Buhari. They have also argued that the “body language” of the president has failed to maintain power in homes and offices in spite of the constancy in the first few months. The same lethargy may kick in soon, and we shall return to our default laxity.

    We hope not. What these agencies have done so far is to whet our appetite. But we need more.

  • Beautiful adverts and reputational risk

    Beautiful adverts and reputational risk

    SIR:  MTN’s adverts have always been exceptional, creative and entertaining. They are often very memorable and influence purchase or patronage decision. Etisalat can also hold its own with its sleek and ‘yuppie’ ads targeted at upwardly mobile individuals. MTN’s current corporate ad ‘We were there’ is up there in terms of connecting with the target and telling the story of their achievements in Nigeria. The scene where a young dad, who just recovered his sight, saw his baby for the first time and his wife waiting with bated breath to see if her husband could see again, was very emotional and drove home the point of how MTN touches lives. Its influence in the Nigerian telecom space is well known. Its ICT solutions is heavily relied on by key sectors like the financial services sector. But its recent corporate  misdemeanours,  with the latest being a $662,000 fine on MTN Uganda by a Ugandan commercial court for sabotaging the business of a mobile money company EzeeMoney Limited  and the much talked-about NCC fine of $5.2billion, is chipping away at its reputation and public image. MTN is currently facing a reputational risk  which is the risk that a business will lose revenue or incur significant costs as a result of damages to its reputation or public image. Public perception of MTN may have been affected by the negative publicity associated with these fines, affecting the brand and its product.  Before now the MTN brand was already gradually losing its value and equity amongst subscribers with the experience not being a happy one because of poor service, intrusive ad calls and sms, and perceived capital flight.

    We can also have a case of decreased patronage because of such negative publicity. Recall most subscribers switched  to other networks when the opportunity to ‘port’ came up.  This may happen again.

    Also this type of risk, which normally comes from service or product failure, can also come from lack of compliance to regulations and unfair practice. The fines were clearly because of lack of compliance and unfair practice and shows some people have not being doing their job even with the beautiful adverts we see on TV. With the Ugandan court fine, there will be flurry of articles from so-called public affairs analysts ( just like when the NCC fine broke) to paper over this faux pas but it will take a lot of image management genius to bring back the much loved MTN brand and MTN board’s decision to ensure the group lives up to its commitment of adding value through its products and services and good corporate governance.

    Finally, MTN’s case seems to give credence to the belief that regulatory compliance and adherence to best practice is determined by the operating environment, not culture of excellence, good corporate citizenship and corporate governance. Most companies exploit lax regulations and lack of rule of law in most sub-saharan African countries to their advantage; leading to substandard products/services and unfair practices. Its even a shame that this is associated with multinationals which should be  epitomes of best practice and expected to show consistency everywhere it operates. For companies, even SMEs operating in Nigeria, It is a new era of compliance and rule of law; you either  live up to best practices and corporate governance or set yourself up for reputational risk and regulatory fines.

     

    • Jude Azu Onuoha,

    Abuja.

     

  • Jega and the TSA

    Jega and the TSA

    INEC need not be excused from the federal accounting consolidation exercise

    Any submission, observation or comment by the immediate past national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, deserves scrutiny. On account of his stellar performance in office as Chief Electoral Commissioner, Professor Jega has earned himself the respect of many Nigerians. Under him, the commission advanced the role of technology in the conduct of polls and guaranteeing the sanctity of the ballot box.

    This must have recommended him for delivering the keynote address at the e-Governance Forum held in the federal capital, Abuja, where he suggested that the Federal Government should exempt the commission from the newly introduced Treasury Single Account (TSA). The professor of political science and former Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, called attention of participants at the forum to the peculiarities of the electoral commission; arguing that the commission needs easy access to funds appropriated for it in order to prepare well ahead of the next election.

    As many scholars have pointed out, the task of preparing for the next general elections start immediately after one has been concluded. Timelines are usually set and officers made to commence work. Where the timelines are missed on the erroneous assumption that four years is a long time, logistics becomes a huge challenge. This was a major problem in 2011. Funds were not released until a few months to the election, thus affecting registration of voters, importation of ballot boxes and printing of ballot papers. It was so obvious that INEC was not ready such that the first election had to be hurriedly called off hours after commencement. In the 2015 elections, too, production of the Permanent Voter Cards and the card readers nearly marred the conduct of the elections. This would have been disastrous if not arrested quickly on the basis of understanding shown by some major players. Even then, malfunctioning of some card readers has been cited before election petition tribunals.

    We, therefore, understand the fears of Professor Jega as the health and growth of democracy in the country is hinged on the sanctity of the electoral mechanism. We recall too that it took a while to get the National Assembly grant financial autonomy to INEC.

    However, the rationale behind the introduction of the TSA is too significant to be so easily ignored. We note that following the directive to all ministries, departments and agencies to consolidate their accounts in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with a view to curbing leakages, excesses and ascertaining the true trading position of the Federal Government, a case-by-case assessment was undertaken to determine where the overall objectives could be harmed. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and a few others with mandatory obligations to be met were therefore exempted.

    It is obvious that the government realised that more agencies might have to be freed after a while, but the objective of closely monitoring the finances of government must be accomplished. It will not hurt INEC if this initial process is completed within one year. By then, the necessary processes, procedures and mechanisms would have been established and mastered by all concerned.

    We are satisfied that the leadership of INEC as currently constituted has not complained about any untoward effect of the exercise on plans towards conducting the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship polls. Although Professor Mahmud Yakubu is new as the commission’s national chairman, Hajiya Amina Zakari, who filled the gap after Professor Jega’s exit, is still in the system. The template is not new; the logistics could easily be mobilised from neighbouring states and national commissioners seconded. The boxes used for the general elections are still largely intact and trained and tested hands could be mobilised and deployed for the purpose. We do not consider the TSA a sufficient ground for any lapses in conducting the polls.

    We call on President Muhammadu Buhari and his ministers to roll up their sleeves and ensure that INEC builds on the reputation it has already gained. The full commission should be put in place as soon as possible and any legislation towards making the electioneering process more transparent quickly put together by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. It is no longer acceptable that fundamental changes to the Electoral Act be introduced within 12 months to another general election. All participants and stakeholders in the 2019 elections, including the electorate, should be familiar with all the laws, rules and guidelines before 2017.

    We note the patriotic efforts of Professor Jega and call for more of such interventions from him and other credible patriots as and when necessary. We commend his maturity and note that, indeed, integrity has its reward.

  • Kogi polls

    Kogi polls

    •Stakeholders must play by the rules to make the election free, fair and credible

    Barring the unforeseen, voters in Kogi State will vote tomorrow to elect a successor to the incumbent Governor, Captain Idris Wada, or ask him to continue for another four years. Captain Wada took over from his brother-in-law, Ibrahim Idris, in January 2012, having won the governorship election in December 2011.

    In some other climes people have no cause to worry over elections as they go about their respective duties and cast their votes peacefully. But ours is not one of those climes; this is why we should admonish the stakeholders, particularly the politicians, the security agencies, and the electorate, to play by the rules.

    This is important because tomorrow’s election is the first major polls since the new government was sworn in on May 29; it is also the first by the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmud Yakubu. It is therefore a litmus test not only for INEC but also the Buhari presidency, ahead of the next governorship polls coming up in Bayelsa State on December 5. Mercifully, the electioneering had shown significant improvement over previous governorship elections’ in the country, which left in their trail violence, bloodshed and sometimes a harvest of deaths.

    All the same, it is too early to celebrate that we have got there; we cannot say that emphatically now until the position is sustained to the end because it is not over until it is over. We must toe this path of cautious optimism because politicians, particularly those of the immediate past ruling party, saw elections as a do-or-die affair.  Yet, it is not that there are no laws governing the electoral process; there is a surfeit of them to make stakeholders conform.

    Unfortunately, the will to get violators of the process arrested and prosecuted is what is lacking. Indeed, this is one major reason the problem of electoral malpractices has remained with us like a malignant tumour. Those who instigate people to violence or serve as accomplices to murder or even commit murder, even when arrested, are not made to face the full rigours of the law.

    The present dispensation has promised change and we expect this to also rub off on our electoral process. This must be seen in the election tomorrow. Virtually everyone that should make the elections orderly, free, fair and peaceful has also assured that this, precisely, is what we will have. Prof Yakubu has promised that votes will count and that the commission would build on the gains made by his predecessor, Prof Attahiru Jega: “INEC is ready for Kogi and Bayelsa elections, whatever the people decide, that is what we are committed to. We are committed to building on the success of the 2015 elections”, he said.

    Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase too has promised to ensure nothing goes wrong before, during and after the elections. We have seen deployments in terms of both men and materials from both ends, but these are not enough. What is needed most is the ultimate commitment to match words with action. The 2015 general election may not have been as perfect as it should be, but it remains the benchmark, at least for now. The politicians and other stakeholders should cooperate with the security agencies to ensure that the election is hitch-free because we cannot afford to fall below that standard, if we cannot improve on it.

  • Illiteracy figures

    Illiteracy figures

    •Nigeria needs to urgently address the crisis 

    Nigeria needs 58 years to banish illiteracy and this is going to be hectic.” This alarming assessment was among highlights at an international workshop on teaching and learning organised by Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The speaker was Dr. Muhammed Alkali, National Programme Officer, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Regional Office in Abuja. According to him, over 62 million Nigerians are illiterates. With the country’s total population put at 178.5 million in 2014, UNESCO’s statistics regarding its illiterate population is lamentably on the high side.

    The yearly celebration of International Literacy Day on September 8 underscores the place of literacy in the modern world. The special day endorsed by UNESCO has been celebrated since 1966, and helps to keep the international community focused on literacy issues.  Also noteworthy is the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) launched in 2003 with the objectives of increasing literacy levels and empowering illiterates.

    The theme of International Literacy Day 2015 was “Literacy and Sustainable Societies”. According to UNESCO, “Literacy is a key driver for sustainable development. Literacy skills are the prerequisite for the learning of a broader set of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, required for creating sustainable societies.”

    There is no doubt that Nigeria needs to achieve higher literacy levels in order to achieve greater socio-economic development. Notably, Alkali said: “UNESCO is targeting drop-outs which are predominant in JSS2 going by available research in Nigeria. We are seriously concerned and worried with the increasing illiteracy in Africa…Unless we are deceiving ourselves, ICT remains the best way to provide education now…” It is useful to note Alkali’s point about Information and Communications Technology (ICT), as well as his argument that full introduction of ICT is indispensable in the 21st century for the realisation of a knowledge-based economy.

    Against the background of the country’s high illiteracy figures, the new Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, definitely has his work cut out for him. It is reassuring that Adamu showed appreciation of the work to be done during his first meeting with top officials of the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja. He said: “The core problems of education in the country vary from one level of education to another, the crisis of underfunding, which gave birth to a whole series of other problems such as poor infrastructure for teaching and learning, poor conditions of service for teachers and the menace of brain drain from our tertiary institutions.”

    Adamu lamented:  “Also the crises of poor enrolment and access which has left millions of school age children roaming the streets and the crisis of regulation which has turned the entire education system into a jungle where everything goes. The system has been left unregulated, unsupervised and with no recourse to ethics and professionalism.”

    The connection between individual literacy and social development cannot be over-emphasised; and the role of good governance in the eradication of illiteracy cannot be downplayed. Ideally, all tiers of government should be involved in ensuring that reading and writing skills are more widely taught and learned across the country.

    It is politically correct to consider literacy a human right based on the inclusion of basic education in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  This modern thinking and the global idea of “Education for All” are manifestations of humanity’s progress on the path of human rights. It is bad enough that one in five adults cannot read and write in a world estimated to have 776 million illiterates.

    The country’s literacy efforts have proved inadequate. What is needed is a sustained collective effort which will go farther than one-shot programmes or campaigns.

     

  • Encouraging youth entrepreneurship

    Encouraging youth entrepreneurship

    SIR: Nigeria is a country of many diverse opportunities. A country with a population of over 150 million individuals should be every entrepreneur’s paradise. Nigeria has however created a hostile environment that is unfavorable for youth to achieve entrepreneurial success.

    No doubt, the government has gone a long way to encourage entrepreneurship and has implemented some programmes to aid young Nigerians create jobs for themselves and also support their businesses. However these programmes have very little impact. Take for example the “YOUWIN” programme, the flagship entrepreneurship programme of the last administration.  The programme has only celebrated 1,200 awardees since its inception about three years ago. The figure, broken down, comes to 400 awardees a year with only a minor percentage below 30 years of age. There are around 80 million youths in Nigeria today with approximately 50 percent of that number unemployed. If the government carries on at that pace, it will probably solve the problem of unemployment in the next 50,000 years – assuming there are even 20 million unemployed youths in Nigeria!

    The country needs a much bigger programme that will accommodate a much larger percentage of the Nigerian young entrepreneurs. There are other programmes that are already ongoing such as the Bank of Industry loans and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention funds for entrepreneurs. The problem with these programmes is that they prioritize only women and agro-businesses.  Many of our talented youths today are into several other businesses such as retail, food, fashion and even real estate and they also equally require the same financial assistance from the government.

    We live in the most dynamic period in Nigerian history; the richest black man and the richest black woman in the world are both of Nigerian heritage. The youth are beginning to convert their excuses in to productive means and should be encouraged; the government needs to do more. The Muhammadu Buhari-led administration seems eager to promote youth development and also create jobs. It should bear in mind that this cannot happen without aligning its programme with those of the states. It will be impossible to implement an effective umbrella programme run from one office somewhere in the federal capital territory in a country with our population.

    Imagine the raw talents we have in Aba and what they can achieve with proper guidance and encouragement. Entrepreneurship and innovation courses should be taught right from secondary schools as it is key to our economic survival.

    I do not see how the government can employ all the 80 million or so unemployed Nigerians. Unfortunately those are the standards we have created for ourselves – waiting for the government to provide jobs for us! The first thing that comes to the mind of a student on leaving the university is which is the juiciest government agency they can work for?

    There is no security in government jobs; if in doubt, try interviewing retired civil servants. The youth must be encouraged; they cannot be confined to a failed process.

    • Aliyu B.Y Abubakar,

    Abuja.

     

  • Deadly boreholes

    Deadly boreholes

    Lagosians should wary of water from low table

    A significant percentage of the 20 million residents of Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital and business hub, rely on boreholes for their daily supply of water for drinking, cooking and other uses. Unknown to most consumers of borehole generated water; borehole drilling has deadly implications for the environment while the water produced in the process is often hazardous to health. The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, Mr KabirAbdullahi, once again drew attention to the dangers attendant on widespread illegal drilling of boreholes across the state at a recent deliberative conference with professional borehole diggers in the state.

    Mr Abdullahi cited water from boreholes shoddily drilled by quacks as being a major cause of rampant water borne diseases in the state. He explained that, considering the high water table in Lagos, most boreholes are too shallow, making them vulnerable to seepage and other forms of surface pollutions dangerous to health. In his words, “Sometimes a person would hire a quack borehole driller to do a job for him. However, when the borehole is drilled, it would be situated at a spot which is close to a neighbour’s soak-away but they would not know because the soak-away would be on the other side of the fence. We have seen cases where the sewage is emptied into the water supply of another compound and people start getting sick, contracting typhoid and other diseases”.

    Extensive and illegal borehole drilling is also said to be responsible for such a negative climatic effect as the intrusion of salt water from the Atlantic Ocean into fresh water bodies in parts of the state making borehole water increasingly salty particularly in the Lekki/Victoria Island belt. The depletion of underground water due to the proliferation of boreholes also increases the susceptibility of the state to serious land erosion and even collapse. We can thus understand the determination of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission to license all borehole contractors and vigorously tackle illegal borehole drilling.

    Yet, the fundamental cause of the problem is the lack of access by millions of Lagos State residents to potable water thus forcing them to resort to boreholes as an alternative. Lagos State currently has a total installed water capacity of 210 million gallons per day while the demand is for about 540 million gallons per day. This is expected to increase to a demand for 733 gallons per day by 2020 when the mega city’s population is expected to hit 29 million.

    The state already has a Lagos Water Master Plan targeted at providing at least 745 million gallons per day by Y2020. Towards this end, work is on-going on phase 2 of the Adiyan Waterworks to complement the first phase constructed 23 years earlier. Water authorities in the state project that the mega city requires at least six similar water schemes to achieve water sufficiency for all by 2020. Meeting this target will, however, imply the investment of no less than $3.5 billion in the provision of water infrastructure.

    Given other equally pressing demands in critical sectors including health, education, housing, electricity, urban renewal, transportation and security, among others, Lagos State is clearly in no position to fund the provision of sufficient potable water for its huge population alone. This explains the state government’s inevitable decision to embrace Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) as a strategy of mobilising private capital for rapid modernisation and development of infrastructure development across sectors.

    While such creative infrastructure financing initiatives are commendable, we must continue to emphasise the imperative of special funding for Lagos commensurate with the huge revenues derived from the state into the national coffers. The prime position of the state in the country’s political economy arising from her massive population, strategic geographical location as well as her roles as commercial capital, financial hub and industrial nerve centre also demand that be considerably strengthened fiscally in accordance with genuine federalist principles.

  • Fuel: the scarcity this time

    Fuel: the scarcity this time

    •Elevated responses expected with President Buhari as Oil Minister

    Just when Nigerians thought they had voted out scarcity of petroleum products and long queues at the dispensing stations, it seems they are back to square one. A situation that started tentatively and in isolated places at the beginning of November has lingered. It has also become more pervasive and widespread across the country with marketers giving indications that scarcity may be with us till Christmas.

    The last petrol crisis was in the last days of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration just before the handover of government to President Muhammadu Buhari. Upon transition, the entire scarcity palaver had vanished as if the new president waved a wand. Suddenly, marketers who were whining over fuel subsidy payments seemed to reach an unspoken understanding with the new regime and pronto, fuel was everywhere in abundance and queues disappeared.

    Most remarkably, the pump price normalized back to N87 per litre from as high as N300 per litre that petrol rose to at that time. Thus since June this year up until end of October, Nigerians had enjoyed a period of regular petroleum products supply at the regulated rate to the point that some people must have thought the ugly old days were over for good. Indeed, unfettered fuel supply has been noted as one of the gains of the Buhari administration and an example of his ability to make crucial changes in the polity without as much as lifting a finger – ‘body language’, it is called.

    Following upon this new talisman, many had even argued that there was no subsidy after all. But the so-called subsidy was always there and was mounting in size over the past five months. Today, it is said to stand at about N413 billion and the federal government has been hit with that sum. But even though the government may be willing to pay, it is said that the time lag between payment and the next cycle of imports of products may take the scarcity to Christmas. There is also the issue of sourcing foreign exchange.

    Here is how a marketer made the case: “In recent times, we have been having issues with getting enough forex for our deals. Now we have a huge sum ofN413 billion entering the system; loans will be paid in forex as well as payments for products from international suppliers.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria is not giving us a clear directive in this regard. We will need forex but we do not know where to get it in this quantum. Right now, the truth is that marketers don’t know how to source forex with the recent CBN provision.”

    While the prospect of Nigerians living with this grueling situation of fuel scarcity and high prices till Christmas may be dire, the real issue is that the new government of President Buhari is expected to have taken the country out of debilitating incongruence of suffering in the midst of plenty. Nigeria is among the top ten producers of crude oil in the world yet she cannot produce enough for domestic consumption.

    In the last three decades or so, Nigeria has exported crude oil and  imported refined petroleum products at a huge economic cost. Nigerians will expect a lasting solution now more than ever before. It may be time to review the so-called subsidy and cut it in phases; government must set up a few modular refineries in the next two years if only to refine for domestic consumption.

    Nigerians who bear the brunt of this petrol paradox must be let down that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government has allowed this return to the PDP era and with President Buhari as substantive Petroleum Minister, we urge him to devise a long-term strategic solution to this malaise immediately.

  • Biafra, who hath bewitched thee?

    Biafra, who hath bewitched thee?

    SIR: I plead that the so-called Biafrans count the cost of secession which I consider as far more expensive than the cost of integration or re-integration as the case may be. Let them count the cost of war for it is far more expensive than the cost of peace

    My people should not forget so soon, how the jaws of starvation pierced into their marrow, it became a case of survival of the fittest between mother and child.

    One thing I am very sure of is that we are not ready for self-governance; disunity and selfishness will not permit that, or how does a nation stand when every individual wants to be governor of the governed?

    Besides, do not be deceived; know who your kinsmen are: the South-south that comprises of Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-Rivers, Delta, Edo and Rivers states are not joining the Biafran band-wagon. If you hope to rely on their crude oil as a pillow, be warned, there is no fool in Fulham.

    The Igbo nation due to her industrious nature are known to be widely dispersed, so be it known that you endanger the lives of your kinsmen in Diaspora. Do not be deceived, Nnamdi Kanu who you call your hero and who is igniting discord among you is a citizen of the United Kingdom and his family is well tucked in the bosom of a well-developed country. When the going gets tough, your warlord and hero will abandon the cause and fly to safety, but you the misguided ones will be left to bury your dead and reap the negative spoils of war.

    Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, whom you respect and worship, must be wincing in his grave. He fought a good fight, but alas he wailed “I proudly led the first Biafra war, I don’t think the second one is necessary. We should have learnt from the first one or else the deaths would have been to no avail”. He went ahead and contested the presidency of Nigeria, died a Nigerian and buried with full Nigerian state honour and not a pro-Biafra activist. Even his wife served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Ghana and Spain respectively.

    So whose cause are you fighting? Is it that of a man who does not have the support of his political and traditional leaders in any form or context in the entire Igbo nation, in fact not a single worthy Igbo man has come out to show solidarity?

    Here are a few posers: If the Biafra struggle becomes a reality (which I doubt), where would the capital be? Which state would produce the first president? What verifiable resources would sustain the new country? In a section of the  country where individualism hold sway, conceding positions and benefits to others (including fellow Igbos) is not a character we are known for; “every man for himself, God for all of us” so the mantra goes.

    My fellow kinsmen, do not be deceived, you have lost the battle even before it started, so stop chanting incantations of war.

     

    • Chinemere A. Chukwu.

    chukwuchinemere@gmail.cm