The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Imbibing the Ramadan spirit

    •This is what genuine Muslims must do even now that fasting is over

    The annual fasting observed by Muslims across the world ended yesterday. And today, Muslims all over the world mark the end of Ramadan fasting with the Eid-el-Fitri celebration. The festivity comes on the first day of the 10th month of Islamic lunar calendar, and has become one of two festivals of Islamic significance; the other being Eid-el-Kabir. After a month-long ascetic life and spiritual supplications to the Almighty, Eid is expected to usher in infinite bliss for devotees. Today is an occasion of gleefulness and thanksgiving. All good Muslims should take advantage of the day to vow never to go back to what Allah frowns at, and to show gratitude to Him for sparing their lives.

    Despite today’s air of indulgence, we call for modesty in celebration. We expect Muslims to avoid depraved conducts. Good Muslims should take advantage of the day to be sensitive to and share the feelings of those around them. That is why the lessons of the holy month must reflect in the way they relate with friends, non-Muslims inclusive.

    Muslims whose fast is based on imaan, sincerity, should truly expect reward, Ihtisaab, from Allah. Those that have imaan as thrust of their dealings with fellow beings will have their sins forgiven. Others will have to satisfactorily answer questions such as: was their fast performed with true belief and full surrender to Allah? Was it done because Allah imposed it on Muslims or for other selfish reasons? Have they gained anything from the month of Ramadan Were they positively inclined towards fellow beings? Have they overcome all their prior weaknesses and cruelty?

    We have no doubt that obedient Muslims, not killers and terrorists, like Boko Haram insurgents, despoiling the name of Allah, are assured of reward from Almighty Allah. Surprisingly, these fake Islamists hiding under the guise of the ’religion of peace’ to perpetuate evil have shown gross contempt for the holy month. The terrorists destroyed the usual tranquillity of unity and spiritual rebirth of the holy month through senseless bombing of innocent souls and outright destruction of properties.

    We wonder what has happened to the pious habit of Qur’an recitation, especially during Ramadan, and imbibing the lessons therein. The Boko Haram insurgents should realise the futility of their actions quickly. All human beings are expected to be their brother’s keeper and should cultivate and indulge in things that would make the community and the entire world one peaceful place for all to live in. We doubt whether the terrorists could, in all conscience, proclaim this. The suicide bombing of fellow beings before, during and after the month of Ramadan is barbaric.

    So, in the spirit of Ramadan, we call on the governments, institutions, the people and especially Boko Haram insurgents to have an attitudinal change that would not negate the commandments of Allah. What should be done now is to continue to practice and sustain the virtuous preaching learnt during Ramadan for the sake of all. The talk of restoring security in the country must start with adhering to the tenets of Allah by both Muslims and non-Muslims. This is realisable only if stakeholders in the nation’s project are honest with themselves as all Muslims professed during the Ramadan period.

    Moving our country forward entails being our brother’s keeper; and desisting from inflicting terror and evil on humanity. That is the greatest lesson that can be learnt from the just ended fasting.

  • Tompolo’s contract

    • Another good riddance to bad rubbish!

    Expectedly, the Federal Government has terminated the $103m (about N21billion) maritime security contract awarded by the Goodluck Jonathan administration to Global West Vessel Specialists Nigeria Limited (GWVSNL) believed to be owned by former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpomupolo a.k.a. Tompolo. The Presidency, according to report, had ordered the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to discontinue payment for the provision of platforms for security of the nation’s waterways and this had stopped since last month. The contract was awarded by NIMASA in 2011.

    This is the second such unconscionable contract awarded by the Jonathan administration to be terminated by the Muhammadu Buhari government. The first was the pipeline protection contracts awarded to the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) and Niger Delta militia group which was also stopped last month, with the Federal Government giving a marching order to the Nigerian Army and Navy to take over protection of the pipeline.

    Nigerians had always opposed the outsourcing of the security of these vital national assets to the militants and ethnic militias. Unfortunately, for reasons best known to it, the Jonathan administration which seemed bent on professionalising militancy, insisted on going ahead with the contracts.

    Thus, as those given the contracts were smiling to the banks, the security agencies that have the constitutional mandate to secure these assets were starved of funds. This was evident in the several setbacks the military suffered in the fight against Boko Haram fighters, as the country had to look for help from outside to fight the insurgents.

    Although the former president did not hide his proclivity for pandering to parochial interests in his actions and utterances, not a few persons wondered how this could be taken to such ridiculous lows, whereby the president would surrender the security of the country’s maritime domain to his kinsman when there are government security agencies that have the constitutional role to perform such functions? If it was a public-private partnership (PPP) as the Jonathan government called it, it must have been a warped one at that.

    Apart from being a serious indictment of our security agencies, the contract awards were also a national disgrace; they exposed the nation to ridicule because there is no such paradigm anywhere in the civilised world. To worsen matters, the country did not get value for the money it paid to secure the national assets as over 400,000 barrels of crude oil were being stolen daily from our shores under President Jonathan. That this persisted for years made many people to suspect that it was the same people who were given the job of maritime security that were colluding with the international shipping companies to steal the country’s oil.

    It is against this background that we commend the Buhari administration for terminating these so-called contracts which represented nothing but “job for the boys” and a veritable avenue to siphon public funds. Any rational Nigerian knew that such contracts could only have been awarded by an administration like Dr Jonathan’s, and that the moment the government was voted out, it was a matter of time for the contract to be terminated.

    However, with the maritime security contract now terminated, the government should channel the money paid to the private firm to strengthen the Navy and marine police whose responsibility it is to secure the nation’s waterways. Where more resources are required for these agencies to perform, the government should not hesitate to provide them. If after getting the necessary requirements the security agencies still cannot perform, then it becomes a matter to be handled administratively. The solution does not lie in funding rag-tag militants and ethnic militias to handle such sensitive duties.

  • Restore military checkpoints

    SIR: A few weeks ago, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the removal of all the military checkpoints put in place nationwide in the wake of the onslaught by the Boko Haram sect. The president, who gave the directive during a meeting with the service chiefs, noted that the decision was meant to eradicate the hardships being experienced by commuters and motorists due to the existence of the checkpoints. Since then, Nigerians have received the decision with mixed feelings in view of the increased and recent attacks carried out by suicide bombers in many cities in the North such as those that occurred in Kaduna, Borno, Plateau and Yobe states, thereby fuelling fears that the insurgents might have exploited the opportunity of checkpoint removal to be launching further attacks on the nation.

    Honestly, the order by President Buhari that military checkpoints should be dismantled is understandable, sensitive and appreciated, based on the imperative of making the movement of road-users less cumbersome and the premise that the job of internal security actually belongs to the police since the military have enough to cope with in safeguarding sovereignty of the nation. The truth however is that the Nigeria Police, as presently constituted, is incapable of providing adequate internal security for the nation. It is logical to advise that in trying to ameliorate the suffering of the people, though laudable, the government should not be seen as throwing away the baby with the bathwater. On announcing the scrapping of the checkpoints, the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, had stressed that the additional 158 patrol vehicles would be deployed across the country to fill any security vacuum that may occur with the removal of military checkpoints. This may not be assuring enough because the issue of fighting terrorism and national security go beyond the acquisition of additional operational vehicles.

    The complete disengagement of the military from the responsibility of internal security appears too sudden and dangerous for the country. If this would have to be done, it is better to make it a gradual process. Many vulnerable flash points still remain in several parts of the country that cannot be left unsecured without the military. We should not forget that the reason military operatives were involved in internal security in the first place may not be too far from the fact that the police has to contend with the challenge of adequate personnel and its inability to effectively protect lives and property, especially with the introduction of terrorism into the nation’s security landscape. Hence, no vacuum should be created with the removal of checkpoints such that insurgents would deceptively take advantage of the situation to further launch more deadly attacks.

    The police should be better motivated and strengthened. No doubt, there are brilliant and capable officers and men in the Force; With less than 400,000 policemen in a country of about 170 million people, the reality is that the country is grossly under-policed.  Regrettably, a large number of our police personnel are still being attached to private individuals and politicians. There is the need to correct this anomaly that has greatly limited the capability of the police to work optimally.

    Until Nigeria has a police force that is formidable and well-decentralized in the true sense of federalism, effective policing would continue to be a mirage. That is why the idea of state police should be revisited. With the appointment of a new National Security Adviser and other service chiefs, it is hoped that the security situation in the country would improve considerably. For now, to ensure that the nation is not over-run by terrorists, military checkpoints should be restored.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi,

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • What the President should do now

    SIR: I wish to remind President Muhammadu Buhari of his promises during his electioneering campaign. And if his words should be his bond, Nigeria would return to status quo in no distant future. In this regard I would like the president to harken to this clarion call in order to make life meaningful for the masses.

    First and foremost, salaries and other perks of the legislators, both at the federal and the state levels, including the ministers, commissioners and other government functionaries should be reviewed. Unfortunately, the issue of trimming down salaries of our federal legislators has been over-flogged right from the time of the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. Up till this moment, nobody has done anything about it. Their pay package should be DRASTICALLY trimmed down. A situation where one person goes home with millions of naira  in a month whereas, others are not able to afford three square meals a day is not in consonance with justice, equity and good conscience.

    Secondly the rail transport should be made functional in order to facilitate the conveyance of food stuff and other essential commodities from the North to the South and vice versa.The importance of reviving and over hauling the rail system cannot be over emphasized. We are experiencing high cost of things in the market today because of high cost of transportation which is eventually borne by the final consumer. Achieving this aim would no doubt make food available on the table of every Nigerian as their cost would be very cheap.

    I know this would be a hard nut to crack as the owners of long vehicles, trailers and tankers would more or less be thrown out of job. But be that as it may, the president should take this drastic measure not minding whose ox is gored, if it is his desire to better the lots of the common man.

    It gladdened my heart when I read in the newspapers that EFCC and ICPC will be merged and 42 ministries trimmed down to 19. This is a welcome development. It would certainly have a salutary effect on the economy.

    There are catalogue of other factors that are parasitic on the resources of this country but the aforementioned ones should be religiously looked into in other to achieve our aim. With time other problems would ease off.

    The President should forget about probing any person at the moment, as that would distract him from facing squarely the most important factors.

     

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel,

    Port Harcourt.

  • Drained, duped and dumped

    •Federal Government should probe alleged exploitation of youths engaged under the SURE-P/FERMA project and punish the scammers

    Beneficiaries of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) who were officially engaged for community services have been telling tales of woe of how the Federal Government agency exploited their status as unemployed youth to dupe them, under the guise of bringing their sorry situation as unemployed youths under control.

    In the aftermath of the protests against mindless hike of prices of petroleum products in January 2012, the Federal Government had set up SURE-P as a palliative programme. The youths were therefore lured into employment by the programme shortly after, ostensibly to provide services such as sweeping, cleaning of gutters, traffic control and maintenance of government properties in all states of the federation and the federal capital city, Abuja. In the process, they said they had to pay various sums of money, in some cases amounting to N150,000 to some chieftains of the former ruling political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Three years after they were engaged, some are being owed several months salaries. The worst exploited are those in Lagos. They claim not to have been paid at all for the three years they have been reporting for duty. They told journalists during their protest last week that the money they borrowed to pick up the forms and uniforms only deepened their woes as creditors have been tugging at their shirts and skirts.

    This is not how a country should treat its citizens, especially the underprivileged. The state is expected to wipe away, not induce tears. We call on the Buhari administration to probe the claims of the participants. In some states, accounts were allegedly opened for them by the National Directorate of Employment. This should be speedily investigated. How many such people were engaged? Were they given letters of employment and for how many months was money released for the project? If the participants paid for forms and uniforms, into what account was the money paid and how many received the uniforms?

    The beneficiaries also claim that as much as N350,000 might have been released on the orders of former President Goodluck Jonathan for each of them. It should not be difficult to trace such disbursements as there should be records in the appropriate government ministry or agency ,and where it was diverted by those who considered themselves high-heeled, they should be arrested, prosecuted and adequately punished. Nigeria is not a banana republic where anyone should get away with murder.

    It is bad enough that in Lagos State, they were converted to political thugs and made to do the bidding of the PDP. Alongside the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) operatives, the recruits were unleashed on innocent residents of Lagos during the last general elections. They were given paramilitary training which made some of the operatives to lose their pregnancies. This should not be happening in a republic governed by law. The perpetrators should be exposed and brought to book.

    Under the Obasanjo administration, the former Minister of Works, Mr. Segun Ogunlewe, used the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for similar purpose by recruiting young Nigerians who were used as thugs to harass innocent citizens on federal roads.

    It is incredible that some people engaged by the Federal Government could be made to go without salaries for 36 months. This matter should not be swept under the carpet like the National Immigration Service employment scam that claimed the lives of many after they had been conned into purchasing forms. Till date, no one has been punished for that tragedy.

    The police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission should be made to conduct a forensic investigation into the matter and a report submitted within a month. Those found to have been so duped should be paid forthwith, even if the project would be cancelled and participants formally disengaged.

  • Contentious staff schools

    •Universities should learn to make staff schools fend for themselves

    The imminent crisis between universities and the Federal Government over staff schools can be averted. The National Universities Commission (NUC), as the regulatory body that oversees the affairs of universities in the country has reportedly, through a recent circular, signified government’s plan to withdraw from paying salaries of teachers of staff primary schools in the nation’s universities.

    The NUC, in its bid to achieve this goal, has directed the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWG), to stop allocating, forthwith, monies from the Federation Account for staff schools’ teachers of the various universities. The decision is to curtail Federal Government’s huge spending of over N4 billion salaries of universities’ owned primary staff school teachers.

    The NUC’s decision has incurred the wrath of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU). The two unions are demanding the withdrawal of the policy; otherwise, they go on strike. Both are claiming the idea to be against a 2009 FG/SSANU agreement and the law establishing the staff schools. They also believe that it could lead to loss of jobs for over 2,000 teachers. But the NUC affirmatively responded that their host institutions should fund the staff schools, established by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as private enterprises.

    The contentious issue bothering the tertiary institutions’ trade unions is government’s transferred burden when payment of salaries of their staff schools is stopped. The implication isthat the universities will now have to source for funding, on their own, to sustain the schools as private enterprises. But it may not be entirely true that without these staff schools, the universities will not be whole in activities, substance and autonomy.

    We agree that the current practice of funding university staff schools from the public till dates back to pre-independence era. It is also true that other institutions like NIPSS own such staff schools funded by government. The university union’s argument could only jell if they had fought for the withdrawal of the Federal Government’s involvement in the payment, also from the public till, of similarly owned staff schools. The only exception being military and police staff primary schools in the Army, Navy, Air Force and police barracks because of their being creations of special laws.

    The universities, rather than engage in another needless tango with government, should exploit one option: Because of sustenance of standards in the schools, they should seek for means of taking up funding of their teachers’ salaries by raising money from, say collection of fees.

    The universities should be aware that for a society to make progress, its institutions of which they are a salient part, must be able to identify with its public policy reforms from time to time. And more importantly, for them to also develop the capacity to absorb the shocks from whatever becomes the aftermath. We want ASUU and SSANU to see the decision of NUC on withdrawal of government’s involvement in payment of universities staff schools’ salaries as a wake-up call to attune universities to the need to take up responsibility over what they own and should control.

    The point has been made that the wards of the university teachers should enjoy the privilege of these schools. That line of thought is too self-serving in a way that contradicts the university as an institution that forbids elitism.

    The argument that the university is removed from the society as a sort of Joycean island does no credit to the ivory tower concept as society’s great monitor.

    The new order should inspire a creative approach that members of that comunity have always asked of government.

  • How not to spend forex

    How not to spend forex

    •A monetary regime that grants pilgrims forex concessions, but denies the productive sector a similar privilege, reeks of wrong priorities

    A production concern, in urgent need to import raw materials, approached the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for foreign exchange (forex) at the official exchange rate of N198.95/US $1. The apex bank balked.  It said the company should source its forex from the parallel market. As at July 14, that rate was N241/US $1.

    But a week or two later, John Kennedy-Opara and his Christian Pilgrims Commission (CPC) breezed into the Aso Villa. Without much ado, Mr. Kennedy-Opara breezed out to announce the good news to the faithful: the government had graciously pegged forex, for the next round of Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem, at N160 to US $1!

    Moral: the Nigerian government would rather subsidise the forex needs of leisurely pilgrims than aid distressed players in the productive sector.

    It is a classic case of placing faith over work, in the priority of the state. For a country still grappling with economic basics, and in these times of acute economic angst, it certainly leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

    Indeed, from the numbers, the conclusion is very depressing. For offering pilgrims a special rate of N160 per dollar, the government is subsidising each pilgrim to the tune of N38.95 on every dollar. If the pilgrims were to buy from the parallel market, at N241 per dollar, the subsidy would have been a whopping N81 per dollar!

    But shorn of the religious veneer, these Nigerian pilgrims are only splashing scarce forex, sorely needed at home, in a foreign economy. That boosts their host economy, but further worsens the distress at home.

    In contrast, that productive concern, which CBN left to its fate, eventually sourced forex for N230 a dollar, N32.05 above the official rate. If it had tarried for lack of cash, it would have paid higher; for, as at yesterday, the naira parity had sunk further to N241. So, the company would have been N44.05 in the hole for every dollar it bought.

    In the face of the present harsh economic realities, how does such a company stay competitive and be in a position to keep its staff and pay their salaries? Failure at both fuels further poverty and joblessness — and the culprit would have been a government that doesn’t seem to get its priorities right.

    Now, before we are misconstrued: Nigeria is officially a secular state; with no court religion. But Nigerians are religious and expressively so. Therefore, there is nothing wrong for the Nigerian state to be sensitive to the religious wellness of its citizens: Christian, Muslim, traditional religions. As a general principle, we welcome whatever the state can do to make religious practice more comfortable; and whatever consular services Nigeria can put in place to aid religious pilgrims.

    But to, in this season of economic anomie, waste scarce forex on the luxury needs of a comparative few, when the cash is sorely needed for the basic economic survival of the teeming majority, is absolutely unacceptable.

    Pilgrimage for Christians is doctrinally not mandatory. Even in Islam where it is, it is subject to affordability. So, every pilgrim, Christian or Muslim, strays into the self-actualisation zone; which suggests each can pay his or her way. So, the government should let them pay; and stop sucking scarce forex into a comparatively non-essential venture.

    That is why the Buhari Presidency should depart from the old wasteful ways, rescind this N160 a dollar concession just granted Christian pilgrims and make every pilgrim, Christian or Muslim, to buy his or her forex in the open market.

    ‘The Buhari Presidency should depart from the old wasteful ways, rescind this N160 a dollar concession just granted Christian pilgrims and make every pilgrim, Christian or Muslim, to buy his or her forex in the open market’

  • • Firing of Service Chiefs, NSA too late in coming

    • Firing of Service Chiefs, NSA too late in coming

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s removal of the Service Chiefs and the National Security Adviser (NSA) on Monday must have come as sweet music in the ears of many Nigerians. Left to the average Nigerian, the military officers ought not to have lasted a day in office beyond May 29 when President Buhari was sworn in. Those sacked are: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt-Gen Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral  Usman Jubrin, Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Adesola Amosun and NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki. (rtd).

    They were replaced with Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (CDS), Major-General T.Y. Buratai (COAS), Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (CNS), Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar (CAS), Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan, Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) and retired major-General Babagana Monguno (NSA).

    It is heart-warming that President Buhari did the needful on the former military chiefs at last. Of course Nigerians who had been clamouring for their removal have genuine cause to so do. Like most of our national institutions, the military had become a shadow of what it was years back. One of the most prominent of its problems was its blatant politicisation by politicians of the erstwhile ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) who used the military’s monopoly of coercive force to unlawfully affect electoral outcomes.

    Soldiers were used to protect election-riggers, harass and intimidate political opponents, and empower favoured candidates, especially during the last governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states. It is a surprise that Lt.-Gen. Minimah chose not to investigate the outrageous perversion of military values in spite of its very disturbing implications for the polity, until his sack on Monday.

    But it is not enough to sack public officials; they must be made to account for their stewardship. The military, especially in the last four years, enjoyed robust budgetary allocations. In fiscal 2012, 2013 and 2014, defence got N921 billion, N1.055 trillion and N968.127 billion, respectively, yet much of the anti-insurgency campaign has been characterised by widespread complaints by soldiers about poor pay and the lack of arms, ammunition and equipment. In encounter after encounter, the military was forced to retreat by apparently better-armed Boko Haram insurgents.

    In March this year, some soldiers protested the failure of the Federal Government to pay their wages in full. Instead of the promised N150,000 per month for anti-insurgency troops, they were allegedly paid only N30,000 per month. Soldiers returning from peace-keeping operations abroad have protested the unauthorised reduction or non-payment of their entitlements, only to be arrested and court-martialed for their troubles. Members of the Ex-servicemen Welfare Association regularly protest the non-payment of their pension arrears. Nigerians are interested in how the defence budgets were spent.

    Rather than comprehensively investigate the financial anomalies which were causing so many heart-breaking battlefield reversals, the military hierarchy focused solely on court-martialing soldiers. Over 500 military personnel have faced charges of insubordination, cowardice and mutiny, and have been sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. Some have received the death penalty.

    Ironically, the military surge which began in February has shown that a properly-equipped and motivated armed forces is more than a match for Boko Haram. Clearly, issues of pay, equipment and competent leadership are far more important to success as opposed to the isolated emphasis on discipline.

    The new military helmsmen must address the deep-rooted problems that have persistently weakened morale, crippled effectiveness and consequently engendered fear in the face of the enemy. They should revisit the recent military trials and punishments. If the army is to come to equity, it must do so with clean hands. It makes no sense to arraign soldiers for acts of indiscipline and cowardice while doing nothing about partisan manipulation of the military and rampant corruption within the military hierarchy.

    Above all, the new military chiefs must ensure that Boko Haram is defeated as soon as possible. And that can only be done if the military shreds its political toga for its core professional role. Time is of the essence.

    ‘It is heart-warming that President Buhari did the needful on the former military chiefs at last. Of course Nigerians who had been clamouring for their removal have genuine cause to so do. Like most of our national institutions, the military had become a shadow of what it was years back’

     

  • Making Nigeria’s skies safer

    Making Nigeria’s skies safer

    •AIB report highlights causes of air crashes in the country

    In the aviation industry, plane crashes are the exceptions, not the rule. They dominate the front pages and the headlines long after they have occurred. And they are guaranteed to occur even in domains where the industry boasts the most sophisticated equipment and the regulatory framework leaves little to chance.

    Nigeria’s aviation industry does not enjoy these operational advantages; yet it has over the decades built a commendable safety record, a tribute to the pilots and other professionals who often have to operate under difficult conditions.

    Some of these conditions are indicated in a report from the Accident and Investigation Bureau (AIB) that links 70 percent of air crashes in Nigeria to negligence, failure of regulation, and failure of oversight.  The chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Captain Noggie Meggison, cited the report with approval in a presentation at the Nigeria Leadership Initiative Forum on Safer Skies held in Lagos recently and drew on data from plane crashes and close calls going back to 1996 to make the point.

    The Ministry of Aviation does not have the requisite trained expertise for proper oversight of the airlines, crew and service providers, according to Meggison. Oversight functions are sometimes influenced by considerations that have little to do with aviation safety.

    He could have added that it is not unusual for planes that have been de-commissioned elsewhere to be pressed into service in Nigeria, and for service providers to skimp on regular maintenance. Besides, training and re-training of key technical personnel usually get less attention than they deserve.

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has its work cut out.

    Even in these difficult times, the highest level of aviation safety humanly attainable must be its goal.  Nothing should be allowed to undermine it.

    The Civil Aviation Act of 2006, grants the NCAA autonomy for safety and economic regulation of the nation’s aviation industry.  The Authority should be given the wherewithal to exercise its autonomy to the fullest.  To the same end, gaps in the enabling law should be plugged.

    ‘It is not unusual for planes that have been de-commissioned elsewhere to be pressed into service in Nigeria, and for service providers to skimp on regular maintenance. Besides, training and re-training of key technical personnel usually get less attention than they deserve. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has its work cut out’

     

  • Greek gift

    Greek gift

    •The Euro crisis is a cautionary tale for Nigeria and ECOWAS single currency dream

    No country on earth can regard the crisis in Greece and the Euro zone without economic self-awareness. Not least Nigeria and the West African sub-region, which has long begun a process of establishing an integrated currency perhaps tentatively known as ECOI.

    The case of the European country is instructive for a number of reasons. A sense of communal cheer characterised the embrace of the single currency in Europe. The countries looked to a time of cooperative strength derived from robust economic exchange, with one country’s weakness buoyed by collective strength. It was also anticipated as potential engine for a European renaissance, a sort of hark back to the age of the continent’s status as the indispensable continent and driver of world prosperity. In subtle hints, it projected itself as a counterfoil to American hubris, and the United States did not conceal its nervousness over what some of its citizens saw as conspiracy fuelled by envy.

    One other highlight of the Greek crisis is that the one-time centre of world civilisation constitutes just two percent of the European economy. Yet, the rest of Europe has treated it with a delicacy that reveals the danger of signing such cooperative deals. Great Britain voted in a referendum to stay out of the currency because it saw the Euro as part subjugation and part economic strangulation. It was vindicated because it did not need a European parliament to work its currency in the last recession. It favoured Germany as other countries became enthralled by its own powerful economy.

    Nigeria may well know that many constraints work against a common currency in West Africa. First, the region does not have great internal trade. Even China today, for all its high tide, chafes under weak internal consumption, and it has not helped its currency in international play. The fact that there is little internal trade will put tremendous pressure on the Naira.

    Two, the Naira does not have any convertibility status, and that means the Nigerian economy would meld into the sub-region and it will take great economic management and statecraft for Nigeria to take advantage of its position as the preeminent nation.

    The Economic Community of  West African States has been from inception working towards a unified monetary policy under what it calls West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ), which will cover such countries as Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Guinea and Liberia as well as the Union Monetaire l’ovest Africaine (UMOA) countries constituted by Benin, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali.

    Currency sovereignty is not the only plus in avoiding such a tie-up, but also a freedom to decide when to control and print currency as part of monetary rescue and self-assertion.

    That was the allure that drove Greece to a referendum in which the citizens chose sovereignty over subjugation. The French West African countries use the CFA but it is linked to the French Francs, and that implies that they run a captive economy. Launching ECOI faces entanglement with French colonial past and that may endanger its freedom from its first sigh. Liberia and Cape Verde have expressed reservations over a unified currency.

    Integration is a romantic idea. But as Greece has shown, it is not a practical way for a country like Nigeria still searching for an economic system and values system that transcend our foibles like leakages in ports and borders. Nigeria is also a consumption-laden land with industrial hiatus.

    Our currency is more fragile now than any time in history. We will do well to first put our economy on a stand footing, and not meddle in romanticism that may not only undermine our relative advantage in the sub-region but also our pride.

    ‘Integration is a romantic idea. But as Greece has shown, it is not a practical way for a country like Nigeria still searching for an economic system and values system that transcend our foibles like leakages in ports and borders. Nigeria is also a consumption-laden land with industrial hiatus’