The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Kogi, where water is more than gold

    Kogi, where water is more than gold

    SIR: Regular provision of pipe-borne water has remained a chief challenge among the populace, more importantly, in most urban and semi-urban centres throughout Nigeria. Due to the present economic hardship, many residents and house owners are unable to pay the huge amounts that borehole outfits and water tanker operators usually charge. The borehole business and water tanker dispensary has become a huge venture in most semi-urban centers and cities across the country, because of the irresponsibility and inability of government to prioritize provision of regular water supply to the populace.

    Kogi state is one of the states created on August 27, 1991, by the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd).  Lokoja, the state capital is an ancient town that is well blessed with vast water resources, being the host of the confluence, a national landmark which portrays the meeting point of the two great rivers Benue and Niger. Despite this natural advantage, the lack of potable water accurately rhymes with an anonymous sailors distress statement “water, water everywhere, but not a single drop to drink”!

    Despite the availability of abundant water resource, obsolete and low capacity water infrastructure and neglect on the part of government to fully harness the water resource, contributed to worsen the water supply crisis in Lokoja metropolis and its environs. Successive government from the first military administrator, Colonel Danladi Zakari to the incumbent, Idris Wada, have failed to put any meaningful and deliberate measures in place at addressing the water needs of the people. It was only during the administration of the immediate past governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, that an attempt was made aimed at addressing the acute water shortage in the state capital and environs, which led to a re-visit of the report of the technical committee on the “Greater Lokoja Water Project, originally initiated in 1995 by the military administration of Colonel Paul Omeruoh.

    Although, the central senatorial district of the state is blessed with big dams, like the Ekuku Dam and Osara Dam, which could effectively supply more than 50million gallons per day to the inhabitants of that part of the state and even the entire state, the atavistic politics in the state has been a major impediment against these water projects. The Irehu waterworks which use to supply potable drinking water to the people of Okene and environs have been reduced to a mere campaign tool for winning the votes of the people of that part of the state by political aspirants.

    If urgent measures are not taken by both the federal and state government to do something deliberate at addressing the age-long water crisis in Lokoja and Kogi State in general, the probability of an outbreak of disease, affecting the entire nation, due to the strategic location of the state as a gateway to all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria cannot be ruled out.

     

    • Hussain Obaro,

    Ilorin, Kwara State.

  • Jega’s legacy of honour

    Jega’s legacy of honour

    •He has done well; but we must continue to work towards strengthening INEC 

    The nation was virtually on tenterhooks. The March 28 presidential election had successfully held nationwide despite logistical lapses in some areas. Yet, the unprecedented number of voters who participated in the exercise believed in the integrity of the process and the sanctity of their votes. As the vote collation entered the third day and concluding stages under the exhaustive coverage of national and global media, it was obvious that the incumbent, Dr Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was heading for defeat, with President Muhammadu Buhari of the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) having the upper hand.

    All of a sudden, an unanticipated drama erupted. The PDP polling agent, Elder Godswill Orubebe, a former Minister of the Federal Republic, seized the centre stage at the venue. He snatched the microphone, threw tantrums, accused the electoral umpire of being biased in favour of the opposition and disrupted proceedings for nearly half an hour. It appeared to be a carefully planned plot to abort the process.

    But the man in charge of proceedings, Professor Attahiru Jega, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not fall for the bait. He remained calm and unruffled until an apparently exhausted Orubebe dropped the microphone and regained his composure. After cautioning Orubebe against such behaviour, especially given his status in society in an exhibition of deep intellect and maturity, Jega continued with his sensitive task. Ex-President Jonathan later that day called Buhari on phone to congratulate him on his victory shortly before Jega announced the results of the historic election. Two weeks later, Jega’s INEC conducted substantially successful state governorship and House of Assembly elections, even though the latter were marred by brazen violence and rigging, especially in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

    On Tuesday, Professor Jega voluntarily bowed out of office at the expiration of his five-year tenure. He is no doubt leaving behind a legacy of honour. He conducted himself throughout his occupation of the hot seat with dignity and integrity. Most Nigerians applauded his nomination on June 8, 2010 as Chairman of INEC by President Jonathan because of his track record as an honest, principled, committed and patriotic academic, administrator and activist.

    Yet, some also felt that as a member of the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral reforms Committee that recommended the appointment of the INEC Chairman by the National Judicial Council (NJC) rather than the President, he ought not to have accepted the offer. But the nation is certainly the better for his acceptance to serve. Jega has set a standard, which future occupants of the office will be under pressure to maintain, if not exceed.

    Despite Jega’s successes, there is still a long way to go towards achieving the credible and reliable electoral system that can guarantee democratic sustainability in Nigeria. True, the introduction of Electronic Card Readers and Permanent Voters Cards under Jega have enhanced the integrity and transparency of the process.  However, it is still necessary to implement those aspects of the Justice Uwais panel, such as involving the judiciary in the appointment of the INEC chairman to guarantee greater autonomy as well as taking more effective steps to apprehend and punish electoral offenders.

    Jega’s tenure also showed that it is not enough to have a man of integrity at the head of the commission while some Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and other lower to middle cadre officers remain vulnerable to partisan and corruptive influences. Professor Jega tried with a high degree of success to overcome this problem by appointing his trusted vice-chancellor colleagues as Returning Officers. Commendable as this innovation may be, there is no alternative to having an electoral process built on systemic credibility and integrity irrespective of the personality at its helm. We congratulate Professor Jega for his patriotic and courageous service to his nation and wish him success in his future endeavours.

  • Why Calabar Port must work

    SIR: There is no gain saying the fact that Calabar Port is very strategic to the economic development of Nigeria.  When functional, it will increase the volume of vessel traffic and cargo throughput in the port, decongest Lagos ports and reduce cost of doing business for Calabar-based businessmen who spend additional transport cost to take delivery of their consignments in Lagos and Onne ports.

    It is for these reasons that former President Goodluck Jonathan, on November 17, 2014, flagged off the operations of Calabar Channel Management (CCM), a joint venture company between Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and a consortium of companies led by Messrs Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited, for the dredging of the Calabar Port. Recall that previous Federal Governments had made several investments to dredge the port to ensure safe navigation, but such efforts had proved abortive with billions of naira sunk.

    Despite the landmark achievements by CCM in the dredging as alluded to by all the stakeholders, including the NPA, it is learnt that CCM has not been paid by the NPA since inception of the project. Not even the usual mobilization fee, required in such contracts; a situation which gives room for concern.

    The action of the NPA management has raised concerns by maritime watchers who wondered why the management would allocate little funds to the Calabar Channel dredging project which has massive infrastructural outlay which includes the on-going capital dredging campaign. Though there seems to be a new dawn at the NPA with the recent appointment of Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero as the Managing Director, who wants to change things positively, there is said to be a cabal lobbying him to toe its line in order to frustrate the operation of these ports.

    Maritime watchers are of the opinion that the Calabar Port project must not be allowed to go the way of previous contracts. They want President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene urgently so that all encumbrances and those directly and remotely frustrating the project are removed for the full realization of the Calabar Port.

    They call on the president to put the issue on the front burner as he reels out his economic blue print for the country soon.

     

    • Princewill Umoh

    Calabar

     

  • Fight in the House

    •Members must resolve that never again would such recur

    The parliament is a constitutional hotbed for controversies and disagreements. This is because, it is a platform to superimpose ideas and contest for the appropriation of the resources of the state. But it is not a boxing ring or a wrestling corner. The fights in parliament are usually between ideas, not between parliamentarians. So, the brawl at the 8th House of Representatives over leadership positions was an aberration. Coming at the beginning of their tenure, it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good, and the members must forestall a recurrence.

    We understand that emotions are part of human physiology, and when the stakes are high, it occasionally runs over. But were the issues in contention high on parliamentary stakes? The answer is an emphatic No. It had nothing to do with the security and welfare of the people. The tussle was with regards to the selection of the principal officers of the House, with the Speaker and his clique accused of trying to impose their personal agenda on their party.

    We condemn such a brazen attempt by the House leadership, and urge the contending parties to reach an amicable resolution. Considering that political parties are a democratic vehicle, the leadership of the House who are members of the ruling party ought to engage the party leadership, to hammer out a consensus; instead of bringing their dirty laundry before Nigerians. Indeed, we are surprised that despite the provisions of the constitution and the House rules over the selection of the House Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Whip and Deputy Majority Whip; the Speaker, his deputy and their supporters are seeking to supplant their party leaders over that issue.

    The manifest indiscipline exhibited by members of the House of Representatives, like virus, also mutated at the Benue State House of Assembly. There, a member of the majority party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in violation of extant laws, chose to break ranks with his colleagues, by crossing over to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The members, instead of arresting the aberration through the instruments of the court, chose to take matters into their hands, as they engaged in scuffles, in the same manners as mere touts would do.

    In the two instances, the Houses which just resumed after their inauguration beat a quick retreat into a forced recess. While they are at their un-earned holidays, members will no doubt continue to receive salaries and allowances for services that have not been rendered. We are also worried that in the House of Representatives, there was an attempt to forcefully take away the Mace, the symbol of authority of the parliament. As shown on television, the members aggregated around the Mace, with the contending parties each pulling for its control. What is unknown is who had the interest to forcefully take the Mace out of the chambers.

    With the national parliament embroiled in controversy, apparently from lack of party discipline, it is important to remind the members of their promises at the election that propelled them to power. So, the ruling party members in the National Assembly must wake up to their responsibilities, unless of course, they want to end their political career at their present altars. But even if that is the case, the long-suffering Nigerians already pushed to the wall by the past governments, may now choose to push back, at grave consequences for our dear nation.

  • Another container accident

    Another container accident

    It was bad enough that the truck involved in the tragic accident that claimed the lives of 12 undergraduates of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, on June 26 was carrying a container allegedly not strapped and potentially dangerous to other road users. It was worse that the driver of the truck was driving against the traffic when it collided with the Toyota Hiace bus in which the students were travelling to Lagos.  The 20-feet container fell off the truck, crushing the bus and the passengers.

    Regrettably, in an understandable emotional reaction, hundreds of incensed students of the university took the law into their own hands and vandalised a plastic factory on the Lagos-Ore Expressway said to be linked with the truck. Products and trucks on the factory’s premises were targeted by the protesters who demanded that the policemen and officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Ogun State Traffic Agency (TRACE) on duty when the accident happened be prosecuted for negligence and dereliction of duty. The students also reportedly threatened to carry out a repeat action if the relevant authorities failed to bring the implicated truck driver to justice within one week.

    It is alarming that accidents involving fallen containers continue to happen with such frequency on the roads, often resulting in avoidable deaths.  It is instructive to note that a study by the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) identified the causes of container accidents, including rickety trucks, overloading, bad roads, absence of weigh bridges at loading points and declaration of false weight. But the group pointed out that the chief factor is the absence of regulations; and where there are regulations, the absence of enforcement.

    From all indications, there are serious problems concerning the enforcement of the regulation that containers should be properly strapped to trucks, and it doesn’t require a prophet of doom to foresee a continuation of tragedies like this one if nothing is done to make truck drivers and their employers respect and obey the law.

    In this case, it is reassuring that the Ogun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga,  led a government delegation to sympathise with  the OOU   Governing Council  and also visited the only survivor of the accident, Miss Akinbo Laughter Ibukunoluwa, at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan Remo. More importantly, the deputy governor warned that the government would not tolerate reckless driving and would not hesitate to sanction wrong-way motorists.  It is hoped that the tough talk was not just circumstantial.

    To give teeth to the talk, the government should get to the bottom of this particular accident and punish the culpable to serve as a deterrent to others. In addition, the government should look into the demand by the students that compensation should be paid to the victims’ families. As Onanuga observed, “It is sad that the students died in their prime, at a time the country needs the younger generation to contribute their knowledge towards the growth of the society.” It is necessary to appeal to the angry students to sheathe their swords and allow the law to take its course; and it is equally important that justice should be seen to be done in the matter.

    More fundamentally, there is an urgent need for the agencies established for road traffic purposes to wake up and be alive to their responsibilities. It is counter-productive and unacceptable to treat such accidents as acts of God when the tragedies can be traced to individuals who failed to play their official roles.

     

  • Garlands all the way

    Garlands all the way

    •Four young Nigerians, scientists obtain international recognition

    At a time when the news that come through the international news channels are negative and the local reward system perverted, something gladdening came last week as four young Nigerians were honoured by the Queen for contributing greatly to global development. They were part of young persons, aged between 18 and 29, credited with being innovative and thus contributing to development across the world. Nigeria was the only country that had four awards; others, including Canada and Britain had only three awardees each.

    It was one of such occasions that brought back memories of those days when Nigerians were proud of their nationality and heritage. It was a time Nigerians in other countries could declare that their country is not in the news at all times for the negative reasons. We identify with the four Nigerians- Isaiah Owolabi, Kelvin Ogholi, Nkechukwu Azinge and Oladipupo Ajiroba. They are, indeed, heroes. This is a convenient point to advocate restoration of integrity to local awards. This would help to feed the international community with potential winners of awards such as the Queen’s Young Leaders Award.

    We hope that these young Nigerians would see the recognition as the beginning of greater things to expect. They should not rest on their oars, but realise that there is still much more that could be achieved on the domestic scene. The task of building a new Nigeria rests squarely on educated, creative, patriotic and committed young Nigerians. In the 1940s, young Nigerians, through the instrumentality of the Zikist Youth Movement were at the vanguard of the anti-colonial struggle. Unfortunately, today, many young Nigerians have fallen prey to the prevailing quest for material wealth at all cost. This has perverted national values and ethos.

    It is equally heartwarming that in the field of science and technology, Nigeria is making waves at the global stage. Dr. Samuel Achilefu, a Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering has recorded a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer. He was thus honoured with the St. Louis Award in the United States of America. As in the case of the young award winners, it is interesting that his too is not a local award whose integrity could be doubted. He led a team of painstaking researchers into a field where not much progress has been made for decades. The imaging technology that the team has pioneered is believed to be very useful to oncology surgeons. However, we are concerned that talents are not being encouraged locally to take the lead in researches. Our academic institutions are all run down and can hardly afford to pay salaries. There are many Achilefus in Nigerian universities who are unable to contribute to the advancement of mankind and the environment.

    The Nigerian National Merit Award has become more of a scheme to acknowledge the contribution of retired or tired academics that encourage breakthrough. This must be reordered. If the French had not funded Dr. Achilefu and America had not provided a conducive environment, he would not be the cynosure  that he is today.

    The Nina Ndubuisi, a United Kingdom-based woman in developing a lifestyle programme to enhance management of obesity in women and children cannot be glossed over, either. The Slim with Ease Scheme that she developed has been acknowledged by the World Health Organisation. Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General praised Ndubuisi’s contribution to knowledge, while contending that it has become a veritable health concern globally. Chan said much of the cases arise from non-alcoholic beverages that are the toast of children. He told a gathering in Hong Kong that the number of obese children increased from four to nine million between 1990 and 2013. Globally, the number stands at 42 million today, with attendant risks.

    It is not enough for Nigerians to shine abroad, the local environment must improve to allow creativity and scholarship.

    ‘We hope that these young Nigerians would see the recognition as the beginning of greater things to expect. They should not rest on their oars, but realise that there is still much more that could be achieved on the domestic scene. The task of building a new Nigeria rests squarely on educated, creative, patriotic and committed young Nigerians’ 

     

  • Hate killings in the U.S.

    Hate killings in the U.S.

    •Another reminder that America must check access to assault weapons

    Intriguingly, while science professes insignificant differences in the make-up of races, man rather prefers to promote huge differences between races. The result sometimes is insipient hatred; the type that apparently led Dylann Roof, a 21-year old white American man, to shoot to death, nine black-Americans who were holding a prayer meeting at Emmanuel African-American Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America. The murderer who walked into the church and stayed for about an hour at the back seat, spewed words of hate, before using his semi-automatic gun to kill his victims at close range.

    Our heart goes out to the families of the victims, and to the American people, as they grieve over these senseless killings. We identify with the mournful admonition of President Barak Obama when he said: “There is something particularly heartbreaking about death in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace, in a place of worship”. That Mr Roof could carry his hate against fellow human beings, just because of the colour of their skin, into the house of their common creator, without appreciating the irony, shows the level of his depravity.

    But there is the need for the United States to do a soul searching, as to why its society provides opportunity for such mass murders. On this score, the observation of President Obama is important when he said, “Once again innocent people were killed because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hand on gun”. A similar killing of nine persons at a place of worship, also took place at the Wat Promkumaram temple near Phoenix in 1991. There are several other mass killings by individuals who can be better described as mentally deranged. But whether for any reason or none, what is shocking is the easy access to assault weapons, by American citizens.

    That is the point President Obama was making in his speech after the tragic shooting. For us and we guess many others, it is unacceptable that the American society, despite its boast about sophistication, has been unable to bring the debate on gun control to a positive closure. Over the years, despite the significant abuses to which guns have been put by private citizens, American lawmakers have continually shied away from reining in one of the gravest consequences of the American version of liberty. The reason for such incapacity is bribery and corruption, which they euphemistically call gun-lobby.

    Mr Roof who has been charged to court for the Charleston shooting, is a high school dropout from Eastover South Carolina, and the church established in 1816 is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is why it is called Mother Emmanuel. The shooter, according to his social media account, wore a dress bearing patches of the flag of the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa, and according to reports, was hoping to ignite a race war by his nefarious conduct. Significantly, the relations of the victims, at the first court hearing against Roof, offered words of love and forgiveness, in exchange for the miserable taunts of the racist.

    Of note, the culprit was apprehended less than 15 hours after the shooting, in North Carolina. He has also been taken to court and charged for his offences, without the kind of delay and laxity that we witness in our clime. Significantly, the American justice system is swiftly moving to rein in the dastardly conduct of the killer. Nevertheless, we join others to admonish the United States, that acts like that of Mr Roof should have no place in a civilised society.

    ‘Of note, the culprit was apprehended less than 15 hours after the shooting, in North Carolina. He has also been taken to court and charged for his offences, without the kind of delay and laxity that we witness in our clime. Significantly, the American justice system is swiftly moving to rein in the dastardly conduct of the killer’ 

  • Rescuing the naira

    Rescuing the naira

    •CBN’s exclusion of some importers from official forex sale is long overdue

    The free fall of the nation’s currency, the naira, to the American dollar, and the wanton deployment of the latter for frivolous pursuits demand serious approach from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). So, we are not astonished at the latest measure by the apex bank to salvage the naira and prevent waste in the foreign exchange market,  so that local industries can regain their rhythm. As a matter of fact, the measure ought to have come earlier than now.

    The concern of the CBN to curb unnecessary deployment of the dollar was the thrust of a circular signed by Olakanmi Gbadamosi, its director, trade and exchange, dated June 23, 2015. The CBN in it declared: “In the continuing efforts to sustain the stability of the forex market and ensure efficient utilisation of forex and the derivation of optimum benefits from goods and services imported into the country, it has become imperative to exclude importers of some goods and services from accessing foreign exchange at the Nigerian forex markets in order to encourage local production of these items.’’

    The circular gave a list of items whose importation, though not banned, would henceforth be denied access to forex utilisation at the official level to include: rice, private jets, textiles, cement, tomato paste, margarine, palm kernel, vegetable oil, poultry products like chicken, eggs and turkey; Indian incense, tinned fish in sauce (Geisha, sardines), cold rolled steel sheets, galvanised steel, roofing sheets, wheelbarrows, head pans, metal boxes and containers, and enamelware. Others are steel drum, steel pipes, wire mesh, steel nails, wire rods, security wire, wood particle and board, wood fibre boards and panel, plywood board and panel, wooden doors, toothpicks, glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, tiles and wooden fabrics, plastic and rubber products, and soap and cosmetics.

    What is of great concern now is that the country’s external reserve, in the face of dwindling oil price, is being eroded at an alarming rate. Apart from the items listed above on which the country spends a lot of hard-earned foreign exchange, the quantum of hard currency expended on mostly unverifiable fuel imports and presidential waivers on inconsequential things over the years are too much for a healthy foreign reserve or for the naira’s value to be kept reasonably high. This is compounded by the conspicuous consumption of public office holders, especially the governors across the federation, who mostly take delight in buying private jets that not only have negative effects on the public till but also leaves the foreign reserves greatly eroded.

    The CBN should try everything to arrest the free fall of the naira so as to save local industries by boosting local production, thereby generating employment. It is an open fact that the discouragement of importation of the avoidable will bring down the escalating price of dollar; and a satisfactory realisation of this goal can also drastically mitigate the recurring balance of payment deficit being faced by the country.

    Stoppage of forex sales to importers of the listed items that can be produced locally is good but we doubt whether there will not be a relapse in enforcement somewhere along the line. Without attempting to be an incurable pessimist, given our experience, we are compelled to ask; how effective will this idea be in the long run?

    Well, we can only hope this latest initiative from the CBN will not be just one of those policy initiatives that will go with the wind.

    ‘Stoppage of forex sales to importers of the listed items that can be produced locally is good but we doubt whether there will not be a relapse in enforcement somewhere along the line. Without attempting to be an incurable pessimist, given our experience, we are compelled to ask; how effective will this idea be in the long run?’

  • Where are the trillions?

    •N42trn earnings in four years, yet Nigeria is broke and in debt

    This manner of recklessness could be said to be unprecedented just as the damage is extensive. The only consolation the country may be left with today is that the chicken has finally come home to roost and we are well about picking the pieces.

    According to report, an estimated N42 trillion revenue accrued to the coffers of the Federal Government in the four-year period of 2011 to 2014; this was during the era of President Goodluck Jonathan. Incidentally, these were Nigeria’s most recent oil boom years when the price of crude oil averaged $100 per barrel and production quota was in the region of two mbpd (million barrels per day).

    However, these were the years of the locust, it seemed. The more revenue that accrued to the nation, the faster it seemed to be frittered away. In fact, it was not only that earnings were vanishing as fast as they hit the treasury, Nigeria’s debts continued to mount.

    Speaking with the state governors recently, President Muhammadu Buhari had admonished them about the importance of fiscal discipline in the management of resources accruing to their states. The governors had visited the president to seek for financial bailout as most of them are several months in arrears of their workers’ salary bills. Such is the level of the nation’s despair despite huge revenues.

    “There are financial and administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all these were thrown to the dogs” Buhari said, expressing shock that the governors who sought bailout now were the same that tolerated the fiscal atrocities committed with the Excess Crude Account (ECA) since 2011. Most of the revenue loss during this period is attributable to non-remittance of earnings by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government. In such sector as oil and gas from which the bulk of the nation’s wealth is earned, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, in cahoots with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) finagled with earning so much that they became almost sovereign unto themselves.

    The Jonathan years were singularly characterised by ineptitude, impunity and mind-boggling corruption. There was also a total lack of transparency and accountability while government officials at all levels carried on as if it was an endless street party. It was mis-governance at a level that had no parallel.

    Though it could be argued that insurgent activities of the Boko Haram terror group may have compounded the problems and raised the cost of governance, examples abound to show that this is not a tenable excuse for a most profligate era. Take the example of the so-called fuel subsidy payouts. From a total of about N300 million in 2010, it sky-rocketed to about N1.2 trillion in 2011/2012 and more worrisome, it all turned out a massive fraud. Not one of the supposed oil marketers who made away with billions of naira was convicted or made to pay back since 2012.

    More galling however is that with an average earning of N10 trillion per year, there are no visible investment in the critical areas of the economy. Power generation, perhaps the most niggling infrastructural challenge of the nation remains at sub 4,000 megawatts level it was before Jonathan’s time. Other areas like roads and transportation, health and education did not fare much better. Human development indices too remain at the nadir among nations.

    Today, the crunch has come; crude oil prices have crashed just as the nation’s currency and there is not even enough fund to pay the salary and pensions of civil servants. We are consoled however that the new man in the saddle, President Buhari seems to have a grasp of the situation at hand. Apart from plugging the leakages, he must insist on fiscal discipline at all levels of government. That is the way forward.

  • Bank fraud epidemic

    •We need a mechanism that will reduce this to the barest minimum

    Nearly 10 years after consolidation, followed by an earth-shaking sanitisation exercise four years after, all would seem far from well with the Nigerian banking industry. While a lot may have changed for good in the general service landscape as a whole, thanks to the rapid deployment of new technologies, the same bad habits by the operators which once plunged the sector into ruin would appear to have endured.

    That, at least, was the picture as presented by Henry Semenitari, chief executive officer of one of the nation’s banks last week – himself quoting from the latest Financial Institutions Training Centre publication –the FITC Report on Frauds and Forgeries in Banks. According to the bank chief, between January and September 2014, a total of 8,502 fraud cases were recorded in the banking sector involving N23.34bn. As if this figure is not itself alarming enough, – the report, said to be based on 66 returns received from 22 banks – would appear a measure of how pervasive the scourge is to the entire financial services industry.

    As for the cases, they were said to stem from fraudulent ATM withdrawals, computer fraud, fraudulent withdrawals, suppression of entries and opening/operating fraudulent accounts.

    Admittedly, the situation at this time hardly requires hitting the panic button; rather, what it calls for is urgent action to check the scourge which has the potential both to erode the trust and ultimately bring the financial services industry to its knees. Nigeria, currently faced with a haemorrhaging public sector would certainly be doomed were the financial sector to suffer the same fate.

    Of course, we appreciate that no financial services sector can claim to be immune from fraudsters – either from within or without. We understand also that the layers of checks and controls instituted by the banks merely increase the chances of detection of frauds only after they occur; that the checks in themselves do not guarantee that abuses of the system by criminal delinquents would not occur. The challenge here is how our banks could put in place a mechanism that works, a system that reduces the chances of abuses to the very minimum – and when they occur – make the prospect of detection near-certainty.

    Obviously, the banking industry still has a long way to go in this regard. Indeed, it would appear that necessary infrastructure for such does not yet exist. Given that one notorious feature of the financial services environment is the absence of infrastructure for background checks on the sector’s potential employees, the result is an industry that harbours employees who ordinarily would have no business in the sector. Having been let in, they almost inevitably end up preying on the system. And in the atmosphere in which the security agencies that could have helped to ameliorate the situation are themselves bogged down by systemic failures and derelictions, the situation is left to thrive. We think the time has come for the Bankers Committee and the security agencies to work in concert – to deal with the problem once and for all.

    Of course, that nearly all the banks are involved itself says a lot. It is either the banks’ overall systems of financial controls are weak or simply inadequate. Again, who else but the Bankers Committee can fix it? The committee might wish to take a closer look at the system with a view to bringing it up to speed with the challenge.