The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • A compromised IG?

    A compromised IG?

    •The legal thing to do is restore Speaker Tambuwal’s security detail

    Though long speculated and expected, it was only natural that the defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable AminuTambuwal, from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on October 28 would create serious political ripples. Despite the resultant verbal cross-fire, especially between the two parties, the politicians have conducted themselves with uncharacteristic restraint and respect for the law on the matter.

    For instance, there was no pandemonium on the floor of the House after the Speaker’s bombshell. He still adjourned proceedings peacefully as the legitimate Speaker. Speaking after an emergency meeting of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) to consider the development, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, demanded Tambuwal’s resignation as Speaker since the PDP controls a majority in the House. According to him, “After a thorough consideration of the matter, the NWC came to the conclusion that the Honourable Speaker as a responsible elected officer knows full well what is needful and honourable of him since his new party is in the new minority”.

    Sounding a similar note, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Mr Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, said “He should do the needful as there is no crisis in the PDP. Tambuwal has only been a member of PDP by mouth. He has been associating with the opposition”. On his part, the Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Honourable Leo Ogor, also of the PDP said that the party would await the verdict of the judiciary on the legality or otherwise of a legislator defecting from one party to the other.

    All these PDP chieftains are obviously aware that Tambuwal is still the legitimate and legal Speaker of the House until he is removed in accordance with constitutional stipulations. Against this background, how do we explain the hasty action of the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, who has withdrawn Tambuwal’s security detail, claiming that the latter is no more a member of the House according to his own interpretation of Section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 constitution. He feigns ignorance of the fact that 37 PDP members of the House who had earlier defected to the APC remain members of the legislature as a judicial interpretation of Section 68 (1) (g) of the constitution is being awaited. Rather, he has chosen to do violence to the constitution by usurping the functions of the judiciary.

    It is amazing that Mr Abba, who is a lawyer, is oblivious of the fact that the Speaker of the House can only be removed in accordance with Section 50 (2) of the constitution which requires a resolution passed by votes of not less than two thirds majority of members of the House. Furthermore, by his glaring bias and partisanship, the Acting IG has seriously undermined the credibility of his office. Despite defecting along with her colleagues from the Labour Party (LP) to the PDP last month, the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Honourable Jumoke Akindele, retains her security details. That is also the case with the Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Ahmadu Fintiri, who has undertaken a voyage from the PDP to the APC and back to the PDP without police harassment.

    Could the Acting IG have taken this action without the knowledge of President Goodluck Jonathan who appointed him? It is unlikely. This is another serious blow to the image and dignity of the presidency. Even if this grovelling unprofessionalism earns Mr Suleiman Abba the confirmation he craves, it will be at the cost of grossly devaluing his professional integrity and effectiveness. His only redeeming grace will be to urgently restore Honourable Tambuwal’s security aides for as long as he remains Nigeria’s number four citizen.

     

  • Open management, please

    Open management, please

    •Independent manager should take over administration of the Federation Account

    The call by the chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr. Elias Mbam, for an independent manager of the Federation Account is well thought out and deserves active consideration by federal lawmakers. Mr. Mbam, who spoke while receiving a Kenyan delegation led by the chairman of the country’s Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee of the National Assembly, Njoroge Baiye, said the creation of such an office would reduce the tension between the three tiers of government. He described the situation whereby the Accountant-General of the Federal Government whose loyalty is to the federal executive is also the accountant managing the Federation Account as the basis for the current mutual suspicion among the governments.

    It is difficult to fault the logic. The major agency responsible for collecting the revenue accruing to the Federation Account is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Its leadership is constituted by the Federal Government and reports to the Minister of Petroleum Resources who is a member of the Federal Executive Council. And, in turn, the manager of the account is another key appointee of the Federal Government who reports to the President as the Chief Executive of the Federation. It has thus led to friction and conflict between the state governments and the Federal Government, with the states arguing that the NNPC has continued to under-remit to the Federation Account. In the past two years, in particular, the argument has been recurring and many times, the states refused to accept their allocations. Consequently, salaries have been delayed and capital projects stalled.

    We support Mr. Mbam’s call because in this age and time, openness and transparency should be the watchword. The Office of an Independent Accountant-General of the Federation with a guaranteed tenure and in whose appointment the states have a say should be created without further delay. He would feel less obliged to do the bidding of the Federal Government.

    Even in developed countries where institutions of state are less susceptible to government manipulation, major national investigations are pulled out from the bureaucracy and handed to independent investigators. A case in point was the investigation of the sexual harassment charge against the United States’ President Bill Clinton. The attorney general had to appoint an independent investigation that indicted the President.

    In a federation run in accordance with the principles of federalism as spelt out by Professor K. C. Wheare, no tier of government should be superior to the other. It is yet to be understood even by government officials, that allocations to federating units from the Federation Account are not dole-outs by the Federal Government. The NNPC has no right to withhold remittances and where this is done, it is an infraction of the law and should be so treated.

    Consistently, since 1999, the RMAFC has been doing a lot of work, pointing out Federal Government’s wrongdoings; yet, states have continued to complain about deliberate underfunding. Another variant of the complaint is that some states are deliberately starved of funds because they are controlled by the opposition parties, while those belonging to the ruling party enjoy special relationship with the federal executive. Evidence has not been adduced in support of this, but it stemmed out of suspicion and lack of transparency.

    We call on the National Assembly to consider the necessary amendment to the constitution that would engender trust among the tiers of government and promote the Rule of Law in all transactions in the country.

     

  • Auto finance

    Auto finance

    •Nigeria’s banks must step up their capabilities in this regard

    ECONOMISTS and patriots are united in the belief that the indigenes should be the most passionate drivers of the growth and development of any country. Given this fact, it is a surprise that South Africa’s WesBank appears to have stolen a march on its Nigerian counterparts. The bank recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigeria’s National Automotive Council (NAC) to provide financing for the purchase of made-in-Nigeria vehicles.

    This scheme is very likely to be beneficial to all parties when it eventually takes off. Nigeria’s fledgling auto manufacturing industry will get the increased orders that are vital to its survival and growth. Employment will increase, as both the car-makers and ancillary industries will require highly-skilled indigenous labour. The country’s long-suffering middle class will finally be able to get its hands on brand-new vehicles at a fraction of their current cost.

    However, it is disheartening that it should be a South African financial institution that appears to have taken the lead in this initiative. In spite of the comprehensive effort to increase the size and capabilities of Nigerian banks during the tenure of Professor Charles Soludo as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor between 2004 and 2009, it is strange that the NAC could not reach agreement with a local bank, but had to look outside the country’s borders. Nigerian banks are no strangers to asset-financing operations; several of them have hire-purchase agreements with local businesses to facilitate the purchase of electronics, home appliances, real estate and vehicles.

    Since local banks lack neither the financial nor the technical ability to get into the country’s nascent auto-finance industry for locally-assembled vehicles, it is obvious that their seeming reluctance is a carry-over from their notorious reluctance to engage in feasible long-term financing. In its 2012 annual report, the CBN noted that deposit money banks overwhelmingly favoured short-term loans to medium and long-term loans. Outstanding loans and advances maturing one year and below stood at 59.1 per cent as at the end of June 2012, compared to 14.8 per cent for medium-term (above one year and below three years) and 26.1 per cent for long-term loans (three years and above).

    In their defence, banks point to the very high interest rates obtainable in Nigeria, the demands of their shareholders, and the many obstacles inherent in long-term financing in the country. These excuses, however, cannot fully explain the preparedness of a foreign bank to wade into the Nigerian market despite its well-known dangers. Indeed, WesBank is following in the path of South African companies like MTN and Multichoice, both of whom are reaping rich rewards for going boldly where others feared to tread. The obvious downside is the reality that foreign companies will seek to repatriate their profits, unlike their indigenous counterparts who are much more likely to reinvest in the Nigerian market, with the obvious multiplier effects.

    Nigeria’s banks must take the lead in extending credit facilities for the purchase of locally-assembled cars. The increasing sophistication of the banking sector, as shown in the rise of cashless and online transactions, can easily be parlayed into the provision of financing for the acquisition of made-in-Nigeria vehicles. The substantial experience banks have garnered in hire-purchase and asset-leasing will stand them in good stead. While the profits may not be as large as those that can be gained in short-term financing, they are arguably far less risky since they are more comprehensively spread out.

    The wider benefits to the nation cannot be underestimated: a decrease in the number of unbanked citizens, faster transition from a cash economy to a credit economy, the deepening of the country’s retail trade, and a much more attractive market for foreign and domestic investors. It is time for Nigeria’s banks to put their money where their mouths are.

  • Ogun’s worthy steps

    Ogun’s worthy steps

    •A commendable industrialisation drive; but it has to take full advantage of its proximity to Lagos

    FOR a state ranked as one of the lowest overall performers in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report for 2008 and 2010, it is understandable that the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, would be exultant at the latest finding of the global bank’s Doing Business in Nigeria 2014 publication that the state is now among those that “made the biggest strides towards the national frontier of good practices”.

    The report specifically focused on variables such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property and enforcing contracts. It found that Ogun State in particular, has radically overhauled its construction permit system by decentralising the approval while also putting in place a committee to monitor delays. The finding obviously says a lot about what is achievable with proper focus and single-minded commitment to reforms at different tiers of government.

    However, the findings in respect of Ogun State go beyond mere attestation to the valiant efforts of the state government under Governor Amosun to reposition the state’s economy. Indeed, the recent report of the preparedness of over 100 companies to locate their manufacturing outfits in the state, of which 32 are said to be already on ground at different levels of operation, would seem proof enough that the state government may finally be getting things right.

    No doubt, there is a lot that the Amosun administration can learn from the Doing Business Report. Perhaps the most important is that it is not yet Uhuru – at least as far as the industrialisation drive of the state is concerned. To start with, a number of the problems highlighted – and these are not entirely its making – remain impregnable. It bears stating here that the state can only achieve limited results in an environment which remains largely hostile to business. We refer here to the abject state of power and other infrastructure which make the country essentially a non-starter as far as creating a competitive business environment is concerned. We are also aware of a number of extant practices which are no less inhibitive to businesses which only the Federal Government is in the position to address.

    Admittedly, the state government has done a lot in the last three years to open up the state for investors and to enhance its status as investment destination. We must admit too that unlike many states in the federation, Ogun State has especially in the past three years gone beyond a mere promise.  It is undoubtedly one of the leading states in terms of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).  From a paltry monthly IGR of N700 million three years ago, the state currently rakes in N4 billion – thanks to its vastly improved machinery of collection of taxes and also its close collaboration with Lagos State on the residency rule.

    But it can do far more than it is doing at the moment. To be more specific, the state is still far from being able to optimise the immense benefits of its proximity to Lagos, the commercial capital of the federation. But then, Ogun’s latent potential as manufacturing hub of the federation, given its contiguity to Lagos, cannot be in dispute. It seems about time therefore for the state government to activate its promise of revving full throttle to make the aspirations real. With many tertiary institutions in the state, it is obvious the government must do a lot by way of job creation to provide for the products of these schools.

    Howbeit, the unmistakable signs are that Ogun State can do more. Indeed, given the declining inflow into the federation account, the state simply has no choice if it truly desires to deliver on the massive projects it has embarked upon. As we already pointed out however, the Federal Government must assist the state in addressing the challenges facing industrialisation because, in the long run, it would be beneficial to both the state and the country at large. It is not a burden the state government alone can carry.

  • Nigeria, Ebola and Western media

    Nigeria, Ebola and Western media

    SIR: Virtually all western/international media have been chattering on Nigeria’s successful campaign against the Ebola outbreak. Many of them even go as far as asking what lessons the West can learn from Nigeria’s handling of the crises. The World Health Organization declared Nigeria Ebola free last Monday.

    I find it interesting and amusing, albeit not surprising that the western media machinery (mostly US based) who have been perennially scornful of anything Nigerian are the ones giving overwhelmingly positive reviews of the country.

    For starters, the world’s most powerful nation has been hit with the Ebola virus and has been grappling gracelessly to rein in the scourge; also its peoples are paralyzed with fear. I read an article in The Daily Beast about doctors in the US complaining that their clinics are being overrun by Ebola scares. So it’s a situation where Western media now realize that those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones.

    Secondly, a ‘Now I see’ moment has suddenly dawned on the ‘Can anything good or right come out of Nigeria/Africa?’ mentality that pervades western media. Nobody in the West ever thought any African nation could successfully deal with the Ebola outbreak let alone Western media who all kept reporting paralyzing and heart-wrenching stories of the outbreak.

    And even with the glaring success Nigeria has recorded, there are still some western media folks with the mentality of “Until I get to Nigeria and thrust my hand in the sides and palms of Nigerians without contacting the Ebola virus I will not believe Nigeria is Ebola free”.

    Last Monday for instance, after reporting that the WHO had declared Nigeria Ebola free, Bloomberg’s Stephanie Ruhle asked her Market Makers co-host Erik Schatzker whether he believes Nigeria is really Ebola free, to which he responded “Why would WHO say that if it’s not true?” She then retorted: “You know what, I don’t know what I believe about Ebola these days”

    Ruhle’s response is emblematic in part, of the general western media skepticism about African capacity to deal with the virus, but mostly of the fear the Ebola virus has instilled the US.

    Yes, the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Health, ably headed by Prof. Onyeabuchi Chukwu, the Lagos State government, supporting Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and relevant NGOs developed and maintained in real time a highly coordinated strategic and tactical structure/mechanism to battle Ebola as soon as it broke out in Nigeria.

    Nigeria conquered the Ebola scourge largely due to the harmonious response of its citizenry especially to the fear of the virus.

    In the end, Nigeria did not close her borders, nor did she restrict flights and yet conquered Ebola virus because she refused to be overrun by the fear of it.

    If the US and other West African nations are looking for some lessons to learn other than the strategic and tactical approach of the Nigerian government, it should be the response of Nigerians to the fear of the virus, as the saying goes ‘the fear of death is to be more dreaded than death itself’; so also should the fear of Ebola be dreaded than the virus itself.

    It is the fear of the virus that is engendering fear mongering about the possibility of airborne Ebola in the US right now; it was the fear of the virus that led villagers in Guinea to butcher health workers and pastors who had in fact come to help them.

    Fear prompts paralysis and breeds paranoia and its consequences can be, and are tragic. Once the fear of the virus pervades, the spread of the virus overtakes any efforts made or progress gained. Nigerians couldn’t afford the consequences of fear and thus adopted the agencies of humour and prayers to complement government efforts.

    Now that’s a simple lesson worth learning.

    • Dolapo Ajala,

     

  • Jonathan’s secret panel

    Jonathan’s secret panel

    Oritsejafor, Asari-Dokubo should be probed openly over the $9.3m arms deal scandal

    The attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to surreptitiously clear the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and Alhaji Asari-Dokubo of any wrong doing in the $9.3 million arms deal scandal, through a secret panel, is a mockery of democratic ethos. In what appears an image laundry exercise, there is a report that a secret panel, allegedly set up by the Federal Government, drawn from security agencies to probe the involvement of the CAN President, whose private aircraft was used to ferry the money, and Asari-Dokubo, who was alleged to be among the persons that ferried the money to South-Africa, have cleared the duo of any wrongdoing.

    According to the release by PR Nigeria, a media outfit reportedly close to the military, “a special team, comprising security agents, intelligence experts and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has investigated the $9.3 million cash-for-arms deal and submitted its report to the Presidency”. We view the choice of a secret panel by the presidency which has been accused of collusion in the transaction as offending the legal maxim: Nemo unquam judicet in se – Let no one ever be a judge in his own cause. So, considering that many view with suspicion the relationship between President Jonathan and the indicted persons, it is dubious to clandestinely use executive powers to exonerate them.

    For the majority of Nigerians, the idea of a secret panel in a democracy is a misnomer. Such a procedure is a mockery of the doctrine of the rule of law, which should be the guiding principle for any democratic government. If indeed the Presidency is desirous of coming clean over that murky affair, what is appropriate would be an administrative panel of enquiry constituted in a manner to show its independence and capacity for impartiality. It is the panel that will publicly determine the extent of involvement of the CAN President and Asari-Dokubo, in the cash-for-arms deal.

    Anything short of a public enquiry would, as in the present circumstance, merely increase the level of suspicion among Nigerians, as to the real intention of the Presidency in the matter. As many have argued when the news broke, the CAN president whose plane was used to ferry the cash and Asari-Dokubo who was alleged to be on the plane, are notable supporters of the President, and who in their vociferous support for him, have threatened fire and brimstone against any perceived opponent of his. So, could it be that in his desperation to reciprocate their support for him, President Jonathan hurriedly forgot his constitutional oath to always act without fear or favour, in the discharge of his responsibilities?

    Also worrisome is why the names of the members of the panel should be a secret matter. In the current circumstance of secrecy, how do Nigerians know whether those who sat on the panel are not surrogates or relations of the investigated persons? Indeed, is it not possible that with the use of secret panel members, the actual findings of the panel could be supplanted with a false report or even the members clearly exhibiting bias, knowing that their identities are hidden from the public?

    With the report in the media that the panel has turned in its report to the Presidency, one can legitimately conclude that it was the President that set it up. But what is not clear is what rules and regulations the panel used to arrive at its advertised findings. Since its members were allegedly drawn from the security agencies, is it possible that they applied military standards in arriving at the decision? Or, could such a body apply the basic tenets of fair hearing, which implies the right of the accusers to be allowed to put their case against the accused and the need to offer an accused the opportunity to clear oneself in a circumstance devoid of any form of intimidation.

    To show that the panel may not have the requisite capacity to properly conduct such an enquiry, the media release said: “It was true that the CAN President’s jet was used, but we found out that it was without his knowledge … And you may be aware that the lease trend is peculiar to private jet owners in the country”. A simple question that this assertion failed to answer is whether even if it is a trend, is such a trend lawful, considering that the plane in question was purchased for private use, and for which taxes from such dubious income will not be paid? The report did not also explain why a private plane should be hired by the National Security Adviser and used for a military assignment. What is needed for all the parties concerned to come clean is an open and transparent enquiry, to allay the concerns of the general public.

    As far as we are concerned, those suspected of involvement in the scandal still have questions to answer, to exonerate themselves. That is not the duty of a secret panel.

  • Uprooted by tragedy

    Uprooted by tragedy

    We are yet to give the internally displaced persons in Nigeria the desired attention

    Shockingly, what many internally displaced persons (IDPs) have gone through, especially victims of the actions of the Islamist terror group Boko Haram, came to light via a statement by the Director of Information, The Catholic Church Diocese of Maiduguri, Rev. Fr. Gideon Obasogie. He said: “A good number of those trapped around the Cameroonian borders are gradually finding their way into Maiduguri. Recounting their ordeals, some will tell you how they fed on grass and insects. A group from Pulka community alone buried over 80 children, who took ill in the bush and died.”  Over 90, 000 Catholics have been uprooted by the developing tragedy, Obasogie noted, adding that the church has spent over N3 million on internal refugees at different locations in Maiduguri, Borno State.

    Relevant to this appalling picture is the information by the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Sani Sidi, at the opening of its annual consultative meeting with the heads of States Emergency Management Agencies. Sidi said about 734,062 persons were internally displaced by conflicts and disasters in various parts of the country; 676, 975 of them were displaced by conflicts and 66,087 by natural disasters. It is noteworthy that he pointed out: “Disaster occurrences and the number of affected people have risen significantly in recent years.”

    It is not clear how NEMA arrived at these figures, and it is worth mentioning that they are a far cry from the statistics publicised by 2014 Report of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and the Norwegian Refugee Council, which indicate that out of 33 million internal refugees across the world, about 3.3 million Nigerians are internally displaced because of the Boko Haram insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.  The yawning gap between the positions of the two bodies concerning the number of dislodged victims of the five-year-old violent campaign by Islamist terrorists in the affected areas is not only thought-provoking but also a cause for concern because it suggests that the scale of the problem may not have been fully captured and may indeed be beyond the range of the available figures.

    However, whatever might be the actual extent of the problem of internal displacement, the approach to remedial measures, not only to arrest the controllable causes but also to assuage the impact on victims, certainly deserves to be re-evaluated and reimagined, given the experiences highlighted by Obasogie. It is significant that Sidi said: “The challenges faced by displaced persons call for serious commitment.”  Unfortunately, this comment can be interpreted as an admission of a lack of “serious commitment”, which may well be the case.

    Such disturbing possibility, not to call it an alarming reality, is perhaps perceivable from the apparent inactivity and ineffectiveness of a related committee set up by the Federal Government in July. Considering the in-your-face actuality of the crisis, it amounts to a grave trivialisation that not much has been heard about the work of the Committee on Victims Support Fund headed by Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd) since its composition was announced by the presidency. It should be stressed that the committee’s stated responsibility, which is “to mobilise resources and administer appropriate support to victims of insurgency and Boko Haram terror activities across the country”, cannot be realised by mere talk. This committee needs to get its act together.

    Clearly, helping the internally displaced by perfecting relief structures and strategies must be given greater attention in the wider context of disaster management in the country. Ultimately, addressing the reality calls for a deep demonstration of what it means to have a caring and humane society.

  • Shameful brinksmanship

    •Time to rescue Nigeria’s football from an unconscionable cabal

    Again, for about the third time in the same number of months, the axe of the world football ruling body, FIFA dangles on the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). Nigeria faces the disgraceful prospect of being suspended from participating in all international football events as a result of persistent misbehaviour of her football administrators.

    Just as the Nigerian female football team was about to play in the finals of the African Women Championship in Windhoek, Namibia, last weekend, some misguided administrators were in court, obviously forum shopping and exploiting legal loopholes to throw spanner in the works.

    An exasperated Issa Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, could not contain his anger anymore; he berated Nigeria’s officials saying: “I had to plead passionately with FIFA President Mr. Sepp Blatter not to take action on Nigeria on Friday, because Nigeria was in the final of the African Women Championship and a ban on your country would have been bad for the competition and our sponsors. We all heard the news of the court ruling on Thursday and the football world is angry with Nigeria. That is the truth.”

    No sooner had the World Cup ended in Brazil last July than all hell seemed to have broken loose on Nigeria’s football. The ensuing crises led to two previous threats from FIFA to hand Nigeria a long suspension from playing football with the rest of the world. After what seemed like endless skirmishes, some harmony was achieved at a general convention of the NFF in September in Warri, Delta State, during which new executives were elected. Both FIFA and CAF affirmed the new officers and the world thought Nigeria had finally got her house in order. But that was only until last Thursday when a member returned to a court in Jos, Plateau State, which set aside the newly constituted NFF board.

    The issues plaguing the Nigerian football house are quite straightforward and uncomplicated, but like in most things Nigerian, the plain are made complex for the sake of personal gains. The first point to note is that football all over the world is governed by FIFA and every country must play by FIFA statutes. But not so in Nigeria, there is another set of local laws which sometimes run counter to FIFA’s rules.

    Second, in other climes, football (as in most other sports) is not the affair of government but usually that of association of club owners and stakeholders. They organise it strictly as business and they swim or sink according to their abilities, resources and ingenuity. Here, government has immersed itself in football; throwing ample fund around, which is the reason for the unrelenting scramble to control the football house.

    Reiterating the point, a peeved Hayatou had told Nigerian officials in Windhoek that: “Nigeria signed to be part of football by joining FIFA, and opted to abide by the FIFA-approved statutes… How many times do we have to tell your country that football matters are not to be taken to civil courts? If Nigeria no longer wants to be part of the world football, then so be it.”

    Not a few Nigerians are so disgusted with the shameful antics of the so-called football administrators that they would rather FIFA suspended Nigeria so that she may get sober and put her house in order. But suspension would harm the youths more who find in soccer, a viable escape from poverty and deprivation.

    For instance, Nigeria just won the AWC and has qualified to play in the world tourney. She won the World Under-17 men Championship last year and is preparing to defend it, while the senior team is playing in the qualifiers for the African Nations Cup, among others. All these redound positively on hundreds of youths not to mention the salutary effect of football in helping to uplift and unite the populace.

    It has become utterly embarrassing that Nigeria is now the universal metaphor for shoddy football management. Government must hands-off and set up an enabling environment for football to thrive in Nigeria.

  • State of abattoirs and meat markets

    State of abattoirs and meat markets

    SIR:  The state of our abattoirs/slaughter houses and meat markets is not only an eyesore but unhygienic and harmful to health. This situation has been worsened by government’s seemingly indifference. By the way, which agency is responsible for ensuring standardization and adoption of best practices in abattoirs and meat markets in this country?

    It starts from the abattoir. There is no one to inspect and ascertain if it is safe and healthy for consumption. The animal is stunned/killed and butchered on a slaughter floor that has not been washed for ages, darkened with blood and dung. Flies and vultures had of course feasted on the previous undisposed effluent and solid wastes, blood and bones. The hide or skin (as the case may be) is singed with fire ignited and kept alight with all sorts of fuel (wood and coal, rubber and plastic, kerosene and petrol, shells etc) including those that emit poisonous fumes and gases that are readily absorbed into the carcass.

    Retailers are already waiting for their choice parts, their sacks at hand, blood stained and smelling awful of yesterday’s use.

    Sitting behind his open ware in the meat market, the butcher is anticipating customers with a broom handy to chase the unwanted, patronizing flies. The superstitious man leaves the flies dancing happily on his meat with a belief that they facilitate sales. “If you don’t allow the poor flies to feed, how will God allow you?”, he says. A customer appears, chasing the flies fondly with a wave, he prizes and buys. The butcher delightfully cuts the meat for his customer on a stinking butcher’s block. The buyer lingers in the market buying other items and exchanging pleasantries while the diseases and harmful microbe flies had contaminated the meat with spread and brood.

    At home, he consumes his meat barely washed and poorly cooked. The media reports outbreak of an epidemic. Not even the victim suspects the meat; instead it is his uncle’s wife in the village.

    The truth remains that the state of abattoirs and meat markets in Nigeria is well below average. All the unhygienic practices adopted from the slaughter of unhealthy animals to consumption of contaminated meat are all to consumer’s detriment. The authority responsible for inspecting abattoirs and meat markets should wake to their duty. The local authorities should make the attainment of certain standards mandatory for the licensing of any slaughterhouse or meat market. This should include proper sanitation logistics and acquirement of processing and storage facilities.There should be certified veterinarians to inspect animals before and after slaughter. This is to ensure that animals with diseases such as swine flu and the B S E (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) are not consumed. A situation where scavengers and carnivores scamper for space during and especially after trading hours is unimaginably insanitary. There should be health inspectors to ensure that meat plants and selling depots adopt very high sanitation standard (this should be the work of officials of Sanitation Units in Medical and Health Departments of the Local Government authorities).

    Special attention should be paid to storage since this is the stage most of the contamination occur. Storage here means keeping meat in hygienic conditions until they are sold to the final consumer. A situation where meat is displayed in the open for files and micro-organism to comfortably brood is grossly unhygienic. These flies could cause diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery. They have also been associated with salmonella, anthrax and tuberculosis as well as transfer of eggs of parasitic worms to meat.

    Comparatively, fresh fish selling in Nigeria is better that meat selling health-wise. Sellers enclose fish in boxes padded with insulating materials. This is not necessarily because they have hygiene in mind but mostly because displaying their fish in the open will thaw them. If this is the case, selling meat to butchers in frozen state could be better off. This means that every abattoir should have freezing facilities as a minimum standard requirement just as meat markets should have accessible cooling facilities to store unsold meat.

    • Uzoaganobi Ebuka,

    Imo State.

  • Cyclic non-performing loans

    Cyclic non-performing loans

    •It signals a failing financial sector and general omen for the nation’s economy

    The report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that Deposit Money Banks recorded a N56.31 billion increase in non-performing loans as at end of August 2014, compared to a similar period last year, is worrisome. According to Dr. Stella Alade, CBN’s Deputy Managing Director, who presented the report, the 16.36 per cent increase in non-performing loans, represents an increase from N344.26 billion as at August 2013, to N400.57 billion, as at August 2014. The report also said that there has been an increase in gross loans by banks from N9.278 trillion as at August 2013, to N11.229 trillion as at August 2014, which amounts to 21.03 per cent increase.

    Our worry is that not long ago, the Federal Government needed to create the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to buy off trillions of bad debts, to stave off a major collapse of our financial industry. The loans, like the emerging scenario, were non-performing loans which the banks could no longer manage. As AMCON’s Managing Director, Mr. Chike Mustapha Obi, boasted, the corporation has achieved the primary purpose for which its act was made, with a caveat that it shall no longer buy new non-performing loans.

    Even before AMCON was created, the country witnessed a consolidation and clean-up of the banks under former CBN governors Charles Chukwuma Soludo and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as most of the banks were substantially under-capitalised, arising mainly from non-performing loans.

    So, it is right to ask whether with the increase in non-performing loans, we are taking the same road to another round of crisis in the financial sector. Even a more poignant question is; why is it that borrowers in Nigeria always find it difficult to pay back loans they take from the banks? Could it be that the banks lack the competence to engage in proper risk assessment before giving out the loans, or is it a cultural habit which is encouraged by our weak recovery process and inadequate punishment for loan payment defaults? Could it also be a result of weak supervisory roles or connivance of the regulatory agencies, like the CBN? Furthermore, could it be that the very harsh business environment, substantially arising from unstable government policies and infrastructural challenges have turned entrepreneurship in Nigeria to a nightmare? Nigerians need to know the cause of these seasonal crises.

    Interestingly the CBN report says that non-performing loans ratio stood at 3.57 per cent as at end of August 2014, representing a decrease of 14 basis points when compared with the corresponding period in 2013. The bank maintained however that banks in Nigeria remain adequately capitalised, with an average Capital Adequacy Ratio of 17.75 per cent as at end of August 2014, as against 18.1 per cent as at August 2013, using the Base II capital adequacy framework. She also said that under the Basel ll framework, the Industry Capital Ratio stood at 15.76 per cent as at end of August 2014, noting however that two unnamed banks fell below the prudential minimum of 10 per cent in the period under review.

    We acknowledge that from the report, there is some stability in the industry, but our worry is how come non-performing loans is on the increase? To stem that, we enjoin the CBN to improve on its capacity to monitor banks, and to take adequate steps to steer banks away from cyclic failures. We also urge the governments to improve infrastructure across the country. No doubt the major challenge facing the entrepreneur borrower is the poor infrastructure, particularly the failure of the Federal Government to provide electricity for businesses in the country.