The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Before we renew telecoms licences

    Before we renew telecoms licences

    • The issues of infrastructure and quality of service should be priority

    Sixteen months from now, the operating licences of the major telecommunications operators will be due for renewal. Those to be affected are MTN, Airtel and the moribund Mobile Telecommunications Limited, the mobile arm of the defunct Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL). The three operators had picked their licences on February 9, 2001. They are expected to revalidate the licences by February 18, 2016. Latter entrants like Globacom and Etisalat are to revalidate theirs in August, 2017 and March 2022, respectively.

    While it might seem premature to dwell on an exercise that is still a little over a year from now, the prevailing situation in the industry is such that demands not only that the regulator be up to speed in its oversight of the industry, but also to provide more strategic direction in the coming years.

    No doubt, the industry has come a long way. From a baseline of half a million lines, the industry has today grown to more than 131.1 million active subscribers within 14 years. Growth in the data sub-sector has been no less impressive; from near zero barely a decade ago, the latest available record from the National Communications Commission (NCC) – for June, puts the figure at 67,197,505 subscribers. While the development has confirmed the inherent possibilities in the Nigerian economy, it has also spawned a renewed focus on the challenges posed by the dearth of critical infrastructure – particularly of energy.

    Overall, the picture of the industry remains one of an under-achieving sector given the immense potential still locked in. Again, the challenges are not difficult to appreciate, being largely, derivatives of the dysfunctional environment under which typical Nigerian business is forced to operate. With public power supply virtually non-existent to power the cell-sites, the operators are forced to rely on generators. Also, security has become a big issue, particularly in the north-east. The situation, unfortunately, is hardly helped by the multiplicity of taxes and levies that the operators are forced to bear – all of which in the end drives costs up.

    There are however good grounds to see a huge chunk of the problems of the sector as being self-created. To start with, it is futile to de-link the current abysmal quality being experienced on the different networks from aggressive promotions that are regular features of the industry. The truth is that these promotions have not been matched by the requisite investment in network capacity. And while the operators have been content to deliver mouth-watering profits from year to year to their shareholders, customer frustrations from the unprecedented decline in Quality of Service (QoS), particularly in the rising incidences of dropped calls and other technical glitches have grown in equal measure.

    In May 2012, for instance, the NCC had to wield the big stick when it slapped a combined fine of N1.17 billion on the operators over failures to meet the minimum standard of quality of service, particularly the key performance indicators (KPIs). More than two years after, the problems have not only grown worse, the NCC’s response has swung from outright indifference to pathetic.

    The licensing renewal exercise obviously offers the industry an opportunity for renewal. The challenges include the need to keep operators on their toes – to ensure that they match the quality of service with the best in the world; deepening competition by getting more players on board; and ensuring that the telecommunications subscriber gets value for what he pays for. The NCC will do well to put these matters on the front burner in the countdown to the renewal date.

  • Uncommon courage

    Uncommon courage

    •A Liberian’s example on the value of the rule of law

    Over since she was sworn into office as elected President of Liberia on January 16, 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been widely appreciated and applauded for her role in helping to rebuild the country from the ashes of a devastating civil war, restoring stability, securing debt relief and attracting substantial foreign investment to boost economic growth.

    It was thus no surprise that she won a deserved re-election for a second term in 2011. International recognition of President Sirleaf’s positive leadership was reflected by her being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 and her conferment with the Indira Ghandi Prize by President Panab Mukherjee of India on September 12, 2013.

    Disturbing developments in recent times, however, indicate that corruption and nepotism may be taking a toll on good governance in Liberia, with unsettling implications for democracy and development.

    On October 6, Liberia’s justice minister, Christiana Tah, resigned from her exalted office alleging presidential meddlesomeness that impeded the functions of her office. Specifically, Tah accused Sirleaf of blocking her investigation into fraud allegations against the country’s National Security Agency (NSA), which is headed by the president’s son, Fumba Sirleaf. In the words of Christiana Tah, “I cannot be the Minister of Justice and not supervise the operations of the security agencies under the Ministry of Justice. What is the ‘Rule of Law’ if the president asserts that she does not trust the Ministry of Justice to independently investigate allegations of fraud against the National Security Agency?”

    This example of uncommon courage by Tah is rare in Africa and alien to our political culture in Nigeria. Here, public office is seen not as an opportunity to offer selfless service but one to accumulate as much wealth as possible. Those elected or appointed into public office do everything to remain in their positions and would never consider voluntarily quitting on principle if need be as Liberia’s justice minister has done.

    Furthermore, political appointees consider their loyalty to be, first and foremost, to the person who appointed them rather than to the country’s constitution. This is a key reason why impunity is rampant, jeopardising the rule of law and undermining the foundations of democracy and good governance.

    It is in President Sirleaf’s best interest to act decisively to correct what her opponents perceive as widespread nepotism in her government. For instance, in 2012, she suspended her son, Charles from his position as Deputy Governor of the country’s Central Bank for failing to declare his assets to anti-corruption agencies even though he still retains the position. Another of her sons, Robert, resigned last year as chairman of Liberia’s state oil company, NOCAL, while also stepping down as a senior adviser to his mother.

    Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong in President Sirleaf’s relatives being appointed to public offices for which they are qualified. Yet, she has the responsibility to act with utmost wisdom and discretion in such a sensitive matter so as not to make herself vulnerable to allegations of nepotism. In any case, the former justice minister’s insinuation that the president interfered with investigations into fraud allegations in the National Security Agency because of her son’s involvement shows how nepotism can allow corruption to fester.

    Today, Liberia is contending with one of the most serious cases of Ebola Virus Disease in the world. The virtual collapse of the health sector due to decades of bad governance and virtual state failure is the major reason for the scale of the Ebola crisis that has killed over 2,000 Liberians. Nepotism and corruption can only further undermine the efficacy of the state in meeting its obligations to the Liberian people. Johnson Sirleaf should be concerned about what legacy she wants to bequeath to posterity. Her conduct in this instance is unbecoming of a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

  • Where has Mandela’s legacy gone?

    Where has Mandela’s legacy gone?

    SIR: When the Permanent Secretariat of The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates  announced  recently that it  will hold its October 14 World Peace Summit in Cape Town – South Africa, the announcement was greeted with mixed feelings by South African Government.

    South Africa being the only African country that prides herself of producing four Nobel Peace laureates in Africa would have exploited the opportunity to showcase the fruits of Madiba’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) as well as the effects of their avowed crave for peace and harmony. But the announcement did not just raise goose pimple down the spine of South African government, it placed them between Scylla and Charybdis.

    South African government, knowing too well that any Nobel Peace Summit will have  in attendance the Tibetan spiritual leader, His  Holiness, Dalai Lama in attendance became  unhappy with the summit as granting visa to the latter will rumple economic ties with China.

    China which is South Africa’s key trading partner – with official data showing last year’s exports to be worth around $10 billion – exiled in 1954, the Tibetan spiritual leader for preaching  against Chinese ill-treatment of the Tibetan population and campaigning for autonomy.

    In order not to wrong China, South Africa – a country that competes for  UN Permanent Security Council seat with Nigeria – decided to trade her sovereignty for economic ties.

    The decision to deny a visa to the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, so as not to upset China, clearly portrayed South Africa as a weak state and also undermines ongoing efforts for reconciliation between China and Tibet.

    There is an undeniable resemblance between the apartheid struggle and the Tibetan yearning

    for autonomy. Mandela consistently exhibited his solidarity with the Dalai Lama, meeting him publicly in 1996 and 2004. The denial of the Tibetan leader visa undermines Mandela’s

    This is the third consecutive time the Dalai Lama’s office has been forced to cancel a trip to

    South Africa; the last incident in 2011 meant he was unable to attend fellow Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday celebrations. At the time, the archbishop referred to the denial of entry as ‘a total betrayal of our struggle’s history’.

    With several Nobel Peace Laureates pulling out of the summit, the organisers of the event decided to cancel it. Hurrah for China; Shame to South Africa. Mao Zedong should now know in his grave  that power does not only flow through the barrels of gun but also through the hyper wires of GDP.

    This easy surrender of sovereignty is a national hypocrisy, given that post-apartheid South Africa, under the leadership of the ANC was characterized by the commitment to Democratic ethos and freedom as well as the struggle to end oppression. Ironically, 2014 marks 20 years of South African democracy.

    •Asikason Jonathan,

    Enugwu-Ukwu, Anambra State.

  • Oily bribe

    Oily bribe

    •Another oil contract scam: This time, will the Jonathan govt punish Nigerians involved?

    It is a familiar story, and this reality makes it even more intolerable and condemnable because of the suggestion that corruption is alive and well in the country. News that Nigerian politicians were implicated in an investigation by Italian prosecutors into an alleged bribe scandal involving ENI, which is Italy’s biggest company by market capitalisation, and the state’s biggest asset,  has once again exposed the dark underbelly of  the powerful.

    While it may no longer be news that individuals in the country’s corridor of power engage in underhand dealings with international firms to the country’s detriment, the negative implication of this latest development is nevertheless troubling. It is alleged that in connection with the purchase of a Nigerian oil field three years ago by ENI and Royal Dutch Shell, at least half of the $1.1 billion paid, meaning $533 million, was used to bribe local officials and intermediaries who helped to secure the sale. Particularly disturbing is the allegation that some of the beneficiaries of the bribes, which ranged “from thousands of dollars to millions of dollars”, used the money to buy aircraft and armoured cars. Indeed, to some extent, deals like this one may help in explaining the obscene levels of unjustifiable affluence among members of the ruling elite.

    Considering the alleged volume of the bribe, it is noteworthy that production from the deep-water oil field in question, OPL 245, is expected to begin in 2016; and the field is estimated to hold up to 9.23 billion barrels of crude, which is reportedly equivalent to nearly a quarter of the country’s total proven reserves.

    It stands to reason that as a result of this oil deal, the country must be bearing the brunt of the corruption of its leaders. The inflation of the cost of the oil field, which the bribe brought about, and which benefited just the pockets of some individuals rather than the state coffers, ultimately amounted to a loss for the country. There is no doubt that such money paid as bribe to the individuals who short-changed the country would have been useful for its developmental purposes.

    However, beyond the alleged malfeasance of local public officials in this matter, the angle of foreigners and their role in international corruption deserves examination. It is perhaps a reflection of the apparent universality of shady inclinations that this oil deal involved locals and foreigners. But it is, at least, reassuring that the Milan prosecutors have placed ENI, its former chief executive Paolo Scraroni and CEO Claudio Descalzi under investigation for alleged international corruption, a development that has been interpreted as a setback for the Italian government because the company is state-controlled.

    It remains to be seen whether the Goodluck Jonathan administration would take a cue from the Italians and probe the issue, which is certainly the path to follow, given the approach of the investigators who have asked the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to freeze $85 million in assets related to a Nigerian company, Malabu Oil & Gas, said to be involved in the sale.

    It is worth mentioning that the controversial OPL 245 block licence was first awarded to Malabu in the 1990s by military dictator Sani Abacha for a reported $20 million. After Abacha’s death in 1998, a new government voided the deal; but Malabu’s licence was restored in 2006.

    Given Malabu’s background and the move against it by the Italian investigators, the allegations of wrongdoing in the sale of the oil field should prompt a serious response from the presidency, and the guilty should be punished. The perception that Nigeria is a country where corruption is accommodated and treated with respect must not be allowed to endure.

  • Not a scam

    Not a scam

    •The N4,000 NYSC charge should be included in its budget in subsequent years

    Sometimes the line between fairness and tyranny is so thin that one is overshadowed by the other. Such seems the case in the enduring furore over the charge of four thousand Naira to National Youth Service Corps members to pick up their call-up letters.

    The narrative, often dwarfed by any other voice, is that the NYSC top brass has decided to filch the hapless corps members of the sum of money. They earn in each of their twelve months of service the sum of about N18,000. This is a paltry sum by any standards. Corps members know that this sum hardly affords them a place to lay their heads. The elite among them are those who come from well-heeled homes or who enjoy support systems from family, family friends or who serve in companies with liberal packages. These are few. The corps members are made to believe that their country expects a sense of service from them and not luxury. Four thousand Naira is therefore a huge sum for any corps member to pay for any service.

    In a nation where the governing and political elites are perceived as alienating, a climate of cynicism and doubt overwhelms this community of young Nigerians. So the directive from the NYSC top brass that they pay N4,000 seemed not only exploitative, but also cynical.

    But the story was not well-received because it was not properly understood. The NYSC says it is not compulsory that corps members should pay the sum. It is a convenience policy. Those who prefer not to pay would be required to travel from their various homes to their universities to pick up their letters. That had in the past created logistical barriers. Intending corps members have to travel, in quite a few cases, long distances to pick up the letters. In such cases, it may even be more expensive.

    For instances, a student of the Obafemi Awolowo University who is domiciled in Sokoto would have to undertake the long-distance sojourn to Ile-Ife. Under the new arrangement, he or she would only need to spend money – that is, N4,000 – to obtain a scratch card and obtain the same document. It will clearly cost the student a lot more than N4,000 for a return journey to Ile-Ife in Osun State, a journey that would include costs like feeding and overnight stay in addition to transportation.

    On the other hand, a student of the University of Lagos who resides in Yaba which is in the same district with the university has no reason to pay the money. The student can walk to the institution and pick up the document free of charge within an hour or two.

    The NYSC has said that it introduced the measure without any budgetary allocation. So, in order to ensure the convenience of the corps members it propounded the idea. It is working with a private firm, whose infrastructure will facilitate the access to the scratch cards. This is a good idea. But the NYSC should ensure that in subsequent years, the agency incorporates this policy into its budget. This will avoid the upheaval that the measure has inspired.

    Given the high scale of corruption in the country, government officials should understand it is not enough that you are just but you must be seen to be just, especially if it concerns charging the citizens sums of money. The NYSC N4,000 charge is not extortionate, but young Nigerians have lived to see exploitation all around them. Their teachers did it in obtaining class lecture notes, in passing their tests and examinations and accessing a few other routine entitlements. They also witnessed the recent tragic episode of the immigration job scam. Hence they saw NYSC charges in that light.

    The NYSC authorities clearly don’t seem in this instance to join that corrupt wagon. They, however, should incorporate it into their budget next year.

     

  • Happy Eld-El-Kabir

    Happy Eld-El-Kabir

    •We should keep the spirit of the season beyond the festive period

    Eld-El-Kabir as the feast of sacrifice is inimitable for its spiritual connotation and underlying divine commandment. The celebration is of high significance in the Islamic Calendar, which is observed in commemoration of Abraham’s unalloyed obedience to Allah’s commandment that he should sacrifice his only son, Ismael, to Him. At the nick of time, Almighty Allah sent Angel Jibril to stop Abraham from killing his son, replacing him with a white ram instead. Ever since, Muslims observe annually, this age-long ritual, as epitomised in the slaughtering of animal,s including cows, rams, goats and even camels.

    The Federal Government declared yesterday and today public holiday to mark this feast, celebrated on Saturday, which fell as usual on the 10th Dhul-Hyjah-coinciding with the climbing of Mount Arafat to mark the end of this year’s holy pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Almighty Allah was satisfied and convinced with Abraham’s unalloyed faith in Him. And since then, He foreclosed the use of human-being for any sacrifice. Abraham’s venerable decision to sacrifice his only son, even at an old age – with little hope of having another – remains the profundity of his faithful act. We wonder why some criminal infidels in Boko Haram and others are engaging in wanton killing of fellow beings in the north under the guise of keeping tab with erroneous tenets of Islam.

    In Islam, submission to Allah is unconditional as typified by Abraham who did not compromise his faith during the several decades of his childlessness. This year’s commemoration remains so dear to true Muslims across the world.  They eat and merry with friends and well wishers. The true spirit of this season is that we should learn to live together as brothers, with mutual benefits of harmony, peace and stability.

    The needless cruel killings by Boko Haram under the dubious guise of Islam are unacceptable because the religion preaches development, growth and progress. It also spreads the gospel of love; it teaches peace; preaches tolerance, as does Christianity.

    The unalloyed display of unity and love with no religious impediments, witnessed in this season, should go beyond the moment. Such fraternity should be for all times so that our nation can grow from strength to strength: Also, on a broader scale, for the world to be a better place for all to live in, irrespective of race, religion or colour of the skin. Father Abraham was a recipient of immense blessings because, in obedience to Allah’s commandment, he obliged to use his only son as a sacrifice to Him before Allah stopped him.

    While we as a nation anticipate such blessings, the people and the government  should also be prepared to make inevitable sacrifices for the well-being of the country – during this occasion and beyond. Unfortunately, the country is still bogged down by unbridled insecurity arising from the criminal/inhuman Boko Haram’s activities. Lives and property are being daily wantonly destroyed, all in the name of politics/religion. Mosques and churches are attacked by these criminals that are denting the image of Islam.

    The miscreants behind the Boko Haram are soiling the reputation of Islam – the religion of peace. Also, we want a change in value degeneration ravaging the polity as the nation needs to make transparency and trust as genuine planks of public service. These vices are all consequences of official hypocrisy which Islam absolutely abhors in household as well as public affairs.

    This important season should serve as test of faith for all Muslims and non-Muslims to reflect on the selfless divine commitment of Abraham and also emulate his good virtues so as to ensure the growth of our society and democracy as we approach 2015 when another general election comes up.

  • Landing so un-ministerial

    Landing so un-ministerial

    •Jelili Adesiyan is a minister of the people, not an emperor that can land his chopper just anywhere

    It is a measure of the galloping impunity in the land that Jelili Adesiyan, Minister of Police Affairs, would just land his helicopter, without much ado and with absolutely no permission, in a private premises.

    It is also a measure of the crass insensitivity of the government towards the governed.  That property is a private school, with primary and secondary sections.

    His Unquestionable, the Minister of the Federal Republic, must land; and the sports complex of the Bodija International School, Ibadan, Oyo State, was as good as any for his golden chopper. Though it was on a Sunday, the school’s boarders were in the premises. The pupils must therefore have been impressed by the minister’s whirlwind landing!

    The snag is: the school authorities are crying foul — and so should any private owner of property in a country governed by law. As far as we know, trespass is still in our statutes. The irony of a lawless minister in charge of the police, chief enforcers of Nigeria’s criminal-justice system, is lost on Mr. Adesiyan!

    Already, Olajumoke Ojo and Co, attorneys to Bodija International School, have already written a petition against the minister. “It has been brought to our notice that your helicopter landed on the school grounds without the knowledge and consent of the school’s authorities,” a newspaper quoted the petition in part.”We hereby remind you sir that ours is a private organisation and landing the helicopter on our premises without permission constitutes trespass.”  We advice the school to go the full measure and claim its rights under the law, if only to make the point that, under democracy, law, not impunity, rules.

    But there is something else. The chopper landed in the school’s sports complex, currently undergoing renovation, and allegedly “caused considerable damage to underlying drainage pipes.” This could well be willful damage, to which the school is entitled to lawful redress and fulsome compensation.

    Then there is the psychological aspect of the incident. A private school, in which the oldest of the dominant population are no more than teenagers, gets its peace suddenly cut to pieces by a chopper! How would the youths react? Psychologically traumatised? Helpless captive to noise pollution? Or simply develop a sense of gripping siege, against which they feel angry but totally helpless and impotent? No respectable minister of the state should put the people to such discomfort.

    But bad as the situation is, it only reinforces Mr. Adesiyan’s less-than-stellar conduct as minister. Indeed, he and Musiliu Obanikoro, his counterpart and Minister of State for Defence, have gained clear notoriety, the way they have turned the sacred requirement of their high offices as ministers to sheer profanity to serve partisan ends.

    While this tag-team of two were the leading hands in propping the so-called “federal might”, corralling the security agencies to, in the most cavalier of manner, try to brazenly fix elections, each has been using the security agencies under his charge to fight partisan battles.

    Mr. Obanikoro, as part of his opening acts as minister, pushed soldiers to disrupt work at the Ilubirin housing project under development in his native Lagos, while Mr. Adesiyan has not shied away from despicable use of the police in political matters.

    It is these ceaseless acts of impunity that seem to have emboldened Mr. Adesiyan to land, without much ado, in a private school, perhaps thinking his King Kong reputation as minister would intimidate his victims into silence. That must not happen.

    But beyond rights breaches and claims, President Goodluck Jonathan must call his errant minister to order. Ministers should serve the people with all their strength, not ride rough shod over their rights and feelings with all their might.

     

  • Undue haste

    Customs has no right to increase vehicle tariff when bill is yet to be passed into law

    One challenge facing the automotive industry in Nigeria is daunting, what with poor infrastructure, particularly lack of electricity. The result is that Nigeria’s plan to acquire automotive industry technology through the establishment of assembly plants in the 1970s spectacularly flopped. So, despite the high hopes then that Nigeria was on its way to self-reliance in the automotive industry, the country presently depends on the importation of vehicles, which in 2012 amounted to N600 billion. The Federal Government, in an attempt to reverse the huge foreign exchange outflow sent the Nigerian Automotive Industry Bill, which has passed the second reading at the Senate.

    Surprisingly, for reasons probably  known only to the Nigeria Customs Service, it has started to implement the tariff structure in the bill, even when the bill is  yet to be passed as law. In our opinion, that move by the Customs on cars when the law is not yet in place, is unlawful and should be reversed immediately. While no doubt the bill before the National Assembly is laudable, the proposal may be untenable, unless the challenges that saw the death of such companies as Leyland, Steyr, ANAMCO, Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN) and a host of other automobile and allied companies, that were household names in the country, are first resolved.

    In his contribution to the debate on the bill, Senate President David Mark correctly stated: “the bill is good on paper, this will remain absolutely good on paper, but in practice, it will be difficult”.  He also said: “My suggestion is that this is an excellent bill, we should pass it, but we should let the government know that for the bill to succeed, a few things have to be in place”. Of course the major challenge noted by the Senate President was that, if the auto industry was going to run on generator for 24 hours, it would not compete internationally. So, if the infrastructure that would make production of made-in-Nigeria vehicles competitive is not yet in place, and the bill on it is yet to be passed into law, on what basis did the Customs increase the burden of Nigerians who wish to own vehicles, with that unlawful tariff?

    Even as we urge the Customs to withdraw the imposed tariff, we earnestly look forward to a revamped auto industry in Nigeria, considering the huge benefits accruable from that. Such benefits would come in terms of job creation, increase in the Gross Domestic Product; the stimulation of the micro, small and medium enterprises, the bedrock of any viable economy. As also proposed in the bill, allied industries like the tyre manufacturing companies which closed in droves from the shores of Nigeria would also bounce back once the other things have been put in place. Furthermore, skill acquisition and technology transfer would come with such resuscitation.

    Another worthy provision in the bill is the incentives of pioneer status, income tax relief and other incentives which would be needed to stimulate the investment to steer the industry. As also noted by many analysts, a revamped tyre manufacturing industry would lead to increase in local rubber production.

    Indeed, the benefits are enormous. But all the hope would become forlorn unless electricity, which is the basic requirement of modern industrialisation, is first put in place. We doubt whether investors would put their money into ventures they know would fail because of lack of the basic infrastructure. Therefore, the way to go for now is not to further burden Nigerians with high tariffs on imported cars, new or second-hand, as that may lead to increase in smuggling, which would further weaken the economy.

  • Still on the 2014 National Honours

    As President Goodluck Jonathan handed out about 306 awards at the 2014 National Honours Award Ceremony in Abuja last week, critical newspaper editorials and other comments trailed the process of selection of recipients.

    Yet, this year’s national honours award was significant in many respects. Unlike in the past when the list of awardees was dominated by politicians and cronies of the powers that be, the President appears to have reacted to criticisms by elevating merit and honest service to fatherland as the main criteria for receiving the national honours.

    Although politicians appear to still have good numbers on the award list, this year’s national honours award is very remarkable because many of those whose names ought to be on the list were actually honoured. From pro-democracy and civil rights activists to opposition politicians; from wealthy and successful businessmen and women to an honest taxi driver and steadfast steward; from our gallant ambassadors in sports to trailblazing entertainers, an appreciative country said “thank you” to deserving citizens who had first brought honour and pride to our nation.

    Joe Okei-Odumakin who led the nationwide protest against the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy that nearly brought down Jonathan’s government, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, chairman of the All Progressives Congress, the main opposition working to upstage the PDP government, Kenneth Nnebue, the acclaimed founder of the money spinning entertainment industry, Nollywood, Blessing Okagbare, the sprint queen who has caused our national anthem to be heard on different podiums across the world, are among many other deserving awardees.

    The high point was the honouring of three very distinguished citizens – in their own right.  First is the 77-year-old Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi who designed the national flag who was honoured with the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic, OFR. That past administrations had continually overlooked the man who gave us a national symbol for over five decades after independence is a strong comment on our reward system and the low premium we had placed on national service.

    As if to add an icing on the cake, President Jonathan showed his compassionate side by placing the flag designer on the salary of Special Assistant to the President, for life.  Now, who can fathom any reason why Pa Akinkunmi even in his old age would not be ready to die for his country?

    As with Pa Akinkunmi, President Jonathan also honoured a longstanding steward in the presidential villa, Onuh Isaac Michael. Michael, we are told, has served nine presidents and perhaps more than nine first ladies, right from former President Shehu Shagari. The story of the diligence and sacrifice of this steward who it was said does not catch more than four hours of sleep everyday just to commute from Nasarawa State where he could afford an accommodation to his duty post in Aso Villa, in the heart of the city, is moving.

    It is also good advertisement for the national honours award this year that a mere but dutiful traffic warden, Solomon Dauda, who does his job with animated passion and admirable spirit was spotted and honoured with the Member of the Order of the Niger, and a house for good measure as well. The recognition of this enigmatic officer will continually be a source of inspiration and encouragement to other citizens who might think that the services they provide and the effort they put in are unnoticed and inconsequential to national growth.

    But by far the most deserving of all the recipients of the national honours on the day was Citizen Imeh Usuah, a taxi driver who took pains to trace and return to his passenger N18 Million that he forgot in his cab.  In a country badly labelled as corrupt, this taxi driver’s conduct is not only exemplary and edifying but also a refreshing reminder of the pristine values on which our country was erected by the founding fathers.

    •Francis Ehigiator,

    Benin City.

  • Easy money

    •Our banks have too many charges that do not allow them to work hard for profit

    Perhaps without meaning to, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may have offered an important perspective to the paradox of banks raking bumper profits at a time when minimal lending activities are going on. We refer here to the CBN’s Revised Guide to Bank Charges issued to banks and discount houses on March 27, last year.

    Although the guide seeks primarily to provide “a standard for the application of charges on various types of products and services Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria offer to their customers” and to minimise the potentials of conflict between the banks and their customers, most striking in the revised guide is the sheer number of charges available to the banks (one count puts the charges at more than 100) to make profit, even without as much as breaking a sweat. Aside the more familiar charges like Commission on Turnover (COT), cheque books and counter cheques, bank transfers, ATM usage, and of course the industry-wide charge called current and savings accounts maintenance charge–  the latter ostensibly for merely holding money in a savings account, there are other countless imaginable charges under the sun.

    Despite its immense merits, the revised guide obviously suffers from its tacit endorsement of the extant culture of arm-chair banking which has left the Nigerian financial services sector with little or no incentive for innovation.  And, if we may also add; the omnibus guide has done nothing more than legitimise the practices under which the bankers would sit in the comfort of their offices to make a fortune rather than get their hands dirty with the business of lending to customers.

    As business entities, this newspaper understands the need for the banks to make profit. No doubt, a good number of bank charges could pass for value-added services and hence legitimate; the truth of course is that nearly an equal number of the charges are not only spurious but are actually freebies designed to pad up the banks’ bottom-lines. Our grouse is when banks settle in the safe comfort zone of paper profits with nary benefits to the larger economy. It stems from our basic understanding that banks are primarily in the business of mobilisation and transfer of savings and other resources from depositors to borrowers and sundry investors. Flowing from this is their expectation of revenue or profit from the interest rate spread, that is, the difference between the deposit interest rate paid to the depositors and the lending interest rate charged borrowers.

    We consider other activities as either ancillary or at best, tangential. Unfortunately, what we have in the country today is a situation where the banks are content to settle on fringe activities that have little to do with their core business. Our worry, if it could be so put – derives essentially from the continuing derogation from that important tradition of financial intermediation.

    The CBN has a lot to do to get the banks on that traditional path. Today, many of our banks are known to sit atop huge deposits – which if only they could find the will – can be deployed to grow the real sector. The obverse side is that many businesses are known to be in dire need of venture capital – many of them shut out of credit for reasons that are inexplicable.

    Perhaps a good way to start is for the CBN to consider removing some of the charges which are no more than avenues for making easy money. But even more importantly, the Bankers Committee must commit to finding a pathway that works for the overall benefits of the economy. It is as much in the interest of the economy as theirs too.