The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • A matter for concern

    A matter for concern

    • Katsina governor’s claim on the anti-banditry war needs to be interrogated

    Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda recently gave a blunt appraisal of the menace of banditry in Nigeria, particularly in the Northwest zone where his state belongs. He accused certain government officials and security personnel of fuelling the trend as it has turned into a business venture for them, just as it is to the bandits. The complicity of the persons accused, he argued, makes it difficult to end insecurity because it frustrates government’s battle against the trend.

    States in the northern area have for years battled insurgency and banditry as criminal gangs repeatedly stage attacks on communities, killing some residents and abducting many others for ransom. Some analysts attributed the menace to political instigation against the Nigerian state, and the administration of President Bola Tinubu has said curbing the trend is a top priority.

    Radda argued that motivation for banditry was more economic than political, saying poverty and economic injustice were primary drivers of the menace. Speaking in an interview on Channels Television, he also stated that negotiating with bandits was a doomed approach to addressing the menace of banditry. He said: “Now it (banditry) has turned out to be a business venture – a business venture for the criminals and a business venture for some people who are in government, some people who are in security outfits and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people. These are some reasons why we’re unable to bring banditry to an end.”

    According to the governor, those behind banditry are not doing it for political reasons, as he argued: “The hypothesis behind political motive as responsible for banditry is not true.” In his view, economic factor is a more potent motivation, especially with youths being easily recruitable by bandit kingpins with mere pittance. Many northern youths are recruited into banditry with mere N500, the governor stated. He spoke against the backdrop of a fresh attack on Unguwar Sarkin Noma community in Sabuwa council area of Katsina State, in which no fewer than 24 persons were reported killed.

    The futility of negotiating with bandits, according to Radda, is in view of multiplicity of layers of their operational command and diversity of their objectives. “When you understand the terrain of the forest, and the different camps that we have within those forests… like in Katsina, we have more than 100 different camps that are being led by somebody. So, they have many leaders, many camps and if you’re negotiating with camps A and B and don’t negotiate with camps C and D, it will not bring any lasting peace,” he said, adding: “Even if you negotiate with a leader, the other leaders may not necessarily comply with the directives of the leader. So, that is what makes negotiation very difficult. That is why I said I would never go into negotiations with any criminal from a point of weakness.”

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    The significance of Radda’s comments was that he openly stated what had been propounded by many analysts only in undertones. The governor called out “some people who are in government, some people who are in security outfits and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people” as making hay from the banditry menace, although he stopped short of specific identifications that might have given a more profound import to his claim. But the claim should not for that reason be dismissed offhand and should be interrogated for whatever it is worth. Radda is a state governor who is expected to have spoken from an advantaged position of insight, and he isn’t expected to have made a wild and baseless allegation. He can be further debriefed by relevant authorities in the Bola Tinubu administration towards getting a better handle on the long drawn insecurity challenge that the government has been making strenuous efforts to quell. Government may also consider embedding intelligence agents along the command chain of the anti-insurgency war to gather information that could help identify and dismantle an insidious fifth column of mercantilists, if it truly exists.

    Meanwhile, Radda’s vote against negotiating with bandits was reassuring. It echoed the disposition outlined in 2023 by Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani as a joint resolve by Northeast state governors in fighting the menace of banditry. Shortly after his inauguration last year, the Kaduna governor said previous efforts to contain insecurity in the zone failed because some governors wined and dined with suspected terrorists, and that the new thinking was to have a common approach to the issue and “move away from the mistakes made by some previous governors that decided to compromise the operation in the past when they started giving money to the bandits and negotiating with them.” Radda’s argument aligns with that thinking.

  • ECOWAS’ force against terrorism 

    ECOWAS’ force against terrorism 

    •The regional body must learn from the mistakes of ECOMOG

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional organisation of the West African states. It was founded in 1975, five years after the end of the Nigeria/Biafra war. The organisation was initially made up of 15 member- states of the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Others are Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Mauritania and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) It had a mandate of promoting economic integration and shared development of West African sub-region.

    ECOWAS has over the years recorded successes but it has equally been beset by what some analysts describe as strategic flaws caused by many political and policy decisions of some member-states. The regional economic integration has not been a complete success given that the region is still impacted by some colonial and post-colonial structural hurdles. The region does not yet have a common currency. The Franco-phone and Anglo-phone political strategies differ a lot and not much synergy has been achieved.

    However, the greatest achievement of the regional body has been the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), a West African multilateral armed force established by mainly Anglophone West Africa in 1990, to intervene in the Liberia civil war. ECOMOG’s interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone were largely successful and globally applauded.

    However, since ECOMOG’s intervention in Sierra Leone and Liberia, there has been no major collaborative work from ECOMOG for other regional conflicts. However, Nigeria, a huge contributor to ECOWAS, has as the ‘big brother’ in the region had to intervene in Darfur conflict as observers/peacekeeper. The President of Nigeria had intervened in the Gambia political crisis to reach a resolution easing out former President Yaya Jammeh.

    Recently though, three countries, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso resigned from ECOWAS over issues relating to the unconstitutional military governments that seized power in the three Franco-phone countries. This came at a time the sub-region had been facing a myriad of security and economic problems. Nigeria has for long been battling the Boko-Haram problems in addition to other terror groups. Mali and Burkina Faso have been conflict-ridden as different terror groups and internal power conflicts pitch groups against each other.

    Read Also: ECOWAS force to battle terrorism in Nigeria, others

    There have been issues of terrorism across the region, resulting in political instability and economic stagnation. Even though ECOWAS has the Early Warning and Response Partnership (EWARP) that supports information sharing, conflict prevention and crisis management among West African States, the impact of terrorism on member-states seem to be worsening, and with it the dire socio-economic consequences.

    It is therefore a welcome development that ECOWAS plans to establish an ECOWAS standby force to aid the region in combating terrorism. The organisation seeks to raise $2.4 billion for the exercise as announced by the body’s commissioner in charge of political affairs, peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, last week, at the opening of a three-day consultative meeting of the commandants of the three designated ECOWAS Training Centres of Excellence, in Abuja. He feels that the region must feel scandalised that Burkina Faso has overtaken Afghanistan as the most terrorised country.

    While we commend the proposal, we are concerned about the huge amount needed to start and sustain the force. We suggest that the members can make contributions for initial take-off and possibly appeal to international bodies for support because it is a project for the long term. Sourcing intelligence, training of the members of the force and other logistic requirements must be taken into consideration to make it a sustainable force.

    ECOWAS must take terrorism in the region very seriously given the impact the region is already feeling with the myriad of terror attacks in some flash points in the region. No country can be productively viable when terrorist attacks become a stumbling block. Internal productivity would go down and foreign direct investment would decrease, making it impossible for sustainable development. A regional economic group must be concerned about the reason for its establishment, ab initio. They must take cues from other regional and sub-continental bodies that are actively fighting illegal immigration, and by extension terrorism, through policies.

    We also suggest that ECOWAS must revisit its mandate and try to resuscitate some of the plans for economic integration in ways that terrorist tendencies can be curbed before they even start. Terrorism, from studies, has diverse operational manifestations. The states must individually try internal mechanisms that can be reinforced through the regional force.

    On its own, the force might fail if certain strategic and tactical mechanisms do not precede the formation. Again ECOWAS must fight for unity across the states for any such force to be functional and sustainable.

    It must also try to see where ECOWAS missed it and try as much as possible to do the necessary corrections so that the proposed force would not go the way of ECOMOG, even before its take-off. It should not be dead before, or on arrival.

  • Return of the “native”

    Return of the “native”

    •The relaunch of the Port Harcourt-Aba rail shuttle should spark commerce in the South-South, South East.South-South, South East.

    On May 1, at a ceremony at the Port Harcourt Railway Station, the Port Harcourt-Aba rail shuttle, shut down for track repairs in April 2022, was flagged back on track.  It’s the return of a rail “native” that had served traders, artisans and other denizens, in the two geo-political zones of South-South and South East.

    So, the reported mirth and jubilation at the flag-off, complete with transportation minister, Senator Said Alkali, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) Managing Director, Mr. Fidget Okhiria, and the Chinese contractors that worked on the tracks, were hardly any surprise.

    Additional excitement came from the minister’s pledge that the next phase, in South East/South-South rail,  would be to link Aba to Enugu in an extended Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu line; as well as linking Port Harcourt (in Rivers) and Onne (in Rivers State), two port cities, though the two are in the South-South.  Rail penetration, of course, would further spur economic activities in these two regions.

    This continued focus on rail development is highly welcome.  Every modern economy depends on the humongous evacuation of rail, over long distances, at comparatively lower cost (than road, air and sea), to stay competitive.  But even now in the immediate, re-starting this rail service couldn’t have come at a better time.

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    It’s a season of high inflation, from painful economic reforms, viz removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira to find its market parity. To keep down transportation costs, the government is investing in vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). But in driving down costs, rail holds the strategic ace.  A vibrant rail network has a very good handle on inflation — and inflation  is the No. 1 economic headache of this administration.

    But back to Port Harcourt-Aba: travellers, along that renewed corridor, now re-join the few areas in the country enjoying inter-state rail: Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itakpe, with its envisaged extension to Abuja, and now, Port Harcourt-Aba.  Aside, Lagos also enjoys two intra-city rail services: the Blue Line (already active) and the Red Line (inaugurated but soon to start a commercial service).

    So, the more the rail penetration, the lower should be both haulage and shuttle costs, the better the benefits for the economy. 

    Which is why the transport minister must be more specific on the plans to complete ongoing rail projects: Abuja-Kano, and Ibadan-Abuja, the outstanding legs of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge rail; the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow-gauge rail revamp, the Itakpe-Abuja extension, and the Kano-Maradi (Niger Republic) rail line, for which the Federal Ministry of Transportation announced on March 13 that it just secured a US$ 1.3 billion funding.

    What are the funding plans for the others, aside from the Kano-Maradi route?  What are the specific construction timelines?  What are the possible completion dates?  We need to have these discrete information. 

    Besides, the Tinubu administration too needs an active rail programme — with its huge  debt capital — if it must manage the cost of doing business, as it consolidates on its economic reforms.  So, let the minister get cracking!

    But while the Federal Government — and some states too — make the heavy investments in rail, the NRC must run its operations efficiently. Debt capital must be repaid at the agreed time.  But that can only be done with revenue generated from the assets those debts created. 

    So, Mr. Okhiria and his NRC staff must run a lean, mean and profitable service. A well-run rail service will take a lot of bulk haulage off the roads. That should preserve the roads to last longer.

    Then, the all-important question of security.  The Port Harcourt-Aba line, as all other active lines nation-wide, should be saved the horror of the Abuja-Kaduna rail terrorist attack of March 28, 2022. 

    If rail penetration must add value to the economy, then travellers’ safety and security are imperative.  The travellers should not only be safe, they must be seen to be so.  So, NRC must take the security aspect of its shuttle services very seriously.

  • Good move, but…

    Good move, but…

    •Push for stricter cryptocurrency regulation timely but the right things must be done

    “Rather than adopt a policy that prohibits cryptocurrency operations in the Nigerian banking sector, we must act with knowledge and not fear and develop a robust regulatory regime that is thoughtful and knowledge-based”.

    That was former vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, speaking in the wake of the clampdown on cryptocurrency operations in February 2021. With the move last week by the Federal Government to tighten the regulatory oversight, Nigeria’s cryptocurrency space seems to have finally turned full cycle.

    The journey began in February 2021 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered deposit money banks (DMBs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and other financial institutions (OFIs) not only to stay off, but to close all accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions within their systems. Citing concerns about money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime and the volatility of cryptocurrencies, the apex bank had warned financial institutions against dealing in crypto-assets or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.

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    Two years later, in December 2023, the same apex bank, citing global trends suggesting the need to regulate the activities of Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) which include cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, lifted the two-year-old ban. With last week’s push by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for stricter rules for cryptocurrency trading, apparently to stem illicit activities and the manipulation of the naira exchange rate, the sector is finally being primed for proper regulation.

    A lot has certainly changed between 2021 and now. Beyond merely growing in leaps and bounds, the demands for regulation has gone beyond the routine assertion of its right to exist as fringe actors, to becoming an irrepressible force in the local and global financial ecosystem. And so has their potential for such illicit activities capable of undermining the overall health of the financial system equally grown. 

    Way back in 2021, the problem, as the CBN defined it, was one of inability to fit their activities into the monetary policy orbit. In other words, how to evolve the regulatory capacity given what it admitted was its rather limited understanding of its dynamics. Today, the environment has changed dramatically and with it the nature of the problem; it is no longer a question whether Nigeria is in or not, but whether the country could afford to be out. Flowing from this is how to align the activities of the sector with that of the larger economy, given the huge size and complexity of its portfolio. 

    For context, it is interesting to know that Chainalysis – a United States of America-based international block chain analysis firm, had in its 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report found that Nigeria’s volume of crypto transactions grew by nine per cent year-over-year to $56.7bn between July 2022 and June 2023. However, while it seems ordinarily unimaginable that such volume of activities could take place unregulated, consider that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) only recently announced that a single foreign cryptocurrency operator, Binance, had in the last one year alone moved some $26 billion from sources and users ostensibly in the local economy who cannot be identified. Such present and potential dangers have, not surprisingly, raised the stakes on the need for stricter regulatory scrutiny.

    Two years after Osinbajo’s admonition, the big question is whether the country is any ready.

    As it is, the sector has somewhat become too important to be ignored. Also, it is trite to admit that cryptocurrency regulation remains largely an uncharted territory. Even in the so-called developed world, it remains for the most part a learning curve. Aside China where it remains banned on the grounds that they facilitate public financing without approval, even in the United States, Canada and European Union where they freely operate, caution has remained the watchword in the absence of a common, global framework of regulation.

    Much as we agree on the need for stricter regulation, we can only urge that those in charge tread carefully by ensuring that the right things are done. In all, it comes to the question of the nation’s readiness to take on the challenge – starting with demonstrable investment, both in human and institutional capacity. 

  • Centenary City probe

    Centenary City probe

    Why is this project stalled? Nigerians await senate enquiry

    Good thinking, poor execution. That has been the bane of many great Nigerian projects. Sadly, that appears the lot of the Abuja Centenary City Project, conceived in 2014, but abandoned as we write. Thankfully, the senate last week constituted an ad hoc committee, to examine the challenges facing the project and make recommendations to the plenary. The project, conceived as a Free Trade Zone, was estimated to cost $18.5bn in 2014, and projected to accommodate 200,000 residents and 500,000 visitors daily.

    Through a motion of urgent national importance by Senator Yisah Asiru Oyelola, titled: “urgent need to revive and complete the stalled Centenary Abuja Project”, the senate resolved to “urgently investigate the factors impeding the completion of the project.” The senate charged the committee “to review the original public-private partnership agreement and recommend amendments, if necessary, to facilitate smooth and expeditious completion of the project within a defined timeframe.” The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, heads the committee, with Solomon Adeola, Titus Zam and Aminu Tambuwal as members.

    Named to commemorate the centenary of the amalgamation of northern and southern Nigeria, in 1914, the city will be inhabited by domestic businesses and world class multinationals, in a uniquely designed world class environment. Many had likened the project to Dubai City, in the United Arab Emirate. Regrettably, while the Nigerian elite troop to that beautiful city of Dubai, to shop and holiday, the Abuja Centenary City that could bring similar experience closer to Nigeria, has been abandoned for the past 10 years.

    We urge the current administration to examine the pros and cons of the project, and the execution models put in place by the previous administration, for the way forward. We wonder why the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari appeared not to have shown interest in the project, conceived under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. If there are structural challenges, are there no ways to amend them? And if there is none, what is needed to propel the project to completion?

    Information available indicates that the project is to be executed as a public-private partnership project. Yet it is stalled. We thought the idea of bringing private equity is to aide efficiency and timely execution of the project. Unless the chosen private partners are not capable of meeting their own obligation, or government agencies involved are causing the delay, we do not know why the project should be stalled. The senate probe should dig deep to know where the challenges are coming from, and make necessary recommendations to the executive.

    The probe should also determine what the private company has invested, and examine whether what is on ground reflects such claims. Again, the contract terms should be examined to ensure that all the parties get commensurate value for their investment. The project must be a win-win situation for the public-private partnership. Many Nigerian projects are usually stultified due to corrupt practices, through over-invoicing, criminal diversion of budgeted resources, and sundry criminality that make the execution of many laudable projects economically unviable in the country.

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    There is also the need for transparency in reviewing the stalled transaction. Nigerians need to know those behind the private company in the partnership, their equity contribution and technical competence. It would be unfair for those in the corridors of power to use their privileged positions to appropriate the landed resources of the commonwealth, and in addition foist unqualified entities, without the capacity to deliver, as private partners. The outcome from such unholy alliance is stalled projects at the detriment of the public interest.

    The commonest example is the debilitating power sector, which has been stalled by incompetent private equity investors, without adequate capital, technical competence and deliverable strategies. The centenary project must not be allowed to follow such trajectory. The nation’s capital should not be littered with uncompleted projects like the abandoned centenary project. Moreover, such a project will contribute to the economic growth of Abuja, and the execution would create thousands of jobs, and the unemployed would be the better for that.

    On completion, the listed benefit of 200,000 businesses and 500,000 visitors could transform the capital city to a major economic hub in the West African sub-region. At the estimated cost of $18.5bn, the sponsor of the motion reminded his fellow legislators that the humongous sum is nearly the national budget, and so would have far-reaching economic impact, if executed. We agree that the injection of such amount into the economy would check the ravaging unemployment and the attendant insecurity.

    We therefore urge the executive arm of the government to join forces with the senate to review the viability of the project, for the nation’s good. If implemented, the Abuja Centenary City Project, would be a major boost to the $1trillion economy projected by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

  • ‘Ovuleria’ (1942 – 2024)

    ‘Ovuleria’ (1942 – 2024)

    •A great actress bids the stage farewell

    Better known by her stage name, ‘Ovuleria,’ which demonstrated the recognition she enjoyed as an actress, Lizzy Evoeme was, ironically, not always comfortable with the name that highlighted her popularity. She explained in an interview: “Most people who know me don’t know me by any other name except Ovuleria. But to tell you the truth, when people close to me, like family members or intimate friends, called me that name, it sometimes annoyed me. I prefer being identified with my real name. I felt that a fictional name was taking over my real self.”

    Her role as ‘Ovuleria’ in New Masquerade, a must-see TV comedy series shown on the national television network of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, catapulted her into stardom, perhaps beyond her imagination. The show dealt with a variety of subjects, including social problems and the effect of government policies; and promoted unity in diversity and social values.  The cast was variegated, and communicated in Nigerian Pidgin, Standard English and local languages

    She played the role of the “submissive” wife of a “domineering” character called Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwogbo. ‘Ovuleria’ was described as “a petty trader and an assertive but obedient woman who never disagreed or argued with her husband’s decision no matter how many others disagreed with him.”

    She played the role impressively. Describing the outcome, she said: “When you go out and people you don’t know and wouldn’t have met in your entire life tell you they appreciate what you did on TV, it gives you fulfillment.”

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    She hailed from Akabo, Imo State, and wanted to be a teacher or a nurse. But she got into acting as a member of a drama group called Ndiche Playhouse in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, she got the role of ‘Ovuleria,’ which transformed her acting life. It was a measure of her acting talent that she made a name for herself as an actress without formal training.

    According to her, she was among the cast of New Masquerade that visited America, Sierra Leone and Cameroon, apart from visiting many parts of Nigeria. Her earnings from playing the role of ‘Ovuleria’ “went a long way in helping in managing the affairs of my family,” she said, having lost her husband during the Nigerian Civil War (1967 – 1970).

    After the TV series was discontinued, she continued acting, and acted in some movies following the introduction of Nigerian home videos. “I did a few shows… But I can’t remember the shows now,” she said about her post-TV experience.  In 2020, the Creative Industry Group (CIG) gave her an award for her contributions to the entertainment industry.

    Her death on May 5, aged 81, brought back memories of New Masquerade. Times have changed since the series was stopped in the 1990s. There is a new generation of television viewers who were not around when the show was popular. There are far more TV stations these days, and there is intense competition related to content. But these new realities do not necessarily mean that there is no longer room for such a comedy series.

    For instance, in 2022, the return of The Village Headmaster, after a 34-year break, demonstrated what is possible.  Before the break, it was Nigeria’s longest-running TV drama series, shown on the national television network from 1968 to 1988.  The show was revived, and reinvented, through a collaboration between the government-owned NTA and Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP), a private production company.

    She will be remembered for her role as ‘Ovuleria,’ and her professionalism in playing the role. As an actress, she was true to her principles. “If you want to make a name for yourself, make a good name,” she said. 

  • Combating malaria  

    Combating malaria  

    •Nigeria and Africa as a whole must be ready to spend on research and enlightenment

    With 68 million cases of malaria reported annually in the country, and an estimated 194,000 deaths, the claim that Nigeria is responsible for about 30 per cent of the global burden of the disease cannot be controverted. When a country carries this kind of burden, it is imperative for that country to acknowledge and indeed reject such an unenviable record. And this can only be achieved through focused and sustainable actions that would ultimately bring the frightening statistics down.

    Unfortunately, this has not been the case with the claim by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate. According to the minister, Nigeria has not been able to eliminate malaria 70 years since it began implementing programmes to eliminate the disease. This means that the country has been battling malaria before independence in 1960. Pate attributes the country’s failure to tame the scourge to “insufficient focus and commitment.”

    The minister made this known in his opening remarks at the Roundtable Discussion on Rethinking Malaria Elimination in Nigeria, held in Abuja.

    If Nigerians cannot easily recollect any programme designed to fight malaria, they would at least remember the African Summit on Roll Back Malaria in Abuja (popularly known as Abuja Declaration on Roll Back Malaria) launched with fanfare in 2000. Twenty-four years after, we hardly hear of the initiative despite some successes that it recorded; especially by way of improved funding, both from domestic sources and international donors. It has gone the way of many other governments’ initiatives in other sectors.

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    True, in line with the theme of the forum at which the minister spoke, it is time for Nigeria to rethink its programmes and policies on how to eliminate malaria. As the saying goes, you cannot be doing the same thing the same way and expect a different result. If malaria is still as prevalent in the country as it is today despite various governments’ effort to eliminate or at least reduce it to the barest minimum in the last 70 years, then a rethink of what governments have been doing so far without much result is imperative, with a view to giving way to new initiatives that would change the narrative.

    The minister acknowledged this much: “We must reimagine the routine approaches that have so far defined our interventions over the recent years.

    “Nigeria, African countries and the global malaria community must also reinvent approaches to address the constraints that prevent efficient delivery of existing effective key malaria control strategies and forthcoming innovations and tools. Tools for the control of the disease have evolved both in quantity and quality over the years.”

    That reimagining and reinventing of approaches to fighting malaria that the minister talked about must include accepting the simple fact that malaria is a multisectoral problem rather than merely seeing it as a health issue. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. In this wise, we must tackle malaria from the very source. Drainages must continue to flow to prevent water from being stagnant so mosquitoes could take advantage of the stagnant waters. There must be collaboration among the various ministries of health and environment. Contributory factors such as inappropriate dropping of garbage must be checked to prevent blockage of drainages. This implies that environmental laws must be strictly enforced, among several other factors.

    Then, it must dawn on African leaders that malaria is basically an African problem and research efforts on it must be intensified in the region in its quest to change the narrative. There is nothing wrong in Nigeria taking the lead in this regard. But the government must be ready to fund the efforts. Just as it must be ready to intensify enlightenment programmes on prevention rather than cure of the disease. Failure to meet the financial stipulations of the Abuja summit by many countries has to give way to improved funding if we are to witness a drastic reduction in deaths caused by malaria.

  • Unfinished business

    Unfinished business

    •Arrest of alleged train attack mastermind is welcome, but there’s more to do

    More than two years after the incident, the police last week said they’ve arrested an alleged mastermind of the 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train attack in which some 10 persons were killed and no fewer than 61 passengers got abducted. Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said the suspected mastermind identified as Ibrahim Abdullahi, also known by the moniker ‘Mandi,’ was arrested, January, in Kaduna, and had confessed being leader of a kidnap syndicate that terrorised the Kaduna-Abuja highway.

    A Kaduna-bound passenger train from Abuja was on March 28, 2022 attacked by terrorists  who planted explosives on the rail line to blow the train off track as it approached, following which they shot their way into the coaches to abduct some of the passengers. Eight persons were reported killed in the attack, while others who sustained gunshot injuries died in the aftermath. Negotiations by government and relations of abducted hostages with the terrorists for their release were protracted, with the last set of hostages securing their freedom only on October 5, 2022.

    Speaking at a press briefing in Kaduna last Thursday, Adejobi said credible intelligence led to police’s arrest of Abdullahi on January 12, at Abuja-Kaduna Road flyover by Rido Junction in Chikun council area. According to him, the suspect ranks among notorious bandits like Dogo Gide and Bello Turji, who had terrorised the North, and no fewer than 48 AK-47 rifles were seized during his arrest. The police spokesman noted that efforts were under way to identify Abdullahi’s sponsors and weapons supplier, adding that he had confessed participation in “various kidnapping incidents, including the kidnapping incident at Green Field University (in 2021), and he partook in almost all the kidnappings along the Abuja-Kaduna highway.”

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    It took quite some time tackling down the alleged mastermind of the train attack, but better late than never and the police deserve some commendation for the feat.  We hope the force will make the best of Abdullahi’s arrest to extract useful information from him that will lead to apprehending his co-terrorists yet roaming free. Although it was not officially confirmed, reports said negotiations with the terrorists for release of the train hostages involved huge ransom payments, and it is conceivable that the purported monetary returns could induce remaining terrorists to future adventures unless they are tackled down and brought to justice. That it took so long for Abdullahi to be apprehended shows just how elusive the criminals could get. Since the March 2022 attack, only a couple of the terrorists were reported arrested.

    In January 2023, vigilance operatives in Abuja were said to have apprehended one of the suspected train attackers  in Zuba area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Also in February 2023, the Nigerian Army was reported saying its troops arrested one other suspect of the train attack. Abdullahi’s arrest now leaves many of the attack perpetrators yet ranging lose and in need of being brought to justice. That is a task for the police and other security agencies to set their sight undistracted upon.

    The challenges faced by police personnel in terms of inadequacy of

    tools and skill set to efficiently and swiftly crack down on criminals must be acknowledged and recommended to government for redress. But also, we must hope that the force leadership’s penchant for putting interim accomplishments in the media space does not jeopardise further investigation and gathering of information that is best done surreptitiously. In other words, it is hoped that the publicity about Abdullahi’s arrest has not tipped off his sponsor and weapons supplier, who the police said were yet being hunted, to burrow deeper into hiding. So also the suspect’s other accomplices in the train attack that are yet to be arrested. Besides, the seizure of 48 AK-47 rifles by the police in the course of the suspect’s arrest illustrated the dangerous proliferation of firearms that government needs to firmly and affectively redress.

    On the heels of the March 2022 train attack, the Abuja-Kaduna service was suspended for a long while. Now that the service is restored and many others across the country are in full operation, with new frontiers like the Port Harcourt-Aba line just being opened, it is expected that the railway corporation has secured all the routes, such that the 2022 breach on the Abuja-Kaduna route never happens again.

  • Diligent prosecution

    Diligent prosecution

    •EFCC has a duty to ensure that owners of the 1,146 accounts frozen are duly served justice

    Every Nigerian would agree that the economy is really in a bad shape. Even the man reputed to be the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, has cried out that he has lost billions of Naira. The

    rich people who have been servicing loans denominated in dollars and other international currencies are reeling under the weight of devaluation of the Nigerian currency.

    All these have been linked to unscrupulous activities of those playing games with the Naira. Recently, executives of Binance, a company involved in cryptocurrency trading, was alleged to have been involved in underhand deals that imperilled the Nigerian economy.

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    In similar fashion, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has alleged that 1,146 companies and individuals are likely involved in acts that have sabotaged the economy and are being investigated. The commission has thus obtained an interim order to freeze their accounts for a period of 90 days. They are being charged with terrorism financing, money laundering and unauthorised dealing in foreign exchange. These are serious charges at the heart of not only our economic challenges, but the insecurity bedevilling the country.

    We, therefore, support the interim freeze of the accounts to allow for proper investigation. We, however, call on the anti-graft agency to ensure that the innocent are not unduly punished by ensuring that a thorough investigation is conducted before the August 23 adjourned date.

    One of the problems of successful prosecution of criminal cases in the country is failure to investigate well. The loopholes are thus exploited by the defence to get the matter thrown out in court. Given the importance of this case, the EFCC must ensure that all gaps are duly covered and witnesses arranged in time. Where a case cannot be sustained against a suspect, individual or corporate, the accounts should be promptly freed. This will show the commission as serious and robe it with dignity.

    The Office of the National Security Adviser should play its critical role in the investigations, especially in connection with terrorism financing. All agencies of government involved in combating social ills should collaborate in the larger interest of the country by sharing intelligence and availing one another available technology to nip the vices in the bud.

    Justice Emeka Nwite who gave the interim order freezing the accounts said that “preliminary investigation conducted thus far reveals that the bank accounts are linked to persons who take advantage of the virtual cryptocurrency exchange platforms to illegally manipulate the value of naira and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities.”

    Given the strong pronouncement and number of accounts involved, we expect the legal team of the EFCC to work assiduously to ensure not only that the

    innocent are exculpated, but that the guilty are served justice in time as deterrence to others walking along the same path.

    The task of sanitising the financial system cannot be successfully carried out without the full involvement of the Central Bank of Nigeria that has the responsibility of regulating and supervising all the banks. We acknowledge that since Mr. Olayemi Cardoso took over as its governor, he has shown seriousness in carrying out his task. But, there is still much to be done. The commercial banks in particular have shown that all that matters to them is to declare mega profits. In the process, some are known to have deliberately infringed the rules, realising that the regulatory framework is weak. The penalties should therefore be strengthened to put them in check.

    Nigeria is in dire straits and should be rescued fast.

  • Sanitising the finance sector

    Sanitising the finance sector

    • We welcome CBN’s order to fintech firms to suspend bringing on board new customers

    Even as the national currency, the Naira, has gradually begun to regain its value relative to the dollar and other major trading currencies, despite some reversals in recent weeks, there is optimism in many quarters that the currency is on the path of better stability as well as an exchange rate that more accurately reflects is true value. It is certainly not by happenstance that the exchange rate of the Naira, which had soared to over N1,900 to the dollar in the aftermath of the merger of the parallel and official foreign exchange markets by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in May, last year, today hovers around N1,380 to the dollar.

    The gradual strengthening of the currency against major international currencies has been a function of deliberate steps taken by the CBN in conjunction with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to counter and curb reckless currency speculation by actors in that market. One of these was the decision under the CBN governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, to rein in the excesses of the bureaux de change operators, forcing them to conduct their businesses in ways that do not affect the value of the Naira negatively.

    One of the latest measures taken by the CBN in this regard is its directive banning mobile money operators, including fintech firms from onboarding new customers for now. This directive affects fintech companies such as Opay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank and Moniepoint. The apex bank’s action is part of its ongoing efforts to get critical financial institutions to undertake ‘Know Your Customer’ exercises. This has become imperative as fintech companies have been under the radar of security agencies and financial regulatory bodies over concerns relating to money laundering and terrorism financing.

    Surely, the action of the apex bank in this respect is not unconnected with a court order empowering the EFCC to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts owned by various individuals and companies allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions. It would appear that most banks and other financial entities have been complacent and lethargic as regards their duty to properly identify those who seek to open accounts with them, and the source of the funds accepted as deposits. The EFCC has a duty to ensure that it thoroughly investigates the frozen accounts within the three -month period given by the court to carry out the exercise.

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    Supporting the decision of the CBN to place a moratorium on the opening of new bank accounts in the fintech institutions, the President of the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, Uju Ogbunka, said it was necessary as the strict regulations by the requisite authorities over the deposit money banks must also apply to fintechs and micro-finance banks in order to ensure the integrity of the financial system as a whole.

    Also, the CBN had cause to clamp down on the activities, early in March, 2024, of Binance, a major fintech company in Nigeria, which was accused of being a conduit for money laundering and funding of terrorism. It is also being investigated for currency speculation and fixing exchange rates in a manner deleterious to the value of the Naira. The CBN governor had noted that more than $28 million was laundered out of the country through Binance by unidentified persons in 2023.

    We applaud the steps taken by the CBN to sanitise the financial sector, apprehend those involved in perpetrating fraud against the country and ultimately systematically enhancing the value of the Naira. However, the apex bank must conduct whatever investigations it is carrying out on the errant financial institutions within a reasonable timeframe. The fintech organisations have become a critical part of the country’s economy, creating jobs and offering useful financial services to large numbers of Nigerians. The unscrupulous ones who criminally violate the country’s laws should be made to face the law while those operating lawfully should be allowed to resume business in the best interest of the country.