The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Local contractors

    Local contractors

    • They should justify Umahi’s confidence in them by delivering quality jobs

    As the need to address the infrastructure deficit in the country continues to be paramount and the government continues to take re-assuring steps in this direction through the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, no declarations by the minister can be ignored. It is thus noteworthy that the minister has pledged to give priority to indigenous contractors in the award of contracts under the nation’s infrastructural development programme.

    This is particularly significant given the establishment of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

    According to a March 25, 2024 State House announcement, the fund is designed “to facilitate effective infrastructure development across the pivotal areas of agriculture, transportation, ports, aviation, energy, healthcare, and education in Nigeria.” Specifically,  “the objectives of the fund are to: (1) Establish an innovative infrastructure investment vehicle to attract and consolidate capital, serving as a dynamic driver for economic advancement; (2) Execute strategic and meticulously chosen national infrastructure projects across several key sectors, including road, rail, agriculture (irrigation, storage, logistics and cold chain), ports, and aviation, among others; (3) Efficiently utilise and aggregate accessible low-interest loans such as concessionary loans and Eurobonds, supplemented by the procurement of other favourable financing options, in addition to budgetary allocations; (4) Guarantee Nigeria secures the most advantageous arrangements for financing, construction, and subsequently, operation and maintenance of the identified projects, ensuring optimal long-term outcomes for the nation.”

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    It is cause for cheer that these plans of the government are intended to “among other things, promote growth; enhance local value-addition, create employment opportunities, and stimulate technological innovation and exports.”

    It is here that the minister’s pledge to give priority to indigenous contractors is particularly significant. Every effort to increase opportunities to boost employment in the country is welcome. Increased employment would translate to increased economic activity which would engender increased revenue for the government and enhanced capacity to facilitate the improvement in the quality of life of Nigerians.

    Similarly, increased technological innovation would be a guarantee for the global competitiveness of Nigerians and translate to rise in the international profile of the country. It is legitimate to expect similar benefits from a boost in the country’s export capabilities.

    The implication of all of the foregoing is that to whom much is given, much is expected. The local contractors should save the minister the pain of regrettable patriotism. They should justify the confidence that he has reposed in them and encourage other ministers to be enamoured of prioritising the patronage of local contractors. They must shatter the stereotype that Nigerian contractors tend to be shoddy in their execution of projects.

    The minister’s impressive attention to details in the execution of projects was demonstrated in his inspection of ongoing projects. He discovered to his chagrin and the discomfiture of the nation that the quality of sand specified in the contract document was not the quality that the expatriate contractor was using. To the minister’s utter dismay, the ministry’s engineers seemed to have been colluding with the foreign contractor to use an inferior, in fact, inappropriate sand type for the road project they were executing. It is not clear what sanctions have been meted out to the foreign contractor and his Nigerian collaborators.

    For now, the local contractors in whom the minister is reposing a high level of confidence have the patriotic duty not to shortchange the nation. If they don’t, they would be concurrently serving their own personal interests by building a local reputation that can give them international endorsement and patronage.

  • Come straight   

    Come straight   

    • The rumpus in Kaduna should be resolved in the public interest

    If there is one word that could describe the political wrangling in Kaduna State, it is simple: shocking. There was no foreboding of what was in the offing in the months preceding the exchange of baton between Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor, and the incumbent Malam Uba Sani.

    They are both members of the same political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC); indeed, the new, as in many states, could even be described as a protégé of the old. To go to the Senate, Sani needed el-Rufai’s support. To pick up APC’s governorship ticket, the incumbent needed the adoption of Rufai who had emerged the godfather. The outgoing governor, wherever he went beamed with smiles, which sometimes grew into guffaw, enthusing that the state was safe in Governor Sani’s hands.

    Less than one year after,money has torn aside both men. And in place of one united ruling political movement, two deep-rooted tendencies have sprouted in the party in Kaduna State– the Sani and the el-Rufai factions. And both men are digging in. Ditto their supporters.

    The situation appears to be taking a turn for the worse, and this is troubling as Kaduna, the former administrative headquarters of Northern Nigeria means so much to the region and indeed the nation.

    When former Governor el-Rufai was presenting his score card, it appeared all stellar. True, as those sympathetic to him have pointed out, he did not hide the debt profile, but that moot point could be missed by his successor as other “facts” were reeled out. To those in and out of the state, the urban renewal scheme stood to el-Rufai’s eternal credit, and other states were invited to take a cue. Actually, the devil is in the details. In the rumpus following the disclosure that the external and internal debts bequeathed to the Uba Sani administration is choking, to the point that a state that once set the pace in salaries payment among Nigerian sub nationals has been struggling to meet up with such basic obligation. Governor Sani was obliged to unveil the details of the difficulties being faced by his government. The $585 million loan obtained by his predecessor, tied to the renewal of the urban towns has become a monster as the projects are said to be far from completion, yet the fund is exhausted. The locally generated revenue that could have come to the rescue is believed to have been mortgaged for repayment of another N20 billion loan from a commercial bank. There was another N185 billion earlier raised from the domestic market.

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    As economists have explained many times, loans are not on their own wrong. They could be agents of development when expended for the right purpose. In this case, it is unfortunate that the fund is believed to have been exhausted while the possibility of the projects that the loans were spent on becoming abandoned looms because they are yet to be completed. The state is servicing debts, unable to raise funds for the completion, and faced with a dire reality of meeting other basic obligations.

    We call on both sides to come clean on this matter even as it is supremely important for lives and livelihoods in the state. It is not a matter to be swept under the carpet. The former governor should respond to the allegations. It is not a time to keep silent; in this situation, silence is not golden. He should explain how the loans were expended. How did he expect to pay? If he is not really forthcoming, institutions of state should probe the expenditure.

    Whereas it is received wisdom that government is a continuum, and successive administrations inherit assets and liabilities, debilitating debts make it difficult for successors to fulfill purpose. In this case, an audit into the loans, compared to the extent of work on the projects to which they were tied would help, where necessary, to recover whatever might have been inappropriately expended.

    The trend is similar in other states. In Abia, for example, Governor Alex Otti has raised questions about the debts he inherited, and no full explanation has been offered. We only get to hear of negative developments when there is dispute between the successor and predecessor. The constitution should be amended to make audit mandatory at the point of handing over.

    Nigeria can only make progress when probity is enthroned at both the federal and state levels.

  • Illegal fuel bunker   

    Illegal fuel bunker   

    • Navy arrests five operating the ‘family business’ under an unregistered company

    Last Tuesday was bad for another syndicate that operates an illegal bunker where they store diesel. Operatives of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft reportedly went to the apartment where the illegal business was taking place upon credible intelligence and discovered the illegality going on there.

    Commodore Rafiu Oladejo, Commander of (NNS) Beecroft said five suspects were subsequently arrested at the building at 3, Silverbird Road, Ilasan, Lekki, Lagos. The suspects were said to be operating the depot under an unregistered company, Ahmed Ariyo and Sons Nigeria Limited. Oladejo said Ariyo, two sisters and other suspects were running the illegal family business in a residential area without caring for the safety of others.

    Hear him: “It’s worrisome that an apartment of this nature is serving as an illegal fuel depot undermining the economic and security implications on lives and properties.

    “Eight tanks of 50,000 storage capacity each were kept in the compound with cumulatively 57,000 litres of AGO in them’’, he said, adding that a truck there had 7,000 litres while a white TM bus had 30 jerry cans of 50 litres, totalling 1,500 litres of AGO with an estimated market value of N89,000,000.

    That is not all. “There were 400 jerry cans and 13 drums carefully stocked inside another TM bus as well as in the compound’’. In all, it was learnt that the estimated worth of all the storage facilities should they contain AGO to full capacity was N500 million.

    Commodore Oladejo said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects got the products through pipeline vandalism and illegal vendors along the coastline. The suspects and products were handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for further investigation and possible prosecution.

    This is not the first time that such illegal businesses were being detected, and there is nothing to suggest that it would be the last, given the determination of those involved to take any risk, including endangering the lives and properties of others, in their quest for illicit wealth.

    There are procedures for genuine investors who want to invest in the oil sector. But people like Ahmed Ariyo, who is said to be the leader of the syndicate, are not ready to take that route apparently because they lack the capacity to run the business. So, they want to take the shorter route by bypassing all the processes and tampering with oil pipelines, thereby getting free fuel that they sell to make money with little or no investment.

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    We have had similar discoveries in Abuja in2017 ad Lagos, in 2020.

    One thread that runs through these cases is credible intelligence. Hear Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director of the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the Abuja discovery: “We got an intelligence report of these mini depots and as you can see, these golf cars that are supposed to have 40 litres have tanks that can take 200 liters of petrol.” What this tells Nigerians is that they should be alert wherever they are. When they see something, they should say something. Security agents are not spirits; they cannot be omnipresent. It is when people are alive to their civic responsibilities by reporting unusual things that they notice that security agents can then follow up.

    So many people had paid for keeping mum when they should have said something. The illegal fuel businesses had caused several fire incidents in different parts of the country, with many victims maimed and disfigured permanently; some did not even live to tell the story. Properties that several people spent their entire lives to acquire have gone with some of the infernos that had occurred from these illegal fuel depots and businesses.

    Not only that, the illegal activities of these unscrupulous persons have caused and continue to cause the country a lot of money, either directly through fuel theft or indirectly through repair of fuel pipes that they rupture before having access to the fuel. We can do without such hemorrhage.

    We commend the whistleblowers that blew the lid off the cans of these illegal businesses. Other Nigerians should emulate them in the interest of all.

    We also urge the appropriate agencies of government to ensure the perpetrators of these illegal activities are duly prosecuted so they could get their due punishment and thereby serve as lesson to others who might want to go into the same illegal business.

  • Agony of a father

    Agony of a father

    • NDLEA, Delta govt must go the extra mile to get help for injured toddler

    These aren’t happy times for the Omhonria family in Asaba, Delta State.  The family lost a two-year-old son to a stray bullet fired by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) who were hunting down fleeing suspects during a raid on drug dealers in Okpanam area of the state capital on July 13, last year. Another son, 20-month-old Eromosele, suffered a damaged eye from the same mishap that killed his older brother, Ivan.

    The boys’ father, Fidelis Omhonria, said Eromosele’s eye could only be salvaged in the United States and the family has been in a frantic struggle to take him out. But there’ve been delays with visa processing and Omhonria alleges that assistance hasn’t been forthcoming from the NDLEA whose operatives caused the problem, and the Delta State Government that showed interest in the family’s ordeal and promised help. Both the anti-drug agency and state government argued that they were doing their best; but with the trauma of a damaged eye that little Eromosele daily forebears, there is need for more earnestness on this issue.

    In his account, Omhonria recalled how his two sons were with their mother in her shop on Okpanam Road on the fateful day when a bullet tore in through Ivan’s chest and ricocheted to hit Eromosele in the left eye that was left bleeding. He managed to ascertain that the bullet came from NDLEA agents operating in the area at that time, as the boys were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, for treatment. Ivan did not survive the mishap, while Eromosele suffered retinal detachment according to reported diagnosis. “After trying their best, doctors at Federal Medical Centre, Asaba…said they would have to refer (Eromosele) to Lagos because the situation of the eye was not one they could handle,” the father told ‘The Nation’, adding: “We came to Eye Foundation in Lagos and were there for more than one week. The consultant later said because he is a little child, they did not have the machine to see through the cornea of the affected eye because the damage was much. He advised that it would be better for us to take him out of the country. Another ophthalmologist (in Asaba) also said the best thing is to fly him out of the country.”

    Omhonria recalled promises by the NDLEA to succour his family. He said efforts by officials of the agency to reach out to him were initially tentative, but NDLEA Chairman Brigadier-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa himself visited his Asaba home on November 2, 2023 and promised to take responsibility for the medical bills and expenses to fly the injured toddler to the U.S. for treatment. According to Omhonria, the promised support was not readily forthcoming and the Delta State government stepped in along the line to offer assistance with the bills. But even the state government, according to him, did not readily deliver on its offer and resorted to deflecting responsibility back to the NDLEA.

    The biggest of Omhonria’s challenges, however, is the difficulty in securing visas for his family to take Eromosele to the U.S. for the medical help he urgently needs. The father lamented delays he has been experiencing with the American embassy’s processes and accused NDLEA of haven’t been of much help – indeed, has rather been more of a drawback. He alleged that he was turned down by the American embassy because NDLEA did not support his application with needed recommendation and proof of sponsorship.

    According to Omhonria, he was advised by NDLEA to apply again and he expects the agency to throw in its corporate influence towards expediting the process. “I have been begging, I have been crying for them to save my son from losing his sight. They gave us 2025 for the second application I submitted.  It is now left to the NDLEA to expedite it so that I can take my son out for treatment. Now the medical bill has been reviewed because of the exchange rate. It is now N150 million against the N67 million given to me,” he said.

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    In their responses, the NDLEA and Delta  State government said they had been footing the bills of Omhonria in medical expenses and logistics towards securing travel documents to fly Eromosele out. “Let me put in on record that  we provided all the necessary documents that we were required  to provide to assist the family. We wrote a letter to the U.S. embassy confirming that we are sponsoring their trip, and that we’re also responsible for the  medical bills… Even their coming  to Abuja, all their expenses both travels and accommodation, we paid for that,” NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said inter alia. Delta Secretary to State Government (SSG) Dr. Kingsley Emu, spoke in similar vein. But we submit that much more needs to be done to assist the Omhonria family in getting Eromosele urgent medical help.

    Besides its commitment to underwrite the medical bills, it is NDLEA’s responsibility to leverage its corporate clout and international connections in securing visas for the embattled family without further delay in view of the anguish being suffered by the toddler. The agency is doing a good job hunting down drug dealers, but the accident that caused Omhonria’s family the present trauma can’t be justified because it is better for a criminal to escape than an innocent person harmed.

    The Delta State government as well has a duty to help the family because the harm was incurred within its jurisdiction. All hands must be put to deck to get little Eromosele the medical help he needs without further delay.   

  • Electricity subsidy

    Electricity subsidy

    • Higher tariff must come with improved power supply.

    The Federal Government until last week, paid electricity subsidy guzzling billions of Naira. The projected subsidy for 2024 was N1.67 trillion, as against N619 billion paid in 2023, an increase of 170 percent. That is clearly unsustainable if the country will not enter into another scandalous corruption-laden subsidy peonage, as witnessed during the petroleum subsidy era. But, conversely, removing the subsidy without a corresponding improvement in energy supply, and particularly metering all consumers, amounts to daylight robbery of the consumers.

    So, while we accept that electricity subsidy should be removed, we condemn the electricity distribution companies commonly referred to as DisCos, which, despite the huge subsidies and grants they received in the past decade from the government have failed to provide the most basic infrastructure for electricity distribution, which is a prepaid meter. What is intriguing is that the DisCos are majorly private companies, yet they receive grants and subsidies from the government, even while violating the terms of the privatisation agreements binding on them.

    We hope that before the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) gave the recent approval for the 2024 tariff increase for Band A consumers, it set down benchmarks and timelines which the DisCos must attain in the nearest future. If the DisCos are not able to ensure regular supply of electricity to consumers, and if all customers cannot be metered immediately, then we do not support the increase in tariff. These two are the basic conditions to justify the monumental increase in tariff from N66/kwh to N225/kwh, amounting to over 200 per cent increase for the category of consumers.

    We urge NERC to push the DisCos to change their mindset, so they can treat electricity supply paid for as business. The way they treat their customers is most appalling, and it cannot be business as usual with the new tariff now approved by government. Whether with respect to the number of hours electricity is supplied, or the turnaround time, when there is a breakdown of equipment, the lackadaisical mindset of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) still pervades the entire landscape.

    Relying on being near monopolists, the workers ignore their responsibilities to their customers and merely pass on the costs of their inefficiency to them. Even when they cream off heavy amounts for prepaid meters, they prefer not to supply same, and charge criminally minded crazy bills.

     Again, they ignore the maintenance of their cables and transformers, and pass on the cost of the unaccountable watts of leaked electricity to the consumers, especially those without prepaid meters.

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    We hope the petty quarrel between the DisCos and the electricity generating companies (GenCos) will come to an end. It is disheartening that while majority of Nigerians are suffering from poor electricity supply, the DisCos stand accused of not accepting the quantities of electricity supplied to them. On this point, there is the urgent need to improve the capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which most times is inefficient. The disgraceful tales of incessant collapse of the national grid should be a thing of the past.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shown a determination to do things differently by taking all the unpopular hard decisions to galvanise Nigeria to a $1 trillion national economy. And Nigerians are reeling under excruciating economic challenges as they adjust to the new economic realities. Runaway inflation, a fallout of the economic measures, has made life very difficult for ordinary Nigerians, and the new electricity tariff may further aggravate it. So, the electricity generation and distribution companies must ensure that the huge sacrifices are not made in vain.

    The Federal Government should ensure that the stakeholders keep to their responsibilities, and where necessary enforce efficiency in the sector. The sacrifices of ordinary Nigerians must not be in vain.

  • The new recapitalisation

    The new recapitalisation

    • It should not only be about size but overall impact on the economy

    Few Nigerians would be taken by surprise at the announcement of another cycle of bank recapitalisation vide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular of March 28. This is because the CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, had, in November 2023 at the 58th Annual Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria spoken of its

    imminence. Alluding to his earlier speech at the 370th Bankers’ Committee Meeting, in which he drew attention of the members to the Tinubu administration’s ambitious goal of achieving a GDP of $1tn dollars over the next seven years, he had on the occasion given the hint: “Attaining this target necessitates sustainable and inclusive economic growth at a significantly higher pace than current levels. It is crucial to evaluate the adequacy of our banking industry to serve the envisioned larger economy. It is not just about its current stability. We need to ask ourselves, can Nigerian banks have sufficient capital relative to the finance system needs in servicing a $1tn economy in the near future? In my opinion, the answer is no, unless we take action.  As a first test, the Central Bank will be directing banks to increase their capital.”

    Well, that moment came last week.

    By the CBN circular dated March 28, the  minimum capital requirement for banks with international authorisation is now fixed at N500 billion; for commercial banks with national authorisation, it is now N200 billion and N50 billion for banks with regional authorisation. Also, merchant banks are mandated to have a minimum capital of N50 billion, while non-interest banks holding national and regional authorisation must have N20 billion and N10 billion, respectively.

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    A lot of course happened since the seismic recapitalisation of 2004 which shrank the nation’s banks from 84 to 25. In the last 20 years, the economy has certainly gone through cycles of booms

    and busts just as the banks’ operational environment has become even more dynamic and complex. And while the jury might seem yet out on the overall performance of the sector in all of these years, the issue of capital adequacy, particularly in the context of the shrunken value of the national currency has become pertinent. President Tinubu’s ambitious target of GDP of $1tn dollars over the next seven years may have only made the latest round of recapitalisation something of a déjà vu.

    However, unlike the 2004 which decreed a uniform capitalisation of N25 billion for all, this time the banks have a choice in terms of where to play – whether national, regional or international as the case may be – should things get to that.

    Of course, the point bears stating that recapitalisation is only a means to an end. Surely, if there are lessons to take from the 2004 exercise, it is that it guarantees nothing in terms of adherence to professionalism, not to talk of global best practices beyond the factor of size. In fact, the era seemed to have birthed its own demons in the craven abuse of credit guidelines, toxic loans, and insider trading, among such other varied abuses that not only turned the exercise into a farce but threatened to ruin the industry’s delicate fabric. Sadder still, the outcome did little to restore the industry to its pristine role of financial inter-mediation.

    Remarkably, it took another industry-wide tide under the direction of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi – tagged sanitisation – to cleanse the Augean stable left in its wake.

    Of course, we expect that things would be different this time. Both the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission must ensure that actors not only play by the rules but are seen to be so. And much as we agree that the presence of good and healthy banks is good for the economy, their relevance in the long run would be measured not so much about their fat bottom-lines but their impact in promoting overall health of the economy.       

  • A tightrope

    A tightrope

    • Setting inflation control against growth is walking a delicate balance. But the CBN must track and accordingly adjust

    No surprise — the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) just balked at the raising of the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 24.75 per cent, up from 22.75. The MPR is the lowest basis, by which banks set interest rates. It is set by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor chairs.

    In pure monetarist terms, setting MPR to ensure interest rate sits above the inflationary level makes logical sense. Otherwise the fund market would dry up, were inflation to erode the worth of investable funds, in real terms.

    But the flip side is: a spike in the cost of funds could sink many ventures. No thanks to high inflation, stocks are bottled up in many warehouses. That buyer-resistance just forced a prominent processed food brand to announce a unilateral slash in its prices.

    If plummeting sales were to combine with high operational costs — and that would be inevitable with the rise in interest rate — many a business will just sink, leaving in their trail worker lay-offs. Worse: even the biggest and most entrenched among these firms could find accessing bank loans very stiff. 

    That could result in stagnation, a shrink of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and even a possible recession, with growth hardly soaring up to four per cent these past years.

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    MAN put it so succinctly: “The increase will destabilise manufacturers through the disruption of production plans, avoidable stock-out situations and decreased capacity utilisation,” the body said in a statement which Segun Ajayi-Kadir, its director-general, signed. “Clearly, all of these could lead to downsizing of workers, closure of more companies, upscaling of social vices and insecurity in Nigeria.”

    Though MAN said it understood the rational for flaring the MPR, it rued the situation wherein the lowest interest rate was around 30%; insisting that is why Nigerian manufacturing products could hardly compete in the global market because of high cost, that nevertheless seldom translates into higher quality.

    The MAN case receives a further boost with the latest hike in electricity tariff, perhaps making business in this jurisdiction more of a cost, rather than profit, centre. On that, manufacturers appear the most badly hit. It’s indeed a tough business setting.

    MAN therefore suggests fiscal stimuli to support the manufacturing sector — the most prominent urban face of the real sector: the prime engine of youth employment, trigger of improved productivity of the economy, earner of forex outside crude oil and enabler of sustained economic growth. It suggested such business-friendly policies would ease MAN members’ routine but critical access to forex, whenever necessary.

    “It is crucial,” MAN warns, “to strike a balance between addressing macroeconomic challenges and supporting the growth and sustainability of the manufacturing industry.” That’s like walking a tightrope!

    Indeed, the impact of high interest rate is to further denude the real sector which, at its best of seasons, is very far from its peak. How does a venture run successfully with interest rates running in the 30%-35% bracket — or even higher? How do old ventures make profit or new ones break even?

    That puts the challenge right back to the fiscal authorities, beyond the CBN and its monetary policies. 

    In his palliative speech of July 31, 2023, President Bola Tinubu, committed his government to investing N125 billion to fund Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME): N50 million as grant to one million nano businesses at N50, 000 each; and N75 billion to support 100, 000 SMEs: with start-ups and qualified SMEs accessing loans ranging from N500, 000 to N1 million each, at a maximum interest rate of nine per cent with a repayment period of 36 months.

    The roll-out was March 2024. It’s early April now and perhaps the Federal Ministry of Finance can intimate Nigerians where that scheme stands. It’s such initiatives that the Tinubu administration must press into service to build and fortify the local real sector. It’s only here that the Naira can find its real value, instead of the present near-speculative parity to the dollar.

    Besides, the nine per cent interest payable on this fiscal stimulus is way below the 30%-35% — or even more — in the open credit market. That is welcome. 

    But in building a one trillion dollar economy, not a few crave even this nine per cent would become too high in the open market. That’s when the real sector must have truly come into its own. An economy with 30% to 35% interest rate band is a travesty, bordering on a mirage. Though it’s early days yet, reasonable interest rates are achievable.

    So, the CBN must track and adjust accordingly, and ease off on MPR, as its policies continue to vacuum-clean excess Naira chasing scarce goods. 

    But the final destination must be the lower interest rates. The lower they are, the better for economic growth — and later, development.

  • The burden of discrimination

    The burden of discrimination

    KFC in trouble for barring wheelchair-bound customer from its outlet

    In what paradoxically appeared like a wry prelude on the eve of Air Peace’s inaugural flight to London Gatwick airport through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) closed down the fast food outlet, Kentucky Fried Chicken popularly called KFC. It is an American brand that opened branches in Nigeria a few years ago.

    The outlet had inadvertently stirred the hornet’s nest by refusing to admit wheelchair-bound Mr. Debola Daniel, son of former Ogun State governor, now Senator Gbenga Daniel, representing Ogun East Senatorial District. Debola is a Passenger with Reduced Mobility (PRM). After being told that ‘wheelchair was not allowed’ into the restaurant, he had made a social media post of his discriminatory experience and it had gone viral.

    In a swift response, FAAN, through its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, claimed the management had set up a team to investigate the allegation against KFC at the MMIA. In addition, they requested that KFC must tender an apology, in writing, and paste it conspicuously at the door post of their facility at MMIA before it resumes operation. FAAN equally tendered an apology to the passenger with PRM and reassured all passengers that their interests would be protected.

    KFC is an American brand with global appeal. In the United States, there are laws specifically targeted at protecting the rights of persons living with disabilities. In fact, there is a federal law that allows fines of up to $75,000 for the first violation and $150,000 for additional ADA violations, with states and local governments having the latitude that may allow additional fines. The ADA and civil rights law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in many areas of public life, including workplaces, schools, transportation and many public and private places that are open to the general public.

    Nigeria equally has laws forbidding discrimination against persons living with disabilities, Indeed, there is a fine of N1,000,000 for corporate bodies and N100,000 for individuals, or six months imprisonment, or both. It is the Law Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018.

    The House of Representatives Committee on Disabilities reportedly summoned the management of KFC as part of its investigation of the alleged discrimination. Chairman of the committee, Bashiru Ayinla, told journalists that those found guilty of breaching the Disability Act in this instance would be punished in accordance with the law.

    We commend the courage of Debola Daniel to speak out about his experience. The society can be very unfair to those living with disabilities across the country, given the often flawed superstitious belief that disability is a result of some curse from the gods. This is basically due to ignorance about the human anatomy because people can have congenital deformities due to a myriad of factors. Certain illnesses like polio can cause disability of the limbs, accidents either at birth or at any age can affect humans in diverse ways.

    We equally believe that every Nigerian’s human and civil rights must be respected and treated with dignity and respect. The Nigerian system can be brutal to the vulnerable people as most feel that there are no laws protecting them just because most offenders are never punished as deterrent.

    In developed countries like UK and the United States, there are laws compelling corporate bodies and individuals to recognise and accord those living with disabilities some respect, like construction of ramps in public buildings, enforcing their rights to good welfare like special seats in buses and trains and other public means of transportation.

    Most companies are even mandated to reserve certain slots for the disabled.

    They have their reserved car lots and many other considerations.

    While we commend the House of Representatives for wading in, we find it curious that this particular case got their swift attention in a country where several disabled people are ill-treated but they get no attention. While we feel that every citizen deserves the protection of the state, many Nigerians are wondering whether the legislators and FAAN would have acted so swiftly were the incident about some regular Nigerians without privilege like Daniel.

    While this incident has drawn attention to the discrimination by both corporate bodies and individuals against people living with disabilities, it would be apposite for the country to run a more responsive system that makes everyone proud to be citizen as a result of inclusive welfare that is very functionally protective.

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    The workers at KFC are just a metaphor for the larger society and it is sad and point to the impunity that goes on in some multinational or even regular companies run by foreigners in Nigeria.

    Nigerians working in some of the companies run by foreigners, especially Indian, Lebanese, British and American companies must stop making themselves tools of oppression on fellow Nigerians. This is very common in most cities in Nigeria. If it were in the parent company in America that this incident happened, the legal implications would have been huge. We also have laws but lack of the political will to implement is the issue. Labour unions must be more proactive for the training and welfare of Nigerian workers.

    Government at all levels in the country must understand the high population of those living with disabilities and the socio-economic implications of excluding them from national life. Most of them are very talented and contribute a lot to the country’s GDP but are not always adequately recognised or rewarded. It is high time the National Orientation Agency took enlightenment of citizens in this regard seriously so that every Nigerian can maximise their productive potential.

    The National Assembly and other government agencies must not always be reactive; they must take pre-emptive actions to see that the laws work. A

    one-off headline-grabbing action is not good enough.

    We commend Debola Daniel for being beyond this incident, a strong advocate for disability rights. This is not the first time he is calling attention to the exclusion and humiliation of persons living with disabilities in Nigeria. We also commend FAAN and KFC management for apologising but we know that the law is always the law.

    Incidents like this merely point to the country’s systemic dysfunction. Human rights violations are a serious issue in Nigeria for both able and disabled people. The social exclusion and discrimination against citizens has to stop and it can only happen with the political will of leaders. Inclusion and social welfare enhance peace and productivity.

    It is commendable that even the Federal Government has aides from the disabled community and some states have functional agencies for the disabled, but the functionality must go beyond political expedience.  

    We can only hope that this high profile incident at the nation’s premium airport would inspire a serious re-evaluation of our laws and their implementation.

  • A modern king

    A modern king

    • The Olu of Warri turns 40 as a cultural light and technology promoter

    Few who follow the exploits of the Warri Kingdom will forget the moment when its new king, Ogiame Atuwatse III CFR, uttered the following historic words: “I release forgiveness and healing to the Federal Government of Nigeria whose might was used to propagate that offence, and I decree unprecedented and an uncommon peace, prosperity, progress, development upon this land.”

    The words issued from the throne on his investiture as the 21st Olu of Warri on August 21, 2021, did not only mark his coming as a monarch of conciliation, but ushered him as a king ready to engage a community in the 21st century. He reversed a curse from his grandfather’s lips, Olu Erejuwa II and the then Oba of Benin Akenzua II.

    Over two years in the saddle, the king marks his 40 years on earth as one of the youngest monarchs, but one of consequence and growing potential in the country today. It is a measure of his grace and intelligence that he has put behind him some of the ripples that attended his ascension, and he has steered the affairs of the kingdom to calmer and grander times.

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    He also came to the throne with a modern hue as he inhabits, in his royal personage, a multicultural air with a Yoruba mother, an Edo wife and Itsekiri father. He has amassed these traits without diluting his Itsekiri ancestry or compromising the historic cultural heritage of a proud and doughty race. All three making him an essentially Itsekiri king with a large and heterogenous facility. It is also a testament to the dynamic syncretism of the Itsekiri soul and its adaptability to a diverse world that is navigating the tensions of a mosaic and melting pot.

    This is more so in a country where some errant elites are weaponising tribe and religion to sully the unity of our people with politics and bloodshed, and where settler dog whistles continue to inspire hate among otherwise harmonious people. Hence, he has introduced a quarterly cultural moment called Ghigho Agbofen (A Palace watch) that brings together different tribes residing in the kingdom to showcase their cultures with dances, songs, art and fashion. Tribes like the Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Ijaw, Yoruba, Bini, et al, coalesce in a Nigerian blend.

    But he also pursues a very 21st century appetite: technology. He has instituted what is called the Tech Challenge, in which persons between 18 and 35 apply for funding to pursue their innovations. As many as 600 applicants are winnowed to less than 200 who partake in sessions such as a pre-seed incubator programme of mentorship, training and ultimately support. It leads to a final winner.

    One of such was Ogheneteriji Onosajerhe who devised an accessible electronic book reader for the visually impaired. This programme is part of his Global Master Plan that includes entrepreneurship, housing, education, to position Warri as a pivotal hub in the global business and innovation. The Tech programme partners with Omoilola Oshikoya of Richer Woman Inc.

    At 40, the king is young and has the energy to transform the Warri kingdom. He is on the same page with the state governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, who has taken the rebirth of the city as a task.

    Warri was the glory of the Niger Delta, but fell from grace under the depredation of the Itsekiri-Ijaw bloodbath that drove investments and goodwill away.

    Ogiame Atuwatse III is fitting into what Governor Oborevwori described him: “A great image-maker and marketer of Warri Kingdom and Delta State.”

  • Ali Chiroma (1933 – 2024)

    Ali Chiroma (1933 – 2024)

    • A remarkable Labour leader in a most trying period

    In the book, One hundred years of trade unionism in Nigeria, by Owei Lakemfa, Alhaji Ali Chiroma, who died on April 2, aged 91, is described as “the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the worst possible period in our history.” He was NLC President from March 1984 to February 1988, under two different military dictatorships.  He led the NLC under the Muhammadu Buhari military regime that was ousted in 1985 by the Ibrahim Babangida military junta, which eventually dissolved the national leadership of the NLC under him in 1988.

    Chiroma’s era as NLC boss is best remembered for the organisation’s intense opposition to the Babangida regime’s adoption of the controversial Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), and its battle against the removal of fuel subsidy. SAP favoured so-called market forces, which the body considered anti-people. Under him, the NLC leadership faced government hostility, leading to their detention without trial in December 1987.

    The Babangida regime, desperate to prevent his re-election, caused a division within the organisation, and seized the opportunity to introduce the National Economic Recovery Emergency Powers (Nigeria Labour Congress) order, in February 1988, under which it dissolved the NLC leadership and appointed an employer, Michael Ogunkoya, as sole administrator.

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    When this happened, Chiroma was a member of the governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, and he remained in this position till 1990.

    Under him, the NLC also organised anti-apartheid protests when British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Lagos and Kano. Apart from his detention for opposing the removal of fuel subsidy, he was detained in 1986 following a national rally organised by the NLC to protest the killing of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) students by security forces.

    He was said to have resisted the corrupting influence of military rulers, and stood for probity, good governance and the independence of the Labour Movement. He was also said to have had a pro-poor philosophy, and high moral principles.

    According to him, he started trade unionism when he was 17. He was president of the Rural Health Workers Union in 1960, when he was 27. “Maybe I thought trade unionism would help me to improve the conditions of service of the workers. I think these things are in me or something like that,” he said.  He became deputy president of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria in 1978, NLC deputy president in 1981, before he was elected president in 1984.

    Born in Maiduguri, in present-day Borno State, he trained as a medical field assistant.  He participated in malaria control activities in parts of northern Nigeria, and programmes to control yaws, mainly in the Middle Belt area and some parts of southern Nigeria. These were sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO).  By 1977, he was principal, School of Health Technology, Maiduguri.

    He served as a member of the Constitutional Conference Commission established by the Sani Abacha military dictatorship. He was nominated to the body by the NLC, which was at the time led by an elected president.  “There was no point refusing to serve in the constitutional conference, so I accepted the offer… We invited documents from Nigerians at home to write a new constitution for Nigeria,” he said.

    Strikingly, six years after his forced exit from the NLC, Chiroma was appointed administrator of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) after its leadership was dissolved by the Abacha dictatorship for pro-democracy activities. He explained that he accepted the appointment after consulting some trade union leaders and others, saying, “we felt that if the government wanted to release NUPENG to a trade union leader…we should take over.”

    However, his ironic cooperation with the despotic Abacha military regime in this regard was viewed in some quarters as a stain on his otherwise remarkable record as a labour leader.