The Nation Newspaper

Category: Features

  • Abuja-Kaduna train: Weighing the cost of insecurity

    Abuja-Kaduna train: Weighing the cost of insecurity

    Almost two months after an Abuja-Kaduna-bound train was attacked by terrorists where eight people were killed and about 60 people were abducted, FAITH YAHAYA examines some issues which the incident brought to the fore, including some losses incurred by the government and agitations by members of families of those still in the abductors’ dens.

    The road is one of the primary modes of transportation in Nigeria. Bus, train, aeroplane, ship, car, among others, are other modes of transportation. Other modes of transportation are air; sea or ocean and rail. The road is the foremost form of traditional means of moving people and goods from one point to the other.

    However, other means of moving people and goods were introduced when the overuse of the roads became conspicuous and the apparent need to diversify the transportation system. The rail system of moving people and goods was introduced in the early 19th century to reduce the burden on the road. Many preferred to move from one place to the other through the buses to use the train or the railway.

    In recent times, due to heightened cases of insecurity and bad roads in the country, many people began to use the rail system. But, due to the security of lives and property that cannot be guaranteed while using the road system, many Nigerians, especially the wealthy, began to patronise the rail system as means of movement. Unfortunately, the railway mode of movement became the target of terrorists and bandits.

    Due to insecurity along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, many who can afford the rail or air travels opted for it to get into and out of Kaduna. In March, airlines suspended flight operations to Kaduna due to the incessant cases of insecurity and the invasion of the airport by bandits which led to the death of members of staff at the airport. So, the only means of transportation into and out of Kaduna remained the train.

    While many were still recovering from the shock of the invasion of the airport, disaster struck. The Abuja-Kaduna-bound train was attacked by terrorists on March 28, 2022. The incident led to the death of eight people and the kidnap of over 60 people. Many were also left with various degrees of injury. The tragedy, which many are yet to recover from, led to the suspension of train services on the Abuja-Kaduna corridor due to damage caused to the tracks, coaches, locomotives and other rail facilities.

    Since the commencement of commercial operation on the corridor, many who dreaded the activities of kidnappers, bandits, and robbers breathed a sigh of relief at the introduction of the train service since the road was and still is notorious for insecurity. The train was practically a haven for many travellers. The travellers also felt comfortable with the presence of security personnel on board the train. Since the attack, some issues have been brought to the fore. The issue of the purchase and installation of security systems to detect any suspicious activities in and around the rail tracks and how it was frustrated was laid bare.

     

    Economic losses

     

    It has been over 45 days since the attack on the train and the suspension of train operation. There has been a clamour to resume operation from different groups owing to economic loss. A day after the attack, the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said: “The level of damage supersedes the request we made for the purchase of equipment that will help install security, especially as it pertains to surveillance.

    “We are going to repair the track between one and a half to two kilometres and that is huge. We are going to replace the locomotives and about one or two of the coaches were damaged, then we are going to buy some coaches. A coach is about $4million. So, if we are going to fix about four or five of them, then $4million should be about N2billion. So, imagine we are replacing about four; it will be N2billion multiplied by four and we are also going to replace about two locomotives, which I don’t know the cost yet. We are going to do either a replacement of about 2kilometres of tracks. So, it is quite huge.”

    The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) estimated that the train service generates over N300 million monthly. Going by the number of days that have gone by without train operations, it is safe to estimate that about N450 million may have been lost to lack of operation. Beyond the revenue generated from the sale of tickets, vendors; food sellers, drivers, tricycle and motorcycle operators and other business owners who operate along the route have been jobless for over a month.

    Thankfully, the NRC, in its latest update, indicated that the connection of the AKTS line has been achieved. The NRC said: “The major track components (concrete sleepers and rails) have been completely laid. The south end of the tracks destroyed by the explosion has been successfully joined with the north end. Track access between Abuja and Kaduna is now restored.

     

    Business boom for drivers amid fears

     

    The dreaded Abuja-Kaduna road that is only travelled by the brave and those who cannot afford rail or air travel has been witnessing huge traffic since the attack on the rail tracks. Commuters are currently left with no other option than to pray that they don’t encounter kidnappers before embarking on any journey. Drivers at the Zuba Motor Park confirmed that the number of passengers who board their vehicles has increased compared to when the train was functional. Before the attack, a saloon car which takes six passengers charged N1, 500 per passenger but now, it is N2, 000.

    On the terror the road is known for, one of the drivers; Jubril Muhammed said: “We are humans and we cannot erase fear from our minds but if we entertain too much fear, we will die of hunger. So, we pray before setting out not to encounter the bandits. So far, I have not encountered them.” Another driver who has been plying the Abuja-Kaduna Road for over seven years said: “We try as much as possible to fill our vehicles with the required number of passengers at the park instead of stopping along the road to pick passengers. We also do not stop in isolated places for passengers who request to ease themselves because the bandits can come out from unsuspected places. These are some of the things we have been practising to avoid running into them.”

     

    Families of kidnapped victims speak

     

    Most family members of kidnapped victims who The Nation interacted with were of the view that little or nothing is being done to rescue the victims. One of the family members, Zarah Aliyu whose elder brother is among those kidnapped, said she and other family members have been living in pain and uncertainty about what will become of her brother.

    For Evelyn Asiribo, her husband who happens to be the breadwinner of the family, is among those kidnapped. She said her four-year-old child frequently asks about the whereabouts of her father. She said: “It has not been easy. I have sleepless nights and different thoughts daily and there are questions from the children. My four-year-old son keeps asking anyone he sees, ‘do you know where my daddy is?’ As small as a four-year-old child is, he tells anybody who cares to listen that his dad has been kidnapped. If you ask him what he wants, he keeps saying, they should release my dad.

    “So, I don’t know how they are going to release them unless the Federal Government shows some level of commitment. We are begging. The government should see us as their children. We are pleading with the government because our capacity as a family has been drained. Nobody can take care of his responsibility because he is the head of the family and he supplies virtually everything we need.

    “I am not working because of the health of my last child. He asked me to stay at home and he has been the one providing everything financially and he never complained. He never failed in his responsibility as a husband and a father. So, we are begging those involved to help us because they are the only rescue ticket we have now. It is draining me and I can no longer cope with this situation. The weight of the responsibility is bigger than mine. They should come to our aid.”

    Kafilat Abdulazeez, on the other hand, is a medical practitioner and a sister to one of those abducted. She said not knowing the status of their loved one is taking a toll on her mental health. “I am feeling bad and I am getting depressed. The government should do something because mental health is real. I am medical personnel but I cannot practice well. This is not easy at all. The attitude of the government is too slow, they should be fast and get our family members back to us. They should put us in their shoes and hasten the rescue process.”

     

    Resumption of talks

     

    Though the NRC announced that train services would resume soon on the corridor with the condition that all passengers without National Identification Number (NIN) would not be allowed to purchase and board the train, the families of those kidnapped in the ill-fated train are however of the opinion that the train service remains suspended until their loved ones are rescued safely. As plans are ongoing to resume, one is forced to ask if the security architecture that was meant to be installed has been installed. If the security system is yet to be installed, what is the status of the system?

    The former Minister hinted that locals would be employed as informants, adding that the locals are expected to watch over the rail tracks and other infrastructure and report any suspicious activities to the security agencies. How far have the relevant agencies gone with this plan or was it merely a political statement? Will the Nigerian Airforce also resume its aerial escort of the train when the service resumes?

    Agreed, a lot has been lost since the attack but to avoid further loss, analysts suggest that the government should address all pending security issues before the train service resumes.

    During the attack on the train at a press conference in Abuja, the families of those kidnapped said: “If security has been put in place, we believe our loved ones would be back by now; and if you picked passengers from Abuja to Kaduna and they are not in their comfort zone, you have not dropped them. So, how do you intend to carry another set of passengers? That is our question. All the passengers carried should be dropped first before other passengers are taken.

    “We demand the quick and safe rescue of our family members held hostage by terrorists. Abuja-Kaduna train service should not be resumed until they are rescued safely and adequate security measures are put in place to guarantee the safety of prospective passengers. This position aligns with the prayers of the majority of Nigerians.”

    While this is a legitimate stance by the families, one is forced to ask, how long will these captives remain with their abductors? The abductors have revealed their demands to the Federal Government; what is being done?

  • Boosting Enugu’s economy with agro-entrepreneurs

    Boosting Enugu’s economy with agro-entrepreneurs

    Agriculture was Nigeria’s major foreign exchange earner. However, attention shifted from agriculture to the black gold in 1956 when crude oil was discovered in Oloibiri in present-day Bayelsa State. With the training of 260 agro-entrepreneurs, Enugu State Government, mindful of the dwindling oil revenue, appears poised to revive its revenue base through agriculture. LAURENCE ANI reports

    With reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recorded zero revenue a few months ago, the folly of running a country’s economy entirely on earnings accruing from the sale of a volatile commodity such as crude oil has never been as stark as it has lately. Even before that dismal record, there has consistently been a shortfall in national income, either as a result of the slump in oil price on the global market or rising subsidy payments.

    Whatever the cause(s), the result often means a reduction in allocation to states from the federation account, prompting calls for a diversified income stream. For decades, this has often been the story of governance at all levels in Nigeria where dependence on federal allocation is what keeps the engine of government humming.

    This true but sorry economic fact seemed not lost on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi when he took over the mantle of leadership of Enugu State. At his inauguration in 2015, he echoed such pragmatism in his inaugural speech. “I believe that this is another great opportunity for Enugu State and Nigeria to look inwards and harness those potential, which free oil money has blinded us from exploiting. It is an opportunity to live to our full potential and leave the feeding bottles of the federalism syndrome,” he said in reference to the declining monthly disbursement.

    Looking inwards meant reviving those economic activities petrodollars had pushed to the background. In Enugu State, this new economic reality has spawned an agricultural revival reminiscent of the independence era.

    Governor Ugwuanyi’s commitment to making agriculture the mainstay of the state’s pursuit to diversify its economy is largely informed by the knowledge of agriculture’s inherent potential. For a while now, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing sectoral contributions to Nigeria’s economy has repeatedly validated this.

    For instance, the NBS report for 2021 showed that agriculture had the highest contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 29.9 per cent, with a 1.22 per cent year-on-year growth. Oil and gas were listed as fifth with a 7.49 per cent contribution, representing a 10.7 per cent negative growth.

    Agriculture’s remarkable contribution has been evident for some years. It is proof that the much-talked-about plans to have a diversified economy are not just lip service. It’s no less so in Enugu State where an improving business environment and consistent support for farmers have swelled the rank of enterprises in agricultural activities in the state.

    Another report from the NBS report, which showed the proportion of enterprises in agricultural activities, indicated that Enugu State is tenth nationally, with 21 per cent of enterprises operating in the state engaged in farming-related ventures. Investing in agriculture may neither create the biggest buzz nor tangibility that politicians tend to crave, but Governor Ugwuanyi knows that its economic outcomes remain robust leverage that can help states to attain their development goals.

    Mindful of the great potential inherent in agro-entrepreneurship, which is the process of value addition whereby farmers use creative ways of improving the quality and quantity of agricultural produce or get involved in agro-industry activities, Enugu State recently sponsored 260 young farmers to a two-week training at CSS Global Farms, a privately-run commercial farm in Keffi, Nasarawa State. The Governor realised the significance of agro-entrepreneurship in the quest to boost the state’s economy.

    Some of the benefits of this are reduction in food costs and improving the diets of the rural and urban poor. It also generates growth, increases and diversifies income, and provides entrepreneurial opportunities in rural and urban areas. A sustained commitment to agro-entrepreneurship is an essential pathway to revitalise the state and, indeed, the country’s agriculture and to make a more attractive and profitable venture, experts have said.

    Agro-entrepreneurship has the potential to contribute to a range of social and economic development such as employment generation, income generation, poverty reduction and improvements in nutrition, health and overall food security in the national economy. Agro-entrepreneurship has the potential to generate growth, and diversify income, providing widespread employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in rural areas.  The state government realised the significance of agro-entrepreneurship in the quest to boost the state’s economy. Penultimate week, the young farmers returned from the training, convinced that the knowledge gained would bolster their career as agro-entrepreneurs.

    “It was two weeks of intense agricultural practice and training. We’re poised to tap into the agric value chain,” the trainees’ spokesman, Ikenna Ugwuanyi, said during their ecstatic thank-you visit to the Enugu State Government House.

    “We were told that about two years ago, Enugu was the largest yam-producing state. Currently, its position is ninth. We’re going to replicate those things that earned us the first position a few years ago. The future of Enugu State, and indeed Nigeria, rests in the hands of young farmers. Farmers are heroes. We’re going into our various communities to become heroes and ambassadors courtesy of the governor,” he added.

    Indeed, evidence of the agricultural renaissance is strong in Enugu State. It is just as well because the state is one of the major growers of cashew nuts, which the NBS listed as Nigeria’s third-highest agricultural export in 2021. Vast tracts of rice fields that once lay fallow as farming increasingly seemed like a half-hearted pastime in the wake of the oil boom have gradually come alive.

    For instance, all the rice the Enugu State Government used as COVID-19 palliatives were procured locally from communities where the crop is cultivated. These communities are beneficiaries of farm inputs such as long-grain rice seeds, improved cassava stems, fertilisers and pesticides distributed to farmers by the state government across the 17 local government areas to boost dry season farming.

    The investment in rice production has helped to minimise waste, and led to the creation of the Enugu rice brand, Coal City Rice. The emergence of Coal City Rice has also further developed the rice value chain, increased the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and provided jobs for the unemployed.

    Ultimately, the investments have grown the viability of Adarice, a state-owned rice production facility, putting it on the verge of acquisition by a preferred bidder drawn from a list of interested investors. When that comes to fruition, it would be an additional boost for the state’s internal revenue, which has experienced a steady rise in the seven years of the Ugwuanyi administration.

    I believe that this is another great opportunity for Enugu State and Nigeria to look inwards and harness those potential, which free oil money, has blinded us from exploiting…Looking inwards meant reviving those economic activities, such as agriculture, which petrodollars had pushed to the background.

  • How to save the dying education sector

    How to save the dying education sector

    To salvage the declining status of the sector, the Nigerian Association for Educational Administration and Planning (NAEAP) has identified strategies that can help revamp Nigeria’s education sector. CHINAKA OKORO reports

     

    The decline of standards in the education sector has become a source of worry to experts in the knowledge industry. They have continued to proffer suggestions on how to improve the horrid situation. They maintain that it is necessary for the policymakers to pay adequate attention towards bringing about improvements in the quality and efficiency of education.

    With advancements taking place and with the advent of globalisation and modernisation, it is necessary to improve the quality and efficiency of education, experts have said. Mindful of this, the National President of the Nigerian Association for Educational Administration and Planning (NAEAP), Prof. Hauwa Imam, stated that “only quality education is needed to salvage the declining status of the sector.”

    She revealed this at the 1st Annual Education Symposium of the association, which held in Lagos, recently. In her keynote address, Prof. Imam maintained that present realities in the sector demand that all stakeholders, starting from the government across all tiers, managers, teachers and administrators must rise up to reposition the sector to take its rightful position. The National President, who spoke on the theme, “Repositioning the Education Sector for Sustainable Development through Effective Management of Schools in Nigeria,” highlighted the importance of the education sector to the country’s political, economic and social development goals.

    Prof. Imam reeled off various plans to use to meet up with the set goals, including a review of the current basic education, post-basic education, secondary education, mass/nomadic education and tertiary education. She also suggested some concepts that could be useful for sustainable development goals, which will, in turn, promote the development of knowledge, skills, values and actions required to guarantee a sustainable world. The don called on the government to address issues of funding, public enlightenment, planning and skill acquisition development/training in order to advance the knowledge of teachers, even as she advised stakeholders to also contribute their quota to achieve the desired repositioning.

    “If schools are to deliver good products, key stakeholders also need to take certain and critical steps to sustain our academic sector by continually improving the desired outcome,” Imam said.

    The Chairperson of  NAEAP, Lagos State chapter, Dr Kemi Tunde-Adefowokan, expressed optimism that each member of NAEAP would, no doubt, deliver on the commitment of doing all possible within their means to improve education for all in Nigeria. She said the gathering of researchers, practitioners and other educational stakeholders being facilitated by NAEAP would be sustained as an annual forum to discuss and proffer solutions to reposition education for sustainable development in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.

    Also, the Local Organising Chairman, Dr Oyeyemi Ayoola, welcome all members to the maiden symposium. She expressed her appreciation for effective support from all members, adding that the members also would not disappoint the entire association, especially for the confidence reposed in them towards hosting a successful maiden forum. She said discussion at the symposium will expose participants to what obtains in the global world as it affects the teaching profession and also proffers solutions to some lingering issues that will help bring the sector to par with other countries.

    “We want to delineate on how to improve the education sector; this stems from the belief that education officers can turn around Nigeria’s fortune for good, and this starts from impacting and moulding the characters of the leaders of tomorrow,” Dr Oyeyemi said.

    The forum attracted dignitaries from all education sectors across the state with paper presentations by scholars such as Prof. Aloy Ejiogu from the University of Lagos, Dr Dele Ashiru, Prof. MOB Mohammed, and Prof. R.A. Alani, among others.

    While presenting his paper on Day 2 of the programme, Prof Peter Okebukola of the Lagos State University (LASU) acknowledged the giant strides being made by the Lagos State government to improve the state’s education sector through massive investment in technology, infrastructure and human capacity. The Professor of Science and Computer Education affirmed that education managers in Lagos State rank among the best top three across the country, stressing that “in the area of management of schools, Lagos is one of the best, in the aspect of ICT compliance and schools infrastructure, Lagos occupies an enviable position when compared to other states in Nigeria.”

    He, however, maintained that despite the efforts by the government in the area of ICT, Lagos still has a long way to go when benchmarked with what obtains on the global scene, saying that the yardstick for measuring performance in the education sector in Lagos State should not be national but global. Prof Okebukola opined that the use of management software, improvement in internet access, the introduction of a management dashboard and functional and interactive websites will greatly assist in meeting the demands of modern-day school management.

    He encouraged school owners and the government to hope for wider visibility and global recognition, saying that such a position cannot be attained if cursory attention is not paid to some basic school needs that would enhance teaching and learning. Okebukola commended NAEAP for identifying the need to chart a new pathway for the sector and change the narratives in the sector such that challenges militating against the effective functioning of the education sector can be brought to the front burner with the intention of addressing them.

    His goodwill message at the event, the representative of the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Education, who is also the Permanent Secretary in the office, Mr Kasali Adeniran, stated that the realisation of the need to focus attention to the education sector informed the development of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda under the present administration with an emphasis on education and technology.

    According to him, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is making conscious and deliberate efforts to institutionalise programmes and policies that will help address the myriad of challenges confronting the sector. He added that several interventions by the government attest to its readiness to pay prime attention to education and technology, attributing the high ranking of Lagos among other states by the don to the vision of Governor Sanwo-Olu.

    In the same manner, Prof. Abiola Allen of the Nigeria Police Force reeled off many ways to monitor the activities of children, pupils and students. Allen said the parents should not be paying school fees alone but should cultivate habits of monitoring them always, including the friends they move with within school. He also explained that parents should encourage their wards to report any suspicious moves within their mates, so as to further report to the school authority for further disciplinary actions.

    Prof. Allen also suggested that schools should encourage the use of passes so as to curtail movement and school laws should be enacted, adding that primary and secondary school students should be discouraged from using mobile phones. Allen also maintained that a security panel should be set to review security policies from time to time.

    Prof Simeon Adebayo-Oladipo congratulated the education stakeholders on the maiden edition of the stakeholders’ forum, more importantly, felicitated the Local Organising Committee, especially on the germane topic and theme of repositioning the education sector in the country at large. He said without any doubt, that there were challenges in education, adding that the challenges in education extend to other sectors.

    “Anything that occurs in education would have impacts on medicines, law, engineering, agriculture, teaching and others. Hence the need for managers and stakeholders in the education sector to enhance and improve the quality in service delivery, to meet up with the demand of the 21st Century to be globally relevant,” Adebayo-Oladipo said.

    He, however, concluded that all of us from the government, students, teachers and, indeed, the entire society, have great roles to play to achieve this.

     

     

     

     

     

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  • Experts back CBN on IMF’s scary ‘float naira’ proposal

    Experts back CBN on IMF’s scary ‘float naira’ proposal

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again rejected calls by the IMF and the World Bank that Nigeria should free-float her currency – a decision backed by some eminent Nigerian economists who are against single exchange rate policy because of the potential harms it can do to an already faltering economy. Assistant Editor NDUKA CHIEJINA reports

    For years, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been mounting pressure on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to maintain a single exchange rate policy. However, Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has often responded by insisting that Nigeria cannot afford to operate a floated exchange rate system.

    In January 2019, Mr. Godwin Emefiele had, during a press briefing after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, warned that to float the naira would plunge the economy into further crisis. But the IMF and the World Bank have maintained their pressure for the CBN to do their bidding. Emefiele, once again, stuck to his guns when he made it clear that Nigeria will not adopt the floating forex policy at this year’s IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, United States.

    Emefiele argued that different countries were facing diverse economic challenges and must develop a framework peculiar to their economic situation.

    He said, “Both the IMF and World Bank are our prime development banks, and we have received support from them at different times in resolving some of our economic challenges, particularly bordering on finance.”

    “Nigeria’s situation is very peculiar and that is why we have continued to engage the IMF and World Bank to show understanding of our local problems. Yes, they want us to freely float the exchange rate and you do know that this will have some impact on the exchange rate itself in the sense that when you allow that to happen, you will have some uncontrollable spiral in the country’s exchange rate.”

    Emefiele stated that the high demand for forex on certain goods, which drains Nigeria’s foreign exchange, was what forced the Federal Government to suspend access to forex exchange for the importation of over 40 items. In defending the CBN’s decision, he said, “We cannot be accused of not adjusting the currency, but we have to be given the time to ensure that while we are looking at the exchange rate, we have to do something about demand and supply, as long as the demand for forex exceeds the supply, the crisis of having access to forex will not go away.

    “We are trying to adopt a gradual approach to make sure that those things that we can produce at home are produced at home instead of importing them. That means that the demand for FX will reduce and the currency will be better priced to meet the expectations of Nigerians.”

    Emefiele also told them in Washington that “we are doing everything possible to restructure the base of the economy through some of the policies that we have put in place to deepen the production of goods in Nigeria.”

    Back home in Nigeria, some economic experts have taken it up to defend the CBN’s decision not to float the Naira. Prof Ken Ife, Lead Consultant, Industry and Private Sector Development of the ECOWAS Commission told The Nation that, “the IMF and World Bank are not monetary and fiscal advisers to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Their mandate is to restate the obvious international best practices.”

    He argued that “the reality is that countries have different challenges. The mismatch between forex supply; and forex demanded for export is divergent making it difficult to reach equilibrium. As our crude oil accounts for about 80 percent of forex revenue and vulnerable to exogenous shocks, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is weak, foreign portfolio Investment is problematic, Diaspora remittance and increased borrowing is inevitable, at least to service foreign dollar denominated loans.

    “The structural factors at play are compounded by insecurity, infrastructural deficiencies, making it difficult and suicidal to float the Naira.  Doing so in the current circumstances will have naira spiral out of control,” he said.

    Prof Mike Obadan, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), explained that “what the proponents of foreign exchange market deregulation (IMF and World Bank) are advocating is what economists call a clean float exchange rate system in contrast to the managed float system that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has operated for quite some time.

    “In a clean float system, the government or monetary authority does not intervene in exchange rate determination to establish its level or maintain a given rate. Rather, the exchange rate at any time is determined by the interaction of the market forces of supply and demand for foreign exchange. The monetary authorities trust the market to manage the exchange rate which can change from day to day or even minute to minute.”

    Prof Obadan added that “the fact that the government does not intervene in the market implies that no official foreign exchange reserves will be necessary. Besides, since all private foreign exchange transactions will be cleared through the market, there will be no balance of payments deficits or surpluses that would require official settlement. This is where the challenge is as what is portrayed here is not the case in practice. Balance of payments deficits/surpluses do occur and official settlements with reserves do take place.”

    However, under a managed float exchange rate system as practiced by the CBN, Prof. Obadan stated that “the government intervenes in the foreign exchange market (through the use of interest rate and/or foreign exchange supply) to influence the exchange rate to a desired level. Considering the effects of exchange rate fluctuations on trade and domestic inflation, governments seek to intervene in the forex market in the hope of moving the exchange rate in the appropriate direction.

    “When considered against reality, it is clear that the clean float exchange rate system is academic as it hardly exists anywhere in the world. Even if the government intervention is not overt, it may be done covertly. Importantly, the industrialized countries including those whose currencies are convertible, practice floating with different degrees of government intervention. And so, the CBN’s managed float system is in sync with other countries, perhaps, in different degrees.”

    The MPC member went to say that “one thing that needs to be appreciated is that the CBN has not been operating a fixed exchange rate system as some analysts would want to believe. Rather, the Bank has operated a market-based managed float exchange rate system, the latest variant of it being the Investors and Exporters (I &E) foreign exchange market that was introduced since April 2017 to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market and ensure timely execution and settlement for eligible transactions as stipulated by the CBN.”

    He explained further, “The I & E exchange rate is the official exchange rate for investors, exporters and end-users. In the I & E market, foreign exchange is traded (sold and bought) based on prevailing market conditions. Once in a while or periodically, the monetary authority intervenes in the market with supply to ensure stability of the exchange rate. The market is currently functioning under the difficult challenge of limited forex supply in relation to very high demand.”

    Responding to why the exchange rate is not stable with the current high crude oil prices, Prof Obadan stated that “the answers are straightforward: first, is that the country’s oil production is limited and much lower than the OPEC’s relatively low quota of 1.72 mbpd because of scandalous crude oil theft and secondly, heavy importation of refined petroleum products. Crude oil production reduced from 2.07 mbpd in quarter 1, 2020 to an average of 1.31 mbpd in 2021 due mostly to oil theft and difficulties in some oil terminals.”

    Reports he said “indicate that crude oil thefts in 2021 reached 200,000 barrels per day – a quarter of onshore production – and currently about 500,000. Stolen oil volumes have cost the country over $ 3.3 billion.”

    Prof Uche Uwaleke of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, is Nigeria’s first professor of Capital Market and the President of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria. He said the implication of a floating forex regime “can better be imagined. It will certainly lead to capital flight, lead to massive depreciation of the currency and ultimately to currency crisis in Nigeria and I think we should all know that it is a road to perdition to ever go in that direction.”

    Proponents of naira float he said have always argued that by implementing a complete float, the true value of the naira will emerge leading to the convergence of the official and parallel market rates. A unified exchange rate, which is one attribute of a well-functioning forex market, finds theoretical support in its ability to respond to market forces, reduce market distortions and encourage foreign investments in the long run.

    Unfortunately, Prof Uwaleke said, “Nigeria has a peculiar case: the interplay of market forces in the forex market, lopsided in favour of demand, can only result in a very high equilibrium price. Even if currency floating solves the problem of multiple pricing and arbitrage; it does not address the liquidity challenge.

    “Because the country imports fuel, raw materials, food and virtually everything, commodity prices will hit the roofs from pass-through effect of high exchange rate and the CBN will be compelled to further tighten monetary policy. Granted that government revenue will increase from the naira value of oil exports, but the cost of servicing government’s huge domestic debt will also surge following increased yields on government securities. What is more, a higher exchange rate resulting from naira float will also make the servicing of foreign debts more expensive.

    “Further, huge sums will be needed to implement capital projects contained in the budget which is dollar-dependent. A unified exchange rate is capable of increasing the pump price of fuel and accelerating inflation. So, a naira float will not only increase the cost of fuel subsidy but also widen the fiscal deficit in the budget.”

    A reluctance to float the naira, on the part of the CBN, he said “is largely informed by these considerations as well as by the pursuit of the primary objectives of exchange rate policy in Nigeria which are ‘to preserve the value of the domestic currency, maintain a favourable external reserves position and ensure external balance without compromising the need for internal balance and the overall goal of macroeconomic stability.”

    Drawing from the Egyptian experiences of 2016, Prof Uwaleke said that in November 2016, the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi yielded to pressure from the IMF to float the Egyptian pound as pre-condition for accessing a US$12 billion three-year loan. “Expectedly, after receiving the first tranche, Egypt’s foreign reserves jumped to US$23.1 billion at the end of November 2016 from US$19.1 billion a month earlier, according to the Central Bank of Egypt. Although the gap between the official and parallel market rates narrowed considerably, it was at a very high price: from a pegged exchange rate that had the Egyptian pound officially trading at EGP8.8 to the dollar, the Egyptian pound bled so much that a few days after its floatation, it officially traded at EGP17.8 per dollar compared to EGP17.98 per dollar in the parallel market. A report by Bloomberg named the Egyptian pound as Africa’s worst performing currency in 2016 chiefly because ‘the nation took the dramatic step of allowing it to trade freely in an attempt to stabilize an economy struggling with a dollar shortage.”

    Till date, the country is still reeling from the spillovers of that action. According to Prof Uwaleke, “what is clear is that the relatively diversified economy of Egypt and the IMF support facility helped to cushion the destabilising effects. On the contrary, the defective structure of the Nigerian economy and the fact that the country is not seeking any loan from the IMF should make floatation a scary option for the CBN. Any attempt to float the naira now will spell doom for an economy still recuperating from the devastating effects of several months of negative output growth.”

  • Blocking public funds leaks through beneficial ownership policy

    Blocking public funds leaks through beneficial ownership policy

    Corruption has become a hampering factor for Nigeria’s development. Many believe that effective institutionalisation of the Beneficiary Ownership (BO) Transparency Register will curb the trend. Worried by this drift, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project being implemented by Palladium, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), organised a one-day dialogue toward enhancing the advocacy for policy and legal reforms around beneficial ownership register. CHINAKA OKORO reports.

    Leadership history in Nigeria is saturated with unending stories of treasury looting, election rigging, nepotism, tribalism, bribery and its twin corruption. This, invariably, resulted from public officers, elected and appointed, regarding their positions not as call to serve their fatherland but as a goldmine.

    Moral gatekeepers have argued that an individual’s action is morally good not only because it conforms to moral law, but also in so far as it flows from a moral conviction. They also maintain that actions are deemed right or wrong according to experience and the conclusions of reason. Could the moral-gatekeepers be right in why Nigeria has refused to develop despite its huge natural and human endowments?

    Despite that Nigeria occupies a special place in Africa and global affairs, being Africa’s largest economy with a great potential to become a major player in the global economy through its human and natural endowments, it has not realised its potential in economic and developmental terms. However, as recognised by the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020), this potential has remained relatively untapped over the years, partly because of corruption and management of public finances, resulting in poor social and development indices.

    During his swearing-in ceremony in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari promised Nigerians that the fight against corruption would be a cardinal part of his administration’s priorities. He promised a commitment to a full-scale anti-corruption agenda in May 2016, when he attended the International Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the Government of the United Kingdom. It was at this global stage that he reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening anti-corruption reforms through implementation of programmes aimed at ‘exposing corruption; punishing the corrupt and providing to the victims of corruption; and driving out the culture of corruption.

    As a result of these commitments, the federal government sought to deepen institutional and policy reforms. This culminated in Nigeria joining the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in July 2016. The OGP is an international multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation. It brings together government and civil society champions of reforms that recognise that government is likely to be more effective and credible when governance is open to public input and oversight.

    At the national level, OGP introduces a domestic policy mechanism through which the government and civil society can have an ongoing dialogue. At the international level, it provides a global platform to connect, empower and support domestic reformers committed to transforming any society through openness. Despite these multilevel programmes, the significant challenges in optimising domestic resources, revenue mobilisation for sustained development financing, have been occasioned by the obscurity of the true state of the country’s full public finance and resource management processes, which include undisclosed ownership of corporate entities, tax evasion and evasion.

    In response to this, several initiatives and efforts have been introduced, including the institutionalisation of a beneficial ownership report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) through the launch of the Opening Extractives Programme (OEP), a global five-year scheme to unveil the real owners of assets in Nigeria’s oil, gas and mining sectors. This was in November 2021. Also is the enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 in August 2020, which provides for the establishment of a beneficial ownership register for all corporate entities in Nigeria by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); and the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law in August 2021, which provides a legal framework for the effective and efficient implementation and integration of open data reforms such as the beneficial ownership transparency initiative.

    However, as commendable as these efforts are, it is noteworthy that the BO transparency register is not an end in itself but a means to an end, as its effectiveness towards accountability in the extractive sector is yet to achieve significant results. It was against this backdrop that the CISLAC-led AES cluster, with support from USAID, on Thursday April 29th 2022, organised a one-day policy dialogue in Lagos. The aim was to ensure the effective implementation of the above frameworks to ascertain the status of progress in the implementation of the beneficial ownership transparency initiative in Nigeria.

    The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said while the efforts of NEITI are commendable for making efforts in establishing an extractive sector register, legitimate corporate businesses have an integral role to play in ensuring the effectiveness of the register. He said: “While legitimate corporate businesses have an integral role in national development, the involvement of Politically-Exposed Persons (PEP) that conceal corruptly-acquired wealth through the complex networks of companies deliberately created to hide their identities has further increased the risks they pose to non-fortified economies.

    “The Siemens, Halliburton, and Malabu oil scandals, to cite a few high-profile cases, had a net impact on revenue leakages that were unbearable for the country’s finances and the citizens’ economic well-being. We were already facing some sanctions from the European Union for the non-existence of anti-money laundering legislation. While we see and hear of prosecutions of individuals and entities involved in the Panama papers leaks and the Wiki-leaks among others, there seems to be no legal framework that enables the convictions of all that was involved from Nigeria.

    “Aside from the fear of the international community, it is worthy of note here that concealing of the beneficial owners costs lives of our fellow countrymen as terrorists use international financial systems to sustain their operations.”

    Rafsanjani noted that without transparent ownership of Nigerian and international companies operating within the Nigerian jurisdiction, Nigeria will not be able to stop the draining of cash through illicit financial outflows which are perpetually on a geometric and progressive upsurge, and costs the country about $17 billion annually. He, thereby, opined that a collaborative partnership by relevant stakeholders in the beneficial ownership campaign will help give a voice to “this simple but strategic endeavour that will help curb corruption in our financial, procurement and other strategic sectors and contribute effectively to domestic revenue mobilisation for financing development of critical sectors of the economy.”

    Other stakeholders at the event who spoke in confidence further stressed the need for a strengthened and robust collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure the complete institutionalisation of an open, effective, and free-for-all ‘Beneficiary Ownership (BO) Transparency Register.’

    According to a source from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the lack of transparency on the part of business owners hampers investigation of corrupt practices, as most of them present invisible addresses that can’t be traced, while some even put unborn children as directors or use their family names interchangeably. The source, therefore, stressed stronger collaboration with the commission to help tackle the menace.

    The Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) also revealed that some companies try to evade tax by not declaring their profit or even hiding their income tax under a pseudonym. “Some don’t separate company tax from personal income which makes it difficult for the regulatory authority to regulate and monitor. For the extractive sector where foreigners and Nigerians are involved, it is still a problem dealing with leakages, as some elements still connive with them.”

    The FIRS representative noted that to fight these battles and rid the country of corruption, all hands must be on the deck, as it is a collective responsibility that, if won, will move the country forward.

  • ‘Everyone needs mentorship or guidance to succeed in business or career’

    ‘Everyone needs mentorship or guidance to succeed in business or career’

    A highly successful Nigerian business magnate and lawyer, Dr. Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi, MON, is a household name in local and international business circuits. The founder and Group Executive Vice Chairman of SIFAX Group, a fast-growing multinational conglomerate that deals in oil and gas, maritime, aviation, haulage, hospitality, and financial services, shares some success nuggets for anyone who wants to make it big in business or career.

    I am an indigene of Ogun State and by the grace of God, I am 60 years old. I was born in Ondo on April 29, 1962. As my first name indicates, I am a twin, I have a twin brother. I had my primary school at Ondo and my secondary school education at Baptist Grammar School, Ibadan.  I hold a Law degree from the University of Lagos as well as Masters in International Law and Diplomacy from the same university.

    I have been running my business for over 33 years now. I actually launched my company in 1988 as a freight forwarding firm in Lagos, Nigeria, after working with an uncle, under which I learnt the rudiments of the clearing and forwarding business. From the little beginning in 1988, SIFAX Group has grown to become one of the leading indigenous corporations in Nigeria with thousands of jobs created, both direct and indirect. We have also spread our tentacles to other African countries as well as Europe and America.

    Our core business focus is integrated logistics, but over the years, we have diversified to other areas including financial services, oil and gas and hospitality. Aside running my business, another thing I am passionate about is societal impact. As an organization and in my individual capacity, we support causes and individuals who are not privileged in the society. Our key intervention areas are education, health and youth and women empowerment. We have a foundation which is devoted to implementing our beliefs in this regard. I have also been privileged to be a recipient of a national honour in Nigeria (Member of the Order of Niger, MON); while I am also the Honorary Counsul General of Djibouti in Nigeria. I am a family man. I am married to a beautiful and supportive woman, Mrs. Folashade Afolabi, and blessed with children, who are all doing well in their different endeavours.

    Life motivations, career trajectory, and how it feels to be 60 years old

    Let me start by expressing my appreciation to God Almighty who has remained my source and inspiration over the years. He has not only kept me alive, but has also granted me grace, meets all my needs, grants me good health, peace of mind and a great family. I am indeed a grateful man as I turn 60. I am sure some of my peers have died and so many are not as privileged as I am. These and many more give me unending joy because of the grace. I am probably not the smartest, but God’s grace has found me and beautified my life.

    So, as I turn 60, I am grateful to God. I am happy that life has been kind to me. I am grateful for the modest impact God has accomplished through me. I am grateful for a wonderful family and I am grateful for a greater future. Well from a tender age, I have always been entrepreneurial in my thinking. My mother was a trader and through her, I learnt the rudiments of trading and that passion has stayed with me ever since. So starting my business was a natural progression for me after spending some years learning the ropes from my uncle who owned a clearing and forwarding business in Lagos. I rose up to become the Operations Manager in the company. By this time, I was well grounded and ready to take on the next challenge.

    Apart from expressing my passion, I also set up the business to take advantage of emerging opportunities and to provide a platform for others to fulfill their dreams through job and wealth creation. Today, our companies employ about 5,000 staff and you know the implication of such a number of employees, especially the ripple effect on their immediate and extended families as well as the society. If you also throw in the number of businesses, both large and small, that do businesses with our various companies, you will see how far we have come in impacting the society. Those are some of the things that motivated me to start my business then.

    Why Lagos Marriott Hotel was launched and life lessons at 60

    There are many of them. One is that you must be strategic in your thinking and planning in order to become outstanding. Ordinary approach will always deliver ordinary result. If you look at the growth pattern of SIFAX Group, it is a result of well thought-out plan. The integrated approach has helped us. From running a clearing and forwarding firm to starting inland container depots across Lagos, to bidding and winning the concession of a port terminal, to setting up a haulage business that conveys goods from these ports to the container depots, to bidding and winning concession of a ground handling company, to launching the Marriott Hotel and a financial services company. You will see that these businesses are complimentary in nature and this has given us some form of advantage over competitors.

    I also need to emphasise the place of humility. Let me tell you, before God, we are all equal, whether you are rich or people. Everybody deserves respect. Humility will attract people to you and they can go to any length to support you if they know you are not arrogant. I have always believed in living a simple and humble life, which is scriptural because God admonishes us to live humbly and promised to elevate us. I have also studied the lives of many successful Godly people and you would see humility in them. I have many VIPs – ministers, successful businessmen and top government officials as associates, but I always come back to my constituency, which is my old-time friends and schoolmates and I cherish them greatly. I won’t abandon them because I now have new friends.  I’ve gone to several places and people doubt if I were the Dr. Taiwo Afolabi they have heard so much about. I always tell them that simplicity owns the world.

    Life has also taught me the importance of friendship and relationship building. It is a skill that is important to get ahead in life. Value friendship. I have some of my friends that have been with me for over 40 years, some since our secondary school days and we are still together today.

    Building the next generation of entrepreneurs and the need to give back

    Most of the times, God blesses us more than what we need so we could support and care for others. This is a lesson I learnt from a tender age and I haven’t deviated form it till to day. I have been privileged to travel around the world in the course of doing business and pleasure and this has exposed me to international standards in the hospitality industry across the globe. So the major reason for the investment in the hotel is to provide the same level of comfort, class and superior customer experience for Nigerians. Nigerians are reputed for hard work and relaxation, and enjoyment should naturally follow after working so hard. The hotel provides the perfect ambience to relax, refresh, connect and celebrate the achievements that follow their hard work. In the last one year of operation, the hotel has disrupted Lagos hospitality landscape. It has become the favourite venue for major individual and corporate events.

    Aside this, as a corporation, we always look for opportunities to impact our country. I have this vision of creating jobs for as many Nigerians as possible. Hundreds of eligible Nigerians are currently employed in the hotel while the indirect employment and other ancillary benefits can’t be quantified. So, job creation is another key factor in setting up the business.

    The reason many people don’t succeed in business and career is due to lack of mentorship. They go into business without the guidance and support of mentors who have done successfully what they are trying to do. Mentorship is key for young entrepreneurs in Nigeria. By the way, let me say that the future of Africa is entrepreneurship. Young people must be encouraged and supported to pursue their dreams. This is going to help in reducing poverty and high rate of employment in the continent. It is the duty of successful businessmen and women across the continent to mentor and support these budding entrepreneurs.

    These young entrepreneurs need to be mentored and guided so that Africa can witness true prosperity. I have been involved in this both directly and indirectly. My company supports various platforms and initiatives that identify and nurture budding entrepreneurs. I also have people I personally take under my wings that I support their dreams and mentor as well.

    There is so much poverty in Africa and privileged individuals must be deliberate in helping the poor. It is part of the core philosophy of my life and business. We are not in business to make profit alone. We believe in making impact. We help individuals and communities as much as we can. I can say I inherit the trait from my mother who was fond of meeting the needs of needy people around her while I was growing up. I saw the joy and satisfaction on my mother’s face after supporting these people and I believe I unconsciously imbibe the principle of sharing from her. Giving is one key success factor. I wish people realised that giving leads to abundance. It has been a way of life for me and have been seen its impact over the years.

    When people come to me for help and I do it, I am always appreciative of the opportunity God has given me to be a blessing to others. Giving comes with a sense of satisfaction and inner joy. I see giving more as a divine mandate to pull people out of poverty through job creation and philanthropy. Our company is also involved in this philanthropy and its key focus includes education, health and youth and women empowerment. We provide support for public educational and health institutions. We make donations to schools and hospitals. We donated a 1,000 capacity lecture theatre to Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. We donated a brand new bus to the medical students association of Obafemi Awolowo University. We have a foundation with offices in Lagos, Zaria and Umuahia that provides support to the widows and the less privileged. Many indigent students in their hundreds enjoy full scholarship from the foundation. Women are trained in various skills and then given grants to start their businesses. The list is too long to recall.

    Advice for young entrepreneurs

    For the young entrepreneurs, I would say first hold on to God, be honest and patient. What is not enough now will eventually become a surplus for you but there are processes you need to take. There are some factors that help in the journey of entrepreneurship. One is vision. You must have an idea of what you want to do and the impact you want to make. Two, hard work is very important. All successful people are hard workers. Laziness hinders greatness.  Three, solve a problem and success will naturally come. Money goes in the direction of value. Four, persistence. You must develop the courage and resilience to keep going in the face of daunting challenges because the journey is full of different ups and downs. Don’t give up easily. If you fall, rise, take a lesson and continue your hustling.

    Business is a very risky venture. Even after doing all the due diligence, things can still go bad. It remains a big challenge but no gain no pain. When you lose, you start all over again. I have done a business in Europe where I lost about €4million within seven months and that hasn’t stopped me from starting again or investing in another one. Business is a risk and for those who want to make it big, you must be able to calculate your risk well and make an informed decision. But the ability and the power to overcome after a loss lies in you.

  • Ogbonge women: Lending to transform women’s lives

    Ogbonge women: Lending to transform women’s lives

    A few brave women are changing the narratives on food security and bringing down the high cost of food items, writes GRACE OBIKE

    As of 2020, Nigeria has 206 million people. Out of this, women constitute about 49.95 per cent and males 50.05 per cent. However, despite the high population, women face serious life challenges, which include poor access to finance, asset ownership, and taking care of their basic life necessities. According to the National Demographic Survey 2018, about 84 per cent of women in Nigeria earn less than their husbands.

    The report also showed that men are more than three times as likely to own a house or land as women. In 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Poverty Inequality Report had indicated that only 25.37 per cent of women are involved in income-generating activities; while about 74.63 per cent were not.

    Data from Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) indicates that Nigerian women continue to be more financially excluded than men, with only 45 per cent of women using formal financial services, compared with 56 per cent of men. Although the government says it is making a strong case for the empowerment of women, research done by development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) on Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), shows that from the 2020 appropriation act (amendment) COVID-19 intervention programmes and the NESP, several schemes were rolled out as welfare responses to address economic shocks of the global pandemic for Nigerians.

    While some of these programmes targeted at women (like supporting MSMEs survival targeting 1.7 million individuals and entities or conditional cash transfer of social intervention programme), most did not have a defined quota for women like (creating 5 million jobs in agricultural sector, mines and steel development – artisanal and small-scale miners, or special public works Programme). Out of the seven economic stimulus programmes identified at the national level, only two had defined quotas for women.

    To ensure that their needs are taken care of in the face of the economic hardship induced by the pandemic, about 50 married women with little or no education, residing in Sheda Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory and with no help from all forms of government initiatives, have divided themselves into two microcredit groups of 25 members each, pooling their meagre resources towards socio-economic lifting of all.

    The women, with ages ranging from early 20s to 62 years old, all come together at 2pm every Saturday to contribute a token of their measly earning during the week into a common purse for further productivity. Some contribute as much as N50,000 and others can go as low as N500. The money is in turn loaned out to members of the group in need of financial aid to start or expand a really small business or pay children’s school fees. Loan beneficiaries – all within the circle – are allowed to pay in instalments at an interest rate of five per cent.

    Their stories

    For most parents, the news of their children’s admission into a higher institution of learning elicits excitement and the feeling that the child is making progress, with the hope that such may assist the family in the nearest future. However, for Hadiza Abubakar, mother of six and a small scale farmer, and her retired husband, the news of their daughter’s admission into Nasarawa State University, was somewhat dreadful because her husband’s pension barely comes and when it does come, it is hardly able to feed the family.

    She collected a loan of N30,000 (a little over $50), chose a six months’ period for instalment  payback. Today, she is a proud parent of an undergraduate. “I did not attempt to go to the bank for a loan because I don’t believe banks are meant for people like me; moreover, what will I present as collateral?” she said.

    As for Rita Augustine’s children, last Christmas was exciting because she had saved money every other week with her group, which enabled her to buy them cloths for the festivity when she collected her savings in mid-December. Apart from her savings, she was able to access N100,000 loan, which she invested in poultry business. She explained that before the loan, her business was failing. She went to the market every day to buy the feeds she needed, but this affected her business because her profit margin was based on price fluctuations. With the loan, she bought all the feeds and medications needed for the three weeks period that it normally takes to raise her birds before selling them off in bulk.

    “Because I was able to buy the feeds in bulk, the profit that I made this time around was more than I ever imagined that I could make in this business and I was able to pay back all the money in four months.”

    Who they are?

    Food seller, Vivian Livinus, said the women refer to themselves as the Ogbonge Women, a pidgin word used to qualify strong, industrious and dependable women. Specifically, ogbonge implies genuineness, truthfulness, correctness and being original. They came together in 2019, when they could no longer bear the hardship being meted out to them by the country’s failing economy. She said: “We quickly learnt to save and lend to one another when we realised that we were on the verge of losing everything we had laboured for over the years.”

    But the group’s leader, Justina Ihenewengwa, a cassava farmer, explained that the group is actually under the umbrella body of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), a coalition of small holder women farmer groups across the Nigerian federation who are  working together to promote women-friendly agricultural policies and women’s access to land. She said although the group was originally meant for women farmers, they decided to tweak it a bit by inviting business women and civil servants, to join them and turn it into a microcredit group with the approval of SWOFON’s main body so as to suit the needs of women in their community whose patience had been exhausted by the endless wait for government interventions that never materialised after series of optimistic official pronouncements.

    Ihenewengwa explained that she manages two SWOFON groups in Sheda, under which they contribute from N500, N1,000 to as much as N50,000 weekly. It is from the polled resources that they give loans to needy women amongst themselves. She said they sometimes give members as much as N500,000 (about $1000) at 5 per cent interest rate.

    She explained that the group maintains a strict policy of participation and attendance at meetings is a precondition. Another strict condition is the consistent instalment repayment of the loan, however little, to enable other intended borrowers to have access to the funds. “The topmost leadership of SWOFON gave me the liberty to decide on the interest rate that would suit the group and I choose five per cent because I understand my community and the fact that my women will not be able to afford too much interest. I equally partook in the loan, so I know where it pinches.

    “I understand that the government enjoys talking big about women empowerment and financial inclusion but it hardly fulfils the promises being made. They promise us assistance through loans, but create policies that make it impossible for people like us to access it; so, we have no option than to take care of ourselves,” she said.

    For women who barely attained some level of formal education in their lives, these groups of women are surprisingly very meticulous when balancing their accounts. Each member has an account booklet which is left in the custody of the leader, when they arrive for a weekly meeting that takes place every Saturday, each is called by her unique number and not name. She then presents her weekly due and loan instalment being paid back. This is recorded in her booklet by the group’s Secretary while the Treasurer and their leader sign each payment and then, the Secretary stamps it.

    Government initiatives

    Since the inception of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, his government has promised Nigerians that it intends to assist women like Ihenewengwa and her group through numerous initiatives that it said would be of benefit to small scale farmers and small business owners. Apart from the aforementioned, the administration created the Nigerian Gender Policy, which mainstreams its policies, plans, programmes and projects and builds institutions to promote the activities of women in the sector.

    To prove its willingness to improve women empowerment, in 2021, the federal government’s budgetary allocation to WEE project was N51 billion with 645 projects in different parts of the country. The allocation was increased by over 101 per cent in the 2022, with N103 billion allocated to 938 WEE projects. These projects are spread in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). For the 2022 budgets, the projects are divided into women-core and women plus others projects, they are skills and grants for 25,176,287,262, grant alone 502,080,800, provision/supply of equipment and empowerment materials 4,976,406,954, skill acquisition/ training, capacity building 5,034,655,828, uncategorised projects 843,954,414 and skill acquisition and training, grants, equipment and empowerment materials, others 66,960,648,829.

    Apart from the FG’s WEE projects, a few states like Bauchi, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, and Plateau, equally boasts of similar women-specific empowerment projects. But the Partnership for Advancing Women Empowerment in Development (PAWED) like most WEE advocates say, “It is one thing to give funds to women and another that they have the prerequisite skill or training that would help them in the management of the fund.” Apart from WEE specific projects, other policies have been created and are domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BOI).

     Has the Ogbonge women group benefited?

    Ihenewengwa denied benefiting from any intervention from the government. She explained that members of her group always apply for any government intervention that they get wind of, but nothing ever comes out of such efforts and such serial disappointments have helped perpetuate the perception that government officials always find ways to subvert or skew beneficial programmes on the basis of nepotism and other such bias. “We were told to open an account with a particular bank and provide the account numbers, we all did. The bank charged us for opening the account and for an ATM card but we never heard from the government people, now my ATM card is only lying about the house, useless.”

    Louisa Emmanuel too spoke about the unending disappointment that comes with being endlessly unable to benefit from several highly publicised government incentive programmes, including that rolled out at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when the government claimed to have shared out palliatives worth several billions of naira. She said at a point when her business began failing, she joined a microfinance bank’s scheme and was loaned the sum of N50,000 ($100).

    As expected, the sight of sugar always attracts ants; unfortunately this is not an exception for the Ogbonge women story. Apart from bringing together women who help themselves, the exercise has attracted a few fraudsters who joined, took the poor women’s money and disappeared, including a man who used his wife to access the group, made her collect a loan of N60,000 and threatened the leader after the wife stopped attending their meetings and Ihenewengwa visited the home.

    Another woman reported Ihenewengwa to her parish priest when asked to refund her loan and still refused to pay when the priest advised her to pay up. “It was difficult for me to pay money that I did not spend but as the leader, I had to take the responsibility. I had to pay all the money stolen from my pocket, I vetted them before allowing them to join like everyone else so I could not afford to allow my women to pay for my mistake and somehow it was good because I learnt my lesson.” Ihenewengwa said.

    The incidents made her take precautions, now women who fail to abide by the rules of attending weekly meetings, paying their weekly dues and loan instalments are replaced with new ones eagerly waiting for the chance to join. “I might have to eject more people next year because some are becoming unserious and this group means so much to a lot of us, we won’t allow the unserious few ruin it for us,” she stressed.

    On the limitations of the WEE projects, dRPC and PAWED, stated that the problems of the projects include Lack of WEE project coordination, duplications and non-disclosures of empowerment programmes details, Project repetition with Annual funding, lack of availability of WEE project report, poor monitoring and evaluation culture and lots more.

  • Osun food support scheme lifting the poor, improving SMEs

    Osun food support scheme lifting the poor, improving SMEs

    The monthly food support scheme launched in April last year by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola-led administration to make living less burdensome for the vulnerable residents is yielding positive results in Osun State, reports TOBA ADEDEJI

    The monthly food support scheme initiated by the Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola-led administration aimed at cushioning the socio-economic effects on the vulnerable citizens.

    Mrs Kafayat Mojere, a widow in Aagba, Boripe local government area of Osun State, was ecstatic. She was overjoyed that the state government has made her life less miserable through monthly food support. This, she said, means she does not have to bother herself with the rising cost of foodstuffs.

    “It’s been six months that my children sent me money or food but I don’t feel the effect because of the monthly food support scheme by the government of (Governor Adegboyega) Oyetola. I have been collecting rice, semo, garri, and wheat. I really appreciate the gesture. Some of aged people in this community are beneficiaries,” Mojere said.

    Similarly, Pa Alex Kolawole charged government to further expand the scope of the initiative, with a view to accommodating more vulnerable residents under the scheme, thereby cushioning the effects accompanying the current season of hunger. He said, “I have seen many administrations in the course of my journey in this life. They don’t usually remember people like us. But I commend this government for putting us in his plans and sending the food items to us.”

    The Coronavirus pandemic, which ravaged the world in 2020, affected all social strata, thereby contributing to poverty and hardship in every part of the world. It brought unprecedented hardship to economy. The pandemic put millions of people at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year. Millions of enterprises face an existential threat. Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion workers are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection.

    It has been affecting the entire food system and has laid bare its fragility. Border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have been preventing farmers from accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce, and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe and diverse diets. The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalised populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being the hardest hit.

    To cushion the effect of COVID-19 in Osun State, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, in April 2021, launched a food support scheme to feed vulnerable across the 30 local government areas of the state. Speaking during the event, Oyetola said, “The scheme is to mitigate the excruciating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on vulnerable citizens. It has become necessary because available statistics point to the fact that many jobs have been lost with many sources of livelihoods significantly threatened as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

    “The scheme will run till the end of the life of this administration and it is designed to cater for the critical needs of 30,000 poor and vulnerable citizens, including youths, widows, the aged and people living with disabilities across the state on a monthly basis. The beneficiaries were drawn across the nooks and crannies of the state, using the World Bank-sponsored Social Register and it would cater for the targets’ needs in a manner that is just and equitable.”

    The Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special duties, Olalekan Badmus, who is in-charge of the scheme, noted that the poor and the vulnerable in churches will be reached through the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); the needy and the poor in the Muslim community will be reached through Osun Muslim Community; the vulnerable among artisans through their associations; the needy among other ethnic groups in the state through their leaderships; the traditional worshipers through their association and traders through Iyalojas and Babalojas. He explained that in line with Governor Oyetola’s policy of promoting small, micro and medium businesses in the state to boost local economy, all food items, which include rice, garri, semo and wheat, will be sourced locally.

    A scheme stimulating the local economy

    Meanwhile, marking one year anniversary of the food support scheme by the state government at the flagoff of 12th edition held at the Local Government Service Commission, Abere, Badmus stressed that over 50 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been engaged since the introduction of the scheme one year ago. The Commissioner added that the initiative has helped to feed 360,000 vulnerable residents, with the multiplier effects on over one million people constituting various households that had benefited in one way or the other since the inception of the programme last year.

    “The positive impact of the scheme on the economy of the state cannot be over-emphasised as it had helped to stimulate the economy through the promotion of local production, encouragement of local entrepreneurs and by extension, alleviation of poverty and hunger. Its sustenance had in no measure contributed to the growth of the local economy,” Badmus said.

    He noted that the scheme had brought a paradigm shift to local production just as it had really helped to advance and promote the cause of local entrepreneurs who were hitherto not fully engaged. The testimonies received through the feedback mechanism provided to assess and evaluate the impact of the scheme has been very encouraging to the extent that people have keyed into the little opportunity provided to galvanise, stimulate and lubricate the economy of the state for the growth, progress and development of the state, Badmus added.

    “Going by the 11th edition that we did, you can see that the level of appreciation was very good and basically the feedback has been very encouraging as this had helped in no measure to surge up the level of productions by the suppliers. We have done 360,000 households and the implication of this is that most of these households have father, mother and children and what this implies is that over one million lives have been impacted through this scheme.

    “So, this is enormous and it is only in Osun you can talk of this people-oriented programme. The impact has been well felt and people appreciate it and they are also aware of what Governor Oyetola has been doing to reach out to the people particularly the vulnerable citizens. So far, we have been able to engage 50 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMSEs). We are happy to have made this feat within one year particularly on garri production, because we have been able to show that consistently, our local entrepreneurs can produce the product.

    “This has helped them to expand their business, get more patronage through the awareness we have created for them among other advantages. Basically, this has been very impactful to them and I am sure this is going to improve the SMEs in the state particularly women entrepreneurs, because from the investigation we have done, women are largely involve in the production of most of the local staple foods,” he added.

    Speaking at one of the events, Oyetola, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Oluwole Oyebamiji, said many people doubted whether the programme would be sustainable. “Exactly a year ago, when we launched the monthly food support scheme, a lot of people were sceptical about its sustenance and doubted that the programme would last for three months. But to the glory of God, and in line with our promise, we will continue to feed 30,000 vulnerable citizens. We are here to mark the 12th edition of the scheme.

    “Consequently, we decided to distribute garri as we did last month to boost local production and encourage our local entrepreneurs. When we are talking of agriculture, when you produce and there is nowhere to sell, you will not assist the economy of the state, so, I am sure that our cassava farmers today are happier than they were five months ago. What we are doing is the essence of government and what good governance stands for; people must be happy with the government and the best way to achieve that is to ensure economic base; that is why our government has been working hard to build a better economic base for the development of the people of Osun and advancement of the state.

    “Since we commenced the programme, the level of acceptance and feedback has been very unimaginable as being demonstrated so far by many of those that have benefitted in one way or the other from the initiative. As you can see, women have been extremely involved in the scheme. Take for instance, in the production of gari, women play dominant role and don’t be surprised that there are women farmers who cultivate cassava too in this state because if you go through the Ministry of Agriculture, there is a unit for women in agriculture and they are extremely doing very well.”

    The young entrepreneurs who benefited from the patronage by the state government extolled the state government for providing an enabling environment and sustainable template for their businesses to thrive.  They held that the gesture has rekindled their hope for a better tomorrow and the hands of patronage extended to them by government towards the actualisation and sustainability of its monthly food support scheme would go a long way to further encourage youths to put in their best and boost the local production of goods in the state and beyond.

    The state government has reiterated its readiness to support youths who are interested to go into agriculture, saying, “there is wealth in farming” as it flags off the distribution of the 11th edition of the food support scheme. The young entrepreneurs who have been contracted to make the supply specialised in the production of food commodities such as garri, cassava/yam flours, banana flours, pando-yam among other stable foods. One of the local entrepreneurs who supplied a significant amount of gari to government for distribution, Mr. Raji Ahmed Adekunle, hailed the state government for harnessing and exploring the potential embedded in the youths for the growth and development of the state.

    Adekunle said the inclusion of his venture in the list of those that supplied garri to the government has helped to expand the scope of his business for maximum capacity. “Recently, I was invited by the state government to be part of those that would supply garri in large quantity. We have done this and as you can see, we were able to meet up with government expectations in this regard. To me, this is highly unprecedented and commendable as it will go a long way to encourage us to continue to do our business, expand our production capacity and extension and create employment opportunity for others.

    “So, this initiative is well appreciated, as far as I am concerned. When I was contacted and later contracted for this, it first came as a surprise because I was surprised that someone like me that resides in Odeomu could be found worthy to supply garri to the state government. I find it very surprising that the state government will be so magnanimous to recognise my little efforts in faraway Odeomu. With this alone, I have been elevated by the project as this would go a long way to project ‘Garri- Odeomu’ to the world.

    “It is also worthy of letting the people know how magnanimous the government has been to us to have approved a take-off grant to execute the production. Indeed, this is very unprecedented because it is a plus to us as a people. I will advise the government to continue with this project because the impact is being felt across the nooks and crannies of the state. Take for instance, I have more than 12 local women working directly and indirectly for me and the implication is that these women have as well benefitted from this project.”

    Similarly, Mr. Azeez Tajudeen Olayemi; Alhaja Bola Alabi and Mr. Wale Afolabi, who are among the young entrepreneurs that supplied the commodity to government, expressed gratitude to the state government for advancing local productions.

  • Inside the cold war between Nasarawa APC gladiators

    Inside the cold war between Nasarawa APC gladiators

    In this report, LINUS OOTA writes that recent political developments in the Nasarawa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress are reopening old wounds among the party’s bigwigs, which may rupture the chances of the ruling party in the next elections

    For twelve years, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ruled Nasarawa State, with Abdullahi Adamu (1999-2007) and Aliyu Doma (2007-2011) as governors. But in 2011, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, who is now a senator, emerged as the governor of the state on the platform of the then Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), demystifying the PDP, which hitherto dictated the direction of politics in the state. That was how Al-Makura-led CPC defeated PDP’s Doma in the state.

    Through his persuasion, oratorical prowess and goodwill, Al-Makura collapsed the PDP in the state, especially during the 2015 general elections as the majority of the foot-soldiers of the party in the state, including Senator Adamu, who is now the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and others joined his moving train. Al-Makura had embarked on developmental projects across the nooks and cranny of the state, building what is known today as the modern day Nasarawa State. His developmental strides endeared him to the people of the state and he broke all barriers, particularly the ethnic sentiments when he won his re-election in 2015. In short, his exploits in office earned the appellation of “Architect of Modern Nasarawa State.”

    However, in 2019, when his administration got to an end, Al-Makura, now a senator, anointed his successor in the person of Abdullahi Sule, an engineer and the then Group Managing Director (GMD) of Dangote Sugar Refinery – a decision that did not go down well with Adamu and many other APC leaders in the state. Despite their opposition, Al-Makura ignored their advice and had his way. The former GMD became the governor.

    This singular decision in 2019 marked the genesis of the cold war between Al-Makura and Adamu to a point that the former attempted to snatch the APC senatorial ticket from Adamu by allegedly sponsoring his then Commissioner for Education, Aliyu Tijjani, to slug it out with Adamu. It took the intervention of the Adams Oshiohmole leadership of the party at the time to disqualify Tijjani, paving way for Adamu to secure the 2019 APC senatorial ticket and subsequently got elected into the Senate for the 3rd time.

    As a matter of fact, making Engineer Sule the APC governorship candidate in 2019 did not come easy for Al-Makura, as he had to pacify the likes of Senator Godiya Akwashiki who was then the deputy speaker of the State Assembly to drop his governorship ambition for a senatorial slot. Many party leaders thought that the likes of Silas Agara, who was Deputy Governor to Al-Makura, Aliyu Wadada, Barr Dauda Kigbu, among others, were men of influence who command large followership and Engr Sule would probably not have survived their onslaught if not for the support of Al-Makura. That was how Sule emerged the APC Governor in Nasarawa State, while Adamu returned to the Senate. Al-Makura and Godiya Akwashiki equally made it to the senate.

    It is equally gathered that Senator Adamu, who is publicly known for not having a forgiving spirit to any wrong done to him, allegedly harboured this malice in mind against Al-Makura and was waiting for the day their paths would cross. When the then Mai Mala Buni-led national caretaker committee of APC released guidelines to hold national convention of the party, only Al-Makura indicated interest from Nasarawa State to vie for the position of national chairman of the party. His declaration made all the stakeholders of APC in the state, led by Governor Sule, Senator Akwashiki and all the members of the House of Representatives from Nasarawa State and the entire APC members of the state House of Assembly as well as the State Working Committee of the party to openly endorse Al-Makura as their sole candidate for the position.

    When Senator Adamu later indicated interest few weeks to the national convention of the party, it was difficult for all the stakeholders, led by Governor Sule, to reverse their decision on Al-Makura. The rest is history as all the contenders in the North-central stepped down for Adamu due to the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari, paving way for Adamu’s emergence as national chairman of APC. Now, political rumours making the rounds in the state have it that Adamu, who has since assumed duties as APC national chairman, is alleged to have pencilled in some names as those he would work against their return tickets to the Senate and other elective positions. Those alleged to ha Barr Labaran Magaji who are angling to take his senatorial seat in Nasarawa west. Their only crime, political observes told our correspondent, is their alleged support to Al-Makura during the build-up to the national convention, which they said the new national chairman is finding it difficult to forgive.

    Until this development, it was gathered that Senators Al-Makura and Akwashiki had no challenger to their return tickets. However, as soon as Adamu took oath of office, sources in APC said he allegedly directed some of his boys and close allies to indicate interest in the senatorial tickets of the 3 senatorial zones in the state. The former Executive Secretary of the National Judicial Commission (NJC), Barr Danladi Evunlanza, has since declared interest to slug it out with Senator Akwashiki in the northern senatorial zone. Already, the former NJC Executive Secretary is allegedly telling whoever cares to listen that he is the candidate of the APC national chairman and would get the ticket no matter what happens. His aspiration is currently causing serious tension in Nasarawa-Eggon as the people are complaining that his 14 years stay at the NJC did not attract any meaning development to Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area.

    In the southern senatorial zone, Salihu Husseini Egyebola, and Barr Musa Hussaini have also declared to face Al-Makura in the senatorial primaries. Barr Musa was Commissioner for Justice when Adamu was Governor of the state. In the western senatorial zone where he just vacated the seat, Adamu has endorsed one of his close allies, Arc Shehu Tukur, as his preferred choice against the likes of Barr Magaji and Wadada. It is reliably gathered that Wadada is the preferred choice of Governor Sule for western senatorial ticket of the APC and the most popular candidate in the zone who can win elections any day if given the ticket, but Adamu is bent on punishing him for supporting Al-Makura despite consistent pleas by Governor Sule.

    For now, Governor Sule is rumoured not to be happy with the turn of events in the state, which are signals of disintegration as he prefers that popular candidates such as Al-Makura, Akwashiki and Wadada should be allowed to fly the party’s flag to make the campaign easier for the party. Already, the PDP in Nasarawa State is seriously regrouping to cash in on this looming war in order to take over the state in the next elections. Already, if this perceived display of political power is allowed, party bigwigs in the state are predicting a replay of Oshiomhole/Governor Godwin Obaseki episode in Edo State. By this, political pundits believe that if the alleged plot to replace the APC first eleven in the state in the next elections amounts to a coup d’état against the party.

    Many are of the opinion that the signs are clear that APC is not in a good place to win most elective seats if the likes of Senators Al-Makura and Akwashiki are denied tickets. Critics posit that the likes of Evunlanza and either Egyebola or Barr Musa can’t win a free and fair senatorial contest in Nasarawa northern and southern zones, respectively. Besides, the return of Senators Al-Makura and Akwashiki back to the Senate for a second term, observers maintained, will make them ranking senators, which party bigwigs can attract much more development to the state.

    Speaking to our correspondent, a prominent APC stakeholder in the state, who prefers anonymity said, “Our best senatorial candidates for 2023 is Al-Makura in the south and Akwashiki in the north. They are very popular and influential among their people and any attempt to frustrate their return tickets will spell doom for Nasarawa APC. They have performed very well and are in touch with their people. You can’t change the goal post in the middle of the game. During a war situation, you field army generals to face the war, and not police sergeants, and in this case, Al-Makura and Godiya Akwashiki are our army generals as far as 2023 general elections are concerned. Any attempt to deny them ticket is doom. We expect that the new national chairman should have the capacity to run a civilised party administration. Egyebola or Musa and Evunlanza can’t deliver APC; they can only cause headache for the Governor during the general elections,” he said

    He warned that the party stands the risk of disintegration in the state should the alleged imposition of unpopular candidates is allowed to happen. With the way and manner the national APC leadership is allegedly planning to retire the two serving senators in the south and north Senatorial districts, party pundits believe it is obvious that some hard lessons are yet to be learnt. “From 1999 to date, Nasarawa North has produced Senators Patrick Agah, John Danboyi, Patricial Akwashiki, Solomon Ewuga, Musa Nagogo and Philip Gyunka. None of them has ever done what Senator Akwashiki has done for Nasarawa North; job facilitation and empowerment. We want him to go back so that he can complete the numerous roads constructions, schools and health centers renovation and construction, among several other projects. It is said that a good turn deserves another. Akwashiki is a symbol as well as a movement, a name that represents growth, a name that represents empowerment and a movement for the betterment of the people of Nasarawa North. When he was first elected Senator in 2019, it was a breath of fresh air; we knew it was going to be another round of massive empowerment and high quality representation. The northern senatorial zone entrusted him with the mandate, and 3 years later, the people are grateful for having a round peg in a round hole.”

  • Tackling child-on-child sexual abuse menace

    Tackling child-on-child sexual abuse menace

    The Chrisland schools sex tape incident has brought to the fore the silent, but growing problem of child-on-child sexual abuse. Shockingly, there is hardly any direct provision on the issue in the Child’s Rights Act, Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA), Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act and other child-friendly laws, leaving government and other regulators handicapped in checking the menace, reports ROBERT EGBE.

    It took almost 17 years after she left secondary school for Obiamaka Azubike to muster the courage to name the students she holds responsible for her May 1, 2000 ordeal

    Azubike told her story in papers filed on her behalf by her lawyers at Falana and Falana Chambers at the Lagos High Court.

    She stated that on that May Day night, she was sexually and physically assaulted by 13 of her schoolmates. She was, at the time, a final year student and the Public Relations (PR) Prefect at her alma mater, Olashore International School (OIS) in Osun State.

    Azubike filed her statement in defence to a suit by a former school prefect al OIS, Okwuchi Ogboi.

    It reads in part. “On the 1st of May 2001, the school hosted its annual entry exams onsite, and the Defendant (Azubike) as PR Prefect had what seemed to be a perfect day until the fateful night.

    Senior House Debates/Public Speaking was held in the main school hall that night around 8pm and the Defendant went to the hill with three of her female classmates only to be told that SS3 students were exempted from attending the event as they had exams to write soon. The Defendant and her friend subsequently decided to return to the hostel.

    “While the Defendant and her friend were heading back to their hostel that night, the Defendant was sexually assaulted by 13 of her male classmates, including the Claimant, as they all inserted their hands, gripping and thrusting into all the sensitive parts of her body with utmost disregard and as well laughing at her tears till help came.

    “She managed to run while the assaulters, including the Claimant, chased her but when they realised that she was headed towards Dr. Burgess, the School Principal’s residence, they all tactically withdrew.”

    Ogbol, now a Senior Special Adviser to the Delta Suite Governor on Special Duties, denied any involvement in any such incident, describing Azubike’s claims earlier made on social media, as false and libellous.

    He is seeking N250million from Azubike for the alleged severe injury he suffered because of Azubike’s alleged defamatory publications against him.

    On her part, Azubike is countersuing for N510million as damages from Ogboi for the alleged sexual and physical assault.

    In February, OIS, the Trustees of Olashore International School Association, and proprietor of OIS, inaugurated a five-member panel of inquiry to unravel the truth and make recommendations on the incident.

    Pupil-on-pupil sex scandal

    Last week, another pupil-on-pupil sex scandal hit the headlines following a leaked sex tape involving several minors of the highbrow Chrisland Schools.

    One of the children’s mum alleged that her then 10-year-old daughter was raped during a trip to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was organised by the school.

    Pupils from the private school were in Dubai to participate in the World School Games between March 10 and 13, 2022.

    In a viral video shared on April 18 by music executive Ubi Franklin, via his Instagram page, the woman claimed that she was not aware of what happened in Dubai till another parent showed her the video of the incident.

    “As I was beating my daughter, she opened up to me and said the school threatened her not to speak out … My daughter was dying in silence and I did not know. Every day, I would be forcing her out of the room but she wouldn’t want to go to school,” she said.

    She alleged that the school “attempted to hide the issue” and that her daughter was taken for pregnancy tests “without my knowledge.”

    She added: “When I asked her what happened, my daughter said on the day of the incident, they went out in the morning to have breakfast and one of the boys begged her to lend him her phone charger which she did.

    “She said later in the evening the boy called her room and asked her to come for the charger in his room. So she went there. When she got to the room for the charger, they opened the door and one of the boys asked her to go and get her charger inside the toilet. She could it was when she entered the toilet that the boys surrounded her and asked her to drink a substance.

    “She said they were all under the influence of drugs after that and she did not know what she was doing again. My daughter said the boys asked her to climb on them while one of them was filming and sending out the videos.”

    Chrisland’s position

    Chrisland Schools authorities had, in a letter dated April 14, 2022, to the girl’s parents, suspended the pupil, claiming that she was the ringleader of a truth or dare game held in Dubai.

    “In line with our core values centred on discipline, Chrisland Schools have zero tolerance for any improper behaviour and misconduct,” the school said in the letter signed by its principal Georgia Azike.

    The school disclosed that other schoolmates who took part in the game had been suspended too, alleging that the girl and her parents did not cooperate during its investigation.

    Similarly, on December 19, 2020, an 1I-year-old Junior Secondary School (ISS) 1 student of Deeper Life High School in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State was allegedly molested and subjected to inhumane torture in the school.

    The boy’s mother, Deborah Okezie raised the alarm on social media after going to pick up her son at the end of the term. It was reported that the pupil narrated how he suffered at the hands of a teacher and students in his dormitory who sexually assaulted him by sticking their hands in his anus when others were sleeping.

    Afterwards, six of the members of staff of the school, including the principal, vice principal and housemaster were arraigned at a magistrate’s court for sexual molestation, maltreatment, starvation, and negligence

    Child-on-child sexual abuse/ Children in conflict with the law

    The OIS, Deeper Life and Chrisland schools incidents are examples of what experts refer to as child-on-child sexual abuse.

    A Cross River State-based activist-lawyer James Ibor, described child-on-child sexual abuse with reference to the Chirisland schools sex tape saga as an example of “children in conflict with the law.”

    Three University of Miami researchers, Jon A. Shaw, John E. Lewis, Andrea Loeb, James Rosado and Rosemarie A. Rodriguez in their book “Child on child sexual abuse: Psychological perspectives” defined child-on-child sexual abuse as a form of child sexual abuse in which a prepubescent child is sexually abused by one or more children or adolescents, and in which no adult is directly involved.

    They noted that this includes when one of the children uses physical force, threats, trickery or emotional manipulation to elicit cooperation.

    It also can include non-coercive situations where the initiator proposes or starts a sexual act that the victim does not understand the nature of and simply goes along with, not comprehending its Implications or what the consequences might be.

    While child-on-child sexual abuse is fairly well-researched in western jurisdictions, it is only becoming increasingly recognised as a problem in the developing world.

    For instance, an analysis of the phenomenon” by a South African Dr. Shaheda Omar found that child-on-child sexual abuse in South Africa has been recognised only recently as a significant social problem, reflected in the dearth of research on it.

    In “A study of child-on-child sexual abuse of children under 12 years”, Omar quoted data showing that an estimated 42 per cent of sexual offences reported to Childline, were committed by other children.

    Consequence on children

    Shaw, Lewis, Loeb, Rosado and Rodriguez found that child sex victims are exposed to clinical issues including attention problems, delinquent behaviour, sex problems, social problems, thought problems, withdrawn behaviour, and other emotional and behavioural problems.

    Is the menace widespread?

    The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) seems to cover the phenomenon. It describes CSA as the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violate the laws or social taboos of society. Any form of sexual touching exposure to pornographic content or even taking of sexual images through filming or photography will also amount to child sexual abuse.

    There is anecdotal evidence that the phenomenon is not uncommon locally. Many Nigerians are aware of instances where children have been caught engaging in age-inappropriate sexual behaviour, including child-on-child abuse.

    An Ikeja High Court in Lagos on February 14, 2022, discharged and acquitted a part-time Arabic teacher, Mr. Anisere Sulaimon, of a defilement and sexual assault charge after he spent almost four years in detention.

    Justice R. A. Oshodi noted that the evidence showed that it was a relation of the child, one Kehinde Adedeji – himself a minor at the time -that used to have carnal knowledge of her, not Sulaimon.

    The judge noted further that the prosecution witness said Adedeji, an uncle to the child, confessed to the crime of defiling the four-year-old.

    “Under cross-examination, PW] (Prosecution Witness 1) said that one Kehinde Adedeji, who is an uncle to the victim, confessed to the crime of defiling the victim,” Justice Oshodi held.

    Laws largely silent

    However, Nigerian laws are largely silent on child-on-child sexual abuse, suggesting that it is not acknowledged as a major menace.

    The Criminal Code, applicable in Southern Nigeria, and the Penal Code, applicable in Northern Nigeria, both make provisions for the related offences of rape and defilement.

    For instance, Section 216 of the Criminal Code regards the indecent treatment of minors under 14 as an offence of felony liable to imprisonment for seven years if done without consent. Section 218 of the Criminal Code recognises the defilement of girls under the age of 13 as an offence of felony liable to imprisonment for life. Section 221 of the Criminal Code provides that the defilement of girls under 16 and above 13 as an offence of misdemeanour is liable for imprisonment of two years.

    The Child Rights Act 2010 also requires that the well-being of every child must be respected and considered paramount and provides that sex with a child is rape, and anyone who has sexual Intercourse with a child is liable to imprisonment for life upon conviction.

    Under the heading “Unlawful Sexual Intercourse, etc.,” Section 31(3) states that “Where a person is charged with an offence under this section, it is immaterial that (a) the offender believed the person to be of or above the age of eighteen years; or (b) the sexual intercourse was with the consent of the child.”

    Read Also: German priest suspended after admitting to sexual abuse of minor

    However, in cases of child-on-child sexual abuse, the participants are minors, thus, rendering the provisions directly inapplicable.

    Can minors commit rape?

    The actors in the Chrisland Schools video appear to all be minors. But a child’s mum raised rape allegations. Can a rape charge against any of the pupils be sustained?

    Human rights lawyer Bukky Shonibare weighed in on the matter.

    Shonibare, the Executive Director, Invictus Africa, said: “Nigerian law is silent as it relates to statutory rape generally and by statutory rape; which is the argument in relation to the Chrisland Schools case, is to say that when (sex) occurs presumably between an adult and a child who has not attained the statutory age of consent, such kind of act is deemed as statutory rape.

    “Section 31 of the Child’s Rights Act clearly states that 18 years is the age of consent In the Chrisland case issue; these children are between the ages of 11 and 13 years old, so, generally, they do not fall under the age for us to say that statutory rape has happened.

    “Also, our criminal laws generally, i.e. Section 357 of the Criminal Code Act, Section 282 of the Penal Code Act and Section 1 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act do not talk about statutory rape. So, none of the laws we currently have in Nigeria contemplate situations where both the perpetrators and victims, as in this case, are minors. If any legal or criminal action is brought, it will have to be decided on the general case of rape.

    Can ‘Romeo and Juliet’ laws help?

    Shonibare cited laws in the West as examples of what Nigeria can emulate.

    She said: “What countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have done is to enact what they call the “Rome and Juliet” laws, or the “Close in age exemption”.

    “Such exemption contemplates that rape could also occur between minors and when such rape happens, what that law does is to serve as a legal basis to prevent criminal prosecution of both the perpetrator and the victim, considering that they are close in age and generally within four years apart.

    “So, our laws generally are silent on statutory rape and no exemption in our criminal laws provide for that.

    “Even if a crime is presumed to have been committed, which has not been committed in this regard, the law that will be used for these children is our Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA) but we must note that in that particular Act, it is provided that children between the ages of seven and 12 cannot be held criminally responsible unless it can be proven that such children have the capacity i.e. the mental capacity to know that their actions or omissions should not have been carried out in the first place and if they know the implications of such actions.

    Jurisdiction to prosecute

    The Chrisland Schools incident occurred in Dubai. Can Nigerian law enforcement agencies exercise jurisdiction in this case?

    Shonibare does not think so.

    She said: “In this particular case, it happened outside of jurisdiction. There can be some form of jurisdiction for Nigeria, because this case happened with Nigerian citizens and who are guided by Nigerian laws.

    “Now the question is, the incident that happened, is it currently a crime in Nigeria? It is not, so we cannot say that there is some form of jurisdiction. Section 36(8) of the 1999 Constitution essentially says that a person cannot be said to have committed a crime if such act does not constitute a crime at the time it was committed. As it is right now, no Nigerian law has provided that such an act between children, as in this case, is a crime. So, we cannot say that there will be some form of repatriation or anything in this regard, considering that they are children and that act is not criminalised.”

    Negligence claims can be sustained

    The rights activist reasoned that a claim for negligence against the school is possible.

    She said: “What can be done is that there seems to have been negligence on the part of Chrisland Schools, and because of that, the parents of the children can bring an action against the school.

    “Administrative action can also be taken by the Lagos State Government.

    “The issues around pregnancy test carried out without the consent of the parent can also be brought up considering the contact that exists between the parents and children that are going to school.

    “Finally, on the basis that we expect such schools to have policies that address issues like this, the implications or penalties that apply in that regard, should also be invoked in this particular situation.“

    Indiscriminate sharing of porn on social media

    The Chrisland incident gained traction online because of the leaked sex tape.

    Just like the Lagos State Government, Shonibare also has a warning for those sharing the video.

    “When it comes to cases of social media sharing of pornographic or sexual activity, especially as it relates to minors, the Cybercrimes Act is actually quite clear on that. Sections 23 and 24 of the act criminalises the sharing of such kind of videos, especially as it does not serve the interests of the children, both the victims, i.e., the children in this case, and their parents. It is an act that is criminalised. Those who watch or share it are committing a crime based on the Cybercrime Act,“ she said.

    Causes of child-on-child-sexual abuse

    Many experts agree that in the case of child-on-child sexual abuse, minors who have not matured sexually are normally incapable of knowing about specific sex acts without an external source. Thus children who initiate or solicit overtly sexual acts with other children most often have been sexually victimised by an adult beforehand, or by another child who was in turn abused by an adult. In some instances, the perpetrating child may have been exposed to pornography or repeatedly witnessed sexual activity of adults at a very young age.

    Experts also note that children who experience an unwanted sexual approach may not realise that this act was a crime against themselves.

     The National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) alluded to this with reference to the Chrisland incident.

    Deputy National President of the Association, Adeolu Ogunbanjo said: “Honestly, it is a shame and a very sad one. I have watched the video and from what I saw there, it is as a result of poor parenting, indiscipline and improper counselling on sex education.

    “There is also an administrative deficit, because even though they are children, boys and girls are not supposed to be together in the same hotel room, as seen in the video.”

    How to protect children

    Funmi Falana, National Director of Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA), gave tips on how to protect children.

    She endorsed the Child’s Rights Act “which provides that a child shall have proper guardianship that is in consonance with the culture and moral behaviour applicable in Nigeria. So where a child is not given proper guardianship, the law allows the Ministry of Social Welfare to withdraw the child from the parents and put the child in the government’s custody while the parents will also be monitored pending when the parents will be properly rehabilitated such that they will be able to give proper guardianship.”

    Duty of government, schools

    Editor-in-chief of franktalknow.com, Dr. Olabisi Deji-Folutile, who has a special interest in education and health issues, advised the state and Chrisland schools to set up a council to investigate and make recommendations on how to stop future incidents.

    Deji-Folutile said: “The state could establish a council saddled with the responsibility of performing that responsibility. Such council could be made up of educationists in the public and private sectors, who have a track record of integrity. That way, a seamless process of investigation and punishment is established.

    “In the same vein, there should be well laid-down punishment for erring schools. The sanction could be as stiff as a complete take-over of a school that failed to do due diligence in caring for the children in their care.

    “The schools themselves should have proper rules of engagement. Part of the problem is that some of these elitist schools often relax their rules in order to attract students, hence they tend to overlook deviant behaviours or pretend not to know certain things. They tend to naturally want to cover some evils so that they can continue to keep the students in school. This isn’t strange. Many of them are guided by economic motives. But by the time they know that certain things can end their existence, they are likely to weigh things before covering up for any student.

    “The government can ban children in primary and secondary schools from operating certain social media accounts; schools can do so too. Such a ban would have prevented a situation in which a child could run a social media account with thousands of followers.”