The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • NAIRA CRISIS: Filling station attendants, PoS operators make brisk business as cash becomes commodity

    NAIRA CRISIS: Filling station attendants, PoS operators make brisk business as cash becomes commodity

    High court judge left nearly penniless, stranded in Lagos —Alake of Egbaland
    Cash crunch hits churches

    FOR the first time since he started operating his provision store in Ikotun, a suburb of Lagos, Mr. Clement Akpia was forced during the week to violate a principle he had held sacred for almost two decades. Until Tuesday when he had to allow a nursing mother in the neighbourhood leave his shop with a tin of baby formula without paying, it had been Akpia’s resolve never to allow any customer buy even a pin from his shop on credit.

    To make his stance clear to any would be customer, he had placed the inscription of ‘no credit today, come tomorrow’ in front of his shop. Below the bold inscription are two framed pictures of two businessmen, one looking happy and gay, declaring that he sold in cash while the other looks sad and miserable, proclaiming that he sold on credit.

    On Tuesday, however, he had to waive his stance about selling on credit after the nursing mother whose baby was crying for food said that all her efforts to obtain cash from all the automated teller machines in the area had failed and neither online nor mobile app transfer of money could be done from her phone. Moved to pity by the cry of the customer’s baby, Akpia was left with no choice but ask the nursing mother to go home with the baby formula she desired and bring the money as soon as she was able to obtain cash.

    Akpia said: “I have had to change my stance about not selling on credit since the crisis provoked by the redesigning of the naira began because people are finding it difficult to obtain cash from the banks and even the POS machines.

    “I also discovered that people are finding it difficult to do money transfer probably because there is too much pressure on banks’ mobile apps which millions of people have to use at the same time.

    ‘For instance, a woman came into my shop and her baby was crying for food. She wanted to buy food for her baby but she could not obtain cash after going round all the ATM machines in the neighbourhood. She tried to do online transfer but that too became impossible.

    “After seeing all her efforts and her crying baby, I was left with no choice but to sell baby food to her on credit and ask her to bring the money the following day.”

    Few Nigerians had an inkling of the crisis that loomed when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the introduction of redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 bank notes into the financial system on October 26 last year and gave December 31 as the date the old notes would seize to be legal tender. The alarm raised by concerned Nigerians that the deadline notice was too short had fallen on deaf ears as the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele insisted that the date was as sacred as Christmas.

    Nigerians watched with bated anxiety and the nation was set on edge as the deadline drew close and the automated teller machines were still dispensing the old naira notes. It got to a point that concerned Nigerians had to raise the alarm about the unusual turn of events. But rather than abate, the problem has worsened by the day, forcing people to devise various means and making heavy sacrifice to get cash.

    Aisha, a resident of Ota in Ogun State, told one of our correspondents during the week that the minders of an ATM at a branch of Wema Bank at The Bells University where she had gone in search of cash insisted that no one would be allowed to withdraw more than N3,000 which was dispensed in N100 notes.

    Another resident of the historical town and health worker who identified himself simply as Segun relayed how he had to approach a filling station attendant for assistance with his POS machine when all his efforts to obtain money from banks’ ATMs yielded no result. To get N20,000, however, he had to pay the filling station attendant N2,000.

    Segun said: “We had no food at home and we needed money. After all efforts to obtain money failed, I had to give N2,000 to a petrol attendant to get the needed cash.

    “If I had not done so, I would have had a serious crisis to deal with at home. It is not a pleasant experience but that is where we have found ourselves.”

    In Lagos, POS operators also had a field day fleecing helpless Nigerians of their hard-earned money as they charged sums ranging between N1,000 and N5,000 as commission.

    A GTBank customer who had previously withdrawn N10,000 from one branch and returned to another branch of the bank could not withdraw extra.

    Echoing her disappointment, the customer said: “On Wednesday, they were not paying at all. In the morning, they only paid maximum N5,000 to non-bank customers and paid real bank customers maximum N10,000.”

    An angry bank customer, who gave his name simply as Fatai, told one of to our correspondents in a chat that it was the pressure they mounted that compelled the banks to start paying them.

    “In the last two days or so, they were not paying,” he said.

    Also justifying the rather skewed payment arrangement, a security guard in one of the banks said the bank chose that option because there were instances where non-bank customers used the ATM to withdraw as much as N150,000, hence they had to reconfigure the ATMs to dispense fewer notes to non-bank customers and pay the bank customers at least N10,000.

    Checks revealed that very few of the banks across the Lagos metropolis were paying their customers.

    A middle-aged woman who reportedly came to the bank to withdraw the sum of N100,000 was paid in N5, N10 and N20 denominations. After fuming and puffing for hours, the distraught woman loaded them in a bag and left.

    There was also the case of a woman who required urgent medical attention but she could not get money to fund her health emergencies as most of the banks she visited were completely out of cash.

    Investigation conducted by our correspondents revealed that many of the banks in the city had reconfigured their ATMs to dispense only N1,000 to other bank customers while the bank’s customers could only make a withdrawal of N10,000 as against the N20,000 limit set by the apex regulatory bank, CBN.

    In some cases, some frustrated customers engaged in slugfest as they pummeled themselves in the heat of the cash-strap crisis. Many banks premises were tension-soaked as customers who had been kept under very dehumanising conditions lost their cool.

    Filling station attendants, PoS operators make brisk business

    While many Nigerians are lamenting the prevailing situation, petrol attendants are conniving with PoS operators in many areas to make brisk business. It is now common sight to see PoS operators hanging around filling stations where they but the cash available to the filling station attendants and sell to their (PoS) customers at exorbitant rates.

    Adetoun, a trader who lamented that sales had dropped drastically because would be customers could not obtain the cash they needed had hinted on it when she said: “The situation is so bad that PoS operators in my neighborhood are coming to ask me for cash to do business. It is a dark period in the history of this country. It is the first time I am witnessing this kind of untold hardship. The government must do something about it before things get out of hand.”

    One of our correspondents recalled his experience at a filling station in an Ogun community where he made fruitless efforts to transfer money into a bank account the station’s attendant gave to him to transfer money into after he had bought fuel.

    After repeated attempts to transfer money into the said account had failed, the filling station attendant directed the reporter to a nearby PoS operator who charged the reporter the sum of N2,000 as commission for the N20,000 he demanded.

    Unknown to the reporter that there was a working relationship between the filling attendant and the PoS operator, he stormed out of the PoS operator’s shop and reported the exorbitant commission charged by the PoS operator to the attendant. But rather than sympathise with the reporter, the filling station attendant only smiled and said, “That is what others are paying”.

    The attendant then told the reporter that his vehicle would be ‘detained’ at the filling station until he was able to get money to ‘bail’ it. The reporter had to abandon his car at the filling station until the following morning when his app became functional and he transferred money into the attendant’s private account.

    But it was a case of different strokes for different folks as some PoS operators have had their operations completely crippled by scarcity of cash.

    Olamide Adeoti, a PoS operator in Meiran area of Lagos, shared his plight thus: “I have not been operating for three days now because it has been difficult to get cash from the bank.

    “A few days ago, I had to approach a resident who sold the sum of N100,000 to me and collected N10,000 as charges. I have asked my office clerk to stay at home until cash is available because I cannot afford to operate at a loss. Customers are running away from paying a huge amount as charges on their withdrawals.”

    For Motolani Akorede, another PoS operator in Abule Egba area of Lagos, the song is not different.

    “There is no cash for me to spend, not to talk of giving to customers. The cash crisis has opened my eyes to think of other endeavours as succour in times like this in the future.

    “I gave up when I visited my bank and I was given tally number 250 on the queue. Still, there was no money to withdraw at the end of the day.”

    Cash crunch hits churches

    The Nation gathered that many churches are feeling the pains bred by cash scarcity. Some church administrators who spoke with our correspondents said the offerings and collections made in their churches last Sunday were poor.

    A church administrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, likened the situation faced by some churches right now to what they faced during the lockdown impelled by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

    He said: “The offering dropped last Sunday and we also expect it to drop next Sunday. Majorly, everything is centered on money.

    “Those in the informal sector do not get money to do business. The money that ought to circulate has been hijacked, and that is what they are reselling.

    “It is like what we experienced during the COVID-19 period. It dropped significantly.”

    High court judge left nearly penniless, stranded in Lagos —Alake of Egbaland

    The Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, advised the Central Bank of Nigeria to be conscious of the feelings of Nigerians when embarking on any financial policy, saying the current cash swap policy and the attendant crisis, almost left a High Court Judge penniless and stranded in Lagos a few days ago.

    Alake, who warned that any policy that is not people-friendly would not succeed, was reacting to the current challenges Nigerians are grappling with over naira swap. He described the currency swap exercise as the “worst thing” to be thrown at people who were already burdened with the pains of collecting permanent voter card (PVC) and running around for scarce fuel.

    The monarch spoke yesterday when he received the team of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) comprising officials of the apex bank from Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states.

    The team led the branch controller, Ogun State, Alhaji Wahab Lanre Oseni, was at the palace in respect of the ongoing nationwide sensitization programme on the newly redesigned naira notes.

    He said an unnamed judge attended a club in Lagos on Tuesday and had no more money left in his pocket. But providence came his way when someone came to the club to make payment across the club’s counter with cash. The judge quickly seized the opportunity, did electronic transfer and collected the cash from the person.

    According to the monarch, that fortuitous moment saved the judge.

    He said: “We are not too happy about the devaluation of naira, particularly in that last three years that it went haywire that it went for N700/N800 to one dollar. Then the worst thing was this currency exchange you are doing and you insisted on not going to change the date and that the date was fixed.

    “We didn’t want the polity to be over heated, because election is coming. We have problem of fuel, problem of having permanent voter card, then you add the currency to it and people could not spend money.

    “A high court judge just left here now. He went to a club in Lagos. Somebody paid N8000 at the (club’s) counter. He quickly transferred the N8000 to them and collected the cash. Otherwise, he didn’t have a penny in his pocket,” he said.

    Speaking earlier at the Alake’s palace, Oseni said the apex bank was of the strong conviction that the task of sensitising Ogun residents would not be complete without carrying along the traditional institution because of their closeness to the people at the grassroots.

    “The traditional institution will always help us because you at the grassroots can help us talk to our people generally and that’s why the exercise can never be complete without visiting the palaces,” Oseni said.

  • The politics of Buhari’s visit to Kano

    The politics of Buhari’s visit to Kano

    One of the many bizarre intrigues that usually define elections in Nigeria – whether general or off-season – is for politicians and their followers to make a mountain out of a molehill of any issue. One such situation happened on Monday when the fake news of President Muhammadu Buhari’s purported stoning by youths in Kano State during an official visit went viral. However, FANEN IHYONGO reports that the President, who was in Kano to inaugurate some landmark projects, was not stoned; neither was his chopper nor motorcade hurled with pebbles.

    Expectedly, destructive pieces of misinformation soar faster than those that enhance unity. Negative and fake news seems more persuasive than good news. Again, it is a big news item for a man to bite a dog than when a dog bites a man.

     Being an election season when other parties are working hard to wrestle power from the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC), every slight negative incident is hyped by the opposition. That is what happened to President Muhammadu Buhari in Kano on Monday. Contrary to the news getting round that President Buhari or his entourage was stoned in Kano, he was warmly received in Kano by the people and state government.

     However, prior to the President’s visit, the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, had urged President Buhari to postpone his planned trip to inaugurate some projects in the state. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, Ganduje said the masses were angry because of the hardship the people are experiencing due to the naira redesign.

     “Deeply concerned with the hardship caused by the limited time given for halting the use of old naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and for security reasons, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje reveals that the state resolved and wrote to the presidency that the visit of the President to inaugurate some projects to be postponed,” the statement said in part.

     During the visit, it was alleged that some angry youths in Kano State hauled stones at the advance convoy of the President. Reacting to the occurrence, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, described the incident as outright treason and sacrilege. “This organised attack on the person of the President is out rightly treasonable and a sacrilegious assault on our national sovereignty which must be condemned by all,” the PDP said.

     According to the PDP, the attack was designed to undermine the Presidency, cause confusion, trigger violence in the country, disrupt the conduct of the 2023 general elections “and derail our democracy having realised that he cannot win in a peaceful, free and fair electoral process.” But, in a swift reaction to the PDP allegation that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, were to be blamed for the alleged attack on the President, the APC described the PDP claims as fake. It said the allegation that Tinubu and Ganduje were behind the attack could be “nothing far from emanating from the pit of hell.”

     A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga accused the PDP of peddling “fake news” and urged Nigerians to disregard same. “This invented attack on President Muhammadu Buhari must have happened only in the fertile imagination of the PDP National Publicity Secretary,” he said.

    The Presidency didn’t find the peddling of what it called “fake news” by the PDP cheery. It described the main opposition party as a purveyor of fake news capable of causing disaffection among the citizens. Reacting to insinuations by the party that stones were thrown at the convoy of President Buhari during his state visit to Kano State, the Presidency, in a release by one of the presidential spokespersons, Mallam Garba Shehu, said: “At no time was stone hauled at the President while his visit lasted.” It noted that security reports had it that “there was a clash between the Kano State Transport Company and thugs hired by some unidentified politicians after the President had finished inaugurating projects in the state.

     Not happy with the development, the President urged the PDP to “stop the campaign of calumny ahead of the general elections. We have seen fake reports of a stone-pelting incident that took place at the Hotoro area of Kano on the day of the visit to the city by President Buhari on Monday, an incident, even if minor, that should stand condemned by all well-meaning citizens. Facts on the ground as rendered by the law enforcement agencies speak of a clash between the local road transport authorities, the Kano Road Transport Authority (KAROTA) and thugs hired by a yet-to-be-identified group that took place, when the President was being treated to a banquet at the Government House, well after he had finished his projects inauguration,” the statement said.

    Despite, the back and forth about the President’s visit to Kano by the APC and the PDP, his visit to Kano was a successful one. President Buhari’s visit to Kano provided him with the opportunity to witness the giant strides by the administration of Governor Ganduje in his nearly eight years in office. Ganduje’s commitment to the welfare of his people was the driving force for the President’s visit to Kano State. Not only did President Buhari arrive in the state in style, but he also inaugurated Ganduje’s awe-inspiring projects and recognised the enormity of the developmental impact of the two-term governor on the state and the people.

     While in Kano, the President paid a courtesy call to the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero before he inaugurated eight development projects. He also had lunch in the Government House after which he delivered a keynote address. Despite these positive dimensions of the President’s visit, what has been trending on social media is an alleged attack, which has been hyped by the opposition just to discredit him. Some even alleged that some of the hoodlums who protested used catapults to stone the President. So, the fake news of people stoning Buhari will naturally fly more than the true story of how warmly the people of Kano received him in a state that boasts it is one of the most peaceful in the country.

     Earlier before the visit, speculations were that some terror hoodlums have plotted to attack the President in Kano. Concerned about this, Governor Ganduje wrote the presidency suggesting the postponement of the state visit. “As we are waiting for this important visit, we found ourselves in this situation, which puts citizens into untold hardship. For security purposes, we wrote to the Presidency that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Kano be postponed,” Ganduje stated during his interaction with scholars, legislators, political leaders and the business community in the state at Government House, Kano on Friday. Ganduje added that “the decision was taken to avoid any unforeseen circumstance.”

     But investigations by police detectives, the military, the Directorate of State Service (DSS) and other security agencies revealed that the so-called unhealthy security reports were sponsored by the opposition to defeat the purpose of the state visit which was to unveil capital projects that have been executed by the state and the Federal Government. So, why would they attack Buhari? The peddlers of this rumour adduced hardship suffered by the people as a result of the redesigned naira notes and fuel crisis as reasons for the plan to attack the President.

     In order not to take chances, a worried Ganduje led a delegation to President Buhari in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State on Sunday. Senators Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya and Barau Jibrin, House Leader Alhasan Ado Doguwa and the Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly Hamisu Ibrahim Chidari accompanied Ganduje to Daura. It was after the interaction with Buhari that Ganduje returned to his state preparatory to receive the President on Monday. Security was beefed up in Kano following the fake alarm. Security personnel, including the military, police, Civil Defence Corps, Federal Roads Safety Corps and the state’s Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA), were deployed to man all the major routes of the state everywhere the President was expected to pass.

     To ensure a hitch-free visit, truckloads of soldiers and policemen were conspicuously stationed at strategic locations while more were on patrol. The security personnel also carried out stop-and-search exercises along Sabo Bakin Zuwo Road (State Road), Emir’s Palace Road, Ahmadu Bello Way and Audu Bako Way as well as major junctions that were manned by the personnel apparently on the lookout for explosives.

     So, what really happened? Buhari was moving from one place to another, cutting the tapes, unveiling the plagues. After the President had inaugurated a project in Hotoro and left, urchins, most of them underage, who were watching from far because they were not allowed to come near the venue, came to the arena, apparently to vandalise the items used in decorating the venue. Eyewitnesses said it was from there that the hoodlums (believed to be sponsored), carrying stones and clubs started setting burn fires on the streets. But they were quickly dispersed by the combined armed policemen and soldiers. But before they could be stopped by security personnel, the social media was already awash with doctored photographs and short video clips of news that the presidential aircraft was attacked and the President stoned.

     At the time the fake news made headlines, our correspondent was in the Government House where the President was having lunch with the APC chieftains and critical stakeholders in Kano. The police have since stated that the news is fake, adding that they would have made arrests if there was any attempt to attack the President. A Government House source said Governor Ganduje and the President were not even aware that news had gone around that they were stoned. “There was nothing like that. In fact, it is this morning (Tuesday) that I showed him the fake news on the internet, which is the handiwork of the opposition,” our source said.

     The President first landed in Zuwachiki in Kumbotso Local Government Area where he inaugurated the Dala Inland Dry Port. From there, he flew to the place of the Emir of Kano to pay homage to him. He kept the aircraft at the palace premises and joined the convoy to all the other places he later visited. He also went to the Government House for the lunch by car. From the Government House, he was driven to the Emir’s palace from where he flew back. No one threw stones at the President’s convoy. Other projects the President inaugurated included a 10mw solar plant, Cancer Treatment Centre at Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, Giginyu; Muhammadu Buhari Road, Rotary Interchange at NNPC Station along Maiduguri Road and Aliko Dangote Modern Skills Acquisition Centre on Zaria Road. Some source said the fake news was a plot by the opposition to discredit the good works done by Ganduje in the state and to paint a picture that the APC presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu, whose cap Ganduje wore on Monday, was not present during the President’s visit.

  • Mega projects renew optimism in Lagos as economic prosperity beckons

    Mega projects renew optimism in Lagos as economic prosperity beckons

    Already, one of Africa’s largest and most prosperous economies, Lagos State, is about to get even more massive. Its multibillion-dollar Lekki deep sea port, blue line rail project, and 32-metric tons rice mill, among others – all recently inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari – signal greater economic prosperity for the state’s residents and the country. Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF and ROBERT EGBE report

    It does not take a first-time visitor very long to understand why Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial nerve-centre and economic behemoth: the scale of business and industry across the length and breadth of the state is simply unmatchable anywhere else in the country and even in most parts of Africa.

     Without any significant oil revenue (unlike most other coastal states), Lagos’ Gross Domestic Product stood at a massive N26.587 trillion or $75.965 billion (at N350 to $1) in 2021 as validated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Only eight countries, namely Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana (by less than $2 billion) had a bigger economy, according to August 30, 2022, AFP Fact Check Report (https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32HB7KG) relying on 2021 World Bank data.

     This impressive economic outlook of Lagos State promises to rise even higher following the coming on stream this year of several multi-billion-dollar projects, all recently inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari during a two-day visit to Lagos on January 23 and 24. The projects include the $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Sea Port, the Blue Line Rail (Phase 1) (Marina to Mile 2); ground-breaking for the Blue Line Rail Phase 2 (Mile 2 to Okokomaiko), the 32-metric tons rice mill, the 18.75km Eleko to Epe T Junction Express Road and the 200 million litres Bestaf Lubricant plant at MRS Holdings Company Limited, described as the first of its kind in West Africa.

     Also, last October at its 2022 Ehingbeti Summit, the state launched a 30-year development plan to boost its GDP to $100 billion. The development plan tagged, ‘LSDP 2052,’ was conducted over five phases between March 2021 and December 2022 and has over 400 initiatives across different metrics to drive the inclusion of every citizen in the state.

    ‘Game-changer’ Lekki Deep Sea Port

    Perhaps, more than any other project, the multi-purpose Lekki Deep Sea Port holds the greatest potential for reviving a national economy that is grappling with soaring inflation, stagnating growth and slumping foreign investment following the dampening effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war. President Buhari alluded to the benefits accruable from this project during its inauguration, noting that the port is in line with his administration’s Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP).

     Buhari was received by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, and some members of the State Executive Council. Also in his entourage were Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, his Ogun State counterpart Dapo Abiodun, former governors Kayode Fayemi and Ibikunle Amosun, service chiefs, Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Abike Dabiri, and Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, among others.

     The multi-purpose Deep Sea Port, said to be the deepest in sub-Saharan Africa, offers enormous support to the burgeoning commercial operations across Nigeria and the entire West African region. Buhari, in the company of his entourage, took a brief tour of the facilities in the massive project.

     Governor Sanwo-Olu said: “The project is a total combination of efforts of the Federal Government, Lagos State and the private sector, and we are happy that this is happening in your time. It all started within your time and it has been completed within your time. The size of vessels that will be coming here could be up to four times the size of vessels that currently berth at both Tin Can and Apapa Ports.

     “So, it is a massive infrastructure and we are excited that something fresh has been impacted into this country, and it is going to generate thousands and thousands of direct jobs and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs in the entire ecosystem. This is your own project and we are excited.”

     The governor said the construction of the port was completed in record time, despite the slowdown in the pace of work occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic. He noted that the last Sea Port construction in Lagos occurred in the late 1970s when Tin Can Island Port was built to relieve Apapa Port. Cargo ships at the old Federal Government-owned ports in Lagos sometimes wait as much as a month offshore before unloading cargo in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. Inefficiency, corruption, decaying infrastructure and congestion at those ports often lead to cargoes bound for Nigeria being diverted to Ghana and Togo, costing billions in lost revenues and raising local prices.

     But Sanwo-Olu expressed optimism that the Lekki Deep Sea Port will not only be different; it will also change the economic fortunes of the whole country. He said: “Now, with the support of President Buhari, federal authorities and the investment of the private sector, we are home to the newest Sea Port in the world, and the first Deep Sea Port in Nigeria. The economy of Lagos and Nigeria will be massively transformed by this investment, with enormous benefits in terms of the creation of direct and indirect jobs in their thousands, tens of billions of dollars in government revenues, reduced costs in shipping and logistics, trade facilitation, and many other benefits.”

     The vision, conceptualised decades ago by the Lagos State Government, has been nurtured into reality, with the construction and completion of a new Deep Seaport in Lagos Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Ibeju Lekki, by the state government, in collaboration with Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and a group of private investors. The development underscores another triumph of Public-Private Partnership (PPP), a possibility the state government started exploring for infrastructure delivery in the early 2000s when Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), held sway as governor.

     The transportation infrastructure would give a major boost to the economy, by expanding the country’s maritime capacity and paving way for the decongestion efforts at the existing Apapa and Tin Can Island ports. The Lekki Deep Seaport, constructed by China Habour Engineering firm, sits on 90 hectares in the 830 hectares carved out for the Free Trade Zone, created in 2012 to enhance the economic position of Lagos State as a manufacturing and logistics hub in West Africa. The Lekki Deep Seaport is designed with three container berths 1,200-metre long and 16.5-metre water depth. It is built with the capacity to be berthed by fifth-generation container ships and can handle 1.2 million standard containers. It equally has to expand storage for six million, Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) of containers yearly.

    $201 billion in revenue, 300,000 direct jobs

     The port, which would serve as a trans-shipment hub for the region, is expected to generate $201 billion in annual revenue for Lagos and the Federal Government in taxes, royalties and duties while having an estimated business revenue impact of $158 billion across the value chain. Over 300,000 direct jobs will be created from port operations, with hundreds of indirect jobs across the value chain.

     Also, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammad Bello-Koko, said the new port would generate employment opportunities for Nigerians. He thanked the President for giving the port the necessary approvals during the construction period, adding that the NPA would provide necessary marine services to ensure its efficiency. Bello-Koko said the Lekki Deep Sea Port is the deepest and most modern port in the country that accommodates bigger vessels and cargo.

    The project for jobs would be welcome news for most Nigerians. On January 19, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) said the country’s unemployment rate could rise to 37 per cent this year. The private sector-led think-tank made the forecast in its 2023 macro-economic outlook report entiGeneral of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said Nigeria had seen the emergency of one of the best ports in West Africa. “Today, we are seeing the realisation of the inauguration of the best port in Africa that is expected to inject not less than $360 billion and provide employment to not less than 190,000 Nigerians. We have seen the dedication and political will on this project. This project commenced and started by this administration with sincerity of purpose,” Jamoh said.

    Competitiveness of

    Nigeria’s exports

    For Minister for Transportation, Muazu Sambo Jaji, the distinctive features of the Lekki Deep Seaport, such as automation of operations that enable quick cargo and vessel turnaround, would enhance the competitiveness of Nigeria’s exports, especially agro-allied products in the international marketplace, while positioning country to maximise opportunities in African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement

     The Chairman of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), Mr Tang Qiaoliang, noted that the port would improve the Nigerian port industry, ease the burden of cargo shipment flow, create employment, and promote international trade. He said: “Lekki Port is the first deep sea port in Nigeria, a major trade hub in West Africa. It will improve the Nigerian port industry, ease the burden of cargo shipment flow, create employment, and ultimately promote international trade in the nation. As an international top-tier engineering contractor, investment operator, urban developer and ecological manager, CHEC insists on its philosophy of ‘value orientation’ and commits itself to the upgrade of the ‘platform plus industrial leading’ strategy.

     “With such a strategy, we see the opportunity in Nigeria and believe in its potential. So, we committed adequate financial investment and essential technology, together with Nigerians in the construction and operation of the port. Under the framework of the China Africa Forum and the Belt and Road Initiative, we look forward to establishing a long-term strategic partnership in the infrastructure sector with the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Qiaoliang said.

    A boost for Nigeria-China

    bilateral trade

    He noted that the project would deepen the bilateral trade and cooperation between Nigeria and China. The Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL) is a joint venture enterprise owned by foreign promoters, Lekki Port Investment Holdings Inc. (comprising China Harbour Engineering Company Limited. and Tolaram), the Lagos State Government, and the Federal Government.

     LPLEL is incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act regime and licensed by the Lagos Free Zone to operate in the Free Zone under the NEPZ Act. This opens a host of benefits for Lekki Port regarding taxes, duties, and other incentives. The Lekki Port is a multi-purpose Deep Sea Port at the heart of the Lagos Free Trade Zone, one of the most modern ports, supporting the burgeoning trade across Nigeria and the entire West African region. The shareholders of this visionary project are the NPA, the Lagos State Government, China Harbour Engineering Company, and Tolaram.

    World-class Imota Rice Mill to birth 250,000 direct/indirect jobs

    President Buhari also opened the Imota Rice Mill, considered the biggest of its kind in Africa and the fourth largest in the world. The mill is a 2 x X IGMTPH standing on an area of 8.5Ha land, with an annual paddy requirement of over 240,000MT to produce 32 metric tons per hour and 2.5 million bags of 50kg rice per annum. The mill will generate about 1,500 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect jobs for Lagosians. The final product is called ‘Eko Rice.’

     Buhari, who described the project facility as ‘so big,’ hailed the Lagos State government for taking the bold step to become self-sufficient in food production. He toured the facility, saw the rice pyramids and also watched the last part of the bagging process, which is the sealing.   Governor Sanwo-Olu, who said the President was delighted with the projects, said: “The President is really so delighted to be here to open the largest rice mill in entire Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the largest in the world. The Lagos rice mill here in Imota has been done because of the agricultural revolution of Mr President who, when at the beginning of his administration, said Nigerians should grow what they eat and eat what they grow. We are happy that Lagos is a testament to that. Lagos is ready to support the rice revolution and food revolution in Nigeria. It will create close to 250,000 direct or indirect jobs. We want to thank the Imota and Ikorodu communities, and everyone for waiting patiently. Mr President is indeed excited that we have achieved another first in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

     “At present, we are delivering the largest-capacity rice mill in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of the biggest in the world. Once again, Nigeria is on the international map, manifesting her industrial potential. While Lagos may not have the land mass to host large-scale farming on the level being done by agrarian states in the country, we do have an abundance of passion for industrial development, value-addition and capacity-building for our people. We decided that, while we may not have the largest rice farms in the country, we can still get involved in the value chain through processing and value-addition.

     “Mr President’s vision is to have a country that ‘grows what it eats and eats what it grows’. Lagos is proud to be a contributor to the realisation of this vision through this rice mill, and other agriculture interventions, including Africa’s largest Food Logistics Park.”

     Sanwo-Olu said the rice mill would require over 200,000 tons of paddy to be grown on over 50,000 hectares of rice fields in a cropping season. This, he said, would create a huge investment opportunity in paddy aggregation, rice production technology, extension services, land opening and mechanisation of the production processes, along with capacity building for Rice farmers in states to be partnered by Lagos.

    Blue Rail Line mass transit will run from Marina to Okokomaiko

    A day later, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the first phase of the Blue Line Rail of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT). The 13km line (phase one) runs from Marina to Mile 2, with five stations of Mile 2, Alaba, Iganmu, National Theatre and Marina. He also witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the second phase, which will run from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko. The 27km Blue Line rail route is one of the six metro lines identified in the LRMT master plan of the Lagos State Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP).

     Others in the STMP are the Red Line (Agbado-Oyingbo/Marina); Green line (Marina to Epe); Orange Line (Redeemed Camp-Marina); Purple line (Redeemed Camp-Ojo); Orange Line and Yellow Line (Sango Ota-Iddo). The iconic Marina station, being the largest train hub in Africa, is 240 metres long.  It is equipped with two concourses of 12 turnstiles each with a processing capacity of 480 passengers per minute and over 24,000 per hour. Travel time on the Marina – Mile 2 route is about 15 minutes. It will be powered by high-voltage electricity (750VA).

     Tinubu’s vision

    coming into reality

    Sanwo-Olu thanked President Buhari for the visit and also praised former Governor Asiwaju Tinubu for the vision of the rail line. He said: “President, we are very proud to be associated with your bold national vision for infrastructural transformation. We would also like to pay special tribute to the architect of Modern Lagos, who is also the presidential candidate of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and by the special grace of God, a most worthy successor to you, Mr President – our Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu the Jagaban of Borgu Kingdom.

      “This Blue Line is the product of his timeless vision for Lagos State, a vision that dates back almost 25 years when he took over the reins of leadership in Lagos State. One of his greatest legacies was developing a comprehensive road map for the future of Lagos State; one that laid out very clearly the pathway to a modern, prosperous, and globally competitive megacity.

      “The Lagos State Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP) envisioned six metro lines, of which the 27km Blue Line, running from Marina to Okokomaiko, is the first. This Line is 13km long, and the first phase of a 27km line. This Phase One runs from Marina to Mile 2, across five stations of Marina, National Theatre, Iganmu, Alaba, and Orile, and is expected to cover that distance in less than 15 minutes, compared with the rush-hour time of 2.5 hours if undertaken by road.

    “The benefits are obvious and unquantifiable: a more efficient transport service that improves the quality of life of Lagosians frees up more of their time, reduces the pressure on the roads, and contributes to Nigeria’s lofty climate action obligations.”

    Environmentally-friendly mass transit system

    This Blue Line rail system will be powered end-to-end by high-voltage electricity. It will be supplied by a dedicated independent power plant, as well as backup systems. Sanwo-Olu said: “What this means is that the operation of this Line will leave zero carbon emission impact on the environment. This iconic Marina Station will be the largest and busiest train hub in Africa, with a capacity to process as many as 400 passengers per minute, translating into 24,000 passengers every hour. When Phase One starts running fully, we envisage that it will transport a quarter of a million Lagosians daily, rising to half a million daily when the entire corridor is completed.”

     The governor thanked the President for the Federal Government’s support towards the project and many others. He added: “You have made our work administering Lagos much easier in many ways, and we will eternally be grateful to you for this.”

     Sanwo-Olu also promised that the Red Line will be ready and opened before the end of July. Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat recalled that Governor Sanwo-Olu, Speaker of the House of Assembly Mudashiru Obasa and some others took a test run of the train last December. He noted: “Coincidentally, Marina, where we are making history today is central to our integrated multimodal transport system, being a melting pot for all transportation modes.

     “The excitement, no doubt, is justifiable, considering the fact that this project will certainly help to reduce the pressure on our roads, enhance the economic well-being of Lagosians and put our dear state on the same pedestal as others of its stature. The people come first in all that we do. They are the bedrock of our government. This project is, therefore, all about them. And that is what governance is all about.”

    In Lagos, ‘time is money’

    Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Cui Jianchun, hailed the government for the initiative. He noted that the project was proof that Lagos, as a great city, understands that time is money as the train will reduce travel time considerably. He believes the LRMT Blue Line will improve the efficiency of Lagos residents at work. He said: “Time is money, efficiency is life. Today, we understand the meaning of time; we need to sustain the usage of time for greater efficiency.

      “This project has reflected the harmony and sympathies for both China and Nigeria. China and Nigeria have turned into a new era and embarked on a new journey to build a modern and social economy. We are embarking on new infrastructure and also a new era to develop our economies.”

  • ‘Increasing availability, affordability of prenatal care will reduce maternal mortality’

    ‘Increasing availability, affordability of prenatal care will reduce maternal mortality’

    Dr Joe Khalifeh, a consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, is an expert in maternal-fetal medicine with over two decades’ experience across several countries. Currently serving as the head of the feto-maternal unit at the St. Georges Hospital University Medical Centre in Beirut, Lebanon, and One Wellness Clinic, Lagos, Dr Khalifeh speaks on causes of infertility, why infertility crisis is getting worse, how to help couples conceive, what feto-maternal medicine is all about, what can be done to arrest Nigeria’s negative maternal mortality rate ranking, and treatment options available for fertility-challenged couples. He spoke with CHINYERE OKOROAFOR. Excerpts:-

    Infertility is the inability to get pregnant after one year of regular, unprotected intercourse. And by regular intercourse I mean having frequent (three to four times) a week intercourse without any kind of protection such as birth control pills and condoms. Therefore, infertile couple are those unable to achieve pregnancy after 12 months of these conditions. The infertility could be: primary or secondary; by secondary we mean a prior pregnancy has been achieved spontaneously.

    Feto-maternal medicine is a sub-specialty of obstetrics that focuses on managing the health of a mother and a baby during the pregnancy. The specialist is responsible for providing care for women who are at high risk during their pregnancies (by high risk I mean hypertension, diabetes, sickle cell disease…) as well as close monitoring of the foetus in the womb which includes morphological ultrasound to diagnose fetal abnormalities, growth and intrauterine interventions if needed.

    Why the rate of infertility is rising and who to blame when couples battle infertility issues

    There are many reasons behind this rise. For instance, social factors; many women now are delaying their time of conception to establish their careers, the same goes for the couple who delays their time of having a child for economical reason sometimes. Age plays a big role, because after a certain age the quantity of eggs starts dropping quickly as well as the quality of eggs. However, environmental and lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol intake, pollution and pelvic infections have been associated with lower fertility rate in both genders.

     It is most commonly thought that infertility is a woman’s problem, but this couldn’t be further from the truth; it’s a myth actually. Studies show that 35 per cent of fertility cases are due to women factors; an even number of those cases are caused by male factors. However, in some cases both of them have problems.

    Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate and the experience treating Nigerian patients

    Although treating patients in United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and Lebanon, among other countries, was a great experience, the last couple of months have been very delightful in treating Nigerian patients. Nigerian patients have shown understanding to several process in a higher rate compared to others. The friendly character has helped a lot in building a trustful doctor and patient relationship that has eased the communication aspect a lot. Moreover, Nigerian patients have shown appreciation to our world-class facility and state-of-art equipment which also played a role in giving us hope to enhance healthcare sector in Nigeria.  

    Unfortunately, Nigeria still has a high maternal mortality rate. Other than increasing the availability and affordability of prenatal care; an accurate follow up during the pregnancy by a skilled physician in antenatal care helps to prevent any complication happening during pregnancy. Doing all prenatal tests recommended also have a role in having a smooth healthy pregnancy and delivery.

     Treatment options available for fertility-challenged couples and how people can improve their fertility or prevent infertility

     Treatments will depend on the cause of infertility. Sometimes, it could be a simple treatment like a programmed intercourse for example; sometimes the couple might need an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The process starts by consultation and performing the recommended tests to assess the profile of the couple; afterwards, we advise the efficient treatment and plan accordingly.

     In our facility, based on our large experience in the infertility field, we offer all the treatment available such as programmed intercourse, intrauterine insemination IUI, Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection ICSI, embryo cryopreservation, donation, surrogacy and ovarian rejuvenation. As I already mentioned, lifestyle factors have an impact on our fertility. So, a normal body weight, exercising, decreasing alcohol consumption, never smoking and managing stress can maintain fertility.

     On top of all of that, egg cryopreservation is a back-up plan or “fertility insurance” that allows young women to take the time to get pregnant. For sure, it’s better to be performed before the age of 35. But it could be done at any age for those who want to preserve their fertility. In One Wellness women’s health clinic, we are trying to educate our patients about this option, which is available in our facility.

     While undergoing a fertility treatment, the couple need a strong support system to help them understanding all the emotional and physical changes as well as managing their hope and expectations. By giving them time for all their questions and ambiguities in our counselling and consultation sessions, we help them understand how it works and we build a trust relationship together that gives the couple satisfaction and a little bit of comfort. Also, we offer in our facility counselling sessions with a psychologist to prepare the couple before an IVF treatment and cope with them in all the steps from stimulating the ovaries to embryo transfer.

     A frequent intercourse is important for those trying to conceive; while maintaining a healthy lifestyle for both of them. Of course, asking the advice of your doctor when you need help and regular check-ups should be done routinely.

    Sperm quality and what constitutes a good sperm

    A good sperm is the one capable to fertilise an egg. So, Sperm quality refers to the ability of fertilisation. It is assessed by sperm analysis, which evaluates certain characteristics of the semen containing sperm cells. Mainly, the most important parameters are: sperm concentration, motility and morphology as well as the health of DNA carried by the sperm. Honestly, several factors play a role to be an excellent Fertility clinic in Nigeria. The state of the art equipment in our laboratories as per the micromanipulator or the incubator and the newest technologies make our laboratories the perfect environment for handling IVF procedures. Our professional and experienced team from Nigerians and expats make the journey more comfortable by their welcoming vibes. Moreover, with our obstetrics and Feto-maternal knowledge, we ensure that the women will have a smooth pregnancy and accurate follow up after the success of the infertility treatment using the newest ultrasound machine and prenatal tests.

  • CBN and scarcity of new naira notes…what next after February 10?

    CBN and scarcity of new naira notes…what next after February 10?

    After weeks of public uproar over scarcity of new naira notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) bowed to public pressure by extending the deadline for exchange of old naira notes to February 10. In this analysis, Deputy Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU takes a look at the merits and demerits of the new policy and concludes that the timing of the laudable policy may ultimately determine the success or otherwise of the naira redesign exercise.

    Never has panic been unleashed on Nigerians by a Central Bank meant to serve the country as the bankers’ bank, lender of last resort and regulator of monetary policy.

    Some arguments have been canvassed for the urgent and sudden naira change. The redesign is not expected to improve the ‘quality’ of the naira or make it strong in relation to dollar and pound sterling. That is impossible unless Nigeria imbibes the economic virtue of production as against its absolute dependence on importation of what it even has capacity to produce at home.

     The CBN of Godwin Emefiele apparently cited security reason, which is beyond the ken and comprehension of the common man. The bank, as the inexplicable explanation goes, is targeting hoarders of illicit money and financiers of terror. But, the effect is also borne by the common man, who under the malevolent economy, eats from hand to mouth. He is deprived the use of money; his own unit of accounting and store of value. He is not a bank user. But, he is now expected within days to embrace the option of e-banking, which is strange to him and his little business.

     Also, it was argued that the change was meant to reduce corruption. Some politicians were said to be ‘banking’ money at home in anticipation of election. The CBN governor never offered clarification. But, since campaign posters, buses and campaign souvenirs bearing his name have been cited in the public and he has not really denied political involvement, he is likely, as a politician in disguise, to have insight into what other politicians plan to do with their huge money on poll day.

     Yet, those who also think that the Central Bank may be mischievous cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. A political motive has been insinuated. Echoing this line of thought, a citizen who was interviewed by the Channels Television at the weekend alleged that the move was to de-market and sabotage the ruling All Progressives Party. He said two situations have been created: fuel scarcity and new currency scarcity, which will make voters to think that the APC-led government is inflicting pains on the people, who may, in a fit of anger, decide to turn their back and vote for the opposition party during the election.

    The timing of the currency redesign, according to observers, was bad. Old notes were to be returned latest today, until reason prevailed.

    Old notes were to cease as legal tender. Yet, the ATMs refused to emit new notes. There was uproar. In some places, commercial activities were paralysed.

    Yesterday, many could not attend church services in urban centres. Church offerings in old notes were said to be rejected. Also, transporters rejected the old notes, oblivious of the fact that the deadline had been extended for 10 days. It was double tragedy. Even, if they had the new notes, fuel was not available.

     In the North, governors responded to the complaints of residents, particularly in the rural areas, to set up pseudo-banks or currency collection centres to assist hapless people and assure them that they will get new notes later.  CBN was adamant for weeks until it now bowed to pressures yesterday after a lot of pleas to Emefiele and President Muhammadu Buhari. The deadline has now been shifted to February 10.

     At the Abeokuta rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the presidential standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, cried foul, saying that fifth columnists were on the prowl. In his view, unscrupulous elements were exploiting the fuel scarcity and currency redesign that had flopped to embarrass the president and de-market APC. 

    Tinubu said: “They are using fuel scarcity to distract Nigerians. I assure you, it will be a thing of the past. They are hoarding fuel and new naira notes to frustrate Nigerians. They don’t want the election…They think they can bamboozle us or confuse us with fuel scarcity. We shall bring the fuel price down. They didn’t want this election, but they have failed.”

     Many APC leaders believe complaints about the hardship encountered by Nigerians in getting the new notes did not get to the President. Also, it was felt that the CBN governor was, perhaps, not telling Buhari the clear picture as he kept dismissing reports that the January 31 initial deadline was not feasible. The whole country was upset, making governors, traditional rulers, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and unions to cry out that Nigerians, who majorly are Buhari’s focus and priority, were being suffocated by the dreadful policy.

    In utter sensitivity to popular yearning, Buhari asked Emefiele to pull the break. A statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu, said CBN has been asked to come up with initiatives to ameliorate the hardship being faced by the common man.

     The turn of events has brought to the fore the wisdom in trying to make such a profound policy operational in 90 days. The objectives of the policy may be laudable, but same cannot be said about making it effective in so short a time. Obviously, CBN did not lean on past experience. The currency had been redesigned before in the 70s, 80s and even in this dispensation with minimal stress. The wisdom that permitted the apex bank  to accomplish that seamless change in the past now appears to be lacking.

     How was a similar task done in other climes?  The example of the UK is instructive. In 2020, Britain introduced new £20 and £50 bills. But the old notes remained legal tenders until September 2022, two years thereafter. Both old and new existed and they served as legal tender. Britain is a country with high level of financial inclusion. But, in Nigeria, with low financial inclusion, the CBN believes such a thing can be done in just three months.

     The CBN has said it wanted to make it difficult for kidnappers to collect ransom from families of victims. It is also said that the CBN wants to make it difficult for politicians to bribe voters during the elections. These may be some kind of great ideas. But shouldn’t the naira redesign have affected the N1,000 and N500 bills, which are mostly used for these purposes ? Why change the smaller denominations of N200, N100 and N50? Shouldn’t these smaller denominations have flooded the system to discourage cash transactions? Also, was it meticulously planned? Did the CBN think through the new measure before selling it to President Buhari? How many economic experts were consulted?

     To analysts, the policy may have been shrouded in secrecy. For example, initially, the minister of finance said she was kept in the dark. Also, the governors said they were not consulted. It was doubtful if the all-important matter was brought to the Federal Executive Council for deliberation. The CBN governor was left all alone as if the policy is meant for him and his circle of friends alone. Many believe that the social, economic and political implications of such a fundamental policy ought to have been considered. The tension in the land these past weeks would have been avoided.

     More worrisome, even to observers, is the implications for the ruling party campaigning with the slogan of continuity.

    The politics of the move stares both the ruling and opposition parties in the face. When Tinubu criticised the implementation of the move, the PDP criticised him. Tinubu’s statement was twisted by the PDP to convey the false impression of a friction between the President and the presidential candidate. The PDP, in a statement by its campaign spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said Tinubu was trying to hoodwink Nigerians into thinking he is different from the government.

     He said: “It is unfortunate that Tinubu is trying to hoodwink Nigerians by seeking to exonerate himself and blame others in the Buhari led-APC administration for the biting fuel scarcity in the country when in reality he is known to be behind the insensitive and anti-people policies that have brought so much calamity to our country, including the current persistent fuel scarcity. How can Asiwaju Tinubu accuse an administration he had been a part of since 2015 of trying to sabotage the 2023 elections, except he is making revelations to Nigerians about their plans?

     “It is imperative to state that Nigerians, who are prepared to trek distances to cast their votes are the patriots who have been at the butt of pains which the government Asiwaju Tinubu installed has foisted on them.”

     The APC promptly replied the tirade. In a statement titled: “Fuel and new naira notes scarcity: Fifth Columnists working in cahoots with PDP,” APC campaign Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, accused the leaders of the opposition party of working in cahoots with fifth columnists in the system to inflict avoidable pains on our hapless people for political end.

    Flaying the PDP for twisting Tibubu’s remarks, he said: “No sooner Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu empathised with the Nigerian people facing the dual crises of fuel and new naira notes scarcity, than the opposition PDP and the Atiku camp issued a knee-jerk response, derailing from the issues, distorting Asiwaju’s statement and trying, in vain, to create a wedge between our presidential candidate and President Muhammadu Buhari.”

     Onanuga clarified that Tinubu, during APC campaign rally at Abeokuta, did not mention, blame or accuse President Buhari for the current challenges in the country, stressing that he was only directing government’s attention to the sabotage being carried out by some fifth columnists in the system, possibly working in cahoots with the PDP. Onanuga said: “The CBN officials, including Governor Godwin Emefiele, have said many times that enough new naira notes have been supplied to the banks; yet our people complain that they have not been able to get the new notes.  In recent days, many ATMs are either not working or when working they are dispensing the old notes, just a few days to the January 31 deadline.

     “Similarly, Asiwaju Tinubu is aware of the salutary efforts by President Buhari to end the fuel queues, by chairing a 14-man panel. Yet the queues and agony continue. For a presidential candidate, who cares about the suffering of our people, he has a duty to warn government that its efforts to make life better for Nigerians are being sabotaged on several fronts. Our presidential candidate only re-echoed what is well known and acknowledged, even by President Buhari himself at different fora: That there are Fifth Columnists  in and outside of government who often throw spanners in the works against good intentions and programmes of the government.

     “How does an advisory genuinely made by Asiwaju Tinubu to protect and create goodwill for the government of his party become an attack? It can only be so in the jaundiced view of the PDP. It is in this light we found amusing the directionless Atiku Campaign’s bagful of mischief in their hurriedly put together press statement meant to gain shameful mileage from the suffering of Nigerians. PDP and Atiku should remember not to get high on their own smoke. No political blackmail and an attempt to create a conflict between Tinubu and his long-term ally, President Muhammadu Buhari can succeed.”

     Also berating PDP for misinformation and fake news, Tinubu, at a rally in Zamfara, said nobody can come between him and Buhari. He said: “I have supported President Buhari, even before his first day in office. I will continue to be his supporter and friend after his last day in office.”

     However, unknown to the PDP, Tinubu spoke the minds of many Nigerians in Abeokuta. His comment resonated well with the people. Realising this and possibly having been told by saboteurs and fifth columnists in government that an extension was in the offing, PDP presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who had blamed Tinubu, ate his words and asked that the deadline be extended. He feared that Nigerians will remember that Tinubu spoke for them, but he now wanted to be captured as being on the right side of history. But can Nigerians be deceived?

    However, APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) yesterday commended CBN and  Emefiele  for listening to the voice of well meaning Nigerians on the exigency  of extending the deadline.

    Onanuga said APC welcomed the 10 day extension of deadline and the additional seven days of grace. He said the window will  enable Nigerians, especially those remote areas, to have more time to change their old notes and avert the panic.

    Onanuga commended Buhari for approving this extension and for his leadership and statesmanship. He also praised Tinubu for his forthrightness in addressing the concerns of Nigerians in Abeokuta.

     He said:”Asiwaju Tinubu didn’t take the easy road by shying away from what would have caused serious inconvenience for our teeming masses. Asiwaju showed leadership and compassion for the welfare of Nigerians, at the most appropriate time.”

  • ‘How strange Nasarawa bomb blast turned us into widows’

    ‘How strange Nasarawa bomb blast turned us into widows’

    THIRTY two years old Aminat Jamil has been wearing sorrow like a garment since Jamil, her 37-year-old husband, was killed by an airstrike incident that occurred in Rukubi, Doma Local Government Area, Nasarawa State on January 24, 2023 alongside.

    No fewer than 52 lives were lost in the bombing that left in its trail massive loss of lives and property. For Aminat, in particular, the tragic incident was like a red hot knife driven into her heart. It prevented her beloved husband from seeing his only seven-month-old boy grow as he had wished.

    When our correspondent visited the family of Jamil in Doma where Aminat is taking refuge on January 25, Aminat was in agony and kept sobbing in spite of the efforts sympathisers made to console her.

    Nothing, she said repeatedly, could replace her late husband.

    “My husband was a honest and hardworking young man,” she said.

    “We were married for more than four years without an issue until seven months ago when I gave birth to a baby boy.

    “He was so happy when the baby came, but death did not allow him to see him grow up. How do I take care of him? Who will provide food for us?”

    Aminat said her late husband was a local hunter and a farmer who left their home in Rukubi, Ekye Development Area, Doma Local Government of Nasarawa, with his dogs in the noon of January 24.

    “Incidentally, the little boy was crying as he was going away. He had earlier assisted me to wash some dirty clothes in the morning, which is something he was not doing before.

    “He even attempted to help me hold the boy but changed his mind when his cry was too much. Maybe the little boy had any inkling that his father would die same day.

    “As he was leaving for the bush for hunting, he bid me goodbye and kissed his son’s hand, asking him to stop crying and telling him that he would be back in the evening.

    “Later in the night, we started hearing that a bomb from an unknown direction had killed a lot of Fulani pastoralists alongside some farmers in the bush at the border between Benue and Nasarawa states.

    “When I didn’t see my husband, I became worried. I ran to neighbours whose relatives were equally missing. A few hours later, the corpses of many people were brought, including that of my husband, and were buried immediately.”

    Aminat said she wanted the government and security agencies to help her find the killers of her husband, saying: I am a very poor woman. I don’t know how I will cater for the little boy he left behind.

    “Life will be very tough for me and my boy. I cannot cater for them alone. I don’t know where to run to now. I don’t know what to do. People should help me.”

    To worsen her plight, Aminat has no roof over her head. She was only assisted to Doma alongside other residents of Rukubi where they were abandoned to their fate. She and her boy were taking refuge in a local football pitch when our correspondent ran into her.

    Wondering how she would go back to stay in the same village without her husband, she said: “We were always together at the farm and at home. I don’t think I can cope without him. My head has been cut off. I don’t know where to start from.

    “To worsen the situation for me, I don’t have any picture to keep as a memory of him because I hear that our house in Rukubi has been burgled.”

    Asked what kind of husband Jamil was, Aminat said: “He never laid his hand on me for one day. He was killed on Tuesday and every day of my life since the incident, I think about him because he was everything to me.”

    Balkisu Agie, another widow of Alago extraction, whose husband was also killed in the bomb blast, told our correspondent amid sobs that they were married for more than 10 years before his death in the incident at Rukubi along Benue/Nasarawa border where they were farmers.

    She said on the fateful day, she was preparing the evening meal when suddenly the sound of the bomb blast occurred.

    She said: “My husband had earlier gone to the farm to harvest his yam tubers. The entire area was on the run. We ran under the cover of the night for hours before we got to a place we considered safe.

    “We were lucky to have escaped unhurt because so many other villagers could not make it into safety as they were affected by the blast.

    “While I was able to escape, my husband who was on his way back home from the farm, was not that lucky as the blast killed him. We were running away from the blast but my husband ran into it.

    “I am a petty trader and I don’t know how I would be able to train the little kids because my husband provided everything.

    “That is why I’m calling on the government to investigate the situation and punish the perpetrators.”

  • OUTRAGE: Young girls allegedly raped by notorious tout narrate ordeal

    OUTRAGE: Young girls allegedly raped by notorious tout narrate ordeal

    Two girls allegedly raped by a notorious hoodlum in Orile Agege area of Lagos on their way home a few weeks ago have demanded justice, just as outraged residents urge the police to arrest and prosecute the suspect and his gang members, KUNLE AKINRINADE reports.

    The alleged rape of two female workers of a betting firm by a hoodlum in Orile Agege, a Lagos suburb, has sparked an outrage.

    The two female sales representatives of a betting franchise company are crying out for justice over the inability of the police to apprehend the suspect identified as Kola a.k.a. Federal, who was alleged to have violently defiled them on December 27, 2022.

    The two girls (names withheld) had closed from work and were returning home around 10pm when the suspected rapist and his gang ambushed and raped them.

    “What happened was that we closed from work around 10 pm on Olurinde Street, Orile Agege, Lagos and crossed over to Amoo Road and trekked to get a commercial motorcycle otherwise called okada while our boss waited to see that we moved out of the vicinity,” one of the victims, a 23-year-old, said.

    “When we flagged down an okada operator, we didn’t know that a young man who had earlier visited our office to charge his phone was still lurking around in the adjoining axis of the road.

    “He suddenly emerged from the dark with a machete and threatened to attack the okada man we had flagged down, prompting the motorcyclist to flee out of fear.

    “We then decided to trek some distance in order to get another okada operator around Amoo Street when Kola a.k.a. Federal and his boys attacked and brutalised us.

    “We were begging them but they held us down with weapons and scared away those who intervened and tried to dissuade them from molesting us.”

    The victims said Kola and his boys turned down their pleas and led them to a makeshift building near the suspect’s family house where they were raped until close to midnight.

    “He started raining curses on us and said that he would rape us and nothing would happen. We begged him and his boys not to carry out their threats but they refused.

    “He then ordered that we be taken by his boys to his family house on Adejobi Street, Orile Agege where a lot of hemp smokers were binging and raped my friend while his boys held me down with machetes.

    “When he was done with my colleague, his boy dragged me into the dingy room and he raped me too.

    “He and his boys then seized all the items and  started mocking us, saying that we were stinking and had not been having our bath.

    “When we sighted a police patrol team, he ran off with his boys. And when the policemen flashed lights on them he and his boys resisted the policemen.

    “We hid in an uncompleted building from where we called on our boss who instructed our manager to come with his car and take us away from the spot.

    “We have reported the case to the Area G Police Command from where we were asked to incident it at Elere and Isokoko divisions at Agege from where we were taken to Mirabel Centre for assessment and treatment.”

    However, the victims said the police were yet to apprehend the suspect despite having his details, weeks after they were allegedly raped.

    “Since then, policemen have been looking for him. We have been to his family house where his family members confirmed that he has been doing the same thing to so many girls lately and that he does not live in the house but stays somewhere around the Ile Epo axis of Orile Agege.”

    Speaking on her plight, one of the victims said the police must bring the suspect and his boys to justice as she was still highly traumatised by the incident.

    She said: “I was a 20-year-old virgin until I was raped by Federal. When he was done, he gave me a cloth to clean myself and mocked me, saying that I was a dirty girl.

    “He ran off when we cried out to a police team on patrol. Unfortunately, the policemen could not really do much to help us because he and his gang resisted the policemen.

    “I want the policemen to arrest and prosecute the man that raped me because the incident will remain in my memory for life.

    “He is a tout, but everything  in this life has a limit and I want him to suffer for what he did to me and my colleague.”

    Meanwhile, outraged residents have berated the police for exhibiting tardiness in the investigation of the case, which they claimed had helped the suspect to escape justice.

     A community leader, Chief Amos Oladokun, said Federal and his boys are known to operatives in Agege, hence they have not made any attempt to apprehend him and his gang members.

    Oladokun said: “Kola a.k.a. Federal and his boys are notorious touts, and this is not the first time they would be perpetrating a crime like this. “They have molested a lot of girls and assaulted residents who tried to either persuade or reprimand them for their indiscretions.

    “The case of the two girls who they raped in December was the height of it, and as concerned residents, we are disturbed that the police have yet to apprehend Federal and his boys for prosecution.

    “If you visit his family house in this neighbourhood, you would see how the place has been turned  into a haven for hemp smokers and urchins, and that is the scene of the crime.

    “Yet they have never been arrested by the police because they know the policemen attached to the Elere Division.

    “He fled for a few days after he committed the crime but has since returned to the neighbourhood and we are worried that the law enforcement agents who are aware of the crime  have refused to act appropriately by arresting him. It is sad.”

    In her remarks, a leading female resident, who pleaded anonymity,  explained that the reluctance of the police to arrest Federal and his boys would continue to embolden him to continue in his dastardly acts.

    “Federal (Kola) is not bigger than the law of this country. They have been terrorising this community for a long time and we residents are helpless.

    “He had been reported to his family but they could not rein him in. In like manner, his activities have been brought to the attention of the law enforcement agents without any action taken to reprimand or arrest him.

    “This is the time for the police to really bring him to book and free us from his grip before things get out of hand.”

    Contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin, had at press time not responded to the enquiries sent to his mobile phone by our correspondent.

  • Gospel singer under fire over alleged assault on housewife

    Gospel singer under fire over alleged assault on housewife

    A housewife in Lagos is seeking justice over alleged physical assault on her by a gang on the orders of a popular gospel artiste, ALAO ABIODUN writes.

    Lagos-based housewife, Mrs Abimbola Agbede, is in search of justice over an alleged physical assault meted outt to her by a gang loyal to a popular gospel singer, Salau Aliu Olayiwola a.k.a. Testimony Jaga and his gang on January 17.

    Agbede, a resident of Akinrinmade Close, Suberu Oje in Agbado Local Council Development Area (LCDA), alleged that Jaga did not only assaulted her but also instructed more than 20 of his loyalists to gang-beat her.

    Jaga, a musician with Christ Embassy Church, who runs a weekly fellowship in the area where he distributes empowerment items, however, denied the charges, claiming instead that it was Agbede that slapped him while his fellowship members beat the woman up in his defence. He also claimed that Agbede held his shirt and also damaged his N3.5m gold chain in the ensuing melee.

    Agbede recalled that on the fateful day, her eldest child celebrated his birthday and she ordered for some items designed to give him and a few of his friends a treat. She said a friend was bringing the items in a car but could not access their close because the singer’s fellowship had blocked the road and made vehicular movement impossible.

    “She asked me to follow her to the car to bring the items to the house and we got to the fellowship point where she approached Jaga. I didn’t even know what they discussed because I stayed aloof.

    “The next thing I saw was that he came over to me and started pointing fingers at my forehead, screaming, ‘I am a landlord in this neighbourhood like you people. You have to learn how to respect me’.

    “I was so shocked and I pushed his hands away, asking if he was going to beat me up. Jaga immediately ordered his people to descend on me. The next thing was slaps from all over.

    “I was mobbed by more than 20 people. I was fasting so I went down immediately. They beat me until I slumped. When I managed to regain strength, I held on to one of them to get up but they beat me even the more, dragging me into the gutter.

    “I had never seen anything like that in my life. I was wondering if that was how I would die. I managed to get up but they beat me until I lost balance. Then two ladies among them came from nowhere and poured urine on me.

    “Jaga kept saying he was going to teach me a lesson. I couldn’t talk or resist. I was simply helpless.”

    When The Nation visited the area, some residents who spoke with our correspondent confirmed that Jaga’s fellowship was always causing vehicular obstruction with many tough-looking guys around.

    Recalling events after the alleged assault, Agbede said: “I managed to leave there. I called my husband, because he was not around. My husband advised me to go to the police station to report but Jaga asked his boys to close the gate to our street. He told my friend not to leave or else she will be butchered.

    “So, a police patrol came in. The officers from the police station at AIT, Alagbado came to pick us up because Jaga called them to pick us up. All of the incident happened around 12 noon. Jaga didn’t show up at the police station until around 4pm.

    “He wrote his own statement and I wrote mine. The landlord association representatives came begging me. The officers were taking sides with Jaga. They passed the blame to my friend that she caused the problem.

    “I was not feeling fine at the station. I was not breathing properly. They gave me an undertaking to write, stating that I was okay with the matter being settled amicably. I was left unattended to at the police station. They even tried to assault my friend.

    “Because I was feeling so stressed up, I wrote the statement that I was pleased with the settlement. That night, I landed in the hospital.”

    Few hours after the incident, Jaga sent a voice note to the WhatsApp platform of the Community Development Area (CDA) that hosts many residents. In the now-deleted voice note obtained by the reporter, the singer said:  “Good evening, Good afternoon everyone. I’m sending this voice note because I want you all, everybody here, my mothers, my fathers, all my mothers in this platform, and I know I have mothers and fathers here; people that can give birth to me.

    “This message is for Mr. Agbede, whatever name they call you. You’ve done a lot of stuff I don’t want to talk about. I’ve been keeping my cool. Your wife walked up to me in the midst of my people and slapped me, cut my chain of N3.5 million, my gold chain.

    “I thank God I have all the proof. I called the police to be involved because as a good citizen, whatever thing that is going on, you have to call the authorities to be involved.

    “Thank God your wife never told you that I touched her despite all the insults that were passed to me. I just want to encourage you, hope you have a lot of money to write and to go to court and to pay for my chain and pay for all the damages, because the reason.

    “I told the police to release your wife is because of the people our father honorable sent to me, Akinolu and co, Alhaji Isiaka and all of them, and I cannot see them and say I did not see any great people or good people, and I released them.

    “I don’t pass my boundary. Your wife walked up to me in front of my property, slapped me in front of my people. I hope the journey you are about to embark on, you have enough mind to finish up because, I’m not threatening you-o, as long you want to live in that environment peacefully, because very soon, a ma pa ala fun rawa ni (a boundary will be drawn between us).

    “If you are a man, if you have the guts, come and meet me one on one and let both of us stand and fight. I’m gonna kick your @ss in a way that nobody has ever beaten you before. I’m promising you. I’m not negotiating, it’s a promise, it’s a done deal.

    “If you are man enough, after all you said I beat your wife, then you come and fight for your wife. When you see me, attack me. When you see me, come and meet me one-on-one as a man.

    “Let’s figure it that you are a landlord, I am a landlord. Let’s do something, because this thing you about to do, just be ready to create a road at the back of your house to be going out because you are not gonna pass my frontage again. I’m telling you this for sure, you are not gonna pass my frontage again.”

    Agbede’s husband, Olayinka, said Jaga assaulted his wife to settle old scores. He said he once petitioned the Lagos State Government when the singer was running a club house that was causing noise pollution in the neighourhood.

    Olayinka added: “The genesis of the whole thing was my action to curb the excesses of noise pollution caused by Jaga in the area. He had a club house and a church property.

    “We approached him to complain about the issue but he refused. So, I wrote a petition against him to the ministry because he was disturbing the neighborhood with noise, even around 11pm.

    “Ever since, he has been looking for ways to get back at me. On two occasions, he has sent cohorts to fight me on the street.

    “I got a distress call from my wife on the day of the incident that she was assaulted at the command of Testimony Jaga.

    “He also threatened me via a voice note. They beat my wife to a pulp on that day. Without medical attention, the police even held my wife down for long hours.

    “I had to see to how she was rushed to one hospital in Alagbado because I was far away. She had a serious internal pain. The police treated me in a very appalling manner.

    “I’ve reported the case to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police. I wrote a petition and I’ve submitted the petition. He has been issuing threats to me that he will wipe out my family, kill my wife and that I should sell my property and leave the place where I’m leaving.

    “I want justice to be served. The police station at AIT Alagbado is compromised on the matter. He (Jaga) believes he has a lot of influence. So, he is always romancing with the police officers.

    “Everybody has silent complaints about the road blocking, so they cannot all talk about it because he is always giving out gifts to people in the community.

    “He is always surrounded by thugs and miscreants. He moves around with them and they are a threat to my life and my family. They go around harassing people.

    “It is a lie from the pit of hell that my wife cut his chain. He is using that to blackmail my wife. On two occasions, he has planned an attack on me, and he failed.”

    Mrs. Agnes John, the friend of the assaulted housewife, confirmed that she walked up to Jaga to advise him against the road blocking.

    She said: “I went to my friend’s place because her son was celebrating his birthday. She called me to bring some things to her place.

    “On getting to the street, the road was blocked. I was hooting then a guy appeared, waving that I should stop disturbing them. I was still waiting. It was a lady that told me to park my car somewhere because Jaga’s people had blocked the road.

    “When I saw Jaga, I called on him, saying that I wanted to see him, but he told me to come instead. So I walked up to him and advised him that any time they are having a programme, they should create space because there could be an emergency. That was what I said. When I left there, I didn’t even look back.

    “The next thing, I just saw that Jaga’s people had pounced on my friend. The people there were saying why did I go and talk to Jaga. I was helpless because he was surrounded by stern-looking people.

    “They surrounded my friend, beating her. They dragged her into the gutter. Another lady came out and poured urine on her.

    “While we made an attempt to leave the street to report to the police, he threatened us. The police came to pick us up. We went there (police station) and Jaga showed up after several calls.

    “Community people came around to try and settle it. They were blaming me that I was at fault, that I should not have gone to meet Jaga and correct him for blocking the road.”

     She disputed the claim that her friend slapped Jaga, saying: “My friend didn’t slap Jaga. She did not.

    “I was the one who reacted to the parking issue. Then the next thing, I heard Jaga shouting at my friend, saying ‘the same way you’re a landlord in this area, is the same way I’m also a landlord’.

    “So it led to Jaga’s people pouncing on her.”

    When The Nation called Jaga, he initially called the reporter’s bluff but later called back in a reconciliatory tone.

    Narrating his side of the story, he said: “I am not a pastor, I own a fellowship.

    “We have a programme we always do every year. We had the programme on Friday so we give a lot of people different things.

    “On that day, a woman started pressing her horn. So the horn was disturbing what we were doing. So, I gave a signal and sent some of my leaders to go and meet her and explain what we were doing. That she should give us 10 minutes that we would round off.

    “Immediately we finished, I was going, I just saw the woman coming and she said Mr Jaga, come here. She said when next we have the programme, we should make room for people to drive past.

    “I felt she couldn’t have been older than me, but I kept quiet and I said okay and turned back. Then my people shouted “Jaga is here, Jesus is here”.

    “The next thing the other woman that happens to be the I don’t know her name, I don’t want to know her name, Agbede woman, “Ki wo ma pariwo oruko e o, emi o jeun under anybody o, awa o se eni to fun longe o”.

    “I looked at her and said this woman insulted me, I didn’t say anything. Even you that I know, I said Madam, your husband is a landlord, I’m a landlord in this place. First of all, I’m in the front of my house, in the front of my premises and you want to insult me like that.

    “The next thing this woman held my shirt, cut my chain and gave me a dirty slap.

    “I hope they have small change to do publishing. I have enough money to chase them away from that area because what they are about to do, they can’t even beat me on it.

    “I don’t care about paper. The paper will even make me more popular. And by the time people hear my own part of my story, I’m not sure they will have the leg to even walk in that area. They will not stay in that house overnight because of the embarrassment I would give them.

    “If you want to do your investigation, go back to the Police Station. They had to beg me. The DPO told me not to release her yesterday. Her husband’s friend was the one begging me yesterday that I should just let it go.”

    He added: “It was the woman that slapped me first. I didn’t lay my hands on her. An elderly woman asked why she would slap me. I told them that nobody should touch her, even if anyone would touch her, let it be women that would touch her. Then she pretended that she fainted.

    “I told them to go and bring water. That we might think she’s playing, that it’s not everybody that has good health. They poured water on her. She pretended like she had woken up again. The lady who poured water on her, she held the woman’s hair.”

    In a reconciliatory attempt after calling the reporter’s bluff for the first conversation, Jaga said: “I tell you that what happened yesterday is still on my mind. I’m still praying for God to let it go because there’s no how, I am close to 40, there’s no how a woman will walk up to me and slap me in the front of my property.

    “Bro, you can’t take it. And the woman even said I never touched her, and even at the police station, I took my self so low.

    “I was the one that bailed her. I paid the DPO woman who said they should detain both of them until her husband would come back; they should come, he wants to see the husband that couldn’t train his wife very well, to go and walk to a man’s property, in the front of his place and slap him.

    “The woman was angry. All the people in the police station were mad, but still I kept my cool, because they told me to forget about my chain and let it go.

    “I even called the woman yesterday. I begged her and I said I don’t like this.

    “Even the Police told her if you want to correct people, you don’t correct them rudely in front of their property. We are all landlords. You were not supposed to talk to him that way.”

  • Ogun rally: Tinubu, fuel subsidy and currency redesign

    Ogun rally: Tinubu, fuel subsidy and currency redesign

    All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu‘s comments on the lingering fuel scarcity and currency change are being twisted by foes bent on sowing seeds of division in the ruling party to garner political capital from the orgy of misinformation and misrepresentation ahead of next month’s election.  Deputy Editor, EMMANUEL OLADESU, revisits the Abeokuta message of the patriot, statesman and standard bearer, which has rekindled efforts in searching for solutions to lingering challenges.

    Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, statesman, All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart and presidential candidate, has become the main issue ahead of next month’s poll.

    That may be the reason the opposition is catching cold and influencing a section of the media that thrives in subjectivity to misinterpret his statement in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State, on two critical issues that have filled public consciousness in the last one month.

    An inexplicable fuel scarcity has hit the country, eliciting condemnation by Nigerians. Also, while the change of naira colour was not a big issue, the refusal of  ATMs to emit the new notes have upset people.

    The questions triggered by these crises are begging for answers. They will remain relevant until order is restored. Thus, patriotic Nigerians are concerned about these perilous times.

    PDP has been armed by these unresolved problems to mount a stiffer campaign of calumny against the ruling party. The party has also intensified its consistent blackmail  of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also Petroleum minister. According to PDP, Buhari and his party are responsible for the nightmares arising from petrol crisis and the currency debacle.

    What Tinubu did at Abeokuta was to respond to opposition attacks on the president and ruling party by political foes, contrary to the twisting of his reactions that he was attacking the commander-in-chief.

    Reflecting on the twin challenges of fuel scarcity and Central Bank’s regulation on old and new naira notes, which had attracted condemnation by stakeholders, Tinubu said fifth columnists were behind the row.

    He said the petroleum scarcity and complaints about currency redesign were plots by unpatriotic elements and saboteurs to embarrass the Buhari administration and scuttle the proposed elections.

    In the course of the presidential campaigns, Tinubu has to halt fuel subsidy. This may not have gone down well with profiteers and beneficiaries who make fortunes while the citizens are in pains. As a corollary,  at Abeokuta,  he promised to end perennial fuel scarcity and restore order to the troubled oil and gas sector, if elected.

    The tone of his message was directed at PDP, and not his leader,  Buhari, who he always applauded for his achievements across sectors – infrastructural development, agriculture, transportation, security and social welfare.  In fact, Tinubu has often told Nigerians he will build on the foundation laid by the President.

    For clarity, the APC standard bearer only fired salvos at saboteurs plotting to drag the name of the President in the mud.

    The former Lagos State governor told the crowd of party faithful and supporters: ” I came to appeal and solicit for your votes. This election is revolution. We will use superior revolution and PVCs to get power. They are using fuel scarcity to distract Nigerians. I assure you, it will be a thing of the past. They are hoarding fuel and new naira notes to frustrate Nigerians. They don’t want the election.

    “I will reduce the price of fuel. Be rest assured that I will solve the fuel crisis. Let them keep the fuel; keep hoarding the money; change the money. We shall defeat them. PDP will fail again, it doesn’t matter whatever they do.”

    He added:”Great Nigerian youths, this is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They think they can bamboozle us or confuse us with fuel scarcity. We shall bring the fuel price down. They didn’t want this election, but they have failed.”

    Tinubu’s remarks was beyond partisanship. He came across as a compassionate leader and flagbearer, who cares about the the daily trauma. He only tried to inform the Federal Government that its efforts to make life better for Nigerians were being sabotaged on many fronts.

     Indeed, the APC candidate only re-echoed what is well known and acknowledged, even by President Buhari himself at different fora; that there are fifth columnists  in and outside of government, whose motive is to serve as clog in the wheels of progress.

     Tinubu did not mention, blame or accuse Buhari for the challenges in the country. He blamed PDP for trying to make a political capital out of a messy situation.

    In what way, as insinuated by sponsors of fake news, is Tinubu’s remark a jab at Buhari, who has been campaigning for him to succeed him at the expiration of his tenure in May.

    According to APC’s media team, what PDP and its pseudo-media organs have sought to do, through insinuations and falsehoods, is to sow a seed of discord in the ruling party, in continuation of its ethno-religious politics.

    What Tinubu tried to emphasised was that certain persons were sabotaging Buhari’s efforts and trying to set voters against the government, the ruling APC and the party’s candidates in all elections, including his.

    Stakeholders have expressed the same concern about the likely effects of the two problems on the electioneering.

    Legal scholar, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), put these into perspective, when he alleged that saboteurs were at work with their dangerous games.

    The chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) warned that certain elements wanted to sabotage Tinubu’s presidential bid through naira redesign and fuel scarcity.

    Sagay said the president should call CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to order on his insistence there was no going back on the January 31 deadline for the usage of old naira notes.

    He said: “I suspect that because when people in responsible positions begin to create hardship and annoyance and anger in the population which will be directed against the government just before an election, the effect of that is that the government is going to be blamed by the voters and they may decide out of anger to vote for another party.

    “It will drive away votes from the ruling party which they will blame for the conditions and circumstances being created by these dangerous people.

    “What Emefiele is trying to do in saying you cannot use the existing currency after January 31 in a situation where the new currency is not available to be used is a plot to create disaffection for the government and indirectly create an unfavourable image for that government before the populace a few weeks to an election. There is no question about that.”

    Sagay added: “What is surprising is that no one is stopping him. The President has not stopped him and he is saying there is no going back in an action which is a sabotage of the goodwill of that government. It is just incredible”

    On fuel scarcity, the former university don said: “I can’t understand it. It has never happened before. This is going to be three months now and NNPC is saying there is no shortage, they have enough supply for another three months. Yet, we cannot find petrol anywhere. Somebody is playing a game. I suspect after the election, we are going to have petrol.”

    Across the country, people are in agony as the acclaimed sixth largest producer of oil in the world cannot supply fuel for domestic consumption. In the comity of nations, Nigeria is becoming a laughing stock again.

    The economy is now in stitches. In cities, towns and villages, long queues by motorists in search of fuel are evident.

    The impact is monumental. Fares have gone up. Prices of goods and services have soared. The Federasl Government says it has not deregulated supply. Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it has enough stock. But  scarcity has persisted.

      The President himself is not happy about the crisis. He has set up a 14-man panel, headed by him, to restore normalcy.  What is really behind the scarcity? That was the question Tinubu raised in Abeokuta.

    To analysts, PDP may want the bad situation to continue up to the elections and exploit it. For them, it has created a campaign opportunity. But, Tinubu and APC presidential campaign team are acting from the vantage point of experience to say “no, let’s fish out saboteurs in the system in the interest of the people, APC candidates and party leaders.” Failure to do that, as Tinubu warned, may be disastrous for the party. 

    Also, unavailability of the new currency notes has created problems for Nigerians.  Three days to January 31, the notes are hard to come by. Customers complain that banks are still issuing old notes.

     Despite the outcry, CBN is unyielding. The National Assembly has advised that the deadline be shifted, but CBN governor, in a  condescending manner, said he would disappoint those hoping the deadline would be extended.

     There are puzzles: “Who is the policy meant for? The people who are bearing the brunt of the scarcity or a few high heeled individuals who have easy access to the new notes?

     Why can’t CBN do a review, if the original plan is not working as expected?

     Should authorities ignore public complaints?

     Curiously, the new notes that are scarce in banks are being sold by POS handlers. Why are the notes scarce in banks, and available for sale in social functions?

    To observers, APC should see Tinubu’s comments in Abeokuta as a clarion call to stand up and avoid being complacent in the few weeks to the elections.

    The call or admonition is in the interest of the party and candidates. More importantly,  it is in the national interest.

  • Breathing life back into a Yoruba heritage

    Breathing life back into a Yoruba heritage

    Premier Hotel in Ibadan, once a standard for anything hospitality service in the Southwest Nigeria, lost its status over the years to become a shadow of itself. But Odu’a Investments Limited, which owns the hotel, has succeeded in securing a foreign investor that can breathe life into the monument by redeveloping and upgrading it to a modern five-star hotel in the Oyo State capital, writes Southwest Bureau Chief BISI OLADELE 

    It was the standard of a five-star hotel in the days of the defunct Western Region covering today’s Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun and Ekiti states. Premier Hotel was the topmost destination for business people, professionals, top government functionaries, diplomats and celebrities who had anything to do in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

     Sitting atop Mokola Hill at the heart of Ibadan city, Premier Hotel has hosted the who-is-who in Nigeria from 1960s to date. Guests attending political engagements including campaigns, government functions, social events, book launches, seminars and conferences as well as festivals used to enjoy excellent service and the comfort that the hotel offered. It was the official lodging facility for guests of Western Regional government and later Oyo State Government. Its proximity to state secretariat, government house, Dugbe central business district and Adamasingba stadium, among others, added to its advantage over competitors.

     But its reputation began to suffer when maintenance and upgrade of the physical facilities were neglected. Thriving hotels sustain their lead by maintaining and constantly upgrading their facilities in line with new trends. Internal decoration and upgrade of in-room, in-hall and in-toilet facilities are key to retaining customers. Premier Hotel began to fail in the areas, leading to dwindling revenues and reputation crisis.

     By 1995, Premier, a hotel that was the dream of lodgers and holiday goers, was already a shadow of itself. It began to struggle in recording substantial profit. At a time, the hotel was struggling with maintaining its two lifts as age began to tell on facilities. The Nation reliably gathered that Oyo State Government also compounded its woes by delaying payment for services rendered. The debts ran into millions of naira every time. Then conference, seminar and workshop organisers began to look elsewhere for better facilities and comfort for their participants. 

    Respite, however, came the way of the hilltop hotel when Nigeria hosted the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 1999. The hotel was one of those used to accommodate players and officials for the tournament, which ran from April 3 to 24, 1999. The owners invested massively in the upgrade of the facilities at the time to pass FIFA approval. But Premier Hotel’s fortunes plummeted again after the renovation outlived its impact. The hotel could not sustain the renovation due to lack of funds and heavy expenses.

     At the time, the 87-room hotel had over 200 staff on its payroll, maintained two lifts and contended with the herculean task of powering the facilities round the clock using diesel generators to overcome power shortages. This sometimes caused minor lapses which badly affected its reputation. Its situation went from bad to worse as the new millennium grew. By 2005, the management took a tough decision to downsize and pay off those compulsorily retired. Yet, the idea could not rescue the hotel as facilities continued to age without new funds to invest in their upgrade. By this time, new three and four-star hotels have dotted Ibadan landscape which got patronage ahead of Premier Hotel. But no other hotel in Ibadan has the space, size and locational advantage of Premier Hotel till date. 

    Established in 1963, Premier Hotel sits on only a fraction of its more than one acre land on the hill. It has 87 rooms of different categories, a banquet hall of 500-seating capacity, a casino, Olympic-size swimming pool with standard pool side facilities and a massive car park, among others. Constructed in five floors with a mezzanine floor and underground offices, the hotel provides beautiful sceneries of developed parts of the city to lodgers. The serenity and glamour of its location are second to none.

     Odu’a made a strong move to get an investor to partner with it on Premier Hotel’s rejuvenation last decade but did not succeed. The need to carefully select an investor that will not only seek profit making, and clearing workers retirements entitlements hindered the success of the move. This left the facilities degenerated for more years until December, 2022 when The Nation learnt about the deal that had been struck with a foreign investor to rejuvenate the hotel.

     Though the investor’s name and specific details of the deal are still kept under wraps, the Group managing Director (GMD), Mr Adewale Raji, told The Nation that Nigerians would see a new Premier Hotel that is better than its old facilities in the next 24 months. Raji explained that the contract with the investor was bound by SEC regulations, adding that shareholders – governors of Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun and Ekiti states – are fully aware of the deal.

      He said: “We are responsible with what we are doing. One of the reasons plans fail is the failure to take care of 360 degree approach to engagement of stakeholders.” He said the issue of staff retirement benefits related to pre-PENCOM gratuities which must first be addressed in order to gain the confidence of the people, stressing that the company was diligent and guided by stakeholders. Raji confirmed that the company already took care of disengagement entitlements of staff and other outstanding liabilities over the years.

     “While doing that, Odu’a does not have the funds to turn Premier Hotel around, hence the need to engage a critical partner to bring technical expertise and financial resources needed. The asset will belong to both the partner and Odu’a. In taking this decision, what we did was to understand our limitation and bring in a joint partner which has the strength to cover our weaknesses. This is a process supported by globally renowned KPMG. This makes it go through a transparent valuation system which places everything open. We cleared all the impediments that could prevent the joint venture to take place,” he explained.

     Raji further explained that the joint venture will see the hotel redeveloped with new facilities added. New facilities will be built on the unused land on the hilltop but that will be after the original hotel has been redeveloped in the next 24 months, representing the first phase of the contract. The GMD also disclosed that the new Premier Hotel will have a 1,000 seating conferencing facility which will help is attract decent conferences. 

     He said talks are ongoing to do the same for Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, which is also owned by the conglomerate. Going by the new efforts, Nigerians look forward to welcoming a new, five-star Premier Hotel that will rekindle fond memories and create new ones for the current generation.

     Lagos Airport Hotel Limited, also a subsidiary of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, was incorporated in 1961. It started business as an owner-managed hotel with 5 rooms in 1942 under the name “Grand Hotel Lagos” and was renamed “Ikeja Arms Inn” in 1956 under the ownership and management of Mr. Joseph Harold, a Briton. The present owner bought the company through the Western Region Government in 1959. Today, the hotel has 277 rooms comprising of one Monarchial Suite, Presidential Suites, Executive Suites, Business Suites, Luxury Rooms,Deluxe Rooms, Classic Rooms,, Flat 1 & 2, Standard/Budget Rooms.

     The various halls and syndicate rooms are named to reflect Yoruba rich cultural heritage and ownership of the Hotel. There are: LAHL/B-Event Center (with 1,500 Theatre Style and 1,000 Banquet Style Sitting capacity), Oranmiyan Hall (with a 1,000 Theatre and 500 Banquet Style sitting capacity), the Banquet Hall ( with 300 Theatre and 150 Banquet Style sitting capacity), Osun Hall (with180 Theatre and 90 BanquetStyle sitting capacity), Olumo Hall (with100 Theatre and 60 Banquet Style sitting capacity) and Olokun Hall (with 40 Theatre and 25 Banquet Style sitting capacity), Ekiti Syndicate room ( with 50 Theatre and 25 Banquet Style sitting capacity),and Syndicates Rooms 1-4 (with sitting capacities ranging from 10 to 25), among others, for selected group discussions, tutorials and people behind the conference(s) to re-strategise.