The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Tackling food and nutrition crises in Nigeria

    Tackling food and nutrition crises in Nigeria

    The predictions by agriculture experts about imminent food insecurity could further compound the nutrition crisis that may make many children become vulnerable to malnutrition and diseases, which may result in deaths. Deputy Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines how the challenges can be tackled by government and other stakeholders.

    An Imminent food insecurity stares Nigeria in the face. Many factors are responsible. They include flooding, disruption of farming by herder/farmer clashes, poor agricultural yields, lack of improved seedlings for farmers, shortage of funding for research and lack of storage facilities.

    But what is more striking is the unresolved nutritional crisis, which may be compounded by food shortage and low purchasing power of the average Nigerian.

    The major hurdle is affordability. What is the quality of three-square meals that should sustain an average family in the country?

    Also, knowledge is important. What importance should people attach to good diet?

     Many nutritionists believe that nutrition should now be a major part of the political discussion so that government and other stakeholders can rise up to the challenge of ensuring balanced diet for adults and children, thereby preventing the incalculable damage that poor diet and bad eating habit can do to general wellbeing.

      “Poor nutrition robs children of healthy existence,” said Nenat Hajeebhoy, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Chief of Nutrition, who described good food as a child’s right. She decried the pitiful picture of kwashiokor that assails children in Africa.

     Alluding to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Hajeebhoy maintained that “it is a breach of the right of children to good nutrition. Every child has the right to food and nutrition to achieve their full potential”.

     The UNICEF official stressed that only one-third of children get effective breastfeeding. “Mothers breastfeed, but it is not exclusive breastfeeding. We need to create a new normal for nutrition in Nigeria,” she said.

     Hajeebhoy was among experts who brainstormed on the nutrition crisis in Nigeria at a recent conference in Lagos. The conference focused on strategies for averting the danger of malnourishment and needles deaths among children. It was organised by the National Council on Nutrition, in partnership with UNICEF, World Bank, civil society groups, and the media.

    The dialogue rekindled the advocacy for the implementation of the presidential directive on the setting up of Nutrition Departments in all Federal ministries.

     Government representatives, UNICEF officials, agriculturists and experts in nutrition and journalists brainstormed on how to alert the National Assembly to the urgency of increased budgetary allocation to relevant ministries, departments and agencies for policy formulation and implementation.

    At the forum were Presidential Special Assistant on Nutrition, Dr. Abimbola Adesanmi; representative of World Bank, Mrs. Susan Adeyemi; Director of Planning, Nutrition Department of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Jamiu Abduallah, who represented the Permanent Secretary; Chairman, Technical Advisory Group, National Council on Nutrition, Kole Anigo; a civil right advocate, Innocent Ifedilichukwu; and an official of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. R. O. Oyeleke.

    “We need to create awareness on how to put our leaders into accountability on nutrition policies and programmes,” said Adesanmi, who set the tone for the dialogue.

     Children, who are the nation’s future, need balanced diet to grow physically and mentally, and to survive. But, according to observers, the requirement appears to be a tall order for many households due to their low incomes or poverty.

     Today, Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children (too short for their age) in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 33.3 percent. A report by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning showed that 11. 6 per cent of Nigerian children – between six and 59 months – are wasted (thin for their height); 25.3 percent are underweight (thin for their age), and 1.5 per cent are overweight (heavy for their height).

    Also, an estimated 2 million children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). UNICEF, in a report on its impact, lamented that only two out of every 10 children affected have access to treatment. The global body warned that without urgent action, approximately 14.7 children under five are likely to suffer from moderate and severe acute malnutrition this year.

     Government is aware of the implications of the scenarios for national development. But, it is acting in a snail-like speed to confront the problem.

     “The rates of malnutrition continue to be unacceptably high in Nigeria, affecting progress in health, education, particularly learning outcomes, and economic productivity, with as high as 11 per cent loss of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” the ministry’s report stated.

     More depressing is the disclosure that every hour, almost 100 children die in Nigeria. The high mortality is attributed to many factors. But malnutrition is a major factor. A nutritionist, Isaac Olofin, who decried the prevalence of the children’s suboptimal growth, said: “Left untreated, children with severe acute malnutrition are nearly 12 times more likely to die than a healthy child.”

     There is a linkage between food insecurity and nutritional crisis. A report by UNICEF states that in Nigeria 19 million people are food insecure. Out of the number, one million people suffer from acute food insecurity.

     One of the reasons adduced was that the country recorded 23 per cent increase in the price of food as from September 2022, compared to September 2021.

     For poor homes, it is double tragedy. During the week, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that food prices had gone up by 29 per cent within 12 months. Without a minimum wage that can mitigate the effects, workers continue to groan in hardship. As the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) observed, how to get food has become more important for households than the quality of the food.

     Statistics about childhood mortality is worrisome. UNICEF, which painted an awful picture of the crisis, noted that one in 10 children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday, and malnutrition contributes to nearly half of the deaths.

     According to the report, undernourished children are more likely to die from common childhood illness, including diarrhoea, measles, pneumonia, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. They are also at greater risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart diseases.

     Shedding light on the report, Hajeebhoy explained that chronic micronutrient malnutrition, resulting mainly from deficiencies in Vitamin A, iodine, folic acid and zinc, is a serious problem. She noted that despite the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent them, coverage rates of micronutrient supplementation and fortification remain generally low.

    “These cause serious birth defects, challenges with cognitive development and reduced productivity,” she stressed.

     The UNICEF official said 41 per cent of Nigerian children – between six and 59 months – received Vitamin A supplement in the previous six months, as revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). However, as she explained, “anaemia is present in 62 per cent of the children and iron deficiency is estimated to be responsible for half of all the anaemia”.

      Adesanmi, who spoke on the topic: Role of Nutrition in National Development, drew a correlation between nutrition and human capital development.

     The UNICEF official said adequate nutrition is the bedrock of child’s survival, urging government to sustain policies that will ensure food surplus.

     “Malnutrition has a high economic and health cost. That is why we should pursue more vigorously the National Policy on Food and Nutrition, which provides the framework for addressing the problems of food and nutrition insecurity,” she added.

     Other benefits of adequate nutrition listed by the President’s aide include strong immune system, safer pregnancy and childbirth, lower risk of non-communicable diseases, protection against communicable diseases, and longevity.

    Adesanmi also emphasised that people with adequate nutrition are more productive and can create opportunities to gradually break the shackles of poverty and hunger.

     Nutrition has also been identified as a factor in human capital development. Currently, Nigeria ranks 152 out of 157 countries, indicating a low human capital index that calls for serious concern and action. Therefore, investing in people through nutrition, in addition to health care, quality education, jobs and skill acquisition, can enhance human capital development.

     Besides, Adesanmi acknowledged that “in addition to achieving ‘Zero Hunger (SDG2),’ improvements in nutrition are critical to both achieving and reaping the benefits of all 17 global goals”.

     But Ifedichukwu said it is challenging for government to prioritise nutrition. He said there is lack of understanding and interest, adding that there are also competing priorities. “There are also limited resources,” he stressed.

    It is evident that good nutrition has never occupied a space in the manifestos of political parties and constituency projects of legislators. Opposition against nutrition issues has also come from the private sector, particularly breast milk substitute industries.

     To Ifedichukwu, malnutrition is a silent crisis that may kill more than insurgency, judging by the 53 per cent of all under-five deaths attributed to it. He said if no fewer than 1,200 children die every day while 500,000 children may die annually with malnutrition as the underlying cause, government my elevate the debate on the knotty issue to a major political discourse.

    He reminded Nigeria about the alert by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), advising government and other stakeholders to devise coping strategies in advance.

     “FAO’s early warnings on acute food insecurity report puts Nigeria at the highest alert as hotshots and account for almost a million people facing catastrophic levels of hunger, with starvation and death a daily reality, and where extreme levels of mortality and malnutrition may unfold without immediate action to address the menace,” Ifedichukwu said.

     If mothers can embrace optimal breastfeeding practices, it will be better for Nigeria. The child rearing practice, Ifedichukwu said, would prevent no fewer than 103,742 child deaths and, at least, 10 million cases of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia. Also, the $22 million (6.93 billion) cost of medical treatment may be saved while $38 million (N1 billion) cost of breast milk substitutes can be eliminated.

     Hajeebhoy urged Nigeria to strive for an improvement in child feeding practices. She noted that ‘food poverty’ has taken its tolls on children. Apart from breast milk deprivations, many children lack access to other seven categories of food. They are grains, roots, tubers and plantains, Vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables, flesh foods, pulses, nuts and seeds, eggs, other fruits and vegetables, and dairy products.

    The UNICEF official advised Nigeria to brace up for nutrition emergency. She alerted the country to more impending dangers, saying the 23 per cent increase in food prices may not be the end. “Food security is likely to worsen in 2023 due to loss of agricultural production, natural disasters and inflation. Severe flooding is affecting, at least, 29 states and compromising 2023 harvest and food availability,” she warned.

      Hajeebhoy stressed that currently, one in three households cannot afford the lowest cost of nutritious diet daily. For example, a household of three, comprising father, mother and child, needs N707.00 for energy-only diet. Four per cent of households may not be able to avoid it.

     According to her analysis, N1,687.00 is needed daily by the same household for nutritious diet. But, 34 per cent of households cannot afford it.

     Also, Hajeebhoy frowned at the persistent diet and feeding practices that are largely influenced by social norms, which are inimical to children’s health.

    She cited three cultural norms: “Pregnant women should eat less, and only certain foods, to have an easy delivery”; “A child should not be given meat or egg so that they do not become thieves”; and “This is a tradition here. Thus is how we have always done it.”

     There are also gender norms that should be abolished. Examples are: “A good woman plans and prepares tasty meals, reserving the best for her husband” and “Fathers do not prepare food or feed their children because peers will tease them as weak.”

     The religious norms to be avoided, according to her, are: “Godly and humble people do not eat ‘exotic’ foods, like chicken and seafood,” and “Babies and pregnant women should be involved in fasting and prayers to secure a better future for them.”

     Hajeebhoy urged people, particularly those living in rural communities, to jettison such old practices. She called for subsidy on fruits and vegetables. But she counselled adults to be wary of excessive sugar intake and penchant for sweeteners.

     Echoing her, Oyeleke said ignorance can contribute to malnutrition, stressing that people need information and knowledge about nutrition.

     He spoke on the topic: Food Systems and Sustainable Nutrition: The Way Forward, highlighting the activities, processes and actors involved in getting food to people’s plates, beginning from input supply to meal preparation and consumption. In his view, any breach of the processes can affect nutritional value.

     On food insecurity, he said the effect of climate change cannot be ignored. He also said disruptions of farming activities in rural communities and war between countries, no matter how far they are, can affect food supply, availability and affordability.

     Oyeleke urged Nigerians to be conversant with the food supply chains, production systems and input supply, storage and distribution, processing and packaging, and retail and marketing.

     He also said they should be aware of the nature of food environment, the type and diversity of foods on offer, food prices in relation to their income and purchasing power, food properties, including quality and appeal, safety and convenience; vendors (type and characteristics of retail outlet) and food messaging (promotion, advertising and information about food).  On consumer behaviour, Oyeleke said: “People should know what food to get, prepare and store.”

     What is the way out of the nutrition crisis?

     Oyeleke directed attention to government’s plans for food system transformation in 2023. There will be taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, subsidies on fruit and vegetables and more incentives for producers and retailers to grow, use and sell fresh fruit and vegetables, he said.

     The expert urged the media to promote awareness on better nutrition. “Nutrition education and counselling in preschools, schools, workplaces and health centres should be encouraged,” he added.

     The agriculturist said the Federal Government could regularly disseminate information about weather patterns, soil properties and best practices for crops, livestock, aquaculture and poultry production. The information can shape decisions for each rainy and dry season.

     Many have advised state governments to resuscitate the old farm settlements or create new ones for smallholder producers, including youths and women, to farm. Government can provide extension services for them and facilitate their access to markets through road construction.

     But, Oyeleke said the farm settlements should include all basic amenities and Internet to discourage rural/urban migration.

     “The Federal Government, through the local governments, can promote Operation Feed Yourself by helping households to access information and inputs that will encourage them to produce food around their houses to feed their families,” he added.

     Like Oyeleke, Hajeebhoy also called for nutrition counselling for expectant mothers. She said women should be encouraged to fully embrace exclusive breastfeeding because it is in their own interest and for the benefit of their children.

     She called for the adoption of nutrition-friendly policies, such as improved maternity protection, including six months of paid maternity leave and workplace interventions.

     After six months of exclusive breastfeeding, balanced diet should be given a priority. It is non-negotiable. “Children need food and energy for physical activities and mental growth,” she maintained.

     Between six and 24 months, continued breastfeeding, complementary feeding, Vitamin A supplementation, micronutrient powders, screening and treatment of acute maltrution, zinc supplementation and diarrhea management are recommended for healthy living.

     Hajeebhoy appealed to government to ensure increased allocation, release and utilisation of annual budget for nutrition.

     This suggestion is very vital because of the need for the expansion and improvement of the school feeding programme.

     To Ifedichukwu, government can intervene in the nutrition crisis by creating dedicated budget lines for nutrition in all relevant Nutrition Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). It can also fund and fully implement the National Multi-sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of Nutrition Departments in all federal ministries. “This should be implemented without further delay,” he said.

     Ifedichukwu said the media has a role to play. In his opinion, the media can develop story ideas reflecting the grave nutrition and food crises and demand accountability from government on nutrition interventions.

     Through incisive articles, features, interviews, news analysis, photo stories, twitter campaign, radio and television documentaries, the media can sensitive the public and government about the challenges and by reporting facts, neutralise fake news and misinformation on nutrition.

     “The media can sensitise the public on adequate nutrition, report best practices and solutions to nutritional problems and monitor and report progress made on nutrition,” Ifedichukwu added.

  • Concerns as investors, depositors dollarise their assets to beat double-digit inflation

    Concerns as investors, depositors dollarise their assets to beat double-digit inflation

    The era of investors waiting for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to squeeze inflation out of the economy to get better returns on investment is over. After the CBN consistently missed six to nine per cent inflation target for seven years, investors are now rethinking their investment strategies and divesting to dollar assets which posted over 32 per cent returns this year. The 21.47 per cent inflation rate in November – 17-year high and 11th straight month of acceleration – has not only eroded interest income on savings but drastically cut treasury bills and bonds’ yields. The inflation uptick also opened new investment route in alternative assets dominated by dollar funds.  Assistant Business Editor COLLINS NWEZE reports that although dollar funds offer higher protection against inflation-induced capital erosion and accelerate foreign capital inflows to the economy, allowing them to override naira assets will endanger exchange rate stability.

    Armstrong Charles-Obi, a Nigerian resident in Canada, is one of the investors that have, for decades, prioritised diversified investment plan. He knows the dangers of putting one’s eggs in one basket, which is one of the first lessons investment managers teach greenhorns.

     But in January this year, he took an unusual but decisive decision to elevate his returns on investment. Charles-Obi instructed his banks to liquidate his naira investments – fixed deposits – and convert the proceeds to dollars. His investments in equities were also liquidated with the proceeds converted to dollars. As a savvy investor, Charles-Obi had monitored with enthusiasm, the 20 per cent return on investment recorded by dollar funds in 2021, and decided to explore that opportunity.

     “I noticed that many investors were scrambling for dollar assets, which returned average of 20 per cent in 2021, as against seven per cent returns by equities and savings. Not wanting to be left behind of this year’s largesse, I decided to put all my eggs in one basket: dollar assets,” he said.

     Return on dollar assets has risen to an average of 32 per cent in November, 10.53 per cent premium above 21.47 per cent inflation rate. While Charles-Obi is counting his gains, Benson Adigun, a Lagos-based civil servant and equities investor, had less returns on investment to celebrate. Nigerian equities had closed 2021 with average return of 6.07 per cent, equivalent to net capital gains of N1. 27 trillion. As at November 30, average returns to investors at the Nigerian stock market stood at 12.73 per cent, equivalent to net capital gains of N2.84 trillion.

     Despite the uptick in equities market performance, Adigun’s 12.73 per cent return is 8.74 per cent below 21.47 per cent inflation rate. “I know that my investments are not doing great, when placed side by side the double-digit inflation rate. But I am better off than those that placed their funds in current account, and absorbed the entire inflation heat. Still, there are pockets of value in the equity market, which are worth exploiting, and there are number of listed companies whose long-term internal returns on equity (RoE) suggest positive long-term total returns,” he added.

     Chief Investment Officer, Afrinvest Asset Management Limited, Robert Omotunde, said although there are laws within the country that prevent dollarisation of the economy to avoid putting pressure on the local currency, for investors with dollar inflows, such investment is advisable. “It makes sense to take advantage of dollar investment opportunities for investors with dollar inflows. There are portfolios or opportunities that you can take in different asset classes. There is no over-emphasising the point that investors that are going to beat inflation, and get superlative return, need to consider diversification by currency, and United States dollar is a major currency diversification that we preach,” he said.

    Dollar assets in perspective

      Despite the prospect of good yields by Nigerian equities, many investors are scrambling for dollar funds offered by many investment companies. Afrinvest Asset Management Limited introduced to the investment market, an open-ended mutual dollar fund which pays as much as 7.5 per cent interest per annum. The fund provides a significantly higher return compared to funds kept in a domiciliary account in Nigeria or current bank account in Europe or America. The Afrinvest Dollar Fund was created to help investors achieve income generation, capital preservation and portfolio diversification in the short to medium term. It was designed to deliver significantly higher returns and dividend will be paid twice a year. Nigerians will be able to invest in the fund with as little as $ 1,000.

     Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund was inaugurated by Stanbic IBTC Asset Management to provide currency diversification, income generation and stable growth in US Dollar. In emailed note to investors, the investment company said it seeks to achieve this by investing a minimum of 70 per cent of the portfolio in high quality Eurobonds, maximum of 25 per cent in short term US Dollar deposits and a maximum of 10 per cent in US Dollar equities approved and registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria.

      However, there are operational issues that limit local investors from entering the dollar funds space.  For instance, foreign assets investment policy set requires that only dollar inflows from offshore accounts and not locally-sourced foreign currency can be invested in dollar asset. Head of Research at Coronation Asset Management Limited, Guy Czartoryski, said review of deposits in top 10 banks showed that 40 per cent of customers’ total savings, current and term deposits accounts are in dollars. He said high net-worth Nigerians now prefer to save their cash in dollars. “Many investment banks had floated dollar funds, giving depositors and savers opportunity to hedge against naira depreciation. High net-worth customers of banks now prefer to save their funds in dollars, with dollar deposits now 40 per cent of total banking sector deposits,” he stated.

     He said the financial sector has also seen a rise in the number of customers liquidating their savings deposits, and moving the funds to Mutual Funds, where interest are now higher and risks lower. The Chief Business Officer, Optimus Investment, Ayodeji Ebo, agreed with Adigun on dangers of keeping idle funds. While encouraging more people to invest instead of keeping idle funds, Ebo noted the reality of inflation spike is that it reduces purchasing power of the people.

     “Even if interest or the return you are getting on your investment is below inflation rate, doing nothing will make you worse off. By investing in equities, money market, treasury bills or dollar funds, you are likely to reduce the impact of inflation on your funds,” he stated.

     Ebo explained that although inflation is running far ahead of returns, that should not deter investors’ commitment. “Assuming you earn between 10 to 20 per cent returns, it means you have been able to cut down your actual cost of living by at least 10 per cent. In real terms, your exposure to inflation is moderated by the extra income from investing, which is better than just taking inflation 100 per cent,” he added.

     He said: “The options available are equity investment, treasury bills/commercial papers, federal government bonds/corporate bonds, federal government savings bond and dollar funds. Equity investment is the buying and selling of stocks listed on the Nigerian Exchange and NASD OTC market. Treasury bills are issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on behalf of the federal government; commercial papers are issued by corporate bodies to meet short term obligations. The federal government of Nigeria bonds/corporate bonds are issued by the federal government and corporate bodies, respectively, to meet capital projects,” he explained. 

    The Debt Management Office (DMO) Director-General, Patience Oniha, said interest on FGN Bonds is payable semi-annually; while the bullet payment is made on maturity. She explained that the bonds qualify as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustee Investment Act. “They qualify as government securities within the meaning of Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act; and for Tax Exemption for Pension Funds Administrators,” Oniha said.

     The FGN bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government and charged upon the general assets of the country.

    Treasury bills, FGN bonds’ yields

    Already, market indicators showed that the Nigerian treasury bills secondary market sustained bullish run as average yield contracted by 24 basis points (bps) to close at 8.23 per cent from 8.47 per cent recorded in the previous week. Buying interests were witnessed across all tenors, as yields across the short and long-tenured instruments contracted by 15bps and 72bps, respectively. However, average yield on the medium-term instruments expanded by 14 bps as the 25-May-23 bill rose by 75bps.

     “At the primary market auction last week, the CBN offered a total of N13.58 billion across the 91-, 182- and 364-day instruments. Stop rates on the 91-days, 182-days and 364-days contracted significantly by 99bps, 70bps, and 316bps respectively,” market report on rates movement showed.

     The domestic bond secondary market sustained bullish streak as notable demands were seen across the curve despite 38bps rise in inflation to 21.47 per cent year-on-year. Hence, the average FGN bond yield contracted 62bps week-on-week to settle at 13.47 per cent from 14.09 per cent recorded in the previous week.

     A further breakdown showed that average yields on the short-, medium-, and long-dated maturities (11.89 per cent, 13.96 per cent, and 14.34 per cent) witnessed the most buying interest declining by 85bps, 61bps, and 43bps week-on-week respectively. Specifically, the March-2025, the April-2037, and February-2028 instruments dipped 173bps, 155bps, and 117bps week-on-week, respectively. Findings showed that Nigeria has left behind, in 2020, a 10-year period when yields on Nigerian Treasury Bills (T-Bills) generally exceeded inflation, allowing fund managers to invest clients’ money in risk-free T-Bills with little need for sophisticated risk management.

    Banks benefited from this as the primary destination of savings, as did pension funds. However, the fall in T-Bills rates in recent years, combined with a surge in the value of FGN bonds, demands a new level of risk management. Investment risk is rising as yields fall, and fund managers and investors need to master risk management and learn the benefits of diversifying their investments across asset classes. For instance, during the period between 2010 and 2019, the average T-Bills yield was 14.7 per cent and this was, on average, 2.6 percentage points above the rate of inflation.  Savers and investors had it easy during this period, as all they had to do was to invest in T-Bills in order to beat inflation. Today, at T-Bills yield is around 8.23 per cent, and inflation rate is 21.47 per cent, which represent 13.24 per cent gap that investors have to absorb.

     Hence,  investors have to be a lot more subtle about what they invest in, take a degree of risk, whether that means investing in fixed income funds, credit solutions, balanced funds or equity funds. Accordingly, an investor’s choice of investment is determined by different factors, including if it is short or long term investment, and the returns on investment available at each point of the plan.

     While some investors are moving from termed deposits to dollars funds, others are migrating from savings deposits to mutual funds. The fixed/tenured deposit is a tenured investment with a specific amount invested at an agreed interest rate and tenure. At the end of the agreed period (usually 30 to 180 days), and based on investor’s instructions, the investment can either be re-invested with or without interest earned. 

     However, more savers are going for mutual funds where returns have remained higher in recent years, Managing Director, Coronation Asset Management, Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede, said. “We are convinced that Nigerian savers are making the long-term transition from building savings with banks to a culture of saving with mutual funds. At just 11 per cent of the size of the pension fund industry, we believe that the mutual fund industry needs to support its momentum with confidence-building measures, first among them the adoption of market-to-market accounting and Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS),”  Aig-Imoukhuede, said.

     He said that after a 10.6 per cent decline in total assets under management (AUM) in 2021, the industry is growing again, with total AUM up by 8.7 per to hit N1.52 trillion. The compound annual growth rate for the mutual fund industry between 2015 and 2021 was 33 per cent, or 14 per cent per annum in inflation-adjusted terms.  

    Inflation vs investors’ income

      In an emailed noted to investors, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management explained what rising inflation does to people’s income and savings. It said: “Nigeria’s inflation was at 21.47 per cent in November 2020, a 17-year high. In practical terms, the prices of goods and services increased by 21.47 per cent between November 2021 and November 2022. That means a bag of onions that cost N100,000 in November 2021 increased by N21,470 in November 2022 to cost N121,470.

     Findings showed that when the demand for goods and services outweighs the supply, buyers become willing to pay higher prices. Also, when there is increase in supply of money, without a corresponding increase in output or productivity in the an economy, it will lead to rise in prices.

     As inflation rises, millions of Nigerians that kept their funds in current accounts where there is zero interest yield got poorer and may not be able to meet their daily obligations because their funds are gradually losing value.

     Charles-Obi said: “I have learnt to invest in alternative assets instead of keeping idle funds in banks. That is the best way to beat inflation and strengthen your purchasing power.” Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) Muda Yusuf,  said that structural factors which constrain productivity across sectors, especially the real sector, decline in agricultural output, exchange rate depreciation, higher energy costs and security concerns in key food-producing states were major inflation drivers. “These structural-induced factors are beyond the control of monetary authorities and have made it increasingly difficult for the CBN to achieve its primary objective of price stabilization,” he said.

    Inflation tracks the rise in the price of goods and services, which in turn shrinks the naira’s purchasing power. As inflation rises, consumers can only purchase fewer goods with the naira, input prices rise while earnings and profits drop leading to slow economic growth, until stability returns.

    Pains, risks of dollar-based economy 

    Despite the benefits of dollar investments, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that dollarising the economy could be difficult to reverse. As a partially dollarised economy, Nigerian operates with dollar bias for international trade, finance invoicing and of recent, store of value. In a report titled: “Digital Money and Central Banks Balance Sheet,” the IMF said that once a country gets used to a bi-monetary system, the process is not easy to reverse, even when the initial trigger such as high inflation, exchange rate volatility, subsides, are addressed.    

     “The optimal choice between domestic currency versus dollars will depend on the monetary framework and the benefits that each may offer as they co-exist as two currencies,” the IMF report added. The IMF explained that in a highly dollarised economy, like Nigeria, there is extended use of the exchange rate for price indexation (high real dollarisation and almost complete pass-through from depreciation to inflation).

     “There is limited scope for fiat currency (tax payments, public expenditure, non- durable goods, and low- value transactions). Extended forex use for durable goods, real estate, capital goods, and high- value transactions. Also, forex takes over the role of store of value as lending capacity in domestic currency becomes limited. Most loans become forex- denominated when forex bank deposits are allowed,” it stated.

     The IMF said a bi-monetary system embodies the failure to conduct monetary policy in an effective way, such as, secure price stability, efficient payment systems, and well-functioning financial markets (including long-run financial contracts at comparatively low nominal interest rates). It said that under high and persistent inflation as seen in Nigeria, market participants defend themselves by shifting to forex. “The most common type of dollarization is financial dollarisation, or asset substitution, caused by a poor performance of the local currency. The local currency is used more for payment transactions but is replaced by the dollar as saving asset or store of value,” it said.

     The IMF said a bi-monetary system limits the role of the exchange rate as a shock absorber, as real dollarisation implies a high pass-through from exchange rate depreciation to inflation.  “Financial dollarisation creates currency mismatches and liquidity risks for the financial system and the economy as a whole. Therefore, the exchange rate amplifies negative external shocks rather than absorbing them.”

     The naira exchanges at N758/$ at the parallel market and N440/$ at the official market rate, creating a premium of N318/$. The naira has lost over 20 per cent of its value this year due to persistent dollar scarcity and rising demand for the greenback.

    CBN speaks on inflation spike

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, lamented rising spate of inflation and the impact of foreign exchange shortage on achieving national development goals. For Emefiele, Nigeria’s 21.47 per cent inflation rate in November was relatively high and at an unacceptable level. He said higher inflation needs to be tackled with tools that can potentially constrain the economy’s fragile output growth and cause stagflation.

       Emefiele explained that due to the resumed uptick of inflation rate in February 2022, the Monetary Policy Committee has raised its policy rate four times from 11.5 per cent to 16.5 percent in November 2022. “With the cumulative hike of 500 basis points, so far in 2022, we expect period of sustained disinflation will soon begin. The monetary policy tightening measures have led to subdued aggregate demand pressures expected to ease inflation,” he said. 

     Emefiele explained that the combined efforts of the monetary and fiscal authorities to ramp up food supply and tackle age long structural challenges are also expected to moderate inflation expectations and drive down food and core prices in the medium-term. 

    Other stakeholders’ views

    The Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Lamin Manjang, said there was great uncertainty and volatility both globally and locally marked by rising inflation and slow growth. “We have seen a very aggressive tightening of monetary policy across almost all central banks in the world. In Nigeria, we have seen the same phenomenon of high inflation. But it’s not all doom and gloom. We have been through similar challenges in the past and we eventually came out of it,” he stated during the 2022 Global Research Briefing in Lagos.   

     Standard Chartered Bank’s Regional Head of Research, Africa & the Middle East, Razia Kahn, highlighted the need for greater reassurance on forex and other policy reforms in order for Nigeria to attract foreign investor participation.

     “In terms of the policy response, Nigeria has perhaps been more tested than many other economies. A lot of the transmission of the different pressures into the great slowdown has been exacerbated by the policy decisions in Nigeria. Still, Nigeria stands apart from many of its African counterparts simply because it is seen to be an economy that has scale,” she explained.

     The Group Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa, Ike Chioke, said   investors should know when to enter into the market, and most importantly, when to exit the market with profit. He attributed the shortfall in dollar supply to declining foreign direct investment, foreign portfolio investment, crude oil earnings and diaspora remittances inflows. “Investors should be proactively defensive in managing their portfolios. They should find high yielding instruments that will make them ride above the inflationary curve and get the desired protection for their investments,” he said.

     Yusuf predicted that headline inflation would remain elevated in 2023 because the causative agents remain dominant. He said that a broad-based harmonisation of fiscal and monetary policies towards addressing the identified structural constraints will significantly help to moderate inflationary pressure in the medium term.

     Former Executive Director, Keystone Bank, Richard Obire, said foreign investors understand the problems in developing nations like Nigeria which require a premium for them to find their economy attractive. “Foreign providers of short-term capital usually require appropriate interest rate compensation or sufficient currency repricing to embark on investments in relatively risky climes. These set of investors are likely to weigh the Nigerian offerings (in terms of interest rates, currency, and overall reforms) vis-a-vis those of competing markets going forward. All considered, we expect foreign investors to remain mostly averse to Nigerian risks next year,” he said.

     According to him, authorities should embrace more pro-market paths to encourage foreigners to take on more naira risks. There should also be policies that will attract longer-term capital as opposed to fleeting hot monies. Promulgation and implementation of appropriate reforms, improvements in ease of doing business, provision of adequate infrastructure, and tilt to a more liberal currency regime are some measures that could be adopted.

     Whether the investor choses to go for savings, mutual funds, T-Bills, Bonds, equities or dollar funds is a function of diverse factors. But whichever way the pendulum swings, an investment in any asset is by far a better option than keeping idle funds and taking the inflation heat 100 per cent.

  • Step out in style this season

    Step out in style this season

    By Joy Chinonso Okorie

    Christmas is one of the busiest season of the year but also the most festive in terms of dressing up. As the year comes to a close, it is the best time to go out in your holiday outfits as there will be plenty of gatherings to show that enchanting style until the new year.

           There are so many events that would need amazing outfits like office parties, family celebrations, reunions, dinners and so much more. Whether you are staying in with your family in your comfy clothes or going out for a fancy Christmas party with friends, the key is to always look good.

             Planning ahead is important even in making choices for dressing. Therefore, these fashion staples will solve your I-don’t-have-anything-to-wear conundrum and best of all, they’re festive and radiant.

    Silk turtle neck dresses

            This is a dress that is timeless and will work for a variety of events. It is made of silk which makes it super soft and comfortable. You can wear it with boots for an attractive street style look or a blazer for a warmer look. This dresses goes great with a black bag to rock it up.

    Maxi long gowns

            The thing about maxi gowns is it’s comfort. It is certainly comfy and flattering. It is also the most forgiving type of clothes that you can wear without guilt. You may be surprised to find out that out that such dresses is actually very flexible. It is a great dress that can be worn during chilly days and also warm days . Not only can it be worn for casual days, it can also be worn for professional and formal settings and that is why it is amazing for Christmas. Simply adding a belt and a slim shirt with a different color from the dress will do, and then sum it up with heels and simple jewelries.

    Sparkling jackets

            Sparkling and glittering jackets are also very trendy and stylish for an evening Christmas party. Throw a golden blazer on top of a black shirt. Wear it with a plain jean, it is simple yet very fashionable for a nice party. Then select a matching purse and a nice pair of shoes. Heels are mostly preferred over flats for such special occasions. Flats can be worn if you plan on going for a party that lasts until midnight, If you’re hosting or if there’s some dancing involved. But if you plan to stay for a short time, then go for heels.

    Denim jackets

           Denim jacket is another great style for Christmas. They look cool with an oversized scarf and are a perfect outwear choice for spring. If the one in your closet hasn’t seen the light of day in a while- maybe you’ve forgotten how versatile it really is. Now is the time to dust that jacket off for a new look. These jackets can be paired with heels, skirts or baggy trousers and simple jewelry.

         You can treat this styles as a Christmas gift to yourself, but you’ll be able to rock these pieces again whether it’s a new year’s eve party or a next year’s thanksgiving outfit.

    Any one of these Christmas outfits will have you looking like an ice princess with the bonus of still being able to run around in the kitchen  and sit on the floor to play Christmas party games .

  • Water borne diseases ravage Ebonyi community hosting water scheme

    Water borne diseases ravage Ebonyi community hosting water scheme

    •Cholera kills two children, seven others
    •Hospitals detain patients after treatment over inability to settle bills •Locals fetch, drink water from contaminated stream
    •Indiscriminate dumping of refuse, absence of toilets compound woes

    Ezilo, a rural community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, which hosts a major water scheme that supplies potable water to Abakaliki and its environs, is suffering from acute water scarcity and is currently ravaged by water borne diseases. No fewer than two children and seven adults had died at the time of filing this report while close to100 others are either still in the hospital or have been discharged. INNOCENT DURU reports that aside from residents’ reliance on contaminated water, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and open defecation also contribute to the environmental and health crisis bedeviling the community.

    THE traditional ruler of Ezilo, His Royal Majesty Innocent Chima, was dealt a big blow early this month when he received the news that one of his uncle’s wives had died of cholera.

    Before he could come to terms with the sad news, information came that one of his chiefs had also passed on.

    As the sad news filtered into the palace, the subjects in their various homes also received unpleasant stories of the demise of their family members in various hospitals. Never in their history had they experienced such a mysterious and devastating development. 

     “The story about cholera outbreak is true. Many people are dying now. Many people have died and some others are hospitalised.

    “I feel very bad about it. I have lost sleep over the ugly development. I have been making contacts here and there for help.

    “One of the victims who died last Sunday was my uncle’s wife. There is also a chief that died. There is another close person that is there in the hospital. Many people are there,” the monarch said. 

    Ike, a member of the community, said they had  about 47 people in different health facilities when our correspondent encountered him. “The total number of people discharged is about 43. I am talking about people who have reported to the hospitals.

    “Many of our people are shying away from going to  the hospital because of bills. So far we have recorded nine deaths. That is the verified figure.”

    Also decrying their ordeal, the President General of Ezilo Town Union, Ali Ogbuzuru, said two children had died as a result of the outbreak.

    His words: “My step-mother was infected but has been discharged. It wasn’t so serious or severe when it started until the first of December.  It was on that day that the problem escalated.

    “Right now, nine lives have been lost. We are actually soliciting for help to ensure that it is controlled and that it doesn’t reoccur after now. Those are the two major requests we are making.”

    Head of Amaeze Ezilo Town Union, Okechi Moses, was visibly ruffled by the incident.  He said: “It was so devastating. By the grace of God, it is reducing.”

    Hospitals detain patients incapable of settling bills

    Checks showed that many victims could not go to the hospital because they lacked the resources to pay the bills. It was, however, learnt that some others who were admitted were later detained by different hospital managements as they could not settle their bills.

    Ogbuzuru, said: “Yesterday, I went with some medical personnel to different health facilities. We saw patients who had been discharged but couldn’t pay their bills.

    “Their bills ranged from N27,000 to over N50, 000.  It wasn’t a small amount of money for people at that local level to arrange.

    “By the time we went to inform the council chairman of some of  our visits, the council chairman volunteered  to pay the debt, which he actually did. 

    “The four people concerned are in their various homes now.

    Corroborating the chairman’s remark, Ike said: “Some persons were detained by hospital management because they couldn’t offset their bills. Ogochukwu was supposed to pay N27 and 000 Ogbuchukwuma was supposed to pay N25,000.”

    The monarch told our correspondent that he had settled the bills of some of the detained survivors.

    He said: “I have supported some of them who could not pay their bills. I helped them to pay and get discharged.

    “I have helped about three people. We are still looking for money to secure the release of the other people still detained in hospitals.

    “The deceased  ones are still in mortuaries. We can’t just dig the ground and put them inside. We have to inform the people who should know.”

    Head of Amaeze Ezilo Town Union, Okechi Moses, applauded the community members for supporting the victims.

    He said: “I thank God for the efforts so far put up by the community and the local government among others.

    “Some of the victims died outside government facilities. Funding and ignorance made it impossible for them to go to hospital. The poverty level in this part of the country is alarming.”

     How collapse of Ezilo Water Scheme forced natives to consume contaminated water

    Findings revealed that the people’s reliance on contaminated stream water for drinking and other domestic uses over the years following the collapse of the Ezilo water scheme was largely responsible for their predicament.

    Going down memory lane, Ike said: “Water scarcity is primarily the cause of the problem. Since 2017, there has not been pipe borne water.

    “The community hosts the almighty Ezilo Water Corporation that supplies water to the entire Ebonyi State with pipes well reticulated by the missionaries.

    “This water corporation was active long before now but little or no attention is paid to water resources now.

    “Some construction works damaged the reticulation and pipes and because of that there is no pipe borne water.This made people to resort to fetching water from dams, streams and rivers for drinking and domestic use.”

    He added: “Boreholes are difficult to see here. In fact, there is no borehole here. 

    “The cost of digging one and lack of government presence are some of the reasons for this.

    “The area  has just survived the communal crisis that engulfed it between 2008 and 2012. Because of this, some of the people abandoned the community to be living very close to the highway. They don’t have resources anymore.

    “Government assistance is needed in providing borehole, jobs and other  forms of support for the people.

     “The only source of water supply  for the people is the stream called Ebenyi River.  The river is the only source of water for drinking, washing clothes and for other purposes for the people.

    “People could be up the river washing clothes  while some will be fetching water at the down side of the river.

    “Sometimes they carry animals that are killed to the river to wash and some people would be drinking directly from the same river. It could be that this problem was contracted from there or from the dumps around the community.”

    He also disclosed that absence of toilet facilities contributed to the predicament of the people.

    “Open defecation is a common thing here. Anywhere the people see banana plantation, it becomes a toilet.

    “Refuse dump is also everywhere. Sanitation is very poor as people live around refuse dumps.

    “All these things have been happening over the years without the people knowing the implications. Now the problem is here. 

    “It started late in November and has risen to the stage it is now.

    “Initially, people were not reporting the incident in hospitals, and that was why the problem got to the point it is.”

    Okechi said the problem faced by the people comes with a season when there is shortage of water supply.

    She said: “The town does not have pipe borne water. It doesn’t have boreholes. The major source of water supply is the stream where people defecate and do all sorts of things.

    Ali also decried the menace of indiscriminate dumping of refuse. 

    He said: “The refuse dumps are scattered.  We don’t have a particular place for dumping refuse. In fact, people dump refuse at will. We are looking for a way out of this. “The water scheme is not functional. Right now in our community we don’t have pipe borne water.  

    “The only source of water in our place now is the Ebenyi River. We have one borehole in the local government but it is very, very far from the people.

    “There is sachet water but not everybody can afford it.”

    Contrary to others’ position that the Ezilo Water Scheme was not functional, the monarch strongly averred that the water  was functional but alleged that the authorities diverted it away from the community.

    Ezilo said: “We don’t know what the government is doing since it does not affect  their relations or their community.

    “The government is marginalising us here. We have the best water from our community but even as a monarch, I can’t get a cup of it to drink. They are taking water from Ezilo to Abakaliki but we don’t get a drop in our community.

    “It is still working but they are not giving us. They have blocked the part that is supposed to be supplying our community and diverted it to the state.”

     Way forward

    To avert a reoccurrence of the incident, the monarch said: “We are educating our people to always boil the water they fetch from the stream before drinking it.

    “We have also made them to see reasons why they have to use izal to  mop their houses.

    “Visitors have been advised to always wash their hands before entering their hosts’ houses.

    “We have given orders that each household should have a toilet.  We have been doing that through the community leaders.

    “Some of them are complying while some are complaining that they don’t have money to put toilets in place.

    “In spite of their position, we are making it mandatory to have toilets. If you are building a house you should have a toilet.”

    For Okechi, the way forward is massive dissemination of health information – the preventive part of it.  “The most important of all is water supply. We would be very glad if the government and non-governmental organisations can help us with boreholes.

    “Incidentally, our town harbours the water scheme that supplies Abakaliki. It has not been functioning.”

    Locals must have toilets before building houses -LG boss

    The Chairman of Ishielu Local Government Area, Hon Obinna Onwe, while lamenting the predicament of the people, confirmed that he paid the bills of some victims detained by hospitals.

    “The community leaders gave me the bills of all the people in the hospital and I cleared everything so that the people could go home.

    “Actually, I cannot say exactly what the problem is with the  Ezilo Water Scheme because I am not an engineer and I don’t work there.

    “The problem can best be explained by the people working there. I may make some mistakes if I am telling you. I can’t even tell you  the state of things there now.

    “I think they are working on it. The scheme at one point worked for a while and later stopped. I think the engineers are working on it.”

    On the environmental challenges in the community, the LG boss said:  “We have only one central refuse dump. From time to time, we clear it as a local government.  

    “The place is not close to where the people live anyway.”

    He added: “Open defecation is just about community sensitization. I have had several meetings with the community leaders and I kept telling them they should tell people to stop open defecation.

    “Even when they allocate lands for people to build houses they should allow the people to first and foremost build toilets. 

    “What they do is that they would build houses without toilets. Any effort  thereafter to get them to build toilets will prove abortive.

    “This time around, I have told them, up till kindred level, that  when they are allocating lands to people, the person has to build a toilet before building his house. If anybody will not do that, I think they should stop giving land for people to build on.

    “We are also making efforts to partner with NGOs to see how we can build public toilets.”

    N2.1 billion voted for rehabilitation of water facilities

    The state government in 2016 announced that it would spend N2.1 billion on the rehabilitation of water facilities.

    The governor, David Umahi, made the disclosure while flagging off the state’s Sustainable Development Goals water projects in the three senatorial zones of the state.

    The project was dubbed “Operation Water Ebonyi State.”

    Addressing the people during the ceremony, the governor said Ebonyi was among the 10 lucky states which accessed the SDG grant of N600 million each.

    According to the governor, the beneficiary states were expected to match the grant with additional N600m each in order to access the fund.

    He explained that Ebonyi did not only do so; it injected additional N900m into the pool, thereby having the N2.1bn for the water projects.

    The sum, he added, would be used to fix the Ezillo Water Plant, the Sacamori Water Station,  the Juju Hill Water Scheme and the Ohaozara Water Station.

    He said: “Let me put it properly that Federal Government gave N600m and we were expected to match it with another N600m.

    “We did and we also provided another N900m. So altogether, the three lots of the projects are going to cost us about N2.1bn; so Federal Government N600m; Ebonyi State Government, N1.5bn.

    “Let me say that the scope of this job is, part one, rehabilitation of Ezillo water treatment plant, and Sacamori pipeline network facilities. We tend to have storage tanks in Ichichi forest, which will supply the federal university at Ndufu Alike, supply the local government of Ikwo, supply some areas in Izzi, supply our rice mill and that of Engr. Ugwu as we make efforts to get our rice millers to also take over the UNIDO rice mill. The Sacamori pipeline has its network through Ezza North, Ezza South, Ishielu, Izzi,Ohaukwu, and even FUNAI .

    “We want to do proper integration of Ezillo water scheme and that of Oferekpe to ensure that if we have problem with Oferekpe and it is shut down, Ezillo will start supplying. But most importantly is the distribution network in Abakaliki.”

    Umahi also revealed that the third part is to address the water challenges in Ohaozara, stating that already, there is a water treatment plant in the area.

    “The third one is to address the water challenges in Ohaozara. Already, we have water treatment plant there. So what we want to do is to build a storage tank at Agukwu and build another storage tank at Ugwulangwu. So with these two storage tanks, we can network the entire Okposi, Uburu and Ugwulangwu.”

    He also disclosed that  the Ishiagu water project had  been  redesigned and re- awarded to a competent contractor at the cost of N1.2 billion, stressing that the arrangement was to integrate all water projects.

    He stated that the  Oferekpe and Ukawu water scheme would be completely ready to provide water.

    Umahi also  emphasised that the distribution process of the pipelines had already  started.

    “We just  started a process to do some distribution network of our pipelines .And I have directed Ministry of Water resources to immediately tell us the balance of the distribution,so that within the next one year,we should beat our chests and say,every body,especially within the capital city is drinking water.”

    The governor assured the remaining local government areas that were not benefiting in the SDG water projects that they would  be considered in other areas such as provision of electricity.

  • Brothers at daggers drawn: Hausa, Fulani kinship threatened by quiet, bruising war

    Brothers at daggers drawn: Hausa, Fulani kinship threatened by quiet, bruising war

    For centuries, Fulani and Hausa ethnic groups have lived together in brotherhood with shared aspirations and values. In recent years, however, the two have seen rising hostilities leading to deaths and the embarrassment of their cherished heritage. Adewale Adeoye, who visited some northern states examines the nature of the clashes and the prospect of conflict prevention and peace building.

    IT was sundown in Maiduguri. The hot afternoon was fading into a cold night. At a modest home in the city centre, we all sat on a vast, old but beautiful Arabian rug stretched across the large sitting room. The veiled women walked in and out, placing different types of food in a stretch of oriental plates. The dinner was served on the floor, according to medieval custom, each reaching out to his taste while the children waited for the adults to lead in the ancient buffet.

    Our host, an aristocrat close to 70, sat on a vast leather-made rug that distinguished his status as the head of the house. The dinner lasted about one and a half hours during which the two telephone lines of our host buzzed with intermittent calls from prominent Northern leaders, almost all of them raising the same issue: violence in Northern Nigeria and the threat to prosperity of the poor and the elite.

    Across the road, there is a Mosque. The Imam was shot in broad day light, he said in low tones after he had narrated how he himself escaped two incidents of bomb attacks believed to have been planted by teenagers. He said in Yobe, an Islamic library established centuries ago was burnt into ashes complicating the problem in understanding what the extremists really want.  However, of the security challenges facing the North, he said the most menacing is the violence between Fulani and Hausa, a strange development that began only a few years ago.

    “We have had very unusual security problems, but the most frightening is the violent conflict between Fulani and Hausa ethic groups,” he said, admitting that the Northern ruling class strives to undermine the enormity of the problem even as the hydra headed challenge refuses to subside.  

    “The North is under siege by terrorists, but the most terrific is the recent clashes between Fulani herdsmen and Hausa. It is spreading.”

    Indeed, a strange whirlwind is blowing, leaving a ruinous path. For the first time in modern history, the Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups, who for centuries had lived together and even defended each other are now at daggers drawn. Many see the trend as a major threat not only to the peace of the two great civilizations but also to the prosperity of Nigeria and even the West Africa sub-region where the two are widely spread and remain some of the biggest ethnic groups. Observers think the worst is that the violence is common among the masses, who are in the majority. Across the North, victims of the crisis are nursing their wounds.

    “In Kano, one Hausa farmer displaced by the Fulani-Hausa conflict narrated his experience to this reporter. Ebony dark, hefty, stocky with aggressive, probing eyeballs, his name fits into his intimidating physique: Mumtumu. His full name is Aliyu Musa Gobir, but his peers call him Baba Mumtumu Giwa, meaning the Giant Elephant. In his 50s, he has eight children from three wives. He grows cash crops which he inherited from generations and made not less than a million naira every month until February this year when his fortunes crashed like a pack of cards.

    At midnight on a cold Sunday night, armed Fulani men invaded his farmhouse in Katsina State. They killed one of his children, his look-alike.  One of his wives and a daughter, 15, were taken captive. Mumtumu put up a fierce resistance, using his weight to crush on the floor two of the young invaders until he saw an AK 47 rifle pointed to his head.

    “I couldn’t go to farm all the time. I had to plan my movement because I may be attacked. The situation became dangerous when they killed my son and took away my wife. I left Katsina state for Kano,” He said in a soft voice that did not equate his giant physique.

    He, however, said he was shocked that his assailants trailed him to Kano, forcing him to relocate again.

    “I never thought that Hausa and Fulani could fight. We are brothers, of the same faith, but now we are killing each other,”

    He told our reporter as he wrecked his weight on the wooden chair outside his grocery shop in the suburb of Kano.

    The story is becoming all too familiar. Fulani cows are stolen on no grounds at all or on charges that the cows destroyed farms owned by Hausa farmers. Many times the rustlers hack down the nomads. In return, the Fulani mobilise to retrieve their cows and in the process employ counter-violence.

    In the ensuing bad blood, each ethnic group recruits foreigners of their own ethnic stock, raising the specter of a large scale sub regional conflict. The notable actors have substantial population: Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Senegal, all in West Africa.

    A security source told our correspondent that supporters of the two ethnic groups are fueling the crisis by importing illicit weapons for pitched battles.

    Tall, skinny Mdibo, a Fulani had his own bitter pill. His hometown in Adamawa saw unprecedented theatres of blood and anguish. He left for Dutse but the situation turned worse as the conflict between the Fulani and Hausa soon got to him. He said he had lost half of his cattle to Hausa rustlers who now operate a local vigilante he believed target the Fulani ethnic stock.

    In one encounter while he grazed his cows in Adamawa, he received calls that his home had been attacked, his children wounded in a night raid by people he said were armed Hausa.

    Yet his most painful encounter was the attack on his pregnant second wife. The attackers also did not spare his aged mother whose head was battered. 

    “We know the attackers;  they are Hausa bandits,” he lamented, swearing that the attackers had crossed the redline.

    In Abuja, a Fulani scholar, who did not wish to be named, blamed the crisis on the failure of leadership and the growing poverty which continue to fuel ethnic identities. He said the selfishness of leadership is eroding the solidarity that once brought the North together as one entity.

    “Ahmadu Bello united us. The Fulani and Hausa saw themselves as one. But that heritage is now under threat,” he told the reporter.

    A similar feeling was expressed by a Fulani settlement in Ekiti visited by our correspondent. Baamu, whose parents had lived in Itapaji for over 200 years, said the Hausa-Fulani clashes are a threat to everyone. “We are worried, I must tell you. It may displace many of us, he said in Yoruba.

    For centuries the two  were welded together by the strong chain of religion, politics and culture. Both are largely of the same Islamic faith, share the same Hausa language, similar culture and common territory. The Northern leaders of the last century did a lot to unite the two ethnic groups.

    Since the 1900s when representative government began in Nigeria, Fulani and Hausa political expression had been defined territorially while both have expressed similar or the same positions on national and local issues to the extent that most Nigerians coined the phrase Hausa-Fulani as if they are one single ethnic group.

    The two have also produced scholars of global fame while due to Arabic origins of most names, it is difficult to distinguish between who is Hausa or Fulani.

    “We are the only ethnic groups in Nigeria whivh for centuries had lived as if we are one. Crises between Fulani and Hausa were almost inconceivable until now,”

    Tanko Ahmed, a former top civil servant told the reporter in Abuja. While the Fulani are found in many West African countries like Chad, Cameroon, Gambia, Mali and even Senegal, the Hausa are also indigenous to the listed countries, extending their presence to Southern Sudan where thousands of Hausa descendants had settled centuries ago either on their way to or from Holy Pilgrimage in Mecca.

    The Hausa in Southern Sudan are also demanding for greater participation in the political affairs of the country. This means if the clashes continue, it could destabilise many countries.

    A top security official who does not wish to be named told our correspondent that the Nigerian authorities should find the means of resolving the lingering grudge warning that if left unattended to it might spill over into a sub-regional crisis.

    Our correspondent’s visit to some Fulani settlements in the North indicated uneasy calm, the same in Hausa communities.

    It is not as if the political leaders are doing nothing. In April this year, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, imposed a 24-hour curfew to prevent a pre-warned violent uprising in the state after violent clashes between Gudum Hausawa and Gudun Fulani communities. The death of two people killed by one of the sides stirred the revolt.

    The state Police Commissioner Umar Sanda, said the governor visited the communities to assuage frayed nerves. “I will make sure I give you the required leadership. It is my duty to make sure I come here to ensure peace in this place,” he said.

    The conflict is also spreading to other parts of the country. In August this year, Hausa traders and Fulani herdsmen clashed in Sapele. No fewer than 10 people were wounded. The stabbing of a Hausa boy alleged to have stolen an item of a Fulani herdsman prompted mob revenge by Hausa traders mostly from Nasarawa State. The police led by CSP Harrison Nwabosi intervened to prevent further escalation. One Ibrahim Umoru had said the boy stabbed was mistaken for a thief.

    In Zamfara State with a large population of both Fulani and Hausa, the conflict has also been noticed.

    Not too long ago, violence sparked during the Eid-El Kabir festival between the two groups in Dangulbi, Maru Local Government Area of the state. Herdsmen had attacked  Kongo and Bangon Garaci, killing six.

    Isah Dan Hauwa, who lives in the area, said the invaders burnt 13 motorcycles prior to the attacks. More than 2,000 cows were said to have been stolen in Bingi, Yar, Katsina, Maji Fanda Haki and Matankari, where some armed men kept stolen cows before they were taken to the market.

    Hausa communities, in response to the challenges, have set up Yan Sakai, a militia group dominated by Hausa amidst reports of extra-judicial killings and highhandedness.

    “Yan Sakai target Fulani. They kill and maim our people. They carry out extra judicial killings,” a Fulani cow dealer, Dan Musa, told our reporter in Kano. He said the relations of those killed were resorting to revenge killings.

    Some argue that the current crisis in North West often dismissed as acts of banditry is essentially a Hausa revolt, questioning the loss of their ancestral territories during the 1804 Jihad, now rising against Fulani lords who now own the vast land through the Emirate system.

    In Sokoto, Kebbi and Jigawa states, the situation is not different. In rural communities, clashes between Hausa and Fulani communities have been most astonishing if not embarrassing to the ruling elite from both sides that need the unity of ethnic communities in the North to sustain their political influence and control.

    A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara, who does not wish to be named, said the Fulani/Hausa conflict remains a an ill wind that blows no one any good.

    In other countries apart from Nigeria, Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups are distinct from each other. But in Nigeria, the blood-bound alliance finds its logic in the irony of history. The tie between the Fulani and Hausa ethnic groups in Nigeria was planted in the womb of time around the 1800s. For centuries from 900 to 1520AD, Hausa land extended to most of today’s Northern Nigeria with an orgainsed state ruled by the Habes or Sarki.

    From 1500s,  the Hausa territories were ravaged by wars, raids from the Bornu North East neighbours; from the north by Berbers, Tuaregs and Arabs and from the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. Scholars remark that it is a salute to the Hausa impressive level of technology and of statecraft in the medieval times that the Hausa people survived the earliest serial conflict. Hausa had dominion in many of today’s northern states at the period with Kano and Zazzau being some of its most flourishing city states.

    The Hausa had a flourishing civilization. Kano Hausa government, for instance, was formed in 998 BC with Bagauda as its first ruler. In 1349, it was led by Sarkin Kano Ali Yayi said to be the first Kano Muslim king. In 1421, King Dauda reigned, during which Kano became a tributary state to Bornu Kingdom.

    Runfa, who died in 1499, developed Kano into a centre of learning and trade and even introduced the Ajami, the writing in Hausa.

    The history of Kano changed with the 1804 Jihad led by Uthman Dan Fodio. The late Dr Baba Omojola, who had done extensive research on the relationship between Fulani and Hausa, said the Fulani entry into the Northern Nigeria political history could be traced to the fact that the incursion was influence by the attacks from the Tuaregs around 1050, plus the brutal assaults at the hands of Berbers and by Sonni Ali who raided and attacked them.

    The Fulani were said to have been one of the first ethnic groups in Africa to adopt Islam. The growth of the faith enriched the spread of the Fulani ethnic group. Historians believe the 1050 attacks engrained in them the spirit of warfare to survive the rage of their foes. 

    Their natural sociology appears to have helped them. Some have described the Fulani as having an innate sense of what is decorous and proper, polite and respect for their seniors, capable of great fortitude of bearing tremendous pain or affliction without showing feelings, reticent in their affairs, having a deep sense of shame, if unjustly humiliated.

    Omojola said Fulani is prone never to forget such instances when treated with malice.  Of the intelligence of the average Fulani, there can be no doubt. But Omojola said their “character in general would appear to retard their advancement”.

    They are nomadic. But there are also sedentary Fulani, who tend to play remarkable roles in the politics of any country in which they happen to settle. Noted for their talents, the Fulani are believed to contribute immensely to the intellectual development of any country in which they settle.

    The Fulani are among the most fanatic Muslims in the Western-Sudan and had established theocracies and have done more to transform to Western-Sudan, argued Omojola. They form a considerable percentage of the ruling classes in West Africa. Highly cultured, the traditional Fulani is said to be balanced in their judgment and are extremely diplomatic in matters of statecraft.

    Their dominant presence across West Africa began in the 11th Century when the Fulani split into three groups with one migrating to present day Nigeria. Among the Toralbe Fulani was Uthman Dan Fodio esteemed for his piety and learning. He subsequently led the1804 Jihad, exploiting to the brim the tyranny of the Hausa Habes over their subjects. It was the Jihad that made the lordship of Fulani over Hausa territories constitutional.

    He was offspring of Adids, said to be among the first Muslim Army in West Africa. He was said to have been introduced to the study of Quran at age 7. He grew to become pious, dedicated and loyal to the faith. He studied under renowned scholar, Shaikh Jibrilla b Umar, from where he developed the statecraft of how to lead a social, cultural and political order. He studied in Agades and was reckoned to have visited the University of Timbuktoo where he buried his head in the famous library of letters and theology.

    He published several books.  In one of his books, Wa Lamma Balagtu, he claimed to have been chosen and that God called him in a spiritual encounter. He charmed the people through resistance against paganism and the imposition of heavy, punitive taxes by the Hausa Habes. The Jama’a, including the Hausa masses, soon saw him as their saviour.

    In 1789, Fodio had become so famous in Hausa land that it was difficult for the Hausa kings to check his leaps and bounds. History says that in 1789, the Gobir King, worried by the rising resistance against his rule, offered Fodio gift of 500 mitigate of gold. The Shehu refused but listed three demands, according to multiple accounts; to be allowed to call people to God, respect for any man with turban and not to burden Muslim Jama’a with taxes. To these the Sarki Bawa Jan Gwarzo agreed.

    In excitement, Fodio’s brother Abdullahi was said to have celebrated the victory with a poem Tazinu’l Wara gay.’ Yunfa, the Gobir King, worried by Fodio’s expansionism, attacked Degel, a stronghold of the Fulani, forcing the Shehu to flee, known as Hajira marked by his followers. 

    In 1804, this emboldened him to plot the Jihad that eliminated the Gobir dynasty that had been treasured for many centuries. The Shehu fled to Gudu where he raised a strong army that embarked on an almost irreversible war of conquest that took over the Hausa ancient territories. Some historians argue that Yunfa’s mistake was to have ordered all Fulani to be killed; a discretion that made all Fulani, poor and rich, to seek refuge under the leadership of the Shehu.

    The Sarki of Katsina, Kano, Zazzau, Daura and Adar rose against the Shehu, with the whole Hausa land rent in war and blood. The Shehu won, giving flags to his children and cousins over Hausa land and ending an epic page in Hausa political history.

    The Fulani domination was made stronger by the fact that they adopted the Hausa language, with the Fulani mother tongue, Fulfulde, playing a lesser role in political and economic affairs. With the British coming, the conquest of Sokoto in 1903, the subsequent amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, the Fulani inherited the power, prowess and magnitude of the Northern hemisphere.

    With the budding crisis between the two, some Hausa are already equating the lingering clashes with the scope of Hausa renaissance to reclaim lost territories and heritage seen in the emergence of some pro-Hausa fronts calling for renewed, exclusive Hausa identity.

    Prof. Toye Olorode, in a chat with our correspondent, blamed the skirmishes on the failure of the ruling class. He said they have failed to address the essential needs of the people prompting the masses to seek refuge in ethnic shells. He listed corruption, lack of an all encompassing programme of people’s liberation as some of the oil that ignites ethnic identities.

    In a chat with The Nation, the Deputy General Secretary, Nigerian Labour Congress, Denja Yaqub trace the discord to absence of good governance, lack of  justice, lack of respect for the rule of law combine to fuel feelings of isolation while the near collapse of state institutions is creating a space for ethnic warlords to perch. He said climate change and the grabbing of land reserved for grazing by the rich is forcing nomadic Fulani to seek survival by alternative means.

    Speaking with The Nation, President, United Middle Belt Peoples’ Congress (UMBPC), a lawyer, Abuka Onalo Omobaba, said the entire north is worried about what he described as the collapsed of the fabric that used to hold the North together.

    He said: “The country is near collapse. The Fulani-Hausa conflict is dangerous. It can set the entire North ablaze. It’s a product of bad leadership.”

    Omobaba was twice Secretary General, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) but left to establish the Middle Belt coalition, saying the idea of a united north was fading. He said restructuring the country would reduce the flaming fury.

    There have been other efforts by civil society organisations led by the Centre for Human Rights Research and Civic Education (CHRICED)based in Kano and led by Zikirullahi Abdullahi, to provide the platform for peace building.

    His group, with the support of MacArthur Foundation, had been hosting meetings between parties in conflict in the North to ensure greater understanding and peace building.

    “We realise the enormity of the problem at hand. We shall do our best to ensure the unity and prosperity of the people. We shall bridge the crack and ensure conflict prevention,” he told our correspondent in Abuja.

    Speaking with our correspondent, the President, AYCF, Mallam Shetima Yerima, said his group was aware of the dangers the Fulani-Hausa conflict poses to brotherhood in the North. “We realise there is a problem. Under President Buhari we have become more divided along Muslim, Christian compounded by inter-ethnic row,” he said.

    Shetima, in response, has set up a coalition of ethnic groups in the North, moving from one community to the other educating the ethnic groups to work and live together in peace. He said the violence between Fulani and Hausa is worrisome but caused by a “few elements”, warning on the danger of hasty generalization.

    He said before the February general elections, his group will bring the warring parties together where they will make “a common statement to work together as brothers” and shame discord.

    He said even though “things have fallen apart”,  the centre will be made to hold, and firmly too.

    For Adamu, a Fulani who ekes out a leaving selling yam in Mile 12, Lagos, “We need to work together. If there is crisis, the poor will suffer, the rich will go and hide”, a phrase shared by his bosom friend of 30 years, Mustapha, of Hausa origin, married to a Fulani woman and who survives by collecting scraps which he sells to big companies in Lagos.

    The two plan to travel together in same vehicle to Sokoto before the new year.

    “Walahi, Hausa and Pulani (Fulani), no get froflem (problem). Na pew (few) bad feofle (people) they cause wahala,” said Mustapha, tapping the chin of his friend in a  gesture of affection.

  • Akintoye’s Yoruba Nation dream in rear mirror

    Akintoye’s Yoruba Nation dream in rear mirror

    Promoters of the Yoruba Nation campaign may have lost steam owing to the resignation of the embattled leader of the self-determination struggle, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, Prof. Banji Akintoye.

    His departure ruffled some feathers. In the past months, the Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua had been under intense pressure, struggling to co-ordinate the movement.

    But General Secretary of the organisation, Tunde Amusat, denies Akintoye quit and left the struggle. The former leader only stepped down on account of old age, he insists.

    Amusat, said the 87-year-old don handed the baton of leadership to his former deputy, Prof. Wale Adeniran. But the supposed successor, a former Commissioner for Education in Osun State, had resigned from his position “as a matter of principle” in November after the spokesperson of the group, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, abandoned his position too.

    Although, Adeniran had said he would remain a staunch member of Ilana Omo Oodua, the crux of the matter is how he would unite the body which he is inheriting in the face of protracted crisis and in-fighting.

    It would be recalled that Akintoye who was one of the arrowheasd of the self-determination coalition, had also last year November, quit as chairman of the group known as the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination. 

    The Ilana Omo Oodua led by Akintoye, is agitating for an independent Yoruba Nation. As the Alana (Pathfinder), Akintoye emerged as the Yoruba leader in August 2019. He became leader of the Yoruba Nation, courtesy of the Assembly of All Yoruba Groups Worldwide.

    The Awoist and former senator believes that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution was an imposed document that can no longer work in addressing the security and economic concerns of all interests in the country.

    Despite his age, Akintoye, however, assembled new set of campaigners for the Yoruba Nation agitation. In the process, he brought in embattled activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, fondly called Sunday Igboho. With the support of Igboho, the Ilana Omo Oodua organised mega rallies, held in Abeokuta in Ogun State, Ibadan in Oyo State, Osogbo in Osun State, Akure in Ondo State, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, Ojota in Lagos State, and other rural communities across the Southwest.

    When Igboho joined the struggle the agitation for self-determination for Yoruba nation was pursued with renewed vigour last year, but it was short-lived.

    They were beating the drums of secession. They held rallies across Yorubaland and hoisted a flag of the “republic” in some towns. Igboho’s metamorphosis into the proponent of the Yoruba self-determination struggle owed its emergence to the upsurge in insecurity in the Southwest occasioned by farmers-herders’ conflicts, persistent killings, kidnapping in rural communities.

    Akintoye and the agitators hinged their struggle on grounds that there was a ploy by an ethnic group in the country to dislodge the Yoruba from their ancestral lands.

    The agitation gained more public attention which eventually led to the ban on open grazing. It also strengthened the debates around ‘true federalism’ and restructuring which, among other things, will allow state governors to have control over state police. It further led to the formation of regional security networks, such as Amotekun corps in the Southwest.

    Since Igboho’s confinement in Cotonou, Benin Republic, the Yoruba Nation struggle had witnessed some acrimony. Akintoye alongside Adeniran relocated to Benin to “legally rescue” Igboho. He, coordinated the activities of Ilana Omo Oodua from Cotonou for many months. He also mobilised Yorubas in the Diaspora to stage peaceful protest and demand for their own nation at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held in New York, United States of America, last year.

    But the discordant tunes and perceived division especially from those pushing the campaign from the Diaspora, created unending and unsettling reactions.

    The Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua had the arduous task of coordinating the campaign due to difficulty in bringing all the sub-groups under one umbrella. Series of virtual meetings from Diaspora supporters created different complications. Some had their loyalty to Igboho, others had theirs to Akintoye, while some others acted on their own volition. But the proliferation of different groups with underlying agenda made the campaign suffer setbacks.

    Many, especially those in the Disapora, had accused the Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua of trying to dominate the struggle, rather than advancing its goals. Meanwhile, the in-fighting laced with series of crisis especially with different faceoff from lead campaigners polarised the struggle. The inability of campaigners especially those in Diaspora to forge a common front complicated the struggle.

    Crisis started when Mrs. Modupe Onitiri-Abiola under the auspices of Yoruba One Voice, announced reclaiming the Yoruba Nation struggle on December 18. This development unsettled a large number of campaigners. For some it was a clear act of usurping authority, while others believed that the Ilana Omo Oodua leaders were not doing anything concrete to promote the campaign.

    Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua attracted riposte from the Diaspora intelligentsia. Some perceived his leadership as a ruse.

    The absence of concrete leadership heralded many caucuses within the campaign. Also, the drama over misappropriation of funds, betrayal and lack of co-ordination has resulted in the formation of subgroups. Many have their own hidden motives and selfish political ambition which had indirectly sabotaged the movement.

    Now, the bubble has burst and the stench is inescapable. The Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua may have been edged out of the struggle due to power play by lead campaigners. While there may be more dramatic actions to come, all eyes will be on Adeniran to see if he can unite the movement.

  • Emefiele and controversy: five and six?

    Emefiele and controversy: five and six?

    THERE were great expectations when Godwin Emefiele mounted the saddle as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). However, eight years down the line, the received wisdom out there is that he may not have discharged the responsibilities expected of him well enough.

    This is why: since inception he has literally leapfrogged into one controversy or the other, thus fueling snide remarks that he is not a good advertisement of his name. The literary interpretation of the name ‘Emefiele’ in Igbo language simply means ‘don’t err.’

    Certainly, in the eyes of people in some quarters, the helmsman of the nation’s apex bank may have erred in some way.

    For many Nigerians out there, another word to describe Mr. Emefiele is Mr. Controversy!

    Indeed, the head honcho of the CBN honcho has been courting controversy in recent times. Lamentably, under his stewardship, the nation’s financial ecosystem has witnessed an unprecedented turn of events; the outcome of which led to some far reaching decisions and also left bitter taste on the lips of many.

    With so many ugly developments the nation economy and financial sector have witnessed a lot of topsy-turvy turns under him.

    Since his emergence as the CBN top echelon there have not been synergies between fiscal and monetary authorities, just as other serious macroeconomic issues, most of which miscarried, have shown him as someone out of focus and direction.

    Signs that things were no longer the same with the Delta State-born technocrat became apparent after his failed presidential bid, a development, which further brought him to public opprobrium.

    Fast-forward to almost three months after the failed bid, the CBN governor began to reel out different policies chief among which was the new naira redesign with a deadline set for January.

    Just when Nigerians were trying to stomach that decision, he came up with the cash withdrawal limit policy regime, a development, which analysts have argued may be his swansong, if the chapter of accidents that has attended that decision is anything to go by.

    Political expediency masked in anger by governors as well as sponsored protest matches ostensibly to make the CBN reverse the unpopular decision, especially the cash withdrawal limit has been total.

    This is just as informed sources say certain members of the cabal in the corridors of power apparently unhappy with Emefiele’s antics tried everything within their powers to contain what they saw as his power-mongering tendencies.

    At the National Assembly, for instance, some members raised red flags over the whereabouts of the controversial N89.1 trillion stamp duty receipts.

    At issue is that a member of the House of Representatives from Jigawa, Gudaji Kazaure, in a viral video, had allegedly accused the CBN governor of attempts to cover-up facts surrounding the collection of the controversial amount.

    He also alleged that he was deliberately being denied access to present a preliminary report of a committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to look into the alleged stamp duty funds being withheld by the CBN.

    Also in the viral video, Kazaure urged the president to either allow him to present his report to him or immediately order a thorough investigation of the alleged stamp duty funds.

    But the Malam Garba Shehu, the president’s Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, described the Kazaure’s Committee as illegal, saying the committee was dissolved on the directive of Buhari.

    In the statement which reads in part, Shehu said,”In the first instance, the committee on the alleged loss of stamp duty funds he is talking about is an illegal committee; it was dissolved on the directive of the president.

    ”Anyone familiar with our constitution will find it curious that a member of the Parliament is the Secretary of an Executive Committee.

    ”It suffices to say that the entire net worth of the nation’s financial sector, the assets of the banking sector put together are not worth N50 trillion, not to talk of the kind of money he is talking about.

    ”CBN assures that there is absolutely no problem, whatsoever, with money from Stamp Duties.

    ”There is a committee duly set up by the president in June 2020 chaired by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the Secretary is the Chairman of the Federal Internal Revenue Service, FIRS that is currently reconciling the stamp duty accounts.”

     The presidential aide further revealed that earlier investigations carried out by govern ment departments and anti-corruption agencies on the stamp duty accounts indicated that nothing sensational had been discovered by them.

    However, the last straw that may have broken the camel’s back was the allegations made against him by the Department of State Service, who have laid a manhunt for him over terrorism financing in Nigeria. 

    To stave off the DSS, some human rights lawyers, civil groups including the Arewa Youth Consultative Movement raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the DSS to frame up the CBN governor on trump up charges.

    The group, operating under the auspices of the Coalition of National Interest Defenders, alleged that to achieve the aim of getting Emefiele arrested, the DSS had secretly instituted a court action against him at a Federal High Court in Abuja.

    Describing the alleged action of the DSS as a strange development in the history of the country, the group demanded the immediate sacking of the Director-General of the DSS to prevent him from setting the country ablaze.

    The Convener of the Coalition, Tochukwu Ohazuruike, said the security agency filed a motion in court, accusing the CBN governor of terrorism financing and other crimes it described as economic crimes of national security dimension.

    The group also accused the DSS of not informing the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), of the investigative report which showed them that Emefiele was a terrorist and faulted the agency for allowing Emefiele to travel out of the country with the President and had unrestricted access to the President.

    Challenging the veracity of the claims of the DSS, the Coalition said if truly the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, believed his claims, he would not have allowed Emefiele anywhere near the President.

    He added that by allowing Emefiele to travel with the President, it showed the DG of the DSS did not believe Emefiele was indeed a terrorist and this therefore meant that the claims of the DSS in suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022 between the State Security Service and Emefiele was made with the sole purpose of forcefully and wrongfully removing the CBN governor from office.

    The groups therefore called on President Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to set the process in motion to immediately suspend, arrest, investigate and prosecute the DSS DG, Bichi.

    While the DSS is yet to back off his tail, the two legislative chambers of the National Assembly have also been unrelenting in their plan to put Emefiele in his place.

    For the umpteenth time, the lawmakers have been sending him invitations for a meeting with them to make clarifications on economic issues, as well as re-visit the CBN Act, most of which he has continued to fob off, and fueling fears that the CBN governor may be a sacred cow after all and untouchable.

    The Office of the CBN had justified the absence of the governor last Wednesday, saying that he was out of the country on health grounds.

    Again, the lawmakers insisted on meeting with him on Thursday thus forcing the CBN Deputy Governor, Aisha Ahmad.

    But in a move described as both confusing, the bank, a few hours to the session with members of the lower legislative chambers on Thursday did a slight review, raising the weekly limits for individuals to N500,000 and N5million for corporate organisations.

    The lawmakers who grilled Ahmad, who represented Emefiele on the new cash withdrawal policy of the apex bank, said the newly introduced withdrawal limit was not done for political reasons.

    While Emefiele may have succeeded once again in avoiding physical scrutiny and coming under the radar of the NASS but using a proxy, it is however not clear if the plausible explanations made by his deputy would sway them or literally calm the frayed nerves at the upper and lower legislative chambers.

  • Disquiet in expatriate company as workers battle permanent disabilities

    Disquiet in expatriate company as workers battle permanent disabilities

    •Victims lose hand, leg, another got burnt

    •Survivors call on Lagos govt, labour unions for intervention
    •They deserve more than they got -Insurance expert
    •Their claims are incorrect -Company AGM

    The joy of having a legitimate means of livelihood has turned sour for many workers of Atlantic Shrimpers Limited, an expatriate fishing company based in Apapa, Lagos. Some of the workers who suffered permanent disability in the course of carrying out their official duties allegedly got pittance as compensation. Aside from being rendered deformed, the victims allege brazen exploitation and dehumanisation of workers, calling on the Lagos State Government, labour unions and human rights activists to look into their plight, INNOCENT DURU reports.

     

    Tsono Reuben, an indigene of Badagry area of Lagos State, was full of hope of safely returning home to his beautiful family when he left home early 2019 to travel with his colleagues to Ondo State for an official assignment.

    The journey from Lagos to Ondo State on the sea was an unusually smooth and enjoyable ride for Rueben except that a boisterous wind kept barging at his ears as if passing critical information.

    “What a feeling I am having today,” he wondered as the ship berthed at their destination.

    Unknown to Reuben, the discomforting wind was only an ominous sign.

    He said: “When we got to the area where we wanted to work, we tied the net and the captain came to set the water board.

    “As we were doing all that, the people on the other side left the wire and it held me. I struggled with the wire for a long time. At the end of the day, I found that the wire had cut my leg and rendered me permanently disabled.

    “The incident occurred in Ondo State around 8 pm. Immediately the incident happened, we turned back to return to Lagos. We got to Apapa between 5 and 6 am. We used to go as far as Calabar, Cameroon and Malabo borders.”

    Reuben returned to Lagos writhing in pain. The concern about how his family would feel or cope compounded his discomforts.

    “I never bargained for this. God why me, why me?” he screamed as a big bang reverberated in his brain and intensified his pains.

    On getting to Lagos, Reuben said he was given an injection to extenuate the pains. He was thereafter taken to a hospital where he spent some time.

    “The company paid the bills. The hospital gave me an artificial limb but it was causing pains for me.

    “I called and explained my predicament to them but they didn’t care. I called the doctor but nothing came out of it.

    “I use crutches now as you can see because the local artificial limb they gave me was injuring my leg.”

    While recuperating at home, Reuben shockingly had his salary stopped. The company had paid the salary for some months before stopping it.  “Could this be a mistake?” he asked rhetorically.

    “They were paying me N15, 000 then. When they stopped my salary, I called and they asked me to come to the jetty.  I didn’t have money to go. I had to beg for money from anybody I could reach to get money to go there.

    “When I got there, they gave me N195,000 as pay off.  They paid with a cheque.

    “Later, I went to IBTC at Agbara to collect my pension. My pension was N600,000 altogether but IBTC paid me N154, 000.  Now they pay me N3,900 monthly. What can that do in the life of a family man with four grown up children?”

    Not satisfied with what he was paid, Reuben said: “I continued confronting the company about my welfare. It wasn’t a small matter, my brother.

    “At one point, they said I should go to Ebute Metta, go to Apapa and all that. I kept moving to all those places with my damaged leg to sort out my insurance compensation.

    “The insurance company later allayed my worries. They assured me that I would reap the fruits of my labour.  But subsequently, I didn’t hear from them again. Later they said I should meet my company.”

    The company, Reuben said, “later gave me N600, 000. They said that was what the insurance company asked them to pay me.  They wanted to give me cash but I refused. I told them to pay it into my Access Bank account.

    “I was employed in Apapa and we started the Badagry area.”

    With the present condition he has found himself, Reuben said: “Life has become extremely hard for my family. To say that we are suffering is an understatement.

    “The N600, 000 they gave me was used to settle outstanding debts. I cannot do any work again because I can’t move around anymore like I used to do when I wasn’t physically challenged.

    “To survive, I started a football viewing centre business and PoS, but the PoS is giving me problems. I want to appeal to the state government, labour unions and human rights activists to intervene in my case.

    “I am an indigene of Lagos State. The government must not open its eyes and watch one of its own humiliated and dehumanised on his own soil.”

    After the ugly incident that befell Reuben, Tony, a serving staff member of the company also had his hand cut off in the line of duty.

    “It was one of their machines that we used to work that cut my hand. They took me to the hospital after I sustained the injury.”

    Apart from him, Tony said, “there is one guy whose palm was cut off in the process of working. There is another one that broke his hand. It is three irons that they used to support the hand.

    “Another worker had his hand broken but because nothing was done to sustain the hand, it became shortened. It is the engines that are cutting our hands. All the equipment we use is made of iron and they are very dangerous.” The embittered Tony added: “There were two other guys that they have sacked.  A total of four people have their hands supported with iron.

    “One of the guys has died. He died in a motorcycle accident. If they had compensated him after sustaining the injury, he would have started a business and stopped working.”

    After he was discharged from the hospital, Tony said the company paid him N600,000 as insurance compensation.

    He said: “An insurance person I spoke with said the money was small compared to the magnitude of the injury that I sustained. When I challenged them about what they paid me, they said it was what the government specified that they paid.

    “I have not been given my pension because I am still working there. I guess they are doing all that to us because we have nobody to fight for us. The government of Lagos State and concerned Nigerians should look into this.”

    To calm his frayed nerves, Tony said the company later asked him to bring two of his children for immediate employment.

    He said: “Instead of compensating me very well after I sustained the injury, they tricked me by asking me to bring two of my children to work in the organisation. They didn’t tell me that bringing my children to work in the company was part of my compensation. Their lawyer even told me that I didn’t have to complain since they had employed my children. They later sacked my children.

    “They sacked one because he refused to go to work on a Saturday. I put the second one in the engineering section. He had issues with them there and was asked to go. Instead of them to resolve the matter, they sacked him.

    “The treatment that they are giving me is inappropriate for a disabled person.”

    For Salau Olawale Sodiq, another serving worker in the company, it was a narrow escape from death.  He was caught in a fire outbreak working in the ship and made efforts to put out the inferno with a fire extinguisher but his efforts were unsuccessful.  He’s yet to go back to work after the incident.

    His words: “The fire incident happened in the engine room. I was busy working without knowing that the place had caught fire.

    “I quickly carried the fire extinguisher to put out the fire but before I knew it, the liquid content in the fire extinguisher was exhausted.

    “When I saw that the only solution was to go out of the danger, I ran through it. If I had remained there, I would have been trapped.”

    After the incident, Sodiq said, “I was taken to a nearby hospital there in Delta State. I spent five days in the hospital before the company later brought an ambulance to bring me to Lagos. I was taken to the company’s hospital.

    “The incident happened on April 27 (2022).  I am partially okay now.  The company took care of the hospital bill and has been paying my salary of N32,000.

    “The money isn’t paying my bills but they are still paying me. My hand, my back and my leg were affected by the fire.”

    While on hospital bed in Delta State, Sodiq said, “the insurance company came and promised to get back to me. Nothing has come from them since then.

    “The insurance company is supposed to pay me handsomely but I haven’t seen anything till now. When I called somebody in the company, they said they were still processing my compensation. How long will it take them to do that?

    “It was by God’s grace that I survived the fire incident. Everybody that sees me keeps saying that God has a mission for me and that was why he saved me.

    “If I get a lump sum of money, I will not want to go back to the company. The stress alone is something else.”

    He has only been living on the paltry sum of N32,000 the company still pays him as salary.

    Many people work for years without salary – Victims

    Some of the victims were indignant about the working conditions in the company, describing the treatment of blacks as cruel.

    Sodiq said: “Some workers spend two years in the maintenance section without getting any salary. There in the company you will see elderly men who have worked there for two to three years without salary.  When I was doing IT in the company my salary was just N3,000 in a month.” Recalling his experience, Reuben said: “When I joined the company, I worked in the maintenance section for one good year without salary. You have no salary as a casual worker. That is what they do. They have money. They have over 70 vessels.”

    Recalling his early days with the company, he said: “I worked in the engineering department when I newly joined the company. I spent six years doing that.

    “In the course of doing that, sea pirates started disturbing us on the sea. They were killing and injuring us. When they killed one captain the whole fishing company halted operations. In the whole of Lagos State, no fishing company worked.

    “The development made all of us to go back home. Along the line, they asked all engineers to come back to take care of the vessels. I found that difficult and subsequently resigned.

    “I later went back to work there.  I was asked to stay ashore but I said no because I am a floating engineer and I was supposed to be on the sea. I was later taken to the operations department before I started going to work on the sea. It was while working on the sea that I had the injury.”

    Decrying the attitude of the company to workers, Tony said: “If a worker sustains injury, instead of them to compensate him, they would not.  It is only what is in their mind that they will be telling you. They will query and suspend workers.

    “I received the highest number of suspensions with my injury.  There was a time I was suspended for three months without salary.  I was earning N12,000 before I sustained the injury but now I am earning N50,000.”

    Victims deserve more than they got – Insurance expert

    An insurance expert, Demola Basorun, in a chat with our correspondent said the compensations given to the victims were inadequate. He noted that the actions of the company showed they didn’t take insurance cover for the workers.

    “There are two insurance policies that the company was supposed to have for them. They are group and employee liability.

    “According to the Pension Reform Act, the group flight is supposed to be three times your annual emoluments. Assuming your annual emolument is N1 million, with the group flight your employer is supposed to take for you, it is supposed to be N3 million.  The same thing goes for employee liability.

    “The first thing we want to know is does the company actually have employee liability insurance? If they don’t, it is a thing they can sue the company for.

    “The N600,000 they are giving them shows they never took insurance cover for them. Even if their salaries are poor, they can sue the company to get more compensation.

    “Permanent disability is like loss of employment or loss of life.  If they don’t have money to get a lawyer, they can go to the Office of Public Defender or Ministry of Justice in Alausa, Lagos for assistance.”

    Victims’ claims incorrect – Company

    The company, in a brief response to our correspondent’s call, said the victims’ claims were incorrect.

    When our correspondent put a call to one of the Indian owners, Raja and told him the purpose for calling, he said:  “One minute, hold on.”

    Within a space of time, a Nigerian who identified himself as the AGM stepped in and demanded what our correspondent wanted.

    After telling him the claims of the victims, he said: “That is not correct.  I am sorry I cannot continue with this discussion on the phone. I am sorry.  If you want an interview, you can come to the office.  I cannot discuss this on the phone. I am sorry.”

    Subsequent efforts to get the reaction of the company were unsuccessful as Raja refused to  comment or  give his mobile phone to the AGM to comment as he had earlier done.

    “You can call him now. You can get his number in the manner you got mine,” he said when our correspondent said he doesn’t  have the AGM’s contact.

    Upon our correspondent’s insistence, Raja said: “let me call his number for you.”

    He ended the call thereafter.

    When our correspondent called back, a lady who answered the call said: “He is in a meeting now, may be you call back later.

    When asked if she could give the AGM  the phone to speak, she said “they have been in a meeting since 2 o’clock.”

    When our correspondent informed her that he spoke with Raja a few minutes earlier, she said : “They are in a meeting.”

    Raja was yet to respond to a text message sent to him thereafter requesting for the AGM’s number or the company’s reaction.

  • Our experience using white cane, by visually impaired persons

    Our experience using white cane, by visually impaired persons

    Recently the world celebrated the White Cane Day.
    It is a day set aside to create and further raise awareness on the importance of the White Cane and its role in the lives of people living with visual impairment, as well as celebrate their achievements. While the celebration featured lots of activities ranging from road walks, film shows, press conferences/releases, and other social events, Adeola Ogunlade took time out to speak with three visually impaired persons on the impact of the cane on their lives and challenges.

    It’s our ‘third eye’

    For Oluwole Philipeye Hassan, who is visually impaired and currently undergoing his national youth service (NYSC) assignment in Lagos, walking with the white cane goes a long way in making the environment more accessible for visually impaired and partially sighted people. It helps the visually impaired get to their destination without much hitch.

    Asked what exactly the white cane means to him, Hassan said “it is more like our third eye. As virtually impaired persons, we have lost our eyes, but it goes a long way to help us in our mobility. It helps us to identify an obstacle or a hole somewhere along our way. So, you can know the right step to take so and you don’t get injured.

    Unfortunately, one of the challenges we have with the white cane is that it is too expensive. At N15,000, the price is scary. Before now, it only cost between N5,000 and N7, 000. I am therefore using this opportunity to appeal to governments and big parastatals to come to our aid. I think the rising cost may be because it is imported, but still it is pertinent that every visually impaired person owns one. It can be used for any age range, and it has different sizes. It is not a spiritual thing neither is it an automatic machine. It is a machine used at your own pace. Having a professional mobility instructor will even go a long way in ensuring proper use of the cane.”

    Would it then mean that the white cane communicates?

    “No,” Hassan replied. “However, there are different kinds of white canes, especially in the Western world that can vibrate when there is an obstacle. We have a kind of cane that could sense danger ahead and it will call the attention of the visually impaired to take note.”

    The youth corps member also called on the government to come in and sign the bill of inclusion, which he said would go a long way in helping people like him access jobs.

    “In the area of education, a blind person going to school is not included in the planning. As a visually impaired person attending public institutions of learning, you are required to pay for every dime, even your departmental levies, class levies, accommodation fees, and school fees, irrespective of your condition. I believe that government should please come in. How many visually impaired are going to higher institutions? How much is the government realising from the limited number of visually impaired persons who decide to go to school? We need to get special rates; something lower considering our situation. If we can be given a full scholarship, it will go a long way in helping us access formal education up to the university level. Education empowers. It will go a long way in transforming the lives of visually impaired persons. However, due to the cost of education, many of us are denied access to education.

    “If we are given such opportunities that education offers, many visually impaired who want to go back to school would go back. As it is, many are scared because of the cost implications.”

    I can go anywhere alone with my white cane -Joseph, Comfort Agnes, businesswoman

    Twenty-two-year-old business woman, Comfort Lola also shared her experience with the white cane.

    “I became visually impaired because of cataracts and we could not detect it on time. We went to different hospitals but unfortunately, it had gone beyond remedy, as I could no longer see light. As a result, I was counselled to be taken to a blind school. Now, I’m a businesswoman. I do both academics and craft. I make shoes, ties, dye, bags, and soap making. I am also learning computer applications.”

    The above is a snapshot of Joseph, Comfort Agnes story

    Sharing her experience using the white cane, Agnes said “White Cane has been of immense help to me. Ever since I got it, I can navigate my way. I can go anywhere with the help of the cane. Even if I don’t see anyone to help me, I make use of my White Cane”.

    She however lamented the fact that most sighted people do not know what it means to use a white cane.

    Asked if she has had any embarrassing moments using the white cane, Agnes said, “Yes, there was a day I was going to attend a programme and the bus conductor was asking where I was going and if I had anybody going with me. I told him I was going alone and he responded by saying that there was no more space in the bus. He also said he was not sure I would be able to pay. I was embarrassed and asked why he thought so. A woman then came and tried to help me into the bus, but I told her not bother, that was not going on the bus anymore. I told her I’d rather order for a Bolt. But the woman pleaded with me to get on the bus. While we were at it, a man came and offered me N50 but I threw the money on the floor  in annoyance, saying, ‘What an insult! Merely looking at me, do I look like a beggar?’ The man then told me arrogantly that he only wanted to help me, but I told him that he should pick up his money and that it was not his fault. Now that’s one day, I can never forget.”

    Government should work on the bad roads

    “l want to plead with the government to do something about  bad roads. Not everybody knows what the white cane is about. Many neglect us while some simply avoid us. Sometimes, a visually impaired person is on the road and saying, ‘hello!’, but rather than going close to see if he needs help, many sighted persons would just move on as if nothing was amiss. Some would even shout at us asking why we weren’t with sighted persons to guide us. The truth is that it is not possible to go everywhere with sighted persons. They also have their businesses. If the government could construct a road for us as they did for the BRT buses, it would go a long way in aiding our movement.

    In the area of employment opportunities, we, the visually impaired suffer a lot and are denied employment because of our condition. Government can help us emotionally, physically, spiritually, and in any way possible,” Agnes said.

    Govt should educate people on the importance of the white cane – Shobajo Adesina, retired civil servant

    Read Also: 14 persons, 22 cows die in Kebbi accident

    “I am a retired civil servant with the Lagos State Government. I became visually impaired in 1992. I was working with an investment corporation at that time. It was a gradual loss of sight. As a child, I had noticed that I had problems seeing at night. When I was around 30, I went through a place and fell inside the gutter and that further affected my sight. The management of the corporation told me to go to a rehabilitation school. That was when I first learnt of the Nigeria Society of the Blind in Oshodi, even though I schooled at Oshodi Grammar School. In 1981, I left for the Oyo State College of Art and Science in Oyo town. Meanwhile the problem persisted. In 1992, I saw a doctor, Dr. Uzor, who told me that the condition is called Nyctalopia.

    She, however, said she was not too sure it should be a problem for me because the condition only happen to people in their 60s, while I was only in my 30.

    That, however, was the beginning of my loss of sight.”

    My embarrassing moment

    Adesina’s first issue with the white cane is its expensiveness.

    “In my desire to have one, I moved from one church to another, asking for support to get one. I was walking without a cane and it was a terrible experience, especially when you have to walk long-distance on a bad road. On getting the white cane, I was relieved. I could then go to places with ease. The white cane makes me free and independent.”

    He called for more publicity around the use of the white cane, adding that messages about the white cane should be in local languages for people to understand its importance.

    “I am sure if we apply that, people will understand better. Government should not cease to educate people on the importance of the white cane to visually impaired people and the attitude they should adopt when they see anyone with it.

    “Some time ago, around First Bank by Palm Groove area of Lagos, a reckless bus driver drove dangerously close to where I was standing very close to the bank’s gate marched my white cane. I raised an alarm, calling his attention, but he just drove away without as much as an apology. There was another occasion around the same spot, when a commuter driver who was trying to pick up passengers unknowingly stood on the cane with his tire; the moment I shouted, he came down and apologised. he even asked if I wasn’t hurt. So people’s attitude vary. That is why we need more awareness on the White Cane  among the general populace.”

    My education

    When I lost my sight and consequently my job in 1995, I only had an A’ Level result, that was when I was told to go to the Nigeria Society of the Blind for rehabilitation.

    “Though reading and writing through the Braille was the major thing they were doing then. Soon I could read and write with the Braille. I could also type and I learnt craft; how to make stuff with my hands. I finished in 1996. A few months after my graduation, I came back to the Federal Society of the Blind and told them that the craft I learnt was good but depending on it for survival was difficult. I kept coming, and one day a man, Mr. Segun recommended me and two other visually impaired persons to work in a company close to the Lagos State Trust Fund in Ijora, Lagos. I  later got employment with the Lagos State Ministry of Works. I was working with the state as a telephone operator; however, since the phone got damaged, the government has not repaired it because it was obsolete. They later sent us here (Federal Nigeria Society of the Blind) to learn new skills. I still sell my craft,” Adesina said.

  • Victims of Lagos pipeline explosion in endless wait for compensation

    Victims of Lagos pipeline explosion in endless wait for compensation

    •Residents demand N280m for loss of lives, property
    •Experts raise fresh alarm on threats to residents’ lives

    Nearly three years ago, precisely January 19, 2020, Ekoro, a suburb of Lagos, was thrown into mourning by a fire outbreak that wreaked untold havoc. The fire was sparked by the oil pipeline which lay underneath the community,in Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA). Following the ugly incident that claimed a number of lives and left many other residents in critical conditions, the community wrote a petition to the House of Representatives, consequent upon which the House Committee on Public Petitions made certain recommendations to some government agencies regarding the reconstruction of the affected buildings and rehabilitation of injured survivors. Strangely, none of the agencies affected have deemed it necessary to undertake a visit to the community to assess the damage done, much less carry out the reconstruction and rehabilitation exercise recommended by the lower legislative chamber. GBENGA ADERANTI writes on the frustration the endless wait has foisted on residents.

    It has been over two years of endless wait for the victims of the January 19, 2020 pipeline fire that occurred at Estate Pipeline Community, Ekoro ,Lagos.

    For the victims of the fire outbreak that consumed no fewer than 22 houses, it has been one tale of woes after the other.

    Shortly after the incident, the community had written a petition to the House of Representatives demanding compensation for the victims. The lower legislative chamber acted promptly by delegating its  Committee on Public Petitions to investigate and do a report on the incident.

    Although the victims and other members of the community were excited by the prompt response of the lawmakers, none of the agencies involved has acted on the recommendations of the House.

    The questions on their lips right now are: Why is Nigeria National Petroleum Company (now NNPC Limited) yet to come up with a compensation plan for the victims? Why has the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) refused to implement the recommendations of the House of Representatives? What is preventing the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) from providing relief materials to the affected people?

    Since the incident, some of the landlords who lost their houses have died without being compensated. Those who are still alive are either squatting with relatives/friends or have relocated to their native communities.

    Victims in pathetic conditions

    While the situation of victims who are now living with family members is pathetic, many others are yet to recover from the shock. One of the landlords, an elderly man,Pa Araokanmi , whose house, close to the scene of the explosion, is now  desolate, inhaled so much  smoke during the explosion that he died a few days after the incident.

    “The old man inhaled so much smoke that he fell sick and had to be taken to one of the government hospitals where he eventually died. Getting the hospital to return his corpse was a big task,” a resident said, pleading anonymity.

    Many who lost their means of livelihoods on account  of the incident are also still counting their losses. Many of the victims have a remote chance of rebuilding their homes because they are poor retirees.

    “The situation has made it very difficult for some of them to rebuild their houses without any help. That is why the issue of compensation is germane,” a resident told our correspondent.

    Reliving the unfortunate incident, Mr. John Okuneme Taiwo, the then chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA), told The Nation that it began with a burst of an oil pipeline, following which petrol started flowing.

    Taiwo said: “We live very far away from the scene of the blast, but through the drainage, the petrol made its way to our area. “When I came back, nobody could come to this area. Everybody had run away.

    “We didn’t know where the fire came from, but we heard a sound like a bomb.

    “It was serious damage caused by the fire disaster.”

    Taiwo, who said his building was razed and he lost everything in it, said that of all the stakeholders, it was only the Lagos State Government that responded.

    He said that while the House of Representatives acted promptly through its Committee on Public Petitions and made recommendations, the government agencies concerned simply chose to ignore the community.

    In a letter to the Director-General/CEO of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Ojo Olatunde Amos, and dated 16th of June, 2022, the latter urged the former to visit and conduct the environmental impact assessment of the area as well as ascertain the level of damage done to the people to prevent a recurrence. The letter was acknowledged on June 23, 2022.

    On that same day, the House sent another letter to the Director-General /CEO, National Emergency Management (NEMA), urging the agency to provide relief materials to the affected people. The letter was acknowledged by NEMA on June 22, 2022.

    The House of Representatives Committee also sent another letter to the Group Managing Director of NNPC, urging it to come up with a compensation plan that will alleviate the suffering of the people in the area. The NNPC GMD office acknowledged the receipt of the letter on June 23, 2022.

    The Clerk to the National Assembly, in a letter, NA/CNA/35/Vol.2/322, to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), which was received by one Nicholas on June 22, 2022, intimated the SGF with its resolutions, urging NESREA to visit and conduct impact assessment of the area as well as ascertain the level of damage done to the people to prevent a recurrence; the D-G of NEMA, to provide relief materials to the affected people in the area; NNPC GMD, to come up with a compensation plan that will alleviate the suffering of the people in the area.

    The letter also urged the SGF to bring to the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari for further necessary action.

    Long wait for agencies

    According to the victims of the petroleum pipeline fire, six months after the recommendations of the House, nothing has been done by any of the three agencies of the federal government.

    While they commend the House of Representatives for intervening in the matter, the residents are not happy that there has not been any form of compensation from either the NNPC or any agency of government.

    A senior member of the community told The Nation that the NNPC was yet to revisit the community since their last meeting with a delegation from the House of Representatives. He said the community was not happy with the flagrant disregard of  the recommendations of the House of Representatives.

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    Speaking further, he blamed the delay in the agencies’ response on the lawmaker representing the community in the House of Representatives.

    He said: “Our representatives ought to have written to the government agencies after the recommendations of the House of Representatives and persuade the agencies to act, because he is the one representing us.

    “Unfortunately, our lawmaker was not even aware of the recommendations.

    “The victims are not on the right of way of the NNPC. Are the victims going to continue to suffer?

    “The man did not even come to sympathise with the victims. Those are issues we have with him.”

    Lawmaker, agencies react

    When The Nation contacted the lawmaker on the reason for the delay in acting on the recommendations of the House, the lawmaker representing the constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Femi Adebanjo in a WhatsApp message said: “You don’t know NNPC and for you to know NNPC go to Mosan/Okuola . Find out what happens at Baruwa concerning leakage of petrol products in that neighborhood for more than twenty years.”

    Attempts to make further clarifications on the reason for the delay from the lawmaker were  rebuffed as the lawmaker did not speak further on the matter.

    The NNPC Limited at the time of filing this report had not reacted. A WhatApp message  sent to the Group PRO of the NNPC, Garba Deen was not replied to but a source from one of the agencies said the NNPC came on the night of the January 19, 2020 explosions.

    Responding to WhatApp message, the spokesperson of NEMA, Mani Ezekiel, said some relief items were delivered to the location in the aftermath of  the unfortunate explosion.

    While acknowledging the receipt of a letter from  the House of Representatives  directing the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA to visit and conduct environmental impact assessment at the site of the pipeline explosion, Amaka Ejiofor, of the Press Unit, NESREA, told The Nation that “subject matter does not fall within the mandate of the agency as the NESREA Establishment Act precludes it from any activities pertaining to the oil and gas sector.

    “In view of this, the letter was redirected to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA on the 17th of July, 2022.”

    She therefore advised The Nation to contact NOSDRA for further clarification.

    Blame local, state governments

    While the victims insist on agencies performing their statutory roles, a source at NEMA told The Nation that although it is the job of the agency to assist  victims with relief materials each time there is a disaster, he added that the states and local government also have roles to play.

    “Under emergency rule, relief materials, all those interventions ought to have been done at the state and the local government levels. So if it overwhelms the local government and the state, then NEMA can now come to assist them but in 99.9 per cent, local and the state governments will not do anything.”

    Contrary to the claim of the community, the source said NEMA had visited the site.

    He advised  the community to go back to the House of Representatives and tell them to write a reminder to NEMA.

    He doubted whether the letter from the House Committee had reached  NEMA. “If they can raise it now with the House, it will be attended to. This is the best time to raise it. It has lingered too long.”

    Buildings should undergo structural integrity tests -Experts

    While the victims are asking for compensation, a building expert and Principal Partner, Archiworth Associates,  Bode Jegede, warned that beyond getting compensation from the government for renovation, the buildings should undergo structural integrity tests.

    According to him, fire denatures all building materials such as steel, concrete, and timber.

    He said: “Buildings damaged by fire are required to undergo integrity tests to appraise the status of the building materials after the fire incident.

    “Owners, regulatory bodies and government agencies are supposed to ensure due diligence is done in terms of ensuring compliance with required tests, such as tensile on steel and destructive test on concrete.”

    Also speaking with our correspondent, a building engineer advised the government  to  do something about the renovated building as nobody is sure of the integrity of such buildings.

    According to him, some of the buildings renovated without carrying out a proper assessment and integrity tests could collapse at any time .

    Residents in dilemma

    A resident of the community, who did not want his name in print, opined that subjecting the buildings to structural integrity tests would worsen the  current  bad situations of the landlords.

    He said: “What if those buildings fail the structural integrity tests? What is going to happen to the buildings and their owners?

    “Even if the government decides to demolish such buildings, how many years would the  owners wait for the government to provide assistance to rebuild such structures?

    “How do you expect the owners of such buildings to cope, considering that the majority of them are over 70?

    “In a country where it takes government agencies many  years to accede to recommendations, that is even if they are going to act, who would rebuild the structures and grant them compensation?

    “A practical example is what the residents are currently experiencing: the House of Reps asked the agencies of government to do something for the community but none of them has complied.”

    He warned that there is the possibility that most of the buildings in the community do not have government approval, and for these people to get compensation, those are the things that would be required of them.

    “To me, it is a lose, lose situation for the community, except for those with genuine papers, which is not common,” he added.

    Expressing concern about the development, one of the stakeholders in the community, Olabowale Kasumu, said the attitude of the NNPC, the owner of the pipeline, leaves much to be desired.

    According to him, it was not until the matter was taken to the National Assembly that the NNPC reacted.

    “We are appealing to the government to implore the NNPC to look into the plight of the victims; those who have lost their lives and properties. All of them are not in the way of the NNPC.”

    Residents demand N280m compensation

    In a letter to the Chairman, Committee on Public Petitions, House of Representatives, the 21 landlords who lost their properties to the explosion demanded N280 million as compensation for loss of lives and materials.

    They estimated property loss at  N250 million, while N30 million was demanded for the three lives lost in the incident.

    They said:“Mrs Atairu Hishat and Master Atairu Aliu, wife and son of Mr Abubakar Atairu of No 12 Mohammed Sadiq Street, Pipeline, Oke-Odo, were burnt to death in the inferno.

    “Indeed, Master Atairu Aliu was strapped to the back of his mother when the raging fire gutted them

    “The fire outbreak also resulted in the death of Master Ogunjobi Israel, a five-year-old son of Mr. Taiwo Ogunjobi of No 7, Kikiowotola Street, Abule Egba.

    “We however on compassionate grounds plead that Mr. Abubakar Atairu (who lost a five-year-old son to the inferno) be compensated with N10, 000,000.00 (ten million naira) and Mr Taiwo Ogunbanjo (who lost his five-year-old son to the fire outbreak) be compensated with N5,000,000.00 (five million naira) to assuage their feelings.”

    How the community sought stakeholders’ attention before the incident

    As if the residents of the community had a premonition of the tragedy, they said they had made representations to the stakeholders, including agencies and parastatals of government as well as law enforcement agencies, urging them to do something about a possible fire outbreak.

    On June 8, 2015, the community sent a letter entitled ‘Averting an imminent danger on the NNPC pipeline’ to the Area Manager, NNPC/PPMC, Mosimi, Sagamu, Ogun State.

    Also, on September 22, 2015, the community sent another letter to the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, entitled ‘Decongestation of the NNPC pipeline road’. Again, the community expressed concern on May 18, 2016, through another letter it wrote to the Managing Director, PPMC, Abuja.

    In a bid to forestall any incident, another representation was made to the Lagos State Command of the NSCDC on May 24, 2016, which was titled ‘Official Report’.