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Category: Saturday Magazine

CBN, MPC’s sustained fight against inflation yields positive results

Inflation in Nigeria is expected to continue its downward trajectory in 2025 as the impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reforms continue to drive growth and economic development. Already, Nigeria’s annual inflation rate dropped to 24.48 percent in January, reflecting the positive outcomes of several policy measures implemented by the CBN-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). For instance, the MPC decided to pause its policy rate tightening cycle during the first meeting of the year, marking the first pause since May 2022. This decision is part of the CBN’s broader policy strategy to maintain a positive inflation outlook and sustain the naira’s rally across markets, reports Assistant Editor, Collins Nweze.

The Nigerian economy is well-positioned to achieve price stability within the year, supported by the stabilisation of exchange rates, the normalisation of energy prices following subsidy removal, and improved liquidity in the forex market. In its 2025 macroeconomic outlook, Comercio Partners highlighted that the rebasing of Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) to 2024 would introduce statistical effects that could result in a decrease in inflation figures.

Additionally, Comercio Partners underscored the importance of expanding local refining capacity, particularly with the launch of the Dangote Refinery. This development is expected to mitigate the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on energy prices. By increasing reliance on domestically refined petroleum, Nigeria is likely to experience reduced energy price volatility.

This, coupled with a more stable exchange rate, is expected to reduce production and transportation costs, triggering a positive ripple effect across the broader economy. According to Ifeanyi Ubah, Head of Investment Research and Global Macro Strategist, remarked, “We expect headline inflation will decrease to around 15 percent in the first half of 2025, indicating a gradual return to economic stability.”

The report also highlighted the critical need for expanding local refining capacity, especially with the upcoming launch of the Dangote Refinery. This development is expected to lessen the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on energy prices. With increased reliance on domestically refined petroleum, Nigeria is likely to experience a reduction in energy price volatility. Combined with a more stable exchange rate, this is expected to lower production and transportation costs, triggering a positive ripple effect throughout the broader economy.

MPC steps in

The need to tame inflation and sustain exchange rate stability were key factors influencing the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) decision to keep rates unchanged at its 299th meeting held last week in Abuja. As a result, the Committee voted to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.50 percent and kept all other parameters unchanged. This includes the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Merchant Banks at 50 percent and 16 percent, respectively; the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500bps/-100bps; and the liquidity ratio at 30 percent.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s annual inflation rate stood at 24.48 percent in January, reflecting a notable decline from the previous month’s figure. This decrease followed the first rebasing of Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) in more than a decade.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the apex bank is now more than ever, consolidating market gains and ensuring sustained improvement is crucial. “We will enhance collaboration with the fiscal sector by increasing the depth and regularity of our interactions to drive economic growth. With stabilising forex rates, strengthened price controls, and rising investor confidence, the economy shows strong signs of resilience and recovery,” he said.

Cardoso explained that ⁠following positive developments in the FX market, the CBN’s focus on boosting liquidity and maintaining transparency in forex operations is sacrosanct. “Our Objectives have been and will continue to be, to achieve stability in the Foreign Exchange and the Financial markets. CBN will continue to embrace orthodoxy and stay the course. We remain vigilant and will not take anything for granted, inflation has been too high for too long, and our goal is to bring it down from double digits to single digits in the medium to long term,” he said.

On February 20, the naira strengthened by 6.95 per cent to N1,510/$ in the parallel market, driven by positive exchange rate expectations, subdued forex demand, and continued intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Businesses, particularly those in the real sector, welcomed the MPC’s decision to hold rates, viewing it as a step toward sustaining the naira’s rally and alleviating the rising cost of borrowing. These decisions were based on the Committee’s expectation of robust GDP growth in the medium term, fueled by strong contributions from the non-oil sector. Furthermore, the MPC highlighted the sustained rise in domestic crude oil production (1.74 mb/d) and anticipates an improved contribution from the oil sector, further bolstering overall GDP growth.

The MPC acknowledged the recent rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the adjustments made to the weights of items in the CPI basket, noting that the new methodology more accurately reflects current consumption patterns. The Committee also anticipates a moderation in inflationary pressures in the near term, supported by a relatively stable naira and a gradual easing of PMS prices.

Furthermore, the MPC highlighted the recent appreciation of the naira, which has been buoyed by improved forex liquidity. The Committee also recognised the CBN’s ongoing efforts to promote transparency and credibility in the foreign exchange market. These efforts include the implementation of the Electronic Foreign Exchange System (EFEMS) and the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) FX Code.

The Committee anticipates that sustained policy initiatives will bolster Foreign Direct and Portfolio investments, as investor confidence continues to rise. Additionally, the MPC emphasized that increased domestic crude oil production is expected to improve the current account balance and support the growth of FX reserves. On the global front, the Committee noted that while the Russia-Ukraine war and ongoing Middle Eastern conflicts pose downside risks to global GDP, potential resolutions could emerge through policy actions by the new US administration. The Committee also identified the risk of a possible global trade war triggered by US tariff hikes, which could heighten inflationary pressures and dampen global growth. Despite these risks, the MPC highlighted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has maintained its global GDP growth forecast at 3.3 percent for both 2025 and 2026.

Looking ahead, analysts at Cordros Securities expect future MPC decisions to be largely driven by developments in the foreign exchange market and the trajectory of inflation. They noted, “While a potential rate cut could be considered at the May policy meeting, we anticipate a gradual approach aimed at balancing exchange rate stability with the expected disinflationary process,” as stated in their emailed notes to investors.

Analysts also observed that, ahead of the MPC meeting, market participants had already started repricing yields downward, despite the tight liquidity conditions in the financial system. The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, stated that the global and domestic economic landscape is rapidly evolving, and Nigeria’s policymakers are navigating treacherous waters. He emphasized that balancing risks is a delicate task—tighten too much, and growth could be stifled; ease too soon, and inflation could spiral out of control.

“In its first meeting in 2025, held on February 19-20, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) finally hit the pause button on interest rate hikes after 12 months of an aggressive tightening campaign. The restrictive stance saw the policy rate peak at 27.5 per cent per annum, pushing maximum lending rates above 30 per cent per annum. Markets perceive this move as the beginning of a more accommodating stance as the yield curve inverted, especially at the short end following the rate decision,” he said.

The decline in the inflation rate, largely driven by the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), indicated that the MPC’s decision to hold rates was in line with expectations, although further moderation in yields remains possible. Commenting on the MPC’s decision, Charles Abuede, the Head of Research at Cowry Asset Management Limited, noted that the MPC is proceeding cautiously. He added that market expectations were for the MPC to increase the MPR by 25 basis points to align with broader market sentiments, driven by the need to address rising inflation, which has become entrenched in the economy.

“The committee should remain focused on maintaining price stability, especially as inflationary pressures persist despite previous rate hikes.” Abuede said a lower inflation print is prompting the MPC to prioritise economic growth over further tightening, particularly as other macroeconomic indicators suggest easing cost pressures.

Also weighing in, Muda Yusuf, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, stated that the MPC is gradually relaxing its monetary policy tightening. He acknowledged the Central Bank’s historically strict stance but emphasised that the current economic realities necessitated holding rates steady. Yusuf also agreed that there has been some stability in the exchange rate, noting that, given the current situation, there is already an excess of monetary policy tightening tools in play.

He said: “Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) were already at around 27.5 per cent and the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) is already at 50 per cent, which are practically the limits that monetary policy can be pushed for now. Interest rate now for many businesses is over 35 per cent, and it should not get worse than that.

“We need to tackle food inflation which is a major factor in our current inflation. So, we need to do a lot more in the area of development finance, why the CBN continues to pursue is the orthodox monitoring policy,” he stated.

Analysts from the Nigeria Economic Summit Group noted that the easing of inflation is expected to play a significant role in shaping monetary policy decisions. They forecast that the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may adopt a more accommodative stance in late 2025, potentially lowering interest rates to stimulate economic activity. This shift would represent a departure from the previous tight monetary policy regime that focused primarily on controlling inflation.

Battle against inflation thickens

The battle against inflation is intensifying, as policymakers face mounting challenges in managing the delicate balance between curbing inflation and supporting economic growth. The CBN policies, including the unification of the exchange rate, have resulted in significant foreign capital inflows, reducing the bank’s intervention in the forex market. The floatation of the naira, along with the clearing of over $7 billion in FX backlog, has improved the country’s outlook with foreign investors. Multilateral organizations like the World Bank have described these actions as bold interventions aimed at enhancing the economy’s long-term sustainability.

Upon assuming office, CBN Governor Cardoso highlighted that rebuilding Nigeria’s economic buffers and strengthening resilience were top priorities for his leadership. Prior to his appointment, inflation had surged to 27 per cent, largely driven by excessive money supply growth. Over the previous eight years, GDP growth had stagnated at a modest 1.8 percent, while money supply grew rapidly, averaging around 13 per cent annually. This imbalance not only fuelled inflation but also contributed to a significant depreciation of the naira. Governor Cardoso explained that inflation creates uncertainty for both households and businesses, functioning as a silent tax that erodes purchasing power and drives up the cost of living.

The nation was also facing a fiscal crisis, marked by unsustainable deficit financing through the Central Bank’s Ways and Means advances, which had ballooned to an unprecedented N22.7 trillion by 2023—roughly 11 percent of the GDP. Additionally, quasi-fiscal interventions by the CBN, totaling over N10 trillion, further undermined market confidence and weakened the effectiveness of its policy tools.

Against these challenges, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Governor Cardoso has sparked renewed optimism in the management of the financial system and the broader economy. The current macroeconomic stabilisation efforts are enhancing Nigeria’s ability to attract foreign investors to its markets. For example, by the end of 2024, Nigeria was able to leverage its improved economic fundamentals to re-enter the Eurobond market, aiming to address its fiscal deficit. This marked the country’s return to the international debt market in November after a two-year hiatus. In a dual-tranche Eurobond issuance, investor demand soared, with subscriptions surpassing $9 billion.

The high-interest rate environment also drew increased foreign portfolio investment, with inflows reaching $3.48 billion in the first half of 2024, compared to just $756.1 million in the same period of 2023. This upward trend signals growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s ability to manage its external debt burden, providing a positive outlook for the country’s Eurobonds.

Inflation targeting framework in the works

The fight against inflation has intensified with the planned adoption of an inflation targeting framework by the CBN to enhance price management. This framework, which has been successfully implemented by central banks in several African countries, is expected to strengthen Nigerians’ purchasing power, increase disposable income, drive aggregate demand, and stimulate production.

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The effects of rising inflation are being felt by households and businesses throughout the country, making price stability a core mandate of the CBN. In response, the CBN is working towards adopting and implementing the inflation targeting framework, which will replace the current exchange rate targeting framework. This shift is expected to be implemented with strong public support.

In its efforts to tackle inflation, the CBN recently hosted the Monetary Policy Forum 2025, bringing together fiscal authorities, legislators, the private sector, development partners, subject-matter experts, and scholars. The forum, centered on the theme “Managing the Disinflation Process,” served as a platform for collaborative discussions on strategies to curb inflation and stabilize the economy.

The forum represents a significant push to enhance monetary policy communication, promote dialogue, and foster collaboration on key issues shaping monetary policy. During the event, Governor Cardoso outlined the CBN’s primary focus on sustaining price stability, transitioning to an inflation-targeting framework, and implementing strategies to restore purchasing power and alleviate economic hardship. He emphasised that the apex bank is maintaining its disciplined approach to monetary policy, with the goal of curbing inflation and stabilising the economy in the face of ongoing challenges.

“These actions have yielded measurable progress: relative stability in the FX market, narrowing exchange rate disparities, and a rise in external reserves to over $40 billion as of December 2024.”

Cardoso reiterated that the goal of the CBN is to ensure that monetary policy remains forward-looking, adaptive, and resilient. In addressing our economic challenges, collaboration is key: “Managing disinflation amidst persistent shocks requires not only robust policies but also coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities to anchor expectations and maintain investor confidence,” Cardoso said.

“Our focus must remain on price stability, the planned transition to an inflation-targeting framework, and strategies to restore purchasing power and ease economic hardship,” he added.

The CBN has also placed a strong emphasis on strengthening the banking sector by introducing new minimum capital requirements for banks, effective March 2026. This move aims to ensure the resilience of the sector and position Nigeria’s banking industry for a $1 trillion economy. This week, the CBN took another significant step forward with the launch of the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code, which is designed to promote integrity, fairness, transparency, and efficiency in the FX market. Built on six core principles, the code represents a binding commitment from the financial community to rebuild trust and inspire confidence in the market.

In addition, the CBN continues to prioritize financial inclusion. The Women Entrepreneurs Finance (We-FI) initiative, part of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, is actively working to bridge the gender gap by ensuring that more women have access to financial services and digital tools, helping to empower women economically.

Remittances through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) rose by 79.4 percent to US$4.18 billion in the first three quarters of 2024, underscoring the positive impact of the foreign exchange reforms. Additionally, the CBN lifted the 2015 restriction barring 41 items from accessing FX at the official market, aiming to enhance trade and investment. These reforms and developments reflect the CBN’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for inclusive economic growth. However, achieving long-term macroeconomic stability requires sustained vigilance and a proactive stance on monetary policy.

“As we shift from unorthodox to orthodox monetary policy, the CBN remains committed to restoring confidence, strengthening policy credibility, and staying focused on its core mandate of price stability,” Governor Cardoso stated. He also highlighted that the move from the exchange rate targeting framework to the inflation-targeting framework aligns with the CBN’s determination to control inflation surges in line with its mandate of maintaining price stability. Inflation continues to be a major concern for the CBN, and the current environment calls for the effective use of monetary policy tools to manage it.

February 24, 2025
Why I’m still in America, ‘missing’ Osun monarch breaks silence
- Says he’s not in FBI’s custody
- Faults claims his absence could stall Alaafin’s installation
In the last couple of weeks, there has been bated anxiety concerning the whereabouts of Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, the traditional ruler of Ipetumodu, a historical town in Ife North Local Government Area, Osun State. His absence has been a source of serious concern not just for his family members but his subjects as he is yet to return from a supposedly brief visit he made to the United States of America almost one year ago.

Apart from his responsibilities as the guiding light of his Ipetumodu as the guiding light for his subjects, tradition is also said to saddle him with the task of delivering the sword of authority to the Alaafin-elect as a precondition for the latter’s installation. Little wonder many of the residents are calling on the state government to investigate Oba Oloyede’s whereabouts.

The call for investigation became more strident with the claims in some quarters that a Nigerian who bears the same name as the monarch was facing charges in the God’s Own Country for complicity in a multi-million dollar fraud. But the monarch dispelled all that in a video call with our correspondent from the US on Wednesday during which he explained why he is stranded in the country.

Seated in a room, the monarch, who appeared to be in good spirits during the conversation, expressed displeasure with the rumoured allegations against him, describing them as fabrications by some individuals he said were still upset with his emergence as the Oba of the ancient town.

He said the allegations leveled against him were not unexpected, “but I just didn’t know the extent they would go.

“It is really hard to fathom the relevance of my business in the US to my service to the community in Ipetumodu.

“We know how to deal with those that are peddling falsehood. There is no need to mention names; the enemies of progress know themselves.

“Even if someone is facing a problem, the normal reaction should be to commiserate, not to antagonise.

“We know the people behind these lies, and we will sue for defamation,” he threatened.

Reminded of the worries among his subjects back home, the monarch said he had arranged a virtual meeting last year to address their worries.

He said: “During that meeting, people had the chance to ask questions. I remember a moment when I took a sip of water, and everyone joked about it.

“I liken the current situation to someone who dislikes you; there is nothing you do that will ever please them. They will always find faults.”

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Asked why he has kept delaying his homecoming, Oba Oloyede said he was receiving medical check-up, adding “ you don’t wait till you are sick before you do medical check- up .”

He said: “I’m sure you believed all the rumours. But now that you have seen me, you should realise that they are lying in the publications.

“I spoke with you for almost an hour and we did a video call. Could someone in custody do that?

“If you want to see my legs, I will show them to you. They are not in chains.”

A section of the media had claimed that he was in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on account of his alleged involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

In response, Oba Oloyede asserted: “There is nothing wrong with me. I’m not in custody. I have been regularly coming to America and going back.

“I was based in the US before I ascended the throne, and I travel out of the country quite often.

“I still have my businesses in the US.

“The tax business I’m doing has been going on since 2000, which is 25 years ago. I have employees who work for me.

“A general usually faces the fiercest battles. If someone did something on behalf of my company, it is usually assumed that I’m responsible for it.”

He said his company regularly submits its tax returns to the American government, indicating compliance with legal requirements.

“If all the things they are saying were true, I would not still be doing this job. They would have revoked my licence.

“Without a licence, I would not engage in this work.

“If I were operating illegally, I would not be able to represent anyone in dealings with the government.”

He denied receiving any money unlawfully but acknowledged that his company assisted some individuals during the COVID-19 lockdown in the US, adding that there was nothing illegal about his company’s actions, as it has been compliant with government guidelines since its inception in 2019.

The monarch attributed the current commotion to a domestic dispute between a man and his wife. “I believe the woman reported to the authorities that our company handled her husband’s tax matters.”

While he acknowledges the attention drawn by the tax issue, he stressed that he has never engaged in any illegal activities.

He said: “I have my reputation. Even within the community here; I don’t get involved in anything unlawful.

“I even read claims that I sold fake drugs during COVID. But I am an accountant. I have never sold medicine in my life.”

On the allegation that his continued absence could sabotage the installation of the new Alaafin of Oyo, he acknowledged that Ipetumodu being an ancient town has a connection to many Yoruba towns.

“The founder of Oyo, which is Oranmiyan, lived in Ipetumodu at some point.

“Alaafin’s Ogun shrine is located at Apetumodu’s palace. He left it there when he left Ipetumodu,” he said.

But he also said that no modern Alaafin had come to Ipetumodu to perform any rite.

“When Alaafin Adeyemi III was installed, the stool of Apetumodu was vacant. He, however, sent people to perform rites at Alaafin’s Ogun shrine in Ipetumodu.

“By the way, we have not been contacted by the current Alaafin or anyone from Oyo showing interest in this matter.”

He added: “Ipetumodu is calm and the people are peaceful and law-abiding. They should continue that way and ignore the naysayers.

He also refuted the claims in some quarters that he was evicted from his residence, saying that instead, he is in the process of rebuilding his palace.

Sources revealed that Oba Oloyede’s monthly salary from the government is approximately N150,000 while the expenses for the palace’s maintenance run into the millions of naira every month.

One source reported that the electricity bill alone costs about 900,000 naira monthly, excluding salaries for security and other staff.

“Kabiyesi uses his funds to support the community and does not ask for money from anyone.

“When the community faced a legal issue, Kabiyesi personally covered N7 million of the costs,” the source revealed.
February 22, 2025
Row over death of teenager in police custody
- Irate mob burns down station as family alleges severe torture
How did Tolu Bobade died? Was he tortured to death inside police cell or he died from the mob beating he received before he was taken to the police division in Ifon, headquarters of Ose Local Government Area?

The deceased teenager’s family is in disagreement with the police over the latter’s claim that he was brought to the station already weakened.

Tolu’s death had sparked riot in Ifon as aggrieved youths took to the streets in protest. They had stormed the premises of the police division, chased all the policemen away and set the building ablaze. Attempts made by the police to reinforce were resisted until the arrival of the Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi.

Irked by the sight of the destruction at the Police Division, the CP ordered full-scale investigation to determine the circumstances that led to the incident and bring the culprits to justice.

Police spokesman, Funmilayo Odunlami, said in a statement that preliminary investigation showed that the incident began on February 15. She said a dispute between two families on Ogbomo Street, Ifon, escalated into a public fight.

She stated that police officers from Ifon Division, led by an Inspector, responded promptly, moved to the scene, intervened and made arrests while some suspects fled.

“Later, one Tolu Bobade, one of the young men involved in the fight, was brought to the station by one Mr. Lishilishi. He appeared weak and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

“He was later pronounced dead while receiving treatment. His remains have been deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, for post-mortem examination.

“While officers were at the station, an angry mob, led by the deceased’s father, launched a violent attack on the station.

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“The administrative office, DPOs office, the station store and two (2) exhibit vehicles were affected by the inferno caused by the mob.

“Fortunately, no lives were lost in the fire as security personnel acted swiftly and called for reinforcements to secure the premises.”

But an uncle to the late Tolu, Dupe Bobade, accused the police of lying, saying his nephew was never involved in any fight.

He said: “On that fateful day, the boy was going on the road and saw a police officer brutalising one of his friends. So he went there to beg the officer to leave his friend.

“As he was asking what happened, the police turned to him and handcuffed him. In the process, a guy called Lishilishi drove down with a bike and told the policeman not to handcuff Tolu.

“He told the policeman that is a small boy and was not one of the troublemakers in the community. But the officer refused.

“At that time, he had already handcuffed one of the deceased person’s hands. But Lishilushi asked the police to remove the handcuffs. The officer refused.

“Lishilshi offered to bring him to the station and see the DPO. Then the police officer released the boy with handcuffs on one hand.

“Lishilishi then put the boy on his own bike and took him to the police station with handcuffs.

“On getting there, the DPO was not at the station. Lishilishi then appealed to the police officer to remove Tolu’s handcuffs and allow him take the child back.

“He is not a troublesome and he is even a small boy. But the police officer said no.

“Following the policeman’s refusal to release the boy, Lishilishi said, ‘Okay, put him in your custody. I will come back when the DPO is around’.

“So Lishilishi left the station.

“Lishilishi is an indigene of the community. He also operates a commercial motorcycle (also known as okada). Everyone knows him in the town.

“Less than 30 minutes later, they called Lishilishi that policemen have brutalised the boy and he had slumped.

“They brutali,sed and tortured him at the station. So after he slumped they rushed him to Adelabo Hospital in the community.

“But before getting to Adelabo Hospital, the boy gave up. Then they took him inside Adelabo Hospital.

“After that, they took the corpse from Ifon to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo without even informing the family.

“It was people at the Federal Medical Centre that had to call and inform the family in Ifon.”

In a letter addressed to the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice Aiyedun Olusegun Odusola, the Bobade family insisted that Tolu was subjected to severe torture which led to his death on February, 15.

A statement issued by the family said: “We earnestly request a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding Tolu’s arrest, detention and death.

“The Bobade family seeks solace in the assurance that justice will prevail, not only to honour the memory of Tolu but also to reinforce the rule of law and deter future violations.

“We place our trust in your esteemed office to ensure that justice is served.”

Meanwhile, CP Afolabi said five people had been attested in connection with the burning of the Divisional Police Station in Ifon even as he cautioned residents against breaking the law.

Afolabi said: “There are proper institutions to seek justice. We have succeeded in arresting five suspects, and they are currently in our custody at the headquarters.

“Ifon cannot function without a police station, and every right-thinking person in the community knows that setting it ablaze was a mistake.

“When people take such actions, they undermine the rule of law.

“My advice is that in future incidents, let us act with civility and follow due process instead of resorting to violence.”
February 22, 2025
Okotete: It’s no big deal Senate didn’t confirm me as minister; I’m only 40

•Says her exploits in politics have nothing to do with beauty or looks

•’Delta APC can never shackled to authority of one man’

To most people, Hon. Stella Okotete was that young lady who became an executive director at the Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) courtesy of the generosity of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Yet, her story is deeper than just being the Woman Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress and later a ministerial nominee of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Okotete’s trajectory in politics began much earlier in Delta State where she horned her skills in a terrain mostly dominated by men. In this interview with our Deputy Editor, YOMI ODUNUGA, she spoke dispassionately about her triumphs and challenges as a 40-year-old politician who has never been afraid to speak truth to power. She explains why Tinubu deserves a second term and how the APC can win Delta State, insisting that some bad eggs have no place in the new APC. Excerpts:

At 40, one would say your political trajectory looks intimidating. How and when did you go into politics?

I started politics on campus. I was the Vice President of the National Association of Delta State Students (NADESSTU) in Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Port Harcourt. After my Diploma, I finished my first degree and went for National Youth Corps Service. Immediately after service, there was an opening for a local government election in Delta State. At that time, I was already involved in community service, ensuring that I was doing a lot of projects for widows, the aged and very young people in my constituency. So, they were the ones who really came out to say they wanted me to be their councillor at that time. Although my father was a popular politician back home, he was late at that time. So it was a big shoe I had to step into, and that was where I began my politicking.

God has been faithful. While I was a councillor, I did not build any personal house for myself. I remember my colleagues then had flats, blocks of flats that they were able to build from the stipends and salaries we got as councillors. But I decided to use mine to empower the people. I did water projects and skill acquisition programmes to empowerment. I remember also renovating a section of our general hospital as a councillor at that time, and that gave me a platform for more visibility and acceptance from my people. After my stint as a councillor, the governor then, Dr Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan, invited me to serve in his government as a Special Assistant in charge of the Millennium Development Goals.

When was your first meeting with Uduaghan?

I met the former governor as a councillor. He was operating a free education programme in the state and I got a wind that my constituents were extorted by some of the principals of public schools. I took that up, went around the schools requesting for those funds to be refunded to parents. That caught the attention of the governor. At that time, my colleagues actually suspended me because they had a political resolution about the whole extortion and I refused to be part of it. In the course of the suspension, the governor heard of it and instructed my colleagues to immediately return me to the house.

After our tenure, he asked that I should work with him to manage the Millennium Development Goals office, which I did for four years. I was in charge of monitoring and evaluation and also in charge of ensuring that we got children back to school, reduced maternal mortality rate to the barest minimum. At that time, Delta State achieved a whole lot in terms of the MDGs. And that was how it all started. I got into real time politics, ensuring that I supported the candidate, the House of Representatives candidate and the senatorial candidate of the then Peoples Democratic Party, because I was in PDP then. They all won their elections, and the rest is history. Today, I am fully in politics.

Why did you defect to APC?

I changed to APC because of President Muhammadu Buhari. At that time, in 2014, I was not happy with the state of our country. I knew that Nigeria needed that change. We needed to be more prudent with our expenditure. If you remember vividly, we had some of President Jonathan’s aides mismanaging funds and doing a whole lot of things without thinking about the people. I went through President Buhari’s manifesto and found that he was sincerely driving for a new Nigeria, a better Nigeria where we can all flourish, reduce poverty, reduce insecurity.

Another part that attracted me to him was the kidnap of the Chibok girls. It was really a touching moment for me. I remember crying throughout some of the periods. I often had to come down to Abuja to join the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and all of that. So I said I had no more business in the PDP. From the Niger Delta also, I was also not too satisfied with what the then President’s team had done in the region. Our roads were not good. We had no federal presence. And so I moved to the APC, believing in the ideology of the party and the presidential candidate at that time, President Muhammadu Buhari. And I have no regrets.

How did you become Women Leader of APC at a young age?

When I got into the APC, I volunteered in most of the stand-alone elections. One of it was Bayelsa, and I think that was what gave me the spring board. The party appreciated the efforts I played to deliver before it was aborted by the Supreme Court. But beyond that, I don’t think age has a thing to play with leadership. Leadership is all about your ability to inspire others. Despite my young age, I believe the leaders of the party found me worthy of that position because they knew I had that strength to inspire other women, attract younger women into politics.

If you hear my story, you will come to the realization that it is something that even the old and the young would want to associate with me to see that we get that visibility for other women. And my tenure as a woman leader, I’m sure it was able to give some level of comfort to those who appointed me at that time because we were able to create more visibility for our women. We were able to review the APC Constitution that gave more room to women occupying party positions across board. That was when we amended the constitution to have the Deputy Woman Leader as a National Working Committee member. And so today, we have two women in the National Working Committee, the first party in Africa to have such an opportunity to have more than one woman representative in the National Working Committee.

And I didn’t just end it there at the national level. At the state level too, the deputy women leaders are also members of the State Working Committees, down to the unit where politics is local. So now today, we have more women. And after my tenure, we also were able to get another young woman to take over from me as a woman leader. Across board today, we have very active women playing politics within the APC as a result of what they saw in me, or the support and the inspiration I gave to them as Women Leader.

I’d also tell you that some of the opposition parties have women today who still look up to me for guidance. I have a lot of them. Sometimes they come around requesting for advice, and all of that. The goal is to have more women in government change the narrative. We are not coming into government because we want to hold titles. We are not coming into government because we want to enrich ourselves. It is all about service, and not service to those at the top, but service to the people, service to the country.

So I think getting into that position as a woman leader as a very young age is a story that should inspire more women, and has inspired, and is still inspiring a whole lot of women.

Some would say your rise to prominence in a very short time had a lot to do with your beauty, influence and one godfather pushing the button somewhere. How would you react to that?

That is not true. I don’t think it has to do with beauty, because I am one of the women who do not play politics with their looks. If you know me, I’m very well dressed. I’m not loud and I’m not a party goer. So it had nothing to do with that. I think it had to do more with the ability, the quality that is expected of that office. And I was found having all of that. I had no Godfather play a role in it. But I’ll tell you that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at that time, President Muhammadu Buhari, had huge and high confidence in me, because at that time, I was also the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Import Bank, and he saw what I was able to do at the Bank. That also gave him some level of confidence. He said I was able to change the bank from negative to positive.

His thinking was that if we need members of the caretaker committee to change the party to a more positive and attractive position, this is the right person to go for. So the President supported me, the Governors’ Forum, all of them supported me. I remember very well that the late governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, said that he did not even want me to be a woman leader. He wanted me to be the Secretary of the party. That was how highly placed I was. So it had nothing to do with beauty. It had more to do with capacity, performance, integrity, hard work and discipline.

The constitution review is ongoing, and in the last exercise, so many bills relating to women were thrown out. What is your take on women-related bills and your charge to the National Assembly?

I think women-related bills should be given accelerated hearing. It should be supported because we have shown our mark. When you give a woman a job to do, she does not just talk. The results are evidence that we deliver. We are incubators by birth, by nature. I’m calling on the 10th Assembly to ensure that they give us more visibility and more roles in national development. But I’m not a supporter of women seats. Because once you now classify a seat for us, it comes with a whole lot of limitations. We might be sitting members but our votes might not really make so much significant count. Instead, I just think they should give more women a level playing field for us to compete for positions within the National Assembly so we have more women representations across board from the national to state houses of assembly and councils. Because history has shown that if you go to constituencies where you have women representations to that of male, you will see that human capital development, social welfare were top on the women’s card. And they were able to deliver to their constituents all of this.

So if we have more women for elective positions and also drivers of policies, because sometimes we just look at it as having them as policy makers. Yes, we can have more women, which I’m pursuing, and I’m appealing for at least a minimum of the 35 per cent women representation across board at the legislative arm. We should have over 35 per cent to drive it. Because if you want to really see those policies in government make the needed impact, you should have more women.

I’ll give you a good story: if you remember, Kemi Adeosun came in when the economy was really tough. And she was able to drive our economy. She was able to manage the economy. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala came in and did the same thing. At the stock market, you had Arunma Oteh. She came in there too. So you had a whole lot of women who have shown their worth in terms of executive positions. And in the legislature, you also have women who have been able to represent their people, and they were sent there multiple times. One of them is Oluremi Tinubu. She was not a one-term senator. She was called back. In fact, I’m sure if she comes back again to say she wants to contest, Lagosians are looking for her to come back to represent them at that level again, despite being the First Lady of the country. So that shows that women should be given more opportunities, more visible roles in government.

Of recent, Delta State politics has been in the limelight. We have seen staunch PDP lawmakers defecting to the APC. However, there has been infighting among the APC’s party leaders. What is your take on Delta politics?

I will tell you that we are united in Delta State APC. The APC in my state is made up of a college of leaders. When I say college of leaders, today, we have the senator representing Delta North who jumped ship from the PDP and now a member of the APC. That tells you how united and attractive the APC is in Delta. We have three senators. The three senators are working together with the Honorable Minister of Aviation and other critical party stakeholders. From former speakers of the Delta State House of Assembly to former legislators, the Halims Agodas, the Igbuyas, the Ocheis, they are all working together. The pioneer leader of the party, O’tega Emerhor is working with the Minister (of Aviation) and the senators. And I think that is what a party really needs. It is not a one-man party; it is a party made of colleges of leaders from the various senatorial districts, local government aareas, wards and units coming together to ensure that the party is well positioned for 2027. And so, I don’t see an opposition to the APC.

But there are also critical factors within the APC in Delta that seem not to be in alliance with what you’ve just highlighted. Without bringing them on board, especially those who contested for positions before, do you think APC will still emerge victorious in the 2027 gubernatorial elections in the state?

Yes, I’ll tell you that we only have one or two of them that don’t want to be part of the college of leaders. And I think they have their reasons. I just think they know that the time is up for a one-man show of the party. You know, a boat sinks alone. So I think one or two of them, they’re a sinking ship that the leadership of the APC in Delta, we are willing to support them back to join the college of leaders. But if they do not want to join the college of leaders, it doesn’t mean that the party is not united, attractive and ready for victory.

The party is ready for victory. We have over six House of Assembly members. We also have very active party members that can win any elections, even if you call the elections out in 2025, we’ll have the APC clearing more seats than we cleared in 2023. And if I could go back to your question, someone who won only four local governments for a gubernatorial election shouldn’t be the one wanting to lead a party. Because the truth about it is that you’ve shown your strength, and your strength has been measured by four local government areas. So why don’t you just build fences and work with other leaders from the other local governments where you didn’t do well, so that they can support you or support the party to be able to deliver victory for whoever our candidate will be in 2027?

I think that should be the thinking right now for any right thinking politician. But whereby you were only able to win four local government areas, and you couldn’t even give the President the minimum 25 per cent votes, I don’t think you are a threat to anyone anymore.

You’re a very strong lady, because not many people will be up and doing after being nominated as a minister. You are exceedingly qualified for it. But along the line, just like Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, you were not confirmed. What happened?

For me, that has passed. So speaking about it will look as if I’m still healing. I’ve completely passed that stage. But I’ll tell you that a whole lot of us are in government or in politics for different reasons. And if you remember when I started, I said I’m not in government for the title. I’m also not in government for wealth making. I’m in government to serve. And so I’m still in NEXIM Bank serving Nigerians. And by the grace of God, I understand that my KPIs, I’m achieving them, irrespective of what happened to me, in terms of me not being confirmed by the Senate. It doesn’t mean that I’ll give up on Nigeria or give up on the President. I’m still a member, and the President has told me times without number that I’m a member of his team. I think that’s more comforting than anything else.

I have unrestricted access to Mr. President. I have his ears, and I’m also able to achieve his diversification programme, using NEXIM Bank as a driver to diversify the economy, grow the non-oil export space, so we can increase our foreign earnings and also create jobs for Nigerians. And so I just think when the time comes, I’m still young. I’m just going to be 41 in April, and so yes, I know that whatever platform that is available in the future, I’ll definitely be given a chance.

Where do you draw your strength from?

From God and the people. That is just the truth. Because if you remember when I was not confirmed as a minister, I got more friends before I was nominated. And till date, I still have them as friends across the length and breadth of this country and in the Diaspora. I remember recently I went to Benin City for an event, and I went into a supermarket in Benin. This young lady came and said, ‘Sorry, ma’am, are you Madam Stella?’ And I kept quiet. I looked at her like, and she said, ‘Please ma, don’t be offended. Are you Madam Stella?” I said do you know Madam Stella?’ She said she is the ministerial nominee. I was telling my husband, and I said this woman looks like that ministerial nominee.

Her husband was with her. I smiled back at her and said yes, I’m the one. And she was so excited. She hugged me and told the husband, ‘I told you that this is the woman that was the ministerial nominee’. For me, that is satisfaction. That is where my strength comes from; that I have people that I’m inspiring. A whole lot of them have been able to read about me, know more of what I do. They follow me on my social media handles and they follow my website, to know exactly what I do. And that’s inspiring, because I’m actually inspiring a new set of generals that would actually not be deterred by aggression, by hate, by the complex of those who fought against my confirmation and all of that. And if you have to go places, sometimes the tides will come, but the tide is not ending you. It’s actually pushing you to greater heights.

How about the unpleasant things said about you?

The funny thing is that some of those people who wrote some of the lies about me actually came back to apologise. Yes, they came back to apologise to me, unveiling some of the people who sponsored them to carry out such an act. But I just believe that God was actually saving me from something I still do not know about. Because if you look at what happened to other young women who were given the opportunities, some fell by the roadside, some are completely destroyed politically, but here I am still standing strong, still making impact, still inspiring my world, still a voice to the government, and even beyond the government. Because I remember I had Presidents from Africa calling me to sympathize with me when I wasn’t confirmed as a minister. That’s more than enough for me.

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What is your philosophy of life?

Life should be lived for others. That’s it, and that’s what I’m doing every day, living it for others to ensure that things work, grow as much businesses as I can grow, using NEXIM as a platform; politically touch more lives as much as I can. And also be a voice to my generation.

It’s barely two years into the first term of President Bola Tinubu, and many people are talking about his viability for a second term. Why should he be re-elected?

Simple! President Bola Ahmed Tinubu knows what he is doing. He is building a sustainable Nigeria. We have always had a Nigeria that comes and goes. Why? It is because the policies are not sustainable. The policies are just policies that will drive either stomach infrastructure for some or political relevance for others. But what President Bola Tinubu is doing currently is that he is laying a foundation that would create a more robust economy for Nigerians. He has brought in policies that would encourage the education of our young people.

The NELFUND policy, for example, is one that I applaud him for every time, because that policy alone is encouraging female children, young women to go to school, because before now, the parents will either choose the male child over their daughters. But today, with the NELFUND application, young women are now vying for higher education. And we are now having more children registered into higher institutions across the country. Secondly, removing the subsidy. It was a tough one and Nigerians, till date, are still facing some of the hardship that the subsidy brought on board. But on the long run, it is actually working positively for Nigeria.

Now, our refineries are working; the Dangote Refinery is creating jobs and bringing affordability to the sector, because you can see today, diesel from Dangote refinery is cheaper than the imported one. The fuel that the local refineries are making, with some of the reports I’m seeing online, it’s even better than the ones imported into the country. And so the President is giving Nigeria back to Nigerians. You can see the regional commissions he’s brought on board to drive development, and not just any development, sustainable development. So I’ll give it to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

I can tell you, there’s no opposition to him, really. There’s really no opposition to him. I don’t know which of the candidates will come out today and reel out a policy that is better than what the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing. And we can see better power supply. Yes, we’re paying higher, but what we’re paying for power in Nigeria is still one of the cheapest when compared to other climes. So I’ll give it to him. Two years in, I’ll be one of those that would quickly champion his re-election in 2027

What is your advice to young Nigerians?

Hard work and sincerity of purpose pay in the long run. I think that is what we are lacking as young people today in the country. A whole lot of them are being driven by the get-rich-quick syndrome, and that is also not a sustainable way of keeping yourself relevant in today’s world. And so what I’ll advise them on is that they should as much as possible develop themselves. I’m still in school. Any opportunity I have, the world knows I want to continue to read and improve on myself. So, have continuous improvement on yourself and embrace self-love. When you love yourself, you won’t be deterred by any hatred coming around you.

Then you have to be hardworking, because that is the only thing that can take you to the top and sustain you at the top. And for my female friends, fans and followers of the young female generation, of young people in politics or in government or in business or whatever, my advice is for them to prioritise service over fame. When you prioritise service over fame, you will definitely be a name that would not be easily forgotten. But fame has a shelf life, because every new season, something new comes on board, and you’ll be easily forgotten. But when you serve the people, you’ve left a footprint in their hearts that can never be erased. You’ve left memories in their hearts that no matter what, they will always refer back to the good that you have done. Above all, just be a good person. I think goodness is what should drive us, going forward as humanity.

February 22, 2025
Our Scorecard In Blue And Marine Economy, By Oyetola

Nigeria is at the cusp of an economic transformation through its Blue Economy, leveraging its vast maritime resources. With a coastline stretching over 853 kilometres and an expansive Exclusive Economic Zone, the country is primed to tap into the potential of industries such as shipping, fisheries and renewable energy to drive growth, create jobs and foster sustainability, reports Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF

As one of the world’s largest maritime nations, Nigeria finds itself at the threshold of a significant economic shift—one propelled by the Blue Economy. With an abundance of natural resources, particularly in the marine space, Nigeria is presented with an incredible opportunity to diversify its economy, drive sustainable development, and improve the quality of life for its citizens. Through its extensive coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, vast inland waterways, and untapped marine resources, Nigeria has the potential to become a global leader in the Blue Economy sector. If effectively harnessed, these resources have the power to diversify the national economy, generate employment, and promote sustainable development. This vision was articulated by Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, during a media engagement in Lagos last week.

Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria is taking important steps toward realising the full potential of its marine economy. According to Oyetola, the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy reflects the government’s unwavering commitment to establishing Nigeria as a global maritime force. This ministry’s role is to develop and oversee policies that will ensure the responsible use of Nigeria’s marine resources, leveraging them for economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. This strategic move offers Nigeria a unique opportunity to tap into industries such as shipping, fisheries, offshore oil and gas exploration, and renewable energy, all of which are crucial to ensuring the nation’s long-term economic resilience.

After unveiling the federal government’s vision for the sector, Oyetola then delved into the nation’s proactive measures to build a sustainable blue economy, outlining both the progress made and the challenges faced along the way. He highlighted the regulatory reforms, robust policies, and achievements that have already been realised, emphasising the significant contributions of key stakeholders in these areas. In doing so, Oyetola painted a vivid and optimistic picture of Nigeria’s dynamic maritime landscape, emphasising the immense potential for growth and transformation in the coming years. With such a comprehensive approach, he said he is optimistic that Nigeria is on track to fully capitalise on its maritime resources, forging a future that is both prosperous and sustainable for all.

Nigeria’s maritime wealth as a foundation for sustainable growth

The Blue Economy encompasses a wide range of industries and activities that depend on the oceans, seas, and marine resources. In Nigeria, the maritime industry presents opportunities in shipping, fisheries, oil and gas, marine biotechnology, and tourism. This sector’s immense potential has not gone unnoticed. According to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, “Nigeria’s maritime sector has the potential to contribute over $100 billion annually to the national GDP if fully developed.”

With a coastline bordering the Atlantic Ocean and a vast inland waterway system, Nigeria is uniquely positioned to benefit from the untapped opportunities within its waters. The nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) provides vast prospects for offshore exploration, particularly in oil and gas, which has long been the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. Additionally, the fisheries sector, which accounts for a significant portion of the country’s food supply, holds vast untapped potential. By improving fisheries management and boosting aquaculture, Oyetola said Nigeria can reduce its dependency on fish imports and contribute significantly to regional food security.

Nigeria is blessed with an extraordinary range of marine resources, both on land and beneath the sea. The nation’s coastline, stretching over 853 kilometres along the Atlantic Ocean, is just the beginning. Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which covers more than 300,000 square kilometres, offers enormous potential for economic growth through sectors like shipping, fishing, offshore oil, and gas exploration, and marine biotechnology. Oyetola disclosed that the fisheries subsector alone has the potential to significantly reduce the country’s dependence on fish imports, create employment, and bolster food security. Nigeria’s inland waterways also provide vital trade routes that connect various parts of the country, supporting regional economic integration, he said. These water systems are key to ensuring more efficient transportation of goods and services, contributing to the nation’s logistical capabilities.

The Minister explained the Blue Economy, in its broadest sense, includes all activities related to the oceans and seas, such as shipping, tourism, renewable energy, and fisheries. However, it also covers emerging sectors like marine biotechnology, desalination of seawater, and seabed mining. The combination of these resources and industries places Nigeria in a prime position to tap into an expanding global market that values sustainability, innovation, and ocean-based economies. The government’s vision for the Blue Economy, he said, is both ambitious and essential for the nation’s long-term economic prosperity. Under the current administration, there has been an emphasis on tapping into the economic potential of the nation’s maritime resources while ensuring that environmental sustainability is maintained.

A core element of this vision is the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. The government has recognised the limitations of an oil-dependent economy and understands that the Blue Economy can provide an alternative source of revenue generation and job creation. The creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy was a strategic move to focus on harnessing these maritime opportunities, ensuring that policies are aligned with national and global objectives of sustainable development. According to Oyetola, this focus on the Blue Economy aligns with Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those focused on the sustainable use of ocean resources. The overarching goal is to position Nigeria as a leading maritime and marine economy, with an emphasis on sustainability, inclusivity, and job creation across different segments of the population.

As stated by the President in his inaugural address, “Our government will prioritise the sustainable use of Nigeria’s maritime resources to foster long-term economic growth, job creation, and environmental conservation.” This strategic focus also aligns with global frameworks, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s Agenda 2063. The newly established ministry has outlined a ten-year roadmap to facilitate the integration of maritime sectors into the national economy. This roadmap focuses on creating more efficient infrastructure, boosting security, and aligning policies to make Nigeria a global leader in the Blue Economy. As articulated by Minister: “Our vision is to build a robust Blue Economy framework that delivers prosperity to the people while preserving the marine environment for future generations.”

Although the Blue Economy presents vast opportunities, it is not without challenges. Nigeria’s maritime sector has long been plagued by poor infrastructure, outdated regulatory frameworks, and security concerns. However, the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has been instrumental in addressing some of these issues, leading to notable progress. Oyetola said regulatory reforms have been a priority for the government, particularly with regard to the efficiency of port operations and the ease of doing business within the maritime sector. He added that efforts have been made to streamline the regulatory processes at the nation’s ports, ensuring better coordination between various agencies and private sector players.

In addition to regulatory reforms, the Minister explained further that the government has invested in modernising Nigeria’s ports infrastructure. This includes plans for upgrading both the Eastern and Western ports, improving port connectivity, and increasing capacity for handling larger vessels. The completion of these projects is expected to enhance Nigeria’s position as a logistics hub in West Africa, attracting more investment and boosting economic activity. Nigeria’s maritime security has also seen notable improvements, with initiatives such as the Deep Blue Sea Project and the Falcon Eye surveillance system playing a critical role in reducing piracy and illegal activities in the Gulf of Guinea. These efforts have bolstered confidence in Nigeria’s maritime industry, making the country a more attractive destination for international trade and investment.

Furthermore, Oyetola boasted that the Nigerian government has made strides in strengthening its maritime security capabilities, working closely with international partners to ensure the safety of its shipping lanes and offshore resources. This renewed focus on maritime security has been essential in creating a stable environment for businesses to operate and thrive in the sector. He reminded stakeholders that the success of Nigeria’s Blue Economy initiative relies on the coordinated efforts of various governmental agencies and stakeholders. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) are among the key agencies driving this transformation.

These agencies play a critical role in implementing policies that support the growth of the maritime sector. For example, NPA’s efforts to modernise port facilities and ensure efficient port operations are vital for attracting international shipping companies and improving trade flow. Similarly, NIMASA’s regulatory oversight in ensuring safety standards and environmental protection is crucial for maintaining Nigeria’s reputation as a secure and reliable maritime nation. Additionally, the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State, has contributed to capacity building by training future generations of maritime professionals. With a growing demand for skilled labour in the maritime industry, this institution is central to ensuring that Nigeria has the human capital necessary to succeed in the Blue Economy.

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A central pillar of Nigeria’s Blue Economy is sustainability. Oyetola disclosed that the federal government understands the need to balance economic growth with the preservation of marine ecosystems. This is especially important as Nigeria seeks to maximise the potential of its fisheries and aquaculture subsector, both of which depend heavily on healthy marine environments. Efforts to protect marine biodiversity have already been initiated, with stricter enforcement of regulations related to illegal fishing and pollution. Additionally, the government is working on establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to conserve sensitive marine ecosystems, which play a critical role in the health of ocean life and the well-being of coastal communities.

The growth of renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind and solar energy, is another important aspect of Nigeria’s sustainable development strategy. By tapping into these resources, Nigeria aims to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels while creating new opportunities in the renewable energy sector. Sustainability also extends to Nigeria’s maritime governance, which includes international cooperation to ensure the responsible use of ocean resources. Nigeria has been active in global maritime governance forums, such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), where it advocates for policies that prioritise environmental protection and sustainable marine resource management.

While much progress has been made, Nigeria’s journey toward fully realising its Blue Economy potential is far from complete. The Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has developed a 10-year roadmap, which serves as a guide for achieving the goals outlined in the country’s Blue Economy strategy. This roadmap focuses on several key areas: infrastructure development, sectoral reforms, security, and international cooperation. As part of its plans, Nigeria aims to expand its fishing fleet, improve port facilities, and increase capacity for shipbuilding and repairs. Investments in technology and innovation will also play a crucial role in driving growth in the sector.

February 18, 2025
‘How the National Single Window will drive economic rebirth’

Nigeria is targeting a $1 trillion economy by 2030, and the National Single Window (NSW) initiative is set to play a pivotal role in realising this ambition. By streamlining and digitising trade processes, the NSW aims to enhance efficiency, eliminate bottlenecks and increase transparency, ultimately positioning Nigeria’s ports and trade systems for global competitiveness and sustainable economic growth. EKAETE BASSEY reports

As Nigeria sets its sights on a $1 trillion economy by 2030, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is moving with determination to achieve this ambitious goal. With just five years left on the clock, the government is zeroing in on one sector that could make or break the nation’s economic future: trade.

The first phase of the National Single Window (NSW) initiative—a transformative approach to streamline Nigeria’s import and export processes—will kick off this year. This is not just another digital upgrade; it represents a bold shift toward simplifying the complex and often chaotic systems that have plagued the nation’s trade industry for decades. The initiative promises to consolidate all trade-related processes into one unified platform, replacing the fragmented multi-window system where various agencies run separate digital platforms. Originally introduced in 2016 and revived in 2024 by President Tinubu, the NSW is an electronic portal designed to connect all the players in Nigeria’s trade ecosystem—government agencies, importers, exporters, and customs officials—on a single, integrated platform. By addressing long-standing issues such as delays, lack of transparency, and revenue leakages, the NSW aims to boost trade efficiency, enhance government revenue, and improve national security at Nigeria’s borders. These improvements are crucial, especially considering Nigeria’s consistently low ranking on global ease-of-doing-business indexes.

However, the NSW initiative is not a sudden innovation. It’s the next logical step in a series of efforts to modernise Nigeria’s trade systems. Over the years, the country has cycled through different systems—from the Nigeria Integrated Customs System (NICIS I and NICIS II) to the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA + and ASYCUDA ++). Each evolution has been an attempt to solve the same problems: inefficiency, opacity, and the constant challenge of navigating multiple, disconnected systems. With the NSW, the goal is clear: to create a seamless, one-stop-shop for all trade-related transactions.

The President, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, however, pointed out that the NSW is essentially distinct from NICIS I and NICIS II, and other systems, which are only procedural frameworks rather than platforms with a single window. Rather than being completely integrated trade solutions, these systems, according to Amiwero, function as process recommendations. “A true single window is about streamlining documentation and transactions into a single application, often referred to as a one-stop-shop,” he said.

Explaining further, the NCMDLCA boss said unlike NICIS, which focuses on procedural checks, a single window ensures harmonised data exchange among all trade-related agencies. “Similarly, ASYCUDA ++, which I played a key role in introducing, was a Customs processing system, not an initiative of the Customs Service or the Federal Government. It was developed based on a proposal I authored, forming part of the broader push for destination inspection and digital trade facilitation,” Amiwero added.

Now, going by Amiwero’s informed perspective, it means that on the behest of the NSW project, all trade-related agencies, such as Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and others, will now operate under a single, unified system, powered by a one-stop-shop that will streamline documentation and transactions into a single application.

Driving Nigeria’s transition to $1tr economy with NSW

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole; Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite; Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji; and Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, all made insightful presentations at the recent “Stakeholders’ Forum on the Establishment of National Single Window” in Lagos. Each emphasised that the National Single Window (NSW) project is one of the key initiatives introduced by the Federal Government to propel Nigeria toward becoming a $1 trillion economy.

In his presentation, Oyetola explained that the NSW system is designed to enhance transparency by eliminating redundancies in the trade process. This will help prevent revenue leakages, which are estimated to exceed $3 billion annually. He further highlighted that, once fully implemented, the NSW system could reduce average cargo clearance times at Nigerian ports by up to 60%. This efficiency boost, Oyetola noted, is expected to significantly improve port operations and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.

It’s important to recall that last year, the Federal Government launched a new financial inclusion policy aimed at transforming Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Vice President Kashim Shettima unveiled the policy in Abuja, emphasising the administration’s commitment to enhancing financial and economic inclusion across the country. Since then, all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) have been collaborating with the private sector to achieve this ambitious goal. “The implementation of the National Single Window in Nigeria’s trade industry is fully aligned with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. It is a strategic enabler for greater port efficiency, improved revenue collection, and enhanced transparency,” Oyetola affirmed during the Stakeholders’ Forum.

The Minister highlighted that countries like Singapore and the Netherlands have demonstrated how Single Window systems can revolutionise port op erations, transforming them into global trade hubs. He emphasized that Nigeria has the potential to achieve similar success by fully embracing this initiative. He pointed out, for example, that the cost of doing business at Nigerian ports can be up to 40% higher than in other West African nations due to delays and administrative bottlenecks. This inefficiency leads to an estimated annual revenue loss of N2.5 trillion within the business community.

Dr. Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), expressed optimism about the potential of the NSW project to accelerate Nigeria’s transition into a $1 trillion economy. He noted that the NSW project is not just an improvement in Nigeria’s trade processes but a transformative leap towards unlocking the country’s vast economic potential. He added, “This initiative will significantly contribute to the realisation of a $1 trillion economy by 2031, in alignment with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.”

Similarly, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of State for Finance, emphasised that by simplifying trade processes, reducing bureaucratic hurdles, and fostering greater efficiency, the NSW system will enable Nigerian businesses to seamlessly connect with global markets. She pointed out that the shift to paperless trade under the NSW platform is expected to yield an annual economic benefit of around $2.7 billion. Countries like Singapore, South Korea, the UAE, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia have already experienced substantial improvements in trade efficiency after implementing similar systems. Dr. Uzoka-Anite also reiterated that the initiative goes beyond enhancing the ease of doing business. It will support the diversification of Nigeria’s economy, reduce dependency on oil exports, and encourage the growth of non-oil sectors. These measures aim to build a resilient economy capable of weathering unforeseen challenges, aligning with the ongoing reforms under President Tinubu’s administration for a better and stronger Nigeria.

The MD FAAN, Mrs. Kuku, also said the vision of the NSW initiative aligned with the Federal Government’s goal of expanding the national economy to $1 trillion. She, therefore, urged stakeholders to embrace the initiative, emphasising the initiative’s role in enhancing trade facilitation and positioning Nigeria as a global economic powerhouse. “It’s an innovative digital platform that seamlessly integrates government agencies, private stakeholders, and financial institutions,” she stated.

Mrs. Kuku, while noting that leveraging digital solutions, Nigeria could improve efficiency and transparency within its trade ecosystem, reaffirmed FAAN’s commitment to supporting trade growth and enhancing aviation infrastructure to align with global standards. “These initiatives reaffirm the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and FAAN’s unwavering commitment to transforming Nigeria into a global trade and aviation excellence hub,” she said.

Read Also: Nigeria’s economic comeback: Tinubu’s reforms turn the tide

Industry Minister Dr. Oduwole is no less expectant. She said the transformative power of the NSW would redefine ways trade was being conducted across Nigeria’s borders. “The establishment of a NSW system for trade processes in Nigeria is not merely a policy objective; it is a transformative reform that will fundamentally redefine the way trade is conducted across our borders. Our single window project will provide a centralised digital platform for traders to submit, process, and access trade-related documentation, thereby eliminating corruption through improved transparency, reducing administrative burdens, and significantly enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria,” Dr. Oduwole said.

The Minister, who recalled that she had been part of the NSW project since 2016, enthused that “the time for delivery is now.” She stated that economic growth and job creation are key priorities under President Tinubu’s 8-Point Agenda, and that the NSW will play a significant role in achieving these goals by enabling Nigerian businesses to compete more effectively in global markets and strengthening Nigeria’s position as a regional trade hub under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). “Exports not only contribute to Nigeria’s GDP but also provide the foreign exchange needed to stabilise our economy and foster sustainable development,” Dr. Oduwole said, pointing out that the NSW would align Nigeria’s trade processes with global standards, including frameworks under the AfCFTA, which is a priority area.

“Indeed, this initiative aligns seamlessly with Nigeria’s commitments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), finalised at the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2013, and enforced in 2017. Article 10.4 of the Agreement encourages the adoption of single window systems, recognising their potential to reduce trade costs by over 14 per cent in low-income countries and 13 per cent in upper-middle-income countries,” she stated.

On his part, the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, said the NSW is a central piece in the modernisation of Nigeria’s trade facilitation, and the NPA is fully committed to its successful implementation. He said while repositioning Nigerian Ports to maintain regional and continental competitiveness, the NPA has embarked on process reengineering aimed at aligning its functions with the objectives of the NSW and ensure parity with regional competitors, focusing on seamless data availability and enhanced transparency. In Dantsoho’s words: “Our mission is to position Nigeria as the trans-shipment hub in West Africa, and with our strategic location, a population of over 200 million people, and a large market, Nigerian Ports have the potential to become the leading transshipment hub in the African region. We also have the potential to serve as a transit port to land-locked countries since out of the 44 land-locked countries in the world, 16 are in Africa.”

The NPA boss, however, lamented that this potential is currently constrained by infrastructure challenges and competition, as neighbouring countries continue to develop their port’s infrastructure. He, however, said the Authority’s port modernisation projects will bridge this gap and ensure that Nigeria’s ports remain competitive with regional counterparts.

‘NSW’s implementation not a roller-coaster’

The challenge of inadequate port infrastructure, as highlighted by Dr. Dantsoho, represents just one of the many formidable obstacles that could hinder the successful implementation of the National Single Window (NSW) project and the creation of an efficient, seamless trade industry. Such an industry is critical to Nigeria’s goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Ms. Hadiza Bala-Usman, the Special Assistant to the President on Policy Coordination, also emphasised the importance of strong political will in ensuring the NSW project’s success. She remarked, “We must ensure the ICT readiness of all agencies involved, and more importantly, we need strong political will, which the Chairman of FIRS has demonstrated through the support from President Tinubu.”

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, represented by Deputy Comptroller General Kikelomo Adeola, cautioned that relying solely on technology would not meet the expectations of the NSW project. “The deployment of advanced digital platforms must be accompanied by thorough process reengineering, capacity building, and effective change management,” he said. “Past initiatives in Nigeria faltered because there was an overemphasis on technology without adequately addressing the human and operational factors.”

The fragmented implementation of the NSW system was a point of criticism for Amiwero, President of the NCMDLCA. He expressed concerns about the lack of integration, stating, “When you talk about a NSW, you’re essentially dealing with multiple windows. For example, Customs has its own window, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has its own, the government has another, and even the Central Bank operates its own window. This creates a situation where you have multiple windows instead of a unified system.” Tola Fakolade, Head of the NSW Secretariat, announced that the first phase of the NSW project will begin this year, focusing on training and testing. He emphasised the need for full cooperation from all stakeholders and noted that the NSW system, which originated in Singapore, has also been successfully implemented in countries such as Djibouti and Kenya.

Despite this progress, Amiwero stressed that the true value of a NSW lies in data harmonisation, which ensures seamless and integrated trade processes. “NSW is not just about talk; it requires proper data harmonisation,” he explained. “This means integrating all relevant agencies under a single platform so that when a transaction is initiated, approvals from bodies like NAFDAC, SON, Customs, and others are processed automatically in the background, eliminating the need for multiple, separate interactions.” He further compared Nigeria’s trade process to that of countries like the United States, Senegal, and Singapore, where goods can be declared within minutes. In contrast, he noted, “In Nigeria, it takes several days because we must account for numerous factors and deal with multiple agencies.”

‘NSW shouldn’t be mistaken for revenue-generation tool’

For NSW to work effectively, Amiwero said data harmonisation is crucial, ensuring a single application process that eliminates redundant steps. This initiative, he noted, must be driven from the highest level of government, as the presidency has already begun efforts in this direction. The NCMDLCA chief further argued that the NSW is designed for trade facilitation, not revenue generation, suggesting that if the government focused solely on revenue, the essence of the NSW will be lost. He insisted that the primary function of a single window is to streamline transactions, making trade processes more efficient, adding, however, that by enhancing trade efficiency, it indirectly accelerates revenue collection. “A NSW should not be mistaken for a revenue-generation tool,” the industry activist cautioned, pointing out that “if the goal is to boost revenue, an integrated revenue system is required, and the key to increasing government earnings lies in harmonising and integrating revenue streams, rather than relying on the single window, which is meant to reduce business costs and simplify trade operations.”

An economic analyst, Prof Ndubisi Nwokoma, highlighted that “Nigeria does not suffer from a lack of policies but rather from poor implementation.” While noting that Nigeria’s trade sector is plagued by systemic inefficiencies, which hinder smooth policy execution, he said every administration whether under Obasanjo, Buhari, or Jonathan has introduced good policies to tackle such systemic inefficiencies. Prof Nwokoma insisted that Nigeria’s problem has never been about policy formulation but about implementation. He also identified corruption, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and revenue leakages as major hindrances, warning that policy success elsewhere does not guarantee effectiveness in Nigeria due to the peculiarities of the operating environment. “So, if we are going to import any policy framework that works in other countries, there is no guarantee it will work in Nigeria because of the peculiarities of the operating environment,” he said.

The economic analyst added: “I don’t really bother about whether a policy is good, has been implemented or is not good. The critical issue is the environment and the players. The leakages are too enormous. And that’s a very critical issue. When it comes to import and export in Nigeria, a major issue is the presence of leakages within the system, including in foreign exchange earnings and Customs operations. These inefficiencies often lead to compromise and revenue loss for the government.” He further stated that he does not see a problem with policy formulation, design, or implementation in Nigeria. “The real challenge,” he insisted, “lies with those responsible for executing these policies, as operational bottlenecks and inefficiencies persist at that level.” He also questioned the government’s revenue drive, stating, “We often talk about revenue generation, but how are these funds used? Do they actually improve the human condition, or do they fuel more leakages in the system?”

Kayode Farinto, a former Acting President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), expressed optimism about the long-awaited implementation of the National Single Window (NSW), citing emerging political will as a key factor for success. However, he stressed that one of the most critical components for ensuring the system’s success is a solid legal framework. According to Farinto, both importers and government agencies must be adequately protected under this framework. He gave the example that if an agency deliberately causes delays in cargo clearance, importers should have legal recourse, including the ability to demand compensation for storage costs or pursue legal action. “The National Single Window is achievable if there is a legal framework in place. This framework must ensure accountability, so no agency can arbitrarily delay consignment clearance without consequences,” Farinto explained.

In addition to the legal foundation, Farinto emphasised the importance of shifting government priorities from focusing solely on revenue generation to facilitating trade. He criticised the persistent focus on revenue collection, which he argued hampers smooth trade operations and ultimately undermines both business efficiency and revenue targets. “You cannot keep pushing for revenue while failing to facilitate trade; it’s counterproductive. If trade is not facilitated, you may not even generate the revenue you seek,” he warned. Farinto also stressed the necessity of imposing strict sanctions on government agencies that violate or distort the NSW process. He warned that without such disciplinary measures, the system would be rendered ineffective, as agencies would continue to operate outside its intended framework.

In addition, Farinto called for an expansion of the NSW beyond cargo clearance at ports. He proposed the inclusion of a time-release study, which would track the movement of released cargo from port terminals to consignees’ warehouses. This, he argued, would help eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks, particularly Customs’ post-clearance interventions, thereby improving overall trade efficiency. “We should not limit single window to pairs of cargoes alone. Let us incorporate what is called time-release study. When cargo ‘A’ is released from the terminal at Apapa Port, how long does it take to reach the consignee’s warehouse? Bureaucratic hurdles after clearance, particularly from Customs, often delay the process under the pretext of conducting additional checks. This is why the World Customs Organisation (WCO) has created what is called post-clearance audits to ensure compliance without unnecessary disruptions.”

According to him, if one succeeds in stealing 10 containers in the port indirectly or directly without paying proper revenue, such person shouldn’t celebrate because under seven years, Customs can still visit and demand appropriate payment of duty. “So, for the single window to succeed and for the revenue they are targeting to be realisable, these factors must be put in place. And above all, the regulatory agencies must be confined to their constitutional responsibility, that is, you are regulating this product. Government should stop giving them targets again,” he stated.

How the NSW project can deliver on its promises

Olumide Fakanlu, the National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, acknowledged the potential benefits of the National Single Window (NSW). He highlighted that, unlike previous systems such as NICS and ASYCUDA, which focused solely on Customs clearance, the NSW aims to streamline all trade-related processes, impacting government revenue beyond just duties. While Fakanlu affirmed that the NSW system is designed to integrate various agencies, including NAFDAC and NDLEA, into a unified platform for easy access and sharing of requirements, his optimism about the system’s potential benefits remains cautious. He expressed concerns about Nigeria’s readiness for the successful implementation of the system, noting that significant challenges still lie ahead. “We are used to having good ideas, but when it comes to implementation, we start dangling legs. The NSW will facilitate trade, impact the nation’s progress but are we ready?” Fakanlu asked, pointing out that “There are some people who are by the corner, though may not be the majority, but are ready to sabotage the initiative just for their own selfish reasons.”

The freight forwarder also pointed out that infrastructure and technological readiness remain significant barriers to the successful implementation of the National Single Window (NSW). For example, he noted that some banks have yet to integrate into the Customs’ B’Odogwu system, causing delays in duty collection. “Are we ready?” he questioned, emphasizing that “as we speak, some networks are still not functioning. Let’s start with that—have we built enough network capacity?”

Fakanlu, while acknowledging that Customs introduced the B’Odogwu system, which will be incorporated into the NSW, expressed disappointment that many banks have still not adopted it. “For the past three months, they have not been able to move forward on the B’Odogwu because the banks are not on board,” he revealed. “It is only in one command in Nigeria that they’ve started, but they haven’t expanded to other commands.”

Despite these challenges, Fakanlu remained cautiously optimistic, saying, “Let us be hopeful. We will get there.” He reflected the sentiment that while the NSW could revolutionize Nigeria’s trade sector, its success hinges on government commitment, stakeholder collaboration, and addressing deeply ingrained structural issues. Promoters of the NSW project are aware of these concerns raised by operators and stakeholders. For instance, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, issued a “call to collaboration,” acknowledging that the successful implementation of the NSW would require collective effort. She emphasised that transparency, inter-agency cooperation, and adherence to international standards must remain guiding principles. Dr. Oduwole assured that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment would fully support the initiative to “build a system that not only facilitates trade but also drives economic growth, attracts investment, and creates opportunities for all Nigerians.”

Dr. Adedeji of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) echoed Oduwole’s views, underscoring that the success of this ambitious project depends on one crucial element: collaboration. “We must dismantle the traditional silos that have hampered our efforts, foster a spirit of shared responsibility, and commit collectively to achieving our common goals,” he said. “This requires a fundamental shift in our mindset—a willingness to embrace change, adapt to new ways of working, and prioritize the national interest above individual organizational interests.” Indeed, if properly implemented, the NSW has the potential to streamline trade, reduce delays, lower costs, and enhance Nigeria’s global competitiveness. However, experts insist that success will depend on strict compliance by government agencies, eliminating systemic leakages, and ensuring full digital infrastructure readiness.

February 17, 2025
Why we’re still in Togo, Benin varsities despite FG’s ban on their certificates —Nigerian students

Despite the federal government’s hammer on degrees obtained from universities in Togo and Benin Republic, Nigerian youth continue to seek higher education in these neighbouring French-speaking countries. GBENGA ADERANTI reveals why the youths are undaunted by the government’s blacklist of certificates from such universities and why the trend may not cease any time soon.

One year ago, the federal government blacklisted certificates obtained from institutions in neighbouring French-speaking countries of Togo and the Republic of Benin. Aside from dismissing the institutions for being substandard, the government also axed civil servants who obtained degrees from the affected schools.

In spite of these stern measures, however, admission seekers from Nigeria have continued to look the way of these neighbouring countries to actualise their dream of acquiring higher education.

Although there is no official data on the number of Nigerian students enrolled in various institutions across these countries, a source estimates no fewer than15, 000 Nigerian students are currently studying in the Republic of Benin and Togo.

So, what drives students to prefer these schools?

A 300-level student at École Supérieure de Management in Porto-Novo, Republic of Benin, who gave her name simply as Ihuoma, said she looked beyond the shores of Nigeria because of her frustrations with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) among other issues.

“I chose to study in the Republic of Benin because of the challenges in Nigeria’s education system, including ASUU strikes, admission difficulties and overcrowded universities,” she explained. Ihuoma finds the admission process more straightforward and believes students can complete their studies without delays.

She also recalled her experience with admission in Nigeria, saying: “I applied for Mass Communication with a JAMB score well above the cut-off mark and also had good grades in my O’ Level subjects, yet I was not admitted and did not receive any course option.

“I applied for the Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board (JUPEB) but fell short by just one point. They required 11 points while I had 10. Others with the same grades were lucky enough to be offered different courses while I was not.

“These experiences took a toll on me.”

She also believes that her international exposure has helped her to develop valuable skills that would enhance her career prospects.

Also reliving her experience, Fashola (other names witheld), a third-year student, echoed similar sentiments, saying that she sought admission in a French-speaking neighbouring country for international exposure, better educational resources and the chance to experience a new culture.

While he would not discourage anyone from following this path, he acknowledged the potential for culture shock, such as the language barrier, different food options and slower pace of life.

Nevertheless, he concluded, “I would recommend studying in Benin for students looking for opportunities.”

The story is not different with Joseph, who schools in ESM University, Republic of Benin. He said he opted to study abroad “due to Nigeria’s corrupt and unfair educational system” with emphasis on the strike rate, cultism and insufficient basic school amenities.

He, however, admitted that the news about the ban on the certificates of some institutions in Togo and Benin Republic caused a panic. “I must say I wish I’d just schooled in a non-West African country,” she said.

Even with some of the challenges, Joseph said he would recommend the school to any student who wishes to attend “due to the affordable fees and the fast school calendar.” Unlike others, he said he was not rattled when the news broke that the Nigerian government would no longer recognise degrees from the Republic of Benin.

He said: “Well I was not moved at all because I have had to deal with worse situations. The school was on lock down for a while. Many students were afraid, so they started running around, changing institutions and thinking they were going for greener pastures, but they were only complicating things for themselves.

“I stood my ground since I was already in the last semester and I was not going to let anything stop me from acquiring my BSc even if it is not recognised in Nigeria. After all, there are other countries where I could work with the certificate.”

Despite the misgiving about some institutions in Togo and Benin Republic, The Nation gathered that the federal government recognises eight universities in Togo and Benin Republic. They include the Universite De Lome, Universite De Kara and the Catholic University of West Africa.

Others are the Universite D’Abomey-Calavi., Universite De Parakou, Universite Nationale Des Sciences, Technologies, Ingenierie Et Mathematiques, Universite Nationale D’Agriculture and Universite Africaine De Developpement Cooperatif.

Frustration, uncertainties

Ihuoma expressed the frustration of some of the students in these foreign varsities. She also expressed regrets over the limited recognition of some universities in Benin Republic. According to her, “the difference in academic prestige between Nigerian and Beninese universities makes it harder to get certain job opportunities back home.”

For a fast and strike-free education, said Ihuoma, the two French speaking countries are the place to go. “But they (prospective students) should be careful to choose an accredited university to avoid future recognition issues, adding that the experience has been enriching.”

The government’s decision not to recognise some graduates from universities in the Republic of Benin, dealt a big blow on the Nigerian students schooling in the two neighbouring countries.

Ihuoma said: “It was devastating because many of us worked hard to earn our degrees. The decision created panic, especially for those who were close to graduating.

“It felt it was unfair that students who genuinely studied had to suffer because of fraudulent schools. I felt concerned and uncertain about my future prospects.

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“The decision created anxiety among many students, and we hoped for a resolution that would recognise our qualifications.

“It raised questions about the value of our education and future opportunities.”

To make matters worse, The Nation gathered that some undergraduates in Nigerian universities treat those from Togo and the Republic of Benin with scorn.

According to Ihuoma, “Some mock us, saying we bought our degrees, while others respect the fact that we took a different path. It can be frustrating, but I remind myself that my education is valid.’

She pleaded with the Nigerian government to take another look at the decision, noting that many students choose to study abroad because of the failures of Nigeria’s education system.

“If Nigerian universities were more efficient, fewer students would seek alternatives. I urge the Nigerian government to reconsider its decision and recognise degrees from reputable universities in the Republic of Benin.

“This would help alleviate the uncertainty and anxiety faced by students like me. I would like to convey to the Nigerian government the importance of recognising foreign qualifications and ensuring that students have equal opportunities, regardless of where they study.”

Ihuoma is uncertain about what future holds regarding job opportunities “Sometimes I think about job opportunities and the perception of foreign degrees in Nigeria. But overall, I appreciate the uninterrupted learning experience.

“While the challenges and uncertainties have been significant, I do not regret my decision. The experience has been valuable, and I’ve grown both academically and personally.’

Like Ihuoma, the government’s decision not to recognize some graduates from universities in the Republic of Benin did not sit well with Anuoluwapo. She is disappointed and worried about her uncertain future.

She urged the Nigerian government to reconsider its decision and recognise the qualifications of graduates from reputable universities in Benin Republic.

Sophia is also not happy with the government’s decision not to recognize their certificates. She, therefore, pleads with the Nigerian government to lift the ban, saying it would set the students back many years. “Where would we start from if the government does not lift this ban? All the money we spent on learning would go into waste.

“Please, look into the matter of this ban and lift it. People’s lives and destinies are on hold because of this. Please we need a way forward. Learning in Cotonou is better and less stressful than learning in Nigeria.”

Lending her voice, Gladys, a 200 Level student in another institution in the Republic of Benin said she was excited about her admission to the neighbouring country’s varsity. According to her, studying abroad can be such an amazing experience. She reckons that it opens so many opportunities for personal growth and cultural exchange, adding that “you get to learn in a different environment, which can really broaden your perspective.”

Gladys described the government’s decision not to recognise some graduates from universities in Benin Republic as “quite concerning.”

According to her, the decision raises questions about the quality of education and the implications for students who have worked hard to earn their degrees. Such a decision, she said, can affect graduates’ job prospects and overall confidence in their educational institutions.”

She agrees, however, that it is important to ensure that all universities maintain high standards so that students can feel secure with their qualifications. But she expressed confidence in the schools, saying “to the best of our knowledge, we have great mentors and professors who have been Impacting unforgettable experience and wisdom. We pray every day for God to ease the government’s heart.”

Alaba, a 300 Level student in another institution, said her inability to gain admission after passing the Joint Matriculation Examination (JME) made her to travel to Port Novo.

She expressed sadness over the Nigerian government’s decision not to recognise certificates from the French speaking varsities. “I felt so sad not even for myself but for the ones that have graduated before me and those that we heard the rumour of their sack letters. Most of them already have families they are taking care of. What did the Nigeria government expect them to be doing when they stopped them from working? Steal?”

Her message to the Nigerian government: “Please, consider us (foreign students) and reverse the ban on the certificates from Benin Republic and Togo.”

While the students and graduates from the affected institutions have continued to appeal to the government to rescind its decision, whether their pleas will yield any fruit is in the realm of conjecture.

Why Nigerians students continue to study in Togo, Benin Republic

Currently, Nigeria has 270 universities, of which 148 or 54.8% are privately owned. While some experts argue that private institutions are expanding access to education, the demand for higher education still exceeds the available spaces.

The Nation gathered that lack of space in the Nigerian universities has led many Nigerians to seek admission in countries like Togo and Republic of Benin; a development many stakeholders have expressed reservations about.

Professor Segun Omosule, the Head of the Department of English at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, while sharing with The Nation his concerns about students who seek admission in Togo and the Republic of Benin, stated that many of the students involved lack the necessary qualifications and might have received assistance to pass their school certificate exams.

“This raises questions about whether these institutions are recognized. Yet many parents continue to send their children there, where they can obtain results without significant effort.”

According to Omosule, a significant number of students prefer enrolling in universities in Lome, Togo, where they can acquire certificates without truly earning them. He described the phenomenon as troubling, adding that the influx of Nigerian students into substandard schools in neighboring countries is partly due to a national attitude that favours short-cut solutions.

Omosule said many students seek certificates without the intention of using them for meaningful employment. “They simply want to be labeled as graduates. Given the limited job opportunities in the labor market, these individuals find satisfaction in obtaining certificates quickly and effortlessly.”

Omosule wonders why Nigerians would choose to attend higher institutions in these countries when the educational standards are significantly higher in Nigeria. He noted that this situation led the Nigerian government to decline recognition for certificates from certain universities in West Africa, partly due to issues related to integrity.

He recalled an interaction he had with a student from one of the neighboring countries, who contacted him via Instagram. He said the student asked if she could receive a certificate without attending school, to which he replied that it was not possible. She admitted she already had one from the Republic of Benin.

He also recalled a senior colleague who abandoned his PhD programme due to the academic challenges and chose instead to travel to the Republic of Benin. This colleague later celebrated on Facebook, claiming he had earned his PhD, even mocking those that were still pursuing their degrees.

However, Professor Omosule doubts the long-term value of such a certificate, warning that if this individual wishes to work with it, he will either have to start fresh in a legitimate programme or abandon the idea altogether.

Findings revealed that the prevalence of online fraud among Nigerian youths is linked to the large number of graduates who obtained their certificates from unrecognised institutions abroad because many of these individuals struggle to find jobs and face frustration and psychological distress due to their inability to work with their degrees.

Omosule emphasised that as long as examination malpractice persists and students possess certificates they cannot defend, the desire to attend schools in neighboring West African countries will continue.

To counter this trend, he advised the government to increase awareness within local communities. Unfortunately, many parents lack education and are unaware of the current situation and government policies. Even when informed about the unrecognised status of these certificates, many still insist on sending their children abroad.

He also urged the National Orientation Agency to take action in the matter. According to him, parents, students and agents of foreign universities should be held accountable. These agents often mislead parents and students about the legitimacy of the certificates, claiming that recognition issues are due to political circumstances, such as the administration of President Tinubu.

In order to convince the students and their parents, these shylock agents tell them that if the students do not use the certificate for employment, they might consider other pathways, such as entering politics or leveraging it in their businesses.

Dr. Isaac Oladepo Onigbinde of McPherson University also explained that parents will continue to send their children/wards to institutions of higher learning in Togo and Benin Republic due to lack of confidence in the Nigerian educational system. “Nigerian people believe that anything from the Diaspora is of good quality while home-grown delivery is considered inferior,” he said.

The flip side of this, according to Onigbinde, is that Nigeria would continue to produce graduates that lack global competitiveness and local relevance.

The don therefore said to forestall this, it becomes imperative for the government to build local capacity. “There is a need to instill confidence in the people of Nigeria on the need to believe in the capacity of their country and the enormous resources therein. There is also a need for re-orientation of Nigerian people on the need to believe in the philosophy of Nigeria’s Project,” he said.

Also speaking, Dr. Tesleem Kolawole, a lecturer at Osun State University, confirmed the findings of The Nation that ignorance fuels the interest of many Nigerian admission seekers to opt for schools in Togo and the Republic of Benin. He said many of the students and the parents are ignorant of the law that bans universities in Togo and the Republic of Benin.

“When they told them about the ban, the new students realised that some of the past students are actually serving, and some of them have gotten employment somewhere, and they were not sacked.”

He said he was not sure whether the law that banned the schools is being enforced.

“I think the best thing the government can do to stop the students from attending these schools is to enforce the law that banned those schools and their graduates so that people will not fall victim again,” he said.

Slim hope

In addition to the government disengaging individuals with degrees from unrecognised institutions abroad, employers are also hesitant to hire graduates from these schools. Many who spoke with The Nation expressed their unwillingness to employ graduates from neighbouring countries’ institutions.

It will be recalled that the federal government recently terminated the employment of several civil servants and advised the private sector against hiring graduates from these schools.

Like many other employers who expressed reservations about the employability of graduates from these ‘foreign’ institutions, Bayo Bello, a Lagos-based lawyer, stated that he would not hire any graduates from these institutions unless they could prove that they were no longer involved in diploma mills and certificate racketeering.

He commended the government’s decision to ban degrees from these foreign institutions, saying, “The government took the right decision. Based on their operations, it has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that these institutions do not represent an ideal educational environment.”

Bleak future

To prevent Nigerian students from attending these substandard schools in Benin Republic and Togo, Bello suggested that the government should refuse to recognise any certificates issued by them.

Former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, said there was no going back on the decision of the federal government to cancel about 22,700 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and Benin Republic.

Mamman maintained that the decision to invalidate the certificates was not harsh as Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such “illegal” tertiary institutions dent the country’s image.

He said: “Most of those parading the fake certificates did not even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad.

“The fake universities capitalise on the gullibility of Nigerians who are patronising them.”

February 15, 2025
Community paper publisher Olowosago: I’ve operated successfully for 40 years without loan or contract

•Reveals his success secrets

•Recalls near-death experiences

Ahead of the 40thanniversary of one of Nigeria’s most enduring community newspapers, ‘Oriwu Sun’ a tabloid located in Ikorodu, Lagos, its publisher, Chief Monsor Olowosago, shares with Assistant Editor, Emmanuel Badejo the challenges that came with the paper’s success, among other issues. Excerpts:

What prompted you into community newspaper production?

I began my voyage into journalism in Britain. I graduated from the famous London College of Journalism. While I was there, I noticed a lot of community newspapers in London. It dawned on me that we didn’t have such in Nigeria, and I was determined to try it out when I returned to the country.

But I didn’t start immediately I returned from London. Between 1977 and 1979, I worked in some newspapers. By 1980 when ‘Concord’ took off, I joined the paper. I worked under the late Dele Giwa; first, as a sub-editor and later as a production editor for Sunday Concord. I was there for five years.

In 1985, I resigned to start ‘Oriwu Sun’. I began operations in a two-bedroom apartment in a family house in Ikorodu, and I thank God that that little baby born almost 40 years ago, has grown and is still counting.

Was it your choice to study journalism or you got into it by accident?

Yes, it was my choice. It had been destined that journalism would make me popular. My interest in journalism began right from my secondary school days when I started writing articles that were published by a national newspaper, precisely, ‘Daily Times’. That further aroused my interest to go into journalism.

With my father’s support, I travelled to Germany. But I could not begin my training there due to language barrier. Thereafter, I moved to Aberdeen College of Commerce, where I had my A level study. After that, I went for journalism and I graduated in 1977.

When I returned, ‘Daily Express’ hired me. I was there as a chief sub-editor and went to join ‘Concord’ in 1980. I left Concord to start ‘Oriwu Sun’ in 1985.

How has the journey been four decades on?

In fact, I never thought I would reach 40 years with the paper. Let me say that it has been God’s grace that has sustained me these decades. I have never done any other thing apart from journalism. By April 25, 2025, Oriwu Sun will be 40 years old.

Let me say that our beginning was very turbulent. Due to some of the stories I was publishing, some big guys in Ikorodu saw me as a threat. During that period, I was attacked a couple of times. Many of those attacking me didn’t see anything good in what I was doing. Rather, they saw me as an enemy of the town.

Those early days’ near-death experiences made me tougher and to rethink and restrategise my style of reporting. The refocusing gave me the needed acceptance from the people.

This tabloid began with a few pages. Today, its pagination has tremendously increased. What have you been doing differently to attain this feat?

What can kill any newspaper is lack of advertisement. This is not applicable to Nigeria alone; the story is the same all over the world. But thanks to the late Chief Moshood Abiola, who used his printing press to assist me. I also made use of part-time reporters from Concord. I was able to understand the market and tailored my reporting style to meet their needs. I had to balance investigation with socially acceptable news.

You said you had to change your style of reporting at a time. Are you insinuating that journalists should be cowardly and timid?

No, that is not what I’m saying. As journalists of conscience, we must balance bravery with truthfulness and fairness. We should not be like a hit-and-run driver. We’ve heard of journalists that were killed in their prime, yet, nothing came out of their death. And producing a community paper like ours exposes the publisher the more because you live within the community.

The press is the fourth estate of the realm, which should always hold the government accountable…

(Cuts in) From my experience, journalists are not to be averse to the government. But we are to ensure we hold the government at all levels accountable to the people. And where you have to highlight some wrong doings with the government, you shouldn’t do it as if you’re out to bring down the government. That has been my strength. I have been using ‘Oriwu Sun’ platform to engage the government, particularly at the local level, to bring social engineering and development to our communities.

What else have you done or been doing alongside journalism?

I’ve published this newspaper for 40 years non-stop, and I’ve never done anything in my life besides journalism. I’ve neither collected contracts nor taken loans in my life. I’m contented.

As interesting as journalism can be, the profession is also delicate. That is why as a practitioner, you must take all necessary precautions before publishing anything. I have religiously kept to this rule over the years, and it has paid off. Reporters and editors must keep to the rule of the game, if they want to go far on the job.

Journalists are classified as endangered species. In your years of practice, can you recall some nasty experiences you’ve had?

Ah! I’ve had many nasty experiences, though that was in the early days of my publication. Cartels of cocaine pushers were many in Ikorodu. I decided to use my paper to expose them. Some of these guys and their backers decided to come for me. It was God that saved my life then.

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I’ve since learnt the new approach I now use. If I want to criticize anybody, I’ll do so in a milder way, so that your good intention won’t be misunderstood. That is one of the strategies that have sustained me till today.

In this digital age, how relevant is community newspaper production?

The importance of community newspapering to national development cannot be over-emphasised. It is at the vanguard of grassroots development and also brings issues of local communities to national attention, especially with the deft deployment of the pervasive influence of the internet and its social media offshoots. It is only a foolish government that will not use community journalism as its own propaganda, because community newspapers are very close to the grassroots. And due to the fact that news is close, community dwellers have no choice but to read your paper.

For instance, my job is to highlight the sufferings of the downtrodden and promote the government vis-a-vis the community on what they are lacking and who and who are the community champions. We also liaise the communities with the state.

There are many newspapers on the newsstand. What differentiates ‘Oriwu Sun’ from others?

‘Oriwu Sun’ is not like the defunct Concord or ‘The Nation’ or any other daily. It is quite different. I have explicitly answered this question through my book, ‘Practical Community Newspaper Reporting and Production’ published in 2023. The book contains all my experiences on this job in the last 40 years.

Running a community newspaper is not like other national dailies, you have to be very intentional to win the readers’ patronage. That’s how I was able to get the attention of past governors in major states.

This paper started in Ikorodu and you have remained here. How has Oriwu Sun positively impacted this sprawling community?

My paper has brought so many developments to Ikorodu and its environs. We started by torch-lighting wrong practices, we enlightened the communities, appealed to the government where necessary and brought about the right attitude. With this paper, there have been several government’ interventions running into millions in the education sector in Ikorodu.

On personal level, I have given numerous scholarships without discriminating against anybody. Interestingly, I do many of these quietly. With this community paper, we have been able to change things within the community.

How have you been able to manage libel cases?

Since the inception of this paper, to God be the glory, we’ve had just two libel cases. This tells you how we’ve been very careful with our gate-keeping. While we are almost done with the first case, the second case is still in court. We have observed that some libel cases are meant to gag the press from delivering its constitutionally assigned duty to the society. Therefore, newspaper houses and managers should not be afraid to respond to frivolous libel suits.

What’s your sustainability plan?

That is a very good question. I have five children, who are all graduates, doing well in their various disciplines. Ironically, none of them is into journalism. So, if your question relates to the possibility of any of my children taking over from me; it is doubtful.

I am forever grateful to God for how far He has enabled me to go. So, if I die today, I believe it is God’s will for me. I do not subscribe to a school of thought that canvasses killing somebody like me with diabolical means. I am not saying that doesn’t exist.

On the sustainability plan, none of my children is interested in journalism. Maybe as time goes on, I can sell the name to whosoever. I may bequeath the legacy to any of my staff I find worthy.

At this stage, who takes over is not one of my problems. I am glad that at least God has helped me to make a name in community journalism not just in Ikorodu, Lagos State, but in Nigeria.

You are now in your mid-70s. How long do you still intend to be producing this tabloid?

I will love to do it as long as I live. In fact, I’ll also like ‘Oriwu Sun’ to outlive me. But everything depends on available funds. Let me use this medium to appreciate all who have been supporting us financially. Without them, this paper would not have gone this far. All our governors in Lagos State and numerous illustrious sons and daughters of Ikorodu and beyond have stood by us through thick and thin, and I thank them for their benevolence.

When we started, we had fund constraints. But these policy makers have assisted us with advertisements. Ha, any paper that is not drawing enough advert will not last on the news stand. And I didn’t and still do not take this for granted as I still canvass for advertisements now.

Are you not worried that community newspapers are not popular in Nigeria?

Well, it is worrisome, I must confess. It is unfortunate that many of our youths are not ready to take such risk, engage in hard labour such as journalism. They want quick money now. Notwithstanding, I am trying to encourage many others to focus on community newspaper production.

The only thing in the future is community journalism. In London, in America, everywhere in Europe, the majority of the newspapers there are 80 to 90 per cent community newspapers. But in this clime, we emphasise national dailies over community dailies.

To make it worse, some of us who are into community paper today are not serious and neither understand the nitty-gritty of community newspaper production and management nor ready to pay the sacrifice.

In London, they don’t sell community paper. They just put it at the train station, in your house, or any other public space free of charge. They can afford to do that because such papers enjoy huge advertisers’ patronage.

February 15, 2025
UK returnee: My nasty experience as prison officer for 26 years

She had no inkling of what lay ahead of the prison walls, but her passion and fascination for the service endeared her. And for 26 years, Kenny Adekoya witnessed, first hand, life inside the prisons albeit as an official. In this interview with MUYIWA LUCAS, the Anglo-Nigerian recalls the gripping experience that changed her life forever, ventilating her frustrations and expression in her service year through her books. Excerpts:

What was your childhood like?

My parents sent my twin sister and I back to Nigeria in 1977 and we attended Methodist Girls High School, Yaba. After that we both sat for A-Levels. I proceeded to Lagos State College of Technology, while my twin sister stayed at Methodist Girls High School for her A-Levels. I failed my A-Levels and my twin sister went on to University of Ife. That extra year at home without my twin and being at home with my parents, was pure torture. This was later aggravated by the fact that my father insisted that I had to go to Ogun State University (OSU).

After crying blood over his decision, it actually turned out to be one of the best decisions my father could have made for me, as I found university very easy, compared to when I first came from abroad. The educational system was very different and I actually struggled at Methodist Girls High School and failed my A-Levels woefully twice. But my father had insisted that I take my JAMB, and that was how I got into OSU, which turned out to be one of the best four years of my life. I loved OSU. That was between 1984 and 1989. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.

Like most students in university, I played around for the first two years until one of my professors pulled me up and told me, ‘You don’t read and yet you pass. What do you think would happen if you actually read?’ He told me I had two years left to get a decent grade. He then said that his other students were studying around the clock, but just scrapping by in their grades. ‘I can see you’re not reading, but you’re still passing your examines.’

So that was when I decided to buckle up and get serious with my studies. I came out with a Second Class (Lower Division) then in 1990, I did my one year National Youth Service in Calabar and after that, I went back to the UK.

How did you find life in the UK?

Like everything else in the UK, you start with the menial jobs, because that is what they made you believe you were only good for. I got my first job at Pizza Hut, but they sacked me. They told me I was not good enough. I then went to work in McDonald’s, they sacked me there as well. I’ll never forget, it was on the 1st of October. So, I just decided that was it, I was going to stay in bed until January.

At this point, my cousins asked me to pack my bags and move down to the South East of London, so I did. The house share that I was living in comprised of people from other parts of Africa. One day, one of them asked me, ‘Don’t you want to work?’ I thought that maybe it was time. I got up and did something. They were doing these cleaning jobs in some colleges, so I joined them.

I remember what really stood out for me was the fact that the manager in charge of the cleaning crew, signed me up for a three-year contract, so when I told the guy that I was leaving, his first response was, but your contract is for three years. All I could think was ‘you think my father sent me to school to clean for three years.’ Needless to say, I left that job, as an old university roommate had told me about a Parking Company called APCOA, which incidentally had many Nigerians working there, and many of us were there for about four to five years.

How did you get the prison service job?

I think it suddenly dawned on a lot of us that it was time for us to get real jobs. So many of us went to the underground, Royal Mail, the National Health Service, Teaching, and a few of us chose the prison service. The first time I went to attend a JSAC, which is an Assessment Centre at HMP Wandsworth, where you had to do a number of role plays, both my colleague and I failed the JSAC. A few, weeks later, an advertisement came out in the Evening Standard seeking female applicants for the job of a Prison Officer at HMP Holloway. I used to have a morbid fascination with Holloway, especially the stories behind its history, so I applied for a job there.

What was your experience as a prison officer like?

The first thing I have to say about prison service is that it wasn’t the prisoners who were the problem, I mean you have a prisoner, you know, they are in prison because they have committed a crime. They have been sentenced and they are paying their debt back to the society. I used to get along with the prisoners, as long as you didn’t lie to them and you told them as it was, they didn’t have a problem. A lot of them used to talk to me. Even when I moved to the male estate at Brixton, the prisoners always talked to me, it was almost as if they needed to get things off their chest. That was when you realised that a lot of these prisoners had very sad, tragic lives, especially the women.

It was very hard with the women because you just think, this could be my younger sister and that’s when you wake up to how easy it is to end up in prison. The biggest problems for most of these girls were their friends and the people they associated with. It was tragic. I mean, when girls cut up and self-harmed, it was on another level. It was a very sad time in the prison service, especially in the female estates.

The main and only problem in the prison service was the management. It still exists in a different century. It took us a while to realise that they actually did not reckon with us. As far as they were concerned, we were a means to an end. If you’re in a prison with majority of black prisoners, they noticed that we got on with them. We could talk to them. They would just come in and throw a spanner in the works and cause untold problems.

Because of the nature of our backgrounds, the prisoners would listen to what we said, apart from when the gang element came in. Our counterparts treated them appallingly and would talk down on them, and I would tell them, you are talking to a gangster and they would wonder why they were being beaten up.

When you say the problem is the management, what do you mean?

The problem was the management- the staff. I think you have to read my book to understand what Holloway represented, otherwise I might end up writing a booklet. Management operated like they were still in the colonial era- ‘People of Colour’ were simply beneath them. Unless you were prepared to bow down and kiss their feet, or you adopted the attitude of ‘yes sir, no sir, three bags full,’ you were not going anywhere in your career.

I got promoted to senior officer and that was where I stayed for the next 20 years because they realised that, with this one, there was no way they would ever get what they wanted from me. We Nigerians are very stubborn by nature. But they have a systematic way in which they slow your career down, they apply rules and regulations, which little by little starts to break you down. I suppose my breaking down took longer than most, as I was extremely stubborn and I hated injustice in all its ramifications. But frustrations and mental, physical and emotional wellbeing eventually set in and they eventually did break me down. They succeeded because it was not just one person I was fighting against but an institution. And it’s not just one person they sent after me; it was nine of them. Where one started, another would take over with the bullying, harassment and intimidation, and it was relentless until they eventually broke me. They viewed us as being stupid because we were black.

I fell into a very deep depression, whereby I could hardly get out of bed. I was engulfed in a thick cloud of misery that I couldn’t get out of. It took me a while to reach out to family and friends for help, but eventually I had no choice. I think what was even sadder was the fact that colleagues and so called friends I had known and worked with for many years, they just turned their backs on me. They said that we could never beat these people, so I was left to my own devices. They used to say to me that my English was very good and they asked if I went to a public school. I would simply tell them that I went to a school in Nigeria called Methodist Girls High School, where they taught me how to speak the Queen’s English.

What really baffled me was the fact that a white person could not speak proper English, not to talk of writing it. When we used to read the prisoners letters, I used to think, are they taking the mick, I mean they used to write as they spoke. When I used to write up documents, my colleagues and management would go into panic mode because I would be very explicit in what I wrote, everything had to have a beginning, middle and ending. They used to be very anxious and weary about the things I wrote, because all they did was cover things up, especially the truth. But I refused to be a party to any of that.

At one point, if I wrote something in a document that they deemed to be incriminating, that document would just simply disappear. In the days when we had to write reports on a prisoner’s behaviour, which was supposed to have been handed to the Judge, the prisoners would bribe the officers to destroy their documents so the Judge would have no idea about what the prisoner’s behaviour was like in the prison. The prison service eventually came up with a system where they set up a computer system that was literally fool proof and could not be tampered with. Then a few years later a second system was set up, which was connected to the police, the judges and probation. So, if you wrote something on a prisoner’s case notes, nothing and no one could change it. The only one who could amend the case notes was the person who had imputed the information on the case notes in the first place. But the original information would still remain. So you would have to justify your reasons for amending the case notes.

It was a truly nasty, horrendous experience working for the prison service. And after 26 years, I finally retired last year, April. I simply had nothing left to give. However, it was in writing my stories that I was able to heal and move on with my life, and I found my purpose in writing.

My first book, ‘The Story That Had To Be Told,’ tells of the trauma I experienced, specifically at HMP Brixton, because it was the worst. In my second book, ‘What really happens in a 21st century British jail,’ it covers my entire 26 year experience as a ‘Person of Colour’ working in the prison service. And my third book is a departure from the first two, as I talk about the different kinds of abuse and exploitation, and I interviewed the brave women who had survived domestic violence.

Because of the colour of our skin and those staff who came under the umbrella of Protected Characteristics, we suffered unimaginable abuse and trauma through racism, direct and indirect discrimination, bullying, harassment and intimidation, as these traits were embedded in the very fabric of the British jails. They tried to pretend that it was not there, but by their actions and the way in which they treated us, it was there, simmering beneath the surfaces.

Over the last few years, the prison service did try to make some changes, mainly because they were losing too many staff. So, as usual, they put all these new policies in place to try and combat a lot of the disparity going on between our white colleagues and the staff from black Asian minority ethnic backgrounds. Some of the policies worked, but a lot did not, mainly because the root cause of the problem was never addressed: the managers.

So what next after your 26 years in the prison service?

Now my plan is to come back home and write stories about Nigeria, about our vast history, culture and identity, as well as touching on those raw hard-hitting topics which are not particularly nice but need to be told.

Was it a case of necessity that made you join the prison service?

It was a passion, I was simply mesmerised with all of it. I found it absolutely riveting, particularly with Holloway, the mystery of what could be lurking behind those walls. It was not even the case- it was a necessity to get on in a country where it was very difficult for black people. No, I did not even think along those lines. Until you entered the prison service, everything after that was an eye opener.

I remembered growing up in London and there was a TV Series called ‘Within These Walls.’ It was about woman’s experiences in a female jail, and I believe that was what led to my captivation with Holloway. When I saw the advert in the ‘Evening Standard’, I thought, oh my God! I just jumped at it. Most jobs in those days were advertised in the ‘Evening Standard’. So on a cold rainy day in April 1998, I joined Her Majesty’s Prison Service.

What were the things you enjoyed while in prison service and what were the low points?

I think I have put all the low points in my book. The system itself, they really did keep us down and made sure we stayed down. A credit to the prison service is that they do train you very well. They give you life skills that will take you anywhere in the world. I have got to give them that. Along the way, I met a lot of decent people and I learnt to never judge a book by its cover, meaning that you should get to know a person before you pass judgement on them. I also learnt how easy it was to end up in jail, and believe me when I say not everyone serving a prison sentence is actually guilty of a crime.

Did you at any point get assault or something inside or outside the walls of the prison?

On the inside, the prisoners would always rain down abuse on you, especially if you told them no. And I did receive a few threats over the years. But in many ways, I was very fortunate that the prisoners never really targeted me. I only got badly injured once, but that was because I intervened when two prisoners were fighting and one of their punches hit me. They were not aiming at me, but as I was standing at the top of the stairs, I fell backwards, down the stairs. I remember I hit my head and it bled and bled. I was in so much pain. It felt like I had been hit with a sledgehammer. It was only afterwards when they tried to give me some painkillers that I realised my right hand was very swollen and I later found out that I had broken four of my metacarpal bones in my right hand. It was whilst I was in hospital that I found out that I had a concussion and a concussion really does mess you up. I had memory blanks, I had to change my glasses.

My sleep pattern totally changed. Whereas before, whenever I felt tired, I might dose or get up and go straight to bed, after my injury, I would not even dose. I would be out like a light, with no warning. It changed so many things in my life. At that time, I was off work for about nine and a half weeks.

What would you have done differently from hindsight?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I have now learnt to pick my battles. I would like to think I am wiser now. At that time, I was very arrogant and full of myself, and I had a very strong aversion to bullies, I just hated bullies. Even as a kid in primary school, my twin sister would go to school nice, neat and proper and return home in that same state, whereas I would come back home with my clothes torn and my hair all over the place, and my dad would beat the living daylights out of me, only for me to do the same thing the next day.

I always fought for the underdogs. If you bullied someone on my watch, I was there to defend them. I just could not stand bullies. And that’s where the problem stemmed from. I always stood up for people who had no one else to stand up for them.

However, looking back, one has to ask the question, was it even worth it? I got into so much trouble at home and the people I even stuck my neck out for did not even appreciate what I had done. So the question, would you do things differently now? I would reply: most definitely, and maybe walk away from a few of the things I did, because in a prison setting, my stubbornness and sense of injustice bordered on stupidity, because I was not fighting a group of people but an institution, and I could never beat them.

I suppose to my credit, I did finally win my battle against the prison service. But it was at a great cost to me and at a great detriment to my mental, physical and emotional health. The fight literally drained me to the point where I was left an empty shell of my former self.

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To give credit where credit is due, they did eventually remove some of the narcissistic managers. I mean, they literally walked them out of the establishment and replaced them with new people. The prison service has a major problem recruiting and retaining staff, especially now that the prisons are so violent. About eight years ago, they had to almost double the wages of staff, just so that staff would stay. But staff would still leave and say I’m not doing this job for no amount of money. And the reality was the prison service is not the kind of job you can do for money.

You talked about gangsters in prison. How did they thrive? Did officers experience any form of compromise?

Oh yes. You had the young new female officers who had been conditioned and compromised with the prisoners and they ended up smuggling contraband into the prison for the prisoners, like mobile phones, sim cards and drugs. As one of the senior officers on the Residential Wings, I made it a point in my briefings to tell the staff that if they felt that they were being conditioned and compromised, they should come and report it. I explained to staff that once they gave in to a prisoner’s demands for sexual favours, that prisoner owned them and he would then pass them around to the other prisoners. I could not think of anything worse than being owned by a prisoner.

The gang leaders were proficient in the art of manipulation, as they managed to entice the young boys into their gangs, some as young as 10 years. The gangs were simply cults, and they did whatever the gang leaders told them to do. If I asked 100 boys or teenagers or adults how they got into a gang, they all gave me the same answer: ‘peer pressure’. These guys would tell me: ‘Miss, they sold us a dream’. And they would lavish them with everything, trainers, money, clothes, you name it. But at one point, that dream would come to an end and reality would set in: it is give and take, after all. The gang leaders would tell these young guys I have been giving you this and that, now it’s time for you to pay it back.

His instructions would be ‘go to that door, and whoever opens the door, shoot them.’ Unfortunately, in a particular instance, they went to the wrong door and ended up killing the wrong man; a family man, who had his sisters, mother and grandmother in the house. I started to go to the courts with the high risk prisoners, and I remember there was one of them who got guilty verdict, and as part of my duty of care, I asked him how he was feeling. His response surprised me as he said, ‘Miss, I’m going to tell you the truth: I either get a life sentence or I get dead.’

And that was the reality of their lives. They either get a life sentence or they got out and were killed by rival gangs. He further stated that his friend had gotten off a murder charge, but he was dead today. The Judges have no answer to this onslaught of murders, so the best solution they could come up with was to lock them up and throw away the key, because at least that got them off the streets and they were rarely released after they have served their minimum term.

Any advice to Nigerians who still wish to japa?

The grass is not greener on the other side. And if you are willing to be frustrated and spoken down to in a derogatory manner by an unskilled, half qualified superior, then you would be fine.

When I wrote my first book, I had friends and family who called me. They worked in all sectors of society: the National Health Service, the Underground, teachers, you name it. And they said, ‘Oh my God! This is exactly what happens in our workplaces.

My advice to anyone who wants to travel abroad would be to try and get your first degree here in Nigeria or even better obtain your masters’ degree, because there are so many distractions abroad. They have all those highly qualified skilled programmes – that would be a great opportunity. And if you are determined to relocate abroad, just be ready to be frustrated. You have to be hardworking and ready to persevere more than anything else.

Can you mention some of the books you have written?

The first one, which is already out on Amazon, came out last year. It is called, ‘THE STORY THAT HAD TO BE TOLD.’ It was based purely on my experiences in one jail. I wrote it because I was in such a deep, depressive state. But in writing that book, it became my outlet for all the pain and anguish I was going through. I was in such a bad state that there were times when I could not even get out of bed, so I just started to write all that I had been through, my experiences, my torment and what they had done to me. And then I thought, you know what, I want my story out there.

In fact, before I started on this journey, I had no intention of even talking to anybody about it. I wanted my books to do the talking for me and I would probably only do this in Nigeria because of my literary agent, Deji Onafowokan, but on a very small scale, as I have no desire whatsoever to keep talking about one of the most painful periods in my life.

My second book, ‘WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN A 21ST CENTURY BRITISH JAIL’ concludes the healing process and should be out on Amazon anytime now. My third book, ‘ALL MANNER OF EVIL.’ is now me being a writer.

February 15, 2025
‘I lived with stigma of school dropout until ten years ago’

•Reveals how near-death experience in Kano ethnic crisis shaped her world view

•Says women like Alakija, Okonjo-Iweala inspire her

Fresh from receiving an honorary doctorate in leadership and corporate governance from- American University of Peace and Governance, the CEO, JC Kline Group, Dr. Joy Ekemezie, could well be described as the face of contemporary successful African youth. Coming from the low-point of being labeled a school dropout and growing up in tumultuous Northern Nigeria, Ekemezie now holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and sits atop a group of successful businesses, with more in the offing. She shares her story of belief, education, and motherly inspiration with PAUL UKPABIO

What was growing up like for you?

Born and raised in Kano State, I reminisce about a pivotal moment from my childhood that continues to echo through my life’s journey. Back when mobile phones were a luxury and communication was a challenge, a crisis swept through our town, prompting my mother, a school proprietor, to swiftly gather me and my siblings into her trusty green beetle. As we maneuvered through deserted streets towards Vukabu Barracks, the designated safe haven during tumultuous times, fear lingered in the air.

I remember vividly the contrast between the palpable anxiety surrounding us and my mother’s unwavering composure. Her calm demeanor, coupled with quiet prayers invoking the name of Jesus, became a beacon of strength for us children. Witnessing her resilience in the face of uncertainty left a lasting impression on my young mind.

That defining moment instilled in me the value of remaining steadfast amid life’s storms, of navigating challenges with grace and faith. As I reflect on that experience, it serves as a guidepost in my personal and professional life. I’ve learned to weather uncertainty with poise, to stay composed in the face of adversity, drawing strength from within to tackle obstacles head-on.

This lesson in resilience and unwavering faith has been a guiding force in my entrepreneurial ventures as well. When faced with a critical business dilemma involving potential losses and operational setbacks, I channeled my mother’s calm resolve. I tackle the situation with confidence and belief that a solution would emerge, avoiding panic and focusing on proactive problem-solving.

You were recently conferred with an honorary doctoral degree by the American University of Peace and Governance, USA. What is the feeling like?

A little over a decade ago, I bore the weight of being labeled a school dropout. Today, standing tall with a doctorate degree in hand, the journey from then until now has been nothing short of transformative. As a young woman juggling business to fund my education in Industrial Mathematics, the overwhelming demands of school, work and navigating cultural transitions took a toll.

The stigma of being labeled a dropout momentarily dented my self-esteem, yet it sparked a fire within me. So I made a solemn vow not to let labels define my path; instead, I use them as stepping stones to inspire others. So this doctorate serves as a testament to both humility, recognising a higher power at work, and satisfaction, knowing I can share my story to uplift and empower young women everywhere.

Aside the honorary doctorate in Leadership and Corporate Governance – American University of Peace and Governance; I have certificates in Owner-Manager Program (Pan-Atlantic University); Developing Analytical Competence for Managing Operations (Pan-Atlantic University); Strategy Execution for Public Leadership (Harvard); Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM); Diploma in Human Resource Management – CIPM and a Master of Business Administration – National Open University.

What are your major interests in peace and corporate governance?

Growing up in the northern region, I have been a witness to various crises that shook me to my core. There were moments when I feared for my life and that of my family, facing the looming threat of insurgency. The haunting memories of past near-death encounters have stayed with me, fueling my deep-rooted passion for advocating peace and unity in our beloved country, Nigeria.

Having experienced firsthand the devastating impact of insecurity in both the north and now the South-east, I am driven by a strong desire to spread awareness, offer prayers, and actively contribute to fostering harmony and stability. It is crucial for us to understand the profound effects of tribal and ethnic conflicts on our children, the detrimental consequences of insecurity on the economy, and the living standards in affected regions.

Additionally, corporate governance holds a significant place in my interests. Through my recent participation in the LBS programme, I have gained valuable insights into the importance of corporate governance, reinforcing my dedication to upholding ethical standards and effective management practices in the business world.

Is a peaceful world possible in the face of inequality?

There’s a common saying that what is equal doesn’t always seem fair, and what’s fair isn’t always equal. Taking Nigeria as an example, I believe it is possible to achieve peace amidst inequality if the government takes decisive steps toward implementing effective wealth redistribution policies. In various parts of the world, governments adopt different tax strategies, such as progressive, proportional, and regressive taxes, to manage inequality. Nigeria, therefore, could establish policies aimed at cushioning the impact on the less-privileged, thereby managing inequality better and fostering peace.

You are also a successful business woman. What would you say is the correlation between education and success?

My mother’s role as a school proprietor laid the foundation for many of my achievements, which I attribute to God and a passion for learning. Throughout my journey, I have embraced continuous learning, recently completing courses at Pan Atlantic University and Harvard Business School. Looking ahead, I am set to embark on a course at Harvard Kennedy School in 2025. As a decade-long entrepreneur, I have discovered that continuous learning serves as a powerful tool, a shortcut that navigates one away from failure. Challenges and setbacks remain inevitable, yet learning reshapes our understanding of failures, nurturing a deeper bond with our businesses, guiding decisions, and amplifying both capacity and momentum. Education surpasses mere knowledge; it involves mastering oneself to a certain degree. Being open to assistance, embracing new information, and maintaining a receptive state are all integral aspects of the learning process. By adopting a learning mindset, akin to tuning a sponge to the frequency of knowledge, I have welcomed individuals eager to contribute to my journey, enhancing my critical thinking skills and offering fresh perspectives on navigating complexities.

What inspired your venture into the business world?

I like to refer to myself as a born businesswoman. Looking back to 2007/2008, amidst my part-time studies in Industrial Mathematics, the memory of hustling to sell bags to cover my educational expenses and daily needs remains vivid. Alongside, I cultivated skills in fixing lashes and styling hair, demonstrating my commitment to self-sustenance during my academic pursuits. Guided by the influential presence of my mother, a dedicated proprietress, I absorbed the essence of teaching, crafting lesson notes, and designing examinations for students. Yet, my heart gravitated towards the entrepreneurial realm.

My mother stands as a beacon of industry, diligence, brilliance and resilience – a role model whose interactions with the Kano government bespoke her values, diligence, and dedication. Through her example, I witnessed the harmonious blend of faith in God and business acumen, observing her navigation through triumphs and setbacks with unwavering strength and determination. Her unwavering spirit and resolute refusal to surrender left an indelible mark on me.

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Transitioning to Abuja, my entrepreneurial flair led me to embark on customising bed sheets for hospitality establishments and healthcare facilities while scouting for employment opportunities. It was at this juncture in 2013 that the inception of my company, JC Kline Limited, came to fruition. The aspiration to meaningfully contribute to my nation’s economic fabric, fostering employment prospects, and serving as a beacon of hope for myself, my family and my community ignited a transformative spark within me, shaping the essence of who I am today.

How have you managed to combine education with business so well?

Mixing education with business isn’t straightforward and depends a lot on how you view it. Despite the hurdles, like flying to Lagos every month and the intensive nature of the course which often kept me up at night, I kept going. A recent chat with a friend left me with a memorable thought – he said every successful businessperson must embrace continuous learning in whatever form that suits them best. Running three subsidiary companies in different sectors while pursuing further education is challenging, but my drive to make a difference compels me to keep learning.

The fast pace of the world, especially with technological advancements disrupting traditional business models, demonstrates the need to stay updated. Failures of giants like Nokia and Blackberry, contrasted with the evolution of companies like Apple and Huawei, reinforce the importance of adapting and evolving. I view education as a means of acquiring, assimilating, retaining knowledge and information that positively improve decision-making. The Owner Manager program at Pan Atlantic University helped me restructure my companies, allowing them to function independently under two separate MDs, which has led to consistent results an

With more female at work places these days, do you see the home front management/marriages being threatened?

As a female CEO, I find inspiration in women like Folorunsho Alakija, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Malala, Ibukun Awosika, Adaora Umeoji OON, Dr. Owen Omogiafo, Dupe Olushola and many others who are rewriting the story. We’ve witnessed women stepping into groundbreaking roles – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as Liberia’s first female president, Michele Bachelet leading Chile, and Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia. In Nigeria, C.P Hauwa Ibrahim stands out as the first northern woman to become a police commissioner. It is clear women are making strides, but why view this progress as something negative?

Managing a home and raising a family shouldn’t be the sole duty of women. It’s a joint effort. Both partners must commit daily to making their relationship work. This belief is why I strongly support teaching work-life balance in schools. At Pan-Atlantic University, for example, one course invites families to participate in activities together. I’ve seen firsthand how teamwork and shared goals, like a couple in my program, can strengthen relationships.

Women’s involvement in the workforce isn’t just about economic benefits or personal achievements. It sets an example for children about equality and cooperation. I hope for a future where the growing presence of women in work is seen positively, sparking conversations on how this can lead to beneficial reforms and a better balance between professional and family life.

February 15, 2025