Category: Special Report

The Federal Government, in a bid to push back hunger, declared a state of emergency on food security. The focus of the declaration is on revamping the nation’s agricultural sector by, among other things, deploying some savings from the scrapped fuel subsidy regime into a number of interventions such as concessionary capital/funding to the sector especially towards fertiliser, processing, mechanisation, seeds, chemicals, equipment, feed and labour. While operators and stakeholders in the agric sector admit that the move speaks to the fact that government is attuned to the unmitigated hunger and starvation ravaging the land, they, however, put forward some suggestions to ensure the intervention doesn’t go the way of others before it. DANIEL ESSIET reports

If robust and timely policy intervention is the only thing required to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria’s struggling agricultural sector, then, the country looks good to draw strength from the Federal Government’s recent declaration of a state of emergency on food security to push back the unmitigated hunger and starvation currently hitting hard on majority of Nigerians.

 The Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN) personified this thinking when it described the declaration as “a timely intervention, “noting that it came at a time the devastating effects of flooding and rising cost of farm inputs, for instance, were taking a huge toll on farmers and hurting food production, resulting in pervasive hunger.

 However, the all-out war against hunger, as encapsulated in the July 13, 2023 declaration, though timely, must, in the opinion of operators and other critical stakeholders in the beleaguered agriculture sector, be matched with clear implementation plan if it must not go the way of other strategic interventions before it.

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 Apparently worried by Nigeria’s soaring food inflation manifesting in skyrocketing prices of food items and the attendant hunger ravaging  Nigerians, and determined to halt the scourge, the President Bola Tinubu-led administration declared a state of emergency on food security.

  Accordingly, the government said some savings from the scrapping of fuel subsidies will be redirected to revamping the agricultural sector.

 Also, all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, will henceforth, be within the purview of the National Security Council.

 Other intervention strategies under the administration’s food emergency plan that resonated with operators and stakeholders in the agriculture sector include the release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal; urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all year round.

 Others are the creation of a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items.

The Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy,   Dele Alake (now a ministerial nominee), who made the announcement, also said the administration will engage the security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attacks.

 Also, are plans to ensure all-year-round farming just as the administration seeks to emplace special purpose vehicles like commodity boards to liberalise the food production value chain.

 There is also a plan to activate land banks across the country (some 500, 000 hectares of already mapped land are said to be waiting for deployment), as well as the introduction of government-managed ranching to terminate the age-long and problematic nomadic animal husbandry.

 The emergency declaration on food security was indeed, timely. For one, it came at a time statistics on Nigeria’s food inflation and hunger have become uninspiring and indeed, a national embarrassment.

 For instance, food inflation hit 24.82 per cent in May this year, up from 24.61 per cent in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). And the soaring rate of food inflation is evidenced in the rising prices of food items such as rice, beans, bread, yam, vegetables, fruits, and eggs, among others.

Food inflation rose to 24.61 per cent in April 2023, from 9.78 per cent in May 2015. According to Trading Economics, the cost of food in Nigeria increased 25.25 per cent year-on-year till  June this year, led by prices for oil and fat, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fruits, meat, vegetable, milk, cheese, and eggs.

 This, in turn, has been a major driver of food inflation. In the North, FEWS NET reported that attacks on farmlands have led to devastating crop losses, while the non-clement climate compounded the food crisis problem in most of the states.

 Even before FEWS NET’s warning, the President of the Federation of Agricultural Commodities of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr Victor Iyama had alerted on the alarming insecurity situation in the farms, with agricultural production coming to a halt in a few of the northern states.

 In those affected northern states, crops were not harvested, agricultural infrastructure was destroyed, agricultural inputs were not being distributed, livestock was stolen or killed, and the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency had a psychological effect on farmers.

Following this, Dr Iyama highlighted the urgent need to provide farmers with the necessary resources to restart their production and to rehabilitate infrastructure to prevent food crisis.

 Cadre Harmonisé, a Government-led and UN-supported food and nutrition analysis carried out twice a year, warned that nearly 25 million Nigerians were at risk of facing hunger between June and August 2023 if urgent action is not taken. It attributed this to continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices.

Operators, experts react, point the way forward

 It was against this backdrop that the President’s declaration of a state of emergence on food security resonated with operators and experts in the agriculture sector. While noting that the plan was a welcome development, many of them, who spoke with The Nation, however, stated that government must match words with action, if the plan must work.

 For instance, the President, the Agricultural Society of Nigeria (ASN), Prof. Jude Mbanasor said President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security was an indication of better days ahead for the agriculture sector.

 According to him, the policy initiative was urgently needed to address Nigeria’s food crisis.

 While acknowledging that significant changes are afoot in the sector following the declaration Prof. Mbanasor said the government’s plan to immediately release fertiliser and grains to farmers and households, for instance, was in the right direction.

 He, however, insisted that for the interventionist policy to be hugely successful, the Federal Government needs to involve its members and other stakeholders nationwide for its effective implementation.

 According to him, sustainability could only be realistic through the input of agricultural scientists.

 Similarly, the President of the Cocoa Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Comrade Adeola Adegoke described the food security plan as “the lifelines that can help farmers recover from the tremors that have made disruptions across the sector.”

 His words: “Food sufficiency has always been the major goal of any serious government of any nation and Nigeria’s position shouldn’t be different. For any country to survive, food security is the key and the major determinant of any strong economy (import and export). So, this must be a welcome development from President Tinubu, pursuing his food security plans through the Security Council purview, especially agriculture and water resources.”

 Comrade Adegoke, however, warned that this (food security plan) must not be mere words, but matched with actions to create food sufficiency in due time. He, therefore, urged the government to seriously scrutinise and rethink current policies and programmes to better benefit farmers, increase food security, and build resilience in the face of climate change.

 According to him, the sector has been vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with production largely characterised by subsistence farming practices resulting in low crop yields, high dependency on rainfall, limited water access, significant post-harvest losses and poor management practices.

 Adegoke, who has been urging the government to step up efforts to achieve food security at the national and household levels, as well as enhance food availability and accessibility, expressed concern that Nigeria was faced with one of the highest population growth rates in the world.

 He said despite Nigeria’s high population growth rate, especially the growth of urban areas, agriculture productivity rates are not keeping up with population increase. He, nonetheless, expressed hope in the administration’s food security plan.

 The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Prof. Kola Adebayo, said a lot has to be done to enable Nigeria to become a food-secure country in the future, one of which is building the capacity and resilience of farmers.

Prof. Adebayo, however, pointed out that the food security plan does not specify any time frame.

 He also wants the government to prioritise improving storage and transportation facilities to allow timely food delivery to all regions of the country.

Furthermore, Prof. Adebayo said he wants a clear role for universities of agriculture and research institutes as they are necessary to address systemic issues contributing to food insecurity.

 His words:  “The other thing that needed to be brought into the plan is the role of existing agricultural establishments such as the universities of agriculture, research institutes, State Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) and special projects.”

 “Where are they (universities of agriculture and research institutes) coming in? What is expected of them? Would there be special provisions to enable them to contribute to the food security programme?,” Adebayo asked, pointing out that for him, research and knowledge sharing, and technical assistance are critical if the government wants to solve collective challenges faced by farmers across the country.

 The Chief Executive of Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr Olufemi Oladunni, also admitted that no priority is more pressing than addressing food insecurity to safeguard the calorie and nutrition needs of Nigerians. He added that the intervention had become compelling to enable households to cope with high food prices and shortages.

 According to Oladunni, record inflation has made basic foods unaffordable for many. He said:  “The issue of the state of emergency in food Security is long overdue. Once you notice that the availability, affordability and accessibility of basic food is getting beyond the reach of poor man, then there’s a crisis and it must be quickly addressed.

“This government has started very well, but the issue is being compounded by present food inflation and the high cost of energy.

 So, in the interim, releasing food from strategic food reserve is germane for the poorest of the poor and to reduce food prices.”

 For the National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN),  Kabiru Ibrahim, the icing on the cake of the government’s policy intervention in the agriculture sector was perhaps, the creation of a

 National Commodity Board will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilization mechanism for critical grains and other food items.

 Ibrahim said stated that the National Commodity Board will help farmers from being cheated by middlemen. “It is absolutely necessary for a formal commodity exchange board to be used as a vehicle for the sales and marketing of the produce of our smallholder farmers who are often cheated by middlemen and unscrupulous traders,” he said.

 Through this board, the government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices. The government also went a notch higher by listing a number of stakeholders on board to support the president’s intervention effort.

They include National Commodity Exchange (NCX), Seed Companies, National Seed Council and Research Institutes, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, food processing/agriculture processing associations, the private sector and Prime Anchors.

 Others are smallholder farmers, crop associations and fertiliser producers, blenders and suppliers associations to mention a few.

 “The policy that will aid the establishment of agricultural commodity market must be quickly put in place. This will guarantee standard, quality and price stability for consumers and all actors in the agricultural value chain,” Oladunni maintained.

 Comrade Adegoke could not agree less. He said: “Mr President has never hidden his views on the need to bring back the Boards to support his food sufficiency strategies. It must be known that the present total deregulation of the cocoa sector after the dissolution of the commodity board in 1986 set the industry backwards without any appreciable progress in quality, production, productivity, and the fair market mechanism to support the farmers.

 “The smallholder cocoa farmers have continued to bear the full cost of cocoa production without any appreciable support from the government at all levels unlike what was obtainable during the cocoa board era in 1986 and being done in Ghana and Ivory Coast that still retained their boards and presently with a production capacity of one million metric tons (MT) and two million MT respectively, while Nigeria is currently hovering around 300,000 -350,000 MT.”

 Adegoke, however, said CFAN will not support the purchasing power to be given to the marketing boards due to the bad experience suffered by the Nigerian farmers when they were cheated by the then boards through price manipulation.

 Agriculture experts and other industry stakeholders have also advocated the need for a review of the national agricultural Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) architecture if the country is to achieve sustainable food supply.

 They also harped on the need to address the absence of a national farmers’ database to allow the authorities closely monitor agricultural production areas, amounts, distribution, imports, inventories and prices to assess supply and demand on a rolling basis and implement policies necessary to stabilise food supply.

 According to them, the sector was not making progress as a result of poor data collection. For instance, the Deputy Managing Director of Project Incubation, West Africa, OCP Africa, Mr Caleb Usoh, said enhanced coordination at the state level is key if the government wants to accomplish food security from a strategic perspective.

He called for a thorough overhaul of the agricultural sector. While describing the plan as ‘quite commendable,’ he advised the government to work with the states on the food security plan to rethink and transform the production systems to produce better outcomes, foster innovation and enable sustainable growth.

 His words: “The plan is quite laudable with the President declaring a state of emergency in the sector. The plan conveys ideas. However, I have had issues with policy implementation in Nigeria over the years. We have very laudable ideas, we know the what, but the problem is how to do it.

 “The basic thing that we need in agriculture today is an enduring structure that will help the government translate brilliant initiatives to actualisation I tell you quickly that one of those best ways to get this going is to translate agricultural initiatives through states. The states should be the arrowheads of the implementation of any agricultural initiative.”

With issues around subsidy removal and economy still dominating public discourse, Prince Adewole Adebayo, presidential flag-bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the February 2023 general elections, offers insights into what the government should do to minimize the negative impacts of increases in fuel price, a development being controlled mainly by market forces. In this interview with some journalists, he spoke on many other issues bordering on the economy and welfare of the people. Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF was there. Excerpts:-

Subsidy removal, palliatives and other issues

There are two types of people who criticise the subsidy removal. Some of them are hypocrites and some are consistent. Those who criticised subsidy removal like me and other people, they have grounds to criticise the programme. But those who supported anyone, any platform that said they would remove subsidy from day one are hypocritical. Once you agreed to throw a five year old child from 10 floor of a building, you cannot say I am surprised the child broke the limbs. There is no way you will implement the policy they are implementing now that you are not going to have the same consequences. Economics does not admit of cheating. You can cheat in politics, you can inflate your numbers in politics, but when it comes to economics, you can’t. You have to take the right policies. If you don’t take the right policies, the consequences of wrong policies will follow.

 When we are talking about hypocrisy, the hypocrisy didn’t start with the labour unions, hypocrisy started with people who opposed former President Goodluck Jonathan when he had smaller amount of subsidy adjustment and all of them went on the streets against it. And when they came to power, they went in the opposite direction finished everything once and for all. It is not a political statement when you say people are hypocritical. We predicted all this. We were discussing it then. Nobody can pretend that they are not aware that it will affect factor cost. If it affects factor cost, it will affect cost of living. If it affects cost of living, more people will go into poverty. Just look at the position they took before and look at the position they are taking now. There is nothing new in what has happened; it is just the natural consequence of the action. And that was why during the presidential debate, we were pushing for alternative view that they should not do it, but they have done it now, nothing has surprised me at all.

First, we should stop misusing the word palliative. With N8,000, this is carried over from the existing 2023 budget. The carryover is the by-product of the plan the Buhari administration left behind as to how they would manage the subsidy removal. Even this £800m from the World Bank was negotiated by the past government. Policy watchers shouldn’t behave as if they didn’t know that it was in the offing. It appears the government is not aware of what we called monetary neutrality. When you have no food, you have no means of transportation, and when you have no Medicare, throwing money at you is not going to increase the number of service providers; it is not going to increase the value of real goods in the market. What it is going to do is that there would be waste, and the money will not be well used. When the money gets to the end user, it is useless to them in real terms because it does not have goods to chase with the money. In the end, it may cause a little bit of inflation. The way to go about it now is that the consensus as it appears that the Nigerian elite is behaving as if there is no alternative to subsidy removal. The subsidy has gone. I don’t agree with it though, but it is a policy of the government and it appears every mainstream political party and analyst agreed with that policy.

 And if you want to continue along that line, what you do is to delink the people from the value chain of petrol. And the way to do that is, for example, from the transportation and logistics point of view, you make sure that price of petrol does not impact on the ability of people to commute. That is why you see many cities, whether it is Singapore or London, what you see is that the common people don’t see the effects when the price of petroleum goes up or down because the government has provided public transportation that has been delinked from that. The common people are the easiest to take off that line.

 There are three factors affecting it (prices of goods) and none of them is accidental. It is the byproduct of our politics. We are either importing as we are importing now, or we are preparing the market in continuation of importation, meaning even if you are producing petroleum in Lagos, or Port-Harcourt or Akwa Ibom or Kaduna, the intention of the policymakers is that just as we don’t regulate the price of telephone, shoes or clothing or anything you buy in the market, you just follow what goes on in the international market. That is the policy position taken by APC, PDP and Labour, that is the mainstream right-wing parties in Nigeria.

 They are leaving the naira to what they call market forces and the market is regulated by foreign currency. So, even the Nigerian government has lost control over its own currency and has no control over how the petrol is traded. The inputs you use for petrol, whether it is the crude oil or refinery engineering cost, administration or manpower, they are all regulated by the US dollars. Unfortunately, most of the things people need in their lives are controlled by government policy but politics controls who goes into government. So, if you don’t identify your interest very well and articulate them and decide which of your life’s activities is going to be dependent on government decisions. Those who are dependent on government decisions should be involved in your politics

 If your well-being, sustainability, cost of living, employment, purchasing power, and ability to preserve the fruit of your labour to live in peace, all are implicated by government decisions. Therefore, they should be the ones to dictate your politics. These are the things you should consider when you are in politics. In economics, everything is about choice. There are many alternative routes to development. Nigeria is a resource-rich country. I am not saying that because of the number. I am saying it because of the quality of the people we have. Nigeria is rich in manpower. I think it is not too late for the government, starting with President Tinubu and co, to rethink and have a backup plan because I have a feeling, and I am saying it with every sense of responsibility, that if they go the way they are going, they will fail woefully. Not because they hate the people, but because they are adopting models that never worked. It will surprise everyone, including President Tinubu that, in the past two months, more people have entered into poverty and they are yet to succeed in lifting five people out of poverty. The measures they are taking now will not help the economy.

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Subsidy is one out of about 2, 000 government programmes that require spending government money. I studied them when I was running for President as I was looking for ways to cut cost. If you are looking at the top 100 money wasters, subsidy for petrol is not one of them. One of them is establishment costs – running the National Assembly and Presidency. Another is military spending. These are major wasters of government money. We need the military but not the waste that is there. The third is the management and funding of the JV (Joint Venture) and production-sharing contract. The fourth is fiscal management of taxation, the waivers they give which is a government programme where, apart from giving waivers, they tell business people to pay a little tax. The fifth is the way we subsidise foreign exchange. There are more than these I have stated though.

 We have a duty to refine locally because it is an industrial policy decision, except when the production is toxic and problematic. It is always better to produce locally. However, it doesn’t automatically guarantee lower prices. Of course, it guarantees employment, and reliability in case of distortion in the market and you have a marginal decrease in cost. Look at other things being produced in Nigeria. Their prices are not down. Most of the cassava we consume comes from Nigeria. Why is the price of cassava not falling? We have been producing cement in Nigeria for one decade after former President Olusegun Obasanjo was everywhere supporting few people who wanted to create a monopoly market or geo-monopoly market in cement. He said once we start producing it, everybody would have cement cheaply. Cement has never been cheaper. Rather, it is even worse than before. When the government wants to commit your resources to their favourites, they will tell you “let us put our money in the hands of rich private people and you will get good prices along the way.”

You will see that Nigerian banks don’t charge you more than the foreign banks even though the banks are in Nigeria. The law of economics doesn’t have a brother or sister. Once the person is in the capitalist world and he is trying to maximise his profit, he will sell anything to his own mother at any price. So, price mechanism is just a small part of developmental economics.

Possible effects of 40% electricity tariff hike as demanded by DISCOs

It is like government driving a trailer load of cement on top of somebody’s leg and you are saying you want to reduce the pain, yet you refuse to move away from his leg and yet you don’ t want the person to cry. This cannot work. How can we pretend that we don’t know that everybody in that value chain would continue to adjust his price to cope with it? You throw dirt upstream; everybody in the downstream waterway will have to deal with the debris. The product you are fighting over is in itself dependent upon on other factor cost. If you went down to adjust the factor cost, they will raise theirs too. Those are micro-economic decisions for individual firms to make because a government that cannot guarantee the price of petrol and take a policy decision and say “it is not my responsibility to guarantee petroleum prices,” such government cannot guarantee CNG or LNG. I think what government needs to do is to foster energy production by lowering cost for everybody including finance cost, infrastructure cost, freight cost and regulatory cost.

She cut her entrepreneurial teeth from a humble beginning as a bread hawker, propelled by the life-changing Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of the Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme (NSIP). Today, Binta Ismai’il is a proud owner of a thriving shoemaking workshop based in Abuja. Her inspiring grass-to-grace story, encouraged by the NSIP, going forward, could be the template for similar programmes aimed at enhancing and uplifting the living standard and livelihood of ordinary Nigerians. BOLAJI OGUNDELE writes.

The owes her meteoric rise to fame and fortune to being a beneficiary of the life-changing Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), an intervention programme under the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. Today, Binta Isma’il, a hitherto obscure roadside bread hawker, is a proud owner of a thriving shoemaking workshop.

Binta, a resident of Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is the new kid on the entrepreneurial bloc; her workshop, which is located in the same Abaji, serves as an employment outlet for apprentices and a profit-making venture for the owner.

It is also an income stream for those workers who earn their daily bread from the workshop. “I used to hawk bread at Abaji market. However, since I started collecting this money, I used it to register my new place of work,” she said, pointing at her shoemaking workshop.

Recalling with nostalgia how the CCT saved her life and improved her livelihood, Binta said: “I started benefitting from 2019 and it is the money that I used to buy these sewing materials and equipment that you are seeing in this shop.   

 “From the beginning, I enrolled and paid to learn the trade from the initial installment of the CCT that was paid to me, because at that time, I was hawking at Abaji market.

“I was hawking bread on my head, but since I started receiving the CCT stipend, I used it to register and learned the shoemaking trade and also used the same money and purchased the materials that I’m using for sewing, including the machines and equipment that I’m using for the trade,” she emphasised.

The CCT that propelled Binta to her current enviable status in the Nigerian entrepreneurial space is an intervention scheme under the NSIP established in 2016 by the Federal Government, under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The NSIP was aimed at addressing the immediate and long-term socio-economic imbalance and inequalities in Nigeria, alleviate poverty and stimulate accelerated economic growth for national growth and development. 

The NSIP was strategically conceived, designed and tailored to provide safety nets to address the immediate and long-term socio-economic challenges faced by the poor and vulnerable in Nigeria.

This was to bring succour and uplifting their living standard and ultimately accelerates rapid national development by enhancing their man power capability and up scaling their financial status through financial intervention in their businesses and other economic activities.

Apparently worried by the growing poverty, inequality and poor living standards of the citizenry, which led to uncomplimentary poor living standard ratings of Nigerians by local and international institutions, the Federal Government had introduced poverty alleviation measures aimed at mitigating and squarely addressing the negative impact of these socio-economic imbalances on Nigerians, who unarguably, constitute the majority.

This effort at uplifting the standard of living of the people and enhancing their socio-economic wellbeing was embarked upon by the government, despite failed attempts by successive administrations to address the nagging problem of excruciating poverty and poor living standards of majority of Nigerians.

Indeed, the majority of Nigerians have been wallowing in poverty, despair and hopelessness, despite huge human and material resources that abound across the length and breadth of Africa’s most populous country.

However, mindful of failure of past attempts by various administrations at different times, at addressing ravaging poverty among Nigerians, the Federal Government, under former President Buhari in 2016, established the NSIP.

Records have shown that the NSIP is the biggest and most expansive social protection and poverty eradication programme put in place by any government in Nigeria in order to address poverty and enhance the living standards and condition of the people.

Since its inception, the NSIP, which is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has benefited millions of Nigerians and continues to benefit directly and indirectly many poor and vulnerable people through its programme’s different clusters.

Many of its beneficiaries, who were hitherto poor or vulnerable, have been lifted out of poverty through the CCT. Many of them now own small businesses thus improving their quality of life significantly.

Another component of the NSIP, which has greatly impacted positively on the lives of many Nigerians, especially the youth who direly needed a push to actualise their dream and unleash their potential, is the N-Power programme.

The N-Power programme was aimed at providing Nigeria’s teeming youth with learning opportunities and job experience, as well as available income for start-ups of economic transformation initiatives for a more meaningful life and better living conditions.

While examples abound of many beneficiaries of the NSIP, Binta stands out. Prior to becoming a beneficiary of the NSIP’s CCT, she was a roadside bread hawker who earned her living from the hazardous trade of street hawking.

It is a known fact that street hawking is one of the major human capital development challenges militating against the personal development of its victims and constitutes a clog in the wheel of progress of developing nations including Nigeria.

 No wonder, the NSIP targets the disadvantaged and the most vulnerable members of the society such as the jobless and those who engage in petty trading and sometimes demeaning trades like street hawking.

The menace of street hawking poses a major threat to young people, particularly the girl child, who, apart from being denied the opportunity to acquire education for personal and national development, also falls victims of various forms of abuse such as rape, which cases are on the rise with daily report of sexual exploitation of young girls.

Therefore, the NSIP’s targeting of such unfortunate young girls gives hope to the hopeless and set the tune for national rebirth.

In this regard, the selection of such beneficiaries like Binta, whose hawking experience couldn’t be different from that of many young girls roaming the streets, rekindles hope and inspires her to achieve her full potential and serve as role model for others as encapsulated in her testimony. 

Binta, who has since been soaring on the wings of NSIP’s CCT intervention programme, was full of inspiration and admonition for those who engage in her former trade, which is not only demeaning to the women folk, but also detrimental to their physical, psychological, mental as well social well-being.

Such detriments ultimately, hinder women’s personal growth and constitute major development challenge, which, if left unchecked, could spell doom for the particular individual and the nation as a whole.

In the euphoria of her excitement, Binta has a piece of advice for prospective and fellow beneficiaries of the CCT programme. She admonished them to use the stipend by first enrolling to learn a trade of their choice and thereafter, save to secure a place such as a workshop.

Indeed, a visit to Binta’s busy workshop shows how life-changing interventions like the CCT can turn dreams and aspirations into reality. She said from the time she started selling her products (showing off some bags from their hangers), the intervention has proved to be a clear testimony of a new lease of life for its beneficiaries.

As enunciated by her testimony, the choice of Binta as a beneficiary of the NSIP’s CCT programme, indicates a programme with multiple benefits not only for the beneficiaries, but also for those who aspire for self reliance, economic independence and actualisation through personal development and exploit of their potential.

Indeed, if previous programmes of similar aim with NSIP were executed in the manner the CCT was handled, the poor rating of Nigeria on development indices by both domestic and international institutions would have a far better one which the citizens would be proud of.

This is so because the multiplier effects of the intervention resonate in many homes in Abaji, and beyond, which hitherto were either lacking in income or completely had no reliable, stable source of income for their sustenance. 

Judging by the excruciating pains sufferers of sickle cell disease (SCD) and the trauma their caregivers or parents experience, experts and stakeholders maintain that the Federal Government’s involvement in tackling the scourge should be improved upon and sustained. Associate Editor, EMMA ANYA reports

Sickle cell is not a commonplace disorder.  Usually, its symptoms appear early in childhood and vary from person to person; from mild to life-altering or threatening.

 Experts reel off anaemia, jaundice, swelling of hands and feet, stunted growth and development, stroke, pain, infection, fatigue and pulmonary hypertension as some of the indicators.

 Caregivers of sickle cell sufferers have as much as traumatic experiences as those who are victims.

 Narrating her experiences in giving care to her child, Keside, Mrs Calista Oluchi said: “It could be a harrowing experience taking care of a sickle cell sufferer. Nearly at age two, my last kid began having a recurrence of illnesses. Often, he would bounce back within two days.

“But one got me and my husband worried. The boy cried and shivered uncontrollably.

“I dashed across to the home of a family doctor adjacent to ours.

Immediately, the doctor came and examined Keside. He asked to know the genotype of my husband and I. ‘AS and AS,’ we said.

“The doctor administered some drugs to him and advised that we took him to the hospital if we did not notice any sign of improvement in hours.

 “As the doctor made to leave, he said: ‘Your boy should be screened to determine his genotype in our hospital, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC).

 “To us, his advice sounded outlandish. When Keside was one and a half years, we had taken him to a popular laboratory in our neighbourhood.

 “He was screened and the result was AA.”

Even though Keside’s health improved significantly after the doctor attended to him, Mrs Oluchi and her husband still headed for the FMC the following morning.

Attendants at the FMC rescreened him for genotype. The result was stunning. Keside was SS.

 To make assurance a double, the couple presented him for another round of screening; this time, at a well-known laboratory close to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). There it was also reconfirmed.

 It was then that the couple was convinced that they have a huge challenge before them.

 Keside has grown into an adolescent; and at 16, he is alive and is coping, even though, according to his parents, each time he has a crisis, he experiences excruciating pains.

 Aside from the pain Keside undergoes any time he has a crisis, his mother stated that the financial implications are humongous.

 Explaining their trauma, Oluchi said: “As parents, we do not only suffer emotional pain, the financial implications of managing a sickle cell child is monumental. At home, we ensure that all essential/recommended drugs are available in our mini-pharmacy. This is whether or not our Keside is sick.

 “There are two significant incidents in the challenges we have faced managing our son. They remain fresh in our minds.

 “One was an admission period in LUTH. It had to do with blood transfusion. Prior to this, he had had four or five that went without a hitch. This particular instance was harrowing. Keside was on oxygen. At the same time, he needed blood. Non-medics and resident doctors were on strike. There was also blood scarcity. To worsen the situation, Keside’s blood group (B negative) is hard to come by.

“For three days, we searched from public blood banks to privately-operated ones without success. On the fourth day, someone referred my husband to a blood bank at Adeniran Ogunsanya Street in Surulere, where luck smiled at us.

 “The snag, however, was that it was costlier but we had no choice. Our son’s life was more important than money.

 “My husband bought the required quantity and headed back to LUTH.

  “A consultant at the blood bank rescreened the blood and said that it had only two days to expire.

“At this point, my husband panicked so much. Keside was in bed desperately in need of blood and the doctor was mentioning expiration.

“Sensing my husband’s mood, the consultant tried to calm him down: ‘Let them go ahead with the transfusion but be sure you boost your son’s blood with blood tonic without iron and blended Kiwi,’” he advised.

 “After the transfusion was carried out, Keside started showing signs of improvement. Two days later, we were discharged.

 “The second time I will not forget was when my husband was away from Lagos. At 2:00 a.m., I called to inform him that

 Keside had another crisis. He was 700 kilometres away from us.

 “My voice conveyed the level of the crisis and my concern to him.

 “What could be done? Our oldest child, Justice, was nine years then. There was absolutely no way he could be left alone at home.

 “My husband directed that we should go the FMC. He knew it was risky but he assured me that God would take control.

 ‘Do not panic. Wake Justice and lay him in the back seat of your car to continue his sleep. Get Keside in the front seat and move,’ my husband said.

 Mrs Oluchi had no option but to move as her husband advised. She drove to the FMC Ebute Metta at that odd hour.

 Mrs Oluchi’s narrative formed part of the common threads that permeated the presentations and speeches by experts and guests at the June 19 World  Sickle Cell Lecture organised by Nigeria’s foremost sickle cell advocacy group, the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria (SCFN).

 Experts have maintained that wrong diagnosis is the first problem encountered in taking care of a sickle cell sufferer. The second is the challenges of managing sickle cell disorder (SCD) persons. Others were late diagnosis, knowing your genotype before marriage.

 The experts that made the presentations were Professors Edamisan Temiye and Titilope Adeyemo of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos.

Sickle cell disorder in Nigeria

Nigeria is said to be the epicentre of the life-threatening disorder globally. According to records, there are about 46 million sufferers in Nigeria.

 As far back as 2008, Nigeria was reported to be losing 100,000 infants to SCD yearly.

Indices from the World Health Organisation (WHO) also showed that the country accounted for 75 per cent of infant sickle-cell cases in  Africa and about 80 per cent of infant deaths from SCD on the African Continent.

 Out of the 200,000 infants born with SCD yearly in Africa, Nigeria accounted for 75 per cent of the births.

 WHO said that sickle cell disorder is particularly prevalent in areas of high malarial transmission.

 “The mutant sickle-cell gene confers a survival advantage against malaria which explains the prevalence of the disease in Nigeria where malaria is endemic,” it added.

In spite of the huge pains posed to people suffering from the disorder and the financial challenges faced by their parents, the Federal.

The government’s involvement in tackling the scourge is more than lethargic. This leaves SCD sufferers and their parents on their own.

 Former President Mohammadu Buhari, in one of his interviews last.

  December told a story of how he lost two children to sickle cell. He described the experience as harrowing but made no reference to what his administration was doing to tackle the scourge.

 In May 2023, the immediate past Minister of Science and Technology Olurunimbe Mamora announced at a ministerial press briefing that the ministry had invented Nutraceuticals for the management of disorders such as sickle cell.

 This elicited joy from people living with SCD and their parents, but findings revealed that the drug, whose name Mamora did not mention, is still in the works.

 In countries where the scourge is far minimal than in Nigeria, SCD sufferers enjoy better health care at a near-free cost.

 Those in the United Kingdom, for instance, do not only get free drugs, they enjoy free Medicare and, therefore, live healthier and longer than their counterparts in Nigeria.

 Before this, the nearest contribution by the government toward tackling the disorder was the development of Niprisan by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD).

Niprisan, a phytochemical, was formulated from indigenous plants (Piper guineenses seeds, Pterocarpus Osun stem, Eugenia Caryophylum fruit and Sorghum bicolour leaves.

But, Niprisan’s commercialisation was hampered by a lack of pharmaceutical capacity for drug formulation in the country.

Sickle cell disease explained

 The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has described SCD as a group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break down.

 With sickle cell disease, an inherited group of disorders, red blood cells contort into a sickle shape. The cells die early, leaving a shortage of healthy red blood cells (sickle cell anaemia) and can block blood flow; causing pain (sickle cell crisis).

People who have sickle cell disorder inherit two faulty haemoglobin genes called haemoglobin S–one from each parent.

 Types of SCD

There are several types of SCD. Some are HbSS, HbSC, HbS, , Hb HbSO and HbAS and HbSD. While HbSS and HbSC are common in West Africa, rare cases  as HbS, HbSD, HbSE, and HbAS and are not.

 The specific type of SCD a person has depends on the genes they inherited from their parents.

HbSS

 According to health experts, people who have this form of SCD inherit two genes, one from each parent, that code for haemoglobin “S.”

 Hemoglobin S is an abnormal form of haemoglobin that causes the red cells to become rigid, and sickle-shaped commonly called sickle cell anaemia. It is usually the most severe form of the disorder.

   HbSC

 People who have this form of SCD inherit the haemoglobin “S” gene from one parent and a gene for a different type of abnormal haemoglobin called “C” from the other parent. This is usually a milder form of SCD.

 SCD crisis

It is the pain that happens when blood vessels to parts of the body are blocked. The pain is usually extraordinarily severe and could last days or weeks. The four main types of crisis are aplastic, acute sequestration, hyper-haemolytic and vaso-occlusive.

 A sickle cell crisis is usually triggered by physical or psychological stress, cold weather, alcohol, tobacco products, loss of fluids (dehydration), infection, malaria parasites, and low blood oxygen (hypoxemia).

 Hypoxemia can result from very strenuous exercise, high altitude or certain medical conditions.

 People with SCD are prone to illnesses such as stroke and ulcers of the leg. The disorders also cause swelling of hands and feet, delayed growth and poor vision.

 Preventing SCD crisis

To checkmate the SCD crisis, medical experts recommend a daily intake of easy-to-access drugs such as folic acid, paladin, B-Complex, Vitamin C, Niprosan, Jobylin and immune-boosters.

Specialists also recommend that people with SCD make water their companion. Water, according to them, helps blood flow, thereby preventing the sickling of red cells.  Other liquids like juice that are rich in vitamins are also helpful.

 Fruits that are rich in minerals such as carrots, mangoes, apples and guava, among others also complement in preventing the crisis.

One of the main problems of SS people is low blood counts. For people with AA and AS genes, the life cycle of their blood cells is over 100 days. But for SS people, it is only 20 or 30 days.

While the full blood count of an AA or AS averages 36, for an AS, it is a maximum of 23. Because of their challenge with blood, it is highly advisable that they eat vegetable-rich meals, and take blood tonics without iron, beetroot and Kiwi regularly.

 It is also advisable that people with SCD should eat a lot of local beans called Olo by the Yoruba and sleep under the mosquito-treated net to prevent mosquito bites.

 The challenges of some SCD people are also compounded by ulcers and strokes.  For years now, SCFN is known to have taken the bull by the horn by ensuring that Nigerian children with SCD do not suffer a stroke as they grow. This is done by ensuring that those between two and 12 years undergo a screening process known as Trans Cranial Doppler (TCD).

 Managing SS crisis

 Most often, crisis sets in with joint pain, high temperature, headache, and other signs. When mild, home treatment can commence with the administration of painkiller drugs like Paracetamol or ibuprofen.

Regular water intake is also very important. Close monitoring is essential.

But, if the symptoms persist after some hours of home care, it is advisable that the person having a crisis be taken to the hospital for expert attention.

Advances in the management of sickle cell disorder

 Professor Temiye, a Consultant Haematologist at LUTH listed blood transfusion, HydroxyUrea and BMT transplantation as some of the new advances in the management of SSD.

Dr Sunil Gupta, a Haematologist and renowned Cable News Network (CNN)

 Health analysts said that low blood count occurs when a person has fewer red blood cells, fewer white blood cells, or fewer platelets in the body than what is typically considered to be normal.

 “In other words,” Gupta says, “the bone marrow of such an individual is not making enough of one type of a person’s blood cells.”

 A person with low blood count, otherwise known as Anaemia or cytopenia in medical terms, experiences tiredness, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat and weakness.

For those with SSD, the symptoms are usually more severe. To quickly rescue such persons, blood transfusion is usually introduced.

 Transcranial Doppler Scan (TCD) which SCFN introduced recently in Nigeria, said Temiye, has helped to save many with SCD, especially the young from stroke.

 TCD scan detects  , air, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, and many other compounds.

 It provides rapid, non-invasive, real-time measures of cerebrovascular function and can be used to measure flow velocity in the basal arteries of the brain to assess relative changes in flow, diagnose focal vascular stenosis, or detect embolic signals within these arteries.

 Temiye also provided insights into research breakthroughs in diets such as “Cajanus cajanb (…..) that have proven to contain abundant glutamine, alanine and phenylalanine with comparable effects on SCD with Hydroxy Urea.”

 Hydroxyurea, according to experts, does not only make red blood cells bigger, “it helps them stay rounder and more flexible and  less likely to turn into a sickle shape.”

The drug, according to the experts, does so “by increasing a special kind of haemoglobin called haemoglobin F.”

Haemoglobin “F” is also called foetal haemoglobin because newborn babies have it.

Although Temiye believes in the effectiveness of HydroxyUrea in SSD treatment, he warned that it has serious negative effects on the liver and kidneys, if abused.

 To forestall, the negative consequences, he recommended dosage based on the age of a user must be strictly adhered to. He also admonishes every user to always stick to programmed liver and kidney tests as recommended by experts in the management of SSD.

 He also alluded to Gene therapy as yet advancement in the curative approach to SCD. 

Gene therapy is “the introduction of normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in order to correct genetic disorders.”

 The expert, however, noted that Gene therapy is accessible only to individuals with high income.

 He assured that there is the possibility of a definite cure for SCD through technological improvement in gene editing tools and stem cell harvesting as well as promising clinical trials.

 As of today, he said, the only cure for SSD is Bone Marrow Transplant

 (BMT); a procedure in which “bone marrow cells are collected from a donor’s bloodstream with a needle inserted into a bone; typically a pelvic bone.”

Oftentimes, donors are usually direct siblings of persons requiring BMT.

 But some diseases such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, can prevent one’s sibling from donating marrow or blood-forming cells.

 A donor’s age is also usually considered in carrying out BMT. If the age difference is much, it is not always advisable.

 However, a new SS drug is currently being used in the UK. The drug,

 ADAKVEO, a brand of crizanlizumab, was produced by pharmaceutical giant, NOVARTIS.

 It is expected that 5,000 people with SCD will be treated with ADAKVEO injection, over the next three years.

 Experts in Nigeria are however yet to queue into the usage of the drug, which is highly regulated in the United Kingdom.

One of them told our correspondent that they were yet to embrace crizanlizumab in the treatment of crisis because “even in the UK, the long-term effect is still being studied.”

Importance of early and accurate diagnosis of SCD

Another expert, Prof  Adeyemo used some cases she personally handled to stress the need for would-be married couples to know their genotypes.

 Besides the deliberate decision to know one’s genotype, a number of opportunities do crop up, especially in gaining admissions into schools and employment, travelling and even during marriage counselling.

 In most of these instances, direct requests, she said, are made for would-be employees, admission seekers and about-to-wed persons to show proof of their medical fitness.

 Adeyemo lamented that most often, people fail to realise that complying with such requests could save them from negative health implications or even death.

 “Pre-school, pre-employment, pre-marital, pre-natal, community screening (outreaches),” she stressed, admitting however that  “there is yet the problem of misdiagnosis and genotype misidentification which have been very rampant as a result of lack of standards and quality control.”

 As Temiye, Adeyemo advised that SS screening should not end with one laboratory. According to her, the keyword is “repeat” the screening at a reputable health facility.

Early management of their case is imperative for married couples who knowingly or unknowingly find themselves producing children with SS.

Adeyemo advises that SCD children between the ages of two and five be made to undergo regular TCD screening to prevent them from being stroke-prone, having leg ulcers and kidney problems.

 “At eight to nine months of life, the kidney already shows signs of dysfunction (Sickle Nephropathy). Since SCD is a lifelong disorder, it, therefore, requires life-long comprehensive care,” she said.

She also identified associated risk factors such as recurrent acute chest syndrome, Vaso occlusive episodes as well as severe anaemia as some of the challenges always faced by SS people.

 Adeyemo said that “protective factors have been found to be induction of foetal haemoglobin by hydroxyurea.”

 “It is possible to live full lives and enjoy most of the activities that other people do as an SS person. An SS person should need to learn how to stay as healthy as possible, and that starts with the early and accurate diagnosis of the disorder followed by being enrolled in an SCD care programme.”

 Adeyemo advocated that the unlisted be carried out,  especially by the government and regulatory agencies:

•intensify national universal newborn screening programme advocacy

•engaging regulatory bodies to ensure laboratories eliminate/minimize systematic errors by routinely calibrating their equipment using controls, maintaining instruments and equipment and comparing values, and compelling laboratory operators to train and re-training their scientists.

Surviving and thriving with SCD

Toyin Adesola, a warrior, radio host and emotional intelligence coach was diagnosed with SSD at age six.

 She is now 56 and has pushed through most of the pains associated with the disorder. Today, she moves with two mobility aids–a mini-electric bike and a walking stick.

When you see Adesola, you notice a life of triumph – smile and hope radiating all over her.

 At the event, she told her story, including how her mother prayed for her to become a conqueror and warrior, a beacon of hope to others with SSD.

 Adesola’s key message was for those with SSD and their parents to “have positive mindsets tailored at conquering in the face of health challenges.”

 She also canvassed better healthcare and support from governments at all levels.

 Adesola also advised warriors to build “a support network within their families, friends and healthcare professionals.

 This, according to her, “will help them rise above the physical and emotional effects of the sickle cell disorder.”

Stakeholders speak

Eminent Nigerians that attended the SCFN event included Olorogun Sonny Kuku, Prof. Ibironke Akinsete and Founder of SCFN, Prof. Olu Akinyanju.

Also in attendance were Ibijoke Claudiana Sanwo-Olu, wife of Lagos

 State Governor represented by Dr O.J Olunuga, medical director,

 Ebute-metta General Hospital; CMD of LUTH represented by the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Dr Oshodi; World Health Organisation represented by Dr Memuna Esan; Pfizer Medical Director represented by Dr Chioma George, Global Action Network for Sickle Cell and other Inherited Blood Disorders (GANSID) represented by Mrs Lanre Ajayi and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health represented by Dr Deborah Odoh.

 Akinyanju, in his comment, stressed that SSD “is not something one should hide from the public. He pointed out that it was important to keep the “positive values of living above the myths around sickle cell.”

 While other guests, especially Kuku emphasised that sickle cell today is not a death sentence, Pfizer’s Medical Director stated that four million to six million people live with the disorder in Nigeria.

 The guest of honour, Prof. Akinsete lauded SCFN for sustaining the National Sickle Centre and contributing to research-making innovations.

 But Akinsete, who also pointed out that SCD was not a death threat, knocked the Federal Government for not doing much to tackle the scourge.

 She advocated Modern Comprehensive Care to drive the development of a holistic approach to management through medical and non-medical teams.

 Akinsete also stressed the need for a “concerted effort of both federal and state governments as well as international agencies to come up with a strategic plan for the management of SCD as well as financing.”

 Governments at all levels, according to her, should allot an appreciable percentage of budgets for the “creation of a comprehensive health care for those living with sickle cell disorder.”

Some communities in Ilaji in Olorunda-Ogunsola Local Government Area of Oyo State, including Idi-Obi, Kure, Jigan and their environs were seeing electricity for the first time in over 200 years of their existence. It took the efforts of the Chief Executive Officer of Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, Dotun Sanusi, to provide electricity for about 62 communities. TAYE ADISA reports.

or hours on Monday, June 5, 2023, guests from far and near joined the people of Olorunda-Ogunsola as well as Idi-Obi, Kure, Jigan and their environs, in Oyo State, when Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State inaugurated the electrification projects embarked upon in the communities by a man that is filled with the milk of human kindness and a revered philanthropist, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, Dotun Sanusi.

 The road leading to the community, the venue of the event, was literally shut as a huge crowd made their way to the site of the transformer installed by the philanthropist as his contribution to the social well-being of his people. The people that made up the huge crowd were there to behold a spectacle and catch some fun which rarely has been experienced in the community at least for a very long time.

 As electricity came alive when the governor switched on the transformers, the people burst into uncontrollable excitement. There was heavy drumming, singing, trumpeting and breathtaking dance steps by cultural dancers who thrilled guests who had gathered before the arrival of the dignitaries.

 The different talking drums of local drummers of Ilaji released deafening sounds in the effusive eulogistic oration of the man they fondly referred to as Ilaji, even though he originally is the Mogaji (family head) of Ile Olugbade in Ibadan. He also doubles as the Apesinola of Ibadan land.

 To signpost their happiness, residents of the affected communities trooped to the venue in numbers and in colourful attire of the day-an Ankara aso ebi. They danced, dined and wined as they marvel at what one of them called the unrivalled generosity of the Ilaji owner.

 It was all glamour and show of opulence, as an estimated crowd of  20,000 that included the governor’s entourage, traditional rulers, leaders of thought in the communities, community and religious  leaders, members of the benefiting communities, friends and  well-wishers gathered to witness a rare act of charity and benevolence  by one of their own.

 The weather was clement as if nature was exultant with the Mogaji’s magnanimity. It also depicted a natural endorsement of the act of  charity as the sun shone brightly out of the azure sky.

It could be understood why the people made merry till late into the  night. Many of the communities were seeing electricity for the first  time in over 200 years of their existence. So, for them, it was  welcome to the modern world.

Chief Abiola Adewale, the Akeweje of Akanran, a retired school  Principal, who supervised the power projects on behalf of Dr Sanusi,  said that the people of Akanran Local Government Area cannot but be  grateful to Baba Ilaji (Sanusi) because he has always come to their  aid.

 He said: “In 2018, the entire Akanran community was thrown into  darkness when electrical equipment was vandalised at Olorunsogo.

 Darkness enveloped the few Akanran that had electricity at the time,  extending to Olorunsogo in Ibadan.

 “We had met a contractor who gave a bill of N70 million and when we  met with Dr Sanusi, he asked whether we wanted money or the power  project. We told him we wanted electricity restored. The following  day, he bought 189 electricity poles and other materials and, within a  short while, the light was restored.”

That project, according to Chief Adewale, covers Alagbaa; Akanran  Village; Lanlehin; Oluku; Owanran; Alatise and Okugbaja villages.

Apparently impressed by the speediness with which Dr Sanusi handled the Akanran-Ibadan power problem, the community, again, through Chief Adewale, approached him with a list of communities, many of which have  never seen electricity in over 200 years.

Two projects were immediately agreed upon, leading to the execution of  the Olorunda-Ogunsola and the Idi-Obi, Kure, Jigan and their environs’  power projects with the electrification of two 300 KVA transformers  installed by Dr Sanusi.

 Adewale listed the communities that would benefit from the   Olorunda-Ogunsola power project  include Aare Alaasa Village,  Oniyangi, Ori Okiti, Ogunniran, Elesu, Daleko and Olubokun. The second  300 KVA transformer fixed for Idi-Obi, Jigan and Kure communities also  covers Alaago, Maye, Akuukutan, Adeitan, Isokan, Seriku, Ashipa,  Ekerin and Idi Ogun villages.

“Many of these communities have never seen electricity since their  existence,” Chief Adewale said. According to him, the twin electricity  projects have potentially turned around the fortunes of the Ona-Ara  Local Government Area socially, economically and politically.

“More markets will open; more event centres and more businesses will spring up. It will increase the tax collectable by the local  government and Oyo State. And to land owners, this is a period of  economic boom. The value of land has already increased from N200, 000  to N600, 000 per plot, unlike before when we used to sell an acre for  N150,000.

“A lot of people prefer to come here and stay rather than stay in the  town and we also know that the power projects will reduce security  threats,” the community leader said.

 He said upon the completion of the twin projects, Dr Sanusi has also  kick-started efforts to electrify more villages located within Ona-Ara  and Ido local government areas of Ibadan land.

The communities, according to him, include Bioku Alaadun, Tai Village,  Modina, Thy Will (Alaafia loju), Ifetola, Gbeleyi, Alagbaa-Mayo,  Ojugbode, Laduntan and Ifedapo in Ona Ara, while Lasokun-Apata in Ido  Local Government Area has also been listed. “In all, we are targeting  15 transformers for these communities,” he said.

The Baale of Olorunda-Ogunsola Community, Chief Oluranti Aremu, with  147 villages under his control, said that the communities will ever  remain thankful to Dr Sanusi, whom he called Baba Ilaji, for turning  around the living standards in his area.

He said: “What we can say is that Baba Ilaji has renewed our lives.

Ona Ara to d’otun (Ona Ara has been turned around). Before now, the  people of Ona-Ara were regarded as not indigenous to Ona-Ara and only  as farmland.

 “We never had industries here, but with the coming of Ilaji,  everything has changed. We used to only cultivate cassava, maize and  pepper. Now, we have different lifestyles here. There is no difference   between Ona-Ara and the main city.”

He said that Dr Sanusi has also touched the lives of the people in  different ways, including maintaining the only access road to the  area. “There was a time when the Olorunsogo-Akanran Road was only  accessible by motorcycles and bicycles. Dr Sanusi came to our rescue  and stabilised the road. He spent several millions of Naira doing that  for years. We are thankful to him,” he said.

On the impact of the electricity projects on the well-being of the  people, Chief Aremu said: “The electrification projects made us happy.

We have been waiting for years. Our artisans, including rewires,  welders, and others, have all become okada riders. But now, they have started repairing their shops and now businesses such as cold room can even spring up.”

 A representative of the Ori-Okiti Community in Olorunda, Mr. MutiuJimoh, also thanked Baba Ilaji. “Ona-Ara ti d’otun niyen. We thank  God,” he said in a mix of Yoruba and English languages, adding,  however, that the electricity projects were not the only way Dr Sanusi  has touched the lives of the people.

 He added: “Dr Sanusi has remained the lone star around here with  unequalled philanthropy. He always carried out repair works on the  Olorunsogo-Amuloko-Akanran Road before the state government recently  awarded the contract for the construction of the road.”

 But what drives the man who is already becoming popular as today’s  Idameji Ibadan ti won n pe lenikan (One man equal to half of Ibadan  land)?

The late Ilorin-born Mohammodu Odolaye Aremu popularised the “idameji  Ibadan” concept in his music when he eulogised the late strongman of  Ibadan Politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu.

According to Odolaye Aremu, in recent history, only two Ibadan sons  have held Ibadan city (state) spellbound, with their control of  politics, power and money. The duo of Adedibu and Alhaji Abdulazeez  Arisekola-Alao were so recognised by the man I will call a poet,  spoken word exponent and musician.

He, however, declared that Adedibu was the “Idameji Ibadan ti won n pe  lenikan” (one man who is equal to half of Ibadan land).

Today, not a few who are knowledgeable about the goings on in Ibadan  land and, by extension, Oyo State, would agree that the pedigree of  the Ilaji owner is fast equaling the status of that heraldic emblem as  modelled by Odolaye Aremu.

Above all, his trade name is Ilaji (half). His touch is visible in  every aspect of Ibadan (Oyo State) life. His Ilaji Resort is always a  beehive of activities, hosting the high, the mighty and the  not-so-high. It is also a tourist location of choice and a sports  complex nurturing youths for all kinds of sports. He is a businessman, an educationist and a top player in the oil industry.

He is a Mogaji, a high-ranking Chief of Olubadan; he is home with the  traditional institution, Muslims, Christians and traditionalists. He  says he has not joined politics but politicians won’t leave him alone.

The need to help people live a good life, he says, is the driving  force behind his numerous activities, as he adds that what is today known as Ilaji was originally Oloyo Village in Akanran.

 “Ilaji is the trade name of my mum who hails from Ile Ilaji in the Idi  Arere area of Ibadan,” he said.

Yes, he agreed, his philanthropy has cost him a fortune. Electrifying  over 62 communities, and maintaining access roads and such efforts  have cost him over N500 million, between 2017 and 2023.

That notwithstanding, nothing, he said, will deter him from doing more for the people.

•  Adisa contributed this piece from Ibadan, Oyo State.

Nine months after Oyo and Osun state governors jointly kicked off the reconstruction of the Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo Road, hopes of commuters, transporters and residents of communities on the routes remain dashed. While the Osun State Government abandoned the project, its Oyo State counterpart has been undertaking the project at a slow pace. Southwest Bureau Chief BISI OLADELE, TOBA ADEDEJI (Osogbo) and YINKA ADENIRAN (Ibadan), capture how stakeholders’ hopes are being dashed and the ill-feelings attending both governments’ seeming failure

When former Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola and his Oyo State counterpart Seyi Makinde jointly flagged off the reconstruction of Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo Road on October 28 last year, not a few residents and other stakeholders commended them. This was because of the relevance of the road to the economic development of both states.

The 91-kilometre-long road connects Ibadan with Osogbo through Iwo and also opens access to other towns such as Ede, Ejigbo, Awo and Ile-Ogbo. The fact that both governors decided to cooperate on the reconstruction of the road despite their political party differences also earned them the commendation of residents and other stakeholders.

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The project, therefore, did not only bring smiles to the faces of residents, but also raised their hopes. And their hopes and excitementwere accentuated by the governors’ promise to deliver the road in 18 months.

Since the road became impassable in the early 1990s, the Federal Government did not bother to rehabilitate it. The implication is that travellers from Lagos to Ibadan opted for the longer route of Ibadan-Gbongan-Odeomu to access Osogbo.

Those travelling further to towns such as Offa, Erin-Ile and Ijagbo from Lagos and Ibadan had no options but to follow the longer route or face Ilorin, another longer route, to access their destinations.

Though the Ibadan-Iwo portion was manageable for the 30 years that motorists were traumatized on the route, the Iwo-Osogbo axis, which is in Osun State, was totally impassable. This informed motorists’ decision to opt for the Ibadan-Gbongan-Odeomu-Osogbo route.

However, robbers took over the road, torturing a few motorists that had no option but to ply it based on their destinations. The Ibadan axis of Ibadan-Iwo axis has been almost fully built up as the capital city expands daily on all sides.

Since 1993 when signs of abandonment of the road began to manifest, Ibadan has expanded by over 15 kilometres along the road to Iwo. The resultant effect of population increase is high pressure on the Ibadan axis of the road.

Patching of the portion has been undertaken many times, including carrying out a dual carriageway of the road by the administration of former Governor Rashidi Ladoja. But, it never solved the problem outright. It was obvious that only a reconstruction or large-scale rehabilitation was needed to make the road suitable and long-lasting.

The above factors were reasons the two governors decided to make history by jointly reconnecting the two states for huge economic benefits. But the change in government in Osun State negatively impacted this noble goal.

The Osun section of the road, which is 55 kilometres long, was awarded for N11.3 billion, while the 36-kilometre Ibadan-Iwo axis was awarded by the Oyo State Government for N12.5 billion.

Checks by The Nation on the road recently revealed that the Osun State section of the project has been abandoned for months. It was gathered that Oyetola’s administration had mobilised the contractor with 30 per cent of the cost before he left office on November 28, last year.

The contractor moved to the site and commenced work from the Osogbo end of the road. The road is yet to be fixed from Dele-Yes-Sir to some parts close to Ede Junction, but the section from Ede Junction to Awo Junction has been rehabilitated.

The contractor seemed to have abandoned his equipment at Kibiti Village, though the road has been scrapped and graded for rehabilitation. At a village close to Iwo via Oriolowo Farms, there were heaps of granite on the road which were meant for the construction of culverts, among others.

Culverts have been completed on the portion of the road close to Iwo, but work is yet to commence on the main road. The portion of the road at Asamu Village has also been abandoned after it was graded and there were heaps of granite on the road.

Similarly, the Odo-Oba axis in Iwo, which links Oyo State, has been abandoned. Though the contractor has sand-filled some waterlogged areas of the road, the axis is not very motorable despite the work done.

Rehabilitation of the road stopped months after the administration of  Governor Ademola Adeleke commenced. Sources close to the contractor hinted that work might not continue on the road because of the change of government and the fear that he may not be paid by the present  administration if he continues with the rehabilitation.

In a chat, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, lamented the abandonment of the road, especially the axis that links Oyo State with Osun. He warned that political considerations should not be the reason to stop the project.

Oba Akanbi said: “Work has stopped on the road. I don’t know what happened. I have mobilised my subjects to return to the road as we used to do before for repair but it is not enough. It seems that they are working on the road from Osogbo to Iwo, but they have left the portion that links Osun with Oyo. The portion of the boundary with Oyo State is the worst.

“I plead with the government to ensure that they complete the road.

They should not stop rehabilitation of the road because of politics.

Iwo is the most marginalised community in the whole of Osun State because nothing is coming here at all.

“Nobody is trying to help us, only our road is like ‘we don’t care about Iwo.’ It is like we are being dealt with intentionally. I don’t know why. It seems we are just unlucky and nobody wants to do anything for us.”

Efforts to get reactions from the Spokesperson of the Osun State Governor, Olawale Rasheed, failed. He promised to respond to our inquiries which he never did.

In the same way, residents along the Ibadan portion of Ibadan-Iwo Road are currently groaning because of the pains inflicted by the slow pace of work on the project.

Since the contractor moved to the site, the company has been doing a scanty job, touching several aspects of the road reconstruction but never completing many. The idea, it was learnt, was to maintain a presence on the road to create the impression that the government was faithful to its promise.

Yet, nine months after the commencement of work, no portion of the road has been fully completed. Breaking of bridges and closing of a  lane at some portions is worsening the experience of road users who go and return to work daily. They are telling tales of woes, blaming Governor Makinde for the poor execution of the project.

The Chairman of Sule Kokoko Landlords’ Association, Mr. Olalere Akinlolu, whose large community perches behind Oyo State Hajj Camp,

Olodo, believes that the governor deceived them to get their votes in the March 18 governorship election by his promise to deliver the road on schedule.

He told The Nation that Makinde, during his campaign in January and February, gained massive support of people living along the route by his promise but that he has reneged on his promise of the road project after winning the election.

Akinlolu said: “It seems our governor deceived us to get our votes for his re-election. That is the way we view him now in our community. He promised that the road would be completed in 18 months, but nothing meaningful has been done.

“When the election was three weeks away, we began to see workmen on site; we didn’t know that he wanted to use it to get our votes. After the election, we just discovered that the project was terribly slowed down. The condition of the road is terrible now.

“The contractor has been on and off. What they are doing now is patching the road. We are going through hell right now, particularly because of the rains. The work is going on too slowly, and we don’t know why. There is no sign that the road will be ready in nine months’ time.”

Akinlolu appealed to Makinde to pay closer attention to the project by relieving the pains of hundreds of thousands of residents using it.

“We appeal to our governor to, please speed up work on the road project. Let him fulfil his promise so that people will take him seriously next time,” he said.

The Nation, however, gathered that the slow pace of work by the contractor was due to poor funding.

When contacted, the state government said the idea of abandoning the Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo Road project would not arise in any circumstance, expressing commitment to the successful completion of the project because of its benefits to users.

Makinde’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju, made the clarification while speaking to The Nation. He said although the road is a Federal Government one, Governor Makinde as well as his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke, were committed to seeing the project through within the shortest possible time.

Olanrewaju said the recent downpour has led to a slow pace of work on the project site. He further explained that the contractor handling the project has moved tractors and other earthmoving equipment to the site and had commenced work with the digging of drainage of the Iwo-Road, Monatan axis down to Iyana Church-Olodo area but has experienced a slow pace due to the rains.

He appealed to the residents in the axis to exercise patience, assuring that palliative work will commence soon in order to ease the hardship of motorists. His words: “The road is a federal road, but last year, the governments of Oyo and Osun states agreed to fix the road.

“So, we are already working on that. If you go on that road, you will  see that some parts of the roads are already being worked on. Already, the drainage systems are being fixed. Caterpillars and earthmoving equipment and tractors have been mobilised to the site.

“All we are waiting for is for the rain to recede. Once the rains go down, work will commence on the road in earnest. So, I plead with our people to exercise patience. Later in the year, hopefully, by September or October, work will resume and before long, that project will be completed.”

On palliatives to ease hardship experienced by road users, the CPS said: “Efforts are on to make the road passable in order to reduce the pains of road users on the axis occasioned by the downpour. I’m sure that soon, something will be done to make the road more accessible pending when the main work will commence.

“That the project will be abandoned is not an option for Governor Seyi Makinde. The governor, just like his counterpart in Osun State, is concerned about what will benefit the people of the state. Yes, the motorway is a federal one, but those plying it are indigenes of Oyo and Osun states, among others. So, they have agreed to work on it.”

The contractor handling the Oyo State axis of the project, Peculiar Ultimate Concerns Limited, moved to the site in February. When The Nation visited the site on Iwo Road, Ibadan en route Iyana-Church, Olodo, Lalupon-Ejioku to Erunmu axis, it was observed that preliminary works had begun in major parts of the road.

As at the time of the visit, badly-damaged parts of the stretch had received some palliative measures. Stone-based works have been done around Foodco, Vanguard, Monatan, Owu Crown, 7Up, Iyana Church, Olodo, Ejioku, Lalupon and Erunmu, among other parts of the Ibadan axis of the road.

The Nation also observed that drainage, culverts and kebbs have been laid on major parts of the flood-prone axis of the road.

Additionally, Atlantic carpet, a 6-by-4 cover, is also being worked on at Olodo to help channel heavy water flow that had led to flooding of the axis over the years.

A motorist, Kola Adebiyi, commended the government for the idea to dualise the road, especially the Olodo part that leads to Erunmu. He said years of untold hardship caused by the terrible state of the road had led to the underdevelopment of areas along that axis despite its large population.

A commercial cab operator, Mr. Bolaji Adeeyo, said the hardship being experienced as a result of ongoing road projects must be addressed. He lamented that it’s even more painful to stay in traffic for long at a time the price of fuel is now between N500 and N550 per litre. Stakeholders in the two states are hopeful that the two governors will fulfil their promise to deliver the project in the next nine months.