The Nation Newspaper

Category: Special Report

  • Food importation: Buhari’s directive stokes controversy

    The directive by President Muhammadu Buhari that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should not sale foreign exchange (Forex) to food importers has attracted varied reactions from stakeholders. While some people believe that the order will help Nigeria become self-sufficient in food production, others insist that it will further make it difficult for Nigerians to afford stable food. For foreign investors, the order is an affront on CBN’s independence and is capable of hurting foreign capital inflows, write NDUKA CHIEJINA, COLLINS NWEZE and DANIEL ESSIET.

     

    NOT many people saw it coming. And when President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to sell foreign exchange (forex) to food importers, it took many stakeholders by surprise.

    President Buhari said he asked the CBN to stop providing foreign exchange for food importation.

    In a statement issued on Tuesday by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, the president said the directive is to ensure the steady improvement in agricultural production and attainment of full food security.

    The president, who hosted All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to eid-el-Kabir lunch at his country home in Daura, said the foreign reserve will be conserved and used for the diversification of the economy, and not for encouraging more dependence on foreign food import bills.

    “Don’t give a cent to anybody to import food into the country,’’ he said.

    The president said some states like Kebbi, Ogun, Lagos, Jigawa, Ebonyi and Kano had already taken advantage of the federal government’s policy on agriculture with huge returns in rice farming, urging more states to plug into the ongoing revolution to feed the nation.

    “We have achieved food security, and for physical security, we are not doing badly,’’ he said.

    Buhari said he was delighted that young Nigerians, including graduates, have started exploring agriculture-business and entrepreneurship, with many posting testimonies of good returns on their investments.

    But the order has attracted several reactions from farmers, industrialists, economists and financial pundits. But while many of the speakers said the directive will resurrect Nigeria’s long-time dream of being sold-sufficient in food production, others believed that it will make access to stable food elusive to the common man on the streets.

    But a larger group of people with interest in foreign direct investment said the President’s directive was an affront on the independence of the CBN, as is the practice across the world where the central banks are expected to operate without government interference.

    Former Executive Director, Keystone Bank, Richard Obire, also said the President’s directive will help grow the agriculture sector. He said there is need to also provide the infrastructure needed to move food from where they are produced to where they are needed. ” It is not enough to produce food. You need to also have the infrastructure to move the foods to areas of need. I also believe that the forex that would have been used for food import will now go to education, and health sector,” he said.

    Continuing, Obire said: “With the President directing the CBN to stop giving a cent of forex for food imports, investors and businesses will be increasingly concerned about the independence of the country’s central bank. These concerns were already there with the multiple exchange rates regime seen to be driven by the Government. This new directive will heighten those concerns”.

    Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf, said there was a need to get more details and clarifications on what exactly constitutes food items in the context of the Presidential directive.

    “The Harmonised System codes of the items affected need to be indicated. It is hoped that these details would be made available in subsequent releases by the CBN. This is essential for proper analysis of the possible impact on investment, the welfare of citizens and the economy. Meanwhile, the CBN before now had placed many food items on the forex exclusion list. It will be interesting to see what additional food items are being contemplated as additions to the list. In all of these, we need to worry about the implications of policy pronouncements for investors’ confidence and the general sentiments of investors,” he said.

    Yusuf said unemployment levels in the country has reached a disturbing level of over 23 per cent and rising. “Youth unemployment is even much more. Yet the panacea for dealing with the scourge of unemployment and poverty is an investment. If policy and regulatory risks continue to escalate as we are currently experiencing, the chances of stimulating investment, whether domestic or foreign, would remain dim. Current forex policy conceptualisation and management are adversely impacting investment,” he said.

    He said it was critical to scale up stakeholder engagement on the strategies for economic diversification and self-reliance.

    He said rigorous impact study should precede major policy changes, supported by empirical data. This is necessary to minimize shocks and dislocations in the investment environment. This is also imperative to stem the increasing cases of job losses.

    “Over the last couple of years, food inflation had been a source of worry. It has consistently been ahead of core inflation. This is a reflection of the productivity challenges in the agricultural sector which has lately been complicated by security challenges across the country and attacks on farming communities. The sector is still largely dependent on smallholder farmers, with little mechanisation and application of technology. Transportation is another key impediment to food security in the country. These are fundamental issues that need to be addressed, and urgently too,” he added.

    Former President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, said the president’s pronouncement was in order. He, however, added that there was the need for him to take into consideration, Nigeria’s peculiar environment before making such pronouncement. “Are Nigerians feeding well and producing enough at the moment. What is the gestation period for the policy implementation?”.

    He said the President’s pronouncement is not bad, provided there is enough time for farmers to produce the right quantity of food for the population.

    Chairman, Rice Farmers Association, Kebbi State, Alhaji Muhammad Sahabi Augie, said President Buhari asking the CBN to stop providing forex for the importation of food into the country was a welcome development.

    For instance, in Kebbi State, he said the Government‘s ban on rice importation which occasioned increased local rice production led to the fall in the price of paddy.

    He said the volume of rice harvested from different farm locations in the state was unprecedented under the Anchor Borrower’s dry season rice farming programme.

    He said the harvest was so high that it forced down the price of paddy at the market.

    He added that the government’s ban on food importation crashed the price of a bag of maize from N10, 000 to N7, 000, that of a bag Sorghum from N13, 000 to N7, 000.

    According to him, restricting forex for food import will boost local food production.

    The South-West Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Chief Femi Oke expressed gratitude to President Buhari on the matter.

    He explained that importers in the food industry were killing the efforts of the local processors to implement massive processing of food products which hitherto were imported expressively into the country.

    He said the Government ban on importation of rice has helped the sector to take advantage of the policy of the Federal Government to generate huge returns.

    According to him, the decision will ensure forex savings, job creation and investments in farming and local processing of food products.

    He said the CBN’s action will help to unlock the huge potential of the sector by developing agricultural value chains and agro-allied industries that process and add value. This, according to him, will help local farmers to become competitive and raise their incomes.

    The Chairman, Agriculture and Non-oil Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, African farmer Afioluwa Mogaji said the restriction was a positive one, adding it was capable of bringing development if efforts were made to stimulate investment in infrastructure.

    While the restriction is targeted at protecting the local industry and saving forex,  Mogaji said the government must mobilise the different agencies to work together to create synergies in production, regarding infrastructure to boost food availability and distribution.

    For example, he added that while Nigeria’s climate is perfect for tomato production, some of it goes to waste due to lack of refrigeration and transport facilities. This is why the country is heavily dependent on tomato imports and local farmers struggle to survive.

    He noted that while the Presidency has placed irrigation and other farming equipment on zero duty, the Customs is yet to enforce it, thereby working at cross purpose with the government’s goal to achieve food security through provision of infrastructure for farming and local food processing.

    According to him, the challenge of value-added features in all areas of agriculture, attributing it to low levels of investments in agribusiness and the macro level and lack of capital and even economies of scale at the micro level for rural farmers.

    According to him, the Group shares the commitment of the government to addressing agriculture and food security issues, as the issues are critical not only to economic development but to the future of food production.

    Former Presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Kingsley Moghalu faulted President Buhari’s directive to the CBN, on non-provision of forex for food importation.

    In a series of tweets on his official handle, the former deputy governor of the CBN also asked Buhari to allow the apex bank to discharge its mandate independently.

    Moghalu also noted that political interference in CBN’s economic policies leads to poverty and also weakens institutions.

    He wrote on Twitter; “Is @cenbank now a ministry to be “directed” by President @MBuhari? Article 1(3) of the CBN Act 2007 states ‘To facilitate the achievement of its mandate under this Act…the Bank shall be an independent body in the discharge of its functions.

    “The issue here isn’t whether or not CBN should allow access to forex for food imports. It is about whether such an economic policy of a central bank should be imposed by a political authority. A major reason for our poverty, instability and a weak economy is weak institutions.

    “Our marketplace should be regulated and guided in a rational manner that creates a level playing field. Our economy will not be saved by Ad Hoc political decisions like this, handed down by the very institutions that should be shielded from the whim and caprice of politicians.

    “Nigeria’s entire economy appears to have been sub-contracted to our central bank, including industrial and trade policy. In the process, the economy has fared poorly and the Bank has lost its independence. This is sad!

    “@NGRPresident should leave @cenbank alone to discharge its mandate independently within the ambit of the CBN Act and stop “directing” it. @cenbank should on its part assertive its independence (assuming it actually believes it should be independent, but the Act says so, clearly!”

    Recall that while giving the directive at his hometown in Daura, when hosting APC Governors, Buhari said that his order to the CBN to starve food importation of foreign exchange stemmed from the steady improvement in agricultural production and attainment of full food security in the country.

    Former president of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Samuel Nzekwe, commended President Buhari for the directive.

    He said that the Federal Government’s decision to put a halt to the practice was a welcome decision which would go a long way in stabilising the economy and freeing forex for more crucial items.

    He, however, urged the Federal Government to be cautious in the implementation of the directive while also ensuring that the nation produces enough food for local consumption.

    Nzekwe noted that a situation where imported foods on the list of banned items were not met by local production may cause some discomfort in the country. “The nation is currently facing insecurity and other challenges which had prevented farmers from going to the farm.

    “A shortfall in the production of those banned food items could create another problem for the country,” he said.

    Nzekwe stressed the need for government to urgently address the security challenge in the country to ensure that food insufficiency that could hinder the implementation of the forex ban was tackled.

     

     

  • Privatisation …Not all went awry

    The privatisation programme of the Federal Government has been unable to lift many of ailing firms. But as JOHN OFIKHENUA found out, the Federal Superphosphate Fertiliser Company (FSFC) in Kaduna and the Central Hotel in Kano have shown that the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is not entirely a failure.

     

    THE Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has received regular blows over the state of privatised public enterprises. Many of these former government businesses were in bad shape and privatisation was touted as the elixir that would see them return to life. This has not been the case for the majority of the companies.

    There are, however, some of these companies that are doing well. Two of such are the Federal Superphosphate Fertiliser Company (FSFC) in Kaduna and the Central Hotel in Kano.

    After the privatisation, the BPE has been monitoring them. During one such exercise observed by The Nation, it was glaring that these two companies are enjoying a blissful post-privatisation era.

    According to BPE’s the Director, Industries and Communication, Mallam Dikko Abdullahi, “Over the years, 200 enterprises were privatised. And there are more negative reports about what we have done than the positive…There are enterprises really which are still working.”

    FSFC chairman Ibrahim Birma said the firm was incorporated in 1973 to produce Single Superphosphate Fertiliser. On September 5, 2005, according to him, the firm was privatised through the Core Investor Sale, and it was handed over in January 2006 to the core investor, HEKIO Consortium. He said since the privatisation of the company about 17 years ago, it has been producing progressive outputs. Birma noted that the plant was initially made “to produce about 100,000 metric tonnes per annum”.

    He added: “When we took over, it was about 17 per cent. Then subsequently it has been growing. We can say that about the specialised products, our product is about sixty-something per cent, which is a comfortable level for us. FSFC being a member of the TANK Group and also a member of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, we have had a cause to make production for Rice Farmers Association, Cotton Farmers Association, Wheat Farmers Association, all these have their specialised blends.”

    The chairman said the company has exceeded its production capacity. The firm said Birma, “used to stop production by September so that we start cleaning but now we have only November to do that.”

    He recalled that the staff strength was bloated but the company prioritised and made it effective. The FSFC now has about 48 technicians, 32 administrative employees and 120 production staff.

    Birma said the company has a cordial relationship with the host community to the extent that the youths play football within its premises.

    He said: “Almost every farmer within the community who wants to buy the regular fertiliser blended and in bags, buys. If you want the waste which is still 100% fertiliser, which we also give to our staff, if you want that, we give you free.”

    Birma revealed that the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative has over the last two years supported all fertiliser plants with 100 per cent raw materials.

    “Over two years and this is almost the third year, the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, which is supportive of all the fertiliser plants gave us 100 per cent of all our raw materials requirements and they paid us blending fees, which cover our electricity, salaries, postage, logistics and whatever. To us, we don’t have any problem with funding. But after finishing their production, our little margin, we bring it back to buy raw materials, with which we now do our blend for market sales.”

    Besides, the FSFC has dealership with all the 36 states. On international patronage, Niger is a major customer. He noted that the company still has a room for expansion in case of further demand.

    “The firm is exploring measures for cheaper production since it has an installed capacity of 100,000 metric tonnes and we are now producing 62% so that difference of 38% if we can re-engineer our production system to make it more perfect and economically sensible, I think it is okay for us.

    “We want to be a stable player in the distribution of fertiliser in this country and we also leverage the established concept of this company. It was established to which is to cover almost all the northern part of Nigeria, which to the glory of Allah we haven able to sustain it.”

    Despite its love for expansion and meeting the primary concept of the firm, the FSFC is still mindful of its choice of a technology that will not take away people’s jobs.

    Birma said: “The machinery we saw in India is the upgraded type that it is almost impossible to employ a lot of people. Ours here, one of the policies of this regime is to employ labour and that we have done our best.

    “We have become the government of our own. We provide electricity, water and even part of the road. Looking backwards, the baby you gave us is still alive and kicking. At times with the kicks, we have had a good reason to say yes it is a good decision for us to key in. With the support you have given us, at times we think you are harassing us but you are just reawakening us. So, we are grateful for that. But at times we just say when are they (BPE) going to wean us?”

    Read Also: ‘Nigeria saves $3b from privatisation’

    Abdullahi, who led the BPE team, expressed satisfaction with the post-privatisation performance of the firm.

    He advised the firm to seek delisting from further monitoring, adding: “Delisting in the BPE is usually for the enterprises that are privatised. We usually monitor them for five years within which we monitor the post-privatisation plan they gave us. We have to assess them and report. But after the five years and they have done what they are set out to do, they are usually delisted. It means that since they have achieved the covenant and even maybe gone beyond the covenant, there is no more returning. Since they have done what they undertook to do within the five years, they can apply for it, seeking to be delisted. The department that is responsible for that will send a team to assess it. After that, we will write to the National Council on Privatization recommending that they should be delisted that they can now go on their own.

    “Now, I can comfortably tell you that I am satisfied with the level of production and achievements. I am very comfortable with the result I have seen.”

    Similarly, the team arrived at the Central Hotel, Kano that was also privatised about 12 years ago. The hotel was a sight to behold. The new management has not only revived it, but it has also redesigned and furnished the hotel with state-of-the-art facilities. With its alluring ambience in the centre of the ancient city, it stands out into the Kano horizon.

    Its chairman, Alhaji Nasser Ahmed, said the original concept of the founders was for it to be the number one hotel in the North.

    Speaking with reporters in Abuja, Ahmed recalled that it was in a derelict state, which stopped guests and customers from patronising it. According to him, “the Central Hotel, Kano was in a very derelict state. It used to be Kano’s number one hotel and eventually became the last hotel because people stopped coming there. All the facilities were broken down, everywhere was occupied by rodents. But we were not deterred because for us anybody with a bit of the knowledge of the history of Kano will know that Central Hotel was the first hotel in Nigeria. It started in 1928, and during the colonial period 1956, the Queen stayed there. It was the centrepiece of hospitality in northern Nigeria. At least because in the 1960s the British used to run the hotel and it was doing very well. By the late 70s, it had lost its steam, and by 80s, 90s it was completely shut down.”

    The chairman said upon assumption of the management of the entity, it was redesigned with the assistance of the Protea Hotels in South Africa.

    Those who share in the dream of the founders of the hotel, such as the late Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr Tayo Aderinokun, who was born and bred in Kano, and the President, Afrexim Bank, Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah, raised funds for refurbishing the hotel.

    The chairman said: “Both of them released all the money needed for the refurbishment and stood by us. So, I believe that was the turning point in making it possible because they believed in it just like we did and today it happened because they were there.”

    “I think when we acquired it, it was about $7 million and by the time we added about 12 to 14 million dollars, today the value itself is still very low because it is about under $20 million about 15 to 17 million dollars. So in real terms, the value has not yet been expanded because the economy is shrinking but we believe the potentials. We have new designs and we are talking to new finance parties to do new towers in the hotel so that we create another 200 rooms, business centres, offices and resident sections.”

    Having spent about $3.6billion on the hotel, the chairman said the challenge was the cost of servicing the interest charges on the facilities that the hotel pays to the banks. “Internationally hospitality is the barometer of the government so it is in the interest of the government to create some level playing field for hoteliers so that this cost is thrown back into the system so if we lose so much on cost of funds then the ambition, the drive to create the necessary good environment is really encumbered.”

    The chairman revealed the plans were underway to enhance the hotel. Already, according to him, the Central Hotel Kano is shopping for equity partners to raise $50million to develop and justify the value of the hotel. He said that “so the funding we are doing this time, we want to use more equity partners and we are working on that to raise the equity through an investment trust, that we want to raise about 50 million dollars that is when the real value and the history of the hotel will be justified.” He noted that the hotel is on the verge of securing the investment funding from two Turkish hotel hotels, Best Western and Continent Hotel. He is looking up to the two foreign hospitality firms to drive the investment funding of the hotel.

    He said: “We are now on the verge of signing with both Best Western and Continent Hotel of turkey. So, they will share the hotel into two parts and then the Continent hotel will drive the investment funding we are doing to develop the new arm of the hotel.”

    The BPE representative, who led the team to interview Ahmed in Abuja, Mr Abdullahi Shu’aibu, said since the Central Hotel Kano has performed satisfactorily, in a recommendation to his office, he would advise that the hotel be delisted from the monitoring regime of the BPE.

    His words: “The hotel has met all the covenant it entered into. And as it is satisfactory, we will ask them to write like any other privatised entity that has met the requirements for it to be delisted from the monitoring regime. That is what we advise the hotel to do. But in our report, we will now certainly recommend that it has satisfactorily met all the covenants it entered into.”

    With the success of the Federal Superphosphate Fertiliser Company (FSFC) in Kaduna and the Central Hotel, Kano, it is hoped that other privatised firms will live up to billings.

     

  • I’m happy and sad, says pupil with eye damaged by teacher’s cane

    For years to come, Daniel Agboola will not forget March 29, the day he almost lost one of his eyes from the damage his class teacher, Mr. Oludare Olaleye’s cane did to it. As it was reported by The Nation on May 4, it was exam period at Camp David Group of Schools in Ogba, a Lagos suburb, so the SS2 pupil sat in the classroom with his classmates, awaiting the question papers.

    Then came in Olaleye, their supervisor and teacher in the school, who told them to move out of the classroom as necessary arrangements were being made to get the questions ready. It turned out that Daniel was the last of the pupils to step out of the classroom as directed.

    Daniel had barely stepped out of the class when the teacher called him back and accused him of marching on his foot as he was going out. Daniel responded by saying that he did not know that he marched on the teacher’s foot. But rather than demand an apology, the teacher fetched a cane and flogged Daniel mercilessly, injuring his right eye in the process.

    Lamenting the incident, Daniel recalled that he had gone to school late on that day and would have stayed at home if he had an inkling of the evil that lurked in the corner.

    He said: “I went to school late on that day. If I had known what fate had in store for me, I would have absconded from school. The incident gave me a lot of psychological stress for months.”

    Since the incident, Daniel had not gone to school because he could not see with his damaged right eye. He also could not write the remaining subjects in the examination. But respite finally came after some turbulent exchanges between him, his parents, the teacher, the school’s authority and the Lagos State Government. His damaged eye was operated upon and now he admitted enjoying such a relief that he thinks he is in a dream.

    The operation, paid for by the school, was carried out on May 28 at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) where he is still going for checkups. But Daniel still desires regaining his clear vision back even though he can now see better than he did when the incident occurred.

    But he has his worries, the biggest being how he would avoid losing one academic year, knowing that he did not finish the second term exams while the third term exams are around the corner.

    He said: “My right eye vision is not yet clear. I can only see things that are very close. I cannot read. I cannot see from afar. I want my vision to be clear. I don’t want to use recommended glasses.”

    Recalling his time under the surgeon’s knife, Daniel said he was scared going for the operation. He said: “It was something new and strange to me. I had not gone for an operation nor seen one before.

    “When I entered the theatre, fear struck me, but I had to bring my faith into action. Undergoing an operation was not an easy task. I was told not to move for about 30 minutes that the operation lasted. I thank God it was successful.

    “My left eye was covered so I did not see what was going on. But I heard some of the things the doctors said and felt what they were doing to the eye. I know they changed my lens. I was just praying to God for success.

    “The initial pain in the eye has reduced after the operation. Now I have been told that I must not bend and must always put on the sun shade till the eye is fully recovered.

    “I faced the stress of going to the police station to write a statement after the operation. My education has been affected. It is not easy for me to remember some things, especially school work. I am just recovering and getting myself back. I don’t want to repeat SS2.

    “I believe I can meet up with extra classes to do the SS2 promotional exam and pass, but I cannot read with the eye. I want my vision back. I want the school to pay damages for the stress I have passed through, and those of my mother and my entire family.”

    Angry, distressed and unhappy over the condition of her son’s eye, Daniel’s mother, Hannah Agboola, said the incident had cost her a whole lot. “Is it the physical stress that I want to count or the emotional or psychological or unbudgeted financial expenses?

    “This school has stressed me beyond measure over the past two months. I cannot go to work or carry out my duties as an evangelist in the church. I have to stay all day with Daniel to apply his various eye drops. Some are to be administered every one hour, two hours, five hours and so on. I have had to set the alarm as a reminder. I dare not miss one, because he cannot apply them himself. I even wake up the night to apply the eye drops.

    Distraught mum salutes The Nation

    Commending The Nation for its reports on the issue, Mrs. Agboola said: “When the first story was published, I saw in it the school’s claim that my son’s eye was already paining him before he came to school, but I said that was a lie.

    “The Lagos State Ministry of Youths and Social Development called me and requested that I should write out all my expenses and bring it to their office. I told them I could not write out how much I had spent, but that I would come to the office.

    “When I got there, the woman who attended to me said they have to call me because the teacher said he did not beat my son in the eye. But I debunked the claim because the teacher admitted at the onset that the so-called beating was a mistake.

    “There was a lot of drama in the school. They wanted to cheat me because they thought there was nothing l could do.

    “A woman in the school said that since I was shouting that I wanted the operation done at eye foundation, I should bring N500,000 because the school had no money. I asked if I looked like someone that had that kind of money. Then I said I was not doing the operation in Nigeria again, that I wanted it done abroad

    “In the end, one of the teachers followed us to LASUTH, but the operation was not done on that day. He was checked and it was confirmed that he had cataract. The school owner later begged.

    “The following day, I went to the state Ministry of Education because I wanted to know the report that education ministry gave to the ministry of youth and social development. They condemned the step l took by reporting the incident in the newspaper.

    “The next day, we went to LASUTH where it was also confirmed that he had cataract. We did different tests on several days, but I thank God that the operation was eventually done on May 28, almost two months after the incident.

    “I thank God that the operation was successful. He went home the same day the operation was done.” she explained.

    Daniel’s mother said the first publication on the incident The Nation was the saving grace because the school authority were not ready to shoulder the operation bills. She however said she spent some of her personal money before the operation took place.

    Errant teacher dragged to court

    Teacher Oladele was, however, dragged to an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court on July 22, 2019 for inflicting an injury on his pupil.

    According to the prosecutor, ASP Benson Emuerhi, the teacher committed the offence on March 29 between 11 am and 1 pm at Camp David Academy located at No. 7, Bodunrin Caulcrick Close, Ogba, Lagos.

    Emuerhi said: “The teacher was on duty supervising examinations at the school and had requested that the SS1 and SS2 students leave the hall before the commencement of their examination.

    “The defendant alleged that the complainant, Daniel Agboola an SS1 student, had hit him while leaving the hall and Olaleye caned the student as punishment.

    “While the teacher was caning Agboola, the cane hit him in his right eye, leading to a serious injury which required surgery.”

    According to the prosecution, the offence contravened Section 173 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

    Following the teacher’s arraignment, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Olufunke Sule-Amzat, granted the teacher bail in the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum. She adjourned the case until October 21, for mention.

  • US Report: Nigerian drug traffickers remain preeminent

    The latest United State government’s report on drug trafficking identifies Nigerian traffickers as pre-eminent globally. Excerpts:

     

    ILLICIT drug crops are grown, refined into illegal drugs, trafficked, and sold on the street by criminal enterprises that attempt to conceal every step of the process. Accurate estimates of such criminal activity are difficult to produce.

    The estimates of illicit drug production presented in the INCSR represent the United States government’s best effort to assess the current dimensions of the international drug problem. They are based on agricultural surveys conducted with satellite imagery and scientific studies of crop yields and the likely efficiency of typical illicit refining labs. As we do every year, we publish these estimates with an important caveat: they are estimates. While we must express our estimates as numbers, these numbers should not be seen as precise figures. Rather, they represent the midpoint of a band of statistical probability that gets wider as additional variables are introduced and as we move from cultivation to harvest to final refined drug.

    As needed, the United States government revises its estimate process and occasionally the estimates themselves – in the light of field research and technological advancements. The clandestine, violent nature of the illegal drug trade makes field research difficult. Geography is also an impediment, as the harsh terrain on which many drugs are cultivated is not always easily accessible. This is particularly relevant given the tremendous geographic areas that must be covered and the difficulty of collecting reliable information over diverse and treacherous terrain.

    Weather can affect our ability to gather data, particularly in the Andes, where cloud cover can be a major problem.

    Improved technologies and analytical techniques may also lead us to produce revisions to United States government estimates of potential drug production. This is typical of annualized figures for most other areas of statistical tracking that must be revised year to year. When possible, we apply these new techniques to previous years’ data and adjust appropriately, but often, especially in the case of new technologies, we can only apply them prospectively. These illicit drug statistics represent the current state of the art. As new information and technology becomes applicable, the accuracy of the estimates will improve.

    Cultivation Estimates

    The Unites States government conserves limited personnel and technical resources by employing sample survey methodologies to estimate illicit crop cultivation and concentrating survey efforts on areas with strategic amounts of illegal cultivation or areas most likely to have illicit crop cultivation. Each year, analysts review a variety of datasets – including eradication data, seizure data, law enforcement investigations information, previous field locations, and other information – to determine areas likely to have illegal cultivation, and revise and update the search area, if necessary. They then survey and estimate cultivation in new areas using proven statistical techniques.

    The resulting estimates meet the U.S. government’s need for an annual estimate of illicit crop cultivation for each country. They also help with eradication, interdiction, and other law enforcement operations. As part of the effort to provide accurate and comprehensive assessments, the areas surveyed are often expanded and modified, so direct comparison with previous year estimates is sometimes not possible.

    Production Estimates

    Illicit crop productivity depends upon a number of factors. Changes in weather, farming techniques, soil fertility, and disease prevalence can produce widely varying yields from year to year and place to place. Some illicit drug crop areas are not easily accessible to the U.S. government, which can make scientific information difficult to obtain. However, we continually strive to improve our drug production estimates.

    The relative productivity of poppy crops in some cases can be estimated using imagery, and our confidence in coca leaf yield continues to improve as a result of field studies conducted in Latin America. Coca fields which are less than 18 months of age (“new fields”) produce much less leaf than mature fields. In Colombia, for example, fields on average get their first small harvest at six months of age; in Bolivia and Peru, fields are usually first harvested at 12 months of age. The U.S. government estimates include the proportion of new fields detected each year and adjust leaf production accordingly.

    Processing Estimates

    The wide variation in processing efficiency achieved by narcotics producers complicates the task of accurately assessing the quantity of cocaine or heroin that could be refined from a crop.

    Differences in the origin and quality of the raw material and chemicals used, the technical processing method employed, the size and sophistication of laboratories, the skill and experience of local workers and chemists, and decisions made in response to enforcement pressures all affect production.

    The U.S. government estimates for coca leaf, cocaine, marijuana, opium, and heroin production are potential estimates; that is, it is assumed that all of the coca, cannabis, and poppy grown is harvested and processed into illicit drugs. This is a reasonable assumption for coca leaf in Colombia. In Bolivia and Peru, however, the U.S. government potential cocaine production estimates do not remove for coca leaf locally chewed and used in products such as coca tea.

    In Southwest and Southeast Asia and Latin America, it is not unrealistic to assume that virtually all poppy is harvested for opium gum, but substantial amounts of Asian opium are consumed or stored rather than being processed into heroin; the proportion of this opium ultimately processed into heroin is unknown.

    Other International Estimates

    The United States helps fund estimates done by the United Nations in some countries. These estimates use different methodologies from the U.S. government assessments and utilize a mix of imagery and ground-based observations. The UN estimates are often used to help determine the response of the international donor community to specific countries or regions.

    There have been some efforts for the U.S. government and the UN to understand each other’s methodologies with the goal of improving both sets of estimates. These efforts are ongoing.

    This report also includes data on drug production, trafficking, seizures, and consumption that come from host governments or non-governmental organizations. Such data is attributed to the source organization, especially when we cannot independently verify it.

    Nigeria

    Nigerian drug traffickers remain the preeminent international drug trafficking threat based in Africa. Nigerian trafficking networks operate in the United States as well as throughout Africa, South America, Europe, and Asia. Nigerian drug traffickers have strengthened partnerships with international cocaine and heroin distribution networks to procure and distribute significant quantities of drugs in the United States and other lucrative markets.

    Nigeria is also experiencing an opioid epidemic. The most widely used opioid in Nigeria is tramadol, a pharmaceutical product originating mostly from India. Both legitimate Indian pharmaceutical companies and illicit clandestine labs mass-produce and ship tramadol and counterfeit tramadol tablets in 200, 225, and 250-milligram dosages for the Nigerian market.

    Members of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) regularly interdict container loads of tramadol at Apapa Port in Lagos based on intelligence from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The NCS declines to release the tramadol to NDLEA for destruction, and NDLEA reports that NCS officers frequently sell seized tramadol back to its original owners. Codeine is also widely abused, particularly by women in northern Nigeria.

     

    Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends

    I. Institutional Development

    During 2018, the NDLEA received a major boost in capacity following the complete refurbishment of the NDLEA Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Command office building into a state-of-the-art complex, which is now the site of the newly formed Joint Border Task Force (JBTF). The $10 million JBTF project is mostly funded and overseen by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The JBTF is a multi-agency effort to target, interdict, disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute Nigerian-based transnational criminal organisations.

    The task force, a joint endeavor supported by both the United States and the United Kingdom, is comprised of fully vetted and well-trained Nigerian law enforcement investigators. MMIA is viewed as the gateway for Nigerian criminal organisations involved in drug smuggling, as well as the movement of unlawful proceeds; human trafficking/smuggling; wildlife trafficking; weapons trafficking; and an array of other illegal cross-border activity. The NDLEA is the lead agency at the JBTF, contributing 140 officers and investigators who receive mentoring and investigative assistance from U.S. and UK law enforcement professionals embedded within the unit. The task force is further comprised of 20 investigative officers from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking of Persons (NAPTIP), as well as six prosecutors.

    II.  Supply Reduction

    In 2018, the United States continued to assist in transitioning the NDLEA from a reactive agency to an intelligence-driven one through mentoring and investigative support. During the first eight months of 2018, the NDLEA reported the arrests of 4,736 individuals on drug trafficking charges (4,395 men and 341 women). The agency seized approximately 59 metric tons (MT) of cannabis; 119 kilograms (kg) of methamphetamine; 17 MT of tramadol; and approximately eight MT of codeine-infused cough syrup. The NDLEA reports that in 2018, the agency destroyed 267 MT of seized drugs overall.

    In addition to these totals, the U.S.-supported NDLEA Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU) is credited with seizing and destroying over 1,700 hectares of cannabis plantations; six-and-a-half MT of processed cannabis; four MT of tramadol; four kg of cocaine; and 250 kg of ephedrine.

    The SIU seized properties and financial instruments approximately totaling $2 million and arrested 25 drug traffickers. Additionally, the SIU shared intelligence with counterparts in Benin and Japan that led to seizures of methamphetamine totaling 40 kg.

    iii.      Public Information,  Prevention, and Treatment

    Consumption of illicit and misused drugs within Nigeria is increasing alarmingly. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called on the government of Nigeria to address the growing abuse of pharmaceuticals by many Nigerian youths.

    While cocaine is not readily accessible to the middle and lower classes, drugs such as codeine, rohypnol, and tramadol are accessible and available from street vendors on the streets of every city and town in Nigeria.

    The NDLEA’s Demand Reduction Directorate nominally has programs that target youth, sex workers, community leaders, and transport workers. However, resources allocated for counseling and rehabilitation for substance use disorders are negligible.

    iv            Corruption

    A large percentage of senior government officials are engaged, either directly or indirectly, in corrupt practices. In 2017 (the latest available data), the annual operating budget for the NDLEA was approximately $25,450,000. Salaries alone for the 5,001 NDLEA personnel were estimated at approximately $24,000,000, leaving the entire organisation to operate on a meager $1,450,000 per year. NDLEA is comprised of 42 commands that typically each receive approximately $2,800 per month to fund their operations, to include fuel for vehicles and generators, utilities, travel, and various investigative expenses. In 2018, NDLEA staff from various commands reported that no funds were dispersed. This failure at both the institutional and federal government levels encourages NDLEA staff to supplement their salaries and enforcement activities through the acceptance of bribes and extortion.

    National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives The NDLEA’s primary national goals for 2018 were the passage of a Drug Sentencing Bill requesting a mandatory minimum five-year sentence for drug possession, and an increase of 15,000 personnel. The sentencing bill remained pending before the National Assembly at the conclusion of 2018, and although President Muhammmadu Buhari approved the agency’s request for an increase in personnel in 2017, funding had not been allocated to begin recruitment.

    Conclusion

    The NDLEA provides a framework for the Government of Nigeria to pursue its drug control objectives and cooperate with international partners to achieve these goals. To increase the agency’s effectiveness, the government of Nigeria will need to provide, and equitably distribute, increased funding and training to the NDLEA. The United States will continue to engage the Government of Nigeria to combat drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, and other criminal issues. The institutional and societal factors that contribute to these criminal activities remain deeply rooted and will require a comprehensive and collaborative effort. Progress will require sustained Nigerian government efforts and an increased political will.

     

  • The fear of Africa Trade deal

    In this report by Reuters’ Libby George and Alexis Akwagyiram, the fears of Nigerians about the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are brought to the fore

     

    ADELEKE Adeleye stands in front of a bank of whirring printers spinning out dozens of envelopes a minute in Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos.

    His stationery company, FAE Ltd, is thriving and will move into a larger factory nearby by the end of next year.

    But he sees trouble on the horizon in the form of a new African free trade agreement aiming to unlock a market of 1.3 billion consumers – but which many in Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, view as a threat.

    “It’s definitely not a level playing field,” he says.  Africa is forging ahead with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – a project to create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc – even as world powers such as the United States and Britain back away from multilateral trade pacts.

    Its champions – South Africa and Kenya among them – say the deal will provide a shot in the arm to trade between African nations, which accounted for just 17% of exports in 2017, and give their companies access to millions of new customers.

    But Nigeria is worried it could be flooded with cheap goods from more competitive neighbours, undermining its efforts to revive local manufacturing and expand farming to reduce dependence on crude oil exports.

    It was one of the last of 54 nations to back the agreement, only signing on last month. Just Eritrea, which did not participate in the negotiations, has not approved the deal.

    Now that Nigeria is in, however, some trade experts fear its long history of economic protectionism and tepid support for the AfCFTA will undermine the bloc.

    “If Nigeria, after signing, decides not to implement, there will be a problem. There are so many administrative ways in which Nigeria can frustrate this agreement,” said Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Lagos-based consultancy Financial Derivatives Company (FDC).

    Giant underdog?

    The size of Nigeria’s economy – a gross domestic product of nearly $400 billion and a population of some 190 million – belies major weaknesses.  Reliance on crude oil sales for around 90% of foreign exchange earnings led to neglect of other sectors. Once thriving automobile, textile and agricultural industries atrophied.

    While nations including Ethiopia and Kenya are investing heavily in railways, highways and power projects with a view to becoming manufacturing hubs, Nigeria’s infrastructure remains antiquated.

    With a population less than a third its size, South Africa, the continent’s second largest economy, produces roughly 10 times more electricity than Nigeria. South African brands, including supermarkets and telecommunication firms, are already conquering Africa.

    Nigeria garnered just 23 points out of 100 in the World Bank’s “trading across borders” scoring due to its jam-packed ports and pot-holed roads, which add significant costs and delays to trade. Kenya, by comparison, scored 68.

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is working to catch up. But those efforts in many cases run counter to the spirit of free trade the AfCFTA embodies.

    Nigeria has placed import controls on a broad range of items, from rice, cocoa and tomatoes to furniture and footwear.

    Total duties – tariffs, fees and other taxes – on some imports can top 70%.

    The central bank has also restricted access to foreign exchange for imports of more than 40 items it says Nigeria should produce itself. Some of these policies have backfired.

    A cap on gasoline prices requires heavy subsidies on refined petroleum imports, and the artificially low prices mean 10% to 20% of Nigerian fuel is smuggled to neighbouring Benin, according to estimates by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).

    Import controls on rice, imposed even as local farmers fail to meet demand, have kept prices artificially high and led to smuggling from Benin into Nigeria.

    Still, the measures are largely supported in Nigeria, particularly among manufacturers such as Adeleye, who says fellow stationers have benefited from a ban on imports made from a type of paper that would compete with their products.

    Read Also: Intra-Africa Trade Fair seals $27b deals

    He fears joining the African free trade area could sweep away such advantages.

    “They have to stay in place,” he said.

    ‘Something’s got to give’

    Having now signed onto the AfCFTA, Nigeria’s presidency said last month it will set up a committee of government agencies and private sector groups to chart the way forward. But it made clear that requesting carve-outs for specific economic sectors would be a part of the process.

    “We viewed this as both an opportunity and a threat,” Buhari told a group of business leaders in July.

    Analysts worry Nigeria’s attempts to reconcile its strategy of ring-fencing domestic industries with its membership in a free trade zone could pose a major obstacle to implementing the agreement.

    “Something has to give,” said John Ashbourne, senior emerging markets economist at London-based consultancy Capital Economics. “Will other African countries allow in Nigerian goods if the (central bank) is actively trying to discourage trade going the other way?”

    Nigeria’s protectionism has scuppered similar multinational initiatives in the past.

    Five years after negotiations wrapped up for an economic partnership between the European Union and 16 West African nations, Nigeria’s failure to sign the deal has effectively blocked it for the entire region.

    Its adherence to the West African bloc ECOWAS’ common external tariff regime has also been patchy.

    Any attempts by Nigeria to slow-pedal implementation of the new African free trade deal until it is satisfied it can compete with its neighbours could be similarly undermining. Overhauling Nigeria’s infrastructure could take decades.

    FDC estimates its power and transportation networks alone need 4.57 trillion naira ($15 billion) annually, an amount equivalent to 6.7% of GDP.

    However, the consultancy said Nigeria’s total infrastructure spending was just over 2 trillion naira over the past two years.

    At his factory, surrounded by stacks of brown and white envelopes, Adeleye said Nigeria wasn’t prepared for the challenges the AfCFTA would present. But he said the country had made a commitment.

    “We signed,” he said, smiling. “We have to be ready. There is no going back.”

  • Security foils #RevolutionNow protests in Osun, Rivers, Kano, Kwara, others

    SECURITY agencies on Monday foiled the #RevolutionNow protests in many states.

    In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, security agents defied a downpour to man strategic places in the capital city, especially the Isaac Boro Park, near the State House.

    Governor Nyesom Wike on Sunday warned against the protest, directing security operatives to foil it and arrest participants.

    There was no gathering of any kind and business activities went on as usual in the state.

    As early as 6 a.m., policemen took over the main gate of the Isaac Boro Park in Mile One, Diobu, Port Harcourt, the usual take-off point for most protests in Rivers.

    Shortly after the policemen’s arrival, the downpour started, forcing them to move into the six Toyota Hilux patrol vans parked under the flyover, directly opposite the park. The heavy rain was still on, as at press time.

    In Benin City, the Edo State capital, and other towns, there were no protests. The Oba Ovoranmen Square, the city centre that served as a rallying point for previous protests, was empty.

    Residents went about their daily activities. A news conference scheduled by some activists in the state was called off after a call from Abuja. Security was beefed up around Benin City and major streets.

    In Ondo, the protest also failed. Business and social activities went on smoothly in Akure, the state capital. Security agents were deployed to strategic areas of the Akure metropolis.

    At the M.K.O Abiola Democracy Park, close to the main market, Oja Oba, officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and some plain-clothed men took charge.

    Policemen and NSCDC men were stationed at the Mobil Roundabout, Alagbaka, Shoprite, Oda Road, NEPA Roundabout and Isikan Roundabout. Several police vans patrolled major streets.

    Ondo State Police Command spokesman Femi Joseph, a Superintendent of Police, said the state Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, ordered policemen to be on red alert.

    He said: “We have a good number of our men in strategic areas of the metropolis. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) commanding are in the streets with our men, monitoring the situation.

    “It is the right of every individual citizen to protest, but the manner and the lexicon they (organisers) are using ‘revolution’ depicts forceful takeover of a legitimate government in power. No security agencies would allow that to any groups to attempt to overthrow the government. A forceful takeover is no longer fashionable all over the world. No country would allow that.

    “The only means of change now is through the ballot. That’s why the proposed protest was condemned by many Nigerians. That’s why we are going to resist any vestiges of revolution.

    “We are on the ground and ready. We are not leaving anything to chance because Omoyele Sowore is from this state and surely he would have some of his supporters here. We would not allow that in our state.

    “This is not acceptable. It is tantamount to treason and we all know the consequences. They should dissipate their energy on better things. They should not make any attempt in Ondo State because we will deal with them decisively though within the ambit of the law.”

    Poor response in Southeast

    There was a poor response to the call for protest in the Southeast.

    The Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, attributed the poor response in Enugu to the Igbo quest for president in 2023.

    Okechukwu spoke with reporters shortly after a meeting with Wawa Farmers Association in Enugu.

    He described the call for nationwide protest by Global Coalition for Security and Democracy (GCSD) led by Omoyele Sowore as unpatriotic.

    “Methinks our people are aware that 2023 is the date we are waiting to elect Nigeria president of Igbo extraction. That’s why they didn’t participate in the protest. All one hears from the people one discussed within the meeting with WAWA Farmers Association was their anger over incessant killings like that of Rev. Fr. Paul Offu.

    “Instead of protest, they are urging Mr President to overhaul the security architecture and upgrade the security infrastructure. They cried that insecurity is hampering their farming activities,” Okechukwu said.

    All quiet in Kano

    The protest did not hold in the ancient city of Kano. Business and commercial activities went on as usual.

    Many residents were not even aware of the planned protest. Security men were drafted to beef up security at strategic flashpoints of Kano metropolis.

    Also, several police vans, including that of the armed, patrolled major streets in Kano.

    The spokesman of the Kano State Police Command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, told this reporter that the Commissioner of Police Ahmed Iliyasu ordered policemen across the state to be on red alert.

    He said: “As I am talking to you, as you can also observe, Kano is peaceful, our men have been drafted to strategic areas to monitor the situation.”

    Police brutalise 70-year-old, arrest 10 protesters in Osun

    The police on Monday brutalised a 70-year-old poor woman, Sariyu Akanmi, during the protest in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

    She was hawking fufu where the protest was going on. The police hit her with the butt of their gun, kicking her on the floor while trying to throw her inside their van. But the intervention of some people around prevented them from arresting the woman.

    The police also arrested ten of the protesters. Tear gas canisters were thrown at reporters covering the protest.

    Men of the State Security Service and the Police prevented members of the Coalition for Revolution in Osun State from protesting against alleged suffering of Nigerians under the Mohammad Buhari administration.

    The protesters, mainly students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and other public tertiary institutions in the state, gathered at Olaiya junction in Osogbo, the state capital around 9.00 am to sensitise Nigerians about the “deplorable conditions prevalent in the country under the watch of the President Buhari.”

    The protesters called for a revolution to stem the tide of a spate of joblessness, insecurity, hunger, modulated workers salary and “fraudulent implication of the Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria.”

    For hours, security agents, including the SSS, the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps kept the students under watch and did not allow them to move out of Olaiya junction.

    Some of the students, who used the Public Address System to speak to passers-by, demanded the unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the Revolution Now movement.

    Calm in Kogi, Anambra

    There was no protest in Kogi State. Aside from the early morning rain, normal business activities resumed around the capital, Lokoja. People went about their daily chores.

    Many residents were unaware of the call for the protest march by the NigeriaRevolutionNow group. There was no unusual deployment of security agents.

    Anambra State police command deployed over 50 patrol teams in the state. They moved around the state.  There was no protest in the state. Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Haruna Mohammed said the Command was ready for anybody or group that would try to disturb the peace in the state.

    Commissioner of Police John Abang directed the deployment of policemen both in plain clothes and uniform to patrol all the roads in the state.

    Mohammed said: “The state is not involved in the protest, but what the Command has done is to take proactive measure in case of any disturbances from some miscreants.

    “Anambra has been a quiet place and the Command will like it to remain so. But if anyone tries to be smart, the person will face the wrath of the command.”

     

    Police disrupt sporting activities in Ilorin

    Some heavily armed men of the Kwara State command yesterday stormed the state’s stadium complex to disperse athletes on training.

    The police were ordered to block the stadium gate over speculation that the facility would be used for the pro-revolution rally.

    Police spokesperson Ajayi Okasanmi said the presence of policemen at the stadium was a proactive measure put in place by the police command to prevent chaos.

    Okasanmi said: “Kwara State is largely recognised as a state of harmony and Ilorin is reputed to be peaceful. We owe our law-abiding people the duty to sustain that. More so, we had to prevent the planned protest from being hijacked by hoodlums in order not to lead to any dangerous dimension.”

    Anti-revolution protest in Alausa

    A group, Democracy Watch Africa (DWA), an umbrella body of over 30 Civil Society Organisations in West Africa Monday morning protested against the planned RevolutionNow protest earmarked for Monday.

    Its convener, Josephine Okpara, demanded the expulsion of Amnesty International (AI), and not revolution.

    They carried placards with various inscriptions like: ‘Amnesty International leave Nigeria or we give you war, we will fight you and not our country’, ‘Amnesty International must go’, ‘We stand by peace in Nigeria, we say no to Amnesty International and all her allies’, ‘We say no to terrorism, Amnesty International, Boko Haram, Islamic movement, revolution’, ‘No more war in Nigeria, shame on Amnesty International and her sponsors’, etc.

    They accused the pro-revolution group of acting against the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians “under the active support of some external forces that are bent on destabilising the country.

  • ‘Robbing’ milk importers to save forex

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at the end of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja last month, hinted of possible restriction of foreign exchange (forex) to importers of milk. Importers of milk will be required to source forex from alternative sources. The policy is expected to help government conserve forex for critically needed areas and promote local milk production, writes COLLINS NWEZE

    Taking bold decisions demands courage and foresight on the part of the government and its agencies.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) restriction of 43 items from accessing foreign exchange (forex) from official windows was one of such policies.

    More than three years after the policy shift, its objectives such as encouraging local production of the affected items and boosting local industries suffocated by the importation of competing products are being realised.

    And just last month, the CBN added milk to the list of items that cannot have access to official forex for its importation. CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele disclosed at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja that there will be restriction of forex access to importers of milk.

    Emefiele lamented that between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion are spent yearly to import milk into the country. “We can no longer continue to spend close to $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion, importing milk into the country, a product we can produce. To some extent, they (milk importers) should help us also to reduce the rate of herders, farmers conflict,” he said.

    The CBN said the present administration and the Governor of Central Bank are in support of local manufacturers and believe in growing local industries rather than making Nigeria become a dumping ground for all kinds of imported goods.

    The policy implementation was part of the home-grown solutions introduced by Emefiele to sustain forex market stability and ensure the efficient utilisation of available forex to grow critical segments of the economy.

    The policy implies that those who import milk and other items within the restriction list can no longer buy forex from the official window to pay overseas’ suppliers. Rather, they will have to source forex from the parallel market or Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to pay for their imports.

    Emefiele said the bank has been developing home-grown policies to ensure that forex is channelled to a most critical sector of the economy.

    The policy makes a clear case for investments in local milk production to promote new jobs creation and forex conservation.

    One of the critics of the policy was former education minister Obiageli Ezekwesili. She said the CBN’s forex policy on milk importation is dangerous to the poor.

    She said that Nigeria has the highest number of children less than 5 years with chronic malnutrition (stunting or low height-for-age) in sub-Saharan Africa at more than 11.7 million, according to the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) (National Population Commission.

    CBN defends policy

    But the CBN has defended its policy restricting foreign exchange access to importers of milk. The apex bank said there were attempts by some interests, who feel hurt by the planned policy aimed at promoting the local production of milk, to mislead the public by misrepresenting the unassailable case for investments in local milk production and the medium to long-term benefits of the planned policy.

    “While we are aware that some of our policies may hurt some business interests, we are thankful to Nigerians for the buy-in and intense interest in the policies of the CBN. As a people-oriented institution, however, we shall remain focused on the overarching and ultimate welfare of the Nigerian masses.

    ‘’We, therefore, wish to, once again, reiterate our policy case as it relates to the planned restriction of access to the Foreign Exchange market by importers of milk,” the statement said.

    Continuing, the CBN explained that the country and the welfare of Nigerians come first in all its policies. “Being an apolitical organisation, we do not wish to be dragged into politics. Our focus remains to ensure forex savings, job creation and investments in the local production of milk. For over 60 years, Nigerian children and indeed adults have been made to be heavily dependent on milk imports. The national food security implications of this can easily be imagined, particularly, when it is technically and commercially possible to breed the cows that produce milk in Nigeria.

    About three years ago, we began a policy to encourage backward integration to conserve foreign exchange and create jobs for our people,” it said.

    CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said: “For the avoidance of doubt, Milk importation is not banned. Indeed, the CBN has no such power. All we will do is to restrict the sale of forex for the importation of milk from the foreign exchange market. We wish to reiterate that we remain ready and able to provide the needed finance to enable investors who genuinely want to engage in milk production”.

    “Arising from the success of the restriction policy, we approached some milk importers, like we did for rice, tomato and starch and asked them to take advantage of CBN’s low-interest loans to begin local milk production instead of relying endlessly on milk imports. Today, although there have been some successful attempts at producing milk locally, the vast majority of the importers still treat this national aspiration with imperial contempt,” he stated.

    Okorafor said the ongoing resort to blackmail and undue politicisation through the use of social media attacks can only serve to strengthen our resolve to wean our country from the clutches of powerful and highly influential traders and dealers who have kept the masses of our people hostage to foreign consumption and condemned our youths to perpetual unemployment.

    “We call on Nigerians to enlist in this vanguard to take our economy back from vested interests, make our country a productive economy and create jobs,” he said.

    Also, Nigerian farmer based in Ogun State, Abiodun Adeoye, explained that Nigerian farmers were in support of CBN to stop issuing forex to importers of milk. He said that companies in the milk import business should look inwards and begin local production of the commodity. He urged the CBN to give local producers of milk the needed support that will enable them to produce needed quantity locally to avoid a rise in price.

    Besides, when the CBN policy that placed official window forex ban on 43 items was introduced, some parties that benefitted from the old plan condemned it. They used intrigues, subterfuge and even blackmail to try to upturn that decision. But Emefiele stood his ground.

    And Nigeria is the better for it as many products including toothpick, which used to be imported are produced locally today with the added benefit of job creation and self-reliance in the production of items like rice for instance.

    Over time, Nigerians were encouraged to key into that policy and other similar policies of the CBN that are expanding and developing the economy. Instead of yielding to disingenuous tendencies that had held the nation down over the years, the CBN under Emefiele decided to remain focused on the overarching and ultimate welfare of the Nigerian masses.

    Emefiele said that: “About three and half years ago, when the policy on restriction of forex started, we considered including milk on the list of items under restriction from forex, but we conjectured that based on sentiment some people are bound to express, that we should be very careful.

    The CBN Governor continued “We called on the management of the oldest milk importer into Nigeria, WAMCO into Central Bank office in Lagos. We held at least three meetings with them and we told them this would have happened but we decided not to allow it to happen, that we are trying to use the opportunity to appeal to them to do backward integration. Integrate backwards and begin the process of developing and producing your milk in Nigeria”.

    One way of doing this Emefiele added is for importers to support the pastoralists, get them concentrated in one place instead of moving around. Provide them facilities like water, hospitals, and schools. ”If you are in a community and you want to enjoy the proceeds of that community there is nothing wrong in providing certain things for the communities to blossom. The proceeds of what you get in return will be your milk to recoup your investments.”

    The CBN boss pointed out that “Those are the kind of things we expect companies that are importing milk into Nigeria to do. Unfortunately, after three years, nothing has happened. If the journey was started three years ago, perhaps the herders, farmers’ conflict that we see today would not have been as intense as it is this time.”

    Data on local milk production/consumption

    The poor support by the government in the past via a conducive policy environment had for long affected growth of the country’s dairy sector. In fact, if the government had shown enough commitment to the sector, Nigeria would have by now started obtaining the highest possible yields per hectare and a kilogramme of milk per cow per year.

    Currently, Nigeria’s output of milk per cow per day is about 1 litre, compared to other African countries like Kenya and Uganda with between 30 to 40 litres of milk per cow per day.

    Compared to Africa and Asia’s average of 0.9 million tonnes and 6.6 million tonnes, respectively, Nigeria’s 0.6 million tonnes of milk production is the lowest in the world.

    The rating agency said in its report that Nigeria consumes an estimated 1.7 million tonnes of milk annually, but her production output only meets about 34 per cent of demand.

    Impact of previous forex restrictions on the economy

    The CBN boss, Emefiele, said the bank has been developing home-grown policies to surmount challenges that confronted the economy in recent times.

    “As I have always emphasised, it is our collective duty to ensure that the potentials and prospects of the Nigerian economy are optimally realised. The ongoing economic recovery requires the joint efforts and wise counsel of everyone if we must make giant strides forward. The CBN is more determined now than ever to remain at the forefront of the effort to ensure that the rebound is not overturned,” he said.

    He said that Nigeria’s political-economy experienced significant challenges over the last few years revealing its structural deficiencies particularly with regards to its dependence on crude oil, as a major source of its revenue and foreign exchange, as well as over-dependence of our people on imported items even when these goods could be produced locally. The 60 per cent decline in crude oil prices between 2015 and 2016 helped shape the trajectory of our economy, ultimately triggering the economic recession in the first quarter of 2016.

    He said that with improved availability of foreign exchange, the exchange rate at the Investors & Exporters FX window has remained stable over the past 12 months and the parallel market exchange rate premium has narrowed significantly. At the bureaux de change segment, there was a significant appreciation of the Naira from over N525/US$ in February 2017 to about N361/$ today. Rates at the I&E window also appreciated from nearly N382/$ in May 2017 to N360/$ at present.

    He said that with regards to our over-dependence of imports, the economic recession triggered mainly by the drop in crude oil prices, only strengthened the case for the need to move from a nation wholly dependent on consumption, to a nation that produces a large proportion of what it needs, particularly in areas where the resources or inputs needed for production are widely available across the country. This thought process shaped our decision to impose the restriction on access to forex for 43 items that can be produced in Nigeria.

    “There has been considerable discourse particularly on whether the restriction on access to foreign exchange for 43 items is driving local production, with some nay-sayers stating that it has constrained productivity and growth in the economy. Based on our internal research conducted at the Central Bank of Nigeria, there is strong support that the recovery of our economy from the recession may have been much weaker or even negative, without the implementation of the restriction on 43 items.”

    “Our research supports the conclusion that the combination of the restriction on 43 items along with other measures imposed by the fiscal and monetary authorities has helped to promote the recovery. Any attempt to reverse the course of these actions may have untold consequences on the growth trajectory of our economy particularly in our push to diversify and restructure our economy. In fact, recommendations are being made to the CBN that the list of 43 items is expanded to include other additional items that can be locally produced.”

    Emefiele said many entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this policy to venture into the domestic production of the restricted items with remarkable successes and great positive impact on employment. “The dramatic decline in our import bill and the increase in domestic production of these items attest to the efficacy of this policy. Noticeable declines were steadily recorded in our monthly food import bill from $665.4 million in January 2015 to $160.4 million as at October 2018; a cumulative fall of 75.9 per cent and an implied savings of over $21 billion on food imports alone over that period. Most evident was the 97.3 per cent cumulative reduction in monthly rice import bills, 99.6 per cent in fish, 81.3 per cent in milk, 63.7 per cent in sugar, and 60.5 per cent in wheat,” he said.

    Emefiele, who spoke on the theme: “Strengthening the Economic Recovery Process in Nigeria”, said : “In my inaugural address after assuming office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in June 2014, I indicated that my mandate would be to ensure that the Central Bank of Nigeria is more people-focused, as its policies and programs would be geared towards supporting job creation and fostering inclusive growth, in addition to key macroeconomic concerns such as inflation and exchange rate stability. I hope to use this opportunity tonight to convey a sense of the strong commitment of the Central Bank of Nigeria towards supporting measures that would wean the nation from its dependence on imported goods, create wealth and jobs for our teeming youths, and promote a more stable and resilient financial system”.

    Continuing, he said the CBN will always act in good faith, with the best available information and in cognizance of current economic conditions, to pursue the goals of price and financial system stability, as well as in supporting job creation on a massive scale and inclusive growth in the country.

    “After a wave of scathing criticism that trailed some of our past policies, many of these measures are today widely applauded as brilliant and conscientious actions. As policymakers, our perspectives are typically different from those of the public; but our data, information and outlook remain superior. I, therefore, enjoin our critiques to avoid being hasty in their condemnation of our policies”.

  • As Nigeria hosts World Youth Employment Forum

    TODAY, August 1, 2019, youths from different countries of the world will converge on Abuja for a three-day Global Youth Employment Forum. Nigeria will indeed host the world in an event  being organized by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.  The event comes as part of  the ILO centenary anniversary which started earlier in May this year.  It will be recalled that the 101st session of the International Labour Conference had in 2012 adopted a resolution tagged, “Youth Employment Crisis – A Call for Action,” to place youth development on the top national development agenda of member nations. It further adopted the Goal 8 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a view to accelerate economic growth and decent work for youths. Hence, this year’s Global Youth Employment Forum with the theme, “Today and Tomorrow With Decent Jobs for Youths” is to strengthen the 2012 “ Call For Action.”

    It bears stating at this juncture, that this is the second time in the one hundred years history of the ILO that this youth  event will hold, the first being the 2012 edition which held  Geneva, Switzerland.  The choice of Nigeria for this Centenary edition according to the world labour body is in recognition of its various contributions towards youth development across the African continent. In other words, here comes a global recognition and endorsement for an age long  efforts of Nigeria,  most  especially, the giant steps of the Buhari administration to mainstream the Nigerian youths in various socio-political and economic milieu.

    Expected at the event are  two hundred and fifty youth entrepreneurs  selected from the global community and cutting across social partners.  Also expected in attendance are the Director General of the ILO, Mr. Guy Ryder, the United Nation’s Special Envoy on Youths, other UN officials, dignitaries from ILO member states as well as Directors of the ILO country offices across Africa. It is worthy of note that this is the first time a Director General of the ILO will be visiting since Nigeria became the first African nation to join the group in 1960. The delegates  will share their experiences on decent work as it affects the world of work and based on the peculiarities of each nation. They will also  deliberate on emerging youth challenges while proffering  solutions to them . The import of the forum for Africa with nearly 325 million youths cannot be lost on its development index.  It therefore establishes the resolve of the ILO to invest on African youths in view of its “Call For Action” in search of  sustained development goals. It will also ginger continental commitment to youth development as contained  in the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063.

    Expectedly, the forum will amplify youth voices, aspirations and expectations as well as reflect on sectors that will provide productive employment. From shared experiences, the forum will solicit commitment for action and global partnership.

    In a similar vein, the forum will provide a rare opportunity for Nigeria to showcase her accomplishments in repositioning her youths as well as promote youth innovations and entrepreneurship . It further  offers a veritable window into the various policies and  programmes  of the Buhari administration in tackling challenges of youth unemployment through direct diverse empowerment initiatives that have impacted positively on the Nigerian youths.

    For example, the massive investment of the Federal Government in agriculture has absorbed millions of youths into gainful employment. At present, over two million youths have also benefited from different categories of   N-Power programme while the Government  Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) MarketMoni scheme has empowered 350,000 MSMEs across 36 states of the Federation. The administration has additionally approved N10billion Youth Entrepreneurship Support Project (YES-P) to empower youths with business start-up loans. Government has also built two ICT innovation Hubs  in Abuja and Lagos to accelerate national advancement in information and technology .

    At another level, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) an agency under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Employment has trained and empowered hundreds of thousands of youths in the last four years. Besides, the Migrant Resource Centre  Centre established in Lagos and Benin City by the International Organisation on Migration in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour is also in furtherance of the objectives of the administration to curb illegal migration that has claimed the lives of thousands of youths. Above all, the signing into law of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run bill by President Mohammadu Buhari in November 2018 is a crown on the efforts of the administration  in political mainstreaming of the youths.

    As the world therefore converge on Abuja for the Global Youth Employment Forum, let the event serve as an additional motivation on social partners to not only sustain but also step up every effort towards surmounting cascading challenges that face the youths.

     

    • William Nwankwo Alo is Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment & Chairman Inter-Ministerial Committee on Global Youth EmploymentForum

  • New structure to tackle challenge

    THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has said it will collaborate with the Borno State Government and North East Development Commission to develop a new structure towards eliminating coordination gap in humanitarian response in the North East.

    The Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, made the disclosure when he hosted Mr Richard Danziger, International Organisations for Migration (IOM), Regional Director for West Africa, on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Maihaja, who said that coordination gap had been a thorny issue in the activities of NEMA in the North East, assured the IOM official that the initiative by the three agencies would resolve it.

    He explained that a secretariat solely for coordination of activities would be establish and all parties would be represented to ensure that the objective of providing succour was attained without delay.

    “In our efforts to improve in our humanitarian response to make it more effective and efficient, we are developing a new structure in our approach.

    “ We are collaborating with the Borno State Government and the North East Development Commission so that the gap created in the past, in the coordination front, is reduced to the barest minimum, if not totally eliminated.

    “ Currently, we are holding monthly humanitarian coordination forum and, in the course of our discussion in the last three months, we were able to identify critical areas that need our collective efforts, particularly shelter. Areas affected are Damboa and some camps in Gumel camp in Maiduguri,” he said.

    Maihaja said that issues of security of personnel that would be involved would be made a priority, adding that without security, the activities of NEMA and other agencies would not be effective.

    He assured the official that government would liaise with the military authority to devise a mechanism of reaching to the people that are trapped somewhere within the North East.

  • Boko Haram… 10 years of humanitarian crises in Northeast

    The Boko Haram insurgency has taken a toll on the Northeast in the last 10 years. Rabiu Sani examines how this humanitarian crisis has been handled.

     

    On Thursday July 25, dozens of Boko Haram insurgents attacked the Dalori Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the outskirt of Maiduguri. The insurgents killed two residents, looted food items and razed shops.

    The insurgents had on July 18, abducted six aid workers of a non-governmental organisation, Action against Hunger, while travelling on Gubio-Damasak Road, in northern Borno.

    The workers were in the area to provide humanitarian support to people affected by the decade-long conflict.

    Dalori IDPs camp attack, coincided with the 10-year remembrance of the clash between security forces and Islamic extremist group, formally called “Yusufiyya Movement,” in Maiduguri metropolis on July 26, 2009.

    Reports indicated that about 700 members of the group, including its spiritual leader, Mohammed Yusuf, were killed in the encounter.

    The violent clashes of that day sowed the seed of Boko Haram insurgency, which engulfed major cities in northern Nigeria and spilled into Cameroun, Chad and Niger republics.

    Boko Haram insurgency had led to one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, while the atrocities of the terrorists continued unabated on civilian population, in spite successes recorded by military counter insurgency operations.

    The group attracted international attention in 2014, with the abduction of over 200 Chibok school girls, while thousands of women and children were abducted, maimed, raped or forcefully conscripted into foot soldiers and human bombs.

    Also, Boko Haram fighters on March 1, 2018, attacked Rann town in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno, killed three male health aid workers providing life saving humanitarian assistance to thousands of internally displaced persons in the area.

    The insurgents equally abducted three female aid workers: Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Lokshah. Khorsa and Liman were executed by their captors in September 2018 and October 2018, respectively.

    Similarly the insurgents abducted over 200 school girls at Dapchi in Yobe in 2018, though all the girls with the exception of Leah Sharibu were freed.

    According to the United Nations statistics, the insurgency triggered displacement of about eight million people, while over 20, 000 others were killed in the past 10 years.

    In 10 years, about two million persons are currently displaced with over 80 per cent of them seeking refuge in camps and host communities in Maiduguri, they are also in dire need of life saving assistance.

    To most of the affected persons, life has not been the same, as the conflict exposed them to unbearable conditions such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, starvation and lack of protection.

    One of the displaced persons, Ali Mai, said he escaped to Maiduguri and stayed in the camp, after the insurgents sacked his village in Marte Local Government Area of Borno.

    Recounting his ordeal in the hands of the insurgents, Mai said that the terrorists killed his two children and razed his house.

    The 55-year-old farmer added that he now stays in a makeshift tent with his wife and three daughters.

    “I hope the conflict will end soon, so that I can go back home and resume my normal life.”

    Another displaced person, Kaka Sanda, said the insurgency subjected them to difficult conditions and dashed their hopes of a better life.

    “I lost my livelihood and left with nothing to live on, in spite the resilience, I still find it difficult to move on,” Sanda said.

    Eric Batonon, the Director, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Nigeria, observed that people have continued to flee on weekly basis because of violence and insecurity in the North-East.

    He said that many of the displaced persons settle along roadsides or on empty strips of land, with poor sanitation and no access to potable water.

    Batonon said: “Ten years on, it is harrowing to see families still crowding into make-shift shelters with inadequate drainage systems.

    “People in Nigeria need safe pathways back to their homes and much better living conditions.

    “In the meantime, displacement sites are dangerous, chaotic and entirely unsuitable for children. It is critical to decongest these overcrowded sites, provide people that have been forced to flee with safe, dignified facilities and prevent another deadly cholera outbreak.”

    Read Also: How Boko Haram killed 68 mourners in Borno

    He appealed to the global humanitarian community, local and national authorities to do much more to improve the lives of the displaced persons.

    To address the humanitarian challenges, the UN in collaboration with International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), humanitarian actors, Federal and Borno State Governments initiated various interventions to support and alleviate the sufferings of persons affected by the conflict.

    The UN through its Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), launched  835 million US dollars fund in 2019 to fast track interventions in areas of food, shelter, healthcare services, education, water and sanitation, as well as livelihood, security and protection for the displaced persons.

    A number of programmes are also being implemented to alleviate the sufferings and improve the lives of persons in need, in spite of challenges posed by inadequate funding, fresh displacements triggered by the ongoing conflict between the security forces and insurgents, as well as attacks on humanitarian workers.

    Mr Edward Kallon, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, while commenting on recent abduction of aid workers in northern Borno, said that 7.1 million people still need humanitarian assistance.

    Violence, insecurity and inaccessibility to remote areas of Borno continue to hamper response to urgent needs, he added.

    “These acts of violence affect the very individuals, families, and communities that we support, and deprive vulnerable people of vital services. All parties should protect and facilitate the delivery of aid.

    “In spite of constraints, the humanitarian community remains committed to do its utmost to provide life-saving assistance and help the people in the North-East to rebuild their lives,” Kallon said.

    Also, the Federal Government in a deliberate move to end the conflict and restore peace to the war-torn region,  initiated and implemented an amnesty programme, code named: “Operation Safe Corridor.”

    Operation Safe Corridor is designed to encourage Boko Haram insurgents to surrender, undergo de-radicalisation and rehabilitation and facilitate their reintegration into the society.

    Maj-Gen- Bamidele Shafa, the Coordinator of the programme, revealed that hundreds of the repentant insurgents have been reintegrated into the society in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, in the past one year.

    In the same vein, the Borno Government had initiated a comprehensive Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement programme, to facilitate resettlement of displaced persons and restoration of civil authorities in resettled communities.

    More than 10, 000 residential homes, schools, classrooms, clinics, markets, water facilities, offices and other public infrastructure were constructed under the programme.

    Batonon reiterated the need for donor countries to increase their support to families trying desperately to survive in one of the world’s most volatile region.

    “The world needs to scale up the relief work and send a message of hope to the more than seven million people in need of humanitarian assistance in North-East Nigeria. After a decade of conflict, we need to show them that they have not been forgotten.”

     

    • Sani is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)