The release of Nigeria’s first genetically modified (GM) food crop, Pod Borer Resistant (PBR), cowpea which has been approved by the Federal Government for commercial release is experiencing delay due to the impact of COVID-19. JULIANA AGBO reports
Before the Coronavirus outbreak, farmers were at the verge of getting the newly released Bt cowpea known as the Pod Borer Resistant (PBR), cowpea for the 2020 farming season.
While farmers have been waiting to try the new crop on their farms after battling pod borer (Maruca) infestations for years, the COVID-19 pandemic may have interfered with the proposed planting of Bt cowpea, which is one of Nigeria’s most important staple crops.
The farmers, whose hopes were upbeat about the Bt cowpea, which scientists have determined confers 100 per cent protection, have been undergoing training in the best practices and skills to effectively begin growing the crops as soon as the planting season begins.
On how the COVID-19 pandemic affected plans for the roll out of the PBR cowpea, the Regional Director, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Issoufou Kollo said the commercial aspect of the cowpea is delayed because they couldn’t use the last three months to meet with farmers due to the lockdown.
Kollo, who explained that there are enough seeds to distribute to farmers, said AATF can still meet with the deadline to get the seeds across to farmers.
He said: “COVID-19 has impacted on our plans, but I think we can catch up with time. The only way farmers won’t have access to our PBR cowpea seeds, is if they would not do farm work during the next season.
“We can still work with farmers during the rainy season, because we have enough seeds to go on farm demonstration trials with our farmers.”
On plans to mitigate some of the challenges encountered as a result of COVID-19, Kollo said the Foundation didn’t stop working, but couldn’t do some activities such as meeting with people who come from different parts of the country.
He said: “We were able to change how we meet. Instead of travelling, we use electronic way of meeting, but there are certain activities that could not be carried out because Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where we carry out our activities is closed.
So, it means all field activities in the school stopped, even as some of the laboratory works could not be carried out. It is better to save the scientists instead of endangering their lives.
Furthermore, a farmer from Niger State, Inuwa Alli, who spoke with The Nation in a telephone chat, said the news of the release of Bt cowpea elicited excitement among Nigerian farmers.
Alli, who said the Coronavirus pandemic has slowed down most of the activities of the rainy season planting, said food security would be threatened this year if nothing is done to avert it.
“The Maruca outbreak has been so severe, and the crop losses so significant, that a number of farmers have quit growing cowpea due to frustration.
“We were told that Nigeria will gain N48 billion annually from PBR cowpea. This is good news and farmers have been waiting to start planting of the crop.”
Continuing, Kollo explained that the data given on the revenue to be generated from the cowpea annually were not fabricated.
He said: “We didn’t fabricate these data. The data came from the farmers who participated during the National Variety Performance Trials. Many farmers have been able to carry out some tests on their own.
“The data that has been presented to the National Variety Release Committee was not collected by the research team. The data was collected by farmers and extension workers, and we firmly believe that the N48 billion is underestimated.
“Nigeria has three million hectares of planted cowpea. So, even if you have 20 per cent yield increase in this three million hectares, that’s the amount of money it can give you, and it is even underestimated on our side of what PBR cowpea can produce in a year.
On trials, he said: “We have two series of trials; one is on-station across Nigeria and across different local government areas which have been selected by the essential people. So, farmers are the ones who manage their own trials.
On seed multiplication for PBR cowpea, the cowpea manager said some seed companies have been selected to produce the certified commercial seeds for farmers and some to produce foundation seeds.
“We have made some selections, but we couldn’t finish the selection process because of the COVID-19. So, we couldn’t invite or visit some of them.
“We are planning a meeting with the seed companies. Definitely, we want to ensure that the seed companies benefit from the PBR cowpea to produce the certified commercial seeds for farmers and some to produce foundation seeds. Seed companies will be one of the biggest winners for PBR cowpea project,” he added.
Kollo noted that to improve farming and agricultural development, there is the need to develop the skills of extension workers.
He said: “As long as extension workers are in the dark, you don’t have agricultural development. Extension is very important for agricultural development. It is not only research.
On the Newest rice project, Kollo said the Foundation was through with the first year of data.
“We have made serious progress with the project. If you want to get the variety approved by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), you have to provide scientific data that shows that the product is safe. So, the first year of data has been collected, and we are in the second year of data collection.
In agriculture, two cropping seasons are never alike, with what you see in one season, you can’t base your conclusion on it. You need at least two cropping seasons to be sure that your conclusions are valid. So, we are in the second and last year of data collection. Hopefully next year, we believe that the crop will be approved by NBMA,” he said.
While commending the effort of the AATF, a Kaduna-based farmer, Donatus Cletus, said if the cowpea is released, it would help a lot of farmers who have abandoned cowpea farming for other crops due to pod borer (Maruca) infestations.
Nigeria has joined the list of countries seeking to harvest good opportunities from agricultural biotechnology innovations in the seed system with the Bt cowpea.
“We need to get the seeds fast so that we can catch up with the planting season. Allowing the 2020 farming season to go without planting will plunge Nigeria into more crises.”
Amid rising cases of the Coronavirus infection across the states, GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports that religious leaders have continued to mount pressure on ambivalent authorities to reopen worship places
The continued closure of worship places occasioned by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have tasked the forbearance of religious leaders in the country. The presidential order that shut down the worship centres also affected schools, government offices, private organisations, sports, entertainment and markets. However, workers in the health and other essential services were exempted from the lockdown while markets are allowed to open on certain days in a week. The Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states, were the first casualties in the lockdown order. And while the lockdown is being gradually relaxed in the three locations and the weeks progressed, schools and worship centres (churches and mosques) remain locked.
Following the gradual easing of the lockdown, religious leaders in the two dominant faiths have been calling for the opening of places of worship despite the spike in COVID-19 cases across the state and the Federal Capital Territory. In the last few days, prominent religious leaders across the country have been calling on the authorities to reopen worship centres. Some Christian religious leaders, in separate widely public publicised messages, have called on the federal and state governments to reopen churches across the country.
The presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, had, in one of his public statements, queried the government’s decision to partially open markets while churches remain shut in many states, including the nation’s capital. According to him, keeping churches locked up while opening markets was tantamount to working against the growth of the church in the country. The General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Joseph Daramola also faulted the continued closure of churches. Daramola argued that churches can also maintain social distancing while conducting services or other religious activities.
The cleric maintained that the government cannot separate the religious environment from that of the economy, adding that churches are even more orderly in conduct than the market. Also lending a voice to the call for the reopening of worship places was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, Ignatius Kaigama. He cited the decision by countries like Italy, Germany, the United States and some other countries in Europe to gradually reopen their churches in the coming days. Italy had reopened its churches a few days ago. Kaigama said if those countries worse hit by the pandemic could consider reopening of their churches, there was no reason for the authorities in Nigeria not to do the same.
Kaigama said: “We in the FCT are well placed to control our worshipping community members. We believe that religious leaders can make the most prudent use of places of worship and assist the government in enlightening people about the social consequences of COVID-19”.
In the midst of this, some state governments have reopened worship places and have lifted the ban on a religious gathering in their various states. The states include Cross River, Ebonyi, Kano, Borno, Zamfara and Bauchi, among others.
But the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, advised Muslims to observe prayers at home following safety precautions issued by the Presidential Task Force (PTF). The authorities in the federal capital territory have been strict in the enforcement of the ban on worship places. In the past few weeks, a task force, set up to enforce compliance, had arrested and prosecuted several religious leaders for flouting the restriction order.
In a chat with our correspondent, the chairman of the FCT Ministerial Task-team on the enforcement of COVID-19 restriction, Ikharo Attah, it has been a tough task enforcing the restriction order. According to him, no fewer than 11 Imams and eight pastors had been arrested and prosecuted for flouting the order.
“Our problem has been some Pastors and Imams who are not helping matters by still gathering their members for worship. This must stop to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
And despite pressure from Muslim and Christian religious leaders, Minister of the FCT Mallam Muhammad Bello vowed to keep places of worship shut-in Abuja. Explaining reasons for the development, Bello said the FCT is guided by advice by medical experts and guidelines from the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19. Bello spoke during a recent meeting with some religious leaders in his office.
The minister said: “Based on the guidance of the medical experts and consultations with the highest authority, the Presidential Task Force gave a decision and communication on the fact that all the measures approved two weeks ago be extended for another period to enable organisations, individuals and all of us plan for a gradual opening up of the society.”
Stating that advice from medical experts did not support reopening of worship places, for now, the minister insisted that the reopening of worship places in the capital city would be based on a signal from the Presidential Task Force. He, however, assured that a team consisting of representatives of religious leaders and FCT officials had been raised on the matter. The team, the minister said, would work out modalities and protocols for places of worship anytime the lockdown is relaxed.
“Therefore certain protocols such as the use of face masks, compulsory hand washing and social distancing will have to be adhered to when places of worship eventually re-open. This will also include the identification and placement of modalities for the decontamination of all places of worship. These protocols are necessary so that when eventually places of worship are re-opened, they will be done with minimal risks to the worshippers,” the minister said.
The seven professionals in the Built Environment sector – builders, town planners, engineers, surveyors, architects and others – are trained for various stages in construction. Unfortunately, some of them veer into areas they do not have sufficient training, not minding the complexities involved. The collapse of a seven-storey hotel building in Owerri, the lmo State capital has, once more, exposed the infighting among professionals in the sector and poor regulation, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIEreports
THE construction sector has always been bedevilled with unhealthy competitions among the professionals in the sector.
While architects believe they are the leaders because clients meet them first and that their competencies are high and encompassing, builders and others say the competencies in the seven professional grouping are varied and unique.
Observers also say the unhealthy competition among the professionals has led to challenges leading to building failures.
They insist that when people stray into areas they are not trained to work, they automatically become quacks no matter the qualification they parade.
Reacting to the controversy that greeted the recent building collapse in Owerri, the Imo State capital,the National President, Nigeria Institute of Building (NIOB), Kunle Awobodu, said it once again brought to the front burner the problem of building management in Nigeria.
He stressed the need for professionals in the industry to stay in their lane and do only that which they have competencies for. He also stressed the need for regulatory agencies to always play their role to preserve lives and properties.
Awobodu recalled how the NIOB chairman, Imo State Chapter Chairman, Collins Nwoko some weeks before the collapse, led a road-show round Owerri, sensitising the public on the need to engage professional builders in building construction to prevent building collapse. He recalled that the General Manager of Owerri Capital Development Authority, Innocent Ikpamezie, reportedly promised to prevent building collapse in the state by ensuring that prospective developers engage professional builders to manage building production process on their sites. However, he regretted that the promise didn’t come into effect before the collapse.
He said: “Investigations conducted on many collapsed buildings in Nigeria revealed that inappropriate management of building production on site has been the major cause. This is because quacks or impostors, who lacked professional competence, have usually succeeded in superintending over the very technical and complex process of building production. The Owerri building collapse is a clarion call to all ministries charged with physical planning and urban development in Nigeria to extend their strict assessment and vetting of building projects beyond building plan approval. Building plans and design documents are, to all intents and purposes, just in the design and preconstruction stage of building projects.”
He urged the ministries and agencies of physical planning and urban development to devote greater attention to the practical stage, which is the actual building construction. He advised that any company or those that plan to handle construction of any building should be investigated to ensure that round pegs are placed in round holes.
According to him, the building processes should be managed by the professional builder, who by his training and Hippocratic Oath, will not compromise on standards or competence.
On why building collapse has become a recurring decimal, the NIOB chief said: “It is because people without the requisite ability to carry out a task ignore the inherent risk for the tempting, anticipated monetary gains, thereby endangering lives and property. The delicate process of transforming the architectural, structural and services, designs and drawings to satisfactory building products require expertise that professional builders possess.”
He argued that when participants in building delivery process confine themselves to their areas of specialisation with a clear understanding of their limitations and refusing to go beyond or exceed the bounds of their training or competence, building owners will definitely get value for their money.
He stressed the need for consultants on a building project to ensure that those who will manage the building production process are qualified to do so in order to prevent a collapse that could smear the consultants’ reputation. He said most clients would not want to invest wrongly if they are sincerely guided.
Using Lagos as a case study, he urged building control agencies across the nation to ensure that a registered builder that could be held accountable for quality production is on site.
Awobodu said builders should manage the building process because the fear of losing his licence if found derelict by the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) and the accompanying loss of reputation always make the builder to be very cautious and fit for the building process.
While urging the government to quickly investigate and prosecute those involved in the building of the said hotel to deter quackery and negligence, the NIOB president further called for cooperation and collaboration among built environment professional bodies and other relevant government agencies and organisations to end building collapse. He pointed that passion develops in a human being that is encouraged to perform his or her special and unique role in the society.
Reacting to the building collapse, the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) and the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), whose members were engaged as consultants, denied any wrong doing.
ARCON President Dipo Ajayi said: “According to pre-contract agreement, the architectural consultant was approached by the client, who resides in France, to design a six-floor hotel complex on the land he acquired at the Musa Yar’Adua Drive in Owerri metropolis. On acceptance of the sketch design by the client, he engaged the services of qualified structural and M & E engineers for the production of working drawings and approval documents for the approval process. Architects were also not involved in the approval process as the client interacted directly with the OCDA (Owerri Capital Development Authority).”
He said the architects involved in the project consequently pulled out of the deal, as the client insisted on adding two floors to the structure.
He said this informed their pulling out of the project in good time to protect their professional integrity.
The owner of the collapsed seven-storey hotel structure, Chinedu Victor Anujuru, called for a judicial panel of inquiry to determine the remote and immediate cause of the collapse.
Anujuru, who is based in Paris, France, confirmed that the OCDA had on April 17, last year, approved a seven-storey and a pent house contrary to insinuations that the approving authority had only approved a six-storey.
Speaking through his counsel, former Imo State Attorney-General Soronnadi Njoku, also called for a panel of inquiry to unearth the real cause of the collapse of the hotel project.
He argued that a hasty decision should not be taken by the government. He referred to the purported revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy, which would amount to penalising the owner of the building who invested about N4.8 billion, adding that this was a huge contribution to job creation and the state’s growth by the owner.
“Our client is very worried that some utterances by some people, including the purported interim report by the Nigerian Institute of Architects, appear to be highly prejudicial to a fair, impartial and objective determination of the very important question: Why did the building collapse? Our client, being the owner of the collapsed building, is a principal participant in this unfortunate development and it is wrong, unfair and unjust to arrive at conclusions, pass judgment and or take decisions without hearing from him. It is important to note that he objects strongly to certain utterances and actions of some individuals who appear to cash in on this misfortune for their own selfish ends.
“We call on the Imo State government to immediately set up a judicial panel of inquiry because it will have the powers to subpoena and compel the attendance of witnesses, order the production of documents, issue warrants and summons but, above all, create the enabling environment for all the persons involved, including our client, to be given a fair hearing before the government can then take well-informed decisions on the issues.”
Njoku maintained that the collapse of the building should not be swept under the rug to guard against such occurrences in the future.
The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma while visiting the site assured that the contractor and construction firm would be brought to book after proper investigation.
He said: “This is a very sad event. It is a very serious violation and also to hear that the requisite approvals were not adhered to is yet carelessness.’’
SEUN Fajebe, Chief Executive Officer of Imperium Innovations, a company with its primary focus on agro-processing, sees the COVID-19 as a bitter-sweet experience; an opportunity to learn, restructure and re-strategise. According to Fajebe, some production, labeling, and packaging materials must be imported into the country, and the suspension of air travel and border closure, spiked prices for these materials, resulting in a struggle to balance production and sales cost while grappling with customer retention.
“While adjusting to these new business outcomes with low cashflow, I became worried as my loan repayment date was soon approaching. As soon as I got the mail about the moratorium, I applied immediately and got approval. This measure has been a lifesaver, with the substantial drop in revenue and the funds which originally should go into loan repayment have now been channeled into other things which in turn has helped in saving cost. Apart from the moratorium, the training and mentorship support I attended preceding the lockdown has helped in making the right and needed decisions for my business in these trying times. Thank you to the State government and thank you to LSETF for this initiative,” he said.
Fajebe is a beneficiary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). The agency rose to demonstrate its ethos of being more than a financial lending enabler with the announcement of an intervention plan for its beneficiaries. To help cushion the economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, LSETF offered a three-month moratorium on loan repayment for the beneficiaries of its Loan and Hub Financing Programmes designed for MSMEs and technology start-ups in the state.
As the lockdown took effect, LSETF suspended its “Lagos Innovates Workspace Vouchers Programme”, aimed at supporting and facilitating access to well-equipped workspaces and learnings for potential innovators and founders of start-ups in the Lagos tech ecosystem.
Another beneficiary, Amaka Umeike, founder and CEO, Natural Nigerian, a manufacturing and retailing company in the beauty industry, narrated how challenging business has been and how the timely relief by LSETF has provided succour.
“The lockdown was challenging for our business because it meant that none of our staff could come to work, produce, or handle orders. With an ongoing loan (LSETF) and other business expenses we had to pay; this was quite worrying. We had never defaulted on our loan and did not want to. We were thinking ahead and reached out to LSETF about 1-2 weeks before the lockdown to see if there would be a moratorium. Thankfully, they came through just as the lockdown began.
“The moratorium was welcomed and gave us much relief. We are grateful for the consideration. We spent the lockdown educating our customers, and as a result, the business has been on the up. We were able to pay all our staff half their salaries for April even though they did not work, and we are on course to meet all our business expenses for the month. Thank you LSETF and Lagos State Government.”
Game Centre owner, Ogunwande Temitope narrated how difficult it has been to keep his business up and running, paying salaries to members of his staff, assisting friends and families, following the halt in operations for over a month in line with the social distancing directives by the federal and state government.
“The approved moratorium gives me more time to save, prepare, plan, expand, and diversify into new businesses. I appreciate the cushioning palliative from the State Government through LSETF, as it is a compassionate offer at such a crucial time as this. I look forward to the re-opening of the economy as I look to delve into more sectors and expand my current business. The initial loan I took was to open a new outlet of business, of which I employed six staff members, and I intend to open more stores with the help of LSETF.
“I want to thank LSETF for their support during this period, and the training received before the loan disbursement at the initial stage, especially on book-keeping. It taught me how to keep my records and plan key expenses, including payment of salaries ahead. It has been so handy and helpful,” he added.
Baruwa Rofiat, who is into the production of nylons, has been experiencing a rough patch in her business as COVID 19 wave hit her and her business. For her, no production equalled no sales and the agonizing decision of letting members of her staff go as she could no longer cater to their expenses.
“Hearing the news of the extension of loan repayment, I was thrilled because I already had trouble just thinking of my loan repayment. I want to say thank you to the Lagos State Government and the LSETF for having us in mind, they showed that they care about our welfare and our businesses too. I pray that very soon; everything will return to normal,” she said.
One of the strategic interventions of the Lagos State government is the establishment of the LSETF in 2016. The agency was set up with a mandate to create jobs and they deliver this by providing employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for Lagos residents. LSETF provides access to affordable financing for entrepreneurs and to tackle unemployment also offer skills development and job placement for young Lagosians.
On access to affordable finance, LSETF has supported over 11,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through its Loan Programme, which attracts one of the lowest interest rates per annum in the country compared to other financial or lending institutions. This support has provided relief to beneficiaries who typically go through the nerve-racking process of repaying loans with interest of over 30-40 per cent or even more.
LSETF has disbursed about N7.3 billion to 11,508 beneficiaries, who have in turn created nearly 100,000 jobs in their businesses as of April 2020. The Fund through its employability program has trained and certified over 5,000 young people and placed over 50 per cent in jobs with some running their own business. Also, through Lagos Innovates which is focused on supporting innovation driven enterprises and providing tech talent, LSETF has supported 117 technology startups with workspace vouchers and trained 18 young people to secure highly sought-after tech skills that attract immediate jobs.
LSETF entrepreneurs have collectively put about 100 thousand young people to work while fulfilling their loan repayment obligations. But with the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, businesses, especially small businesses, responsible for over 80% of the country’s jobs, have been significantly impacted by some stringent measures deployed in the effort to disrupt the transmission chain and flatten the growing infection curve.
Speaking on the moratorium, the Acting Executive Secretary, LSETF, Mrs. Teju Abisoye, said the move was “in recognition of the difficulty that businesses may encounter this period, we understand that many of them will not be able to meet their loan repayment obligations. Therefore, we hope this announcement will serve as a spark of optimism in anticipation of a quick return to normalcy and business continuity.”
Without delay, the palliative measure became available to performing loan beneficiaries and those with past-due obligations of not more than sixty (60) days. The process for the application was simple and accessible via online platforms, as applicants were expected to complete a loan repayment moratorium form ahead of securing a written acceptance of the approved loan moratorium.
Beneficiaries of the moratorium were elated about the intervention and said they become even more trusting of Government-led support programmes.
Mrs. Abisoye said this decision by LSETF is more than just a timely palliative. “We are passionate and committed to enabling every productive resident in Lagos to dream, grow, and succeed in their endeavors. We are keen to help them get access to affordable financial and other institutional support they need to create wealth and employment for our youth, while significantly contributing to building a 21st Century Economy for Lagos in alignment with the State Government’s THEMES agenda. We understand that to do this; we must engender an enabling environment for small businesses to operate and thrive,” she said.
International investors’ interest in the mining sector is growing and the Federal Government is recognising the sector as a potential job and income generator. Sadly, however, the activities of illegal miners, allegedly backed by some powerful and highly-placed Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development Olamilekan Adegbite is crest-fallen. At a time gains of his ministry’s aggressive investment drive to showcase Nigeria’s nature-endowed mineral and mining potentials to prospective and genuine global investors are beginning to manifest, the activities of illegal miners across the country are throwing spanner in the works.
On the strength of Adegbite’s investment campaign, things appear to have started looking up for the mining sector. International investor interest in the sector has improved, propelled by various initiatives put in place to de-risk the sector and make it attractive to local and international investors.
These include, among others, dangling some mouth-watering fiscal and regulatory incentives to woe investors such as tax holiday and exemption from customs and import duties in respect of types of machinery, equipment, plants and accessories imported exclusively for mining. The result is the deluge of enquiries by would-be investors for investment opportunities in the sector.
Encouraged by the positive response, the Federal Government started recognising the sector as a potential prime job and income generator away from oil. But, while the government and indeed, Nigerians are warming up to reap the gains of the improved investor interest in the sector, some unscrupulous investors, who are mostly foreigners, allegedly backed by powerful and influential local collaborators, are determined to short-change them.
The crux of the matter is that while Adegbite has been literarily climbing the mountains and crossing the oceans in search of genuine international investors to help transform the mining sector into a strategic catalyst for growth in terms of job creation and increased revenue, unscrupulous investors, who are illegal miners, are busy pillaging the nation’s mineral commonwealth.
The illegal miners are without any genuine mining licenses or registered with the government. The Nation learnt that their only ‘legitimate’ claim to Nigeria’s bountiful, but largely untapped mineral resources is their alleged unholy alliance with the powers that be; the illegal miners enjoy the strong backing of some powerful and influential Nigerians.
This much was confirmed by the recent arrest of 27 illegal gold miners in Osun State. The culprits included 17 Chinese nationals and 10 locals, including a local traditional ruler (Baale).
They were arrested on May 3, 2020, by the recently inaugurated Osun State Security Taskforce (Amotekun) around Ilesa and Ife axis of the state,
Ordinarily, the Osun State Government ought to have handed over the 17 Chinese nationals and others involved in the illegal mining to the Federal Government for prosecution, as mining is under the exclusive list. But this has not been the case. Rather than do so, intense pressure is being mounted on the State Government to release them.
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Abdullahi Binuyo, who confirmed the arrest, said the 17 Chinese nationals and their local collaborators neither had genuine mining licenses nor registered with the government.
“What they claim to have is an exploration license, which does not allow them to mine the way they are doing. So, we will prosecute them and make them pay damages,” he said, noting that no responsible government will fold its arms and watch its land degraded by unauthorised persons.
Binuyo pointed out, for instance, that beyond the economic leakages, the illegal miners had also polluted the Osun River with poisonous metals, thereby making it unsafe for human consumption and irrigation.
He stated that as part of the government’s economic reforms, solid mineral is a major sector the country is looking to explore for job and revenue generation. He said for the reforms in the sector to work, it has become imperative to stop illegal mining and step up enforcement activities.
But as things stand, Binuyo may not make good his promise to prosecute the arrested illegal Chinese gold miners. Although it was the Osun State Government’s Security Task Force that blew the lid on the economic saboteurs, Adegbite said some influential and highly-placed Nigerians have mounted intense pressure on the Federal Government to free the Chinese nationals.
Although Adegbite, said his ministry will present all the facts of the case to the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria so that it will not appear as if the Chinese nationals are unfairly targeted, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ayodeji Adeyemi, told The Nation that the minister believes in the sanctity of the constitution and laws and that he will always stand by what the laws say.
Under the 1999 Constitution, mining of solid minerals is on the exclusive legislative list, which makes the issue a Federal Government affair. This means that the Chinese miners should not be in the custody of the Osun State Joint Task Force, but should be released to the Federal Government for prosecution.
Some farmers and landowners affected by the harmful activities of the illegal miners are screaming blue murder. Some of them, who spoke with The Nation, have kicked their heels in, insisting that they must be prosecuted and adequate compensation paid.
For instance, in a petition to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, dated May 7, 2020, lawyers to owners of Late Madam Grace Olufunke Okudulu Estate, one of the areas affected by the activities of the illegal gold miners, are demanding for about N1.3 billion as compensation from the Chinese miners for “Illegal mining and excavation of gold.”
The Principal Partner of the law firm of Edmund Z. Biriomoni & Co., Mr. Edmund Biriomoni, told The Nation in an interview that the N1.3 billion being sought as compensation for damages on behalf of his client, Late Madam Grace Olufunke Okudulu Estate, under the corporate name of Moeje Nig. Ltd. was the total value of over 60, 000 grams of gold accrued to his client from January 2020 to May 2, 2020.
He said sometime in January this year, his client (Moeje Nig. Ltd.) discovered that some Chinese nationals under the corporate name of Jin Xiu Global Resources Limited “Unlawfully without the consent of our client entered into their land and have been mining and excavating gold illegally since September 2019…”
He said when accosted, the Chinese nationals, in the presence of the Commandant of the Osun State Joint Task Force (JTF), CSP Sulaiman Ishola, confirmed in the palace of the Oba of Epe land, that a revered monarch in the state collected a huge sum of money from them to enable them to gain access into the land.
Biriomoni also said a letter written by the Osun State Commissioner of Police to the Chinese nationals ordering them to stop all illegal mining and excavation activities were ignored, with the Chinese miners insisting that they made all the necessary payments to a top monarch.
Biriomoni stated that there was an attempt to sweep the matter under the carpet.
Also complaining, Olaiya Olowe, a farmer, said he caught some Chinese nationals in his farm with heavy equipment used for the illegal gold mining. He said their excavation activities have destroyed his farm, as his cocoa trees and cassava plant had been pulled down.
Stakeholders demand prosecution of culprits
The National President, Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji Kabir Mohammed Kankara, said the arrested Chinese illegal miners should be released by the Osun State JTF to the Federal Government for prosecution since it is a Federal Government affair.
Kankara told The Nation that what happened in Osun State was “a clear indication that things have been going wrong and that God has started exposing them.”
Also speaking, the President, Women in Mining (WIM), Nigeria, Janet Adeyemi, said the illegal Chinese miners should be handed over to the Federal Government. “The Chinese are not working in isolation. They work with powerful politicians and traditional rulers,” Janet Adeyemi told The Nation in an interview.
She revealed that during her recent visit to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), she discovered that a whole market was dedicated to Nigerian gold. “These pieces of gold were smuggled out of Nigeria for a pittance without the payment of royalty.
“The gold would then be sold at the international market price. It is time to cry out against this kind of economic sabotage. I like the way the minster came out in the open and cried out about the illegal Chinese miners,” Janet said.
She also emphasized that the exclusive right of mining still lies with the Federal Government. According to her, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) were created to accommodate states because of their agitation, but mining is still the Federal Government’s exclusive responsibility.
“The states should not run foul this. So, the Federal Government can go ahead and sanction whoever is involved in illegal mining. If Osun State does not hand over the Chinese to the Federal Government for prosecution, it will be contravening the laws which could be viewed as sabotage,” she concluded.
However, the apprehension of the 17 Chinese nationals and their local collaborators was just one in the long list of cases of illegal mining going on across the country. Two Chinese were also recently arrested for the same offence in Zamfara State by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The Executive Director, Global Rights Nigeria, an international humanitarian organisation, Abiodun Bayewu-Teru, raised the alarm that over $500 million worth of gold is illegally shipped out of the country annually.
Bayewu-Teru spoke at a stakeholders’ engagement in the mining sector held in Abuja.
Will the Federal Government demonstrate the political will to prosecute the Chinese nationals and their Nigerian collaborators? Failure to do so will mean that the heavy financial haemorrhage inflicted on the economy will continue.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents many challenges which also creates opportunities for farmers across the globe to take advantage of digital tools to overcome the related challenges to agricultural supply chains. JULIANA AGBO writes.
With the stringent physical distancing measures which could adversely impact the functioning agriculture extension systems, extension workers might find it challenging to move across villages and gather farmers for training or other capacity-building activities.
The restrictions on movement and the limited social interactions will strain livelihoods and the agricultural supply chain as access to inputs and extension support services by the already vulnerable farmers and their communities is interrupted.
While the pandemic presents many challenges, it also creates opportunities for digital tools to better serve farmers, as well as be adapted to assist public health responses and prepare for new agricultural needs that arise.
As government and other organisations are increasing the application of digital tools and introducing innovations to provide technical assistance to farmers from distance, it provides opportunities for farmers to take advantage of the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform devised to help the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
The platform which is compatible with basic feature and android phones, allows the target audiences to receive pre-recorded messages in realtime.
Deploying digital tools for Agricultural extension support
An international civil society organization, Solidaridad, who said it devised the IVR method to support agricultural extension in Nigeria and other West African countries amid the coronavirus, said it would increase access to agronomic and other production support information by farmers and communities that produce cocoa, oil palm and other food staples.
The Regional Director for Solidaridad in West Africa, Isaac Gyamfi, said the platform is an important part of a remote support approach that helps Solidaridad to quickly assess ground situations to generate response plans and interventions.
While noting that the organisation operating in five continents through eight Regional Expertise Centres, he explained that the platform would address the issue of restrictions on movement and limited social interactions.
“At this time when physical interactions are less desired, the IVR platform helps us to reach out to a large number of our programme beneficiaries quickly to share important information on COVID-19 protection protocols and to deliver other technical crop production content that aligns with the farming season and the cropping calendar”, he added.
Experience in the use of digital tools in virtual training of farmers
Speaking further on the use of IVR platform and other digital tools, Head of Digital Solutions of the Organisation, Ahmed Basit, explained that the organisation used the platform in 2019 to transmit messages on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to over 40,000 farmers, workers and producers under the Next Generation Cocoa Youth Programme (MASO).
According to him, “This was funded by the Mastercard Foundation, and the second phase of the Cocoa Rehabilitation and Intensification Programme (CORIP II), was funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana”.
While explaining further that the tools are not new to Solidaridad In West Africa, Basit said they have been applied in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, where the organisation is promoting sustainable practices across the cocoa, gold and oil palm supply chains.
“We also deployed mobile data collection tools to profile 60,068 cocoa farmers, 19,627 oil palm farmers and 1,056 miners in the operational countries.
“The data is used to support the creation of markets for potential small and medium enterprises. It also serves as a baseline for current and future programmes whose impacts and outcomes would be tracked using the Interactive Voice Response platform.
Furthermore, he said with over 60,000 cocoa farmers already subscribing to the voice application platform, the organisation would continue to maintain contact with project beneficiaries during the pandemic.
“A total of 39,000 farmers are using the platform. The IVR platform provides Solidaridad and partners real-time feedback on farmers’ experiences, learning and practices for additional intervention where necessary,” he added.
Stepping up COVID-19 awareness in local communities
The Dutch-based organisation said since March 2020, it has used the IVR platform to sensitise 28,557 beneficiaries on the need to practice social distancing and other precautionary measures to prevent infection and contain the spread of the virus.
It noted that in Ghana, the awareness campaign messages, which were culled from national directives and the World Health Organization guidelines, were translated into Twi, a local language spoken by many of the communities where Solidaridad currently operates.
It said: ” In Sierra Leone, Solidaridad is supporting the government to step up public awareness on COVID-19. In partnership with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, through its District Health Management Teams.
“It has supported the production of relevant information, education, and communication materials for dissemination to over 20,000 farmers in 300 local communities in the country.
“Through its Gold programme in Ghana, the organisation has also embarked on a sensitisation campaign to educate eight Village Savings and Loans Associations, six project mines and mining communities on measures to control the spread of the virus”.
Other digital tools for sustainability
The organisation while reiterating its commitment to innovate in the use of a digital classroom and other virtual tools to train small and medium enterprises and other community facilitators who are engaged for data collection, said it is open to partnerships from development investors and foundations, as well as government ministries, departments and agencies.
“We welcome partnerships with development investors and foundations, as well as government ministries, departments and agencies to scale the use of digital innovations in support of vulnerable producers and enterprises to grow as the world adapt to the new reality of physical distancing.
It said with support from donors and partners such as Netherlands government, Mastercard Foundation (MCF), the European Union (EU), Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), World Bank, Henkel, Achmea, Mondelez International, and many other private sectors, it has been able to respond to the needs of beneficiaries at this critical time of COVID-19.
“Additionally, we are fast-tracking the development of a digital self-assessment tool for artisanal and small-scale gold miners to educate them on responsible mining practices.
“The organisation has so far profiled some 1,000 miners in Ghana for pilot use of a set of digital tools”, it said.
In August 2019, the Nigerian Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari declared a partial land border closure in order to halt the importation of food among other goods. The smuggling of rice – Nigeria’s staple food – remains business as usual despite the restriction order by the president. GABRIEL OGUNJOBIwent undercover between March 12 and 17 to expose the schemes of smugglers operating across the border between Nigeria and Benin Republic.
It was midday on March 12, Monday, popularly nicknamed ‘J-Boy’, a swift, street-smart motorcyclist flapped his cow-skinned, portable bag at the front of his motorcycle, ready to fire on.
J-Boy was not just a good rider, but also a great accomplice with the Kogi-born Mohammed Muktar, who is adept in the business of smuggling foreign rice from Benin Republic to Nigeria.
Street-smart Monday a.ka. ‘J-Boy’, a bike rider who makes a living as foreign rice carrier
It should ordinarily be a difficult task to dare travel out of the country with no valid proof of identity but it is more herculean to smuggle bags of foreign rice under the nose of men of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) – especially at this time when the borders are shut. But none of these security agents could stop Mohammed, a notorious smuggler, and his accomplices.
So, when Mohammed gave J-Boy a nod to ride on, the latter took the cue at once. “No qualms,” he said, bravely and gravely.
On his Bajaj motorcycle, he carried Mohammed and the reporter – and zoomed off, travelling the terrible roads that connect Towe de l’arrondissement (meaning ‘town’) in Benin Republic, from Nigeria – starting from Igan Alade road – Yewa North, Ogun State.
An undercover expedition into the world of smugglers
As we sped off on the crude terrain, I quickly expressed my anxiety about the dangerous journey we had just commenced. But my co-travellers, who knew how the system works told me to calm down, assuring me of safety and success in the journey.
However, the smugglers had no idea that I was a journalist working under cover. I had earlier presented myself to Mohammed as a newbie, who would love to invest in the smuggling of foreign rice from Benin Republic to Nigeria. However, before putting my money on the line, I told him I needed to experience how smugglers outsmart Nigeria’s security agents. I needed to gauge the risk involved in the business into which I was venturing.
Before finally crossing the Nigerian border to Benin Republic, we travelled through Igan Alade, one of the communities on the borderline of Ogun State and Towe, a neighbouring town at the French-speaking Republic of Benin – bypassing a police station at Igan Alade, an NSCDC Divisional Headquarters at Tata community, a Nigeria Customs Area Command at the Ijoun community, and at least seven checkpoints manned by different security agents.
Nigerian Customs’ station at Ijoun, off the community’s market
Throughout my round trip to observe the smuggling expedition, I noticed that none of the officers at any of these checkpoints – usually barricaded with bamboo across two sides of the roads – was particularly interested in stopping any smuggling activity.
Instead, the officers greeted us with flashes of smiles and sometimes, hand-waves.
To clear foreign rice out of Benin Republic only costs N200, Rice retailer claims
As at 4:15 p.m., when we arrived at Towe, Coronavirus, the most ravaging pandemic of the century, was just beginning to take a toll on rice prices in Benin Republic.
Before then, a dollar was exchanged for N360/366 at Bureau De Change market, but it suddenly rose to between N405 and N420 that morning. The naira crash immediately influenced the price of foreign rice. Twenty-four hours ago, a bag of rice was sold at N9,000 at any retailer’s outlet in Benin. It was already N10,200 on the morning of March 12.
“Your currency has no market value in our country yet you have too many greedy officers on the road,” said Mme (Ms.) Ramantou Akiyemi, a rice retailer, to spite Nigeria’s currency value.
“When you are going back, our officers will clear you with just N200 – and that’s all! – no matter the
Welcome to Benin Republic The Beninese Police CheckpointA signpost in Benin Republic, near Towe
numbers of bags of rice you carry on a bike. But, on your land, the taxes are overbearing.”
In a sudden plot-twist, Mohammed came up with a masterplan as this time around he was able to buy just about five bags.
Towe Town, Benin Republic
Smugglers’ mafia tactics
“It isn’t worth it to waste any money on the road since it is just five bags I am now buying. Let’s make a booking today and come back to carry them,” Mohammed said, gradually unfolding how he intended to evade all securities without paying a dime.
He would later reveal that his usual scale of rice smuggling ranges from five to ten bikes, noting that each bike would carry around 10 to 15 bags at once – depending on how strong the rider is to control the wheel. Paying bribes on the road doesn’t bug him, but, for just five bags, there is a smarter way to cut the cost.
In the world of smugglers, four codified words are employed for communication – ‘settlement’, ‘booking’, ‘lead’ and‘informant’. They typify how conveniently smugglers operate day in and out – before and after the federal government invoked a restrictive policy on borders.
Rice smuggler on the run…
‘Settlement’ is the bribe of N1,000 at every checkpoint minus the police’s. This is so because the policemen at Igan Alade junction are ‘booked’ before any trip. Customs officers and soldiers will only collect bribe when they catch traders with illegal goods. With the police, the rule is different. Smugglers must disclose their mission ahead of their journey. That’s why theirs is called ‘booking’.
Four codes in the world of smugglers you should know about
Apart from the bribe-taking security agents, it is usually a lucky day for the likes of J-Boy who risk their lives to smuggle rice. So, their charge is not open for negotiation: it’s a flat rate of N2,500 per bag to anywhere in Igan Alade.
Talk of the backbone machinery in smuggling, you think of the ‘Lead’. Through a hell-hole smuggling, the Lead runs ahead – like two miles – on his bike, looking unsuspecting but vigilant to a fault. He makes the settlements that will be required at each of the checkpoints. Also intermittently, he calls the actual carrier to keep track of their adventure or warn once he sights anyone parading suspiciously. The smugglers know their gangs and can easily spot one who does not belong to the clique. That enemy the Lead is looking out for is called ‘informant’.
The fear of informants…
As fearless as Mohammed appeared in countenance, he admitted that informants were his nightmare in the business.
He cursed them anytime he mentioned them. They just parade bushes on the border, and make a call to the Customs patrol squad the moment a smuggler is sighted, he told the reporter.
‘They may see you mapping plans and just keep trailing you without raising suspicion. They are the unfortunate people in this work. They don’t want us to prosper and for that they will never prosper too. I fear them,” he quipped, dropping a missile of rebuke for his anonymous foes.
FUN FACTS – Mohammed Muktar wore this very shirt for over three days. He is evasive to the securities but informant is his nightmare
It can be a bad day for the informants because sometimes they risk being hacked down, as I heard from J-Boy in one of my interactions with the smugglers.
“Sometimes, if we notice the same unfamiliar person keeps us on a bike, we can challenge him. On some tough days, we use charm and cutlass on them.”
From that point onward, I made up my mind never to be mistaken for an informant. Such misfortune will certainly jeopardise my assignment, or endanger my life.
How smugglers boycott security agents from Benin Republic to Igan Alade
N1,000 bribe to smuggle in five bags of foreign rice
At dusk of Friday, March 13, in Igan Alade, the reporter retired to Mohammed’s makeshift home. Interestingly, the shelter was less than a mile from the police station around the old post office in the border community.
After finalising arrangements with a police officer usually identified as Officer Sunday (also from Kogi, like Mohammed), we agreed that Saturday would be the day to witness how to evade all security agents manning the porous borders with five bags of rice.
It’s time for strategic planning between Mohammed and Officer Sunday, ahead of Saturday’s rice smuggling
Mohammed made a bid for a new team of smugglers’ bike riders – J-Boy was no longer in the team. What made their resume more convincing was beyond just being brothers; they spoke French and they were vastly acquainted with all short-cuts.
That was Mohammed’s masterplan from day one.
The only activity this second time in Towe, which is rice mounting on a bike, was as swift as it can be.
The two brothers rode fearlessly into the thick bushes, darting into all possible corners. A few times, we were trapped in the mud and at another time, it was the hurdles of crossing a bridge anchored by planks that broke the sweats for us. In total, our perilous crisscrossing lasted almost three hours within Igbo nla village known as Ile Komi.
Afterwards, we arrived in Idi Ori in Tata, a residential settlement in between Igan Alade and Ijoun communities.
The fetish fortification of rice smugglers
Baba Seun’s hut at Idi Ori in Tata This is where Ogun Smuggler’s Power Lives.
Palpable fear enveloped me after bursting into Baba Seun’s hut at Idi Ori from Ile Komi bushes. That was Mohammed’s hideout and storehouse upon return from every Benin trip. Interestingly, the storehouse is just at the backyard of NSCDC Ketu Headquarters – a stone’s throw away.
Baba Seun, a herbalist, had no comely face to behold and so was his dreadful vicinity. By one side of his house was hung skull of a dog and on the ground was clotted-blood, with a littering bird’s feathers.
Next to this was an isolated hut, his power-room for consultations. I was not allowed in. I only peeped to see plain-white garments, small pods suspended to the roof, calabash flattened to the wall and the kinds of costumes I only see in Yoruba movies. It was a frightful sight.
After the long trip on Saturday, I briefly opted out of the field. With the five bags of rice in the hideout, Mohammed could not venture on another expedition.
By Tuesday, March 17, Baba Seun had fortified the region where he kept the smuggled rice before our return.
“You should have told me earlier before coming here. They are not yet ready for carriage. Anyone who steps into that place or speaks a word while carrying will slump and die,” he said.
A double-check on my confidence level flashed zero at this point. His enchantment on the surrounding was intended for enemies in case they burst in on them. They would die!
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Now that we were there, it would take the herbalist around one hour to remove the spells.
Near the hidden bags of rice was a pot of herbs, with puffing smoke beneath. As long as the smoke remains alive there, no one dared talk, except to carry the rice to the open and pack for transport.
After the exercise, I was soon prepared for the final-leg of my covert operation. Next expedition would be from Idi Ori to Igbogila, another community ahead and then to Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.
But, there was just one unavoidable huddle to beat, and that is the police security checkpoint.
The checkpoint was at the market front of Igan Alade and by the very left was a bush-path leading to Igbogila.
Mohammed is seen giving Police officer Sunday bribe
With the quick call ‘go! go!’ like a parade commandant, we followed the cue of Officer Sunday to forge ahead. This time, Mohammed had hopped down from the bike and was already by the side of the police officer, enclosing one thousand naira to his left hand. With the five bags of rice, we were now off to Igbogila
N1,000 was all it costs!
At around 4:30 p.m on Tuesday, March 17, I alongside two rice transporters, were already on the way from Igan Alade to Igbogila – two Ogun communities tucked in-between the border of Nigeria and Benin Republic. Thanks to Officer Sunday of the Police station branch at Igan Alade.
The reporter was no longer apprehensive of any difficulty on the way. After all, N1,000 was all it took to buy the protection of a corrupt Nigerian Police officer who allowed us to drive past border communities with smuggled rice worth N51,000.
At Igbogila, Kazeem Olakolade, a rice transporter in his 50s had been recommended to us. Popular for his shrewdness, he hoards smuggled rice in his house.
His mantra read like these:
“There are places I do not cross to carry ‘Oja’ (the local parlance for foreign rice) no matter the money you offer to pay me – like Igan Alade, Ijoun. That’s the region for some boys’ business and I can’t trespass. But, from here to Abeokuta, they know me.”
“And, for your information, I don’t tell customers about my itinerary. You can’t follow me too. When I get to Abeokuta, I will be the one to call you. Just get my money ready,” he declared.
A few minutes after 6pm on Tuesday, we are at his place with the five bags of rice. The reporter would no longer be able to track how it gets to the final destination. Olakolade’s charge for the transportation from Igbogila to Abeokuta is N3,000 per bag which means he will make a total of N15,000 from the trip.
Mohammed was reluctant to pay that much but he made an effort to justify it.
‘It’s that much because I also settle too many operatives on the road. In this business, one cannot afford to be frugal otherwise you are doomed.’
So far, one or two things are now established: that high-level smuggling still thrives in Ogun State through borders and also that the efforts of some serious-minded Customs officers are sabotaged by a few greedy lots. The reporter can only testify to that of the Police (Officer Sunday in particular) which he witnessed.
Incidentally, on Saturday, May 14, the Customs operatives of the National Border drill intercepted some smugglers at Imasayi town in Yewa North Local Government during an anti-smuggling operation.
A Customs officer eventually died during the operation that turned violent between officers and smugglers and the neighboring towns experienced a few days of unrest over the bloody clash.
The spokesman for the Ogun State Command of NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada told this reporter that investigation has been initiated after one of the suspects was arrested.
Against all odds, foreign rice landed in Abeokuta
Because of the recent crisis, one did not expect Olakolade to successfully transport the ‘exhibit’ from Igbogila, less than five kilometers away from Imasayi, down to Abeokuta in spite of a recent bloody clash on that route.
But at around 12:30 pm on Thursday, March 19, he called us to say five bags of foreign rice are now in Abeokuta.
Breakdown on what five bags of rice cost. Credit: Praise Olowe
Between Igbogila and Ita-Oshin at Abeokuta, there are at least five checkpoints usually manned by officers of the Nigerian Customs, Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN), Army and Police, but he does not pay a dime by himself.
His mode of operation is similar to that of other smugglers I had interacted with during the course of this undercover assignment.
His Lead, according to the foreign rice transporter, drove ahead to settle all security men at the checkpoints and monitored his distance through intermittent phone calls.
‘This is why I insisted that you shouldn’t call me during the trip to help my own concentration on the road’, he said.
“Border complexity, limited resources are our biggest problems” – Customs PRO
Despite federal government’s lockdown imposed on the nation’ capital, Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, Abdullahi Maiwada, the Public Relations Officer for the Ogun State Command of NCS, in an interview with the reporter, stated that about 2,000 bags of 50kg rice were confiscated from cross-border smugglers in Ogun State alone in April.
He, however, admitted to the challenges of border porosity, partly blaming it on limited resources.
‘Despite working in the most complex terrain in terms of the geography and porosity of the border, we are among the best NCS Commands in the country. We can not bring a total end to smuggling but our responsibility is to suppress the activities’, the NCS’ spokesman said.
‘Aside from the seven approved routes of movement of goods and persons in Ogun state, there are over a 100 unapproved routes these smugglers navigate to carry out their illicit business.
‘We just have to manage our limited resources to achieve the desired aim’, he added.
Maiwada briefly established that there are internal mechanisms to discipline erring operatives caught conniving with smugglers while smugglers apprehended with accomplices are left to the judiciary to prosecute.
This, sometimes, does not happen as the latest arrest made is a chief smuggler within Ogun borders who has a past record of arrest by NCS Ogun Command, Maiwada revealed.
Unequivocally, Maiwada’s assertions confirmed two clogs in the wheels for Ogun State Command of NCS. The first is that ‘Ile Komi’ where Mohammed’s team had taken me through from Benin Republic and Igbokofi town in Yewa North LGA may continue to be strongholds of smuggling except security operatives are deployed to man the routes.
Another is that, until NCS is legally empowered to prosecute any accomplice in smuggling, including security operatives and the local residents in border communities, smuggling would continue to thrive.
**This investigation was done with the support of International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR.
OVER the years, the family as a unit of social system has been under pressure. The pressure emanated from dealing with issues of poverty and meeting the essential needs of members of the nuclear family and the larger society.
Regrettably, the need to make ends meet, especially in a depressed economy such as ours, has eroded many family values as most parents pursue wealth at the detriment of their children, who are not being brought up in accordance with societal norms.
It has been said that the seeming parents’ negligence to show commitment to their children’s decent upbringing resulted from structural injustices that have kept the lowly down for years. There are injustices being built into organisations or structures of the society that ensure that the wealthy and privileged groups have everything going for them. It might not have been their industry or wisdom that led to the widening of the gap between the rich and poor; rather the economic, social and political structures of the society were responsible.
In order to meet their obligations to the family, most parents devote much time and energy to the pursuit of material wealth while the children’s right to parental care and love is neglected. Most agonising is the fact that some families, as fall out to their crass materialism, devote insignificant time to the proper education of their children.
Every morning, every day, parents will hurry to their businesses or workplaces while the children go to school. All will come back late in the day tired. The members of the family would just manage to prepare and have dinner and go to sleep.
Matters that have been gradually tearing the family fabric or unity have remained unattended to because no one has time to discuss such issues, let alone fixing them. The family as the basic unit of society should be the cradle of any egalitarian society that boasts opportunities that promote awareness on issues relating to families and increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes for the growth and development of such a society.
Sociologists have maintained that highlighting the importance of family in the society and recognising the fact that stronger families result in stronger communities, is an elixir to the current debilitating and fractured society we currently have. This is so because families (both traditional and non-traditional) are the foundation of society. Most formative years of life are spent growing up within the family circle.
COVID-19 and family reunion
Before now, there was the general assumption that all was well with the average family. The implicit love and cohesion that seemingly pervaded most families were mere deceptions and hyped. There were some cracks in the family walls, which were not patched.
The situation was cloaked in secrecy because every day, the husband and wife would leave for their respective places of work while the children would be off to school. Everybody comes back home in the evening tired. They will manage to prepare dinner and retire to bed. None had time to discuss burning issues raised during some quarrels or mix-ups. The deceitful family lifestyle continued till COVID-19 pandemic set in.
That was the routine until the Federal Government took steps to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. It then imposed lockdown in some states, forcing people to stay at home.
With this, there was no room for charades. Family members had to face the reality of life. Every inconspicuous character became bare.
In the circumstances, the COVID-19 induced lockdown provided opportunities for such wobbly families to fix whatever had gone awry. Some family matters that were disregarded before now were talked over and the family bond became stronger again.
A resident of Ilamoshe Estate in Isolo, a Lagos suburb, who preferred not to be named, told The Nation that his 16-year-old daughter had to convene a family meeting that helped in restoring lasting peace in his home.
Sadly though, some families didn’t take the advantage provided by the lockdown to either maintain peace or bring about one in their homes as there were reported cases of domestic violence during the period.
Declining family values as major challenge
To experts, family values are so important to society. While there are significant efforts through education and various opportunities, there are signs that there are too many young people falling victim to negativity as a result of waning family values.
“The real problem of declining family values runs far deeper than the issue of young, single mothers. In some two-parent homes, children are exposed to crude, foul language and even physical abuse,” they maintained.
Way out
The onus is on parents, guardians, government and all key stakeholders in the society to ensure that the pristine era when children are raised in accordance with social norms is in place through a commitment to social re-engineering.
The appointment of central banker Lamido Yuguda as substantive Director-General of Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and leading investment banker and broker, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, as President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) brought a new impetus as the capital market gropes for ways out of the Coronavirus pandemic. But many pundits remain cautious. Deputy Group Business Editor Taofik Salako and Assistant Editor Nduka Chiejina report
The Nigerian stock market made its biggest move in two weeks on Tuesday as the news of the appointment of a substantive Director-General (DG) for Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a seamless change of baton at the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) filtered into the market. The benchmark index for the market rose by 1.09 per cent, equivalent to a net capital gain of N136 billion, the biggest gain in a day since May 07, 2020. The market sustained its rally with an average gain of 1.03 per cent yesterday, equivalent to net capital gain of N130 billion, bringing total gains since the announcements to N266 billion.
President Muhammadu Buhari announced the appointment of Mr Lamido Yuguda as the new substantive DG of SEC in a letter to the Senate, seeking confirmation of the appointment in line with the requirements of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA). Also to be confirmed are three nominees as full-time Commissioners for the Commission including Reginald Karawusa, Ibrahim Boyi and Mr. Obisan Joseph.
The President’s request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, during plenary in Abuja. Buhari’s letter reads “Pursuant to Section 3 and 5(1) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007, I write to request for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of the following four nominees as Director-General and Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”
The appointment ended the uncertainties around the leadership of the Commission since the suspension of former Director-General, Mr Mounir Gwarzo by former Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun. The appointment also ended the tenure of Acting DG, Mary Uduk.
In a letter read at the Senate, Buhari requested the upper chamber to consider and approve the nomination of Mr. Lamido Yuguda as SEC DG in line with the requirements of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA).
Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, an investment banker and financier of nearly three decades, succeeded Mr Adedapo Adekoje as the President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) at the institute’s maiden virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM). The CIS is the regulatory body for the stockbroking profession in Nigeria. Stockbrokers form the largest body of operators at the capital market and are the majority owners of the stock exchanges. Also appointed into the council of CIS were Mr Oluwole Adeosun, former Second Vice President who becomes the First Vice President and Mr Oluropo Dada, who won a keenly contested election to emerge the new Second Vice President. Mr Garba Kurfi and Mrs Edoka Nkoli were reelected into the council while Mr Chiemeka Jude, Mr Babarinde Sunday, Mr Martins Olaolu and Dr Momoh Mohammed were also elected.
A new chapter
The appointment of Yuguda came nearly three years after former Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, suspended former SEC DG, Mounir Gwarzo, in the heat of the controversies surrounding investigations into allegations of corrupt dealings at Oando. Oando has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Gwarzo was suspended on the allegations of financial impropriety, charges that he had denied vehemently. He had won the case instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and also a suit challenging his suspension. Gwarzo, who had led several high-profile investigation and prosecution, alleged that his removal was due to his anti-corruption stance. With Nigeria losing its international ranking and the lack of substantive management holding down the Commission, most stakeholders see the new appointment as a relief for the market.
The President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr Faruk Umar, noted that the Commission had gone through destabilising management crisis in the recent period with four DGs in two years.
The National Coordinator, Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mrs Bisi Bakare, described the appointment as a “welcome development after so many years of vacancy”.
Shareholders’ leader and activist, Adebayo Adeleke, said the appointment was a good development for the market.
“It is a welcome development particularly at this crucial stage of the capital market. The appointment is long overdue. The appointment is coming when Nigerian investment community is of high expectations,” Chairman, Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association (IBZA), Mr Eric Akinduro said.
Former president of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and former council member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Ariyo Olushekun, said the election of Amolegbe signalled another era of milestones for the institute given Amolegbe’s training and experience.
Striking a balance?
Are stakeholders trying to strike a balance in the leadership of the market? Yuguda’s main career was at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but Amolegbe has worked for nearly three decades across the various segments and institutions of the core capital market.
Yuguda, currently on the board of Premium Pension Limited, worked at the CBN as an economist and investment manager. In 1984, Yuguda joined the CBN as Senior Supervisor, Foreign Operations Department where he oversaw Nigeria’s external debt records. Between 1985 and 1997, Yuguda, worked in various departments of the CBN including banking supervision department, debt conversion committee secretariat and foreign operations department where he rose through the ranks to become the Senior Manager, Investment Office.
In 1997, he joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, USA as an economist in the Africa Department with the mandate to assess “economic policies and management of balance of payment support programmes of African member countries of the IMF”. After his stint at the IMF, Yuguda went back to the CBN in 2001 where he led a team mandated to restructure and diversify the CBN’s growing foreign exchange reserve portfolio. Yuguda eventually rose to the position of Director of Reserve Management Department from 2010 to 2016 before retiring.
Yuguda obtained a B.Sc in Accounting in 1983 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and an M.Soc.Sc in Money, Banking and Finance in 1991 from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He also holds a Certificate in Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the Swiss Finance Institute, Geneva, Switzerland. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a CFA charter holder.
Amolegbe is a consummate stockbroker, investment analyst and asset manager with over 28 years’ experience in the finance industry covering virtually all aspects of the business at various levels. He became an Authorised Clerk of the NSE in 1993 and later, Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbroker. He is also an Associate of the Certified Pensions Institute. His professional work experience covers areas such as investment banking, corporate finance, asset and portfolio management, securities trading and investment analysis and research.
Now Managing Director of Arthur Steven Asset Management Limited, a dealing member of the NSE, Amolegbe had worked in many reputable organisations including IMB Securities Plc, a Subsidiary of IMB Plc; Securities Solutions Limited, a Subsidiary of FSB International Bank, and FCMB Pension Managers Ltd, Formerly Legacy Pensions PFA. Besides the orderly nature of the structured ladder-like top council appointment at CIS, Amolegbe was hailed by most pundits as a round peg in a round hole having served the CIS in various committees such as membership committees, CPD committee and the disciplinary tribunal. He was also a former Chairman of Education Committee and the Programmes Committees of the Institute. He was elected 2nd Vice President and later became the 1st Vice President.
Amolegbe had his early education in Kwara State and then proceeded to the University of Ilorin where he obtained a BSC Degree and an MBA. He subsequently obtained an M.SC, Corporate Finance from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.
High expectations
Most pundits are cautiously optimistic that the new leadership at the market, especially at SEC, which determines the overall colouration of the market, will impact positively on market performance and mitigate risks during this challenging period.
“We expect him, with his board, to position the capital market for greater impact on the economy,” Adeleke said on the main task before Yuguda.
Publicity Secretary, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr Moses Igbrude, said the new SEC DG should bring new thinking, new ideas and new approach of doing things for the advancement of Commission.
According to him, the new SEC DG should be ready to change the narrative by adopting a collaborative approach in handling investors-related matters and work with all stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market.
Faruk expressed optimism that Yuguda will bring back investors’ confidence to the market, urging him to as a matter of urgency, resolve the Oando issue amicably so that shareholders can have their Annual General Meeting sooner than later.
He called on all to give the new DG necessary support in order to succeed in his assignment.
A Professor of Capital Market, Nasarawa State University, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, said he expected Yuguda to continue with the implementation of the strategic master plan for the capital market development.
According to him, over the past administrations, the major agenda has been the implementation of the Capital Market Master Plan, so, the new DG already has his job well cut out for him.
Many pundits cautioned that running the capital market, which is more entrepreneurial and creative, with the monetary mentality of the apex bank may lead to serious negative consequences.
The period ahead will determine the propriety of leadership decisions. But, it is a relief that the capital market now has substantive leadership that stakeholders can look up to for direction as Nigeria, and the world, gropes for ways to recovery in the post-COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19-induced lockdown brought hardship on millions of Nigerians. SAM ANOKAM writes on the Good Samaritans of this era
From Lagos to Abuja, and Abuja to Imo and all over the federation, some well-meaning Nigerians went out of their way to reach out to the lowly in the society during the coronavirus lockdown.
Their gestures may have not gone unnoticed. While the Federal Government was busy identifying the poorest of the poor, this set of Nigerians were going about putting smiles on the faces of people who deserved to be helped without fanfare.
Worthy of mention is the efforts of the likes of Cosmos Madu, Prince Ephraim Iwuh, Chief Mike Ezeji, Louis Ukegbu and his younger brother, Lawrence, who reached out to poor Nigerians.
They provided palliatives to the people of Umnokwu autonomous community in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State. In the same manner, Toe Ekechi from Imerienwe in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area equally put smiles on the faces of 31 journalists in Imo State amid the biting COVID-19 lockdown.
Woman feeds 120 Nigerians daily
Alhaja Safirah Abebi Animashaun took it upon herself to feed at least 120 vulnerable Nigerians daily without assistance at the initial stage. But as she sustained the gesture, close residents of her street in Cassette area of Aguda, Surulere, joined forces with her to lift the souls of the poor during the lockdown.
On what informed her decision to embark on the charity work, she said: “Seeing many people wallowing in abject poverty with no food to eat and I can’t do anything to help them is not in my blood. You cannot see people hungry and pass them by. I was not brought up that way.”
‘My daughter motivated me’
The case of Oretola Olamiju residing at Jakande Estate, Isolo is as interesting as what motivated him to extend his milk of human kindness to the needy.
He said: “One of the days during the lockdown, I had a breakfast conversation with my daughter and she was like ‘I don’t want this and I don’t want that for breakfast.’ And I was like why is this girl feeling so privileged, does she realise how many kids out there who don’t have food let alone choosing what to eat? I decided to find a way to reach out to children and some families within my neighbourhoods.”
Olamiju, a photographer, began with N10, 000 after soliciting assistance from friends without getting a response. With the help of his son and daughter, they bought as much items as the funds could provide them. Each pack contained one derica of beans, four packs of noodles, three eggs and one spaghetti.
Former boxing champion to the rescue
Though a former Commonwealth boxing champion, Peter Oboh comes across as a regular guy in the neighbourhood, his large heart is not something that can be glossed over.
Now a preacher, Oboh’s first distribution of foodstuff and face masks to the needy during the lockdown in Olodi-Apapa and Ajegunle areas of Lagos began on Easter Sunday.
Using the Comfort Hotel, Oboh reached out to over 200 people, especially women and children. When he saw the many hungry faces, he decided to make it a regular feature as he believes that hunger is spreading like wildfire during the lockdown.
Since then, the former British Light-Heavyweight boxing champion has been spending his hard-earned money distributing such items as rice, yams, spaghetti and noodles, among others.
Yaba Particular Council (YPC) support
In line with its area of apostolate in providing help to families and individuals in their communities, members of Yaba Particular Council (YPC) which is the Yaba Deanery of the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul intensified their mandate in the Coronavirus lockdown in Lagos.
The beneficiaries got foodstuff such as rice, beans, power oil, sachet tomato, sweet potato, maggi, crates of egg, salt, yam, noodles, sachet milk, sachet milo, garri, bread and cash grants, among others.
The palliatives shared also included families within the location of each church regardless of religion, race or creed.
Ezennia Nwalozie’s large heart
In Emeabiam, in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, Chief Ezennia Nwalozie, a U.S-based businessman provided the various communities that made up Emeabiam with 20 bags of rice among other food items that included wash hand basin and sanitisers to all the public places in the area.
Bamiduro Life Care Foundation
From his small church in Alagbado, Pastor Folorunsho Emmanuel Bamiduro is doing great with his faith-based non-governmental organisation (NGO): Bamiduro Life Care Foundation.
From 2001 when he began, FE Bamiduro as he is fondly called has not relented in his mission of taking care of the needy, the sick, children and the aged.
During the lockdowns, Bamiduro and his team supplied food items to the sick and the aged in Ikare Akoko in Ondo State. And he funds the project alone.
A restaurant’s gesture
Molabat Restaurant is situated somewhere in Isolo, owned by Mrs. Lara and they have been feeding up to 700 children and adults since the lockdown and even after lifting the lockdown.
Its manager, Mr. Tunde Taiwo, said the situation of the economy has forced many children to go hungry, hence the need to feed as many as they can.
“We were feeding people even before the lockdown, but the lockdown made the number of people we feed to increase. Daily we see children roam around the streets looking for what to eat. Since we sell food, we decided to feed them with pap and moimoi and sometimes give out foodstuff if the pap and moimoi is not enough to go round.”
