Category: Special Report

The President Bola Tinubu-led administration has shown promise with its fiscal and monetary policy changes, which have garnered positive feedback from the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other businesses. These policies have created hope for de-risking domestic manufacturing and ensuring that businesses are not burdened with unfavourable policies. If these policies are maintained, they hold the potential to address the concerns of private operators effectively. However, amidst the optimism, some controversies have arisen, particularly in managing the unintended consequences of these policies. The hotly-debated issue of post-subsidy palliatives has put operators’ optimism on cautious mode, raising questions about the effectiveness and implications of such measures, Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports

A wind of optimism, though slightly cautious, is sweeping across the nation’s manufacturing sector in particular and the business community in general, triggered by an avalanche of business-friendly fiscal and monetary policies and changes churned out by the current administration since it mounted the saddle on May 29, 2023.

Indeed, less than three months in office, the economy has been the focus of a barrage of bold, decisive and game-changing fiscal and monetary policy measures by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration aimed at forcing the economy’s speedy rebound, driven largely by a reenergized private sector.

 From the removal of fuel subsidy to the unification of the exchange rates, the signing of four executive orders to address the tax-related concerns of manufacturers, businesses and other stakeholders, and to last week’s marshaling out of initiatives and interventions to tackle the unsavoury fallout from its policies, the Federal Government has left no one in doubt of its determination to remake the economy.

According to industry operators and financial market analysts, some of these strategic policy changes and decisions signal an optimistic beginning in the management of the nation’s public finance as well as addressing some of the issues clogging the wheel of progress in the manufacturing sector, for instance.

Already, members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) are upbeat that if the current momentum in the fiscal and monetary policy environment is intensified and sustained, the economy looks good for a quick rebound, in line with the President’s vow to expand the economy by at least six per cent a year, lift barriers to investment, create jobs, unify the exchange rate, while also tackling pervasive insecurity.

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 The latest of such policies and interventions aimed at putting the economy on the recovery path was the Monday, July 31, 2023 State of the Nation address by President Tinubu, wherein he articulated measures to tackle the short-term economic hardship resulting from subsidy removal and exchange rate harmonization.

 Recall that the President had in his inauguration speech on May 29 emphatically declared that “fuel subsidy is gone” and also announced the unification of the exchange rates to allow the floating of the local currency, the Naira.

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 The Director/CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, welcomed the the unification of the naira exchange rates, describing it as “a bold step.” According to him, it would unlock the huge potential for investment, jobs, and capital flows.

However, these policies, specifically the scrapping of fuel subsidy have not come without pains to Nigerians. For instance the removal of fuel subsidy forced a steep increase in fuel prices across the country by over 200 per cent, with the product currently selling at between N617 and N700 per litre.

Unsurprisingly, this has pushed up inflation and impacted businesses and households, as costs of transportation as well as basic food items have since hit the roofs.

But, in an apparent move to bring succour to Nigerians, President Tinubu, on Monday, announced a number of interventions and initiatives covering most of the strategic sectors of the economy.

For instance, to improve public transportation, the president announced N100 billion for the procurement of 3,000 20-seater buses to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for distribution across the country, as well as the provision of buses to tertiary institutions across the country for the use of students to cushion transport costs.

Operators in the manufacturing sector also got a shot in the arm, following government’s plan to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024, to strengthen the sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs. “Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity,” the president said.

 He said each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1billion credit at nine (9) per cent per annum with maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans and 12 months for working capital. He also said in recognition of the importance of MSMEs and the informal sector as growth drivers, “We are going to energise this very important sector with N125 billion.

The president said out of the sum, government will spend N50 billion on Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024, adding that the administration’s target was to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country. “Ultimately, this programme will further drive financial inclusion by onboarding beneficiaries into the formal banking system,” Tinubu stated.

Similarly, government will fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Under this scheme, each enterprise promoter will be able to get between N500, 000 to N1million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months.

Food and agriculture were not left out. The president said that to further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, government has had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain, on the basis of which 200,000 metric tonnes of grains from strategic reserves will be reeleased to households across the country at moderate prices.

Other interventions targeted at the agric sector include the release of 225,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, seedlings and other inputs to farmers as part of the food security agenda; plan to support the cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all year farming; N50 billion to support cultivation of 150,000 hectares of rice and maize; N50 billion to support cultivation of 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.

Expectedly, the intervention and indeed, others before it resonated with members of the OPS. For instance, LCCI President/Chairman of Council, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole commended the president, noting that his address showed leadership, responsibility, and accountability.

He also said the president demonstrated empathy as he unveiled a broad plan to ease the cost of living pains for Nigerians, while also providing clarity on the palliative measures and strategies for implementation.

“These plans demonstrate that the President is listening to Nigerians. The Chamber supports the move to invest in the manufacturing sector,” Olawale-Cole said, in a statement, which was made available to The Nation.

 The LCCI chief, while commending the administration’s effort to kick-start sustainable economic growth and improve productivity, said “We believe that if this plan is rigorously pursued, economic growth through the real sector would be achieved and could revive Nigeria’s sluggish industrialisation and expand the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”

He, however, said it would be pertinent to consider more enterprises as 75 enterprises would not significantly impact the economy, adding, “Government would need to closely monitor the banking sector in the provision of loan facilities so that the eventual cost of funds is not above 9% from other banking fees and charges. It may be judicious to stipulate that the total costs of funds are benchmarked on 9% regardless of the charges and fees.”

Dr. Olawale-Cole also nudged the government to share in the sacrifice made by Nigerians by reducing the high cost of governance in all its tiers and ensuring fiscal leakages and corruption are strategically dealt with. His words: “As we commend the government’s courage in enacting a series of policies, we trust that government would be courageous enough to cut the cost of governance.

“This will demonstrate to Nigerians that the leaders share in the suffering and sacrifice of the people. The perks available to public office holders are so enormous that it is difficult for the average Nigerian to understand why they suffer so much and those in leadership are unaffected. We urge Mr. President to do the needful, and we expect further announcements on the measure to cut the cost of governance.”

The LCCI boss also shared his perspective on the fuel subsidy removal. Describing the fuel subsidy regime as a scam, he said this was due to the opaqueness and lack of integrity of the arrangement, and that it has indeed become a burden on the economy and a source of enrichment for a select group of individuals.

He, however, called on the government to make the required effort to identify and investigate the select group of individuals that plundered the national wealth and enriched themselves through the fuel subsidy regime.

 “They should be brought to book to prevent a recurrence of such criminal actions that have destroyed our economy. Going forward, the system should also have sufficient transparency, accountability, and integrity, particularly with product pricing,” Olawale-Cole stated.

Why fuel subsidy removal became imperative

More than any other policy, the scrapping of the obnoxious, corruption-ridden and unsustainable fuel subsidy regime underscored government’s determination to take hard decisions necessary to turn the economy around.

Arguably, one of the most controversial and volatile issues in Nigeria today, operators in diverse sectors and Nigerians generally have been on the same page on the need to do away with fuel subsidy.

The reasons are not far to seek. Since its introduction in the 1970s as a tool to cushion the huge landing costs of imported refined petroleum products, as a result of the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the nation’s moribund refineries, the subsidy regime is said to have been digging a hole in Nigeria’s purse.

For instance, in 2021, Nigeria spent ?1.77 trillion on fuel subsidies, which represented a 477 per cent increase from the ?307 billion it spent in 2015. Again, in 2022, Nigeria, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), splashed a staggering ?4.39 trillion on fuel subsidies.

This was more than 24 per cent of the country’s total expenditure. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s expenditure on capital projects for the 2022 financial year, which would have impacted the socio-economic lives of Nigerians more, was only ?4.95 trillion.

As if that is not enough to swell the rank of those that called for fuel subsidy removal, the opaqueness in the payment of fuel subsidies, before it was finally scrapped, was a turn in the flesh of Nigerians.

It was so shrouded in secrecy and fraught with corruption, with many concerned Nigerians alleging that the humongous amount spent by successive administrations in the guise of subsidy payments is literally being used to subsidise inefficiency, corruption and consumption. 

It was against this backdrop that the removal of fuel subsidy was well received by not a few members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other players in the business community. Their hope was that this will free up scarce resources to be channeled to other critical sectors.

The Federal Government is said to have saved over N1 trillion in the last two months from removing subsidy, with the Director General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, saying, for instance, that the funds from subsidy payments should be redirected to the real sector that produces and exports to generate more foreign exchange for the country.

Ajayi-Kadir, who has been quite vociferous in calling for a halt in fuel subsidy, arguing that it had become unsustainable, said he expects the Federal Government to utilize the enormous budget allocated to fuel subsidies to fund the provision of infrastructure, for instance.

Similarly, his counterpart at Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said funds being expended as subsidy payments should be judiciously used for more productive activities that will directly impact the lives of citizens, most especially provision of infrastructural facilities.

The NECA boss, who noted that the subsidy regime had become unsustainable and had been characterised by fiscal loss and recklessness, said Nigerians, under the scrapped subsidy regime, were not buying petrol at a subsidised rate.

Indeed, after President Tinubu took a decisive stand and abolished fuel subsidy, there has been persistent call by operators and other critical stakeholders for a transparent and judicious use of the saved funds, which, according to them, should be redirected into healthcare, education, agriculture, and infrastructure investments etc.

Signing of 4 executive orders is breather

In order to provide the necessary buffers and headroom to businesses in the manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand, President Tinubu, on Thursday, July 6, 2023, signed four executive orders deferring the commencement of tax changes as contained in the Finance Act and Customs, Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order.

The executive orders bordered on the tax exchange rates to make manufacturing and other businesses easier.

 One of the four executive orders announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was the Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, which deferred the date of commencement that was contained in the Act from May 23, 2023, to September 1, 2023.

The second executive order was the Customs Excise Tariff Amendment Order, 2023, which moved the commencement of the date of tax changes from March 27, 2023, to August 1, 2023; the third one was five (5%) Excise Tax on Telecommunication, which stopped the 5% Excise Tax on telecommunication services and the excise duty on locally made products.

The fourth executive order was the Suspension of Green Tax, under which the newly-introduced Green Tax on single-use plastics and Import Tax Adjusted levy on certain vehicles were suspended.

Ajayi-Kadir described the signing of the four executive orders suspending the obnoxious aspects of the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures, which arbitrarily imposed additional tax burden on the manufacturing sector, as “a welcome development.”

According to him, “The unwarranted and clearly disingenuous escalation of excise and introduction of new taxes in the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures had the potential to truncate the business projections of producers and assaulting the purchasing capability of the average Nigerian.”

Ajayi-Kadir, in a statement, which was made available to The Nation, said “It is, therefore, worthy of commendation that President Tinubu took due and far-sighted notice and consideration of the concerns of manufacturers, in keeping with the trend of positive policy initiatives that we have seen with his administration.”

His commendation wasn’t without justification. He stated, for instance, that “The development has removed a looming clog on manufacturers’ operations and productivity, as manufacturers in the affected sectors can now reconnect with our projections and plans made in the beginning of the year.”

The MAN DG, however, said the Association expects that the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) will now stand down the requirements for compliance with the excise escalation and the registration for the green tax.

As he recalled, the immediate past administration had revised upward the excise duty as contained in the 2023 fiscal policy measure without any impact assessment and adequate consultation with stakeholders in the manufacturing sector.

He listed some of the added tax burdens in the 2023 fiscal policy measures to include the arbitrary introduction of a green tax and escalation of the excise duty on alcoholic beverages, wines and tobacco in violation of subsisting government approved roadmap.

“These clearly contradicted government’s commitment to maintaining policy stability to boost investment and enhance business confidence in the manufacturing sector. We indicated that the policy was an additional burden too high to bear, as we were also struggling with low patronage, high borrowing cost, and huge energy costs in a highly inflationary environment,” he said.

Ajayi-Kadir, however, said going forward, MAN will continue to value fruitful dialogue and engagement with the government, with a view to improving the manufacturing environment in particular and the economy in general.

 As he said, “The manufacturing sector is already strained by several familiar challenges, including high interest rate and inadequate long-term fund, poor infrastructure, low demand for locally manufactured products, high energy cost in the face of low energy supply, multiple taxation etc.

“We look forward to further engagements that will give fillip to the new policy measures President Tinubu has enunciated, so that the challenges that would emerge could be effectively mitigated. For instance, one can see the possibility of inadequacy of forex and a lot of pragmatism is needed to ensure a massive inflow and strategic release.”

Ajayi-Kadir said while he realizes that government needs funds, it is advisable that it focuses on expanding the tax base by developing a strategic framework that will bring a substantial number of taxable individuals and businesses that are not in the tax net into the fold.

“The pursuit of tax increments on already tax-burdened industries is inimical to the growth of the manufacturing sector and not in the overall interest of the citizens who are the ultimate consumers,” he insisted.

However, the recent approval by the president of the establishment of a Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms to remove all barriers impeding business growth in Nigeria may help resolve the issue of multiple taxation agitating the minds of manufacturers.

The committee, which will be chaired by Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at Price WaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, will comprise experts from both the private and public sectors. It will have responsibility for the various aspects of tax law reform, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonisation of taxes, and revenue administration.

The National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dele Kelvin Oye, is no less excited by the Federal Government’s recent interventions on some recent tax changes, powered by the executive orders.

 Describing them as a “welcome development,” he said: “NACCIMA appreciates the administration’s commitment to ensuring that Nigerian businesses are not unduly burdened by unfavourable policies.”

Although, the policies, admmitedly, have not come without some pains, Dr. Olawale-Cole, however, urged Nigerians to exercise some patience, as emphasized by the President. According to him (Olawale-Cole), the degradation of the economy occurred over several decades and it cannot be reversed within a few short months.

The need for gender inclusiveness in security governance structure dominated discussions at the inauguration of the National Women Platform on Security Sector Reform and Governance held in Abuja recently. This has become imperative as progress and implementation have been uneven across and within security sector institutions. PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU reports

Worried by the lopsided situation where the number of women is abysmally poor in the security sector, civil society organisations in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) organised the National Women Platform on Security Sector Reform and Governance Discussions in Abuja recently. The event brought to the fore the imperatives for gender inclusiveness in the security governance structure.

 Historically, the security sector, which includes defence, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and other institutions, has been predominantly male-dominated; no thanks to deeply ingrained cultural norms, stereotypes, and power imbalances. This divide, which extends to security governance structures, not only perpetuates gender inequality but also hinders the sector’s ability to effectively address security challenges.

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That Nigeria has been plagued by multidimensional security challenges, which have threatened her unity, stability, economic and food security is no longer news. For over 15 years, many citizens and residents across the six regions have witnessed different forms of armed violence that have killed thousands, displaced and incapacitated millions, and also caused myriads of human rights abuses. Thus, the need to bridge this divide and integrate gender perspectives into security sector reforms and governance efforts by policymakers, practitioners and civil society organisations was re-echoed by speakers who cut across the academia, public and private sectors.

Explaining the statistics – a case for inclusiveness

Bauchi State Police Command has a total strength of 3,662 officers and other ranks scattered across 30 divisions and five area commands to provide security for a population of 4,676,465 people. According to Dr Plangsat Birtrus Dayil, a political scientist at the University of Jos, Plateau State, of this number, only 246, representing 6.7 per cent are women. Two other studies conducted in 2018 and 2020 by Freedom Onuoha, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, also showed abysmally low female representation in the security agencies. A sample of the police by Onuoha in 2018 indicated that there were 9.06 per cent female commissioned officers and 10.14 per cent rank and file. In the military, Onuoha’s 2020 findings indicated that the Army had a 4.2 per cent female population in the officer cadre and 6.6 per cent in other ranks; the Navy had 9.9 per cent female officers and 12 per cent Ratings, while the Air Force had 8.8 per cent female officers and 13.1 per cent Air Women.

 The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Ganther, said the platform was filling a crucial gap between those advocating for a better involvement of women in security institutions from a civil society perspective and those women who are actually working within these institutions. Ganther said since the adoption of Resolution 1325 23 years ago, much has been accomplished such as better protection, the integration of gender perspectives and progress in women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the realm of peace and security.

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 “However a lot remains to be done. Progress has stalled in some areas and we observe regression in others. The Taliban’s violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan; rising levels of conflict-related sexual violence, for example in the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ukraine; and the persistent difficulties in achieving equity of women in leadership positions globally all underline the need for further efforts.

“We all need to ensure that the frequent women in peace and security (WPS) references in statements at the United Nations (UN) and elsewhere do not just remain rhetorical, but are implemented in practice. That is why we are here and why this platform is launched today. There have been various policy and pragmatic initiatives in Nigeria by security institutions; related ministries, departments and agencies; partners; and civil society organisations to include women in security governance.

 “However, progress and implementation have been uneven across and within security sector institutions. Many of such institutions have adopted gender policies and stepped up efforts to recruit women by adapting recruitment criteria and processes/and enacting family-friendly policies and targeted recruitment campaigns of achieving a gender-responsive security sector by creating spaces for women to access and contribute their expertise and professionalism.

 “Women are often disproportionally over-represented in low-ranking positions and end up leaving as a result of the underutilisation of their skills, discriminatory attitudes and policies, sexual harassment and difficulties combining working practices with family responsibilities. Applying a security sector governance lens to these challenges suggests approaches that can translate the WPS Agenda’s focus on women’s participation into the transformation of institutional culture and practices into broader goals.

“In the future, the platform will ensure women’s voices and perspectives are integrated and amplified in the public debate in Nigeria’s Security Sector Reform. It will also be a key partner in FES Nigeria’s engagement in this field. WPS is also an integral part of Germany’s substantial support to the Police Reform Programme. Only with everyone on board and contributing, a society can thrive and overcome challenges,” she said.

In her paper titled, “Gender and Security Sector Reforms and Governance: Bridging the Divide in Policy and Practice,” Dr Dayil canvassed the need for policies, practices, and institutions to be more inclusive and sensitive to the needs and rights of all genders, particularly women. Using the Bauchi State Police Command as an example, she said it was unfortunate that women were still only a tiny portion of the security sector. “This falls far below the 35 per cent women representation in security agencies provided by the 2017 NAP report (PWAN, 2020). As of 2015, reports revealed that 97 per cent of military peacekeepers and 90 per cent of police officers were men.”

Similarly, Assistant Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Caroline Kemen Niagwan, said gender inclusiveness was essential for ensuring justice, involving equal access to legal systems, protection from discrimination, and fair treatment under the law. “When women have equal rights, they can access justice mechanisms to address issues such as violence, discrimination and property rights. Gender-responsive legal systems and policies can help prevent gender-based violence and ensure that justice is served without bias.

 “Gender inclusiveness strengthens institutions by fostering diversity, inclusiveness and effective governance. Gender-balanced decision-making leads to policies and practices that better address the needs of all individuals and promote sustainable development,” she said.

Highlighting efforts by the NCS to ensure gender equality, Niagwan said there has been a shift towards more inclusive practices, particularly in the recruitment, promotion and treatment of female officers. “In terms of recruitment, the service has shown commitment by providing equal opportunity for both genders. This is evident in the percentage increase of female employees, the appointment of women in senior managerial roles and decision-making positions within the service. Female officers are now more visible in significant roles where they continuously showcase their competence, thereby breaking the glass ceiling that once existed. This advancement has not only enhanced gender inclusiveness in the service but has also introduced diverse perspectives to the decision-making process which has benefited the service.

 “The service has also initiated and implemented gender-sensitive policies to ensure a safe environment conducive to work for all employees irrespective of their gender. These include policies against sexual harassment and gender discrimination, efforts towards equal pay and considerations for maternity and paternity leave. While it is worth examining the progress made in terms of gender inclusiveness in this crucial sector, acknowledging the challenges faced such as gender stereotypes and cultural biases persist, sometimes undermining women’s contributions and effort. Acknowledging the challenges faced and envisioning the way forward will foster sustainability put in place,” she said.

Legal and policy bottlenecks

Although Nigeria launched its first National Action Plan (NAP) in August 2013 to domesticate the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 adopted in 2000 to ensure women and girls were integrated into peace and security; only 12 states, namely Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Plateau, Rivers, Yobe and Nasarawa, have successfully developed State Action Plans (SAPs).

 The country also ratified the Maputo Protocol on the rights of women in Africa on December 16, 2004, and deposited its instruments of ratification on 18 February 2005, which guarantees the right of women to dignity, integrity, security of person, equality in marriage, equality before the law, political participation, social welfare and economic empowerment, inheritance, sustainable development, health and reproduction. The protocol, which also offers protection from discrimination, gender-based violence, and harmful practices, is yet to be fully domesticated by Nigeria; thus creating room for women to continue to suffer discrimination in law and practice.

 Painting vivid pictures of the reality, Dr Dayil recalled the five gender bills for the amendment of the Constitution that were unsuccessful at the National Assembly on March 1, 2022. “The bills were proposed to alter the provisions of the Constitution to provide for special seats for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly (Bill 35); permit Nigerian women to transfer their nationality to their foreign husbands as men currently do under section 26(2)(a) of the Constitution (Bill 36); to provide for affirmative action for women in political party administration (Bill 37); to allow women to claim indigenous status of their husband’s state after at least five years of marriage (Bill 38); and to allocate 35 per cent affirmative action in party administration and leadership (Bill 45).

 “The process of developing and implementing the National Action Plan is meant to be inclusive and participatory, but there has been little or no engagement with the National Assembly in the drafting of the first and second NAPs; thus, inadequate monitoring by the legislature of the implementation of the provisions of the NAP, SAPs and LAPs.

 “In January 2021, Constable Olajide Omolola was dismissed from the Police Force for being pregnant outside of marriage in violation of Sections 126 and 127 of the Nigeria Police Regulation (NPR).  The suit challenging her dismissal was not successful as the Federal High Court upheld the decision by the police on the grounds that she voluntarily applied to the police and should abide by its regulations,” she noted.

The way forward

To bridge the divide in policy, Dayil said it was essential to adopt a gender-responsive approach that addresses the specific needs and experiences of men and women. “This involves ensuring equal representation and participation of women in decision-making processes; incorporating gender perspectives in policy formulation, and allocating resources for gender-focused initiatives.

“Additionally, capacity-building programmes should be implemented to enhance understanding and skills in gender mainstreaming. While policy changes are necessary, they alone are insufficient to bridge the gender divide in the security sector. The implementation of gender-sensitive practices faces challenges such as resistance from within the sector, lack of gender expertise, and inadequate funding.

 “Moreover, cultural and social norms often perpetuate discriminatory practices within security institutions; further hindering progress towards gender equality. To bridge the divide in practice, a comprehensive and multifaceted approach is required. This includes establishing gender units or focal points within security institutions to oversee and guide gender-responsive initiatives. Training programmes should be developed to enhance gender awareness and sensitivity among security personnel. Furthermore, partnerships with civil society organisations and women’s networks can contribute to advancing gender equality within the security sector.”

 She recommended the mainstreaming of gender into national and sub-national legal frameworks; raising awareness on women and security; building stronger partnerships within and without women groups and the security sector; create conditions for greater public participation in civil-military relations, among others. “Bridging the gender divide in security sector reform and governance is crucial for Nigeria’s progress and stability. By promoting gender equality, empowering women, and implementing gender-responsive policies, Nigeria can create a more inclusive and secure society where all citizens can actively participate and contribute to nation-building.

 “It is, therefore, essential for stakeholders, including the government, security agencies, civil society and international partners, to collaborate effectively to bring about meaningful change in policy and practice. Integrating gender considerations into security sector reform and governance is not only a matter of human rights and social justice but also a critical component of effective and sustainable security solutions.

 “By bridging the divide between policy and practice, societies can move closer to achieving more inclusive and secure environments for all individuals, regardless of their gender. Taking a gender-responsive approach, promoting equal representation and challenging discriminatory practices will enable the security sector to become more inclusive, accountable and effective,” she stated.

 Prof. Onuoha recommended that the Federal Government should mainstream gender in the membership of the National Security Council through three short-term mandated representations of women as invited members in the sessions of the council and in the medium term through the appointment of women to head key institutions as statutory members of the council. He said the government must ensure effective measures were put in place to eradicate harmful traditional practices, such as child and forced marriage, discriminatory inheritance laws, widowhood practices, and those customs and traditions that justify and perpetuate gender-based violence against women.

“Mainstream inter- and intra-agency protocol for sexual violence and allow for the effective participation of civilians, especially women. Design a comprehensive strategy to eliminate violence against women and practices that discriminate against women. The strategy should include awareness-raising campaigns, in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), educational institutions and civil society groups, addressed to women and men at all levels of society, including traditional leaders and within the security sector.

 “Ensure that the NOA increases its scope to include the development of strategies to raise awareness at the grassroots level on the various legislations available to address gender-based violence and their implementation procedures. Take effective measures to address cyber-bullying/violence against women and girls. State governments that are yet to domesticate relevant legal frameworks should ensure the domestication of such, including the VAPP Act, Child Rights Act, State Action Plans on UNSCR 1325 and the adoption of the Gender and Equal Opportunity (GEO) Bill. They should prioritise effective education for women and girls.

 “Implement measures to ensure that survivors of violence have immediate access to means of redress, protection, safe shelters, and legal, medical and psychological supports, and provide financial and other supports to policies for women and children escaping abusive environments. The Federal Government provides another opportunity for the realisation of this ambition. Increase community outreach and advocacy to give women greater opportunities for paid employment and enrolment in the security sector.

 “Security institutions should abolish all discriminatory policies that prevent female personnel from effective participation in security sector processes and actions. Improve quota systems for the recruitment of more female recruits and officers into the various security institutions. Mainstream gender-responsive actions into operations, training, recruitment, participation and promotion to leadership roles. Ensure high gender-transformative commitments at the leadership levels,” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Operators, experts react, point the way forward

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Subsidy removal, palliatives and other issues

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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