Category: Special Report

In this revealing piece, Tunji Bello, one of the most dependable allies of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, extols the exemplary virtues and sterling leadership credentials of the APC presidential aspirant

Our first encounter was rather frosty. Senator Bola Tinubu thought I was assigned to denigrate the Sarumi Group in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of which he was one of the arrowheads. This was in the late November of 1990. I was then the Group Political Editor of the Concord Newspapers. Asiwaju Tinubu and his caucus saw me and my team as an adversary.

Interestingly, the same accusation was levelled against me by Chief Tom Ikimi, the National Chairman of the National Republican Convention (NRC), when I went to interview him at his Victoria Island residence in Lagos. NRC was the second of the two parties General Ibrahim Babangida had created for Nigerian politicians in his bizarre transition programme that time.

Relations between Asiwaju and I never improved until late Chief MKO Abiola’s sojourn in politics fortuitously brought us together. MKO had summoned Dele Alake (Sunday Concord Editor), Segun Babatope (Chairman, Editorial Board), and myself to his Ikeja, Lagos residence in late 1992 for advice as he was contemplating running for Presidency following Babagida’s cancellation of the Presidential Primaries of the two parties. He was seeking counsel on which of the parties to join. It was in the process of our discussion that he mentioned Senator Tinubu as one of the strategic political alliances he needed to make. He spoke glowingly of Tinubu’s political networking ability, his reliability once convinced, dedication and passion for a political cause.

I was to see evidence of Tinubu’s uncommon traits MKO spoke about when June 12 election was annulled in 1993 and fate brought us together in the subsequent struggle for its revalidation and restoration of democracy.

As Concord’s Group Political Editor, I had gotten, on a Thursday, an “exclusive” on what transpired at Babangida’s AFRC (Armed Forces Ruling Council) emergency meeting the previous day and their resolution on political actors to be arrested and news media to be shut down.  I thereafter alerted Dele Alake about the development with a view to farming around it for his paper on Sunday.

Almost immediately, he summoned an editorial meeting that Friday morning and five of us (Dele, Segun, myself and two members of Concord Editorial Board) attended. I briefed them about the “exclusive” for Sunday and how we were to handle it without knowing that trouble had already begun for the whole publication and that we won’t even be around to publish the story.

Around 7 o’clock that evening, we had the whole premises surrounded by gun-toting men from State Security Service and Anti-riot Policemen. Specifically, they were looking for the Sunday Concord Editor and the Group Political Editor. Providentially, Dele Alake had gone out and was on his way back when he sighted the security people ahead. They had almost ambushed his car near the Air Force base on Ikeja Airport Road, but he smartly out-manoeuvred them and escaped; but not without causing two car accidents in the process.

As for me that moment, following a tip-off from a colleague at the gate that our premises had been surrounded, I hurriedly “buried” all the documents on the proposed story, sneaked through the backyard, managing to scale the high fence into the residential compound behind us and escaping into the silent but ominous night. We were later to discover that two of our senior Editorial Managers we held meeting with that morning were actually Babangida’s moles. They leaked the information to the security. We never saw them again as MKO fired them instantly when he got the information.

After beating Babangida’s agents, Dele Alake and I had to keep away from our homes for about two harrowing months as security people were hunting for us.  During that hibernation, the politician that showed so much concern about our welfare was Asiwaju. Funnily, he himself had become a target of the security agencies given his pro-June 12 stance. He was the one asking how we were surviving in our hideouts. It was a commitment he even carried to Alagbon when he himself was detained with others before he escaped into exile while on bail.

While in exile, he was well noted for his ability to mobilise resources and contacts necessary to pursue the struggle while at the same time sending money to some of us at home to keep up the momentum. Retired Colonel Tony Nyiam and Kayode Fayemi (now Ekiti State Governor) can bear witness to Tinubu’s uncommon generosity while in exile.

When the ban on politics was eventually lifted in 1998 by General Abdulsalami Abubakar and political exiles were allowed to return home following the deaths of Sani Abacha and MKO, Tinubu’s first port of call on touching Nigerian soil that night was our newspaper premises where he met Dele (then, Editor, National Concord), Babatope (still Editorial Board Chairman) and myself (then, Editor, Sunday Concord).

After a rather emotional reunion that night, Asiwaju requested to see MKO’s grave to pay homage. On his political future, he hinted about his plan to go back to the senate. It was on that note that we advised him that, given his popularity as a notable June 12 activist and massive goodwill arising therefrom, it was better for him to contest the Lagos Governorship instead. I remember that Asiwaju did not appear to take our suggestion seriously immediately, until few days later when he got similar promptings from many other Lagosians.

After being elected Governor in 1999, Tinubu’s first step was to set up a think-tank comprising of many experts and notable technocrats to chart the way forward for Lagos of his dream. When the report was submitted, Asiwaju already saw many of the co-opted experts and technocrats as his cabinet members. Summoning the political will, he proceeded to appoint many technocrats with few politicians into his administration. It was a deft manoeuvre, given the dominant sentiment within his party then. By the time he inaugurated his cabinet in June 1999, it was widely regarded as the best in Nigeria at that period. The foundation his cabinet laid through 10-point agenda and a 15-year development plan is what has sustained Lagos till date. Successive administrations after him have built or improved upon that roadmap.

By 2003, when I joined the cabinet (from being Chairman, Editorial Board of THISDAY newspapers), I became closer to Asiwaju. That was when I became more appreciative of his exemplary leadership attributes. To be in Asiwaju‘s cabinet was a great honour and rare privilege indeed, given the array of worthy and great talents I encountered. It was always an inspiration because one was always challenged to do one’s homework thoroughly in the awareness that I would be challenged by those with sharp — if not sharper — minds.

First, as Governor, Asiwaju was a meticulous planner. You had to be sure of your facts before you went to persuade him to approve your action. He is forever open to debate with you. I recall how he would challenge several members of the cabinet at a meeting to a vigorous debate on any policy issue. Many members would still recall the almost 3-hour debate on the future of Lagos State Finance between him and his then Commissioner for Finance, Wale Edun, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Yemi Cardoso, during which Edun had to remove his tie and rolled up his sleeves to illustrate the intensity of the debate.

Asiwaju was the first Governor to teach others how to tap into the capital market and deploy resources for government finance. The Seven Rail Line Vision for Lagos was conceived under his administration, two of which are now coming on stream soonest under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration. Asiwaju conceived and built the BRT buses system for Lagos and instead of commissioning it and getting the credits, he left it for his successor, Governor Babatunde Fashola, to inaugurate and claim the glory. He grew the revenue base of Lagos from a meagre N600 million in 1999 to close to N10 billion by 2007, to make it independent of Federal Government financially.

Many will recall how Asiwaju constantly challenged the imperial excesses of President Olusegun Obasanjo, one of which was the latter’s seizure of Local Government funds despite court judgement describing FG’s action as illegal, following the creation of new local governments. His Attorney General (now Vice President), Prof Yemi Osinbajo, was constantly going to court to challenge Federal Government over one issue or the other bordering on the erosion of federalism. By the turn of 2007, Tinubu had defeated Federal Government with a record of 13 times in the law courts on issues bordering on interference with or usurpation of state functions, thus deepening and enriching Nigeria’s federalism.

Tinubu’s most important attribute is perhaps the capacity to stand by anyone he trusts, even if the whole world is against him. I recall the dust raised when Babatunde Fashola was first suggested as his successor in 2007. Though many of us never doubted his ability and capability, our reservation was that it was not politically correct on account of widespread perception of him as being too “aloof.“ We expressed the fear that Lagosians would not accept him from us.  Asiwaju began by appealing to everyone possible. Despite his series of persuasion, some of us remained adamant. In fact, one night, some cabinet members, including Prof Osinbajo, Dele Alake, Muiz Banire, Opeyemi Bamidele, and myself went to meet him at home and restated our concerns.  Again, Asiwaju started his persuasion homily all over again.  On realising that we remained unpersuaded, Asiwaju for once, flared up and attempted to walk out on us, saying if we were not ready to help him market Fashola, we should “leave it for me and I will carry my can.” Somehow, we managed to block him from walking out on us. It was at that point that we all decided to work for his anointed candidate. The rest, as they say, is now history.

Similarly, when our candidates in the Osun, Ekiti and Edo States elections in 2007 were declared losers, Asiwaju refused to buy that and he promised to fight to the end in the law courts. During the ensuing three-year battle to recover the stolen mandates, it is well known fact that one of the candidates got so fed up with the initial court setbacks that he wanted to pull out. It was Asiwaju that kept hope alive, insisting on pursuing the matters to a logical conclusion. Eventually, he was vindicated and this Doubting Thomas became Governor.

Of course, the story of Asiwaju’s sacrifice towards sustaining NADECO in the pro-democracy struggle with his personal resources is now well known. But what is not well known and much less appreciated is his continued support and solidarity with the families and dependants of known comrades who paid the supreme price during the popular resistance of military despotism in the 90s. For instance, not many know that, as Lagos Governor, Asiwaju instituted a welfare programme for some members of MKO’s nuclear family who appeared most vulnerable and sustained that throughout his eight-year tenure. Successive Governors in Lagos continued the scheme in appreciation of the June 12 martyr.

Again, as Editor of National Concord from June 1999, I can confirm that Asiwaju did all he could to support MKO’s media organization in terms of deliberate patronage. When words reached him we could not pay salaries and our operations were almost grinding to a halt as a result of cumulative scorched-earth policies of Abacha while MKO languished in the gulag, Asiwaju initiated a massive idea that would have given Concord a significant lifeline to refinance its operations. He offered to buy Concord’s brand new giant power generator meant for our Staff Estate at a very good price for Lagos State Water Corporation, in a win-win deal for MKO’s family and Lagos State Government. Just when the deal was about to be sealed, some members of MKO’s family placed a caveat emptor in a daily newspaper, thereby scuttling the whole idea and denying asphyxiated Concord the needed oxygen.

Overall, Asiwaju’s leadership talent, courage, character, and risk-taking in a calculated manner will continue to endear him to many. His skill, when it comes to political calculation and strategy, is very inspiring indeed.  For every plan he has, there is always a backup position. If he gives you an assignment, he gives you free hand and all that is required to get it done but don’t fail. He doesn’t indulge a failure gladly once he had given you all that is required to succeed.

Like every any other human being, Asiwaju has his own failings because he is not a saint. Truly, the political world is yet to see one, but what I sometimes find most ironic is the vicious campaign of calumny mounted and sponsored against Asiwaju today by latter-day “democrats” or activists who yet were either barefoot errand-boys of the military in the 90s or willing tools to reactionary forces. Among them will be found journalists using intemperate language against Tinubu today mouthing “high principle,” but unashamed to take a job in a media organization owned by those known to have been paid by military to justify June 12 annulment in international media in the 90s or were known to be on Abacha’s payroll. I guess such characters flourish today only because we are a nation afflicted by amnesia. I can, therefore, now understand why General Babangida banned the teaching of History in our schools after he took over power in mid 1980s. Without a sense of history, a society is sentenced to start worshipping false characters as heroes.

 

• Culled from TheNews

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the fact that a lot still remains to be done, Nigeria is gradually recording gains in the ease of doing business, which can help the country become one of the top destinations for business, trade and investment, reports Moses Emorinken

No nation can be said to be truly prosperous unless its citizens and foreign investors alike can aspire to economic prosperity, break the chains of poverty and attain financial freedom. A lot of these however rest on a healthy economy, which is arguably the lifeblood of any nation.

However, the prosperity of any economy depends largely on its business climate; the ease at which individuals and business organisations can carry out their businesses without being afraid of harsh policies, suffocating institutional red tapes, intimidating regulatory procedures, corruption, among others.

In the past, Nigeria had struggled with creating and sustaining an economic environment that can support businesses, especially micro, small and medium scale enterprises to thrive, grow and expand. In fact, the country did not only start to lose reputation for ease of doing business, but also missed out on some direct foreign investments.

To take the country out of this quagmire, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari established the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) in July 2016 to not only promote the ease of doing business, but to also maintain a proper business climate. The PEBEC mandate was simple: cut the bureaucracies that businesses and investors encounter in their dealings with the public and private sector. The government was convinced that taking deliberate steps of due process, diligence and the ease of doing business will trickle down to the ease of delivering national economic prosperity and achieving distinctive national aspirations.

Across the country, Nigerians are venturing into businesses, investing scarce capital and expecting returns on investment. They ultimately hope that the economic and financial environment, including extant policies by the government, will enable their businesses to grow, and not suffocate them to death. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), there are over 41 million businesses in the country, including the small and medium scale businesses (SMEs) that account for the majority of this number; accounting for over 90 per cent of businesses and about 84 per cent employment in the country.

Chaired by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, as Vice-Chair, the PEBEC started making noticeable strides by removing bureaucratic constraints to doing business, and making the country a progressively easier place to start and grow a business. There are also 13 key ministers who are members of the PEBEC, in addition to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Head of Service, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Council’s membership was extended to include key representation from all arms and levels of government – the National Assembly, Judiciary, State Governments, the private sector and most recently, representation from the Local Government.

Over the years, the PEBEC has been working on improving entry and exit of people into the introduction of automation of electronic visa on arrival processes for business travelers, strengthening legal framework with three important legislations, including the repeal and reenactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts 2020 (after a 30-year hiatus), automation of company incorporation processes among other reforms.

These reforms were reflected in Nigeria moving up 39 places in the World Bank ease of doing business flagship report. Prior to the establishment of PEBEC, in 2015, Nigeria was ranked 170 out of 190 countries on the ease of doing business. The country has now been twice recognised as one of the top ten (10) most improved business climates in the world in the past three years. In 2018, the World Bank ranked Nigeria 146 out of 190 countries on the ease of doing business. However, in 2019, Nigeria moved further up in the ranking of the World Bank on the ease of doing business – 131 out of 190 countries.

Speaking during the 5th year Anniversary of the PEBEC, the Special Adviser to the President on the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), Dr Jumoke Oduwole, “In the entry and exit of people – immigration issues, visa on arrival, etc., other smaller countries than Nigeria are able to get that right. So we decided to work on that. The PEBEC was inaugurated in July 2016, and the secretariat started work in October 2016.

“We decided to work on transparency. One better way was to demystify information and give the information to Nigerians – business people who want to do work in Nigeria, to make sure that people have the information they need to make quality decisions. We decided to have a strong technology drive; pushing agencies to have functional websites, and the websites should have critical and quality information.

“When attempting to drive economic reforms, government tends to see their efforts first in the broad strokes of infrastructure, human capital development and land reforms, and often overlook the importance of the delivery of institutional reforms in the public sector, which is in itself a major factor in jump-starting and sustaining economic growth and development.

“PEBEC, with over 160 reforms implemented since its inception, has recorded appreciable progress and the journey to making Nigeria a progressively easier place to start and grow a business. The Council and its Secretariat have enjoyed cordial and productive relations with the Senate, House of Representatives, Judiciary at both federal and sub-national levels, all kinds and levels of businesses across the private sector, Nigerians in the diaspora, media, organised private sector, non-governmental organisations, development partners, development financial institutions, as well as friends of Nigeria and the diplomatic corps.”

She explained that since businesses carry out their activities in one of the 36 states across the federation, including the FCT, PEBEC sought a partnership with the National Economic Council (NEC), also chaired by the Vice President, to replicate the systemised reform model across the country.

“PEBEC got unanimous support from all Governors, which has yielded a strong and productive collaboration with state governments. Key reform tools used by the Council include – an internationally recognised homegrown tool of 60-day National Action Plan (NAP) accelerators,” she added.

 

More about the national action plan reforms

 

As part of efforts to drive systemic business climate reforms in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the business environment in Nigeria, the National Action Plan was introduced for the first time in February 2017 and has since become an annual 60-day accelerator and reform tool designed to coordinate the effective delivery of priority reforms of select ministries, departments and agencies.  It focuses on five major areas: ports/trade facilitation reforms, automation reforms, regulatory reforms and Executive Order 01/ReportGov.NG compliance reforms.

Specifically, the reforms in these areas will target frontline experience of business as regards agro-exports. Also, it seeks to improve the travel experience at Nigeria’s airports, strengthen the automation of the business incorporation process of the Corporate Affairs Commission. This year, NAP will drive the adoption of electronic filing of taxes by taxpayers. Additionally, MSMEs will have an improved complaint resolution on the ReportGov.ng platform and an expansion of the MDAs listed.

The progress report on the reforms in the Non-Agro Export showed that there has been a 43 per cent completion in business registration, 49 per cent for trademarks registry, 57 per cent for resolving insolvency, and 56 per cent getting electricity. Others are 29 per cent in taxes, 33 per cent in business permit and expatriate quota, 37 per cent in airport reforms, and 42 per cent in Executive Order 001 and ReportGov.ng. Overall, there was 43 per cent completion with 27 per cent outstanding reforms. Similarly, with regards to the progress report on the reforms in the Agro Export showed that there has been a 53 per cent completion in payment and verification process, 23 per cent for inspection process, 7 per cent for terminal operators and shipping lines, and 17 per cent for access and documentation process. Overall, there was 25 per cent completion with 30 per cent outstanding reforms.

In his remarks during the 5th year Anniversary of the PEBEC, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, explained that the long and short of the mandate of PEBEC was simply to find ways of changing the growing reputation of Nigeria as a challenging business environment. “How were we to do that? It seemed quite simple – to remove the bottlenecks and obstacles and to seek to change the orientation of regulatory authorities and public servants who interface with businesses seeking government’s licenses, approvals and other regulatory requirements.

“It was always going to be a difficult task. The public service and government agencies of course are notoriously settled in their ways and generally there has never been any sense of urgency in processing licenses and approvals. The attitude of course ties well with the systemic corruption and abuses that follow when public officials have a discretion in terms of the time it takes to issue approvals and who gets approvals and also where the accountability framework is weak.

“So, interfacing with the public is almost always an opportunity for rent seeking, such that it had become the case that business owners had to engage consultants who helped in navigating the deliberate roadblocks for a fee. So, the main implication of that situation was the effects on the economy. A difficult business environment simply means fewer investors (whether they be local or foreign investors), and fewer jobs and opportunities.

“This was the task that the President gave us at the inception of PEBEC. Fortunately for us, we had a smart, energetic and visionary team of young people led by Dr Jumoke Oduwole, who with this film along with public and private-sector members designed the series of reforms initiatives and now internationally recognized national action plans the 60-day accelerators designed to coordinate the effective delivery of priority reforms in select MDAs every year.

“At the federal level, the PEBEC secretariat also actively supports 15 public-facing agencies. They also track 55 MDAs on the implementation of the Executive Order 001 and transparency and efficiency of public service delivery, and the council’s feedback mechanisms which is the reportGov.ng.

“In 2020, the work of PEBEC was further cascaded to the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) – to include local governments, with the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) serving as a pilot. I think the results have been remarkable. PEBEC, since its inception has achieved the delivery of 150 reforms and completed reforms and 6 National Action plans – the 60-day accelerator plan. The World Economic Forum in its 2018 global competitive report recognized Nigeria’s business environment as one of the most entrepreneurial in the world, and highlighted Nigeria’s improved competitiveness in the enabling business environment space.”

According to the reportgov.ng report, as of February 2022, three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were outstanding in their response rate to complaints. These MDAs, according to the scorecard of the report, are: National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), 100 per cent; Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), 100 per cent; and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), 98 per cent. However, the three least performing MDAs according to the report are: Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), -50 per cent; National Collateral Registry, -50 per cent; and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), – 50 per cent.

 

Charting a way forward

 

Regardless of the gains made over the years by the PEBEC, there still remains much to be done and objectives to achieve in order to ensure that Nigeria becomes one of the top destinations for business, trade and investment globally. Exporters in the agro sector, till date, still have some complaints about delays in the import and export of their products. Cutting this long waiting periods with ensure that these entrepreneurs are able to meet the demands for their products, ensure smooth running of their business and conveniently contribute to the GDP of the country.

With the unemployment rate in Nigeria being over 30 per cent and a minimum of three million new young people joining the job market every year, the priority of the government should be job creation. However, the biggest job creator, especially in the private sector, is the small and medium enterprises. A lot still needs to be done to ensure that they are not hindered from doing business easily so that they can produce the opportunities that Nigeria needs.

 

 

During activities marking the Women’s History Month in the United States, the consensus is that female genital mutation/cutting (FGM/C) has no health benefits for girls and women, with a call to the civil society and governments to unite and end this harmful practice that is still widespread around the world, writes United States Bureau Chief OLUKOREDE YISHAU

When U.S. Department of State’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion Senior Advisor Maryum Saifee was in the Office of Global Women’s Issues, one of the countries the office worked on was Nigeria and she discovered that Female Genital Mutation/Cutting (FGM/C) transcended religion and culture.

“There’s a practice called medicalisation, which I think is something that happens and I’ll explain it for folks, that in some countries, the process is conducted by medical professionals.  I know in Egypt, for example, that was another issue – in the law itself, there was a loophole in a sense that said it’s okay for – if it’s for medical reasons.  So, I believe that’s been strengthened a bit recently, which is really exciting to see, but that’s a phenomenon that happens in Nigeria, – and other parts of the world,” Saifee said on Tuesday at a Department of State virtual briefing in New York on countering FGM. It was part of the activities to mark Women’s History Month.

Saifee added that in her community, FGM is “sort of medicalised by a professional to sanction it,” but explained that “there’s absolutely no medical purpose.” Unlike male circumcision, FGM specifically, she said, only causes harm.

“There is literally no justification.  Because sometimes, in some communities, we would hear, oh, it’s for purity or it’s for this sort of – for hygiene or things like that.  And that’s just a myth.  And the WHO, this authoritative source, has weighed in – I think it was one of their most tweeted tweets when it came out, because it was so needed for an authority to sort of say that in clear terms,” she added.

For those who think FGM is a problem of the developing world, it is practised in the developed world. It affects around 200 million women and girls around the world. In the U.S., an estimated 513,000 women and girls have undergone or are at risk of FGM. In the United States, it was considered a cure for hysteria up until the 19th century.  It happened to white Christian communities in the United States that people just do not know about.

Saifee, who discussed the need for integrating diverse voices and survivor perspectives into policy efforts, said the Office of Diversity and Inclusion believes every day of every second of every month should be Women’s History Month.  She said until some years ago the U.S. government largely focused on countries with high prevalence, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. She added that the State Department and the United Nations Population Fund/UNICEF have partnered to work towards ending FGM in many nations. The Department of State contributed $5 million to support the joint programme to end this trans-border monster.

As a survivor of FGM, Saifee was able to bring her perspective in, leading to the expansion of the scope of the war against FGM to Asia and Indonesia. When she first told her FGM story, people were completely shocked. It made no sense to them that a U.S. diplomat and product of an Ivy League education could have experienced that. It was done without her parents’ consent by her dad’s sister.

“In 2016, UNICEF released information that half the girls in Indonesia are cut before 14.  So, the number of people affected by FGM went from 120 million girls up to 200 million.  And so, when the data was coming out, there had to be context to say, hey, it’s not that prevalence maybe isn’t rising at that rate; it’s that we have new data.  So that’s another piece I hope we can discuss in the Q&A is the need for inclusive data collection so that all survivors – this is a topic, as other panelists will probably discuss, is very taboo; it’s very difficult.  I myself in my personal capacity shared my story as a survivor and had a really wonderful experience within the department because it so aligned our efforts to end FGM that colleagues were amplifying my story, and also I had the ability at the State Department to bring in new voices,” Saifee said.

One of the first things she did was to coordinate with the team in Global Public Affairs and the Foreign Press Centre and others to have white American Christian survivors of FGM who had not been heard of to be part of a video that included voices of survivors across religious backgrounds, across race, class and geography.

 

Not enough attention to FGM

 

Speaking at the briefing, human rights lawyer and girls’ rights advocate Shelby Quast said FGM is denied the attention it deserves. Survivors who are speaking out, she said, are breaking myths that “really take this issue forward.” Quast faulted claims that issues such as FGM cannot be solved with the law.  She explained that any law that is not used does not have an impact. Good laws, according to her, are part of a bigger package, part of societal and cultural changes.

“When a law is used it can be a tremendous tool to accelerate social change, for prevention, to raise awareness, for education, and to help with responsibility,” she said.

The United States, she said, enacted the first law on FGM in 1996, but not that much was known about it until 20 years later when civil society began to ask questions about its implementation. The posers raised by the civil society include:  What is the issue in the United States?  Who is affected?  The posers, she said, pushed the government to act and that was when the Centre for Disease Control revealed that 513,000 girls had either experienced FGM/C or were at risk of FGM/C.

“And at that time, that was tremendous information.  I think we now know we need to get better data.  We need to get more data, and that’s happening.  But that role of civil society and the role of survivors – and not only working with law and policy makers to advocate that there should be laws in place, that we should protect our girls from all types of violence, including FGM/C, and that there shouldn’t be any segments of the population that are not prevented from violence.

“So, the civil society played that role of really working with lawmakers, of meeting with them, and talking with them, with survivors.  And I think that was what, again, really changed the course, as so many survivors began to break the silence.  They started to speak out and share their stories of this happening right here in the United States; it’s not just something that happens over there.  And that became a bit of a game changer.

“And in 2013, we passed another law that said – we’d looked around and looked at best practices.  In the United Kingdom, there were some laws against taking girls outside the country, and civil society advocated to have a law in the United States, a federal law, that stated you cannot take girls outside the country for purposes of FGM/C.  So not only was it illegal in the United States at the federal level, but you also could not take girls outside the country for purposes of FGM, which added another layer,” Quast said.

The global pushback against FGM, she explained, can be seen in the Sustainable Development Goals, which has a target to eliminate FGM/C.  The target does not apply to just a small number of countries; it applies to all countries, she added.

 

An enemy that must be defeated

 

A Senior Trial Attorney in the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, Susan Masling, is keen on the prosecution of those who commit FGM. An active member of the U.S. interagency working group on FGM, she was on the Steering Committee of the US END FGM/C Network from its inception until 2019. Speaking at the briefing, Masling said the U.S. government considers FGM a serious violation of human rights, a form of gender-based violence as well as a form of child abuse.

“In the United States, FGM is illegal under every state under their child abuse laws.  It’s also illegal under 40 state-specific FGM laws, many of which have recently been passed, and as Shelby mentioned, under the federal law, which dates back to 1996.  She also mentioned, I believe, or alluded to the new law, which civil society worked hard to pass, called the STOP FGM Act.

“It was enacted on January 5th, 2021, and it strengthens the existing law by increasing penalties for commission of FGM from five years to 10 years in prison; expands the scope of prosecutable conduct; clarifies the jurisdictional basis for the law; and requires yearly reporting by federal agencies about their efforts to eradicate FGM.  And I’m going to speak a little bit about that in a few minutes,” she said.

According to Masling, there have been three prosecutions under the federal law.  “In 2017, nine girls between the ages of 6 and 8 were subjected to FGM at a Detroit medical clinic.  DOJ brought charges against two doctors, the health care office manager, and five parents.  The FGM charges were dismissed by the judge on the grounds that Congress lacked the constitutional authority to enact the FGM law.  As a result, DOJ asked Congress to revise the law to address the purported constitutional issues and to strengthen the law in other ways.  Ultimately, this and efforts by civil society led to the passage of the STOP FGM Act, which was passed unanimously by Congress, and did strengthen the law,” she said.

Masling said in 2021, a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas, indicted Zahra Badri for taking a 7-year-old girl out of the United States for the purpose of having her undergo FGM in a foreign country.  It was the first time that charges were brought under the “vacation cutting” provision of the federal statute, which prohibits taking a girl out of the U.S. for the purpose of FGM.  The trial in that case, she added, is expected in August in Houston, Texas.

The first FGM case brought, Masling recalled, was in 2004 when through an FBI sting operation, the operators of a tattoo parlour in Los Angeles were charged with conspiracy to commit FGM after they offered to perform FGM on two young girls.  They pleaded guilty.

Aside legal battles, the Department of Homeland Security, according to Masling, five years ago began a public engagement programme at U.S. international airports to inform travellers about the dangers of FGM and its legal and immigration consequences.  Tagged ‘Operation Limelight USA,’ it is conducted during school breaks when there is a higher likelihood that children are being transported from the United States to countries where FGM is practised. Since its creation in 2017, it has been conducted at 14 airports across the country with thousands of passengers reached and informed about FGM. “It’s modelled after the successful Operation Limelight programme that began in the United Kingdom,” she added.

The U.S. government, she explained, is also educating persons entering the United States about FGM by notifying refugees and visa recipients coming from high-prevalence countries about the physical and mental harms caused by FGM and about the legal consequences of committing FGM in the U.S.  All consulate sections in high-prevalence countries, according to her, must display fact sheets on FGM in both English and local language and provide the fact sheet to travellers over the age of 14.

The U.S. government, Masling said, also recognises the importance of supporting local efforts to increase services, education, and partnerships to stop FGM.  The Justice Department’s Office of Victims of Crime, she added, awarded $5 million in grants to support community projects around the country designed to increase direct services, education, and community engagement to eradicate FGM. Law enforcement and other stakeholders are also being educated about the danger of the practice.  This has seen the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security sponsoring local, state, and federal training for law enforcement officials on the physical and psychological effects of FGM. They are also trained on best practices for interactions with FGM survivors, and how to investigate and respond to allegations of FGM, Masling said.

She explained the estimate of 513,000 women and girls at risk in the U.S. was extrapolated data “and the figure does not account for factors that can influence behaviour change among those women, such as whether or not practices from a home country are continued when people come to the U.S. and the impact of United States laws that ban the practice”.

She said in 2020, the CDC began an in-depth study talking to women who were born or whose mothers were born in a country where FGM is common.  “They asked women in four major U.S. cities about their FGM experiences, including health outcomes, attitudes, and beliefs about FGM.  I believe that study will be published later this year, and hopefully it will lead to a greater understanding of this complex practice and will improve our ability to help eradicate FGM” Masling said.

 

On a final note

 

It is agreed that FGM manifests differently: It could be driven by religion, culture, or a rite of passage ceremony, like in Sierra Leone.  But whatever it is, it should be fought with the law and enlightenment of all concerned that this is a harmful practice that has nothing to do with purity, hygiene and that it is just a myth— with lifelong implications for mental health and for physical health, and should be avoided at all costs.

 

END

 

QUOTES

In the United States, FGM is illegal under every state under their child abuse laws.  It’s also illegal under 40 state-specific FGM laws, many of which have recently been passed, under the federal law, which dates back to 1996. The new law, which civil society worked hard to pass, called the STOP FGM Act.  It was enacted on January 5th, 2021, and it strengthens the existing law by increasing penalties for commission of FGM from five years to 10 years in prison; expands the scope of prosecutable conduct; clarifies the jurisdictional basis for the law; and requires yearly reporting by federal agencies about their efforts to eradicate FGM.

The introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) replaced the Defined Benefit Scheme was fraught with longstanding problem in the country’s pension scheme. Retirees stay for years without getting their benefits under the old pension scheme. However, like the old scheme, the CPS has had its challenges, but operators of the scheme say it is largely better than the old scheme. NICHOLAS KALU reports

Before now, civil servants who have spent their productive years working for the country’s socio-economic and political development have had horrible experiences accessing their retirement benefits.

The pension scheme then, known as the Defined Benefit Scheme was fraught with irregularities.

Under the old scheme, retirees stay for years without getting their benefits. Most times, some of them died before or in the process of getting the retirement benefits.

They were required to meet some strident measures in order to access what is rightly theirs.

 

A new narrative in the CPS

 

Things have fared better under the new scheme known as the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) which was aimed at addressing the longstanding problem in the country’s pension scheme.

The scheme requires the employer and the employee to contribute an agreed percentage to the pension fund of the employees which will not be accessed after retirement by the worker also at an agreed percentage.

But the new narrative has been the exclusion of some key actors from the scheme.

The police want to be excluded from the CPS just like their counterparts in other security agencies such as the military and the intelligence agencies.

A Bill to that effect is currently being considered by the House of Representatives. Sponsored by Francis Ejiroghene Waive (APC, Delta), the bill seeks to exclude the police from the scheme.

However, at the public hearing on the bill which seeks to amend the Contributory Pension Act, a lot of issues came to the fore with stakeholders expectedly expressing divergent views.

The Nigeria Police Force and its retirees at the vanguard of the agitation sought to be exempted from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). But while seeking to exit the scheme, the police were making a case in support of the agitation that retirees be allowed to withdraw at least 75 per cent from the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) in retirement while the balance of 25 per cent is spread across the remaining years in the life of the pensioner.

Incidentally, this provision is part of the CPS which they sought to exit. They are also of the view that undue delay in the payment of pension to retirees should be criminalised. The police retirees under the CPS have, among other efforts, held peaceful protests at the National Assembly, Abuja, to drive home their message.

 

Arguments for exception

 

Proponents of the exemption of the police from the scheme believe that, by the provisions of the Police Act, the Nigeria Police is charged, among others, with the responsibilities of performing such military duties within and outside Nigeria as may be required by the authorities.

They argued that by this provision, the Nigeria Police Force is the only paramilitary organisation in Nigeria recognised as such by law. The police, being the frontline security agency in the country, are exposed to danger day and night more than other security agencies and, as such, deserve better treatment during and after service, those behind the Bill said.

The legislation, therefore, seeks to insert the words “Nigeria Police Force” immediately after the words “Armed Forces” before the words Intelligence and Secret Services of the Federation, in Section 5 (1) (a) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 to enable the Federal Government to take full responsibility for the payment of gratuities and pensions of all police retirees and remove the burden of contributing part of their salaries for their retirement benefit from serving police officers.

Retired police officers, who are currently under the Contributory Pension Scheme, say it has led to their impoverishment and may dampen the morale of serving officers, who may feel disenchanted seeing what is happening to those who were ahead of them.

 

Why the clamour?

 

The retired police officers claim that the operators of the scheme are interest-conscious with no regard to the well-being of the owners of the money.

According to them, the police is the leading agency in the internal security of those countries, and therefore, it is the full responsibility of the government to take care of the welfare of the police while in service and at retirement.

The police retirees believe that the exemption will put them on the same pedestal as the Armed Forces and the intelligence agencies. It will transfer Nigeria Police Force retirees from the Contributory Pension Scheme under National Pension Commission (Pencom), Nigeria Police Pensions Limited and other Pension Fund Administrators and custodians to Defined Benefit Scheme under Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) and pay arrears to them.

 

Benefits of exception from scheme

 

While arguing in support of exiting the scheme, 21 state chapters of Retired Police Officers under the CPS, believe that removing them from the scheme will boost the morale of serving police officers.

In a submission presented through their lawyer, Elder Ofem Mbang, they complained they were being shortchanged by the CPS.

“For instance, an Inspector of Police is paid N785,284.31; an ASP is paid N995,526.42 and a DSP is paid N1.4 million or N1.7 million as lump sum and N25,606; N29,154.95 and N41,000.00 respectively as monthly pension after 35 years of meritorious service to this country (see consent letters/bonds attached).

“Under the Defined Benefits Scheme, these categories of officers would have been paid N 4.7 million; N5.7 million and N7 million as gratuities and N106, 333, N120,433 and N132, 240 respectively as monthly pension.”

 

Further benefits of exception

 

They believe that the exemption will relieve serving officers from contributing from their meagre monthly salary towards their retirement and also boost the morale of serving officers and men who have come to realise from the treatment given to their retired colleagues that they have nothing or very little to fall back to on retirement.

They pointed out that as the lead agency in internal security in this country, they also pay the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty to maintain peace and security within and outside Nigeria as required in section 4 of the Police Act 2020 most specifically section 4 (e) and 8 of the Police Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2020.

 

IGP Alkali backs retirees, seeks police exemption

 

The clamour has the backing of the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali. The police boss, who spoke through one of his Deputies, Sanusi Lemu, said the unpleasant experiences of retired police officers under the present scheme has the tendency to demotivate officers and men and also serve as an incentive for corrupt practices in a bid to avoid similar fate upon eventual retirement.

Sponsor of the Bill, Francis Ejiroghene Waive stressed the need to take adequate care of the police even in retirement.

Ordinarily, life in retirement should be a period of sitting back to enjoy the fruit of one’s hard work, just like any other retiree. It is a period others look forward to with huge expectations; but not so for the men of the Nigerian Police Force.

“Since this debate came up, I have been told that it will cost the Federal Government over N2 trillion if the police are exempted. I believe that it is worth it and that this country has enough resources to fund this.”

 

Contrary arguments against exemption

 

“Another argument has been that exiting the police could bring the scheme to an abrupt end as other groups will also seek an exit. I believe that such a possibility should not prevent the exit of the police but should rather cause an examination of the possible reasons why others will want to quit.”

 

Opposition to police exemption

 

But those opposed to the agitation cautioned that exempting the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) would worsen their economic conditions at retirement.

Regulators and managers of the scheme warned that allowing the police to exit the scheme would not only deplete the accumulated pension assets now in excess of N13.6 trillion as of January 2022 but also destroy a system that is already working and enhancing economic and infrastructural development of the country.

One of those opposed to it is the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Aisha Dahir-Umar, who said the solution to the pension challenges of the personnel of the Nigeria Police does not reside in their exemption from CPS and reversion to the Defined Benefits Scheme.

Umar believes that DBS is unsustainable. She argued that the exemption of the personnel of the NPF would imply an additional financial burden on the Federal Government by way of unsustainable pension obligations. She said “For instance, as of September 2021, there was 304,963 police personnel based on IPPIS data, and actuarial valuation revealed that the retirement benefits (pension and gratuity) liability of this personnel under the defunct Defined Benefits Scheme would amount to about N1.84 trillion,” she said. She said further that the liability under the CPS for the same NPF personnel was made up of N213.4 billion as accrued pension rights and monthly employer pension contributions of about N2.2 billion. She explained that CPS has provisions that can address the challenges being faced by personnel of the Nigeria Police and other Federal Government agencies on the administration of their retirement benefits.

She believes that one of the ways to address the concerns of police personnel on pensions is for the employer to review upwards its current contribution rate of 10 per cent. She claimed that exiting the CPS by the police is not the solution because the pension is a function of salary, adding that as long as the police salary remains poor; their pension under any scheme would be poor.

She said “The reason the police has always failed to exit is that because the police employer (the Federal Government) has found out that the resolutions to the challenges the police are facing are all administrative and are surmountable without exiting the CPS.”

Expectedly, Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PENOP), Oguche Agudah, said the exemption of the police from the scheme would take Nigeria back to the dark ages before the pension reforms.

He said: “There was a time when retirees had to depend on a defined benefit system; where the Federal Government paid monthly pensions to retirees directly from its coffers.”

Agudah said at the time of the reform, it was estimated that the Federal Government had a pension liability of over N2 trillion.

Also, the Executive Director, Centre for Pension Rights Advocacy, Ivor Takor, in his submission at the public hearing said the Pension Reform Act 2014 was the most guaranteed law in the country that protects the officers from old-age poverty and destitution. According to him, Section 4 of the Act makes provision for the creation of a ready pool of funds that will be used in the payment of pension for life to an officer.

One of those opposed to exiting the police is the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The Central Labour Centre supports the position of PENCOM that this would imply an additional financial burden on the Federal Government by way of unsustainable pension obligations. NLC’s Head of International Relations, Uche Ekwe said if the agencies of Government are being exempted from the CPS, then it should not be forced on Nigerian workers.

He queried: “Where will the money to fund the Defined Benefits Scheme for the exempted officers come from? Will it still be funded from the national budget that currently is hardly sufficient to fund other commitments of the Government, including healthcare and social security? “What has changed in the management of Defined Benefits Scheme, especially in the light of news arrests and convictions of individuals involved in the mismanagement of pensions?”

The NLC said the government would be unable to sustain pension payment under the Defined Benefits Scheme.

He said: “This is because exemption of the personnel of the NPF would imply additional financial burden on the Federal Government by way of unsustainable pension obligations. Statistics from the pension industry indicate that the Federal Government would need over N1 trillion to finance the exemption of the police personnel from the CPS.

“This liability is expected to significantly increase with the proposed yearly recruitment of 10,000 personnel into the police force as announced by the Federal Government.

“The Federal Government is already overburdened with the payment of pensions under the Defined Benefits Scheme as illustrated by the 2022 Appropriation Act, which made a provision under the Service Wide Vote for the sum of N577.3 billion as total allocation for Pension and Gratuities.

“The NLC, therefore, recommends without trepidation, that the issues of the inadequacy of retirement benefits in the Retirement Savings Account (RSA), which is always posited by the proponents of the exemption of the Nigeria Police, could be sufficiently addressed within the framework of the CPS. The NLC accordingly calls on the Government to enhance the salary of the Nigeria Police personnel and restore the payment of gratuity to workers upon their retirement. Incidentally, gratuity has not been abolished by the PRA 2014. It is in the light of the foregoing that the NLC maintained the position that the Federal Government should restore the payment of gratuity as well as adequate funding and timely release of accrued pension rights of retirees under the CPS,” the NLC said.

 

Retirees, Bill sponsor respond

 

Chairman of the Osun State chapter of the retirees association, DSP Eshue Edward, described antagonists of the Bill as being “selfish and economical with the truth.”

He said: “For instance, the estimate of the police personnel and the cost implications on their gratuities and pensions if exempted amounting to N1.84 trillion failed to separate the serving personnel from the retired. It also failed to notice manpower losses and the death of police retirees owing to old age and poverty.

He believes that the pension liability he spoke about that the Federal Government incurred under DBS was occasioned by the poor banking system that led to liquidation in the banking industry before the re-capitalisation of banks.

“There’s no difference between what happened then and what is going on now under CPS. After two years of retirement, retirees will not have payments and even die before the money is paid. This id,” other retirees said.

The Bill’s sponsor, Waive assured Nigerians that as 9th National Assembly passed the Petroleum Industry Bill that defied previous Assemblies, it would cap it up bypassing the Bill to exempt the Nigeria Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme “and bequeath to our country a police force that is motivated, performing, growing and becomes a shining example to the rest of the world.”