The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Africa

  • FG grants tax reliefs to TStv Africa

    FG grants tax reliefs to TStv Africa

    The Federal Government has granted a 3-year tax relief to the newly inaugurated Pay TV operator in the country, TStv Africa, as well as tax free dividends to all investors in the company.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced this on Sunday night in Abuja at a dinner to mark the official unveiling of the new company.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports TStv Africa is a wholly owned Nigerian Pay TV operator with refined offerings of novel Unclassified Pay Per View subscription and complimentary internet services.

    Mohammed, who performed the official unveiling of the new company and its products, said the tax reliefs were in line with the Pioneer Status recently granted to the Creative Industry by the federal government.

    The minister congratulated the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Dr Bright Echefu, and his team for liberalising and breaking the monopoly of Pay TV in the country.

    “The important thing about what Echefu has done today is that he has redefined the pay per view television industry and from today that industry will never remain the same again.

    “What he has done is to democratise the media and entertainment industry and make it possible for even a peasant farmer to have access to the best entertainment and news in the world.

    “It is a great opportunity for me to be the one to unveil TStv because just like a Nigerian made history by crashing the cost of telephony in Nigeria, I am glad that another Nigerian is now coming forward to crash the cost of Pay TV,” he said.

    The minister commended the courage of the investor for coming from the Diaspora to invest in his country and for believing in the government’s seriousness about diversifying the economy.

    He said the company had also demonstrated that government alone could not do all things but needed the participation and synergy of the private sector.

    “I want to assure that this administration will continue to assist you and other investors in creating the enabling environment for businesses to grow,” he said.

    The minister said that the government was aware of the huge contributions of the creative industry to the nation’s economy and would continue to support the sector.

    However, he identified contents and the lack of objective audience measurement as major challenges that had retarded the growth of TV and advertising industries in the country.

    “With the liberalisation of the industry, content has become very key because content determines which channels are being watched and which are not.

    “Another major challenge is how to get an accurate measurement of which channel is being watched and which is not.

    “Kenya and South Africa are about one third of our population but they do much better in TV and radio advertisement than us because of their robust audience measurement,” he said.

    The minister announced that the National Broadcasting Commission and his ministry would organise a workshop on Nov. 28 to address the challenge of audience measurement.

    Earlier, Echefu said that TStv Africa, which had gone through a lot of challenges, was birth to liberalise PayTV in the country, make it affordable to every Nigerian with added values.

    He said for the first time, Nigerians could now enjoy Pay Per View because with TStv, “subscription runs as you watch and it has the facility to pause your subscription when you travel”.

    Echefu said that TStv for a start has 70 premium channels model with the cheapest pay-TV in Africa with maximum subscription fee of N3,000 only.

    He said as a fully Nigerian brand with consideration for the masses, TStv is not classified and it has a model that accommodate subscription as low as N200 as N500 for a period of time.

    The CEO said TStv came with PVR (Personal Video Recorder) Decoder which allowed viewers greater control over their viewing experience with functions like pause, rewind, forward, save and record of programmes of interest.

    Echefu said that once you subscribe to TStv, you will also get complimentary internet service, enabled Wi-Fi, as well as video calls and video conferencing services.

    “It has an array of amazing TV channels with premium entertainment, educative programmes that cut across all genres.

    “The genres included news, music, general entertainment, documentary, movies, religious, sports, health, kids, fashion and lifestyle that better define the uniqueness of Nigeria’s diverse culture and traditional values,” he said.

    The CEO said TStv which was modelled for Nigerians had come to stay, assuring that it would not fail and they would deliver on their promises.

    NAN reports that the guests at the ceremony were entertained with live performances by musicians and comedians.

    Among the dignitaries at the event were Gov. Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos represented by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr Fola Adeyemi, and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, MS Grace Gekpe.

    Others were the Director-General of National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari; former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; Nollywood actors including Emeka Ike. Adigwe Okafor, Zack Amata, Dr Opa Williams and Afeez Oyetoro aka Saka. (NAN)

  • Judicial activism in Africa

    The expression “judicial activism” is from contemporary American politics where legal interpretation of its constitution can have ramifying and fundamental impact on its society and politics. For example after years of segregation, the American Supreme Court in a landmark decision came out with the judgement that there cannot be separate and equal education as it concerns black and white schools maintained at public expense. It was this kind of decision that forced public schools to desegregate. Although during the colonial phase of Nigerian history, there was a colour bar in hospitals and housing as well as salaries, this remained largely legally unchallenged. There were European/white hospitals and blacks as recent as the 1950s could not lodge in Broad Street Hotel in Lagos and Hill Station Hotel in Jos. There were different salaries for African and European workers doing the same thing. The various GRA (Government Reserved Areas) where only whites lived, ostensibly to shield them from African diseases, ensured physical separation of races. In Kenya, the Congo, central and Southern Africa where there were white settlers, separation or apartheid was the practice.  This was also the case in Algeria where close to three million French men had settled. There is no legal record  saying this  separation even though unacceptable, was challenged systematically until the 1950s when  the wind of change was gathering pace and becoming an hurricane as remarked by Sir Harold Macmillan a British Prime Minister of the time.

    The point I am making is that political change took place as a result of direct action or what Kwame Nkrumah called “positive action”, by nationalists either through political protests and or armed pressure. In other words, one can say that the idea of judicial activism is alien to African colonial history and even to contemporary politics until recently.

    The recent decision to annul and invalidate the presidential election in Kenya won by President Uhuru Kenyatta has drawn attention to the role of the judiciary in Africa. It should be recalled that this is the second time Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are squaring against each other politically. In 2013 Kenyatta won a highly and hotly contested election which eventually eventuated into violence when Odinga rejected the result. There is no difference ideologically between the two of them. The National Super Alliance (NASA) led by  Raila Odinga and the Jubilee Party, a reincarnation of the old Kenya National African Union (KANU) led by Uhuru  Kenyatta are  centrist parties politically speaking. Their difference like in most African countries is rooted in ethnic difference between Odinga, a Luo and Kenyatta, a Kikuyu. These are the two major ethnic groups in the country. Uhuru is the son of the founding President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta who along with Raila’s father Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, formed the Kenya African National Union (KANU) and Raila’s father was made the Vice President. They eventually fell out because after some years, Oginga Odinga also wanted to be president. Kenya to begin with would never have been independent but for the rebellion of the Kikuyu who bore the burden of British settlerism following the expropriation of their land for British settlers in the 1920s after the First World. The Mau Mau ((Kenya Land and Freedom army or KFLA 1952 -1960) uprising forced the British to realize that Kenya was not going to be a settler colony. Without the moderating hand of Jomo Kenyatta, an anthropologist and author of a scholarly book, “Facing Mount Kenya” there would have been more bloodshed in Kenya before the British finally conceded independence to Kenya under Jomo Kenyatta.  Jomo Kenyatta was President from 1964 to 1978 when he died. He was succeeded by Daniel Arap Moi a member of a small Kalenjin tribe who was Jomo Kenyatta’s Vice President and he remained in power till 2013. He was succeeded by a Kikuyu Mwai Kibaki who remained in power till 2013 and again replaced by another Kikuyu the younger Kenyatta in 2013. In all this musical political chairs, the Luo the second largest ethnic group has always been worsted in the contest for power. Any unnecessarily ambitious Luo during the time of Kenyatta and after was not tolerated and for example the ambitious, affable and handsome young minister, Tom Mboya a Luo was mysteriously assassinated on July 5, 1969 within the first few years of independence and this sent a warning to anyone who might raise his hand against the dominant force of the ethnic status quo.

    This is the background against which to see the current struggle for power in Kenya between the Kikuyu and the Luo. Politics in Africa is a matter of numbers and the Kikuyus have the numbers. When in August, the 72-year old Raila Odinga lost to 62-year old Uhuru Kenyatta in a presidential election judged by international observers coming from the West, the Commonwealth and African Union, it was felt Kenya had overcome its monster of disputed elections. But Odinga protested the outcome and rather than asking his supporters to go on the streets, he went to the Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the election process.  Surprisingly, the court in a split decision along ethnic lines invalidated the election and called for another election within 60 days.

    This outcome has been welcomed by the opposition. The president accepted the judgement but deprecated it. He even called members of the judiciary “crooks” who had been bought over by “Jews and homosexuals”. This is really an unfortunate development. Raila Odinga while welcoming the judgement called unrealistically for the dismissal of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission. The cancelled election cost Kenya $500 million. This is a lot of money in a poor country. The logistics of holding another election in 60 days involving printing of new ballot papers remain daunting. It is therefore almost axiomatic that the result of a new election may not be different from the old one.

    The question to ask is whether the judicial decision has been worth it and whether it has met the yardstick of legal wisdom and sagacity in view of the fact that the decision was based not on grounds of actual rigging and intent of rigging but on the grounds of lack of compliance with transmission of results electronically from wards to collating centre. It will be a tragedy if the re-run were to terminate in violence costing thousands of lives as it was in 2013.

    Some commentators have commended the judicial decision in Kenya and asked other African courts to learn from it. What happened in Kenya is not new to us in Nigeria. Results of elections have been changed at local, gubernatorial, House of Representative and senatorial levels but not at the presidential levels.  In the United States, Al Gore went to court to dispute the narrow win of George Bush in 2000 presidential election after the political shenanigans in Florida where Bush’s younger brother was governor but in the interest of the country and democracy, he withdrew the challenge so that the USA was not plunged into a constitutional crisis.

    In 1999 in a similar situation and to hasten the departure of the military from power, Chief Olu Falae withdrew his case in the Supreme Court challenging Olusegun Obasanjo’s election. In 2003, 2007 and 2011, President Muhammadu Buhari challenged unsuccessfully the elections of his opponents. Even if there were grounds for annulling the elections of his opponents, the Supreme Court upheld the outcome of the elections. These decisions were the right and sagacious decisions if only to save our country from political uncertainty and violence.

    Legal purists may dispute the wisdom of political imperative in judicial decisions at the highest level of a country but the overall interest of the country must always prevail. This is not a call for electoral brigandage and deliberate crime but when as in the case of Kenya, no such grounds were established, it would have been prudent for the judiciary to make haste slowly. This is particularly the case in African countries where there is evidence of corruption in many courts including the highest courts as it is the case in our country as can be seen in recent exposures of corruption in Nigerian courts.

  • Lafarge Africa to raise N131.65b from shareholders

    Lafarge Africa to raise N131.65b from shareholders

    •To merge with two subsidiaries

    The board of directors of Lafarge Africa Plc yesterday announced that the cement company would be raising N131.65 billion through a rights issue.

    After the end of its extraordinary meeting, directors of Lafarge Africa stated that they have decided that the company will float a rights issue of five new ordinary shares for every nine ordinary shares at a price of N42.50 per share.

    The qualification date for the rights issue has not been decided. However, the company has commenced regulatory approval process for the new issue.

    Also, Lafarge Africa would be undertaking a business combination with two of its wholly owned subsidiaries-United Cement Company and Atlas Cement Company Limited.

    The board of directors of Lafarge Africa has already approved the merger and business combination between Lafarge Africa and the two other companies. The board of directors authorised Lafarge Africa to enter into negotiations necessary for the consummation of the merger.

    The directors had also passed a resolution authorising Lafarge Africa to seek the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other relevant regulators for the consummation of the merger.

    LafargeHolcim, which holds the majority equity stake of 72.59 per cent in Lafarge Africa Plc, has indicated it will subscribe fully to its rights. LafargeHolcim will pick up its rights under a debt-for-equities deal that will see conversion of LafargeHolcim’s dollar-based loan to equities.

    Many Nigerian shareholders had raised objections to the debt-for-equities deal, which they said could give the majority core investor undue advantage to increase its controlling equity stake in the company.

    Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Mobolaji Balogun, said the recapitalisation would help to reduce the group’s exposure to adverse foreign currency translation losses as experienced in 2016 following a 40 per cent depreciation of the Naira against the Dollar.

    He noted that the decision of LafargeHolcim to convert existing loans into equity demonstrates the core investor’s continued belief in the Nigeria story, pointing out that the rights issue is the largest so far in the Nigerian capital market and the largest investment in a listed company by an investor.

    According to him, the rights issue will help to reduce the group’s foreign currency exposure by 50 per cent while the remaining portion of the debt, with the support from LafargeHolcim, has been refinanced and hedged for 12 months.

  • Lafarge Africa’s board meets on N140b rights issue

    Lafarge Africa’s board meets on N140b rights issue

    The board of directors of Lafarge Africa Plc will tomorrow hold an extraordinary meeting to consider the terms of the cement group’s new capital raising. Shareholders of Lafarge Africa had recently authorised the board of directors of the cement company to raise new equity capital up to N140 billion in a major move to deleverage the cement group.

    Company Secretary, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mrs Edith Onwuchekwa, in a statement at the weekend stated that the directors would be considering the terms of the rights issue at the Tuesday meeting.

    Lafarge Africa plans to raise the new equity fund through a rights issue, implying that only existing and qualified shareholders will participate in the new issue. The shares will be pre-allotted to shareholders on the basis of their shareholdings as at a predetermined date.

    Lafarge Africa had planned to launch its rights issue later this month and finalise the offer by the fourth quarter.

    LafargeHolcim, which holds the majority equity stake of 72.59 per cent in Lafarge Africa Plc, has indicated it will subscribe fully to its rights. LafargeHolcim will pick up its rights under a debt-for-equities deal that will see conversion of LafargeHolcim’s dollar-based loan to equities.

    Many Nigerian shareholders had raised objections to the debt-for-equities deal, which they said could give the majority core investor undue advantage to increase its controlling equity stake in the company.

    Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Mobolaji Balogun, said the recapitalisation would help to reduce the group’s exposure to adverse foreign currency translation losses as experienced in 2016 following a 40 per cent depreciation of the Naira against the Dollar.

    He noted that the decision of LafargeHolcim to convert existing loans into equity demonstrates the core investor’s continued belief in the Nigeria story, pointing out that the rights issue is the largest so far in the Nigerian capital market and the largest investment in a listed company by an investor.

    According to him, the rights issue will help to reduce the group’s foreign currency exposure by 50 per cent while the remaining portion of the debt, with the support from LafargeHolcim, has been refinanced and hedged for 12 months.

    Balogun said the company has been positioned for better performance in the years ahead as benefits of the turnaround plan launched in the third quarter of 2016 were already counting in the fourth quarter of 2016.

    “We have increased local sourcing of critical materials to lower foreign exchange component of our operational costs. Finally, we are working on a new route to market initiative and improvements in logistics with increased vehicle turn-around and size of fleet of third party providers,” Balogun said.

    Group Managing Director, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Michel Puchercos, said the acquisition of Unicem in 2016 was in line with the group’s capacity expansion plans.

    He noted that doubling of the production capacity of the Mfamosing plant in Calabar to 5.0 million metric tons per annum has contributed significantly to Lafarge Africa’s capacity and footprint in Nigeria as it provides an opportunity to increase the group’s share of the cement market in the South East and South regions.

  • NEPAD to bridge Africa’s $68b infrastructure gap

    •Launches 5% Agenda initiative

    The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has launched its five per cent agenda campaign for infrastructure financing in Africa. The aim is to close Africa’s huge infrastructure financing gap put at $68 billion.

    The campaign highlights that only a collaborative public-private approach can efficiently tackle infrastructure financing in Africa. It also calls for institutional investors’ allocations to infrastructure to be increased to the declared five per cent mark.

    The launch took place five years after a January 2012 African Union (AU) Summit adopted the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), which set out 51 cross-border infrastructure programmes and more than 400 actionable projects in four sectors.

    According to the World Bank, the continent needs to spend $93 billion annually (44 per cent for energy; 23 per cent for water and sanitation; 20 per cent for transport; 10 per cent for ICTs; and three per cent for irrigation) until 2020 to bridge its infrastructure gap, which removes an estimated two per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth every year.

    On the other hand, Africa only managed to close 158 project finance deals with debts totalling $59 billion over the decade (2004-2013), which represented only five per cent of infrastructure investment needs, and 12 per cent of the actual financial flows.

    At the launch in New York, NEPAD Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, said: “Infrastructure plays a leading role in supporting growth on the continent. At the same time, it can represent an innovative and attractive asset class for institutional investors with long-term liabilities.

    “By launching the five per cent campaign in New York today, we invite investors to take advantage of the wide-ranging opportunities Africa has to offer and move forward with what can only be a win-win partnership.”

    The launch gathered high-level international investors and business leaders, including members of the PIDA Continental Business Network (CBN), which is spearheaded by NEPAD and constitutes a CEO-level private sector infrastructure leaders’ dialogue platform on PIDA.

    The CBN is a NEPAD and AU initiative, which enables private sector members to communicate recommendations to high-level African policy makers on how to improve the investment climate for infrastructure.

    One of Africa’s most prominent entrepreneurs and active participant in the CBN, Tony Elumelu, said: “Africa is getting stronger every day with new business opportunities and innovative ideas, but what is still crucially missing is project implementation.”

    He said a coherent and co-ordinated approach was needed to mobilise institutional investors while limiting their risk exposure. “African governments need to work on creating conducive environments to attract these investments, which are so vital for the continent’s growth and development,” Elumelu said.

    According to a 2016 McKinsey report, institutional investors and banks have $120 trillion in assets that could partially support infrastructural projects.

    The report noted that as banks face additional regulatory challenges, and as governments have limited fiscal space, it is becoming increasingly urgent to unlock additional flows from long-term institutional investors such as insurers, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds.

    It, however, stated that for pension and sovereign wealth funds to be able to invest in large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa, a variety of issues needed to be addressed to strategically and intentionally facilitate long-term allocations.

    One of the issues, according to the report, is the need to reform national and regional regulatory frameworks that guide institutional investment in Africa.

    It also said new capital market products need to be developed that can effectively de-risk credit and hence, allow these African asset owners to allocate finance to African infrastructure as an investable asset class to their portfolio.

    All these issues are at the heart of the 5 per cent Agenda roadmap, which is the backbone of NEPAD’s campaign and is foreseen to have many impacts, including unlocking notable and measurable pools of needed capital to implement regional and domestic infrastructure projects on the continent.

    It will also broaden and deepen the currently very shallow African capital markets, whilst at the same time contributing significantly to regional integration and job creation.

    The campaign is also expected to promote the development of innovative capital market products that are specific to the continent’s challenges and potential in regards to infrastructure development.

    Furthermore, it will raise the investment interest of other institutional and non-institutional financiers that have so far been hesitant to include African infrastructure projects as an asset to their investment portfolio based on specific, concrete next steps and project suggestions.

  • Nigeria Aviation sector, pacesetter in Africa

    Nigeria Aviation sector, pacesetter in Africa

    Prof. Sani Marshi, Director-General, Nigeria Metrological Service (NiMet), has said that the achievements recorded in the aviation sector has made it a pacesetter to other African countries.

    Marshi made this known on Tuesday in Abuja while presenting the International Standards Organisation (ISO) 2015 certifications for its compliance with international best practices to the Minister of State for Aviation,

    According to Marshi, Nigeria has recorded a giant stride to be the first African country to have met the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) and the World Metrological Organisation (WMO) for quality management system.

    He said that at the just concluded Ministerial conference of ministers in charge of handling matters related to metrology at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Nigeria was given a loud ovation after presenting its situation reports.

    He said that Nigeria can be proud to now show other countries in the continent the way.

    Marshi said that Metrological services are very important ingredients of the aviation sector because no matter how certified an airport or aircraft is, once there are no favorable weather, flight operations cannot take place.

    “In line with that, we in the ministry of aviation have given the Met. services sector that urgent necessary importance it deserves.

    “ The two bodies that are regulating the activities of Met agencies in the world, the ICAA and the WMO made it clear that any Met agency in the world that is supposed to be offering services must be certified by the International Standard organisation.

    “We set the ball in motion, did all we are supposed to do, put all the necessary infrastructure, met all our requirements and then we invited the auditors from the ICAA and WMO.

    “They came to Nigeria and they looked at what we had and as a result of this, they have issued the certificate to us.

    “By this, it means we are now certified by the two bodies to be offering best services in the aviation sector,” Marshi said.

    Receiving the certificate, Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika commended the NiMet DG and other Chief Executives in the Aviation sector for moving the sector forward.

    He said that the International Certification of NiMet as well ad the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos are inline with President Muhammadu Buhari’s mission of securing the country and boosting economic development.

    Sirika said that NiMet’s certification was a huge one as the only agency to achieve the 9001 certificate in Africa p, which is a pride to Nigeria.

    He explained that both certifications would increase the value of the nation’s airports and boost economic activities.

    “Our mission and vision inline with Mr President is to ensure that our institutions are working very well, strong, efficient and dynamic and to make them better for tomorrow

    “Once that is achieved, it means we are managing the country well. Strong institutions will definitely beget a strong nation.

    “Our intent is to create this strong viable and sustaining institutions that are good enough to take our industry out of the woods and begin to do things standardised as provided for by the ICAA, the world regulator of Aviation,” Sirika said

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the NiMet received the certification in March and is valid until 2020.

  • Africa in need of global solidarity

    SIR: Africa is witnessing one of the most embarrassing periods in her life. Discussing the global hub of terrorism, Africa will be a prominent figure and talk of global state of corruption and states in Africa will rank at the apex. But why these global threats are visible in virtually all states in Africa is due to the weak structural governmental system. For instance, Zimbabwe, Uganda and their father, Equatorial Guinea are stagnating states because of weak structures. The leaders of these states tend to view their achievements with their counterpart states with the number of their stay in office. Nigeria too has managed to shift political power from civilian to civilian government for the first time in history in 2015 amidst heightening political tension setting example for all other African states which Gambia later followed.

    Although Nigerians managed to change government democratically, the failure of their state is linked to weak political institutions encouraging large scale of corruption with little or no efforts at discouraging this act. Just like Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea has no shame defending mega scale corruption case at the global stage. This is evident from the state’s case against France which is pending before the ICJ. This kind of development is unfortunate for the whole African states.

    There is also the presumption by the international community that almost all African states are victims of one global sin or the other. It could either be terrorism, human rights violations or corruption. Few states are lucky to record such at lowest level while many are unlucky with high cases of all.

    Sharing these impending global problems, Boko Haram bears West African states witness. This sect has given the world the impression that the region is unsafe for inhabitation if not until recently that Nigerian government with the help of her neighbouring states is managing to dislodge the activities of the sect. what is recurrent problem which seems with no solution is large scale of corruption which Nigeria is made the hero.

    However, state like Ghana is achieving political development because of the presence of strong political structure conducive for the state. This is possible for the state because there is a committed attitude to democratic core values in the state. Such is the desirability of any state aiming for growth and progress.

    The high presence of the activities of sects like Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Al-Shabab in East Africa, ISIS in North Africa and lone attackers in southern part of the continent adding to the various cases of corruption and human rights violations in the continent is something to worry about. Unless and until these problems facing the continent are looked into, Africa will continue to wither in the comity of nations.

    A few states like Botswana, South Africa among others seem to be enjoying relative peace, growth and development. Although these states are relatively free from the impending global problems, a state like South Africa has a bundle of cases of women abuse.

    The most gifted state in Africa seem to be the one with lowest population which is Botswana with less than three million people, about three percent of Nigeria population. According to Transparency International, Botswana is ranked as at 2016 as the least corrupt country in Africa. This obvious fact is a slap on the face of Nigeria a state that boasts of about 180 million people. This therefore creates serious doubt in the mind of people about the reality of the saying that population is the greatest asset of any nation. One then asks what the state Nigeria has done with her people amidst her natural potentialities.

    In tackling the many problems that have bedeviled African states, there must be realistic approaches aiming at lasting solution. What is required is honesty and sincerity on the part of AU and ECOWAS as in the West African states to use the power that comes with their privileges to direct her member states to be responsible and accountable to their people. Other regions in the continent should identify their various intergovernmental organizations in this respect.

    Just as the fragmentation of Sudan bred the sovereign Republic of South Sudan which is almost at collapse, Nigeria should beware of the Biafra secessionists’ movement. What Africa needs now is nothing but timely and global attention to get it right. Time is past due that we should do something.

     

    • Abdullahi Suleiman Otiwe,

    Kogi.

  • Nollywood actor, makes case for united Africa

    Nollywood actor, makes case for united Africa

    Nollywood actor, John Okafor, says Africans need  to be more united to attract the attention of the international community.

    Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu,  told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday that the process should start from individual countries  through the sub-regions to the  continental level.

    “ The process of unity should start from our individual countries to the sub-regions and then on to the continental level.

    “ We need to be more united at a time like this  to get the desired attention from the international community,” he said.

    Okafor said that media reports emanating from Africa were  always about conflicts and disasters.

    “ In some of the sub-regions, you do not need a visa to enter individual countries. My vision is that Africa should go beyond that.

    “ Let there be an  Africa without  borders. If you are an African, you should  get a visa at the point of entry.

    “ Let us endeavour  to become one united Africa. I am proposing one brother, one nation,” Okafor said.

    The artiste also canvassed a common currency in the continent, saying  Africa has the abundant natural and human resources to support its economy.

    “ The African Union should champion this cause and ensure that the continent is formidable, united and gets the desired attention from the rest of the world.

    “ Africa is not far from Europe. We can do so many things together for the benefit of our people,” the actor said.

  • We ‘II make Bayelsa Dubai of Africa, says Dickson

    We ‘II make Bayelsa Dubai of Africa, says Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, in this interview with reporters in Yenagoa, the state capital, speaks on his passion for health, education, security and infrastructural development. He also speaks on plans  to conduct local government elections. MIKE ODIEGWU was there.

    Which projects have you completed and scheduled for commissioning?

    Our government is about mega life changing projects. In the area of education,  we have only officially commissioned the Ijaw National Academy. There are many schools we have built that are ready for commissioning. I believe the results should speak for us, but given the political terrain in which we operate, I think we need to showcase some of them. In the area of education, additional five  model secondary schools will be opened. These are areas where there were no boarding schools before I took over in 2012. That is why you should not have been surprised, if you had militants, criminality, drug addicts, and so on..

    We have the Sagbama Model Secondary Boarding School, also in Ekeremor that has been on for some months now. Brass and NNGS are also set. We have three in Kolga, the secondary school in Kiama, the one in Asuama that will be starting this month, and the Ijaw National Academy. In Yenagoa BDGS will start this September. The facilities in St. Jude’s are well known. We also have in Oporoma, southern Ijaw which came on stream quite a while ago  and very soon even the one in Okugbie will start. We have not even talked about the constituency boarding secondary schools that are ongoing with new facilities comparable to what you see in tertiary institutions.

    By all analysis, our state has the best public schools in this country and we are not done yet. So, I am not surprised that exam results are moving steadily up, the performance of pupils is moving quite remarkably. That is an indicator of the investment we are making and I want to appreciate all the teachers, all parents for their understanding and let me use this opportunity to call on all parents and guardian to take advantage of the enormous opportunity we have opened up for all the young people in our schools.

    Education in all these state boarding schools is free in all sense of it. The uniforms are provided by us, the books by us. We even feed them three times a day. I was told that a number of the children refused to go on vacation and opted to stay back because they are fed three times a day.

    We also have the best health care facilities in the state. And even in this recession, we are deepening our investment in that area. Even in this recession, we are pursuing  our infrastructural development program. The airport project is going on, mega roads are going on, we have concluded sand filling beyond Aleibiri; you can actually get to Aleibiri with Hilux. This is the Bayelsa we came to change.. We came prepared. We cannot say we have solved all problems, or that we will solve all problems at the end of eight years; it cannot be done.

    But, we have a lot of projects ready. The Igbogene bypass with two or more bridges, dualized has been completed. When I said we wanted to turn Bayelsa to the Dubai of Africa we meant exactly this. So, all the interventions are like a signature of the restoration Government. Unfortunately, the recession hit us barely one year into the second term.

    I was going to address most of these things within four years. Most people do not know that I was not keen on a second term.  That was why I started so many things and worked feverishly  to try and complete them, but then,  the recession came in. But we are committed  in the remainder of our tenure to ensure that Bayelsa is a better place by the time we round up.

    How can Bayelsa sustain these investments in the education sector, especially after your tenure?

    I am quite satisfied already with where we are, although this is not where we want to be. We want Bayelsa to be the number one in education, the center of excellence and we are working hard to lay that infrastructure. When we took over Bayelsa, our WAEC and NECO rating for 2012 was over 20. If we rated any better , it was considered a fluke or an accident not a product of  conscious investment.  But from that position, we moved to number six or seven last year I think and now this year we are number five.

    That is why we directed the compulsory summer camping program for the SS3 students. Our thinking is this, if we camp them together as we did for between four to six weeks and they are not out there playing and we bring in  the best teachers in all areas to  coach them, the results should show . In the Ijaw National Academy and most of our models schools, the laboratories we have are very good so they had exposure to practicals and the like. Our expectation is that with this, by next year when they take the competitive national exams Bayelsa will improve more. Our target is to be number one and we can make it because it is a product of conscious effort and nurturing.

    Sustainability is the reason we created the Education Development Trust Fund.  I think the fund has so far received close to N500m and that is commendable. So that as long as that fund is there and the managers are there and do their job which we believe they are doing well, the compulsory programs will go on until such a time that we would have developed that critical mass of enlightened educated people who can compete in what is becoming an increasingly competitive global world. That fund with the law that has established it will sustain this policy beyond this administration. That is why people should be interested in the policies of people who want to lead.

    We are building world class health care facilities. The diagnostics center is there; the whole country is coming to our diagnostics center. The specialist hospital by the government is free for the public. A 100-bed hospital, well equipped and run by competent professionals from outside and within the country. Two days ago, they carried out  surgery that was done in the Southsouth for the first time. We have a forensic lab. We are still investing. Every LGA must have a modern health care facility. This has so far been completed in about 5 or 6 different LGAs and by November, you will see that a number of these facilities have begun operating. We had a state where you didn’t have modern health care facilities, where our people who were sick had to be taken to neighbouring states. Bayelsa is on course.

    When can the student loan board be constituted for students to access  loans to pursue their academic dreams?

    Very soon, I will constitute that board and some funds will be made available. I give five percent of the IGR to Education Trust Fund every month, five percent to health insurance and I am thinking of putting some amount to the student’s higher education loan board. But the board will come up with their criteria, it is not everybody that will access it. You must be indigent and you must be doing well and they will work through banks. It is going to be a loan that they will take for 4 years. That loan is not free. It is meant to be a revolving fund to help our students access tertiary education.

    When will the state government conduct local government elections in the state?

    Since we took over, no deduction has been authorised by me in respect of funds coming to councils. I do not even know how much they get. In this state we have local government autonomy. We didn’t dissolve the local government system we met in place. We wanted to conduct election showing we respect the autonomy of councils, especially in the area of respecting their finances. We constantly encourage them to  be transparent, hold transparency briefings, and inform their people about their income and expenditure, to judiciously utilise their resources and we give them some policy guidelines. Because of the recession, states are finding it difficult to muster the resources to conduct local council elections. These local council elections run into millions. So, it is a very expensive exercise. We are told the country has gone out of recession, or is trying to come out of recession. We haven’t seen or felt it yet but we believe and pray that is so. If our revenue improves by next year we willlove to have local council elections.

    What efforts are you making to assist the staff of the local government, in terms of teachers’ welfare and the backlog of salaries?

    It is a very pathetic situation. It is not just in Bayelsa, but across the country. It is a fall out of the recession. In my first tenure, you did not hear of such challenges, until the country went into deep recession. Every money we get comes from the Federal Government apart from the IGR which when I started was about N60m, but which we managed to raise to N500m on the average. The rest comes from the Federal Government which they get from selling crude oil and if people do not buy crude oil as a state we are affected. A states like Lagos is out of it because they are fully developed, people pay tax, run a modern organized economy but Bayelsa is not on that self sustainable level. Even, if we produce the oil, it is not owned or managed by us.

    The number of these people you are saying are local government workers is actually few.  80% are workers in name only because they had appointment letters and receive salaries and not because they go to work. When the economy was robust their wage bill was about N160m. Now, they are receiving about N90m, how do you expect them to meet up? That is why I tell people to take responsibility, to stop payroll fraud in the local government areas. If we take out all those that are working in more than one ministry or in the local government system and the state civil service system, all these fraudulent payrolls in Bayelsa there will not be much challenge. The responsibility lies with the stakeholders. Some of the stake holders of the local governments are doing well. I want to address most of these reforms before my term runs out.

    We are trying to get proper records. We have been compiling a number of data; they were not even keeping records. Before 2012 they were not keeping real records in the state.

    I am very impressed at the few dedicated teachers we have and the ones who are not dedicated I will deal with them. You will see the reforms taking place. We have been quietly collating names. The union leaders should please listen to me. We will not be intimidated; we will do what is right.

    What effort are you making to renovate the Samson Siasia Sports Stadium?

    I received certain assurances from the contractors just last week because we are as concerned as everybody else. We are paying them money that is left to enable them put that place to use. And they have assured me that they will be done before the end of this year. They had challenges with fluctuation in currency. We are looking beyond the Samson Siasia Stadium. We are looking at focusing on the sports academy by next year.

    Could you shed more light on the effort your administration is putting into the ‘Light up Bayelsa’ project?

    The government has made a lot of investment in electrification. Now a lot of communities around Yenagoa are connected to the national grid, and we still want to link up so many others. Amassoma for example is linked to the national grid. We had to do electrification in Sampou. Sagbama to Ofoni is all electrified, connected to the national grid. We want to do more and so we are working with Agip. Right now they are erecting a number of poles going to Nembe from Imiringi gas turbine. This could have been done several decades ago but we want to accomplish it if possible before the end of December. We are working hard. It may not be with the speed we want because of funding constraints but operation light up Bayelsa is on course and I have directed the ministry of power so that they can get a date when we will go and commission the projects in order to create awareness.

    We are working with our partners and I want to thank Agip. Very soon, we will formally unveil the content of collaboration with the IOCs whereby we are thinking of generating up to 50mws of power between now and next year so that we can call on the investing public and manufacturers to come to Bayelsa. We also have plans to power our airport.

    Is there any plan to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the creation of this state?

    There are no elaborate plans.  Instead of throwing money around, we will use that money to build one primary school or it will help to complete one secondary school or pay for the education of our children. That is one legacy I care about..  The days of frivolities have ended and we are going to do our best. We still have a long way to go.

    We want to use this opportunity to thank our people for their prayers and support. Our state is very much on course. Our state is stable and calm. All organs are doing their best to move the state forward. As leader of the team, I am doing my best to motivate my team members. You have all seen the programmes we have; these are the reasons I ran for governor and these are the reasons you supported our re-election and you are seeing the benefits.

    Support your government, support your state so that we can carry out this revolution till the end. We have two more years to go and in spite of the recession, we will try our best to conclude our programmes and policies. With the economy, we cannot take anything new, except minor things. And we will deliver a new and better Bayelsa.

  • Work begins on IIBC, Africa’s first smart city

    Work begins on IIBC, Africa’s first smart city

    Prospective investors, stakeholders, built and construction stakeholders, government officials, operators in the financial sector and other Nigerians, last weekend, converged on Ikate-Elegushi, Lagos, to witness the beginning of dredging of the Lagos Lagoon.

    The dredging signalled the commencement of construction work on the Imperial International Business City (IIBC), a multi-billion naira project, in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, promoted by the Elegushi Royal Family (ERF) and Messrs ChannelDrill Resources Limited, a real estate developer. The IIBC,  planned to be built as the truly first smart city in Africa, has been described as a smart and eco-friendly city, which will redefine the standard of urban development in Africa.

    The IIBC is a city to be built from the scratch, and is said to be the next big thing after the Eko Atlantic City, but only in terms of size. For instance, it is envisaged to be a city with distinct zones and building regulations, with each zone having low, medium and high density areas with water view. The city will be 3.5 metres above sea level, in spite of the fact that studies have shown that over the next 75 years the Lagoon will not rise beyond one metre.

    Some of the zones already identified in the city include the Marina West Zone, which will enjoy a cosmopolitan lifestyle with waterside dining and leisure; Marina East, built to have a community feel and Nigerian bohemian vibe; Imperial Gardens West, touted as a neighbourhood centre and located in a botanical setting with key viewpoints; Imperial Gardens East, a quiet residential neighbourhood; Imperial Beach, an exclusive residential neighbourhood, which will offer residents coastal living; Kings Island, to be built as an exclusive private island, and Park Avenue, a formal arrangement lining a tropical green boulevard.

    Presenting the IIBC concept, described as a destination for regional and international business to the public, ChannelDrill’s Managing Director Mr. Femi Akioye said the term smart city, has been abused in the Nigerian property sector, as it often represents unfulfilled promises. He blamed it on the proverbial ‘Nigerian factor’, which ab initio plagues the planning and design schemes of newly-developed communities, thereby making living, working, and playing in such developments, at best, sub-optimal.

    Akioye said the IIBC as a smart city, is “an Integrated city  because it combines the features of a ”Green City”, designed with environmental impact consideration. “The ocean doesn’t hide its nature; the Lagoon is a fox. The Lagoon will rise in the next few years, but we are building for the future. We can safely say that IIBC is going to be a flood free city for at least 75 years.  It is also the only island that has more than one entry point. Our roads are designed to make sure that crippling traffic will never occur in IIBC,” Akioye assured.

    Taking investors through the project, Akioye said on electricity, IIBC comes with an independent power plant (IPP) to ensure that it does not only enjoy stable power supply, but will also use clean energy supply. The IPP will also make the city to be self- sustaining. Besides,  IPP will ensure that there is no need for generators by residents, leading to clean city.

    Also, there will be a waste treatment plant to be built on the Island, which will be producing methane that will be used for production of more electricity or cooking gas. “Electricity will be available on 24/7 basis; cooking gas will also be piped into each building thereby eliminating the usage of gas cylinders in the city,” Akioye explained.

    Shedding light on the power project within the development, Akioye explained that due to intermitent power supply, the developers have assumed that Lagos does not have the capacity to uptake the new demand levels of the island. “Therefore, a new intake substation on the Island would be supplied directly from an existing substation on the mainland via a subsea cable,” he said.

    Akioye added that exhaust gasses from the generators used in the IPP will be treated by a dedicated gas cleaning plant to ensure that fumes released into the atmosphere complies with the exhaust of generators with international standards; secondary power will be generated by alternative sources such as waste to power plants, while the fuel, which is liquefied natural gas (LNG), will be supplied to the city via barges. “Fuel will be pumped into bulk fuel storage bays via pipelines from the coast. Bulk storage feeds into a treatment plant before entering generator supply streams,” he explained. Infrastructure development in the city is being handled by Mott MacDonald Limited, London, United Kingdom (UK).

    ChannelDrill Chairman, Mr. Emeka Ndu, is also of the view that  his firm believed that the “Nigerian factor” can be one that speaks excellence, which is why the firm is now telling a new story- a happy story of Nigeria and in Nigeria.

    “Our IIBC story tells of how through thorough and meticulous design, uncompromising vision and latest technology. We are solving the challenges we face in our societies. We are solving these challenges in a technologically smart, environmentally friendly, and socially sustainable manner. The old story tells of the challenges of unanticipated floods, unnerving traffic, unstable power, unmanaged waste, and unavailable ICT.  But our story tells of how all of these challenges have been solved in the Imperial International Business City. Our story tells of details, of care, of passion, of love, of devotion. A devotion to excellence. A devotion that never ends,”he said.

    Elegushi family head, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, the IIBC project becomes imperative, considering that with the rising population of Lagos State, and in view of the fact that land is fixed in supply, the family thought it is necessary to contribute to the accommodation needs of the people.

    “Besides, this is a legacy, not necessarily for making money. We have travelled all over the world and we see the infrastructural wonders in all those places. Then, I asked myself, is it a curse that balckman cannot do something better? That was part of the reason for conceiving the project. Initially, it was like a dream, but we thank God, it has become a reality”, said Oba Elegushi.

    General Manager, Dredging International Services Limited, Mr. Stefan Van Velthoven, consultant handling the reclamation work, also allayed the fear of flooding in the IIBC, considering that flooding has been a regular occurrence in the Lekki axis.

    According to him, the scenario has been played out at the preliminary stage of planning to ensure the safety, serenity and comfort planned for the IIBC. “We have been collaborating with Channeldrill Resources to ensure that nothing untoward happens in the future. We have set 3.5 metre above the sea level and we had already mobilised to site equipment to commence the first phase of sandfilling, which is about 100 hectares  and within the next one year, we will complete the second phase,” he said.

    With an area of 200 hectares, IIBC will be zoned into residential, mixed use and commercial areas. Each zone will have low, medium and high density area, each zone will also be divided into inner city, water ways view and Lagoon view areas.

    The projects topwaterways, underground drainage, sewage, water and water treatment plant, Independent electricity ( Gas Generated), fiber optics cable, cloud enabled communication network and smart city/house infrastructure for willing subscribers, a mini marina, first smart shopping mall in Africa, cloud enabled 24 hours spy eyed security connected to a central security center, world class hospital within a dedicated healthcare zone.

    Access roads to the new city are currently three and they are Freedom Road through Lekki Phase 1 (Lekki Third Roundabout), Kunsenla Road by 4th Roundabout off Lekki-Epe highway, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi road by SPAR supermarket before Jakande. Other access roads will be through Femi Okunnu and Jakande roundabout in the future.

    Land will be sold at plot sizes of 650 square metres, 800 square metres, 1000 square metres and 1200 square metres. Buyers will get a contract of sale documents immediately payment is confirmed.