The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Boosting

  • Boosting entrepreneurship through green opportunities

    Renewable energy saves scarce resources, maintains healthy ecosystems, minimises pollution and waste. It also creates jobs and boosts entrepreneurship, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Green businesses that safeguard the health of consumers and communities are generating jobs and boosting entrepreneurship. One of them is renewable energy, which fuels some businesses.

    The growth in renewable energy is creating new jobs in Africa. Experts see green business as a win-win solution to address development challenges. The renewable energy job market is booming. It is estimated that it will create 24 million jobs worldwide by 2030 – up from 9.2 million reported in 2014.

    According to the International Renewable Energy Industry (Irena), the proportion of renewables in the global energy mix will double and increase gross domestic product (GDP) by up to $1.3 trillion across the world.

    In 2014, it accounted for more than 2.5 million jobs, largely in operations, maintenance and manufacturing – now increasingly dominated by a jobs boom in Asia.

    As Nigeria explores ways of tackling high unemployment rate, experts say the country’s $250 billion potential in green economy could play a vital role in this regard. They say entrepreneurs can tap into the enormous opportunities in the green space to create millions of jobs.

    A green economy is low in carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive, according to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). In a green economy, growth in employment and income are driven by public and private investment into such economic activities, infrastructure and assets that allow reduced carbon emissions and pollution, enhanced energy and resource efficiency, and prevention of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, UNEP adds.

    The experts, who spoke at a forum organised by the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) in Lagos recently, said with the consequences of climate change on the ecosystem, it is imperative that entrepreneurs leverage the opportunities in the green space to create solutions and wealth.

    “Nigeria has power gaps of about $200 billion, agricultural waste of 40 percent and 200 million people creating waste that is not recycled,”  Chief Executive, All On, Wieber Boer, said.

    “This shows that there is a huge investment opportunity in the country’s green economy that entrepreneurs can tap into by creating solutions that are viable and sustainable to these challenges,” Wieber said. All On is a company set up by Shell Company with a mission to increase access to commercial energy products and services for underserved and unserved off-grid energy markets in Nigeria, with a special focus on the Niger Delta.

    He stated that with more solutions being provided to address climate change, the country will be able to create new jobs and scale the opportunities in the green economy.

    He noted that it would be hard for the country to build a green economy, if the government continues to subsidise petrol.

    According to him, the green growth sector offers great economic and ecological benefits for small businesses and is estimated to grow considerably in the coming years.

    Also, NCIC Chief Executive Bankole Oloruntoba said the global green economy is a multi-trillion dollar economy, which the country’s entrepreneurs could harness through innovative solutions.

    “If Nigeria is able to develop conducive environment for the growth of the green economy, the country could have a massive share from the over $14 trillion global green economy,” Oloruntoba said.

    “In Nigeria the challenges are enormous and if we can create some form of opportunities to support businesses in that space in terms of capacity, it will create a rival opportunity for the country to build an economy that does not depend on crude oil,” he said.

    “The green economy gives the country the opportunity to create more jobs and there are lots of opportunities in the green space with covers from media, to transportation, to waste management and even to educate among others,” he further said.

    He noted that the NCIC was providing technical training to start-ups that are creating solutions to issues of climate change.

    He said his organisation was planning to create a fund for businesses in the green space with the  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Charge d’ Affaires of Ireland Bob Patterson, while reeling out some of his country’s programmes for growing its green economy, said that Ireland would continue to support Nigeria in growing its own green space.

    “Agricultural practices are significant and major contributors of climate change and we must find ways to address this,” Patterson said.

    “We are committed to supporting diversification within agriculture and land use to develop sustainable and circular value chains and business models for lower carbon intensifying farming,” he noted.

  • Boosting anti-graft war through effective investigation

    The Federal Government has succeeded in securing the conviction of some politically-exposed persons. However, there is still more to do. For two days, investigators drawn from various anti-graft agencies met in Lagos for a training organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS). They listed some challenges which they said must be addressed if the anti-graft war is to be successful. JOSEPH JIBUEZE was there.

    Despite the successes recorded in the fight against corruption, there is a general consensus that more could have been achieved with better investigation of cases. The Federal Government recognises that there can be no successful prosecution without effective investigation as some high-profile cases have been thrown out by courts due to lack of proper investigation, according to theAttorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN).

    The government, he said, recognises the need to continuously train investigators.

    It was in response to this that the Federal Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS), held a two-day training for investigators in Lagos.

    Participants were drawn from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Police and the ministry.

    Investigators from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) also participated.

    The training, with support from the John D. & Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, featured four working sessions.

    The topics included: Provisions in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) for expediting investigations; The use of technology in investigation; and Improving the effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies.

    Others were: Investigating stolen assets: principles, practices, problems and lessons from other jurisdictions, and Principles and techniques of investigation.

    According to Malami, who was represented by the Federal Justice Sector Reform Co-ordinating Committee (FJSRCC) Secretary Mr Felix Ota-Okojie, there is a gap between investigation and prosecution that must be filled.

    He said: “There cannot be a successful prosecution without a thorough investigation. Our experience in this country has shown that it is the lacuna between investigation and prosecution that is responsible for the not-too-successful cases that we have witnessed.

    “This has raised cause for concern from the public as to why the prosecutors are not able to secure conviction in cases that seem to be very obvious. This is why we must continue to work to see how we can bridge that gap, so that both investigation and prosecution can be effective.

    “This training is in furtherance of the ministry’s leadership role in ensuring that we drive the process of implementing the ACJA, which if effectively implemented, will improve criminal justice in the country.”

    Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr Adeniji Kazeem underscored the critical role investigators play in the fight against corruption.

    He debunked the notion that corruption is a victimless crime, emphasising that stolen resources are funds that can be used to reduce poverty and improve lives.

    To him, investigators run the greater risk in the process of catching the corrupt; therefore, “huge amount of funds must be dedicated for their protection and welfare”.

    He added: “Investigators are usually the best and brightest of any security organisation. They are the elite with the best analytical minds. As investigators, you are often the first line of defence against corruption as you have the responsibility to gather necessary evidence that will support the appropriate charges in court.

    “The quality of evidence you produce, therefore, has tremendous effect on the decision to prosecute or not, because without a thorough and sound investigation, chances of a successful prosecution is low, irrespective of the skill or experience of the prosecutor.”

    According to Kazeem, public corruption cases are often controversial, complex and require considerable resources and careful strategies.

    He said the Lagos State Government was moving away from the analogue process of investigation to the application of scientific and forensic technology in combating crime.

    “To enhance the quality of evidence collected during investigation, the state is equipping statement recording rooms in specific police stations in compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State and in line with international best practices. This will soon come.

    “As you may be aware, the government of Lagos commissioned the first Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre in West Africa, to improve the quality of investigation and provide our prosecutors with best evidence in court.

    “The DNA and Forensic Centre is equipped with world-class facilities, including a unit dedicated to toxicology. I recommend all stakeholders to visit and make use of this facility in the course of investigation,” Kazeem said.

    CSLS President Prof Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) said there was the need for a greater focus on investigators’ work, which he said would necessitate the establishment of minimum standards and guidelines, and monitoring and evaluation of performance.

    He called for greater accountability for non-performance and low productivity; and for incentives, regular training opportunities and reward for exceptional performances.

    “Those investigating high-profile corruption cases, for example, should be protected, well-resourced and insulated from the corrupting influence of moneybags and high-profile defendants who have all the resources to influence outcomes of investigations,” he said.

    The eminent professor of law decried excessive reliance on confessional statements by investigators and prosecutors to win convictions, which he said causes delays due to trial-within- trials.

    “It is pertinent to adopt new investigative trends which leverage modern technology and forensics,” Akinseye-George said.

    ACJA provisions

    Akinseye-George highlighted the ACJA provisions that facilitate investigation. For instance, he said Section 3 seems to suggest that a suspect may be arrested and then investigated.

    “In our view, there is no hard and fast rule. Sometimes, arrest may come before investigation and sometimes investigation may come before arrest,” he said.

    He noted that the ACJA contains several safeguards against unlawful arrests and investigations, which he said ensures speedy investigation.

    According to him, the safeguards are: no unnecessary restraint (Sections 4 and 5), use of force in limited circumstances, the need to inform suspect of the reason for arrest (Section 6(1)), the need to inform suspects of their rights (to remain silent, consult a lawyer, and access to free legal representation), and the requirement to notify next of kin (Section 6).

    Other safeguards, he pointed out, are the prohibition of arrest in lieu, humane treatment of arrested persons, speedy investigations (a person arrested or detained must be brought to court within 48 hours), among others.

    Akinseye-George underscored notable improvements in the ACJA, such as the requirement to record information about arrested persons, the power to break a window or door during investigation (Section 12 (2), and use of audio-visual aid, of which investigators are expected to electronically record the writing of statements.

    Use of technology in investigation

    Investigators can get important leads through the Open Source, which is publicly available information that can be lawfully obtained by request, purchased or observation, according to an expert, Omolola Quadri, who was one of the resource persons.

    She said information can be obtained from social media activities. Through carelessness or omission, people can reveal information about their location, for instance.  Also, personal identities, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, property records, payments information, among others, can also be obtained from such open sources, Quadri said.

    According to her, investigators should make good use of databases, such as those kept by land registries, as well as private sources of digital evidence, which includes call logs, short messaging services sent and received, and contacts lists.

    Quadri said investigators can obtain evidence through GPS. The location of a cell phone, she said, reveals the general area that corresponds to the radius of a cell tower’s coverage.

    “If a suspect says he was in Bauchi at the date of the money transfer, his cell phone can reveal that he was actually in Asokoro and made a call from there,” she said.

    Evidence can also be obtained from a suspect’s search engine history, mobile devices, removable media and external storage, electronic money trails, digital calendars, e-mails, notes, and other record keeping software, Quadri said.

    Investigators, she added, may need to understand hash value functions, which enable them to verify that a forensic image of digital evidence has not been modified, as well as meta-data (information stored about another data).

    She said e-mails are difficult to delete because other copies can be found in the sender’s server, receiver’s server and receiver’s hard drive even if the sender deleted it from their hard drive.

    “Obtaining this level of information requires a specialised process of collection, preservation and analysis before its presentation for litigation,” she said.

    Improving anti-corruption agencies’ effectiveness

    Quadri noted that the government plays a key role in investigations. Without the political will, not much can be achieved, she said.

    Therefore, there is the need for anti-graft agencies to be truly independent in their operations, in powers granted them through legislation, and in funding, she said.

    “Including the traditional police power to search and arrest, the agency must be empowered to take additional steps such as checking bank accounts, intercepting telephone calls, demand that suspects declare their assets, require that suspects answer questions on oath, restrain property suspected to be proceed of corruption, and seize suspects’ travel documents to provent escape from the jurisdiction.

    “However, this must be supported by an effective checks and balance system to prevent abuse of powers and right violations,” she said.

    On funding, Quadri said investigating high profile corruption is not only time-consuming, but capital intensive.

    Such cases, she said, require varied expertise in gathering evidence by persons skilled in criminology, finance, economy, technology, money laundering and forensics.

    “Expensive, highly intrusive measures may need to be adopted, such as telephone tapping, electronic surveillance, granting witnesses anonymity, engagement of undercover agents and sometimes, the simulated giving and acceptance of bribes.

    “The use of digital technology is also required in many such cases and this does not come cheap,” she said.

    Quadri said Nigeria needed an all-encompassing anti-corruption Act that explicitly identifies all corrupt acts that are criminally liable, adding that the law must establish liability for individuals and corporate entities.

    There is also the need for an effective complaint system, she said, adding that the whistle blower policy must be strengthened.

    Investigating stolen assets

    Another speaker, Kehinde Oginni, said investigation was crucial to the recovery of stolen assets.  Investigators, he said, must be prepared to face the challenge of tracing illicit funds effectively. “They must be tech savvy,” he said.

    Oginni, a Special Adviser to Malami, said in investigating stolen assets, those connected to them must also be investigated, such as family members, associates and close allies.

    For instance, he said in investigating former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye, investigators in the United Kingdom found that his children attended private schools in the UK, that he operated a Barclaycard account which was being paid off through the account of one Joyce Oyebanjo, and that he had 15 bank accounts holding not less than $2.3 million.

    “The Mutual Legal Assistance sent to Nigeria established that an ecological grant was laundered by Dariye through numerous companies,” he said.

    According to Oginni, asset tracking and investigation is complex and may require a multi-disciplinary investigation team involving intelligence officers, financial analysts, investigators and lawyers.

    To function effectively, he said the team members must cooperate, one agency must provide clear strategic leadership; each agency must be assigned a clear role, and information must be shared promptly.

    Investigative techniques

    Another speaker, Chiamaka Anyaegbu, said before the commencement of an investigation, the investigator must create the suspect’s profile. According to her it is essential for investigators to collect and record all basic information related to the targets.

    “Collect and record information that fully identifies the targets and also records any aliases used by the targets.  Information should be maintained in an orderly manner within the investigators case folder for easy reference,” he said.

    Anyaegbu said determining which investigative tools to use depended on a variety of factors, such as the nature of the alleged violations and the available resources.

    He said investigation must progress from measures that do not alert the targets that they are under investigation, such as research of public databases, collection of public information, and informal interviews of potential witnesses that are not closely connected with the targets (informants), among others.

    “It is always better to start from the basic, simple or covert techniques before implementing more complex techniques such as financial investigations and international cooperation before moving to overt techniques (e.g., search warrant) to avoid tipping-off the target,” he said.

    Anyaegbu said evidence obtained must be subjected to validation through corroborative testimonial, forensic and documentary proof to overcome doubts.

    Investigators, she said, must operate by the law. For instance, searches must be done by warrant obtained from a competent authority such as a judge, magistrate or Justice of the Peace in line with Section 146(1) of the ACJA.

    “Failure to obtain a warrant renders the process illegal,” he said.

    Anyaegbu highlighted some investigative techniques, such as undercover operations, lawful interception of communication, mutual legal assistance requests, cross-border observation, surveillance, and thrash runs (searching the target‘s discarded trash for evidence), among others.

    As witnesses are key in any investigation, Anyaegbu called for the creation of a national programme on witness protection, adding that each law enforcement agency should have a standardised witness protection unit.

    She said witnesses should be protected at all stage of proceedings.

    “Efforts should be made to protect witnesses at every stage of the criminal process beginning with investigation, during conduct of trials and after until such protection is no longer required.

    “The termination of protection should be done in a manner that would not jeopardise the interest of the witness.

    “Where there is risk of threat to the lives of witnesses, safe house, hotel or such other alternative accommodation should be provided for such witnesses by the agency.

    “Hence, the Attorney-Generals, law enforcement agencies, legislature, judicial authorities and other stakeholder in the administration of justice should provide support for the process of establishing a viable witness protection programme in the country,” Anyaegbu said.

    Challenges to  be addressed

    One of the major challenges faced by investigators is the use of outdated methods. It was also observed that some investigators lacked the needed technological skills to unravel complicated financial crimes.

    Other challenges include undue interference from superiors and lack of reliable database, lack of incentives.

    Participants emphasised that undue interference by superiors was a major challenge.

    Investigations being called off for no justifiable reason, they said, must be criminalised, while all forms of political interference must be discouraged.

    Investigators also need better protection so that they are not victimised for sticking to principles or for refusing to call off an investigation they believe has merit.

    With their lives at risk, participants regretted that there was no comprehensive life insurance for investigators.

    Poor funding tops the list of challenges. This, participants said, results in lack of basic equipment for investigation.

    There were experiences of investigators having to fund their travels, and buy needed materials themselves. Some have had to pay for their internet services, and have had to source for forensic investigative tools on their own.

    They called for the strict monitoring of how money budgeted for investigations is applied, adding that there was the need to for independent funding of investigations if possible.

    The issue of lack of cooperation by the public was also highlighted. Speakers said the fight against corrupt is seen as that of the government alone, with some giving ethnic and religious interpretations to the fight.

    Lack of trust is also listed as a problem. Due to fear of victimisation, many are afraid to report crimes.

    Also identified is a lack of awareness on modes of reporting crimes confidentially.

    On lack of incentives, participants observed that investigators who achieve great feats are rarely commended let alone adequately rewarded or promoted, all of which kill morales.

    Inter-agency rivalry was also identified as a major problem. Participants said there were instances of sister agencies withholding crucial intelligence because they do not want to be outshined.

    Another challenge is lack of cooperation between investigators and prosecutors. It was observed that in several instances, some prosecutors would not know those who investigated the cases they are prosecuting.

    Participants said effective communication between the prosecutor and investigator was key to successful investigations.

    More challenges in need of solutions

    Participants said the inadequate witness protection and welfare provisions that hamper investigations must be addressed. Key witnesses, they said, could back out if not well cared for and protected.

    Another major challenge that must be tackled is corruption within anti-graft agencies. Contributors said every effort must be made to weed out corrupt elements within the system.

    Investigators must also be well paid to reduce the temptation of being swayed by money.

    Lack of adequate manpower is also a challenge. Participants said some investigators are overwhelmed with work that they end up doing shoddy jobs.

    Poor knowledge of information technology is also a challenge. Some investigators were said to lack basic computer skills and cannot type their investigative reports themselves.

    Delay in responding to Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests was also identified as a problem. Sometimes, significant ground is lost due to lack of quick responses occasioned by legal and bureaucratic bottlenecks.

    It was said that the fact that assets can take different forms make them very difficult to track.  Difficulty can also arise from identifying beneficial owners of illicit assets.

    Most stolen assets cases involve multiple jurisdictions, which creates barriers to effective interaction and cooperation of state intelligence gathering and law enforcement agencies.

    It was also noted that the Bitcoin virtual currency can be used to launder proceeds of crime, and is seen as a great challenge to asset tracing and investigation.

    Participants observed that the war against corruption would be more successful if anti-graft agencies were truly independent, accountable and well-funded, and backed by political will.

  • Boosting growth prospect for SMEs, artisans

    Lagos is positioning itself as one of the leading economies in Africa amid a positive economic scenario. To sustain this, its Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment has created programmes to support artisans and entrepreneurs with the potential to build competitive businesses, reports DANIEL ESSIET.

    While Nigeria’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) continue to create numerous jobs and boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they face a myriad of challenges, which always hamper their growth.

    About 70 per cent of jobs created across the economy are said to have come from SMEs.  However, they are hindered by inadequate capital, limited market access, poor infrastructure, inadequate knowledge and skills and rapid changes in technology. Some of them have closed shops, while the existing ones are complaining about a hostile business operating environment. Consequently, SMEs have shown mixed results in their performance in recent years.  This has attracted government’s attention to consider developing policies and initiatives that will enable them survive, make profit and create jobs.

    Lagos is, however, taking steps to remove the obstacles on the way of SMEs’ growth. Addressing a ministerial press briefing in commemoration of the third year of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs   Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf said the government is taking steps to create  a  business environment, which enables  entrepreneurs  to  create new businesses  and  sustain  them from  start-up stage to growth and maturity.

    To close the financing gaps, she said the government, in collaboration with partners, has created initiatives to expand access to financial services among small enterprises.  Funders include Ibile Microfinance and the Lagos State Employment Trust fund.

    As the digital world rapidly evolves, making use of online marketplaces is increasingly integral to the success of Lagos’ diverse community of artisans and small businesses.

    To this end, the  state created the artisan virtual market platform project, an online portal, to connect skilled artisans and tradesmen with customers.

    The portal, she also added, is designed to address challenges faced by those in this sector by facilitating access to market and finance.

    Factored into the platform, she noted, are features for skills improvement, including training-vocational, numeracy and literacy to bridge the deficit in skills gap, which has plagued the sector.

    Working with the ministry towards the actualisation of the initiative is Flutter Wave Company, which is developing the platform/application and Microsoft Nigeria that is to host the platform in the cloud.

    Others include a paint manufacturer, Kansai Plascon Nigeria, which   is committed to training painters, who will be on the platform while Ibile Microfinance Bank and Sterling Bank are handling the payment gateway.

    The platform, according to her, will have tools that will expose the artisans to avenues for accessing loans through LSETF and other financial institutions. The Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) is to capture the artisans for the LASRRA number required for the platform.

    Under the Tradesmen and Artisans Capacity Building Scheme, she disclosed that 1000 artisans were re-trained last year in collaboration with the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB).

    The scheme, she explained, was to equip the participants with technical and entrepreneurial skills with a view to enhanceing their efficiency, competitiveness and productivity. It was held for eight weekends across the state in five centres of Ado-Soba, Agidingbi, Epe, Ikotun and Ikorodu.

    The state government recognises that the emergence of new technologies has created an opportunity to address the needs of society to attain sustainable growth and development.

     

    Techpreneurs

    The commissioner said the growing number of techpreneurs, which is taking root in the state, is strongly drawing the attention of capitalists and more established firms to the state.

    To this end, she said the state government, through the collaboration of Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Ibile Holdings and other relevant stakeholders would be establishing an ICT hub in Yaba.

    She said the government has collaborated with Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (JHU-SAIS) to explore opportunities in the area of youth entrepreneurship and technological innovation in the state.

    The partnership, she explained, will focus on convening a forum to give techpreneurs opportunity to pitch to an audience that will include, but not limited to venture capitalists, industry experts, United States based techpreneurs and the academia.

    The collaboration was aimed at leveraging work JHU-SAIS is doing as regards sub-Saharan Africa in the area of youth entrepreneurship and technology and bridge the divide across tech ecosystem.

    Riding on a series of engagements with JHU-SAIS, Microsoft, General Electric, among others, an ICT summit was held between  April 23 and 26, 2018 in Washington DC. She  said the government sponsored 15 Lagos based techpreneurs and start-ups to participate at the event.

    The theme of the conference was: “The Role of Technoprenuer in Lagos State: An emerging Smart City”.

    She said the  Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment in collaboration with the Ministry of Health has designed a framework for the development of Health SMEs in the state and also secured approval of the State Executive Council for the programmes implementation which is about to commence.

     

    Health SMEs

    Health SMEs, the commissioner said is to collaborate with private sector to deliver quality health care services through the provision of financial support with the aim of creating wealth and employment.

    The development of Health SMEs, she added, is geared towards managing the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) that are non-functional to sustain the tempo of quality and affordable Health Care delivery to the  people of the state.

    She said the Ministry of Health has listed 45 under-utilised Primary Health Care (PHC) centres to kick start the programme with 12 private health service providers already identified and ready for takeoff.

    On graduate internship programme (GIP), the commissioner said last year’s programme was a pilot scheme with implementation in phases of 500 internship placement. She explained that 1800 candidates were screened while 910 were deployed to various private organisations.

    She said 460 interns were confirmed and accepted for the GIP. Out of those confirmed, 57were given either full employment or extension of internship for possible future employment with the organisation.

    In continuation of the project, she said a breakfast meeting was held in March with prospective employers and off-takers on the activities planned for this year’s internship programme.

    The programme, according to her, was facilitated by Employment Clinic International, with 100 organisations in attendance that have shown interest to off-take the Interns.

    Based on feedback from last year’s exercise, she said the GIS programme would be extended to six months, one month for training and induction; and five months internship with employers for the interns to learn more from the organisation they have been assigned, which might increase their chances of being retained.

    She said the ministry is planning a mindset re-orientation programme for 2,000 unemployed youths this year. The programme will include, employability skills training, career counseling, effective C.V writing, developing effective interview skills and job hunting strategy for the invited interns and Job fair as soon as possible. This is to prepare the candidate for this year’s GIS programme. 1,000 best participants on the programme would be giving Internship placement in the year as they would have been prepared for the work place through the training.

  • Boosting African entrepreneurship

    Startupbootcamp, a global business accelerator, is supporting startups and tech entrepreneurs to build innovative solutions to address problems in payment solutions, e-commerce and alternative financing, among others. The organisation held its fast track during the weekend for prospective entrepreneurs in Lagos. DANIEL ESSIET was there.

    At least 20  Nigerian startups used the Fast Track  Forum organised by Startupbootcamp, a global business accelerator at Capital Square, Dolphin Estate, Lagos at  the weekend,  to pitch their businesses in just a few hours.

    Startupbootcamp is a network of industry-focused startup accelerators. It was founded in 2010 and now operates globally with 20 plus industry-focused programmes in key locations, including Cape Town, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Cape Town, Chengdu, Berlin, Dubai, Hartford, Istanbul, Rome, London, Melbourne, Miami, Mumbai, Mexico City, New York and Singapore.

    The entrepreneurs — including the founders of Credalpal,Jama, Smarttellers,Electronic Esusu, introduced their technologies, with founding teams in place. The event offered direct showcasing of the selected businesses, as well as access to vital insights from angels, corporates and seasoned entrepreneurs through networking, making  it a very worthwhile experience for both entrepreneurs and investors.

    Co Founder/ CEO, Startupbootcamp Cape Town, Philip Kiracofe, said FastTrack events are for startups to present their businesses to an elite group of mentors, comprising industry experts, corporate executives and investors.

    Through the forum, he said startups will be able to engage with the Startupbootcamp community and be exposed to worldwide opportunities.

    Kiracofe, said about 518 startups applied to participate in the event, saying 20 were selected. He said applications will open this month for its three-month Africa acceleration programme in Cape Town.

    According to him, the final deadline for innovators and entrepreneurs to apply online for the final accelerator, is May 24. The programme will kick off in September.

    He  stressed that FastTrack engagements are not a requirement to apply for the Startupbootcamp Africa Accelerator, encouraging all startpus to apply, stating however that attending a FastTrack will be to one’s advantage.

    From a pool of hundreds of applications, Startupbootcamp Cape Town, will select the 10 most promising teams, and will provide each team with a stipend, highly engaged mentors, free office space,  access to funding and a network of industry partners, investors and venture capital firms.

    By going through Startupbootcamp’s accelerator programme, startups have every chance to succeed on a local and global scale, he said.

    Core sponsors for this Africa-based programme, include Old Mutual, RCS, PwC, BNP Paribas, Nedbank and Woolworths Financial Services.

    Head of Innovation at Old Mutual Personal Finance, Stanley Gabriel, said the forum was a great example of how the Startupbootcamp is helping to transform the economy by engaging with the start-up community.

    While most startups have the mind-, skill- and tool-set and entrepreneurial passion and focus to facilitate their growth, he noted that they often lack access to clients, capital, and resources.

    Connecting with corporates, he  added,  provides them with useful connections, access to resources, market expertise, and brings them revenue.

    Gabriel, said through partnership with Startupbootcamp, startups have the opportunity to leverage expertise, experience, resources and talent to build compelling commercial success stories.

  • Boosting sugar cane farming to create jobs

    Sunti Golden Sugar Estate in Mokwa, Niger State is poised to change the narrative in sugarcane farming.The estate comprises 17,000 hectares of arable farmland and a mill capable of processing 100,000 tonnes of raw sugar yearly, DANIEL ESSIET reports. 

    Nigeria is one of the major producers of sugarcane in Africa, with about 500,000 hectares of land which can produce about five million metric tonnes (mt) of sugarcane.

    According to  the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), the five million metric  tonnes (Mt) of sugarcane will yield about three million mt of sugar if processed.

    However, despite the country’s potential in sugar production for local consumption, its reliance on importation has become worrisome as it produces only two per cent of its sugar requirement. Nigeria imports about 1.7 million tonnes of sugar, up from 1.3 million tonnes in 2016.

    To address this, there have been various private sector efforts to encourage increase in acreage and cultivation.

    It was against this backdrop that the sleepy town of Mokwa in Niger State witnessed the inauguration of the Sunti Golden Sugar Estates Limited, a subsidiary of Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN ), by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to Buhari, the N50  billion estate will produce 100,000 tonnes of high quality raw sugar annually to feed Flour Mills Sugar Refinery.

    His words: “While we have had some challenges in the implementation of the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) in the past, I believe that our vision of attaining self-sufficiency in sugar in Nigeria is well within sight, with the kind of investment that has been made here. I am told that the Estate will engage up to 10,000 people directly once developed, including a network of over 3,000 small-scale outgrowers of sugarcane. This to my mind is central to this administration’s determination to create jobs and gainfully engage our people.”

    Niger State Governor Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello said the  decision by Flour Mills to set up a sugarcane plantation in Sunti was the kind of step the state  needed to actualise its quest to boost agriculture. The investment, according to him,  is also an evidence of the unexploited potential in the sector.

    Such ventures, he stressed,  are needed and the plantation in particular in Niger State is timely, especially when the overnment is working towards developing a sustainable, diversified and competitive agricultural sector to ensure greater economic stability and growth.

    He  added that the state was interested in ensuring that more investors established enterprises to create jobs to improve people’s livelihood.

    Bello said: “For a long time now, lack of infrastructure has been one of the major hindrances to investment in agriculture. To this end, the government is working  to support infrastructure across the state.”

    He said while the state appreciated and welcomed investors as partners in development, it expected  them  to take part by investing in agriculture and helping to grow the economy and eradicate poverty.

    “Niger people are proud farmers. For many years, we have cultivated rice, sorghum, millet, cowpeas, corn (maize), palm oil and kernels, kola nuts and sugarcane for local consumption and export. To this end, agriculture has always been a top priority for our state and will always receive our utmost support.

    “When we declared 2018 as the year of ‘Agricultural revolution,’ in Niger State, it was a reminder to our people of the immense natural resources that we have been blessed with. And that is why projects such as  the Sunti Sugar Estate are a perfect model for investment in our state. From my last visit to Sunti Golden Sugar Estates in 2016 to date, I must say that I am delighted with the level of work and investment that has been put into this project,” Bello said.

    Flour Mills Chairman Mr. John Coumantaros said: “The farm at peak production will provide direct employment for about 10,000 people yearly, and impact up to 50,000 people indirectly, including 3,000 small-scale outgrowers, who will be cultivating sugar cane to feed the mill.

    “The project illustrates the desire to reduce sugar importation, save billions in foreign exchange, boost local capacity and reduce unemployment by putting thousands of Nigerians to work,” he said.

    He thanked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Bank of Industry (BoI), the Ministries of Finance, Industry, Trade and Investment and Agriculture for their support for the project, adding that “a project of this nature could never have taken place without the staunch support of Mr President and the Niger State Governor.”

    He said N50 billion had been invested in the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate. The company, he said, has significantly invested in food and agro-allied value chains to align with the government’s agricultural initiatives.

    Flour Mills, he explained, is determined to ensure the success of agro-allied investments through maximising local content in the company’s final products while it remains committed to its policy of being involved at all stages of the food value chain: from farm to table.

    Enclosed within a 35-kilometre dyke, the production facility area is about 17,000 hectares, with a cane area of a maximum output of 10,000 hectares.

    The estate features the state-of-the-art irrigation system that will ensure efficient cultivation of sugar cane, with infrastructure, which includes drain pumps, pump stations and power grid.

    Drains, culverts and flood-protection walls have also been constructed. The state-of-the art operations bring new technology to the sugar cane farming and milling industry that is poised to increase production yield, create new jobs for Nigerians and teach them new skills. Currently, sugar cane is grown on 3,000 hectares and cultivated under irrigation, making it an annual crop, with 276 hectare (ha) furrow, 700ha pivot and the balance under sprinkler irrigation.

    It is harvested by hand and transported by road to the factory using haulage tractors to pull a pair of tandem trailers with a capacity for 30 tonnes of cane.

    The estate has brought infrastructure benefits to the surrounding community, with 28 communities taking advantage of the new 30-kilometre road plus expansive road networks, which provide a variety of access routes to indigenes’ homes.

    At the farm, smart agriculture is helping the company increase crop yield,optimise workers and machines performance .

    Processing will ensure every part of the cane is used.

    As a result of the steady demand for skilled workers, which will grow, Niger State will draw labour  from other states, and provide training for local workers.

  • Boosting youth entrepreneurship

    Boosting youth entrepreneurship

    Producing and inspiring entrepreneurs is not seen as a priority for most universities. Several organisations have introduced promising initiatives. One of such is Techpoint Build whose Techpoint Build 2018 was held in Lagos to expose young innovators to investors.

    To experts, entrepreneurship is a boom to a country in a fix on how to employ its growing youth population.

    Over the last one decade, Nigeria has witnessed the influx of people who have experience in the tech and startup world moving in to help move the ecosystem forward. One of this is Techpoint Build which   held its forum in Lagos. It was for startups, scale-ups, investors, and other innovators and featured thematic events.

    Techpoint CEO, Adewale Yusuf said it’s all about helping startups raise money, attract talent, and connect with peers, founders, venture capitalists, corporates, and policy makers.  Yusuf said the event was meant to connect entrepreneurs with funding and resources.

    He said the event focused on how to impact startups and scale-ups that are working on innovations that make Nigeria a better place.

    According to him, the bigger problem for Nigerian startups is securing the funding. He said through the platform, aspiring entrepreneurs and tech startups would be given  opportunity to present their business ideas or solutions for market commercialisation.

    The day was filled with an exciting programme with inspirational speakers, a pitch session and useful  opportunities between (tech) startups, investors, international organisations, developers, and corporates.

    Panelists  during  the session, themed “Keeping a business afloat”, were Go-To- Market Lead at Zoto, Osaze Osoba; Chief Transformation Officer, MTN, Adebayo Adekanmbi; (Developer Community Manager, Flutterwave, Modupe Durosimi-Etti and CEO, Skarabrand, Raymond Umeh.  Panelists encouraged startups to contribute to solving challenges.

    According to them, offering simple solutions serves as a test case of how young entrepreneurs can contribute to resolving big challenges. As soon as the panel session was over, the first pitch session was conducted. Placements, myPadi and Gerocare,were the service category startups who pitched to judges.

    The judges included: Chief Executive, Vconnect, Depankar Rustagi; a Senior Executive at MTN, Olanike Jagun; and Founder, Microtraction, Yele Bademosi).

    On the pitch side, The Footwear Academy, Wemove and Legitcar, were startups under the productivity category that tried to win the new set of judges over. After thorough consideration by a jury, the winner was Placements, an Internship classified site. It went home with N1 million. Founded last year, Placements is a platform that allows job seekers find paid internship opportunities across Nigeria. During the selection before the forum, 165 entries were  shortlisted. Out of this, nine start-ups emerged to compete for the prize money.

    Placements slugged it out with eight others which included Footwear Academy, service platform for training people in footwear making; Legitcar, an online platform which makes stolen vehicles difficult to resell, and easy to recover; Wemove, a startup building technology solutions, to ease transportation in Nigeria, starting with vehicle hire; and Accounteer, a smart cloud accounting platform for SMEs.

    Others were SmartTeller, a mobile and web application designed to innovate and automate field operations for microfinance institutions; myPadi, a marketplace for college students and young professionals to access both on-campus and off-campus local houses and shared rooms in every city across Nigeria; and Gerocare, a platform that provides regular medical doctor visits to the elderly in the comfort of their home as a subscription service. Top exhibitors included Union Bank, Nokia, Farmcrowdy, Flexisaf, Cloud Cover, Teamapt, Thank U and iROKO.

    Others were Ventures Platform, Paystack, MyMusic, Whogohost, Formplus, Accounteer, BudgIT, Leadspace.

  • Boosting local content

    Boosting local content

    •Although we’ve made some progress, there is still a lot to be done

    MORE than half a century of oil exploration in the country, the scale of the annual pillage brought on by the systematic underdevelopment of indigenous capacity by international oil companies (IOCs) continues to be mind-boggling. According to the executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, out of $20 billion spent annually in Nigeria’s oil and gas by IOCs, over $15 billion continues to be repatriated through offshore contracts in fabrication, engineering and procurement.

    In over a 50-year period, the NCDMB chief estimates the loss at over $380 billion in addition to two million job opportunities. His words: “The narrative then was that nothing can be done in-country. Plants and modules fully fabricated offshore together with the technical and even non-technical manpower were imported into the country without any structure in place to achieve knowledge transfer. The level of Nigerian content was far less than five per cent,” he said.

    Seven years since the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act was passed into law, the question bears asking – has anything changed?

    The NCDMB boss thinks a lot has changed. He cites his agency’s repatriation of $10 billion through clawing back of $5 billion out of the $20 billion spent annually – although he claimed that his target was to raise the amount to $10 billion; the existence in-country of five pipe coating yards and two pipe mills, active dry docking facilities in Port Harcourt, Onne and Lagos, over 35,000 jobs created on the back of implementation of the Act, in addition to the over 7,000 enrolled on NOGIC Joint Qualification System (JQS), for job placement, among others, as evidence of boost in indigenous participation in the nation’s oil and gas sector.

    Undeniable as these developments are, they merely underlie the long road yet to cover in the country’s march to a substantially indigenised oil and gas sector. NOGICD is undoubtedly an important pillar –in fact the most critical element in the quest to realise the local content goals in the oil and gas industry. We must admit that the agency has done quite a lot in terms of its strict implementation of the law as well as setting out the roadmap for getting things moving in the right direction – seven years on.

    However, its existence, we must equally point out, is certainly not nearly sufficient in a clime where the necessary ancillary institutions designed to train the class of indigenous manpower in simple engineering skills such as welding and other steel fabrication are virtually non-existent. We say this because even the few technical and vocational institutions in the country continue to exist only in name as they are too poorly funded to deliver on expected outcomes with their products all too often found to be unsuitable for the industry. We see evidence of this in the embarrassing skills-gap which has remained not just the bane of the oil and gas industry but the nation’s industrial scene as a whole.

    Is it not shocking, for instance, to know that a big indigenous player like Dangote Industries currently engages foreigners for high-tech welding jobs in its refinery and petrochemical complex essentially because local skills are largely lacking?

    We see two legs to the challenge: first, is the absence of the skills pool. Second are the lax regulations which allow the IOCs to carry on without consideration for the need to boost the local skills pool.

    Whereas the latter – relatively easier to solve – is the job of the NCDMB, the former, clearly inter-agency, requires careful planning and investment in education and on-the-job training.  It starts with getting the country back to the drawing board to restore not just the dignity of the artisan class but the integrity of the old trade certification system which seeks to match qualification with real competence.

    With NCDMB actively collaborating with relevant stakeholders on targeted investment, it shouldn’t take too long to boost the skills pool while making it competitive and world-class at the same time.

  • Boosting agric productivity through partnership

    Boosting agric productivity through partnership

    Agriculture in Ogun State has enormous potential to strengthen the economy and improve the lives of farmers. Some challenges are obstructing the opportunities, but the government is collaborating with international organisations to bridge gaps in supply chains and alleviate the plight of farmers, reports DANIEL ESSIET.

    Ogun State government is striving to boost the agricultural sector and promote export growth.

    This is as rising demand for food in local and export markets has increased earnings’ prospect for farmers.

    Addressing the 2017 National Trade Promotion and Knowledge Fair in Abeokuta, last week, the Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said increasing the productivity of the state’s farm sector was essential in  meeting its economic growth targets and boosting food availability.

    Represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo, Amosun said by supporting agriculture, the state was helping to develop a more-diverse and competitive sector that can create jobs and promote economic growth.

    In a state that is highly agrarian, with agriculture accounting for over 70 per cent of the total number of the employed, the governor said it made economic sense for Ogun to develop the sector and encourage greater export.

    According to him, agriculture has a bright future and the government is doing all within its powers to tackle issues affecting the competitiveness of the sector, including the cost of doing business, regulation, access to capital and critical infrastructure improvements.

    In addition, he said the government was pushing investments in rural areas to increase smallholder productivity and farm incomes by strengthening capacity building, service delivery and market linkages.

    He said the theme of the fair “Market and Product Development for Competitive Rice and Cassava Value Chains” was in consonance with the state’s agenda of improved agricultural production.

    According to him, value chain is a topical issue in sustaining agriculture and the state will leave no stone unturned in promoting it.

    He added: “The issue of agricultural value chain has become topical in the promotion of sustainable agriculture in Nigeria. Agricultural activities should not stop at production level. Consideration should be given to processing and marketing as it prolongs the shelf life of products and guarantee good reward for farmers’ effort.”

    The overall efforts of the state, according to him, have been complemented by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which has stepped in  to  assist. One area, IFAD partnership is helping the state, according to him,  is rice and cassava production.

    Having fulfilled its counterpart funding for 2014 and 2015 of N124 million, he said the state was able to draw N420 million from the fund.

    The fund, he explained, facilitated the capacity building of over 4000 farmers on good agronomic practices, construction of 20km farm access roads in Obafemi-Owode, Ijebu North East and Yewa North Local Government Areas, and  building of cassava and rice processing centres.

    The fund, he added, enabled the state to provide agro-inputs such as fertiliser, cassava cuttings, rice seeds and herbicides for 3,044 farmers in five local  government areas, cassava and rice processing  equipment to  six farmer organisations in Yewa North, Ijebu North East and Ifo Local Government Areas. The fund, he added, faciliated the  development of 500 hectares (ha) of farmland for cassava and rice cultivation across the five local government areas.

    He informed the forum that payment of 2016 and 2017 counterpart funding has been approved and released.

    The National Programme Coordinator, IFAD-assisted Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD-VCDP), Dr. Ameh Onoja, said the agricultural value chain, included the set of actors and activities required to bring agricultural products from production to consumption, including processing, storage, transportation, marketing, and retail.

    Onoja underscored that food security remained a critical issue , given expected population rise.

    According to him, the programme presents an opportunity to reduce pockets of poverty and build the capacity of smallholder farmers to move from subsistence farming to commercial market-driven agriculture.

    The programme, he explained, seeks to address multiple problems faced by farmers and rural households through a set of integrated, consolidated, and area-specific interventions responding to local constraints and opportunities.

    Specific interventions, he maintained, included strengthening farmers’ groups and building their technical and business capacities; increasing the productivity of food and high-value crops through improved agri-inputs and technologies, and enhancing access to markets for farmers.

    He said the programme is ready to support the Ogun State government‘s strategic plan of improving food security and agriculture productivity.

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, who was represented by his Special Assistant on Technical Quality Control, Mrs. HectarAkani praised  Ogun State government for keying into its agricultural policies especially in the areas of cassava and rice value chain development programme.

    The minister said the objective of the fair was in line with the Federal Government’s plan to boost agricultural market and increase waste to wealth through cassava value chain.

    Special Adviser to the Governor of Ogun State on agriculture, Mr. Akin Lawson  said IFAD and the state government are working topromote and make the state a leading destination in the national rice andcassava production.

    A long-term vision for  Ogun State agriculture, according to him,  is to move towards more value added, productive and competitive agriculture to ensure that farm incomes continue to grow .

  • Boosting waterways transportation in Lagos

    Boosting waterways transportation in Lagos

     How can the waterways in Lagos be made safe and effectively utilised? These are the questions that begged for anwsers all through a stakeholders’ forum which set out to distill ideas on how to reposition the sector, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

    The Lagos State Government and stakeholders at a forum on the waterways agreed that the sector had, for far too long, been comatose.

    Since the Second Republic, when former Governor Lateef Kayode Jakande intoduced in the state the Baba Kekere and Ita Faji ferries, which brought a new lease of life to people in many riverine communities along the state’s coastline, especially around Mile 2 to Marina, Ipakodo and Ebute in Ikorodu. Lagosians are worried because the feat achieved by the state in the 80s was left to rot.

    From a sector that hit about three million passenger traffic yearly, up to the late 80s, the waterways traffic has dropped to about one million passenger per annum, with hardly any presence whatsoever in goods/cargo freighting.

    But Governor Akinwunmi Ambode seems set to play big in waterways transportation. With 54 percent of its mass covered by water, the state has a very strong comparative advantage.

    At the stakeholders forum last week, government sources said the governor is determined to replicate his imprint on the waterways, as he achieved appreciable success on the road.

    The need for the state to deepen its involvement in the waterways is not far-fetched.

    With a population put by the state’s Director of Transport Policy Dr Taiwo Salam, at 25 million, Lagos, arguably, is bigger than countries such as Ireland with a population of (4.773 million), New Zealand (4.693 million), or Australia (24.13 million), or some West African countries such as Togo (7.606 million) or Cote d’Ivoire (23.7 million), though tagging behind Ghana with a population of 28.21 million.

    However, while most of these countries have out-paced Lagos with robust and thriving inter-modal transportation, (road, air and water), Lagos is still tied to primordial ways with 95 percent of goods and passenger traffic relying on road.

    According to statistics from the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, (LAMATA), while the road element remains the heaviest and most popular means of transportation, waterways, despite its huge potential, accounts for about one percent passenger traffic in the state.

    The result is a gripping daily traffic congestion, which is gradually making travels on the state roads a nightmare. For instance, Apapa, a scenic area up till late 90s, has become a no-go area as because of traffic congestion that saw bumper-to-bumper parking of containerised trailers and petroleum tankers on every inch of roads in the area, also stretching from the Apapa ports up to Ikorodu Road.

    To relieve the roads, the other modes of transportation, especially the waterways, the government said, must work; and to work, the government must have effective control of the waterways. That was the message of Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA)  Managing Director Oluwadamilola Emmanuel.

    Emmanuel said the agency had been encumbered from generating appreciable revenue since a High Court impeded its sail in March, 2014, until the judgment was set aside in July, this year; a verdict that was validated by another Federal High Court last Friday.

    Emmanuel said the forum was to drum stakeholders support for a “safe, clean and prosperous waterways.

    According to the LASWA chief, government is not interested in driving any operator out of business. But all operators must continue to support it and join hands with it to build a virile sector.

    “LASWA as the inland waterways regulator for Lagos State would continue its role of ensuring safety and the enforcement of the various initiatives and interventions of the government on the waterways, despite its not been able to generate substantial revenue due to court injunctions,” he said.

    Emmanuel might just have taken the sail off the wings of many stakeholders, who had besieged the forum, believing the government was bent on driving them out of business.

    “Whatever the government wanted to do, let it come with a human face as these operators are responsible members of the society and have been contributing to the development of the state in their own ways,” a boat operator, High Chief Wellington Ilori-Ajigbulu, said.

    Ilori-Ajigbulu was responding to hints by Emmanuel that the agency would soon embark on an inspection of boats, canoes and ferries operating on the waterways.

    “There are minimum standards that we would not compromise. If you must operate on our waterways, you must comply by having lighting systems, have enough life jackets for your passengers, have a functional and water worthy (as against road worthy) vessels and have enough operators to handle your operations.”

    He said the agency would not overlook any operator’s infractions; “If your boat is not fit, we would not hesitate to take you off the waterways so that you don’t endanger the lives of other Lagosians. Government is sick of accidents that occur on our waterways as a result of preventable hazards.”

    Emmanuel insisted operators must raise their standards and new entrants must maintain the established standards, as the government wanted a sustainable development of its waterways.

    Admitting that the sector is ever changing, Emmanuel said the onus was on operators to join hands with the government, which would continuously work towards creating the right environment for operators to thrive and flourish, while operators should support by paying requisite dues and fees to the state government.

    LASWA, he said, has begun regularisation to capture the database of operators on the waterways.

    “Stakeholders should come to us, we need all your data, it is not only about money, we want to engage you to move the water sector forward. We implore you to come and regularise your membership,” he said.

    The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr Hakeem Dickson, urged operators to register their boats with the government.

    He said boats operating would be given number plates. “Any operator without a number plate is illegal and should be taken off the waterways.”

    He observed that plate numbers would help promote safety on water as boats could be tracked easily, and also assist in reducing the challenges encountered in securing insurance for their operations. He disclosed that discussions were ongoing about its introduction.

    He also appealed to boat and ferry operators to ensure that their passengers wear life jacket and shun overloading to avoid accident on the waterways.

    General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Adesina Tiamiyu, said the agency had been well equipped to combat emergency anywhere in the state.

    Harping on the need for stakeholders to embrace safety standard, Tiamiyu said with two Jet skis and a marine unit established by LASEMA, the emergency responder is prepared to be more engaged in emergency activities even on the waterways.

    The LASEMA chief urged operators and passengers using the waterways to be safety conscious and arm themselves with the emergency numbers 112 and 767, in case of any mishap on the water or off it.

    Chairman, Lagos State Ferry Services, Paul Kalejaiye stated that government’s commitment to developing the waterways was irreversible, as it remained the only way to “move the state from a mega city to a smart city.”

    He criticised the National Inland Waterways (NIWA), for contesting a court judgment ruling which was in Lagos’ favour with the state government, just because of the money it wanted to generate rather than being conscious of the safety of operators and the passengers.

    Kalejaiye said for effective ferry service in the state’s waterways, at least 1,000 ferries were needed to convey passengers to and from their destinations across the state.

    Though admitting that government has no business being in business, Kalejaiye however said government would be investing in the purchase of modern ferries in order to set standard for all operators wishing to operate ferry services in the state.

    Though the government had in the interim imported four such ferries, it, is however looking inwards especially to the establishment of a boat manufacturing firm at Epe, where according to him a large tranche of land had been acquired by the government and work would start in earnest.

    “The state government thinking forward is already envisaging a thriving industry and has acquired a large parcel of land at Epe for the building of boats, barges and ferries for local use.”

    Chairman of boat operators in the state Mr Ganiu Tarzan commended the government for coming up with plans to build boats locally. He said local producers abound in Ajegunnle, Epe and Ikorodu, that can produce fibre vessels and boats, adding that such industry would drive more participation in the water transportation sector.

    Tarzan said: “You can imagine if boats and ferries are produced locally. A huge economy can be jumpstarted as all coastline states would begin to look towards Lagos to purchase sea worthy boats. Again, you conserve foreign exchange and crash the soaring cost of acquiring good boats. Right now, one sea faring boat with good engines could cost between N5 to N8 million. I bought one for N10 million. All this could be brought down with government coming up with plans to support operators who can form cooperative society with loans.”

    Kalejaiye said the boat building initiative is just one of the several initiatives of the government to stimulate the sector. He said government has identified 13 water routes, seven of which are being dredged while channelization is also ongoing on others.

    Government, according to the Lagsferry boss, may acquire more water hyacinth machines to combat the menace across the state, even as he disclosed that government is building several jetties and interchanges in its bid to make water transportation lucrative and attractive. To encourage night travels on the water, government, he added would soon embark on lighting up the routes.

    He said the government would concession the running of some of the routes to private operators even as LagsFerry which would soon move its head office back to Mile 2, would continue to be the regulator of all equipments on its waterways to ensure the safety of all operators, goods and passengers.

    Kalejaiye is confident that Lagosians haven’t seen anything yet on water transportation.

    Only time would tell if these interventions would bolster a people’s sagging confidence in a sector made unsafe in recent time by avoidable fatalities.

  • Astragalus root, kidney failure, chemotherapy, immune boosting

    Introducing Astragalus to a health meeting last week, I faced the additional task of educating the audience that we were not discussing Asparagus. Readers of this column became fascinated by Asparagus a few months ago following reports of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties, especially of its cleansing and healing effects on the genito-urinary system.

    With Astragalus coming up so soon after Asparagus, many people may become easily confused by these names. That is understandable. Even in the training seminars of the multi-level marketing companies, many distributors of their health products still get confused about arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis. Lucky are those who are advised that arteriosclerosis is the hardening of blood vessels by calcium and other deposit in their soft muscles, a cause of hypertension. Lucky, also, are those who can distinguish atherosclerosis as blockage of the inner space of these blood vessels by cholesterol, homocystaine and other deposits, another possible cause of hypertension. Arteriosclerosis hardens the blood vessels and makes them not to dilate as they should when blood flows through them, increasing tension. Atherosclerosis reduces the space for blood to flow through, making the heart to pump blood with more force than it should, stressing the heart and possibly creating grounds for its enlargement.

    In the case at hand, we must separate Astragalus from Asparagus as we do always separate arteriosclerosis from atherosclerosis.

     

    Asparagus

    Almost fat-less, loaded with folate, vitamin K, less endowed with other vitamins and minerals, and possessing no sodium, it helps bone density with vitamin K which helps calcium absorption into the bones, thereby helping to prevent fractures, especially of the hip bones, in elderly people. It is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. For people who retain fluids, Asparagus is diuretic, cleans up the digestive system, frees it of constipation, thereby preventing colon cancer. The high level of follate (folic acid) supports pregnancy, encourages fetal growth and prevents neural tube and other defects and low birth way. Being an antioxidant, Asparagus can nail free radicals which are implicated in many cancers and other degenerative diseases. Accordingly, it is believed to protect the bone, breast, lungs, cervix, and colon against free radicals and the cancers they cause in those tissues. The growing rate of stress in all societies has led to a growth in the cases of depression. In stressful situations, the body produces inadequate amounts of Dopamine, Serotonin and Norepinephrine, hormones which help to stabilize the brain and keep the spirit high. As Asparagus supports the production of these hormones, it is seen as an anti-depressant herb. Studies suggest Asparagus reduces Cholesterol and Homocysteine levels and reduces blood sugar as well. There is a lot more to say of Asparagus. It beautifies the skin, balances female hormones and sorts out female problems, including a boosting of fertility, prevents kidney stones, knocks out hangovers, protects the eye, controls blood pressure, fights tuberculosis and epilepsy, checks internal bleeding and is a wonderful support for people who have challenges with their thyroid glands. We can go on and on…and on.

     

    Astragalus Root

    There are more than 2,000 species of Astragalus. But only two of them are used medicinally. Even then, it is their root that is used. Even then, still, there are harvested from Astragalus plants that are at least four years old. The medicinally useful Astragalus species are Astragalus membranaceus and Astragalus mongholicus.

    Their roots do what Asparagus does…and more, fighting and breaking down tumours, boosting immunity, reducing the negative impact of Chemotherapy, making chemotherapy more effective, elongating the lives of some kidneys beset with kidney failure, especially those caused by the complications of diabetes, preventing collagen degradation (a cause of eye problems and blindness), wiping out viruses (HIV, Hepatitis et.c). European and American researchers agree that Astragalus is effective for a wide range of ailments but say there are not enough clinical studies on them to make fairly settled assertions. They say some of the studies on this herb are poorly designed, and, so, make such a valid statement difficult.

    However, the Chinese who have used Astragalus for more than two thousand years to prevent and cure diseases do not consign themselves with clinical investigations as much as Euro-American researchers and physicians do, before they scientifically accept folk lore claims. While thinking about this column, I limited my self to three areas in which Astragalus root may be of benefits to radiant or ailing health, because of their prevalence in today’s Nigeria. These are Kidney health, lessening of chemotherapy side-effects and boosting of immunity. Kidney, Prostate and other uro-genital diseases are growing in number. Like the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society which heavily supports chemotherapy and radiation for cancer treatment, the Nigerian Medical Association endorses these toxic therapies although they kill and severely maim many patients. Because many people do not eat well and live under stressful conditions, their internal hygiene is toxic and their immunity is poor, giving rise to an overgrowth of microorganisms, especially fungi, which have been implicated in cancers and other degenerative diseases. Any herb which supports kidney health, reduces chemotherapy side-effects and boost immunity among its many medicinal potentials, should be of high value to health in a society such as ours.

    One of the investigations into Astragalus root use comes from PubMed Health which says:

    “Chronic kidney disease affects increasing numbers of people around the world, but as yet effective strategies to control its progression has not been universally accepted. Astragalus is one of the most widely used herbs for treating kidney disease. We conducted this review to evaluate the benefits and potential harms of Astragalus for the treatment of people with chronic kidney disease.

    “We searched the literature published for up to July 2004 and summarised 22 studies involving 1,323 people with chronic kidney disease, including both on dialysis treatment or not.

    “Although we found some promising evidence suggesting that when given with conventional treatment, Astragalus may help to decrease the Serum Creatinine, reduce the amount of protein lost in the urine and diminish the effects of some complications, such as anaemia and malnutrition, evidence quality was low. We found that errors and omissions in study methods and reporting were likely to have flawed results among the studies we assessed. Possible adverse effects associated with Astragalus injection should be noted, although we had no relevant report from included studies.”

    In Science Direct, we learn: “Several types of herbal preparation have been used as supplementary therapies for the treatments of progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the scientific evidence for their use is scarce. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of Astragalus membranaceus on renal outcome in patients with progressive CKD. The study population consisted of 35 patients with CKD stages 4 and 5 whose estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decreased over a 3-month period before the start of A membranaceus treatment despite the use of conventional therapy (from 14.6 ± 6.28 mL/min/1.73 m to 11.6 ± 5.24; mean ± SD, p < 0.05). Similarly, the eGFR of 15 patients with CKD stage 4 decreased over the same period despite conventional therapy (from 20.8 ± 4.59 to 16.7 ± 4.17; r = “1.298; p < 0.05), but increased after the initial period of 3 months of supplementary treatment with A membranaceus (to 18.6 ± 5.67; r = 0.973; p < 0.05) and remained at that level at 6 months (17.8 ± 5.60) and 12 months (16.3 ± 5.89).

    “However, in 20 patients with CKD stage 5, the beneficial effect of A membranaceus was limited to the first 3 months only (“3 months: 10.5 ± 2.7, baseline: 8.0 ± 2.75, 3 months: 8.4 ± 2.96, 6 months: 6.8 ± 2.45). A membranaceus had no significant effects on other laboratory parameters. Only seven patients (1 in stage 4 and 6 in stage 5) required dialysis within 12 months of A membranaceus treatment, whose eGFR at baseline was relatively low (7.4 ± 1.06).

    “The results suggest that A membranaceus can maintain stable levels of eGFR and delay the initiation of renal replacement therapy in patients with progressive CKD stage 4.

    “With increasing numbers of patients undergoing renal replacement therapy, the cost of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising worldwide. The number of patients requiring dialysis therapy in Japan has also increased almost linearly, about 10,000 a year, since surveys began in 1983, reaching 297,126 at the end of 2010. Therefore, it is important to establish strategies to delay the progression to end-stage kidney disease in CKD patients. However, despite significant advances in conventional medicine, no specific treatment is available for patients with stages 4 and 5 CKD. There is definitely a need for the use of combinations of different treatment modalities to control the progression of CKD, highlighting the importance of research on discovering new pharmacological agents for CKD. In Japan, not only traditional herbalists but also nephrologists have occasionally used herbal medicine for treatment of patients with CKD, including some imported from China, as part of combination therapy. Traditional herbalists usually prescribe a blend of several herbs such as Astragalus membranaceus, Angelica sinensis, Angelica acutiloba, Salvia miltiorrhiza , and rhubarb to patients with renal disease. Among these herbal medicines, formulations containing A membranaceus have often been used for renal disorders based on their diuretic action and reduction of proteinuria. In addition, A membranaceus is believed to have beneficial effects on other conditions such as diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular, digestive, hepatic, neurological, and allergic diseases. Several recent experimental studies using animal models of diabetic nephropathy and unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) renal fibrosis have highlighted the potency of A membranaceus. To our knowledge, however, there are only a few clinical case reports in the English literature on the effects of A membranaceus when used alone for membranous nephropathy.

    “The objective of our prospective study was to assess the efficacy of A membranaceus in progressive CKD when used in combination with conventional therapy.

    “As it is not randomised, we set up the primary endpoint to decline rate of eGFR before and after treatment with A membranaceus. Since several species of herbs are usually prescribed in combination, the present study is the first clinical trial on the use of A membranaceus alone.

    “Of the 41 patients who were initially enrolled in this study, six were unable to continue treatment with A membranaceus for 3 months, and their data were excluded from the analysis. The reasons for cessation of treatment were revocation of consent ( n = 3), start of dialysis therapy ( n = 1), diarrhea ( n = 1), and change of hospital ( n = 1). Therefore, the study population eventually consisted of 35 patients (15 with CKD stage 4 and 20 with CKD stage 5) who were treated with A membranaceus daily for more than 3 months.”

    (My apologies go to readers who may not have followed technical jargons in the study quoted above. The study was quoted for the benefit of our specialist doctors (Urologists) who read this column and are interested in incorporating herbal medicines into their practice.)

    ALTHOUGH Western researchers and physicians are not definitive on the  medicinal values of Astragalus root, especially in cancer treatment and immunity boosting, the Chinese are unrelenting in saying this herb has continued to work for them for thousands of years. Four of Western defenders of this herb are Michael McCulloch, Caylie See, Xiao-juan Shu, Michael Broffman, Alan Kramer, Wei-yu Fan, Jin Gao, Whitney Lieb, Kane Shieh, John M. Colford Jr. They put up a case for Astragalus root in jco.ascopubs.org saying in an abstract of their work:

    “Systemic treatments for advanced non–small-cell lung cancer have low efficacy and high toxicity. Some Chinese herbal medicines have been reported to increase chemotherapy efficacy and reduce toxicity. In particular, Astragalus has been shown to have immunologic benefits by stimulating macrophage and natural killer cell activity and inhibiting T-helper cell type 2 cytokines. Many published studies have assessed the use of Astragalus and other Chinese herbal medicines in combination with chemotherapy. We sought to evaluate evidence from randomized trials that Astragalus-based Chinese herbal medicine combined with platinum-based chemotherapy (versus platinum-based chemotherapy alone) improves survival, increases tumor response, improves performance status, or reduces chemotherapy toxicity.”

    The four men researched 1,305 publication. Of them all, 34 involved 2,815 patients. Twelve studies involving 940 patients reported reduced risk of death at 12months. Thirty other studies involving 2,472 patients reported “improved tumour response data” other studies indicated reduced risk of death in 24 months.

    The conclusion was: “we found evidence that Astragalus-best Chinese  herbal medicine may increase effectiveness (by improving survival, tumour response, and performance status) and reduce toxicity of standard platinum-best chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. However, affirmations of these conclusions in rigorously controlled, randomised trial is required before more firm conclusions about this therapy can be drawn.”

     

    Immunity

    Euro-American researchers and physicians become more dispassionate when death stares their communities in the face and their own brand of medicine has come to its wit’s end. The swine flu pandemic has brought Astragalus root to public limelight as an anti-viral and immune-boosting refuge. For thousands of years, the Chinese have used this herb for these purposes and more.

    Nicholas Reavley tells us in the New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements and Herbs:

    “Astragalus is one of the best researched immune system stimulants now available. It works like Echinacea, in that both herbs increase the number and activities of immune cells. However, Astragalus concentrates on building the immune system and, unlike Echinacea, it can be taken on a daily bases. Echinacea boosts immune system activity and promotes fast recovery, especially when taken at the onset of symptoms. The most potent formula has a peculiar tingling and numbling effect on the tongue.

    In the complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, Gary Null, Ph.D., tells us:

    “Astragalus is another ancient Chinese herb that is frequently combined with Ginseng to strengthen the body’s natural defences, namely the immune system.

    Cardiologist Stephen T., M.D., Sinatra says:

    “Examples of popular adaptogenic herbs include Astragalus, Ravex, Ginseng, Siberian Ginseng, Lonicera, and Glycyrrhiza also known as Licorice root. They herb Astragalus has been researched thoroughly. Studies have revealed that Astragalus is quite effective in enhancing immune function and can be used to treat a wide variety of illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer. Instead of directly attacking infectious organisms, Astragalus helps the body by fortifying the existing immune system.”

    So, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Astragalus world.