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  • Akiolu calls for bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Britain

    Akiolu calls for bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Britain

    The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu has called for more bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Britain, especially in the area of defence and business investments.

    While speaking on Thursday when he hosted officers of the British Royal Navy, who paid him a visit at his Idunganran palace, Oba Akiolu said the relationship between Nigeria and  Britain dated back to the colonial era when the British took over Lagos from the Portuguese.

    He noted that after Nigeria gained independence from the British in 1960, the country had struggled for more development.

    Akiolu, however, said the present government of President Bola Tinubu was making efforts to put Nigeria back to where it belongs in the comity of developed nations.

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    “When the British came to Nigeria, Nigeria was under the Portuguese. The British initially came for business interests but they also taught us diplomacy and development they left in 1960, Nigeria has not made enough progress. The current President is trying to move Nigeria forward and we will get there,” Akiolu said.

    In the area of insecurity facing Nigeria with several terrorist attacks in some parts of the country, Akiolu said, “the world is after peaceful co-existence and insurgency has no place in the modern world.”

    He called for more British investments in Nigeria saying that Nigeria has the population and manpower investors can tap from.

    The British should come and set up factories here. We have the market and the labour. There are many business interests in Britain that can come to Nigeria and they will not regret it,” he said.

    While giving reasons for their visit, the Senior Directing staff, Royal College of Defence Studies, Rear Admiral Steve Dainton, who led the group said they were in Nigeria as part of their one year defence training for several African countries , Nigeria included, which will end in July.

    He added that they visited the palace to receive royal blessings and know more about the history of Lagos from Oba Akiolu as well as tap from his experience as a retired senior police officer.

    He said the training was necessary in the face of global insecurity, adding that several countries are facing security challenges.

  • 5 mosques attacked amid spike in Islamophobia in Britain

    Five mosques in the English city of Birmingham were attacked overnight, police said on Thursday in the latest spate of Islamophobic incidents in Britain.

    This is since the murder of 50 people by a right-wing extremist at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

    West Midlands Police said detectives and counter-terrorism officers are investigating after windows were smashed at the mosques in Birmingham.

    Officers responded after reports of a man seen smashing windows with a sledgehammer at one mosque, the police said.

    “What is going on in our country? We are listing into a dark place,’’ tweeted TellMAMA, a group monitoring anti-Muslim incidents.

    The group said it had seen an increase in reports of Islamophobia since the Christchurch murders, citing seven other incidents across Britain.

    “Attacks on five mosques in Birmingham show, once again, that Muslims are having to bear the brunt of the absolute hatred and bigotry of others,’’ Iman Abou Atta, TellMAMA’s director, said in a statement.

    “People cannot stand by now and say that it does not affect them,’’ Atta said. “It affects our society, our communities and our country, and we must stand up against it.’’

    The police said neighbourhood officers were “working closely with mosques’’ across the region on Thursday.

    “Since the tragic events in Christchurch, New Zealand, officers and staff from West Midlands Police have been working closely with our faith partners across the region.

    “To offer reassurance and support at mosques, churches and places of prayer,’’ West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson said in a statement.

    “At the moment we don’t know the motive for last night’s attacks,’’ Thompson added. ‘’At difficult times like this, it is incredibly important that everyone unites against those who seek to create discord, uncertainty and fear in our communities,’’ he said.

    Shabana Mahmood, a member of parliament for Birmingham, said the reported attacks were “truly terrible.’’ “I would urge all residents to remain calm and call the police with any info you may have,’’ Mahmood tweeted.

    After the Christchurch attacks, Harun Khan, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, urged the government to “redouble its efforts to ensure mosques are protected.’’

    Khan also urged “fellow Muslims to resist the temptation to roll up the banners in fear, as this attack was designed to do.’’

    London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan said police in the British capital would increase patrols near mosques.

    Writing in Tuesday’s Guardian newspaper, more than 350 imams, scholars and other Muslim leaders appealed to Western governments and media to do more to confront the “systemic and institutionalised Islamophobia’’ underlying the Christchurch attack. (dpa/NAN)

  • Beyond Brexit – Nigeria wants a new trade deal with Britain

    An August this year, Prime Minister Theresa May visited Nigeria. She spoke about increasing investment opportunities, a new trade deal and economic partnership, tackling human trafficking, and assistance to bolster the rule of law and the fight against organized crime.

    All of this is extremely welcome, and indeed necessary. Unfortunately for Mrs May, the government that she met with led by President Muhammad Buhari ­cannot deliver any of this. For Nigeria to move forward, a change is required. In the four years of President Buhari’s administration, Nigeria has regressed by almost every domestic and international metric. We have fallen in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report; we have fallen in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index; we have fallen in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index.

    And Nigeria suffered the indignity of being named officially the poorest country in the world: We now have more people in extreme poverty than any other country in the world.

    In the past four years, India and others have sprinted ahead in the race to reduce poverty.

    Nigerians are being left behind.

    The forthcoming elections in February offer the opportunity for a change.

    President Buhari has promised the international community that the elections would be free and fair, but there is little confidence amongst Nigerians that he will stick to this promise.

    What is needed is pressure from the international community to ensure that Nigerians have the right to determine their own futures, and to do so free from harassment, vote-suppression or outright fraud.

    As a major funder of democracy initiatives around the world, the U.K. has a real stake in this process.

    Backsliding on democracy and freedoms has been a sad theme globally in recent years­ this cannot be allowed to happen in Africa’s largest democracy.

    The Federal Government, the Nigerian Election Commission (INEC), and local and State officials must understand that the international community is watching and will not accept anything less than a fully free and fair election.

    This must include an end to the government¹s ongoing use of state apparatus to hassle and harass opposition candidates and supporters.

    President Buhari’s track record proves that he cannot be trusted to safeguard democracy, if left to his own devices: he must be pushed by the international community to do the right thing.

    President Buhari’s regime is tired, and a truly democratic change is needed.

    That means re-establishing the rule of law, the respect for the courts, and a crackdown on corruption.

    A real anti-corruption process is required so that Nigerians, and foreign investors, can have confidence in our domestic laws, not show trials perpetrated as ‘crackdowns’ on corruption, where corrupt cronies were allowed to flourish.

    Equally, as our roads and railways crumble, a new infrastructure programme is needed to revitalize them: such a programme would create jobs, stimulate economic activity, and provide long-term benefits to people across the 36 Nigerian states.

    Food security is also a major concern. President Buhari has done little to inspire Nigeria’s enormous agricultural potential. We can, and should, be the bread basket of Africa.

    Only with re-imposition of the rule of law, and a focus on attracting investment and innovation, will Nigeria’s agricultural potential be realised.

    And, of course, the question of oil looms large. Nigeria’s oil resources are not in themselves a curse ­but neither are they a panacea. If oil alone could save a nation, then it surely would have saved Venezuela.

    Everyone can see for themselves the stark reality of that hypothesis.

    President Buhari has failed to diversify the economy it will be the responsibility of the next government to succeed where he has failed.

    What does this all mean for Britain, and the future relations between our nations?

    Taken together, my new agenda aims to increase the purchasing power of Nigerians across our country: providing economic security, improving quality of life, reducing poverty.

    This, in turn, provides a platform of security and certainty for investors to take advantage of new opportunities for collaboration ­not just oil ­and a chance to work with a government that is serious about building a prosperous Nigeria.

    I foresee a new trade partnership between Nigeria and Britain, enhanced cooperation on security and counter-terrorism, and deepening our historic links of culture, family and language.

  • More people still arriving to live in Britain than leaving — Report

    A total of 625,000 people moved to Britain and 351,000 people emigrated in the last six months, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Thursday.

    ONS said non-EU net migration was the highest since 2004, with 248,000 more non-EU citizens arriving than leaving Britain.

    “Increases in immigration for both work and study have been seen in the most recent year, particularly for Asian citizens.

    “The number of people arriving for post-graduate studies this year from countries such as China and India is up by 10 per cent,’’ ONS said.

    The overall number of non-EU citizens coming to Britain had continued to add to the population, with 74,000 more non-EU citizens coming to the UK than leaving.

    “This was the lowest estimate for EU net migration since 2012 and the lowest immigration level since 2014,’’ ONS added.

    The report revealed the number of EU citizens coming to the UK for work had continued to fall.

    In the most recent period, this was driven by a decrease in citizens from EU 15 countries, such as Germany, Spain and Italy, arriving in Britain with a definite job.

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    Net migration among EU8 citizens, which includes Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, has seen a sharp decrease over the last two years.

    “It is now estimated that 14,000 more citizens from those countries left the UK than arrived.

    “This has been driven by a decrease in EU8 immigration, particularly for work, and an increase in emigration over the last two years.

    “Away from Europe, citizens coming to work in Britain from around the world have seen a gradual increase over the last five years,’’ the study showed.

  • Visa on arrival: 38,000 passenger processed at Lagos Airport

    No fewer than 38,000 passengers including potential investors have been processes at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos  under the Visa On Arrival scheme and Ease of Doing Business policy rolled out by government in the last one year sources close the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) has revealed

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that the bulk of the passengers are investors and tourists seeking business opportunities in the country.

    An immigration source told The Nation that many investors are latching on the The immigration source  said investment is booming in the country as more and more investors are finding their way to the West African country to trade and do other forms of businesses investing both funds, technology.

    According to her,  the over 38,000 came in from all over the world but there were frequent influx from countries including  the United States, China, Britain, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and a host of others.

    She said, “The visa on arrival is seriously helping and It is a good omen for this country. The Nigeria Immigration Services has done something great and this has helped access of investment as people will make their application and come in and pay for it, instead of going to the embassy.”

    Read Also: Row over missed flight at Lagos airport

    On the duration of the Visa, she explained that the VOA, has always been a duration of one month, stating that once approval was granted by the Comptroller General, the approval has a two-week validity.

    “You only need approval from the Comptroller General to get the VOA. in fact, once the approval is given, it has a validity of two weeks, if not used within that time, you start the process of re applying for approval. However, when you have approval and everything is done the duration of the visa is one month. It is also renewable,” she told our reporter.

    She also said that enlightenment is still ongoing for those that seek greener pastures by hook or crook, stating that the trend is reducing but that the service at all borders are trying to dissuade young ones from taking that route.

    “Human trafficking has reduced, not only at the airport but at other border posts. We cannot say it is completely eradicated but we are doing all we can to make sure we reduce it.”

  • UK targets Nigeria, others over ‘dirty money’

    Britain is targeting Nigerians with dubious wealth living or investing in that country as it seeks to expand its use of the Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs).

    Also being closely watched by the British government are investors from Russia, China and the Middle East, according to the Director of Prosperity at Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Donald Toon.

    The UWOs empower the British government to seize the assets of corrupt “politically exposed persons” or those with links to serious crime.

    “We have significantly scaled up the work that we are doing,” Toon said in London.

    “We are absolutely looking at Russians … but we are not exclusively looking at Russians and Russian assets.”

    Transparency campaigners in Britain often question the source of some of the wealth that keeps pouring into the country from abroad.

    Such foreigners, including Nigeria, buy everything from luxury properties to entire companies.

    Toon said Britain has become a very attractive destination for corrupt foreign money, particularly from Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, former Soviet states and the Far East.

    His agency estimates that about £100 billion of dirty money is moved through or into Britain annually.

    Assets worth about £25 million have already been frozen under the UWOs, although Toon admitted that the process is difficult and time-consuming as each case has to be taken through the courts.

    Toon added: “some people in that space absolutely have directly and immediately something to fear because they are subjects of cases we are working on.

    “The fact you are not seeing big numbers at the moment does not mean we are not doing the work, because we are. You will see that come through in the courts; it will take time but you will see it. It takes time because the people who hold these assets are not stupid.”

     

  • The China largesse

    When was the last time a British Prime Minister embarked on a meaningful visit to Nigeria, Britain’s major former colonial outpost? When was the last time leaders of the most advanced Western nations like Germany, France and even the United States of America do the rounds of Africa in a seeming relay?

    This happened recently and we wager it’s not by chance. As China hosted 52 African countries early September in Beijing for the 7th Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the entire world watched in part apprehension and part bemusement. This is because, at each new summit, China sets new standards in multilateral relations and economic co-operation between a first world nation and a straggling African continent.

    FOCAC which started in 2000 has continued to wax stronger both in terms of quality of participation and quantum of benefits accruing to African countries. With the theme: “China and Africa: Towards an Even Stronger Community with Shared Future Through Win-Win Cooperation,” Chinese President, Xi Jinping announced a unprecedented bumper basket of financial assistance from his country totaling $60 billion over the next three years.

    This huge outlay of funds must have made the jaws of not a few Western nations drop considering their tokenistic aids to Africa which have left little impact.

    And the Chinese are not merely bandying figures because their aggressive infrastructure-backed aids to Africa in the last two decades are quite visible across the continent. The $200m 20-storey state-of-the-art headquarters of the African Union (AUCC), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia made a major statement about China’s new policy towards Africa.

    China’s strategy is not to hand a few million dollars to African leaders some of who turn round to embezzle most of it. It has been a trend of specific, infrastructure-backed loans complete with equipment and personnel to deliver projects on target.

    Apart from the AUCC, examples of such large projects abound across Africa. The 754 Addis Ababa to Djibouti standard gauge rail line which has linked landlocked Ethiopia to the Djibouti port of Dorelah is one. It must be noted that East African countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are among the major beneficiaries of what may be described as the Chinese largesse.

    Coming to Nigeria, the harvest has been bounteous too, especially in the last decade. It is reported that about $5 billion has been committed to Nigeria’s economy in just three years of the Buhari administration. The list of projects, completed, on-going and projected is long. Most of projects are highways, railways, transportation and power related; among the most critical infrastructure requirements of fledgling African nations.

    Some of these are: Abuja-Kaduna Railway which was opened mid 2016 and the Abuja Rail Mass Transit which began operation in July. Other rail projects are the 615 high-speed Lagos-Abuja line; the 312km Lagos-Ibadan line; the 300km Lagos-Benin route and the 675km Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri line.

    Other proposed projects are the $1 billion Abuja-Ibadan-Lagos Greenfield Expressway; $500m new terminals for four international airports; the Lekki Deepwater Port in Lagos; the massive Mambila Hydro Power project in Taraba state; the $478m solar power plant in Niger State to generate about 300mw and the 614 km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project.

    Nigeria-China trade finance and corporate banking are being deepened first with the on-going $2.5 billion Naira-Yuan swap and a recent $850m Chinese loan to boost African trade. The Cairo, Egypt-based Afreximbank has recently secured $500m facility from the China Development Bank and another $350m from the Bank of China. While the one would help Afreximbank support infrastructure projects across Africa, the other is for bank-to-bank syndicated loans and for trade finance.

    These are just a few of China’s massive economic diplomacy offensive into Africa. It is at once unprecedented and bedazzling; almost akin to America’s Marshall Plan for Europe at the end of World War 2, 1945.

    While the West is surely in shock conjecturing the new map of the world 50 years hence, Africa seems full of euphoria with a dash of hysteria. China is no doubt picking up an abandoned ‘virgin’ Africa for her global leadership role tomorrow.

    Only smart African countries would understand that these are loans, every kobo of it. If they are not carefully documented, managed and repaid promptly when due, they are bound to compound into trillion dollars of sovereign debts.

    Bottomline: thinking African countries will seize the opportunity of the Chinese largesse to build infrastructure as a fulcrum for industrialization while unthinking ones may end up becoming bonded to China someday.

     

  • May: Britain committed to free trade with Kenya after Brexit

    Britain is committed to free trade with Kenya after it leaves the European Union, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday on a visit to Nairobi.

    May, speaking on the third stop of a trip to Africa, said she would want Britain to become the biggest investor on the continent out of the world’s richest nations.

    “As Britain prepares to leave the European Union we are committed to a smooth transition that ensures continuity in our trading relationship with Kenya, ensuring Kenya retains its duty free quota free access to the UK market.”

    May also announced Britain would set up a cyber-center in Nairobi to help authorities fight online child sex abuse by tracking the sharing of abusive images on the internet.

    The EU is currently Britain’s biggest trading partner. Skeptics say closer ties and more trade with Africa will do little to offset the economic impact of Brexit.

    Total trade with Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, the three nations on her tour this week, amounted to just over 13 billion pounds in 2016, official British figures show, compared with 554 billion pounds of trade with the EU that year.

    Read Also: Buhari to May: 2019 polls will be free, fair, credible

    The prime minister has used her first official visit to the region of more than one billion people to stress that Britain’s relationship with former colonies, including Kenya and other African nations, is increasingly focused on private investment, not on aid.

    In Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and most populous nation, May also promised closer commercial ties and promoted the longstanding presence of British companies in the country.

    Britain is Kenya’s largest trading partner and a major market for its exports of cut flowers. The rapidly expanding agriculture sector is Kenya’s biggest foreign exchange earner and a big source of jobs.

    Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, speaking alongside May at a news conference, said he welcomed her assurance that Kenyan duty free exports would continue after Brexit and said Kenya would be pressing for an increase in exports.

    Kenyatta said two agreements signed on Thursday-one to enhance military cooperation, the other for Britain to return assets and proceeds of corruption to Kenya- indicated the close ties between the two countries.
    Kenyatta, who was re-elected for a second term after a bloody and prolonged elections season, said his government’s fight against graft was important for national unity and his legacy.

    Corruption drains billions of dollars from the state every year in Kenya, and foreign businessmen complain it is hard to get things done without paying bribes.

    Margaret Thatcher was the last British prime minister to visit Kenya, in 1988.

  • Britain supports S/African land reform – PM May

    Britain supports South Africa’s land reform program provided it is carried out legally, Prime Minister Theresa May said in Cape Town on Tuesday, adding that she would discuss the issue with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

    “The UK has for some time now supported land reform. Land reform that is legal, that is transparent, that is generated through a democratic process,” May told newsmen.

    “It’s an issue that I raised and discussed with President Ramaphosa when he was in London earlier this year.

    “I’ll be talking about it with him later today.”

    NAN reports that on Aug. 22, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to study South African “land and farm seizures” and “killing of farmers”, prompting Pretoria to accuse Trump of stoking racial divisions.

    Trump’s comments have inflamed an already high-octane debate over land in South Africa, a country that remains deeply racially divided and unequal nearly a quarter of a century after Nelson Mandela swept to power at the end of apartheid.

    “I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and large scale killing of farmers,” Trump said on Twitter.

    South Africa’s foreign ministry will seek clarification of Trump’s comments from the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman said, adding that Trump was “misinformed”.

    Read Also: UK PM May for Abuja, Lagos tomorrow

    “South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past,” a tweet from South Africa’s official government account said in response to Trump’s comments.

    South Africa’s communications minister said Trump’s tweet would not affect relations between South Africa and the United States.

    “The tweet has not determined our approach to the United States on our current relationship and future relationship,” Nomvula Mokonyane said after a cabinet meeting.
    The U.S. State Department was not immediately available for comment on Trump’s tweet.

    Ramaphosa announced on Aug. 1 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation, as whites still own most of South Africa’s land.

    Ramaphosa has said any land reform will be conducted without an impact on economic growth or food security.

    No land has been “seized” since the reform plans were announced, the ANC says.

    Trump’s tweet appeared to be a response to a Fox News report on Wednesday that focused on South Africa’s land issue and murders of white farmers.

    Violent crime is a serious problem across South Africa and 47 farmers were killed in 2017, according to statistics from AgriSA, an association of agricultural associations.

    However, farm murders are at a 20-year low.

    Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC has followed a “willing-seller, willing-buyer” model under which the government buys white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks.

    Progress has been slow and most South Africans believe something has to be done to accelerate change, providing it does not hurt the economy or stoke unrest.

    “Reforming the land distribution and ownership will be good for South Africa,” said political analyst Nic Borain.
    “That there will be instability and worries about property rights is inevitable, but we don’t expect that the government will act in a way that radically destabilises investor security.”

    Trump’s tweet came days after it was announced that his wife, Melania, would travel to Africa in October for her first major solo international trip as first lady.

    In January, South Africa protested to the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria about reported remarks by Trump that some immigrants from Africa and Haiti came from “shithole” countries.

    South Africa’s foreign ministry called the remarks, which sources said Trump made during a meeting on immigration legislation, “crude and offensive” and said Trump’s subsequent denial was not categorical.

    AfriForum, an organization that mostly represents white South Africans who have described land expropriation as “catastrophic”, traveled to the U.S. earlier this year to lobby the Senate and other officials.

  • Britain to support Osun in agriculture, education, others

    The British government has pledged to collaborate with and complement the efforts of the Osun State government in education, agriculture, politics, tourism and infrastructure.

    The British High Commissioner, Mr Paul Arkwright, spoke yesterday when he visited Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo, the state capital.

    The envoy, who was accompanied by the Political Adviser at the Deputy British High Commission in Lagos, Mr Wale Adebajo, said the British government would support the state’s economy by strengthening its potential for the betterment of her citizenry.

    He said: “The present administration in the state has done so well and this has made the British government to deem it fit to render assistance to the state to strengthen its economy.

    “The British government is interested in boosting the economic opportunities of Osun; we want to work with the state to galvanise its economic potentials for the betterment of all.

    “Since Osun is rich in mining and mineral resources, our government is ready to do everything possible to revive the state’s potentials in this regard and ensure that the sector enjoys necessary attention from government.

    “We are also ready to assist the state in the areas of tourism, agriculture, mining and human capacity development. Our keen interest to support the state in agriculture is aimed at bringing back the lost glory of the sector and putting in the required values to every aspect of the sectors.

    “It is a pity that 90 per cent of cocoa production in the world comes from Africa, but is sad to know that just 10 per cent of the benefit is what Africa gets. So, we want this to change…”

    Aregbesola hailed the British government for extending the hands of economic support to the state.

    He said: “…We thank the British government for the prospect of economic development and the move to deepen the democratic process of our land.

    “As a government, we are so passionate about human development to the extent that nothing will be spared to make life better for them. One of our strong points as a people is agriculture, especially cocoa production, which makes us the second largest producer of the produce in the country.

    “There is also mining; there is a huge deposit of gold in commercial quantity in our state and we would love you to assist us in attracting investment in this very lucrative area.

    “Tourism is another significant area of interest for us. Osun is the historical centre of the Yoruba from all over the world. The state has the highest number of traditional towns with the longest history. We will also want you to assist us in our mid-region market under the O-hub project.”