The Nation Newspaper

Tag: centre

  • Prioritise funding, policy reforms against GBV, equality, Centre urges govts

    Prioritise funding, policy reforms against GBV, equality, Centre urges govts

    A continental human development initiative, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD) has challenged the three teirs of government in country to prioritise funding and policy reforms that institutionalise male engagement in Gender Based Violence (GBV) prevention and gender equality work.

    The founding Executive Director of the Centre, Dr. Otive Igbuzor gave the challenge on Friday in Abuja at a press conference to formally launch the Male Feminist Network (MFN) project.

    The Centre also revealed a plan to train and mobilize at least 1,000 male leaders and grassroots influencers in gender advocacy and feminist principles across the country for the full actualization of the project in the next two years

    According to Centre LSD, women have been marginalized socially, economically, and politically in nearly all countries, explaining that the MFN initiative is a collective journey to end gender-based violence (GBV) and to promote gender equality in the country.

    Igbuzor noted that. “One in ten women lives in poverty; women are less likely than men to have access to social protection. Women are more food insecure than men and suffer more from lack of water and sanitation. 

    “In Nigeria, the situation is more precarious. Men gained voting rights in 1922 through the Clifford Constitution, but women all over Nigeria gained voting rights in 1979 through the 1979 Constitution-a 57-year gap. The early constitutions in Nigeria (1922 Clifford, 1946 Richards, 1951 Macpherson) restricted suffrage to adult males.

    “Statistics from the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) and reports by the National Bureau of Statistics reveal alarming figures – over 35% of Nigerian women have experienced physical violence, and millions more face emotional, sexual, and economic abuse.

    Read Also: SGBV: Stakeholders seek stronger collaboration

    “We also know that patriarchal norms, entrenched in our cultural, social, and even legal systems, fuel these injustices. Too often, men are either direct perpetrators of violence or passive bystanders when harmful practices are carried out.” 

    Admitting that men hold influence in homes, workplaces, religious communities, politics, and traditional institution, the Centre argued that when such influence is aligned with feminist values, the change is profound, hence the new initiative. 

    Igbuzor said vision is to ensure that men across Nigeria actively challenge gender-based violence, support gender equality and women empowerment, and contribute to a society where women and girls can thrive.

    “Over the next two years, through the support of the Ford Foundation, we will work with zonal partners to train and mobilize at least 1,000 male leaders and grassroots influencers in gender advocacy and feminist principles.

    “We will build a functional, inclusive, and visible national network of male feminists. Engage traditional, religious, and cultural leaders to adopt gender-sensitive practices.

    “Amplify public awareness through strategic use of traditional and digital media to challenge toxic masculinity and promote inclusive gender narratives.” 

    To achieve the vision, Igbuzor called on the Nigerian government “to prioritise funding and policy reforms that institutionalize male engagement in GBV prevention and gender equality work.

    “To donors and development partners – Join the Ford Foundation in funding this critical work. With more resources, we can scale this model not just in Nigeria but across Africa.

    “To the private sector – Partner with us to integrate male allyship into workplace policies and corporate social responsibility initiatives.” 

    Highlighting the objectives of the initiative, Board Chairperson, Centre LSD, Kyauta Agmadalo Giwa, said the project is rooted in a simple but radical idea: that men must be allies, advocates, and active participants in the movement for gender justice. Feminism is not just a women’s issue it is a human issue.

    She added that the network brings together men from diverse sectors and backgrounds who are committed to dismantling patriarchy, challenging gender stereotypes, and advancing the rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse persons. 

    According to her, “We aim to create safe spaces for reflection, education, and collective action. We are not here to speak over women’s voices but to amplify them. Not to lead, but to walk alongside in solidarity.”

    “The Male Feminist Network is a platform to nurture a new kind of masculinity one that is rooted in empathy, accountability, and equity. A masculinity that rejects violence, domination, and silence. A masculinity that supports inclusive leadership and builds stronger communities.”

    The chairperson commended the support of Ford Foundation for consistently demonstrating bold leadership in promoting social justice and gender equality. 

    “Their investment in the Male Feminist Network is not just financial but also a powerful endorsement of the urgent need to bring men into the center of conversations and actions around gender equality and equity.”

  • Centre laments fall in moral standard    

    Centre laments fall in moral standard    

    Centre for Ethics and Civic Orientation has expressed disappointment at our declining moral standard.

     It said poor moral standard would prevent the nation from reaching its full potential.

     It spoke at 2023 National Conference: ‘Renewed Hope for Better Nigeria: Imperative of Ethical Reorientation’, at Radio Lagos/Eko FM Multi-purpose Hall, Agidingbi-Ikeja, Lagos.

     Speaking on ‘Morality and the State: The Nigerian Experience’, professor of Philosophy, Godwin Sogolo, said the decline in moral values remained multifaceted issues influencing development

     He said people responsible for upholding the law “now openly pay kidnappers. In the past, anyone discovered paying ransom to kidnappers was regarded as aiding and abetting crime.

     “More disturbing is the insensitivity to moral values. In those days, payment of ransom, if ever done, was secret. If you are caught, you will be punished for encouraging criminality. But now, ransom payment is done openly.

     “In those days, when our children engaged in examination malpractices, we chastised them. Today, parents and teachers conspire to direct children on how to indulge in malpractices. The new order sees nothing wrong in a situation where a convicted senator is allowed to receive salaries,”

     Dr. Austin Tam-George, former commissioner for Information in Rivers State, said the government should improve flow of communication with the populace.

    Centre  Chairman,   Olusanya Awosan, said the president’s plans would not succeed if they were not rooted in strong moral and ethical principles.

  • Industrialists, Centre partner to boost MSMEs

    Industrialists, under the aegis of Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), are partnering the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), United States to improve Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

    Making this known in Abuja, NASSI National President Chief Solomon Vongfa said the partnership was to encourage best practices.

    According to him, the partnership  became necessary in view of the challenges faced by the association as well as the zeal to propel MSMEs to be effective and well grounded.

    “Due to some lapses discovered in the management of the association, we sought for help through the CIPE, U.S.A and it intervened by sending its consultants to drill the association on good governance,’’ Vongfa said.

    Vongfa said based on that, CIPE has held a Diagnostic Meeting with NASSI aimed at studying the association to overhaul its operation.

    He said based on that meeting, there was an action plan that would run for three years for the association.

    “The diagnostic meeting revealed certain areas in which the management of the association has problems. As part of its strategic plan, CIPE has to redo our statutory plan to suit international best practice. The implementation will start mid-September,’’ he noted.

    Vongfa, however, called on the National Executive Committee members of NASSI, who were the statutory body to give necessary corrections and approve the outcome of the meeting for implementation.

    He recalled that the MSMEs survey in 2017 showed that the MSMEs recorded about 41 million entrepreneurs in the country.

    He said the survey was carried out by its regulatory agency, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in collaboration with the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    The national president added that the survey revealed that among the 41 million MSMEs recorded, about 37 million were micro and the smaller level.

    “This is to show that majority of people doing business in Nigeria based on the survey are at micro level, which is the centre of our own sector,” Vongfa said.

    Describing NASSI as the bedrock of the MSMEs in the country, he decried the challenges bedeviling it, which, according to him, included lack of funds that affected its growth.

    “The government should take it very serious and intervene by injecting more funds into the MSMEs; people are willing to take loan and pay back, but the major issue is recovering the loans.

    “When you have Business Management Organisations (BMOs) behind any disbursement, you will recover the loan effectively.

    “If there is sufficient funding, there will be more job creation and poverty reduction. It goes simultaneously,” Vongfa added.

    Commenting on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, he said initially NASSI was not fully prepared for it, but with the intervention by CIPE and their noting of the benefits of the agreement, NASSI must be part of it.

    “We are also encouraging government to support by providing machines and equipment that can improve production and quality of products to boost competitiveness. That is the key to implementing the AfCFTA agreement.

    “Why we cannot be very competitive with the global issue is the problem of finishing of the products of some of our members which is very poor. If the packaging is not sophisticated it will not move in the market.

    “Packaging is one of the outcomes from the CIPE diagnostic meeting because you have to be attractive for patronage.

    “We are taking our advocacy to government; you cannot do a policy that will favour only the conglomerate or the big companies while we the major sector of the economy suffer it most.

    “If we cannot compete due to lack of support and fund, the AfCFTA agreement will be a disadvantage to us. But if this understanding is there, it will help us,” he said.

    NASSI, which has the mandate to  promote MSMEs, was established more than 40 years. It has offices in all states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territry (FCT).

    CIPE seeks to strengthen democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform.

  • Centre urges Niger Delta youths to be active in politics 

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), yesterday urged youths in Niger Delta to get involved in politics.

    Speaking at a town hall meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Acting Director, Mr. Monday Osasah, said youths should not shy away from electoral positions because they serve as the bridge that links the present and future generations.

    Osasah said the centre would continue to empower the citizens, especially youths, to transform the society.

    Describing youths as dynamic, he said they serve as agents of social change, especially in societies experiencing moral and social decadence.

    He said: “It is necessary to focus on youth development including building their capacities to participate in the political processes so that they are properly socialised into the governance process to contribute to the development of society.

    “Some of the processes that can contribute to participatory governance are effective political party policies, good candidates for elections, participatory budgetary process and effective legislative oversight. All these processes are almost absent in the Niger Delta region.

    “As a centre we have taken the challenge to build the capacities of youths in the region in line with our core objective of producing an avalanche of leaders knowledgeable in the theory and practice of leadership at every level they may find themselves.

    “We have built the capacities of over 240 youths interested in political offices in the Niger Delta states of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa. A lot of the trained youths are already active in various political parties across the states.

    “Today, the centre is here again to hold a town hall meeting to among other things, conscientise and advocate to stakeholders in the state to support the campaign and deliberately create space for a nuanced youth participation in the politics of the political parties and that of the state.”

    In his presentation, a keynote speaker, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, blamed socio-cultural factors for the problem of non-participation of youths in politics.

    He called on youths to shake off the toga of inferiority complex, adding that advanced leaders started as youths.

    Okaba, a lecturer in the Federal University, Otuoke, said politicians were using youths to achieve their selfish motives, and called on them to stop being thugs and ballot-box snatchers.

    Also, a Professor of Political Science,  Ambele Ekekpe described the Not-Too-Young-To-Run policy as mere window dressing..

     

  • Centre advocates direct primary for parties

    The OlaOni Centre for Social Research in collaboration, with Coalition of Civil Societies in Osun State, has advised political parties in the country to embrace direct primary in electing their aspirants for political offices. The centre said direct primary, no doubt, will improve internal democracy of party politics. Addressing a press conference in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, the Director-General of the Centre, Comrade Wale Adebisi, on behalf of other conveners, namely Amitolu Shittu and Waheed Lawal, said direct primary election will “gradually reduce the issue of financial inducement during elections.”

    “We keenly observed the conduct of the APC primary on Friday July 20 across Osun that from all variables and indices available to us on the field the direct primary is actually the best so as to encourage internal all inclusive democracy because every party member is involved. The method eliminates the emerging trend where aspirants camped delegates and bribe each with huge amount of money. It also eliminates manipulation to a large extent because all you need to do is to line up behind your candidate and the numbers will be counted in the presence of all including the agents of each candidate.

    “It also reduces infra party wrangling or violence at the voting centre. However, there is no system without its own flaws; the new system of direct primary being the first time to be introduced into the system for usage have its own drawback. This is noticeable in the area of timing for the exercise to commence, movement of materials to the voting centers and shortage of personnel for the late exercise. Although these anomalies were corrected before the end of voting but there is the need for perfection of this process in the future election,” he said.

     

  • Estate surveyors boost practice with resource centre

    To improve knowledge in its practice and bridge professional gap, the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), has established a resource centre and an e-library.

    The facility, located in the Ikeja Office of the Institution, is part of the initiative being put in place by the state executives, which aims to bring international standard to the profession locally.

    NIESV Chairman, Lagos branch, Mr. Olurogba Orimolade, explained that the resource centre will ensure that training, which hitherto are not undertaken in the country, take place on a weekly and monthly basis in specialised areas.

    “The resource centre will help us bring in people to teach us those technologies; the advantage is that nobody will have the need to go abroad for those skills. We are not only concerned about our fees, but also building capacity of our members. Foreign companies in Nigeria are using new technologies and that alone is disqualifying project managers meant to be supervising certain jobs,” he explained.

    Conducting journalists around the 11-seater classroom resource centre, Orimolade said it is designed to have the most current equipment and devices for organised master classes/training workshops. The main vision for the centre, he said, is to focus on training in key areas in the real estate industry, especially in the estate surveying and valuation profession.

    “This resource centre will be one of the tools that should help improve the professional skill set of our members and the public at large, through the various trainings and master classes which will be taking place there. The e-library has been created in a similar fashion. The plan is to have computer systems with unlimited Internet access for members mainly for the purpose of research,” he explained.

    The centre and e-library are part of the showcase during the 2018 Estate Surveyors and Valuers’ Week, which commenced last Sunday and will end tomorrow. The key highlight of the week included the inauguration of the remodelled branch secretariat by the President of NIESV, Roland Abonta, among others.

    On the protracted Land Use Charge, Orimalade said the branch will submit its report to the Lagos state government. The report, he revealed, is expected to advise the government on areas to improve upon, among others.

    “We have asked the government to look at the process from the angle that people want to pay tax but there should be clarity. The government has a right to come up with tax but the argument is if it is fair,” he said.

  • JSC Russian Export Centre joins Afreximbank to boost African trade

    JSC Russian Export Centre joins Afreximbank to boost African trade

    The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) says JSC Russian Export Centre ( REC ) has become the latest international financial organisation to join Afreximbank as a shareholder to boost African trade.

    A statement on Tuesday in Lagos by Mr Obi Emekekwue, the bank’s Head of Corporate Communication and Event Management, said that REC’s shareholding followed its successful subscription to Class “C” shares of the bank.

    Emekekwue said that the shareholding became effective on Dec. 29, 2017.

    He said that the shareholding agreement was signed by Dr Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank and Petr Fradkov, Chief Executive Officer of REC on Dec. 11, 2017.

    He said that the new partnership would focus mainly on mining and transport infrastructure.

    REC is owned by the State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank (VEB).

    Read Also: Assembly to Ambode: dissolve  JSC

    Afreximbank shareholders are a mix of public and private entities divided into four classes.

    The Class “A” shareholders are African states, African central banks and African public institutions, including the African Development Bank, while Class “B” is made up of African financial institutions and African private investors.

    Class “C” shares are held by non-African investors, mostly international banks and export credit agencies, while Class “D” shares, a tier approved in December 2012, are shares that can be held by any investor.

    Afreximbank is the foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra and extra-African trade.

    The Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors.

    Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations.

    Since 1994, it has approved more than 51 billion dollars in credit facilities for African businesses, including about 10.3 billion dollars in 2016.

    Afreximbank had total assets of 11.7 billion dollars as at December 31, 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The bank is headquartered in Cairo.

    NAN

  • CIBN inuagurates centre

    CIBN inuagurates centre

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has unveiled Learning Centre and Library in Lagos.

    Speaking at the event, CIBN President/Chairman of Council, Segun Ajibola, said the inuaguration of the centre and unveiling of the Alhaji A.O.G Otiti Library, were the institute’s positive contribution to the economy.

    The objective of establishing the centre, he said, is to cater for the knowledge quest of bank professionals and practitioners in other allied sectors.

    “It is indeed, heartwarming for me to witness this occasion and I believe that the early set of professional bankers in the country here present would have fond memories of this legacy building, which served as the “melting pot” for them during their journeys towards becoming professional bankers,” he said.

    “With its present Headquarters at PC 19, Adeola Hopewell Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, the chequered history of CIBN would be incomplete without a special reference to the hallowed land on which we all presently stand. It may interest this distinguished audience that this remodeled building served as the first National Secretariat of CIBN and was opened in 1973 by the then Federal Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Usman Shehu Shagari,” he added.

    He continued: “At the CIBN, we are fully aware of the imperative of leveraging technology to meet the capacity building needs of professionals in a knowledge economy. The structure, on the first floor houses three ultra-modern facilities that can be used for various kinds of trainings, which will be furnished with the latest technology in training that would make training to be rewarding.  On the upper floor, a pent floor, is a multipurpose hall that can be used as a training room, a mini-event hall or cafeteria.

  • Navy wives build skills acquisition centre

    Navy wives build skills acquisition centre

    •Officers’ spouses shop for personnel families

    The Naval Officers Wives Association (NOWA) at the weekend unveiled an ultramodern skills acquisition centre built to equip the children of its personnel with self-reliance.

    Also unveiled were blocks of 13 shops, which the association said would be leased out at low cost to spouses of naval personnel to boost their financial standings.

    Hailing NOWA for its philanthropic gestures, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, said the association had continuously brought succour to the weary and the needy through innumerable outreach projects and programmes.

    He said: “Its stature in service delivery through expanded opportunities in education and empowerment for self-reliance, therefore, towers impressively for all to behold. The annual ritual of touching the lives of the less privileged in the society during major anniversaries and commemoration further solidifies the imprint of NOWA’s exemplary humanity in our minds.

    “Quite pleasantly, it would seem the organisation is increasingly spurred by each new accomplishment. The community of its beneficiaries and prospective ones could, therefore, feel a genuine sense of hope against the very good prospects and relentlessness of NOWA in changing and re-changing their lots for the better.

    “I invite all in need of the opportunities offered in these projects to quickly embrace them. I charge you to make it count by availing the facilities in a responsible and sustainable manner. We look forward to a feedback of measurable and tangible economic progress from participation in the businesses to be facilitated by these outlets.”

    NOWA’s President Mrs. Theresa Ibas said the projects were completed after several years of hard work, determination and perseverance.

    The NOWA chief acknowledged the contributions of her predecessors, Mrs. Vivian Ezeoba and Mrs. Usman Jibrin, who initiated the ideas during their tenures.

    She noted that the projects would reduce the suffering of naval families.

    Mrs Ibas said: “The idea is for beneficiaries to gain one skill or the other that would reduce financial burden on their parents. We sited the projects in Navy Town, Ojo, because this is where majority of personnel reside.

    “Most of our youths find themselves idle not because they love to be but for lack of means. I sincerely thank Mrs. Vivian Ezeoba for initiating this project.

    “She was passionate about the plight of widows, orphans and the navy family as a whole. She sought ways to alleviate their sufferings and came up with this beautiful idea that has become a reality. This is a milestone in the anal of NOWA.”

    The NOWA president urged naval authorities to send officers with requisite skills to run the centre.

    Aside the projects, The Nation reports that NOWA held its annual Christmas Carol and Nine Lessons, which featured performances from nursery, primary and secondary school pupils, among others.

  • Turai Yar’Adua’s N10b Abuja cancer centre abandoned

    Pesidents of Abuja have called for a revamp of the cancer centre project that was championed by former President Umaru Yar’Adua’s wife Turai for health delivery to the vulnerable in the country.

    On July 18, 2009, she assembled the Nigerian rich and government contractors to a fundraising in Abuja, which was also attended by her usually taciturn husband, who was battling some complicated diseases at the time.

    Financial pledges made by the galaxy of guests to actualise her dream amounted to N6.8 billion.

    The International Cancer Centre, (ICC) Abuja was born.

    But since then, apart from the imposing structure on the Umaru Yar’Adua Express Road, the project is now virtually abandoned, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria  (NAN).

    One of the security guards at the ICC, who simply identified himself as Garba confirmed the abandonment.

    He said there had been no activities to actualise the centre, as envisioned by Turai Yar’Adua.

    According to him, Turai came two times in 2016 to the site. She had not been seen around the area since then.

    “We have not seen her this year, but some people often come around to see the progress of the place,” he said.

    Garba said some bandits invaded the ICC last year to disposess them of their valuables, adding that few items belonging to the centre were also stolen..

    He added that some policemen from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) had since been deployed to secure the ICC against further attacks.

    “Six of us were employed to secure this place and we do alternate, but because the bandits were fully armed, they overpowered us and beat the security guards.

    The desolate centre was more palpable at a park for scores of tricycles meant to be conveying patients. Weeds have swamped the tricycles.

    Worried by the delay in completing the ICC, one the residents of Abuja, Mr. Gabriel Oluwabunmi, berated those responsible for the abandoned project, adding that such noble idea that could bring relief to the masses, should have been completed without the usual hiccup.

    He called on the authorities to ensure that the project was resuscitated, adding that such cancer centre would help bring succour to those ravaged by the disease and especially those who could not afford to be flown abroad.

    Miss Ngozi Chukwuma, whose relative is suffering from the cancer, called on the Federal Government to ensure the completion of the centre to enable Nigerians who could not afford overseas treatment to patronise it.

    She said such project would go a long way in assuaging the feeling of Nigerians who could not afford the treatment as a result of heavy monetary demand.

    Mrs. Yar’adua had in her speech during the launch of the centre said the whole idea of establishing the cancer centre was conceived out of her desire to contribute her quota to achieving standard healthcare delivery for the vulnerable.

    According to her, the centre would specifically render services to women and children, especially the rural and urban poor.

    When NAN visited the National Hospital Abuja, which is offering an alternative treatment to cancer patients, the staff appeared so overwhelmed with the huge number of cancer patients.

    A cancer patient who craved anonymity called on the Federal Government to assist in revamping the centre, adding that this would go a long way in decongesting the national hospital from cancer patients with special attention.

    Mr. Mohammed Lawal, an Abuja based businessman, called on the government not to abandon the centre, adding that though it was a private initiative; the government could also intervene to revamp it.

    The ICC, according to its promoter, was meant to focus on four types of cancer that account for most deaths in Nigeria: cervical cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and throat cancer.