The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Developing

  • Developing Nigeria’s maritime sector

    A major development capable of increasing the capacity of indigenous ship owners and other stakeholders in the maritime sector took root some days back at the NNPC Towers in Abuja. On Tuesday, stakeholders gathered to examine the Free On Board (FOB) trade term, which favours foreign ship owners in crude lifting and the Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF), which will enable indigenous ship owners to begin to lift Nigeria crude and ultimately boost indigenous capacity.

    This forum was organised by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA).

    Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, who declared the event open, noted that the issue of trade term is an age-long challenge that has lingered too far and charged participants to come out with resounding resolutions that would be of National benefit.

    NIMASA Director-General Dr. Dakuku Peterside in his paper pointed out that the changing landscape of Nigeria’s maritime sector vis-à-vis its security architecture, capacity and other determinants has necessitated the change now than ever before.

    Dakuku stated further that the CIF if implemented will “encourage indigenous fleet expansion, lead to massive job creation for qualified Nigerian seafarers, create opportunities for mandatory sea time experience for Nigerian cadets and build expertise and competence in international shipping trade”

    According to him “Nigeria is one of the major exporters of oil and gas resource in the world, and she averages an output of 1.92 million barrels of crude oil per day so this volume generates huge freight for carriers. Regrettably, indigenous shipping operators have insignificant share of the freight earned from the carriage of Nigeria’s crude compared to foreign counterparts”, he lamented.

    OPEC nations such as Iran, Indonesia, Algeria, Kuwait, Angola, Venezuela, UAE and Libya allow indigenous operators to participate actively in shipment of the crude oil, stating that with the right policies in place Nigeria can build its own capacity and one of this is the change of terms of trade for Nigeria’s benefit.

    The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, stated that the corporation had no reason not to allow Nigerians lift crude that there were conditions which made NNPC opt for the FOB trade. He, however, noted that the NNPC also sees benefits in the CIF trade term but processes have to be followed which may include transition period before finally opting for the CIF trade term.

    A lawyer and former NIMASA chief, Temisan Omatseye, who is also a ship owner, pointed out that there is a lot of benefit in the CIF trade term. He stated further that that it would eliminate crude theft, create employment and ultimately compliment the diversification drive of the federal government.

    The CIF initiative is an adjunct of the blue economy campaign of the current NIMASA leadership. Nigeria, with a coastline of about 853km and about 10,000km of Inland Waterways, 12 Nautical Miles of Territorial Waters, 200 Nautical Miles of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), should have no business with poverty.

    This is even more so as Nigeria imports over l50 million metric tons of non-oil cargo and approximate 1,500,000 units of containers a year. These figures are for the formal trade alone.

    Total cargo throughput in 2015 stood at 195,969,200 metric tonnes showing a marginal increase of 0.8 per cent over the 2014 figure of 194,484,142 metric tonnes.

    The current aggregate of the cargo throughput exceeds $15,000,000,000 a year through formal import orders.

    Nigeria has the biggest economy in Africa, the most populous nation in Africa and has more port complexes than any country in Africa, among others.

    At the moment, our gain from the blue economy is still minimal. To aid the sector, NIMASA has commenced 24 hour port operations towards ensuring access to business services at all time. It is improving on the development of critical infrastructure in the maritime sector, such as the construction of the largest floating dockyard in Africa. It is also establishing National Carriers and strengthening institutional frame work through ratification and domestication of IMO/ILO Conventions.

    It is also training over 2500 cadets. It plans to train more. NIMASA has also facilitated the draft of an anti-piracy Bill which is before the National Assembly. It has equally ensured the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) Code with over 85% compliance level.

    Along this line, it is also collaborating with armed forces for improved intelligence, surveillance and marine security. It maintains strategic partnerships with the Nigerian Navy, which led to the establishment of a Maritime Guard Command (MGC) in NIMASA to ensure compliance with extant maritime legislations, the Nigerian Airforce for the provision of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations, Search and Rescue (SAR) operations at sea, just as tactical airlift operations and enforcement action has given birth to anti-piracy, anti-smuggling, illegal bunkering and illegal fishing activities.

    Part of the agency’s efforts to grow blue economy was to reduce its running cost and give government more money. It shocked not a few last year when it emerged that it within one year and one month contributed N9.975 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). Within this period, the agency has also paid $38,272,12.12 million (N21.805 billion) to the CRF.

    As the fastest growing sector in the world with enormous business potentials, coupled with the length of the nation’s coastline and the attendant volume of maritime trade, Nigeria obviously stands at a good advantage to develop its blue economy provided stakeholders actively participate to reap the benefits of the sector. Here, we can draw lessons from the economies of Singapore, Ukraine and South Korea which thrive on the activities of their maritime sector.

     

     

  • Developing the disabled

    •Nigeria must do more to integrate its vulnerable citizens

    The two-day protest of a group of physically-challenged Nigerians outside the corporate headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is a troubling pointer to the country’s continuing inability to proffer succour to the most vulnerable segments of its population.

    Acting under the aegis of the Joint Association of Persons Living with Disabilities in Oil and Gas Producing Communities in Delta State, the group assembled its members on the dual carriageway leading to NNPC headquarters in Abuja. They claimed that the corporation had failed to keep promises made to them when a similar protest was held in April, and said they were protesting marginalisation in employment with the NNPC and exclusion from its pipeline-monitoring, skills-acquisition and other empowerment programmes.

    In its response, the NNPC, through its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, explained that physically-challenged individuals were already being employed by the corporation, and that the protesters were demanding to be given oil-lifting contracts.

    For such a wealthy organisation, it is surprising that the NNPC would find itself in this position. If it allegedly made pledges to a disability-rights group months ago, why was it unable to follow up on the promises it made? Why does the company appear not to have an established policy of setting aside places for disadvantaged and marginalised groups?

    The NNPC’s ostensible shortcomings can be replicated at a national level. Nigeria has between 10 million and 19 million disabled citizens, although the 2011 World Disability Report claims that about 25 million Nigerians have at least one disability, out of which 3.6 million face severe challenges.

    Cultural perceptions allied with widespread poverty and infrastructural deficiencies have made life very uncomfortable for disabled Nigerians. As children, they are often seen as an embarrassment, or worse, as divine punishment or supernatural sanction. Education is often a formidable obstacle for them to overcome, as much of the equipment and facilities required to help them are either inadequate, obsolete or non-existent.

    Very few public buildings are designed with disability access in mind. No concessions are made for disabled citizens at public functions and ceremonies. Unlike ethnicity and state of origin, disability quotas are absent in most aspects of national life. And they are rarely considered when it comes to employment opportunities.

    Legislative attempts to improve the situation of disabled Nigerians have been fairly consistent since the advent of democracy in 1999. The Nigerians With Disabilities Bill passed by the House of Representatives in 2016, and the Senate’s Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Bill passed later in the same year. In February 2017, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Disability Matters, Dr. Samuel Ankeli, said the president would soon sign these bills into law.

    The Federal Government must demonstrate its commitment to the rights of disabled Nigerians by ensuring that these bills become law. Similar bills passed in the Sixth and Seventh Senates were not signed; various groups have been urging President Buhari to sign as far back as June 2015.

    When this happens, it will become easier to compel individuals and institutions to facilitate the education, training, recreation and employment of disabled citizens. Discrimination against them will be formally outlawed and shall become a punishable offence.

    Policies and programmes can be better co-ordinated by the proposed National Commission for People With Disabilities, as opposed to the arbitrary and often inconsistent efforts of a motley group of states, non-governmental organisations and philanthropic individuals.

    Prominent corporate entities like the NNPC would do well to expend energy on ensuring that they welcome disabled Nigerians into their fold as equal citizens rather seeing them as a threat to be dealt with by security operatives.

  • WHO: how to reduce substandard products in developing countries

    WHO: how to reduce substandard products in developing countries

    • Reports urge govts to take action

    One in every 10 medical products circulating in the low and middle income countries has been estimated to be either substandard or fake, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in its latest two reports.

    The implication is that people are taking medicines that either fail to treat or prevent disease. Not only is this a waste of money for individuals and health systems that purchase these products, substandard or falsified (fake) medical products can cause serious illness or death.

    According to WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “substandard and falsified medicines particularly affect the most vulnerable communities. Imagine a mother, who gives up food or other basic needs to pay for her child’s treatment, unaware that the medicines are substandard or falsified, and then that treatment causes her child to die. This is unacceptable. Countries have agreed on measures at the global level – it is time to translate them into tangible action.”

    Since 2013, WHO has received 1500 reports of cases of substandard or falsified products.  Of these, anti-malarials and antibiotics are the most commonly reported. Most of the reports (42per cent) come from the WHO African Region, 21 per cent from the WHO Region of the Americas, and 21per cent from the WHO European Region.

    This is in tandem with Nigerian Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)’s report- In July of 2013, it seized 150,000 doses of a falsified emergency contraceptive.

    This is likely just a small fraction of the total problem and many cases may be going unreported. For example, only eight per cent of reports of substandard or falsified products to WHO came from the WHO Western Pacific Region, six per cent from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, and just two per cent from the WHO South-East Asia Region.

    “Many of these products, like antibiotics, are vital for people’s survival and wellbeing,” said Dr Mariângela Simão, Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines, Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals at WHO, “Substandard or falsified medicines not only have a tragic impact on individual patients and their families, but also are a threat to antimicrobial resistance, adding to the worrying trend of medicines losing their power to treat.”

    Prior to 2013, there was no global reporting of this information. Since WHO established the Global Surveillance and Monitoring System for substandard and falsified products, many countries are now active in reporting suspicious medicines, vaccines and medical devices. WHO has trained 550 regulators from 141 countries to detect and respond to this issue.  As more people are trained, more cases are reported to WHO.

    WHO has received reports of substandard or falsified medical products ranging from cancer treatment to contraception. They are not confined to high-value medicines or well-known brand names and are split almost evenly between generic and patented products.

    In conjunction with the first report from the Global Surveillance and Monitoring System published today, WHO is publishing research that estimates a 10.5 percent failure rate in all medical products used in low- and middle-income countries.

    This study was based on more than 100 published research papers on medicine quality surveys done in 88 low- and middle-income countries involving 48 000 samples of medicines. Lack of accurate data means that these estimates are just an indication of the scale of the problem. More research is needed to more accurately estimate the threat posed by substandard and falsified medical products.

    Based on 10 per cent estimates of substandard and falsified medicines, a modeling exercise developed by the University of Edinburgh estimates that 72 000 to 169 000 children may be dying each year from pneumonia due to substandard and falsified antibiotics. A second model done by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that 116 000 (64 000 – 158 000) additional deaths from malaria could be caused every year by substandard and falsified antimalarials in sub-Saharan Africa, with a cost of US$ 38.5 million (21.4 million – 52.4 million) to patients and health providers for further care due to failure of treatment.

    Substandard medical products reach patients when the tools and technical capacity to enforce quality standards in manufacturing, supply and distribution are limited. Falsified products, on the other hand, tend to circulate where inadequate regulation and governance are compounded by unethical practice by wholesalers, distributors, retailers and health care workers. A high proportion of cases reported to WHO occur in countries with constrained access to medical products.

    Modern purchasing models such as online pharmacies can easily circumvent regulatory oversight. These are especially popular in high-income countries, but more research is needed to determine the proportion and impact of sales of substandard or falsified medical products.

    Globalisation is making it harder to regulate medical products. Many falsifiers manufacture and print packaging in different countries, shipping components to a final destination where they are assembled and distributed. Sometimes, offshore companies and bank accounts have been used to facilitate the sale of falsified medicines.

    “The bottom line is that this is a global problem,” said Dr Simão. As, “Countries need to assess the extent of the problem at home and cooperate regionally and globally to prevent the traffic of these products and improve detection and response.”

  • Hunger levels up in 52 developing countries

    Despite progress in reducing hunger globally, hunger levels in 52 of 117 countries in the 2015 Global Hunger Index remains “serious” (44 countries) or “alarming” (eight countries). The Central African Republic, Chad, and Zambia had the highest hunger levels in the report, which was released by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide.

    Conflicts can be strongly associated with severe hunger, according to the report, which focused on armed conflict and the challenge of hunger in the main essay. The countries with the highest and worst GHI scores tend to be those engaged in or recently emerged from war. The two worst-scoring countries both experienced violent conflict and political instability in recent years. In contrast, in Angola, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, hunger levels have fallen substantially since the end of the civil wars of the 1990s and 2000s.

    The report outlined some bright spots in the fight to end world hunger. The level of hunger in developing countries has fallen by 27 per cent since 2000, and 17 countries reduced their hunger scores by at least half since 2000.

    Among those countries are Azerbaijan, Brazil, Croatia, Mongolia, Peru, and Venezuela. Some of the world’s poorest countries could not be included in the report due to unavailable data. As a result, the picture of global hunger may be worse than reported here.

    Global hunger is a continuing challenge with one in nine people worldwide chronically undernourished and more than one quarter of children too short for their age due to nutritional deficiencies. Nearly half of all child deaths under age five are due to malnutrition, which claims the lives of about 3.1 million children per year.

    This year’s essay sheds light on an unheralded achievement of the past 50 years. “Calamitous famines,” those that kill more than one million people, seem to have vanished.

    “War and conquest have long been the drivers of mass starvation. Although humanitarian responses are far faster and more proficient than in the past, we still need to attend to the perils of armed conflict and inhumane policies generating severe hunger,” said Alex de Waal, author of the essay and executive director of the World Peace Foundation and research professor at Tufts University.

  • Ajimobi: Developing without oil

    If revenue from cocoa farming prudently managed by a discerning government under Chief Obafemi Awolowo was responsible for the yet unequalled accomplishments of the whole Western Region of Nigeria in the 50s and 60s of the past century which had endured up to the present era, then I do not see how tourism and an agrarian economy such as Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo is envisaging can not do the same now.

    Pundits believe that Nigerian governments truly interested in freeing the country from the vicious grip of an economy based on the vagaries of oil controlled by imperialist forces and their agents should take a cue from Ajimobi who has decided to turn to tourism to generate money and reduce unemployment.

    He is working on a project, Agodi Gardens, the state capital with the potential to put not less than half a billion naira into the till of the government annually. He says the project will be kitted with Water Park, slides and swimming pool, restaurant, events hall, open areas for picnicking, a nine-hole golf course, health farm and a boat ride facility among other recreational gadgets. It will be the choice of the citizen especially during festivities. The project is going to sit on an expansive 62-hectare land.

    It is not likely that Ajimobi would make this attractive venture an Ibadan affair only. Analysts say for the enterprise to be meaningful and make a lasting impact economically, he would need to duplicate it in other major towns of the state, even if on a smaller scale. This, they believe, would reap more revenue for the state. It is also so that he can stem the rural-urban drift and keep the rural area populated for his agrarian policy. It would also reduce the needless population explosion in Ibadan metropolis.

    Oyo State will not be the only state where tourism rakes in good money for massive development and employment opportunity. A United Nations body which compiled the list of non-oil producing and tourism-dependent states rates Switzerland among 25 of such nations. Its population (eight million) is only slightly higher than that of Oyo’s 7.5 million. Its per capita income is $80,276, the fourth highest in the world compared to Nigeria’s poor $1,640 at 134th in the world. It has no domestic oil production as we have in Nigeria. So it does not export it for petrodollars to fund its project or take care of the welfare of its people. But tourism is listed among its main industries that makes it rank higher than the United States in some economic indices.

    It is the same with Hong Kong. The world’s ninth biggest trading economy; it has a population which is less than that of Oyo. It draws enormous wealth from tourism, which makes its dollar the eighth most traded currency in the world. Its skyscrapers outclass New York’s in the United States of America. These verifiable facts about non-oil Switzerland and Hong Kong scaling the peak in the world economy through such local industry as tourism offer hope that Nigeria can do without oil if we have the right leader to push through-forward looking ideas. Awo did it with cocoa in the sprawling Western Region some decades ago. He achieved much that can still be seen today long after his departure.

    It is proof therefore that what Ajimobi is attempting with Agodi Gardens is also capable of giving fillip to our wilting economy without the aid of petro-naira. All that he needs to do is fine-tune the idea and couple it with an aggressive agricultural perspective and let them have a life of their own. Indeed he can use proceeds from these sectors to erect other money-spinning superstructures.

    That was how Pa Awo did it. He got a lot from the money cocoa brought. Then with administrative and political adroitness, he pumped cocoa cash into the development of the education sector, the fulcrum of all human existence. All other things followed: a well educated citizenry to man the bureaucracy, to operate the industries, to attend to government business, to set up complex entrepreneurships, to teach in schools, to run the economy (formal and informal etc).

    When we talk of today’s South-west being the leader in the professions and in political and bureaucratic exploits, we must look back to the man who laid the foundation and built on it without oil money. By the way his impact then reached as far as Ughelli in the present Delta State, where a hospital he built still stands in its stately condition! Let’s do it all over again now through tourism.

     

    • Adeboye is a retired civil servant in Iseyin, Oyo State.