The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DONOR

  • African countries not dependent on donor support for climate adaptation-study

    African countries not dependent on donor support for climate adaptation-study

    About 20 per cent of African countries’ total needs are being spent on climate adaptation, which is more than their fair share without any support from the international community. A new study by the United Nations (UN) has revealed.

    Early findings from the study, jointly commissioned by the UNDP Regional Office for Africa, and the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to review African commitment to adaptation, have, therefore, dismissed the insinuation that African countries are not investing in their climate adaptation responses and are instead waiting on the international community as recipients of support.

    “African countries are already spending between 2 to 9 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on adaptation, thus reducing the potential impact of climate change by more than 20 per cent,” Dr Johnson Nkem, a Senior Climate Adaptation expert at the ACPC told PAMACC News at the ongoing climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany.

    The UN study is being implemented by two United Kingdom (UK) centres – Climate Scrutiny and Mokoro – to provide estimates of Africa’s public expenditure on adaptation as a proportion of the total cost for adaptation.

    Although the level of investment as a proportion of the GDP expenditure varies among countries, it ranges between 2 and 9 per cent of GDP; and represents more than other forms of expenditure in public services such as healthcare and education.

    “This contribution is significantly higher than the adaptation resource flow from international sources,” Nkem said.

    The study, therefore, recommends that the disproportionate share of investment in adaptation as opposed to its smallest share of contribution to the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, needs to be fully recognised and boosted under global financing mechanism for climate response, especially under the implementation of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

    Some of the study’s key findings are that, African countries are already making a major contribution to adaptation that constitutes; that for Africa as a whole, the estimated adaptation gap is about 80 per cent; and that the adaptation gap is greater than 90 per cent in nine countries. Most of these countries face major exposure and sensitivity to climate change risks as well as fiscal challenges.

    Countries that have reduced the potential impact of climate change by more than 20 per cent, include those with low climate change risks like Liberia, Namibia and Zimbabwe; high expenditure, for example Ethiopia, Gambia, Zambia and lower risk and good expenditure countries like Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda.

    The objectives of the Review of African Commitment to Adaptation was to provide some initial estimates of the current spending on adaptation by African governments, and to  assess the extent to which the funding meets the scale of the adaptation challenge as determined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other assessments.

    According to Nkem, there is a growing political will and socio-economic motivation in addressing climate change in Africa’s development agenda as demonstrated by the level of public expenditure on adaptation to climate change in the continent.

    He pointed out that most adaptation expenditure in Africa is primarily linked to development expenditure, which provides good benefits with current climate conditions.

    Estimates of the adaptation expenditure were provided by classifying the most recent public finance data, preferably actual expenditure data, rather than budget data, if it is available.

    Actual data for 10 countries, and data obtained from the internet for additional 24 countries were used for the analyses in this study. The entire analyses in the study do not include expenditure by development partners that are outside the budget.

    The study noted that despite its miniscule share of responsibility for the causes of climate change, Africa has always been labelled as a tenuous recipient of development assistance, with unending expectations of support in addressing climate impacts on its development.

    While this stigma is baseless, it remains to be fully disbarred, using empirical studies demonstrating regional investments for climate adaptation by the countries.

     

    • Courtesy: PAMACC News Agency

     

  • ‘10,000 farmers can’t access N350m donor fund’

    •Govt: allegation untrue 

    Ten thousand farmers in Edo State cannot access the N350 million donor fund, Edo North Coordinator of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Alhaji Mohammed Oshiobugie has said.

    Oshiobugie, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin, said the government failed to pay the N94 million counterpart fund for Fadama III and Rural Finance Institution Project (RUFIN).

    He noted that while other states enjoyed additional financing from FADAMA III , this doesn’t apply to Edo.

    The AFAN coordinator said a similar thing applied to RUFIN where government had not remitted the N12 million counterfund.

    “The challenge this poses to farmers is that they have been denied access to about N350 million.

    “The effect of this is that 10, 000 farm families have been left on their own.

    “I wonder if this is the government’s plan for farmers; its plan to create 200,000 jobs in next four years,” he said.

    According to Oshiobugie , majority of those being planned for employment are from the agriculture sector.

    He said farmers did not understand the policy direction of the government, as it concerned agriculture.

    The coordinator urged the government to involve farmers in agric policies, to give farmers a sense of purpose.

    He noted that most agricultural policies failed due to non-involvement of farmers.

    Oshiobugie said the government must adopt present trend of agricultural implementation; the Community Demand Driven (CDD) approach, same as the Bottom Top approach.

    “This enables farmers to be at the driver’s seat of agricultural programmes and project implementation.

    “This system ensures quality implementation and success of any proposed agricultural policy.”

    He lamented that the government is yet to inaugurate this year’s farming season and make fertilisers available to farmers.

    “As I speak with you, no farmer can boast of fertiliser in Edo. The government has kept us in the dark when and where fertiliser will be available.

    “It is regrettable that as the previous administration, agricultural policies seem to be announced on pages of newspapers and in the television. There is nothing to show on ground.”

    On the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, the coordinator said months after farmers registered and opened accounts with the Bank of Agriculture, the government had been inactive.

    He said the government was silent on the scheme being embraced in other states.

    Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Mr. Bashir Kadir denied the allegations.

    Kadir, in a telephone interview with NAN in Benin, said the administration did not deliberately refuse to pay counterpart fund for agricultural programmes, but was taking its time to get things right.

    He said the programmes were being reviewed to see if they would benefit the people, adding that if not, government will take action to change the situation.

    “These programmes are old;  running for years. We have a new programme, the Agricpreneur, where we’ll produce millionaires for the sector.

    “We are reviewing Fadama and RUFIN programmes with the new one we have developed.

    “It is not a closed door situation. If the benefit from these programmes that have been running is okay by the government, we will continue with them,” the permanent secretary said.

    As for the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, he said the government was trying to satisfy conditions set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    “We are carrying out integrity test on the data before us. We want to ensure that besides recouping loan, we are dealing with real farmers.”

    Kadir said 35,000 farmers had been captured, with about N5 billion facility being the target for it.

    He said the ministry was working with stakeholders in the agricultural sector, including AFAN, as regards policy direction and implementation.

  • Donor suspends aid to Nigeria over stolen $3.8 million

    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has suspended payments to Nigeria’s AIDS agency over evidence that $3.8 million was stolen by its workers and consultants, the Geneva-based agency said yesterday.

    Fund spokesman, Seth Faison, said Nigeria’s government had promised to repay the money and to prosecute suspects.

    A report by the fund’s Inspector General said  seven government workers and three information technology consultants stole the money over five years between 2010 and 2014. It said the fraud continued because the National Agency for the Control of AIDS did not carry out proper audits.

    The missing money is 95 per cent of the amount budgeted to implement, administer and train users of a web-based reporting platform, according to the report, but a fraction of the $1.4 billion the fund has spent fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Nigeria — its biggest recipient.

    Nigeria has the world’s second highest number of people infected with AIDS after South Africa. It reports one-third of all deaths from malaria in Africa and is among the top 22 countries with the most TB patients.

    Last year, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization accused Ministry of Health officials of malpractice and fraud involving 40 per cent of the $29 million it spent in the West African nation between 2011 and 2013. Nigeria repaid GAVI $2.2 million.

    Nigerian officials could not immediately be reached to comment on the latest scandal which involves falsified expense receipts.

    “When this information was first confirmed, we immediately suspended disbursements to the agencies involved on April 12 and sent fiscal agents to monitor expenses,” spokesman Faison told The Associated Press. He said the fund might cease all funding to those agencies.

    The Nigerian charity, ProjektHope, said the suspension endangers AIDS treatment as only 750,000 of the country’s 1.8 million with HIV are receiving antiretroviral drugs, almost all supplied by international charities.

  • Texan donor gets rousing welcome at community school

    Texan donor gets rousing welcome at community school

    WHEN the founder, The Nigerian School Foundation (TNSF), Deena Grushkin, returned to the school the body built for Tomaro-Onisiwo, a coastline community in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State eight years ago recently, sshe received a rousing welcome from citizens of the community.

    Those who welcomed him include the Baale of Tomaro, Rafiu Rufai, who presented her with gifts, and robed her in the traditional attire of the community.

    Tomaro Junior Secondary School came to be because of an appeal by the Baale to Grushkin, when she visited the community in 2008.

    She said: “I’ve been around since 2004 erecting schools on the mainland,” Grushkin a schoolteacher from Texas, United States told our reporter.

    “In 2008, I came to one of the communities on this island to see a health clinic a colleague of mine was doing. The Baale of this place came to find me and brought me here. Then he stood on this property and asked me to help him build a school for his community.”

    Today, the school, which serves 19 other coastal communities, has a senior secondary school arm.

    Project Coordinator, TNSF, Rev. Andrew Duya, said the school has since added a six-apartment quarters, which houses about 15 teachers paid by the PTA; a perimeter fence to protect the school’s property as well as the solar system given the school by the Lagos State government because of its incredible performance in BECE exams; and a new building that houses both JSS and SSS sections.  The building that housed the junior school  serves administrative purposes.

    Duya said the school has excelled in Basic Senior School Certificate Examination (BECE) exams.

    Principal of the school, Mr Ekuigbo Dumas, who was transferred from Alakoto Junior High School, attributed the school’s progress to a culture of excellence he introduced.

    “When I tell people we now have teachers, they always wonder how Tomaro which started few years has achieved it in big way.

    “When I took over, we were nowhere near 100 (in ranking), but now, we are 33 in ranking in the state in 2014. Last year, we moved up to 19 and in Amuwo Odofin, we are no. 1,” he added.

    Head Girl of the school, Beauty Anani, recalled how she was unwilling to join the school at inception.

    “I told my parents this place is local and so I would not enrol; but on a second thought, I stayed back, and I did not regret it.  Today, I can type, do tie and dye, make beads and do other vocations. That’s what we are exposed to here,” she said.

    Baale Rufai, who thanked the foundation for the gesture, however, urged the government to post teachers to the school.

    “The teachers we have here are on support from the community; so, we are urging the government to give us teachers.  We also need electricity and a general hospital. We have a borehole but it stopped working long ago,” Rufai lamented.

    Other coastal communities the school serves include Araromi, Irede, Sagbekoji, Ifako, Oko Ata, Siku and Igala (1&2).

  • Donor enhances scholarship opportunities

    Beneficiaries of the Olu Akeusola Foundation yearly scholarship awards have shot up to 18 as against 16 in the previous year.

    Also preference was granted to Local Authority Primary School and Epe Grammar School in Epe where the celebrator, Prof Olu Akeusola, acquired his basic and secondary education.

    The auditorium of the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPD), where the event held, featured guests, students and beneficiaries who gathered to congratulate the professor of Comparative Grammar on his 54th birthday.

    On the rostrum was the celebrator’s elder brother, Olu Akeusola; MOCPED Deputy Provost Dr Sulaimon Popoola; Registrar Bola Shittu, and Bursar Alhaji Ghaniyu Ajose.

    For the celebrant however, the day provided him another opportunity to share his rags-to-riches testimony, and go on memory lane  to the world of the down trodden which he once belonged.

    “I was born rich but grew up poor,” Akeusola recounted as he took the microphone.

    “Between age 22 and 29, when I was in the college (of Education), I tasted poverty. I had to survive by driving kabukabu. I could not pay my way through school until I had scholarships from Michael Otedola Foundation and Federal Government. So, if I did not have the privilege of driving kabukabu and getting those scholarships, I wouldn’t have been where I am today.”

    Akeusola said he insisted some beneficiaries of the scholarships must come from the two schools because that was where his academic foundation was laid, adding that he picked another five beneficiaries from MOCPED because it was when he assumed the leadership of the institution about six years ago, that he had a divine breakthrough career wise.

    Director of the foundation, Dr Cecilia Folashade Ojetunde, went down memory lane on how the foundation was conceived.

    “When Prof Akeusola celebrated his 50th birhday four years ago, the foundation was established to reward academic excellence through scholarships to children in Epe Division and its environs. At present, nearly 80 students have benefited from it, including undergraduates from Tai Solarin University of Education;  Olabisi Onabanjo University, University of Ibadan as well as ‘special needs’ children.”

    Ojetunde said scholarships for pupils in the primary schools  are worth N10,000; N20,000 for those in secondary schools; N30,000 for those in universities and N40,000 for the special children.

    Ojetunde said the foundation would not be rigid to more financial assistance from interested members and friends of the celebrant.

    Amid donations, cultural performances and music rendition by MOCPED students, Miss Ifekoya Deborah, a Basic 5 pupil of LG Central Primary School and one of the beneficiaries, was full of thanks to the foundation.

    “I want to thank the foundation for the cheque and the storybook (biography) of Prof Akeusola which I will read to know more about his life from poverty to success,” said  the 11-year-old.

    Owadara Bukola Esther, a final year School of Science undergraduate of MOCPED, also sent in her prayers to the donor.

    “I’m very grateful to them (foundation). God shall continue to support them. I’m in my final year and this cheque would help me pay my school fees,” she said.

  • Dogara’s call for North-east donor conference

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has been making calls for the convening of an international donors conference that would holistically tackle the economic and infrastructural needs of the north-east of Nigeria which has borne the brunt of the six-year violent uprising from adherents of the Jama’atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’Awati Wal Jihad, known commonly as Boko Haram.

    Dogara first made the call in a motion he personally sponsored in August last year, on the urgent need for rehabilitation, recovery, reconstruction and resettlement of the violence ravaged region. Since then, at every fora, the Speaker has continued to champion the plights of the north-east while arguing that the region deserves global attention as a member of the international community.

    His call is inline with what has been  happening since the end of the World War II where international  conferences like that were held for Western Europe and Japan which were rebuilt following adoption of the American Marshall Plan, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Gaza and recently for Syria. There is therefore, no reason why it can’t be held for the north-east of Nigeria. This is the kind of patriotic zeal that comes when true leaders that are visionary-inclined are allowed to lead.

    It should be noted that, the scale of devastation, destruction and damage in the region far supersedes what happened in some of the countries and regions listed above but which the international community didn’t hesitate to come to their aid.

    The region, even before the violence erupted years ago, is one of the poorest in the world. A recent report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said Borno State alone has lost trillions of Naira while not fewer than 20,000 people were killed even though most of us who come from the north-east strongly believe that the number of casualty far outweighs the official figure of 20,000 with some putting it at over 100,000.

    All one need to be convinced about a call for such is to take a trip to some of the villages recently liberated in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. Communities were not only totally razed to the ground but one is left with no option than to conclude that the insurgents were all out to exterminate and annihilate every living and non-living beings in the affected areas.

    These insurgents succeeded in leaving to waste large swaths of territories in those states, especially Borno State, the epicentre of the violence.

    Right now, officially over 2.2 million Nigerians are living as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in several states of the country including the Federal Capital Territory, while thousands others are refugees in Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic. In reality, the figure would range from anything between five million to 5.5 million since majority of those displaced are not living camps but are being housed by relations both within and outside the affected areas.

    To buttress Dogara’s call for an international donor conference, UNHCR Representative to Nigeria, Ms Angele Dikongue- Atangana, during the UNHCR 2015 stakeholders’ briefing of the commission’s representation in Nigeria, urged donors and partners to take a trip to the ‘field’ to be aware of the level of destruction for a better understanding of the situation. This is because there are dozens of villages in the northeast that have been totally destroyed. The case of the attack on Dalori where reports said entire houses in the village were torched is still fresh in our minds. The enormity of the task ahead in rebuilding the area, especially the cost is something that even the federal government might not be able to totally shoulder hence the call for the donor conference.

    This much was also agreed  by the Chairman, Presidential Committee on North-east Initiative, retired Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma recently, when he said that conservatively,  over N2 trillion will be required in the short-term to rebuild areas devastated by the Boko Haram insurgency. This is just for the short term measures!

    He added that the rebuilding of the region would require the cooperation of all, considering that the magnitude of destruction is beyond the means of the federal or state governments. He further noted that rebuilding the North-east would demand maximum cooperation and resources.

    “Rebuilding the Northeast is one of the biggest and most complex challenges that Nigeria is facing today. To hold government or any one agency alone responsible for this task is to underestimate the enormity of the problem. The task would involve massive reconstruction of physical infrastructure, much of which have been totally destroyed and, of course, the more challenging one, which is the rebuilding of peace and social cohesion,’’ he had said during the opening of a two-day security seminar, organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College, recently.

    The rebuilding effort being done by some of the governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are mere drops in a vast ocean of need that wouldn’t make much difference. For example, Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima has been building some houses in Bama and other local governments. But without help from outside to address the destruction in over 20 local governments that were initially intermittently occupied and destroyed by the insurgents, it would not go far. Moreso, with the destruction in Gwoza and Bama, two of the worst-hit local governments in Borno, their current needs will go beyond even the entire federal allocations that accrue to Borno State for now. Same for other local governments in the state and other north-east states where their need stands beyond rebuilding houses.

    The issues of topmost importance to the north-east revolve around not only the housing but health care, women and youth empowerment, education and agriculture.  Sufficiently meeting these needs would require the involvement of the international community. This is why the call by the speaker for an international donor conference is apt, timely and holds the solution to addressing the destruction because other places have held such international conferences with success. The recent one was the International Donors conference for reconstruction and development in Dafur, held in Doha, Qatar from April 7-8, 2013.

    This donor conference brought together representatives of the Government of Sudan, the international donor community, the development banking sectors, international and national Non-Governmental Organizations and international funds and foundations and provided a forum for the Darfur Regional Authority and the Government of Sudan to discuss with its development partners the needs for economic recovery, development and poverty eradication in the aftermath of the conflict in Darfur.

    Likewise the Syrian donor conference held in London where over $10 billion was pledged so much that the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hailed the conference as a “great success,” saying, “Never has the international community raised so much money on a single day for a single crisis.”

    Just like the speaker noted, the world now is a global village in which the effect of a massive population shift within the north-east could have spiralling effect on the world. Europe is battling to halt the massive influx of refugees from Syria, Iraq and the Middle East; it is therefore in the collective interest of the international community that funds are raised to resettle the IDPs and refugees from Nigeria so as to avoid another surge to the Mediterranean sea where thousands of migrants are dying every year in their desperate effort to cross to Europe.

    Already the impact of the effect of the insurgents is felt in our neighbouring countries and the need for such conference now can’t be over-emphasised. Consequently, leaders of this country should start persuading world leaders and work toward having something like that, even if it’s in Africa.

    Speaker Dogara deserves not only to be supported but also commended by all for his consistency in pushing for the convocation of the confab. The responsibility of doing that now rests with the federal government or the executive as the parliament or legislature cannot delve into that since it is not within its powers to do so.

     

    • Hassan is Special Adviser (Media & Public Affairs) to Rt. Hon. Speaker, House of Representatives.

  • Donor increases beneficiaries of scholarship

    Beneficiaries of the Olu Akeusola Foundation yearly scholarship awards has shot up to 18 as against 16 in the previous year.

    Also preference was granted to LA Primary School and Epe Grammar School in Epe where the celebrator Prof Olu Akeusola acquired his basic and secondary education.

    The auditorium of the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPD), where the event held on Monday, last week, featured guests, students and beneficiaries who gathered to congratulate the professor of Comparative Grammar on his 54th birthday.

    On the rostrum is the celebrator’s elder brother, Olu Akeusola; MOCPED Deputy Provost Dr Sulaimon Popoola; Registrar Bola Shittu, and Bursar Alhaji Ghaniyu Ajose.

    For the celebrant however, the day provided him another platform to share his rags-to-riches testimony, and an opportunity to plough back to the world of the down trodden upon which he once treaded but survived.

    “I was born rich but grew up poor,” Akeusola recounted as he clutched the microphone.

    “Between age 22 and 29, when I was in the college (of Education), I tasted poverty. I had to survive by driving kabukabu. I could not pay my way through school until I had scholarships from Michael Otedola Foundation and Federal Government. So, if I did not have the privilege of driving kabukabu and getting those scholarships, I wouldn’t have been where I am today.”

    Akeusola said he insisted some beneficiaries of the scholarships must come from the two schools because that was where his academic foundation was laid, adding that he picked another five beneficiaries from MOCPED because it was when he assumed the leadership of the institution about six years ago, that he had a divine breakthrough career wise.

    Director of the Foundation Dr Cecilia Folashade Ojetunde, went down memory lane on how the foundation was conceived.

    “When Prof Akeusola celebrated his 50th birhday four years ago, the foundation was established to reward academic excellence through scholarships to children in Epe Division and its environs. At present, nearly 80 students have benefited from it, including undergraduates from Tai Solarin University of Education;  Olabisi Onabanjo University, University of Ibadan as well as ‘special needs’ children.”

    Ojetunde said scholarships for pupils in the primary schools  are worth N10,000; N20,000 for those in secondary schools; N30,000 for those in universities and N40,000 for the special children.

    Ojetunde said the foundation would not be rigid to more financial assistance from interested members and friends of the celebrant.

    Amid donations, cultural performances and music rendition by MOCPED students, Miss Ifekoya Deborah, a Basic 5 pupil of LG Central Primary School and one of the beneficiaries, was full of thanks to the foundation.

    “I want to thank the foundation for the cheque and the storybook (biography) of Prof Akeusola which I will read to know more about his life from poverty to success,” said  the11-year-old.

    Owadara Bukola Esther, a final year School of Science undergraduate of MOCPED, also sent in her prayers to the donor.

    “I’m very grateful to them (foundation). God shall continue to support them. I’m in my final year and this cheque would help me pay my school fees,” she said. eneficiaries of the Olu Akeusola Foundation yearly scholarship awards has shot up to 18 as against 16 in the previous year.

    Also preference was granted to LA Primary School and Epe Grammar School in Epe where the celebrator Prof Olu Akeusola acquired his basic and secondary education.

    The auditorium of the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPD), where the event held on Monday, last week, featured guests, students and beneficiaries who gathered to congratulate the professor of Comparative Grammar on his 54th birthday.

    On the rostrum is the celebrator’s elder brother, Olu Akeusola; MOCPED Deputy Provost Dr Sulaimon Popoola; Registrar Bola Shittu, and Bursar Alhaji Ghaniyu Ajose.

    For the celebrant however, the day provided him another platform to share his rags-to-riches testimony, and an opportunity to plough back to the world of the down trodden upon which he once treaded but survived.

    “I was born rich but grew up poor,” Akeusola recounted as he clutched the microphone.

    “Between age 22 and 29, when I was in the college (of Education), I tasted poverty. I had to survive by driving kabukabu. I could not pay my way through school until I had scholarships from Michael Otedola Foundation and Federal Government. So, if I did not have the privilege of driving kabukabu and getting those scholarships, I wouldn’t have been where I am today.”

    Akeusola said he insisted some beneficiaries of the scholarships must come from the two schools because that was where his academic foundation was laid, adding that he picked another five beneficiaries from MOCPED because it was when he assumed the leadership of the institution about six years ago, that he had a divine breakthrough career wise.

    Director of the Foundation Dr Cecilia Folashade Ojetunde, went down memory lane on how the foundation was conceived.

    “When Prof Akeusola celebrated his 50th birhday four years ago, the foundation was established to reward academic excellence through scholarships to children in Epe Division and its environs. At present, nearly 80 students have benefited from it, including undergraduates from Tai Solarin University of Education;  Olabisi Onabanjo University, University of Ibadan as well as ‘special needs’ children.”

    Ojetunde said scholarships for pupils in the primary schools  are worth N10,000; N20,000 for those in secondary schools; N30,000 for those in universities and N40,000 for the special children.

    Ojetunde said the foundation would not be rigid to more financial assistance from interested members and friends of the celebrant.

    Amid donations, cultural performances and music rendition by MOCPED students, Miss Ifekoya Deborah, a Basic 5 pupil of LG Central Primary School and one of the beneficiaries, was full of thanks to the foundation.

    “I want to thank the foundation for the cheque and the storybook (biography) of Prof Akeusola which I will read to know more about his life from poverty to success,” said  the11-year-old.

    Owadara Bukola Esther, a final year School of Science undergraduate of MOCPED, also sent in her prayers to the donor.

    “I’m very grateful to them (foundation). God shall continue to support them. I’m in my final year and this cheque would help me pay my school fees,” she said.

  • Are donor agencies doing enough to develop SMEs?

    Are donor agencies doing enough to develop SMEs?

    Bukola Afolabi in this report takes a critical look at the role of international development agencies in the development of small and medium scale enterprises.

    International development agencies such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, Department for International Development (DFID), African Development Banks, to mention just a few are favourably disposed towards the development of small and medium scale enterprises, especially in emerging economies like Nigeria.

    But whether SME operators in the country are aware of their existence, analysts, contend, is a different ballgame.
    However, what is also true is that SME operators have identified the lack of access to finance as a key constraint for the growth of their businesses.
    Investigation by The Nation however revealed that IFC has been partnering with Nigerian commercial banks to boost the provision of funding to SMEs in the country.
    The IFC has been exploiting its strong network of relationships with African banks through its Africa Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (AMSME) Finance Programme to help SMEs across the African continent.
    Currently, the AMSME programme operates in 16 countries across Africa, with 21 banks that have provided over $1 billion in outstanding loans to SME clients.
    The corporation also works with the DFID to expand the programme to Nigerian banks that have incorporated non-financial services to SMEs.To acquaint the banks with its plan for the SMEs, the corporation held a half-day workshop recently where it brought the banks together to share experiences in providing non-financial services to SMEs.
    According to the IFC’s Country Manager for Nigeria, Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, “Non-financial services such as management and advisory support help SMEs acquire the skills they need to grow.”
    He further added that IFC recognises that local banks could be key conduits to SMEs’ growth in developing countries but however lamented that the bank-SME connection was not as widespread as it could be.”
    There about 445 million micro, small, medium enterprises in the developing world of which 70% do not use the services of financial institutions, according to the Central Bank.
    Curiously, the CBN observed with dismay that the sector creates 70% of employment, but contribute only 1% to GDP in the country, unlike in high-income countries, where SMEs contribute 49% on average to GDP.
    For the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, the activities of international development partners in the Nigerian economy should be demand-driven and tailored to the nation’s specific needs.
    Aganga said Nigeria and its development partners must agree on the country’s priority areas for productive channelling of resources.
    “We have realised that there has been a sort of communication gap between us and the international development partners. It doesn’t seem to me as if they fully understand what our plans, strategies and areas of priorities are. For me, it is critical that if they are here to assist, it should be demand-driven. It should not be driven by what they want to do in the country but what we need in the country.”
    “The second thing that I have noticed is that international development agencies are in the same area doing different pilot programmes across the country. That is not good enough for a country as big as Nigeria, with a population of 167 million people. If we channel our efforts and resources together, and support SMEs, for instance, they will be the drivers of economic growth; job creation and poverty alleviation.”
    A lot of the developed countries base their economic development, growth and job creation strategy on SMEs and it is pertinent for Nigeria to make use of this strategy.
    “That is the big area we want to focus on, in collaboration with the international development agencies. We have finalised plans to set up a special task force to fast track the growth and development of Small and Medium Enterprises across the country, noting that given the strategic role of SMEs in the ministry’s industrial revolution plan in terms of job creation and wealth generation, there was a need to harmonise the efforts and activities of all stakeholders in the SME sector, including the IDAs, to achieve optimal results.”
    He added that “Globally, Small and Medium Enterprises are the drivers of economic growth and job creation. For us in the Ministry of Trade and Investment, this is where we have the opportunity to make the biggest change considering the current unemployment situation in our country. We have just completed our database for SMEs, which showed that there are 17.6million SMEs in the country employing about 33 million people and contributing about 45 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.”
    However, most of the SMEs, about 65 per cent of them, are in the rural areas. “Therefore, to reach the rural areas, we need to have a robust strategy to make sure that they are included in our financial inclusion strategy and that we work with them so that they can start new businesses. Where they already have existing businesses, we want to work with them so that they can create more jobs by employing more people. We strongly believe that this is one of the areas we can positively impact on the lives of our people in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda,” he said, explaining that in order to achieve this, the ministry was working on an SME strategy, including specific programmes within the strategy that would make a very big difference.
    “As part of this, we want to set up a task force that will involve SME specialists from development partners such as the DFID, USAID, UNIDO, German Development Cooperation and others. Our target is that within the next six months or one year, we want to see some measurable goals and achievements in terms of how far we have gone in affecting the lives of Nigerians using the SME platform,” he said.
    The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and IFC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a seamless intervention between the provision/acquisition of entrepreneurial training and access to finance.
    The move is the duo’s commitment to further facilitate the access of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to all resources required for their development in the country.
    The Director-General of SMEDAN, Alhaji Muhammed Nadada Umar, said at the signing of the MoU in Abuja, that the whole idea of the Agency’s partnerships with their relevant bodies was to soften the environment for MSMEs to grow.
    “The whole idea is to service MSMEs to help them surmount the challenges that confront them from embarking on, or pose as challenges during the course of their businesses,” he said.
    Also speaking at the second yearly SME live banking panel organised by the Bank of Industry and its partners in Lagos, Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Evelyn Oputu explained that the need to assess ideas from entrepreneurs was key in order to enhance their sustainability in the business environment.
    According to her, at least, 70 SMEs got their projects financed through the forum last year, even as the bank looks forward to multiplying the number this year through funding from its partners.
    She added that the exercise, which sought to develop new approaches and tools that generate sustainable financial empowerment for small businesses through coordination and alignment across all sectors, would assess the profitability of business ideas with a view to funding them.
    Oputu said, “BoI remains committed to helping the SME sector grow, but other financial institutions in the country also have to get involved in SME development.
    She noted that being at the forefront of activities to fund SMEs, BoI was well acquainted with some of the reasons why most SMEs don’t get easy access to funds explaining that most times it is not because the banks were not willing to fund them but rather because some SMEs do not have good business ideas that could be funded.
    She disclosed that BoI desires to see the growth of SMEs in the country, which is why the institution has continued to invest in the development of the sector including organising trainings for SMEs owners on how to develop good business plans which investors would be willing to fund.
    “We are doing this again this year because we saw the impact of the maiden edition, which was held last year and we will continue to create linkages between the SME and the financial sector because we want to see them grow, become sustained and globally competitive,” she said.
    In her remark, Dr. Robin Renee Sanders, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, commended the efforts of BoI for implementing innovative solutions to address the financial challenges of SMEs in the country. [dropcap][/dropcap] [dropcap][/dropcap] [dropcap][/dropcap] [dropcap][/dropcap] [dropcap][/dropcap] [dropcap][/dropcap] [dropcap][/dropcap] [dropcap][/dropcap]

  • Rotary donates to police, community

    The Rotary Club of Ikorodu Metropolitan has donated a 10 kva generator to the Area N Police Command, Ijede a suburb of Lagos.This is in fulfilment of its cardinal objective of making life better for the rural populace while serving humanity.

    The donation, according to the president of the club, Rotarian Kamaldeen Adedeji is to boost the morale of the police and make their working environment conducive to effective discharge of their duties effectively.

    The club also donated pipe borne water to the Bagidan community area of Ijede, Ikorodu.

    “It gladdens my heart because it is one thing to serve and another to see that your dreams come to true. We thank God for making today a reality, we have given the Area N police command a 10 kva generator for the betterment of their performance, we decided to give them the generator because when we visited the police station, it was very appalling; we felt that for somebody doing the kind of their job, a job of securing the lives of people, they need a conducive environment for them to be able to work effectively,” he said.

    Receiving the Rotarians was the Area N Police Commander, Mr A O Markus who said he was grateful to the club for extending a hand of fellowship to them.

    He promised that his command would extend its vigilante programme in the area as a way of showing appreciation for the donations.

    “It is a wonderful thing they have done for us, we are so happy about it, we are impressed and encouraged and we are going to do wonderful job around the Area N Command, we are going to show appreciation by our performances,” he said.

    He said the condition in his office before the donation was not conducive as it was stuffy and because of the epileptic power supply in the area, but now a new life has just been introduced with the generating set from Rotary.

    The delegation was led by the District Governor of Rotary International Club District 911 Nigeria, Rotarian Olugbemiga Olowu.

    In his words, he promised that the club would continue to do everything possible to help the police perform its functions effectively and ensure peace continue to reign in the area and Lagos State at large.

    “We must all work together to ensure peace and security in our areas, we will continue to work with the security forces to ensure that our lives are save,” he said.

    Given reason for his visit to the Ikorodu club, Olowu said it is a routine thing they do every year to access the various clubs’ performance level.

    “Every year the district governor goes round the clubs to know how the clubs are performing, the strength and weakness of the club and over advice to the president and members of the club so that they can make their clubs stronger; the Ikorodu club had lived to expectation even beyond because we in Lagos think that they are not doing anything in Ikorodu but today I know they are doing wonderfully well,” he said.