The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Economy

  • Sell at N145 or lose your petrol, DPR warns Anambra marketers

    Sell at N145 or lose your petrol, DPR warns Anambra marketers

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) has warned petrol marketers within its Enugu Zone to comply with N145 pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or have their products dispensed to customers free.

    Mr Unyime Akpan of Health, Safety and Environment Department, DPR Enugu Office, gave the warning in Awka when he led an enforcement team to Anambra on Tuesday.

    Akpan said the team sealed one filing station for allegedly refusing to revert and enforced the pump price sale of petrol in nine other stations on Atani road in Ogbaru and some parts of Idemili North Local Government Areas.

    He expressed regret that some marketers had remained defiant, in spite of DPR’s efforts to ensure compliance, noting that the DPR might apply more stringent punishment by dispensing products of defaulting marketers to customers for free.

    READ ALSO: More pains as fuel scarcity returns

    “Petrol price is controlled; stations are not supposed to sell above N145 per liter and if the cost of getting products suggests they cannot sell at that price, then they should leave out.

    “Marketers are the people encouraging the hike; if they are not gaining from it, then they leave out until the system returns to normal.

    “We may have to begin to dispense their products free because DPR also has the powers; if this price compliance sales proves ineffective, we may be left with no option than to give out their petrol, so that they can understand how serious we are,” he said.

    In a reaction, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) absolved its members of any complicity in the hike of petrol price and blamed it on scarcity.

    Chief Ikechukwu Nwankwo, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot, in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, urged DPR to stop the clampdown the members as sealing outlets and auctioning the products would not solve the problem.

    Nwankwo decried the petrol supply situation in the country and called for a more sustainable measure to normalise it.

    He said DPR’s action on IPMAN members, especially those under his zone, amounted to being punished for a problem they did not cause and could not solve.

    Nwankwo said that solution to the problem was massive and sufficient supply of petrol into the system by the NNPC.

    The IPMAN chairman said marketers were making efforts to make petrol available to customers as complete scarcity would amount to shutting the economy and holding the masses hostage.

    “I have spoken with my members here in Anambra, the situation of fuel supply is bad and it is our wish that we begin to get products like the way it used to be before.

    “IPMAN is not happy with the way the DPR is harassing us, closing our stations and auctioning our products. It is like they want to push us out of business because we cannot continue to suffer this loss.

    “NNPC is not allocating products to us, DPR should go and monitor the marketers that get allocation from NNPC; how can we buy product at N190 or N195 and DPR sells them off at N145.

    “We make extra effort to get product at tank depot so that economic activities can go on and we should not be punished for that; we may have to close our stations if they continue to pursue us,” he said.

    Newsmen reportes that pump price of petrol has dropped from between N240 and N250 to N200 per liter.

    NAN

  • Why APC, PDP cannot fix economy

    The Nigeria of today is certainly not the Nigeria of 1960. Nigeria in 1960, had 15,703 primary schools with 2,912618 enrolled; 883 secondary schools with 135,364 enrolled; 29 vocational/technical educational institutions with 5037 enrolled; 315 teachers’ training with 27,908 enrolled; and three colleges of technology, one University College. In the 1997/98 academic year, Nigeria had 39,377 primary schools with 23,809000 enrolled; 6000 secondary schools with 6,05600 enrolled; 58 colleges of education, 45 polytechnics, 122 technical school and 40 universities with 983, 000 enrolled. Nigeria now has over 150 universities (NUC, 2017) and produces over 300,000 graduates in the year. So, the Nigerian educational system has grown tremendously in quantitative terms and has produced many educated/learned people. Nigerians have also been travelling abroad to virtually all nations to acquire education in various areas of knowledge. Nigerians have learnt a lot in about 57 years. Nigeria is a more knowledgeable nation than she was in 1960s. Sadly, Nigerian politicians have not changed; indeed they are worse than they were in 1960s. This article explains why the PDP which ruled Nigeria in the period 1999-2015 and the APC which has been ruling the nation since 2015 cannot fix the economy and promote democratization.

    Nigeria needs political parties because the political groups in Nigeria remain political machines and political machines who seize power. President Dwight Eisenhower (1956) of the United States, reflecting on the issue of a political party, said, a political party deserves the approbation American, only as it represents the ideals, the aspirations and the hopes of Americans. If it is anything less, it is merely a conspiracy to seize power. About 20 years later, Daniel Boorstin (1973), American historian, again reflecting on the issue of a political party, said, a political party is organized for a purpose larger than its own survival; a political machine exists for its own sake, its primary purpose is survival.

    I agree with President Eisenhower and Boorstin.

    Political groups in Nigeria do not represent the ideals, the aspirations and hopes of Nigerians; they exist for their members. Politicians at the local government, state and federal levels get into government and become very rich people in three months. In view of the millions of barrels of crude petroleum sold daily for over five decades, over 70 per cent of Nigerians are very poor. Nigerian politicians would claim that the nation is doing well. They would not accept the well-known bases for assessing the performance of a government – the state of the economy measured by the levels of employment/unemployment, productivity and inflation, and peace and harmony. Also, Nigerian political machines would not accept globally accepted reports like the UNDP Human Development Report, because they would clearly reveal that they are political machines and conspiracies with no plans to develop Nigeria. They would rather cling to the reports of less known bodies like Fitch and deceive the ignorant people that Nigeria is rated BB-, BC+; Nigeria has the highest GDP growth in Africa that will trickle down one day; Nigeria built roads and bridges, dams!

    Political machines connive with foreigners to deceive the ignorant people to adopt programmes which though have beautiful names, lack growth elements and do not promote growth and development. Nigeria adopted the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986 when the military government of Ibrahim Babangida was ruling the nation. All governments, including PDP and APC governments since 1986 have continued to implement SAP. That is PDP implemented SAP in the period 1999-2015. The APC has been implementing SAP since May 2015. SAP has three principal elements: mandatory foreign exchange market (FEM), sale of public enterprise and liquid assets to the rich nationals and foreigners and, adoption of deregulation (laissez-faire economics or market economic philosophy or profit consideration, individualism) as the basis for assessing the performance of public projects and activities. African SAPs were introduced to Nigeria and other African nations in the 1980s by the World Bank and IMF. The original document (Bellow, 1986) claimed that the Nigerian SAP has four main objectives: to: restructure and diversify the productive base of the economy, achieve fiscal stability and positive balance of payment, set the basis for a sustained balanced non-inflationary or minimal inflationary growth, and, reduce the dominance of unproductive investments in the public sector.

    However, the analysis of the Nigerian SAP in the book entitled, “Understanding why Privatisation is promoting unemployment and poverty and delaying industrialization in Africa (Ogbimi, 2007), showed that the Nigerian SAP lacks growth elements and could not achieve any of its claimed objectives. SAP is merely promoting unemployment and poverty and delaying industrialization. Consequently, SAP has completely sapped and destroyed the Nigerian economy and impoverished the people. All that is left of Nigeria is a sapped majority of people and a destroyed Naira. There are also a few economists, accountants, bankers, lawyers, others in government and business who do not understand the science needed for increasing productivity and transforming an agricultural economy into an industrialized one, who daily repeat the financial clichés associated with SAP and the stock market.

    An important warning to all Nigerians is pertinent here. Margaret Thatcher, a former Prime Minister of Britain, once said that to destroy a nation, you first destroy her national currency. She was speaking in relation to the experience of Germany when the nation implemented the German SAP 1919-1923. Germany lost WW I in 1918 as the leader of the Axis powers. The Allied powers demanded $33b from Germany as war reparations. Germany could not pay. Germans were forced to implement the German SAP principally characterized by the mandatory forex market (FEM). The German Mark exchanged 4.2 units to the US$1 in 1919. In 1920, 63 Mark exchanged for one dollar. The Mark further depreciated in 1921; it exchanged 200 units to the dollar. The Mark depreciated catastrophically in 1922; it exchanged 2000 units to the dollar. In 1923, the Mark collapsed; it exchanged 4.2 trillion units to the dollar and stopped being a national currency (Stolper, et al., 1967; and Glahe, 1977). The Germans and Germany were seriously humiliated. But the strong will of the Germans saved them. They abandoned SAP in 1923 and printed another currency which the value was one trillion Mark, reverting the exchange rate to 4.2 units to the dollar.

    In the book on privatization above (Ogbimi, 2007), it was demonstrated that a nation operating mandatory FEM experiences increasing speculation and decreasing productivity. Also the currency experiences increasing devaluation till confusion sets in the nation. The German experience is sufficiently instructive.

    Nigeria’s planning has always been devoid of growth elements. What Nigeria needs is industrialization, not mere capital investment/Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs), not privatization, not mere erection of infrastructure, not entrepreneurs. Industrialization is promoted through learning – education and training. The Nigerian economy has been stagnating hence it is experiencing mass unemployment. Only mass education, mass training and mass employment can save the Nigeria of today.

    • Prof Ogbimi is of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

  • Ekitipanupo: The Nigerian economy on our minds

    Nigeria must produce what it consumes before any of the monetary policies of the CBN can make sense

    Ekitipanupo is a web portal, founded some 12 years ago by Okan Adetunmbi. It is an Ekiti intellectual roundtable, with membership around 2000 Ekiti intellectuals, home and Diasporan. We discuss from ‘sand to steel’, as long as the subject is not lurid and, though mostly concerning Ekiti and Nigerian affairs, it is actually without borders. This past week, for the second time in as many months, we spent considerable time discussing the Nigerian economy.  What you will be reading below is largely a summary of that discussion.

    In a country with robust economic policies, unreasonable, totally atavistic actions of some ill-educated labour leaders who see unionism only in the blinkered manner of oppositional politics, would never be enough to turn everything into a tailspin as we saw these past two weeks, consequent upon a pseudo fuel scarcity which was particularly galling, coming at year’s end when business activities and travelling by families, should ordinarily begin to peak.

    At the prompting of a member (forumite), we decided to dig deep into this and what we found, as culprit, is really not the ever self- seeking labour leaders but our extant economic policies, especially our foreign exchange management policy which is largely the result of the failure of past governments to diversify the economy thus ensuring that fuel importation accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings.

    Kicking off the discussion, Port Harcourt -based Tope Ojo wrote: “The Central Bank’s monetary policy alone, without diversifications and import substitution, is insufficient to bring about the desired level of economic growth needed to take Nigeria out of recession and poverty. Nigeria must produce what it consumes before any of the monetary policies of the CBN can make sense. Only this, he continued, can grow the economy and help create jobs for the millions of jobless Nigerians. Any nation that imports majorly foreign goods, rather than producing its own, will only be hurting its people. He goes on to quote the thoughts of Femi Kushimo, who, on another forum, wrote as follows: “the Nigerian government is not encouraging local producers, because it flouts its own economic policies. For instance, the import ban on maize is not working. Farmers produced a lot of maize this year, expecting a good price for their harvest, but the government dashed that aspiration when it allowed members of the poultry association of Nigeria, and others, to import large quantity of maize. Maize currently sells for about N75,000 per ton, farm gate price, as against N130,000 per ton at the same period last year. Our government is not serious about local production.” Also, wrote Ojo, we must be on top of our foreign exchange management as well as improve on the value of the national currency by deliberately reducing all pressures on it. According to him, the following measures should help: Health sector reforms will reduce our appetite for health tourism abroad.

    Education sector reforms (increased capacity and quality) will reduce our penchant for educational tourism and the associated forex demand. There is also the urgent need to encourage local production and reduce importation of finished goods, especially, consumer items. With such holistic approach, we will arrive at a better value for the Naira and be able to develop the country. A nation is as good as her national currency. When we keep importing foreign made products, he concluded, we keep importing poverty into our country and exporting jobs abroad”.

    Those were the thoughts whch prompted Abuja-based Ayo Omowumi to write: “These prescriptions (no rocket science really) have always been with us. The problem, really, has been having people, at the helm of affairs who do not have the will and the interest to implement them. The government prefers forex interventions that are operated in such a way that it enriches the elites, including some of the those in government. We all can remember Emir Sanusi’s allegation that forex allocation is such that makes for easy money making by selected members of the society. A discriminating process of allocation, to non-productive activities like medical tourism, travelling allowance, student remittances, brought about by the elites’ argument that our educational facilities are below par, and that they can afford to send their kids abroad to study, without personally sourcing their forex, are the main problems. This is the state of affairs that engenders currency trading, speculation and round tripping. Meanwhile, no conscious efforts are being made to tackle the causes of medical tourism and thirst for overseas study. Our health and education facilities remain in their old substandard states, despite electoral promises to improve them.

    William Aborisade of the University of Ilorin kicked in with the following: “all it takes in matters of forex management is to make allocation solely to the productive sector – manufacturing by small and medium scale enterprises. They are the creators of jobs. The Japanese government embarked on providing a solid support, including favourable forex allocation to these sectors and they, in turn, launched Japan into economic success.

    Lagos-based R.O. Okunmuyide then weighed in with:”This is a deeply thoughtful diagnosis of Nigeria’s economic problems! It also shows that this government’s approach through import substitution (that inevitably generates poverty among those whose livelihoods have traditionally depended on the import chain etc) and diversification through the window of agriculture is strategically correct. And it confirms that the future gains from the strategy cannot be without its present pains. This, however, urgently requires stronger tactical bites that will whip the opportunistic abusers of the strategy, especially the customs service, into line through appropriate deterrent sanctions. This is the critical missing gap that not only reduces local productivity but widens the gap between the economic goals and the strategy as the resources and resourcefulness being expended, are falling short of their expected goals. This is why the pains are becoming more resented with the likely risk of the strategy being compromised with grave risks to the country’s future prosperity potential.”

    MY THOUGHTS

    Terrific views there,  but all things considered, it will  still be  kudos  yet,  to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and every  other agency of government responsible, not only for the formulation of our monetary policies, but their rigorous implementation which saw the country exit a very atrocious recession, in a mono economy which suffered the unprecedented debacle of a massive oil price drop; indeed, a near total crippling of the oil business, public as well as private with all its deleterious consequences on the nation’s banks. The same agencies have also ensured that the economy has witnessed a straight 10-month drop in the rate of inflation. But for the single-minded determination of  these agencies, under the lead of the President, not to fecklessly submit to the demands  of the International Monetary Fund, and its other Washington accomplices, the naira would have long become no better than ordinary paper which is why, in place of  the jeremiads we see daily on the social media, what Tatalo of this newspaper describes as a “virus of unremitting gloom and pessimism”, Nigerians must thank God we did not experience that oil price collapse some five or so  years ago, when it was leakages galore in the management of the nation’s finances with all manner of scams – oil subsidy scam, pension  scam etc -ravaging  the  country. Just as  have been said above, what needs be done now is firm up the present import  restrictions, stop allocating forex to non productive causes  but,  improve on our  health  and  education sectors, ensure that those who choose to train their children abroad source their own foreign exchange, just like the importers of all those cheap perfumes etc,  being hawked about  by street traders should also do,  and be  honest  in all matters pertaining to forex allocation so as to kill off those abuses identified by the Emir of Kano. Government should also seriously galvanise its diversification policy as alternative to the unhelpful dependence on oil which, among other things, must, henceforth, be mostly refined here in Nigeria to create employment opportunities as well as conserve our foreign exchange earnings.

  • Reflating the economy with ASUU’s naira rain

    SIR: The tranche of academic earned allowances due to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), some N23 billion naira, just dispersed to those who earned this money has all but gone back into the national economy.

    I should know this because I had all but disbursed my share to those who need this capital badly. I am particularly interested at how little I would have impacted the local economy of Otukpo in Benue State when I sent a total sum of N59,000 to my two young nieces who lost their mother (my sister) four years ago; no sooner had they received the credit alert notice than they went shopping for Christmas, buying stuffs and all. Surely, the bulk of that money was spent within the week but that little spending bump had a miniscule positive effect on the local economy of Otukpo.

    When I was at the Minna branch of the UBA to do that money transfer, I was not at all surprised to run into other lecturers at the bank also doing money transfers to destinations across the country; Basically, when the federal government honours its commitment and pays the subsequent tranches of academic earned allowances, Nigeria’s economy would grow ever so slightly and Nigerian lecturers would have fought poverty and kept this menace at bay to some extent.

     

    • Sunday Adole Jonah,

    Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

  • S/Africa to take tough decisions to grow economy

    S/Africa to take tough decisions to grow economy

    South Africa’s government will take “necessary tough decisions” to stabilise public debt and grow the economy, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Saturday.

    “We will take the necessary tough decisions to continue fiscal consolidation.

    “We will effect monetary stabilisation as we move towards the 2018 budget in February,” Gigaba told a breakfast briefing.

    The briefing came before the start of the ruling African National Congress conference to pick a new party leader.

  • Nigerian economy attractive to investors, says IMF

    Nigerian economy attractive to investors, says IMF

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday that Nigeria was still on international investors’ radar despite currency controls being implemented in the country. It however, said worries about repatriating funds out of Nigeria following currency controls last year still dominates investor fears.

    Miriam Tamene, an IMF senior financial sector expert, said there is interest in Nigeria’s securities market. However, investors were being careful because fears of getting trapped still exist.

    Nigeria introduced capital controls following dollar shortages triggered by a currency crisis last year. The naira hit a record of 520 to the dollar, prompting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to restrict fund flows.

    In April the bank liberalised the market to allow investors trade the naira at market-determined rates in a bid to attract inflows into debt and stock markets.

    The stock market has gained 45 per cent so far this year, helped by demand for consumer goods and banking shares after the central bank lifted currency restrictions for investors.

    Tamene’s comments came after her team visited Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of consultations on developments covering the economy. The report of the consultation will presented to IMF board in February.

    “Investors are interested in Nigeria, but with difficulties they had in getting their money out recently, that confidence is not there yet,” Tamene said in a statement released by the SEC.

    Nigeria’s currency market for investors has traded $22.37 billion since it was launched, according to market operator FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.

    On Wednesday traders said some foreign investors were booking profits from treasury bills and bidding to repatriate funds abroad, creating a liquidity squeeze on the currency market, after debt yields fell.

  • Diversify the economy now, says FUNAAB VC

    Diversify the economy now, says FUNAAB VC

    The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, Prof Felix Salako, has joined the call on Federal Government  to move away from  oil resources and embrace agriculture, as a sustainable route to national development.

    The Vice-Chancellor stated this while declaring open the facilitation and communication skills training programme that was organised in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital by the Cassava, Adding Value for Africa II (CAVA II) Nigeria Project, for Agricultural Development Programmes’ (ADPs) extension officers and procurement staff of large-scale cassava producers.

    Salako, observed that “We are having new generation of extension officers. All of you sitting here are young, seeing your faces; I think we are meeting new generation of extension officers. And I hope you are really going to be the catalyst that would push the nation forward in terms of using agriculture as an alternative to crude oil export. It is dawning on everybody now – whether we like it or not – we are running into trouble with oil. What may even make oil to be useless in the fact that people are already thinking of alternative source of energy, even for running cars. The training could not have come at a better time than now”.

    Salako added that “We are ready to partner to strengthen the skills of workers; extension agents in particular, using participatory and adult-learning methodology, to enhance timely and sustained supply of cassava root by small medium farmers. We are confident that the completion of course will make you better and help in building your capacity to aid effective facilitation and communication with farmers. As extension officers, you need to step up your roles and duties in contributing to the development of our nation. You need to develop good relationship with farmers and subsequently, use these skills to connect yourself. And one thing that has come to fore these days is that farmers did not trust agriculturists anymore. You must be ready to convince the farmer, even to listen to you”.

    “So, you need a lot of effort to be able to convince farmers about innovation these days and this is where I think you have Herculean tasks, being agricultural extension agents. I want to tell you that the information and feedbacks we get from farmers are not that good. The Vice-Chancellor noted that it was crucial to put together the training, aimed at enhancing facilitation and communication skills of participants in having better knowledge of life-changing management, saying that this approach of engaging both extension agents of the state ADPs and procurement executives of cassava-processing factories would definitely achieve the desired results.

    The Country Manager of CAVA II (Nigeria) and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) Designate of FUNAAB, Professor Lateeef Sanni, recalled that the issue of inconsistency in the supply of raw materials was a major and critical point for the survival of large scale industries, noting that sourcing for raw materials of between 250 and 450 tonnes of cassava required quite a lot of work. “We are aware that you have different locations where you source for raw material but at present, there are some issues we have itemised in the last two years – right quality, right quantity and right time of supply – which should be urgently addressed”, he stated.

    “The major problem is that the farmers themselves have informed us that some of the extension officers or procurement officers are delaying their payments, which is attitudinal and that’s why we felt its better we bring in a consultant that will interact with you on facilitation, communication and sustainable engagement”, he disclosed. Meanwhile, to further boost agricultural production, CASSAVA 2017TECH Conference was earlier hosted by CAVA II (Nigeria), in conjunction with FUNAAB and other development partners, to bring together actors involved in cassava processing-equipment manufacturers, fabricators, financiers, scientists and engineers in West and Central African countries, to discuss latest development in the cassava industry.

  • Diversifying from oil to creative industry will boost our economy, says Lai Mohammed

    Diversifying from oil to creative industry will boost our economy, says Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji  Lai Mohammed, has said that the nation has gradually begun diversifying its economy from oil to the creative industry to boost its internally generated revenue (IGR) and meet international standards.

    The minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Grace Gekpe, said this at the event which ended in the early hours of Monday during the grand finale of Queen Moremi Ajasoro (QMA) beauty pageant at Oriental Hotel in Lagos.

    “The ministry has discovered that the creative industry is an alternative to oil and that is why we are doing a lot to support the sector,” he said

    According to him, the creative industry is an area that opens up employment opportunities for the talented youths, thereby, reducing unemployment and possible youthful crimes.

    The minister commended Princess Ronke Ademiluyi, the Heritage Ambassador to QMA, for her efforts in promoting culture, and advised other groups to encourage the youths to develop more interests in promoting their cultures.

    “Promoters of our culture and tradition such as Princess Ademiluyi should be encouraged because she is complimenting the efforts of the government to ensure that our culture does not go into extinction.

    “Such a cultural pageant as the QMA will also empower young girls not only to learn their traditional language and history, but also make them to be creative and productive,” he said.

    The minister also encouraged more groups in the entertainment industry to key into programmes that would promote Made-in-Nigerian fabrics, foods, dances and local languages which would make the country the world’s tourist attraction.

    NAN reports that the 2017 QMA pageant produced 22 year-old, Oluwatosin Shola-Shittu, an indigene of Ikere Ekiti , Ekiti State as the new queen out of no fewer than 500 young girls who registered for the second edition of the pageant.

    Shola-Shittu received a cash prize of N5 million, which she was expected to use for investment as part of the empowerment programme of youths initiated by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the patron of the pageant.

    The new queen was crowned by the outgoing queen, Blessing Animasahun.

  • ‘ Agriculture ‘ best alternative to grow economy – Perm. Sec.

    ‘ Agriculture ‘ best alternative to grow economy – Perm. Sec.

    Dr Bukar Hassan, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said on Tuesday that agriculture remained the best alternative to grow and develop the economy.

    Hassan said this at the opening of 2017/2018 National Agricultural Extension Review and Planning Meeting held at the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Zaria, Kaduna State.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the review meeting is “Extension: The Driver of Knowledge and Innovation in the Nigerian Agricultural Value Chain”.

    Represented by the Director, Federal Agricultural Extension in the ministry, Hajiaya Karima Babangida, Hassan called for meaningful contributions toward developing the agriculture sector.

    “We should note that ideas rule the world and the information we put together here will form the bases of Nigeria’s improvement in agriculture which is our best alternative for growth.

    “It is believed that the more people are involved in agriculture and agri-business, the faster the economy will grow and develop to compete favorably with powerful nations of the world both politically and economically.

    “The solutions to the problems encountered by farmers in Nigeria is dependance on the information that will be provided by the experts in agricultural research and extension services.”

    He expressed the hope that the forum would be used to harmonise all stakeholders’ activities in agricultural research and extension services in order to evolve a synchronised calendar of activities.

    He further said that the meeting would serve as a means of strengthening partnership among stakeholders in the field of extension service delivery in Nigeria.

    In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Prof. Ibrahim Garba, commended the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for unlocking the full potential of the agriculture sector.

    Garba, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academics, Prof. Ezra Amans, said canvassed for the financing for all sub-sectors to encourage entrepreneurs and youths to embrace agriculture.

    He stressed the need to accelerate the growth of the sector to increase productivity, enhance export capacity and attain national food security.

    Earlier, the Director, NAERLS, Prof. Mohammed Khalid-Othman, noted that government policy and support had resulted in the influx of investors.

    “On our part in NAERLS, we believe the agricultural potential in Nigeria lie with the youths. Thus, we have actively championed the training of youths at various levels from secondary school levels to fresh graduates of tertiary institutions.

    “At the secondary school level, we have engaged more than 100 schools across the nation under “Adopted School Project.”

    He said the institute was presently discussing with World Food Prize Foundation for the conversion of the adopted schools to Nigeria Youth Institute, a branch of Global Youth Institute, with international support of agricultural innovations and creativity.

    NAN reports that the opening of the review meeting was preceded by exhibition and field show of agricultural implements and inputs.

  • ‘Youths promote stable economy, accountable govt’

    A new book which offers varying perspectives on the importance youths in building a stable and accountable government in Nigeria and others countries has been launched.

    The 2017 Lagos Book and Art Festival was preceded by a reading from ‘How to Win Elections in Africa: Parallels with Donald Trump’, the new book by the co-founders of RED, Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams.

    StateCraft Inc in conjunction with the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) hosted young and politically-aware Nigerians at a symposium, focusing youth involvement in elections and the creation of the next world order.

    According to Williams, the book is intended to provide a comprehensive guide to understanding the key factors that contribute to the success or otherwise of any elections, especially with insights from their roles in the election of three presidents in Nigeria and Ghana, including global epochal events such as the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote.

    An interactive panel session moderated by award-winning journalist Tolulope Adeleru Balogun followed immediately, with Dayo Israel, an International Development Specialist and Lagos-based politician, Okechukwu Ofili, the CEO and founder of Okada Books, Vimbai Mutinhiri and Adebola Williams as members, all offering varying perspectives on the importance youth participation in building a stable and accountable government in Nigeria and others.

    Speaking during the session, Ms. Mutinhiri stated that youth apathy in Zimbabwe has contributed to the 30-year long leadership of the Southern African nation, while Adebola Williams and Dayo Israel gave practical examples on the involvement of the youths involvement in unseating the incumbents in Nigeria and Ghana during the respective 2015 and 2016 elections. Despite these recent developments in West Africa, Mr Ofili offered the caution that the youths must not relent as it remains important to ensure that elected officials are constantly engaged and held accountable with the use of social media.

    ‘How to Win Elections in Africa: Parallels with Donald Trump’ which was launched earlier during the week at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut has begun a tour around the United States of America. On Thursday, 9 November, 2017, Chude Jideonwo was hosted by the Africa in Ohio platform of Ohio University for a reading from the new book. The book tour is scheduled to continue in Washington D.C, Pennsylvania and neigbouring country, Canada.