The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fail

  • Why farms fail, by experts

    Why farms fail, by experts

    There is a dearth of farm managers who know their onions. This has led to the closure of many farms. However, some experts and organisations are  working to solve the problem. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    A series of life-changing  events brought the Chief Executive of High-Hill Moringa Limited,  Sola Adeniyi, back to agriculture – into a small business outfit that packages Moringa.

    The farm has expanded to have hundreds of acres of fresh market produce, which include cucumber, watermelon, vegetables, and plantains.

    According to him, the dynamics of agriculture drive investors to embrace it. Crops – turmeric and basil – beckon from the horizon. Many investors experiment with field and cover crops.

    Yet, the challenge is lack of trained farm managers. This has led to closure of many big farms, especially those run by investors without agric background.

    Adeniyi is successful because he is trained and has experience. He acknowledges that the greatest challenge for agriculture is experienced farm managers. Adeniyi’s farm, and those that grow other high-value crops, are at the leading-edge of profitable farming.

    For him, there is so much to learn to avoid missteps that are  inevitable as a beginner. Yet, he added that failures do provide an opportunity for learning.  As an instructor, he sees the same set of errors, making investors feel cassava farming and processing are not profitable.

    While there has been huge interest in farming, Country Manager, HarvestPlus Dr Paul Ilona said even farms opened with most modern design and equipment in the last 10 years, have  gone through crises. This is because they are managed by ill trained and inexperienced farm managers.

    To address this, he is undertaking a campaign to train farm managers. He is starting with partners of Harvest Plus involved in cultivation of bio-fortified maize and cassava. Most of the hi-tech farms, he explained, went for large scale  formula, cultivating large hectares.

    Ilona said most investors have good intention, but lack farming experience. According to him, many failed farms were started by highly educated people, who had built castles in the air. In addition,  many owners depended on others to take care of their farms who themselves did not have much knowledge. According to him, farming requires extensive knowledge and patience.

    When one is inexperienced, Ilona advised that it was good for him to start small.

    He  said  farm managers should be aware of the costs and returns of farm enterprises at farm-levels and along the marketing chain and of ways to reduce these costs.

    He  said the  industry needs  farm management specialists who can   gather information and develop a true picture of the farm business and its problems and opportunities. With this understanding of the situation, he said the farm manager could  give practical and relevant recommendations.

    Ilona said Harvest Plus was ready  to  provide guidance on the development of farm management  skills  in agricultural development. At his monthly business forum, speakers featured are role models who can inspire others and encourage them to innovate in agriculture. Their stories are a testimony of how to transform agricultural value chains through their innovations.

    One of its partners, Federal College of Agriculture (FECA), Akure is mobilising mentors to work with the youth.

    The Provost of the College, Dr Samson Odedina, said the belief that young people do not want to go into agriculture was not true. They need more support in getting to where they need to be, he said. At the college, he said the youth had seen the success of its work with HarvestPlus.

    According to him, FECA is ready to work with professionals who can support young people in agriculture to learn new things and rediscover a passion for their own work.

  • Why MMM was bound to fail

    SIR: Before the freeze of the Mavrodi scheme, I had propounded two theories on the Ponzi scheme. The first was that users should steer clear of MMM in December because a lot of help providers will want to pull all their monies out of the system to celebrate Christmas in grand style. Red alert? It happened. Or why did MMM take a break now? It isn’t because of the ploy to serve you better. It is because there are no funds to serve the ones that are at the receiving end.

    Secondly, I figured out that most Ponzi schemes will fail in the future, not because of monetary gains but because of the economic value. In the case that MMM gives 30% for every deposit; what happens when the naira plummets to more than #500 to a dollar in the black market? Services and goods will go up hence, making nonsense of the bonuses of the subscribers of the Ponzi scheme. They would have to look for another massively paying scheme to survive forgetting the need for hard work and perseverance in order to attain success.

    The truth Nigerians fail to note is that there is no free money anywhere without severe hard work and sweat. After all, the owners of the scheme have warned that spare money be used, not real investments.

     

    • Joseph Olaoluwa,

    Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

  • Why this ‘great’ budget may fail

    Of Growth and recession: one small question first: who is it that christens our budgets? Must we go through that ritual of naming our budget every year? For instance, this outgoing year 2016, we named it “Budget of change.” But as we all have witnessed, not much changed for good. Instead we soon lapsed into the worst kind of recession ever witnessed in our history.

    And we wonder if it is the same fellow who christened the 2016 budget who has also announced so gleefully that this one would be “Budget of Recovery and growth?” Pray what are the bases of his optimism? If he failed so woefully in envisaging the current crushing economic condition that has roiled Nigerians in the last three quarters (and still rages without let), how can we now trust his judgment that the next one year will usher in recovery and growth?

    What this suggests is that ab initio, the requisite rigour has not gone into this budget yet again. Yes the figures look nice and the content reads well, but many basic assumptions are poorly thought out and terribly flawed. To assume that Nigeria and her economy will move from the current pits of recessional mire into recovery and growth in the next 12 months is preposterous.

    Further indications of a lack of rigour and hard-headed analysis of prevailing economic trends are inherent in the indices applied in the budget projections. First, when was the last time anyone bought dollars in the open market at N305, which this budget is predicated upon? The current budget was premised onN197/$, which was a near-fatal error. Funding the wide (indeed wild) margin between the artificial budget rate and the real thing was enough to torpedo the entire budget.

    We have made the same mistake again this time. Has anyone bought dollars in the open market for less than N400/$ in the last six months? In an economy that thrives almost 90 per cent on imports, the difference between N305 and N400 will damage any budget projections. Why don’t we keep it real, why not benchmark the budget at 405/$ and we brace ourselves and take the punch on the chin?

    Similarly, what is the basis for using crude oil production estimate of 2.2 m barrels per day? When was the last time Nigeria hit the two million barrel mark? With the uprising in the Niger Delta not abating soon and so many shut-ins already recorded, what magic are we going to apply to produce this quantity of crude oil in 2017? With our refineries still not amenable to repairs, massive importation of numerous petroleum products will continue in 2017. Power outage, which is at the lowest ebb now, is likely to persist since solution is tied to pacifying the militants of the Niger Delta.

    It is a tough new year ahead in which we think the government will continue to be bogged down by a shortage of foreign exchange. Importation of common staple food, such as rice, poultry products and vegetable oil, fish and sea food will keep pressure on lean forex.

    Then again, the management of the little resources available to the government is starkly inefficient. The treasury still leaks like a bad basket in spite of the much-vaunted fight against corruption. Civil servants, politicians and their collaborators have rewired the system and are back to their sordid business.

    If the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal, can be so accused of massive fraud by the Senate and at that level, what is going on down below can only be imagined. The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has failed to drastically re-jig the critical institutions to have them ‘fight’ corruption. Instead, Mr. Ibrahim Magu has been a one-man riot squad chasing corruption in all directions and achieving little. Where, for instance, is the crucial Auditor-General’s Office in this fight against corruption?

    There persists a leadership void; PMB appears weary if not worn out. There is no high mind with a bird’s eye view of the economy to lead it. Everyone seems to run in different directions and the Finance Minister, who came with no clouts, has been further hamstrung and circumscribed so much she may be no better than a cashier now. The cabinet is a largely uninspired bunch, weak and seemingly alienated from ‘number one’. It appears a narrow-minded cabal is currently running the affairs of the state.

    But as noted in the title above, this budget has the potential of being a great budget in ordinary times when all the elements are well mixed. For once, both recurrent and capital expenditures are almost 50-50. This must be the first time we have this parity in over a decade. It had always been in the region of 70-30 in favour of recurrent expenditure. This meant that we had been ‘eating’ our resources instead of building our economy.

    Finally, deciding a huge pay out to local contractors; paying up official debts owed power distribution companies and making it a state policy to patronise made-in-Nigeria goods are policies that will go a long way in boosting the economy if pursued to logical conclusions.

    It must be stated that much of the bottleneck lies with the president and the presidency. He must empower his cabinet to deliver and he must quickly axe the incapable hands. He must tweak his narrow mindset to be more accommodating and do everything necessary to reconcile the polity.

     

    Frazzled Fashola

    It was not the smartest move in the first place to make a combo of three large, crucial ministries including all the departments and agencies in their fold and put them all under one man. Yes, former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, is known to have a prodigious capacity for work, but making one portfolio of the ministries of Power, Works and Housing is perhaps the dumbest move of the PMB administration.

    As it stands, it is obvious that the former governor of example is frazzled and seemingly drained both emotionally and physically. It is not that he could not have given the three-in-one task a good shot, but the times are tough and the environment treacherous. Power situation in the country is a laugh now and Fashola the laughing stock. The roads are deteriorating faster than anyone can fix them even if you have all the funds… but there are no funds.

    Solution: the earlier this ungainly combo is unbundled, the better for everyone. At least one person close to me would stop teasing me daily and asking: my friend where on earth is your friend Power Mike, okunrin metala?

  • Nigeria: How countries fail and fall

    The country named Yugoslavia in south-eastern Europe broke up in 1990, after 72 years of existence. While it existed, it was similar to Nigeria of today in many ways. Like Nigeria, Yugoslavia consisted of many different nationalities – the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Albanians, etc. Britain had thoughtlessly pushed many nationalities together to create Nigeria in 1914; Britain and France also thoughtlessly pushed many nationalities together to create Yugoslavia in 1918.

    Like Nigerian leaders, Yugoslav leaders were never able to manage their inter-ethnic relationships amicably. Like Nigeria therefore, Yugoslavia was always unstable, always about to break into massive inter-ethnic conflicts, always seeming about to collapse. One of the nationalities, the Serbs, were always obsessed with the ambition to dominate the other nationalities and the whole country, and that ambition led them into actions that frequently threatened Yugoslavia with disruption.

    During the Second World War, 1939-45, Yugoslavia, like most of Europe, suffered under German Nazi conquest and domination. A resistance movement of Yugoslav people developed to liberate Yugoslavia, and adopted communism. When the war ended, this communist group, under a leader named Joseph Tito, became the rulers of Yugoslavia. Tito and his communists ruled until 1980.

    The communist rulers hated the inter-ethnic troubles and adopted many tough measures to keep them under control. Until Tito died in 1980, therefore, the world heard very little about the Yugoslav inter-ethnic troubles.

    But, in reality, the inter-ethnic divisions did not go away. It is almost impossible to make inter-ethnic divisions in a multi-nation country go away. Each nationality took thousands of years to develop as one people, with one culture, one national image, and one national pride. If it happens that some nationalities find themselves combined as one country, the only successful approach is that each of the nationalities should be carefully respected, and that each be given some autonomy to manage its own unique concerns in the country. The only sustainable structure for the country therefore has to be a federal structure, and the federating units have to be, as much as possible, based on the nationalities. We see this in the Union of India, in Switzerland, and even in Britain – the country that created Nigeria. Wherever attempts are made to force the nationalities to surrender their individuality and integrity in order to unify the country, disharmony, hostility, violence, and ultimate collapse are usually the outcome.

    After Tito’s death, most of Yugoslavia’s ethnic leaders did try to save the country. Throughout the 1980s, they held national conferences to find a settlement. But the Serbs (the largest of the nationalities, though not a majority in the country) foiled all the attempts. The Serbs would not accept any agreement that did not guarantee their dominance. The country slipped gradually on – until it finally exploded in 1990.

    The explosion started when two of the nationalities, the Croats and the Slovenes, announced secession and proclaimed themselves as separate sovereign countries. The Serbs mobilized a large army and tried to suppress them, but more nationalities then followed and announced secession. Yugoslavia descended into a horrendous conflagration.

    The lesson here is clear. When different nationalities, each living in its own homeland, different in culture and religion, are forced together into one country, and the leaders of the various nationalities cannot agree on how to manage their country equitably and harmoniously, dark forces of rivalry, envy, fear, ill-will, hatred and domination, are often generated in the hearts of the nationalities against one another. That is what happened in Yugoslavia. It has happened in many Black African countries too.

    Signs of these dark forces have been gradually growing in Nigeria, especially since Nigeria’s independence in 1960. Sure, many of us Nigerians do desire that Nigeria should become harmonious and peaceful, continue to exist, and become a prosperous and powerful country. But, there exists the perpetual fact that the political elites of Nigeria’s various peoples do not know, and have never known, what it takes to make a country like Nigeria work. One of the largest of the nationalities, the Hausa-Fulani, because they were seriously behind the rest in education at independence, harbour the belief that the only way they can be anything in Nigeria is to hold perpetually to federal power and dominate all the other peoples of Nigeria. In the context of efforts to sustain this ambition, Nigeria has descended steadily into decline, a culture of electoral fraud and violence, and of mind-boggling corruption. Of course, most of the elite of the various peoples of Nigeria, eager to benefit personally or collectively from this confusion, have delved down into it – with the result that Nigeria’s problems have become essentially insoluble.

    In the vortex of this horrible situation, many attendant evils have grown. For instance, it has become widely acceptable for citizens of various nationalities to vent very disrespectful attitudes at one another. Those who, taking advantage of Nigeria, migrate to other peoples’ homelands and choose to live there and take advantage of the opportunities there, now think that the proper kind of behaviour is to be viciously disrespectful of their hosts, and to indulge in aggressive and unruly claims and insults against their hosts.

    Anybody who makes a habit of reading what Nigerians write on the internet against each other’s nationalities would wonder why Nigerians are claiming to be citizens of the same country. The Nigerian filthy kind of mind now regularly produces persons who give much time, energy, and intellectual effort to writing whole treatises to fabricate falsehood about one or other nationality, and to assert that cultural achievements known to belong to that nationality do not, in fact, belong to that nationality – or, even, do not exist in human experience.

    But these kinds of behaviour are not limited to the lowest fringes of Nigerian society, they also feature even in very high levels of Nigerian society. Under the Abacha and Abdulsalami military dictatorships and the Obasanjo civilian dictatorship, there arose a spirited effort to persuade Nigerians that their various nationalities do not exist or should not exist, that such nationalities are essentially myths – myths that are dangerous to the identity and progress of Nigeria, and that deserve to be suppressed out of existence. In those years some persons working for, or under the auspices of, the Nigerian Federal Government favoured Nigeria with serious writings which informed Nigerians that it is backward and perverse to include any consideration for our nationalities in any plans for Nigeria’s future, and that the nationalities are no more than myths. Even today, some prominent citizens still think that it is their patriotic duty to Nigeria to remind Nigeria of these things.

    It is therefore not strange that these adversarial patterns of relationship are today producing some actions and trends that may soon push Nigeria to its demise. A few years past, the frightful news began to surface that persons belonging to one Nigerian nationality were from time to time bursting upon peaceful villages belonging to other nationalities in the Nigerian Middle Belt, wantonly killing the villagers, destroying the villages, and occupying the land. Continued year in year out, this development has now assumed the stature of genocide.

    And this terrible outrage has now spread beyond the Middle Belt to the Southern regions of Nigeria. In most parts of Nigeria today, the outcry is up about armed and murderous Fulani cattle herders who lead their cattle to destroy farms, and who then attack farmers who protest, kill farmers and their families, and wipe out whole villages.

    By and by, Nigerians are getting to know more and more about these killers. We now know that some of them are Nigerians and many others are non-Nigerians. Of the non-Nigerians, Nigeria is now hearing from some official sources that these are in fact not cattle herders but militiamen from Libya – the ones that Ghadafi trained as his private army who, after the fall of Ghadafi, fled southwards to West Africa. The question is now agitating Nigeria as to how these trained terrorists have invaded Nigeria without the Federal Government doing anything to stop them – and even without the government alerting Nigerians that Nigeria has been invaded. Many are asking, is it possible that some influential Nigerians, intent on conquering and subduing the rest of Nigeria, have hired Libyan militiamen and added them to the Fulanis who have been massacring various peoples of Nigeria?

    Some days ago, President Buhari lamented that many Nigerians want Nigeria to be dissolved. Happily, he added that he would do everything to keep Nigeria together. But, in the light of the mutually hostile trends in Nigeria, is it surprising that more and more Nigerians peoples would wish to cease being part of Nigeria? This is an example of how countries fail and fall apart.

  • Buhari to workers: we won’t fail

    Buhari to workers: we won’t fail

    •Labour seeks panel on N56,000 minimum wage

    President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday that his administration will have no reason to give excuses for failure to deliver on its electoral promises, as it is determined to tackle all socio-economic ills troubling the nation.

    The President said his administration was prepared to evolve solutions to emerging threats to the nation’s well-being and the realisation of sustainable development as well as growth anchored on equity and social Justice.

    In an address read on his behalf by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, at the 2016 May Day celebration at the Eagle Square, Abuja, President Buhari said the government’s efforts at addressing the ills of the society will not be possible without the express cooperation of workers as social partners in the Nigerian project.

    According to him, the development of any society must be sustainable for it to benefit society. It is the responsibility of those at the citadel of power to align themselves with the working class who make development possible by generating and sustaining the momentum of positive change, he said.

    Assuring Nigerians that his administration shall effect a positive change in the lives of average citizens, Buhari said the government will ensure that the downtrodden are elevated  and most importantly fight corruption, which has enriched a few to the detriment of the majority of Nigerians who groan under the weight of poverty and all the superstructural and infrastructural maladies resulting from corruption.

    He said: “This year’s celebration is significant in a number of ways. First, it marks the first May Day celebration under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, which brought an end to the 16 years of national squander, bad governance, unbridled corruption and economic woes by the previous administration.

    “Second, it is coming at a time when the whole world is experiencing some form of economic crisis or the other. For us whose main foreign exchange comes from oil, the global decline in the price of oil has further exacerbated our economic crisis.

    “The resultant effects of this are noticeable in government dwindling resources, reduction in operational capacities of most companies, especially in the oil and gas sector, threat of workforce reduction by multinationals and the escalation of volatility, among others. These developments, no doubt, have socio-economic implications for the economy as well as the working class.

    “I will make no excuses as this APC government is determined to tackle headlong, all socio-economic ills that have troubled our nation as we shall evolve solutions to emerging threats to our well-being and the realisation of sustainable development as well as growth anchored on equity and social Justice.

    “Development must be sustainable for it to benefit society in general. It is, therefore, the responsibility of those in the citadel of power to align themselves with the working class who make development possible by generating and sustaining the momentum of positive change.

    “That is why the present administration has sought and will continue to seek the hand of labour so that together, we can attain the enviable height of progress in our believed country.

    “It is for this reason that I aspired to be President, which the Nigerian people have now made a reality. This administration shall effect positive change on the lives of average Nigerians, to ensure that the downtrodden are elevated  and, most importantly, to fight the intense pain of corruption which has enriched the cry few to the detriment of the majority of Nigerians who groan under the overwhelming weight of poverty and all the superstructural and infrastructural maladies resulting from corruption.

    “In this fight against corruption, I need you all to be cry willing partners. Fighting corruption in the public service in particular requires the workers to play major roles by cooperating with the government.

    “I have listened to the speeches made by both the President of TUC and NLC and the challenges facing Nigeria has been highlighted and I assure you that they shall be accorded due consideration.

    “It is worthy to note that solution to some of these issues and requests are already being considered and would be made public in the near future.  The times may be tough, but we Nigerians are by nature resilient and strong and it is that nature that propels us to overcome adversities and still thrive as a nation.

    “There will always be challenges in the life of a man and what defines greatness is the way and manner such challenges are tackled and overcome. I assure you  that this administration is able and willing to constructively handle the challenges.

    “In doing so, I request your cooperation and understanding as partners in progress. The need to ensure a conducive atmosphere devoid of incessant industrial actions becomes paramount to ensure no loss of man hour and accordingly promote high productivity which is prerequisite for sustainable development based on increased investment, creation of jobs as well as protection of jobs.”

    Dr. Ngige said in view of the currrent economic realities in the country, there was the need for a paradigm shift in the way we have hitherto conducted our businesses by moving from adversarial to developmental trade unionism.

    Represented by the Director, Trade Union Services and International Relations, Mrs Chinedu Dike, the Minister said the paradigm shift guarantees the continued expansion of our socio-economic frontiers, thus making them drivers of job creation, infrastructural development, increased national productivity and improved standard of living. In addition, it promotes industrial harmony, social dialogue, work place governance and democracy.

  • A nation doomed to fail?

    Sir: This nation seems doomed. Diverse measure have been taken, yet the more we make moves, the more we find ourselves going backwards, edging closer to the precipice.I was of the opinion that the basic problem of Nigeria was leadership. Once we could get an incorruptible leader, I thought all our problems would vanish. This was the reasoning behind my support of President Muhammadu Buhari. A former head of state, who had a sterling record with a passionate hatred for corruption and indiscipline, Buhari was simply the man for the job. I concluded that no other person could handle the conundrum that is Nigeria. And I still hold that opinion. For if Goodluck Jonathan had continued the merry-go-round that he called an administration, this nation might be nowhere on the map right now. But in the light of the roadblocks facing Nigeria in spite of the presence of Buhari on the scene, I have gone back to do a re-examination and have come to the realization of certain truths.

    I have come to the conclusion that Nigeria’s problems are the derivatives of the actions of followers as much as those of leaders. Bringing in a good leadership is simply scratching the surface. For there to be lasting change, the people must change. This is the fundamental solution. With our cancer-ridden souls and consciences seared with a hot iron, we raised banners campaigning for change when we were the ones in dire need of a surgical operation of the heart. No wonder we remain an impoverished nation.

    What can be said of Nigerians who point fingers at corrupt political leaders, yet solicit for bribe and change the figures in their small offices? What of those who are willing to dance before politicians, no matter how corrupt, and march for them, once they can get their reward?

    What about youths of today who are only waiting for their turn to “chop” the national cake? There are even those who carry petroleum products to neighbouring countries to make cheap gain when their fellow countrymen are languishing in fuel queues. Some are going about destroying power installations and gas pipelines simply because their leader in the creeks has been invited to answer charges of corruption.

    It goes down to our basic character traits and value system; the practice of littering the streets with empty sachet bags, taking advantage of the vulnerable, eagerness to jump the queues, willingness to twist the rules in our favour, and the tendency to turn a blind eye when we are not directly affected or when it counts to our advantage.

    I have come to realize that followership and not leadership is our fundamental problem; for the latter is a function of what obtains in the former. We need to rebuild our value system. This is a complete recalibration of the way we perceive and view the nation. I confess that it is a herculean task, but it must be done if we are to progress. It would require the effort of civil societies, pressure groups, law enforcement agencies, the private sector, and every single Nigerian. But government at all levels and tiers need to champion this cause. In particular, the Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Orientation Agency should make this their topmost priority. The President himself should make this his emblem, for no matter how much change we bring to security, corruption and the economy, change will remain chaos until the people change. Otherwise, we will remain a nation doomed to fail.

     

    • Vincent Adakole Obia,

    Lagos.

  • Making Nigeria succeed or fail is our choice

    Since the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential elections, I have taken time now and then to brush up on my readings on development. I have focused, not so much on the development stories of particular countries, but mostly on the broad issues of development – why some countries succeed and others fail.

    I have read, re-read, and looked up the reviews and commentaries on the following books, and I urge leading citizens of my country to find one or two of them and, at least, browse through them: Guns, Germs & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond; Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed also by Jared Diamond; Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity & Povertyby Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson; The Elusive Quest for Growth by William Easterly; and The Wealth & Poverty of Nations by David Landes.

    Each of these distinguished authors offers own profound thoughts on the question that is most important to Nigeria today – the question of whether we Nigerians will make our Nigeria a success or a failure. Altogether, the summary of the studies and thoughts of these authors is that we Nigerians are absolutely able to make our country succeed and to make it fail. To put it in another way, we have all we need to make Nigeria succeed brilliantly; and we have all we need to make Nigeria fail disastrously. The choice is entirely in our hands, and we are free to choose either way.

    Needless to say, various factors beyond human power are important  – factors such as geographical advantages or hardships, ethnicity, ethnic culture and history, availability or non-availability of natural resources, a country’s ethnic/cultural homogeneity or diversity, religious homogeneity or diversity, etc. But, in the final analysis, the ultimate determinant of whether a country shall succeed or fail is the choice made by its people, the institutions they set up, and the integrity or non-integrity of their operation of those institutions.

    For instance, being located in a desert makes development difficult for a country – but it does not make development impossible. The small state of Israel is a desert country, but its people have made it one of the most productive small countries in the world, agriculturally and technologically. Having two or more different nationalities (each with its own homeland) in a county makes stability and development difficult, but it does not make them impossible. Switzerland in Europe has no less than four nationalities, but it is one of the most stable, and one of the richest, countries in the world. Being richly endowed with natural resources is good for development, but it does not guarantee development. Nigeria is one of the richest countries in natural resources in the world, but it has been relentlessly declining, with the masses of its people becoming poorer, since independence. The key – the secret – in each case is the choices made by the people and their loyalty to those choices, and the institutions they give their country.

    In short, Nigeria has been declining since independence and becoming less and less stable, and over 70% of our people live in absolute poverty today, because we have been making the wrong choices, setting up the wrong institutions, and denying integrity to our institutions. The biggest of the wrong institutions is our federal government. Essentially, because we have hundreds of ethnic nationalities, our best choice was a federal structure. However, we ought to have borne in mind the danger of having too many states and too many state governments – and thereby putting too heavy a load of administrative costs on our country. (India with a population of about one billion at independence, carefully carved itself into 28 states, and gave most of the burdens of development to the state governments).

    Unfortunately, it suited the purposes of some our most influential policy makers to carve our country into smaller and smaller states, so as to transfer more powers, resources and assets to the federal centre. That paved the way for horrific inefficiency and corruption at the centre, turned our states into impotent entities forever at the mercy of the centre, destroyed most development energy at the state and local government levels, and plunged our country into deeper and deeper poverty. The old regional responsibilities and assets (like universities, export crop management, some crucial highways, control over schools and school curriculum, etc) that were transferred to the centre mostly floundered and perished.

    Those who controlled the centre arrogated to themselves the prerogative of deciding who would rule the states, and election rigging by federal agencies (INEC, police, secret service, and even the military) became part of our political culture. Similar relationships developed between each state and its local governments. Federal agencies, as well as the departments of the federal government, eminent institutions like the Central Bank, the state and local governments, all lost integrity. Leadership whims, caprices, and impunity, ruled over our country. We ceased having a country worth the name. Most observers began to say that our country was a failed state that somehow kept standing – a failed state that would soon crumble.

    Then a new day appeared to dawn in Nigeria. With the election of the new government, optimism and hope rose over our country. Understandably, most of our people are eager to see Buhari crush corruption. Buhari’s former stint at ruling our country, and his general reputation and body language, fuel the anti-corruption expectations. But, hopefully, Buhari understands that to crush corruption fully and abidingly in this country, we must reorder and revamp the institutional roots and fabrics of our country. The wrongly chosen, distorted and corrupted institutions are the roots of our country’s problem. Redraw, restructure, and straighten up, our institutions and, not only will corruption perish, our whole country will begin to rise again.

    But, of course, our country can continue to decline – and can decline until it crumbles. Whether our country revives and survives, or whether it continues to decline until it perishes – both depend on the choices we make in the next few years. That means that Buhari can lead us in ways that continue the decline one way or another. For instance, he could choose to revive and reinforce the ambition of northern domination of Nigeria, reinforce the accumulation of power, assets and  resource control in the hands of his federal government, and make the states more in number and weaker in stature – he couldeven adopt the insane proposal that the number of states be increased to 54! He could, out of loyalty to a section of the country and to a political party, sustain the culture of election manipulations. He could focus solely on the prosecution of proven treasury looters and ignore the inherent loopholes in the structures of governance which make such blatant theft possible. He could do all or any of these and more – and pave the ultimate path to Nigeria’s disappearance. But he could guide and lead us in totally different ways, and give our country a new lease of life.

    To build or kill Nigeria is our choice.

  • Study: Private school teachers fail own subjects

    Study: Private school teachers fail own subjects

    A significant number of teachers in private secondary schools in Ogun State have failed their subjects in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

    The teachers were examined in the subjects they teach using the 2014 past examination papers.  Many of them scored below 28 per cent.

    An academician, Chief Nelson Ayodele, said this at the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) Day in Abeokuta, the state capital, yesterday.

    Ayodele, of the Standard Mandate, Lagos, said the shocking discovery followed an “appraisal of teachers in private secondary schools in Ogun State”.

    He said the initiative was to should how inefficient and ill-qualified teachers employed by some proprietors contribute to the steady failure of pupils in external examinations.

    Ayodele, who spoke on “Persistent failure in external examinations-The rescue mission of private education providers and its implication for nation building”, advised school owners to employ competent teachers.

    He noted that competent teachers were expensive but ill-qualified teachers were more costly as the harm they inflict on pupils might prove difficult or impossible to cure at the end.

    Ayodele identified poor reading culture, negligence by parents, lack of standard library, among others, as factors responsible for the persistent mass failure in external examinations.

     

     

  • ‘Why NGOs fail’

    ‘Why NGOs fail’

    For Michael Oluwabukola Nelson, advocacy goes beyond an active verbal support for a cause. The executive director of the Dreams Project for Africa, formerly known as the African Democratic Dreams project, is set to promote social equality among all people and encourage young people to embrace and participate in nation-building programmes and democratic avenues for change.

    Speaking with our reporter, in an online forum, Nelson said many NGOs in the country miss the mark because they fail to engage the common people.

    “This is where most other NGO’s (or advocacy group) fail. When you tackle issues without bringing those who would benefit from the issues into an understanding of the problem they are facing, you are likely to fail.

    “So Dream Project for Africa ensures first that those whom the programmes are designed for are fully aware of the essence of the programme”, Nelson said.

    On Dream  Project for Africa focus, Nelson said the NGO uses a unique  approach  which starts by creating awareness about the issue of focus and engaging  the common people who daily experience the social burden brought upon them by corruption and neglect in government.

    Nelson, who encouraged interested youths to register on the ‘social benefit’ page of the foundation’s website, bemoan the fact  corruption in Nigeria’s institution of higher learning, saying it  hinders collaboration with schools in the scheme of awarding scholarship to indigent student which the organisation is set to pursue.

    However, he said the only areas the NGO  would partner with colleges is to verify student status and GPA as this would be some of the yardsticks used in measuring eligibility for the scholarship.

    On the research the organisation has been involved with, the University of Texas trained strategic analyst said, the research conducted  on the Nigerian education system gives strong indication that  government is not serious about bringing the  educational standards to meet up with that of developed countries.

    “In a recent video I mentioned that the Ministry of education has had 8 Ministers in six years. The spate of incessant strikes without payment of damages to students whose time is wasted is appalling”, he lamented.

    He added that the organisation is embarking on two projects namely “How Effective is Buhari Campaign”, the essence of which is to keep a close watch on government activities that negate the expectations of the people.

    “We offer a three-month measurement of the effectiveness of all levels of government. And our facts are based on submissions of common people. This helps us achieve validity in the eyes of our publics,” Nelson said.

    The other project is “End of Sexual Harassment and Bribery in Nigerian Colleges” campaign, which comprise online meeting and events, which helps participants to break geographical barriers.

    On the sustainability plan for the Dream  project for Africa, Nelson disclosed that over  N2.5 million has been invested  already. “The money invested so far has been privately raised from personal savings of less than 5 individuals who believe in a great Nigeria, but we have begun to reach out for public support from organizations and good hearted Nigerians. We are seeking cash donations from individuals both locally and in the international community to help sustain our projects”.

    He however, added that in its drive to raise funds, the organization is careful not to be lured into groups or interests that might want to taint their goals.  “We have launched a “Go Fund Me” campaign for our “End of Sexual Harassment and Bribery” project and we’re getting some responses; however, we are nowhere close to the $100,000 target for the project. We still need a lot of support.

    We understand that it takes a great deal of trust for people to donate to such causes such as as this especially at a time when there are lots of organizations defrauding good-hearted people by luring them to insincere projects. Dream Project for Africa however believes in the goodness of humanity and the assurance that God Almighty who has put such noble cause in the hearts of a group of men and women to restore the glory of Nigeria would as well have provisions in place to sustain the project,”,”Nelson said.

  • Six banks fail CBN’s stress test

    Six banks fail CBN’s stress test

    Stress tests conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on 23 Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have shown that ‘six small banks’ Capital Adequacy Ratios (CARs) fell below regulatory threshold, its Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Dr. O.J. Nnanna has said.

    The report, contained in the CBN Financial Stability Report released yesterday, said that for systemic and peer assessments, banks were classified based on asset size into large banks, which are those with assets greater than N1 trillion; medium banks, those with assets greater than or equal to N500 billion but less than N1 trillion and small banks, those with assets less than N500 billion.

    He said the unnamed small banks showed significant vulnerability to the shock of a 200 per cent Non-Performing Loans (NPL) increase as their CAR fell to 8.85 per cent.

    The Deputy Governor said that under this scenario, 16 banks maintained CARs above 10 per cent, while five lenders had CARs less than or equally to 10 per cent but greater than or equal to five per cent.

    Furthermore, one bank had CAR less than five per cent but greater than or equal to zero per cent and one other bank had CAR less than zero per cent.

    CBN pegs CAR, which is the ratio of a bank’s capital to its risk, at 10 per cent for banks operating only in Nigeria and 15 per cent for banks with foreign subsidiaries.

    He said the stress test, conducted in December last year, captured the idiosyncratic nature of individual bank’s balance sheet and macro-prudential concerns, using both the bottom-up and top-down approaches specified in the modified International Monetary Fund (IMF’s) stress test framework.

    Nnanna said assessments of the resilience of the sector were done by applying a series of exceptional but plausible shocks and scenarios, which effectively translated single factor and multifactor shocks into banks’ balance sheets.

    He said credit, liquidity, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and foreign exchange trading risks were some of the risk channels used in the exercise.

    “The resilience of the banking system was assessed against a defined benchmark of 10 per cent CAR, 30 per cent liquidity ratio, and five per cent NPL. They were also assessed on the basis of return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE),” he said.

    He said stress tests also showed that banks were, however, more sensitive to credit concentration and exchange rate risks than other risks.

    He said the report highlighted the challenges to financial system stability in general, as well as, the implications for the banking sector soundness in particular.

    “In ensuring financial system stability, the CBN employed not only macro-prudential policy instruments, but also adopted risk based supervision approach to strengthen banking sector resilience. The report focused on the resilience of the financial system to withstand unanticipated adverse shocks, while ensuring the continued smooth functioning of the system’s financial intermediation processes. A stable financial system should aim at facilitating sustainable economic growth and development necessary for improved standard of living and enhanced economic conditions. The critical role of a stable and sound financial system in the growth and development of the nation, can therefore, not be over emphasized,” he said.