The Nation Newspaper

Tag: forces

  • Old and new forces in contention

    Old and new forces in contention

    As a legal layman and landlubber, the columnist hardly dabbles into controversies involving the timeless intricacies of the law. The law is a moody arbiter that can confer legality on illegality, and illegitimate the legitimate depending where the wind of power and class supremacy is blowing.

    As a columnist for Newswatch in the roaring eighties, yours sincerely got a severe reprimand from a serving Supreme Court justice who wondered aloud how an ordinary teacher of Literature could teach his lordships how to dispense justice. Now we have come full circle.

      If his lordship from Edo State is still alive, he would have known that something nasty has finally hit the ceiling fan. There are times when one cannot resist plotting a nation’s path away from perdition, particularly if the path is entangled in urgent calls for a constitutional review of the nation’s organizing principle.

     Those who are adept at reading the national mood swing and the ever shifting tempi of political engagement ought to have noticed this development. After the epic battle of legitimation and delegitimation following the February 25th presidential election finally ran its course, attention is gradually shifting to another theatre of the political arena.

       It is the renewed battle for constitutional order which has been a recurring decimal in the country’s political evolution, particularly in the post-independence epoch. In the past fortnight, the nation has witnessed some urgent calls from some quarters for a new constitution to replace the extant one which is no longer fit for purpose.

      When stripped of jargon, many of these calls for a total constitutional makeover of the country are also a subtle ploy to delegitimize or even de-constitutionalize the current administration by capitalizing on its unforced administrative errors and political mistakes.

    But to do that, we will have to delegitimize the entire Fourth Republic on which the political structure stands. There are no two ways about it and this is why a lot depends on the subsisting hegemonic coalition at the centre and the forces in contention.

    In a fundamentally paradoxical manner, the coalition cobbled together by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu has driven a deep wedge into the heart of the old amalgam of progressives, equal opportunity freedom fighters and activists alike. It is very difficult to see how they can regroup soon enough to trouble the new administration, unless new forces are spawned by galloping social contradictions ignited by hubris and overconfidence. 

       Constitutional amendment always depends on the stage the political and historical dialectic has reached and the subsisting balance of forces. In advanced democracies the sure fire strategy of the ruling class is to wait and see until there is a clear, unmanageable cleavage in the society: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix.

        It is to be noted that all the major constitutional reforms undertaken in the US and by leading western democracies in the last one century have been as a direct response to pressure from below by furious mobs and affronted patron saints of the political underground. When it comes to constitutional reforms that benefit the whole of the society, the streets have always seized the state by the scruff of the neck, depending on the cataclysmic political momentum they can muster.

      In Britain, the long drawn campaign to enthrone and enshrine adult suffragette and the right of women to vote in the constitution as well as the murderous Sinn Fein insurrection to compel devolution of power in unitary Great Britain come to mind.

       So do the age-long civil rights movements in America which culminated in major constitutional changes as well as the disruptive students’ upheavals in the late sixties in France which upended the authoritarian rule of General Charles de Gaulle. In the original American constitution, the Blacks were regarded as unmentionable sub-species of humanity that could not vote or be voted for. The avatars of the civil rights movement and their heroic foot soldiers changed all that. 

    As experience has shown in Nigeria and most other African countries, no government will willingly divest itself of its sovereignty or surrender to the dictates of a constitution-making body unless such a government has been so badly weakened by a series of delegitimizing events that it was only in government and no more in power.

    Read Also: Afenifere disowns Adebanjo over Supreme Court judgment on Tinubu’s victory

     Such was the case with General Mathieu Kerekou in Benin Republic in 1989 when a coalition of civil society organizations brought the government to heel by declaring its sovereignty. Having lost the support of the majority of his military colleagues, the man famously feared for his occasional recourse to voodoo calisthenics to overwhelm his enemies could only watch as power slipped away.

    Four years later in Nigeria in 1993 as the rage and revulsion occasioned by the annulment of the freest and fairest election in the history of the nation developed into an apocalyptic storm, General Ibrahim Babangida would proclaim that he was not only in government but in power.

      Yet despite the bluff and bluster, it was obvious to the discerning observer that the basis of that power—his military constituency—was having ideas different from supporting a discredited dictator. It was just a matter of weeks before it showed its true hands.

       What did it for Babangida was not the extant political parties created by him and famously dismissed by Chief Tony Enahoro as government parastatals but a covert alliance between regnant and ascendant civil and political society forces and a disaffected faction of the military. The two state parties, despite the utter nonsense of one being a little to the left and the other being a little to the right, retained fidelity to their founder and patron during the nation’s darkest hour.

       When the chips finally came down and with the military state as homogenizing leviathan, the two parties showed their true colour: while the one to the right went completely rogue by insisting that annulment meant that no election ever took place, the one to the left sold its victory to military conspirators and endorsed an interim national government.

    Whatever their internal differences and differentiations into competing ideologies, state parties will always be complicit with the state and its fundamentally conserving orientation, unless there is a major disruption from outside oppositional forces which alters the nature and composition of the state and which makes going forward impossible without a major constitutional reconfiguration.

    It is with this background in mind that we must now come to the Fourth Republic and the current regime. Despite its manifest imperfections and having weathered the last storm, what we are witnessing is the rise and further rise of the Fourth Republic.

    What its various interlocutors have failed to grasp is the fact that a subsisting regime is a reflection of the various forces in contention, including their strengths and limitations. Having failed this elementary test of perception, they often compound it with further errors of logic and political praxis.

      Constitution making anywhere in the world is hardly a plebeian affair or a festival of the hoi polloi. It is essentially an elitist document, which, depending on the nature of the regime and the balance of forces in contention, either percolates down to incorporate populist yearnings or, like the American Constitution, is a bottom-up process in which delegates must reflect views from below.

       But in order to show who is really in charge and to counterbalance any concession to unwarranted populism, the framers of the American constitution put in place an authoritarian and patrician senate as well as an electoral college which actually elects the president. It has been described as a form of democratic eugenics.

    The grouse of numerous critics of the constitution of the Fourth Republic is the fact that it is an unapologetically authoritarian document without any concession to populist niceties. It is a reflection of its tumultuous circumstances.

      Harried and harassed out of its wits, befuddled and completely demoralized but still holding the power aces, the military establishment was in no position to hold or initiate any country-wide consultation. All it wanted to do was to find the leverage to hand over power to its chosen successors and let them get on with the business of cleaning the mess they were leaving behind.

       Unfortunately, the opposition itself was not in a better shape to mount any challenge at this point. Riven by internal dissensions about when enough was enough, crippled by struggle fatigue and the lack of a tradition of long-distance campaign against state violations of the right of the citizens and decimated by competing personal ambitions, they were ready to put up with anything from the military as long as the handover date remained sacrosanct.

    The constitution was an accurate reflection of the forces at play and the subsisting balance of power. Let people not deceive themselves. Just as they have done with the annulment five years earlier, the military simply appropriated the people in a final slap of authoritarian contempt.

    To be sure, it was an act of military overreach and overstretch to have prefaced the constitution with the gratuitous “we, the people” preamble. But this is nothing but an overstatement of insecurity.

     In any case, there were those who argued that since the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions were sired from the same legal and political loins by very much the same set of actors minus one or two who had succumbed to biological coup d’etat, they simply assumed that the acquiescent people of 1979 were still very much there, Zango Kataf, Major Orkar, June 12, Abiola and Abacha notwithstanding.

      Once installed in power, Obasanjo treated the pro-democracy movement with breezy contempt, even when he was beholden to many of their leading patriarchs while in jail. Even though he was very much aware of the stirring role of many of the gallant warriors of democracy in seeing off the military, he knew that the source and provenance of his second ascendancy lay solidly with his old constituency as well as new patrons in the reconstituted oligarchy.

        The Owu-born general was also politically smart enough to engineer a fracture in the movement from which it is yet to recover. Obasanjo pooh-poohed the possibility of two sovereigns in a single state. This was why despite the prodigious resources and energies invested, the PRONACO conference came to naught. It was only when the wily general attempted to overreach himself through tenure elongation that the same forces that put him there organized his comeuppance.

      There are interesting convergences between the current conjuncture and the Obasanjo post-military dispensation. The current administration is not a product of prodemocracy agitations. The prodemocracy rump and the various self-determination groups cannot be said to be behind Tinubu’s victory at the polls. It is not advisable for them to begin issuing orders about when and how to restructure the country.

    The current administration is acutely aware of the spirited attempts by many of these groups to deny it of victory and to strip it of legitimacy after the election. It is not everybody who can act the unaffected statesman after warding off such hostile onslaughts. As we have seen with the events of the past twenty four years, a desirable goal when wrongly pursued will meet with an undesirable end.

      Let us not put the cart before the horse once again. Constant reconfiguration is a precondition for national survival. But in circumstances of persistent elite rancour and mutual hostility, it can take forever until something gives. We have been perilously close to that tipping point.

       Let the government temper its sullen resentment with some patriotic sufferance. In order to create the atmosphere of substantive elite compliance needed for a creative reconfiguration of the country, it is now imperative to have a post-election reconciliation and reapproachment.

     Unfortunately, rather than create the condition for elite amity needed to push the country forward, we are witnessing attempts to push the nation to the brink of violence. With Labour stiffening in its adversarial posturing and the movement of Michael Imoudu and Hassan Sunmonu mutating into a primordial phalanx led by ethnic vagrants and barely literate thugs, the stage is being gradually set for an explosive confrontation.

    It is going to be quite a thrilla in Abuja.  

  • Britain pledges support for Afghan security forces

    Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson promised Britain’s continued support for Afghan security forces a statement from the National Security Adviser’s Office said on Friday.

    Williamson made the promise in a meeting with Afghanistan’s newly-appointed national security adviser,  Hamdullah Mohib in the capital Kabul, according to the statement.

    The British minister was quoted by the statement as saying that until his country can ensure security on the streets of Afghanistan, people won’t feel security back in Britain.

    Read Also: Ahead of TIFF: Afghanistan-set drama wins $100,000

    Mohib said Afghanistan would seize any opportunity to improve security in the country, so that future generations could be spared the current bloodshed, as the country battles a Taliban insurgency and the rising threat of Islamic State terrorism.

    Britain has agreed to send an additional 440 soldiers to Afghanistan to train security forces.

    Half are set to arrive in August and the remainder in February 2019, according to British media reports.

    With the additional troops, the overall number of Britain’s boots on the ground in Afghanistan will rise to around 1,100.

  • Alleged missing NIA $202m: Drama as Kingibe forces House panel into closed-door meeting

    Alleged missing NIA $202m: Drama as Kingibe forces House panel into closed-door meeting

    Chairman of the Presidential panel on National Intelligence Agency (NIA) restructuring Ambassador Babagana Kingibe yesterday refused open interaction of his panel members with the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Public Safety.

    The presidential committee was summoned by the Sani Aminu-led House committee over the status of $202 million intervention fund allegedly missing from the agency’s coffers.

    The committee is also investigating the propriety or otherwise of the appointment of Ahmed Abubakar as new NIA Director-General (DG).

    At the beginning of the meeting, Kingibe, who arrived at the meeting with members of his group, was shocked on discovering the presence of reporters.

    He was offered a seat by an official of the committee, which he refused, querying whether the committee wants to make a public show of the meeting with the media presence.

    “No, I won’t sit down. What is all this? Do you people want to make a show of us?” he queried

    When the committee’s aide advised him to go and see the committee chairman, he refused, saying the chairman should be informed that the panel members were around.

    On introduction, Kingibe said the cumulative working experience of the members of his panel could not have been less than 175 years, adding that having made an oath of secrecy in and out of the office, all the past NIA DGs and the incumbent would rather prefer to discuss with the committee behind closed-doors.

    Six members of the panel attended the hearing.

    At this point, the House committee chairman asked the reporters to vacate the room for an executive session.

    Kingibe and other members of the panel, however, hurriedly left the venue after about two hours of discussion.

    On his part, the House committee chairman told reporters that there was progress, refusing to go into specific details.

    “The investigation is still ongoing; we are making progress,” he added.

    The committee had raised the alarm over a missing $202 million belonging to the agency, which they vowed to recover.

    Part of the ways to track the funds, according to the committee, was to interrogate persons or groups, past and present DGs of the agency, as well as the Kingibe’s panel, which had a presidential mandate to restructure the agency.

    Aminu had told reporters after a meeting 10 days ago that “first, there was the issue of $43 million found in an Ikoyi, Lagos apartment said to belong to the NIA. Then, there was the $44 million allegedly missing from the NIA’s coffers, which the House  of Representatives mandated its committee on Public Safety and National Security to investigate.

    “Even the National Security Adviser said it was when our committee began its investigation they got the information that the NIA got $289 million.

    “You know, we had a meeting with the NSA today (Friday). We later discovered since last week in our meeting with the past Acting NIA DG that the $44 million is not missing.

    “If you remember, there was this $44 million, which is among the $289 million approved to the then Director-General; that is Ayo Oke. Just April last year, they discovered $43 million in Ikoyi. He tried to say that the $44 million and $43 million are part of the $289 million.

    “But for us, we are still working to see where the remaining $202 million was placed. We only know about the $43 million now, the one discovered in Ikoyi and the $44 million in their vault. In the course of our investigation, we’ll come up with where the $289 miliion really is, not the $43 million and not the $44 million but the entire amount.

    “For me, the money ($202million) is still missing.”

  • Forces against Nigeria’s rice revolution

    Forces against Nigeria’s rice revolution

    Despite consuming about seven million metric tons (MT) of rice yearly, Nigeria produces a meagre 2.7 million MT. This leaves a supply gap of 4.3 million MT to imports, which cost the Federal Government an estimated N360 billion yearly. This figure is expected to rise as consumption is projected to hit 35 million MT due to population growth. Sadly, Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency in rice production has continued to be hampered by issues around quality, price instability, and harvesting/processing challenges, among others. DANIEL ESSIET examines the forces against Nigeria’s rice revolution.

    With 45, 000 hectares of rice farm, the Chief Executive, T.W. Heritage, owners of Kereksuk Rice Farm in Nassarawa State, Mr. Rotimi Williams, is contributing his quota to the Federal Government’s target of achieving self-sufficiency in rice production and consumption. His farm produces about 8, 000 metric tonnes of rice paddy yearly, which he sells to major milling firms across the country.
    However, Williams’ investment and his inroad into the rice sector are still considered a drop in the ocean in Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency in rice. This is not his making, but the barrage of unresolved issues and challenges facing him and indeed, other local investors in the rice value chain, which has continued to hamper the nation’s target of self-sufficiency in rice.
    Nigeria consumes about seven million Metric Tons (MT) of rice yearly. The country produces 2.7 million MT, leaving a supply gap of 4.3 million MT to imports, which cost the Federal Government an estimated N360 billion yearly.
    Experts fear that this figure will rise as rice consumption is projected to hit 35 million MT by 2050, due to population growth. This was why the government came up with the target to achieve self-sufficiency in rice by 2017. However, five months into the target year to end rice importation, there are no visible signs on the horizon that this will be achieved.
    Williams and other operators in the rice sub-sector, who spoke with The Nation said issues around quality, price instability, and harvesting/processing challenges, among others, remain the clog in the wheel. They argued that until and unless these issues are resolved Nigeria’s dream of achieving the feat will not be realised.
    Williams put the problems in perspective when he lamented that local rice production remained uncompetitive because of rising cost of input. He said for instance, rice farmers and investors are bugged down by rising cost of inputs such as seed, irrigation water, fertilisers and other assorted chemicals and pesticides, among others.
    According to him, rice farmers are contending with high electricity bills and other inputs, which have pushed up cost of domestic rice prices. He said prices of domestic rice have doubled in the last two years despite the ban on rice importation. At present, the price of local rice is higher than imported one. A module of 1.4 Kilogramme (kg) of local rice cost N300, while imported one is N200.
    “The quality of our seeds is a contributory factor in the high cost of our locally produced rice. The resulting yield from these seeds means that the cost at which millers purchase paddy is high, with varying quality and subsequently, the rice recovered after milling is below the global average of 62 per cent,” Williams explained.
    Aside poor quality of seed and disincentive to local rice farmers, there are others like land preparation process and inputs for rice farming, which are lot more demanding than most crops. He pointed out that majority of the rice paddy available for sale to millers are grown by subsistence farmers.
    “It is obvious that yields will be a lot less in comparison to the likes of Thailand and India that use full mechanisation process for land preparation. They also use high quality inputs such as fertiliser and high-yielding seeds. We are still playing catch-up with leading rice-producing countries, which makes our produce less competitive,” Williams lamented.
    Indeed, experts in the rice sub-sector have said Nigeria lagged far behind other rice-producing countries in seed development and per acre yield. They also believed that lack of strict quality control was a major reason why Nigerian rice did not get much positive response in the market as imported ones.
    Funding, according to them, constitute an issue. It was learnt that most banks in the country would rather fund acquisition of machinery than rice production. Coupled with the fact that cost of funds are in double digits, most farmers have no access to such funds and those that have struggled to pay up and this, by extension, reflected in the price of rice.
    “Given the high cost associated with the actual production of paddy, there is no subsidisation on the cost of paddy to millers, as we see in Thailand. Therefore, this cost is passed on to the final consumer,” Williams said.
    Nigeria’s huge infrastructure deficit has not helped matter either. Lack of access roads, which increased transportation cost, has continued to frustrate rice farmers. Also, the nation’s perennial inadequate power supply means that rice millers have to run on diesel-powered generators at huge cost.
    The Chairman, Kebbi State Rice Farmers Association, Alhaji Sahabi Augie, lamented that farmers are still battling with high costs of inputs, including seeds, fertilizers, chemicals and diesel, used for running milling machines. He said the situation was responsible for rice not being produced cheaply.
    Augie said, for instance, that fuel is sold for N180 per litre around Kebbi State, and he needs to buy it daily to operate irrigation pumps. The same applies to all farmers because they use fuel for irrigation water. He, however, expressed happiness that the price of fertiliser has gone down to N5000 a bag.
    At the trading and processing ends of the value chain, The Nation reliably learnt from industry operators that sharp practices capable of undermining government’s set target for rice have been going on. For instance, many traders resort to blending and mixing high-quality varieties with low-quality ones in a bid to compete with imported brands.
    Some processors are also fingered as being culpable. Some of them in a bid to make quick profits at the detriment of Nigeria’s long-term commercial interest, allegedly process and polish low-quality varieties in a way that makes it difficult for one to differentiate them from the high-quality varieties.

    Nigeria insignificant in global chart
    Last year, the global production of paddy rice was estimated at 749.8 million MT, translating to about 499.9 million MT of milled rice, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). This volume was produced mostly in the Asian countries.
    Nigeria is the largest consumer and producer of rice in Africa. According to Rice Authority, a Philippine online platform for global rice importers and exporters, Nigeria imports about 1.4 million tonnes (4.8 per cent of global rice imports).
    Between 2012 and 2015, Nigeria spent over N474 billion on rice importation, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
    Right now, major states producing Nigerian local rice include Kebbi, Sokoto, Ondo, Abia, Delta, Kogi, Benue, Kano, Niger, Kaduna, Taraba, Adamawa, Kwara, Ebonyi, Cross River, Bayelsa, Borno, Enugu, Ekiti and Ogun.
    Experts said Nigeria has high potential for irrigated rice development with vast but untapped potentials in the flood planes of river Niger, Benue, Cross River, Kaduna-Karadawa Sokoto-River, Gongola, Chad Basin, Ogun, Osun, Imo, Anambra and Benin-Owena River Basins, totaling about 1.4 million hectares.
    They note that maintaining a favourable rice supply-demand balance in the future depends largely on the exploitation of the production capacity of the rainfed systems in the Southern part of the country.

    Government’s interventions
    When President Muhammadu Buhari launched the pilot phase of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) in late 2015, it was seen by many operators and stakeholders as an indication that the government was determined to turn things around in the rice sub-sector.
    The programme, which mainly targets small-holder subsistence farmers with a view to helping them scale their businesses to commercial level, encourages farmers across the country to become rice growers on at least one hectare of land each. It also targets millers with the aim of increasing their capacity utilisation.
    At the launch of ABP, President Buhari said Nigeria was spending not less than one trillion naira on the importation of food items that could have been produced locally, a situation the CBN said was contributing “greatly to the depletion of the nation’s foreign reserves, especially in the face of low oil revenue resulting from falling oil prices.”
    This was why the CBN said it had decided to shift from merely concentrating on price, monetary, and financial system stability to acting as a financial catalyst in specific sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture, in an effort to create jobs on a mass scale, improve local food production and conserve scarce foreign reserves through the ABP.
    The implementation of the programme involves the CBN, Bank of Agriculture, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, State Governments, integrated millers and farmers.
    The Nation learnt that the programme may have started yielding result. For instance, President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, said the price of rice may drop to N6, 000 in the next six months, following the ABP intervention.
    He told The Nation that in some northern states, paddies now go for as low as N10, 000. Goronyo said the demand and consumption of locally produced rice has increased tremendously in recent time, just as farmers are smiling to the bank as a result of the patronage they are enjoying.
    According to him, there has been increased productivity in the north as more farmers have keyed into the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme. He also said his association was mobilising rice farmers to take advantage of the CBN window nationwide to get involved in rice production.
    “We are going to assist the Federal Government to produce more than enough rice. It is part of the plan to bring down the price of rice. There are several efforts that we are making to see that in no distant time, the price of rice will come down for Nigerians to have access to affordable milled rice,” Goronyo assured.
    The ABP strategy, according to him, entails expansion of areas under rain fed farming and irrigation, reduction of post-harvest losses through mechanisation, improved seed production systems and market development improvement, among others.
    Goronyo expressed optimism that price of rice will continue to drop as prices of inputs fall. He said the Association had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with some farm input suppliers in the country to ensure prompt supply of cheap fertilisers and pesticides to boost production.
    RIFAN President also pointed out that local rice is now well-processed and cheaper than imported ones, resulting in increased demand.
    Augie agreed with Goronyo that the price of rice will crash soon, adding that this will be possible if the government works with the private sector to reduce the cost of production.

    Private sector operators wade in
    The Federal Government through the CBN is not alone in the current efforts to reposition the sector and achieve set target. For instance, Coscharis Farms, which is a 2, 600 hectares rice plantation, funded through the ABP, is aimed at boosting food production in the country, especially rice.
    The CBN granted Coscharis Farms a N2 billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) to boost its capacity to produce rice all-year round, which is three harvests in a year.
    Coscharis Group Chairman , Mr. Cosmas Maduka, said Coscharis Farms Limited will provide full time employment for about 3, 000 people as well as drive ancillary industrial growth in the state when all the phases of the investment are completed.
    He said the farm phase of the business employs over 250 people, adding that the rice mill and irrigation components of the investment for which the CBN has given approval in principle to finance, will significantly enhance the capacity of the business to create more jobs and boost economic activities.
    Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has also thrown its hat in the rice cultivation ring. The indigenous conglomerate has since signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to invest $1billion (N306 billion) on the establishment of full integrated rice production and processing operations across Nigeria.
    Farmland in Edo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states, totalling 150,000 hectares, have been penciled down for commercial production of paddy rice. Dangote inaugurated its 8,000-hectare rice out-growers’ scheme in Hadejia, Jigawa State early this year when he distributed rice seedlings to farmers.
    The scheme was said to have helped reduce the level of Nigeria’s imports while potentially providing direct and indirect jobs to about 10, 000 Nigerians.
    An agri-business Specialist with Agribusiness Supplier Development Programme (ASDP) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr. Nelson Abila, said his organisation was working with some development partners to build the capacity of rice stakeholders throughout the value chain, from farmers to millers and parboilers.
    By helping actors along the value chain add value to rice, Abila said the project is helping raise income, improve rice quality, and expand the market for locally produced rice.
    According to him, Nigeria has the potential to become a big rice granary in Africa with advantages of having ample suitable lands and water resources, and good climate.
    Similarly, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) and AfricaRice, in partnership with McGill University, are spearheading an ambitious project on food security in Africa, with a focus on rice post-harvest handling and marketing.
    The project involves Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. It seeks to introduce improved harvesting and post-harvest practices and equipment throughout the value chain to achieve high-quality grain.
    Most smallholder farmers and processors in Africa’s rice sector are women, who often have fewer rights than their male counterparts to access the vital resources they need to farm, process, and sell. The project, therefore, hopes to ensure that women farmers obtain their fair share of attention in rice Research & Development (R&D).
    The project also aims to develop new rice-based products, explore innovative uses of husks and straw, improve the policy environment, and build the capacity of rice stakeholders.
    The project envisages that by 2020, post-harvest losses will decline by 10 per cent and this will help increase farmers’ nominal annual income in the eight project countries by about $32 million.

    Fertiliser racketeering, subsidy
    are pains
    Despite moves to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, many farmers complain of endemic corruption in the sale and distribution of fertilisers, a critical input for rice farming. This has prevented fertiliser from getting to the right people. Some of the people, who got fertilisers were said not to be farmers, but racketeers, who sell them to real farmers at a premium.
    Williams was emphatic that “Except farmers get fertiliser at reduced cost, and tractors free of charge, the situation may not change”. He also said it costs so much to produce a bag of rice to make profit when the government floods the market with subsided Lake Rice.
    While lamenting, for instance, that he could not sell his rice after the government had flooded the market with lake rice at subsided price of N13, 000, he said it was challenging for him to cultivate over 4, 000 acres of rice farm without the government support.
    Williams argued that government’s continued intervention by way of subsidies to bring down the price of rice would not help private investors, who are spending so much to stay in business. “We are likely to face a major problem if the issue of government intervention to force down the price of rice is not urgently addressed because farmers need to sell the produce, which they have heavily invested in,” he said.
    According to him, rice farmers depend on income from their produce to take care of their families and repay the loans they took from financial institutions.
    He advised the government to provide subsidies that are rationalised, adding that interventions that are against market competition will not allow dynamism and equitable participation of industry players.

    Post-harvest challenges
    Although rice, according to experts, grows well in all the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, the demand for polished long grain, stone free and odourless rice by urban dwellers is the reason Nigerians demand imported rice. They noted that at present, locally produced is uncompetitive in the market because it is fraught with stones.
    Some foreign large mills, taking advantage of this, would always request for brown rice rather than buy and encourage paddy production by local farmers.
    Nigerian growers also struggled to meet quality standards set by foreign agri-businesses, with consumers complaining of having to extract grit from rice. Local rice, according to consumers, is good, but, the problem is the stones in it. This is why they prefer foreign ones that have no stones.
    According to experts, the quantity and quality of locally produced rice have been the areas of concern, especially during post-harvest operations, which usually resulted in huge loses. The qualitative losses come mainly as a result of poor handling after harvesting and poor processing techniques.
    Farmers, again, have had thousands of bags of rice locked up in warehouses due to the unavailability of mills to process the commodity, a situation that compelled them to manually process the rice, which invariably do not meet market standards.
    Aside denying farmers their primary source of livelihood, the situation is seen as an impediment to government’s quest to motivate rice farmers into boosting local production of the commodity to achieve food security and meet the target.
    The Country Manager, Harvest Plus Nigeria, Dr. Paul Ilona, told The Nation that rice production suffered from lack of investment in irrigation development and research. This, he said, had slowed the adoption of high- yielding varieties and improved crop management techniques.
    Ilona noted that the quality of the local rice had been a major concern to the future of the rice sector.

    Way forward
    The consensus of rice farmers is that there is the need to mechanise rice farming in the rural areas to increase productivity. Some of them, who spoke with The Nation, said mechanisation remained the key driver for change in the rice sub-sector, as this will not only benefit farmers, but make quality local rice available in the market.
    To Williams, Nigeria will not achieve self -sufficiency in rice in the near future unless the government makes the required huge investment in key areas of the rice value chain. He, therefore, advised the government to prioritise the value chain and place more emphasis on quality seed and actual production than milling.
    He said this is because the big millers are more concerned with imports than backward integration. According to him, the quality of rice produce by smallholder farmers still falls below the standard and must be strengthened with quality inputs if government is serious about closing the import gap.

  • Forces against CBN’s 60% forex allocation policy

    Forces against CBN’s 60% forex allocation policy

    To help manufacturers, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dirceted banks to allocate 60 percent of their foreign exchange to them. But, months after, manufacturers are still running around for forex because of what some call “ineffective monitoring and enforcement” of the policy. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports. 

    It took sustained push by members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and others to get the Federal Government to heed the call for a 60 per cent special foreign exchange (forex) allocation window for manufacturers. The intervention was supposed to allow manufacturers fund importation of critical raw materials, plants and machinery not available locally.

    Specifically, it was envisaged that the preferential forex allocation window would help cushion the effects of forex scarcity, which hit real sector operators, particularly import-dependent manufacturing businesses, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) policy that restricted importers of 41 items from accessing its official forex market.

    Manufacturers kicked against the policy, describing it  as “obnoxious, superfluous, and ill-conceived”. They argued, for instance, that apart from not being consulted, those who needed the raw materials and products restricted from the forex market as their primary products in the manufacturing process were adversely affected.

    The inclusion of essential raw material input for manufacturing in the CBN import prohibition basket forced many firms to shutdown, leading to massive job losses. So, manufacturers were relieved when the CBN, last August, directed commercial banks and other authorised dealers in the forex market to allocate 60 per cent of their total forex purchases from all sources (interbank inclusive) to them.

    But five months after, manufacturers are still running around for forex The forex scarcity persists, forcing some firms to shut down, relocate to other  countries or scale down their operations. Many of them still complain of inability to access forex to import critical raw materials.

    For instance, Erisco Foods Limited, one of the key players in the tomato paste industry, has since relocated to China, citing lack of forex access. That move alone cost about 1,500 workers, mostly Nigerians, their jobs. Only 40 members of staff are left to run the Nigerian company.

    The company’s President/CEO, Chief Eric Umeofia, lamented: “My business has been deliberately frustrated by the way the CBN has managed forex bidding and allocation. They won’t give us forex to import machinery, machine spare parts and raw materials for processing Nigerian fresh tomatoes into paste in our Lagos factory and they won’t give us approval to use our own money generated from our foreign operations to import our raw materials.”

    Umeofia’s decision to vote with his foot by relocating the manufacturing aspect of his business to China from where finished products would be imported and sold to consumers in Nigeria and other parts of the world was pre-warned.

    The relocation of the $150 million tomato paste processing plant came after the expiration of a 30-day ultimatum he handed down to the Federal Government to compel the CBN to make available enough forex to import raw materials and equipment to keep the plants run profitable.

    Before shutting down the Nigerian plant, with a production capacity of 450, 000 metric tons of tomato paste yearly, Umeofia said the company, which had 22 brands with over 2,000 workers in Nigeria, lost over N3.5 billion in Nigeria. This was partly why he made relocation as his final option.

    “This decision is final and there is no going back on it; nothing will make us come back even in the future because we have found out that we can import tomato paste into Nigeria and still make huge profits,” the obviously embittered and frustrated entrepreneur said, at a briefing in Lagos.

    Umeofia is not alone in his agony over lack of access to forex despite CBN’s 60 per cent preferential forex allocation to manufacturers. Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA) Director-General, Mr. Hamma Kwajaffa, also lamented that no textile manufacturer had accessed forex in spite of the $660 million earmarked for manufacturers at the official interbank market.

    It would be recalled that the CBN, in keeping with its promise to strengthen the real sector by ensuring that 60 per cent of available forex goes to manufacturers, made available $660 million worth of forex to manufacturers through the inter-bank market for the purpose of procuring industrial input.

    The injection of the fund was expected to provide a new lease of life in the manufacturing sub-sector, thereby boosting industrial output and employment. But Kwajaffa said despite this gesture, the textile industry nearly went into extinction due to inability to access foreign exchange for critical raw materials.

    Similarly, May and Baker Managing Director, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, said manufacturers’ inability to access forex through the interbank had affected industrial production and contributed to inflation. “It’s been a herculean task running any business in Nigeria, especially import-dependent manufacturing business.

    “I can confirm to you that as a company, we have not been able to access official forex allocation in the past six months. In fact, some of the Letters of Credit (LCs) we opened as far back as the fourth quarter of 2015 have not been funded by the banks,” he said.

    Okafor and, indeed, other operators’ outcries over banks’ refusal to fund LCs have been on since June, last year when the apex bank announced the flexible, market-driven forex regime. Manufacturers had hoped that this policy would drive down the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar, spurred economic growth and development, and encouraged more Diaspora remittances, among others.

    But, as it turned out, the new forex policy appeared to have left the real sector operators worse than it met them. For instance, the Apapa branch Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Babatunde Odunayo, said manufacturers had lost N500 billion to CBN’s implementation of the flexible forex policy.

    Odunayo, who spoke in Lagos at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the branch with the theme: “Economic recession and the future of manufacturing in Nigeria”, said the losses arose from the exchange rate difference between the approved Form ‘Ms’ and LCs before the CBN introduced the new flexible exchange rate system on June 20, last year.

    According to him, the LCs and approved Form Ms were documented at the CBN intervention rate at about N197/US$, but affected manufacturers are now expected to redeem them at the flexible exchange rate of N320/US$.

    “The pricing of related manufactured goods was made at between N197 and N198 to a US dollar at the time the Form Ms was approved and LCs established,” Odunayo said, lamenting: “Unfortunately, this unfolding situation posed a great burden on manufacturers.”

    He added that the huge exchange rate loss of N500 billion, which must now be reflected in manufacturers’ profit and loss accounts, was already leading to factory closures, loss of unemployment and investments in the sector.

     

    Good policy marred by lack of enforcement

    To manufacturers, the CBN’s 60 per cent preferential forex allocation was a ruse. “As far as I am concerned, it hasn’t worked. Our members have not benefited from it… It was something they dangled on our face without substance,” MAN President Dr. Frank Jacobs reportedly said.

    Indeed, findings by The Nation showed that the policy intervention described as revolutionary by some operators might have failed to make any significant impact on manufacturers because of the CBN’s lack of proper monitoring, supervision and enforcement to ensure that banks and other authorised dealers in the forex market comply with the directive.

    “Of course, the challenge, as always, is how to enforce the directive. This is always our default line. Good policies, good intentions, good pronouncements and launching ceremonies, but after that, the Nigerian factor steps in,” former President/CEO, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals PLC and Managing Consultant, Starteam Consult, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, said.

    The industrialist, who spoke at an event organised by the Ikeja branch of MAN, said for the palliative to work, the CBN would have to watch the backs of banks and analyse their monthly returns and publications on forex utilisation.

    Ohuabunwa also said manufacturers also have a role to play. “They (manufacturers) have to set up a mechanism to monitor weekly allocations and provide feedback to the CBN and Nigerians because emergency manufacturers will arise, which will not be entirely bad, if only they will actually manufacture. Industry groups have to authenticate their memberships,” he said.

    He did not stop there. Ohuabunwa also said to eliminate possible abuse by manufacturers , the CBN and banks must ensure that forex allocated is used strictly to import manufacturing input only and not finished goods or diverted to other uses. “We must have a way of assessing the impact of this initiative to be sure it is achieving the intended objective,” he recommended.

    For the immediate past President of National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Oladele Hunsu, the 60 per cent forex benchmark for manufacturers, ab-initio, should not have been in place if the government was serious to drive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth through the real sector, which is economy’s growth engine.

    “Who measures the benchmark,” Hunsu asked, insisting: “Manufacturers must be allowed unfettered access to the CBN official forex window rather than the 60 per cent special forex allocation”. He told The Nation that rather than a piecemeal approach, a holistic review of the nation’s monetary and fiscal policies had become imperative to eliminate ill-conceived ones that are inimical to manufacturing sector’s growth.

  • IITA, others join forces to fight viral diseases in crops

    IITA, others join forces to fight viral diseases in crops

    Farmers and scientists are worried over the growing threat of pets and diseases to food security.

    Globally, biological threats caused by pests and diseases in plants account for about 40 per cent loss in global production.

    Experts say the problem may get worse.

    A World Bank consultant , Prof Abel Ogunwale, said  pests and  diseases challenge crop producers, and called for recommendations on how farmers could manage obstacles to crops as the planting season begins.

    This, he said, was because climate change is going to aggravate the impact of plant pests and diseases on  food production across the nation, and the steps must be taken  to control and improve  monitoring and evaluation  of  infestations to prevent crop damage.

    According to him, the government should work with farmers to strengthen the  monitoring and recording of pests to alert authorities to take early action. He explained that farmers know how to handle the threats by pests and diseases.

    Meanwhile, a  natural product called Aflasafe, which can reduce contamination from aflatoxin, a silent killer, would soon be available in at least 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

    More than 4.5 billion people in  developing countries are exposed to aflatoxins, carcinogenic poisons produced by a fungus that contaminates crops.

    Aflasafe was developed by International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDAARS), and national partners.

    So far, the product reportedly  has achieved about 98 per cent efficacy in reducing grain contamination on the fields and stores of farmers where aflasafe products are registered or in the process of becoming nationally registered.

    Following the success of aflasafe—the first indigenous bio-control innovation for the prevention of aflatoxin contamination on the fields and store houses of maize and groundnut farmers in Africa, IITA is set to enable commercialisation of the technology, to ensure that farmers in need of the product have access to it.

    The new aflasafe technology transfer and commercialisation project (TTC), funded by a $20 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, was launched last December to be implemented in countries, such as Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

    “To get aflasafe to the masses, we need many companies, millions of small-scale farmers, and distributors, who know what aflasafe can do to apply it. IITA is excited because the institute is on the edge of reaching this goal,” IITA Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery, Kenton Dashiell, said.

    Corroborating the need to work with private businesses in getting the technology out, IITA Plant Pathologist and leader of the Africa-wide aflasafe initiative, Ranajit Bandyopadhyay,  who has worked on the product for more than a decade, noted: “This product is indigenous. Developing the technology was not difficult, taking it out to the end users is the challenge; therefore, partnership is very crucial.”

    ATTC Managing Director Abdou Konlambigue said the project was designed to identify strategic options for partnerships with private companies, and government entities, execute those partnerships, and help ensure that aflasafe reaches millions of farmers throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

  • UNICEF, media join forces against malnutrition

    UNICEF, media join forces against malnutrition

    Nigeria is battling with several problems, among which is child malnutrition. The future of her children is being threatened by malnutrition; a silent killer which is decimating them in millions annually. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the media have just launched a campaign to tackle the menace.

    This is not the best of time for infants in Nigeria. They are exposed to disease, sanitation problems, environmental deterioration, hunger; all triggered by insurgency, in the Northeast, militancy in the Niger Delta, kidnapping in almost all states of the federation and other social ills afflicting the society.

    Malnutrition has become a threat to the survival of the Nigerian child but a campaign has just been launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the media to tackle the menace.

    Concern for the survival of the Nigerian child and how to find solution to the threat posed by malnutrition was the focus of a Media Dialogue organised by the UNICEF, a specialised agency of the United Nations which has welfare of children as its major mandate, for reporters in the Southwest.

    The media practitioners, who came from print, electronic, social and online platforms brainstormed with stakeholders such as officials of the UNICEF, health professionals, caregivers, policy makers and beneficiaries of the agency’s intervention where issues bordering on malnutrition were dissected.

    The UNICEF recognises the media as an important vehicle of advocacy and a strong partner to propagate the message of best nutrition practices to boost child health through editorials, documentaries, features, informed commentaries; special reports, interviews with policy makers, community workers and mothers.

    The forum reached a  consensus that malnutrition is a general problem which is not peculiar to any region in Nigeria; as virtually all the six geo-political zones are battling with the problem. As it affects children of the poor, malnutrition also afflicts children of the rich, which many would find incredible.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, whose opening remarks was delivered by the Head, Child Rights Information Bureau, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs. Rose Madu, described the problem as one that is common.

    He urged journalists to use their platforms to educate policy makers so that the right budgetary allocations are made and funds released on time to tackle the challenges of malnutrition.

    The minister, who revealed that similar forums had been held in Sokoto, Calabar, Kano and Owerri said bringing journalists together was an important step towards battling the scourge because of their roles as nation-builders.

    According to him, statistics has shown that malnutrition has become a huge threat to children both in the North and in the South; hence the need for all Nigerians to join hands with the government to save the future of the younger generation.

    UNICEF Communication Specialist in Abuja, Mr. Geoffrey Njoku, said the problem of malnutrition required urgency because of the increasing infant mortality rate attributed to it.

    He expressed shock at the findings made during a similar media dialogue held in Owerri, where it was discovered that a good number of infants in Imo State are suffering from malnutrition.

    Njoku said: “I was at the Owerri dialogue and I was shocked at the level of malnutrition of children in Imo State. In the Southwest as well, we have issues of malnutrition and Nigerians expect that reports coming out of here would help address these issues.

    “The use of social media has helped tremendously because both the Senate and the House of Representatives are talking about it; so it had become a national issue.”

    Njoku revealed that 22 per cent of children under five years in the Southwest zone have stunted growth, saying it was erroneous to believe that malnutrition only affects the northern part of the country.

    Quoting a 2013 survey, Njoku stressed that studies revealed that malnutrition was prevalent among children of the rich in the Southwest under the age of five, adding that research also showed that 13 per cent of children born to rich families also suffer malnutrition.

    Giving an overview of Nutrition Intervention in Nigeria, Dr. Chris Isokpunwu, of the Federal Ministry of Health said there was need to give children balanced diet at infancy before much damage is done.

    Represented by Mrs. Omotayo Ogunbunmi, Isokpunwu noted that “nutrition has a powerful influence on the child’s growth, development and productive life.”

    Quoting statistics from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, Isokpunwu revealed that Nigeria has the highest number of stunted children under the age of five in sub-Sahara Africa and second highest in the world with 37 per cent of all children stunted, 18 per cent wasting and 29 per cent underweight.

    According to him, the infant mortality rate was 69 in every 1,000 live births while only 17 per cent were exclusively breastfed.

    In her presentation, UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Mrs. Ada Ezeogu, revealed that 50 per cent of infants in Nigeria die as a result of malnutrition, even as she advocated exclusive breastfeeding for children from age zero to six months.

    Refering to the data prepared by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Mrs. Ezeogu also urged women not to deny babies in the age bracket breast milk on grounds that their breasts would sag.

    She said the infant mortality rate could be reduced through adequate nutrition, adding that exclusive breastfeeding would boost mental capacity of babies and would help Nigerian children to become adults with great intellect in future.

    Mrs. Ezeogu explained that babies did not need water when they were being fed exclusively with breast milk because 80 per cent of breast milk contained water while the remaining 20 per cent contained the needed nutrients for babies’ optimal growth.

    She said: “Every child should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of chronic conditions later in life such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes; childhood asthma and childhood leukaemia.

    “Breastfed infants do better on intelligence and behaviour test than formula-fed babies.”

    At the dialogue, some children who were hitherto malnourished but had overcome the scourge after the intervention of UNICEF field officers in their respective localities were presented.

    Hassan and Hussein are promising twin boys who were deprived of the opportunity of enjoying breastfeeding by the death of their mother.

    Health workers diagnosed them of acute malnutrition in August last year at their Gaa Ayegbade Settlement in Ibarapa East Local Government Area of Oyo State.

    Six months after the children were fed on soya-based enriched complementary food and guide corn; babies who could hardly sit are now walking and eating other foods

    “That they are alive today is a miracle; they did not develop well, they were only feeding on infant formula,” said their grandmother, Hawawu Musa.

    Abigail Babarinde, at the age of one, was unable to sit or walk but respite came her way when she was referred for treatment and her mother commenced feeding her with soya-based enriched complementary food prepared at Oyo State Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre, Oni and Sons Children Hospital.

    Her mother, 21-year-old Aminat Babarinde, told reporters at the forum that she breastfed the baby for one month, claiming that the baby refused to be fed on breast milk.

    She explained that Abigail’s rejection of breast milk affected her growth but she was taken to Eruwa General Hospital where the child was referred to a nutritionist who administered special diet on her.

    The story of Abigail, Hassan and Hussein who looked lively during the forum, was a testimony to efforts of nutrition officers to prevent children from having stunted growth.

    In her presentation, a Nutrition Officer in Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Khadijat Alarape, explained that 13.2 per cent of children in the state are underweight; a percentage which she said was a significant decline from the previous 17.7 per cent few years ago.

  • Wabba to Nigerians: don’t succumb to forces of disintegration

    Wabba to Nigerians: don’t succumb to forces of disintegration

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba has urged Nigerians not to succumb to efforts to break up the country.

    Wabba, who made the appeal while fielding questions at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja yesterday, said Nigeria’s size, population and natural endowment were assets many  nations were envious of.

    He said the security challenges and agitation, which, according to him, were fuelled and funded by forces determined to undermine Nigeria, were surmountable.

    “Our position is that we will not canvass the issue of “cannibalising” Nigeria into segments for any reason or any consideration.

    “It is in unity that our strength lies as a country. We are today the giant of Africa; most countries are not happy with that.

    “They will do anything to undermine our national interest and work towards the disintegration of Nigeria.

    “That is a fact, and we see that as we travel around the world; even within the committee of unions; people are envious of Nigeria.”

    He recalled the prediction made in some quarters that Nigeria would break up in 2015, adding that those forces were still working on their agenda.

    “We must not forget how people said Nigeria was going to break by 2015 and you must not forget that they are still working on that.

    “They are still funding all manner of things and trying to see that Nigeria does not actually have peace; it is deliberate.

    “There is no resource today in the world that we do not have; they see us as a country that is blessed without measure,” he said.

    The NLC president noted that some African countries were concerned that if anything happened to Nigeria, their fate were uncertain.

    According to him, most of these conflicts are instigated, citing the situation in Syria and other parts of the Middle East as an example.

    “Therefore, it is in our collective interest as Nigerians, because we do not have any other country, to continue to show the light and perspective for others to see,” Wabba added.

    He called for a review of the employment policy to make it all-inclusive, in view of the unemployment rate in the country.

    Wabba stressed the need to review the educational curriculum and inject in it a technical component.

    “If you look at the challenge in our system, especially unemployment, it has assumed a frightening dimension where youths, able and well educated, have not been able to find something doing.

    “ I think there has been a convergence of ideas that there is a need to review our employment policy that will be inclusive; that will also be able to create jobs and those jobs can be sustainable.

    “So, I quite I agree that we have a lot to do in respect of reviewing our policy on employment to try to make it all-inclusive.”

    “It doesn’t have to be white collar jobs; I think we can also look inwards to try other avenues.

    “I am happy that the new policy on agriculture which the Federal Government is driving encourage our youths to go into agriculture; may be something that can be considered.”

  • Edo 2016: Fears as APC battles intra-party forces

    Edo 2016: Fears as APC battles intra-party forces

    As this year’s Edo State Governorship Election draws nearer, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that the search for the candidate of All Progressives Congress is becoming more intriguing  

    The governorship election in Edo State holds later this year. For the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the election is all important and neither of them is willing to leave anything to chance in their now very tense struggle to control the state in the post Adams Oshiomhole era.

    But for the ruling APC, it appears there are many hurdles to cross on the way to remaining in power beyond this year. This is because a number of factors, largely within the party, are militating against efforts by both the governor and the leadership of the party in the state, to adequately prepare the party for victory in the coming election.

    Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the incumbent governor, will serve out his second tenure next November. Within his party (the APC) chieftains seeking to succeed him are already strategizing and lobbying political stakeholders as they struggle to get the nod of the party as its candidate in the coming election.

    While many are touring the nooks and crannies of the state in pursuit of the endorsement of party leaders and members, others are relying on their trusted aides and associates to help them reach out to prominent stakeholders across the state in their bid to get the party’s ticket ahead of the 2016 governorship election.

    Those who have already thrown their hats into the ring for the contest of the APC governorship ticket include: current deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu; Barrister Ken Imansuagbon; Edo State Commissioner for Works, Barrister Osarodion Ogie and Godwin Obaseki, the chairman of the economic team of Edo State Government.

    Others are former PDP governorship candidate, General Charles Airhiavbere, (rtd), former Minister of State (Works), Dr. Chris Ogienwonyi, Blessing Agbomere, Comrade Peter Isele, Pedro Obaseki and former governor, Prof. Oseriemen Osunbor, among others.

    But in spite of promises by the leadership of the ruling party to work against any form of imposition by conducting a free, fair and acceptable primary election to nominate its flag-bearer, speculation remain rife that Governor Oshiomhole may have made up his mind as to who the candidate of the party would be.

    For this reason and many others, there is unease within the party. While a good number of the aspirants have vowed to resist imposition, some prominent chieftains are determined to ensure that the party’s primary election is not influenced by any person or group.

    This is just as chieftains from Edo South and Edo Central senatorial districts remain at loggerheads over which zone of the state should produce the next governor of the state while Governor Oshiomhole insists that he, like any other party member, reserves the right to support any candidate of his choice ahead of the primary election that will produce the candidate of the ruling party.

    Zoning war looms

    The dilemma over which senatorial district should produce the next governor of the state, according to political observers, though a serious one, is not being taken serious by the leadership of the party. According to a chieftain of the party from Uromi in Edo Central Senatorial District, “the APC in Edo State needs to take the people of Edo Central more serious if it intends to win the next governorship election.”

    Julius Enahoro, a chieftain of the ruling party in Esanland, said in spite of the unending agitation of the people of Edo Central to be considered for the governorship of the state in 2016, signals emanating from some quarters are of the opinion that a candidate from Edo South is more favored.

    “The incumbent governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who hails from Edo North Senatorial District will serve out his second tenure in November, 2016. Now, the succession battle is between Edo South and Edo Central senatorial districts. But the some people feel Edo Central should not be taken serious. We will resist such notions seriously.

    “While we insist it is our turn to govern the state, we warn the party not to renege on its promise to conduct an open primary. Anything short of that would amount to crass injustice to the people of our zone. Edo Central remains the only district which has not had the full opportunity to produce the governor aside the 18 months of Governor Oserheimen Osunbor which was short-lived,” he said.

    Similarly, the President, Alliance for Good Governance, (AGG), a political pressure group in the state, Comrade Friday Eromosele, insisted that Esan people in the state remain the most marginalized in terms of producing the next governor.

    “What we the Esans are asking for is to be given the opportunity to produce the next governor that will take over from Governor Oshiomhole. We have always supported our brothers from Edo North and South senatorial districts in previous elections. It is only fair that we should be extended the same hand of fellowship. The Esans are saying it is their turn to produce the governor as they have not done so since 1979.

    “Former governor Osunbor and Barrister Kenneth Imansuagbon are two of the well qualified candidates we have in the race. Imansuagbon has continued to demonstrate that he is ready to rule Edo State judging by his philanthropic gesture to the needy. His annual free rice donation and scholarship award to pupils and students in tertiary institutions speak volumes.

    “All these are from his personal funds which he deplores to the welfare of the down-trodden and that alone is responsible for his intimidating rising political profile. If you can recall, he was a major financier of what has transformed into APC today.

    “What we expect is for the governor to ignore pressure on him to impose anybody on the party. He should allow all the aspirants go to the field and test their popularity among the delegates. Whoever emerges in a clean primary will be acceptable to all and not the ego-tripping by some aspirants that they have been anointed,” he said.

    Oshiomhole’s turbulent body language

    Also worrisome is the now unending rumpus within the party over a rumoured endorsement of one of the leading aspirants, Godwin Obaseki, by Governor Oshiomhole as his preferred governorship candidate of the party. Obaseki is currently the chairman of the economic team of Edo State Government. Although the leadership of the party has strived to debunk the rumor, it has simply refused to go away.

    Observers of the politics of the state are of the opinion that contrary to the many explanations of the party leadership, the body language and recent utterance of the governor is fueling the fear of party chieftains and members that the primary election may not be free and fair.

    Recently, while putting to rest speculations as to whether his party, the APC, will not conduct primaries ahead of 2016 governorship election, the governor further fueled suspicions about his preference for a particular aspirant amongst those jostling to succeed him.

    Oshiomhole said while both himself and his party are open to conducting party primaries for all aspirants, it must be made clear that he has the right just as other party members to support a particular aspirant as his preferred successor. He was speaking at a stakeholders meeting which had in attendance several party leaders.

    The governor said he cannot be neutral in what affects what will happen in the state after his tenure. He said, “I will never be afraid to take a position and to explain my position. Let me say clearly that I cannot be neutral in matters affecting my environment. If there is anyone of you who is a father of a house who will be quiet on how his house is organised, I don’t envy him.”

    Speaking further, he said “in a democracy, whether mature or growing, endorsement is legitimate and democratic. What I owe Edo people is clear to me. Even people who are not from Edo State, whether anywhere they see you, they ask please Comrade guide us, we don’t want to return to the past.”

    But reacting to the development, Bini elders, led by the younger brother of the Oba of Benin and Enogie of Obazuwa, Prince Edun Akenzua, under the aegis of Benin Leaders of Thought, stressed the need for the leadership of the APC to ensure free and fair primaries so as to produce a popular candidate that will be generally acceptable to the people of the state.

    In a communiqué by Prince Akenzua and Secretary of the BLT, Tosa Ovonranwe, the group stated that anointing a particular candidate as governor as it was being rumoured in the state, may amount to re-introducing god-fatherism in the state, which according to them, must be discouraged.

    “BLT believes that god-fatherism in Edo politics was detrimental to the social, economic and political development of the state. God-fatherism is not acceptable to BLT and the good people of Edo State. It should not be reintroduced under any guise. The people of Edo State should be given free hand to determine their next governor. Popular participation bestows responsibility for governing one’s own conduct, develops one’s character, self-reliance, intelligence and moral judgment.

    “In a democracy, there is no substitute for popular participation. Even a benevolent despot, who could govern in the public interest, would be rejected by the classic democrat. Man can only know the truth by discovering it himself”, the group said.

    Suspension galore

    And as the crisis rocking the party over who should fly the party’s gubernatorial banner deepens, the confusion in the party was further heightened following the recent controversial suspension of some prominent party leaders and chieftains across the state.

    The chairman of the party in Orhionmwon Local Government of the state and his counterpart in Ward 1 of Esan Central Local Government Area, are amongst many party executives and leaders currently battling to escape being sent out of the party by forces opposed to their stand on the governorship candidate debate.

    Hundreds of party faithful from Ward 1 Esan Central Local Government recently stormed the state party secretariat in protest against the suspension of the ward chairman, Mr. Isaac Ikhine. They described the suspension as unconstitutional and accused the state party chairman, Aslem Ojezua, of persecuting Ikhine unjustly.

    In Orhionmwon, an enlarged executive meeting held by 22 members and party executives described the suspension of the party chairman, Mr. Ehigie Matthew, over allegation bordering on high handedness, and financial misconduct as politically motivated.

    They alleged that the signatories to the suspension order did not only lack the power to converge  a meeting of the local government executive  but that they were financially induced.

  • ‘Forces against steel production’

    Nigeria appears to be making steady progress in the production of liquid steel at the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) in Kogi State, but this has been a disturbing news to certain forces bent on frustrating the effort, the management of the facility has said.

    Presenting the achievements and challenges of the steel plant before members of the House of Representatives Committee on Steel Development in Abuja, the company’s Sole Administrator, Mr. Joseph Onobere Isah, an Engineer,said: “There are certain agents in our midst that have not been comfortable with the modest achievements we have recorded in Ajaokuta so far and the course of action we are charting towards making liquid steel production a reality in our country. They all know that the day Nigeria begins liquid steel production there would be no going back for the country technologically.”

    He said such forces might have been responsible for the allegation of staff idleness levelled against the company. He said contrary to the allegation, the company’s staff work tirelessly daily to ensure that the plant was well-maintained and running. The staff, according to him, were not being paid N3.4 billion monthly as the Chairman of Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) Alhaji Aliyu Kola Belgore,  reportedly said last year at an event in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    Isah, who said Belgore wrote to explain that he was misquoted, reminded the House Committee members that it was because of Belgore’s statement that he was summoned, following a motion by a  member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, that the claim be investigated.

    He explained that Belgore, in a letter to the management dated September 8, last year, denied the newspaper stories, stating in part: “I did not and will never disparage the company as I do not work there, it is out of place for me to know and mention anything about the total monthly wage bill, the number of machines installed and the number of staff of the company.”

    However, he said: “The recent motion by Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, coming after over four months of the publication and echoing the AMCON Chairman’s statement and newspaper publications, deserves to be investigated to stop the vicious circle of misinformation.”

    The ASCL Sole Administrator urged the Committee to authenticate Hon. Tajudeen’s allegations.  He recalled that the House of Representatives Committee on Steel recommended N3,821,718,510 to the Appropriation Committee as the 2014 Personnel Cost for ASCL.

    The Appropriation Committee of the National Assembly, he said, approved the same amount as the 2014 Personnel Cost for ASCL and that it was the same amount that was in the 2014 Appropriation Bill for the 2014 Personnel Cost (salaries) of the company.

    Isah said: “From the foregoing, the onus of providing evidence to back the AMCON Chairman’s figure of N3.4 billion as ASCL monthly wage bill, which has been severally quoted, naturally falls on Alhaji Belgore. The House of Representatives Committee on Steel would do well to demand such evidence from Alhaji Belgore. Should there be any proof of a hike in the figure known to Alhaji Belgore, then he could avail the Committee of it.”

    The Accountant-General of the Federation and the Director- General (Budget), he said, could be asked to tender the releases made through IPP1S (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System) in respect of Ajaokuta Steel Company’s Personnel Costs last year.

    “To the best of our knowledge, it is what was appropriated that was paid to staff by the Accountant-General of the Federation via 1PPIS,” he said,  adding that since July 2012, preceded by a diligent and thorough data capturing exercise, the salaries of ASCL workers are paid directly to respective staff members from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation via the IPPIS.

    Isah said these facts were known to all, explaining that after the takeover of the company from the Indians (GHIL/GINL concessionaires) in 2008, ASCL has been on zero capital allocation and an overhead of less than N45million. “All such information is in the public domain and on the website of respective ministries,” he said, adding: “It is common knowledge that any piece of commissioned equipment left idle will sooner than later be lost to rot due to corrosion. Thus, while the plant awaits the putting in place of the relevant external infrastructure and eventual completion and integrated commissioning, it is important that the pieces of wide ranging equipment that make up the plant be kept intact, secure and preserved in good health.”

    Maintenance task, he said, was indicated for all plants, whether or not they were under operation, adding: “Staff of ASCI, who are engaged to do this all-important job and to secure the plant from pilferers, are paid a paltry 0.4 per cent of the investment on ground annually.”

    Isah said the point must be made clear to all that the fact that the plant is not under productive operation does not mean that the skeletal staff strength it maintains now are idle or redundant.

    He said Dr. Emmanuel Eboga, who served as Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum, visited Ajaokuta Steel Plant in 2010 and liked what he saw. Isah quoted Eboga to have said: “The workers of this steel plant deserve national honours because of the way and manner they have been able to preserve this steel plant.” Those, he said, were the words of one who knows what it takes to keep an engineering facility in good shape.

    Owing to sustained maintenance of equipment and facilities undertaken by the staff since the Russian and Ukrainian vacated site in 1994,  the Plant, he said, has continued to enjoy a clean bill of health as attested to by Technical Audit reports conducted by various competent international experts.

    He said an abridged conclusion of the latest audit report by an Ukrainian-backed company states adding: “The situation of the steel plant’s equipment and facilities are satisfactory. Mechanically the steel plant’s equipment and facilities are generally in good condition.”

    The Salvage Value of the steel firm, according to him, is over $3 billion, adding: “For a plant abandoned since 1994 (21years ago), you will agree that the staff of ASCI deserve commendation and not condemnation.”