The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Foreign

  • Foreign investor divests from Julius Berger Nigeria

    Foreign investor divests from Julius Berger Nigeria

    Bilfinger SE, the majority core investor in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, would sell its entire equity stake in the Nigerian company this month, it was learnt yesterday.

    A regulatory filing obtained yesterday by The Nation indicated that Bilfinger SE, which holds 33.4 per cent in Julius Berger Nigeria, has decided to sell its equity stake and exit the company.

    Bilfinger SE has already informed the Nigerian directors of Julius Berger Nigeria of the decision to dispose the equity stake on or before the end of this month.

    The equity sale, according to the emerging details, will be offered to long-term Nigerian investors and will lead to the exit of the representative of Bilfinger SE from the board of Julius Berger Nigeria.

    The equity sale might not be unconnected with Bilfinger’s strategic realignment from a construction company to an engineering and services group in the last decade which saw Bilfinger SE divesting totally from its construction activities.

    Julius Berger Nigeria, in a confirmation, the board and management of Julius Berger Nigeria yesterday said they strongly believed that the exit of Bilfinger SE will not impact negatively on the company.

    According to the company, ongoing strategic business directions being undertaken by the board and management would sustain and increase Julius Berger Nigeria’s efficiency and responsiveness as well as set basis for a future of long lasting success.

    In 2011, Bilfinger, which then held 49.87 per cent equity stake in Julius Berger Nigeria, had sold down its equity stake. Julius Berger Nigeria then had 1.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each with market capitalisation of N56.59 billion out of which Bilfinger Berger held 598.4 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. Other substantial shareholders in Julius Berger Nigeria included the Lagos State and Benue State, which hold 6.99 per cent and 5.27 per cent respectively through their investment companies.

    In order to strengthen its corporate independence, Julius Berger Nigeria had enhanced its on shore and off shore technical and logistic capacities by the establishment of a newly incorporated subsidiary, Prime Technology Design and Engineering Nigeria Limited for the provisions of design and engineering support services to the company.

    The company also acquired a controlling majority share of the technical and logistic business and operations of Bilfinger Berger Nigeria GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany, which assures Julius Berger Nigeria Plc of total control of all required services such as planning, procurement, recruitment and capacity building.

    The share price of Julius Berger Nigeria remained unchanged at N52.39 per share.

     

  • Saraki seeks more foreign investors

    Saraki seeks more foreign investors

    •As U.S. envoy expresses optimism about Nigeria

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki yesterday said  Nigeria’s doors would continue to be open to foreign investors.

    Saraki who spoke when the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, visited him at the National Assembly in Abuja also said the coountry’s future is bright.

    He reiterated the commitment of the Senate to the enactment of appropriate legislations to sustain an investment-friendly atmosphere with a view to bringing the country out of the woods.

    He said with the abundant resources in the country, the government is confident that it will meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians from all walks of life.

    Saraki extolled the cordial relationship between Nigeria and the U.S. saying that Entwistle’s visit was prompt coming at a time the country is preparing to confront most of the challenges standing in the way of its developmental goals.

    He listed the challenges impeding the progress of the country to include epileptic power supply, insecurity, unemployment and revenue leakages.

    He said the present administration is concerned about the well-being of Nigerians.

    Saraki said: “This 8th Senate has the mandate to give Nigerians the dividends of democracy. We will put in place comprehensive systems to make sure that our revenues meet our needs.

    “Our oversight functions will be strengthened to ensure that there will be no room for loopholes in implementing government plans and projects.

    “I can assure you that Nigeria will continue to be attractive to investment opportunities. We have the human capital and with our younger generation’s steadfastness, training and development, our much needed goals will be achieved.”

  • Review of Nigeria’s foreign policy

    Review of Nigeria’s foreign policy

    (Nigeria should forge new relationships outside Africa)

    As he settles down to urgent business, President Muhammadu Buhari has a lot to worry about on domestic affairs. But he has very little to worry about on Nigeria’s foreign policy, which did not feature at all in the presidential election. It was hardly mentioned by the two principal candidates, Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan. The electorate were more interested in ‘bread and butter’ issues than in foreign policy. There are no major foreign policy crises or issues ahead of President Buhari except, perhaps, Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and some consular problems. He should therefore concentrate his attention more on the dire domestic situation he has inherited from the Jonathan PDP Federal Government. The main focus of the new Buhari APC Federal Government should, therefore, be on how to tackle these crucial domestic issues on which the success of his government depends.

    However, foreign policy issues cannot be totally ignored by the new Buhari APC Federal Government, as Nigerians expect their country to play a more important and distinct role in world affairs. There have been some strong criticisms of Nigeria’s foreign policy before and during the Jonathan PDP Federal Government. Basically, the main criticism of Nigeria’s foreign policy is that it is lacking in bite. It is argued that Nigeria is punching below its real weight, and that Nigeria’s role in the world, particularly in Africa, has declined considerably in recent years. Critics of our foreign policy argue that as the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria should play a more important and decisive role in world affairs, particularly in Africa.

    There is some validity in these criticisms. But these critics tend to ignore both the unstable domestic condition of the country and the significant changes in the international system, particularly the emergence and the implications for Nigeria of a multi polar world, with new regional and powerful players, such as the BRICS. Until now, Nigeria’s foreign policy was concentrated on Africa. It considers itself the natural leader of black Africa. But many African states, particularly South Africa, now openly challenge Nigeria’s claim to being the leader of Africa. The francophone African states also continue to rely on France for their internal and external security. This trend diminishes the potential for Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa. Nigeria is now in search of a new role in Africa and in international affairs. This situation calls for a review of its foreign policy so as to take full account of changes in the international system. While this development should not lead Nigeria to abandon its leadership role in Africa, it should begin to look beyond Africa in forging new political and economic relationships. Much more importantly, the country should be made to understand that a more assertive foreign policy can only be based on a strong economy and domestic stability, not on mere wishful thinking.

     

    Regional Analysis

    Asia

    This search for a new role for Nigeria in world affairs should involve a region by region review of its foreign policy with a view to redefining its national interests and foreign policy objectives. The main focus of this review should be on its bilateral relations with certain regional economic and military powers that have emerged in recent years. In Asia, the dominant economic and military powers are China and India. China is the second largest economy in the world after the US. It is believed it will overtake the US in the next two decades. It has the largest horde of foreign reserves in the world, and it is forging new economic relationships with Africa. It is the country of the future. Nigeria should seek to expand its existing economic ties with China.

    The same situation applies to India, now the third largest economy in the world. Unlike the western powers, these two countries do not have a past colonial record in Africa. Their interest in Africa is mainly commercial, not strategic. They only seek new markets and access to Africa’s rich natural resources, particularly its oil. It is crucial for Nigeria to strengthen its economic ties with these two countries to our mutual benefit. Early in the life of the new APC Federal Government, the President should go on a trade mission to these two countries to promote direct investments by them in Nigeria.

     

    The US and the EU

    Nigeria still has strong economic and political ties with the western powers, particularly the US and the EU. These ties should be maintained and improved upon. Together, these countries account for over 60 per cent of direct foreign investment in Nigeria. But their share of Nigeria’s foreign trade has been falling steadily over the years. The US no longer buys Nigeria’s crude oil. But it offers through its AGOA programme the largest foreign market to non-oil exports from Nigeria. Besides, the US has strong military and strategic ties with Nigeria. It has provided some military assistance to Nigeria in its counter terrorism war. Recently, there have been some minor strains between the two countries caused by the decision of the PDP Federal Government to review the existing defence agreement for the training of the Nigerian military by the US Defence Department. The President should move quickly to restore frayed relations with the Obama administration, which fell out completely with the Jonathan administration over massive public corruption in Nigeria. So far, President Obama has not deemed it fit to pay an official visit to Nigeria. He has visited Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania.

    In the EU, Nigeria’s focus should be on Germany, the strongest economy in the EU, and on France, mainly for strategic considerations. Nigeria’s foreign trade with both Germany and France has  remained stable in recent years. There has been a lot of foreign investments in Nigeria from these two countries in the fields of communications and manufacturing.

    With regard to the UK, relations with Nigeria have been normal. But the old traditional Commonwealth ties with Britain have grown weaker over the years. The UK is now an EU country, and while it is important to maintain good economic ties with her, the UK no longer has the economic clout to offer Nigeria any significant assistance. Its overall aid to Africa has been falling in recent years. It is still struggling to get out of an economic recession. The British Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron, has not shown any real interest in Africa. He has not yet visited Nigeria.

     

    Latin America

    The three dominant economies in Latin America are Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. But with the exception of Brazil, which has some limited foreign direct investments in Nigeria, none of the others are in a position to offer Nigeria any significant economic assistance. Nonetheless, we should seek to forge strong political ties with all three countries.

     

    The Middle East

    Nigeria has no real strategic interests in the Middle East. It should steer a middle course in the ongoing conflicts in the region, except that it should support the idea of a two states’ solution in resolving the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The wider conflict in the region should be completely avoided. On the issue of the Iran nuclear programme, Nigeria should support the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the Western powers.

     

    Ties with multilateral financial institutions

    For the foreseeable future, Nigeria will need foreign capital and investments in its still fragile economy. Already, it is looking to the World Bank and the IMF as sources of funding for its woeful infrastructure. We should maintain good relations with the two multilateral financial institutions while rejecting advice from them that is not in our long term economic interests. However, we should pay more attention to the AfDB (the African Development Bank) as a possible additional source of future borrowing for infrastructure development, particularly now that Dr. Adesina, the outgoing Minister of Agriculture, has been elected the new President of the bank.

     

    Funding of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    The poor funding of the Foreign Ministry requires urgent attention. Nigeria now has 115 diplomatic missions abroad. This is too large in view of our limited and dwindling financial resources. With Nigeria’s foreign reserves virtually depleted and total revenue reduced by 50 per cent, it is clear that we cannot continue to maintain such a large number of diplomatic missions abroad. We have missions in some countries, such as Thailand and North Korea where we have no real economic or strategic interests. The use of foreign postings as a form of political patronage should be abandoned as it is too costly. Foreign policy cannot be run on a shoe string. Lack of adequate funding of our missions will continue to have a negative impact on their overall effectiveness and efficiency. The number of our diplomatic missions should be reduced immediately to 100, and thereafter to not more than 80.

  • Foreign varsities designate Onalo professor of credit management

    Foreign varsities designate Onalo professor of credit management

    Professor Chris Onalo, Registrar/Chief Executive Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), has been designated a professor of credit management by two prestigious universities including the American University of London, UK and the International University of Panama, (IUP)in the Republic of Panama.

    The recognition by the two universities is coming three months after the London Postgraduate Credit Management College (LPCMC) UK, in collaboration with its affiliate universities appointed Onalo as professor of credit management.

    In two separate letters of recommendation signed on behalf of the American University of London by its President, Prof. Michael Nimier and his counterpart at the International University of Panama, Prof. Dr. Jorge Laurencena, they acknowledged Onalo’s unparallel commitment towards the growth of credit and financial management in Nigeria, and the globe at large as what earned him the well-deserved recognition.

    Specifically, Professor Nimier said, considering the enormous contribution to the body of knowledge in the area of credit management, Onalo has earned his place in the history as someone whose interest in the development and growth of credit management is unwavering and therefore worthy of recommendation.

    On his part, Professor Laurencena said the governing council of IUP was persuaded to recommend Onalo for professorship owing to his industry and devotion to the scholarly growth and development of credit management.

    The governing council of IUP, Laurencena said, would formally recognise Onalo on June 10th 2015, in Panama.

  • Delayed PIB passage derails foreign investments 

    Delayed PIB passage derails foreign investments 

    The Rivers State Chairman of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Chika Onuegbu has warned government and politicians to stop politicising the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law. To him, the delay in its passage has derailed foreign investment in the sector  that accounts for over 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

    Onuegbu, who spoke at a media briefing in Lagos, noted that investors have continued to adopt  wait-and-see attitude, refraining from making any new investment pending the passage of the bill into law.

    He said: “The non-passage of the PIB into law has derailed foreign investment in 2014 in the sector that accounts for over 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

    “The irony of the delayed exercise was when President Goodluck Jonathan administration was advised to re-start the whole process over again when the administration in January 2012 set up the  Special PIB Task Force led by Senator Udo Udoma to work with relevant government bodies to produce a new version of the PIB for presentation to the National Assembly.”

    According to Onuegbu, the dangers in the current dispensation is that Nigeria, therefore, cannot afford the luxury of time, while politicians indulge in unnecessary bickering over such an important bill in a sector that is the main stay of the economy accounting for over 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings, about 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and 80 per cent of government revenue.

    The labour leader, who noted that the PIB represents a great opportunity for Nigeria to ensure a solid foundation for the future of oil and gas operations in the country, added that the petroleum resource, which Nigeria is endowed, should work for and benefit Nigerians and not a few individuals.

  • Preference for foreign goods threatens local brands’

    Preference for foreign goods threatens local brands’

    Experts and operators in the manufacturing sector have identified consumers’ lack of confidence in local items as being responsible for the sector’s poor growth.

    The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, lamented that the challenges of indigenous manufacturers who are competing unfavourably with imported products arose because Nigerians prefer imported products more than locally made ones though they are of the same quality.

    “This has made local manufacturers resort to engraving foreign labels on their products to satisfy the local consumers who just love products with foreign labels,” he said.

    Also, Chairman, MOMAS Electric Meters Manufacturing Company Limited, Kola Balogun, regretted that Nigeria’s preoccupation with importation was doing a lot of harm to the local manufacturing sector.

    Balogun, who declared that the company is a strong believer in the local content policy of the Federal Government, said that Nigeria can no longer be dependent on other countries for its technological requirement and should, through a systematic approach and strong belief in the ability of Nigerians to develop and create value, come up with appropriate policies to encourage indigenous companies.

    He revealed that his firm is almost 100 per cent local content in human resources and materials, by employing young and enterprising Nigerians and equipping them adequately with requisite training locally and internationally.

    “We have invested a lot of resources in our people through training and retraining. Some of our engineers have been trained in India and in the US to ensure they compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world,” Balogun said

    He said that with tenacity of purpose and appropriate technology, including smart technology and ruggedness, the company has become the manufacture of integrated circuit and silicon conductors. Noting that it is a bold step in the sector for an indigenous company because of its high technology value, he expressed concerns that the country was too comfortable importing items while the zeal to support local industry was waning.

    He said his company had developed world-class products to provide post-paid and prepaid electricity meters using the latest technologies in design and production. According to him, all the raw materials and personnel were locally sourced while young Nigerians were employed and trained to handle sensitive operations in the metering company.

    “We have invested a lot of resources in our people through training and retraining. Some of our engineers have been trained in India and the United States to ensure that they compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world,” Balogun said, noting that it remains a challenge competing with foreign firms who had been given the necessary support by their home governments.

    He said: “We find it hard to compete favourably in the area of pricing if we have to go by international pricing index. When it comes to exports, most countries subsidise most companies that export products from their countries but we have a peculiar case in Nigeria.

    “If electricity passing through this area is used on our equipment, most of them will be damaged. So, we don’t depend on public power supply. We spend a lot generating power and that adds to the cost of production. The devaluation of the naira has also made it impossible for us to be at par with our foreign counterparts in terms of pricing.”

    He said what needs to be defined in the Local Content Act is that priority should be given to Nigerian companies that are good.

    Group Managing Director, Western Metal Products Company Limited, Robert Tung called for increased tariff on imported products as a way of discouraging imports and also protecting local content. Tung, who said his company had been in existence in Nigeria for the past 50 years, added that his products are of the highest quality but distributors usually insist that he puts foreign names on them.

    Tung urged Nigerians to be proud of goods manufactured locally, advising the government to discourage people from always looking for imported goods, as some of the imported items are of low quality. He also charged the  government to embark on an advocacy campaign that emphasises the ‘made-in-Nigeria’ brand.

    Tung, whose company produces high quality tiles, wire rods and all sizes of nails, said the former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, had insisted on writing “made- in-Ogun State, Nigeria” on bags containing nails. But some Nigerians did not like that, so he added some Chinese inscriptions on the bags.

    Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, also frowned on the practice of Nigerians who are obsessed with foreign products. He attributed the attitude to inferiority complex, saying, “I think we need to get over this inferiority complex among our citizens. A product that is made in Nigeria to the highest standard should make us proud, as opposed to longing for a made in China product.

    “It is an orientation that we need to change and I am hopeful that as more and more companies begin to try some of these products and realise that they are made in Nigeria, more and more people will feel comfortable.”

  • Irep to field foreign filmmakers

    Irep to field foreign filmmakers

    This year’s edition of the annual iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival begins on Thursday, March 19 and will run through Sunday March 22 at the Freedom Park, the old Broad Street Prison on Lagos Island. The Festival is organised by the iRepresent Documentary Film Forum, an affiliate of the West African Documentary Film Forum (WDFF), and the Documentary Network Africa (DNA).

    No fewer than 12 international guests from countries such as Germany, United States, United Kingdom, France, Cameroon, Gabon, South Africa, Kenya are expected at the festival, which will screen about 50 films in the course of its four-day duration. The festival also offers training sessions, workshops, seminars as well as Master Classes for young, aspiring and already practising filmmakers, which usually throng its programme in every edition since 2010 when it was birthed.

    This year marks the 5th anniversary of the festival, which in its short lifespan has attracted the attention of world documentary film circuits including the People2People Festival in South Africa, the Munich-Germany based Dokfest; South Africa-based Discop; and Cameroon-based Ecrans Noirs.

    The 2015 edition will explore the theme:Reinventing documentary filmmaking in a digital space.Though conceived on the traditional iREP thematic framework of Africa in Self-conversation, the theme is premised on the reality that Digital media technology is expanding narrative possibilities and shaping audiences’ experiences of how realities are articulated.

    Festival Executive Director, Femi Odugbemi said: “Documentary filmmaking is coming to terms with these new realities and continuously finding hybrid strategies to navigate the blurred lines crisscrossing verite and satisfying the ever changing temperament of the digital world that is hip, fun-seeking, chaotic, multi-tasking, and attention sapping.

    “For documentary filmmaking, digital technology presents a challenge and an opportunity that would either remarkably transform and redefine what passes as a documentary film or bury the art in its past. More than ever before, there is a need to reinvent the art of documentary filmmaking within the space of the new elements that are dictating the trend of media consumption and experience globally. We are also conscious of the inevitable movement of Television broadcasting and services into full digital era as envisaged by the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission and that that quite a lot of African nations have set same 2015 as deadline for their full embrace of digital broadcasting on the continent”.

    The festival will feature screening of a carefully selected films representing the best of recordings of African experiences, conference, seminar and workshops on the journeys, challenges and prospects of digital broadcasting, training Programme for young African filmmakers on the technicalities of digital broadcasting, iREP Producers’ roundtable, and exhibition of Digital Broadcast equipment. Others are live conversation with the public on the prospects of digital broadcasting, iREP Distinguished award for excellence in Filmmaking, support for industry, unveiling of iREP Tv

    There will also be Festival cocktails & reception; a ceremonial event that will bear the festive nature of the edition. It will feature a Red Carpet reception with a jazz band performing; a brief keynote on the journey of iREP Film festival so far by Prof. Niyi Coker of University of Missouri, St. Louis, USA.

  • ICRC decries dominance of foreign experts in project structuring

    ICRC decries dominance of foreign experts in project structuring

    The dominance of foreign experts is responsible for the low local capacity in project transaction structuring in Nigeria, Acting Head of Communications, Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mrs Deborah Okafor, has said.

    In a statement signed by Mrs Okafor in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), she said the Director General of ICRC, Aminu Dikko, made the statement at the first quarter 2015 meeting of the Public Private Partnership Units Consultative Forum (3PUCF).

    Represented by Dr. Chidi Izuwah, Director of PPP, the DG said that effort must gear towards encouraging local experts.

    The 3PUCF is a brain child of the ICRC and it provides a platform for Heads of PPP Units in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to share knowledge and experience. It also ensures synergy in efforts towards institutionalising the Federal Government’s PPP Programme.

    Principal Private Sector Specialist, African Development Nigeria Field Office, Mr. Emmanuael Akinwunmi, said that the idea of regional PPP hub was to stimulate more private sector led intervention in the region. According to him, the challenge in accessing project finance in the country is usually due to shortage of integrity and ideas rather than lack of money.

    He said that opportunities were available within African Development Bank (AfDB) to both public and private sector agencies in the areas of funding for project structuring, execution and capacity building.

    Mr. Nurudeen Lawal, from the National Planning Commission, emphasised the importance of the roles of MDA’s in ensuring the successful implementation of the National Infrastructure master plan.

    Representative of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Abubakar Yarima, identified legislation as one of the bottlenecks to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in some sectors, particularly rail and power sector. He called for a review of existing laws in these sectors.

  • Report: Nigeria lost N154b foreign investments in 2014

    Foreign investors took out over N154 billion in portfolio investments in 2014, it has been learnt.

    Concerns over Nigeria’s risk profile made many foreign investors to opt for the sideline, despite the attractive valuations of Nigerian’s equity investments.

    The latest Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) report of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that Nigeria recorded a foreign portfolio investment deficit in 2014 as against the surplus recorded in 2013.

    The report, obtained at the weekend, indicated that Nigeria recorded a negative net foreign portfolio position of N154.14 billion in 2014 as against a positive net position of a modest N20.48 billion in 2013.

    The NSE report is generally regarded as a credible gauge of foreign portfolio investments in Nigeria because it coordinates data from nearly all active investment bankers and stockbrokers.

    Nigeria operates a mono-stock exchange, which makes the NSE the sole gateway to the nation’s stock market and the NSE’s benchmark indices, the country indices for Nigeria.

    The NSE report used two key indicators-inflow and outflow, to gauge foreign investors’ mood and participation in the stock market as a barometer for the economy. Foreign portfolio investment outflow includes sales transactions or liquidation of equity portfolio investments through the stock market while inflow includes purchase transactions on the NSE.

    The 12-month report showed that foreign portfolio outflow was N846.53 billion as against inflow of N692.39 billion in 2014, representing a net deficit of N154.14 billion. In 2013, total foreign inflow stood at N531.26 trillion compared with outflow of N510.78 trillion, leaving a positive balance of N20.48 billion.

    The report showed a notable spike in foreign transactions, although the negative colouration indicated that the propensity was towards divestment rather than investment. Total foreign transactions rose by 52.5 per cent to N1.54 trillion in 2014 as against N1.01 trillion in 2013.

    Meanwhile, foreign investors remained the dominant bloc at the Nigerian stock market. Foreign transactions accounted for 52.52 per cent of total transactions in 2014 while domestic investors accounted for 42.48 per cent. In 2013, foreign investors had accounted for 50.80 per cent while Nigerian investors accounted for 49.20 per cent. Domestic investors traded N1.137 trillion in 2014 as against N1.009 trillion in 2013.

    Market analysts said investors were anxious about Nigeria’s macroeconomic and monetary outlook in the light of the declining global oil prices and rising economic risks. They also cited the increasing political risk. However, analysts were positive on the outlook for the Nigerian market noting that the attractive valuation, resilience of the market fundamentals and the commitment of the government to pull through the global crude oil price challenge.

  • Joy, as 125 Kaduna students win foreign scholarship

    Joy, as 125 Kaduna students win foreign scholarship

    Maryam Nuhu Ibrahim, one the beneficiaries of the overseas scholarship scheme of the Kaduna State government, said until she got her admission to study Medicine abroad, she never believed the phrase, ‘dividends of democracy’.

    Miss Ibrahim’s story is like many of her colleagues who were selected from the 23 local government areas of the state for the scholarship.  With over 1,000 candidates screened, they never expected to be selected.

    Maryam told The Nation that she never thought she stood a chance.

    “In fact, I lack words to express my feelings. I have since been nursing the ambition of studying medicine. I have tried Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) severally, but I was given agriculture. As a lady, I felt it is odd to study agriculture, so I did not accept the admission.

    “When I heard about this opportunity of government overseas scholarship, I just said, let me give it a trial, even though I thought they will only consider people with godfathers. But here I am today; I just received my admission without any form of lobbying. I only have to say, I thank God and Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero,” she said.

    The scholarship scheme is an initiative of Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero.  Shortly after assuming office on December 16, 2012, he spoke of the need to send students abroad on scholarship.

    Early last year, he made good his promise by giving 29 300-Level medical students of Kaduna State University (KASU) the overseas scholarship to enable them complete their clinical studies at the Kampala International University, Uganda.

    But the number of students that benefited this year was unexpected as Yero distributed 125 admission letters last week.

    Speaking at the flag-off of the 2014/2015  scholarship awards, the Governor said the state is currently sponsoring 22 PhD, 77 MSc and 26 medical students in countries such as Malaysia, Ghana, South Africa, India, New Zealand, Egypt and Uganda.

    “The candidates were selected after a thorough screening exercise with all the 23 Local Government Areas equitably represented,” he said.

    Yero said his administration has so far spent N1.4 billion on internal and external scholarships since he assumed office in addition to a recent approval for the disbursement of N119,992,692.00 for new students.

    Yero said the scheme was initiated to improve the manpower capacity of the state.

    “Let me reiterate our determination towards improving the human capital to accelerate socio-economic development of the State.  It is in furtherance to this resolve that we established the Postgraduate Overseas Scholarship Scheme with the aim of provision of the required manpower in such critical areas of Medical Sciences, Engineering, and Applied and Natural Sciences,” he said.

    In his address, the Chairman, Kaduna State foreign Scholarship Implementation Committee and former ABU Vice Chancellor, Prof Shehu Abdullahi, disclosed that 1,664 students participated in the selection process.

    He said: “1,664 students applied for the scholarship to undergo programmes.  In Human Medicine, 414, Masters 1072, and PhD 178, from the 23 local government areas in the state.

    Out of the 1,664 applicants, 1,559  were found qualified for the scholarship and consequently short-listed based on laid down criteria for interviews.

    “Interviews of the applicants were conducted on the 25th and 26th September, 2014. The applicants were interviewed at their senatorial zones and were selected based on their performances and available fund for the foreign scholarship scheme.”

    Other beneficiaries expressed gratitude  to the government and promised to make the state proud abroad. The students are expected to leave Nigeria as soon as possible.