The Nation Newspaper

Tag: future

  • DSO and future of broadcasting

    Television broadcasting is of so much importance to citizens and the Nigerian state as a means of national integration and cultural development in a fast-paced global arena which is driven mainly by communication technology. Nigeria has fallen far short in its bid to catch up with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) standards in terms of quality and timing in switching over to digital broadcasting.

    Whereas Nigeria has missed more than two deadlines in the digital switchover process to the disappointment of many Nigerians and ITU, what has become more embarrassing is the claim that the transmitters installed by Integrated Television Services (ITS) have been discontinued by the original equipment manufacturer more than 10 years ago. Tony Dara, an acclaimed broadcast engineer who had acted as a consultant to the National Assembly on Nigeria’s digital switch over brought this fact to the public sphere and the famed Nigerian factor has begun to set in.

    Responding to the finding on installation of obsolete transmitters that have been discontinued by the original equipment manufacturer, ITS General Manager, Rotimi Salami did not contradict the finding but instead sought to rationalise using them on the ground of “room for backward integration” existing in broadcast technology.

    At a time the rest of the world is striving to keep pace with the innovations and dynamism of digital signals broadcast,  while Nigerians  make do with antiquated modems so that the technical epilepsy associated with  electricity supply will be transferred  into our broadcasting infrastructure’s  “compatibility” hardware.  It was the same sickening surrender to stagnant development that led ITS into retaining old buildings and facilities to house the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in Jos and Ilorin, another flaw identified in the Dara Report that ITS failed to debunk. According to ITS GM, there was no reason to even consider new buildings for the DSO process because nine years ago the White Paper on DSO recommended that the “existing and massive” broadcast transmission infrastructure of the NTA, VON and FRCN should form the backbone for the new broadcast signal distributor. Someone should ask ITS why these old buildings were not even considered for renovation.

    Again, to add pseudo-savvy to the idleness of its initiatives, ITS GM exposed the fallacies integrated into decisions by declaring that “a building does not determine the quality of transmission, rather (sic) it is the state of the equipment”. This evidently cannot be technically applicable to a backwardly integrated compatibility-chasing choice of obsolete equipment that will be depending on perpetual coupling and combinations to deliver digital output from analogue inputs! What would it have cost to put up new buildings designed with the spatial and other specifications suitable for workflow in the DSO which is not comparable to the decades old analogue equipment “existing” in NTA?

    It is unfortunate that these are the untenable, illogical and technically bankrupt responses that ITS churned out in a vexatious attempt to dismiss the clear compilation of the deceptive and defective foundation laid for the DSO in Nigeria by the federal government’s own agents and agencies.

    The crux of this disturbing matter is that over N1.7 billion was collected by the NTA-ITS from federal government coffers specifically as take-off grant for the DSO pilot project! With such a humongous budget, why should their DSO project be relying on discontinued obsolete equipment when at every material time there were latest successor models of the digital transmitters by the same manufacturer which are in fact future-assured technology and not the retrograde discarded systems being foisted on the country? Does Nigeria have to wait until the analogue-fanatics pushing backward integration in Nigeria while the world is on digital fast track to the future in broadcast technology are themselves rendered obsolete by age and tenure before we can catch up with the rest of the world in digital broadcasting?

    It is also intriguing that the industry regulator, National Broadcasting Corporation(NBC) which is charged with monitoring and supervising the broadcast industry in Nigeria has so far maintained a loud silence while the ITS scandal unfolds. NBC should have been the first to identify any deviation from set standards and impose the necessary regulatory sanctions to ensure compliance, especially at the critical stage of commencement of the DSO. The only conclusion this surprising negligence of duty and aloofness to the exposure of malpractice raises is culpable collusion. This deplorable attitude was responsible for the initial installation of obsolete equipment by ITS as well as the cover-up of the scandal during and after the celebrated launching of the Jos pilot project.

    An indication of the culpability of the NBC was given the other day on Channels TV when Armstrong Idachaba, the NBC director specifically charged with the monitoring of broadcasting erased any doubts about the Dara Report findings  and the implication that his organisation failed to perform its fundamental duty of monitoring and regulating the very first official roll-out of the DSO in the Jos Pilot Project . Confronted with the Dara Report’s shocking revelation that ITS commenced the implementation of the DSO in Jos by deploying equipment that have been discontinued by the original equipment manufacturer, Idachaba declared that ITS more competent to respond and even offered contact details for Channels TV to “Bring them in and let them explain”. In other words, NBC as the government regulatory agency in broadcasting and the DSO in particular, could neither deny nor confirm that ITS actually rolled out obsolete analogue equipment for the Jos pilot digital switch over project!

    The same Idachaba had earlier bragged that “Jos was a fantastic experience for NBC”, that “all the theorising and planning we did regarding framework for DSO we had a chance to implement in Jos” and crowed about how the local people in Jos were enjoying digital terrestrial television free of charge on 30 channels. He obviously was not expecting to be asked about the Dara Report and was visibly flustered having to literally eat his own words by admitting also that ITS had not met the 30 channels requirement and had still not covered the entire Plateau State (not even the entire Jos township according to Dara Report), since the fanfare launch in 2015 in violation of the timelines set by the NBC.

    The NBC cannot feign ignorance of the damning revelation of the Dara Report without admitting deliberate negligence to perform its statutory responsibility as government regulator of the broadcast industry. Idachaba’s self-censoring refusal on national TV to give a honest and transparent response to the Dara Report as NBC’s head of broadcast monitoring is not good enough. By an unexpected turn of events, the NBC has been caught on camera exposing the deliberate derailment of its regulatory role from public interest to the pecuniary interests of a mafia-type cult of government officials intent on a digital swindle operation under the cover of the DSO.  Against the background of several deliberate failures of NBC to meet set deadlines for the project launch in the last five or more years, the confessional conspiratorial conduct of the regulator in the “pilot” plus the weighty material evidence of the Dara Report should convince the federal government beyond reasonable doubt that corruption will not kill DSO NIGERIA if the culprits can be brought to book.

    It is therefore necessary to urge the federal government to revisit and expand the scope of the initial investigation by the EFCC that resulted in the sacking and arraignment of the former DG of the NBC. It is quite clear now that it is not only the handling of the contracts for set top box “manufacturers” that was riddled with financial irregularities and violations of due process but also the entire process of implementing the DSO. Indeed even the surreptitious manner by which StarTimes hijacked and proceeded to subjugate its supposed license holder NTA in the pay TV sector calls for thorough investigation.

    The House of Representatives Committee on DSO should take the lead by concluding its investigations and releasing a report of its findings. Sad it is that the jinx that has bedevilled our DSO since 2014 remains a cog in the wheel of progress in 2017. Now that we know where the problem comes from, we stand a better chance of eliminating it once and for all. The revelation by Tony Dara is the best thing to ever happen to DSO in Nigeria.

     

    • Yakubu Esq is a legal/government affairs analyst.
  • Positioning Nigeria for a prosperous future

    Positioning Nigeria for a prosperous future

    Minister of Finance Mrs KEMI ADEOSUN, in this piece, argues that the economic downturn will in the long run work in favour of the country, especially with investment in agriculture and other potential money-spinning but hitherto neglected areas. 

    Since the middle of 2014, when the price of crude oil fell dramatically, Nigeria’s finances became challenged. This is not hard to explain: we’ve historically depended on crude oil for as much as 70 per cent of government revenues, and 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings. The outcome – pressure on government’s finances – was by no means unusual. Asimilar fate befell most oil-rich countries around the world.

    Where Nigeria possibly stood out was in the fact that during the preceding three years when oil prices were in excess of 100 dollars per barrel, the Government did little in terms of saving and investing for the future. Our Sovereign Wealth Fund, which was established in October 2012 with just US$1 billion, did not receive any further inflow during the oil price boom. Instead, billions of dollars were squandered through corrupt oil and defence contracts. It is a terrible thing for a country to fall on hard times without a savings buffer. There was nothing unexpected about our downturn. It was the inevitable result of the choices we made or didn’t make during the years of boom.

    What is remarkable, yet not as talked about, is the way we have worked so hard to exit the recession, reset the economy and reposition it for a brighter future for the present and future generations of Nigerians. The Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is laying the foundation for the kind of economic growth that makes a real impact in the lives of citizens.

    The downturn has inspired unprecedented levels of fiscal responsibility, in line with President Buhari’s determination to fight Nigeria’s endemic corruption.

    Shortly after taking office, he issued a Presidential order mandating the immediate implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system, consolidating thousands of government accounts scattered across deposit money banks into a unified system that is transparent and easy to centrally monitor and track. Under the old system, it was common for government accounts to be converted into personal use, but under the TSA this is impossible.Also, the proliferation of accounts encouraged rent seeking rather than questionable practices.

    Budgetary reform has also taken a lot of our time and attention. We are pioneering the use of software to prepare our annual budgets, which allows greater transparency and the ability to track changes.

    We have insisted on using biometric verification in the deployment of our Social Investment Programme, which includes a Job Scheme for unemployed graduates, a School Feeding Scheme for Primary School Pupils, a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme targeting a million of our poorest citizens, and a Micro-Credit scheme for artisans, farmers, and traders. In the past the Social Investment payments would have been done as cash handouts.

    A similar insistence on biometric verification for the federal payroll has resulted in the detection of tens of thousands of bogus beneficiaries – or ‘ghost workers’, as we often refer to them, in Nigeria – and savings running into billions of naira every month.

    We are pursuing unprecedented cooperation with foreign governments and powers, as part of our transparency and anti-corruption drive. For the simple reason that a disproportionate amount of public funds looted in Nigeria end up in the United Arab Emirates’, Nigeria has signed bilateral agreements with the UAE Government on extradition, exchange of information, and repatriation of stolen public funds.

    One strong demonstration of our political will has been a Whistleblowing Scheme we launched months ago that empowers citizens to report public corruption. The impact in terms of recoveries has exceeded our expectations. The tighter rein on public finances allowed us invest US$500m in our Sovereign Wealth Fund, during a recession.

    A lot of the work we have done over the last two and half years has been focused on dismantling the old ways of doing things, rebuilding them, and empowering and fortifying our institutions with technology to block loopholes, discourage abuse, and prevent a relapse into the destructive ways of the past.

    The new Nigeria we seek will not happen without this kind of foundational reform that imposes on us new ways of thinking and of doing things. The early results are already being seen. A concerted focus on agriculture has seen our rice imports from Thailand dropping by 90 per cent between 2015 and 2016, and replaced by locally grown variants.

    As oil has let us down, we have started to do what we should have done decades ago, invest in agriculture and mining. Throughout the recession, agriculture recorded healthy growth. As we emerge from the recession, its impact is certain to multiply and position Nigeria for a prosperous future.

    Let me point out that the most important elements of any reform effort tend to be the least flamboyant. We are confident that in the months and years ahead, Nigerians and the world will see the full impact of the foundational resetting that the Buhari administration has been focused on since 2015.

    There is of course a lot of resistance to reform, by vested interests within and outside the system. But we are not fazed. The work of reform goes on. It is, to borrow from the Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe, morning yet on Creation Day. Not very long from now, Nigerians and the world will look back on this recession we have just emerged from, and realise that it was the turning point in Nigeria’s journey to true growth and greatness.

     

    Adeosun is Nigeria’s  Minister of Finance

  • Edo investment summit: Sustainable future beckons

    Edo investment summit: Sustainable future beckons

    The Edo State Government plans to host a three-day business/investment summit tagged “Alaghodaro Investment Summit.” With the theme “Envisioning the future”, it promises to be the template for leveraging a robust private sector partnership to open up investment opportunities in various sectors.  Asst Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports that the state also plans to ride on the summit’s platform to domesticate the Federal Government’s Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP).

    The economic development agenda of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration in Edo State is on course. The governor, who has not hidden his intention to strategically position the state for life without oil, has concluded plans to unveil an economic blueprint fashioned after the Federal Government’s Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP) launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in April.

    The EGRP, a 168-page medium-term economic plan, charts a course for the economy over the next four years. Its vision is to boost growth, invest in Nigerians, and build a globally-competitive economy. It envisages that the economy will return to sustainable, inclusive and diversified growth, and also transform Nigeria from an import-dependent to a producing economy.

    The EGRP document has been described by many experts in economics and public administration as a well-articulated principles for managing the economy. Dr. Alex Oti, a banker, said: “The EGRP represents the first blueprint by this administration to not only deal with the present economic meltdown, but also ensure growth in the medium term.”

    This is why, in line with its provisions for the growth of the non-oil sector, the Obaseki-led government plans to use the platform of the maiden edition of its summit tagged “Alaghodaro investment summit” to unveil a domesticated EGRP. The summit with the theme “Envisioning the future” will hold in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

    Alaghodaro is a Benin catch phrase meaning ‘Progress’ or ‘Moving forward.’ According to its organisers, it will bring together top-notch Nigerian and international business leaders, investors, bankers, industry experts, policymakers and the academia, to set the agenda for the state’s development. It will showcase how Edo intends to partner the private sector to leverage its competitive advantage in various sectors for sustainable  growth.

    With the state’s economic development plan geared towards opening up investment opportunities, with priority given to initiatives that prioritise its competitive advantage in agriculture, the summit, The Nation learnt, will showcase the administration’s ambitious agricultural programmes that gave birth to the Edo Fertiliser and Chemical Company aimed at boosting the local production of fertiliser.

    The Edo Fertiliser Plant and Chemical Company Limited, recently inaugurated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in Auchi, is a public-private venture, which can produce about 60,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser yearly. Also to be paraded at the summit is  Saro Farm in Sobe, Owan West Local Government Area, where harvest is ongoing.

    No doubt a template for leveraging a robust private sector partnership to open up  investment opportunities, the Saro Farm is the outcome of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative with Saro Agro Sciences Ltd., a leading company in agribusiness. It was conceived by Obaseki to create jobs for youths across the state.

    According to Obaseki, the maize farm was part of his administration’s accelerated agriculture initiative to boost job creation in the state. He told excited and expectant indigenes that between 50, 000 and 80, 000 agricultural jobs would be created before the end of the year in the state. The first phase of the initiative targets job creation for 1,000 farmers through the cultivation of 5,000 hectares of maize farms across five local government areas of the state.

     

    The road to an industrial hub

    Apart from agriculture, which has got a major boost with the adoption of contract farming, partnership with SARO Group on maize farming, the state government under Obaseki’s watch is also making frantic efforts to industrialise the state and create jobs.

    For instance, the Edo Industrial Park, which has received positive reviews by analysts, will top discourses at panel and technical sessions during the summit.

    On completion, the park will be linked to the Azura-Edo Independent Power Plant (IPP), under construction. The project is situated close to Nigeria’s main trunk line, the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS), which is only 1km from the Azura-Edo project site.

    Aside these, there is a plan to transform the state into a transport hub, with the anchor being the Gelegele Seaport, which would aid the evacuation of agricultural produce for local and global markets.

    The resulting jobs that would be generated from these ventures are expected to usher the state into a new order of economic growth. The 200,000 job target will be reviewed at the event with the sectors that can produce the highest number of jobs, as encapsulated in the EGRP.

    Infrastructure is also top priority for the Obaseki administration. This informed the creation of a separate Ministry of Infrastructure in the state to drive the realisation of the Gelegele Seaport, the expansion of the Benin Airport in partnership with the Federal Government and the construction of intra-city and inter-state roads, among other projects.

    Perhaps, more importantly, the Ease of Doing Business also received the EGRP attention. For instance, Nigeria is ranked 169 out of 190 countries on World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index. The plan envisages improved ranking to 100 during the EGRP.

    Consequently, the government as part of removing barriers to trade and investment, signed the Private Property Protection Law. The law criminalises the  Community Development Associations (CDAs) activities. The CDAs were notorious for harassing land owners by making them pay illegal levies and selling people’s property until the PPA Law was put in place by the Obaseki-led government.

    The passage of the PPP law effectively outlawed land speculators and grabbers, who for years tormented investors.This has cleared the space for investors to site factories and industries in parts of the state without fear of intimidation from anyone.

    As part of its vision of making the state accountable, transparent and a darling for local and foreign capital inflows, the  government  insists on the adherence to its public procurement laws in sourcing of services and goods, which eases business transactions with the State Government.

    Shedding light on the planned summit, Chairman of the Planning Committee, Asue Ighodalo, said: “The summit is designed to foster knowledge sharing, build relationships, spark innovation and inspire commitment to strategic deployment of capital for greater socio-economic and environmental impact.”

    Ighodalo, an investment lawyer, sits on the board of Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). He has been the chairman of Sterling Bank since 2014  and director of private companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs),including the Christopher Kolade Foundation, FATE Foundation, Lagos State Lottery Board, Main Street Technologies Limited, Union Bank (UK) among others.

    It is easy to see why the government through the summit is engaging investors and thought leaders on the immense potential that the state has. For instance, on a scale of one to 10, Edo ranks eight as the most likely state to be self-sustaining for its natural resources. The state has oil, immense potential in water and other natural resources, a population that can easily attract outside and foreign investments.

    Despite, Obaseki is cautious that this may not last. He said: “Oil has been the driving force of our economy both at the national and state level. The real challenge for us as a people is not necessarily what happens now, but what happens when the oil wells dry up and we can no longer generate foreign exchange from the sale of oil.”

    The governor said: “Alaghodaro is the response of the government of Edo State to this challenge. We understand that to ensure a sustainable future for our children we must take deliberate action today towards developing the non-oil sectors and diversifying our economy.”

  • Wizikd features American singer, Future, in ‘Everytime’

    NIGERIAN superstar, Ayo Balogun, aka Wizkid, has released a brand new single featuring one of America’s top rated rappers, Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn aka Future.

    Titled ‘Everytime,’ the song is produced by Shizzi with additional help from Salaam Remi, an American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle and Miguel.

    This is coming some months after the Starboy, as Wizkid has come to be known, dropped his album titled ‘Sounds From The Other Side.’

    The collaboration between the two is just the latest high-profile collabo for wizkid, following songs with Drake, Chris Brown and Major Lazer.

    Also, on the recent album, he featured other American artistes like TY Dolla Sign and Trey Songz.

    “It’s a great thing and I’m excited to be a part of it. It’s just amazing to see it spread and watch it happening. And for the artists and the producers and really everyone from the entertainment industry in Africa, this is the right time to leverage off of that. It’s a great thing,” the artiste said in a recent interview.

  • Laying the foundations for future economy

    SIR: If any past government of Nigeria, at the least in the past 20 years have started the structural shift of the country’s strategic economic fundamentals as the Buhari-led government have started recently, Nigeria would have currently been taken its pride of place among the emerging and middle income economies in the MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria And Turkey) for which she was earlier and optimistically grouped. The avoidable spread of poverty and misery that is ravaging the country currently, would not have found Nigerians hapless victims they are today, to needless destitution.

    The making of contemporary emerging economies rest on three strategic pillars: Agricultural modernization, infrastructure, especially transportation (road, rail, air and power) and industrialization.

    These three strategic pillars of modern economy did not receive any appreciable and consistent attention in the past 29 years account for the massive structural disconnect that has hampered any meaningful and sustainable economic progress.

    Some major and key milestones include the recent finalization of the contract to build the Mambilla power plant, which would add about 4,000 megawatts to the current epileptic national grid. The consequence of the project when completed would be a strategic game-changer to Nigeria’s economic fortunes. Artisans, middle scale industrialists, business start-ups, of whom about 30% of their capital go into sourcing their own power, would be considerably relieved as they become more competitive, with obvious reduction in their cost of production.

    The transport arteries, especially the inauguration of railway lines that the President Buhari has embarked currently would trigger connectivity that is at the heart of contemporary emerging economies whose effect would be to create an integrated domestic market, enhancing supply and demand chains with powerful incentives for handsome rewards for productive activities. Already, the Abuja-Kaduna railway line launched and put to use, since July 2016 is making modest economic impacts along its routes. Young men and women who could have been susceptible to anti social vices of crimes and prostitution and even terrorism are engaged in informal modest economic activities in the more than 10 stations along the railway routes. New communities along the rail transport corridors will emerge, thereby lifting the pressure on the existing human settlements.

    In giving the nod to the flag-off of the construction of Lagos-Ibadan-Kano railway line, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, President Buhari has demonstrated a profound grasp and insight of key element that would build inclusive and sustainable economy of the future. Road and air transport network should also receive such commendable commitment and the implication of a modern transport infrastructure to unleash the momentum of the economic development cannot be overemphasized but would be clearly self-evident very soon.

    Of course, the factory floors will have little to process and even the transport networks would be marginally useful if agriculture is not modernized and significantly improved. The agricultural sector is the chief support infrastructure to industrialization. President Buhari has demonstrated an uncommon resolve to revive and modernize the agricultural sector and the results so far, are too glaring for anyone to see. He hit the nail at the point at the recent commissioning of a multi-billion naira of the Singaporean invested agro-industrial conglomerate, Olam integrated poultry and feeds mill in Kaduna State. President restated his administration’s “belief that agriculture offers the most viable and all-encompassing option in an attempt to diversify our national economy and it is in this direction that we must feed ourselves from what we grow and grow what we eat before we can comfortably turn our attention to many key problems of our daily lives”.

    Should President Buhari and his team stay focused on these key priority areas of rebuilding the economy through agricultural modernization, industrialization and infrastructure construction, Nigeria in the next few years would have established the enabling framework for continuous growth, as its peers in the MINT, following in the footsteps of their BRICS-(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) counterparts.

    Once Nigeria is transformed to an opportunity and not liability to every Nigerian, the most toxic pressures on the national unity and stability of the country consisting of separatist agitations, religious fanaticism, horrific crimes like kidnappings and ritual killings would be considerably ameliorated. For this to happen, President Buhari must stay focused and even engage more robustly on the current economic trajectory.

     

    • Charles Onunaiju,

    Utako, Abuja

  • Youths key to Nigeria’s future, says UK envoy

    •Focus Initiative Concern organises youth day 

    Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria Laure Beuafils has identified intelligence and creativity of Nigeria’s youths, rather than natural resources, as key to the country’s survival.

    The envoy urged the government not to stop investing in youths since they had the energy and resourcefulness to take the country to greater heights.

    She spoke in Lagos last Friday at a workshop to commemorate the United Nations International Youth Day organised by Focus Initiative Concern (FIC) with the theme: “Youth and Sustainable Peace in Nigeria”.

    Guest speakers at the two-day event included Zone Police Public Relations Officer, Zone II Command Dolapo Badmus, National Leader of The New Nigeria Movement Sampson Uchenna Charles, among other leaders of youth organisations.

    Beuafils said young people have a lot to offer the country, urging them not to shy away from seeking political office.

    She said: “We know that over the next 30 years, Nigeria is projected to have one of the largest youth populations in the world and that the youth form an important majority of the population.

    “So, investing in youth is investing in the future.”

    The British envoy identified several reasons “why youth must play an active role in politics and the economy in general”.

    “If young people represent a majority of the population and have a particular way of looking at things, there are things that will matter to them more than to their elders. For example climate, they are the ones that are more likely to suffer the consequences of climate change in 30, 40 years.

    “They are a constituency and it is only fair and right that they should be given a voice and engaging lawmakers to make sure that policy and legislation represent them.

    “The second issue is that youths are agents of change. Young people have new ideas; they’ve got ideas, energy and creativity.”

    Badmus, a Superintendent of Police (SP), called for increased community policing as an effective measure to tackle crime rate.

    She said Lagos State Police Command had put in place operational strategies to address the rising incidents of kidnapping and ritual killings, particularly by engaging with the community.

    Badmus explained that community policing can be effective through mutual cooperation between the citizens and law enforcement agencies.

    “After raiding of suspected Badoo gang hideouts, the crime rate in the state reduced, especially because we got reliable information on their whereabouts, which is a function of community policing.

    “We identified the black spots and raided it with the State Security Service (SSS) and the Neighbourhood Watch. Those whom we found had something up their sleeves and are facing investigations now.”

    Badmus urged youths to imbibe the spirit of hardwork and determination, shun cultism and vices inimical to their dreams, while positioning themselves for the task of nation building and

    FIC founder Funmi Olotu said youths had a lot to do to promote peace and security.

    She maintained that there was need to re-orientate young people from an early age so as to direct their minds away from negative vices.

    “FIC is focused on developing the minds of youths from primary up to the university level,” Olotu said.

    She urged youth advocacy groups to put in place concerted efforts to promote youth re-orientation and awareness creation especially during their formative years, which she described as “a very critical period in the development of an individual.”

    The event also featured a peace walk by youths from Ikosi Road to the Lagos State secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, where they were received by the state government officials.

  • Securing the future through sustainable city

    Securing the future through sustainable city

    Burgeoning population comes with the challenge of planning and infrastructural development. The United Nations projects that Nigeria’s population, come 2050, will hit 400 million, overtaking that of the United States, and becoming the world’s third largest. When this happens, Lagos State’s population will also grow exponentially by way of rural-urban migration, leading to greater demand for infrastructure. What kind of city will be needed when this happens? MUYIWA LUCAS asks.

    It was a gathering that drew the heavyweights in urban planning and development, the academia, including UN representative. This is not unexpected given that the issue at stake – housing and city development – ranks highly in economic development.

    Last week, the one-day symposium organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPP&UD), in collaboration with the UN Habitat III, held in Lagos. The event provided a platform for policy makers, actors and stakeholders to exchange ideas in a bid to promote sustainable city, through the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

    At the symposium, with the theme: “Urban Thinkers’ Campus, The City We Need,” the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, outlined the economic, social and strategic analyses of Lagos by way of its commitment to the wellbeing of the residents, as well as reforms in various sectors.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for the MPP&UD, Mr. Abiola Anifowoshe, said that given the pull factors to cities like Lagos, the Urban Thinkers’ Campus’ objectives couls be delivered by an integrated transportation system and a sustainable masterplan, among others.

    The Executive Director, Urban Thinkers Campus Programme in Nigeria and Convener of the symposium, Dr. Limota Goroso Giwa, said Lagos is one of the 74 cities selected to be monitored over the next five years to see if they meet the criteria for the “City We Need.”

    She noted that if the state is to compete favourably with other cities globally, the following issues – infrastructure, human capital development, protection of rights, inclusiveness, mobility, slum and gender issues must be tackled frontally.

    According to her, there is also the need for the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in policies and processes of Lagos State, through priority, partnership, roles setting, action setting, and roadmap for World Urban Forum in Malaysia next year.

    Also, the Special Adviser to  Governor on Urban Development, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, observed that there must be creative and collaborative efforts in developing peculiar and adaptive policy actions for the state. To achieve this, she suggested that there is a need for continuous interactions with all stakeholders. Urban development, she further said, should be guided by set of principles that are formulated by all, while the policy of whistle blowing should be embraced.

    Over the years, particularly since 1999, he noted, in appreciation of the need to key into the New Urban Agenda, the Lagos State Government, he explained, has carried out a number of reforms and policy changes. Some of this Bello noted to include: the reduction of home owner equity from 30 per cent to five per cent in the Lagos Home Owners’ Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS); massive urban regeneration programmes as exemplified in the Isale Igangan urban renewal scheme; payment of compensation and provision of temporary accommodation to the affected while regeneration plan is on-going; huge investment in Master plan and Model city Plan to ensure orderly development; removal of traffic bottlenecks in strategic corridors in Lagos; strategic intervention in mass transport in the state like the BRT scheme; waste management and governance that have transformed the city and set it on the path of sustainability; resource mobilisation on urban development projects by the state government more than any other states in Nigeria, among others.

    A communique at the end of the symposium was issued. The communique, split into three, made recommendations to the state government, the UN and stakeholders.

    Rapporteurs at the symposium, which included Dr. Femi Olajide of the University of Lagos, Akoka, a United Nations delegate, Mr. Sulaiman Kareem, Miss Dunni Oke, of the MPP&UD, and other stakeholders

    To the state, it was advised to embrace urbanisation as a continuous process; revisit the Professor Mabogunje Presidential Committee on Lagos Megacity Region Development; that New Cities should be compact; New Urban Agenda should be translated into local languages; the use of local and traditional mediums to disseminate relevant information; leverage on the power of media for citizens to internalise the provisions of the new urban agenda; interstate collaboration in the preparation and implementation of regional plans; Lagos Urban Thinkers crusade to be taken to the school level; standardisation should be upheld in building the city we need; the city must be planned with buildings that are safe for habitation; government must examine each of the SDG and benchmark it; and a committee is to be set up in every department, ministry and from the academia to proclaim its ideals

    The United Nations was charged to encourage continuous engagement of the city managers for monitoring and reviews; to update the city on activities of the UN that is in tandem with the agenda of Urban Thinkers Campus; facilitate the participation of government functionaries to attend future off shore Programmes of the UN, and to develop strategies to strengthen links between international cooperation programmes and local capacity building.

    To stakeholders, the submission of the communique was that the “City we need’ is everyone’s business, therefore citizens should actively engage the policy actors to arrive at inclusive development. It also recommended that the voices of the citizens should be given considerations in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, while the citizens should embrace the state government policy of whistle blowing on illegal development faithfully.

    Six technical sessions were held at the symposium.

  • Future of the Niger Delta

    SIR: In 1999, some Niger Delta states were at par with Lagos State but is the region on a mission for growth and development like Lagos state today? Whatever the quirks of the leaders of Lagos might be, they haven’t lost track of the view of the future. They have succeeded in grooming the right people for the right job. There appears to be a pressure group fast-tracking the development of that state regardless of which party is in power. And the parties in opposition do not badger the party in power counter-productively.

    People run systems and not resources. All we hear in the Niger Delta is that we have resources. We do not hear about any capacity in any sectors apart from oil. Resources are always in reference to oil. What happens when oil loses its value? Relationship-building between and among people in the Niger Delta is abysmal. It has reached the stage that politics in the Delta is war.

    The executives and members of the opposition in other regions have all settled down to work, away from warring, waiting to be judged by the electorate in the coming elections.

    Many people blame events in the Niger Delta on a conspiracy theory by the federal government. I disagree to an extent only because while the federal government leads, “the people should manage and trust me, the people haven’t managed well.”

    Politicians in the Delta do not act for the region but only for the party and party members. Do they truly mean well for the region? How can the Delta grow under a cloud of mistrust, fear, brickbats and disillusionment? The Delta is gradually being destroyed. What follows destruction? What happens to the people that the region was created for?

    Recently, I was busy grabbing a meal in a restaurant, when I met someone I hadn’t seen for almost a decade. He told me, “Sir, politics has destroyed this good state. Some men do not talk to their wives if they support different parties. Same thing with sisters and brothers. It is so bad now, community youth presidents select people to work for oil companies if they belong to their party.”

    Warring by the people is a cheap distraction from the life-affecting under-development in the region. A lawyer from the Delta told me not long ago that in the event that this country ceases to exist, the Delta people would seek the Igbo to teach them how to run their republic – whatever that meant.

    The Delta people and leaders need to significantly foster and nurture relationships with people in the Delta and outside the region. This would open new markets for companies, while creating prosperity and reducing poverty. So far these relationships are out of kilter. The economy of the Delta is in the hands of the Igbo and northerners, many of whom run businesses but they are not respected as they should be. Go to some Delta states at Christmas time to understand why this is so. Apart from a growing interest in oil, The Delta has invested little in relations with other parts of Nigeria. This is very dangerous for trade.

    Why trade? Because commerce is a key component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the 15-year plan to fight global poverty. ?According to the UN, “trade can help to promote productive employment and decent work, women’s empowerment and food security, as well as a reduction in inequality.”

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port  Harcourt.

  • Is Nigeria ready for the future?

    SIR: When I watch documentaries of how some countries are planning 50 years ahead to make their nations get better than it is now, I feel sorry for the nation called Nigeria. So far I still don’t know what Nigeria plans for the nearest future other than to start producing pencil by the year 2018.  Is Nigeria ready for the future?  By 2025, car manufacturers will stop producing fuel powered automobiles as electric cars will be the alternative.  Germany has made plans ahead with the establishment of electric power stations where electric powered cars can be charged. France says by 2040 all fuel powered automobiles will be banned to pave way for electric cars. Likewise all other developed countries are making similar plans.

    What does the future hold for a nation whose economic mainstay is oil?  Developed countries have switched to renewable energies for industrial and domestic use and therefore crude oil in no distant future will be useless and worthless. Is Nigeria bracing up for the future where crude oil will be useless and worthless?

    That can only be answered by those at the helm of affairs.  What plans have we for the next 50 years Nigeria?

     

    • Temitope Ogundeji,

    Akure.

  • Child education, prerequisite for a better future

    A popular saying goes: it is easy to build strong children than to repair broken men. There are no two ways to this end than giving a child sound education as the best legacy. Knowledge, as they say, is power and the key to unlock opportunities. It is a veritable instrument for achieving success in pursuit of goals of whichever nature. It gives enlightenment and only enlightened people have sufficient capacity to surmount the challenges of life.

    Charles R. Swindol in his famous statement said: “Each day of our life, we make a deposit in the memory bank of our children.” This assertion underscores the fact that whatever we do as parents or guardian has a long way to go in determining the attitude of a child. Of many values that may be transmitted to a child, education should take priority, because it serves as a leverage that will dictate the child’s course in life.

    The greatest gifts you can give your children are the senses of responsibility and independence. Children of today are the future of the society. Only through education can one withstand the rigour of facing life challenges and the ability to proffer solution to those problems. Education is a strong building block in building a stronger and healthier community.

    Education is not merely going to school; it is an avenue for gaining skills of various kinds. It is good to note that one major advantage of education is to boost creativity, which helps to attain goals in life. It is a means of widening one’s horizon. Albert Einstein described it as what is remaining when one has forgotten what is learnt in school.

    Education plays a vital role in the shaping up of posterity and it has also been consequential in the development of the world over the years. Education helps a child develop his identity in the society. Children are the heart of any society, because they grow to be future leaders. They are seen as the cornerstone of development.

    Stressing the values and importance of knowledge is important to help children understand the need to abolish discrimination and promote interactions. It is an essential value in the bridging the gap of whatever differences the society is battling.

    It is trite to say that children are the leaders of tomorrow. The statement is true, but there is need for some modification. Only a child with formal education has opportunity to become future leader. As I write this, many children are out of school, because their parents lack resources to give them such training.

    There is little or no hope of such child with no education in the future.The possibility is high that such child would be a subordinate to his peers.

    Parents must sacrifice today for the future of their children. Education is the greatest investment they can make in the life of their children. Children are inestimable. They are precious and priceless possession. No amount of money invested in their education is too much a fortune.

    Government should know that it owes it a duty to ensure that all children are educated and make education a right and not a privilege. Children of the poor who cannot afford the luxury of private schools should have the opportunity of attending government-owned schools. The legacy of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in mass education should be maintained. Free education should be the mantra of any government coming to power.  Primacy should be given to child education. Let us try to build a society devoid of illiteracy and incivility. Education should be the government’s watchword.

    Having in mind the importance of children and with the full knowledge of the fact that children are the future heritage, it is fitting to set aside a day to celebrate them and this day have been conventionally chosen. Children should know that the society holds them in high esteem. They must always be cared for at all times.

     

    • Bode is a medical student at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH)