The Nation Newspaper

Tag: hurting

  • Unstable power hurting our businesses, say artisans

    The epileptic electricity supply across the country is taking a toll on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially artisans.

    In interviews with The Nation, some artisans said they were literarily squeezing water from stone because of the damage to their businesses by irregular electricity supply.

    Located in their clusters in Itire, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, artisans, including tailors, barbers, hair dressers, repairers, carpenters, technicians and iron benders, said the government should come to their aid by putting the power utility firms on their toes.

    One of the aggrieved artisans, who identified herself simply as Mrs Damisola, a fashion designer, said electricity supply to Ibidunni Street, Itire, where her shop is, has been irregular, adding that the situation was affecting her business adversely.

    Mrs Damisola, who spoke with The Nation in the presence of amid her equally-pained apprentices, said the devastating impacts of poor electricity supply in the area were more telling on fashion designing business because “we need light to do many things, from ironing to sewing, gumming, and others.”

    She lamented that though she uses charcoal iron when there is no light because “my generator is small and cannot carry my electric iron.” Her decision to turn to the use of her small generator did not come cheap either.

    “I spend between N500 and N1,000 every day to fuel the generator and this eats into the little profit I make,” Mrs Damisola complained.

    Asked how much she makes from the business daily and how much goes into fuelling and maintaining her generator, Mrs Damisola said it’s difficult to say considering that customer patronage fluctuates, even as cases of payment delay or outright default abound.

    “You know, sometimes, customers will come, but one week after you won’t get paid. At other times, you won’t see work to do for weeks,” she said, calling on the Federal Government to intervene by demanding efficient, improved services delivery from service providers.

    Another artisan, who identified herself as Iya Seun, a hair dresser, said: “My sister! This light matter has been a pain in the neck. The impact of the persistent poor electricity supply on my business is minimal because as a hair dresser, I only fix people’s hair with attachment.”

    Seun whose shop is located on Ola Street, Itire, however, asked, “What about others like beauticians that need electricity for everything?” She, therefore, said government should come to the rescue of artisans who are struggling to make ends meet in the absence of white collar jobs.

    Similarly, Mr. Kazim who runs a barbing saloon within the area said electricity supply has not been regular. “If the power utility firm bring the light, it lasts for only two to three hours, forcing many of us to rely on generators,” he said.

    Kazim added that because of the situation, which kept customers away because of the little price increase, he has not been able to raise enough money from his business to fix his generator that has since been bad.

    As Kazim lamented, “My generator is not good at all. It has been making funny noise; I have not made enough income; that’s why I haven’t repaired it.”

    He, however, said he spends N2, 000 daily to fuel the generator while hoping to raise money soon to fix the machine. “This is the only business I have, and it is from here I pay all my bills, no savings. The government should please make the light,” he told The Nation.

    As epileptic as electricity supply is in the area, Mr. George, a barber, said his worry stemmed from the timing of the supply. “The time the service provider supplies the light is usually very wrong for me. It doesn’t enhance my business they bring it early in the morning when I don’t have customers. And by the time I come to the shop, they would have switched it off,” he said.

    When The Nation met him in his saloon at Amodu Street, last week, George said as a stop gap measure, he bought a generator. He, however, lamented that the cost of fuelling and maintaining the generator was threatening to force him to close shop. “It costs me about ¦ 35, 000 per month to fuel and maintain the generator,” he said.

    He also said he does not make much money from the business to sustain such huge and available expenditure “I have several bills to pay. I pay my kids’ school fees from this business, and by the time I am done I don’t have any leftover as profit,” George fumed.

    He put the blame of the poor power supply on the Federal Government’s doorstep. According to him, government has not been doing enough monitoring and supervision of the power utility firms post-privatisation to ensure that they deliver.

    George added that as far as he was concerned, Nigerians were  paying for darkness, as consumers are forced to pay outrageous and estimated bills for electricity not supplied.

  • How cybercriminals are hurting businesses

    How cybercriminals are hurting businesses

    Experts have raised the alarm that the activities of cybercriminals which currently result in an estimated loss of over N127b in the country annually is bound to get worse judging by the increasing level of sophistication by the practitioners. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf in this report examines the clear and present dangers

    Almost everyone is very familiar with the exploits of the infamous Yahoo Yahoo Boys, the byword for fraudsters, who have since gained notoriety for using the internet and other social media platforms to defraud their unsuspecting victims, especially those gullible enough to fall for their silly pranks.

    Like the practiced crooks that they are, the Yahoo Yahoo Boys who have since upped their games are now playing in the big league such that their silly exploits are really causing a lot of upsets and havocs in the economy.

    Startling revelations

    Investigation by The Nation revealed that several organisations in the country, especially banks have suffered cyber attacks in the recent past as their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure got compromised. In most cases, the affected companies had to pay huge ransoms for their data to be released.

    Tope Aladenusi, who currently heads the Cyber Risk services at Deloitte Nigeria, had conducted an independent study on the activities of cybercriminals last year, the outcome of which formed a treatise tagged: ‘2017 Nigeria Cybersecurity Outlook,’ lending credence to the fact that cybercriminals are on the prowl.

    The document, obtained from the firm’s website revealed that year 2016 took cyber attacks to an unprecedented level. According to Aladenusi, the cyber security forecast for 2016 saw a rise in the number of sophisticated phishing attacks as these occurred on multiple Nigerian financial institutions and utility companies.

    Horrible stories of cyberattacks worldwide

    Cyber attack is a menace afflicting everyone world over from the advanced economies to the developing and the third world economies.

    In early 2016, a cyber-attack hit the main website of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and its iPlayer Streaming service. The BBC’s websites were unavailable for several hours as a result of the attack. This was the first widely reported cyber-attack of the year 2016.

    Coming nearer home, the 2015 forecast by Deloitte indicated higher risk of current and former employees or contractors perpetrated cybercrime as a means to maintain their standard of living. Thus forensic specialists were kept busy as several companies had to engage them to investigate cybercrime perpetrated by various suspects who are largely made up of serving employees and former employees of the victim organisations.

    The forecast further highlighted the fact that there would be an increase in cyber-attacks of websites and information technology infrastructure of political organisations and public institutions.

    Specifically, there was the reported hack and de-facing of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) website in March 2015 and also that of the Lagos state government in December 2015.

    In 2016, there was an undeniably high likelihood this threat, especially sophisticated phishing techniques was on the rise.

    Phishing mail is a type of social engineering that has literally become the attack of first choice. Typically most of the phishing mails are poorly crafted oftentimes containing spelling and grammar errors, however we are likely to get to the era where the mails are properly crafted and the messages more targeted to the victims.

    Aladenusi also warned that Western style hack attempts by terrorists may grow in Nigeria as local hacktivists are likely to take it a notch higher to make hack attempts on government and private institutions’ infrastructures.

    Giving further insights on the burgeoning industry of pranksters, Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Dr. Abdulfatai Buhari said Nigeria records about N127b loss annually to cybercrime.

    Buhari spoke recently during an annual lecture entitled ‘Legislative Commitment and Cyber Crime’, at the Faculty of Law, Lead City University, Ibadan.

    He lamented that the figure would continue to grow unless the National Assembly acted fast and intensified its efforts in preventing the unwholesome act. He declared that the figure represented 0.8% of the country’s GDP.

    Citing a report from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the lawmaker revealed that Nigeria has been ranked third in global internet crimes, coming after United States of America and United Kingdom respectively.

    “In the year 2015, the Information Security Society of Nigeria (ISSAN) revealed that 25% of the cybercrimes in Nigeria were unresolved and that 7.5% of the world’s hackers are Nigerians. In 2014 alone, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reported that customers in Nigeria lost about N6billion to cyber criminals, while Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) report for 2015 showed a 183% increase on the e-payment platform in Nigerian banks.”

    Expatiating, he recalled that a similar report in 2015 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that 70% of attempted or successful fraud/forgery cases in Nigeria banking system were perpetrated via the electronic channels.

    “Banks in Nigeria have lost approximately N159 billion to electronic frauds and cybercrime between 2000 and 2013 and the impact on the nation’s economy and cash less policy is significant,” he said.

    Speaking on the legislative commitment of the National Assembly in the past, the Ogbomoso born politician said: “The commitment of National Assembly in the past can be said to have not been fruitful and successful. Until 2015, there were over 100 IT-related bills before the Nigeria Legislature – the National Assembly, none of which was passed into law.”

    Interestingly, he revealed that the creation of standing committee on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Cyber Crime by the Senate was part of commitment by the 8th Assembly towards curbing cybercrime in the country.

    Clear and present danger

    The country is said to be at severe risk of cyber attacks from all fronts as a result of the lack of appropriate legal and technical framework by the federal government, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, the immediate past president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) revealed in an interview with The Nation.

    Ajayi made this submission against the backdrop of the alleged report of North Korean hackers subjecting Nigerian banks to attack for the purpose of raising money to fund its nuclear programmes.

    Nigeria is listed among 18 countries where North Korean hackers have allegedly been attacking banks to get funds for sponsoring nuclear programme.

    The finding comes after more than a year-long investigation into the activities of Lazarus, a hacking group allegedly responsible for the theft of $81million in US currency from the Central Bank of Bangladesh last year.

    The company’s report —presented at a cybersecurity conference in the Caribbean, claims it found evidence of the same hacking operation launching attacks on financial institutions in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Poland, Taiwan, Thailand, and Uruguay.

    But speaking in an interview with The Nation, the Acting Director of Communications at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Isaac Okoroafor refuted such claims, saying there is no reported incidence with any banks yet.

    The CBN, he insisted, has an existing cybersecurity policy. “l’m telling you we have a policy, we have procedures and processes that protect us from such attacks on all our IT system.”

    On whether the fears over cyberattacks on banks are actually unfounded, he said the apex bank has what it takes to respond to such attacks.

    “We’ve adequate security measures to detect such attacks on our banking system. But of course, these things keep evolving. Hackers are always working, nobody is safe. But to the best of my knowledge, we’ve the best cybersecurity process that is available anywhere in the world. We have those things to protect our system.”

    However some stakeholders said if CBN’s cyber security policy exists at all, it may be gathering dusts somewhere.

    According to Ajayi: “There is nothing to suggest that the threat of cyber attacks is an imagination because there is a lot of hacking going around in the world so it would be very naïve to think that it’s an imagination. The only thing is that I’m not sure the hacking is taking place in just North Korea. I think hacking attempts can come from any part of the world and it’s real.”

    He lamented that the country may not be fully prepared to fight the cybersecurity threat. “As a nation, I’m not sure we are really truly prepared for cyber attacks.”

    He was however quick to admit that some individuals and organisations within the country, particularly the banks are aware of these threats and are taking the necessary precautions.

    “The banks in Nigeria are serious entities and they know the implication of vulnerability to those attacks. I’m confident that the banks have put adequate measures in place to withstand the attacks,” he maintained.

    Expatiating, he said: “The issue is not limited to legal framework. The people hacking are less bothered about legal framework. I think the most important thing is about technical framework, technical capability to withstand those attacks. The people doing it they are not bothered because they know they are not operating within the country. They are operating outside the jurisdiction of our land and laws so it doesn’t really bother them.”

    What is important, he stressed, “Is to have technical capacity to be able to withstand those attacks. The attacks will always come. That’s the honest truth and there is nothing you can do about it. It will always come from various sources. Whether for an individual or corporate body, it will come and it’s coming and the target is not only Nigeria, it’s targeted everywhere in the world. So the onus is on you to get ready to withstand the attack.”

    How recession fuel cyber attacks

    Aladenusi who has significant security consulting experience in several organisations including Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon and UK, observed that with the recession in 2016 came several schemes that promised unbelievable financial returns on investment. These schemes generate returns for older investors by acquiring new investors or from re-investors.

    Such schemes, he noted, rely on a constant flow of new investments to continue. When this flow runs out, the scheme falls apart. The end game is eventually that there will not be enough money to go around, and the schemes unravel.

    A key characteristic of these schemes is that they are not regulated; if something goes wrong, no one is accountable. In 2017, there would be a continuous rise in these cyber ponzi schemes as the economic recession looms.

    As these schemes evolve and begin to use crypt ocurrencies such as bitcoins that are not yet regulated or where identities are not traceable, the schemes will become more fraudulent and people would lose their money.

    Rising to the occasion

    It is also instructive to note that the Cybercrime Act was passed into law in May 2015. But the thinking is that many key stakeholders such as the judiciary and law enforcement agencies are yet to come up to speed in understanding and implementing the Act.

    “We should expect the enforcement of the cybercrime act to be more pronounced and the Office of the National Security Adviser will play a more active and leading role in the campaign,” Aladenusi suggested.

    To give the Act teeth, he further admonished that, “Anyone or organisation that violates any of the laws should expect to suffer the consequences. Companies will need to share and report threats to the National Computer Emergency Response Team (National CERT) Coordination Centre in accordance with the Act.”

    Individuals/organisations that need to prosecute violators, he further observed, “Will need digital forensics services to preserve data in a manner that is admissible in the court of law.”

    Specialists, he noted, would also be required to analyse digital data to answer key questions such as “where did the data go?”, “who had access to it?” and “has it been modified?” etc. Consequently, there will be a rise in the demand for computer forensic professionals.

    It may be recalled that a presidential order was issued in 2015 to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that request and retain biometric data, to expeditiously harmonise their biometric databases. It is expected that the data harmonisation will effectively link all MDA databases. The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo had explained at the time that government’s interest in the citizens’ data harmonisation is to assist the government in its quest to improve the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria, particularly targeting the poorest and most vulnerable persons, as well as to issue unique identification numbers to every Nigerian and legal resident for the improvement of national security, among others.

    In a related development, the Chief Security Officers (CSOs) of banks had last month asked the CBN to provide them with security framework that would blacklist cyber criminals in banks.

    The CSOs’ resolve was presented by their leader, Mr Sam Okenye, at the end of a week-long conference on Nigerian Financial Sector Global Cyber Security held at Transcorp Hotel, Calabar.

    Okenye said banks do not need to compete on security matters but rather collaborate in fighting cyber-crimes and carry out constant evaluation of their system.

    He was also quick to add that the introduction of Biometric Verification Number  (BVN)  in the banking sector is an important tool to kick out fraud in banks.

    The CSOs agreed in principle that the CBN should implement the anti-cyber crime policy in the banking sector as a means of curbing the activities of internet fraudsters that use the banks to perpetrate their illicit activities.

    Building safety nets

    Another idea that is being mooted by security experts is the need for organisations operating in the country to explore cyber insurance, especially in the financial services industry which is the major target of cyber-attacks in Nigeria.

    This is because cyber insurance is designed to mitigate losses from a variety of cyber incidents, including data breaches, business interruption, and network damage. This should hedge a firm from cyber losses and curtail recovery costs in the event of a cyber-attack. The coverage also protects against third party liabilities a business might suffer as a result of a failure of system security.

    “Cyber insurance has not been a popular insurance policy in Nigeria. There is possibility that insurance companies will see this as a premium policy to deliver once clients start requesting for it,” Aladenusi enthused.

  • ‘Lack of monitoring, infrastructure hurting ‘Buy Nigeria Campaign’

    The Federal Government’s renewed push to encourage locally produced goods and services patronage is a step in the right direction, but failure to complement the campaign with adequate monitoring and supportive infrastructure remains an impediment, former Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association Director-General, Mr. Jayeola Olarewaju, who spoke with The Nation has said.

    According to him, the campaign has the capacity to galvanise the manufacturing sector and, ultimately, stimulate economic growth and development while creating jobs.

    He, however, expressed regrets that the government had not done much in effective monitoring of the campaign and provision of critical infrastructure.

    “Encouraging patronage of locally produced goods and services is a sure way to incentivise manufacturing, but I am not sure the government is doing enough in the area of monitoring to ensure compliance,” he said.

    Olarewaju said apart from the military that demonstrated the commitment to the ‘Buy Nigeria campaign’, through the purchase of military boots made in Aba, the government had not been able to monitor other Ministries, Departments and Agencies  (MDAs) to ensure that they patronise indigenous goods and services.

    He also said the government had not done much to close the nation’s huge infrastructure deficit, particularly power, which has been a pain in the neck of operators in various sectors of the economy.

    He said, for instance, the provision of steady and reliable electricity as well as good roads and rail would go a long way to encourage local production.

    Though not new, the Federal Government at the 22nd Nigeria Economic Summit (NES) held in October last year in Abuja with the theme: “Made in Nigeria”, renewed the initiative as a way of revitalising the manufacturing sector and boosting its competitiveness. It also envisaged that consuming locally manufactured products and services would significantly reduce the pressure on Foreign Exchange (forex).

    Besides, the initiative, according to its promoters, would help reinvigorate moribund industries, which would in turn, help fasttrack the ongoing economic diversification agenda, promote the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy (BIP) and boost non-oil exports. Ultimately, he said, this would help pull the economy out of recession.

    But Olarewaju observed that despite the campaigns’ good intentions, monitoring and infrastructure stand in the way.

    He said for the initiative to make the desired impact, the government must match words with action by providing supportive infrastructure for local production and monitoring its agencies to ensure compliance with the Buy Nigeria Campaign.

  • ‘Regulatory agencies’ infractions hurting economy’

    ‘Regulatory agencies’ infractions hurting economy’

    Business operators, particularly operators of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), are crying over the multiplicity of agencies with over-lapping regulatory and supervisory functions. They grumble that it is strangulating their business, reducing their productivity and competiveness. Assist. Editors Chikodi Okereocha and Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie write that if operators’ recommendations are implemented, respite may be on the way for industrialists. 

    As the leading voice of private sector operators in Nigeria, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) understands why the industrial sector is encumbered despite the avalanche of programmes to fast-track industrialisation, accelerate inclusive economic growth, create jobs, and transform the business environment.

    The LCCI said beyond the nation’s huge infrastructure gap, regulatory challenges and its attendant costs are factors stifling the growth of businesses.

    Specifically, the LCCI said the multiplicity of agencies with over-lapping regulatory and supervisory functions at both the federal and state levels is hampering the smooth operation of many businesses. Noting however, that the effects of regulatory infractions on private sector operators are more profound for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) because of their inherent vulnerability, the LCCI raised the alarm that this has forced many businesses to close shop, relocate to other countries or move into the informal sector.

    The LCCI’s findings were contained in a  study aimed at examining and reporting the lingering regulatory challenges in the industrial sector and provide viable engagement platforms for solutions. In carrying out the study titled: ‘Regulatory infractions on Nigeria’s industrial sector,’ the LCCI, according to its Director-General, Muda Yusuf, believes that without an enabling business environment with clear, consistent laws, regulations, and enforcement, Nigeria’s private sector and democratic development will be inhibited.

    The body noted that a vibrant private sector, especially the SMEs is crucial to any economy in providing job opportunities, developing innovations, and meaningful participation of the citizens in the democratic process.

    The study, supported by the Centre of International Private Enterprise (CIPE),said  most of the regulatory anomalies were evident in the high rate of human interface, arbitrary charges, fees and fines, overlap of functions and fight for supremacy among the agencies as well as high frequency of factory visits and collection of excessive product samples, among others. To most private sector operators, for instance, the high frequency of factory visits by various agencies, as the study found out, is an overkill.

    “There is no defined number of inspection visits to companies by the agencies in a year. The number of inspection visits range from four to 10 times a year, depending on the company’s production capacity and other factors. The disturbing aspect of the repeat/regular visits is that the same quantity of product samples is collected by the agencies during each visit. The companies are compelled to pay inspection fee for each visit, take care of transportation etc of the agency officials on each factory visit,” the study said.

    As if the repeat/regular factory visits are not enough to raise the bile of business operators, such visits are accompanied by collection of excessive product samples. The Nation learnt that officials of the agencies collect samples of all the products they meet in the production line or store on each occasion they visit the companies. Stocks of products are collected excessively under the guise of ‘test sample’ in cartons, rolls, and dozens.  ‘’Edibles, home use and ‘easy sale products’ suffer most from regular collection of huge amount of samples,” the LCCI study revealed.

    The frustration does not stop there. The LCCI said even after samples were collected, there were delays in approvals because of absence of national standards. The group said registration/certification of products took six months to one year, noting that in most cases, the companies never get to receive the test results from the agencies after due payments and regular follow ups with the relevant departments in the agencies.

    “This slows down business activities and leads to loss of opportunities especially the ones that are time bound,” the study said, adding that there is no standard for most chemicals and industrial products, yet the firms are compelled to pay levies for the products standards.

    The study further said some firms which do not want to pass through the rigour of processing documents, induce the agency officials. “This is mostly fuelled by the need for quick approval of papers/permits to meet certain commercial deadlines or to circumvent inherent/artificial bottlenecks in the system. Sometimes, companies’ representatives go out of their way to tip the officials in order to save their jobs because if a major regulatory query is issued against the company, the manager in charge will be blamed or fired by the management for mishandling relationship with the regulator,” it said.

    The LCCI said the study also found that some importers may bring in many products, but would lobby regulatory officials to pay inspection fee for only few of the products. Those that import contraband goods also do the same thing by ‘cutting their ways’ with the officials. In all of these, the LCCI study found an  overlap of functions and fight for supremacy among the agencies. For instance, it cited pronounced overlapping regulatory activities of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in sectors like cosmetics, food, drinks, beverages, health and confectionary to mention a few.

    “It is frustrating to businesses that a product inspection report produced by SON will be rejected by NAFDAC and vice versa. Each of the agencies prefers to carry out an independent analysis for the same product. This leads to waste of management time, unnecessary fees, fine, charges and high operational cost,” the study said. However, the result of the study only confirmed observations earlier made by LCCI and other industry associations on the issue.

    Earlier, during a visit to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, in Abuja to table some requests aimed at ensuring seamless business operations, LCCI’s President, Mr. Remi Bello, noted the overlapping functions of the regulators. He said apart from compliance with SON guidelines, industrialists were worried by the demand for compulsory product listing by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC). He said this was in addition to the yearly charges on each product, which is an additional burden.

    This was why the latest report by LCCI projected that industrial activities will grow by about 25 per cent over two years if a more service-oriented and accommodative regulatory and monitoring environment is put in place. LCCI said: “This will impact directly on the number of new jobs, emergence of small scale agricultural processing ventures, higher tax revenue for government at all levels, and ultimately douse the growing insecurity conditions fuelled by youth unemployment.”

    LCCI said frameworks that will enhance the collaboration between SON and NAFDAC’s regulatory and monitoring functions will be  helpful to build trust and respect among the two agencies. The operators argued that more enhanced collaborations between the two agencies would certainly reduce unnecessary pressure on businesses suffering from the age long silent battle for supremacy between the two agencies.

    They also noted that continuous streamlining of processes aimed at reducing internal bottlenecks and bureaucracy was essential for the growth of the sector. “There is need for steady communication and enlightenment of businesses on trends of regulatory provisions. Also, the management of the agencies must now take the enforcement of rules against human interface by their officials very seriously. High degree of human interface for registration and obtaining permits remains even after the leadership of SON and NAFDAC has instituted reliable processes that eliminate/reduce human interface in their operations,” the operators advised.

    That is not all. LCCI members said they wanted to see a clear pronouncement specifying the number of times and for what purposes SON and NAFDAC were expected to visit the companies in a year. They argued that the frequency of the visits to firms was still high, even after the leadership of the agencies assured at vrious forums on the measures being put in place to rework the system.

    Operators also said to move forward, the standard for granting waivers and concessions to firms by the agencies should be defined and institutionalised. This, they noted, should be communicated to stakeholders. In addition, SON and NAFDAC should define the maximum quantity/size of product sample that should be collected by their field officers from the companies, he said. “This will assist the companies to comply and also guide them in cases of over collection of samples by the agency officials,” the study added.

    LCCI called on the Federal Government to develop a framework for oversight and control of regulatory institutions to curb probable excesses. According to the group, the measure is in line with best practices in many emerging markets. On the immediate, the government, the group said, should adequately fund the agencies and provide them with the necessary working facilities. The poor funding of agencies create room for extortion.

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is also seeking the harmonisation of regulatory functions of agencies. Since last year, its members said the agencies have made it difficult for stakeholders to address challenges relating to standardisation and quality control of made-in-Nigeria products as well as imported items.

  • Jonathan is hurting Nigeria, says The Economist

    Jonathan is hurting Nigeria, says The Economist

    FOR the past few years President Goodluck Jonathan has publicly shrugged off the deaths of thousands of people, mainly in the north-east of his country, portraying them as the unfortunate but unavoidable result of a fanatical insurgency for which his government cannot be blamed. But in the past few weeks the plight of 200-plus girls abducted from a school by Boko Haram, the extremist group chiefly responsible for the mayhem, has put Mr Jonathan and his government under an international spotlight, exposing them not only as incompetent but callous, too.

    As outrage spread beyond Nigeria’s borders, Barack Obama and other Western leaders, hitherto watching more or less silently from afar, have felt obliged to offer help as well as sympathy. West African leaders, led by Ghana’s president, have expressed unusual solidarity. The surge of global horror mixed with curiosity and bafflement was particularly embarrassing, at a time when Mr Jonathan was about to host a glamorous gathering of leaders, including China’s prime minister, at the World Economic Forum in Abuja, his capital, where he was hoping to celebrate the recent international re-evaluation of Nigeria’s economy as by far the biggest in Africa, well ahead of South Africa’s.

    Not that there was the slightest sympathy for Boko Haram and its maniacal leader, Abubakar Shekau, who purported to be the man pictured in a video released on May 5th, making blood-curdling threats to kill all Christians. “I took the girls,” he declared, standing in front of a tank, flanked by masked men in uniforms. “By Allah I will sell them in the marketplace…I will marry off a woman at the age of 12. I will marry off a girl at the age of nine.” Some of the girls, it has been speculated, may already have been forced to marry their abductors for a bride-price equivalent to $12. The UN warned members of Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden”, that if they carried out their leader’s threat they would be committing war crimes.

    The girls, abducted on April 14th from a school in Chibok, a town in the north-eastern state of Borno, are probably being held in a rebel stronghold. One of these is in the dense Sambisa forest, 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 square miles) in area, south of Maiduguri, Borno’s capital. The other is in the Gwosa mountains, which straddle the cave-ridden border with Cameroon.

    Boko Haram, which was founded in 2002 but began its violent insurgency in 2009, has been responsible for at least 4,000 deaths, mostly in the north-east. But it has also demonstrated an ability to strike at the centre of the country, setting off a bomb last month at a bus station in Abuja, killing at least 70 people, and another one on May 2nd near a police checkpoint, also in Abuja, killing around 20. The capital is now beset with checkpoints, snarling up traffic just when the government wants to show off the place to its foreign visitors.

    In recent months Boko Haram has been aiming with increasing ferocity at soft targets such as schools and marketplaces, though it had not previously attempted a mass abduction. On May 5th, however, it was reported that it had kidnapped another eight girls from elsewhere in Borno. On the same day it was reported that Boko Haram had killed 300 people in the Borno town of Gamboru Ngala. Most secondary schools in the state had been closed before the mass abduction, for fear of an attack, but the education authorities had convened the girls at a boarding school so that they could take their final exams.

    As worldwide outrage grew over the abductions, the American and British governments offered to help. A White House spokesman said that experts in intelligence, hostage negotiation and victim assistance would fly to Nigeria. The British offered to send surveillance aircraft along with soldiers from its special forces.

    The Nigerians have been loth to accept such help in the past and are wary of perceived encroachments on their sovereignty. America has operated drones from a base in neighbouring Niger since 2012, but Nigeria’s government has long refused American requests to be allowed to do the same from Nigerian territory. Moreover, Nigerians are proud of their army, the biggest in Africa, with its long history of contributions to peacekeeping missions, most recently in Mali. And they are also notably secretive and prickly about its operations—and the low standards of soldiery which foreign experts would see. Though Mr Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the north-east a year ago, his army has dismally failed to defeat Boko Haram.

    Indeed, it has itself perpetrated numerous atrocities against civilians suspected of harbouring or lending sympathy to the rebels, who thrive among embittered young Muslims in the north, the poorest part of the country. The army was widely castigated after a military counter-attack on March 14th following an attempted jailbreak by suspected members of Boko Haram detained at a barracks in Maiduguri. According to hospital sources, around 500 people were killed, mainly at the hands of soldiers. Such human-rights abuses by the Nigerian army make Western governments edgy about offering to join the fray, for fear of being deemed complicit.

    Corruption, Nigeria’s great scourge, is another reason for foreign military advisers to keep their distance. Nigeria’s soldiers say that commanders pocket the bulk of their salaries, leaving them with little incentive to fight a well-equipped guerrilla movement that knows the rugged terrain and forests. Why risk death at the hands of Boko Haram for no reward? It is hard, in such conditions, to see how outsiders could raise Nigerian troops’ morale, let alone improve their military skills.

    Patience not always a virtue

    Perhaps the worst aspect of the Nigerian government’s handling of the abduction is its seeming indifference to the plight of the girls’ families. It took more than two weeks before Mr Jonathan addressed the matter in public. His government’s sluggish response and its failure even to clarify how many girls had been abducted provoked protests in several cities across Nigeria—itself an unusual event.

    To make matters worse, the president’s wife, Patience, ordered the arrest of two leaders of the protests, bizarrely accusing them of belonging to Boko Haram and of fabricating reports of the abduction to smear the government. In a televised broadcast on May 4th, the first lady, who holds no official position, warned against further such marches. “You are playing games,” she said. “Don’t use schoolchildren and women for demonstration again. Keep it to Borno, let it end there,” the official News Agency of Nigeria reported.

    Such statements do not give the impression that Mr Jonathan or his colleagues, who face elections next year, take the worries of ordinary Nigerians to heart.