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Tag: initiative

  • Affordable housing: private initiative to the rescue

    Affordable housing: private initiative to the rescue

    With growing population, a lingering housing deficit and government’s continued inability to provide affordable housing in practical sense, a multinational has seized the initiative to provide technical support, materials, and connect  mortgage providers with prospective house owners, among  others. MUYIWA LUCAS reports that the initiative is part of the firm’s global plan, which will benefit 25 million households, with Nigeria benefitting substantially. 

    It is not a new piece of information that Nigeria’s population is increasing geometrically. But several studies conducted by the United Nations on Nigeria’s population showed that come 2050, there will be 400 million people in Nigeria, is frightening. This projection means that the country would have overtaken the United States (US) in another 32 years from now, as the 3rd most populous country in the world.

    In similar vein, the World Bank projected that Nigeria’s population is growing at 2.8 per cent rate yearly, while her per urban population grows at 4.7 per cent as a result of the rise in rural-urban migration. This growth rate is, however, disproportional with staggered attempts at bridging the housing deficit by both the public and private sector in the country.

    To experts and other stakeholders in the real estate and construction industry, these studies represent a timely warning for the country’s built environment, especially with regards to providing affordable housing in a country where a deficit of 17 million housing exists. This fear may not be unfounded given that population explosion comes with an attendant need for housing. Stakeholders and policy makers have put Nigeria’s financial requirement to tackle the deficit at N59.5 trillion.

    A 2010 report commissioned by EFInA and Finmark Trust, titled: “Overview of Housing Finance Sector in Nigeria”, submitted that 85 per cent of the urban population live in rented accommodation, spending more than 40 per cent of their income on rent. Of these rented houses, 90 per cent are built through self financing by the owner, mainly due to lack of mortgage financing while less than five per cent of these houses have formal title registration.

    The lack of an efficient and effective mortgage financing has remained a huge albatross on the country, irrespective of the various government efforts in this direction. This is why only a tenth of the one million homes built yearly, has helped to tackle the deficit over a period of 10 years. Most of these, findings revealed, are by persons who contend with deficient financing, shoddy workmanship and poor building materials, among others.

    The low income category seem to be the most hit in Nigeria’s housing debacle. For a Nigerian aspiring to build an affordable home with about N3 million, there are enough challenges to induce headaches, which either frustrate the ambition or force the project to be abandoned. These include access to finance, which is the major source of worry; others are delays in project completion, taking between two to five years; lack of access to qualified building professionals without cut-throat charges as professional fee; mortgages focusing on the high end market; inconsistent quality of building materials; bureaucratic building approval process and the high cost of acquiring land and its tenure issues.

    A former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, acknowledged that affordable housing delivery for the low and middle income earners cannot be achieved without the provision of incentives to encourage private sector participation.

    “To build a house in Nigeria is a very expensive task due to the high cost of building materials. Affordable housing cannot, therefore, be achieved without a drastic reduction in the cost of housing construction and other associated costs, which invariably determine the selling price. Consequently, for affordability to thrive, emphasis must shift to reducing the cost of housing construction to promote access to affordable homes to the vulnerable segment of our national population,” Mrs Eyakenyihad said at a pre-summit meeting on the Nigeria housing and construction summit/expo, in 2014.

    She then called on the organised private sector, manufacturing outfits, finance houses and multilateral agencies to support the drive for affordable housing delivery.

    Eyakenyi’s call has not fallen on deaf ears, as the private sector has taken up the challenge of housing in the country. This has again made for a silver lining to appear on the horizon for Nigerians desirous of owning their affordable houses.

    For instance, Lafarge Africa has put in place an initiative, which it calls “Easy Home”, an innovative affordable housing initiative, which is already providing innovative solutions for the construction, renovation and extension of houses. The scheme is tailored to the local challenges and needs of individual home builders, including Nigerians, who already own their land and want to build. Through the initiative, LafargeHolcim Group, hopes to impact about 25 million people by 2020 and Nigeria is expected to benefit from a significant chunk of the scheme.

    Lafarge Africa Head of Affordable Housing initiative, Mr. Aurelien Boyer, explained that if the associated challenges to affordable house ownership are addressed, Nigerians could build more houses faster. This, he said, was what the firm set out to do with the Easy Home scheme. “The whole idea is to provide individuals with free technical expertise and demystify the idea of owning a home. Lafarge Africa provides free cost estimate i.e. Bill of Quantity and designs for prospective builders. We also connect them with sources of finance as well as artisans that will build at the least possible cost without compromising quality,” Boyer explained.

    The Easy Home initiative, which began three years ago, has impacted positively on over 30,000 persons across 14 states of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Ondo, Benin, Osun, Nasarawa, Niger, Cross River, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Abuja. Beneficiaries of the scheme include Business people, civil servants and salary earners, who have used “Easy Home’s” menu of free services to build bungalows, duplexes, self-contained apartments, shops, schools, clinics etc.

    “The demand for housing outstrips supply in the low-income segment where most live in rented houses. Presently, 5,000 households in mainly urban and peri-urban households earning N20,000 to N300,000 monthly have keyed into the Easy Home scheme. We, as Lafarge, estimates that nine million households can afford to build their property incrementally. Through Easy Home, Lafarge Africa is contributing to the reduction of the national housing deficit and helping to accommodate a large chunk of Nigeria’s population,” Boyer explained.

    A consultant architect with a leading construction firm, Mr. Richard Ibilola, has praised the initiative. Easy Home, he said, will have a very significant and positive impact on the spread of good construction practices and the deepen building and construction supervision skills in Nigeria. For him, EasyHome will make it easier for Nigerians to step on the home acquisition ladder because it is designed to take significant initial costs burden away from house owners, and at the same time boosts the development of skills in the ecosystem.

    A financial analyst with vast experience in mortgage matters, Mr. Kayode Oyedele, who explained that given the format of the initiative and having had a first hand experience of the scheme as a financial advisor to some beneficiaries, praised the initiators of the scheme. According to him, it is a delight that the Easy Home scheme is changing the perception of mortgage financing and affordable housing schemes in the country.

    “This should be encouraged. More programmes like this will happen in Nigeria only when there’s a mortgage system, which allows for the repayment of loans to acquire houses spread over 15-25 years. Such will give developers and banks an incentive to develop massive residential projects. Regulators will also find it much easier to monitor and punish builders responsible for defects,”Oyedele said.

    To many of its beneficiaries, Easy Home is a huge relief. A pharmacist, Mrs.Ejiro Foyinbo, extolled the concept. She said the provision of free technical assistance, links to trusted builders, reliable retailers and qualified artisans, which the scheme afforded her, has helped to maximise her budget.

    But this is not Lafarge Africa’sfirst intervention in affordable housing programmes. The firm, in collaboration with the French Development Agency (AFD) and LAPO microfinance, have long invested N1.3 billion to provide affordable housing in the country under its “Ile Irorun” affordable housing initiative, which started in October 2013. It was the firm’s first operation launched in the frame of AFD and Lafarge partnership to improve housing conditions through microfinance in Africa.

    The “Ile Irorun”, was intended to enable low-income families to finance the construction, extension or the renovation of their houses and thereby help them improve their living conditions. In all, an estimated 3,500 Nigerians are expected to have benefitted from the programme by end of this year.

    In 2015, Lafarge Holcim also unveiled a self-contained studio-flat at its Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos office, as a model for affordable housing for the low and middle income earners. The feat served as the bedrock for the firm’s planned delivery of a 500-unit of low cost housing in Gwagwalada, Abuja. The types being provided in this scheme include two and three-bedroom flats and studio types. Its prices range from N1.5million for studio model, while others are between N4million and N6million.

    Stakeholders are convinced that the initiative is capable of bringing succour to the numerous Nigerians, who are daily losing hope of owning houses.

  • NTIC Foundation: A worthy CSR initiative

    NTIC Foundation: A worthy CSR initiative

    Such encounters are rare. Most times, we see them in bestsellers and fictio-nal novels. But the story of baby Ibrahim is real, and it happened in Yobe State.

    Ibrahim is a six-month-old baby who was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts when a group of doctors and nurses from Nizamiye hospital Abuja visited Yobe for a medical outreach. The medical outreach was facilitated by the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges Foundation (NTICF) as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in schools.

    According to Mr. Behlül Fat-ih Baaran, the director of NTIC foundation, the medical outreach in Yobe State is amongst the numerous initiatives lined up for the NTICF in 2017.

    “The choice of Yobe State is informed by the fact that we wanted to reach out to people in high need of medicare,” he stated. “We at NTICF do not believe there should be barriers or excuses in reaching out to individuals in need especially in health-related issues.”

    The case of baby Ibrahim is one out of the numerous medical conditions that were diagnosed during the programme. One of the team members, Dr. Muammer Abdu-llahi, a consultant ophthalmologist, said Ibrahim’s case is a rare condition that would have led to blindness if it was not detected.

    “Ibrahim was diagnosed with bilateral cataract, which is a clouding of the lens in the eye which leads to a decrease in vision and if left untreated, would have caused blindness.”

    Basaran said, “Baby Ibrahim is among the 1700 patients attended to by the team of doctors and nurses in Yobe State under the outreach programme.”

    He further added that Ibrahim some others with eye defects would be treated free of charge at the Nizamiyehospital.”

    The NTIC Foundation was established in June 2013 with initiatives designed to heal the sick, feed the hungry, provide succour for the fatherless and the motherless, protect entire communities against preventable diseases provide nutritional support for poor households, among others.

    “We are concerned about the less privileged in the society, that is why our initiatives are designed to have an impact in their daily lives,” says Mr. Basaran.

    “In the past four years, the NTIC foundation has embarked on free medical services that have seen over 300 beneficiaries whose eyesight has been restored through the cataract removal program in collaboration with the Nizamye Hospital.”

    There is also its “Clean Water Project” which aims to protect millions of children who are especially vulnerable to waterborne diseases. On its motivation for the clean water project, Mr. Baºaran says “We realised that a substantial percentage of Nigerians in rural areas do not have access to portable water. So far, the foundation has constructed over 300 boreholes inrural areas in Kano, Kaduna, and Abuja, Yobe, Bauchi, and Lagos states.

    The NTICF also operates a unique scheme called I Support a Child’s Education where stationery items are distributed to primary school pupils in rural areas. “What we do here is to source for funds from our parents, partners, and well-wishers. Afterward, we purchase stationery items like mathematical sets, notebooks, sketching books, pens and pencils, erasers, sharpeners and other stationary materials for students,” says Baºaran. So far, “we have distributed over 41,500 stationary packs to schools in the last four years in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.” he also added.

    The Foundation also carries out visitation to orphanages on a regular basis. “Orphans are the children of the whole nation, for that reason we feel their responsibility is on our shoulders.” Mr. Basaran stated in an emotional voice. Recently, the Foundation launched a project to donate new clothes, toys and provides food stuff and renovates some orphanages in the country.  ”We also intend to visit some IDP camps in Yobe state with over 5000 brand new clothing to give them a sense of belonging and show some love to them.”

    The NTIC foundation interventions in the critical areas of health, education, and water cannot be overemphasized in a country like Nigeria. It has redefined the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. It has also gone ahead to serve as a worthy example to other institutions in Nigeria on how to give back to the society. “We want to make positive impact hence the choice of health, water, and education. And we have strived to put smiles on the faces of people in need in these critical areas.”

    The NTIC Foundation seemed to have imbibed the traditional wel-farist philosophy from everyone according to his ability and everyone according to his needs ‘. But whether or not the NTIC formally adopts it as its guiding philosophy, it is evident that Nigeria is not just a market; it is home and a place they are desirous of its growth and development.

    “Nigeria is home to us. We are committed to the positive growth and development of Nigeria.”

    • Ocheja writes from Abuja
  • How lawmakers stalled cassava bread initiative

    How lawmakers stalled cassava bread initiative

    The inability of members of the National Assembly to pass the enabling law is responsible for the non implementation of the cassava bread initiative, The Nation has learnt.

    Dr. Mrs. Gloria Elemo Director General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) confirmed this development at the weekend in an interview with The Nation at FIIRO’s headquarters in Lagos.

    “The cassava bread initiative was actually a programme in the institute. The programme has been the baby of the FIIRO back in the 60s. We were already looking for utility ways of using and reducing the importation of imported foods in this country, especially wheat because a large sum of the forex was being expended in the importation of various materials from overseas,” she recalled.

    Justifying the need for the choice of cassava, she said it was considered because of its comparative advantage and pricing. “Cassava was the target crop and it was found to be very effective and useful as composite flour.”

    The DG of FIIRO who noted that the technology is completely finished and the transfer is even completed, however regretted that “What we’re waiting for is legislation for proper implementation and if there would be legislation, to say a percentage of cassava flour should go into bread in Nigeria, then it is as well done. There’s nothing left in the area of technology that hasn’t been done yet. Even sorghum can actually be constituted into flour. So we’re looking at sorghum and cassava as inclusion in wheat bread to reduce the importation.”

    The 30% inclusion alone, she stressed, “Will help conserve over N127b savings in forex expended in the importation of flour and gradually, we will be improving on our savings to go into other sectors of the economy.”

    Besides, she said, across the value chain, it will create about three million jobs.

    On how soon the idea would crystalise, she said the Ministry of Science and Technology has since made representations to the legislative arm of government to no avail.

    “The recommendations are there at the National Assembly. There have been concerted efforts over the years to make sure that this thing is passed to law but nothing happened. But we’re hoping that very soon it will be passed into law.”

    It may be recalled that former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002 had initiated a policy on 10 percent inclusion of the tuber crop in bread under a programme tagged: ‘the Presidential Initiative on Cassava’ in order to promote the cassava value chain. This was followed by launch of Cassava Bread Development Fund by former President Goodluck Jonathan to serve as an extension of the Cassava Bread Wealth Development Fund, by imposing a levy of 15 percent on wheat grain imports, which will increase the effective duty from five to twenty (5-20) percent.

  • Governors’ wives hail MTN’s breast cancer initiative

    Wives of Kaduna and Niger states’ governors have  hailed MTN Nigeria for throwing its weight behind the eradication  of breast cancer.

    At the yearly Breast Cancer awareness campaign, which was part of MTN African Patrons Cup Polo Tournament, Kaduna State governor’s wife Hajiya Hadiza Nasir El-Rufai said increased awareness and advocacy and public-private partnership would help stem  cancer.

    She said: “We need all hands to be on deck if we are going to successfully stave off the threat of cancer in Nigeria. I hereby call on well-meaning corporate bodies, organisations and well-placed individuals to join hands with us in this initiative.”

    Niger State governor’s wife Dr. Amina Abubakar Bello, said: “Breast cancer is the deadliest among all the cancers that affect women. Polo on the other hand is widely acknowledged as the game of kings and the king of games. We feel the Pink Polo Tournament platform will draw the attention of not only kings but also the wider public to the menace of cancer in Nigeria. Beyond the exciting polo on display, we are also reminded of the plight of women whose lives have been adversely affected by the cancer scourge, not only in the country but the world over.”

    MTN Nigeria, Master Brand, Senior Manager, Emamoke Ogoro, while thanking the Fifth Chukker Polo and Country Resort for partnering with MTN to hold the tournament, expressed optimism that the event would help raise the profile of polo and also drum up support for breast cancer awareness.

    “The whole Pink Polo initiative is in line with a number of other breast cancer initiatives around the world. The idea is to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. We are delighted at the response we have gotten so far and we are optimistic that we have been able to touch lives through this initiative,” she added.

    Highlights of the Pink Polo day included an international polo exhibition match,  awareness lectures on breast cancer, screening and counselling.

  • On Federal Govt’s 500,000 jobs initiative

    A 2015 World Bank statistics indicates that 100 million Nigerians live in destitution while a recent data from the same body confirms Nigeria as one of the five poorest nations in the world. The nation’s high unemployment rate is partly responsible for this frightening statistics and heart-breaking rating. That our country is in deep-rooted unemployment web is further confirmed by the highlights of the Unemployment and Underemployment Watch for first quarter of 2015. According to the report, a total of 17.7 million people between ages 15 and 65 either unemployed or underemployed in the labour force in the first quarter of 2015. The report further asserts that the number of unemployed people (861,110 people) in the first quarter 2015 was more than the number of employed people within the same period (504,596 persons).

    Similarly, official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics puts unemployment figure at about 20% (about 30million), but this number still did not include about 40million other Nigerian youths captured in World Bank statistics in 2009. By implication, it means that if Nigeria’s population is 140 million, then 50% of Nigerians are unemployed, or worse still, at least 71% of Nigerian youths are unemployed. This is particularly disturbing and counterproductive because at least 70% of the population of this country are youths.

    Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor and now Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, once revealed that while the Nigerian economy grew at the rate of seven percent for the past six years, unemployment has actually doubled at same period. He submitted that security crisis and internal uprising across the country were products of chronic poverty and mounting joblessness. So, unemployment has grown to become a monster with many faces. Many have become victims of drug addiction, rape cases, kidnapping and other such criminal vices, no thanks to unbearable unemployment situation.

    No doubt, the Federal Government is aware of the enormity of the unemployment challenge.  This, perhaps, is the reason for its much touted 500,000 employment initiative for unemployed graduates. It is a remunerated volunteering programme of a two-year period that engages graduates in their direct communities, where they will assist in improving the shortfalls in the education, health and agriculture sectors. They will own tablets that contain essential information concerning their precise engagements and other such crucial information. They are also to be provided teaching, instructional and consultative solutions in four major focus areas namely basic education, agriculture extension services, public health and community education (civic and adult education). They would also be trained in skills that could enable them exit after two years to reasonably feasible opportunities. They are to be paid a monthly stipend of N30, 000.

    After initial hiccups, recent reports have it that the first 200,000 beneficiaries of the scheme would commence work by December 1. According to a statement from the Office of the Vice President, where the project is domiciled, of the 200,000 first set, 150,000 would be engaged in teaching, 30,000 would work in the agricultural sector while 20,000 would serve in healthcare delivery. Altogether, the scheme plans to engage and train 500,000 young unemployed graduates.

    Though, in practical terms, the programme is yet to take off, major stakeholders such as the Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigeria Union of Teachers and Students bodies have lauded the initiative. Organized Labour particularly hailed the efforts on the premise that any scheme that could offer a massive amount of youths employment opportunity is worth commending. While reacting to the plan, President, Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, Michael Alogba-Olukoya, extolled the project as “a right step in the right direction’’.

    Critics of the initiative have, however, called for caution concerning its prospect. To them, it is rather laughable that the federal government is exploiting the unemployment situation in the country to further enslave young Nigerians. They wonder why a scheme that pays young Nigerian a miserly N30, 000 per month should be celebrated, considering our current harsh economic condition in which those with improved pay merely grapple to survive.  How productive could a young graduate with a monthly pay of N30, 000 actually be in an inflation ridden economy?

    To critics of the project, the meagre N30, 000 pay packages for beneficiaries might further compound the employment woes of young Nigerians as prospective employers could follow suit by offering them peanuts.  Besides, critics also wonder whether it is morally rational for the federal government to take up 500,000 Nigerian graduates for a job that has little or no future prospect, taking into consideration its two year duration.  This, to detractors of the scheme does not really add up.

    Another grouse of critics against the scheme is the rationality of government (public sector) directly employing people in a country where the recurrent expenditure is often well above 70% of the budget, especially when considered that many states can presently not even pay those in their employ and the federal government is talking about borrowing from foreign sources to fund the budget. In the 21st century, it is a free market module economy that creates jobs not governments.

    However, my take on the job scheme is that though it doesn’t really represents a resourceful and holistic approach to tackling the excruciating unemployment miseries in the country, it, nevertheless, would help in relieving some of its beneficiaries, albeit temporarily, the pains and frustrations of  redundancy. Equally, the skill that some of them would acquire through the various training programmes, as being proposed, could open more and better opportunities for them in life. On the argument that the private sector should take initiative for job creation, as true as this is, the way things presently stand in our nation, the private sector might not be able to rise up to do that in the next five years. It is a common knowledge that most private ventures in the country have been downsizing in the past few months.

    Having said this, however, the federal government truly needs to do more than the 500,000 jobs approach if we are really serious about curtailing chronic unemployment in the country.  It must come up with inventive strategies that would enhance the thriving and expansion of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the country. In an economy like ours, the growth and development of SMEs remain a major catalyst for economic resurgence and wealth creation.

    Also, all tiers of governments must give adequate attention to development of infrastructure. Weak infrastructure is inimical to job creation and economic growth. The government, especially, needs to do more in ensuring stable power supply. Small businesses will, no doubt, flourish with un-hindered power supply. Equally, multi-national firms that have closed down due to unstable power supply could come back if the power situation improves. This would not only bring up new jobs, but will certainly restore lost ones.

     

    • Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information & strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
  • Allottees hail LagosHOMS’ initiative

    Allottees hail LagosHOMS’ initiative

    A businessman, Mohammed Adisa, has praised the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS), established by the  former Governor Babatunde Fashola administration.

    Adisa, who spoke to The Nation at the handing over ceremony of a one-bedroom apartment he won in the LagosHOMS initiative in the Mushin scheme, argued that such initiatives should be made as a ‘starting’ point for every state government towards providing housing for the people.

    He advocated that a law that will make every other government that comes on board in any state of the federation make housing provision for the people compulsory be enacted. This, he said, will ensure that every income earning individual would be able to own a home of their own.

    Another allottee, Mrs. Yetunde Adebimpe, who resides in Ibadan, Oyo State, expressed satisfaction on the initiative. Adebimpe, who represented her husband at the allocation, explained that benefitting from the scheme was possible for her family since her hubby works and resides in Lagos. “We are happy that we have been awarded. I am excited that it is the reality today,” she said.

    At the handing over of the homes last week, Housing Commissioner, Gbolahan Lawal, noted that the handing over of the flats was yet another milestone in the effort of the administration of Governor Akinwumi Ambode at providing decent and affordable accommodation for the state.

    Besides, he said, it is also in line with the policy of ‘’continuity with improvement’’ of the present administration, as the state is committed not only to increasing the housing stock, but also to improving the entire housing delivery process with a view to ensuring that the units are more readily accessible and wealth is created.

    The LagosHOMS Mushin outlay, whose construction commenced in 2012, is located on a land area of 0.77 hectares, and comprises five blocks of 12 units, each totaling 60 units.  There are 20 units of one, two and three-bedroom flats. Facilities provided include roads and car park, mini water works, external electrification, neighborhood’s garden, recreation and green areas. The Estate is fenced and gated. The Estate added to the growing list of completed Estates under Ambode’s administration, which include Oko-Oba Housing Estate, M.K.O. Garden Housing Estate and Omole Scheme.

    Lawal said efforts are in place to create a serene environment that could enhance good quality living. He, therefore, charged the allottees to make good use of the facilities provided and ensure that they are properly maintained.

    “It is the intention of the government to provide facility managers for all our estates in order to ensure that they are adequately maintained and we wish to enjoin all our allottees to cooperative with the facility managers in this regard,” he advised.

    While government’s housing initiative may be commendable, there are complaints about the cost of buying into such schemes. Often, prospective buyers have lamented the 30 per cent down payment requirement, as well as the total cost of the house.

    For instance, allottees of one bedroom flat in the LagosHOMS Mushin scheme have to pay between N6.8 million   and N7 million;  and N17.5 million for three-bedroom over a period of 10 years to claim full ownership.

    Both Adisa and Adebimpe are, however, of the thinking that the prices are reasonable. However, they are unanimous that the initial deposit of 30 per cent should be reduced to 10 per cent, so that the aim of making housing available would not be defeated.

    “Buying three-bedroom flat in Lagos at N17.5 million is not cheap, but when you look at cost of getting a land in Lagos and building where you actually want to be, then I don’t think it is expensive. As it is now, from what obtains in the open market, I won’t say it is expensive. But government can plan adequately to make these houses more affordable,” Adebimpe explained.

    The state government may have long heard the cries of the people in respect of cost of housing. This, Lawal said, is why the government recently unveiled the “Rent-To-Own” (RTO) policy in addition to the ongoing mortgage scheme. The policy is aimed at making housing more readily accessible and affordable, particularly to low and medium income earners both in the formal and informal sectors.

    Under the RTO arrangement, individuals are required to pay five per cent of the value of the housing unit as commitment fee and rent is paid over a 10-year period at six per cent interest rate towards ownership of the unit being occupied.

    The programme is expected to commence with selected estates across the three senatorial Districts of the state.

  • A good initiative

    •Osun Broiler Out-grower  Scheme should be emulated by other state governments

    In order to arrest the problem of food insecurity as well as create jobs for the country’s jobless youths, the Managing Director of Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Uche Orji, has canvassed the replication of Osun Broiler Out-grower Production Scheme (OBOPS), Osogbo, in other states of the federation. Orji made the call after he and his entourage, including some members of the NSIA management had been taken through a presentation on the general operations of Tuns Farms and the OBOPS programme, during a visit to the farms’ corporate headquarters in Osogbo.

    The visitors were received by the General Manager of Tuns Farms, Mr. Seyi Ogunjinmi, and the assistant general manager, research and development, Mr. Taofeek Badmus, among others.

    Apparently impressed by the operations of the farms, and its collaboration with the Osun State government, Orji not only urged that the initiative be sustained but also called for its replication in other states of the federation.

    We think so, too. Tuns Farms has been in the poultry business for long and also has the facilities as well as expertise to make the initiative succeed. Osun State government, on the other hand, has some youth employment schemes to take its youths off the unemployment queues. These include Osun Youth Employment Scheme (O-YES), Osun Agriculture Academy, etc., where youths are trained in modern agriculture techniques, among others. Tuns farms assists the products of these schemes by providing them “with broiler day-old chicks, feeds and money to buy inputs and labour for a start”, to enable them set up their own poultry business. The state government then buys the broilers from the new poultry farmers in bulk. Part of it is used for the state’s O-Meal programme, through which government provides lunch for pupils in the state’s public schools.

    The multiplier effect is enormous, considering that the initiative is said to have generated over 10,000 jobs yearly since its inception. Perhaps this is the sense in which the NSIA boss is calling for replication of the initiative all over the country.

    It is something that we need, especially at this point in time when crude oil prices have gone down considerably. We should be looking in the direction of agriculture which used to be the country’s mainstay before the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity.

    Poultry demand in the country was said to be in the region of  300, 000 MT in 2014 and we spent N660 billion to import 1.2 million metric tons (MT) of frozen chickens despite an existing ban, according to the National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Dr. Ayoola Oduntan. If more state governments replicate the Osun initiative, it would have salutary effect on supply of poultry products as well as reduce the foreign exchange we spend importing them.

    Surely, we need such a template to deal with shortage of food items like fruits, tomatoes and other sundry items. This would also lead to creation of jobs which would further enhance not only food security but also our much needed social security.

  • AFC unveils Africa Project Developers Initiative

    Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), alongside its development partners, has announced the launch of the Africa Project Developers Initiative (APDI).

    APDI is a think tank and network to promote and enable project development in Africa. It creates a platform that fosters continuous dialogue among members, standardises project development documentation, develops market benchmarks, enables knowledge transfer, leads and facilitates independent research and serves as a policy advocacy forum for the industry.

    A significant bottleneck in unlocking Africa’s infrastructure is the development of viable projects that meet the viability and bankability tests of financiers.

    African project development itself is a proven asset class, with an increasing number of projects successfully reaching financial close: Azura, Nigeria; Cenpower, Ghana; Cabeolica, Cape Verde; Henry Konan Bedie Bridge, Cote D Ivoire.

    The challenges experienced by developers require the establishment of an innovative and collective approach to addressing the issues. The average project development time span from concept to financial close is seven years.

  • Fed Govt lauds labour’s support for continental initiative

    The Federal Government has praised organised labour for its role in the launch of the United Nations’ (UN) Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) in Abuja last Friday.

    EBAFOSA was formed following  the Second Africa EBA for food security conference convened by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) Commission and partners on last July 30 and 31, where 1200 delegates from Africa adopted the Nairobi Action Agenda and the Constitution, which gave birth to the first ever Africa Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA).

    The international body will serve as the continental policy platform to foster and nurture partnerships through branch formation in each African country.

    Some African countries have since launched their programmes. In Nigeria, the theme for the launch is: ‘Re-shaping Nigeria food security and climate resilience through EBAFOSA”.

    During the committee’s meeting, a representative of the secretariat of the body in Nigeria, Mr. Abass Abdullai of the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, said labour unions could facilitate  logistics necessary to make the launch possible.

    The unions, which sponsor most of the items for the event, include the National Union of Food Beverage Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE); National Union of Hotels and Personal Service Workers (NUHPSW); Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB) and Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI).

    The ministry said it had various opinions on what unions stand for, which was activism, adding that it has understood that unions play vital roles in national development.

    EBAFOSA’s National President , Mr. James Oyesola, said the body is the first pan-African policy framework that provides a platform for stakeholders in the country to collaborate in developing and implementing policy solutions to upscale EBA-driven agriculture, its value chains, industrialisation and job creation in a sustainable way.

    EBAFOSA’s implementation, he said, is categorised into three – introductory, growth and maturity.

    “The introductory phase is considered as the most-crucial as it aims to secure commitment of the vital stakeholders, who will be the foundation of EBAFOSA,” he said.

    Oyesola said EBAFOSA is a treaty and not an organisation, adding that it is a peer-to-peer review to reflect policies that would be acceptable globally.

    He said when launched, EBAFOSA would ensure all hands were on deck with synergies looking at the ministries and stakeholders.

    The president added that EBAFOSA would work with associations, such as All Farmers Association of Nigeria, women allied organisations, including weather agencies, to make food production sustainable.

    Those expected at the launch include international organisations, ministers of Agriculture, Environment, Budget and National Planning.

     

  • Don seeks support for waste-to-power initiative’

    The waste-to-power initiative by the Federal Government for energy sufficiency  requires the support of stakeholders for it to succeed, a former Country’s President, International Association of Energy Economics (IAEE), Prof Adeola Akinnisiju has said.

    He told The Nation that the government’s decision to call for research into waste-to-power project, is good and capable of making Nigeria achieve its energy potential.

    However, the lack of commitment by the stakeholders could mar the success of the initiative, he added.

    According to him, technologies for collection, processing and conversion of wastes into energy must be available in the country before its potential could be harnessed for the development of socio-economic activities.

    He said: “In developed countries, such as the United States, Germany and others, where wastes were processed and converted into energy for electricity supply, the use of variables, such as technologies, researches, trainings of personnel for the project, and cooperation of members of the communities, which the initiative is meant for, are considered.”

    He said for Nigeria to achieve success in the initiative, those variables must be considered and used.

    He said the smaller volumes of electricity that would be generated from the project would boost electricity supply.

    He urged Nigerians to support the waste-to-power initiative, the same way they invested in the assets of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

    When investments are made in the various facets of energy, he said, the country is  assisting to make power available to its people. He said firms that invest in the waste-to-power project, are sure of getting enough waste in the country to generate electricity.

    The Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Baha Shehuri, had called for  research into waste-to-power initiative during a meeting in Abuja with the Vice Chancellor and members of the Governing Council of the University of Maiduguri.

    He said the initiative could improve electricity supply in the country, if properly implemented.