The Nation Newspaper

Tag: intervention

  • Soyinka’s intervention against kidology: A reader’s appraisal

    The Kongi of Africa, himself the inimitable Wole Soyinka, has sneezed polemically again. He has given the community of readers and those committed to a life of the mind another somewhat meaty matter to engage with – InterInventions: Between Defective Memory and the Public Lie – A Personal Odyssey in the Republic of Liars (2015).

    Needless to say, it is a philippic, a withering put-down complete with the appurtenances of raging polemics and the ubiquitous tropes of humour, satire, sarcasm, innuendo and irony, which markedly distinguish the God of Baroka, Eleshin Oba, King Baabu, among many other fictive beings. As in other blistering discourses, in the book(herein referred to as InterInventions) Soyinka does not spare those who (un)wittingly drew his caustic ire. He also remains a polemicist of undiminished excellence.

    In his carefully planned voyage in what he calls the Republic of Liars – a republic where damaging and ignominious mendacitiesare festooned with apparels of truths -, Soyinka specifically names individuals who he claims have joyously violated the sanctity of truth. The named spinners of untruths have not been out to express their opinions of his actions and inactions, he argues, but have been inventing lies about him and passing them off as truths in public spaces. He informs that such kidology (the art or practice of making people believe something which is not true) does not only affronts him, but it also contaminates the public mind. And because of the gravely hurtful consequences that do result from the inventions of lies against, about and to people, it becomes unavoidable that the veneer of truth cast on the mounds of lies be viciously ripped up.

    And so with the unmistakable precision of a medieval archer Soyinka in InterInventionsgives the corpulent balloons of lies a fatal pinprick and demonstrates no restraint bulldozing the magnificent edifices of fibs in the public sphere. His argument is that since a person who lies to, against, or about you has no respect for you and does not care a hoot about what becomes of your image or the pain inflicted on you, in debunking their lies you must not do so using lavender language. This evidently accounts for the scurrilous and offensive descriptions Soyinka meanly gives of the eight personalities he contends are archetypes of public liars on account of the things they said and wrote about him. It appears Soyinka is saying that not one of the eight – Chinweizu, AdewaleMaja-Pearce, Peter Pan (Enahoro), OlusegunObasanjo, AbiolaOgundokun, Major Salawu, Gbenga Daniel, and OlagunsoyeOyinlola – has a redeeming grace.

    In addition to refuting the lies of his anti-heroes, I am of the view that Soyinka equally derives happiness and peace of mind from the hearty laughter his satiric and humorous depictions of his subjects elicit in the reader. The observation of the psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, adds ballast to the foregoing conclusion: ‘[B]y belittling and humbling our enemy, by scorning and ridiculing him, we indirectly obtain the pleasure of his defeat by the laughter of the third person’. The contemptuous portrayals are done in a way that deflates the egos of his traducers and diminishes their valuation in the republic they reconstruct with base falsities and outright half-truths.In beaming a searchlight on the motivations behind the actions of ‘the greatest public liars’ he has ever known, Soyinka critically questions their character ‘as leading – or recognised – figures of society’.

    It is interesting to note that Soyinka in the book does not claim to be an Island of truth. He may not be afflicted with defective memory, a crippling disease ravaging the denizens of the Republic of Liars, but heencourages others to highlight and respond to any gap they observe in his chronicle. Hear him: ‘If I am wrong, then those who feel close to public figures trapped in such existential nightmare [amnesia] should assist others by releasing their own versions into the public arena’ (16).

    As a public intellectual who understands the importance of enriching public knowledge, Soyinka challenges all of those he features in InterInventionsto respond to his damning claims against them. Soyinka gives such challenges that no person of honour or integrity can afford to ignore. On page 35 he eggs on Chinweizu; on page 40 and 45 Peter Enahoro gets more than a nudge to gush; and on page 126 he crossly demands that Prince Oyinlola, the last-minute entrant into the lying contest in the Republic of Liars, ‘must be put to the strictest proof to substantiate several outrageous claims he made in recent press statement’ against him (Soyinka).

    Certainly, Soyinka cannot be entirely correct in his fulminating assertions against all of these people. I do not think it will be proper to alloweniOgunhave the last words. The writing back of those concerned will also help to enrich public discourses. The reading public awaits their responses, flaming or not.

    Of equal importance also is the challenge Soyinka throws at the media and the general Nigerian public. Lean and/or defective memorydoes a lot to encourage the flowering of lies as truths. It is the reason ‘the average Nigerian mind’, according to Soyinka, becomes a ‘heaving hive of riotous fecundity […] straining to give birth to the next monstrosity of a lie’ (5). While the media is expected to considerably improve its record-keeping capacity and be more than just purveyors of claims and counterclaims, the public too ‘has a responsibility to itself not to be mentally lazy or succumb to facile propaganda’ (31). Nigerians must cast off the cloaks of docility and gullibility which continue to make them victims of contemptible and dehumanising lies easefully hurled at them time and again by those who rule them. Nigerians must be profoundly critical in their reception of the words and actions of their leaders at whatever level. They must quit being lovers of easy answers and discontinue the culture of taking the words of secular and spiritual authorities at their face value.

    More specifically, our young people must cease being reflectors of adult society’s lies and prejudices. I argue that part of the reasons the National Youth Service Corps’ objective of fostering national unity has been floundering in the last one decade can be located in the deep-seated prejudices laden in the vacant and barely educated minds of both Northern and Southern corps members. On different social media platforms, our young people respond to socio-political issues not through critical, structured thinking, but of course through the abundance of the mind-limiting propagandas and lethal falsifications they have uncritically received. To this group of Nigerian, Soyinka’s exhortation is apposite: ‘[S]top rushing to inherit stained, tarnished and rhetorical standards. […] Find your own feet, adopt and address your own urgent and relevant causes.

    Since the book being appraised here thematises kidology of ‘staggering impudence’ in the public space, I hold the view that the continual claim of successive Nigerian rulers about the unity of the country should be considered as a demeaning and insulting lie. In contrast to the sickening claim of Nigerian rulers and many a Nigerian about the indivisibility of the country, events in the country from 1960 till date starkly show that the oneness and unity of Nigeria is a ruse. How come that some of the hugely avoidable deaths recorded in the country were directly caused by the sword of unity? Why is the country convulsed from time to time by the clangourous dins and threats of secession?

    If the decimating scourge of kidology has not completely creamed off the better part of our humanity, I think we must manfully confront our worst fears and have a serious debate on whether the many nations of this country want to remain as one entity or break up. We must boldly face our fiercest demons and do something about the fraudulent ‘we’ in the opening paragraph of ‘our constitution’. What we have today as one, indivisible country is a humongous LIE, at best a republic founded on and sustained by lies, lying rulers, and acquiescent followers! Borders are not cast in iron; they can be redrawn – ask them in Ukraine.

    As I coursed through the 136 pagesof Soyinka’s engagingly polemical, relentlessly stinging, and profusely critical harangue on the ruinous impact of public lies, I paid attention to his perturbing lamentation on the slow pace of the wheel of Justice in Nigeria.

    Finally, the Republic of Liars of Soyinka is patriarchal through and through. It is the reason we do not read of one single belle who fobbed him off. If you excuse the sordidness of InterInventionsidioms and the overdramatized emotional explosion of its author, you will appreciate the rationale behind the dismantling of the superb structures of kidology crowding the public space.

     

    • Ademola writes from Bodija, Ibadan,

    Oyo State.

  • Lagos-Ibadan expressway: The Amosun Intervention

    Just as literature mirrors the society, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway mirrors Nigeria. Indeed, the fall of Nigeria is fully reflected in the collapse of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. That highway is the shame of the Nigerian nation. One wonders what the successive governments did or failed to do that resulted in the ruin of the most economically strategic road in the country.

    Lagos-Ibadan motorway is the blood that runs in the veins of Nigeria. It is the life-wire of the nation. It is arguably the busiest in West Africa, conveying men and materials from the sea port of Lagos, the commercial hub of the nation, through Ogun State, the emerging industrial capital of Nigeria, to other parts of the federal republic.

    Time is life; it’s no surprising we waste lives on the highway on a daily basis. How did we descend to this level? The most important road pockmarked with craters; horrible sights of vehicles nearly submerged or simply packed up in flooded valleys and puddle-filled gullies created by neglect; pathetic scenes of market women with babies on their backs  leaving behind their merchandise at the mercy of the elements or standby merchants of death while seeking safety for their souls. What a come-down for the nation!

    This caricature of a road, which has been a source of stress, sorrow, agony, trauma and death to thousands of commuters that ply it daily belongs to the federal government. The nation has lost billions if not trillions of naira over two decades due to the prostrate state of the highway. And the  economic haemorrhage continues from government to government.

    But why should Ogun State government be  pilloried on account of the carnage and humongous man-hour loss that have become the permanent features of the highway? Why should a new government of President Muhammadu Buhari be made to carry the can; worse, for a government that inherited an empty federal till from the last spendthrift administration, which emptied the nation’s treasury to prosecute the 2015 elections?

    At exactly 10:00pm on Tuesday, Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, led members of his cabinet and top echelons of the bureaucracy to some of the portions of Lagos-Ibadan highway that have brought life, directly and indirectly, to a standstill across the country.  The intensity of  the governor’s exasperation could be felt as he mobilised men and materials to these derelict sites on the highway earlier in the day. Yet, at this time of cash crunch!

    “The suffering on that road is beyond human tolerance,” he said plaintively.

    Amosun and his team inspected the progress of work by the state’s Ministry of Works, empathised with commuters who had been in the traffic for lamentable hours  and those that resorted to trekking even at that late period of the day. Some, I later gathered, reached home by 4am the next day!

    His earlier decision to go in the day was shelved in order not to compound an already horrendous situation. As you read this, palliative work is in progress on the road. This intervention is not an isolated one. Indeed, Ogun State expends about N400 million almost on monthly basis on palliative works on all the federal roads scattered across the state. From Lagos-Ibadan highway to Atan-Agbara road, from Owode-Ilaro motorway to Sagamu-Ikorodu road, Sagamu-Ore Expressway and from Lagos-Abeokuta highway to Abeokuta- Ibadan road, it is the same story of the governor spending the scarce resources of the state in rehabilitating completely failed portions of federal roads, because residents don’t differentiate between federal and state roads. And for political reasons, even those who know the difference pretend not  to know!

    Over 70 per cent of Lagos- Ibadan motorway is located within Ogun State. The state shares the longest border with the Republic of Benin. It hosts various religious organisations and their millions of followers across the country every week or month. Indeed, it is the gateway to Nigeria. Such a state deserves a special status on account of pressures that are exerted on its territory by all compatriots and foreigners.

    The redeeming feature is that we now have a new federal government that is prudent in financial matters. According to Governor Amosun, the president is very much aware of the state of the road, indeed the appalling state of all federal roads in Nigeria. As the new central government takes stock and settles down, there is no doubt that the synergy between Ogun and federal authorities will hasten the pace of the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to the eternal relief of Nigerians and Nigeria.

    Ultimately, my oft-stated position over the years remains tenable: “It is cheaper for states to own these federal roads. For instance, the ongoing repair work on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos has continued to consume avoidable administrative costs. The Minister of Works and other federal officials who come all the way from Abuja to supervise and inspect the road will certainly collect allowances running into millions of naira, whereas it would have amounted to a routine duty for the Lagos Commissioner for Works and other officials. And when you consider that the Abuja officials will have to do the same thing again and again in all the 36 states of the federation, the preventable wastage of tax-payers’ money stares you in the face… Contiguous states to these federal roads will naturally collaborate to reconstruct and maintain them at far cheaper costs than moving money and officials first from Abuja to the regional office, and from the regional office to the states. There is so much wastage of public funds in Nigeria.”

    And as it happens, for the Ogun State cabinet members and top government functionaries that accompanied the governor to Warewa, Arepo, etc. it was just a matter of routine.  But imagine how many millions of naira in out-of-station, hazard, etc. allowances that would have been incurred by the federal purse if they had come from Abuja to inspect the road!

    I believe we also need prayers in this country. Why is it now that we have a President Muhammadu Buhari that is committed to good governance and accountability that we are  confronted with paucity of cash? Why has the price of oil chosen this momentous time to plummet to this level? Even if the new government achieves complete diversification of the economy, will it fructify overnight, in one, two or three years? Why should it be at this time that we have a highly conscientious and honest central government that we should have this kind of financial situation as a country? So we need prayers in this country.

    Meanwhile, Senator Amosun should not be deterred by the campaign of calumny  but  remain focussed on delivering the dividends of democracy to the masses who trooped out in their thousands to reward him for a good term.

    • Soyombo writes from Abeokuta

     

  • The politics and economics of Sanusi’s intervention

    The politics and economics of Sanusi’s intervention

    • Continued from Octomber 29

    Belatedly, the emir blames the slow GDP growth of the first half of 2015 on the CBN’s refusal to devalue the naira. Yet, in making this statement, he willfully ignores several facts. First, Nigeria is dealing with a set of exogenous shocks, including the sharp decline in oil prices, the slowdown in global growth (which means less imports from Nigeria), and the geopolitical tensions along important trading routes around the world, which has also significantly lowered prospects for global growth. In recognition of these shocks, the IMF recently reduced its forecast of global growth in 2015 from 3.5 per cent to 3.1 per cent. Every country in the world has slowed down markedly, and Nigeria is not an island of its own. How then can one simply blame Nigeria’s slow growth on the value of the naira while ignoring the fact that the government is losing more than 50 per cent of its revenues as a result of falling oil prices?

    But, if devaluation were the simple answer, let us consider what has happened to comparable countries that allowed a full depreciation of their currencies during the last several months. For example, Ghana, Russia, Zambia, and Brazil have all allowed depreciations of their currencies to the tune of 27 per cent, 40 per cent, 45 per cent, and 42 per cent, respectively. Yet, Brazil and Russia are in recession. In fact, analysts now expect Brazil’s GDP to shrink to 0.8 per cent in 2016. In Ghana, the latest growth rate is less than one per cent while Zambia just declared a National Day of Prayer because of slow growth! What is clear from these countries is that depreciation is not a silver bullet to the economic challenges that we are facing today. To accurately interrogate these issues require much greater analytical depth than is being shown these days.

    Similarly, the assertion that the demand management policy of the CBN has deprived certain industries of critical imports ignores the fact that these are the same policies that have helped the country become self-sufficient and a net exporter in cement and other areas. Today, cement imports would have been costing Nigeria about $3 billion yearly.

    That comment also ignores the fact that most manufacturers of the 41 items restricted from accessing forex are witnessing tremendous increase in demands for their products. For instance, Erisco Foods (manufacturers of tomato paste), GZ (manufacturers of aluminum cans), Obasanjo Farms, and the association of cold-rolled steel manufacturers of Nigeria have all reported significant increase in sales and are already employing much more Nigerians and expanding their operations to meet with the demand.

    What is the “essential raw materials” for the production of items like tomato, palm oil, toothpicks, rice, cement, margarine, vegetable oil, poultry products, chicken, wooden doors, furniture, clothes, and table wares? We have no choice other than to revitalise and encourage the growth of local industry. Not too long ago, Nigeria used to control 40 per cent of the global palm oil market but today, we spend billions importing palm oil yearly, while Malaysia and Indonesia control 80 per cent of the global palm oil market. This is clearly not the way to go and we must not allow personal interests to becloud our sense of objectivity.

    The emir also incorrectly stated that the central bank is currently “pursuing tight monetary policies” and that “it is time to loosen monetary policy”.  At the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the CBN, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was reduced from 31 per cent to 25 per cent. And owing to the policies of the CBN, the interbank interest rate has crashed to a five-year low of 0.8 per cent and both lending and deposit rates are falling accordingly. The truth, therefore, is that monetary policy is already loosening significantly. The Nigerian banking system is awash with both naira and dollars and there is no sound economic basis to call for a further slackening, especially in the face of rising inflation.

    While the emir’s declaration that “portfolios flows are gone” is true, he presented it as if their exit is a result of flawed policies in Nigeria. However, it is a global phenomenon.  According to a recent report by London’s Financial Times, portfolio outflows from emerging market countries, including Nigeria, in the third quarter of 2015 has been the worst since the 2008 global financial crisis. Portfolio investors from emerging market countries have offloaded an estimated $40 billion worth of securities.

    Everyone knows that portfolio investors settle their fears on their side of caution, and as such, once commodity prices start to fall, they quickly pull their resources out of commodity-exporting countries. Besides, there are strong indications that the U.S. Federal Reserve may be raising interest rates sometime later this year. Of course, given the perceived stability and safety of U.S. securities, most portfolio investors prefer such investment and are therefore preparing to invest in the U.S. market once the Federal Reserve raises U.S. interest rates. It is therefore a symptom of intellectual laziness for anyone to simply blame outflows of portfolio investments from Nigeria on the country’s monetary or exchange rate policies.

    One must also highlight the perils for policymakers when everybody pretends to be an expert on the current economic situation facing our country. All through the emir’s four full years as governor of the CBN (2010—2013), the average price of oil was a very healthy $108 per barrel, as against the current average of $52 per barrel. The last time Nigeria was in this situation was in 2005 when the price of oil averaged $55 but with an import bill that was about N148.3 billion per year.  Yet, today, at about the same average oil price of $55 per barrel, estimates from the first nine months of 2015 show the country’s import bill is about N917.6 billion.

    In truth therefore, we have never been in this kind of situation before as a country. Likewise, the emir never experienced this magnitude of exchange rate crisis or foreign reserves pressure and cannot claim to have expert opinions on how it should be resolved. It is unfortunate that the emir who obviously enjoys his status as the darling of the western media is attempting to create the impression that any economic policy of the Buhari government that western “experts” don’t approve of is wrong. If his forays into public discussions is to make simplistic and biased prescriptions to Nigeria’s complicated economic problems, may be, it is time for him to spend much more time thinking about how to create employment and spur real growth in Kano.

    • This is the concluding part of the story published on page 3 of Thursday, October 29 edition.

  • Pensioners seek intervention on pay

    The Southeast zone of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) has urged the Federal Government to intervene on their pensions and gratuities unpaid for over 15 years in some states in the region. Their appeal was contained in a six-point communiqué issued by the union at the end of its zonal meeting in Abakaliki.

    The communiqué which was signed by the zonal chairman, Prince Clement Igwe and secretary, Mr Livinus Ashiegbu condemned the pension situation in the region, saying, “The governments are woefully unfriendly and insensitive to the plight of pensioners. Based on this development, the forum is calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in order to resolve the situation.

    The pensioners urged the federal government to make a policy on the fate of pensioners

    who retired from July 2007.

    The meeting also urged the government to compel state governments who have not implemented the contributory Pensions Act of 2004 to do so immediately.

    Giving the situation report about pensioners in Abia the state secretary, Elder Onwunmere Arungwa noted that pensioners who retired in 1999 and subsequent years (15 years) were yet to receive their gratuities.

    He said that the situation was the same with the monthly pension scheme which was in arrears of several months.

    “It is unfortunate that some pensioners in Abia still receive less than N1,000 a month due to non implementation of the various pension increases,” he said.

    On its part, the Imo state chairman of the union, Chief Gideon Ezeji said that retired primary school teachers in the state were being owed 20 months of pensions and gratuities by the present administration while “pensions are still worked out on N6,500 out-dated minimum wage.’’

    “The only explanation the governor is giving to Imo state pensioners is that he has not received any bailout for the payment of pensions and gratuities to Imo pensioners.

    “The pensioners of Imo state are at sea as to what they have done to merit the present death sentence by our governor,” he said.

     

  • LASU Crisis: Lagos students seek govt intervention

    LASU Crisis: Lagos students seek govt intervention

    Students of Lagos State origin under the aegis of the National Union of Lagos State Students (NULASS) have urged the Lagos State government to resolve the ongoing feud between the workers and management of the Lagos State University (LASU).

    If nothing happens in two weeks, they promised to take their agitation “to the streets.”

    They spoke at a briefing in Lagos last Friday where the President of the group, Damiju Sultan, a student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), urged the government not to play politics with the future of LASU students.

    He expressed fear that the perennial crisis may lead to the closure of the university due to its failure to meet up with the education requirements of a tertiary institution.

    Sultan said: “We believe the government has our best intentions at heart as youths of the nation and leaders of tomorrow and in fact today, so we hope for a positive response from them. We appeal to the Governor, his deputy, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of youths and Sports, State Security Service, Commissioner of Police and all stakeholders of LASU to help our students get the best education.

    “We may have to take our agitation to the streets and clamour for the progress we seek, if our appeals go to deaf ears.”

    Sultan also faulted the refusal of the workers to fulfil their obligations yet expect to be paid and prayed Governor Akinwumi Ambode to order them to resume work immediately.

    The group also passed a vote of confidence on the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof John Obafunwa for a second tenure, in view of his achievements in LASU.

    They sought the following: “That Prof J. O. Obafunwa is allowed to continue with his tenure undisturbed as the vice chancellor of Lagos State University; that the state government should provide all necessary support to the vice chancellor and guide the university against the continued overbearance of the staff unions;

    “That the state government should grant, permit and approve second four year tenure to Prof J. O. Obafunwa to continue his goodwill to reposition LASU.”

    NULASS Vice President, Oluwatoyin Shamonda, of the Lagos State Polytechnic, added: “Since Obafunwa came on board, the institution has enjoyed patronage and high repute in the sight of all Nigerians. Parents were happy to choose LASU as their children’s first or second choice of university. But since this prolonged crisis, everyone has been avoiding LASU. How can this be the lot of the only university owned by the Lagos State government, despite the pride and value of Lagos State?”

     

  • Local meter manufacturers seek govt’s intervention

    The Electricity Meters Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (EMMAN) has called on the Federal Government to assist its members’ firms from folding up.

    He said some of the firms might go under for lack of patronage by the privatised power companies.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr. Muideen Adebayo Ibrahim, told The Nation that despite the huge loans his colleagues took from banks to build the meter manufacturing factories, the electricity distribution companies  (DISCOS) have refused to buy meters from them. The situation has forced some of their members to close shops, while others drastically cut their workforce, he decried.

    He said: “Our members out of sheer patriotism, despite numerous challenges confronting manufacturers in Nigeria, took undaunted risks with borrowed funds with the accompanying high interest rates, established world-class factories with state-of-the-art facilities.

    “Every local manufacturer has production capacity of 1.2 million meters per annum with room for future expansion. Not only that, smart meters (single and three-phase) are produced with GPRS data bundle that allows for communication between the meter and the server.

    “Our members have robust billing application system, energy theft accounting system, automatic metering infrastructure, superlative customer relationship management system platform, prompt after sales service and asset management mechanism, among others.

    “In fact, some of the billing application system or platforms designed by our members are currently being used by some of the distribution companies. This actually laid credence to the fact that the local meter manufacturers can do it, even if not better. But they have been faced with plethora of challenges in the past, which became more serious within the last one and half years, especially since the new owners of the distribution companies took over.

    “In fact, without mincing words, it has been very tough for our members, hence some have downsized their workforce and others shut down factories. Currently, one of the financiers threatened to dispose the factory of one of our members for his inability to service his obligation. It is, indeed, a sad commentary because we are running from pillar to post in order to ameliorate the situation.”

    As a result of the enormous challenges facing them, the EMMAN scribe urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the sector, create and make available a special intervention fund where local electricity meter manufacturers should draw soft loans at a maximum of two per cent interest rate. With such loans, locally produced meters can be sold to the distribution companies (DisCos) at very competitive price just as their counterparts from China sell to the DISCOS  on one year moratorium and five per cent interest, he said.

    He also asked the government to prevail on all the DISCOS to patronise locally produced electricity meters to create more jobs for Nigerians, increase its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which would on the long run boost the yearly revenue earnings of Nigeria and curb capital flight, among others. The government should support and encourage EMMAN members as the Chinese Government gave unflinching support to their counterparts in China, he added.

    Other requests by the local meter manufacturers include providing them (manufacturers) with the necessary infrastructure and facilities because some of the manufacturers rely on generating sets to operate, prevail on the DISCOS to stop estimated billing, and let the    Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) step up and perform its oversight functions and responsibilities effectively and efficiently without bias or sentiment. NERC should apply the necessary sanction to any errant firm if need be, and ensure that the provision of Local Content Act on power sector is obeyed to the letter, he said.

    “Government should place embargo on the importation of meters in order to encourage local meter manufacturers, just as it was recently done in the automotive sector, protect the local manufacturers just as done in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa, allow local manufacturers to sell meters to consumers and/or approved vendors in order to open up the market, and mandate all the local meter manufacturers to roll out at least 200,000 units of meters monthly.

    ‘’This will keep the factories running and more Nigerians would be gainfully employed. Rather than allowing the DisCos to buy from Chinese companies, which means developing China at the expense of our dear nation. NERC and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment should act as the supervisory bodies in this regard.

    “We will like to recommend the constitution of a monitoring committee for the DisCos and the manufacturers. The committee should comprise of representatives from; NERC, DisCos, EMMAN, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), EMS, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Ministry of Power. This will ensure that things move on in the right direction which in the long run will propel the economy and this would no doubt enable more jobs to be created for the teeming unemployed,’’ he added.

  • ‘Prompt medical intervention can reverse stroke’

    ‘Prompt medical intervention can reverse stroke’

    There is hope for first-time stroke victims. Yes, if a first-time victim of stroke can be reached within three hours of the attack, the condition can be totally reversed.

    Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and Medical Director, First Cardiology Consultants, Dr Adeyemi Johnson, made this known at the 12th annual faculty conference and gathering of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos.

    According to Johnson, the guest lecturer who spoke on, Cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria: Current and emerging trends in epidemiology, prevention and interventional therapies,  the trick is properly diagnosing a stroke when it occurs, and getting medical attention for the patient within three hours. This, he said, is tough in this clime.

    Stroke is one of the cardiovascular diseases, which is when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off.  Johnson also spoke on other  cardiovascular diseases.

    Cardiovascular disease is not a single condition, but a general term used to describe conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels.

    Examples include: coronary heart disease, which describes a number of conditions caused by atherosclerosis of the arteries to the heart,heart failure, which is when the pumping action of the heart is impaired, and therefore its ability to supply blood to other parts of the body is less efficient, particularly on exertion, and peripheral arterial disease, which causes problems with the blood supply to the legs and arms.

    He identified the basic factors confronting the war against management of the diseases. They are  poor road networks, lack of many Nigerians not having any form of health insurance, quackery, not going for continuous medical education by specialists, lack of up-to-date equipment in hospitals and many not knowing their numbers or  even the cause of the disease.

    Though prevention is the best way to nip stroke in the bud, Johnson said when primary prevention fails, treatment and secondary prevention are the next stage and they are a lot more expensive than prevention.

    “With limited funding and a fragmented healthcare delivery system, this technology is not readily available to the lower income bracket,” said Dr Johnson.

    He said diagnosis and treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) has improved over the past decade and many health care facilities in the major cities now have echocardiography that is perhaps the most important diagnostic tool.

    According to him, “The main treatment is a combination of lifestyle changes (low salt diet) and medications most of which are available. With optimum medical treatment, the prognosis of heart failure has improved over the years but a significant number of patients succumb. Large proportions are at risk for sudden cardiac death (cardiac arrest, ventricular fibrillation) and implantation of an intra-cardiac defibrillator (ICD) can be performed to further reduce mortality.”

    He said in some patients with CHF and cardiac dysynchrony, left bundle branch block (LBBB),implantation of a cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) device can also improve symptoms and mortality.

    Dr  Johnson said: “The CRT device is a special type of a pacemaker that is placed in the heart to make the walls of the heart contract simultaneously. ICDs and CRT are available in Nigeria but they are expensive.The price ranges between N1.5 million and N3 million. Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a type of pump that can be placed to assist the left ventricle, this technology is expensive and requires continuous power supply and is not yet available in Nigeria.”

    In the meantime, Cardica catherisation, coronary angiography and stenting are now being performed in several institutions in Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja. The most effective treatment for a heart attack is direct angioplasty and stenting within 10 hours of symptom onset. In hospitals, that do not have this technology available, thrombolytic therapy is the next best option. Unfortunately, majority of patients do not get adequate treatment so mortality for ischemic heart disease in Nigeria is high.

    Dr Johnson said patients often report late, more than 24 hours after symptoms; most hospitals do not have the ability to perform ECG’s and cardiac enzymes. Diagnosis is made late, effective treatment is not given to prevent permanent myocardial damage. This increases the complication rate and mortality of myocardial infarction. The good news is that the technology is now available, the challenge is to make it accessible.”

    Dr Johnson said that many amputations being carried out in the country on people with diabetes is one too many, “because many surgeons erroneously believe that amputation is the last intervention for such people with wounds or sores that won’t heal due to diabetes mellitus. But modern management of diabetes mellitus has afforded us the luxury of rehabilitating such limbs, and the patient can live with same limbs, no matter how crude or crooked they may look. Such is better than the emotional trauma of losing one’s limbs”.

    The identified major causes of CVDs rapid growth in Nigeria to include hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity. “West Africa has the highest average levels of blood pressure in the world and unfortunately this trend is rising,” he stated.

    Dr Johnson said high blood pressure is responsible for approximately 50 percent of deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) and more than 60 percent of deaths from stroke- the two leading causes of preventable death, morbidity, and disability in the world.

    Excessive salt intake and reduced physical activity, according to him, are thought to be major contributory factors, “The average Nigerian diet contains about 9 grams of salt, compared to the European diet which contains about four to five grams. A meta-analysis of several studies suggests that a 5g higher salt intake is associated with a 17 percent greater risk of total CVD and, crucially, a 23 percent greater risk of stroke. The incidence of Type 2 diabetes has almost reached epidemic levels. Smoking does not appear to be a major factor in our population, but we have extremely high levels of air pollution from generators and kerosene cookers etc.,” he stated.

    Dr Johnson said eating habits are changing and a lot of people, especially the younger generation are transitioning to fast foods. “Rapid urbanisation has affected the way people get around and people are exercising less. In places like Lagos the daily commute can be anywhere from one to five hours, and there are security concerns that make it difficult to find the time to exercise or walk outdoors,” he said.

  • BoI disburses N780 billion as loans, intervention funds

    BoI disburses N780 billion as loans, intervention funds

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) yesterday said it disbursed a total of N780 billion last year as loans and intervention funds to the nation’s real sector and other key sectors of the economy.

    Its Managing Director, Rashid Olaoluwa, who spoke at the yearly conference of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in Osogbo, Osun State, said the bank has also increased its intervention to critical sectors of the economy within the last five years, specifically between 2010 to 2014.

    He said: “BoI has become impactful within the last five years and at least 1.8million jobs have been created through such efforts.  Before 2009, the level of intervention was below N30 billion but we have been able to improve access of customers to the funds as well as increase their capacity in the utilisation of such facilities.

    “We are doing a lot of things to ensure that we can provide that comprehensive support to our small and medium enterprises. We are reviewing our regional status to state offices in order to be able to serve our customers better.”

    He also tasked members of the institution on the need to adhere to strict professional ethics adding that valuation of assets remained a critical aspect of financial intermediation that is often fraught with malpractices.

    According to him, it is often discovered that false values are placed on assets, adding that this practice is prevalent in an industry where professionals have decided not to adhere to ethical guidelines.

    He said:  “Development and financial institutions most times discover that the value placed on some assets does not represent the reality and this is affecting financial intermediation by development finance institutions. Estate valuers play a critical role in the society as they are at the centre in placing value on assets. As a bank, we depend on their judgment.  The institute needs to task its members on the need to embrace fair and ethical practice while performing their duties.

    “Similarly, professionals in the estate valuation industry cannot afford to ignore the place of technology in the discharge of their duties in other to be globally recognised and competitive.”

  • ‘Mining sector needs N100b intervention fund’ 

    ‘Mining sector needs N100b intervention fund’ 

    President, Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Sani Shehu at the weekend said Nigeria needs N100 billion intervention fund to immediately start exploitation  of mineral resources to rescue the economy from the adverse impacts of  dwindling oil prices.

    The fund, according to him, could be spread within a period of two years for the provision of infrastructure in mine sites  to ameliorate the challenges of transportation in the sector.

    Shehu explained that the miners are in dire need of means transporting their minerals from site to the industrial areas for processing.

    Speaking with our Abuja correspondent on telephone, he said: “For instance, we can send a proposal for N100billion. And that money cannot be given at once, may be for two years. That money can be set aside for the minerals sector. “First of all, the infrastructural challenges can be addressed.

    “The mining site should have a dedicated railway line. Most of the industrial minerals are basically in the north, and the industries that need these minerals are concentrated in the south. And moving these minerals from the mines to the industry is a serious challenge.

    “The money can also be used to complete the generation of geological information data that government started over the years.”

    The miners boss said it would be a walk over for the local miners to produce the required coal for the generation of 1,000megawatts (Mw) targeted by the Federal Government if the government tackled the transportation challenge.

    Shehu said miners can meet the target if the infrastructure is available. He said: “One major challenge of coal-to-power is the transportation of coal from the mines to the power plants. There is supposed to be a railway line to link the two. If that is available, we have more than enough coal to produce the coal that Nigeria needs for power generation.”

    He said he was part of the presidential retreat on solid minerals where he presented a proposal  to President  Goodluck Jonathan to encourage  the production  of industrial  minerals so that the country could use it as  raw materials in order to discourage their importation.

    He lamented that there are industrial minerals scattered all over the country lamenting that “we are importing minerals like gypsum, barite and coal.”

    The Presidency, according to him, admitted that his proposal was in line with its import substitution initiative, which also identified funding and machinery as major challenges in the sector.

    On why Nigeria still import barite and coal, he said there is politics in the whole issue because the importers that own barite mines overseas would naturally prefer importing from their countries under the pretext that Nigeria’s is of poor quality.

    He called on the government to lift the waiver that allows importation of barite into Nigeria, especially now that it needs to boost the economy.

    Shehu said: “The truth is this: There is a politics in barite importation. Our barites are okay but those that process barite and supply to  end users have their barite mines overseas . So they would rather prefer importing from their mines to buying from Nigeria.”

  • CBN to evaluate N700b intervention funds

    CBN to evaluate N700b intervention funds

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said it is planning to undertake an impact evaluation of its intervention projects estimated at N700 billion.

    In a statement, the apex bank said the assessment will cover projects done since 2009 under the N200 billion Commercial Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme (CACS), N300 billion Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF) and N200 billion Small and Medium Enterprises Restructuring and Refinancing Facility (SMERRF).

    The CBN is therefore, requesting for proposals from interested and competent organisations to conduct the impact evaluation of the scheme.

    Doing that, it said, would ascertain the extent to which it has met its stated objectives. That, it added would also identify the areas of success, impact and challenges; serve as input in evolving a new initiative for the financing of agricultural enterprises on a sustainable basis.

    The CBN had in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources,  established the CACS in 2009. The CACS was meant to finance agricultural value chain from input supply to marketing. The scheme commenced operation on April 23, 2009 with the approval of the Federal Government.

    The CACS was meant to fast-track the development of the agricultural value sector of the economy through the provision of credit facilities at a single digit interest rate to large-scale commercial farmers.

    The N300 billion PAIF was meant to facilitate intervention in the transport sector. It was meant provide long term financing that would stimulate private sector participation in the sector.

    The CBN said the Fund provided the banks in the first half of 2013, is a window to finance power sector projects as well as restructure and refinance outstanding facilities in the aviation sector on a long-term basis of between 10 to 15 years at a concessionary interest rate of seven per cent.