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  • Seven held for ‘kidnapping’ in Adamawa

    The Adamawa State police command has arrested a gang of seven men for threatening to kidnap a man and going ahead to carry out the threat.

    The Spokesman of the Command, DSP Sulaiman Ngurore, gave the details of the incident on Thursday.

    He said, “On the 19th of this month, at about 10.00 hours, one Gloria Godwin, a female resident of Ujanda village in Gombi LGA, reported at the Gombi police station that at 1 midnight, an unknown person called her and threatened to kidnap her son, and dropped a letter written in Hausa language, demanding N5 million or they would go ahead and kidnap her son.”

    Ngurore said that when Mrs Godwin failed to pay, they abducted her son, following which she reported to the police.

    “Immediately she reported this to the police in Gombi, the Gombi DPO mobilised his men who, using intelligence and in collaboration with some volunteer contacts, they moved against the kidnappers.

    Read Also: I don’t know why they keep kidnapping me, Siasia’s mum cries

    “They were able to rescue the son. They also succeeded in arresting seven suspects now reasonably determined to have been the kidnappers.”

    The seven suspects, according to the PPRO, are Abdullahi Musa, Bello Isah, Atiku Abubakar, Yahaya Isa, Mallam Tukur, Kabiru Bawa, and Alhaji Jambi.

    He said one Bello Alhaji, indicated as being a member of the gang, escaped arrest, and is currently being hunted by the police.

    He listed items recovered in the course of investigating the suspects to include one locally made pistol, three counterfeit N1,000 notes, two airtel sim cards, 14 cartridges of single-barrel guns, two bows and arrows, a copy of their treat letter, and two brand new motorcycles.

  • Gowon to military chiefs: it is time to end insurgency

    Nigeria should have put behind the insurgency in parts of the country and general insecurity by the time of its 60th Independence anniversary, former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon admonished on Sunday.

    Gen. Gowon, the civil war leader, who ruled the country from 1966 till 1975, when his regime was toppled in a bloodless coup, threw the challenge at security chiefs.

    “For the police, army and other security agencies, this is the charge; you have to make sure that by the next independence celebration, there is no disorder in this country,” he said.

    Gen Gowon, who leads a group “Nigeria Prays’, spoke at the 59th Independence Day interdenominational church service in Abuja.

    The theme of the service was “Peaceful co-existence for national growth and development”.

    Gen. Gowon congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria on the 59th Independence anniversary and prayed that God will preserve the country and help it fulfill its prophetic destiny.

    Read Also: Insurgency: Super camps borne out of operational needs, says CDS

    He added: “In the midst of the various inflicted challenges in Nigeria today, we can come together in the unity of faith to salvage the nation from its woes. I believe Nigeria is specially favoured by God and I am confident that God, who preserved it in the past will do it again if only we can continue to fervently pray and do what is right and good before Him and fellowmen and women.

    “Prayer still remains the key to salvage our personal family and national challenges, but we must appreciate those who are committed to ensure law and order, peace and stability in our nation and ask them to resolve to do more to ensure peace and stability of Nigeria.”

    He advised Nigerians to remain prayerful, no matter the situation, adding that love should be their watchword.

    The former Head of State added: “I strongly believe there is hope for our great nation through our collective prayers, hard work, selfless and transparent leadership, and patriotic citizenry. By the grace of God, Nigeria shall fulfill her destiny. We should not be discouraged, we are at the threshold of a breakthrough and the dawn of history. Under our collective watch and prayer, Nigeria shall recover and rise again.

    We must acknowledge God’s love for Nigeria and always embrace peace. We should not be discouraged. Under our payers, Nigeria will remain in peace.”

    At the service, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the country was going through its last segment of security challenges.

    He urged Nigerians to remain peaceful and  law abiding.

    He said: “God Almighty has taken away the protection of the enemies of this nation, he has taken away their powers, the noise we hear, the turbulence that we experience, are the last gasps of the defeated foes. The days of freedom is at the door. We reach for the new Nigeria which its builder and maker is God. As we wait as it is declared in Psalms 46: 11. ‘The lord of host is with us’.

    “God has promised through the mouth of his trusted prophet that he is giving us a new Nigeria, May I announce to you today that God is ready to take us to the promised land. We must remember that the Almighty God is the builder of the nation. God controls the destiny of nations and its people. Psalms 24:1.

    Osinbajo narrated how God had promised to take the children of Israel out of bondage, suffering and slavery to the promised land, flowing with milk and honey, adding that through Joshua, God brought the promise to pass.

    He noted, however, that some spies came back to declare that it was impossible to take it because of the giants there.

    Osinbajo added: “They said it was impossible to take the land, the problems were gigantic, the issues too many, however, Caleb and Joshua had a different spirit. They said that because God had promised and because He could do it, the problems were just bread – a mere bread to be eaten by the children of Israel.

    “God has also promised us a new Nigeria, a peaceful Nigeria, a prosperous Nigeria, a Nigeria where justice, equity and fairness shall prevail, a united Nigeria where the different tribes and tongues are not the reason for separation, but a joyful textures of our togetherness. God is ready to fulfill his promise.”

    Osinbajo, who said peace was achievable, stressed: “We stand outside a new city, a promised land, a new Nigeria and like the spies sent by Moses, some are saying it is impossible, Nigeria cannot change, the ethnic and religious divisions are too deep, corruption cannot end, politicians are too selfish, too mischievous. Yet, like Caleb and Joshua, if we declare that these problems are merely bread for us, a new Nigeria is here. And each and everyone of us, our families our friends, all of us, will eat the fruits of the land.”

    In his sermon, the General-Secretary of Ekkiesiyar Yon’uwa, a Nigeria, Rev. Daniel Mbaya, urged Nigerians to live in peace with one another.

    He pleaded with politicians and public office holders to always shun selfishness and ensure that funds meant for the public are properly utilised.

    Rev. Mbaya said: “Government should be fair to all Nigerians, without which there will be no peace. Youths should shun cultism and other bad social vices for the country to grow. There is no alternative to peace and justice. We should resist the world changing us; instead, we should be the ones changing the world.”

    The cleric advised the church to take a positive stand on national security.

    He also called for peaceful co-existence between Christians and Muslims.

    President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, pointed out that 90 per cent of Nigeria’s problems are caused by Nigerians.

    He advised Nigerians to exhibit love so that there can be peace and development.

    Prayers were offered for God’s protection for President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Osinbajo and other leaders at the Federal, state and local government levels.

    The clergies also prayed for God to put an end to the insecurity issues in the country.

    At the interdenominational service were: Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss, Mustapha, Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege; Science and Technology Minister Ogbonnaya Onu; Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige; Budget and National Planning Minister Clement Agba; Service chiefs; Niger Delta Minister Godswill Akpabio and Senator Rochas Okorocha, among others.

  • Holy cow!

    Nothing demonstrates the state of our democracy at independence like the cow, and the drama in Ondo State. The episode hit everyone in the country like a jolt.

    The cows wanted to graze. The lush, green fields appetised the herds. The sky was soft and blue. Witnesses deny a cloudburst was in the offing. No one, not the herdsman, saw any omen in the heavens. They mooed and mulled to the mountain for a refuge of food and comfort.

    The gods thought otherwise. The locals warned, just as the custodian of the deity. It was forbidden ground, don’t go there. But temptation often overpowers the senses. The cow shall not live by words, but by every blade of grass that lodges in the jaw.

    Against the warning, they went. All 36 of them. It has a highland, close enough to the finger fury of the gods. Before they knew it, the sky opened with rage. Lightning flashed, thunderstorms roared, and all 36 fell. It was not like T.S Eliot’s A Journey of The Magi,  whose wayfarers knew “a cold morning they had of it/ just the worst time of the year.”

    The locals, and not a few Nigerians, believe the bovine tragedy was a case of divine revenge. The animals died. But the humans survived. Some have looked at it not from the scientific point of view. The study of geography shows that cows should be wary of grazing on mountains. One, it is close to the tempest of the sky. Two, they are often too exposed to get shelter, except trees which are actually traps of nature. You cannot avoid the storm by going under the tree. You should avoid the tree instead.

    Superstition or not, some have said, aha, this is the solution to the herdsmen crisis. Let us import the gods of Ijare Hills – sounds like Soyinka’s Idanre Hills – and send them to the farms of states of Plateau, Enugu, Nasarawa, Mambilla, Benue, et al, and dare the bandits.

    What happened was the spiritual equivalent of the abattoir. The bovine train did not need prodding. No lashes, no grumbles, no coercion. A Golgotha with a smooth trail. They mooed along of their own volition. The gods beguiled them to the pasture. A voluntary submission. They obeyed for the sacrifice. It was also different from the gas chambers of the Nazi era, where the Jews and Gypsies knew that it was death by incineration. When the gods struck, there was no mistake. The gods don’t shoot to miss. They fell all their targets. The spiritual abattoir is more to be dreaded than the familiar ones.

    Except that it is not the cows that the people loathe in the farmers-herders crisis. It is the owners, not the cows. After all, even the custodians or priests of the gods also crave the temptation of a cow meal. Yet, not a hair of the herder died. According to all reports, it is the herder who harasses. They do the reconnaissance, they wield the guns, they mow, maul and destroy. They simply lead the cows along.

    Here again, it is a story of how as a nation we always go after the wrong targets. We destroy what we should preserve. It is a metaphor of how we waste human resources, as we have done in the past 59 years. From day one, the prodigal has been our first principle. What have we preserved? Cocoa, groundnut pyramid, palm produce, rubber, crude oil, human talent?  As William Wordsworth noted in his poem, “The world is too much with us/ Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.”

    But the herdsman is the proper Nigerian, especially the elite. We do not respect rules, or the rule of law. They were warned to stay away from the hallowed ground. But greed overrides propriety. Just as we have not followed the rules in mining our resources across the 36 states, so the 36 cows symbolise the states of the federation. All of them fall to meaningless squander. It is Illegal bunkering on crude oil and gangsters of mineral resources. In agriculture, it is corruption. We import to kill the local farmer. Let us look forward in hope to see what we shall make of the border closures, which I support if we can turn it into policy to galvanise local productivity.

    It is the same lack of respect for the rule of law that makes a Sowore to remain in detention in spite of court order, or Sambo Dasuki – no hero – to still squeak in silence. The herdsman is the elite. The cows, the masses of sort. When the storm comes, the elites have a way of escape.

    He is safe, and all he needs is to tap into resources and start again, with a fresh consignment for plunder, or recruit new people for his schemes. The herdsman here represents the Nigerian state, as well, who leads the people astray.

    They have no sense of justice, or vision to see what dangers lie ahead because they know that, somehow, they will always survive. The herdsman is no hero of his flock. He does not have the fidelity or empathy of Christ, who said if he loses one sheep he would leave the others and go after the lost one and make sure there is one sheep, one shepherd. Our leaders lead the flock to doom.

    It is a lack of vision, and that has flourished darkly in our lack of grasp of systems. We have debated whether we should retain the presidential or Westminster system, as though we have not tasted both. The parliamentary system led us to civil war and bloodletting of siblings. The supporters say it is cheaper. Bunkum. It is not the system that it is cheap or expensive. It is Nigerians that are spendthrift. Unlike the presidential system with many rules, the parliamentary system anticipates the good conduct of the practitioners. Good conduct is a casualty with Nigerian politicians. Take for instance, if Nigeria faced a knotty case like BREXIT,  the republic would have collapsed. But it is the level-headedness of the political elite in Britain that has maintained a brilliant chaos in the country. Ours led to civil war. The French, even the Russians, accept a mix, so that that the strong office of the president can rein in the parliament’s tendency to anarchy.

    The presidency was tested when Yar-adua took ill, and we almost lost this republic but for the intervention of a strong system the made us appeal to the doctrine of necessity. The parliamentary system would have given us a death warrant.

    The bovine episode also reflects the failure of the ecclesiastical order in the land. It is a land of worshippers, but not a land of progress. We believe but are not redeemed. The church leaders, Islamic clerics and juju priests have always been factors in our land, but they have never come through. Rather they leave us a mess, sometimes worse.

    Now, what is left of Ijare matter but stench. There is plenty of meat, but they are all rotten. The gods will not clear them. Locals are staying away because the frowzy air threatens their peace. The state government has nothing to do with it, but the locals want the government to clear them. Will they need special auspices from the gods before government workers can dispose of the dead cows? Even the traditional ruler visits it once a year and after special permission. We don’t want any tragedy in which lightning strikes the workers. It will need an extra dip into government revenue to clear the mess the gods have made.

    Of course, the locals fear diseases. It is not enough for the carcasses to fall in the wilderness. It is whether we can survive them.

    This is how we waste our wealth. At 59, Nigerian leaders have a cow lesson.

  • ‘N1.6tr shortfall caused power crisis’

    Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) at the weekend blamed the woes in the power sector on N1.6 trillion shortfall.

    The Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributiors (ANED), Mr Sunday Oduntan, in a telephone interview, said it would be wrong to accuse a segment of the value chain of  causing the challenges in the sector.

    According to him, the shortfall accumulated over a period of time.

    “The entire sector is battling a shortfall of N1.6 trillion, which represents the revenues that are supposed to have come to the operators in the value chain namely the power generation companies (GenCos), energy distribution firms and others.

    “Of the three key stakeholders in the sector, DisCos operate as the collectors of the funds or money in the sector.I disagree with figures that are not true, but are being bandied about in the sector because they are not true,” he said.

    The Federal Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Siemens, a German firm, to produce 25, 000 megawatts (Mw) for the country, over a period.

    This is being done that the issue would put an end to power outage in the country.

    Currently, the sector is experiencing low productivity, occasioned by problems such as funding, shortage of gas, deficiencies of equipment used in transmitting electricity to the energy distributors and accumulated bills.

  • Toyota to raise stake in Subaru to 20 per cent

    Toyota Motor Corporation said it will raise its stake in Subaru Corp to 20 per cent from 16.8 per cent to boost the companies’ joint development of advanced technology for autonomous and electric vehicles.

    The increased stake will make Toyota’s 14-year-old partner into its equity-method affiliate, meaning the Japanese auto giant will see Subaru’s earnings incorporated into its consolidated financial statements.

    Under a deal struck by the two automakers, Subaru also plans to acquire a stake in Toyota worth 80 billion yen ($741 million), equivalent to the largest Japanese automaker’s additional investment in the smaller partner.

    They will buy each other’s shares through the stock market or direct transactions between them as soon as approval is secured from competition authorities.

    Toyota has been stepping up efforts to consolidate its ties with smaller rivals and tech giants such as SoftBank Group Corp to respond to a shift in consumer demand for electric, connected and self-driving vehicles.

    Toyota agreed in late August with Suzuki Motor Corp on a capital tie-up to jointly work on autonomous vehicles.

    Toyota formed an alliance with Subaru, formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, in 2005 after purchasing shares from General Motors Co.

    Toyota and Subaru have since cooperated in vehicle development, production and sales. Toyota is already the largest shareholder in Subaru.

    As part of their cooperation, they began selling their jointly developed sports car, branded by Toyota as the 86 and Subaru the BRX, in 2012.

    In June, the carmakers said they will jointly develop an electric sports utility vehicle to be sold under each company’s name by the mid-2020s in the United States.

    Subaru is also among major Japanese automakers that have invested in a self-driving technology startup Monet Technologies Inc, jointly established by Toyota and SoftBank Corp.

  • SMBLF’s new angst

    A body that calls itself the Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) just came out with fresh fears over the National Livestock Transformational Plan (NLTP) and a proposed piece of legislation, the National Waterways Bill.

    But with its clear fixation with “Fulani” Armageddon,  which  appears to have captured and thoroughly eaten up its psyche, it is doubtful if this body is not driven more by a mere bogey, than by sound reason or even common sense.

    The National Economic Council (NEC) just endorsed the implementation of NLTP (voluntary to states); while the National Inland Waterway Bill is before the National Assembly for processing.  But SMBLF opposes both because of anti-Fulani hysterics.

    As far as the body is concerned, there is no fundamental difference between the NLTP and the RUGA project earlier shot down, despite ample explanation that the NLTP was much more robust; captures almost the entire animal husbandry value chain; seeks to modernize livestock farming; and to halt open grazing, which has led to farmer-herders conflicts, consuming thousands of lives.

    But SMBLF is predicting nothing but more Armageddon.  It declared: NLTP “will only escalate the clashes between the indigenous communities and cattle settlers as experiences in southern and Middle Belt areas of Nigeria have shown that the Fulani imports do not assimilate …”

    On the bill, the SMBLF thunders: “the Waterways Bill is another land-grabbing move like RUGA by ethnic supremacists who are working against the unity of the country. Major rivers in Nigeria can be made available, by federal law if the bill is passed to Fulani pastoralists and there is nothing the indigenous people within such vicinities can do about it.”

    How the irony of this statement escaped the SMBLF beggars belief.  It dubs others “ethnic supremacists”.  Yet, its own very words, in this release, ooze ethnic supremacism, fired by blind hate!  That exposes a disturbing Freudian slip, which projects the body as no better, in basic principle and temper, than the Fulani it scalds and loves to hate!  Besides, its explosive and emotive diction is a threat to “national unity”.

    A harvest of hate helps no one. Such blighted activism only pollutes the ethnic waters and breeds needless tension; which could yet lead to more loss of lives.

    SMBLF is at liberty to criticize policies.  But it should do so with facts and figures, not scalding hate.  It has projected too much ethnic toxins in the Nigeria cultural air, such that no one is sure if it hadn’t even planted a huge seed of future ethnic slaughter.  Yet, no people develop, nursing perpetual grudges and hate.

    Let SMBLF — a presumptive pressure group with no elective mandate — switch to a saner path, of hard reason, love and tolerance.

    It started wishing to be part of the solution.  But now, it has clearly become a part of the problem.  The tragedy is it can’t even see it!

  • Volkswagen hires Cadillac boss

    Volkswagen has hired an executive who once ran Cadillac and Infiniti to help oversee its North American operations.

    The German carmaker said that Johan de Nysschen will become Chief Operating Officer of Volkswagen’s North American region.

    Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen Group of America Scott Keogh, said de Nysschen will help speed up the company’s day-to-day decision making “so we can continue to make this brand matter again.”

    Volkswagen is working to regain consumer trust after its 2015 diesel emissions scandal. U.S. authorities caught the company using software to rig emissions tests.

    The 59-year-old de Nysschen said he is looking forward to rejoining the company where he spent 20 years earlier in his career before leading Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand and General Motors’ Cadillac.

  • Closing agric sector’s skills gap to boost production

    Globally, the future of large scale agriculture lies in the adoption and integration of modern technology to boost food production. Consequently, there is need for more skilled and qualified workforce to adopt and make use of budding tech innovations designed to boost food production. The increasing demand for tech-savvy specialists across the food production value chain has put authorities in agric sector on their toes. Already, efforts to equip the next generation of Nigerians with relevant skills have taken centre stage, Agriculture Correspondent, DANIEL ESSIET, reports.

    For Nigeria’s agric sector, a new dawn beckons. This is coming on the strength of a strategic partnership between Nigeria and Morocco in the provision of quality education, research, and training to support a world-class fertiliser industry.

    It was learnt that as part of this promising collaboration between both countries, at least, three Nigerians are already participating in an International Masters in Fertiliser Management Programme in Ben Guerir, Morocco.

    One of the lucky participants, Mr. Nnaemeka Odionye, is currently being exposed to new automation technologies designed to boost productivity in the agricultural sector, from software that can assist with early pest detection, robotics, and artificial intelligence systems to grow crops,

    Odionye is optimistic that his training will prepare him for the job of the future, especially in Nigeria where the adoption and integration of modern technology to boost food production has become imperative.

    Speaking, an expectant Odionye confirmed that he and other post-graduate students enrolled in Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Morocco, are exposed to world class education that will equip them to pursue global careers in agriculture.

    “We are exposed to several agricultural and food industry technologies e.g. fertigation (when nutrients are incorporated into irrigation water) and precision agriculture (the use of technology to obtain environmental and crop data so as to deliver the right dose of nutrients to plants to increase productivity),” he said.

    He also said the university’s laboratories are equipped with lots of equipment for real time analysis.

    He said: “I am also aware that new laboratories are being set up for the new masters’ students in molecular biology.

    “Academically, it has also been fantastic. The curriculum, seminars, workshops and teaching aids are well tailored to meet the programme’s description. The laboratories are as good as you find in prestigious universities in the world, with cutting edge technologies to carry out the latest research in soil fertilisation and related fields.”

    Under the partnership, graduates under the agriculture faculty also deal with automation in agriculture and the demand for technology in greenhouses. They are taught how to use robotics and automation in greenhouses to create a positive impact on the sector and emerging technologies, including robotic harvesters and decision support systems.

    These must be why Odionye described the programme as “a game changer.” According to him, the opportunity for networking has been awesome, as he and he and other participants have had the opportunity of meeting experts not only in the fertiliser industry, but in the global food industry.

    He also said UM6P is the only school in the world with a specific programme in fertiliser science and technology. “I believe the opportunities out there for us are limitless. I have developed a passion to contribute to reducing global hunger and poverty.

    “I intend to increase small holder farmer’s income in Nigeria and Africa by improving fertiliser use efficiency through the recommendation of specific soil nutrients for different regions and crop varieties across Africa,” Odionye said.

    Toyib Aremu, another beneficiary of the Nigeria/Morocco partnership, is also enjoying a full scholarship at the Moroccan university. He said he hopes to deploy knowledge gained from the programme to help revolutionise Nigeria’s agriculture and enhance food security.

    According to him, the school brings international academics and industry experts to take participants through various aspects of tech innovation in the agric sector. He added that studying with students from other African countries such as Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Malawi, Liberia, Rwanda and Morocco exposed him to the cultures of other people.

    Aremu said UM6P, which is funded by the state-owned Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), provides an example for Nigeria in terms of building quality human capital and equipping the next generation of Nigerians with in-demand skills at the tertiary education level.

    He said although, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is currently sponsoring students abroad, he is looking forward to a time when it will invest more in local institutions.

    Aremu said such investment was necessary because tech innovation in agric had the potential to drive Nigeria and indeed, Africa’s economic transformation through more formal and efficient smallholder farmer value chains. It will also reduce food imports and increase agric exports.

    Odionye and Aremu personify the renewed thinking by industry experts and authorities in the agric sector in favour of the adoption and integration of modern technology to boost food production. This,  it was gathered, is in line with global trend that supports skilled and qualified workforce to adopt and make use of budding tech innovations to boost food production.

    Experts speak

    For instance, the Director-General, Premier Agribusiness Academy, Mr. Toromade Francis, said agric businesses are increasingly looking to groom future specialists, especially at a time when technology is disrupting businesses faster than companies can cope with.

    Francis, who spoke at a forum in Lagos, noted that the integration of technology into agriculture industries is already having a significant effect on the sector in terms of both the structure of the workforce and the increase in productivity that tech innovations facilitate.

    According to him, technology is a significant factor in increasing the industry’s ability to grow more food. As a result, there is a big demand for specialists across the agricultural production systems with skills in managing the technological system used in food production.

    Francis said attaining a high level of skill in the new redefined specialties could be the best way to secure a dynamic, rewarding career in the future.

    He said the agric industry needs professionals exposed to efficient operating practices, new technologies, and increased levels of partnership and collaboration across the supply chain.

    Francis said employers are hungry for well-trained supply chain graduates, with skills that are continually growing and changing, adding that technology is having greater impact on agribusinesses.

    The Country Manager, HarvestPlus Nigeria, Dr. Paul Ilona, also in the agric sector, said there are many Nigerians who lack the technical proficiency needed to do certain jobs.

    According to him, this is despite the fact that the agric sector presents tremendous opportunities for personal, enterprise and national growth and development.

    This is more so considering the fact that as more companies expand globally, they are also increasing their international assignments and relying on expatriates to manage their global operations.

    The belief is that there is a labour market failure that results, in part, from the accelerating rate of change in the global economy–making it harder for the skills supply system to keep up with rapidly changing demand.

    According to development experts, the education and training system continue to turn out graduates whose skills are not always a match for available opportunities.

    While there is shortage of locals to help international companies successfully launch new ventures and gain advantage over competitors, most of them generally bring in their own experts from other locations to lead projects on a short-term basis, rather than rely on local talent.

    This is perhaps, why Ilona noted that the Nigerian economy is currently experiencing a structural and long-term talent development issue. This is not limited to Nigeria though, as most countries in Africa are facing the same challange.

    Impulse accelerator programme to the rescue

    An international non-profit organisation, Mass Challenge and UM6P in Ben Guerir, Morocco, has launched the “Impulse Accelerator Programme” to support start-ups in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

    The global programme aims to pool resources, integrate and accelerate start-up projects the incubator will be fostering across the continent. It was designed to equip young entrepreneurs with the skills set to develop and grow start-ups.

    Impulse Programme Director, Adnane Soulimani, said: “The programme was dedicated to start-up businesses, fostering innovation and supporting entrepreneurs with their projects through its acceleration programme.”

    The programme is going to groom African start-ups and create opportunities for talented Nigerian and international students interested in tech jobs.

    Soulimani said the programme was determined to instil entrepreneurial spirit through outreach programmes in different parts of Africa where youths will be exposed to inspirational talks and workshops teaching skills necessary for entrepreneurship.

    The start-up journey, under the guidance of seasoned entrepreneurs and network of corporate partners and investors, doesn’t only give students and graduates the confidence required to jump-start their entrepreneurial ambition, but also helps position their venture for long- term success.

    It was gathered that Morocco’s tech sector has matured radically, especially in agri-tech, which has skyrocketed in the region. With new start-up incubators and accelerators, the north African country has made a name for itself as Africa’s start-up powerhouse.

    Performance Manager, OCP SA, Sara Sabor, said the goal was not only to open up possibilities for entrepreneurs, but also cultivate a new generation of active job creators rather than job seekers.

    According to her, Morocco has made significant economic and social progress, which has raised the aspirations of Moroccans, especially its young people.

    OCP, she noted, was investing in youths to ensure they have the skills needed to drive the economic transformation, while unleashing the job-creating dynamism of the private sector.

    The immediate past Director, Agriculture School, UM6P, and coordinator of Agro Biosciences Research in Benguerir, Morocco, Prof. Faouzi Bekkaoui, said with more mouths to feed, the need to churn out more innovators to work in crop agriculture has never been more compelling.

    He said there is the urgent need for African countries to figure out how to grow more food faster, with fewer resources, by developing new technologies to scale up the planet’s food production mechanisms on a sustainable basis.

    Bekkaoui believes the country and the rest of Africa need competent hands to facilitate production of high-value crops. And to help the continent achieve this, he said the university created an agriculture department.

    According to him, the department includes a new school of agriculture, fertiliser and environment sciences (ESAFE), focused on both education and research, alongside an experimental farm featuring a 110-hectare living lab in Benguerir, with nurseries and greenhouses.

    To create tailor-made solutions adapted to the diversity of all African soils, the institution is also creating an experimental farm in Yamoussoukro in the Ivory Coast, while also exploring similar centres in different areas in the continent.

    The goal of ESAFE, according to Bekkaoui, was to train students and professionals in agriculture who will contribute to food security by advancing research and improving fertiliser, crop products, water and soil management.

    According to him, the Executive Master’s Programme in Fertiliser Science and Technology has been developed in collaboration with the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), alongside contributions from the International Plant Nutrition Institute, the University of Georgia and Morocco’s OCP.

    The aim, he explained, was to give employees a thorough understanding of all aspects of the fertiliser industry.

    An important pillar of the university’s agricultural research is an ongoing project to analyse and map soils in countries throughout Africa to better understand their needs and help make more appropriate fertiliser for them.

    Under a pact with African universities, teachers and professionals across the country are benefitting from world class educational investment, gaining tangible, in-demand skills and knowledge that will re-shape the country’s workforce and boost economic growth.

    Commenting on the multi-year partnership agreement the OCP sealed with IFDC and UM6P, OCP Chairman and CEO Mostafa Terrab said: “This important partnership with IFDC confirms and advances our ambition to mobilise world-class resources in research and innovation for the benefit of Africa in general.”

    For President and CEO of IFDC, Albin Hubscher, the partnership “will accelerate the development and large-scale production of more efficient fertiliser to increase smallholder productivity and incomes while respecting the environment.”

    He added that the partnership was unique because it invests in public good, which is the building of the next generation of African scientists and professionals to drive the growth of the agric sector and feed the continent.

    The collaboration will develop science-based interventions, produce a large body of scientific publications, and create the next generation of trans-disciplinary trained scientists who can bridge the gap between science and implementation.

    Digital jobs

    This is a $100 million initiative by the Rockefeller Foundation that seeks to impact the lives of one million people in six African countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, and Egypt.

    The initiative does this by catalysing Information Communications Technology (ICT)-enabled employment and skills training for high-potential African youth who would not otherwise have access to sustainable employment.

    Launched in 2013, the initiative works in close partnership with stakeholders from the private sector, government, civil society, and the development community.

    In partnership with the Digital Jobs Africa Initiative, the World Bank has undertaken a number of activities to increase and enhance opportunities for digital job creation in Africa.

    This includes the development of an Information Technology (IT) park in Ghana, capacity building for digitilisation of public records, and online work/micro-work awareness building and training in Nigeria.

    Experts say the recipe for success in the country lies in its ability to increase investments in innovation, equip the workforce with relevant skills, produce higher-value goods and services, and expand trade.

    This, according to them, means ensuring that Nigerians, particularly youths, are well prepared to succeed as skilled workers and entrepreneurs in an increasingly digital and global economy.

    The consensus is that if the country does not address her talent and skills gap, it could cost the economy billions loss productivity, tax revenues, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    In other words, it has become imperative to address the skills gap, if the country wants to secure its place as a competitive player in the global economy.

    To make this happen, the Chief Executive, Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre, Bankole Oloruntoba, believes the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies would create employment opportunities across the supply chain.

    According to him, there is the need for policy makers and businesses to recognise the broad socio-economic opportunities and benefits that renewables can bring.

    Indeed, globally, the renewable sector employed 11 million people at the end of 2018, according to the sixth edition of the Renewable Energy and Jobs series of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

  • Petroleum minister commits to sector’s growth

    The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has assured of his commitment to implementing all policies that will make the oil and gas industry grow and attractive to investors.

    Sylva said he would continue with the implementation of the government’s approved oil industry roadmap,otherwise referred to as the ‘7 Big Wins.’

    He noted that implementation of the roadmap would immensely address the much needed reduction of cost of production of crude oil per barrel and elimination of security challenges as well as oil and gas infrastructure vandalism.

    It will also enhance Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration nationwide and improve the integrity of measuring equipment at terminals.

    The minister spoke during his visit to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos as part of his familiarisation tour of parastatals under his ministry.

    He emphasised the government’s commitment to revamping the sector. In 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the oil and gas industry roadmap tagged “7 Big Wins’, which has the potential to address the challenges retarding growth of the oil and gas sector.

    “We are unrelenting in our commitment to reform, retool and refocus policy-making, regulatory and revenue-yielding parastatals and agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to operate optimally for the benefit of the national economy which has been experiencing some distress since the drastic fall in oil prices,” the minister said.

    The visit, which was his first to any parastatal since his assumption of office, provided a platform for the minister to outline his vision for the petroleum industry.

    He commended the Acting Director of DPR, Mr Ahmad Shakur, for the excellent facilities and infrastructure put in place to domicile components of the industry operations, such as the National Data Repository (NDR), which is the data hub for the entire oil and gas industry in Nigeria and the National Production Monitoring System (NPMS), which has been upgraded to monitor crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum products vessels into and outside the country on real-time basis.

    Shakur, who received the Minister, assured him of DPR’s commitment to the realisation and implementation of his vision for the industry, adding that the DPR was developing a robust policy framework to align with his vision.

    The DPR chief presented the NPMS monitoring tool to the minister to enable him monitor real-time crude oil exports and petroleum products importation.

  • World’s central banks launch green bonds fund

    Central bankers have launched an investment scheme or mutual fund to aggregate investments in green bonds.

    The new global green bond fund came as Nigeria made commitments to issue more green bonds to finance its climate change initiatives.

    The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) launched the open-ended fund for central bank investments in green bonds in response to a growing demand for climate-friendly investments among official institutions.

    Established in 1930, BIS is owned by 60 central banks, representing countries from around the world that together account for about 95 per cent of world’s gross domestic products (GDP). BIS offers financial services to a broad client base comprising some 140 central banks, monetary authorities and international organisations worldwide.

    The BIS’s green bond fund initiative helps central banks to incorporate environmental sustainability objectives in the management of their reserves.

    The open-ended fund, denominated in United States dollars, is structured according to Swiss law and belongs to the BIS Investment Pool (BISIP) family, a format commonly used by BIS Asset Management for its fixed income investment products. It is managed in-house by BIS Asset Management. Eligible bonds have a minimum rating of A– and comply with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles and/or the Climate Bond Standard published by the Climate Bonds Initiative.

    With the support of an advisory committee drawn from a global group of central banks, the fund pools BIS client assets to promote green finance through sizeable climate-friendly investments and support the adoption of best market practices to deepen the green bond market.

    “The initiative is part of the BIS’s broader commitment to supporting environmentally responsible finance and investment practices, in line with the Bank’s participation in the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System,” BIS stated.

    Head of the BIS Banking Department, Peter Zöllner, said the global green bond fund would help to promote and develop the green bond market.

    “We are confident that, by aggregating the investment power of central banks, we can influence the behaviour of market participants and have some impact on how green investment standards develop,” Zöllner said.

    President Muhammadu Buhari unfolded planned initiatives under Nigeria’s climate change programme during a United Nations General Assembly session including plans for more sectorial action plan and expansion of the scope of Nigeria’s sovereign green bonds.

    According to him, Nigeria will issue a green bond for irrigation and construct multi-purpose dams for power, irrigation and water supply.

    The Federal Government had in December 2017 launched Nigeria’s maiden sovereign green bond as part of efforts to diversify government revenue and deepen the domestic capital market. Nigeria’s first sovereign green bond was oversubscribed by about N100 million as investors staked N10.791 billion on the N10.69 billion maiden bond. The Debt Management Office (DMO), which oversees government’s debt issues, in July 2018, listed the maiden N10.69 billion green bond on the stock market. The five-year bond carries a coupon rate of 13.48 per cent.

    The issuance of the green bond and listing were sequel to Nigeria’s endorsement of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on September 21, 2016. The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change.

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently launched Green Bonds Issuance Rules, including rules and regulations on green bond issuance and management in the capital market regulatory framework.

    The green bond regulatory framework defined a green bond as any type of debt instrument, the proceeds of which would be exclusively applied to finance or re-finance in part or in full new and or existing projects that have positive environmental impact.

    The rules indicated that green bonds would be used exclusively to finance renewable and sustainable energy, clean transportation, sustainable water management, climate change adaptation, energy efficiency, sustainable waste management, sustainable land use, biodiversity conservation and any other categories as may be approved by SEC from time to time.

    The regulations highlighted some special conditions that any issuer of green bond must fulfill in addition to the general registration requirements for debt issuances as stated in the Rules and Regulations of the Commission for states, local governments, corporate and supranational agencies.

    According to the rules, an issuer of a green bond shall also file a feasibility study and report stating clearly, the measurable benefits of the proposed green project or assets such as green house gas reduction, reduction of water use and reduction of harmful emissions.

    The issuer must also file a prospectus which shall include project categories, project selection criteria, decision-making procedures, environmental benefits, use and management of the proceeds as well as a letter from the issuer committing to invest proceeds of the bond in green projects or assets.

    The issuer must also provide an independent assessment or certification issued by a professional certification authority or person approved or recognised by the Commission in addition to any other documents that may be required by the Commission.