The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria newspaper

  • Financial Inclusion: NAICOM, PenCom move to capture 36.6m Nigerians

    Following plans to meet its financial inclusion target, the Federal Government has restated the desire to capture over 36.6 million Nigerian adults, representing 36.8 per cent of the working population through the micro segment of insurance and pension sectors.

    The figure includes self-employed Nigerians that are yet to officially embrace any form of financial services product.

    Speaking at the 4th National Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) National Conference in Lagos State, stakeholders in both sectors said majority of Nigerians in the informal sector were yet to be aware of the numerous benefits in embracing financial services products.

    To ensure that every Nigerian have access to financial services, they said the Federal Government came up with micro insurance and micro pension products to penetrate the grassroots and also get to those not currently registered in the Contributory Pension Scheme [CPS] nor covered by any form of insurance.

    To achieve the agenda, the Acting Director General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, said the commission planned extending pension coverage to 30 million contributors by 2024, thereby ensuring that 40 per cent adult Nigerians are covered under the CPS.

    Dahir-Umar, who was represented by the Head, Benefit Administration Unit, PenCom, Babatunde Philips, said President Mohammadu Buhari, in March, 2019, launched the micro pension scheme to provide the informal sector with a veritable means of securing old age income.

    She said implementation of the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) would yield positive results for Nigerians and the pension industry, adding that it would assist greatly in reduction of old age poverty in the country.

    According to her, “the commission has put in place requisite infrastructure to facilitate seamless implementation of MPP. The Enhanced Contribution Registration System (ECRS) has been deployed to facilitate seamless operations of the MPP. This system has so far aided the smooth registration of micro pension contributors.”

    She also applauded the media for consistent support, saying it had assisted the commission in recording modest achievements in educating and enlightening the public on the workings of the CPS and the commission’s activities.

    Speaking in the same vein, the Acting Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, said the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) had been doing a lot in terms of financial inclusion in the past eight years.

    The acting commissioner, who was represented by the Director, Governance Enforcement and Compliance, Leo Aka, said it required collective efforts to ensure that Nigerians in the informal sector embrace financial services.

    Looking at the demography of Nigeria, Thomas said one would notice that unemployment rate in Nigeria was quite high, adding that this was a signal that the industry needs to move fast to capture the people in the informal sector.

    He said the insurance commission had issued some guidelines to ensure that those not in the formal sector embrace financial services.

    Thomas added that while establishing the micro insurance guidelines, the commission ensured that the micro insurance products are very simple, easy to understand, affordable, valuable in that it should be able to address needs and remain efficient.

  • DHL eyes 40 countries with mobile app

    DHL Express said following the launch its DHL Express Mobile app in Nigeria and seven other African countries, it targets to roll out the app in 40 countries across the region by the end of 2020.

    The app offers a number of key benefits that facilitate tracking and faster delivery of shipments with greater ease and convenience.

    It was an exciting new addition to DHL’s service offering in sub-Saharan Africa and was launched during the week in eight African countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tanzania and Uganda.

    Its CEO of Sub Saharan Africa, Hennie Heymans, said the DHL Express Mobile app was part of DHL Express’ ongoing commitment to drive innovations that enhance customer experience.

    He said the app, which allows customers to access valuable features on the move, will be rolled out in a further 40 countries across the region by the end of 2020.

    “Customers can access accurate shipping quotations, find their closest DHL service points for easy collections and deliveries and of course, track their shipments in real time.

    “Embracing digitalisation is the name of the game when it comes to enhancing customer experience and we are excited to introduce yet another exciting mobile application to our customers across the region,” Heymans said.

    A report by GSMA Intelligence revealed that mobile phones and services are enabling business growth in Africa. The mobile ecosystem has made a significant contribution to the economy in Sub Saharan Africa so far, with an economic value contribution of $110 billion, equivalent to 7.1 per cent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017.

    Heymans added that it’s not only about new technology, but also a different mindset and culture. “Our customers are constantly evolving and changing the ways that they communicate, work, travel and consume, so we need to ensure that we are providing them with solutions that are agile enough to adapt to their changing needs,” he said.

    With online transactions growing exponentially in Africa, Heymans says that there is a clear demand for integrated mobile solutions that allow customers to transact whenever and wherever they are.

    “As the global leader in express logistics, DHL is constantly working towards providing cutting-edge solutions that help to connect Africa’s consumers and business owners with the global market,” Heymans said.

  • First Ghana-Assembled Toyota vehicle out 2020

    The President and Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Ichiro Kashitani, has promised to outdoor the company’s first vehicle to be assembled in Ghana by August 2020.

    Kashitani, who expressed gratitude to the Ghana Government for the tremendous help and support towards the realisation of the project, said: “we consider the project of the assembly plant a marriage. It lasts for life and it is a long-term project.”

    He made this known when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo witnessed the signing in Tokyo, Japan, of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ghana and the TTC for the establishment of a Toyota and Suzuki Assembly Plant in Ghana.

    The Chief Operations Officer of the company in charge of the Africa division of Toyota Tsusho, Mr. Imai Toshimitsu, who was also at the meeting, said the decision to set up an assembly plant in Ghana had been necessitated by the favourable economic climate prevailing in the country.

    “We are willing to participate in the automotive industry in Ghana. I am very happy that we have reached the consensus and principal agreement to start the Toyota and Suzuki assembly plants. We are planning to kick-off the project immediately and hopefully, we will have the first car made in Ghana this time (August) next year. Thank you very much for your support,” he added.

    Toshimitsu stated that details of the work to be undertaken in Ghana, including the volumes and models of the vehicles to be produced, were contained in the MoU.

    “The products to be assembled in Ghana include the Toyota Hilux pickup, which is already popular in Ghana. Since it will be locally produced, I hope it will be more popular. We are also planning to introduce small passenger cars, with two Suzuki brands,” the Toyota COO explained.

    The decision to assemble Suzuki vehicles in Ghana, according to Toshimitsu, follows the acquisition  of a 4.9 per cent stake in Suzuki by Toyota Tsusho, thus making Toyota a “principal shareholder” in Suzuki.

    “So, Suzuki products will be assembled and sold in Ghana. The cars which will be produced in Ghana are our core models for Africa and Ghana customers,” he stressed.

    On his part, President Akufo-Addo stated that the signing of the MoU with Toyota Tsusho falls in line with the vision of making Ghana an automotive hub for West Africa and the larger African market.

    With the coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the President noted that “Ghana is the base to reach this larger African market”.

    He continued, “We are attaching a great deal of importance to the initiative and development. We want to assure you that, whatever it is we can do on the side of the Ghana Government to provide you with the necessary support and assurance that the investment you are going to make in our country will be worth your while, you can count on us to do that.”

    It will be recalled that, in March this year, officials from Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Suzuki Motor Corporation and CFAO announced a joint venture arrangement to assemble and distribute vehicles in Ghana.

  • Buratai and Nigerian Army’s Super Camp strategy

    “Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to get to bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped; the quicker we can go home.”

    —Gen. George Smith Patton Jr; a Commander of the  United States   Seventh Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II, following the D-Day in 1944.

     

    I beg to be pardoned, if indeed what anybody would  glance  now hurts  some feelings. But as Nigerians,  we have  lived under the spell of Boko Haram terrorism  for years.  We have seen the worst of insurgency in the country.

     

    At certain points and precisely before the advent of the  administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, insurgency was on the verge of completely obliterating Nigeria. The soothsayers prophesied it. And the executioners went to task and mindlessly executed it.

     

    Ears heard the giggling nasty  sounds of the consuming  danger. Eyes sighted it’s raging fury and wickedness. Blood spilled recklessly and endlessly, sucking the land in uncontrollable tears.

     

    With chained feet and spirit,   leadership was weak at all levels to interrogate insurgency. We all shrunk before the atrocious audacity of Boko Haram terrorists. And there was no pretenses about  it.

     

    In fairness to my conscience, I won’t say insurgency has ended in Nigeria. But anyone, within or outside Nigeria, who says the sparking and consuming fire of insurgency has not been substantially blighted in the country today, under the Buhari Presidency,  may with gusto challenge Amighty  God to a  fisticuffs on who owns the universe.

     

    Why have I strayed this far into such poetic renditions? I need to be excused because sometimes, and in the course of introspection, I  blame my extreme curiosity.

     

    But my curiosity to monitor  the progression of Boko Haram and the efforts of  Nigerian Government’s  in terminating a menacing scourge, I stumbled  over something interesting.  A foreign news channel, TV  DW News played online a synopsis and video clip of a documentary done on Boko Haram activities   in the Northeast, particularly in Monguno, Borno state, as latest as August 26, 2019.

     

    It had the caption; “Nigerians flee from Boko Haram to town of Monguno.” I got curiouser. The brief words of summary said;

     

    “As northeastern Nigeria continues to suffer under the conflict with the terror group Boko Haram, tens of thousands of people have sought shelter in the town of Monguno, where a military base provides little protection, and food and water are scarce.”

     

    I also took time to listen to the video clip, expecting to hear something really frightening. But I got nothing! The visiting reporter really did a poor job of his assignment either out of deliberate  negligence or mischief.  I sensed him desperately, but fruitlessly attempting to amplify the tempo of a considerably waned crisis!  He just had nothing in the report, but speculated abundantly on it’s rising tempo.

     

    I caught the foreign reporter with a first lie! What struck instantly was that the report was cast in a manner, erroneously conveying a message to someone unfamiliar with Boko Haram operations in the  Northeast Nigeria to think, Monguno where fleeing natives took refuge was outside of Nigeria.  But it was far from it.

     

    Monguno is indeed in Nigeria’s Borno state, the former hub of Boko Haram terrorism. TV DW News reporter didn’t know they could not have approached the same town before  october 2015 to package their self- betraying report on “raging” insurgency in Nigeria.

     

    It became clear to me, the nest of interests in pleasured  by a festering insurgency in Nigeria activated it’s  cyberspace  terrorism prowess.  I laughed at them a dozen times because it was apparent they took for granted,  the impact the COAS and emperor of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai had done in the Northeast.  Like the proverbial African cat, Gen. Buratai has nine lives.

     

    The counter-insurgency leader’s brain consistently kicks with burstling ideas, strategies and tactics. Buratai has stepped out again against the enemy; but this time, propelled  and prodded to action by Sun Tzu’s wisdom as enunciated in the  Art of War thus;

     

    “If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him…  Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”

     

    Like Gen. George S. Patton echoed, Gen. Buratai has taken insurgents by surprise by launching the Super Camp Strategy against terrorists in the final phase of routing  out Boko Haram. He has exported the counter-insurgency  operations to the doorsteps of insurgents or enemies irrespective of wherever they are found in the Northeast.

     

    Boko Haram insurgents know exactly  the fresh trouble  this strategy  embodies ,  added to the ongoing clearance operations. Sounds of Boko Haram bomb blasts are now hardly heard, even in the obscure parts of Northeast.

     

    Gen Buratai  is famed for his competence to decode the strategies of the enemy and engage in counter strategies that weaken the war   adversaries of Nigeria.   Boko Haram  knows  it has found  a good match at home in Gen.  Buratai and the Nigerian troops. And this  leader of counter-insurgency is not prepared to fail his country. He pressures and conquers.

     

    It’s now clear to all discerning eyes that like the American George S. Patton, the leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Gen. Buratai  wants a quick end to the war against Boko Haram terrorism. And he knows,  the quickest way to do it is by taking the battle to terrorists. Therefore, terrorists camps in the Northeast are in complete disarray as troops give  insurgents hot chase in their obscure hideouts.

     

    Jega wrote this piece from Abuja.

  • APC best platform to realise Urhobo aspirations, says Omo-Agege

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) represent the most viable avenue to realise the collective aspirations of Urhobo people, Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege has said.

    Addressing the 2019 annual convention of the Urhobo Progress Union America (UPUA), in Philadelphia, USA Omo-Agege emphasised the significance of its theme: “Accelerating the Socio-Economic Development of Urhoboland through Investments in Education”.

    A statement Monday by his Media Adviser, Yomi Odunuga, the lawmaker was quoted to have stressed that now is the time for the Urhobo to consolidate and move forward while a progressive party is in power.

    According to him, the Urhobo constitute more than two million of Nigeria’s population.

    The Deputy Senate President, who was represented by the member representing Ughelli North/South and Udu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, recalled that Urhobo’s alliance with national ruling parties such as the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and now, the APC, has significantly advanced their collective interests and brought political influence as well as national projects to Urhobo land.

    “Guided by the urgent need to change the course of the ship of the Urhobo nation and raise the political profile of Urhobo, we knew we had to build new relationships so, we went to work, caucusing with the APC in the Senate and building new alliances and eventually joining the party from the Labour Party.

    “Since then, we made tremendous progress and today your brother, my very self, is now the fifth highest political office holder in Nigeria; as Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the power of Urhobo voice in national politics will be louder, clearer and stronger and so too will be Urhobo influence.

    “Whilst I am humbled by my June 11, 2019 historic election to this high office of State, I am very proud and fulfilled that we were able to forge great alliances with which we successfully engineered this great victory at the apex of our complex national politics to put the Urhobo nation in its place of preeminence, pride and duty in national affairs.

    “Many thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari who has shown fairness to us; without his support it would have been impossible for me to win the leadership contest.

    “Mr. President has also appointed Olorogun Festus Keyamo, SAN, the Minister of State, Niger Delta Ministry and Olorogun Bernard Okumagba, the new Managing Director of the Niger-Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) while many more Urhobo sons and daughters are expected to be appointed in due course,” he said.

    Reeling out statistics of the benefits of the political alliance to the Urhobo nation and the South-South as a geo-political zone, Omo-Agege said Aladja Steel is now linked to the national rail network after 34 years that the project was abandoned. He added that retirees of the Delta Steel Company are now being paid their entitlements after several years of neglect.

    Continuing, the statement said: “It is my hope that with more strategic thinking, focus and actions, the Urhobo nation will never make the costly mistake of shying away from its rightful place in our nation again.

    “Having attained this new level in national politics, how are we going to consolidate on what we have achieved for the good of our people?

    “History shows that when we stand together, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome in our determined effort to improve the lives of the people so, at this time, Urhobo must unite and show resolve, if we are to consolidate on the progress we have made”.

    Commending the UPUA for remaining an exemplary force for the promotion of Urhobo unity and interests, Omo-Agege emphasised a continuation of their usual deliberations on how to accelerate socio-economic development.

    “We have the resources – oil, gas, fertile land, hardworking and talented people to make Urhobo a land of opportunities and centre of political power in our state; estimated to be more than two million people, we constitute more than 50% and about 3% of Delta State and our national population respectively and we contribute more than 10% of our country’s oil wealth,” he noted.

    Emphasising that education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development, the Deputy President of the Senate noted that in spite of being the first petroleum university in Africa and the sixth of its kind in the world, the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun in Delta state is not being properly funded, adding that he would personally ensure a change.

    “FUPRE must not die: I will take up this challenge and ensure full implementation of the FUPRE law as soon as possible.

    “The law mandates the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Nigerian Content Developmental and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to be part of the funding of the University by remitting 2% of their annual budget to the University. But these three funding agencies are yet to agree or make any commitment to fulfill the law,” he stated.

    Recalling that the first set of students to ever matriculate at Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan, included an Urhobo, Victor Erereko Ovie-Whiskey, Senator Omo-Agege noted that the Urhobo Progressive Union’s pre-independence era educational attainments included scholarship awards, founding of reputable schools, adding that the current generation of Urhobo should invest in education.

    “Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development; no country can achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in human capital.

    “Education enriches people’s understanding of themselves and the world, it improves the quality of their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society.

    “Education raises people’s productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advancement: in addition, it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution.

    “I must remark here that the giant strides we achieved in education and human capital development was the result of the desire of the UPU to pull Urhobo people from obscurity”.

    He added that private educational initiatives must comply with the policies and standards of both the Delta State and the federal government.

  • Ferry boss seeks patronage of water transportation

    The Managing Director of Lagos Ferry Services Company, Abdoulbaq Ladi-Balogun, has sympathised with the victims of Ikorodu Truck accident.

    He advised motorists to drive within the approved speed limit.

    Ladi-Balogun, however, urged Lagosians to patronise the waterways as alternative means of transportation “considering the fact that our waterways are free from gridlocks.”

    According to him, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is making efforts to ensure security and welfare of all Lagosians.

    This, Ladi-Balogun said, led to vigorously pursue the attainment of intermodal systems of transportation, including optimal usage of the waterways.

    The ferry services chief implored Lagosians to take advantage of water transportation to help decongest the road traffic.

    He assured them of their safety on the waterways in the hands of well-trained professionals offering customer-centric services.

    He said: “Lagos state government has made huge investments in water transportation infrastructures. The first pillar of the strategic policy drive is seamless integrated systems of Transportation and Traffic Management as espoused in the THEMES agenda of.

    “To this effect, Lagos Ferry Services has acquired Ultra-Modern 60 seaters and 40 seaters Passenger Boats and 120 tonnage Cargo Barges to ferry Cars and Goods across Lagos Waterways to boost commerce. It is also a strategic component of Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy.”

    Ladi-Balogun said water transportation is faster, safer, cheaper and offers pleasant experiences.

    “We are working assiduously to achieve our collective dream for a greater Lagos,” he said.

  • Time to re-jig

    For an industry that has never been able to hold a candle to its peers on the globe, the level of de-marketing intrinsically woven into its operations must be truly astounding. Or how else does one classify the claim by the first vice president of Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, SOAN, Eno Williams, that one of his vessels gutted by fire about five years ago was still at the dockyard, following failure of his local insurers to settle the claims?

    Said the SOAN chief at the pre-event briefing for the group’s forthcoming event with the theme – Ocean Blue Economy for National Development: “The Nigerian Insurance Industry has not lived up to the billing in the shipping industry. I give you an example, this ship you are seeing here (pointing at it) got burnt while delivering a service at Chevron. As we speak, next month would make it five years this ship is still at the shipyard. The insurance would pay today x amount and tomorrow they would pay one little one here and so on, whereas if I had done it in London, they would simply issue a credit note to the shipyard”.

    Of course, caught in the web of their delay tactics or inability to pay claims as at when due, ship owners like other classes of insurers have since resorted to taking up insurance policies with the foreign insurance outfits, the result of which is the billions of naira annually carted away in offshore insurances.

    An old problem that Nigerians are only too familiar with; an individual or an entity takes up an insurance policy; something happens and the insured, thinking he has his asset covered wakes up to find that he has been sold a pig in a poke. First come the frustrating delays in the claims process during which all manner of invisible clauses are thrown in his face; and then at the point of payment, he is again tossed endlessly around because the insurance company – the supposed risk bearer – couldn’t come up with the funds to settle claims.

    We see two levels to the problem here. One is the palpable lack of capacity by local insurers; the other is regulatory inadequacy. Today, the industry reels under all manner of yokes – ranging from poor capitalisation to dearth of technical capacity by local practitioners. Whereas the former sets the limit on the value of risk that the insurer can carry (which in our circumstances is extremely low), the latter is the harbinger of the countless sharp practices that have come to define the industry today.

    Of course, there are also challenges directly linked to the poor shape of the naira in an industry where risks are more often than not denominated in major foreign currencies. To survive, many of the local insurers have been known to indulge in all kinds of anti-competitive practices prominent of which is rate cutting – a practice that directly impinges on their solvency and as we have seen, has put the entire industry in grave peril.

    As it is, what the industry needs now is a new lease. Already, the regulator – the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has taken a bold step in fixing new capital requirements for operators in the industry. Although the deadline fixed for June 30, 2020 is less than a year from now, we expect both the regulator and the operators to adhere strictly to the date. By then, life insurance companies are to have their capital bases raised from N2bn to N8bn, general companies from N3bn to N10bn, and composite insurance companies from N5bn to N18bn. The issue of adequacy of the capital bases at this time is at best moot; it is to us a starting point in the long journey to grow capacity.

    Next to this is the challenge of regulation. For an industry that thrives strictly on trust, we have seen the level of malfeasance by practitioners taken to an intolerable level in recent years. Beyond merely setting the rules, NAICOM must be seen to scrupulously enforce them. After more than 100 years since the industry berthed in the country, the country deserves more than what is currently on offer.

  • Anambra market prayers

    In the last one month or so, there have been developments within the markets in Anambra State that should be of more than a passing interest to all.

    At the end of July, the president-general of Anambra State Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA), Ikechukwu Ekwegbalu had announced the banning of prayers in all markets across the state. The reason he gave was that politicians had hijacked the exercise; “What we see now is extortion and conversion of the prayer sessions to political rallies”.

    Just last week, the state government threw its weight behind the ban. Why it took the government one month to come public on the matter remains a matter of conjecture. But a statement by the state commissioner for information and public enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba went at length to show why the prayers can no longer serve the best interest of the state by the way they are organized and conducted.

    In their narrative, they said evidence abounds that a certain preacher conducting regular prayers in the various markets in the state had created a culture of fear and was spreading rancour in the markets. They also accused the unnamed pastor of being in the habit of ascribing every failure to the spiritual wickedness and manipulation of family members and fellow traders.

    They were also no longer comfortable with the compulsory closure of markets for prayers every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from morning till noon as it was depriving traders the opportunity to do their businesses. The government shared the complaints of traders that frequent closure was driving away their customers to markets in neighbouring states and even outside the country.

    To checkmate this trend, the government directed each market to decide on a day and time in a month to shut down and hold prayers while encouraging traders to hold their individual prayers. With the measures, the government envisages that all challenges thrown up by the previous order of conducting prayers in markets would have been stymied.

    It is good a thing the state government felt sufficiently worried by the mode, frequency of such prayers and the challenges they threw up that they had to intervene to restore sanity in the markets. All the reasons adduced for banning the prayers in the mode and frequency they were hitherto conducted cannot be faulted irrespective of the sensitivity of issues that impinge on the religious realm.

    Issues bordering on religion can be that sensitive and may have accounted for why the state government appeared to have shut its eyes to inherent challenges and dangers in allowing all markets to be shut for six hours in those three days just to enable traders pray. It is not clear whether that praying order and the shutting down of the markets had the approval of the government before they started being enforced by the traders’ union. It is also unclear how the unnamed preacher emerged to the point of monopolizing all prayer sessions in all Anambra markets.

    Though the state government did not explicitly indicate how the prayers evolved and the process leading to the selection of the offending pastor, the impression one gets is that it had been the sole responsibility of that pastor to hold prayers in all markets in the state. And the three days set aside for prayers were to enable him alternate and superintend over prayer sessions in the major markets in the state. How one pastor was allowed that kind of uncommon leverage in a state with diverse Christian religious denominations including animists and traditional religion adherents remains largely curious.

    But one fact that has emerged is that whoever allowed a single pastor to monopolize prayer sessions in all the markets for that long was vicariously responsible for the abuse the program suffered. Given the sensitivity of religious adherents to their peculiar modes of worship, allowing one pastor to force down on others his own worshipping prescriptions and prayer mode was a time bomb waiting to explode. One is surprised that it took that long before the government came to terms with traders’ dissatisfaction with the situation in the markets.

    It should not be a surprise that much of the complaints that trailed the activities of that pastor had their root in the incongruity in finding the right mix that satisfies the worshipping peculiarities of the various religious adherents he was ministering to. The pastor was accused of ascribing all misfortunes to the spiritual wickedness and manipulation of family members and fellow traders. This cannot go down well with a lot of people even as its capacity to create rift and bad blood among traders cannot be underestimated. He was said to be responsible for the frequent market closures and making a fortune out of it. He may not be alone in this.

    He cannot wield such awesome powers without connivance from highly placed officials either from within the markets’ union leadership or officials of the government. The state government should have gone a little further to unearth how the whole arrangement was conceived and nurtured. Such investigation will definitely expose all that went wrong with that contentious praying arrangement.

    Had consultations been adequately made in conceiving the prayer sessions, it would have struck the organizers to work out a mode of worship with appeal to sensibilities of the diverse denominations being aggregated to pray together. An inter-denominational prayer session involving diverse preachers would have offered a better option. Having neglected that vital consideration, it was a matter of time for the bubble to burst.

    It is little surprising that traders have had to complain not just about the propriety of frequent markets closures but the exploitation and fake prophesies of the pastor that had set families against one another and traders against their fellow traders. The antics of the offending pastor is neither entirely new nor is he alone in it. Many families have sordid tales on how fake prophesies from fake pastors and others in similar mould claiming supernatural powers inflicted incalculable harm amongst them. It is either that someone is holding your luck or there are ancestral curses from forefathers that are vitiating progress among members of the family for which that pastor has the supernatural powers to neutralize.

    I had in this column sometime ago, written about a particular pastor in Owerri, Imo State whose technology in attracting members lay in his claims to neutralizing ancestral curses. He produced an Igbo radio jingle of immense alliterative appeal which he constantly beams on radio stations urging his audience to approach his worship centre to have such curses remedied. You cannot but be attracted to his jingle: Ibibi abubu onu, Bibie abubu onu (neutralizing ancestral curses, neutralize ancestral curses). That has been his selling point. Only God knows how many of the gullible who flooded his worship centre had the touted curses neutralized. Only his visitors can say how effective the pastor has been in making good his claims and the turn around it has unleashed in their lives.

    Your guess is as good as mine. But one thing that remains certain is that the pastor does not neutralize curses for free. That is the nature of abuse religion has been subjected to in the hands of unscrupulous preachers and pastors.

    The danger encapsulated in such false preaching was poignantly underscores by the Federal Road Safety Commission FRSC in its ‘ember months’ sensitization program last year.  The commission had while speaking on the theme ‘safe Driving, Safe Arrival’ told the public to stop believing the existence of blood-sucking demons that kill travellers on the roads during the yuletide as most accidents are caused by human factors.

    More fundamentally, the furore generated by the prayer sessions would have been averted had its authors paid attention to the distinction between matters of ecclesiastical and corporeal realms. Had the state paid heed to St Augustine’s allegory of the two cities-the city of God and the city of man, the current pass would have perfectly been averted. That is the message.

  • Nsia Insurance partners multichoice on Dstv Thanks

    NSIA Insurance is in partnership with Multichoice on the DSTV THANKS Programme, to reward loyal DSTV subscribers with 10 per cent discount on four identified products.

    The products are NSIA Comprehensive Motor Insurance, NSIA Motor Insurance- Third Party Fire & Theft, NSIA Householder Insurance and NSIA Personal Accident Cover.

    To partake in this reward programme and qualify for NSIA Insurance discounted products, customers must be on any of the DSTV packages; Family, Access, Compact, Compact+ and Premium; stay connected and pay for subscription on time.

    The Managing Director of NSIA Insurance, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, in a statement,  said the company is excited to partner with DSTV on the initiative as they are always eager to reward their loyal customers for their patronage which aligns with the DSTV THANKS Program.

    She stated that they constantly explore partnerships ‘’to enhance the benefits that we offer our valued customers to cater for their needs’’.

    Head of Retail, Products and Research, Titi Shodeinde explained that NSIA Comprehensive Motor Insurance Plan is a product that has taken into consideration the Motor Insurance needs of the average/high net-worth subscriber and gives great value to them, depending on the band they fall in. This covers cost of repairs paid in the event of accidental damage, fire and theft to the vehicle. It also has a cover of up to N1, 000,000.00 paid in the event of damage to Third Party Property and Unlimited Liability in the event of Injury/Death of Third Party. Excess Buy back and tracking device on vehicles are covered free of charge on this plan

    “NSIA Motor Insurance- Third Party Fire & Theft Plan on the other hand is a product that covers against fire and theft as well as damage to third party vehicle or property. Up to N1, 000,000.00 is paid in the event of damage to Third Party Property and unlimited liability in the event of Injury/Death of Third Party.

    “NSIA Householder Insurance Plan provides cover for your home (building) and its contents in the event of loss or damage as a result of fire, explosion, lightning, earthquake, the impact of aircraft, vehicles or animals, theft or attempted theft, damage caused by riot and malicious persons, storm, personal liability for bodily injury to third Parties, buildings and household contents. NSIA Personal Accident Insurance Plan provides compensation in the event of injuries, death and disablement resulting from physical accidents. It also provides medical expenses for treatment of injuries. The cover provides a 24-hour worldwide protection.”

    She noted that they are also offering qualified and loyal DSTV subscribers additional benefits like unique NSIA Car fragrance, driving and safety tips, and birthday greetings.

  • A stitch in time …

    The recent accident involving an articulated vehicle and a BRT bus was unfortunate and avoidable. Several of such accident happened in different parts of Nigeria on daily basis. Many lives have been lost and several properties wasted. How long will our governments, employers of labour and other stakeholders in the Transportation industry continue to fold arms without taking and encouraging proactive actions to stem the evil tide in Nigeria? The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011 – 2020) is ending next year without a pass mark in the accomplishment of the five pillars. It is sad!

    As an experienced driver trainer once engaged to train 32 Dangote trailer drivers and trailer drivers in two other companies in Nigeria, I can confidently say here that over 80 per cent of the drivers of articulated vehicles (Tankers, Trailers, etc) know very little or nothing about :

    • Vehicle Dynamics (the forces that operate on a vehicle in motion) particularly, the operation of Kinetic Energy on the trailer when it is loaded and speeding, the operation of centrifugal force on the trailer when steered or making a turn, inertia, traction, brake management, etc.
    • Personal Energy Level which determines the drivers’ mental and physical fitness to drive.
    • Fatigue and Drug Abuse (most of the drivers don’t know the detailed impacts of sleep debts on their health and driving. In a bid to meet targets, they use different types of psychoactive drugs thinking that it will keep them awake and active for long hours without adequate pre-drive sleep.
    • Lane management and the Right of way.

    The inadequacy and corruption in the Driver Licence system is also not helping the situation. Many of these drivers acquired their driver licence without any form of training while some of them don’t even have driver licence.

    The employers of the drivers should be responsible for the professional training and retraining of their drivers with a duration of not less than three whole days. The employers should also avoid setting targets that can force the drivers to over work at the expense of their health and fitness.

    Driving is the most complex job globally because it involves the highest number of body organs to operate and the work environment change frequently. The eyes, ears, nose, brain, hands, legs, neck, and even mouth are regularly engaged in the art of driving while the weather and road conditions keep changing as the journey proceeds. These series of driving activities put a lot of pressure on the drivers. It requires the right training and regular  re – training for drivers to be able to coordinate the three duties for effective and safe vehicle control.

    Until all the drivers of articulated vehicles are subjected to compulsory and comprehensive professional training and annual refresher training coupled with effective traffic law enforcement, Nigeria will continue to experience the high rate of accidents involving articulated vehicles.

    A stitch in time saves nine.