The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria

  • South Africa, Nigeria paper the cracks

    For some time now, the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa has not been rosy. It became worse when South Africa deported Nigerians last year. The leaders of both countries are cementing the cracks, with ministers signing pacts covering oil and gas, power, defence and communication reports AFP

     

    The leaders of Africa’s two biggest economies, South Africa and Nigeria, pledged closer ties yesterday in what was hailed as a milestone in a some time patchy relationship.

    President Jacob Zuma rolled out a red carpet for his counterpart Goodluck Jonathan as ministers signed nine sectoral pacts covering oil and gas, power, defence and communication.

    “South Africa and Nigeria are critical countries,” said Jonathan who is on the first state visit by any Nigerian leader since 2009.

    “If the continent of Africa must move forward, then the world will expect maximum cooperation between South Africa and Nigeria and we’re just doing that.”

    Saluting each other as “brother”, the two leaders pointed to a new path for the continental powerhouses.

    Zuma described the trip as a “historic state visit”.

    “We are very pleased with the outcomes of our discussions, they do mark a higher level of cooperation between the two countries.”

    Jonathan’s visit comes on the heels of a trip last month by Zuma to Lagos.

    The South African leader on yesterday hailed Nigeria’s support for the southern nation’s anti-apartheid struggle.

    “We have a duty to take these historical relations further,” he said.

    Zuma also stressed the need for an African Union standby force “for rapid deployment in crisis areas without delays”.

    “The need for an intervention brigade has become more crucial in light of the sits of instability in the Central African Republic, the eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Mali where decisive intervention is needed.”

    Jonathan addressed South Africa’s parliament, with Nigerian and South African flags lining the road in Cape Town and also hanging outside the National Assembly.

    The state visit was hailed as a positive step in bilateral ties which have faced many rocky patches and frequent rivalries.

    “Nigeria and South Africa must come together, must work together, to help the continent of Africa,” said Jonathan.

    “Because whether we like it or not if we refuse to cooperate, we will be considered as failures.”

    While South Africa is still the continent’s biggest economy, Nigerian business activity is set to grow more than twice as fast, by 7.2 per cent, this year, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.

    Total two-way trade has risen to $4.1 billion, with a surplus in oil-rich Nigeria’s favour, according to South Africa’s department of trade.

    Nigeria is the continent’s most populous country and its biggest oil producer.

    The two states, which both want seats in an expanded UN Security Council, were at loggerheads last year over who would become head of the African Union’s commission.

    South Africa has also taken actions in countries considered Nigeria’s neighbourhood, such as the conflict in Ivory Coast.

    An embarrassing tit-for-tat row also broke out over yellow fever vaccinations. This led to passengers being turned away at airports in both countries in March last year.

    While courting the emerging BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia, India and China – South Africa has not shown the “same political eagerness on the continent” with Nigeria an obvious target, said Dianna Games, honourary chief executive of the South Africa-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce.

    “If this is the start of a closer relationship, then I think that would be a very good thing all around for both countries and the continent as a whole because they are the two big powers in Africa,” she said.

    The two leaders will attend a meeting of a bilateral business forum, while Jonathan will also hold separate talks with the South African-based MTN telecommunications company, as well as representatives of car manufacturers Toyota and Nissan in South Africa.

     

  • Private jets in Nigeria worth $3.75b, says GTBank CEO

    Private jets in Nigeria worth $3.75b, says GTBank CEO

    The Managing Director of Guarantee Trust Bank Mr Segun Agbaje, has said private jets in Nigeria are worth $3.75 billion. He added that there are over 150 private jets owned by high networth individuals in the country.

    Agbaje said each category of jet costs $25m, which carries both local and international registrations.

    He spoke at the Nigerian Business Aviation Conference 2013 with the theme: ‘The Emerging Market in Business Aviation organised by the Evergreen Apple Nigeria in Lagos.

    Agbaje said the most popular jets among Nigerian billionaires are Gulfstream, Bombardier, Global Express, Hawker Legacy and Dassault Falcon.

    Most of the jets, according to Agbaje, are imported from the United States of America, Canada, Europe, Brazil and South Africa.

    He noted that banks in the country are yet to invest in aviation industry because of attendant risks involved with commercial aviation.

    He added: “Aircraft financing is a way to deepening banking relationship with top private banking customers and corporate organisations, but there are some challenges in the financial institutions as most of us don’t realise yet the importance of support for the industry. Nigeria provides a huge opportunity for development in aircraft manufacturing industry.

    “Risks and problems associated with commercial aviation is one of the problems confronting the sector. However, most financial institution will prefer to support business aviation at the expense of commercial aviation. Business aviation has less risks when compared to commercial aviation.”

    The International Sales Manager, Trevor Esling, described the Nigerian market as a big one in the global aviation industry, saying that the industry is developing at a very high speed.

    Esling said just like other aircraft manufacturers in the globe, Gulfstream was in the country to tap into the potential in the sector with the supply of good and modern aircraft to interested parties in the sector.

    The Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Embraer Aircraft Manufacturing Company, Colin Stevens, said the company was already carrying out training for some Nigerian engineers.

    He said this was meant to support the industry and operators of their aircraft.

    He exuded confidence in the Nigerian aviation industry, stressing that the optimism of Embraer management prompted it to invest in the sector.

    “We are very optimistic of the Nigerian market, which is why we are investing in it. This is a market that has potential to grow,” he said

     

  • ‘World Bank didn’t delist Nigeria from loans’

    ‘World Bank didn’t delist Nigeria from loans’

    World Bank Country Director for Nigeria Ms. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, yesterday cleared the air on her statement at a news conference on Monday in Abuja.

    A statement by Mr Dele Oladokun of the World Bank Nigeria country office communications unit said: “During the briefing, the Country Director explained that from the fiscal year 2014, Nigeria would gradually move to a ‘blend’ country status which means that the country would not only be able to continue to enjoy resources from the IDA concessional window, but would start accessing from the Bank’s IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) window. Nigeria would enter into what is commonly called a transition period whose duration varies from country to country. On average, countries which recently graduated from blend to IBRD status enjoyed an average transition period of about 7 years.

    “Countries are eligible for IDA on the basis of (a) relative poverty and (b) lack of creditworthiness. Nigeria’s graduation to the ‘blend’ status is due to the fact that the country has been assessed to be credit worthy for IBRD financing and its GNI (Gross National Income, formerly GNP) per capita has exceeded the IDA threshold per capita for three consecutive years. Based on World Bank Atlas methodology, 2011 per capita GNI for Nigeria was US$1280, which is slightly above the IDA operational cutoff of US$1,195.

    “For your information, countries that currently borrow under IDA, including Nigeria have a repayment period of 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years. Under the ‘blend’ status, Nigeria would still have access to IDA funding with a maturity period of 25 years, and a grace period of 5 years. As mentioned above, the country would be able to receive IBRD Credit which also has a maturity period of up to 25 years.

    “Ms Marie-Nelly further explained that this positive move would allow Nigeria access more funding from the World Bank in addition to knowledge and technical assistance to support Nigeria’s development programme.

     

  • Lagos Assembly to Jonathan: don’t turn Nigeria to pariah state

    Lagos Assembly to Jonathan: don’t turn Nigeria to pariah state

    The Lagos State House of Assembly has warned President Goodluck Jonathan to desist from ruling the country as if it was a pariah state.

    Its spokesperson and Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, Segun Olulade, addressed reporters yesterday at the Assembly complex.

    The lawmaker noted that “some of the recent actions and vituperations of the President smack of an intent to make Nigeria an authoritarian state where there is utter disregard for the rule of law, democratic ethos and the sovereign will of the people”.

    Olulade urged Dr Jonathan not allow the challenges facing the nation and the pressure of his 2015 ambition to force his administration into taking actions that would cause anarchy.

    He added: “The highly condemnable approaches of President Jonathan towards dissenting voices within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as his administration’s policies against the major opposition parties in Nigeria demonstrate the extent of the administration’s intolerance, sense of insecurity and cowardice.

    “The role of the Presidency is worrisome in the alleged plot to impeach Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Rabiu Kwakwanso of Rivers and Kano State, the suspected plan for a state of emergency in Rivers State, the diabolical moves to balkanise and incapacitate the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), the sardonic intent to stop the registration of newly emerging opposition merger parties through the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the unlawful deregistration of many hitherto existing political parties without recourse to their constitutional right, among others…”

     

  • Nigeria does not need foreign coach

    Nigeria does not need foreign coach

    SIR: Stephen Keshi helped save the Super Eagles with his recent Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) championship win. Yet, news reportsrecently announced that the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) was planning to repay Keshi by cutting his salary in half. The NFF has since clarified that it has not slashed Keshi’s salary, only the salaries of his coaching crew and backroom staff. Even without the chop to his own salary, the interference in his staffing setup must taste overwhelmingly bitter to the man who has now twice led Nigeria to the AFCON championship. Outside of the injustice of the NFF not even consulting Keshi prior to the dismissals, the situation also speaks to the inequality between foreign—a term most typically used to refer to European—coaches and African coaches. Would the NFF have dared to do the same to a foreign coach?

    Perhaps related to its all too frequent allegations of corruption, the NFF is undeniably broke. So it may have been forced to cut salaries regardless of the national origin of its coaching staff. But, the fact remains that foreign coaches in both Nigeria and the rest of the African continent are typically treated preferentially over African coaches. After winning this year’s AFCON, Keshi temporarily resigned in February because of NFF pressure to work with either a foreign coach or a foreign technical team. Clearly, the belief that African coaches are not good enough on their own is prevalent across Africa. And this opinion is dead wrong.

    Most African countries do not have the economic resources to attract Europe’s premier coaching staff. The European coaches that are imported by African nations tend to be overpriced for their qualifications. Those countries that can afford to pay exorbitant sums for Europe’s finest often find that high costs are no guarantee of success. Eric Gerets—once considered one of the top right-backs in Europe—couldn’t lead Morocco past the first round of the African Cup, despite receiving one of the highest coaching salaries (Sh 25 million per month) in Africa. Yet, African states continue to operate under the mistaken assumption that an imported coach will revolutionize their football program and bring them to victory. Uganda, one of the world’s poorest countries, nevertheless insisted on paying Bobby Williamson KSh 1.8 million per month for nearly five years, even though his teams were never able to qualify for AFCON.

    The exorbitant salaries of foreign coaches would be better spent improving and increasing youth development programs; thereby strengthening a nation’s available talent pool. By adopting a bottom-up approach, countries would make their players more attractive for recruitment in top-quality foreign leagues. Ultimately, rather than pouring money into an endless train of questionable foreign leadership, African nations should be reinvesting in their own.

     

    • Clare Finnegan,

    New Jersey

     

  • Nigeria, S/Africa approve visa waivers

    Nigeria, S/Africa approve visa waivers

    Nigeria and South Africa on Tuesday signed an agreement aimed at ending visa acquisition by holders of official and diplomatic passports.
    Ministers from both countries have been charged to ensure the effective implementation of the newly signed instruments and the conclusion of outstanding agreements.
    Both Presidents, Jacob Zuma and  Goodluck Jonathan met in Cape Town, South Africa where various issues were discussed on how to improve on relationship between both countries as they agreed on so many issues aimed at boosting development in the continent.
    Beside the  visas waiver agreement both countries also signed eight other bilateral agreements which include,  cooperation in legal field, oil and gas sectors, power sector development, environment,defence cooperation, women development and empowerment as well as child development.
    The bilateral agreements also cover geology, mining, mineral processing and metallurgy and fields of information and communication technology.
    For both presidents, stronger ties  between both countries is necessary if the continent’s fortune is to be improved.
    In his view, President Zuma said,  “we have a duty to take this historic relationship further. Our two countries have already grown very warm bilateral relations structured through the bi-national commission that was officially inaugurated in 1999,”.
    The meeting also afforded President  Zuma the opportunity to express his joy also the number of South African companies  doing businesses in Nigeria, the biggest investment being in the telecommunication sector.
    He further noted that it is the  intention of South Africa to expand to other sectors such as engineering, construction, banking, oil and the media.
    He also advocated for  both countries to promote people to people relationship especially through tourism which he said has generated huge Foreign Direct Investment for the country.
    “Last year alone, South Africa received a total of 73,282 Nigerian tourists which is an 13.8percent increase from 2011 contributing about 720million Rands to the South African economy within the period.”
    In his responding,  President Jonathan, described the signing of nine bilateral agreements between the two countries is a major achievement that would enhance the  critical role of Nigeria and South Africa in transforming the continent,
    The President later addressed joined session of the South African parliament where he re-echoed the need for the two countries to strengthen partnership in growing the continent’s economy.

  • Nigeria delisted for concessionary loans from World Bank

    Nigeria delisted for concessionary loans from World Bank

    • Bank commits N837b to projects

    Nigeria has been removed from the list of countries that enjoy the International Development Agency’s (IDA) concessionary window, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Ms. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, has said.

    She said Nigeria was delisted because the country is no more regarded as a poor nation.

    This implies that Nigeria will not benefit from the 40-year moratorium and 10-year repayment period on loans taken for developments from the World Bank.

    Ms. Marie-Nelly explained that Nigeria’s delisting from the beneficiary countries was based on the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistic, which indicated that the poverty rate per capita in the country has gone down to 62.6 per cent from 64.2 per cent.

    She explained that Nigeria will henceforth access funds from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) window under different moratorium and interest payments terms.

    The new funding arrangement for Nigeria’s projects in the years ahead was occasioned by what the World Bank described as the “re-classification of the country’s status from poor country by per capita to a lower-middle income country by per capita.

    Lower-middle income countries are those whose per capita are $1,026 to $4,035 based on estimates of gross national income (GNI).

    Ms. Marie-Nelly revealed that only a few months were left to the end of implementation of the bank’s 2nd Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) (2010-2013) in Nigeria, to which about N837 billion had been committed so far.

    She said there are 70 technical activities valued at $183 million which are on-going, and three regional projects on agriculture, valued at $45 million; air transport, $46.7 million; and water resources, put at $135 million, adding that funding for these programmes was secured through the International Development Agency (IDA) concessionary window.

    She said despite the introduction of the new funding terms from the bank, old projects and interventions will be continued, based on funds accessed through the International Development Agency (IDA) concessionary window, stating that Nigeria’s transition from extremely poor to low-middle income category would take between five to six years to be effected.

    The World Bank Country Director, said that the urban poverty from 2003 to 2009 reduced to 51.2 per cent from 52.2 per cent, just as rural poverty dropped to 69 per cent from 73.4 per cent.

    Also, poverty rate among adults in Nigeria went down to 46.1 per cent from 48.3 per cent, and urban poverty saw a reduction to 34.3 per cent from 36.8 per cent, ading that Rural poverty also dipped to 52.9 per cent from 57.4 per cent within the same period.

    She said the implementation of the second CPS has focused mainly on sustainable development; human development; governance and economic reforms; and private sector development.

    She said the interventions in the 2nd CPS “had recorded modest achievements in key sectors like education, transportation, water, power, agriculture, good governance and private sector, through support for standardisation of some manufacturing and construction operational processes across the country. She said one of the key challenges that the Bank contended with was inability to meet deadline for some projects’ completion.”

    She said the Bank would be moving towards result-based approach and away from input approach, so as to consolidate the Bank’s CPS performance over the years, as well in the third phase slated for impleme next year.

    “Under the new CPS, our main objective will be to support improved competitiveness foster social inclusion and reduce vulnerability, she added.

  • Nigeria’s corruption exaggerated, says Jonathan

    Nigeria’s corruption exaggerated, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said the corruption in the country is exaggerated.

    The president spoke in Cape Town, South Africa, while addressing the Nigerian community in the town.

    He is on official visit to South Africa.

    Jonathan said: “Those who talk about corruption are the most corrupt, we must build strong institutions. Putting heads together along with the heads of the corruption agencies like the EFCC and the ICPC, that what we should do because the perception is so bad and sometimes we also amplify it.

    “Sometimes when you look at the figures, somebody comes out with a figure and if you don’t confront it, the recent statistics about funds being moved out of the country is so big and we started asking why is it so and we also realised that there if this policy of regulating the movement of money, and business people like Peter Obi will tell you that the Anambra man will not want to wait; he wants to move his money and go and buy. He did not steal the money. If you ask him to be transferring $10,000 to China, how long will it take him to do that? And so they will find a way of taking the money out and because it is not the conventional way of transferring the money, it all ends up as if all is for corruption. There is element of corruption; I am not saying there is none. In Nigeria now, anybody who wakes up and does not talk about corruption you have not said anything. If somebody is preaching, you must talk about corruption; if you are in wedding, you have to talk about corruption.

    “So the perception index is quite high but we all collectively must work to reduce it. I am not saying there is no corruption; there is still some corruption in the country, but we must all work very hard and strengthen the institution to bring the corruption down. And also the issue of security and crime, one of us mentioned the issue of Boko Haram in some parts of the North. We have kidnapping in the Southsouth and the Southeast. This must stop. We will do everything to bring it to an end.

    “But for our brothers and sisters in South Africa, we thank you for this beautiful evening and I must thank you for the wonderful work you are doing. We are doing very well and I want to encourage you to continue to do very well.

    “For those who won scholarships, I just want to inform you that we have different products, not just from the Federal Government, Nigeria is a Federal system, the states are semi-autonomous sub national governments and a number of states are also having some scholarship programmes. Sometimes, the states have bursaries, sometimes scholarships. At the federal level, the population of this country is very high, it will be extremely difficult or impossible for you to now declare scholarship for every Nigerian that is schooling; yes we will get to that point, but for now we have selected products and for some of you who are quite good with what is happening in the world, all that we can advise is that always try to get the information and when it comes up, you apply.

    “We give scholarships but it is not generalised that by this time of the year we are giving scholarships across the whole group. But wherever you are, like the minister was talking about Diaspora students, students’ schools are all over the world and students are always Diaspora population. But I assure you that we will continue to work with you, we have our country at heart, we have the commitment and the political will to improve the fortunes of our country. “

     

  • Poor returns may mar $100m Diaspora bond, say experts

    Poor returns may mar $100m Diaspora bond, say experts

    The proposed $100million Diaspora bond by the Federal Government may be marred by poor returns, experts at FBN Capital have said.

    Billed as part of an ambitious plan to get the Nigerian Diaspora to invest in the country’s infrastructure, the measure is aimed at tapping into the healthy remittance market. There are about two million Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK) and remittances from the Diaspora worldwide are thought to make up about three per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Finance Minster and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had told reporters at the recently concluded World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) Meetings in Washington D.C, United States, that the Diaspora bond will be concluded in December.

    But FBN Capital – a research and investment firm it latest report entitled: Untapped potential of remittances, noted that the main challenge to the Diaspora bond would be poor returns on such investment.

    “The FGN plans to follow its forthcoming US$1billion Eurobond with an issue for the Nigerian Diaspora. It has a modest US$100million in mind and argues that it does not have the track record in this field of, say, Israel or India.

    “In our view the main challenge will be not the unfamiliarity of the product but the poor return: the first Eurobond yields just above four per cent and the shrewd investor will do better in other asset classes.

    “The FGN and also the state governments could tap the Diaspora more often and more substantially for their financing needs,” the report said.

    Latest official data by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that 91-day Nigerian Treasury Bills carry a yield of 10.35 per cent while three-month tenor deposit rate of banks stand at 7.99 per cent. Average inter-bank call rate stands at 10.68 per cent.

    The Nation’s market intelligence shows that bonds have coupons of between four per cent and 16 per cent, indicating the yield spread within the fixed-income segment.With inflation rate at 8.6 per cent, the low coupons indicate marginal adjusted returns on fixed-income securities.

    The average year-to-date return of 25.04 per cent for the equity market underlines the low return in the fixed-income market.

    The thinking of the government is that the huge savings kept by Nigerians resident abroad could be invested in the country through bonds for infrastructural development. According to the FBN Capital report, remittances to Nigeria were the second largest foreign exchange inflow last year after crude petroleum.

    A recent World Bank report had stated that Nigerians and other residents in the country received a total of N33.6bilion or $21billion last year in remittances from their relatives, friends and business associates abroad.

    The report noted that Nigeria accounted for 67 per cent of the $31billion total inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa last year, followed by Senegal and Kenya.

    Noting that remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa have been recovering from the contraction associated with the global financial crisis, the report said growth has been modest.

    The World Bank said: “In 2012, the region is estimated to have received about $31 billion in remittances, only about one per cent increase over 2011. Nigeria is by far the largest recipient of remittances in the region, accounting for about 67 percent of the inflows to the region in 2012, followed by Senegal and Kenya. Zero growth in flows to Nigeria in 2012 is partly attributable to the feeble labour market recovery of its major remittance source countries in Europe, the UK in particular. Remittance flows to Nigeria and the rest of the region are expected to grow significantly in the coming years to reach about $39 billion in 2015.”

    The report put stated that officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries grew by 5.3 per cent to reach an estimated $401 billion in 2012. It added that remittances to developing countries are expected to grow by an annual average of 8.8 per cent for the next three years and are forecast to reach $515 billion in 2015.

  • Low adoption of cloud computing threatens growth

    Low adoption of cloud computing threatens growth

    THE low adoption of cloud computing technology may stop Nigeria from achieving growth in the economy, the Group Executive, Business Development, Director BCX Group, John Jenkins, has said.

    Speaking with The Nation, he said: “It would take a huge amount of speculation to put a number to this growth, but it can be argued that without cloud computing, the Nigerian economy would find it difficult to meet the predicted double digit growth percentages generally expected by economists.

    “In most markets, cloud spend is merely traditional information technology (IT) infrastructure and support spend redirected towards a complete service, so our clients traditionally see the opposite; a reduction in their total cost of ownership as opposed to an increased spend. Of course there is a case where there is an untapped market where clients that can benefit from IT infrastructure are not spending any money due to the lack of appropriate solutions.”

    According to him, the cloud technology holds huge potential to cutting down IT spend of firms, adding that it will also remove the barriers of indigenous firms in the country face to compete on the global scene.

    “Conservatively, this new market (cloud computing) can translate into a net growth in IT spend of (between) $3 and $5 million (I calculate 20 per cent of Gartner forecasted IT Services growth of $30 million) per annum over the next three years.

    “But as cloud services remove the barriers to entry for Nigerian companies to compete globally, the positive impact on the larger economy is immense,” he said.

    Acording to him, like the Nigerian economy, the IT sector is vibrant and growing at a pace where, unfortunately, appropriate skills are difficult to come by.

    “The economy is growing at a pace where appropriate skills are hard to come by, and often the available skills were developed so quickly that they have not yet matured in terms of experience and best practices. Likewise, resources such as spares and capital are often not available for planned and strategic initiatives as they are quickly absorbed into expansion projects. The IT fraternity in Nigeria has found innovative ways to overcome these challenges, but at the expense of best practices, long term strategy and scalability,” he lamented.