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Tag: Nigeria

Nigeria, US trade records $48b

THE volume of bilateral trade between the United States and Nigeria, as well as other countries in sub-Saharan Africa hit $48 billion in the first- half of the year.

A report by the US Department of Commerce International and Trade Administration in Nigeria, signed by its media officer, S. J. Loucif, said the trade volume represented a decrease of 24 per cent compared to the same period in 2011.

According to the report, in accordance with the seven per cent growth of US exports to the world, US exports to sub-Saharan Africa, which are mostly composed of machinery, increased by 4.5 per cent.

The report put the figure at about $11 billion, representing only 1.4 per cent of total US exports to the world.

It named South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, and Benin Republic as the top five African destinations for US products.

It explained: “While exports to South Africa decreased by four per cent and exports to Nigeria remained constant, exports to Angola increased by 14 per cent, to Ghana by 10 per cent and to Benin by seven per cent.

The report disclosed that US imports from sub-Saharan African decreased by 29 per cent in the same period, falling to $27 billion and representing only 2.4 per cent of total US imports from the world.

“This decrease was mostly due to a 32 per cent decrease in US mineral fuel and oil imports. There was about 19 per cent decrease of precious stones and metals imports from sub-Saharan Africa.

“US imports from sub-Saharan Africa originated, for the most part, in Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Chad, and Congo. US imports, which is mostly oil from Nigeria dropped by 44 per cent, from Gabon by 76 per cent, and from Ghana by 57 per cent.

The only major increases of US imports from sub-Saharan Africa originated in Tanzania and in Senegal”.

Also the bilateral trade volume between Nigeria and Turkey hit over N208 billion ($1.3 billion) between 2004 and 2012, the President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Herbert Ajayi, has said.

The president who disclosed this during the opening ceremony of the Lagos Expobuild said the balance of trade between the two countries was in favour of Turkey.

Similarly, the trade deficit of goods with Turkey was $429.3 million in 2011, a 21.9 per cent increase over 2010.

According to him, the maiden exhibition which showcases the best Turkish products in the building construction, energy, electrical industry etc. would further enhance the bilateral trade relationship and mutual cooperation between Nigeria and Turkey as well as the business communities of both countries.

He said statistics has revealed that Turkey’s goods exports to Nigeria in 2011 were $394.4million up by 57.4 per cent ($250.6) from 2010.

September 27, 2012
Nigeria undeterred, unflinching in protecting citizens – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan said Nigeria remains undeterred and unflinching in its resolve to protect the citizens and other persons living within its borders.

Addressing the 67th United Nations General Assembly’s General Debate on Tuesday in New York, he said Nigeria would also extend such protection to other countries within its region.

“ We know that no country has unilaterally defeated the dark forces of violence and terrorism. This is evidently an endeavour that requires international collaboration.

“We therefore call upon the international community and all like-minded stakeholders to address this matter with all the seriousness that it deserves,’’ Jonathan said.

He pointed at Nigeria’s long-standing commitment to the promotion of issues of particular concern to Africa, saying this has been widely acknowledged.

President Jonathan said Nigeria had stood firm and played critical roles in all the recent developments in Africa.

He said this included the struggle for independence and self-determination, the fight against apartheid, colonialism and discrimination.

“Today, we are in the vanguard of the fight against extremism, terrorism and all forms of mindless violence,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Jonathan as saying in his address.

He explained that sustainable development and progress were two ultimate aspirations of any nation which could not be achieved without peace and security.

Jonathan however said that Nigeria, being guided by this realisation, had committed and should continue to commit herself to the attainment of regional and international peace and security.

He said the West African sub-region had suffered some setbacks in terms of unconstitutional change of government and the emergence of insurgency, among others.

On the political crisis threatening the unity of Mali and Guinea-Bissau, Jonathan said Nigeria and ECOWAS were working in concert to address the threat.

September 26, 2012
Nigeria braces for escalation in terrorist attacks

Senior political and military figures say government has lost control of security amid wave of Boko Haram bombings, writes The Guardian of UK

The Nigerian government has lost control of security, according to its own advisers, and lacks a coherent strategy to counter the threat of terrorism.
Senior political and military figures have told The Guardian of their growing pessimism over the government’s ability to contain Boko Haram, the Islamist sect responsible for a deadly wave of bombings and kidnappings in northern Nigeria, and are bracing themselves for an escalation in attacks.
“We have a serious problem in Nigeria and there is no sense that the government has a real grip,” a senior official close to the government said on condition of anonymity. “The situation is not remotely under control. It is just a matter of time before we see more large-scale attacks that pose a significant threat to national security, and now Nigeria’s economic growth is also at risk.”
Boko Haram – whose name is often translated as “western education is sinful” – has become increasingly sophisticated in its operations since first launching mass attacks in northern Nigeria in 2010.
The sect first began using violence against the Nigerian government and police in 2003, and is believed to have advanced its operations in recent months by attracting funding and support from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Shabaab.
In 2009 Boko Haram launched a new phase of operations following the killing of its leader, Muhammad Yusuf, by police and security forces.
Since then, a spate of deadly church bombings has left hundreds dead, while attacks on mobile phone base stations have paralysed telecommunications in northern Nigeria, causing an estimated £3m worth of damage.
The government has attempted to fight back against the sect, and claims to have killed at least 35 suspected militants earlier this week, and detained 60 others during raids in Adamawa and Yobe states in northern Nigeria – two of the areas most affected by the violence.
But its failure to stop Boko Haram attacks has led many to question the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, who promised in March that security services would have ended the insurgency by June.
A senior defence official, who asked not to be named, expressed concern that the government had failed to demonstrate the necessary political leadership to combat the threat posed by Boko Haram.
“Leadership is the problem,” said the source. “When we had military dictatorships in Nigeria, we did not experience this kind of weak decision-making. There is no way we can combat this threat without more decisive action. You cannot divorce what is happening from weak leadership and the failure to repair the divisions in our society.”
“The level of poverty in the north, and the way southerners are behaving with impunity – it is not surprising that there is this level of discontent in northern Nigeria.”
Experts have frequently attributed the rise of Boko Haram to the growing divide between rich and poor in Nigeria, compounded by regionalism that has often pitched the largely Christian south against the predominantly Muslim north.
Of the two-thirds of Nigerians – 100 million people – living below the poverty line, Nigeria’s national bureau of statistics said that the number living on less than one dollar a day was higher in the north, with rates of around 70%, compared with rates closer to 50% in the south. Much of the north has illiteracy rates of above 75%.
“These acts are a reaction against decades of neglect,” the source close to the government said. “They are similar factors to what we saw driving revolution in the Arab spring.
“The Boko Haram phenomenon underlines the failure of the Nigerian state,” said Manir Dan Ali, editor of the Daily Trust newspaper. “The government has ignored the advice of its own security officials, who warned of the danger signals long ago, and worse, lacks a coherent strategy for dealing with the problem and its underlining causes of poverty, neglect and a lack of opportunities for the young.”
Resentment towards the Nigerian authorities has been compounded by human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings, experts say.
“Male members of security forces have been going in and raiding women’s quarters – terrifying the women and humiliating the men,” said Chidi Odinkalu, chair of Nigeria’s national human rights commission. “These are minimal things that the state should be able to achieve – to train the soldiers on these sensitivities and use female soldiers. You can’t fight an insurgency by alienating part of the community.”
The source close to the government said: “There are middle-ranking senior officers who understand the counter-productive nature of raids and extrajudicial executions. But that understanding is not filtering down quickly enough to junior officers – they are making bad decisions and they are not adequately trained. The police are ethically broken, and the armed forces don’t trust the police.
“If you talk to Nigerians in the north, the misbehaviour of the security forces has become a significant factor in strengthening support for Boko Haram.”
The military said it had addressed the problem of abuses by security services and changed its approach to operations in northern Nigeria. “We are beginning to win the hearts and minds of the people,” said Colonel Muhammad Yerima, director of defence information. “We are closing in on the terrorists – the more we catch them and interrogate them and get information, and stop the people that are supporting them, the more we will be able to combat this threat.”
But the relationship between Boko Haram and officials is complex, experts say, with some members of the security services assisting the sect. “Some members of the security forces have been working as double agents,” said Adunola Abiola, founder of Think Security Africa, a thinktank specialising in security issues in Africa.
“Improved and regular vetting of security personnel is very important for improving security management in the country generally.”
The Nigerian government has been under renewed pressure to combat Boko Haram since the US decided to designate three members of the sect as foreign terrorists, giving US authorities powers under US law to take action.
“This designation would in theory give various departments and agencies in the US government the power to actively pursue these men which could in theory result in a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty and possibly even territorial integrity,” said Abiola. “It was severely embarrassing for the federal government and reinforced domestic criticism that it was incapable of performing the most basic of sovereign functions.”

September 26, 2012
‘Nigeria’ll overcome economic woes’

Economic expansion in the 25 leading Rapid-Growth Markets (RGMs), including Nigeria, has started to slow sharply since the beginning of this year but this will only be a temporary setback, according to Ernst & Young’s quarterly report.

Senior Economic Adviser to Ernst & Young Carl Astorri said RGMs are well placed to weather the major risks facing the global economy at the present time, given that they have the space to relax fiscal and monetary policy.

This, he said, has already happened in some RGMs, adding that there will be further easing of monetary policy in the months ahead, particularly if the global economy deteriorates further.

Alexis Karklins-Marchay, Co-Leader of the Emerging Markets Centre, said although slower expansion in the rapid-growth markets is likely this year, it will only be a blip and we will see a return to significant growth towards the end of the year.

“Soaring domestic demand in economies starved, for some time, of investment and consumption will offer business exciting new markets for goods and services in the years ahead,” he said.

Bisi Sanda, Senior Partner, Transaction Advisory Services, believes that power sector holds the key to the Nigeria’s economic growth and development.

He says: “If the government of Nigeria completes its privatisation of the power sector assets in 2012, it will provide much required fresh breath to the much delayed reactivation of stimulus of the manufacturing sector, including the reactivation of over 100 textile mills that closed down or relocated from Nigeria between 2000 and 2007. Power is an enabler in Nigeria.”

September 26, 2012
Muslims in Nigeria, Iran, Greece, Turkey protest controversial movie

Muslims protested in Nigeria, Iran, Greece and Turkey on Sunday to show anti-Western anger against a film and cartoons insulting Islam had not dissipated.

As delegates from around the world gathered in New York for a United Nations General Assembly where the clash between free speech and blasphemy is bound to be raised, United States flags were once again burning in parts of the Muslim world, Reuters reports on Monday.

Iranian students chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” outside the French embassy in Tehran in protest at the decision by satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, days after widespread protests – some deadly – against a film made in the U.S.

Shi’ite Muslims in the Nigerian town of Katsina burnt U.S., French and Israeli flags and a religious leader called for protests to continue until the makers of the film and cartoons are punished.

In Pakistan, where 15 people were killed in protests on Friday, a government minister has offered $100,000 to anyone who kills the maker of the short, amateurish video “The Innocence of Muslims.”

Calls have increased for a U.N. measure outlawing insults to Islam and blasphemy in general.

In Athens, some protesters hurled bottles of water, stones and shoes at police who responded with teargas. Calm returned when demonstrators interrupted the protest to pray.

Hours later, dozens of Muslim inmates in Athens’ main prison set mattresses and bed sheets on fire in protest. Firemen with four engines battled the flames in some cells but police and government officials said late at night the situation was under control.

Protests around the world were relatively small and calm, but Western embassies remained on alert after the U.S ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in one of the first protests, on September 11.

The upsurge of Muslim anger – just weeks before U.S elections – have confronted President Barack Obama with a setback yet in his efforts to keep the “Arab Spring” revolutions from fuelling a new wave of anti-Americanism.

In U.S ally Turkey, a secular Muslim state often seen as a bridge between the Islamic world and the West, protesters set fire to U.S. and Israeli flags on Sunday.

“May the hands that touch Mohammad break,” chanted some 200 protesters before peacefully dispersing.

“We will certainly not allow uncontrolled protests, but we will not just grin and bear it when Islam’s prophet is insulted,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told party members at the weekend.

“The protests in the Muslim world must be measured, and the West should show a determined stance against Islamophobia.”

September 24, 2012
‘Nigeria will be transformed soon’

It may be true that situations in Nigeria are disturbing, but God will intervene and restore the country’s fame, peace, prosperity and hope, the Conference President of Lagos West Baptist Conference (LWBC), Rev Dr Julius Adeniji, has declared.

He spoke last week ahead of the 4th Lifeway International Conference of the church.

Adeniji predicted that what happened in biblical Samaria, where famine held them captive until God turned their situation around, will be replicated in Nigeria.

“The Lord will intervene in people’s matters and cause awesome change to take place; He will give food to the hungry, job to the jobless, and success to those who have failed in their endeavours,” he reiterated.

The conference with the theme Sharing hope in the midst of hopelessness, ends today at Araromi Baptist Church, Ejigbo, Lagos.

The 3-day bi-annual spiritual gathering featured preaching by three pastors from LWBC, while the Conference Chairman, Rev. (Dr.) Jacob Aremu, presided over activities.

September 23, 2012
Piercing the fog of revolution

It is uncritical to think that all the policies of unification established by military governments are good for all seasons and contexts

This column once described Nigeria as leaning more toward a Union of Policy than a Union of Affection, a conceptual distinction borrowed from Daniel Defoe’s comment on the Act of Union that brought England, Scotland, and Wales under one flag in 1706. The recent Yoruba Assembly in Ibadan raised new issues that need to be addressed, if the Nigerian Union is to become a union of affection and thus a functional and sustainable union. Many of the issues to be raised in the next few weeks of this column are by no means original. Most of them were ventilated at the recent Yoruba Assembly by conferees that passionately want Nigeria to survive as Africa’s largest country.

There is no doubt that Nigeria started as a union of policy. Frederick Lugard’s amalgamation of 1914, once characterised by Sir Ahmadu Bello as the Mistake of 1914, did not consider the feelings of the diverse peoples the Act fused into one country. But with time, those now being referred to as founding fathers of the country forged some understanding among themselves to the point that they agreed to seek independence from the United Kingdom as one country, even though after several threats from the colonial government that no section would be given independence outside the framework of Amalgamation.

Building on the understanding that cultural diversity was not enough to throw away the Nigerian baby of Lugard with the bathwater, the founding fathers agreed to seek independence as one federation. In the process, two of the three regions fused in 1914: Eastern and Western Regions sought self-government two years before the third one, Northern Region. All of them received independence in 1960 on a duly negotiated constitution that gave each of the three regions substantial political autonomy to develop its economy, enforce its laws, and cooperate with other regions to sustain the country’s territorial unity.

Unification policies emerged on the country’s political landscape after the emergence of military governments in 1966. Pre-1966 local and native authority police systems were abolished by federal military governments under the excuse that the police systems in existence during the colonial period and for six years after independence were abused by state governments, thus giving the impression that the Nigerian Police Force was not abused by trustees of federal power. It is often forgotten that the military rulers at that time needed to have an unchallenged military and police force(s) to sustain their unelected government. The federal monopoly over law enforcement decreed by military government is what is being cited today by apologists for a central police as the only way to police a multicultural federation.

Most of the defenders of federal monopoly over law enforcement today are from the northern part of the country which also supplied most of the military rulers at the federal level between 1966 and 1998. A few retired police officers from the western part of the country are re-echoing passionately the view championed by northern leaders that Nigeria is not ready for state police. That former police officers from the North and the West have the courage to say that the force they served is an indispensable model should not worry citizens. Such statement is a way of defending the job they did or did not do. What is irrational is the view by northern cultural and political leaders that a state police is synonymous with disintegration of the country. Is the vehement opposition to decentralisation of law enforcement by several northern leaders an indication that the current federal police system provides hidden advantages to the North?

The question of the moment, which also came up at the Yoruba Assembly, is whether one central police force can protect life and property in the country or sustain public order all over the federation. The facts on the ground with respect to the intimidation of Nigerians from all parts by the Boko Haram terrorist sect do not support an affirmative response. One central police system may be effective to sustain military dictatorship in a multiethnic society; it is not likely to be effecient in sustaining public order in a democratic context, as the rampant insecurity generated by Boko Haram has demonstrated.

The imposition of one central police in the country, which started as a Unification Policy after 1966, has now become one of the sources of division in the country. Southern governors want decentralization while northern governors want continued centralisation of law enforcement. The feeling of insecurity all over the country and the ongoing division between the North and the South over methods of maintaining public order demonstrate that forty-six years of one central police force has neither produced an effective police system nor created lack of suspicion among different regions. One policy that military dictators believed was capable of unifying the country has turned out to be a source of controversy that requires a national conference to resolve much better than northern leaders’ bogey regarding state police as a sure bet to break the union.

It is uncritical to think that all the policies of unification established by military governments are good for all seasons and contexts. There is an urgent need to de-militarise the polity. While it is appropriate for leaders in a post-military era to repeat the mantra of indivisibility of the country, it is unimaginative to insist on non-negotiability of the distorted federation and ineffectual unification policies left behind by military governments.

To be continued next week.

September 23, 2012
‘How to tackle crises in Nigeria’

President of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Organisation of Nigeria, Bishop Goodluck Akpede, yesterday stated that addressing ownership, control and management of the nation’s natural resources is crucial to maintaining peace and stability in Nigeria.

Speaking at the World Peace Day celebration in Kaduna organised by the National Peacemakers Initiatives, Akpede said most of the crises in Nigeria are related to wealth and resource control.

The cleric said good natural resource management can play a central role in building sustainable peace in the country.

He said Nigeria must develop capacity for non-violent conflict resolution to avoid frequent clashes.

President General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Rafiu Ladipo, called for provision of social amenities and job opportunities to engage youths.

He argued that when youths are engaged, they will not embrace violence.

Ladipo called on the ruling class to emulate the virtues of Nigeria’s founding fathers, stating, “this nation cannot be divided no matter what happens. This nation must remain one”.

September 22, 2012
U-17 Women’s World Cup: Nigeria draw 1-1 with Canada

Nigeria’s Flamingoes on Saturday played a 1-1 draw with Canada, in spite of dominating the proceedings in their opening match of the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals.

In the Group A match played at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Nigerian side deserved all three points after having 27 shots on goal as against eight by their opponents.

The Flamingoes who are making their third consecutive appearance at the competition and were meeting the north Americans for the first time dominated the game from the first half.

But they could only hit the woodwork three times before the break, with Chinwendu Ihezuo hitting the bar from a header after a corner kick.

Jiroro Idike’s corner-kick also caused a scare, while Chidinma Edeji equally hammered a shot onto the upright with the Canadian goalkeeper at her mercy.

But the Canadians broke the deadlock against expectations when substitute Nichelle Prince slipped the ball to Amandine Pierre-Louise who fired past goalkeeper Gift Andy in the 63rd minute.

The Flamingoes, in spite of being stunned momentarily, however regrouped and again looked the better side, even as they spurned further chances.

They eventually got the goal that did not look like coming when Yetunde Adeboyejo’s cross from the left was blocked, but fell to Ihezuo who volleyed home a deserved goal with nine minutes to go.

The result left the Flamingoes with only one point, a disappointing outcome for a team from a country that had won its opening matches in the earlier editions of the competition in 2008 and 2010.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Flamingoes will play their next group match on Tuesday in Lankaran against hosts Azerbaijan, while Canada face Colombia in Baku.(NAN)

September 22, 2012
Jonathan leads delegation to UN Assembly

President Goodluck Jonathan will on Sunday lead Nigeria’s delegation to the 67th General Assembly of the UN in New York.

A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati Saturday stated that theme of the Assembly would be on peaceful resolution of international disputes.

Abati said that the President of the 67th Assembly, Mr Vuk Jeremic of Serbia had announced the theme as “bringing about adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means.’’

Abati recalled that the theme had been endorsed by Jonathan in his statement to the 66th General Assembly last year.

He said that Jonathan had in his 2011 address to the General Assembly and called on the international community to muster the political will to promote preventive diplomacy for the peaceful resolution of international disputes through mediation.

Jonathan had declared to the Assembly in 2011:

“For too long, the international community has focused too little attention on mediation and preventive diplomacy and far too much effort and resources on military aspects of peace and security.

“Yet measures to address the root cause of conflict, including dialogue and mediation, can be far more effective as means to achieving sustainable peace and stability.

“As I see it, our goal should always be to present the peaceful alternative as a less costly and effective way of achieving political and social objectives.

“By focusing on mediation as a tool for conflict prevention, we would be able to address the real triggers of conflict, without which we cannot achieve sustainable solutions.’’

The president’s delegation, which will depart for New York on Sunday, includes governors Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Sen. Philip Aduda, Hon. Isa Mohammed, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Olugbenga Ashiru.

Others are Ministers of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison- Madueke, Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke.

“In addition to participating in the 67th Session of the General Assembly, the President is scheduled to meet with other world leaders including the Presidents of China, France, South Korea, Brazil, Bulgaria, Finland and Switzerland in New York,’’ Abati said.

He said that Jonathan would also deliver a statement to the High-Level Meeting on the Rule of Law at the UN Headquarters.

The president, according to Abati, will join the Prime Minister of Norway, Mr Jens Stoltenberg in presenting a report to the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki Moon.

Jonathan and Stoltenberg currently serve as co-Chairpersons of the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children.

Abati said that the president would attend a High-Level meeting on the Nigerian Economy and meet with the chairman and top executives of the global oil giant, Exxon-Mobil.

The president will also attend the Secretary-General’s High-Level event on the eradication of polio and a reception to be hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama. (NAN)

September 22, 2012