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  • 2021 is end of your reign in Anambra – Says Ngige to APGA

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, says the dominance of the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA in Anambra State, will come to the end in 2021.

    The former governor of the state, and Senator who represented Anambra Central senatorial zone, spoke with The Nation at the weekend.

    Read Also: Igbo presidency: Ngige, Sagay disagree on zoning

    He declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had made mistakes in the state before and would not allow such to repeat itself again during the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

    Ngige took APGA government in the state to the cleaners, adding that in the party’s many years of leadership everything had collapsed including roads, hospitals education, among others, noting that only the roads his administration built in the state were the only ones standing.

  • APC’s wind of change in Bayelsa governorship election

    THIS is not the best of time for the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State as the November 16, 2019 governorship election draws close.

    The signs are ominous that for the first time in the history of PDP, it is heavily hit by the soaring wind of acceptability of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the length and breadth of the state to replace the PDP.

    PDP in Bayelsa State is fast becoming a shadow of itself. On daily basis, its membership is depleting as they are leaving the party in droves to the APC which has become the beautiful bride of the electorate.

    Only few days ago, Senator Barigha Nimi Amange, a PDP chieftain and strong ally of former President Goodluck Jonathan, dumped the party for APC at a colourful ceremony. Those who are familiar with the political calculus in the state know that Amange is a force that cannot be ignored.

    This was shortly followed by Gabriel Jonah, younger brother to Governor Dickson’s Deputy, retired Admiral Gboribiogha Jonah, and leader of a political group known as “Otita-Force,” who left the PDP for APC along with thousands of his supporters. They are leaders in their own right and no mean forces to reckon with.

    For the PDP, it is the battle of life to save the party from being swept off by the party it once derided and written off. For the APC, it made strong attempt at pulling the PDP off the strung in 2015 with its standard bearer and current Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva. PDP narrowly escaped defeat by stroke of luck.

    The Timipre Sylva-led APC, which has a lot of youths appellation in its fold, retired to the trenches and appeared in the 2019 General Election with a result which stunned the ruling PDP in the state.

    Out of the five members at the House of Representatives, APC secured two members, while out of the statutory three members of the senate, APC got one. At the State House of Assembly, APC got four members and more are being expected.

    This modest outing had since sent a clear signal that there is a dangling Sword of Damocles on the PDP in the November 16, 2019 governorship election.

    There are a number of issues that will define the outcome of the governorship election in Bayelsa State.

    One, the personality and character of the candidates will go a long way to determine the choice of the electorate.

    For the APC, the emergence of Mr. David Lyon as standard bearer of the party was received with spontaneous jubilation across the state, regardless of party leanings.

    Earlier, just hearing of Lyon’s intention to contest, the PDP was compelled to hold meetings severally to strategise on how to contain the osmosis forces coming with the candidacy of David Lyon.

    According to reports, PDP allegedly sponsored someone at the APC primary to secure an Experte order restraining the party from adopting the “direct” mode of primary approved by the National Working Committee of the party. The matter, which was presided over by Honourable Justice Omukoro in Yenagoa High Court, was later vacated, paving way for the APC primary where Lyon emerged as the flag bearer of the party.

    Lyon’s candidacy had since altered the entire political calculations of the PDP and other contesting parties. A graduate of Mathematics and Chemistry at Rivers State College of Education, now Rivers State University of Education, his leadership quality and high academic performance were spotted way back in his days at Community Secondary School Olugbobiri by both teachers and students. This earned him the enviable appointment as Senior Prefect or Head Boy of the school, coming at a time such appointments were based on academic merit and character in learning,

    After his graduation from the Rivers State University of Education he had choice and opportunities to work in the Multi-national oil companies but he took the part of self-reliance.

    Worried by the frightening scourge of unemployment in Bayelsa State and in the Niger Delta, David Lyon registered a security network company called Daylon Nigeria Limited with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

    Daylon Nigeria Limited which came in the wake of rising cases of oil pipeline vandalism, kidnapping, sea piracy and threats to the smooth operation of oil companies in Bayelsa State has since become a house hold name.

    He has carved his name in the place of history in the Niger Delta. Apart from Chief Timipre Sylva, who initiated the amnesty programme which brought about the relative peace in the Niger Delta, Lyon remains the second individual who has contributed enormously to the peace and security of oil producing communities as well as creating an enabling environment for oil companies to operate.

    He believes that there cannot be sustainable development without peace and security. This is why when he got the endorsement of the APC to fly its ticket, the unanimous verdict of vast majority of stakeholders were clearly expressed with excitement, that “with David Lyon, the disturbing security indices in the state will soon become a thing of the past, being known for his dexterity in the business of community policing.”

    Other factors that have attracted electorate’s goodwill to Lyon’s candidacy include his generous and humble nature. His generosity, according to people who have come across him in one way or the other, “knows no bound”. According to a social media influencer, Miss Esther Aron-Kune, “David Lyon may not be an orator as some people do, but he is a good man who loves the common man, regardless of where you come from, as he sees himself as one of them; he is humility personified. This is why he is regarded as the coming of a true countryman governor and not the fake one that had deceived the people over seven years”.

    Apart from late Zebulon Abule of the Old Rivers State, there is no living politician that has demonstrated the capacity for philanthropism the way Lyon has done in Bayelsa State and the Niger Delta in general. These are qualities which no candidate has in the contest.

    For the first time in the history of Bayelsa State, the issue of choice of Lyon has transformed into a mass movement like that of the Mao-Mao movement.

    The anger of the electorate is further fueled by the failed performance indices of the incumbent governor Seriake Dickson who unleashed a reign of impunity of which Bayelsans are fed up.

    For instance, before the Seriake Dickson-led government came on board, Yenagoa, the state capital, was beautifully illuminated at nights with functional street lights. Today, Yenagoa has become the capital of darkness, while activities of men of the underworld take advantage of it with increasing crime wave, especially at night.

    The functional independent power project called gas turbine was providing electricity to compliment the Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company. It is sad to mention that such a good infrastructure became moribund under him.

    Also, before now, bursaries were paid to students of Bayelsa State origin in higher institutions while both local and foreign scholarships were awarded same, but all that stopped under the self-acclaimed Government of Restoration of governor Dickson.

    In the civil service promotions, leave bonus, promotion arrears and Christmas celebration bonus, some of which are statutory rights and some are privileges enjoyed by workers under successive administrations, were stopped by Dickson for about eight years and just to mention but few instances which have become the nemesis of the PDP candidate, Senator Douye Diri.

    This is why Bayelsans have strong resentment against the candidacy of Senator Douye Diri who is regarded as Governor Dickson’s third tenure project or as some people would call it, as a continuation of his political dynasty to suffocate the people of Bayelsa State.

    It is therefore understandable that the wind of change that is blowing like the North-East trade wind, heralding the gale of defection from PDP to APC is natural and spontaneously reflecting the general will of the people.

    Therefore, any reference to Federal might in the contest by the PDP is a mere imagination and mischief. From all indications, the choice of David Lyon represents the people’s own natural revolt against Governor Dickson.

    Bayelsans are really fed up with the PDP government led by Seriake Dickson. It is like the aphorism that you can deceive the people several times, but you cannot deceive them all the time.

    This is why Bayelsans have crossed the Rubicon for the first time and resolved to align with the APC to meet the general development aspirations of the people and that is the reality on ground in the forth-coming governorship election in Bayelsa State

    .• Agala is a public affairs analyst

  • Anxiety over 7.2% VAT increase

    The planned increase of the Value Added Tax rate from the current 5 per cent to 7.2 per cent is already generating rumpus in different quarters with concerned stakeholders expressing fears that the new policy regime on VAT would further impoverish Nigerians, report Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, Charles Okonji and Medinat Kanabe

    To say that the proposed new 7.2 per cent Value Added Tax rate for the country, up from the current 5 per cent is already a hotly debated issue, is simply stating the obvious. Truth is, fears are being expressed by a lot of people who hold the view and very strongly too that the new policy regime, to all intent and purpose, was not well thought out.

    The new policy regime on VAT

    It may be recalled that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had last Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, said, “We are proposing and council has agreed to increase in the VAT rate from five per cent to 7.2 per cent. This is important because the federal government only retains 15 per cent of the VAT; 85 per cent is actually for the states and local governments. The states need additional revenue to be able to meet the obligations of the minimum wage.”

    According to the minister, although there is no effective date when the new rate will take off as stakeholders, including the National Assembly and the states, would have to agree on the date, she, however, said that could be sometime in 2020 after the VAT Act has been amended by the National Assembly even as she hinted that about N2.09tn will be accruing to the Federation Account and the VAT respectively.

    A value-added tax (VAT) is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added at each stage of the supply chain, from production to the point of sale. The amount of VAT that the user pays is on the cost of the product, less any of the costs of materials used in the product that have already been taxed.

    Countries with VAT

    From available information, as of 2018, 166 of the 193 countries with full UN membership employ a VAT, including all OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 36 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade) members except the United States, which uses a sales tax system instead.

    The acceptability of VAT worldwide

    In a study titled, ‘How VAT took over the tax world’ and commissioned by Ernst & Young Global Limited, under EY Tax Insights, recently, the report observed that VAT is continuing to evolve and expand as new systems roll out and existing ones adapt to digital disruption and other forces.

    In the six decades since the VAT first made its debut in France, this broad-based consumption tax has spread rapidly across the globe, the study stated.

    Besides, it said, “Governments are fond of VAT and its cousin, the goods and services tax (GST), for many reasons. The levies are considered one of the least harmful taxes for economic growth and can raise large amounts of revenue because they apply to a significant proportion of economic activity.

    “One of the biggest issues we had was businesses that did not prepare early enough in terms of systems testing and training.”

    Today, VAT and GST continue to expand and evolve as new systems roll out and existing ones adapt to the implications of digital disruption and other forces. This transformation has consequences for businesses, which must adequately prepare for new VAT and GST rules and procedures, and update their technology to comply with new e-filing requirements.

    Countries planning to introduce a new VAT or GST system should keep in mind that a well-planned transition is important. The introduction of such a tax requires adequate administrative capacity, training and technology on the part of both businesses and the government.

    Groundswell of support for proposed VAT

    According to Olajide Abiola, a public affairs commentator, “the VAT increase does not adversely affect the common man as some have falsely peddled. Like it has been stated, it is a consumption tax and the greater benefit goes to the states. It is now left to us to either vote the right governors or hold them as accountable as we do the federal.”

    Discordant tunes over new VAT rate

    One individual who has spoken dispassionately about the importance of the VAT template as a veritable tool for socioeconomic development is Omooba Olumuyiwa Sosanya, renowned accountant.

    Speaking with our correspondent at the weekend on the merits and demerits of the proposed new VAT rate, Omooba Sosanya, who is the founding father of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), the second widely acclaimed national accounting body in the country, said, the new policy regime, is simply a knee jerk approach to issues of national development.

    In his own view, the federal government is simply shooting itself on the foot if it thinks that the N2.2 trillion being projected as VAT receipts in the proposed new rate would solve the myriads of problems bedeviling the country’s economy.

    According to the technocrat, he would rather the government follow a new paradigm shift in its quest for revenue drive through VAT.

    Specifically, he said, “The problem of taxation in Nigeria, VAT in particular is not a question of rate but has to do with the poor and inefficient tax administration. For instance, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and many other countries still charge 5 per cent VAT rate and they are doing well in terms of generating adequate revenue.

    “In Nigeria, it is not a matter of rate. Tax administration in Nigeria is ineffective and inefficient and the administration is over whelming the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). What we need to generate more revenue through taxes, including VAT, is to bring more taxable persons who would be paying tax. The whole idea of allowing the FIRS alone to be collecting the VAT is counterproductive. We need to decentralise VAT collection, where by all the states would be able to administer the VAT so you can bring in more people into the tax net including the informant sector.”

    He reiterated that if the VAT collection is decentralised, the country stands the chance to generate about N1trillion through VAT on a monthly basis and N12trillion annually as against the projected N2.2 trillion yearly based on the new rate.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Dr. Olukunle Iyanda, an accountant, said, there is nothing wrong with increasing taxes, what is wrong is if the increase pushes people further into poverty.

    Besides, Dr. Iyanda said, another fundamentally wrong thing is if there is no corresponding strategy to boost the economy, increase income and alleviate people’s pain.

    “Yes the government announced that VAT will increase from 5% to 7.2% however where this will only compound the situation of the citizen, it will push more people into poverty, don’t forget that the minimum wage is still actively N18000 ($50) a month even at this most state government are unable to pay, the minimum wage is increased to NGN30,000 ($84) a month yet government has not being able to implement it therefore if the VAT rate is raised without the corresponding increase in the living wage, government has only further eroded the purchasing power of the people.”

    While noting the fact that government needs to generate revenue to run the economy and taxes is the most effective way of generating further income for the government, Iyanda, who is strategy and innovation consultant and CEO at BROOT Consulting Nigeria Limited, “We need to move from the current tax-paying population of 6% to double-digit, this will, however, happen if there is a strong sense of transparency, accountability and judicious use of the revenue so corrected.”

    Currently, he says, the system is opaque and shrouded with corruption. Raising some posers, he queried, “How confident are we as a citizen to point to how our taxes are being used? Tax should not be used for the flamboyant lifestyle of public officials. The option that is open to the government before a further increase in tax rate is to drastically reduce extravagance and irresponsibility in governance and come up with an effective tax system where more people are made to fulfil the civic duty.”

    Government, he stressed, need to rejig the economy and bring more people out of poverty, there has to be a drastic strategy to grow the economy and empower the people of Nigeria. Conversely, the former university don, said, the endemic poverty if left unchecked will make it impossible to lift people out of poverty neither will it allow the government to use the taxpayers’ money judiciously.

    Unintended consequences of the new policy regime

    The view in some quarters is that the new policy regime if implemented will have far-reaching socioeconomic implication on different sectors, including housing, manufacturing, services, employment, amongst other sectors.

    In the opinion of Afam Mallinson Ukatu, a manufacturer, “There has been a long battle between tax authorities and manufacturers in the country over multiple taxation of our businesses and if the issue of multiple taxation is not urgently addressed by government, more manufacturing companies are likely to exit the economy.”

    Ukatu, while noting that the lamentations about all sorts of taxes are not yet addressed, now the government has come up with increase in VAT. The implication of this is that manufacturers would further be impoverished while most SME’s would be forced out of business because it cannot compete favourably with the imported goods that find their way into the nation’s market.

    Expatiating, Ukatu, who is the Executive Chairman and Founder of Mallinson & Partners Limited, said government should look into multiple taxations and VAT. “I have always argued that taxes should be paid on your turnover, but what of a situation where a manufacturer is losing money. It is obvious that a manufacturer produces and still losses money and you are still expected to pay your tax.”

    According to him, “There should be a system whereby you are evaluated by the tax authorities just like China, USA and other countries. There is what they keep as special rebate for manufacturing companies, because this is what encourages people to go into manufacturing. Without manufacturing, there wouldn’t be any way to for high rate of unemployment to reduce. Government can only provide about 10 percent of the total job requirement of the population, manufacturing can generate over 60–70 percent of the needed employment.”

    Comparing tax regimes in other climes

    Also raising his voice over the din, Dr. John Isemede, an expert in export and international markets, said, countries like Nigeria, Malaysia, United Kingdom, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Canada and others have the lowest VAT in the world which is just 5% tax. “Unlike other countries, the situation in Nigeria is sad because it is not properly collected. The contribution of all taxes to GDP in Nigeria is just 6%.”

    Going down memory lane, Isemede, former Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), who recalled that VAT was introduced in Nigeria 25 years ago, however, regretted that it has not had much of an impact.

    “What is 5% compared with our neighboring countries, where VAT in Benin Republic is 20%, even if I am carrying a truck from here to Ghana, I will pay all different taxes. Benin Republic is 20%, Ghana started with 12%, and now 17.2%, and if you look at it, you said we just recovered back from recession; the economy is still very difficult.”

    Expatiating, Isemede said, “The question we should ask ourselves is what is the value of 5% VAT to the national budget? If we now have to increase it from 7.2% to 7.5%, which is only 0.2 or 0.3, what can that shift do to Nigerian budget or economy rather?”

    While noting that the new VAT rate is not the solution to the nation’s problem as it would place more burdens on Nigerians, including small businesses, Isemede advised that there must be protective taxes so as not to wipe out the entire SMEs.

    While Nigerians await the effective date of implementation of the new VAT, indications are that during the public hearing to be held at the National Assembly where critical stakeholders would ventilate their views on the matter, the idea could be totally jettison as it was done in the recent past.

  • ‘Companies must invest in waste management’

    Mr. Baker Magunda is Managing Director/Chief Executive, Guinness Nigeria Plc, a Diageo company. Magunda who was the convener of the CEO Roundtable on Sustainability, a yearly event organised by the Lagos Business School, joined over 70 other upwardly mobile executives to generate debate and chart a course of action aimed at turning the tide in the quest to build a clean environment, reports Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

    Increasingly, the desire to build a livable and sustainable environment is one goal many individuals and corporate bodies are striving to achieve but this is at great cost.

    The cost, notwithstanding, there is a consensus among many individuals that this uphill task must be achieved.

    This and many more formed the crux of discussion at this year’s edition of the CEO Roundtable on Sustainability, the brainchild of the Lagos Business School.

    The various interface and discussion sessions whose overarching theme was, ‘Action to Mitigate Plastic Pollution,’ with players in different public and organised private sectors, bankrolled by Guinness Nigeria Plc, a leading beverage alcohol firm, was engaging as well as intellectually stimulating.

    “As a business, we are very conscious of the global initiative towards waste reduction and possibly, eradication. The idea of a circular economy combines three key goals in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are good health and wellbeing, clean water and sanitation and affordable and clean energy. When we reduce plastic waste pollution, we would be addressing the issue of non-degradable waste, for which plastic wastes contribute immensely. Presently, the tons of plastic wastes that flows into our waters also raise concerns over our hydrological cycle, including the safety of our aquatic life and what eventually comes down as rain to fertilize our farm produce. Consequently, to enjoy good health and wellbeing, we can no longer wait, but to act against the potential hazards of increased plastic waste,” Magunda stated.

    The top brewer, who delivered the convener’s remark, noted that there is need for a call to action. “What is required of us as companies, government, civil society groups and the general public to begin to take specific steps towards tackling the issue of plastic pollution. The world at large is dealing with this global epidemic, at least 8 million tonnes of plastics are dumped into the ocean every year which literally is the equivalent of a garbage truck dumping its load into the ocean every minute.

    “Mitigation of plastic pollution is pertinent because environmental pollution is one of the most pressing challenges societies and business face today. It is no longer news that plastic pollution, in particular, has confirmed adverse effects on the health and well-being of humans, aquatic life and society at large.”

    Magunda, who was quick to observe that the federal government has since introduced the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy to promote total lifecycle and environmental improvement of production systems, said the initiative has the imprimatur of support of the National Environmental Standard & Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).

    According to him, NESREA, which is the implementing agency of the EPR programme is also building a synergy of cooperation with the organised private sector.

    NESREA, he noted, has since extends “The responsibility of the manufacturers to various parts of the entire lifecycle of their product. This means businesses must play an active part in the take-back, recycling and the final disposal of their product.”

    On Guinness’role in the scheme of things, he said the company considers it a bounden duty of sorts and takes this responsibility very seriously and such is ready to implement it through its waste management strategy called the 4Rs, Reduction, Reuse, Recovery and Recycling.

    Magunda added that “presently, the global trend is driving a waste to wealth initiative. For circular economy to thrive, the government must be deliberate in creating awareness about the opportunities that are available in proper waste management, such as the huge potentials of job creation. In terms of energy generation, geocycle is the way to go- turning waste into energy and recycled materials. By this, we contribute to a reformative circular economy to achieve a zero-waste society. For instance, Guinness supports the effort of the government through our ‘4R’ waste management strategy, which are Reduction, Reuse, Recovery and Recycle. To this end, we will continue to advocate improved waste management practices, contribute to increased collection and recycling rates countrywide, and provide employment opportunities through scalable recycling solutions.”

    “Our goal is simple: to create a closed-loop, sustainable system for all our packaging materials. That means finding innovative ways to minimise our environmental impact and thinking holistically across the entire lifecycle of our products.”

    Going down memory lane, Magunda who was named the CEO of Guinness Nigeria in 2018, recalled that “In April 2018, Guinness Nigeria signed up Wecyclers, a for-profit social enterprise that promotes environmental sustainability, socio-economic development, and community health to support Guinness’s waste management agenda by collecting household waste across different formats such as PET, cans and glass, this effort is not restricted to only Guinness branded products.”

    Expatiating, he said, “At the regional level, Diageo alongside other Multinationals such as Coca-Cola and Nestle have formed the Africa Plastics Recycling Alliance (APRA) and are working with key stakeholders to strengthen and accelerate the collection and recycling of all kinds of plastics packaging.

    “It has become clear that this issue will not resolve itself, it will require the collective efforts of everyone in this room through personal action, corporate programs, and government strategies to address the global challenge of single use plastic pollution and the harm it inflicts on our environment. I strongly believe that a proactive approach to establish new, and leverage existing, multistakeholder partnerships which support the collection, processing, recycling of plastics will lead to the transformative solutions needed to not only tackle the issue of plastic pollution but also help protect the environment on which our very lives and the businesses we run depend on.”

  • Adeyemi, Awosika, others canvass financially accountable churches

    Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre Lagos, Sam Adeyemi, Chairman First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Founder Alder Consulting, Leke Alder and other stakeholders have appealed to churches to acquire management skills that will make them financially accountable.

    They stated that only such churches with good governance structure can shape the nation in the path of righteousness.

    They spoke last week during the official launching and inaugural conference of the Christian Financial Accountability Association (CFAA) in Lagos.

    The voluntary platform was conceived for Christian leaders and financial stakeholders to explore how churches can be structured to achieve proper governance standards.

    It is determined to embark on governance activities designed to improve transparency of church administration.

    Adeyemi, who spoke as the chairman of the CFAA Nigeria inaugural seminar, called for the sensitisation of the church on the needs to drive corporate governance and financial accountability.

    He said contrary to popular thinking, most churches are actually not rich because “about 75% of churches have less than 100 members and they are just managing their little resources but the fact remains that most of the leaders lack financial management skills. This is what CFAA is out to correct through education.”

    While acknowledging the roles of churches in developing economies, Adeyemi conceded they have invested so much in nation building.

    The efforts, he however pointed out, are being eroded by lack of accountability and corporate governance.

    He appealed to churches to strengthen capacity in becoming more efficient and effective.

    “CFAA as self-regulatory association of churches and Christian organisation is better positioned in helping to realise this by facilitating financial accountability, ethical and governance standards as well as biblical doctrine for all members,” he added.

    Awosika described the seminar as timely and valuable to churches to avert future ethical and administrative crisis.

    According to her: “The biggest model of influence in our nation is the church, which shapes the mind of societies in many ways. Hence the church needs to be pragmatic in its activities”.

    Awosika was of the view that churches should be structured by providing leadership portfolios and filling them up with individuals of the right character.

    “By possessing the right structure and working right, the church will serve as a model of integrity such that when the government comes there is courage to address challenges.

    “The nation is in troubled times as there is prevalent moral decadence. The overall essence of structure is that it allows for appropriate response,” she stressed.

    Alder highlighted the underlying problems that several church bodies face with government, noting that the CFAA Nigeria will reposition the Church as an island of best practices.

    Alder noted that the CFAA Nigeria was the commencement of a new era in the administration of churches which hope to achieve not only financial accountability but also spiritual development.

    Head, Tax and Regulatory, PriceWaterHouse Coopers, PwC West Africa, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, said not-for-profits organisations, such as churches, must be accountable to achieve good public goodwill and perception.

  • Non-availability of local rice threatens FG’s programme

    Local rice traders, especially in Lagos and its environs, are lamenting the non availability of local rice as demand and price for the product increases due to the shutting down of land borders in order to curtail the influx of smuggled rice, which was already threatening the survival of the budding Nigerian rice industry.

    The traders are warning that the continuous scarcity of the product will greatly undermine government’s efforts to groom Nigerians off imported foreign rice to our locally cultivated rice. Consumers most especially affected by the border closure are those in border towns who have for many years depended on the foreign par boiled long grain rice.

    However, with the border closed and no more rice smuggled in, those consumers who hitherto consumed such rice have no option other than to turn to our very nutritious organic rice. But the problem is that we do not seem to have enough to go round everybody. The population of Lagos State alone according to the National Population Commission of Nigeria as at 2016 is over 21million.

    Market survey in major rice markets in Lagos, like Daleko Mushin market, Iddo Terminus and G CAPPA Iddo, revealed the numerous rice brands in Nigeria. What more, no foreign rice was on display except what the traders dubiously refer to as the ‘Nigerian foreign rice’, whereby local rice is deceptively bagged in foreign branded rice bags like, Royal Umbrella, Caprice and for those consumers who still insist on buying foreign rice, the traders direct you to such bags. They sell for about N18,000 per 50kg bag while local rice branded Nigeria sells for between N14,500-N17,000. Though if they see you are ready to pay any high amount for the real foreign rice, they retreat inside the market and produce it for between N20,000-N23,000.

    However, all the traders are complaining of lack of rice to sell to consumers. As at last week Tuesday and Wednesday when the reporter visited the markets, the traders disclosed that things have generated to the level that even rice manufacturers have stopped receiving money to supply rice to the traders.

    In an interview with one of the big rice dealers at No. 1, Taylor Rd. G-CAPPA rice market, Idowu Omogbemi, he said manufacturers like Olam, Stallion, Big Bull, Umza, Famous, Tomato King, amongst others, declined to take money from traders explaining they had run short of rice.

    “A majority of rice dealers who paid for truck load of rice since the last two weeks have not received their order. If you pay for 11 trucks, you get just one truck in order to make room for other traders. In fact at the moment, manufacturers are rationing the rice,” regretted the rice dealer.

    “Rice manufacturers are overwhelmed by the demand. They cannot meet up. Labana, Three Brothers, Super Champion, Al-Hamsad, etcetera are no longer taking money from traders. I tried to pay them today for consignment of rice but they refused to accept money,” lamented Mrs. Nky Okoro at the Iddo Terminus rice market.

    At Daleko market in Mushin, many traders were complaining bitterly that they could not find rice to buy. They complained that the major distributor of the product, Madam Jumilar, was not giving them enough to buy. She is rationing 10 bags to each trader daily through her agent, Tokunbo. If Tokunbo does not like your face, he will not sell to you. Those he does not sell to, patronise the traders he sells to at a higher price, resulting to un-uniformed rice price in the market. Besides, what is 10 bags of rice? One customer alone can buy them all and your shop becomes empty,” cried Mrs. Ethel of shop 409/416.

    The same tales of demand and the same tales of scarcity were everywhere. Of course, this has greatly affected the price. Virtually all the local rice brands sell between N14,500-N17,000 per 50kg bag. “The price keeps escalating,” lamented Mrs Effiong Orji.

    Acknowledging the scarcity and attributing the increasing price of rice to rice farmers who increased the price of Rice Paddy, President, Association of Rice Distributors in Nigeria, Mrs. Esther Akinsoye, said that government needs to stop owners of Paddy from hoarding the product and increasing the price.

    “Rice millers are complaining that farmers are increasing the price of Paddy because of high demand and as such forcing the millers to also increase their price, resulting in further increase by the manufacturer,” regretted Mrs. Akinsoye. “They should make the Paddy or rough rice to be surplus for the manufacturers and millers.”

    Reacting to the development, Nigeria’s leading rice merchant, the Iya Loja of Daleko Market, Chief Mrs. Ibilola Solaja popularly called Madam Jumlar,  appealed to Nigerians to be patient. “Rome was not built in a day. There is bound to be teething problems as we are just starting. In a few years time, we shall have more than enough rice to eat and export.”

    Admitting the scarcity, she said it will soon be over as many farmers have gone back to farms and millers have also gone back to their business due to the demand for local rice now. “I encourage the consumption of local rice so that we can grow our economy. I give to traders on credit and they remit money back to me when they sell,” said the delectable lady.

    However, in a telephone interview with the National President, Rice Millers Association, Arc Kabir, though he admitted that he heard of shortage of rice in some parts of the country, he said they were not experiencing much shortage in the north.

    In Enugu State, another big player in the rice industry, Ogbonnaya, regretted that the price of local rice has gone slightly up since the closure of the border but added that consumers in the eastern part of the country were not feeling it. “People here prefer nutritious local rice to foreign rice. Price went up because there is increased demand from places like Lagos State.”

    Another analyst, however, pointed out that majority of rice mills in the country are located within eastern and northern states. “It is only Olam that has a mill in Lagos State because consumers here preferred foreign rice. Rice farmers in the west send their rice Paddy to east and northern mills. Even Lagos State Lake rice is milled in Kebbi State. However, with the promise of Lagos State to open a mill in the state come March 2020, maybe we shall have enough rice for the residents.”

    To ease the immediate problem of scarcity in major states, stakeholders should find cheaper ways to transport rice from the hither lands to the metropolis. Investigations revealed that a truck load of rice from Kano town to Lagos is about N350,000 and this price is deterring some people. All hands should please be on deck to make this government’s noble project to succeed.

  • Group scores FG low on SMEs intervention

    A group under the aegis of The Real Economy Sector Initiative (TRESI) has described as ineffective, the various interventions of the federal government in the area of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

    According to the body, the high attrition rate of small businesses due to the parlous state of the economy remains a serious cause of concern.

    At issue, according to the President of TRESI, Mrs Oyeyinka Banjo, who spoke on behalf of the group, during the inaugural conference held in njo, who stated this during the inaugural conference held in Lagos with the theme, ‘Addressing The Pain Points,’ is the fact that SME operators are hardly part of the decision making process when policy that affects the sector are being put forward.

    “A lot of the SME schemes are painfully inadequate and ineffective with a major factor being the absence of SME’s as key contributors in the process of design, development and implementation of these interventions,” she said, adding, that the SME Support and Advocacy Group seeks to promote the interests of entrepreneurs by influencing policies and actions that affect entrepreneurship, adding that it will engage the SME sector and stakeholders on those critical issues confronting SME’s.

    “We are to chart the path towards developing a highly productive, vibrant, robust and profitable segment in a consistent, predictable and sustainable manner.”

    According to Mr. Adegoke Afolami, Regional Manager, Bank of Industry (BOI), keeping proper books of business record is a vital aspect of BOI’s funding assistance to SMEs, stressing that BOI’s doors are open to assist SMEs who meet their funding criteria.

    “BOI is industrialisation focused and works to encourage production/ manufacturing. But we will take feedback to our office.”

  • PRISCILLIA OTUYA: Men are good but they can’t speak for us

    Priscillia Otuya is one of the few female bishops in Nigeria. She is also the brain behind a number of initiatives that seek to empower women and better their lives in different spheres of life. One of such initiatives is known as Mothers of the Nation which has helped to transform the lives of women across the country for about two decades. In this encounter with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about her passion for women, challenges and more.

    WHAT is the focus of your organisation for women?

    Our organisation is called Mothers of the Nation for Peace and Development. It is a faith-based organisation that works with female entrepreneurs in Nigeria and outside Nigeria. It is the first of its kind. We have faith-based organisations but they are not organised. We are trying to bring them together under one umbrella to help them work better and achieve their common goals.

    How long have you been doing this?

    It’s been twenty years now and still counting. Like every other Nigerian or African woman, we are born with this mould and whatever we have been taught. Within my heart, I began to say I would do something for womanhood. We go through a lot but we still dress to cover it all. Working with women as a minister of God, I noticed that most of them dress beautifully and you find them crying within. It then occurred to me that you need something to help them discover who they are and do better.

    For example, we talk about the things women go through. I saw it as mainly faith-based from our belief system. It is beyond what we are going through. Let’s think about affliction, violence against women and things like that. No matter how schooled you are as a woman, widely travelled, our belief system takes you back to the village. That village man or that young boy can shut you down as a woman. So, it goes back to our belief system and we want to change that approach by finding solutions to it.

    What are some of the challenges you have encountered while doing this?

    It is still within us as women and the system. For instance, being a faith-based group, they have this bias against women as they know; as not to be seen, not to be heard but be there. If you go to the bible, you would see that whenever there was trouble, God raised a woman. There are many women that we know that God had raised to solve problems but there is no platform. Also, even amongst the religious organisations, there are no rooms for women to really operate. So, we are looking at working to change that because no matter how schooled you are, if your church or mosque doesn’t give you room to operate or the backing, then you are not going anywhere.

    Working with women means that you are mentoring them. Tell us about some memorable moments doing this?

    We have what is known as Daughters of the Nation, too, amongst us. We noticed that some of these girls are really gifted, talented but they lack self confidence. They know what to do but they don’t know how to go about it. We have seen a lot of them grow out of their shell, come out to do certain things for themselves that they could not do before. So, it was really interesting and desirable.

    What are the new plans and projects for the next few years?

    In Nigeria for example, we have PFN, we have CAN, we have Islamic groups. We want to position Mothers of the Nation as the group for women. That would be the CAN for women, PFN for women; wherever you are and we are working towards that. We were in the US Department for Religious Affairs three years ago to discuss this.

    We want to be carried along. Now, when they do meetings abroad on things that concern us and religion or whatever concerns us. Our role as women is in the shadows; nobody is there to represent us and speak for us. We thank God for our men; they are the heads, they are really doing well but no man can speak for a woman the way they want. So, in the next few years, we would want to see ourselves taking that place as the platform for women on all grounds and on all fronts.

    A number of issues that affect women are on the front burner these days. Rape is one of it and there is a lot of controversy going on right now. What are you doing about it? First and foremost, we are educating our women to educate their girls and their daughters. When you are not enlightened, if you don’t have knowledge, you will fall victim. There is a way you carry yourself that would tell others who you really are. Let’s use the church that I belong to as an example. I am sorry to say that we are raising naïve people. We want to make Nigerians in Diaspora to know what we are doing and get their support. There are things that they are doing that we don’t know and vice versa and so we must breach the gap. A number of them don’t come to Nigeria but they have vision to support Nigeria and other African countries. We are therefore creating a platform to synergise and work together and make sure that the needed help is there. Secondly, we have reports of our American sisters being duped in love scandals and we want to help them. The most important thing we are also working at is to work with the American government to make sure that women are well represented when it comes to faith-based issues.

    Talking about foreign relationships, the attacks in South Africa comes to mind. What are you doing about it?

    I am of the opinion that it is time for us to come back to our nation. Nigerians have been a target for so long. We have everything we need in this country. I was in a flight recently and I met this foreigner who made a nasty statement about Nigerians and I cautioned him. We don’t grow drugs in Nigeria; it is coming from somewhere. South Africans and other nationalities, how come they got the drugs to your country?

    You have your security, immigration and everything. So, what are you doing to the point where these foreign nationals would come in and establish themselves? It takes evil to aid evil. You heard what happened in Saudi, other Asian countries and Malaysia. If you do drugs, they kill you instantly. If the South African government is clean as they claim, it would not be like this.

  • Our struggle with drugs, by survivors (1)

    What is it that attract youths to drugs. Is there really solace or some kind of El-Dorado in it? As Nigeria crosses the global benchmark and literally faces an endangered future, Gboyega Alaka takes a trip into the world of four survivors.

    NOT too long ago, NAFDAC issued a report that the rate of drug abuse in Nigeria is now at 15%,  far more than the world benchmark of 5%. This was more or less a reiteration of a 2018 survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse, which stated that nearly 15% (14.3million people) of Nigeria’s adult population was involved  in “considerable level”  of use of psychoactive drug substances. This clearly places Nigeria on danger list. The implication of course is that Nigeria’s future generation is endangered and by implication, the future of the country, even as she struggles with a bleak present.

    It then became imperative to take a trip into the drug world. What is the attraction? How come so many Nigerians, more especially youth, are getting entangled in its vicious web? Do they understand the implications? And that getting out of the habit is not an easy choice?

    Most importantly, this reporter aims to take unsuspecting youths into the grave world of drug addicts. While it was easy to identify drug addicts virtually everywhere one looked however, getting survivors of drug addiction willing to accept they ever went down that lane, was more or less akin to the biblical camel passing through the eye of the needle. And then, CADAM came to the rescue.

    CADAM, (Christ Against Drug Abuse Ministry), is a not-for-profit faith-based rehabilitation arm of the Redeemed Christian Church of God based in Lagos, helping people get over their drug addiction habits. Four of the over 2,000 people it has helped overcome the nagging habit since its inception, volunteered to share their stories.

    Meek as a lamb

    For the purpose of anonymity, he shall be called Meekness; for he exudes an aura that can be likened to that of a lamb. Quiet, unassuming, meek. In fact, it was a big surprise to this reporter (having earlier interacted with him), when he was ushered into the interview room as one of the survivors who’d volunteered to share their stories. So when this reporter started with the line, “You don’t look like someone who’s been down that line;” his soft answer was, “We don’t do drugs anymore.”

    But he did do drugs. For one year. Before he was rescued. He did codeine, he did Rohypnol, Tramadol; and he did crack! Before then, he did marijuana.

    “I started with alcohol and cigarette because they are the getaway drugs. After that, I did marijuana. My days with marijuana actually extends beyond the one year. Then I moved to codeine, then codeine brought rohypnol and tramadol; and shortly before I went in for the rehab programme in late 2015/2016, I started using crack.”

    Asked what prompted the habit, Meekness simply said, “Adventure and curiousity.”

    When this reporter pointed out that he seemed to be downplaying marijuana by excluding it from the one year he suffered addiction, Meekness smiled and said, “Marijuana is addictive but you’re not just aware. You could roll up and smoke one joint, and be high for three to four hours. But the problem with crack is that it is so addictive, which means you have to be constantly taking it. There is no break, there is no stopping; you just want to be there and you can be there for a whole day. That is why it is highly addictive. That’s why I consider it the more serious one and it was the one that really got me. I did it for about a year and half, two years roughly.”

    “I started taking codeine in 2010. I did rohypnol and codeine roughly six to eight years; but when i started taking crack, I stopped every other drug. It was like the king of them all. marijuana wasn’t exciting anymore. So also codeine, rohypnol and co.”

    Asked what the feeling of crack is like, Meekness said, “I’d say crack is a drug nobody should go near. You simply can’t explain the high, you just enjoy it. It is soothing like sugar; very sweet, because you can just be there on your own and enjoying yourself. You’re not bothered about the world or anybody, or how you feel or look. You’re just in a world of your own and that world is perfect. And then it motivates you to want to more. The more crack you take, the more you want to take it and you just get hooked. So, it’s a dangerous high, very expensive and one nobody should try.”

    How then did he finance the habit?

    “I was doing fraud. Internet fraud. I left Nigeria and moved to Benin Republic where i got into internet fraud and made so much money. it was at a party that i met a lady who said to me, ‘Let’s try crack.’ I said ‘OK’ and that was it. While crack is very expensive, marijuana is cheap, skunk cheap. Skunk is a higher grade of marijuana. There is also Loud, which is higher. Marijuana is the plain grass while skunk is marijuana mixed with something. It may be heroine, it may be cocaine. It may be some other drug. Loud is marijuana that has been experimented on. That one, because of its potency, you cannot smoke a joint alone; you have to share or take a bit, keep and come back to it. They call it designer drugs because they have mixed it with many things. It is also expensive. An ounce could be as much as N5,000; and if you want to get four ties, you would need like N20,000. As for crack, a gram is like N12,000, and that’s like when you break a stone of gravel into half. And if you’re really addicted, you could smoke 12 of it in a day. No do the maths. Calculate it in a day, weeks and month.”

    Expectedly, he went broke and started selling his personal effects. He sold his car, started selling his clothes, shoes, watches, phones…. Soon, he had nothing more to sell and reality dawned on him.

    “I was like ‘Guy, you can’t continue like this o’. So I decided to come back home to my wonderful family back home. Of course they didn’t know i was hooked. When i told them I had a problem, they simply thought it was some routine issue. I tried to get a job and finally landed one at a government parastatal. But I couldn’t even function properly. If any money came my way, even if it was money I was to pay or deliver somewhere, I just take it and go get crack.

    “You may wonder how I got the job even in my state. I was an in-house smoker. It is joint smokers who look rough. I still had a house, wore fine clothes and looked good. Sometimes, I’d take office money, buy the drug, rent a hotel and blow it. At other times, I blow it at office convenience. After a while, I realised I could not continue, so i went to my dad and said, ‘Dad, I need help.’”

    He admits though that he was graduating towards that point where people would begin to point at him on the streets. He had started selling things from the house, which would ultimately have resulted in him being sent away from the house. Therefore, he said, so coming clean and crying out for help was effectively a good decision from him.

    Back to marijuana, Meekness says marijuana is a deceiver, as it makes the smoker feel he is in control. “It makes you think you are smarter than the next person, and that’s the saddest thing about it. You are not conscious about how much time you are losing; meanwhile, the people you are calling ote (fools) are moving on with their lives while you are in one particular state.

    About codeine, rohypnol and tramadol, Meekness says, “For every drug, there is a a high. When I started doing codeine, it was like, ‘Na codeine dey reign o. make we try am now.’ Actually, it was my depressed state that got me addicted to codeine. I was having problems in school at Obafemi Awolowo University. I got into school in 2005 and was supposed to graduate in 2009 but by 2013, I was still there. I was having problems with my lecturers, having to go to class with 100-Level and 200-Level students; so the best way to cope for me was to use codeine because it is a suppressant. It keeps you cool and calm. If I take a bottle of codeine, I could be here with you for the next four hours and you would not hear my voice. I’d just be feeling extremely chilled but it doesn’t stop me from understanding what the lecturer is teaching.

    Asked if marijuana enhances understanding as has been suggested by some, Meekness says, “It gives you an illusion and then its starts to wear out. That is why I said it’s a deceiver. Even cigarette and alcohol are drugs. I started using those in secondary school. At 100-Level, I met guys who introduced me to marijuana. I remember that first day vividly. It was raining heavily and I wasn’t even bothered. I liked the feeling but I didn’t understand it.”

    “Back to your question of whether it gives inspiration, I was studying Fine Art, I majored in Graphics. I felt it was giving me inspiration; but after a while, I tried to get the inspiration from it but it wasn’t coming. Everything was just blank. Even what was supposed to come naturally wasn’t coming anymore. And when you try to use the marijuana to get it, you just get stuck. And yet it leaves you with the false hope that it’s going to be better.

    Curiously, Meekness says an addict still has some sane moments when he reflects on his life and reassesses himself.

    “I can bet you that there is no marijuana smoker that has never gone through that moment. But you can’t just see yourself getting out of it. So I’d say if I didn’t smoke crack, I would never have got out of drugs. Crack was what pushed me to the bend. When I got into this place (CADAM), I was told that God brings us into a speed bump and crack was that bump. Otherwise I would never have paused to reassess myself.”

    Meekness, now 42, works in the ICT department of CADAM. After helping him to get out of the habit, CADAM also taught him to earn a living.

    I saw dogs feeding on a fellow junkie-Katrine

    Katrine (not real name) is a motherly figure. Like Meekness, you’d never know she’d been through such ordeal. And like Meekness, she currently works at CADAM, helping to pull out those still entangled in the infamous drug web.

    Her boyfriend introduced her to the habit thirty-something years ago when she was still in her late 20s doing sisi and she languished in there for 15 whole years,…until the miserable death of a fellow junkie jolted her out. That was 16 years ago. But it wasn’t entirely her boyfriend’s doing.

    “Initially, I had an aunty I wanted to be like who lived in England. I loved her style and the way she smoked cigarette. Usually, when she finished smoking, I was the one that cleared the place and I would take the cigarette butts and try to smoke them, silently wishing to grow up to be like her. So I started smoking cigarette even as a 13, 14-year-old teenager. And then of course, alcohol followed. I’m from Delta State and like you may well know, alcohol was nothing to us. We drank everything.”

    With her boyfriend, she started with heroine. A couple of times before then, she had experimented with marijuana, but she really never got addicted to it. So she said.

    Back in school, she met some girls with whom  she smoked cigarette. After a while, we started doing marijuana, but it wasn’t an everyday thing. Because of the smell, where to smoke it was always an issue until I travelled out. In Eng land, I continued with marijuana, and then I met this Nigerian guy. He was good looking, handsome and had money; and every girl wanted to be around him. So, choosing me was like he was doing me a favour. Of course his source of money was drugs and drug trafficking it. Inevitably, he introduced me to heroin and cocaine.

    In  a manner akin to Meekness, Katrine says, “Marijuana is cheap, so it was like child’s play, forgetting that it could easily make someone go mad. But cocaine and heroin were like the big boys and girls’ thing.”

    She was living with him, so she was never short of supply. Things however got to a head when some of the people trafficking for her guy were caught and were going to ‘sing’.

    “We hurriedly ran back to Nigeria to avoid arrest. But then we had to start buying because we were no longer getting supplies. Of course we still had money. But after a while, the money ran out and he left me. But I was still drenched in the habit and had to fend for myself. I started selling everything I had. After a while, I couldn’t hide it anymore and it became obvious that something was wrong. I thought I was managing to put up the babe look, but those who knew me could tell that this wasn’t me. They saw clearly that I was becoming a wreck.

    Asked what the cocaine feeling was like for her, Katrine sighed and smiled a knowing smile. “Out of this world. you feel perfect, no problems. you’re not thinking of anything. There is this euphoria and you’re just in your world.”

    And the bad part is: “You have to take it every day. It puts you on your feet 24/7. you’re always going to look for money to do it. If you’re working, at a time, you’d stop working; if you schooling, at a time, there’d be no time for school – because you have to get money to finance the habit. At a point, I had to involve myself in all kinds of vices, including stealing, prostitution and begging to finance the habit. Of course, by this time, i had become a real wreck. those who knew me knew i had gone beyond the precipice, but I didn’t care. At a point, I was living under the bridge in Ikeja and in uncompleted buildings.”

    Did she experience rape?

    Funny enough, she said no, because she was able to fight off such advances.

    Asked if the habit affected his subsequent love life, Katrine said, “In the thick of the habit, no. But after I stopped, I lost a lover. I told him everything, but seeing me on TV and radio advocating against the habit, he just chickened out. He couldn’t bear to have his friends and family know that his woman was an addict.”

    On how she got out of the habit, she said, “I came to CADAM. I went through rehabilitation for one year. I met Christ, I found purpose and I said I didn’t want to do any other thing  but work for CADAM and help others who have been caught in the habit.

    Turning point?

    It took the death of a friend who was also in the habit for me to discover myself. They said she had tuberculosis and drug overdose. She died and her body was thrown onto the dustbin and dogs were feeding off her. This was somebody I had known and with whom I smoked. Suddenly, I realised this could have been me. I thought this was not life and that I would not like to end up like her; so I took the decision and came to CADAM. Then they had an office on ACME Road. That was 17 years ago.”

    Even a cocaine addict can take such decision? You asked.

    “Yes,” she said. “There is always a sober moment… a time when you sit down and say to yourself, Ol’ girl, no be life be this o. But because of the strength of the habit, you still have yourself going back. So you need like a bang, a trigger, to say no. The fate of that friend was the bang for me.”

    Message to youth out there?

    It’s a no-go area. Total abstinence is the only solution. Don’t even try it. Don’t let anybody talk you into it. Some may try and may not like it and run from it, but some will get hooked. But how do you know whether you’d be able to come out of it? Also be careful on your dates. Sometimes, they’re putting it in your drink, without even knowing.

  • Ogun Agro-preneurs: Inside Abiodun’s scheme to feed nation

    It is the dawn of a new era in Ogun State where efforts are in top gear to achieve self-sufficiency in food production.

    Under the three and a half months old administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme is also targeted at easing the problem of youth unemployment in the sense that the initiative has the capacity to take thousands of idle persons off the streets.

    For a start, 2, 000 persons have been enlisted under the scheme which signals the commencement of what can aptly be described as agricultural revolution in Ogun.

    The icing on the cake for the beneficiaries of the scheme, called Agro-preneurs, is that each of them will get a hectare of land free from the state government.

    There cannot be a better way to encourage our youths to go into farming.

    While flagging off the scheme at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta,  Abiodun said his government plans to turn the state into an agricultural hub capable of feeding itself and other states across the country.

    According to him, the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme is another avenue to boost the nation’s self-sufficiency in agricultural production in line with the Federal Government’s agenda on food security, and to save foreign exchange spent annually on importation of food items that could be produced locally.

    The 2, 000 beneficiaries, he announced, would be given Certificates of Acceptance and Leasehold.

    This is not a new scheme altogether in the country as it was started by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) some years ago as a tripartite scheme with state governments and beneficiaries.

    What is new, however, is that the previous Ogun administration failed to take full advantage of it while several other states keyed into it with the benefits now glaring for everyone to see.

    The governor expressed surprise that his predecessor shunned the funds available under the scheme to help farmers improve their production.

    The governor called on the recipients to be committed and responsible in their repayment plan.

    “Outside of the one hectare of land that we are giving out free to each of the beneficiaries, we will also provide clearing, seedlings, fertilizers, extension services and we will pay upkeep allowances until the first harvest,” Abiodun added.

    The governor disclosed that the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) is set to site the largest Agro-Processing Zone on the continent in Ogun.

    According to him, the development was the result of several engagements by his administration with officials of the AfDB who had been in his office twice in the last two and a half months.

    AfDB is headed by a former Minister of Agriculture and an indigene of Ogun, Prof. Akinwumi Adesina.

    “The bank decided that they were going to have two Agro-Processing Zones in Nigeria and Prof. Adesina decided that the biggest must be sited in Ogun State. This is the result of our constructive engagements with the Bank over the last 70 days or so,” the governor said.

    Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Abosede Ogunleye, described agriculture as a viable sector that could absorb the teeming unemployed youths, expressing delight that the state has signed its counterpart fund and keyed into the scheme.

    Head of Developing Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Oluyemisi Olukoya, said Ogun had not done well in accessing the scheme as only 5,249 farmers in the state were in the scheme as against 20,000 from Kebbi State.

    Chairman, Ogun State Anchors Borrowers’ Scheme, Prof. Bola Okuneye, said the programme was designed to link off-takers of agricultural products with producers so that farmers would know that there was demand for their products at an agreed and beneficial price to improve production so as to guarantee abundant agricultural products in the nation.

    “Ogun State is leveraging on its advantages in cassava, rice and maize value chain. There is a guarantee of off-takers, which means it is profitable from Day One,” Okuneye said.

    The Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme is a win-win development for not only the beneficiaries, but also for the state that is hungry for economic development and residents.

    For the 2, 000 beneficiaries, many of whom may have been graduates of many years standing but without job, it is a chance to make a decent living in line with the welfare agenda of the Abiodun administration.

    And they are only the first batch of the scheme as other batches will come in quick succession.

    This is a well thought-out scheme that recognises the fact that the beneficiaries are farmers and will ultimately require the market to dispose of their produce.

    Whereas there is already a market for those among them that may choose to go into cassava production, as a factory has said it can buy off their entire produce, the state government is said to be setting up a board for others as an avenue to prevent the selling of their produce at a loss.

    There is no doubt that the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme will ultimately boost food production in Ogun but when that happens and there is excess, it is incumbent on the authorities to put in a place a system to ensure that beneficiaries don’t sell their produce at a loss.

    Meanwhile the scheme has the potential to create more job opportunities. The current beneficiaries and successive ones will sooner or later break even and this will pave the way for employment in their different businesses.

    Now imagine the multiplier effect as youths who otherwise would have taken into social vices like robbery, cyber crime or even prostitution will have prospects of employment.

    Government also benefits as successful beneficiaries inevitably will have to pay tax to its coffers for the developmental agenda of the state administration.

    In the end, Governor Dapo Abiodun not only realises his dream of ensuring food security, but also solving the problem of youth unemployment and growing Ogun economy.

    • Adeosun contributes this piece from Kuto, Abeokuta.