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  • Multiple entry points for foreign carriers bad for economy 

    For over two decades, airline operators grappled with the issue of multiple entry points for foreign carriers into Nigeria. This is seen as a disservice to local carriers. Former Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and President, Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), West Africa, Dr Harold Demuren, speaks on this and other matters in this interview with Aviation Correspondent, KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR.

    Multiple designations has been an issue in the aviation industry. At what point did we get it wrong?

    The aviation sector has over the years grappled with a myriad of issues, chief among them is the challenge of multiple entry points for foreign carriers. Well, multiple designations have pros and cons and when you look at it, a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) as the term bilateral implies, is between two nations; it is not meant to be one-sided. So, when you sign and you cannot operate the route, we can create a lot of things to make money from it also. For instance, introduce a lot of charges to make sure you can get something out of it. But, the most important part of it is that you tend to make your travel agencies industry very strong; they are the ones that sell the tickets, directly; online that is one.

    Number two is when you have multiple designations in one country, take for instance, you can fly into Lagos, you can fly into Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and you can fly into Enugu, one airline, a foreign airline, it is virtually taking over your country.

    We have no participation, we have no airline that can reciprocate that; we don’t have, it is one-sided and that is why it is affecting the airlines. And the airlines would panic because they are not flying international, they are only flying domestic. So, the people they should carry from Kaduna, Abuja and others they have lost those ones. It’s not that the foreign airlines are doing domestic operations, but that’s the way it is. But, that is one side of the story. Let me tell you the other side. You know we have the Federal Republic of Nigeria; we are a federation and every place has to be served, not only Lagos. We are building Abuja, Lagos and we are building airports all over the country. The people from Enugu, they don’t want to come to Lagos to fly out; they want to be able to fly out from their own place. So, when you allow them (foreign airlines) to have these flights, you may not be happy, but they are happy. You have to look at it because sometimes it is not a bad deal after all , it affects domestic operations. For the government, it is good politics, at the end of the day, but bad economics for the airlines (domestic). But, I think our airlines must learn to cooperate with these people. So that it doesn’t become irredeemable.

    How do we resolve these issues you have highlighted?

    Now in the whole world, it’s about cooperation, how can you compete with Emirates? It’s not possible, but you can cooperate with them. You don’t see them as competitors; you can do a lot of things with them. That’s where our ministry, when they are doing it, they need to carry our Nigerian carriers along. I think they have started to do it now, but they can translate that into some positive things for them, that’s what we can do. It’s already gone. Are we going to take the routes away from them? I think the only place being protected a bit is Port Harcourt. But, don’t forget Nigeria is Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, that’s the golden triangle.

    Lagos as an airport has increased in passenger capacity to almost become a hub we desire. But, we are not yet there untill all required facilities for airlines, cargo and other services are put in place. We need to improve on apron facilities, modern terminal facilities that would make the Lagos Airport look like Dubai. I mean transit facilities with offices for all security and related offices .Until we built all such facilities in Nigerian airports, we are not yet a country with functional hub. The way to go about this is to put in place facilities that will transit for passengers. This is the reason people like Dubai Airport . That is why they like to embark on transit flights through the airport . That is what Ethiopia is trying to put in place in their airport .

    Are you aware that most of the passengers that fly with Ethiopian Airlines are Nigerians; do you know the amount of cash, tax, revenue they make from Nigerians buying their tickets? So, we have opportunities. Is it too late? Is it lost? The future is still very strong for this country; once you can establish these things gradually we might start getting it back. Before Arik Air came onboard, it was assumed that after Nigeria Airways we won’t have any airline. We had only dead aeroplanes and when Arik came, the figures changed. The other part of it that is not good is this; you know the fare structure is very bad when you don’t have a very strong airline that can compete because in the International Air Transport Association (IATA), you must have an airline that can decide the fare base. When you don’t have one, other people decide for you and when they decide for you, they will be reducing your price. That is why they raise the price for too long. Before, it was very low when we had Nigeria Airways. About two months ago, a friend was flying; we were both going to London and I asked ‘what flight are you going on?’ He said British Airways and I said ‘see you onboard.’ He said, ‘no, I am going to Ghana to catch BA’ and I asked why, if he had a meeting in Ghana and he said no, that our business class ticket in Nigeria is too much.  I said ‘I can’t believe it; that’s what I fought when I was there as the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). So, it’s still the same? We call it regional imbalance. It’s not right, but if you have a strong airline, you can control those ones. But, people say it is market forces. You and I believe a lot in market forces, but again you need to protect your own people. BASA can address all those ones, fare structure and others.

    How should Nigeria leverage the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) for maximum dividends?

    Let me confess to you, at the end of the day, it’s a very good idea if you are strong. You don’t go into competition when you are weak. When you have the best team of footballers, you’d like to play. You can play many leagues, but if you don’t have a good one, when they talk to you, you will find excuses. You have to defend your own. We don’t have strong Nigerian airline today. Can we open up? Yes. When we open up, is it going to affect us? Yes, because we don’t have a representative. In fact, who is flying international route now? So, we don’t get anything out of that and so that’s why we need to think outside the box.

    We must have some alliances, some representations, some agreements and that is what everyone has done, it’s not wrong. Let me ask you, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), that’s where we get 80 per cent of our dollars.  They are Nigerians, but who are the people working for them? Don’t they have technical partners? They have Chevron, Shell, Total, Agip, and Exxon Mobil, among others. Is it a sin? So, we have to take up partnerships in aviation also; we must use them. You want to compete with Lufthansa; they will give you the route to fly to Frankfurt, but when you get to Frankfurt, where are you going next? They can connect all over the world, but you have no place to go.

    What roles for local carriers in this mix ?

    Nigerian airlines have tried, Bellview Airlines first tried. They tried when they wanted to go to London; they blocked them, no direct flights, they had to go through Amsterdam, Holland. We must cooperate. Our airlines, that is my big advice to them, they must be able to cooperate. This agitation, ‘this is our country, we can’t do this’, we have to allow it to go. They will go to their governments; their governments will say they want to sign an agreement with our government. That’s what they have, they know you. They will say they want daily frequency. We will say No! We give them three and when they make it four, you will not know. Before you know it, it becomes daily and then twice daily.  Whereas, instead of the agitations, we can say, ‘we will be your General Sales Agents (GSA), the handling we will do for you.’ These are the things we have to do. We say we have the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), we have the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc; again we are too much fragmented. In Ethiopia, they control the airport authority; they spend a lot of money. All the foreign exchange they get it for their country, they are very strong and they are doing very well.

    How can the single African air transport market work ?

    For SAATM, we need to work, think outside the box. Nigerians are very ingenious; they will look for ways to make money out of the situation. I know we have a lot of opportunities; they will make offers to Nigeria. Of course, we are strong. Look at ASKY, they were begging us then to come and invest and buy. If we had done that at that time, we would be very strong in West Africa.

    Why do you think airport certification process is slow?

    Two airports are certified now; we give thanks to God. While we were there, none was certified; they didn’t meet the requirements. In certification you must demonstrate compliance with the requirements; if they are no perimeter fence or adequate security, we cannot certify those ones. But, know that we are talking about international airports. We have Port Harcourt, Kano; the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) needs to do more work in those airports. NCAA has their requirements, when you demonstrate compliance with the requirements you have to do training, adequate personnel there. When security challenges come to the fore, the major ones we are able to resolve them. But, they have certified two, good! They must not rest, they have to continue.

    How can FAAN retain Cat 1 certification?

    I told you that Category One (CAT 1) is like playing in the premier league and in the league there is relegation. You have to play and that’s why we do audit. They put their ears to the ground and look at what you are writing and they say ‘okay let’s go and check,’ that’s how it is. Oversight is big; they already have their embassy here and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is there where you can pick up this information and when you do that, they will come and look at what you are doing to be sure.

    We thank God Nigeria has not been found wanting, but others have lost their own. They will keep coming and they must do that. Listen, the only check we have are the audits. You know we audit airlines, they (FAA) audit us. International Air Transport Association (IATA) can audit our airlines, but ICAO audits us and if you want to retain a Cat 1, FAA audits you. Those are the things they always do and you must make sure you pass those ones.

    But, you know there are eight critical elements and there are the ones you must establish. The ones that must be established must be established, like the Nigeria Civil Aviation Act. No one can take that away from you. So, when they come they are no longer looking at that again. The only area they didn’t like and late President Umar Yar’Adua assisted us that time; they said there must be only one regulator in the industry. They didn’t like that there were two regulators; they didn’t like when one said FAAN is an authority. They see them as service providers, like airlines. There’s only one regulator in the industry. At that time, we told them we have applied. I remember the former Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, Bethel Amadi, outstanding individual, very knowledgeable. I remember, he went with us twice when we were going to FAA for CAT 1. We went with him to the United States Congress.

    These were the two areas they told us we would not pass. They came and said “you’ve done everything, but you must give us assurance that you are the only authority.’

    First of all, to pass the first ICAO audit in 2006, all we had to do was to tell FAAN and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to write us a letter that they recognise NCAA as the sole authority and that they were service providers and would bear all the losses as per accidents and others. ICAO accepted that, America didn’t accept that. They said, the President of Nigeria must write to the President of the United States and late President Umaru Yar’Adua did that. He wrote the letter, signed it by himself, to America and America responded. He said ‘give us time, our National Assembly will do it.’

    Now, no one questions the authority of NCAA. There are other important areas where they do their oversight, like licensing. They want to know if your licensing is correct. Are you issuing wrong Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC)” Are you issuing wrong pilot, engineering licences? Are you up to date with your inspectors? Are you training them? Those are the things they are looking for and that was why they came. It’s like playing in the premier league, if you win, you are stronger, if you don’t win, you are relegated.

    What advice for  airlines as they struggle to stay afloat?

    Let me say this first, I am going to talk on both sides. There must be corporate governance. If you don’t have corporate governance, it’s not going to work. The money that the airlines make is not their money, it’s meant to pay for aircraft, meant to pay for crew, meant to pay for maintenance, meant to pay insurance, navigational charges, meant to pay for fuel! When you don’t pay that, you pocket the money saying it is your money, nobody will do business with you, nobody will lease aero plane with you. Remember when I came in, I grounded 40 aeroplanes. You asked why did you ground 40 aero planes, 40 airlines. And I said you don’t understand why we had to do it. The aircraft were over 30 years old, 31 and 32 years old. Then they said they had no money to buy new aeroplanes. And to be fair to our airlines when they want to buy aircraft, they go to the banks and how much do they pay? 20 per cent interest! That is the killer. What is the margin? They can never make it, it’s not possible!

    What role would the regulator play?

    At the Joint Intelligence Board meeting, the director-general of NCAA is a member of the Joint intelligence Board and I attended the meeting once a month; the National Security Adviser (NSA) then, I think was Serki Mukhtar. Each time he would say ‘Doctor, listen, we are very afraid, I don’t know why your airlines are like this.’ I said ‘they are struggling.’ He said: ‘’why are they struggling, they make a lot of money?” I said: ‘Which money do they make? No, sir, they don’t make any money; the money they make is to pay for this and that. I must support the airlines, they must  make progress, they are my airlines, you can’t do this to them you can’t do this to them. I asked how much is the ticket? How much is price of fuel?  And you are charging all these?.’

    What I told the NSA you would not believe it. I said ‘don’t worry sir, all of you here, the President is from Jos, next time, you will drive from Jos, Plateau State to Abuja by road you won’t see aeroplane to fly.

     

     

    ’ I told the other, ‘you are from where? Maiduguri? You will drive from Maiduguri to Abuja for meeting as you don’t appreciate what we do for you in aviation. You come this morning on flight and when we finish our meeting you take a flight and go back, you think it’s a joke, that’s what we provide for you.’ Everybody started to laugh.

    So, they agreed they needed aviation intervention fund. But, when it came out, they locked us out; we didn’t get anything, but we didn’t care. I thought I did it for my industry.

    Again, look at this area, I am being honest. Maintenance is done abroad. Do you know how much maintenance cost? When you go, they tell you ‘look, the engine will cost you $1.2m.’ When you get there you open up the engine, combustion is gone and by the time they are done its $3m and you have to take your naira and bring it back. But, worst of all and I am not blaming Nigerian Government, but the exchange rate.

    Recently, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) held a stakeholders’ conference to review its proposed Civil Aviation Regulations of 2019. What would you like to see embedded in the review?

    ICAO has standards, I think Annex 13. I think the biggest thing they should be asking for is independence, especially if there is interference in what they do. I think, they are asking for power for enforcement, but let me tell you my worry here. I have read in the papers where they said Accident investigations came out with 60 recommendations and that NCAA has not complied with all of them. Let me explain to you. NCAA does not need to comply with all their recommendations, it’s just a recommendation and that’s why NCAA and AIB need to work together. In Africa, they don’t work together we don’t know what happened. In other climes, they work together. National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA work together. But, in Nigeria, you see so much rivalry. It’s not necessary, they need to come together and do the right thing. When something happens, NCAA will have more information than anybody else. They are the custodian of the information. So, they won’t give you if there is rivalry and you spend a lot of time to find something, which they already have the answer to. So, that is important.

    Another thing you have to be careful of is that accident investigation is centred on the entire thing. In most cases, you need to find out from the airline what is happening; they are the operators. They (AIB) have good leadership. What I see in the papers, they are very active, I wish them well. Again, they need to apply technology; things have changed all over the world. People are talking about Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), but when that thing occurs, we already know what happened. To you the usual thing is take the FDR, go and read it. But, every flight is downloaded somewhere.

     

  • Exploring travel, agric insurance opportunities

    Anchor Insurance Company Limited  has unveiled the Anchor Travel Insurance and Anchor Agriculture Insurance for the benefits of the insuring public.

    Managing Director/CEO of the company, Mr. Ebose Augustine who spoke during the unveiling of the products in Lagos, explained that groups, families, individuals travelling abroad can now travel with maximum comfort armed with an insurance cover that is guaranteed and affordable.

    He said the two products have been approved by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), adding that the products being offered under a partnership with MAPFRE ASISTENCIA, a Spanish firm, come with different features and benefits.

    He said: “We were particularly glad when we received the approvals as it provides the opportunity for us to extend our well known passionate service difference and finesse to drive the products for the maximum comfort of our potential customers. For about 30 years that Anchor has been in operation, we are remarkable for excellent delivery of services to our teeming customers. It comes with a family plan which ensures that children between three months and 18 years travelling with their parents only pay half of the premium rate being charged. It further comes with premium discount package for group subscriptions.

    “The group is expected to have a minimum of 10 persons. The discounts range from between five per cent and 25 per cent according to the number of persons that make up the group.

    “However, because of perceived risks associated with certain categories of age, the policy comes with variations in the premium charged to persons aged between 66 and 75 years, 76 and 80 years and 81 years old where only the Schengen policy is available. The policy comes with three travel protection plans: Schengen, Worldwide and Worldwide 1”.

    On the benefits, he said there are several unique benefits the product offers. They include medical emergency assistance which includes medical expenses and hospitalisation abroad, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation of family member travelling with the insured, emergency return home following death of close relative, repatriation of mortal remains.

    “It also includes personal assistance benefits which include legal assistance, pre-departure services, abroad information assistance about lost luggage and passport, delivery of medicines; losses and delays benefits which include loss of passport, driving licence, national identity card abroad, compensation for in-flight loss of checked-in baggage, compensation for delay in the arrival of luggage, delayed departure; personal accident benefits which include accidental death, permanent disability and civil liability benefits. The policy offers a maximum of 92 consecutive days abroad per trip. Annual cover for non-consecutive trips is also for a period not exceeding 92 consecutive days.”

    He further stated that they received NAICOM’s approval on four Agriculture Insurance products which include multi-peril crop insurance which covers against the risk of fire, lightening, pest/diseases, drought, flood, windstorm and aircraft. This policy covers damage for all cash and arable crops.

    “It also includes fishery insurance that takes care of risks of death of the fish as a result of diseases and collapse of the pond; poultry insurance which is essentially against the death of birds as a result of accident, diseases, fire, flood and windstorm; livestock insurance which insures against the death of animals due to accident, pest/diseases, fire”.

     

  • Middle East first destination for Kia Pegas

    Spacious, economical and highly practical, the new Kia Pegas compact sedan goes on-sale this month across the Middle East.

    Entirely new to the region, the Kia Pegas is a smart option for young families in urban areas. It features a big personality, compact dimensions, and generous storage and cabin space.

    The Pegas boasts a stylish exterior design and a spacious interior, as well as an array of convenience features and technologies to please B-segment sedan customers.

    Built by Kia in China, the car was introduced to several international markets in 2017.

    According to Head of Kia’s Middle East and Africa Regional Headquarters, James Kim, Pegas will be a great option for young families looking for a practical car that delivers the perfect combination of comfort, space, and the latest technologies.

    Kim said: “This important new model will enhance the diversity of Kia’s model line-up in the region and will further strengthen the brand’s image. As our newest arrival goes on-sale in the Middle East, Kia now offers customers a greater choice of high-quality vehicles than ever before.”

    The Pegas offers buyers a uniquely stylish design, with sculpted body panels and bold character lines complemented by a striking color palette and a carefully-balanced sedan silhouette. The aerodynamic front of the Pegas, with a drag co-efficient of just 0.29 Cd, presents a bold ‘face’ to the world. Its deep bumpers incorporate sporty air curtain intakes in each corner, and a large trapezoidal air intake. The wide ‘tiger-nose’ grille extends into the headlamps, enhancing the sense of width and stability.

    Viewed from the side, the profile of the Pegas gives it a finely-balanced silhouette. Its definitive character lines give the impression of motion, even while it sits stationary. The relatively long wheelbase and sloping tailgate visually enhances the length of the Pegas. The rear of the car is characterised by its sedan tailgate, with a subtle yet sporty ducktail profile to the trailing edge of the trunk lid and a pair of neat rear combination lamps.

    Depending on market, the Pegas is offered with a choice of up to seven paint colors, ensuring there is a color for every personality. The car runs on 14-inch steel or aluminum alloy wheels.

    Inside, the cabin of the Pegas offers occupants maximum space and convenience. The center fascia has been designed to enhance ease-of-use, with many of the car’s functions controlled with clear, ergonomic buttons. Additionally, the center console provides plenty of storage space to enhance usability, with built-in cupholders that can be reached from the front and rear of the cabin.

  • Weststsar introduces CLA to local market

    Mercedes-Benz said the CLA is the most intelligent and emotive car in its class.

    Building on the success of the first generation which sold over 750,000 units worldwide, the CLA represents an improvement in an already dominant automobile.

    Weststar Associates Limited, authorised General Distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Nigeria announced the arrival of the first units of the all-new CLA to this market.

    The car comes with striking features that emphasise making an already great car even better; the new dynamic design underlines the coupé character in the all-new CLA with its stretched form and design elements such as the bonnet with powerdomes or the rear licence plate which has been moved down.

    The CLA comes with more space at many spots in the interior; at the front, for example, headroom has increased by 17 mm and elbow room by 35 mm, and thanks to a wider opening (+262 mm), the boot compartment is now more convenient to load than the predecessor model. The Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) has been updated with an interior assistant which recognises operating requests from movements, this makes various comfort and MBUX functions even simpler and more intuitive.

    It relies on four-cylinder petrol engines which in comparison to the previous generation, are characterised by significantly increased power and improved efficiency.

    The exterior gives it the potential to become a modern design icon. As a four-door coupé, the new CLA intrigues with its purist and seductive design; the flat headlamps with the striking daytime running lamps together with the low slung bonnet and the diamond radiator grille with central star create the vehicle’s sporty face, which has clear echoes of classic Mercedes-Benz sports cars. The two-piece, narrow tail lamps and the number plate housed in the bumper on the rear emphasise the width of the CLA. The car thus appears flatter and sportier and has an especially good presence on the road.

    The interior of the all-new CLA exudes themes of ‘high tech’ and ‘youthful avant-garde’. The all-new CLA reveals a technologically and digitally enhanced interior with the widescreen display standing out as a major highlight, while the dashboard comes with more width, creating a generous sense of space.

    The colours and materials of the interior of the CLA vary from the different equipment lines, however, customers are spoilt for choice with the black, macchiato beige, bahia brown or two-tone combinations between these colors or black and red or black and grey; while the trim elements on the dashboard and doors are either in dinamica, carbon optic, aluminum or open-wood high-quality wooden trim.

    Space and comfort is guaranteed with the standard seat with straight stitching, and comfort seat with double topstitching (available with the Progressive equipment line), the backrest of the rear seats is 40:20:40 foldable providing even more space for the trunk whenever the need arises.

    The Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) continues its development in the all-new CLA. The multimedia infotainment system has been updated with two striking new features in the MBUX Interior Assistant and the newly improved “Hey Mercedes” voice control. In the all-new CLA the MBUX comes with two 7-inch displays for the instrument cluster and media display with touchscreen, a multifunction sport steering wheel with touch control buttons on the left and right, a USB interface (Type C), a Bluetooth connection for telephony and audio sources as standard. By recognizing movement, the all-new MBUX interior assistant imparts additional intelligence to the interior and makes operating various comfort and MBUX functions even simpler and more intuitive for the passengers. The “Hey Mercedes” voice assistant can recognise and respond to considerably more complex queries in a growing number of domains including sports, the stock exchange, calculations or general knowledge.

    The CLA comes with more powerful and efficient engines in comparism to its predecessor. For the Nigerian market, the CLA comes in 4-cylinder gasoline engines. The M282 gasoline engine has an output of 100kw/136hp – 120kw/163hp and a peak torque of 200 – 250nm coupled with the 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission, this forms the point of entry for engines in the CLA 180 and CLA 200.

    While the M260 come with an output of 140kw/190hp – 165kw/224hp and a peak torque of 300 – 350nm coupled with the 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission, this engine is housed in the CLA 220 and CLA 250 (4MATIC included).

    The latest Driver Assistance Systems also stand out as another major highlight in the all-new CLA. Incorporating features from the luxury class have made the CLA stand out as the best in the compact class when it comes to safety.

    Weststar Associates Limited Chief Executive Officer Mirko Plath, said the Weststar team is happy to bring the latest Mercedes-Benz compact car to Nigerian roads.

    Plath expressed confident that the success story of the CLA will continue especially in the Nigerian market.

  • ‘Why Ogun West failed to produce governor’

    The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Progress (ADC) in Ogun State during the last general elections, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, spoke with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN on how the division in the Ogun West Senatorial District robbed the zone the opportunity to produce the governor.

    You contested the governorship elections three consecutive times without winning. How do you feel?

    I am definitely not satisfied because I have set some targets for myself, which I intend to actualise if given the opportunity to serve. I am not pleased with the results. However, I take solace in the fact that the race of life is a marathon  in which all manners of surprises do happen. In any case, we have done our best and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to run such a tough race in  three consecutive times.

    Would you contest again in 2023?

    I am not thinking about that now, though I still remain in politics and I am convinced I will still serve my people in one capacity or the other. We leave the rest  till 2023. That will be determined by the circumstance of the time. I am not going to let any aspiration drive me as to what I can contribute to the society and to humanity. They are my main drivers. In the meantime, I have a business that I am running and a profession that I am practising. What will happen in 2023, we leave that to God.

    You hail from Ogun West Senatorial District that has never produced governor since the state was created over 40 years ago? What do you think is responsible?

    So many things are responsible. Ogun West is more multicultural and multi bilingual than the other sections of the state. Hence, it’s a lot more challenging to foster unity. We have the Yewas and the Aworis and within the Yewas are different dialects and culture. These offer some advantages in some instances, but also have lots of issues to contend with. Added to this is that the other zones had a advantage of having produced eminent public office holders like President, Ministers, ambassadors and of course governors, which give them major head start.

    This is not to say the other zones do not have their challenges and issues and having contested three times at the gubernatorial level, I can confirm they all do have their challenges and Ogun West is finding solutions to these poor internal cohesions albeit slowly.

    There are also issues of resources and more often than not, this has been used as a bait to further divide the West by external forces

    A school of thought argues that power should rotate between Egba and Ijebu provinces. What is your take on this?

    What I know and which the Nigerian constitution says is that we have three senatorial districts and I also know that no senatorial district lacks quality men and women to govern the state. I do not always want to get involved in those provincial arguments because we can as well trace it back to when Mungo Park discovered Nigeria or River Niger.

    What is of main concern to me is that Ogun State, like other states in Nigeria, needs a government  that would fairly and equitably promote good government, reduce poverty level and enhance quality of  living. I want history to remember me that I did everything to promote this towards a better society. A society will have the kind of government they deserve. In democracy, it’s one man, one vote. It’s the majority that decide the winner.

    As an an indigene of Ogun State, I have qualities to be governor. I offered myself to serve as governor of the state. I got relative support from the two senatorial zones outside Ogun West where I come from. Within the constraint and challenges in our political system, I did the little I can and I leave the rest for the future events and ultimately for posterity.

    If you eventually become governor, what will you do differently in Ogun State?

    My emphasis will be on human capital development. It is the people that drive development. The quality of life they live, their wellbeing will enhance economic development. I will give priority to qualitative education. As people of Southwest, we had a head start in education but we are no longer leading in that sector due to misplacement of priority.

    I will strive and make remarkable impact in the education sector which is crucial to human capital development required to transform our state.  It is very sad where Ogun State is currently placed in education but thank God the current administration is rising up to that. It doesn’rt justify the investment and vision of our forebears.  We need to build confidence and encourage the teachers. There is need for a special and efficient unit to manage the schools. Then we will also look at the curriculum with a view to making it relevant to today’s world of entrepreneurship where people want to be able to come out and be able to do something on their own.

    In the health sector, a lot of facilities have been locked up. Not many of them are functional, many are operating below capacity. We will ensure that these facilities optimally provide their services to better the lot of our people.

    How would you advice Governor Dapo Abiodun for him to succeed in office?

    We are close. I served in the Economic Committee of his transition programme. I am happy that his administration is putting in place systems and thinking that are more enduring. I like the idea of establishing Public Works Department to fix the roads in the state. The roads in rural areas are deplorable. Free movement of goods and services will boost the economy of the state. The governor had started well and I hope he will keep the momentum.

    My advice to the governor is that we should regain our lead in Education. We should create a conducive learning environment for the children and the teachers that will impart knowledge on them. We should explore a lot more the opportunities in the four corners of our State in conjunction with the private sector. And time is not on our side, the population is rising, the opportunities are shrinking and the people are on the edge thus our value system is breaking down. The governor has to continue on the path of instituting enduring and progressive systems and institution that benefit the entire State.

    Do you subscribe to the suggestion by Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State that political parties should drop zoning for competence in 2003?

    I suspect Governor Nasir El-Rufai is testing waters. It is not his personal idea, but that of a political group. There is no section of the country that doesn’t have competent people and if the ruling party has combined competence with zoning in the two elections of  2015 and 2019,  I wonder why zoning bit of the equation now suddenly become unfashionable. Governor El-Rufai has a big task to convince us on this as I am not personally convinced yet. That’s my opinion.

    What is your suggestion on tackling insecurity in the Southwest and Nigeria at large?

    I commend the Southwest governors for coming together to tackle the issue of insecurity in the region. Those behind the criminal acts are external infiltrators. My advice is that whatever resources that is required for the template to work should be provided. The Southwest is the home of investment in the country.

    The criminal acts are engineered by poverty, hunger and idleness. To reduce the level of crime, we should engage our youths. It is better done as a region. The Southwest is endowed with economic potentials. We have the land, market and logistics to scale up the economy. We can come together and put our resources and potentials together. The Development Agenda of Western Nigeria (DAWN) in conjunction with the Odua Investments are veritable vehicles  we can use to bring up the potentials to enhance our economic growth and reduce the number of idleness.

    Security needs to be funded so that the infiltrators causing harm can be flushed out. When there is insecurity, people can’t move from one place to the other. No investor will risk coming to invest his money in a place where security of lives and property are not guaranteed.

    On Xenophobia attacks in South Africa, I suggest we work together with other African countries to put pressures on South Africa to stop that nonsense. Yes, no nation should abhor criminality but from the pictures and information we read on line and elsewhere, the South Africans looting those shops are obviously more criminally minded in my view than the few foreigners that may not be doing the right things. As Africans, we should not allow this to happen. Under normal circumstances, with a population of 1.2billion, which is little less than the population of China and home to nearly all the world’s 30 poorest countries, Africa should foster more unity and internal trading amongst itself to enhance its economy  rather than causing further division and strife amongst its people. The South African should rise up to its responsibilities to her citizens and the Continent at large.

  • Agric revolution: Can high fertiliser cost force a reversal?

    The timely delivery of affordable and high-quality fertiliser in commercial quantity to farmers largely drove the revolution in the agricultural sector. It was an outcome of the Federal Government’s successful implementation of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) and other strategic initiatives to revitalise fertiliser blending plants across the country. But, the increase in the price of fertiliser, caused by insecurity, particularly in the Northeast, may have thrown spanner in the works. Will this threat reverse the gains of the agric revolution and hurt the drive for food self-sufficiency? Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA asks.

    The authorities in the agricultural sector may not admit it, at least, openly. But, by now, they must be covertly and deeply troubled that the impetus that came the way of Nigeria’s push for food self-sufficiency, following the widely acknowledged revolution in the agric sector, has come under severe threats.

    The increase in the price of fertiliser, which is, undoubtedly, one of the most critical farming input, has raised fears that the gains so far achieved in the agric sector by this administration, particularly in its first term in office, may be reversed, if nothing is done to check the price hike.

    The Nation learnt that the scarcity and skyrocketing price of fertiliser, which have thrown farmers, especially those in the insurgency-prone states of the Northeast, into panic, were caused by the restriction of sales of certain brands of fertiliser for security reasons.

    According to some farmers in the affected states, the security agencies, particularly the military, restricted the sale of some brands of fertiliser in some states, such as Yobe, Taraba, Bauchi, Adamawa, Gombe and Borno, citing the use of such brands for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

    Since 2009, the Northeast has been the theatre of a bloody campaign by Boko Haram insurgents. Despite sustained efforts by the Federal Government to rein in the blood hounds, the indiscriminate bombing of mostly-soft targets, using IEDs, said to have been made from chemical components from some brands of fertiliser, has refused to abate.

    As part of efforts to halt the bombings, security agencies banned the use of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) and Urea. However, the ban inadvertently made it difficult for farmers to secure fertilisers, particularly Urea, in the open market.

    The Chairman of Adamawa State chapter of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Mr. Stephen Maduwa, confirmed this much when he said the scarcity and high cost of fertiliser in the state were as a result of the ban of NPK and Urea.

    He quoted the military authorities as saying the products were being used by insurgents to produce explosives. “The scarcity situation is worrisome because it is also affecting government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) in the state,” Maduwa lamented.

    The National Vice Chairman, National Association of Agro-Chemicals and Allied Dealers, Alhaji Usman Bapullo, brought the disturbing reality nearer home. He said because of the restriction, the cost of the commodity increased by as much as 45 per cent.

    Consequently, a 50 kilogramme (kg) bag of NPK, which originally sold for N4,300, now goes for N6,500, while Urea, which sold for N5,000, is now N7,000. He, however, said there was liquid NPK and Urea, which had not been banned, but farmers were not familiar with the liquid one.

    The situation is the same in Yobe State, where the restriction on sales of fertiliser had created scarcity of the product. Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, at a recent town hall meeting in Potiskum, said it took series of discussions between the state government and security organisations to lift the sanction on sales of NPK fertiliser.

    “As for Urea fertiliser, it is still banned for sale across the state for security reasons,” the governor said.

    The Nation learnt that in Yobe, a bag of NPK is sold for between N7,000 and N9,000, depending on distance and availability of the product.

    Most farmers in the state depended on liquid fertiliser, with five litres of the product sold for N25,000. The governor, however, said the state government had awarded a contract for the supply of NPK fertiliser to the state for onward distribution to farmers.

    Similarly, farmers in Borno State, the epicentre of Boko Haram insurgency, have also expressed concern over the high cost of fertiliser. For instance, a rice farmer at Zabalmari Village of Jere Local Government Area of the state, Hussaini Usman, said the high cost of fertiliser was affecting his production.

    Usman said a small size bag of Single Superphosphate (SSP) and NPK brand of fertiliser were sold at N2,500 and N3,000, as against the old price of N1,000 and N2,000, respectively.

    However, the Kaduna State Government said it has enough stock of fertiliser to be sold to farmers during the crop season in the state.

    Deputy Director and Desk Officer for fertiliser distribution in the state’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr. Bungwun Bege, said the state government had entered into an agreement with two firms, Flour Mills and TAK Fertiliser, as the major suppliers of the commodity to farmers.

    He said each of the firms had agreed to deliver 5,000 metric tons at the initial stage to farmers at government-approved rate of N5,500 per 50kg bag, “and so far, there is no price increment of the product by the suppliers.”

    Bege said there was no scarcity of the commodity in the state. His words: “Flour Mills has five trucks while TAK has two trucks of 600/50kg bags in State Government stores in each of the 23 local government areas in the state.

    “While farmers in some local governments have bought up to 19 trucks, others are yet to buy up two trucks, as they buy according to their needs,” he said.

    Bege added that so far, the ministry was yet to receive any complain of either scarcity or hike on the price of the commodity from farmers in any part of the state.

    Why government is jittery

    The Federal Government set off a major revolution in the agricsector when it came up with the PFI. Essentially, the PFI, which was inaugurated in December 2016, was aimed at delivering commercially-significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertiliser at the right time to farmers.

    The initiative was borne out of the desire to end fertiliser importation and the attendant impact on the country’s foreign exchange reserves. It was designed to stimulate significant economic activities across the agriculture value chain and catalyse growth by meeting the fertiliser demand of farmers during the wet farming season.

    Before the strategic intervention, the non-availability of fertiliser was, arguably, one of the major obstacles to increased productivity in the agric sector. Its scarcity was a serious disincentive to farmers’ efforts to contribute to economic diversification through small, medium and large-scale agriculture.

    But, the Federal Government, through the PFI, changed the narrative. On the strength of the PFI, the fertiliser blending industry bounced back. The initiative, which involved a partnership with the Government of Morocco for the supply of phosphate to produce fertiliser locally, resulted in the revitalisation of several fertiliser blending plants.

    Nigeria, with its 11 fertiliser blending plants in bad shape in 2015, now has 22 approved plants, 18 of which are producing at installed capacity.

    As at 2017, a year after the introduction of the PFI, the initiative had delivered 10 million 50kg bags (500,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of NPK 20:10:10 fertiliser at a price of N5, 500. That was down from the price of N9, 000 per 50kg bag in 2016, representing a 40 per cent reduction.

    The PFI, according to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also targeted the delivery of 20 million 50kg bags (1 million MT), which will double the 2017 figure. He recalled that before PFI, each imported fertiliser bag was subsidised to the tune of N6, 000 per bag.

    Noting that over six million bags of fertiliser had been sold to farmers at N5, 500 per bag, the Minister also said there had been a higher patronage for the country’s rail network due to movement of raw materials and finished goods.

    “Also, the bag-making sector of the economy was boosted, with over 10 million packaging bags produced exclusively for PFI. Sixty thousand direct jobs and even higher number of indirect jobs have been created,” Mohammed said.

    The Nation learnt that the changing fortunes of the fertiliser blending industry and by extension, the agricultural sector, where the government is pushing to achieve self-sufficiency in food production and consumption, was largely as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with Morocco in 2016 to produce fertiliser locally.

    The deal with the Moroccan Government was for the supply of phosphate to ensure the production of one million tons of fertliser locally. The agreement was anchored by Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN) and OCP, Morocco’s state-owned company and global leader in phosphate and its derivatives.

    The gradual, but steady revolution in the nation’s fertiliser blending industry following the deal, raised hopes of restoring Nigeria’s position as the food basket of the West African sub-region. This was because it reduced farmers’ overheads, boosted yield and encouraged more players to invest in the agric value chain.

    To consolidate on the gains of the PFI and, ultimately, achieve self-sufficiency in fertiliser production, the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also barred official foreign exchange (forex) allocation to fertiliser imports. The inclusion of fertiliser on the list of items not valid for forex took effect from Friday, December 7, last year.

    A reliable source close to FEPSAN told The Nation that the ban on the importation of fertiliser has started manifesting in the form of increased inflow of investments into the agric sector, massive job creation and conservation of foreign exchange.

    For instance, the fertiliser sector, according to the source, who declined to be mentioned, churned out over 100, 000 jobs in 2018 alone. The size of investment in urea production also swelled to over $9 billion, with Dangote Fertiliser and Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, exporting about 800, 000 metric tons of urea.

    He also said under the PFI, Nigeria recorded the highest fertiliser consumption figure ever. “In 2017, our local consumption was 1.56 million tonnes of fertiliser. In 2018, Nigeria recorded 1.4 million tones. The highest consumption we had previously was 1.2 million tones, and that was in 2014,” the source told The Nation.

    He also pointed out that as a result of the increased capacity of local producers, NPK fertilisers are now available to farmers at affordable rates of about N5, 500 per bag, adding that “the icing on the cake” for farmers was the blending of soil-specific and crop-specific fertiliser.

    However, the scarcity and high cost of fertiliser may havedeflated members of FEPSAN, farmers and indeed, the authorities and industry stakeholders. Many of them now fear that the gains of the agric revolution, especially the fertiliser segment, may be reversed, with Nigeria’s hope of reclaiming her position as the sub-region’s food basket hanging in the balance.

    Rising food prices justify fears

    So far, the Boko Haram insurgency is limited to the Northeast region. But, like wildfire, the ripple effects of the activities of the dreaded group have spread to all parts of the country, resulting in acute shortage of food items and, of course, increase in the price of available supply.

    Professor of Plant Protection and Improvement, Department of Crop Science & Biotechnology, Imo State University, Owerri, Onuh Martin, put the situation in perspective when he said the pervasive insecurity foisted on the country by insurgency and other  criminalities have driven most farmers away from their farms.

    Today, few farmers have the courage to go to their farms, as fear of recurring herdsmen/farmer clashes, kidnappings, rape and armed robbery, among others, have become the beginning of wisdom.

    The result, predictably, has been low agricultural production, and of course, increase in prices of the few items that manage to get to the markets.

    Indeed, in the last few weeks, prices of most staple food items have gone up, raising fears that these staples may soon disappear from the menu tables of many Nigerians who may no longer afford them. Some of the staples affected include rice, beans, garri, semovita, tomato, pepper, and frozen foods, among others.

    The Nation’s random checks in some major markets in Lagos, showed, for instance, that a bag of 50 kilogrammes of foreign rice, which hitherto sold for between N13, 300 and N13, 800, has gone up to as much as N16, 000.

    Prices of other food items such as yam, beans, tomato, onion and pepper, as well as frozen foods such as Turkey and chicken, have also gone up.While some experts blame this on seasonal shortage in supply, the displacement of most farmers across the country by rising insecurity is also a major factor.

    Is food security threatened?

    The Country Manager, OCP Africa, Caleb Usoh, emphasised that in addition to input, such as better seed, and farming practices, fertiliser could be a game changer in food security among smallholder farmers battling falling harvests and unproductive soils.

    Usoh, who spoke at the recently-concluded African Farming Second Edition Agribusiness Summit in Abuja, urged the government to pay attention to the fertiliser industry because the future growth of agriculture lay in efficient utilisation of plant nutrients.

    According to him, OCP has been playing a major part in assisting Nigeria and other African countries to feed themselves by ensuring that smallholder farmers are able to use fertiliser optimally to boost their yields.

    Noting that improved access to fertiliser is key to food security, Usoh said by using more fertiliser correctly, farmers could grow more nutritious food, achieve household food security, create jobs, increase incomes and boost rural development.

    Impliedly, the high cost of this critical farming input, could impinge on Nigeria’s quest to achieve food security, if urgent steps are not taken to rein in insurgents and other criminal activities hurting food production.

    This is so considering the fact that most of the food items such as yam, beans, tomato, onion and pepper come from the north, where insurgency and other shades of criminality are evidently more pronounced.

    AfDB, AFAP $5.4m grant to the rescue

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Fertiliser and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), last week, signed two grant agreements to implement trade credit guarantees worth $5.4 million to support fertiliser value chains in Nigeria and Tanzania.

    Both parties signed the grant agreements, which hold the potential to benefit hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers, at the African Green Revolution Forum in Accra, Ghana on September 5, this year.

    AfDB Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Jennifer Blanke, said the agreements would provide the input needed for Africa to have “the productivity that we hope for”.

    “We are just thrilled to be getting together with our partners in order to expand the efforts to make sure that we are financing the development of manufacturing and blending of fertiliser,” Blanke said. “This is an African effort, led by Africans, for Africa,” she added.

    The grants are designed by the Bank’s Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism (AFFM) to provide sustainable financing solutions to boost the fertiliser value chain in Africa.

    AFAP CEO Jason Scarpone signed the agreements on behalf of the continental body, emphasising the importance of value chain financing – bringing fertiliser financing from manufacturer, to distributor, to retailer to farmer. “Few succeed in doing it. This project will be successful,” he said.

    The two deals are the first agreements signed by AFFM, which is hosted by the AfDB, since it became fully functional last year; they pave the way for the first implementation of trade credit guarantee projects for fertiliser financing led by AFFM in Nigeria and Tanzania. The AFAP will be the implementing partner operating in the two countries on behalf of the AFFM. The Partnership has substantial experience in supporting the agricultural value chain across the continent.

    Scheduled for implementation over a two-year period, the projects will lead to the enhancement of fertiliser value chains in the two countries. The Nation learnt that the project will target 10 importers, five blenders/manufacturers, and 37 hub agro-dealers as direct beneficiaries, 520 retail agro-dealers as indirect beneficiaries and 700,000 smallholder farmers as final beneficiaries.

    It remains to be seen how Nigeria plans to leverage on this fresh window of opportunity to make fertliser affordable to farmers and by so doing, consolidate on the gains of the agric revolution while starve off an impending food crisis.

  • No vuvuzela for the president!

    South African Nigerians now returning from the home of vuvuzela are coming back with a mixed reaction. They are meeting a nation whose president has just been ‘vindicated’ by a competent tribunal over claims by the opposition that he wasn’t eligible for the office. Their old hosts are used to taking up the local instrument as both a weapon of intimidation and celebration.

    South Africans reach out for their 2 to 3-feet long plastic horn to celebrate, to make raucous noise at football matches in support of their national teams. It was popularized during the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. The myth is that its beastly emission—some 120 decibels— can conjure victory for their club or national side. Or it can cudgel opposition to concede goals for their players to win the day. To their grief, these didn’t happen nine years ago. Rather, vuvuzela drew gross global glare. A newspaper writer called the trumpet ‘’an instrument from hell’. And because it nearly ruined the first-ever World Cup in Africa on account of its noisome dispatch, FIFA, the world’s soccer administrator, banned vuvuzela from the tournament in Brazil in 2014. The BBC has also been calling for ‘’vuvuzela-free broadcast’’.

    But our fleeing compatriots from the former apartheid cave can’t find any room for joy, whether for being back home alive or for witnessing an admirable run of democracy as expressed by the Nigerian judiciary. Their trip can’t be celebrated with the infamous vuvuzela. They were stampeded home; leaving behind prized property and enterprise it took them years of hard work to build. Here at home, the condition of the state they ran away from years ago is the same, if not worse. It makes the future somehow uncertain. They are home as strangers in their own ancestral community. Where do they start, after what appears to be a pyrrhic triumph? There’s been escape from the xenophobic hell of South Africa alright; but it is inflicting a long-term fatal toll that disallows and disavows riotous vuvuzela celebrations. Not a mood for mourning. But not a mood for music either!

    Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo once found himself in that quandary but missed the chance to be a statesman. He didn’t quite decode what was written between the lines when he secured his back-to-back second term mandate in 2003. Muhammadu Buhari and the other losers, Buhari notably, were grieving and crying foul at what they perceived as a ‘’flagrant and wanton conduct of the election’’ that returned Obasanjo to power. They threatened they would have nothing to do with his ‘’illegitimate’’ government. That led many patriotic voices to call on Obasanjo to form a coalition government at the centre. They also pleaded with him and his party men and women to don a subdued mien as they staged victory parties nationwide. Unfortunately, the nation was locked in wasteful orgies beamed on national TV. Obasanjo and his party loyalists danced lustily in the face of those mourning their electoral disasters.

    Today, nearly 20 years later, we are back to where we were then. What will make a difference is how we rejoice when others, our opponents, are lamenting and hurting. We drive our crying friends and neighbours into more agony when we don’t moderate our wild festivities on V-day. No doubt, there will always be losers and winners in any contest. But the winner in politics must not contemn the loser through injuring his self-esteem in mindless jubilation. A loser is already in the mud, as it were. He has enough to battle with. We can’t saddle him with more, unless our goal is to break him into smithereens, out of existence!

    But Buhari himself has been there before. He was the butt of ridicules that once made him decide that he would no longer vie for the highest political office in the land. He wept and claimed he had been robbed over and over again at the poll. If he has now been given the elusive mandate at the ballot, with unanimous judicial endorsement at the court of first instance, I think all he needs to do is to ignore the hawks around him and walk the talk that his victory isn’t personal, but for democracy and for all Nigerians.

    I don’t think we should be asking the opposition PDP to ‘’apologise’’ to Nigerians for ‘’ wilfully distracting the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari with a frivolous election petition.’’ Litigations of a political nature enlarge the borders of the process of nation-building; they don’t constrict them. All the years Buhari was walking the length and breadth of the courts with his lawyers to seek justice couldn’t have been reckoned as frivolous. Those who understood the dynamics of the rule of law and its link to democracy and development of nations and their citizens hailed him. Those cases have benefited the legal history of the nation. That he didn’t win in the courts then does not dismiss the judiciary as inept and corrupt as Buhari has erroneously believed for many years.

    We should remember there’s still the hurdle of the Supreme Court adjudication, if PDP makes good its plan go the whole length of the judicial journey. The party must not be discouraged. We have learned much from the proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to guide us in future electoral engagements. How else would we have known that there is no perjury if you fail to deposit what you claim to have in a sworn affidavit? How would the nation have known that assumptions can sometimes be promoted to the exalted pedestal of the law? How would Nigerians have known that contrary to what many citizens subscribe to, their president doesn’t believe in his party’s winner-takes-all philosophy? Which is why he has nobly stretched his hand of fellowship to his political foes to join him in running the country, regardless of your politics.

    Before now, I did recommend to him the likes of Kingsley Moghalu, Tope Fasua, Omoyele Sowore etc. who contested against him, to be part of his team. These are illustrious Nigerians who can help engender the all-round breakthrough we need. I stand by my counsel as Buhari shops for assistance in his next level mission.

  • Union Bank empowers female entrepreneurs

    Union Bank Plc has in conjunction with Leading Ladies Africa unveiled 40 female entrepreneurs who will be participating in the keenly sought after Enterprise and Leadership Programme (ELP).

    The initiative, being put together by women-focused non-profit organisation, Leading Ladies Africa, is a two-month, practical, hands-on pro-gramme that is focused on enabling women entrepreneurs in Nigeria to identify business opportunities, create and sustain viable enterprises, and scale up their businesses.

    Speaking  at the official media parley to unveil the participants, Lola Cardoso; Chief Digital and Innovation Officer; Union Bank said: “We identified this initiative as one that will help amplify our efforts to support women and drive gender balance in Nigeria. Union Bank is proud to support these female entrepreneurs and enable their success. We are excited about the impact the programme will have on the women and their businesses, and the ripple effects on the society at large.

    “We are pleased that Union Bank, through its ±lpher Initiative is fully supporting Leading Ladies Africa’s Enterprise and Leadership Program said Francesca Uriri; Founder Leading Ladies Africa. “We’re running this programme because we understand that there is a very clear need for most micro, small and medium sized businesses to develop structure and systems that enable them scale, generate profit and become sustainable.”

    Continuing further she said: “We received over 1,700 entries for this programme from female entrepreneurs in Nigeria, and even from other African countries, further reiterating the need and value in supporting enterprise. The pro-gramme will be run in conjunction with the China Europe Business School (CEIBS), because we understand how important it is for the ladies to benefit from a global academic and business faculty.”

  • Unity Bank unveils new lending plans for farmers

    Unity Bank Plc has reiterated its commitment to lending more to farmers and supporting them in getting more value for their farm produce.

    The bank is partnering with Binkabi, a blockchain-based commodity trading network to ensure that farmers get the right pricing and profitability for their produce.

    The Head, Risk Management and Compliance, Unity Bank, Usman Abdulqadir, said the collaboration would also help to provide end-to-end solutions for farmers and the entire agribusiness value-chain.

    Abdulqadir, who spoke at the launch of an agro commodities trade platform in Lagos, said,  many farmers who harvest their crops sell them at the time of harvest when the prices are still low. But the partnership will help such farmers to transfer the produce to warehouse directly, or sell them to people that will send the produce to the storage facilities to reduce post-harvest losses.

    “By way of strategy, we look at the various value chains across the agric sector, and why some banks prefer to concentrate on certain types of customers – the very big ones with little or no risk exposure, we lend across the entire value chain.

    “What we are doing today is just to integrate all the various components of the value chain into one single entity to have an integrated approach to funding the agric sector. We have a huge portfolio of primary production; as we speak today, about 40 per cent of our entire loan portfolio is in one aspect of agriculture or the other. We are the leading bank in funding primary production; we are also deepening agriculture mechanisation.”

    The Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Binkabi, Manrui Tang, said the platform would help to address the issues associated with lending to the agricultural sector.

    “We are a platform for issuing trading and financing commodities on blockchain. We connect with banks, warehouses, commodity exchanges, logistics companies and farmers, aggregators and all parties in the supply chain,” she said.

     

  • IPOB alleges genocide plot in Kanu’s home

    The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Sunday said it has uncovered another genocide plot in Isiama Afara ukwu Ibeku Umuahia, Abia State, the ancestral home of it’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

    Kanu’s house was allegedly attacked by soldiers on September 10, 2017 causing the disappearance of the IPOB leader and his parents.

    The group linked the plot to governor of the state, Okezie Ikpeazu and his collaborators, who it alleged had stationed their “killer squad” in front of its leader’s compound.

    In a statement issued by the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB called on international community and civilised citizens across the world to be aware of the plan.

    It asked them to prevail on Ikpeazu and his collaborators to withdraw the squad or be held responsible for any loss of lives within the area.

    READ ALSO: The Fall of Nnamdi Kanu, Season 4

    The statement partly read, “Another round of genocide looms at the front of our leader’s compound in Isiama Afara ukwu Ibeku Umuahia, Abia State by Fulani terror group.

    “IPOB intelligence unit is gathering information on killer squad stationed in front of our leader’s compound in Isiama Afaraukwu the ancestral home of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu tonight.

    “The assassins in a white Toyota Hilux loitering in front of our leader’s house in Isiama-Afaraukwu tonight better retrace their steps.

    “We are calling on international community and civilised citizens across the world to be aware and prevail upon Okezie Ikpeazu and his collaborators to withdraw their killer squad in front of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s compound, If anybody killed in Afaraukwu, Okezie Ikpeazu and co would be held accountable.”