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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • ‘Certificate forgery’ causes APC delay in submitting candidates’ names

    Three weeks to the Niger State local government election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to submit its final list of candidates to the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).

    The party is trying to determine the authenticity of the certificates of its candidates.

    This followed the petitions accusing some of the local government chairmanship and councillorship candidates of certificate forgery.

    As at Saturday, no fewer than three chairmanship and four councillorship candidates were alleged to be neck-deep in certificate forgery.

    The Department of State Security (DSS) is helping the party to unravel the genuineness of the certificates the candidates were said to have submitted to the SIEC.

    This development is causing delay in the submission of the party’s final list.

    Other parties such as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have submitted theirs.

    A source close to the APC secretariat in Minna said the party had received petitions which bordered on alleged falsification of certificates by candidates for chairmanship and councillorship positions.

    “We have received petitions, three against chairmanship candidates and some councillorship candidates that they forged their certificates.

    “The party is, therefore, trying to verify the authenticity of these certificates so that we do not field wrong candidates for the election, and after the poll, the opposition party will challenge it in court and claim the mandate.

    “This is why the party has not submitted the names of the candidates after the primaries about three weeks ago. The party does not want to take any chance. Any candidate found to have forged his certificate will be disqualified,” the source said.

    One of the petitions made available to reporters in Minna against one of the chairmanship candidates from Paikoro Local Government alleged that the Grade 11 certificate the candidate submitted to the party was forged.

    The petition, written by a body, the Garkuwa Support Group (GSO), was dated September 17, 2019 and titled: “Petition against the candidature of Honourable Yohana Yakubu for the chairmanship of Paikoro Local Government in the coming election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress”. It was signed by Comrade Hamsun Isah.

    The APC Chairman in Niger State, Jibrin Iman, was unavailable for comments, as calls and text messages sent to his phone were not answered.

  • N5.4tr debt: AMCON seeks INEC’s backing to block 12,537 mega debtors

    THE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) is seeking collaboration with relevant government agencies, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to block 12,537 mega debtors from contesting elections.

    AMCON data showed that 62 high profile debtors owe it N10 billion and above each, representing 40 per cent of the 12,537 obligors under its management.

    Another 431 debtors, representing 37 per cent of the debtors, owe between N1 billion and N10 billion.

    To be affected also are 1,998 debtors, constituting 16 per cent of the total obligors, that owe between N100 million and N1 billion, while 10,046 debtors, representing seven per cent of the total obligors owe between N100 million and below, bringing the total number of bad loans under AMCON management to 12,537.

    Other agencies that would be involved in the plan are Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Security (DSS) and the Police.

    AMCON has been emboldened by the successful amendment of the AMCON Act 2019, which gives it special powers to tackle billionaire debtors.

    The Corporation is expected to provide a comprehensive database of the affected obligors to the identified agencies for the execution of the plans.

    Proposing the plan to AMCON, Justice Cecilia Olatoregun of the Federal High Court, Lagos said that with the signing of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) (Amendment) Act 2019 into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, the management of AMCON could adopt a new strategy including partnering with other sister agencies of government to stop its debtors from occupying elective positions.

    Speaking at the 2019 External Solicitors and Asset Management Partners (AMPs) of AMCON seminar organised by the Firm of Legal Academy in Lagos, Justice Olatoregun said the society has continued to allow AMCON debtors and people who cannot honour a simple obligation to contest elections, and in most occasions win and eventually occupy exalted offices.

    He said: “It is in our constitution that people of questionable characters and criminals should not contest elections but we are yet to see confident lawyers that can come out and challenge this people beyond reasonable doubt that they are not eligible to stand for elections as a result of their heavy indebtedness.”

    She disclosed that the AMCON (Amendment) Act 2019 has opened new doors, which smart lawyers can explore to help the agency, AMCON, and indeed Nigeria recover these huge debts.

    She said: “When election is approaching, lawyers can boldly approach the court and get orders stopping such obligor candidates from seeking votes from Nigerians thereby helping the economy.

    “Lawyers need to understand that the over N5.4 trillion owed AMCON belongs to all Nigerians, including the lawyers. Recovering the outstanding debt will have huge positive impact on the development of the economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    AMCON’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Kuru, also backed Justice Olatoregun’s stand on the mega debtors. The AMCON boss lamented the over N5.4 trillion debt would become a burden to the Federal Government if at sunset, AMCON failed to recover them.

    He said the amended Act has provided additional powers to an already strong Act of AMCON to take legal actions against recalcitrant debtors.

    Kuru explained that it was not unusual to periodically amend the law that governs activities of organisations such as AMCON, to deal with obligors that constantly try to avoid, circumvent and totally deny commitments and obligations.

    Read Also: I didn’t owe AMCON N569m, says Duke

    The AMCON boss added: “However, the amendment can only be effective to the extent that solicitors of AMCON understand the Act and thereafter utilise the far-reaching powers that have been vested in the Corporation.

    “In our experience, even prior to the amendment, not all the provisions of the Act were effectively utilised. From our interaction with the judiciary, some judges are not very impressed with the approach of solicitors to the application of the unique provisions of the AMCON Act. In some instances, judges have had to direct lawyers to relevant provisions of the Act. It is said that some lawyers are not at home with the provisions of the Act, particularly the AMCON special powers provided in the law.

    “The AMCON (Amendment) Act, 2019 is very robust, and we urge you to take advantage of the provisions to safeguard our collective public interest. That should be taken together with the 2010 Act and the 2015 amendment. It is important that we express our determination to recover the over N5.4 trillion debt giving its implication on the economy. We should not allow a few individuals to escape with our commonwealth. And we want to do it within the confines of the law.”

    Kuru urged legal practitioners, especially those handling AMCON related cases to sit up and test the full strength of the amended Act especially in the face of hard fighting obligors of AMCON in the overall interest of the economy and development of the country.

    The corporation was established on July 19, 2010, when AMCON Act was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan, with a mandate to acquire bad loans from banks, pay the banks and recover the loans from the debtors.

  • Makinde and the Omititun jest

    “OMITITUN” is Yoruba for fresh waters or new spirit, depending on the context of use.  When Candidate Seyi Makinde was running for the Oyo governorship, he used it, as biting campaign slogan, to mean the dawn of a new era, if he won: “Omititun ti de, eja titun wo” — new waters, fresh fishes, better era!

    But the Oyo governor’s partisan opponents really sounded devastating in mockery, when they tweaked “Omititun” to mean fresh flooding — just after a part of Ibadan groaned under flash floods — linking it to the governor’s campaign byte, insinuating the new flood (“omititun”) was rich comeuppance for a disastrous electoral choice.  It was the ultimate sadistic pun!

    “The people of the state of 36-page exercise books,” the sardonic and sadistic pun goes, though put in cutting Oyo Yoruba wit, “it’s a big congratulation on your new big — and destructive flood” — Omititun!

    That was gibberish, of course, as with much on Facebook and allied social media channels.  Flash flooding, after heavy rains, now appears a universal affair, from the United States, to China, to Russia — no thanks to the plague of climate change, fired by virulent global warming.

    But trust cynical Nigerians, waiting for just any tool to unleash and blame a present order, just because they are political foes!  Anything would do to skew situations and poisons minds!  That’s how Nigerian politics rolls!

    Still, the Oyo governor, in a way, has himself — or more exactly, his spin doctors — to blame for this blistering though bizarre attack.  When you go on a spin over-drive to sell yourself, blame no one if you eventually shackle yourself to spin: no matter what you do or not do.  Spin gives, spin takes!

    Makinwa has done some things right since he assumed office.  To be fair, those are sweet low-hanging fruits, to shape your new government and make your electors happy.  Morning shows the day, goes the popular saying.

    The trouble though, is when you go on an over-drive to spin such, cast your predecessor(s) as empty heads, and shape yourself as new and eternal magical kid in town.

    Enjoy your moment, kid!  But prepare for the mo(u)ring after — the long hangover, with its splitting  headache, after the raucous party of promise had collapsed; and your people are sore and bitter, with your perceived non-delivery and general angst!

    As the Makinde government makes some real fantastic claims — of, for instance, printing some millions of textbooks for free distribution to school pupils; as well as building (note: not finishing) some model schools, within its first 100 days, without recourse to the efforts of the immediate previous Ajimobi government — it starts casting itself as a political shaman.

    Shamans are great when the trick is right and the magic gels.  But they are the very Devil — charlatans from the pit of hell — when the magic unravels.  Any government that goes on a spin over-drive, as Makinde does now, just leaves itself open for a vicious sucker punch.

    Makinde is somewhat reminiscent of the opening months of Ogun’s Gbenga Daniel (Ogun State governor, 2003-2011), whose spell of spin — over some laudable opening strides, to be sure — snared quite a few.  But the opening honeymoon turned nothing but gall in the end.

    Governor Makinde should stay focused, concentrate on his job and do less of spin.  That’s the narrow way to true legacy.

    This present way of media noise, over just about anything, is the political wide and merry way.  It leads nowhere but self-distraction and eventual perdition.

  • Thinker. Worker. listener

    THE supporters of Abdullahi A. Sule may be gloating over his recent victory at the tribunal over his rival at the court. The double A governor just felled his challenger to the high seat of governor of Nasarawa State.

    But the fellow has also fascinated this writer as a few we have seen in the past, also a few in this dispensation. The man stands as a crossroads between the politician and the technocrat. In this era, we have another who I call the BOS of Lagos, Governor Babajide O. Sanwo Olu. His acts are starting to arc like rainbow over the city. In earlier eras, we had Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the then governor of example and now the Trojan of works.

    But unlike Fashola and Sanwo-Olu, Governor Sule soared into politics from the summit of corporate Nigeria. Fashola and Sanwo-Olu rode formidable credentials but they happened on the political ring as uppercuts. Governor Sule anticipated the ring as a chest-beating wrestler. Yet, because he is from Nasarawa State without the neon lights and firmaments of the big city, some Nigerians will need to know that he is as good a technocrat as they came.

    His predecessor, the amiable Tanko Al-Makura supported him ahead of the other contenders in his APC. That was because he knew what few knew. Many Nigerians find credentials boring. They may be bored to learn that though they call him engineer, he is actually one. He did not pass a mere technical exam and arrogated it to himself like many of such ilk who pass off as engineers in a society that bows to titles. They will know that he gained his first degree in mechanical technology and his master’s degree in industrial technology from the Indiana State University in Terre Haute in the United States.

    But technocrats do not come in one package. A Godswill Akpabio is different from a Timipre Sylva, or a Sanwo–Olu, but technocrats are becoming an important part of modern democracy. The conflict, however, will continue to stalk governance and democracy in the near future as it has since the invention of the term and concept in 1919.

    The question has been whether the people’s mandate should take precedence over the efficiency of the unelected. Philosophers and sociologists have pondered this over generations. Saint-Simon, with an eye to a socialist nirvana, advocated a society where the politician would be flushed out of relevance by the cold-eyed efficiency of the technocrat. Daniel Bell, a capitalist roader, echoed Saint-Simon but for a different sentiment. Others like Thorstein Veblen want a match. They want a Sule to be in politics. Because Sule, who few know also trained as a firefighter in Texas, worked his 35 years that concluded with two boring distinctions. The first was the opportunity to save an oil behemoth from a humpty dumpty fall.  The firm AP Plc was looking at oblivion with a negative balance sheet of over N22 million. As chief executive he did not only give it first aid, it bounced to a surplus share capital of N5 billion in July, 2006.

    A year later, Aliko Dangote, always with an antenna for talent, head-hunted him in 2007, to be the managing director of the Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC but by the time he left for politics in 2018, Dangote trusted him to run his entire business empire as group managing director. Very boring indeed!!! Or indeed?

    Politics is exciting. It is like the fatty thigh in the soup. Technocracy is like the salad. Salad is boring. But we shall die of boredom without a few fat calories not only on our taste buds but also in the blood. Some technocrats have done well in politics. Some of them have acted as naturals like Asiwaju Tinubu, David Mark, Abiola Ajimobi. They are not without their Achilles’ Heels, though. But they don’t come in great numbers.

    But a politician who is not a good technocrat has no place in governance. Hence Aristotle suggested that no one should go into politics until they are forty years old and must have crested their professions. Politics is serious business and it is where the people say what they want and their listeners, the leaders, shepherd their desires. I don’t always agree with Aristotle on the politics of age, although his heart is in the right place. Ajimobi became senator after he headed one of Nigeria’s top conglomerates. He told me, as I recorded in his book, that he wanted to reach his acme as a technocrat before following the path of his father who was an Action Group force in Ibadan.

    What kind of a technocrat Governor Sule will be in politics is beginning to show in his first 100 days. He is beaming as a nurturer. While he wants to follow the path of all responsible governors who would not abandon a predecessor’s project just to stamp an individual imprimatur, he is showing he wants to train as a means of empowering. He is not one to make a nanny state, where all depend on government handouts.

    Governor Sule is focusing on training across the strata. He is doing that while giving many sewing and grinding machines to the youth and women, and setting up training schools in the state. But he knows he must do that in the context of a bigger picture like constructing technology innovation hubs. He has set the tone for the old by paying pensions, a thing that might smite Okorocha. He has deviated from the self-indulgent tone of many who set up airports for ego. Rather, his is a cargo one, focusing on commerce and economic empowerment.  Whether it is solar energy, of building rural roads, or intercity infrastructure, he is proving why he healed AP Plc and Dangote fished for him.

    It is still early days, but he has seen himself as a uniter in spirit, a man who sees no contradiction between Islam and Christianity, having grown up a Muslim but attended a Catholic school. This is the skill that he will have to bring into play to make the technocrat in him into a mandate, not just in polls but in the people’s heart.

    For a technocrat to succeed in politics, he has to bring a sort of drama into his acts. Awo began as a great politician. He ended a statesman who was more of a technocrat. That accounted for his inability to expand his base beyond his home region. He is Nigeria’s best leader ever. But he was a statesman first, which is the best virtue. As James Clarke noted, “a politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.” That was Awo. For me, the technocrat thinks of the next result. The virtue of the technocrat is impatience. They are managers in a hurry. That’s why men like Fashola and Akpabio were hailed after five years. But they would have flunked without the first of all virtues: political education. They knew the pulse on the streets. That’s why we cannot all agree with Plato, who applauds only the philosopher king.

    We need the thinker first, then the worker, then the listener. As the Prophet Isaiah said, “here a little, there a little.” This three-part goal is what Governor Sule is cultivating. So far, so good.

     

    Wilderness men

     

    THEY are everywhere. Young and middle-aged men like bush men. Their faces are drowned in bush. It enjoys no trimming or shaping, they are nature let loose on the wilderness. They see themselves as virile. I hear they do it to advertise their male significance as able men. Before it used to be a figure of a different kind of virility, not of male trouncing the female, but of men in holy, robust worship.

    The Muslim clerics still do it. The Jewish rabbi does that to distinguish his piety, his surrender to the ecclesiastical call. Graphic representations of Prophet Samuel and Abraham show them in holy beards. In Leviticus, the law encouraged it to distinguish God’s people from others. These days it is profane and superficial. It is not to show holiness, but the exact opposite.

    It is a projection of insecurity, also an admission that other than their beard, they have nothing to offer. It is an advertisement of impotence by other means. If they must wear those beards, let them be shapely or elegant. It also reflects an age of superficial joys, where inner beauty counts less than outward extravagance.

    The liberality of their beards may on the surface portray the liberalism of the age, but it does little to promote virtue. Rather it is a Freudian display of manhood.

  • Help! Drug addiction is growing

    With worrisome statistics that more and more of teenagers and youth are getting addicted to drugs, experts are calling for concerted efforts by the government to rid the nation of the scourge, writes FEMI OGUNSHOLA

    A new pandemic is raging and ravaging the active population of the nation – youths and experts are worried that the right attention is not yet drawn to it or strategies in place to arrest the scourge.

    Neuro-psychiatrists are raising the alarm that drugs and drug addiction have left even its traditional space and slipping into primary and secondary schools across the country.

    Checks revealed that in many public schools, even teenagers are becoming dangerously hooked to mind-bending drugs. They are therefore urging parents to be more involved in child-rearing and not leave the grooming of their children or wards to teachers.

    Dr Yusuf Misau, Department of Community Medicine, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, said addiction in whatever form has become a silent reality that Nigerians should worry about.

    He said that “drug abuse is a curse on the society because it comes at heavy cost with terrible implication on the individual and the community at large.

    Experts at a workshop on the dangers of drug abuse and addiction to national development decried the involvement of Nigerian youths in the deviant act.

    They blamed the prevalence of the act partly on poor parental upbringing and bad peer group influences, among others.

    Participants at a capacity building workshop, organised by Green Crescent Health Development, in collaboration with the International Federation of Green Crescent, were drawn from community-based non-governmental organisations.

    The theme of the workshop is: “Universal Addiction Advocacy Campaign Intervention.”

    The United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs (UNODC), listed cannabis sativa as the most abused drug in Nigeria, by youths between 20-29 years.

    Dr Mohammed Audi, the President of Green Crescent Health Development, stressed the need to support drug addiction prevention and also invest in the youths and other vulnerable population.

    The prevention campaign, according to him is aimed at promoting healthy behaviour.

    Audi said that keeping drug use prevalence low and continually reducing it remained the best prevention, noting that preventing harm from occurring in the most cost-effective.

    He also said drug policies must be “human rights-based, gender-sensitive and age-appropriate.’’

    Mr Khaleel Abdullahi, a legal practitioner, said drug problem is as old as man, noting that no society is immune to the negative consequences of illicit drugs.

    Read Also: Drug abuse: Killing Nigeria softly

    He, however, said the issue assumed worrisome dimensions at the end of the Second World War, following the return of some Nigerian soldiers from Burma and India.

    Abdullahi said some of the soldiers returned home with the seeds of the cannabis sativa which they experimented, and discovered it could grow well in some parts of the country.

    He noted that, with time, the cultivation of cannabis sativa became popular, while the consumption also expanded.

    He added that addiction, in all its ramifications remained the principal cause of low productivity, social vices, crimes, diseases, upheavals, suicide and political rascality especially in developing society.

    Abdullahi said that substance addiction, such as drugs and alcohol cause clinical and functional impairments and disability, which sometimes lead to failure to meet major responsibilities.

    According to him, behavioural addiction is what an individual learns over time and becomes part of such individual, which include gambling, playing cards, chess and ludo, among others.

    “Technological addiction is otherwise known as Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is a new phenomenon, but already taking a new dimension in health practice.’’

    He noted that though alcohol addiction is part of substance addiction, Nigerian law permits the licensing of breweries and beer parlours.

    The only warning it gives according to the lawyer is, “Drink responsibly” or “Do not drink and drive.”

    He stated that technological addiction, according to Nigerian law, is yet to be regulated, the duration somebody stays online or on a particular site, or a site where a child should not visit.

    On gambling and other games of chance, he stated that Nigerian law is not discouraging gambling, but rather encourage it.

    According to him, Nigerian law does not frontally address tobacco addiction, even with the existence of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015.

    “Companies are only asked to advertise that smoking kills or the failed attempt that no one should smoke in public gatherings.’’

    The legal practitioner noted that these statements were too charitable, adding that the implementation of the act is required to address addiction.

    Abdullahi also said that the campaign on addiction prevention should be taken down to all strata of the society, especially schools where the leaders of tomorrow are being groomed.

    He called on government agencies entrusted with the mandate to fight addiction to live up to their responsibilities and ensure they recruit the right people for the jobs.

    “Whether chemical, behavioural or digital, is a scourge not only in the individual’s brain, but also on the vast majority of communities in Nigeria and the majority of concerned citizens crave to live in communities free from addiction and addiction-related harm.’’

    Dr Tajudeen Abiola of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, called for a comprehensive community-wide action to curb the problem.

    He said the problem should be solved through an integrated and evidenced-based approach, adding that there must be community involvement.

    According to him, we are painfully aware of the destructive impact of alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries in the country.

    “We are deeply concerned about the emergence of online gaming, among others, that promote drug use and e-gaming for private profit, causing substantial harm, especially to the youths and vulnerable group.’’

    Mr Abdullahi Baba-Husseini, Assistant Comptroller General, Narcotics (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said the collective effort was the only panacea to addressing the challenges of substance abuse.

    He disclosed that no fewer than 14 per cent of Nigerians abuse different substances through addiction.

    He listed the substances mostly abused as Tramadol, Benylin with codeine, adding that a high percentage of women were involved in drug abuse.

    He said the agency has stepped up strategies to create awareness on drug abuse and its dangers, and called on state governments to include drug education in the school curriculum.

    He said with the inclusion of drug education in the school curriculum, young people would be aware of the dangers inherent in indiscriminate drug use.

    Baba-Husseini added that with rising population, the agency had low manpower to tackle the growing addiction, stressing that more partnership was needed to tackle drug addiction in the country.

    Ogunshola is of the News Agency of Nigeria

  • Xenophobia and the Africa giant

    SIR: The last few weeks witnessed the condemnable attacks of African immigrants in South Africa. Video claps replete with looting, arson, murder and the like in Johannesburg shocked the world. Over the years, Somalis, Zimbabweans and Mozambicans have been victims of the country’s xenophobic attacks. However, this month’s attacks strained tensions between South Africa and Nigeria—the continent’s two largest economies.

    Some South Africans, unfortunately, are happy about it. Zweli Ndaba and his Sisonke People’s Forum group, who allegedly ignited the latest attacks was reported to have said: “Enough is enough, on selling of drugs, on property theft, and on our work being taken by foreign nationals.”

    Vusumuzi Sibanda, chairperson of the African Diaspora Forum, said his organisation actually handed some flyers containing some xenophobic messages to the police days before the attacks happened. But, no action was taken to curtail it.

    Another South African was reported to have said: “We need to take our fight to the Nigerians because they are the ones who are destroying us.” However, the worst came from South Africa’s Minister of International Relations, Grace Naledi Mandisa Pander, who said, “I would appreciate them in helping us as well to address the belief our people have and the reality that there are many persons from Nigeria dealing in drugs in our country.”

    Savo Heleta, in an article titled ‘Xenophobia and Party Politics in South Africa’, stated that through blatant lies and scaremongering, foreigners are blamed for many of South Africa’s woes and social ills, adding that “South Africa isn’t overwhelmed with immigrants, with some 2.2 million international migrants (about 4% of the population) in the country in 2011. Stats SA Community Survey 2016 puts the number of foreign born people at 1.6 million, out of the population of 55 million at the time.”

    Adekeye Adebajo, a Nigerian academic who leads the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg, in his reaction to these xenophobic attacks said that they are partly as a result of the economic frustration many poor South Africans have endured after apartheid, adding that many South Africans resentment is: ‘We suffered all these years—now that we’re free, we’re not really benefiting from what we fought for.’”

    There is no country without challengers. Bad leadership and governance, soaring unemployment, insecurity, terrorism, political tensions, and the inaction of the government and the leaders to address them have caused many Nigerians to lose hope in Nigeria.

    Ghana, Libya, Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, South Africa, etc.—countries that once looked up to Nigeria have now outpaced it in terms of economy and technology. These countries are where almost all Nigerians want to live if given the slightest chance.

    No one is saying that reprisal attacks should be meted to South Africans or their business in Nigeria, but the Nigerian government should re-strategize and be proactive in dealing with South African government and leaders. It is expected that by now, Nigerian government should have helped the victims to sue the South African government or even sue that country in the international court for the injustice done to its people.

    Xenophobia is not a problem that would go away overnight. For it to go away at all, the world and Africa should hold South Africa accountable for the deaths and damages it has caused its follow Africans. Though South African president has apologised to those affected, it is not enough. Strict measures should be put in place to avoid reoccurrence of these attacks in future. If Nigeria is truly the giant of Africa, she should make sure that its citizens are safe wherever they are in the world. If this is not so, it should ensure any country or government violating this, are strictly meted with justice.

     

    • Kingsley Alumona, Ibadan.

  • Reviving Nigeria’s steel sector

    THE momentous discovery of oil in commercial quantity at Oloibiri in Bayelsa State in 1956, apart from the attendant political effect has had a dual impact on the economic fortunes of Nigeria. On the positive side, the discovery of oil was a boost to government revenue and foreign exchange earnings. On the other hand, the impact of the government attention to the oil industry has had a “crowding out” effect on the other sectors, notably agriculture that was the mainstay of the economy prior to the discovery of oil and the solid mineral sector which exploitation actually predates the discovery of oil. It has been acknowledged by scholars and analysts that the growth and development of Nigeria’s economy have been lethargic due largely to non-diversification of the economy. Though, Nigeria has the potentials of becoming a global economic superpower but lack of deserved attention to other sectors is impeding the growth of industrialization and other factors that drive national productivity.

    However, it may not be entirely correct to say that the government has overlooked the other sectors for there has been identifiable government interest in the development of other sectors over the years. In particular, there have been government investment in solid minerals and steel sector because of its strategic importance but implementation of the designed policies to revamp the sector has been in fits and starts.

    A peep into economic history reveals that the industrial revolution in Europe was the after-effect of the use of coal and development of iron and steel works. Therefore, it is a fact that a vibrant iron and steel sector is necessary for the infrastructural and technological development of any nation.

    Thus, in realization of the strategic importance of steel sector in our quest for industrialization and economic development, the various Nigerian governments have shown interest in steel development since the first Republic. The exploration of iron ore began in Nigeria in the 60s and culminated in its discovery in commercial quantity at Itakpe in 1972 and the establishment National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) in 1979. The development of the Iron and Steel sector was a key item in the second National Development Plan with the establishment of National Steel Development Authority (NSDA). But, Nigeria actually came close to realizing her dream of establishing a viable steel sector at the tail end of the Third National Development Plan when the contracts for the establishments of government-owned integrated steel companies and steel rolling mills were executed. The contract to build the two integrated steel plants at Aladja and Ajaokuta and the establishment of three steel rolling mills at Oshogbo, Jos and Katsina were consummated. While the Aladja steel plant was completed and commissioned on schedule in 1981, the Ajaokuta steel plant was never completed till date, 40 years after the contract for its construction was awarded in 1979.

    Again, the government in its quest to properly regulate, promote and attract investment in the solid minerals sector established the Ministry of Solid Minerals in 1985. There was attempt to divest government holding in the steel sector in order to improve efficiency and reduce wastages through privatization of the state-owned steel companies but that did not improve the fortunes of the steel companies. Mineral Mining Act (MMA) of 2007 and the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations (NMMR) of 2011and other regulations were designed to give a legal framework to the issue of mining in Nigeria.

    But regrettably, after over 50 years of activity in the iron and steel sector, Nigeria is yet to have the deserved thriving steel sector in spite of the humongous amount invested in the sector. And despite the huge potentials and availability of solid minerals in Nigeria, the contribution of the sector to the GDP over the years is less than one percent. Despite the huge investments in the sector, the Ajaokuta Steel Company has failed to take off while Delta Steel Company at Aladja and the three state-owned rolling mills in Oshogbo, Jos and Kastina are moribund, working below their installed capacities. The steel rolling mills depend on imported billets which come at a huge cost due to the inability of the integrated steel companies to function. The privately owned rolling mills now depend on recycling metal scraps. The attempted privatization of the steel companies did little to revive them as the privatization process was marred by irregularities. Other mining activities in the solid minerals sub-sector are in small holding as illegal mining and communal clashes are commonplace.

    The poor performance of the Nigerian steel sector is the result of unfortunate combination of many factors ranging from: inadequate funding, poor policy engineering, bureaucracy, corruption, weak institutional framework and capacity, political influence, poor planning and implementation, external interferences, international politics, technical challenges, inconsistencies in policy implementations, illegal and informal mining, communal clashes, and operational challenges. It is pertinent to note that the siting of the steel plants and the rolling mills were done out of political manipulations rather economic consideration or national interest. The spatial location of rolling mills and the integrated steel companies that is supposed to supply them billets, created huge operational and logistics challenges.

    Indeed, there is no better time than now when the economy is in the doldrums to revive the steel sector. There is rising unemployment, instability in oil prices and declining oil revenue. The demand for oil export is threatened by developments in bio-technology and less emphasis on fossil-fueled automobile by Western countries. There is need for multiple streams of income to the national treasury in the face of declining revenue, declining Foreign Direct Investment and unfavourable Balance of Payment problem. Instead of wasting resources on oil prospecting, the country should do proper scenario analysis and prepare for life without oil and the steel sector is a viable alternative.

    Potentially, Nigeria is blessed with all the raw materials required for steel development including iron ore, coal, natural gas and limestone and other ferro-alloy minerals such as columbite, manganese, nickel, molybdenum etc. And statistically, Nigeria has a large domestic market for steel products as it imports about five million metric tonnes of steel valued at over $3 billion annually. The struggling local steel rolling mills recycling scrap metals could only supply less than 30% of domestic needs.

    In this connection, it is therefore heartwarming to hear from the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah in the news recently about the plans by the federal government to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company. It is indeed a welcome development. Reviving the Ajaokuta Steel Company will be a great boost to Nigerian economy currently experiencing a downturn. It will revive the other rolling mills by supplying the billets for their operation and reduce the huge import expenditure on steel thereby creating a thriving steel sector. A flourishing steel sector will have a positive multiplier effect on the whole economy. It will have a good impact on the construction sub-sector and infrastructural development of the country. In addition, there will be boundless opportunities down the value chain that may lead to the much awaited industrialization take-off. Moreover, there will be employment generation and the creation of jobs will have positive socio-political effect. Clearly the potentials in the iron and steel sector if properly harnessed, would give the nation’s economy the much-needed push.

    Generally, the beneficiation of iron ore and the processing of steel and its allied products require massive deployment of resources, unalloyed commitment and dedication, and sincerity of purpose and above all the political will to follow through the designed policies and programmes of action. In this regard, the government should do a proper diagnosis, involve experts, critically appraise our current position, make intelligent and proactive future projections, plan accordingly, invest properly and do proper stakeholders’ engagement in order to have the desired result.

     

    • Irogboli is an economist and public policy analyst.

  • Allegation of duress

    It’s unsurprising that Senator Rochas Okorocha, the immediate past governor of Imo State, is happy about his recent victory at the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal. It was another victory for him, after his controversial election as the Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District.  But the tribunal’s judgement in Okorocha’s favour didn’t lay the controversy to rest.

    The election petitions tribunal had dismissed petitions filed by Jones Onyereri  of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Osita Izunaso of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),  challenging Okorocha’s victory  in the February 23 National Assembly election.  The petitioners claimed the Imo West Senatorial District election was characterised by irregularities, including intimidation and violence. But the tribunal held that the petitioners were unable to prove the allegations.

    When the Returning Officer, Prof Innocent Ibeawuchi, alleged that he was forced to declare Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the poll, the allegation stained the winner as well as the win. Ibeawuchi had told reporters that he was held hostage from 7pm on February 24 till 11am the following day.  He was quoted as saying:  “I was compelled to announce the result which was inconclusive. I am a man of integrity and it is not true that the governor slapped me but I was held hostage by agents working for him. I was manhandled and I thank God I came back alive.”

    In an interview published on September 15, Okorocha said: “What is good about the judgement is that it has gone a long way to prove my innocence and to tell the world that my victory was not under duress, which was an action intended to paint me bad in the eyes of Nigerians. The tribunal has come to affirm that the election was not under duress; that I did not use force to get the victory as the senator representing Imo West. That for me is good news.”

    According to Okorocha, “The Returning Officer had announced the results and I was shocked after four days to hear that the Returning Officer said his child was kidnapped and that he was made to do the announcement under duress. That would mean somebody forcing you to do what you are not supposed to do. He calculated the votes from the wards for more than two hours and confirmed that everything was correct. So, where was the duress? When the court asked him where the duress came from, he could not answer it and that was when the court described him as a dramatist. That was a fabricated story which does not reflect any practical reality.”

    Now contrast Okorocha’s narrative with this February 25 report: “Before reeling out figures at the district collation centre in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Office in Orlu, Mr Ibeawuchi, a professor, said he was being held “under duress” to announce the results. “My name is Ibeawuchi Izuchukwu Innocent, a professor at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), the returning officer for Imo West (Orlu) senatorial zone”, the official said. My area commander, my P.Os; the party agents here present; members of the press; ladies and gentlemen. I have been held hostage here for days so I’m trying to ease off and take my life home back to my children and for the sake of that I am calling these results under duress,” the returning officer said. He then reeled out the results.” Okorocha polled 97,762 votes to win the election, while Onyereri had 68,117 votes and Izunaso got 30,084 votes, Ibeawuchi had announced.

    Based on the don’s account, INEC withheld Okorocha’s certificate of return. Okorocha controversially got a certificate of return from INEC on June 11, following the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Okon Abang’s judgement on June 7 favoured Okorocha who had challenged INEC’s decision to withhold his certificate of return. The judge said:”Once a declaration of the results has been made, that decision is final and can only be reviewed by the election petition tribunal and not by INEC… Once the declaration is made under section 68(c) of the Electoral Act, INEC has become functus officio (has completed its responsibility) and INEC has no lawful authority to withhold the Certificate of Return for any reason whatsoever.”

    According to Justice Abang, “If indeed, it is true that the Returning Officer made the declaration under duress, it is for the defendants who lost in the election to proceed to the election tribunal to challenge the election under section 138 of the Electoral Act… INEC has not, in its counter-affidavit, suggested that the plaintiff did not win the election. INEC did not declare the election as inconclusive. INEC did not declare that the election was won by any other person.”

    In response, NEC had highlighted “the likely consequences of this judgment for our electoral process in particular and our democracy in general.” The commission said in a statement: “Obviously, persons who seek elective offices could perceive in this judgment an irrelevance of due process and acting within the law.”

    “It is not farfetched that some of them could in future disregard laid-down processes, including voting, arm themselves and mobilise thugs and compel Returning Officers to declare them elected, irrespective of the true outcomes of the elections.

    “Moreover, it may become increasingly difficult for the commission to convince its officials that they are safe to carry out their legitimate functions without fear of being harassed, held to ransom or visited with bodily harm.”

    Does Okorocha’s victory at the election petitions tribunal mean Ibeawuchi’s allegation of duress is a fabrication? If  it is true that Ibeawuchi had declared Okorocha the winner under duress, why did the petitions against Okorocha fail at the tribunal?  Why were the petitioners unable to prove the allegation of duress? Why was Ibeawuchi unable to prove his allegation of duress? What was needed to prove the allegation of duress?

    The problem of electoral interference by candidates and their backers has various dimensions. A democratic system must not tolerate declaration of election winners under duress because democracy is not about duress. The big question is: If there was no duress, why did Ibeawuchi make an allegation of duress?

  • Nigeria breaks negative foreign portfolio flows

    For the first time in 12 months, Nigeria has recorded positive foreign investment flow as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) appeared to be showing renewed interests in Nigerian securities, implying that more foreign portfolio investments came into the country than outflows.

    The FPIs report indicated a positive net foreign portfolio investment of about 20.5 per cent. The report also showed 10.6 per cent increase in total foreign portfolio transactions with FPIs outpacing domestic transactions at the Nigerian equities market for the second consecutive month.

    The FPIs report, coordinated by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), included transactions from nearly all custodians and capital market operators and it is widely regarded as a credible measure of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) trend. The report uses two key indicators-inflow and outflow, to gauge foreign investors’ mood and participation in the stock market as a barometer for the economy.

    Foreign portfolio outflow includes sales transactions or liquidation of equity portfolio investments through the stock market while inflow includes purchase transactions on the NSE. Segmental analysis delineates the proportion of foreign to local participation, institutional to retail investors as well as the momentum of activities among others.

    Foreign portfolio inflows 23.04 per cent from N28.98 billion in July 2019 to N34.92 billion in August 2019 while foreign portfolio outflow improved from N29.40 billion to N28.98 billion during the same period, representing a 20.5 per cent or N5.94 billion net FPIs in August compared with a deficit of N1.02 billion or 3.6 per cent in July. The last positive FPI flow was in August 2018. Total foreign transactions thus increased from N57.78 billion in July to N63.90 billion in August.

    The report showed that while Nigerian domestic investors- both retail and institutional, tended to sell more shares than buy during the period, foreign investors stepped up buy orders and slowed down on sell orders.

    Managing Director, APT Securities & Funds Limited Kasimu Garba Kurfi said most foreign investors understand and play better in the Nigerian investment market noting that clearer macroeconomic direction, upbeat crude oil pricing and reduced political risks usually influence foreign investments.

    He, however, added that sell pressure on  domestic investors might not be unconcerned with demand to raise funds to meet financing needs in preparation for resumption of schools. With a trading cycle of four days, most investors find their shares handy in the event of immediate cash requirement.

    Chief Dealer, Globalview Capital Limited, Mr. Aruna Kebira, noted that stability and sustainability could influence foreign portfolio direction.

    Chief Executive Officer, Sofunix Investment and Communications, Mr. Sola Oni, said strong fundamentals and undervaluation of Nigerian equities have made them attractive to investors noting that clearer economic and political directions have further reduced Nigerian macro risks and made Nigerian securities more attractive.

    FPIs had outpaced Nigerian domestic investments in the equities market in 2018, after two-year domination by Nigerian domestic investors. However, FPIs had for most months tended towards outflows. Further analysis showed that for the past 12 years, foreign portfolio investors and Nigerian domestic investors had split the domination of transactions at the Nigerian market equally.

    A year-to-date cumulative assessment also showed that total foreign transactions had reduced from N906.86 billion in first eight months of 2018 to N594.46 billion in first eight months of this year. FPI trend meanwhile was in line with the reduction in total transactions in the Nigerian equities market, which dropped from N1.88 trillion in eight-month period ended August 2018 to N1.32 billion in 2019. Nigerian domestic transactions had also reduced from N728.51 billion by August, last year to N970.31 billion last month.

  • Slow growth, low investment’ll raise poverty, says World Bank

    THE World Bank at the weekend, warned that  slow global growth and sluggish investment in Nigeria and other developing countries would most likely increase poverty and frustrate its goal for poverty alleviation.

    World Bank Group President David Malpass, who gave the warning at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC, United States, said the distributional impact of slower global growth and frozen capital will add to inequality, undercutting the bank’s mission of shared prosperity and rising median incomes.

    He said the world was already facing  slowdown in growth, slowdown in investment, and frozen capital.

    Malpass  said the global slowdown is apparent, adding that in June, the World Bank Group’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report lowered estimate for this year’s real global growth to 2.6 per cent.

    “Given recent developments, I expect actual growth to fall short of that. In nominal terms, dollar gross domestic product (GDP) growth looks set to slow to less than three per cent in 2019, a big letdown from six per cent growth in 2017 and 2018.   World dollar GDP reached $84.7 trillion in 2018, of which the U.S. was $20.6 trillion, China $13.6 trillion, the combined five biggest European Union (EU) economies (Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain) $13.1 trillion and Japan $5 trillion.

    “The slowdown in global growth is broad based, including slowing growth in China, substantial downturns in Argentina, India, and Mexico, and disappointments in much of the developing world. Some parts of Europe are in recession or close to falling into recession. Germany and the United Kingdom have experienced a quarter of recession, and Italy and Sweden have seen several quarters of stagnation,” he said.

    The World Bank chief said global investment growth decelerated after the global financial crisis from an average of about six per cent between 1992-2007 to about four per cent between 2010 and 2018.

    It said in emerging market and developing economies, average investment growth slowed from about 10per cent per year during 1992-2007 to below six per cent during 2010-2018. Excluding China, average investment growth in other emerging market and developing economies was only about four per cent between 2010-2018 period.

    Malpass said at the same time, over $15 trillion of bonds have zero or negative yields, with some new issues carrying negative yields over the long term. This frozen capital implies slower future growth.  In economic theory, yields should be related to the cost of capital and anticipated return on investment. Low or negative bond yields mean that many pools of capital are accepting the market’s premise of very low or even negative returns for years, even decades.

    “Lack of debt transparency and unsustainable debt loads are problems in a number of countries, especially in Africa. The lack of clean water, dependable electricity and access to roads, basic health care and education still plagues many of our clients.

    “For many emerging markets, the availability of global capital puts added emphasis on reforms that strengthen capital markets and attract capital from their diaspora, who are often the most eager to invest when improvements occur and the most aware of meaningful progress,” Malpass said.