The Nation Newspaper

Tag: policy

  • Please, review National Automobile Policy

    I deign to begin this article by making oblique reference to your well-researched piece published in The Nation, February 26th, 2017 with the title: ‘Vehicles import ban: It’s business as usual.’ That piece, to say the least, was very informative and deserves commendation. That said, I wish to state here that a careful perusal of the different policy pronouncements of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in the last 18 months shows that nothing much has really changed in the way government works, especially if one takes a very dispassionate look at the policy matrix of government in terms of its objective purpose.

    For the avoidance of doubt and confusion, a few examples would suffice here. Take the recent ban on the importation of vehicles through the land borders announced on 5th December 2016 and whose implementation began 1st January 2017, that policy has clearly shown that this government lacks tact and diplomacy.

    I dare say that the outright ban of vehicles through the borders is not just a kneel-jerk approach to issues but does appear to be a hand-wriggling gesture by a government utterly confused about how to handle a less complex problem at hand.

    Clearly, rather than rely on executive fiat or brute force as the case may be, a more holistic approach which recognises the unintended consequences of state policies should be readily adopted.

    No policy(s) of government, however well-meaning, should be injurious to the socio-economic, physical and psychological wellbeing of the people to whom such a policy(s) was intended in the first place.

    However, before I go any further, at this juncture, I wager that it would be most appropriate to take a short historical excursion into what actually led to the new policy regime banning vehicle import across the land borders.

    The last administration, it may be recalled, had initiated a new automotive policy that raised the duty paid on imported vehicles from 20 percent to 70 percent, covering 35 percent duty and 35 percent levy, effective from 2014.

    The policy was aimed at discouraging importation and increase patronage for locally assembled cars. It may, however, interest you to note that that policy from all intent and purpose has been totally counterproductive, to say the least.  The reason being that the policy favours just a few to the detriment of the vast majority, whose livelihoods and businesses depend solely on import, especially car dealers who buy between 5-10 cars, make small margins and continue the cycle.

    With a few exceptions, especially PAN Nigeria Limited, the leading manufacturer of automobiles in Nigeria, assembling Peugeot vehicles has an installed capacity to produce 90,000 cars per annum in three shifts with ample space for future expansion and can generate direct employment for over 5000 people. The PAN model is a good one to follow but unfortunately that has not been so with many of the assembling plants. For instance, investigations revealed that some of the assembling companies camouflaged under the processes and import almost a readymade vehicle that may not necessarily require engaging the kind of manpower the government wishes they would engage in the first place. Aside being a loss of revenue for the federal government as they may not get what would have accrued to them as taxes and levies, it appears a disservice, deception to Nigerians.

    Of what benefit then is the less than 10% importation levy on the completely knocked down parts (CKD) and the semi knocked down parts (SKD) given as rebate for these companies to provide jobs for Nigerians, particularly the youth? While not making a case for importers of readymade vehicles who import and paid 70% on their imported vehicles, it is feared that this imbalance may not bring anything positive to the Nigerian economy both in the short term and on the long run.

    Going forward, what the government needs to do therefore is to first consider tinkering with the subsisting automotive policy and weigh in on it because the policy as it is presently implemented is a disincentive to business both in the short, medium to long term.

    More than that, there is a serious need for the reorientation of the officers and men of the Nigerian Customs Service, who are expected to enforce most of these policies in question. They are human after all and hence can be malleable as past experience has shown.

    Methinks that if the federal government takes a step further and scrap the high import duty regime imposed on vehicles by the administration of President Jonathan in 2013 and return the import duties on vehicles to 20 percent from the prohibitive 70 percent tariff imposed by the former administration, the reversal will serve as an incentive for Nigerians to import legitimately through the seaports and make appropriate payments to government.

    Adeyemi Timothy

    Abuja.

  • ‘New JAMB policy is unacceptable’

    Stakeholders in the Education sector on Thursday in Ibadan, said the scrapping of   `Awaiting Result’ by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. (JAMB) was unacceptable and not right.

    They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the policy was not suitable and would truncate arrangements already in place.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that JAMB had on Feb. 28, announced that students would no longer be able to secure admission, while awaiting their `O’ level results.

    Prof. Andy Fadoju of the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, University of Ibadan, said it was unfortunate that the most-abused sector in Nigeria was the education sector.

    “That is why you find all this unstable policies because in an ideal setting, you expect to see a round peg in the right hole,’’ Fadoju said.

    According to Fadoju, there should be a smooth transition from the secondary education to the tertiary and I do not see anything wrong in that.

    He said that scrapping `Awaiting Result’ would affect the morale of candidates and it might also lead to youthful exuberance.

    “You know, most children nowadays are not patient. Their age of maturity is different and they always want to move on with the knowledge they have acquired.

    “So once there is a break for them, there is the tendency that this could lead to youthful exuberance and may also cause problems for the society,’’ he said.

    Fadoju said that as an educationist, he was not in support of the new policy as announced by JAMB.

    Mr Muyiwa Bamgbose, Executive Director, Educational Advancement Centre, Ibadan, said that there should be adequate provision by government to review strategic plans in the education sector.

    He said that though the Board (JAMB) had been clamouring for priority of old candidates over the new ones, proper and well-thought out plans must be taken and should be long term planning.

    Bamgbose, however, urged the government to give adequate attention to `A’ level education in the country, adding that right now, only 10 per cent attention was being given to `A’ level candidates in terms of for admission.

    Other parents who spoke with NAN described the new policy as “unfortunate and uncalled for’’.

    Mr Olabiyi Orekoya, said he was not surprised with the announcement.

    Orekoya  said that the Board was only looking for ways of reducing the number of candidates seeking admission into tertiary institution.

    “I really do not know what is wrong with our educational system. We continue to be at the back stage due to policies that are not sustainable,’’ he said.

    Some students who spoke with NAN said that, though, JAMB had the right to bring policies from time to time but the scrapping of `Awaiting Result’ by candidates was not right.

    Mr Stephen Ogunronbi, a part four student in the Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, said he would have waited for one year if it was now because he was admitted while awaiting his result.

    “I would have waited for one year if now, due to this new policy,’’ Ogunronbi said.

    He, however, said that the policy had more disadvantages than advantages.

  • Ugwuanyi’s housing policy hailed

    Ugwuanyi’s housing policy hailed

    It was all commendations showered on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state over his Housing for All policy as 125 housing units were commissioned at the Vyvian Estate, Ibagwa, Nike.

    The minister of state for Power, Works and Housing, Hon Mustapha Baba Shehuri who commissioned the housing units observed that   the governor’s humility and accessibility had enabled developers and

    other associates to partner the state government in its quest to

    provide affordable houses for the state’s civil servants.

    Shehuri noted that the project was a culmination of the President Mohammadu Buhari administration’s desire to provide affordable houses for the teeming populace, especially the low income.

    The minister had earlier paid a courtesy visit to Governor Ugwuanyi at  the Government House, Enugu, where he praised his novel housing scheme that enabled workers in the state between grade levels 01 to 10 to become house owners.

    He announced  that his ministry would continue to strive to reduce the country’s housing deficit estimated at about 17 million units.

    The national president of the Real Estate Developers Association of

    Nigeria (REDAN), Rev. Ugochukwu Obiora Chime, in his remarks commended Ugwuanyi, for his commitment towards the provision of mass housing.

    “I thank Enugu State government and the federal government for making the provision of houses to Nigerians particularly the downtrodden in the society their priority,” said Chime.

    Ugwuanyi said the project was  consistent with his administration’s goal to improve the people’s social and economic conditions.

    He thanked the minister for siting the project in Enugu, noting that much progress has been made in the  housing sector since the inception of the current administration.

    “Of particular note is the recent approval by the Ministry of Power,

    Works and Housing for the National Housing Fund loan of N5m and below that attracts 100 percent mortgage funding to be capitalized and paid gradually over a period of five years”, he said.

    He also commended the project’s major stakeholders comprising the

    Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, the developer , LCK Project Limited and REDAN, among other agencies, for the successful completion of the project.

    He also added that  the host community – Ibagwa Nike, is also worthy of commendation for their support and cooperation.

    The 125 three bedroom bungalows were developed by LCK Project Limited in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank.

  • NLC to minister: no work no pay policy is illegal

    NLC to minister: no work no pay policy is illegal

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that applying the ‘no work no pay’ policy to resolve industrial disagreement will be counter-productive.
    Its General Secretary, Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, said the pronouncement by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige on the application of the law, especially where workers issue warning strikes, is antithetical to stemming industrial crises.
    Ngige said warning strikes were unknown to labour laws and that workers who embarked on them would forfeit their pay during such strikes.
    Ozo-Eson said: “We are taken aback by the claims of the minister. Accordingly, we find it necessary to state that whether warning strike is in the corpus of the labour laws or not, unions over the years across all climes use warning strike as a bargaining chip to bring employers to the negotiation table. In other words, it is a tradition that has acquired the force of law.”
    Ozo-Eson insisted that the efficacy of a warning strike could not be in doubt as it is the reason the minister is now negotiating with the representatives of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
    “In the annals of labour history, warning strikes have had the distinguishing feature of saving the parties to disputes the rigours, costs and pains of full-blown strikes. This, the minister, a cerebral mind, a former union leader, very well knows,” he said.
    The NLC scribe wondered why the minister would be canvassing a position that is extreme and intolerant of further dialogue, which is the mainstay of labour/government relations.
    He said labour found it necessary to caution that a hasty resort to legalese as a basis for conflict resolution would not be helpful.
    Ozo-Eson said the truth was that if strikes were guaranteed by the law, labour hadfailed to see how warning strikes could be illegal, adding that the NLC does not intend to resort to partisanship, but quite often, an interpretation of the law falls short of its intention.
    He insisted that warning strikes would continue to be part of labour’s engagement with all employers, including government, when necessary “and we believe we are deserving of commendation for this thoughtfulness/discretion and not vilification”.

  • Varsities to support ECOWAS to implement agric policy

    Enhancing Capacities on International Agriculture Agreements for Development of Regional Agriculture and Food Markets (ECIATA), a regional project collaboration between agriculture universities in the subregion,  has pledged to support Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) member-nations to promote policies  that will boost food security.

    The main objective of the project is to strengthen the academic capacities of partner institutions on international trade agreements, which would enable them to enhance the institutional capacities of government ministries, agencies, regional bodies, farmers organisations, civil society and other relevant bodies on trade-related agriculture negotiations, agreements and policy implementation in support of regional agriculture and development of food markets.

    The universities include the College of Agriculture Education of the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana; University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia; Njala University, Sierra Leone, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, and University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

    According to ECIATA,  West Africa region has major potential in terms of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, but  was facing  food security problems because of  challenges occasioned by  differing climate conditions, sub-regional disparities and local production deficits, a lack of market fluidity and little competition within production sectors.

    The group noted  that the  link between food security and the availability of foodstuffs requires that different sectorial policies have to work together to enhance the competitiveness of the agriculture sector and develop the regional food markets. Stepping up food security requires improving the competitiveness of the sector to improve production.

  • RMAFC endorses new tax policy

    RMAFC endorses new tax policy

    The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has endorsed the new National Tax Policy announced by the Federal Government.

    The new policy will shore up Nigeria’s dwindling revenue base, which suffered a decline as a result of the shortfall in international oil prices and militancy in the Niger Delta.

    A press statement signed by RMAFC’s spokesperson, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, explained that the Commission remained committed to efforts at boosting government’s revenue.

    The statement read: “The Commission reiterated its support for initiatives such as the newly introduced revised tax policy which would go a long way in boosting the nation’s revenue base for sustainable national development.”

    Commending the Federal Government’s bold and courageous step, the Commission said “globally, taxation was seen as the most stable source of government revenue for economic development, the upward review of the existing Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on luxury items, as contained in the New Tax Policy has buttressed its position.”

    Apart from the upward review of the VAT rate on luxury items, RMAFC also urged the Federal Government to support all monitoring agencies including RMAFC to enhance collection efficiency, block leakages in revenue collection and strengthen intelligence gathering mechanisms so as to free more funds for governments to expand the economy, ensure rapid economic development and create employment.

    The Acting Chairman of RMAFC, Shettima Umar Abba Gana, had in last July canvassed the upward review of VAT from five per cent to about 7.5 per cent in order to improve the country’s revenue base.

  • Forces against CBN’s 60% forex allocation policy

    Forces against CBN’s 60% forex allocation policy

    To help manufacturers, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dirceted banks to allocate 60 percent of their foreign exchange to them. But, months after, manufacturers are still running around for forex because of what some call “ineffective monitoring and enforcement” of the policy. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports. 

    It took sustained push by members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and others to get the Federal Government to heed the call for a 60 per cent special foreign exchange (forex) allocation window for manufacturers. The intervention was supposed to allow manufacturers fund importation of critical raw materials, plants and machinery not available locally.

    Specifically, it was envisaged that the preferential forex allocation window would help cushion the effects of forex scarcity, which hit real sector operators, particularly import-dependent manufacturing businesses, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) policy that restricted importers of 41 items from accessing its official forex market.

    Manufacturers kicked against the policy, describing it  as “obnoxious, superfluous, and ill-conceived”. They argued, for instance, that apart from not being consulted, those who needed the raw materials and products restricted from the forex market as their primary products in the manufacturing process were adversely affected.

    The inclusion of essential raw material input for manufacturing in the CBN import prohibition basket forced many firms to shutdown, leading to massive job losses. So, manufacturers were relieved when the CBN, last August, directed commercial banks and other authorised dealers in the forex market to allocate 60 per cent of their total forex purchases from all sources (interbank inclusive) to them.

    But five months after, manufacturers are still running around for forex The forex scarcity persists, forcing some firms to shut down, relocate to other  countries or scale down their operations. Many of them still complain of inability to access forex to import critical raw materials.

    For instance, Erisco Foods Limited, one of the key players in the tomato paste industry, has since relocated to China, citing lack of forex access. That move alone cost about 1,500 workers, mostly Nigerians, their jobs. Only 40 members of staff are left to run the Nigerian company.

    The company’s President/CEO, Chief Eric Umeofia, lamented: “My business has been deliberately frustrated by the way the CBN has managed forex bidding and allocation. They won’t give us forex to import machinery, machine spare parts and raw materials for processing Nigerian fresh tomatoes into paste in our Lagos factory and they won’t give us approval to use our own money generated from our foreign operations to import our raw materials.”

    Umeofia’s decision to vote with his foot by relocating the manufacturing aspect of his business to China from where finished products would be imported and sold to consumers in Nigeria and other parts of the world was pre-warned.

    The relocation of the $150 million tomato paste processing plant came after the expiration of a 30-day ultimatum he handed down to the Federal Government to compel the CBN to make available enough forex to import raw materials and equipment to keep the plants run profitable.

    Before shutting down the Nigerian plant, with a production capacity of 450, 000 metric tons of tomato paste yearly, Umeofia said the company, which had 22 brands with over 2,000 workers in Nigeria, lost over N3.5 billion in Nigeria. This was partly why he made relocation as his final option.

    “This decision is final and there is no going back on it; nothing will make us come back even in the future because we have found out that we can import tomato paste into Nigeria and still make huge profits,” the obviously embittered and frustrated entrepreneur said, at a briefing in Lagos.

    Umeofia is not alone in his agony over lack of access to forex despite CBN’s 60 per cent preferential forex allocation to manufacturers. Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA) Director-General, Mr. Hamma Kwajaffa, also lamented that no textile manufacturer had accessed forex in spite of the $660 million earmarked for manufacturers at the official interbank market.

    It would be recalled that the CBN, in keeping with its promise to strengthen the real sector by ensuring that 60 per cent of available forex goes to manufacturers, made available $660 million worth of forex to manufacturers through the inter-bank market for the purpose of procuring industrial input.

    The injection of the fund was expected to provide a new lease of life in the manufacturing sub-sector, thereby boosting industrial output and employment. But Kwajaffa said despite this gesture, the textile industry nearly went into extinction due to inability to access foreign exchange for critical raw materials.

    Similarly, May and Baker Managing Director, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, said manufacturers’ inability to access forex through the interbank had affected industrial production and contributed to inflation. “It’s been a herculean task running any business in Nigeria, especially import-dependent manufacturing business.

    “I can confirm to you that as a company, we have not been able to access official forex allocation in the past six months. In fact, some of the Letters of Credit (LCs) we opened as far back as the fourth quarter of 2015 have not been funded by the banks,” he said.

    Okafor and, indeed, other operators’ outcries over banks’ refusal to fund LCs have been on since June, last year when the apex bank announced the flexible, market-driven forex regime. Manufacturers had hoped that this policy would drive down the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar, spurred economic growth and development, and encouraged more Diaspora remittances, among others.

    But, as it turned out, the new forex policy appeared to have left the real sector operators worse than it met them. For instance, the Apapa branch Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Babatunde Odunayo, said manufacturers had lost N500 billion to CBN’s implementation of the flexible forex policy.

    Odunayo, who spoke in Lagos at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the branch with the theme: “Economic recession and the future of manufacturing in Nigeria”, said the losses arose from the exchange rate difference between the approved Form ‘Ms’ and LCs before the CBN introduced the new flexible exchange rate system on June 20, last year.

    According to him, the LCs and approved Form Ms were documented at the CBN intervention rate at about N197/US$, but affected manufacturers are now expected to redeem them at the flexible exchange rate of N320/US$.

    “The pricing of related manufactured goods was made at between N197 and N198 to a US dollar at the time the Form Ms was approved and LCs established,” Odunayo said, lamenting: “Unfortunately, this unfolding situation posed a great burden on manufacturers.”

    He added that the huge exchange rate loss of N500 billion, which must now be reflected in manufacturers’ profit and loss accounts, was already leading to factory closures, loss of unemployment and investments in the sector.

     

    Good policy marred by lack of enforcement

    To manufacturers, the CBN’s 60 per cent preferential forex allocation was a ruse. “As far as I am concerned, it hasn’t worked. Our members have not benefited from it… It was something they dangled on our face without substance,” MAN President Dr. Frank Jacobs reportedly said.

    Indeed, findings by The Nation showed that the policy intervention described as revolutionary by some operators might have failed to make any significant impact on manufacturers because of the CBN’s lack of proper monitoring, supervision and enforcement to ensure that banks and other authorised dealers in the forex market comply with the directive.

    “Of course, the challenge, as always, is how to enforce the directive. This is always our default line. Good policies, good intentions, good pronouncements and launching ceremonies, but after that, the Nigerian factor steps in,” former President/CEO, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals PLC and Managing Consultant, Starteam Consult, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, said.

    The industrialist, who spoke at an event organised by the Ikeja branch of MAN, said for the palliative to work, the CBN would have to watch the backs of banks and analyse their monthly returns and publications on forex utilisation.

    Ohuabunwa also said manufacturers also have a role to play. “They (manufacturers) have to set up a mechanism to monitor weekly allocations and provide feedback to the CBN and Nigerians because emergency manufacturers will arise, which will not be entirely bad, if only they will actually manufacture. Industry groups have to authenticate their memberships,” he said.

    He did not stop there. Ohuabunwa also said to eliminate possible abuse by manufacturers , the CBN and banks must ensure that forex allocated is used strictly to import manufacturing input only and not finished goods or diverted to other uses. “We must have a way of assessing the impact of this initiative to be sure it is achieving the intended objective,” he recommended.

    For the immediate past President of National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Oladele Hunsu, the 60 per cent forex benchmark for manufacturers, ab-initio, should not have been in place if the government was serious to drive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth through the real sector, which is economy’s growth engine.

    “Who measures the benchmark,” Hunsu asked, insisting: “Manufacturers must be allowed unfettered access to the CBN official forex window rather than the 60 per cent special forex allocation”. He told The Nation that rather than a piecemeal approach, a holistic review of the nation’s monetary and fiscal policies had become imperative to eliminate ill-conceived ones that are inimical to manufacturing sector’s growth.

  • Saudi’s new fingerprint policy pushes Mobily into loss

    Saudi Arabia’s second largest telecommunications operator, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), posted a fourth-quarter loss yesterday because of the cost of implementing a government initiative to register fingerprints with phone numbers.

    Mobily, an affiliate of the United Arab Emirates’ Etisalat , made a net loss of SAR70.7m ($18.9million) in the three months to Dec. 31. This compares with a profit of SAR10.6m in the prior-year period, according to a bourse statement.

    The result beat estimates; six analysts polled by Reuters had forecast Mobily would make an average quarterly net loss of SAR106m.

    Mobily, which competes with Saudi Telecom and Zain Saudi, said the suspension of unregistered customer lines and resulting pressure on sales contributed to a 16.6 per cent decline in revenue to SAR2.9bn.

    Under Communications and Information Technology Commission rules announced last year, all SIM cards issued in Saudi Arabia must be linked to a fingerprint record held at the National Information Center, part of the Ministry of Interior.

    Unregistered lines started to be disconnected on July 20, competitor Saudi Telecom said previously. The initiative aims to stop people obtaining mobile phones by using fraudulent identification cards, according to local press reports.

    Etisalat said in December that its management agreement with Mobily had expired and the companies were working on a new arrangement. Earlier this month, Mobily said it had appointed Ahmed AbdelsalamAbdelrahman to replace chief executive Ahmad Farroukh.

  • Bakare seeks restructuring, rejig of forex policy

    Bakare seeks restructuring, rejig of forex policy

    Latter Rain Assembly Pastor Tunde Bakare yesterday called for the restructuring of the federation, the reform of the foreign exchange regime and an added pep into the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Buhari’s former running-mate in the 2011 presidential election made his views known in an address to his church members in Lagos which he dubbed “State of the Nation’’ broadcast. It was with the theme:  ”Looking into the future with the eyes of faith.’’

    He said: “It is unfortunate that the ‘change’ mantra “that was once the rallying cry for progressive development has now become associated with retrogression and suffering.”

    He recalled that Nigeria’s founding fathers agreed that Nigeria would be “a truly federal state with limited and specific powers allocated to the Federal Government, and residual powers inherent in the regional governments”.

    According to him, this agreement was the social contract upon which the Nigerian state was formed.

    Pastor Bakare said that this social contract was broken on May 24, 1966, through the Unification Decree by the late Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi’s administration.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari had the opportunity to provide the leadership Nigerians wanted by being at the forefront of the quest for change.

    ”Mr. President and his team must summon the courage to make hard choices, especially the choice to restructure and the choice to embrace the necessary self-sacrifice that precedes economic recovery.

    “May 29 this year will mark two full years of this administration in government. We have no more time to waste.

    “Mr President must galvanise his team to get the job done; square pegs in round holes must be removed or put in appropriate places.

    “It is time to demonstrate leadership, wise judgment and astute public policy that guarantee stable and prosperous nationhood upon a foundation of peace, and build a well-ordered nation with strong institutions dispensing justice.

    “It is time to arise with patriotic zeal, to build a great nation such that years from now, generations yet unborn will look back at their history, not with disdain, but with gratitude to God that our generation preceded theirs.

    “May 2017 be the year we look into the future with the eyes of faith and take steps to accomplish all that we know is possible,’’’ he said.

    Pastor Bakare explained: “To understand why we must restructure, let us take a quick look, for example, at the administration of education in Nigeria. At Independence, the entire Northern Region, which comprises the current 19 northern states, had one Ministry of Education headed by one minister.

    “The entire Western Region, which comprises the current six states in the Southwest and roughly two states in the South South, had one Ministry of Education headed by one minister. The entire Eastern Region, which comprises roughly five states in the current South East and four states in the current South South had one Ministry of Education with one minister.

    “Therefore, there were only three ministries of education headed by three ministers in the entire country and they were responsible for the rapid educational advancement that took place in that era as the regions competed through such policies as free education to achieve socioeconomic development.

    “Today, we have 36 ministries and 36 commissioners for education which, together with the federal ministry of education, consume a huge chunk of the limited education budget through recurrent expenditure.”

    Pastor Bakare said Nigerians were grappling with are the consequences of the economic policies of the Buhari administration.

    He said the policies, especially on exchange and interest rate, should be discarded forthwith and more pragmatic ones implemented.

    “To begin with, the confusing and discriminatory multiple dollar to naira exchange rates – favourable to some and not so favourable to others, and without doubt confusing for potential investors – must be discarded while a more reliable and predictable exchange rate, mutually beneficial to our people and economy and attractive to foreign investors, should be put in place,

    “Similarly, prohibitive and punitive interest rates must be lowered in order to liberate the creative ingenuity of our people as well as encourage those who can access mortgages at affordable rates to become homeowners, especially if our Pension Scheme is up-to-date and robust.

    “The multiplier effect of the removal of these bottlenecks in our economy will cushion the effect of the current recession on our people,” the preacher said.

    The cleric also decried alarming levels of inflation in the country, which he said had seen the prices of everything —from staple food supplies to electronic appliances and automobiles — skyrocketed.

    ”It is time to demonstrate leadership, wise judgment and astute public policy that guarantees stable and prosperous nationhood upon a foundation of peace; it is time to build a well-ordered nation with strong institutions dispensing justice; it is time to arise with patriotic zeal to build a great nation such that, years from now, generations yet unborn will look back at their history, not with disdain, but with gratitude to God that our generation preceded theirs.

    But Bakare gave a pass mark to Buhari on security, diversification of the economy and anti-corruption fight.

    “On insecurity, Nigerian Security Tracker 10, a portal of the United States Council on Foreign Relations, which maps violence in Nigeria, reported a decline in deaths per month from violence perpetrated by a combination of state and non-state actors, including Boko Haram, from 767 deaths in May 2015 when this government came into power, to 250 deaths in December 2016, nineteen months into the administration.

    “The group’s capacity had also diminished significantly from the control of 13 local governments just before the 2015 elections to a resort to suicide attacks by the turn of 2016.

    “Under this administration, 21 of the abducted Chibok girls were also released to their parents in October 2016, and, last Friday, Rakiya Abubakar, the latest rescued Chibok schoolgirl, was reunited with her parents in Abuja,” Mr. Bakare said.

    “To crown it all, at the tail end of 2016, Sambisa Forest was liberated and the Boko Haram flag was captured by our gallant soldiers,’’ Bakare said.

    “The government’s diversification efforts have also propelled increased attention to agriculture with the sector growing by 4.54% in the third 10 quarter of the year despite the 2.24% year on year reduction in growth rate. The third quarter also saw growth in non-oil sectors including fishing and crop production.

    “These are signs of a diversifying economy. Therefore, the assumption that the Buhari administration lacks direction is questionable. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which aspires to a 7% growth rateand redirects budgeting and planning towards a made-in-Nigeria focus,16 is further indicative of the policy direction of the current administration.

    “On corruption, we have seen some progress in the anti-corruption war, with the relevant agencies recently extending the fight to elements within the judiciary suspected to have been major impediments to the successful prosecution of the war. Be that as it may, it is my considered opinion that we are still fighting corruption – our nation’s perennial archenemy – with kid gloves.”

  • Child safety: Policy against Tradition

    Child safety: Policy against Tradition

    Like many Nigerians, I believe our challenge as a nation is not the lack of requisite laws, regulations or policies. But most of these laws fail at the point of implementation.  One of the reasons I believe this happens is the poor knowledge of the law by the implementing arm of government.

    Have you ever wondered why the national assembly would refuse to openly disclose its spending? Sounds like a complex irony. It was the same national assembly that passed the freedom of information bill, yet they would not comply with the provision of a law they enacted. My focus is not the national assembly; I only wanted to buttress the fact that as a nation we are weak implementers of law.

    The case in point is the child rights Acts.  If you test this Act for instance with the Nigerian Police who are supposed to enforce the law, you will meet a brick wall.  The average police desk officer sometimes ignorantly argues against the law. Again my focus is not the Police; my opinion is that the government must enforce a minimum degree qualification for entry into the police, because you cannot enforce a law you do not have the intellectual capacity to comprehend.

    Now let’s hit home with the point.  I was elated when the Ministry of Women affairs recently announced its readiness to work with development agencies to end child marriage. I felt happy as one who works with children across the country to empower themselves against sexual abuses, but sniffing through all the challenges that may confront that decision, I began to wonder how the ministry will confront and challenge all intractable traditions and cultural systems that may challenge that decision.

    Child marriage is a very disturbing trend.  It happens around us, we see it almost everywhere, it even resides in the national assembly.  One lawmaker married a 13 year old Egyptian girl.  When asked, he points to the privilege of his religion.  So child marriage is real with us, it lives with us and so the ministry would have to do more than rhetoric to end it.

    This is the 13th year of the enforcement of the Child Right Acts; there has really not been an enforcement of the law. Only 23 states have domesticated the law, none have tested the law, no arrest have been made, although there are glaring evidence of defaulters.

    Section 21 defines a child as a person below the age of 18 and frowns at early marriage. This Acts goes further to provide for punishment in section 24 of the Act for violators of section 22 and 23.  These questions the potency of our laws. Are laws just made and not implemented?, what is the use of the law anyway when it cannot be enforced? This where the ministry of women affairs must first address in the case of the child rights Acts.

    The Acts provides too that there should be institutions created for children living in difficult conditions.  I have not seen one institution addressing the needs of children living under difficult conditions. A few weeks ago, a United Nations agency raised a disturbing alarm over the devastation malnutrition is causing in the North-East, according to the report more than 270, 000 children could die of malnutrition.

    Where the child rights Acts is enforced, there will be response from institutions created to address difficult conditions of children as provided by the acts itself, but this was not addressed at the level of enforcing the content of the child rights Acts. It’s up to you to judge if our laws are truly potent.

    If the ministry pushes for the implementation of the full content of the child rights act, it must be ready to whip traditions aside.  I do not know what strategies or actions the ministry of women affairs would implore, but am glad anyway for the courage to dive into the trouble water. I think there should be some seminar of sort to discuss how tradition affects temporary legislation and find a common ground. There are still a lot of traditions and culture that cuts at variance with existing laws. These traditions sometimes even affects health and well being.

    For instance, female genital mutilation and the obstetric fistula, a condition caused by early marriage, these are traditions that society must review against its attendant damage to the health of children. Traditions like laws cannot be dogmatic; they have to be reviewed under prevailing advancement in knowledge.

    As much as it is laudable for the ministry of women affairs to want to end child’s marriage, we must view this action beyond trying to score political points; it must thoroughly engage the traditional institutions in a bid to reviewing traditional or cultural knots that will make a rubbish of the lofty goal to end child marriage.

    I think the minister should review her strategies.  It is my opinion that she should call for a high stakeholders delegate to first discuss a plan of action for complete compliance of the child rights acts.  At full compliance with the act, there will be no need to end child marriage, the act already took care of that in details.

    Njideka Obi, lawyer and a child safety advocate.

    1. safersmarterchildren@gmail.com