The Nation Newspaper

Tag: poverty

  • Omotola leads artistes in fight against poverty

    Omotola leads artistes in fight against poverty

    Nollywood actress, Omotola Jolade-Ekeinde, together with fellow entertainers, Waje and Yemi Alade have teamed up to create a brand new song titled Strong Girl, a rally meant to empower girls and women everywhere.

    According to information, nine artists from seven African countries came together in South Africa earlier this month to write and record the track. They were joined by superstar actress and activist, Omotola, who stars in the Strong Girl video. The women are calling for action because “poverty is sexist, and we won’t end it unless world leaders act now to help girls and women reach their full potential.”

    The track and video was released on May 13, 2015 along with a global day of action amplifying the songs message and recruiting thousands worldwide to the fight for justice.

    This year, new global goals to end poverty will be set by world leaders. To be truly transformative, the goals must focus on the countries and the people that are worst off, and that includes girls and women. Evidence shows that investing in girls and women helps their families, communities and whole economies too.

    Speaking about the campaign, Omotola said; “I am fortunate to be a young woman living her dreams and a trailblazer of my generation but I also recognise that many women and girls are not so fortunate. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the injustice of poverty and inequality. But when we invest in women and girls, we increase and accelerate the chances of overcoming extreme poverty.”

    Their call-to-action is already backed by more 36 of the world’s most powerful women, including Beyoncé, Meryl Streep, Lady Gaga, Angelique Kidjo and other leading women from the worlds of business, arts, politics and activism.

  • I’ll fight poverty in Cross River, says Ayade

    I’ll fight poverty in Cross River, says Ayade

    The Governor-elect of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade has listed war against poverty as priority when he assumes office on May 29.

    He spoke in Calabar, the state capital, where he attributed his victory to God and Providence, considering his poor background.

    His words: “I am the child of a poor man. I know there is hunger and hardship in the land. I know there is unemployment. So, I promise that as God has allowed the child of a poor man to become a governor, that means I know the cry of the poor people and that is why God made it possible for me to be here today. The people should not worry.

    “The time has come for us to put heads and join hands together. We must take ourselves out of poverty. We must rescue our generation. Tomorrow will be better. For the sake of our children, I put myself before the people to serve them in truth and in faith. At the fullness of time, when I am done with my four years, their situation would have changed for the better and forever.

    “The time has come for the child of the poor man to rise. The time has come for the down-trodden. They should worry no more because we are here to serve them.”

  • Niger Delta…Still at the mercy of oil spills, gas flaring, poverty

    Niger Delta…Still at the mercy of oil spills, gas flaring, poverty

    As a Niger Delta youth leader, Mujahhid Dokubo-Asari knows the region in and out. His verdict is that in the last six years, the Federal Government, led by President Goodluck Jonathan, took the region for granted. Its challenges, such as oil spills, gas flaring, coastal erosion and poverty, remain largely unaddressed as a new government takes charge at the centre, writes Mike Odiegwu

    President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat at the March 28 presidential poll sent shock waves across the Niger Delta. The President’s kinsmen never imagined that their benefactor could be sent packing from the Aso Rock Villa. Though, they simply acknowledged that it was going to be the tightest presidential race in the history of the country,  defeat to them, was not an option.

    When asked by some journalists, what they would do if Jonathan eventually lost the race, a kinsman of theCover pic 2 President who came to cast his vote in Otuoke, Jonathan’s home town, said: “Our brother will not lose.” couldthe unnamed kinsman of the President be speaking the minds of other youths in the region? Without mincing words, there has been grave silence punctured intermittently by threats of militancy in the region since Buhari was officially declared the winner

    Asenior government official confided in the Niger Delta Report that President Goodluck Jonathan saved a violent response that would have followed Buhari’s declaration.

    “The boys were already in the creeks. They were prepared to start blowing major oil facilities in the creeks when Jonathan immediately conceded defeat even before all the results were announced. That singular act of the President weakened the boys”, the official who pleaded anonymity said.

    Events before the election

    In fact, the Niger Delta region was gripped in prolonged pre-election agitations. Different groups rose to endorse their kinsman and to list myriads of reasons why President Jonathan must be reelected. Aside predicating their reasons on performance index of Jonathan’s Presidency, they also vehemently argued that it was their birthright to have a second term in office to guarantee balance of power.

    No group, however, rattled Nigeria more than the assemblage of ex-militants and their leaders who converged under the roof of Bayelsa State Government House to threaten the collective existence of the country.

    Apparently worried by the tide of public opinion against Jonathan and the north’s reaction against his ambition, Governor Seriake Dickson and the Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, met with key ex-militant leaders and hundreds of their foot soldiers at the Banquet Hall.

    The gathering was reinforced by the attendance of ex-militant leaders, vitriolic agitators and notable youth leaders, such as Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo, Chief Government Ekpemopulo (a.k.a Tompolo), Ebikabowei Victor Ben (a.k.a. Boyloaf) and Ijaw Youth Council President, Udengs Eradiri.

    Also in attendance were Pastor Reuben, Ogunboss, General Africa, General Joshua, Shoot-at-Sight, General Ezekiel and many others. Their emotions boiled over. Dokubo turned the gathering to a war front. In what seemed like a last minute efforts to rescue the President, their kinsman, Dokubo referred to the Presidential election as a war and asked the ex-militants to get ready.

    Declaring that nobody would intimidate the Ijaw nation, Dokubo beat the war drum and said the President must win the election. “We are going to war and everyone of you must go and purify yourself. President Jonathan will win. Whatever anger they have, this anger must be kept aside”, he thundered.

    Also, Boyloaf said the only thing that binds Nigeria together is oil adding that if President Jonathan fails to return, the Niger Delta region will take its oil back. “They want to use insecurity to push out our own. I am retired but not tired. I can go back to the creeks. Whether they like it or not we will win.

    “We own the oil. We own the resources, but they say we don’t have the right to rule. They want to take the seat but we must collect our oil if they take the power back from us”, he vibrated.

    Outrage, indeed, was the word used to describe the gathering and warmongering of the ex-militants by many critics. People came down hard on them and reminded them that though oil, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, is from their area, the country is still bigger than any ethnic group.

    Following the bashing and tongue-lashing, the ex-militants backed down on their war threat, clarified the reasons for their meeting and then called for peace. Even Dickson and Kuku sweated many times to convince Nigerians that the meeting was in order and was not meant to cause crisis in Nigeria.

    After Buhari’s victory

    There have been discordant tunes among the youths and ex-militants since Buhari emerged as the President-elect. Many critical stakeholders and ex-militant leaders have taken the new Nigerian order in good faith. Some, however, have resorted to fire and brimstone.

    Among the critical stakeholders that have congratulated Buhari are the Ijaw National Leader, E.K Clark, Tompolo, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and at some point the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr. Udens Eradiri.

    But Dokubo has remained adamant. He reinstated his threat insisting that the emergence of Buhari has re-energised the agitation for militants to return to the creeks.

    “The days coming will be critical. We shall study all the conditions and consult widely before determining the way going forward for our collective existence and survival as a people. The days coming will either drive the quest of integration or further separate us.

    “The celebrated victory of Buhari is not the victory of the people but victory of regional conspiracy and supremacy. The voting pattern has clearly shown that the Gambari North and the Yorubas are united in the conquest of the Niger Deltans and the Igbos of defunct Biafra with the middle belt now used as pawns”, he said.

    Many people dismissed the outburst of Dokubo. They argued that the controversial agitator is more of a businessman than a selfless activist. They concluded that Dokubo may simply at every point in time be seeking his advantage instead of the collective interests of the Ijaw and the Niger Delta region. According to them there is no investment that can be traced to Dokubo in the region. Most of his assets and developmental projects are sited in Benin Republic.

    Ijaw youths to decide on Buhari  

    Ijaw youths across the country have scheduled a crucial meeting to review the defeat of Jonathan and the victory of Buhari. The meeting will have all the Ijaw youth leaders, past leaders of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide and other members of the IYC in attendance.

    The youths are rattled by the victory of Buhari at the poll which according to them had taken political power away from them. The IYC Spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, said the decision to convene the National Congress of IYC on Buhari was taken at a meeting of the national executive council and consultative meeting of the group in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    He said the congress will assemble at Tuomo community in Burutu Local Government Area, Delta State, on April 5 to take a collective position on Buhari’s victory and determine the next direction of their struggle for self determination.

    Besides self determination, he said the youths will decide on renewing agitation for resource control as enshrined in their historic Kaiama Declaration.

    “We call on all Ijaw Youths to be alert and ready to heed the call to the service of the Ijaw nation at this crucial time of our history and struggle for survival in the Nigerian state in the face of the grand conspiracy between the north and a section of the south west to continue to suppress and exploit the resource of the Ijaw nation,” he said.

    He said the youths recalled that when their kinsman, Jonathan, won an internationally-acclaimed free, fair and credible election in 2011, Buhari and his people never congratulated or supported him.

    He said: “Instead they killed hundreds of innocent Nigerians and fought President Jonathan from the day he became the Acting President of Nigeria in 2010 until the north conspired with a section of the south west to take over the Presidency from President Jonathan and the minorities of the south-south in an election fraught with irregularities.

    “It is also significant to note that none of the northern socio-cultural groups such as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and others congratulated or supported the administration of President Jonathan.

    “Northerners created Boko Haram and blame it on President Jonathan deliberately to incite the northern populace against President Jonathan and make him unpopular in the 2015 election so as to take back power in a grand conspiracy with a section of the south west.

    “Therefore, the April 5, 2015 meeting of all Ijaw youths would determine the position of the Ijaw Youths on the 2015 Presidential election and our next line of action.”

    Militant group issues threats to Shell

    Militant group finds voice, threatens Shell

    Suspiciously, a militant group operating in Bayelsa State resurrected few days after Jonathan lost at the poll. The group notoriously known in 2005 as, Iduwini Volunteer Force (IVF) gave the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) 14 days to vacate communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.

    The militant group came into the limelight in 2005. Members of the group abducted six oil workers including two Germans working for the SPDC in the community. The development led to the intervention of the then Governor of Bayelsa state, Goodluck Jonathan, and subsequent signing of a surveillance contract in 2007 to calm frayed nerves.

    But the group claimed that as part of the contractual terms, SPDC was expected to pay N8million yearly to its members in exchange of pipeline security. In a letter it addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan and signed by one Commander Johnson Biboye, IVF said Shell only observed its contractual obligations in 2007.

    It said: “It was then resolved that for the peace, security and safety of oil companies activities within the Iduwini area of SPDC operations, a running surveillance contract amounting to N8, 002, 350. 00 (Eight million, two thousand, three hundred and fifty naira) per year be awarded to the leadership of the Iduwini Volunteer Force and it was awarded.

    “The surveillance contract which started in 2007 and was dutifully carried out by the leadership of the Iduwini Volunteer Force and payment for 2007 made.

    “In 2008 without any known breach of contract, SPDC, unilaterally stopped the contract till date, although our boys are still rendering the services of securing oil facilities in the aforementioned areas as contained in the contract paper.”

    It gave the oil giant a 14-day ultimatum to vacate Ijaw communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area or face unrest. Why now? Niger Delta Report gathered that the militants only respected the Presidency of Jonathan and decided not to begin fresh unrest in the home state of the President during his government. Having, however, seen that Jonathan had lost out, the militants resumed their agitation.

    But the group said: “We make this demand in good faith not minding the political situation in the country so that those who do not have the history of our struggle in the Iduwini area will not be quick to add that Ijaw people have started making trouble now that President Jonathan has purportedly lost election.

    “Our struggle predates President Jonathan’s presidency and the struggle to get our rights and privileges restored has been on and known to notable government agencies like the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and notable Nigerians who have intervened to no avail.

    “We have, therefore, directed all units commanders and commanders alike to be on red alert that at the end of the 14 days, should SPDC and its cohorts refuse to see reasons, we will have no choice but to commence immediate attacks and processes of restoring our full rights and privileges as contained in the surveillance contract documents”.

     

  • ‘Sound financial sector, agro export competitiveness key to reducing poverty ‘

    ‘Sound financial sector, agro export competitiveness key to reducing poverty ‘

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advised to focus on finding the right “degree of tightness” in monetary policy to keep the economy stable and boost agro exports.

    Speaking with The Nation, the President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr Tola Faseru said while the bank must implement prudent monetary policy, the government can improve the nation’s balance of payment position by promoting agriculture commodities.

    Noting that the economy has  been exposed to risks stemming from the external environment, fiscal pressures and weaknesses in the  sector, Faseru canvassed implementation of  prudent macroeconomic policies with low fiscal deficits and a flexible exchange rate sheltered from external vulnerabilities.

    For the incoming government to start on a good footing, Faseru said soundness and transparency of the financial sector must remain the main domestic policy challenge, and every efforts must be channeled  towards   addressing credit quality, liquidity and capital adequacy concerns  that would keep financial risks elevated.

    While pushing for strong structural reforms across all sectors, the  NCAN chief said revamping the agro sector is  essential  not  only to improve trade competitiveness, but to encourage more Nigerians to explore new opportunities as the  food sector  gets more integrated into the global economy.

    He said a pragmatic policy impetus by the government will provide the much required stability to agric exports, apart from measures meant to help the government acquire international presence in commodities wherein it has comparative advantage.

    Faseru  stressed  the   need to sustain  the  momentum in agriculture exports in coming few years by  revitalising the Export Expansion Grant(EEG), reducing  transaction costs time, better port gate management and  introducing  fiscal incentives  that  will  contribute  towards  the transformation of the economy.

    In this direction, he called on the CBN to  relax its  position on repatriation of export proceeds, reduce interest rate and  reform the foreign exchange market.

    According to the bank, it will  help the government to achieve more by supporting the agriculture sector with effective and hassle-free agriculture credit, with a special focus on small and marginal farmers, adding that farm credit will underpin the efforts of hard-working farmers.

  • AGRA votes $2.6m to fight poverty, hunger in West Africa

    The fight against hunger and poverty in West Africa has received a big boost with the training of new plant breeders to help deal with challenges faced by  small-scale farmers.

    Thirty  students from Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have been selected to benefit from the programme, jointly launched by Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and  the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

    They would be awarded the Improved Master of Science (MSc) In Cultivar Development for Africa (IMCDA) degree at the end of their two-year training.

    The Programme Officer , AGRA, Prof Rufaro Madakadze, said the objective is to increase the availability of a new set of plant breeders, who would work to lift farmers out of poverty.

    The AGRA is providing US$2.67 million to fund the programme.

    The Vice Chancellor of the KNUST, Prof. William Otoo Ellis,  said it would improve the capacity of the university to train industry- ready plant breeders to produce pest, disease and drought-resistant seeds and hybrid seeds.

    They would work more efficiently in both public and private sectors to increase crop yield and incomes of farmers.

    Ellis said they would achieve this through the use of modern breeding technologies, data management, emphasis on experimental learning and acquisition of soft skills.

    The Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) of the University, Prof. Richard Akromah, said it would assure the region of food security.

  • Poverty of prosperity

    Five Nigerians may need to enlighten their compatriots, especially the filthy poor, on what they consider to be the purpose of wealth, or what they think should be the point of prosperity. They are Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Mrs. Folorunso  Alakija, Mr. Femi Otedola and  Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu. These are the country’s representatives in the 2015 magical circle of 1,826 billionaires recognised and celebrated by Forbes, the respected American business magazine that has made a business of ranking the world’s billionaires yearly.

    The Forbes World’s Billionaires list is described as “the definitive list of the world’s wealthiest people, profiling and ranking billionaires.” Published each year in March since 1987, the list highlights the estimated total net worth of each inclusion in US dollars, “based on their assets and accounting for debt.”  Furthermore, “Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from the list.”

    According to the magazine’s latest ranking, Dangote, worth $14.7 billion and Africa’s richest individual, is placed at number 67; Adenuga ($4.2bn) is number 393; Alakija ($1.2bn) is number 949; while Otedola and Rabiu (worth $1bn each) are jointly rated number 1,741.

    Beyond the phenomenal and dazzling affluence of these Nigerians, and the international focus on their billions of dollars, the question must be asked: How has the country which provided the space for their outstanding success benefited concretely from their deep pockets? In other words, what efforts have they made to help their poor compatriots rise materially?

    Perhaps more fundamentally, it is important to reflect on not only the concept of social responsibility, but also the idea of wealth responsibility or the social duty of the wealthy.  It is illuminating that the legendary US billionaire Bill Gates who is worth $79bn and named the world’s richest man by Forbes for the 16th time provided what may be regarded as a useful guiding principle for the super-rich. He said in an interview: “I’ve been very lucky, and therefore I owe it to try and reduce the inequity in the world. And that’s kind of a religious belief. I mean, it’s at least a moral belief.”

    It is instructive that Gates initiated The Giving Pledge campaign in 2010 with co-US billionaire Warren Buffet who is placed third on Forbes current list. It is officially described as “an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in the world to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.”  It is noteworthy that the pledge is “a moral commitment to give,” and “the donation can happen either during the lifetime or after the death of the donor.”  Reports said: “An estimate of the contribution promised by the first 40 donors, based on their aggregate wealth as at August 2010, was at least $125 billion…As of April 28, 2011, 69 billionaires had joined the campaign and pledged to give 50% or more of their wealth to charity…As of January 2015, 128 billionaire or former billionaire individuals and couples have signed the pledge.”

    What are our Forbes billionaires doing?  Or perhaps more significantly, what are they thinking of doing? It cannot be enough to luxuriate in luxury, without a thought for the wretched of the country. However, it may be observed that the business of redeeming the country’s numerous poor is probably too critical to be left to what the super-rich might be thinking of doing or what they could do based on their thinking. The poverty of the affluent may be that they are not thinking of doing something or anything for the poor, or that they are doing little or nothing for the poor.

    It is enlightening that former US president Bill Clinton who raised taxes on the wealthy in the 1990s said in retrospect: “As long as people in the top one to five percent are making the lion’s share – 90% or more – of the money, we ought to pay a lion’s share of taxes for the same reason that Willie Sutton robbed banks: that’s where the money is.”

    It is relevant to highlight a striking observation by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim at an official forum. He said Nigeria was among the top five countries with the largest number of the poor. It is scandalous that the country ranks third on this list of infamy behind India (with 33 percent of the world’s poor) and China (13 percent). With 7 percent of the “wretched of the earth”, the country is ahead of Bangladesh (6 percent) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (5 percent). Together these countries are home to nearly 760 million impoverished people.

    The portrait of indigence is an inexcusably tragic irony for an oil-rich country, and puts a huge question mark on not only the quality of governance at all political levels in the country, but also the quality of the social responsibility of the rich.  It goes without saying that the country’s poor deserve an urgent solution. Kim said: “It is imperative not just to lift people out of extreme poverty; it is also important to make sure that, in the long run, they do not get stuck just above the extreme poverty line due to a lack of opportunities that might impede progress toward better livelihoods.”  The overriding concern is whether the people in power and the people who have the power of money are sufficiently interested in providing poverty-reducing opportunities, or even whether they care about anything beyond their pockets.

    Also pertinent is Nigeria’s ranking by Transparency International (TI) on its 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) focused on 175 countries.  The respected watchdog ranked the country 136th.   The assessment was based on the presumed extent of public sector corruption in the countries. Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks, and was listed as the 39th most corrupt nation in the world.

    Particularly applicable to the country is the TI observation: “A poor score is likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.” TI Chairman, José Ugaz, said: “The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that economic growth is undermined and efforts to stop corruption fade when leaders and high level officials abuse power to appropriate public funds for personal gain.”

    In the final analysis, the picture is that the country’s poor languish at a hard place between the prosperity of power and the power of prosperity.

  • ‘Biotechnology’ll boost farming, alleviate poverty’

    The use of modern biotechnology will boost farming and alleviate poverty among Nigerian farmers, National Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr Karbir Umar, has said.

    Umar stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja while commending the Senate for the passage of a bill seeking to establish the National Bio-Safety Management Agency.

    Biotechnology is the use of modern scientific techniques, including genetic engineering to improve or modify plants, animals or micro organisms.

    The National Bio-Safety Management Agency will regulate the application of biotechnology in the country and ensure that it does not have negative effect on human health and the environment.

    Umar said when the technology is applied it would boost yields and increase income of farmers in the country. “This is a welcome development; it will take our farmers out of poverty and out of subsistence farming.

    “Biotech enhances the yields of seeds; with minimum input, it will produce the desired high quantity, which when sold will increase the income of farmers,” he said.

    The AFAN chairman said the association was partnering with local and international seeds companies to further increase seeds accessibility to farmers.

    He appealed to the Federal Government to open up more windows for financing and the possibilities of processing all agricultural produce in the country.

    The chairman acknowledged that the government was making efforts to fund agriculture through the N220 billion micro, medium and small enterprise fund.

    He urged farmers to key into various government programmes and vote wisely in the forthcoming general elections, saying that if there is peace and security in Nigeria, agriculture will replace oil.

  • Tackling poverty and unemployment

    Tackling poverty and unemployment

    The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has partnered the directorate of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train Corps members in entrepreneurship to make them self-reliant after the service year. BALIKIS MOYOSORE reports.

    To make them self-dreliant after the National Youth Service, the office of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the presidency has partnered with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to float War Against Poverty (WAP), an entrepreneurship scheme aimed at equipping outgoing Corps members with business and investment skills.

    The pilot scheme of the training was held on Tuesday in Abuja, where some outgoing Corps members were empowered with start-up loan between N200,000 and N300,000 to invest in agro-enterprise of their choice.

    At the launch of the scheme, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Johnson Olawunmi, said the organisation believed the youth were gifted in different business skills but said many of them lacked financial wherewithal to start up their dream businesses.

    He said the loan would keep the beneficiaries busy after their Youth Service, adding that the business they would establish with the loan would boost the nation’s economy.

    The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on MDGs, Mrs Precious Gbeneol, who initiated the scheme, said the programme was aimed to engage Corps members in productive venture after Youth Service.

    She said the scheme would only be extended to Corps members passing out, saying they would be trained in small scale and agro-allied businesses. The interest-free loans given to the trainees, Gbeneol said, would enable them to generate jobs for others.

    She said the scheme was part of the poverty-eradication programme of the president. She said: “We have no doubt that the scheme would create wealth and boost agricultural productivity for food security. The beneficiaries are expected to train and mentor at least five youths in their host communities as well as use the platform of their agro-allied enterprise for community development activities.”

    Gbeneol said the scheme would be introduced across the state directorate of the NYSC, noting that any Corps member who wishes to be trained must express interest by completing the WAP Form of Intent in the state.

    The beneficiaries were trained in snailery, bee keeping, fish farming, animal husbandry, grasscutting farming, plantain multiplication and poultry farming.

    On completion of training, the Corps members were given relevant manuals and two copies of the Memorandum of Understanding, which they completed before the loans were made available to them.

    Oluwatosin Oke, a 26 year-old youth, who benefitted from the scheme, said he had made a resolution not to look for white-collar job since he was an undergraduate. While he may not have realised his dream to become self-dependent, Oluwatosin said the loan would give him an opportunity to achieve his aim.

    Marcus Olugbenga, who served in Bauchi State, described the scheme as “good youth development project”, saying it could bring down the rate of unemployment at the within a short period if it is sustained.

    A beneficiary, Gbenga Ogunmakinde, who served in Abuja, qualified for the scheme after he was adjudged the best youth entrepreneur in North Central zone at the maiden contest of Youth Enterprise With Innovation In Nigeria (YouWin), an entrepreneurial competition initiative established by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

    Seven beneficiaries of the scheme were among 22 youths selected after a rigorous business plan contest organised by African in Diaspora Programme in Entrepreneurship Development. They selected youths will be attending advanced entrepreneurial training at Barry University in Florida, United States.

  • ‘Broadband ‘ll boost GDP growth, reduce poverty’

    ‘Broadband ‘ll boost GDP growth, reduce poverty’

    Improved broadband penetration can create wealth and unlock huge opportunities for millions of Nigerians, Chairman, Zinox Group, Mr Leo Stan Ekeh has said.

    Ekeh, who spoke at a telecoms forum in Lagos, said enhanced broadband access would equip majority of Nigerians with the freedom to succeed in today’s digital society.

    He said: “With increased deployment of broadband and more equitable access for the majority, huge opportunities will be created for self-development in the country. Just consider the effect this will have on the cost of doing business and the unlimited resources it will place at our disposal. Presently, a lot of people do not see these opportunities due to the current infrastructural challenges being faced in the sector and the slow pace of ICT uptake in Nigeria.”

    Ekeh, who chaired the forum, said Nigeria’s population and cultural realities make the country a potentially lucrative market for broadband deployment, urging synergy between the government and private sector.

    He said: “We must increase the tempo because the market is very huge. The digital divide must be bridged and access must become a basic human right for everyone in this country. Government has a critical role to play in this regard. With liberalised bandwidth allocation, investor-friendly policies and enabling environment for private sector involvement, the multiplier effect of broadband deployment is unquantifiable and will rapidly transform Nigeria into a digital economy.”

    Citing infrastructural deficiencies, security issues, multiple taxation and poor network quality as some of the factors hampering mobile broadband operators in Nigeria, Ekeh whose Zinox Technologies has handled some of the biggest ICT projects in the country, urged participants to see the current challenges as temporary obstacles which will be surmounted with time, noting that Nigeria is a prime investment destination on the continent.

    The conference, which has Connect Nigeria: Exploring ICT Potential for Growth as its theme, also featured a panel discussion involving representatives of major players in the industry. They included the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr Mathiew Wilshire, Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya and MTN’s Corporate Services Executive, Mr Wale Goodluck

    The panelists agreed that Nigeria was overdue for 3G/LTE deployment in view of the massive opportunities it holds for unleashing human capital development.

    However, the government intervention in eliminating impediments, such as the high cost of broadband infrastructure deployment, spectrum allocation and issues of Right of Way, were also deemed crucial to this initiative.

  • Eliminating mass poverty, unemployment in developing countries (I)

    Eliminating mass poverty, unemployment in developing countries (I)

    The following lecture by me on mass poverty and unemployment was, incredibly, delivered in Benin, in 1984, 30 years ago, at the Annual Conference of the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN).

        I was reminded of the lecture recently when a copy of it was sent to me by the current President of the association, Dr. Temi Kehinde. Amazingly, on reading and reflecting on the lecture, it confirmed my general impression that very little has really changed by way of our really tackling the problems of mass poverty and unemployment in our country. Only a few people could have imagined in 1984 that 30 years later, Nigeria would still be in the same spot, still mired in mass poverty and unemployment. The dire situation places in bold relief the failure of our economic strategies and policies in reducing mass poverty and unemployment over the years. Most of Asia has been largely successful in addressing the twin problems, but not Africa, including Nigeria

     In the case of Nigeria, in the period of 30 years since the paper was publicly presented, both the military and the civilians (PDP federal governments) have been in power for exactly 15 years each. But neither has been successful in tackling the grave social and economic problems outlined in my lecture. Nothing much has changed. The lecture, which I have not amended, is offered here again as a guide to the electorate and the two principal contenders for the presidency in the forthcoming presidential election.

      The Nature of the Problem

    Mass poverty and unemployment continue to be the dominant features of many developing countries, particularly in Africa, Nigeria included. In virtually all of these countries, mass poverty and unemployment of all categories of workers, including university graduates, are now assuming alarming proportions. Though many developing countries achieved high rates of economic growth in the 70s, very few of them have escaped the twin challenges of mass poverty and unemployment. In many cases in Africa, the economic situation has deteriorated in recent years, and the prospects for the rest of the century do not appear to be too good. In the case of Nigeria, despite the impressive economic gains of the 70s, largely through the ‘oil boom’, and better terms of trade, the overall economic situation today, remains very grim, with a stagnating agricultural sector, and rather low and steadily declining productivity in the industrial sector. The continuing rural-urban migration of our people in search of better work and wages has further aggravated the existing socio-economic problem by spreading slums and shanty towns, and exacerbating the misery of poverty. High unemployment rates among the youth and the educated have generated a situation of acute social unrest.

    No doubt these challenges reflect the underdevelopment of our economy and its structural imbalance, both of which constrain economic development. A high population growth rate has not been matched by increasing agricultural output, which has steadily declined since 1971. By 1960 agriculture represented 63 per cent of our GDP. By 1980, it was down to only 18 per cent and only 23 per cent of non-oil GDP. Another factor contributing to the growing unemployment in Nigeria and other underdeveloped economies in Africa has been the labour-saving bias of certain kinds of technological change associated with development. We have tended to show a preference for capital intensive, rather than labour-intensive industries, resulting in the under-utilisation of our abundant human resources. At the same time, we have in our country today extreme and persisting cases of glaring inequalities that reflect certain institutional rigidities in our society. Poverty levels and mass unemployment can only be reduced by a full mobilisation of our abundant human resources with the aim of bridging the existing income inequalities and promoting economic growth.

     For a successful drive against mass poverty, it is essential that the governments of the federation should start with a clear idea of what they would regard as the minimum level of living consistent with human dignity. Sections of the population whose consumption standards do not meet this minimum should be identified, and made the focus of planning. Formulating developing programmes and policies in terms of average per capita income, or of the rate at which these averages might be increased, is not adequate for focusing attention on the points at which attacks on acute poverty are most needed. Once the dimensions of poverty are quantified, it should be possible to determine how far the problem can be tackled during a defined period, by general measures for accelerating economic growth, and how far such measures need to be complemented by specific measures to increase the income of those below the poverty line. In this respect, special attention should be paid to employment programmes as a means both for accelerating economic growth, and for redistribution of income and consumption. The vast extent of under-used labour in Nigeria today, at all levels, indicates the scope for promoting economic growth through its more productive use. The broad aim should be to link up mobilisation of existing idle labour as far as possible with measures for increasing production.

    Through appropriate technological, economic and political measures, it should be possible to strengthen complementarities in the development process, and thereby promote both economic growth and employment. It is logical that a development strategy designed specifically to reduce mass poverty should aim at altering the product composition of the national output, as well as the techniques of production. For certain products, capital-intensive techniques of production may be more efficient over a wide range of factor costs: but for other products there is a wider choice of processes and techniques that would fully utilise the vast reservoir of manpower. Programmes aimed at reducing mass poverty and unemployment through increased productivity should be conceived at the outset as essential components of the over-all process of economic and sound planning, which calls for a substantial modification in Nigeria of the present approaches to planning. In the first place, the present approach does not adequately cater for the interests of all major sections of the country, particularly the economically most disadvantaged, at the relevant stages of the planning process. It is imperative that both the federal and state governments should seek persistently to establish the appropriate machinery and procedures for consultation on matters relating to income distribution.