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Tag: recession

  • Recession: Amosun urges Nigerians to be patient

    Recession: Amosun urges Nigerians to be patient

    … Says two years not enough to fix rots in govt

     

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun on Sallah Day urged Nigerians to exercise more patience with President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration, saying two years are not enough for him to fix the rot the (Buhari) met in government.

    Amosun said it is obvious that times are hard today and that Nigeria has also suddenly headed to a “corner,” but expressed the hope that once the country wriggled itself out of the “bend,” rays of better life for Nigerians would emerge.

    The Governor made this known yesterday while fielding questions from reporters shortly after observing the Eid prayer along with thousands of faithful at the Muslim prayer ground, Lantoro, Abeokuta, the State capital.

    He noted that a lot have gone wrong with governance over the years, saying the President does not only need time to put the nation on the right path but that Nigerians have to also work hard enough to enable the country navigate the challenging time.

    “My message to Nigerians is that we are on the right track, we do not expect that things that have been bad for years will just be normalised in one or two years, no.

    “Even four years is not enough, eight years is not even enough to fix the rot in government, that is why whatever you do with two terms, let other fresh hands come in.

    “With where we have found ourselves, with where we are coming from, it is appearing like things are very tough now, like we are almost getting to the corner now but once we just take the bend, we are going to be on the right path and we will all get there.

    “I believe that it is only tough times that bring the best out of the people of this nation, that is why all of us are thinking out of the box, we know that money is hard to come by these days and that is why we have to work very hard.

    “I appreciate all Nigerians for their support so far and I urge them to continue with their support for the government and I know that Nigeria will be better for all of us at the end of the day,” Amosun said.

    On the forthcoming local government election in the State slated for October 8 this year, Amosun said it is about the state and not individual or political parties, adding that whoever wins would serve the interest of Ogun people.

    “In the final analysis, we are all citizens of Ogun State, the common thing that binds all of us together is that we are all from Ogun State because of that we should know that whoever ultimately emerge as winners in the election will be serving the good people of Ogun State. He will not be serving his political party.

    “I know that our people will not let us down, we know who we are, you can see there will be nothing like rancour or violence because the people of Ogun State are peace loving so for me, the local government election is just like any other election,” he said.

    Earier in his Sallah message, he urged Nigerians to live and love one another as well as support the three tiers of  government in order to move the nation forward.

    Also, in his Eid – El – Kabir sermon, the Chief Imam of Egbaland, Chief Liadi Orunsolu, urged Nigerians, particularly the muslim faithful, to have the fear of God in their daily dealings with others to ensure peace, progress and development in Nigeria.

  • Multinationals hit by recession

    Multinationals hit by recession

    The recession has affected virtually all the sectors of the economy, including real estate. Almost everything is going wrong with the sector, from rental defaults to long gestation period of properties and others. The Chairman, Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Lagos chapter, Mr. Offiong Samuel Ukpong, says the government should encourage patronage of local building materials. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE met him.

    What are the effects of the fall of the naira on real estate?

    Almost all housing components are imported so the currency fall must affect the real estate sector. It is very difficult to maintain buildings now because there are no sufficient local sources for the materials. Sadly, even if there is a factory that can produce some of the components nobody buys it because of this inferiority complex that is in us. If you go round the metropolis, you will find many derelict buildings around because there is no adequate local component to support the sector. This has made it difficult for people to live in decent accommodation. The government is also not helping matters by patronising foreign partners at the detriment of the local skill and technology in the real estate sector.

    How can corruption be curbed in the country?

    Some people are corrupt not only out of choice but also as a result of pressure because of failure of governance. Citizens are made to bear the brunt of social services, such as medical care, school, electricity generation, housing without mortgage etc alone, unlike the advanced economies where there are social security and other welfarist packages.

    How can the planned return of tollgates be used as developmental centres?

    The definition of an estate is whatever is on the land and underneath and road is part of it but whether it is well-managed is another thing. Collection of toll is a function of management but not the sum of it. The Lagos/Ibadan Expressway was created in 1976; it is only recently that the government tried to dualise it. The government had failed to answer certain pertinent questions, such as what the population was when the road was built. We can only advise that the government should use professionals with requisite skills to develop the toll-gates and not consultants who are not estate surveyors  and valuers to turn the toll gates as growth centres.

    My argument is that the planned toll gates should not be seen as revenue generating centres. Let there be a mechanism for ploughing money generated into road repairs or building more roads. The money that is generated may not be enough to maintain the roads or may be more depending on use. For instance, the Lekki Concession Company that built the Lekki/Ikoyi Bridge was in a lucrative business for the promoters but the question is: is the infrastructure  built to rejuvenate the road or get back from the society.

    The distance between toll-gates has to be reasonable. For instance, the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway is about 100 kilometres; if you have more than a toll gate, you will be creating more economic and financial drains. Let the amount collected by anybody in charge be declared openly; there should transparency in running this enterprise.

    Toll gates as growth centres should have functional clinics, banks, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) posts, restaurants and hotels in about 100 metres from it. This is to avoid making the place desolate. For instance, if am driving from Lagos to Abuja, I could be fatigued and could compromise my safety and concentration. If my car has problems, l can say let me manage it to the next toll gate and fix it. If they take it closer to city centres, it will not serve any useful or developmental purpose. If we run them the way we did it before, then it would go the way the previous did. These growth centres, if managed properly, have the capacity to make huge impact and also arrest rural urban drift. We can build new cities around the toll gates with sufficient facilities to enable those in the rural areas to migrate and develop them into big cities.Weekly or monthly markets can be created, so that people from the villages can come in and sell their wares and go back with all the attractions of a city.

    Why is land title perfection so vital?

    Simply put, it is the recognition of your title by the government, which means that somebody can do a search on a particular property. But, unfortunately, the government is making it almost impossible for people to get their titles because of the bureaucracy entrenched in it.

    The title makes it marketable due to the fact that it has all the registration attributes, including all transactions on it before now, the survey plan and other relevant attributes and coordinates. It gives confidence to people who will want to transact business with the holder of the title, in that there will be no difficulty in ascertaining the genuineness of the property or otherwise. Generally, if you have perfected your title, you can do a lot of things with it.

    What is the implication if a title is not perfected?

    Inheritance, for instance, becomes a problem. If the original owner of the title is no longer there and there is a transaction, it might be difficult for people to know who the original owner of the property is. Impostors might come up and usurp ownership. A property without a title will neither attract confidence nor business but in the alternative anybody who wants to transact business will be confident that the document he is presented will be the same in government files in the land registry. But, unfortunately, getting title to be perfected in Nigeria is very cumbersome.

    Why is it difficult to acquire property titles?

    Unfortunately, the Land Use Act has made it so difficult to obtain titles due to the different provisions in it. Before the Land Use Act, there were seamless Acts of Parliament that allowed people to register their titles easily, but now, for every transaction, you must get government’s consent. In a situation that you close the deal with a particular family, you will still be confronted with government charges, especially where the government sees title acquisition as an income generating avenue. Sometimes these charges are as high as 50 per cent or above the total cost of the property or more than the cost of the land and building itself. There are too many land that people have acquired, but because of the rigours of title perfection, they cannot in the true sense claim ownership. For instance a particular client bought a property for N6 million but was charged over N10 million as title charges. The question for a prospective property owner will be, which one is more expensive or auspicious, to buy a property or acquire a title?

    How can this contradiction be resolved?

    There should be a decentralisation of the title perfection across the nation. If all properties’titles are perfected, then it will be better for the economy, as it will be transferable, and improve the market value. There is an urgent need to have a seamless land title registration. We are making a case for the removal of the Land Use Act from the constitution. If it is removed, every state will have the liberty to administer land ownership in their jurisdiction.There is so much injustice in the land; sometimes the government takes peoples’land, citing overriding public interest in the guise of Land Use Act but end up diverting them to private ownership. They deprive the original owners of the gain on their property. Now that the economy is in recession, the government is looking for taxes, taxing the already over-taxed public.

    How has the downturn in the economy affected real estate?

    It has affected the sector so badly. For instance, my company has five warehouses in Ijora and has not been able to let them out for over a year; this has nothing to do with pricing. We reduced the price to the barest minimum, yet there has been no effective demand. The people that desire to have it cannot afford it, unfortunately. The initial price tag was N8 million and somebody came for it and offered N5 million, we accepted; he went further down, we still accepted; we had to stop the negotiations when he got to N3 million. As if this is not enough, our office spaces in Abuja and in Polo House in Ikoyi have been largely vacant. There is void everywhere. For instance, the property in Polo House was N6 million, we brought it down to N4million, yet it is still unoccupied till today. So, when the purchasing power of people is low like what is happening in the country, the property market suffers. A lot of people are interested in getting accommodation but they cannot pay. If you go into areas, such as Mushin, Itire, Aguda in Lagos, in one tiny room, you will see about 15 people squatting. These are part of those who add value to the economy, such as shoe makers, brick layers, bus conductors but they are living in sub-human conditions because they cannot afford to live decently due to the depressive economy. Those we knew as living in affluence before are climbing down. How can a medium income earner pay N700,000 as rent? Ideally, a person is not supposed to utilise above 10 per cent of his income on housing. Today, people are poorer and have to share their income on food, accommodation, medicals, education, fuelling of cars, etc.

    This economy has reduced people’s value; those are the things affecting real estate the most. People are barely surviving. Properties have been abandoned half-way, but you also see new construction going on, especially in highbrow areas. The answer is that because of the ‘devaluation’ of the naira, foreign investors are bringing in funds to build expatriate markets. Last week, I was in the hospital and l noticed that there were so many kids being attended to. This tells me something: their parents are financially handicapped to give their kids the best in terms of feeding and conducive environment, leaving them exposed to the vagaries of nature and increasing the high cases of hospital visits by parents. Real estate is a made of peoples’ disposable income that is used to pay rent and when it is not there, you have high rental defaults. Currently, we have multinationals that are defaulting in their rentals, something unheard of. This underscores the fact that the economy is in recession.

    What is the role of the government in all these?

    The government needs to reflate the economy by making investments in infrastructure that has the capacity to inspire growth. But rather than doing this, most state governments are busy over taxing their people through spurious agencies. Rather than creating an enabling environment, they create spurious agencies to tax the people and, basically, not giving anything in return. They seal your office, and charge you for frivolous offences. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are not spared and not encouraged to grow, not minding that they are the engine of growth for most economies. Some companies are retrenching because of high costs of production as they provide their energy and other services that the government should have otherwise provided.

  • Recession due to global downturn, past governments, says Buhari

    Recession due to global downturn, past governments, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday attributed the economic recession in the country partly to the global economic downturn and the failure of past governments in the country to save for the rainy day.

    He made the remark in his Eid-El-Kabir message to Nigerians.

    He however said that his administration is committed to reflating the economy and improving the standard of living of Nigerians.

    He wished all Nigerians happy Sallah celebrations.

    Full text of the message follows:

    “Fellow Compatriots, as you celebrate the Eid-El-Kabir, I salute your steadfastness in spite of the difficult economic times the country is going through.

    “The lessons of the Eid are piety and sacrifice and, my dear brothers and sisters, you have exhibited these in equal measure.

    “The present recession is as a result of cumulative effects of worldwide economic downturn and failure in the past to plan and save for difficult times. It is impossible to separate the present from the past to appreciate the extent to which mistakes of the past are affecting everyday life today.

    “I assure you that this administration is working round the clock to remove the hardships the country is going through. Rail and road constructions, projects in the housing sector, support for farmers and for small and medium scale industries, youth and women’s empowerment programmes, support for revival of industries are all designed to reinvigorate the economy and enhance living standards of ordinary people.” He added

    While noting that his administration is getting security right and stopping corruption in its tracks, he expressed confidence that the government will get the economy right by the Grace of God.

    “I enjoin Muslims to live by the dictates of Islam, to keep good relationships with their Christian brothers and sisters and as patriots to maintain the spirit of the Nigerian nation,” he stated.

  • Recession versus rhetoric

    Recession versus rhetoric

    IT is not certain that President Muhammadu Buhari has taken a census of the many fronts on which he is fighting his ‘change’ war. On the economic front is the fierce dragon that has spiked unemployment, depressed growth significantly, pushed inflation sky-high, and lowered the value of the naira to the doldrums, all in a matter of months. Confronting Nigerians on the political front are instability everywhere, desperate and aggressive cries of restructuring to correct a twisted and distorted federation, ethnic and religious squabbles so intense that the amperage is going nowhere else but up, and electoral shenanigans, including inconclusive and postponed elections, so evocative of the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan and so malodorous. The president may already be discovering the limit of optimism and rhetoric, and the restriction and perhaps inadequacy of military training and general personal accomplishments as agents of societal transformation.

    “I assure you that we are going to get out of our economic problems,” President Buhari said quizzically while addressing a crowd of supporters in Edo State rooting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Godwin Obaseki. “We are almost out of our security problem, and we are going to make Nigeria great again. We are going to be very proud of our country once again. Our size, our resources will not be for nothing. We will continue to grow.” The president had been accused of exacerbating the depressing mood of Nigerians by his constant off-the-cuff pessimism that mirrored his private and gloomy interpretations of Nigerian affairs. Now, he is contradistinctively trying a strange, unaccustomed cocktail of optimism.

    Would Nigeria get out of its economic problems, as the president promised, perhaps with little or no animation? Why, yes, of course. But how? Well, he leaves the country guessing, for his own panaceas, many of them harking back to the Pleistocene era, have been violently repudiated by critics as well as some of his aides unused to fawning. He boasts that Nigeria is almost rid of its security nightmare. He is right only if he atomises that nightmare to exclude all the other equally intense security concerns of the nation, to wit, Niger Delta militancy, highway robbery, kidnapping, and cult-related activities, including murder.

    Then he clinches his argument by suggesting that Nigeria would be great again and its resources would significantly impact that noble enterprise. There is no Nigerian uninterested in the greatness of their nation. But they are united in their conclusions that Nigeria was never at any time great. Yes, they are nostalgic about a by-gone era of calm and measured living and expectations, and hope that the fabled greatness predicted by the sages would one day materialise. But they know instinctively that greatness, not to talk of defeating recession, takes so much more than rhetoric or fine words.

  • Recession blues: No more lavish weddings, expensive schools

    Recession blues: No more lavish weddings, expensive schools

    The economic recession is fast taking its toll on Nigerians, especially the middle class. Hitherto known for conducting elaborate wedding ceremonies among other indulgences like sending their kids to high-fee paying schools, members of the middle class are gradually adjusting to the times, reports Omolara Akintoye

    The deepening economic crisis is profoundly impacting families. For the already low-income families, the shock may be even more severe with basic needs such as food security, healthcare and shelter going unmet.

    On a broader level, the worsening economy no doubt is making most parents whose wards are in most expensive schools to have a rethink and to start changing their children’s schools to the ones that are less expensive.

    In an interview with Mr Ayo Ipoola, a former staff of a pharmaceutical company who just lost his job, he explained that he intends withdrawing his children from one of the prestigious private schools in the Ikeja area as the school resumes this September.

    “I intend changing their school to a less expensive one because as it is, I can’t afford it again,” said Ipoola.

    The same goes for Mrs. OluomaOlaoluwa, a former staff of the United Bank for Africa, who lamented that she has had to change her children’s school on account of poor income. According to her, her children attend one of the leading schools in Sango-Ota but now she has to change their school to a less expensive one.

    Children and youth are particularly vulnerable as they undergo critical developmental transitions, for example, graduating from high school. Adolescents at this stage may be forced to postpone their plans for higher education and instead seek increasingly scarce jobs in order to contribute to the household economy.

    Speaking with Ayo Iretiola, a 200-Level student in the Psychology Department of Lagos State University, she said as a result of the economic recession she had to take up a low-paying job to augment her parent’s income as well as save up to further her education.

    All of these changes can have profound and lasting effects on the mental health of our nation’s children and youth, often causing problems in terms of anxiety, lowered self-esteem and other emotional/behavioural difficulties.

    While ventilating his views on the fallout of the growing economic crunch, a management consultant and business practitioner, Dr.BiolaAnjola, said recession will no doubt cause some pains to some private schools, including the less prestigious, the badly managed and those that have relied on high returns from big endowments. “If bonuses never return, or income inequality falls markedly for some other reason, even the elite could find the going harder as it is now,” he noted.

    Expatiating, he said: “For the first time since the recession of the early 1990s, the private sector is facing the prospect of declining numbers of pupils as middle-class incomes buckle under the pressure of the economic recession.

    “We have noticed grandparents stepping in to help, but of course only grandparents that are buoyant can offer to help”, said Mr Andrew Eze. He pointed out that his mother-in-law has offered to pay half of the school fees of his children in this new academic session.

    According to him, his mother-in-law offered to help when his wife told her that they intend withdrawing their children from their present school.

    For Susannah (not real name), 41, who works in an oil company and married to a man who runs his own business, life is no longer what it should be.

    Her husband was close to securing investment for his latest business venture when Susannah lost her job. The couple has four children, including a 15-year-old daughter at a top boarding school.

    The fees there are N500, 000 a term. A son is at a lower class in a private school this September. A third child is also at prep school. Because of the financial uncertainty surrounding the husband’s business, the daughter has been told that she will have to change her secondary school to a less expensive one

    “My daughter just doesn’t see it. She wants to stay with her friends, and at her age, friends are all that matter,” she lamented.

    Looking at the short-term picture of the recession and its aftermath, the outlook is once again sunny for the wedding business. Data show that spending on weddings has also rebounded from the rough recession.

    These days, couples who can spring for six-figure weddings are re-prioritising their wish lists to strike a more sensitive, subdued tone.

    Either way, the big, fat boom-time wedding of the past few years has been deflated. “People are really changing their mind-set from over-excess to really trying to be more frugal and saving, like how my parents’ generation thinks,” says Angela Okikiolu, 31, who rented the wedding gown at a low rate which she wore at her wedding last August.

    The recession is “teaching people to rethink how they were living their lives before, and I think it’s a good thing,” says Mrs Olatunji, a marriage consultant. Most couples no longer attend five star hotels for their honeymoon.

    In an interview with Mr. and Mrs.OlufemiOlaegbe who did their registry wedding in Shomolu local government recently,the husband said they had their honeymoon in their two-bedroom apartment. “We had to forget about having our honeymoon in a hotel in order to cut down expenses,” he said.

    Small businesses are getting hit a little harder,especially the florists and bakeries are not left out.

    “We’re down, financially,” said Mrs. Susan Morgan, founder of Cake Concept whose business is split between weddings and mail-order catalogues such as bakes and sculpts artistic cakes that sell for as much as N50,000- N100,000 or more.

    To cope with the weakening economy, she cut three staffers, turned off one of her freezers, and is trying to renegotiate her lease. But to deal with penny-pinching brides, Morgan won’t back down on price or bake cupcakes. Instead, she’ll suggest cake centrepieces – smaller versions of her a solution that run around N25,000-N30,000 less than a bigger, fancier cake.

    Yet even as industry players watch couples pare down their lists and forgo pieces of their original plan, they like to point out that people are still getting married, economic meltdown or not.

  • Atiku: Recession will soon be over

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has asked Nigerians not to despair or lose hope in the face of the current economic recession.

    The recession, he assured, will pass away and give way to economic prosperity.

    Atiku said while it might take some time to get out of the current situation, so much must be done to achieve economic prosperity.

    In a Sallah message by his media office in Abuja, the former Vice President said Nigerians, particularly the Muslim Umma, must learn to their brothers’ keepers.

    While congratulating Muslims on the celebration of of Eid el-Kabir , Atiku urged them to use the opportunity to reflect on the situation in the country and lend one another shoulders of support.

    He said Nigerians should go and celebrate like other people in the world in spite of the economic situation facing the country, assuring them that this storm will pass away.

    Atiku called on Nigerians to continue to work hard, persevere and pray for the success of the policies and measures by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

  • Recession will end soon, Atiku assures

    Recession will end soon, Atiku assures

    Former Vice President and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar has urged Nigerians not to despair or lose hope in the country as the current economic recession will soon give way to economic prosperity.
    According to Atiku, while it might take some time to get out of the current situation, so much need to be done to achieve economic prosperity since a lot of things were left undone for too long by the nation’s past leaders.
    In a Sallah message released by his media office in Abuja, Atiku said Nigerians, particularly the Muslim umma must learn to be their brothers keepers.
    While congratulating Muslims on the celebration of the festival of Eid el-Kabir celebration, Atiku urged them to use the opportunity to reflect on the situation in the country and support themselves.
    He said Nigerians should celebrate like other people in the world in spite of the economic situation facing the country, assuring them that this storm will pass away.
    He said the Sallah celebration calls for sober reflection, prayers, cooperation and the display of solidarity among Nigerians so that no one feels left out.
    He called on Nigerians to continue to work hard, persevere and pray for the success of the policies and measures being put in place by the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari to restore the nation’s economy to good health and improve the lives of the people.

  • We snatched cars to address economic inequality and recession

    We snatched cars to address economic inequality and recession

    In place of reform, three members of a gang of armed robbers emerged from various sentences at the Kirikiri Medium Prison in Lagos with vengeance and a penchant for the bizarre. Noted for terrorising the Lagos suburbs of Ijesha and Ikotun and Aguda, Surulere, the suspects identified as Francis Ogbonna, Chisom Joseph and Oloko Raheem identified a desire to right perceived economic inequalities in the society and the impact of economic recession as reasons for embarking on a car-snatching spree.

    Once their activities gained the notice of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, he ordered his Special Intelligence Response Team, (IRT) led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Abba Kyari, to swoop. IRT operatives swooped on the three gang members, arrested them and recovered four exotic cars and a locally made gun in Lagos.

    The gang, which formed at the Kirikiri Medium Prison, robbed six owners of their cars at Ajao Estate, Surulere, Ijesha and Ikotun areas of Lagos State. A police source disclosed that the suspects were rounded up in a popular hotel by the police while they attempted to sell the stolen cars to a buyer.

    Their activities were said to have prompted the IGP to deploy the IRT operatives.

    Narrating the gang’s origin, its leader, Ogbonna, disclosed that he left prison an angry man on a mission to right the initial ‘mistake’ of not making enough money from armed robbery while relieving the rich of their cars. “I am 27 years old,” he said. “I am from Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State. After I finished my secondary school, I came to Lagos and I lived in Surulere. It was there that I started my taxi business. I worked until 2013 before relocating to the east.

    “I went into crime last November. One of my friends, who was my secondary school classmate known as Uchenna, called me and asked that I should help to drive a stolen car from Lagos to Owerri. I knew Uchenna was an armed robber and I also knew that the car I was to drive was a stolen car. We move mainly at night, and he paid me N50, 000 for each of the cars. I delivered a Camry ‘tiny light’, and the second was a sequoia SUV. The third one was a Lexus 330, but I was arrested by some custom officials.

    “I came to Lagos State on December 13 and we started going back on the 14th of the same month. At Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, some customs officials stopped us. I showed them the papers and they saw a telephone number on the customer license paper, and the owner identified the car that he was robbed of. I was arrested. Uche (Uchenna) ran away and I was taken to customs office in Ikeja.

    “I was brought to the police station and I took them to Uchenna’s house in the village. They saw him but he managed to escape through the bush. I was charged to court afterwards and remanded in prison. We had two cars on the day I was arrested but I managed to escape with one of the vehicles.  I asked him to get me fully involved.

    “When I got to prison, I met Chimobi and Raheem. I knew them at Aguda, and we normally smoke at the canal. They knew me as a taxi driver, and when I saw them in prison, I was shocked. They told me that they went to rob and there was a Hausa guy known as Steven that they gave a car to but he was arrested and he led policemen to arrest them in a hotel. Since we came from the same area, we became very close.”

    “In May 2016, Chisom and Raheem were released on bail and they left the prison, while I also regained my freedom in July. When I was in prison, I tried to connect with Uchenna. He told me that he was travelling out of the country because his guys were killed and he did not want to stay in the country again. I told him that he was the one who got me into trouble and when I persisted, he switched off his line and changed his number. I became angry because I was the only one facing the case. Then I decided that I would go fully into armed robbery. I met a guy called Amos, and he linked me to one Alhaji that buys stolen vehicles.

    “I called him when I was in prison and he said he would wait for me until I was released. I also met one Tosin, who was a buyer. When I was released, I called Tosin and Alhaji that I had been released and I was heading for village. A few weeks after I was released, Tosin and Alhaji started calling me. I told Tosin that I had no gun. He asked me to come to Lagos and that he would ‘organise’ a gun for me.

    “I informed Raheem about it and he told me that he was ready. I came into Lagos and I lodged at Hotel 36 in Aguda, Surulere. The next day, he brought a double barrel locally made pistol with five cartridges. I called Raheem, Chisom and one David who is from my state, and I asked them to meet him in my hotel.

    “We went out. When we got to Ojuelegba, we collected a cab from the owner and we went to Ago Palace area where we snatched a Toyota Corolla from a guy. Alhaji was at Cele (Bus Stop) waiting for me with money and the moment I snatched the car, I went to Alhaji and handed over the car to him. I parked the taxi in Surulere and went away. The next day, I called Alhaji for our money and he refused to pick my calls.

    “The next day, Tosin came around and I went to take the taxi from where I parked it. I snatched a Honda ‘Discussion continues’ at Kilo area and gave it to Tosin. We also snatched a Camry ‘Big for nothing’ inside Aguda. After that operation, we went to sleep and we then abandoned the taxi in a street. We parked the Camry in another street where we thought it would be safe.

    “By Friday, we used the Camry to snatch a Honda car in Akerele area of Surulere. We also went to Ajao Estate and we snatched a Toyota Mosul. At that time, I had three cars in my possession. Later, the Alhaji answered my call and told me that the car has been tracked but I was angry that he didn’t tell me when the car was tracked.

    “The next week, I checked into another hotel in Ikotun. Later, Tosin came with policemen and I was arrested. They found the guns and the car keys with me. Now I feel very bad. Now I know that crime does not pay.

    I want to join the police force to fight crime.”

    Joseph stated that poverty pushed him into a life of crime. He explained that he lost his parent at a very young and he was left to fend for himself.  He said that one Tigana, who was killed recently by the police, led him to crime. He said: “I am 22-years-old and I stay in Ijesha area of Surulere. I met a friend, Ifeanyi, whom we call Tigana, and he was spending money. I am a barber. I was also cutting Tigana’s hair and he liked me so much. He was always giving me money, and one day when I was with him at the place where we smoked, I told him that I wanted him to teach me how to fish.

    “I met him again. He took my phone number and called me and asked me to meet him in a hotel. He bought drinks for me. He later called Raheem and two others. We drove to Victoria Island, and Raheem was the one driving a taxi. We robbed a man of his car, money and phones. They gave the car to the Hausa guy called Steven and he took it away.

    “In September, he called me that he was in a hotel and Raheem and the two other guys came again. We robbed a taxi and we used it to rob two cars. Tigana had a Toyota Corolla in his possession and while we were waiting for Steven to come pick the cars, he brought policemen to our hotel room and they arrested all of us and charged us to court. We were remanded in Kirikiri Medium Prison. In June 2015, Francis came to prison and we became friends. When I was released, I regrouped with Francis and we robbed five cars together.”

    Raheem, a native of Epe, Lagos State, said: “I am a driver, and I was introduced into armed robbery by my bad friends. It was the situation of the country that led me into crime. I was into the business of car wash and we weren’t making much money. I am a family man with three children. It was the hardship and the bad company that led me into armed robbery. I was the one driving the gang around because I worked with Tigana in all the robberies and after I was released from prison, I joined Ogbonna’s gang.”

  • Getting the economy out of recession

    Just as many nations experience economic prosperity, so do many others pass through economic recession, but numerous nations work hard to entrust economic prosperity on their people while many others, because of failure to plan ahead, bring recession on their people resulting in hunger, poverty, malnutrition and various sufferings. The recession being experienced in Nigeria presently was triggered by the great decline and sudden fall in the external price of crude oil in the world market, on which the nation depended for running the economy particularly as the gains from such values were mismanaged. The failure of our leaders to utilize the abundant cheap money from crude oil sales to develop other resources through diversification especially agriculture and other essential infrastructures which are needed to sustain the economy are responsible for the current recession ravaging the country.

    The federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari who is now in charge of the Nigeria economy for about one and half years now, should now take prompt action to revive the dilapidated economy. It is obvious that the mismanagement of over many years by the PDP government has resulted in the growing recession and gloom ravaging price of crude oil has drastically reduced our foreign earnings and the foreign exchange reserves. The insecurity in the land producing the crude oil due to the activities of the militants has also reduced the amount of crude oil available for sale.

    We can not fail to take note of the failure of the PDP federal government to utilize the earnings from the oil boom to diversity the economy through agricultural revolution, production of diesel, petroleum and kerosene for home consumption and export of such refined products into other African countries. If Nigeria has succeeded in managing functional refineries, the product for internal consumption and export purposes would have enhanced the economic prosperity of the country. The federal government ought to have improved greatly on the development of infrastructural facilities which would have enhanced the prospect of industrial development resulting in the provision of employment opportunities. If the country had willingly and successfully utilized the numerous opportunities available to it through earnings from crude oil sales to transform the economy, we would not be confronted today by the widespread recession afflicting the economy. If Nigeria cared to manage functionary refineries, the earnings from sales for internal consumption and export purpose would have enhanced our economic prospect. There would be large scale employment opportunities through agricultural diversification, development of refineries, opening up of opportunities in numerous solid mineral resources which would improve our earnings at home and abroad. Nigeria needs to work hard to revive the non-oil resources which are abundant in this country.

    The previous PDP government woefully failed to plan ahead to industrialize the country so as to provide employment opportunities for our youths even when they are still studying at various schools and colleges. We should learn from what Chief Obafemi Awolowo did when he was Premier of Western Region when he ensured that for every prospective graduate at the colleges and universities, there would be numerous employment opportunities awaiting them. It needs to be emphasized that the unavailability of employment opportunities have resulted in various criminal activities embarked upon by unemployed youths such as armed robbery, kidnapping, and numerous kinds of militancy, the existence of groups engaged in sabotage and property vandalisation. A lot of people are also engaged in menial jobs that are not commensurate with their qualifications. Apart from the tumbling crude oil prices, the vandalism of facilities by militants must not be allowed to continue. The persistent dependence of the managers of our economy on imported fuel and other products of crude oil to run our economy must be reversed in favour of home refinery. While the federal government is playing a leading role in the management of the national economy, it should work in harmony with the state governments and other leading economic developers in the country. The federal government should embark on the assemblage of economic experts to prepare an Economic Master Plan for the country, in which roles are earmarked for every level of government and all other players in the economy, and solutions to the problems of the country suggested. The country for many years has depended on only the export of crude petroleum, the collapse of which has crippled the economy. While the PDP government at the federal level for many years had mismanaged the copious resources accruing from crude oil sales, most governors have also mismanaged their shares of the crude oil money from the federation accounts. It is therefore not surprising that about 27 state governments have now failed to pay the salaries of their workers for over seven months. The federal government should therefore work in harmony with the state governments to embark on the diversification of the economy. For example, while the federal government can play a leading role in agricultural development particularly in the preparation of the masterplan of the projects, the states will key in by embarking on the production of crops for which they are best suited for.

    The development of agriculture will not provide tremendous opportunities for the availability of food for the consumption of the populace to end the widespread hunger ravaging the land. It should be recalled that some years ago, the federal government embarked on the provision of numerous silos for the storage of food crop. The silos were provided, but they have been left empty since their construction.

    A recent publication credited President Buhari as declaring that, “Nigeria will be prosperous again “. This will depend on the preparation of all partakers in the economy to work hard in the attempt to diversify the economy. The leaders of this nation must work hard to provide an enabling environment by ensuring that peace and security prevail in the country. The leaders must work hard to ensure that the infrastructural facilities are working efficiently; infrastructures such as energy, transportation systems, to facilitate the development of industrial projects and provisions of employment opportunities. All efforts to redeem the economic potentials of this country should be handled by the federal and state governments who are joint stake-holders in the development of the country. Many state governors have mishandled the economic development of their states; hence many of them are before EFCC and ICPC where they are facing enquiries in respect of the mismanagement of the finances of their state. The Federal Government should therefore seek the co-operation of every state government, irrespective of the political party that sponsored their elections, to work together and jointly work through a Master Plan for the economic transformation of the country.

     

    • Farukanmi, a Second Republic senator writes from Akure, Ondo State.
  • Despite recession, Muson to celebrate 20th festival

    Despite recession, Muson to celebrate 20th festival

    Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) Vice Chairman Sir Louis Mbanefo has said the centre will hold its 20th festival on October 14. This is despite the eceonomic recession that has taken its tolls on the Society’s activities, which he said had made sponsors’support and the volume of events to drop drastically.

    He spoke in Lagos during the unveiling of activities for the anniversary.

    He said despite the hardship, the centre would roll out the drums for the celebration. The festival will feature performances in drama, visual arts, poetry and musical concert, such as My kind of music, J P Clark’s The wives revolt, Bedrich Smetana’s The battered bride, Muson Day Concert, Art exhibition, Jazz night and classical concert featuring Muson Orchestra.

    Others include Fela…Arrest the music, Block 13-dance concert and workshop, Ice Nweke: Pincode (Stars on earth) dance and Lagos International Poetry Festival (poetry and music concert). The festival, which will hold at three venues – Agip Recital Hall, Shell Nigeria Hall and Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, will end on October 30.

    He recalled that at inception of the society, there were many diplomats in Lagos who appreciated the arts and that funding then was not a challenge.

    “But this set of people has left and our local chief executive officers do not value arts like the foreigners. We deliberately kept the government out of the running of MUSON. And we still keep the government out of it. Today, we use the halls to raise money to run MUSON. The volume of events at the halls has dropped and we are in a financial strait.  The Nigerian society has a negative image in the world because we don’t pay attention to what matters and endures in life,” he said.

    He urged well-meaning Nigerians and patrons of the arts to support Muson Centre, describing it as a heritage for Nigerians. “We need funding from Nigerians and if we get a fraction of our billionaires’money, the sky will be our limit,” he added.

    According to Mbanefo, who was MUSON Chairman and initiator of the festival 20 years ago, the founders of the society never dreamt that ‘their modest aspirations to create an avenue for the enjoyment of classical music would blossom into a highly successful organisation.’

    The Festival Planning Committee Chairman, Mr. Kitoye Ibare-Akinsan, said the greatest challenge faced by the society in staging the festival was finding and retaining sponsors for events, adding that the challenge has grown in recent years, leading to a reduction in the scope of the festival. “However, we have been resolute in our resolve that the festival must go on and must meet the highest standard of artistic excellence,” he said.

    The Wives Revolt will be directed by Mr. Ben Tomoloju while Ayo Ajayi will man Fela…Arrest the music.