The Nation Newspaper

Tag: rejection

  • EGOR EFIOK: Rejection makes me stronger

    Multi-award winning film-maker and Director General of Callywood Studios, Egor Efiok, is truly multitalented. She is a scriptwriter, producer and inspirational speaker. Since taking over Callywood, the acronym for Calabar movie industry, Nollywood has witnessed a surge in creative Hollywood films; among them ‘I Am Bassey’ and ‘The Father’ coming from that stable. 
    Reputed to have valuable links with the United States of America’s (USA) Hollywood Studios, the Liverpool, UK-born Cross River indigene considers herself a perfectionist with prejudice for hardworking single mothers and opens up about her foray into Hollywood and why she returned home to contribute her quota to the Nigerian movie industry, in this interview with Taiwo Alimi. 

    YOU have been described as a multitalented scriptwriter, producer and inspirational speaker, how would you describe yourself?

    You are correct. I am all of the above. Simply put, I am a perfectionist. I try to leave no stone unturned. Rejection makes me stronger and more determined because I am a “Yes, you can” type of person.

    What was growing up like?

    I was born in England (Liverpool), so I grew up in both the UK and Nigeria where I attended secondary school (Federal Government Girls’ College, Calabar). I graduated from the University of Greenwich. I have imbibed both cultures as a result. I would describe my formative years as my best and wish I could relive the experience.

    Did your parents in any way influence who you are and what you are doing today?

    Yes, they did. My dad was a journalist (Daily Times) and he recognised that I was a precious child from a very early age. I still remember him making me read newspapers almost as tall as myself to our visitors and they’d chime, “she’s good”, while he nodded in satisfaction. He was very proud of me and this boosted my confidence. I inherited my eloquence from him. My mom is a very homely person and I inherited this gift from her. We can cook and clean for Africa. We are very squeamish too and have OCD as a result.

    How did you get into Hollywood?

    I will give credit to Niyi Towolawi who loved my work and invited me to co-produce “Turning Point”, which he produced and directed. It was a “Hollywood meets Nollywood” movie starring Hollywood (Ernie Hudson, Joe Estevez, Cynda Williams, Todd Bridges and KD Aubert) and Nollywood (Patience Ozokwor, Oge Okoye, Jackie Appiah, Ebbe Bassey, Igoni Archibong and Enyinna Nwigwe) actors. I did the Nollywood casting too. We bonded as we worked on the story together and after “Turning Point”, I knew that I wanted to break into Hollywood. I then began a business relationship with Hollywood Weekly Magazine to help me promote Nigerian stars so that they would also be noticed there in Hollywood. I started by profiling Desmond Elliott, Monalisa Chinda, Jackie Appiah and Joseph Benjamin in their May 2012 edition. It was the first time Nigerian stars were gracing their cover and they looked so good. I assured them that our stars were popular enough to make that edition go viral. God bless our Nigerian and Ghanaian journalists and bloggers who made the story go so viral that Hollywood Weekly Magazine made their highest sales that year from so many downloads of the edition, including hard copies, which they kept on having to reorder, as they frequently sold out. I visited Nigeria not long after and saw the same magazine cover (of the four actors) all over billboards, lampposts and BRT buses in Lagos and was informed that Multichoice had used it to open GOtv. Let’s just say that the edition went viral internationally and I feel fulfilled that it was inspired by myself. Seven years later, I still cannot believe the doors that God consistently opens for me in Hollywood.

    How would you describe Nollywood, given your exposure at Hollywood and Europe?

    Nollywood is really evolving. I feel nostalgic when I see some of our Nollywood films on Netflix. I am particularly proud of female directors like Kemi Adetiba and Tope Oshin. They have really raised the bar. Another underrated female director is Serah Donald Onyeachor. She is good. I keep advising Nigerian actors and filmmakers who live abroad and attended film school there to take their talent back home like these ladies and other reputable filmmakers (too many to mention) have done, to help make Nollywood even greater. They would be appreciated more back home as well.

    You took to the social media to defend Nollywood when Kunle Afolayan spoke down on it, are you always that blunt and why?

    Kunle has an attitude and he constantly puts Nollywood down. He keeps saying, “I am not Nollywood”. Many filmmakers reading this have heard him say it numerous times too. I do not understand why such a talented filmmaker like himself has a chip on his shoulder. He doesn’t need to. We all know that he is very good at what he does and we appreciate his work. He should also respect the veterans who blazed the trail for him to become huge today. For me, humility is key always.

    You dropped eight years of teaching job in the UK to shoot movies in Africa, was it a difficult decision for you to make?

    My end-of-the-road with teaching came naturally. I got married and became a mom, hence had to concentrate on raising my child. It was while raising her that I slowly started writing and the rest, as they say, is history. I left the UK for Nigeria to take up the appointment of Director General of Callywood in Cross River State. Yes, it was a difficult decision to make initially, because I had to leave my daughter behind. I eventually took her back with me to Nigeria. I lost a lot including my house in London as a result, but then, I cannot eat my cake and have it at the same time. It had to be either the UK or Nigeria. I believe in taking “positive risks”. I believe that God put me in Nigeria to help build it. My people need me and I need them.

    Is it worth your while in terms of fame, and financially?

    I will say that it is worth my while because I love what I do. I always tell people to find their niche and stick with it. If you love your work, you would even find yourself doing a lot of things for free. Just because you love your job. This is me.

    You have been credited with many awards, which of them is special to you?

    All of them are special to me. I respect all the people in Nigeria, Hollywood and Australia who deemed it fit to bestow upon me, all these awards. It is a great honour to have my hard work acknowledged by these great people and organisations.

    Did you ever feel like giving up and getting back to teaching at any point?

    Many times. So many times. I was engulfed by depression too. I, however, never believe in giving up, so I forge on regardless. I have several coping mechanisms and my daughter gives me more reasons to keep soaring. Regarding teaching as well, I don’t think any teacher ever really stops teaching. If you are my friend on Facebook, you must have benefited from many of my free #English101 and #Nigerian English series. I have fun with my audience as we learn together. People find it hilarious and educating at the same time. Sharing my knowledge is a fulfilling experience for me. I am also a private tutor, but because of my very busy schedule, I only do it for very special friends when their children have important exams.

    You have been linked to a new flick on Etim Esin, when is it happening?

    I had a meeting with some Hollywood directors and investors who want to erect a Paramount Studios Theme Park (Film City) in Africa. I convinced them to bring it to Nigeria, as we have a much bigger film industry there. During the meeting, one of the investors, Alan Santana (ex boxer), who was recently inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame, asked me what sports Nigerians liked the most and I said soccer. He then asked me if Nigeria had any good, real life soccer stories and I told them about Etim Esin. They did a Google search on him and found his story very interesting. Alan said that his story was somewhat similar to that of Mike Tyson’s who is his friend. We then discussed finding a writer to write his story when I return to Nigeria.

    Nothing was concluded. We only discussed it. I privately told Etim about our discussion and was surprised to see it all over Facebook. If we are going to shoot it, it will be from the Paramount Studios Theme Park that they are planning to erect. I have only just been given land for the project. Etim is a legend and deserves to have a biopic movie. I am hoping that it will happen by the grace of God, but I believe in taking things one step at a time. As I said earlier, the Hollywood investors and directors are interested in his story, but no conclusions have been made yet. I intend to invite Etim to meet with them when they visit Nigeria and then we can resume discussions.

    What turns you on and off?

    Great ideas turn me on. They galvanise me into action. Unhygienic people turn me off.

    You have inspired many youngsters, who and what inspire you in life?

    So many people and so many positive things inspire me. I particularly have a very soft spot for hardworking women, especially single mothers. I love and respect these women. I am also inspired by success. Oprah Winfrey and Mo Abudu inspire me. So do many other people (too many to mention).

    Tell us about your love life or lack of it (Laugh)

    I just laughed for real. There is nothing to tell for now. Let us just say that I prefer work to love.

    What defines your style and philosophy?

    Beauty and elegance are as much about the internal as they are about the external.

     

  • ‘How to stop agro exports rejection’

    An expert in mycotoxicology, Prof. Stephen Fapohunda,  has advised  exporters in the agriculture sector to comply with global norms for quality and standards to avert rejection.

    He said they also risked losing their export market share to other countries. Stakeholders in the real sector were concerned about the ban on Nigeria’s dry beans by the European Union (EU) for about five  years.

    Fapohunda said the adoption of best standards for  agro exports was critical to enhance participation of Nigerians in  the  global value chains as the ban has affected the fortunes of farmers and exporters.

    According to him, in the  sector, exporters were repetitively facing trade barriers for compliance issues.

    Fapohunda  recommended  policy directions, such as standard settings, conformity assessment, accreditation, technical regulations as well as awareness building, training and education.

    He suggested the setting up of a high-level committee for regular reviews, monitoring and publication of results.

    Global value chains, according to him, are fast emerging as a key driver of standards, and participation in these requires uniform standards worldwide.

    He  stressed the need to assess the global standards, and work towards harmonising and adopting them.

    He advised the government to educate farmers in the rural areas on the need to comply with specific standards and technical regulations to make local agro produce acceptable globally.

    The EU has insisted that Nigeria must implement appropriate risk management measures and provide required guarantees before it could export dried beans to Europe.

  • Police review 2018 budget after rejection by Reps

    Police review 2018 budget after rejection by Reps

    • House dismisses it as a non-starter

    The Police authorities are back to the drawing board to rework their 2018 budget proposals following the House of Representatives’ rejection of the original one submitted to it for approval.

    The House is of the view that except the budgetary allocation to the Police is significantly reviewed; the force will continue to find it difficult to secure the lives and property of Nigerians.

    The House Committee on Police Affairs rejected the 2018 budget proposals presented to it by the Police, describing it as thoroughly inadequate and grossly incapable of meeting the expectations of the citizens on security.

    The Committee, chaired by Hon. Haliru Dauda Jika, returned the submission to the Police top echelon the same way it was presented, and requested its immediate update, in consonance with the ever-changing security dynamics of the country.

    It cited the wave of kidnappings, Fulani herdsmen killings and other forms of crimes as well as significant political activities and programmes preceding the 2019 election year.

    Police Inspector-General, Ibrahim Idris, had, on Wednesday, gone to the House to defend the Police budget proposal of N332 Billion for the year.

    A scrutiny of the proposal indicated that only about 10% of the budget covers overhead and capital costs with the remaining 90% specifically for personnel costs for the Service.

    The police, at the end of last year, had personnel strength of 300, 892 spread across 12 Zones, 37 State commands and FCT, 128 Area Commands, 1388 Divisional Commands, 1579 Police Stations and 3756 Police Posts.

  • ‘Rejection of Ahiara bishop is disgrace to Catholic Church’

    A Catholic priest, Rev. Philip Jamang, has said the rejection of Bishop Peter Okpalaeke by some members of Ahiara Diocese at Mbaise in Imo State is a “disgrace” to the Catholic Church.

    Jamang, the Parish Priest of Church of Assumption at Chongo Pyel in Jos, the Plateau State apital, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that it was particularly wrong for some priests to support those against a Bishop appointed by the Pope.

    The cleric spoke yesterday in Jos.

    He said: “Their action is strange; it is an insult never heard of in the Catholic Church.”

    NAN reports that Ahiara Catholic Diocese has remained without a Bishop, more than four years after the death of its pioneer Bishop, Rev. Victor Chikwe, after the rejection of Okpalaeke, who was appointed and consecrated in 2012.

    Sources indicated that a section of Mbaise priests, supported by a segment of the laity, had remained opposed to Okpalaeke, citing clannish differences.

    In May, the Pope gave the Diocese a 30-day ultimatum to accept Okpalaeke and apologise over their unruly behaviour to him, or face sanctions.

    The ultimatum expired last month without compliance.

    Jamang, who was reacting to the lingering disagreement, said the action of the priests and the laity demeaned the Catholic Church and the sacred place of the Pontiff.

    He said: “The Catholic Church is a united entity known for sanity and dignity. If today some sections of the church, including priests in Ahiara, are rejecting a Bishop on the basis of clan, then something is really wrong.

    “Most of the Bishops are not natives of Dioceses where they serve. Bishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, for instance, is from Jalingo in Taraba State. Bishop Mathew Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese is from Kaduna State.”

     

     

  • Magu’s rejection

    Magu’s rejection

    •The president must decide whether or not to bring the DSS under control

    THAT Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is still in the middle of a furore of nominations is a metaphor of how democracy can play out as rigmarole. For the second time, the senate shunned the pick of the president, Muhammadu Buhari, for the man to lead the fight against corruption in the country.
    But it is clear that the senate did not reject Magu because of a lofty concern for a good society. All evidence shows that the man has not violated any law, nor breached any border of decency either of decorum or morality, to inspire such odium from the top law chamber in the land.
    The Department of State Services (DSS) and conniving senators alone understand why an otherwise upright man should be denied the task of entrenching an upright society. First, we know that when Magu was appointed the acting boss of EFCC, no complaint was registered. That means he passed the security test. It is still a puzzle why the same questions now raised by the so-called DSS report were absent at the time of his acting appointment.
    Granted that the DSS found nothing at the point, it suggests an inefficient DSS. But the same organisation now showed a greater inefficiency when it propounded report that raised at least three issues that led to his first senate rejection.
    It inspired a query from the attorney general and Magu answered all questions and he was officially cleared of any wrongdoing. After that, it would seem that the coast was clear for the senate to endorse the attorney-general’s verdict by confirming Magu as chairman.
    But the DSS re-presented its old report with a flimsy note, and served as the excuse of the lawmakers to scuttle the president’s choice.
    There is a basic institutional discord in the behaviour of the DSS. It is in the executive branch and works under the presidency. Many Nigerians have wondered why the DSS would send a report to the senate, another branch of the presidential system, without the nod of the head of the executive; that is, the president.
    If the DSS acted within the ambit of presidential authority and secured the permission to send the report, it presents a suicidal paradox of a president killing his own nominee. But we like to believe that it is farfetched, and the president would not nominate to fail. If that is the case, how can the president tolerate the defiance of one of his subordinate officers? Is the president treating the DSS as an independent agency, which will mean an illegality? We believe again that it is beyond the pale.
    It appears the president is unwilling, or unable, to assert his constitutional powers in the interest not only of institutional integrity, but also of the war against corruption. If the DSS does not subject itself to the constitutional superiority of the presidency, it means the president is condoning impunity under his very nose. It is a wrong signal not only for governance, but also for this democracy, especially against the backdrop of abiding charges of impunity against his government.
    Reports have it that the brass of the senate agrees with the DSS leadership that Magu is not good for the war on corruption. No good reason can be advanced for this view. He has raked in billions of Naira, and has exposed many of seedy deals by Nigeria’s business and political leaderships. He has even pulled off a feat once thought a fantasy. He secured the conviction of a former governor.
    The law does not forbid the president to nominate Magu again and, therefore, allow him serve as long as he wants. That, perhaps, is an option that will make him soldier on against a corrupt elite.

  • SON, EU to end rejection of export products

    SON, EU to end rejection of export products

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has partnered the European Union (EU) to build capacities and competences required to stop rejection of exports from Nigeria at the global market.

    It said to meet up with the diversification agenda of the Presidency, which would be pursued with the support of 2016 budget, Nigerian products must gain acceptance at the international market.

    Its Director-General, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, said to prevent the nation from suffering   disadvantages due to non-acceptability of its exports, 70 workers of SON, who will retrain others across the value chain, will be trained by the team of experts from EU for eight months.

    He spoke at the inaugural meeting of SON with the experts for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)-EU-Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) programme on capacity building and training on standardisation.

    The theme of the forum was: “Fostering Standardisation Values and Capacity Growth for Made-in-Nigeria Products”.

    He said Nigeria, buying 80 per cent of what it consumes and selling less than 20 per cent of what it has capacity to produce, is a net buyer at the international community.

    He said:  “The partnership with EU to build capacities for Made-in-Nigeria goods is a micro quality intervention programme focused on specific areas such as agricultural produce, chemical testing, electronics and electrical, as well as identifying gaps in the processes of accreditation of laboratories.”

  • Stopping agric produce rejection

    Stopping agric produce rejection

     The importance of agro exports to the economy cannot be over-emphasised. Besides creating jobs and wealth, they also provide  raw materials for  seamless production. But how can  rejection of the produce be stopped? This was the focus of a forum organised by the Export Groupof the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The European Union (EU)  is one of the largest importers of agro  commodities from Nigeria. Despite the benefits of such produce, however, there is a growing awareness in the EU and the United States (U.S) on the microbial and chemical challenges of the produce. In the EU, for instance, food-borne diseases were linked to the consumption of vegetables, fruits and juices from Africa.

    This has led to the imposition of   a ban  on some agro produce while  the  number of rejections of fresh produce due to non-compliance with EU requirements has also increased in the last few years.  Countries exporting to EU now  face stringent  legislative requirements – the  major  being  that  produce  entering the EU market must comply with  food safety requirements, such as maximum limits on pesticide residues and absence of microbial pathogens.

    Beside these, compliance to hygiene requirements is to be documented and certificates of phytosanitary health issued.

    As much as this is well accepted  in the interest of food safety, exporters from Nigeria and other  developing  countries are not finding the task of meeting the requirements easy.

    The consequence of  non compliance is severe, in terms of  material and monetary losses quoted in dollars and Euro value.

    Worried by the economic losses suffered by Nigerians  due to the rejection  and ban of  food considered to be unsafe at EU borders, the Export Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and  the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),  organised a one-day  National Agro-Commodity Export Stakeholders Forum in Lagos.

    The forum was for stakeholders to strategise on how to acheive better compliance with food safety and quality standards  as required by the  EU.

    Addressing the forum, LCCI President Alhaji Remi Bello said there was the need to tackle food safety issues given the constraints in the exportation of some produce  because of the ban by the EU.

    Bello, who spoke through the Director-General, Mr Muda Yusuf, stressed the need to  keep participants up to date with EU laws to facilitate access for their produce into the EU market to redfuce the rejection rate.

    According to him,  the main problem is the  quality of the produce delivered by exporters.  To  address this,  he said there  was the  need to provide more credit support to exporters to acquire necessary facilities and equipment to meet international standards.

    Bello said figures from the Central Bank Economic Report for the second quarter of the year stated that: “The total non-oil export earnings by Nigerian exporters during the second quarter of 2015 stood at $631.54 million, indicating a decline of 64.9 and 75.1 per cent below the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2014, respectively”.

    Bello said the quest for diversification of the economy cannot be attained without  access to the international market. He urged  the government to make available special intervention funds for exporters to boost their capacity to compete with international brands and products. He also urged stakeholders in the agric sector to devote resources and efforts to pursue the standardisation of products for the international markets across the globe.

    Chairman, Export Group, LCCI, Dr Obiora Madu,  said  there  were  questions begging  for  answers . He asked rhetorically: “Is it that the relevant government agencies charged with regulating the industry have left the industry to regulate itself, thus, allowing some unscrupulous exporters to cause this mess the country has found itself? Is it because the technical personnel at these government agencies are too thin on the ground to effectively monitor the goings on both at production and inspections at exit points?”

    He  observed  that  non-oil exports from the country  have  continued to face mass rejection at entry points in Europe for failure to comply with standards specified by the countries.

    The rejected exports are mainly in the food and beverage segment. Top on the list of food items banned from entering Europe till June 2016 are: beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, fried fish, meat, peanut chips and palm oil. Cocoa and cashew nuts were also rejected in many other countries, not only in Europe. The reasons for their rejection, according  to him, include inability of exporters to adhere to global standards, poor packaging and high level of chemicals, poor labeling, insufficient information on nutritional content, presence of high level of pesticide residue and presence of mycotoxins.

    He  said the suspension measure adopted by the body in June this year was the only action it could take because notices on the matter to the Nigeria government were ignored.  He said the ban would remain until there is substantial guarantee that adequate official control systems had been put in place to ensure compliance with food law requirements.  He  said  inspectors  must  monitor all the consignments at all entry points to make sure quality is maintained.  Exporters, Madu, said must brace  up for new measures to address the EU ban  on some the nation’s  exports.

    Experts  described as grim, the unregulated nature of the nation’s food ecosystem.

    Managing Director, RBS Consulting Limited, Aderemi Osijo who also moderated at the panel session,  stressed  the  need to  regulate the importation, distribution and use of pest control products in the country.  This is because some pesticides banned in other countries have found their way into the local market.  Following this, he said  the nation’s   food supply is polluted with agrochemicals, as a result  of the sue of  dangerous pesticides, herbicides and fungicides — including banned chemicals. These chemicals, he noted, can remain on foods long after harvesting and processing.

    Experts  put the  blame for this squarely at the door step of regulatory authorities  who they accuse of not doing their jobs by allowing sale of unregistered agro chemical products in the country.  To this end, he said the nation’s   food safety oversight system needed “urgent review and revision to root out systemic safety problems.”

    As the blame continues, it  became  clear that the production and export of produce that meets EU export requirements is not only  the responsibility of producing  and exporting companies but  logistics  firms  as well.  Farmers  told  stories  of their containers being rejected  because inspectors  abroad found a dead rat in  pesticide laden produce.

    To mitigate against this , Osijo advised the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Plant Quarantine  and Health Inspectorate Service to  implement strategies to ensure compliance with market requirements. On the commodity  exchange,  Osijo  said it  should be  strengthened to  accommodate the concerns of stakeholders and be flexible, in order to do what is best for the trade and for the country. It is also vitally important that the commodity exchange identify and acknowledge as quickly as possible any failures in the system as soon as they occur.

    Others spoke on warehouse receipt.   For Nigeria and other African countries, the key challenges are changes in EU legislations on food safety that have made it difficult for exported produce to meet the requirements of pesticides Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). This coupled with the fact that consumers in the EU region are becoming more and more careful about what they buy from the fresh produce outlets.

    According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) are the upper legal levels of a concentration for pesticide residues in or on food or feed based on good agricultural practices.

    The  Head of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, NAFDAC, Mrs Veronica  Ezeh advised  exporters to ensure good hygiene in their packing yards. According to her, the application of pesticides without observing the Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI) is rampant.

    The PHI is the period of time that a farmer must wait before produce harvesting. She  said spray regimes should come with timings to  control pests and diseases leaving minimum pesticide residues. In spite of measures being put in place to address the challenge of MRLs compliance, she said some export companies and food handling organisations still use dubious means to circumvent the rules. Some of the methods used by these companies include exporting produce rejected by authorities through an alternative ‘partner’. Further,  she  said some exporters have  not enforced the disease and pest management monitoring on their production schemes and farms.

    To reduce incidences where produce are intercepted at points of entry and destroyed at the exporter’s expense, the NAFDAC chief urged exporters to submit their produce in time for chemical residue analysis at its laboratories.

    International Food Standards Advisor, Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT),  Mrs Bukola Sotubo said  the group  had embarked on  farmers and exporters trainings in the value chain on how to handle the commodities during the post-harvest period. She said the programme is helping to strengthen the public-private dialogue and partnership opportunities  to   position Nigeria exports  for the global  markets.

    The Co-ordinating Director, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Dr Vincent Isegbe, called  for  increased  collaboration to  ensure  that EU  lifted the  ban  on some commodities  to  enter its market.   For this to happen, he  said  positive measures must  be  put in place to ensure compliance.

    The steps include: encouraging farmers to observe proper post-harvest handling and use of recommended and approved pesticides. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Country Representative and Regional Director for the Economic Community of West Adrican States (ECOWAS), Dr. David Tommy expressed the resolve of the organisation to assist the government improve the quality of food exports from Nigeria.

    He added that the state of food safety in the country remained high on its agenda. According to him, UNIDO has developed a country-wide awareness-raising campaign to provide intensive food safety training.

  • Expert urges produce audit to avert exports rejection

    Chairman Board of Trustees, Mycotoxicology Society of Nigeria, Prof Dele Fapohunda,  has  urged  the  government to  improve  on exports  standards and ensure commodities  meets European Union (EU) requirements for import.

    He said the rejection of some of Nigeria’s exported food items by the EU is not only detrimental to the agricultural sector, but is also counterproductive to the economy.

    He was addressing a workshop organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council in Abuja.

    He said beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, dried fish and meat, peanut chips and palm oil from Nigeria have been banned by the EU till June, next year, which the reason given were aflatoxins and pesticides at unacceptable levels.

    According to him, plans to make the agricultural sector a major revenue earner for the country may suffer a setback if produce from the industry are being rejected by foreign countries.

    He said local exporters were at the risk of suffering losses since imports are significantly protected by the high standards of the major food suppliers and retailers, and the regulatory controls which deter the importation of seriously contaminated material.

    Stringent mycotoxin standards on exported food crops, he noted, countries must export their best-quality foods while keeping contaminated foods away.

    For Nigeria to make remarkable agricultural progress, he said further action is required to address new and emerging contamination challenges.

    Going forward, he said Nigeria needs to improve its policy environment, to enable investments that will allow help exporters to adapt to the opportunities created by rising export demand.

    As increasing agricultural exports is now an integral part of the government’s sector-development strategy, Fapohunda said the government should help exporters to streamline exports with the ever-changing food quality and safety norms of major importing countries. According to him, there  have been concerns over pesticide residues in horticultural produce.

    As result, he  said  the  food industry has to deal with various intrinsic issues impacting food quality and safety across the supply chain.

    To further harness the potential of the agriculture and food industry, he said robust policy strategies on food quality and safety  are  imperative to improve standards and secure greater market access of food products in the developed markets.

  • Agri shipments suffer rejection on EU’s quality concern

    Stringent quality standards action taken by the European Union (EU) and other countries to ensure food safety is causing agro exports  from  Nigeria to be rejected, the President, Federation of Agricultural Commodities Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama has  said.

    Iyama said tonnes exported to European and Asian countries  by  Nigerian agro exporters  have been rejected due to their poor quality.

    European importers, he said will reject poor products at the port of delivery following independent quality control examination at  their  destinations.

    In many instances, he said  foreign buyers  had  raised serious concern over Nigeria’s agriculture products on the need to follow quality norms.

    While the number of consignments rejected is reducing, he said the step taken by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to commission a food testing laboratory of world class standards testing laboratory for agro exports will further help the situation as exporters will be assisted to meet quality norms specified by importing countries.

    According  to him, the benefits of having a local laboratory are enormous as food produced from Nigeria will now be tested at the laboratory before export instead of its being tested by the importing country.

    SON has launched its internationally accredited Chemical and Food Technology Laboratories located at Lekki, Lagos.

    It achieved the feat late last year following the International Laboratory Accreditation Corporation (ILAC)’s testing and accreditation. This represents a high water mark in efforts towards boosting the non-oil sector.

    Iyama said following the international accreditation of SON’s laboratory, Nigeria’s agricultural products would no longer suffer rejection at the global market. The food and allied products sub-sector dominated the $2.97 billion  non-oil export of the county in 2013.

    Director-General, SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu said the accreditation of the food laboratories demonstrates technical competence of the staff of the agency, adding that no external consultants where  involved. According to him,Nigeria has been placed on global map with this accomplishment.

    The Executive Director,Nigeria Exports Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Segun Awolowo said  international accreditation of the SON food laboratories would undoubtedly boost small and medium enterprises (SMEs) produce

  • 12 reasons Jonathan deserves rejection

    Last week, Villascope, the in-house journal of the Aso Rock Villa listed a dozen reasons why President Goodluck Jonathan deserves re-election. Well dear reader, let us ignore the confounding shallowness of the claims and dissect them together, one at a time to determine if this president actually deserves a day longer in office.

    One: Road construction is first on the list. Their major showpiece here is the refurbished portion of Benin-Ore road. This government never managed to complete any road from start to finish in six years. They lie about Onitsha-Owerri road which was about 90 per cent completed by the Obasanjo government. The East-West road has remained an albatross; Lagos-Ibadan Express is a non-starter and the Second Niger Bridge was a forgotten promise until a few weeks ago. On account of roads therefore, Hardball will not return Jonathan.

    Two: Railway rehabilitation is flaunted and one wonders whether it is the same antiquated and chugging coaches one often finds passengers sit on their roof? One hears it is sheer torture making any journey in them across the country. Sorry, no serious country would refer to those things as trains in this age.

    Three: Re-modeling of airports. Yes, airports were remodeled but what quality? At what cost?

    Four: Transformed agriculture sector. This is the biggest scam of the Jonathan government. They said they gave ten million farmers mobile phones for accessing fertilizer. Hmn? The fraud called rice fund, cassava bread fund among others are well kept secret of billion naira sluice funds…

    Five: Increased access to education. Just because about ten hurriedly-hung universities have been established overnight does not mean access has been increased. What is the percentage of the increase?

    Six: Access to housing. Where are the houses built? By who and for whom? When President Shehu Shagari built houses those days, we all saw them. It is wicked to pass off posh private estates for public housing.

    Seven: Improved power supply. Dear reader you know this is a blatant lie. They just handed our facilities to their cronies and we suffer more and pay more now than the PHCN days.

    Eight: Improved water supply. Where? What really does the Ministry of Water Resources do? Why don’t they just scrap it?

    Nine: Better health facilities. Where? With strikes in the health service all the time?

    Ten: Reformed security infrastructure. Dear reader you know this is a big lie. For instance you sabi our police well, well now? And you know that Niger, Chad and Cameroun are currently helping big brother, Nigeria.

    Eleven: Increased Nigerians’ participation in downstream oil sector. Lie, IOCs still control 97 percent of the sector. Friends of government are only hijacking the facilities the IOCs are divesting from.

    Twelve: Economic transformation: Haba! With our naira trading at N215 to a dollar? With budget not passed in February…?

    Why, just because this government has lost touch with reality does not mean the entire populace is so afflicted. Let’s vote Jonathan out before it’s too late.