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Tag: revival

  • Nigeria’s thorny road to cocoa revival

    Nigeria’s thorny road to cocoa revival

    Nigeria plans to reclaim her position as a global powerhouse in cocoa production and export. But, experts say without evolving a vibrant local chocolate industry to benefit from the entire cocoa value chain, and addressing some fundamental issues agitating the minds of cocoa farmers and stakeholders, the road to achieving the feat remains rough. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    Some people may not have noticed, but a revolution, somewhat silent, is sweeping through the cocoa segment of the agric sector. The revolution, when completed, would hopefully, return Nigeria to the height of its glory in the global cocoa industry. Apparently prompted by the economic crisis caused by the crashing oil price in the international market, which has forced the Federal Government to look towards the non-oil sector, the revolution, according to the Minister ofIndustry, Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, would help Nigeria claim a greater share of the global market for finished goods made from cocoa estimated at $200 billion annually.

    The minister, who spoke at the Nigerian Cocoa Value Addition Summit, held in Abuja, recently, said the renewed emphasis on cocoa will create thousands of jobs. According to him, government was repositioning to extract immense value from the cocoa industry where the global value of exporting raw cocoa is approximately $10 billion a year, while the total value from chocolates is over $100 billion a year. He said government was working on deriving benefits from cocoa for farmers and Nigerians through the implementation of initiatives and expansion projects in cocoa processing and manufacturing.

    Part of the initiative that has earned the government the buy-in and support of farmers and key stakeholders in the cocoa sub-sector, was the distribution of hybrid cocoa pods to farmers across the country to boost production and exports. At the last count, over 1.4 million hybrid cocoa pods, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, have been distributed to  farmers across the country.

    Adesina, who spoke at the same event, said this translates to about 50 million seedlings, which are enough for farmers to plant 46,000 hectares of new cocoa plantation. This is based on the yield capacity of the distributed hybrids to produce five times the yield of what farmers get today, which is 2.5 tonnes as against 0.5 tonnes. He promised that with the introduction of the Cocoa Corporation of Nigeria (CCON), the government would be able to co-ordinate the sector and facilitate access to finance.

    That is not all. Cocoa farmers are also being provided with critical inputs, such as agro-chemicals, to guard against black pod and insects, and fertiliser to enhance yield per hectare. “We have also succeeded, for the first time, to introduce a specifically formulated fertiliser for cocoa. Cocoa farmers are also given agro-chemicals, insecticides, fungicides, in addition to fertiliser and hybrid pods,’’ Team Leader, Cocoa Value Chain Development at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Peter Aikpokpodion,said.

    The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, Oyo State, The Nation learnt, is also carrying out lots of researches on cocoa bread, liquor and cocoa detergent. According to its Director, Mr. Malachi Akoroda, a few projects were being executed in collaboration with foreign partners to research more into cocoa and see how it can be improved upon by way of partnerships, collaborations and linkages.

    Interestingly, some of these efforts appear to be yielding fruit. For instance, in 2014 alone,Nigeria recorded the highest export of cocoa and its products valued at N131b, according to the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC). “Cocoa and cocoa preparations were the highest exported products in 2014 with the trade volume on cocoa amounting to N131.2 billion,’’ NEPC noted.

    Statistics from NEPC show that Nigeria recorded N43.191b exportation of the products in the first quarter of the year, while more than N18. 558b was recorded in the second quarter. Over N24. 845 billion was recorded in the third quarter, while N44. 695b was recorded in the fourth quarter. NEPC said the exportation of the products was part of the Federal Government’s plan to develop and enhance market opportunities for non-oil export sector through the National Strategy Export Products (NSEP).

    The Federal Government in January marked out 13 NSEP to replace the nation’s over dependence on petroleum products. According to Aganga, tumbling prices of petroleum products at the international markets was threatening the stability of the Nigerian economy hence, this was part of Federal Government’s moves to revive the dwindling national economy with emphasis on rapid growth of the non-oil sector for exports.

    Although, 12 products were originally identified under the NSEP, the number increased because the Executive Director of NEPC, Mr. Segun Awolowo, made a case for the inclusion of Cashew on the list. Aganga listed the 13 NSEP in three categories, including agro-industrial-palm oil, cocoa, cashew, sugar and rice. Others are mining-related such as cement, iron ore/metals, auto parts/cars, aluminium, oil and gas industrial products, petroleum products, fertiliser/urea, petrochemical and methanol.

    However, while these efforts may have put Nigeria on the threshold of regaining her lost glory as a leading cocoa producer, there is a snag: lack of a vibrant chocolate industry to process cocoa into chocolate and other finished products. At present, 90 per cent of chocolate products in the Nigerian market are imported from Europe and other African countries such as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and South-Africa.

    The Nation learnt that there are few processing companies with the capacity to process cocoa into chocolate in Africa’s largest economy; a situation that has denied Nigeria the opportunity of enjoying the full benefit of the ongoing revolution in the sub-sector. Issues such as regular supply of cocoa, capital to establish local processing plants, and the challenge of marketability viz-a-viz imported chocolate, among others, have been identified as serious obstacles to the emergence of a vibrant local chocolate industry.

    This was why Adesina, for instance, has been advocating that Nigeria produce chocolates instead of exporting raw beans. He said cocoa processing factories generate between $90 million and $400 million annually even at their low capacity rates, urging Nigerians to give more priority to processing instead of exportation of cocoa beans. Adesina, who spoke at the recent 50th anniversary of CRIN, added that a special intervention fund will also be established to support cocoa processors for asset acquisition and working capital.

    The Founder, Centre for Cocoa Development Initiative, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Mr. Robo Adhuze, told The Nation that at the moment the ‘N100b Cocoa Intervention Fund’ announced by the Federal Government to support cocoa processors remains at the level of a proposal. He, however, said the recent feat achieved by the Ondo State Government’s ‘Cocoa Revolution Project’, particularly in the area of cocoa processing, is an indication that government’s ongoing efforts at revamping cocoa is yielding positive result.

    Adhuze, whose NGO focuses on promoting the development of cocoa in Nigeria and fostering awareness on the usefulness of cocoa products, said Ondo State won the Chocolate Silver Awards at the recently concluded 7th edition of the annual Academy of Chocolate Award, held at the Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly, London.

    At the event, which attracted major cocoa/chocolate and confectionery industry stakeholders across the globe, cocoa produced in the state, for chocolate production, received world certification and recognition. The state was mentioned at the ceremony as the only chocolate award winner from West Africa that produces 75 per cent of global cocoa bean output.

    Chairman of the state Cocoa Revolution Implantation Committee, Jibayo Oyebade, said the product had already been presented to the partnering firm overseas, Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate firm in Netherland. “We taught our cocoa farmers on how to improve the quality of their cocoa through proper fermentation. Our partners have taken our sample, and are satisfied with it.

    “I am proud that our effort has yielded good results. We want to reproduce chocolate from our own cocoa,” Oyebade said, adding that only 300 kilogrammes of the product was sent as sample. He also said the state would increase production and establish a chocolate academy and factory.

    The Ondo State feat has been a wake-up call of sorts for other cocoa producing states. According to Adhuze, several states are eager to replicate Ondo’s success by riding on the crest of the cocoa transformation programme midwifed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).

    The Nation learnt that apart from Ondo, a number of state governments have already indicated interest to be listed on the cocoa value chain intervention programme of the FMARD. For instance, only six states were involved in the programme’s implementation in 2012, but that doubled the following year 2013.

    Adhuze said what gave Ondo State an edge in exploiting the entire cocoa value chain in terms of marketing, processing and adding value was that out of about 10 cocoa processing factories in the country five are located in the state. He, however, noted that although about 24 states fall under what is described as ‘Nigeria’s Cocoa Belt’ only eight are commercially viable, and they form the hub for the current economic regeneration anchored on cocoa production and export.

    “We have enough cocoa processing factories; the only thing is that they are not performing optimally because of high cost of fund and energy,” Adhuze told The Nation, adding that in the next five or seven years, Nigeria would meet its target in cocoa production and export.

  • Hope for textile revival

    Hope for textile revival

    Textile workers hope that the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari will revive the collapsed industry, reports TONY AKOWE

    Even before his administration takes off, President-elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is acutely aware that the country needs a new lease of life. Workers in the comatose textile industry are hopeful that the General’s government will inject new blood into their factories and get them working again.

    Gen. Buhari himself was not oblivious of what lay before him.

    “We know some big companies that employed a lot of Nigerians and gave them training facilities that have closed down… The important thing in a country with a huge population of youths with more than 60 per cent of them under the age of 30 who are unemployed is to create job opportunities. You need these institutions to give jobs and training to Nigerians. Things just have to change.”

    The textile industry used to perform that task. Not anymore.

    In Kaduna, only the United Textiles Plc is operating skeletal services. After several years of closure, the company came back to life, operating minimally after receiving grants from the textile revival fund. Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo launched the rebirth of the industry at an electorate ceremony in Kaduna in 2010.

    Issa Aremu, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria said he believed that Buhari would revive the sector. Aremu challenged the incoming government to put in place policies that will see the industrial sector in the country bounce back to life again, while retaining and building on those policies of the Jonathan government that encourage good labour market.

    He said, “General Muhammadu Buhari’s victory must usher in new innovative policy changes that must ensure prosperity in place of existing mass poverty. We however suggest that there must be continuity of some good labour market and industrial policies of Jonathan’s administration, such as freedom of association, right to unionisation, unfettered collective bargaining and the new National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the national cotton, textile and garment policy, among others”.

    Aremu lamented that in 2014, the performance of the textile sector was very low.

    “The performance of the Nigerian textile industry remained at a low ebb in 2014 due to lack of an enabling environment and inconsistency in government policy,” he said. “Key problems affecting the industry include persistent electricity supply crisis, inadequate raw materials, government’s inability to regulate imports, high cost of production inputs, unrestrained importation of fake counterfeit and substandard textiles from China, low patronage of made in Nigeria textiles, security challenges, high interest rate and recent devaluation of the naira. The capacity utilisation in the industry remains below 50% and growth has been stagnant since 2012. The government had talked about a new textile policy in February 2013 [but] there has been no progress. Unless effective steps are taken by the government to revive the industry, gains achieved in 2010 will be lost, resulting in job losses, thus aggravating the unemployment situation. In 2015, we demand for patriotic industrial policies through direct mass actions to protect domestic industry.  It is time we grow the non-oil sector”.

    He assured that the union will partner with the incoming administration to take necessary steps to revive the ailing industries in Kaduna State especially the textile industry with a view of creating jobs for the mass of unemployed youths in the state.

    However, many families who rely on the proceeds from the textile industries in Kaduna to earn a living are also hoping that life will come back to the industries again. Workers of the closed factories and their families as well as others who trade on one item or the other around the close factories are looking forward to the Buhari government collaborating with the Nasir El-Rufai government in the state to breadth life into the industries. Many of those who lost their job due to closure of the industries and had to resort to commercial motorcycle business for their survival were dealt a big blow in 2014 when the Kaduna State government banned Okada operation.

    Musa Yakubu  who lost his job in one of the textiles companies in Kaduna when it closed down said he was finding life difficult.

    He told The Nation: “We are finding it extremely difficult to cope in the harsh economic condition of the county. As a man, I have to struggle to find what I can do. We involve ourselves in all kinds of menial jobs at construction sites. My wife roasts corn on a daily basis. Sometimes, I assist people on the farm and get paid. I was operating Okada when there is nothing I can do, but that had to stop when the state government banned okada. Some of us could not afford to buy tricycles and the ones the government bought did not get to many of us. Now, I do anything that can bring some legitimate money. I have four children; two are out of school because I cannot fund their education. The remaining two are in primary and secondary school, and I am struggling to pay their school fees. Accommodation has been the worst.

    “The landlord has threatened to eject me. I want the company to be reopened so that we can be paid our entitlements.”

    The Obasanjo administration launched the Textile Revival Fund as well as the cotton rebirth programme as part of government’s measures to ensure the revival of the sector. The Jonathan government gave life to the programme when Vice-President Namadi Sambo formally launched the fund at the UNT Plc premises in Kaduna. Sambo said at the occasion that the Nigerian government regarded the revival of the textile industries as a topmost priority, identifying obstacles leading to the collapse of the sector as the collapse of critical infrastructure, such as power, roads, water, etc resulting in the high cost of doing business for the manufacturing sector and the lack of price competitiveness of Nigeria’s manufactured products; gross under-capitalisation in the face of costly new technologies; lack of long fibre and use of contaminated cotton which combined to generate very low yarn count and quality; lack of other necessary local inputs largely derived from petrochemicals due to the hitherto epileptic performance of the country’s refineries; competition from smuggled fabrics which displaced Nigeria’s exports to the West African market.

    He also said at the occasion that: “These as identified were responsible for the collapse of the textile industry in Kaduna, which in its glorious days was reputed as one of the major textile production hubs and perhaps the only existing cluster of textile manufacturers in Africa.

    This was a cluster that accounted for well over 70 percent of the working population of Kaduna in the 1980s and 90s… Our Founding Father of this industrial success had the vision of a similar textile industrial complex to that of the Manchester of the United Kingdom. The foregoing problems of the textile industry informed the approval by the Federal for the Federal Ministry of Finance to raise and disburse through Bank of Industry (BOI) the N100 billion Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Fund through a bond issued by the Debt Management Office (DMO). The Fund is meant for on-lending by BOI for the expansion, refurbishing, resuscitation and modernisation/re-tooling of existing textiles, ginning and all other assorted cotton industries as well as the cultivation of cotton.

    We have pursued and have had to set up committees at both state and Federal levels to come up with practical recommendations that can address these identified challenges. These committees made far-reaching recommendations and followed them with concrete steps aimed at addressing them. We then identified with the challenges of Power and approved the siting of the 215mw thermal power plant to address the challenge of constant power supply.”

  • Obanikoro’s revival indicates national decline

    Obanikoro’s revival indicates national decline

    With his clearance by the Senate and return to the Jonathan cabinet, though as a less significant minister, Musiliu Obanikoro has achieved a remarkable and probably unprecedented  revival. He that was dead and awaiting burial is now restored to life. A former Minister of State for Defence, one-time Ambassador to Ghana, and recently defeated aspirant for the coveted stool of Lagos on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Obanikoro has by the grace of a pliant Senate emptied of its will and moral core become, once again, a minister of the Federal Republic. His trajectory could be described as grass to grace, assuming he merited both his meteoric rise and the honour of elevation done him by President Jonathan, notwithstanding his modest talents and insignificant contributions to national discourse and development. More appropriately, however, the more controversial trajectory is that of Nigeria, which, in the feeble and tremulous hands of President Jonathan, has gone from grace to grass, scorned by many nations, and ridiculed everywhere.

    The ease with which Mr Obanikoro was again garlanded so soon after resigning from the cabinet and failing at his ambition of ruling a highly cosmopolitan Lagos is not just a reflection of his own indomitability, or of the president’s accommodation, or of the Senate’s notorious lack of rectitude. It is rather symptomatic of the malaise afflicting the country and the depths to which, morally and politically, the country has sunk in recent years. Ministerial positions are by constitutional design the highest and most respected national governing council, one into which admission must be stringent, exacting and reverencing. It should not be one in which an individual, no matter how qualified, could in the space of a few months and in the same government breeze in and breeze out. But for exhibiting no special moral or intellectual endowment, Mr Obanikoro has been endued with the honour of turning the Jonathan cabinet into a plaything.

    Much more instructively, the Obanikoro redivivus is even more emblematic of the personal failings of the President and confusion enveloping the country. By reappointing Mr Obanikoro, President Jonathan was not thinking of the image of the nation, or of the standards on which he hoped his government would be assessed, or of the future by which his presidency would be judged and the world would in turn judge Nigeria. The reappointment, just like other such objectionable appointments, to wit, Jelili Adesiyan et al, gave the impression of a calculating president, one perhaps more obsessed with calculating his chances in the March 28 presidential poll. But in reality, if there was any calculation at all, it had none of the exactness of the mathematical sciences, pure or applied. Indeed, the calculation was nothing but an indication of the base and gross permutation involved in shifting the poll date from its original February 14 date, and other such ignoble contrivances to win the elections.

    Readmitting Mr Obanikoro is therefore a final indication — as the presence of the unworthy Mr Adesyain in his cabinet, the courting of ethnic militias and militants, the inducement of traditional rulers, and the deliberate and unconscionable vitiation of the force and moral authority of religious leaders — of the country’s precipitous decline under President Jonathan. No amount of political and moral exhortation will persuade him to imbibe the values that make great statesmen to ennoble the high offices they occupy. He will see nothing wrong in courting militants and militias, or in polarising the country along religious and ethnic lines, or in subverting the constitution while sermonising about great constitutional principles, or in promising what he could never hope to deliver, or in promoting violence and hate speeches.

    As the Obanikoro revival shows, the president’s limited vista prevents him from taking a more expansive view of both the country he governs and the principles on which to anchor it. He appears incapable of subordinating his private but obviously now difficult electoral goals beneath the national objectives of building a great, strong, indivisible and prosperous nation that can compete with any in the world, and of projecting lofty ideas and values to distant lands. Given these troubling manifestations, the country and the rest of the world will wait with bated breath to see whether the Jonathan government can be managed like a bull in a china shop on March 28 and April 11.

  • Summit seeks revival of family values

    The family is a place to mentor real leaders.

    It is the place where a father shows himself as an example to his children, where mothers help the kids to become the leaders they should be.

    This is a picture of a typical home painted at a gathering of hundreds of men and women from across the country during the July edition of Awesome Treasures Summit with the theme where are the real men II?

    The Chief Executive Officer of Gemstone Group, Fela Durotoye; the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Homebase Mortgage Bank, Dr Paul Johnson and the Africa Marketing Director, Family Nutrition at GlaxoSmithKilne, Mr. Lampe Omoleye, among others, spoke at the summit.

    It considered the vital roles of parents in the upbringing and mentoring of their children.

    To the convener, Mrs. Olajumoke Adenowo, the examples parents present their children make a huge difference because children easily relate more with what they see.

    This, she said, has changed because men no longer have a personal walk with God and fail to take up their responsibilities at homes.

    She told fathers: “Your children will become who you are and not what you say.”

    She said men in the country have failed in their duty to bring back the abducted Chibok girls.

    “The Bring BacktheGirls campaign is for all to know that we have not forgotten. Real men protect and are there for their children.

    “Each woman’s child is a Chibok child and we cannot forget. Time or the length of day will not make us forget.

    “The fact that the noise has gone down will not make us forget because we are mothers who do not forget their children,” Adenowo, an architect, said.

    Johnson was of the opinion that couples have been getting married for the wrong reasons, leading to massive divorces.

    Lasting marriages, according to him, are built on friendship, understanding, forgiveness and kindness.

  • Nigeria’s crusade team ignites revival in Burundi

    Nigeria’s crusade team ignites revival in Burundi

    •Over 500 accepted Christ 

    No fewer than 500 Burundians last week gave their lives to Christ at a three-day crusade organised by Lagos-based Abraham Evangelistic Ministry (AEM) in Bujumbura.

    The crusade with the theme God of all nations attracted thousands at the expansive ground of Zion Temple Church in the city.

    The President of AEM, Bishop Abraham Olaleye, who led the team from Nigeria, stated that Jesus remains the ultimate solution provider to all human problems.

    He charged Burundians to embrace Christ, assuring that the nation will witness spontaneous progress should Jesus become their master.

    According to him: “If Burundi embraces Jesus, if you would find Christ, every blessing hiding from you will find their way to you.”

    Olaleye added: “When Jesus shows up in Burundi, every great thing you cannot imagine will begin to spring forth.”

    Jesus, he said, does not just save from sins but also makes living worthwhile.

    Launching into the prophetic realm, the fiery evangelist said: “Foreign investors will begin to come to Burundi. Very soon, fewer than the fingers of my hands, Burundi will become the centre of development.

    “Burundi may be small but it will perform great feats in Africa.”

    Rev. Toyin Kehinde urged Burundians to shun sins and embrace the light of the gospel.

    He stated that God is looking for souls to save, saying Burundians stand the best chance to accomplish their destinies in Christ.

    Bishop Joseph Akintunde, who delivered a touching message on the finished works of Christ on the cross, challenged Burundians to turn their lives over to God.

    He assured that all the bitterness of sin as well as contending forces will give way when they succumb to the leadership of Jesus.

    President Pierre Nkurunziza, who attended the church’s service conducted by the team, held the congregation spell bound with testimony of his survival from a childhood sickness and years as a rebel leader in the bush.

    He attributed his rise to prominence to God despite a rocky background, urging Burundians to trust in Him.

    “I never asked to be president; I only told God that if he saved me from the war, I would serve Him. I am where I am today by the grace of God.

    “Since He bought me this far, He can do the same for you and much more,” he assured.

    He thanked the team for braving the odds to come to Burundi, stating that the country can never remain the same again.

  • Revival pill for moribund Ibadan dry port

    Revival pill for moribund Ibadan dry port

    The Ibadan Inland Container Depot, now being reclassified as a dry port, is about to spring into life six years after it was established, thanks to a renewed partnership between the Oyo State government and the Federal Government. BISI OLADELE reports that the project is set to galvanise the economy of Ibadan and provide no fewer than 5,000 jobs. 

    Like a sleeping economic giant, Ibadan dry port lays waste on a large expanse of land, waiting for a big shove to wake it up from its deep slumber.

    One of six similar projects set up six years ago across the country by the government to reduce pressure on the existing coastal ports, but which have seemingly been abandoned, the dry port with capacity to create no fewer than 5,000 jobs and boost the economy of the largest city in Africa south of the Sahara, was set up to cater for the import and export needs of the entire south west region.

    At its ground-breaking ceremony on August 11, 2008, top Federal Government functionaries, particularly in the maritime sector turned up with fanfare at Erunmu, an Ibadan less city on the Ibadan –Iwo highway to turn the sod of the dry port project.

    The seriousness attached to the event suggested that the project would hit the ground running, but that was not to be.  The building donated by the Oyo State Government which is standing on the large expanse of land and other physical facilities offered by the state government, have since then been abandoned while weed overgrows its frontage and the facilities depreciate.

    The inland container depots (as originally named), one in each of the six geo-political zones, were planned to take port activities to the hinterland, decongest existing ports, improve the economy of the new cities and states as well as make the business of importation and exportation easier for importers and exporters.

    Seen as a fantastic idea, stakeholders hailed the thinking and embraced it with both hands. Relevant maritime agencies, coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Transport, swung into action and laid out step-by-step activities to realize the dream.

    The Nigerian Shippers Council, one of such relevant agencies undertook the project to ensure they saw the light of the day, particularly the one cited in Ibadan for the Southwest Zone of the country.

    The Ibadan dry port stirred hope in residents and the state government judging by the volume of containers and general import and export business that can be done in the city due to its proximity to Lagos as well as its strategic location in the heart of south west Nigeria. But that hope was dashed shortly after.

    For instance, shortly after news hit the town that a depot/dry port was cited at Erunmu, investors swung into action, purchasing the landed properties around the depot covering more than 10 kilometers. The development forced price of land up in the area as more people scrambled to get a good piece or pieces as applied. Two years later, however, they began to offload their investments because of the failure of the project to fly as anticipated.

    They may have to return soon as the project is coming back to life courtesy of the Oyo State governor Senator Abiola Ajimobi who has reopened its file so to speak. Last week, the government sent a delegation led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Olalekan Alli, to the Shippers Council in Lagos to work out how the project could be made to fly.

    According to the SSG, the government was aiming at joining forces with the Federal Government to ensure the success of the project, and without delay. He expressed the determination of the state government to see to the successful take off of the project and its sustainability.

    He explained that one major setback for the project was its original idea as an  inland depot. Alli said Customs and other relevant government agencies cannot operate in a depot but only in a port, hence the need to transform it to a dry port.

    “What we are looking at is the full implementation of the project as a dry port. All the government did was to set up six inland container depots in the six geo-political zones of the country. Later they said that Federal Government thought that it should not just be inland depots. The essence of this decentralized thing arose because of the congestion in our ports.

    “We are saying that while the essence is to decongest the ports, the advantages are there. But it will be much better to make the dry ports fully equipped, fully manned and statutorily pursued to the point of making them ports of either origin or destination.

    “We believe that exporters from this country should be able to move their goods out of this country from these six dry ports, in the six zones as ports of origin without putting more pressure on existing ports.

    “We are also saying further that people importing into this country from these geo-political zones will make these ports their ports of destination. In which case, even when the cargoes get to any other port in the country, they could be transported essentially by rail to these dry ports from where they will be cleared.” Alli said.

    He explained that the one in Ibadan would serve the Southwest as well as Kwara and Kogi states. This means all the ports agencies will be there.

    Alli also pointed out that the project was sure to generate a lot of jobs and opportunities for both import and export.

    “One would like to say that, this state having worked on the tripod programme of restoration, transformation and repositioning, it is impatient to have this port in place to further actualize the intention of industrializing the state.

    “We have foreign investors coming into the state. What we are saying is that from China, Japan, USA, Britain and other parts of the world, they should be able to make this dry port in Ibadan their port of destination”.

    According to him the project needs a 1.5 kilometre rail facility from the train station in Erunmu to the dry port. “All the government needs to do is to extend the rail from where it is now to the port.” He said, adding that doing this will reduce pressure on Nigerian roads.

    Alli emphasized that the state government was working towards a return to the old practice when trains transported goods from one location to another. Apart from minimizing accidents on roads, this he said would save cost.

    Alli added: “We are actually trying to collaborate with the Shippers Council which is the regulatory authority of the Federal Government on this particular programme. Also we are working with a concessionaire to ensure that this project succeeds. Hence we met with the Shippers Council earlier in the week.”

    The Executive Secretary, Oyo State Investment Promotion and Public Private Partnerships, Mr Yinka Fatoki, further told The Nation that from inception, the Oyo State Government was part of the investment being a major beneficiary of the port.

    According to him, the federal and state governments engaged a concessionaire on the project with the state government owning 35 per cent shareholding. The concession agreement Fatoki said was on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) where the firm would invest capital and operate it to recoup its investments within the agreed time frame. The state government shareholding, however, came in terms of the land offered for the project with Certificate of Occupancy and other titles to remove encumbrances. The state government also constructed an access road to link the port to the village and the main Ibadan-Iwo Road.

    Fatoki said the state government did that as the largest shareholder which was most committed to the project.

    On the efforts to resuscitate the project, Fatoki said: “One major thing this administration has done was to facilitate a working relationship between Maersk Limited and the concessionaire, Catamaran Logistics Limited. The latter, he said, is the special purpose vehicle specifically formed to drive the project along with other private interests.

    Fatoki disclosed that the haulage company, which operates in 80 countries, has a shipping line and a cargo terminal in Lagos.

    “The major condition Maersk brought to the table was that the legal framework that will designate Ibadan centre as a port of origin and final destination must be perfected. Once that was done, operation can commence within one week.” He said.

    Fatoki explained that the 2007 gazette of the Shippers Council needs to be amended for the depots to become dry ports. “But only the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) can designate a port. The Minister of Transport has set up a joint committee of the NPA and the Council to make recommendations.” He said, adding that the committee has already submitted its report to the Presidency for approval. Once the approval was granted, the ministry will gazette it, then, Customs and other port agents can begin to operate there.

    The Executive Secretary also disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Transport through the Shippers Council has given indication that the amendment of the legal framework would be completed before the end of the year.

    When the project takes off, the Ibadan dry port is expected to create multiple new businesses including haulage, hospitality, real estate, transportation and financial services firms among others. These businesses are projected to generate over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs for residents. The project will also hasten industrialization.

  • Group calls for cultural revival

    Irked by the unbridled abysmal descent of the country’s culture in general and that of Lagos State in particular, Ominitiwa Club (Eko Forum), a socio-cultural group has advocated drastic measures aimed at halting the trend. President of the group, Mr. Babatunde Ali-Balogun, who spoke during the annual general meeting (AGM) of the organisation, noted that total revamping of the cultures and traditions of the Nigerian people is the only antidote to the unsavoury situation.

    He also added that giving a face-lift to the mores of the land is a sure way to secure the future of the young ones and generations yet unborn.

    Mr Ali-Balogun stated that the culture of the state is fading out gradually, a situation, he said needs urgent attention.

    He stressed that no country will experience progress without taking into consideration its cultural heritage. He said his association is working hard to revive the almost-forgotten cultures of the state.

    “To a large extent the cultures of the state are dying and may go into extinction. We are trying, to a large extent, to build what our forefathers passed down to us.

    “If you look around, you will see people playing gbedu drum and that is a drum for royalty. You will understand that it is different from the hip-hop thing we all know. This is pure tradition and we will continue to promote it,” he said.

    Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, Mr Fatai Oluwole, a retired local government service administrator, said the culture of the state is eroding. He further stated that the Ominitiwa Club is working towards the promotion and revamping of the culture of the people.

    “The existence of Eko Forum is to promote the culture and tradition of the people that is gradually eroding as a result of the influx of western tradition. But with the association which is now complementing the efforts of other socio-cultural groups in Lagos State, is doing enough to ensure that our culture and tradition do not disappear with the coming of the western culture,” he said.

    Mr Oluwole said if the influx of western culture is not checked, there is the possibility of total extinction of the culture. He praised the state government and traditional rulers in their efforts to sustain the culture of the state, even as he believes that more are still needs to be done.

    “The government is trying and the traditional rulers are also trying to restore the culture of our people. But the influx of different socio-cultural groups into Lagos results in the erosion of the cultural heritage of Lagos State. If care is not taken, the heritage may disappear,” he said.

    He said the traditions and cultures of the state should be in the forefront. We should make sure that they are not destroyed by the influence of western civilisation.

    “The government should fund cultural development which should be part of the curricula of primary and secondary schools in order to make sure the culture does not get extinct,” he added.

  • Lagos and revival of Nigeria’s football

    Recently, the city of Lagos was agog, as the final of the 68th edition of Nigeria’s oldest football competition, now christened the Confederation Cup, took place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium amid pomp and pageantry. Since the Lagos State government began to host the final match of this annual football competition about four years ago, it has brought in lots of innovations aimed at restoring its lost glory. For instance, the state government usually uses the occasion to honour past heroes of the competition, both living and dead. In the last edition, 10 of such personalities, including ace broadcasters’ whose colourful radio commentaries brought glamour to the completion in time past, were honoured. Included in this year’s honour list are late Ishola Folorunsho and late Earnest Okonkwo, two ace radio commentators whose unique style of radio commentary added colour and grandeur to the competition. Others in this year’s honour list include legendary footballers such as, late Muda Lawal, former Super Eagles Coach and Jogo bonito exponent, Joe Erico, former Super Eagles coach, ‘Wonder Boy’, Paul Hamilton, 1985 FIFA U-17 World Cup winning coach and Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen.  Others are Dominic Iorfa, Joe Erico, Josiah Dombraye, Toyin Ayinla, Stanley Eguma and ace broadcaster, Walter Oyatogun.

    According to Lagos State Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Social Development, Wahid Enitan-Oshodi, “The essence of this honour is to appreciate the outstanding performance of some players who had featured in the Federation Cup”. The long term objective is to motivate the present crop of players that their efforts in the competition will not go unnoticed even after they had retired. Without doubt, the role being played by the Lagos state government in the revival of football, and indeed other sports, in the country, is a reflection of the sporting personality of the state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

    The earliest impression of the state governor, painted in most media reports was that of a sports loving individual. He had been photographed in sporting attires playing active football even after his election into office. Consequently, it was clear from the outset that sports loving Lagos youths are in for a great time. When one realizes that sport has moved beyond the level of recreation, which it used to be in time past, to one with a mega-buck earning status, the efforts of the state government in encouraging the youth to take active part in sports will be properly appreciated.

    Globally, football has become a money spinning sport. The organisation and management of football in Europe, for instance, is a multi-million dollars venture with all the teams running other sports related businesses. Indeed, all sorts of professionals-doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, grass men, scouts, etc-are employed by the various teams in their drive for soccer glory. Football, in Europe, has gone beyond the mere recreational activity that it is in Nigeria. As a result of the excellent manner it is managed in Europe, youths across the continent have found in football a means through which they could use their talents to escape poverty. Young players such as Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabrigas, Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi among others – thanks to football – have become multi millionaires before they clocked the age of 21.

    Ironically, in Nigeria, what we have is the exact opposite of what operates in Europe. The once exciting Nigeria local league, that produced household names like Segun Odegbami, Adokie Amaesimeka, Christian Chukwu, Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini among others, has become a shadow of itself. Hitherto widely followed teams such as Stationery Stores, Spartans of Owerri, Rovers of Kano, Abiola Babes, Leventis United, etc have gone into extinction while popular European clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, AC Milan etc have been in existence for over 100 years. Unlike in Europe, where the clubs are purely run as business ventures, clubs in Nigeria are mostly run by governments on a non-profit basis. Unfortunately, football administrators in the country are mostly only interested in fighting over the paltry funds that come from government rather than creatively and passionately evolving strategies to lift the game. This is why, some of our footballers travel to less known footballing nations such as Bangladesh, Sudan, and India among others to further their careers.

    There was a time when Nigerian footballers were the toasts of the soccer world. Then, we used to have up to six nominees among the 10 footballers for the annual African Footballer of the Year Award. Indeed, the high point of the country’s dominance in African football was when Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba and Kanu Nwankwo won the title in successive order. Other sports such as lawn tennis, table tennis, wrestling, volley ball, basketball etc are not exempted from the rot that currently pervades the nation’s sporting landscape.

    If we are to offer the teeming youth in the country an opportunity to fulfil their God-given potentials, we must change our attitude to sports. If we could go as far as the World Bank to get a tested professional to manage the Ministry of Finance, then we need a thorough-bred sport personality – someone whose whole essence revolves around sports – to take charge of the Sports Ministry. Equally, a complete overhaul of all sporting facilities in the country is needed. Since it seems those saddled with overseeing the nation’s prime sporting facilities are overwhelmed with the enormity of the responsibility, government can resort to the PPP model.  Similarly, the private sector needs to take more active part in the project to restore the nation’s lost glory in sports. All over the world, the initiatives and funds that drive sports come from the private sector. With the needed private sector drive, moribund school sports competitions across the country could be resuscitated.

    Finally, governments across the country should focus on sports development at the grassroots.  Lagos State is leading in this regards with the recently inaugurated Lagos State Sports Endowment Fund which is geared to take sports to all parts of the state. The state government has also resuscitated competitions such as the Principals’ Cup among secondary schools, the School Sports Festival, the State Sport Festival, the U- 13 Soccer Championship, the U-15 Swimming Competition, Governor’s Cup, the International Squash Racket Competition, MTN Street Soccer, Oba Cup, among others.

    Additionally, it has embarked on sports and recreational infrastructural development which has transformed the popular Campos Square in Lagos Island into a mini stadium with a seating capacity of 5,000, multi-purpose hall for all outdoor court games, FIFA Star 2 Artificial Turf, and administrative offices/equipment stores as well as the Agege Stadium into a sporting facility with a FIFA standard playing turf and a seating capacity of 15,000.

    It is only in doing this that we can discover new sports heroes and deal with the identical issues of job creation and youth restiveness in the country.

     

    • Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • Revival of stage performance

    Revival of stage performance

    The palace of Olofa of Offa turned a temporary amphi theatre where some actors and actresses performed live recently.

    The ocassion made it a special day in Offa, Kwara State, as Chief Jimoh Aliu (Aworo), Pa Lere Paimo, Alhaji Abdulkareem Adepoju, a.k.a Baba Wande, Musiliu Dasofunjo (Jogunomi), Iya Ninwe, Sade Aliu and Bola Aliu, among others, staged a show tagged Ogbon Ju Agbara to appreciate the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi, Esuwoye II, for his contributions to the development of the ancient town.

    Aliu, who is set to mark his 55th year on stage, said he would do everything possible to revive the long-forgotten stage performance. He said the advent of home videos pushed stage performance off the scene. He recalled that fathers of the profession, such as the late Hubert Ogunde, the late Oyin Adejobi, Moses Olaiya (Baba Sala) cut their tooth with stage performance and also attained heights through the Alarinjo theatre.

    Olofa’s Media and Publicity Officer Mr Yusuf Babatunde said Kabiyesi always appreciated creativivity hence his handsome reward for the artistes.

    The Olofa blessed his subjects in the spirit of the celebration. He prayed for peace and progress for Offa community.

    Aliu appreciated the King for his numerous contributions to the development of Offa kingdom.

    “Your Majesty Sir! Some people are born great while others work themselves into greatness. When a boy is born, his destiny lies in the hand of the creator and little is known about him but he continues to strive despite all odds. When it is time for his star to shine, God will single him out and uplift him. God who has raised you up, for the benefit of your people will never let you down.

    “For Chief Jimoh Aliu to celebrate you today is a living example of your greatness. My name has been written in Gold across the globe, because I have, through the theatre arts taught people lessons of life. I have performed in this palace on several occasions, as a musician and dancer. For this community to have Kabiyesi on the throne is a blessing for the good people of Offa. The community has started noticing a very high degree of greatness even in this short time that you have ascended your father’s throne. Kabiyesi, the dividend of royalty is manifesting in Offa where you have turned farmland to streets, bushes into markets”

    Aliu started the make belief business 55 years ago, after his stewardship in Hubert Ogunde and Akin Ogungbe’s theatre groups. He has carved a niche for himself through performances that told Nigeria’s story, especially during the civil war, when the Nigeria Army employed him to perform in its various formations as a way of comic relief in the war situation.

    Other royal fathers, and High Chiefs at the fun fair include Olusan of Osan Ekiti; Afaji of Faaji, Osun State; Alaho of Ahoo Igbada and Onidun of Igboidun Kwara State. The national president of Offa Descendant Union Alhaji Hamzat Adedeji, his General Secretary Mrs A.W Macarthy; Chief Tayo Shittu; Alhaji Mustapha Olowogada as well as former council boss Alhaji Saheed Lekan Popoola.

     

  • Nigeria needs urgent revival for rebirth

    Nigeria needs urgent revival for rebirth

    SIR: Consequent upon the challenges Nigeria is passing through in terms of unrighteousness among the rank and file of its citizens, widespread corruption from the leaders to the followers, insecurity, immorality, organized mass killings motivated by religious, economic, political and ethnic hatred, bombing, mass poverty, electoral fraud, violent crimes, kidnapping, financial fraud, human/ drug trafficking, cultism, greediness, and lack of fear of God, I want to state prophetically that Nigeria needs revival courtesy of the religious leaders in the country especially in a time like this when everything seems to be fighting against the peace and progress of the nation.

    The revival in Nigeria will put to shame the devil and his agents that have united more than ever to wage war against Nigerians and break up the country (God forbids) hence, the revival will liberate and revive Nigerians from the shackles of the wicked and make Nigerians submit to God (Isaiah 66:3).

    God has heard the cry of His people in Nigeria and the revival will make the enemies of Nigeria and Nigerians submit by freeing them from all sins and unrighteousness. As this is also a time for Nigerians to seek the face of God for Him to restore peace and bless the country.

    Through the revival and by the greatness of God’s power, all the enemies troubling the nation will submit – Isaiah 59: 19. Nigerians need to tow the path to genuine repentance, trust and fear of God so that with our collective prayers, Nigeria shall overcome her problems and rise again, as God will deal with the Pharaohs and Egyptians of our nation.

    Most Nigerians do not know or understand the efficacy of God’s power, such that, there is lack of Knowledge, as recorded in Hosea 4:6. Most people exalt the power of Satan and his agents more than God’s because they are ignorant of God’s power. They cherish human beings, worship lesser gods and disobey God.

    • Prophet OIadipupo Funmilade-Joel (Sekunderin)

    General Overseer, The Way of Reconciliation Evangelistic Ministries (TWOREM) Int’l.