The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rising

  • Rising from grass to grace? Yes, you can!

    Book: Yes You Can, My Own Testimony
    Author: Engr. Magnus Chinasokwu Orji
    Year of publication: 2017
    Publishers: Magzybest Farms and
    Agro-Allied Services, Aguda, Lagos State
    Reviewer: Chinaka Okoro

    WHEN I picked Yes You Can, My Own Testimony by Engineer Magnus Chinasokwu Orji for explication, I was dismissive about its title, especially judging from the seeming impossibility of one achieving such academic feats just the once.

    However, I heard the still voice of wisdom urging me on to “open and read”. I did. And I got a vicarious thrill out of the book filled with countless edifying lessons.

    As I perused Yes You Can, My Own Testimony, I discovered some of the principles that egged the author on.

    It seemed the author kept to R.G. Ingersoll’s instruction in his book The Liberty of Man and other Essays that that “every child should be taught to be self-supporting, and everyone should be taught to avoid being a burden on others…

    “Real education is the hope of the future. The development of the brain, the civilisation of the heart, will drive want and crime from the world…Education…is the friend of honesty, of morality, of temperance…”

    However, certain situations are indispensable to the attainment of quality education, as the author suggests in the book. The journey of life isn’t easy, even as one’s vision towards achievement of greatness is always confronted by the vicissitudes of life. It requires commitment, focus and unwavering determination to conquer the enemies that hinder attainment of greatness.

    Poor family background and lack of encouragement from significant others could be challenges that prevent one from attaining one’s set goals. But he is of the view that some of these discouraging factors could be surmounted.

    These are the main preoccupation of Yes You Can, My Own Testimony; a book of 100 pages excluding the 16 pages of the prelims compartmentalised into 16 chapters each of which deals with unalike topics.

    In contemporary Nigerian society, academic giants are seldom accorded social recognition, especial if one is self-made.  But money giants or bags usually are.

    It is quite interesting that Engineer Magnus Chinasokwu Orji had time to write his autobiography as a way of encouraging the youth to imbibe the principle of self-reliance.

    To write one’s autobiography can be taxing as there are temptations to “colour” facts and engage in wanton exaggerations. But Engineer Orji vividly captured situations as they were and are.

    A summary of Engineer Orji’s life is that he has always been an achiever, a motivator and an intellectual role model. Growing up in the same town from where Engineer Orji comes from, one thing I am certain about him is that he has never allowed any obstacle to stop him from a set goal.

    Engineer Orji has succeeded in presenting an excellent account of himself using the medium of a moving autobiography.

    He presents his grass-to-grace story from a perspective quite perceptive, simple and vivid to the reader. Yes You Can, My Own Testimony acts as a motivator for the youth, especially those who want to work hard to succeed in life.

    Success in life is not measured only by size of possessions but also by how much an individual’s life touches positively on the lives of others.

    In chapter one, which is the “origin”, the author journeyed into mythology of names. In the meaning of meaning, an aspect of the study of the English language, facts and objects are examined from the standpoint of their significance or implication to another fact or object. In the circumstances, he related his name Magnus to what he has become.

    It is true that names given to children by their parents influence what they become. If Magnus, a Latin name which means greatness has played an intrinsic role in his grass-to-grace narrative, then it means names are factors to what one becomes, including when one is an efulefu or a failure.

    Other sub-topics examined in this chapter are coping with early economic challenges, departure from the village, among others.

    Chapter two takes a look at journey to school with sub-topics such as Magnus Goes to School. This reminds one of an elementary school literature book known as Eze Goes to School, primary education, school farm, garden and agriculture, among others.

    From chapter three to the 16th chapter, the author gave accounts of some scintillating academic accomplishments that sound outlandish to the feeble-minded  Discipline and Inner Growth.  Therein he said: “Suppress your ruinous weakness and your craving for comfort, attack them from every side! Crush your desire for enjoyment; do not give it air to breathe.  Be strict with yourself; do not grant your carnal ego the bribes it is restively demanding…

    “You must set about rooting out the very desire to have things pleasant, to get on well; to be contented. You must learn to like sadness, poverty, pain and hardship…”

    In the forward (sic) to the book, Professor Placid Njoku, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State said: “…Yes You Can, My Own Testimony is, indeed, a true life experience of the author, Engr. Magnus Chinasokwu Orji. It is highly motivational in concept and is advisory to youths and children as well as to all men and women who wish to move from their current levels to higher pedestals.

    “The 16-chapter message reveals the good and challenging aspects of the journey through life and suggests that determination and perseverance are indispensable for overcoming any challenge. The story is personal but very compelling…”

    The book is recommended for every family’s bookshelf. Those who want to improve their self-worth in order to become relevant to themselves, family and society would find the book very gripping and didactic.

    Students in primary, secondary, tertiary institutions as well as professional bodies should make the book a dependable companion.

    Unlike most first-edition publications that are almost always riddled with errors, few errors are noticed in the book.

    For instance the word forward was used instead of foreword on page IV, Aqua instead of Akwa (Akwa Ibom State) (page 36), luxurious in the place of luxury (luxurious bus instead of luxury bus) page 40, born instead of borne on page 46.

    However, these minor errors were not substantial enough to invalidate the significance of this work. Therefore, buy two and give one to a friend.

  • Oil prices dip on rising output

    Oil prices dip on rising output

    Oil prices fell to a three-week low yesterday on news that Libyan output was recovering from an oilfield technical issue. This fuelled concerns that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)-led output cuts to reduce global inventories were being undermined by producers outside the deal.

    Benchmark Brent oil was down $1.63, or 3.1 per cent, at $50.21 a barrel after earlier touching $50.12 a barrel, the weakest since May 10. U.S. light crude traded at $48.31, down $1.35, or 2.7 per cent.

    Both contracts were on track for their third straight monthly loss.

    “Unless some bullish news stops this, prices will fall further in particular now with Brent trading below the post-OPEC low and approaching $50 a barrel,” said Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank.

    OPEC and other producers, including Russia, agreed last week to extend a deal to cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of March 2018.

    “Traders covered short positions ahead of OPEC and some of these have now been re-established,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.

    OPEC members Libya and Nigeria are exempt from the cuts, while U.S. shale oil producers are not part of the agreement and have been ramping up production.

    Libya’s oil production has risen to 827,000 bpd, climbing above a three-year peak of 800,000 bpd reached earlier in May, the National Oil Corporation said, after a technical issue that hitSharara oilfield was resolved.

  • Rising costs and the poor

    John Hembe works in one of the service providing companies in Lagos. He recently rented an apartment in the suburb and was gradually sourcing furniture and other household appliances to make it comfortable for living.

    In the course of this, he had visited some electronic showrooms to window shop in the hope that as soon as he received his next salary, he will make up his mind as to whether to purchase a television set or not. In some of the places he visited, he was attracted by the price tags on some of the plasma television sets such that he had concluded that his dream for one will become a reality at the end of the month.

    And as soon as he received his pay, he did not waste time to rush to that showroom with the hope of returning home the same day with one. But that hope turned out a mirage. He was taken aback that prices of the items he had seen the previous week had been jerked up by as much as 30 per cent. Unable to believe what he had seen, he approached one of the showroom managers and the following conversation ensued.

    “Sir, I was here last week to look at the prices of your plasma television sets. But now, I just discovered they have gone up. It looks like it is because of the Christmas that you have just suddenly hiked the prices”

    Manager, “Sorry sir, it is true our prices have gone up but they have nothing to do with the yuletide. I am sure you know of the exchange rate situation. We import these items and their prices depend on what the dollar sells”

    “But there has not been any significant change in the exchange rate in the last one week retorted Hembe in utter disappointment. Well I have to leave since the amount I have can no longer buy the type of plasma television I want”

    With a sorry for the inconvenience from the manager, Hembe eventually left the showroom without purchasing a television set.

    The above captures very vividly the lot of many Nigerians in the last one month or so. The price of everything has substantially increased making life a lot more difficult for many. Not only are jobs being lost on virtually regular basis, state governors have threatened to cut salaries and allowances or in the alternative reduce their workforce. Before now, the rate of unemployment has been at an all time high.

    When you juxtapose the high rate of extant unemployment; the job losses that are now on the increase against the rising cost of goods and services, you can figure out the debilitating economic situation in which many Nigerians have inevitably been entangled. The matter is not remedied given that for every Nigerian that is gainfully employed, he has about five other mouths that feed from his meager salary. The current pass has been largely blamed on two factors.

    The first is the fall in oil price to an all time low. For the first time in so many years, oil price in the international market has fallen below S40 per barrel. And since our governments depend on a mono cultural economy to funds their activities, the drop has resulted in serious policy dislocations on account of their inability to provide public goods and services. The state governments were so mired in a seemingly irretrievable mess a few months back that the federal government had to lend them money to offset salaries and allowances. Despite this, the situation is far from being over.

    The next factor fingered is the alleged mismanagement of the economy by the regime of President Jonathan. The revelation of billions of Naira that were alleged to have gone out of our common till illegally is said to be part of the unwholesome practices that put this country into the current predicament. The argument is that if those monies had been meaningfully deployed to service the people of this country, some substantial progress would have been recorded. This argument is plausible since development is all about availability of resources and their effective utilization and deployment.

    There is little doubt that one of the issues that have held this country down over the years has been the mismanagement of our common patrimony by some rampaging buccaneers masquerading as leaders. For so many years, this country was in plenty in terms of the monies that accrued to it from oil sales. For many years, this country was yearning for visionary and purposeful leadership to husband its resources and guarantee the future. But for those numbers of years, the locusts were really on rampage. What we witnessed instead was the unbridled looting of those resources by the ruling elite such that has prevented any meaningful development from taking root. Our leaders reveled in mindless ostentation and insatiable acquisition for wealth.

    They have had to carry on as if the oil in our shores is inexhaustible. But suddenly, the tea party is over. We now hear of threats to cut down on the minimum wage, reduction of the labour force and all that. We also hear new tunes on the issue of fuel subsidy removal. We are now being plainly told that the so-called subsidy will have to go and Nigerians will have to pay more. They are already paying as much as N150 per litre of fuel in many parts of the country including parts of Lagos. Even those who had been in strident opposition to fuel subsidy removal are now singing a different song. And one begins to wonder what has suddenly gone awry.

    There is also the issue of electricity tariff. The last time I checked, the Nigerian Labour Congress NLC was protesting the hike in electricity tariff which it put at 45 per cent. Though the regulatory body had indicated its intention to adjust the tariff, it made so much noise convincing the people it has abolished the fixed charge of N750 per month. It spoke so much on the abrogation of the fixed charge that many electricity consumers did not realize they were going to pay as much as 45 per cent more.

    Given the prime role fuel and electricity play in every economy, a hike in their prices will lead to a corresponding increase in the prices of goods and services. Governments are also talking of raising their internally generated revenue to stay afloat. This is okay provided they are not such that will lead to strangulating taxes on the people. For now, it is difficult to fathom which other public goods and services will be affected by price increase. Every indication points to harder times ahead.

    The new regime promised change. It has said it loud and clear that it intends to turn around the economy to deliver on its mandate to the people. It has moved on to get all those alleged to have fleeced this country dry to face the wrath of the law. It also intends to engage 500, 000 teachers nationwide and pay some allowance to unemployed post NYSC members. Ostensibly, all these are targeted at ameliorating the debilitating hardship ravaging the country.

    But the soothing effect of these measures will pale into insignificance in the face of the biting inflation and the jerking up of the prices of the goods and services provided by the government. It would appear Buhari is in a hurry to get efficient pricing for goods and services provided by the governments. That may well be. But in doing this, it will amount to a monumental risk to put the lives of the toiling masses at great jeopardy.

    If this economy has been mismanaged, the common man is not the cause. There is a tolerable limit the common man can be stretched all in the effort to have a quick fix to years of mindless plundering, misrule and looting by those Vilfredo Pareto called circulating elite. In verity, this country needs to part way with its decadent past. It needs to gets things alright so that the future of this country can be guaranteed. We need change. But change can be both negative and positive. The kind of change we desire is not one that comes with the notion that we can pay for all the sins of the past in one day. Those for whom the change is designed must be alive to savor its benefits. It must go with a human face.

     

  • Rising inflation threatens investors’returns

    Analysts have predicted an increase in inflation rate over a two-month period, a trend that can worsen the negative returns on equities.

    Leading financial and investment firms said inflation rate may have risen to 9.4 per cent last month, with many other analysts seeing further push in inflation this month.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is scheduled to release the inflation rate for last month tomorrow. Inflation had risen from 9.2 per cent in July to 9.3 per cent in August.

    With basic equities’ return in negative, inflation-adjustment would almost double investors’ losses, a trend that could further dampen investors’ appetite and orchestrate flow of funds to inflation-hedged instruments and other negative but less volatile securities.

    Nigerian equities had opened Monday with a negative average year-to-date return of -12.77 per cent. With  inflation rate of 9.3 per cent, inflation-adjusted average return at the stock market stood at 22.07 per cent. Prediction of further rise in inflation by most pundits implied that the negative equities’ return may worsen. Nigerian equities’ average return is measured by the All Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    With inflation rate expected at 9.4 per cent for September, inflation-adjusted return may rise to about 22.1 per cent.

    FSDH Merchant Bank, which had correctly predicted inflation rise for August, said it expected last month’s year-on-year inflation rate to inch up marginally to 9.4 per cent, because of a marginal increase in the prices of some food items.

    Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) said it was projecting an increase in Nigeria’s headline inflation to 9.4 per cent in September from 9.3 per cent in August.

    “If this happens, inflation would have increased in eight out of the nine months so far this year,” FDC stated, noting that inflationary trends seem to be more structural despite Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) statement in its July communiqué that the inflationary pressures were transient.

    “With the cabinet set to take their portfolios in a few days, the economy will be shifting from safe mode to active. We are, therefore expecting that inflationary pressures that have been relatively benign will become more potent,” FDC stated

    Access Bank has also predicted a 9.4 per cent inflation rate for September. The economic intelligence unit of the bank said it adopted an autoregressive analysis of past prices while recognising all the assumptions used by the NBS in its computation of monthly Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) to arrive at the inflation forecast.

    “Our September forecast of 9.4 per cent stems largely from anticipated uptick in the prices in both food and non-food items in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket. We expect prices of items, such as meat, fruits and vegetables to weight upon the index on high demands during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations,” Access Bank stated.

     

    FSDH Merchant Bank said it expected the October 2015 inflation rate to increase further.

    “Our model indicates that the price movements in the consumer goods and services in September 2015 would increase the CCPI to 176.56 points, representing a month-on-month increase of 0.66 per cent. We estimate that the increase in the CCPI in September will produce an inflation rate year-on-year of 9.4 per cent. Looking ahead, the inflation rate for the month of October 2015 is expected to be higher than the September 2015 figure,” FSDH Merchant Bank stated.

    Analysts at FDC said the primary catalysts of price inflation in Nigeria are cost-push factors, which are being intensified by the restriction of dollars for some critical inputs.

    Analysts however noted that the recent release of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list may help to ease investor uncertainty pointing out that though the new cabinet did not stir up much enthusiasm, the stable environment created by revealing the President’s team will help foster positive investor sentiment.

    “There has still been rising inflation despite shrinking money supply. Though the reduction in Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) is expected to lead to increased money supply, there will not be a significant rise in money supply in the near future and its effect will be noticed in the coming months. We expect inflation to keep on rising till the end of the year due to higher spending during Christmas celebrations,” FDC concluded.

     

  • Rising dangers of unlabelled local gin

    Rising dangers of unlabelled local gin

    Production and marketing of a local gin without a brand name, the International Standards Organisation (ISO) certification, portends great danger to consumers. There are fears that many consumers will suffer the effect of the uncertified and unlabelled gins that go with various acronyms, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    Ogogoro, kai-kai, OR, AKPETESI, is a West African alcoholic drink, brewed locally. With no brand name, label and product content information, as well as International Standards Organisation (ISO) certification, the local gin has attracted somewhat creative brand names across regions and culture. But, health experts believe Ogogoro, Kain-kain or akpeteshie dangers it poses to the health of ifs consumers.

    In Ghana, it is also known as akpeteshie. It has various names in Nigeria, such as Sapele Water, kain-kain, Sun gbalaja, Egun inu igo (meaning the Masquerade in the bottle), push-me-I-push-you, and Sonsé (“do you do it?” in Yoruba language). “Ifs local brewers can adapt some of these fantastic and creative names as brand names with label and content information. These brand names will win brand name awards any day,  but the dangers of consuming this local gin and the health effect, are a topic for another day,” says the Chief Executive Officer, Kush Media Limited, Mr. Yemi Kushimo.

    Distilled from the juice of Raffia palm trees, an incision is made in the trunk and a gourd placed outside it for collection, which is collected over a day or two period. After extraction, the sap is boiled to form steam, which subsequently condenses and is collected for consumption.

    But this production process has been faulted as the active ingredient in ogogoro, ethanol, which concentration within the drink is very high, and said to be of a great health risk.

    As a result of the concern over unlabelled local gin, the Federal Government a few weeks ago banned the consumption of the locally brewed gin, popularly called Ogogoro in all parts of the country as a result of the rising health hazards.

    Of more to the government was a recent report of deaths that trailed the consumption of the local gin in Rivers and Ondo states. The government confirmed that the death toll in Rivers State had risen to 38, while 18 people  died in Ode-Irele, Ondo State, following the consumption of the local gin.

    The Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, Dr. Paul Orhii, in his reaction to the death of 38 persons in Rivers State, said the recent incidents in Rivers and Ondo states were associated with the consumption of locally made gin. According to him, considering the risk in the consumption of locally made gin, it has become imperative to “warn the public to desist from the consumption of unregistered locally made spirits (Ogogoro) and other unregistered bitters.”

    He also warned that the government “would confiscate all illegally brewed alcoholic beverages” across the country. “The symptoms suffered by victims include vomiting, abdominal pain, blurred vision, headache, dizziness and loss of consciousness with subsequent sudden deaths of 18 victims.”

    According to a brand expert at Products Label Intelligence, labelling of local gin gives the product an identify, and shows how socially responsible a brewer is. In the case of those who died in Ondo State, the analyst said, no producer will be held responsible because there was no identified maker of the Ogogoro.

    “The main function of labeling is to provide a form of distinction to assist people differentiate one product from the next. The information on labels contains all the relevant data about that particular product. Labeling is greatly used in beverages and food products, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and electronics, among others. So, if any one died, or suffered any health hazard as a result of consumption, someone can be held responsible,” said the analyst who works on a alcoholic brand.

    He said labelling is essential in beverages and food products. “This kind of label is the simplest and significant method of communicating information about products between sellers and buyers. It is the main means through which buyers tell apart individual brands and foods so as to make good buying choices. When food products have been labelled, users can now see vital information live quantity and quality, features and also expiry date. It also includes instructions like safe handling and storage,” he added.

    Meanwhile, with the dangers posed by consumption of unlabelled local gin, the Director General of Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Dupe Atoki, said the agency had deepened civil and consumer education to prevent them from consuming unwholesome products, noting that emphasis must be centred on creating a clear means of identification for the registered brands to forestall a recurrence of that episode. She explained that the consumers must heed instruction given to them to avert unnecessary deaths.

  • Why bank fraud is rising, by CBN

    Why bank fraud is rising, by CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given reasons why  cases of bank fraud are on the rise. It said the vice is due to  increased transactions via e-payment.

    Speaking  at the  Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) in Lagos, the CBN Director, Banking and Payment System, Dipo Fatokun, said it is natural that as the activities in a sector increases, the risks associated with such sector also increases.

    “And that is why you see that as we have higher volume of transactions via e-payment, there will be higher fraud attempts. Definitely not all of them will be successful, but there will be higher attempts at e-payment fraud,” he said.

    However, Fatokun urged banks to be proactive in  tackling fraud.

    “But one good thing about the industry is that you can always be proactive to think ahead in designing a product or service. You can think ahead and consider ways of ensuring that fraudsters do not succeed in this new product or service that you are deploying,” he said.

    He said the CBN has mandated banks to destroy Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards trapped in the machine to reduce ATM-related fraud.

    “It is a global practice for ATMs trapped in banks to be destroyed, but in various variants. We instituted the policy because we looked at the fact that cards can be trapped at ATMs for various reasons and may be tampered with at the time it is retrieved,” he said.

    He said ATM cards can be trapped when the customer enters wrong Personal Identification Number (PIN) three times. It can also be due to the ATM itself, the nature of the programme running the ATM or the card one is holding; for instance, damaged card.

    “We asked banks to perforate ATMs because when these cards are trapped, there is a process of returning the card to the issuer bank, and this process goes through various hands, before it gets back to the owner of the cards.

    “So, the possibility of compromise is there. Somebody can say, but they don’t know your PIN? But you know that customers do transactions called card-not-present transactions, in which case you only need information on the card, not the PIN. So, anybody who has the information on your card can successfully use the information on the card to do card-not-present-transactions,” he explained.

    Fatokun said the CBN rolled out the regulation because   when a card is trapped, the issue of compromise will not be there.

    “But going forward, we are working with the banks to ensure that when these cards are trapped, not because the customer did something wrongly, and a new card is to be issued to the customer, we are discussing with them on how this could be done so that the burden will not fall only on the card holder.

    “We are also discussing with the banks to ensure that banks that are trapped can be communicated electronically between the acquirer on which the card was and the issuer of the card. So, that they do not need to physically return the cards for the banks to know that the card was trapped,” he said.

  • Rising from the ruins

    Rising from the ruins

    The heart-rending story of a Lagos slum community emerging from a fire disaster

    The plank house does not look like a place of learning. Situated in the Otto-Ilogbo extension in the Lagos Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State, nothing distinguishes this building from the others in the environment as all were built with planks on stilts in perhaps one of the most deprived areas in Lagos State. The only thing that differentiates this house from others is a banner saying: “Slum Dweller Liberation Forum: Education Assistance Scheme.”

    On entering the house, about 30 children chorused: “Good day sir; how are you sir? You are welcome to our school. God bless you.”

    An elderly man stood by the door. He beamed with pride as the children, all aged less than six years, concluded their greetings.

    He is Mr. Williams Taiwo Ogbara, a former proprietor and missionary. He is the headmaster. A large poster was before the children who took turns to show their numerical skills.

    The school consists of two rooms. Students sit on the plank floor which has gaps in many places. At a corner is the computer section. This is where older students have a feel of the computer world. A writing on the blackboard welcomes you to the computer room. On this day, there were about four of them, each taking turns to play a computer game.

    Welcome to Slum Dweller Academy. It is a place where the poor and the downtrodden can have a hope of education and a chance for life. Founded in July 2012 in response to the massive poverty and illiteracy in the slum, it currently caters for 50 students who are all slum dwellers.

    The Otto-Ilogbo extension slum is a community of about 15,000 residents in the middle of Oyingbo, a cosmopolitan area in Lagos Mainland. The slum, shielded by civilisation, is Oyingbo’s best-kept secret. All around, one can see landmarks of civilisation like the National Theatre, Mainland Hotel, Eko Bridge and Ijora NEpa office. Surrounding this expanse of land are huge refuse dumps which sometimes threaten to swallow up the community.

    In 2010, a fire razed the community and the residents had to start a slow and painful process of rebuilding. Three years later, they are yet to recoup their losses. That was when the idea of the slum school first hit Mr. Isola Agbodemu who has been living in the slum since 1996.

    “Since the fire incident of February 27, 2010, things have been difficult for many people. Children dropped out of school because their parents could not afford the fees. Even to get N500 is a problem to some parents. So I said we must help ourselves instead of waiting for the government. We created this place out of nothing,” Agbodemu said.

    Agbodemu donated his land and skills. The school was built in 2012 and he was the first teacher. He got help from Adeolu Oluwasodo who owns a hospital on the fringe of the slum. Slum Dwellers Academy became a reality and 120 children showed up for the free education. The school ran for a few months until the financial realities dawned on Agbodemu. In consultation with others, they introduced a N200 per week tuition. The result was instant. The attendance plummeted from 120 students to 50, and still sliding.

    “We call it ‘commitment money’. Unfortunately, most parents in the slum do not know the value of education, it is this token fee that has been keeping the school going. We need to expand it, I still have land here to do the expansion. We need materials for the children. We need carpet on the floor and chairs for our students. We need money to pay teachers. I need help so that this place won’t die,” Agbodemu said.

    Oluwasodo, whose children attend public schools in Ebute Metta, Lagos, said he supported the token fee. Currently, he pays N7,000 per month towards the development of the school. He also provides free health care for the students and subsidise treatment for adults. This has proved to be the game changer. Three months ago, in a hut next to Agbodemu’s house, a woman was delivered of triplets. But before congratulatory messages started coming in, the babies died. Many believe they died of diseases picked up in the unhygienic environment.

    Agbodemu said: “We are asking the government for development. Let them provide a mini-health centre, water and toilets. We don’t want to lag behind. We want development, but the government must come in.”

    Agbodemu is the secretary of the Lagos State Marginalised Communities Forum (LAMCOFOR) which consists of all the registered slums in Lagos State. He oversees the security and welfare of the people. For now, his priority is the school.

    “We teach English, Arithmetic and General Knowledge, but we want to teach more subjects. The idea is to train the children until they can be sent to public schools outside the community. I don’t want our children to feel inferior to the children of the rich and those who go to expensive schools. That is why I sacrifice to bring this computer here,” Agbodemu further said.

    Zainab Bello, a 12-year-old girl, took the mouse and manouvred it with amazing dexterity. “I am playing a game that teaches you to hold the mouse and click properly,” she said with pride. Oluwasodo promised to get them internet connections soon so “they can travel round the world and be part of the global village.”

    Challenges are many in this slum. Life is hard; most residents live from hand to mouth. The crime rate, however, is low, thanks to the “Peace Of Mind Is Possible: Operation Less than N10,” initiated by Agbodemu. Every room contributes N10 per week towards the payment of security guards.

    “Some crimes have to do with neglect, if we neglect the poor, it will come back to haunt us. If these children grow up without education, they will become criminals and will terrorise all of us. If we help the poor, we help ourselves,” he said.

    Then, he turned and barked out orders to the children who had now abandoned their reading to listen to the visitor. They began to read and their innocent voices rang deep into the slum.