The Nation Newspaper

Tag: security

  • Education key to long-term security, says monarch

    Monarch, Chief Adebayo Makinde, has blamed insurgency on poverty and illiteracy, saying that only the non-educated can easily be manipulated to engage in crime.

    He said it would be difficult to convince a well-educated person with a bright future to commit suicide.

    Makinde, who is the Sagua of Alaafin of Oyo, spoke in his Lagos residence during an interview on his forthcoming 80th birthday. He will be 80 on January 14.

    The monarch, a pharmacist, said: “The problem of insecurity is also political apart from the fact it has a religious undertone. The only way Nigeria can move forward is to de-emphasise our religion.

    “The economic level is so low for quite a number of people, particularly where there is high level of insecurity. We have to agree to reduce poverty in such areas. Those places also need modern amenities of life.

    “Also, if we educate people, there will be development. The late Obafemi Awolowo tried to educate his own people, and you can see the result today in the seven states that make up the old western region.

    “If other regions had made education a priority, we won’t have much problem today, because anybody that is well educated is more likely to value life.

    “But if one is not educated, he is just a little better than an animal. Your level of education also determines your way of life.

    “Therefore, Nigeria must really make extra effort to ensure that people are educated in places ravaged by insurgency.”

  • Issues in Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election: Peace and security

    As the February presidential and other elections approach, the most important considerations with most Nigerians, and with most observers of Nigeria in the wide world, are peace and security. It is true that Nigeria is, endemically, an incoherent, chaotic, and unstable country, but hardly has it ever come under such a dark and heavy cloud of insecurity and violent turmoil as it does today. It is also true that our elections are perpetually managed with very truculent crookedness, resulting usually in countless violent deaths and massive destruction. Still, though I have witnessed Nigerian elections since 1952, I cannot remember one other election whose approach is so fearsomely loaded with so much certainty of death and doom. A few weeks ago, one of our leading national newspapers asked: Are our politicians preparing for elections or for war? We see and hear motions and echoes of electioneering campaign no doubt, but, in the balance, we hear and see more of threats and preparations of war. More and more, as 2015 dawns, it seems as if some apocalyptic force is dragging us towards violence, war and national collapse – without our being able to resist in the least.

    From most regions of Nigeria, leading citizens are spitting fire and venom and threats of war. From the South-south, the small region which produces most of Nigeria’s oil wealth, which nevertheless suffers horrendous neglect and underdevelopment, and where an insurgency against Nigeria’s Federal Government has existed since independence, prominent leaders of the insurgency have become very massively empowered in the course of the past five years under the presidency of their native son,  Goodluck Jonathan. Now, they are saying that if President Jonathan does not win election for another four-year term in 2015, they would shred Nigeria. A statement credited to one of their main leaders on the internet threatens to destroy Yorubaland in the South-west first and then proceed to go and do the same to Northern Nigeria.

    Similar threats have been frequently emanating from the Muslim North (or Arewa North) for years. On this column about one year ago, I had occasion to rebuke one of the most prominent intellectuals of the North for endlessly threatening that the North would go to war if the political process fails to return presidential power to the North, that the North would make Nigeria ungovernable, and that the North was prepared for war. But the persons who have been issuing these threats are so bent on what they are saying that nothing can make them stop – which means that we should absolutely expect some violent action from them. In fact, recently, another prominent northerner raised the rhetoric of war and death to new heights. If anybody tried to withhold presidential power from his people in 2015, he wrote, “We will kill, maim, destroy and turn this country into Africa’s biggest war zone and refugee camp”.

    Proofs that these threats are no empty words are plenty. For years now, the world has been aware of secret and illegal weapons purchases by prominent Nigerians all over the world. In recent months, such illegal arms purchases by Nigerians have reached an absolutely frenetic pace. That is, below the surface of Nigeria’s politics, a massive and dangerous arms race is in progress. It is not limited to small arms (like sophisticated rifles, grenades and such); it includes grenade-propelling rockets, gun boats (which most Nigerians call war ships)and perhaps even helicopter gunships. At home in Nigeria, especially since 2013, Nigeria’s law enforcement authorities have been extremely busy over tracing, finding and confiscating illegal caches of arms. Given the universal corruption characteristic of Nigeria’s governance and public agencies, it is not difficult to imagine how much of the illegal arms must remain in the hands of their importers. In short, many segments of the Nigerian political elite are ready to settle the issues of Nigeria with a military showdown. As is well known from history, arms races hardly ever end peacefully; they usually end in the actual use of the arms – that is, in war.

    But it is not being suggested here that the war is unavoidable. It is avoidable. However, for us to avoid it, we Nigerians, especially the leading ones who direct Nigeria’s affairs, will need to make very serious changes in the way they handle Nigeria’s affairs. Some changes along such lines were proposed some days ago by the former Nigerian Foreign Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi. Particularly, Prof. Akinyemi proposed that the two candidates in the 2015 presidential election should meet and sign a joint undertaking to ensure that their supporters would not start violence before, during and after the election.

    Unfortunately, the willingness to make such changes does not exist among most of Nigeria’s leading politicians. Thus, while some assistants of General Buhari have said that Prof. Akinyemi’s suggestions are not unreasonable, a leading spokesperson for President Jonathan has responded that, since the president’s record of elections demonstrates his commitment to free and fair elections, there is no need for him to enter into any peace undertaking with anybody. Meanwhile, also, not a single one of those who have been making incendiary threats of mass killing and war has come forth to withdraw their threats. And much more importantly, it is indicative of the direction that some Nigerian leaders believe they must go that government has asked no question concerning the news that a citizen has bought some warships. In what other country in the world can a citizen take such a step without question?

    What all these mean is that, though war is not necessarily inevitable as a means of sorting out dissolving our country, we are, almost certainly, going to slip into war in the 2015 election – or even earlier. The fundamental essence of our interrelationships as nationalities in Nigeria seems now to have reached the point at which we must settle matters by blood and iron. From this point on, therefore, groups that have not prepared for war and that have been regarding war as unnecessary and foolish, would now, almost certainly, begin to find ways and means for defending themselves. For any group to neglect to take at least such a step would be utter folly.

    Increasingly, the masses of ordinary Nigerians in Nigeria, as well as the millions of Nigerians resident abroad, are helpless. In the wide world, informed people who are watching developments in Nigeria are doing so with increasing alarm and worry. There doesn’t seem to be much more anybody can do.

  • Yuletide amid tight security

    Yuletide amid tight security

    It is the season of much movement, sharing and felicity, yet, for the security community, it is a time of red alert. After the series of attacks in the nation’s capital in the not-too-distant past, and also the latest signals that terrorists may yet strike again during the festivities, security personnel are taking no chances.

    Security officials have drafted more of their men to various parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) especially the major roads.

    The military and the police force have mounted bomb detectors and road blocks on all the major roads leading into the nation’s capital.

    Some of those places are the Airport Road, Kubwa, Dede Expressway and the Nyanya-Mararaba axis.

    Top security personnel who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that Islamist fundamentalists would be prevented from causing problems.

    “We are not going to allow the Boko Haram members to disrupt this season,” he said. “We have gotten security reports that the sect members are planning to bomb major places in and outside Abuja.

    “If you observe all formations of the Army, police and the State Security Service (SSS), are involved in ensuring that this bad act does not take place. We are working day and night to avert calamity.

    “Explosive detectors are all around the city while more Army personnel are involved now as against what used to be. Nobody is above the search. The bad eggs among us will not have their way this time around. Members of the public should please report any suspicious moves if noticed.”

    Comprehensive stop and search is ongoing within the city, although at some of the checkpoints, the security agents present did not bother to search vehicles as they simply stare at every motorist driving past.

    A cross-section of Nigerians who spoke on the situation commended the action of government and urged security operatives not to relent as the sect is not resting on their oars.

    It is a general belief that the Christmas season, which is a period that Christians worldwide celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, has always been an unusual period, possibly because no other festive period could be seen as equal to it, as it stands at ushering in the New Year.

    Also, apart from ushering in the New Year, it creates a frenzy atmosphere and exciting anticipation in major cities, towns and villages of the world and the FCT is no different.

    However, since the 2011 at St. Theresa Catholic Church at Madalla in Suleja, just outside the FCT, in which many lost their lives and the continued insurgent activities of the dreaded Boko Haram, Christmas celebration in the FCT has been celebrated in low key, with most residents staying indoors and occasionally venturing out because of security situation.

    It was quite unfortunate that in as much as people will like to enjoy lives to the fullest in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the fear of safety and security measures adopted across the capital territory conspired to constrained their plans and movement.

    With the mounting security concern in the country, some of the popular places like Wonderland, Millennium Park, Abuja Amusement Park got less patronage between 2012 and 2013 Christmas celebrations, as residents of the FCT resorted to enclosed celebration within their homes, hotels, churches and visiting friends, colleagues and relatives.

    Being the seat of power and administrative hub of the nation, prominent government officials and corporate personalities also use the opportunity to pay homage to their bosses, superiors and colleagues prominent among them being the visit to the Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed and President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.

    The situation is however getting better with government re-invigorate the frenzy mood of the season since 2012 December, up until this years December, with most Christmas decorations in almost every strategic area of the FCT, giving the mood a more sensational look.

    The FCT is unlike the East with its buzz of people returning from long stay abroad, also where indigenes often travel from wherever they reside in different parts of the world to return home to reunite and celebrate with family members, while lubricating the economy of their respective towns and it is also not like Lagos where most events are celebrated on the streets, beaches, churches and public centres with colourful carols and carnivals.

    Most people also recognised the fact that majority of Abuja residents are not indigenes of the territory, so they have to travel to their various states and local communities to celebrate the season with their relatives and old friends who they left behind to seek greener pasture in the FCT and as well use the festive period to attend numerous family and communal development meetings.

    Although, the security situation has not changed much in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria, but residents of the FCT are beginning to loosen up and the city is beginning to come back to life with hotels, worship centres, offices, shopping malls, especially banks taking the lead with Christmas decorations.

    An Event Manager, Mrs Joy SALAMI explained that Christmas is a period traditionally recognised and celebrated as a season of peace, goodwill and hope across national boundaries, that it also offers Christians a unique opportunity to reinforce this same message of love, unity, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence to none Christians alike.

    “Christmas celebration to many people, Christians and none Christians see the period as a unique one. That is why they look out for it with high expectation. One other unique aspect of Christmas is the date, which is always December 25, which everybody knows, even known Christians and it has not changed for centuries, unlike other celebrations that change from one date to the other, apart from the New Year celebration which is January 1.

    “During this period, Christians are expected to show love and oneness, by sharing gifts with loved ones, which include neighbours which are Christians and none Christians. Also, Nigerians should also use it as a period of sober reflection, preparing our minds for the New Year that is approaching after the Christmas celebration, on how we are going to enter the New Year with love and unity in our hearts,” she said.

    After the Xmas and Boxing Day celebrations, ABUJA REVIEW went round the city to ask from the residents on how they celebrated both days and their views of the security situation  although no calamity was recorded.

    Miss Blessing Mohammed expressed confident in the security operatives of the security situation in the capital city especially when no calamity was recorded during the Xmas period and insisted that she will visit relaxation centres with her family and as well visit relatives and friends apart from the church program during the New Year.

    “I am happy that Abuja is peaceful, I will also spend my New Year in Abuja with my family. So I will visit a lot of places with friends, because, it has been a long time since I went out with my friends, because of the nature of my job. It is also a time for me to give to the needy and be a blessing to others,” she said.

    The Inspector General of Police was also seen at Jabi Lake ensuring that poeple are secured having fun and he vowed that the security situation will remain tight even after the festive period.

     

  • Insecurity starving education of funds, says expert

    The high cost of fighting the insurgency in the Northeast is telling on human capital and economic development in Nigeria, says Mr Garba Abdu Ganger, a management consultant.

    Delivering the 2014 Public Lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD) entitled: “Security, Economy and Education: The Way Forward”, in Lagos recently, Abdu Ganger said the Federal Government needs to pay attention to this cost to avert future problems.

    Abdu Ganger explained in his lecture that because of efforts to check insecurity, money that ought to be spent on education, economy and infrastructure is being spent on defense, rehabilitation of displaced people, and repairs.

    “Insecurity is a major hindrance to development.  Because when there is insecurity, money to be spent on something else is now diverted.  Government budgeted N32 billion for insecurity last year; then the National Assembly approved another N60 billion and another 100 million dollars.  If government spends that amount on education, we will not be here today,” he said.

    The lecturer said the cost of insecurity can be direct or indirect.  While direct cost includes medical, legal services, and repairs, he said indirect cost includes loss of investment in human capital and effect of psychological harm, among others.  He said indirect cost is worse as it negatively affects future development.

    To address insecurity, he advised the government to tackle structural violence caused by poverty and marginalization, ensure good governance and re-educate the people.

    Discussing the topic further, Dr Leni Omoyinmi, a lecturer, said Nigeria has to re-design its education system to be futuristic and not historical.

    He said: “It is a philosophy built on the fact that the right education is the education that would make the individual discover his purpose and in discovering your purpose which definitely rely in the future, it won’t be part of what has expired. It is something that would be the reason for you to want to continue to live and you are going to be remembered for your purpose. It is only by the fulfillment of this purpose that you are actually fulfilling the mission.”

    In his speech, the NITAD President, Dr Kayode Ogungbuyi, said the theme of the lecture was apt given the upheavals the nation experienced this year.

    “The theme of this year’s lecture, ‘Security, Economy and Education: The Way Forward’, could not have been better chosen given the unending disconnect between security and education with the implications on national economy. We are all bearing some of the emotional, social and psychological effects of the disconnect,” he said.

  • Ensuring security of information at data management centres

    Ensuring security of information at data management centres

    Technological innovations are designed to provide solutions to various challenges facing mankind. A  data centre is one such innovation. It is becoming the vogue with so many of them springing up in the country despite fears about security of data. While some of these data centres have their servers in the country, others have theirs offshore. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that managers of data centres must take extra steps to ensure security of clients’ data.

    Today’s information technology (IT) business leaders, need to have command and control insight on all operations that support the data centres housing their critical business infrastructure. They need to monitor, coordinate and optimise multiple interconnected systems to ensure that their data center operations are running at optimal levels to prevent any failures from any adverse externality.

    The solution to this is the deployment of sophisticated data centre management systems that address the myriad of issues associated with data centre operations. These Data Center InformationManagement systems, monitor power, cooling, computing resources, security and environmental variables to enable personnel to efficiently maintain the high performance required of all subsystems in the data center to work together seamlessly. These systems have come to the market at a time when the rapid growth of large commercial data centers have made it imperative to adopt more efficient management techniques.

    According to research conducted by Gartner in 2010, Data Center Infrastructure Management, integrates facets of system management with building and energy management, while ensuring that a bridge is built between IT asset and physical infrastructure monitoring. These tools reduce operating costs, improve IT efficiency and enable sophisticated infrastructure analytics, extending the life of data centers by years.

    The traditional approach to data center management and facility monitoring in earlier data center implementations, required manual intervention and collaboration between various technical teams. These collaborative activities were highly inefficient, leading to poor utilisation of resources and eventually inefficient data centre operations.

    First generation data center infrastructure monitoring systems were developed to monitor equipment availability and provide a complete view of data center infrastructure. These systems had the ability to measure and display real time equipment performance measurements using graphical display interfaces. However, they lacked the ability to monitor multiple interdependent systems in parallel, or even go as far as reporting on total system performance using aggregated input from all these sub systems.

    Modern data center infrastructure management solutions have evolved to automate a variety of tasks critical to data centre operations. At a high level, the software manages and displays all physical assets in a single graphical interface, while providing the capability to automate commissioning tasks, capacity planning and other time consuming manual tasks.

    This level of software intelligence, enables data centers operate at levels of efficiency previously thought to be impossible to achieve.

    Commenting on Intelligent Infrastructure Management for Data Centers, RiT Technologies, President and CEO, Motti Hania,  said these systems are described as best practice platforms that reduce operational costs significantly by enhancing ongoing operations, security and scalability. They enhance operations by continuous monitoring of a “self-aware” network, power and environmental apparatuses, which together determine network and operational status in real time.

    Chief Executive Officer, MainOne Cable Company, Ms. Funke Opeke, said in line with this global trend and with the increasing demand for content across Africa, the MainOne data centre has deployed an intelligent infrastructure management system that proactively monitors the facility environment and the equipment in it.

    She said: “Our intelligent infrastructure management system ensures a highly optimised data centre environment that guarantees best performance of all collocated equipment.”

    Chief Executive Officer, Venema Advies Nigeria Limited, Dick Venema said turning to the use of data centre could reduce operating cost for big corporations and SMEs by more than 30 per cent.

    He said: “What we see in Nigeria is that everybody is still using the break-fix model which means something is broken, they are going to fix it. And the solution we always see that is offered when it’s broken is that they buy new equipment. They install it and it works again. This is not how it works, most times, the equipment is not broken, it’s just bad maintained, no technical knowledge of IT consultants and bad advice from the IT company.”

     

    Top issues in data centre management

    According to the Chief Marketing Officer, FieldView Solutions, Sev Onyshkevych in the past, managing a data centre was pretty straightforward.  But due to the inexorable trend of processing more and more data, the management of these facilities grew in complexity. Complicating the situation, operational decisions at the data centre now include such factors as power, cooling, rack space and CPU availability. This is in addition to other information gleaned from IT systems, and related to the facility infrastructure components such as UPS devices, PDUs, chillers, HVACs, generators, branch circuits and others. He wrote via Data Centre Knowledge, an online platform.

    FieldView Solutions, a Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solutions provider, identified the following as top issues in efficient data centre management

     

    Energy Efficiency

    Data centres are increasingly under attack for their energy consumption and costly operations.  According to a 2011 New York Times-sponsored study by Jonathan G. Koomey, a consulting professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at Stanford University, titled “Growth in Data Centre Power Use 2005 to 2010,” United States’ data center power consumption increased by 36 per cent over that period. Electricity used in global data centers in 2010 likely accounted for between 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent of total electricity use, respectively. For the United States, that number was between 1.7 and 2.2 per cent.

    Cutting energy usage will help organisations save significant money, while changing the public perception of data centers being “energy hogs” with a “greener” impression.  To reduce energy consumption, it must first be accurately measured.  The measurement must start with a baseline view of what energy every part of the data center is actually consuming.  And to be accurate, this view must include all areas such as IT equipment, power distribution infrastructure, and ventilation/cooling infrastructure. This is an often time-consuming and manual data extraction process to which nobody looks forward.

     

    Monitoring

    No doubt, day-to-day system failures have underscored the need for proactive response to potential data centre uptime threats.

    Proper monitoring also helps enable an effective call-to-action. In the event of a pending issue, alarms can be sent via e-mail, phone or pager, allowing proactive steps to be taken to correct problems before they become critical. In addition, continuous logging of all alarms and alerts empowers data center operators with a chronological, forensic, review of events to strengthen the infrastructure and improve disaster recovery plans.

     

    Capacity Planning

    It’s no secret that many data centre managers lack the systems visibility to determine if their facilities are truly running at peak capacity.  Traditionally, operators have left plenty of room for error so uptime isn’t interrupted—a strategy known as “capacity safety gap,” or “over-provisioning.”  This strategy wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars of unused space – not to mention wasting power and cooling.  In a day and age of chief financial officers (CFOs) deferring capital expenditure budgets, many data centre managers’ expectations of having additional data center construction have been unfulfilled, leaving about 30 per cent of data centre managers worried about running out of capacity.

     

    Performance Management

    One of the greatest challenges facing data centre operators is ensuring that power and cooling is operating at its highest energy efficiency.  One of the best methods to maintain this accuracy is via accessing a real-time data source that provides up-to-the-minute metrics such as Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE).

     

    Real-Time Reporting

    Without a real-time reporting system, operators may find it a challenge to make informed decisions.  Manual readings taken weeks ago on a static report are no longer valid for today’s complex data centre operations – where workloads, power consumption and temperatures vary widely throughout the day, and from day to day.

    Up-to-the minute information also allows for the optimisation of power loads and overall capacity trending.  Additionally, a dashboard view that spans across various monitoring and control systems is a necessity for accurately tracking energy efficiency across single rooms, complete floors, an entire data center  or multiple data centers—domestically and globally.

    Onyshkevych said the continued proliferation of applications, data and platforms such as mobile devices will ensure that data centres continue to grow.  This, in turn, will strain the data centre’s processing power and drain enormous additional amounts of energy from the grid.  As data centres evolve, so too should the tools that manage them.  The antiquated methods of storing vital operational data within individual software “silos” impedes the efforts of data centre facility managers and IT managers to optimise their operations properly and avoid potential downtime.

  • Global dearth of IT security personnel rises, says Cisco

    Global dearth of IT security personnel rises, says Cisco

    Globally, the skilled gap in the information communication technology (ICT) security sector continues to widen. This year alone, it reached more than one million, the United States (U.S) tech giants, Cisco has said.

    In the Cisco Annual Security Report presented in Lagos, the firm lamented that malicious traffic continues to grow at an unprecedented levels, adding that threats designed to take advantage of users’ trust in systems, applications and personal networks have now reached startling levels.

    The sophistication of the technology and tactics used by online criminals—and their non-stop attempts to breach networks and steal data—have outpaced the ability of information technology (IT) and security professionals to address these threats, it added, lamenting that many organisations do not have the people or the systems to continuously monitor extended networks and detect infiltrations, and then apply protections, in a timely and effective manner.

    General Manager, Cisco Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra-Leone, Dare Ogunlade, who unveiled the report with the firm’s System Engineer, Security, Adeola Kukoyi said the report’s findings offer a vivid picture of rapidly evolving security challenges facing businesses, IT departments and individuals.

    Ogunlade said attack methods include socially engineered theft of passwords and credentials, hide-in-plain-sight infiltrations, and exploitation of the trust required for economic transactions, government services and social interactions.

    He said: “Organisations across Africa must realise that it is no longer if they will be targeted by cyber-attacks, but rather when Chief Information Security Officers face growing pressure to protect terabytes of data on an increasingly porous network, manage information safely especially on the cloud, and evaluate the risks of working with third-party vendors for specialised solutions – all in the wake of shrinking budgets and leaner IT teams.”

    Ogunlade also noted increased sophistication and proliferation of the threat landscape, lamenting that simple attacks that caused containable damage have now given way to organised cybercrime operations that are sophisticated, well-funded, and capable of significant economic and reputational damage to public and private sector victims.

    Cisco also highlighted increased complexity of threats and solutions due to rapid growth in intelligent mobile devices’ adoption and cloud computing providing a greater attack surface than ever before, adding that new classes of devices and new infrastructure architectures offer attackers opportunities to exploit unanticipated weaknesses and inadequately defended assets.

    The tech firm said cybercriminals have learned that harnessing the power of internet infrastructure yields far more benefits than simply gaining access to individual computers or devices. These infrastructure-scale attacks seek to gain access to strategically positioned web hosting servers, name servers and data centers—with the goal of proliferating attacks across legions of individual assets served by these resources. By targeting Internet infrastructure, attackers undermine trust in everything connected to or enabled by it.

  • Food security: Smart villages to the rescue

    Food security: Smart villages to the rescue

    In  decades to come, the agriculture  systems will need to change to meet the challenges of rising demand for food, its accessibility, affordability, improved nutrition and health. Against this backdrop,  experts are canvassing the establishment of smart agricultural villages, DANIEL ESSIET reports. 

    Agriculture employs 70 per cent of the nation’s population. Experts say of this figure, nearly 80 per cent are small and subsistent farmers. With meagre land holdings and virtually no financial support, they have managed to survive. Nearly 60 per cent of them live in villages and are not making much profit. Given a choice, some of them would want to quit farming.

    But this will not make the Programme Co-ordinator, Farmers Development Union,Victor Olowe, happy as he sees agriculture as the ultimate indicator of economic growth. Like others, he is worried as markets have failed to infuse confidence through economic prosperity among food growers. This is as a result of the revenue farmers get from their commodities.

    The good news, however, is that agriculture is now a subject of national discourse. To make farming economically viable, Olowe called for the development of a new plan, under which the government would add fresh impetus to rural economic reconstruction programmes.

    By this, he means strong interventions in the rural areas with public sector investments.

    The government, according to him, has to do more to provide modern amenities in the villages. A beginning can be made by revitalising agriculture in a manner that brings back the smile to farmers’ faces.

    People in the rural communities, he said, comprised mainly small farmers, who need improved farming technologies, training, access to roads, transportation, markets, electricity, schools and health facilities to improve their livelihood.

    Rural roads, for example, Olowe said reduce transport costs and enable farmers to bring crops to market. They also increase access to hospitals, leading to improvements in health.

    Consequently, he aligned with the global crusade to establish smart agricultural villages, which would contain an array of techniques ranging from simple local crop and water resource management, that  offer scope for beleaguered farmers battling erratic weather patterns.

    Setting up a smart agric village, he explained, requires providing weather forecasts and crop advice; rainwater; harvesting; reducing water needed for irrigation;  conservation tillage and agro-forestry. Others will include site-specific nutrient management and precision application of fertilisers and ‘energy smart’ features through fuel-efficient engines and crop residue management.

    The villages will not only bring internet connection to the hinterlands, they will also provide support for sustainable agricultural practices.

    To make the villages work, he  said, Nigeria needs a network of small scale industries linked to agriculture, and a strong network of rail and road corridors with amenities such as education and health for all to transform agriculture.

    Smart agric village as a strategy for boosting food production is showing promising results in other parts of the world.

    A project of the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) programme under Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),  kicked off in India and Nepal in South Asia in 2012. The project is being expanded to four other Indian states of Bangladesh; Vietnam in southeast Asia; Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda in East Africa; West Africa; Guatemala and Nicaragua in Latin America.

    As part of the project, some villages are changing their cropping practices in various ways.

    According to experts, one of the new practice is to use direct seeded rice in which rice seeds are sown directly on a dry seedbed. This is in contrast with the traditional practice of sprouting rice seedlings in a nursery and transplanting them to tilled fields with standing water.

    Another technique, experts said, is to replace the traditional method of continuous flooding of rice field with alternate wetting and drying, using a monitoring instrument called a tensiometer that helps farmers decide when to irrigate their fields.

    One of the key approaches in turning villages ‘climate smart’, experts said, is crop diversification from rice-wheat systems, to include shorter-duration varieties and switching to maize, pulses and oil seeds that require less water.

    An innovative component of the project is the use of information communication technology (ICT) tools to disseminate ‘climate smart’ agro advice to farmers, by sending voice and text messages in local languages to farmers’ mobile phones. The messages include weather forecasts and recommended actions, information on pests, seed varieties and techniques for conservation agriculture.

    The important thing, however, is  that the system is credited with making food more widely available and affordable to large areas of the world.

    The Director,Africa Region, Cassava Adding Value to Africa (CAVA), Dr Kola  Adebayo,  said  there is  need for  government incentives to enable  farmers switch to various modes of agriculture, involving a workable mix of traditional and modern farming methods, including reviving local seeds, multi-cropping and smart water usage.

    Added to this is that Nigeria is in need of low-cost/energy efficient and ecological sustainable cold chain technologies.

    Farming the climate-smart way, he said, would give farmers shorter-cycle harvests, translating into higher income for them.

    Where they are supported, he said, farmers can use technologies to produce exceptionally flat farmland and  ensure equitable distribution and lower consumption of water.

    Adebayo   said there are tolls to help assess the exact fertiliser needs of his crops. Text and voice messages received on phones about weather forecasts, would help  farmers’ sowing and irrigation to perfection.

    To this end, he said, the government  has to support  farmers to adopt climate smart practices in villages.

    The challenge in inducting farmers into new models of agriculture is that the older generation has no faith in the new system, preferring “to stick to tried and tested methods practiced for generations”.

    A consultant  to  the  World Bank, Prof  Abel  Ogunwale,  said  with changing demand for food, there  is  need for  rural farmers to innovate.

    With smart agric villages, he said, the government will be able to address sustainable rural development involving economic and social infrastructure.

    Such villages, he explained, will promote agricultural innovation, ensuring that extension and advisory services, market institutions and infrastructure are inclusive.

    He said building smart agric villages will accelerate industrialisation, adding that there is need to further explore extension of workers’ role as a catalyst of transformational change.

    In particular, he said, additional efforts were required to enhance productivity by building up high-tech industries such as packing, biotechnology, electronics, ICTin such places. He believes smart agric villages provide the answer, emphasising how valuable it  would be in improving food production throughout the supply chain.

    As climate change threatens food production, countries fight back by arming farmers with precise advice on growing conditions.

    With weather extremes caused by climate change now widely seen as a major threat to food production in Africa and South Asia, a new report has shown that many countries are already providing millions of farmers with innovative “climate information services”, which allow them to anticipate and adapt to rapidly changing conditions.

    Countries are mobilising community radio stations, government meteorological services, religious groups, agriculture extension agents, schools and farmers to develop and distribute forecasts and farming strategies. These would provide front-line defence against the effects of climate change on food production, according to the study by the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

    Titled: “Scaling up Climate Services for Farmers: Mission Possible”, it is the first analysis of this new approach to adapting to the stress of climate change.

    “It’s encouraging to see climate information services emerging that are drawing from many types of experts and engaging a wide range of partners to devise effective strategies to help farmers cope with a changing climate,” said Dr. Arame Tall, CCAFS’ climate services scientist and lead author of the report.

    Tall added:“They are allowing farmers to protect themselves from the effects of weather extremes, such as droughts and floods, and also helping them take advantage of especially good conditions. The involvement of farmers in developing these climate services is essential to their success.”

    The CCAFS report features 18 case  studies from Africa and South Asia. It finds that countries are taking a variety of approaches to climate services, which generally involve developing high-quality, location-specific data on temperature, rainfall, wind, soil moisture and ocean conditions, among other things, that help farmers decide the best crop variety to cultivate and when to plant and apply fertiliser.

    The analysis revealed that the services work best when they involve broad collaborations between, for example, meteorologists, agricultural experts, farmers and agriculture extension agents. In many of the programmes, farmers practice a kind of citizen science, using rain gauges to collect data on precipitation and then feeding it into centralised data repositories.

    “The involvement of farmers in developing these climate services is essential to their success,” Tall said.

    Prior to the advent of climate services, farmers in most developing countries had been going it alone. And while indigenous knowledge often proves accurate, the shifts in growing conditions caused by climate change are increasingly moving beyond anything many farmers or their ancestors ever experienced.

    “The increasing vulnerability of small-holder farmers to climate risk is a major motivation for much of the interest and investment in climate services—not only to help farmers plan for tomorrow or the upcoming season, but to help them be better prepared for climate change 10, 20, or 30 years from now,” said Dr. James Hansen, a co-author, who led the CCAFS Climate Risk Management research team.

  • How to be security conscious – expert

    How to be security conscious – expert

    The North eastern part of Nigeria has, for a couple of years, been plagued with insurgent activities accounting for thousands of deaths with scores of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

    Despite the fact that Federal Government – declared State of Emergency is active in the most affected three states — Adamawa, Yobe and Borno — Boko Haram carnage seems to increase unabated.

    In their reaction to the level of insecurity in the North, the duo of former Nigeria’s vice president, Atiku Abubakar and Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamdio enjoined Nigerians to defend themselves against Boko Haram attacks.

    Award winning security expert with over 18 years experience, Femi Ajayi reacted to Atiku’s and Sanusi’s submissions and gave tips on how to be security conscious.

    According to Ajayi, “in psychology there is a natural fight or flee response to danger by human beings, which indicates a physiological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically. Usually when we are pushed to the wall and there is no other means of escape, the natural tendency is to confront the danger no matter how insurmountable that danger may appear. I believe it is in that context that the Emir of Kano and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar made those comments.

    “In my opinion, the advice they have given is spot on under the circumstances. As it were, the citizens are left with no choice than to confront the BH Islamists. It is better to die fighting than to be a sitting duck.”

    Ajayi added; Nigerians need to understand that the number one way we can protect ourselves and others from BH and their IED attacks is to be alert to our immediate surroundings. It is an effective tool if individuals are alert for, and to report, anything that is out of the ordinary in their daily routine.

    “Examples include bags or boxes in unusual places, unusual smells, and suspicious behaviors such as someone dressed in a heavy coat, cloth or overflowing attire that does not match the surrounding or weather.

    “If you come across anything suspicious, the maxim is ”If you see it, say it”. Sometimes, it can be difficult to determine when to report something suspicious; however people most familiar with a given environment are in the best position to determine whether or not something is out of the ordinary. Use common sense, and follow these guidelines:

    • Trust your instincts; if something feels wrong, don’t ignore it.

    • Do not assume that someone else has already reported it.

    • Be identification conscious

    • Call local authorities, if you think something is wrong

    • Keep your distance from a suspicious package do not approach or tamper with it.

    “I know that sometimes, people may be afraid to provide their names and locations when making a report but they must be ready to provide a description of what they think is suspicious and the time they saw or experienced it. The National Emergency Number is 112.

    “For the security agencies, they should establish a coordinated system of security awareness and let the generality of people be aware of what to do and who or where to call if people encounter anything suspicious. The security agencies can consider the template being used to create awareness for Ebola virus.

    “Those of us who are not directly in the line of fire in the volatile locations are better placed to utilize the preventive measures highlighted above. Those directly in the line of fire, who are being slaughtered every day, should adopt in addition, more offensive measures by organizing themselves into a fighting counter force and first line of defense.

    “In every neighborhood, street or village, every able bodied man, and if possible woman should be a member of the local vigilante. I’m aware that this is already being done, but they need to step this up with the help of the security agencies who should assist them to create the structure needed to effectively do this. There is nothing wrong in absorbing those of them that have done very well into the formal security system in the country, provided measures are in place to prevent BH sympathizers from taking advantage.

    “Let me state that at the end of the day that, we should not forget that it is the core duty of the security agencies to secure the citizenry. Some of the extremely difficult measures recommended above are desperate measures with their own long term downsides. For instance, local vigilante groups with firearms and skills gained from war experience can become uncontrollable and constitute another source of security risk in their localities overtime.

    “Our best is for the security agencies; Military, Police, SSS to clean up their acts and be more proactive in their crime preventive and curtailment strategies.”

     

    Ajayi (@FAjayi10) has over 35 years of public and private sector experience in protecting assets. In addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters in Industrial Relations, he has been internationally trained by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As a leader of a team of security experts, Ajayi puts his training and years of experience to use managing a security consulting firm that has worked with the banking industry in Nigeria as well as fortune 100 and 500 companies and multinational corporations from around the world.

    He is the Chief Executive Officer of Risk Control Services Nigeria Ltd.

    Twitter:@RiskControlNG, Facebook: Risk Control Nigeria

  • Empowering farmers for food security

    Empowering farmers for food security

    Drawing from the plummeting supply of food stuffs from the northern part of the country as a result of insurgency, the Lagos State Government has taken steps to not only ensure food security but also to develop an agro-based economy. PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU reports

    For many years, people in the Southern part of Nigeria relied on food supply from the North to meet daily needs. But as insurgency continued to ravage some geo-political zones of the region unabated, the quantity of food stuffs that come to the South from the North nose-dived.

    For farmers in Lagos State, the limited supply of food stuffs from the North has become a blessing in disguise. The situation has become blessing of sorts to them as over 3,000 of them have benefitted from various empowerment programmes initiated by the state’s Ministry of Agriculture.

    Farmers in the various agricultural value chains across the state beamed with excitements as seedlings, feeds, fertilisers and other equipment were provided for them by the ministry in a bid to enhance their micro-businesses.

    Supervised by the Commissioner himself, the ministry recently visited the four distribution zones-Mowo, Badagry; Odogunyan in Ikorodu; Agege and Epe- where a total of 3, 149 people received fish and poultry feeds, outboard engines, fishing smoking kilns, cows and garri processing equipment, among others.

    The beneficiaries who included fisher men, horticulturists, animal husbandry, egg producers, feed millers and coconut cultivators expressed their joy as they praised Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for bringing succour their way.

    For a fish farmer, Mrs. Victoria Ofinni who received 20 bags of fish feed at the Agege zone, life has never been so good.

    Dancing around with one of the freebies on her head, she said: “Today is one of my happiest days. I thank Governor Fashola and Prince Lawal for this assistance. Now, I can increase my modest fish farm and better take care of my children. There is no way we will starve.”

    Another beneficiary, Odegbami Ayodele, a 28-year-old graduate of Oyo State College of Education, Alanyande, said the pig feeds he received has relieved him of severe financial burden, adding that with the gesture, he would be able to adequately feed his pigs and thus move forward in life.

    The story was not different for butchers. Their representative, Mr Abiola Olusegun received the three cows, gears and apron on behalf of his team. Olesegun was particularly ecstatic because, he said, “this is the first time that we are being recognised and acknowledged as butchers by any government”.

    According to him, the empowerment would free them from unnecessary pressure and financial difficulty, thereby providing them with capital to continue on their own after generating sales from the free cows.

    An egg seller, Mrs Sanni Alimo-Shaddiya received 50 crates of egg; Mrs Patricia Akpezi went home with a kiln for fish processing; a fisherman, Juwon Owoade with his Ayegbami Fishermen Co-operatives members received 40 HP waterman outboard engines.

    Aside those who received equipment to better their trades, others had access to loans to the tune of N90 million to actualise their dreams of producing foods in order to meet the food need of the state.

    Among this group is a 30-year-old Mohammed Sakai, a member of the Diamond Agric-YES Co-operative Society. Sakai was trained under this programme. Provided a free two-bedroom apartment inside the Lagos State Agric Training Institute in Araga, Epe and his team obtained the loan of about N90 million.

    “The scheme has truly impacted positively on my life. It has given meaning to my study and a means of livelihood for my family. My group produces 200 crates of eggs daily and about three to four tons of fish monthly.

    “There are about 400 settlers here, all living in their two-bedroom apartments provided by the scheme.  The commissioner and the ministry have done very well, and we implore them to sustain this scheme,” Sakai said.

    While expressing satisfaction for the success of the scheme, Lawal said government’s wish is to truly empower people across the different agricultural value chains.

    Lawal, who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Yakub Bashorun, said the idea was to enhance the productivity of the beneficiaries and create more jobs.

    “Our target is to ensure inclusive growth in the state. It is geared towards taking people out of the poverty trap. We want to reduce the number of people on the bottom of the economic pyramid. We acknowledge that any growth that is not inclusive of the grassroots may not be sustainable,” he said.

    According to the Commissioner, the programme would provide a social safety net for the vulnerable, even as he noted that the multiplier effect of the gesture is far-reaching.

    “This is one empowerment programme with a multiplier effect. For example, we empower the people with inputs and at the end of their production; we buy the output from them.

    “So, not only have you given people jobs, you have also created a ready market for them. In a nutshell, the programme has created jobs and markets; liberating people as well as bridging the gap between farmers and capital for inputs.

    “With the capital support we give them, we have been able to demonstrate that this government is concerned about its citizens’ welfare. Beyond this, the scheme also had tackled the challenge of egg glut for those in that value chain, provided opportunity for cassava growers to sell their produce through the Eko Cassava processing factory, aside those who got equipment or gears depending on their occupations.

    “We have said it and we are serious at ensuring food self-sufficiency in the state. With two poultry estates, two fishery estates, eight farm estates, six farm settlements, two piggery farms spread across the state, this would not be difficult a target for the government of Lagos State to achieve,” Lawal said.

  • National transformation, road map to security

    I possibly will never know greater  honour in my life than to be  invited by my hero and mentor Professor Ben Nwabueze to review the third volume of his autobiography

    As a student of constitutional law, the invitation to review this seminal work is a testament by a master that his student has come of age and this testimonial is more of an endorsement for me than a platform for profound scholarly exposition.

    Prof Ben Nwabueze in my estimation is the greatest Constitutional law Scholar in human history. The depth and breadth of his seminal works in this area put him  in a class of his own. It is manifestly so evident that A.V. Dicey, Wheare, De Smith, Laurence Tribe, Hodd and many other emerging Constitutional Law Scholars did not impact the subject in such a way and manner as Nwabueze did. Simply put, he is a genius.

    What stands out Nwabueze shoulder and head above his peers is his pragmatic approach to constitutional engineering. He not only propounded principles, theories and doctrines, he interrogated the effect and relevance of his postulations in the constitutional evolution and development of many countries of the world. His life and works are therefore totally dedicated to developing a road map for enthronement of constitutionalism and good governance.

    In his preface to this 517 page book, the author stated as follows:

    “This volume of my autobiography (Volume 3) is a continuation of the story of my life and work told in volumes 1 and 2. It enlarges the last part of the story as contained in part III of volume 2, this accounts for some repetition that occurs. The volume might be described as embodying and culminating  1 would not say final­­ thoughts on Nigeria. The volume deals with concepts, principles, political and social issues, and not so much even with individual actors except former President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Sani Abacha and one or two others. It has therefore nothing to do with my private or personal life, a full account of which is contained in volume 1 . The volume may not therefore provide a reading comparable in excitement with volume 1  or even volume 2.”

    It would appear that the author in ranking this volume lower than volumes 1 and 2 in terms of providing exciting reading grossly under estimated the relevance of the issues discussed in this volume with the Nigerian project. Indeed, I dare to mention, none of the 32 seminal works of the author preceding this autobiography ranks in comparison in terms of pragmatic contribution to our national quest for a new better and united Nigeria. In his other books, the author’s brilliance as a leading constitutional lawyer shone ever so brightly. But in his final thoughts on Nigeria, the author assumed his rightful place as an agenda_ setting thinker, an opinion leader and moulder, an influential elder statesman, a courageous patriot, a pan-Nigerian nationalist and Nigeria’s voice of reason amidst the cacophony of self seeking praise singers and sycophantic opportunistic hero worshippers.

    In part 1 of the book, the author extensively addressed National transformation as the road map to security, progress and nation building. Whilst the author accepts the transformation agenda nation building of Government as crucial for national growth and development, he questions its limitation to economic policies only.

    In his words,  “social and ethical transformation implies the creation of a new society and the creation  of such a new society would entail  changes of two types a radical transformation of the material conditions of society and what has been called an inner mutation” ie a spiritual or mental  transformation in the attitudes and behavioral patterns of the individuals member of society”.

    The defining aspect of the book is the exposition on transforming Nigeria through a national conference.

    Here the originality of the author as the finest constitutional Lawyer is well displayed. In a breathtaking and gripping argument for National Conference, the author highlighted the following as the basis for national conference. They are as follows

    (a) Transforming Nigeria with its vast diversity of ethnic nationalities into a nation.

    (b) Federalism as a constitutional device for facilitating the creation of a nation in a territorially extensive and socially diverse country like Nigeria.

    (c) The unity in diversity approach in Nigeria’s constitution marked by over concentration of powers and financial resources at the centre but without entirely sacrificing ethnic diversity.

    (d)  Legal framework for the convening and holding of a national conference and for the approval of a people’s constitution.

    The author undoubtedly secured his place in our national history  by not only pushing for a national conference but by comprehensively addressing the question posed in chapter 14 of this book, which is “ will the national conference as now convoked and constituted by President Jonathan, be effective in realizing our aspirations for a new, better and united Nigeria?

    In part II of this autobiography, the reader easily connects with the author’s exposition on the many problems of Nigeria standing in the way of the search for peace, progress and nation building. Here reference is made to

    (a) The North -South Divide.

    (b)        forces militating against democracy in Nigeria eg Elite ruling  class; the political class; the after effects of Prolonged Military  Rule; human rights violators of  a nature, dimension or scale repugnant to the whole essence or ethos of human rights in a democratic society; wholesale election riggings and other electoral malpractices; corruption and other corrupt practices and abuse; pervasive culture of impunity in governance; lingering mass illiteracy; ignorance and poverty, structure of the Nigerian society; the weakness of civil society; absence of the spirit of liberty and democracy; absence of the spirit or habit of respect for the rule of law and of the habit of order; the phenomenon of democracy  without democrats.

    In his characteristic candour, the author brilliantly interrogated these forces militating against democracy and proffered solutions to the problems.

    Flowing from this is a well researched treatise by the author on Militancy and Insurgency. The reader is invited to note the depth of scholarship deployed by the author in distinguishing between militancy and Insurgency, his views on the call for amnesty for the Boko Haram Insurgents and his support for dialogue as the appropriate approach for addressing the insurgency challenge .

    Anyone reading this exciting autobiography will undoubtedly be sucked in by the authors answers  to the question he posed in chapter 14 of the book _ to wit_ “ is Nigeria a failed State or on the way to becoming one “Though the indices  used by the author may be considered as veritable tools of neoliberalism, it is still not in dispute that the author raised sufficient alarm that serious minded citizens cannot afford to gloss over. The book is enriched by inclusion by the author of suggestions by the patriots as to the things to be done to halt the slide into the ultimate stage of failure  of the state.

    The concluding part of this autobiography highlights basically institutional and other means available or that may be devised in the search for solutions to Nigeria’s problems. This part of the book is extremely insightful and thought provoking. Again the reader is invited by the author to personally evaluate efforts made by the Patriots (of which he is a prominent member) to proffer solution to Nigeria’s problems. Students of history and political science will definitely find this part of the book most illuminating especially with reference to invitation to fathers of the nation to intercede in order to save our nation. The author’s final thoughts in this volume finds expression in his analysis of state ceremonies marking certain significant ideas or events as a means of creating in the people a feeling of belonging  and of patriotism. His views on significance of Independence and justification for its celebration; celebrating the end of military rule and not regarding it as democracy day; the significance of the 1914 amalgamation and whether its gains overwhelmingly outweigh its deleterious consequences to justify celebrating its centenary are all forcefully and logically canvassed. Even if one is not inclined to agree with him on some of his views on the matter, one cannot ignore the intellectual depth of is postulations.

    Comments

    For a life that inspires debate on thorny issues of national importance, Prof Ben Nwabueze remains a national treasure. For his capacity to reduce very intricate legal issues to simple and readable prose, Prof Nwabueze is an academic icon. For being able to chronicle his autobiography in 3 large volumes, Prof Nwabueze is a gift to humanity.

    One will always wonder how the author over the years has been able to gather together newspaper cuttings and file documents that have proved handy for this seminal work. Prof Ben Nwabueze will always remain an enigma to those who are not close to him but to those who are privileged to read his works, he is nothing but a genius. This superlative quality again is well demonstrated in this volume 3 of his autobiography titled Ben Nwabueze: My life and work in the search for a new, better and united Nigeria.

    Is this likely to be his final thoughts on issues concerning Nigeria? Definitely not! I have no doubt that as God gives him life and good health, we certainly will be reading more of the exciting contributions of Ben Nwabueze to national discourse. Will there be a volume 4 of the autobiography?.This again cannot be ruled out. The author has the intimidating credentials as a five star researcher to put together another volume of his autobiography. Indeed many Nigerians are looking forward to his comments and commentaries on the 2015 election. I am definitely not an exception.

    It is therefore my honour and privilege to warmly recommend this well-packaged, well researched and exciting autobiography (volume 3) of Prof Ben Nwabueze to students and practitioners of Law, Politics, constitutionalism, constitutional engineering, the Nigerian public and the global community at large.