The Nation Newspaper

Tag: troubles

  • 2019 and PDP’s festering troubles

    2019 and PDP’s festering troubles

    As the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) prepares for its national convention, scheduled to hold on May 21, 2016 in Port-Harcourt, there are fears that the event may not end the party’s festering troubles, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    FRESH crisis is brewing within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even as the embattled party seeks to resolve its lingering leadership problem. Since PDP lost the general election, the party has been embroiled in series of internal squabbles.

    With its national convention expected to hold on May 21, the party is hoping to put an end to the confusion that rocked its national leadership following the controversial resignation of former Governor Adamu Muazu as national chairman, after its defeat by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

    But sources within the party say peace may still elude PDP for a longer period as the alleged ambitions of some chieftains of the troubled party is at the root of a fresh crisis threatening to work against the several efforts being made to reposition the party.

    The Nation learnt that ahead of the convention, the party is fast breaking into several splinter groups lining up behind the ambitions of some prominent chieftains.

    “It is too early to conclude that peace will return to our party at the convention. With the way things are today, the convention may just be the beginning of another round of troubles.

    “The PDP of today is broken into too many factions. Some of our leaders are allowing their personal ambitions to override the larger interest of the party. Rather than put all hands on deck for the repositioning of the party as being championed by some committed few, others are busy dividing the party for selfish reasons.

    “The fear now is should these groups approach the planned convention that is meant to give our party a new leadership with their current sectional interests, our quest for an acceptable leadership that is crisis free may not come to pass,” our source, a Senator from the South-West, explained.

    Zoning

    Already, the party is divided over recent decision by its National Executive Committee (NEC) to zone the 2019 presidential ticket to the northern geo-political zones.

    While a section of the party, especially members of the Board of Trustees (BoT), are believed to be in support of the decision, supporters of former President Goodluck Jonathan are said to be opposed to it.

    It is also believed that political office holders from the southern geo-political zones, where the party made some appreciable showing at the last election, may also be against the zoning formula. Rumours emerged recently that the party may be forced by the South-East and South-South caucuses to jettison the zoning plan.

    The BoT acting chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, recently warned against any move to jettison the zoning of the party’s 2019 presidential ‎ticket to the North. His warning came amidst fear that the zoning arrangement may be threatened.

    “Anyone who tried to reverse the position, which had already been approved by the National Executive Committee (NEC), would ever remain an enemy to the north and a killer of the PDP,” he had said.

    But a chieftain of the PDP from Anambra State in the South-East, Dr. Ramas Okoye Asuzu, voiced the opinion of the zone when he said the zoning arrangement could be counter-productive in the long run.

    “With Buhari, a northerner as the current president, why would our party want to zone the presidency to the north in 2019? Again, why are we in a hurry to zone the presidency? Shouldn’t the opposition party spread its tentacles to the South-East which is yet to produce the president?

    “By 2019, APC would set its eyes on second term and the North cannot fold its hands to watch other zones snatch the APC ticket, so it would have been better for the PDP to look beyond the North for a flag bearer and believe you me, an Igbo man is just the ideal for the party,” he argued.

     

    Presidential ambitions

    Aside the zoning battle, inside sources claim a battle of wits over the control of the party’s hierarchy may be underway following allegations in some quarters that some prominent chieftains are aiming to take charge of the party in preparation for their 2019 ambitions.

    Among others, the current chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and the Governor of Ekiti State, Peter Ayodele Fayose, have been alleged to be planning a joint ticket towards the 2019 presidential election.

    A chieftain of the party in Lagos State, who was a senator on the platform of the PDP, while explaining that neither of the two politicians have come out to publicly  signify interest in the presidency, told The Nation that the idea is being mooted by some concerned party leaders in the interest of the party.

    “You cannot tell me that Sheriff or Fayose told you they are interested in the presidency. But I can tell you the idea is on the table. Some of us who are concerned about returning the party to winning ways are the ones considering the duo.

    “2019 is not far away. And if PDP is to make the desired impact expected of us, we must start early. The first step in that direction is to identify and encourage strong candidates irrespective of what and where they currently are,” he said.

    Insiders within the PDP said that in preparation for the planned candidacy of the duo, Sheriff may be persuaded to seek the chairmanship of the party at the next convention.

    “It is important that the party machinery is not allowed to slip into the hands of those who may not share our idea about 2019. It is important that the leadership of the party that will emerge at the convention is one that will buy into our plans to move the party forward,” our source added.

    But it appears another interest group has read between the lines and is ready to stop the possible emergence of Sheriff and Fayose’s allies as party executives. A move to have the chairmanship of the party zoned to the South-West is part of the plot of this other group.

    The Nation learnt that a serving governor in the North-East, said to be interested in the 2019 presidential ticket of the party, is one of those pushing for a chieftain of the party from the South-West, to be made National Chairman of the PDP. Some of the chieftains being touted for the top job are the former National Deputy Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George and Chief Ebenezer Babatope, a member of the BoT.

    As chieftains and members of the party look forward to the much anticipated convention, pundits are insisting its outcome will, to a very large extent, determine what will become of PDP, Nigeria’s embattled opposition party.

  • The many troubles of PDP

    SIR: The game of politics is no child’s play. But the PDP had mastery of it here. Little wonder they won elections in contests and in litigations for the years they held sway as the ruling party. Their political rallies were dubbed “mothers of all rallies”, whereas their followership was branded as “mammoth crowd”. Then the PDP itself prided itself as the largest political party in the entire black race. How time flies.

    The PDP was a political party so powerful that its members considered a discretional slogan “if you cannot beat them, you join them” as suitable for its ability to do things at will.  While this lasted, the party dominated the political landscape with every swagger and braggadocio. Then things were working for good for those that loved the party? It was here the PDP became all that was needed to conquer and triumph over the principalities and powers in the country’s socio-economic and political scene. But again, time, time…

    It was for these reasons that the pendulum swung to the PDP each time elections were held in the country. The PDP was always the party to beat in every electoral contest here.  It went into elections with that upbeat, and came out winner with the same optimism. This they did for umpteenth times, and Nigerians started trooping to it like a mecca of sort; giving it the largest status its associates its name with.

    At that juncture impeachments, unpopular consensus and illegal substitution of its own candidates’ names became a customary activity. The PDP then turned out to be the ayatollah of the political system; shielding whoever it wanted to shield and abandoning whoever it wanted to abandon.  It was here success became ‘a liar’ and moved into the party’s psycho system, and then it roared, “we will rule the country for 60 years”!

    It is self-evident the PDP has never continued the same since losing elections to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Though the party fights hard to retain the governorship positions it won in some parts of the country in courts, it even battles harder to cleanse its name from the plethora of financial mishandling involving its chieftains.  This is as the leadership of the party is working stringently tough to stave off the court orders sacking its chairman, Uche Secondus.

    While the party looked at the nook of the society for relief, the former head of state, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida(IBB), a chieftain of the PDP landed a blow on the party. He vehemently turned down the offer of his party to chair its national conference; saying he should be counted out of the conference. His words: “while I welcome the invitation to the event as a mark of respect as one of the founding fathers, I want to be excused on the ground that I have bid bye to partisan politics.”

    The PDP is unarguably in a trouble of its life as its members are still parting in flocks to the APC all in a bid to hide from the EFCC as well as find greener pastures. Men and women who flaunted and danced with ‘the umbrella’ are beginning to live in denial of their association with the defunct largest party in Africa.  Things are really hard for the PDP as the opposition role it assumed, is indeed, a new rope and a handful to it.

    Nigerians are keen to seeing how the PDP would pull away from the web and albatross of predicaments overwhelming it, as well as upswing to its new status as the major opposition party in the country. Meanwhile, time is of the essence in this engineering as the 2019 elections is only three years away.

     

    • Gwiyi Solomon,

    Abuja.

  • Economy: More troubles ahead for manufacturers

    Economy: More troubles ahead for manufacturers

    Last year was arguably the toughest so far for real sector operators, especially manufacturers. Apart from being hit by the ripple effects of the global economic downturn caused by tumbling oil prices, the year, characterised by hash monetary and trade policies, eroded manufacturers’ productivity and competitiveness. The glitches of last year may have also set the stage for more turbulence for manufacturers this year, going by the government’s policy and utterances in the twilight of the year. CHIKODI OKEREOCHA and OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE report.

    It was a year real sector operators would not forget in a hurry. For manufacturers in particular, 2015 was not only challenging, it was turbulent as it was characterised by a downturn in the economy. No thanks to the unprecedented crash in oil prices at the international market. Not a few manufacturers gasped for breath from the devastating effects of the crisis in the oil market, the government’s monetary, fiscal and trade policies. Their woes were compounded by the nation’s huge infrastructure deficit.

    Many of the manufacturers feel the Foreign Exchange (forex) and Treasury Single Account (TSA) policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dealt deadly blows to their businesses. They recall how the forex policy, which barred importers of 41 items that could be sourced locally from having access to CBN’s official forex window, imposed a heavy burden on their operations and the economy generally.

    To them, the forex restriction was a serious disincentive to the manufacturing sector as any operator who required any of the 41 items on the restricted list as a primary raw material may close shop after exhausting his existing stock.

    The policy also caused serious decline in the fortunes of manufacturers and other operators in key sectors, as getting forex from alternative sources became exorbitant.

    Other operators, especially those in the fast-moving consumer goods sector and newspaper organisations felt the heat as they found it expensive to settle outstanding obligations to foreign suppliers.

    The implementation of the Federal Government’s directive that all Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) remit generated revenues into a TSA, did not go down well with real sector operators.

    Although, the TSA policy was aimed at stemming corruption and enhancing transparency, it triggered a serious liquidity crisis in the banking sector as the MDAs, in compliance with the directive, made huge remittances out of commercial banks to the CBN.

    The effect of such huge remittances was that commercial banks’ balances with the CBN usually earmarked for foreign exchange or bond purchases plunged. Interest rates rose, forcing investments to ebb.

    Many foreign investors also reportedly divested from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The Nation learnt that in the heat of the TSA implementation, about 20, 000 accounts were closed, a development that sent jitters down the spine of bank workers, over possible job losses.

    Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) President Frank Udemba Jacobs said the negative impacts of the CBN’s monetary policies on the manufacturing sector can be gleaned from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures.

    The figures show that the sector performed abysmally low in the second quarter of last year in terms of output and contributions to the Gross Domestic product (GDP).

    According to Dr. Jacobs, manufacturing output grew by 3.82 per cent in the second quarter of 2015, from 14.01 per cent of the corresponding period in 2014. This, according to him, indicated a 17.83 percent decline over the period.

    Besides, the NBS figure shows that the manufacturing sector’s contribution to nominal GDP in the second quarter of last year fell to 9.29 per cent as against 9.77 per cent of the corresponding period in 2014.

    This, Jacobs said, clearly showed a 0.48 percent decline over the period, lamenting the clash of all manufacturing indices.

    The capacity utilisation, production value and manufacturing investment, he noted, declined throughout last year.

    Highlighting the impacts of the various policies on real sector operators, the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the restriction on the use of export proceeds by exporters made it difficult to settle import bills.

    According to him, it also caused a decline in banks’ revenue due to loss of transactions from businesses, as operators patronised the alternative market at high costs, a development that further eroded their already shrunk margins.

    After an appraisal of the ripples effect of the policies on businesses, the Director-General, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), Sir Emeka Okereke, concluded that the harsh policies are unsustainable for the manufacturing sector.

    The policies, which according to him are panicky measures, could cause incalculable damage to the economy, if not relaxed.

    Okereke told The Nation, the withdrawal of public sector funds from commercial banks by the CBN was a panic policy that cannot be  sustained.

    “The policy is not sustainable. It is a panic policy capable of wrecking the economy. We need to revisit,” he said, adding that it could kill the economy as businesses are already feeling its impact.

    Stressing that the apex bank took some policies, particularly those aimed at saving the naira, in a hurry, Okereke believed the weakness of the local currency against the dollar was triggered by the monolithic product and import-dependent nature of the economy.

    “We need to take our time before coming out with some of these policies,” the NACCIMA chief cautioned.

    Impacts of tumbling oil prices

    The free fall of oil prices, which began mid June 2014, triggered sharp drops in accruals to the foreign exchange reserves, a development that forced the apex bank to devalue the naira. Because of the bank’s measure, manufacturers, who import raw materials in dollars, have been groaning.

    Specifically, manufacturers have been paying more naira for each unit of raw materials they import, including machineries, spare parts and other import-dependent procurements.

    Those who rely on banks’credit facilities to import raw materials are the worst hit. They do so at higher interest rates, sometimes, between 25-30 per cent. Many manufacturers still find it extremely difficult to finance their import bills. Those  and those who manage to do so, contend with dwindling profit margins.

    Operators in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are crumbling under the inclement business climate.

    The slump in oil prices and the subsequent depreciation of the naira is slowing down economic activities and thus causing a decline in economic growth rate.

    For instance, the economy, which recorded a GDP growth of 6.54 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, dropped to 2.35 per cent last year, going by the NBS figure.

    The 2.35 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter of last year, which ended in June, was the second quarter in a row that the economy would record below budgeted performance. According to experts, the 2.35 per cent growth when the population continues to grow at close to 2.85 per cent meant that the average Nigerian was getting poorer.

    Trade policies are pain in manufacturers’ neck

    At the turn of 2015, the European Union (EU) intensified the push to boost its trade with Nigeria and widen the scope of its investment in Africa’s largest economy by getting Nigeria to endorse the contentious Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). But, manufacturers opposed the deal’s endorsement, insisting that the EPA, which seeks to eliminate barriers to free movement of goods, services and investment between EU and Nigeria, would hurt economy.

    The EPA is an EU-sponsored Free Trade Agreement (FTA) designed to create a free trade area among EU and Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, in which duties on goods imported and exported between the parties are reduced and eventually removed. It seeks to promote economic growth and development, reduce poverty in the partnering nations, diversify trade and increase domestic and foreign investment.

    Under the deal, EU would immediately offer the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries (including Nigeria) and non-member state (Mauritania), unrestricted access to its market of 500 million people.

    In return, Nigeria and other members of ECOWAS would gradually open up 75 per cent of their markets – with their 300 million consumers – to Europe over a 20-year period.

    However, citing Nigeria’s weak manufacturing base caused by lack of supportive infrastructure and hash operating environment, manufacturers insist that the deal would leave Nigeria holding the short end of the stick, considering that Nigeria and indeed, most members of ECOWAS, have little finished goods to successfully sell to Europe.

    According to them, signing the agreement would amount to economic suicide, as many industries will shut down because local manufacturers cannot match with goods from Europe and other developed economies.

    Manufacturers expressed fears that EPA could lead to de-industrialisation in West Africa, with dire economic and employment consequences for Nigeria because of her 60 per cent share of the regional market and GDP.

    “The EPA will confine the Nigerian economy to a mere market extension of the EU since we cannot operate with Europe on all grounds. It is on this ground that we believe that Nigeria does not need EPA now until it has been adequately industrialised and is able to trade industrial goods competitively,” Dr. Jacobs, said. He was making a reference to EPA’s provision where the EU wants Nigeria to open its market by 75 per cent over a 20-year period.

    Although, MAN members, who have been kicking against the ratification of EPA by the Federal Government, said they will keep their advocacy task very strong with regards to the agreement. But, the issue may remain on the front burner of national discourse this year.

    Manufacturers fret over ECOWAS CET

    The implementation of a Common External Tariff (CET) by ECOWAS allows goods from member states into Nigeria without the imposition of any tax, import duty or levy. But, the the Organised Private Sector (OPS) is uncomfortable with the arrangement.

    The First Deputy National President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Chief Bassey Edem, articulated the concern of members of the OPS over the ECOWAS CET.

    Edem, who identified ECOWAS CET as another major challenge that local business will grapple with this year, said: “This (ECOWAS CET) is another challenge to our growing industries that are currently battling with the devaluation of the naira amongst other challenges.”

    He said although, NACCIMA appreciates the need for the ECOWAS CET, but that the body cannot overlook the fact that the nation’s borders will be thrown open to influx of goods from within the West African region following the implementation of ECOWAS CET.

    “The need to ensure compliance with all protocol signed by ECOWAS to eliminate dumping of goods in the region is of great importance for our growing industries to survive with the implementation of ECOWAS CET and for the realisation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP),” the NACCIMA chief said.

    He has an ally in renowned economist and industrialist, Mr. Henry Boyo, who argued: “You can’t have an industrial growth in this kind of environment with a CET that exposes local industries and products to unequal competition.”

    Infrastructure deficit, multiple taxation, others as sore points

    The huge infrastructure gap, particularly in the area of power supply, remains a thorn in the flesh of manufacturers. The consensus is that the power sector reforms embarked upon by the immediate past administration failed to give manufacturers the needed relief. The crisis in the energy sector has refused to abate. The privatisation of the generation and distribution aspects of the sector has not yielded any significant improvement in electricity supply to residential and industrial consumers.

    “The emergence of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) nationwide did not seem to provide the anticipated reprieve. We are still contending with inadequate and poor supply; high tariff, arbitrary and startling increase in tariff and unwarranted disconnections among others,” Jacobs said at the Annual

    General Meeting (AGM) of MAN’s local chapter in Ikeja, Lagos.

    MAN’s Economic Policy Committee (EPC) Reginald Ike Odiah, painted a grim picture of the huge toll erratic power supply is taking on manufacturers.

    “A situation where manufacturers spend a whopping N500 billion annually on in-house power plants along with other added costs of providing other infrastructural deficiencies is certainly out of the equation,” Odiah lamented.

    Poor infrastructure, particularly power supply, which has been pushing up production cost, is also believed to be partly responsible for lack of competitiveness of the manufacturing sector, especially the SMEs.

    Compounding the situation is the challenge of multiple taxation by different tiers of government and agencies.

    AGOA extension aspositive development

    The United States (U.S.) recent reauthorisation of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) for 10 more years has opened a fresh window of opportunity for Nigeria to drive her non-oil export business.

    AGOA is a trade policy that seeks to increase market access to Nigeria and 38 other eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export about 7, 000 product line tariff and quota-free to the U.S. market.

    The Act initially covered eight years (October 2000 to September 2008), but with the amendments signed by former President George Bush in July 2004, AGOA was extended to September 2015. Although, Nigeria failed to maximize the opportunities under the U.S. trade policy within the last 15 years, a second chance came when the U.S. Congress, on June 11, 2015, renewed the Act for another 10 years.

    With the extension, the programme, which would have expired on September 30, 2015, would now end in 2025. The extension has been signed by President Barack Obama.

    Experts say that the trade policy bodes well for the Federal Government’s plan to diversify the economy with the promotion of non-oil exports like agriculture.

    Budget 2016 as elixir for manufacturing

    The presentation of the 2016 Budget proposal by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly offers a flicker of hope that the sector may be revived.

    Identifying the manufacturing sector as the most affected by CBN’s policies to salvage the economy from going into recession, the President said the unending slide in oil prices at the international market had hurt the economy negatively.

    Buhari said: “By June 2014, oil prices averaged $112 per barrel. But as at today, the price is under $39 per barrel. We believe that this budget, while helping industry, commerce and investment to pick up, will as a matter of urgency, address the immediate problems of youth unemployment and the terrible living conditions of the extremely poor and vulnerable Nigerians.”

  • Child abduction: More troubles for Davido over medical report

    Child abduction: More troubles for Davido over medical report

    The last has not been heard of the child abduction saga between the family of popular singer, David Adeleke, (aka Davido) and Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine, as the former, yesterday, released a pathology report showing that the mother of his child, Sophia Momodu, tested positive to cannabis.

    The artiste uploaded a scanned copy of the purported medical report from Clina-Lancet Laboratories on Instagram, sparking fresh rounds of reactions from followers.

    Last week, the news media was awash with tales of how the musician’s family had talked Sophia into releasing her breast-sucking child, Imade, for medical examinations, but later suspected she had been tricked, as plans to fly the child out of the country was aborted by immigration at the airport.

    Sophia’s lawyer had filed a petition against the Adeleke family for alleged abduction of the child, accusing the singer of planning to travel to the United States with the baby without her mother’s consent. The petition was addressed to the Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

    Perhaps to prove that his family’s intend was indeed for medical reasons, Davido came out with Sophia’s medical report. The medical report has a footnote which reads; “Sophia’s test that shows for cannabis aka Indian hemp or marijuana which she passed to the baby through breast milk or as second hand smoke.”

    But some of the fans who reacted to the post felt that if there was any medical report of the baby with trace of the drug, that could have been more appropriate for the singer’s claim.

    In the same vein, spokesperson of the Momodu family, Dele Momodu, is of the view that the medical report does not hold water. Speaking to The Nation, he said that since the case has been taken to court, he is constraint to say much.

    “Sebi he sent you report. Do you know what the other people have? If you go to court for example, you will have your own documents; the other people will have their own document so there is no hurry. If they’ve invited both parties, when we get there, we will see the documents. When we get there, we will see whether they are false. I’m not allowed to speak on it. The lawyers are already involved,” he said.

    On whether they will be pressing fresh charges, Momodu said: “I don’t know what the lawyers will decide. That is why I can’t comment on the issue. The Adelekes are free to do whatever they want. I think what they are trying to do is to justify what they did but once they were accosted at the airport, it was no longer within my control.”

    Sophia Momodu’s lawyer, Gbolaga Ajayi, has also insinuated that the medical report circulating on the internet is a suspicious document.

    Speaking with The Nation, Ajayi said; “we are seeing that report for the first time, therefore it is hard for us to verify its genuineness. In Nigeria, people fabricate documents from everywhere. So that document itself is suspicious to us because the lady involved, our client, has never been given that medical report before. Curiously, no competent medical laboratory will give your report to a third party without giving you at least a copy.”

    Ajayi however said that if indeed the report is correct, the public circulation is a violation of his client’s privacy. “We know the meaning of that in the law. The legal implication is very grave. It is very grave both on the part of the party that did it and the party that solicited for it. Three, there is no place in that report that I’ve seen thus far where any issue of cannabis use by our client having effect on the baby was mentioned,” he added.

    There are indications that, going by the incident of the purported medical report, Davido might face a separate suit bothering on the civil right of Sophia. “It is an abuse and rape of somebody’s right to privacy. It is a constitutional issue. Our reaction to it will be in line with what the civil law demands,” Ajayi stated.

    There is no gainsaying that the issue of marriage between Davido and Sophia is not in the equation, but what many are concerned about his the attempt to forcefully separate mother and child in a controversial manner.

    Davido has said that Sophia’s pregnancy came as an accident, as he was not ready to be a father yet.

    According to him, “when the second trimester of Sophia’s pregnancy was closing, she announced that she was in the family way. My mind was bemused, and so was my soul confused. But I quickly realised that nothing more could be done to alter my status as a father-to-be. I knew that I was not ready to be a dad. Still, I adjusted myself to the realities of my new situation and the consequences of my past personal indiscretions. I made the determination that I was going to be a good dad. I also reasoned that my blunder is not enough pretext to make me a husband. I was just 21. And so I decided to be a responsible dad without being husband to the mother of my baby. I never was in love with Sophia neither was marriage ever in the offing,” he posted alongside the photograph.

  • Gulliver’s Troubles

    Nigeria, unlike in recent years of plenty, is not ending the year 2015 with a bang but with a whimper.  Our economy is in doldrums not because of what the present government has done or not done but because of years of lack of planning and foresight. President Muhammad Buhari in this regard is twice unlucky. When he first came as head of state in 1983, the government before him had so mismanaged the economy that we were down to barter trade and extreme rationing of foreign exchange. The Shagari and Jonathan governments shared the unenviable records of rampant corruption, irresponsibility and squander-mania that one can say they were two sides of the same coin. If these two governments had not been changed and had been allowed to continue in their corrupt ways, there would have been a break down of law and order if not an outright revolution. The mind-boggling revelation of the corruption in the Jonathan government bears an uncanny similarity with that of the Shagari government that one will be pardoned if one were to say history has repeated itself. This raises in my mind a philosophical question whether people learn at all from history. This is why we say when history repeats itself it is a tragedy. Those found guilty during the first Buhari administration were dealt with severely only for Babangida to come and pardon them and returned their loot to them. Some of them are again involved in the present tragedy. The economy in the homeland has run aground and the international economic situation is not favourable to a quick fix unless a major war was to break out in the Middle East. May God forbid. We therefore must embark on quick restructuring of the economy. There is too much money being spent everywhere on administrative overhead. There are too many states, too many legislators at federal, state and the 774 local government levels. This is the time to begin to think of a unicameral federal legislature as well as part-time legislators at all levels of democratic representation. We have gotten used to eating fatted meat that it will be difficult cutting out the fat from the meat. But in our own interest and for our health, we must cut out the fat from our flabby institutions. This will not be easy and it will come with a lot of pain. Like necessary surgery we must do it to save ourselves. Anything that can be done to reverse the present situation at all levels of government where recurrent expenditure is double that of capital expenditure must be done. This will involve government stepping on the toes of vested interests. Government also has to ask all those who have embezzled state funds to disgorge and vomit them before being sent to jail. Any thing short of this will not send the right message and lesson. I have a feeling that this is our last chance in this country to get our trajectory right.

    Any government doing the right thing by the people will not be popular with entrenched interest of those who want to have wealth without sweat. The government must therefore secure itself from those who would want to violently change it.

    Survival is the first law of nature. Governments are instituted for the good of the people but there are evil men out there who want to continue ruining this country and we must not allow them. Some of these people will hide under religious movements of all types to destabilize the state. We have enough trouble with Boko Haram. Others will hide under the camouflage of ethnic associations agitating for one thing or the other. Others may come in form of trade unionism, whatever the hue and colour in which they may come they must be engaged in dialogue and persuasion. Any reasonable person in this country must know that the economic problem facing us is global. During the years of plenty, we neither saved nor prepared for a rainy and lean day and years. We ate our fruits with the seeds.

    But honestly speaking we are not in the worst situation in Africa or the world. Of course we are impatient as a people and giving to whining and complaining. Whatever we are facing right now is our collective fault and we must face the problem together and not give the people the feeling of a quick solution to a problem that has been festering for years. The solid minerals exploitation touted as a way out of our economic problem will take time. We have to find investors ready to participate in their exploitation. We also have to ensure there is market for them. Whatever solid minerals available must be commercially plentiful that they will last years and exploiting them must be environmentally sustainable. I believe that there is enough study done by our department of geological surveys to determine which of our solid minerals the world may want.

    I read what the Minister of Information and Culture was reported to have said about tourism sector replacing the dwindling fortune of gas and crude oil exports. I just laughed. I want to remind the Honourable Minister, Alhaji Lai Muhammad what Chief Obafemi Awolowo said while running for president in 1979 that if he won the first thing he would do will be to ban importation of used clothes, stork fish and close down the tourism board. He correctly stated that only a mad person will come as a tourist to Nigeria. It is not that we do not have things people will be curious about, but where is the infrastructure for tourism? No roads, no railways, no light, no water, no security! We need first to put in place necessary things first before inviting the whole world to come for a visit. I agree no country is perfect and our short-coming may be due to our size and huge population. As Chief Awolowo continued there may be people who have enjoyed themselves so much that they may want to experience suffering in Nigeria. We cannot bank on suffer-heads coming as tourists to Nigeria as a basis on which to build an enduring economy.

    All is not lost. We must all be ready to work harder and be patriotic asking not what our country can do for us but what we can do for our country remembering what J.F. Kennedy told his American compatriots in 1961. We must go back to agriculture, not the cutlass and hoe kind but mechanized agriculture. Government will have to buy ploughs and rent these out to farmers and encourage young people to go into farming. All textile mills in the country should be resuscitated. This will allow us to export textile products to the USA under the rubric of African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) which other African countries have enjoyed while we were drunk on oil. The cotton for these textile mills must be home grown cotton. We must rehabilitate all tree crops like cocoa, rubber, palm oil, shea butter, and gum Arabic. We must also encourage massive growing of soya beans, groundnuts, maize, yams and cassava.  All schools like in my youthful years must have farms for practical agriculture.  We must not sink money into the bottomless hole of wheat production. We tried it during the Shagari and Babangida years with abject failure. We must go back to nature for sustenance. It is as simple as that. We must support animal husbandry through ranching and encouragement of our pastoralists to settle.

    There is so much to do that there is no time to waste. There are enough patriots all over this country that there is need to harness their ideas and efforts for purpose of production without being bogged down by innumerable meetings. We must get cracking so to say. In all these government must carry the people along including sensible members of the opposition who appreciate the predicament in which we find ourselves. Communication is very important. All ministers must give accounts of what they are doing through regular press conferences. The intelligentsia, that critical mass in the society must be carried along through periodic lectures by ministers in tertiary institutions. All Nigerians must pay taxes and they must be told what their taxes are going to be used for. In all these government must be accountable to the people. This is the only way we are going to get out of this quagmire. God will make a way where there seems to be no way. Happy New Year Nigeria.

  • Tomato troubles

    •Nigeria must develop the enormous potential of its agro-allied industry

    A recent declaration that Nigeria is losing an estimated US$ 1 billion annually due to the importation of processed tomato products underlines the tragedy of a nation that has consistently refused to wean itself off its unwholesome dependence on crude oil for its foreign exchange earnings.

    This utterly unnecessary situation is compounded by allegations that most of the imported tomato products are unfit for human consumption because they are either fake or substandard. Foreign businessmen are said to go to Asia, where cheap tomato products are produced through the addition of starch and colouring, and then smuggled into Nigeria.

    Why does Nigeria waste so much of its own agricultural produce, only to import much of it in processed form at great cost in foreign exchange? The answer lies in the inability of the nation to develop a fully integrated agricultural sector encompassing cultivation, transportation, storage, processing and export.

    In the instance of tomato production, for example, the country is said to waste up to 70 per cent of its annual crop mainly due to post-harvest wastage emanating from inadequate storage and the absence of processing facilities. Such wastage is all the more alarming given the huge potential: Nigeria is ranked the second largest producer of tomatoes in Africa, and 13th in the world. Tomato production is said to take up an estimated one million hectares producing 1.701 million tonnes per annum at an average of between 20 and 30 tonnes per hectare.

    Tomatoes are just one of a whole range of agricultural products the country is fully or potentially self-sufficient in, but which are imported in processed form from other nations. They include rice, oranges and other fruits. Even yam and cassava, where Nigeria’s comparative advantage is outstanding, and whose processed products are in demand globally, are vulnerable to this situation.

    The consequences for Nigeria are obvious. Although the country’s food import bill dropped from U.S. $7 billion to U.S. $ 4.3 billion in 2014, the reduced amount is still far too large for a nation that was an agricultural superpower at independence in 1960. In addition, national economic development is stunted due to a consistent inability to build up a thriving agro-allied industrial base; thriving economies like Malaysia, South Africa, Israel and Brazil all got their initial economic boost in this way.

    If Nigeria is to resolve the related issues of post-harvest waste and the development of agro-allied industry, it must first look at the crucial issue of crop storage. No matter how bounteous the nation’s harvest is, such productivity will count for little if the crops cannot be stored. During the Babangida era, there was a renewed emphasis on the construction of a network of storage silos across the nation, but it appears that successive administrations have not displayed a similar zeal. This must change.

    Another strategy is to fast-track the construction of food-processing plants as part of the overall agricultural expansion strategy, and to promulgate legislation that would reduce the importation of processed food items. Many companies in the food-processing sub-sector continually complain about the way in which cheap imports have devastated their business. Unless uncontrolled importation and smuggling are fought to a standstill, there can be no sense in setting up indigenous food-processing firms.

    It might also be necessary for the country’s politicians to lead by example, by emphasising the use of locally-processed food products at state occasions. It is the height of hypocrisy to make all the right noises about the agro-allied industry, only to waste scarce resources on food imported from other nations. The sales of processed palm wine are negligible in Nigeria, but the country is one of the world’s top consumers of French champagne.

    Ultimately, the drive to develop a robust agro-allied industry and substantially reduce post-harvest waste will require determination, consistency and patriotism.

     

  • Many troubles of the comrade governor

    Being a governor in some states can be quite forbidding to say the least. Not that it is entirely a joy ride anywhere or that the much coveted guber seat is less hot in any state but some states are peculiar. One of such is Edo and the reason is simple: the gubernatorial seat is circumscribed by formidable power blocs. Consider the imagery of a man in a valley hemmed in by several towering mountains. Even if he manages to breathe, he will be working under poor lights and constrained space.

    Such is the situation Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo who is running a state sequestered by so much impedimenta that stand in the way of work. Governor Oshiomhole has been pitched against such behemoths as Chief Tony Anenih; Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Esama of Bini and lately, the Omono’ba himself, the fulcrum of Bini monarchy and essence.

    It takes only a man of Oshiomhole’s heart and hide to stand up to or stand down these forces and still get in a decent result in the last six years. Oshiomhole’s predecessors (especially the Esama’s son) ran Edo aground but the incumbent has brought it back to life as everyone can see. The good people of Edo State must rally around their Comrade, support him and help him finish strong.

  • Cabaye: I won’t flee from PSG troubles

    Cabaye: I won’t flee from PSG troubles

    Yohan Cabaye has insisted that he has no intention of fleeing from Paris Saint-Germain despite his first 12 months being fraught with first-team difficulties.

    The France international, 29, has not been incredibly popular with fans at Parc des Princes and has only started one of the club’s last 10 Ligue 1 matches, which PSG lost to relegation-troubled Bastia.

    As a result, the midfielder had been linked with a swift return to the Premier League, where he had forged a reputation as a top central midfielder with Newcastle United, with Tottenham most recently named as an interested party.

    However, Cabaye is determined to make an impression in Laurent Blanc’s side and is refusing to entertain the idea of leaving his homeland, instead stressing his desire to stay with the French champions and prove a point.

    “I respect my coach and I’m in a great club,” he told Telefoot. “Having a negative state of mind serves no purpose. You have to show spirit so you can show what you are capable of.

    “I’m not the type of person that flees when they encounter difficulties. I’ve never talked about leaving because I don’t want to leave.

    “I’m with great players and I take pleasure from that. I don’t want to leave as a failure. The most important thing is to show a positive demeanour and behaviour.”

    Cabaye will be hoping to be part of the matchday squad when PSG are back in action in a Coupe de la Ligue semi-final against Lille on Tuesday.

  • Still on Jega’s PVC troubles

    SIR: I wish to call on the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to kindly ask his officials to release our voter’s card in Katsina State. Since the start of the distribution of the  Permanent voter’s card (PVC) this month, the exercise has been mired with irregularities most of which stems from the from inability to find the PVC.

    Four years since the the temporary voter’s card was issued, it is sad to note that INEC has not been able to make adequate arrangements for distributing the PVCs across the nation. It will be recalled that over N100 billion naira was said to have been spent by the commission in 2011 – to make all arrangements for a free, fair, credible elections in 2015.

    In Katsina for example, the distribution of the PVC was postponed three times before it finally kicked off. Now that I has started, over 1.5 million PVCs are said to be missing or at least, unaccounted for. When the exercise started, the officials only spent four days. And now that registration for those that lost their own and fresh registration have started, it has only been carried out in four places, and all the places have long queues of people aggressively waiting to be registered.

    INEC and other relevant stakeholders in the PVC distribution process should get their acts together to solve this problem. Already people are insinuating that the INEC is planning to rig elections in 2015, by deliberately causing difficulties in the exercise and limiting participation.

    I call on Professor Attahiru Jega to please find a way to quickly resolve the problem; I also call on Nigerians to be patient and law abiding.

     

    • Comrade Abdulbaqi Jari Katsina, Katsina

  • ‘I’m tired of my wife’s troubles’

    A 35-year-old man, Tony Okafor, has sought  to divorce his wife, Ijeoma, at a Customary Court in Agege, a Lagos suburb. He is accusing her of embarrassing him at his office and being disrespectful of his siblings.

    Okafor said he left their Abule-Egba, Lagos home when his wife’s troubles became unbearable, adding that his boss threatened to sack him if Ijeoma didn’t stop coming to his office.

    Okafor, who said the 12-year-old union has produced two children, added:”I am always scared of going home. The landlord of the new house we rented has threatened to eject me at the expiration of my rent because of my wife.

    Mrs Okafor, however, told the court: “I love my husband and he loves me too. Each time my husband visits his brother and returns home, his attitude changes towards me. My brother-in-law is my husband’s mouth piece. We still live in the same room and do everything expected of a couple.

    “I prepared his meal this morning and we ate together. Our three-year-old son is dimwitted; we have never gone separately to visit him at the hospital. I married Tony because he has a very good character. With him, my mind is at peace. He is too shy to kill a fly let alone hurt me. The problem starts when his brother intervenes. If he wants a divorce, he should pay me off with N10million.”

    It was learnt during mediation that Okafor’s brother’s grouse is that they have children out of wedlock.

    The court president, Mr Adekunle Wiiliams, advised Okafor to handle his marriage and not allow his brother to control him. The case was adjourned till September 4 for judgment.