The Nation Newspaper

Tag: woes

  • Akwa United vow to compound Sharks’ woes

    Akwa United’s technical adviser Patrick Udoh has said his side will compound the woes of Sharks after their Federation Cup quarter final ouster at the hands of holders Enyimba.

    The Promise Keepers will host the Garden City landlords in the restart of Glo Premier League match day 20 tie on Sunday at the Uyo Township Stadium.

    Udoh said his wards will go for the maximum points against Sharks to quicken their return to the league summit.

    “We’re poised to compound Sharks’ woes when we clash on Sunday in Uyo. Sharks won’t leave Uyo unscathed and untouched no matter how much they try, we need the maximum three points badly to help our quest to return to the top.

    “We can’t do anything contrary to help Sharks as three points in the game is the surest way to position ourselves to climb to the top spot.

    “We took three points off Sharks in Port Harcourt and we’re determined to make it a double. That’s six points, we can’t be blamed for choosing the path,” said Udoh to supersport.com.

    Udoh said the switch of his prolific striker Ubong Ekpai to Nigerian champions Kano Pillars will not hurt his side’s fortunes in the league.

    “We have many Ubong Ekpais in Akwa United though as a person I’ll miss his services, but our job as coaches is to develop talents.

    “We have several of such talents from the academy and grassroots who are currently making waves, I’m sure they’ll perfectly fit into the vacant shoes of Ekpai.

    “There are scores of such players so I don’t think Ekpai’s exit will hurt our fortunes badly,” said Udoh.

    The Uyo-based side will restart the season on the strength of their eighth finish on 28 points, six points behind leaders Kano Pillars.

  • Airtel blames Nigeria, others for its woes

    Airtel blames Nigeria, others for its woes

    Bharti Airtel Limited has blamed its declining fortunes in its home country, India, on the poor performance of its subsidiaries in Nigeria and 16 other African countries where it currently operates.

    The telco which is owned by billionaire Chairman Sunil Mittal posted slower pace of revenue growth at its African operations. Airtel is among the global system for mobile communications (GSM) that were prohibited from selling new subscriber identity module (SIM) cards last month by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) after missing service quality key performance indicators (KPIs). Also barred from taking in new subscribers are Globacom and MTN. The three operators also paid fines totaling N647.5 million to government’s coffers. Only Etisalat missed the regulator’s sledge hammer.

    Speaking on the development, Head, Research at India Nivesh Securities Pvt, Mumbai, Daljeet Kohli, said: “Africa didn’t do well. That’s a disappointment because many people were looking for Africa to stabilize; that this time, they would come to a break-even point. But that has not happened, so Africa will continue to be a drag on the good work that Airtel does in India.”

    Chief Executive Officer, Bharti’s Africa Business, Christian de Faria, blamed the downturn on regulatory interventions in Nigeria where it is the second largest operator after MTN.

    Farai said:”The quarter was impacted by the seasonal downturn in parts of Africa and regulatory interventions in Nigeria. Our teams remain focused on accelerating growth through improving the quality of network, growing the data business.”

  • My driver’s licence woes at Ogun Joint Tax Board

    Sir: I applied for the renewal of my National Driver’s Licence on Tuesday, June 4, at the Okemosan office of the Joint Tax Board, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Upon the payment of the required sum of N6350, I was instantly issued with a computer generated acknowledgement slip which stands as substitute for a receipt for the transaction. It’s however annoying as it is baffling that up till now I have not been able to have my image captured and without which it would be impossible to have the actual license.

    I must acknowledge though that earlier on, I had applied for the reissue of my car number plate which was promptly processed and got within 24 hours. But in the case of the driver’s license, it is a different ball game altogether.

    I have been visiting the board every week hoping that luck would smile on me one of these days. But at every turn, I have always met with a brick wall. What I later discovered is that I’m not alone in the lurch; there are hundreds, if not thousands of other applicants who have found themselves in this quagmire.

    From the discreet enquiry I made, I understand that there is just one camera in use and this device works erratically. It got to a point that it broke down completely and out of use for a period of time. As it is now, it would seem like the camera can no longer cope with the loads of work at it’s disposal and has again been working in fits and starts even after its repair.

    Some questions applicants have been asking and which are begging for answers are :Why is that only one camera is in use in spite of the huge revenue generated? Why will innocent people be subjected to untold abuse and hardship simply because one is acquiring a driver’s license? Is it a sin on the part of applicants to have complied with this obligation to own a license?

    My appeal therefore is that the authorities concerned both the state government and the Federal Road Safety Commission should do something urgently to reverse this ugly and avoidable situation.

     

    •Olu Ajayi,

    Abeokuta.

  • Wardens’ woes

    Wardens’ woes

    • The plight of these workers demands our sympathy and change of policy

    A newspaper investigative report has exposed the pitiable plight of traffic wardens across the country. These officials in orange-and-black uniforms who are responsible for intra-city traffic control labour under conditions that are as bewildering as they are sad. The Traffic Warden Service (TWS) belongs to the Motor Traffic Department (MTD) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), but its officials are contemptuously regarded as lesser beings by the general duty policemen.

    To start with, according to the report, they hardly have proper offices, and in many cases have to change into their uniforms at beer parlours where they also keep their belongings for a fee. On the job, their careers stagnate for years, causing low morale, anguish and even life-threatening consequences. One of the victims of this absurdity laments, “I will be retiring next year after putting in 35 years in service to this country. Yet I am still a sergeant and will retire as a sergeant, while police officers who met me in this job have risen to Superintendent of Police (SP) or Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). If I was promoted normally, I should be a Deputy Superintendent of Traffic (DST) or Superintendent of Traffic (ST), but I am retiring as a sergeant.”

    This narrative has predictable adverse implications for the financial position and living condition of traffic wardens. Consequently, they live below the poverty line and are denizens of the slums. “The best our children can attain is the junior WAEC, after which they are forced to face the hard life,” says the sergeant who feels like “a useless father.”

    The hurdle in their path is Decree 21 of 1975 which established the traffic section and limits their rise to the rank of Senior Traffic Warden. Although the terminal rank was extended to Deputy Superintendent of Traffic following complaints by the Vanguard for the Actualisation of Traffic Wardens’ Autonomy (VANCTRAWACT), there has been little or no improvement in the career progression and welfare of the wardens. Many of them have been on the same rank in the last 10 years or more. The few who have been promoted are still awaiting confirmation of their promotion, seven to 10 years later.

    This state of affairs is baffling, considering the fact that the police affairs minister, under a presidential directive, set up an eight-member ad-hoc committee headed by Daniel Tifato to address the issue, and its report was submitted in November 2010. It is interesting that, as a result of its findings, the committee recommended a review of Decree 21 of 1975 and Section 59 of the Police Act, which were identified as impediments to the wardens’ cause.

    Furthermore, the committee proposed three options to resolve the lingering crisis. Firstly, that the TWS be granted autonomy as declared in the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, on May 18, 2000; TWS requires a clear-cut career structure to enable them rise to their peak; they should be given the opportunity to rise through regular promotion like their police colleagues; and they should be allowed to attend training and promotion courses alongside their NPF counterparts.

    Other options are that the cadre of traffic wardens should be abolished, renamed traffic police and merged with the MTD of the NPF; and lastly, that the TWS should be merged with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) or Vehicle Inspectorate Office (VIO) of various states.

    We agree with these recommendations, and wonder at governmental inaction. As a matter of urgency, the authorities should weigh the options and settle for the one that will be in the best interest of the wardens. Any further delay in responding to the recommendations will not only unjustly prolong the wardens’ woes; it will also compound the callousness of the powers-that-be.

  • Aviation sector woes

    Aviation sector woes

    •New policies are taking us back to the era we want to forget

    The deregulation of the aviation industry in Nigeria about two decades ago saw a substantial increase in the number of private airliners. But in recent years, the industry is in retreat. While generally, harsh business environment has contributed to the death of many airlines, we are worried that the situation has been aggravated in recent years. It is even more worrisome that despite the multi-billion naira Federal Government intervention in the sector, the situation seems to have deteriorated. As such, there is this incongruity of massive investment in exchange for greater woes in the aviation industry.

    Recently, the Federal Government set up a multi-billion naira lifeline to aid the ailing aviation sector, and the impression from government officials was that the industry was headed for a rebound. Despite this intervention, nearly all the private airlines have packed up, leaving only about three (of the 18 that were granted licenses to operate in the country in the last 10 years) in operation.

    The result is a throwback to the pre-deregulation era when travelling by air was such a tedious process, and also exploitative, as desperate passengers were compelled to bribe touts to gain access to the limited seats in the aircraft. With few airlines now running on major routes, Nigerians are suffering and the matter is made worse by the inefficiency of other means of transport.

    Even more annoying is that many of the airlines which benefited from the Federal Government’s intervention fund seem to have diverted the money to other ventures. While the aviation ministry has accused some airline owners of such diversion, it has not taken any concrete steps to bring those involved to account. Intriguingly, many of those accused of the diversions have also denied ever receiving the funds, without the federal authorities shutting them up with provable facts of their receipt of the money. Some that received the fund, still closed shop.

    Part of the fallout is the unprecedented increase in the number of private jets in the country. According to press reports, Nigeria is presently competing with China as the biggest market destination for private jets in the world. Indeed, a report in a national newspaper said that in 2007, there were a total of 20 private jets in Nigeria, which has now risen to 150. It also gave the average cost of a jet as 50 million dollars, which saw Nigerians spending about 225 million dollars on private jets between March 2010 and March 2011.

    The result is that the wealthy that could influence positive changes in the industry have all migrated to owning private airlines, leaving the rest of Nigerians at the mercy of the uncertainty and inefficiency in the commercial airline sector.

    The report also said that about 40,000 passengers daily suffer as a result of the inefficiency in the sector. Many Nigerians rue the decapitation of the Nigeria Airways, and the inability of the Federal Government to healthily regulate the private sector that took over the industry. Indeed, recently, one of the airlines that had issued tickets to passengers, simply closed shop, leaving their passengers stranded; without a word. A few of the airlines also died following their involvement in air disasters.

    While the defunct Nigeria Airways remains a sad commentary on how a public corporation with high hopes can be ruined by indiscipline and corruption, the private airlines appear not to have fared any better. With road and railway transportation still a nightmare, Nigerian air travellers may have to brace up for more hardship in the near future.

  • Governor blames Nigeria’s woes on bad leadership

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday blamed Nigeria’s problems on bad leadership and lack of political will to take critical decisions.

    The governor was the guest lecturer at the University of Nigeria Nsukka’s (UNN’s) Endowment Fund launch/lecture at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium of the university.

    In the lecture titled: Nigeria and the Leadership Question, the governor noted that democracy has failed in Nigeria and other African countries “because it was foolish to adopt American democracy completely without repackaging it in line with the cultures and traditions of the people”.

    Decrying the flawed electoral processes in Nigeria, Okorocha said: “If you conduct good elections in Nigeria, you will see that over 80 per cent of the people in government have no business there. There is so much imposition of leadership in Nigeria and that is why nothing is working. There is nothing wrong with the head but the head of the state.

    “What Nigeria is experiencing now is neo-colonialism. Everyday, our children line up at the American Embassy, looking for what? Why do we say people must pass English language and mathematics before they qualify for admission? That’s another form of neo-colonialism? Why don’t we say people must pass Igbo language?

    “The disease in our country is leadership and until this is solved, we can’t make any head way.”

    UNN Vice-Chancellor Prof. Bartho Okolo said the endowment fund would sustain the growth and development of the institution.

    “By today’s development, the university would be following in the footsteps of legacy institutions all over the world where such capital campaigns exist and are used to fund variety of projects, including infrastructure development, research and scholarship.”

  • NACCIMA blames govt for economic woes

    NACCIMA blames govt for economic woes

    The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the umbrella organisation for the Organised Private Sector (OPS) has said the Federal Government was responsible for most of the challenges facing the manufacturing sector. The association blamed the government for the economic woes the country is currently facing.

    Its President, Dr. Ademola Ajayi, said the government has not been able to provide the enabling environment that would encourage productive development, adding that without adequate infrastructure and access to funds, creation of jobs which is one of the priority areas would not be achieved.

    Ajayi described emerging challenges to include rising insecurity, especially the Boko Haram insurgency and the new electricity tariff introduced by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and corruption.

    He said the state of insecurity has reached an alarming stage that serious and concerted efforts must be made to provide solutions, adding that a proactive approach to security issues would guarantee a peaceful polity in which businesses would thrive and investors would be encouraged to come and invest.

    He urged the citizenry to be security conscious, adding government should embrace technology in providing security.

    “The time is virtually over for a security system that depends solely on men clutching guns and looking around. In advanced countries, including Israel and the Us, technology provides the tool for security agents to work with. It is also important for all of us to be security conscious,” he stated.

    Ajayi, also said the recent increase in electricity tariff should be revisited.

    The NACCIMA boss decried the discrepancies, querying the parameters used in determining who the rich and the poor were, especially where they were lumped together in different social environment.

    “For instance, an average man who happened to have secured a landed property in Ikoyi years back and built his house there among the rich, would the new tariff be fair to him? he queried.

    He said although NACCIMA is not opposed to the new tariff, what needs to be done, he stated, is for PHCN to have floated a six-month pilot operating scheme for the new structure.