The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Worrisome

  • Worrisome

    • Nigeria’s students’ vulnerability to drugs

    A recent claim that students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions represented an increasing percentage of drug abusers is a worrying reminder of the country’s inability to come to grips with a truly devastating scourge.

    Professor Jonathan Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo,  Osun State, stated that “virtually every university, polytechnic and other higher institutions in Nigeria … is battling with drug and substance abuse either quietly or openly.” Noting that the practice was capable of destroying lives and ruining careers, he said that Bowen would continue to maintain its zero-tolerance policies against drug use of any kind, in spite of increasing pleas for clemency from some quarters.

    Ogunwole’s thesis is largely correct. In its 2018 Survey Report, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimated that in 2017, 14.4 per cent or 14.3 million citizens aged between 15 and 64 years of age used drugs. This is disturbingly high when it is compared to the 2016 global drug use estimate of 5.6 per cent in adults.

    One in every four drug users in Nigeria is female. Cannabis is the most commonly-abused drug, followed by the non-medical use of opioids, tranquilizers and cough syrups. The south-east, south-west and south-south geopolitical zones witnessed the highest prevalence of drug use, ranging between 13.8 per cent and 22.4 per cent of the population, compared to northern Nigeria which ranged between 10 per cent and 14.9 per cent.

    Even though the NBS report states that drug use in 2017 was most common in citizens aged between 25 and 39 years of age, there can be little doubt that students in tertiary institutions have become an increasingly significant demographic.

    Tertiary institutions are the places where the country’s youth can be found at their most concentrated. It is there that they are subject to overwhelming peer-pressure, tempted by a wide variety of drugs and encouraged by a popular culture in which drug use is openly encouraged and blatantly celebrated.

    Unlike the past when drug use was characterised by secrecy and shame, it is not uncommon to see students openly indulging themselves in bars and restaurants, at musical concerts, sports meetings, parties and television-viewing centres. A sinister trade in selling drugs has grown exponentially alongside increased drug use in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, facilitated by secret cult groups, internet fraudsters and other criminal gangs.

    The consequences of this lamentable situation are alarming. Quite apart from the negative impact on studies, relationships and productivity, drug users are often vulnerable to a host of health problems, especially sexually-transmitted infections stemming from risky sexual behaviour, and psychological issues.

    Since the country’s tertiary institutions are on the frontline of the campaign against drug abuse, they will have to scale up the comprehensiveness of their response to the problem. In this regard, it is not enough to proffer short speeches about the dangers of drug abuse at orientation ceremonies without follow-up action.

    All institutions must have effective counselling units run by experienced professionals able to offer cogent advice to students. A continuous process of enlightenment should be put in place consisting of talks, films and visits to drug-rehabilitation facilities. There should be greater enforcement of regulations against drug use and sale; increased collaboration with the police and other security agencies may be necessary to clamp down on the criminal gangs operating on campuses.

    Ultimately, however, what is most required is a change in prevailing attitudes. The blatant celebration of drug use and abuse in popular culture must be consistently discouraged. As a country with a host of development issues, Nigeria cannot afford to be seduced by the western world’s increasing drift towards the decriminalisation of recreational drugs; what is good for them is not necessarily good for everyone.

  • Speaker: Lagos traffic has become worrisome

    Lagos State House of Assembly has urged Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to direct Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) Officials  to intensify traffic control.

    Speaker Mudashiru Obasa said the traffic problem had become worrisome.

    Obasa, who raised the matter in plenary yesterday, said it was the government’s duty to ensure free flow of traffic.

    “This is one of the duties of LASTMA. We should call on Governor Ambode to order LASTMA to ensure free flow of traffic.

    “LASTMA officials should stop folding their arms, while motorists and okada riders do whatever they like on the roads. Any official that fails to perform his or her duty should be sanctioned. We need to take steps on this,” he said.

    The Speaker ordered the Clerk, Mr. Azeez Sanni, to write the family of the LASTMA official, Adeyemo Rotimi, who was killed by an officer of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) in Iyana Ipaja last month.

    He said the House Committee on Transport should visit the bereaved family.

    “Something must be done about the gridlock all the same.  LASTMA officials are paid salaries. We know that this is Yuletide period, but we must ensure that there is free flow of traffic.

    “We will write the governor to call on LASTMA and VIS to ensure free flow of traffic. Motorists should obey traffic laws.

    “We sympathise with LASTMA for losing one of their officials. We want the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to initiate a process of compensation for the family of the deceased,” Obasa said.

     

  • Nigeria’s rising debt profile worrisome, says Moghalu

    Nigeria’s rising debt profile worrisome, says Moghalu

    Former CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, in charge of Financial System Stability, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has described Nigeria’s rising debt burden as worrisome.

    In a statement, he said history shows that reliance on foreign loans have failed to contribute to the economic growth and development of the country.

    In recent years, the national debt has risen to over N19 trillion, with two-thirds of Nigeria’s tax revenue presently applied to servicing debt annually.

    Speaking during an interview, Moghalu, who was also former United Nations official, advocated for a more efficient, effective and innovative fiscal management of Nigeria’s needs, arguing that state and federal governments should generate revenue internally.

    “The federal government recently requested the approval of a $5.5 billion foreign loan from the National Assembly, but when you consider that more than 60 per cent of revenues earned in Nigeria already goes into debt servicing, the country is clearly moving into dangerous territory”, he said.

    Emphasising the importance of policy readjustments in Nigeria, Moghalu stated that when countries continue to borrow, there is very little left to fund services and development, which in turn affects important social infrastructure such as health and education.

    “Nigerian governments consistently claim to be focused a lot on physical infrastructure, but they fail to deliver excellently in terms of the quality of such projects. The percentage of Nigeria’s spending on development is one of the lowest in Africa. But that does not mean we have to increase taxes. We can stimulate the economy and build infrastructure by improving tax collection. All of these can be achieved when there’s good leadership and citizen accountability,”Moghalu added.

    Addressing the argument that Nigeria’s Debt-to-Gross Domestic Product remains low at 19 per cent which makes it safer to borrow more, the financial expert called it shallow thinking. He said that for a developing country like Nigeria, what matters is the debt service- to-revenue ratio, which should concern every Nigeria.

    This also builds on the recent red flag raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which reiterated that debt servicing costs were becoming a burden on Nigeria, as the international body pointed out that the debt service costs gulped about 66 per cent of government’s revenue in 2017.

     

  • The worrisome state of Nigerian economy

    I am prompted to write after reading the Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) as released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the month of April 2016. The report was released on May 2nd. For the purpose of education and enlightenment, The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI),  is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector. The PMI index is based on five major indicators: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment. Going through latest figures, we will all agree that the federal government under President Mohammadu Buhari need to act swiftly to avoid the country going into recession. I am not here to apportion blame, but it is always necessary to point fingers at the man at the helm of affairs.

    Manufacturing industries represent a vital part of any economy. Bigger and more powerful nations across the world feel jittery whenever figures are rolled out probably it might not be favourable. I expect our leaders to do same after they should have gone through CBN’s PMI for April 2016. As a matter of fact, the document showed that Nigeria’s PMI went down to record low. Again, for more insight, a composite PMI reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing/non-manufacturing economy is generally expanding, 50 percent indicates no change, and  below 50 percent indicates that it is generally declining. Alas! Our economy is now clearly declining and at a faster rate. This should raise concern among everyone irrespective of party affiliations.

    How do we describe a situation where the economy has declined so low to 43%? This is the same economy that was at 54% in September 2014, I am concerned, out of the 16 manufacturing sectors chosen by CBN during the period of the research, only 4 industries shows a growing tendency. As a matter of fact, only cement industry shows a serious sign of growth on our economy, no thanks to Dangote Cement Plc and Larfarge/WAPCO who invested a lot in the sector for for mass production for local consumption as well as exportation. Contrarily, all other sectors including petroleum & coal, chemical and pharmaceutical products, furniture & related products, textile, apparel, leather and footwear and host others are declining faster.

    Since we all know what can be the last implications of these trends, it is high time we call on the leadership of our dear nation to rise to the task. Nigeria cannot afford a recession, as it is.  Poverty is already ravaging the land, hunger and anger have become the nature of the man on the street, homelessness, lack of access to good health and education etc. In all honesty, the new administration is trying in its efforts, but is it enough?

    To stem this economy from further declining, we need stimulus to aid growth. A number of jobs lost in recent months need to be absorbed back into the system. It is clear that the price of crude oil might end up fluctuating as it is today, why could our government not  spell out their plans for us at least to give Nigerians a hope of a better tomorrow. The major issue with any government across the world is the distance between them and those that they governed.

    The unnecessary gulf always leads to the non-balance of information, at  long last, the leaders themselves always pay but in a hard way. I hope President Mohammadu Buhari and his team will be humble enough to listen to know the feelings of their citizens and act fast before the silent dogs start barking.

    • Ogunseye is a UK based social commentator
  • Worrisome body-snatching

    Worrisome body-snatching

    •Three abductions in Lagos in one week is sure to make stakeholders wary

    First, it was Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Lagos, that was abducted Monday last week and released five days later, after his family had reportedly paid a ransom of N15 million. Last Tuesday, a 16-year-old pupil of American International School, Lagos, was reportedly kidnapped on his way to school. There was no clue as to his whereabouts up till the end of last week and no demand was yet made. The third case was a lady by the name of Nnena Edu said to have been kidnapped in front of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, Sunday, last week. She was released three days later.

    It is not that there had not been cases of kidnapping in Lagos State, but they were few and far between. Witnessing three successive and, shall we say, successful cases in one week in different parts of the city portends a sad augury. All stake-holders – from the government, security agencies, corporate bodies and Lagosians generally – must be wary of this monster creeping, so to speak, into their city.

    Kidnapping for ransom has been a Nigerian scourge for well over a decade now, ravaging the south-south and then the South-east parts of Nigeria. Emanating as part of the Niger Delta youth uprising and militancy when expatriates, especially in the oil sector were abducted routinely to press home their point, kidnapping soon spread to adjoining states and regions because it turned out quite ‘lucrative.’ It soon became the rave in the south-east zone, as unemployed youths and tertiary institutions’ students found in it, a relatively easy and risk-free means of getting rich quick.

    As we have canvassed on this page several times, the syndrome of kidnapping for ransom is merely symptomatic of the malaise in the polity. Ineffectual leadership, flailing economy and massive corruption have left a multitude of youths jobless and untended. There is hardly a modicum of governance or economy in most of the 774 local government areas (LGAs) across the country. This is a vast swathe of the country left unharnessed and unproductive. While a few city centres seem to thrive, the LGAs have become comatose, if not moribund. Huge commercial activities that ought to take place in the LGAs in a proper three three-tier structure are non-existent.

    By the same token, the security agencies, especially the police, have become overwhelmed and incapacitated by the much daunting environment they operate in. Over the years, they have become poorly trained and ill-equipped to be able to contain the kidnapping scourge. What therefore started in the Niger-Delta as a symbol of protest has metamorphosed into a huge criminal enterprise and spreading into nearly every part of the country. Virtually no day passes without a case of kidnapping in states like Anambra, Imo, Edo, Delta and now, in the south-west states.

    Though cases of abductions have been reported recently in states like Ekiti, Ondo and Osun, the recent manifestations in Lagos would leave not a few residents worried. The mega-city, with her more-than-capable governor has long been considered as the model state in terms of maintaining order, peace and security. With a well-oiled security fund managed by a well-appointed committee, the Babatunde Fashola administration has managed to keep the city under control within tolerable limits. Vice and criminal activities had hitherto been within bearable levels.

    But this seems to be changing recently. Armed robbery gangs have threatened to overwhelm the state and violent street gangs have been on the increase, causing deaths and much unease in many neighbourhoods. And now it is abductions. Lagos has represented a model city state for the rest of the country in the last few years; it has been an exemplar of how governments should be organised in nearly all ramifications as it created templates that have been widely copied across the country.

    We urge the state government to run critical reviews in some of its systems, especially the laudable security model which had functioned considerably well. We refer particularly to the incipient surge in body snatching and suggest a holistic approach and an entirely new template in order to nip it in the bud.