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Opposition parties confirm fresh talks on consensus candidate

30/03/2011 No comments

Opposition parties confirm fresh talks on consensus candidate

The Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
yesterday announced that they are still holding discussions on the
possibility of presenting a common presidential candidate, less than
two weeks to the presidential election.

Some northern
politicians, under the aegis of Arewa Youth Action for Change (ACAC),
are reportedly engaged in discussions with the presidential candidates
of the CPC, Muhammadu Buhari; his All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and
ACN counterparts, Ibrahim Shekarau and Nuhu Ribadu with a view to
getting one of them to contest the election. The three candidates are
from the northern part of the country.

The national
publicity secretary of the CPC, Rotimi Fashakin, who confirmed that Mr
Buhari is involved in the talks with the northern politicians and
elders, explained yesterday that the party accepted to join in the
discussions because of the quest to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) at the federal level.

“The discussions
are still on. In politics, negotiations don’t end because it involves
give and take. On our part, we are open to such negotiations so far
they do not depreciate our values or what we stand for,” Mr Fashakin
said yesterday.

The three parties
had been discussing a possible merger, but they could not agree on a
common candidate and therefore held separate primaries.

Mr Fashakin faulted scepticism that the discussions are coming too late, as the presidential election is coming up on April 9.

“In politics, even 24 hours is a long time not to talk of almost two weeks. That is like eternity in politics,” he said.

Mr Fashakin,
however, said that Mr Buhari will not step down for either Mr Ribadu or
Mr Shekarau, insisting that the former military ruler is the best
candidate among the three. He said the CPC candidate is the only one
capable of defeating the PDP at the polls as according to him he has
the widest acceptability.

“You don’t go to an
examination and tell the brightest candidate to hand over his first
position to the second or third candidate. This is antithetical to
rationality. It is not something you will readily see,” he said.

“I am saying that
of all the northern candidates, Buhari commands the most acceptability
in the broad spectrum of the Nigerian people. He has the greatest
chance to defeat the PDP. Unless you want to bring in other issues,
Buhari stands out as the best candidate, considering his pedigree and
character.”

Ibrahim Modibbo,
the spokesperson for Mr Ribadu confirmed that discussions between the
three candidates and some northern politicians are still going on.

Mr Modibbo refused
to speak on who the possible choice will be, but pointed out that the
closeness of the talks to the election day will not affect the
candidate.

Concern over Jonathan’s wife

The CPC also
faulted the recent meeting between Patience Jonathan and female
candidates across the country, during which Mrs Jonathan and the wife
of the vice president, Zainab Sambo donated money to the 809
candidates, who are contesting on the platform of various political
parties.

Mr Fashakin yesterday said the party is concerned about the source of the money.

“The Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) has noted with dismay the unwholesome
activities of the First Lady in the name of women participation in
politics. As a party, we were reticent in divulging the contact details
of our female candidates because the motive for the request was quite
opaque to us,” he said.

The CPC also said
it was satisfied with the decision of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) to adopt the Modified Open Secret Ballot
System, whereby the Nigerian voters would wait to have their votes
counted after casting their votes.

“The CPC welcomes this ingenious decision at ensuring transparency for our electoral process,” the statement said.

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NON-FICTION: They call me Alhaja

29/03/2011 No comments

NON-FICTION: They call me Alhaja

My father’s people call me Alhaja It’s the same name they called my grandmother who died when I was four.

When she returned
from Mecca, she earned the society’s credentials for a Muslim woman who
has been on pilgrimage to the joint capital with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A man would be called Alhaji.

Grandma returned
from Mecca with a golden tooth and wore a golden skull cap made of wire
mesh on her head, before she tied her gele on it, before she headed for
the market where she was a woman leader. She carried me by strapping me
on her back. Well, I could walk, but she preferred that I didn’t. This
is what I always remember of her. It is the other things that they say
about me and her, that I don’t. And for this reason, I desired to know
how I earned her name. And this is because, for a long time, it did not
occur to me that my grandma could have a name other than Alhaja. It did
not matter that her mate – her best friend and my step grandmother –
was also called Alhaja, which we differentiated it with a prefix Elepo,
as she, sold palm-oil.

Now, as a grown-up,
I have come to understand that every Yoruba Muslim family has its own
Alhaja, and where there is more than one person of such appellations,
relatives distinguish them by locations – Alhaja Surulere or Alhaja
Ibadan; or even by size – Alhaja Small or Alhaja big.

I earned a name
from grandma – and I did not have to be a Muslim or take a trip to
Mecca to get that. For typically, as a Yoruba, should I have needed to
get respect for coming back as her, I might have borne names like
Iyabo, Yewande – a reincarnated mother – should I have waited until her
death to be born. Yet, I am treated as a reincarnate. Things like extra
chicken where the others get one, lots of gift, and a blossoming
relationship between Father, who sees me beyond his daughter. I was his
mother. So I can always walk up to him and talk of the others’ domestic
shortcomings. I was a mouthpiece for anyone in my home that could not
approach my disciplinarian father.

A change occurred.
One of my aunts visited my parents, whom I still live with, and patted
me on the back – again. Then her hand fondled my chin – embarrassing me
into self-consciousness now that I am a matured woman. She rendered a
brief panegyric – originally my grandma’s – and lots of prayers on
advancement, prosperity and opportunities. Then she said as she left,
‘Alhaja, my mother, take care of your father.’ Ok. There’s a problem
here. (I didn’t tell her that bit). Her parting propped up a decision
in me. I decided to remember or assume how my name change occurred. It
would perhaps make a definition of my duties as a batoned grandmother
easier.

Again, my decision
is borne of the fact that I feel like someone who has borne another’s
name for too long, and not even with benefits of sharing the
responsibilities that should come with it. Should there be need for
any. And so I impressed it upon myself to assume a mental
responsibility of being a big aunt, mother or cousin to my paternal
relatives, allowing my quiet to inhabit the grandeur of that space of
deference which I am accorded.

Nothing mattered
for a while, until recently, when a friend, flipping through my photo
album, remarked about how much I look like my late grandmother. Again I
picked up a photograph of the woman and pictured the nose, flamboyant
at the extremes, yet it would not pass as the typical African nose. It
was too small. Her lips, full as mine, would not curve towards the
chin; hers was spread into a smile – perpetual. Her eyes, even in the
black and white photograph, were intense and questioning. What colour
were her eyes. Mine are deep brown, under the lights, and they are like
sundials with chocolate spread. I looked deeper. The picture wouldn’t
tell.

My grandmother’s
love grew out of the stories I heard concerning my fondness for her.
Fondly, mother would express how she died, ‘a good death’ – in her
sleep. ‘She went to the market and slept.’ Her death did not amount to
much performance. She lived, and then died.

Father, an only
child to his mother, would sometimes look at me with a smile afloat on
his face. Finally, if in a too-light mood, he would tell me how I would
sit, sleep, and eat with her when I was younger. ‘No one could take
your hijab from you,’ he said. ‘You really loved her.’ ‘I did?’ ‘And
every weekend we knew we had to take you to stay over at her place.’
‘At grandpa’s house, abi?’ I smiled at that. The house in question was
my grandfather’s. I grew up knowing the place as the ‘Sallah house’ (Id
el kabir). Many years after, grandma died, my father still celebrated
Sallah on her behalf, calling the mosque to say prayers on her behalf
and afterwards there was so much fried meat for the children to eat.
Yet, I could not remember this Alhaja whom I looked so much like.

‘What did I do when
she died?’ ‘Well you cried.’ ‘Just cried?’ ‘Yes. Or what else would you
have done?’ Crying was alright, but there was a part of me that trusted
that I could have done something else.

So I became again,
that four-year-old, whose beloved is lowered into the earth, holding
the edge of her mother’s dress. Crying? Just crying, could not be
alright, if I really loved her and became her. Then, I wondered if it
was a divine plan at the time to understudy her before she died. It
didn’t work out. I am a writer. I didn’t turn out a trader.

Perhaps in death,
people will wonder aloud, how death took away a kind-hearted and
helpful human. Until then, I explored the realities, which showed me
that understudying her did not work out.

Perhaps before
then, I was there besides her when she died, pulling her rigid body to
wake for prayers, at dawn? The mosque calling for prayers and the rush
of a tenement building – scrambling, screaming and stifled shouting.
But what did I do after that? My mind could not pull through, I let it
pass.

Father said I was
at home with them when she died. That someone brought the message to
them and I was in the living room with everyone else.

So I imagined a
great scream from my mother once some-somebody came to deliver the
message. Her cry halted the teasing from my two elder brothers. We all
stilled, unsure of what happened. Perhaps, at the time, I was hungry.
My brothers understood that something was wrong with grandma, but I
didn’t. So I waited for everyone to calm down and I acted normally, but
the people around me didn’t. They petted me, cuddled me, offered me
help….

Perhaps the next
morning, mother would not leave the kitchen. Her younger and elder
sister – both known as big mummy to me, stayed with her. Then my aunts,
uncles and some other people whom I had never met came to see my
father. Not one along kokoro, biscuits and go-go sweets, like grandma
always did when she came for a visit. They patted me on the back and
sat close to my father. Fondled my chin, one after the other. Then a
family meeting began – loud, whispers, cries and again talks.

Between, their talks. Food was served. It was not a party, but a lot of people around.

Perhaps a part of
me, said: ‘something is amiss. Grandma is not a part of the meeting. So
I walked outside, and hoped to see grandma, who would arrive with the
usual delicacies.

I remained outside, until, the visitors came out one after the
other, patting my head and smiling kindly – than normal to me. One
after the other, they gave me her name, ‘Alhaja…’

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No award for domestic violence

29/03/2011 No comments

No award for domestic violence

Historically, no one
has ever won a medal for battery, rape, incest, or any other form of
violence against women. It is also certain that no one will ever receive
or give an award for violence. Why then the increase in the occurrence
of domestic violence in recent times?

Violence within the
home is dangerous and unfortunate because often times one runs home from
outside for protection if there is any danger. Experiencing danger
within the confines of the home is no doubt a double tragedy.

Domestic violence is
systematic behaviour used to control an intimate partner by the other
partner in a relationship; it is often perpetrated by the male over the
female – women and young girls. Unfortunately, also, this control is
sustained by culture and religious interpretations that recognise male
control as normal.

Continuous silence
and denial of the health and social implications of abuse is not good
for the people. As it is today, domestic violence is under-estimated and
unreported.

Domestic violence
can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or
gender. It can happen to couples who are married, living together, or
who are dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socio-economic
backgrounds and educational levels.

According to
paragraph 112 of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action:
“Violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies the
enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. In
all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women and girls are
subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across
lines of income, class and culture.”

The socialisation of
boys and men is a major contributory factor to the increase in the
occurrence of violence at home. The belief that men are superior to
women has turned most men into wife batterers because they feel that the
women are their subjects and should be under their control. Some women
have been battered even during pregnancies and have either had
miscarriages or lost their lives as a result.

Domestic Violence
Against Women (DVAW) is a major public health and human rights problem
throughout the world. Therefore, the continuous divide between the
private and public in cases of violence against women should be
discontinued. The fact that domestic violence happens behind closed
doors is enough reason to make it a pubic affair, to stop its further
perpetuation.

It is important for
the government to carry out studies on domestic violence to establish
its effects on the health, education, and criminal justice system. The
government cannot afford to hold back because it affects a significant
part of its population.

Indirectly, the
government’s social welfare packages respond to cases that are
aftermaths of domestic violence. In the process, a lot of human and
material resources are committed. From all indications, reducing the
occurrence of violence against women will automatically reduce the
extent of government’s expenses on social welfare schemes.

The award of
excellence, if developed at all, should be targeted at governments that
do their homework in reducing the occurrence of domestic violence
against women and which respond swiftly to any such situations.

Violence, whether
within the home or in the public, is a violation of the right of its
victims. It is also inconsistent with accepted human norms and must,
therefore, STOP. Violence in whatever form is not a culture to be
tolerated.

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Heavy shooting erupts in western Cote d’Ivoire

29/03/2011 No comments

Heavy shooting erupts in western Cote d’Ivoire

Heavy clashes broke
out on Monday in the town of Duekoue, in western Cote d’ Ivoire, between
forces loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and his rival in an election
dispute, residents and combatants said.

Duekoue has remained
under Mr. Gbagbo’s control since Cote D’Ivoire’s 2002-3 civil war, but
rebels who seized the north of the country and now back his rival
Alassane Ouattara have pushed towards the town as the country’s
post-election crisis turns increasingly violent.

The rebels said they
had taken Duekoue, lying in a region that produces around 250,000
tonnes of cocoa a year for the world’s top grower.

“The town of Duekoue
has been under our control since 7 a.m. (0700 GMT). We are conducting
search operations throughout,” said Lacine Mara, a spokesman for
pro-Ouattara forces in the west.

Mr. Gbagbo’s forces confirmed the fighting but said they remained in control of at least part of the town.

“Our men have been
in combat since about 2 a.m. (0200 GMT) this morning with the rebels,
who tried to take the town. We control one part and they control the
other,” said Yao Yao, operations chief of Gbagbo’s Front for the
Liberation of the Great West (FLGO) militia.

A violent dispute
over the presidential election last November that was meant to draw a
line under the country’s civil war has instead restarted it, after Mr.
Gbagbo refused to step down despite U.N.-certified results showing that
he lost.

Up to one million
Ivoriens have now fled fighting in the main city Abidjan alone. Others
have been uprooted across the country and around 100,000 from the west
have crossed into neighbouring Liberia, according to the U.N. refugee
agency.

Pro-Ouattara forces
have already seized four towns in the west and Mr. Gbagbo’s forces fear
that if they capture enough important towns, they will be able to march
south to the port of San Pedro, which ships about half Ivory Coast’s
cocoa crop.

“The rebels want to
take Duekoue and Guiglo so they can easily descend on San Pedro,” Mr.
Yao Yao said. “We won’t let them.” The violent stand-off has led to 462
confirmed deaths, according to the U.N. Last week around 15,000
pro-Gbagbo youths turned up at army headquarters to enlist, raising
fears that all out civil war is now unavoidable.

“Since this morning,
the military and the militias have been fighting with the rebels, who
have taken control of the main road leading to (rebel-held) Man,” said
cocoa trader Daouda Fadika. “We’re hearing heavy weapons fire and
Kalashnikovs.” A Reuters reporter in the main city of Abidjan also
reported shooting and heavy arms fire on Monday, from areas where
insurgents seeking to oust Gbagbo are pushing towards the city centre.

Ouattara has been internationally recognised as president but remains
holed up in an Abidjan hotel, protected by a ring of U.N. peacekeepers.

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Court orders electoral body to get new resident commissioner

29/03/2011 No comments

Court orders electoral body to get new resident commissioner

A Federal High Court
sitting in Osogbo, Osun State has restrained the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) from using Rufus Oluwatooyin Akeju as the
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the state. The court further
directed INEC directed INEC to immediately appoint another REC for the
state.

The State chapter
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had dragged INEC and Mr Akeju
before the court citing allegations of bias against Mr Akeju and
describing him as a “sympathiser” of the Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN). Mr Akeju hails from Lagos State and is believed to have been
nominated for the post by the Lagos State government.

Presiding judge,
Babs Kuewumi in his ruling restrained Mr Akeju from conducting the
election in Osun State and also restrained INEC from using him in the
state as the REC in the coming elections.

The PDP while
citing Section 14 (3) of the 3rd Schedule to the 1999 constitution
sought for a declaration that Mr Akeju cannot impartially conduct or
supervise the conduct of a credible election in Osun state in April
2011.

The case

In an originating
summons deposed to by the state PDP counsel, Kayode Adesiyan, the party
explained that based on the allegation of bias levelled against Mr
Akeju, the court should order INEC to transfer him from Osun State to
any other state in Nigeria to conduct or supervise the conduct of the
April 2011 general elections and appoint a new REC for Osun State.

The party also asked
for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd defendant
(Akeju) from conducting or supervising in any manner whatsoever the
conduct of elections into various political positions in April 2011 in
Osun State.

The state PDP
further urged the court to grant, “An order of injunction directing the
1st Defendant (INEC) to appoint forthwith or transfer a new Resident
Electoral Commissioner to conduct or supervise the conduct of April 2011
elections in Osun state”.

In a 28-paragraphs
affidavit in support of the originating summons which was deposed to by a
member of the Elder Caucus of the PDP in Osun state, Raphael Ayotunde
Towobola, he alleged among other things that prior to the appointment of
Mr Akeju as the REC, he had lived and worked in Lagos State as a
Special Assistant in the government of former Governor of Lagos State,
Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He explained that by
virtue of his former position, he was under the strong influence of Mr
Tinubu, a leader and chieftain of ACN, a political party which is
presently governing Osun State and that he cannot claim to be non
partisan.

Mr Towobola cited an
instance where a member of the ACN in Atakunmosa-East Local Government
during the last registration exercise seized and broke the Direct Data
Capturing Machine and he was promptly arrested by the police but instead
of Akeju to ensure the prosecution of the culprit, he swiftly “directed
the police to release the criminal.”

Presiding judge, Mr Kuewumi adjourned the matter till 6th of April, 2011.

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Aregbesola defends absence of commissioners in administration

29/03/2011 No comments

Aregbesola defends absence of commissioners in administration

Four months after
Rauf Aregbesola was sworn in as the governor of Osun State, the
government claims that it has not appointed commissioners because it is
trying to resolve the political crises in the state. According to the
spokesperson to the governor, Semiu Okanlawon, The administration of Mr
Aregbesola has in the hundred days of being in office achieved more than
so many states with commissioners and endless list of political aides.
He added that, “you will also recall the kind of challenges we met on
ground. The kind of the composition of the House of Assembly, the House
of Assembly that even the ordinary list of the local government
caretaker committees suffer a kind of hardship that it suffers in their
hands, because of the composition.

“You will agree
with me that bringing in the list of the commissioners could even bring
in a bigger headache. So, rather than giving much energy into how to
force the list of the commissioners, which you know that some of the
people in the House are going to stand against, then why not concentrate
on other things which are going to benefit the people of the state and
wait and look for better opportunities when appointing commissioners?”
Mr Okanlawon said.

Commissioners’ list to be presented soon

When asked about the
relationship between the Osun State legislators and the executive, the
speaker, Bello Adejare told NEXT he was at a meeting and would be
commenting on the issues when called in a later date.

But speaking on the issue, Sunday Akere, who is the spokesperson of
the Action Congress of Nigerian (ACN), said Mr Aregbesola is not afraid
of presenting the list to the House of Assembly, claiming that the list
will be presented in a matter of days time. “Why would he be afraid of
presenting the list? Ogbeni Aregbesola and those working with him has
been wonderful and doing fine even without commissioners. Though when we
came in the issues in the house was huge, but we all know that we now
have equal representation in the House, so why are we going to start
waiting for the election before we present the list? Don’t worry, it is a
matter of days,” he said Mr. Okanlawon however also argued that “the
question here is that even without commissioners, this government has
achieved greater feat even than some governors that have commissioners.”

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Activists blame governors for political violence

29/03/2011 No comments

Activists blame governors for political violence

A coalition of civil
society organisations monitoring the 2011 general elections has said,
state governors are largely responsible for the political violence being
experienced across Nigeria. Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a press
conference organised by the 2011 Nigeria Election Situation Room,
comprising more than 40 civil society organisations, Jibrin Ibrahim,
executive director of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), said
the raging violence poses a serious threat to the conduct of free, fair
and credible general elections across the country in April.

“The unprecedented
levels of violence that have seen several people either killed, maimed,
kidnapped or intimidated for political reasons pose the single most
significant threat to the conduct of general elections beginning in only
a few days,” the group said.

Furthermore, he
said, the coalition attributed the violence mostly to the actions of
governors in specific states who have worked to prevent opposition
parties from equal access to public venues for campaigns.

The group listed
such states where incumbent governors have muscled opposition as Akwa
Ibom, Ebonyi, Imo, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers and Benue,
among others.

Mr Ibrahim also
said the findings of the group reveal that most political parties are
busy funding and recruiting thugs to inflict violence on their
opponents, thus turning the elections into contests of might rather than
of ideas.

“The situation room
raised the concern that the on-going violence could hinder large voter
turn out on election days, as genuine voters may be frightened away from
polling unit out of fear of being attacked. It calls on the police
authorities to do more,” he said.

Resist violence

Furthermore, the
civil society coalition called on Nigerians, particularly the youth, to
resist being recruited as thugs by political parties. The group said the
youth should realise that they will be the ones who will suffer the
consequence of being used as instruments of violence.

It commended the
guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) for voting, which provides for accreditation of voters before
votes are cast. “The situation room was satisfied with the procedure
that requires voters to first be accredited between the hours of 8 am
and 12noon, before they then turn up to vote between 12.30pm and 4pm.
The measures, if well implemented, will reduce voting abuses,” he said.

The group is also
happy with INEC’s announcement that voters could peacefully observe
voting at polling units and collation centres. He said this will further
reduce the manipulation and switching of votes on election day.

The Situation Room
is made up of groups such as Action Aid Nigeria, Transition Monitoring
Group, Centre for Democracy and Development, Justice Development and
Peace Commission, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, CLEEN Foundation and
Community Life Project, among others.

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Jonathan to push for legislation to protect teachers

29/03/2011 No comments

Jonathan to push for legislation to protect teachers

President Goodluck
Jonathan has promised to push for legislation that will upgrade the
current status of primary education and protect the teaching profession.

He made the promise
yesterday in response to requests from a delegation of the Nigeria Union
of Teachers (NUT) who paid him a courtesy call at the State House,
Abuja.

The meeting is part
of the president’s series of consultations with various interest groups
across the country ahead of next month’s general elections.

Mr Jonathan, who
described himself as a member of NUT and the Science Teachers
Association of Nigeria (STAN), said laws are made for good governance
and his administration will ensure that the laws of the land protect the
educational system in order to ensure that the system produces quality
pupils and students.

“As a nation, we
must work together. I always say that no one owns the nation. Laws are
made for good governance, and that is why we have a National Assembly.
We just changed the constitution because of the elections; so, if we
have to amend the constitution to protect the teaching profession to
ensure that we produce pupils and students that will have qualitative
education, there is nothing wrong.” Mr Jonathan also promised to speed
up action on the establishment of the National Secondary Education
Commission in order to support the Universal Basic Education Commission
which caters for pre-primary, primary and adult and non formal
education.

“We are studying
final proposal and we will set up a commission for Secondary Schools, in
order to lay a solid foundation for tertiary education in the country,”
he said.

Living wage wanted

The National
President of NUT, Michael Olukoya, appealed to Mr Jonathan to push for
legislation that will give teachers a professional national wage
structure and reflect the status, profession and societal relevance of
teachers in the country.

“Nigerian teachers are among the worst paid professionals not only in Africa but in the entire world,” he said.

“ A critical
problem which has for years defied solution is the status of primary
education, which today, stands out as an orphan which no one wants to
own up to. Whereas the federal government says it has no role to play in
that sector, except through intervention fund under the Universal Basic
Education Act, the state governments claim that primary education is
the responsibility of the local government.” He further commended the
President for the Presidential Summit on Education held in October 2010
and the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on Education and
promised to support him to realise his political ambition.

The Education
minister, Aisha Ruqqayatu, Labour minister Emeka Nwogu, minister of
state for Education, Kenneth Gbagi, minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze,
Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe and Information minister, Labaran Maku
were in attendance.

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Market agency moves to enforce new rules

29/03/2011 No comments

Market agency moves to enforce new rules

Eager to achieve zero tolerance against infractions of its rules as a way to boost investors’ confidence in the nation’s capital market, the interim administration of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week got the approval of its council to sanction errant members.

While it already presented a draft of the recommended penalties to market operators, the Exchange said the implementation of the suggested punishments will take effect after a review of all comments and contributions received from operators, latest last Friday. Some of the penalties include issues on unauthorised sale of securities, shares, misappropriation of funds, third party transactions, and maintenance of clients’ accounts.

David Amaechi, an executive member of the Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said the recent move by the NSE “is a great step towards curbing abuses in the market such as insider trading,” common among stockbroking firms.

However, he said, “Regulators must go beyond just creating rules and regulations; they must start enforcing these rules, name names, and bring naughty dealers to book.”

He said investors’ confidence, which is presently at its lowest ebb, can only be gained back in the market “if regulators do their work well.”

The chairman of the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, Ola Yussuff, said the current market performance will see more improvement if the NSE does justice to operators involved in different market infractions, adding that “a standard market must be transparent to gain investors’ confidence.”

However, Mr. Yussuff, who is also the chief executive officer of Trust Yield Securities Limited, a stockbroking firm, said market regulators must ensure that dealing members not involved in any sharp practices in the market are treated fairly and encouraged.

“Stockbrokers are not as active as they should be right now because of the several problems in the market. The people that get more indigenous investors to come to the market are the stockbrokers who go about marketing in all the nook and cranny of the country. But they are presently not encouraged,” he said.

Clarity of rules

In the mean time, Arunma Oteh, director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a statement posted on SEC’s website last Thursday, said the new rules are meant to shape behaviour, set standards, and create a level playing field for participants in the market.

“Our assessment of the (global) crisis revealed that the absence or inadequate rules in some respects contributed to the scale of the crisis in Nigeria,” Ms. Oteh said.

Citing an example, she said the margin trading exposures of banks and brokerage firms was fuelled by the absence of adequate margin trading regulation.

“New rules have been introduced, while some existing ones were amended and others completely expunged to ensure alignment with international best practice,” Ms. Oteh said.

She said some of the new rules were introduced to encourage the emergence of new products, strengthen the protection of customer assets in the market, and improve financial reporting and governance of public companies.

“Some of the rules have emerged from the collaborative efforts of financial sector regulators. An example is the margin trading rules which were developed and have been jointly issued to banks and market operators by the Central Bank and the Commission,” the Exchange Commission’s boss said.

Last month, SEC enacted some new rules and amended some of its old rules and regulations. Some of the new rules include rules on negotiated settlement; conditions to grant waiver on bonds that are not backed by an irrevocable letter of authority; custodial services for registered collective investment schemes; securities lending and borrowing; and Exchange Traded Funds.

The Exchange Commission also said it approved the implementation of a new code of corporate governance for quoted companies, adding that the code will become effective from April 1.

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‘We cannot develop Africa without developing our young people’

29/03/2011 No comments

‘We cannot develop Africa without developing our young people’

The African Leadership Academy, based in South
Africa, is a world class school committed to grooming a new generation of
leaders that would be catalysts for transformation change on the continent. In
this interview, the founder, Fred Swaniker from Ghana, talks on the challenges
of development in Africa and how the academy is contributing to bring change to
the continent. The interview was conducted via email.

Fred, 34, had the idea of the academy while on
internship in Lagos. Since 2007, the African Leadership Academy has been at the
forefront of changing the fate of the continent by training young Africans who
are passionate about making a difference in the community

What are the criteria for
eligibility and your process for recruitment?

Recruitment begins with a number of Admissions officers working
throughout Africa to advertise ALA and encourage young people between the ages
of 16 and 19 with leadership potential to apply. The preliminary application
form asks them to write essays describing themselves and how they have changed
or influenced their communities. Our dedicated admissions team reads every
application and narrows around 3,000 initial applicants to a shortlist of
roughly 400 finalists.

We then invite these finalists to participate in “finalist
weekends”, which we hold in a variety of countries across the continent. During
these weekends we interview each applicant, test their academic readiness, and
take them through their paces with various group activities that give us a
sense of how they lead in group settings. Finalists then submit several more
essays and letters of recommendation. After this, we select approximately 100
young leaders who are invited to attend the Academy. We are looking for
leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, passion for Africa, dedication to
service, and academic potential.

How do you raise funds
for the academy?

We have a number of supporters and sponsors around the world who
contribute to our cause. We firmly believe that financial means (or lack
thereof) should not be a barrier to entering the academy. Our supporters are
both individuals and companies that offer varying levels of support from once
off donations to long term annual commitments or larger project-specific
grants.

We do also have a small contingent of fee-paying students that
covers some of our costs and every student (even those receiving significant
financial support) is expected to make at least a small contribution toward the
cost of the program.

So far, how would you
assess your journey at the ALA?

My journey at the Academy has been a very fulfilling one. Being
one of the founders, I am in the fortunate position of having been present from
the very beginning of the Academy’s development and I have been so thrilled to
watch it grow from strength to strength. It is consistently amazing to me how
something which started as an idea in business school has developed into an
institution that houses some of Africa’s most talented future leaders. I have
enjoyed every new step in the growth of ALA and I look forward to it continuing
to develop the next generation of African leaders.

When will the school
become a fully-fledged secondary school?

At the moment we do not have plans to develop into a
fully-fledged secondary school. ALA is supposed to be a pre-university program
providing the very best education and opportunities to develop Africa’s most
outstanding leaders. One of the things that make the ALA experience so
meaningful is the extraordinary sense of community our young leaders experience
on campus. Smaller numbers allow us to be dedicated to each young leader and to
develop their particular brand of leadership for Africa’s future.

While we have not ruled out expanding our initial two-year
full-time program to say 3 or 4 years, we do not have plans to do so at the
moment. We are however developing systems and an infrastructure to support our
young leaders after they leave our initial 2-year program and go on to
university and beyond.

Are there plans for a
primary school?

At the moment we have no plans to expand the Academy into a
primary school. The idea behind the academy is to source young people who have
shown potential for leadership within their own communities and so if we
recruit at too young an age, candidates would most likely not have had
opportunities to demonstrate the concrete acts of leadership we are looking
for.

What, in your view, is
the most serious issue facing the educational system in Africa?

One of the main problems we have identified is that African
schools often do not teach students about Africa. In a number of countries on
the continent, students are taught much more about European history, the geography
of the Americas, Western literature and very little or nothing about African
history, African geography, African politics and African literature. But how
can we solve our problems if we do not understand our history and our context?

So at ALA, we try to encourage an understanding for Africa as a
continent. We believe that with passion and a good understanding of the
dynamics of Africa, our young leaders will be more effective in bringing about
significant change on the continent. The other issue facing the educational
system in Africa is the “rote” learning that takes place in most schools. This
method encourages students to simply memorize facts as opposed to developing
their ability to think independently and solve problems in a creative manner.

We cannot develop Africa without developing our young people as
innovators, entrepreneurs, and creative thinkers. So at ALA, we adopt a much
more participatory approach to learning, in which students do not simply get
lectures from their teachers, but they are pushed to think for themselves and
to challenge conventional wisdom.

One thing that is
interesting is your concept of ethical leadership in Africa. Can you throw more
light on this?

Ethical leaders are committed to doing what is best for the
people of their country and continent – even if they must make personal
sacrifices to do so – and they have a strong moral compass which allows them to
steer clear of corruption and self-serving behaviour. Ethical leaders put the
needs of their people before their own. Ethical leaders understand the rich
diversity that makes Africa so unique and are willing to co-operate and
collaborate to create a future which is positive for the continent. Ethical
leadership is about doing your best, every day, to institute policies and
systems which uplift the downtrodden and promote equality, diversity and basic
human rights.

Your dream is to groom
6000 young African leaders within the next 50 years. Is this an ambitious
project or do you believe that this number is enough to bring about the kind of
change you desire and which is needed on the continent?

We believe that a critical mass of 6000 leaders will set in
motion a self-reinforcing cycle of transformative change across Africa. These
leaders will implement systems and design policies that will, in turn encourage
the development of more ethical leaders. It is a very ambitious project, and we
are conscious of the enormity of the task. We know that what this Academy seeks
to achieve is daunting in its scale but we firmly believe that we can achieve
our goal: The goal of a peaceful and prosperous Africa.

We have seen effort by
the MO Ibrahim foundation to encourage responsible leadership in Africa and how
nearly improbably this has been. Do you sincerely believe that the problem of
Africa is just leadership or more the absence of strong institutions?

There are many problems facing our continent and there are a
variety of projects we could involve ourselves in, which seek to solve those
problems. While ethical leadership might not be the most visceral or tangible
challenge facing the continent today (in contrast to something like poverty or
HIV/Aids), we believe that leadership is the key to finding the solutions to
all of Africa’s other problems.

If we train leaders in politics, they will help implement the
policies that create work and alleviate poverty and debt. If we create leaders
in health care, they will help solve the problems of infectious diseases like
HIV/AIDS. If we create entrepreneurial leaders, they will build companies that
can create jobs for the millions who are unemployed on the continent. It is
true that the lack of strong institutions is problematic in the African
context; however, we believe that the right leaders will be able to develop new
institutions and redesign ineffective ones. Leadership is a catalyst for
positive change in all segments and sectors of business and society – and it is
for this reason that it is our overriding focus.

Some people believe that
Africa’s problems can only be solved by home grown solutions. To this group,
how would you justify still sending your products to universities outside of
the continent?

I believe that the only way Africa will develop is through the
resourcefulness and ingenuity of its own people. Africa needs African leaders
to create uniquely African solutions to its uniquely African problems. At the
same time, I believe that our young leaders can benefit tremendously from
exposure to institutions, organizations, and networks that are rooted outside
the continent.

Our students are mature enough to benefit from world-class
educational resources in countries such as the United States and Europe without
losing their passion and commitment for the continent, and our curriculum
reinforces this framework. We would love to send more of our students to top
universities around Africa but, unfortunately, the students struggle to get
scholarships and financial aid to these institutions. We have found foreign
institutions – particularly those in the United States – have tremendous
financial resources that enable our young leaders to benefit from outstanding
educational experiences they might not otherwise have access to.

For this reason, while some of our students will continue to
attend outstanding universities in Africa, others may find it more economically
viable to attend universities outside the continent. I also want to emphasize
that our customized approach to leadership development – in combination with
our forgivable loan program – is designed to ensure that our leaders do indeed
return to the continent to leverage the skills and network they built abroad to
drive change across Africa.

It is taken that one of
the biggest problems of the continent today is corruption. How are you looking
at this in ensuring that your products can uphold the highest standards of
integrity?

Our leadership curriculum focuses on the importance of ethical
leadership to the overall success and prosperity of the continent and
highlights the extraordinary damage that is caused by corruption and
mismanagement. These lessons are further reinforced by guest speakers who
inspire our young leaders with stories of achieving extraordinary social impact
in the face of overwhelming institutional corruption. When our students see
tangible examples of how ethical leadership can truly transform countries and
communities, they are motivated to combat the endemic corruption which has
plagued the continent for so long.

I am curious to know why
this academy is not cited in Nigeria, being the most populous country on the
continent. Is there any special attraction in South Africa, or rather, is there
something that makes it difficult for Nigeria to host this academy?

We decided to found the Academy in South Africa because it
serves as the economic and transportation hub of sub-Saharan Africa.
Johannesburg’s highly developed transportation infrastructure – combined with
its highly diverse and truly pan-African population – made it the ideal city in
which to locate our Academy.

I understand that the
students who go through your academy on a scholarship are expected to return
and work in the continent for at least ten years after their studies abroad. Is
this bonding necessary given that this is the era of globalization and your
students should be able to give back to their societies and also humanity no
matter the country they decide to reside?

Our mission is simple: to transform the continent by developing
future generations of African leaders. In our view, the most effective way to
achieve this mission is by ensuring that the young leaders we develop are fully
committed to the continent, and that they are not using ALA as a “ticket out”.

For this reason, we make it very clear to all our applicants
that any scholarship aid they may receive is contingent on living and working
on the continent for a period of 10 years following their 25th birthday. This
policy serves two important purposes: (1) It ensures that those young people
who choose to attend the Academy are genuinely and wholeheartedly committed to
Africa and its development; and (2) it ensures that the 6,000 leaders we are
developing and supporting will be located in Africa, where they are best
positioned to devise innovative solutions to the continent’s most pressing
social and economic challenges. While we acknowledge that those living outside
the continent can contribute to its empowerment, we believe those living on the
continent can effect change in a more compelling and impactful fashion.

So would you like us to
believe that you are doing this as a service, but I am curious, is this venture
profitable? Do you make lots of money? How much?

ALA is a non-profit organisation. All the money we raise goes
towards providing scholarships for our students and covering the operating
costs of the Academy. Employees, including myself, receive salaries, but most
of us could earn far more if we were to work in the corporate sector. We are
doing this because of our passion for Africa and desire to see it prosper.

Are we likely to see ALA
set up in other countries?

At this point, we are focused on fully institutionalizing the
Academy in South Africa, and we do not have immediate plans to open other
branches in other countries.

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