Nigeria Content Online

Quest for a messiah

Just as there are
no perfect elections anywhere, there are also no perfect candidates.
The choice of the electorate is usually an aggregate perception of the
value of the candidates’ personalities, manifestoes, visions and
programmes to their interests. These interests could be economic,
political, social or even religious.

I still do not
understand whose or what interest Olusegun Obasanjo, former military
head of state and two term civilian President of Nigeria, was promoting
when he said in Harare, during a meeting of the Commonwealth, that the
late M.K.O. Abiola was not the messiah that Nigeria needed. Since then
not many Nigerians have forgiven OBJ for that remark uttered in the
heat of the struggle for the revalidation of June 12, 1993 elections.
In addition to the burden of misgiving over his perceived role in
denying Chief Obafemi Awolowo victory at the 1979 presidential
elections, Obasanjo has continued to carry the cross of that Freudian
slip, especially among the Yorubas, till today.

Since
independence, most political actors, have tried to position themselves
in the court of public opinion as the much awaited messiah Nigeria
desperately needs. They present themselves as saints even when we know
that for many of them even hell would consider their sins too hot to
handle. They promise from the ridiculous to the irritable just to curry
the affection and votes of the Nigerian electorate.

Usually, their
much copied political manifestoes, have never failed to promise
Nigerians all the goodness of heaven and beyond, yet our situation has
only continued to deteriorate. And with another general election around
the corner, Nigerians are being daily barraged by a deluge of political
talk leaving many wondering whether there will ever be a realistic walk
in the direction of the Promised Land and towards fulfilling our
bestowed potential.

The irony is that
Jews waited for a messiah for thousands of years and when He finally
came, they could not recognise Him, instead, they crucified Him. Ours
is a bigger irony because it appears many Nigerians are in quandary
over our expectations for the right leadership in our country. Our high
rate of illiteracy, falling education standards, monetisation of our
politics, poor access to genuine information services, endemic poverty,
general moral bankruptcy, ethnicity and religious bigotry have only
further blurred our perception of a people oriented leadership
succession. These indices of national failure also bedevil the quest by
honest Nigerian youths and women for a meaningful stake in the
governance process.

Our expectations
in a political messiah, must be realistic, that is, if we really need a
messiah to fix Nigeria. The kind of leader Nigeria needs at this
critical period of her national life is not just one who will provide
another set of disjointed social amenities and brandish same as if
he/she is doing Nigerians a favour. We need a leader who will re-enact
the Nigerian dream, the dream of all humanity, which the Americans
summarized thus the “self-evident truth that all men were created
equal, that they were endowed by their creator with certain inalienable
rights, that among these are rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness”.

In a country where
the value of human life is becoming cheaper than tissue paper, we need
a leader whose passion, commitment and allegiance is with the Nigerian
people and who has the managerial acumen to judiciously supervise the
rebuilding of this realm from the devastation inflicted on her by the
years of locusts and caterpillars. He/she must have sufficient capacity
to deliver to Nigerians their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness by sincerely pursuing: establishing the rule of law as a
way of life; rebuilding our public institutions; re-industrialising our
economy; revamping dilapidated physical infrastructures and
re-engineering the social fabric that holds us as one secure, peaceful
and united entity.

That, is my definition of the messiah Nigeria needs after the 2011 general elections at all tiers of government.

Fortunately for
us, Nigeria is blessed with many women and men who possess very bright
ideas, managerial astuteness, vision, foresight, patriotism, integrity
of character and a record of brilliant performance in private and/or
public service. These noble minds can easily steer the ship of state to
berth at this minimum and even beyond.

My fear is that as long as these men and women do not command
stupendous wealth, or belong to the proper ethnic and religious groups,
their chances of emerging as leaders in our corridors of power are
highly limited: that is the nemesis of progressive leadership
succession in Nigeria. Yet, we all celebrated the emergence of Barack
Obama as the first black American President of the United States. If he
were a Nigerian would he achieve such feat? Those who want to be called
mothers must be ready for the travail of the labour room. Are we?

Untitled

Untitled

ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS: Climate change burden for poor Nigerians

ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS: Climate change burden for poor Nigerians

Let us get down to
the main course rather than nibble around the delicacy of starters.
That climate talk shop in Cancun, Mexico was actually about the
everlasting subject of global poverty. The Conference of the Parties,
like its predecessors in Copenhagen and elsewhere, is an annual
extravaganza of serious-minded scientists and politicians, inquisitive
civil society, but also a motley crew of colourful conference tourists
and shopaholics. Cancun strove to construct durable shock absorbers for
the poor to cope with the rough ride on the bumpy, climate dirt track.
Their vehicle is named “adaptation”. The clarion call is now clearly to
focus on solutions. Most delegates from Africa, in total disregard of
the transnational mantra to promote, “popular participation and
empowerment,” or the concepts of a “global village,” were the wealthy
of their continent. Nigeria set a good example for other African
nations by taking some local government representatives in its bloated
contingent. But the legendary corruption at the local governance level
in our country cancels out the good and insightful intentions.

There are folks
preaching that the evil effects of global warming are neutral and
affect all strata of humankind the same way. This is false! The point
to worry about is not so much over the physical processes, but about
the social and economic impact, which is why the poor are particularly
vulnerable and imperiled.

If international
development statistics are correct, then anyone walking a
hypothetically representative transect in Nigeria should encounter 70
people living below two US dollars a day in every 100. It is a high
strike rate, and these impoverished fellow citizens live in darkness
and ignorance of global warming. Rural people are aware of consequences
and symptoms of climate change, but where clinical history is unknown,
do not expect diagnosis, innovation and curative measures to follow.

UN politics around
climate change remains somewhat cynical — the rich mitigate by cutting
emissions, the poor adapt to the evils of climate change. To
paraphrase, at climate change conferences, the industrial nations and
major culprits of global warming are brusquely instructed to reduce
their carbon dioxide emissions to stipulated levels in marked-out
periods. Poor countries may continue warming up the earth quietly, as
they industrialize, but will be encouraged through financial injections
from the rich for adaptation to climate change impacts.

Help your poor

Adaptation is
strewn with dangers, and we’ve got to monitor a likely pattern in
Nigeria where the concept could easily result in “adaptation funds”
vanishing into foreign accounts of corrupt elite. The fate of poor
Nigerians is then forgotten under the excuse that they are illiterate
and difficult. It is imperative that the masses are better informed
over climate change adaptation processes and politics now. The mistake
must not be made to package solutions and arrive at villages for the
start of so-called “pilot projects”. Kanayo Nwanze, director of the
International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD in Rome recently
made an unforgettable statement in Abuja.

“No country develops the other for it,” he said.

You do not hear that sort of message from Africans working for
international donor agencies, at least not in public. Mr. Nwanze said
it loud and clear in the presence of both bilateral and multilateral
donors, some of whom nodded in agreement. Nigeria does not receive as
much foreign development assistance as Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique or
Mali. I recall Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala saying this was not a bad thing. You
couldn’t agree with her more. The world expects Nigeria, the “giant of
Africa” to do more for its poor people and stop begging for development
aid.

TATAFO: Love is still in the air

TATAFO: Love is still in the air

Never mind that
Valentine’s Day was two days ago, love is still very much in the air.
No better time for people to show love and for business to pick up than
the month of February after a January of surprises. You turn on the
news and you read the papers and everything, whether on local, state,
national, regional or international news has to do with politics and
its aftermath. So it is always so nice to get a distraction; an aside
from reality.

With every debate,
there are always two sides to the story. While January was the month of
break-ups and new beginnings, February can be seen as a month of
restoration or should I say, payback time. You have to love our girls.
They have dusted the dirt off their shoulders and some have gone as far
as indulging a full body makeover; hair, eyelashes, teeth, face, skin,
manicure, pedicure and even weight loss/gain. It is not just for
February 14, rather it is for the whole week and weekend. So no hiding
place for men who give the excuse of working late, as there is always
the weekend to spread some love and spend some money.

The truth is that
nobody wants to ‘roast’, especially with Valentine’s Day being on a
weekday. Everyone in the office will be eyeing each other’s goodies or
lack of goodies. Even in schools, the competition would be on all week.
“Oh my boyfriend just travelled to Lagos for the weekend and couldn’t
make in time on Monday. Don’t worry, he has promised to make it all up
to me once he gets in.” And be sure that the lady will bring the gifts
the next day to the office to show off and prove that the boyfriend was
indeed real and not a figment of her imagination.

But for those that
do not have boyfriends, husbands, sugar daddies and so on, desperate
times call for desperate measures! A scroll through the phone book
provides an endless list of possible alternatives. After selecting a
few of the ‘mugus’ and ‘magas’, a phone call is put through and then
comes the sexy voice, “Hey baby! How ya doing? I’ve really missed you.
I hope you are not too busy tonight. Why don’t you take me to Meridien
and be my Val.” If it is an equally roasting guy with some dough and in
search of action, he would probably reply. “Yes dear, I’ve really
missed you (even though they haven’t spoken since last October). Why
don’t you come by my place. I have a surprise waiting for you and then
we can go anywhere you want.”

If the girl is just
in search for the goodies rather than a good time, she would find ways
of getting out of the ‘meet-me-at-my-home’ part. The excuses will
start; traffic, house chores, work commitments, parents, illness and so
on. If none works, she would probably turn up at his place and tell him
straight on that she’s on her period, so nothing can happen. Now if he
is the kinky type, she’s in trouble. She better just say she is on the
path of celibacy.

The moral of the story is that it takes two to play the game; and by
the game, I am referring to this form of “coded prostitution”. Seasons
like Christmas, birthdays and Valentine’s Day. In fact anything to do
with gifts and we see a different shade of red come out. The one that
takes no prisoners and stops at nothing till it gets what it wants.
While one has no problems with reuniting with “lost” friends of the
opposite sex on such days, it is the motive behind it that gets me
going. Have we sunk so low that we throw all decorum into the marines
for a gift or booty call? There is life after Valentine’s Day and we
shall all live with the consequences of our actions. And if anyone was
thinking of making me their Val, a nice comment at the end of my piece
will do and perhaps a bunch of red roses too.

Ondo plans soil improvement for cocoa

Ondo plans soil improvement for cocoa

The Ondo State
government is to carry out soil treatment on 500 hectares of land for
the planting of the Ghana high-yield cocoa at Oda Plantation in Akure.

The state
commissioner for agriculture, Julius Akinnigbagbe, told the News Agency
of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Akure that the government would also
train farmers on the production of the cocoa type. He said the
treatment would allow the government to establish the suitability of
the soil for the cocoa specie.

“We have already carried out some experimental plantation at Oda
farm but we still want to establish the suitability of our environment
and land for mass production of the cocoa here,” Mr. Akinnigbagbe said.

Money

States call for transparency in oil corporation

States call for transparency in oil corporation

The 36 state
governments on Monday restated their demand for more transparency and
accountability from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
and other revenue collection agencies in the country to enhance the
profile of federally generated revenue.

Akwa Ibom State
governor, Godswill Akpabio, who made the states’ position known at the
retreat for Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission
(RMAFC) commissioners and management in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, restated
their resolve not to relent in their agitations for a greater share
from the federation account as the commission is working on a new
allocation formula for the country.

“The call from the
states for more revenue allocation would persist given the need to
promote development from the grassroots to the centre, instead of the
present situation of the federal government taking on too much funds
for very little work done,” the governor said.

Transparency report

The Nigerian
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in its latest
report indicted the NNPC for lack of transparency in the measurement of
revenue flows from exploration of oil and gas. The NEITI report, which
covered activities in the oil and gas sector between 2006 and 2008,
also revealed impropriety in the sale of tax and royalty oil by the
corporation.

“Improved
accounting procedures are required to improve the transparency of
NNPC’s handling of these components of the proceeds of crude sales,”
the report added, noting that the volumes reported by NNPC for crude
oil lifting differed from those reported by companies operating the
terminals.

Mr. Akpabio argued
that instead of the Federal Government deploying a larger proportion of
funds from the Federation Account to consultancy services and other
sundry expenses that do not impact positively on the people, such
monies should have been given to the states that have more
developmental challenges to attend to.

Urging the RMAFC to
urgently come up with a new revenue allocation formula that would
ensure equity, justice, and fairness to all stakeholders, the governor
pointed out that the Federal Government must agree that development can
only move from the states to the center and not the other way round.

According to him,
the commission must also closely consider addressing the issues of
compensation for states currently suffering from the adverse effects of
oil production activities and security beyond 200 metres isobaths,
adding that a critique of existing processes for reviewing indices of
sharing the 13 per cent derivation fund must be carried out to avoid
the recurrent problem of over payment and under payment for some states.

Diversifying revenue base

The governor said
there was need for RMAFC to seriously tackle the diversification of the
country’s revenue base, adding that a close examination of all past
reports on lack of transparency and accountability on the part of
stakeholders in the collection and management of revenue accruing into
the federation account would be helpful.

Vice president,
Namadi Sambo, who declared the retreat open, pledged federal
government’s readiness to support RMAFC in producing a new Revenue
Allocation Formula, adding that government was aware of the enormous
responsibilities of the commission and would not renege in its pledge
to provide the necessary environment for it to deliver on its mandate.

Mr. Sambo,
represented by the minister of finance, Olusegun Aganga, said
government is desirous to reduce the high cost of governance, adding
that it has already taken steps in the 2011 budget to address the
issue, while challenging the RMAFC to come up with a solution to the
problem.

RMAFC chairman, Elias Mbam, said the retreat, which was packaged to
enable the newly appointed members of the commission to carefully
examine and understand the operations and fundamental responsibilities
of its operations, would also provide the opportunity to set its agenda
and chart a new course for the achievements of its targets.

Money

Stock Exchange records N662 billion gains

Stock Exchange records N662 billion gains

The Nigerian Stock
Exchange recorded a total gain of N662 billion on equities at the close
of trading activities in January, after the marginal gains of N5
billion in the preceding month.

The market value of
the 217 listed equities, which opened the month at N7.913 trillion,
closed on the last trading day in January at N8.575 trillion,
reflecting a N662 billion gains or 8.37 per cent increase.

The 217 listed
equities accounted for 81.13 per cent of total market capitalisation of
the 264 listed securities which closed January at N10.583 trillion; up
by 6.7 per cent from N9.92 trillion in December.

The Exchange’s
strategy and business development department said the stock market
performance during the first three weeks of January “was very
impressive with the Nigerian market ranking among the world’s best,”
adding that “the fourth week was rather bearish.”

The NSE attributed
the downturn recorded during the fourth week “to the upward review in
the monetary policy rate, profit taking by investors, and the impact of
the regulatory action, which prevented some operators believed to be
undercapitalised from participating in the market.”

Market turnover

The market recorded
a turnover of 10.84 billion shares valued at N104.1 billion in 139,950
deals during January, in contrast to a total of 6.63 billion shares
valued at N56.7 billion exchanged during last December in 111,114
deals. Trading days in January were 20, compared with the 21 days in
December.

Measuring by
turnover volume, the Banking subsector was the most active in January
with traded volume of 8.1 billion shares valued at N76.8 billion, while
the Insurance subsector was second with traded volume of 816.01 million
shares valued at N694.22 million. The Food and Beverages subsector was
third with transaction volume of 408.9 million worth N7.3 million.

A total of 174
equities out of the 217 listed were traded during the month compared
with 173 in December. As in the preceding month, Zenith Bank was the
most active stock with transaction volume of 1.72 billion shares,
followed by First Bank with 1.22 billion shares while FinBank placed
third with 697.12 million shares.

Meanwhile, analysts
at Vetiva Capital Management Limited, a financial service company, said
the market is expected to perform better in the coming months on the
back of quoted companies posting “positive earnings growth induced by
higher profitability and stronger balance sheets.”

They said other
expectations in the market include “investor optimism, barring any
negative surprises on the political front; a post-election rally in the
equities market; increased portfolio flows from developed markets as
investors search for higher returns.”

Bond trading

Over-The-Counter
(OTC) bond market, a turnover of 875.62 million units worth N801.134
billion was recorded in January, in contrast to a total of 465.9
million shares valued at N430.03 billion exchanged during the preceding
month.

The most active
bond, in terms of volume, was the 10.00 per cent Federal Government of
Nigeria (FGN) Bond July 2030 with a traded volume of 218.6 million
units valued at N170.2 billion.

It was followed by
5.50 per cent FGN Feb 2013 with traded volume of 206.9 million units
valued at N194.2 billion. Only 24 of the available 33 FGN Bonds were
traded during the month, same as in the preceding month.

Money

Europe’s telco vendors vie for African markets

Europe’s telco vendors vie for African markets

Chinese telecoms
hardware and network makers are biting off bigger chunks of African
business and are likely to overthrow hitherto dominant European vendors
in a region with mouthwateringly low penetration rates.

While in the past
they might have brought unreliable technology and a handbook only in
Chinese, the firms are leveraging on a pool of skilled labour and
government loans to dislodge traditional vendors.

“It is not good
news for the traditional vendors,” says Dobek Pater, telecoms analyst
and partner at research firm, Africa Analysis.

China’s main
telecoms gear makers, Huawei Technologies and ZTE, are rapidly taking
business from European vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia, Siemens
Network, and Alcatel-Lucent.

Chinese vendors’
initial market entry strategy was hinged on low priced offerings, often
to state-run operators, but the companies have reinvented themselves by
throwing billions of dollars into research and development and are now
often ahead of the curve with new technologies.

Stringent testing
by global operators such as Vodafone has seen the Chinese vendors
become the approved suppliers of almost all core access and
transmission infrastructure in Africa.

Analysts say Chinese vendors are also willing to bend the rules to provide more cost-effective solutions for emerging markets.

“Chinese vendors
have mastered doing business in Africa the African way, if we can put
it that way,” said Tinyiko Mavoni, chief executive at South Africa’s
Mavoni Technologies.

Sweet deals

China’s
export-oriented growth strategy has supported its companies. In March
2009, China Development Bank agreed to provide ZTE with a $15 billion
credit line, according to Simon Schaefer, an analyst at
Johannesburg-based Frontier Advisory.

To avoid rankling
western competitors, China is now lending directly to African
governments or operators, but the money comes with the proviso that it
is spent on Chinese products.

The European Union
this month dropped an inquiry into the subsidy of Chinese firms after
Belgium’s Option withdrew its complaint after reaching a cooperation
agreement with Huawei.

The Chinese
companies deploy skilled personnel to build new networks in numbers
that few western vendors can match, and often offer a financing deal.

Mr. Pater said Huawei ranked itself in the top three on money generated from operators.

“They estimate that by 2014 they would be in the number one position in equipment and building networks,” he said.

Fringe players

The era of
acquisitions and mergers of established European and U.S.-based vendors
in the mid 2000s resulted in a loss of strategic focus as the new
companies tried to settle, says Simon Lee, head of Farwell Consultants.

Up until that point the Chinese were fringe players, and the general perception was that they were cheap and unreliable.

“The Chinese
companies were not going to pack up their bags and go home. They saw
… the general confusion of the established vendors and went full
blast on a new strategy to gain respect and confidence globally,” Mr.
Lee said.

“From 2008 until
last year they were picking up coveted contracts and even swapping out
equipment from operators who had had long-standing relationships with
their incumbent vendor,” he added.

Chinese firms are
also pushing the boundaries with handsets and personal devices but have
some way to go to match the aesthetics and ease of use of established
makers.

Nokia and Samsung
remain the dominant players in Africa, and the Blackberry is
increasingly popular among the upwardly mobile. However, mobile phones
recycled in China or of Chinese origin are making an entry, according
to Fola Odufuwa, an Africa-focused telecoms consultant.

It is in the
broadband USB modem market where Huawei and ZTE head the pack in many
African countries and where analysts see some of the choicest
opportunities.

Africa has a mobile
penetration rate of only 41 per cent, compared with 76 per cent
globally, while the broadband penetration rate on the continent was
negligible, statistics from the U.N. agency International
Telecommunication Union.

As long as the
Chinese vendors continue to provide quality, competitively priced
equipment that is set up in a relatively short period of time, they
will be the suppliers of choice.

Money

Petroleum Industry Bill suffers setback

Petroleum Industry Bill suffers setback

The
initial momentum by government to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill
(PIB) may have waned, as the focus of elected officials is now mainly
on the forthcoming elections.

Despite
the promise by government that the Bill will be passed by the current
National Assembly, events in the last few months point to the contrary.

According to Bismarck Rewane, managing director, Financial Derivative Company, the Petroleum Industry Bill remains stuck.

“Oil
and gas reforms are unlikely in the face of elections. The Nigerian
president once again reiterated his wish that the Petroleum Industry
Bill (PIB) will be passed in this session of the National Assembly. The
petroleum minister had pronounced earlier that it would be passed last
September. It is probably inconceivable that the bill in its present
form will be debated and passed at the current session of the National
Assembly,” Mr. Rewane said.

The
Petroleum Industry Bill has been undergoing setbacks since the draft
bill was made available in 2009. The government has repeatedly said the
passage of the Bill is imminent, yet, revisions and debate have
hindered the process since then.

Earlier
in the month, the president said he expects wide-ranging reforms to the
mainstay oil and gas industry to be passed into law before the end of
the current parliament in May, according to a Reuters report.

The
legislation process has been held up for years, going from revision to
revision and committee to committee as the industry’s decision-makers
and government officials negotiate over its terms.

Industry
watchers say billions of dollars of potential investment, especially
from foreign oil companies, in the oil and gas industry are on hold as
a result of the uncertainty over the proposed legislation.

A
Reuters report stated that a joint Senate committee which has been
considering the bill for the past year has concluded its work, since
last year, paving the way for the upper house to begin voting on the
legislation clause by clause.

“The
joint committee on PIB has laid the report (the PIB) on the table in
the Senate. We have concluded work on it. It is now the property of the
Senate,” the report quoted Osita Izunaso, a co-chairman of the joint
committee.

Mr. IZunaso had also reportedly gone ahead to say that in the next few weeks, the Senate will consider it clause by clause.

Crucial decisions already on

Despite
the delay, some major multinational oil companies have already started
selling some of their oil blocks while some are shifting their
operations towards deep offshore and divesting some of the onshore
assets.

Shell,
which is in the process of selling more of its oil blocks, recently
sold some of its Nigeria assets to a consortium led by local companies.
In a statement issued by the company, it agreed to transfer its
interest in three production licences and related equipment in the
Niger Delta to a consortium led by two Nigerian companies.

“This
sale of assets supports the Nigerian government’s goal of expanding
opportunities for local energy companies,” Mutiu Sunmonu, managing
director, SPDC, said.

Experts
say the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will re-write Nigeria’s age old
relationship with its foreign oil partners, altering and varying
everything, right from the fiscal framework for offshore oil projects
to the involvement of indigenous firms in the sector.

Dragan
Trajkov, an oil and gas analyst at Renaissance Capital, a finance
investment bank, said the potential PIB and the passed Local Content
Bill may have influenced their decision.

“We
do believe that the potential PIB and the already passed Local Content
Bill might have had some impact on their decision. Especially the fact
that the early version of the PIB was proposing that the majors may be
required to relinquish some of the undeveloped fields,” Mr. Trajkov
said.

He, however, said while this may not be a major determining factor, it would be a contributing one.

Proponents
of the bill say it will enable the Nigeria National Petroleum Company
(NNPC) to become more transparent, encourage local and foreign
investment, particularly promote local oil company involvement in the
industry, and increase gas supplies to the ramshackle domestic power
sector.

Money

Energy disruptions shut Ivorien cocoa facilities

Energy disruptions shut Ivorien cocoa facilities

Disruptions to
energy supplies have forced some cocoa processing facilities in Ivory
Coast to shut temporarily and shipping services have halted, inhibiting
cocoa exports and wheat and rice imports, two trade bodies said.

The Federation of
Cocoa Commerce and the European Cocoa Association said in a joint
statement on Tuesday that they had observed not only a massive
displacement of people, but also an increase in cocoa smuggling across
neighbouring borders.