Nigeria Content Online

The World Bank has unveiled a new package aimed at consolidating
its efforts to eradicate poverty in Africa through economically empowering the
people.

The package, entitled ‘Africa’s Future and the World Bank’s
Support for it’, is designed to provide support for the continent, with
specific focus on its twin pillars of promoting competitiveness and employment
generation.

The plan, which is a marked shift in the way the global bank
views Africa, is a product of extensive consultation with stakeholders on the
continent on how best to tackle the challenges of under-development through the
creation of the socio-economic and political climate for Africa’s
competitiveness in an increasingly changing global system.

One of the major investment components of the plan would see
about $24 billion (about N18.4 trillion) invested annually by the World Bank to
close the current infrastructure gap, put at about $48 billion annually, to
boost investments in the continent.

Empowering Africa

World Bank’s vice president for Africa Region, Obiageli
Ezekwesili, who announced the plan during a teleconference from Paris monitored
by representatives from various media across the continent, explained that the
implementation of the plan would help the continent’s economic reforms over the
next decade.

She said the package would also help to diversify the economies
in Africa, create employment, improve health care, support good governance, and
tackle the challenges of corruption, climate change, and other occurrences that
hamper development in the continent.

Mrs. Ezekwesili, who hinted that approval of the new plan,
designed after broad consultations with all public and private sector as well
as social groups in the continent, was given by the bank’s board on Tuesday,
pointed out that its goal is to create structures and systems that would
address the challenges of under-development as well as reposition the various economies
for improved competitiveness in the global business environment.

“The plan is going to be a huge focus on how Africa can
diversify its economic structure, how traded goods and services, in
manufacturing, agro-business, ICT, mining, and tourism as well as feed on
domestic capacities.

“These are key pillars of competitiveness like agriculture,
transportation utilities, education and skill development can receive even
greater attention in the areas of reforms as well as public investments in
order to get the highest growth impact.

“It will be a total focus on infrastructure, business
environment, and skills acquisition from without as well as from the
continent,” Mrs. Ezekwesili said.

The World Bank chief said “the strategy will address
macroeconomic as well as shocks such as health, natural disasters such as
drought, forest desertification, soil erosion, as well as address food
shortages, conflict and political violence, and threat of climate change.

“We will provide as much advocacy and build up power to support
development, particularly with regard to climate change. The foundation of the
strategy, which is governance and public sector capacity building, will be
based on the feedback we got during the period we were on the continent.

“We will emphasise the need to address governance as well as
public sector leadership, both of which are critical factors in Africa’s
continued performance and improvement,” Mrs. Ezekwesili added.

The World Bank’s chief economist for Africa, Shantayanan
Devarjan, said the bank’s new planned support for Africa is “as much a
reflection of what we (the bank) heard from Africa’s people and leaders as it
is the thinking of the World Bank”, adding that “though we are confident it is
the right approach at this time, we also want to make sure that we are ready to
adapt asAfrica continues to change and progress.”

“How am I supposed
to save when I earn barely enough to live on?” “My salary starts to
disappear as soon as I receive it. No matter how hard I try to save, I
am always broke” “Even when I do save, something always comes up, like
my friend’s wedding which was last week; she will never forgive me if I
don’t “take” her ‘aso-ebi,’ that set me back N30,000 and there is
another one in two weeks time. It’s impossible to save.”

Many young
Nigerians complain that by the end of the month, there is no money left
to save; they give up on saving even before they start. Once they have
taken care of their mobile phone bills, rent, food, clothes and
entertainment. If you are constantly broke before mid month and cannot
make ends meet, then it is time to change the way you treat your money.
With a little determination and discipline, you can do it.

You don’t earn enough to save?

This is the most
common reason for not saving and it is flawed. Many people tell
themselves that they do not earn enough money and that if they made
just a little bit more, things would be much better. This excuse would
hold more water if you have already placed yourself on a tight budget
and are paying careful attention to your spending, and are still broke.

The truth is that
many young adults are simply not paying enough attention to their
personal finances. They assume they will earn lots more as time goes on
and things will begin to fall into place. This attitude means that they
don’t really consider what comes in and where it all goes. Yet, it is
not the amount of money that you earn that matters, but how much of it
that you keep. If you establish poor spending habits when you are
young, it will be no different when you begin to earn a significant
amount of money.

Are you spending more than you earn?

Do you track your
spending? Start tracking what you spend for a month and a startling
picture will emerge of where all your money is going. When you do this,
you will have a clearer idea what you need to cut back on or do without
altogether.

Note that it’s easy
to track spending on set expenses, such as transport costs or rent. But
you can easily lose track of how much you are spending on eating out or
mobile phone re-charge cards especially if you always pay with cash.

Thirty-two year old
Shade lives rent free with her aunt in Lagos, and earns N165,000 a
month yet, she is always broke. When friends visit her office armed
with clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery for sale, she can’t resist and
it is quite easy to acquire the items as they let her pay over three to
six months. At first, these impulse purchases may seem affordable but
before long, the expenses spiral out of control and hundreds of naira
spent in this way grows into hundreds of thousands of naira. It was
glaring why Shade was always penniless and in debt.

She decided to log her expenses for the month of January 2011; it highlighted her typical monthly expense pattern.

Tithes: N17,000;
Hair / Beauty: N32,500; Eating out & Entertainment: N30,000;
Take-away meals: N20,000; Aso-ebi: N45,000; Mobile phone re-charge
cards: N16,000; Transport: N30,000; Clothes: N25,000; total: N215,500.

Budget

One of the best
ways to ensure that your expenses are not exceeding your income is to
budget. List all your routine monthly expenses, and other spending, and
subtract those amounts from your income. By making small, manageable
changes in your everyday expenses, you can make a huge impact on your
financial situation.

What is really important?

If you are living
on a tight budget, prioritising your spending is essential. Of course,
it is nice to eat out often with friends but it doesn’t have to be
everyday. If there is an item that you have set your mind on, ask
yourself if you really need it. A useful tip is to shop with a list.
Before shopping, make a list of only those items you need and buy only
those, otherwise chances are that you will end up picking up what you
don’t really need. The key is to begin to differentiate between needs
and wants, and being brutally truthful to yourself about your personal
finances.

Pay yourself first

You are probably tired of hearing about this concept but it cannot be over-emphasised, as it is a key first step to saving.

Each time you get
paid, no matter how much it is, try to keep at least 10% aside for
yourself. Instead of waiting until the end of the month to see if you
have any money left, make your savings an urgent bill that must be paid
as soon as you get your salary. This will be the foundation of your
savings. It can be difficult, but once you get started, you will see
the savings adding up and this is self-enforcing; you will be
encouraged to continue saving.

Put your savings on autopilot

Many people don’t
have the discipline to physically set money aside. One solution is to
automate your savings. Talk to your bank about setting up a direct
debit from your salary or current account to your savings account or a
mutual fund each month, preferably the day after payday. You won’t have
to worry about pay-in slips or visiting the bank; which could be an
inconvenience.

Make your savings hard to get at

Even when you make
enough to save just a little money, you will be tempted to spend it if
it is easily accessible. Put your savings in a vehicle that makes it a
little difficult for you to get at. This may be that you have to visit
the bank or observe a notice period to make a withdrawal. Don’t tie
your savings to your debit card as once you pass an ATM you will be
tempted to withdraw. This will help you to curb your impulse spending.

The art of saving
money is really a state of mind. Like any skill, it takes some effort
and practice to improve. If you are disciplined enough to commit to it
in the first place, the process would already have begun. Investing
even small amounts of money at an early age will grow into a
significant sum over time. The sooner you start saving, the better.

Write to
personalfinance@234next.com with your questions and comments. We would
love to hear from you. All letters will be considered for publication,
and if selected, may be edited.

The major business
of South African Tourism is to bring as many tourists as possible into
the country, says Phumi Dhlomo, the Regional Director, Africa and
Domestic of the agency.

He said this during
the Meetings Africa 2011, Africa’s business tourism Lekgotla, at the
Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Meetings Africa is
a business tourism marketing platform which aims to expose local and
international buyers to the range of services and products in Southern
Africa’s Meetings, Incentives, Conference,

Exhibitions (MICE)
industry. The visitor target market is anyone who travels for business
or who books business travel, as well as organisers of events,
conferences, meetings, team incentive trips, or team building
activities.

Lekgotla means a consultative process between groups pursuing a common goal.

Mr Dhlomo however,
said that South Africa is more than a destination for leisure tourism.
“We’re interested in business tourism as well, especially meetings,
conferences, exhibitions and events. We hosted a very successful World
Cup last year and we are also hosting others like golf events, music
events and other small and medium events.” Nomasonto Ndlovu, Global
Manager, Business Tourism at South African Tourism explained further
why business tourism is assuming a greater importance. “People never
travel alone for business meetings but look forward to other things
too, we must make sure that people who come for conferences have other
things to do as well.” She also added that international buyers are
keen to “buy regions” meaning that they prefer regional destinations to
just one destination “and so we are encouraging other countries to
develop as well.” “We want to see the whole continent benefit from
tourism and we believe that if we open up the African axis, it will be
wonderful. We hope South African Airways will open up more routes in
the continent,” said Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the country’s minister of
tourism.

Truly, South Africa
is benefitting most from tourism as seen in the over 7.3 million
tourists it hosted between January and November last year.

Mr van Schalkwyk
further highlighted the important and growing role that business
tourism will play in the South African government’s job creation
objectives. “Tourism contributed an estimated 7.7% to South Africa’s
Gross Domestic Product in 2010. Business tourism will no doubt play a
role in getting more visitors to South Africa,” he said.

He added that in 2009, approximately 500,000 business tourists came to South Africa, about 4.7% of total tourist arrivals:

“This represents a
total economic value of about R4 billion with business tourists
spending an average of R5,300 during their stay in South Africa. The
average length of stay business tourists also increased from 4.6 nights
in 2009.” He cited statistics by the International Congress and
Convention Association (ICCA) which ranked South Africa 34th globally
and first in Africa for 2009 in terms of the number of meetings hosted.
The report shows that in 2009, almost 8,300 meetings were held
globally, of which almost 55% were held in Europe.

Africa hosted 3.8%
of the meetings or 314 meetings with 90 held in South Africa, followed
by Egypt with 32 meetings. Cape Town was the leading city in Africa
with 49 meetings; Johannesburg was ranked 5th, and Durban 10th,
compared to other African cities.

“These figures show
that South Africa and our leading business tourism cities compare very
well in terms of the rest of our continent. We believe Meetings Africa
will again be an important opportunity for the entire African meetings
and business community to interact and explore opportunities.”

A legacy of improved infrastructure

The importance of
the eight annual Meetings Africa 2011, was further attested to by
Thandiwe January-McLean, the chief executive officer of South African
Tourism.

“South African
Tourism is confident Africa’s premier business tourism exhibition will
once again be an invaluable opportunity for the entire African and
business community to interact and explore mutually beneficial
opportunities.” The country has a legacy of improved infrastructure and
world class delivery and so it was no surprise that the conference must
have achieved its objectives. The convention centre is a lesson in how
world class infrastructure can facilitate business and improve a
country’s gross domestic product. No doubt, the successful hosting of
World Cup 2010 must have boosted South Africa’s profile as she has been
invited to join the economically influential bloc of Brazil, Russia,
India, and China, with the exciting business opportunities the BRICS
partnership potentially brings.

Meetings Africa
also encouraged exhibitors and hosted buyers to interact and experience
first-hand the exciting opportunities that exist in the continent’s
meeting, exhibitions and conferencing industry. Unsurprisingly, South
Africa has secured almost 200 meetings which will attract more than 300,

000 delegates over
the next five years. Events like the United Nations Climate Change
Conference (COP 17) and a major meeting of the International Olympic
Committee.

Over 183 exhibitors
attended the exhibition with buyers from different countries. A
matchmaking programme delivered guaranteed pre-scheduled appointments
and the floor plan improvement with clear categorisation of exhibitors
made it easier for visitors to navigate the show and made the most of
the limited time. As expected, hotels, safari parks, convention
centres, and exhibition venues were the major exhibitors.

A Nigerian travel and tour operator who attended the meeting
described it as “fantastic.” Tinuke Nwakohu said she found Meetings
Africa 2011 useful as “you cannot market a destination without fully
understanding it.” Mrs Nwakohu added that the meeting also showed that
“a lot of work must be done to make Nigeria attractive like South
Africa. South Africa has shown a lot of commitment but I’m not sure we
are committed to tourism as only two people talk about tourism – the
Minister of Tourism and Lagos State Tourism commissioner, maybe when
our oil is finished, we will take tourism seriously.” She concluded.

Despite the recent call by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the devaluation of the naira, financial analysts believe that with the sustained intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the value of the naira would remain stable this year.

However, they cautioned that this would be at the expense of foreign reserves. According to Victor Ndukauba, an investment research analyst at Afrinvest, given the weakness of the United States dollar in the global currency markets, coupled with relatively high oil prices, the Central Bank has been able to intervene in the market at crucial times to meet excess demand for dollars and keep the currency broadly stable.
“We believe that sustained high prices, together with the Central Bank’s determination to mitigate the downside currency risk, should ensure that this stability is maintained throughout 2011. We forecast that the naira will stay firmly in the N151.00-N153.00 to the dollar range,” Mr. Ndukauba said.
Exchange rate movement The naira continues to remain a stable currency, trading at N150.5 to the dollar at the official market, still within the N150±3 per cent margin set by the Central Bank. Nigeria’s external reserves currently stand at $33.8 billion, representing a 4 per cent accretion YTD.
On a year to date (YTD) basis, the naira depreciated by 0.9 per cent at the official market but appreciated 0.6 per cent in the parallel markets while the spread between the official and parallel rates narrowed by 34 per cent to N4.5k.
“The Central Bank may continue its defence of the currency due to increased forex earnings (as a result of strong oil prices and production). Near term projection therefore remains stable,” Bismarck Rewane, managing director, Financial Derivatives Company, said.
According to him, the marginal build up in reserves comes on the back of strong oil production of 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) and high prices (above $100), making the figure somewhat disappointing.
“However, we expect to see a better performance in the coming months now that there are no special power projects to fund, boomed oil wells have been replaced, and speculative attack on the naira has thawed (the three major factors that helped to drain reserves according to the Central Bank governor),” Mr. Rewane said, adding that the naira is expected to trade at between N155-N160/$.
According to him, analysis has shown that the cash market is funded by the Central Bank. “The Central Bank’s defence is at the expense of the reserves,” he said.
Also, Yvonne Mhango, macro and fixed income research analyst, Renaissance Capital, an investment bank, said, “A comparison with Russia and Kazakhstan suggests to us that the naira should remain stable.”
She added that the similarity with which the 37 per cent decline in the annual average oil price impacted the currencies of Nigeria, Russia, and Kazakhstan in 2009 is peculiar.
“The naira, rouble, and tenge depreciated by 26 per cent, 27 per cent, and 23 per cent respectively, against the dollar in 2009. Notably, the currencies of Russia and Kazakhstan appreciated in 2010 on the back of a 29 per cent increase in the average oil price, while that of Nigeria moderately depreciated. This, in our view, adds to the argument that the naira should not be devalued.
“Although its current account surplus estimate for 2010 was downwardly revised to 7 per cent of GDP, Nigeria’s external position remains strong with eight-to-nine months of import cover and the strong oil price supporting an improvement in the current account surplus to 8-10 per cent of GDP in 2011, on our estimates. We thus maintain our view that Nigeria’s exchange rate will remain stable in 2011,” Ms. Mhango said.
The Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in an interview on CNBC TV last month, said that the regulatory body has chosen to go for exchange rate stability.
“It is not a fixed rate; I have made it very clear that we are not there to defend the naira at that level at all cost, but we do not have any fundamental reason for reducing the value of the naira. I have had this debate with the IMF, the recommendations they made are internally inconsistent.
“If we devalue the currency or we depreciate the currency, it adds to inflation. The question is, can we sustain this rate? And in a time of rising oil prices, stable revenues, we think we can. In fact, the depletion of reserves has ended,” Mr. Sanusi had said.

Not minding the obvious difficult business climate, Nigeria’s trade partners are still interested in increasing their foothold in the country.

Andy Davidson, deputy director, United Kingdom Trade and Investment department in Nigeria, said though the banking crisis has hampered the growth of businesses in the country, enormous opportunity still abound for other countries to tap into.

He said his office was interested in getting more British companies to come to Nigeria and take advantage of the opportunities. He said while the UK acknowledges the rise in trade between Nigeria and China, there were still areas where British companies can still thrive.

“I don’t worry too much about competition. I worry about British companies and how they should see Nigeria. China is our competitor and we need to find a competitive advantage to compete. It’s that simple. It is a capitalist world and Nigeria is a capitalist society. We need to compete.

“The EU (European Union), the United States, China. We all need to compete together. We all have unique selling points and it is just finding those and make sure we have a level playing field,” Mr. Davidson said.

Nigeria has strong historical ties with the UK and is the country’s 33rd largest overseas market and second largest African market for goods. UK export of goods to Nigeria in 2009 was worth £1.23 while that of services was worth £1.28 billion as at 2008.

Lack of information

Speaking at the breakfast meeting of the Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) yesterday in Lagos, Mr. Davidson said the major constraint to British businesses coming to Nigeria was the lack of information.

“Without that ability to have confidence and information, it is difficult for British firms to come to Nigeria,” he said.

He, however, said the perception about Nigeria was largely misplaced. “I think states are getting savvy in terms of what their potentials are. Nigeria was a bread basket 50 years ago and I don’t see why it cannot be a bread basket now.”

On Nigeria’s goal of being among the top 20 largest economies by the year 2020, he said though it is challenging, the objective is achievable.

“There is no reason why you would set a goal that is challenging and not achieve it. That is why we are here. It is going to take everybody coming together and driving it,” he further said.

Akinola Akintunde, president and chairman of council of the NBCC, said the chamber was interested in improving bilateral trade and development between both countries. In line with that, the chamber was organising a trade and an investment exposition holding at the end of the month.

“The goal of this show is to sensitise British investors on the potentials and opportunities in Nigeria. In the coming years, we expect to see increased investment in oil and gas, banking and finance, insurance, and professional services,” Mr. Akintunde said.

He further said one of the long term goals of the chamber is to improve the balance of trade between both countries, adding that as at 2009, Nigeria’s exports to UK was about $600 million.

Diezani Alison-Maduekwe, the Minister of Petroleum has expressed optimism that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be ready for the president’s signature by next month.Speaking at the eighth Aret Adams annual lecture series held in Lagos yesterday, the minister said, “We are very expectant. The Senate and the House of Representatives are passionate and eager to move this bill forward and they both want it out in the shortest possible time.”

Mrs. Alison-Maduekwe, who was the guest speaker at the lecture titled ‘Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry, its growth post PIB’, said she has been holding discussions with the chairmen of the committees and has been speaking with all concerned.

“We have to show the commitment necessary to the passage of the PIB. We are calling on all Nigerians to turn this aspiration to reality. The PIB has undergone various reviews and it is currently undergoing the final review by the legislators. It has undergone the first and second reading by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Right now, it is undergoing the chapter by chapter reviews by both houses before it is finally passed into law” she said.

She expressed optimism that a clear copy of the bill should be ready for the president’s assent next month. According to her, the passage of the PIB holds a lot of prospects for the country at large. “When this bill is passed, the gas sector will become the crux of our economy going forward. We have much more gas reserves than we have in crude.”

Prospects and benefits

Mrs. Alison-Maduekwe said the topic chosen for the lecture this year is one that is pertinent to the heart of many Nigerians. “The PIB is a long and in-depth bill, a historic, critical and extensive Bill encompassing the 16 hitherto existing laws with the oil and gas industry. One of the major benefits of this bill is that transparency in the oil and gas industry would be achieved.” “The oil and gas industry has been characterised by too much opaqueness, extreme level of confidentiality. This Bill would remove opaqueness in a scale that has never been seen. Data would be accessible for all interested individuals” she said.

Other benefits that would be derived from the passage of the bill according to the minister includes the availability of over 300, 000 jobs in the industry in the next 4-5 years, the implementation of corporate social responsibility would no longer be an option but compulsorily, gas flaring must be put to an end, and would hasten the commercialisation of the NNPC among other issues.

The government has repeatedly said the passage of the Bill is imminent, yet, revisions and debate have hindered the process since then.

Egbert Imomoh, the chairman, Board of Trustees, Aret Adams Foundation, said “Every year when the board of trustees meet to decide on a topic, we look at the industry, consider the issues which are current, topical and would attract a wide audience. Although the industry has set end of 2010, targets of a petroleum capacity of four million barrels a day, and reserves of 40 billion barrels, it was obvious that it could not be met for all kinds of reasons” he said.

“Secondly, the PIB has made so much progress in the National Assembly and attracted a lot of public and private debate, and based on assurances, we had expected it to be passed before the end of 2010. Apparently, not much investment was being made whilst the PIB was not yet passed. It was therefore obvious that the passage of the PIB was essential for the growth of the industry” he said.

Mr. Imomoh, who was Managing Director and Executive Chairman of Afren Energy Resources Limited and one time Deputy Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (Nigeria), said growth in the petroleum industry is absolutely essential to the Nigerian economy, given its position as the engine that drives economic expansion. Also, given the level of unemployment, a growth induced by the industry will contribute its own quota to job creation” he said.

The event was well attended by past and present managing directors and CEO’s of oil and gas companies and the NNPC, lawyers and dignitaries from all walks of life. The Aret Adams Foundation is founded on the ideals of the late Godwin Aret Adams, a one-time managing director of NNPC, among other positions in the oil and gas industry. Its major objectives include education and empowerment of Nigerians in the urban and rural centres. The foundation plans to organise seminars on topical issues of national importance aimed at empowering Nigerians.

The impact of brands in public education cannot be underestimated. This is due to the potency of strategies adopted to leverage brand visibility and positive perception. In such campaigns, even when the brand image soars, the ultimate goal of public education is given utmost priority.

I read the Dettol new health campaign several days back and in my own way, commended the thought process behind the campaign. I never thought the campaign could form a thrust of my column until events proved otherwise. However, the effectiveness of the campaign manifested through our children who started echoing one after the other, “We should wash our hands with Dettol soap”. I had not taken their comments seriously until they persisted. It was at that point I reminded them they use Dettol antiseptic to have their bath on a daily basis. I thought I had successfully calmed them, not until they reached for their school bags and brought out a manual on the Dettol Health Campaign. I was surprised because our first son had conveniently drawn the diagram in the manual on how to become a Dettol Health Champion. It was at this point that I realised that the children meant business. I had to take time to peruse the manual and it was a very enriching one.

It is important to state that brands that are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life build a sustainable image over a long period of time. Public education campaigns go the extra mile to connect directly with the public. It creates an instantaneous acceptability for the brands due to its advantage of knowledge sharing to the public. The Dettol Health campaign is indeed an eye opener to what brands can do to promote public good and influence them to take concrete steps to better their lives. I believe the strategic goal of the campaign has started achieving its results with my own experience already. This is because our children now want us to change to Dettol soap.

When brands enlighten and educate the publics, such brands remain in the hearts of the consumers. The functional benefits of such brands are also properly promoted to the consumers. There is no way such a brand will not occupy distinct advantage in the market. With the campaign which is targeted at the school pupils, the brand is being positioned to make them become influencers on their parents. Through the published educative manual, the school pupils have automatically become health champions.

The branding campaign is a well structured communication dedicated to public awareness in maintaining health standard. It exposes everyone and not only the pupils to harness the enormous benefits that come with proper hygiene.

One major fact that companies with consumer brands should realise is the need to embark on a long term investment on their brands. Some companies tend to focus on profitability alone without considering the interests of consumers. When brands are consumer driven, activities are embarked upon to promote public good.

Brands should seek to activate educational and enlightenment programmes that will impact positively on the brand’s image and on the long run benefit the public. When brands are consumer driven, the consumers will always be the focus of all brand activities and programmes.

In essence, brands should begin to adopt forward looking strategies to promote the general well being of the consumers. The path for a brand to be a champion in the market place is indeed to champion the causes of the consumers.

We need brands to educate and enlighten the consumers more on issues that affect them directly. This tells the consumers that brands are not only after their purchase alone but also their welfare. Brands can develop and thrive when they offer consumers something that they want and need which are beneficial and relevant to their lives. The ultimate result is that consumers will have intimate and powerful relationship with such brands.

The innocreative quick teller advert

If you have seen the Quick Teller advert of Interswitch, you will quite agree with me that it is both innovative and creative. It is one that has original thinking behind it. The advert projects the service providers with a lady’s earrings which exemplify creativity at its best. The other version of the advert had a lady’s finger nails with the service providers and it was published in a women focused journal. The print advert deserves commendation as it is one that is distinct. Coincidentally, the Communications Agency behind it Verdant Zeal clocked four years days back. This is to wish the guys at Verdant Zeal more years of innovation and creativity.

The Joint Tax Board (JTB) is to start the electronic
registration of tax payers through a project tagged, ‘Unique Tax Payer
Administration Number Project.’

The secretary of the board, Lawal Abubakar, disclosed this in
Bauchi State, when he led members of the committee on a courtesy call on the
Emir of Bauchi, Rilwan Suleiman Adamu, in his palace.

He said that the visit was to solicit for the traditional
ruler’s support in enlightening the people on the need to pay their taxes.

Mr. Abubakar said that the responsibility of the board was to
advice government on tax administration as well as how to generate more revenue
for the three tiers of government, adding that it would also provide a
comprehensive data base for all eligible tax payers.

“The purpose of the project is to ensure that each and every
taxable individual is captured through electronic system. Their names, places
of residence, and their 10 finger prints must be captured for easy
identification,” he said.

Consultants

Mr. Abubakar revealed that consultants were also involved in the
project, all aimed at providing equipment towards efficient data capturing
system.

“Our consultant is to provide services in terms of provision of
equipment that will allow modern way of capturing data as far as the tax payer
is concerned. The state, in conjunction with federal government agencies such
as states Board of Internal Revenues, Federal Inland Revenue Services, National
Bureau of Statistics, National Population, Federal Road Safety Commissions, as
well as the EFCC, among others, would serve as members of the steering
committee,” he said.

He further explained that one state in each geo-political zone
of the country would serve as a pilot to the exercise. The states are Bauchi,
Jigawa, Kwara, Delta, Abia, and Oyo. He said other states would follow
subsequently as the selection was based on counterpart funding, of which Bauchi
is the first to fulfill this requirement in the zone.

In his response, Bauchi’s traditional ruler commended the team
for its effort in reviving the tax system in the country. He said that tax
collection would generate more revenue, thereby bringing economic development.

He assured the team of his maximum support in getting the
cooperation of the people. “I know there are challenges when it comes to paying
of tax because when you mention tax to the people, it makes them feel as if you
want to collect all the little they are earning,” he said.

Twelve countries in the West African sub-region are to benefit from
a World Bank-assisted regional agricultural project under the West Africa
Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP).

Nigeria is one of the countries to benefit from the $300 million
facility. Other countries under the scheme include Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Cote
d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Benin, Gambia, and Niger.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is
expected to contribute $30 million of the facility, with the balance of $15
million to be contributed from the Nigerian International Development Agency
(IDA), and $6 million from free grants from the Global Food Crisis Response
Programme (GFPR). Nigeria contributes between 60-65 % of ECOWAS funds.

Boost for local farmers

Nigeria, which has already received the approval of the board of
the World Bank to participate in the programme, is expected to utilise the
facility to boost its productivity as well as create direct employment for
about 1.5 million local farmers, especially youth and women.

World Bank’s task team leader for the programme, Abdoulaye
Toure, leading a team of agricultural experts to Nigeria, said that the project
has started yielding results in some participating African countries, such as
Mali, where technologies developed for rice has helped raise farm productivity
from 2 to 9 tons per hectare, with Nigeria’s farm productivity currently at 2.5
tons per hectare.

Mr. Toure said Nigeria, which will share $51 million in WAPPP
package, will pay back only the interest-free $15 million to the IDA in 40 years,
with a grace period of 10 years.

“Nigeria is expected to play a key role in championing this
regional agricultural programme to scale up research and technology adoption to
enhance agricultural productivity in the West Africa sub-region. Many of the
participating West African countries are looking up to Nigeria for leadership
in the project,” Mr. Toure said.

The WAAPP project is expected to assist farmers in
agro-processing and value addition for agricultural products. The first phase
of the project, approved in 2007, has since provided Ghana, Senegal, and Mali
with agricultural research systems and regional research coordination and
monitoring through the West African Council for Agricultural Research and
Development (WACARD).

Nigeria’s agriculture sector has continued to remain the highest
contributor to the gross domestic project, with the federal government’s
aspiration to attain the Vision 20-20-20 objectives aimed at making the country
one of the world’s leading economies by the year 2020.

Available statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) show that Nigeria’s current food import bills are high, while
productivity of the country’s agricultural commodities remains comparatively
low against other countries in the sub-region.

The goal of WAAPP is to encourage integrated development of agricultural
research into the technology generation and dissemination continuum throughout
the region.

Equatorial Guinea sits in the heart of Africa and is the fourth
highest producer of crude oil in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria, Angola, and
Sudan. It has reaped huge revenues from crude oil sales since 1995 when
commercial export began, although discovery of the product was made in the
1960s. It is one country whose political experience will make the years of
brute military rule in Nigeria a mere child’s play in comparison.

The current maximum ruler of that country took over power in a
bloody military coup in 1979, eleven years after that country’s independence
from Spain. At that time, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was a Lieutenant
Colonel and his uncle, Francisco Macia Nguema, was the president. He is said to
have personally supervised the execution of his uncle by firing squad and has
reigned supreme over the country of less than a million people since then.

The nation’s GDP of about $37,900 is many times above that of
Nigeria. The truth, however, is that the high GDP does not translate to a
better life for the people. Since the ascendancy of crude oil as a major income
earner, other aspects of the economy, especially production of agricultural
produce such as cocoa, have suffered neglect. Does that not remind you of
Nigeria?

While looking up on President Nguema, one could not avoid
visiting the pages of Wikipedia where parts of the entry on this man reveals
the following: “In July 2003, state-operated radio declared Obiang to be a god
who is “in permanent contact with the Almighty” and “can decide to kill without
anyone calling him to account and without going to hell.” He personally made
similar comments in 1993. Despite these comments, he still claims that he is a
devout Catholic and was invited to the Vatican by John Paul II and again by
Benedict XVI. Macías had also proclaimed himself a god.’

Standing up to the despot

The president, his family, relatives, and friends are said to
own most businesses in the country. With the severe curtailment of freedom in
the country, it has come as a vent of fresh air when the writer, Juan Tomas
Avila Laurel, called for change and embarked on a hunger strike demanding an
end to the despotic reign in his country.

In a letter to Jose Bono Martinez, the president of Spanish
parliament, dated 11 February 2011, Mr. Laurel states among other things that,

“Since you believe so deeply in the moral solvency of President
Obiang, who has been in power since 1979, we fervently request that you exert
some influence and take steps towards the formation of a government of
transition; one in which those who have held positions in the last 32 years in
Equatorial Guinea must not take any part.

“This is not a political demand, as it might seem to you, but a
socially and morally driven one. We cannot continue living under a dictatorship
that eats away at our very souls.

“Mr. Bono, all we are asking is that you find asylum in a safe
country for Obiang, his son Teodorin, first lady Constancia, and his brothers
and cousins, the generals and colonels who maintain this unspeakable regime. We
believe that one-third of the money that any one of them has deposited in banks
abroad would be enough to support themselves for the rest of their days. The remaining
sum has to be returned to the country.”

The letter ends with a painful plea for intervention: “Mr. Bono,
it is not fair for me to put my life in your hands. I will not deny, however,
that whatever happens to me will depend in great measure on what you do.”

Gaddafi’s oily stand and
neo-philanthropists

The events in North Africa and in the Middle East clearly
highlight the fact that crude oil has been largely responsible for the
entrenchment of crude regimes in the region.

This is particularly visible in Libya where the man who has been
in power for over four decades clings on, threatens to cleanse the country of
protesters house to house and if necessary blow up the oil and gas fields of
the country.

This threat has introduced a new dimension to the volatility of
crude oil supply and threatens to push prices to record high. Call him what you
like, but Mr. Gaddafi and his cohorts have fed from the feeding bottle of crude
oil and taking that from them without a period of weaning is bound to result in
the slaughter and tantrums that is the hall mark of the regime in Tripoli.

A quick look back at the third week of February 2011 shows that
as we saw a fine being slammed on the oil giant, Chevron, for polluting the
Amazonian region of Ecuador, we heard of the company’s philanthropic move in
the Niger Delta.

The gesture is a clear case of philanthropic tokenism. It
appears that Chevron sought to draw attention away from the long-awaited
verdict from Ecuador by moving across the Atlantic and displaying a suspect
front of compassion in the bloodstained and oil soaked creeks of the Niger
Delta. The link and the timing are inescapable.

The company announced with much fanfare a splash of $50 million,
ostensibly to ignite economic development and tackle conflict in the region –
of which, it must be said, the company admitted to being a contributor in the
past.

The money is being funnelled through the company’s Niger Delta
Partnership Initiative and the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and will be spent over the next four years. The thrust will
obviously be to generate employment since the oil company hires only a tiny
fraction of the millions it has impoverished through the destruction of the
creeks, swamps, farmlands and forests that they depend on for their livelihoods
through oil spills, gas flares, and the dumping of other toxic wastes.

These are interesting days indeed. Without doubt, crude oil
business is not only volatile, but explosive. It is the stuff that oils the
machinery of despotism and it is the stuff that blinds the world to the bloods
that flow on the streets as people fight for liberty.

It is also the stuff that bluffs and seeks to blind us from
demanding environmental justice but accepting tokens.