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Research and Marketing Services (RMS), a leading marketing
research company not only in Nigeria but also within the West Africa region,
recently released a survey tagged ‘Pulse of the Nation’, which reflected the
opinions and views of Nigerians on socio- economic and political issues.

The survey is an eye opener as it revealed the desires of the
people with specific regards to governance, citizen empowerment, elections, and
leadership. It is one survey that reflects the wishes of the people for a
government to focus on delivering value to the citizenry.

The importance of such perception surveys cannot be
underestimated, especially in an environment such as ours. The survey comes as
a critical reference point in this column due to the recent decision of
government to close schools for over three weeks because of voter registration
exercise.

Even though RMS is a private entity, I think government
parastatals saddled with information and civic orientation should, on a
consistent basis, engage in public perception research to touch base with the
citizens. The recent uproar resulting from the schools’ closure bears testimony
to the fact that we do not have a listening government. A key ingredient of the
re- branding campaign is the desired need to re-tool government machinery to be
more virile and responsive to the needs of the citizens.

I find this a very commendable effort because perception is a
key and Nigerians are living up to their civic responsibilities. Some other
bodies like a group of educators went to meet the education minister while
others utilised media to publish their grievances.

It thus becomes crucial for Nigerians to embrace every channel
of communication to make their opinion and perception count on key government
policies. The media also has a critical role to play in ensuring that the
public perception and views on key issues of national discourse are given
prominent attention. The same was accorded the public outcry that greeted the
legislators pay.

Public perception should not also be taken with levity, as it
constitutes a groundswell of public opinion on issue. Gauging public perception
on a consistent basis helps in moulding and reshaping government policies for
better impact. Public perception helps the government to perform better and
focus on key parameters to provide good governance.

It thus becomes essential for government to embark on public
perception survey to assess people’s response to government policies and
initiatives. This is due to its effectiveness in evaluating the thought pattern
of the people as it enables government to focus on areas that can improve the
lot of the entire citizenry.

It has become expedient for government to attach high importance
to public perception.

This sounds strange in our clime and it should not be so. It is
high time the government do away with unpopular policies.

There should be a sustainable and consistent process to gather
opinions, feelings and views of the people. When the government fails to do
this, it meets with resistance from the people and thus reverses unpopular
decisions.

This is also a clarion call to Nigerians to shed all garments of
docility when it comes to public issues. We should also make our opinion count
and let the government listen when we talk.

Ayopo, a communication
strategist and public relations practitioner, is the chief executive of
Shortlist Limited.

The Nigerian Stock
Exchange (NSE) has reiterated that the newly appointed Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) and executive directors “will assume duties no later than
April 1st.”

The Board of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, the market regulator, had on
Tuesday ratified the selection of Oscar Onyema as the new CEO of the
NSE and Ade Bajomo as executive director, IT and Market Operations.

The commission,
however, urged the Exchange council to conclude the executive selection
process for the other two positions, executive directors for Strategy
& Business Development and Quotations and Listings.

“The interim
administrator said whoever is appointed will resume latest April 1st
and I don’t think he has said anything in contrary to that,” Wole
Tokede, the NSE spokesperson, reaffirmed.

Also, Emmanuel
Ikazoboh, the Exchange interim administrator, said last week that the
remaining two positions could not be competed “because of the weather
situation in UK and in US in December” which affected some of the
candidates in those places from flying in to the country.

“Fortunately for
the CEO position, all the three selected candidates were around and
that was how we completed that,” Mr. Ikhazoboh said, adding that the
interview for other positions would continue this month.

He said the
recruitment process, which saw over 1,600 applications for all the four
positions, is longer than expected because “we (NSE) wanted to ensure
that we have a thorough, auditable, efficient, and transparent process
in determining who would be the next executive officers” at the
Exchange.

Meanwhile, while
investors at the nation’s capital market continue to record additional
gains on their equities’ value, as market capitalisation gained N87
billion at the close of Thursday’s trading, the NSE has assured
investors who are clients of the stockbroking firms it suspended of
safety of their investments.

The Exchange on
Tuesday suspended 61 dealing member firms for failure to meet up with
the N70 million minimum capital base. Between Tuesday and Thursday,
five of them had met the requirement and their suspension subsequently
lifted.

Mr. Tokede, in a
statement on yesterday, said, “Mr. Ikazoboh dismissed the allegation by
some of the affected stockbroking firms that the Exchange did not give
them enough time to beef up their capital base before suspending them.
He described the allegation as baseless.”

On the security of
clients’ investment, he said that the Exchange on January 18, 2011
issued a circular to remind all suspended Dealing Members Firms of
their duty to instruct and appoint another stockbroker to carry out the
mandate they had got from their clients prior to their suspension.

Jim Obazee, the
managing director of National Accounting Standard Board, said 2012 has
been set aside as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
adoption date for listed companies.

Mr. Obazee, on Thursday, said that this was to ensure that the
companies listed in the Nigeria Stock Exchange adhered to the
transition process. He said that the process was in phases, to ensure
smooth transition.

Some
of the rescued banks are silent on how far they have gone with their
recapitalisation effort and the fate of their subsidiaries, especially
those outside the country.

Oceanic
Bank, one of the banks closed down its outlet in The Gambia last week,
citing inability to meet the capital requirements of 150 million dalasi
(about US$ 5.6 million) demanded by that country’s authorities. Thomas
Quayson, the bank’s spokesperson in the country, said that the bank
headquarters in Nigeria could no longer subsidise its foreign branches,
and as a result are returning deposited money to customers.

At
the bank headquarters in Nigeria, staff refused to talk about the
issue. “All we can say now is that we have opted to go from
international banking to national” a source said. “Details of what will
happen to our subsidiaries cannot be given now until the whole process
is over, right now, it is still a work in progress” he added.

Following
the sale of some non-performing loan portfolio to the Asset Management
Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and receipt of bonds worth over N200
billion in exchange, John Aboh, the bank chief executive, said it is
now operating with an enhanced liquidity ratio that is above the 25 per
cent level required by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Like
Oceanic Bank, officials at Intercontinental Bank too were reluctant to
talk about the progress of their subsidiaries. “When we conclude our
own recapitalisation locally, we would now issue a press statement
stating emphatically on what was bought or acquired and by whom. Until
that is done, we really don’t want to talk on this” a source who did
not want to be quoted officially said.

Intercontinental
Bank’s chief, Mahmoud Lai Alabi has however said that regardless of the
outcome of the on-going recapitalization process, the bank will remain
an international bank. The bank has branches in the United Kingdom and
Ghana presently.

Tunde
Olofintila, Wema Bank’s spokesperson said the bank has no worries as it
has no subsidiary issues to address so it is focussing on restructuring
for regional banking.

Unity
Bank also disclosed on its website that its banking operations are
limited to five zones of Lagos and South West, North West, Central,
North East, South.

Despite
receiving over N200 billion in consideration bonds from AMCON last
year, Nigeria’s sixth largest lender by total assets, Oceanic Bank, is
not out of the woods just yet.

Adesoji
Solanke, banking analyst, Renaissance Group, an investment bank, says,
“While we understand that Oceanic Bank is still carrying out its
valuations and holding discussions, we believe significant progress is
being made. This is on the back of the bank’s decision to dispose of
its Gambia operations which we believe is a decision that would have to
be taken in cognizance of the strategic direction of the acquirer”.

Over the last two years the National Assembly made attempts to
enact laws that would bring about needed changes in the oil and gas sector and
in the overall socio-economic environment. Somehow, both the Senate and the
House of Representatives slipped into deep sleep over the salient issues.

The first bill that comes to mind is the highly talked about
Petroleum Industries Bill (PIB). Oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria
have generally been happy to continue business as usual, riding on the tracks
set by various military dictators who held sway over the powers of state in the
past. The PIB, with all its imperfections, attempts to bring some level of
sanity into the sector and allows for some form of integration as well as
enabling the nation to derive more financial and socio-economic benefits from
the sector.

Expectedly, the oil companies have fought the bill. They have
openly said that they would not accept any law that is not favourable to them
and have often twisted statistics to suggest that Nigeria is attempting to
drive them into bankruptcy if the bill is passed into law without being watered
down.

Similarly, the government seems to be bending back and doing the
donkey work to ensure that the oil companies are happy. Having been in bed
together for so long, the necessary social distance needed for serious
negotiations between the government and the companies is difficult to create
and so they continue with their pillow talk away from public view.

While the oil companies kick and scream over who gets to pocket
how much money, the issues that really concern the local communities living in
the oil fields were largely overlooked by the PIB. For example, there are no
concerns about the impacts of the sector’s activities on the environment.
Neither did the first draft make any allowance for community consultations and
participation.

This writer fully appreciates the difficulties that governments
have when it comes to communities. I often recall a conversation I had with a
Mines and Energy minister of another country over serious agitations from
communities who feared that mining activities in their communities would
destroy their livelihood. They demanded a consultation with the government and
the government would not agree to hold one because, according to the minister,
the national constitution did not say anything about popular consultations and
as such the government could not say what it meant, how it should be held, and
who would pay for it.

Even when the community folks were ready to hold the
consultation at no cost to government and insisted that this was a right under
the International Labour Organisation’s covenant, the government would not
budge. The only promise our meeting left with was that the government would not
proceed with the mining projects until a suitable agreement was reached with
the affected people.

Consequently, violent conflicts deepened in the area and it does
seem that this is the sort of dialogue that some governments would prefer to
have. Conflicts in Nigeria have similar roots.

The PIB has the possibility of making environmental and
community concerns central in the sector. The environment has been trashed for
long enough and there is need for a cease-fire now. And if we like, we can
extend an amnesty to the oil companies too.

Sleepy chambers

The Gas Flares Prohibition Bill of 2008 is another critical bill
that has been sleeping in the chambers of the House of Representatives. The
Senate passed the bill and going by it, gas flaring would have been outlawed
again by the end of 2010. Gas flaring has been illegal in Nigeria since 1984
and a High Court sitting in Benin City affirmed in November 2005 that the
activity is indeed illegal and a flagrant abuse of human rights.

Shell informed the world about the origins of gas flaring in
Nigeria in a May 2010 document on their website. “When The Shell Development
Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) built many of its first production facilities
in the 1950s, there was little demand or market for gas in many parts of the
world, including Nigeria. So, Associated Gas (AG) was usually burned off safely
– a process called flaring. This remained accepted industry practice as SPDC
established a major oil operation across the Niger Delta.”

As you can see, this dastardly act goes back five decades! Gas
flaring may have been a practice accepted by Shell and their co-travelers in
the pursuit of ecocide, we can loudly say that the practice was never
celebrated by the suffering people of the oil region. Neither will communities
elsewhere in Nigeria accept it if oil is found in their territories.

The gas flare prohibition law for the first time proposes
sanctions that should deter the companies from engaging in the destructive
activity. Apart from prison terms proposed, offenders would pay fines
equivalent to market value of the flared gas. The bill also proposes that no
company should be given any lease for oil and gas exploitation without an
accepted gas utilisation plan.

Now the slumber of the House of Representatives over this matter
has allowed the 2010 deadline proposed by the bill to slip by. Added to dinner
party deadlines set and ignored by past governments, this one has been swept
under the carpet and no future deadline is even hoisted to keep hope alive.

Gas flaring is an abuse that cannot be tolerated for any reason.
We have allowed it for long enough. We do not need new deadlines. And the farce
of presenting projects with regard to existing gas flares for carbon credit
under the United Nations Framework Convention must be halted.

The slippery terrain of the oil sector has dulled the outgoing
NASS into sleep and given room for continued abuse and pillage. If
electioneering will allow governance to proceed, it is not too late in the day
for the legislators to rouse from slumber and do the right thing.

Nigeria’s Central
Bank expects a drop in foreign reserves to end due to higher oil
prices, tighter monetary policy, and stronger capital markets, and sees
no need to let the naira weaken, Governor Lamido Sanusi said. “The
Central Bank is convinced that a stable exchange rate is crucial both
for maintaining price stability and attracting foreign investment as it
provides a transparent anchor,” Mr. Sanusi told Reuters late on
Wednesday.

Nigeria sold 60 billion naira in 5-year and 3-year sovereign bonds at
its first debt auction of the year, the Debt Management Office (DMO)
said on Thursday. The debt office sold 30 billion naira each in the
5-year and 3-year instruments at Wednesday’s auction with marginal
rates of 11.13 per cent and 10.40 per cent respectively, slightly lower
yields than at the previous auction in December. The bonds were issued
at 12 per cent each last month.

Stronger-than-expected
Chinese growth data spurred concern on Thursday about tighter monetary
policy, prompting a sell-off in equities led by emerging markets.

The euro dipped on
profit-taking after reaching two-month highs in the previous session
but then trimmed losses as speculation grew that the euro zone’s rescue
mechanism for fiscally troubled peripheral states might be strengthened.

Chinese growth
soared past forecasts and inflation slowed less than expected in the
fourth quarter, prompting worries that the government may intensify
tightening. Disappointing U.S. earnings added to the mix.

Plans for a
delayed 300 MW wind farm in Kenya can now proceed after lenders agreed
to rely on the government’s assurance that it backed the plan, instead
of proper guarantees, the chairman of the project said. “Guarantees, we
are not being given. What we are getting is a letter of comfort, or
support, from the ministry of finance. This has now been agreed with
the lenders as an acceptable format so we can move forward,” Carlo van
Wageningen, chairman of LTWP, told Reuters in an interview. Kenya’s
government has been scratching its head over how to deal with demand
from lenders for financial guarantees. Kenyan law does not allow the
Treasury to put down a security for a private venture.

South Africa’s rand
gained slightly against the dollar on Thursday, coming off six week
lows ahead of the central bank’s interest rate decision later in the
session. A Reuters poll forecast the Reserve Bank will keep its key
repo rate at 5.5 per cent, taking the view that 650 basis points of
cuts since December 2008 is sufficient stimulus to help lift growth
after the economy contracted in 2009. Government bonds firmed,
recouping some heavy losses that pushed yields to multi-month highs
this week.

The rand fell to a
six week low of 6.9978 in the previous session, inching close to the
key psychological level of 7.00/dollar that could indicate further
losses if breached.