OPINION

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OPINION

Slavery Still Exists, We Must Take Action, By Muhammadu Buhari

Four centuries ago, the first 20 documented African slaves arrived on the shores of Virginia. In the years that followed, millions more were shipped in dehumanizing conditions across the ocean and enslaved. Slavery had, of course, existed before. But this indicated the beginning of a mechanized trade that saw human beings reduced to property on an unprecedented scale.

Despite the fact that descendants of African slaves have made valuable contributions across society, they are still dealing with the effects of this poisonous legacy. They still have to navigate its everyday manifestations, such as discrimination, racism or lack of access to resources and opportunities. This must not be overlooked or forgotten.

Yet, as we reflect on this day, International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition, it is clear slavery did not only thrive then. It still thrives today. Across the world it is estimated there are as many as 40 million men, women and children living in forced servitude. They are the industrial victims of a business many believe was abolished hundreds of years ago. They are the modern enslaved.

Their exploitation appears in many guises, though usually unrecognized as slavery. Many victims are unseen, hidden beneath opaque supply chains. Others are hidden in plain sight, entrapped by circumstances that rob them of autonomy. In any case, their labor, often dangerous, is no product of choice, and its conditions are self-perpetuating.

In Africa, its modern forms include debt bondage, the enslavement of war captives, commercial sexual exploitation and forced domestic servitude. Holding people held against their will, controlling their movements and forcing them to work for the sole profit of others — wherever they are — is slavery today and always.

The abolitionists of the 19th century succeeded more than any before: By working to extinguish the transatlantic slave trade that had claimed 15 million victims, they laid the groundwork to ensure it did not manufacture millions more. But their work is not done. We must take up their examples as we forge a path forward to eliminate modern-day slavery in all its forms.

Slavery, once again, has become entwined in the global economy — and it is largely unseen. For instance, most of us might know in principle that the mining of cobalt crucial to our smartphones might have used forced labor. But what do we know of those that experience it? Just as personal testimony and resulting public pressure led to the passing of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in Britain in 1807, these stories must be told and used to inform policy. Once heard, they can elevate visceral reactions, driving the public pressure needed to ensure the application of anti-slavery laws.

One distinction from then and now is important: the costs. From records, adjusted for today’s prices, the cost of a human-being-as-property was valued on average at $40,000. Today, it is just $90, sometimes even lower. We must remember that slavery is not simply a campaign of hatred; it is the pursuit of profit. One way to extinguish it in its current forms, therefore, is to make it economically unfeasible. This means making sure that any anti-slavery laws have bite, come with strong penalties and are enforced.

It is also vital to have a robust tip-off and reporting system. Where this once meant detecting ships, today the signs are less conspicuous. The public must be shown how to see what is hidden in plain sight, particularly signs of suspicious behavior. This might seem broad. But vagueness should not give rise to reluctance to report anything that could be smuggling or forced servitude. If something doesn’t look right, report it, for you could be securing another human’s freedom.

In Nigeria, our anti-trafficking agency has rolled out the “Not for Sale” campaign to protect against the deceptions of human smugglers, helping those who might be vulnerable to false promises see through the ruse and say no. These prevention programs are crucial.

The appearance of slavery today might have changed. The institution has not. There are no radical solutions to conjure, only political will. But on this, we can learn from the past, the shadows in which modern slavery proliferates today.

It is not enough to mark this 400th anniversary. We must use it as a platform to eliminate slavery in all its present-day forms. We should reflect in memory to find a better future, one that should ensure freedom for all.

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OPINION

Osinbajo: Of Federal Appointments, Near Death Experience And The Trumpet Of Mischief, By Abdullahi Haruna

There is a piece circulating in the media space mocking the vice president Yomi Osinbajo of losing out in the recent ministerial list inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari. Nothing is more mischievous than the antics of meddlesome interlopers creating bad blood even where exist wonderful relationships.
To start with, the author of the above is nameless. The only inference from the silly anonymity is that he or she is unsure of the concoction passed off as an article.

It would have been needless reacting to a bilious article with an anonymous author but for the simple fact that the article which is a figment of the arid imagination of the author is capable of misleading some unsuspecting members of the public who may consider it an article of wholesale truth.

That said, it is a known fact that both Professor Yemi Osinbajo and Muhammadu Buhari ran on a joint ticket in the 2019 presidential election as vice presidential and presidential candidates on the platform of the All Progressives Congress(APC). Therefore, whatever electoral input the Vice President must have made in the course of the tortuous campaign was his own contribution to the election from which he and Buhari emerged as victors. And it was not in vain.

Perhaps if Osinbajo had not campaigned vigorously across the length and breadth of the country, selling the Next Level agenda to Nigerians while also restating the modest successes of the administration between 2015 and 2019 to the electorates, the election outcome might have gone the other way which implies that he won’t be the number two man in the country today!

Besides, the near air mishap the VP and his entourage encountered in Kogi State while on a visit to campaign was part of the risks involved in any hustle. It is only those who dare to take risks who win. Osinbajo understands this aspect of life clearly and that was why he still went ahead, unencumbered by the near death experience, to carry out with the activities slated for that day. Thank goodness he did not die. He is living to enjoy the fruits of the risks he took. So let the author bury his unwanted sympathy for Osinbajo does not need the sympathy of cynics.

In case the nameless author does not know, those who are familiar with the political trajectory of the cerebral Professor of Law know that he is not a typical Nigerian politician who sees politics as a means to personal aggrandizement and thus will begin to count imaginary losses when the game is only just unravelling.

Elections are over. It’s time for governance. And that exactly is what Osinbajo is doing. He has a lot on his plate already. The management of the economy virtually rests on his shoulders in addition to superintending the all-important Social Investment Policy of the Buhari administration.

If the hooded writer wants to lament because Senator Ibikunle Amosun is believed to be getting political jobs meant for Ogun State where the VP hails from for his cronies, what about the 500,000 otherwise unemployed Nigerian youth who are engaged today across the country via the N-Power Scheme which the office of the VP is driving?

What about the over 2 million petty traders and small scale business owners who are receiving collateral free, interest free loans? Is it not the same Osinbajo who is driving the programs impacting their lives? The public-spirited person that he is, the VP is not motivated to serve because of perks or largesse of office which explains why he has chosen to touch the lives of the mass majority of Nigerians through the instrumentality of the FG-driven social programs that can impact positively on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

For the education of the masked author, all federal appointments are at the mercy of the President who dispenses to whomever he is pleased with. Osinbajo is not the President and will never do anything to drag leadership and patronage distribution with his principal. A former VP who tried to take the shine off his boss is still struggling today to redeem his once illustrious political career.

By the way, as afar as Ogun State and its people are concerned, the most important political position that has a direct bearing on the lives of the citizenry is that of the Governor. It is on record that VP Osinbajo contributed significantly to the election that brought His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun to power in the state.

Osinbajo has not lost anything and is not losing anything. Just yesterday, the President ratified the appointments of those who worked with the VP between 2015 and 2019. A President who does not like his VP would have imposed unknown persons on him.

Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice

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OPINION

A Butcher’s Judgement…Typically British, By Louis Odion, FNGE

A poor reading of the verdict by the London court slapping a historic penalty of $9b on Nigeria last Friday is viewing it as an affirmation of the law of contract. No, it is not. Rather, it is the orchestration of international politics and neo-colonial power-play at their vilest.

Indeed, let no one be deceived that objectivity is assured in the interpretation of international law by even angels, especially when the interests of multinationals are in dispute concurrently across jurisdictions. In such circumstance, pure nationalistic instinct is likely to trump fidelity to reason or the universal principle of fairplay.

For ages, the doctrine of sovereign immunity was, for instance, often invoked by powerful nations of the West to commit blue murder anywhere across the universe. But good students of history will recall that attempt later in the 70s by newly independent African nations to draw on the same principle ended ghastly. In the international court, it now became fairly convenient to invert Lord Denning’s new theory of “market place” to hand Nigeria the short end of the stick in the landmark case of Swiss-owned Trendtex versus Central Bank of Nigeria.

A similar – if not identical – conflict is what is being stoked invariably by P&ID vs Nigeria. In choosing not to view things from the prism of the U.S. court (which can justifiably be seen as unencumbered by any possible nationalist bias), there is, therefore, a compelling reason to see the London court’s Justice Christopher Butcher as bending the arch of justice to favour a home company, with a covetous eye on Nigeria’s substantial assets domiciled within the U.K.

Given the severity of the penalty awarded, it was as if Justice Butcher opted to literally act out his fearsome name by dealing savage knife blows on Nigeria’s jugular.

What then appears ludicrous back at home has been the attempt by some cynical elements to scrounge some mileage from this sad development for their petty partisan politics. Only genuine patriots would have seen the development first as more of a huge slap on the nation by foreign interests, even if our leadership failing to an extent would still be admitted.

Note, the local airwaves had barely crackled by midday with the highlight of the London judgement when the social media was drowned with the hysteria of PDP agents against President Muhammadu Buhari as the sole culprit. They claimed the fine resulted essentially from his malicious discontinuation of another of Jonathan’s visionary projects.

But when more media insights began to pour in, that spin had to be modified ingeniously. The following day, Jonathan’s salespeople decided to sweep the entire blame to the gravesides of both ex-President Umar Yar’Adua and Rilwan Lukman now incapable of defending themselves.

Now, let us concede that Jonathan was completely locked out of Aso Rock while the sneaky contract was being facilitated by “the cabal” as the then ailing president was gasping for oxygen and Lukman (the oil minister) seemed too self-absolved in hauteur to submit the details of the contract agreement to the scrutiny of Michael Aondoakaa commonly regarded then as essentially a comical Attorney General.

But nothing can absolve Jonathan of liability for the non-consummation of the contract beginning from February 2010 as acting President and three months later as the substantive following Yar’Adua’s demise. P&ID began to complain more than a year later. By the time the company eventually resorted to arbitration in 2012, Jonathan’s much beloved Diezani Allison-Madukwe had of course become entrenched as almighty oil empress.

From what we now know, she obviously was too preoccupied with either signing Nigeria’s patrimony away to her younger “admirers” like now fugitive Kola Aluko in sweetheart oil-swap deals or immersing herself in the sheer effulgence of her mammoth jewelry collection to have mustered the presence of mind to grasp the contract idea, much less contemplate what benefits might accrue therefrom to the nation.

So, it bears restating that national interest was least served by those who committed Nigeria into such contract with improbable terms to begin with. That rape of Nigeria was not helped by Jonathan’s subsequent sloppiness. Today’s sorry outcome is traceable to yesterday’s tardiness.

But by far more atrocious is the taste of British jurisprudence the nation was offered brusquely by the London court last Friday. While the dereliction of Nigerian officials is regrettable, nothing can however explain the juridical logic summoned by Justice Butcher to enter a judgment that negates morality and mocks all the principles of natural justice.

Note, to corner this windfall, nothing in the convoluted narration made in British and American courts in the last seven years suggested that P&ID engaged in much toil between 2010 and 2012 other than its officials carrying briefcases around Abuja and meeting with Nigerian officials. It never as much as cracked any soil in Calabar to erect the envisaged gas processing plant (as expressly stated in the contract pact), to which Nigeria was expected to lay hundreds of kilometre of pipes.

To generations of blacks still stuck today with the trauma inflicted by the colonial disruption of African civilizations, Justice Butcher’s latest travesty must be a sad reminder of the culture of plunder and predation for which imperial Britain was quite exceptional even among fellow European exploiters in history.

Were the verdict to be enforced to the letter, it should qualify as the single most punitively prohibitive fine ever imposed in history on a sovereign nation relative to her fiscal strength. The $9b sanction represents a whopping twenty percent the nation’s present foreign reserve and a third of the current national budget.

At the arbitration court in London in 2012, P&ID began by filing claims of $40m expenses and proceeded to add “lost earnings” in the twenty-year tenure of the agreement based on impossible operation benchmarks of more than ninety percent capacity utilization and a patently unrealistic expectation that oil never fell below $100 per barrel.

As if that was not already shylock enough, the judge opted to play Father Xmas by granting the petitioner’s additional prayer that compound interest be paid on the fine imposed on Nigeria. That explains how P&ID’s preliminary claim of $40m in 2012 mushroomed exponentially to the $9b awarded last week.

No sane person will accept such sham without a fight in the first place. Buhari could, therefore, be said to have acted most patriotically by refusing the initial hefty $800m payout proposed by a departing Jonathan in May 2015. In any case, with Nigeria technically insolvent by the time PMB was taking over having lapsed into a recession described as the worst in a generation, there practically was no way Nigeria could have paid, assuming the new administration was even willing.

Expectedly, the government soon mounted a vigorous counter-attack by filing appeal in the U.K and the U.S. against the claimant. Whereas the U.S. upheld Nigeria’s objection to the enforcement of the claim by pleading sovereignty, the British court chose to dismiss the plea as “frivolous”.

What makes the Butcher’s verdict all the more curious is a subsequent media expose suggesting a determined conspiracy to raid Nigeria’s exchequer. Ahead of the judgment, a whopping twenty-five percent stake of P&ID was snapped up in a strange deal by a hedge fund manager known as VR Capital Group in March. Since the Friday judgment, the sidetalk in global financial circles is that the hedge fund manager had all along been pulling levers of influence in the U.K. and the U.S. to make Nigeria either settle or be willing to forfeit her assets. So, it would then seem the vultures had long been hovering overhead as the nation began to wallow in the British dock.

Now the big question: did VR Capital Group read Justice Butcher’s mind ahead? Or, could his judgment be mere coincidence?

Developments like this will only reinforce long-held suspicion that the British jurisprudence is half of the times tainted and can, therefore, not be trusted to avail us justice on own accord without us standing up to the system, nor can its integrity be vouched for to protect our interest behind our back.

For instance, a survey conducted sometime ago by an anti-corruption group, Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer, came with the damning report that one in five people using the courts in the U.K. said they or a household member paid a bribe for favourable outcome, even as one quarter of people in the country believe the courts and judiciary are corrupt. But the supreme irony is that British leaders or officials are often the first to label us as the most dubious or “fantastically corrupt”. The enduring hypocrisy in such condescension is that their London is renowned worldwide as one of the most receptive of money stolen from relatively much poorer Third World countries and the ultimate haven of shell companies used to launder dirty cash from dingy provenance across the universe. According to Britain’s own National Crime Agency, over £100b is laundered through U.K’s financial system annually.

So, who does not know that the one who receives the stolen ware on the ground is as culpable as the one who initiated the pilfering from the rafter?

A decade ago, I had a rather funny encounter with a British “expert”. I had been invited by a Nigerian-born promoter of a start-up to sit in during a presentation by the visiting consultant. Because the service concern would be prospecting in the international market beginning with Europe, it was necessary that an high-profile office be opened in London. So, the guy’s brief was to design an international marketing roadmap.

To me, the visiting specialist had sounded authoritatively smooth with his power-point presentation with a laptop inside the dimly-lit penthouse office until he veered into the media aspect. Not knowing my media background, his proposal here was nothing short of a crafty splitting of what ordinarily should be a single activity into assorted briefs for the sole purpose of escalating the costs to justify about a million British Pounds he was demanding as fee for the London outing.

Once the presentation was over and I was invited to comment, I took out a hammer, went straight to the media section and mercilessly knocked down the castle of fraud our friend had meticulously erected. Perhaps out of over-excitement over the dramatic turn of event, our host abruptly got up and asked to be excused to use the bathroom.

In-between the moments he was away, our British friend moved over and, without shame, attempted to literally smolder me with all the charms he could conjure, while his two other white “accomplices” pretended to be conversing on the couch nearby. From complimenting me with “Oh, your baritone voice is so commanding” to praising the “fantastic embroidery” of the kaftan I wore, he let be known to me that he was open to a “one-on-one” with me thereafter if I “cooperated” when the host returned.

I disappointed him during the remainder of the sesssion. Against his high expectation, our host, obviously now seeing things differently, did the smartest thing by aborting the signing off on the deal.

Needless to say that the trio didn’t as much as utter a word to me while we flew back in a private jet to Lagos that day, nor offered me a handshake while departing at the local airport.

Till date, what I still cannot understand is how they expected me to betray a man, my own countryman, so trusting to have invited me to join the session in the first place. And the lesson I learnt is never to assume a white guy will not try to fleece me given the opportunity even while customarily affecting superior airs.

Reacting to the London judgement, the Nigerian government has pledged to not only appeal but also vigorously defend national interest to any length possible. It is the most sensible thing to do.

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OPINION

Meet Prof. Yemi Osinbajo: A Man Driven By Passion, Honesty, Integrity And Commitment To The Masses, By Oladele Peter

Ever since 1992 gave us a good idea of what true leadership and politicking was, I have never met a leader more committed to the entity Nigeria than Professor Yemi Osinbajo (PYO), a man with so much commitment, dedication, Confidence, Passion and such a good Communicator he almost rivals Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO) and Lt. Col. Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Professor Yemi Osinabjo is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a Professor of Law and the current Vice President of Nigeria since 29 May 2015.

As vice president, his roles and constitutional powers include; participation in all cabinet meetings and, by statute, vice chairmanship of the National Security Council, the National Defence Council, Federal Executive Council, and the Chairman of National Economic Council.

Although the vice president may take an active role in establishing policies in the Executive Branch by serving on such committees and councils, the relative power of the Nigerian vice president’s office depends much upon the duties delegated by the president.

With the above limited executive functions accorded a vice president of Nigeria, Osinbajo has established policies that are more masses oriented and beneficial to the general public.

Unlike past vice presidents, Prof. Osinbajo has won the trust of the President and the masses alike with his integrity and passion for a better nation.

Osinbajo’s poverty and hunger fighting policy (NSIPs) have earned him accolades from far and near including President Muhammadu Buhari, who on the 8th march, 2019, described Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as a “very dependable deputy” with whom he had established a special bond.
The president further said that professor Osinbajo has in the past four years diligently championed the values of setting the foundation for peace, progress, and stability of Nigeria, by working very hard to build a resilient economy while promoting transparency and accountability.

Prof. Osinbajo has shown he is not only a VP for Christians, APC or Yoruba’s alone but also, a VP for all religions, political parties, tribes and all geo-political zones in Nigeria.

When you think he is most popular in the south south, a video of him visiting States in the south east will appear, then the argument immediately becomes that he is more popular in that region. In the north and south west, it’s the same level of euphoria.

This earned the VP respect of all past governors of the last administration, given that, he is the chairman of the National Economic Council, NEC.

The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed (a PDP governor), noted that, Chairman (VP Osinbajo) led a strong team through various areas requiring attention in the economy. He made robust efforts in security giving direction, confidence and comfort.

In the same vein, the Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, said “Osinbajo provided leadership and in the past 4 years, exhibited humility, giving everyone a sense of belonging.”

The 36 governors said the vice president treated everybody equally regardless of their political parties.

Professor Osinbajo has been nicknamed the Star Boy by the public especially by those on social media yet his popularity has not come without its negative sides.

Some people have sponsored lots of hate and false news campaigns against a man committed to fighting poverty and hunger in Nigeria with his National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs).

Ask me or any other non-partisan Nigerian of a hardworking and committed political leader and we would all point to Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

It gives me great joy that he is a Nigerian and one that has stood out in all his ways.

Oladele Peter, a psychologist and social commentator

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OPINION

Is Nigeria Is On Its Way To Becoming A Global Food Basket? By Richard Ogundiya

Nigeria is a nation with several endowments, but yet there is still the threat of hunger and extreme poverty which requires urgent attention. In terms of quality and quantity, Nigeria is known worldwide for the production of several agricultural goods such as Cashew nuts, Cassava, Cocoa Beans, Ground Nuts, Gum Arabic, Kola nut, Melon, Millet, Palm kernels, Palm Oil, Plantain, Rice, Rubber, Sorghum, Soybeans, amongst others. The list abounds.

Yet our farmlands perform below expectations due to factors ranging from low fertiliser usage to poor farm management, insufficient financial access and market access. A strong and efficient agricultural sector would enable Nigeria to feed its growing population, generate employment, earn foreign exchange and provide raw materials for industries.

The good news is this: the strategy of using Agro- based industries for accelerated economic growth is slowly beginning to take shape and the Nigerian government, through private sector partnerships and investments is working to enable a strong and efficient agricultural sector to feed its growing population, generate employment and provide raw materials for industries. 

The Agro-allied industry is a collection of companies engaged in a high-scale 
production, processing, and packaging of food with the use of modern equipment and methods aimed at achieving these goals. Just like any other industry, the agro-allied industry has a positive relationship to economic development in 
Nigeria. Several million metric tonnes of agricultural products are exported every year; after a bumper harvest, reasonable amounts of these products get bad each year. A shortage in supply of these agricultural products is created, and the remaining products are sold at low prices in the international market, we then import these products back in a processed format but at higher prices. This practice is not economical, thereby depriving Nigerians of creativity and innovation in adding value to our agricultural products. It has discouraged economic growth and development as well as generated high unemployment rate by empowering foreign based agro-industries.

Nigeria’s ambitions for accelerated and inclusive economic growth are contingent on achieving a vibrant Agriculture sector that can support extensive down-the-line enterprise development and employment. Alongside job creation, Agro-industrial enterprises often provide crucial inputs and services to the farm sector for those with no access to such inputs, inducing productivity and product quality improvements and stimulating market induced innovation through chains and networks, facilitating linkages and allowing domestic and export markets to become mutually supportive.

During a meeting with a delegation of Chinese investors and other officials from the African Development Bank (AfDB) on August 6 2019, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN stated that ‘In line with its commitment to develop a thriving agro-industrial sector, the Federal Government will welcome partnerships and initiatives that would make Nigeria actualize its potential of being the food basket of the world’. Through the African Development Bank, the Chinese investors hope to commence the processes of investing in Nigeria’s agricultural sector under an initiative known as the Agro-Industrial initiative with focus on crop production, forestry, fishery, and livestock production.  

Prof. Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka of the AfFB said the framework of the initiative is to develop a programme that leverages Nigeria’s comparative advantage in key areas of agricultural production. According to him, ‘the overall investment, under the initiative, amounts to between $16 billion to $25 billion over a period of four years with a strong government support and private sector leadership.’

The challenge of feeding Nigeria’s growing population, which is expected to reach 402 million people in 2050, requires new strategies and new multicultural and multisectorial rethinking, capable of generating new forms of dialogue, at different specialist levels, towards a more sustainable use of the available natural and human resources, to ensure food and nutrition security. Agro-industrial development can contribute to improved health and food security for the poor by increasing the overall availability, variety and nutritional value of food products, and enabling food to be stored as a reserve against times of shortage, ensuring that sufficient food is available and that essential nutrients are consumed throughout the year. This new development if implemented well will have a direct impact on the livelihoods of the poor both through increased employment in agro-industrial activities, and through increased demand for primary agricultural produce.

Vice-President Osinbajo believes that the proposed partnership, especially the agro-allied aspect of it will help deliver the kind of growth needed in Nigeria’s agricultural ecosystem. According to him, the FG and AfDB will ensure that the investors have no troubles in setting up and operating their businesses efficiently.

Agro opportunities abound in Nigeria. We have the 9th largest arable land in the world and most of that is still largely untouched. Nigeria’s potentials in this sector are limitless, thus becoming the food basket of the world may sound like a tall order, but it is not surmountable. That lofty goal will depend on how we are able to get high quality inputs, seedling and others, and how we are able to use technology especially the benefits of industrial agriculture to our advantage. Moves seen in the Buhari administration – from its revolutionary Anchor Borrower’s Programme, to other massive unprecedented investments from the likes of Olam to Friesland Campina WAMCO among others – show that Nigeria has left the realm of potential as it makes it way to reality, that indeed we have the capacity to be a global food basket. Consistency of policy and determination is however key to this ambition, else, all would be mere bark, no bite.

Richard Ogundiya is a journalist and researcher resident in Lagos.

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OPINION

How Buhari’s Social Investment Programmes Are Tackling Poverty, By Richard Ogundiya

Nigeria’s population swells at an annual increase rate of 3.75%, indicating a doubling of the population every 22 years. The World Poverty Index estimates that 46.7% of 197 million Nigerians live in acute poverty and the numbers are still on the rise. Improving quality of life for those under the extreme poverty line, while at the same time caring for peculiar problems of vulnerable groups, particularly children, women, the elderly and youths are challenges which require effective policies as well as focus on sectors that drive development such as health, education, agriculture and entrepreneurship.

Led by Maryam Uwais and Ismaeel Ahmed, the National Social Investment Office (NSIO), which is strategically hosted within the Office of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo provides a sustainable, long-term foundation and responsive national social security system for at-risk population with the purpose of delivering inclusive, pro-poor growth across the country. Since it’s establishment in 2015, the initiative has made significant investments for children, seniors, lower-wage workers and other resistless Nigerians. The rationale is that if families invest money they receive from the government, they will gradually build the capacity to fund petty businesses, farming and attend to other basic needs.

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) released a report in 2016 that showed direct transfer payments of money to eligible people, can show direct growth in the economy, school attendance, health care and dietary diversity. The ODI concluded that cash transfers, when invested correctly, can lead to an increased amount of income in the future and achieve both social welfare and livelihood promotion objectives. There is also a sense of loss of an opportunity to prove something bigger: the radical notion that poverty, long viewed as an intractable policy problem, can be solved by putting money in the pockets of those who have the least. This is what the Conditional Cash Transfer seeks to do.

For some, N5,000 may not seem too exciting but to many Nigerians under the poverty line, it is a great sum of money to keep things moving. The National Cash Transfer Programme is designed to deliver timely and accessible cash transfers to beneficiary households and build their capacities for sustainable livelihood. This scheme is predicated on the idea that poor people, not governments or nonprofits, know what they need best. Rather than enrolling them in complicated social assistance programs that presume the kind of help they need, basic income trusts people to make their own financial decisions.

To ensure beneficiaries establish a sustainable means of livelihood before graduating the programmes, they are continuously supported and mentored to form savings groups and cooperatives by trained Cash Transfer Facilitators in every local government ward, who pay them weekly visits to provide capacity building on life skills and basic financial knowledge. Since January 2016, 394,430 vulnerable households have been paid in 25 states, including households in Internally Displaced Camps in Borno.

The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) is a government-led school feeding programme that aims to improve the health and educational outcomes of public primary school pupils. It uses farm produce locally grown by smallholder farmers to provide children nutritious mid-day meals on every school day. The program aims to improve the enrollments in primary schools and reduce the current dropout rates estimated at 30% and also address the poor nutrition and health status of many children who have been affected as a result of poverty; it has also affected the learning outcomes of the children. At the start, the federal government set out to feed 5.5 million pupils but its successful implementation has broadened the vision and the numbers are currently at 9,817,568 pupils. As part of the value chain, NHGSFP also empowers 106,074 cooks and provides sustainable income for small holder farmers, thereby stimulating growth and productivity around the communities in 32 states.

Of all the initiatives under the NSIO umbrella, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is the most fascinating because of the role it plays in stimulating the economy from the grassroots. Under the Bank of Industry (BOI) supervision, the Programme aims to provide micro-lending to 2.5 million small traders including farmers, women cooperatives, market women, agricultural workers and entrepreneurs. MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and TraderMoni loans range between N10,000 and N350,000 with a 6 month loan tenor and a moratorium of two weeks. In many cases, the tenor can be extended depending on the nature of the business. What makes it more captivating is that no collaterals are involved but BOI charges a 2.5% and 5% administrative fee which is used to finance recruited agents and aggregators who make sure that all loans are recovered when due. MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and TraderMoni has funded 330,568 women, 1,712 farmers and 1,805,171 traders respectively, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 2,136,911 Nigerians.

The overall success of the government’s social investment scheme is still very much dependent on the collection and use of data to improve the target structure and effectiveness. The National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) uses ‘Poverty mapping’, ‘Community based Targeting’ and ‘Proxy Means Test’ as methods of validating payment basis for grantees. These techniques provide authentic data that helps the government identify the poorest in local governments and rank households according to their means, thereby eliminating the more affluent in the actual payment exercise. As of now, 1,132,675 households comprising of 4,531,118 individuals from 32 states have been documented and paid, with women leading the curve at 50.8% engagement.

When poverty strikes, it must be met with an equal strike at the very least. At the very best a counter-strike must double the dose. The strength of its blow is when it is left unmatched. India bragged once as the world’s poorest country. That status is no more today. Why? Because the Indian government put in place, structures, programmes and targeted policies that were aimed at tackling the menace of extreme poverty facing its population. They worked. Now Nigeria stands atop the list – not because it did anything, but largely because it did nothing. Now an ambitious Buhari administration seeks a reversal of this shameful status through its Social Investment Programmes.

With over 40 Million Nigerians who have benefitted in one way or the other, and two million Nigerians who have ben lifted from the claws of extreme poverty, Buhari’s social investment programmes have taken on the fight to poverty’s doorstep. Victory is in the offing.

Richard Ogundiya is a journalist and researcher resident in Lagos.

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OPINION

Why Nigerians should beware of Fani Kayode’s obsession with Osinbajo

It is no longer news that for Femi Fani-Kayode to remain relevant in Nigeria he has resorted to insulting Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and this has given him the illusion of the relevance he sought especially at a time even members of his own party see no more value in him. 

Femi has been following his father’s footsteps by fighting against the real Yoruba interest and  person of Prof Osinbajo, who many see as one of the shining lights and a beacon of hope in this present government. What cannot be doubted is that Yemi Osinbajo is everywhere going about his national duties, working tirelessly for the good of the nation even with his limited constitutional powers as the vice president.

The main grouse of people like FFK is that the VP has a trustworthy and cordial relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari. And for this reason he is saddled with the responsibilities that are deemed by many as beyond his constitutional powers.

These are major responsibilities which many a former vice president has never handled. How many times did Atiku had to bear the blame for the perceived errors of Obasanjo while they were in office? Or Jonathan bearing the burden of Yar’Adua’s mistakes? Who ever blamed Namadi Sambo for the many undoings of President Jonathan? Yet for people like FFK, it is the man who is clearly ahead in integrity, character and competence who must be attacked and brought down, even when the buck don’t stop at his desk!

It has been argued that the renewed onslaught against Osinbajo is because of 2023. FFK and such political opportunists and sophists are focused on the VP because his character, integrity and popularity threatens their 2023 aspirations. Who knows tomorrow anyway?

On the kidnapping of clergymen, Femi Fani-Kayode should know that Pastor Adeboye and Prof Osinbajo were as bothered as the rest of Nigerians and as leaders with integrity; they immediately swung into action using their spiritual and political capacity to call for the rescue of the abducted pastors. If Mr. Fani-Kayode did not have an ulterior motive and had he waited even 48 hours he would have been celebrating the rescue of these pastors and other Nigerians that were abducted. Actually the pastors abduction was reported on Friday and by Saturday they were rescued by the Police. But unstable characters FFK were already attacking Osinbajo no sooner the abduction were announced.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye demonstrated a good example as a leader in the body of Christ by asking Nigerians and Christians to pray for their release, even while the security agencies continued their search and rescue operations. Unlike the rabid rabble-rouser utterances we have read from Fani-Kayode on various media platforms.

Femi Fani-Kayode is very crafty in whipping up religious and ethnic sentiments, as he encourages people to behave violently or aggressively, twisting even the meanings of passages in the Holy Scriptures, always for his personal political advantage. He has been out of power and the money that come with it. He is thus on a mission of survival, albeit in a most fatal approach of slandering Osinbajo who is seen by progressives as a true ‘Omoluabi’ and hardworking man.

How do we clearly ascertain those pastors were even kidnapped by Fulani Herdsmen in the first place, when investigation is still on? Just some days ago a four-man Yoruba gang was caught in possession of 10,000 live ammunition in Ibadan.

The same thing was just reported in Osun State where a roberry gang terrorizing Ikire axis in the State met their Waterloo when they were rounded up by local vigilante and were handed over to the Police. Surprisingly, they all dressed like Fulani but they were in fact indigenes of Ondo and Kogi States.

We as positive Nigerians should not continue to point fingers, when we should be working together to overcome our security challenges rather than fuel prejudice and ethnocentrism as a nation with different religions and languages.

Recently, Femi Fani-Kayode had to publicly apologize to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over his  widely publicized allegations, wherein he had blatantly accused the EFCC had raided the home of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen. The commission would later threaten to sue him for defamation, describing him as a purveyor of fake news.

However, in a very rare acceptance of the humiliation brought upon himself by his regular unguarded utterances, Fani-Kayode would later apologize for his earlier comment but petulantly insisted that some people actually searched the CJN’s home. Many public analysts agreed the bravado was just a mere face-saving attempt after getting burnt. FFK had also insinuated that Onnoghen’s bank accounts had been frozen by agents of the Federal Government.

Unity in diversity should be Nigeria’s strength. There should unity in every corner of Nigeria which will be our strength. Finally, anyone that has gone through Chief Remi Fani-Kayode’s rascal antecedents in the Nigerian Politics during the NPN, should know by now that Femi Fani-Kayode is a real son of his father. Hence the public should beware of his antics, Femi FaniKayode once said that  President Jonathan’s government is a bad omen to the country, but thereafter he decamped to the PDP to join people from the same bad omen.

Oladele Peter writes from Ile Ife, Osun state

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OPINION

Kiki Osinbajo: The Sins Of Having Influential Parents, By Opeyemi Eniola

Life itself is a continuous process, why the essence of having children if not to train them to be useful to themselves, the family and the nation. One would quickly come to the conclusion that life is not run of the mill. Meanwhile, in this part of the world, especially in this era of ours, the political atmosphere has taken another dimension; the players and actors of politics have successfully built hatred across ethnic divides, religion and even lasting segregation between all social classes.

We have different parents who have different beliefs about the modalities of training their children to be successful. In 2019, while contesting for Nigeria’s vice-presidential seat, the Peoples’ Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi said his two graduate children did not own cars.

Obi said he had trained his children to be self-reliant, adding that he had chosen not to join people who crave primitive acquisition.

According to a publication on Punch newspaper on January 3rd 2019, Obi said “I have two graduates who are working, a boy and a girl, and the two of them don’t own any car because they haven’t made enough money to buy a car.”

“They were here for the Christmas, and I was talking to some people about them and the person said he saw my son and that he always jumps on buses and tricycles.

“Some people don’t like it that way. They believe I am rich and that my children should not be trekking, and that they should be provided cars.

“But I believe they do not have the money, so they have to trek.

“Who will give them cars — is it me? My money is my own; so, they should work for theirs.”

The famous business man turn politician, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, once had a fierce financial competition with his son, Kola, who claimed to be richer than his dad.

Folarin Falz Falana, the son of prominent activist and legal luminary, rose to the top of his music career even without getting the blessings of his parents at the initial stage. Chief Femi Falana, SAN, while addressing young Nigerians, admitted that his son wouldn’t have gotten what he gets in a day for a monthly salary in his chambers. What about the daughter of Femi Otedola, DJ Cuppy and many others?

Every parent’s dream is to see their child(ren) do better to beat their records in their respective career choice. One beautiful thing about the present African bred is that they have taken the present in their hands irrespective of their background, not being over reliant on their parents.

Then who sees the wrong in Kiki Osinbajo’s Strive?

Recently, I read a publication on the daughter of Nigeria’s vice -president, and I appreciate the fact that she was not caught living a lavish lifestyle, but rather built a niche of her own. One wouldn’t have expected less from the daughter of a Pastor, a Professor, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and of course, the black most populous nation’s vice president.

Kiki narrated how she built ‘Glam’d Africa’, her fashion brand, despite the challenges of being “born with a silver spoon”.

Kiki could have chosen to remain silent and pretend it is not her outfit, but she wanted every young African to learn from her actions and strive to be great, especially for the children of the rich who rely solely on their parents.

Kiki said: “I may have been born with a silver spoon, but no one can say I don’t work hard. A few years ago, I decided to start my own business and, now, I look back and wonder what I was thinking. Turning somewhere into my own little empire,”

While exalting the youths, the daughter of Nigeria’s vice – president said:

“I urge emerging talents and entrepreneurs never to give up on their dreams irrespective of how daunting and unachievable they might seem at the onset.

“Never give up on your dream no matter how big and unreachable it seems. People feel those in the limelight can do anything. Everyone’s circumstances are different but we all have our own challenges,” she wrote.

“Going through the fear and adding criticisms or the burden of nay-sayers makes it even harder. Don’t let your challenges define you, let it fuel you.”

I have just a question for those that aren’t proud of Kiki’s achievements; how many of you would want your children to fail? Because most tantrums thrown is just hatred attached to politics or the phenomenon of having a “well to do” background.

Having parents that are rich or influential is not an excuse not to surpass their achievements, it should rather be a solid foundation to greatness.

I appreciate Kiki for being a good model of an African child and I also congratulate the Osinbajos for this great gift to their family.

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OPINION

Global Food Basket: A Journey Of Abundant Economic Wealth, By David Chigaekpebi

Nigeria is blessed with a huge amount of arable land and currently boasts over 100 million heads of livestock and with the emphasis that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have placed on agriculture, it is not surprising that it is receiving huge investments in this sector.

Recently some Chinese investors were in the country upon invitation by the African Development bank (AFDB) and met with the Vice President looking to invest heavily in Agro related businesses. This in turn would address the food security and eventually transform Nigeria into a global food basket.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while receiving the Investors said the Federal Government will welcome partnerships and initiatives that will make Nigeria actualize its potential of being a global food basket. “Nigeria is constantly aiming to advance agricultural technologies to boost plant agriculture and livestock sectors so as to contribute to food security globally.”

Despite Nigeria’s huge investments in its oil & gas and mineral resources, agriculture still forms a big contributor of the country’s economy. With Nigeria no longer over depending on oil for its economic development, the vice president has taken a great step to focus on agriculture and agro-businesses, thereby extensively creating more employment opportunities and ebbing away poverty in the country.

It therefore means that this wave of new business suggests a profoundly encouraging investment climate for investors. Strategically positioned to trade with surrounding nations, Nigeria henceforth will be increasingly noted as an investment destination and ‘’Global Food Basket’’ as stated by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

Amidst such developments, it seems that agribusiness investment opportunities in Nigeria will now be as rich and diverse as the land itself.

Blessed with plentiful sunshine and rainfall, access to the fertile plains surrounding the life-giving River Niger and its tributaries, Nigeria’s rich soils yield a vast array of crops, such as yam, beans, rice, maize, millet, other cereal grains, vegetables and fruits, including lemons, mangoes, grapefruits and oranges. Rivers within the country are also abundant sources of fish.

In the drier northern region livestock farming is the most prominent activity. An estimated 100 million heads of different animal species – namely cows, goats and camels.


Undoubtedly, if these and further investments both exterior and from within can be obtained, the country is on track to be a major contributor to the global food basket and the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo has surely embarked on a journey of abundant economic wealth for the people of Nigeria.

David Chigaekpebi, an agro-enthusiast writes from Nnewi

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OPINION

Bola Ahmed Tinibu And His Commonsense Revolution, By Ayekooto Akindele

PDP rigged 2003 Election so much that some states had bulk figures that never tallied with collated figures from polling units till date. Even, the son of INEC Chairman then was contesting election under the PDP.

But if you think 2003 was bad, 2007 was worse, it was written and results were declared before election ended. People were on the queue when they heard, from their transistor radio, the results of elections they were about to conduct. Alas!!!, Obasanjo was reckless when it comes to brutal power. 

But then, Tinubu decided to challenge the status quo.
It was a suicide mission for a mere Governor who just finished his tenure to challenge the Supremacy of the PDP, he would be crushed beyond minimum recognition. But someone has to reject this impunity and free the rest of us from OBJ’s imperialism!!! Jagaban entered the Ring!

In doing so, and knowing the dangerous game of power, having seen how Abiola was killed in detention and how Obasanjo ‘inherited’ him(Imagine), how Ige was murdered in his bedroom and how PDP took over SW, how Adesanya was shot many times, with his car riddled with bullets, Jagaban decided to embark on a Revolution that is permitted by the law. He consulted Lawyers of immense knowledge, elders and peers from near, far and very far…… He challenged the PDP and 2007 election at the Tribunal.

Just like when Noah was building the Ark, people laughed at Jagaban, wondering the kind of joke he was cracking. “You have won Your Lagos, why don’t you just hide your head. PDP machinery will crush you”…. 

Tinubu didn’t just fight for AC alone, he also helped LP of Mimiko. He brought thousands of witnesses to court, he brought Forensic Experts from London and America. It was a massive revolution that took away Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun away from the PDP. Unprecedented!!!!

PDP fought back with maximum venom. They removed the powers of Court of Appeal as final destination for Gubernatorial elections and gave it to Supreme Court, by this, they hoped, no one would be able to stop their rigging again.

They removed the President of the Court of Appeal Justice Ayo Salami. They docked Jagaban himself on allegations of Code of Conduct. They said he had Foreign Accounts. Investigation revealed that the foreign account was opened when he was working in Mobil and now dormant with less than 200 dollars in it….Jagaban never operated a foreign account as a Governor. Case dismissed!!!!

That is Democratic Revolution and Price was paid, and the Prize was won for all progressive Nigerians. 

All these little children must realize that you don’t need to do press ups, run kilometres and engage in physical training before you can drive a Car, all you need is the knowledge and skill to drive. Learn from those who know the way and stop your foolish blabbing.

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OPINION

Femi Fani-Kayode Has Gone Naked Again! By Comrade Ben Abdul

Since Chief Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation was ingloriously ousted from corridors of power, the only thing he merchandises in order to remain politically relevant is his usual macabre dance of shame that accompanies his mischievously crafted ethnic and religious war songs. One was therefore not surprised that Chief Fani-Kayode converted the story of five Nigerians who were reportedly kidnapped in Ijebu Ode, to a means of drumming religious and ethnic war.

When Vice President Yemi Osinbajo recently said that stories about kidnapping in Nigeria are overtly sensationalised and exaggerated, it appears he had the likes of Fani-Kayode in mind. When one subjects the introduction of Kayode’s vitriolic aspersions to logic and facts, his intention and degree of desperation becomes more obvious and glaring.

In his bid to transform the abduction story to a religious affair, Fani Kayode, without fact-checking, reported that “no less than five pastors of the Redeemed Christians Church of God (RCCG) have been abducted in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State” even when the latter media reports quoted Pastor Enoch Adegboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christians Church of God, to have said that only one cleric was actually abducted.

While the identity and status of those kidnapped do not reduce the weight of the incidence, is it not unfortunate and ridiculous that Fani-Kayode, a lawyer and a former Minister of Federal Republic of Nigeria has unjustly hyped the incidence by according it a religious connotation in order to draw needless attention? Indeed, Fani-Kayode has gone mad again, for only a mad man goes to the market square with his hands serving as a cover to his balls without feeling naked!

The killings across the country, either by terrorists, bandits and herdsmen, is condemnable by every right-thinking Nigerian, but reducing the crisis to a religious or ethnic war like Fani-Kayode is notorious for, will do this country no good. Taking the advantage of the security situation to exalt self by undeserving elements like Fani-Kayode is not only unpatriotic, it is uncharitable.

Fani Kayode is an expert of tomfoolery; he mobs sentiments to subtly press and spark ethnic and religious hatred among suspecting Nigerians. In the article titled “Abduction of RCCG pastors, slaughter of Catholic priest and a word for Adeboye, Osinbajo.”

Kayode buttressed pointless argument arising from an incident that has been meticulously orchestrated by the haters of this government to compel the mentioned man of God to unwillingly react to a circumstance designed by evil men to give a government that is making frantic efforts to upturn the security situation in the country.

Insecurity has both local and national dimensions; a threat in any part of the country is a sure threat to our collective existence. Thus, fragmenting insecurity to ethnic and religious codes, undermine government efforts in addressing the situation.

The reckless speed with which Fani-Kayode gives religious colour to abduction that has nothing to do with religion suggest that he detests peace and prosperity of this nation. In many of his posts on social media, he had attributed most of the security challenges to a particular ethic group, the Fulani. He fails to remember that Fulani, just like every ethnic group in Nigeria, are not monolithic in composition.

No doubt, there are good and bad Fulani. To achieve peaceful coexistence among various ethnic and religious groups in the country however, efforts must be made to exorcise the good ones from the bad ones without necessarily demonising a particular ethnic group or religion.

The life of every Nigeria counts to the government of President Muhammdu Buhari and his Vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, have taken an oath to preserve the sanctity of lives of all Nigerians irrespective of tribe or place of origin.

Furthermore, there is absolutely no doubting the resourcefulness and reliability of Osinbajo in helping to steer the ship of nation building under the leadership of President Buhari in times of peace and in times of turbulence as they often happen.

It’s no exaggeration, too, that Osinbajo remains one of the most cerebral Nigerians to have occupied the position of Vice President within the context of the country’s embrace of democracy. Although a Pastor and a Christian, he has a firm belief of one Nigeria. He stands for all, despite our diverse religious and ethnic proclivities. Expecting him to do otherwise through low-priced antics is the highest level of madness.

Comrade Ben Abdul writes from the Federal University, Lokoja

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OPINION

Atiku’s Unrelenting Appeal To Emotion: A Gambit Doomed To Fail, By Femi Adesina

First, it was laughable, now it gets progressively pitiable, to see and hear efforts by presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, appeal to the emotions of Nigerians, particularly members of the judiciary, perchance it would influence decision in the ongoing legal tussle over the result of the presidential poll.

When the Supreme Court recently pronounced the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as due winner of Osun State gubernatorial contest, Alhaji Abubakar, a former Vice President, had chided the court, saying it should have considered “the pulse of the nation,” and reflected it in the judgment.

That was when the jigsaw puzzle began to fall in place. Were most of the challenges in the country being orchestrated by hidden hostile hands, who think such would influence the judiciary, which would consider the so-called “pulse of the nation” in arriving at judgment on the presidential poll?

Before and after the Osun State judgement, the PDP candidate had always been quick to play up negative developments in the country, the latest of which is the tendentious story by Wall Street Journal, alleging that about one thousand Nigerian soldiers had been recently killed by Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa terrorists, and secretly buried by Nigerian military authorities.

The military has duly countered the story, educating the Wall Street Journal on the hollowness of its publication. But Alhaji Abubakar has quickly weighed in on the matter, as part of his gambit to whip up emotions, and perhaps get the judiciary to reflect the “pulse of the nation” in its judgment.

According to the PDP candidate, who lost the last February poll by nearly four million votes, as released by the electoral umpire, he could “not fathom that in the space of a year, scores of great patriots were killed and buried secretly without their families being told.”

In an apparent afterthought and doublespeak, he added that he was hesitant to believe that “such grand scale of deceit is even possible under a democracy, such as Nigeria is expected to be.”

The above, rather than mitigate Alhaji Abubakar’s position, gives him out as someone who denigrates the country’s democracy, which he was part of building, in his heyday, before unbridled ambition blinded.

Yes, soldiers fighting insurgency and terrorism are great patriots. But the same can’t be said of anyone quick to believe any negative story about his country, however fictive and lacking in verity as the story could be. Well, except such person had the motive of whipping up negative sentiments and emotions, so that the judiciary could respond to the “pulse of the nation and reflect it.”

We have told Alhaji Abubakar and his co-travelers that the judiciary would always come to conclusions, drawing from matters of the law placed before it, and not sentiments or so-called “pulse of the nation.”

Therefore, in vain does anybody labour to devalue the government  and its military, thinking it would fall into a grand plan to get into office through artifice. The campaigns and elections for 2019 are long over. The country has moved on. And those who know it actually know it.

Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President 

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