Showing posts with label Features News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Features News. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 November 2023
Nigerian Breweries Seeks Shareholder Approval for Strategic Acquisitions of Distell Wines and Heineken Beverages
Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Nigeria Sliding into Totalitarianism, Anarchy ~ PDP
Raises Alarm, Says Nation’s Democracy, Unity in Danger
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) raises alarm among Nigerians and the international community that the nation is dangerously sliding into totalitarianism and anarchy under the brazenly repressive and anti-people All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
The PDP alerts to attempts and actions by a cabal within the Presidency to emasculate the institutions of democracy in Nigeria, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Judiciary, in the desperation to foist a one-party state on Nigerians.
This unfolding anti-democratic scenario is not only evident in the manipulation of elections but also in the conflicting judgements by electoral courts, especially some Election Appeal Court Panels, whose judgements are in conflict with the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC’s Guidelines and Regulations for ections.
What is more worrisome is that these obnoxiously contradictory judgements are targeted at the PDP to the effect that elections that were clearly won by PDP candidates are snatched away at the courts and awarded to defeated candidates of the APC, contrary to the provisions of the aw.
Aside from the preponderance of such ugly scenarios in Plateau State, the conduct and outcome of certain election petitions in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Nasarawa, and other states of the nation where the PDP was robbed of victory through the courts are pointers to a systemic emasculation of the opposition in a bid to impose a one-party state and pave the way for totalitarianism in the country.
This situation is a clear and present danger to the sustenance of Nigeria’s democracy, unity, political stability, and corporate existence as a nation, which is capable of breeding agitation, citizens loss of confidence in the system, restiveness, anarchy, and chaos.
Democracy must be allowed to thrive as the government of the people, as expressed by their will at elections. Any intrusion, breach, violation, and/or transgression against that expressed will as witnessed today under the APC is a clear recipe for a serious political crisis and portends grave consequences for our country.
It is therefore imperative to draw the attention of Nigerians and the whole world to the undermining and crippling of democracy and the danger our nation is facing at this moment.
The PDP calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the custodian of the government, to come clean by speaking out and denouncing any attempt or action that is capable of stifling democracy, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary, which is suggestive of a fait accompli on election matters pending before the courts.
Our Party urges the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the President of the Court of Appeal to step in and assert the independence of the judiciary at this critical time for the defence and sustenance of democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria.
The PDP charges Nigerians and indeed all lovers of democracy across the world to rise to the occasion, speak out, and take urgent legitimate steps to defend, protect, and preserve our hard-earned democracy from the onslaught of the APC.
Monday, 27 July 2020
CHURCH BUSINESS: Blame the church for corruption in Nigeria
By Oludare Mayowa
This may sound ridiculous in many ways to some people, but the truth remains that; the church and its leaders are culpable in the bizarre of ongoing drama at both the Legislative and the Executive arms of government as allegations of corruption and counter allegations by political office holders running the affairs of our country has been flying around.
The corruption jamboree we are witnessing among the political class in recent time has its root in the church and the encouragement given by some of its leaders who serve as enablers of corruption through their support and prayers.
We have seen the church in Nigeria playing lesser role in bridging the moral gap that continues to exist in our country because many of the leaders are beneficiaries of the rot, if not the enablers of such practices either directly or indirectly.
Has anyone heard a word from the church since the scandal in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the probe of the ex-chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and many other government agencies broke?
Those who are at the centre of the corruption allegations are prominent members of the body of Christ, deacons, pastors and even leaders, and financiers of some of the bogus projects being embarked on in the name of building empires by the church leaders. Not that I am exonerating those who belong to other religion; but I am more particular about members of household of God; who are required to hold the society accountable for probity and righteous living.
What has the church leaders, the supposed mouthpiece of God done to deter their members from swimming in the mud of corruption like others in the world?
What has the church done to chastise those evil doers from persisting in their evil ways? Rather, the church encouraged them to bring their tithes, offering and donations in millions without asking questions on the sources of their wealth.
They are the ones the church provides the platforms and the microphone to speak of their testimonies of how God has been good to them; without letting the people know that, it's not God but they who are helping themselves to our commonwealth using their positions in governments and the office they occupy.
They are the ones the church offers the high place to sit in the congregation because they are the one giving the fattest offerings and sponsoring the leader’s luxury lifestyle.
The church leaders have turned themselves into fortune tellers who yearly reel out prophecies of the victory of one politician or the other. The church is the one who organizes prayer vigil and warriors to stave off investigations into the corruption cases of one of their own who they will always claim are being persecuted.
The church has become the home of robbers and looters of our country's wealth because they are generous to the work of the church, while the church leaders mouthed the notion as if without them the work of the gospel will not prosper or grow.
The church leaders are now the counselors to the tyrants ruling us with iron hands, disregarding the will of those who elected them into office because some of those in government wear a badge of godliness but denying the faith.
The men in cassock have long sermon to demonize poverty and eulogize riches to the extent that the younger ones in the church now see themselves as sinners without wealth and make the pursuant of riches a do or die mission.
Where are the prophets of old who can look into the eyes of the leaders and tell them the truth according to the word and instruction of the Lord?
Where are the reformers of old who stood against the oppression of God's people and called the rulers vipers without blinking because they knew that their messages to the leaders were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Where are the John the Baptist of our generation who have the strength of character to confront the Herod of our time with the evidence and judgment of their wrongdoing, and are not mindful of the consequences of being persecuted by the power that be.
Where are the prophet Nathan of our day, who feared no one, but chose to speak truth to power, who dared the authority of David with God's judgment because of his commitment to the message of the one who sent him.
Where are the prophets of old who were assured of God's truth behind them and ready to confront the iniquitous generation of leaders who are stealing our commonwealth, leaving the people in abject poverty thereby rendering the truth of the word of God of no effect.
Where are the prophet Elijah of today, who would be willing to confront those in the position of authority with the message of truth and ready to expose the wickedness of the vipers generation ruling our land and tell them of the wrath to come upon them if they fail to desist from their evil ways.
The church is the light and the salt of the world, but the Nigeria church leaders have dimmed the light so much that the people are not longer able to see the evil doers who devour the vine and turn the truth of the gospel to shame.
The church leaders have turned their salt into sand because of pecuniary gains from the crumbles falling from the politicians table without regards to their roles in reforming the society.
The church has so long deceived her devotes, telling them this world is not their own, yet they keep amassing wealth through their unscrupulous support for the corrupt devourers of the vine.
The church has become like Prophet Eli who could not tame his children because he was the chief beneficiary of their evil and at the end partake in the judgment that swept them away from the temple.
The church has become like the prophet Balaam who was hired to curse the Lord anointed people and ended up with the curse upon him.
The church in its present form has lost track and can no longer hold the torch up for the world of evil to be exposed; the church has made itself as the conduit for the bleeding of the blood of the weak and hapless.
Does the entire church in Nigeria fit into the above description of an enabler of corruption; of course not. But the image of the whole body has been tainted by some of those who are in the forefront and the visible ones; like the adage that says whatever happens to the eyes, affects the nose.
It is time for God to arise in His mercy, otherwise the church will be swept away with the corrupt and oppressors of the Lord's flock.
It's time for the church to purge itself of the spirit of Balaam and remove from its fold those who bring reproach and dishonour to the body of Christ and go back to the place of repentance that the Lord may have mercy upon it.
It’s time for revival to spring forth and bring back sanity to the sanctuary, that the church upholds the righteousness of God like a specter and proclaiming the liberty that comes with the gospel and do away with the darkness that pervades our land.
The church must return the torch that beams the light of the gospel to the world, where no evil can hide in its sanctuary and where the blood of the innocents shed are avenged speedily.
The church should returns to its position of old where the Ananias and the Sappahira of this world can no longer lie with impunity and the Judas of this world cannot get away with wrongdoing.
This is the church that Christ will be happy to return to and embrace as His bride and not the present ones that are tainted with corruption and hands soiled with blood because its leaders have been rendered rudderless due to their iniquitous ways.
This may sound ridiculous in many ways to some people, but the truth remains that; the church and its leaders are culpable in the bizarre of ongoing drama at both the Legislative and the Executive arms of government as allegations of corruption and counter allegations by political office holders running the affairs of our country has been flying around.
The corruption jamboree we are witnessing among the political class in recent time has its root in the church and the encouragement given by some of its leaders who serve as enablers of corruption through their support and prayers.
We have seen the church in Nigeria playing lesser role in bridging the moral gap that continues to exist in our country because many of the leaders are beneficiaries of the rot, if not the enablers of such practices either directly or indirectly.
Has anyone heard a word from the church since the scandal in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the probe of the ex-chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and many other government agencies broke?
Those who are at the centre of the corruption allegations are prominent members of the body of Christ, deacons, pastors and even leaders, and financiers of some of the bogus projects being embarked on in the name of building empires by the church leaders. Not that I am exonerating those who belong to other religion; but I am more particular about members of household of God; who are required to hold the society accountable for probity and righteous living.
What has the church leaders, the supposed mouthpiece of God done to deter their members from swimming in the mud of corruption like others in the world?
What has the church done to chastise those evil doers from persisting in their evil ways? Rather, the church encouraged them to bring their tithes, offering and donations in millions without asking questions on the sources of their wealth.
They are the ones the church provides the platforms and the microphone to speak of their testimonies of how God has been good to them; without letting the people know that, it's not God but they who are helping themselves to our commonwealth using their positions in governments and the office they occupy.
They are the ones the church offers the high place to sit in the congregation because they are the one giving the fattest offerings and sponsoring the leader’s luxury lifestyle.
The church leaders have turned themselves into fortune tellers who yearly reel out prophecies of the victory of one politician or the other. The church is the one who organizes prayer vigil and warriors to stave off investigations into the corruption cases of one of their own who they will always claim are being persecuted.
The church has become the home of robbers and looters of our country's wealth because they are generous to the work of the church, while the church leaders mouthed the notion as if without them the work of the gospel will not prosper or grow.
The church leaders are now the counselors to the tyrants ruling us with iron hands, disregarding the will of those who elected them into office because some of those in government wear a badge of godliness but denying the faith.
The men in cassock have long sermon to demonize poverty and eulogize riches to the extent that the younger ones in the church now see themselves as sinners without wealth and make the pursuant of riches a do or die mission.
Where are the prophets of old who can look into the eyes of the leaders and tell them the truth according to the word and instruction of the Lord?
Where are the reformers of old who stood against the oppression of God's people and called the rulers vipers without blinking because they knew that their messages to the leaders were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Where are the John the Baptist of our generation who have the strength of character to confront the Herod of our time with the evidence and judgment of their wrongdoing, and are not mindful of the consequences of being persecuted by the power that be.
Where are the prophet Nathan of our day, who feared no one, but chose to speak truth to power, who dared the authority of David with God's judgment because of his commitment to the message of the one who sent him.
Where are the prophets of old who were assured of God's truth behind them and ready to confront the iniquitous generation of leaders who are stealing our commonwealth, leaving the people in abject poverty thereby rendering the truth of the word of God of no effect.
Where are the prophet Elijah of today, who would be willing to confront those in the position of authority with the message of truth and ready to expose the wickedness of the vipers generation ruling our land and tell them of the wrath to come upon them if they fail to desist from their evil ways.
The church is the light and the salt of the world, but the Nigeria church leaders have dimmed the light so much that the people are not longer able to see the evil doers who devour the vine and turn the truth of the gospel to shame.
The church leaders have turned their salt into sand because of pecuniary gains from the crumbles falling from the politicians table without regards to their roles in reforming the society.
The church has so long deceived her devotes, telling them this world is not their own, yet they keep amassing wealth through their unscrupulous support for the corrupt devourers of the vine.
The church has become like Prophet Eli who could not tame his children because he was the chief beneficiary of their evil and at the end partake in the judgment that swept them away from the temple.
The church has become like the prophet Balaam who was hired to curse the Lord anointed people and ended up with the curse upon him.
The church in its present form has lost track and can no longer hold the torch up for the world of evil to be exposed; the church has made itself as the conduit for the bleeding of the blood of the weak and hapless.
Does the entire church in Nigeria fit into the above description of an enabler of corruption; of course not. But the image of the whole body has been tainted by some of those who are in the forefront and the visible ones; like the adage that says whatever happens to the eyes, affects the nose.
It is time for God to arise in His mercy, otherwise the church will be swept away with the corrupt and oppressors of the Lord's flock.
It's time for the church to purge itself of the spirit of Balaam and remove from its fold those who bring reproach and dishonour to the body of Christ and go back to the place of repentance that the Lord may have mercy upon it.
It’s time for revival to spring forth and bring back sanity to the sanctuary, that the church upholds the righteousness of God like a specter and proclaiming the liberty that comes with the gospel and do away with the darkness that pervades our land.
The church must return the torch that beams the light of the gospel to the world, where no evil can hide in its sanctuary and where the blood of the innocents shed are avenged speedily.
The church should returns to its position of old where the Ananias and the Sappahira of this world can no longer lie with impunity and the Judas of this world cannot get away with wrongdoing.
This is the church that Christ will be happy to return to and embrace as His bride and not the present ones that are tainted with corruption and hands soiled with blood because its leaders have been rendered rudderless due to their iniquitous ways.
Monday, 20 July 2020
CHURCH BUSINESS: Lending Helping Hands, The Way To Go
By Oludare Mayowa
“The Salvation Army was founded on the principle that a man with an empty stomach doesn’t care about the gospel until he’s fed.”
The outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and the attendant lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of the disease helped opened many church leaders’ eyes to the need to help the vulnerable among them.
Many churches rose to the occasion to reach out to some of the needy among them in response to the widespread hunger and lack that heralded the lockdown among some underprivileged within the territory lockdown by the government.
The palliatives distributed by some churches to their members and some people within their catchment areas provided the succour that alleviated the deprivation among many people during the period of the lockdown.
Those actions also helped the understanding of many of the church members on the true meaning of the Gospel more than the volume of sermon preached on the pulpit by their pastors.
Lending Helping Hands
By identifying with the needy among them, the church was invariably telling their congregations about the love of Christ through practical means and not by mere proclamations.
That singular actions alone must have won more souls to the kingdom and also convinced many that the church also care for their personal needs and was not just interested in taking from them alone.
My submission is that while the actions are commendable, the church needs to do more and not wait till such period of disaster or national tragedy such as the pandemic to respond to the needs of their members.
I am equally aware that some churches have imbibed the practice where they have a standing welfare scheme for their members. However, the process and form should be fine-tuned beyond the tokenism such practice has turned out in some places.
One of the methods church leaders could adopt to teach their congregations on giving is to purposefully set aside at least about 10 percent of their total income for charity activities within their fold and possibly beyond.
A specific team could be set up to consist of respected and credible members who should be assigned to manage such fund and the process of selection of beneficiaries for the give-back programme as a means of evangelism.
They should also have guidelines specifying the modalities for the distributions and accounting for funds in a transparent manner, while intervention should be categorised into primary and secondary with secondary addressing critical areas like health, business support and scholarship etc, while primary categories should focus more on the provision of foods and raiment support to those who are in need.
The question some people may want to ask is why should the church take up the business of charity and reaching out to the needy as a major part of their activities?
This is essential because such is part of the foundation laid by the Apostles when they have to set aside competent and men of integrity like Stephen and the six others to manage the distributions for the people. What followed such action was tremendous growth and multiplications within the fold. This is one of the true Acts of the Apostles, which are great model left for the church to emulate thereby enhance the multiplications of souls in the kingdom.
During the early ministry of Jesus Christ, he also set such examples for his followers on giving to the poor by his feeding of 5,000 and 4,000 people at some points.
Ordinarily, if Jesus had not intervened, the disciples would have sent the crowd away with empty stomach after they have been fed with the spiritual word.
Also, Apostle Paul set a similar example of charity in his ministry by collecting regular offering specifically to meet the need of some members of the church.
Welfare in the church should not be based on tokenism, whereby it is done haphazardly but purposefully to ensure that those who have are shelter to those who don’t.
The church should also take a cue from the early missionaries, who brought the gospel to our shore, it was their acts of giving through many means that led to the quick spread of the gospel to many part of the country and around the world.
Let the church arise and be in the forefront of impacting lives through giving back to the needy among them, and then the purpose of the gospel shall be fulfilled and made clear to many.
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be … For the poor you will always have with you in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Significantly, the scripture is very clear about what God want us to do to alleviate the suffering of some people among us and the church can lead the way in this through purposeful giving back to the society, especially those of the household of faith.
Then we can start talking about the impact of the gospel on the people and the church will start seeing changes that truly come from the fresh approach to outreach.#GFD
Friday, 17 July 2020
CHURCH BUSINESS: What Legacy Are You Leaving Behind?
By Oludare Mayowa
One of my leaders in faith recently wrote a note on a platform we both belong on his experience during the lockdown imposed by the government in a bid to contain the spread of covid-19 and it was illuminating and took me back to reflect on my own past.
“I found out that the dreams I had while growing up were truncated by the leaders that came into my life. I found out that I lost me to them.” This was an extract from the post by the cleric.
What is your legacy as leaders?
I was struck with awe because his experience was similar to mine and I am sure millions of others who had the misfortune of sitting under some leaders who simply manipulated our innocence and naivety to lead us astray and away from our dreams.
When we were taught about faith, we were not told all that we need to know, rather faith was taught basically to enable us open our wallet for them to spend or believe them as epitome of faith.
We were made ‘to bribe God’ so that he can give us the grace to realise our dream, not knowing that our giving was to enable them live larger than life and ascribed their prosperity as a sign of divine blessing and the quality of their faith.
We were taught to exercise our faith and step out in confidence in assurance that our faith will produce amazing result that is beyond our imaginations.
Indeed, in truth, we confidently step out of the boat to walk on water the same manner Jesus and then Peter did in the scripture. But we were almost swept away and drown by the tidal wave of the sea even when we were not shaken in our faith, as we sank deeper into the bottom of the water.
Still confident that our faith will see us floating back to the surface and in our foolishness, we still hope that our teachers will lend helping hands to rescue us when our faith is no longer sufficient to carry us further.
We were rescued by providence of His mercy, not by our faith or by the helping hands of our teachers who had propelled us to go further regardless of our experiences and the outcome of the experiment.
We came back from the depth of the water to tell our story because of our innocence and not by the faith of our teachers. Our experiences taught us that faith could turn to foolishness if not properly exercised and guided by the instructions from the father of light.
We learnt through the hard way with our experience that it is not faith alone that saved, but faith that is rooted in knowledge of Him who is able to bear us in his hands when the tide changed and the storm ranges.
We realised in moment of time that what our teachers failed to tell us, is that our faith was technically built not on the solid rock but on the assurance of our teachers who had substituted themselves in our eyes for the one who has the power of faith in His hands.
That the principle of faith is guided by the deeper knowledge that comes through the inspiration of the spirit of the creator of the universe and not in believing the miraculous power of our leaders who themselves need to learn to lean on the father of life.
If we had not sank into the bottom of the sea, perhaps we would not have realised the need to seek Jesus and walk with Him.
Our teachers did not tell us that walking on water was not a natural occurrence that could be dare by our ordinary faith.
They failed in their instructions to note the significance of Jesus presence at the scene and His command to Peter on the specific term on that occasion.
They did not reckon with the fact that if Jesus had wanted to make walking on water a natural occurrence for the apostles, He would not have instructed the disciples to enter into the boat to cross to the other side.
They neglect to see that Jesus walking on the water was meant to symbolise His authority over all things and that such authority can only be given by Him alone through His spirit and commandment to those who ask for it.
They did not tell us that our gaze should not be on man because vain is the help of man, but that when we focus on God, the owner of power, and our gaze connected to His face, he will lead us with His power to ride the storm of life.
They glibly show us the example of Daniel in the lion den that it was the faith of the one who was thrown into the den that made him survived the claws of those bestial animals.
In their desperation to make us the guinea pig for their experiments, we deliberately enter into the lion’s cave, with a mind that the one who rescued Daniel from the den would also do likewise for us.
We did not take into account that Daniel did not on his own volition jump into the cave to have a meeting with the lion.
Just like what happened some years back, when a Prophet went into the lion cage at the University of Ibadan zoological garden, we were mortally wounded in our desperations to prove the efficacy of our faith.
They did not tell us that even Jesus did not jump from the pinnacle of the temple when the devil tempted Him to do so, even with the innumerable angels at his beck and call, He recognised the need not to temp His God but spurned Satan instigation.
Their descendants are still following their footsteps till date, pushing more innocent people into the rivers of water; telling them that their faith will make them float in the manner of Archimedes principle of buoyancy.
They are still making more people to jump from the rooftop, in disobedience to the law of gravity as discovered by Isaac Newton.
While we believe in miracles, it’s our firm belief that they are not a daily occurrence that we should base our lives on but that miracles are divine intervention from the one who has the time and season in his hands.
We were once told that too much knowledge wearies the heart, quoting the scripture to back their position, but guess what would have happened to us today that we suddenly find ourselves in the information age, where you cannot survive without knowledge if we had trusted their judgment?
They nearly ruined the salvation of my first fruit, when the innocent child was in a secondary school owned by a religion sect that does not believe in the use of medication and with her expectations that the teacher of the law will practice what they preached alas, that was not to be.
The lid on their hypocrisy was blown open when one of their top leaders in company of some members of the church had an accident and were badly injured and in order not to put a lie to their human indoctrination that forbids the use of medicine for healing, they secretly employed a Doctor to treat their leader while the rest of the people who were also victims of the same accident were left to apply water, line and anointing oil on their own wound to heal.
Seeing their hypocrisy, my daughter nearly denounced the faith until she was brought back to her senses and shown the difference between the church hypocrisy and the efficacy of God’s word.
Am I against the preaching of faith? Am I denouncing the efficacy of miracles? Am I saying that all leaders are not doing the right thing? Nay, far from it, my position is that leaders should recognise the delicate position they occupy and the danger of misleading their flocks with the quality of the word they are being fed, which often is below the required standard.
That they should stop feeding the flock under their shepherd with half baked truth not rooted in the scripture but in human tradition and doctrines.
They should stop teaching their flocks out of selfish interest or based on personal experience but on the truth of the word as stated in the scripture.
The scripture is an encyclopedia of knowledge and wisdom from above which laid out principles governing life with the divine intervention coming to play only when all human efforts failed.
That is the reason God gave the knowledge of medicine to some for healing purposes and only intervene when such administration of drugs fail to yield the desired results due to the counteraction of demonic operations.
That way God had to intervene on behalf of the Israelite when they found themselves helpless at the bank of the red sea where there was no ship to convey them across while the enemies were on their heels to destroy them.
That was the same way He showed up for them when they were thirsty for water in the desert where there was no traces of river to quench their thirst allowing water to gush out from the rock.
That was why God rather chose to open the eyes of Hagai to the oasis within her reach and not create fresh flow of water for her and her son to drink in the desert when she was confused, thinking the end has come.
Spiritual leaders should be conscious of applying the content and context of the scripture in leading their flock so as not to lose their positions and places.#GFD
Thursday, 16 July 2020
Akpabio, Nunieh Brickbats: Why Buhari Must Step In To Ensure Sanity
By Oludare Mayowa
The ongoing brickbats between the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and the immediate past acting chief executive of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joi Nunieh is sickening and perhaps symptomatic of the going on and biggest troubles in the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari.
The ongoing brickbats between the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and the immediate past acting chief executive of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joi Nunieh is sickening and perhaps symptomatic of the going on and biggest troubles in the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari.
Akpabio, Nunieh Brickbats: Why Buhari Must Step In To Ensure Sanity
First, it was the arrest and suspension of the acting chairman of the Economic And Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu over allegations of financial wrongdoing and malpractices.
While the presidential panel investigating the allegations of malpractices against Magu is still ongoing and yet to disclose the details of the offences of the anti-graft cars, the stench of corruption allegations that flowing out from the NDDC under the watch of Akpabio is morbid and could sink the ship of this government if nothing concrete is not done about it.
The fact that the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs could not respond appropriately to all the allegations against him by the ex-NDDC boss is alarming and sure a signal to the depth of the rot in the intervention agency that was established to provide development for the people of the oil producing region.
This government, which set out to fight corruption may eventually be drowned by corruption if the president does not take urgent measures to carry out surgical measures to extricate the dreaded menace from his government.
Apart from the Magu and Akpabio saga, the nation’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami is also enmeshed in various allegations of corrupt practices as a fall out from his battle to see the back of Magu from the anti-graft commission.
It was not enough for all the personalities to merely wave aside those critical allegations against them, there must be decisive actions by the government to reassure Nigerians that this government is not populated by rebrobate minds who are there to serve their selfish interest and not the interest of the people.
The government must set up a transparent process to unravel all the sinister practices of some of his appointees and rid the system of the misdeeds if he wants people to take his anti-corruption fight seriously and his image of a strong and an incorruptible leader not with a pinch of salt.
The show of shame Nigerians are presently witnessing does not do his government any good and his personal acclaimed integrity is being dragged in the mud.
For instance, Akpabio has been accused of trying to manipulate the system for the purpose of personal gain by the ex-NDDC CEO at the ongoing investigations into the sleaze going on in the intervention agency at the National Assembly. Similar allegations of malpractices have been leveled against the AGF on many grounds.
Nigerians and the whole world would like to see the president rising up to the occasion and by ordering comprehensive investigations into the activities of his key appointees to either expose or clear them of any wrongdoings.
It is not enough to claim that the investigations into the actions of the ex-acting chairman of the EFCC, for instance, was evidence of the government’s commitment to fighting corruption, the government must be seen to be doing the right thing in its efforts to expose and punish corrupt practices in the country and within his appointees.
The presidential panel currently interrogating Magu was not the right path to take if indeed, the government is serious about its claim of fighting corruption and desirous of unearthing the various corruption allegations against the ex-EFCC boss and even others involved in the alleged crime.
To get to the root of any corruption allegations, the proper thing the government should do is to order a comprehensive audit of the accounts of the agencies involved by reputable and competent accounting and audit firms.
Setting up a presidential panel presided over by a reputable jurist, to me is not a sufficient method to get to the bottom of the case; what that could do is a mere fact-finding approach, which may not really achieve much.
Considered the fact that the government is yet to take any concrete steps to respond to the report of the Auditor General of the Federations, which accused some public officials of stolen about N300 billion from the nation’s Treasury.
The progress of the country will depend on the ability of the leaders to harness all resources for the betterment of the nation and its citizens and not on those who parade themselves as leaders but rather choose to loot the commonwealth to the detriment of all.
The government must ensure that it is intentional in its approach to rid the nation of corruption and its agents, otherwise, the government may continue to dance in a circle and deceiving itself that it was fighting the menace of corruption.
First, it was the arrest and suspension of the acting chairman of the Economic And Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu over allegations of financial wrongdoing and malpractices.
While the presidential panel investigating the allegations of malpractices against Magu is still ongoing and yet to disclose the details of the offences of the anti-graft cars, the stench of corruption allegations that flowing out from the NDDC under the watch of Akpabio is morbid and could sink the ship of this government if nothing concrete is not done about it.
The fact that the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs could not respond appropriately to all the allegations against him by the ex-NDDC boss is alarming and sure a signal to the depth of the rot in the intervention agency that was established to provide development for the people of the oil producing region.
This government, which set out to fight corruption may eventually be drowned by corruption if the president does not take urgent measures to carry out surgical measures to extricate the dreaded menace from his government.
Apart from the Magu and Akpabio saga, the nation’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami is also enmeshed in various allegations of corrupt practices as a fall out from his battle to see the back of Magu from the anti-graft commission.
It was not enough for all the personalities to merely wave aside those critical allegations against them, there must be decisive actions by the government to reassure Nigerians that this government is not populated by rebrobate minds who are there to serve their selfish interest and not the interest of the people.
The government must set up a transparent process to unravel all the sinister practices of some of his appointees and rid the system of the misdeeds if he wants people to take his anti-corruption fight seriously and his image of a strong and an incorruptible leader not with a pinch of salt.
The show of shame Nigerians are presently witnessing does not do his government any good and his personal acclaimed integrity is being dragged in the mud.
For instance, Akpabio has been accused of trying to manipulate the system for the purpose of personal gain by the ex-NDDC CEO at the ongoing investigations into the sleaze going on in the intervention agency at the National Assembly. Similar allegations of malpractices have been leveled against the AGF on many grounds.
Nigerians and the whole world would like to see the president rising up to the occasion and by ordering comprehensive investigations into the activities of his key appointees to either expose or clear them of any wrongdoings.
It is not enough to claim that the investigations into the actions of the ex-acting chairman of the EFCC, for instance, was evidence of the government’s commitment to fighting corruption, the government must be seen to be doing the right thing in its efforts to expose and punish corrupt practices in the country and within his appointees.
The presidential panel currently interrogating Magu was not the right path to take if indeed, the government is serious about its claim of fighting corruption and desirous of unearthing the various corruption allegations against the ex-EFCC boss and even others involved in the alleged crime.
To get to the root of any corruption allegations, the proper thing the government should do is to order a comprehensive audit of the accounts of the agencies involved by reputable and competent accounting and audit firms.
Setting up a presidential panel presided over by a reputable jurist, to me is not a sufficient method to get to the bottom of the case; what that could do is a mere fact-finding approach, which may not really achieve much.
Considered the fact that the government is yet to take any concrete steps to respond to the report of the Auditor General of the Federations, which accused some public officials of stolen about N300 billion from the nation’s Treasury.
The progress of the country will depend on the ability of the leaders to harness all resources for the betterment of the nation and its citizens and not on those who parade themselves as leaders but rather choose to loot the commonwealth to the detriment of all.
The government must ensure that it is intentional in its approach to rid the nation of corruption and its agents, otherwise, the government may continue to dance in a circle and deceiving itself that it was fighting the menace of corruption.
Tuesday, 5 November 2019
Will Wage Increment Spur Nigeria’s GDP Growth In 2020?, Asks United Capital
Recently, the FGN approved wage increment for civil servants following stand-offs with the Labour Union.
By 2020 budget estimates, this will be funded by tax increments and related revenues. One argument for the wage adjustment, despite the funding burden, is the likely net positive impact on output growth.
By expenditure approach, Consumption accounts for 60 percent of Nigeria’s GDP, while Government (5.6 percent), Investment (16 percent) and Net Exports (19.4 percent) contribute the balance. So, will the wage increment really bolster GDP growth?
First, the net impact of massive fiscal spending on wage increment for civil servants (3.5 million FGN + 36 States & 774 LGAs workers) compared to aggressive consumption tax increases (via VAT, POS, excise duties, toll gates) on c.200millions Nigerians, maybe contractionary on consumption (60 percent of GDP), which could in turn weaken Aggregate Expenditure (AD). Again, at 5.6 percent of GDP, higher government spending may not be enough to bolster GDP, with 25 percent expended on debt services relative to 21 percent on capital spending.
Additionally, while local investments may improve, given the CBN’s recent effort to drive credit growth and lower rates, FDI growth is unlikely in the absence of clarity around the currency market outlook.
Hence, investment may stay muted. Also, trade is neither here nor there, considering that exports are hugely oil product-driven amid the OPEC output cap and border closure. In sum, while recent initiatives may be necessary, it may be negative for consumption, and by implication keep GDP growth subdued.
By expenditure approach, Consumption accounts for 60 percent of Nigeria’s GDP, while Government (5.6 percent), Investment (16 percent) and Net Exports (19.4 percent) contribute the balance. So, will the wage increment really bolster GDP growth?
First, the net impact of massive fiscal spending on wage increment for civil servants (3.5 million FGN + 36 States & 774 LGAs workers) compared to aggressive consumption tax increases (via VAT, POS, excise duties, toll gates) on c.200millions Nigerians, maybe contractionary on consumption (60 percent of GDP), which could in turn weaken Aggregate Expenditure (AD). Again, at 5.6 percent of GDP, higher government spending may not be enough to bolster GDP, with 25 percent expended on debt services relative to 21 percent on capital spending.
Additionally, while local investments may improve, given the CBN’s recent effort to drive credit growth and lower rates, FDI growth is unlikely in the absence of clarity around the currency market outlook.
Hence, investment may stay muted. Also, trade is neither here nor there, considering that exports are hugely oil product-driven amid the OPEC output cap and border closure. In sum, while recent initiatives may be necessary, it may be negative for consumption, and by implication keep GDP growth subdued.
Friday, 25 October 2019
Nigeria Is Broke But Has Limited Options To Raise Revenue
By Oludare MayowaFrom all indications, it appears that Nigeria, the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, is broke and desperately needs to balance its books or else it will go burst. Glean from the recent presentation by the finance and budget minister, Zainab Ahmed, the country has been unable to meet its revenue targets for upward of three years now and there is no indication that it will do so very soon in spite of its attempt to raise the Value Added Tax.
Last year, the government projected a total retained income of about N6.99 trillion from both oil and non-oil sources, hardly did the government realise 55 percent of the projections. This was due to its inability to meet its production target for crude oil, which was estimated at 2.3 million barrels per day, as the average production stood around 1.8 million barrels per day during the period.
Also, income from the non-oil dipped by 24 percent from the approved N1.47 trillion projected by the government for the entire year while VAT was short by 28 percent from the approved estimates for the year.
However, amount spent on debt service in 2018 was put around N2.15 trillion against N1.74 trillion disbursed for capital projects in the course of the year.
In the 2019 budget, the government had projected to produce 2.3 million barrels of oil per day but so far production level hardly surpassed last year’s figure. Besides, its non-oil revenue has not performed fairly well too. Income from the oil sector for the first half of the year remains abysmally low, short of the projection by 41 percent, VAT income short of 15 percent while the government was able to make up with about five percent more than projection from the non-oil sector as at the first half of the year.
Again, debt service already gulped N1.19 trillion as of the first half of the year, 18 percent more than projection while no capital vote had been disbursed up till the end of June. What this means is that the government has been paying salaries and servicing debt without adding to the growth and development of basic infrastructure in the first six months of the year.
The signals are ominous and this is evident from the economic performance in the first two quarters of the year. The country’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.94 percent in the second quarter of the year, lower than the 2.01 percent in the first three months of the year. Compare this with the rate of population growth, then you will understand that Nigeria is on the negative trajectory.
The gloomy part was the fact that as it is, Nigeria is spending about 54 percent of its revenue collections to service debt, leaving around 46 percent to pay salaries and overhead cost, with little or nothing left for capital projects.
To correct this anomaly, the government is proposing a number of revenue drives to boost its income from the non-oil sector to enable it to finance its budget proposals.
One of the moves to boost revenue was the recent hike in VAT rate from five percent to 7.5 percent in the 2020 budget by the government. Other steps include the review in payment for National Identity Management Commission card, planned excise duty on carbonated drinks and other reforms being carried out by government agency to boost income and cut back on the cost of governance.
There are other areas the government is not looking into due to the political backlash it would generate against it from the public.
At the just concluded meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC, the Bretton Wood institutions had called on the government to slash back on subsidy on petroleum products and unify its exchange rates to save some funds to finance developmental projects.
Nigeria currently subsidises the pump price of fuel because though the country is a leading oil producer in the world, it has to import refined products as a result of little attention to domestic refining of crude oil in the country.
A cut or outright removal of subsidy on fuel consumption could save Nigeria in excess of N1trillion annually, while merging the exchange rates could boost the government revenue from the exchange rate differentials.
However, the two options are tough for the government to take due to the possible backlash that may follow as a result of public discontent and resistance to the move.
For instance, Nigeria could attract additional income from the unification of its exchange rates by allowing the market to determine the rate of exchange.
The naira currently exchanges at the Central Bank of Nigeria window at N305-306 to the dollar, while the local currency exchanges at N360 to the dollar on the parallel market, N161.5 to the dollar on the investor’s and exporter’s window. A merger of the rates could see the local currency trading around N360-363 to the dollar, according to some analysts; N60 from each dollar sold could accrue to the coffer of the government and help it to balance its books.
Equally, a removal of the fuel subsidy could help secure around N1.14 trillion estimated spent on subsidising fuel consumption this year alone.
More importantly, in spite of paying lip service to cutting the cost of governance, the government has done little to slash emoluments for political office holders, which run to several billions of naira yearly.
Why it will be a tough task for the government to balance its books and be able to fulfil its electoral promises to the populace is because most politicians are not willing to make the needed sacrifice on their part.
In most developed economies, the governments of such countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, etc are not running on resources generated from natural resources. Rather, government is funded by taxes paid by the people and corporates. In a place like the US, taxes on income are as high as 40 percent on certain categories of individuals and businesses.
However, such taxes are judiciously deployed to create an enviable environment for the people and businesses, which in turn helps them to generate more income and serve as incentive for them to continue to pay their tax obligations.
In a developing country like ours, governments are not accountable to the people, whom they expect to pay tax and support the running of the government, aside from the fact that political office holders are living larger than the entire society they are supposed to protect.
News from Brazil a few weeks ago indicated that the country’s parliament decided to reduce the number of people in the legislative arms of the government as part of measures to reduce cost of governance.
In Nigeria, the government a few months ago increased the size of the bureaucracy by appointing more ministers to run the government from 37 previously to 42, simply for political reasons without consideration for the consequential cost on the finance of the government. Equally, the cost of sustaining the National Assembly remains a huge burden on the economy and yet the government is not willing to do what it will take to cut down the burden.
Today, the country’s total debt has ballooned to around N26 trillion as of June this year. While the country spent around 58 percent of its income to service debt, it will take enormous task for the country to enjoy any meaningful development under such a financial condition.
Nigerians are reasonable people and would be willing to make some concessions in the interest of economic growth and development of the country if only they could see the government demonstrate good intentions.
The government must be willing to cut down on the huge wastage in government expenditures, block all leakages and be ready to engage the populace in a transparent manner, otherwise any reform to restructure the finance of the government will continue to meet with resistance from the populace.
The unification of the multiple exchange rates is an imperative to further save the Central Bank of Nigeria from further eroding its shareholders’ fund and keep the regulatory bank in a stable position to continue to dictate the monetary policy direction for the country.
The situation where government revenue is calculated at N305 to the dollar while the real exchange rate is between N360 and N362 to the dollar on the main segments of the forex market is untenable. The cost of sustaining naira stability at the present level has been huge on the CBN, which has invested a huge portion of its shareholders’ funds to fund the Open Market Operations to defend the naira.
The removal of the subsidy on fuel consumption is another measure to boost government finance. As tough as such a decision would be, it is inevitable if the country is willing to overcome its debt burden and free some funds to finance developmental projects.
The choices before the government to improve its finance and balance its books are limited, but would the leadership be willing to take such a tough decision to reposition the economy and end years of misery in the country? Time will tell and of course time is running out on this government to live up to expectations of those who voted for change and stop the business as usual as it is currently going on in the country.
Also, income from the non-oil dipped by 24 percent from the approved N1.47 trillion projected by the government for the entire year while VAT was short by 28 percent from the approved estimates for the year.
However, amount spent on debt service in 2018 was put around N2.15 trillion against N1.74 trillion disbursed for capital projects in the course of the year.
In the 2019 budget, the government had projected to produce 2.3 million barrels of oil per day but so far production level hardly surpassed last year’s figure. Besides, its non-oil revenue has not performed fairly well too. Income from the oil sector for the first half of the year remains abysmally low, short of the projection by 41 percent, VAT income short of 15 percent while the government was able to make up with about five percent more than projection from the non-oil sector as at the first half of the year.
Again, debt service already gulped N1.19 trillion as of the first half of the year, 18 percent more than projection while no capital vote had been disbursed up till the end of June. What this means is that the government has been paying salaries and servicing debt without adding to the growth and development of basic infrastructure in the first six months of the year.
The signals are ominous and this is evident from the economic performance in the first two quarters of the year. The country’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.94 percent in the second quarter of the year, lower than the 2.01 percent in the first three months of the year. Compare this with the rate of population growth, then you will understand that Nigeria is on the negative trajectory.
The gloomy part was the fact that as it is, Nigeria is spending about 54 percent of its revenue collections to service debt, leaving around 46 percent to pay salaries and overhead cost, with little or nothing left for capital projects.
To correct this anomaly, the government is proposing a number of revenue drives to boost its income from the non-oil sector to enable it to finance its budget proposals.
One of the moves to boost revenue was the recent hike in VAT rate from five percent to 7.5 percent in the 2020 budget by the government. Other steps include the review in payment for National Identity Management Commission card, planned excise duty on carbonated drinks and other reforms being carried out by government agency to boost income and cut back on the cost of governance.
There are other areas the government is not looking into due to the political backlash it would generate against it from the public.
At the just concluded meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC, the Bretton Wood institutions had called on the government to slash back on subsidy on petroleum products and unify its exchange rates to save some funds to finance developmental projects.
Nigeria currently subsidises the pump price of fuel because though the country is a leading oil producer in the world, it has to import refined products as a result of little attention to domestic refining of crude oil in the country.
A cut or outright removal of subsidy on fuel consumption could save Nigeria in excess of N1trillion annually, while merging the exchange rates could boost the government revenue from the exchange rate differentials.
However, the two options are tough for the government to take due to the possible backlash that may follow as a result of public discontent and resistance to the move.
For instance, Nigeria could attract additional income from the unification of its exchange rates by allowing the market to determine the rate of exchange.
The naira currently exchanges at the Central Bank of Nigeria window at N305-306 to the dollar, while the local currency exchanges at N360 to the dollar on the parallel market, N161.5 to the dollar on the investor’s and exporter’s window. A merger of the rates could see the local currency trading around N360-363 to the dollar, according to some analysts; N60 from each dollar sold could accrue to the coffer of the government and help it to balance its books.
Equally, a removal of the fuel subsidy could help secure around N1.14 trillion estimated spent on subsidising fuel consumption this year alone.
More importantly, in spite of paying lip service to cutting the cost of governance, the government has done little to slash emoluments for political office holders, which run to several billions of naira yearly.
Why it will be a tough task for the government to balance its books and be able to fulfil its electoral promises to the populace is because most politicians are not willing to make the needed sacrifice on their part.
In most developed economies, the governments of such countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, etc are not running on resources generated from natural resources. Rather, government is funded by taxes paid by the people and corporates. In a place like the US, taxes on income are as high as 40 percent on certain categories of individuals and businesses.
However, such taxes are judiciously deployed to create an enviable environment for the people and businesses, which in turn helps them to generate more income and serve as incentive for them to continue to pay their tax obligations.
In a developing country like ours, governments are not accountable to the people, whom they expect to pay tax and support the running of the government, aside from the fact that political office holders are living larger than the entire society they are supposed to protect.
News from Brazil a few weeks ago indicated that the country’s parliament decided to reduce the number of people in the legislative arms of the government as part of measures to reduce cost of governance.
In Nigeria, the government a few months ago increased the size of the bureaucracy by appointing more ministers to run the government from 37 previously to 42, simply for political reasons without consideration for the consequential cost on the finance of the government. Equally, the cost of sustaining the National Assembly remains a huge burden on the economy and yet the government is not willing to do what it will take to cut down the burden.
Today, the country’s total debt has ballooned to around N26 trillion as of June this year. While the country spent around 58 percent of its income to service debt, it will take enormous task for the country to enjoy any meaningful development under such a financial condition.
Nigerians are reasonable people and would be willing to make some concessions in the interest of economic growth and development of the country if only they could see the government demonstrate good intentions.
The government must be willing to cut down on the huge wastage in government expenditures, block all leakages and be ready to engage the populace in a transparent manner, otherwise any reform to restructure the finance of the government will continue to meet with resistance from the populace.
The unification of the multiple exchange rates is an imperative to further save the Central Bank of Nigeria from further eroding its shareholders’ fund and keep the regulatory bank in a stable position to continue to dictate the monetary policy direction for the country.
The situation where government revenue is calculated at N305 to the dollar while the real exchange rate is between N360 and N362 to the dollar on the main segments of the forex market is untenable. The cost of sustaining naira stability at the present level has been huge on the CBN, which has invested a huge portion of its shareholders’ funds to fund the Open Market Operations to defend the naira.
The removal of the subsidy on fuel consumption is another measure to boost government finance. As tough as such a decision would be, it is inevitable if the country is willing to overcome its debt burden and free some funds to finance developmental projects.
The choices before the government to improve its finance and balance its books are limited, but would the leadership be willing to take such a tough decision to reposition the economy and end years of misery in the country? Time will tell and of course time is running out on this government to live up to expectations of those who voted for change and stop the business as usual as it is currently going on in the country.
Monday, 21 October 2019
Experts Skeptical Of NNPC Planned Revival Of Nigeria's Refineries
Africa’s biggest oil producer is trying to get its refineries working in an attempt to wean itself off imported fuel. Yet again.
Over the past 12 years, Nigeria tried and failed four times to crank up its aging and unprofitable crude-processing plants. Now the state-run energy company is giving it another shot -- a move that, if successful, could end the nation’s reliance on fuel imports. However, the country’s recent track record means there’s skepticism about the latest effort.
“For our refineries that have not been properly maintained for years, it might be easier to build a new one,” said Cheta Nwanze, head of research at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk advisory.
The West African country of about 200 million people imports more than 90 percent of products like gasoline and diesel, swapping its prized export -- crude -- for petroleum products that people need in their everyday lives.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) operates four refineries that have long run at a fraction of their capacity. The newest is almost four decades old. By successfully making its own fuels, Nigeria would stop being reliant on traders bringing supplies on tankers from thousands of miles away -- with all the extra costs that entail.
Mele Kyari, the group managing director of NNPC, says this time will be different.
He’s made fixing the plants a key part of his agenda since taking the helm of the company in July, and says President Muhammadu Buhari is the country’s first leader in years to be committed to the revamp.
“For our refineries that have not been properly maintained for years, it might be easier to build a new one,” said Cheta Nwanze, head of research at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk advisory.
The West African country of about 200 million people imports more than 90 percent of products like gasoline and diesel, swapping its prized export -- crude -- for petroleum products that people need in their everyday lives.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) operates four refineries that have long run at a fraction of their capacity. The newest is almost four decades old. By successfully making its own fuels, Nigeria would stop being reliant on traders bringing supplies on tankers from thousands of miles away -- with all the extra costs that entail.
Mele Kyari, the group managing director of NNPC, says this time will be different.
He’s made fixing the plants a key part of his agenda since taking the helm of the company in July, and says President Muhammadu Buhari is the country’s first leader in years to be committed to the revamp.
Kyari has revived a target to upgrade the plants and end fuel imports by 2023 after the company missed a previous goal for the end of this year.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva said in an interview in London this month that the overhaul should be successful this time because Nigeria is asking the owners of the refinery technology to get more involved in the work. Once the plants are operational, they will be run by external people, which will also help, he said.
The work is scheduled to begin in earnest in January, first on the Port Harcourt plant, a two-unit facility with the capacity to process 210,000 barrels of crude a day. Repairs will then move to the smaller refineries.
Some of Nigeria’s challenges to become more self-sufficient in fuel may soon be alleviated for another reason. In the next few years, a new, privately owned 650,000 barrel-a-day refinery is due to come online. In theory, it could meet all of the country’s fuel needs and have enough left over for exports.
The plant, being built by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is not owned by the Nigerian state though. That means that the country would have to pay market prices -- similar to those charged by traders -- for the fuel the refinery churns out. There would be little reason for Dangote to subsidize Nigeria’s domestic fuel prices if it were more profitable for the refinery to sell elsewhere.
The skepticism that state-run plants can return to full operation stems from NNPC’s previous attempts. Efforts to overhaul its refining industry -- in 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2016 -- all failed to work out. The state energy company has to compete with other domestic demands for funding, such as health care, education and other social services.
Three years ago, Nigeria sought external financing for its refineries following a plunge in crude prices, oil theft and attacks on its pipelines by militants and other saboteurs. That effort crumbled after it failed to convince investors of the viability of the venture.
NNPC is talking to the African Export-Import Bank (AFRIEXIM) and other financial institutions to fund the revamp.
“The money to comprehensively fix the refineries is simply not there,” said Ayodele Oni, chair of the energy and natural resources practice at Bloomfield Law in Lagos. “It is a difficult task to attract any significant funding required for their repairs in their present state.”
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva said in an interview in London this month that the overhaul should be successful this time because Nigeria is asking the owners of the refinery technology to get more involved in the work. Once the plants are operational, they will be run by external people, which will also help, he said.
The work is scheduled to begin in earnest in January, first on the Port Harcourt plant, a two-unit facility with the capacity to process 210,000 barrels of crude a day. Repairs will then move to the smaller refineries.
Some of Nigeria’s challenges to become more self-sufficient in fuel may soon be alleviated for another reason. In the next few years, a new, privately owned 650,000 barrel-a-day refinery is due to come online. In theory, it could meet all of the country’s fuel needs and have enough left over for exports.
The plant, being built by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is not owned by the Nigerian state though. That means that the country would have to pay market prices -- similar to those charged by traders -- for the fuel the refinery churns out. There would be little reason for Dangote to subsidize Nigeria’s domestic fuel prices if it were more profitable for the refinery to sell elsewhere.
The skepticism that state-run plants can return to full operation stems from NNPC’s previous attempts. Efforts to overhaul its refining industry -- in 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2016 -- all failed to work out. The state energy company has to compete with other domestic demands for funding, such as health care, education and other social services.
Three years ago, Nigeria sought external financing for its refineries following a plunge in crude prices, oil theft and attacks on its pipelines by militants and other saboteurs. That effort crumbled after it failed to convince investors of the viability of the venture.
NNPC is talking to the African Export-Import Bank (AFRIEXIM) and other financial institutions to fund the revamp.
“The money to comprehensively fix the refineries is simply not there,” said Ayodele Oni, chair of the energy and natural resources practice at Bloomfield Law in Lagos. “It is a difficult task to attract any significant funding required for their repairs in their present state.”
Wednesday, 25 September 2019
BREAKINVIEWS: Nigeria Is Right To Fight $9 Bln Arbitration Claim
As ironies go, it’s up there. Nigeria, spiritual home to the wealthy African prince internet scam, has been relieved of $9 billion by a dead Irishman.
Yet the case is no laughing matter for Africa’s most populous nation – which faces a crippling economic bill – or the UK-based arbitrators whose ruling looks legally sound but practically ridiculous. Reopening the case to hear the government’s credible but belated claims of fraud is the common-sense solution.
Last month’s ruling that British Virgin Islands-registered Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) could start seizing Nigerian assets sent shockwaves through Abuja. The award, based on what P&ID claims it would have made, plus interest, from a gas project, is a third of the country’s annual budget and a quarter of foreign reserves.
Even in this context, central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele’s threat to Europe – help us stop this or face a flood of “refugees” due to the economic collapse of a nation of 200 million people – is a touch shrill.
Last month’s ruling that British Virgin Islands-registered Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) could start seizing Nigerian assets sent shockwaves through Abuja. The award, based on what P&ID claims it would have made, plus interest, from a gas project, is a third of the country’s annual budget and a quarter of foreign reserves.
Even in this context, central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele’s threat to Europe – help us stop this or face a flood of “refugees” due to the economic collapse of a nation of 200 million people – is a touch shrill.
Yet the continent’s biggest economy is struggling to shake off a 2016 recession. And even if it doesn’t pay a cent to P&ID, whose only public face is a website with no address or telephone number, reneging on arbitration could have a chilling effect on foreign investment.
To a large extent, Nigeria has itself to blame. In the first instance, it should never have signed a 20-year gas contract with now-deceased Irishman Michael Quinn, whose business track record was mainly schmoozing Nigerian generals to win military supply contracts, according to Bloomberg. And when the dispute went to arbitration, it should have laid out Quinn’s CV in all its glory, rather than fluffing its lines in court and ignoring appeals deadlines.
Yet the sorry saga also casts an unflattering light on arbitrators. The judges’ initial award of $6.6 billion may have followed the letter of the law by taking P&ID’s uncontested profit projections at face value. But it makes little practical sense given the difficulties of turning business plans into cash in places like Nigeria.
To a large extent, Nigeria has itself to blame. In the first instance, it should never have signed a 20-year gas contract with now-deceased Irishman Michael Quinn, whose business track record was mainly schmoozing Nigerian generals to win military supply contracts, according to Bloomberg. And when the dispute went to arbitration, it should have laid out Quinn’s CV in all its glory, rather than fluffing its lines in court and ignoring appeals deadlines.
Yet the sorry saga also casts an unflattering light on arbitrators. The judges’ initial award of $6.6 billion may have followed the letter of the law by taking P&ID’s uncontested profit projections at face value. But it makes little practical sense given the difficulties of turning business plans into cash in places like Nigeria.
That undermines the credibility of a process that should serve as an insurance backstop to foreign projects in exotic jurisdictions. Finding a way to reopen arbitration might involve legal creativity. But it’s the best way to spare Nigeria’s blushes, and the judges’.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Nigerians Remain Happy Amidst Economic and Security Challenges
Equally, NOIPolls latest Personal Wellbeing Index (PWBI) has proved that Nigerians remained happy even in the face of economic hardship and security challenges being faced daily.
According to its latest PWBI Q4 2018, NOIPolls said there was a marginal decline in the PWBI of Nigerians.
It said the index showed that the personal wellbeing index of Nigerians stands at 61.5-points in the last quarter of last year compared with 62.89 points in the third quarter of 2018.
"Nevertheless, it is worthy of note that amidst the low satisfaction of Nigerians on their economic situation and standard of living, some of the key factors which are pivotal in determining the level of happiness continue to remain above average as revealed by the poll."
These key components, NOI noted include Religion (88.37- points), Social Interaction (75.9-points), Physical Health (73.5-points) and Personal security (57.9-points).
Nigerians, it said have continued to be happy people despite the seeming economic, security and other social challenges they experience on a day to day basis.
"Furthermore, social interaction which provides an overall feeling of connectivity to society is one of the indices that Nigerians keep averaging high points in the PWBI findings.
This contributes to the happiness of Nigerians alongside their personal health; without which isolation, decreased self-esteem and shorter lifespan may be prevalent.
The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Happiness as a way of recognising the essence and importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world; which seem to elude a large number of persons living in the world today due to the seeming hardship experienced by people. In a bid to promote overall Happiness of people around the world and to ensure the general wellbeing of individuals, the UN came up with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which seek to end poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet which are major factors that lead to well-being and happiness.
The global body uses factors like GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity and absence of corruption in order to rank countries.
Tuesday, 5 March 2019
CBN must adopt new measures on forex
Prior to the prevailing stability in the foreign exchange market, the naira had fallen rapidly against the US dollar in the months after President Muhammadu Buhari took over the government in May 2015. This was as a result of policy vacillation by the government when it failed to take appropriate measures to restore investor confidence in the economy.
President Buhari in his characteristic rigidity insisted that he would not allow official devaluation of the naira in spite of the obvious impact of a fall in price of crude oil on foreign exchange income and a declining foreign exchange buffer.
The regulatory bank on its part seemed not sure of its next move because of the body language of the new sheriff whose disposition towards liberal economy was negative. In response to the pressure on the external reserves, the CBN slammed forex restrictive measures and introduced other capital control policies to curb speculations on the local currency.
These measures created more panic in the system with many investors including individuals resorting to mounting pressure on the available dollars.
Rumours that the new government planned to change the colour of the naira as a measure to track stolen money from the treasury further put more pressure on the local currency as many people moved to convert their local currency into dollar as a store of value.
The CBN forex restriction and capital control measures failed to address the challenges in the market and the naira fell sharply on the parallel market due to increased demand and scarcity of the dollar in other segments of the forex market.
At some point, the naira weakened to around 550 naira to the dollar on the parallel market even though the official market rate remained around 220 naira to the dollar. The CBN had to adopt currency rationing to support the demand at the official window, which now had resorted to a crude way of foreign exchange allocations to douse tension.
Many businesses were closing down due to currency shortage resulting in declining productivity in the economy and by the second quarter of 2016, the economy had entered recession, its first in 25 years.
Inflation then shot up to around 19 per cent as the effect of currency shortage bit harder on businesses while the economy gradually slowed down.
Even with all the negative signals that the economy could dip further, the CBN stuck to its gun on capital control and forex restrictions and rather tighten liquidity to curb pressure on the naira and rein inflation.
A former CBN Director of Trade and Exchange blamed the current CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, for the mess the foreign exchange has become because of his inability to summon the political will at the appropriate time and make the right move to correct the imbalance in the market.
According to the ex-CBN director, “Emefiele has contributed to the currency mismanagement. I don’t know whether it was fear of the unknown or sheer lack of knowledge.”
Corroborating the position, another top banker in a new generation bank angrily accused the CBN governor of coming to mess up the foreign exchange market with his currency restriction and multiple forex windows.
The banker said before the governor came, the country had already developed an efficient foreign exchange market system that was driven by market efficiency and price discovery methods.
However, another banker and economist countered the position and said the governor was limited by choices available to him at the critical time.
He said the governor was caught between floating the currency and encouraging the devaluation of the naira with negative consequence on price stability in the country. He said the governor chose the auspicious measures to help conserve the country’s foreign exchange reserve and support critical areas of the economy with forex allocation.
Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, also criticised the CBN foreign exchange policy, saying if he won the presidential election, he would float the naira and overhaul the regulatory bank in line with his liberalisation policy.
Atiku was particular about his plans to carry out a major reform of the regulatory bank if he won the election held on February 23. He categorically said that he would sack Emefiele as he considered him an ineffective administrator of the country’s monetary policy authority.
Even though the country’s currency exchange rate has achieved some measure of convergence on some of the foreign exchange windows, the CBN remains adamant on sustaining the present forex management policy of multiple exchange rates, considered by experts to be susceptible to manipulation and abuse.
Emefiele said recently that allowing Nigeria’s naira to float would lead to massive depreciation of the naira, and ultimately to currency crisis in the country.
Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have on different occasions called on Nigeria to end its present foreign exchange regime that created room for multiple exchange rates.
According to the Bretton Wood institutions, the current foreign exchange regime has created distortions in the economy and could keep away the needed foreign investors from the country.
Nigeria currently has about five exchange rates in operations; the interbank rate which currently trades around N306 to the dollar; a special rate for Muslims and Christians embarking on pilgrimage to Mecca and Jerusalem; investors’ and exporters’ window; another one for paying school fees and medicals and the parallel market rate.
A business newspaper recently wrote a damning report on the huge arbitraging going on in the foreign exchange market. According to the paper, many privileged persons are taking advantage of the margin between the interbank market and other forex windows to rip the country off in billions of naira.
Although the CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, debunked the report as untrue, not many Nigerians are willing to accept the regulatory bank’s claims that there is transparency in the foreign exchange management.
An economist said it is a matter of time before the country’s currency risks a disorderly depreciation if steps are not taken to correct the prevailing distortion in the market.
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $42.30 billion as of March 1, 2019 compared to $41 billion a year ago and better than $28.64 billion two years earlier.
The improvement in the forex buffer is majorly as a result of the recovery in oil prices, trickles of dollars from offshore portfolio investors and huge Eurobond issued by the government within the period.
Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, also criticised the CBN foreign exchange policy, saying if he won the presidential election, he would float the naira and overhaul the regulatory bank in line with his liberalisation policy.
Atiku was particular about his plans to carry out a major reform of the regulatory bank if he won the election held on February 23. He categorically said that he would sack Emefiele as he considered him an ineffective administrator of the country’s monetary policy authority.
Even though the country’s currency exchange rate has achieved some measure of convergence on some of the foreign exchange windows, the CBN remains adamant on sustaining the present forex management policy of multiple exchange rates, considered by experts to be susceptible to manipulation and abuse.
Emefiele said recently that allowing Nigeria’s naira to float would lead to massive depreciation of the naira, and ultimately to currency crisis in the country.
Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have on different occasions called on Nigeria to end its present foreign exchange regime that created room for multiple exchange rates.
According to the Bretton Wood institutions, the current foreign exchange regime has created distortions in the economy and could keep away the needed foreign investors from the country.
Nigeria currently has about five exchange rates in operations; the interbank rate which currently trades around N306 to the dollar; a special rate for Muslims and Christians embarking on pilgrimage to Mecca and Jerusalem; investors’ and exporters’ window; another one for paying school fees and medicals and the parallel market rate.
A business newspaper recently wrote a damning report on the huge arbitraging going on in the foreign exchange market. According to the paper, many privileged persons are taking advantage of the margin between the interbank market and other forex windows to rip the country off in billions of naira.
Although the CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, debunked the report as untrue, not many Nigerians are willing to accept the regulatory bank’s claims that there is transparency in the foreign exchange management.
An economist said it is a matter of time before the country’s currency risks a disorderly depreciation if steps are not taken to correct the prevailing distortion in the market.
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $42.30 billion as of March 1, 2019 compared to $41 billion a year ago and better than $28.64 billion two years earlier.
The improvement in the forex buffer is majorly as a result of the recovery in oil prices, trickles of dollars from offshore portfolio investors and huge Eurobond issued by the government within the period.
The government has borrowed up to $10 billion from the international capital market in the last three years to fund infrastructure projects.
As it is, the Nigerian economy relies mainly on revenue from crude oil export and any negative development in the global market has consequences on the economy due to lack of diversification of the government revenue base. Also, adjustment in the interest rate in developed economies could mean further capital flight from the country and invariably impacts negatively on the state of the local currency.
Although in an apparent realisation of the need to broaden the revenue base of the country, the present government has tried to introduce reforms in tax administration, and expand the non-oil sector’s contributions to revenue to reduce dependant on oil sector.
As it is, the Nigerian economy relies mainly on revenue from crude oil export and any negative development in the global market has consequences on the economy due to lack of diversification of the government revenue base. Also, adjustment in the interest rate in developed economies could mean further capital flight from the country and invariably impacts negatively on the state of the local currency.
Although in an apparent realisation of the need to broaden the revenue base of the country, the present government has tried to introduce reforms in tax administration, and expand the non-oil sector’s contributions to revenue to reduce dependant on oil sector.
Income from tax has improved to a large extent due to an increased drive to collect tax revenue; automation of collection methods and the introduction of an amnesty scheme to encourage voluntary declaration of assets by people hitherto evading tax.
However, lack of political will has prevented the government from reaping more dividends from the tax reforms and this is considered a major setback on the attempt to expand the tax net.
The CBN should be ready and willing to carry out extensive reforms in the foreign exchange market the outcome of the presidential election notwithstanding and ensure that the resources of the country are not frittered away through the present piecemeal interventions that give room for arbitraging and round-tripping by unscrupulous elements.
However, lack of political will has prevented the government from reaping more dividends from the tax reforms and this is considered a major setback on the attempt to expand the tax net.
The CBN should be ready and willing to carry out extensive reforms in the foreign exchange market the outcome of the presidential election notwithstanding and ensure that the resources of the country are not frittered away through the present piecemeal interventions that give room for arbitraging and round-tripping by unscrupulous elements.
Thursday, 17 January 2019
Nigeria Feb Election; Buhari, Atiku are not most qualified, but top contenders
Wednesday, January 16 was a very busy day for Journalists in Nigeria, especially those who are paid to follow the trend in the political circle. The social media was also not left out of the flurry of activities around the key political figures jostling for attention ahead of the February 16, presidential election.
It was the day President Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) was selected to appear before a live television audience which was beam live to millions of viewers in what the organisers said was a town hall meeting with presidential candidates and their running mates.
In Lagos, the candidate of the main opposition party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar equally was hosted to an event coordinated by the Organized Private Sector (OPS).
The two top candidates were in the companies of their top aides and supporters at the two separate gathering to cheer them up.
At the Abuja town hall live television show, candidate Buhari was busy dogging questions from kadaria Ahmed, the host of the programme and at some point his deputy Professor Yemi Osibanjo has to interpret or rather break down the questions to enable his principal effectively digest it. Even with that, the president was unable to decipher meaning out of many of the questions asked him by the host; he was mostly off the range.
Buhari refused to answer question on his next move concerning his most trumpeted anti-corruption campaign, he was most of the time off-key when asked what he would do differently in the fight against corruption if he was elected again.
The best the president could mutter was to go into how difficult it has been to prosecute the war against corruption due to lengthy legal procedure, resistance from the accused, etc.
He evaded the question on what he will do if he lose the forthcoming election, he rather preferred to inundate the audience with the story of the previous loses and how he went to court to challenge the result of past elections.
He was also not forthcoming on the question on his state of health and his capacity to continue in office due to his well known health challenges.
During the interview session, the president came on as someone who was tired, that could be understandable considering his age and combining the rigour of running the country with ongoing electioneering. How do someone explain away his illogical responses to many of the questions asked by the host.
Overall, the president appear not to remember many things, even with the help of his deputy, he was far from being articulate on many of the issues raised by the host at the town hall meeting.
If the live television broadcast were to be a job interview for the country’s chief executive officer, our president will not only have lost his chance to complete his tenure but would have been denied any opportunity to get a fresh mandate to continue in office.
No reasonable member of panel of interviewer would have offered him a second chance at the job from the appraisal of his past performance and prospect of the next four years.
If I was a member of such panel, my verdict would have been; “Mr President Thanks for coming, but you needs to go home and rest in the company of your children and grandchildren, you really deserve it.” .
However, the candidate of the main opposition party, Atiku Abubakar has remained the more vibrant of the two top contenders to the position of Nigeria CEO. His speeches were well delivered; his position on many issues was articulated and well passed on.
At the Lagos event, he reiterated his position that he would privatise the country’s oil behemoth, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He was also bullish on his determination to restructure the country and other sundry issues.
The turn off of his response to many of the issues raised at the event was his blatant claimed that he will enrich his friends and not family under the privatization programme as long as it is not done under any corruption tendency. He asked his audience if his friends are not qualified to be enriched.
Atiku, as he is fondly called by his supporters simply confirmed the damning verdict on him by the global political analysts and consultancy group Eurasia on his tendency for corrupt enrichment of self, family and friends.
In its report on the forthcoming general election, Eurasia described Atiku as “another gerontocrat who would focus on enriching himself and his cronies, avoiding the difficult and politically unpopular tasks necessary for reform.”
The same Eurasia equally described President Buhari as “an elderly, infirm leader who lacks the energy, creativity, or political savvy to move the needle on Nigeria’s most intractable problems.”
Atiku who is banking largely on his promise to restructure the country to gain the votes of the electorate in the southern part of the country is mostly seen as merely playing to the gallery so as to win the heart of the core southerners who have chosen restructuring theme as their major bargaining issue.
Atiku may have warmed himself to the heart of some of the private sector operators with the way he attended to the issues of multiplicity of exchange rates, which is one of the major banes of the slow growth in the economy.
Also with his promise to reduce the size of government and promote private sector driven economy, some people within his audience may have also decided to give him an average mark for his performance at the event.
Going by this presumptuous average score if the event in Lagos was to be an interview to select a chief executive for the country, Atiku would perhaps be smiling home by now as the possible candidate for the post in view of the fact that he outpaced his major contender, Buhari.
However, the snag is that both Buhari and Atiku are just two out of many candidates jostling for the position of the chief executive of the country; so narrowing the choice down to the two of them was a misnomer and should not be allowed to continue to fly.
The two candidates are the least qualified in terms of academic, records of performance and proposal to turn around the wheel of the country’s economy so far made to the electorate or interviewers as the case may be.
Although the two main contenders score higher in terms of followership, ability to induce those who will decide their fate and experience on the job assessment; nonetheless, they failed woefully using other parameters to judge them.
Other candidates lining up for the top job include; former vice president of the World Bank and a minister in the regime of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, Oby Ezekwesili, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Morghalu, publisher of the raving online news, Sahara Reporter and a former student activist Omoyele Sowore and a motivational speaker and entrepreneur, Fela Durotoye, among the scores.
As it is today, a leader that Nigeria needs is the one who is knowledgeable about the economy and understand what should be done to revive the floundering ship of the nation.
Nigeria definitely needs a young, very agile and intelligent chief executive officer who will not be encumbered bypass misdeed, have less garbage and have the flexibility to adapt fresh method to tackle the many challenges facing the country.
Nigeria requires the service of a CEO who will be creative, innovative and not bug down by loyalty to primordial tendency, someone who could empathise with the yearnings of the majority of Nigerians irrespective of tribe, religion and political affiliation.
Nigeria needs someone who will be bold enough to confront the behemoth of corruption irrespective of whose horse is goaded and with the capacity to break the shackles of oligarchy dominating every facet of the economy.
If I was to be a member of the panel interviewing candidates for the position of the chief executive officer for the country, both Buhari and Atiku will not have any opportunity to proceed further beyond the campaign period. I would have long bided them out of the boardroom in preference for one of the egg heads who have demonstrated capability within their field of endeavors.
For Atiku, the testimonial of his former boss, ex president Obasanjo on his corruption tendency, his divisiveness and his inability to rein his cronies’ appetite for dipping their hands in our commonwealth is sufficient to disqualify him.
On the part of Buhari, his abysmal performance in the more than three and half years he has been in the saddle is enough evidence that he lacks the right skill to direct the ship of the country.
Unfortunately, Nigeria is not a progressive-minded country; many members of the panel of interview, of whom I am one, are not sensitive to good quality but are rather driven by sentiment and affiliation to other unimportant parameters than the best for the country.
Many members of the panel; the electorate are focused more on appeal to their political orientation, who is more aligned to their godfathers and who could perhaps pay more attention to line their pocket than the other. It is almost certain that both Buhari and Atiku are likely going to be the predominant choice for the job and one of the two is on his way to grab the job and be on the driver seat for the next four years at the end of the contest.
Those who are parading more quality credentials and possibly the energy and capability to be in the driver seat may not and never get there with the way our politics is structured unless there is a miracle soon.
* Mayowa is a Lagos Based international financial journalist
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
How To Stop Facebook, Apple And Google Tracking Your Every Move
Some companies, most notably Apple, have begun promoting the fact that they sell products and services that safeguard consumer privacy.
Smartphone users are never asked explicitly if they want to be tracked every moment of each day.
But cellular companies, smartphone makers, app developers and social media companies all claim they have users' permission to conduct near-constant personal surveillance.
The underlying problem is that most people don't understand how tracking really works.
The technology companies haven't helped teach their customers about it, either.
In fact, they've intentionally obscured important details to build a multi-million dollar data economy based on an ethically questionable notion of informed consent.
How consumers are made to agree
Most companies disclose their data protection practices in a privacy policy; most software requires users to click a button saying they accept the terms before using the program.
But people don’t always have a free choice.
Instead, it’s a 'take-it-or-leave-it' agreement, in which a customer can use the service only if they agree.
Anyone who actually wants to understand what the policies say finds the details are buried in long legal documents unreadable by nearly everyone, perhaps except the lawyers who helped create them.
Often, these policies will begin with a blanket statement like 'your privacy is important to us.'
However, the actual terms describe a different reality.
It’s usually not too far-fetched to say that the company can basically do whatever it wants with your personal information, as long as it has informed you about it.
U.S. federal law does not require that a company's privacy policy actually protect users' privacy.
Nor are there any requirements that a company must inform consumers of its practices in clear, nonlegal language or provide consumers a notice in a user-friendly way.
Theoretically, users might be able to vote with their feet and find similar services from a company with better data-privacy practices.
But take-it-or-leave-it agreements for technologically advanced tools limit the power of competition across nearly the entire technology industry.
Data sold to third parties
There are a few situations where mobile platform companies like Apple and Google have let people exercise some control over data collection.
For example, both companies’ mobile operating systems let users turn off location services, such as GPS tracking.
Ideally, this should prevent most apps from collecting your location – but it doesn't always.
Further, it does nothing if your mobile provider resells your phone's location information to third parties.
App makers are also able to persuade users not to turn off location services, again with take-it-or-leave-it notifications.
When managing privileges for iOS apps, users get to choose whether the app can access the phone’s location 'always,' 'while using the app' or 'never.'
But changing the setting can trigger a discouraging message: 'We need your location information to improve your experience,' says one app.
Users are not asked other important questions, like whether they approve of the app selling their location history to other companies.
Even if you have 'Location History' off, Google often stores your precise location.
Here's how to delete those markers and some best-effort practices that keep your location as private as possible.
But there's no panacea, because simply connecting to the internet on any device flags an IP address that can be geographically mapped.
Smartphones also connect to cell towers, so your carrier knows your general location at all times.
To disable tracking on any device
Fire up your browser and go to myactivity.google.com. You'll need to be logged into Google.
On the upper left drop-down menu, go to 'Activity Controls.' Turn off both 'Web & App Activity' and 'Location History.'
That should prevent precise location markers from being stored to your Google account.
Google will warn you that some of its services won't work as well with these settings off.
In particular, neither the Google Assistant, a digital concierge, nor the Google Home smart speaker will be particularly useful.
on iOS
If you use Google Maps, adjust your location setting to 'While Using' the app. This will prevent the app from accessing your location when it's not active.
Go to Settings Privacy Location Services and from there select Google Maps to make the adjustment.
In the Safari web browser, consider using a search engine other than Google.
Under Settings Safari Search Engine, you can find other options like Bing or DuckDuckGo.
You can turn location off while browsing by going to Settings Privacy Location Services Safari Websites, and turn this to 'Never.'
This still won't prevent advertisers from knowing your rough location based on IP address on any website.
You can also turn Location Services off to the device almost completely from Settings Privacy Location Services.
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps will still work, but they won't know where you are on the map and won't be able to give you directions.
Emergency responders will still be able to find you if the need arises.
On Android
Under the main settings icon click on 'Security & location.' Scroll down to the 'Privacy' heading. Tap 'Location.' You can toggle it off for the entire device.
Use 'App-level permissions' to turn off access to various apps.
Unlike the iPhone, there is no setting for 'While Using.'
You cannot turn off Google Play services, which supplies your location to other apps if you leave that service on.
Sign in as a 'guest' on your Android device by swiping down from top and tapping the downward-facing cursor, then again on the torso icon.
Be aware of which services you sign in on, like Chrome. You can also change search engines even in Chrome.
To delete past location tracking on any device
On the page myactivity.google.com, look for any entry that has a location pin icon beside the word 'details.'
Clicking on that pops up a window that includes a link that sometimes says 'From your current location.'
Clicking on it will open Google Maps, which will display where you were at the time.
You can delete it from this popup by clicking on the navigation icon with the three stacked dots and then 'Delete.'
Some items will be grouped in unexpected places, such as topic names, google.com, Search, or Maps.
You have to delete them item by item. You can wholesale delete all items in date ranges or by service, but will end up taking out more than just location markers.
And many users don’t know that even when their name and contact information is removed from location data, even a modest location history can reveal their home addresses and the places they visit most, offering clues to their identities, medical conditions and personal relationships.
Why people don't opt out
Websites and apps make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for most people to say no to aggressive surveillance and data collection practices.
In my role as a scholar of human-computer interaction, one issue I study is the power of defaults.
When companies set a default in a system, such as 'location services set to on,' people are unlikely to change it, especially if they are unaware there are other options they could choose.
Further, when it is inconvenient to change the location services, as is the case on both iOS and Android systems today, it's even less likely that people will opt out of location collection - even when they dislike it.
Companies’ take-it-or-leave-it privacy policies and default choices for users’ privacy settings have created an environment where people are unaware that their lives are being subjected to minute-by-minute surveillance.
They’re also mostly not aware that information that could identify them individually is resold to create ever-more-targeted advertising.
Yet the companies can legally, if not ethically, claim that everyone agreed to it.
Overcoming the power of defaults
Privacy researchers know that people dislike these practices, and that many would stop using these service if they understood the extent of the data collection.
If invasive surveillance is the price of using free services, many would rather pay or at least see companies held to stronger data collection regulations.
The companies know this too, which is why, I argue, they use a form of coercion to ensure participation.
Until the U.S. has regulations that, at a minimum, require companies to ask for explicit consent, individuals will need to know how to protect their privacy.
Monday, 17 December 2018
To Defeat BOKO Haram: Tackles Poverty, Youth Unemployment and Boost Soldiers Morale
The attack by the West African wing of the Islamic State came as a surprise against the backdrop of claims by the government that it has technically defeated the insurgent group and rendered it incapable of major attack against the civil population or the military.
The insurgents who were said to have overwhelmed and overran the military based in Metele, a border town between Nigeria and Chad, was not without a prior warning to the military, without a major effort to stave off the attack.
From available information, the insurgent actually drove in from a neighbouring country to carry out the attack on the military base. This confirms the claim by the West Africa unit of Islamic State as being the brain behind the attack.
However, the precision with which the attack was carried out without a major resistance by the military is raising dust among the high command of the military.
A senior officer with the rank of a Lt Col who happened to be the commander of the unit was said to be one of the victims, an indication that a tactical error must have been committed in the military response to the initial warning that the insurgents were approaching the base to attack it.
The commander of the unit was said to have raised issue about the poor state of equipments and weaponry available to the troop under his command with the high command few weeks before the deadly attack by the Boko Haram insurgents.
In recent time, the insurgents have focused on carrying out attack on military base, a major tactic in the battle of supremacy between the military and the insurgents. Insiders said the decision of the terrorists to target military base for their attack was a tactical approach to weaken the troop in the battle front and take advantage of the perceived low morale among the soldiers.
Information filtering from the soldiers has showed that many of them are not pleased with the manner they are being treated by the military high command in term of welfare and provision of war equipment.
On three different occasions, the military had claimed that it has degraded the terrorists group and rendered it incapable of carrying out major attack against the country. On December 22, 2016, the President Muhammadu Buhari announced to the whole world that the military has technically defeated the insurgent group. A year after, the former theatre commander of the operation in the northeast, General Roger Nicholas also claimed the military has dislodged and occupied the insurgents’ tactical ground ‘camp zero.’
Even though, from all indications, considerable efforts has been made by the military to reduce the capacity of the insurgents, definitely, a lot is still needed to be done to subdue them and ensure that they no longer pose threat to lives and property in the region.
The impact of the war against terror in the region has continued to affect social and economic activities, while hope to resettle those displaced from their homes are daily dimming.
There are over 1.7 million people in various Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps across Borno State, many of whom cannot carry out any economic activities but solely depend on humanitarian aides from donor agencies and development partners. According to data from the country’s population commission, the number of displaced persons increases by 4.5 percent between end of 2017 and early this year.
Apart from the drain on human resources, the war is putting continued pressure on the country’s economy. Early in the year, the president has to approve the disbursement of $1 billion from the country’s excess crude savings account to procure modern weapon and gunship in a bid to improve the capacity of the military.
The country was able to secure the approval of the United States to purchase high powered fighter jet to enhance the capacity of the military. Though the fighter jets are yet to be delivered to the country, the country was able to take delivery of four gunships from Russian, which has helped the country in combating the menace of bandits in Zamfara and Taraba States.
The upsurge in the attack by the insurgents coming few months to a critical election bears the resemblance of occurrence in the time past.
The main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is already taking advantage of the misfortune to throw dart at the ruling party. According to the opposition, the present administration is insensitive to the plight of the soldiers battling the insurgent at the theater of war. The main opposition is also insinuating that the ruling party has diverted funds meant to prosecute the terror war to fund its political campaign.
Many military officers have been tried in the time past on allegations of leaking information to the insurgent group and sabotaging the war against terror. Apart from that, some politicians have also been accused of being the brain behind the increasing attack by the Boko Haram. Apart from the religion angle to the terror attack, politics and other motives have been ascribed to the surge in the activities of the terrorists group.
This has further complicated the fight against the insurgents by the military as government has not been able to track down those invisible hands propelling the insurgents.
The success of the operations of the Boko Haram group till date in spite of the huge resources deployed by the government to counter the group’s activities has continued to raise more concerns on the failure of intelligence, corruption in the military high rank and the growing poverty as a result of lack of employment among the youth.
The insurgents have continued to successfully recruit its foot soldiers from the army of unemployed youth in the region while the government seems not able to tackle unemployment as part of measure to address the problem of terrorism.
Already, with the huge figure of displaced people living in the IDPs spread across the state, food security is being threatened with prediction that there will soon be food shortage in the region.
The government should re-strategise and make sure that the war against the terrorists is won decisively to ensure that peace returns to the northeast. Problems of youth unemployment should be frontally tackled by the government in conjunction with the development partners. Once the majority of the youth are gainfully engaged, the insurgents will be starved of source of recruitment for its foot soldiers.
The issue of welfare of the troop fighting at the war front should be adequately tackled as well, to boost the morale of the soldiers while more modern equipment should be procured and deployed to the battle field to enhance the capacity of the military.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
