As part of efforts to mark World Stroke Day 2024, Stroke Action Nigeria, in collaboration with national, regional, and international partners has recommended how to prevent and manage stroke.
World Stroke Day, a yearly event, celebrated on October 29, led by the World Stroke Organisation, aims to raise awareness about stroke prevention and encourage individuals to act. With theme, “Be #GreaterThanStroke”,
This year’s campaign emphasises the importance of stroke prevention, highlighting that one in four individuals will experience a stroke in their lifetime. However, Stroke Action Nigeria in a statement said almost all strokes can be prevented by managing nine key risk factors: hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, obesity and overweight, lack of exercise and physical activity, smoking, alcohol drinking habits, high cholesterol levels, and diet high in fat and salt.
To prevent strokes, Stroke Action Nigeria urges everyone to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity daily, such as: walking, biking, running, swimming, yoga, team sports example football and basketball.
Stroke Action Nigeria said it is working closely with: Federal Ministry of Health’s non-communicable diseases team, African Stroke Organisation (regional partner) and World Stroke Organisation (international partner).
It said Rita Melifonwu, Founder and CEO of Stroke Action Nigeria has been re-elected to the World Stroke
Organisation’s Board of Directors for another four-year term and she will continue to play a key role in the World Stroke Campaign committee, Membership Committee, and Advisory Board, focusing on reducing the burden of strokes in Africa.
“Stroke Action Nigeria invites everyone to join the global effort to prevent strokes. Together, we can be #GreaterThanStroke,” it noted.
The Federal Capital Executive Committee has approved N33.24 billion worth of contracts for execution in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) within the next one year.
The committee gave the approvals during its 9th meeting, chaired by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, in Abuja on Friday.
Addressing journalists shortly after the meeting, the Chief of Staff to the Minister, Mr Chidi Amadi, said the decisions were part of the FCT administration’s efforts to provide critical services to residents of the FCT.
Providing details of the projects, Dr Chinedum Elechi, Mandate Secretary, Transportation Secretariat, said that N7.22 billion was approved for the construction of access roads to Kugbo and Mabushi Bus and Taxi Terminals as additional works.
He recalled that contracts had been awarded in May for the construction of bus and taxi terminals in Kugbo, Mabushi and the Central Business District.
Elechi added that the projects in Kugbo and Mabushi had reached an advanced stage before the realisation of the need for an access road to service the terminals from the major roads.
According to him, the committee has approved the award of the project to Planet Projects Ltd and to be completed in 12 weeks.
The mandate secretary also said that the executive committee approved the procurement of 120,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) and 40,250 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
He explained that the products were for the operation and maintenance of Wupa Basin Sewage Treatment Plant, adding that the contract was awarded to Safah and Fresh Ltd. at N2.92 billion, and to be delivered over 12 months.
Similarly, Elechi said the supply of Diesel and PMS, at Wupa Basin Sewage Treatment Plant, was awarded to the same company to cover one year.
He added that N638,550 was also approved for the supply of 400,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil to Lower Usuma Dam Water Treatment Plant of the FCT Water Board.
Also speaking, Mr Shehu Ahmad, Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Development Authority, said that the executive committee also approved the construction of access road to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Academy in Giri District.
Ahmad added that the contract was awarded to Levant Construction Ltd. and N7.83 billion and to be completed in nine months.
He aid that the committee equally approved the design and construction of 10 units of Staff Quarters for the Nigerian Law School, Bwari Abuja.
He said that the project was awarded at N2.19 billion to Austlinks Energy Services Ltd., and to be completed in nine months.
The executive secretary further said that the committee also approved the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the existing Bill Clinton Road link to the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
He said that the contract was awarded to Julius Berger at N9.88 billion and expected to be completed in six months.
“The contract also includes rehabilitation of facilities in the Presidential Wing, which includes the Presidential Hanger, taxiway, and airport apron, among other facilities,” he said.
On his part, Mr Gardiya Bawa, Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Legal Secretariat, said the committee equally approved N605.94 million for the procurement of office equipment, furnishing of the new office for the secretariat, and purchase of utility vehicles.
It was all fun and funfair for kids and primary schools pupils, as well as parents and guests at the grand finale of the 2023 edition of Eko My Lagos Festival series hosted by Doyens School and its partners at the Lydia Halls Events Centre in Ojodu Berger, Lagos on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Organisers of the event, an initiative of Doyens School, led by the Proprietor, Mrs. Vicky Omoniyi, who was flanked by her husband, Engr. Gbenga Omoniyi and Pastor Ados Mohmoh of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), said the event, which is being planned to hold every year, was aimed at building a solid socio-cultural, educational and language foundation of kids from ages two to 11.
She explained that the event was organised to inculcate the right values of culture, societal norms, survival strategies in Lagos, proficiency in Nigeria’s indigenous languages of Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and other native mother tongues among the kids early in life.
“It is easier to influence children at the earlier stage of their lives. Foundation is very crucial to the development of children, especially in these days and time of Internet and technology, which facilitates the development of our children in ways we never imagined in the past.
“We embarked on this project because if we let the development lie low in the present circumstances, our children run the risk of losing their culture, language identity, societal norms, tradition, sense of history and all other positive attributes that hold us together as a people, either as Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or any other ethnic nationality in the country.
“It is particularly worrisome in Lagos, which is a microcosm of the larger Nigerian society in which other ethnic nationalities congregate in their quest to eke out a better living due to the many advantages and opportunities that exist in Lagos. In all of the mix of activities, we cannot allow our children to be lost in the socio-economic, political, cultural, academic and financial activities that principally make Lagos what it is in the country.”
She maintained that in its quest to make the best out of the kids, is was important to inculcate the right values of understanding of Nigeria’s local languages, diligence, hard work, integrity, accountability and a mindset of success on them to create a better society, especially among the teens, who are the future leaders of the country.
The event, which featured dances, drama and cultural displays from Green Hall Schools, Ojodu, Upbeat International School, OPIC and Christozena School, Oregun, as well as recitations of the heroic exploits of Ikorodu, Badagry, Epe, Lagos Island and other parts of the state, was attended by Chairman, House Committee on Lands, Hon. (Prince) Adedamola Richard Kasunmu, who represented the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, heads of schools across the state and representatives of the entertainment industry, among others.
Speaking, Kasunmu pledged the state government’s support for the Eko My Lagos project in its determination to ‘catch them young’ with a view to grooming responsible youths that would take over the mantle of leadership in the state and entire country in the near future.
A high point of the ceremony was the eulogy of Lagos and the kids’ presentation of past governors of Lagos and their achievements in office from 1957 to date including, among others, Mobolaji Johnson, Ndubuisi Kanu, Lateef Jakande, Buba Marwa, Raji Rasaki, Michael Otedola, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Raji Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and the incumbent governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
Omoniyi further stated that the project had met its aims and objectives as shown by the dances, recitations and cultural displays of the kids, who dazzled the audience with their deep understanding of the ways and attitudes of Lagos residents in all spheres of life, adding that new features will be added to make future Eko My Lagos events even more successful.
As part of efforts to improve the oratory skill among young people, Nigeria’s foremost public speaking institute, School of Eloquence has in the last six years been giving back to the society through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
The school, which is located at Osbourne Foreshore Phase 2, Ikoyi, Lagos, via its “Catching Them Young” Programme and Eloquence Cup Competition, has been spreading the gospel and importance of public speaking.
The School of Eloquence has taken it upon itself to groom the next generation of excellent orators, one government-owned secondary school at a time, by equipping them with the knowledge and skill of public speaking.
The initiative which started in 2017 has positively impacted the lives of hundreds of students in over 25 schools across Lagos, helping them hone their communication skills.
Victoria Island Senior School.
The Catching Them Young train which includes alumni of the School of Eloquence led by the Programme’s coordinator for Lagos, Joshua Mogbo, made its inaugural outing in 2017 to Ojota Senior Secondary School, September 18; Queens Mary School, Ogudu, October 14; Queens College Yaba, October, 18; Adeolu Senior Secondary School and Reservation Senior High School, Ajegunle on October 31.
The following year saw the team visit Ilupeju Senior Grammar School on January 18 and Community Senior High School, Wasimi, Maryland on March 1, 2018 to propagate the art of public speaking.
In 2019, it was the turn of Immaculate Senior Comprehensive High School; Community Senior High School, July 3; Ikeja Senior High School July 10; Army Cantonment Senior Secondary School Ikeja, Opebi Senior Grammar School, and Unity High School, Oshodi on the 26th of June.
A total of eight schools were recipients of the initiative in 2020. They include: Government Senior College, and Girls Senior High School, Iyana-Ipaja on February 13; Lagos Baptist Senior College, Agege, and Sango Senior Secondary School Dairy-Farm Agege on March 4.
Others are: Lagos Baptist Senior Secondary School Agege and State Senior High School Oyewole Agege, February 18; Abibat Mogaji Millenium Senior Secondary School, Dopemu Agege and Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School Dairy-farm Agege, on February 27.
The Registrar, School of Eloquence, Mrs. Patience Essien (right front row) with students
Falomo Senior High School.
However, due to the restriction of movement and human contact following the outbreak of COVID-19, the programme did not hold in 2021 and 2022.
For this year, the Educational District 3, Ikoyi, approved the five following schools for the Catching Them Young Programme: Girls Secondary Senior School, Ikoyi, May 10; Falomo Senior High School and Ireti Senior Grammar School, Ikoyi, May 17; Kuramo Senior College, Victoria Island, May 24, as well as Victoria Island Senior Secondary School on May 31, 2023.
On the other hand, the Eloquence Cup which is the second phase of the Catching Them Young Programme, provides a platform for the students to showcase what they have learnt about public speaking during the practical sessions, where the students are empowered to speak effectively and handle nervousness through preparation and exposure to other useful techniques.
Iretiola Senior High School.
The Registrar, School of Eloquence, Mrs. Patience Essien disclosed that the Eloquence Cup was initiated by the school’s founder and Dean, Ubong Essien.
She explained that the Dean, who is also West/Central Africa’s only Certified Speaking Professional, believes that teaching the younger generation communication skills will help improve society.
According to her, “the Eloquence Cup is a public speaking challenge between students in government-owned secondary schools. The students are assigned a topic of general interest upon which they are to speak before an audience which includes students and teachers of competing schools, alums from the School of Eloquence, the School’s Board members and other members of the society.
School of Eloquence Registrar gifting students the “Speak with Power” pocket booklet during one of the outreach sessions.
“The winning school takes the trophy we call The Eloquence Cup. We also have prizes for the participating individual students that excel in the competition, from laptops to tablets and cash. The maiden edition was won by Kings College in 2017.
“Our students and clients are business owners, corporate executives, government functionaries, directors and high-profile individuals who are very good at what they do but find it challenging to speak in public. So, they come to the School of Eloquence to learn the skill later in life.
“The Dean thought that it must be essential if such highly placed people were still coming back to learn this skill at their level. That gave birth to the “Catching Them Young” CSR initiative, where School of Eloquence alumni visit public schools to create awareness about eloquence at an early age, teach them the art of public speaking and let them know how important it is.
Mrs. Essien teaching the students during a session.
“Then at the end of the year, we call them to come and display what they have learned and how well they can perform in the art of public speaking at the Eloquence Cup competition”.
Kings College won the first and second editions in 2017 and 2018, while Queens College also triumphed in 2019 and 2021 respectively. CMS Grammar School is the current champion having won the competition in 2022.
Speaking further on the significant takeaway from previous editions of the competition, the Registrar pointed out that the sight of students coming together in a very keen contest; winning prizes for their efforts and the expression of joy on their faces afterwards is always beautiful to behold.
“It has been a fascinating journey because when you see this younger generation in action and speaking on topics of national importance, you will appreciate how knowledgeable the students are and the bright future that awaits them. This means that we’re making a positive impact in their lives and improving their presentation skills”, she added.
Mrs. Sowemimo a faculty member teaching students the structure of public speaking.
Schools and participants who have benefited from the Catching Them Young Programme have described it as an eye opening experience which leaves behind long lasting positive effects.
The teachers have also recognised the importance of public speaking skills for students and appreciated the programme, noting that such regular engagement and interactive discussions will help the students’ educational development.
Testimonials from some participants down the years.
“From what I have learnt today from the group from School of Eloquence, I believe the tools which were talked about will help in making the way I speak in public a lot better than I have been doing before. I also believe it will improve the way I communicate with people”. – Chiyere Amadu, Queens College, Yaba (2017).
Mr. Michael King, a member of the faculty showing the students how to make an impromptu speech.
“I have learnt today from the School of Eloquence how to speak perfectly and always be prepared before engaging engaging your audience, as it will go a long way to determine the outcome. I also learnt about eye contact – that your eyes must always be on the audience, monitoring everything they are doing.
“So, I believe if given the opportunity to speak next time, I will do wonderfully well because I have really learnt a lot from this seminar”. – Precious Ejike Reservation Senior School, Ajegunle (2017).
“The session and experience was so nice; I learnt so many things. I learnt the definition of public speaking, the importance and ways we can speak in public. I also learnt about the use of eye contact and how to get the audience’s attention”. – Favour Awanye Community Senior High School, Maryland (2018).
Students making impromptu speeches.
“I believe that no matter where I am, the confidence which has been imparted in me in this programme is going to play out. I am going to be very wherever I am speaking”. – Mary Ugoh Immaculate Heart Comprehensive High School (2019).
“The School of Eloquence is an asset to the schools they have been to. The programme is a way of motivating students and creating awareness about public speaking. It makes them have the ability and potential to speak in public confidently”. – Ojo Victoria Principal, Unity Senior High School, Oshodi (2019).
“School of Eloquence is a blessing. It is blessing to every student that has the opportunity to go through the School of Eloquence; get these materials and correct approach to public speaking. When I watched the speaker that came to talk to my students, I was moved to tears”. – Modinat Mohammed Vice Principal, Unity Senior High School.
Similarly, at the just concluded 2023 edition which took place in May, Sijuade Victor from Girls’ Secondary Senior Grammar School, Ikoyi, noted that she has made tremendous progress in conquering stage fright, improving audience engagement, and delivering structured speeches.
On her part, Labake George from Falomo Senior High School reveled in her newfound confidence and called for public speaking to be included in the school’s curriculum.
CMS Grammar School student lifts the Eloquence Cup trophy after winning the 2022 edition, as the founder and Dean, School of Eloquence, Ubong Essien CSP (4th from right) and others dignitaries look on.
Student from Victoria Island Senior Secondary School were also not left out in the exciting experience, participating in an impromptu speech test.
The likes of Jubril Aishat Enemona spoke about “Substance Abuse”; Felix .D. Marvelous’s speech was on the “Importance of Education to Trade”; Mathew Moses Kunle on “What Makes a Good Child”; Emmanuel Okeleke talked about “Exercise”, while Kareem Musiliu’s attempt was on the topic: “The Human Body”.
Also speaking, Mrs. Oluwabiyo, a teacher at Falomo Senior High School stressed the need for public speaking to be included as a subject in the school curriculum, arguing that it would help students overcome stage fright during debates and presentations.
The programme has also been held in Rivers State at Okrika National Secondary School, and Comprehensive Secondary School, Ebika-Okrika in the past, led by the state coordinator, Anthony Daniyan.
With the visible and positive impact made over the last couple of years through the programme, the School of Eloquence has pledged to continue touching the lives of secondary school students across Nigeria by “Catching Them Young” and exposing them early to the importance of eloquence to one’s life and career progression.
Erasmus Ikhide over the last 15 years has done hatchet jobs in the media. He picks his targets randomly. For example at a point he was appointed by Rauf Aregbesola who was then the governor of Osun State to work in his media unit and he sang the then governor’s praises to high heavens until the appointment was terminated, and then he turned his sword against his former employer.
He did exactly the same thing with Senator Adams Oshiomhole who was then governor of Edo State. He was one of the media hands who ran errands in the office of the then Special Adviser on Media, Kassim Afegbua.
As is consistent with his character, he was not Oshiomhole’s attack dog for long before turning his teeth on his master and calling him names.
For Ikhide, once you stop paying him, he looks for your enemy to pay him to attack you.
Meanwhile he has another method. He could just look at a politician he believes is vulnerable to attacks either because he is up for reelection or any such situation and immediately begin a barrage of attacks, hoping that the politician will call him and negotiate. Most of them do.
But he confronted a stubborn one in the person of Mr. Godwin Obaseki in the months leading to his reelection in 2020. He huffed and he puffed but thick-skinned Obaseki paid him no attention. Although his lies against Obaseki were painful, but you don’t reward a blackmailer because that reinforces his resolve to persist in the illicit trade.
Recently, Ikhide has embarked in a novel mission in his dark and perfidious trade. He has decided to extend his shameful merchandise to the private sector. Like the ambitious fellow that he is, he decided to target the biggest fish in that pond.
Ikhide must have imagined that Aliko Dangote and his business is bigger than many States combined, so if he can arm twist some governors, then why not Dangote. He will soon find out how wrong he is.
Unfortunately for him, his lack of experience and condition of being only half literate makes it hard for him to understand the vast difference between people serving the people as public servants and those who have never had any reason to administer public resources, like Aliko Dangote.
When one gleans through the drivel by the upstart, Erasmus Ikhide, couched to detract from the success of Dangote Refinery commissioning in Lekki, Lagos, it is immediately clear that he is on a mission to obfuscate facts and procure for himself another day’s bread.
For the many people who have had to deal with Ikhide’s serial mudslinging, he comes across as a lowly rated pen pusher who is in the habit of concocting gibberish to gain attention, smear his target and negotiate for settlements.
A pathetic writer, Ikhide’s reputation as a blackmailer precedes him, but it would have been tolerable if he was able to string words in an intelligible manner, in his inordinate quest to rip his targets off.
It is embarrassing that he struggles with English language – the vehicle for his media machinations. In the first paragraph of his windy and incoherent piece targeted at the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, Ikhide insults the intelligence of the reader by writing the plural of foot as foots, instead of ‘feet.’ These infantile grammatical blunders litter the write-up, making it largely unintelligible.
He is a serial blackmailer, whose only job is to cobble lies and falsehoods together and seek juicy targets and then publish poorly written pieces to force them to the negotiation table, where he makes demands of them so he can shield his pen.
But the unwarranted attack on Dangote is over-stretching his reach. Not only did he deliberately attempt to reference a circular to give credibility to the lies and alternative truths he intended to pass off as facts, he attempted to single out Dangote as the principal cause of Nigeria’s economic challenges – a rather ridiculous argument.
There is no gainsaying that Dangote is unarguably Africa’s bravest businessman who treads where others flee. This much is evident in his unwavering drive to industrialize Africa and doing so unapologetically.
For anyone who has stepped foot on the Dangote Refinery complex, it is abundantly clear that the man who dreamt of building such an imposing complex is not one to dwell on the inanities that Ikhide’s lazy mind conjured in his pitiable write-up. It is evidently the stuff of small minds of a similar ilk.
As anyone in Nigeria will attest, there is healthy competition in all of the sectors that the Dangote Group is involved with and the necessary regulatory oversights are carried out by relevant government agencies to ensure that players abide by the rules. It is only in Ikhide’s mind that competitors do not exist across various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The reference that the Dangote Refinery is not traded in the books of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) puts Ikhide as one with very skewed understanding of basic economics. If he were barely economically literate, he would know that it is not possible to trade the shares of a privately-held company on the bourse.
So unintelligent is Ikhide that he listed companies which Dangote never owned or had long exited from, exhibiting his ignorance and malicious nature.
In his chameleonic manner, he quickly changed his name from Erasmus Ikhide to Dele Alabi, obviously a pseudonym. What a deceitful soul!
The advice to Ikhide is that he should get a decent job and stop the embarrassing play of seeking out targets to fire at with his grammatically-challenged missives. The faster he does that, the better for the polity – and his village people.
Recently, there have been people saying they regret not voting for President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. To them, he has performed beyond expectations. In just three weeks? This is quite unprecedented because what we used to have were people either jumping off from a rudderless boat or dropping down from a driverless bus.
Many people who despaired yesterday are hopeful today. The nation’s confidence in the presidency is replacing the gloom that was there three weeks ago. There is a feeling of assurance that tomorrow will be better. That is good; for after the last eight years, surely, it cannot get worse.
Those who regretted not voting for the president waited to see the familiar “to hell with your feelings” kind of leadership we pray Nigeria never has to be saddled with again. And this is because it is the same party and assumedly a continuation, but that feeling of déjà vu has been dispelled in less than a month. This tells us that it is all about leadership and that change begins with the leader, except if we want to be hypocritical.
If certain people who were being promoted as potential appointees to certain offices had been appointed, Nigerians would have said “We know”. And we would have said “Yeah” had he continued to drag the baggage of the day before yesterday and of yesterday along with him.
Among those pieces of baggage, there is no doubt the erstwhile Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, is one. It is on record that former President Muhammadu Buhari had accused him of giving out billions of dollars based on notes written on “ordinary paper” or “bread paper”, meaning he did not follow due process in what he did before 2015 and that he was part of the locust years before Buhari was elected based on his perceived integrity and honesty. Yet he retained him on the job, a move that came to characterise his leadership style for eight years – keeping terrible managers in sensitive positions.
Another baggage is AbdulRasheed Bawa, suspended chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). From the word go, everything around him was mired in controversy. It was claimed that a highly influential member of the last regime facilitated his appointment for reasons other than national interest.
What Nigerians are waiting for before finally giving in, now the president is courting us, is the appointment of his cabinet members. Come to think of it, Nigerians, a patient lot, waited six long months in 2015 for cabinet appointments. They waited, assuming the delay was because the best of the best were being scouted for such appointments. Lo-and-behold, what were they presented with? Many of the appointees carried dirty baggage into an administration, everyone, well, almost everyone, clothed with a cloak of integrity.
Unsurprisingly, almost all of them performed poorly, and yet they continued in their positions, with some, especially in the security sector, even hindering the growth of those under them.
Yet many of these people who made the last regime infamous now want to return as if God created Nigeria for them; as if out of 200 million people, they are the only anointed of God, the salt of the earth, without whom Nigeria would not thrive.
Many of them are engaging the media to inundate us with their capacity and infallibility. That’s like taking us for fools. We may be a people with selective amnesia, but that does not mean we do not know those who betrayed our trust yesterday, pilfered our collective commonwealth and left us at the mercy of political, security and economic predators.
The honeymoon with the president may be over quicker than expected if any of them return through the backdoor. The best treatment for them is an inquisition, and the place for them is the gulag. Surely, for any of those active participants of the inglorious recent past, there are thousands of Nigerians who will perform better – and are more trustworthy. President Tinubu should know this truth.
Just yesterday, someone was deriding the people and asking, “Where is the power?” because a past regime had spent $16 billion to provide electricity that was not there. Based on the accusation of Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, that the over $19 billion spent by Alhaji Aliko Dangote to build his refinery was spent by the last government on moribund refineries, it is pertinent for President Tinubu to ask, “Where are the refineries?”
However, there should be caution in the way the president treats some people and some issues. Politically, the last president assigned some people to do some jobs for him, but unfortunately, he threw them under the bus.
Take, for instance, the so-called naira re-design. Even the then minister of finance, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, told the Senate she was not aware of it. Malam Garba Shehu quickly responded on behalf of the presidency, affirming that the president had Emefiele’s back.
However, because in reality, the re-design was not because of all the lofty reasons given, but for something else that at the last minute the president chickened out of, Emefiele should not be held solely responsible.
In the political terrain, the same thing happened to many others. The former president assigned them to do some hatchet jobs against some political bigwigs. The same thing happened with some security operatives.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should, therefore, do well by shunning the actors of yesterday who dashed our hopes that he now wants to renew. He should do what we know him for: appointing competent people.
He should also be magnanimous in victory and forgive who the cowards of yesterday used against him, so he doesn’t come across as pursuing a personal vendetta with his high office. However, he should not show mercy to those who worked against the nation. Those, he must punish.
Hassan Gimba is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime.
Films are a preferred source of entertainment and learning for many, and audiences are often quick to mirror in their daily lives what they watch on screen.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which Nigeria ratified on October 20, 2005, requires parties to implement a comprehensive ban on Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship (TAPS) in the spirit and letter of Article 13 of the treaty.
And in 2015, Nigeria enacted her National Tobacco Control Act (NTC Act, 2015) with provisions banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship in any way, shape or form.
However, regardless of how comprehensive and carefully crafted a law is, the power of any law is in its enforcement, and without action, laws are really only words on paper. The jaundiced state of enforcement in Nigeria has popularised the opinion that Nigeria’s policy challenge does not lie in the lack of laws, rather, it lies in the lack of will to execute the laws.
TAPS is strongly frowned upon by Nigeria’s tobacco control laws, especially in relation to smoking in movies. Even in the light of the NTC Act posturing, tobacco glamourisation on screen has been on the rise.
The Nigerian movie industry also known as Nollywood is an entertainment giant feeding audiences in Nigeria and around the world. The industry is thus highly regarded and plays a fair role in shaping popular culture.
The power to influence thoughts and actions has opened the industry to diverse interests, and the tobacco industry exploits this by encouraging the depiction of smoking in movies–a subtle marketing art to initiate young and impressionable Nigerians into smoking.
Video streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Showmax have exacerbated the problem by listing movies with heavy tobacco glamourisation and violating local tobacco control laws. Beyond advertising conventional cigarettes, the videos on these streaming sites are introducing young people to several new tobacco products including smokeless tobacco, vapes and shisha.
The signs continue to suggest that the meteoric rise in the use of shisha in the country is not unconnected to the on-screen portrayal of the health wrecking habit as trendy and cool.
A generation of young people who consume these videos delivered to their TV screens and conveniently to their mobile phones on-the-go, unknown to them are conditioned and shuffled down an initiation pipe–with suggestions and subtle cues nudging them to adopt tobacco use in diverse forms.
This conditioning has become alarmingly high, and it is now pertinent that the Federal Government, through the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) stop the unholy initiation ceremony targeted at the youth by enforcing the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship on screen and other platforms that are used to engage them.
Ashibel of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) writes from Abuja
Last week, I extensively talked with a set of enterprising, upwardly mobile young men and women in Abuja. I chose to label that interactive session “lamentations of despairs”.
These young people are your typical hustlers. That conversation centred on an economic phenomenon our economic gurus neglected. But it is responsible for why our economy is not healthy. An in-depth understanding of the phenomena will undoubtedly mark a turning point in our approach to economic planning and governance.
The dominant economic practice often focuses on the extremes – either trying to stop the rich from exploiting the system or pulling the poorest of the poor among us up through poorly executed social assistance programmes. Some economic regimes have tried to do both. But all such economic adventures failed for many reasons beyond the purview of my consideration. However, a critical factor that has contributed to such failure is the inadequate attention such economic regimes have given to those in between – the middle class.
This middle class is that critical mass that forms the glue that keeps modern liberal democratic societies from falling apart. It has always been a driving force in national economic productivity.
The term defines a social class whose education, tastes, consumption patterns and activities drive the economy. The indices of middle-class living are measures of a nation’s economic health. Cars, new homes, appliances, vacations, leisure, healthcare, and education are the visible markers. Each marker drives a chain of economic activities.
This class is represented by those men and women who have decent-paying jobs or run Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and dream of owning a modest house, sending their children to affordable schools, having access to quality healthcare, having their means of mobility and generally retire to a good life. It also includes the young independent professionals who work hard to have a decent life, rewarded by the power of their skills.
The United Nations categorises them as those whose income is between $10 (about N7,500) and $100 (about N75,000) daily.
This categorisation is comprehensive and captures most middle-class income in developing countries. In Nigeria today, a person at the lowest rank of this spectrum earns about N240,000 per month and at the high spectrum, N2,400,000 per month. This upper range of earnings for the upper middle class may be unattainable to most people, apart from a few high executives, and some may argue that those people should not be regarded as middle-class in Nigeria today.
The disparity between the lower and upper-income range within the middle-class band is huge. However, the African Development Bank categorises the middle class as those earning between $2 (N1,600) to $20 (N16,000) daily. This translates to N48,000 monthly for the lower band and N480,000 for the upper band. Some argue that these figures also may not reflect the realities of the middle class’s income range in Nigeria. This confusion in pinning down exactly what constitutes middle-class income is at the root of the total neglect it has received from policymakers.
The World Bank defines poverty as living below $1.90 per day. Efforts aimed at reducing poverty can be targeted and outcomes measured. Middle-class income is vague and fluid, and such interventions are difficult to measure results.
The challenge in Nigeria today is that this class of people are almost wiped out inadvertently. We now have predominantly rich and impoverished people. The rich are those who took advantage of the system. The poor are those who have no access. The middle class, which in other liberal democracies are the ones who drive production and consumption, is vanishing. A 2022 survey by the African Development Bank shows that the middle class makes up about 23 per cent of the population in Nigeria.
They are still earning the same income, but the purchasing power is completely gone. Imagine a Director in a federal ministry earning N6m per annum (upper range of middle-class income). House rent in Abuja will take about 50% of that income. Yet he must pay for the schooling of two to four children. Transportation, healthcare, food, amenities, clothing, and support to dependents will all come from this pool.
There is no greater incentive for corruption than this. In reality, middle-class people struggle to survive legitimately; they are forced to take to corruption or abandon their work for a “side hustle”. This is the real root of corruption in Nigeria that must be addressed.
There has been an erosion of the middle class since the Obasanjo administration. Records show that about 38% of Nigerians were in the middle class, which decreased to about 12-23% depending on the yardstick during the Buhari administration.
This fluctuating fortune of the middle class is because of poor economic policy choices, fluctuations in oil prices, a decline of the value of the Naira, a rise in insecurity and crime, unemployment and underemployment, hyperinflation, corruption, and low productivity due to lack of industrialisation. A continuous phenomenon shaping the erosion of the middle class in Nigeria is the mass exodus of skilled workforce abroad (Japa syndrome).
Many highly skilled Nigerians are either planning to move overseas or have already done so. This is greatly impacting the health and IT sectors. This double whammy of economic degradation of the middle class to poverty and the “Japa” movement has battered our middle class.
Recent inflationary trends have worsened this. World Bank’s current data predicts that 4million people are progressively being pushed into poverty in Nigeria. These people are moving from middle-class to poverty because, in Nigeria, poverty is synonymous with the working class.
The poor people work but earn and live below $2 per day. Inflation is constantly eroding the purchasing power of the middle class, affecting their disposable income. There is also the dimension of wage stagnation. Poor disposable income affects consumption, and lack of consumption affects production.
And the vicious circle continues. This has caused some level of frustration among the little middle-class left. They are clamouring for change and agitating for structural repositioning of the economy that will put middle-class growth at the centre of economic policies. In all advanced economies, the middle class is the bedrock of economic growth and the engine room of both production and consumption. It is the vortex of demand unleashed by the middle class that feeds the hunger of production and services.
If the Nigerian middle class is not catered for urgently, they may be responsible for Nigeria’s next phase of the uprising.
Addressing the erosion of the middle class in Nigeria requires a multi-faceted approach involving various stakeholders. Driving up purchasing power is key to reactivating the middle class. This requires a delicate balancing of taxation and benefit policies. Salaries and wages must be reviewed realistically, and people must receive a living wage.
One way of doing this is to make wages inflation-proof by tying an increase in inflation to the rise in wages. However, the government must fight against unhealthy inflation that erodes the purchasing power of the middle class and decreases their consumption and quality of life. Therefore, the government must do everything it can to bring down the cost of living for the middle class. Besides, the government must deliberately put policies that would nurture the growth of the middle class as a strategy to address poverty. The more the middle class grows, the lower the country’s poverty levels.
We need to strengthen social dialogue and promote collaboration between the government, civil society organisations, and the private sector to ensure that the concerns and needs of the middle class are effectively addressed.
Nigeria experiences significant income inequality, with a small elite class accumulating wealth while the middle class,with no capacity to save, struggles to maintain their standard of living. The rising cost of living, limited employment opportunities, lack of access to consumer credit and stagnant wages have hindered the middle class’s financial progress.
We should advocate investing in food security,healthcare, education, transportation and other public services and making them affordable to alleviate the financial burden on the middle class.
The quality of public schools and healthcare facilities is often subpar. Enhancing public schools and healthcare facilities can reduce the reliance on expensive private alternatives and ensure access to affordable, high-quality services. Investing in critical infrastructure, including transportation, power, and information technology, can stimulate economic growth and attract investments. Improved infrastructure facilitates business operations, reduces costs, and enhances productivity, benefiting the middle class.
We should prioritise job creation by promoting policies that encourage entrepreneurship, attract investments, and support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Diversifying the economy beyond oil dependency can create new sectors and employment opportunities. Improving governance is crucial for creating a conducive environment for economic growth and reducing inequality. At these times of economic instability government should be implementing and expanding social protection programmes to provide a safety net for the middle class.
Programmes such as catalysing agro processing industries to create employment, consumer credit ,healthcare subsidies, availability of mortgage and affordable housing initiatives can help alleviate financial burdens and mitigate risks. Even if this is not possible now, given the government’s financial state, it is imperative that the government should work towards implementing this when Nigeria’s economy improves.
Addressing the plight of Nigeria’s middle class requires comprehensive efforts to tackle income inequality, improve education and healthcare systems, create employment opportunities, and enhance overall governance. Policy reforms, investment in social infrastructure, and measures to curb corruption are essential to uplift the middle class and promote inclusive growth and development in Nigeria. It is crucial to prioritise inclusive growth, equitable opportunities, and policies that boost the middle class to create a sustainable and prosperous future for Nigeria.
From afar, I couldn’t hide my joy when I read about the appointment of Adewale Adeniyi, MFR as Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service(NCS)
This came to me as the most cheering news about Nigeria Customs Service in the last eight years, not only because it’s a personal success for Adeniyi but also about how the nation’s economy will benefit from this masterstroke of President Bola Tinubu’s choice.
While congratulating him on the attainment of the number one position in the NCS, my memory of Wale whom I have known as a customs officer for over thirty years refreshed.
I recalled he worked closely with 6 Comptrollers General at strategic levels, playing critical roles and this convinced me he is coming prepared to chart a course in a very familiar terrain.
I am not surprised at the first few comments coming from Adeniyi because I long knew him to be a cerebral gentleman, deep thinker, forthright leader with capacity to plan efficiently.
Aside his flawless communication skill, he is endowed with the capacity to engage and dialogue with all strata of stakeholders to achieve and surpass goals set for him by the Tinubu administration.
Bridging The Gap Between NCS and the Organised Private Sector
The immediate past Comptroller General of Customs operated in utter disconnect with critical stakeholders in the importation, exportation, manufacturing and other sectors.
Several interactions that would have strengthened trade facilitation and ease of doing business ceased under Hameed Ali for a regime of barrack style enforcement with multiple checks
I call on CG Adeniyi to restore the professionalism and technical know how for which the service was known. He is being looked upon to usher in a streamlined structure devoid of several adhoc arrangements like strike forces, task forces, customs police and others.
The personnel doing these war like functions should be trained and retrained on tech related modern customs operation like
The new CGC is expected to better reconnect the customs with the Nigerian trading community. International trade is dynamic and for Nigeria,the NCS is central to implementing import and export guidelines.
As one who knows his onions, the new CGC’s local and foreign exposures in customs operations Is expected to come handy for Nigeria’s economic emancipation.
We look forward to a regime of diligent application of the Revised Kyoto Convention which emphasises the simplification of trade procedures
Adeniyi, to the best of my knowledge, is aware that the convention speaks to modern and efficient customs procedures in the 21st century covering areas like transparency, predictability, use of technology, post clearance audit and others.
New CG, New Customs Law
A new CGC to work with a new customs law is akin to a new wine in a new bottle. This sounds great. I very much agree that the now replaced Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) with the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCSA) 2023 was long overdue.
The new CG has assured of sensitizing and educating stakeholders on the new law but one wonders why such an important economic document is not in public domain as at today.
I urge that soft copies of the new law be uploaded on the NCS official website for public access. This will advance the cause of trade, give access to information, expand knowledge and help to avoid a situation where people may ‘innocently’ act in violation of the law out of ignorance.
The NCS may also volunteer making hard copies of the new law available to the business community just like I did in the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria when as pioneer Chairman I made the CRFFN Act 2007 available in pamphlet form for free to everyone
Veering Away From $3.2b Modernisation Debt Trap
I have severally cautioned that the federal government should avoid the $3.2b customs modernization project. The NCS is already modernised and I agree it requires upgrade but not with the loan of that whooping amount for 20 years period of repayment. It’s a debt trap.
With the information that the NCS will now have not less than four per cent(4%) free onboard (FOB) value of imports to contained in Section 18 of the NCSA 2023, the service is now about to be adequately funded.
With this FOB 4% with other additional funding said to be contained in the new law, the NCS can address manpower (recruitment) and infrastructural (equipment) deficits bogging the service down over the years.
Need For Prudent Seizure Management
An estimated N2trillion revenue has been lost by the federal government through the former administration’s poor management that allowed items in the government m warehouses to rot away either as seizures made by NCS in the course of anti smuggling activities the last eight years or abandoned over time cargoes occupying limited spaces in our ports.
This attests to the failure of the Hameed Ali leadership in managing the auction process. His electronic auction model added almost zero value to the economy
Official figures confirm that there are 3,200 units of cars in the Lagos ports alone without listing other vehicles in government warehouses in various Customs Federal Operation Units in Owerri, Kaduna, Bauchi and other parts of the country.There are also a total of 4,259 units of over time containers in Lagos and eastern ports (nationwide)
Some of these goods fall under uncleared cargo lists and constitute huge revenue sources running into hundreds of billion of naira for the importers and government. if the importers are given the opportunity to come forward, show proof of importation , pay duty and take delivery of them, it will amount to huge revenue for government and a boost for the economy. In the alternative,the NCS relying on it’s law may auction them
The longer vehicular cargoes are kept unattended to, the faster they deteriorate in value resulting in more loses to the Nigerian economy.
Be Wary of Unrealistic Targets
As we approach a period of deeper penetration of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), regime, tarrif barriers are expected to be lowered for goods manufactured within the African continent.
Emphasis for customs should, in my opinion, be centered on trade facilitation without pursuing high revenue targets that attempt to stangulate businesses, reducing volume of trade which could cause economic decline.
There are possibilities of government agencies like the NCS posting high revenue collection while in actual sense the economy is dying and job losses are rising across the importation and manufacturing value chain.
Conclusion
While welcoming the new CGC to a higher task of nation building, I urge him to roll up his sleeves and lead the journey to Nigeria’s economic growth from the customs angle because his office is critical to import, export and manufacturing, touching on local and international trade.
To be precise from the onset, it is apt to posit that the centrality, omnipresence and ubiquitous nature of petrol in Nigeria has elevated it to the status of a deity in our daily lives. We revere this deity and pray that it never unleashes mayhem on us. Any scarcity or increase in the price of this deity brings untold hardship to Nigerians and we are eager to appease it at any cost. We are hugely dependent on this deity because it is the dominant form of energy that powers our way of living. We are a petrol-fuelled economy. We depend on petroleum products for transportation, domestic generation of power for homes, small and medium businesses, and mechanised farming.
Over the decades, we appeased this deity with a sacrifice called a petrol “subsidy”. Recently, the cost of this sacrifice put a knee on the neck of Nigeria, threatened her with strangulation. To breathe and survive the strangulation, the new administration took a plunge and ended the sacrifice. As expected, with the stopping of the perennial sacrifice the high priests and guardians of the deity are livid and predicting doom and damnation to Nigeria. The deity has unleashed severe punishment on the nation . The increase in petrol price has created hyperinflation, a decrease in real GDP, a cost-of-living crisis, spike in food prices and a loss of disposable income for the citizens. The situation as it stands is precarious . Yet is not intractable. Having opted to stop the deity’s sacrifice, we must work hard to tame the deity – for a man who wants to wrestle with his “deity” must prepare for the battle.
Petrol is a crude oil derivative. Fortunately we have it in abundance. Most Nigerians expect that we should enjoy some benefits and should be a master of the petrol deity. Unfortunately, our history shows that this has not been the case. Instead of mastery over petrol, we have become its slave. This anomaly is directly linked with our failure to refine crude oil for local consumption over the years. The failure of the government to create the right framework to attract investment in refining of crude or resolve the decades-long collapse of refinery infrastructure has left us at the mercy of others. Other people process our oil and determine the price of finished products. For too long, we relied on imported petrol, subsidised the costs and consumed it even when there is no need . So we became almost addicted to it. This created in the minds of our people some entitlement mentality. And we must worship at the altar of petrol as long as we get it cheaply.
Successive governments fed the beast of subsidy, which made it grow bigger until it finally threatened our economic existence. Every government discussed the removal of subsidies, but none dared to try because of fear of the consequences. Goodluck Jonathan administration tried but was forced to reverse it. For so long , most Nigerians- especially those in the low income brackets , saw cheap, subsidised fuel as the only benefit they derived from a morally bankrupt and corrupt Nigerian state. However , when they woke up recently to the sleaze and alleged corruption of the subsidy regime, some started accepting the idea of the end of subsidies. At least to end the corruption anatomy of the so-called subsidy. But removing subsidy has left the price of petrol in Nigeria to the vagaries of fluidity and fluctuation of prices in the international market.
There are five main factors that determine the price of petrol in the international market, and these influence the price of petrol in Nigeria. They include: the cost of crude oil from which petrol is refined ; the cost of the product quoted on Platt, a price benchmark denominated in USD; the freight rate (cost of hiring a tanker to bring the product from where it is refined to where it is used, in our case West Africa); the littering expenses from transhipment and multiple handling; and Naira/ USD exchange rate. Any change in one or a combination of these factors will affect the petrol price in Nigeria. With subsidies gone, we are not protected from these events’ harsh realities. We do not have control over these factors and forces that determine the price of petrol. Therefore, we are at the mercy of this deity.
To survive, we must look for an alternative; fortunately, these alternatives exist though some may be more expensive . The government and our universities have been reluctant to research and explore these alternative energy sources for some inexplicable reasons. There are several alternatives to reduce or replace the use of petrol in the country. These alternatives can help diversify energy sources, promote sustainability, and mitigate the impact of fossil fuel consumption on the environment. Nigeria has significant natural gas reserves. Encouraging the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as vehicle fuels can reduce the dependency on petrol for transportation. Promoting the production and use of Ethanol and biodiesel can provide cleaner alternatives for petrol in transportation.
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Promoting hybrid vehicles, which combine internal combustion engines with electric motors, can be a transitional step towards full electrification. Encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles (EV)can significantly reduce petrol consumption. This involves building the necessary EV charging infrastructure and providing incentives for EV adoption, such as tax benefits and subsidies. Investing in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power can reduce the dependency on fossil fuels for electricity generation, freeing up more petrol for other uses. Enhancing public transportation systems, such as buses and trains, can reduce the number of individual vehicles on the road and lower overall petrol consumption.
Past administrations ignored these alternatives, and we hope this current administration will focus on them. The petrol price upward swing is not going away too soon. This is a justification for some proceeds of subsidy removal to be applied to investment in viable energy sources and social services like education, health, and affordable public transportation. It is a welcome development that this administration is listening to the yearnings and demands of the citizens. I salute Mr President for calling for a review of the proposal to give N8,000 per month to 12m poor Nigerians and commend the National Economic Council chaired by the Vice President for coming up with an alternative palliative strategy.
I will argue that although there is room for a well-considered palliative scheme for the poorest among us, that must not be the focus, for palliative is merely short-term measures to ameliorate the sufferings, whilst developing alternative energy is the long-term solution and must be the focal point of any government intervention. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of energy production in any modern economy. Production of goods and services for local use and export is fuelled by energy.
In the meantime, there are a few things the government must do to cushion the negative impact of a hike in the price of petrol. First, it must provide proper Communication. The government is losing the battle of properly framing this petrol price increase to its advantage. The dominant frame in the public sphere is suffering – all our people are seeing and hearing is suffering. The government’s spin doctors must rise to the occasion and win the battle for the hearts and minds of the people. This is crucial in transitioning from dependence on petrol deity and maximising alternative energy regime . Secondly , even though the government must allow market forces to determine the price of petrol, it must provide a regulatory framework and infrastructure to influence the market. Therefore, I advocate for adequate regulation, price monitoring, price intelligence (Indicative price versus market price), and some quasi-interventions when necessary. This is important, especially now, because we are still a petrol-dependent economy even though we have deregulated the system and removed subsidies.
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Third, implementing energy efficiency measures in industries, buildings, and transportation can help reduce overall energy consumption, including petrol and raising awareness about the benefits of alternative fuels and sustainable practices can encourage individuals and businesses to make environmentally conscious choices. Fourth, supporting businesses, especially SMEs, at this challenging time with the petrol price crisis the country is facing. The government must provide a tax holiday and other incentives to help most of these businesses survive. These businesses are central to our economic activities and must be protected from collapse.
Furthermore, we must admit that the current challenge in Nigeria requires a bold energy policy and a seriously informed economic policy. This time, as hard as it may be on the citizens, provides an opportunity to get things right and push Nigeria towards the path of industrialisation and growth. Government must seize this opportunity to make informed socio-economic choices to cut Nigeria off from continued service of a petrol deity we do not even know. It is important to note that transitioning to alternative fuels and energy sources requires careful planning, investment, and collaboration between the government, private sector, and citizens. Additionally, these alternatives’ specific suitability and feasibility may vary depending on regional factors and infrastructure capabilities.
In conclusion, we must do whatever it takes not to go back to the subsidy. It is an ill wind that blows no one any good. This is a time for everyone to unite and push Nigeria to the next level. It is not a time for scoring cheap political points and doing nothing. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Our collective duty is to provide an energy transition that is sustainable and pulls us out of the shackles of the petrol deity once and for all times.
