Our environment is undoubtedly fouled up. The physical is there for whoever cares to see. Of course, there are a great many who do not see and, therefore, do not care while there are those who see but do not care; they cannot be bothered. The inconveniences they may have caused to their fellowmen, what diseases may have issued from filth to threaten their compatriots resulting from their attitudes do not move them. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines environment as “the surroundings or conditions within which something or someone exists.” Thus we talk of the business environment; we talk about the economic as well as political environment. So is it that we also speak of cultural environment, school environment, or social environment. An environment can be hostile. On the other hand, it can be peaceful, harmonious, and uplifting. The dictionary even goes further, saying the environment could be external: “the combination of external conditions that surround and influence a living organism.” It is not infrequent that some people speak of the professional environment. The environment comes under the all-encompassing tangibility and the intangibility, either with waves of influence, the former assailing our eyes and the latter our feelings and sense of well-being if it is disagreeable.

Governments at different tiers make laws and bylaws to regulate the environment to make it beautiful, enchanting, and welcoming for the overall well-being of the citizenry. Consider heaps of refuse or gutters not cleared. These make for ugliness, an eyesore, and an incubating shelter for diseases. The gutters soon begin to send out a disgusting stench. Think of the great harm and destruction to life and property that unconscionable blockage of waterways and flood-control channels can inflict on the generality of the populace. Water whose pathway is blocked will always find its way. To avert widespread disaster, affecting even the unsuspecting members of the community, the decisive action of a government especially in flood-prone terrain becomes a blessing in disguise to the society as a whole.
A conducive environment by way of law and order triggers business or investment instincts and confidence. These make for economic development and the social well-being of a people. But there is more to the environment. It encompasses the wider unseen world with by far greater influence on our earthly existence and in our lives later in the Beyond, in the ethereal world. What our state here on earth, hardly realised, is moulded in the world unseen. It is, therefore, often stated that it is the environment that moulds the man and that man is a product of his environment, his fortune or misfortune, his experiences et al. The influence the environment impacts, it is argued, is such that the fate of a man is as sanctioned by the conditions of his environment. In the enlightenment of these times, we now know that this settled notion is erroneous. In other words, the station or situation in which a man may find himself is arbitrary and it is not so. It is similar to the “mystery” surrounding why good people suffer and why manifestly evil men prosper! Why should a good man be born in abject poverty and a wicked man into opulence? This is a thought we human beings have grappled with for thousands of years. They are questions for which strenuous efforts have been made in the search for answers.

The questioning has arisen from a lack of understanding of man himself and more importantly mankind’s perception of God and His Nature. The result is that there is a wrong image of God the Almighty Father. He is often reduced to the level of an earthly King, or at most the King up there a few miles above the clouds, overlooking every human being and every creature. He is so placed to be able to read everybody’s mind. What we must recognise is that The Almighty in His Omnipotence is infinitely and inconceivably greater than that. We must get it clear that arbitrariness is impossible in the ways of the Creator, the Almighty. It is His Wisdom that rules the world. It is the Wisdom manifesting in the Creation- Laws which He uses as mechanisms to govern His Creation. Consider it if it were not so: The incomprehensive and inconceivable vastness of Creation alone, the seven universes in the material world, that is the World of Gross Matter which abuts the Creation proper separated by a ring of the Animistic where animals have their origin. The Creation proper is where the Paradise of we human beings is. Consider the billion galaxies in our universe called Ephesus. The earth is only a planet in our solar system anchored around the sun. The sun itself is only one of billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Each of the seven universes has its own solar systems and galaxies and each solar system and galaxy with its own planet—all Creation in living activities, working and weaving, and weaving and surging, and sparkling, energy fields far away from and to regions incomprehensible to human reasoning, and immeasurable.

It is little known that the Ethereal World which is the Beyond is by far bigger than our earth. It is vastly populated in its own different planes by human spirits still developing or trapped by errors and misconceptions as well as wrong teachings spread while on earth. These are different from multitudes in the Dark Region. On earth today, the population is said to be about 7.8 billion human beings. How is God Almighty to deal with every individual on earth and those struggling to shrug off the burden of their guilt if he were to relate to us in the manner as is generally believed? Scant attention is paid to neither His Omnipotence nor His Omnipresence, both attributes of the Creator which are least understood. It is knowledge and understanding of His Wisdom expressed in the Laws, the principles that reveal how sublime His Ways are and how unrelenting, ceaseless, immutable and just the mechanisms that govern life are.

With the understanding of the mechanisms, that is the Creation/Divine Laws, it will be seen that it is man who forms his environment. He is the architect of his own fortune. He forms his environment with radiation threads he supplies for weaving at the loom of life manned by the Nature Beings–where they are at work. The radiations flow from his thought volition, speeches, or actions in the exercise of his free will, asserting his freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and action. Man in the exercise of his free will is free to think and choose. Didn’t the Lord Christ say that it is not what goeth into a man’s mouth but what cometh out of it that defileth a man? However, he bears spiritual responsibility for what he thinks or does. Thoughts may be unseen, speeches could be heard and actions seen or felt. Laws govern the whole of Creation. In the knowledge mediated to man today, we are permitted to recognise the fact that these Laws are perfect, uniform, immutable, and self-acting not just in the whole of Creation but in the activities therein as well. The Laws which govern by extension a man’s placement, whether the choice of family or social relationship are the Laws of Attraction of Homogeneous Species, the Law of Reciprocal Action, the Law of Spiritual Gravitation, and the Law of the Cycle. These constitute the manual of Creation as they are the expression of the Will of God Almighty.

The manual of any product is produced by the manufacturer. For a pilot and flight captain of an aircraft to fly their aircraft successfully and safely, they must be conversant with the manual of the model of their aircraft and abide by it, its content, and the direction it gives. It is the same with automobiles. The manual for a car tells us about tyre gauge, oil gauge, water gauge, speedometer, and when to change accessories. The car guarantees safety and gives pleasure and joy to him who is familiar with the manual. The Almighty Creator is the Author of Creation’s manual. Those who sojourn under the folds of His Creation have the bounden duty to be familiar with this manual so they do not constitute a hindrance and nuisance to the harmonious working of Creation. Legislators give expression to the will of their constituents through laws. With all the mechanisms in place, living and self-acting, indeed self-policing, the Almighty does not need to directly intervene in the cares of men and world conditions. These are left to the living and incorruptible mechanisms of life, the outworking of the Holy Spirit, the Creative Will and Justice of God personified, the eternal Mediator.

A set of Nature Beings weave the ethereal radiation threads from thoughts into forms in accordance with the contents of the thoughts so issued. Another set does the same with the radiations that stream out of speeches. Ethereal waves go out of actions and are woven into forms. These forms bear energies within them and through the Law of Similarity and Like attracting Like, they attract similar thought forms from any part of the world. The thoughts are thereby reinforced and they form power centres. All the forms are firmly linked with the author of the deeds, thoughts, speeches, or actions. They are seeds in the soil of life. When they have gone through maturation processes like the seed of any plant, the fruits ripen for harvest by the sower. The harvest can be in the form of a darkened environment around the sower.

The forms and power centres are not necessarily those of evil alone. There are power centres from where blessings flow as well. Good seeds will produce good fruits. As such returns from the power centre that consists of goodness form light environment around the sower and he feels light and glows. He knows joy and happiness, peace and harmony. He senses some wholesomeness in Creation. Thus, in the words of Herbert Vollmann in his The Gate Opens: “The environment does not form and mould man, but man forms the environment, in that his nature attracts other homogeneous kinds or is attracted by these, as with incarnation. Thus he creates for himself that environment in which he lives, with which he associates or ‘keeps company’. Hence the saying: ‘A man is known by the company he keeps.’ We could also say that our environment is our mirror image!

However, the ethereal environment has been darkened and is now full of filth because evil is more prevalent in countries and the world in general as of these times. What with the devastation, mindless killings, and destruction of properties in the Russia-Ukraine War and the Hamas-Israeli War! The bloody conflict in Sudan counts as part of the evil sweeping through the world for which there will be dire consequences for the perpetrators in another earthlife. What with the air of forebodement resulting from the unabating insecurity challenges in Nigeria: banditry, kidnappings, and killings!

Because of the pressure of the Light through the Power of the Holy Spirit, power sweeping through all lands, in the proverbial End -Time that has already descended on the earth, there is intensification and acceleration of events and closing of cycles—the end going back to the beginning and therewith the ripening of fruits, and harvesting. The darkened environment is laden with tribulations and misery as consequences of wrong actions, the breach of the incorruptible Laws. Today, the animated darkened environment is pushing for manifestation in all parts of the world. Intuitive perception which is the infallible guide for man is masked resulting in the collapse of values and high-mindedness. We are told that mankind is at the moment living in a time of the Cosmic Turning Point, the last Turning point when our universe, Ephesus, is moving to the last phase! It is a phase of compulsion to knowledge invoked by unbelievably harrowing experiences; a phase where negligence and carelessness will avenge themselves bitterly. Only goodness as a way of life and purity of thoughts can reverse the darkening of the environment and the impending doom.

INCIDENT
The Agency received a distress call from residents and bystanders at Onipanu Bus Stop, Onipanu regarding a drain duck man working for LAMATA that got trapped in the underground drainage/tunnel on Monday 6th May, 2024 at about 3:23pm. This prompted the immediate activation of the Agency’s Response Team to the scene of the incident.
TOT: 3:25pm

CAUSE
Upon the arrival of the Agency’s Team at the incident scene, investigation and information gathered revealed that an adult male, Mr Tajudeen Amololo (59 years), a Drain Duck working for LAMATA while desilting the drainage along the axis in an attempt to clear a blocked portion of the underground drainage/tunnel in order to allow free flow of drainage water got trapped in the process.

SALVAGE
Emergency responders immediately began a rescue operation accessing the heavily silted and flooded tunnel which had lots of storm water from the rains on Sunday, the previous night. In the process of the search and rescue operation on Monday 6th May,2024 a fireman from Lagos State Fire Service who suffocated in the underground drainage/tunnel was revived, stabilised by the Agency’s paramedics and immediately transported to LASUTH for adequate medical attention.

Also on Tuesday 7th May, 2024, a member of the LAMATA Drain Ducks got injured during the ongoing search/rescue operation. He was immediately treated by the Agency’s paramedics.

After five days of painstaking, tedious and energy sapping operation with the team focused on a salvage operation, at 5.53pm on Friday 10th May, 2024 the victim was recovered dead from the underground drainage/tunnel. The recovered body was immediately bagged by the Agency’s officials and handed over to LAMATA Drain Ducks.

RESPONSE
The Agency’s LRT, LRU Paramedics, Lagos State Fire Service, LAMATA and NPF (Ilupeju Division) were responders at the incident scene.

ACTION TAKEN
The operatives of the Agency were involved in;
-Recovery of the trapped victim from the underground tunnel/drainage.
-Revive and stabilization of suffocated fireman and transportation to LASUTH
-Treatment of injured LAMATA Drain Duck
-Coordination with all stakeholders at the incident scene to ensure a smooth operation.
-Management of the incident scene to avert a secondary incident.

RECOMMENDATION
-Adequate safety measures should be entrenched in the operations of the Drain Ducks.
⁃ refresher training for the drainage duck operations
No further update

Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu
PS LASEMA

FOREVER REMEMBERED , FOREVER ADORED 

In the quiet of my thoughts, I see your face,

Thirty-seven years have slipped away,

Yet your presence lingers, day by day.

With wisdom deep as the ocean's vast,

You steered our ship through the tempests past.

In your footsteps, I learned to tread,

Guided by the words you once said.

With courage and grace Papa, you led the way,

Inspiring generations to seize the day.

Forever remembered, Forever adored 

Your legacy, a beacon so bright,

Illuminated the darkest night.

In each decision, I still hear your voice,

Guiding me to make the right choice.

Oh, how I long for one more day,

To sit with you and hear you say,

Stories of old, lessons so profound,

In your wisdom Papa, was solace found.

Forever remembered ,Forever adored 

In the tapestry of time, your threads are sewn,

A legacy of love and truth you've sown.

Though you've journeyed to a distant shore,

Your very essence lives forevermore.

Forever remembered, forever adored,

Obafemi Awolowo, continue to rest in perfect peace 

So Papa, on this day,

I stand on the shoulders of your name,

I carry forth your eternal flame.

With gratitude and reverence, I honor thee,

For the gift of your legacy, forever free.

Forever remembered, Forever adored 

Your grandson , Olusegun Awolowo 2nd

President Bola Tinubu, on Friday in Abuja, reaffirmed Nigeria’s strategic position in Africa as a bastion of peace, saying the nation will continue to play its role as a stabilizer on the continent.

Receiving a letter of credence from the Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mohamed Ahmed, President Tinubu emphasized the shared commitment of both countries to promoting global peace and stability through collaboration within international organizations, such as the United Nations. 

President Tinubu noted that since establishing diplomatic relations in 1961, Nigeria and Egypt have collaborated on key international priorities, including promoting regional peace, security, and stability. 

The discussions at the meeting also touched on the situation in the Sahel and Sudan.

Acknowledging Egypt’s role towards a truce in the crisis in Gaza, President Tinubu said: ''We need to do more. Stability in the region is of paramount importance.''

Ambassador Ahmed conveyed President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's willingness to bolster economic partnership with Nigeria, emphasizing Egypt's interest in increasing trade and investments between the two countries. 

''We need to complement each other on investments. Many Egyptian companies are interested in coming to Nigeria to invest,'' the Egyptian Ambassador said. 

In discussions with Major-General Sohail Ahmed Khan (retired), High Commissioner of Pakistan, President Tinubu described the Ambassador’s military background as invaluable for exchanging ideas to expand security and defence cooperation. 

He underscored the need for global cooperation in combating terrorism and violent extremism. 

''We must do more to stop extremists. We need to enhance our collaboration and exchange of ideas and knowledge in these areas. 

''As a government, we will keep an open-door policy with countries and development partners on enhancing cooperation on security, economy, education, and the information and communication technology sector where the Minister is doing very well. How can we improve our bilateral relationship? We must do more,'' the President said. 

The High Commissioner of Pakistan noted the demographic similarities between the two countries and expressed a desire to elevate the relationship to new heights. 

''Pakistan has the fifth largest population in the world while Nigeria is the sixth largest. We have a significant youth population, and our national flags are similar. I would like to take our relationship to a new level, from strength to strength,'' the High Commissioner said.                                                       

In a separate meeting with Ambassador Athanasios Kotsionis of Greece, President Tinubu reiterated his administration’s commitment to an open-door policy that encourages collaboration and progress for the benefit of all.  

He restated Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Greece and building bridges of cooperation to address common challenges.  

The President assured the Greece Ambassador of Nigeria’s commitment to creating an environment conducive to socio-economic growth and development.

''Nigeria and Greece have good historic ties. We have shared priorities, including promoting democracy, and there is room to expand cooperation. 

''The economic situation in Africa and Europe is still very unbalanced. We should build on the opportunities from our challenges and strengthen relations between the two countries. 

''What I expect is an improvement in the relationship between both countries, and I look forward to us working on that. 

''Our government is about renewed hope. Nigeria will continue to play its role as a stabilizer on the continent,’’ the President said.  

Ambassador Kotsionis outlined Greece’s efforts to finalize agreements with Nigeria in the areas of tourism, scientific exchange, technology, and maritime. 

''We are ready to sign the agreements with Nigeria as soon as they are ready. There is a lot to be done between the two countries, and we will need the support of your government. We hope to achieve incredible things in Nigeria during my stay,'' the Ambassador said. 

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President 

(Media & Publicity) 

May 10, 2024

Africa is always in perpetual struggle for survival. It is the world’s second largest and second-most populous continent after Asia, but its past and future always seem to be in constant collision. In the past, our forebears confronted slavery, enslavement and colonialization, and this gave birth to pan Africanism. Now, the continent is at the crossroads of historical occurrences. The clash of civilizations between Islamic fundamentalists and the West; the fight for geopolitical dominance between China and the US; the breakout of war in Europe for the first time since the end of the Second World War and the growing wealth gap between the global north and global south are some of the forces that African leaders have to deal with to chart the continent’s socioeconomic direction in the coming decades.

Africa is also facing what appears to be another round of colonialism characterized by massive exploitation of its natural resources by agents of foreign countries notably, China and Russia. Illegal mining of natural resources in many African countries, including Nigeria, DRC, Niger Republic, Chad and many others are the major causes of insecurity, violence and poverty. A new wave of migrant from the continent pours into Europe and America every day. Without a doubt, our continent remains the most exploited continent in the world. In the welter of all these, the continent suffers from incompetent, corrupt and weak leadership.

Worried by the fate of their continent, a group of African academics, professionals and civic society activists have come together in search of a new generation of pan Africanists who will save their continent from collapse. Although Pan Africanism was born in the struggles of African people against enslavement and colonization, and this struggle goes back to the rebellions on the slave ships and plantations across the West, the new generation of pan Africanists are fighting at intellectual level, trying to decolonize the minds of Africans. They have established an organization known as The Pan African Dialogue Institute (TPADI). It was conceived in 2016 by a couple of African academics and professionals led by Nigeria’s Dr. Effiong Udo of the University of Uyo and Prof. Mutombo Nkulu-N’Sengha, a US citizen originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. TPADI is headquartered in the University of Uyo. Dr. Udo has unfathomable passion for pan Africanism. I caught up with him in his office at the University of Uyo last week as he was preparing for hosting an international conference on Dialogue and Pan Africanism.

 TPADI, he says, is a network of academics, professionals, civil society and grassroot leaders in different fields of life, within Africa and the diaspora, who are motivated by the best principles of Pan Africanism to serve the continent and its people worldwide. It is a civil society think tank for the study, practice and propagation of Pan-Africanism. Its programs and activities revolve around three thematic areas: education, policy and projects. On education, the institute hopes to create programs to educate ourselves, all Africans and other interested persons in Pan-Africanism. It offers certificate, executive and postgraduate programs in Pan-Africanism and create public awareness through seminars, workshops, webinars and convoke cultural events and academic conferences on dialogue and Pan-Africanism. On policy, it engages in local, continental, and global policy analysis, formulation and advocacy, within the threshold of Pan-Africanism. The aim is to inform and advise stakeholders and decision-makers on resolving African problems with African solutions.

 On projects, TPADI conducts needs assessment to identify, design and implement projects to build and advance the living conditions of African communities and empower our peoples. ‘’Our educational, policy and project engagements intersect under social, economic, political, religious and cultural issues, as well as scientific, environmental, educational, legal, gender and business domains’’, he said, gesticulating frantically. ‘’This is why we have 10 dialogue commissions who regularly engage with these issues. So far, we have members from 22 African countries. Some of them are based in the Americas, Europe and United Kingdom’’. Dr. Udo said he was inspired into Pan-Africanism when he attended a program at the University of California in 2016 and had to team up with many Africans in diaspora on a research program. ‘’The experience opened my eyes to what is wrong with Africa and the fact that it is only Africans that can create African solutions to our problems’’, he told me.

Pan Africanism emerged as a response to the long history of the indignities of colonization, enslavement, and systemic oppression and exploitation faced by African people across the globe. The African Union defines Pan-Africanism as: “… an ideology and movement that encourages the solidarity of Africans worldwide. It is based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social and political progress and aims to ‘unify and uplift’ people of African descent. The ideology asserts that the fates of all African peoples and countries are intertwined. At its core, Pan-Africanism is “a belief that African peoples both on the continent and in the diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny.” From the early days of Pan Africanism till today, the advocacy for the unity, solidarity, and empowerment of people of African descent worldwide continues to be a potent force driving discussions on identity, liberation, and socio-political progress of the continent and its people.

The Pan African Dialogue Institute (TPADI), according to Dr. Udo, is therefore established to pursue the decolonization of the mind through education, policy analysis, policy building and advocacy around multi-faceted issues within the threshold of Pan-African principles. He said, ‘’Our job is to inspire excellence and best practices in Pan Africanism, promote African values of community, hospitality, respect for human and environmental dignity, unity in diversity, love and solidarity with all, as encapsulated in the Ubuntu philosophy. We are seeking to reverse the mentality that Africans are not capable of helping themselves and solving their problems’’.

‘’We want to reverse that culture of dependency on external assistance that unfortunately still prevails on the continent. If people become too reliant on getting their support, their nourishment and their safety from outside sources, they do not strive to find the power within themselves to rely on their own capacities. Pan Africanism calls upon Africans to drawn on their own strengths and capacities and become self-reliant. Again, we are seeking to celebrate our Africanness, the unity, resilience and collective identity as Africans. And, we want to achieve all these by using dialogue and collaboration among individuals, communities, institutions and nations’’, he said.

The institute is marking the 2024 International Africa Day with pomp and pageantry. Nigeria is among the multitude of African countries that have never celebrated Africa Day which is May 25. It was on May 25, 1963, that leaders of the then 32 independent African States signed a founding charter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which brought the Organization of African Unity into existence. In 2002, the OAU established its own successor, the African Union, and adopted May 25 every year as a day to celebrate Africa and highlight the continent’s continued struggle against neocolonialism, exploitation and adversity. Surprisingly, ever since the day was declared, only nine African countries (The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are known to observe May 25 as public holiday with celebrations. The other 46 countries, including Nigeria are less aware of this very important day. By marking the day with many festivities next week, TPADI is has made Nigeria join the other nine countries to celebrate Africa Day for the first time ever.

‘’Our institute will be formally launched on May 25 in a grand ceremony at the University of Uyo with former President Goodluck Jonathan as the chairman of the occasion. Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Prof. Ndaeyo and hundreds of distinguished personalities from Nigeria and outside the country will be present. Gov. Umo Eno will lay the foundation for the International Headquarters of the Institute at the University. There will be speeches, fairs, cultural displays and other events on the Africa Day’’, Udo enthused. Between May 23 and 26, 2024, the institute will host the first international conference on “Dialogue and Pan Africanism’’. The conference is held in collaboration with Centre for Deep Dialogue and Critical Thinking, Directorate of International Programmes and faculties of Arts, Law, Social Sciences, and Communication and Media Studies of the University of Uyo.

Already, Professor P.L.O Lumumba has confirmed his participation as the keynote speaker at the conference, while plenary speakers will include Prof. Wole Soyinka; Prof. Mutombo Nkulu-N’Sengha (DR Congo/USA), Prof. Mary Nyangweso (Kenya/USA), Prof. Emmanuel Akpabio (Nigeria), Amb. Daniel Guttierez (Rep. of Belize), Prof. Joseph Ushie (Nigeria), Dr. Donatus Ukpong (Nigeria), Prof. Chris Ekong (Nigeria), Prof. Peter Esu (Nigeria), Dr. Jean-Louis Ikambana (USA), Prof. Aniekan Brown (Nigeria), Prof. Mojisola Iseyin (Nigeria), Prof. Gabriel Umoh (Nigeria), Dr. Ubong Essien Umoh (Nigeria), among others. The conference seeks to provide informed Pan-Africanist perspectives on a wide range of issues affecting Africa and its people everywhere in the world. Presenters are expected to explore the trajectories of development in the continent from the lens of Pan-Africanism. They will probe the different approaches, theories, philosophies or ideologies that have been adopted at community, national and continental levels by key players to drive developmental efforts.

The reality today is that Nigeria’s total debt, comprising both local and external stocks, is, according to Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO), a whopping N107 trillion, which is humongous. The culprits for the ballooning of the debt are hugely the policy of subsidizing petrol pump prices and propping up the naira, origins of which date back about four decades ago, but were ended by President Bola Tinubu during his inaugural speech on May 29 last year.

Subsidizing electricity is another scam that has set our country back. The government was spending as much as 67% of the total cost of generating electricity in sustaining the regime of low tariff payment. According to NERC, N2.9t was being expended at N240b per month. That is prior to the current regime of withdrawing subsidy from 15%( 12m) consumers who will be paying a whooping 240% more per kilowatts. Even then, it is being claimed by NERC that the subsidy still being paid by government for those on Band B to E would be up to the tune of N1.6 trillion or N120b per month. A gradual withdrawal of subsidy in that utility had just commenced on April 3rd, with the 15% of electricity customers (12 million) consumers bearing the brunt by being billed what has been termed cost-reflective charges of N225 per kilowattss. That is over and above the N68 previously charged premium consumers now tagged Band A.
If the new price regime set by NERC prevails, subsidy for electricity consumers would in the process of coming to an end by beig unravelled. The third issue is the high level of corruption in the country, which is wreaking havoc on the economy and on society at large. Currently, according to Transparency International (TI), an international corruption monitoring agency, Nigeria ranks as number 145 out of 180 countries on the list of nations ridden with graft.

There is no need to dwell further on that since it was the fulcrum of the last administration which boasted of having zero tolerance for corruption. But it ended up crashing the economy, which slipped into recession twice in 8 years, unprecedentedly. That regime did so by commission or commission by chasing a bull into a China shop, and as it were, and ended up doing more damage than good to the economy as  investors took flight due to the hostile investment climate.

But thanks  to the recent deft moves of both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, and Finance/Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, confidence is returning to the nation’s economy, with investors showing interest, particularly via portfolio investors taking stakes in our treasury products owing to the offer of attractive rates reminiscent of the days of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, currently Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Another scam, which is the fourth (4th), is the high cost of governance as reflected by the huge size of the national budget dedicated to servicing a burgeoning bureaucracy. In that respect, the Executive branch of government is making some efforts, for example, by reducing the number of officials in the entourage of top government officials traveling abroad. It has  even gone further by banning non-essential foreign trips by public servants, as well as aiming to implement the Oransanye Report on rationalization of government agencies bloating recurrent budget owing to too many civil/public servants.

Having put in array the multiple scams hindering Nigeria from attaining her potentials, it is appropriate to commence a thorough dissection of the issues focused on in this discourse by taking a deep dive into the four (4) identified scams.
The first is  subsidy on petrol and the naira, which is a practice perpetrated by the immediate past administration under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, which created a Ways and Means debt-an indiscriminate  printing of the naira without financial backup, to a monumental tune of N30 trillion.
 Apparently, that administration seemed hell-bent on retaining the decades-old petrol subsidy policy and was determined, as it were  to zealously defend the naira with our country’s hard-earned dollar income while borrowing to carry out its primary and basic duties of paying civil/public servants’ salaries and providing infrastructure such as roads, airports, railway lines, etc.

The abuse of subsidies reached a point that income from the sales of oil/gas could no longer net off the burden of subsidy, such that the nation had to embark on unbridled printing of money that nearly made the Nigerian currency – the naira, look like ‘shit’ money in the manner that the Central Bank of Uganda Governor resisted printing more money at the command of then military head of state, Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada. As it may be recalled, by pointing out to his boss that “Ugandan money is now like shit money” he angered the autocratic head of state to the extent that he had to send the apex bank governor to the gallows as documented in the movie about the infamous reign of the dictator, Idi Amin Dada in Uganda.

So, when I hear critics of the removal of subsidy on petrol and merging of foreign exchange rates of both official and parallel markets for foreign currencies, demanding that President Bola Tinubu should produce the savings from ending those economically debilitating policies, I simply grimace and shudder at the level of misunderstanding of the concept of subsidy and its removal by pundits pontification and advocating for the retention or return of subsidy.

The truth is that no money is being gathered and saved in any particular account. That is because there is none to be saved in the first instance, since it is a case of applying the funds that could have been literally flushed down the drain in the name of subsidy on petrol and naira into interventions in other critical areas of governance needing a shot in the arm to be energized. Take for instance education loan, which is a program recently launched by the incumbent administration.
 Opening up the space for all Nigerians to have access to education up to whatever level they have capacity for is such a big deal, that in my view it is being understated. In my reckoning, it is equivalent to the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s declaration of and implementation of free education policy in the western region of Nigeria back in the days.

It is needless restating the fact that it is that policy of free education that is largely responsible for the leapfrogging of the Yoruba nation into the pole position of leadership in education amongst the ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria. Without education loan, only God knows the number of current street urchins across the nation, particularly Lagos state, that could have been potential Robert Einsteins.

But they have become wasted and a threat to society because their parents had no financial means to put them through school to acquire education that could have enabled them to meaningfully and positively contribute to society.
In fact, if not for scholarship awards,(a variant of free education) most of the incredible professionals that dot our corporate and public sector landscape today would not have had the priviledge of obtaining Western education.

Arising from the above, I would argue that democratizing education by making it accessible to all Nigerians that are keen on obtaining academic knowledge is a big deal. Although its justification would not come to full positive manifestation in the lifetime of President Tinubu’s administration. But in another decade or two, the potential geniuses hitherto compelled to become ‘area’ boys and girls (thugs and prostitutes) who are empowered through student loans initiative to be processed into medical doctors, nurses, accountants, aeronautical and space engineers as well as artificial intelligence experts, would boost the human resources capital of Nigeria such that the country would be poised to be amongst the world’s top five economies by 2075 as recently predicted by Goldman Sachs analysts.

What those criticizing the end of subsidies seem oblivious of is the fact that in the past two decades or so, the handlers of our economy had been engaging in deficit financing. In other words, they have been borrowing financial resources locally and from abroad to fund the national budget because the projected incomes for each fiscal year being budgeted for have been falling short of the proposed expenditure.
 Effectively, the benefits of the removal of subsidies are that the humongous funds hitherto provided in budget heads to subsidize some sectors deemed to be critical – maintaining low petrol pump price and low naira/dollar exchange rate – are being channeled into other areas considered to be equally critical and productive such as education instead of the profligacy of subsidizing consumption which petrol and naira amount to.

Apart from the fact that the action of President Tinubu has resulted in the reduction of petrol imported into our country by about 50% or one million litres per day, according to government sources, which has enabled the stemming of capital exportation out of our country to European suppliers of the commodity that was causing massive hemorrhaging of our treasury, it has boosted employment creation. That is in light of the fact that a huge chunk of our country’s imports, even up to 60%, by some accounts, are petroleum products and food based. As we can all attest, the end of petrol subsidy has also spurred investments in local refineries led by Dangote refinery with 650 million barrels per day capacity.

That is alongside a plethora of modular refineries springing up in the oil/gas-rich Niger Delta region stretching from around Benin City in Edo State to the Warri environs in Delta State, all the way down to Owerri in Imo State axis and the Port Harcourt zone in Rivers State, whose combined capacity is already leading to a crash in the price of diesel fuel for powering electricity generating sets that power manufacturing plants in factories and our homes.
 How could all the aforementioned employment-boosting investments have been made possible without the end of petrol subsidy pronounced by President Tinubu at his inauguration on May 29 last year?

Furthermore, in the past couple of weeks, we have seen Dangote Refinery, which has come on stream and is now supplying Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) into the Nigerian market, crash the price of the commodity by about 30-40%, from N1,650 per litre to N1,000 per litre  from the factory. The retailers are currently selling at about N1,350 per litre, which is presently the prevailing rate reflecting about N300 saving to consumers.

Since AGO is critical to transportation cost, referred to as logistics, and it constitutes about 30% of the input in the production and supply of goods, the hardships currently being experienced by the masses triggered by the spike in the cost of commuting and the resultant hike in the cost of living may soon start easing off in the coming weeks and months, all things being equal.

While envisaging the positive developments above, I had advocated that President Tinubu should sell off the government-owned refineries that have been undergoing turnaround maintenance at a humongous cost burden to our national treasury. That case was made in an article titled “Tinubunomics: Time to Sell Nigerian Refineries” which was published in my column of August 10 last year and widely reproduced in numerous traditional and new media platforms.

One would like to double down on that proposition of selling down the state-owned refineries contained in the referenced article, and the assertion is based on the dictum ‘government has no business being in business’ which implies that government must cease to engage in the business of running or operating refineries, which will be more efficiently and effectively carried out by the private sector, as evidenced by the advent of Dangote Refinery in the business of refining crude oil and distributing petroleum products cost-effectively and efficiently to Nigerians.

Capitalizing on the success recorded by Dangote Refinery and the handful of modular refineries now dotting the landscape of the Niger Delta, I am further proposing that the government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri in Rivers and Delta states should be sold to Mr. Jim Ovia or Mr. Tony Elumelu, founders, majority shareholders, and chairmen of Zenith Bank Plc and UBA Plc/HEIRS, or any other entrepreneurs who hail from that zone and have the capacity to acquire majority stakes in the three refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri and possess the ability to operate them.

By the same token, the refinery in Kaduna currently owned by the government should be sold to the likes of Alhaji Samad Rabiu of BUA Group and Alhaji Sayyu Dantata of Dantata Group, who currently operate conglomerates and appear to have the financial capacity and ability to operate them more efficiently and effectively.

To source the necessary expertise and personnel to operate the Nigerian refineries after purchase, there is a plethora of refineries located on the coastlines of Europe that target West African countries, including Nigeria, as the market for their products.

Fortunately for potential buyers of the local refineries as being proposed, refineries on the coast lines of Europe are now, according to a recent report by the international news agency Reuters, on the verge of shutting down following the arrival of Dangote Refinery that is poised to take over the markets hitherto controlled by the European firms.

The soon-to-be-laid-off personnel in the European refineries on the verge of becoming moribund would be available human resources that could be tapped into by Nigerian investors in the refineries. What is more, Nigerian local investors in the refineries being proposed for sale to local entrepreneurs could even offer the owners of the embattled and about-to-be-shutdown refineries in Europe stakes in the Nigerian refineries that has to be sold off by government to private investors.

Another scam that nearly brought Nigeria to its knees is the subsidy on electricity, estimated to be in excess of ₦2.9 trillion.

On multiple occasions in the previous years, and several times this year alone, the national electricity grid has collapsed. That is largely owed to the fact that the infrastructure for the transmission of electricity in our country dates back to the colonial days.

At some point, the utility firm was known as the Electricity Company of Nigeria (ECN) before it transformed into the National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA), and finally, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). It was centrally operated and was a sort of omnibus involved in generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity.

Those roles were performed abysmally, earning the organization the negative sobriquet “Never Expect Power Always” (NEPA) until 2013 when NEPA, through a privatization exercise, was split into three autonomous components, with each entity assigned the role of generating, transmitting, and distributing.

With the GENCOs engaging in generating electricity and DISCOs distributing the generated power firmly under the control of private sector investors, there were slight improvements in electricity supply. But there remains a snag and drag on the rest of the chain, which is that the transmission of electricity generated remained under the control of the government because unlike the generating and distributing aspects that were hived off and handed over to private investors in 2013, the government held onto the transmission aspect through an agency known as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

That is where the national grid collapse has been occurring, manifestly the broken chain in the electricity supply sequence. That is  because even though GENCOs currently generate about 12 megawatts, only about 4 megawatts can get to our factories and homes owing to poor transmission infrastructure coupled with the bureaucratic nature of civil servants operating the system. Why the TCN was not privatized at the time with the generating and distributing functions in 2023 beats me hollow.

When President Tinubu signed the new electricity act into law on 9th February this year, I had cause to interrogate the electricity power system in Nigeria with a view to identifying the clogs and proposing possible ways out of the conundrum in an article published in my column on August 4 and subsequently on other media platforms titled “Tinubunomics: Electricity Act 2023 As Nigeria’s lndustrial Game Changer”’

Obviously, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is working assiduously to unravel the conundrum of graft surrounding the electricity supply system in Nigeria, which dates back to the ECN days when equipment was presumed to have been supplied to the ECN but the equipment turned out to have been round-tripped. It is disheartening that
the practice of corruption and inefficiencies still pervades the electricity sector even after it has changed hands from public to the private sector.

The Minister of Power, Adelabu, may be in a quandary as to how to rejig the system so that a single investor can be a player in all three aspects: generating, transmitting, and distributing aspects of the business, which is the practice all over the world but currently not the case in Nigeria since investors are limited to only single functions such as GENCOs and DISCOs, with TCN remaining in the purview of the government.

Apart from concessioning or selling off TCN to private investors to enable it to have funds to boost its infrastructure (now in deplorable condition) to forestall future grid collapse, how can investors be realigned to engage in all three aspects and be assigned zones to compete with each other as is the practice in other climes?

Cost-reflective tariff has already been introduced to about 15% of consumers designated as being on Band A by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). It  has promised that a minimum of 20 hours a day will be available to consumers on the A Band. Further  promising that Bands B to E would be added in the cost-reflective charges in a graduated manner.

For Band A customers, the tariff has tripled from N68 to N225 per kilowatt-hour; hence, the matrix applied in arriving at that rate is being questioned. As things currently stand, it is only when that complex web, which appears as complicated as decoding the famous DA VINCI code, (that the electricity system seems to be tangled in) is resolved, that the sector, critical to the industrial takeoff of Nigeria, can be fully unraveled.

On corruption, the Nigerian federal government, under the auspices of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Coordination Delivery Unit (CDCU), Ms. Hadiza Bala-Usman, on April 8th, launched a website for tracking and monitoring performance and delivery of services by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government. I have had cause to write about the need for citizens’ involvement in fighting corruption by tracking the activities of government via its agencies’ actions and inactions.

That was extensively dwelt on in an article titled: “Killing Corruption With People, Power, and Technology In Nigeria,” published on August 9, 2016, in my column and also on other traditional and online platforms. The piece is also reproduced on page 454 of my new book: “Leading From The Streets: Media Interventions By A Public Intellectual, 1999-2019.”

In the piece, I referenced a similar app used by the World Bank for the same purpose of combating corruption in other jurisdictions by noting that:

“One veritable tool that Nigeria is yet to fully harness in fighting corruption is technology. The blame could be placed squarely on the unstable electricity supply. Nonetheless, this would change soon with the ongoing privatization of power supply in Nigeria.”

To buttress my point, I referenced a report published by Huffington Post on 12/9/2011 and titled “Technology Is Helping The Fight Against Corruption.” The report was authored by Caroline Anstey, Managing Director of the World Bank Group, and Leonard McCarthy, the World Bank’s Integrity Vice President.

The duo noted that “There is no single quick fix for curbing corruption. But there are steps that can and should be taken to raise the cost of being corrupt to send a powerful message that corruption doesn’t pay. The World Bank executives concluded by stating that: “We already see how technology can make a difference. Take Indonesia, where an Urban Poverty Program, which distributes $150 million annually in World Bank and government funding, has successfully harnessed the Internet and Mobile phone technology to enhance project monitoring, transparency, and overall effectiveness.”

So, Ms. Bala-Usman, by launching the tracker (alongside other anti-corruption measures being undertaken by anti-graft agencies EFCC and ICPC), government appear to be on the right path to combating corruption with technology as opposed to naming and shaming that defined the immediate past administration. To that extent, corruption, as a scam on Nigeria and Nigerians, can be said to be in the process of gradually being unraveled.

Finally, high governance cost is another scam causing Nigeria to as it were punch below its weight. Following an uproar by Nigerians, President Tinubu has commenced the reduction of costs in the bureacracy by pruning the number of people in top government official’s entourage and even suspending non-essential travels by public servants.

Although it is not far-reaching enough, hopefully, the Special Adviser, Ms. Bala-Usman, will monitor and ensure that the executive order is adhered to . The FGN is also believed to be on track to implement the famous Oronsaye Report on streamlining of MDAs, which have overlapping functions and therefore constitute a drain and burden that result in high cost of governance. But the Legislative branch of government, which has not been as responsive as the Executive arm, has been receiving flak from the public as it remains a culprit.

That is principally because the majority of Nigerians believe that the cost of sustaining the National Assembly (NASS) is too high in terms of salaries and emoluments, which they deem as staggering. Remarkably, the negative perception got worse when it was revealed that an average of N160m was expended in procuring Toyota brand SUVs for each lawmaker numbering 469. Majority of Nigerians would have preferred that made in Nigeria SUVs were procured to reduce the exportation of capital and jobs from Nigeria to other countries from which the vehicles are imported.

Arising from the above, if NASS wants to become the darling of Nigerians, it must wean itself off the unbridled taste for imported items, which the masses believe is leading to the hemorrhaging of our already very lean treasury. When that happens, it would regain the respect of Nigerians, and that scam on Nigeria and Nigerians would also be on track to being unraveled.

To that end, the necessary first steps would be for both the Executive and Legislative branches to pass a law compelling MDAs and public officers to patronize Made-in-Nigeria products and services over and above  imported ones. That would be in consonance with the popular dictum: charity begins at home. It also speaks to the general belief that if we do not patronize our home made products and services, nobody else will do so.
The concept is not novel since it has been done in the past when peugeot was adopted as official car of government.
So, NASS and the Executive arm must lead by example by patronizing Made-in-Nigeria products and services to boost local production, improve Gross National Product (GNP), by extension  Gross Domestic Product (GDP), resulting  in jobs creation  that would lead to prosperity and better standards of living for all.

That is the surest way of unraveling the high cost of governance and other ills or negative factors currently besetting our beleaguered nation and preventing her from being on even keel to leapfrog in socioeconomic and political development as the world has been anticipating.

Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy advocate, development strategist, alumnus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in the Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

Music streaming platform, Spotify, has said it paid over N25 billion in streaming royalties to Nigerian artists in 2023.

The company disclosed this in its annual Loud & Clear report focusing on the Nigerian market. According to Spotify, the 2023 earnings for Nigerian artists more than double the over N11 billion they earned from the platform in 2022.

Spotify added that royalties to Nigerian artists have increased by 2,500% since 2017.

It is important to note that Spotify is one of many music streaming services that generate revenue for the music industry. The artists also earn revenue from other platforms such as YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, among others. 

While this came as the second time that Spotify is releasing its data specifically on Nigeria, the company said releasing the data became imperative to increase transparency in the music industry by sharing its royalty payments and breaking down the global streaming economy, the players, and the process.

A global report released earlier in the year revealed that the company paid a total of $9 billion in royalties to artists globally in the past year.

More insights

The data released by Spotify also revealed that the number of Nigerian artists earning over N10 million in royalties quadrupled since 2018. It added that over half of the royalties went to independent artists or labels, showcasing the democratizing power of streaming.

The report also indicated that Spotify listeners discovered Nigerian artists nearly 950 million times in 2023.

Commenting on the report, Spotify’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, said,

“The significant growth in royalties earned by Nigerian artists on our platform is a powerful testament to their talent, creativity, and global appeal.

Muhutu-Remy added that while Afrobeats remains the king, Nigeria’s music scene is experiencing a genre revolution as Spotify data reveals increased popularity across local genres.

According to her, homegrown genres like Highlife grew by 224%, Igbo Pop increased by 303%, and Fuji grew by 187% as they all experienced a significant increase in listenership in 2023.

The streaming revolution in Africa

Boosted by technology, allowing artists to reach audiences beyond their borders and benefit financially from their craft, Africa’s music scene has been growing steadily.

According to the 2024 International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) report, the Sub-Saharan Africa market boasts the world’s fastest-music growing revenue with a staggering 24.7% growth increase.

This growth is fueled by a surge in paid streaming services, contributing 24.5% of the revenue. Notably, the report stated that Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region surpassing 20% growth.

“There was a positive story of growth across the globe; every region had healthy revenue growth in 2023 and five regions posted double-digit percentage gains. Sub-Saharan Africa remained the fastest-growing area,” IFPI stated in the report.

 

[Nairametrics]

Nigerian music sensation David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido has stirred up a storm of reactions with his recent comment of the plan to exit the music industry following the release of his next album.

Naija News reports that the Afrobeats star expressed his intentions in a social media post that quickly became a topic of conversation on social media.

Davido, who has been a pivotal figure in the Nigerian music scene, hinted at his departure from music in a heartfelt post, saying, “Yall niggas really want me out the game that bad?? Oya after next album I no do again. So una fit get peace.”

This statement came as a response to persistent rumours and negative coverage concerning his career.

The announcement has not sat well with a legion of fans and music enthusiasts who argue that his music transcends critics’ negativity and is cherished by a global audience that appreciates his artistry.

On social media, the reactions ranged from disappointment to support, reflecting the deep divide over his decision.

Twitter user @gravityempire28 reacted humorously yet pointedly, suggesting Davido had conceded defeat too soon.

“Yu dn finally accept defeat ? O03 you for wait make you be 001 first an…,” he wrote.

@_cantonaE emphasized that Davido’s music should be for his fans, not his detractors. Another fan, @iamhbozz, encouraged the singer to focus on the positive feedback from his substantial fan base rather than the haters.

Moreover, @mafia3O expressed sympathy for Davido’s struggles within the industry, attributing them to his affluent background and alleged bias against him in the media and the industry at large.

“But let’s be real, Davido has really gone through a lot in the industry,” he wrote, highlighting the perceived efforts to undermine the singer’s achievements despite his consistent track record of hits.

Conversely, @abazwhyllzz dramatically stated, “You are not going anywhere oo. If you stop singing then no Nigerian will sing in this country again,” reflecting the sentiments of those who see Davido as an irreplaceable icon in the Nigerian music landscape.

@DaddyZee02 offered a critical take, suggesting that Davido’s predicament was partly due to not listening enough to his fans, who he believes see things the artist himself might miss.

[NaijaNews]

Experts have urged Nigeria to learn from the debt crisis of Egypt by embarking on spending that will make a positive impact on the nation’s economy.

According to experts, Egypt’s economic bold reforms were held up as a model country for Nigeria as the country became the darling of investors. However, the country later undone the gains of those reforms with huge spending of borrowed funds on megaprojects from a new capital city to presidential palaces that have not delivered economic gains.

An economist familiar with the matter said that the spending spree, financed mainly by foreign loans, has put Egypt at risk of a rare bond default. He said Egypt’s case shows reform is not enough, if it is not complemented by purposeful leadership.

A public finance expert, Musa Adekunle said Nigeria can learn from some mistakes made by Egypt such as failed industrial development due to poor planning and heavy bureaucracy, and export policies that created a persistent trade deficit.

He said, “A borrowing spree under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi left Egypt with heavy foreign debt. Foreign creditors have been shying away, pushing the Cairo government to borrow domestically even as interest rates surge, spawning bigger deficits. This, and an expansion of the money supply, have fuelled currency depreciation and higher inflation.

Over the past two years, an acute dollar shortage suppressed imports and caused a backlog at ports, with a knock-on effect on local industry. Prices for many staple foods rose much faster than headline inflation, which accelerated to a record 38%. Economic growth has slowed, and many Egyptians say their standard of living has been eroded.”

Fresh data released by the Central Bank has shown that Egypt’s foreign debt increased by $3.5 billion in the last three months of 2023 which has deepened her debt crisis as the country’s foreign debt now amounted to 43 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product. According to Business Insider Africa, total foreign debt in the country climbed to $168.0 billion from $164.5 billion at the end of September and $162.9 billion at the end of December 2022.

Egypt has quadrupled its external debt since 2015, using it to finance various initiatives such as constructing new capital, developing infrastructure, procuring weaponry, and sustaining an overvalued currency, Reuters reported.

The central bank reported that the foreign debt, of which 82.5 per cent was long-term, amounted to 43 per cent of the gross domestic product.

Following the Ukraine crisis, which resulted in a chronic shortage of foreign currency and prompted an exodus of foreign investors, the government of Egypt sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The country deliberately allowed its currency to weaken by over 35 per cent in a much-anticipated devaluation, potentially opening the door for additional loans from the IMF.

In March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $5 billion augmentation to its loan programme for Egypt. The approval increased the Extended Fund Facility arrangement from the initially approved $3 billion in December 2022 to $8 billion.

The IMF has consistently advocated for Egypt to implement tighter monetary policies to address nearly 30% inflation and adopt a more flexible official exchange rate.

As part of the agreement, Egypt committed to reducing spending on large government projects. Also, in March, Egypt raised the prices of various fuel products, fulfilling a commitment made to the IMF as part of the financial assistance agreement.

 [Ledadership]

John Makina, the Country Director of Oxfam, has announced significant progress in fostering social cohesion among 16 wards and 80 communities in Michika Local Government Area, which suffered greatly during the insurgency in Adamawa State.

The initiative aims to foster unity and reduce crises in the region.

Addressing journalists at a close-out review and dissemination workshop in Yola, themed “Support to Improving Social Cohesion through Community Development Planning in 16 Wards of Michika LGA,” Makina outlined that the 11-month intervention was conducted in collaboration with CRUDAN, GIZ, and CEPAD.

Makina emphasised that the intervention focused on enhancing participatory engagement and planning among local communities, governmental bodies, and stakeholders. This collaborative effort is anticipated to yield better socio-economic outcomes for the affected communities.

“The aftermath of the insurgency in Michika LGA has led to widespread distrust among residents, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and returnees, underscoring the urgent need for social cohesion,” he said.

[DailyTrust]