Local manufacturers need conducive environment to thrive – Lawal

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lawal

Kamoru Adisa Lawal is the Managing Director, LAKMOS Electrical Enterprises. He is the manufacturer of Kamo extension solution electrical appliance. He told GBENGA AKINFENWA, the prospects and challenges of local manufacturing and what government should do to encourage local players.

What are your challenges?
Our major challenge is power. We run on Generator on daily basis. We spend at least N30, 000 on fuel. The expenses incurred for the purchase of fuel impacts negatively on our profit. We are making very little profit.

Secondly, we don’t have access to funds. Since 2013 when I started this business, I have not been able to get any funding, in form of loan to develop this business. The demand is increasing daily and if I have the opportunity to access funds, no doubt, we will expand this business and meet the supply target. I have being to banks, but the interest rate is too high. If government can provide a sort of incentives for local producers like us, with minimal interest rate, no doubt we will develop the Nigerian market to the envy of other countries.

But it’s always alleged that the quality of our products are low?
We have to start somewhere, even China and other countries rated as manufacturing giants, started somewhere. It wasn’t a day’s journey. It is a gradual process, if we intensify our efforts, we will surely get to the level of perfection. We need to start working towards perfection daily. Just like our product, it has been able to win the hearts of the people. Nigerians need to develop their level of creativity, to be at par with foreign goods.

Despite campaigns to change the perception of Nigerians in favour of Nigerian-made products, patronage is still very low compared to imported goods. What do you think is the problem?
Our government still has a lot to do in the area of campaigns, to let Nigerians know that buying locally made goods will create jobs for our jobless youths, the country cannot move forward if our people are snubbing what we produce. At least, I have 15 people under my employ, who would need to be paid at the end of the month. If our people are not buying what we produce, we wont be able to pay them and they will be jobless.

Also, we Nigerians need to up our game. Nigerians are very creative and innovative, if we put diligence to our creativity, we will compete favourably with imported products in the market.

What is the market like?
We have established ourselves to a level where dealers from Lagos, Kaduna, Abuja, Zaria and Jos are patronising us because of the quality of our product. Adebowale Electrical Company, Onipanu, Spartek and Endurance electrical Ltd are some of our customers. We are also selling to dealers of home appliances. We are already registered with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Trademark Nigeria. SON has always been buying our product; last year they bought goods worth N3 million for their office use, likewise the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). We have been to Justrite, but the process is still half way, but Shoprite claims they don’t buy Nigerian made products; the same thing goes for Cash-n-carry.

Another area local producers complain about is the absence of ease of doing business, how easy was it for you to get the necessary registration and documentations for this business?
It has not been an easy venture, but with what the Federal Government has just put in place, the process is a bit faster for local manufacturers. One of the major challenges in that aspect was that we needed to ‘settle’ some people to hasten the process. You know in Nigeria, things are not that easy, but with God we achieved the unthinkable.

It took me almost two years to get the SON approval, and later got other necessary approvals.

What do you think government needs to do, to change the negative perception of Nigerians, to embrace the locally produced products?
Government should first of all address electricity problem. We have heard of manufacturing companies spending over N3 million on fuel because of this lingering problem. If our electricity is stable, the price will come down and our people will buy our products. They also need to provide conducive environment for entrepreneurs to thrive.

When you compare prices of Nigerian-made goods with imported ones, the prices are at times the same or slightly higher than imported goods. What causes this?
As I said earlier, one of the major problems is power failure, which impacts negatively on our cost of production. Aside spending N30, 000 monthly for petrol alone, we still buy gas to power other generators and you know what the price of gas is now.

The other thing is that aside the Cable, which we buy locally, all other raw materials-sockets and others are imported and you know the present rate of dollar to the naira, which has led to daily increase in prices of the materials.

The other thing is that the country has not developed to a level where we can use machines to assemble the electrical extension solutions, we are doing manual and cannot produce at the rate a machine can work.

What a machine can produce in a day, the people using manual labour will use days to produce at that level, that will definitely determine the price.

What led you into this business?
It all started in 2013, during a Church programme we had at the Christ Gospel Apostolic Church, Egbeda, Lagos. The Pastor charged us to pray passionately, because God wants many of us to establish our own companies.

After that God showed me in a dream to start producing extension boxes. The next morning I made a move and my children were asking me if I was sure people would buy the product. The first set I did, I took them to church, they prayed on them and bought all. That gave me encouragement. What God showed me, He has already prepared a market for it, there is nowhere I go, they always embrace it.

I really thank God for what He has done; as I am talking to you now, we cannot meet the demand of our customers. Our customers from Abuja and other places will just drop money into the account and we’ll send the product to them. It is a well-known product today. At present, people are buying the product and taking it to Ghana and other neighbouring countries. I know that very soon, we will be exporting to other countries. I want to thank my Pastor, A.G.S Adewole, who encouraged me; God should continue to enrich him, his family and ministry.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lLLhsh

Mou’s book talks tough on African countries

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This is a massive, paperback book from a seasoned technocrat. The author, Dr. Dan Mou is an expert on public policy analysis. He is worth being listened to by politicians and public servants.

National Security, Good Governance And Democracy In Africa, published by Author House Publishers of Bloomington in Indiana, United States in 2016 is a book worth reading by anyone passionate about Nigeria’s prosperity. The book demonstrates that National security and good governance are opposite sides of the same coin.

As good governance improves and develops society, national security also improves the well being of the people. The challenges to national security become lesser, as society grows prosperous and peaceful.

In this book, Dr. Mou avers that for most of Africa countries, security and good governance are not happening fast enough. He avows that poor governance is leading African youth into self-help, which includes, violence, kidnapping, militancy and migration. Which is why
many of them are migrating through the Mediterranean Sea to Europe and over land into more prosperous nations of Eastern and Southern Africa.

According to him, national security and good governance have become complicated by militancy, kidnapping and rural and urban migration.

The 24-chapter book is divided into four parts and has eight appendices and additional readings. With a bibliography running into 30 pages, the book has 860 pages.

Other issues covered by the book include human rights, social integration, international trade and foreign policy. Herewith is a repository of many workable schemes and suggestions masterminded by a research guru on public policy. Such schemes as the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs and the Amnesty Programme for the development of the Niger Delta region.

The entire eight appendices comprising hundreds of pages contain the quantum of Mou’s suggestions. He shows that the problems of poor national security and bad governance in our democracy arise more in
the context of periods of weak leadership and weak institutions. All of these determine the posture and state of our national security, good governance and democracy.

Moreover, under harsh economic conditions, more challenges tend to surface. This is because a deepening economic crisis generates more social conflicts based on social cleavages.

The cleavages comprise divisions based on class, ethnicity, religion, language, race and gender. Each makes attempts to capture the state and use state authority and power to favour their exclusive interests. This affects the autonomy of the state, its policies and has negative impact on the people at large.

In concluding Mou’s take on economic revival, we shall then delve into his many memoranda on how to revamp the Nigerian economy. A memorandum on that was submitted to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha in 1993. Among his suggestions to Abacha was the cancellation of Ibrahim Babangida’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Though SAP was not designed as a long-term economic plan, it was mistakenly allowed to outstay its welcome.

At that time, the Nigerian economy faced major distortions with unviable parastatals squandering scarce public resources on questionable projects. In domestic affairs, SAP promoted initiatives from private entrepreneurs and local sourcing of raw materials, but its political consequences was negative. The removal of subsidy on consumer goods increased poverty in the land. Which was why he proposed the abrogation of the programme and also the abrogation of foreign exchange as was managed by the Babangida-led administration.

According to Mou, printing Naira notes will cause a revaluation of the currency. He then called for the dissolution of the National Planning Commission and the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Economy.

With the continued poor performance of the economy up till date, it is difficult to say that the planning commission has lived up to its expectation of providing useful advice to the government on the economy.

In chapters 2, 3 and 4, Mou discussed human rights. But the locus of his thoughts is on the modernisation of the Nigerian civil service, waging war on corruption and deregulating the workforce as the lasting solution to the minimum wage debacle. In that regard, Mou has used the appendices as journal to record his suggestions to Nigeria’s heads of state from Babangida to Umaru Yar’Adua.

Mou borrowed his advice on deregulation from the Administration of President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States of America.

The policy started during the great depression in the U.S. There, the private and public sector workers could not be paid; their wages were not sustainable because of the depression. To tap the vast energies of the people, policy makers decided that workers should be fully deregulated such that any worker is free to have two or more jobs. It also allowed workers in their free time to do anything that is economically viable, provided it is legal, to earn money and improve their individual welfare. Thus, an individual’s job an individual holds is entirely dependent on his energy, marketability and his need for more income. This policy shifts the burden of family prosperity from government. It also reduces dependence on government.

Mou’s second memorandum to Obasanjo with input from Rose Abang Wushishi, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, produced the EFCC. The original proposal was titled: National Economic and Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency. In part three, Mou gave conditions of how to institutionalise and sustain democracy in Nigeria.

Methods of sustaining democracy through effective conflict resolution mechanism occupies chapter eight. He traces the sources of conflict over land, in the Federal Civil Service, in the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Inherent in our society, he noted, are allocations by government, which tend to be unequal in the perception of the people –– whether real or imagined. Therefore, legitimacy is pursued in order to avoid conflict and disintegration in our society. This was why the Federal Character clause was inserted into the Nigerian Constitution. They provided provisions for resolving the issues of marginalization, pluralism and justice.

Marginalisation introduces such issues as true federalism, resource control and ethic domination. Accordingly, the 1991 Nigerian Population Census gave 53.19 per cent to Northern Nigeria and 46.80 per cent to Southern Nigeria. In terms of the Federal Character clause, it implies that every thing in Nigeria must be divided in like manner for justice and equity.

In other words, justice and fair play must prevail in order for peace to reign. Sadly, the causes of conflict were spawn by colonialism. Contact with the West started from the South. It took decades before it reached Northern Nigeria. This is why the South had a head start in Western education. At that time, the Hausa and the Fulani ethnic groups were in contact with Eastern and Arabic civilization. Had Arabic language been adopted as our lingua franca at independence, Southerners would today have been considered uneducated. The lesson, therefore, is not to trivialise the issue of marginalisation. The answer is to seek solutions to the prevailing inequality in the land.

Certainly Mou has contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria. He had his first degree in Political Science from the University of Ibadan. He had his Master’s and PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. He specialised in public policy analysis. After teaching politics briefly at the University of Jos, he joined the Presidency in 1989. After a stint as Director, Drug Control; Secretary, National Poverty Eradication Programme and Director, Ministry of Defence, he ended his service as adviser to the National Security Advisers to three consecutive Nigerian governments. He is married with children.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mqLSDq

Of artists’ conspiracy, ghost-plagiarists

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Irrespective of the context in which unauthorised ‘copying’ of art concept is defined, the mystery that shields identity of the forgers suggest that the plagiarists are some kind of spirits or ghost artists.

Clearly, these forgers are artists too – who dwell among their colleagues – but hardly get identified. Between artists who are victims of plagiarism and the gallery outlets, where such copied art pieces are exposed, there seems to be behind-the-scene ‘understanding’, after the storm that is made known to the public.

As much as the role of digital medium is no doubt culpable in aiding plagiarists’ skill, the internet, in recent years, has also been assisting in amplifying unathorised copy of artists’ works. In contemporary art appreciation and appropriation, digital medium has double edge roles in expanding an artist’s followership base and exposing the same artist to the hostile world of plagiarists.

Copying other people’s work, in Nigerian art landscape, is not exactly new. Quite a number of modernists such as Yusuf Grillo, Kolade Oshinowo, Muraina Oyelami, among others, have been victims of plagiarism in the 1990s through the last decade, when look-alike of their works were found at some galleries, or intercepted at the point of sale in other private and informal transactions. But in recent years, the digital outlets, such as Facebook and Instagram have been exposing a new generation of plagiarists.

Among the recent victims of such rape on creativity is Emeka Nwagbara, who recently used the social media to expose an unknown plagiarist. “I walked into an exhibition and found this shocking; a painting I made in 2011,” the Lagos-based artist posted on his Facebook page with two identical paintings attached. Again, like most similar cases, the identity of the artist, who copied Nwagbara’s work, would most likely remain a mystery forever.

Last year, sculptor, Bunmi Babatunde, alleged that his successful Possibilities series has been copied by an unknown artist. Recall that the original Possibilities sculpture series were among top sales at auctions in Lagos and London a few years ago. In fact, one of the sculptures gave Babatunde his world auction record at Bonhams sales in 2014. The work sold for sold for (£31,250).

And when the plagiarised copies of Possibilities were traced to a gallery based in Lagos Island (names withheld), the initial steam of legal action against the gallery d later evaporated.

Apparently, the plagiarists are ghost artists, who hide under the cover of art galleries. And for obvious reasons of not ‘offending’ the galleries, perhaps, most artists victims of copied works, according to investigations, either ‘negotiate” with the gallery for “settlement” or “forgive” if the plagiarist artist is a known friend or colleague.

At what point then does copying another artist’s work become a crime? “Copying other people’s works is part of the behind-the-scenes of art market,” a senior artist, who craved anonymity disclosed. This disclosure and similar revelations of the hidden deals confirm the unknown factors of the art market.

With the current trend of claiming of copied art flooding social media, it remains a mystery that little or nothing is known about the identity of the alleged plagiarists.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lLOc49

Woman of rubies

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Saidy Brown

when i found out at 14 that i was hiv positive, i didn’t think i would live to see 18,i am turning 22 this year – saidy brown, activist & hivictor

Since Saidy Brown tweeted about her status, thousands of people all over the world have re-shared her hopeful message, with many praising her courage for speaking publicly about her own experience with the virus.

Activist Saidy, who describes herself as an HIVictor in her Twitter bio, has been speaking to the BBC about the extraordinary reaction to her post, why it took so long for her to be diagnosed and how she is turning a predicament to a cause.

Meet Saidy
I am a 21 year old girl from a small township in the North West called Itsoseng,I am a sister,a daughter a niece and an HIVictor.

Finding out
When I was 14, I went to a youth day event to represent my school. At the event there were people who do HIV tests, counselling and everything else.

“When we got there, they asked us if we would like to test. I was one of the people who got tested. That’s how I found out.
“I was shocked, I was in denial, I couldn’t believe it. I was only 14 at the time so I was like: ‘How? I’m only 14… I haven’t done anything. How?’
“But when I got home and told my aunt and she was the one who told me that no, I’d actually been born with it. My parents had died from Aids-related diseases, which I had never known.
“My mum passed away when I was 10, my dad when I was nine.”

Living with HIV
I initially wanted to cry, but I couldn’t because I knew that if I cried, everyone else would know before I even tell them, so I just kept it to myself. I was confused though, I mean, I was 14,I could not understand how I could possibly have HIV. “I have not necessarily been discriminated against. I can say that I was discriminating against my own self, from around 14 until I was 18, because I didn’t want to talk about it. Only my family knew; no-one else. Once I reached 18 I decided to start disclosing. It’s been better and wiser. “Where I come from [Itsoseng, a small town in South Africa’s North West Province], I’m the first person to ever come forward and talk openly this way about my status. “But the response and the support is there because whether it’s me or someone else, the reality is that people are living with HIV, whether we talk about it or not.” “

Viral tweet that got people’s attention all over the world
I feel happy at the fact that people saw that tweet and they were interacting, meaning we were talking about a subject that is deemed “unspoken”, so I was happy. I’ve always disclosed my status. I started disclosing it when I was 18. I usually use Facebook to talk to people about HIV and Aids,” she says. “But I’ve been having this urgent feeling to post it on Twitter, so it wouldn’t be just limited to my Facebook friends. I needed the world to get into conversations about this virus.”

Love life
“I’m in a relationship currently. It’s very amazing because usually I disclose right at the beginning of the relationship. “So once the person decides that they want to stay with me then it’s all good, but if they decide to leave, it’s still fine.
“I won’t hate them because people still have their own issues regarding HIV. I don’t really blame the person who says: ‘No I can’t stay with you because you’re HIV-positive’. I’ve had someone say that to me in the past. It hurt a lot. But after a while they came back and apologised. We’re on speaking terms now, it’s fine. I’ve forgiven them.”

What Inspires Me
I am inspired by my courage to live despite everything bad that comes my way, my fighting spirit.

Turning my Predicament to Passion
I knew that pity was only gonna kill me. I wanted to speak up for my parents as well, because I feel like had they been more accepting, they probably would still be here.

Scared of death?
Yes, I have been through stages where I genuinely thought I was going to die at some point, as I stated in that tweet, never expected to even see my 18th birthday.

Staying healthy
“I’m really not a person who is more conscious about what I eat, but I make sure that I take my pills at the right time every night. I don’t skip them.

Connecting with other “HIVictors”
Currently, I just connect to most people through social media, it has been a great help in me getting my story across. Having people tell me that I gave them a new meaning to life, that my story encouraged them not to give up, especially my fellow HIVictors, is a reward for me.

HIVictors who inspire me
I love Criselda Dudumashe, I also love my big sister and mentor Lebogang Brenda Motsumi. They give me all the hope in the world.

My strength and fighting spirit makes me a Woman of Rubies
The fact that I don’t let my conditions define me. That I fight for healing and once I have healed,I fight to heal everyone else in the similar situation.

Message to women living with HIV
I need for them to understand that the past can never be changed, but we can control our futures… we are not victims, we are HIVictors.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lFT75K

ICC Nigeria to celebrate international women’s day

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The International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (ICCN) in collaboration with NECA’S Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) will hold her first International Women’s Day progamme with the global theme “Be Bold for Change.”

The event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8, 2017 from 9:00am at NECA House, Plot A2 Hakeem Balogun Way, Alausa Ikeja, Lagos. This global day is set aside worldwide to celebrate the International Women’s Day.

It is a day set aside to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women as well as mark a call to action for accelerating gender parity, a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

The idea of this theme, the organisers said, is to consider how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and number 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.

The theme will also focus on new commitments under UN Women’s Step It Up initiative, and other existing commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights.

Given the strategic importance of the theme for this year, the Keynote Speaker Mrs. Dorothy Ufot, SAN and Plenary Session Speakers; Dr. (Mrs.) Omolara Akanji, Mrs. Amina Zanna Ibrahim and Mrs. Doyin Ogunbiyi were carefully selected in recognition of their wealth of experience in various sectors of the economy. The event will also reflect the world of work which is changing, and with significant implications for women.

The event is being sponsored by International Labour Organisation, Unity Bank Plc, Vlisco Nigeria, PZ Cusson and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association and would be witnessed by members of the diplomatic corps, notable business leaders, presidents and chief executives of other women related bodies as well as captains of Industry in both private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy.

With the high profile of the conveners, ICC Nigeria and NNEW, the event will provide an excellent opportunity for attendees to network and expand their horizon.

NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) is a Network committed to empowering women to embrace entrepreneurship and prosper in their businesses.

It was established under the aegis of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association to create a platform for women to focus on issues that are crucial to the thriving of their businesses as well advocate for an enabling environment that will facilitate the sustenance.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mltzPo

With new club rooms, Sheraton moves to regain lost ground

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A section of the new Presidential Suite

In what seems like a strategic move to regain it’s share of the hospitality market, as well as win over new customers, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel has unveiled 107 newly renovated club rooms and suites, all refreshed and elegantly furnished with modern interiors and enhanced amenities.

Located on the 5th and 6th floor of the hotel in Ikeja, intuitive design blends seamlessly with local cultural elements and permeates through the re- energised interiors of the rooms to provide a sense of place. The hotel has also opened an all-new Sheraton® Club Lounge, the brand’s exclusive lounge destination that provides upgraded access and enhanced privileges.

According to its Area General Manager for Nigeria Barry Curran, “the renovation of our Club Rooms and Suites and the Sheraton® Club Lounge at the Sheraton Lagos underscores the brand’s new elevated and customized approach to design as part of Sheraton 2020, a 10-point plan designed to put Sheraton back in the global spotlight and solidify its positioning as a leading global hotel brand of choice, everywhere”

Curran added that, “we are confident that these modern enhancements and added amenities will further empower our guests and enable them to experience more during their stay.”

A recent visit shows that all of the 107 Sheraton Club Rooms and Suites have been completely redesigned in order to create a modern and elegant experience. With special attention to detail, the rooms come equipped with the renowned Sheraton Signature Sleep Experience, providing unmatched comfort.

Meanwhile, particular attention has been given to the lighting to ensure efficient task lighting where required and just the right level of ambient light for relaxation. The use of a mosaic pattern on the wall tiling adds intricate detail to the room. The bathrooms are thoughtfully designed using quality materials and fittings with premium bath amenities.

On the other hand, the Club Lounge, which combines intuitive design with a higher level of comfort and access, provides guests with added privileges and highly personalised services, including complimentary breakfast, tea, coffee, drinks and snacks.

“We’ve inspired change that we’re sure will exceed expectations by issuing modern, elegant and intelligent updates to both our service and Club Room and Suites design,” added Curran. “Our associates are excited to connect with our guests whenever possible, collaborate on their passions and make each stay memorable delivering on our commitment to service excellence.”

The hotel celebrated and showcased its refurbished spaces with Paired, the Sheraton brand’s new hotel lobby bar experience that comprises of artisanal small plates and elevated bar snacks, served alongside premium wines and suggested beverages. The food and beverage experience on the day was complimented with music and cultural nuances for a truly delightful intimate evening attended by the esteemed invitees for this exclusive showcase and celebration.

Sheraton Lagos Hotel, which opened in 1985 as the first arrival point for international travelers to Lagos, has since been a city landmark and a hotspot for the local community as well as the international traveler. The hotel’s close proximity to the international airport has positioned it as a safe haven in the city.

It offers a variety of dining experiences that range from local cuisine to an international buffet to authentic Italian at the three restaurants. A lively and eclectic Sunday brunch and Theme Nights every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday at the Pool Terrace, along with local live entertainment on Fridays. Very popular Wazobia night form a highlight, while the buzzing atmosphere of the lobby and bars creates the ideal ambience for regular Sheraton Paired events, where friends, family and colleagues connect over a delightful selection of premium wines paired with unexpected bar snacks and food.

Recreational facilities include fitness, outdoor pool, tennis courts, and a mini golf range ensuring guests can make the most out of every stay. Endless connectivity through high-speed Wi-Fi and a full-service business center caters to every business need round the clock while flexible meeting spaces with the dedicated event specialists ensure the success of any gathering.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lG447k

‘Nigerian youths don’t want crude agriculture’

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Samson Ogbole<br />

With an MSC degree in Biochemistry, Samson Ogbole is the co-founder of PS Nutrac, a Lagos-based firm that aims at exploring agricultural technologies for efficiency in food production and food security.With special focus on aeroponics, a system of agriculture that involves growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil, the organisation currently trains, develop and set up small scale agricultural technologies for farmers, while also partnering with individual researchers and research institutes to explore nutritional benefits in food. In this interview with CHUKS NWANNE, Ogbole, who has obtained different certifications, including Biotechnology from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Introduction to Food and Nutrition from Stanford University and Public Health from University of Albany, spoke on the involvement of young people in agro business and how government can help sustain the venture.

Before now, a lot of people see agriculture as a business for the old, but it seems that has changed greatly. What’s your take on the rate at which young Nigerians are embracing agriculture today?
I think I will say, contrary to what I’ve heard people say that youth don’t want agriculture, so many youth I’ve had access to talk with in training, what they don’t want is not agriculture; what they don’t want is crude agriculture. I mean, you’ve gone to school, you are a graduate; you don’t want to be carrying cutlass and hoes. You know you are far behind those in the civilised world and you can’t compete with them if you are using hoes and agriculture; it won’t happen. But when you talk about automated agriculture, they are interested; they are at per with their colleagues outside the country, they can discuss.

So, what exactly has changed?
What is changing all of that is that people are now seeing agriculture in a new light, not the agriculture of the old. They are seeing agriculture as, ‘yes, you can work in the farm and still be able to talk to those guys that work in oil firms and not feel inferior.’ Secondly, they are realising that agriculture is not just farm work; farm work is less than 5 per cent of agriculture, the value chain is way longer than that. From farming, there’s somebody to take the produce from farm to the people; if you want to export, there are people that are supposed to be there. There are processors that want to process the crops into other things; there are those that want to come in to just package.

How vibrant is the agricultural sector in Nigeria today?
As much as we’ve done so far, there’s still a lot more to do for us to get into real agro business. In Nigeria currently, we don’t even have a working seed system. That’s an area I was telling some people that, if you want to invest in agriculture in Nigeria, invest in seed system; you would be a millionaire over night. Why, you realise farmers don’t even have places to get clean seeds to plant; as big as Nigeria is, we still have to import some seeds. When I say some seeds, I’m not talking about exotic seeds; things like clean yam, if you want to get ordinary clean yam, you have to go to places like Ghana. Or you have to know somebody in a research institute or the IITA before you can get clean seeds. Now, if we have private individuals coming into all of that, that’s free money; it’s still an aspect of agriculture. But before you start thinking of even having clean seed, you have to have a tissue culture lab. To the best of my knowledge, maybe very few universities in Nigeria have plants tissue culture lab; I think one of them will be the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAB), I’ve seen their own. I can’t really think of others that will say, ‘yes, we have a functional tissue culture lab for cleaning plants. These are things that when you have, it’s also a part of the value chain.

Are there other things we are lacking in agriculture?
In other places, you have community radios for farmers; we don’t even have community-based radios meant for farmers here. If we have that, people, who studied Mass Communication that want to go into agriculture, can just decide to focus on agriculture production; enter radio stations and talk about farming. There are so many things going on in the research institutes, but there’s nobody to help send the messages out. Yes, the youth are getting interested in agriculture, but now, it’s more because they are seeing other avenues that were previously unseen. Now, they are able to realise that agriculture is not about cutlass and hoes; you can actually be an agriculturist and never have a farm. I mean, I’ve met friends, who their job is just to supply raw materials to companies. Right now, if I’m not wrong, a truck load of cashew nuts costs over N700,000 to N800,000. And the few guys that I know doing this thing, they don’t even have a cashew plantation on their own, thought they spend a lot of time in the bush. All they need to do is to network with the farmers, ‘bring your cashew nuts here, brig your cashew nuts there, we will get a truck to carry them.’ Everyday, you see them bring these trucks to Lagos to meet those that will use them. Yes, there’s a whole lot that can be done in Agriculture and the youths are waking up.

Funding has always been a major challenge for most young farmers, what has been you own case? Were you able to access any form of loan?
No, I didn’t want to get loan to start. So, starting off, what I looked out for was first, like I tell people, what is the idea, what do you want to do with agriculture? I’ve met not one, not two people that have come into this office to say, ‘we want to invest in agriculture; we have the money, but we don’t know what to do.’ Now, the reason they are willing to commit their money to me is because, they’ve seen that, ‘he knows what he wants, he knows what he’s doing. Let’s give him the money to do the farming and we get our produce.’ Most of the time, what I do for these people is to say, ‘wait, I’m not the person on the field doing the real field job; if you want to do farming there are people that I know that are looking for money to do agriculture. So, you work with them. Maybe you tell them you will give them 5 percent of your produce at the end of the day; for a guy, who is interested in agriculture, that’s something good.

Now, you are getting free fund to sponsor 5 per cent of your vision, only paying back by helping the person achieve his own vision, which for me is a 50/50 thing. So, when it comes to funding, I tell people, what do you really want to do? Secondly, what do you have access to? It doesn’t make sense you want to start agriculture you are thinking ‘I want to buy ten tractors,’ you are not yet ready. Most people don’t know that you can actually rent land to do agriculture in Nigeria. If you go to places like Iseyin in Oyo State and other remote places, to rent one hectare of land is about N15,000 a year, which is ridiculously cheap. These are farmlands that nobody is using and you have these kinds of villages everywhere; tell them you want to rent a land and they will show them to you. You can start from there first, when people see what you are doing, it’s easier to now meet them to say, ‘I need money for X, Y, Z;’ not you coming with a paper plan and saying, ‘I need N10 million, I want to start a farm.’ What do you have, nothing! If I were the person that has the money, most likely I will say ‘no’ to you.

What of banks, is that an option for a young farmer?
When you meet banks, they don’t know how to lend for agriculture; that’s a fundamental truth, which I don’t blame them. Reason is, when you come in and say you want to loan money, maybe a million or two million naira for farming, banks work on collateral; can your collateral cover it? Now, what are the risks involved? One of the biggest risks we have in Nigeria, you talk about things like weather, pest, diseases, marketability of your product etc. Now, outside marketability of your products, almost every other thing that make up the risk factor, as a farmer, you cannot control them. When you can’t control these things, the bank is a bit reluctant to release the fund because, if they release the fund and it doesn’t work, how will they get their money back? Most of the time, you probably have your land in one remote village that the value of the land is really, really next to nothing even if you want to use the land as collateral.

What’s the best way to access bank loans for agriculture?
We have some people that have come to us and we’ve worked with banks and we tell the bank, ‘this person wants to do aeroponics system of agriculture;’ we are able to now come in as collateral because, the equipment on its own is collateral enough.’ The bank says, ‘let’s get this clear, the money we are dropping is for these equipment,’ and we say, ‘yes.’ Now, the bank knows there’s something has added value to the land; the land belongs to the farmer, but these systems have added value to it. They know they are not thinking of weather and all of that in aeroponics system, and we have helped some farmers to secure buyers to buy off their produce. So, with that, the farmer knows that how to sell his produce is not a problem; your only problem is growing them. So, with that, funding now becomes a bit easier to us. Yes, access to fund might not be easy, but I think the basis is to have a working plan with practical proof; don’t just go knock on doors and say you have a 10million-dollar dream to start a farm. Except you are very, very lucky or there’s a miracle thing following you, I don’t think you can get the money.

Are there measure government can take to ameliorate the situation?
What government can do is help people build agricultural cities. See, the issue we are having right now, I’ve met with some people and we’ve talked about the fact that, ‘is it that Nigerians love the urban centre so much?’ But I realised the answer is, no; most people are in the urban centres because they are chasing money. Now, if you can urbanise the rural areas, people will go back there and live. We have some people we are trying to work with; some groups of investors have come together to invest in that. Government can help set up agricultural cities and how they can do that is, instead of giving money to individuals, give money to corporate entities. Set up the basic tools they need for the farm; help them get the green house ready, help them get irrigation to the land; help them get electricity through solar panel etc. Once all of these are taken care of, it’s easier now for young people to say they want to go into farming.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mlhp9a

Meditation as an exercise

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Sometimes when operating within difficult external conditions our internal environment becomes a sanctuary and place of refuge. What then matters is our awareness of this place and its importance.

We have little control over our external world because life happens for better or for worse. If Government policies are wrong resulting in little confidence in the economy or country reducing purchasing power, valuations and opportunity there is very little that most of us can do at the individual level until the next general election.

However we have more control over our internal world and this gives us the ability to balance any negative or adverse external experiences with positive, constructive internal ones.

The architect of this equilibrium is our mind and it therefore becomes important not just to feed our mind with the right amount of nutrition, by way of knowledge and good information, but to exercise it as well.

I spoke to and coached cancer patients mid last year on how they could build their self-esteem and I spoke at the 15th annual Wimbiz conference in November 2016 about ‘Finding Your Happy’. In both talks I highlighted six important pillars to building self worth and happiness:

The practice of living life consciously, i.e. are you mindful of your behavior and the thoughts you are having?
The practice of self-acceptance, i.e. do you accept yourself as you are or do you wish you were smarter, prettier etc?
The practice of self-responsibility, i.e. do you actually take responsibility for your life, not just the good experiences but the bad ones as well?

The practice of self-assertiveness, i.e. how assertive are you especially around others?
The practice of living purposefully, i.e. do you have something that your life is about that is greater than yourself?
The practice of personal integrity, i.e. are you living in line with your own highest values.

They say that knowledge is power, a premise that tends to justify the excessive pursuit of schooling especially western. I say that belief is the real power because without it you cannot make effective or optimal use of knowledge.

This belief first starts with ‘I’ or oneself and it is the mind’s most important architectural tool.We must believe in, like and love ourselves first before we can believe in others. We must stop comparing ourselves and instead feed ourselves with positivity, celebrate our small successes and qualities, do good for others, follow are heart and be true to who we are.

The resulting strong self-concept is now what builds our refuge.However good nutrition is not enough, we have to exercise to maintain and cement a strong sustainable sanctuary over time.So how do we exercise our minds? There are three proven methods:

By exercising our bodies.Through artistic and creative pursuits.

Through meditation.
I am still surprised by the pervasive lack of understanding, even by seasoned intellectuals, of the connection between mind, body and spirit.
Most people exercise for health or aesthetic reasons as opposed to mental or even spiritual reasons unable to see the congruence between physical and mental agility or even physical training and character.

Earlier this month on a workout evening I had a headache. One of the most difficult things to do when this happens is to muster the will to go to the gym and train, especially when one’s head is pounding, but I went. In doing so I went beyond discipline into the discomfort zone and through the pain barrier as every athletic movement and muscular exertion hurt not just physically but mentally.

This ordeal and experience builds what I call psychological muscle, the critical component of character. Interestingly, by the end of such workouts my headache usually subsides.

The psychological muscle required to do the right thing, delay gratification and keep going when things get tough gets built through challenge and adversity.

A regular and robust physical exercise program can consistently simulate such adversity, working out the mind and fortifying character.Artistic excellence is, generally speaking, difficult to attain.

It takes time, in some cases a lifetime, and so requires patience, discipline and humility regardless of innate ability.One has to practice, practice and continue practicing; it never ends as each technical hurdle simply gives way to even greater hurdles.

The mind has to first execute each note of the symphony, dance or Aria before it can be perfectly expressed on the stage, instrument or canvas. It’s a grueling, oftentimes thankless, daily workout that helps to develop and strengthen psychological muscle.

Meditation is the best mental exercise of them all and is simply the practice of focusing one’s awareness or attention on just about anything. It is the best way to improve one’s powers of concentration and can be practiced at any time of the day from one minute to several hours.
Two methods involve either concentrating on one’s breathing or reciting a mantra such as “God is love’.

The difficulty is not allowing any extraneous thoughts to interrupt one’s focus which is incredibly challenging as our minds are overloaded with random thoughts from a stressful, over-stimulated external world. Practice eventually brings those thoughts under our control.

The following is a wonderful loving kindness meditation that not only exercises and tones psychological muscle but also nurtures that refuge of peace, serenity and balance.Recite the following mantra for at least 5 minutes every day:
I like myself, may I be happy.
I like myself, may I be at peace.
I like myself, may I be loved.

For more transformational messages please visit http://ift.tt/1CPSsWS, instagram: skfahm, Facebook: Kayode Fahm, Twitter: @kayodefahm.
Kayode Fahm is a motivational speaker, coach and content producer.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lFPGfv

Nigerian Academy of Science advocates family life health education in schools

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The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) in its bid to focus on the issues of Youths Social Development (YSD) and Reproductive Heath (RH) has beckoned on the media to lead the awareness campaign on sexuality education, reproductive health, and Family Life Health Education (FLHE) curriculum for schools.

The Academy, disturbed about issues relating to YSD, commissioned a project focused on addressing gaps in YSD and HR in Nasarawa and Ekiti as pilot states, which also, adapts the FLHE. The project was designed to stimulate the state governments to seek ways to improve the wellbeing in Nigeria.

The project lead, Prof. Akinyinka Omigbodun in his remark said that the importance of devoting resources towards ensuring that the young people acquire the requisite skills for navigating life’s challenges and living a healthy life in adulthood cannot be overstated.

He said that enough is not being done to meet the educational and healthcare needs of the youths in virtually all parts of the country and it is not because of lack of policy but as a result of its implementations.

Omigbodun pointed out that the future of the entire nation is at risk as structures and programmes may have been planned for youth empowerment and development, that it appears that they have not reached the average Nigerian youth whose life they are meant to impact.

The professor continued: “In an attempt to bridge the gap between policy and implementation, a project titled ‘mobilising official support for developing, implementing and sustaining livelihood and life skills development among the youth’ was undertaken in Ekiti and Nasarawa states by the NAC with the support of Ford Foundation. This was undertaken with the collaboration of stakeholders from the state ministries responsible for education, science and technology, youth development, finance, health and women affairs and the evidence obtained from the exercise is being deployed under ‘addressing gaps in youth social development and reproductive health in Nasarawa State Nigeria’ to propel government and stakeholders actions.”

The keynote speaker Mrs. Adenike Esiet said that eight to ten per cent of the teenagers have been initiated into sexual intercourse and sexual encounters and that most of the human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) infection occurs mainly to people below the age of25, which many are due to abuse and also unplanned pregnancies.

Esiet said that the FLHE was approved by the 49th section of the National Council on Education in 2002, as the education sector is key response to preventing and mitigating the impact.

She said that the challenges coming with adolescent are not asexual, that sexual expressions are normative part of development and that societal norms that seek to control young people sexuality often have a negative impact on their physical and emotional well being. The denial of adolescent sexuality and the attendant’s unwillingness to provide education and non-judgmental guidance, continues to place adolescents especially girls at more risk.

President NAS, Prof. Mosto Onuoha, in his speech said that the academy would get involved in so many things to see that the gains of science and technology is translated to Nigerians.

He lamented that the people on the streets do not know anything and it is left for them to relate it to them.

Onuoha also said that the academy is ready to partner with anybody so that the gains and information will be available to everyone

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lBgfmU

Standard Chartered Group posts $1.1b profit in 2016

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Standard chartered bank Nigeria

Standard Chartered Plc (Group), the parent company of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria, has posted a profit before tax of $1.1 billion, in 2016 financial year.

The result represents an increase of $300 million from $800 million in 2015, while the group’s operating expenses at $10 billion, showed a five per cent reduction from 2015 record and lower for the second year running.

However, the group’s Operating income of $13.8 billion showed an 11 per cent decline from 2015 record, but stable through each quarter of 2016, while cost efficiencies of over $1.2 billion created capacity to increase investment in the second half.

Despite loan impairment provision in the ongoing business of $2.4 billion, the bank also restructured charges worth $855 million related primarily to the liquidation portfolio and redundancy costs.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Bill Winters, said: “We made good progress in 2016, cleaning up our balance sheet and fortifying our capital position. We are attacking our cost base, reinvesting significantly to strengthen our competitive advantages and continuing to enhance our financial crime controls.

“Our financial returns are not yet where they need to be and do not reflect the Group’s earnings potential. Having worked hard to secure our foundations we are now focused on realising that potential.”

He said the underlying basic earnings was per share of 3.4 cents, against negative 6.6 cents in 2015, while returns on Ordinary shareholders’ equity is 0.3 per cent against negative 0.4 per cent in 2015.

According to him, the bank strengthened capital and improved liquidity position, such that Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 13.6 per cent went up 100bps mainly due to reduced risk-weighted assets; $2 billion additional Tier 1 capital issued in August 2016; and a further $1 billion in January 2017.

There was also a loan-to-deposit ratio of 67.6 per cent, which also reflects a high level of funding from customer deposits, while no Ordinary Share dividend was declared for 2016 period.

The Regional Chief Executive Officer, Africa and Middle East, Sunil Kaushal, said: “Our results demonstrate the progress made in the execution of our strategy. We will continue to make investments through the cycle in controls, people and infrastructure to grow safely and capture the medium-term opportunity within the AME region.

“The environment remains challenging but we are getting on with our plan to improve our performance by putting our clients’ needs back at the heart of everything we do.”

He noted that the bank’s conscious decision to invest in sub-Saharan Africa, while continuing to consolidate and build on its differentiated position in the Middle East has made an important contribution to the overall performance.

Despite good growth in Africa impacted by foreign exchange fluctuations, Standard Chartered’s Africa and Middle East business recorded underlying profit before taxation of $431 million in 2016, compared to $188 million in 2015, due to lower impairments and reduced expenses.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mvDy5H

Parents blame government, management over deaths at Queens College

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• Decry lack of potable water
• PTA urges Ministry to issue report on findings

Amid raging controversy over the death of two students of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos State, parents have blamed the government and management of the school for not providing good source of drinking water to the students.

Some parents who spoke with The Guardian yesterday at the school, which has been shut following a directive from the Ministry of Health to fumigate the school premises, linked the death to lack of potable water and unhygienic environment at the college.

It would be recalled that two female boarding students, Vivian Osuinyi and Bithia Itulua died after reportedly suffering cases of stooling and vomiting. It was alleged that the late students ate spaghetti and drank water served in the cafeteria by the college cooks.

When they fell ill, their parents were called to come for them. While some alleged that the students died as a result of diarrhea, others attributed it to cholera.

At the school yesterday, parents who were summoned to pick their SSS 3 wards, who are writing their mock examination, were agitated by the development. They expressed disappointment over the incident, alleging that the college showed greater interest in commercialising the provision of clean water at the detriment of the students.

One of them who pleaded anonymity said “the most unfortunate thing is that the college has a big water company called ‘Queens Delight’ within the school premises, yet they could not provide potable drinking water for the students. This is absurd! Government on its part do not care to know whether the school has good source of water or not, yet they collect fees every term without taking good care of the students.

“Education at Queens College is not cheap. For parents after investing so much on their children to loose a child due to carelessness of some group of people is pathetic. What is most painful is that this death is avoidable if all parties have gotten their priorities right. The college’s lavatories, kitchen area is so dirty, there is no water in the toilets, and students complain they normally see hairs in their food. This has to be critically addressed.”

Meanwhile, chairman of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), John Ofobike, has insisted that there was no recent outbreak of any epidemic at the college, wondering why parents are blowing the latest incident out of proportion.

According to him, “about three weeks ago, I got a call that some students were stooling and vomiting. When I got to the sick bay, I saw four students were on admission. We made effort to trace the cause of the incident. A worker at the college told me they are suspecting that the drinking water was contaminated. After we confirmed it was not food poisoning, we instructed all students to stop using water from the school tank.

“We bought 3,000 bags of sachet water and distributed to all students. After three days, the girls on admission were certified okay and discharged. Surprising last Thursday, the social media went agog with the news of epidemic and death of four students of the college. The first student died about three weeks ago. The two students died of fever, malaria and typhoid according to their families. So until the ministry brings out the report of their investigation, we will know the exact situation.”

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lB96mF

Senate screens Onnoghen today (Read full details)

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Justice Walter Onnoghen. PHOTO: PHILIP OJISUA

Senate President Bukola Saraki announced yesterday that Justice Walter Onnoghen’s nomination, as substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) would be considered today.

To that extent, the Senate will subject the nominee to a thorough screening at a confirmation hearing in plenary.Onnoghen who was nominated by the Acting President earlier in February has been serving in acting capacity since November 10, 2016.

If confirmed, Onnoghen, who hails from Cross River State, will be the first Southern jurist to occupy the exalted position of CJN in about 30 years.

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Senate screens Onnoghen today

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Justice Walter Onnoghen. PHOTO: PHILIP OJISUA

Senate President Bukola Saraki announced yesterday that Justice Walter Onnoghen’s nomination, as substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) would be considered today.

To that extent, the Senate will subject the nominee to a thorough screening at a confirmation hearing in plenary.Onnoghen who was nominated by the Acting President earlier in February has been serving in acting capacity since November 10, 2016.

If confirmed, Onnoghen, who hails from Cross River State, will be the first Southern jurist to occupy the exalted position of CJN in about 30 years.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mIJGDC

nTel’s 4G services berth in Port Harcourt, Spectranet claims highest subscription

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Chief Executive Officer, NTEL, Kamar Abass

Fourth Generation / Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile network operator, nTel has formally commenced commercial operations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

In a letter to Port Harcourt subscribers, the Chief Executive Officer of nTel, Kamar Abass, wrote “I am delighted to announce that beginning December 1, 2016 you can pick up and activate your nTel SIM here in Port Harcourt. We will give priority to those of you who pre-registered your preferred numbers during our number registration campaign.

“In the weeks ahead, our branded stores located at 278 Aba road and 36 old Aba road would be up and running with the full complement of customer facing and after-sales support staff. We are excited to be in Port Harcourt and eager to bring our unique 4G/LTE Advanced services to eager Pioneers like you.”

The biggest benefit of 4G is that it will be upwards of 10 times faster than current 3G network speeds. It allows Internet subscribers to do things faster, consume more media on their device and work harder – although not necessarily in that order

ntel, whose 4G/LTE solution runs on the 900/1800MHz spectrum is Nigeria’s fifth Mobile Network Operator and commenced operations on April 8, 2016 with commercial sales of Voice-over-LTE and high-speed Internet Access services, on their newly commissioned advanced network infrastructure.

Abass said the commencement of commercial operations was the culmination of the journey from acquiring the old NiTel/MTel assets to the delivery of successive milestones underlining their growing operating capability on their new fixed and mobile network infrastructure.

The company had announced in April 2016 that it would take off in three key cities of Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt in the first phase of their expansion. “The commencement of operations in Port Harcourt is thus the completion of a cycle and a promise kept to subscribers,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Spectranet has restated its commitment towards ensuring that subscribers enjoy uninterrupted Internet service following the recent statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that showed it as the ISP with the highest number of subscribers in the country.

The statistics released by the NCC revealed that Spectranet is leading with subscriber base of 193,892 amongst 14 other Internet Service Providers in Nigeria.

Speaking on the latest development, the Managing Director Spectranet limited, David Venn, noted that the source of Spectranet’s comparative advantage over other ISPs remains its ability to identify the particular customer segments that need its services and in turn offer them with quality services.

“When we started the rebranding process, we were able to take strategic decision to narrow our drive to homes and, small and medium sized enterprises. We provide the best broadband service for homes and growing businesses in Nigeria and that is one of our marketing advantages.”

“We do not really do corporate or voice, but we have been serving our target market with the best broadband quality. We have been very focused on what we give to our customers and the best is only what we give out and our subscribers have been testifying the quality of our offerings”, he said.

Venn also stated the reason as to why Spectranet is not doing the voice service, “Spectranet is a broadband company. We provide good quality, at-the-right-price. We are not a mobile phone company, we don’t offer phone and voice services, we offer data and internet services, and fast broadband.

However, he explained further that another game changer in growing Spectranet’s subscriber base was the focus on middle class Nigerian families who are in need of reliable broadband services. According to him, the positive impact of internet at home ranges from being connected to loved ones, to providing entertainment for the household, access to a world of information and education for the children.

Venn said that the rate of Spectranet growth has led to a huge investment in its operations to the extent that the number of base stations has increased resulting in an improvement in the facilities that makes it the most advanced in the world. This resulted in the unique partnership with a world class brand such as Netflix in West Africa.

The partnership with Netflix according Venn is a statement on the quality of the network and its proposed journey to parade world class services in Nigeria.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2l9RJNB

No, Big Brother is not immoral or corrosive, it’s showing us a slice of life

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Big Brother Naija

Another day, another pseudo, moral panic over who or what is corrupting the moral fabric of the nation. Instead of the usual culprits like social media, tattoos and piercings, it’s the turn of Big Brother Nigeria, now in its 5th week.

Criticism of the show, which returned in January after a ten-year hiatus, has been brewing from the outset. Initially there was controversy over the show being filmed in South Africa, public amusement and confusion led to the Federal government ordering an investigation. Now, criticism is focused on the shows content.

This week especially, which has seen various housemates get hot and heavy under or on top of the sheets has stoked the ire of the country’s morality police, who have denounced the show as “immoral” and “un-Nigerian.”

Some Nigerians have expressed their anger on social media, a Port Harcourt based preacher went a step further and placed a curse on the show’s sponsors and organizers and now there’s a petition, asking the National Broadcasting Commission to stop airing the show.

The petition, which has garnered over 2,000 signatures, argues that the show is not only “a celebration of obscenity, eroticism and idleness” but is also a “mockery of Nigerian culture and tradition” which threatens to damage and pollute Nigeria’s “moral ecology.”

Sorry, but no.
Big Brother was created in the Netherlands in 1999 and has been syndicated all over the world, to huge success. The premise is simple: a number of strangers are put in a house under 24-hour surveillance and are totally cut off from the outside world. Each week, housemates vote for the person they wish to see leave the Big Brother house, the people with the most nominations are then put up for eviction and the public votes. The housemate with the most votes is evicted. This continues for several weeks until a winner is chosen and awarded prize money.

In between evictions, housemates are given different tasks by the all-seeing, all hearing ‘Big Brother,’ if tasks are passed, housemates are rewarded, if tasks are failed, they’re punished. Big Brother sets all the tasks and all the rules. Sometimes, housemates argue, sometimes they have fun, sometimes they kiss each other.

Putting a group of strangers together from different walks of life is always going to cause controversy if casting producers do their jobs well. Big Brother is first, a reality show which aims to entertain the audience, it is not a morality school or something for the kids to watch after they’ve done their homework.

Observation is the point of Big Brother, not necessarily celebration. Viewers observe how different people react to different situations in a confined environment miles away from their comfort zones.

The show doesn’t promise that you’re going to like or love every character you meet, or that you’re going to like everything you see. Just like in real life reality TV, sometimes you see things you don’t want to see, sometimes it show’s things about your society you don’t like. Some of what you see is touching and kind, some of it cruel and offensive, but all of it is human and all of it real (to an extent anyway).

Some Nigerians (including those inside) the Big Brother house kiss and have sex (otherwise where did 170 million people come from?). Some cheat on their spouses, laugh and cry together, other fight and makeup. Big Brother isn’t ‘corroding’ anything. The environment might be artificial but it isn’t showing anything that people aren’t doing on ‘the outside’ or what isn’t already a part of everyday human life.

People kissing and hooking up on TV may be offensive to some, but ‘morally corrosive’? I don’t think so. How is a TV show more damaging than the countless stories we read every day about money looted from state coffers with impunity and without punishment? Yet there are fewer petitions about this.

In the midst of all the drama going on inside the Big Brother Naija House, social media is abuzz with commentary on the pros and cons of the show, people are talking about it all the time and although viewing figures are not yet available it can be assumed that viewership is high. It can be assumed that unless the petition is successful and the NBC gets involved that the series will be renewed for another season which will likely send detractors into a tailspin. Luckily for the naysayers, there’s a fool proof solution to quell their anger and save them from being poisoned by ‘immorality’: TURN OFF YOUR TV.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mIp7r0

Price of 14.5kg cooking gas hits N5,950 in Borno, Delta, Katsina

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Cooking gas

Efforts by the Federal Government to promote consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) otherwise known as cooking gas, is being threatened as the price of the commodity has risen by over 30 per cent.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 35.28 per cent month-on-month and 49.82 per cent year-on-year to N5,508.16 in January 2017 from N4,071.63 in December 2016.

NBS listed the highest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas Borno to be N5, 950; Delta, N5, 933.33; and Katsina, 5,972.22.

“States with the lowest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder cooking gas were Benue, N5, 083.33; Ogun, N5, 030; and Kaduna & Kogi, N5, 000”.

It said that Plateau State recorded the highest average cooking gas price for refilling 12.5KG cylinder in the North Central region for January 2017 while Kogi State records the least average price.

NBS added that Borno State records the highest average cooking gas price for refilling 12.5KG cylinder in the North East Region for January 2017 while Yobe State records the least average price.

Katsina State records the highest average cooking gas price for refilling 12.5KG cylinder in the North West Region for January 2017 while Kaduna State records the least average price”, it added.

It stated that Imo State records the highest average cooking gas price for refilling 12.5KG cylinder in the South East region for January 2017 while Abia State records the least average price.

Delta State, according to NBS, recorded the highest average cooking gas price for refilling 12.5KG cylinder in the South South region for January 2017, while Rivers State recorded the least average price.

The report noted that Ondo State recorded the highest average cooking gas price for refilling 12.5KG cylinder in the South West region for January 2017 while Ogun State recorded the least average price.

It added that the average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for cooking gas increased by 28.24 per cent month-on-month and 39.39 per cent year-on-year to N2,567.56 in January 2017 from N2,002.16 in December 2016.

States with the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for cooking gas were Abuja, N2,800); Kano, N2,750; and Oyo, 2,70.States with the lowest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for cooking gas were Borno, N2,511.11; Akwa Ibom, N2,520 and Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Osun, Yobe and Zamfara N2,500”, it stated.

Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association, NLPGA President, Dayo Adesina, attributed the high cost of cooking gas to infrastructural challenges.
Adesina stated: “What has been the problem are infrastructural challenge and the fact that jetties or receiving terminals are only three in Lagos. In two of the terminals that are multiproduct terminals where you have ATK, PMS and others, prioriTV Novel – Sea of the Woman ty is given to those products rather than LPG.

“Compared to the one terminal that has a dedicated jetty, regardless of when the vessel gets there it will be able to discharge but it is not so in the multiproduct terminal. Some time you have delays of 15, 20 and 45 days although that has been resolved to some extent because of a lot of engagements with NLNG and PPMC.

“Those two multiproduct terminals are beginning to get a bit more access for discharge. So, it has mostly been infrastructural problem and that is why a lot of private sector players are now looking at building more terminals in Port Harcourt and Calabar.


“There are quite a lot of terminals on the infrastructure side which would come on stream and that would help.
Truly, the product is available in-country but the infrastructure challenge has made it difficult for regular discharges to take place and that has created room for people to import when there is no need for that and NLNG has said that even if we need to go to a million tons they are ready to supply as long as the market can absorb it.

Government support in the LPG sector, he hinted would encourage new businesses as massive employment opportunities.He added that gas gathering, processing and utilization schemes would be created through partnerships.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lmUXZk