Category: OPINION

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BUSINESS FEATURED STORIES OPINION

NNPC Ltd: An All-round Asset to Nigeria

Kyari
By Olufemi Soneye
In its editorial of 2nd August, 2024, the BusinessDay newspaper, characteristically, launched another scurrilous and baseless attack on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). In the editorial entitled: “NNPCL: Liability or Asset to Nigerians?”, the newspaper set out to paint the picture of NNPC Ltd that is a liability to Nigeria instead of an asset that it should be. It chronicled a litany of issues which in its estimation have made the company to lose its place as an asset to the nation. As to be expected, all the issues it raised were either outright lies or unfair misrepresentation of facts. Let’s take a look at them one by one.
According to the newspaper, NNPC Ltd.’s status as an asset is undercut by the opacity of its operations and corruption. The truth, however, is that this is a regurgitation of age-long allegations that have since been overtaken by the emergence of Mr. Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company and the transition of the old NNPC as a corporation into a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act.
One of the key thrusts of the Kyari-led management since 2019 has been its focus on transparency and accountability. This was what gave rise to the Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) management philosophy under which the company’s audited financial statements began to be published annually since 2019. In fact, the same BusinessDay newspaper that is so bent on hanging the tag of opacity on the company actually honoured Kyari with its “Energy Executive of the Year” award in 2021 for turning the fortunes of the company around and entrenching the culture of transparency in the company. But out of sheer mischief, the newspaper has forgotten so soon and chosen to borrow some ignoble tricks from Josef Goebbel’s playbook, that of repeating the lies of opacity and corruption against the NNPC Ltd frequently with the hope of sustaining the propaganda just so well the public would believe the lies to be the truth.
The next point made in the editorial is that of mismanagement of resources and inefficiency. In its bid to present a semblance of balance, the newspaper acknowledged the role of government interference in the company. A bulk of the legacy problems, such as the age-long lack of maintenance of the refineries, is traceable to government interference. Any old refinery staff member of the NNPC Ltd will tell you that NNPC engineers used to carry out the turn-around maintenance of the refineries until past governments started dabbling in to influence contracts for their cronies.
However, with the PIA, all that is behind as the NNPC Ltd now operates as a limited liability company under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). As is presently constituted, the company is owned by the government through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Ministry of Petroleum. But the PIA envisages that in no distant time, the company will be listed on the stock exchange with shares owned by Nigerians in their individual capacities. But prior to that time, the management of the company under Kyari has instituted a management system encapsulated in the Performance Excellence element of the TAPE philosophy. Under this, the company has made great strides in moving from a position of loss in 2019 to consistent profitability. This is in spite of the fact that the company contends with monstrous odds in the form of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
The fact is: companies like Saudi Aramco, with which the newspaper tried to benchmark the NNPC Ltd, do not contend with such odds that have very practical implications for crude oil production. The newspaper is only being disingenuous in blaming the nation’s suboptimal crude oil production on inefficiency in the NNPC Ltd when it is common knowledge that the security challenges are not of the company’s making. But even at that, the NNPC Ltd has not fared badly in managing the bad situation to get the results that it has been posting in the past few years. The truth is that the current reality of the NNPC Ltd, in terms of management and performance, does not reflect the picture of mismanagement and inefficiency that the BusinessDay tried to paint in its editorial. The question that arises from all this, which the BusinessDay must answer, is: do companies that have issues with mismanagement of resources and inefficiency make profits as the NNPC Ltd has consistently done in the past three years?
The other issue that has stymied the NNPC Ltd from being an asset to the nation, according to the BusinessDay, is its monopolistic control of the petroleum sector. Supporting its position, the newspapers states: “The corporation’s dominant position as the sole importer of petrol and the primary issuer of import licenses for diesel creates market distortions”. This allegation, coming from a business newspaper like the BusinessDay, is very curious. For the newspaper to state that NNPC Ltd is the “primary issuer of import licenses for diesel” shows how little it knows about the oil and gas industry. It only means that the BusinessDay either does not know the difference between an industry regulator and an operator or it just wants to take its mischief to a ridiculous level, hoping that the public would swallow its lies hook, line, and sinker.
For the avoidance of doubt, NNPC Ltd does not issue import licenses for diesel or any petroleum product for that matter. This is because, NNPC Ltd, as provided in Section 64 of the PIA, is an operator just like any other company that operates in the oil and gas sector, and not a regulator. The PIA makes provision for the establishment of two regulatory agencies in the sector. They are the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). The newspaper actually acknowledged these two regulatory agencies in the editorial. But how it came by the idea that the NNPC Ltd issues import licenses to marketers, a clear regulatory function, is really difficult to understand. This, however, goes to show that the newspaper and its editors know very little about the subject matter of their editorial.
On the allegation that NNPC Ltd runs a monopoly in the importation of petrol, here are the facts that the BusinessDay failed to acknowledge in its editorial. When the downstream sector was deregulated on 29th May, 2023, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration that fuel subsidy was gone, every petroleum marketer was automatically empowered to import the product and sell at whatever price(s) they chose. NNPC Ltd only stepped in to close the gap as a supplier of last resort, a role assigned to it by the framers of the PIA to guarantee energy security for the nation. NNPC Ltd did not muscle any marketer out of petrol importation to become a monopoly. Besides, it does not look like the company is making any profit from being the sole importer of petrol which is usually the major objective of monopolists.
In fact, by playing this role of sole importer of petrol at this time when others are not able to import the product, NNPC Ltd has proved to be a huge asset to the nation- much more of an asset than the BusinessDay would want Nigerians and the world to believe!
*Soneye, is the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd.
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OPINION POLITICS

LG autonomy: Supreme Court ruling and the vindication of Sanwo-Olu’s Lagos

Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu

 

 

By Segun Ajayi

 

While many state governors waited with bated breath for Thursday,11  July Supreme Court ruling on full autonomy of local governments in Nigeria, one of them stood out, unperturbed by the development. For Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the suit  brought before the apex court seeking to strengthen the local government councils by granting them financial autonomy has only vindicated him In his state, local government councils are fully independent.

So, for Sanwo-Olu and his team, Justice Emmanuel Agim’s lead judgement that local government councils across the country must henceforth receive their allocations directly from the Accountant-General of the Federation was a revalidation of the norm in Lagos.

That judgement read: “It is the position of the court that the federation can pay local governments allocations directly to the local governments or through the states. In this case, since paying them through the states has not worked, justice demands that local governments allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the local governments. I hold that the states’ retention of local government funds is unconstitutional”.

By following the noble trajectory of deepening local government council autonomy in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu again added another garland to his cap by fulfilling the ‘S’ leg of his T.H.E.M.E.S+. Letter ‘S’ represents the “Security and Good Governance” sector. For instance, you may want to  ask how successive administrations in the state have fostered good governance at the grassroots, if not by constituting the Local Government Areas democratically and granting them financial autonomy. Even the 10 per cent of Internall Generated Revenue, which the Constitution provides for local government councils, are not denied them in Lagos.

Unlike states where the councils are appendages of state governments, developmental programmes are palpable at the third tier of government in Lagos. From Eti Osa to Lagos Island, Bariga to Oshodi, Agege to Alimosho, Epe to Badagry just to mention a few, physical infrastructural projects and services are ongoing. Inner roads are being constructed, free health services are at people’s beck and call, primary health and civic centres and markets are being constructed, all thanks to full autonomy of local governments in the state.

Flashback to May this year, Sanwo-Olu had faulted the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) over the propriety of the former to include Lagos State governor in a  Supreme Court suit seeking to compel governors of the 36 states of the federation to grant full autonomy to the local governments in their domains. The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, was filed by the  AGF on behalf of the Federal Government.

In the suit, the Federal Government urged the apex court to issue “an order prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders for local governments”. In the suit predicted on 27 grounds, the Federal Government accused the state governors of gross misconduct and abuse of power.

Before the Supreme Court’s verdict, Sanwo-Olu spoke at the opening of a two-day conference on judicial reforms in Lagos this  May during which he described the inclusion of Lagos State in the Federal Government’s suit as a legal anomaly. According to him, local governments in Lagos had enjoyed full autonomy since the inception of this democratic dispensation. The governor while expressing his support for the FG noted the AGF should have identified governors who refused to comply with the constitution before filing a blanket lawsuit against all states. For Sanwo-Olu, some governors ploy to emasculate local government administrations through the Joint Allocation Commitee (JAC) and arbitrary imposition of caretaker chairmen amounted to affront to the spirit of the constitution to which the judiciary must make a clear interpretation for equity and fairness. He said a better justice system would protect the interests of parties and discourage actions limiting efficiency of the third tier of  government. By these statements, Sanwo-Olu exuded the confidence of a chief executive free from the shenanigans of abuse of privileges as alledged by the AGF.

Apparently, the Lagos helmsman in principle was not in sync with governors who hitherto challenged Executive Order 10 by the then President Muhammadu Buhari, which granted financial autonomy to the state judiciary, legislature, and local government councils. By the order, the Accountant General of the Federation was to pay the allocations of state judicial, legislative arms, and the 774 local governments their Federation Account Allocation Committee’s allocations directly. Perceptibly, Buhari’s resort to executive order was a desperate move prompted by the failure of a bill by the National Assembly aimed at granting full autonomy to the state judiciary and local governments. The bill was passed by the National Assembly through but got stuck with the state assemblies which assents were required for it to become a law.

In September 2020, the governors exploited the lacuna crested by the state assemblies refusal to assent to the NASS bill by approaching the Supreme Court to seek judicial interpretation of Section 120 (4, 5,6) of the constitution. The apex court in February 2022 in a split decision ruled in favour of the governors.

The matter have been finally laid to rest following Thursday, 11 July ruling. And until another act of Parliament does the contrary, the apex court decision stays.

 

 

 

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT OPINION POLITICS

President Tinubu: A year of healing and unifying Nigeria

Tinubu endorses gender equality campaign #WeAreEqual
President BolaTinubu

 

By Fredrick Nwabufo

The intangibles of leadership are as potent and profound as the corporeal manifestations of governance. A people must not only see the brick-and-mortar elements of leadership; they must also feel and sense leadership in its quantum of compassion, healing, solace, and capacity to inspire unity, as well as foster peace and progress.

In fact, the incorporeal constituents of leadership are so important that citizens may not see utility in improved economic well-being and massive industrial transformation, if the leadership does not manage the delicate confluences of social and psychological needs.

In some of my treatises as a columnist years ago, I had written that beyond other rudimentary ingredients and supplements of leadership, Nigeria needs a leader who is a healer-in-chief and a unifier by example. A leader who has the proclivity and deliberateness to bring the nation together.

I am most delighted and proud to say Nigeria has found its healer-in-chief; its unifier by example, and consoler-in-chief in President Bola Tinubu. He is the President for all Nigerians.

It has been President Tinubu’s one year of healing and unifying Nigeria. In his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, the President made a declaration that has become a defining motif of his administration.

He said: ‘’Our administration shall govern on your behalf but never rule over you. We shall consult and dialogue but never dictate. We shall reach out to all but never put down a single person for holding views contrary to our own. We are here to further mend and heal this nation, not tear, and injure it.’’

And true to his promise, President Tinubu has been listening and reaching out to Nigerians of diverse complexions and artificial partitions, as well as mending and healing the nation.

Healing and unifying the nation, how, you might ask? By personal example; in words and in deeds. There is no greater purpose and value to leadership than personal example. The place of leadership in forging bonds of communality is the place of purpose and deliberateness. Leadership must be deliberate in managing diversity and in fostering kinship among variegated people. Nation building cannot be left to chance or to a whim. There must be purposeful plans and actions towards uniting the people. And these plans and actions, President Tinubu has been successful at carrying through in the past one year.

The President has maintained an accustomed patriotic, graceful, and expansive mien. In his public statements, mostly done extempore, he has always faithfully affirmed his commitment to Nigeria’s unity.

In one of his many noble articulations, he said: “I am irrevocably committed to the unity of Nigeria and constitutional democracy. Constitutional democracy has been reflected greatly here since we assumed office.’’

Also to consider are the broad and far-reaching projects and programmes which are in themselves totems of unity – with all Nigerians, irrespective of class or creed, as beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries.

The approval of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund to facilitate effective infrastructure development across the pivotal areas of agriculture, transportation, ports, aviation, energy, healthcare, and education, with salient projects across the country is a further affirmation of statesmanship and leadership.

The ongoing epochal Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, with its attendant immense economic and social benefits to many states within and outside that corridor; the Sokoto-Badagry Road project, and the completed Port Harcourt to Aba stretch of the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow-gauge rail, among other key developments across the nation, assert the all-encompassing and genuine intentionality to nation building. No Nigerian is left behind.

Within the first year, the President also approved the upgrade of key health infrastructure and equipment across all six geo-political zones in line with his administration’s vision of overhauling the health and social welfare sector for enhanced service delivery to all Nigerians.

The following teaching hospitals across the geo-political zones were marked for the establishment of oncology and nuclear medicine centres as part of the President’s bid to ensure that top-tier cancer diagnosis and care is accessible across the country: (1) University of Benin Teaching Hospital, (2) Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, (3) University of Nigeria (Nsukka) Teaching Hospital, (4) Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, (5) University of Jos Teaching Hospital, and (6) Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Ten other hospitals across all the geo-political zones were also pencilled for critical healthcare-service expansion projects across the fields of radiology, clinical pathology, medical and radiation oncology, and cardiac catheterization.

The take-off of the first phase of the Consumer Credit Scheme, which is essentially a mitochondrion enabling citizens to improve their quality of life by accessing goods and services upfront, paying responsibly over time, and by the same token bolstering local industry and stimulating job creation is another social cohesion sealant – with all classes of working Nigerians as beneficiaries.

In summary, the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) with the pre-eminent vision of safeguarding Nigeria’s future by ensuring that all Nigerian students and youths, regardless of their social, ethnic, or religious backgrounds, have access to sustainable higher education and functional skills, further accents the President’s fidelity to building a stable, strong, united, peaceful, and progressive nation.

One thing is certain: Citizens agree that they have a President for all Nigerians.

 

–Nwabufo is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement

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OPINION POLITICS

Atiku Abubakar’s penchant for distorting facts

Atiku's SPV is a money-eating monster - Tinubu
Atiku and Tinubu
Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is fast developing a reputation for distorting and manipulating facts for his self-serving objective of discrediting the current administration.
In his latest press statement, the defeated PDP presidential candidate made wild claims on a number of issues that need to be corrected so that the public will not be misled into accepting fallacies as the truth.
The President Bola Tinubu-led administration believes that every true and patriotic Nigerian, regardless of political differences, should work to promote the unity and economic well-being of the country and not delegitimise genuine efforts of the Federal Government to encourage local and foreign investments into the economy.
Contrary to Atiku’s claim, the Tinubu administration, within its first year, has attracted over $20 billion into the economy. While President Tinubu was in New Delhi, India for G20 Summit last year August, Indian business leaders committed over $14 billion in new investments.  A substantial part of this sum is already in the country.
In an unmistakable vote of confidence in the economic reforms being executed by the Tinubu administration, foreign investment in Nigeria’s stock market has  ballooned, from N18.12 billion in Q1 2023  to N93.37 billion in Q1 2024, an increase of 415%. The last time Nigeria saw such level of investment was in the first quarter of 2019, when N97.6 billion was invested. The market, since Tinubu came to power, has broken records and created more wealth for the investors.
During President Tinubu’s  recent trip to The Netherlands, the Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, announced a fresh $ 250 million investment by Dutch businesses in Nigeria.
Different sectors of the economy, especially telecoms, manufacturing, solid minerals, oil and gas, e-commerce, and fintech, are attracting new Foreign Direct Investments from discerning investors who know Nigeria is a good market for bountiful returns.
We found it strange that Alhaji Atiku could accuse President Tinubu of conflict of interest in the award of Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway to Hitech Construction Company which he claimed is owned by Chagoury family because the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, sits on the board of CDK, a tiles manufacturing company, based in Sagamu, Ogun State.
Nigerians should, by now, be well accustomed to Atiku’s hypocrisy on many national issues. Is it not amusing that the former Vice President, a man who openly said he formed Intels Nigeria with an Italian businessman when he was serving in the Nigeria Customs Service, a clear breach of extant public service regulations, is now the one accusing someone else of conflict of interest?
When he was Vice President of Nigeria between 1999-2007, he maintained his business links with Intels that won major port concession deals.
Was this not an abuse of office, a flagrant violation of his oath, that a company where he was a co-owner won major government contracts and concessions when he was vice president?
As Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, he approved sales of over 145 State-owned enterprises to his known friends and associates and openly said during his failed campaign for the presidency last year that he would do the same, if elected.
It is important to state clearly that Seyi Tinubu is a 38 year-old adult who has a right to do business and pursue his business interests in Nigeria and anywhere in the world within the limits of the law. The fact that his father is now the President of Nigeria does not disqualify Seyi from pursuing legitimate business interests.
For the records, Seyi joined the Board of Directors of CDK in 2018, more than six years ago. He is representing the interest of an investor company, in which he has interest. He is not a board member because his father is a friend of the Chagourys.  Information about owners and shareholders of CDK is a matter of public record that can be openly accessed from the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission and CDK’s. Atiku and his proxy did not need a little-known journal to recycle open-source information to make a fallacious argument. The Chairman of CDK and the highest shareholder of the company is respected General TY Danjuma (rtd). The Chagourys are minority shareholders in the company, and only one member of the clan is on its five-man board.
We wonder how Seyi’s membership of the board of  CDK conflicts with Hitech Construction Company’s work on Lagos-Calabar Coastal superhighway.
Alhaji Atiku has been waging an unrelenting war against this all-important and transformative project for no justifiable reasons other than bad politics. Atiku knows that its grand success and other projects to be unfurled, such as the Badagry-Sokoto superhighway, will be a major boost for President Tinubu and finally upend his perennial presidential ambition.
If not blinded by political ill-will, Alhaji Atiku knows that the right thing for him to do is to applaud President Tinubu for the ambitious and audacious Lagos-Calabar Highway, which was authorised by the Federal Executive Council.
It is important to remind Alhaji Atiku that infrastructural projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway are used to galvanise the economy. In the US, President Joe Biden has used his $2 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure deal to revamp decaying American infrastructure and inject life into the US economy.
How can an elder-statesman be waging a campaign of calumny against the economic fortunes and prosperity of a country he wishes to govern or trying to scuttle a project that will bring prosperity to nine coastal states and the nation in general?
That Nigeria’s economy is being reclassified by the IMF as the fourth largest in Africa is stale news. This happened because of the devaluation of the Naira and President Tinubu’s determined effort to set the economy on the path of sustainable growth. Under  the progressive, bold, inventive, and innovative leadership of President Tinubu, Nigeria will bounce back to where it rightfully belongs as Africa’s largest market and biggest economy.
The Tinubu administration targets a $1 trillion economy in the next few years, with audacious economic programmes and critical infrastructure projects in key sectors . With revenue rising in trillions and the creation of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund, which is poised to raise over N20 trillion this year alone, we have no doubt that the $ 1 trillion economy is realisable.
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OPINION POLITICS

Africa and the imperative of South Korea’s development model

Rahman
By Tunde Rahman
To say the economy of the Republic of South Korea is a developed and strong economy is to say the obvious. South Korea’s economy had been vastly developed, and its economic structure radically transformed since after World War II in 1945 and the Korean War in 1953. The Korean War was a war of attrition between two brother-nations – North and South Koreas – accentuated by the Cold War era, and would appear not to have fully abated up till now.
However, South Korea is not just a developed nation today; it is also a regional power. According to a report titled “The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development,” a World Bank publication, authored in 2008 by the Commission on Growth and Development, 13 countries sustained 7% + annual growth for 25 years or more since 1950. Six countries among them joined the high-income group. They are Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malta, and South Korea. Prominent among the factors listed in the report for sustained development are stable macroeconomic policies exemplified in sound public finance and low inflation, smooth operation of the market mechanism, high saving and high investment rates as well as knowledge infusion and overseas markets.
South Korea’s economic growth has been widely described as a miracle on the Han River. That economic accomplishment allowed the country to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the G20. Truth, however, is the South Korean achievement is not a miracle. It is a result of deliberate planning and execution of development strategies and sustained efforts at development. How was the Republic of South Korea able to achieve this feat with the destruction and devastation occasioned by the war with North Korea? Lacking in natural resources, the main vehicle for the economic development of that country is state-led industrialisation. Professor Taejong Kim of Korea Development Institute (KDI), in his presentation before a team of editors recently in South Korea, said the fast growth was sustained by inclusive policy measures – inclusive and sustained investments in human capital, natural capital and social capital. These measures, according to him, were designed to empower vulnerable communities and individuals.
I have provided this important background in order to underscore the huge success story that is South Korea today. The country’s economy is ranked the 3rd largest in Asia and the 11th biggest in the world by GDP. Goldman Sachs in “Beyond The Brics: A look at The ‘Next 11’ ” listed South Korea in the group of Next Eleven countries as having the potential to play a dominant role in the global economy by the middle of the 21st century.
The massive development in South Korea was apparent to this writer during a recent visit to the country. Wherever you turn in Seoul, the capital city, the numerous manifestations of the development stare you in the face. The key development indicators dot the landscape.    I was in Seoul on the invitation of the Korea International Broadcasting Foundation called Arirang to take part in a programme geared towards enhancing exchange and cooperation between South Korea and Africa. The visit took us (me and some 11 other African journalists and government media managers) to many important places. We had interactions with several top government officials and private business leaders. We were at the KDI Global Knowledge Exchange and Development Centre (GKEDC) and Korea Railway Traffic Control Centre.
We participated in a dialogue for sustainable development and economic cooperation between Korea and Africa as well as in the high-level policy workshop on rural development administration. We gained valuable insights into the country’s model for agriculture and rural development through an interaction with the Director-General of Korea Rural Development Foundation, Kim Hwang-Yong, who spoke about the role of the foundation in addressing the issue of poverty and food sufficiency. According to him, the foundation helps to develop new technologies for agric development, which it transfers to farmers in the country.
Believing the country’s technology would be good for Africa, he said the RDA had been working with many African countries to ensure, among other things, increased rice production, disclosing also that the foundation presently has 26 varieties of rice in eight countries of Africa. We also had a meeting with the Executive Vice President Korean Foundation, Mr. Rhee Jong Kook, and another high-level meeting at the South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs where we had a useful conversation on South Korean foreign policy options with the Deputy Foreign Minister, Chung Byung-won.
We undertook an excursion of the Lotte World Tower and the Hyundai Plant in Goyang where that company’s vehicles that are available in the Nigerian markets are being produced.
Perhaps a more remarkable part of the visit was the tour of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park and Third Tunnel. Established under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, the DMZ is the region on the Korean Peninsula that demarcates North Korea from South Korea. It is meant to serve as a buffer zone between the two countries. But there is still palpable tension around the zone as North Korea has reportedly dug up to three tunnels in a bid to violate the agreement and invade South Korea. We toured the South Korea end of the zone, and with heads bent, went inside the Third Tunnel to the very end. The tour of the tunnel is not for the faint-hearted. Some in the team, this writer not inclusive, declined to make the tour. On the whole, it was a helpful, illuminating and extremely exciting and worthwhile visit.
African countries, including Nigeria, have a lot to learn from South Korea, and interestingly, Nigeria and South Korea have something in common: both are a multi-party democracy with a free market economy and fledging private sector.  The Republic of South Korea places a high premium on research and development (R&D) and spends heavily on them. R&D is a key driver of economic growth and industrial development. Like South Korea, Africa, Nigeria, in particular, needs to continue to scale up research and development.
There is also South Korea’s education system, particularly her educated populace, which is largely responsible for the high technology boom and economic development. South Korea maintains increasing enrolment in higher education with special attention paid to Science and Engineering. Meanwhile, the intellectual arm of the country used to power this outstanding growth is the Korea Development Institute. The KDI School of Public Policy and Management offers scholarship at Post-Graduate and PhD levels to African students where they undergo courses to strengthen their capacities and horn their academic skills in order to give back to their societies on their return home. It was at a dinner with some academics and students of the institute that I encountered Abdul Labaran, a Nigerian Master’s degree student of the institution, who commended the scholarship programme. Africa needs to borrow a leaf from the mandate of that institute.
As indicated earlier, South Korea parades incredible economic growth and is today a high-tech industrialized economy. It has received accolades globally for value-added manufacturing and for her hi-tech companies. To aim at achieving this feat, Africa must invest in technology and innovation to enhance technological competitiveness.
Of interest is also the patriotism of the South Korean people. Stories abounded of how many South Korean women sacrificed their trinkets and jewelries during the difficult period in order to power the economy. Over two million people reportedly contributed. This is something that should be emulated in our clime because patriotism fuels growth and development.
Indeed, there are many great examples to talk about in respect of the South Korea story, which Africa can further explore. Interestingly, a summit of Africa and South Korea is underway to offer a veritable opportunity for the exchange of ideas. The summit will also further cooperation and partnership in various areas. Slated for June 4-5, it will offer African countries a window into the huge economic advancement of South Korea. Speaking about the summit, the South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister described it as the biggest international conference to be initiated by the present administration in that country. It is aimed at creating and strengthening cooperation and collaboration with Africa.
“The summit will be mutually beneficial and create long-term partnership between Africa and Korea. Korea seeks to strengthen economic cooperation with Africa, and the summit will offer the best opportunity for Korea to support Africa in enhancing economic growth. Leveraging each other’s comparative advantage will help to advance growth and sustainable development. It will be a win-win for both South Korea and Africa in terms of economic cooperation and partnership,” Byung-won said. Should African leaders attend this important and first-ever summit between Korea and Africa? I think so!
-Rahman is a Senior Presidential Aide
Categories
NEWS & LIFE OPINION

 Matters arising from new electricity tariff in Nigeria 

Minister of Power, Adelabu
By Tolu Ogunlesi
Quite sad (but not surprising) that it’s the ‘freezer’ comment that’s totally dominated the headlines from yesterday’s Electricity press briefing. There was a lot more that was said, that’s useful to know, as background and basis for conversation and debate.
If you want to know what else HM Bayo Adelabu said, I took some notes – the comments below are attributable to him (and to the NERC Vice Chair, who also spoke).
[The important background to all this is that for now it’s ONLY Band A consumers who are affected by the 3-fold Tariff Increase rolled out this week. There are 5 Tariff Bands in all, A to E. Band A are the ones guaranteed a minimum of 20 hours of supply per day]
1. Prior to tariff change, the Federal Government was subsidizing 67% of the total cost of generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity in Nigeria.
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Vice Chair added: If you isolate Generation, that 67% figure rises considerably. For example, in January 2024, the total power generation invoice issued to DisCos was 240 Billion Naira , but the Discos were asked to pay only 24 Billion of this = 10%, which means 90% of the generation cost was being borne by FGN, as a subsidy.
2. Total estimated electricity subsidy cost (on FGN) for 2024, without tariff adjustment: ~2.9 Trillion Naira (~240 Billion per month)
3. Total estimated subsidy cost for 2024, after tariff adjustment: ~1.4 Trillion Naira (~113 Billion per month)
4. The Tariff increase has also been accompanied by a reduction in the number of Band A “feeders” — i.e. feeders guaranteed to supply a minimum of 20 hours per day — across the country. There were previously over 1,000 Band A feeders; now, only 481 are classified as Band A.
5. There are about 12 million electricity “customers” in Nigeria (please try and understand this carefully before jumping to make comments. It doesn’t mean 12 million ‘people’, it means 12m ‘meter-able’ consumption points, e.g households, businesses, etc).
6. Band A accounts for = 15% of the 12 million electricity customers = approx 1.8m. The remaining >10m customers will continue to enjoy government subsidies on electricity consumption.
(Related to this, I’ve seen data elsewhere that suggests that 70% of the revenues collected in 2023 came from Band A – worth confirming that figure).
7. Of the 12 million customers, only a little over 5 million are currently metered. Which means a metering gap of over 6 million.
8. The subsidised pricing regime will continue in the short term, with a “transition plan” to attain full “cost-reflective” pricing over the next 3 years.
9. The restricting of the Tariff increase to Band A is meant to serve as a “proof of concept”; i.e. kicking off with a Band that has the “capacity and willingness” to pay for 20 to 24 hours of daily supply.
10. The pricing change will help address some of the liquidity issues in the industry; restore a “line of sight” for recovery of investment, and make it more “bankable”.
11. There is a huge infrastructure deficit in the power sector; obsolete equipment at all levels (this is where the Minister cited the example of some equipment still carrying ECN branding; ECN has been defunct for more than 50 years now)—and vandalization of everything from gas pipelines to grid towers etc.
12. If DisCos supply less than 20 hours to Band A consumers, there must be sanctions and consequences. “We will not shy away from our responsibilities…”
(On this note, NERC Vice Chair added that under the old Power Sector Reform Act, the powers of NERC to sanction were limited, and fines for DisCos were outdated (he cited fines as low as N10,000 per day). But with the new Act signed by PBAT—see No. 15 below—NERC now has expanded regulatory and sanctions powers. Vice Chair cited example of 2018 when NERC suspended IBEDC Board, and Board went to Court and got the suspension set aside, vs 2024 when NERC was able to successfully dissolve the Board of KEDC).
13. The new Tariff Regime for Band A means there’s now an incentive for DisCos to work to migrate other Bands to Band A, so that they can supply them Band A threshold, and charge Band A tariffs.
14. Energy consumption management by consumers has to become a priority. This is where the ‘freezer’ example (that has gone viral) was cited. Yeah, def not the best example to use, as we’ve seen from the distracting fallout, but the larger point about more responsible usage stands.
15. Minister mentioned ongoing efforts to improve electricity supply:
—The new Electricity Act signed by PBAT (which repealed the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005) has now fully decentralised the sector, and empowers subnational governments for regulation and licensing.
—Renewable energy investments, led by REA
—New power plants like recently-completed Zungeru Hydropower (700MW)
—Investments in new lines, new injection substations, new transformers
—Closing the metering gap.
—Communications and advocacy
16. “The journey of a thousand miles stand with a single step, in the right direction. This one is in the right direction.” — Bayo Adelabu
-Ogunlesi is a Policy Communication Expert and former Special Assistant on Digital Communication to President Buhari.
Categories
OPINION POLITICS

Asiwaju is here! Let’s just do it!

Tinubu

Asiwaju is here! Let’s just do it!

By Debo Adesina

The times are tough.
It is therefore just appropriate that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shunned all forms of celebration of his 72nd birthday.
He has great dreams. And a proverb says a man who wants his dream to come true does not sleep. That is a proverb Asiwaju has lived all his life and is living even more, now! That is one man who, literally, never sleeps!
The least we can do as Nigerians is to join hands with him by staying awake to our duties and responsibilities as citizens. An appropriate birthday gift we can give him, everyday!
Nigerians must deploy their long-held values of hard work, resilience in battles, love of one another and unity of purpose as a people to overcome the challenges the nation currently faces.
Nigeria needs the best energies of all Nigerians, talented, patriotic, young and old, men and women, across all divides in order for the dreams we all nurse to come true. No one wants to harness all these more than President Tinubu.

When we are conscious of the fact that we are enriched by our diversity as a nation, blessed by our resources and united in our pursuit of the goal of being the African lodestar, Nigeria’s journey to a great future, which has begun anew with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in charge, will be quickened in pace. The banner of Renewed Hope he waves is comforting not only in its symbolisms but in the substantive actions he is taking to make Nigerians look forward to a greater tomorrow.
By jettisoning short-term conveniences and taking the necessary tough path towards life-long prosperity, Nigerians have only one thing to say in tribute to the President and to themselves: tough as the times are, we get you! How might we help?
With a President Tinubu, who intrinsically believes in and genuinely works for prosperity for all, the flight may be a bit rough now but the landing, in good time, will be smooth. And the journey will be worth the turbulence we may be facing now.

I once wrote that the laws of economics have never been truer than they are now. Nigerians’ needs are unlimited but the means of satisfying those needs are extremely limited, much more so than was envisaged when he took over power some months ago. So, sacrifice is not something we have the luxury of weighing, it is a choice already made for us by history and our quest for a good place in it.
The great luck our nation has is: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is nothing if not courage personified and compassion embodied! A man of ideas and action, no one wants the best for all Nigerians more than he does and no one is willing to burn the midnight oil in the quest for solutions more than him. These, no doubt, are very tough times for Nigeria. But these are also times calling for the best and boldest in all of us as we have a country to build and a dream to fulfill.
President Tinubu is asking us, all Nigerians, to get out of wringing our hands over Nigeria’s challenges but, with individual commitment and a high sense of responsibility on the part of all, setting those hands on the plough, in the belief that no one ever commits fully to hope anew, takes the tough but right actions, and fails!

All Nigerians, as much as we can positively affect our spheres of influence, should be committed to renewing the hope of all, in the words we speak, the deeds we do and in the faces we show the world!

There are many things for which Nigeria needs monetary resources. But beyond that, to renew our hope and build a prosperous nation for all Nigerians, the President has found the appropriate currency: the courage, the will to act and his signature compassion to do the best in the interest of the greatest number.

As he turns 72, President Bola Ahmed Akanbi Tinubu’s commitment to building a rainbow nation in which all find shelter and all prosper is crystal clear!
Let every Nigerian ask for his or her part in the job at hand. And just do it!

–Adesina, former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Guardian Newspaper served as Ambassador of Nigeria to the Republic of Togo

Categories
NEWS & LIFE OPINION

Your outcries saved my life! – Nigerian Publisher arrested by military

Olatunji

Your outcries saved my life

Memories of the series of events from March 15 to March 28, 2024 still remain as shocking as they are unnerving. You, my friends, professional colleagues and family members however remain the heroes. You put an abrupt end to the surreptitious macabre dance started by some persons yet to come to terms with our democratic reality, as you snatched me from the trap set by these powerful persons! You’ve all done noble by raising your voices in unison to save me -your friend, colleague and loved one – from what would have turned out to be another case of “unknown soldiers” wreaking havoc and going away scot free.

You all went the extra mile to rescue me!

To the entire Church of God and my Muslim brothers and sisters: Our Almighty Father in Heaven indeed heard your persistent prayers concerning my situation during this trying time. Your prayers didn’t go in vain; Olodumare answered by Fire 🔥 and proved Himself once again! We greatly appreciate the entire Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide (Ayo Ni O) and our Baba Aladura, His Grace, Most Special Apostle Emmanuel Abiodun Alogbo; all local church branch members and Leaders, prophets and prophetesses as well as other Seraphs and Celestians across the world for their prayers and all other efforts. We also appreciate the prayer efforts of all the other Christian denominations. Jesus is Lord forever. Hallelujah!

My family and I, particularly those children who would have been rendered fatherless, therefore remain eternally grateful to you all for standing up to that miniscule but powerful section of our society still taking pride in the exhibition of tyrannical and undemocratic tendencies.

To the NUJ, NGE and IPI, saying we’re eternally grateful is an understatement. May Almighty God continue to keep us all together in love and shower His blessings on us all. Amen!

E seun modupe pupo pupo, Da’alu. Mungode! 🙏🙏🙏

Categories
FEATURED STORIES OPINION

President Tinubu at 72: Leadership in challenging times

President Bola Tinubu
By Tunde Rahman
Today is President Bola Tinubu’s 72nd birthday. Instead of rolling out the drums to celebrate the day, the President directed there should be no celebration of any kind, including placing newspaper, radio or television advertorials in his honour. He urged anyone wishing to do such for him to donate the money to charity organisations. The decision was taken in deference to the present challenging times. It is a mark of good leadership for a leader worthy of that name to have compassion for the people, identify with them and demonstrate he shares in their pain. Showing empathy for the people and the emotional intelligence of identifying with the weak and vulnerable are in President Tinubu’s DNA.  This character trait has become a remarkable feature of his birthdays over time.
In March 2020, on the cusp of his 68th birthday, he cancelled his birthday colloquium over the outbreak of coronavirus, explaining that the decision was important amid the overriding public concern over the pandemic.
What happened in respect of his 70th birthday on March 29, 2022 was even more touching. He called off an impressive birthday colloquium, right in the middle of the event at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos with all the dignitaries in attendance, to honour victims of Abuja-Kaduna train attack. And last year, even after he had convincingly won the February 25, 2023 election, President Tinubu did not celebrate his birthday, saying he would devote the moment for reflection on the huge task ahead.
This year’s birthday is the first by President Tinubu on the saddle. His administration is in its 10th month. This period, therefore, offers a veritable opportunity to interrogate his personae, character and administration thus far. There is little doubt that the time we are in is a challenging one indeed.
On assumption of office, the President was greeted by a dire economic situation; the economy almost prostrate. The bold reforms the President instituted, notably the removal of the ruinous fuel subsidy and the unification of the multiple, even dubious foreign exchange rates, though bold and necessary decisions applauded by economic experts, did not immediately produce salutary outcomes with a sudden rise in foreign exchange rates, and the consequential serious impact on other sectors. The cost of petroleum products particularly Premium Motor Spirit and diesel went up with its attendant effects on transport fares. Prices of goods and services particularly staple food items also skyrocketed including prices of other items not dependent on foreign exchange. Inflation rose, hitting 31.70% in February from 29.90% recorded in January 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
However, it’s no longer a depressing story. A combination of courage and determination to change the tide on the part of the President, the employment of the right calibre of economic managers who deployed the right fiscal and monetary policies and perhaps a dose of good fortune helped to gradually change the downward economic curve. As President Tinubu would now say, the headwinds are already giving way and there is light at the end of the tunnel. This heartwarming development is evident enough, but I will soon return to elaborate on the issue.
It is important and relevant to point out that President Tinubu is no stranger to this kind of trajectory in his chequered political career. As Governor of Lagos State (1999-2007), his administration was off to a bumpy start with security issues rearing their ugly heads, roads littered with potholes and heaps of refuse taking over the Lagos landscape, amid poor revenue. There was also the protracted crisis between his administration that inherited a practically insolvent economy and the trade unions as a result of the initial inability to pay the then new National Minimum wage of N7,500. The Tinubu administration confronted all of that and many more crises headlong, successfully altered the situation and left behind important milestones at the end of his tenure.
Writing in his insightful column “Illuminations” on March 16, Segun Ayobolu, surmised that it would appear that President Tinubu thrives more when confronted with crises that compel him to draw on his inner psychological, spiritual and strategic political resources to navigate treacherous terrain and come out triumphantly again and again. “For instance at the end, in 2007, of his eight-year tenure as governor in Lagos State, the mega city had evolved into a bastion of security of lives and property, rapid infrastructural transformation, and provision of social services especially to the vulnerable segments of the population.”
Perhaps the trajectory of the Tinubu administration in the unfolding Nigerian story in the Fourth Republic is following that route. The initial seemingly gloomy situation is gradually giving way. Indeed, light is not only assured at the end of the tunnel, it is presently beginning to shine brighter and brighter through the tunnel. There is plenty evidence for this as I previously indicated.
For instance, naira has continued its streak of rebound and steady appreciation. The Nigerian currency had gained considerably against the dollar with the exchange rate standing around N1, 200 to $1 on Wednesday as I was rounding off this piece. The Green Back is expected to fall even further following the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, through a circular on Monday, to offer $10,000 to each eligible Bureau De Change operators at N1, 251/$1 with a directive that they sell to eligible end users at a spread of not more than 1.5% above the purchase price. This is likely to impact the prices of many  products.
And to further tighten liquidity in the country and shore up the value of the Naira, the CBN Monetary Policy Committee, at the end of its second meeting in 2024, raised the monetary policy rate by 200 basis points from 22.75% to 24.75%. The Cash Reserve Ratio, CRR, and Liquidity ratio were retained at 45% and 30% respectively.
There are other developments and unprecedented data on the economic front indicating the country is turning the corner. One is the marked improvement in the value of capital importation into the country, which NBS put at 66%, while the recent clearance of the backlog of foreign exchange by the CBN, demonstrating a new regime of trust and confidence at the apex bank, which should help push down high air transport fares in the country, is another.
Additionally, the country’s external reserves increased by $347.53 million to $34.11billion as at March 7, 2024 from $33.016 billion it was on January 2, 2024, recording a 2.83% year-to-date accretion following inflows from foreign capital and remittances.
Perhaps more remarkable is the courage, political will and personal commitment to effecting a change and improving the quality of life of the people in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda that President Tinubu has brought to the fore. This shone brilliantly in his handling of hydra-headed problems. This determination and taking bold decisions, in my view, are contributory factors in the changing Tinubu governance narrative.
Take for instance the recent abduction of 137 schoolchildren from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna State. The  President categorically ruled out paying ransom for the release of the children from the hold of the bandits. Mercifully, they were released through the collaborative efforts of the Federal and State Governments and their security agencies. Paying ransom is akin to giving ammunition to the bandits to acquire more sophisticated weapons for their evil activities.
To speedily effect changes in the country’s security architecture to enhance safety of lives and property, the President,  working in collaboration with the state governments,  has set up a high powered committee to draw up modalities for the introduction of state police. Last week, Vice President Kashim Shettima asked states which are still dragging their feet on the issue to urgently submit their proposals so that necessary legislation could be forwarded to the National Assembly towards this objective.
There is also the Pulaku initiative, a non-kinetic effort aimed at addressing the root causes of farmer-herder conflicts and fostering national unity. President Tinubu quickly ordered the release of N50billion as operational fund for its immediate take off. The initiative, expected to revitalise the communities through the construction of residences, roads, schools, and essential facilities, will initially focus on seven states that have been disproportionately affected by farmer-herder conflicts. They are Sokoto, Kebbi, Benue, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, and Kaduna States.
In this regard, shortly after the removal of the fuel subsidy, the Tinubu administration released a first tranche of N2 billion each to the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory to provide palliatives to ease the pains of their people as a result of the economic reforms. The President also recently urged state governments to seize the opportunity of increased Naira revenues from the Federation Account to issue and pay salary awards to their workers just as the Federal Government has been doing through its N35,000 wage award to federal public servants. Indeed, many state governments have recently stepped up the introduction of palliative measures to provide succour for their people in critical areas including agriculture and food affordability, education and healthcare among others.
There are many more. An executive order to further boost investment, create jobs and business opportunities in the oil and gas sector is in place while the Federal Government in collaboration with states again are engaging in mechanized agriculture. It is also noteworthy to state that, though the prices of goods may be high, the claim in some quarters that Nigeria is facing food crisis is not supported by facts. Those insinuating this are merely playing politics. President Tinubu had since ordered the release of 42,000 metric tonnes of grains to the states from the National Grain Reserves. And with what I witnessed last week, along with the National Communication Team led by Information Minister Idris Mohammed Malagi, in respect of massive planting of wheat and maize in Jigawa State, even in dry season, the state is set to meet this year’s target in respect of domestic consumption of the two commodities and exports.
The Tinubu government is thinking and working frantically to ensure all of that and more so that governance remains impactful and enduring. It has become compelling that as citizens, we must continue to play our part. The example of Lawyer and Businessman Allen Onyeama’s Air Peace and its gallant intervention, which helped to crash the airfares on the lucrative Lagos-London route, is there for all of us to emulate.
-Rahman is a Senior Presidential Aide
Categories
FEATURED STORIES OPINION

Funding security amidst Lagos rising profile

Governor Sanwo-Olu

 

By Segun Ajayi

Not a few Lagosians chorused hurray when Time Out Group, a British Media and Hospitality company, recently ranked Lagos 19th among 20 world  best cities to live in. Prior to the Time Out assessment, only a few Nigerians could have pitted the nation’s commercial capital against great cities like New York, London, Tokyo, Chicago, Paris, Cape Town in a ‘Most Livable City’ contest. But amazingly in January this year, Lagos did the unprecedented. Had Time Out index been extended to 50, Lagos was a better habitable city compared to Naples (Italy), Singapore, Miami, Dubai, Montreal (Canada) and Hong Kong.

So, how did Lagos, hitherto tagged Nigeria’s crime, haven pull this through? A reappraisal of Time Out criteria revealed the feat was not unconnected with the city’s hospitality and tourism potentials vis-a-vis the peace and safety of the environment. From the mainland through the Island, Lagos has continued to deliver a trifecta of hospitable services, swanky beach resorts and exotic nightlife. Give it to the city and its resilience, Lagos also caught global attention after it pulled through Covid 19 pandemic to become tourists’ delight. Would this have been actualised had the city not responded swiftly to the plaque and the violent protest that followed the shootings at Lekki toll gate on 20th October 2020? How can we forget so soon, the loss of policemen and other security infrastructure to that ravaging #endsars riots?

Regrettably, the losses created a lacuna in the security space and it was estimated to require a whooping N30 billion conservatively, to replace the vandalised assets. Among the assets are police posts that had to be rebuilt,  ballistic gears, armoured personnel carriers, communication gadgets, patrol vehicles, anti-riot equipment that had to be replaced. Also critical to effective policing of Lagos and maintenance of her peaceful atmosphere is adequate funding for fueling of police patrol vans, personnel welfare, training, equipment procurement and maintenance, among other essentials. This is where Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) comes in to bridge the funding gap. Established by law of the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2007, the LSSTF is a Public-Private Partnership initiative with the mandate to source for resources (cash or kind) to improve the operational capacity of security operatives in the state.

Historically, LSSTF was consequent to the finding of a Security Committee headed by former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, a Lagosian. The committee revealed that deficiencies in crime prevention boiled down to only one thing, funding. It has been discovered that when security operations are well funded and the operatives properly equipped, their responses to crime scenes will improve considerably. Interestingly, since the inception of LSSTF, the results have been there for all to see. Available statistics show the crime rate in the state has reduced since the establishment of the Fund. Last November, for instance, the state celebrated four years of zero bank robbery even as cult clashes and gang wars, hitherto commonplace, have declined remarkably. Even at that, more deployment is required to curb sporadic incidents of traffic and bus robbery dubbed “one chance” and the menace of “area boys”. These dividends of a robustly-funded security architecture would not have been possible without an institutionalised body like LSSTF and inspired by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who served as a member of the board at inception .

Flash back to 12th December 2023 during the 17th Annual Town Hall Meeting of LSSTF, Sanwo-Olu pledged N7 billion as part of the state’s planned support for the donor-funded model. Also included in the package, according the governor, was the provision of 300 operational vehicles to boost logistic operations of security operatives. The governor’s pledge also received a boost from oil industry magnate, Mr. Femi Otedola, who presented a cheque of NI billion to support of the fund.

From the vantage position of a security expert, Executive Secretary/CEO of the Fund, Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun highlighted some of the challenges of the Fund. According to him, being a donor-funded model regrettably limits LSSTF’s effectiveness due to unpredictability of responses from individuals and corporate organisations. “It’s important to acknowledge that security entails recurrent expenditure and that comes with a hefty price tag. A donation of N1 billion Naira for instance, hefty though, may only suffice for around 20 patrol vehicles. Would someone then say $1 billion donation is a paltry sum given the burden of maintaining the security strata in the state”. To break it down, the state’s security architecture has the Rapid Respond Squad, the intervention force at the Governor’s office; and men of the OP MESA. One should not leave out the 6,000 men of the Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps of the security strata.

Aside the combat units, there exists a long-standing collaboration between Lagos and federal agencies like the Department of State Security, Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Nigerian Customs Service in the area of intelligent gathering. The LSSTF model is what other states have adopted even though sustaining it won’t come cheap. In complementing the efforts of some corporate concerns and notable individuals, personal donations, however paltry will go a long way in engendering a crime-free Lagos, Balogun always pleaded.

The maxim, “security is everyone’s responsibility” indeed applies in Sanwo-Olu’s Lagos.