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PAGE 16— SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 Vanguard/Bankers'Committee Economic Summit ECONOMY: 2021 is our year of active recovery — Emefiele, CBN Governor Continued from page 15 and businesses. Agriculture As indicated earlier, the agriculture sector was a key driver in taking the Nigerian economy away from negative growth in the 4th quarter of 2020. It is important that we not only sustain measures aimed at increasing productivity of the sector, but also ensure that we continue to produce items that can be produced locally rather than resorting to imports of these items. More importantly our agricultural sector also offers significant opportunity for the nation to earn foreign exchange through the exports of processed agricultural products. Over the next 3 years, we will continue to encourage the banking sector to increase its loans to the agriculture sector from 4 percent to 10 percent by 2024. We are also pursuing an indepth restructuring of the Nigeria Commodities Exchange Board in order to improve access to finance as well as productivity for stakeholders in the agriculture sector. With enhanced logistics and the provision of warehouse receipts through the Commodities Exchange, farmers will be able to access finance, expand production and supply needed By Sam Onuigbo The world is in an unprecedented time as it grapples with the scourge and consequences brought upon it by the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has exacerbated the existing socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by the world and more importantly in developing countries. The virus has continued to spread – and the spread has entered multiple phases across the globe as it wreaks havoc on global economies with a huge effect on African countries. Many countries, especially in Africa have embarked on economic recovery plans to recover better and create a buffer that will stimulate rapid economic growth and recovery across all sectors. I am delighted that Nigeria, through the leadership of the President has also put forward a bold economic plan for recovery in the form of the Nigerian Economic and Sustainability Plan (NESP). Before COVID-19 shocked the world, the Nigerian government had in place, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which was targeted to run between 2017 and 2020. The plan was meant to provide a buffer to the already fragile economy and highly constrained fiscal space. The ERGP highlighted a number of initiatives and projects that were consistent with the effort to tackle climate change and other environmental issues in the country. These include the Great Green Wall initiative to address land degradation and desertification, and support communities adapting to climate change; implement environmental initiatives, and continuation of the Ogoni Land cleanup while reducing gas flaring. It also sets a target to raise a Green Bond to finance environmental projects while establishing one forest plantation in each state. The ERGP also planned to rehabilitate all forest reserves and national parks to enhance eco-tourism as it establishes a functional database on drought and desertification while encouraging and promoting the development of green growth initiatives. Although COVID-19 may have slowed down economic growth, it is still important that action on climate goods to off-takers. I n f o r m a t i o n a n d C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Technology Another sector which has emerged as a significant source of resilience in mitigating the impact of COVID- 19 on the economy, is Information and Communications Technology (ICT). In the •Emefiele, 4th quarter of 2020, the ICT sector made contributions of over 14.70 percent to GDP growth, 4 percent points higher than its contributions a year earlier. The Central Bank in 2021would seek to encourage banks and other financial institutions to leverage ICT in improving penetration of financial services to households and SMES, while supporting productivity across key sectors in the economy. Infrastructure Finance With the decline in revenues due to federal and state government, alternative ways of funding infrastructure are critical if we are to generate sustained growth of our economy. As we are all aware, a wellbuilt infrastructure system can have a multiplier effect on growth by enabling the expansion of business activities in the country. That is why I am delighted that Mr. President has continued to give all the necessary approvals and support to establish the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Limited. InfraCorp will be co-owned by the CBN, the African Finance Corporation and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and would become fully operational by the second quarter of 2021. This vehicle would enable the use of private and public capital to support infrastructure investment that will have a multiplier effect on growth across critical sectors. Improving Foreign Exchange Inflows Non-Oil Exports The CBN intends to support measures that will improve our non-oil export earnings significantly. As a result, we intend to aggressively implement our N500 billion facility aimed at supporting the growth of our non-oil exports, which will help to improve non-oil export earnings. Exporters will be further encouraged to repatriate their export proceeds as stipulated under our extant laws. The CBN will continue to ensure that exporters have unfettered access to their export proceeds. Remittances The CBN has already taken several measures to increase the flow of diaspora remittances into the country using formal channels. In December 2020, we instructed all international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to provide remitters with the option of sending for- Putting climate change at the center of Covid-19 recovery plan change and other environmental issues are not reversed as the country charts a course for economic recovery. The world has coined the term “build back better” as a means of making the point that governments around the world should use the opportunity of rebooting their economies from the impact of Covid-19 as a means to also take action on climate change and put their economies on the path to long term sustainability. I am delighted that the government has demonstrated vision and leadership in this regard. It is heartwarming to see that many of Be it digital profile or real life, being trendy and having make up on point is the new mode to be chic. It isn’t easy for all to achieve it in a fast-paced life and especially it’s expensive to keep up with new ways of styling. So clearly there was a gap that existed of being in style and keeping it affordableand the boss lady, Lata Franson identified it earlier on and founded Style Thy Look with catch phrase ‘Change your Style, it’s affordable!’ And Style Thy Look makes being trendy an easy, within your means and an achievable routine. Lata, is a post graduate in Commerce, a proficient website designer by passion, loving wife, a home maker and a confident mum of two kids. It all started in 2017 when Lata, based in Lagos, Nigeria who herself is particular about her fashion and make up choices found there the key projects in the Nigerian Economic and Sustainability Plan have the potential if implemented in a good faith, to enhance green recovery in the country. These include the mass agricultural programme, road construction using indigenous materials, mass housing Programme, the 5million Home Solar Power, SME/MSMEs Support, Survival fund, Promoting domestic gas utilization and digital technology and social intervention programme. On the other hand, it should be stressed that climate change also has multi-dimensional security implications and that the failure to address these security issues will hinder our LATA FRANSON: Face behind Style Thy Look •Lata Franson was not much choices in the market available on the spot for her makeup and fashion needs. You either had to pre-order or wait nearly 4 weeks to get a simple make up item like a face cream of a brand. It didn’t help her to be party ready and unique yet stylish and couldn’t change her fashion sense because of the delay in receiving the goods of her selection in time for the next party. She kicked off to close the gap by being an Oriflame consultant and to study the market needs first hand. For many years while she thought that there would be many more fashionconscious woman like her in the market, it wasn’t an overnight idea to start a woman led entrepreneur set up while balancing the ever challenges of home maker- mum life. After a careful research & understanding of the market desires & with the support of her husband, Franson Davis, @Stylethylook was established and is growing rapidly since it’s inception. She clearly catered to the socialeconomic needs of the fashionconscious cohort in Nigeria while boosting their self-esteem needs of consumers wanting to be most appreciated for their fashion persona while keeping wallets healthy. And now Style thy Look also plans to expand its customer base across borders and be International. International brands are readily available on the website www.stylethylook.com and as such the following are household names now in the market – thanks to @stylethylook for its impeccable marketing- Lakme, Pure Elements, Oriflame India, Colorbar Cosmetics, Maybelline Global & India, Loreal, L. A. GIRL, Milani Cosmetics, Absolute New York & many more. Interestingly, Style Thy Look tapped on the most widely acknowledged and accepted marketing tool in today’s digital world- WhatsApp early on in 2017 itself where not only it connected regularly with woman on hunt for their favourite branded cosmetics but also created a database and catered to their ever growing make up needs by adding the brands they wanted the most. Neutrogena, Olay, Victoria’s Secret are some big labels which get added to customers shopping bag. Style Thy Look is known for her first-class management of the entire Business 2 Consumer model and an A star customer service feedback. From packaging, inventory, customer portfolio, invoice management to doing R&D and up-notching to its increasing love & demand in the market, Lata has done it all with utmost professionalism and it is only making STL shine more and be desirable every day. Having an analytical & corporate bent of mind and being an entrepreneurial mum herself, Lata with Style Thy Look also doesn’t forget catering back to the community with its corporate social responsibility and gives back 5% (or $1 whichever is higher) from each order to Young Fighters Foundation (@yffglobal). It benevolently channels the good cause from its customers via its business and helps yffglobal assist children fighting cancer and its research. What a holistic enterprise Style Thy Look is. eign exchange to beneficiaries in Nigeria. This new measure has helped to reduce the diversion of FX by some IMTOs, who had thrived from FX arbitrage arrangements, rather than on improving transactions volumes to Nigeria. Indeed, we have already seen remittances improve from a weekly average of about US$5 million before this policy, to over US$30 million per week. We believe this measure will help to significantly boost inflows of FX and create much more liquidity in that space. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in concluding my remarks, let me add that while the effects on COVID-19 has brought on several challenges to our economy, it also offers a unique opportunity for us to build a more resilient economy in 2021 that is better able to contain external shocks, whilst supporting growth and wealth creation in key sectors of our economy. Proactive steps on the part of stakeholders in the banking and financial system in supporting the growth of sectors such as Agriculture, ICT and Infrastructure, will strengthen our ability to deal with the challenges that have been brought on by 27 COVID-19, and stimulate the growth of our economy. ability to build back better. The Nigerian government is also working very hard to revise and enhance its national climate change pledge through the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Through an ambitious NDC, government will continue to demonstrate leadership in determination to tackle climate change which, like the Covid-19 can be a major constraint to economic growth. Connecting the NDC with the National Economic and Sustainability Plan will help to maximize the synergies and ensure that our recovery plan also helps us to meet our Paris Climate Accord Obligations. I am delighted that in the recently Launched “2021 Macroeconomic Outlook Report” by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) - a non-profit, non-partisan private-sector-led think tank with a mandate to promote and champion the reform of the Nigerian economy into an open, globally competitive economy, it has been identified that renewable energy sector is one of the key sectors that can act as enablers for the intended recovery. Other sectors include manufacturing, construction, trade, education, health, and professional services with ICT. The leadership of the (Federal) House of Representatives has also shown dynamism and commitment to work with the Executive branch of the government to promote legislation and policies that will facilitate the recovery along the lines that are just, equitable and sustainable in the long run. It is very important therefore that our international development partners recognize the commitment of the government, enormous work before us, and make available substantial resources that can help developing countries to scale up their effort to put climate change at the center of green recovery. It should be remembered that while Africa is one of the vulnerable continents to climate change it has contributed the least to the problem. It is therefore in the interest of equity and global solidarity that the industrialized countries do their bit to help us respond and adapt to the impact of climate change. •Rep. Sam Onuigbo, former Chairman, House Committee on Climate Change is the Vice President (Africa) GLOBE International and also Chairman, Climate Parliament Nigeria Chapter.
Looking forward to governors rescuing Nigeria Palpable tension caused by Nigeria’s increasingly unsafe environment moved to near boiling point last week when two of our state governors, Samuel Ortom and Bala Mohammed of Benue and Bauchi states respectively employed intemperate language to controvert one another. While some people were able to understand Ortom’s hurt from the number of persons of Benue origin killed and/or displaced by herders from their homes and farmlands, others were prepared to tolerate the anger of Bala Mohammed who has become the leading voice against the tendency to criminally profile the Fulani. When it is realized that the posture of both governors can hardly provide any solution to the intractable problem on ground, it makes sense to appeal to both leaders and all their counterparts nationwide to ignore justifications and embrace their primary constitutional mandate which is to ensure the welfare and security of those they lead. Luckily, Bala Mohammed has taken steps to restore some level of normalcy by apologizing to all Nigerians PhD,Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos 08116759758 opuruiche2000@gmail.com The Nigerian situation has degenerated so badly since 2015, specifically after retired Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari came to power, that an increasing number of the citizens are now nostalgic about the much-inveighed or vilified administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, although die-hard buharimaniacs still believe the fairy tale that things are better now than they were in 2014. On the other hand, it is clear that Prof.Wole Soyinka, Bola Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi, Atiku Abubakar and the so-called intellectuals, political juggernauts and leaders of opinion across the country who packaged Buhari as the messiah that would undo the mess by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after sixteen years in office were tragically mistaken. Without any scintilla of doubt the main failures of Buhari’s administration are not new: they have been the leitmotiv of various governments especially since the Biafran war ended in 1970, namely, mindless corruption especially amongst the ruling military-civilian elite, insecurity and shambolic management of the economy. Although these three fundamental pillars of misgovernance have worsened under the All Progressives Congress (APC) who may have been disgusted by the diction he used while defending his people. Bala no doubt appreciates the need to be sensitive to the sensibilities of other Nigerians. We thank the governor for his decision to reduce tension in the polity especially his call on all herders to drop their AK 47 weapons. The earlier explanation by the governor that he only used AK 47 figuratively would mean that his appeal should apply to all those who possess whatever weapons or implements of coercion to desist from hurting fellow citizens. It is our hope that all other governors will adopt a similar position in the days ahead. Indeed, it is not just governors; all leaders must depart from the part of parochialism which has of recent pushed them into defending the indefensible. To this end, no one should be engaged in the type of truth told the other day by governor Simon Lalong of Plateau state that farmers also carry AK 47. The appropriate message is that no Nigerian should carry unauthorized arms, let alone using such implements to commit extra-judicial killings. The path to unity which The possible impossibility of Nigeria (1) notwithstanding the exculpatory shibboleths from APC apologists and sycophants, the worst abomination under the current government is President Buhari’s ringing nepotism in appointing those that occupy the most consequential positions in the armed forces, the Police, Customs and Immigration, NNPC, NPA, DSS, NIA and so on. Intellectually dishonest and morally crippled commentators shamelessly deny what no one in his right senses would dare to question. In that regard, not only are the three arms of government at the centre headed by northern muslims, Buhari has consistently manifested and gotten away with unprecedented pro-north disposition to governance which actually contravenes the federal character provisions in the gravely flawed1999 constitution. If Nigeria is practising a functional democracy where the relevant institutions are controlled by individuals of integrity and courage to stand for truth, the president should have been impeached by the National Assembly. Why? Because he has breached severally stipulations of the constitution he swore to protect, foremost among which is his failure to secure the citizens and lead in a manner that gives Nigerians from every part of the country many of our governors seem to have followed in the last few weeks makes it mandatory for the same governors to be the first to condemn any divisive statements irrespective of their authors. Sadly, such talks which our governors should ignore while working to rescue Nigeria have become quite many. They include the statement by former governor Isa Yuguda that the federal government should subsidize herders’ businesses because it also supports agriculture. That statement would have had only one meaning under normal times but to reiterateit at a time of tension is ill-advisable as some people might understand it to mean a tacit support for herder invasions here and there. In any case, which of the three herders identified by governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano is Yuguda speaking for? Would it for example include the foreign Fulani herders that Ganduje categorized as criminals? Our governors must also ignore much of what Sheik Gumi has said so far as well as those of people opposed to the cleric because the pro and anti Gumi narratives are distractions. In specific terms, we need to encourage people to quickly forget statements such as Gumi’s argument that killings by bandits are mostly accidental. It would also be detrimental to our fragile peace process to embrace the call by different groups for government to investigate Gumi for allegedly behaving like the spiritual leader of bandits. Another negative Trump’s emergence as president has proved once again that democracy does not necessarily guarantee that the most qualified candidate would be elected a sense of belonging. That President Buhari ought to have been removed from office particularly now that his hardened pro-north outlook has accentuated the simmering ethno-religious tensions which have bedevilled the country since independence cannot be disputed by anyone with a modicum of objectivity and regard for accountability by public officials. Unfortunately, the National Assembly dominated by northerners and agbataekee politicians from the south, led by Ahmed Lawan, lacks the courage to do the right thing at the right time. Indeed, the current federal legislature is the most subservient to the executive branch and the most shamelessly spineless since the purported return to civilian rule (not necessarily to efficient democracy)in 1999. When the definitive history of Nigeria’s experiment with democratic governance is finally written, names of the current federal legislators will be listed in the Hall of Shame as mere rubber stamps for failing to rise up to the occasion because of greed and “anything goes” attitude to the Buhari-led government. That Nigeria is a contraption put together by British imperialists principally for British information that our governors must discountenance is last week’s statement credited to my friend, our Information Minister who revealed that A unity of direction which our governors are able to achieve through a collective resolve must be immediately followed by a design on uniformity in operating procedures in many countries of the developed world, school children are also subjected to kidnapping. The statement which uses one wrong to justify another is unacceptable, instead we would like to hear about arrangements by our government to do some great things such as exploits to the moon because other nations have also been showing off their prowess in this era of advanced technology The venues of criminality in Nigeria today are the states making the leader at that level- the governor the most affected by every criminal act. The resort to the President for help makes huge sense but the pace at which help comes or does not even come, places the governor in jeopardy. A Nigerian governor can therefore not afford to toy with the issue of criminality economic interests is beyond dispute. Less universally accepted but certainly true is the claim that since independence Nigerians have not been able to create a genuine nation out of the colonial amalgam or contraption left behind for them by the colonialists. Even some of the most respected politicians who worked directly with British colonial officials were sceptical about the workability or viability of Nigeria as a modern geopolitical entity. For example, according to the Sardauna of Sokoto and powerful premier of the northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Lugardian amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates to form Nigeria should not have happened. In 1953 at a session of the federal parliament, he claimed that “The mistake of 1914 has come to light, and I should like it to go no further.” During one of the earlier constitutional conferences held before independence, his protégé who later became the first and only prime minister to date, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, affirmed that Nigeria “existed as one country only on paper. It is still far from being united. Nigerian unity is only a British intention for the country.” Chief Obafemi Awolowo who, despite his tribalistic inclinations ranks as one of the most capable politicians to have emerged from Nigeria, concluded that “Nigeria is not a nation; it is a mere geographic expression. There are no ‘Nigerians’ in the same sense as there are English or Welsh or French. The word ‘Nigeria’ is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 28, 2021, PAGE 17 more so as it has become a notorious fact that each governor picks a huge monthly security vote to counter crimes and criminality in each state. There is hardly any Nigerian today who disbelieves the argument that security vote is a certified source of corruption. Under the circumstance, our governors must quickly come together and evolve a unity of direction in combating the current common challenge. First, what is the nature of the challenge? Events have shown that it is not about religion or ethnicity. As Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti state governor and chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum explained a few days back, the issue at stake is terrorism. If there is any governor thinking differently at this point, the rest have to plead with him to come on board. A unity of direction which our governors are able to achieve through a collective resolve must be immediately followed by a design on uniformity in operating procedures. Today, there is hardly any rationality in the subsisting template which counsels our leaders to dialogue with bandits. Before now, Nigerians who believed that dialogue in every conflict can be a win-win strategy have waned. Perhaps this explains why Bello Masari, Katsina state governor has been more silent these days than Muhammad Matawelle, governor of Zamfara state who had argued strongly that negotiating with bandits was no sign of failure! Of course the report of a fresh abduction of over 300 students from the not.” Dr.Nnamdi Azikiwe, unarguably one of the greatest African politicians and champion of One Nigeria, stated in a 1964 lecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, that in the country “Tribalism is a reality. National unity can be a reality; but at present it is not quite a reality.” That is not all. While Azikiwe and his followers obsessed with forging a united Nigerian nation worked tirelessly to actualise it key prominent northern politicians had another idea, which was to continue the conquest began in the early decades of the 19 th century by the arch-jihadist, Usman Dan Fodio. For instance, in 1947, Balewa told the British colonial governor that “We do not want, Sir, our southern neighbours to interfere in our development…I should like to make it clear to you that if the British quitted Nigeria now at this stage the northern people will continue their uninterrupted conquest to the sea.” The opposition of prominent northern political leaders and emirs to the unification of Nigeria was very strong in the last two decades before independence and few years afterwards. Several of them considered the option of secession which, in the words of Ahmadu Bello, “was very tempting.” The British journalist and writer, Frederick Forsyth, explains that the northern premier jettisoned the idea of session for two major reasons: the difficulty of collecting customs duties along a land border and the unreliability of access to the sea through a neighbouring independent country. Therefore, it is clear that the dominant faction of the northern ruling elite intended to conquer their Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe, in Zamfara state must have at this point placed Mattawele himself in despair concerningthe efficacy of his preferred approach. The frustration of Sani Bello, Niger state governor about no help from the federal level challenges the bond of unity among governors. What we have seen so far is much of condolence visits by governors to affected states, but do the visits translate to real support to a colleague under severe stress? It is probably time for our governors to listen to Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank who has asked Nigeria to leave ‘Federal Fatherism To A CommonWealth.” Nigerian governors need to learn a few lessons from what they have been occasionally subjected to in the recent past. An analyst would not be said to be harsh if he concludes that our governors are yet to appreciate the real consequences of a failure to squarely face good governance. Too many of them are too distracted by what is now commonly called the politics of 2023; yet the approved period for electioneering is still quite far. In earnest, a huge portion of the time for governance that is choked by electioneering has easily exposed Nigeria’s poor governance to the global media. The dilapidated structure of the Kagara “government” school from where some students and teachers as well as some of their family members were abducted almost two weeks ago is instructive. southern neighbours had the British not intervened, and opted not to pursue secession for mainly economic reasons beneficial to their region, not to the whole of Nigeria. Inherent in any multiply plural country like Nigeria are centrifugal forces tending to tear it apart thereby constituting a constant source of vulnerability. Aside from authoritarian nations such as China, Russia and North Korea which still are under the iron grip of one party or one family dictatorship, advanced democracies like the United States, United Kingdom and India have succeeded to some extent in creating traditions and institutions which ensure that the centripetal gravitational pull of commonalities amongst the diverse ethnic nationalities is greater than the centrifugal forces pulling in the opposite direction. In this process the quality of leadership, and by implication the followership as well, is of fundamental importance. That is why even in the United States which has been under democratic rule for over two hundred years and where muted calls for secession by disgruntled Americans can be heard from time to time, institutions that unite the country have been successfully mobilised by patriotic leaders to neutralise such demands at least for the time being. It is easy to point out the example of countries like America and India that are more populous and culturally diverse than Nigeria and use it to question the rationale behind recurrent agitations for secession by certain sections of the country or at least for renegotiating the foundation on which its geopolitical architecture was built. To be continued.
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