14042021 -6 Northern govs link up to fight banditry, terrorism

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C M Y K 18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021 SHOCK and an outpouring of grief were the immediate responses by many Nigerians to the death of Comrade Peter Oluyinka Odumakin, a democracy advocate, civil society activist and spokesman for the pan- Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere. blow, a sad loss to the country. His wife, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, But death has not diminished his said he died on the night of Friday, relevance as he had variously been April 2, 2021 at the Intensive Care Unit described by friends and foes alike as of the Lagos State University Teaching undoubtedly a great patriot and Hospital, LASUTH, due to nationalist, with many expressing complications from COVID-19. regret that COVID-19 had unfairly Since his death was announced, robbed the country of his highly there has been a torrent of tributes valued contributions and services at a from different parts of the country. time they are most needed. From President Muhammadu Buhari An unrepentant critic of a troubled to former presidents, Olusegun Nigeria and the leadership Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, to responsible for this sad state of affairs, various state governors; other Comrade Yinka Odumakin was for prominent political and opinion many years in the forefront of leaders across the country, the verdict agitations to correct the many remains the same: his death is a tragic structural anomalies inherent in the Yinka Odumakin: A life of critical activism country, leaving it almost prostrate and in danger of collapsing on itself. As a ready mouthpiece of the Afenifere, he was never shy or afraid to step on the sensitive toes of those in authority for failing to respond appropriately to the many leadership problems confronting Nigeria. Until his death, he was a vibrant and relentless voice on the need to restructure the country so that it can find its bearing among the comity of nations that are developing at a rapid pace while Nigeria lags behind. A prolific writer, ace commentator and critic, Yinka never missed the opportunity to bare his mind on sundry issues bordering on politics, power and the economy. In the process, he kept government and public office holders constantly on their toes, hoping to get them to do the right things for the country. His column in Vanguard: “Candid Notes”, was a must-read every Tuesday, with his comments sometimes scathing but in most cases corrective. His last column in Vanguard was published on Tuesday March 9, 2021. For some weeks, he had not sent his script for publication as he faithfully did and on time. Unknown to us and most of his readers, he had fallen ill from the dastardly pandemic from which he eventually succumbed to the cold hands of death. He was born 54 years ago at Moro, Ife North, Osun State. May his soul rest in peace. OPINION Lekki toll plaza episode and the US report By SAMUEL OMOJOYE WITH the United States Department of States report stating that there is no verifiable evidence on the reported killings of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20 last year, many questions arise on the actions that followed what was unjustifiably described as a massacre. In its “2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nigeria”, the State Department stated that accurate information on fatalities resulting from the shooting was not available. According to the report, the #EndSARS protesters were allowed to proceed unimpeded in most places. Those charged with “conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace” were released within days of their arrest. Though a few human rights activists, as usual, have come out to condemn the said report, claiming it did not represent what actually transpired during the Lekki protest, they have failed to give any evidence to support their wild assertion of a massacre. Was the massacre claim made to ensure the destruction of Lagos, with its prime assets as targets? What were the purveyors of the fake news targeting? Who are their sponsors and enablers? Why would they want to destroy the unity that Lagosians so much cherish? This writer has always been of the view that the socalled Lekki ‘massacre’ was carefully hatched by enemies of the government just to give it a bad name and unduly overheat the polity. A massacre? Could there have been a massacre without blood and bodies? Would morgues not have been filled with bodies? Would parents and relations of supposedly massacred victims not have come out to give their identities? Now that the United States, which can be considered as an impartial actor in the episode, has come out with a report refuting any claim of a massacre, one would have expected those with contrary views to actually come out with empirical facts to buttress their claim. Sadly, in their characteristic fashion, they have failed to apologise publicly for their indiscretion or deliberate mischief. If the United States’ report had come out with findings that endorsed their unproven claim, they would have termed it as credible. But now that it disagrees with their spurious stance, it is nothing but a concoction. Such has always been the stock-in-trade of our so-called human rights activists, many of who are mere creations of the media. Every contrary view to theirs is always wrong because they erroneously believe that they have the monopoly of knowledge. If the US report had come out with findings that endorsed their unproven claim, they would have termed it as credible Besides, playing to the gallery is part of their tactics. The role of misinformation in the Lekki Toll Plaza incident cannot be overemphasised. After the incident, in the dead of the night, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, visited some medical facilities around the area to see things for himself. Earlier, the army had tweeted “fake news” when the social media was awash with videos of soldiers in an armoured tank, shooting sporadically in a direction and scores of videos of bodies with body parts littering the ground had been spread as victims of the fake “massacre”. A certain DJ Switch released several videos, on LIVE, in which she claimed that soldiers were killing protesters and that many people had died and they were trying to remove a bullet from a victim’s leg. She was relaying these events, but not showing any footage of the most important videos (of dead bodies), soldiers shooting at people, blood on the ground, the process/procedure when the bullet was removed and when soldiers were carrying the bodies, among others. Her second video showed her talking to a friend and, all of a sudden, she started running and asking imaginary people to bend down and hold their flags. Her friend then said “daaaamn”, after which he covered his face as if he had just witnessed something gruesome. That, no doubt, was mere acting and a bad one at that. DJ Switch gave an impression that the army or police were still shooting protesters at Lekki even in the morning. Then she did another video where she apologised for not being online for some time. She then proceeded to reminisce about the night and, at that point, started to address the issue of numbers. It was then the death toll of over 80 suddenly reduced to 12. She also claimed that the DJ Switch account which posted over 80 deaths was a fake account and not hers. Experts have analysed that her behaviour was not commensurate with that of a victim of trauma and her description of how she carried and deposited bodies at the feet of soldiers defies logic. Soldiers opening fire and you taking bodies to them seem a drama taken too far; it is highly unlikely. Pictures that were touted as victims of the Lekki massacre turned out to be those of people who had died in separate circumstances - one from a bike accident and the other a stab wound victim. Those found in the hospitals who got injured from Lekki were as a result of stampede, and the injuries ranged from broken bones, cuts, bruises and slash wounds. No record of death as a result of gunshot wounds, but the social media was awash with people in hospital, who claimed that they were shot by soldiers at the toll plaza. The judicial panel of inquiry instituted by the Lagos State Government to investigate the episode has continued to encourage those with concrete evidence on the Lekki incident to come Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com up with such. Among all such judicial inquiries put in place by state governments across the federation over the #EndSARS protest, the Lagos panel, in particular, had proved promising. In all honesty, the set-up inspires confidence and proceedings have never lacked transparency. In fact, the sittings are televised live. As for those bent on spreading lies to further pollute the polity, they must realise that our nation has just endured a very tough 2020; one whose uncertainties still cloud our socio-economic structure. The strain and heavy burden that the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the avoidable destruction that climaxed the #EndSARS protest have inflicted on our society will take years to lighten. For instance, in Lagos alone, analysts put the estimated economic loss during the 12 days dissent at N700 billion, connoting a loss of N58 billion daily. This loss was also accompanied by looting, vandalism and arson at several shopping malls, public facilities, police stations and private facilities. As Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote: “No man consciously chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for the happiness that he seeks.” Such temptation to devour the society and interrupt the process of healing is destructive. We will only be spinning on a wheel that just goes around and around, eventually leading to the same problems over and over again. Let it be acknowledged that there is no magic formula that will resolve our grievances. But to tame the storm of our reality and reduce the intensity of conflict, a social contract must be forged between citizens and the government. It is to recognise that there are no differences that cannot be solved through dialogue, negotiation and conflict resolution or that are worth the damage created by the assumption of injustice. It is to engage in open, honest, collaborative effort and elicit heartfelt communications that invite truth and reconciliation. •Omojoye , a social commentator, wrote from Palmgrove, Lagos
C M Y Despite exiting recession, economy declines -1.9% *Records negative balance of trade By Elizabeth Adegbesan ECONOMY DESPITE the reversal of the negative growth trend in the fourth quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s overall gross domestic product, GDP, remained in the negative for the full year. The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, yesterday disclosed that the economy recorded overall GDP growth rate of -1.9 percent year-on-year (YoY) which was a huge downturn against positive 2.3 percent recorded in 2019. Nigeria’s economy had entered recession in the third quarter of 2020 when the GDP recorded a negative growth of - 3.62 percent, second consecutive quarterly negative growth after the -6.1 recorded in the second quarter, 2020. The NBS also disclosed that exports and imports of goods and services fell by 27 per cent and 23 per cent respectively during the period. Due to declining rates of growth in exports and imports, a negative balance of trade (- 30%) was also recorded during the period. In its Nigerian GDP Report (Expenditure and Income Approach for first, second, third, and fourth quarters of last year, Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4, 2020), the NBS stated: “In Q3’20, Nigeria’s real GDP at basic prices grew by - 3.62 percent on a year on year basis, marking a second consecutive quarter of negative real GDP growth after -6.10 percent recorded in Q2’20. In Q4’20 however, growth turned positive, recording 0.11 percent in Q4 YoY. “Nevertheless, the negative quarterly growth rates recorded in Q2 and Q3 2020 resulted in annual growth rate of -1.92 percent for 2020, compared to 2.27 percent recorded in 2019.” CURRENCY BUYING SELLING US DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL RAND 131.80 +1.80 2,445.00 +44.00 15.59 +0.23 63.96 +0.68 60.37 +0.67 379 379.5 380 521.7314 522.4197 523.108 451.3132 451.9086 452.504 410.2176 410.7587 411.2999 3.4653 3.4699 3.4744 0.6678 0.6778 0.6878 538.7739 539.4847 540.1955 57.9059 57.9827 58.0596 101.0586 101.1919 101.3252 25.19577 26.9919 26.0261 CBN Exchange rate as at 13/04/2021 CONFERENCE— From left: Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, Cyril Ilok; Chief Transformation Officer, Olubayo Adekanmbi; Chief Financial Officer, Modupe Kadiri, all MTN Nigeria, and President, Institute of Chartered Accountants Nigeria (ICAN) Mrs Onome Adewuyi, during ICAN’s 50th Annual Accountants’ Conference at the Abuja International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja sponsored by MTN Nigeria. Poor households suffer volatile work situations — NBS survey By Elizabeth Adegbesan Asurvey by the National Bu reau of Statistics, NBS, has shown that poorer households suffered volatile work situations in February this year, resulting in a six month (September to February 2020) decline in the share of workers in the lowest consumption quintile/ class. The survey Report titled, “COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS), Round 10”, released yesterday, stated: “Working situations have been ECONOMY most volatile for individuals living in poorer households. For individuals in the top consumption quintile, the share of people working has remained fairly stable, at 69 percent in January/February 2019, 67 per cent in September 2020, and returning to 69 per cent in February 2021. “For individuals in the lowest consumption quintile, however, the share of people working jumped from 52 percent in January/February 2019 to 70 percent in September 2020, but then dropped Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021 —19 back to 63 per cent in February 2021.” The survey showed that the share of Nigerians who were working in February 2021 was close to 70 per cent which was slightly lower than the share working in September 2020, and higher than the share working in January/February 2019. The survey noted that the reason for the rise in the share of Nigerians who were working may be due to “an added worker” effect where households boost their overall labour supply to cope with negative economic shocks. The survey revealed that labour supply was higher for women than men during the period. NGX Group launches new Brand Identity *As NGX Ltd trains traders for derivatives By Nkiruka Nnorom THE Nigerian Ex change Group (NGX Group) Plc, a leading integrated market infrastructure Group in Africa, has announced the launch of its new corporate brand identity and website This comes as its subsidiary, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in collaboration with NG Clearing (NGCL) Limited, organised capacity training for traders to equip them ahead of take-off of derivatives trading in the Nigerian capital market. The launch of the new identity follows the demutualisation of The Nigerian Stock CAPITAL MARKET Exchange, NSE, and the resulting creation of the nonoperating holding company NGX Group Plc and its subsidiaries. The NGX brand identity follows a monolithic brand architecture, which will facilitate the formation of any new subsidiary by leveraging existing brand equity. Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, stated: “Influenced by the dynamism and resilience of our market in both good and challenging times, our new identity, which builds on our rich heritage, reflects who we are today, our ambitions for the future, and our resolve to deliver superior value to our stakeholders. “As we step into the NGX era, we remain committed to achieving the highest level of competitiveness, both in African and global capital markets”. Together with the new vibrant, modern and responsive website, NGX Group offers an enriched user experience. Accessible via ngxgroup.com, information about the group and the various subsidiaries are independently situated but featured as one website. In consolidating its group perspective, NGX Group has also rebranded its social media assets. The new brand identity and digital assets reflect the vibrant, disciplined, inspired and engaging personality of NGX Group and its subsidiaries. Meanwhile, speaking on the derivatives training, Mr. Jude Chiemeka, Divisional ITA, NEPC partner on first e-Labinnova training for Agribusinesses By Etop Ekanem AGRICULTURE AS part of its commitment to boost trade relationships with Nigeria, the Italian Trade Agency, ITA, a governmental agency that supports the business development, partnerships and collaborations between Italian companies and their foreign counterparts, has launched the first E-Lab Innova in Nigeria. The E-Lab Innova will be implemented in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Commision, NEPC, alongside other Italian partners, such as MACFRUT, a leading exhibition for the agribusiness industry. The training is aimed at increasing the technical and managerial skills of Nigeria agri-food companies in order to support their access to EU markets and foster business partnerships with Italian companies. Participants which are selected with the support of NEPC are CEOs of high-potential companies active in the production of foods such as mango, pineapple, shea nuts and groundnuts. In his opening remarks at the event to flag off the training, the Italian Trade Agency Director for West Africa, Dr. Alessandro Gerbino, said: “Nigeria remains a strategic point for engagement between the agency and other countries across West Africa. The E-Lab Innova holds prospects for Nigerian companies to be imparted on the knowledge and technicalities of their counterparts abroad whilst also paving the way for collaborations between Italian and Nigerian agribusinesses. “The collaboration between the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, is to develop the capacity of agribusinesses and aid their integration into the value chain of European Union markets.” In her keynote address, Uduak Etokowoh, Director, International Export Offices, NEPC, said: “The council constantly seeks out collaborations like this to strengthen trade relations across the world. The European Union (EU) is one of the largest markets for agribusiness, however, challenges such as logistics and inability to meet market needs pose a threat to growth opportunities. Head, Trading Business, NGX Limited, said: “We have worked with regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to establish the right regulatory and legal framework for derivatives in our market. We also continue to build on the trading infrastructure that will ensure domestic and foreign stakeholders are able to trade seamlessly once we launch within subsequent months. “With the ultimate goal to ensure that there is widespread understanding of derivatives, its applicability and how investors can reap maximum value from the asset class, NGX has collaborated with both local and international organisations to facilitate in-depth capacity building programmes on the derivatives market.”
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14042021 -6 Northern govs link up to fight banditry, terrorism

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