32.7 C
Lagos
Monday, May 5, 2025
Home Blog Page 1805

CODE: From humble beginnings to ONE Award winner

admin
-
0
CODE: From humble beginnings to ONE Award winner

Hamzat Lawal (or Hamzy!), an activist and Co-Founder/Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), works to build a growing grassroots movement of citizen-led actions through Follow The Money for better service delivery in rural communities across the African continent. In this treatise, he passionately traces the genesis of CODE’s humble beginnings to its culmination last April as winner of the prestigious ONE Award

Hamzat Lawal
Hamzat Lawal, Co-Founder/Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE)

In the year 1999, when I was just a mere boy marching the streets of Abuja in Nigeria with other energy-filled school children, dressed in green shirts and brown shorts as Boy Scouts, I never knew a day like this would come, when I will be the one with a ONE Award.

But as I look back now, I realise that, perhaps, certain feelings tugging on my little boy’s heart then, were but the lighthouse of the future showing me where to berth as the future beckoned.

In those days I remember the massive airplay given to Wyclef and Bono’s song “New Day”; and as I watched, and listened, my whole being fused into the only two lines I could understand and mime – Mama, mama… You know you raised me with no father figure… I wanna take this time to thank you thank you….

At the Mo Ibrahim Forum last April, As I heard the announcement stating that the winner of the 9th annual ONE Africa Award is Connected Development (CODE), the song began to play again in my head – two decades down the lane!

So, I now believe there is a song that brought all of us together in the Connected Development; it played the day I met Oludotun Babayemi, the CODE co-founder. It played the day we set out together for Zamfara State to clean the tears of those suffering, lead-poisoned children.

The song played when our first message #SaveBagega hit the airwaves, and forced our government and other critical stakeholders to take action. It resonated loud and clear for us to #FollowTheMoney in order to help forestall further avoidable disasters arising from lack of accountability and transparency in governance.

It became the talking drum with which other concerned youths with similar passions were summoned to join our campaign; and before long the room was filled to the brim with other dancers and international partners – for climate action, for justice, for transparency, for open data, for the youth, for the people.

Today, the crescendo of the drumbeats of service which we answered years ago has put the name of CODE among other renowned agents of change in Africa. For us, nothing could be more humbling!

However, what nobody knows is that this finest hour is also our scariest moment. How can we stand with the giants at ONE and still be the young activists that we are, trudging, learning, speaking and believing in a greater tomorrow?

Now that CODE’s contributions in reducing poverty in target communities and boosting citizen participation in governance has counted, how can we keep counting with the spotlight and ambient pitfalls inherent in the decadent system we have committed to change?

As we vow to keep to our pledge of service to Nigeria and Africa, we earnestly hope that every stakeholder, partner, friend and family, who has supported and helped us to get this far shall not leave our side.

This ONE Africa Award points us to new frontiers to cross and new strongholds to defend with our brands #EarthHour, #FollowTheMoney, #SustainAware, #PoliceMonitor.

…And the music starts now.

Why legislators must not kill ‘Not Too Young To Run Bill’

admin
-
0
Why legislators must not kill ‘Not Too Young To Run Bill’

To say that I, and indeed all Nigerian youth, am disappointed at the recent development in the National Assembly regarding the Not Too Young To Run Bill, is an understatement.

Bukola Saraki Elected Senate President
Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki

The truth is that when the reports filtered out at the end of the recently concluded joint retreat of national legislators on Constitution review in Lagos, indicating that the Senate and House Committees on Constitution Review had killed the Not Too Young To Run Bill, I was totally heartbroken.

We were like a child given a sudden, debilitating sucker punch by someone he trusts so much – his own father!

Nobody saw it coming. The bill had already passed at first and second readings. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, had publicly declared support for the bill. More than 25 State Houses of Assembly had publicly declared support and endorsed the bill, following series of fruitful engagements with young people at the state level. In fact, the House of Representatives even alluded to the bill as an achievement in its two years’ score card.

Yes, we all thought Nigeria has come of age with the coming of this historic bill, which enjoyed maximum support from the vast Nigeria youth population. But, suddenly, we woke up to the rude shock and to the realisation of the fact that, perhaps, all the cameras and lights at the National Assembly in support of #NotTooYoungToRun were just mere histrionics to paint a false picture.

Nonetheless, the facts are irrefutable. Nigeria is at a crossroads, burdened by the youth question of “what does the future hold?” and this truth we cannot sweep under the carpet or gloss over with any amount of contrived political theatrics, no matter how hard we try.

Firstly, killing the bill is tantamount to directly encouraging election-related violence; fuel regional agitations; and empower the enemies of our country to use the youth to perpetrate mayhem. This is because during the preparation and campaign for #NotTooYoungToRun bill, there emerged a perceptible new sense of maturity among Nigeria’s youth population. One could easily feel a silent revolution in the atmosphere: a consensus among the youths to enter the political fray as contenders, instead of continuously being used as pawns in violent pre- and post-electoral protests.

The Nigerian youth mustered a new intellectual energy with which they prepared to engage the democratic arena in future elections after the bill must have been passed and signed into law.

But, today, witnessing the abandonment of this important bill; one wonders how this tremendous energy shall be dissipated. The bill was supposed to give young people a sense of belonging in the political scheme of things, and allow for cross fertilisation of ideas between the leader and the led, because the lack of a mechanism for such outlet is the root of socio-political unrest. Now one wonders, where do we go from here?

Secondly, discarding the Not Too Young To Run bill is another way of telling the international community that Nigeria is not progressive and upwardly mobile. It is important to note that #NotTooYoungToRun is a global movement, which has found so much traction in the fact that general demographics favours the youth, and that even the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) seek proper youth mainstreaming for effective implementation.

The campaign was launched by the United Nations in November 2016 and January 2017 at its offices in Geneva and New York. And, ironically, the same National Assembly had received commendation from the UN and AU for providing leadership in the continent of Africa for considering the bill in the first place.

On January 2016, the African Union Assembly rose with the decision to devote the theme of the year 2017 to “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through investments in Youth”. The AU recognised that investments made today in the youth, who represent Africa’s greatest asset, will determine the development trajectory of Africa over the next 50 years, and position the continent towards realising the “Africa We Want”, a strong united and influential global player and partner as envisioned in Agenda 2063.

As can be easily understood, the greatest investment in youth is political investment, because it holds the key to opening the doors to other developmental concerns like infrastructure, equality, education, health and environment, etc.

We had hoped that, by 2019, we would see young people in power, helping to chart the course of governance to an all-inclusive future. But now, the feeling one gets is that the legislators are scared of such a future.

This should not be so. Rather, our distinguished lawmakers should see it as an opportunity for them to write their name in gold. Just like they rightly added it to their score card, it is a noble legacy for which posterity shall reward them and history shall be kind to this 8th National Assembly. For, in passing the bill, they must have given the right tool of participatory democracy to Nigerians yet to be born.

Thirdly, Nigeria is currently passing through difficult times, and is highly in need of a “cohesion-incentive” to make the youths continue believing in our young democracy. The #NotTooYoungToRun bill, which is celebrated by the world and lauded by the best of political intellectuals, is such a mechanism. It presents yet another opportunity for the youth and the government to see eye-to-eye and hold hands in a journey to birth a people-oriented new Nigeria.

And if the bill dies, a deep crack has been created in the fabrics of our national consciousness, which might be hard to heal, as it would feed on the simmering underground tensions in the country to gather its destructive momentum.

History beckons on Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, to guard our democratic heritage, entrench noble leadership, equal representation and true patriotism.

Certainly, in times of national need, Providence chooses not necessarily the old and experienced to provide effective leadership. Our founding fathers, Awolowo, Azikiwe, Balewa, built the foundation of this nation as youths.  Our youth of today also need a voice, to answer when Nigeria calls.

Fourthly, it is important to remember that the Not Too Young To Run bill is not about politics; it is about governance. It is about putting a final stop to the brain drain syndrome that makes our youths leave our shores in droves and take their God-given talents to other countries while we need them here.

It is about ensuring that young people, who nowadays graduate from tertiary institutions in their teen-age, also find a place in the political space should they aspire to such career.

It is about addressing an emerging need in the polity, after witnessing more than 7,000 youths that trooped out to canvass support for the #NotTooYoungToRun bill in insurgency-ravaged Yobe and Borno states. It is about entrenching true democracy – the choice of the people, who have spoken loud and clear that young Nigerians be given the opportunity to represent their communities, states and nation in matters of governance.

It is about a future that we all want to be part of, and be proud of, a New Nigeria of many faces, including the young and innocent ones. A great Nigeria!

By Hamzat Lawal (Abuja-based activist and a supporter who believes in the Not Too Young To Run Bill)

Commonwealth Youth Games opens in the Bahamas

admin
-
0
Commonwealth Youth Games opens in the Bahamas

The 6th edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games commenced on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 in Nassau, capital of the Bahamas. About 1,049 athletes are representing 65 Commonwealth countries in the four-day event, which is featuring nine sports.

Nassau-the-Bahamas
Nassau, located on the island of New Providence, is the capital of the Bahamas

Twenty-six athletes are representing Nigeria in seven sports – Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Athletics, Cycling, Judo, Tennis and Beach Soccer.

The Bahamas, a chain of 700 islands covering just 13,939 kilometres of land scattered over 3,884 square km of clear tropical sea, is the first Caribbean host of a Commonwealth Games event since Kingston in Jamaica staged the main edition in 1966.

In tennis, the United States Open will become the first tennis tournament to top in prize money, following the nine percent increase in the total purse.

Winners of the Men’s and Women’s Singles titles will each earn $3.7 million, while runners-up will each pocket $1.825 million from the $50.4 million total purse.

The Men’s and Women’s Doubles champion teams will each earn $675,000, also the highest in the US Open history.

The qualifying tournament for the season and the finals Grand Slam will offer more than $2.9 million in prize money, a 49.2% increase from 2016.

In football, Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, has signed an improved two-year deal with the Premier League Champion.

The new deal does not extend Conte’s commitment to the club, as he signed a three-year contract on his arrival to the West London, in the summer season of 2016.

Conte lifted the Premier League title at his first attempt in the 2016/17 season, winning 30 games which included a club record 13 consecutive victories.

He also guided the Blues to the FA Cup final, though they were beaten by Arsenal.

By Felix Simire

Activists accuse Lagos of being untruthful over water privatisation plans

admin
-
0
Activists accuse Lagos of being untruthful over water privatisation plans

A team of environmental justice non-governmental organisations opposed to the privatisation of water, the Our Water Our Right Coalition, has described as “extremely disturbing” the decision by the Lagos State Government to press ahead with its Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in the water sector even with what seems to be an overwhelming public rejection of the idea and repeated denials on the government’s part.

Lagos-water-protest
Anti-water privatisation street protest

Responding to the defence of PPP by the Managing Director of the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC), Mumuni Badmus, during a recent live radio interview, the Our Water Our Right Coalition said Lagos citizens are disappointed and find it shocking that after forcing the state government to rescind perceived anti-people sections in the new Lagos environment law, officials were secretly trying to foist the PPP agenda on citizens.

The Coalition comprises the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Corporate Accountability International, Child Health Organisation, Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability, ClimateAid Initiative, Center for Dignity, and Peace and Development Project (PEDEP), Africa Women Water Sanitation and Hygiene Network (AWASHNET).

Badmus, an engineer, had during the interview on NigeriaInfo 99.3 FM said that the provision of 18,000 water meters for water users in Lekki and sights set already on Oworonshoki was part of a PPP arrangement between the Lagos State Government and the World Bank.

But, in a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday, July 18, 2017, the Coalition said: “Not only is the revelation by the LWC disturbing, it means the Lagos government with the backing of the World Bank had all the time been fooling Lagos citizens and the entire world by denying there were deals to put the water infrastructure of the state in the hands of for-profit organisations, some with financial links to the World Bank.”

Deputy Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Akinbode Oluwafemi, stated: “We rejected PPP in the water sector in our petitions and public protests that culminated in rallies against sections of the Lagos Environment Law. Again, we reject this and any PPP in the state.

“We are convinced that the state government is now using a system of gradualism to introduce PPP in the water sector. The introduction of water meters in the Lekki axis is just a first step. Now that the LWC has openly declared that the views of millions of people who freely rejected the PPP agenda do not count, we are more than determined to defend our right and make the Lagos government listen.”

Vicky Urenma, executive director of Child Health Organisation, said the Lagos government push for privatising was already driving women saddled with getting water to the edge as it had failed to integrate broad public participation in developing plans to achieve universal access to clean water.

She explained that the solution to the current water crisis rests within the parameters of upholding the human right to water as an obligation of the government, representing the people.

Among a host of demands, the coalition also demanded the Lagos government:

  • Reject contracts designed by or involving the IFC, which profits from investments in private corporations
  • Prioritise water for the people by investing in the water infrastructure necessary to provide universal water access, which will create jobs, improve public health, and invigorate the Lagos economy.
  • Increase budgetary allocation to the water sector
  • Institute a Water Trust Fund that will expand public financing of the water sector.

UN urges accelerated efforts to achieve SDGs

admin
-
0
UN urges accelerated efforts to achieve SDGs

If the world is to eradicate poverty, address climate change and build peaceful, inclusive societies for all by 2030, greater efforts are needed to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a United Nations report presented on Monday, July 17, 2017 by Secretary-General António Guterres.

António Guterres ECOSOC
UN Secretary-General António Guterres presenting his report to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Photo credit: UN Photo/ Kim Haughton

“Implementation has begun, but the clock is ticking,” stated Mr. Guterres. “This report shows that the rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the targets by 2030.”

Using the most recent data available, the annual SDGs report provides an overview of the world’s implementation efforts to date, highlighting areas of progress and areas where more action needs to be taken to ensure no one is left behind.

 

Despite advances, accelerated efforts needed

While nearly a billion people have escaped extreme poverty since 1999, about 767 million people remained destitute in 2013, most of whom live in fragile situations.

Despite major advances, an alarmingly high number of children under age five are still affected by malnutrition. In 2016, an estimated 155 million children under five years of age were stunted.

Between 2000 and 2015, the global maternal mortality ratio declined by 37 per cent and the under-five mortality rate fell by 44 per cent. However, 303,000 women died during pregnancy or childbirth and 5.9 million children under age five died worldwide in 2015.

In the area of sustainable energy, while access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking climbed to 57 per cent in 2014, up from 50 per cent in 2000, more than three billion people, lacked access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, which led to an estimated 4.3 million deaths in 2012.

From 2015 to 2016, official development assistance rose by 8.9 per cent in real terms to $142.6 billion, reaching a new peak. But bilateral aid to the least developing countries fell by 3.9 per cent in real terms.

 

Progress is uneven

The benefits of development are not equally shared. On average, women spent almost triple the amount of time on unpaid domestic and care work as men, based on data from 2010 to 2016.

Economic losses from natural hazards are now reaching an average of $250 billion to $300 billion a year, with a disproportionate impact on small and vulnerable countries.

Despite the global unemployment rate falling from 6.1 per cent in 2010 to 5.7 per cent in 2016, youth were nearly three times more likely than adults to be without a job. In 2015, 85 per cent of the urban population used safely managed drinking water services, compared to only 55 per cent of rural population.

“Empowering vulnerable groups is critical to ending poverty and promoting prosperity for everyone, everywhere,” stated Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

 

Harnessing the power of data

Effectively tracking progress on the SDGs requires accessible, reliable, timely and disaggregated data at all levels, which poses a major challenge to national and international statistical systems.

While data availability and quality have steadily improved over the years, statistical capacity still needs strengthening worldwide. The global statistical community is working to modernise and strengthen systems to address all aspects of production and use of data for the SDGs.

The SDGs Report 2017 is based on the latest available data on selected indicators of the global SDG indicator framework, prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) with inputs from a large number of international and regional organisations.

Challenges before Nigerians in accessing water, toilets by 2030 – Report

admin
-
0
Challenges before Nigerians in accessing water, toilets by 2030 – Report

Recently released figures reveal the scale of the challenge ahead to bring universal access to water and sanitation in Nigeria by 2030, international development organisation, WaterAid, has said.

water-vendors
Mai ruwa, or water vendors, in Makurdi, Benue State

WaterAid’s analysis of figures released in the new ‘Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG baselines’ by the Joint Monitoring Programme – a body set up by Unicef and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to collate data on water and sanitation coverage – shows that Nigeria will only be able to deliver a community source of clean water within a 30-minute round trip to everyone by 2039.

However, the picture for sanitation is bleak with current demographic changes outstripping the provision of toilets. At current rates of progress, the report states that Nigeria will never reach the point where everyone has basic sanitation services.

This is by far the most comprehensive global assessment of WASH services produced to date, changingearlier definitions of access to water and sanitation and setting new ambitious standards for the road to universal access.The number of sources in the JMP database (used to create the estimates) has more than doubled since the 2015 report, drawing on both household surveys and national administrative data. There are also new types of data on hygiene, water/sanitation service levels, and inequalities (for wealth quintiles and sub-national regions).

Currently, according to the new figures and measuring the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene at what the JMP refers to as basic service levels, 33% of people in Nigeria do not have clean water, 67% do not have a decent toilet and 26% practice open defecation.

Accessibility, availability and quality vary widely in countries such as Nigeria, with national averages masking significant inequalities between subnational regions.

Worldwide, the latest statistics show that 839 million people – or around 11% of the global population – do not have access to clean water. This number has risen from the previous 663 million figures, largely because the 264 million who have to spend over half an hour in their round-trip to collect clean water are now deemed to only have a “limited” water service.

And 2.3 billion still do not have a decent toilet – around one in three of the world’s population.

World leaders in 2015 committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Goal 6, which aims to make sure by 2030 that every household in the world has its own tap and toilet delivering safe water and safe sanitation – a standard known as “safely managed”. This is a new level of ambition, building on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals.

Earlier definitions of access to clean water required only that a person would be deemed to have clean water if they had access to a water source that was built to protect the water from contamination, such as a pump or a covered well. With this new set of definitions, the United Nations has set the vision higher – for every household to have its own water source available when needed, and which is regularly tested to make sure it is safe. Toilets will need to be private and part of a system that makes sure they are regularly emptied, as with an effective sewage system or latrine emptying scheme. Currently only 19% of people in Nigeria have a safely managed water supply whilst there is insufficient data currently available as to how many have that level of sanitation service.

WaterAid is fully behind the vision and ambition of the United Nations to ensure that everyone achieves the human right of safe water and toilets. However, WaterAid cautions that achieving this standard of coverage will require a revolution in approach from decision-makers at grassroots level right through national governments and up to international organisations such as the United Nations and World Bank.

WaterAid Nigeria Country Director, Dr Michael Ojo, said: “The fact that so many of the world’s population still have to exist without access to the essentials of life – clean water and a decent toilet – is shameful. There is clear consensus on the transformative power of those services – we know for example that for every £1 spent, there is a £4 boost to the economy.

“We know for instance that women live more fulfilling and productive lives when they are freed from the daily burden of fetching water, water that is more often than not contaminated and will make their families sick and deprive them of yet more resources – time and money. We know that children are more able to concentrate on their lessons when they can get a clean drink of water and go to the toilet. We know that if people are able to wash their hands, they help stop the spread of germs in their community.

“If the world galvanised to make sure that no one ever had to worry about where to get a drink, or go to the toilet or wash their hands, we could save the lives of so many of the 289,000 children under five who now die each year from diarrhoea linked to dirty water or lack of sanitation.

“The United Nation’s vision of working taps, toilets and hand basins for every household by 2030 is absolutely the right goal because it will truly transform lives. But we have only another 13 years to get there which means that all of us, across government, civil society, water and sanitation companies and in every community must work with passion, grit, generosity and vision to bring this historic moment to pass.”

 

Top 10 worst countries in the world for at least basic sanitation
Country At least basic sanitation (% population) Year reaching 100% coverage
1 Ethiopia 7 2370
2 Chad 10 Never (decreasing)
3 Madagascar 10 2281
4 South Sudan 10 2123
5 Eritrea 11 2347
6 Niger 13 2203
7 Benin 14 2341
8 Togo 14 2449
9 Ghana 14 2428
10 Sierra Leone 15 2302

 

Top 10 worst countries in the world for at least basic access to water
Country At least basic water access (% population) Year reaching 100% coverage
1 Eritrea 19 2507
2 Papua New Guinea 37 Never – decreasing
3 Uganda 39 2118
4 Ethiopia 39 2056
5 Democratic Republic of Congo 39 2239
6 Somalia 40 2062
7 Angola 41 2289
8 Chad 43 2259
9 Niger 46 2119
10 Mozambique 47 204

One in 10 infants didn’t receive vaccinations in 2016 – UN

admin
-
0
One in 10 infants didn’t receive vaccinations in 2016 – UN

Worldwide, 12.9 million infants, nearly one in 10, did not receive any vaccinations in 2016, according to a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) immunisation estimates. This means, critically, that these infants missed the first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP)-containing vaccine, putting them at serious risk of these potentially fatal diseases.

Polio
Polio immunisation in Nigeria. Photo credit: comminit.com

Additionally, an estimated 6.6 million infants who did receive their first dose of DTP-containing vaccine did not complete the full, three dose DTP immunisation series (DTP3) in 2016. Since 2010, the percentage of children who received their full course of routine immunisations has stalled at 86% (116.5 million infants), with no significant changes in any countries or regions during the past year. This falls short of the global immunisation coverage target of 90%.

“Most of the children that remain un-immunised are the same ones missed by health systems,” says Dr Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, Director of Immunisation, Vaccines and Biologicals at WHO. “These children most likely have also not received any of the other basic health services. If we are to raise the bar on global immunisation coverage, health services must reach the unreached. Every contact with the health system must be seen as an opportunity to immunise.”

Immunisation currently prevents between 2–3 million deaths every year, from diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and measles. It is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions.

 

Global immunisation coverage levels

According to the new data, 130 of the 194 WHO Member States have achieved and sustained at least 90% coverage for DTP3 at the national level – one of the targets set out in the Global Vaccine Action Plan. However, an estimated 10 million additional infants need to be vaccinated in 64 countries, if all countries are to achieve at least 90% coverage. Of these children, 7.3 million live in fragile or humanitarian settings, including countries affected by conflict. 4 million of them also live in just three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan – where access to routine immunisation services is critical to achieving and sustaining polio eradication.

In 2016, eight countries had less than 50% coverage with DTP3 in 2016, including Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Ukraine.

Globally, 85% of children have been vaccinated with the first dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services, and 64% with a second dose.

Nevertheless, coverage levels remain well short of those required to prevent outbreaks, avert preventable deaths and achieve regional measles elimination goals.

Some 152 countries now use rubella vaccines and global coverage increased from 35% in 2010 to 47% in 2016. This is a big step towards reducing the occurrence of congenital rubella syndrome, a devastating condition that results in hearing impairment, congenital heart defects and blindness, among other life-long disabilities.

Global coverage of more recently-recommended vaccines are yet to reach 50%. These vaccines include vaccines against major killers of children such as rotavirus, a disease that causes severe childhood diarrhoea, and pneumonia. Vaccination against both these diseases has the potential to substantially reduce deaths of children under five years of age, a target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Many middle-income countries are lagging behind in the introduction of these newer and more expensive vaccines. These countries often do not receive external support and their health budgets are often insufficient to cover the costs of procuring these vaccines.

Inequities in immunisation coverage

National coverage estimates often mask large inequities in coverage within countries. The WHO report, State of inequality: Childhood immunisation, highlights inequalities in childhood immunisation coverage in low- and middle-income countries over the past 10 years. The report shows that global improvements have been realised with variable patterns of change across countries and that there is generally less inequality now than 10 years ago.

These findings were reinforced by a recent UNICEF study, which emphasised the cost effectiveness of investing in the poorest, most marginalised communities.

“Immunisation is one of the most pro-equity interventions around,” says Dr Robin Nandy, Chief of Immunisations at UNICEF. “Bringing life-saving vaccines to the poorest communities, women and children must be considered a top priority in all contexts.”

Efforts to reduce inequalities related to household economic status and mother’s education are needed in many countries if immunisation coverage is to be improved. Additionally, more than half of the global population resides in urban areas, including in rapidly growing slums in Africa and Asia. The urban poor is a group at high risk of being un- or under-immunised.

For the first time, WHO and UNICEF have collected disaggregated data on immunisation coverage at the subnational level. Of 194 reporting countries, 125 reported on subnational coverage, covering nearly 20 000 districts and roughly two-thirds of the global infant population. These data will help shed more light on geographical disparities in access to vaccines.

Since 2000, WHO and UNICEF jointly produce national immunisation coverage estimates for each of the 194 WHO Member States on an annual basis. In addition to producing the immunisation coverage estimates for 2016, the WHO and UNICEF estimation process revises the entire historical series of immunisation data with the latest available information. The 2016 revision covers 37 years from 1980 to 2016.

Nigeria’s oil revenue savings among world’s lowest, says NEITI

admin
-
0
Nigeria’s oil revenue savings among world’s lowest, says NEITI

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said that the time is now for the country to embrace fully a robust policy to save portion of oil and gas revenue for the rainy day and for the next generation.

Waziri-Adio
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio

The urgent measures that need to be taken include the immediate transfer of all revenue savings in the stabilisation fund and the Excess Crude Account into the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund.

In an Occasional Paper titled “The case for a robust oil savings fund for Nigeria”, NEITI alerted the nation that a national consensus on saving for tomorrow has become urgent to prepare the country to overcome frequent commodity price volatility and depletion of non-renewable resources.

NEITI in the paper highlighted that portions of mineral resource revenues that are excluded from the national budget and held as part of a country’s reserve can greatly enhance a country’s capital balances, attract greater investors’ confidence and significant flow of foreign capital into the economy. These funds also support the provision of critical infrastructure and social interventions during major national emergencies.

Presenting the occasional paper at a press conference in Abuja, Tuesday, the NEITI Executive Secretary, Waziri Adio, lamented that in spite of these benefits and the huge revenues that have accrued from oil and gas over the years, Nigeria has one of the lowest natural resource revenue savings in the world.

Nigeria currently has three oil savings funds. They are the Sovereign Wealth Fund with $1.5 billion, the Excess Crude Account with $2.3 billion and the stabilisation fund with N29.02 billion ($95 million). In the last 40 years of oil production, Nigeria has extracted about 31 billion barrels of its oil reserves. However, from 1980 to 2015, the country exported crude oil worth about $1.09 trillion, but has a current balance of $3.9 billion as at June 2017 in the three funds.

The NEITI Occasional Paper remarked that these “different oil revenue saving funds should be consolidated and the legal framework harmonised. Specifically, the 0.5% Stabilisation Funds and the Excess Crude Account (ECA) should be merged with the Sovereign Wealth Fund, as this multiplicity of savings funds with different rules has led to uncoordinated and widespread extra-budgetary spending. Apart from depleting the savings in each fund, such unrestricted spending defeats the purpose for which the funds were set up in the first place which is to shield the economy from revenue volatility”.

According to the Paper, Nigeria did not save enough oil revenues to sustain economic activities when oil prices began to “tank” in June 2014. “Also problematic is the level of consumption relative to non-oil exports. Nigeria typically responds to high oil prices with equally high, but manifestly unsustainable, level of consumption. The absence of sufficient savings left Nigeria severely exposed when the price of oil, Nigeria’s main source of government revenues and foreign exchange, started to plunge in 2014,” the NEITI Occasional Paper explained.

NEITI expressed regret that the $1.5 billion currently in the Sovereign Wealth Fund is one of the World’s worst ratio to annual budget (10%), and one of the lowest Sovereign Wealth Fund per capital ($8) globally.

From the Occasional Paper, NEITI provided some global comparisons among other resource rich countries. “Norway, a country of 5.2 million people has a sovereign wealth fund worth $922 billion, Chile $24.1 billion, Angola $4.6 billion and Botswana $5.7 billion. Others are Russia $89.9 billion and Kuwait $592 billion.

Country Name of the fund Year est. Current size of the fund (in billions) Population of the country in millions
Norway Stabilisation Savings fund 1990 922.1 5.2
Chile Stabilisation/Pension fund 2007 24.1 18.1
Angola Savings/Development 2012 4.6 25.8
Botswana Stabilisation/Savings 1994 5.7 2.3
Russia Stabilisation, Saving 2008 89.9 143.4
Kuwait Stabilisation, Savings 1953 592 4.0
Nigeria Stabilisation,Savings, Devt 2012 1.5 186.9

Sources: SWF Institute (fund size); countries’ ministries of finance (budget); UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (population); extant legislation for respective funds (fiscal rules)

The NEITI Executive Secretary recalled that the National Economic Council conducted a study in 2015 which revealed that inflow to the Excess Crude Account (ECA) between 2005 and 2015, was $201.2 billion while outflow was $204.7 billion, indicating that the amount withdrawn from the account exceeded the amount that was transferred into the account for the period.

Adio said: “Our paltry oil savings defeat the rationale for having such savings in the first place. Nigeria does not have enough oil savings to finance even a fifth of a year’s budget at the federal level, not to talk of having enough for investments or for the future generation.”

NEITI called on the federal and state governments to seek speedy resolution of the pending case at the Supreme Court on oil revenue savings.

The Occasional Paper recommended that government should “Initiate amendment to Section 162 of the constitution to accommodate the welfare of future generations….the constitutional option is necessary to ensure that the ‘rules are not subject to political fluidity’. The negotiations need to be complemented with appropriate guarantees for transparent and accountable governance of the funds to reassure stakeholders especially at the sub-national level”.

The Paper also recommended the need to delink government expenditure from oil revenues to support policy initiatives that pursues prudent macro-economic policies, better economic and social environment for the next generation. This is in addition to ensuring that there is constant savings whether oil prices are high or low and provide regular payouts from the returns on investments of the funds to compensate beneficiaries (the three tiers of government) for their sacrifice.

These measures, NEITI posits, have to be implemented as soon as possible because, even though the country has lost 50 years’ worth of savings from its oil revenue, Nigeria does not have 50 years left to prepare for life after oil revenue.

Adio maintained that Nigeria needs to “move urgently from our present spend-it-all or even save – and- spend attitude to a real savings culture, otherwise we will continue to be vulnerable to the volatility of oil prices and the eventual depletion of our oil reserves.”

The NEITI Occasional Paper, the second in the series, is one of the new products recently introduced by NEITI in the exercise of its mandate. This value addition is to support the on-going economic reforms of the present administration through research, knowledge sharing and evidence based analysis of extractive revenue management issues.

How Aluko, Omokore allegedly laundered $1.7bn

admin
-
0
How Aluko, Omokore allegedly laundered $1.7bn

Court papers in Lagos have detailed how oil businessmen, Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Jide Omokore, laundered some $1.7 billion through oil swap transactions between them and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), during the tenure of Diezani Alison-Madueke as Petroleum minister.

Aluko_Omokore
Kolawole Aluko and Jide Omokore

The documents, which are filed in a Lagos court, have provided what appear to be the most insightful details yet into how the entire money was laundered.

According to an affidavit sworn at the Federal High Court, Lagos by Isaac Kehinde Oginni, a lawyer in the Federal Ministry of Justice, both Aluko and Omokore lifted and sold allotted Nigeria’s crude oil. While they were paid for their service, they deliberately diverted to private use, what was due to the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria, in the sum of $1,762,338,184.40.

According to the court papers, they bought vehicles with a combined value of over N800 million and donated them to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through its then National chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

They also bought vehicles valued at over N130 million and gave them as gifts to former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, and some other management staff of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

Aluko paid $18,548,619.99 and N1,070,000,000 to FBN Mortgages Limited as part payment for Block A consisting of 26 Flats at 46 Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. The block was bought for a total cost of N5,210,520,315.

“Payment of a total sum of $25,839,606.77and N95,000,000 was made to Real Bank for the purpose of part financing the acquisition and renovation of properties by the Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited (AEDC) and Atlantic Energy Brass Development limited (AEBD).

“The Properties are Mason apartments at 6 Gerrard Road Ikoyi Lagos comprising 60 units of 3 bedrooms apartment valued at $78,000,000, Marion apartments Block 8 located at 4 & 5,Onikoyi Estate, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos consisting of 43 units of apartments valued at $76,160,000, apartments at 33A Cooper Road Ikoyi, Lagos renovated at a total cost of $4,937,750, Admiralty Towers at 8 Gerrard Road Ikoyi, Lagos, which was also renovated.

“The two businessmen also transferred $69,912,981.15 to the following companies, Mia Hotels Limited, First Motors Limited, V.I. Petrochemicals, Evergreen Reality & Management, WIz Trade limited, DE First Union Integrated Services and Amity Plus limited,” the deponent swore.

Mr Ogini also averred that Kolawole Aluko literally took residence outside the shores of Nigeria, to embark on a spending spree and assets acquisition in Britain, Canada, United States and Switzerland.

Among the assets acquired were houses at Grove End Road, London NW; 755 Sarbone Road, Los Angeles; 952 North Alpine drive Los Angeles; 815 Cima Del Mundo. He also bought land at 807 Coma Del Mundo in Los Angeles.

Aluko also bought houses or apartments at 1049 Fifth Avenue, New York, 1948 & 1952 Tolls Avenue, Santa Barbara, 157 West 57th St, New York , 4100 Let Revenge, Dubai. In Nigeria, he bought Avenue Towers in Lagos. He also bought a piece of land in Mont Tremblat, Canada and a property at Colina D’oro Montagnola, Switzerland.

After hiding his loot in many assets, he also bought the luxury $80million yacht, the Galactica Star, 58 exotic cars, expensive watches, private jets, Global Express S5-GMG and a Bombardier Global 6000 9H-OPE.

Cash found in his bank accounts, according to documents before the court are LDT Switzerland – $25million, Corner Bank, Lugano, Switzerland – $1million, Deutsche Bank, Geneva – $40million, HSBC London – $175,000.

He also had 75 percent shareholding in Atlantic Energy Drilling concepts Nigeria and Atlantic Energy Brass Development and 10 percent Shareholding in Seven Energy.

The case came before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Friday, July 14, 2017 incidentally the same day the US Justice Department filed a forfeiture bid at a court in Houston.

Oguntoyinbo adjourned hearing till September 29, 2017 to decide whether to stay proceeding in line with an application filed by the defendants or continue with the case.

The Federal Republic of Nigerian and two of its agencies are the plaintiffs and they are ranged against Aluko and Jide Omokore’s Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited (AEDC) and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited (AEBD). The Nigerian government wants to recover $1.76 billion from the businessmen and their companies.  Omokore is the chairman of the companies, while Kolawole Aluko is a Director.

Apart from Aluko and Omokore’s application, a limited liability company, Virtual Properties and Investment Limited, has also filed another application as an intervener.

The company is urging the court to discharge or vary its order, as it relates to Marion Apartments, on the ground that the property located at Block 8 Plots 4 & 5 Onikoyi Estate, Banana Island, Ikoyi consists of 56 apartments owned and developed by the intervener.

By virtue of two separate deeds of sublease, the intervener said it conveyed its interest in 43 out of the 56 apartments to Realblanc Energy Engineering limited, an affiliate of the defendants.

The intervener contends that it still retains ownership of 13 out of the 56 apartments in Marion Apartments. It says that the order of the court is prejudicial to its interest and interferes with its right ownership over these flats.

Last year, the Nigerian government had frozen the accounts of the defendants in 19 banks in Nigeria and eight offshore banks.

This was sequel to the affidavit deposed by Oginni of the Federal ministry of Justice in Abuja and filed by a Lagos lawyer Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN).

By Chinyere Obia

FRSC decries incessant attacks on personnel

admin
-
0
FRSC decries incessant attacks on personnel

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has condemned what he terms unprovoked attacks and molestation of operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps on the highways and vowed to prosecute all those involved.

Boboye
Road Safety Corps marshall, Boboye Oyeyemi. Photo credit: premiumtimesng.com

According to Bisi Kazeem, Corps Public Education Officer, FRSC, the Corps Marshal’s response came on the heels of the recent shooting of two FRSC staff and the detention of another in a Police facility in Abia State.

The Corps Marshal stated, “Many road users are abusing the civility of the unarmed personnel that are trained to be cautious while discharging their legitimate duties. In the past, many FRSC operatives had been abducted, killed, assaulted, ran over, threatened and shot. It is also disheartening that some of the attackers misinformed the unsuspecting public by releasing manipulated information to gain public sympathy. Attempts are often made to make the aggressors looked like the victims.”

The Corps Marshal said the FRSC remains the nation’s lead agency on road traffic administration and safety management empowered to arrest and prosecute erring motorists. He added, “Section 10 (4) of the FRSC (Establishment) Act, 2007 states categorically that members of the Corps shall have powers to arrest and prosecute persons reasonably suspected to have committed any traffic offence. Resistance based on ignorance of the law or impunity can no longer be grounds to attack operatives carrying out their lawful duties. We will definitely not abdicate our statutory responsibilities.”

 

Abia (15/717)‎

On the Abia case where our men were shot, the FRSC Corps Marshal said, “While we commend the Abia State Police Commissioner for swiftly directing the arrest and orderly room trial of the Policemen who shot the FRSC staff at Aro Ngwa along the Enugu – Port Harcourt expressway last Saturday, the Corps is deeply saddened by the shooting.

It is also greatly concerned that the two young men were abandoned with their gun wounds by the Policemen attached to the wife of the Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly who shot them. Obviously, they were left to die at the scene by these Policemen who are also employees of government.

He thanked the road users that assisted the two injured and abandoned staff to the hospital, adding that he hoped the two victims, who are still been treated, will not suffer life-threatening injuries.

 

FCT (12/7/17)

The Corps Marshal also recalled the case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, where an investigating panel revealed that a patrol team flagged down a driver for routine checks. When his car was to be impounded for running foul  of traffic laws, a female staff was attached to the offender’s vehicle to accompany the vehicle to a nearby FRSC office for other necessary processes as contained in the operational procedure to be effected, the driver sped away with the female staff.

A patrol team, obviously concerned about the motive of the fleeing driver, had to apply force to rescue the female operative. The manipulated video which the suspect released afterwards only told one side of the story. The Corps is determined to follow through with the suspect’s prosecution as a deterrent.

 

Jigawa (14/7/17)

The case in Jigawa was also pathetic. An FRSC patrol team was carrying out its legitimate duties along the Kiyawa-Dutse Road in Jigawa State when a team of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) officials challenged the team for daring to check vehicles for excessive overloading and installation of the Speed Limiting Devices.

They allegedly not only set the FRSC patrol vehicle ablaze but aso badly damaged another vehicle. The FRSC office was also destroyed by the rampaging NURTW officials.

The Jigawa incident resulted in fatality as one person was killed and several others injured.

 

Oyo (15/7/17)

It will also be recalled that an FRSC personnel in Oluyole Unit Command, Oyo State was almost strangled to death by a driver who was accosted for contravening traffic laws. The Corps has turned down the plea for out-of-court settlement by the now sober attacker.

The Corps Marshal said that all the attacks had been collated, well documented and would be brought to the attention of all the relevant arms of government for necessary action. Enough, he said, was enough.

Meanwhile, the Corps Marshal has assured all staff that the Corps would not leave any stone unturned to prosecute all those involved in the recent spate of attacks. He also said additional steps were being taken to further protect staff performing their legitimate duties and asked them to continue to discharge their duties without fear or ill-will.

“The hall mark of gallant operatives is never to be deterred by negative influences but focused in the commitment to service for the sake of posterity,” Oyeyemi added.

He appealed to all sister security operatives and the general public to always come to the aid of the Marshals when they are under threat.

“If the laws are not strictly enforced,” he said, “road safety becomes the first casualty. Nobody knows the next victim.”

1...1,8041,8051,806...2,207Page 1,805 of 2,207

TV Report

Archives

2025 EnviroNews Nigeria. All Rights Reserved.

×