YEMEN, a West Asian country in the Arabian Peninsula, reported one million cases of cholera in March 2018. The world shook. At that time, Yemen was in civil war, leading to the Stockholm Agreement between feuding parties. The cholera outbreak in Yemen was linked to conflict, lack of access to clean water, extreme poverty, and the collapse of the health system. An unholy marriage of a conflict and an infectious disease outbreak can render people and health systems powerless and defenseless. Compared to Yemen, Nigeria was recovering from COVID-19 in 2021 when it experienced cholera outbreaks in 29 out of…
Author: Dakuku Peterside
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JONATHAN Tepperman’s book, “The Fix”, is about how some nations fixed significant social challenges like inequality, corruption, and civil wars using innovative leadership and policies. No one has yet written a book about how nations fix profligacy. Therefore, it is justifiable that Nigerian leaders have not bothered to read a book that does not exist. When such a book is eventually written, Nigeria’s chronicle of shameless profligacy will qualify as a unique case study. It is perceived as a culture our elite have come to embrace or tolerate as an acceptable national social habit. Profligacy, defined as reckless or wasteful…
NIGERIA is probably in the worst economic crisis of a generation, screamed The New York Times on June 11th, 2024. Two other influential global publications, Foreign Affairs and The Economist, had earlier said the same thing under different headlines. Although Nigeria’s economy is not yet in a recession, all other economic indicators have gone south, and the curve is not bending in the short run. Statistics on inflation (above 33%), youth unemployment (above 50%), poverty levels (over 133 million multidimensionally poor), the value of the Naira (over 200% decline against dollar in the past year), education (18.3 million out of…
THERE is currently no evidence to support the claim that democracy is a perfect system of governance. However, humans still need to figure out a better means to guarantee the freedom and consent of the governed. Democracy remains the most practical choice available. We must keep working on it until it accurately reflects our goals because it’s an evolving idea even after many years. Because Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy, is fashioned after the United States (US) model of liberal presidential democracy, whatever threatens democracy in that land becomes of interest to us. Recent unsavoury developments around the candidature of Donald…
SOUTH Africans voted in national and local elections on May 29, exactly one year after Nigeria inaugurated its current president. Since 1994, this election has been the most significant post-apartheid election and the most unpredictable in the country’s 30 years of democratic rule. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) lost its parliament majority for the first time, possibly paving the way for the country’s first coalition government. With voter discontent , leading opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and newcomer umKhonto we Sizwe (MK), put pressure on the ANC through uninterrupted mass campaigns and…
AMIDST the initial fanfare, good feelings, and high expectations, a new era began on May 29, 2023, as a new president, vice president, and governors took oaths of office. However, as we approach the one-year mark, it’s clear that for many Nigerians, the end of the Buhari era was not the relief they had hoped for. The Buhari administration appeared rudderless and in need of more vigour. This sentiment was echoed in various states, where citizens felt betrayed by the lacklustre performance of their then-outgoing governors. This column in a piece written in March 2023, captioned Governors: Right versus Wrong…
AN increasing number of Nigerians are being driven into poverty, not by choice, but by the current political and economic climate, shaped by stringent macroeconomic policies. These policies, such as subsidy removal, devaluation of Naira, and increase in electricity tariff, have had unintended consequences. For instance, removing subsidies has led to a significant increase in the cost of living, while the devaluation of Naira has made imported goods more expensive. These factors, combined with the high level of insecurity, have affected food security in Nigeria, and created a perfect storm of economic hardship. The signs of this unavoidable reality are…
A FEW weeks ago, Nigerians were startled by a legislation that had largely escaped public awareness. This legislation, which has since undergone substantial amendment carries profound implications for the financial health of every Nigerian, sparking widespread controversy. The law raises several concerns regarding our legislators’ rigour, effort, and dedication to enacting laws. The legislation, which is known as the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment] 2024 Act. Section 44 (2] (a] of the Act, mandated a levy of 0.5% of all electronic transactions value by businesses specified in the second schedule of the Act, which includes GSM service providers and telecommunication…
THE issue of minimum wage or salary increase or by whatever nomenclature is a complicated policy issue. The wage increase is neither good nor bad, but as a policy choice, it must be tied to some ultimate objective and benchmarked on the projected cost of living and inflationary trends over a given period. A pay rise can improve employees’ motivation while giving them more purchasing power and disposable income. It may result in businesses being shut down, hyperinflation, joblessness, and a decline in the value of the national currency. At face value, salary increases are a tool to address inequality,…
THERE has been no remarkable uproar on the public-school collapse in Nigeria, affecting primary, secondary, and university education. Our leaders do not view it as a crisis. The reason is evident: there is a widespread trend among the garrulous upper class and middle class to send their wards and children to pricey private schools in Nigeria, with most of them sending their kids abroad. This dislocation between the elite class and public schools means that they are not only unmoved by its decay, but sometimes they are not even aware of the extent of the problem. Increasingly, public school is…
THERE is no disputation that Naira abuse or more specifically the act of spraying money at social events has become an acceptable norm or cultural practice in Nigeria. Nigerians have a cultural affinity for lavish social gatherings. Many people regard these occasions as a means of displaying social status and wealth. Spraying Naira notes, and other currency notes, at events progressively appear to be the ultimate way to flaunt your social standing. Even burials that are supposed to be sober moments have been turned into considerable fanfare. This has created a new industry of mint note trading and events management.…
NIGERIAN corporate influence and that of the West continue to collide. The rationale is straightforward: whereas corporate activity in Europe and America is part of their larger local and foreign policy engagement, privately owned enterprises in Nigeria or commercial interests are not part of Nigeria’s foreign policy ecosystem, neither is there a strong culture of government support for privately owned enterprises’ expansion locally and internationally. Nigerian firms’ competitiveness on a global scale can only be enhanced by the support of the Nigerian government. It is evident that relationship between Nigerian businesses and foreign policy is important to the national interest.…
IN Nigeria, many policies that are supposed to catalyse economic growth end up making things worse and complicate matters for the citizen for whom these policies are designed to enhance their quality of life. Recently, two significant policies typify this: The Petroleum Subsidy Removal Policy and the floating of the Naira. Both policies are good and well-intentioned and would bring about substantial progress for people in the medium to long term. However, the reality is that the policies ended up having a devastating effect on the populace. Removing the subsidy brought untold hardship due to sequencing and implementation issues rather…
THE debate over which system of government is most appropriate for a multi-ethnic and geographically diverse Nigeria has suddenly resurfaced. This time, it is pushing the fundamental issues of good governance, bread and butter, security, and inclusiveness that Nigeria is grappling with to the back burner. At the centre of the debate is the agitation for a return to the parliamentary system of government as the structural panacea to Nigeria’s myriads of problems, although Nigeria has long consigned this system of government to history. Agitating the minds of critical observers of Nigerian politics is whether this renewed debate is political…
THERE is unarguably a progressive value erosion in our country. This is happening increasingly, and there is no hope of it abating soon. This cankerworm is significantly influenced by westernisation and globalisation but with the shared responsibility of local catalysts like collapsed family systems, near extinction of communal oversight and accountability, abdication of moral reinforcement by religious centres, failure of governmental institutions and a skewed education curriculum that pays little attention to proper moral education and developing cultural personality identity. The social-moral code which governs how individuals behave in a community setting has literarily collapsed in most of our communities.…
MANY Nigerians believe that restructuring the country or devolving powers from the centre to the sub-nationals is the silver bullet that will solve all our problems. This belief has sustained the debate for or against restructuring for decades. As fanciful as this claim is, I disagree with this position because bad leadership is a more significant challenge than the superstructure of the country. Although the way Nigeria is structured does not make for optimal productivity and needs some form of amendment or tinkering, we need thinking and honest leadership to make progress. This kind of leadership is required at the…
AGAINST the run of play, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State ruffled feathers with his speech at the 2023 annual Leadership Newspaper Conference and Awards held in Abuja last week. This speech was an instant hit online and trended at different times on both Instagram and X (Twitter). Governor Bago’s arguments in his speech can be summarised in three ways: First, as a nation, Nigeria cannot achieve economic freedom and eradicate poverty without being productive, especially in agriculture, where we have a comparative advantage. Second, it is indefensible for a nation with an estimated arable land of 40 million…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken both symbolic and structural actions to demonstrate his belief that the current high cost of government is not sustainable. The first was an announcement or executive order directing Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs)to slash the size of official delegations for foreign and domestic trips by up to 60 per cent – an action that resonated with the mood in the country. The second is the Federal Executive Council’s approval to implement Steve Oronsaye’s report on the merger and scrapping of MDAs. This structural action is a baby step, albeit good for proponents of a complete…
CEMENT and concrete are synonymous with strength ;the strength of the economy and infrastructural development. Cement is specifically an indicator of how we prioritise housing, roads, and other infrastructure projects that rely on it. When cement prices go up consistently, it reverberates across the country, sending cold chills down the spines of many. It means fewer people can afford homes, a fundamental human right. Although cement is just one ingredient in the construction industry, it has come to represent the industry itself, so the affordability of cement represents the affordability of houses and other concrete-based constructions. To millions of Nigerians…
CLEAN-SHAVEN, suave, upwardly mobile, and incurably optimistic ,Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe (HOW) was one of the most recognisable figures in the banking space and corporate Nigeria. His official biography could only be written by him. But I hope his example can inspire and influence us. Accurately describing Herbert in one word can be compared to explaining the mystery of centuries in a few words or a wild goose chase. It is a nuanced and complex process. He was an extraordinary businessman who died alongside his wife and son in the United States of America under exceptional circumstances. His tragic and sudden…