By Sumaila Ogbaje

Urhobo Progressive and Development Union (UPDU), a South-South group, has condemned the petition to the Senate by some traditional rulers in Kogi seeking to stop the probe of Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASCL) bordering on allegation of corruption.

The leader of the group, Ogheneruno Oghenetega, in a statement, on Monday, described the petition as despicable.

Oghenetega said that just as every part of the country was concerned about the activities of oil companies in the Niger Delta, the  probe of Ajaokuta Steel company was of paramount interest to every Nigerian.

He recalled that Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP/Kogi Central), recently moved a motion urging the Senate to investigate alleged corruption and inefficiency at ASC and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe.

He quoted the lawmaker as seeking an investigation into the 496 million dollars allegedly paid to a supposed handler of the moribund outfit, by the Federal Government in September 2022, reportedly to ward off contractual disputes.

According to him, the petition to stop the probe was jointly signed by five traditional rulers from the Kogi Central Senatorial District.

He said the chiefs accused the lawmaker of acting in isolation and without the input of critical stakeholders in the senatorial district.

“They also claimed that the Senator’s motion was an “unwarranted public outcry”.

“It is shameful that the traditional rulers in Kogi Central are trying to protect corruption.

“This is not acceptable here, and the Northern region should take a cue from the South-South region that always cooperates with the National Assembly members, EFCC, ICPC, and anti-corruption bodies on any assignments for national interest,” he said.

The group also advised the traditional rulers not to protect corrupt aristocrats in their midst, adding that the job of rebuilding Nigeria required the contribution of all sectors of the economy.

According to him. Ajaokuta Steel Company was built with the money from oil in the Niger-Delta, hence knowing what happened there and what is happening there means a lot to Niger Deltans and Nigerians at large. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

By Taiye Olayemi

The Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, says plans have begun to market the enormous potential in Nigeria’s tourism industry through virtual reality gadgets and documentaries.

Ade-John disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting with the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ANJET).

According to her, the ministry will leave no stone unturned in marketing the nation’s tourism assets to the world.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that virtual reality is the use of computer modeling and simulation that enables a person to interact with an artificial three-dimensional (3-D) visual or other sensory environment.

“Marketing and promotion of Nigeria’s tourism endowments is key and huge for us, we have began a lot in this area and among such is the use of documentaries and virtual reality gadgets to attract visitors, to boost domestic tourism.

“We are currently working on producing documentaries on tourism assests and experiences peculiar to each state. These documentaries would also spur the interest of intending tourists to visit those sites physically.

“Also, we are going to create community tourism resource centres in every city in Nigeria which will enable tourists gain access to information on their choice destinations in each city.

“We are still in the planning stage to upscale the industry, very soon execution of our plans will be implemented,” she said.

Ade-John, who explained the importance of having a functional website that would market the nation’s tourism assets, said plans were also underway to actualise this.

“This will be done in such a way that when people type Nigeria on the internet, the first thing that will be displayed will be the nation’s tourism endowments, as obtainable in the U.S.”

She said that the ministry had already engaged with the National Orientation Agency, Ministry of Aviation, Nigeria Immigration Service and many other organisations to bridge the wide gap in aviation, transportation and tourism.

“We want to ensure that airfares are commensurate with what we have to offer in terms of tourism and create information desk at the airport for seamless access to vital information.

“For the immigration, we want to ensure that our point of entries are attractive enough and welcoming.

“We will be engaging the National Orientation Agency in training our tourism operators because we are aware they have the capacity to do this, they have officials who can speak over 160 languages.

“We will ensure all our plans in advancing the industry is properly executed,” she said.

The Minister, who noted the importance of data gathering in improving the industry, said the ministry had created a new department for data gathering.

She expressed readiness to work with ANJET and other private tourism operators in the country. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Folasade Adeniran

By Lucy Ogalue

Lennart Oestergaard, Resident Representative Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung Nigeria Foundation, says trade is pivotal to the development of Nigeria and Africa as a continent.

Oestergaard said this at a media briefing on Wednesday in Abuja organised to summarise a Policy Focus Book “ How Africa Trades”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was organised by the Foundation in collaboration with the London School of Economics.

According to Oestergaard, trade is of high importance and should be prioritised if we must achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa.

He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to  accord priority attention to trade so it could contribute to national development.

Meanwhile, an Economist. David Luke urged the Nigerian government to ensure reduced cost of capital for manufacturers to boost trade in the country.

Luke, a Professor in Practice and Strategic Director, Firoz Laiji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics (LSE), said the increased capital was a major challenge to trade.

While commending the government for its trade reforms, the professor urged that it should be accompanied by reduced cost of borrowing for business ease.

Luke said: `the reforms that are now being done in Nigeria need to be accompanied very quickly with reducing the cost of borrowing.

“This is because if the productive sector is to respond to the new opportunities, the cost of capital needs to be reduced.

“And this is normal practice when you float a currency.

“In other countries, we have seen that the government has also stepped in very quickly to alleviate the problems.

“Especially in regard to the cost of capital, because that is how businesses can respond to the new opportunities,” he said.

According to Luke, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is coming up at the right time for Nigeria with these reforms that are going on.

He said this was because it made Nigerian exports cheaper in the African market. Moreover, it sends that signal that imports into Nigeria is becoming more expensive.

“So a lot of what is being imported that can be produced locally should be produced as such.

“The continental market is an attractive market and also should be seen as an important part of these reforms.

“But as we all know, the AfCFTA is struggling with implementation, and Nigerian leadership is needed here,” Luke said.

The professor cited instances in other climes where countries had played similar leadership roles like France and Germany in Europe and Singapore, Indonesia, in Asia.

“So Nigeria is in a very good position to take the leadership for opening up the continental market, which can only make all of us Africans much more prosperous,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Olawunmi Ashafa

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, President of Africa Development Bank (AfDB), says late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Premier of the defunct Western Region of Nigeria, remains the pacesetter and forerunner for development in Africa.

Adesina made the remark when he received the 2023 award of Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, on Wednesday in Lagos.

The event coincided with the 115th posthumous birthday anniversary of Awolowo and 37 years after his death.

Adesina, who became the fourth recipient of the award, noted that, as a teenage follower of  Awolowo, he promised himself to follow the footsteps of the late premier, if he ever got into public office.

According to him, growing up in the old western region in the 1960s, only one name was synonymous with people-centered development and that was Awolowo.

“We lived in the same community as the sage, in Okebola, Ibadan. As a young child, passing by the frontage of his house was a favourite pastime.

“I remember peering over its low walls, to see if I could just catch a glimpse of the man who transformed the lives of millions in the then western region.

“My father was enamored by Chief Awolowo; he devoured his books, writings and articles. The name ‘Awolowo’ was a constant guidepost for every discussion in our home.

“So much was the admiration that when I was 19 years old and Chief Awolowo ran for President under the Unity Party of Nigeria in 1979, myself and a close friend desperately wanted to simply catch a glimpse of him,” he said.

Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria, said Awolowo’s intellectual capacity, vision, pragmatic social welfarism, helped him accomplish what was seemingly unimaginable at the time.

“I dare say that Chief Awolowo implemented the sustainable development goals decades long before the phrase was coined.

“He was an inspiration for Africa, far beyond the shores of Nigeria. His philosophy, ‘Awoism’, was studied globally and helped shape programmes and policies in other countries,” Adeshina said.

Adesina, in his lecture, titled: ‘Making a New Nigeria: Welfarist Policies and People-Centered Development’, said he was influenced by the same drive as Awolowo.

He listed four cardinal objectives as steps toward a better Nigeria, and by extension Africa.

They are rural economic transformation and food security; health care security for all; and education for all.

Others are access to affordable housing for all and government accountability and fiscal decentralisation for a true federalism.

The AfDB president said that in Nigeria, the bank is developing the zones in eight states with 518 million dollars, adding that the second phase of the programme in Nigeria, which would cover 23 more states, would be financed with one billion dollars.

According to him, the bank and partners recently launched a three billion dollar Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones.

Also, he said Nigeria needs health care for all, stressing that smart governments provide universal basic health coverage for their citizens.

He disclosed that Africa loses 2.6 trillion dollars annually in productivity, due to sicknesses and diseases.

“Just as every nation has a national defense system to protect its citizens against all forms of aggression, the same is true for healthcare systems.

“A nation without a sound healthcare system is a nation that is defenseless against the invasion of all forms of disease or epidemics.

“COVID-19 exposed the weakness of Africa’s health systems. While developed economies spent 19 trillion dollars in fiscal stimulus programmes, approximately 19 per cent of the world’s GDP, Africa spent only $89 billion.

“Africa’s urgent need for basic vaccines was pushed to the bottom of global vaccines supply chains,” he added.

“The AfDB boss said the bank also put in place a 10 billion dollar facility to support African countries in their fight against  the pandemic.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was graced by former heads of state from within and outside Nigeria, state governors, royal fathers and other distinguished Nigerians.

Speaking at the event, former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd.), described Adesina as a brilliant man, who “represents the best of Nigeria.”

“The choice of Dr Akinwumi Adesina can only be described as having been very well done. He represents the best of Nigeria, hardworking, diligent, brilliant, forward-looking, and deeply patriotic,” Gowon stated.

Also, former Secretary-General, the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku, commended the choice of Adesina as the fourth recipient of the prestigious award which was started in the honour of late Awolowo.

He said, “Out of the many reputable nominations received, members of the selection committee unanimously considered Dr Akinwumi Adesina as having in his career to date in a large measure, the Chief Obafemi Awolowo attribute that I have sought to describe.”

President Samia Hassan of Tanzania and the Chairperson of the event,  said Adesina has a rare ability to turn vision into concrete transformational solutions that impact the lives of millions of people across Africa.

She said that Tanzania was one of many African states that had benefited from Adesina’s leadership.

“Through his leadership and support, we have raised $3.8 billion to support the construction of the regional standard gauge railway that will connect Tanzania to DRCongo and Burundi.

“Over the past eight years, he has been instrumental in Tanzania’s development agenda. Under his leadership, the African Development Bank has invested massively in energy, transport, agriculture, water and sanitation, and infrastructure for regional connectivity.“

Also, in her welcome address, Dr Olatokunbo Dosumu, Executive Director, Obafemi Awolowo Foundation,  said that Adesina’s nomination was supported by global icons including former British Prime Minister, Sir Tony Blair; former United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon; and Global Center on Adaptation CEO, Prof. Patrick Verkooijen, among others.

According to her, Ki-moon and Verkooijen jointly affirmed that they could not think of no person more highly qualified or deserving of the prestigious award other than Adesina who they declared is forged in the same mould as Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

“In December 2023, the selection committee unveiled Adesina as its unanimous choice because he more than met the strict criteria for the award as they described him as possessing the attributes for the award to the highest degree.

“In selecting winners, the selection committee places emphasis on characteristics of leadership and food governance that are in tandem with Chief Awolowo’s values.

“Awolowo was a leader generally acknowledged for his integrity, credibility, discipline, courage, accountability, tenacity of purpose, enviable vision, people-centred leadership and selflessness,” Dosumu said.

Present at the event were former Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, while President Bola Tinubu was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The governors at the event were  Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Alex Otti (Abia), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Usman Ododo (Kogi), and Mohammed Bago (Niger), amongst others. (NAN)

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Edited by Folasade Adeniran