By Lucy Ogalue

A group known as ECOWAS Community Citizens has condemned the recent Coup in the Niger Republic and called for reform of ECOWAS Protocol on democracy and good governance.

They made their positions known while addressing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ECOWAS Community Citizens is drawn from Civil Society Movements and Organisations, Private Sector, Political Parties, Trade and Labour Unions, Women and Youth Associations among others.

A member of the group, Dr Ken Ukoaha, the National President, National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), described the coup Niger Republic as an unconstitutional and undemocratic act in the 21st century.

Ukaoha, advised the ECOWAS Commission not to place economic sanctions that could affect ordinary citizens and economic activities of the country.

While stressing the need for adequate measures against coup in West Africa, he urged the reform of ECOWAS Protocol on democracy and good governance to ensure term limit for political officials.

“Serious socio-political turbulence has punctuated the processes of lengthening mandates, thus, confirming the strong opposition of the peoples to tenure elongation.

“These crises can be pretext for the security forces to interfere on the political game, thus aggravating the risks of instability.

“The culture of periodic alienation at the Head of States promotes accountability and better management of public finances.

“The solution lies largely in the reform of the Protocol to put an end once and for all to the deleterious practices that contribute to longevity in power.”

The NANTS president then appealed to West African Community to make the core of vision 2050 a reality, and have a fully integrated community of peoples in a peaceful, prosperous region with strong institutions that respect fundamental freedom.

On his part, Prof. Jubrin Ibrahim from Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) commended the Chairman of ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu for his swift reaction to the coup.

Ibrahim then stressed the need for necessary sanctions of perpetrators of coup engineering in West Africa.

Also speaking, Isatou Ceesay from `Hope of Tomorrow, Gambia’ said democracy remained the best form of government, hence the need for the military to stay out of power.

Ceesay suggested that they should focus at ensuring the security of lives and property which is their primary function.

According to her, coup d’etat is no longer fashionable and modalities should be put in place by the ECOWAS Commission to prevent coup plotters from taking over government in any country.

Other members from Togo and Mali amongst others who spoke at the event called for more political will to fast track economic and political development in the West African Region.

NAN reports that soldiers from Niger’s presidential guard on Wednesday deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and closed the country’s borders.

Entrances to government ministries were also blocked by the presidential guard.

NAN reports that the soldiers announced on national TV a dissolution of the constitution, Aljazeera reported.

With this, Niger becomes the sixth country in the West Africa sub-region to experience a coup since August 2020.

Led by Col. Amadou Abdramane, the soldiers announced they had carried out a coup and closed all West African borders.

In a statement broadcast on national television, Abdramane said that “the defence and security forces … have decided to put an end to the regime you are familiar with”. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Collins Yakubu-Hammer/Sadiya Hamza

By Oluwafunke Ishola

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says the National Identification database shows a low coverage and gender gap in the registration project, considering the notion that there are more women than men.

The Director-General of NIMC, Mr Aliyu Aziz, said this during the Inclusion for all (I4ALL) Dialogue in Lagos.

The event has as it theme; “Digital ID for the Last Mile – Enabling Access to Digital ID for Rural Female Agricultural Workers”.

According to him, over 101 million persons have registered for the National Identification Number (NIN), while only 44 per cent enrollees are females.

Aziz said that a gender study conducted by NIMC and the World Bank, identified some of the barriers to accessing ID as lack of
awareness, none value or use of ID, accessibility issues.

Others are, time taken to
register, lack of documentation, biometric capture issues, among others.

He said that robust, inclusive and responsible foundational ID systems could be transformative for the poorest and most vulnerable population.

Aziz noted that would also enable the population gain access to basic health care, education and social safety
nets; facilitate financial inclusion and foster the empowerment of
people, including women and girls.

Similarly, Zaina Sore, Head, Capacity Development, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), emphasised the significance of digital identity in empowering and deepening financial inclusion for rural women and transforming their livelihoods.

Sore who presented the findings from the targeted research study on “Access to Identity, Empowerment, Livelihood, and Financial Inclusion of Rural Female Agricultural Workers and Traders in Nigeria”.

She noted that many of the women engage in different agricultural activities and trading, particularly in the informal sector.

“It is important that we better understand their needs and challenges to tailor the services that will lead to greater inclusion and economic empowerment,” she said.

The study, commissioned to IITA by I4ALL, was carried out in the first quarter of the year in Kano, Oyo and Rivers States.

It revealed some new insights and validated pre-existing data insights from I4ALL’s analysis of the 2020 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) A2F (Access to Finance) dataset.

“For instance, Kano State recorded higher levels of NIN ownership by 77 per cent among the respondent groups, compared to Oyo which has 58.1 per cent and Rivers with 46.6 per cent, contradicting our hypothesis of lower enrolment rates in the North.

“However, the research highlighted how socio-cultural norms can be used as a deliberate strategy to drive female enrolment in the North.

“The barriers to NIN enrolment remained consistent, from the cost of transportation to distance from enrolment centres and tedious enrolment processes,” she said.

Commenting on the findings, Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, Convener and Head, I4ALL, said universal access to formal identification requires an intentional focus on the most vulnerable Nigerians – likely to be poor female farmers in rural communities.

Collins-Ogbuo said that NIMC had done a great job with the momentum achieved towards ID enrolment of Nigerians, stressing that it must be maintained.

“Reaching the last mile is the most challenging part; specific and targeted approaches must be designed and implemented to reach them successfully and leave no one behind.

“NIMC identity strategy clearly recognises the need to ensure that excluded populations are included in the enrolment process, and this research reinforces that need, demonstrating the urgency for action.

“The poorest excluded populations are most often the hardest to reach, and can be the most resistant to participation, but stand to gain the most from the range of government and financial services that inclusion enables,” she said.

She said that to achieve NIMC’s ambitious enrolment targets, all relevant stakeholders in the public and private sector must work together to ensure that the enrolment system reaches those who need access to the services the most; the vulnerable and marginalised.

“The Inclusion for all Dialogues event highlighted the importance of collective efforts in creating an inclusive and equitable society.

“By empowering rural female agricultural workers with digital identification, we can unlock their potential, enhance economic productivity, and drive positive change for the entire nation.

“Our aim is to cultivate a strategic platform of cross-cutting actors with a shared goal to uncover the links that exist between income level, identity ownership and financial inclusion in order to identify opportunities to accelerate the pace of digital financial inclusion,” she said.

According to Collins-Ogbuo, I4ALL remains committed to its mission of fostering financial inclusion for all Nigerians and will continue working with partners, stakeholders, and policymakers to address these pressing challenges.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa

By Philip Yatai

The world’s largest association for security professionals, ASIS International, on Thursday said that sub-Saharan Africa required strong partnership, security network and knowledge sharing to address its security challenges.

The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Mr Peter Fasae, stated this in Abuja, at a two-day Sub-Saharan Africa Security Conference organised by the group.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference with the theme, “Managing Security Risks in VUCAD Africa”, had participants from different parts of the world.

According to Fasae, strategic planning, strong security network, sharing knowledge and lessons learned are key protocols in ensuring the protection that everybody needs.

 “I think no matter where you live in the world, whether you are here in sub-Saharan Africa, or you are in another part of the world, there is always going to be a security challenge.

“However, the ability to partner with relevant stakeholders, share experience and knowledge, and build a strong security network will position any country to effectively address its security challenges.”

Fasae said that Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries would significantly improve their security situation when they partnered and collaborated with other stakeholders.

He added that the security situation would continue to improve, if security conferences are constantly organised to share knowledge with men and women that are serious about protecting people and assets.

This, according to him, will further strengthen working in partnership with the government and private entities on security issues.

He described ASIS International as “a group of 34,000 men and women who are security management professionals, working every day to protect people and assets the best way they could.”

“The members rely on strong standards, guidelines and world-pronounced certifications that help them to be the best professionals that they can be in security management.

“We have a very strong presence in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigerian being our biggest chapter.

“We are working very hard to strengthen public/private partnerships with government agencies, private companies, and consulting agencies.

“This, we believe, will ensure that people have access to current information on best practices in security management,” he said.

The keynote speaker, Mr Larry Gbrvio-Lartey, who spoke on managing security risk in volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and digital Africa, also stressed the need for strong collaboration to effectively address security challenges.

Also, Mr Ronny Saether of the Norwegian Embassy, Abuja, equally stressed the urgent need for more support and stronger collaboration among African governments and international community.

According to him, stronger collaboration is necessary in view of the persistent security threats and newer tactics.

“This is key to managing the security risks in the sub-Saharan sub-region and I believe its achievable.

“For Norway, Africa remains a priority. Our major goal is to promote the development of democratic institutions, good governance, peace and security, and the protection of human rights in Africa.”

Mr Edward Orim, Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the conference, expressed optimism that the outcome of the conference would have significant impact on the security situation in Nigeria.

Orim said that the recommendations from the conference would be presented to the Federal Capital Territory Administration with a view to improving security in the capital city. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Oluyinka Fadare