The power of choice

Tribune Online
The power of choice

Before Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer in 1996, he had built a reputation as a successful professional cyclist, having won the World Championship in 1993, the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, and Tour DuPont both in 1995 and 1996. His victory over cancer and the subsequent establishment of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now Livestrong Foundation) to assist other cancer survivors conferred on him the image of a global icon. He was hailed for his dexterity as a cyclist and his positivity about life. On his return to cycling in 1998, he continued with his winning streak. Every year from 1998 to 2005, he won the Tour de France title, he also won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, becoming the most successful cyclist ever. He retired from professional cycling in 2005, though he returned briefly in 2009 before his final retirement in 2011.

However, Armstrong’s world came crashing in 2012 after an investigation instituted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) found him culpable of using performance-enhancing drugs, and named him as the ringleader of “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen.” Consequently, he was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles. He was also banned for life from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. Sequel to the ban, Armstrong lost US$75 million in one day as sponsors dropped him. Even his charity organization, Livestrong, cut all ties to him.

What took Armstrong to the zenith of his career? His choices. What destroyed him? His choices.

 

Pre-eminence of choice

Life is a journey in choice making. Every moment, choices are made and the choices make or mar men because every choice has consequences, good or bad. Only a choice can keep a man on a spot, only a choice can make a man slide from a spot, and it is only a choice that can advance a man from his spot to a higher level.

Choices are powerful, they determine whether we are healthy or sick, buoyant or broke, glad or sad, successful or not, celebrated or derided, knowledgeable or ignorant, progressing or retrogressing. Our choices determine the course of our lives.

Choice determines attitude, attitude determines behaviour, behaviour determines output and output determines destiny. When men get their fingers scorched as a result of wrong choices, they blame their destinies. But that is a delusion. As Cassius tells Brutus in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, “The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” So, whether we become giants or we end up as minions or something in between the two, is a function of the choices we make.

 

Factors affecting choices

Most people want to choose right but certain factors come between them and making the right choices.

 

Ego vs goal

In almost every situation that a choice has to be made, two factors spring up. These are ego and goal. Ego is a person’s feeling of self-importance, self-worth or self-esteem. Ego prods a leader to focus on his needs rather than that of the organization. This results in the personalisation of issues. Personalisation results in a loss of focus because at that point, he is willing to sacrifice corporate good for personal interest. When a leader pushes his personal interest above corporate interest, his choice will likely be at variance with the overall purpose of the organisation he runs. When leaders pander to their own interests, they squander great opportunities to make a difference and later wonder why they are unable to hit their goals.

Robert Mugabe presided over a country where everything was going wrong, yet he decided to stay on in power at 93 years of age because of his personal interests. He manipulated the electoral process and pocketed the military to hold on to power. He sacked the former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to pave the way for his wife, Grace, to succeed him. As far as Mugabe was concerned, governance was about himself and his interests. Little wonder he was disgraced out of office at the twilight of his life. Now, he lives to regret his selfishness.

When a leader makes his needs his focus, his choice will not be right.

 

Goal

To prevent ego from getting in the way of making the right choice, the leader has to make corporate goal his focus. When a leader focuses on the corporate goal and makes its attainment his priority, he will be able to make choices that are in tandem with the corporate objectives of his organization. Not only will he deny himself of unnecessary benefit, he will also be able to say no to those who want to take advantage of his position.

Another pair of issues that comes into play when it is time to make a choice is the pair of convenience and excellence.

 

Convenience

When John Rohn wrote “Don’t wish it was easier wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom”, the message he was trying to pass across is that those who want to go far should avoid the easy way out. For the average people, the easy way is the better option. Therefore, average people make convenient choices and as a result never get to see life at its best.

Those who opt for the convenient when it is time to make a choice really trade away the best because of the eagerness to have it their way rather than the hard way. Consequently, not only do they end up making choices that limit the realization of their potential, those choices stunt their growth and rob the world of their utmost contribution.

 

Between Patrice Evra and Cristiano Ronaldo

Patrice Evra, the former French national football team captain, shared a story of a lunch date with Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

According to Evra, while he and Ronaldo were playing for Manchester United, the latter invited him over to his house for lunch one day after training. He said though he was tired, he decided to honour the invitation.

Evra said when he got to Ronaldo’s house there was only salad and plain white chicken on the table, so he thought that would be the first course.

Evra said, “We started eating and I was thinking some big meat would be coming after that but there was nothing. He just finished and stood up and started playing with a ball, doing some skills and he said, ‘Let’s do some two-touch.’”

A flabbergasted Evra asked if he could have some more food but Ronaldo declined insisting that they should practice.

“We started playing two-touch. After that he said we should go to the pool to swim. I said, ‘Cristiano, why have we come here, have we come here because we have a game tomorrow, or just for lunch?”

Evra said he thought he was going to have lunch not knowing that Ronaldo would turn that to another training session. So, he counseled anyone who might get a Ronaldo invitation for lunch not to think twice before turning same down because there would not be any lunch.

But that marks the difference between Ronaldo and Evra as well as their destinies. While Evra is a successful footballer in his own right, having won a number of trophies with Manchester United Football Club and Juventus, but his accomplishments pale into almost nothingness when compared with Ronaldo’s and this is principally because while Evra thrills himself with good food but spares himself the pain of strenuous training, Ronaldo denies himself the luxury of sumptuous meals but subjects himself to the pain of hard training. This also explains why Evra, who started from Monaco and left for Manchester United, from where he moved to Juventus (all top-rated clubs) ended up at West Ham United. On the other hand, Ronaldo left Manchester United for Real Madrid in Spain and in 2018, when he was 33 years of age, signed a €100million four-year contract with Juventus.

 

Excellence

Excellence is always looking for the best possible way to perform a task. Excellence is taking the time to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s. It is refusing to settle for anything but the best. It is shunning compromise and adhering to the highest standards. Excellence is sparing no effort to achieve set goals. It is also pushing the envelope to find new ways of performing a task. Excellence is saying, like the Carthaginian commander, Hannibal, when he was told by his generals that it was impossible to cross the Alps into Italy by elephant during the Second Punic War, that, “I will either find a way or make one.”

• Need to reduce comparisons

Excellence does not come cheap, it is exacting, it is tasking, it stretches, but it also makes us better, stronger and wiser. Excellence, when it becomes a pattern, is highly rewarded. Hence, those who prefer excellence to convenience never end up in the gutter of life.

 

How to make the right choice every time

To consistently make the right choice, the following steps will be of help.

 

Be continuously conscious of the whole picture

Organisations are run on vision, which is the encapsulation of their aspirations. Individuals should also have goals which tell the story of their current situation and their desired destination. This should be borne in mind every waking moment of their lives. This should determine what they embrace and what they refrain from, where they go and where they avoid. If you are conscious of the whole picture, then you know that every choice you make at any point ultimately affects your goals and aspirations. The question to ask as a guide to making the right choice is: Will this choice take us to our envisioned future?

 

Align your choices with your values

Your values are what you stand for and what you hold dear. Your values create your world and determine others’ perception of you. So, when you make a choice, ensure that the choice is in alignment with your value. The questions to ask are: Does this choice represent what I stand for? Is this choice in consonance with who I am? How will this choice affect my reputation? Answering these questions will help in making the right choice every time.

 

Consider the effects of not making the choice

To be sure you are making the right choice; ask yourself what would happen if you did not make the choice you are contemplating. Would you be better or worse off without the choice? What is the best thing that could happen with the choice? What is the worst that could happen without the choice? The analysis will help in making the appropriate choice.

 

Consider the effect of the choice on others

Making the right choice often entails taking into cognizance the effect of the choice on others. The world is racing towards the dumping of the use of fossil fuels because of their effect on the environment. Fossil fuels release large quantities of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide which have contributed to global warming and its effects on the ozone layer.

 

Follow through to the end

Having a good intention does not amount to making a good choice. Taking a few steps in the right direction is not the same as making a right choice. The hallmark of a good choice is the result that it produces. Until the desired result is produced, the right choice has not been made.

In 1979, Nigeria conceived the construction of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex based on two factors. The first was the understanding that the nation’s hope of industrialisation would be a mirage without a functional steel industry. The second was to make Nigeria one of the leading steel producing countries in the world and position it to earn revenue from it. So, the government of General Olusegun Obasanjo pursued the project with gusto and scheduled it for completion in 1986 at the cost of $650million. But 40 years after, and with over $5billion spent, the steel complex lies prostrate, though at a point it reached 99 per cent completion.

Embedded in the project is a thermal power plant with the capacity to generate 110 megawatts of electricity. But with the abandonment of the main project, the fate of the plant was already decided.

However, the effect of the non-completion of the Ajaokuta project exceeds the money spent on it and the failure of the country to improve its electricity supply. The neglect of the project has also been responsible for the depletion of the nation’s resources as a total of N2.1 trillion was spent on the importation of steel between 1986 and 2012.

Nigeria had a very good intention of having a local industrial revolution through the Ajaokuta Steel Mill project. But her inability to follow through made the project fall through.

 

Last line

He does not lead well who fails to make good choices.

 

The power of choice
Tribune Online

Source: Tribune

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Great at Work

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Great at Work

For his latest book, Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better and Achieve More, Morton Hansen spent five years researching more than 5,000 employees in dozens of industries, to better understand the deceptively simple question of why some people perform better at work than others do.

Thousands of hours and millions of dollars are spent on recruitment, onboarding, skills training and leadership development to produce model employees capable of extraordinary individual performance — those elusive star performers who will set the top-performance benchmark for their department or their entire company. Hansen’s research challenges the assumption that it’s just a matter of hiring people willing to work “longer and harder.” He presents seven distinct practices that will enable employees to embrace a growth mindset and find ways to work smarter rather than harder:

Mastering Your Own Work

Do less, then obsess: Taking on more responsibility in the hope of proving your worth is, the author argues, a flawed strategy because it misses the focus component. As a result, you spread yourself too thin, devoting too little attention to each responsibility. Better to “wield the razor” and shave away as many unnecessary commitments as you can.

Redesign your work: Hansen’s research demonstrates that beyond a work week of 65 hours, adding more hours causes performance to decline. Taking the time to analyze the pain points of your work — the administrative “fluff” and low-value inefficiencies — allows you to better manage the “value equation” to create “output that benefits others tremendously and that is done efficiently and with high quality.”

Don’t just learn, loop: The author challenges the traditional 10,000 hours of practice needed for mastery by proposing a learning loop in which the quality of each experimental iteration generates more improvement than simple repetition does. Making small modifications to your daily work and then immediately incorporating feedback supports a much faster improvement cycle.

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P-Squared (passion and purpose): Doing work you love is believed to guarantee personal fulfillment and success, but Hansen’s research reveals that those who match that passion with purpose perform at a significantly higher level. Finding something that you love to do and that contributes value to others brings more focused energy to your work, allowing you to get more done in each hour of work.

Mastering working with others

Forceful champions: Pushing new projects through by sheer force of will and perseverance is inefficient. Star performers understand the value of inspiring others to support their cause and then applying “smart grit” to adjust and tailor their tactics to break down opposition.

Fight and unite: Eighty percent of Hansen’s research respondents identified leading teams as being important in their jobs, but most of them complained that team meetings weren’t productive. The “work harder” approach is to keep meeting until the team “gels” at some point. The “work smarter” approach is to encourage positive team debate to build unity sooner.

The two sins of collaboration: Organizations and employees swing between two extremes: “under-collaboration” and “over-collaboration.” Time-sensitive projects are often pushed through with little opportunity for input, whereas projects that are deemed to need “buy-in” are delayed by too much input. Hansen’s research argues the case for “disciplined collaboration,” where the need for and amount of talking is established up front as a project parameter.

Hansen started with the question of why some employees perform better than others. The result is a relevant, insightful and rigorously empirical study that draws on a wide range of fascinating examples designed to help anyone looking to maximize their time and performance.

Great at Work
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The 9 things no one tells you about starting a business

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The 9 things no one tells you about starting a business

If you dream of starting your own business, there are plenty of resources. Coaches, books and websites detail specific steps you should take or rules you should follow. But to be successful, you have to break the rules. You must be unapologetic about who you are and dare to be different. Here’s my advice for anyone ready to do that.

1. Realize there’s nothing special about successful people

It’s common to separate yourself from those who are successful. You think, “She’s confident,” or “He knows how to speak publicly. I’m not like that.” But you’re wrong.

Everyone feels that way. I still wake up with those fearful voices in my head; I just don’t listen to them anymore. Most people who meet me are often surprised by how shy I am. I’m an introvert, and it takes effort to put myself out there. If I can do it, so can you.

2. Try the megaphone exercise

Many entrepreneurs struggle to get started because their message isn’t clear. You might think you don’t know what you’re meant to put out in the world — but you do.

The megaphone exercise helps you clarify your mission. Imagine you are standing on a balcony above thousands of people. You’re holding a megaphone and have one minute to tell them what life is about. What would you say? Whatever comes out in that minute is your message.

3. Don’t wait for permission

Your inner voice may make you doubt your message with thoughts like “That idea isn’t big enough,” “No one will listen to me,” or “Someone else already does that.” But no one does or says it like you — so do it anyway.

Our whole lives, we’ve been taught to wait for permission or approval. The reality is you’re allowed to share your message with the world. You just have to give yourself permission.

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No one is going to knock on your door and tell you they need you or your ideas. You need to start somewhere, even if you don’t feel ready. Let go of whatever is holding you back. Get out of your own way.

4. Seize your responsibility

How do you start when you don’t feel ready? Realize that your message and calling is bigger than you. If you have something that can help people right now, you have a responsibility to take that message to the world.

You also have a responsibility to yourself. If you were your own employee, would you fire yourself? This is your job. Just like anyone else, if you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid.

5. Ignore strategy and identify your non-negotiables

To make it real, you need to act. What you don’t need is strategy. If you sit around planning, you’re unlikely to start. The path will become clear once you take the leap, and it won’t look like anything you could have planned.

Identify a small list of non-negotiables that will move the needle daily. Ask yourself what three to five things would change your life if you did them every day. Then do them.

Here are the four things on my list that I do every day before anything else: First, I connect with myself by journaling. Don’t start the day reacting to everyone else; set your internal compass by writing down your vision.

Next, I create content. Then it’s sales activity, even if it’s just a call to action at the end of a blog post. If you aren’t selling, you aren’t an entrepreneur. Last is fitness, which isn’t negotiable for anyone who wants to live an extraordinary life.

The 9 things no one tells you about starting a business
Tribune Online

Source: Tribune

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How you can win always as a leader

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How you can win always as a leader

The more I write and teach about leadership in Nigeria and on this continent as a whole, the more I get to comprehend that the major problem that many people who are in varied leadership positions have is that they do not know how to lead. There are too many leadership experts in Nigeria, but true leaders are scarce as an Eagle. I make bold to say that what Nigeria and Africa as a whole need aren’t leadership experts, what we need are spot on leaders. Nigeria is the way she is because true leaders are in short supply. Remember, you can be a leadership expert without being a leader!

Leadership is learned behavior that becomes unconscious and automatic over time.  For instance, leaders can make several important decisions about an issue in the time it takes others to understand the question.   Many people wonder how leaders know how to make the best decisions, often under immense pressure.  The process of making these decisions comes from an accumulation of experiences and encounters with a multitude of difference circumstances, personality types and unforeseen failures.

More so, the decision making process is an acute understanding of being familiar with the cause and effect of behavioral and circumstantial patterns;  knowing the intelligence and interconnection points of the variables involved in these patterns allows a leader to confidently make decisions and project the probability of their desired outcomes.

The most successful leaders are instinctual decision makers.  Having done it so many times throughout their careers, they become invulnerable to the pressure associated with decision making and extremely intuitive about the process of making the most strategic and best decisions. This is why most senior executives will tell you they depend strongly upon their “gut-feel” when making difficult decisions at a moment’s notice.

Beyond decision making, successful leadership across all areas becomes learned and instinctual over a period of time. Successful leaders have learned the mastery of anticipating business patterns, finding opportunities in pressure situations, serving the people they lead and overcoming hardships.   No wonder the best CEOs are paid so much money. If you are looking to advance your career into a leadership capacity or you have already assumed leadership responsibilities, I am here today to unveil a few things you must do automatically, every day, to be a successful leader in either the workplace or wherever you find yourself a leader:

Many times, leaders intimidate and coerce their colleagues with their title and power when they walk into a room, but successful leaders do deflect attention away from themselves and encourage others to voice their opinions.  They are experts at making others feel safe to speak-up and confidently share their perspectives and points of view. They use their presence as a leader to create an approachable environment. True leaders do not make people become voiceless. Over the years, does your presence take people’s voice away or does it help them to find their voice? It is failure in leadership when people lose their voice just because you are leading them.

Winning leaders are expert decision makers. They either facilitate the dialogue to empower their colleagues to reach a strategic conclusion or they do it themselves.  They focus on “making things happen” at all times – decision making activities that sustain progress.   Successful leaders have mastered the art of politicking and thus do not waste their time on issues that disrupt momentum.  They know how to make 30 decisions in 30 minutes!

Successful leaders are great communicators, and this is especially true when it comes to “performance expectations.”   In doing so, they remind their colleagues of the organization’s core values and mission statement – ensuring that their vision is properly translated and actionable objectives are properly executed. I have met with many leaders—who are very poor—when it comes to communicating the company’s core values, vision and mission statements to those under their leadership. On the condition that you want to become a successful leader, you shall need to keep honing your capacity to communicate crystal clearly. This is non-negotiable.

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I had a leader who managed the team by reminding us of the expectations that she had of the group. She made it easy for the team to stay focused and on track.  The protocol she implemented – by clearly communicating expectations – increased performance and helped to identify those on the team that could not keep up with the standards she expected from us. Many leaders do not know how to communicate their expectations clearly to their followers, and they are wondering why their groups, teams, companies, institutions and nations are doing very well.

The most successful leaders understand their colleagues’ mindsets, capabilities and areas for improvement.  They use this knowledge to challenge their teams to think and stretch them to reach for more. These types of leaders excel in keeping their people on their toes, never allowing them to get comfortable and enabling them with the tools to grow. If you are not thinking, you are not learning new things and if you are not learning, you are not growing – and over time you shall become irrelevant in your work.

Successful leaders allow their colleagues to manage them.  This does not mean they are allowing others to control them – but rather becoming accountable to assure they are being proactive to their colleagues needs. Beyond just mentoring and sponsoring selected employees, being accountable to others is a sign that your leader is focused more on your success than just his own success.

Leading by example sounds easy, but few leaders are consistent with this one. Successful leaders practice what they preach and are mindful of their actions. They know everyone is watching them and therefore are incredibly intuitive about detecting those who are observing their every move, waiting to detect a performance shortfall.

Last but not least, successful leaders always have a strong “pulse” on business performance and those people who are the performance champions. Not only do they review the numbers and measure performance ROI, they are active in acknowledging hard work and efforts (no matter the result). Successful leaders never take consistent performers for granted and are mindful of rewarding them.

 

See you where unbeaten leaders are found!

How you can win always as a leader
Tribune Online

Source: Tribune

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Snake Scare At Ondo Assembly: Akeredolu Fumes, Claims Blackmail

Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, the grey-bearded governor of Ondo State, has berated members of the state House of Assembly over their claim last week of having been chased out of the legislative chamber by mysterious snakes while in session.

Speaking with select newsmen, the enraged governor, alleged that the lawmakers had actually cooked up the story just to blackmail his government.

Meanwhile, he has vowed not to condone such attitude which to him, has fallen short of the public expectation from the honourable lawmakers.

He explained that he had gone to the State Assembly Complex premises to verify the claims only to discover that the snake stories were all lies and an attempt to ridicule his government through blackmail.

“All I have come to do here (House of Assembly premises) is to verify what happened and I have seen that there’s an attempt to blackmail this government. We won’t take it.

“I made sure that the Speaker and most of the principal officers were here and I have heard from them in order to know what exactly happened. They have told us that no snake fell here. They were not sitting when the ceiling came down, they only met the ceiling down.

“There’s an attempt to blackmail the government and I don’t believe that is the best approach.

“This (legislature) is an arm of government; they have their votes and the ones they are entitled to, is the ones we give them. This place is termite-infested and certainly, the termites have been dwelling here for several years.

“We just spent two years and there is no way termite infestation in less than two years can cause such destruction.

“Something is wrong, this place has not been maintained”; Akeredolu noted.

The furious governor queried what the lawmakers had been doing about the maintenance of the legislative complex and its environment.

“If they have not been concerned about this place, we all have to sit down and work things out.”; he posited.

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Source: Independent

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Iran To Reactivate Arak Power Plant

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced on Sunday that they will be restarting activity in the Arak heavy water facility to the east of the country.

Iran’s official news agency ISNA ran a story, citing the source as MP Ali Akbar Salehi.

The heavy water plant can be used to manufacture plutonium, which can be used in nuclear weapons.

The announcement by Iran came before the meeting in Vienna, Austria on Iran’s nuclear activities.

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Source: Independent

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South Africa Presidential Panel Backs Limited Land Seizures

A presidential panel in South Africa has proposed expropriation of land without compensation, but in limited circumstances.

Land held purely for speculative purposes or occupied by tenants should be given away, it advises.

White people, who make up just 9% of the population, own 72% of the farmland that is held by individuals.

President Cyril Ramaphosa backs land expropriation, which is popular with the black majority.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) has repeatedly pledged to accelerate land transfers to the black majority since taking office in 1994, after white-minority rule ended, but progress has been slow.

Those opposed to land expropriation point to Zimbabwe where a similar policy by former President Robert Mugabe wrecked the economy and scared away investors.

President Ramaphosa set up the team of experts last year as the ANC was coming under pressure from opposition parties, especially from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

The panel proposed that the government expropriate

It said those who had bought property since the end of apartheid should be treated differently to those who had inherited land that was held under the apartheid system.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance party rejected the report’s recommendations, saying land expropriation without compensation would “further batter our ailing economy”.

Parliament is due to debate proposed changes to the land expropriation bill in October.

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Source: Independent

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China Resumes Agricultural Purchases From US Companies

China gradually takes over the purchase of agricultural products from US companies, one of the key drawbacks of the trade war between both nations, official sources reported here on Sunday.

A shipment with millions of tons of soybeans was shipped from the United States to China, which means the resumption of an activity that was stopped due to the worsening in relations between the two powers.

According to a Chinese official quoted by the local press, the resumption of soy purchases from US producers is part of the steps towards understanding after the meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Japan during the G20 Summit.

Past May, China decided to curb the acquisition of soybeans from the United States due to the intensification of the conflict and the repressive measures of Washington against Asian companies.

The halt of soybean imports by China occurred amid ups and downs in the price of the oilseed and US producers complaining about the damage caused by the commercial war initiated by the White House.

Although President Trump announced a $16 billion dollar aid for farmers affected by escalating tensions, many feared that China would decide to buy that raw material in other countries, even after the dispute ended.

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2019 European Investment Bank/Global Development Network (GDN) Special Recruitment Drive in International Finance

The Global Development Network (GDN) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have partnered to create the EIB-GDN Program in Applied Development Finance to study the impact of projects in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries financed under EIB’s Impact Financing Envelope. The purpose of the program is to provide a select group of highly qualified… Read More

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Brazil Has Lost 1,330 Square Miles Of Amazon Rainforest Under Bolsonaro

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is facing rapid deforestation under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: The Amazon, the largest and most biodiverse rainforest on the planet, plays an essential part in slowing global warming. The seas of greenery absorb and store carbon dioxide, preventing the gas from overwhelming our atmosphere. But when trees are plowed, carbon has nowhere to go, risking further increases in global temperatures.

The big picture: Bolsonaro campaigned on opening up the Amazon to new economic ventures. Just 7 months into his presidency, he’s keeping true on the promise, with the Brazilian part of the rainforest shedding 1,330 square miles of forest cover — 39% more than was lost during the same period last year, according to the Times. About 80% more forest cover was lost this June compared to 2018.

Bolsonaro has also cut the budget for Brazil’s main environmental agency by 24%.
A New York Times analysis showed environmental enforcement measures like fines or seizures have fallen 20% in the first 6 months of the year compared to 2018.
The administration has hinted at the possibility of ending a $1.3 billion Amazon restoration fund, fueled in part by Germany and Norway. Bolsonaro has said that the “Amazon is ours, not yours,” and insisted it should not be a concern to non-Brazilians.
Between the lines: Deforestation for the sake of economic growth had already been a marketable stance prior to Bolsonaro’s leadership. Per the New York Times: “As the economy plunged into a recession in 2014, the country became more reliant on the agricultural commodities it produces — beef and soy, which are drivers of deforestation — and on the powerful rural lobby. Land clearing began to tick upward again.”

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STARTLING! Kwara Uncovers 246 Ghost Schools

The Abdulrazaq AbdulRahaman-led Kwara State government has made public a startling discovery of 246 non-existent schools yet fully funded by former administrations in the state.

Details later.

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Democrats Blast Trump Over Tweets Attacking Cummings

President Trump’s two days of tweets ripping Rep. Elijah Cummings and his district as a “rat and rodent infested mess” brought swift rebukes from Democratic lawmakers and a defense from his acting chief of staff Sunday. ​

“It’s unbelievable that we have a president of the United States who attacks American cities, who attacks Americans, who attacks somebody who is a friend of mine​,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Elijah Cummings is one the most decent and outstanding members of the House of Representatives.​”​

Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, said a president should be uniting the country.

​”​Our job is to bring people together to improve life of all people, not to have a racist president who attacks people because they are African American. That is a disgrace and that is why we’re going to defeat this president​,” he said. ​

​But acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Trump is just retaliating against Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, for criticizing acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan over the administration’s family separation policy.

“The president didn’t like it. Does the president speak hyperbolically? Absolutely. Have we seen this type of reaction from him before? Yes,” Mulvaney said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “And you will again because he pushes back, he fights back when he feels like he’s attacked.”

“I understand that everything that Donald Trump says is offensive to some people,” ​Mulvaney added.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who ​was among four minority Democratic congresswomen attacked by Trump, said he continues to trash American cities.

“Our president has a hate agenda. He doesn’t have a policy agenda. That’s what he falls down on​,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”​

​Rep. Will Hurd, the only African-American Republican in the House, said Trump’s tweets about Cummings aren’t ​the same as the “go back” postings about Tlaib and her three colleagues — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.

“I wouldn’t be doing those. I wouldn’t be tweeting this way,” the Texas Republican said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“Chairman Cummings is someone I worked with closely on all kinds of legislation,” Hurd said. “He is someone that cares passionately about his community and has been working tirelessly his entire adult life on behalf of his country and his community and he is someone — he can defend himself.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, accused Trump of trying “to distract people from the larger reality of this country” with his tweets.

“There is a con-man reality to Donald Trump — it’s a classic bait-and-switch issue every time. The real issue in this country is that working people are stuck economically. There’s tremendous frustration out there in working America that folks aren’t getting ahead,” de Blasio, who is also a presidential hopeful, told ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

Trump over the weekend has been ​unleashing his furor over Cummings, writing that he “has done a very poor job for his district and the City of Baltimore.”

On Saturday, Trump told Cummings that if he spent more time in Baltimore “maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.”

The post Democrats Blast Trump Over Tweets Attacking Cummings appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.

Source: Independent

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Nigeria Climate Innovation Center (NCIC) recruitment for a Communications and Knowledge Management Lead

The Nigeria Climate Innovation Center (NCIC) is an initiative of a partnership program of the World Bank with the help of the Government of Nigeria. It was launched in September 2018, as the first the Climate Technology Programs (CTP) being established in Nigeria to support green growth through strengthening domestic capacity and financing for the… Read More

Source: Jobzilla

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Bayelsa: As Opposition Mounts Within PDP Over Guber Ticket

LEADERSHIP :

OSA OKHOMINA examines the suspense surrounding the removal of campaign bill boards in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party primaries Unlike past governorship campaigns, the governorship campaigns by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), aspirants campaign ahead of the September 3 governorship party primaries is becoming interesting, creative, competitive, and above […]

The post Bayelsa: As Opposition Mounts Within PDP Over Guber Ticket appeared first on Leadership Newspaper and NNN.

Source: Leadership News

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As Govs, Monarchs Move Against Insecurity In Southwest

LEADERSHIP :

ALO ABIOLA writes on the strategic meeting of the political and traditional leaders of the Southwest over the security situation affecting the region For over a decade now, the security situation in Nigeria has been a source of concern for everybody in the country, irrespective of age, sex, religion, ethnic backgrounds and political persuasions. In […]

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Source: Leadership News

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nigerians in diaspora: Jacob Taio Cruz: Nigerian-British Singer

LEADERSHIP :

Jacob Taio Cruz is an English singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which he wrote, arranged and produced. The album achieved certified gold status in the United Kingdom and earned him a Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO) nomination. In October 2009, Cruz released his follow-up album […]

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Source: Leadership News

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How Torrential Rainfall Displaced Over 40 Households In Kebbi

LEADERSHIP :

In this piece, YAHYA SARKI (Kebbi) writes about effects of the destruction caused by heavy wind and rainfall on households and environment in some local government areas in Kebbi State, and how state and federal governments can intervene Kebbi State is one of those states in Nigeria that have been witnessing heavy rainfall resulting in […]

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Source: Leadership News

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Improving Quality Of Nigeria’s Agro Products For International Market

Agriculture is no doubt one major sector where the Federal Government has been attempting to concentrate on in the last few years as it strives to diversify the nation’s economy. In this report, MOHAMMED SHOSANYA, JUSTUS ADEJUMOH and ISAAC ASABOR, examine the reasons for the diversification as it is the only sector that is potent enough to substitute the oil sector by the Federal Government. Excerpts:

Stakeholders in the agribusiness sector have been have for the umpteenth time seeing positive outlook in the sector, and have at different forum unanimously agreed that it is the only viable way to survive the current environment of global economic uncertainty with the volatility of oil price.

It is crucial to note here that government does believe that oil alone provides an endless source of revenue. Before now, Nigerian economy was mono-economy that depended on oil.

While most experts that advocated for the diversification of the country’s economy were of the view that the agro sector will create more enduring employment opportunities than the oil sector, they were of the view that Nigerians live in abject poverty with unemployment remaining on the high side and productivity is at its lowest level.

Since the idea was conceived and being pursued, all hands have seemingly been on deck in the bid to seek possible ways of diversifying the productive base of the Nigerian economy.

Despite this development, the challenges in the sector are daunting and one of such is the inability of farmers to efficiently export some of their produce.

The inability of farmers to export their produce has been attributed to their failures to meet relevant international requirements on the health of plants that are meant for export; a development that is impeding foreign trade between Nigeria and other countries.

While the government has continuously been advocating diversification to boost the economy, investigation by DAILY INDEPENDENT, however shows that those involved in non-oil exports are not finding things easy as problems encountered by operators in the sector cut across inadequate and decaying infrastructures, financing constraints, inefficient implementation of export incentives and support programmes, over regulation of the non-oil export sector, underdeveloped regional and sub-regional markets, policy instability, capital flight marketing and pricing problems.

Without any iota of exaggeration, agricultural exports to developed country markets have emerged in recent years as a potentially major source of export growth for many countries.

Exploiting this potential, however, poses many challenges. The capacity of developing country exporters to enter these markets depends critically on their ability to meet stringent food safety standards imposed by developed countries.

Not only are these standards stringent, but they are increasingly demanding. They now go well beyond traditional quality standards, as suppliers must pay close attention to the responsible use of agrochemicals, energy, water and waste, as well as social and environmental impact. These standards are significantly higher than those prevailing in developing countries, they are subject to frequent changes and are, ultimately, often difficult and costly to meet.

It is anticipated that improving the ability of developing countries to meet food quality and safety standards for horticulture products will facilitate greater international market access, reduce the impact of price competition, stimulate investment and mitigate risk, leading to increased exports.

This increase in exports will stimulate commercial production and thus encourage employment creation and increased productivity, benefiting the poor through higher incomes and more jobs.

More so, experts were unanimous in their view that constraints to the marketing of Nigeria’s agricultural produce are closely related to the issue of poor infrastructure and inefficient marketing arrangement.

They argue that the small-scale farmer has poor market arrangement for his farm produce due to largely poor infrastructure, poor communication network and low access to logistic and inputs support.

Also the absence of rural feeder roads hinders produce evacuation from collection points and adds huge transportation costs.

“Lack of warehouse and other forms of storage facilities result in hung post-harvest losses which for the small scale farmers are conservatively estimated at between 20-40 per cent of total output for tree crops and as a high as 80 per cent for fruits and other perishables”, they said, arguing that these losses are among the highest in the world.

Worse still, stakeholders in the sector has consistently been lamenting that the persistent rejection of some of Nigeria’s exported food items by the EU is not only harmful to the agricultural sector, but also counterproductive to the economy.

According to them, plans to make the agricultural sector a major revenue earner for the country may suffer a setback if foreign countries continue to reject produce from the industry.

Particularly cited by stakeholders was EU’s rejection of 24 Nigeria exported products in 2016 Recall that the National Agency for Food And Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), had in 2016 made a startling disclosure that The European Union (EU) rejected 24 exported food products from Nigeria for failing to meet standards.

According to NAFDAC, five major products were groundnut, palm oil, sesame seed and beans that were illegally exported to the EU.

NAFDAC noted that groundnut was rejected because it contained aflatoxin, which made the quality substandard. It explained that “The exported palm oil did not scale through the EU’s test because it also contained a coloring agent that was carcinogenic.

As regard to Beans, it was banned as EU was not satisfied with Nigeria’s exported dry beans in terms of quality assurance.

As gathered, EU said the measures concerned only beans because they were frequently rejected for health reasons, mainly due to high level of pesticides at the EU border.

The ban, no doubt, ostensibly attracted sympathies from both local and international organisations such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) which embarked on a pilot project to enable the resumption of export of Nigerian dried beans to the European Union (EU).

Then, UNIDO assured that it will write to EU informing them of the improved quality of dried Nigerian beans and that it was safe for consumption.

As the efforts to sustain the moves persist, UNIDO reiterated the urgent need for the government to approve the awaiting Nigerian National Quality Policy (NNQP).

In a move to tackle the ban, The Federal Government inaugurated a 26-member Standing Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee to address the rejection of Nigeria’s dry beans by the European Union.

Though NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies of the government have since then been working round the clock to ensure that farmers begin to export more agricultural products to EU but there is a need for the farmers to be empowered in the context of harvesting and marketing quality products.

As repeatedly advocated by the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, local farmers and other stakeholders in the value chain must strive to meet the standards set by international agricultural bodies with respect to the export of commodities.

In one of its latest documents on some of the things which Nigerian farmers need to understand so as to be able to export their produce, the Director-General, NAQS, Vincent Isegbe, explained that the country’s foreign trade on agro products was impeded because many countries prohibit the import of contaminated agricultural commodities.

He warned that the development may lead to poor revenue generation and may reduce the sector’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product if not addressed quickly.

Mr. Kennedy Onyemakonor in his view said: “Market-oriented and successful food production of agro products in Nigeria must focus on the final consumer”.

He noted that the aim of agro food production is to deliver a safe and wholesome final product to the consumer.

He explained that in order to make Nigeria’s agro exports acceptable by importers, particularly in countries that are affiliated to EU that proper practices and methods of production, hazards and the risks that they may hinder their collective acceptability must be fully understood by farmers.

He said an understanding of the production, hazards and risks involved in quality agro exports would make it possible for agro products imported from Nigeria not to be rejected, and noted that the rejections do not augur well for the country’s image.

The question at this juncture is how can the government empower the farmers toward the production of quality agricultural products in the bid to mitigate the challenge of rejections by importers of Nigeria’s agro products?

As obtained by DAILY INDEPENDENT, a training manual for trainers produced by the United Nations titled Safety and Quality of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables comes handy in this context.

To the foregoing question, Mr. Olatubosun Olayiwola said: “The only solution is for the government is for the government to begin to look at the possibility of partnering with notable agricultural bodies such as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in the bid to equip local farmers with 21st Century agro skills and knowledge.”

Citing IITA, he said, is majorly concerned with training farmers on how to produce and keep crops healthy, and noted that the international organisation is highly specialized in plant production and health, and that they have remained its top priority.

He noted that partnering with organisations is indispensable as they are equipped to efficiently manage challenges that are related to pests, diseases, toxins and invasive flora, and noted that all take their toll on crop yields.

He said the toll unarguably leads to poor harvests, which impact on the value of any of the exported crops.

Mr. Amos Oke in his view said: “The government should endeavour to adopt measures that would readily equip farmers with access to the latest information on such threats, and then giving them economical, environmentally-sustainable mechanisms to deal with them before thinking of engaging in the business of exportation.”

Oke also suggested that there is an urgent need for the farmers to be equipped with knowledge and skills on how to effectively create and distribute higher quality seeds, which would no doubt help to negate the issue of rejection before they become a problem.

He concluded that the overall IITA’s focus is to ensure healthy crops, and that farmers are aware of any threats and act quickly and effectively to stop loss and keep their communities fed.

Simon Nmoye in his view, said there was need to strengthen the presence of the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) at strategic points of exits in the country. He added that the Service facilitates, inspects and certifies whatever agricultural produce prepared to leave the country in order to gain acceptance in the international market through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) protocols on sanitary and Phytosanitary measures that must be complied with.

According to Vincent Isiegbe, the agency’s Coordinating Director, “as a signatory to WTO and IPPC, NAQS is the National Planned Protection Organisation (NPPO) in Nigeria with the authority to speak on behalf of any plant products in trade initiation and certification. Therefore, commodities leaving the country must be signed and certified by the Service to get the Phytosanitary Certificate. As custodians of rules and regulations concerning plants and products, we have power to exercise our obligations towards all those international protocols.”

However, Nmoye’s view as to the strengthening of NAQS seems not to be feasible unless the Federal Government responds to the request made by Esiegbe some weeks back that the Service Agency need an annual investment of N50 billion over the next five years to scale up plant health infrastructure to meet the demand for food and export in the country.

Isiegbe had in the month of March, 2019, disclosed that the agency said there was an urgent need to begin to build a robust plant health system that can support the anticipated population increase.

The Director General, however, hinged his call on Nigeria’s population that is projected to reach 236 million people by 2030 and 410 million by 2050,

While Isiegbe, who made the disclosure at the formal launch of activities to herald the International Year Of Plant Health 2020, he therefore, called for investment in plant health in Nigeria to avoid invasion by pest and diseases.

He explained that plant infrastructure encompasses agricultural machinery needed on the field, diagnostic equipment in the labs, agro-chemical inputs needed to ensure plant health so as to avoid invasion by pest and diseases, improved seeds and fertiliser.

Speaking further, Isiegbe lamented that pests damage about 40 per cent of global food production and plant diseases destroy about 10 percent of world foods, saying the implication are the significant reduction in food production and failure to meet the dietary needs of the human population.

“I have to emphasise that this call for investment in plant health in Nigeria is not a plea that should be taken for tokenism, as tokenism will do little or nothing because plant health is capital intensive. We need more than the traditional miserly allocations to reposition our plant healthcare system,” he said.

Isiegbe noted that plant pests and diseases not only caused crop failure in extreme cases, but also food scarcity, sharp increase in food prices, instability in the food market and agro-allied industries, instigation poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

He stated that for the nation to improve its capabilities to feed itself, there was the need to speedily adopt a forward-looking plant health policy and massively invest in the upgrade and expansion of the plant health infrastructure, saying, “if we renege in doing this, the nation might be setting itself for potential food crisis.”

He also stated that “Our investment in plant health will be an investment in social security. It would enable us to combat hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

“With healthy plants, there will be food for all; everyone will be adequately nourished and there would be improved incomes for farmers. And this will create more employment opportunities.”

Another area being suggested to be addressed is that of speedy clearing of agricultural produce for export at the port.

This was also some weeks re-echoed by Audu Ogbeh, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who appealed to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to ensure speedy evacuation and clearing of agricultural produce for export.

The former minister said the development negated the federal government’s desire to make the country an exporting nation.

“It has been brought to our notice that cashew nuts worth 300 million dollars destined for export to Vietnam have been stuck in Lagos.

“And as we know, they are usually locked in containers at high temperatures and if these cashew nuts remain there for too long, they get spoilt and that is extremely disturbing.

“It has happened before and this also compromises our desire to become an exporting nation so we are very concerned.

“We have spoken to the Ports Authority Managing Director and she told us that she will make every effort to do something about it.

“We are appealing to them, to see what they can do to speedily evacuate this product,’’ he said.

Mr. Ogbeh explained that the long term solution to delay in the export of cashew is to stop the exportation of raw nuts.

The post Improving Quality Of Nigeria’s Agro Products For International Market appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.

Source: Independent

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PMB Has Done Well For The Southeast – Okwudili

LEADERSHIP :

Honourable Okwudili Ezenwankwo Christopher, representing Orumba North/Orumba South Federal Constituency of Anambra State in the National Assembly in this interview with JULIET KUYET BULUS, has commended President Buhari on the construction of second Niger Bridge in Onitsha and other infrastructural development across the Southeast Zone of Nigeria In the last Presidential election PDP won in […]

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Source: Leadership News

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Youth Empowerment And World Youth Skills Day

Rev. Fr. John Damian Adizie

July 15th was World Youth Skills Day. The aim of World Youth Skills Day is to encourage youths to be self-employed through skill acquisition.

To be skillful is to be creative, to be artistic, and inventive. A skillful person is indeed a resourceful person. Most of the producers we have in our society today are those who have developed their skills.

World Youth Skill Day is meant to create awareness on the importance of acquiring skills such as carpentry, tailoring, building, plumbing, Computer training and other skill acquisition programme; as a possible way of achieving personal success and fulfillment.

Skills and jobs for youth feature prominently in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal. For instance, the SDG target 4.4 calls for a substantial increase in the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills. Through skill acquisition individuals, communities, and countries can create a more prosperous future. Moreover, it is a more realistic solution to the perennial problem unemployment.

Ever before the UN declared July 15th as World Youth Skills Day, the Hebrew Bible presents God as the most Creative Being the world has ever known.

Within six days God created the world, out of nothing. After creation “God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Gen 1:31) When God saw all that He created He was fulfilled.

God gave man dominion over the works of His hands. He put all things under his feet (Psalm 8-6).With this ability given to man by God; he was able to construct, design, erect and even re-create all kinds of skillful works in the world.

God has always encouraged the youths to be creative, skillful, self-reliant, fruitful and productive. From the very beginning of creation, God wanted man to be creative and skillful.

The Lord God said to Adam, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Adam was never employed and he never received any salary from any government or any organization but he survived through his natural skills.

The Old Testament presents skill and craft as one of the precious gifts from the Most High God.

In the book of Exodus 35:30-33 the Lord God entrusted Bazalel with special abilities so as to work in a creative manner on the construction of the tabernacle of God: “Moses said to the people of Israel, ‘See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, of the tribe of Judah; and He has filled him with the spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood in every skilled craft.”

When God entrusted Bezalel with artistic abilities He expected him to pass on these abilities to others. The Lord “inspired him to teach Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.

He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer… by any sort of workman or skilled designer” (Ex 35:34-35). It was the Lord that gave Bezalel his skills. God ordered him to teach these skills to others. This is the beauty of continuity which is gradually dyeing off in our generation today.

Most our youths are no longer interested in skills, they are only interested in quick money and white kola jobs. Unfortunately, those kind of job are not available. People pay through their nose before they could get the few available sloths. That is what unemployment is all about.

Artistic and Skillful work, on the other hand, are very much available and affordable. They are the most lucrative and rewarding job anyone can comfortably do.

The psalmist declares, “By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You shall be happy and prosperous” (Psalm 128:2). Child of God, as long as you are skillful and hardworking you will never die of hunger. Instead, you will be prosperous, you will be healthy and above all, you will be fulfilled!

The Author of the book of proverbs went as far as saying that a skillful man shall stand before kings: “Do you see a man skilful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will stand before obscure men” (proverbs 22:29). Kings and other great men in the society shall come looking for you because of your creativity and skillful work.

In the New Testament our Lord Jesus Christ was presented as a Son of a carpenter. At the early stage of his life, “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them… and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:51-52).

As Jesus was performing mighty works during his public ministry, people still identified him as the son of a carpenter: “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:55). Jesus was indeed the son of a skillful man!

Jesus himself admitted that he belonged to the working class: “My Father is working still, and I am working” (John 5:17). He encouraged his followers to be fruitful. In fact, he told his followers, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8). Your skillfulness and fruitfulness will surely bring glory to God!

St. Paul did not just encouraged hard work he went as far as saying that there is no food for a lazy man: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).

Child of God, Christianity is not stupidity; it is not for lazy people. Even as you pray you are also expected work hard in order to earn your living.

With this reflection, we can now say with certainty that skills rule the world. We cannot do without the artists, the painters, musicians, stylists, designers.

In fact, the world cannot do without skillful people – Whether it is the electrician that brings us power, the plumber that fix our water system, the Barber that shave our hair, the contractors that erect our buildings, the carpenter that construct our furnitures, the block molders that molds our blocks, the chef that prepares our meal, or the programmer that makes magic out of code – Skills make everything possible and makes people feel fulfilled!

Skill is both rewarding and fulfilling. Our Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke 10:7 that “A labourer deserves his wages! In his letter to Timothy St. Paul also wrote, “It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops” (2 Timothy 2:6). Child of God, as long as you are skillful, artistic and hard working, you will never lack; you shall live to enjoy the fruit of you labour and it shall be well with you, in Jesus name – Amen!

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Source: Independent

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FG Not Serious About ‘Ease Of Doing Business’ Policy – Nwosu

Mazi Udeagha Nwosu, the Chairman, Association of Igbo Maritime (ASIM), Airport Chapter, in this interview with EJIKEME OMENAZU, spoke on the Federal Government’s policy of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ as it affects the airport, among other crucial issues. Excerpts:

How has business activities being at the airport in relation to the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ as a Federal Government’s policy?

The Federal Government has started applying Customs regulations in the Ports. We are not different from other ports, especially following the same Customs procedures in clearing cargo, although most times, we have urgent shipments, like perishables that will not stay overnight in the port. The moment they come in, they go out. Then, we now have to perfect it afterwards. That is the only edge we have above conventional ports.

In those kind of perishables, there is no kind of delay in clearance where there is invoice, as those kind of shipping are exempted from FORM ‘M’ because they are perishable goods.

This is because if you don’t keep it at correct temperature, it will spoil. You make your payment on invoice value and it will be released to you.

The only thing they can do for you is that you will bypass the normal clearing processes. Once you pay and submit it to the Controller, the Controller will release it to you and afterwards, you come and complete the procedure.

Do they examine the Perishables when they arrive?

Yes. They examine the perishables in the terminal to make sure that what you are claiming is actually what is on ground

How do you see the Federal Government’s policy on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and its workability at the airport?

It is really a complicated issue. The Customs units are increasing by the day.

The aim of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ is to reduce or clear bottlenecks in business activities at the ports. But, we still have Customs units at the ports, which increase by the day. These units must examine your consignments and some of them intercept your consignments when they are outside the ports.

So, it is the same thing all over the ports, both air and sea ports. It is the same complain every other person is having, like this issue of ‘Strike Force’ that came up. If the DC in charge releases a consignment, it is a proof that he has gone through the process, looking at the consignment, checking every other thing, before authorising its release.

Now, releasing the goods, all other units will come up. Now, what is actually the essence of the Controller or DC in the ports when the ‘Strike Force’ still re-examine the consignment they had released? So, it is still the same thing.

Government is not serious about the policy. There was a time a circular came up as to the number of Customs Units and other agencies that will be in the ports.

I am not really sure it worked out because now, most of them are back in the ports. I don’t know the impact of Ease of Doing Business.

So, what do you suggest should be done?

If government is serious about Ease of Doing Business, they must have to take a very serious proactive measure about it. Now, we have a Single Window System. If a consignment is released through the Single Window, why are people disturbing the consignment again? Now, SON, NAFDAC are there. So, if consignment is released, why is it intercepted and seized again? Why is FOU on the road? Why is the Strike Force in the road? Why is the Comptroller’s Team on the road to examine cargoes that had already been examined and released at the Ports? If they don’t want Customs’ job done at the Ports, they can move it out from there. If anybody gets a consignment, let him take it out along the road where Customs can examine it and give you duty to pay. But, where they have full Customs operations inside the Ports, why disturbing the consignment when it comes out? If the government is serious about Ease of Doing Business, let it have a one clearance system.

Once a DC in charge of the final release of the consignment releases it, it stands released. Let no other person intercept it.

Do you think that the duplication of the units is a proof of distrust among them?

We are Nigerians. Those ones, they are not from the space. Some of them have worked in ports. So, instead of duplicating their jobs, what they need is total re-orientation.

For us to actually understand what it means to serve, the solution is not in creating additional units because most times, when you create these units, it is for money making, not for the government, but for those individuals.

So, this duplication, I don’t think it is worth it. It is called ‘business’ and it even makes clearing cost very high, as well as bringing about delay.

What about the issue of benchmark?

Well, like the Customs will always say, the issue of benchmark is Customs. If you check the CEMA law, there’s nothing like benchmark. Every consignment should be treated as it is.

You don’t dictate to me how much I buy my consignment abroad. Most countries, in their own clearing procedure, look at your invoice and not the cost. The most annoying aspect of it is that most people going into the internet to google, to check costs of items. It is unethical. You don’t do that. Customs does it. It is unethical. If I tell you that ‘yes’ I bought this item $1, if you are not satisfied with it and if I am convinced by your argument, you can raise a DN for me and not telling me that this item is supposed to be bought $14, that, that is the benchmark Customs has for it. I don’t think it is acceptable. I don’t think so.

Do you experience multiple Alerts here?

Yes, but what we have succeeded in doing here is centralising the Alerts, unless it is headquarters’ Alert from Abuja.

What’s your relationship with the Customs Assistant Controller (CAC) here?

The Customs Assistant Controller (CAC) is a woman, Controller Sonibo. Since she came here, operations have not been shut down for once, except at the initial time when they introduced the new procedure.

We misunderstood each other until we now sat down and worked out a way forward. However, she is very strict and tough person.

On Igbo Maritime, what is the actual issue here now?

I will always tell you of the peculiarity. The airport is like a community. We call ourselves ‘One big family’. We exist as a family.

Now Igbo Maritime here is one united body. If you compare it to other chapters, year in, year out, I can beat my chest to tell you that it is the only chapter that organises New Yam Festival, because, we actually want people to understand the Igbo culture.

We move with our Identity and every year, we celebrate it. In fact, it used to be a very memorable event, because, we normally bring cultural groups and we try to protect anything that concerns an Igbo person here, both professionally and otherwise. Our welfare is also taking care of.

What effort are you, the Igbo Maritime members, making to ensure that the Ports/ICDs in the South East become operational?

Actually, they constituted a study group for that. I don’t know if you know recently that there were plans to shut down Enugu Airport. And I think the national president is taking it serious.

It is like they have made presentation to Ministry of Aviation and there are some issues that were brought up about the airport being close to the market and the Mast.

It is like they want to have tripartite meeting with the Enugu State government, Ministry of Aviation and Igbo Maritime to look at it. If possible, the Mast should go down, if it’s actually why they want to close the Airport.

So, what we can do is limited because it is purely government’s decision and policy. There was a time the Ports were designated, that this Port is for pharmaceuticals that will go there, the other, Textiles, and the idea died naturally. That time, Port Harcourt Port was basically for textiles, but along the line, it didn’t work out again.

Which government policy does not favour your people, is it not proper for them to speak up?

Well, people have been speaking up. May be, I don’t know as a group, but as individuals. The height of my disappointment is the people representing us, our Senators and members of the House of Representatives. Their own is more political, looking at things from the point of APC and PDP. They should start looking at things from the eye of an Igbo man, from the eye of what we are going to achieve; not how this policy is affecting us as PDP or APC states, but how this policy is affecting an Igbo man because we do more of imports.

Anything that affects imports affects the economy of Igbo man. Do you know that we are into merchandise, buying, selling and manufacturing, and most of the raw materials are imported?

So, if we start looking at actually how those things affect an Igbo man and not the political aspect of it, I think it will of more benefit to us. If a Senator wants to stand in the Chamber and speak, let him know that he is representing an Igbo state, not APC or PDP state. That is the part of problem that we have. But, I know that anyhow, by God’s grace, we will get it right. But now, I don’t even the voice that is speaking for the Igbos; even the Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

Look at the South West, look at the their governors now looking at what they call the ‘Oduduwa’, South West Integration.

I don’t know if the rail line issue is favouring them. They want to see the possibility of connecting the South West through the rail and their industries to move around.

Nobody cares where you are from as far as you are operating in the South West. They will achieve it because they always speak with one voice. Nobody speaks for us.

Look at the roads in the South East. In fact, a research now says it is in the South East that you have the worst network of roads. I don’t know the last time you pass Port Harcourt to Aba. Imagine a container from that place to Aba. That road is totally written off. Could you imagine that it would take a container a journey that is not supposed to be 40 minutes, it takes a container more than 24 hours from PH to Aba.

It is as serious as that because if it rains, they will now be going into some of those villages. In some of those communities in the South South, militancy is so high.

Lives are being lost through militancy and cultism. This is straight road that will take you nothing more than 40 minutes to get to Aba. Then, I don’t know if you have passed through Calabar to Aba, Aba to Ikotun Ekpene road. Ikot Ekpene road is now impassable.

So, where are those containers supposed to be coming from? From Calabar or from Port Harcout, getting containers into Aba is a nightmare.

Now, another question I may want to ask, a company from China wants to start building a Dry Port in Ibadan. In fact, the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, was there a month ago with the Senator.

Now the Dry Port is fully operational. The same time, they wanted to start rehabilitating the Kaduna Dry Port. The same, time they gave us approval for the Dry Port in Osisioma, Abia State. The place is overgrown with grass. What are our governor’s doing? What people don’t understand, the Dry Port in Kaduna was not government property.

In fact, the National President of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tony Uju, is a member of the Board and other two or three Igbo men are members of the Board of the Kaduna Dry Port.

And it was Governor Nasir el-Rufia that brought the public sector together to develop the port. We have governors in the South East. Could you imagine that what they are working is that all containers that are meant for the North will move on rail from here (Lagos) to Kaduna, and then they will clear it and deliver to the owners?

Now, imagine that all containers meant for South East move through rail to Osisioma, but our governors are not doing anything about it and the industry. But must we wait for the Federal Government to do everything for us? El-Rufai galvanised the private sector and got them into developing that port.

Now, look at the one happening at Kaduna. Before you know it, every container going from Kaduna to Ilorin area, all of them will move through rail to Ibadan Dry Port. Our people in the South East are doing nothing. No regional integration, every man on his own. Like, I said before now, no one is speaking for us.

What is your final word for the Igbos in Maritime?

We need to come together by droping our egos. There are these things I always tell my fellow Igbo; you always feel and think you are better than anybody. We have to bring down our superiority complex. We are not better than the Youruba and Hausa.

The moment we start looking at them as equals, the better. Also, the moment we start coming together and fighting our common cause, irrespective of whether we are from Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia or Ebonyi, the better. When the Yoruba are doing something about Oduduwa, nobody thinks of Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Oyo or Lagos. They come together as Oduduwa. So, we really have to drop those things.

What words do you have for the Federal Government?

For the Federal Government, the issue of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ must be taken seriously. If it means setting up another committee that would really go to the ports for on-the-spot assessment, to see actually if the Executive Order by the president is fully implemented. Things will change and business will improve, if this is done.

The post FG Not Serious About ‘Ease Of Doing Business’ Policy – Nwosu appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.

Source: Independent

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