In Nigeria, a group of unemployed young people has joined forces to start a shoemaking business in the northern city of Yola. The entrepreneurs say they're inspired by the government's drive to promote locally made goods as a way of growing the economy. Leslie Mirungu has more.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Video - Young Nigerians step up, start shoemaking business
In Nigeria, a group of unemployed young people has joined forces to start a shoemaking business in the northern city of Yola. The entrepreneurs say they're inspired by the government's drive to promote locally made goods as a way of growing the economy. Leslie Mirungu has more.
Food prices drop in Nigeria
The harvest of food crops in the South-west has made appreciable positive impact on the prices of foodstuff, a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria has revealed. Some farmers and stakeholders, who spoke with NAN correspondents across some states in the zone on Wednesday, attributed the positive development to the sustained focus on agricultural development by the federal government.
They expressed optimism that the effort at revamping the country’s ailing economy would materialise, if the renewed focus on agriculture persisted. They also cited government’s efforts at strengthening the naira by encouraging locally produced goods. These actions, they concluded, had boosted food production, resulting to good harvest that had led to a drop in the price of foodstuff.
They expressed optimism that the effort at revamping the country’s ailing economy would materialise, if the renewed focus on agriculture persisted. They also cited government’s efforts at strengthening the naira by encouraging locally produced goods. These actions, they concluded, had boosted food production, resulting to good harvest that had led to a drop in the price of foodstuff.
In Oyo State, a maize seller, Azeez Zubair, told NAN in Ibadan that a measure (mudu) of maize, which cost N420 before the current harvest period, now goes for N200 while a bag of maize, which was sold for N18,000 previously now cost N10,000. He said that the price could have been further reduced if more youth had ventured into agriculture and therefore, advised youngsters to go back to farming in order to permanently tackle food insecurity in the country.
Also speaking, Romoke Fashola, a yam seller, said that six tubers of yam that previously cost 3,000, now sells for N1, 200 while the price of 60 tubers of yam had dropped to N18,000 from N30,000. Mrs. Fashola said that the price of yam would still drop as the harvest period lasted. She, however, observed that exportation of yams, would limit the drop in the price of yam this harvest season. In his own contribution, Alao Adetayo, a farmer, identified one of the factors inducing price spikes as the high cost of farm inputs and transportation occasioned by bad roads.
He urged the federal government to rehabilitate rural roads to ease farmers’ stress in the transportation of farm produce to urban centres. Reacting to the development, Oyewole Oyewumi, the Oyo Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Development, said the state government had embarked on various measures to boost food production. Oyewumi said that the government had begun to recruit many unemployed youth into agriculture through the inauguration of the Oyo State Agricultural Initiatives (OYSAI) tagged ‘OYO AGRIC’.
He said that this effort had contributed to increased food production and the resultant affordable prices of farm produce this harvest period. The commissioner added that the government had also embarked on the repair and expansion of rural roads to ease the transportation of farm produce from rural communities to urban areas. In Osun, a similar trend was observed in different parts of the state, especially at major markets in Osogbo and Ile-Ife. A yam seller at Itakogun market, Ile-Ife, Christiana Alani, said that five big tubers of yam, previously sold for N4,000 now cost N2,500. Mrs. Alani added that five small tubers which cost N1,200 before harvest, now sell for N800.
She observed that a small bag and a measure of maize, which sold for N24,000 and N350, now cost N21,000 and N300 respectively. Similarly, in Alekuwodo market in Osogbo, five big tubers of yam now cost N,3000 as against N4,500 before the harvest while a bag of maize sells for N22,000 against N24,000 previously.
Tawa Ahmed, a food seller at the market, attributed the fall in the prices of foodstuffs to the ongoing harvest of farm produce. “Usually, prices of foodstuffs come down at this period of harvest but by the end of October, there may be slight changes in the prices when harvest of crops draw to a close,” Mrs. Ahmed said. On the contrary, however, Taye Babatunde, a foodstuff distributor at Oja Tuntun, noted that the price of beans had remained high in the last few months as a bag of white beans sells for N40,000 while a plastic measure costs N650.
Mrs. Babatunde said that a bag of sweet beans, which was formerly sold for N25,000 and a plastic measure for N700, now costs N30,000 and N750 respectively. At Igbonna market in Osogbo, a bag of brown beans attracts N33,000, as against the initial price of N29,000 while a plastic measure, which formerly cost N600 now costs N700. Meanwhile, Moses Oladipupo, the Vice President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Osun, said that the newly-harvested crops had triggered 50 per cent drop in the prices of foodstuff generally in markets in the state. Mr. Oladipupo noted that most of the food crops being harvested were planted between March and June.
He expressed optimism that the prices of foodstuff would further drop in the course of the harvest period. Also commenting, Ganiyu Awojobi, the AFAN Chairman in Ife East Local Government, concurred that the prices of foodstuff would further decline as the harvest progressed. He, however, argued that it was normal that when certain food crops were being harvested and made available in the market, their prices would drop in line with the law of demand and supply.
In Ekiti, respondents said they were excited over the evident fall in the prices of foodstuff and their availability in the market. A farmer, Jide Ogunyemi, in Ikere Ekiti, said that farmers were actually relieved of the hardship associated with the ailing economy, saying that they would not relent in their efforts to sustain the trend. Mr. Ogunyemi, however, said that the state government needed to do more in the area of providing the enabling environment as well as incentives for farmers to further encourage them.
He told NAN that many farmers in the state still lacked access to agricultural inputs and cash support to enable them to expand and maintain their farms. The peasant farmer noted that most of them would want to be equipped with agricultural skills, equipment and facilities, including storage, marketing and distribution of farm produce. In Kwara, the newly harvested crops also made some positive impact on the prices of foodstuff, as revealed in the NAN survey.
For instance, in Baruten Local Government Area of the state, a measure of maize, which sold for N6,000 before, now costs N4,000 while six big tubers of yam now cost N2,000 as against N5 000 before the harvest period. However, the price of Guinea corn remained high as the crop was not yet due for harvest hence, one basin of Guinea corn sells for N6,000 as against N5,000 in May. A pepper seller who identified herself as ‘Iya Ramota Alata’, said that pepper had also witnessed price reduction as a bag of long pepper sells for between N6,500 and N7,000 as against N8,000 sold in May.
She also said that the price of onion had also dropped with the arrival of the newly harvested commodity. According to her, a bag of white onion now sells for between N18,000 and N20,000 while the red onion sells for N15,000 to N18,000. Kayode Ehindero, the Chairman, Agriculture and Allied Employees Union (AAEU) in Kwara, attributed the drop in commodity prices to good harvest.
President Buhari says he's not running for re-election in 2019
The comments by Aisha Alhassan could heighten uncertainty over whether Buhari plans to contest the next election. Buhari took power in 2015 but has been absent for much of this year due to illness. He is yet to say if he will seek a second term.
“In 2014/2015 he said he was going to run for only one time to clean up the mess that the (previous) PDP government did in Nigeria. And I took him for his word that he is not contesting in 2019,” Minister of Women Affairs Alhassan said.
Alhassan said in the interview she would resign if Buhari seeks re-election and would support former vice president Atiku Abubakar if he decides to run. Alhassan’s portfolio ranks relatively low down in Nigeria’s cabinet.
Abubakar was vice president from 1999 to 2007 as part of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), Buhari’s party, in 2014. She said Buhari made the comments in 2015 to APC members but gave no further details.
The president’s two spokesmen declined to comment on the minister’s remarks.
Buhari, 74, returned on Aug. 19 from three months of medical leave in Britain for an unspecified ailment. It was his second stint of sick leave this year following a break between January and March.
Many people say they doubt whether Buhari is well enough to serve another term in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country and has the continent’s biggest economy.
“If today Mr. President says he is running in 2019 I will go to him respectfully and thank him for giving me an opportunity to serve and then tell him that I have to resign because my political father may be running,” said Alhassan.
Nigeria out of recession
Amid government celebration of Tuesday’s announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, that Nigeria’s economy had officially exited recession, a civil society group has called for restraint and efforts geared towards a more sustainable growth.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, said on Wednesday that the NBS’ report on the recovery of the country’s economy from recession was an indication that government’s various economic policies under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, to reflate the economy was yielding fruits.
The latest NBS’ National Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Report for the Second Quarter of 2017 released on Tuesday showed the GDP grew by 0.55 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, an indication the country’s economy was gradually pulling out of recession after five consecutive quarters of contraction since the first quarter of 2016.
The statistics agency said the GDP growth was about 2.04 per cent higher than the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2016 (–1.49 per cent) and higher by 1.46 per cent from the rate in the preceding quarter (revised to –0.91 per cent from –0.52 per cent).
On a quarterly basis, the NBS said real GDP grew by 3.23 per cent, with aggregate GDP for the period at N26.99 trillion in nominal terms, compared to N23.55 trillion in the second quarter of 2016, resulting in a Nominal GDP growth of 14.6 per cent.
“That Nigeria has exited recession is a testimony to the fact that government is moving in the right direction economically. This is a confirmation that confidence is returning to the country’s economy,” Mr. Udoma said.
Regardless, the Centre for Social Justice, CENSOJ, said there was nothing celebrate, as the reported growth was not significant enough to justify any celebration.
“In view of the less than one percent GDP growth, stating that Nigeria has come out of recession is more or less like holding onto any available straw of hope,” the group said in a review by its lead director, Eze Onyekpere.
With a population growth rate of 2.7 per cent per annum, Mr. Onyekpere said, the reported GDP growth was not significant, particularly since the country’s economy had been growing consistently by about six percent in the years before the recession.
Rather than roll out the drums for celebration, the group said the report called for a “rolling up of our sleeves for more work.”
CENSOJ said the government should focus more attention on providing increased incentives for improved production and service delivery in all sectors of the economy, while fast-tracking the ease of doing business initiatives and interventions, to boost more investment in critical sectors of the economy.
According to the group, other areas the government must pay attention include mainstreaming the local content policy at all tiers of government; rejigging the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC; and getting more experts and practical men and women to run key sectors of the economy.
Also, the group said the government should take steps to stop the ongoing industrial actions in the education and health sectors of the economy as well as ensure that the 2018 federal budget is structured to grow the economy and develop human capacity and approved as soon as possible.
In his reaction, a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, said Nigeria cannot be said to be out of recession until all Nigerians can have three square meals a day.
In a series of tweets, through his Twitter handle @atiku, Mr. Abubakar said, “As a Nigerian, investor and employer of labour, the news of Nigeria’s official emergence from the recession is most welcome.
“The news is surely a boost for Nigeria – it tells investors, local and foreign, that our economy is worth investing in. While we rejoice, it is also important to recognize that economic weakness at the bottom of the pyramid remains. Inflation is still high. We must continue working hard to expand economic opportunity for all Nigerians. When all Nigerians can eat three square meals, that’s when the real recession ends. We have work to do,” he said.
A former Minister of Education and lead of the ‘Bring Back our Girls Movement’, Oby Ezekwesili, in her reaction to the news expressed excitement at the report, but urged the managers of the economy to ensure the growth rate was returned to the level it fell from a few years ago.
“It is critical that our economy is officially out of recession,” Mrs. Ezekwesili said in one her tweets through her Twitter handle, @obyezeks. “Great! Next is to get growth back up to above population growth rate of 3.3%. Waste no time in trending growth rate back up to where it fell from, 5-6 per cent per annum.”
In his reaction, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ahmed Makarfi, also dismissed the celebration by the government on the NBS report.
He described the exit “as a mere statistic that does not reflect the reality as it affects ordinary Nigerians.”
“For any economic recovery to be meaningful, it must positively impact on the lives of the people at the lower level,” he said.
The Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, through his media aide, Lere Olayinka had also toed the line yesterday when he said that the exit would only be meaningful when Nigerians can afford to eat comfortably especially when the prices of food items drop significantly.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Yemi Kale, has said that the effect of Nigeria coming out of recession will not be immediately felt by the people.
Mr. Kale, the Statistician-General of the Federation, made the statement in Abuja on Wednesday at a news conference.
“There is a different stage Nigeria must go through before the masses will feel the effects of going out of recession.
“Out of recession is the first step which is very important then the country can talk of economic recovery which is going back to where Nigeria was before the recession,” he said.
The Bureau on September 5 announced that Nigeria was out of economic recession.
An economy is said to be in recession after contracting for two consecutive quarters.
The economy slipped into recession in the second quarter of 2016.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, said on Wednesday that the NBS’ report on the recovery of the country’s economy from recession was an indication that government’s various economic policies under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, to reflate the economy was yielding fruits.
The latest NBS’ National Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Report for the Second Quarter of 2017 released on Tuesday showed the GDP grew by 0.55 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, an indication the country’s economy was gradually pulling out of recession after five consecutive quarters of contraction since the first quarter of 2016.
The statistics agency said the GDP growth was about 2.04 per cent higher than the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2016 (–1.49 per cent) and higher by 1.46 per cent from the rate in the preceding quarter (revised to –0.91 per cent from –0.52 per cent).
On a quarterly basis, the NBS said real GDP grew by 3.23 per cent, with aggregate GDP for the period at N26.99 trillion in nominal terms, compared to N23.55 trillion in the second quarter of 2016, resulting in a Nominal GDP growth of 14.6 per cent.
“That Nigeria has exited recession is a testimony to the fact that government is moving in the right direction economically. This is a confirmation that confidence is returning to the country’s economy,” Mr. Udoma said.
Regardless, the Centre for Social Justice, CENSOJ, said there was nothing celebrate, as the reported growth was not significant enough to justify any celebration.
“In view of the less than one percent GDP growth, stating that Nigeria has come out of recession is more or less like holding onto any available straw of hope,” the group said in a review by its lead director, Eze Onyekpere.
With a population growth rate of 2.7 per cent per annum, Mr. Onyekpere said, the reported GDP growth was not significant, particularly since the country’s economy had been growing consistently by about six percent in the years before the recession.
Rather than roll out the drums for celebration, the group said the report called for a “rolling up of our sleeves for more work.”
CENSOJ said the government should focus more attention on providing increased incentives for improved production and service delivery in all sectors of the economy, while fast-tracking the ease of doing business initiatives and interventions, to boost more investment in critical sectors of the economy.
According to the group, other areas the government must pay attention include mainstreaming the local content policy at all tiers of government; rejigging the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC; and getting more experts and practical men and women to run key sectors of the economy.
Also, the group said the government should take steps to stop the ongoing industrial actions in the education and health sectors of the economy as well as ensure that the 2018 federal budget is structured to grow the economy and develop human capacity and approved as soon as possible.
In his reaction, a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, said Nigeria cannot be said to be out of recession until all Nigerians can have three square meals a day.
In a series of tweets, through his Twitter handle @atiku, Mr. Abubakar said, “As a Nigerian, investor and employer of labour, the news of Nigeria’s official emergence from the recession is most welcome.
“The news is surely a boost for Nigeria – it tells investors, local and foreign, that our economy is worth investing in. While we rejoice, it is also important to recognize that economic weakness at the bottom of the pyramid remains. Inflation is still high. We must continue working hard to expand economic opportunity for all Nigerians. When all Nigerians can eat three square meals, that’s when the real recession ends. We have work to do,” he said.
A former Minister of Education and lead of the ‘Bring Back our Girls Movement’, Oby Ezekwesili, in her reaction to the news expressed excitement at the report, but urged the managers of the economy to ensure the growth rate was returned to the level it fell from a few years ago.
“It is critical that our economy is officially out of recession,” Mrs. Ezekwesili said in one her tweets through her Twitter handle, @obyezeks. “Great! Next is to get growth back up to above population growth rate of 3.3%. Waste no time in trending growth rate back up to where it fell from, 5-6 per cent per annum.”
In his reaction, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ahmed Makarfi, also dismissed the celebration by the government on the NBS report.
He described the exit “as a mere statistic that does not reflect the reality as it affects ordinary Nigerians.”
“For any economic recovery to be meaningful, it must positively impact on the lives of the people at the lower level,” he said.
The Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, through his media aide, Lere Olayinka had also toed the line yesterday when he said that the exit would only be meaningful when Nigerians can afford to eat comfortably especially when the prices of food items drop significantly.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Yemi Kale, has said that the effect of Nigeria coming out of recession will not be immediately felt by the people.
Mr. Kale, the Statistician-General of the Federation, made the statement in Abuja on Wednesday at a news conference.
“There is a different stage Nigeria must go through before the masses will feel the effects of going out of recession.
“Out of recession is the first step which is very important then the country can talk of economic recovery which is going back to where Nigeria was before the recession,” he said.
The Bureau on September 5 announced that Nigeria was out of economic recession.
An economy is said to be in recession after contracting for two consecutive quarters.
The economy slipped into recession in the second quarter of 2016.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Death toll of Boko Haram attacks since April at 400
A surge in attacks by Boko Haram fighters has claimed nearly 400 lives since April in Nigeria and Cameroon, double the figure of the previous five months, according to a rights group.
The increasing use of suicide bombers - often young women and girls forced to carry and detonate explosives in crowded areas - has killed at least 381 civilians in the two countries, Amnesty International group said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Boko Haram is once again committing war crimes on a huge scale, exemplified by the depravity of forcing young girls to carry explosives with the sole intention of killing as many people as they possibly can," said Alioune Tine, Amnesty International's director for West and Central Africa.
"This wave of shocking Boko Haram violence, propelled by a sharp rise in suicide bombings, highlights the urgent need for protection and assistance for millions of civilians ... Governments in Nigeria, Cameroon and beyond must take swift action to protect them from this campaign of terror."
Amnesty said at least 223 civilians died in Nigeria since April, underscoring that the real toll could be far higher.
"Between May and August, seven times more civilians were killed than in the preceding four months, while 100 civilians were killed in August alone," it said.
In neighbouring Cameroon, Amnesty said since April at least 158 civilians died in Boko Haram attacks, a figure four times higher than the preceding five months.
"The recent spike in casualties has been driven by increased suicide attacks, with 30 - more than one per week - carried out since the beginning of April," it said.
The deadliest attack took place in the town of Waza on July 12 when 16 civilians were killed and at least 34 injured after a young girl was forced to carry and detonate a bomb in a crowded video game centre.
The group initially claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in the north, but a range of demands by different people have since been issued.
At least 20,000 people have been killed in violence since 2009 and more than 2.6 million people have been left homeless.
More than five million people are starving as the fighting has devastated farmland, leaving farmers unable to sow or cultivate crops for several years.
In its statement last month, UNICEF said that because of the attacks, children who escape or are released by Boko Haram come to be viewed with suspicion and rejected by their communities.
The violence and security situation in the region has also forced thousands of parents not to send their children to schools.
The increasing use of suicide bombers - often young women and girls forced to carry and detonate explosives in crowded areas - has killed at least 381 civilians in the two countries, Amnesty International group said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Boko Haram is once again committing war crimes on a huge scale, exemplified by the depravity of forcing young girls to carry explosives with the sole intention of killing as many people as they possibly can," said Alioune Tine, Amnesty International's director for West and Central Africa.
"This wave of shocking Boko Haram violence, propelled by a sharp rise in suicide bombings, highlights the urgent need for protection and assistance for millions of civilians ... Governments in Nigeria, Cameroon and beyond must take swift action to protect them from this campaign of terror."
Amnesty said at least 223 civilians died in Nigeria since April, underscoring that the real toll could be far higher.
"Between May and August, seven times more civilians were killed than in the preceding four months, while 100 civilians were killed in August alone," it said.
In neighbouring Cameroon, Amnesty said since April at least 158 civilians died in Boko Haram attacks, a figure four times higher than the preceding five months.
"The recent spike in casualties has been driven by increased suicide attacks, with 30 - more than one per week - carried out since the beginning of April," it said.
The deadliest attack took place in the town of Waza on July 12 when 16 civilians were killed and at least 34 injured after a young girl was forced to carry and detonate a bomb in a crowded video game centre.
The group initially claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in the north, but a range of demands by different people have since been issued.
At least 20,000 people have been killed in violence since 2009 and more than 2.6 million people have been left homeless.
More than five million people are starving as the fighting has devastated farmland, leaving farmers unable to sow or cultivate crops for several years.
In its statement last month, UNICEF said that because of the attacks, children who escape or are released by Boko Haram come to be viewed with suspicion and rejected by their communities.
The violence and security situation in the region has also forced thousands of parents not to send their children to schools.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)