Nigerian press spotlights warning against Nigeria’s lackadaisical approach to insecurity, others

By Agence de Presse Africaine Last updated Dec 9, 2021

APA– Lagos The warning by a former Chairman of Nigeria’ s Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. The Guardian reports that a former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Jega said, while many might argue with those who describe Nigeria as a failed state, no one in his or her right senses would dispute that the country was fast failing.

APA – Lagos (Nigeria) The warning by a former Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, against the lackadaisical approach to insecurity by the government is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.

The Guardian reports that a former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday, warned against Nigeria’s lackadaisical approach to insecurity.

He made this known during his presentation at the Owolabi Afuye Memorial Lecture, organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch, as one of the events marking its 2021 Law Week.

Jega said, while many might argue with those who describe Nigeria as a failed state, no one in his or her right senses would dispute that the country was fast failing.

He said: “A combination of militancy, insurgency, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, kidnapping for ransom, and ethno-religious or communal conflicts, with evident lack of competence and capacity to address these challenges, has unleashed generalised individual and collective apprehension, palpable insecurity and fatalistic resignation.

“Many citizens have been killed, maimed, raped, displaced, and properties stolen, confiscated and/or destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of citizens have been staying in internally displaced persons camps for long, with the future of children compromised by malnutrition, diseases, and prolonged abandonment of schooling.”Jega noted that in some areas of the country, especially the North East and North West geopolitical zones, famine is imminent because insurgents and bandits have obstructed farming and agrarian food production and destabilised the rural economy, with outright killing of persons who venture out to their farms, or imposition of heavy taxation on those allowed to farm.“Indeed, things have been so bad for so long that, some scholars are beginning to perceive Nigeria now, perhaps exaggeratedly, as a ‘failed state’. Even if we doubt that Nigeria is not a ‘failed state’, nobody in his right senses would dispute that it is a ‘failing state,” he said.The newspaper says that Nigeria’s marine and services group, UTM Offshore Limited, and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to raise $5 billion for the development of Nigeria’s first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project.The deal, which is in two parts, will see the continental bank raising $2 billion to support the first phase with a commitment to fund the second phase of the project by another $3 billion.

Signed by the Group Managing Director/CEO of UTM Offshore, Julius Rone, and President and Chairman of Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah, the MoU paves the way for additional collaboration between the two entities to support a future final investment decision (FID) on the project, which UTM has been studying and conceptualising since 2020.

UTM Offshore Limited was granted a licence to establish (LTE) by Nigeria’s former Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for the installation of an FLNG unit on oil mining lease (OML) 104 in February 2021.

The block, which contains the producing Yoho field, is operated by the joint-venture of Mobil Producing Nigeria (operator, 40 per cent) and the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC, 60 per cent.

The Punch reports that the Federal Executive Council, on Wednesday, approved the procurement of telecommunication equipment that would be used to detect and block fraudsters using different SIM cards.The approval of the new regulatory system is expected to support the country to address the challenges of insecurity, among others.

The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the virtual Council meeting presided over by the President, Major Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Pantami explained that the deployment of the system would help to monitor, detect and block SIM cards, thereby fighting what he called “voice traffic termination fraught.”

He said, “I am here to present two memos approved by the Federal Executive Council. And these two memos are to be implemented by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

“The first memo that has been approved by the Federal Executive Council is for the deployment of regulatory systems in the telecommunications industry, which is to be implemented by the NCC. “These regulatory systems have two components. Component number one is the deployment of a regulatory system to monitor, detect and block SIM box traffic.

ThisDay reports that with the planned 5G network rollout in Nigeria next year, coupled with the high speed of internet connectivity with low latency that come with 5G technology, telecoms operators have called for quick regulatory intervention on the part of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in order to facilitate early approval for the installation of additional telecoms masts for 5G rollout.

The telcos raised fears about the regulatory tussle between the National Environmental Standard Regulatory Agency (NESRA), the Federal Ministry of Environment and the NCC, over the regulation of telecoms masts installation, a situation, which the telcos said, had brought about unnecessary delay in getting approval for the installation of telecoms masts.

The telcos who spoke at the ‘Talk to The Regulator Forum’ organised by NCC in Lagos, insisted that the NCC must intervene fast in the regulatory tussle, to enable the operators obtain early permit for 5G network rollout within the shortest time frame, since 5G network rollout comes with faster interconnection speed.

The Sun says that the crises rocking the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) over a loan default by the majority shareholder/core investor, Kann Utility Company Limited, may have taken a new dimension as the lender, United Bank for Africa (UBA), has appointed a receiver/manager for the troubled Disco.

AEDC is one of the 11 Discos unbundled from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and handed over to its core investor on November 1, 2013.

The utility arm serves customers in its franchise areas covering Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory.

Giving further insights into the crises rocking AEDC, Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Mr. Sanusi Garba, and the Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, in a joint statement made available to Daily Sun, explained that there has been an ongoing dispute among competing factions of Kann, which eventually spilled over to a dispute with the lender (UBA) that provided the acquisition loan to Kann for the acquisition of majority shares during the privatization exercise in 2013, over Kann’s inability to service its debt to the bank.

The newspaper reports that Economic experts have urged insurance and pension operators to leverage opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to boost the nation’s financial inclusion rate and expand growth in key sectors of the economy.

Those who spoke at a recent conference for stakeholders noted that although the pandemic brought severe disruptions to lives and businesses, it equally has its advantages which operators need to seize to boost the industries.

Former Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), Folashade Onanuga, speaking on ‘COVID-19 Impact on Financial Inclusion: Opportunities for Insurance & Pension Sectors’ said: “while the pandemic has caused severe disruptions, opportunities have also been created to grow customer base on account of the obvious fact that there is no real social security arrangement by government in the event of sudden and unexpected events and so citizens need to make plans by themselves for wellness both in business and family life.”

According to Onanuga, economic shocks like sudden loss of job, illness or death can send people living just above the poverty line into abject poverty.

GIK/APA