Politics

Nigeria: The Changing Governance Story

Published

8 months ago

April 19, 2024

Today, however, Nigeria is home to the largest single-train refinery in the world, with the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day

Nigeria: The Changing Governance Story

By Temitope Ajayi

Sahara Weekly Reports That Tracking many stories of remarkable progress currently taking place in Nigeria can be a challenging task. This is so because these important stories are lost to some who daily indulge in the cacophony of adverse reports. These negative news often dominates the headlines.

With a 24-hour news cycle that tends to focus mainly on distasteful narratives, several Nigerians have been made to accept the view that nothing good is happening in their country.

Those who rely on the mainstream media and social media as the only sources of news and information they consume are the worst hit by the cycle of misinformation that portrays our country as descending rapidly to the edge of the precipice. However, the reality is different: the country is making progress in leaps and bounds.

Late Swedish physician and Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute, Hans Rosling, his son, Ola Rosling, and daughter-in-law, Anna Rosling, extensively dwell on this subject in “Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think,” a book published in 2018. In the book, the authors demonstrate that most people are made to hold the wrong notion about the state of the world because the media project data, analyse trends and select stories to make people assume that things are getting worse around them. The authors assert that a majority of people view the world as poorer, less healthy, and a more dangerous place to live in than it actually is. In other words, many people believe they are living in a worse period in the history of mankind because of misinformation.

The same situation the Roslings describe in their book is at play in Nigeria, where individuals, interest groups, activists, analysts, self-serving politicians, and opposition elements constantly project and amplify negative stories.

It is as if we are in a race with those who can say the most horrible things about our country. Yet, we have an abundance of good stories to tell the world. We seem so numb to the good news that we are dismissive of breakthroughs and innovative trends. For instance, we downplay the significance of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and its possibilities to reflate the economy.

Many people forgot so soon that we had been importing petroleum products for over three decades because the state-owned refineries are moribund. Our national economy bled, and the country was in a fiscal cul-de-sac for those years as a result of subsidy payments on petroleum products.

Today, however, Nigeria is home to the largest single-train refinery in the world, with the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day. Cynics do not see this as a breakthrough.

Nigerians who are 60 years old and below started seeing modern rail infrastructure in 2016 when the All Progressives Congress-led administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the standard gauge rail system, beginning with the Abuja-Kaduna route, later Lagos-Ibadan and then the Warri-Itakpe.

The national rail modernisation project is progressing with Kano-Katsina-Maradi and Kano-Kaduna standard gauge rail projects at different stages of completion. The contractor working on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow gauge recently announced the completion of the Port Harcourt-Aba section. While the Federal Government is rallying stakeholders to promote economic integration across the country, the Lagos State Government recently launched two metro rail lines -Blue and Red Rail lines – as part of the state’s elaborate master plan to build a modern and efficient megacity. Like Lagos State, there are visible signs of remarkable, quantifiable progress in several other states, including Kaduna, Kano, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Kebbi, Borno, Gombe, Oyo, Ekiti and Ogun, among others.

A few weeks ago, the President Bola Tinubu-led administration embarked on the construction of the 700 kilometres Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway that will connect nine coastal states in another bold move to bolster economic growth further and open up the country to productive economic activities.

While it may be very easy for critics and other armchair analysts to ignore these developments and their significance to remaking Nigeria, there is no gainsaying that these projects and many more that are ongoing or about to be instituted across critical sectors are the core of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Indeed, it is hard to process why the so-called critics and cynics can not see the Lagos-Calabar Highway project as a clear demonstration of the President’s commitment to harnessing the potential of our renascent Blue Economy.

Despite what is bandied by the most vociferous critics

Related Topics:Featured NIGERIA President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

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Politics

Zamfara Youths Commend Tinubu Over Yazid Danfulani Appointment*

Published

2 hours ago

December 7, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Zamfara Youths Commend Tinubu Over Yazid Danfulani Appointment

Youths in Zamfara State have commended President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Yazid Danfulani as the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund/Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative.

The Zamfara Good Governance Forum (ZGF), led by Comrade Abdulsamad Yakubu, described Danfulani’s appointment as a well-deserved recognition of his contributions to the region’s development.

Yakubu said Danfulani played a pivotal role in President Tinubu’s campaign, mobilising massive youth support and ensuring a resounding victory for the All Progressives Congress.

He noted that his expertise in the solid minerals sector, particularly in gold mining, is expected to drive the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative forward.

The Zamfara Good Governance Forum expressed confidence that Danfulani’s appointment will have a positive impact on the solid minerals sector in Nigeria, particularly in Zamfara State, which is richly endowed with mineral resources, including gold.

“We wish to express our heartfelt commendation to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the appointment of Yazid Danfulani as the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund/Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative,” Yakubu said.

“Yazid Danfulani’s appointment is a testament to his exceptional leadership qualities and dedication to the development of Northern Nigeria. As a great mobilizer, he played a pivotal role in President Tinubu’s campaign, galvanising massive youth support and ensuring a resounding victory for the party’s presidential candidate.

“The Zamfara Good Governance Forum believes that this appointment is a well-deserved recognition of Danfulani’s contributions to the region’s development. His expertise in the solid minerals sector, particularly in gold mining, will undoubtedly be an asset in driving the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative forward.

“As the Executive Secretary, Danfulani will oversee the implementation of the initiative, which aims to formalize and regulate the artisanal gold mining sector in Nigeria. This initiative has the potential to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and reduce illegal mining activities in the region.

“The Zamfara Good Governance Forum is confident that Danfulani’s appointment will have a positive impact on the solid minerals sector in Nigeria, particularly in Zamfara State, which is richly endowed with mineral resources, including gold ².”

Politics

Namibians elect Nandi-Ndaitwah as first female president

Published

3 days ago

December 5, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Namibians elect Nandi-Ndaitwah as first female president

Namibian Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) party has been elected the first female president of the Southern African country.

Namibia’s electoral commission on Tuesday announced Mrs Nandi-Ndaitwah as the winner of the election that was held on November 27.

The announcement of the result was delayed until Tuesday as voting was extended in some places due to technical glitches and ballot paper shortages.

According to the result by the electoral commission, Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, polled 57 per cent of the votes, surpassing the 50 per cent requirement to win. Her challenger, Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party, came second with roughly 26 per cent of votes.

In the National Assembly election, Mrs Nandi-Ndaitwah-led SWAPO won a majority of seats, 51 of the 96, while the IPC won 20 seats.

“The Namibian nation has voted for peace and stability,” Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah said after being declared president-elect on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the IPC has vowed to challenge the election’s outcome in court, describing the process as “deeply flawed.”

Ms Nandi-Ndaitwah’s victory now extends SWAPO’s 34-year rule in Namibia since it led the country to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

Politics

Senate summons Keyamo over flight delays, others

Published

3 days ago

December 5, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Senate summons Keyamo over flight delays, others

The Senate on Wednesday summoned the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo; Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Capt. Chris Najomo; airline operators and other relevant stakeholders over the incessant flight delays and cancellations by airlines.

Adopting a motion to that effect, sponsored by Senator AbdulFatai Buhari (APC Oyo North) during plenary, the Red Chamber particularly charged its Committee on Aviation to unravel the circumstances behind the incessant flight delays and cancellations to find lasting solutions to the problem.

The PUNCH exclusively reported on Wednesday that about 2,000 air passengers lost 19,274 pieces of luggage between January and June this year, according to data from the Federal.

The report stated that data obtained from the half-year report of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, an agency of the Federal Government that regulates civil aviation, further indicated that 19,250 passengers were delayed for long hours during the review period.

Senator Buhari, while presenting the motion, said the problem which he noted had been on the increase in recent times, is all over the media.

“This development is worrisome as air travel is one of the most reliable, dependable, and quicker means of transportation, often undertaken for business/official purposes and to keep other scheduled appointments, which are usually time-bo,” he said

Therefore, he cautioned that “unwarranted flight delays and cancellations will be counterproductive to the socio-economic growth and development of this country.”

The lawmaker noted that as part of interventionist measures to check unethical and unwholesome practices of the practitioners in the àviation sector, the NCAA is statutory empowered through the enactment of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act, to among other things, provide oversight and guidelines aimed at ensuring that airlines operate within the contemplation of international standards in Nigeria and to ensure that airline customers get value for the services paid for.

Buhari pointed out that “the quest for economic diversification and foreign direct investment, which are parts of the current administration’s policy thrust, will remain an illusion if the country’s aviation industry falls short of the acceptable best practices across the globe.”

“Part 19 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Regulations of 2023, makes provisions for consumer protection in the civil aviation industry in Nigeria.”

He added, “However, enforcement has been an issue as most Nigerians are not even aware that they are entitled to compensation for time lost due to unnecessary delay, hence the need for the NCAA to activate this aspect of its regulation so that airline operators will sit up and be alive to their responsibilities.”