The Managing Director (MD) of FSDH Merchant Bank, Bukola Smith, has stated the government of Nigeria must avoid policy flip-flops to restore confidence in the country’s economy with a focus on the investment market.

Speaking at the bank’s Breakfast Series, which focused on RT200 Foreign Exchange Programme, Smith believes consistency in predictable policy direction would raise the confidence of foreign investors, which is necessary to boost foreign exchange earnings.

She noted policy inconsistency had led to the drastic reduction in export earnings, a situation that had triggered a deficit in the country’s current account. She therefore challenged the government to strive to bridge the growing gap between imports and exports in the country’s commercial affairs.

The banker, thus, strongly urged the government to work extra hard to shore up the country’s dwindling external reserves towards averting a major crisis in the near future.

It’s noteworthy the gross reserves dropped to $39.04 billion on Wednesday, 11th May 2022, the last time it was updated. The figure was the lowest Year-to-Date (YTD).

Smith told the participants at the meeting that a consistent fall in the reserves was a major red signal the national economic managers could not continue to ignore.

If the RT200 scheme is properly implemented, she said, “It will help us to earn more sustainable FX, reduce exposure to volatile FX, increase export, which we need to achieve and help to diversify from oil”.

According to her, unstructured procedure, corruption and rejection of the country’s exports are some of the threats to the scheme. These, she said, must be addressed urgently as necessary steps had been taken towards making a success of the initiative.

On his part, a trade expert in the person of Bamidele Ayemibo, who gave a keynote speech at the Series, charged the government to urgently tackle the conception risk posed by over-dependence on crude as a source of FX earning.

Ayemibo picked on the height of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 when oil prices dropped to a negative region, opining that it represented the future of hydrocarbon.

Arguing that non-oil export is the most sustainable FX earner at the moment, he pointed to people, process and payment as some of the most challenged areas that must be addressed to grow the non-oil economy.

The expert stated that the impacts of the Russian-Ukraine war were real with “countries that are ready already taking advantage of the supply gap created by the crisis”.

He noted that Nigeria could leverage the challenge to its advantage but added that hard decisions had to be made to catch up with what other countries around the world are doing in that regard.

According to Ayemibo, part of the quick actions that must be made included growing value-added products, which would require agro-processors partnering farmers.

It has become indisputable that unsteady policy has remained one of the main reasons the Nigeria’s Commerce and Industry sector is still epileptic, or lagging behind, even when many countries look up to her for various supplies.

Consistency in policy direction remains the backbone of any flourishing economy across the globe. It suffices to assert that countries, whose policies are usually flip-flop, continue to witness unpalatable growth in their industrial prospects.

To get it right, Nigeria’s leadership must be ready to take drastic measures that would stabilize the country’s foreign reserves no matter whose ox is gored. Hence, the parallel (black) market as regards the money market needs to be eradicated from the system. But to actualize this, the official wing domiciled in the banking sector must be duly sanitized.

Also, the various borders of the country must be strengthened to prevent influx of unwanted commodities, which is currently the order of the day. Thus, corruption must be fought to standstill.

Sarz Academy has collaborated with YouTube Music to train emerging producers and songwriters in Nigeria in the 2022 Future Insiders programme.

The three-day training series included in YouTube’s Future Insiders programme will help up-and-coming producers and songwriters build their skills and abilities through hands-on training from famous music and industry leaders.

The Founder and Leader of the Sarz Academy, Osabuohien Osaretin explained the motive behind the academy while briefing newsmen.

He said, “We founded the Sarz Academy in 2015 to help creatives thrive in the creative and business of entertainment.”

“Our objective has always been to help turn the enormous potential that exists in the music creative space into genuine accomplishments. We recognize that, although many young Nigerians possess the necessary abilities for the industry, many are unable to create a successful music career owing to a lack of grasp of the business and production foundations.”

It could be recalled YouTube had earlier announced that a series of activities commemorating Africa Month would take place throughout the month of May, 2022.

The initiatives, including the Future Insiders’ workshop, are meant to bring attention to and show appreciation for the artists and other creative individuals who are moving Africa’s music business forward.

The YouTube’s Head of Music in Sub-Saharan Africa, Addy Awofisayo said, “We are delighted to be working with the Sarz Academy to present the Future Insiders programme.”

“At YouTube, we have always been committed to supporting the next generation of music creatives out of Africa, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to connect the impactful work of the YouTubeBlackVoices Fund with The Sarz Academy’s efforts to support the artistic aspirations of Nigerian music creatives.”

It’s noteworthy Future Insiders is a component of the Black Voices Fund’s Music Community Pillar, which provides possibilities for exposure and learning for young people all across the world.

Future Insiders has collaborated with community-oriented groups in New York, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Rio de Janeiro, Houston, Atlanta, London, Lagos, Accra, and now Memphis.

In addition to technical production and business sessions, selected participants will access one-on-one sessions with YouTube to learn how to connect and use the platform to drive the best engagement, as well as learn about all the essential tips such as creating and developing their brands, self-marketing, building positive artist and producer relationships, and revenue streams to consider.

The #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund is a multi-year $100 million fund dedicated to amplifying and developing the voices of Black creators and artists and their stories.

Upcoming Nigeria’s artist, particularly songwriters, musicians and producers, are required to leverage this opportunity towards ensuring their respective talents are fully and duly showcased to the world.

The emerging artists of today’s world, or contemporary global society, are presently faced with much opportunities that could enable them to excel with ease even from the comfort of their bedrooms, unlike what the situation used to be in the past years when individuals in the creative industry had to go extra mile before their talents could be felt by their immediate society let alone the globe.

This is to say that any creative person, who truly desires to make an impact with his/her talent, will surely find a way without indulging in much strenuous activity. This is the reason it’s currently observed that talented young ones of tender age bracket in Nigeria and beyond are easily attaining to stardom on a daily basis, contrary to the past experience when most of them got frustrated in the long run, hence would be compelled to fade out of the pathway to success.

Hence, the Nigeria’s young talent are enjoined to make good use of their Android/Smart phones, rather than deploy it for useless and fraudulent acts. They ought to equally be well orientated by the concerned authorities towards making them key into the needful. Also, massive awareness should be created.

It should be placed as one of the wonders of the Nigerian government how the killers of Miss Deborah Yakubu Samuel were charged with incitement and disturbance of public peace instead of charging them for murder and culpable homicide as expected.

There is clear evidence that Deborah was murdered by the mob and some even boldly said in the video recording that they were the ones who set Deborah ablaze after she was killed; charging her killers with just incitement and disturbance of public peace and not murder and culpable homicide is spit on Deborah’s grave, it is a slap to the parents, family, and friends of the deceased who are hoping that Deborah gets justice and her killers faced the law, it is also an insult to the collective intelligence of Nigerians.

It is the law provided in both the criminal code (applicable in the south) and the penal code which is applicable to the Northern Nigeria that when a person kills another the killer has committed an offense known as murder and culpable homicide and this offense attracts capital punishment which is a death sentence and when it has to do with a capital offense like murder, it is above the jurisdictional clearance of the magistrate court or any other lower court of record, it is to he tried at High court of the state but to our utmost surprise, Deborah’s killers were brought before the magistrate court and they were charged with incitement and disturbance of public peace which attract a meager punishment and option of fine.

This is highly disappointing, disappointing of the Sokoto state government and the judiciary to have let religious sentiment blur the line between justice and public administration. It is even better that the killers of Deborah are never charged and they are “left for God” instead of this judicial gimmick that is currently going on now in Sokoto state in the guise of trial.

Why Strict Punishment Should Be Meted Out To Those Responsible For Deborah’s Death