The Federal Government of Nigeria has directed the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) to formulate new regulations that will, among other things, keep the media industry competitive, NAN reported.
The directive came from the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday in Abuja, after receiving the report of the NBC Reform Implementation Committee which was chaired by prof. Armstrong Idachaba.
Mohammed said the new rules should protect the media industry from anti-competitive behaviors and stipulate adequate sanctions for anyone caught violating the rules. He also directed the NBC to make rules to regulate internet broadcast so that those who provide broadcast on the internet will do so with a sense of responsibility.
The Minister said the fines will be reviewed according to the directive given earlier by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Commission should amend the N500, 000 to N5 million for breaches relating to hate speeches, inciting comments and indecency. And willful repeat of infractions on three occasions after fine would attract suspension of license.
He also directed the Commission to upgrade breach of political comments relating to hate speeches and divisive comments to Class A offense in the broadcasting code. Mohammed said the Committee’s report will be used to facilitate the process of forwarding an Executive Bill for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council and further legislative action.
“The Bill will address the existing lacuna in the areas of the regulation of the internet, the ongoing Digital Switch over, Digital Access Fee, and insulation of the regulator from partisan politics.
“An important aspect of Mr. President’s approval for the reform of the NBC is in the area of the welfare of staff. I will therefore, be directing the NBC to commence work on an enhanced welfare package for the staffers of the Commission, with a view to implementing such as soon as possible.
“In this age of technology and the internet, a responsible and respectable broadcast industry regulator must be properly equipped. We shall therefore, commence the process for the acquisition of modern broadcast equipment for the Commission for the purpose of monitoring and enforcement.
“Similarly, government shall commence the process of beefing up the material, training and manpower needs of the Commission,” he said.
Government’s push to regulate media activities in Nigeria has stirred a lot of opposition, both locally and internationally. It is believed that press freedom has come under intense attack in the last four years, with many journalists locked up on charges bordering on treason and hate speech.
Earlier in the year, African Independent Television (AIT), was temporarily shut down because of its social programme called Kaaki Social, where the views of Nigerians are collated from social media and air on the channel. The government considered the views hate inciting and forced AIT to shut down the programme, even the Anchor, Ohimai Amaize, was forced to flee the country.
Ever since then, the Nigerian government has been unflinching in its determination to control what goes out in the media. Some journalists have been locked up for reporting what the government considers a threat to national security.
On November 12, the Hate Speech Prohibition Bill passed first reading at the plenary; the Bill is seeking to criminalize the offense with death as penalty. The Bill, sponsored by the Deputy Senate Whip, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, is seeking to establish agency for hate speech under the name, “National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speeches (Establishment etc.) Bill 2019.
When the bill was first presented to the 8th senate by Abdullahi, who was then the Spokesperson of the senate, it describes hate speech as “an offense committed when a person publishes, presents, produces, plays, provides, distributes and/or directs the performance of any material, written and/or visual, which is threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior, commits an offense if such person intends thereby to stir up ethnic hatred, or having regard to all the circumstances, ethnic hatred is likely to be stirred up against any person or persons from such an ethnic group in Nigeria.
“A person subjects another to harassment on the basis of ethnicity for the purposes of this section where, on ethnic grounds, he unjustifiably engages in a conduct which has the purpose or effect of (a) violating that other person’s dignity or (b) creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating of offensive environment for the person subjected to the harassment.” The 26 page bill highlighted hate speech among other things as offenses it seeks to make punitive.
Although the reintroduction of the bill has been met with fierce opposition that the senate even denied sponsoring the bill, the presidency appears to have a backup plan in case Abdullahi’s bill fails.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has maintained that there is no going back in the Executive’s quest to curb the media, even though the move has been described as a draconian clampdown on press freedom.
The concern being raised by many is that there are no codes stipulating what hate speech is, which leaves it to the discretion of the Executive or anyone in authority to determine. And that is considered a legalized way to suppress dissenting voices.
An instance given by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), is Agba Jalingo, a Cross River State journalist who made a report on the State Governor, Ben Ayade, and was charged with treason. The argument is that the bill, if passed, will enable highhandedness among public office holders, giving the room to suppress criticism.
Civil society groups and human rights activists have urged the senate to kill the bill and give attention to more important things.
In October 2018, the European Union (EU) handed cargo scanners to Nigeria and Togo, just after the completion of the newly built Seme-Krake joint border.
Keti karlsen, the head of the EU delegation to Ecowas handed the machine to President Muhammadu Buhari and his Benin Republic counterpart, Patrice Talon, to facilitate easy and faster clearance of goods along the Seme-krake border.
The Seme Krake Joint Border Post (JBP) was facilitated by ECOWAS’ Road Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme, aimed at fostering regional trade through road infrastructure. The JBP defied the old norms to represent modern structures that will accommodate the current demographics of West African states. With its international standard, there is room for huge inflow of goods and services and intra-trade activities in the region.
But to many people’s worry, especially shippers, the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) is yet to put the scanners to use. It’s been over a year now, and there is no plan to install the equipment.
Recently, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) organized a stakeholders meeting over the border closure and the way forward. During the meeting, Bello Jibo, Head, Revenue for Seme Customs, acknowledged that the NCS has in its possession, two functional scanners at Seme Border.
“One scanner was provided by the Economic committee of West African States (ECOWAS) to us but we have not started using it. We are making use of the old scanner that we have. Though just recently, the old scanner had a downtime, but we are currently working on it,” he said.
Stakeholders’ concern about the functionality of the scanner stems from the recent events in the border, mainly the closure that has subjected goods and services to more scrutiny. Jibo did not give a reason why the scanner is not in use and that stirs curiosity.
Attention has been shifted to the seaports recently due to the closure of land borders. Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary of the NSC noted that there is an expectation of increase in activities at the seaport, a reason the Customs Service should be up and doing in the use of equipment to fast-track import and export activities through the seaport.
“We are having longer waiting days in the anchorage, and we need to put other ports into use. Customs needs to ensure that equipment like scanners are put into use as well to fast trade through quicker cargo clearance,” he said.
Jibo acknowledged that the scanners, when functional, have been instrumental to speedy processes of clearance of goods in the border. He said when goods are scanned and nothing wrong is detected in accordance with trade guidelines, the cargo would be passed without physical examination.
The concern about unutilized equipment goes beyond the Seme Krake border. It has been noted also that the mobile scanning equipment valued at $120 million, handed to the NSC by Destination Inspection (DI) service providers, have been laying in waste since five years now. Just like in other places, the Custom Service has refused to make use of the scanning equipment to the detriment of rapid clearing services.
It is reported that over 90 percent of all goods passing through Nigerian seaports and borders go through physical examination, a process that has resulted in congestion and slow service delivery.
The Managing Director, Gold-link Investment Limited, Tony Anakebe, said the slow pace of clearing activities in Nigerian ports has put other ports in West Africa ahead of Nigeria.
“This is why the process of clearing imported cargo at the Nigerian ports is currently the longest compared to clearing from other seaports in neighboring West African ports,” he said.
The NCS’ refusal to put the scanning equipment to use has been seen as deliberate. The physical examination of goods in Nigerian seaports has been fingered as the bane of transparency and congestion in ports among other things. In the wake of the border closure, experts called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to use gadgets in its fights against smuggling. Obviously, the acknowledgement of the Custom Service that scanners are not being used in the borders is only a confirmation of what many people have been saying – winning the war against smuggling depends more on efficient customs service.
To contain the porousness of Nigerian borders, the Nigeria Customs Service must learn to make use of security gadgets in their service delivery.
Whether you are a public or private worker, retirement is a must. “The statutory age of retirement of public officers is 60 years while it is 65 years for judicial officers and 70 for academic staff of universities. However, with the reform of the civil service decree No. 43 of 1988 retirement age has been put at 60 years or 35years in service whichever comes first.”
Evidences have shown that retirees usually seek out for alternative means of surviving after the retirement due to irregular meagre pension in the midst of ineffective policies and economic crises. Having understood these factors, Alhaja Mujidat Moyosore Oyetunji embarked on an entrepreneurial journey shortly after her retirement in the Lagos State Civil Service. Moyosore Oyetunji is a 56-year-old retired headteacher and an indigene of Iwo in Iwo local government of Osun state. She speaks of her journey so far and other issues on the nature of retirement and challenges of retirees in Nigeria.
Recently, you retired from the teaching service. How would you describe the 35 years journey? What were the successes and challenges being non-Lagosian?
All thanks to the almighty Allah who made the journey smoother. Being a non-Lagosian did not in any, pose any challenges as every citizen was given a free hand to do his or her work without any hindrance. To the glory of God almighty, I made an impact, a positive one for that matter which I am always happy remembering.
Now that you are out of the public service, what are you doing for a living, and how easy and profitable is it?
Before I retired, I had several things I intended to do, but I eventually opted for rental services because I have been doing it on a small scale before I left the service. Our rental services include party materials like big generator, canopy, chairs, tables, table and chair covers, gas cookers and cylinders chafing dishes, serving materials. We also have for rent, farm implements like diggers, cutlasses, wheelbarrow and so. It is advisable for an about to retire to venture into what he understands because retirement is very wild, if one dabbles into a terrain, he knows nothing about, that may be calamitous. I also sell pure water packing nylon because my husband is a pure water producer who patronises us and encourage his friends to do. To be truthful with myself, both businesses have not been bringing the expected profits, but it has been very encouraging as more and more people are being aware of our presence. I really thank God for the acceptance.
For more than 3 years I monitored you on Facebook. I discovered that you are active on Facebook, discussing national and family issues. What is the secret considering your position as a teacher in a public organisation?
Yes, my activities on the Facebook is borne out of the love I have for my country. Family, being the smallest unit of the society is where a child is moulded and prepared for the betterment of the nation, as a retired teacher, I see it as a responsibility to make use of what I to right the wrongs in the society. The prophet Muhammad says if we see something that is not right, we should correct it with our hands, if we cannot correct with our hands, we should correct it with our voice, if that isn’t still possible, then we can condemn with our minds. As a retired teacher, I have seen and had enough experience to make right some wrongs in the society if the society is prepared to adjust.
Tell us life as a civil servant and a retired citizen. Are there differences and similarities?
Seriously, there are differences between both lives. As a civil servant, it’s oga ta oga o ya alert must enter. But you are O Y O in business because as you lay your bed, so you will sleep on it. One good thing is that, if you do your duty diligent as a civil servant, you are bound to be successful in business because, Yoruba says, “Bi a se sise onise la ma se tara eni”.
What is your view about relying on pension as a retired worker?
Pension is not reliable except one will give his children and relatives problems. Someone who has retired since 2016 and who has not gotten his pension is bound to eat what he doesn’t like.
Your advice to potential retirees?
Honestly speaking, retirement is very wild and windy, until one gets to the stage, he never can understand. A potential retiree is even including the newly appointed person, it is important one start to prepare for his retirement right from the day he’s employed. Preparing for retirement includes marrying on time and planning one’s family. Among those things that kill a retiree prematurely is having underage children at the time of his retirement. It is very advisable to give the kids necessary equipment that will make them be self-reliant, education inclusive.
A house is necessary as it will be ridiculous for a retiree to be still living in a rented house. If possible, it is relaxing one retires to his village away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities. Then, as the time gets closer one needs to plan properly what he intends to do and how to go about it. Many of the retirees are having some terminal diseases which need to be catered for, there should be a plan on how to remain alive and healthy.
Anyone who is about to retire needs to be in cordial relationship with his people, particularly his spouse, children and siblings because definitely he will need them more. Like I said earlier, a potential retiree must not dabble into the business he knows close to nothing about as this may be dangerous. He must be careful as not to fall into the hands of the fraudulent people in search of what to do. Above all, a would-be retiree must be prayerful for guidance.
I said I would write this any day Jumia drops below $400 million on market cap. At the moment, my robot trackers have alerted me that Jumia is trading at $397 million in the New York Stock Exchange. It was close to $$4 billion in April 2019. Largely, Jumia has bled around $3.5 billion since April!
(We are analysts and learners; do not take this as mocking or attacking anyone. I have failed ventures starting from StartCrunch which cloned Kickstarter, the world’s leading crowdfunding site. The founder of Kickstarter was my roommate at TED Fellows camp. I did everything right except that trust in Nigeria was zero to give strangers money over the web! So, feel free to analyse my businesses.)
Now on Jumia, I think it needs to spinoff JumiaPay and sell Jumia, the ecommerce business to anyone that can buy. That disposal can happen at local level where Jumia Nigeria sells to a player in Nigeria while Jumia Kenya is sold to another company.
Once it has done that, it can focus on JumiaPay. Its deal with the buyers must include arrangement to power their payment systems for years.
I have made tough calls in the past like when I told Konga to sell itself. And within a month, Konga sold itself. Jumia ecommerce is challenging,but JumiaPay is amazing and is the future. I do think it is better Jumia focuses on the payment business. Building a pan-African ecommerce business is hopeless until 2022 and markets are not patient to help Jumia at this moment.
My call to everyone is to stay out and wait until that inflection point arrives. Interestingly, the company that will unlock sub-Saharan Africa’s ecommerce (excluding South Africa) has not been started! (Note: Konga runs a hybrid commerce which is simply amazing and cannot be discussed in the same context as Jumia anymore. Also, while Instagram and Facebook are avenues to sell, they do not have leverageable factors to enable a brand build a top-brand ecommerce business. If you sell on Instagram, the shipping problem has not disappeared. So, while Facebook and Instagram could be major competitors to Jumia, they do not solve the marginal cost problem which Jumia continues to face.)
That is why ecommerce does not scale in Africa as the distribution cost does not marginally reduce as scale happens. Why that does not happen is because logistics is a physical component of the distribution cost, not a digital element, and cannot be reduced via codes online. In other words, ecommerce is nothing “electronic” when it comes to Africa; it remains an offline business because the marginal cost is dominated by offline logistics as we have no efficient postal system which startups can leverage for growth.
“It is my greatest desire that we improve the healthcare system in Nigeria and provide affordable healthcare for local communities at the grassroots so that people can have access to the care they need, when they need it, in ways that are user-friendly’ Adaku Efuribe
The 74th UN General Assembly took place in New York last September; high level meetings were held and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) was a hot topic for the week. As expected, Nigeria had a delegation of Government representatives, NGO’s and individual advocates who are working towards achieving SDG3 and UHC in attendance. So how do we implement new policies and what are the key drivers to providing UHC for all in Nigeria?
As an advocate for UHC/SDGs, I have been lending my voice over the years calling the Nigerian Government to action towards implementing UN SDGs agenda and achieving UHC.I have studied and participated in primary healthcare provision in developed economies and can say for sure healthcare provision is very expensive, but I believe we can up our game towards providing primary health care for everyone at the point of need.
Some developed economies have used the tax system to ensure their national health service does not run out of funds, a percentage of all earnings is taxed and put aside in a ‘pot’ to supplement the health budget. From a lay man’s point of view, just like the banking system, we all bank our money at different times and we withdraw money at different times, so for a contributory healthcare system, everyone will not fall sick at the same time, some will experience life threatening sickness at some point in their life, some would have long term conditions like CVDs, Diabetes, etc.while others would only go through emergencies or minor ailments/major diseases.
In Nigeria for instance, we have a few HMO schemes covering the organised private and public sector. The ‘common man’ on the street does not have any sort of health insurance whatsoever, which leaves them at the mercy of chance. In an unfortunate event of serious illness like cancer or organ failure, they find themselves in a situation where they cannot pay for medical services hence resorting to luck to stay alive. A lot of unavoidable deaths have occurred due to lack of funds to pay for medical treatment.
The public primary care providers are underfunded and the issue of corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the healthcare system where funds allocated for medical equipment’s, pharmaceuticals etc. are diverted for personal use.
What plans does the present Government in Nigeria have to provide Universal Health Coverage and in so doing, contribute to the economic growth of the Country?
Sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow.
‘As articulated in SDG 3, health is crucial for sustainable human development, both as an inalienable human right and an essential contributor to the economic growth of society. Health contributes to national development through productive employment, reduced expenditure on illness care and greater social cohesion.
We believe that universal health coverage (UHC), delivered through an adequately-resourced and well-governed health system, will be capable of addressing these and other health challenges. Universal health coverage must ensure equitable access to affordable, accountable, appropriate health services of assured quality to all people.
These must include promotive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services. UHC must be supported by policies and services addressing the wider social and environmental determinants of health for individuals and populations’. Sustainable Developments solutions network
Keywords for providing health systems that work!
Well Governed Systems- Are there systems and policies in place that can be retained and continued
Promotive- Do we have health promotion strategies in place to promote good health and wellbeing
Preventative- Are we taking preventative measures seriously, screening, vaccination, reducing CVD risk through lifestyle management?
Curative- When we fall ill or in times of emergency, do we have access to affordable healthcare, or does sickness lead to poverty?
Palliative and rehabilitative services- For terminally ill patients, do we have plans for social prescribing and support? For people engaged in substance misuse, do we have plans for treatment, rehabilitation and integration back into the society
WHO uses 16 essential health services in 4 categories as indicators of the level and equity of coverage in countries: Where does Nigeria rank in the indicators?
Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health:
family planning
antenatal and delivery care
full child immunization
health-seeking behaviour for pneumonia
Infectious diseases:
tuberculosis treatment
HIV antiretroviral treatment
Hepatitis treatment
use of insecticide-treated bed nets for malaria prevention
adequate sanitation.
Noncommunicable diseases:
prevention and treatment of raised blood pressure
prevention and treatment of raised blood glucose
cervical cancer screening
tobacco (non-)smoking.
Service capacity and access:
basic hospital access
health worker density
access to essential medicines
health security: compliance with the International Health Regulations.
The Nigerian Government can do more to improve health outcomes and tackle poverty, by increasing coverage of health services, and by reducing the impoverishment associated with payment for health services. We can subsidise the payment for health services and provide emergency health care at the point of need by ensuring we are constantly reviewing our health policies and implementing proven international strategies. The Health budget does not in any way reflect the health needs of Nigerians, this needs to be reviewed.
As Individuals, if we take health promotion seriously, and change our lifestyle habits, then we can make changes that would reduce the cost of health as well.
Providing Affordable Healthcare in Nigeria should be everyone’s business
It is my greatest desire that we improve the healthcare system in Nigeria and provide affordable healthcare for local communities at the grassroots so that people can have access to the care they need, when they need it, in ways that are user-friendly’
The 74th UN General Assembly took place in New York last September; high level meetings were held and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) was a hot topic for the week. As expected, Nigeria had a delegation of Government representatives, NGO’s and individual advocates who are working towards achieving SDG3 and UHC in attendance. So how do we implement new policies and what are the key drivers to providing UHC for all in Nigeria?
As an advocate for UHC/SDGs, I have been lending my voice over the years calling the Nigerian Government to action towards implementing UN SDGs agenda and achieving UHC.I have studied and participated in primary healthcare provision in developed economies and can say for sure healthcare provision is very expensive, but I believe we can up our game towards providing primary health care for everyone at the point of need.
Some developed economies have used the tax system to ensure their national health service does not run out of funds, a percentage of all earnings is taxed and put aside in a ‘pot’ to supplement the health budget. From a lay man’s point of view, just like the banking system, we all bank our money at different times and we withdraw money at different times, so for a contributory healthcare system, everyone will not fall sick at the same time, some will experience life threatening sickness at some point in their life, some would have long term conditions like CVDs, Diabetes, etc.while others would only go through emergencies or minor ailments/major diseases.
In Nigeria for instance, we have a few HMO schemes covering the organised private and public sector. The ‘common man’ on the street does not have any sort of health insurance whatsoever, which leaves them at the mercy of chance. In an unfortunate event of serious illness like cancer or organ failure, they find themselves in a situation where they cannot pay for medical services hence resorting to luck to stay alive. A lot of unavoidable deaths have occurred due to lack of funds to pay for medical treatment.
The public primary care providers are underfunded and the issue of corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the healthcare system where funds allocated for medical equipment’s, pharmaceuticals etc. are diverted for personal use.
What plans does the present Government in Nigeria have to provide Universal Health Coverage and in so doing, contribute to the economic growth of the Country?
Sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow.
‘As articulated in SDG 3, health is crucial for sustainable human development, both as an inalienable human right and an essential contributor to the economic growth of society. Health contributes to national development through productive employment, reduced expenditure on illness care and greater social cohesion.
We believe that universal health coverage (UHC), delivered through an adequately-resourced and well-governed health system, will be capable of addressing these and other health challenges. Universal health coverage must ensure equitable access to affordable, accountable, appropriate health services of assured quality to all people.
These must include promotive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services. UHC must be supported by policies and services addressing the wider social and environmental determinants of health for individuals and populations’. Sustainable Developments solutions network
Keywords for providing health systems that work!
Well Governed Systems- Are there systems and policies in place that can be retained and continued
Promotive- Do we have health promotion strategies in place to promote good health and wellbeing
Preventative- Are we taking preventative measures seriously, screening, vaccination, reducing CVD risk through lifestyle management?
Curative- When we fall ill or in times of emergency, do we have access to affordable healthcare, or does sickness lead to poverty?
Palliative and rehabilitative services- For terminally ill patients, do we have plans for social prescribing and support? For people engaged in substance misuse, do we have plans for treatment, rehabilitation and integration back into the society
WHO uses 16 essential health services in 4 categories as indicators of the level and equity of coverage in countries: Where does Nigeria rank in the indicators?
Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health:
family planning
antenatal and delivery care
full child immunization
health-seeking behaviour for pneumonia
Infectious diseases:
tuberculosis treatment
HIV antiretroviral treatment
Hepatitis treatment
use of insecticide-treated bed nets for malaria prevention
adequate sanitation.
Noncommunicable diseases:
prevention and treatment of raised blood pressure
prevention and treatment of raised blood glucose
cervical cancer screening
tobacco (non-)smoking.
Service capacity and access:
basic hospital access
health worker density
access to essential medicines
health security: compliance with the International Health Regulations.
The Nigerian Government can do more to improve health outcomes and tackle poverty, by increasing coverage of health services, and by reducing the impoverishment associated with payment for health services. We can subsidise the payment for health services and provide emergency health care at the point of need by ensuring we are constantly reviewing our health policies and implementing proven international strategies. The Health budget does not in any way reflect the health needs of Nigerians, this needs to be reviewed.
As Individuals, if we take health promotion seriously, and change our lifestyle habits, then we can make changes that would reduce the cost of health as well.
