Which Way NIGERIA

Who becomes the role model; the pastor or the politician?

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:07:21 +0000

A story was recently told in a newspaper article by Professor Ernest Emenyonu about twenty-four post graduate students in a Masters course in Economics at a Federal University. They were in their last semester prior to graduation. But because of a strike action, the semester was extended, but unfortunately their professor’s date of retirement fell two months before the end of the extended semester. The professor therefore told his students that he was not sure if the university would let him finish the semester. So, if they wanted him to submit passing grades for them before he retired, they should pay him some kind of compensation. The students collected and gave him N250, 000.00. However as fate would have it the university later allowed him to not only to finish the semester, but offered him contract appointment after retirement; yet he (the professor) pocketed the students’ money. There are many other similar stories that pain the heart. All these are daily dealings in our so called higher institutions. Professor Emenyonu had described these dirty realities as a cancerous disease that has attacked our institutions of higher learning, and is fast permeating veins. According to him, if the virus is not checked with a stronger antidote or vaccine, these might do to Nigerian education at tertiary levels what AIDS has done to the human frame world-wide. So combating it is a matter of life and death in all seriousness. However, another embarrassing dimension to the extant ugly is the diversion of university funds by Vice Chancellors. I was ashamed to read a news story captioned: EFCC detains VC, bursar over N500m fraud. The news had it that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had arrested and detained the Vice Chancellor of the Imo State University, Owerri, Professor I.C Okonkwo, the bursar, Mrs U.A Nwogu and an administrative officer, over an alleged N500 million fraud. In the story, the EFCC spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, had confirmed that the trio were arrested last week and were being detained at the commission’s facility in Abuja. It was learnt that the commission’s boss, Mrs Farida Waziri (AIG rtd), had ordered that a charge be preferred against the suspects. It was also reported that a raid of Okonkwo’s home by the commission’s operatives led to the recovery of cash in different currencies running into several millions. A source gave the recovered cash as N4.5 million, $11,200, 700 Euros, among others. He was said to have kept another N25 million which he allegedly collected from graduating students without receipt, with one if his friends. Also reportedly recovered from his home during the raid were shares certificates of blue-chip companies, cash deposit of huge sums in his name and bank documents showing that he has nine accounts domiciled in four banks. Though this case is still unfolding, and the culpability of those arrested yet to be proved, one is very much surprised that the rat race for money is as rampant amongst the educated, the intellectuals and revered as it is amongst the uneducated, the rascals and even the mechanics. In this race conscience and integrity takes the backseat. In Nigerian university, the supposed citadel of leaning, greed and hunger for ostentatious living is the norm amongst most lecturers and dons. Everybody wants to live big and, well beyond his income. Nobody bothers about learning, research and development. What now matter are promotion, position, and wealth. The bribe for budget scandal that rocked the Federal University of Technology Owerri and the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which led to the sacking of then Minister of Education and the Vice Chancellor of FUTO, as well as leading to the resignation of the then Senate President Adolf Wabara was another sour thumb in our polity. Though all those concerned had pleaded not guilty, but none, not even any one of them has proven his innocence. I cannot agree less with Reuben Abati that greed is the main obstacle to the leadership process in Nigeria. According to him “It works out in form of an obsession with the self and an abiding contempt for society and its needs. The primitive acquisitiveness of the Nigerian leadership elite has been without regard for the objective conditions of the people: people who wallow in abject poverty. The poverty in the land is so bad, it is evident in the rising cost of food items, the failure of public infrastructure, the disconnection between the country’s enormous wealth in terms of resources and the filth on our streets, and the rebellious streak of armed robbers and assassins”. The result is that today, the Nigerian society is adrift, as almost everybody in leadership opportunity with budgetary allocation and revenue generating channels is behaving like “goal keepers”; grabbing and stealing and bending the rules to protect their personal interests. This is the situation in most churches and other places. Pastors and Reverends all have their eyes on lucre, same for both elected and unelected politicians, taxi drivers, civil servants, masons, traders and sadly university dons etc. A former Vice Chancellor of the same Imo State University today lives in one of the most imposing and expensive houses in Owerri, yet this was a man we all knew before he became a Vice Chancellor. We also knew how much he earned as a Vice Chancellor, as well as his frail research and publication credentials. One wonders how he made the wealth that is the order in his home today. Admission periods are now bazaar periods for those at the top from HODs to deans and of course the VCs etc. The result is so bad that nobody can easily give you the number of students actually studying in many of the universities. The way most of the universities are being run frustrates learning and research. Role models can hardly be found in Nigerian universities anymore as rat race for lucre takes the centre stage. I am pissed that many of the men and women who go into public office in Nigeria are usually persons who used to be defenders of public morality, humble members of the community. But as soon as they are given the opportunity to control financial budgets they simply go berserk, and then grow a fertile ego. Nothing can be more humiliating for a man or woman who had been promoted as a role model and as an achiever to be put in the dock and asked to explain how he stole or mismanaged resources entrusted to his care. I am pained that even university dons have joined the rat race; perhaps Prof. Okonkwo may need to prove me wrong. I am sad because I know what it costs in cash, time and effort to achieve academic heights. Why would university dons seek to grab all the money in order to hobnob with other less endowed? Who then becomes the model, the pastor or the politician, who?

Owerri: Leapfrogging current approaches

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:47:20 +0000

As part of its recommendations to end the global water and sanitation crisis; the UN Millennium Project Task Force on water and sanitation had emphasized that Investment in water and sanitation must focus on sustainable service delivery, rather than construction of facilities alone. Appositely, the UN Millennium Project Task Force had reported in 2005 that “expanding water and sanitation coverage is not a rocket-science”. This is true in present day circumstances, more so now that adverse climatic condition persists, and rural-urban migration explosion continues. In Owerri, the population is expected to more than double between the years 2010 and 2070; growing from almost 1.5million to about 3.5million.That growth will result in twice the municipal water demand, which is projected to increase from about 400,000 acre-feet per year in 2010 to 820,000 acre-feet per year in 2070. During the period, the total water supply in Owerri is projected to decrease by 300,000 acre-feet per year due to various factors, such as reservoir siltation and reduced river flow etc. Faced with a growing population and diminishing water supply, Owerri will need to develop new water supplies and encourage alternative technologies such as Rain Water Harvesting to complement available water sources to support productive water use for the urban poor as a proactive risk management strategy. Sadly, current scenarios of Nigerians particularly urban dwellers trekking long distances in search of water and scooping water from unwholesome sources have persisted over the years. These scenes reinforces the fact that our cities, with all their seemingly glitter lack one of the most basic, yet most important resources, required for any meaningful living. There are no arguments that would suffice for this aberration. No explanations are sufficient. One of the laziest explanations easily given is that populations have outgrown the projections and provisions that were made for urban centers. It is sad, to say the least, that in 2006, residents of Nigeria’s major urban centers cannot get adequate water for both productive and domestic uses. This is a shame that must be addressed quickly, and effectively. I s it not true that any country that cannot provide drinking water for its people does not take the welfare of the people serious? Investments in hospitals and health centers though good; are incapable of substituting for the number one role of clean and adequate water supplies as a veritable health and prosperity enabler. In this context clean and adequate water supply remains the first step to poverty alleviation. The gross negligence of the adequate water needs of the people has translated to many deaths and diseases etc. Also many truncated water projects, consuming billions of Naira give evident to both corruption and insouciance in government. A pointer is the fact that there are no records of people being prosecuted for these truncations. Water for industrial and commercial uses has become the responsibility of the various organizations that engage in those enterprises. When companies talk about the high cost of production, water supply is one of them. Water is mentioned each time that the Fire Service fails to discharge its responsibilities. The 2006 air crash in Port Harcourt was one major incident where the Fire Service blamed absence of water for not performing its duty. Most of the major diseases - typhoid fever, cholera, guinea worm, diarrhea, and malaria – have something do with low hygiene standards, often related to the limited amount of water available to the people. Experts have held, over the years, that with good water supply, most of these diseases would be avoided, or drastically reduced. Sadly the authorities tend to see these as matters merely for seminars and workshops. Why the inertia by government to sustainably invest in water projects that would change the lives of Nigerians? Are governments unaware of the importance of water to life? When would the rich gains from Nigeria’s oil and gas industry benefit Nigerian citizens? If urban dwellers in modern day Nigerian cities like Owerri, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Abuja scrounge for water, it becomes easy to imagine what happens in the rural areas like my Uboma community in Ihitte/Uboma local government area or in Aro-mmiriukwu in Uturu, Isikwuato local government area that have been abandoned to the ravages of all the water-borne diseases that have found ready residence. While sharing in the Governor Ikedi Ohakim’s vision of a clean and green environment, the Imo state government should further motivate residents of Owerri to embark on water saving campaigns and rain harvesting. The government at all levels should however provide the mechanisms for this. Campaigns could be aimed at making water saving a ‘second nature’ in every home. Saving the rain campaign could aim to engender a greater personal sense of responsibility for water saving measurers amongst productive water users through an intensive public awareness campaign. It could start by embarking on a state or national survey to gauge public attitudes to water saving and rainwater harvesting. With careful design, water harvesting could be easily integrated into, for example, the existing urban water systems to boost productive uses and other enterprises. The key to an effective harvesting system is the capture of surface water runoff from an area. Often, an area has been designed or modified during a storm to avoid water logging. However, if the natural drainage paths are harnessed and diverted into new or existing water features to provide storage, the water can then be pumped for irrigation purposes or to an alternative storage location where productive users can access it with ease. Since some productive activities may not really require water of very high quality, then rainwater harvest comes into play. A campaign brochure and website providing advice on water saving and installation advice on Rainwater Harvesting systems could be made available to homeowners, builders and installers. The information should also emphasize the importance of ensuring that any pipes containing rainwater are colored or labeled to prevent them being mistakenly connected into the drinking water supply. In addition, sizing the storage tank to match the local rainfall and the size of the roof catchment is essential to capturing sufficient rain to make real contribution to water usage. Such campaign should be committed to achieving changes in regulations to make Rainwater Harvesting compulsory on all new building within three years. It could also push for a system of grants or credit facilities to be available for householders to install rain collection systems. It may also aim to generate growing public support and interest in water saving measures and increase pressure to push rain saving initiatives up the political agenda. As tariffs rise, rainwater harvesting and other options become attractive. To collect water off the roof of a home or office and store it for future use is efficient. While there are some constraints, such as the roof for storage in very densely populated areas, there is tremendous potential not yet harnessed. May be what would be required is for local authorities in Owerri and elsewhere to amend the bylaws so that no new home is built that does not have rainwater collection from the roof arch and storage for that water on site. In addition, for the owners of existing houses to also comply with these bylaws, time frames of 5-10 years can be given for the modification of the roofs and grounds of all existing homes.

The agony in flooded neighborhoods

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sat, 30 May 2009 10:45:25 +0000

As the rainy season arrives once again, anxiety is mounting daily over the extent of flooding that is likely to be experienced in Port Harcourt, Lagos and other Nigerian cities. As this prevails one question reigns: How can poor households escape the monstrous flood that now more than ever before over-run their homes on regular basis? Beyond traditional concerns of leaking roofs in poor neighborhoods, one major concern that has eclipsed the former is the flooding of neighborhoods. Worst affected being densely populated low income urban neighborhoods.

In Benin, Owerri, Calabar and other parts of urban Nigeria flooding has become a modern day menace. Flood in particular, especially in Nigerian coastal cities is an extant major challenge. Though climate change related, it is also related to changes in built-up areas. The building of infrastructure, residential and office accommodations, as well as paved surfaces now obstruct natural drainage channels, and eclipsing the provision already made for, and use of parks and other open spaces as places to safely accommodate flood water from unusually serious storms. The result today is that rainfalls no longer easily infiltrate the soil; hence rapidly generating huge run-offs. Also high intensity or prolonged rainfalls now rapidly overwhelms local areas because of poorly maintained and insufficient drainage systems as those in existence are full of silt and clogged with garbage.

In Port Harcourt city and its environs, unpredictable high intensity rainfalls now results in mass flooding of neighborhoods. In such areas, one recurring problem is the overflow and clogging of latrines, as well as the erosion of pit and septic tank structures. The major problems arising from these are surface water contamination and loss of accessibility to the latrine during flood. Often, the most affected are the urban poor who live in densely populated neighborhoods where households share on-site latrines located outside their living rooms. For women in such areas, this is an issue as loss of access also translates to loss of privacy for defecation. The result is that most residents are now compelled to “wrap and throw” their excreta into runoffs; and further worsening the health risks and retarding local gains in sanitation coverage.

From Lagos, Tessy Igomu writing for the SUN reports that each day, the picture is nauseating. Open sewage tanks and pipes oozing acrid odor; blocked drainages and gutters overflowing with garbage as well as disused household items and pure water sachets have become sights that Lagos State residents daily behold during rainy season. To many Lagos residents, a cloudy sky only signals one thing: Prepare to empty your waste bin into any available drainage. ‘Agbara a gbe lo,’ meaning, the flood will carry it away, is an easy chant on the people’s lips in defense of such dirty habit.

According to a man called Rasaki, who earns a living vulcanizing vehicles, the dirt from the Lagos canal, as well as sandbags stacked along its perimeters have, in recent weeks, found their way back to the tertiary drainage. “We are afraid of what might happen. The high mould of sand usually rolls back into the dredged channels with so much noise that makes the water overflow the canal with force. Every day, the man that operates the dredger would come and switch it on. After that, he would just disappear for the day,” he complained.

Voicing her fears, Nkechi Ogom, a salon operator at Lawanson area of the metropolis complained that they are yet to enjoy reprieve from flood since the state government started dredging the Idi-Araba canal in the area. “This canal runs from here to Mushin and empties its water into the lagoon. We live in fear because no serious work has been done on it. They just demolished houses close to it, brought out the sand and left it that way. I must tell you that we are afraid here”, she lamented. The lamentation is widespread in all the areas where major drainages snake through in the state. Residents of such areas actually live with bated breath when the sky darkens.

However, for madam Glory in Mushin; concerns over latrine and latrine wastes are topmost. She recalls “Last year, tens of floating polythene bags sailed into our rooms with the invading flood, when we tried to remove them, their contents, mostly “shit” poured all over the place. Even after the rain, the problem persisted as we all had diarrhea”.

In Amadi Ama and Diobu areas of Port Harcourt, incidents of floating “shits” during flood is common. Residents are worried that fellow residents could afford to punish others by throwing their wastes into flood. According to Mr. Amakiri, “If only I had the funds, I would have parked out of the place to a better place; rainfall season is a bad time for us because of the floods”. He continued…” The water that comes, always come with sand and other dirt including wastes from toilets, this makes the whole place filthy and unsafe”.

For Angela, who lives around Slaughter area in Port Harcourt, “The toilets are clogged and washed over during flood. You won’t even find a place to excrete till after one week or two after the flood”. Wading through flooded compounds in search of good toilet to use during flooding gives Moses some concern, according to him; “My pregnant wife suffered so much in April because of no latrines as our toilets were submerged and unusable, it was hell”

Though residents agree that the state governments in Lagos and Port Harcourt are doing well to check the flood problem, they however gives thumps up to LatrineTec, a private company that works on ecological latrine emptying, upgrading and short listing of adaptable latrines; and training services etc. The company partners with other groups to improve public health, personal dignity and the quality of the living environment. Its specific areas of operation include the emptying of septic tanks.

LatrineTec is currently promoting the “Flood Resilient Household Latrine”; an innovative design with improved adaptive features to the traditional pit and the pour-flush system. Its designers in delivering it were not unmindful of the fact that certain latrine components are vulnerable to flood damage and that some are most likely to lead the users to abandon the latrine hence have adopted an improved version of the Bangladesh raised latrines.

Therefore the flood resilient latrine as being promoted by the company retains improved design and more careful installation that makes it adaptable. It also has unique internal and external components and unlike other sanitation options, it retains enormous flexibility with great ease of adaptability based on the fact that it could be built in-door or outdoor; operated on either single or twin pits that are well sealed; and appropriate for both rural and urban settings as well as being accessible to even disable persons and respects privacy.

When indoors, the floor does not have to be broken open periodically for emptying the pit hence encouraging families to use a higher standard of fittings and materials, thus increasing the prestige attached to it. If inside the house, people can visit the toilet in complete privacy without wading through flooded compounds to access it.

Based in Port Harcourt, LatrineTec according to the Marketing Manager Mr. Emma Ekong, the company is currently partnering with some NGOs to engage landlords to upgrade their house latrines and make them resilient to floods. He also unveils the company’s plan to partner with the Port Harcourt City and Obio-Akpor Councils in this regard.

Till this is achieved, the agony probably lingers.

Supporting Nigerian farmers to do well

JOACHIM EZEJI — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:55:01 +0000

How can small scale farmers be supported to build resilience and effectively respond to the devastating effects of climate change in Nigeria? Making a case for small scale farmers is most urgent at this time because they constitute a large portion of extant poor farmers in Nigeria today. In an analysis of those most at risk from climate change, the Environment and Urbanization journal had identified poor people as most vulnerable as they are least able to avoid the direct or indirect impacts of climate change by for example, having no irrigation facilities in their farms; living in poorly built homes, living in neighborhoods without drainage systems that prevent flooding, and have limited options to expand their livelihood activities etc. In contrast, wealthy individuals can effectively reduce these risks by having safer housing, have irrigation facilities or rainwater harvesting structures, have insurance, live in good neighborhoods and have variety of livelihood options etc. But then, how many of us ever give a thought to such concerns. It remains to be seen, how privileged people really appreciate the plight of the poor. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said, and I agree perfectly with him that the wealthy would always be able to look after themselves; and that it was people at the other end of the economic scale i.e. the poor that the government ought to be helping. In Nigeria, increasing changes in rainfall patterns as a result of climate change is already threatening local agricultural cultivation and making it pretty difficult to plough farm lands after the very first rains. This is generally the case in both North and South as severity is relative in different contexts. In the South; Uboma is a rural farming community in Ihitte/Uboma local government area of Imo State, Nigeria. The community is noted for its lowland rice fields, the biggest in the entire state. Rice here are transplanted or seeded directly in the soil on level to slightly sloping fields with variable depth and duration of flooding depending on rainfall. Most of these farms are located mainly along the flooded valleys of the Imo River. Most of the rice farms are privately owned as they are cultivated in private family lands. Rice farmers tend to be small-scale, with farms of 1-2 ha. Today changing climatic conditions has resulted to harvest shrinkage and diminishing income. This is further being exacerbated by endemic water mismanagement and inappropriate land use by farmers which have led to massive soil erosion and loss of the soil’s productive capacity. Also, limited potential for dry season rice cultivation through soil and water conservation, and the non-employment of rain water harvesting technologies have continued to widen the increasing demand-supply gap for rice. The consequence is threatened food security and livelihood for hundreds of local rice farmers and people in Uboma and other parts of Nigeria that hitherto had rice supplies from these farms. Farmers in Yobe State had been cultivating 650,000 hectares of farmlands through rain fed agriculture in the last several years, but the situation has today deteriorated following massive onslaught of desertification which has been estimated at 10km per annum. The same ugly situation obtains in Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and Taraba States where incidents of river siltation, desert encroachment and menace of typha grass is impoverishing thousands of farmers. Getting on top of this situation calls for innovative thinking with scalable and replicable attributes. This is true because successful interventions against drought often require the application of simple land management options that requires knowledge sharing. With a good approach and an understanding of the benefits accruable, Nigerian farmers would easily adapt, as the up-scaling and replication potential of such intervention anywhere would be possible. What is required beyond finance is the commitment of the farmers to respond to the demands of the idea. Therefore, the on-going project by the NGO; Rural Africa Water Development Project (RAWDP) in this regard is timely as it aims to improve hundreds of hectares of land in selected drought affected rural communities in Nigeria through the strengthening of the links between Rainwater Harvesting and Soil and Water Conservation within an integrated water resources management (IWRM). This is being done through media exposure series that highlights agronomic, vegetative, structural and management measures that control soil degradation and enhances productivity in the field, and the training of thousands of local farmers to undertake integrated watershed development based on rainwater harvesting and soil conservation for the regeneration and sustainable management of their farmlands. In doing this, the project will courageously plant trees, document and disseminate best practices on soil and water conservation. The implementation strategy for the project is basically an interactive landscape learning process, which consists of interactive farm visits; focus group/communal television watching and discussions sessions etc. The NGOs project is innovative because amongst other factors, it effectively manages a water related risk through the adoption of simple soil and water conservation measures vital to meeting the exerting demand of food security for an expanding population for whom rice is a staple food, through a robust and flexible mechanism that is driven locally through farm learning and exposure dialogue series that benefits not only the immediate participating farmers, but also afar farmers through recorded video programs on local televisions. By this, it remains open to the incorporation of emerging new information and knowledge; addressing immediate crisis and strategizing for long term sustainability in an integrated and holistic manner. Some of these strategies are the quality control offered by the model farm and the secure market it creates for the farmers through a process that rewards farmers that produces quality paddy. It further supports the farmers by creating a viable network that links them from farm to market, therefore achieving a unique strategy that is not only adaptive to global climate change but also global economic recession. The idea will work because the adoption of improved water management has been proven to facilitate rice growth and maturity within 3 months and enabling farmers make multiple harvests in a year. According to the NGO’s project manager Mr. Cyriacus Ajuruchi; “RAWDP has enormous goodwill in communities where we work and the tools to enable sustainability of our projects. Beyond the financial support from some local corporate organizations, we have planned to further raise funds through sales of our video documentaries and promotional stickers etc Adequacy and sustenance of such funds in addition to the leveraging of other donor funds as well as our cost cutting strategies in the communities where we work will continue to see the project well into the future”. Rural Africa Water Development Project (RAWDP) is an NGO that works with the local poor. In its team are service minded water professionals who have requisite qualification and experience. RAWDP retains deep expertise in water resource and environmental management and has understands why sustainability is crucial in local projects of this kind. It is however, germane to underscore that this project is a direct fall out of a Rainwater Harvesting and Soil and water conservation for food security exposure dialogue program in Nanyuki, Kenya, which RAWDP was part of. By successfully initiating this project in Nigeria, RAWDP is no doubt expanding the sustainability nexus of that Kenya 2005 workshop.

The travails of Nigerian Rice

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:30:28 +0000

Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji

One food that has become a major source of calories for the average Nigerian is rice. It is becoming difficult to find rice missing on the daily menu of most Nigerians or the refreshment list of important ceremonies such as wedding, naming ceremonies, wedding anniversaries, burial ceremonies, birthday parties and many others. In Nigerian markets, both those in the rural and urban areas, rice is a major grocery that often occupies a conspicuous position. It knows no religion, and does not discriminate against any tribe or race in Nigeria. Both the Nigerian rich and poor eat it, though the contents of the preparation may be different. Nigerian traders, especially those who trade on it would be in a better position to know their margin of profit. Rice can be grown over a wide range of ecological conditions, and is cultivated in virtually all the agro-ecological zones in Nigeria. Nigeria encompasses four major agro-ecological zones, with rainfall diminishing along a South-North gradient. The forest zone borders the coast in the South, and going northward gives way to the Guinea and Sudan Savannah. Nigeria’s North Eastern fringe falls within the Sahel zone. Though rice contributes a significant proportion of the food requirements of the population, production capacity is far below the national requirements for rice. In order to meet the increasing demand for rice, Nigeria has had to resort to importation of milled rice to bridge the gap between domestic demand and supply. Nigeria’s rice import is paid for in foreign currency. A combination of various factors seems to have triggered the structural increase in rice consumption. Like elsewhere, urbanization appears to be the most important cause of the shift in consumer preferences towards rice in Nigeria. Rice is easy to prepare compared to other traditional cereals, thereby reducing the chore of food preparation and fitting more easily in the urban lifestyles of rich and poor alike. Rice indeed is no longer a luxury food in Nigeria and has become a major staple food for many households. Demand for rice in Nigeria is, however, growing faster than for any other major staples, with consumption broadening across all socio-economic classes, including the poor. Substitution of rice for coarse grains and traditional roots and tubers has fuelled growth in demand at an annual rate of 5.6 per cent between 1961 and 1992. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had in 2003 projected growth in rice consumption for Nigeria beyond year 2000 to remain as high as 4.5 per cent per annum. Nigerians have been identified to consume about 5.4 million metric tons of rice annually (valued at $9.2 billion at current prices), while local production only amounts to about 2.3 million metric tons per year, and that the remaining 3.1 million metric tons is imported, making Nigeria the second largest importer of rice in the world. The key problems facing the rice production in Nigeria has been identified to consist of lack of competitiveness resulting from low and uneconomic productivity, poor access to expensive inputs (especially fertilizers and credit), low capacity to meet quality standards and little or no encouragement of private sector participation. Also, increasing changes in rainfall patterns as a result of climate change is already threatening local rice cultivation and making it pretty difficult to plough rice fields after the very first rain or make multiple harvests in one year. The resulting harvest shrinkage and diminishing income, is further exacerbated by endemic water mismanagement and inappropriate land use by farmers which have led to massive soil erosion and loss of the soil’s productive capacity. Also, limited potential for dry season rice cultivation through soil and water conservation, and the non-employment of rain water harvesting technologies have continued to widen the increasing demand-supply gap for rice. The consequence is threatened food security and livelihood for hundreds of local rice farmers in Nigeria. Generally, food production in sub – Saharan Africa is prone to multiple risks since it is based on rain – fed systems hence imposing the onerous challenge of producing adequate food on developing countries to satisfy her growing population. This has contributed immensely to a widening gap between food supply and demand However, efforts in the present problematic rain fed agricultural production need to be complemented through dry season farming. This is absolutely necessary because the productive realm of the small scale producer needs expansion to infuse higher productivity. Then may then query what has happened to the fadamas? In a frail attempt to reverse this trend, the Olusegun Obasanjo’s government had initiated some “farmer-friendly policies” under the Presidential Initiative on Rice. One of such policies was the high import tariffs on imported milled rice. But the crumbling of that initiative very shortly after the end of the tenure of that government exposed the weaknesses or sincerity of those behind it. With less than one year in office President Umaru Yar’Adua and the 36 state governors at an emergency meeting in Abuja, had decided to import 500,000 tonnes of rice up to a value of US$600 million from Thailand to curtail the effect of the global rise in food prices on Nigeria. According to the then governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Agagu; “The whole essence of this importation in the short term is to create availability and reduce the skyrocketing prices,” He further said: “We cannot say there is famine in Nigeria yet, but the prices of foodstuffs are going up and availability in a number of places is diminishing,” During the period of that announcement, the price of a bag of rice on markets in Nigeria had doubled and tripled to between US$85 and US$102. Nigerian traders were reported to have bought stocks of rice and grains from around the West and Central Africa region. The government imported rice was to be sold around US$50 per 50kg bag. But Ahmed Rabiu, then vice president of Kano Chamber of Commerce, in an interview had dismissed the massive import order as senseless. According to him : “It would have taken a minimum of three months to import and distribute the rice to the people that needed it and by then many farmers will have started harvesting their crops which will make the import worthless,” However, one week later, that is after the initial decision to import rice, the Agriculture Minister Abba Sayyadi Ruma rescinded the import decision and instead approved the investment of US$85 million in a credit scheme meant to support local rice processing as part of measures to attain food sufficiency. The government also suspended duties on rice imports for six months and ordered the release of 11,000 metric tonnes of grains from its strategic food reserves for sale at one-sixth its market value. Sabo Nanono, head of Kano chapter of Nigeria’s commercial farmers union had said the decision to invest in the domestic agriculture sector was the right one, even though it will not achieve as much populist enthusiasm as the rice imports. He estimated that Nigeria has conditions favourable enough to become a net exporter of rice, given the right tools, seeds and irrigation. According to him: “It is a wise decision that the government reversed the idea of importing the rice” Nigeria, a former agrarian nation, abandoned agriculture in the early 1980s when the government refocused the economy on oil exploration, which now accounts for more than 90 per cent of total government revenue. Sadly, the bulk of this revenue is stolen by politicians and their cronies. The consequence is that today, according to the agriculture ministry, 91 million Nigerians representing 65 percent of the country’s population are food insecure. As noted earlier, rice is grown across the 6 geopolitical or 4 ecological zones of Nigeria. In the east, Uboma is the major rice producing community in Imo State. The community is noted for its lowland rice fields, the biggest in the entire state. Rice here are transplanted or seeded directly in the soil on level to slightly sloping fields with variable depth and duration of flooding depending on rainfall. Most of these farms are located mainly along the flooded valleys of the Imo River. Most of the rice farms are privately owned as they are cultivated in private family lands. Rice farmers tend to be small-scale, with farms of 1-2 ha. It is however sad that instead of giving these farmers the maximum support they need, both the Imo state and the Ihitte Uboma local government council have preferred to fuddle at the expense of such important crop. Policy somersault and inconsistencies have continued to undermine the genuine efforts of the rice farmers to produce enough rice for everybody. Instead of genuine assistance in form of extension programs and micro-finance or credit facilities the Udenwa administration (1999-2007) was contented in manual distributing of unsustainable items like rain coats, boots, hoe and shovel to the farmers. The road project planned to run from the Umuahia-Owerri road to Isinweke to the rice farms in Onicha Uboma was abandoned, while no attempt was made to rehabilitate the rice mills. Since after the expiration of the Udenwa misrule, the new government led by Ikedi Ohakim is yet to define his strategies for the rice fields in Uboma. What we now hear is that Governor Ikedi Ohakim has guaranteed the sum of N1 billion to the privately owned Cooperative Federation of Imo State to import about two million bags, of 100,000 metric tons of rice to Imo State. According to Rev. Dr, Geoffrey Maduabuchi Samuel, who is the President of the Cooperative Federation of Imo State, the shipment would commence in May 2009 and will run till December 2009. He posited that because of the guarantee given by Governor Ohakim, cooperative federation of Imo has stationed one of its officials in Thailand for the past three months to supervise the processing of the guarantee, bagging, loading and shipment of the consignment. What a shame? Why not invest or guarantee such a lump sum in rice fields in Uboma and parts of Aro Ndizogu? Sadly, it is misplaced priorities on crucial issues like this that have constituted a clog in the development and expansion of the many rice fields and other crops in Nigeria. In the words of Alhaji Sabo Nanono, “Nigeria has conditions favourable enough to become a net exporter of rice, given the right tools, seeds and irrigation” But, kindly, the NGO-Rural Africa Water Development Project (RAWDP) is today in partnership with the rice farmers is designing an improvement program that will be beneficial to all parties. The outcome, if successful will be cheery.

{Please note that references have been cited for this work, and You may contact the author directly on joachimezeji@aol.com to get the list}

Nigeria: Audacity of bad leadership

JOACHIM EZEJI — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:36:19 +0000

One headline that caught my attention in the past few days was the one from the Guardian Newspaper with the caption “Obasanjo, Shagari, Ekwueme, Atiku To Earn Pay For Life”. According to the report, “If the National Assembly passes a proposal from the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), former presidents Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, and their deputies while in office - Alex Ekwueme and Atiku Abubakar - will earn the annual basic pay of a president and his deputy for the rest of their lives”. According to the paper; In an explanatory letter to the leadership of the National Assembly, the Revenue, Mobilization and Fiscal Commission Chairman, Hamman Tukur, wrote in part: “I write to respectfully forward the Commission’s advice in form of a draft bill attached herewith, which you may wish to consider passing into law to give details of all the benefits envisaged in section 84(5) of the 1999 Constitution so as to provide Rights and Privileges to elected Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the successful completion of their tenure of office”. However, “Section 84(5) of the 1999 Constitution provides: ‘Any person who held office as president or vice president shall be entitled to pension for life at a rate equivalent to the annual salary of the incumbent president or vice president.’ The paper further explained that the Bill shows that the Federal Government will also provide the former political office holders, who were duly elected, accommodation and means of transportation.

The accommodation will be residential for the statesmen at any location of their choice in Nigeria; while for transportation, the former presidents will get three cars (one for self, the second for pilot, and the third as a back-up) to be replaced every five years. The former Vice Presidents will get two cars (one for self and the other as a back-up car). For furniture, the men will get 300 per cent of the basic pay of the sitting president payable every four years. Other freebies for the former numbers one and two citizens include domestic staff, medical services, and security. The free medical services will be for them and the immediate members of their families. State Assemblies has also been advised according to Hamman Tukur had been advised in respect of their Governors and have already passed the necessary laws.

In view of this development, it will be germane to point out that in 2006, a similar proposal was made by the Hamman Tukur led RMAFC. Then, Hamman Tukur had lamented on the poor pay package of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was quoted to have said that President Olusegun Obasanjo was among the poorest paid heads of state across the globe. He argued that a take home pay of USD10, 000 per month is too small for the president vis avis the galloping inflation which has made nonsense of the current wages fixed about four years ago.He then gave indications of an imminent raise in emoluments for a coterie of political office holders such as the President, Vice President, The Senate President, The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Governors, Chief Judge of the Federation and other political appointees down to the rank of permanent secretaries. This of course did not exclude local government chairmen and members of the legislature at all levels. That Proposal which has long come into effect, included a 100 percent increase in basic salary, an increase in accommodation allowance from 100 to 300%, a rise in utility allowance from 20 to 40 percent because of increased NITEL and electricity tariffs, motor vehicle maintenance and fuelling allowance to be doubled from 30 to 60 percent of their basic salaries etc.

These was also against the background that Aso Rock budgets and squanders about N2.3million daily for refreshment as was reported in the 2007 budget. We don’t know how much the president expends on the security vote or budget etc. This correspondingly applies to all the so called executive governors and many others who wield executive powers. No wonder, we live in country that is in absolute gridlocks. Nigerians are quick to compare their country with the United States of America, and in this wise, I wish to state that President Obama currently earns $400,000 (Naira 48million) per year, along with a $50,000 expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account and $19,000 for entertainment. I don’t know if pension exists for the American president, but then, I know that President Obama is not entitled to eating free state food in the White House, as he pays for it.

But in Nigeria, the president and all those who work in Aso Rock and their friends, plus all the 36 state governors including the FCT Abuja and all those around them eat free food, drink free drinks as well as other many, many free this and free that in a country where poverty is already a synonym to whatever we pride ourselves to be. Yet, and most ironically, we live in Nigeria, where tens of thousands of men, women and children live in extreme poverty. Besides being poor, they have limited access to education, suffer from poor health, have little political weight, and are vulnerable to all manner of external shocks such as deprivation of basic amenities and services such as treated water supplies, as well as being exposed to other crises like ethnic and religious crisis, droughts, floods and erosion etc, and as a result die early. But America is not Nigeria, and Nigeria is not America. The difference is very clear. America is well and better governed and ensures hope and patriotism on its citizens. Everything works in America, from electricity in private homes to security in the streets, as well as social security, health care and functional education. In such a milieu, why should the president not be entitled to his modest take home pay? But the reverse is the case in Nigeria.

One very clear example of a country poorly governed and mismanaged is the Federal Republic of Nigeria. You need not think about this, as it cascades everywhere you look. According the UN Millennium Development Report (2008), Nigeria, with its huge population, has a huge population percentage that lives below US$1 per day. This percentage rose from 49.2 per cent in 1993 to 68.5 percent in 1996, and has remained at 64.4 per cent since 2004. The report also listed the proportion of the population using improved drinking water source in both urban and rural Nigeria as 47 per cent since 2004. A break down showed 65 per cent urban coverage and 30 percent for rural coverage within the same period despite our so called democracy. Genuinely successful and well governed countries have innovative scientists, world class universities and major companies turning out popular products. Nigeria has none of these assets, yet we have leaders who are being fed and rewarded for absolutely doing no work, other than delaying the destiny of our well blessed and naturally endowed country. Despite this poor development index, Nigerians remains one of the most tolerant and docile people in the world.

Nigerians endures all things; from the rigging of elections, to the imposition of political leaders, the abysmal performance of these leaders, the looting of public treasury, sexual harassment in offices and schools, brutality on the street by police and soldiers, ill treatment by landlords, assault by robbers, exploitation by traders and humiliation by a coteries of other elements and factors. For what reasons should Shagari and Obasanjo be rewarded? How many Nigerians can remember their philosophy or what they actually stood for? I know that both won controversial mandates, I also know that both unleashed unprecedented bizarre leadership on the country, and this have led the country to nowhere. I am of the candid view that pensions for politicians who held one office or the other if at all to be implemented in law be attached with some conditions or benchmarks that has to do with performance while in office. Let us set minimum standards, such as the percentage of unemployment reduced during the political term or the extent of sustainable investments made in long term infrastructure that are the sinews of development.

Anything short of this amounts to short changing the average citizen. Rewarding bad examples has never been known to encourage exemplary conducts anywhere. We need not reward failure by whatever sphere as such amounts to encouraging more failure. Rewarding politicians in the terms prescribed by the Hamman Tukur led RMAFC or the “stale” constitution further makes politics a “do or die affair”, and beyond that, further impoverishes our country and exposes these leaders to public odium.

Keeping or sharing your faith, how?

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:37:52 +0000

One other thing that irritates me in Nigeria is the often unsolicited preaching we see around. Somebody who carries the bible all over the place would just approach you and start invading your privacy. Just everywhere; example, the motor parks, buses, embassies, markets, bus stops and every other public place etc. you will surely find one Nigerian preaching the word of God to the people. This is in addition to the thousands of privately owned churches and mosques that have been erected in almost every corner within most neighborhoods.

In public buses, one person would out of the blues indicate interest to ‘’commit’’ the journey into the hands of the ‘Almighty God’. But immediately after the lengthy prayer, he would delve into reading and preaching the bible. This is often done without due respect to other people with different religious beliefs. To them, you are either a “Born again Christian” or a sinner. The views or right of other people of other faiths is immaterial. When you resist or challenge them, you are called all sorts of names, including being labeled an unbeliever. Some would even curse you.

At times when you humble yourself and listen to them, it becomes an opportunity to invade your privacy with all sorts of questions. They claim to retain special prayer powers that your own prayer does not matter anymore. Some would even be bold to tell you that you are poor or finding things difficult in your life because you are a sinner. I remember how I was once told while struggling to secure a job immediately after my National Youth Service Corp programme in Port Harcourt in the year 1999 about my situation. Then I had visited one of my extended sisters who happen to own a small Pentecostal church in the city. It was an early morning visit, as I had left my apartment at around 6am.

While waiting for her as she attended to other early visitors, one of her workers came to exchange pleasantries with me. As the exchange progressed, she quipped “Joachim are you born again?” I was a bit stunned and ignored her. But she would not let me be, and then said: “You are suffering unemployment because you are not born again”. That has remained one of the most stupid comments I ever heard from a woman I thought was educated. Though I felt taken aback, but I swallowed the unwarranted insult and still sat there to wait for my turn to see the lady I came to meet. But the waiting lasted longer than necessary to the extent that my other engagement for that morning was almost getting ruined. I did not want that and instead felt I was in a very wrong place. After a little while, I stood up and quietly walked away, vowing never to return that way again. This character of Nigerian recently came up on stage again in far away London when a council employee became suspended from his job for encouraging a terminally –ill woman to be born again. Committed Christian Duke Amachree has been disciplined after he discussed his faith with a client who wanted his advice on a housing problem. The woman later complained to the relevant British authorities that he told her not to trust her doctors. A senior source at the council where Amachree works said: ‘’She (the woman)was concerned that, if Mr. Amachree was allowed to repeat his views, vulnerable people might believe him and read the Bible instead of receiving medical help” hence she reported him. Mr. Amachree , a 53 year old father of two, has worked for Wandsworth Council in South-West London for 17 years. He was born in Nigeria, but now has British citizenship and earns £30,000 a year as a homelessness prevention officer in the council. He is a member of the UK World Evangelization Church in London. The incident happened on January 26 when the woman, who was about 30, came into the council’s offices for advice. The woman spent 50 minutes discussing her concerns that she was going to be made homeless as her landlord was selling her privately rented flat. The woman, an artist, hoped to find alternative accommodation nearer a hospital, where she could be treated for what Mr. Amachree says she described as an ‘incurable bowel condition’. Mr. Amachree admits he told her to put her faith in God and said ‘’some times the doctors don’t have all of the answers’’. But a council spokesman said: ‘’The allegation is that a member of staff gave wholly inappropriate and unprofessional advise to a very sick person who has a an incurable illness, which caused great upset and distress.’’ The council said Mr. Amachree had been warned in the past for raising his religious beliefs with members of the public. The senior source said: ‘’This woman was subjected to a half hour barrage of invasive questions and was basically told it was her fault she was so ill because she had not prayed to God’’. But down here in Nigeria, this is not an ‘’offence’’. Even civil servant can devote their entire working day discussing their faith and the heavens would not fall. Many people would be misadvised to forego their medication and pray instead, yet these preachers and advisors know they are simply fake.This is one nauseating trait of many of the present day fanatical Nigerian preacher. He often ignores the right of others, and in like manner pushes his own agenda as if others are immaterial. Despite the many faiths and preaching, crime of all sorts, dishonesty, unfaithfulness and betrayals dot the Nigerian landscape. In the resulting melee, you have nobody to trust as everybody has become a viper unto another. Crime in Nigeria is very abundant, yet there seems to be a lot of Christian and Muslim practices around. Why? What a pity!

Beyond the sacking of Justice Chudi Nwokorie

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:16:02 +0000

I am interested to know where Justice Chudi Nwokorie is at the moment, and how his wife and other members of his family and friends feel about his dismissal from the bench. Are his children still proud of him as their father? I am keen to discuss this matter because I know how painful it could be for one to make a great fall. Great falls are those falls that comes with the crashing and crumbling of years of achievements and accomplishments. When it happens the casualties hardly recover so soon. To many it often heralds the departure point to the great beyond. All these thoughts came cascading down my mind when I read the story that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has approved the dismissal of Justice Chudi Nwokorie of the Federal High Court, Owerri Division for breach of judicial oath of office and abuse of judicial powers. According to the Newspaper report he was found guilty by the National Judicial Council (NJC) over an election matter. The council had discovered that the judge entertained an election matter while sitting at Katsina Division of the court where he gave an order setting aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt. In the light of this development, I have been wondering what the inducement really was that motivated Justice Nwokedi to shoot himself on the leg. What exactly was the incentive that motivated”My Lord” to simply go against the oath of his office and do what was wrong? Even if he was paid money, how much was it? Could that amount of money restitute for the heavy fall from the bench and all its accoutrements? Could it also pay for the shame and disgrace that now confronts the family? I wonder! I will rather empathize, than sympathize with Justice Nwokedi because I have a feeling that he was foolishly or mischievously ensnared and that all those who deceived him must have now deserted and abandoned him to his fate. But how could a high court judge be so gullible and freak? Beyond that, is also the realization that sacking or dismissal of Justice Nwokedi does not and would not change anything. President Yar’Adua merely cashed in on the issue to score a cheap political point. Though there are merits in the action but it does not go far in the light of abundance of related system evils. There are bolder things the president could do to achieve wider political applause. One of such is the probe of Obasanjo and some of the ex-governors. Another is a commitment to conduct credible elections in 2011 through bold reforms. These issues have greater implications in the Nigerian polity. It is also not out of place to look at Nigerian legislators who are grossly dishonest with their expenses as far as their allowances are concerned. These include the senators, federal representatives, state legislators and local government councilors. Often, the executive acquiesce to their claims in order not to rock the boat. The implication is that the system further rotten and the Nigerian people perpetually remain short changed. I rather mourn the Nigerian system than applaud the disgrace of Justice Nwokedi. The Nigerian system to say the least is anchored on serial dispensation of justice. I need not chronicle instances because the list could never be exhaustive. But one thing is certain, if Justice Nwokedi had come from a “certain” part of the country or have had “God fathers”, the worst he would have got would have been a summary retirement NOT dismissal. I am amused that President Yar’ Adua found a poor fellow in Justice Nwokedi, otherwise how do you reconcile some of the exotic interpretations of the constitution by the election petition tribunals, Appeal Courts and the Supreme Court, yet the Nigerian “gods” remained taciturn.The Supreme Court verdict on the last presidential election is one case that I know where the Justices compromised justice for political expediency. There are many such scenarios in other places including the inducement and corruption of Justices of Appeal Courts by some parties to obtain favorable judgment. What I am saying in effect is that like the judiciary as a Nigerian sub-set is full of “shirt” and as a result stinks. Sacking Justice Nwokedi does not rescue the situation because the situation is too messy and would not just heal. Many, many bad and insidious things are happening in the judiciary all the time. Those who are lifting the hammer against small flies are themselves culprits and accomplices too. When the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdullahi said that there are a lot of bad eggs on the judiciary, especially the Bench and there are now plans to flush them out of the system I laughed. He merely corroborates what we know but the courage to do so will always be lacking. Only the small flies would be scapegoats. Justice Abdullahi had also said that every judge took an oath of office which binds him to the professional ethics of his calling and therefore no one is expected to gag a judge from carrying out his constitutional duties no matter how. For those of us who often cry foul and criticize the court as a result of some misgivings over some judges, the Chief Judge had asked us to be objective while admitting that some judges are not honest enough on the Bench. He gave reason why some people who are not supposed to be on the Bench get there. According to him, the problem starts when you ask people to recommend those they feel can be called to the Bench. Instead of recommending people with credible character, Justice Mustapha said, they will resort to recommending their own brothers, relations and friends who may not be good materials for the Bench. Stressing the matter further, he said that though there are good lawyers in Nigeria, it is not every good lawyer that can make a good judge. To make sure that bad eggs do not get to the Bench any more, the Chief Judge said the Federal High Court has designed a screening process which will require every person recommended attaching copies of cases and judgments personally handled. He gave conditions for appointing a judge at the Federal High Court. “Before we appoint any judge at the court I will first of all write letters to all justices of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal to make recommendations in writing giving details of the character of the would-be judges. For private lawyers, they must be in active legal practice particularly at the trial court,” he stated. According to him names of those shortlisted are thereafter forwarded to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) which, after screening, sends such names to NJC for further consideration. It is the NJC that will finally send the names of those taken to the President for approval before they are appointed as judges, he said. This screening process, according to Mustapha, is to make sure that questionable characters do not find themselves on the Bench so that only fit and proper persons are called to the Bench. He condemned those who apply to be made judges, saying: “Any person who comes to me saying he wants to be a judge is disqualified already.” To him, the same process should be followed for conferring people with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), adding that those aspiring to be SANs should be by recommendation and not by application. He expressed the view that before SANs are appointed, the list of those selected should be published in national newspapers for public comments on the characters of the aspirants. Good talk, but we know the country we live in. The law would certainly be bent to accommodate special interests. Justice Nwokedi is not the first and certainly would not be the last. A society will always reflect the lives of those who live in it, and the Nigerian state is certainly an example.

Supporting West Africa’s adaptation to Sea rises

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:11:24 +0000

West Africa consists of 17 countries, and measures 7,500,000 km² with a population estimated at 250 million inhabitants. The region’s geography is characterized by the following two major entities; the Sahel comprising Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Chad, and the Gulf of Guinea consisting of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire , Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo.

It is increasingly becoming manifest that West Africa is vulnerable to climate change and variability and this have been traced it some of its physical and social –economic characteristics, which predispose it in such a way as to be disproportionally affected by the adverse effects of climatic variations. One of such is the impacts of sea level rise. Oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface with an average depth of 3,800m. This huge mass of water (3 billion m³) traps heat and slowly releases it, thereby regulating the outside temperature.

The Climate influences the marine ecosystem which in turn influences the climate. Discussing West Africa has become very urgent in view of the recent scientific meeting on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark which ended with four scientists from the United States, Australia, France and Germany warning that sea levels are rising twice as previously forecasted by the United Nations two years ago. These scientists explained that rapidly melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are likely to push sea levels by a meter or more by 2100, swamping coastal cities and obliterating the living space of 600 million people who live in Deltas, low -lying areas and small Island states.

West Africa is populated mostly by countries exposed to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Its sea front has been estimated to extend well over 15,000km including Cape Verde. The 17 countries of the region include only four landlocked states; Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. The region’s population concentrated on the coastal area (that is within 60km from the coastline), was estimated at 42.68million in 1994, that is a quarter of the coastal countries’. Major urban areas such as Nouakchott, Dakar, Conakry, Abidjan, Accra, Cotonou, Lome, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar etc are all located along the coastline.

This area experiences continuous rapid demographic growth due to the impoverished countryside and the concentration of economic infrastructures and investments in large coastal urban areas. In Senegal, 90% of industrial units are located along the coastline, mainly in Dakar and its Suburbs. The same is true of countries such as The Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Nigeria etc. Other countries with increasing populations, such as Bangladesh, Burma and Egypt could see large parts of their surface areas vanish. It has been estimated that a one-meter rise in sea level would swamp 17 percent of the country’s land mass. Pacific Islands such as Tuvalu, where 12,000 people live just a few feet above sea level, and the Maldives, would face complete obliteration. Rising sea levels is caused by the melting of the polar ice caps.

Researchers now agree that this phenomenon is a real and significant problem, and calculate that, since the end of the 19^th century, the average level of oceans has risen by about 12cm. The warmer the Earth becomes, the faster the polar ice cap melt and the faster the ocean level rise. These levels increased from less than 2mm per year last century to a current rate of 2.5mm and could reach an annual 3.5mm by 2100. Depending on the various models, they could rise by 15 to 80 cm between now and 2100. Each time a forecast is reviewed and refined, it is in an upward direction. It was revealed that Greenland was losing 200-300 cubic kilometers of ice into the sea each year. This on its own is said to cause global sea level to rise more than a millimeter a year. This indicates amongst other factors that sea levels were now rising by more than 3mm a year-more than 50% faster than the average for the 20^th century.

In 2005, the first communities to be evacuated from sinking islands were moved out from Vanuatu in the Pacific. A similar fate awaits islanders in the atolls of Tuvalu and the Maldives. The great delta of the Niger, Ganges, the Nile and the Mississippi are also at risk, as are the densely populated coastlines. Coastal erosion is another problem. The West African coast has been particularly exposed for several decades; in Benin, some parts of the capital Cotonou had to be evacuated. The intrusion of salt water in the water table of coastal zones increases salinity in soils, resulting in fertility loss. Global warming can also transform the sea into a merciless agent of death, by intensifying cyclones and tornadoes. In this respect, the protective role of mangroves is becoming increasingly recognized, particularly when well maintained as it cushions the force of waves and the wind and also help combat coastal erosion.

In the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, deforestation of mangroves has been driven demands for local energy. Many homesteads and local industries such as bakeries, fish smoking, restaurants and bean cake shops etc relies heavily on mangrove wood, which it said to burn even when relatively wet, in addition to producing good quality charcoal. The wood is said to provide special flavor to smoked fish hence the exploitation of the resource. Oil exploration, agriculture and wild fires are other deforestation drivers that have virtually led to the sheer defoliation and eventual death, of the mangroves of the Niger delta and its enormous natural resources endowments.

In Guinea, rising sea levels linked to global warming is feared to likely result in stronger coastal currents, higher tides and sea encroachment of land. Guinea’s coastal region, home to West Africa’s largest and richest mangroves, would therefore bear the brunt of global climate change. The region’s entire economy is now under threat. It is feared that the main victims of all these climate variations would be people living near the coast. An estimate of 2 million people is likely to suffer income losses. In an effort to limit the foreseeable damage, Guinea has launched a national plan of action for climate change adaptation (PANA-CC), which sets out priorities, among them measures for protecting coastal areas. It outlines vigorous action for saving the mangroves and reforesting the region, planting teak and cashew trees.

Faced with rising water levels, communities are being advised in Guinea to build sea walls and plant trees along the coast in order to protect the rice fields that have taken the place of the mangroves. Other recommendations include enforcing laws on coastal settlements and tackling pollution. For these adaptation measures to work, it is crucial that local people be provided with environmental education and prepared for possible catastrophes in the future. Efforts such as those in Guinea need to be supported and diffused into other countries in the region as quickly as is possibly. Funds and capacity building are no doubt required to achieve this!

Leadership Starts With You, Not him!

JOACHIM EZEJI — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:29:46 +0000

Many Nigerians easily heap blames on failures in administrative, managerial, cultural and traditional matters in Nigeria on leadership. Often, some of these Nigerians quote the work of Professor Chinua Achebe on “The Problem with Nigeria” to support their argument or position. I have not read the Chinua Achebe book and could not possibly agree with the contents of a book that I am yet to see or read. None of those who hold the view that Nigeria’s woes have traditionally been derived from its leadership have proffered a workable way to get us out of the quagmire. But to me, failure of leadership is a straight whole gamut that moves forth and backward. It is mutually horizontal. I think that the easiest way to factor it is just for each of us to appraise ourselves.

This has become timely because leaders are never born. Leadership is a trait that is acquired in the course of growing up. It is beyond the confines of formal education or the traditional school system. It is an everyday training that is open only to those who labour to learn and acquire the skills. My thinking in this context relates to my observations from our every day interactions and the gaps that stubbornly remain unattended simply because we opted not to care or that we are too busy to be distracted by small things. I say so because I see everybody as a leader in his/her on right. The failure of each of us to correctly do what is expected of us at any given time amounts to failure of leadership. When you tell a friend of yours’ that he needs to behave maturely, he feels slighted and may even pick offence. If you don’t manage the situation properly, and he is the violent type, a fight may ensure. But ask him to show leadership as the Americans do, then he feels sober yet proud.

Ok, let us examine these scenarios; it amounts to a tragic failure of leadership when a contractor circumvents the terms of his contract in order to cheat society and makes extra profit. Same applies to a civil servant who comes to work late and departs earlier than scheduled without achieving anything in the office, other than mere chatting and loitering about. Does it not amounts to failure of leadership when a lecturer canvasses for , and have sex in exchange for grades with his female student or money with his male student and vice versa.

The same obtains when an NGO/CSO goes ahead to write a report it knows is false and untrue, in order to secure unmerited funds from a donor agency or justify a misappropriated project fund. What does it amount to, other than failure of leadership when a student refuses to read or attend classes but is ever desperate to pass by hook and foul means. This also applies to a father who is ever unable to call his daughter to other when it is obvious her ways are becoming questionable. Failure of leadership is also exemplified when a priest preaches abstinence and chastity but is lusting for young women who come his way. This also extends to lust for unmerited and undeserved lucre and other material possessions which are cajoled for in the name of serving God. The same applies when a politician enters into an oppressive contract with a God father simply because he wants to gain power, and on gaining power becomes a square peg in a round hole.

Leadership is also at stake when somebody falsely declares fake age or makes false declaration in order to gain undue advantage. It is a failure of leadership when a journalist or reporter insists on first collecting money before publishing a report, or even go the extra mile of failing to report objectively and hence misleading the public who relies on his medium for direction and opinion. It amounts to tragic failure of leadership when a trader deliberately displays and sales an item she knows is expired and potentially harmful to the eventual buyers or users. The same applies to a married man sleeping with concubines or retaining chains of single girls who are serially invited in veiled quarters to satisfy his sexual fantasies.

What does it amount to, when a housewife remains unfaithful to his marriage, sleeps around and is insouciant to her domestic chores simply because she must be trendy and liberal to meet the terms of her wild idiosyncrasy. Beyond these, the woman may be a turn in the flesh to the unlucky man that married her. How do you explain or rationalize the story of that unemployed graduate, who in order to secure a job, willingly modifies his age, alters his college grades and fakes job or working experiences in his curriculum vitae in order to succeed. Is it not a leadership failure when a potential mother-in-law allows greed to overwhelm her to the extent that she deliberately alters the traditional marriage list simply to exploit her son- in-law.

The same applies to ‘‘Ndi Umu nna’’ or the kindred who does the same merely to exploit or “ka anyi ri gbuo ya” as if there is no tomorrow. How about men who deliberately tell lies to young women, such as “I go marry you”, knowing full well that they don’t mean it. It is failure of leadership in Igbo land of the 21^st century that people still discriminate on the thin lines of ‘’Osu’’ and ‘’Nwa diala’’ , yet our avalanche of traditional rulers and village heads who claim to be well educated keep mute, pretending to be unaware and unconcerned about the agony victims of these sort of anathema are consigned to. It amounts to brazen leadership failure when one nurses an ambition well beyond his means simply because he is crazy to be among the pushers of the time. For every Nigerian, it amounts to failure of leadership to fail to criticize bad government or speak out against evil simply because we are benefiting from it hence cannot afford to rock the boat.

I am amazed when geography and structural location instead of character is rated a better determinant on who leads a State or country like Nigeria in this age. You see, leadership begins with each of us, not him. It is only when you show leadership in where you are and what you do that better things will unfold. Leaders are not born; they never fall from the sky. It is failure of leadership to think otherwise. What a shame!