“Campaign after Election”…The Godfather’s Payback Time…The Agony of A Father…Plus South East Digest

“Campaign after Election”

It’s like the campaign season just opened!  But this time on foreign lands and the media (social and traditional).

The debates prior to the February 25, 2023, presidential elections were not as intense as what we have seen in the last couple of days.  This time the battle is for the minds of foreign governments, and some may add for the minds of judges who would be involved in the suits by those who were told to “Go to Court!”  Some of the battles are also aimed at winning the hearts of the Nigerian public, necessary for strengthening the minds of the judges.

The biggest campaign ground, for now, is the United States of America.  We need the US strong and official “congratulations” to the INEC declared winner of the February 25, presidential elections, while some of us on the other side need America to shun that declaration. 

This campaign is bringing out the best and the worst in us.  Keen observers are worried that we may be destroying the very fabric of our nation should the campaign continue the way it has been going.

The Godfather’s Payback Time

The last couple of days have not been going well for me as a person.  I have had this fear and worry.  The type I had in 1998/99.  General Olusegun Obasanjo has always been one of my top Nigerian heroes, despite a not-so-good encounter we had sometime in the 1980s at the Presidential Lounge of the Murtala Muhmmed International Airport, Lagos, when my hero and I engaged in a roforofo of the “push me, I push you” kind.  Thank God for his then ADC who came and called a truce.

When OBJ came out of prison and there was this move to make him run for President, I did not like it, because I believed that “these people would soon rubbish my hero”, by dragging him out and then play the type of funny game that would have one small boy mess him up at the polls – something close to what Ojukwu got in 1983.  But as God would have it, OBJ won, and won again a second time.  He not only remains one of my top heroes, but my idolization of him continues to grow by the day (take the latest letter on the Ekweremadus for example).

Professor Wole Soyinka is another great hero of mine.  I started idolizing him long before he won the Nobel Prize.  Unlike most people, his first book I read was “The Man Died”, and this was at a time when it was almost a crime to be seen with the book.  I will always cherish his supposedly “having lunch” with me at one of the resorts in Lekki.  It was some sort of a training programme for budding writers, sponsored by the then Broadbank to whom we were consultants.  Come lunch time, Prof tried to excuse himself based on the fact that lunch was usually not in his daily programme.  I insisted and he promised to join provided I would allow him to sit before me without eating.  Who born dog?  I agreed!!

I didn’t like it when wotowoto started flying up and down when Prof gave his viewpoint on the song, Emilokan 1, shortly after its release.  Now, the wotowoto has started again.  Just because Prof talked about a small favour that Jagaban and his wife, Remi, did to him.  Please leave Prof alone O!!!

Pictures of The Week

Is the “nationwide collapse of health systems” here?

In August, 2019, against the backdrop of dwindling budgetary allocations to the health sector by the different arms of government in the country, a former president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Osahon Ebabulele, predicted a nationwide collapse of health services.  It would seem that his prediction is coming to pass.  Read the touching story below:

The Agony of a Father

By Pharmacist Emeka Ogbonna

My son, Prince Pharm. Obinna Emeka, registered pharmacist and writer was knocked down by a vehicle on April 1, 2023 at about 7.10pm at Kubwa. He was taken to Kubwa general hospital immediately and there was no medical doctor to attend to him for close to 3 hours before one doctor came and referred him to National Hospital. 

At National Hospital, the doctors insisted that he would not be attended to until they had his full body scan and x-ray. The body scan and x-rays Machines in the National Hospital were not working and have not been working for close to two years.

He was taken to private hospital to obtain the full body scan and when my son, Pharmacist Obinna Emeka, was brought back to National hospital, it took the hospital medical team close to two hours for documentation before he was taken in for medical attention.

At this time, his veins have collapsed. The medical team after watching my son gradually stopped breathing came out and announced to his friends and people who brought him to the hospital that they were sorry, my son, the writer, my Prince, my pharmacist who worked with me in our pharmacy till March 31, 2023 could not make it. 

I am in pains. Before his death in National Hospital, Pharmacist Obinna was a prolific writer and pharmacist with Ziga Pharmacy Ltd. He wrote his first book, Ice age, when he was in primary school. 

In February 2023 he submitted his manuscript for his newest book to a prominent publishing house.

He was 27 years old. I am in pains. I took my son to Owerri airport on March 31, 2023 from where he flew to Abuja for a meeting and I flew to Abuja on April 2, 2023 to take his corpse back home from National Hospital mortuary.

He was full of life.

I have lost my son to incompetence and negligence.

Please to prevent further preventable deaths close down National Hospital because it is mainly a death trap.

•The writer, HRH Eze Pharm. Emeka Ogbonna, is INYI III of AMAINYI.

Anambra is SE top FDI Earner

Nigeria received $5.3 billion from foreign investments in 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).  NBS disclosed this in the fourth quarter capital importation report, published on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

Checks show that the amount of foreign capital attracted in 2022 is the lowest in six years, and also a significant drop by $1.4 billion when compared to the $6.7 billion capital inflow recorded in 2021.

A breakdown of the report reveals that in the first quarter of 2022, Nigeria received $1.57 billion in foreign investment, followed by $1.53 billion in the second quarter and $1.15 billion in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw a decline in foreign investment, with a value of $1.06 billion, Punch reports. 

Breakdown of the types of foreign investments

NBS revealed that capital importation (investments) into Nigeria has three main categories: foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investment, and other investments.

FDI which is when a foreign entity invests in a business in another country stood at $468.08 million in 2022 compared to $698.78 million in 2021.

Portfolio Investment which includes investments in financial instruments like stocks, and bonds also dropped to $2.44 billion in 2022 compared to $3.39 billion the previous year. 

While other Investments (including trade credits, loans, and currency deposits) fell to $2.42 billion from $2.62 billion in 2021.

Here is how the states performed in foreign investment in 2022

Lagos: $3.61 billion

Federal Capital Territory: $1.63 billion.

Akwa-Ibom: $42.52 million.

Anambra: $36.97 million.

Ekiti: $0.51 million.

Ondo: $0.20 million.

Oyo: $3 million.

Plateau: $0.04 million.

Katsina: $0.70 million.

Kogi: $2 million.

Naira loses as World Bank lists worst-performing currencies in Africa in 2022

According to the World Bank, the Nigerian naira lost an estimated 10.2% of its value in 2022.

The development resulted from Nigeria’s inflation rate, which hit a 17-year high at 21.34%, and rising food prices.  The World Bank disclosed as it released its Africa’s Pulse report for April 2023.

The Washington-based bank said other African currencies have also lost significant values in the past year. 

It said the Sudanese currency lost 23.6%, Malawi 20.7%, The Gambia 14.6%, and Nigeria, 10.2%.

The World Bank said:  “Rising food and fuel prices, as well as the depreciation of the exchange rate, were the main drivers of inflationary pressures in the region, particularly in countries like Ghana, Sudan, and Malawi.”

The bank said that monetary policy restrictions, with Nigeria increasing interest rates by 650 basis points, resulted in a massive decline in the inflation rate. 

Per the report, constant supply shocks driving inflation, such as increasing commodity prices and climatic shocks, and a lack of central bank independence, forex distortions that increased the parallel exchange rate market, among others, are the reasons for diminished monetary effectiveness.

The World Bank said in the report that 25% of African countries would experience two-digit inflation rates in 2023.

The National Bureau of Statistics figures say Nigeria’s headline inflation spiked to 21.91% in February 2023.

The bank also added that Nigeria is experiencing the twin problems of high inflation and a significant budget deficit.

“About half of the Sub-Saharan African countries face both high inflation (low monetary policy space) and wider fiscal deficits (low fiscal policy space). “Notable cases include Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, and Burundi, among others,” the report said.

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group had estimated that in 2022 inflation would weaken the naira by 14.9%.

Since 1973, the value of the naira has decreased by 10.6% annually, the International Monetary Fund said. (Source:  National Light)

(A digest of latest reports on the Economy, Industry, Politics, Sports, and developments around the South East of Nigeria)

ABIA STATE

MTN Team visits Abia Governor-elect Alex Otti, plans investments

A team of the senior management staff of telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria, on Wednesday visited the Abia State Governor-Elect, Dr Alex Otti, to discuss investment opportunities and areas of cooperation.

The Chief Enterprise e-Business Officer, Lynda Saint Nwafor, who led the team, said MTN will be looking at collaborating with the incoming Abia State government in different sectors, including empowering the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), education, security, E-Governance among others.

The four-member team which had the Chief Corporate Services Officer, Tobechukwu Okigbo; Nsikak Maples and Omowunmi Olatunbosun, senior managers, respectively, congratulated Dr Otti on his victory at the polls, stating that Abia is in for a new deal with a leader of his capacity and character at the helms. 

Welcoming the team at his country home in Umuehim, Nvosi, Isialangwa South, Dr Otti expressed his gratitude at the visit and told his guests that Abia will be willing to partner with the telecoms giant.

Particularly of interest to the Governor-Elect is the empowerment of SMEs, where the renowned economist and top banker had already set up cooperatives across the 17 local government areas of the state.

The incoming Abia State governor had during the campaigns promised to empower small businesses through the granting of interest-free loans to Abians engaged in various trades and agriculture as part of his plans to create wealth in the state. (Source:  Prime Business)

 ANAMBRA STATE

Governor Soludo dismisses Teachers, shuts School over Exam malpractice

The Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has shut down Tower Primary School, Oba, over allegations of examination malpractice in the school.  The proprietor of the school, Kosisochukwu Igwe, and a Parents Teachers Association (PTA) teacher, Precious Chibuzo, were both accused of exam fraud during the 2023 Transition Placement Examination of Anambra State.

The Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, said pupils involved in malpractice will re-sit the exams.  The commissioner for education of the state made the disclosure shortly after a meeting on disciplinary actions to take on the accused despite the school's closure.  She stated that the accused admitted their offences after thorough investigations were made.  She narrated that: “Report from the pupils of Triumphant Cross School Oba resulted in the investigation which revealed that the Proprietress of the Tower Academy Oba, Kosisochukwu Igwe sneaked into the examination hall, connived with the PTA teacher, took a photograph of the question paper, solved questions and supplied answers to the candidates. “The Tower Academy Proprietress, Kosisochukwu Igwe, who admitted committing the offence, pleaded for forgiveness."

Education commissioner Prof Chuma-Udeh later noted that all the candidates involved in the alleged malpractice would re-sit for the exams as punishment for being accomplices of examination malpractice.  The state ministry of education rescheduled the re-sit exams for Tuesday, April 4, 2023, while reiterating that the Tower Primary School Oba would remain closed indefinitely while the relieved teachers remained sacked.  (Source:  Legit.ng)