Public Affairs Analyst

The statistics are staggering! About 116 million out of approximately 200 million Nigerian citizens do not have access to decent toilet facilities and this has led to 38.8 million of them indulging in open defecation. Some 50 per cent of all schools in Nigeria do not have basic water supply and sanitation facilities while 50 per cent of health care facilities lack clean water and 88 per cent of them lack basic sanitation. And, nearly 60,000 children die before they start school from diseases caused by poor levels of access to WASH. The above revelations were made by the acting Country Director of WaterAid Nigeria, Evelyn Mere, at the launch of the ‘Keep Your Promises Campaign in Abuja last Thursday, July 25, 2019. According to Mere, the time has come for the media to begin to inform the citizens to ask duty bearers what their individual stands are on issues like water, sanitation and hygiene. Recall that ahead the 2019 elections, WaterAid Nigeria launched the “VOTE4WASH” campaign

“Nigeria wishes to emphasise that free trade must also be fair trade. As African leaders, our attention should now focus on implementing the AfCFTA in a way that develops our economies and creates jobs for our young, dynamic and hard-working population” – President Muhammadu Buhari in his speech after signing AfCFTA in Niamey, Niger Republic on July 7, 2019 Nigeria became the 53rd country to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement when President Muhammadu Buhari signed on Sunday, July 7, 2019. Eretria is the only country out of the 55 African countries yet to approve the deal.   The signing took place at the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on AfCFTA and the First Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities in Niamey. According to Buhari, AfCFTA can be a platform for African manufacturers of goods and providers of service to construct regional value chains for Made-in-Africa goods and services. H

A happy diamond birthday anniversary to ‘The Duke of Journalism’, publisher, founder and chairman of the former ThisWeek magazine, ThisDay newspapers, Arise magazine, Arise Fashion Week, Arise News TV, and a two-time president of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Prince Nduka Obaigbena. Although my interaction with his ThisDay started on November 18, 2003 when my article was first published in the newspaper, I did not have the opportunity of meeting the media octopus until I joined the services of Arise News TV as an in-house analyst in December 2017. I remember that fateful day in October 2017 when I got a call from the managing editor of the Abuja office of Arise News TV, Mr. Bayo Awosemo, informing me that “The chairman seems to like your analysis and has asked me to negotiate with you to join our team of news analysts in Abuja”. I promptly took up the offer as I had never been so treated by any of the over thirty print and electronic media that have been fea

“In 2011, when I was CBN governor, Nigeria made $16bn from petroleum sales, and we spent $8bn importing petroleum and spent another $8.2bn subsidising the product…and I asked, ‘Is this sustainable?” – Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on June 26, 2019 during the third national treasury workshop held in Kano. In 1988 the military junta of General Ibrahim Babangida embarked on importation of refined petroleum products while the country’s four refineries undergo the required Turn Around Maintenance. Because the cost of the imported products will be higher, the administration decided to introduce subsidy in order to make the product affordable to Nigerians. The entire package of fuel importation and subsidy was to last for six months. Lo and behold, what should be temporary measure has become a permanent feature of our economic life.   31 years after its introduction, Nigeria still shamelessly imports refined petroleum products while the corruption ridden subsidy regime continues. S

After their inauguration last month and the election of principal officers to pilot the affairs of their respective assemblies, the National and State Houses of Assembly are set for work, having just resumed from their first recess. The parliament is one of the symbols of democracy as it is populated by the representatives of the people. Quite unfortunately, it is the most vilified among the three arms of government. For the 29 years that Nigerians endured military rule, the parliament was the main casualty. It was always scrapped by the military after every successful coup. The junta often constituted itself into both the executive and the legislative arms with formation of ruling councils be it Armed Forces Ruling Council or Supreme Military Council. These councils rule by decrees at the centre and edicts at the state level. Even after the restoration of civil rule, the parliament is still treated as an extension of the Presidency or Government Houses. It took a while for the Nat

“While elected public officers may not be constitutionally obliged to publicly declare their assets, the Freedom of Information Act 2011 has now provided the mechanism for the CCB to improve transparency and accountability of asset declarations by elected public officers.” - Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project in a June 21, 2019 lawsuit against the Code of Conduct Bureau Introduction The impact of corruption on our country is palpable. It is visible in our underdevelopment in spite of our enormous natural resources. Nigeria has wasted five cycles of oil boom. Trillions of Naira are lost to thieving political office holders and their accomplices in the civil service as well as organised private sector. Dilapidating infrastructure and heightening insecurity are all byproducts of mis-governance and misappropriation of public resources. In order to combat the scourge of corruption, successive administration had established different anticorruption agencies. Among th