All Posts in "Day: August 17, 2022"

Nigeria-Taiwan Trade Volume Hits $1bn

The Representative of Taiwan in Nigeria, Ambassador Yih-Ping Liu, has said that trade between Taiwan and Nigeria hit almost hit one billion dollars last year.

Yih-Ping Liu made the disclosure at an interactive session with journalists in Lagos on the  visit of the United States House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan.

Liu,said that Taiwan and Nigeria have many things in common,  expressed optimism that the trade pact between both countries would grow, adding: “Nigeria enjoys a good trade support from Taiwan.”

Speaking on the “strategic trade partnership with Nigeria, Liu said:
“We heavily rely on Nigeria’s agricultural products like Seseme seeds, chest-nuts and some other produce that we buy from Nigeria.  Nigeria has natural resources in terms of agriculture. We can rely on Nigeria’s produce for Taiwanese industries depending on the need.”

On the Nigeria-Taiwan economic trade relation, Liu said that “From the very beginning of the World Trade Organisation, Taiwan is a full member of the WTO,  now under the United Nations of which is Nigeria is also a member.”
According to him: “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala realized that Taiwan is one of the strongest and top 20 trading economies in the world. We are in the WTO to support the world trade system and we follow all the regulations of the WTO, that is why Okonjo-Iweala depends so much on our cooperation.”

Liu spoke on how Nigeria and Taiwan can
move on with substantial international trade, saying : “Last year, we saw a 200 percent increase in trade volume. This year, we look forward to having a good trade relation with Nigeria.”

The Taiwanese envoy said that the “Taiwanese and Nigerian governments are still negotiating a revised agreement for protection of mutual investment, which is under the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investments and under Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic and Trade Representative Office, to negotiate and to renew that.

“It was done in 1994 and after nearly 30 years, we need to revise that. Nigerian and Taiwanese governments are still in a state of exchange for the version of draft.”

The second thing we need to celebrate, according to the envoy, is Nigeria’s Export-Import Bank and Taiwan’s Export-Import Bank that “has already set up a cooperation providing five million U.S. Dollars on both sides for traders who want to import or export products to each other, a trade guarantee loan.”

Confirming that the mechanism was set up early last year, Liu added: “The intention is to make a large loan guarantee and they will like to have an  MoU signed and they are looking forward to visiting Taiwan in a very short time from now.

“The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has already signed an MoU with Taiwanese Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2019.”

Liu said that “institution to institution relations have been going on smoothly for the facilitation of good trade promotion between the two nations,” adding: “This is to build more substantial and solid foundation for both sides to promote trade.his year, we are building a better cooperation with a trade association like NACCIMA. NACCIMA has already expressed interest to renew the cooperation with the association and one of our largest trade agencies in Taiwan.

“They have to renew the MoU because they have found out the Taiwan has the major source of reliable machinery that can provide for the Nigerian market in fair prices. We built last year with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry an MoU with our largest trade agency in Taiwan.

“Now, the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce has expressed the idea of signing an MoU with the Taiwanese trade agency. It’s not just for government to government. This is the actual trading association, of trade and industry from both sides.”

According to Liu” “As a government representation in Nigeria, our mandate is to facilitate anything that will be beneficial for trade and investment relations, so that both sides can understand themselves more on ways of doing things together.

“From the government side, we have quite a few of the agreements of the MoU to be discussed, and we are going to renew them.

“We do not have the natural resources but we focus on any business opportunity that will benefit us and the rest of the world. We have a lot to build on for Nigeria and Taiwan.” bv

admin by — August 17, 2022 in News 0
Women, Feminism And Politics – A Step Towards Greater Kwara

By Zubair Fatimah Adenike

It may interest you to know that statistics show that women constitute about 49-50% of the world total population. Yet, they are still very underrepresented in governance, leadership and our political space.

The constitution of Nigeria grants men and women equal status, as well as free and lowborn, the greatest discovery of the world may not be the respective discoveries of science, but democracy itself. The ‘concept’ democracy has redefined world order and shaped history, not perfect and may not be perfect as versions of traditional and modern democracy continue to debate certain aspects of freedom, free speech, equality, equity till date.

According to the United Nations, research has it that we have only 25% of women involved in the national politics. How then do we explain “equal rights” when about 75% are left out of the process?

Women have fought greater battles in world history, in redefining their roles and purpose of existence. Exhibiting equal intelligence and excellence that were ascribed to men, courage and innovative actions that redirected the course of human history. Yet, the 21st century Nigeria and by extension Kwara seems to be rubbishing the efforts made across respective centuries to create space for women.

Has Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Dora Akunyili, Gbemisola Saraki and other women who have made impact in our national space not sufficient reason to have an understanding of feminism, instead of the stereotyping that is prevalent in our social space? Feminism is not one gender concept, it is not a must to believe in it, but it is encouraged to share in the understanding of feminism for the prosperity of our shared existence.

Feminism got women into the workforce, got the girl child into school, women into the army, what then is the problem? The excesses of few should not dismiss the essence of feminism and it must not be pitched side-by-side with religion.

Until our brothers and sisters understand this, Kwara to be specific will continue to produce crop of educated women who will be able to do nothing out of intimidation, fear of the harsh criticisms that meets their aspirations. Religion and feminism are mutually exclusive, Islamists are unable to distinguish between using the Qur’an and hadith as the basis for creating an egalitarian society. Conservatives and modern Islamists continue to argue for decades on the position of feminism in Islam. However, that is not the issue, the issue is the refusal to share understanding. People exclusively discuss governance, politics, democracy, equality, justice, international politics, social policies, morality exclusively from religion.

This makes one wonder why feminism fails to be discussed exclusively and always find its way into religion. This is one of the numerous problems in an environment like Kwara.

Feminism is not competition between genders, it shouldn’t be in Kwara, that defeats the essence and struggles of those that fought for what our mothers, sisters and friends now enjoy today. It is purely about skill development, women capacity development and giving them an avenue for productivity, trusting their intelligence and believing that they are essential part of nation and state building efforts.

It’s undeniable that women participation in politics increased over the past few years but the fact still remains that 25% of the total population means underrepresentation. Since the return of democracy in 1999, the office of President and that of it Vice has never been occupied by a woman. Before then, it was the same story with the only difference being that there was more inclusion of women after democracy. The highest percentage of women in the senate since 1999 is 7.3% which was 8 members with 101 men, house of reps with 26 as the highest number of women with over 300 men. Women have never held the office of a Governor and a very few Deputy Governor. It goes on like that to the position as low as a Councilor.

Women are mostly found in markets, mostly relegated to political followership and reliable voting bloc. Regardless of gender sentiments, we can collectively agree that there is need for more accomodation and improved role of women.

Recently, Funke Akindele got nominated as the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, then people said they should be notified when the movie premiere is to be done. That is mockery, not question of competence. The President of Ukraine, Zelensky was a comedian. More recently, he posed for Vogue Magazine while his country was on fire. If it had been a woman, the world would have switched and daily remembrance would have been made on why women should not be trusted with power.

For the sake of prosperity, women must be given a platform to fail and succeed, everyone must grant this freedom within disciplined limits and without conflict with religious provisions. Feminism is not a ‘crime’, though people make ‘mistakes’ in interpretation and advocacy. However, mistakes are to be corrected via re-education while crimes are to be published.

Women that are already in the system should be celebrated and encouraged, this will serve as a motivation and inspiration for more women to step up.

There’s a need for understanding that this isn’t war against men nor is it competition between genders. It is merely granting the freedom to allow all and sundry to contribute to our nation building efforts. There is considerable improvement on presence of women in our state’s politics. However, there is need to do more with our willingness to let women participate in statehood and governance.

That is how the future of Kwara can be sustained, that is how girl child and women won’t be a burden to the future of Kwara State and Nigeria at large. They are part of the state’s asset and must be efficiently utilized.

admin by — August 17, 2022 in Opinion 0
EFCC Justifies Intervention In Forex Market

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),says it’s intervention in the nation’s foreign exchange market has had tremendous impact on the value of the Naira.

Its executive chairman,Abdulrasheed Bawa,
disclosed this at the commission’s Headquarters, on Wednesday, during a Workshop on “Effective Reporting of Economic and Financial Crimes,” organized by the Public Affairs Department of EFCC for the press corps .

He hinted that following the commission’s intervention, the Naira has appreciated significantly against the Dollar in the parallel market, adding that it not relenting in our efforts to check harmful speculative activities in the sector.

He added:”I urge you to also beam your searchlights on this area as it is in our collective interest to have a national currency whose value is not subject to the whims of crooked speculators.The war against corruption is a worthy fight for the soul of Nigeria, and for the future generation; it should not be left to the EFCC alone. Nevertheless, there are issues in the media profiling of the commission that are less than desirable.

“The notion, for instance, that the Commission is draconian in its approach to fighting cybercrime is perhaps borne out of poor understanding of its modus operandi. But I am convinced that at the end of this workshop we will all be better educated on the processes and procedures of the EFCC.”

He announced that the commission recorded 2220 convictions last year,adding that it poised to improve on the figure in subsequent years.

He noted that the decision of the Commission to sponsor the workshop underscores the importance which it attaches to the role of the media in the fight against economic and financial crimes, including corruption.

He emphasized the ability of the media to inform and sensitize the people on the ills of corruption and economic crime i was crucial for the commission.

“So far, the media has been helpful. If nothing else, the Commission enjoys a visibility that makes it the reference point for effectiveness in law enforcement in Nigeria. This event is therefore one of the interventions by the Commission to improve the capacity of the media to deliver on its constitutional mandate as the fourth estate of the realm.

“As a worthy, dependable and reliable ally, I want to use this opportunity to further urge media practitioners to put the interest of our Country at heart, particularly as it relates to a conscientious effort not to celebrate the corrupt in our midst, but to expose them on the pages of your newspapers, screens of television or our various online platforms.
“As watchdog of society, you must be mindful that your reportage is a mirror that shapes global perception of our institutions and nation. It logically follows that this sacred duty is one that must be discharged with a lot of responsibility and, of course, patriotism.”

In his paper, the Head of Legal and Prosecution Department, DCE Sylvanus Tahir, who was represented by Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Samuel Okeleke, stated that, the economic and financial crimes are a social menace that have eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian polity.

This, he said posed one of the greatest threats to economic and political development of the country.

He added: “All these crimes harm our economy in no small measures. The question that comes to mind is why have these crimes continued unabated in spite of the government’s laudable steps to address them? It’s because many are those who want the old dispensation to continue.There are those whose lives thrive on corruption. There are yet others who even though are paid to check the activities of these ones are ever willing to share in the proceeds with the event that they themselves become culprits.”

admin by — August 17, 2022 in News 0
Yoruba Ancestors Are Angry- Gani Adams

The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has said that the Yoruba land is being punished by its ancestors for completely abandoning its tradition for the two prominent religions.

Adams stated this at 2022 edition of Ifa Festival, held in Akute area of Ogun State, charged all Yoruba traditional rulers, sons and daughters to go back to their roots.

He emphasized that Yoruba ancestors and deities are punishing the race with bad leaders because they abandoned their tradition.

He explained further that the introduction of the two prominent religions – Christianity and Islam in Yoruba land, had really made Yorubas people abandoned their tradition and culture, leading them to poverty, retrogression and lost.

According to him,Yoruba have the potentials and wherewithal to be the leading race in the world but added that the race need to address the problems that have to do with their culture, tradition and heritage.

“In the past years, we had the best in leadership. We had the best economy. Those that led us focused more on our well-being and what could impact positively on the society. We had good leaders who loved us, leaders who feared God and believed that service to humanity was service to God.

“But things changed in the early 70s when the two prominent religions took the centre stage and we lost touch with the divine intermediary. Since then, we have lost the essence of our being. The spiritual lapses and missing links have, in all ways, affected our present lives.

“For instance, Lagos State was once the homes of the big men. It was our pride in the South-West. Many of the treasures in Nigeria are situated in Lagos. Big houses in prime areas across the state are owned by the Yoruba.

“People of old lived in peace, without fear or frustrations. Crime and criminal tendencies were not in common because the deities and our ancestors were in control of our thoughts and feelings.

“But today, things have changed. Non-indigenes, especially the Igbos, have literally taken over Lagos from the indigenes. We sold not only our land but also our birthright and heritage to non-indigenes.

“They have bought and still buying many of the big houses in the state. The non-indigenes in Lagos are the biggest Landlords now in the state. They are stinkingly rich and they control the large quotas of our revenue in all sectors because they believe in their ancestors.

“Today, we suffer from leadership failures. There is disunity, poverty, lack of cohesion enmity in the land. We have abandoned our tradition and heritage and things are no longer the same with us,” he said.

He said that cases of kidnapping, ritual killings, and robberies are prevalent in the society because “nobody is really interested in going back to our root and traditional ways of doing things.

“And sadly, our ancestors and the deities are punishing us for ignoring them. Today, they give us bad leaders in exchange for the good ones we had in the past. None of our leaders today are in the same mould with those that led us during the times of the late chief Obafemi Awolowo.Our leaders no longer care about our well-being. They don’t care whether we live or not. They steal, rob us in the open and embezzle our commonwealth and later leave us to die in penury.

“The Igbos are mostly from Catholic, yet they would never ignore or abandon their tradition. The Benin people, Niger Deltans and Ijaws are predominantly Christians, but they would not forgo their tradition and their ancestors.The Yoruba now live on our past glories. There is huge gap and missing link between us and our deities,” Adams added.

admin by — August 17, 2022 in Oduduwa 0