I ATTENDED a ceremony at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, during which a few prominent Nigerians who had made great contributions to the construction industry were inducted into the Hall of Fame. One of them was my mentor, brother and friend Obong (Arc) Victor Attah, former Governor of Akwa Ibom State who is truly a man of many parts.

President Buhari spoke in favour of it. Vice President Osinbajo is in support. In fact, it will be difficult to find any well-informed Nigerian who disagrees with the campaign to “Buy Made In Nigeria Goods”. Then, why has our import bill been rising and few people actually patronize those products? The answer is simple: we have no sales people who can sell Made In Nigeria Goods – which is like moving a mountain. We lack the sales people because we keep on making several mistakes.

‘BETTER late than never” remains the word of wisdom when a measure long delayed had caused immeasurable damages to a nation until it can no longer be avoided. For too long and out of fear of a small minority of selfish individuals calling themselves Labour Unions, governments continued to operate commercial enterprises long after it had become glaring to all other stakeholders that governments are incapable of running businesses successfully.

Leader of the Igbo Women Assembly and an associate of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Mrs Maria Okwor, in this interview attributes the problem in Nigeria to failure of leadership and injustice which came with military domination and said only restructuring across regions, resource control and devolution of power will solve the problems.

THIS article could have been titled FRIENDS OFBUHARI, PLEASE TELL HIM THE TRUTH. Last week, a few names were disclosed of people regarded as Buhari’s close confidantes.

President Buhari, while reminding the Ministers and CBN Governor that reviving the economy was one of the major planks on which the campaign of his party was based, expressed gladness that things were looking up after two years of serious work —Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

Last week, some newspapers published what Alhaji Lai Mohammed would call “fake news” but which economists, being mostly quantitative in their thinking, would dismiss as deliberate and misleading use of statistics laden with half-truths and untruths. The source of the report was the Presidency – Osinbajo’s half of it. The author, as usual, was Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President.

THE recent announcement by the Federal Minister of Finance of the government’s decision to refinance the country’s debt by borrowing dollars at seven per cent instead of locally at between 13 and 18.5 per cent would have been commendable if it was not just a mere paper exercise which would still not reduce the quantum of debt the country is owing. On paper it would reduce the cost of borrowing, but at maturity it would require the country to source for dollars to repay.

THE recent announcement by the Federal Minister of Finance of the government’s decision to refinance the country’s debt by borrowing dollars at seven per cent instead of locally at between 13 and 18.5 per cent would have been commendable if it was not just a mere paper exercise which would still not reduce the quantum of debt the country is owing. On paper it would reduce the cost of borrowing, but at maturity it would require the country to source for dollars to repay.

THE recent announcement by the Federal Minister of Finance of the government’s decision to refinance the country’s debt by borrowing dollars at seven per cent instead of locally at between 13 and 18.5 per cent would have been commendable if it was not just a mere paper exercise which would still not reduce the quantum of debt the country is owing. On paper it would reduce the cost of borrowing, but at maturity it would require the country to source for dollars to repay.

THANK God somebody at the topmost level of the Federal Government has finally put on his thinking cap. But for those wedded to the illusion of Nigeria exporting 2.3 million barrels of crude oil in 2018, Ogbeh’s alarm, despite its frightening implications, is a step in the right direction. Anybody who has conducted research into the trend in the global automobile sector would be alarmed by the rapid rate at which the leading auto manufacturers – Toyota, General Motors, Ford, Volvo – are moving towards marketing electric cars. Volvo is far ahead of the others who will now scramble to catch up.

READING that statement by the white man who was migrating to Europe, I was temporarily livid with rage. The man was a racist quite all right. But, he was also telling the truth. African leaders have destroyed all the good structures the colonial masters left. While European Houses of parliament are still as pristine as they were six hundred years ago, ours less than one hundred years are uniformly eye-sores. If governments cannot maintain the structures close to them, is it any wonder that they almost always destroy those far away? The tragedy of Apapa Wharf is another reminder that governments, Federal and States have destroyed more than they built. There are no monuments for visitors to see.

by Dele sobowale Never leave a black man with anything beautiful; he will only spoil it— White South African as Mandela was taking over as President. READING that statement by the white man who was migrating to Europe, I was temporarily livid with rage. The man was a racist quite all right. But, he was […]

When Alhaji Aliko Dangote announced a few weeks ago that Nigeria is losing about N30 billion a day to the lock down of Apapa Wharf, my reaction was one of disbelief. I thought that Africa’s largest investor was exaggerating for a purpose undisclosed.

A good part of the reason the NPA does not and cannot contribute its full quota to national development is associated with the leadership