By Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu
A PDP chieftain and aspirant

The Edo National Association World Wide (ENAW) an umbrella body of Edo groups and indigenes based in the US have just concluded their 24th Annual Convention which was held in Los Angeles, California. The convention which is always held on Labour Day is the largest gathering of Edo indigenes in the US and Edo State government officials are always there in large numbers ostensibly to interact with their people in the Diaspora, although many of them spend only few minutes at the convention hall. This year has proved no exemption and despite the economic downturn, the State governor as usual, personally led an array of government officials to attend the event. We congratulate the organisers for a successful convention and appreciate their effort at providing a platform for Edos in the USA to get together and interact with those elected to govern their home State. I did not attend the event but my friends in the Diaspora who did, expressed misgivings that they were not allowed to ask the governor questions on the speech he delivered or on the affairs of their State.

Most State governments are good at engaging various Diaspora groups but such engagements centre mainly on attending association’s yearly events abroad. No further steps are taken beyond this two to five days foreign jamboree in which governors are brought in to deliver key note addresses. The structures are not there and there is no formal Diaspora engagement strategy. Effectively, intellectual and financial resources from the Diaspora are not being successfully tapped beyond just the remittances. Everywhere in the developing world, governments at different levels are putting processes in place to better engage and utilise Diaspora resources. Edo State will be clearly better off if government can provide the platform for effective engagement with those in Diaspora. Edo is the destination of the second highest single remittance to a state in Nigeria next to Lagos and Edo Diaspora is awash with the reservoir of talent that can profoundly change the destiny of the State if properly channeled and harnessed. Edo can become one of the economic hubs of West African sub region if adequate steps are taken to attract private equity businesses and Edo Diaspora have the resources to make this happen.

There are an estimated 400,000 Edo sons and daughters living outside the country. That’s over 10% of the population of Edo State and a larger group than most of the 18 local government areas. Diaspora have the potentials to make many contributions. Apart from remittances which were more than $450 billion in 2012 (of which an estimated $375 billion went to developing countries), Diasporas are also major direct investors in critical and emerging industries, Known patrons of nascent tourism industries and generous philanthropists. Edo in the Diaspora can contribute to the development of their state through various means. It can be through the use of their technical expertise and/or investing in businesses, industries and other activities. According to the IDEA analysis of remittance, in some countries, it reduces the poverty head count as well as the depth of poverty and some portions go to education, health care, housing and improved nutrition. Examples of areas where Diasporas can directly contribute are technology transfer, enterprise development, Public Private Partnership (PPP) programmes, conservation and eco tourism, funds and public finances mobilization, rural engineering, agriculture and social science, medical science and well being programmes, opportunity identification etc.

The list is endless but if you ask the Diasporas themselves what the challenges are in contributing meaningfully, most will cite risk of insecurity, instability, weak judicial institutions, expensive credit options as well as corruption and difficulty in finding a trust worthy financial intermediary as serious deterrents to investing at home or elsewhere in Nigeria. To break the jinx of the unknown, a proper framework can be laid out for constructive engagement and collaboration platforms. Government for example must improve the security architecture of the State if our people in the Diaspora; technocrats, investors and tourists are to come home. Similarly government must make land acquisition relatively easy, safe and reasonable in cost for those in the Diaspora. Government must also provide better support and encouragement for those who want to invest at home.

Some of the common ways of building the bridge between Diaspora resources and the needs from home have been effectively tried and tested in the Philippines, Thailand, China, India, Chile, Haiti and of recent some Africa countries like Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. Some examples of such engagement projects that have worked are: Kenya Diaspora Infrastructure Bond, USAID Diaspora Volunteer Corps and Diaspora Direct Investment (ODDI) and African Diaspora Market place. There is need to set up a Diaspora desk at the governor’s office for effective coordination and monitoring. The State government should establish an overseas investment desk at Nigeria’s missions abroad to coordinate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and PPP inflows; one in North America, one in Europe and one in Asia and they must work seamlessly together. The State must have a data base and skills inventory, mapping of Diaspora organisations and conduct “listening exercises”--high profile events like organising a Diaspora week in Edo State where Diasporas can be integrated into government development planning and policy implementation, funds can be mobilised through crowd sourcing for targeted projects and programmes and models developed for volunteering. Such Diaspora week can be utilised for Sport clinic for young talents, Exchange programs, Role modeling, Trade fairs, Enterprise clinics, Development beyond remittance, Networking, Attracting investors, Investment fund forum, Volunteerism for medical outreach, Intellectual investment and Knowledge transfer etc.

The State government must have a more robust and constructive engagement with Edo Diaspora in the twin areas of Intellectual and Financial Investment. Under intellectual investment, meetings can be encouraged with Diaspora groups and opinion Interlocutors to discuss engagement opportunities and overall strategy development. Forums should be created with technocrats from Edo Diaspora to train and retrain government officials with the objective of transferring skills in Information Communication Technology (ICT), waste management, agriculture and other hard and soft skill areas. Medical missions can also be supported for volunteer work to our hospitals especially in the rural areas where health care is seriously lacking. In the area of financial investment, government must facilitate credible channels for Diaspora Investment into viable and worthwhile businesses. Encourage more intervention projects from Diaspora by way of direct investment in local businesses or Public Private Partnership. Put a Diaspora investment fund in place that can be done through the issue of “Diaspora Bond” and used for economically viable projects. Governments can certainly do more with Edos in Diaspora than the present unfruitful talk shows. ‪#‎TheFutureIsNow‬!

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By Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu
A PDP Chieftain and aspirant

As oil prices continue to fall and financial allocation from the federation account shrinks, Edo State has no option but to devise means of sustaining and developing the State. Borrowing while permissible if for economic or tangible projects that would strengthen or improve the financial base of the State can become an albatross if for fancy or invisible programmes. The real route to economic stability lies in wealth discovery and creation. This road demands an inward assessment of assets, potentials and even opportunities. Agriculture and solid minerals are lucrative areas the state should focus on and engage in its task of repositioning the economic fortunes. The Uromi Cassavita factory conceived in 2002 by former governor Chief Lucky Igbinedion as parts of efforts to industrialise the State readily comes to mind. The factory is an agro processing factory with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes of fresh cassava tubers per year to be processed into the following industrial products (a) Cassavita chips--12, 000 tonnes per annum (b) Cassavita starch—3,000 tonnes per annum (c) Cassavita flour—3,000 tonnes per annum and (d) Re-processed waste –18,000 tonnes per annum.

The entire factory complex occupies about 10,000 square meters (equivalent of 8-10 football fields) and houses the following independent structures; a main factory complex (30m X 60m) a finished product storage warehouse (5m X 10m) a waste processing complex (6m X 15m) an administrative block with a canteen, a clinic, a steam generation/electricity building with 2 tons/hr steam boiler and 2 sets of electricity generators (500kva and 300kva) respectively, to compliment the electricity provided by the 11 KV electricity supply from a 1000Kva transformer substation, 4km away. The siting of the different facilities within the complex is linked by well paved roads with horticultural/landscaped premises. There is also a water borehole with large overhead and ground storage tanks. And the complex is enclosed by an extensive wall fence of 1.2Km in length and a gate house. Uromi-Agbor road serves as the access.

These physical infrastructure and facilities have been fully completed. The equipment and machinery were supplied by the year 2004 and were installed and tested in 2006. The equipment were bought brand new from reputable Equipment manufacturing companies with proven technology in cassava processing. The starch processing equipment like Rasper, centrifuges, vacuum, filter, flash drivers etc were supplied by EBS of Brazil while the oven, drier, milling plant for flour and chips production were supplied by Gautheir agro-products of France. Other utilities like steam boiler and weighbridge were supplied from UK. The plant as designed and with the equipment and machinery presently installed and tested are adequate for the economic and viable processing of cassava tubers into such finished products as starch, flour and chips. The chips and flours plant is grouped and installed into four main sections. (a) Preparation of cassava tubes (b) production of chips (c) drying (d) production of flours. A starch plant is grouped and installed into four main sections (a preparation of cassava tubes (b) starch milk extraction (C) Starch concentration and drying (d) starch packaging.

I have deliberately done this detailed narration of the facilities to debunk the perception fueled by political malice that the factory was a white elephant project that was designed to fail. Opportunity exists for the adoption of the factory for the processing of other roots and tubers such as yam, plantain etc which in due course can be developed as the market potentials dictate.
If the recent drive to make it mandatory for flour mills to utilise 10 – 40% flour as substitute for wheat is actualized, a substantial market for this cassava product will evolve and the Uromi plant if operational would be strategically positioned to exploit the market. Nigeria can no longer afford to spend N635 billion annually on importation of wheat flour. Estimation from government suggests that about N16 billion worth of cassava flour would be needed this year alone to produce the estimated N550 million (950g) loaves of bread valued at about N117 billion currently produced annually in the country. Group Managing Director Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC, Mr. Paul Gbedudu stated recently that a draft policy which is designed to actively promote the inclusion of locally cultivated cassava and sorghum in bread flour is one which his company welcomes and support because of the positive impact it will have on the economy of Nigeria by way of huge savings in foreign exchange, wealth creation for farmers, direct farm jobs for nearly 500,000 persons and an income generation of about N24 billion going to farmers.
If fully operational, the factory will employ over 150 persons directly and over 3000 persons will be involved indirectly in the cultivation of cassava tubers, supply of other raw materials for the factory and distribution of the finished products. With an envisaged annual requirement of 60,000 tonnes of cassava tubers, this will translate into the cultivation of 3,000 hectares of farm land at an average farm yield of 20 tonnes per hectare. Such requirements given the renewed focus on agriculture will create farming opportunities within 25km radius of the project location and give a boost to agriculture in Esan land. The project will turn Uromi community from a market centre to an agro based industrial hub given the central location of the town in the State. It should be noted that in years past, similar projects such as the Bendel Feed and Flour Mills at Ewu and Okpella Cement Company, Okpella were the nucleus of the overall economic and social development of the host community and the Uromi Cassavita Factory if well managed will follow similar path.

Funding for local farmers will not be difficult. For example, Grow Africa, an international NGO founded jointly by the Africa Union (AU), the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) and the World Economic Forum in 2011 focuses on helping small holders and domestic companies succeed commercially. The NGO works to increase Private sector investment in Agriculture and accelerate the execution and impact of the investment commitments. The aim is to enable countries to realise the potential of the agricultural sector for economic growth and job creation particularly among farmers, women and youth. It brokers collaboration between governments, international and domestic agricultural companies and small farm holders in order to lower the risk and cost of investing in agriculture and improve the speed of return to all stakeholders. The NGO has supported the implementation of US $1.5 billion of investment into Africa’s agriculture from companies that have committed over US $10 billion investment through letters of intent to invest. They are supported by grants from the following donors (a) United States Aids for Internal Development (USAID) (b) Swiss Agency for Development and cooperation (SDC)
This NGO can be approached to support our agricultural initiatives by way of grants. Under the cassava bread fund programme of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, all the cassava growers’ Associations in Edo state got a minimum of N150, 000 with a grant of about N84, 000 from the former administration. I had appealed to the Comrade Governor to visit this factory in his first term in office so that he could appreciate government’s investment in the place, the level of completion and the economic potential of the project, but he appeared to have been too preoccupied with other issues. It is unfortunate that other government officials have also not seen the need to visit the place to ascertain its viability. I am aware however that the state government through the state Public Private Partnership (PPP) office had in August 2012 called for an expression of interest for part acquisition of the factory under a PPP joint venture agreement as well as a similar request by the Technical Committee on privatization and commercialisation (TCPC) in January 2014 which have not yielded any result because of the lackluster manner the process was handled and sadly the factory remains idle and non-operational. With the factory remaining dormant since the completion of test operation, in 2006/2007 there is need to re-examine options for the resuscitation of the factory and its sustained operations to take advantage of the agricultural agenda of the Federal government which has a strong focus on cassava production and processing. Government should not allow such an investment go to waste but must quickly commence a technical evaluation of the plant, get it resuscitated and operational. #TheFutureIsNow.

@Pyyxxaro. Remember they said Buhari can never become our president but today he is. No man can determine the destiny of another man. No man Is God, so make a reasonable comment to an issue that has rendered many people homeless because of Local Government's inability to pay council workers.

By Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Edo State 2016 Governorship aspirant

There is financial crisis rocking almost all the local government councils in Edo State. Council workers are weeping and protesting over unpaid salaries, contractors are complaining bitterly that they have not been paid for work done while the people in these council areas are perplexed over the pitiable state of affairs in their Local Government Areas. The Comrade Governor in an angry reaction has ordered salaries and other allowances of council office holders including security votes of the chairmen to stop until all outstanding salaries owed the workers are paid. This is certainly not the best of times for council officials or workers.

What is however the problem? Those who want to trace this crisis to the dwindling federal allocation are not being sincere as the crisis of unpaid salaries predates the problem of reduced allocation from the centre. If Edo State Government can still pay salaries to their workers regularly, the local government councils need to confess the real reasons behind their inability to discharge their statutory obligations. While the State Government is still paying some contractual obligations, projects at the local government level have virtually ceased. What has happened to their funds and why have things been allowed to degenerate to this absurd level? Does the ministry of local government still exist and do they monitor the income and expenditure of the councils apart from helping them to share the monthly allocation that is sent through a joint state and local government account.

The local government councils as the third tier of government have an important role to play in grassroot development and apart from paying salaries to workers and primary school teachers, have specified functions to perform like tarring and maintenance of side roads, construction and maintenance of markets, motor parks, cemeteries, abattoirs, primary schools, health centres, skill acquisition centres, etc. To be able to discharge these responsibilities, the 774 councils nationwide, are recognised in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and are given monthly allocations from the Federation account. They also have a statutory right to collect revenue in their council areas to complement the federal allocation. When former president Olusegun Obasanjo stopped federal allocation to Lagos state over a disagreement about new local government councils, the old councils survived because of the revenue they generated internally. We are aware that the Federal government has not defaulted in remitting allocation to the states for distribution to the local governments and that is why the financial mess of the local councils in Edo state is puzzling. We can also not see any significant project that could have gulped the council resources to justify their present predicament. Some councils have tried to explain that their personnel costs especially the payment of teachers salaries is higher than their total revenue receipts hence their deficit financial positions. While it is true that a few councils suffer this burden, none of them have seriously addressed this problem by attempting to expand their revenue base. In the past, there were incentives from the state government for local councils with the highest internally generated revenue but today the only focus of council administrators is the federal allocation and how to share it. A lot of touts and political jobbers have forcefully taken over the revenue collection duties of the local governments leaving the councils totally impoverished. Council officials who have been courageous enough to confront this illegality have been warned by political chieftains to steer clear or risk suspension.

The state government in their own quest to increase internally generated revenue have also encroached and hijacked revenue areas meant for local governments leaving these councils even poorer. The state government is also by law expected to give a certain percentage of their internally generated revenue to all the local government councils. We understand that the state government has never complied and so we appeal to them to obey the law and pay the councils the arrears of these monies. It was nice to hear the governor declare that local government funds are not tampered with in Edo state but we wish to advise the governor for the sake of his integrity to add the caveat `to the best of his knowledge’. We say so in good faith because we are aware that the governor does not preside over the joint allocation meetings where council funds are shared and so he cannot be absolutely certain of what goes on there. It is a notorious fact that under the guise of statutory deductions, council funds are brazenly sliced to ridiculous levels. We call on the governor to investigate previous allocations and the genuineness of past statutory deductions.

The ministry of local government must wake up and play a more effective supervisory role rather than compounding the financial situations of the councils. Allocations from the joint account to councils must be transparently published just as allocation from the federation account are published so that monies going to councils are known and the difference between what comes from Abuja and what is given by the state highlighted with reasons. Project costing and approval requests sent from councils to state must be well scrutinised and even after approval, proper monitoring must be done to ensure quality completion .

As the states appreciate the federal government for financial bailout, the local councils have no choice for now than to also look up to the state government for bailout. Council workers cannot wait indefinitely for the payment of their wage arrears. The state government by virtue of their supervisory role of the local governments must hold itself partially responsible for the financial mess of these councils and so while bailing them out, must devise means to check further and future excesses. The local government councils must complement the efforts of the State government and not be a minus. #TheFutureIsNow

@pastorizeiyamu https://www.facebook.com/pastorosagieizeiyamu

BY Osagie Ize-Iyamu- Edo State 2016 PDP Governorship aspirant.

A medical doctor friend of mine in a state of lamentation narrated to me sometime ago a pathetic story. A young beautiful girl had a domestic accident with kerosene explosion that left her partially burnt. Rather than take her to the hospital, her parents apparently poor, chose to treat her themselves through a traditional method. They got palm oil and went to source for the droppings of a lizard which they were told if mixed with the oil, would bring healing. They applied the concoction faithfully but rather than the girl getting better, she grew worse. By the time my friend was frantically begged to see the girl in her parents’ house, she was dying of infection of the blood. On seeing her condition, my friend normally gentle became livid with rage. “Why was she not taken to the hospital and who recommended this deadly mode of treatment”? He asked. The parents nervously confessed that poverty had constrained them. They didn’t have money for hospital admission or treatment and so sought for a cheap traditional method. My friend prevailed on them to move her immediately to the hospital which they reluctantly did. She however died two days later.
My friend’s complaint was that she ought not to have died. The burns she had was not severe enough to kill her. At worse, it could only have disfigured her. What killed her was the infection she contacted by those who treated her with the droppings of a lizard. If she had been taken to the hospital when the accident happened, she could most likely have survived. This tragedy that resulted in an untimely death is not an isolated one. There are many similar cases arising from ignorance, poverty, negligence and the poor state of our health care system. Why should the poor in our midst not be able to access government hospitals in the face of serious medical challenges without the thought of how to pay their medical bills? What is government policy to her indigenes especially the poor who are in dire need of medical assistance but lack the means to pay? Another question begging to be answered is how good are our government hospitals?
The alarming rate at which Nigerians rich and not so rich travel abroad for medical treatment and even examination suggests that all is not well with our health care system. India, South Africa and even Ghana have become alternative medical destinations for Nigerians who cannot get to America or Europe. What really is the problem with our hospitals? Is it that our medical personnel are so bad that they cannot be trusted by those who can afford their services? On the contrary our medical personnel are good and ranks amongst the best in the world. Ironically, we export medical personnel to America, Europe and Asia. The fault is clearly not with our medical personnel. The problem is with our health care management. We have hospitals that are bereft of medical equipment. Where we have medical equipment there are no trained personnel to man them. We have dispensaries that have no drugs and when we attempt to buy drugs from government hospitals we discover to our dismay that they are even more expensive than those sold outside.
Medical practice is not properly regulated and quacks are now running clinics. Government treats health issues with levity and doctors and other medical personnel have become disenchanted and demoralized. The hospitals have become a divided house with doctors fighting a supremacy battle with Medical Lab Scientists, nurses and other health personnel. Government needs to be more attentive to health issues. Our hospitals lack funds to operate and there is no incentive for hard work. Policies must be put in place that will define how our hospitals are licensed and managed. Human life the very essence of medical practice is too precious to trifle with.
Chief Lucky Igbinedion, former governor of Edo State built and equipped Stella Obasanjo hospital in Benin City as a specialist hospital for women and children. Successive governments unfortunately do not see anything good in the legacies of their predecessors and so there is no continuity of vision. The hospital is grossly underutilized and most of the medical equipment unused. We advise Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who is also erecting a big complex at the central hospital premises, Benin City to create the enabling environment that will guarantee the sustainability of the project. What is the vision behind the new complex and have the personnel to run it been recruited? What equipment have been purchased and what arrangements have been made to train those who will man them? How will the hospital be funded and will Edo people especially the poor be able to afford the services?
We appeal to the State government to engage the medical stakeholders to assist in designing a blueprint for the efficient running of the hospital otherwise it could be just another beautiful political project that could also, God forbid, die an untimely death. The State school of Nursing and Midwifery has been de-accredited because of lack of facilities and staffing arising from poor funding. In the absence of future nurses and midwives, what hospitals are we building? A hospital is more than just a beautiful building; it demands more of functionality rather than aesthetics. Equipment are essential for proper diagnostics; well trained and motivated personnel are required for efficiency and a health policy that provides for the poor while charging the rich must be enacted to allow our people rich or poor the benefits of the hospitals services. We cannot continue to lament the death of our young. ‪#‎TheFutureIsNow‬.

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