I remember his comments during the "3rd term campaign". It's believed that those comments cost him his job at Nigerian Breweries. I thought he would have learnt from that experience.
[size=14pt]Omoluabi Garment And Osun: Partners Joined By Love For School Children.[/size]
Despite many challenges faced by small and medium scales enterprises in Nigeria, some companies continue to survive while others have relocated to neighbouring African countries. Sam and Sara Exclusive Uniforms, a garment-making company is one of the survivors.
In this interview with AJIBOLA AMZAT and LAOLU ADEYEMI, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mrs. Folake Oyemade, shares the experience of how her company managed to thrive despite all odds in more than two decades. She also bares her mind on how her company, which also deals in exporting Nigeria-made garments recently partnered with the government of the State of Osun in clothing public school students in the state, among other issues. Excerpts:
We learnt Sam and Sara is presently involved in a project with the Osun State Government, tell us about it?
Yes, Sam and Sara is partnering with Osun State Government to manufacture and supply uniforms for public school students. This is done by the Omoluabi Garment, which is a subsidiary of Sam and Sara we are setting up factories that will provide quality school uniforms and also generate job opportunities for the unemployed in the state.
How did the partnership with Osun State Government begin?
Our relationship with the Osun State Government can be described as partners in progress. As the CEO of a company, I watch with keen interest what every governor stands for. The governor of Osun State caught my attention as somebody who cares so much about his citizen’s welfare, and as a company we identified him as somebody who has a common interest with us. That is why we are able to work as partners in progress.
I believe in welfarism, even the Bible says we will always have the poor among us and it is the duty of the people who are more comfortable to take care of the less privileged, just as it is the duty of the government to care for all citizens, the rich, and especially the poor.
One of the reasons for creating a manufacturing company is to employ many people and put food on their tables. We keep increasing our manpower from time to time because there are a lot of people we want to keep out of robbery, fraudulent activities and other ills in the society.
It is also out of this passion that we are into export in an effort to rebrand Nigeria. We want people to know we can use our large population for the betterment of mankind. This is our little way of rebranding this nation. I have a passion for Nigeria’s unity, also a passion for perfection and success and these are the major things that have spurred the starting of Sam and Sara. Really, if it was all about money I will make more money trading than being in the manufacturing sector. This is because it takes the grace of God to break even in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, with problems ranging from power supply, currency fluctuation, manpower and others. It’s really difficult to be in manufacturing sector in Nigeria, unlike other countries.
Why Omoluabi garment?
It is a joint venture between our company and the State of Osun, so we named it Omoluabi Garment in line with what the people of the state are called – Omoluabi. That is the name they love to be called.
For a cash-strained state like Osun, some people may be curious to know why N800 million is spent on students’ uniforms?
That is something I believe the governor and his cabinet should be commended for. When students go to school not properly dressed, it affects their concentration and academic performance. Academically, research has shown that when a child has self-confidence, his concentration is higher and loves going to school. This is part of the reason why the government wants to improve students’ confidence and self- worth.
Beyond that, it might interest you to know that a lot of people are so poor that they can’t afford a uniform. When we visited those schools, I was close to tears! Some students wore their elder brother’s shirt, which is oversized on native trousers of a different fabric. That is the level of poverty a lot of people are faced with in that state. You see uniforms as good as not wearing anything to school, so the Governor’s benevolence is helping them in a little way erase the difference between the child of poor parents and that of rich parents.
In what way will the Omoluabi project generate employment and how many beneficiaries can emerge?
We are positioned to employ up to 3000 people in Osun. The beauty is that our approach is not exclusionary, even a layman that can read and write can be taught the skills of stitching. In our factory we engage in mass production; one person does not start a job and finishes it. For instance, we can have up to 10 people to make a shirt and they will be doing different things. Another good thing is that you earn according to your output, there is no fixed salary. Aside employment, the project allows our organization to train as many tailors as possible. We recently brought some of the recruits in Osun to our Mowe factory for training.
How sustainable is this project?
The project is sustainable for as long as the state government wants it to be. I believe a government that cares for school children and quality education like the state of Osun will not want a project like this to stop. Omoluabi Garment is not just making quality uniforms at affordable price in Osun; we are also in partnership with the state government in empowering his people and bridging the gap between the children of the rich and the poor. Our materials are gotten locally and the uniforms are meant for primary 1 to SSS3 students.
Are the students expected to get the uniforms every year?
The initial provision was 100 percent free but subsequently, parents will pay for uniforms. But they are not likely to spend more than what they were spending in the past. In fact, they will probably pay less for greater quality uniforms.
Osun State bridges the gap between the poor and the rich through school uniform, could you speak more about this?
Yes it does. In the State of Osun now, you can hardly tell who is in public school and who is not. The Governor has given them a sense of belonging; the public school uniform is better than most private schools. In fact when we went round for measurement, the students were happy. When we arrived at the gate, they were already on a queue.
How do you produce such volume of uniforms?
Our factories are designed to do mass production unlike tailors. As a garment manufacturing company, we have materials and fully trained manpower to sustain the operation and equipment. For instance, an average tailor in Nigeria can make up to 5 shirts per day but in our factory we can make up to 40 shirts per day. Since our factory is very big with over a thousand machines. We should get to the level we can make quality uniforms for children in schools. Am sure in Bangladesh nobody goes to a tailor for uniforms. The world has moved far beyond that. Professionals should be invited to design and choose right colors. The uniforms should be available at the local market in different sizes.
Are you looking at extending the project to other states?
As long as we are invited, we are looking at every other state that wants to improve their educational sector. This is not a campaign for Osun State, its not only about uniforms, they give free books, food even free laptops during the launching. The State of Osun is giving a sense of belonging and self worth to the students, even as they wear the samples they are confident. The government also takes care of the old people by providing meal for them on daily basis.
What is the strategy for distributing the uniforms across all schools?
Of course each school has their own representative who collects on behalf of the students from distribution point. And for parents who are interested in getting more aside government provision; distributors would be available in the open market. So any child can go and get his/her size at a controlled and affordable price.
What would you say on the frequent changing of uniforms, especially in the Nigeria security agencies?
They don’t have proper outfitters; we have cases of impersonation because fabrics are given out. Abroad there are special outfitters, even postmen have theirs. The tailors will be catered for if under a factory. If we are able to do this, we would be able to clothe our nation and put food on our table. It’s high time we take advantage of our population, let’s use our hands to build our nation. An idle man is the devil’s workshop, so we have employed different people who are happy to work with us.
What colours do you recommend for school uniforms?
Some colours are too shocking and not friendly for a school setting. Some schools wear lime green or bright red that is not okay. It is too noisy. School uniform colour should be subtle, calm and peaceful not shouting! Some schools use colors that don’t match or use ridiculous styles. I see a lot of schools in Lagos State where girls over fit their skirts and split it at the back. This kind of style could encourage indecent body exposure. It may expose our girls to danger; even male students may lose concentration with indecent dresses. Meanwhile, a professional could be invited to design the style and get right colours. Every state could copy a few things from what the Osun State government is doing.
What is your take on the textile industry in the last 20 years?
I am worried, it is not moving forward as it should. Just a bit with the help of the Bank of Industry (BOI), other things should be done aside funding in terms of human empowerment and training. It is not easy for us to see people to work in the factory; a serious minded person should only refuse illegal jobs. We have Manpower issue, people don’t want to work.
What have you achieved in the last 26 years since your organisation began operation?
We are fulfilled being the foremost garment-making factory in Nigeria, we are grateful to God. Talk of changing the face of garment in Nigeria; we are gradually getting there. With partnership with the State of Osun on the uniforms, it is a gradual thing, we are still distributing, now we have smart, happy students. Another vision is to employ as many Nigerians as possible; our staff strength is over 500 but will soon increase.
What are the challenges in the industry?
First is manpower challenge. That is managing human being. Another thing is the erratic power supply. The company spends more on power generation and it affects the cost of production. I hope it will improve soon.
How do you think government can engage in rebranding process through school uniforms?
All state ministries of education should re organize the uniform sector and do all that is needful to make sure the uniform would be of standard. Smartness should not differentiate the rich from the poor. A lot of students don’t wear their uniforms from home or back home due to lack of confidence. Even adults would perform better and be happy when well dressed. When uniforms make students feel important, they become serious.
How did you get into garments making despite the fact that you studied philosophy in the university?
I am a very fashionable person, though I didn’t study fashion designing. In my early twenties, my first business was garment selling because I like people turn out nicely. I am also a people oriented person; I have a passion for helping people. This is the reason why I find what the government in Osun doing very fascinating. The state should be emulated at the federal level and by other states.
Osun State Government provided land (and other amenities like road) for the factory. The benefits it will derive include the fact that youths from its skills acquisition centres will be employed and trained at the factory.
The bank provided funds for the acquisition of equipment for the factory. Its benefits include the repayment of the loan and interest derived.
Sam and Sara Garment Factories Nigeria Limited (which also has factories in Lagos) is providing the skilled and experienced manpower and management. The benefits it will derive include the profit it makes from the business, the land and equipment for the factory, etc.
texaco1: Sorry to ask this question,but is this company a wholly govt owned or private ?or is it partnership?this will go a long way in seeing the whole picture clearer
Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).
Osun State Government -Sam and Sara Garment Factory Nigeria Limited -The bank.
Ishilove: There is such a thing as spicing ones sex life in a marriage. We must have an understanding. Once you get the pics, after viewing, delete am sharpaly.
But that is besides the point. Sexting is crazy and speaks of moral depravity
That's still a terrible idea.
He deletes the pic.
The phone has a fault.
He gives phone to technician to rectify the fault.
Technician extracts picture and shares with friends.
firestar: I beg your pardon. That's a part of me I try my damnest to hide. I'm weird like that. If I understeer before corners, be my navigator please? . ('.');
Please don't hide it. You are wonderful when you are "weird".
[size=14pt]Nigeria: Top Politicians, Generals Smile As Oil Theft Cripples Nigeria.[/size]
1 July 2013 , By Temitayo Odunlami, Hamisu Mohammed, Ibraheem Hamza And Victor Edozie, Source: Daily Trust
Oil theft has become a major threat to the Nigerian economy, but those involved in the crime are highly connected personalities and Niger Delta militants who would always find their way in the difficult terrain.
The conspicuous sign at the entrance to the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder at Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, gives a clear warning to crude oil thieves. 'BE WARNED,' it declares.
Well, it does not seem those engaged in the illegitimate business of stealing crude oil are heeding the warning. Despite constant strikes by the Joint (military) Task Force (JTF), made up mostly of the Nigerian Army and the Navy at illegal refineries in the Niger Delta and sometimes, arrest of suspected vessels and personnel, there has been an upsurge in the lucrative business trade of stealing crude oil. The Federal Government, United States, multinational oil companies, and the JTF in the Niger Delta have lamented the situation.
There is expansive blame game in the futile efforts to arrest the oil theft scourge. Everybody seems to agree on one point though: the federal government itself lacks the political will to stop the unlawful billion-naira business. [b]JTF sources who confided in Sunday Trust in Port Harcourt last week expressed frustration at what they called the non-prosecution of middle-to-top level refining suspects and owners of vessels identified or arrested for conveying stolen crude in the Niger Delta and beyond.
An instructive case was narrated of a red-handed arrest, four years ago, by security operatives at the Atlas Cove, Lagos, of a big-time oil thief described as highly notorious in the illegal bunkering trade, but widely influential in top government corridors. The wealthy businessman, who hails from one of the eastern states, is said to own a petrol station in Ghana and a big computer school in Nigeria. Sources confided in Sunday Trust that the suspect was handed over to the appropriate law enforcement agents for prosecution, only to be released a month later.
Military sources moaned last week to Sunday Trust that prosecution, or rather non-prosecution, of big oil thieves, if arrested at all, has been a major dent in their efforts at confronting the illegal bunkering issue. The regulations guiding the operations of the Nigerian Army and Navy in the Niger Delta mandate the soldiers only to arrest oil thieves after which they will hand them over to either the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in which the powers to prosecute reside. But as an Information Officer of the JTF saddled with combating the crime told this publication in Port Harcourt last Thursday, not enough prosecution was being done by these law enforcement agencies.
"Apparently, government lacks the political will to take on the big men behind big-volume oil theft, hence, the continued perpetration of the crime," the officer said.[/b]
Theft and sale of Nigerian crude has been on the increase in recent times. Two weeks ago, West and Central African heads of state met in Cameroun to deliberate on maritime criminality which is now said to be worse than the piracy off Somalian waters. Oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea, which includes waters off Nigeria, has risen to proportions commanding world attention. Last year, pirates attacked 966 sailors and stole oil worth between $25 million and $75 million euros (N33 million and N100 million). The stolen oil originates from Nigeria.
There are two legs to the illicit oil theft trade. On the big, international multi-dollar platform are powerful Nigerians who can afford to buy or hire the big vessels used in illegal crude oil bunkering. The untouchable thieves illegally load crude onto their own or hired ships and sail to the waters off Nigeria where the buying foreign merchants from West Africa and Eastern Europe await them. Mostly, in these illegal deals, compromised security agents, at the behest of the highly influential Nigerians involved in the trade, look the other way while the ships sail away.
There are also the daring pirates, now involving many young and middle-aged Nigerians, who operate in the Gulf of Guinea and hijack fuel tankers. But rather than demand for ransom for the crew as was initially done by Niger Delta militants, they now load the hijacked product onto their ships to sell to the ready and lucrative foreign black market on the West Africa coast and in European countries like Russia.
Military sources, who stressed the superb organization and syndicated nature of the business, were mute on names of vessels and top Nigerians involved in the big-ticket racket. They could only say that top Nigerian politicians, retired military generals, some shippers and other businessmen, not only from the Niger Delta as many are wont to believe, but from across the country, are involved in the illicit trade. "It is another aspect of monumental corruption that binds top political leaders, retired army generals and navy admirals, and their business cronies together," a JTF major in the Niger Delta told Sunday Trust. "They operate, as they always do on big issues of corruption, like a cult. Only themselves can undo themselves," he declared.
An earlier Wikileaks cable in 2009 had quoted a youth leader in the Niger Delta, Dimietri Kemedi, of accusing even serving soldiers of complicity in the illegitimate trade. Kemedi was quoted to have said: "The military wants to remain in the Niger Delta because they profit enormously from money charged for escorting illegally bunkered crude and from money extorted in the name of protecting security."
An indication that military men enjoy a huge slice of the illegal crude oil booty emerged in 2003 when law enforcement agents intercepted and impounded the MT African Pride, a 30,000 metric tonne (MT) oil vessel manned by 18 Russians, two Romanians, two Georgians and two Nigerians. MT African Pride, captained by Russian Ikachev Valeriy, had illegally loaded 11,300MT crude cargo when it was intercepted by NNS Nwamba, led by Commanding Officer Joe Aikhomu. The vessel was sailing out of Nigeria to deliver its cargo, estimated at about N5 billion, to waiting buyers when it was intercepted on the Excravos/Forcados (Niger Delta) waters.
The allegation was rife then in informed quarters that the deal was masterminded by the son of a former president. In what would confirm the crime was truly top-wired, the crude cargo in MT African Pride was mysteriously offloaded into another vessel, before the ship itself finally disappeared from the naval base, NNS Beecroft, where it was detained.
Following widespread combination and media blitz that attended the scandal, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration ordered an investigation into the disappearance of the ship. A court martial later tried Rear-Admirals Samuel Kolawole and Francis Agbiti, Flag Officer, Western Command and Chief of Training and Operations, Nigerian Navy Headquarters respectively, for involvement and conspiracy in the ship's disappearance. The special court found them guilty and ordered their dismissal from the Nigerian Navy. But what was not publicly disclosed were the identities of the owner of the vessel and the heavy crude load, and the intrigues and stupendous bribes that went into the disappearance of both ship and load.
The nation is still awaiting the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, to make true his promise last month to mention names of the influential Nigerians involved in crude oil theft. He told journalists in Abuja: "There are some big vessels under my custody belonging to organized piracy and crude oil thieves. Very soon, I will release all the big names in the syndicate. Once we do that, people should not come to say it's ethnic cleansing, 2015 or all those kinds of stories. The media should just ask, 'Did you do the piracy or not?" Nigerians may have to wait forever for Akpobolokemi's bombshell.
The JTF has been filling a bit of that information gap, though. Documents available to Sunday Trust revealed that the NNS Pathfinder, Rumuolumeni; together with NNS Thunder, NNS Kyanwa and NNS Burutu, were able to arrest a total of 25 vessels over allegations of illegal bunkering or piracy between October 2011 and March 2013. The arrested vessels included Sir Michael, owned by Mr. Dare Bayo/Mike Amakiri and handed over to the Bayelsa Police Command in March 2102; MT Rock Fish, owned by Davinest Nig. Ltd, carrying 70,000 litres of illegally refined diesel; Godtime, owned by ECOO Energy and Development Techniques Ltd., carrying 100,000 litres of illegally refined diesel and handed over to the EFCC on 14 August 2012; Princess Sophie, also owned by ECOO Energy, arrested with 300,000 litres of illegal diesel and handed over to the EFCC on 14 August 2012; a tugboat (barge) owned by VICO Corporate Ventures, arrested with 150,00 litres of diesel and handed over to the EFCC; and MV ST Vanessa, belonging to Sea Castle Maritime, which was arrested for "loitering without a specific and clear mission" and handed over to the Rivers State Polie Command.
One of the many Nigerians waiting for the NIMASA head to make good his threat is Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Petroleum Development Corporation of Nigeria (SPDCN), Mr Mutiu Sunmonu. To Sunmonu, the time to expose Nigeria's oil thieves is now. For, as he harped on June 27, 2013, the crime has reached "a crisis situation." Nigeria is calculated to have been losing about $6 billion in the last two years to illegal bunkering and crude oil theft. The oil boss corroborated that the illegal trade is done by "well-financed and highly organized criminal operations, and is a parallel industry with a developed supply chain and growing sophistication." The Senate committee on the upstream sector of the oil industry put a higher figure to it, saying about $28 billion has been lost to oil theft over the past three years.
There is also the other leg of local oil thieves, mostly young men who vandalise pipelines to siphon crude oil which they refine for sale as petrol. Thousands of refineries dot the Niger Delta creeks. The JTF has been having a running battle with the thieves and refiners. But it seems the more refineries the soldiers destroy, the more the oil thieves build. Oil siphon is common along the Trans-Niger pipeline and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line. Both have flow stations leading into the Bonny Terminal.
Building refineries, which has been to the federal government a magical and impossible assignment, seems the pastime of oil thieves in the Niger Delta, the level of sophistication and technology notwithstanding. Sunday Trust gathered the thieves have even devised ways of building underground refineries to evade discovery and destruction by the JTF teams. This year alone, NNS Pathfinder, led by its commander, Commodore D.E. Effedua, collaborating with the Forward Operating Base, Bonny, headed by Captain C.E. Okafor has destroyed more than 50 illegal refineries. In February, the naval teams destroyed four illegal refineries in Karibiama Creek, Abonnema Forest, KM 45 Forest and Adamakiri and Ijawkiri Creeks. Twenty-five persons were arrested in the raids while items that included one speedboat, one 75 HP sppedboat and four pumping machines were recovered.
Between April and June, the naval teams have also destroyed 45 other illegal refineries in Abonema Creek, Ogu/Bolo Creek, Bille Creek, Ele Community, Nbokulo, Bodo/Ship Creek and Red Mud/Bodo Line Creek. Earlier, on March 13, they had arrested four suspects - Sunday Garba, Daship Tanko, Igho Ukiri and Emmanuel Likita - at Bonny.
Last Tuesday, the EFCC arraigned 14 suspects to a Federal High Court, Lagos on a five-count charge bordering on illegal bunkering. This development tends to mock the allegation that arrested oil crime suspects are not being prosecuted as due. "Those making the frivolous claim should mention the big oil thieves that are not being prosecuted," the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, told Sunday Trust via a text message yesterday. And apparently referring to last week's arraignment, Uwujaren referred to critics to visit the Commission's site to see all arraignments for bunkering.
Many Nigerians are still unlikely to agree with him. They will tell Uwujaren that the big fishes in the big illegal bunkering game, those who own the expensive vessels used in international oil theft, are yet to be arraigned.
On its part, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources have, in the past few days, released figures of the huge resources lost to piracy, both in volume and in value. It is, however, estimated that Nigeria is currently losing some 250,000 barrels of oil per day to oil thieves. Most of these thefts are carried out by the outright sabotage of oil facilities, especially the pipelines and the flow stations from where products are taken for sale. Essentially Nigeria loses between U$6bln to U$12bln per annum.
The NNPC/Shell Petroleum Development Company Joint Venture recently declared a force majeure on Bonny Crude due to persistent crude oil theft, resulting in the shutting in of 150,000bpd. Just across the 97-kilometre Nembe Creek Trunk line, 53 break points were discovered. Also Agip has suspended crude oil production activity in Bayelsa State where 60% of its production of about 90,000 kbpd is stolen.
Given the record for the first quarter of the 2013, the NNPC said daily crude oil production during the period fluctuated between 2.1 and 2.3 million barrels per day (mbpd) compared with the projected estimate of 2.48mbpd in the year's budget.
"Expectedly, this fall between actual production and forecast in first quarter 2013 has resulted in a drop in crude oil revenue of about $1.23 billion (N$191 billion) that should have accrued to the Federation Account," she explained.
"Investigations showed that 53 break points were discovered along the 97km Nembe Creek Trunkline. Repair work is expected to last about six weeks. This will further reduce our April and May monthly average to about 2.2mbpd and further decrease crude oil revenue by about $554.0 million (equivalent to N83 billion) that should have accrued to the Federation Account.
The financial record from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown a drastic drop of crude oil revenue from N8.878 trillion in 2011 to N8.117 trillion in 2012 signifying a drop of about N761 billion which is largely attributed to the crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.
The CBN record shows that the drop in crude oil revenue began in the third quarter of the 2012 with about N45 billion from the preceding quarter and thereafter dropped by N112.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012.
There was huge drop of about N707 billion in the third quarter of 2012 when compared to same period in 2011, while the difference in fourth quarters is about N585 billion respectively.
The International Crisis Group, in a report released earlier this year entitled: "The Gulf of Guinea: The New Danger Zone, revealed that between 2007 and 2011, there were an estimated 150 cases of maritime piracy to the east of the Niger Delta. In most cases, the attackers were equipped with heavy weapons and rocket launchers. According report, most of the attacks were planned in Nigeria or Bakassi by groups that did not have permanent bases in the mangroves, where living conditions can be extremely difficult. Arms were supplied by a network of traffickers with links to groups in the Niger Delta, but also allegedly by accomplices within the security services.
The report said, "In all successful reported attacks pirates stole the ship's cash, stores or crews' belongings. In successful hijack operations, they forced the crew to sail away from the point of attack and stole fuel worth between $2 million and $6 million. Academics and experts believe that, in view of the high rate of similar attacks off Nigeria before and during 2011, pirate attacks off Benin are most likely masterminded and executed principally by Nigerians. They have the necessary intelligence network, boats, firepower and technical know-how to execute such hijacks and sell stolen fuel. That pirates made telephone calls to Nigerian numbers from ships hijacked off Benin supports this theory."
The group reported further that "The rise in maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea is mainly due to the poverty of the great majority of the population alongside a wealthy elite. There is a lack of transparency about what happens to the profits from the oil industry and other resources, which are monopolised by the ruling elites and foreign private companies. The inequitable distribution of wealth means that economic disparities are blatant.
"However, an increase in economic activity along the coast accompanied by poor governance gave impetus to the criminalization of the Gulf of Guinea's economy. As a result, smuggling networks became more sophisticated and started to deal arms, illegal oil dealers started to attack ships, former delinquents became armed activists in the pay of gangs and fishermen abandoned their trade to become pirates.
The report stated clearly that "Nigeria's navy and maritime administration agencies are facing serious problems of capacity and corruption. A lack of government investment has left them both undermanned and under-equipped. In 2005, high-ranking navy commanders were dismissed for involvement in oil theft and illegal trading. In October 2009, a former chair of the Nigerian Ports Authority and other managers were convicted on charges related to contract splitting and abuse.
Referring to the failure of the Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria, owned by a former militant who got a 10-year-old security contract to the tune of $103.4 million, the report added that, "ship owners complain that, eight times out of ten, their distress calls go unanswered. American coastguards visiting Nigeria to check compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code found inadequate security, which accounted for the high crime rate in ports.
"Such weak maritime governance has allowed armed robbery at sea and acts of piracy to grow steadily in tandem with economic activity at sea. The involvement of INTERPOL will assist in reducing piracy."
Please can you give me any info about the status of the monorail project (including articles, pictures, videos, etc)? I'm getting conflicting reports about the project from people in Port Harcourt. I already have info about the Lagos LRT and Abuja Metro.
GE Transportation is a global technology leader and supplier of various transport solutions including freight and passenger locomotives. Its presence in Africa dates back to over 100 years, having supplied more than 1,000 locomotives supported by its after sales service, maintenance and parts. For more information please visit: GE Transportation
How we overcame the challenge:
GE’s company-to-country agreement with Nigeria, signed in 2009, provided GE’s transportation business with the opportunity to work with the NRC in delivering a rail solution consisting of 25 diesel locomotives, which will contribute to re-igniting the vigorous rail driven trading of goods such as oil, and enable regional trade growth in East, Central and West Africa. In addition to supplying the locomotives, GE is also training NRC employees and transferring valuable skills as part of this agreement.
National Railway Corporation:
Previously known as the Government Department of Railways, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has been in existence for 112 years. It runs unilaterally designed track systems made up of 3,505 kilometers of narrow gauge tracks and approximately 300 kilometers of standard gauge tracks respectively. The NRC’s locomotive fleet includes new and aged engines, couchette-type sleepers, air-conditioned first-class and non-air-conditioned economy-class passenger coaches and wagons.
NRC challenge:
Aligned to the Nigerian Government’s renewed commitment to rebuilding its rail asset, the NRC identified the need to build its locomotive fleet and invest in further infrastructure maintenance.
Solution’s impact on Nigeria:
The NRC’s new GE diesel locomotives will increase rail capacity, provide additional revenue that can be re-invested back into Nigeria’s economy, and assist in fast tracking regional trade in the East, Central and West Africa regions. This in turn will help attract foreign direct investment and contribute to infrastructure development for short and long-haul destinations within Nigeria and beyond.
General Electric is involved in the present improvements in the rail sector. Most of the trains that are currently running were refurbished by GE. They also plan to export trains and coaches from Calabar to other African countries.
I'll show you a presentation from GE (@ the Ebute Metta workshop where they refurbished some of the trains that are currently working).
[size=14pt]FG Approves N1.3bn For Design Of 5 Fast Train Lines.[/size]
billante: Abuja – The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N1.3 billion contracts for the design of five fast train lines across the country.
The Minister of Transport, Alhaji Idris Umar, disclosed this after the Council meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo, at the State House, Abuja.
Umar said that the Council had approved the contracts to ease the burden of transportation across the country.
“Today I brought a memo to Council seeking for the approval to award contract for consultancy services to carry out feasibility studies on five corridors.
“The first is Lagos-Abuja. The Lagos-Abuja is intended to usher in the highest speed train system which is a distance of 615km.
“It is our hope that the train can ply from Lagos- Abuja within a maximum period of three hours with about five stops.
“The total contract sum for the five corridors is N1, 334, 405, 366.74 with a completion period of seven months.’’
The minister said that the light rail, which was conceived to ease transportation problems, would “compete favourably with the air industry’’.
The second rail line is Lagos – Benin with a distance of 300km while the third will run from Ajaokuta – Abuja, a distance of 533km.
The fourth and fifth, from Zaria – Illela and Benin to Aba covered 520km and 500km respectively.
Umar said that government was committed to the resuscitation of the railway system in the country.
He said that a double approach adopted included the rehabilitation of the existing narrow gauge rail lines and the resuscitation of the railway in the area of the modernisation. (NAN)
naptu2: I hope I don't get banned by the anti-spam bot.
There are two complaints that recur:
1) The trains are old.
2) We need high speed rail services.
Well, in response to (1) above, General Electric are building a plant in Calabar where new train engines and coaches will be built for the NRC.
In response to (2), I believe that we need a mix of train services and it seems that governments across the country are working to get us that mix. We need:
A) Heavy rail to carry goods. This will reduce costs, encourage investors, increase the lifespan of our roads, etc.
2) High speed passenger trains. This will reduce journey time, reduce travel costs and give citizens a choice (train vs plane vs road), etc.
3) Metro. To decongest our roads, improve productivity and efficiency, etc.
2)
A) Heavy rail: This thread is about improvements in the heavy rail network. Rail lines and services that were dormant are being revived (including the rail links to Apapa and Port Harcourt Quays). This move is very important for our economy.
Goods like wheat, cement, mattresses, petroleum products, etc are now being transported by trains. This makes it cheaper for manufacturers to move raw materials directly from the port to their facilities and move finished goods the other way. It also makes life easier for importers.
Wempco has set up its steel factory in Lagos. It needs iron to be able to produce sheet steel. The iron mines are at Itakpe in Kogi State. The dilemma is how to transport iron from Itakpe to Lagos. Well, the Iddo-Kano rail line will have a branch that leads to Itakpe. The revival of the rail system makes life easier for Wempco.
One of the problems we've had with the heavy rail system is that the Colonial Government laid narrow gauge tracks, which are very slow. I read of a reception for Lord Lugard in which the Resident (colonial administrator) complained that he needed standard gauge rail tracks because the trains were so slow that sacks of groundnuts were being built up into pyramids in Kano rather than being conveyed to the port in Lagos.
Standard gauge tracks are now being laid.
B) High speed rail: The proposal for a high speed rail link between Lagos and Abuja has been made since the Obasanjo era. Now the government is getting Chinese help to build it.
naptu2: The major new rail lines that have been planned are (in no particular order)
1) The East-West rail line
2) The line to Abuja
3) The high speed rail line from Abuja to Lagos.
At the moment they are rehabilitating existing lines, but one of the reasons GEJ went to China last week is to get a loan for the line to Abuja (and the Abuja metro).
However, these high speed trains do not carry goods.
C) Metro: This is very important, particularly in the big cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt. The Lagos and Abuja metro systems are currently being built, but I hear that the Port-Harcourt Monorail project is experiencing some difficulties.
So far we've been discussing heavy rail. The heavy rail trains carry both goods and passengers, while the light rail (high speed) rail trains carry only passengers.
L-R; PHEL GRIFFTH OF GENERAL ELECTRIC; MINISTER OF POWER PROF. CHINNEDU NEBO; MR. SAMUEL ARTOM; VP NAMADI SAMBO; GOV LIYEL IMOKE & VICE CHAIRMAN G.E, MR. JOHN RICE DURING THE GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF GENERAL ELECTRIC'S FACILITY IN CALBAR. JUNE 18, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, (THEWILL) - Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo; Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke; General Electric’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lazarus Agbazor; and Vice Chairman, GE, Mr. John Rice, Tuesday led the groundbreaking ceremony of General Electric's $1bn (N160B) multi model service and manufacturing facility located at the Calabar Free Trade zone.
In 2009, General Electric signed a landmark country-to-company agreement with the Federal Government aimed at forging a strategic partnership that will see the two parties working together on high growth opportunities and investments in support of vision 2020 and in January, 2013, the federal government and GE of the United States sealed the $1bn investment for the establishment of a new manufacturing and assembly facility in Calabar.
Also at the groundbreaking ceremony were the Global Supply Chair Leader of GE, Mr. Phel Griffith; Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo; and Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mr. Samuel Artom.
Faith played itself out when the initiative of the Governor, then serving Minister of Power and Steel was instrumental to the setting up of a framework where an MOU was signed between GE and FGN mandating GE to setup a plant in Nigeria way back in 2004. GE settled for Calabar, Cross River State without any influence from the State Government.
In the words Governor Imoke, “Cross River State has remained at the fore-front of Tourism and Hospitality Development. Over the years we have consistently invested in the development of policies that accelerate the development of the State’s economy. This no doubt has further positioned the State as a first choice for investors. GE which is the 3rd biggest company in the world is joining other investors in tapping into an economy that is ready for the future. Ours is a natural fit.”
According to Mr. Nzan Ogbe, Special Adviser, Governors Office, the state was chosen because of its exceptional enabling business climate for investment as well as supporting infrastructure such as functional sea and airports, free trade zone and a well articulated investment policy.
THEWILL affirms that Cross River State is also the most secure state in Nigeria with a crime rate of less than 2% and a fully integrated emergency response centre that is fully operational.
[size=13pt]The plant would be designed for the manufacture of generator turbines for power plants, coaches for trains, engines for aircrafts as well as hospital equipment, among others.[/size]
Also with General Electric setting up in Calabar, it would attract a lot of other investment from allied companies who typically follow GE’s lead as their risk assessment and endorsement of Calabar mitigates any risk hitherto envisaged by potential investors as Cross Rivers due diligence mechanism is world class.
In consonance with GE setting up a manufacturing plant in the state, other multinationals in the last one year have done same viz; Wilmar group, Songhai Farms, Dansa, UPDC investing in housing development (Golf Estate) and ARM investing in the hotel and hospitality sector (CICC hotel).
The Special adviser, Investment promotions, Mr. Gerald Ada, also noted that according to GE’s due diligence of Cross River State, about 300 Nigerian professional engineers and technicians would be employed in the GE factory, and that provision would be made for the training of young Nigerians through the company’s technology transfer programme.
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is a publicly funded service operated and managed as a for-profit corporation and began operations on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States.
Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day on 21,200 miles (34,000 km) of track at speeds up to 150 mph (240 km/h) connecting more than 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces. In fiscal year 2012, Amtrak served a record 31.2 million passengers and had $2.02 billion in revenue while employing more than 20,000 people. Its headquarters is at Union Station in Washington, D.C.
The name "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track".
The rolling stock of Amtrak comprises 396 locomotives, 25 trainsets, and 1,553 rail cars as of the end of 2011.
Amtrak operates both [size=13pt]diesel[/size] and electric locomotives. Its electric locomotives are confined to the Northeast Corridor and Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, while its diesels may be found anywhere in the United States.
The Auto Train passing through Folkston, Georgia in 2005.
Auto Train is an 855-mile-long (1,376 km) scheduled train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando).
Although there are similar services around the world, the Auto Train is the only one of its kind in the United States. The Auto Train is the only north–south Amtrak train in the east to use Superliner cars.
Passengers ride either in coach seats or private sleeping car rooms while their vehicles (car, van, sport utility vehicle, motorcycle, small trailer, or jet-ski) are carried in enclosed automobile-carrying freight cars, called autoracks. The train also includes lounge cars and dining cars. The Auto Train service allows its passengers to avoid driving Interstate 95 in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, while bringing their own vehicle with them.
During fiscal year 2011, the Auto Train carried over 250,000 passengers, a 6.4% increase over FY2010. The train had a total revenue of US$68,618,768 in FY2011, an increase of 12.5% over FY2010. The Auto Train had the highest revenue of any long-distance train in the Amtrak system.
As of 2009, an Auto Train consist is normally made up of two General Electric P42 diesel-electric locomotives (and sometimes a third engine) and forty or more railcars (passenger and autorack), for a total length of a 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) or more.
Yesterday I said "next destination is the Eastern Line" and today I saw this. So now I'll say, next destination is the Central Line (Itakpe to Warri). (Let's see if the magic will work again).
Obiagelli: gej is either just incompetents or a full blown thief. From 7% to 20% in just one year? This is what you get when you put criminals in charge of oil installations, no wonder this criminals frequent Aso rock and one of them threatened to destroy this nation if the looting stops.
We haven't yet discussed the "other trade".
Goods are usually exchanged (one something goes one way, something else goes the opposite way) and they are not always exchanged for money.
[size=14pt]Who is stealing Nigeria’s crude Oil?[/size]
Posted on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Nigeria is in dire straits. Buffeted from all sides by all manners of miscreants, these are also desperate times for law-abiding citizens. Kidnappers are on the prowl and armed robbers now put their would-be victims on notice weeks before they strike, confident that they will execute their nefarious act without much of a challenge. Terrorists are having a field day, wreaking havoc on innocent citizens and paedophiles are having a ball, devouring children still wearing diapers.
And wait for it. Oil thieves and pipeline vandals are making managers of our economy to sweat. Last week, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala alerted the nation that the Federal Government was experiencing shortfalls in funds required to implement the 2013 budget.
Nigeria was losing, she claimed, 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day to oil theft and vandalism of oil and gas installations.
To the uninformed, this piece of information may not be alarming enough. But when the fact that oil and gas industry accounts for around two-thirds of government revenue and more than 90 percent of the country’s export earnings, the grim situation is better appreciated.
Again, when the fact that as at January last year, oil theft stood at only 150,000bpd a day, roughly seven percent of the country’s total output, is considered, then the reality will dawn much more forcefully on us that crude oil theft has become a most lucrative business, growing over 120 per cent in one year.
In February last year, Ian Craig, Africa’s Vice President for the Anglo-Dutch giant, Shell Exploration and Production, said that while militant attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta had slowed, oil theft had surged.
“The greatest challenge is the massive organised oil theft business and the criminality and corruption which it fosters,” Craig told an annual oil conference of industry players and government.
The stolen oil fuels a lucrative black market in Nigeria as well as in neighbouring countries.
This is bad enough. But worse still is the fact that Nigeria, my country, a sovereign state, is seemingly helpless, looking up to the international community to solve its security challenges.
President Goodluck Jonathan, we are told, has appealed to European leaders to help stop the theft of crude oil in his country by ensuring their nationals do not buy the stolen product.
We are also told he has firm promises from those he appealed to. Yet, rather than abating, the stealing has become an epidemic, threatening the economy of the country. From seven percent last year, it is now more than 20 percent. Instead of the 150,000 barrels stolen every day last year, Nigeria now loses 400,000 barrels per day.
And the question is; who are these oil thieves? Are they like Boko Haram terrorists also ghosts? Is it true that the government and its huge security apparatus do not know who they are? If really they don’t know, what does that say about the capacity of the Nigerian State? Is there any other state in the world where such colossal quantity of state resources is stolen with so much ease?
When did the government realise that we are indeed in a big mess because Okonjo-Iweala is not telling us anything new? In April, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) released data showing that the country will lose over N764 billion this year, representing about 20 percent of the 2013 budget if the oil theft pain in the neck was not checked.
Shell Petroleum Development Company, a major player in the industry, was not very conservative in its estimates. Last month also, the company, a major player in the industry, raised an alarm that the country may lose N900 billion this year unless something drastic was done to check the menace.
A month earlier, unions in the oil industry – National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) under the aegis of NUPENGASSAN lamented the loss of over $6 billion to crude oil theft and another N165 billion to the theft of refined products.
While the exact figures of what the country is losing to oil thieves may never be known since nobody can say with any level of certainty the quantity of crude oil extracted everyday in Nigeria, what is certain from all these claims is that a well-financed and highly organised criminal enterprise exists on a phenomenal scale. The theft has become an industry in itself.
If Okonjo-Iweala’s figure of 400,000 barrels is anything to go by, it then means that we are now doing worse than the pre-amnesty period, when oil theft peaked at about 350,000 barrels per day.
It is also important to note this quantity of crude oil stolen from our shores everyday is higher than the quantity produced daily by either Gabon or Equatorial Guinea.
Last week, President Jonathan’s Special Assistant on Niger Delta Amnesty, Kingsley Kuku, accused international oil companies of orchestrating the theft.
Insisting that “almost every oil company has pipeline protection contracts, pipeline surveillance contracts for local contractors,” Kuku alleged that “the same people who are meant to be securing these pipelines participate in oil theft.”
He advised the oil multinationals to “look inwards into their contracting processes, of their vendors and security contractors, x-ray them, renew their processes very well and deal with the issue of oil theft as it affects participation in-house, in the oil and gas industry.”
Expectedly, the oil companies have denied any culpability in the crime.
So, where does that leave us?
In the past, the same Kuku had come out to tell Nigerians that the amnesty granted Niger Delta militants, who were mainly oil thieves, had succeeded.
That is the height of self-deceit. Pipeline protection contracts were awarded to these same militants so that they can stop the oil theft. Yet, what we are now getting from the billions of naira squandered in the name of pipeline protection is more oil theft.
And instead of stopping the theft, we are dissipating energy preaching to the international community not to buy the stolen products when we know that even if state actors decide not to, many non-state actors will still buy.
If the government cannot protect our oil wealth, then it has no business being there. Truth be told, it can if it wants to. But it cannot because it lacks the political will to do so. Government knows those stealing the crude oil. They are not ghosts but it is more politically expedient to chase rodents when the Nigerian house is on fire.
Kuku’s allegations are nothing other than red herring. We are simply burying our heads in the sand, playing the ostrich, a game we know too well how to play.
[size=14pt]Frigate in Gulf of Guinea Acting as 'Fourth French Base in Africa'[/size]
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In the dark night, dozens of wells spit out orange flames. It is the only visible light on the black-ink sea in this part of the Gulf of Guinea, south of Nigeria, which is one of the largest offshore oilfields in the world.  Darkness also reigns supreme onboard Latouche-Treville. The French frigate is patrolling in silence. For this night of June, the battleship has set itself a 200 square kilometers area of operations off Port Harcourt [city in Nigeria]. The area is bristling with traps: abandoned drilling sites, secondary and main platforms connected by oil pipelines as a cobweb stretching over thousands of kilometers. The wells of the French oil group Total look like large coins on the national Navy's maps.
Latouche-Treville has "some informal contacts" with the French companies in the area, but the ship wants to sail without reporting: it remains deaf to the calls of foreigners who ask her to identify herself. "Every man for himself is the rule here," the officer of the deck said. The oil platforms violate international waters laws, by establishing around themselves a security perimeter protected by private companies of 20 Km, instead of the authorized 500 meters. "Guards are very nervous, there is great insecurity," the officer added.
In these hot waters, where the wealth of Africa travels through, ghosts wander: armored speedboats of private armies circulate with their lights off; pirate vessels with destroyed identification systems; illegal fishermen, traffickers in gas, weapons, drugs, and human beings. Off West Africa, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has counted 966 boats targeted in 2012, and 70 attacks have taken place since the beginning of 2013 in the Gulf.
The latest attack that affected the French was on 13 June. Oil tanker MT Adour was attacked off Togo, before being taken into Nigerian waters. The assailants, some 10 men armed with machine guns, were unable to siphon dry the tanks, which were empty. So, they turned to the engine fuel, but they also took the captain hostage, who was immediately released on ground, and his second in command, who was released on Tuesday 18 [June] in Nigeria, while the Latouche-Treville escorted the tanker.
The Gulf of Guinea is one of the priorities for the French defense, which has deployed there a surveillance mission called "Corymbe." For the first time, since the beginning of April a top level frigate is stationed there. Corymbe was launched in 1990 and was conceived in order to occasionally support ground operations. But since 1996, the Navy has been constantly patrolling this area, where there is growing insecurity, with the support of an Atlantique 2 aircraft based in Dakar.
Though the matter is not presented thus, this ship constitutes the fourth French base in Africa, along with the ones in Dakar, Libreville, and Djibouti. France has major interests in the area. There are 1,500 businesses and 90,000 expats in the Sub-Saharan West, the majority in the cities on the Gulf of Guinea, said Mathieu Le Hunsec, author of a book on the national navy in Africa. From here comes one quarter of the national oil supply. The ports of the region are also points of support for intervening in the Sahel. From Cotonou [Benin capital] departs the uranium extracted by Areva [French nuclear energy company] in Niger. The logistics for the army in the Central African Republic go through Douala. The army supports its operations in Mali from Dakar.
Intelligence, military cooperation with neighboring countries: the mission covers a very large seafront, from Senegal to Congo. "It is a matter of keeping things at a level of violence that is more or less under control, not letting a situation in the region degenerate without us being aware of it," said Captain Xavier de Vericourt. The Corymbe ship will be the first one able to evacuate expats in the event of a crisis.
The Latouche-Treville carries the equipment of a commando group that could be released at sea and then return to it. The electoral deadlines in the region are a barometer for the army staff. Currently, Nigeria's and Cameroon's weaknesses are being closely watched.
Piracy, which extends toward the Cote d'Ivoire, is becoming more violent. Its nature is changing, and is shifting from pure economic depredation to hostage-taking. Proof of this was the attack that targeted Arethuse, a French offshore service boat of the Bourbon company, in the night between 4-5 June. "The pirates were looking for expats," said the captain of the Latouche-Treville. Two 20-meter speedboats, a dozen armed men "in uniform," who were very organized. The expats had the time to lock themselves up inside a strong room. Some Nigerian sailors who did not have the time of barricading themselves were eventually left free. After leaving empty-handed, the assailants attacked on route two other boats, the C-Viking and the Miss-Kayla. The frigate found the two pirate boats 5 km away, adrift together, with all their lights off. Their names were carefully recorded.
A "voluntary naval control" has been introduced in the Gulf of Guinea, managed by the Navy from Brest: the ship of the Corymbe operation contacts all the ships flying a French flag, or the ships "of interest" that make their presence known. The militarization of the area seems inevitable. "If the sea is not controlled, if no presence is assured, one will see people sneaking in," the captain of the Latouche-Treville noted.
Since 2006, the US defense has been developing an aide project for local navies within the framework of the Africa Partnership Station program. The United States gives patrol boats to all the countries in the region. France caries out similar [as published] training operations, in particular in Equatorial Guinea, where it has opened a naval school. With the help of other partners -- Israel, China, Russia ?? the countries of the Gulf of Guinea are trying to set up their own national navy .
The awareness of such a need is a recent matter. In February 2009, the Equatorial Guinea presidential palace in Malabo, the capital on Bioko Island, which is off Cameroon, was attacked from the sea. Attacks motivated by financial gain have targeted in the same manner banks in Douala (Cameroon) and supermarkets in Port-Gentil (Gabon). Pirates, mafia groups and rebel political groups are intertwined.
In March 2010, a Total site was attacked for the first time by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. "Militias appear and disappear, but they are always operating," said Captain Joel Manga, who boarded the Latouche-Treville on 9 June with officers from Cameroon for an exercitation onboard. "Mainly, we have a problem with illegal fishery in territorial waters," he noted, "but we also concentrate our efforts north, in order to prevent the threats coming from Nigeria, including Boko Haram, from spreading."
A regional military station command has been set up in Douala, where the captain of the Boulingui vessel, a Gabonese officer, hailed the first "positive results" off Cameroun. "The sea is no longer empty, but we only have three ships, and we need to cast our nets wider. Maritime cooperation will be on the agenda of the summit of Central and Western Africa's heads of state in Yaounde, on 24 and 25 June.
Senegal, Liberia, Cape Verde, Guinea-Conakry, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana. . . The Latouche-Treville has made some 15 stops in four months of mission. They serve as a test. If the program is fulfilled, if the sailors work well together, it means that the country is holding firm.
Politics › Re: Festus Odimegwu Suspended By The Federal Government by naptu2: 2:29pm On Aug 27, 2013
