₦airaland Forum

Undilutedme:
Hello guys

I have 20k currently and I don't want to spend it foolishly, I want to invest the 20k in something profitable. I know it's little but I know there are some businesses I can that can fetch me little income so when I get admission I can be helping myself. I'm a aspiring medical student and I wrote my jamb, awaiting post utme.

Please guys, I need suggestions, no matter how little. Thanks

Open a sim registration outlet. Get a strategic location and get kyc machines of popular network around town. Build ur capital using kyc

chukwugoziegi:
But we all know FFK is a mad man na.

And yet we celebrate him what an irony

jlinkd78:
Without releasing d full unedited version the management of Daily Trust has said nothing. Independent minds like us can only mediate and pass judgement only when d undoctored version is made known so till then I stand with FFK

Now u understand why we stand with buhari or elrufai....no matter what

ALEX182:
So I have this American patient who I recently came across. He's a fat dude who is like in his late 40s but has a very jolly and likeable character. I introduced myself and we got talking afterwards.

After a while of chitchat, he asked me where I was from. I told him to take a guess and he said said, you sound like you're Nigerian. I told him (regrettably) that I was Nigerian. He started smiling and told me that he had a Nigerian girlfriend and that we both had similar accents.

He then started telling me recent occurrences that had befallen his girlfriend in Nigeria. He said the lastest story was that she was in Abuja and as she was on her way to the airport in a taxi, the taxi had an accident and she was seriously injured and had to be rushed to the hospital. He said that the hospital demanded money before treatment started and he had to hustle about $4000 and send to her in order for treatment to start.

He said that after a week of her being in the hospital, they wanted to discharge her despite her still being in pain. Because she had exhausted all the $4000 on treatment, he said the hospital had threatened to discharge her on the streets and he was trying to borrow more money to see if he could send it to her so they could continue with her treatments.

He furthermore told me that the girlfriend said that she was a Nigerian American citizen who was currently stuck in Nigeria due to her passport having expired and also due to Covid lockdown at airports in Nigeria. He said she had asked him for $300 to renew her US passport from American embassy in Nigeria.

Another thing that he told me was that just before covid struck, there was a similar pandemic which happened in Nigeria early this year and that his girlfriend had contracted the disease and he had to send her $2000 for treatment. Right now he said he's broke but is waiting for like $2000 disability check from the US government next week which he will send to her as soon as the money clears.

As he was telling me this tale, I was so angry with Nigerians and how they take advantage of people in love to scam them. I wanted to swear for the scammers


I'm at a dilemma here. Do I tell him that he's being scammed by Nigerians or do I continue to be professional and just ignore it. Because I don't want him to think I'm involved with it because these oyinbo people can turn everything on your head and accuse you that is your people in conjunction with you that are scamming him. They are that crazy.

The good part of me wants to help him but I'm hesitant that it may turn out bad for me. Please matured responses.

Are u sure the girl is not adaherself? Let him show u her pics

Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation has said that the Hausa language topped the list of articles created by language category on Wikipedia women writing contest.

Mr Olushola Olaniyan, Chairman, the board of trustees of Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation disclosed this to newsmen on Monday in Lagos.

Olaniyan said that 179 contents were written in the Hausa language, followed by English with 136.

Olaniyan said that Indonesia contents were 122, Yoruba 70, Igbo 30, Bangali 22, French 22, Malayalam five and Deutch two.

He said that the writing contest took place between April 29 and May 27.

“As of today, Wikipedia, the world’s most visited online encyclopaedia is written in over 300 languages and has over six million articles on English Wikipedia.

“Wikipedia has represented an imbalance in the number of women to men contents since the inception of the platform in 2001.

“Statistics shows that only two out of every 10 articles on English Wikipedia are about women, hence the need for a drive to change this narrative,’’ he said.

Olaniyan said that the story of Nigerian women’s digital coverage was quite similar to the pattern obtained from global statistics with over two thousand biographies covered.

“The wikiGap Nigeria online contest was deployed to achieve three cardinal objectives which include identification of training needs of Nigerian women and the deployment of a capacity development programme with a focus on digital content creation.’’

Another objective is the identification and fixing of various issues on existing biographies about women on Wikipedia.

Identification of remarkable women from Nigeria without a Wikipedia biography and profiling their content on Wikipedia is the third objective.

Olaniyan said that the highlights of the project include over 30 local and international Wikipedia editors contributed to the project.

He said that over 150 Nigerian women biographies created could be accessed in English, French, Deutsch, Bangali, Indonesia, Malayalam, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo languages.

The board chairman said that WikiGap was an initiative taken to close the gender gap and other diversity gaps on Wikipedia.

He said that the initiative was made possible with the cooperation between the Embassy of Sweden in Nigeria, African Women in the Media (AWIM) and Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation Incorporation.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2020/08/10/hausa-language-tops-articles-content-on-wikipedia-writing-contest/

tillaman:
Wow this is very great
But how come Everything is going to the north
These folks don dey settle themselves in case everything scatter, I really don’t know what PYO is doing other than running errands, PMB kept his poor arse occupied

This is state own initiative bros...

She is pregnant for someone and need u as a cover. Bros be wise

Happy989:
I started dating my boyfriend months ago and even before we started dating we've been good friends. He is intelligent, funny, has a great personality and takes good care of me. When he asked me to be his girlfriend I was so happy, because he is such a great guy. My boyfriend is in his final year in the same university that I attend. I'm still in my second year.

There is this guy in my department who is very good looking and also intelligent. He isn't jovial and extroverted like my boyfriend, but he is cool in a very confident and attractive kind of way. We started talking recently and he told me he finds me attractive. I told him that I have a boyfriend and he didn't seem fazed and never talked about the subject of my relationship. He still complimented my body and looks from time to time even though I didn't respond to his compliments in a way that indicated that I was in support of his actions.

During this covid-19 break we began talking more often over the phone and through texts and I always found our conversations interesting. A lot of times we'd talk till midnight. He is very witty and creative with words and I always smile whenever I see his texts or receive his calls.

Few weeks ago we talked about sexual fetishes and I realized we both had similar fetishes. This made him even more interesting because I found myself able to talk about stuff I hadn't talked about with anyone before, not even my boyfriend. This guy is not like anyone I've ever met before. His views on life are very unique and original and his personality is so complex and his sexuality is very intriguing.

The problem now is that I am beginning to develop strong feelings for this guy. When he calls me on the phone I don't wish the call to end. I find myself talking to him for minutes not minding the time. He is beginning to occupy my thoughts a lot and I don't know what to do. I still love my boyfriend but there is something about this guy that just seems to draw me to him.

I don't want to do anything that will break my boyfriend's heart.

U re sex starved. Ur sense will be back after a good romp

Ctorch:
https://www.herald.ng/the-fulani-will-rule-nigeria-forever-miyetti-allah/?fbclid=IwAR1gUMTWeZcoajeFa_7RffajEfS5uAW-HJL7Q4orf0sUdY3-QmRAAW4I1cE

He said
He said
Where did he said all this?

Was it an interview conducted by herald online newspaper or a public lecture?


This is nothing but a fake news

pyyxxaro:
Herdsmen again


May God protect us from evil people



Rip to them

Well to disappoint u it's tiv that killed them. U seems to not know what's happening in taraba.

Seuntek:
Good afternoon fellow nairalanders. Please advice me a viable business i can start with 300k. I am a private school teacher and I'm not ready to quit now until my business can sustain me. I work 7 to 5pm. Thanks my dear fellow nairalanders.

Small bookshop to start with. Related industries and u re experience in it.

clevervikson:
Emir Sanusi who most southerners and of course Nigeria claims to be liberal should also be arrested for being an accomplice. He supported the forceful conversion and marriage of this girl.

The fact that some people want this man to become president is very sad.

All igbo King should be arrested for aiding stealing and converting of kids from the north too.

Iyiataata92:
If the sentences run concurrently, then he'll be spending seven years in jail which, to me,is too small
The north should know that this their stupid act of marrying kids can only be tolerated in their region.
Any attempt to expand their criminal marriage to the south will be met with stiff resistance
Girls from the south are more than objects for the other rooms.
Over Here, We Don't Marry Kids And You Guys Should Respect That

Still, Seven Years Is Too Small

The south would remember the case of babies and children stolen from the north to the south. I guess we are sentencing them to death

kettykings:
https://punchng.com/ogun-human-part-dealers-beat-buyers-over-n1m-fee/

Confusion of the highest order.

Why will u sell a human part to people who are going to use it to make money and u r demanding 1m from them why not use the hand ur self and get the money for ur self.

This analysis clearly shows how impossible it is to make money out of thin air.

EricSmallz:
I am a lawyer, but I am not familiar with this terminology "democratic dispute". If you can enlighten me, I will be so glad. Stay Safe

Domestic

EricSmallz:
Assault and Grievous bodily harm is not a crime If I slap you eh

Its a crime but democratic dispute so it's civil case.

Ezennwa:
hmm!

Wrong decision! why granting him bail.

Our Judges are only interested in money and not justice

Civil case not criminal that's why

Davash222:
Why are they steadily deploying infected infidels to the South? Is North no longer heaven on earth

Hope u know the north was infected by people from the south..

Rilwayne001:
Kano is the bomb. And Abokis with their cattle still entering South West in their droves.

Remember it was northerners coming from lagos that ar currently infecting people up and down.

Galactico4ever:
Wetin Cnncern me with jigawa girl? please next

She is daughter of an igbo business man that came back from enugu. The igbo man is the index case

EzzyCarter:
So it's now by force to donate money to the government right? Without consultation with labor union or workers. Other countries are helping their citizens in difficult times like these, so what you could think of is to double the hardship on your people?
If you think there's still hope for Nigeria, then I don't know what to say to you


Watch how other governors will follow suit. This is the kind of decision they are quick to emulate

Because of the circumstances I think

Abolaji2709:
https://www.independent.ng/breaking-kano-govt-confirms-74-new-cases-of-covid-19/

4 not 74


https://twitter.com/NCDCgov/status/1254183337163403266?s=19

Chikelue2000:
Killed?...that's so easy, drag d idiot around the major roads, hands tied, stripped naked, mercilessly beaten by borno indigenes, then skinned alive n f**k any human right groups who dare oppose dis

Human right group can help with his cremation. Coz the earth need no filthy dirt.

bigtt76:
So this means Coronavirus had been with us since January 2020 or what?

Since December last year people where thinking it's change of weather

Benchmark US oil prices headed to negative territory after crashing to one cent a barrel as the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic leaves the world awash with oil and not enough storage capacity — meaning producers may soon be paying for buyers to take it off their hands.

West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, lost 99 per cent on Monday, with the price of oil for delivery next month sinking to record lows on warnings that traders were struggling to access storage capacity at the refinery hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, which is expected to be full within weeks.

CME Group, the operator of the exchange where WTI trades, took the extraordinary measure of saying prices could even turn negative for the current contract, which expires tomorrow. That means producers would be paying buyers to take their oil in order to delay the shutdown of their fields.

The price crash is the latest indication of the depth of the crisis hitting the oil sector. Lockdowns imposed in many of the world’s major economies have sent crude demand tumbling by as much as a third, leaving the industry facing what Jefferies analyst Jason Gammel called “the bleakest oil macro outlook” he had ever seen.

The collapse will be a blow to US president Donald Trump, who has gone to extreme lengths to protect the US oil industry, including backing moves by Opec and Russia to cut production.

Physical grades in many North American regions have fallen into the low single digits reflecting a dearth of buyers able to take delivery of oil, even as prices for later contracts have held up marginally better due to some investors betting on an eventual rebound.

In Canada, spot prices for Alberta’s heavy oil, which sells at a deep discount to WTI, traded at below minus $6 a barrel in the spot market, according to traders and brokers. The possibility of negative prices for the main US oil grades is growing.

Stephen Schork, editor of oil-market newsletter The Schork Report, said he expected access to storage capacity in the US to be exhausted within two weeks — and cautioned that the collapse of the country’s oil consumption was accelerating.

“It just gets uglier from here,” Mr Schork said, adding that sharply rising unemployment numbers meant fewer and fewer Americans would be driving, hurting petrol demand even during its peak summer months.

“This summer is dead on arrival. The biggest demand months are not going to happen,” he said.

Part of the rapid decline in WTI prices reflects technicalities around the contract for oil to be delivered in May, which expires on Tuesday while short-term storage issues are severe.

Still, WTI for June delivery was also down 10 per cent at $22.62, while Brent crude, the international marker, dropped 5 per cent to $26.72. Both benchmarks traded above $65 a barrel as recently as January.

Dealers speculated that traders who had successfully leased storage were putting pressure on rivals without access to tank farms. That could allow them to snap up ultra-cheap oil for their storage tanks, before locking in much higher prices in the futures market, essentially buying oil for less than $2 and then selling a month later for more than $20.
Traders said contracts for later delivery were being propped up by hopes the worst of the demand destruction could be passed by the summer, if lockdowns and travel bans are eased. But others are questioning whether the record-breaking gaps between cash trades and contracts for later delivery are sustainable.

“The May contract expires tomorrow so volume on it is going to be very light,” said Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix. “That being said, oil is very weak . . . The big thing right now is destruction of demand due to the virus.”

Wall Street opened lower, dragged down by weakness in energy stocks. The S&P 500 was down 0.5 per cent in New York. The sub index for energy was off 4.5 per cent.

European indices steadied, with the continent-wide Stoxx 600 closing 0.7 per cent higher, while London’s FTSE 100 and Frankfurt’s Dax gained 0.45 per cent.

Crude prices have plummeted this year on the possibility that the coronavirus outbreak will cause a deep global recession. The number of Covid-19 infections worldwide topped 2.4m as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins data, with more than 165,000 dead.

The latest developments “painted a grim picture of a world still firmly in the grip of the coronavirus crisis, amplifying worries about sinking oil demand”, said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights, a Singapore-based energy research firm.

The deepening fall in oil prices has come despite an Opec-backed deal to cut roughly 10 per cent of global crude supply. Reductions of varying magnitude are planned to run until April 2022 as part of efforts to stabilise prices.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/a5292644-958d-4065-92e8-ace55d766654

Paul8000:
Good evening ladies and gents...

My name is Paul, I am married to my beautiful wife Vivian by name for the past 16 years . We have 5 wonderful children together Jemima 15, Isaac 12, Elizabeth 9, Samuel 6 and Tabitha 3. We are based in Liberia. We both are working and earning well by God grace. I have few issues with my wife that brought me here to get some advice.

Anytime my wife and I had some misunderstanding, she does involve the children. The oldest 3 she tells them everything including how I cheated on her, she also feed them with lies that I am a bad man and I want to kills her. She tells them so many things to make them hate me. They will disrespect and keeping malice with me to the extend of if I send them for errands, she will stop them and tell them not to go. No matter how much I shouted at them to go, they will not obey me because their mother has the final say. For example my wife and I are having some misunderstandings for over 3 weeks now, we are not talking or sleeping in the same room. I have tried to makes things works for us but she refused.

The children are also keeping malice with me. I sent Elizabeth to go and get some water for me, she obeyed and went to the kitchen, few moments later she came back empty handed staring at me in shock. I asked her what about the water she said her mother said I should go in the kitchen to get the water myself . At that moment I just couldn’t take it anymore I exploded in anger I went to the kitchen we had a heated arguments she pour water on me I really wanted to hit her so hard but I control my anger and walked away.

I left the house for 3 days to cool down. because I was so angry with her I just wanted to be alone. I then went home after 3 days,my 3 oldest children acted like they hadn’t seen me they were busy with their phone/ tablets and it was only my 2 youngest that were missing me they both hugged me like never before me. My youngest daughter refuse to leave my room she even slept in my room. I could see how much she misses me. My wife on her side acted like nothing too her normal behaviour as usual . For the sake of my 2 youngest children I sat her down and talked with her. How we should makes things better for the sake of our children especially the younger ones.

I have apologized to her on my knees all to no avail. I am tired of my wife turning my children against me they have becoming out of control ... I can’t correct them it pains me a lot to see my own children disrespecting me. I don’t want them to grow up and hate me all their life I want to have my family back. A happy home how we used to be before but my wife don’t want to cooperate with me I thought this lock-down will bring us together so we could sorted out our differences and fix our marriage to become better but all to no avail.

I am writing this sitting inside my car in the compound because I can’t even go inside the house because I have nobody to talk to my 2 youngest children that keeps me busy are asleep. I am so lonely all alone please how can I put an end to all this I am fed up ...

Anyone who has ever experienced something like this can you please advice me on how did you overcome this. I hope I was brief enough...

Add another wife build another family.

Juliearth:
This is the first festivity that I would mark away from home. Thus, in a bid to make it quite homely, I resolved to give myself and a few of my neighbours a treat.

Pictures loading soon

Sure look nice

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Enough AWUF

ghettokid1:
https://dailypost.ng/2020/04/10/covid-19-zamfara-leads-as-fg-publishes-full-list-of-11-million-poor-and-vulnerable-nigerians/

This number is vague . Can they pls publish names and location of these people? We should demand that they publish Names of all these people so that we can verify our selves.

Apprehension has enveloped the ancient city of Kano, over the death of One Abdulrasheed Ibrahim, a resident of Gwammaja Quarters in the metropolis, who was suspected to have died in self-isolation.

According to neighbours of the deceased, late Abdulrasheed was said to have returned to Kano from Abuja last Monday.

The neighbours also revealed on the day he returned to Kano, he was seen washing his car before proceeding on an alleged self-isolation.

The Nation gathered that residents in the neighbourhood became apprehensive after an offensive smell started oozing out of the deceased’s house.

They observed he had remained indoors for three days.
The development compelled the residents to alert his relatives, who broke into his home where he was found dead.

Efforts for further inquiries were unsuccessful from relatives of the deceased.

The director, Public Health and Disease Control, Dr Imam Wada Bello, confirmed the incident.

He called for calm, stating that health officials have been deployed to the scene to exercise all requisite medical measures.

According to him, the blood sample of the deceased has been collected and subjected to medical examination.

He assured that the public would be informed about the outcome of the test that is currently been conducted on the samples collected.


https://thenationonlineng.net/covid-19-man-in-self-isolation-dies-in-kano/amp/

AFOLSNETWORKS:
In view of the current COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the entire world, I have decided to put out this piece to let every reader know the virus is real, closer to you than you thought and gladly, you can overcome it.

The early part of this year was really a tough one for me and my family because I, my son and wife fell sick. I and my son were seriously sick while my wife was mildly sick as well, sadly, it didn’t stop there, it went on to people we were in close contact with.

It all started on Saturday 11th of January 2020, at that time we were fasting. On that Saturday, I went to town for some little run around and business, when I was done with my business, I decided to get some take away food at a nice restaurant in Wuse II, Abuja. As soon as I broke my fast that day with the same food I got, I started having a dry and persistent cough, I dismissed it as a normal cough that it will soon fade away.

The following morning, which was a Sunday, the cough persisted but I was still hoping it will clear off. We all went to church but couldn’t wait till the church closed, we had to leave earlier because I was feeling feverish. The normal me was trying to fight the fever hoping it will go by the next day. Later that night my wife noticed my body was warmer than normal, so we check with the aid of a thermometer and found out my body temperature was above 38, so I took paracetamol to calm the situation and we all slept. The cough and spike in temperature persisted through the night.

On Monday morning, my wife being a nurse didn’t take the situation lightly. She got an I.V (intravenous) line set and commenced administering drip into my system coupled with malaria and cough treatment. I felt my strength was fast dwindling. I was sweating profusely and I had lost appetite for food. It was like 25% of my consciousness was shut. Yet the fever wouldn’t subside. She also commenced a broad-spectrum antibiotic but all to no avail.

Soon enough my son started spiking and treatment began for him as well. All treatment administered by my wife was in consultation with her doctor colleagues. The days were going by and I wasn’t feeling better.

When our neighbors got to know I wasn’t feeling fine, they came to check up on me at different times. I couldn’t engage them for long as I was mentally down. Before I knew what was going on, the two families caught the infection too and that got me more worried and panic almost set in.

I had not been that sick in a very long time. My energy was so down I had to request for Lucuzade Boost aside several ORS I had to take. The malaria treatment was completed but I wasn’t back to myself, the fever was still there, the cough persisted despite use of good brands of cough syrup and same for my son. We had to change the antibiotics to a stronger one based on prescription. Yet I and my son weren’t getting better. While all this was going on my wife caught the infection too but for God knows why, she wasn’t as knocked off as I and our son were. She could still run around to get medications for us.

On one of the occasions, we had to go to the hospital to unofficially see one of her doctor colleagues to check and probably recommend investigations or medications but we were advised to complete the antibiotics as the test result will not be correct since medication have already commenced. On our way out that day we were asked by a doctor friend who works at the National Hospital Abuja to stop by so she could check me. Haven examined me and with the brief history, she suspected upper respiratory infection as my wife had earlier suspected. Unfortunately, days after, I learnt she and her son contracted the infection (the doctor friend is a sister to our neighbour). I felt so sad and my wife cried because it started from our house and it was escalating super-fast.

All the while, I never wanted to be admitted in a hospital because I believed that will automatically make the situation worse for me, stress my wife and will also get my aged parents worried knowing fully well, I’ve only been on hospital bed once during my service year. While I was about midway into the stronger oral antibiotics and still not getting better, I told my wife, “Please, if I’m not better by tomorrow morning, take me to the hospital”. At that point the reality almost supersede my coping mechanism, I’ve never had such magnitude of mental fatigue. It was like I was fast closing my eyes to this world. It was not funny.

My wife had to put call through again and this time she was advised to administer intravenous antibiotics for both me and my son which I had earlier refused because I felt the matter wasn’t that serious. It was only after then I began to feel better and recover. At that time, I had lost weight and I was frail. I completed the IV antibiotics and felt better but we had to go get some more supportive medication at H-Medix in town, so I drove (we reside at a near suburb to central business district), I thought I was completely ok, when we were done buying stuff, I told my wife, “Please drive.” My energy was zapped, I hadn’t fully recovered from the mental fatigue. I had to take one further week of bed rest before I could fully recover even after completion of medications.

As at January 23rd thereabout, the doctor friend who examined me and suspected upper respiratory infection had been admitted with her son at the National Hospital Abuja, that wasn’t all, her doctor colleague who went to set line for her son at home had also contracted the infection and it spread to the later doctor’s daughter too. A few classmates from my neighbor’s son’s school had reported sick. I got worried and decided to call NCDC to report, but for unknown reason I couldn’t reach them on phone. So, I decided I would go to NCDC office on Monday Jan 27th to lodge a report. Before then, we decided to go visit the doctor friend and her son at The National Hospital on Sunday January 26th.

When we got to the hospital, we met her in good condition. I discussed with her that I will go to NCDC to go lodge a report but she told me the FCT Infectious Disease Control (NCDC) had taken her sample for investigation and that there may be no need to further escalate the matter. This was corroborated by the consultant physician who managed her as he concluded the it was a “Self-Limiting Upper Respiratory Viral Infection”. The doctor and her son got better and were discharged afterward.

Thankfully, everyone I knew of who contracted the disease recovered. Although I subsequently had an inflamed bronchus (my left side), I treated that with heat several times and that was it.

From all indications the following can be deduced from the experience:
1. We dealt with a super contagious viral infection
2. No one could state at what point we individually contracted the virus
3. All the signs and symptoms were no different from that of COVID-19
4. The infection could be fatal if NOTHING is done
5. Not everyone in our close contact contracted the virus (My younger sister and a neighbor’s wife)
6. Covid-19 might have been in Nigeria earlier than announced
7. As far as I know, not less than 20 people contracted the disease

Kindly note I cannot categorically say what we had was COVID-19 because no such investigation was carried out on any of us. The result of the doctor retuned NEGATIVE FOR LASSA FEVER VIRUS and no other viral test was conducted. When Nigeria had the index case for COVID-19, I called NCDC to know if I could get an antibody test but was told they were currently only conducting antigen test for people who show symptoms for COVID-19.

The essence of this write up is to know you can beat a viral infection. Viral infection is not a death sentence but shouldn’t be allowed to progress. Full recovery is also possible if prompt and proper measures are taken.

Stay Safe, Healthy & Secured!

I had same experience around December last year, me.my wife and son where so sick for almost a month with dry cough and breathing problem. We tot it was the weather and almost everywhere in Kano people complained of serious fever and flu and alot died. U can confirm from if u ve people in Kano around December to early January

presidency:
LAWAN, GBAJABIAMILA GOT IT WRONG

Re-2 Trillion Social Investment Programme a Failure, say Lawan, Gbajabiamila

My attention has been drawn to the online report of the Nation newspaper of 7th April 2020, with the above caption. Indeed, several other online publications carried similar stories, alleging that the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs), as supervised under the Office of the Vice President, were a ‘scam’. Given the gravity and implications of the narrative conveyed, as well as the caliber of persons involved, it has become necessary to clarify the issues in the public domain.

That the National Social Investment Programme has gulped over N2 trillion since 2016, when the fund was created. UNTRUE
Although the total appropriation by the National Assembly (NASS) from inception, for the 4 NSIPs, is N1.7 trillion, the actual funds released for the NSIPs between January 2016 and October 2019 (when the NSIPs were handed over to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development), amounted to N619.1 billion, constituting 36.4% of the total appropriation from the NASS.

The monies released for the N-SIPs can be further broken down into 14.03% (2016); 35% in 2017; 43.5% in 2018 and 57.8% (as at Sept 2019) of the N500b in 2016 and N400b appropriated for the subsequent years. It should be noted that for 2017 to 2020, the sum of N100b was appropriated specifically for the National Housing Fund hosted by the Federal Ministry of Finance. These releases covered operational activities and payments to 13,363,680 beneficiaries across all the 4 NSIPs, all of whom can all be verified either through their BVN numbers or their unique numbers generated by the National Social Register, those identities having been generated for the poorest of the poor who do not own bank accounts for sundry reasons.

As at September 2019, the funds had been expended as follows, on the: Job Creation programme (549,500 N-Power graduates and non-graduates and 7 Technology Hubs); National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (in 33 States, 9,963,762 pupils to 107,862 cooks in 54,952 primary schools); the National Cash Transfer Programme (including the development of the National Social Register by the National Social Safety Net Coordination Office) 1,491,296 poor and vulnerable households comprising 6,056,872 individuals in 33 States and 620,947 cash transfer beneficiaries; and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (managed by the Bank of Industry); a total of 2,279,380 TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni beneficiaries.

That as part of the conditions for poor and vulnerable beneficiaries to be engaged, they are made to apply online, through the internet and they require a BVN for payment. UNTRUE
The National Cash Transfer Programme derives all the cash transfer beneficiaries from a National Social Register (NSR), comprising State Social Registers that are developed and hosted by the State Ministries of Panning of each State. The process for objective identification of poor and vulnerable households is as provided in the Financing Agreement (F.A) signed between Nigeria and the World Bank, for which purpose the World Bank IDA Credit and the recovered funds from the Abacha family are being utlised. The process involves a poverty mapping of the LGAs in each State, community mobilization, targeting and identification supported by trained enumerators at State and LGA levels, after which each of the households identified by the communities is visited and data collated, which information includes fields such as the size of household, age, gender, persons with disability (if any), assets, vocation of head of household, educational qualifications (if any), dwelling house conditions, etc.

Finally, all the data collated is subjected to a proxy means testing formula to determine those who merit the grants and the accompanying training. Even though each State hosts its own information, all of the data is hosted at the National level as the National Social Register. As at March 31st 2020, the NSR comprised 11,045,537 individuals from 2,644,495 households, collated from 35 States, 453 LGAs, 47,698 communities. Each and every beneficiary has a generated unique number and can be tracked.

Furthermore, payment service providers have been selected in an open procurement process to pay the cash beneficiaries at their locations, as many of them reside in communities where there is a dearth of banking infrastructure. Even though the majority of beneficiaries are not financially literate, the National Social Investment Office (NSIO, then under the Office of the Vice President) commenced the pilot exercise of payment of beneficiaries in 6 States through microfinance banks in September 2019, with a 93% success rate. The exercise was preparatory to full digitization, especially with the impending cashless policy in March 2020.

It is also pertinent to mention that the National Economic Summit Group, (working with Accenture and the Busara Centre for Behavioral Sciences) formed the Policy Intervention Unit for the NSIO. Furthermore, in addition to the World Bank’s strict auditing responsibilities, the African Network of Environmental and Economic Justice has provided over 700 monitors across all the LGAs where the NSIP beneficiaries exist. The link to the Report is to be downloaded at: https://aneej.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Mantra-Field-Report-final-compressed.pdf. Indeed, the ICPC, EFCC & the DSS were also invited to monitor the process to protect the beneficiaries, after they receive the benefits in the field.

It is only in respect of the Job Creation programme that applications are made online. That particular programme was initiated for youth who consist of graduates and non-graduates, as with JAMB candidates who continue to apply for their own admission, online. Indeed, all the LGAs around the country currently have N-Power beneficiaries serving in sundry capacities. The utilization of the BVN for N-Power beneficiary payment is also as a means of identity (since the NIN number can be generated from the BVN) and to facilitate the tracking of payments and further ensure accountability.

The identities of the cash transfer beneficiaries are protected by law (the FOI Act), as the consent of recipients of social grants is a pre-requisite, before disclosure. They can, however, be found and verified through the LGA community facilitators (CTFs) who have been trained to support them by weekly visits to the wards. The names, wards, LGAs, States and phone numbers of the CTFs can be found at http://n-sip.gov.ng/resource-data/, as the data collation continues to grow around the country.
The Leadership of the Senate also stated that the NSIP information was not accessible to the National Assembly. UNTRUE

It is, however, on record that all invitations to public hearings and meeting by the NASS were honoured by the myself (as the supervisor of the NSIPs) and the cluster teams, while documents relating to the structure, activities and progress of the NSIPs were routinely shared with them, over the period that the NSIO supervised the NSIPs under the auspices of the Office of the Vice President (OVP). Furthermore, the monthly reports of 3,000 N-Power monitors, spread across the 774 LGAs, are available to both Poverty Alleviation Committees of the NASS.

It should also be noted that the accounting and procurement aspects of the NSIPs were handled by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning on behalf of the NSIO, and not the OVP. All requests for information related thereto were responded to, by that Ministry.
It was further asserted, apparently, that because the beneficiaries are not known personally to the NASS members, the National Social Register is a ‘scam’ and needs to be reformed through a process that is ‘more inclusive’ of the NASS. REGRETTABLE & DANGEROUS

The NSR comprises persons selected by the communities directly, within the constituencies of each of the NASS members. No person has been imported from one community to the other. They have been identified as very poor by the communities in which they reside and may not necessarily be known by the lawmakers. Verification of their identity and status is possible, as has been for all investigative journalists and monitors, through the CTFs.

It should be noted that Nigeria has signed a Financing Agreement with the World Bank, in which the process of identification of beneficiaries was set out. Any departure from the process, which would place at risk the accessibility to the IDA Credit and the recovered funds from the Abacha family.
The demand for the inclusion of candidates to the NSR from the NASS has been a recurring issue from the inception of the NSIPs. My role and singular focus has simply been to comply with the terms of Agreement and the MoU entered into by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as well as to establish an objective, efficient and transparent process for uplifting the poor out of poverty through structures and mechanisms that are credible and sustainable. I have consistently reminded both NASS Committee Chairmen on Poverty Alleviation that there is no social protection programme in the world in which politicians are responsible for selecting the beneficiaries of cash transfers. All successful social protection programmes extract their beneficiaries from an objective community platform, if only to ensure that the poorest of the poor are supported out of poverty in an inclusive community driven and timely manner. The data being collated in each household enables the accurate and scientific measurement and tracking, to assure of analysis and research towards resolving poverty. Since poverty knows no ethnicity, religion or political affiliation, the process must be insulated from influences that are likely to deviate from achieving the desired objective of alleviating abject poverty, rather than be used for patronage or as compensation for loyalty.

The tripartite process for identification of cash transfer beneficiaries is in accordance with similar established best practice the world over, as the communities in which the poor reside know who is most in need. The community takes ownership and supports the process, if engaged in the identification of the needy. While not perfect, the process is as near authentic as is possible in the circumstances, as we continue to strive towards improvement. Building the State Social Registers has been a painstaking and continuous collaborative effort, with huge amount of funds expended in striving to achieve the credibility that would be put to waste, if discarded as suggested. Reform is certainly welcome, but not the ‘reform’ that would introduce influence and partisanship into the NSR, thereby making a mockery of the critical data so far collated around the country.

The NSIPs have been handed over to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs since October 2019, but it has become necessary to respond to the unfortunate allegations made at the National Assembly on the 7th of April 2020, which allegations were made in respect of certain aspects of the NSIPs from inception in November 2015 to September 2019. This response is necessary for the purpose of:
Safeguarding the entitlements of the poorest of Nigerian citizens, whose benefits are likely to cease because they are not known or connected to NASS members or any other person of influence;
Protecting the integrity of the NSR, which development has been a painstaking process over the past 4 years, along with the huge investment and effort expended on data that is critical for development and poverty analysis; and
Ensuring compliance with the World Bank Financing Agreement (FA) signed by Nigeria and the World Bank, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria, the Swiss Government and the World Bank, to facilitate the return of the funds recovered from the Abacha family. Disregarding the process set out in the F.A would risk the suspension of the utilization of the IDA Credit and the recovered funds for the cash transfer beneficiaries. That balance which is currently over $500m, would be placed at risk. In the current Nigerian situation, we cannot afford to lose such a huge amount of resources that have been provided to support the poorest of the poor out of poverty.

This Statement is prepared to set the records straight on certain aspects of the processes, structure and activities of the NSIPs between November 2015 and September 2019 when I supervised the NSIO operations. Having handed over the NSIPs in October 2019, I assume no responsibility for the operations thereafter as the Ministry is well positioned to handle the NSIPs and take decisions thereupon. Thank you.


Maryam Uwais MFR
Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments
8th April 2020.

Is it so difficult to publish names of beneficiary of these scheme?