Buhari Is Pushing Nigeria To New Debt Trap - Punch Editorial

RENEWED alarm raised by some stakeholders over the country’s headlong plunge into debt demonstrates the precarious state of the economy and the need for an effective remedial strategy. While the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, private sector operators and federal legislators separately lamented that Nigeria was close to borrowing beyond its capacity to repay, the Federal Government was ramping up fresh borrowing plans. There should be a limit to borrowing: promoting productive and long-term investment offers a better option for reviving the economy.

The debt conundrum is unnerving. El-Rufai and others gathered at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria warned that the country had neared its maximum borrowing capacity. At 18 per cent, compared to a tax-to-GDP of 6.1 per cent, debt-to-GDP ratio is nearing a dangerous level, they warned. Meanwhile, revenue-to-debt, the real marker the International Monetary Fund has told policymakers to watch, reached 99 per cent in the first quarter of this year. News also broke of pushback from some members of the usually pliant House of Representatives to the government’s plan to obtain a new $1.2 billion from Brazil.

Ominously, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the government would borrow a total of N6.17 trillion in 2021, higher than the initially projected N5.2 trillion deficit (at 3.64 per cent of GDP, it is above the prescribed 3.0 per cent threshold), billed to be funded by debt and privatisation proceeds. Realising the revenue target of N7.88 trillion is shakier, following the destruction wrought by recent riots and the continued ravages of the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic.

No country can escape debt entirely. For emerging economies especially, development agencies recommend a judicious mix of well-structured credit, aid, foreign direct investment, tax revenues, PPP and domestic capital formation to drive development and the transition to middle income and high-income status. UNCTAD said that due to the increasing fragilities of the financial and economic environment since the 2008 global meltdown, developing economies’ debt rose from under 40 per cent of global GDP to 93.2 per cent in 2017 with external debt stock rising by 8.5 per cent annually. With the pandemic and depressed commodity prices, the World Economic Forum reports record level borrowing by both rich and poor countries, saying if well applied, debt can help recovery and cushion the impact. Up to $3.5 billion has already been pledged to Nigeria by the World Bank/IMF pair.

Borrowing perpetually for all projects, however, is unrealistic and unsustainable. The wiser course of action is for the government to target higher revenues by improving tax administration and by massive privatisations; rather than borrowing for all rail, airport and ports projects, it should liberalise and grant concessions. Liberalisation magnetised over $70 billion investment in the ICT sector between 2001 and October 2020, adding 15.09 per cent to GDP by Q2 2020, from 4.1 per cent in 2004.

The regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu (retd.), has been particularly reckless, shattering all previous borrowing records. The Debt Management Office figures show that total public debt stock – federal, states; domestic and external – was N12.35 trillion in September 2015, rose to N16.88 trillion a year later, N20.37 trillion in September 2017, N26.21 trillion by September 2019 and N31 trillion this year. Ahmed projects it to reach N38.6 trillion by December 2021. External debt in September 2015, four months after Buhari assumed office, was just $10.61 billion, but has been growing exponentially; to $15.35 billion in 2017, $26.94 billion in 2019 and $31.47 billion by June 30, 2020. Worse is that beyond claiming to pay public employees’ salaries, Nigerians see little to justify the debt amassed on their behalf.

In contrast, under Public-Private Partnership arrangements, Ethiopia and Djibouti jointly built the 756-kilometre Addis Ababa-Djibouti Rail at a cost of $4.5 billion that provided land-locked Ethiopia access to the sea and carries 95 per cent of its trade. According to the World Bank, Morocco was able to develop first rate infrastructure, including the port of Casablanca, one of the world’s largest artificial ports and 70 airports, 11 of which are globally rated, by utilising aid, loans, improving its tax system, attracting FDI and facilitating domestic entrepreneurship.

No country can use borrowing alone to reverse poverty and joblessness; the government should transparently embark on asset sales to free its funds, allow capable private operators to run them and create jobs; improve the operating environment to attract FDI, block revenue leakages and collect all its due revenues from income-generating MDAs.

Urgently, it must reform the tax system, targeting at least 15 per cent tax-to-GDP ratio; the current level of 6.1 per cent falls embarrassingly far short of the African average of 16.5 per cent, Latin and Caribbean average of 23.1 per cent and OECD’s 34.3 per cent. The National Assembly should be more rigorous in its oversight duty and stop rubber-stamping Buhari’s requests for approvals to borrow. All stakeholders should join the few NGOs that have been demanding accountability through FoI requests and lawsuits over the loans. Such demand for accountability and monitoring are strongly recommended by the World Bank and UNCTAD as part of the necessary public buy-in deemed essential in a vibrant democracy. After exiting a 30-year debt trap in 2005/06, Buhari should halt the headlong plunge into another.

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Unizik Declares Monday Work-Free Day

The authorities of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state have declared Monday, November 16, 2020 as work-free day in the university.

In a press statement by the University Acting Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Gladys Ene, the university said the work free day was in honour of the first President of Nigeria, His Excellency, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.


The statement reads in part, “The Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone, FAS, has declared Monday 16th November, 2020 a Work Free Day in the University in honour of the first President of Nigeria, His Excellency, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.

“November 16 is remarkable in the annals of the University as it is birthday of this Great Nationalist and elder statesman, whom this great citadel of learning is named after”.

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Chinua Achebe: The Writer Who Pulled Down Prison Walls

November 16 is a landmark date in Anambra state, the day one of Africa’s literary figures of the 20th century, Chinua Achebe, was born in Ogidi, Anambra state, Universally known for his archetypal novel titled Things Fall Apart.

The globally famed and read writer is now celebrated annually every November 16 by The Society of Young Nigeria(n) Writers (SYNW), for his leviathan achievements, heroic deeds and contribution towards restoring the glory of the African continent.


According the coordinator of SYNW, Comr. Izunna Okafor, this year’s literary festival and memorial lecture will feature an essay competition, poetry and drama presentation and will take place at the Anambra State Library, also known as Prof. Kenneth Dike Central E-Library, beside Arroma Junction, Awka, the Anambra state capital, South-Eastern Nigeria.
Okafor wouldn’t disclose the essay topic, saying that “no school has prior information on the essay topic. It’s there, at the event, that the title will be revealed.” He, however, added, “I can give the theme of the year’s annual event which is Our Heritage in a New Normer.

That is the theme of the event but the students can read about Achebe. They should just go ahead and read about Achebe.
“The only thing we should focus on that day is Achebe. “So, let them just study him, his life,” he said.

CHINUA ACHEBE
It will be recalled that that icon of South Africa’s fight against apartheid, the prisoner to president freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, had narrated his experience with Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, as a prisoner during his 27-year-long incarceration in his Robben Island prison.

He had said that the book (which has, so far, been translated into over 50 languages and sold more than 10 million copies) was reliable company and that, through the book, Achebe was “The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down.”

Prof. Ifeyinwa J. Ogbazi of the English, Literary & Gender Studies at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Referentiallly touring round Achebe’s books in the 2018 festival, Prof. Ogbazi, a lecturer in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and a connoisseur in the literary field, described Achebe as “a nationalist who did not only fight colonialism and racism in Africa with his pen as a writer, but also projected the beauty of Africa through his books and left great legacies; hence worth celebrating, as his luminous life and gargantuan vestiges can never be forgotten in a hurry.”

The Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, master storyteller, critic, and a freedom fighter lived between November 16, 1930 March 21, 2013. Raised in Ogidi, Anambra state, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship to study medicine.

He changed to English Literature at University College (now University of) Ibadan. In 1936, one of his teachers at St. Phillip’s Central School, Ogidi described him as the student with the best handwriting in class, and the best reading skills.

At the age of 12, Achebe enrolled as a student at Central School, Nekede where his elder brother, John taught. In 1944, he sat for entrance examinations and was accepted at both the prestigious Dennis Memorial Grammar School in Onitsha and the Government College, Umuahia.
After graduating from the University College, Ibadan, Achebe went home to his village and visited a secondary school within his district called the Merchants of Light School in Oba, near Ogidi where he was given a job as an English teacher. He later worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS).
He was to gain worldwide attention for his novel Things Fall Apart, published in 1958. His style relies on the Igbo oral tradition and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs and oratory.



As the father of African Literature, Achebe plays the special role of suggesting the basic values of the society, reconciling Africans with their past and their present culture in times of crisis. Achebe popularised the African novel and became a literary institution in his life time, especially to the younger generation.
His epochal “Things Fall Apart” was a response to Joyce Cary’s 1939, 198-page Mister Johnson which portrayed the average Africans as barbaric, cultureless and and object of servitude. Achebe himself saw Cary’s portrayal of the African in the book as superficial hence his resort to Things Fall Apart. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness that presents Africans as savages and harped on savagery, barbarism, exploitation, cruelty and the like also patronised and demonized the continent, to Achebe’s ire.

CHINUA ACHEBE THINGS FALL APART
In an article on The Role of the Writer in a New Nation, Achebe sought to correct the prejudices which generation of detractors created about the black race, then more popularly known as negro. He gave priority to the fundamental theme that African people did not hear of culture for the first time from the Europeans; that their societies were not mindless but frequently had philosophy of great depth and value and beauty; that they had poetry and, above all, dignity. With Things Fall Apart, he established that Africa had marriage systems, sports, farming, religion, mathematics, philosophy and means of dispensing justice long before the white man came around.

Achebe, in another article titled Where Angels Fear to Tread, called on critics to apply to African writers the same stringent standard of literary criticism with which they judged other writers. In yet another article, The Novelist as a Teacher, he posited that African writers should help Africans believe in themselves and put away the complexes of the years of denigration and self abasement.

Achebe’s A Man of the People portrays the period of disillusionment, disenchantment, hopelessness and betrayal of one among Africa’s political elite that took over from the colonial masters.

The clash of culture in Achebe’s Arrow of God leads to the destruction of the god and his priest as well as the disintegration of the community.
Rising in defence of African Literature, Achebe explained that African writers should aim to use English in a way that brought out their message best without altering the language to the extent that its value was lost.

In order to extricate Africans from the cultural slumber and dogmatic unreflective passive existence to active participation in shaping their own and asserting the truth of their being and world, Achebe began to protest in his writings so as to bring back African identity. It is no doubt that Chinua Achebe has shown in his archetypal novel, Things Fall Apart that Africans were producers of culture and not its consumers.

He was able to establish that African culture was not inferior as the westerners were wont to believe. Achebe, who also wrote many other books, is now an institution and most African writers that write in his style are known today as sons of Achebe.

As a literary pundit, Chinua Achebe, has demonstrated that novels are written as a phenomenon of cultural vindication of Africans from historical skepticism which relegated them to the back seat of cultural train.

Anambra 2021: PDP Leaders Call For Massive Grassroot Campaign

Ahead of the upcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra state, the leaders of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP have charged its member to campaign massively at the grassroot level.

The party leaders said that it is only grassroot campaign that can increase the chances of the party being successful in the forthcoming elections in Anambra and 2023 presidential poll.

According to the party national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, the party must understand the importance of the cordial relationship between the party and the citizenry especially those at the grassroots, if the party must win.


The party leader who spoke at the grand reception, organised by the Anambra Central Senatorial District Party Executive in honour of the State Chairman, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, in Awka recently, charged party members in the state to be united in the forthcoming governorship elections to be able to capture the state.

Secondus who was represented by the National Youth leader of PDP Hon. Sunday Udeh- Okoye also urged Ward leaders to use their influence as grassroots mobilizers to brace up for the forthcoming gubernatorial election slated for 2021 adding that it is only PDP that can take the state and the country to the promise land.



The Board of Trustees chairman Walid Jibril , re-emphasized on the importance of cordial relationship between the party and the citizenry especially those at the grassroots, if the party must win.

Senator Jibrin, called for massive grassroots mobilization by the wards executive, noting that the landmark achievements of the past administration of Mr. Peter Obi was great hence the need for continuity.

He highlighted the importance of party structures, noting that all hands must be on deck as the next year gubernatorial election in the state will determine the future of the state and the faith of Ndi-Igbo in the Nigeria political structure.

Meanwhile, the state party chairman, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, expressed satisfaction with the level of commitment by the state executive towards the unity of the party and expressed hope that PDP would produce a governor who understands governance and cares for Anambra people and the growth of the state.

He assured the national leadership that the party under his watch, would do everything legitimately possible to win the governorship election comes 2021.

According to him, the event was part of a unifying strategies put in place by the party leadership to bring party members closer to each others, especially the aspirants ahead of primary.

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8 Signs Your Date Is Totally Into You

Decoding the communication cues that say it all.


The follow-up after a first date is rarely as simple as: "I like you, I had fun, let's get together again." There are layers of meaning in texts to unpack, not to mention timing: who reaches out first and how quickly does the other person respond? It can all feel like a giant chess match.

Either party can play coy because a) They don't want to look too eager/desperate and b) They're not sure how the other person feels, but there are a number of cues that can confirm your date is going swimmingly. Below, our dating expert Rich Santos spells them out to spare you the next-day mental math.

1. Completing the Date
Low bar, we know, but hear us out. Though seeing the date through to its end may seem like an obligation for most people, Santos says there *are* exceptional dating disasters where you have to cut it short for your own sanity.

"Most people are courteous enough to do the absolute minimum on a date: finish whatever activity you're doing together and devote sufficient time out of respect for the other person," he says. So provided your date's not running out with an "emergency text from a roommate" after twenty minutes, it's an easy first sign that things are going well.

2. Wanting More One-on-One Time
When your date wants to spend time with you alone instead of calling in backup for a group date, says Santos, it likely means that he's comfortable around you and wants to spend more time getting to know you. "One tactic to combat a boring date," he says, "is calling in 'reinforcement' friends" as social buffers.

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"One tactic to combat a boring date is calling in 'reinforcement' friends."

3. Extending the Date
Suggesting something (other than going back to someone's place) after dinner is a solid indication that your date's asking for an encore. "A masochist like myself might ask a girl to spend more time with him if he's not enjoying her company," Santos says, but if they're willing to extend the date past the "easy out" first location of a bar or coffee shop, that's a good sign.

4. Suggesting *Another* Date
"Sometimes I get so excited during a first date I play my cards by suggesting other things we should do together," says Santos, though timing may not be that immediate. A common time to suggest another date is at the end of the first one. Some may do this as a friendly gesture before making a quick exit, says Santos, but it can't be bad if your date is enthusiastic enough to suggest a second meet-up. They just have to make good on their word.


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5. The Friendly Follow-Up Right After You Say Good-bye
A good sign that a date went *really* well, says Santos, is when someone giddily follows up after a date to let you know they had a great time without waiting around. The alternative: "If I'm not interested after the date, I'll head straight home and begin my process of fading out of this girl's life (following up is not part of that process)." Of course, not hearing back right away isn't a definite rejection, but the excitement of a speedy follow-up message speaks for itself.

6. Striking While the Iron's Hot
When you don't get that speedy affirmation text, or a greeting within a few days, it can mean a number of things. Waiting too long to follow up is a sign the other person is flaky or disinterested, which either way is not worth your time. "If I enjoyed the date I'll contact her within a few days. This doesn't necessarily mean I'm asking her out again. I'm just keeping the conversation going," he says.

Being ghosted or receiving non-committal responses without concrete plans to set up another date is another sure sign of disinterest. And though men often feel pressured to make the first move, there's no harm in taking a feminist stance of reaching out first if you're really interested.

"Hold him to a higher standard than one extra date, or one call back after the initial date."

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7. Consistency
When you start dating someone and haven't established exclusivity, says Santos, it's always important to measure signs that the other person is as on-board as you are. This could mean making regular conversation or establishing dates at a consistent frequency. "Hold him to a higher standard than one extra date, or one call back after the initial date. How many times have you gone on a few dates only to have it fizzle out?" he says.

Transparency is key if you're not looking for anything serious, too.

8. Planning Spontaneous, Non-Cliché Dates
The informal text to see if you have the afternoon free to spend time together, unannounced, is the key that someone's thinking of you even when there's no pre-determined date. "Take notice when they ask you to do random little things like run errands together or go to the park. It's that next step when they're getting to know you that they want you around whenever, wherever," Santos says.

There's a big difference between the impromptu hangout invitation and the "lol u up?" text, though. If you're seeking a more serious relationship, pay attention to whether the other person is exclusively asking you to hang out at night or clearing their schedule for a daytime meet-up.

Santos' bottom-line advice? "Use these indicators as guidelines (they usually build on each other as things progress)." Every relationship is different, but if you're not sure of where the other person stands, what's there to lose by asking?

Dangote Refinery To Create 250,000 Jobs

The management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals has disclosed that the 650,000 barrels per day project will create jobs for not less than 250,000 Nigerians when completed next year. Group Executive Director, Strategy and Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, told reporters at the site that the refinery had potential to turn around Nigeria’s economy with the employment of thousands of Nigerians for direct and indirect jobs.

He said the huge unemployment rate of Nigerian youths, the need to make the country self-reliant in fuel consumption and attract the much needed foreign exchange through export of the products were reasons that motivated the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to venture into manufacturing.

The Dangote Group boss said he was very optimistic that the refinery would be a game changer for Nigeria and the rest of Africa. According to him, Dangote Industries Limited has succeeded in substantially reducing the high rate of unemployment in the country, with the conglomerate already recruiting youths in its various agricultural schemes and other subsidiaries. Dangote Industries Limited is the highest employer of labour in Nigeria outside the Federal Government. Also, Edwin assured that all things being equal, Dangote Fertiliser plant’s products would hit the market this month. He said that Dangote Fertiliser Limited had a well-equipped fertiliser soil testing laboratory to ensure efficiency of the product for farmers.

He explained: “The laboratory will enable us analyse and identify a particular soil deficiency. Applying the right fertiliser to soil will enable it yield maximum result. The goal of our soil testing is to provide an accurate assessment of the soil’s fertility to make fertiliser recommendations. “A proper soil test will help ensure the application of enough fertiliser to meet the requirements of the crop while taking advantage of the nutrients already present in the soil.” Edwin maintained that Dangote Fertiliser would make Nigeria become selfsufficient in fertiliser production and have the capacity to export the products to other African countries.

“Right now, farmers are forced to utilise whatever fertiliser that is available as they have no choice, but we need to know that the fertiliser that will work in one state may not be suitable in another state, as they may not have the same soil type and composition.

The same fertilizer you use for sorghum may not be the fertiliser you will use for sugar cane,” he added. Speaking on Dangote Refinery’s employment generation capacity, Director- General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Olawale Timothy, lauded the promotion of the refinery, saying the potential to create 250,000 direct and indirect jobs on completion would greatly reduce crime and poverty in Nigeria. Olawale stated that the kind gesture by Dangote Refinery would greatly reduce the menace of insecurity, which, he noted, had become a major issue in the country.

“We have always said that gainful employment is a veritable way of reducing crime. When you engage the youthful population in a meaningful way, they will not take to crime. “It is worthy to note that the generation of 250,000 jobs by the refinery at completion will reduce youth unemployment. We also have the advantage of reducing poverty level in the country. This is because gainful employment will increase the purchasing power of the people. It will improve their style of living,” he addeD

Eba And Soup Used As Communion In Church (video)

There was a drama in the church, as members were captured receiving their Holly communion with swallow.

As of the time of writing this report, the identity of the pastor or church is unknown. The pastor was seen using "eba" Garri to do communion instead of the normal bread and wine. Many criticized him for not feeding the member the Garri, instead he will swallow the Garri and then now dip his hand in the soup for his member to lick his hand.

Watch The Video Below

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Toni Payne: 9ice Broke My Heart Once

I’ve only had my heart broken only once... nothing to tell really cos I got a wonderful & amazing son out of it and I’d get my heart broken a million times just for him. My disappointment was a blessing in disguise.

I’m a lover and an avid communicator. I don’t break hearts, they break themselves.

Well, no one ever prays to be heartbroken but I believe everything worked out for the best. We were not designed for each other and it took maturing and growth to figure that out. No one that is for you will ever put you through what I went through.

There would be less heartbreak if people are just honest with themselves and each other. That thing you are trying to avoid by lying is what usually hurts most. Deception is a hard pill to swallow, especially if you didn’t expect it. Honesty through it all, softens the blow.

#toni payne

Davido Walks In To Surprise His Fan At Beat FM (Video)

Afrobeat singer Davido walked into an interview on Beat FM to surprise a fan who had won a competition as his number one fan. The fan was totally bewildered as he prostrated, hugged, shook and practically adored his favourite celebrity.


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