ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Shares of MTN Nigeria hit a three-month high on Friday after the telecoms company’s offices partially reopened following a shutdown due to anti-South African attacks in the West African country.



The local units of South Africa’s MTN Group and supermarket chain Shoprite, closed all stores and service centres in Nigeria after their premises were attacked following days of riots in their home country chiefly targeting foreign-owned, including Nigerian, businesses.



The violence in South Africa has strained relations between Africa’s two biggest economies, with Nigeria saying on Thursday it would recall its top diplomat to Pretoria.



MTN Nigeria said its stores remained closed on Friday but skeletal office operations were resuming, its spokesman said, adding that staff were asked to stay at home for safety reasons.



Shoprite stores remained shut except for one in an upmarket area of the capital Abuja, a manager there said.



Shares in MTN, Nigeria’s second-biggest listed firm, rose 5.03% to 139.80 naira each, a level last seen in June. Johannesburg-listed Shoprite shares were up 1.8%.



Prior to the shutdown, the telecoms firm last week launched a mobile money transfer service, targeting Nigerians without bank accounts, and said it planned to become a payment services bank once it obtains approval from the central bank.



Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

MTN Nigeria shares hit 3-month high after the telecoms company partially reopens

YENAGOA (Reuters) &#8211; A gas pipeline in Nigeria’s Delta state was shut down on Friday following a breach, according to state oil company NNPC and local authorities.



Locals in Otu-Jeremi in Ughelli South area of Delta state reported an explosion on the pipeline, though NNPC said the pipeline was shut down following a leak. Police said they were investigating the situation.



Two local residents said there was an explosion.



“NPDC are saying that it was a rupture and not fire, but my men have gone there to find out,” said Adeyinka Adeleke, a senior police officer in Delta state.



NNPC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu said the company had ordered the pipeline closed following a leak and that repair works would commence soon.



The pipeline flows from Oil Mining License 34, which is owned by Nigeria Petroleum Development Co, a subsidiary of NNPC, and Nigerian company ND Western.



OML 34 produces an average of 390 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, and 17,000 barrels per day of oil and condensates.



Gas processed from the field goes into the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline, which feeds Egbin power plant, the largest in Nigeria.



Reporting by Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa; writing by Libby George; Editing by Leslie Adler

A gas pipeline in Nigeria’s Delta state has been shut down, here’s why

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s central bank has told lenders to stop processing milk imports on a credit basis, bankers said on Tuesday, after the bank last month said would ban access to foreign currency for the imports to spur local production.



Nigeria spends between $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion annually to import milk, the central bank says, which said in July it would add milk imports to its restricted list for dollar sales. The bank did not say when the ban comes into force.



In a circular to lenders, the central bank said milk imports will no longer be eligible under payment terms known as “bills for collection” which allowed the importer to buy on credit. Importers would need to fund their naira accounts and open letters of credit, bankers said.



Bankers said the central bank wanted to streamline payment modes for milk imports.



Industry groups had been lobbying the government against the bank’s planned dollar curb, arguing that domestic milk production was not enough to meet local demand.



Nigeria relies on imports for most of what its 180 million population consumes. In 2015, the central bank restricted access to forex for 41 items which it said can be produced in Nigeria.



The central bank has said the idea to add milk to the forex restriction list arose from the success of the currency restriction policy and the large amount spent on imports.



Last month the bank said it would extend low-interest loans to local milk producers to discourage imports.



Keen to reduce imports of products that can be produced locally and to conserve dollar reserves, the bank has also offered cheap credit to rice, tomato and starch importers for the same purpose.



Nigeria has been trying to shore up dollar liquidity on its currency markets and prop up the naira which has weakened in recent weeks after a fall in oil prices and foreign investors fled in the wake of lower yields on local debt.



President Muhammadu Buhari has made diversifying the economy away from oil a central policy, but a recent recession has slowed his plans, slashed government revenue and triggered a series of currency devaluations.



Buhari told the central bank this month to stop providing funding for food imports, his spokesman said.



Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by David Evans

Nigeria’s central bank stops credit payments for milk imports, what you need to know…

By Ifeoluwa Adenike Alade, PhD candidate,&nbsp;University of Ibadan, Nigeria



Food
and nutrition insecurity
is a chronic problem for Africa. Despite decades of humanitarian and
development efforts, <a href="https://globalnutritionreport.org/nutrition-profiles/africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one
in five</a>
Africans remain undernourished and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/05/nearly-half-of-all-child-deaths-in-africa-stem-from-hunger-study-shows" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a
third</a> of
Africa’s children are stunted. 



One little-known
crop that is essential to food security on the continent is amaranth. This
leafy green vegetable is one of the most consumed in Africa and <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/11763/chapter/3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accounts for</a> up to 25 per cent of daily protein
intake in some countries, making it essential to their health and wellbeing.



What’s more,
it is a plant that is quick to grow, thanks to
its highly <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Original:Amaranth_Modern_Prospects_for_an_Ancient_Crop_5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">efficient
photosynthesis process</a>,
and which &nbsp;thrives on degraded land even in hot
and dry weather, making it an increasingly important crop to mitigate the
impact of climate change on food production. 



But one threat
that holds back amaranth from making an even greater contribution to Africa’s
food security is the amaranthus leaf webber, a species of moth that is commonly
found in the tropics. The webber larvae are voracious pests, and a single leaf webber
infestation can destroy an entire field of amaranth.



To prevent
an infestation and protect their amaranth harvest, farmers rely on pesticides.
However, long-term pesticide use comes with challenges, including the
development of resistance among leaf webbers. 



So, what if
farmers had another tool to stop this pest? 



This
question motivated me to search for new crop protection techniques that could
be affordable, effective, and sustainable, and it turns out that nature may
have already come up with a solution. 



Many plants
have evolved ways to deter pests through releasing biochemicals that repel
harmful insects. By identifying the biochemical that targets leaf webber and
reproducing this as a crop protection product, we can effectively safeguard
crop harvests using the plant’s own biochemistry.



For amaranth
farmers, plant-produced repellents could be valuable new tool in the toolbox,
supported by other strategies such as pest monitoring and surveillance, using
complementary crops to repel pests and using existing pesticides when
necessary.



Taken
together, such <a href="https://croplife.org/crop-protection/stewardship/integrated-pest-management/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">integrated
pest management</a>
(IPM) can dramatically improve yields while also reducing labour and costs, by
ensuring that farmers use the most effective and sustainable combination of
crop protection techniques. 



To progress
this research, I am studying leaf samples of a group of amaranth species to
compare the levels of biochemicals with the abundance of leaf webbers. If leaf
webbers are less abundant on plants with certain biochemicals present, then I
will have detected a possible repellent.



The next
stage involves examining the genetic make-up of the amaranths that produce
these repellents to discover the blueprint for the most pest-resistant variety.




Crop
scientists can then develop a species that is no longer vulnerable to this
pest. This would be a huge boon for Africa’s food security, especially in the
rural areas that rely on amaranth, protecting both nutritious food supplies and
agricultural livelihoods.



Such a
solution is an example of how crop protection can be proactive rather than
reactive when it comes to defending vital crops against pests. 



And as one
of the next generation of crop scientists, my work is just a small part of an
increasingly innovative sector. 



Preventing
crop pests from striking is essential for Africa’s food security. And with new
research, techniques and technologies, we are better equipped than ever before
to do so sustainably.

Op-Ed: Progress in pest prevention offers hope for Africa’s food security

LAGOS, Aug 16 (Reuters) &#8211; A judge in London said on Friday he
would grant a firm called Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&amp;ID)
the right to seek to seize some $9 billion in assets from the Nigerian
government over an aborted gas project.



The
company was awarded $6.6 billion in an arbitration decision over a failed
project to build a gas processing plant in the southern Nigerian city of
Calabar. With interest payments, the sum now tops $9 billion &#8211; some 20% of
Nigeria’s foreign reserves



The
judge’s decision, issued on Friday, converts the arbitration award to a legal
judgement, which would allow P&amp;ID to try to seize international assets.



Lawyers
representing the Nigerian government argued the award should not be enforced
because England was not the correct place for the case, and even if it were,
the amount awarded was “manifestly excessive.”



Mr
Justice Butcher of the Commercial Court rejected these arguments and said he
would “receive submissions from the parties as to the precise form of order
appropriate.”



A
spokesman for Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari directed requests for
comment to the Ministry of Justice, which did not immediately respond. A
spokeswoman for the law firm representing the Nigerian government in London did
not immediately provide a comment on the ruling.



“P&amp;ID
is committed to vigorously enforcing its rights, and we intend to begin the
process of seizing Nigerian assets in order to satisfy this award as soon as
possible,” said Andrew Stafford, Q.C. of Kobre &amp; Kim, which represents
P&amp;ID.



The
case involves a 2010 deal in which the Nigerian government agreed to supply gas
to a processing plant in Calabar that P&amp;ID – a firm founded by two Irish
businessmen specifically for the project &#8211; would build and run.



In
2012, P&amp;ID took the government to arbitration over the failure of the deal
and won the award, which was based on what it could have earned during the
20-year agreement.



Stafford
said that with accrued interest, the award now tops $9.6 billion.



Legal experts told Reuters previously that assets used for diplomatic purposes – such as the Nigerian High Commission building in central London – are not eligible for seizure, but commercial assets are. 



(Reporting by Libby George, additional reporting by Felix Onuah and Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Editing by Mark Potter)

UK judge will allow firm to try to seize $9 billion in Nigerian assets in gas dispute, what you need to know

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Africa’s largest oil refinery will not be finished until the end of 2020 due to problems importing steel and other equipment, executives at Dangote, which is building the facility in the Nigerian commercial hub of Lagos, told Reuters.



Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, imports virtually all its fuel due to sclerotic and underutilised refineries, and even the state oil company is looking to the 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) Dangote refinery to help address this. [nL5N1UN5IK]



Price caps force NNPC to import nearly all its gasoline at a significant cost and periodic fuel shortages are common.



Despite the delays at the congested Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, a Dangote executive said the company could start using the refinery’s tank farms as a depot to warm up operations.



“We will be able to complete the (refinery) project by the end of next year &#8211; mechanical completion,” said Dangote Group Executive Director Devakumar Edwin, who oversees the project.



The company expects fuel production within two months of completion of the refinery, which could transform Africa’s biggest crude producer from a fuel importer into a net exporter, upending global trade patterns.



Billionaire Aliko Dangote, who built his fortune on cement, first announced a smaller refinery in 2013, to be finished in 2016. Dangote then moved the site to Lekki, in Lagos, upgraded the size and said production would start in early 2020.



Industry sources told Reuters last year that fuel output was unlikely before 2022.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">TRADING PLAN</h3>



Edwin also said during an interview at his office in Lagos that Dangote is setting up its own trading desk, with a senior team of three people and a staff of roughly 30 who will monitor international commodity prices.



“We are setting up a complete trading desk here with us. In the next three months the full desk will be set up,” he said.



Giuseppe Surace, the refinery’s chief operations officer, said the refinery’s tank farms will be finished this year and could be used as a warm-up for operations.



The tanks will be connected to five “single point mooring buoys” (SPMs), which will allow the refinery complex to pump crude straight into tanks from large ships at sea and pump products back out onto boats of any size.



The SPMs will be the primary method of supplying oil products from the refinery, Surace said, adding that the team were considering using the tanks as training or as a depot before the refinery’s production starts.



“We might do that. We will be ready to do that,” he said, though he added that no decision had been taken yet.



The team is in talks with NNPC, two other international oil companies and two large oil traders, all of whom are interested in supplying crude and buying products, Edwin said.[nL8N2539DB]



Edwin said the crude unit for the refinery, which set sail from China last month, would arrive by the end of October.



The trains at a fertilizer plant on the same site will start up by the end of this year, the executives said.



Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram; editing by Libby George and Alexander Smith

Here’s why Nigeria’s huge Dangote oil refinery has been delayed until the end of 2020

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nic-cheeseman-180800">Nic Cheeseman</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-birmingham-1138">University of Birmingham</a>

There is growing concern about the potential for the message and media sharing platform WhatsApp to undermine democracy in a number of countries across the world including <a href="http://theconversation.com/whatsapp-skewed-brazilian-election-proving-social-medias-danger-to-democracy-106476">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/13/big-tech-whatsapp-democracy-india">India</a>. 

Because WhatsApp is encrypted – and so offers users far greater protection from prosecution than Twitter or Facebook – it has become particularly notorious for spreading “fake news”. 

This is a major concern in Africa, where WhatsApp is the most <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1206935/whatsapp-is-the-most-popular-messaging-app-in-africa/">popular messaging app in 40 countries</a>. This is due to its low cost and the ability to easily share messages with both individuals and groups. 

But is this really how WhatApp is used? And if it is, to what extent does this compromise the quality of elections? 

A joint team from the Centre for Democracy and Development (Nigeria) and the University of Birmingham (UK) has spent the last few months researching the impact of WhatsApp on the 2019 Nigerian elections held in May. 

Their <a href="https://www.cddwestafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/WHATSAPP-NIGERIA-ELECTION-2019.pdf">report</a> comes to conclusions that are both troubling, as well as encouraging. 

The research reveals that the platform was used to mislead voters in increasingly sophisticated ways. But it also shows that Whatsapp strengthened democracy in other areas.

<h2>Misinformation and disinformation</h2>

The term “<a href="http://blogs.royalsociety.org/publishing/ignorance-can-be-fatal-countering-the-crisis-in-fake-news-and-fake-science/">fake news</a> has become widely used over the past few years. However, it is problematic because it lumps together very different kinds of information and behaviour. For example, we need to separate out deliberate attempts to mislead others by creating false stories (disinformation) from the innocent sharing of made up stories by people who believe it to be true (misinformation).

The 2019 Nigerian elections saw both disinformation and misinformation. We studied this by conducting 46 interviews in the states of Abuja, Oyo and Kano, as well as seven focus groups and a survey of 1,005 people.

During the course of conducting the research candidates consistently told us that they predominantly used WhatsApp to share information about their qualities and campaign pledges. But many WhatsApp users said that at a high proportion of the messages they received were designed to undermine a rival leader’s reputation – to &#8220;decampaign” them.

There were some high profile examples of disinformation. The most notorious story circulated on social media was that the president had died while undergoing medical treatment outside of the country, and had <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46424562">been replaced by a clone from Sudan</a>. 

Other fabricated communications were less outlandish but no less significant. Many ordinary citizens shared these messages, in some cases because they knew they were false and wanted to amplify their impact, but in many cases because they thought they were true.

The most effective decampaigning strategies were those that shared messages that resonated with individuals because they contained an element of the truth, or played on recent experiences. 

<h2>WhatsApp takes over</h2>

The political influence of WhatsApp has expanded rapidly in line with its growing penetration. As a result, it has become part of the fabric of election campaigns and is now a key mechanism through which political leaders seek to communicate with their campaign teams and supporters. 

Fully 91% of the people we interviewed were active WhatsApp users; as one person put it:

<blockquote>
I use WhatsApp more than I use the toilet.
</blockquote>

In Nigeria, election candidates were already using the platform to <a href="https://www.academia.edu/32414216/The_Impact_of_Social_Media_during_the_2015_Nigerian_General_Elections">push messages in 2015</a>. But the people we interviewed agreed that the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2019/02/15/its-nigerias-first-whatsapp-election-heres-what-were-learning-about-how-fake-news-spreads/">2019 elections</a> saw a significant step up in terms of how the leading parties organised their social media strategy.

Politically, WhatsApp was used in an increasingly sophisticated way at the presidential level. In 2019, the two main presidential candidates – President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition leader Atiku Abubakar – both had dedicated teams pushing out messages over social media: the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B-DqX1o370">Buhari New Media Centre</a> and <a href="https://www.atikulatedyouthforce.com/membership">Atikulated Youth Force</a>. By forming hundreds of Whatsapp groups of 256 members, these organisations could send messages to tens of thousands of people at the touch of a button.

Buhari’s effort was better funded and particularly impressive. It established a network of local and regional representatives connected to a “central command” in Abuja. This enabled the campaign to rapidly send messages from the national to the local level, while also responding to hostile messages and rumours shared by its rivals.

While those in power typically had more money to invest in their campaigns, many opposition leaders pointed out that in important ways WhatsApp had created a more level political playing field. Those who had been involved in politics for some time explained that “fake news” was nothing new in Nigeria, but that in the past it was sometimes impossible to counteract these messages because there was no way to get airtime on government aligned radio. 

WhatsApp had changed this situation. Opposition leaders now have a cheap way of fighting back. It has also been used to coordinate anti-corruption campaigns and election observation, strengthening democracy. 

<h2>Evolution or revolution?</h2>

It’s also important not to overstate the significance of WhatsApp. Things look very different below the national level, for example, where campaign structures were less developed and a significant proportion of activity remained informal.

We found that while candidates for Governor and Member of Parliament did set up WhatsApp groups, they were much less organised. In many cases, candidates relied on existing networks and social influencers to get the message out.

Candidates were also keen to stress that while they used WhatsApp during their campaigns, they did not rely on it. Voters expect to see their leaders on the ground, and expected them to provide a range of services for the community. Advertising good deeds over WhatsApp could help a leader get credit, but only if they had fulfilled their responsibilities in the first place.

In other words, WhatsApp can amplify and complement a candidate’s ground campaign. But it cannot replace it.

<h2>Throwing out the water but keeping the baby</h2>

These findings suggest that solutions to the power of social media platforms like WhatsApp isn’t to ban them, or to allow governments to censor them. This would merely exaggerate the vast advantages of incumbency that ruling parties already enjoy. 

A better solution would be to promote <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/11/09/what-is-digital-literacy.html">digital literacy</a>, develop <a href="http://www.comminit.com/democracy-governance/content/guidelines-development-social-media-code-conduct-elections">social media codes of conduct</a> around elections, and empower WhatsApp uses to control which groups they are added to, and what information they receive.

The research was conducted, and publications authored by, Jamie Hitchen, Idayat Hassan, Jonathan Fisher and Nic Cheeseman.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121064/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nic-cheeseman-180800">Nic Cheeseman</a>, Professor of Democracy, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-birmingham-1138">University of Birmingham</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whatsapp-played-a-big-role-in-the-nigerian-election-not-all-of-it-was-bad-121064">original article</a>.

With WhatsApp having played a major role in Nigeria’s elections does it undermine democracy ?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had imposed visa restrictions on Nigerians it said were involved in trying to undermine democracy in presidential and parliamentary elections this year.



The department did not name the individuals or say how many were affected by the visa restrictions. President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term in February in an election marred by delays, logistical glitches and violence.



“These individuals have operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and undermined democratic principles and human rights,” spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.



“The Department of State emphasizes that the actions announced today are specific to certain individuals and not directed at the Nigerian people or the newly elected government,” Ortagus added.



Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, Editing by Rosalba O&#8217;Brien

U.S. imposes visa restrictions on Nigerians involved in this…

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria and German company Siemens have agreed a roadmap to increase Nigeria’s “reliable” power supply to 11,000 megawatts by 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday.



The president of the West African country said that at present, “only an average of 4,000 megawatts reliably reaches consumers”. He said Nigeria would work with Siemens to achieve “7,000 megawatts of reliable power supply by 2021 and 11,000 megawatts by 2023”.



Reporting by Felix Onuah; writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; editing by Jason Neely

What you need to  know about Nigeria’s roadmap agreement with Siemens to increase power

<figure>
 <img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280919/original/file-20190624-97794-3x3mhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
 <figcaption>
 Doctors preparing to perform an operation.
 Shutterstock
 </figcaption>
 </figure>

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/olayinka-stephen-ilesanmi-764219">Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-ibadan-1955">University of Ibadan</a>

Brain drain is a major challenge facing the <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/rejhs/article/view/165775">Nigerian health system</a>, leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of doctors in the country. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Nigeria is <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/international-migration-outlook-2015_migr_outlook-2015-en">one of the three leading African sources</a> of foreign-born physicians. 

Doctors leave for a variety of reasons depending on where they are in their careers. For example, many leave immediately after graduation. They usually leave for one or two reasons. Firstly, to pursue international residency training. Most in this category usually don’t return to the country. They prefer to work where their newly acquired skills can be put to better use. The second reason is if they fail to find a job or space for residency training. Most in this category also never return home to practice.

There are usually another two sets of leavers: those who leave five to 10 years after graduation – usually for better pay. Finally, there are those who leave after specialist training, which can be up to 10 to 15 years after graduation. Specialists – the most qualified and competent doctors – leave because of better prospects in other countries.

The <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5q36r5xq">exodus</a> has led to a <a href="https://print.ispub.com/api/0/ispub-article/6444">drop</a> in the quality of health care service due to the absence of skilled personnel. 

Nigeria hasn’t been able to get on top of the problem because nothing has been tried. The government doesn’t seem to be concerned. Nigeria was the only African country listed among the <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2f74/1754ee67696ba66341f922cc2c5764b6c288.pdf">20 top exporters</a> of physicians in 2004, with a loss of 5 499 doctors up from 1 519 in 1991. 

Health indicators may continue to decline in the absence of aggressive interventions to stop this. More doctors leaving the country will eventually lead to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5427605/">shortage of Nigerian medical doctors</a>. This, in turn, will add to the stress and dissatisfaction among those remaining. The poor will not be able to access care while the rich will travel out of the country for medical care. 

African politicians – <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-politicians-seeking-medical-help-abroad-is-shameful-and-harms-health-care-82771">including Nigerians</a> – who have the responsibility of improving the country’s health system usually travel abroad for their medical needs. The usual destinations are Europe, North America and Asia. And ordinary citizens spend over <a href="https://www.imtj.com/news/nigeria-spends-1-billion-outbound-medical-tourism/">USD$1 billion</a> annually on what’s become known as medical tourism.

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/african-politicians-seeking-medical-help-abroad-is-shameful-and-harms-health-care-82771">African politicians seeking medical help abroad is shameful, and harms health care</a>
 
 

<hr>


<h2>Reasons for leaving</h2>

Poor pay is a major factor for leaving, particularly for mid-career doctors who have families to support. 

Apart from pay packages that are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15375449">low</a>, actual payment of salaries is often irregular. In some states, government workers’ salaries aren’t <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/23-states-owing-workers-says-labour/">paid on time</a> every <a href="https://qz.com/africa/663626/nigeria-has-a-culture-of-not-paying-workers-and-its-not-about-to-change-anytime-soon/">month</a>. Delayed salaries were <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201806200428.html">reported</a> in Plateau State and <a href="https://punchng.com/n500m-monthly-loan-repayments-responsible-for-irregular-salary-in-kogi-govt/">Kogi State</a> among others. This is true for doctors too. 

Another major driver is poor working conditions. This includes having to work extra hours due to inadequate staff, lack of diagnostic facilities or to supplement monthly income. 

These problems spring from the Nigerian government’s low funding. In this year’s budget only <a href="https://www.budgetoffice.gov.ng/index.php/2018-budget">3.9% </a> was allocated to health. This is much lower than the estimated <a href="https://www.unicef.org/esaro/UNICEF_South_Africa_--_2017_--_Health_Budget_Brief.pdf">13.5%</a> of South Africa’s national expenditure dedicated to health. 

In 2001 African Union countries met and pledged to set a target of allocating at least <a href="https://www.who.int/healthsystems/publications/abuja_declaration/en/">15%</a> of their annual budget to improve the health sector and urged donor countries to scale up support. <a href="https://www.who.int/healthsystems/publications/abuja_report_aug_2011.pdf?ua=1">Ten years</a> after that commitment was made only Mauritius, Seychelles and Eritrea had met the target. 

The lack of funding has led to poor remuneration, the underfunding of hospitals which in turn means that medical facilities are inadequate and infrastructure is obsolete.

Other reasons for leaving relate more generally to a lack of infrastructure in the country which makes it difficult to ensure a good standard of living in a favourable environment that promises good future prospects for children. This includes the lack of social amenities such as a good health care system, quality education, roads, electricity and piped water.

<h2>What needs to be done</h2>

To reverse the brain drain, the Nigerian government should create a conducive environment that will ensure <a href="https://www.stearsng.com/article/why-are-medical-doctors-leaving-nigeria">employment opportunities</a> and reduce poverty. It must provide the needed infrastructure such as good roads and transport systems, affordable and functional education, water supply, security, stable energy in addition to good health care system.

On their own, these won’t be enough to prevent the brain drain among medical doctors – and other professionals. It would need to be supplemented by other strategies. These should include providing financial and other incentives to stay. Institutional capacity-building that promotes career development should be fostered, along with mentorship opportunities as well as efforts to improve <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5q36r5xq">working conditions</a>. 

A central human resource planning body should be instituted. This would ensure a continuous increase in the number of health care workers through careful coordination and prediction of number of <a href="http://seahipaj.org/journals-ci/mar-2016/IJIHCR/full/IJIHCR-M-2-2016.pdf">medical graduates</a>. 

Enforcement of Bill of Patients’ Rights in Nigeria as well as National Health Insurance are <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/03/28/experts-charge-fg-doctors-to-halt-brain-drain/">due for consideration</a>. Without policies that will lead to available and accessible health care for all the bill may not have its desired impact.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117860/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/olayinka-stephen-ilesanmi-764219">Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi</a>, Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-ibadan-1955">University of Ibadan</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-nigerias-doctors-are-leaving-and-how-the-problem-can-be-fixed-117860">original article</a>.

Here’s why Nigeria’s doctors are leaving the country, and how the problem can be solved

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; A Nigerian judge on Wednesday adjourned until Oct. 29 a case to resolve a $2 billion tax dispute between telecoms company MTN Group and the country’s attorney general.



The attorney general demanded South Africa’s MTN pay the $2 billion in September. The company has said the tax payment demand is without merit, it does not owe the money and the attorney general exceeded his powers in making the request.



Reporting by Libby George and Alexis Akwagyiram; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Toby Chopra

Nigerian court adjourns case between MTN and attorney general over $2 bln tax dispute

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s economy is expected to grow 2.7% this year, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday, in his first public speech since his inauguration for a second term last month.



Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Catherine Evans

Buhari says Nigeria’s economy is expected to grow by this much in 2019…

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; MTN Nigeria announced plans to float its stock in Lagos on Thursday in a deal valued at $6 billion, following the South African telecoms group’s agreement with Nigerian regulators to settle a long-running dispute.



Nigeria, MTN’s biggest market with 52.3 million users in 2017, accounts for a third of the Johannesburg-based company’s annual core profit, but it has faced problems in the country in recent years.



In December, MTN agreed to make a $53 million payment to resolve a dispute in Nigeria. The move ended a multi-billion dollar dividend repatriation row, hitting its share prices in Johannesburg.



MTN on Wednesday said the listing price was set 90 naira, determined from private over-the-counter share deal by existing shareholders over the past six months. It has said it would list 20.4 billion shares on the Nigerian bourse. The price values the telecoms company at 1.84 trillion naira ($6 billion).



MTN, owned 78.8% by South Africa’s MTN Group, has been one of the main beneficiaries of Nigeria’s push to liberalise its economy over the past two decades. But it has come under increased pressure from the government to boost local ownership.



MTN Group CFO, Ralph Mupita said the listing was an important step towards increasing local ownership in MTN Nigeria and building the country’s equity capital markets. Nigerian investors own 19.4% of MTN Nigeria.



The company also said it was relying on local funding in naira to mitigate exchange rate volatility, adding it was arranging local naira financing.



MTN Group said the company has received approval from the Nigerian Stock Exchange to list its shares on Thursday, giving its existing shareholders access to trade their shares on the bourse.



The company also said the Nigerian unit will raise debt, adding that the total level rose 44% to 252 billion naira ($823.66 million) in the first quarter.



“This is just the beginning, we still intend to pursue a future public offer giving more Nigerians greater access to the MTN opportunity,” Ferdi Moolman, chief executive of MTN Nigeria, said.



MTN decided to list its local company in Nigeria in 2016 after agreeing to pay a $1.7 billion fine to settle a SIM card dispute with the government. Earlier, the company said it planned to list in the first half of 2019.



The company said capital expenditure in the first quarter, rose to 63 billion naira, the bulk of which went to upgrade its network, up from 18 billion naira same period last year.



Service revenue grew 13.4% to 282 billion naira in the first quarter, driven by a rise in voice and data income and the addition of 2.1 million mobile subscribers.



Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a measure of operating profit, reached 150.4 billion naira ($492 mln) in the three months to March 2019, up from 123 billion naira a year earlier, MTN said.



MTN said it targets a dividend payout ratio of at least 80% of its net income in the medium term.



($1 = 305.95 naira)



Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by James Emmanuel and Louise Heavens

What you need to know about MTN Nigeria’s plans to list shares in Lagos in $6 bln flotation

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Microsoft Corp will invest $100 million to open an Africa technology development centre with sites in Kenya and Nigeria over the next five years, the company said on Tuesday.



Global tech giants, including Alphabet Inc and Facebook, have been increasing investment on the continent in recent years to take advantage of growing economies with rising access rates to the internet by a youthful population.



Microsoft will hire more than 100 local engineers to work in the new Africa facility in both countries to customise its applications for the African market and to develop new ones for the continent and beyond, it said in a statement.



“In addition, it is an opportunity to collaborate with partners, academia, governments and developers, driving impact and innovation in sectors important to the continent,” the company said, citing financial technology, farming technology and off grid energy.



Engineers at the new Africa development centre will build applications using artificial intelligence, mixed reality and machine learning, Microsoft said.



The company already has six other development hubs located elsewhere in the world. The new Africa development hub will also support Microsoft’s established businesses such as Office, Azure and Windows, the company said.



Reporting by Duncan Miriri, editing by Louise Heavens

Microsoft is planning on spending $100 million on Kenya, Nigeria tech development hub, what you need to know

<figure>
 <img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269622/original/file-20190416-147508-yot3ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&#038;q=45&#038;auto=format&#038;w=754&#038;fit=clip" alt="File 20190416 147508 yot3ep.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" />
 <figcaption>
 Nigeria’s education system is under funded.
 Shutterstock
 </figcaption>
 </figure>

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/isaac-adebayo-adeyemi-710347">Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/nigerian-academy-of-science-2114">Nigerian Academy of Science</a>

The level of funding of the education sector has been <a href="https://thepointernewsonline.com/?p=40771">recognised</a> as one of the major factors that contribute to quality education. This, in turn, determines growth and development of a country. It’s also been <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/">acknowledged</a> that quality education determines the success in achieving the sustainable development goals. 

As Irina Bokova, the former Director General, UNESCO, <a href="http://www.aitonline.tv/post-UNESCO_demands_improvement_on_budgetary_allocation_for_education">said</a>: 

<blockquote>
Quality education, inclusive education, has to be among those for the post-2015 agenda because if we don’t put it with all the responsibility that is entrusted upon us we would not live up, in my view, to the expectations of the global community.
</blockquote>

In the last 40 years government funding in the education sector in Nigeria has varied between <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/04/09/funding-of-education-in-Nigeria-below-UNESCO-recommended-benchmark-says-ministry/">6% and 9%</a> of the national budget. This is <a href="https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/11/19/budgetary-allocation-to-education-nigeria-ranks-20th-in-the-world/">lower</a> than most other African countries which range between 11% and 30%.

This meagre allocation is also expected to fund the country’s higher education system. 

At independence about 60 years ago Nigeria had only two tertiary institutions. These were Yaba Higher College (founded in 1934), now Yaba College of Technology and the University of Ibadan,Ibadan was initially a College of the University of London, founded in 1948. 

After independence in 1960, all Nigeria’s states were determined to make education accessible at all levels. This, plus <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/nigeria-population/">population growth</a> led to a significant increase in the number of tertiary institutions. 

By 2018, Nigeria had 160 <a href="https://campusbiz.com.ng/list-of-universities-in-nigeria/">approved universities</a>. These included 43 federal universities, 48 state universities and 79 private universities. In addition, there were 113 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_polytechnics_in_Nigeria">polytechnics</a> and 47 <a href="http://www.nbte.gov.ng/monotechnics.html">monotechnics</a> ,<a href="https://nigerianfinder.com/schools-of-health-in-Nigeria/">71</a> colleges of health technology, 153 <a href="https://net.nbte.gov.ng/IEIs">innovation enterprise institutions</a>, most of which are privately owned and 132 <a href="https://www.theinfostride.com/forum/index.php?topic=38258.0">technical colleges</a>. There were 82 <a href="https://wikivisually.com/wiki/List_of_colleges_of_education_in_Nigeria">colleges of education</a>,consisting of 22 federal, 46 under the state’s care and 14 privately owned.

It’s clear that the budget allocation can’t do justice to the needs of these institutions. If Nigeria is going to join the league of industrialised countries it needs to fund its education sector adequately. Most importantly, it needs to invest in solid infrastructure for teaching, research and national development. 

<h2>Funding</h2>

The main source of funding for Nigerian tertiary institutions has been annual budgetary allocations from the state and federal governments. To complement these allocations, the federal government established an education trust fund in 1993. This agency has been supporting government tertiary institutions under the <a href="http://www.tetfund.gov.ng/index.php/2-uncategorised/2-tetfund-act">Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act</a>. This imposes a 2% education tax on the profits of Nigeria’s registered companies.

The fund has played a significant role in promoting quality and education standards in Nigerian tertiary institutions. These funds have been used for:

<ul>
<li>construction and rehabilitation of buildings and laboratories, </li>
<li>procurement of teaching and research equipment, academic staff training and research development, </li>
<li>Capacity building and teacher training,</li>
<li>information and communication technology, and</li>
<li>infrastructure, including boreholes and electric power generators. </li>
</ul>

Fees and levies are another source of income. For government-owned institutions, the <a href="http://www.pulse.ng/communities/student/free-education-if-you're-a-federal-university-student-tuition-fee-is%20now-illegal-in/1y15gsz.amp#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp;_tf=From%20%251%24s">directive</a> is not to charge tuition fees but to impose levies. The levies are approved by each governing council. This means that they vary from institution. 

Private institutions <a href="https://nigerianprice.com/school-fees-of-private-universities-in-Nigeria/">rely substantially</a> on tuition fees and other levies. These also vary from institution to institution. They are also substantially higher than those charged in public institutions.

Another source of revenue is internally generated income. Institutions are expected to generate additional income from grants, donations and other fund raising initiatives. But this has proved to be an <a href="http://www.abuad.edu.ng/funding-of-universities-in-nigeria-attitude-of-nigerians-to-giving">uphill battle</a>. Nigeria has a poor culture of donations because of the belief that the government is responsible for providing free education at all levels.

<h2>Fixing the problem</h2>

The first major step to fixing Nigeria’s tertiary education problems would be to <a href="https://www.legit.ng/1218432-asuu-insists-15-allocation-education-sector-strike.html">increase</a> budgetary allocations to between 11% and 15%. 

I don’t believe that raising fees is a sensible road to take. Instead, the government should reintroduce scholarships, bursaries, grants and loan schemes, as was the case before the oil boom. 

Another shortfall in Nigeria’s higher education sector is a lack of research grants. The public and private sectors have to create an enabling environment and work together with the higher education sector to achieve the country’s development goals. This is the path taken by developed countries. 

Another major hurdle that will need to be cleared is relations with labour unions, in particular the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

<h2>The role of private institutions</h2>

I also believe that private higher education institutions have a significant role to play in the delivery of quality education and national economic development. They have to be supported. While I was the chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of Private Universities in Nigeria between 2014 to 2016, the committee proposed that private universities should also benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. 

This money would be used for staff development and research. Loans, at single digit interest rates, could be provided for infrastructural development. 

These recommendations were based on the believe that these institutions have the capacity to increase enrolment and cater for an increasing number of people seeking admission. This would also mean that thousands of students would no longer have to leave the country to pursue their studies elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the law that lead to the establishment of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund doesn’t accommodate private institutions. This needs to be amended. 

<h2>In conclusion</h2>

It is apparent that Nigeria has failed to deliver quality education due to poor funding of the education sector and rising costs of education, among other factors. 

There must be a methodical approach to improving education funding for Nigeria to achieve the sustainable development goals. The funds must be used appropriately and there must be accountability across the board.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114240/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/isaac-adebayo-adeyemi-710347">Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi</a>, Professor, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/nigerian-academy-of-science-2114">Nigerian Academy of Science</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerian-universities-are-suffering-from-neglect-why-this-should-stop-114240">original article</a>.

Nigeria’s higher education sector  faces a number of issues, here’s what the West African country can do to fix it

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; South African telecoms firm MTN has converted its Nigerian unit into a public company before its planned listing on the Nigerian bourse in the first half of the year.



MTN Nigeria said on Wednesday the conversion was a legal requirement to prepare for the listing and it was engaging with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Nigerian Stock Exchange.



“Our conversion to a Plc is a major step towards listing by introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the first half of 2019,” MTN Nigeria chief executive Ferdi Moolman said.



Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, with 52.3 million users in 2017, and accounts for a third of the company’s annual core profit, but has proven problematic in recent years.



In December, MTN agreed to make a $53 million payment to resolve a dispute in Nigeria. The move ended a four-month multi-billion dollar dividend repatriation row that hammered its share price.



Moolman said last month he expected the listing on the Nigerian bourse to be “probably more towards April and May”.



The company expects to list the unit without raising money from investors immediately, and has said it would simplify its capital structure before the listing.



Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Edmund Blair and Mark Potter

What you need to know about MTN converting its Nigerian unit to public company before planned listing

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Jumia, the African e-commerce company of German start-up investor Rocket Internet, has filed for a New York initial public offering, which could value the firm at $1.6 billion or more. 



Jumia, founded in 2012 offers online shopping, logistics and payment services, but is losing money. The company says its business is expanding, and the continent’s development will make it a better market, with a growing young population, more infrastructure investments, urbanisation and rapid economic growth.



The New York filing did not say how many shares Jumia would sell, nor at what price. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Berenberg and RBC Capital Markets are leading the IPO.



In December, Jumia was valued at 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) with shares at 14.74 euros, according to the filing.



Jumia, which now counts Nigeria as its largest market, makes money both selling its own products, and taking a cut from third-party sales. In 2018, revenues were 130.6 million euros, up from 94 million euros the previous year.



However, losses also rose, from 165.4 million euros in 2017 to 170.4 million euros in 2018. By the end of December, accumulated losses were 862 million euros, the firm said.



In the IPO prospectus Jumia said that the value of goods sold on its platforms is increasing at a more rapid pace than losses &#8211; from 507.1 million euros in 2017 to 828.2 million euros in 2018.



Jumia’s active users, people who buy something at least once in the past year, increased to 4 million at the end of last December form 2.7 million a year earlier.



Apart from Rocket Internet, which owned 21.74 percent of Jumia as of the end of December, MTN Group held 31.28 percent. Other, smaller shareholders include Millicom International, AXA Africa Holding and Goldman Sachs.



($1 = 0.8857 euros)



Reporting by Paul Carsten; Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Susan Fenton

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