National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria recorded a N3.5 trillion trade surplus between January and September of 2023.

NBS made this known in its foreign trade report for the third quarter (Q3) of 2023 on Monday.

In the nine months of the year, according to the bureau, Nigeria’s exports totalled N23.3 trillion and total imports N19.7 trillion — which gives a trade surplus of N3.5 trillion.

A trade surplus is an economic indicator of a positive trade balance in which the exports of a nation outweigh its imports.

On foreign trade for Q1 2023, NBS said total exports were N6.49 trillion, and imports value was N5.56 trillion.

The nation’s total trade was N12.05 trillion in Q1 — higher than the value (N7.86 trillion) recorded in the corresponding period (Q1) of 2022.

In Q2 2023, the country’s entire trade was N12.16 trillion, with total exports at N6.44 trillion and imports amounting to N5.73 trillion.

In Q3 2023, there was an improvement as the total trade was N18.80 trillion, with exports and imports totalling N10.35 trillion and N8.46 trillion respectively.

“Nigeria’s total trade in the third quarter of 2023 was ₦18,804.29 billion. Exports were valued at ₦10,346.60 billion while total imports was ₦8,457.68 billion,” the report reads.

“Total exports increased by 60.78% compared to the amount recorded in the second quarter of 2023 (₦6,435.13 billion) as well as by 74.36% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2022 (₦5,934.15 billion).

“Similarly, total imports increased by 47.70% compared to the value recorded in the second quarter of 2023 (₦5,726.25billion) and by 33.33% when compared to the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 (₦6,343.53 billion).”

SPAIN TOPS NIGERIA’S EXPORT DESTINATIONS IN Q3

Nigeria’s export landscape underwent a significant shift in the third quarter of 2023, with Spain emerging as the country’s top export destination, accounting for a remarkable 12.31 percent of total exports, valued at N1.27 trillion.

This was followed by India with N1.02 billion (9.81 percent), Netherlands with N988.66 billion (9.56 percent), Indonesia with N758.59 billion (7.33 percent) and France with N720.45 billion (6.96 percent) of total exports.

These five countries collectively accounted for 45.98 percent of Nigeria’s total exports, demonstrating the country’s growing presence in diverse global markets.

Analysis by TheCable Index shows that despite the diversification of export destinations, petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude, remained Nigeria’s primary export product, accounting for an impressive 82.50 percent (N8.54 trillion) of total exports.

However, natural gas, liquefied, and urea, whether or not in aqueous solution, also emerged as significant export earners, contributing 9.82 percent (N1.02 trillion) and 1.06 percent (N109.68 billion), respectively, to the overall export value.

CHINA DOMINATES NIGERIA’S IMPORT LANDSCAPE IN Q3

The NBS report shows that China maintained its position as Nigeria’s top import partner in the third quarter of 2023, accounting for a significant 23.33 percent of total imports.

“Data on Imports in the third quarter of 2023 reveals that the top five partner countries of origin for imports to Nigeria was China (₦1,973.34 billion or 23.33%), this was followed by imports from Belgium with ₦996.65 billion or 11.78%, India with ₦802.07 billion or 9.48%, Malta with ₦561.37 billion or 6.64% and the United States of America with ₦502.92 billion or 5.95% of total imports,” NBS said.

“The values of imports from the top five countries amounted to ₦4,836.36 billion representing a share of 57.18% of total imports.

“The commodities with the largest values of imported products were ‘Motor Spirit Ordinary’ valued at ₦1,921.03 billion or 22.71%.”

Also included are gas oil worth N736.66 billion or 8.71 percent and durum wheat (not in seeds), valued at N331.76 billion or 3.92 percent of total imports.

The Cable

Amid raging criticism over Nigeria’s large delegation to Dubai for the COP28 climate summit, the Federal Government said it only sponsored 422 delegates out of the 1,411 Nigerians reported to be at the conference.

A source in the Presidency had on Sunday night disclosed that the number of delegates sponsored by the government was less than 100.

But the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Monday said 422 delegates were chosen from the Presidency, National Council on Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, All Ministries, Office of the Vice President, National Assembly, and federal parastatals and agencies.

The statement, titled ‘Re: Nigeria At Cop-28’ noted, “It is imperative to point out that the overall Nigerian delegation to COP28 comprises government-sponsored (Federal and State Governments) and non-government-sponsored participants (from private companies to NGOs, CSOs, Media, academia, etc).

“The Federal Government-funded delegation is made up of a total of 422 persons: National Council on Climate Change (32); Federal Ministry of Environment (34); All Ministries (167); Presidency (67); Office of the Vice President (9); National Assembly (40); and Federal Parastatals/Agencies (73).

“As the biggest economy and most populous country in Africa, with a substantial extractive economy and extensive vulnerability to climate change, Nigeria has a significant stake in climate action, and our active and robust participation at COP is therefore not unwarranted.”

Meanwhile, the clarification by the minister came after the outrage that greeted the revelation that Nigeria had one of the highest delegations to the conference, despite the rising poverty and hunger across the country.

Daily Trust

Civilians were killed in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state following a military drone attack targeting insurgents and bandits on Sunday night, the state governor, a religious leader and witnesses said on Monday.

Nigeria's military, which is backed by the United States, Britain and other non-Western allies in a long war against Islamist insurgents in the northeast, has also been unleashing deadly aerial assaults for years in other parts of the country.

Kaduna governor Uba Sani said Muslims taking part in Maulud celebrations in Tudun Biri village "were mistakenly killed and many others injured following a military drone attack targeting terrorists and bandits".

Sani gave no indication of the numbers involved, but a religious leader put it at 50 dead and two witnesses said 80 had been killed. Reuters could not independently confirm the numbers due to the security challenges in the region.

Sani's deputy had earlier called a security meeting that was attended by heads of security agencies, religious and traditional leaders to review the incident.

"The General Officer Commanding One Division Nigerian Army, VU Okoro explained that the Nigerian Army was on a routine mission against terrorists but inadvertently affected members of the community," Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna's internal affairs commissioner said in a statement after the meeting.

He did not provide further details when asked by reporters.

Army spokesman Onyeama Nwachukwu did not respond to a request for comment.

The Air Force said it was not involved in the operation.

Rabiu Abdullahi, a religious leader who attended Monday's meeting told reporters that a suspected air strike had killed at least 50 people during a religious celebration.

"Over 50 innocent people who gathered for the Maulud (celebration) lost their lives in the bombing," he said, adding that this was disclosed during the security briefing.

Danjuma Salisu, a survivor, said villagers first heard the sound of an approaching aeroplane, which was followed by a large blast.

"We couldn't even run. It was a loud bang that left over 80 people dead and many of us injured," he said from a hospital bed, where he was being treated for hand and leg injuries.

Abubakar Inua, a villager from Tudun Biri, told Reuters on the phone: "We have counted over 80 corpses who were buried."

Beyond the war zone in the northeast, the army and air force have been called on to tackle the growing threat in Nigeria's northwest and central region, including in Kaduna state, posed by armed criminal gangs that spray villages with bullets and carry out mass kidnappings.

The government has labelled the gangs "terrorists".

Reuters

Britain announced plans to slash the number of migrants arriving by legal routes on Monday, raising the minimum salary they must earn in a skilled job by a third, amid pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to tackle record net migration figures.

High levels of legal migration have dominated Britain's political landscape for more than a decade and were a key factor in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Sunak has promised to gain more control after lawmakers in his Conservative Party criticised his record ahead of an election expected next year, with the opposition Labour Party far ahead in opinion polls.

But businesses and trade unions both attacked the measures as counterproductive and challenging for the private sector and state-run health service, both dogged by labour shortages.

Figures last month showed annual net migration to the United Kingdom hit a record of 745,000 in 2022 and has stayed at high levels since, with many migrants now coming from places like India, Nigeria and China instead of the EU.

Home Secretary (interior minister) James Cleverly said the new measures could reduce that number by 300,000.

"Immigration is too high. Today we’re taking radical action to bring it down," said Sunak, who is also trying to deport migrants who arrive illegally to Rwanda.

Cleverly said the government would raise the minimum salary threshold for foreign skilled workers to 38,700 pounds ($48,900), from its current level of 26,200 pounds, though health and social workers would be exempt.

Other measures included stopping foreign health workers bringing in family members on their visas, increasing a surcharge migrants have to pay to use the health service by 66%, and raising the minimum income for family visas.

TIGHT LABOUR MARKET

The measures could spark new disputes with business owners who have struggled to hire workers in recent years given Britain's persistently tight labour market and the end of free movement from the EU since Britain's 2020 exit from the bloc.

In October, the government's independent migration adviser recommended abolishing the so-called shortage occupations list, one of the main routes for businesses to hire migrant workers in sectors where there are severe staff shortages.

Cleverly said the government would end the current system that lets employers pay migrants only 80% of the going rate to do jobs where there is a worker shortage, and that the list of shortage occupations would be reviewed.

"We will stop immigration undercutting the salary of British workers," Cleverly told lawmakers. "We will create a new immigration salary list with a reduced number of occupations."

However, some studies have shown foreign workers have little or no impact on overall wage or employment levels, and Britain's acute shortage of candidates to fill vacancies remains a problem for many company bosses.

"These changes will further shrink the talent pool that the entire economy will be recruiting from, and only worsen the shortages hospitality businesses are facing," said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality.

"We urgently need to see an immigration system that is fit-for-purpose and reflects both the needs of business and the labour market. The system at the moment does none of that."

The Bank of England said last month that businesses were finding it a bit easier to hire but persistent skills shortages remained in some sectors.

Trade unions also voiced concerns at Cleverly's plan. Christina McAnea, the general secretary of UNISON, the main union in the health sector, saying it spelled "total disaster" for the health service.

"Migrants will now head to more welcoming countries, rather than be forced to live without their families," she said.

($1 = 0.7921 pounds)

Reuters

Israel orders evacuations as it widens offensive, but Palestinians are running out of places to go

Israeli warplanes heavily bombarded an area around Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Monday as the military ordered mass evacuations from the town in the face of a widening ground offensive that is pushing Palestinians into a progressively shrinking portion of the besieged territory.

The expanded assault posed a deadly choice for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians — either stay in the path of Israeli forces or flee within the confines of southern Gaza with no guarantee of safety. Aid workers warned that the mass movement would worsen the already dire humanitarian catastrophe in the territory.

“Another wave of displacement is underway, and the humanitarian situation worsens by the hour,” the Gaza chief of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Thomas White, said in a post on X.

Adding to the chaos, phone and internet networks across Gaza collapsed again Monday evening, the Palestinian telecom provider PalTel reported. The network has broken down multiple times during the war, making it largely impossible for residents to communicate with each other or the outside world for hours or sometimes several days until it is repaired.

Israel has vowed to eliminate Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and triggered the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades. The war has already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of the territory’s population of 2.3 million people. Palestinian health officials say bombardment has killed several hundred civilians since a weeklong truce ended Friday.

Already under mounting pressure from its top ally, the United States, Israel appears to be racing to strike a death blow against Hamas — if that’s possible, given the group’s deep roots in Palestinian society — before any new cease-fire. But the mounting toll is likely to further increase international pressure to return to the negotiating table.

Airstrikes and the ground offensive in northern Gaza have reduced large swaths of Gaza City and nearby areas to a rubble-filled wasteland. Hundreds of thousands of residents fled south during the assault.

Now around 2 million people — most of the territory’s population — are crowded into the 230 square kilometers (90 square miles) of southern and central Gaza, where Israel’s ground offensive is now moving, threatening to render even larger areas uninhabitable.

Since the truce’s collapse, the military has ordered the population out of an area of about 62 square kilometers (24 square miles) in and near Khan Younis, according to the evacuation maps issued by the Israeli military. That further reduces the space available for Palestinians by more than a quarter.

FIGHTING IN CENTRAL GAZA

Constant bombardment on the edges of Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, lit up the sky over the town Monday evening, and a stream of ambulances carrying wounded, including several women and children, flowed to the main hospital.

Over the past few days, Israeli strikes have been “on a ferocious scale,” said Mohammed Aghaalkurdi, an aid worker with the group Medical Aid for Palestinians in Khan Younis. “Barely has any kind of aid been delivered to the people, nor is there any food left in shops.”

He said neighborhoods and shelters were emptying as people fled. Leaflets dropped by the Israeli military warn people to go south toward the border with Egypt, but they are unable to leave Gaza, as both Israel and neighboring Egypt have refused to accept any refugees.

The area that Israel ordered evacuated covers about a fifth of Khan Younis. Before the war, that area was home to some 117,000 people, and now it also houses more than 50,000 people displaced from the north, living in 21 shelters, the U.N. said.

It was not known how many were fleeing. Some Palestinians have ignored past evacuation orders, saying they do not feel any safer since areas where they are told to flee have also been bombed. Many also fear they will never be allowed back to their homes.

It was not clear where Israeli troops have moved into southern Gaza, but the military told people to stay off the main road between Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, suggesting forces were moving between the two towns.

Israeli media also reported intense fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants in northern Gaza — in the Jabaliya refugee camp and the Gaza City district of Shijaiya, both scenes of intense bombardment and battles in recent weeks.

Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said the army is pursuing Hamas with “maximum force” in the north and south while trying to minimize harm to civilians.

He pointed to a map that divides southern Gaza into dozens of blocks in order to give “precise instructions” to residents on where to evacuate. Most are urged to flee south, but, confusingly, a map posted on X by the military Monday urged people to flee into Fakhari, a district east of Khan Younis that the military ordered evacuated a day before.

“The level of human suffering is intolerable,” Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said during a rare visit to Gaza. “It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place, there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible.”

The World Health Organization said it was told by Israel to empty its medical supplies warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours ahead of an advancing ground operation. The agency appealed to Israel to withdraw the order.

Spoljaric, the Red Cross president, called for the immediate release of scores of hostages still held by Palestinian militants since the Oct. 7 attack.

In a letter to the Red Cross chief, a group of released Israeli hostages asked to meet her while she is visiting the region and called for more help from the organization to free the remaining 137 captives.

“Every day that passes could be their last, and the suffering they endure is inhuman,” wrote the eight freed captives and 102 relatives of hostages still in captivity.

RISING TOLL

The Health Ministry in Gaza said the death toll in the territory since Oct. 7 has surpassed 15,890 people – 70% of them women and children — with more than 42,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said hundreds have been killed or wounded since the cease-fire’s end, with many still trapped under rubble.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received 32 bodies overnight after Israeli strikes across central Gaza, said Omar al-Darawi, an administrative employee. Associated Press footage showed women in tears, kneeling over the bodies of loved ones and kissing them.

The Israeli military said aircraft struck some 200 Hamas targets overnight, with ground troops operating “in parallel,” without elaborating. It said troops in northern Gaza uncovered two militant tunnel shafts that held explosives and weapons in a school after coming under attack.

It is not possible to independently confirm battlefield reports from either side.

Israel says it targets Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods. Still, it does not provide accounting for its targets in individual strikes.

Israel claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. The military says at least 81 of its soldiers have been killed.

U.S. PRESSURE

The U.S. is pressing Israel to avoid more mass displacements and civilian deaths, a message underscored by Vice President Kamala Harris during a visit to the region. She also said the U.S. would not allow the forced relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza or the occupied West Bank, or the redrawing of Gaza’s borders.

But it’s unclear how far the Biden administration is willing or able to go in pressing Israel to rein in the offensive, even as the White House faces growing pressure from its allies in Congress.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that it was too soon to pass judgment on Israeli operations, but that it was unusual for a modern military to identify precise areas of expected ground maneuvers and ask people to move out.

“These are the kinds of steps that we have asked them to undertake.” he said. “These are the conversations we’re having day in, day out.”

The U.S. has pledged unwavering support to Israel since the Oct. 7 attack, including rushing munitions and other aid to the country.

Israel has rejected U.S. suggestions that control over postwar Gaza be handed over to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority as part of a renewed effort to resolve the overall conflict by establishing a Palestinian state.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Deputy Russian army corps commander is killed in Ukraine

Major General Vladimir Zavadsky, deputy commander of Russia's 14th Army Corps, has been killed in Ukraine, a top regional official said on Monday.

The governor of Russia's Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, said Zavadsky had died "at a combat post in the special operation zone", without giving further details.

"Special military operation" is the term that Russia uses to describe the war in Ukraine, now approaching the end of its second year.

The investigative news outlet iStories said Zavadsky was the seventh Major General whose death had been confirmed by Russia, and the 12 senior officer overall to be reported dead since the start of the war.

Deaths of senior Russian officers, which military analysts have attributed in some cases to Ukrainian success in intercepting lax communications, have become rarer as the war has progressed.

Zavadsky was a much-decorated officer and a former tank commander, said Gusev, adding that his death was a heavy loss that caused "transfixing pain".

** Ukraine says it attacked oil depots in Russia-occupied Luhansk

Ukraine's military said on Monday it attacked oil depots in the Russia-controlled Ukrainian city of Luhansk a day earlier.

Its forces carried out a "successful strike", the Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram, without going into further detail.

Earlier on Monday, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said Ukrainian troops attacked an oil depot there with combat drones.

That report, which cited Russian-installed authorities, said a fire broke out after the attack but was extinguished.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine and US trade blame for ‘failed counteroffensive’ – WaPo

US and British officers helped plan the Ukrainian spring-summer campaign and provided all the asked-for vehicles, but Kiev decided to divide its forces in three directions, according to a Washington Post feature published on Monday. 

Over a dozen Post employees interviewed “more than 30 senior officials”from Ukraine, the US and the EU, only a handful identified by name. The outlet’s conclusion was that “a counteroffensive born in optimism has failed to deliver its expected punch, generating friction and second-guessing between Washington and Kiev.”

A series of eight tabletop wargames at the US base in Wiesbaden, Germany reportedly developed a “viable, detailed campaign plan” for the attack. The Pentagon wanted the offensive to start mid-April and focus on cutting the “land bridge” to Crimea by driving to Melitopol. 

General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, advised the Ukrainians to also send sabotage groups into the Russian rear, saying there “should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night,” according to one official.

The NATO-armed 47th Brigade, so new that 70% of its members had no combat experience, was to lead the way.

Nothing went as planned.

Washington and Kiev “sharply disagreed at times over strategy, tactics, and timing,” according to the Post. Instead of a focused assault towards Melitopol, the Ukrainian leadership insisted on attacking in the direction of Berdyansk and Bakhmut/Artyomovsk as well.

Kiev initially demanded over 1,000 armored vehicles, which US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin deemed “near-impossible.” Eventually, they received 1,500. However, some vehicles were criticized as “unfit for combat,” with issues like missing tracks and inadequate maintenance blamed on Ukrainian troops.

The US secured a supply of 155mm artillery shells from South Korea, since it could not produce enough by itself. Requests for F-16 fighter jets were denied due to cost concerns and their vulnerability to Russian air defenses. 

The US also trained and equipped nine Ukrainian brigades in NATO methods of warfare. Simulations based on Ukrainian and Western intelligence projected Ukrainian brigades reaching the Sea of Azov in 60-90 days with up to 30-40% casualties.

“The plan that they executed was entirely feasible with the force that they had, on the timeline that we planned out,” a senior US military official told the Post. “They got everything they were promised, on time,” a senior US official said. 

The attack scheduled for mid-April finally “lurched into motion” in early June. Ukrainian troops immediately got bogged down in minefields and mauled by Russian artillery. 

“Incinerated Western military hardware – American Bradleys, German Leopard tanks, mine-sweeping vehicles – littered the battlefield. The numbers of dead and wounded sapped morale,” the Post noted. After just four days, General Valery Zaluzhny “tossed aside” American doctrine and planning, switching to smaller-scale infantry assaults.

The June 15 meeting at the NATO HQ in Brussels was “heavy with an air of frustration,” per the Post. Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov – who would be fired in September – informed Austin that over 50% of the US-supplied mine-clearing equipment was already destroyed.

Western reliance on armored maneuver and a breakthrough “didn’t work,” a senior Ukrainian defense official said. Another had disdain for the wargaming approach to planning the operation, pointing to the lack of accounting for drones and other technology. 

“All these methods … you can throw them away,” he said. “Because it doesn’t work like that now.”

The 47th expected to take the village of Robotino within two days. It had not done so until August 28, and has since been pulled from that section of the frontline and rushed to shore up the crumbling defenses of Avdeevka, to the east.

“At almost every point along the front, expectations and results have diverged,” the Post noted, describing the morale in Ukraine as “waning”and its cause as “precarious.” One British official said that Kiev’s goal of reclaiming its 1991 borders would “take years and a lot of blood,” assuming it’s possible at all.

Reuters/RT

The Guinness World Records (GWR) has been around since about the time I was born. In fact, I am just a little older than the founding of the British reference book that was a thrill for me as I grew up and visited libraries to look it up, along with the  Encyclopedia Britannica. It used to be known as the Guinness Book of Records until its name changed in 1999. The new name accommodated the American branding of the same thing as Guinness Book of World Records. Trust the Americans. Since they rebelled against the British, they had been using their can-do spirit to ensure that their uniqueness from the motherland is maintained. Aside from insisting on their spellings in their own Americana, they substantially altered the course of history by designing their electricity voltage as 110-120/60 instead of the British 220-240/50. This difference meant that British products would not work in America and thereby forced their own local production, until the Japanese started making products to accommodate both and we no longer needed to carry voltage step-downs anymore.  

So, the frenzy that accompanied Hilda Baci’s getting on GWR for a sustained length of time in cooking was amazing to me. The country was excited on 13 June when she was recognised. I equally developed an affection towards her for her resilience and the efforts she took to know what was required and worked hard for it. All of a sudden, the Guinness World Records started trending in Nigeria. The featuring of Nigerians positively on international platforms build our goodwill in the global arena. Our goodwill has been very low for a while, in spite of the great efforts of our Nollywood and Afrobeat ambassadors and our soft power. Goodwill goes beyond not being discriminated against in tourism or the ease of attending conferences in another country. The son of a friend almost lost his Ph.D hard work for nothing other than the South Africans not being ready to issue him a visa to fulfill an obligation, even when they readily issued visas to his Nordic classmates. His father had to find a number of who knows someone who knows someone who could change the sad situation.

GWR informed the world that there had been an unusual 1,500 applications from Nigerians seeking to follow Hilda Baci’s footsteps. Two or three compatriots tried to upstage her and mainly got the wrath of Nigerians. This is a very bad Nigerian attitude. We should have encouraged others to see if they can do better. Finally, on 7 November, an Irish celebrity chef blew Baci’s record apart. We were unhappy and some, with a condemnable attitude, sent unprintable messages to Chef Fisher.

With Hilda Baci being blown out, on 21 November, President Bola Tinubu, joined the GWR race. According to The Cable, Tinubu announced at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum that “he deserves recognition from GWR for the economic reforms he has introduced since assuming office on May 29.” This is an important development. Tinubu is asking foreigners to recognise that he has been improving the lives of Nigerians. There is no doubt that six months is a short period in office. But it is possible for Nigerians to do some trends analysis and examination of his reforms, before our President’s yearning for a foreign recognition.

When self-styled President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida got us debating on whether we wanted an IMF loan with its conditionalities, we overwhelmingly said ‘NO’. Yet, the maradonic dictator tricked us by introducing his Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market as an home-grown alternative to the loan. Then as a young senior lecturer, I was one of those who crusaded against the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). I actually published an academic piece on SAP, as Olu Falae and co. were betting their lives on our long-term El Dorado. I am sure if anyone cares to ask him or IBB today on what happened to the naira, they would readily quip about that popular scapegoat: the lack of implementation.

The problem then, and now, is the failure of our knowledge industry to realise that the post WW II design of the world was to ensure the enslavement of parts of the Americas, Africa and Asia, as hewers of wood and carriers of water for the Western world. Some leaderships in Asia realised this and succeeded in outsmarting the design. With leadership deficit across the board in Nigeria, we will continue to wallow in drilling ourselves into a bottomless pit, using adverse theories taught to us as natural laws of human advancement, without opening our eyes to see them as they should be – an interest based worldview for the sustenance of the West. Of course, the immediate interests of some of us are catered for as we pile up our national patrimony abroad again for investments and creation of employment in the West – as revealed in the Panama, Paradise, and Pandora papers.

Our President is an ardent believer in these adverse-to-our-interests “laws of nature” on the political economy. Please note that I wrote political economy and not economics because production, distribution and consumption are intertwined with interests – politics. Policymaking should be based on well thought through intentionality to change for the better and not show-off to be seen as an action man/woman.   

The President cannot avoid responsibility for the double whammy of the fuel and exchange rates he imposed on the country on an impulse, without a strategic well sequenced effort that should have focused on our income profile (after getting Emefiele out of the way), and Nigeria’s corruption associated behaviour in storing value in dollars, etc. This problem is more so when our President had prepared for the office for so long and had a three-month transition to office after his election, and no-one rushed him after his swearing-in, when he gained control over the CBN, as well as other information on the emptiness of our wallet. We must not forget that part of the campaign of Mr President was to hit the ground running, with the impression that he had many strategic thinkers already lined up.

By the way, “our being almost bankrupt” should be no excuse because Tinubu put himself forward as capable of fixing the situation.

However, the impact on Nigerians of the policies that Tinubu put forward as enough for another Hilda Baci-like heartwarming recognition on GWR, can be seen clearly – Nigerians are worse-off. Of course, the economists, like Falae did, would tell us that what matters is the long-run. But in the long-run, we would all be dead. Fortunately, Falae and IBB are still alive to see what they did to us in 1989.

We are all ready for a tight belt that would improve the life chances of our children, who have continued to seriously vote with their feet by engaging in japa out of the country. But we should not go down the same path of IBB/Falae and 43 years later be saying these were good policies and we should blame their lack of proper implementation for where the economy is today.

At the political level, the cost of governance, in the face of all of us, is skyrocketing under this administration. Borrowing has continued unabated. Femi Falana reportedly put out a documented set of corruption (that economists, bereft of standing up for the truth, euphemistically call leakages) data that would immediately refloat Nigeria if Tinubu’s body language on corruption could boldly change for the better. These billions in dollars are stored in Nigeria and around the world and can be brought back under various moves. $7 billion fixed in 14 banks that Falana pointed to can be recovered from these individuals if they want to continue having bank licences. The crafty use of AMCON to defraud all of us, as dubious loans to friends are forgiven, can be addressed. Different fraudulent thefts of oil can be traced and recovered. We were lucky that we escaped P&ID, but not because of Tinubu. If we had lost that case, the naira may be knocking N2,000+ to a dollar by now.  

It is the duty of the president to ensure a fair balance between the paper analysis of his advisers and the anticipated impacts on the lives of Nigerians. It is on the basis of positive impacts that he should seek our affection. As a Professor and in the category of those who can recommend him, I would gladly nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize if he reverses our downwards trend on corruption. Leadership deficit and corruption are the main drivers of conflict. External dynamics is also important in relation to conflicts in Africa. However, smart leadership can outsmart adverse external dynamics, as some Asians have successfully done. To move on corruption, he would be signaling a significant move to ameliorate our toxic conflict environment in Nigeria, nay in Africa. The buck stops at our president’s table. 

Charlie Munger died on Nov. 28 at age 99. These reflections on his life and career, which he wrote for CNBC Make It, are among his final writings.

One's journey to career satisfaction is not always linear. After graduating from Harvard Law School, I joined a well-regarded firm in California. I built a home and a family, and I worked hard for years.

Even so, I wanted to earn more than what a senior law partner could expect. I started investing in stocks, businesses and property development before starting a law firm with some of my colleagues.  

I spent many successful years at the firm, but I wasn't satisfied practicing law. I liked the independence of a capitalist. I liked figuring things out and making bets. I preferred making the decisions and gambling my own money. I usually thought I knew better than the client anyway, so why should I have to do it his way?

One evening, at a dinner party in Omaha, I was introduced to a fellow named Warren Buffett. Warren and I shared many ideas when it came to business, finance, history and investing. He persuaded me to quit the law at the earliest point I could afford to do so. We eventually agreed to go into business together, which turned out to be an incredibly good decision. 

I have three basic rules for career satisfaction that have always helped me. I believe they can help any young person evaluating a career decision. While meeting all three is nearly impossible, you should try anyway. 

1. Don't sell anything you wouldn't buy yourself.

The safest way to try to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want. It's such a simple idea. It's the golden rule. You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.

There is no ethos, in my opinion, that is better for any person to have. By and large, the people who have had this ethos win in life, and they don't win just money and honors — they win the respect and the deserved trust of the people they deal with.

Plus, there is huge pleasure in life to be obtained from getting deserved trust. Reputation and integrity are your most valuable assets — and can be lost in a heartbeat. 

2. Don't work for anyone you don't respect and admire.

You particularly want to avoid working directly under somebody you don't admire and don't want to be like. It's dangerous. We're all subject to control to some extent by authority figures, particularly authority figures who are rewarding us. Dealing properly with this danger requires both some talent and will.

I coped in my time by identifying people I admired and by maneuvering, mostly without criticizing anybody, so that I was usually working under the right sort of people. A lot of employers will permit that if you're shrewd enough to work it out with some tact.

Generally, your outcome in life will be more satisfactory if you work under people whom you correctly admire.

3. Work only with people you enjoy.

I've found that intense interest in any subject is indispensable if you're really going to excel. I could force myself to be fairly good in a lot of things, but I couldn't excel in anything in which I didn't have an intense interest or enjoy.

If at all feasible, you want to maneuver yourself into doing something in which you have an intense interest alongside people whose company you enjoy. 

Another thing you have to do is have a lot of assiduity. I like that word because to me it means: "Sit down on your ass until you do it." I've had marvelous partners, full of assiduity, all my life. I think I got them partly because I tried to deserve them, and partly because I was shrewd enough to select them, and partly because there was some luck. 

I have been incredibly fortunate in my life when it comes to these basic rules. With Warren Buffett, I had all three. 

Charlie Munger was Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Warren Buffett's closest business partner and right-hand man. As a legendary and pragmatic investor and active philanthropist, Munger was a Harvard Law graduate and was known for his wide-ranging wisdom across a multitude of disciplines — including psychology, economics, biology, history and physics. Munger served as a director of Costco Wholesale Corporation and as chairman of the Daily Journal Corporation. An abridged version of his book, "Poor Charlie's Almanack," is being released by Stripe Press on December 5, 2024.

CNBC

The migration of doctors and other health workers to other countries is taking a toll on hospitals across the country as the institutions have reduced the number of their outpatients and surgeries due to a shortage of manpower.

The PUNCH investigations on Sunday showed that almost all the health institutions were battling with the shortage as they could not cope with the high number of patients who thronged the government hospitals, which were affordable compared with private ones.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health had on Wednesday raised the alarm that not less than five wards with about 150 beds, had been closed down at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, due to a shortage of health workers.

Chairman of the Committee, Amos Mogaji, said the five wards had to be shut because there were no workers to operate them despite the large number of patients received at the institutions daily.

However, LUTH is not the only hospital battling with the problem as health workers lamented the heavy workload because their counterparts had left the country.

Although the Nigerian Medical Association and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors could on Sunday not give the exact number of medical doctors that had left the country, the NMA had a few years ago said 2,000 health workers were leaving yearly.

Also, NARD had in January 2023 stated that a survey it conducted indicated that more than 2,000 of its members left the country in 2022.

However, the harsh economic conditions in the country have been pushing many doctors to leave the country as 1,197 doctors had moved to the United Kingdom since May 29, 2023.

With health institutions including the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta; Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital, Kano and the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife losing close to 1,000 doctors to japa in the last two years, there are strong indications that over 4,000 doctors might have left the country in the last two years.

In the FMC, no fewer than 200 doctors, including 50 medical consultants have left the country for greener pastures abroad.

Because of the shortage of doctors, it was gathered that the hospital was forced to reduce the number of its outpatients attended to and elective surgeries.

According to veryhealth.com, an “elective surgery” is the term used for a procedure that can be safely delayed without great risk to a patient’s health, such as cataract surgery. A nonelective (or emergency) surgery is a procedure that must be performed immediately for lifesaving or damage-preventing reasons.’’

In Kano State, it was gathered that no fewer than 789 nurses and 162 doctors had left the state, while about 50 doctors had left hospitals in Benue State.

One of our correspondents gathered that as many as 65 doctors left the OAUTH, Ile-Ife, in the last year, while about three wards had stopped admitting patients over inadequate manpower in the hospital.

An official of the NARD in the hospital, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “65 doctors left OAUTH last year. 45 of them completed their training and left, while 20 abandoned their training and left for other countries.”

He also said about three wards in the hospital had stopped admitting patients due to inadequate manpower.

“Out of three units we have in the emergency section, only one is admitting patients. Two other units in the emergency ward are not admitting patients due to inadequate staff.

“Also, the psychiatric unit is not admitting new patients because we don’t have enough nurses. The Paediatric Unit is seriously understaffed. Generally, we don’t have enough staff in the hospital. Some people are available to work, but they are not employed,” he said.

OAUTH management could not be reached for reaction to the claim, as calls to Kemi Fasooto, the hospital Public Relations Officer, rang out and she has not responded to a text message sent to her by our correspondent, as at the time of filing this report.

FMC Abeokuta

At the FMC, Abeokuta, Chairman of the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria, Jimoh Saheed, stated that in the last four years, the hospital had lost about 50 consultants and 150 resident doctors to the japa syndrome.

He said, “The japa syndrome has really affected and is still affecting the healthcare system in Nigeria. About 50 medical and dental consultants left FMC Abeokuta alone in the last four years. The number of resident doctors who left for greener pastures should be times three the above number.

“Therefore, the implication is that there is a severe shortage of manpower in the hospital, which has hampered the service delivery and care of patients. We have had to reduce the number of patients seen per clinic and also, and the elective theatre cases per day also dropped.

“As it stands, some segments of our emergencies had to be collapsed for the unit to work efficiently. The implication of all these will mean that we can’t function optimally and the japa wave has affected service delivery, training of medical specialists as well as research.”

Jimoh said the way forward was for the government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector, which would include massive recruitment of various health personnel, and equipping the hospitals to international standards, among others.

Similarly, the Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Ogun State Hospital Unit, Ijaye, Abeokuta, Lola Idowu, said nurses that had left the hospital in the last three years could not be less than 40, including those who had retired.

The Benue State chapter of the NMA confirmed that more than half of the number of medical doctors working in the state Health Management Board had left the country to search for jobs in better locations.

The NMA Chairman, Usha Anenga, described the situation as pathetic.

Anenga said, “We used to have over 100 doctors at the Health Management Board but now there are less than 50 left. We used to have a consultant and epidemiologist at the Federal Medical Centre but they have left. The gynecologist at the University Teaching Hospital has also left.”

At the University of Jos Teaching Hospital, Plateau State, about 100 resident doctors have left the facility as the remaining ones at the hospital lament the shortage of manpower in the health institution.

President of the ARD in JUTH, Ishishen Artu, stated that last year, more than 70 resident doctors left the hospital.

“What is happening across the country about japa syndrome is not different from the situation here in JUTH. When I came on board as ARD president about 11 months ago, we had 410 members.

“But during our last nominal roll from the accounting department, we were about 340. So that is to tell you how doctors have been moving away from the hospital,” Artu stated.

He blamed the manpower shortage on poor welfare packages, insecurity, and inadequate equipment, and called on the government to intervene to avoid an imminent collapse of the health system across the country.

He added, “Some of us who are still around are not finding it easy. Many of our mates outside the country including Ghana, and South Africa are receiving three to five times what we are receiving in Nigeria.

“They want to come home to practice but they can’t come under the present situation. That is why the government has to look at the issues holistically to address them so that the health sector will not break down completely in the country.”

Kano hospitals hit

Over 789 nurses and 162 doctors have relocated outside Nigeria from Kano State alone, according to the NMA in the state.

Similarly, over 162 medical doctors relocated to other countries across the world within the same period under review.

Chairman of the Kano State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, Abdullahi Sulaiman, disclosed this in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Saturday.

“Many medical doctors and other categories of healthcare workers are exiting the state in droves. So, I cannot tell you the exact number of doctors and nurses that have left the country. I can only give you an estimate.

“It is a bad situation and this is across almost all healthcare workers, not only doctors. They are leaving for Gambia, Somalia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and many others every week,” he said.

According to him, the shortage of such personnel was causing a lot of problems, as those left behind were forced to bear the brunt in the form of overwork, exhaustion, and burnout in a non-conducive working environment.

“About two years back, we wanted to open some wards that were constructed and donated by some wealthy individuals at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, but because there were no healthcare workers to man the places, we had to suspend the opening until later,” Sulaiman stated.

He stated that recently, five anesthetic doctors were employed by the AKTH but three had since abandoned the work and relocated abroad.

“We have been talking about the issue but the government is not taking deliberate steps to address the problem.

“To prevent doctors and other categories of health workers from going out of the country, the government must take deliberate action to address the issue,” he added.

1,197 doctors move

Findings by The PUNCH showed that approximately 1,197 Nigerian-trained doctors moved to the United Kingdom since May 29, 2023, when President Bola Tinubu assumed office, to date.

At the moment, Nigeria is set to overtake Pakistan and become the country with the second-highest number of foreign-trained doctors in the UK. Currently, India remains the country with the highest number of foreign-trained doctors in the UK.

This is according to the register of the General Medical Council of the UK. The GMC is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the UK.

Though about 1,197 Nigerian-trained doctors were licensed between May 29, 2023 and December 1, 2023, the total number of Nigerian doctors licensed to practice in the UK is now 12,198.

This figure, however, excludes Nigerian doctors who were trained in other countries.

Presently, there are 73 Nigerian-trained doctors in the field of anaesthetics and Intensive Care Medicine, 61 in the field of emergency medicine, 241 for general medicine, 207 for obstetrics and gynecology, 17 for occupational medicine, 16 for ophthalmology, pediatrics field with 164, and 50 for pathology.

There are 35 of them for public health, 357 for psychiatry, 29 for psychiatry and 135 for surgery.

The rate of migration of medical doctors has recently become a matter of concern. The Nigerian Medical Association, while lamenting the high rate of medical brain drain, had said Nigeria might import doctors in the future.

In 2015, only 233 Nigerian doctors moved to the UK. The number increased to 279 in 2016, while the figure was 475 in 2017. In 2018, the figure rose to 852, while it further increased to 1,347 in 2019.

In 2020, the figure was 833 even though the GMC closed operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure for 2021 was put at 932.

Chairman of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals, Emem Bassey, commenting on the brain drain said, “Some African countries are also beginning to poach from Nigeria.

“The West Coast is looking for our specialists. So many people are now going to places like Sierra Leone and Gambia and the wages they earn $3000 to $ 4000. It is about three to four times what they earn back home. So we are beginning to see that people are leaving for other African countries too.

“The health sector is currently undergoing a major crisis in terms of manpower. What we are seeing is that medical specialists, not just doctors, even nurses even more nurses are leaving. Doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, physiotherapists, radiographers, and all manner of health professionals are leaving the country in droves.”

On his part, the NARD Chairman at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Salmon Abeeb, explained that the number of medics who had left the hospital was significantly high.

He stated, “LASUTH is the closest to the airport, so it affected us. Whenever the system employs, within a month or two they usually leave. Last week, LASUTH employed 18 to 20 doctors and consultants, I can tell you that before next month, half of them would have gone.”

Abeeb added that doctors were now getting sick due to heavy workload. He revealed that LASUTH was also getting close to shutting down wards due to insufficient manpower.

“The workload is now becoming more we are the ones doing the job of everybody and there is burnout, doctors are getting sick every day because of the burnout.

“We are yet to shut down but we will soon get there because the workload is too much and resident doctors are already complaining.”

 A medical consultant in one of the federal hospitals in the South-West, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The issue of the shortage of manpower is nationwide. It cuts across all government hospitals and the reason why we have this shortage is because people are moving from Nigeria to other countries. The salaries that health workers are receiving are below small

“In addition to that, the lack of facilities to work with is an issue. I have personally experienced a lot of stress doing my job. Even though some medical directors know how to muddle their doctors to make sure that work is going on, there are hospitals that will tell you that you should not bring more than one major and one minor case in a day because the health workers available have been overstretched.

 “In my unit as a consultant, I am supposed to work with two senior registrars and four registrars but as I speak with you, I only have a house officer to work with.”

 He said that improved facilities in hospitals across the country and an increase in wages of health workers would encourage health workers to shun the idea of migrating for greener pastures while stating that legislation to ban medical tourism would force political officeholders to improve the country’s health sector.

 “Our leaders know what to do. The first thing is to increase the salary of health workers. Also, the infrastructure within the hospitals should be improved. For example, you may want to operate on a patient and the patient needs ICU cover while the ICU may be available, there may not be ventilators and when both are available, electricity could be a problem.

 “I have a friend who is also a health worker who has left the country. The last time we were talking, he told me he was getting his one-year salary in Nigeria in one month over there.

“Lastly, if there is a law to force political office holders to access medical facilities within the country and only be allowed to travel except the situation warrants it, they will be ready to improve the nation’s health facilities. If all these are done, health workers will be willing to stay,” he said.

Punch

Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S., Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, has revealed that they have interviewed over 150,000 Nigerians while further noting that the embassy has interviewed about 30,000 students this year.

Greene made this statement during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said, “What folks do not know is that this year we have interviewed more than 150,000 people.

“This is in addition to 30,000 students. Hundreds of thousands of students have had the opportunity to seek visas from the U.S. We are doing the best we can to get proper ways for all the categories after having an enormous backlog as a result of Covid-19, and all that.”

“We have made great progress though. In March we instituted a five-year term for visas to the U.S.,” he added.

However, he assured visa applicants of the mission’s commitment to tackling all visa-related hitches. According to him, issues related to visas would fully become a thing of the past, saying the mission is doing everything within its power to tackle such challenges.

He urged persons desiring to travel to the U.S. to apply early and ensure that the visa requests are tied to events.

“Folks that are seeking visas should apply early, make sure that the plan is for an event as they can. This is because we do acknowledge that there is a backlog and we will do what we can to make sure people that need a warrant visa to the U.S., can get them,” he said.

Daily Trust