State of Emergency SGBV: Prioritizing Survivors

By Kevwe Oghide and Blessing Uwisike

Has the world become more hypersexual? Or have people become more vocal about sexual harassments and abuse?  These questions linger on one’s mind as the number of reported rape cases and abuse continue to increase on news platforms. The Inspector-General of the Nigerian Police, Mohammed Adamu, said in July 2020 that the Police Forice recorded 717 rape cases in 5 months. This alarming increase has triggered a nation-wide revolt, where a number of groups, citizens and Civil Society Organisations like CODE, TechHer, EIE, EVA, StandtoEndRape and other initiatives are raising their voices and calling on the government to declare a State of Emergency on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

Sadly, women and girls are the worst-hit— especially as they already grapple with disproportionately high records of marginalisation all over the world. Violence against women and girls is not only a devastating phenomenon for families and the society, it is a pandemic that affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime, according to WHO. In Nigeria, 17% of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been subjected to sexual or physical violence at least once in their lives. 

While we are concerned about the staggering statistics, we are equally reminded that behind these figures are real people with real experiences who are going through untold mental issues in the wake of these atrocities in a country where there is a prevalent negligence of issues that do not fetch more money to those in power. Gender-based violence is also becoming a rising issue in online communities and girls or women who dare to report such incidences have either been shut down or have had to bow to pressure to leave the platforms as a result of threats and shaming. Reporting can be even harder as most victims are defiled by close relatives and family friends.

In an ideal situation, this realisation should induce empathy, but more importantly, drive relevant agencies such as the Police Force, the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Ministry of Women Affairs and anti-SGBV initiatives to continue to provide succour and protect SGBV survivors. The disruption in these crucial services is compromising the care and support that survivors need, like clinical management, mental health check and psycho-social support. It is also allowing perpetrators to go unpunished.

At the moment, only a handful of Nigerian States have functioning Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) and are implementing laws that specifically protect women and girls from domestic violence.  There are currently 22 SARCs in Nigeria which is significantly low and insufficient for caring for survivors. Many of these referral centres are poorly equipped. This shameful reality portrays how less of a priority SGBV cases are handled in the country.

The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP Act), that clearly outlines laws to expunge violence in Nigeria and in turn, ensure respectable living and decent behaviour among citizens of Nigeria, has still not been domesticated in 20 States, 5 years after its enactment. The act seeks to prohibit all forms of violence, including physical, sexual, psychological, domestic, harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation; and to provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders. Although 25 States claim to have adopted the Child Right Act, there are prevalent cases of child marriages and child abuse in many communities in the country, especially in Nigeria’s North. The poor implementation of the Act has also fuelled impunity for the perpetrators of SGBV. 

NAPTIP must be strengthened to domesticate the VAPP Act across the country and also increase citizens’ awareness of its laws and implications of violations. Safe spaces for survivors of rape, domestic violence and sexual assault must be highly prioritised. Communities need to be educated on the need to protect victims of SGBV and not shame them or turn a blind eye. Cyber-bullying and slut-shaming of survivors is significantly on the rise, many survivors are afraid to speak up because of the backlash the society deals them—although this is gradually changing as there are support groups springing up, more needs to be done in this regard. Sexual predators and rape apologists must face the wrath of the law.

Oftentimes, a survivor’s first point of contact is the health centre, and the quality of service will either begin the healing process or deepen the scar that these victims already carry. Functional facilities that provide proper care for survivors including counselling must be established. SGBV care-providers, qualified specialists and counsellors must be adequately trained to meet global standards. In the same vein, dedicated centres that address SGBV and help victims seek redress (if they desire) should be fully equipped and readily accessible. 

As a society that is still largely patriarchal, values like consent, gender equality, and a renewed glance on old harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation and incest must be discussed in groups and authoritative platforms to further educate the public. Women’s contribution to society’s development should be embraced, and their interests fully represented and protected by all means. 

By Charles Uche ESQ

Incorporating and fronting companies is a convenient and effective way of concealing identity, engaging in illicit transactions and evading liabilities. In many countries, a company can be formed without disclosing the identity of the individual who ultimately controls or profits from the business, i.e., the beneficial owner. Criminals and politically exposed persons (PEPs) can assign “nominee” shareholders to be listed on official documents or can list other legal entities (other companies can be shareholders in a company) as the “owners,” thereby creating a chain of companies–often across borders–that can be difficult for investigators and law enforcement to trace and recover.

Connected Development (CODE), has over the year, through its Conflict & Fragility project, in partnership with Oxfam-in-Nigeria advocated for a robust beneficial Ownership transparency through the instrumentality of a robust legislation as an essential means for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. While many initiatives exist to maintain and disclose beneficial owners of companies in Nigeria, like the Beneficial Ownership Register launched by Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in December 2019, none of them until the enactment of the 2020 Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) had the statutory backing for enforcement. 

Documents from Panama papers on Dan Etete and Kolawole Aluko can be used as classical case studies in demonstrating how these two individuals,  like many others, capitalised on the non-existent or fragile regulatory framework in Nigeria’s extractive “oil & gas” sector to launder money and evade liabilities which has cost the Nigerian government and people revenue in the billions of dollars. Till date, none of the aforementioned persons has been successfully prosecuted and convicted partly due to concealment of identities and fronting of shell companies in their transactions. Shell companies are legal entities “companies” that are non-operational and lack  assets or  staff.  They are conveniently used by money launderers to keep their identities hidden while they engage in illicit transactions across borders and evade tax.

Dan Etete: Dan Etete, a former Petroleum Minister under Nigerias Dictator Head-of-State, Gen. Sani Abacha had in 1998, incorporated a Shell company named “Malabu Oil & Gas Limited” using a fictitious name “Kweku Amafegha”, with few other persons, while he was the ultimate and beneficial owner of the company  – though his real name did not appear in any official documents. Five days after he incorporated this company, he, as Petroleum Minister, awarded this company an oil block “OPL 245”. He used this shell company to launder money across the Nigerian border and acquire luxurious assets, while escaping liabilities.

Kolawole Aluko: Kola Aluko is a businessman and oil executive. Media reports have described Aluko as a key ally to Alison-Madueke, a relationship both have previously denied. He rose to prominence around 2011 when Nigeria’s government awarded two companies he founded or owned valuable oil blocks on a no-bid basis. One of his companies, Atlantic Energy, was created the day before it inked the deals to acquire multimillion-dollar oil licenses.

In Nigeria, only a member of a Public Company (PLC) was under obligation, under the old 1990 CAMA, to disclose in writing when required, the capacity in which he holds any shares in the company; either as a beneficial owner or as a nominee of an interested person. See Sections 94-98, old CAMA.

The 2020 CAMA in section 119 has extended such obligation (to disclose the particulars of shareholding by notifying the company) to persons with significant control in all companies. Similarly, as provided in section 120 of the new CAMA, a person who is a substantial shareholder in a public company and holding (either by himself or by his nominee/proxy) shares in the company which entitle him to exercise at least five per cent (5%) of the unrestricted voting rights at any general meeting of the company, is required to disclose such holding by notifying the company within a stipulated time.

This new disclosure provisions are poised to enhance transparency and prevent asset shielding as well as combat money laundering, terrorism financing and all forms of illicit financial flows by legal entities having limited liability.

While there is no gainsaying that the above disclosure provisions would enhance transparency and accountability in the Extractive sector in Nigeria, especially in the Petroleum Industry, as many of the oil and gas companies are private limited liability companies (LTD); many of which have ‘rightly’ escaped disclosure obligations with no legal sanction – there is also an urgent need for the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) which has as one of its core objectives – “to promote transparency and accountability in the administration of petroleum resources of Nigeria”.

Researchers and Consultants at Connected Development – Girls’ Education Research Study

OVERVIEW:

The North-East (NE), Nigeria has remained one of the least developed regions in the country.  As of 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, the poverty rate in the region was above 71%, the highest in the country, while as of 2020, 60% of Nigeria’s 13 million out of school children are in the region. The region also has the lowest literacy rate across the country at 34%. Girls are most affected in the region education-wise. Most of them are out of school and cannot complete primary and secondary education following so many factors including inherent traditional societal barriers, early marriage, continuous insurgency in the past decade, as well as issues of affordability, availability and accessibility to schools.

To address the barriers to girls’ education in the region, CODE is currently implementing the project, “Increasing Girl-child Primary and Secondary Education Enrolment and Completion in Adamawa State,” which is funded by The Malala Fund. The project aims at facilitating girl-child education enrolment, access and completion through activating accountability channels for gender-responsive service delivery in schools, addressing traditional/cultural barriers to girls’ education and high-level governmental engagement on improving girls’ education.

Download Request for Proposal

MHM: Periods Do Not Stop In Pandemics

Menstrual hygiene management can be challenging for women and girls in developing countries, where access to clean water and toilet facilities are not adequate. In rural communities, some women and girls do not have the capacity to purchase sanitary towels, so they mostly rely on the use of reusable cloths and rags which has grave implications to  health.

Research shows that over 800 million women and girls menstruate every day globally and they lack the tools needed  to properly manage their periods. There is a cultural and social stigma surrounding menstruation, often preventing women and girls from attending work and school. Even when they do attend while menstruating, the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, lack of sanitation infrastructure such as private toilets and handwashing facilities, and lack of menstrual hygiene education can prevent women and girls from reaching their full potential in the classroom, in the workplace, and at home. 

In some societies, there is a norm that women should not talk about menstruation openly because it is something to be  ashamed of. This often leads to their discomfort during this period. There are  situations where men  have described menstruation, which is a natural phenomenon, as disgusting and shut down female folks who tried to speak openly about it.

WASH means Water, Sanitation and Hygiene while they are separate fields of work, they are interdependent. Without clean water, proper hygiene can not be practiced, without toilet facilities our water sources can be contaminated. Without access to WASH facilities, girls and women find it extremely difficult to manage their menstruation safely. Prioritizing WASH facilities has a direct link to improving  menstrual hygiene and can create opportunities for the integration of menstrual hygiene management into policies and programmes. A good example is seen in CODE’s work on Effective -Water Sanitation and Hygiene (EWASH) project which it is currently implementing with the support of the USAID in Nigeria. CODE has successfully advocated for the passage of WASH laws in Niger and Taraba states. These laws will ensure States prioritise the provision of clean and potable water for residents and increase the building of WASH facilities, which can improve menstrual health of women and girls. The lack of access to WASH facilities can affect the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like Goal 4.

May 28 of every year is set aside as Menstrual Hygiene Management Day (MHM Day), a day where Nonprofits, organized groups, private and government agencies come to celebrate the MH Day and advocate for good menstrual hygiene management. The theme for this year’s MHM helps to drive the narration IT’S TIME FOR ACTION with the hashtag #PeriodsInPandemic. Periods do not stop in a pandemic, so we can collectively as organizations, organized groups and individuals effectively advocate for the improvement of Menstrual hygiene management.

Managing Your Finances During the COVID19 Pandemic

We are currently facing a pandemic that has not only impacted our lives, but also businesses, the economy, and the world at large. The Coronavirus pandemic has become a global issue with no prior warning as the entire world was caught unaware hence, the lack of proper planning for the impact.   This suddenness has taken a huge toll on our daily activities and lives in general. People reacted differently to the COVID- 19, especially because of the uncertainty as to when things will get back to normal, there is a range of emotions from fear, panic buying, job retrenchment, pay cut and other issues.

How can you manage your finances during a crisis like COVID- 19?

I have outlined a few ideas;

 Evaluate Your Financial Health: What you should do first,  is to analyze your assets and liabilities to ascertain your net worth. Net worth is basically really everything you own that is of significance (your assets) minus what you owe in debts (your liabilities), which can be positive or negative. Assets mean what you own that can enable economic benefit (Inflow) to flow to the entity/ person examples include Cash, buildings, land. Liabilities are what you owe on those assets — including car loans, your mortgage, and amounts payable.  

For you to effectively manage and monitor your finances then you need to create a monthly budget which is recommended or a weekly budget, whichever suits you). The budget will help track expenses and ensure that projected expenses are not above expected income. At this point, you should re-evaluate your budget tossing out unnecessary spending.

Understand the Differences between Wants and Needs: Before you spend, especially during an emergency of this type, in a pandemic, ensure that it is absolutely necessary. It is best to know what to prioritize,  such as your needs, and make sure to avoid the wants that are not necessary.  Basically your needs are essential to you and your wants are not to be prioritized at this phase. The 2 by 2 matrix below sheds more light on needs and wants.

Build your income streams by diversifying investments, this is not the time to sell off assets-avoid panic selling. Find profitable ventures while considering their risks and authenticity. The best form of investment is self-investment and also leverage on long and short investment options like cash and cash equivalents, money market, Eurobonds, mutual funds. We need investments so we can have a soft landing after the pandemic, to hedge against currency risk and to save for rainy days. 

Please hold cash, basic secondary economics classes taught us that people should hold cash for three (3) major reasons; Precautionary motive to meet uncertainties or emergencies, Speculative motive which I like to call exploring advantageous opportunities and when cash is held to meet day to day activity then it is called Transactional motive. In a nutshell, it is important to hold cash so as to cover unforeseen expenses, meet short term obligations, and take advantage of a juicy investment option.

We should all learn from experiences like this and plan adequately for unforeseen circumstances, whether you experienced a change in your finances or not, it is important to assess your financial resources and plan to ensure financial success. 

This is a phase that will pass. Change, they say, is constant, so this phase will pass. Stay safe.

The Impact of COVID19 on Nigeria’s Economy

Executive Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a serious challenge to the world, necessitating countries around the world to adopt stringent measures such as complete or partial lockdowns in order to contain the spread of the disease and this has had adverse implications on national economies and rural livelihoods. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) had to close its land, sea and air borders and implemented a total lockdown in states and cities with very high infection rates across the country.

Consequently, state governments have followed suit. These measures have had its toll on individuals, households, micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) and large corporations. In order to cushion the effect of the pandemic on the citizens, the federal government had announced a number of responses: N500 billion COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund, 50 billion Naira CBN intervention fund for households and MSMEs, 20,000 Naira four months conditional cash transfer to the country’s poorest, reduction in price of fertilizers as subsidy to farmers etc. 

Approvals have been granted by the National Assembly and the International Monetary Fund for Nigerian government to borrow 850 billion naira domestically and $3.4 billion respectively to help finance the 2020 budget and reduce the impact of the severe economic shock the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the Nigerian economy. Experts believe the palliative measures introduced so far by the government are not enough considering Nigeria’s estimated 200 million population. The continuous decline in oil prices which is Nigeria’s major foreign exchange earner and the subsequent dwindling of the country’s foreign exchange reserve has put the country in a very difficult economic position at this time. 

It is important for the government to diversify its MSME sector to develop in all areas of   agriculture, manufacturing, entertainment, technology and services as each of these sectors will continue to be very relevant to the overall GDP growth as well as employment generation in the country post COVID-19.

The budget should be revised downwards basing the revenue benchmarks and assumptions on realizable thresholds and estimates to ensure optimum budget performance. Government must at this time cut the cost of governance, reduce unnecessary expenditures and channel available resources into empowering MSMEs and stimulating the economy. Efforts should be made to limit importation and to encourage local manufacturing of most of the medical supplies such as facemasks, hand sanitizers, ventilators etc as to conserve our forex. The cash transfer palliative to the country’s poorest should be inclusive and there should be transparent, comprehensive and universal social protection systems to mitigate against the prevalence of poverty. 

This report analyses the implication of Nigeria’s level of preparedness to combat COVID19 on its economy; the impact of the extremely decline in oil prices, and the influence on Medium and Small Enterprises in the coming months.

Download Full Report here

https://www.connecteddevelopment.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Economic-Implications-of-COVID-19-on-the-Nigerias-Economy.pdf

Inclusive Education for Children in Marginalised Communities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Why education should be prioritised in marginalised communities in the era of COVID19

By Blessing Akpevwe Uwisike

As of the first week of May, The Spectator Index confirmed over four million positive cases of the Corona Virus globally and at least 200,000 deaths. As the virus continues to spread its tentacles across countries, threatening human existence, human lives are being changed in unprecedented ways. As the pandemic affects nearly every sector of human interaction ranging from economic to social, health, education and commercial to mention a few; we are forced to make quick adjustments and life choices to prevent further spread.

While grappling with this new reality, a major change the world has had to make is maintaining social distance. To ensure compliance, the government at the state and federal level enforced a lockdown order where virtually all social activities came to a screeching halt. As expected, education was not excluded, giving that it became imperative to shut down education facilities across Nigeria and many other countries to prevent the pandemic from affecting children’s education and more importantly, their health. 

This move affected 1.3 billion students globally and has forced the government and members of the society to see the shortcomings of the education system in Nigeria. The most glaring of these is the unpreparedness of the system to embrace online and digital learning strategies, and if well attended to, it also gives a laser focus on specific areas of improvement and innovation.  

As COVID-19 widens the margin of education and access to the basic learning amenities, my volunteer experience with OneAfricanChild has enabled me to see first-hand, how children in low-income communities are forced to share rickety desks and uncomfortable wooden chairs, manage their very few books for many subjects, and enjoy internet connectivity/laptops only when we are able to organise our monthly digital classes. With the break of the  pandemic, their learning is currently in a state of hiatus as their main motivation is derived through the school system and informal learning opportunities we provide them. With this disruption, the children are exposed to anxiety and panic alongside learners facing similar struggles. The social skills, emotional well being and educational aspirations of these children are put on the line, worse still if they are enduring these challenging times in a community that undermines the value  of education.

Despite the world tilting towards technocracy, public schools in Nigeria are still grossly underfunded and there are no considerations for digital learning tools. At this point it is difficult to measure Nigeria’s effort towards the Education 2030 agenda aimed at “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Several children are still learning under conditions similar to the system their parents’.  While the future of education is progressing exponentially, ours seem to be moving at a slow pace. Education in this part of the world is still largely monolithic and children are not being adequately prepared for the world they are expected to lead.

A risk factor of the pandemic is the possibility of a high school drop-out rate, especially in low-income communities. Deliberate efforts are required to reintegrate children in these communities back to school. According to the World Bank’s “Learning Poverty” indicator, the percentage of children who cannot read and understand at age 10 stood at 53% of children in low- and middle-income countries – before the outbreak. While the situation can still be salvaged, a proactive move by the government will ensure a successful transition back to formal education post COVID. 

Innovation is required to provide quality and sustainable education to learners, and teachers cannot be left behind in this campaign. Understanding that learning can happen anywhere and in different forms, teachers must be trained to embrace this new reality, and as a matter of urgency, be provided with practical materials on how to meet learners where they are. Digital skills training to make learning accessible as well as emotional intelligence and creative teaching styles workshops need to be prioritised for teachers so that they are able to create safe spaces and assume the role of mentors and guides for learners. 

This period, providing content like interactive videos, soft copy materials, class activity, and lectures on websites where teachers can easily access will help them to prepare for a robust teaching-learning experience after the pandemic is over. But while it persists, partnerships with media houses like radio and television stations, to air educational programs for primary and secondary schools like some states in Nigeria have adopted are positive steps in the right direction.

Teachers must also be made to understand the Education 2030 goals as this has not been adequately communicated to them, only when they understand it are they able to run with it and ensure its actualisation. Workshops and materials to enhance this understanding should also be provided, with realistic benchmarks set in place to achieve it.

OneAfricanChild Foundation in partnership with Learning Equality, organises digital skills training for children in select marginalised communities in Nigeria. Through Kolibri, a digital solution developed by Learning Equality to provide offline access to a variety of learning materials, we provide quality education for children in low-income  communities on a broad range of global citizenship education topics such as media literacy, internet safety, fake news spotting, and lots more. We have had virtual learning sessions with students from other countries to share knowledge and exchange experiences. This exposes learners to blended learning that combines digital skills with offline learning. With support from the government and key stakeholders, and the welcome involvement of an  NGO like Follow the Money, which focuses on tracking government spending to ensure transparency and accountability, we can successfully scale this project and double our impact. 

To further ensure inclusive education for marginalised children, learning styles need to be diversified to include project-based and personalised methods so that the children are more engaged, involved and enthusiastic to learn. Their emotional well being needs to be prioritised and the school must be a safe space for them to heal from the instabilities that came with the pandemic. 

As the world around us changes torrentially, it presents opportunities to embrace technology, innovate and improve our education system to be more sustainable and to accommodate the changes that come with this new world, together with its industrial revolution. If other sectors are constantly improving to meet up, the education sector must not be left behind, because in this space, leaders are groomed.

Health Care in Nigeria and COVID-19

A bit of a background…

Due to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in December 2019 and its subsequent spread in Nigeria, Follow The Money initiative seeks to activate campaigns reaching out to communities in the 36 States in Nigeria and portray the poor state of our health care facilities across communities in Nigeria.

This campaign is educating people on the COVID-19 Virus and preventive measures to mitigate risks and reduce contacts. This campaign should also be able to make citizens take charge٫ in order to ensure that their immediate communities are sensitized by following the World Health Organization’s guidelines towards curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Citizens taking part in this campaign will also come up with reports that discuss the state of Health Care Centers in their communities and to also take pictures٫ so the world would see the state of Health care facilities in Nigeria. 

The campaign is also calling on the government to prioritise the state of Health Care Centers, increase salaries and allowances of medical practitioners, and also provide funds meant for WASH in medical facilities and hospitals in all communities in the federation. 

This campaign focus should also be on advocating for clean water in medical facilities and rural communities. This is  because٫ one of the important measures of preventing this virus is by washing hands regularly. Without clean water٫, how do we expect people in poor medical facilities and rural communities to wash their hands regularly and also provision of soap, alcohol-based hand sanitizers and other antibacterial material to prevent people from getting the virus? 

Through this campaign, we will initiate a nationwide call on iFollowTheMoney platform to all users on the platform for improved engagement and user-friendliness of the platform. The strategy is to begin the assessment of our sustainability plan and to evaluate the level at which citizens can take ownership of the follow the money model. 

Campaign Objectives are;

1. Increase citizen participation in ensuring transparency and accountability in the health sector 
2. Educate citizens on the COVID-19 pandemic and how they prevent themselves from getting the virus 
3. Advocate for improved health care facilities and clean water, for everyone especially in the rural communities 
4. Advocate for the increase of health practitioners’ salaries٫ provide adequate materials needed for medical research, provide preventive measures for this kind of disease if it happens again 

Increase engagement and sign-ups on the iFollowTheMoney  platform