Monday, 30 March 2015

External reserve hits new low, below 4 months import

on March 30, 2015 / in Business 1:48 am / Comments

Vanguard Newspaper

By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

Okonjo-Iweala

The stress of dwindling oil revenue is mounting on the economy as external reserve drops below USD30 billion last week, indicating less than four months import bill. The decline which came with last week’s withdrawals for meeting forex demands put the total figure at USD29.9 billion.

The international standard for healthy reserves is six months import cover, which for Nigeria should be about USD48 billion. Nigeria’s external reserves had crossed USD60 billion mark, indicating over eight months cover, or literally excess reserve of over USD10 billion a year ago just before the oil price decline.

The pressure on the reserves was worsened by the relentless defense of the Naira by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since last year even when it was clear that the exchange rate was unsustainable at official rate of N155/ USD1 before the apex bank was forced to accept a devaluation to N199/ USD1 in the fourth quarter 2014. At current level the reserve has hit below its lowest point in the past 10 years.

CBN had attributed the pressure on the external sector to unscrupulous demand for foreign exchange and had subsequently scrapped its auction system early this month. Also the apex bank is going after the dollarization of the domestic economy which it felt had added to the unwholesome demand for the resources already in depletion by supply crash.

A continued decline in external reserve at current rate would trigger a call from either the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, which will both be keen on offering financial assistance, according to economy observers. With the pressures it is clear that the Federal Government would resort to external borrowings to manage the challenges.

Apparently in anticipation of this development the Finance Minister and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had in January this year, hinted of plans to augment capital spending with “external long-term concessional borrowings for infrastructure projects”. Among those being courted to provide the funds are the World Bank and China. According to economy experts ‘’Nigeria may continue to explore other options in addressing its revenue gap problems so as to avoid dialling the IMF/ World Bank, but should the oil crisis linger longer than expected, and Nigeria’s foreign revenue continues to dwindle, that call may become inevitable.

Nigeria’s federally collected revenue is likely to decline further by about 25 per cent this quarter. The chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane had alluded to this pessimistic future in a presentation recently in Lagos saying that the declining revenue will serve as a wake-up call for Nigeria. According to him, decline in prices of other commodity is unlikely to cushion the effect of lower oil exports on the balance of trade, adding that the wake –up call would essentially focus on improving domestic tax income while diversifying export earnings sources.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/external-reserve-hits-new-low-below-4-months-import/#sthash.QNPqkLRH.dpuf

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Sunday, 29 March 2015

Extract 6 from A Woman in Need

car. Lambert drove. Soon we left the city behind and
headed into the woods. I was very tense. Lambert
showed his dexterity, driving delicately in the woods.
When we were about eight kilometres into the bush, we
parked the jeep under the shade of a tree and we
started roaming the savannah woods in search of
game.
Not long after we started moving about when
Lambert set the ball rolling. The bang of his gun startled
me and I jumped in fright.
‘‘Let us go and fetch it’’ he said.
‘‘Fetch what?’’ I asked.
‘‘Oh, I have killed it,’’ he replied,
‘’It is an antelope.’’ Lambert confirmed.
Dogo was the first to follow the pathway and
closely coming behind him were Bello and Lambert. I
was behind them. The enthusiasm that I had earlier
showed started to wane.
I developed some sensation or rather some
tingling that made me feel like being sandwiched
between Bello and Lambert. I looked here and there to
be sure I was not being stalked by any wild animal
particularly a hyena. The savannah is notorious for
carnivorous animals and definitely, no novice would
pray to have an encounter with such an animal as a
hyena. They were reputed to be in large numbers in
these woods.
With the exception of myself, the team was
adequately equipped with skill and weaponry. This
made me personally uncomfortable, and I was torn
between exhilaration and regret. But I believed
somehow that the excitement overweighed the fear.
Each of them went a different way and I did not know
whom to follow out of the three sharpshooters. I was not
sure with whom I felt safer – the two sharpshooters
carrying rifles on the one hand, or the lone warrior
adept in the use of local weaponry on the other. The
local man said he preferred the bow and arrow because
the sound of the gun scared away the animals.
Now that Lambert had shot at an antelope, there
was little hope there would be any game in the vicinity
waiting for his silent arrows. I recalled Osuji saying that
Bello was a good shot. I decided to stay close to Bello.
We moved cautiously from one place to the other
because the whole thing needed a vigil disposition. I
was beginning to ask why we had found nothing where
the antelope should have been when suddenly Bello
beckoned me to silence. I knew he must have caught a
glimpse of a game and I peered in the direction he had
concentrated his attention. I was suddenly able to make
out the outline of a large animal. From its appearance, it
resembled a carnivorous animal and the animal
seemed to have caught our scent. I knew from my
reading about animals that most carnivorous animals
had a strong sense of smell.
I crouched behind a shrub as Bello took
deliberate aim and pulled the trigger. The animal gave

such a

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Thursday, 26 March 2015

Iron Dome Air Defense System

fridge, he equally went to bring it to go with the juice.
Extract 5 From A Woman In Need

‘‘You see, this is why I always advise you to keep
a poultry,’’ interjected Dan.
‘’That is for you agro-economists.’’ Bello replied.
‘‘Do not mind him with all his troubles’’ said Osuji
who had been quiet since we entered the room.
Dan was a teacher in a high school while Osuji, a
Police Inspector, an Italian trained criminologist.
As we continued with the drinks, Bello asked me if
I would like to go with him and Mr. Lambert on a hunting
expedition.
‘’When is that?’’ I asked.
‘’Wednesday, because it is a public holiday,’’ he
reminded me.
‘‘Have you been going on hunting games here?’’ I
queried.
‘‘Oh yes, and one of the local hunters always
accompany us any time we go,’’ answered Bello.
‘‘Is he coming on Wednesday?’’ I inquired and
Bello answered in the affirmative.
‘’ I think that will be beautiful since I would not
need to rush to Kano and rush back only for a day’s
holiday’’ I said.
‘‘Can you handle a gun?’’ asked Osuji.
‘‘No’’, I answered.
‘‘Then Bello can teach you how to handle one
because I went on a hunting game with them once and I
can attest to the fact that he is a good shooter; he is an
expert,’’ he said.
‘‘That will be lovely and actually worth experiencing,’’ I
replied.
‘’ Gentlemen, I think I will now have to go; it is
already 10.00pm’’, said Danmeraya.
When the appointed day came for the hunting
expedition, we were a team of four: Bello, Lambert,
Dogo, and I.
‘’Bala, Dogo is coming with us for the first time
because Shehu who normally accompanies us is
unavoidably absent owing to some ceremony taking
place in his family,’’ informed Bello.
The idea of hunting was not one that appealed to
me much but somehow, there was the strong pull to
experience this for myself. There seemed to me two
immediate benefits of the adventure. One, I would be
able to take my mind off Linda for a while, if I ever
could, and while away the time before my next trip to
Kano. Second, I would have something really exciting to
tell her about when I got back there. Whichever was the
stronger reason did not matter to me. I just wanted to
go.
Because I had something to look forward to in
Rigabiu, for the first time, time seemed to fly. Almost too
soon, Wednesday was upon us. I did the best I could to
hide both my anticipation and my dread. I was not sure I
was doing much of a job but no one seemed to notice
or comment on what they noticed.
On Wednesday morning, we set out in Lambert’s
car. Lambert drove. Soon we left the city behind and
headed into the woods. I was very tense. Lambert
showed his dexterity, driving delicately in the woods.
When we were about eight kilometres into the bush, we
parked the jeep under the shade of a tree and we
started roaming the savannah woods in search of
game.
Not long after we started moving about when
Lambert set the ball rolling. The bang of his gun startled
me and I jumped in fright.
‘‘Let us go and fetch it’’ he said.
‘‘Fetch what?’’ I asked.
‘‘Oh, I have killed it,’’ he replied,
‘’It is an antelope.’’ Lambert confirmed.
Dogo was the first to follow the pathway and
closely coming behind him were Bello and Lambert. I
was behind them. The enthusiasm that I had earlier
showed started to wane.
I developed some sensation or rather some
tingling that made me feel like being sandwiched
between Bello and Lambert. I looked here and there to
be sure I was not being stalked by any wild animal
particularly a hyena. The savannah is notorious for
carnivorous animals and definitely, no novice would
pray to have an encounter with such an animal as a
hyena. They were reputed to be in large numbers in
these woods.
With the exception of myself, the team was
adequately equipped with skill and weaponry. This
made me personally uncomfortable, and I was torn
between exhilaration and regret. But I believed
somehow that the excitement overweighed the fear.
Each of them went a different way and I did not know
whom to follow out of the three sharpshooters. I was not
sure with whom I felt safer – the two sharpshooters
carrying rifles on the one hand, or the lone warrior
adept in the use of local weaponry on the other. The
local man said he preferred the bow and arrow because
the sound of the gun scared away the animals.
Now that Lambert had shot at an antelope, there
was little hope there would be any game in the vicinity
waiting for his silent arrows. I recalled Osuji saying that
Bello was a good shot. I decided to stay close to Bello.
We moved cautiously from one place to the other
because the whole thing needed a vigil disposition. I
was beginning to ask why we had found nothing where
the antelope should have been when suddenly Bello
beckoned me to silence. I knew he must have caught a
glimpse of a game and I peered in the direction he had
concentrated his attention. I was suddenly able to make
out the outline of a large animal. From its appearance, it
resembled a carnivorous animal and the animal
seemed to have caught our scent. I knew from my
reading about animals that most carnivorous animals
had a strong sense of smell.
I crouched behind a shrub as Bello took
deliberate aim and pulled the trigger. The animal gave
such a

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Wednesday, 25 March 2015

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Sunday, 22 March 2015

A Woman in Need

Extract 4

CHAPTER TWO
Bello was a good boss and a nice friend, too.
Whenever I made a mistake, he never failed to invite
me into his office to give me the best advice. On one
such occasion, he told tell me to keep-in with my
subordinates at work, and not be too critical of them
whenever they made little mistakes. It made them lose
confidence in themselves and definitely inhibited their
ability to achieve their utmost potentials. He would also
advise me not to fail to let them realize the problems
their stand-offish attitude would be to the company.
I had wished that people like Bello were in highoffices
in Nigeria and the country would have been in
an enviable position in the comity of nations of the
world.
Linda had told me on several occasions that it
was necessary to take my daughter Rashidat home to
her mother so that she could receive proper care. This
argument sounded convincing and, hardly could there
have been any disagreement. While I will be away at
Rigabiu, Linda would resume duty by 7a.m and would
not be back from work until after 5 p.m. Our major
trouble was how to look after Rashidat while her mother
was away at work. To solve the problem, we took her to
Linda’s mother in Abeokuta. That was how
our only daughter came to be in the care of my motherin-
law. I was grateful for this.
Bello offered to take me home and as we drove in
his car, he asked me if I was going straight home or
would like to have some snacks with him in his house. I
knew that even if I went home, I had nothing to do
except sleep. Therefore, I agreed to go with him to his
house. There we met two of his friends, enmeshed in a
discussion about Nigeria’s laconic political economy.
Since independence, the learned Chief has been
in the fore-front of the fight against neo-colonialism in
Africa and particularly in Nigeria. He had warned us
against these economic recessions that are now
bedevilling us. In fact, most if not all the Chief’s
concepts were logically comprehensive, but were
unfortunately presented to the people who, most of the
time were logically apprehensive of his concepts’’, said
Danmeraya.
To back up his argument, he had been
gesticulating during the discussion and regretfully shook
his head clearly disapproving of the indiscipline and
lack of patriotism being brazenly displayed by the elite
of the society as well as the apathy of the generality of
the masses.
‘’Dan, so you people are still on that subject,’’
asked Bello.
All right, let’s have some fruit juice’’, said Bello as he
went in and brought out some drinks for us.
Remembering he still had some roasted chicken in the

Friday, 20 March 2015

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Thursday, 19 March 2015

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Monday, 16 March 2015

Extract 3

Therefore, when at the end of the race my foot
touched the earth, it was a thunderous cheer that
greeted me from the spectators. All the students from
my schoolhouse came to congratulate me and share
the moment with me and the house in particular.
Students from my schoolhouse shook hands with me
and when it was Amina’s turn, she gave me a firm kiss
on the cheek.
‘You are great Bala,” she intoned. ‘’I knew you
would make it and give the house a good
representation for I have always watched you during
practice with keen interest, she added as she offered
me some glucose drink to take as it was glaring to
everybody that I was exhausted.
Since then, Amina and I became an appetizing
two-of-a-kind in the school. We did things in common
and those who did not know us well believed us to be
twins. Every one in the school acknowledged Amina’s
beauty, her gaiety, poise, and chocolate complexion as
a rare combination. When she spoke the English
language, one needed no telling that she had a foreign
orientation. She had finished her elementary school in
England. The blue blood that runs in her veins had
made her burglar-proof from many prying eyes in the
school.
The only unhappy and apprehensive moment for
me in the school was when her father withdrew her to
continue her education in the United States of America.
I soon got over it since I was preparing for
my final examination and would in a few months say
good-bye to secondary school life.
I have often wondered what would have become
of us if her father had allowed her to remain in Nigeria.
Perhaps we would have become something more to
each other or perhaps we would have broken up.
Secondary school love was not something as binding
as the kind of relationship that had developed with
Linda across the years. Linda was everything I would
have wanted in a woman. I was perfectly satisfied with
what I had in Linda.
Eventually, I left the room and bid my lovely Linda
goodbye. When I boarded the taxi-cab, she stood still
and would not move until the cab was out of her sight.
I reached Rigabiu at about seven in the evening.

What time it was did not matter to me since I knew
there was nothing to occupy me but to be in bed for the
rest of the night. As I was about leaving the motor park,
I ran into Bello.
Bello was the field engineer in the company
where I served and I was directly responsible to him.
Bello had gained a good reputation from the
management owing to his diligence, faithfulness and
hardwork. Moreover, there was never a time he had
betrayed the confidence reposed on him. He had just
completed his sixth year in the company at the time I
was posted there. I was posted to the company for my
one-year national service from the National Youth

Service Corps (NYSC) secretariat in Kano.

Extract from 3 A Woman in Need

Friday, 6 March 2015

Extract 2 From A Woman in Need by Lateef Adeola Sanusi

Each time I was leaving for my station, Linda

would hug and cling to me, and kiss me several times. I

would feel her heartbeats like the hammer of a

blacksmith doing justice to stubborn steel.

‘Darling, how I wish you were never posted to

that construction firm for your primary assignment.

Without you, life is too boring in Kano,’ she murmured.

After reassuring her, I would tell her that there

was no sacrifice that was too much for one’s nation. I

would grope for words to explain that this would only be

for one year, after which we would be able to stay

together as before till death did us part.

Watching me as I packed a few things into my

bag, she started playing with my beards and planted a

kiss on my right cheek. Whenever she did this to me, I

always felt on top of the Himalayas.

Linda was gorgeous and very beautiful. She was

the type of woman every man would like to introduce as

his wife. I admired her long legs, good set of teeth that

glittered like diamonds. Her silky hair reminded me of

Amina who was my secondary school mate.

Amina was the first girl with whom I had fallen in

love. Those were my secondary school days when

every one admired my spirit of sportsmanship. She was

the daughter of one of the most efficacious political cum

intellectual elites in the country who was then a

commissioner and who had many a time represented

Nigeria and led Nigerian delegations to

international deliberations. He was unreserved in his

faithfulness and service to the nation, and would never

condone any act that violated the entrusted

commitment to the society from any of his comrades or

political associates. And it is an effulgent aristocratic

brilliance indeed!

It was during the inter-house sports, which was a

yearly event in our school. I represented my

schoolhouse in four events: relay race, hundred-meter

dash, high-jump and slow- cycle race. I came second in

the first three events but came first in the cycle race. It

was only when I finished the cycle race that I realized

that Amina and I have been silent lovers.

The slow cycle race was the toughest of all the

events that I had participated in. It lasted for thirty

minutes and the fellow who came second lost his

balance a few minutes before the race ended.

Excellence in the sport required concentration, energy,

and a good bicycle. Each participant was confined to a

track about two feet wide. The winner could be the last

participant to reach the tape if he is the only one that

never went beyond the two-foot wide sidelines of the

track and never touched the earth with either of his feet

until the end of the race. Going by the rules, the

contestant who kept all the rules, even if he arrived the

tape last, would be declared winner. I actually beat my

former record which stood at twenty two minutes, forty

seconds.

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Extract From A Woman in Need by Lateef Adeola Sanusi

PART ONE
CHAP TER ONE
Getting up from siesta, I felt like I had been on my
back for two weeks. Indeed, it was owing to the
Saturday all-night party I attended. I had dined and
wined like I had never done before. I went into the
bathroom, had a nice shower, and prepared myself for
the journey back to Rigabiu - a small town of about two
hundred kilometres from Kano, the centre of industrial
and commercial activities in the northern part of Nigeria.
Whenever I came back from Rigabiu to my lovely
Linda to spend the weekend with her, I hated going
back to that locality. It had none of the city's pulchritude
and western or modern frolicsomeness that I had been
used to while I was a secondary school student in
Lagos, and for all my close to seven years sojourn in
Britain.
Moreover, to leave Linda for five days in a week
was to me, like eternity. Rigabiu is the headquarters of
a local government. Our company was carrying on a
construction project in this area, – the construction of a
road that would link Hadejia to Kano, bypassing
Rigabiu. Consequently, after the day’s job, we always
pass the night at Rigabiu. We still had about three
more weeks before we moved to another location
where we could pass the nights if things went on as
planned.
I was about to call Linda to give me some food
when as if she knew what I have been contemplating,
she appeared and said,
‘’Bala, I think you will like to have something?’’
Truly, I needed food more than anything else. I was just
recovering from the adverse effect of drinks. I had taken
too much drink. Therefore, I needed a nice meal before
my peregrination to Rigabiu that was now a weekly
ritual. This was my routine and was bound to remain
that way for the rest of my one-year national service.
After I had eaten, I dressed up and was about to
leave. In fact, Linda and I had all along been staying
together for about three years and it was only in recent
months that circumstance had compelled us to stay with
each other for only two days in a week. And two months
gone, it remained only ten months which were not much
although to me, it seemed like perpetuity before I would
be done with my service year so we could live together
once more and to part no more with my lovely Linda.
We had planned to have our wedding not long
after I might have finished my national service. We were
unmarried and we were great lovers. Between us, we
had a baby girl from the relationship. She was two
years old

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