How MVNOs can unlock opportunities in Nigeria's telecom amid challenges by Elvis Eromosele - ITREALMS

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Phenomenal is one word that has been used to describe the growth of the Nigerian telecom sector. The rise from under half a million lines to 165 million in 24 years is truly phenomenal by any standard. It's not surprising therefore, that the question on the lips of many today is whether the Nigerian telecom sector has reached its limit.

Proponents of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) say there’s still room to grow. This was the central focus of the Telecoms Sector Sustainability Forum (TSSF 6.0) in Lagos, themed “Unlocking Nigeria’s Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) Potential: Status, Trends, Investment, and Future Prospects.”

What can Ademola Adeleke not do? - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

For decades, we have always heard or read that government is continuum. We hardly get to see it happen in terms of projects especially when government changes hand from one political party to another, unfortunately it has denegerated lately into government changing hand to players within the same political parties abandoning project left by their predecessors.

In the media space, several analysts have tried to argue this as a basis for failure of government at several levels. While some people argue that it is politics of hatred, some other people argue that it is basically about priorities and some others argue that it is about each Governor or President wanting to leave a legacy. In this case lets focus on the Governors.

How modernizing payments can secure the future by Elvis Eromosele - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

Payment is the fulcrum of human interaction. And like everything else, it is constantly changing. The move from barter to commodity money was followed by currency and we are today in the realm of digital payments.

It is clear that to go forward efforts must now be geared towards modernizing the payment infrastructure across the African continent. This is imperative to promote innovation, drive economic growth, and help the continent gain a competitive edge.

Today, Africa stands at the cusp of a digital revolution, and the need to enhance the inclusivity and integrity of digital payments cannot be overstated. This transformation is not just about integrating new technologies but about simplifying processes, increasing trust, and ensuring the availability and reliability of payment systems.

Africa may well be at a critical juncture in the journey of digital transformation, an inflection point. To underscore the significance assertion, two forums in June arrived at the same conclusion.

The first was the Digital PayExpo 2024 by Intermarc Consulting with the theme 'Redefining Payment'. It was followed by Interswitch, ACI Worldwide Customer Engagement event tagged ‘Modernizing Digital Payment Infrastructure for Innovation, Growth & Commercial Advantage.’

Both sessions essentially concluded that the rapid proliferation of digital technologies has opened new avenues for financial inclusion, allowing more people to participate in the global economy. However, this potential can only be realized if digital payment infrastructures are modernized to meet the demands of today’s fast-paced, interconnected world.

The place to start is building trust through availability. Trust is the cornerstone of any financial system. For digital payments to gain widespread acceptance, they must be reliable and available at all times. Experts argued that the trust quotient in digital payments is directly proportional to their availability. When users can depend on payment systems to function without fail, their confidence in digital transactions increases. This is a fact.

Of course, modernizing payment infrastructure also involves implementing robust systems that ensure high availability. This means reducing downtime, minimizing transaction failures, and providing seamless user experiences. Financial institutions must, as a matter of urgency, invest in technologies such as cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence to create resilient and scalable payment systems.

The second thing would be to simplify the user experience. At the heart of digital transformation is the goal of simplification. Complex and cumbersome payment processes deter users and hinder the adoption of digital financial services. To drive growth, it is essential to simplify these processes, making them intuitive and user-friendly.

Innovations such as contactless payments, mobile wallets, and real-time transaction processing are examples of how simplification can enhance user experience. By reducing the friction in payment processes, businesses can attract more users and facilitate smoother transactions.

Another way to boost the adoption of digital payments is by ensuring transaction integrity. Those who should know insist that one of the major challenges in digital payments is maintaining transaction integrity. Issues such as fraud, data breaches, and identity theft can undermine user trust and disrupt the financial ecosystem. As digital transactions increase, so does the need for robust security measures.

The way forward of course involves implementing advanced encryption technologies, multi-factor authentication, and blockchain can help ensure the integrity of digital transactions. These technologies provide a secure framework that protects user data and prevents unauthorized access, thereby bolstering trust in digital payment systems.

Furthermore, everyone, from regulatory agencies to players, must consider digital transformation as the path to unprecedented growth. In truth, digital transformation is more than just a trend; it is a pathway to unprecedented growth. By modernizing payment infrastructure, businesses can unlock new opportunities for expansion and innovation. Digital payments enable faster, more efficient transactions, reducing operational costs and increasing profitability.

Moreover, digital payment systems facilitate global commerce by breaking down geographical barriers. Businesses can reach new markets and customer segments, driving revenue growth and enhancing their competitive advantage. The adoption of digital payments also promotes financial inclusion, bringing underserved populations into the formal economy and driving socio-economic development.

The experts are in agreement; modernizing digital payment infrastructure is a critical step towards fostering innovation, driving growth, and gaining commercial advantage. So, as Africa navigates the inflection point of digitalization, it is essential to focus on building trust through availability, simplifying user experiences, and ensuring transaction integrity.

Evidently, by embracing digital transformation, businesses can not only enhance their operational efficiency but also contribute to a more inclusive and secure financial ecosystem. The future of payments is digital, and the time to act is now!

*Contributed by Elvis Eromosele, a corporate communication professional and public affairs analyst, wrote via: elviseroms@gmail.com

Can you vouch for Netizens in this era? - ITREALMS

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The viral events on social media space recently, have left many wondering if the 21st century parents could still vouch for their Netizens children, asks REMMY NWEKE.

Preamble:

Growing up, one thing parents do easily is knowing their children well enough to vouch for them simply because often they all live under one roof, especially mothers.

ALTON to Pantami: Only NCC can regulate telecoms - ITREALMS

ForTheRecords@ITREALMS:

The speech delivered by the chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo during a visit to the Hon. Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami on Monday, October 14, 2019.

Excerpts:

Protocols

· ALTON commends the Minister on his recent appointment as Hon. Minister which is an endorsement of his performance in NITDA by President.

· We commend the Minister for proactively defining short to long terms targets for the communications sector and for championing the cause of the sector home and abroad.

· The Association Extend hand of partnership to the Hon. Minister, restating our commitment to working with government at all levels to bridge the digital divide in Nigeria and to foster inclusive economic growth.

A. National Digital Strategy

· There is no doubt that the world is experiencing rapid technology revolution. Digital technologies are reshaping traditional human activities and disrupting business models. Broadband networks are being used to transform the way people communicate, socialize, shop, travel and work, and are creating entirely new business models and markets. The reality of the world being a global village is now more evident.

· The leading global businesses such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, and Alibaba are all enabled by broadband networks. This speaks to the power of technologies in global economies. Thus, any country that overlooks the ongoing digital revolution and fails to act strategically to exploit the benefits of the digital ecosystem will lose in the long run. 

· For Nigeria, we are well-positioned to benefit from the digital revolution given our human capital potential which is our greatest asset and our burgeoning high youth population. However, what is missing is a holistic strategy that would enable Nigeria to exploit the benefits of the global digital ecosystem.

· It is, therefore, our view that Nigeria needs a holistic digital strategy that would deliver economic prosperity to its citizenry. We advocate that the strategy should address critical issues such as Broadband Infrastructural development, Digital services, finance, capacity building, and the regulatory environment.

REQUEST:

· Develop a Digital Economy Strategy in consultation with the National Economic Council. ALTON is willing to partner with the Minister to develop the Strategy.

B. Critical National Information Infrastructure

· Telecommunications infrastructure is globally acknowledged as an enabler for economic and social growth in the digital economy. The impact of telecommunications in enabling new industries and introducing significant efficiencies in education delivery, financial services delivery, health care provision, energy management, agriculture and ensuring public safety cannot be overemphasized.

· Given the role of telecommunications as a social capital overhead, damage to telecoms infrastructure or interference with same would have devastating impact on the economy and security or public safety.

· There has been an increase in vandalism of telecoms equipment by unscrupulous persons and shut down of telecom infrastructure by government agents and communities as a means of compelling operators to comply with their demands for spurious taxes or levies.

· The CyberCrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015 empowers the President on the advice of the National Security Adviser to designate certain networks (physical & virtual) as Critical National Information Infrastructure to protect and preserve same.

REQUEST:

· We therefore urge the Hon. Minister to facilitate the issuance of an Executive Order (EO) to designate telecom network infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure in the national interest. We have a draft EO for the Hon. Minister’s adoption.

C. NITDA Frameworks

· We commend the Hon. Minister for the innovative ideas and policies introduced during his tenure as Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) which are currently yielding positive benefits to the society.

· Our members are concerned about the impact of some of the recent frameworks introduced by NITDA on their operations and licence.

1. Framework and Guidelines for Public Internet Access (PIA) 2019:

Background

· The Framework sets out rules for the provision of Public Internet Access

· It permits NITDA to license a Public Internet Access Provider (PIAP) which technically is a provider of data services and prescribes minimum quality of service for such providers.

Our members' concerns are as follows:

o This framework will result in multiple regulation as two regulators (NCC/NITDA) will be overseeing the data market.

o Allowing PIAP to offer free data services is in conflict with the pricing principles for data services in the communications market as developed by the NCC and could potentially lessen competition in the data market.

REQUEST:

Direct NITDA to withdraw the framework in the overall interest of the industry

Direct NCC to develop a framework for Public Internet Access which would promote the use of data services in public places.

2. Registration of Data Centre Facilities:

Background:

NITDA wrote to some of our members in July 2019 requesting for the registration of Data Centre facilities owned by our members. According to NITDA, the registration is in furtherance of Presidential Executive Orders 003 and 005 on local content development.

Our members’ primary concern is that the directive from NITDA will result in multiple regulation of the industry as the data centers owned by our members are part of telecommunications networks that are already being regulated by the NCC.

REQUEST:

Direct NITDA to exempt licensed telecommunications operators from the registration requirement for Data Centres.

3. Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019:

The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 defines the rules governing the processing of data. It contains far-reaching provisions on personal data which includes communications identifiers such as IP address, IMEI number, IMSI number, SIM and Personal Identifiable Information, etc., as well as the procedure for procuring consent from customers and the transfer of data outside of Nigeria.

The Nigerian Data Protection Regulations is an innovative piece of subsidiary legislation which has placed Nigeria on the global map of nations with national data privacy and data protection legislations.

Concern:

· Complying with the provision which deals with obtaining consent from customers prior to the use of their data for our operations is an area of challenge for the industry. For example, majority of our customers are pre-paid and communication with most of the customers is via text messages. Thus, securing consent in the manner described in the Regulations (i.e. intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language) will prove difficult for the industry. It is also highly probable that some customers may not respond to the request for consent.

REQUEST:

Direct to the NITDA to collaborate with NCC to issue additional guidelines on securing consent for the telecommunications industry.

Given the volume of subscribers in the telecommunications industry and the highlighted challenge with procuring consent, we request for a compliance transition period of 1 year before full enforcement.

D. Refusal of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to Grant Build Permit for Infrastructure Roll-Out

· The provision of first class telecoms service in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has been hampered by the refusal of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to grant permits to our members to build infrastructure. Despite concerted engagement, FCDA has maintained that due to the need to maintain the Abuja Master Plan, it will not grant approval to our members to build new sites in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

· Honourable Minister, ALTON respectfully states that without adequate infrastructure, the provision of qualitative telecommunications services cannot be guaranteed. We therefore respectfully invite you to use your good office to liaise with the FCDA to identify suitable locations for new sites build by our members to ensure the provision of qualitative telecoms service in FCT and environs.

REQUEST:

To have discussion with the management of FCDA on how to expand the infrastructure build in the FCT for better quality of service.

E. The Amended Taxes & Levies Order of 2015:

· The Schedule to the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act (Amendment) Order 2015 further engendered the institution of multiplicity of taxes across different tiers of Government which has been perennial challenge for industry. The Taxes and Levies Order of 2015 introduced additional tax items and permitted States to apply their discretion in the fixing of tax rates resulting in the imposition of arbitrary levies and charges at the State Government levels. Specifically, item 3 (b) of the Amended Schedule to the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act introduced new levies and taxes under items 12 – 25. Most of these taxes and levies were hitherto contested by our members on the ground that they were not applicable to telecommunications operations.

· Further, pursuant to Taxes and Levies Order of 2015, States and Local Government Councils have been enacting Internally Generated Revenue based legislations targeted at our members. We find that most of these legislations are at variance with fundamental tax principles such as neutrality and certainty. Some examples of the taxes being imposed include:

• Ecology Tax for gaseous emission.
• Sewage, Sanitation and public convenience levy for base stations
• Fumigation Levies: Some States demand for the payment of fumigation charges of Base Station.
• Sanitation and refuse effluent tax for base stations
• Business premises tax for base stations
• Tenements rates charged per base station in some states is far higher than rates per square metre charged by the same State for residential and commercial buildings when the infrastructure occupies the same land?

REQUEST:

ALTON respectfully requests the Honourable Minister to engage the Honourable Minister of Finance towards a review of the Amended Taxes and Levies Order 2015, which is not business friendly and negates the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda.

F. Over The Top (OTT) Services in Nigeria

Increasing usage of OTT services by customers is adversely impacting on traditional telecoms platforms. According to Ovum, the independent analyst and consultancy: The growing adoption of OTT services by customers instead of traditional telecoms services will occasion global revenue loss of $386bn over a period of six years (2012 – 2018) for the traditional telecom operators, thus endangering network development.

· OTT Services in Nigeria and the Displacement Effect:

1. Data shows that voice minutes have been declining due to impact of OTT.

2. Voice Minutes has been declining while VoIP has been increasing

3. OTT Data flux has been increasing as shown with the 2016 data.

4. Telcos are losing money due to this trend.

5. Urgent action is required to save Telcos further loss due to activities of OTT players who do not invest in infrastructure.

· Comparing OTT and Mobile Network Operations

OTT Operators: offer the same services as the operators (voice, SMS, content, etc.), but are neither subject to licensing under the NCA nor have any contractual obligation with telecommunication operators in terms of interconnection.

Mobile Network Operators

Strong presence in the country, attracted over USD38bn FDI in the past 16 years. The industry is a Catalyst for telecoms infrastructural development in the country, and also a major employer of labour having created over 30,000 direct job opportunities andover 500,000 indirect job opportunities.

Telcos have paid over NGN300bn to the coffers of the Government in taxes and levies annually.

REQUEST:

Introduction of data price floor to ensure that Telcos price data profitably irrespective of activities carried out by data customers.

We recommend that OTT players to enter into agreement with Telcos for revenue share or payment of a kind of interconnect fee to Telcos.

In Conclusion:

We wish to inform and invite the Hon. Minister to the 20th Anniversary of ALTON scheduled to hold on Friday 29th November, 2019 at the MUSON Center, Onikan, Lagos.

ALTON is committed to the continued growth and development of the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry and respectfully requests that in order to save the legacy telecoms operators, measures must be put in place which will avoid distortion in the digital space in order to ensure unimpeded development of telecommunications infrastructure in the country.

*Engr. Gbenga Adebayo

October 14, 2019

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Return of Catholic Church excites CAN

ITREALMS:

The President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Dr. Samson Ayokunle has expressed excitement on the return of the Catholic Church to its fold, reports ITRealms.

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, CAN president said he was excited about the return of the Catholic Church, noting that the Church left CAN some five years ago.

In a press statement made available to ITRealms, Ayokunle pointed that their return is one of the best things that have happened since he assumed office as the President of CAN.

“One of my visions for CAN is to bring our Catholic brothers and sisters back to the fold; and I must acknowledge the support and understanding of my brother in Christ, Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and his team. I give kudos to all the principal officers, the directors and some Christian leaders in the country for their support and understanding while the dialogue lasted.

“My joy knows no bound with the presence of the CSN at the constitution amendment meeting of CAN held on Thursday and at the NEC meeting on Friday. It is our prayers that the Body of Christ in the country will remain one forever in Jesus’ name.

“At a time like this when Christians are almost becoming endangered species in Nigeria, when churches are being denied the Certificate of Occupancy especially in the core North, when Christians are being denied key public offices and when the Church is expected to speak for the voiceless, especially over the economic and social hardship in our country, we cannot afford to be at war with one another,” he said.

Ayokunle insisted that CAN is united in diversity. Stressing that Jesus Christ prayed for the Church shortly before He returned to heaven in John chapter 17.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Can cryptocurrencies reduce global poverty?

Commentary@ITREALMS:

Behavioral economics guru, Richard Thaler — this year’s Nobel Prize laureate in economics— has showcased that people are economically imperfect. Since humans are irrational we don’t fit neatly into economic models; we have cognitive limitations, social preferences, or, dare it be said, big problems with self-control.

When it comes to decisions about saving our money or investing wisely in order to ensure predictable returns and a safer future, forget it. We tend to procrastinate, and most often, worse, we opt for instant gratification. The easy fix, even when we know better. It’s in the numbers. The sad truth is that we are hot-wired to make bad economic choices.

Unless — and here is the brilliant twist …. unless we get paid to act counter-intuitively. If rewarded most people will do almost anything. Now let’s make that sound good: meet financial incentives (FIs). With FIs it is possible to influence the human decision-making process. Crudely, you have to pay people to take money. In the development world though, this is a golden fleece.

A study in rural India found that rewarding mothers with lentils once their child completed a stage of immunization, increased full immunization from 5% to 38 per cent In Mexico, the federal government issued micro cash transfers to low-income families on a monthly basis as a reward for school enrollment, which increased by nearly 15%. And in Northern Uganda where I conducted research on Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs), we found that 85.7 per cent of participants reported turning a profit with their businesses after they received UCTs.

Fast-forward to the rage of ICOs and the shower of crypto tokens raining fresh funds onto the world of social impact start-ups and blockchain solutions to global problems. Can the reasons why people put off getting regular health checkups be remedied by FIs? And can the newly discovered token-system of nourishing solution providers become FIs and applied as the miracle tool against poverty?

The United Nations’ number one sustainable development goal is to eradicate poverty. A huge part of the challenge is that sheer number of people without access to any financial services, an estimated 3.5 billion under- and unbanked people globally. If crypto coins were part of a behavioral approach to financial services, the results just might be a redefinition of the term tokenism. A significant portion of the world’s poor could be on boarded, a first step to increasing economic well-being.

The challenge is admittedly tough. Inflation and currency depreciation regularly wreak havoc across emerging markets, the very markets that are experiencing rapid growth and are the ripest for financial revolution. With low banking engagement, young populations, and high mobile penetration, an economical solution to financial services clearly requires something new and low-cost, like cryptocurrencies.

Consumers living in poverty require low-cost, instantaneous transactions. Currently, the flavor of the month is still mobile money, which has processed over $269 billion over the last 12 months in transactions. Two-thirds of these transactions had a total value of under $0.80.
 

Mobile money has been a step in the direction of greater inclusiveness but it continues to fall short as a viable option for impoverished consumers as they simply cannot afford to pay the 2% or more of their earnings just to receive it.

Welcome the cross-border cryptocurrencies, or crypto-tokens built on the blockchain. Some are calling them the next iteration of incentives, Crypto FIs not only represent cheaper transaction costs and offer smaller divisibility — but the potential to incentivize behavior will enable global inclusive finance.

*Courtesy: Tricia Martinez is the Founder and CEO of Wala a mobile financial platform built on the blockchain for emerging market consumers.

 

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Nigerian companies can uniquely leverage business processes

Commentary@ITREALMS: 

There’s a golden opportunity for Nigerian companies – one that turns their delay in investing in outsourcing and shared services into a unique strength. By plugging directly into the delivery machine of an experienced business process services provider, they can sidestep many of the challenges endured by earlier adopters. This enables businesses to leapfrog competitors and drive business value – rather than being a back-office function.

The world of business process outsourcing (BPO), broadly defined, has undergone multiple incarnations. Pure facilities management preceded data and infrastructure outsourcing; thereafter came application support. We’ve now moved into a new era, however – that of business process support (BPS) – allowing an external partner to manage everything from finance, to HR, sales support, credit and collections, as well as digital marketing.

Local companies have been reluctant to rely on third-party delivery of key services – in many cases due to fears around loss of control, where there is a legacy thinking of ownership equalling control. That said, Nigeria has not been left untouched by traditional BPO – the application and IT areas have matured more rapidly over the past five years, nonetheless only one conglomerate has taken a bold BPO step in Nigeria. Going forward, however, as we begin to see major moves towards drivers such as As-a-Service, increased automation and artificial intelligence, for forward-thinking Nigerian companies, leapfrogging competitors is going to be all about taking advantage of those next-generation capabilities today.

A fundamental shift from BPO to BPS

Once, outsourcing meant taking as many people as possible and setting them up in a delivery centre. That is changing. A combination of the on-tap liquid workforce, robotics, access to industry expertise, cloud technology and artificial intelligence – that’s where the sphere is headed. Fixed costs are declining steeply; you now buy services as required. Digital is remaking outsourcing – ‘outsourcing’ as a term in fact is no longer accurate. It’s all about business process services and the way BPS enables more effective, intelligent decision making.

There are more exciting changes. Whereas cost reduction once lay at the core, the key driver is now business outcomes – selling more products, improving account usage and increasing revenue. Another relates to a mindset shift. A service such as finance or procurement – when managed by an external partner – is now no longer simply a back-office process. Analytics function becomes capable of shaping how a business thinks about itself. Utilizing an expert service provider means that those in both middle and upper management are free to think more strategically.

Ololade Raji went further, saying, “given the benefits, it’s hard to understand what’s been preventing companies in Nigeria from taking the plunge, although lingering fears around the ownership-control continuum may continue to play a key role. At first blush, it appears to some that loss of ownership of a function means loss of control over it. In fact, the converse is often true – particularly in the sense that a more arm’s-length relationship often results in better decision making. Interestingly, utilizing an expert provider like Accenture can give you greater control through deep expertise and a commercial arrangement giving committed performance and business outcomes”.

Crucially, having largely side-stepped the shared services model, Nigerian companies are now better positioned to take a ‘long-jump’ approach to BPS: moving straight from in-housed disparate functions to plugging directly into an expert partner’s value delivery machine. Many businesses in developed economies will, by contrast, have undergone a longer, ‘triple-jump’ process, having worked on a shared services basis in between, and endured the associated restructuring and upheaval.

The value of going direct

Ololade further stressed that, “companies in Nigeria will no doubt begin to increasingly realise the value and gains business process services enable – fixed costs decline as services are bought as needed; migration into cloud platforms powers both scalability and ease of access. The liquid workforce means high skill at reduced, flexible cost. Moreover, there are the benefits made possible not only by automation, but increasingly, by cognitive computing and artificial intelligence. The list goes on.”

As the drive around efficiency, flexibility and reactivity reshape the global business landscape, successful companies will need to realise operational efficiencies and access the strategic insights made possible by expert partners. It just so happens that Nigerian companies may be uniquely well positioned to do so.

*Contributed by Ololade Raji, Accenture FMCG, Operations in Nigeria

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CAN alleges discrimination over Kerry visit to Sultan, North

ITRealms:

The United States (US) Secretary of States, Mr John Kerry's visit to Nigeria has been termed as discriminatory by the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN) following the limit of his visit to the Palace of Sultan of Sokoto and Presidency, reports ITRealms.

 

CANN on Thursday said described Kerry visit as discriminatory, personal and divisive and warned him to stop interfering in the internal affairs of the country, alleging the visit was aimed at furthering the federal government’s plan to continue to persecute the teeming population of Nigerian Christians.

 

Kerry, during the visit had only visited the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, met with the 19 northern governors, whom only three are Christians. At the Presidential Villa, where Kerry was hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari, met with select northern governors, which also irked critics on the selection process of his hosts.

The President of CAN, Rev. Dr. Supo Ayokunle, in an interview with journalists said Kerry’s lack of respect to the heterogeneous nature of Nigeria, amounted to favouring northern Nigeria and Muslims to the detriment of the Christian community. 

According to Ayokunle, the attitude and disposition of the Secretary of States and the discrimination he adopted during the visit supports  accusations that the President Barack Obama’s administration, alongside Kerry and other strategic US politicians in the Obama’s government openly supported the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2016 general elections, which produced the current leadership of the country.

While calling on Kerry to “stop interfering in Nigerian affairs”, CAN president explained that the visit was a complete flop and exposed Kerry’s negligence of Nigeria’s unity in diversity ideology that has remained the bedrock of the country.“Why did he meet with 19 states governors, without southern governors, is Nigeria the north alone, why did you go to the north alone?” 

Ayokunle stated that visit sends a wrong message, affirming the report that Christians under the Buhari’s administration are under a siege.  “There’s a siege on Christians. Kerry, his actions speak volume, his actions, body language were very divisive.

“If US Secretary of States is coming for official visit, it’s understandable, but we demand explanation why he was selective. Has the Sultan Palace become another State House? Was Kerry invited by the Sultan?

“We have 36 States in Nigeria; he only selected northern governors to meet with them. It was a visit to the north, not to Nigeria. It was surely a very divisive visit. With the visit to the north, Kerry’s visit has heightened fear and tension among Christians in Nigeria, if they cannot bring us together, they should not interfere in our affairs” 

Speaking against the perennial killing of Christians in northern Nigeria, The CAN president said, based on government the selective persecution of Christians mostly by the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Police, it was obvious the administration was anti-Christians.

“Have the DSS arrested the Muslim youths who burnt down a Catholic Church in Niger State because they were worshiping on Friday? What happened to the ECWA Pastor who was killed in his farm in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State? What have happened with Redeemed Preacher who was murdered in Kubwa, Abuja? he said.

In addition, they said, it “Look at the recent case in Zamfara State, Christians where burnt alive. What has happened? They will tell you, they are still investigating. Have they been arrested and charged them to court? If the government cannot sit up and protect Christians, tolerance is going to break down, they should do the right thing, they should not provoke Christians. Have we ever seen this government bring anybody to book?” 

The CAN president tasked President Buhari “to come out clean”, adding that, “a government that doesn’t listen is not for the people.”

Ayokunle maintained that while the DSS and the Police have been slow in arresting extremists killing Christians in the country, they have been fast persecuting Christians.

The CAN leader called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to as a matter of urgency intervene in the case of Mr Joe Chinakwe who was arrested for naming his dog ‘Buhari’. He argued that, naming an animal with somebody’s name is never a criminal offence.

“The NBA should take up that case and ascertain whether the man has the right to give any name to a dog. They should come and protect the man’s human rights and set the record why the case is not a criminal offence", Ayokunle stated.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Pix: Kerry.

PCYN alleges dubious characters want to hijack CAN election

ITRealms:

A group of Christians under the aegis of Patriotic Christian Youths of Nigeria (PCYN), has alleged that some dubious characters are working very hard to hijack the forthcoming Presidential election of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), reports ITRealms.

The President of PCYN, Evangelist Simon Timothy Nasso, who raised the alarm in a statement made available to ITRealms in Abuja, after the 2016 CAN Electoral College primary election in which Dr. Samson Ayokunle, Head of Baptist Churches in Nigeria, emerged candidate of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN).

PCYN said some persons with questionable characters who were allegedly sponsoring a particular candidate that is close to the Presidency have infiltrated CAN and should they succeed, the organization could hijack the electoral process in CAN.

The organisation therefore accused the Presidency and All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to instal its stooge with a view to paving way for the emasculation of Christians and turn the country to an Islamic state.

To perfect its plan, the PCYN claimed that the Presidency has allegedly recruited some fifth columnists to cause division among Christians with a view to scuttling the electoral process.

But the Special Adviser to the President (Media), Mr. Femi Adesina, had dismissed the allegation when a similar issue was raised on February 22 this year by the National Coordinator of Christ Redeemers Union, Dr. Ebenezer Olusola Abednego, when he argued that “President Muhammadu Buhari does not interfere in the internal affairs of any organisation.”

“It means that some Nigerians don’t know their President. Your President, Muhammadu Buhari, does not interfere in things like that; so, they need to know the person who is their President.

“The people making the allegation can’t insist that they are correct because that is the man for you and Buhari doesn’t interfere in anything. If he doesn’t interfere in state elections where his own party, the APC, is having candidates, how will he interfere in CAN elections? They don’t know their President,” Adesina said.

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