Can someone please explain to me why the candidates vying for Nigeria’s presidency have not reached a consensus on the vexed issue of cattle ranching and come up with a policy that looks like this

by Ayo Akinfe

[1] We will open six mega cattle ranches in the six states with the largest land masses in Nigeria - Niger, Borno, Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi and Yobe

[2] When these mega cattle ranches are fully operational, they will dramatically increase the number of cows in Nigeria from the current 20m to say the 189m produced in India today. Zero interest loans will be provided for this purpose

[3] There has to be a dramatic increase in the number of dairy plants, leather factories, abattoirs, meat cold storage facilities, refrigerated lorries, etc. Nigeria’s federal government shall thus get state governments to build industrial estates over the next two years so we have factories that will manufacture all these associated, ancillary and by products

[4] Livestock transportation facilities will be dramatically upgraded. We will thus establish a cattle railway network linking all the 36 state capitals in the country

[5] All this requires a massive industrialisation programme as we have to manufacture railway wagons, rail tracks, refrigerated trucks, leather processing equipment, milking machines, etc. We will ensure this is all manufactured locally in Nigeria by providing industrialists with zero interest loans

[6] In the Niger Delta, we will manufacture livestock ships to specifically ferry cattle, sheep, goats etc across oceans. Our plan is to make Nigeria the world’s manufacturing capital of such vessels

[7]  Innoson Motors will be supported to manufacture unique refrigerated trailers and trucks that can serve as mobile abattoirs. Such vehicles will be electric-powered, with solar panels on their roofs

[8] Local ranches will be required to furnish the market, so two ranches in each geo-political zone would be built by state governments to meet domestic demand

[9] Private investors with deep pockets like our evangelical churches will be encouraged to invest in the sector, building ranches, abattoirs, leather tanneries, machinery plants, etc

[10] Each cattle ranch will have schools, technical colleges, bandit rehabilitation centres, a veterinary clinic, an animal feed compounding plant, an adjoining milk processing plant and a police station built on its premises

ABUJA think tank Agora Policy has warned the federal government that Nigeria’s growing debt profile is unsustainable and is putting the country in a perilous situation due to the high cost of debt servicing.

In a report titled Options for Revamping Nigeria’s Economy’, the group noted that debt servicing has become one of the biggest elements of the country’s expenditure. In part, the report read: "Alarmingly, debt service was the largest component of expenditure with N1.94tn ($4.44bn), followed by non-debt recurrent expenditure (N1.7tn), capital expenditure (N773.63bn) and statutory transfers (N289.89bn).

Were I one of the presidential aspirants asked to address the Arewa Joint Committee, these would have been the proposals I would have presented on how to develop northern Nigeria

by Ayo Akinfe

If we were a right thinking people, the humble motorcycle would radically transform the Nigerian economy. By my calculations, Nigeria is the world's fifth largest user of motorcycles behind India, Vietnam, Indonesia and China

According to Nigeria's National Motorcycle and Tricycle Riders Association, there are 8m Okadas in use across the country. I put Okadas or commercial motorcycles at half of the total number used in Nigeria, meaning that the total number of motorcycles in operation across the country add up to about 15m

AFRICA'S richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote has outlined an ambitious 10 year Nigerian industrialisation programme which he says the nation's manufacturing sector needs to adhere to if the country is to get out of its current economic rut.

Nigeria is currently facing a balance of trade and balance of payment crisis due to the fact that she exports very little and imports almost everything.

Ivory Coast's cocoa regulator is seeking to sell around 100,000 tonnes of cocoa held by domestic traders who had bought the beans from farmers but lack access to the international export market, industry sources have said.

The Cocoa and Coffee Council (CCC) regulator is offering the beans with a discount of around 200 British pounds ($280.40) to 250 pounds per tonne, but buyers are demanding bigger discounts because of a supply glut. A bumper crop and weak global demand caused by the coronavirus crisis, coupled with the introduction of a premium for farmers this year, has left hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unsold beans in warehouses in the world's top grower.

A director of an international cocoa export company said: "There are around 100,000 tonnes of cocoa held by small Ivorian exporters that the CCC is trying to sell, but the problem is that no-one is interested if the differential is not interesting." The director said international exporters were asking for a discount of around 350 pounds to 400 pounds per tonne because they had their own contracts to execute in a declining market.

Constance Kouame, an executive of the domestic grinders' association said that international exporters "want to make an extra margin on the backs of Ivorian exporters after removing the Living Income Differential premium - paid by exporters to the government to support farmers."

Two CCC sources, asking not to be named, confirmed the volumes and the discounts requested by exporters. The regulator is looking for buyers for the beans stored in the ports of San Pedro and Abidjan.

Domestic traders have urged the regulator to reform the international cocoa export sector to end the dominance of six multinationals.

A CCC source said: "Yes, we are thinking of finding a solution to help the locals have a bigger share in exports but for now, we are working to sell these 100,000 tonnes with the least possible discount." Three sources with the exporters' association said the regulator must find an urgent solution because most domestic operators had borrowed to fund purchases.

The director of a European cocoa export company said: "If the CCC does not find a solution quickly, this cocoa will be worth even less than what we are currently offering. The quality of the beans will become a problem."