ON 29 October World Stroke Day is marked yearly. On this day stakeholders around the world join hands to bring this condition to the forefront of global discourse and health agenda. This is essential considering the burden of the disease and its implication for developing nations like Nigeria.

Stroke accounts for 5.8 million deaths annually, which is greater than that from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. It is a leading cause of disability worldwide. More alarming is the fact that two thirds of people who suffer stroke reside in low and mid income countries where awareness of prevention, care and support is lowest.

Stroke also known as cerebrovascular disease (CVD) occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrient to the brain is blocked or burst. When this happens, the cells in that part of the brain begin to die. Since brain cells cannot regenerate, the damage is usually irreversible.

The paralysis, loss of consciousness and difficulty communicating often associated with stroke are the results of this process. The specific signs and severity depend on the part of the brain affected.

Many of the risk factors for stroke are behavioural: Cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and harmful use of alcohol-induced conditions like hypertension and diabetes.

Multiple factors may be found in one person. Together they contribute to the process of blocking the arteries or weaken them till they burst. Although stroke occurs in people of all ages, advancing age increases the risk of having a stroke. It is worth noting that most risk factors take root in childhood and youth.

Stroke and other non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer are receiving increasing attention from the international health community. In the wake of United Nations General Assembly in 2011 convened to address non-communicable diseases as a developmental challenge of epidemic proportions, governments around the world have risen to the challenge. There is the highly publicised fight against childhood obesity in the United States. Locally, the tobacco control bill and the mental health bill are being touted as interventions that can stem the tide of NCD in Nigeria.

Nevertheless, there is clear evidence that over the last two decades death from stroke has declined in developed countries as a result of prevention and individual health care strategies. Unlike HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis which require heavy investment in drugs, diagnostic and preventive technology and robust political will, the most essential components of stroke prevention are largely available to all.

To keep stoke at bay we must make healthy choices about lifestyle.  All that is required is individual commitment to the six stroke challenges; namely,

Know your personal risk factors

The first step is to know what health conditions already exist in your body that may increase your risk of suffering a stroke. Simple tests like the blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol are used to diagnose hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia respectively. The presence of any of these requires urgent medical attention to prevent progression to stroke.

Be physically active and exercise regularly

People often confuse the stress of their daily life and occupations with exercise. The kind that is useful in disease prevention must be intentional, consistent and sustained.

Measures like walking instead of using transport; using stairs instead of the lift and gardening help control weight and reduce risk. A healthy prescription is walking fast for 30 minutes five days a week.

Maintain a healthy diet

Good diet is low in salt and fats, high in fruits and vegetables.

Salt raises the blood pressure and high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke. Adults require less than 5g of salt per day. Children in particular require less salt. This includes salt in everyday foods like bread, canned and packaged food as well as that used in cooking and at the table. Take the time to get used to lower salt food and you will enjoy it just as much.

Limit alcohol consumption

Excess alcohol damages the body. In some people the brain is affected in others the liver or muscles. The long-term effects of excess alcohol are the same irrespective of the kind of alcoholic beverage, that is, beer and wine are no different in their long-term effects. Women particularly have a lower threshold beyond which damage is done to their organs.

Avoid cigarette smoke. If you smoke seek help to stop.

Even more damaging than excess alcohol is cigarette smoke to both the smoker and those who inhale the smoke around him. Study after study has implicated smoking or chewing tobacco as a risk factor for so many diseases. It is therefore worth the effort to quit this harmful habit.

Recognise the warning signs of stroke and take action.

About 70 per cent of people do not recognise a minor stroke when it occurs. More than 30 per cent delay seeking medical attention for more than 24 hours after a stroke occurs. This is unfortunate because millions of brain cells die each minute a stroke remains untreated and brain damage is permanent.

There are treatment options that can only be used when a patient comes in within hours of the stroke. Therefore, recognising the signs is a must.

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arms or leg especially on one side of the body, or sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding, trouble seeing, walking or dizziness, severe headache of unknown cause.

If you suspect a person has just suffered a stroke act fast.

Face: check if the mouth is bent to one side

Arms: can they lift both arms?

Speech: is it abnormal? Do they understand you?

Time is critical. If you notice any of these act FAST. Stroke is a medical emergency.

• Adiat is a medical doctor with interest in neurology and public health.

Broadband and businesses

The 2009, World Bank Information and Communications for Development report showed that access to broadband boosts economic growth in all countries, but most especially in developing ones. The study showed that in developing countries, for every ten-percentage points of broadband penetration, their economies grew by 1.38 per cent. The report, conducted in 120 countries between 1980 and 2006, showed that developed countries’ economies grew by 1.21 per cent.  The figures confirm that broadband access is key for economic growth and even more vital in developing countries. Many Africans are seizing the opportunity that it offers to move their economies forward.

In the same way that the construction of electricity grids and transport links spurred innovation far beyond the dreams of their builders, high-speed broadband networks stimulate greater efficiency and the advancement of businesses.

The 2010 U.S. National Broadband policy document captures it even better when it states: “Broadband is the great infrastructure challenge of the early 21st century. Like electricity a century ago, broadband is a foundation for economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life. It is enabling entire new industries and unlocking vast new possibilities for existing ones. It is changing how we educate children, deliver health care, manage energy, ensure public safety, engage government, and access, organize and disseminate knowledge.”

It is a known fact that one of the key requirements for any successful business is the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently especially in this digital age. Anything that can speed up the rate at which communication takes place improves radically the output from any business endeavour and enhances the efficiency with which business processes are carried out. This is the whole new vista of opportunity that broadband technology offers us.

Broadband gives you a high-speed, ‘always-on’ connection to the Internet, which is typically at least 10 times faster than regular Internet connections. Besides being fast, it is highly cost-effective and provides consistency and reliability. It can save you time when using email and the web, thereby helping your staff to become more productive. In addition, it allows you to build online links with customers and suppliers, as well as with off-site and remote workers.

The term ‘broadband’ is used to describe any high-speed connection to the Internet with speeds starting from at least 1mbps.

More than just speed

While it is generally thought that the principal advantage of broadband is increased speed of access to the Internet when it comes to business and small businesses in particular, it is not simply speed that offers the advantage, but more the way in which greater speed allows companies the flexibility to change existing practices. The real value of broadband is the way it enables SMEs to make use of new services and applications that are available via high-speed Internet. Such services include e-commerce, remote working, cloud sourcing, real-time video conferencing, social media marketing and Internet telephony amongst others.

In addition to increased business efficiency and competitiveness, broadband is allowing individual workers much more flexibility in how and where they work. People are now able to work remotely from home or anywhere there is a high-speed Internet connection, which leads to a better work-life balance and a happier, more productive workforce.

In specific terms, SME’s can benefit from broadband in the following ways: Increasing efficiency as seen in the ability to streamline business processes, automate various tasks such as transaction processing, ordering, delivery and the monitoring of same. For example you could link your online shop with your accounting and stock control system to cut cost and improve efficiency.

Broadband can help your business become more flexible and more able to adapt to your staff, customer and supplier needs.     For example, you can use broadband to set up VPNs (virtual private networks) that allow off-site and remote workers access to your network. Greater collaborative working and video conferencing may be possible, which could reduce courier and travel costs.

Broadband brings business owners closer to their customers and suppliers. It allows businesses offer customers round-the-clock access to accounting information, order status, project details and also offers them prompt response in case of complaints that may arise.

High speed broadband connections would enable SMEs to connect to ‘cloud computing’ services. These are applications or tools that are stored on an Internet server and can be accessed as and when a business needs them; a far cheaper option for SMEs.

However, businesses need the guaranteed higher bandwidth, speed, reliability and security of next generation connectivity, to fully exploit the possibilities of cloud computing.

Social media has irrevocably changed the way brands interact with consumers online. The open, egalitarian nature of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter has given customers a voice and has made companies more accessible than ever. With over a billion people active on various social media sites regularly, the term ‘target market’ takes on an entirely new meaning. Social media helps your brand reach millions of people, it also helps you monitor what your clients are saying and responding to them real time. Online channels also allow for immediate call to action and with online payments becoming the order of the day, it allows businesses to make sales.

Broadband development in Nigeria

In Nigeria, broadband has the potential to help diversify the economy through the growth of online services in industries including retail, financial services, healthcare, education and agriculture.

A recent report by Analysys Mason for GSMA indicated that mobile broadband could potentially contribute over one per cent of GDP (and 1.7 per cent of non-oil GDP) in 2015, and could support the much sought after diversification of the economy.

The report also highlighted the country’s current low broadband penetration rate, which indicated that only six per cent of Nigerians have access to broadband services, and 74 per cent of those do so through their mobile phones.

However there has been some increased activity in the broadband space with the arrival of marine cables such as Mainone, and Glo1 and the change in focus by many operators from voice to data. Also, new operators are deploying all IP WiMAX networks across the country with some other already muting their desires to roll out the advanced 4G Technology, LTE.

All these activities are sure to increase the broadband penetration rate and by 2015 it is expected that broadband alone will contribute at least five billion dollars to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

For example, the country’s online retail industry could grow by 55 per cent a year to reach N44.9 billion in 2015, from N4.5 billion in 2010. On the other hand, the financial services sector could be expected to grow by 95 per cent CAGR to N16.8 billion in 2015, up from N0.6 billion in 2010, as a result of mobile access to bank accounts and money transfer services, according to the report. The use of the Internet and mobile devices to deliver social services, including healthcare and education, would generate growth of 70 per cent CAGR, to reach N30.3 billion in 2015.

As exciting as these figures are, such economic gains, however, depend on a positive environment created by all stakeholders that addresses the challenges to broadband development in the country chief among which is the availability of infrastructure especially in the rural and underserved areas, a positive improvement in the power situation as well as the provision of grants to broadband companies to aid their operations.

It is hoped that with the recent pronouncements of the leadership of the Nigeria Communications Commission and the Ministry of Communications Technology, as well as the recent inauguration of a Presidential Committee on Broadband, Nigerians should expect a more rapid development of broadband infrastructure in the country so as to increase access and enable more small businesses benefit from the world of opportunities which broadband offers.

• Ifedigbo, a writer and PR practitioner, wrote from Lagos.

ONE of the most monumental moments of my life took place when I was 14 years old. It was a hot sunny day in Kabba, the Biology teacher Mr. Adeoye, walked in and the topic for the week was reproduction, the only thing he said that week that stuck in my brain was the theory of XY chromosomes. Whereby women always produce xx chromosomes as a constant homogametic sex, the distinct heterogametic sex chromosomes produced by men xy determines the sex of the child. If it is X chromosome it was a girl, if Ychromosomes it was a boy. I was elated and filled with joy to found out that the sex of a child was scientifically determined by men.

In the African context the pride of a family used to be, and to a large extent still is, embedded in the number of male children a woman is able to ‘produce’. A woman is mostly considered a failure if she cannot have male children and the anguish and heart ache that women who do not have male children go through cannot be explained by mere words alone.

My aunt has six children all of them girls, you may wonder why…. My uncle’s family kept pressuring her for a male child from the time she gave birth to her first daughter until she gave birth to her last daughter. She would cry, pray, go through sleepless nights all for a male child, but each child turned out to be a girl.

I love all my girls; they are beautiful, brilliant, energetic and loving. I never understood why my relatives gave her grief over her inability to have a male child. I felt like walking up to each of them and explaining that spiritually we are made to believe that children are gifts that come from the Creator and genetically the sex of a child is determined by a male so if they wanted to torment anyone they should turn their efforts to my uncle!!! My efforts would have proved useless, because they were blinded by ignorant beliefs passed down from our forefathers and the illiteracy that beclouds their judgment have blocked them from thinking like people of the 21st century. I also contrast myself here because I have a friend, a very close friend who told me he would divorce his wife if the first child she gave birth to wasn’t a male; I sat down there, right in front of him, listening to an educated individual speaking like a cave man from centuries ago!!!

The crux of discrimination between a male and a female begins at home, in the family, where before birth prominence is placed on the male child over the female. It takes away from the joy of motherhood if the woman cannot bask in the coming of a new baby but worries over the sex of the child because she knows that is what is going to determine the state of the happiness of her marriage.  This discrimination spreads to the type of education male and female children receive while growing up, the type of attention showered on them, the expectations put on them; all of this differs. It begs the question of: Are male children and female children different apart from sex? Why should they be treated unequally?

Why do women have to fight harder to achieve everything worthy of note in Africa? What has the government done to bridge the gap in discrimination?

How has societal stereotype affected the psychology of African women? What are African women doing to break the stereotype? How much of a role is played by African women in governance and decision-making?

It would interest you to note that the foundation of discrimination stems from women. The psychological effect of stereotype is so great that women believe that things are the way they are because tradition deems it so.

An example is of the mother-in- law putting pressure on her daughter-in- law for a male grandson instead of sympathising with another woman who just happens to be in a different situation. The key antagonist and tormentor that my aunt suffered from were from her unmarried sister-in- law. Stories abound about women in high places who have failed to use their power of position to empower other women for fear of these women dominating them in future.

The practice of injustice and abuse of widows is another example of unfair treatment from one woman to another. Shaving of the head with razor blades that might be infected, washing of the dead body and giving the water to the widow to drink, confining a widow to the same living quarters with the body of her dead husband, torment based on accusation of murder of the widow’s husband, all these are inhuman acts that go against the basic human rights of an individual are crimes carried out by women against one another. The reason is not farfetched in fear, the singular, controlling factor that gives African men power over their women.

Sarah Jubrin came out as a candidate for the PDP presidential primary election, it was appalling and shameful when the votes were counted and she only got one vote!!!! There were scores of female delegates in the stands and more women who undermine their power of conviction over their husbands to canvass for votes for a fellow woman. Yet we speak for equality and cry against discrimination, but we take no action towards effecting the change that we so desperately need.

A man doesn’t have to prove himself twice, the fact that he is a male is reason enough for society to believe that he will not fail and he is capable. If he loses his wife he can mourn her for a couple of months and remarry without any problems whatsoever. Women need to rise above fear of what has been ingrained in them as norms; we need to open up our minds to visualise the possibilities of change in our society if we stick together against maltreatment, gender inequality, abuse and unfair societal stereotype.

We do not have enough women in governance. Government can speak all the big grammar they like and give inflated statistics but the reality of the situation remains that women are not represented in government. This can be either because of lack of qualified women for such positions or the refusal of a male dominated cabal to involve more women in key governmental sections of the economy. This is the largest and most pronounced way that stereotype can be taken care of, when women are seen proving themselves in offices or positions that have been previously dominated by men more people will feel compelled to employ more women and treat them with greater respect. As the ‘weaker sex’ we have to fight extra hard, push further, struggle even more to be seen, heard or taken serious. The number of women in parliament and occupying ministerial positions is still less than 25 per cent. Government has to do more to increase female representation.

Patricia Etteh was the first female speaker in the lower chambers of the National Assembly, her position was heralded as the starting point of change and the dawn of a new era in the development of female participation in governance, but that hope was put out quickly when she shamefully abused the powers of office and lost her seat before she could effect any change. It will take a long time for another endeavor like this to see the light of day.

Women need to start being more socially conscious of themselves by attempting by all means possible to avail themselves of opportunities of education and IT development, we must reject the old and archaic norms of being just housewives, petty traders and the silent partner of Mr. & Mrs. We do not only lose sense of our identities, but we increase gender stereotypes when we fail to see that there is more that we can do. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates aren’t called Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates but Mr. Bill and Mrs. Melinda Gates, same as the Iwealas’, who are not referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Ikemba Iweala but as Mr. Ikemba and Mrs. Ngozi Iweala. This is because these women have risen to such prominence in society that their identity cannot be hidden behind their husband’s name. It may seem minute, but by undermining the identity of a woman by referring to her with the name of her husband she loses her identity as an individual who exists only with her husband.

It would be unfair for me not to mention the fact there are African men who treat their children equally and give them the same opportunities for development. My father treated us equally. He always said to us that the difference between men and women was purely physical and that anything else was left to us, we could go as far as we wanted, reach as high up as we could and to never let anyone treat us as anything less than equals, thus the reason for my feminist tendencies. Women from a sound educational background and upbringing have gone on to achieve great things because they were made to believe that the only limitations that exist were the ones we put on ourselves.

I laud the efforts of some women who are the catalyst of change in African countries: Ory Okolloh, a Kenyan activist who has utilised the power of social media to enable people post incidents of violence online across Africa.

Chimamanda Adiche: One of African’s leading literary voices, her stories put women as heroes who are capable of doing more than is expected of them.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: The epitome of a true female African hero who has broken the norm and forced her critics in acceptance of her abilities to change the Liberian economy, awarded Nobel Peace prize in 2011 for her efforts in uniting the warring factions of war- torn Liberia and securing debt relief for the country.

Ngozi Okonjo Iweala: The economist who proves that there is no difference in the mental capabilities of male and female, secured a debt relief for Nigeria, helped Nigeria obtain a sovereign debt rating, former vice-president and former managing director of the World Bank and African nominee for the post of World Bank presidency.

The road to equality and breaking down of stereotype is a long one. My friends used to ask me why I was searching so hard for a job since I was going to get married someday and stay under a man. I told them, I’m searching for a job to have a sense of independence, pursue a career and provide for my family same way a man does. We just need to open ourselves to the opportunity when it avails itself to us and see ourselves as equals for the same positions in an unjust world.

• Chima, an unemployed graduate, lives in Abuja

At the just concluded exercise, there was a consensus that our constitution needed be urgently amended to correct perceived anomalies. How will this exercise impact on the collective welfare and individual needs of the Nigerian youths? The template produced by the House of Representatives contains 43 major areas and items and only a handful of these affect the youths.

There is a proposition that the National Youth Service Corps be removed from the Constitution. The NYSC scheme, since its establishment in 1973, has tremendously contributed to the development and endowment of our youths with varied skills, in most cases, in addition or in variation to those they acquired from tertiary education. It helps in bridging the gap between graduation and induction into the labour market. My uncle told me recently how the scheme used to be the toast of every fresh graduate. They looked forward to it right from their fresh years in the university. Its contributions towards the unity of Nigeria and empowerment of the youths cannot be over-emphasised. Granted that the scheme has recently resulted in some loss of our vibrant youths, what is needed is a restructuring of the scheme. Scrapping it or delisting it from the Constitution is not the best solution to the problem.

The current minimum age requirement for elective offices in Nigeria needs to be amended, too. Many of our youths have proved to be very efficient in private businesses and other endeavours within and outside Nigeria. It is a well-known fact that youthful exuberance, enthusiasm and energy tend to fuel organisational activities when exhibited in a controlled and tactical manner.

In Nigeria, public and political office positions are seen as reserved for retired personnel or protégés of old chieftains, whose activities and sources of income may nots be easily verifiable. At present, you need to have attained the age of 30, 35 or 40 to be elected into the House of Representatives, as governor, senator or president respectively. This is discriminatory and alien to international standards of modern day democracy. The present constitution assumes that at the age of 18, a Nigerian is matured enough to make intelligent comparisons and well-informed decisions about candidates standing for elective offices and are therefore allowed to vote. Why won’t the same person be eligible to stand to be elected? Yes, if you can vote, you can as well be voted for. Nigerian youths, therefore, demand an amendment to the relevant sections of the constitution to enable eligible and capable youths contest elective positions at the age of 21.

The proposition to alter relevant sections of the constitution and allow persons who have resided in an area for a long period to claim indigeneship of the said area should be supported. Many of our youths were born in states and zones different from their parents’ states of origin. They grew up and have lived in these states, having friends, kith and kin and have developed strong affinity for their supposed host communities. They should be legally and constitutionally allowed to claim indigeneship of such states, if they so wish, and, therefore, entitled to accruing rights, duties and privileges. It will be discriminatory and against the tenets of democracy to deny them these rights.

There is an urgent need for the establishment of a scheme or commission that will cater for our unemployed youths, something similar to the Unemployment Benefit Schemes in Western nations. The government can afford to pay all eligible unemployed youths a token to take care of their welfare for a certain period. The list should be reviewed every six months to determine continued eligibility. Efforts should be made at putting those who have not secured jobs back to work. This gesture will go a long way in reducing the disturbing crime level and increasing our sense of nationhood. The recent Graduate Internship Scheme introduced by the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE P) is commendable and should be sustained. This scheme will enable the youth acquire experiences and become employable. Some of us will also be able to become employers of labour after the year-long programme. Hence, Nigerian youths demand that the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) and the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) be incorporated in the new constitution.

Appropriate legislative framework should be put in place to ensure a restructuring of the National Directorate of Employment. In the recent past, there has been an improved campaign for rapid employment generation and self-reliance by the NDE and its management. This is commendable, as their activities have placed many youths in positions to become employers of labour and to create wealth. Efforts should be geared towards ensuring the presence of the directorate in each of the local government areas. The directorate can be upgraded to a commission and constitutionally empowered to ensure able-bodied youths are gainfully employed. Appropriate and adequate funding should be provided and mechanisms for checkmating corruption in the commission put in place. At the grassroots level, the directorate should encourage youths to take up mechanised farming and they should be properly supported and well funded. This gesture will go a long way towards the achievement of a Federal Government vision of food sufficiency.

The level of our annual budget implementation has been a vexed issue. Evidence has shown that late submission of budgets by the executive, federal and state, contributes to the inability of ministries, departments and agencies to appreciably implement budgets. The proposition to amend the constitution such that the president and the governors would present the budget before the National Assembly or the Houses of Assembly at least three months before the commencement of the financial year is worthy of consideration. This will require alterations to sections 81 and 121 (1) of the constitution. This will give the legislature ample time to critically digest the budget proposal and make necessary inputs and then pass it to law before the financial year begins.

The Federal Government should endeavour to allocate adequate resources to the Youths Development Ministry and other ministries whose activities have direct or indirect impact on the welfare of youths, such as Information and Communication Technology, Science and Technology, Education, as well as Labour and Sports. The management of the National Youth Service Corps recently complained about the inability of the authorities to provide adequate feeding for corps members during their orientation programmes. They called on state governments to come to their rescue. However, the state ministries in charge of youth development and affairs are not left out in this same problem of underfunding. They, too, are battling with paltry fund allocation. This is pathetic and cannot be allowed to continue. Concerted efforts by all and sundry, private and public, are required to engage and sustain youth and education programmes.  The youth is the future of any nation. We cannot afford to starve youth development programmes of funding.

Every step must be taken, including constitutional alteration as may be necessary, to address the monster of unemployment that has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society. Our youths have resorted to all manner of vices due to lack of activities to occupy their mind, and keep them busy. From Maiduguri to Lagos, Sokoto to Calabar and Port Harcourt, we are falling victims of society manipulation and their cruel activities, including jungle justice. It has been frequently argued that unemployment, frustration, anger and disillusionment are some of the factors driving our youths into the Boko Haram mayhem.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo captured it vividly recently when he said: “The danger ahead is real and potent. There is absence of serious, concrete, realistic, short and long-term solution. The danger posed by an army of unemployed youth in Nigeria can only be imagined.” The future of this nation is unquestionably in great danger if drastic and urgent actions are not taken to reduce the level of joblessness.

The administration of local councils needs to be strengthened. There are many reasons to do this. It is the nearest to the people and the grassroots. A greater majority of the youths have found local council administration as a stepping-stone in their political career. Their contributions to the development of democratic culture and service delivery, through this level of government, have been outstanding. There is a clamour for this tier of government to be granted financial autonomy and the joint state/local government account abolished. This will require alterations to section 162 (6) of the Constitution to ensure that local councils’ allocations get to them directly.

The tenure of chairmen/councillors of local councils should be enshrined in the constitution and provisions made to withhold allocations to unelected officers. These measures will increase grassroots development and positively impact on the welfare of the youths.

Gender and equality issues should be addressed in the constitution to ensure the protection of the rights and interest of women and youths. A certain percentage of appointive and publicly elective positions should be reserved for women and youths. These will ensure youths get into management decision-making bodies, where they will be placed in positions to effect the needed changes and introduce youth-friendly policies.

Funding of our educational system is another critical area that requires our attention. Appropriate legislations and constitutional provisions should be put in place to ensure the restoration and sustenance of the hitherto high standard of our ivory towers. Education and research support agencies, such as TETfund, UBEC and PTF should be strengthened and adequate funding provided for their activities.

A greater degree of autonomy should be granted to institutions of higher learning. Federal and state governments should not hands-off their statutory duties of funding them and at the same time granting them autonomy. Cutting edge research and creative innovations should be encouraged through establishment of mechanisms for rewarding deserving scholars and academics.

It is our sincere wish that all and sundry, including civil societies, religious organisations, members of the academia, organised private sector, labour and our elected representatives will participate in this exercise and contribute towards giving Nigerians a youth-friendly and people oriented constitution.

• Akwafuo, an ICT student in the UK, wrote from London

THIS season a year ago today, Nigerians received a nasty New Year’s gift via a press statement from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) that subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS) would cease after January 1st.

Nigerians as well as most government officials, including the CBN governor and the coordinating minister of the economy and minister of finance were caught by surprise. Though there had been some discussion about removing the subsidy with the 2012 Budget (April), there were still ongoing consultations with stakeholder groups and the first of a series of town hall meetings had just been held a few weeks before. Furthermore, the minister of finance had tentatively agreed to a town hall meeting scheduled for January 22nd, hosted by Enough is Enough Nigeria, to engage young people on the issue.

Nigerians reacted swiftly with the first wave of protests starting on Monday, January 2nd and these continued across the country under the banner of “OccupyNigeria”. Labour’s general strike started on Monday, January 9th and through Friday, January 13th, Nigerians came out en masse in Kano (including women for the first time in history), Abuja, Akure, Lagos, Ibadan, Ife and Kaduna to name a few. Sadly, lives were lost during the protests and no guilty government agent is yet to be prosecuted. Labour hastily called off the general strike on Sunday, January 15th and the Federal Government used military forces to forestall any other citizen-led action.

While the removal of the subsidy was the trigger, most Nigerians were clear that our concerns were around the cost of government, the waste in government and corruption, which were the crux of the lame excuses given to justify the removal. Why should the government not do anything about cleaning up its act, yet continue to inflict suffering on Nigerians at various levels? In a country that provides no social services and the average citizen provides all basic utilities - water, electricity and security, the government cannot continue to rob us on all sides!

In her two appearances before the Senate Joint Committees on Appropriation, Finance and Petroleum Resources (Downstream) for the public hearing on “The Operations of the Fuel Subsidy Scheme in Nigeria, the Minister of Petroleum represented the Federal Government’s position as follows:

“The fuel subsidy structure is inefficient, costing us N600 billion ($3.75 billion) in 2010 and N1.3 trillion ($8.125billion) from January - October 2011. The Federal Government cannot continue to pay, as it is unsustainable. By removing the subsidy, the savings will be used to provide critical infrastructure and services.

Currently, only a small percentage of Nigerians (the marketers, middle and upper-class Nigerians) benefit. When removed, more Nigerians will benefit.”

In the aftermath of the January protests, the minister of petroleum resources set up four committees; the president set up a technical committee, the Senate and the House of Representatives conducted their own investigations. While each report has been shrouded in controversy, the undisputed fact is that the regime is corrupt and inefficient with guilty parties in the public and private sectors. The total bill for 2011 is now N2.09 trillion ($13.4 billion) and 2012 will be approximately N1.05 trillion ($6.8 billion). We protested last year against government waste and corruption, yet in a lot of ways, things have only gotten worse: There’s now fuel scarcity and most Nigerians don’t buy PMS at N97 per litre. Most NNPC retail stations don’t even sell, large sums of money continue to turn up missing, no one is yet to be prosecuted for the many cases of fraud unraveled by the probes, the 2013 budget shows no lessons learnt from the issues raised in 2012 – duplications across agencies and line items that can’t be supported, and impunity at all levels of government to name a few.

On the flip side, Nigerians became more aware and it showed that when pushed to the wall, Nigerians would react.

In the sector itself, there are lots of unresolved issues: no one knows the exact amount NNPC makes or the exact amount of fuel consumed per day in Nigeria, so figures remain estimates. Why does NNPC still get 445,000 barrels of crude a day that it can’t refine? A lot of money is being spent to push a Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that both local and foreign operators agree is detrimental to the sector. Our refineries continue to operate at less than 22 per cent capacity while billions are earmarked for upgrades and turn-around maintenance.

In 2011, the minister of petroleum resources said that contracts had been signed with the original builders to revamp the refineries. One year later, no work has been done on any of them and upgrades are yet again in the 2013 Budget.

The Federal Government has played fast and loose with terms. In certain contexts, it talks about ‘deregulation, in others, ‘fuel subsidy removal’. The simple truth is if the sector is deregulated, the price of PMS will stabilise amidst competing forces. We were clear about this last year, but that was not the time to have a discussion about a deregulation plan. Our demand was clear - return to N65 and then present a deregulation plan that would, by default, include the removal of subsidy. Removal of subsidy is only one element of the deregulation process and certainly not the first step.

One year later, there is no such plan to deregulate the sector. When we got serious about fixing power, a road map was created that provided a step-by-step process to privatise the power sector. While the road map hasn’t been implemented flawlessly, we continue to stumble through with improvements in certain areas.

Late last year, a Niger-Delta elder statesman said that the oil producing states had received over N7 trillion ($45 billion) in 13 years with nothing to show for it. In our 50 years since independence, it’s estimated that $400 billion of oil revenue has been stolen or misspent. If we are really serious about accelerating growth in other areas of the economy and taking advantage of our youth bulge, it would do us well to get serious about deregulating this sector so states would stop going cap in hand every month to Abuja for their share of the ‘national cake’. It’ll force states to get more creative about creating wealth and reorient public servants about the true meaning of ‘service’ that is not dependent on endless access to cash.

Fuel scarcity and increased fuel prices-we hope the federal government does not take the easy route and push Nigerians to the wall yet again. Deregulate this sector, please!

• Adamolekun, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria