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Increasing Tourism in Nigeria Could Strengthen Economy


In a meeting on June 23, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) announced a partnership with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).  The establishment of this association hopes to bolster tourism in Nigeria. The project seeks to completely rebrand the tourism industry, all while creating a multitude of new jobs and strengthening Nigeria’s economy. According to the assistant director of NTDC’s press unit, Mrs. Adamma Afanga: “we need to start within our domain, focusing on consumption of our assets, promotion, and development of domestic tourism.”

In recent years, the Nigerian government and people have faced unemployment, the devaluation of Nigerian currency, terrorist activity and political instability. While this has made it difficult to attract foreign visitors, there is a significant opportunity for a turnaround. Inflation has slightly decreased, and Nigeria’s GDP recently saw its best quarter performance in the past year. Additionally, President Muhammadu Buhari has received positive marks in the international community for his humanitarian efforts and economic policies.

Because of these reasons, attracting foreign visitors has been difficult in recent years.  As a result tourism in Nigeria has been particularly affected by political and financial instability. Most notably, terrorism and economic recession have made many international visitors less likely to visit Nigeria. However, by promoting investment and rebranding the tourism industry, there is the potential for significant economic growth in the country.

Currently, tourism in Nigeria is a relatively small industry with much room for growth but many challenges to overcome. In 2016, the hospitality industry comprised 4.8 percent of the Nigerian GDP. Despite the fact that many new hotels were created in the last few years, the number of foreign visitors to Nigeria declined significantly. The majority of clientele in the hospitality industry were domestic, corporate guests looking to travel in the cheapest way possible, which is readily achievable given the vast supply of accommodations.

The primary challenge of this partnership is synergizing the different aspects of tourism in Nigeria. According to Folorunso Coker, Director-General of the NTDC, the ultimate goal of this partnership is to create an all-inclusive tour package for Nigerians. This would not only capitalize on the country’s existing domestic travel industry but would create many new jobs. This is because building the necessary infrastructure, security and technology for attracting tourists will require skilled laborers.

As stated by Coker, strengthening tourism in Nigeria “will have multiple effects on job creation and poverty alleviation while strengthening GDP and [Nigeria’s] currency. Everyone in the value chain of tourism must work together and be ready to drive the market.”

– Julia Morrison

Photo: Flickr

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Wear Nigerian” Campaign


Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie already has an impressive resume. She is the author of five bestselling novels and an ardent feminist activist. But in the past couple of months, she’s added another title: champion for local business. Recently, she started a “Wear Nigerian” campaign that serves just this purpose.

In a Facebook post, Adichie announced her intention to wear almost exclusively Nigerian brands for public appearances. She made this decision after observing, in her words, the “Nigerian government’s disastrous economic policies” that led to a “reduction in the value of the Naira and therefore in disposable income, a change in values, a disorientation of the middle class and most of all, to a debilitating sense of uncertainty.”

Adichie’s Facebook post aptly highlights a problem that the Nigerian government has been grappling with for a while. Between 2015 and 2016, the Naira, Nigeria’s currency, lost 25 percent of its value. Nigeria is rated by the World Bank Doing Business 2017 Report as one of the most difficult countries to do business in. This is largely due to the difficulty of border trade and the lack of reliable infrastructure such as electricity within Nigeria’s borders. Because of these factors, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to start businesses and obtain credit in Nigeria.

Adichie’s Wear Nigerian campaign works to combat this. There is a wide consensus among economists that economic growth starts at a local level. When citizens of Nigeria buy local goods instead of imported goods, the community grows. As the local producers begin to have more income, they invest their extra income in community projects like repairing infrastructure. Thus, it helps everyone to follow Adichie’s Wear Nigerian campaign.

Adichie is also using her platform to convince people that wearing Nigerian-made clothes can be cool. People can see all the styles Adichie is wearing by following her Instagram page, @chimamanda_adichie.

– Adesuwa Agbonile

Photo: Flickr

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New Aid to Come to Nigerian Refugees


According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, there are almost 2,152,000 internally displaced Nigerian refugees as of Dec. 31, 2015. The displacement has been caused by Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is an Islamic terrorist group that has been trying to enforce Sharia law onto Nigeria and other Northern African countries. Despite its violent strategic nature, the military campaign led by the newly elected president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has proven successful in recent efforts.

As reported by the International Crisis Group, Nigeria has been more successful in fending off Boko Haram and it has become less of a threat. Nigerian forces have been able to clear Boko Haram out of some occupied territory, thus opening up opportunities for citizens to return to their homes and humanitarian efforts to distribute much-needed aid.

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) states that there are an estimated 8.5 million Nigerians refugees requiring humanitarian aid in 2017. Thankfully, the head Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has brought up a way for ensuring protection and solutions for the growing population Nigerians that are returning to their previously occupied homes. Working closely with the Nigerian government, Grandi presented a plan called “Directions on Protection, Access and Solutions for IDPs and Returnees in North-East Nigeria.”

The plan prioritizes voluntary returns and protection from gender-based violence to ensure the dignity and safety of those receiving aid. Access to both therapy and legal support, specifically to settle cases of unclaimed or claimed land, was also outlined in the plan. The main goal of UNHCR seems to be to establish social harmony among the tense community.  Goals of “empowerment,” “community reconciliation” and “gender equality” were also included.

With the U.N. raising more than $670 million in pledges that will help support aid for Nigerian refugees and their neighboring countries over the next two years, the victims of the widespread terrorism in North Africa will now have new found funding and resources to help them adjust back into their home lives.

– Vicente Vera

Photo: Flickr

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The National Fadama Development Project in Nigeria


In 1996, the World Bank described poverty in Nigeria as “widespread and severe.” Low per capita income, high unemployment, low industrial utilization capacity and high birth rates are some of the challenges the country is facing despite its vast resources. Low productivity in agriculture is another cause of the widespread poverty in Nigeria.

The National Fadama Development Project (NFDP) has been incorporated by the government to address the challenge of poverty in Nigeria. The project was started in 1990 and is now in its third phase. It is a $450 million project and is being implemented in 36 states and Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. Phase I and Phase II of the project helped to raise the incomes of rural farmers by 63 percent.

Fadama is the Hausa name for irrigable, low-lying plains underlain by “shallow” aquifers found along major river systems. The Fadama concept is an old tradition in Hausa, where flooded land is used for growing a variety of crops and small-scale irrigation.

This land is suitable for irrigation, fishing and providing feed and water for livestock.
The objective of The NFDP III is to increase the incomes of the farmers, reduce rural poverty, increase food security and contribute to the development of the Millennium Development Goals. Six minimum components of The NFDP III are:

  1. Local governance and communication
  2. Small-scale community owned infrastructure
  3. Advisory service and input support development
  4. Support to the Agricultural Development Programs
  5. Asset acquisition for individual Fadama Users Groups
  6. Project management, monitoring and evaluation

The NFDP is driven by the community. Local community members oversee the design and implementation of the project. This leads to empowerment, skill and capacity building, and has led to improving livelihoods and income generation. The local communities have created more than 2000 development plans. Construction of wells, storage facilities and other initiatives have developed the farm infrastructure, and the farmers have acquired 8,000 pieces of equipment.

This project has supported large and diverse residence of transient wildlife, including herbivores, carnivores and migratory birds. In the Ondo state, 50,000 households have benefited from the project. Veterinary clinics, roads, small bridges and 174 kilometers of rural roads have been constructed. The NFDP III is expected to reach about 317,000 direct beneficiary households and 1.4 million indirect beneficiary households.

“The Third National Fadama Development Project Additional Financing is a unique opportunity to demonstrate how the World Bank Group can support Nigeria to drive its Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA),” said Adetunji Oredipe, task team leader for the project. “It is therefore not surprising to see the high level of commitment and political support availed the project by the federal government.”

Through these joint efforts by the NFDP III and the Nigerian government, it is hopeful that the country’s poverty-related issues will improve.

– Aishwarya Bansal

Photo: Flickr

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Boko Haram’s Impact On Education In Nigeria


Boko Haram, the dangerous Islamic extremist terrorist organization in Nigeria, has been severely attacking the country’s education system. If the attacks continue, the lasting negative legacy will be detrimental for Nigeria.

Boko Haram is based in Nigeria and a translation of the group’s name in Hausa is “Western education is forbidden.” Boko Haram’s impact on education has flipped the Nigerian educational system as a whole by stealing the education of the youth and attacking the system in every way possible. Boko Haram gained publicity when they kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Chibok.

Girls as young as 11 have been employed as suicide bombers. Teachers have been targeted, resulting in 600 teachers being murdered and 19,000 teachers fleeing in fear. Other teachers have been threatened, injured or even kidnapped.

“I have been a teacher for 20 years now, but I’m always afraid to attend class,” Ahmadau Abba, a teacher at Jajiri Government Day School in Maiduguri explained. “Most of our colleagues have been killed or injured.”

Finding teachers who are willing to teach in the region has become a great struggle because of the dangerous repercussions. Boko Haram’s impact on education has been felt throughout the entirety of the Nigerian educational system.

Out of a total population of 160 million, about 10 million Nigerian youths are not in school, many of them girls. Instead of reading and learning, they are married off in their teens, while out-of-school boys are recruited into terrorist ranks.

By early 2016, an estimated 952,029 school-aged children have fled the violence, with little or no access to education.

The high displacement from the hands of Boko Haram has forced school-aged children to be placed in private homes and communities. In such communities, schools are made up of students of the same age congregating in large rooms or under trees for about three to four hours a day. However, these children do not have access to textbooks and their teachers must teach without any teaching aids.

In Borno, one of the devastated states, schools at all levels have been closed in 22 out of the 27 local government areas for a minimum of two years. With this gridlock on education, children are more vulnerable to becoming trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Boko Haram’s impact on education has impacted thousands of students by stealing what is rightfully theirs. For a nation that has the lowest school attendance nationwide, the attacks on the educational system have been severely damaging for Nigeria.

“Education is the foundation of society; without it, development is very difficult,” says Margee Ensign, the president of the American University of Nigeria. “I don’t think that many in the international community understand the dimension of the problems here in the northeast.”

– Mary Waller

Photo: Flickr

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Twelve-Year-Old Creates My Locator App to Help Lost Children

LocationTwelve-year-old Nigerian girl Tomisin Ogunnubi recently created the My Locator app for Android to help lost children find their way home.

The free app comes with a ‘current location’ setting that shows users their location and nearby streets. Users can also use the app to save a location, such as their house or school, and get directions to the saved location.

The My Locator app also comes with an ‘alert’ button that calls state emergency services in Lagos and shows emergency responders the child’s location. Ogunnubi created the My Locator app under the guidance of her school, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls.

More than 30,000 children in Nigeria are separated from their parents or lost due to unrest caused by Boko Haram. More than two million people across the country have been internally displaced by the conflict.

Boko Haram began militant operations in Nigeria in 2009 in an attempt to create an Islamic state. The group has created unrest in Nigeria and neighboring countries with bombings, abductions and assassinations.

Boko Haram caught international attention in April of 2014 when the group kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a secondary school in the town of Chibok. Two thousand more children may remain in Boko Haram’s custody, according to Amnesty International.

Children who are separated from their parents or orphaned must resort to any method they can to survive, such as begging or prostitution. They face many dangers, including being abducted by Boko Haram, forced into labor or being sexually abused.

Girls are especially at risk for sexual abuse and forced marriage. Even if they find care with a relative or foster parent, their caretaker may marry them off in exchange for money. While aid workers may try to reunite lost children with their families, this could take months. Children’s relatives may be dispersed across different states in Nigeria or be one among thousands in crowded refugee camps.

Although the situation caused by Boko Haram may make it unsafe for children to return to their homes, the My Locator app has the potential to help children find their way to a space that is safer than their present location, such as a refugee camp or nearby town. When crises are so dire that humanitarian aid becomes scared, technology can serve to help those in need.

– Cassie Lipp

Photo: Flickr

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Poverty and Sickness in Nigeria’s Borno State

Poverty and Sickness in Nigeria's Borno State
A whole generation is missing in Nigeria‘s Borno State. There are no toddlers clinging to their siblings’ hips or babies wailing for their mothers. This is because, in Borno State, there are hardly any children under 5 years of age. This is largely due to displacement compounded with a severe lack of nutrition.

In 2013 and 2014, those from northeast Nigeria fled their homes and livelihoods to escape attacks by the Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group. By the thousands, they escaped to Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno State. As the fighting continued and spread, farmers were barred from working their land and trade routes were sealed off. Markets emptied. Imports into areas held by the Boko Haram were entirely cut off, leading to widespread starvation. Nearly 500,000 people are living in unacceptable conditions.

This severe deficit of food and essential nutrients has led to unprecedented rates of malnutrition among the population, which in turn, led to high rates of disease in the very young and very old. Measles, malaria and diarrheal diseases run rampant through the population. Acute respiratory infection claims young lives by the dozens.

Those most affected are those under 5 years of age, who die at intolerable rates from malnutrition, infection and typically preventable diseases. They are the victims of acute political unrest and, more immediately, they are the victims of hunger. Nutritional screenings taken throughout the state show that 50 percent of children in the Borno State are severely malnourished. Even in areas where food is available, prices have increased tremendously in just a matter of months. With each spike in the price of food, more households find themselves unable to eat.

These circumstances led the Nigerian government to announce a nutritional emergency in Nigeria’s Borno State in June of 2016. The people in Borno State are in dire need of help and, while Nigeria’s government has recognized the magnitude of this epidemic, the crisis must be acknowledged worldwide for maximum impact. There must be measures implemented to make sure that people can reach food and humanitarian aid in protected locations. Massive global aid is crucial to the survival of these people.

Doctors Without Borders is calling for a major humanitarian response to the crisis, even as teams are reaching affected areas. It is not enough. U.N. agencies, particularly the World Food Programme, should scale up interventions. In America, the Food for Peace Reform Act, which proposes to help end global hunger using the most efficient and cost effective means possible, must be supported and passed in congress.

Aid needs to be scaled up now, today and every day following until the needs of the Nigerian people are met— until we are able to replenish an entire lost generation.

– Kayla Provencher

Photo: Flickr

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Mother’s Delivery Kits Provide Affordable Birthing Supplies

Mother's Delivery Kits Provide Affordable Birthing Supplies
After a close friend died during childbirth, Adepeju Jaiyeoba founded the Brown Button Foundation, an organization in Nigeria that trains birthing attendants in 2011.

Training the birthing attendants led Jaiyeoba to another realization: the supplies being used to deliver babies often were not sterile and posed hazards to the health of both the mother and baby. In response, Jaiyeoba started the Mother’s Delivery Kits in 2013, a for-profit company that provides affordable birthing kits with safe and sterile equipment.

Jaiyeoba intended for her kits to be used as a safe alternative. However, it is not uncommon for dangerous practices to be used when health care practitioners and families lack access to safe and sterile birthing tools.

This is especially common in rural Nigeria. For example, traditional birth attendants may cut the baby’s umbilical cord with a rusty blade or suck mucus out from the baby’s nostrils to prevent them from asphyxiating. Both practices can lead to infection. In contrast, the Mother’s Delivery Kit provides sterilized scalpel blades and a mucus extractor along with another 13 to 15 sterilized delivery tools.

Development of the Mother’s Delivery Kit has been so influential that Jaiyeoba was recognized by President Barack Obama during the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Presidential Summit in 2014 for her ventures.

Mother’s Delivery Kits provides birthing kits for health centers, hospitals, university teaching hospitals, maternal and child health organizations and Traditional Birth Attendants. They have about 205 attendants and institutions that have registered for a consistent supply. Over 7,500 kits were sold in the first year alone. Such use has yielded a 100 percent safe delivery record.

As of 2015, 11,000 kits have been delivered. This life-saving company hopes to continue expansion through Nigeria and franchise their model to other organizations in countries with similar problems of high maternal and infant mortality rates during childbirth.

– Laura Isaza

Photo: Flickr

Potential Rise in Poverty Among OPEC

Potential Rise in Poverty Among OPECThe drastic plunge that oil prices have taken from record figures of over $100 a barrel, down to averaging between $40-$45 a barrel, has left the economies of several OPEC countries beleaguered.

A potential rise in poverty among OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is expected as oil is indeed the cornerstone of a majority of their exports and revenue has swung drastically since 2014.

The combined effects of excess supply and competition among markets over the years have impacted OPEC nations like Algeria, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Iraq. The economic uncertainty has deterred these large developing economies adversely.

An estimated 250,000 jobs have been lost as a result of the progressive decline in oil prices and many more are threatened owing to the 50 percent drop over the last two years. This crisis will result in a potential rise in poverty among OPEC, with declining national incomes overall.

Moreover, the presence of Boko Haram in Nigeria has also been a factor that is currently impacting its oil exporting capacity. The 50 percent price decline has only fueled this.

To combat a potential rise in poverty and economic instability, the African Development Bank plans to provide loans worth $10 billion by the year 2019 to bolster various sectors, including energy and electricity. Despite Nigeria’s depreciating currency and 70 percent poverty rate, this method can greatly increase investment capacity and attract more investment.

The Abidjan, a bank based in the Ivory Coast, also resolved to provide $1 billion for supporting the Nigerian budget.

A report by Nigeria’s Leadership newspaper has commended its diversification projects as a means to boost economic growth amid uncertainty.

Existing tensions between oil-producing nations have also escalated as a result of the plummet. Many nations argue about freezing and regulating their output. Consequently, mediating between countries is a viable way to ease the pressure. Iraq is currently heading a conciliation with Iran and Saudi Arabia in an attempt for both countries to reach a consensus regarding the crisis.

Ecuador, OPEC’s smallest member, was especially plagued by the plunge in oil prices as the government has to control and curtail public expenditure. The government has looked to OPEC remedy the situation in some way.

President of OPEC and minister of energy and industry in Qatar, Mohammed Saleh Abdulla Al Sada, is also working actively to agree upon a benchmark price and output level for all countries to adhere to. A renewed benchmark output of 32.5 million barrels has recently been discussed. This could alleviate the price volatility and circumvent a potential rise in poverty among OPEC countries.

Similarly, Algeria has also been a strong advocate of cutting production among OPEC nations as a means to raise oil prices again. Algeria is expected to see a 3 percent drop in its GDP this year.

Furthermore, political and economic turmoil in Venezuela, owing to the oil price decline and President Nicolas Maduro’s ration laws has resulted in food shortages and a 700 percent crippling inflation rate. Venezuela already has a concurrent poverty rate of 32.1 percent.

However, many neighboring countries like Chile, Peru, Argentina and Colombia are in the strategic position to aid the people and reach out to Maduro. Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski recently called upon leaders to engage in the situation.

He believes that Peru’s pharmaceutical industry can be effectively used to help the country. Venezuela’s democratic Unity Alliance also echoes this view. Foreign aid is the only sustainable way for Venezuela to find its way through this major economic and financial bulwark.

Overall, a potential rise in poverty among OPEC countries may be the outcome of the drastic tumbling oil prices. It is vital that countries comply with OPEC proposals and guidelines to safeguard the interests of the economy and the people.

– Shivani Ekkanath

Photo: Flickr

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Vaccination Can Combat Poverty by Saving Lives

Vaccination can Combat Poverty
Vaccination has perpetually been a vital aspect of the fight against poverty. Global health is one of the most imperative causes and immunization is the foundation for global health. Consequently, organizations like GAVI, WHO, MSF and UNICEF have put in their combined efforts into promoting this cause. Their endeavors have also highlighted how vaccination can combat poverty.

The efficient provision of vaccination and immunization schemes has been augmented by the exponential progress that the medical field has experienced over the past few years.

An estimated 2-3 million children, 1.5 million of which are under the age of five, die every year due to diseases that could have been averted by more readily available vaccines.

There are numerous underlying reasons for why vaccination can combat poverty. These mainly revolve around lowering infant mortality rates, dedicating more medical facilities and improving health care services.

Moreover, the rapid yellow fever outbreak that has plagued Angola, along with neighboring Kinhasas and Kwango, is being closely monitored by MSF. As yellow fever can lead to death for 15-50 percent of associated cases, Congolese people in the region are especially threatened.

Fortunately, the entire city of Matadi was successfully vaccinated. This move has culminated in the establishment of more vector-control activities for the people. This will especially be efficacious in improving awareness on household protection.

The inaccessibility of the pneumococcal vaccine has endangered the lives of countless children in developing countries. This malady affects millions of children all over the world.

Despite Pfizer’s advancement in this aspect, MSF has tried to rebuff its patent application as it sees it as a form of monopolistic competition because it restricts the development of the vaccine by other entities.

Furthermore, higher prices for the vaccine will be detrimental as it would not be affordable for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Therefore, it is imperative that vaccines of this nature be both affordable and easily accessible.

Vaccination has also played a pivotal role in the U.N. health agency’s emergency response in Nigeria. The polio vaccination programs have been an integral aspect.

Similarly, the Gombe state government of Nigeria approved the polio immunization of 900,000 individuals who have traveled from disputed areas under the control of the Boko Haram militant group. Vaccination can combat poverty by this method as it is a precautionary regulation that can alleviate the pressures of mass influx.

In addition to this, the steady progression that has been made with regards to Zika vaccine trials has accentuated the sense of urgency that is needed to address this crucial issue.

Consequently, the recently proposed approval for the performance of Zika clinical trials on humans will pave the way for a breakthrough that could help thousands of communities in the Americas. The upcoming launch of the leprosy vaccine in India also echoes this resonance of hope.

The GAVI Alliance has invested an exorbitant amount of $800 million for bolstering health care sectors in developing countries. Such maneuvers will hopefully result in stimulating the interests of private and public sectors in the country towards the cause.

– Shivani Ekkanath

Photo: Flickr