Monday Rundown: 20 frozen EndSARS bank accounts & the mother-of-all-sectors

Picking up where we left off with the 2021 budget review, today we review some omissions that speak to an unending gender dialogue. Under the aegis of the Small Scale Women Farmers Association in Nigeria (SWOFON), women farmers condemned the 2021 budget allocation for leaving women out yet again. And although women contribute to 80% of agriculture production, the appropriation of ₦179.4bn only accrued 1.33% to female farmers. 

Of the sum, PREMIUM TIMES observed the lowest funding to women in agribusinesses in five years, ₦416 million. And besides the allocation to women, the overall agriculture budget, once again, contravenes MAPUTO declarations of 03. The latter which stipulates at least 10% of federal budgets to agricultural development is yet to see implementation in Nigeria, 17 years down the line; despite being a signatory to the treaty. 

In truth, this goes to show the level of seriousness to which Nigeria has for its over flogged diversification plans. For Senate President Lawan, the 2021 budget ought to accord the agriculture, the “mother of all sector” that regard in appropriation. According to him, the sector could single-handedly turn around the fortunes of Nigeria. He made this statement while beckoning on the government to reflect youth empowerment in the Appropriation Bill following recent events. 

Diversify diversification

Away from agriculture, the telecommunications sector looks promising, accounting for $32 billion investments in five years. In an earlier analysis, Dataphyte noted how the sector surpassed oil in GDP contributions in the second quarter. This further mirrored essential services observed during the pandemic. And although Nigeria has ways to go in this sector, evidenced by the low level of technologies deployed, there is certainly a conversation to be had in this post-COVID, technology-driven clime. 

In other news, Nigeria has exempted Dangote Cement from its land border closure. For some, it signals plans of a return to normalcy. But in reality, it may not be unconnected with the ₦761.4 billion revenue, Africa’s biggest cement manufacturer posted. Seemingly, COVID-defiant, the company alongside Stanbic IBTC Holdings, MTN Nigeria Communications et al., allowed the Nigerian Stock Exchange to hit a record  ₦17 trillion last week. So, facilitating the private sector through policymaking is a way to go. 

Speaking of the pandemic, reports of an incoming vaccine are appreciating oil prices in London. Now, whether this good fortune will make its way to Sub-Saharan Africa, especially the oil-first economy of its most populous nation, remains unknown. Although, reports had earlier noted Nigeria’s President Buhari’s call for charitable distribution for said vaccine. In the meantime, the country should, alongside its COVID-19 efforts, tackle endemics such as Yellow Fever, reportedly claiming casualties in their scores. Likewise, efforts towards diversification are welcome. 

The unending-SARS

Elsewhere, alongside ₦9m fines to television stations for unprofessional coverage of EndSARS demonstrations and a litigation against EndSARS promoters, the Central Bank of Nigeria is reportedly freezing 20 bank accounts of alleged EndSARS financiers. According to the regulator, it was to “prevent further acts of economic and security sabotage”. But what makes up economic sabotage? A recent Dataphyte analysis pointed out how, despite the Minister of Information’s outcry of fake news, state and federal actors were caught in their own web of lies. And this is another play from the same book. How can Nigeria’s money regulator accuse what were largely peaceful demonstrations of economic subterfuge? The irony of it all was that some protesters’ demands, if implemented, would have seen a better economy. But as Dataphyte analysis noted earlier, we are yet to see an End-to-SARS. More events are still unfolding, following the investigations of the Judicial panels.