MORTGAGE SCHEMES AND THE SOLUTION TO HOUSING PROBLEMS IN NIGERIA

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FBMN) has on Monday 23^rd April disclosed a record of over 188 million naira profit in its operation in the first quarter of 2012. This, according to the Bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumo, is the first profit the Bank has recorded in 20 years, which he attributed to the reform strategy adopted by the new management of the Bank. Also, according to the Managing Director, the Bank has succeeded in funding the building of over 61,000 units of houses across the six geo-political zones of the country, under the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme.

The primary mandate of the Bank is to assist the citizens to own a shelter, which is top on the human hierarchy of needs, through a loan facility. The National Housing Fund was also intended to strengthen the services offered by the Bank covering both the formal and informal sectors of the society. This means that citizens that belong to the formal sector, public or private, as well as those in the informal sector like farmers, market traders, mechanics, Okada riders etc, under the auspices of cooperative societies could process a loan facility to build or own a house, and pay back the sum installmentally through deductions from one’s salary or other payment arrangements.

However, many Nigerians including those in the formal sector are yet to feel the impact of the scheme, reasons for which constitute the major challenges of the Mortgage Bank’s operations. Today, a substantial percentage of Nigerians that make up for more than half of the nation’s population do not own a house. Many have been indirectly enslaved to landlords or land owners, who capitalize on the difficult situation to exploit the less privileged. Despite the daunting economic hardships faced by the citizens, presently, the cost of rent rises annually, more rapidly than the price of petrol. And this amounts to spending over 70% of an average salary earner’s income on rent. Sadly, owning a house or real estate property has now become the prerogative of only a few privileged individuals, thereby defeating the main aim of establishing the Mortgage Bank as well as the National Housing Fund (NHF). No doubt, this calls for a holistic review of government’s housing policies and programmes so that the present unwarranted trend could be checked.

Some of the root causes that can be identified as responsible for the inability of many Nigerians to own a decent home, and which undermine the operations of the Mortgage Bank and the NHF scheme include, lack of adequate and appropriate legal framework that would regulate the sector as well as ensure the affordability and accessibility of houses to the poor Nigerians. Many property owners take advantage of this, to sell properties at a very exorbitant rate. Also, there is lack of proper awareness among many Nigerians as to the existence of the Mortgage Bank and the NHF scheme, as well as how to access their services. Similarly, the payment arrangement for the available housing loan schemes may not be economically convenient or even affordable to many citizens, whose income is so meager that could not allow any kind of deduction. More so, even where the scheme is affordable, the process is usually riddled with widespread corruption and favoritism, whereby many eligible individuals are deprived, while others with some kind of political or other influences dominate the allocations, who later offer same to the less privileged at a very expensive cost.

There is therefore, the urgent need for the overhaul and total reform of the nation’s land and housing policies so that justice and equity can be guaranteed. There is also the need for proper regulation of land and housing transactions so that excesses can be checked. The Federal Mortgage Bank and indeed the government should intensify public awareness campaigns to avail the public, of the various opportunities they can grab and utilize in order to build or own a house. But more importantly, the government should ensure a genuine review of workers’ remuneration so that they can afford the deductions conveniently, and also rid the system of all corruption tendencies.

Also, government should formulate practical strategies that will give equal opportunities to those in the informal sector that have been systematically sidelined in various programmes of government like the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), among others. It is also imperative for government to invest more in the housing scheme by developing new satellite settlements in order to decongest the already over-populated urban areas, and by implication addressing the problem of urban migration and reducing the high cost of building or owning a house in the cities.

The lives and well-being of citizens of many developed countries in the world is heavily dependent on mortgage schemes, not only in housing but other various sectors of their lives. It is therefore, imperative for Nigerian government to revamp its various mortgage schemes in order to improve the lives and well-being of the citizens.

CUSTOMS’ NEW POLICY ON IMPORTED VEHICLES

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on the 20^th of this month introduced a new policy that would henceforth guide importation of vehicles to stem revenue leakages and enhance the ability of the service to meet its targets, among other safety and security measures. Under the new policy, all shipping companies must put the Chassis number and year of manufacturing of all imported vehicles on their manifest to be submitted to Customs for proper declaration. Also according to the Customs, the measure has become necessary to block revenue leakages and meet the 800 billion naira target given to it by the federal government this year, which was conveniently increased by the Comptroller General, Abdullahi Dikko Nde to one trillion naira.

Indeed, this policy is both necessary and timely, because Nigeria has over the years become a dumping ground for used cars also known as Tokumbo cars. These are cars that have been used and rejected by European countries because of their lack of road worthiness, but are conveniently imported into Nigeria for use. Usually, these vehicles get worn out within two or three years of importation into the country, hence the high rate of accidents on our roads, due to bad tires, bad engines among others.

However, this trend could be said to have become a child of necessity, because an average income-earning Nigerian could only afford the Tokumbo cars, since they cannot afford a new car. This is the simple reason why the demand for such used cars continue to grow and statistically the frequency of tragic road accidents has also increased in almost the same proportion. It is also alleged that criminals use these imported vehicles, that have no any registration to perpetrate their acts without being traced.

Those involved in the lucrative business of importing used cars into the country are usually aided by some corrupt customs officers, thereby depriving the country of the prescribed dues, charged for importation. These acts of violating the country’s Customs regulations occur almost every day along Nigeria’s boarders with Benin Republic, Niger and Togo where the importers go to buy the used cars dumped by European countries, thereby causing the country huge economic loss.

It is noteworthy that, with the coming into office of the present Comptroller General of Customs, so much has changed in the Nigeria Customs. The revenue generation has increased tremendously. According to a gazette produced by the agency, last year it has generated 800 billion naira and also assured that the trillion naira revenue target set for the service is indeed achievable.

It is hoped that, apart from enhancing the nation’s revenue generation, the new policy will also help to reduce the number of Tokumbo vehicles imported into the country, as well as ensure the fitness and worthiness of the imported vehicles to our roads, so that by extension the rate of road accidents as a result of the deplorable nature of such vehicles and their spare parts could be reduced. It is also anticipated that with the new policy, which would ensure proper registration of the vehicles, the rate at which criminals use such unregistered vehicles to perpetrate their acts without being traced would reduce.

MOST ALARMING REVELATIONS ABOUT OIL SUBSIDY

The National Assembly through its various probe panels has succeeded in unearthing various alarming facts about the high level of corruption and mismanagement of public funds and flagrant abuse of office by people entrusted with such trusts. Many Nigerians are still unimaginably shocked by the recent alarming revelations from the legislative probe into the management of pension funds and that of the Nigerians Stock Exchange, where hundreds of billions of naira were embezzled by top ranking officers entrusted with the responsibility of managing those institutions..

However, the report of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee on Fuel Subsidy Management submitted to the house last Wednesday, which exposed various fraudulent activities in the management of the subsidy funds by the relevant authorities to the tune of over a trillion naira, was particularly disturbing. The report established that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and several Oil Marketers and Companies were found to have been engaged in a gross abuse of the petroleum subsidy fund, looting more than one-fourth of the nation’s 2012 budget between 2009 to 2011. In its recommendation, the committee chaired by Hon. Faruk Lawan has recommended for the immediate refund of the looted sum by the NNPC and other parties involved. It has  also directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to undertake a comprehensive investigation and subsequent prosecution of all the institutions and individuals found to have committed the offence which cost the nation trillions of naira, with the speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal directing  that copies of the report be made available to all members of the House for through deliberations and subsequent appropriate legislative actions.

Findings of the Petroleum Subsidy Management Probe committee have supported previous allegations of widespread corruption in the nation’s oil sector, by several Nigerians and which were more loudly made during the January Fuel Subsidy removal saga. It also re-enforces the opinion of many Nigerians that the much talked about subsidy is merely a hoax, because the funds allocated for that purpose were being siphoned by a cabal. The report further confirms the fears expressed by many Nigerians that even if government removes the subsidy on petroleum products, the saved funds would not translate into any meaningful development since it would still be cornered by the same people, who are being accused of looting the subsidy funds.

Similarly, the Faruk Lawan Committee report shows clearly that corruption in the oil sector is so noticeable and frightening that the lawmakers could easily identify the fraudulent activities that have become dominant in the sector. Also findings of the report clearly show that the much talked about cabal, the  members of which siphon and embezzle the subsidy funds is indeed a reality.

No doubt, these revelations pose a great challenge to all stakeholders in the fight against corruption, especially the EFCC and the ICPC. They are much more expected to brace up and ensure that thorough investigation and diligent prosecution of any corrupt individual or organisation are carried out. Also, as recommended by the Subsidy Fund Management report, there is the urgent need for the unbundling of the NNPC and the overhaul of its management and board, in order to successfully check the corruption in the industry. There is also the need for an overhaul of the nation’s judiciary,  with a view to making it more effective in handling corruption cases.

While commending the committee in particular and the House of Representatives in general for its effort, which has now resulted in such disturbing revelations, it is also imperative to support the committee’s call for the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). There is every reason for Nigerians to believe that the passage of the bill will tremendously help in curbing corruption in the oil sector.

LESSONS OF IBORI’S CONVICTION IN LONDON

On Tuesday April 17^th, the global anti-graft campaign has recorded a milestone in the holistic fight against wide-spread corruption that remains the bane of development in many under developed and developing countries. It was on that day that a court in London convicted and sentenced former Governor of Delta State James Ibori to 13 year imprisonment on charges of fraud and money laundering with the presiding Judge, Anthony Pitts describing it as one of the biggest of such cases..

Mr. Ibori who served as governor of Delta state for eight years between 1999 - 2007 was first arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December 2007 and tried by the Court of Appeal in Kaduna on a hundred and three –count charge. It was when Ibori challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try him that the case was transferred  to a Federal High Court in Asaba capital of Delta state so that he could be tried in the state where the alleged offences were committed. Nigerians would quickly recall that the Federal High Court in Asaba discharged him of all the charges preferred against him by the EFCC.

He was however re- arrested in October 2010 in Dubai and was subsequently extradited to Britain to be tried on charges of money laundering, credit card fraud and official theft. And the thirteen years imprisonment that has now been slammed on him is the outcome of that particular trial..

Thus, the credit for the prosecution of Ibori who has now been found to have hundreds of billions of naira  belonging  to the people of Delta state, rightfully goes to the British judicial system. It is important to know  that Mr. Ibori, who was living modestly as a cashier in a store in West London got his hand on the Nigerian national cake when he moved to the country, contested for and won the governorship of Delta state  in 1999. Within the span of eight years, Ibori turned himself into a multi-millionaire by international standard, through corruption and theft at the expense of the people of his state. He  looted Delta state’s treasury to live a lavish lifestyle while most people in the  state lived in poverty.

 James Ibori was racking up credit card of over 200 million naira paying 35 million naira on school fees for his three children. He also owned several substantial properties around the world, a private jet and a fleet of insanely expensive luxury cars worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

It is unfortunate, that the man was convicted in London and not in Nigeria; a development that exposed the weakness of the judicial system of the country.

Ibori’s conviction is in fact a big slap to the Nigerian government and its toothless anti-graft bulldog.

In real sense, the fight against corruption in Nigeria has been mostly cosmetic with minor accomplishments being over-blown in the media. The government often uses the fight against corruption to settle scores or intimidate real and perceived opposition. It has been noted that the agencies saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption are not being pro-active, but only rush to seize the moment after a scam is exposed by legislative probes, as in the recent Pensions fund scam and the capital market fraud. There is a little effort being made to fight corruption by failing to address problems like poverty and greed.

James Ibori’s case is just one out of many involving former governors, lawmakers and top government officials who were dragged to court in very dramatic circumstances but are yet to be tried or convicted. Ibori’s fate should serve as an awakening call to duty to all stakeholders in the fight against corruption. It has proven that there is no safe haven abroad for corrupt leaders who loot state funds It has also underscored the global responsibility for collective effort to stop the devastating effects of corruption in the world.

OKONJO-IWEALA’S BID FOR WORLD BANK PRESIDENT: A VICTORY IN DEFEAT

Many people in the world, especially Africans and particularly Nigerians were disappointed with the outcome of Monday’s 16^th April World Bank Presidential election. There was high level of optimism that the new selection process for the bank’s President recently adopted by the Bank’s Board of Directors that considers member countries’ nationals other than Americans for the number one post, would break the 70 year old monopoly of the Presidency by the US. The new policy has indeed raised the hopes of many growing economies that have been clamoring for more power and influence in the world’s Apex Financial institution.

However, the emergence of a Korean-born American Jim Yong Kim as the new President of the World Bank with the support of America and its allies has raised many concerns about the transparency of the process, because it was widely agreed among experts that if the process was based on merit and qualification, then Nigeria’s Finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would have emerged the winner.

Apart from being a world acclaimed economist with degrees from Harvard and MIT, Dr. Iweala has worked for more than twenty years at the World Bank until she rose to the number two position. She also served as Finance Minister during Obasanjo administration and presently doubles as Nigeria’s Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy. She is also a member of various International Organisations and committees of the United Nations.

Immediately after she was nominated for the Presidency of the World Bank by a group of 39 former senior officials of the Bank, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also received an overwhelming endorsement from various African leaders and other world leading financial experts and institutions, including the Financial Times and the Economist Magazine. It was a near consensus among the world financial experts that Okownjo Iweala was the most suitable candidate for the position in view of her intimidating Curriculum Vitae, education, experience and exposure over her two opponents, the President-elect, Mr. Jim Kim Yong, who is a health expert and former Cambodian Finance Minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, who later withdrew from the race.

President Goodluck Jonathan, members of the Federal Executive Council, the National Assembly and indeed millions of Nigerians all rallied their support behind the Finance Minister in her bid for the Presidency of the World Bank. Among the Nigerian masses however, some may have rendered their support for her simply, because she is black and a Nigerian and in understanding the pride her ascension to the top of the World’s Apex Bank would bring to Nigerians, Africans and the black race as a whole. Indeed, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala deserves the support of Nigerians, if not for any reason, but for the instrumental role she played in offsetting the country’s heavy debt burden, that saved it from mortgaging all its mineral and intellectual resources as collateral for easy loans with long and dangerous repayment terms.

However, it can also be rightfully argued that many other Nigerians may have supported the iron-lady’s bid for the post, so that they can be relieved of the immense economic hardships she has inflicted on them since her appointment as Finance Minister by President Goodluck Jonathan. Today, millions of Nigerians still suffer the hardships brought by the fuel subsidy removal policy, which was a brainchild of the Finance Minister. The consequence of her always controversial and austere economic ideas that are often geared towards saving the country’s economy even if the citizens would be starved to death are still being felt by Nigerians.

Similarly, many would not miss the irony and mockery in the Minister’s narrative in a press conference shortly after she was grilled for three and a half hours during her interview for the post by board of the Bank. She told her life story, of a village girl in Nigeria, who not only knew poverty but also lived it, adding that if given the opportunity, she would lead a World Bank that would respond quickly and creatively to the needs of the poor. But with the unpleasant experience of Nigerians on her tenure as Finance Minister, many would be confused if this is really the same Okonjo-Iweala who masterminded the fuel subsidy removal policy and is now talking about responding to the needs of the poor. But Nigerians know better about sweet-talks and false promises of politicians and therefore are in a better position to analyze and draw a conclusion about where exactly she was heading with such a statement.

Nonetheless, Okownjo Iweala’s participation in the contest for the Presidency of the World Bank was indeed a pride to Nigeria and Africa. It is also a victory in the struggle for greater equity and fairness in the process of choosing the World |Bank President, and also a challenge to the United States and Europe who preach for democracy, fairness and transparency in governance.