TOPLINE A special forces unit of the Guinea Armed Forces ousted the country’s long-serving President Alpha Conde on Sunday in an apparent coup, causing global aluminum prices to soar over fears that the unrest in the West African nation could impact the supply of a raw material, bauxite, which is needed to make the metal.



<h2 id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



The military unit which claims to have seized power announced that they have dissolved Guinea’s government, its constitution and closed its land and air borders.



The new military rulers have imposed a nationwide curfew “until further notice” and have said they plan to convene a meeting of Conde&#8217;s cabinet later on Monday.



Unrest in the world’s third-largest producer of bauxite has pushed aluminum prices to the highest level in over a decade.



Prices of the metal in the London Metal Exchange climbed by 1.8% on Monday to $2775.50 per ton—the highest it has been since May 2011.



In China, the aluminum futures jumped up nearly 3.5% to around $3,400 (CNY 21,970)—the highest it has been since 2006—before leveling off at around 2.3%.



<h2 id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h2>



Following the announcement of the coup, the U.S. State Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/on-the-military-seizure-of-power-in-guinea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issued a statement</a>&nbsp;in which it said: “The United States condemns today’s events in Conakry… We urge all parties to forego violence and any efforts not supported by the Constitution and stand by the rule of law.”



<h2 id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



64 million metric tonnes. That’s the amount of bauxite that Guinea&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/profiling-the-top-five-bauxite-producing-countries-in-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">produced</a>&nbsp;in 2019 putting it third in the world behind Australia and China in terms of annual production. The country also holds the largest reserve of the aluminum ore in the world at 40 billion tons.



<h2 id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Despite worldwide condemnation, the coup&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/6/guinea-coup-military-arrest-president-dissolve-government" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;sparked celebrations in some quarters of the nation’s capital Conakry. Last year, the ousted president Conde secured a third term in an election that was marred by violent protests, claims of fraud, and controversy over changes to the country’s constitution to remove a two-term presidential limit. His return to power had sparked demonstrations in parts of the country which led to several deaths and hundreds of arrests. One Western diplomat&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/army-seizes-power-in-guinea-holds-president/articleshow/85966324.cms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;AFP that Sunday’s coup may have been sparked by the Conde government’s decision to dismiss a senior commander in the special forces—sparking a rebellion from some of the members of its group.



<h2 id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/heavy-gunfire-heard-guinea-capital-conakry-reuters-witness-2021-09-05/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elite Guinea army unit says it has toppled president</a>&nbsp;(Reuters)



<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/6/guinea-coup-military-arrest-president-dissolve-government" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guinea coup: Military arrests president, dissolves government</a> (Al Jazeera)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

GUINEA-ARMY-POLITICS-UNREST

Guinea Special Forces Oust President In Coup, Unrest Causes Aluminum Prices To Soar

The unpalatable truth is an unfair distribution of profits in the global cocoa trade, of which West Africa has substantive market share. Thankfully, entrepreneurial disruptors and a new initiative in Ghana seek a sweeter ending for farmers.



BEFORE IT REACHED THE fashionable parlors of early modern Europe, where it was imbibed as an expensive accessory to gossip and gambling, chocolate had already enjoyed a long, intoxicating life. The aphrodisiac beverage cacahuatl, favored by ancient South American cultures such as the Mayans and the Aztecs, was brewed, with chillies, from the cacao bean, a local currency so valuable it quickly caught the avaricious attention of the Spanish Conquistadors. The rest is history – and a narrative tainted with the bitterness of greed and exploitation. But there are signs at last that this story may be headed to a sweeter ending.



The World Cocoa Foundation has calculated that 4.5 million tons of cocoa beans are now consumed annually: as cocoa butter, widely used in cosmetics as well as chocolate products; cocoa powder, a staple in chocolate flavorings; and cocoa liquor, a paste of cocoa butter and solids essential in the production of solid chocolate. The juice of the bean (sweatings) can also be found in soft drinks and alcoholic beverages such as brandy, with the bean husk burned into potash for soaps and fertilizers.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_06-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48195" width="444" height="295" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_06-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_06-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_06-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_06-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_06-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px" /><figcaption>Photo Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



The humble cocoa bean is thus a versatile, repeatedly monetizable commodity: in a 2019 Allied Market Research report, the global cocoa products market was valued at $24.5 billion, and is expected to garner $30.2 billion by 2026. But like many of the planet’s most coveted exports, such as tea and iron ore, the crop’s rich dividends are often not trickling down to the mouths that need them most.



The International Cocoa Organization reports that 60% of the world’s cocoa is produced by 2.5 million farming families in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire (the populations of the two countries are 29 million and 25 million respectively). But according to the Walk Free Foundation’s 2018 Global Slavery Index, this figure includes an estimated 2.1 million children working under illegal conditions, and at least 30,000 people entrapped in modern slavery. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines child labor as “mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children, and [that which] interferes with their schooling”, and modern slavery as “exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power”. The unpalatable truth is that most of the chocolate that reaches our shelves handsomely rewards a giant multinational handful of liquid chocolate manufacturers and cocoa traders, but pays cocoa farmers in West Africa an average of less than $1 a day (Fairtrade Foundation report, 2019).



Professor Genevieve LeBaron, Director of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI), and author of the Global Business of Forced Labour report of 2018, has identified “widespread labor exploitation” within the global cocoa supply chain. “This is rooted in the industry’s business model and supply chain dynamics, which concentrate profits and value at the top of the chain and involves incredibly thin margins and low income for actors at the bottom,” she says. “I also found that ethical certification schemes covering the cocoa industry are failing to create worksites that are free from exploitation.”



LeBaron warns that stickers and symbols on cocoa products glibly advertising guarantees of ‘fair’ conditions for their producers are not what they purport to be. “Consumers need to be sceptical of ‘ethical’ and ‘fair trade’ marketing,” she says. “Labor exploitation takes place even in ethically certified supply chains. There is a need for much stronger accountability over ethical and fair trade certification and auditing. A major overhaul of these programs is needed, especially in terms of how they create and distribute value and are ‘enforced’ – both of which are highly flawed and lacking.”



Until recently, the status quo in the market had remained undisrupted, favoring the industry superpowers who could source cheaply from multiple suppliers and buy in large amounts. “Cocoa is unique in that West Africa contributes such a substantive proportion of market share,” she says. “And the confectionary industry is heavily reliant on sourcing from the region to secure supply and maintain profits.”



New investment in the West African cocoa industry may go some way to improving conditions on the ground. In November 2019, Ghana’s cocoa regulator, COCOBOD, finalized a $600 million loan at the Africa Investment Forum “to finance new warehouses, rehabilitate plantations and support the processing sector”, including $250 million from development finance institutions led by the African Development Bank (AfDB). “Proceeds of the facility will be used to finance key components of COCOBOD’s productivity enhancement programs – a set of interventions aimed at improving Ghana’s cocoa productivity per hectare and increasing overall cocoa production levels,” says Dr Jennifer Blanke, the AfDB’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development. “The financing of new warehouses will provide more opportunity to store beans longer and create buffer stocks. This will also allow COCOBOD to have more influence on the volume of beans on the market, as well as the associated price.” She maintains there is a framework already in place for safeguarding farmers against exploitation. “The bank applies integrated environmental and social safeguard systems into business practices with all clients with whom we work, including COCOBOD.” Blanke believes these investments in the cocoa production infrastructure will in turn have a positive effect on the lives of the industry’s vulnerable farming communities. “The idea is that the bank-funded productivity enhancement programs will increase farmer incomes, as well as modernize farming methods,” she says. “This combination should serve as a disincentive to participating in the cocoa trade under illegal or unethical conditions.”



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_03-copy-1024x703.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48197" width="555" height="381" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_03-copy-1024x703.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_03-copy-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_03-copy-768x527.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_03-copy-1536x1054.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_03-copy-2048x1406.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_03-copy-600x412.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px" /><figcaption>Photo Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



With a mission to make chocolate “100% slave free”, the entrepreneurial disruptor at the sharp end of the industry is Dutch chocolate company Tony’s Chocolonely. The brand was founded in 2005 by investigative journalist Teun (Tony) van de Keuken, who set out on a (lonely) quest to create a chocolate bar from cocoa beans produced in West Africa by fairly-compensated farmers instead of slave labor. Tony’s Chocolonely advocates five game-changing ‘sourcing principles’: traceable beans, a higher premium paid to farmers, investment in cooperatives and farmer training, a minimum five-year business relationship, and improved productivity (from 300kg to 800kg per hectare). Paul Schoenmakers, the company’s Head of Impact, says that efforts to completely eradicate slavery from its supply chain are vigilant and ongoing. “In the past year, 6,624 cocoa partners supplied to us,” he says. “We found 259 new cases of illegal child labor, which we are working to remediate. More than 25,000 people participated in our awareness-raising sessions. For the second year in a row, 100% of the 5,465 metric tons of cocoa beans Tony’s purchased through its partners were traceable. Seventy one percent of people who buy chocolate in the Netherlands (where the brand is the market leader) now know about the issues. That’s important for us, because our roadmap starts with trading awareness.” The company has pushed hard for two years for the Dutch parliament to enact legislation similar to the UK’s 2015 Modern Slavery Act, and a bill has now passed which will require companies legally domiciled in the Netherlands to “conduct investigative research to determine whether child labor is occurring in their supply chains and establish a concrete course of action for rectifying it”.



Schoenmakers believes that any company, big or small, can and should apply the same due diligence. “The framework of our five sourcing principles fits very well to other commodity sectors too,” he says. “Especially coffee and tea, but also cotton. What we are currently working on is making the framework easier for other companies to implement, and we are actively helping them to use that model.”



He says the company’s aim is for all its suppliers to become independent – even from Tony’s. “We used to be the only buyer from a particular cooperative in Ghana. But two years ago, we helped them successfully represent themselves in the international market, and they got access to seven other premium customers. We’re a well-paying customer, so cooperatives like to work with us, but we want them to find other customers too. That also helps us grow.”



A fair premium for cocoa beans – last year, Tony’s paid a 20% premium on the farm gate price – can have a radical and long-lasting impact on the lives of local farmers. “One of the most positive concrete changes is simply paying more money to the farmer. Fighting poverty is a very complicated thing to do, but if you don’t pay more for cocoa, all the other efforts will fail.”



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_01-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48198" width="329" height="218" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_01-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_01-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_01-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_01-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_01-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Tonys_Chocolonely_Ghana_cocoa_drying_01-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px" /><figcaption>Photo Supplied </figcaption></figure></div>



Within a complex chain from producer to consumer that reaches far across the globe from the bean’s origin, are there ever opportunities for the farmers to try the final product (a chunky chocolate bar quirkily divided into unequal pieces, a metaphor for the unfair distribution of profits in the cocoa trade)?



“We take two cases full of chocolate every time we go there,” Schoenmakers says. “It’s ridiculous so many cocoa farmers have never tasted chocolate in their lives. It’s a luxury they will normally never taste. More than four and a half billion dollars get sucked up by the big chocolate companies every year. Chocolate is a treat, a gift. It’s absolute madness that for a gift that no one really needs, so many people suffer.



-By Alastair Hagger

Reis Ghana, van 23 tot 27 januari 2017

‘Cocoa Farmers Who Have Never Tasted Chocolate In Their Lives’

Famed for its hip and happening nightlife, Nigeria’s bars and entertainment venues have fallen silent, and its DJs are now pumping up the volume online.



Life as he knows it has completely changed for Obi Ajuonuma. The noise of the nightclub had been music to his ears. They were his echoes of success, and now, so suddenly, the venues have all gone quiet, and the silence is getting louder.



As one of Nigeria’s top-rated DJs, who had at one time set a world record for a 240-hour marathon on the decks, he is now faced with an uncertain future, one in which Nigeria’s bars and entertainment venues may never come alive as they used to.&nbsp;



Covid-19 has almost decimated the F&amp;B industry, and with that, a slew of jobs that depended on it.



Ajuonuma, who has been a DJ for the past 16 years since graduating with a degree in broadcast media and entertainment from Westfield State University in Massachusetts, had relocated to Nigeria in 2012 for his career. This was after his father passed away in the Dana Air crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of 159 people.



“It was a decisive time for me because I was struggling between being a DJ or doing what I went to school for, which was broadcast media and journalism. But I decided to stick to DJing because it made more money and gave me more control of my schedule,” says Ajuonuma.



That turned out to be the best decision of his life. Since relocating, Ajuonuma, who famously goes by the moniker ‘DJ Obi’, has become one of the most sought-after DJs in the Nigerian entertainment scene, with a handful of brand endorsements to boot.



He is a resident DJ in the most exclusive spots in Lagos as well as the go-to name for upscale weddings and birthday parties.



Everything was going swimmingly well until the Covid-19 pandemic hit.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Thanks to platforms like Instagram Live and Facebook, YouTube and Twitter Live, we have had to move the party online. So, we are taking the music to the people. So, if you can’t come to me, I will come to you.”</blockquote>



The marauding virus has been disrupting lives and businesses in Nigeria since the country first introduced measures to mitigate its spread on March 30, with a total lockdown of the commercial capital, Lagos, and neighboring Ogun and Abuja. The total number of Covid-19 cases is rising, forcing many small businesses to reimagine new ways of staying afloat.



For many, it has meant taking a significant drop in payment for their services.



“I think my industry is one of the obvious sectors hit because human beings are meant to socialize and, in my industry, profits are made when human beings come together to party and enjoy themselves and put together events. That is one of the first things that shut down in terms of no social gatherings, no meetings, and as DJs, this is how we make our money, so if we can’t have people coming together, then we can’t make a living,” says Ajuonuma.



The crisis has pushed entrepreneurs like him to be creative by going digital.



“Thanks to platforms like Instagram Live and Facebook, YouTube and Twitter Live, we have had to move the party online. So, we are taking the music to the people. So, if you can’t come to me, I will come to you,” he says.



Luckily, platforms like Cash App, PayPal and Venmo have made it easy for DJs to receive tips, which has become the new form of payment for playing sets online. For those like Ajuonuma with an established reputation, another revenue source is brand endorsements. Cîroc for example was one of the first sponsors of his live sessions.



“For drinks brands, it’s difficult to translate advertising into products being purchased because now, people are not buying 20 bottles in the club because they are at home and they have priorities now because the world has changed.”



On the plus side, Ajuonuma increased his Instagram following from 59,000 to about 70,000 in the two months since the lockdown. And he is not the only one.



“There are DJs who have boosted their followers from 48,000 to 1.2 million on Instagram. We have also taken the whole Instagram experience to TV,” he says.



Zoom has also provided a new revenue stream for Ajuonuma.



“I have done like three Zoom birthday parties… So now, I can plug into Zoom and have a party with people all over the world.”&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="731" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-731x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47115" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-731x1024.jpg 731w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-scaled-300x420.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-scaled-600x840.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-214x300.jpg 214w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-1463x2048.jpg 1463w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/REX-IDAMINABO-scaled.jpg 1829w" sizes="(max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px" /><figcaption>Rex Idaminabo, the founder of Achievers Media</figcaption></figure>



Other entrepreneurs within the events space have also had to rethink their value proposition. Rex Idaminabo is the founder of Achievers Media, which creates high-end events and networking opportunities for a specially-curated clientele. The ban on major gatherings has reduced sponsorship moneys, which used to be the main source of income for his business.



“What we have done is explore online connecting opportunities. We have moved to a retainership model with a number of clients where we do specific programs online. We have also organized global virtual conferences where clients can also network with various leaders across the world,” says Idaminabo.



The growing impact of the threat to economic livelihoods is also being felt in other areas of the economy in Nigeria. At the former end of the F&amp;B spectrum, is the food business, and with Covid-19 set to radically aggravate food insecurity, the issues are at many levels.



In spite of Nigeria’s dependence on oil, agriculture remains an important mainstay for the economy, providing employment for millions, especially in the informal sector. And higher up in the value chain of the food business is the hotel and restaurant industry, confounded with an unprecedented dip in profits and job losses for the millions it employs.



For now, the restaurants are finding it difficult to put food on the table.

IMG-5262

Pulling The Plug On The Live Party And Moving It Online

Ghana and Nigeria brace for the economic nightmare ahead, even as the region’s billionaires, entrepreneurs and innovators chip in for the fight against Covid-19.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



The Labadi Beach Hotel, set amidst landscaped tropical gardens in the heart of Accra, is unusually quiet on the Tuesday morning FORBES AFRICA visits in mid-March. The usual bustle of the morning breakfast buffet frequented by the city’s elite has all but disappeared, and in its place, an air of uncertainty about the future of one of Accra’s longest-running hotels, at least in the interim.



You cannnot enter without going through the new mandatory protocols in place: hand-sanitizers, individual temperature screenings and metal detectors.



“Unfortunately, we are no longer accepting outside guests and the hotel will be closing until further notice,” says the bartender. The usually-packed lobby has only two in-house guests already scheduled to leave the hotel.



Ghana’s thriving hospitality industry was one of the first victims of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, once President Nana Akufo-Addo banned mass gatherings and ordered the closure of airports. Hotels in the Greater Accra region closed down, sending thousands of workers home, and leaving management to contend with the challenge of paying salaries and taxes sans customers.



It’s in stark contrast to 2019, when Ghana’s international PR campaign, The Year of Return 2019, brought in an additional 237,000 visitors representing an estimated $1.9 billion into the economy, according to Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism. Most of the money was spent on the hospitality sector with the average spend per tourist estimated to be around $2,590.



And now, with the slow demise of the hospitality sector, a host of ancillary services are also feeling the pinch. Rashad McCrorey is the founder of Africa Cross Culture, a travel company that helps African-Americans reconnect to their roots by visiting countries on the African continent. He was one of those seduced by Ghana’s call to reconnect with the continent on the 400th anniversary of slaves landing in the United States, and so he arrived in Ghana with the goal of promoting his tourism business.



Ghana imposed a lockdown on movement in its two largest cities, Accra and Kumasi, from March 30, and effected a travel ban on people traveling from countries overseas with cases of Covid-19. In addition, the United States (US) State Department advised its citizens to return home immediately or face staying abroad for an indefinite period. “I was shocked. My initial thoughts were fear and panic. I was seeing all the development in the US, and New York has the highest amount of cases. The National Guard and US army had been deployed in the streets and my home was basically ground zero for the deadly virus,” says McCrorey.



After weighing his options, he made the decision to stay on in Ghana instead of returning home.



“At the time, ticket prices surged from $500 to about $6,000 and I was scared of exposing myself more to the virus. Also, going back meant that I risked spending the pre-paid money of my customers and that was also not ideal,” says McCrorey.



Gregory Lamptey, the founder of Black Cab, a logistics company providing transportation services to customers and businesses in Accra, is facing a similar conundrum. “Business has all but stopped since the lockdown in Ghana last week. I do not think we will be able to make it to the end of the year and I have had to start looking at other alternatives to make ends meet,” he rues.



In Ghana, there were 4,700 confirmed cases with 22 deaths as of May 12. Ghana has undertaken 160,501 tests since the outbreak as of this date, a figure the president lauded as the highest per million people than any other country in Africa.



But as elsewhere on the continent, it’s the workers in the informal sector that are most at risk.



“They face a very difficult choice: keep going to work and risk contracting or spreading the virus, or stay at home and risk their family starving,” observes Nana Kwame Bediako, the founder of Kwarleyz Group, an umbrella company which encompasses Wonda World Estates and Petronia City Development that has designed and developed over 500 residential and retail units in Ghana. The company is currently negotiating to pledge one of its premier properties, Number 1 Oxford Street, five-star luxury serviced apartments, as a quarantine location, isolation center, temporary hospital or safe place for nurses, doctors and other medical personnel should the need arise.



“This is the most challenging economic downturn globally,” says Franklin Cudjoe, President of Imani-Africa, a leading think-tank in Ghana. “This is going to affect businesses all over the world in a much more significant way than ever before.”



This was perhaps the rationale behind Ghana easing its lockdown restrictions in less than a month to allow people to return to work. There is, however, still a ban on public gatherings and a national requirement for face masks to be worn by everyone.



But Kwame Ofori, a financial analyst with the Ghana Stock Exchange, is currently on the fence on how the Ghanaian economy will recover.



“Everything depends on how long this period lasts, but if it goes on for a long time, it’s going to be a big financial and economic crisis for Ghana. Most businesses in Ghana cannot realistically afford a lockdown,” avers Ofori.



It is within this context that Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s Minister of Finance, said in a Financial Times interview that Africa has reached a “break the glass moment”.



Through a partnership between the ministers of finance and economic planning on March 30, a series of strategies were outlined, which includes fiscal measures to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic including the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme. Consequently, the government estimates of the immediate impact of Covid-19 is a decline in GDP growth from a projected 6.8% to 2.6%.



Along the pristine coastline of the Labadi Beach, sits a five-storey apartment complex boasting beautiful ocean views, underground parking for tenants, a gymnasium, two restaurants and a supermarket. The developer, Kofi Appiah, is a British-Ghanaian architect who relocated to Ghana two years ago.



“I started building and selling a couple of years ago in Ghana and things were great. Right now, we cannot even get anyone to come and look at our developments. I have had to lay off the entire sales team and we are now depending on social media to attract buyers,” says Appiah.



“Buyers need to imagine themselves living in the apartments and this is very difficult to imagine with just videos and pictures on Instagram. I don’t imagine we are going to be selling any of these units at least for the next six months.”



About 40 minutes from Ghana, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is also battening down the hatches. With plunging oil prices caused by the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and the novel coronavirus outbreak, Nigeria is in a much more precarious economic position.



Nigerian stocks have gone through weeks of losses with the fall in oil prices from $57 to $30 per barrel subsequently leading to an increase in external debt and a depreciating currency. This year, Nigeria’s budget stood at $37 billion based on oil prices staying at $57 per barrel. With the sharp decline in these prices, Nigeria cannot currently fund its budget.



“Nigeria might very well be in trouble here. Even though Parliament recently granted President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for $22.7 billion in foreign borrowing, the significant fall in global oil prices will erode any boost from this stimulus. Many analysts are of the opinion that the Nigerian naira has deteriorated markedly and remains set for a sharp fall this year if current conditions persist,” says Ofori.



One of the major side-effects of this in the country is a US dollar shortage that is creeping up with the informal dollar dealers on the black market. Nigeria’s official exchange rate which is fixed by the central bank, has stayed at around N360 to the dollar since the country emerged out of recession in 2017. Today, the rate is N445.



“Everyone is currently hunting for dollars and we don’t have any more. Even the agents we get them from are not releasing the dollars because they believe the rates will go even higher so this is becoming a big problem,” says Audu, a black-market agent.



The coronavirus is simply adding insult to injury for Nigeria’s economic woes. As of May 12, there are over 5,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Nigeria. The country issued a nationwide lockdown between March and April but similar to Ghana, has eased restrictions on movement to enable its 200 million population to return to work while practising social distancing.



Billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, announced a donation of essential medical supplies to help fight the pandemic. Along with making global headlines, his actions have also galvanized other private businesses and Nigeria’s most successful entrepreneurs to utilize their assets and funds for social good amid the devastating outbreak.



Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holding and United Bank for Africa (UBA), announced N5 billion ($12.8 million), through the UBA foundation, to kick-start a comprehensive pan-African response to the fight against the coronavirus. The donation is aimed at providing significant support to Nigeria and other African countries through the provision of critical care facilities and materials.



“I believe we all have a part to play in this global crisis and I hope that this is the time the private sector and government work together to help the most vulnerable people to battle the virus. We need to act fast and we commend the work the government is already doing to ensure we stem the spread of this global pandemic,” says Elumelu.



For African countries, this virus is expected to overwhelm an already insufficient healthcare system and reverse the economic growth that many countries have been experiencing in recent years. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has revised Africa’s growth, falling from 3.2% to 2%.



“We need to deal with the human crisis first before we can begin to address the economic impact of the virus on us. I am confident we will pull through this crisis just like we have in several other adverse situations that have come before,” says Oscar Onyema, CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.



Nigeria’s richest woman, Folorunso Alakija, is also stepping in to help fight the pandemic. Through her Famfa Oil, one of the leading indigenous exploration and oil production companies in Nigeria, she has pledged N1 billion ($2.56 million) to support Nigeria’s fight against Covid-19.



“These are truly difficult times for us. As the world rallies to deal with the health security, economic and social implications of the coronavirus, it is clear we feel the effects more deeply than most of the developed world. Managing a crisis of this magnitude means that the strength of our response will determine our ability to weather the storm but I believe with God, nothing is impossible,” says Alakija.



“Millions of Nigerians are under 30 and live from hand-to-mouth and quite frankly, cannot afford a lockdown. They depend on going out each day to earn a living on the streets as well as buying food from crowded markets. If this lockdown continues, there could be a mass unrest which could further cripple Nigeria,” says Idrisu Bello, a Nigerian economist.



President Buhari in an address in March ordered financial intervention schemes to be rolled out for the most vulnerable.



“This represents about 10,695,360 individuals in 35 states across the country as the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians,” says Bello.



The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) has also pledged N200 million ($516,000) to support the current effort of the Nigerian government to fight the disease.



Zouera Youssoufou, Managing Director and CEO of ADF, says the donation is part of the foundation’s cardinal objective of partnering with governments to combat the disease.



“The Dangote Foundation has been at the forefront of helping Nigerians fight against diseases and providing economic development for Nigeria. At this very difficult time, we are committed to providing the much-needed support to help the government provide help to millions of vulnerable Nigerians,” says Youssoufou.



As corona cases continue to rise, Nigeria, along with other African countries, has also shut its airports and air travel.



The International Air Transport Association (IATA)&nbsp; estimates that around 330,000 jobs and $1.2 billion are at stake in Ethiopia’s economy, around 190,000 jobs and $3.8 billion in South Africa’s economy, around 138,000 jobs and $1.1 billion to Kenya’s economy and 91,000 jobs in Nigeria with $650 million lost.



Then there is the worrying problem of medical care.



Lagos-based air ambulance and offshore medical solutions contractor Flying Doctors Nigeria, founded and run by entrepreneur Ola Brown, is calling this a true pandemic.



“Africa has to be cautious because of the challenges we have in our healthcare. There are significant deficits and a huge lack of medical and financial resources which means we face an unprecedented time ahead,” says Brown.



However, in spite of the insurmountable challenges, a number of local entrepreneurs are providing innovative solutions to help the government in its fight against the disease.



Accra-based company DTRT Apparel is gearing up to manufacture a range of personal protective equipment (PPEs) to supply Africa and the rest of the world. DTRT supplies products to major US and EU-based brands via a global network spanning three continents. The company employs over 2,000 people in West Africa, procures textiles from Asia and exports primarily to the EU and US markets.



“Now is the time for companies all over Africa to work together for the greater good of the continent. We want to do our part to ensure we are contributing to the fight against this pandemic by providing resources to the healthcare system,” says Salma Salifu, Managing Director of DTRT.



In Nigeria, Bamigbose Adams, a furniture-maker, has begun turning old metal drums into custom hand-washing basins to be sold in Lagos.



Around 157 million Nigerians lack access to proper hand-washing facilities, according to a 2018 report by WaterAid Nigeria and Adams saw this as an opportunity to innovate to survive.



“Business has been slow for a while so I was looking at different ways of making money to feed my family. I got the idea to use the drum from my local area where some people use them to store water. I created the first drum and it worked and then the publicity began to create a demand,” says Adams.



His main clients are local businesses that want a temporary solution to help combat the spread of the virus.



As governments rally to find solutions to help their economies, it is very clear that the way we live and do business will not be the same. Ever again.

GHANA-HEALTH-VIRUS

Fast Virus. Slow Growth: Ghana And Nigeria Brace For The Economic Nightmare Ahead

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> “Foreign companies, especially oil prospects and development companies, have been in Nigeria for about two generations &#8211; 40 years and above and so on. So, they know the environment. They stayed that long. They continue to invest because they know the potential Nigeria has in oil and gas and the capacity of the people to learn and work hard.” H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria </blockquote>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FORBES-2020-NIGERIA_OIL_AND_GAS_32PAGS_online-version-with-Zenith-Bluecamel-Catamaran.pdf"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NIGERIA_OG-MPU-NEW-00.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-43339" width="259" height="259" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NIGERIA_OG-MPU-NEW-00.jpg 591w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NIGERIA_OG-MPU-NEW-00-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NIGERIA_OG-MPU-NEW-00-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NIGERIA_OG-MPU-NEW-00-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NIGERIA_OG-MPU-NEW-00-80x80.jpg 80w" sizes="(max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px" /></a><figcaption> <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FORBES-2020-NIGERIA_OIL_AND_GAS_32PAGS_online-version-with-Zenith-Bluecamel-Catamaran.pdf">DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE</a></figcaption></figure></div>



With the recent re-election of
President Muhammadu Buhari,
Nigeria has secured an additional four years with an administration that is
dedicated to the nation in its efforts to continue its path toward bringing
Africa to the next level. With the largest population on the continent,
domestic demand in Nigeria continues to rise while resources and favourable
demographics are attracting the strong flow of FDI. As one of the leading
markets in the continent, investment possibilities in the country cannot be
overlooked. Improved macroeconomics, which are supported by recovering oil
prices and production, has ensured that Nigeria maintains the title of the
largest economy in Africa. This title is largely aided by Nigeria’s powerhouse
of GDP generation: oil and gas.



Nigeria has seen strong and steady
growth in the oil and gas sector over the past sixty years when petroleum was
officially discovered. To bring the reality of the oil and gas industry into
perspective, the first quarter of 2018 reported that sales of crude oil made up
76.3% of Nigeria’s export earnings, bringing in about US$11.7 billion. In the
same time span, processed oil products (e.g. condensates and lubricants) earned
an additional US$1.75 billion, which accounted for an additional 11.4% of the
total export earnings. In regard to contributing to the immense success of the
industry, Segun Adebutu, CEO of Petrolex says, “As integrated energy conglomerate with strategic
investments across the energy value chain, we are committed to building
communities, transforming lives and driving economic growth and development in
Nigeria.”



Driving economic growth and development is ultimately the central goal of His Excellency President Buhari’s administration. H.E. President Buhari says, “The administration is committed to responsibly managing our oil wealth endowments.” The administration’s commitment is further brought to life through a focus on infrastructure development. Nigeria currently has several on-going and upcoming gas projects in the works for the rapid development of the country’s energy sector. One such project is the 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline. The AKK pipeline is a continuation of infrastructure built for the domestic gas market. “The AKK pipeline is part of the Gas Master Plan,” says Emeka Okwuosa, CEO of Oilserv. “It is going to move 1.5 billion scf of gas a day and provide resources for power generation and other energy requirements. It is not only a development of the north; it is such for the entire country. So, this single project can transform the whole of Nigeria in terms of industrial capacity.”



The implementation of the AKK
pipeline will only further Nigeria’s potential in the industry, specifically by
monetising the incredible opportunity in the gas market. Focus on this type of
infrastructure is testament to how the current administration is embracing the
Gas Master Plan, which is poised to help Nigeria become the gas hub of West
Africa while improving the socio-economic development of the nation. Recently,
State Minister of Petroleum Resources, Hon. Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva has
declared 2020 as “the Year of Gas”, and this proves to be true as the country
makes moves to capitalise on gas and improve its local energy distribution.
With an extensive roadmap in place, the gas revolution is on the right track to
usher in Buhari’s vision for a next-level Nigeria. 



Reflecting this dedication to the
next level of the sector, Chief Tunde J. Afolabi, Chairman &amp; CEO of Amni,
speaks of the potential of gas in the country: “Given that Nigeria has three to four times more gas than
oil, companies such as ours should focus more on gas; in our discovery of gas
reserves we should look to harness and monetise the gas as we go along. The
government is making a requirement that when looking for oil, companies must
find a solution for the gas before they are allowed to produce oil.”
This mentality will inevitably evolve the prosperous sector toward new avenues
and make even greater use of the natural resource.&nbsp; 



While the oil and gas industry
continues to sustain further growth in forthcoming years, FDI remains crucial
for the sector and new investments keep being launched to make sure it
continues sustained growth and development. Tein T.S. Jack-Rich, Founder and
President of Belemaoil, says “Nigeria has been pretty predominant in the oil
business. Nigeria has great potential. We have the demographics to decide the
right economic framework.”&nbsp; Investment
opportunities range from upstream oil and gas production, such as deposits or
drill wells, or in downstream production that focuses on the post-production of
crude oil and natural gas activities, such as seen in refineries plant
production, or sales. Within any level of exploration, extraction or
production, the partnering opportunities are immense.



Under the guidance of H.E. President
Buhari’s administration and the Gas Master Plan, the oil and gas sector is
destined to spur economic growth and drive industrialisation with linkages to
other key sectors such as construction, ICT, power, railways and agriculture.
H.E. President Buhari is confident in the future of Nigeria, saying, “We have
laid the foundations for a strong, stable and prosperous country for the
majority of our people.” As such, the upcoming years are sure to prove that the
“Year of Gas” is, in reality, a new era for the industry, which will further
signal a new age for Nigerians by creating jobs, facilitating investment, and
offering greater access to electricity. While it is known that oil is a
constant, Nigeria is showing that gas will continue to play an increasingly
important role to ensure that the nation progresses forward towards the next
level.

shutterstock_1183969021

FOCUS ON NIGERIA: The Next Level For Africa

The 32-year-old South African comedian traveled to the West
African country for some eye-opening experiences.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



South African comedian, actor and entrepreneur, Mpho ‘Popps’
Modikoane, is a frequent traveler but ask him about his happy place and he says
it’s a little corner of Africa named Ghana. 



He has traveled overseas before, but it was his travels
within Africa that opened his eyes to the magic of the continent, and made him
realize that all Africans have the same stories and are essentially the same. 



“It’s just these borders we were brought up [in that] we
don’t take the time to learn about each other’s cultures and share each other’s
stories,” says Modikoane.



“I’ve traveled to a lot of countries over the years and
early on in my career, I was in the US. A few years ago, I went to Canada for
the annual Just For Laughs international comedy festival and these places are
amazing, but traveling in Africa has been the most eye-opening for me.” 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="461" height="618" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41440" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho4.png 461w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho4-300x402.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho4-224x300.png 224w" sizes="(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" /><figcaption> Mpho ‘Popps’ Modikoane in Ghana. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



&nbsp;Modikoane’s career kick-started in 2009 on the reality TV show, So You Think You’re Funny? His growing audiences haven’t stopped laughing since. 



With fame, came the chances to travel. His very first trip
to West Africa was to Nigeria on Arik Air two years ago, when he flew business
class.



“I don’t know what it is about us [black people], but when
we don’t have things, we don’t see why it’s necessary – we don’t understand why
we have to pay R30,000 ($2,000) for a seat, a leather seat,” he says,
chuckling.



He goes on to elaborate with his trademark wit: “The seat is
reclined all the way, we are drinking champagne in glasses; I didn’t even know
there were glasses on planes…. Even forks and knives. And in business class,
you don’t get shouted at by the attendants for reclining your seat four
centimeters back, never! Even the magazines are not the same – we get business
magazines and informative magazines. We even have a food menu with pages.”



That was his trip to Nigeria when on the ground, he was
impressed by the hard work of the locals, the hustle and bustle of the streets
and everything from bikes and Maybachs driving past him. 



However, Ghana was his most memorable destination where he stayed five days.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Ghana just looks beautiful and is next to Nigeria and they have this feud going on about who makes the best jollof rice and after tasting both, I have to give it up to Ghana,” says the comedian.&nbsp; </blockquote>



What he also loved about Ghana was its orderliness, and the
warmth of the people. 



&nbsp; What impressed
Modikoane was that the people did not wait for the government to give them
handouts and opportunities; the locals were willing to work hard to find them. 



“The people there work outside of their work, have a
business outside of their job and that’s the one thing I’ve come to realize
about traveling in Africa. We [South Africans] are sitting in the land of
opportunity but we are not working as hard as those from other parts of Africa.
That is the magic of going to these places and spending time with other artists
or musicians who also may have [on the side] their own clothing store, a
restaurant, a barber shop…” 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="824" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41441" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho3.png 824w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho3-300x224.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho3-600x449.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mpho3-768x574.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 824px) 100vw, 824px" /><figcaption> Mpho ‘Popps’ Modikoane in an interview in Ghana. Picture: Supplied </figcaption></figure></div>



Modikoane juxtaposes his experiences in Ghana and South
Africa, making various comparisons in the ways people conduct their lives.
“When you go outside of South Africa, you see the Africanness of our continent.
We South Africans have the modern, western element and live with white people
in our communities and our country is not fully ours, but there, it’s theirs.
Their heritage is rich, their culture is rich.”



And the most important part about visiting the rest of
Africa for Modikoane? 



“They make you feel like a celebrity,” he chuckles again.&nbsp; 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



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Mpho

Executive Travel: Mpho Popps’ Ghana

Several studies, covering about 58 countries across the world, found that as&nbsp;women get older&nbsp;they are more able to make decisions independently of men. But scholars&nbsp;have struggled&nbsp;to pin down explanations for this age dividend – why are women given more independence the older they get? We wanted to know what the reasons may be.



In a&nbsp;recent study, we looked at women’s autonomy across age in Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Benin. These four West African countries are home to ethnic groups that practice&nbsp;“voodoo”, a religion that spread with the expansion of the Dahomey kingdom in the 17th century.



In these countries women are not equal to men. They sometimes won’t be able to make decisions about their own health –&nbsp;like&nbsp;negotiating safe sex – or on how&nbsp;household incomes&nbsp;could be used.



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In our sample of 21,000 women aged 15 to 49, we found that autonomy in household decision-making increases with age. This was especially true for women who belonged to the four “voodoo-ethnicities”: Fon, Ewe, Adja and Yoruba. We also found that women had even more power if they are menopaused.



Our findings suggest that both age and magico-religious beliefs have a huge role to play in a woman’s independence. Menopaused women from “voodoo-ethnicities” are much more independent to make decisions on how they spend their own earnings, care for their own health, visit family or relatives and what major household purchases need to be made.



These insights are important for female empowerment strategies. To be effective, policies must identify potential agents of change who can, for instance, influence decisions that improve children’s schooling and nutrition or abolish female genital cutting. Despite their apparent agency, elderly women in West Africa have&nbsp;largely&nbsp;been overlooked.



<h4>Voodoo and menopause</h4>



So, why do women gain more independence the older they get, and especially if they are of voodoo-ethnicities and menopaused?



We analysed data on 21,000 women and their ability to make various decisions. We found that women’s autonomy was related to menstrual bleeding, particularly for voodoo-ethnicities. This was further explored in Benin, the birth place of Voodoo, where we conducted interviews with voodoo priests and menopaused women.



As one woman said:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">[Women in menopause] are equipped with supernatural powers. Only she can talk to the ancestors and request their help, assistance and protection. And they respond to her worship and requests, not everyone can do that.</blockquote>



In the interviews we gathered that voodoo adherents worship collective deities (related to the sea, the earth, or thunder) and family deities: ancestors that turn into spirits after death.



The interactions with the family deities are led by a menopaused woman, referred to as the “Tassinon”.&nbsp;Only she&nbsp;can transmit the family members’ prayers and requests to the ancestors and consult the oracle to see if the spirits have accepted the offering and sacrifices.



These alleged powers, in their turn, increase the bargaining power of elderly women in their communities and households.



In situations where the supernatural power of menopaused women has faded, the cultural norm derived from it – increased awe for elderly women – persists.



Our analysis shows that the “Tassinon effect” is sizeable. We created an autonomy index – which looked at a combination of different situations where decisions had to be made and who made them – to measure this and found that it increased their ability to make decisions by about 10%.



As one woman said:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">My opinion matters now in all important decisions or issues in the family and in my community. It was not the case before my designation as&nbsp;tassinon. I could not even attend or talk in certain audiences.</blockquote>



Our research provides support for the argument put forward in the African feminist literature, that&nbsp;seniority trumps gender in an African context.



It also adds to the evidence that voodoo continues to play a role in West-Africa. Adherence to voodoo has been proven to affect the&nbsp;governance of natural resources. For instance fishermen who adhere to voodoo are more likely to respect rules related to prohibited fishing gear. It also affects the&nbsp;uptake of preventive health care; for instance because mothers who adhere to voodoo will rely on traditional healers, they may not immunise their children. Now we know that voodoo also affects the level of independence women have in some communities.



<h4>The way ahead</h4>



A better understanding of cultural attitudes towards elderly African women will become more important for policymakers in the future. As fertility declines and life expectancy increases, elderly women will increase in numbers, both in absolute and relative terms. They could play an important role as agents of change in supporting both child care and female empowerment projects.



For instance in Benin the respect for elderly women&nbsp;is already&nbsp;relied upon in interventions targeting children’s health and nutrition, and in the abolishment of female genital cutting. This could be reinforced and extended to other sectors and to other countries.



&#8211;Marijke Verpoorten; Associate Professor, University of Antwerp



-Sahawal Alidou; PhD candidate and teaching assistant, University of Antwerp



-The Conversation



<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114466/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

Women during a ritual dance, performing a voodoo ritual, Lome, Togo.

Why Age Gives West African Women More Autonomy And Power

Child labor thrives in West Africa despite stringent policies against it.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



It’s the crack of dawn in Obuasi, Ghana, and Kwame Twumasi’s work has just begun on the farm owned by his uncle in the forest. Like every day, what lies ahead is hard manual labor.



He begins by using a chainsaw to clear a wooded area. This done, Twumasi climbs a cocoa tree and with a large machete, expertly cuts down cocoa bean pods. Five young boys wait patiently below ready to stuff the pods into large sacks that sometimes weigh as much as 90kg. 



They slowly haul the sacks – at least three times their individual weight – on to their bare backs and lug them through the forest to the depot.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> “Sometimes,the bags are so heavy that we struggle to drag them and it takes two people to move them to the depot.</blockquote>



One day, the bag was so heavy that it broke and we were beaten badly,” says Twumasi.



Twumasi is 13 years old and has been working as a slave since the age of nine, when his mother passed away and he was sent to live with his uncle in the Ashanti Region. His story mirrors that of countless, hapless children being used as cheap labor by farmers all over West Africa to keep the costs of labor and production down.



“We barely make enough to survive. I am making about GHS200 ($41) a month as a cocoa farmer and there is a lot of competition out there as these international brands have no loyalty to us. We have to do what we can to keep costs low, and  children help make that possible,” says Kofi (real name withheld), Twumasi’s uncle.



Chocolate is big business. Its raw material is the cocoa bean, which predominantly grows in the tropical climates of Western Africa, Asia and Latin America. Ghana and the Ivory Coast supply more than 70% of the world’s cocoa sold to a majority of chocolate companies.



The widespread use of child labor in West Africa has come under intense scrutiny owing primarily to the work of a handful of organizations and journalists. 



“Most of the farms in West Africa supply cocoa to international giants… and they continue to squeeze impoverished farmers out of good margins and as a result they continue this practice of child slavery because that is the only way they can make ends meet,” says Mike Oppong, an agricultural economist in Ghana.



Child labor entails work that is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful to children and deprives them of opportunities for schooling and development.



According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2017 Multiple Cluster Survey (MICS),about 50.8% of Nigerian children, aged between five and 17, are involved in child labor.



“The north-central region in Nigeria has the highest burden of child labor of 56.8 percent. These numbers are extremely alarming as this region also accounts for the highest number of children working in hazardous conditions in the country,” says Maureen Zubie-Okolo, UNICEF’s monitoring and evaluation specialist.



In northern Nigeria, many families send children from rural to urban areas to live with Islamic teachers, known as mallams, and receive a Koranic education. These children, known as almajiri, may receive lessons, but teachers often force them to beg on the streets and surrender the money they collect, making them highly vulnerable to recruitment by Boko Haram, according to a report by the United States Department of Labor (DOL).



According to the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO), Africa has the largest number of child laborers; 72.1 million African children are estimated to be in child labor and 31.5 million doing hazardous work.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">Places like Benin City, in Nigeria, are a major human trafficking hub in Africa where many girls are trafficked to Europe for forced labor and sex work. </blockquote>



The problem is widespread and millions of children from West African countries experience forced labor, including begging on the streets and domestic work,” says Tosin Ajao, an economist in Abuja.



Landlocked Burkina Faso is wedged between Mali and Niger to the northwest and east, and borders Ghana on the north. Here, artisanal or small-scale mining is widespread, with thousands of people migrating here to join the gold rush. 



According to DOL, in 2012, almost half of all children in Burkina Faso younger than 18 were engaged in some type of work with many of them toiling in the agriculture and mining sectors where they are exposed to chemical hazards, hazardous machinery and heavy labor.



The ILO estimates that 30% to 50% of the mine workers in western and north central Africa are younger than 18. Extreme poverty has exacerbated this epidemic. 



The problem of child labor in Africa requires urgent attention in order to support governments to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7 to end all forms of child labor by 2025 and forced labor, trafficking and modern slavery by 2030. 



To tackle this, governments need to raise awareness and ensure social protection, education of current and at-risk child laborers, as well as strengthen institutional capacity and policies.



Hopefully, they will, soon.

gettyimages-624606884-594×594

The Scourge of Child Slavery Persists Despite Laws

Xavi has just got the ball from Sergio Busquets; Casillas makes the run to the edge of the penalty area as he receives the ball, dribbles past one opponent before playing a through-ball for Zidane, who lays it on for Iniesta on the left wing. Iniesta curls in a cross; Christiano Ronaldo rises at the far post to meet it with a powerful header –goal! The stadium erupts in thunderous cheer with cameras synchronizing in a blinding daze of flashes.
Unfortunately, this is not the commentary for a charity match with legendary players from the upper strata of football. There are no cameras in sight and instead of pristine, beautifully landscaped Astro Turf, we have sandy and rocky grounds.
Representing their icons are Obinna ‘Xavi’, Balo ‘Sergio Busquets’, Tola ‘Casillas’, Dayo ‘Zidane’ and Kola ‘Ronaldo’. We are in Lagos, Nigeria, watching the final game between two under-17 teams in the local league cup. The winner gets bragging rights as well as some products from a local FCMG brand.
Football is an overwhelming moment of beauty, spirit and pride and in the most populous country in Africa, that passion is palpable. Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, who was in Lagos at the maiden edition of the AITEO-Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Awards this year, summed up this love perfectly.
“I was told that in Nigeria, football is passion, but it is a lie because it is more than that. In Nigeria, I was told that football is love, but it is a lie it is more than that. In Nigeria, I was told that football is a religion, but it is a lie. It is more than that. In Nigeria, football is life,” he says in his opening address to a room full of corporate executives, the upper echelons of power in government as well as the hall of fame of Nigerian football.
<blockquote>“Football is also business; when we can harness it properly, a lot of money can be made for the country through the game.”</blockquote>
The country’s love affair with the sport has blossomed over the years into an obsessive relationship. At a buka (local restaurant) in Surulere, a waiter is nearly slapped by an angry fan when he mistakenly changes the channel from a game between Chelsea and Man U to Soundcity, the indigenous 24-hour music channel that is a favorite of most of its diners.
After a heated exchange, the manager apologizes for the interruption and the game is back on. Commonsense is restored. Although this is a repeat match, the men watch intensely with the same passion and vigor of a live game.
“We found that football is the main pull for customers to our restaurant. They are passionate about football. It has turned into a family. Our customers come from all over Lagos to watch the games and once they are here, they have to eat and drink so it’s a win-win for us,” says Nnamdi Mayowa, owner of the restaurant.
As he speaks, a cheer rings out from outside the restaurant. Hordes of football fans have gathered to also catch a glimpse of the action and as any good football story goes, it all began with the kick of the ball in 1945.
That year, the Nigerian Football Federation was introduced as the governing body for the sport. Nigeria subsequently began participating in Africa’s Challenge Cup in the 1960s. Since then, the national team known affectionately as ‘The Super Eagles’, have had a fair number of successes. They won bronze medals in the 1978 and 1979 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and in 1980, they won the championship in Lagos.
In 1984 and 1988, Nigeria subsequently captured silver medals in the tournament. Football had come to stay and with it a number of international stars were born and shipped to some of the world’s most successful football clubs with lucrative deals.
Then came the dark years. In 2010, Nigeria finished bottom of their group in South Africa with just one point from three matches after losing to Argentina and Greece and drawing with South Korea. In response, the then President Goodluck Jonathan banned the team from competing in the sport for two years. Then followed their exit at the 2014 World Cup where they lost to France, and a subsequent failure to qualify for the 2015 and 2017 editions of the AFCON. Nigerian football morale was at an all-time low.
Finally, a shimmer of light emerged at the end of the tunnel. The Super Eagles breezed through their group stage of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers to earn a spot as one of only five African countries to make it to Russia 2018.
They were unbeaten in six matches with four wins and two draws, scoring 12 goals and only conceding four times, an incredible feat that took the team, led by German tactician, Gernot Rohr, to their sixth FIFA World Cup.
For Nigerians of this era, there is no sporting moment more significant than this triumph, especially as it is achieved against a backdrop of a sputtering economy that has gripped the country since the fall in crude oil prices and the Foreign Exchange (FX) fiasco of 2016 and 2017. The 2019 elections are also on the horizon and with it, greater economic uncertainty for Nigerians. The country has been increasingly marred by public dissent reflecting the mounting anger over an absentee president. To make matters worse, Nigeria has more than 300 tribes, making a consensus of any kind at the best of times, almost impossible to reach.
“We call football the unifying factor. When Nigeria is playing everyone comes together, we forget our tribes, we forget our differences, we even forget our religion. We all hug together when we do well and we all sulk together when we lose. Football is also business; when we can harness it properly, a lot of money can be made for the country through the game,” says Akin Alabi, founder of NairaBET, a leader in a wide range of betting opportunities on all sports.
Having attended two World Cups, South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, Alabi firmly has his eyes set on Russia.
“I want them to get to a quarter appearance. That will be the best-case scenario for me because I do not think we have gotten further than that,” he says.
However, he is quick to point out that this is not Nigeria’s strongest team.
“I think our 1994 team was fantastic. We do not have the caliber of players we had then, but no one has the perfect team out there. This is a national team and not like pro football where you can take money and buy whichever player you want. You have to make do with those that are available from the country you are from. So we are hoping it goes well,” says Alabi.
He believes the prospects of an African country actually bringing back the cup is far-fetched. Countries like Germany for example have a well-oiled football development machine, which helps them churn out a lot of quality players, which any African team cannot match right now.
“The German team is called a German machine for a reason, they have a well-oiled team and continuity. Their manager has been there for years on various World Cups so everything is run professionally. In Nigeria and Africa, when it is time for a match, we just invite players to run and play so that cannot work. We need better development in terms of processes,” says Alabi.
However, Brian Okonkwo is adamant Nigeria will go all the way to the finals. But then again, he would be. As a member of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, he has dedicated his life to the advancement of the sport that saved his life as a troubled youth.
“When I was younger I used to be in an armed robbery gang and we did a lot of bad things to innocent people. I was on a fast track to jail or death but luckily, someone from my family was able to help me turn over a new leaf by introducing me to football,” says Okonkwo.
He has been present in all Nigeria’s five World Cup appearances in the past.
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“I think we have everything it takes to bring this home for our people, the team simply needs the support of the country behind them and that is our job. We are with them all the way and we need the resources to enable us to do our job,” says Okonkwo.
According to the Club’s National Chairman, Samuel Ikpea, the club will take 1,000 people to Russia to cheer and support the Super Eagles. This means 1,000 visa applications, 1,000 hotel rooms and 1,000 mouths to feed for the duration of the Russia 2018 tournament.
“Football is a passion of the nation and we do this job out of love for the sport. We have been in this business for a long time and we are already sourcing for funds to ensure that we get to Russia. Unfortunately, it is difficult because we have not been able to receive any funds from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) or the ministry of sports since this new government came,” says Ikpea.
According to Ikpea, this differs to the previous government who invested $140,000 to help them cover expenses to support the Super Eagles in the last World Cup.
“Teams like Nigeria come into the World Cup and historically something happens. They look great in the qualifiers then everything falls apart, something happens with the federation, somebody doesn’t get paid and now all of a sudden this team is in disarray going into the competition,” says Marcus Dawson, a sports commentator for Metro TV.
In the absence of adequate infrastructure, and in spite of the paucity of training facilities, football is played on streets, paths or fields. The potential of the sport has not been realized in the country due to the lack of support from corporate organizations that only see football as a CSR initiative instead of a lucrative business venture.
As a result, the NFF is fighting to ensure the team has adequate resources to efficiently compete in Russia. According to Amaju Pinnick, President of the NFF, the organization is working on generating $2.8 million for the Super Eagles’ participation in the games.
“Failure is not an option in the FIFA World Cup and we need to come together to ensure we provide the team with everything they need to make it through,” says Pinnick.
The organization receives support from private organizaitons like Aiteo who have a focus on developing the quality of football in Nigeria. So far, Aiteo has paid the sum of $600,000 and $890,000 to cover its contractual obligation of providing support to the technical crew of the Super Eagles for the whole of 2018, well beyond the World Cup, according to Deputy Managing Director, Francis Peters.
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This however pales in comparison to investment in sports by their European counterparts. In a little more than a decade, Germany has invested nearly $1 billion in its youth soccer programs, with academies run by professional teams and training centers overseen by the national soccer association, the Deutscher Fussball Bund, according to a report in The New York Times.
Also of grave concern was the issue of the selection process for the team, which sparked widespread debates across the country. Like the case of Sone Aluko, a professional football player, who is a striker for Fulham FC but could not make it on the coveted team shortlist.
“The NFF is not responsible for making the selection of who joins the team. That is the decision of the coach. I know the story of Sone but unfortunately we are just focused on getting the team ready for Russia 2018,” says Pinnick.
Colin Udoh, a leading journalist and sports presenter, shares his insights on the team selection methodology used by the coach.
“It is the coach that selects not the federation even though they have some sway in the decision but ultimately it is the call of the coach. But yes, Sunday Oliseh, who was the previous coach, said he likes to pick players from the top division and I think most coaches in Nigeria want players who are playing at the highest level and the very best in the world rather than those playing in the lower division,” he says.
Secondly, Udoh claims that most European coaches like Rohr will not admit this is what they do. An additional criteria, which Rohr has also added to this team’s selection process evident in the team representing the Super Eagles, is the attempt to lower the average age of the players to 23 years except for John Mikel Obi, Leon Balogun and the goalkeeper where he is trying to integrate a bit of experience into team. So on these two key criteria, most players like Aluko unfortunately will fall out of contention.
“He is not in the top division and he also happens to be 28 years. I would pick him in a heartbeat but unfortunately I am not the coach. If you look at the way the team have qualified for the World Cup, you cannot argue with the results. Apart from that one loss against South Africa, Rohr has masterminded the success of the team to qualify for the World Cup and it is going to be hard to argue with that result,” adds Udoh.
It has been a long road to get here. Nigeria could qualify through the group stages by having the best balance of exciting promise and solidity. In every nook and cranny, and from every social stratum and walk of life, one thing is undeniable, and that is the game of football permeates every aspect of Nigerian culture, and Russia 2018 is another opportunity for the country to put away the differences and unite for this all-important goal.
After all, football in Nigeria is life.
<div id="attachment_36279" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36279" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-36279 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GettyImages-161373524-1024x682.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="682" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GettyImages-161373524-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GettyImages-161373524-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GettyImages-161373524-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GettyImages-161373524-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GettyImages-161373524.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Nigeria&#8217;s supporters celebrate after their team scored the opening goal against Burkina Faso during the 2013 African Cup of Nations. Photo Getty Images.</div>

FBL-WC-2018-QUALIFIER-NGR-CMR

Nigeria; Where Football Is Life

Not too long ago, West Africa – from regional behemoth Nigeria to smaller states like Liberia and Sierra Leone – was bedeviled by coups and civil wars. Now, there is not a major civil war in the region and it has been a very long time since there was a coup.
A sign of the times was the recent, and peaceful, elections in once war-torn Liberia. There have, however, been agitations in Togo and Guinea, with leaders and families staying in power too long. It used to be the case that longtime leaders provided an air of stability. Entrenched over time, the price of this seeming peace has been the commonwealth, with their countries’ resources concentrated in the hands of ruling family members and their cronies.
Things are beginning to change though. In January last year, Gambians kicked longtime leader, Yahya Jammeh, out of power. A peaceful resolution to what could have been a major crisis was aided by the deft handling of leaders in the region under the aegis of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Now, West African leaders know that if they want to rule, the only route is via the ballot box. The situation in Côte d’Ivoire, where a heated succession battle is ongoing, needs to be closely monitored, but peace is unlikely to be disturbed.
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Months ago, Togolese, perhaps taking a cue from Gambians, took to the streets to stop an attempt by their second generation president from the Gnassingbé family to extend his rule. In 2005, Faure Gnassingbé succeeded his father, Eyadéma Gnassingbé, who had been in power since 1967 until his death. The protests were effective. In September, the Togolese parliament adopted proposals that would limit the number of terms any individual can serve as president to two five-year terms; albeit a boycott by opposition MPs meant a referendum would be needed to change the constitution, since the parliamentary vote fell short of the four-fifths majority needed.
The opposition’s gripe is that President Gnassingbé would still be able to contest and stay in power for an additional 10 years, after already serving three terms. Should that be the case, his family would have ruled Togo for at least 60 years.
Further west, Guineans also took to the streets over fears that President Alpha Condé might change the constitution to allow him to contest for a third term in 2020, after already serving consecutive five-year terms. They were also venting over economic difficulties amid vast mineral wealth – a third of the world’s aluminium ore bauxite reserves are in Guinea.
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Ordinarily, these are populations that tend to be reserved; in part due to their culture, but also because of a history of crackdowns by security agencies. That they are now finding their voice is a positive. It speaks to a desire for a better life, rule of law and a greater say in how their countries are run. There is clearly a democratic wave moving across the region.
Incidentally, Togo was recently feted by the Americans, who held the 16th forum of their African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade policy in Lome. Togo was granted a so-called textile passport that would allow it enjoy preferential treatment under AGOA for the export of textile and apparel products to the United States.
Foreign investors would do well to pay heed to the smaller West African countries. Their relative stability and eager governments could prove to be profitable for investors looking to set up bases in low cost environments with the ability to serve the entire region. &#8211; Written by Rafiq Raji

First Peace, Then Progress

Although we sometimes desire change, there is no absolute way to measure change. What we do know is that the future invades the present faster than many entrepreneurs can handle.
We go to bed, only to wake up and see that a company with a lean work force and tiny office is now the fastest growing company in the world. The future of wealth creation and multiplication in Africa worries me because of our slow development of basic infrastructure. If Africa entrepreneurs are to be the future leaders in businesses, then our romance with the old rules will have to give way to more ingenious ways of wealth creation.
Steven Silbiger, who has written many business books, describes wealth in a way that contradicts the definition of wealth held by many African entrepreneurs, especially in the 20th century when land was the major factor of economic activities. Silbiger writes that “wealth is portable, it’s knowledge”.
In Africa, the popular understanding of wealth is that it is tangible and usually associated with the acquisition of property. Many African countries are blessed with lands that are either embedded with mineral resources or fertile for farming. This idea that land was a prerequisite for wealth creation led to Africans valuing tangible substance far above the intangible. That preference still prevails today. From Zimbabwe, to South Africa and Nigeria, there is heated discussion on land matters.
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Africa&#8217;s first entrepreneurs, according to history, were both farmers and traders with extensive trade routes that developed across kingdoms. Famous ancient African business hubs, such as Timbuktu, Ashanti, and Oyo, became wealthy empires due to their wide trade networks of agricultural produce.
Today, many of those business hubs are reduced to passive historical business cities because of an unexpected change that occurred. Have Africans learned lessons from these sudden changes that shocked us in the previous century?
In Nigeria, there is a wave of young entrepreneurs rushing to farming. When I talk to them about starting such a business venture, I see a genuine passion. The challenge is that many of them avoid the discussion on the agriculture value chain. They just want to farm and trade the produce. That was the same thinking of entrepreneurs in the 20th century who had vast cocoa farm, but no factory to produce chocolate.
The dynamics of wealth have shifted from crop farming to agricultural value chain, productive thinking and digital value creation. The rule of wealth creation has extended beyond Adams Smith’s theory of “the rent of the land”.
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In the present business environment, the human brain matters most. An economy with digital technology and an acute investment in the human mind creates an enabling environment for wealth creation. No city can be better than the thinking of the entrepreneurs within it. That is the philosophy that differentiates poor nations from the rich. Business growth now largely depends on workers’ creative ability which cannot be quantified, but explains the underlining factor for all disruptions in business.
Today, creative problem solving and the human mind are the fields for wealth creation. I cannot think of a self-made billionaire who didn’t resolve a problem.
In light of this, an entrepreneur will get rewarded to the degree of the problems they solve. All cities with outstanding development are products of businesses and individuals solving problems and improving existing solutions.
Thinking creatively and prioritizing intelligence will help any business. The next generation of entrepreneurs must embrace creative thinking over tangible assets. &#8211; Written by Victor Mamora

Change The Rules And Be Rewarded

Idrisu Ali grimaces as he recalls the day he sent his 12-year-old daughter, Fatima, away to live with a 65-year-old man.
Although the practice is common in Nigeria’s remote northern state of Bauchi, Ali did not feel entirely comfortable with the idea of giving away his little girl’s hand in marriage – to a man old enough to be her grandfather.
“I was sad because he was too old. I wanted her to marry someone younger, say 55 or 50 because he could take care of her for a longer time before he dies. But he was a successful farmer in the village and he paid a good dowry,” says Ali in his rundown shack in Bauchi, the state capital.
The dowry consisted of some kola nuts (native to the African tropics), a cow, a bag of salt and a sewing machine. To protect his daughter from the negative glares of society, Ali accepted the generous offer and sent Fatima on her way to her new life as a wife.
“This is what happens when a girl reaches puberty. It is our culture and that is the right thing for a woman to do. She will grow up quickly and learn how to take care of a man and the home and bring honor to her family,” says Ali.
For Fatima and many other young girls in Northern Nigeria, their demise into forced marriages is puzzling.
Fatima’s marriage is prohibited under Nigeria’s Child Rights Act (CRA), which bans marriage before the age of 18. But federal laws are at loggerheads with age-old customs, as well as the implementation of Sharia law or Islamic law in some Muslim states.
“As a father you have to do what is best for your family. If your daughter is ready for marriage, you do what you must to make sure she finds a good man,” says Ali.
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Nigeria is home to the largest number of child brides in Africa, with 23 million girls and women who are married in childhood according to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). GirlsnotBrides.org asserts that globally, the number of teen brides is expected to reach 1.2 billion by 2050 if there is no reduction with one in three girls in the developing world married before age 18.
The practice has continued to gain prominence in northern Nigeria due to prevailing attitudes in an area with gender disparity. The grim situation is particularly pronounced in this region due mainly to strong resistance to CRA with opponents stating that some aspects of the Act are against religion and therefore cannot be followed.
“According to current figures, more than 50,000 girls worldwide are married while still children, often before they may be physically and emotionally ready to become wives and mothers and this endangers the life trajectories of these girls in numerous ways,” says Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Economic Advisor and Co-Founder of #Bringbackourgirls campaign.
Such was the case for Mamuna Ibrahim. At the age of 14, she is already a divorcee.
“When I was 13, one of my father’s friends came to the house and asked for a bride. My father chose me because I was the oldest out of my three siblings. I did not want to go with him. I wanted to go to school and be an air hostess but I could not disobey my father so I accepted,” says Ibrahim.
Her husband, a 38-year-old trader, took her away to the remote dust-blown state of Borno in north eastern Nigeria. Immediately after the marriage, Ibrahim’s problems began.
“I wanted to continue my education but he said no. One day he came home and I was reading a storybook and he got really angry and beat me. He said a wife’s place is in the house not at school. He was abusive and demanded sex every evening. It was painful,” says Ibrahim.
To escape the traumatic ordeal, she ran home to her mother and begged not to be returned. Her angry husband divorced her immediately under Sharia Law, which requires a man to say out loud “I divorce you” three times for a marriage to be over.
“My father was very angry and embarrassed. He threatened to kill me but my mother and other elders of the family pleaded with him. He stopped talking to me because I brought shame to the family. He disowned me,” says Ibrahim.
She stays with her mother’s sister on the outskirts of Kaduna. Her situation is worsened due to her early pregnancy. At three months in and with no education or prospects of finding a job, Ibrahim roams the streets of Kaduna selling bean cake and mobile phone vouchers to make ends meet.
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According to the International Center For Research on Women (ICRW), the impact of the practice of child marriage is felt both at the individual and societal levels and it is therefore imperative in alleviating poverty and subsequently, promoting economic development.
“Child marriages have an adverse impact on the economy by limiting opportunities for career and vocational advancement for young girls. It therefore disempowers women and stifles the prosperity of a country because when a significant number of the workforce is rendered economically inactive, the nation will suffer,” says Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives Company in Lagos.
Its health implications are just as dire.
“There are several health risks that these young girls are exposed to. Most of them get pregnant at an age where normal vaginal births are difficult because their hips are not wide enough for the baby to be pushed through the vaginal canal and this can lead to the death of the mother and the baby. Also, the babies are exposed to diseases due to the lack of micronutrients in the girl’s body and most often babies do not survive,” says Dr. Mariam Doku, a pediatrician at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.
Her claims are further buttressed by the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) that asserts that teen brides are more likely to contract HIV and are also exposed to sexually transmitted infections due to their inability to negotiate safer sexual practices. As President of the IWHC, Françoise Girard, has played a key role in advocacy on sexual and reproductive health and women’s rights with UN agencies.
It is her belief that ending the practice of teen brides is a smart thing to do as it falls in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which has made ending child marriage by 2030 a key target.
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Organizations like the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF continue to support efforts in many countries but according to Rewane, much more must be done.
“The notion that sending girls off to marry much older men is a better option is also partly attributable to poverty. For instance, a very poor family is likely to reason that marrying their daughter off early will provide her basic needs and in addition, the gains gotten from her marriage may be part of the survival strategy of the family. So we need to tackle the root of the issue, which is poverty and that means efforts to abolish this practice needs to be a state-level intervention,” asserts Rewane.
For those in remote areas who are dependent on subsistence farming, the practice can be influenced by seasonal conditions. For example, in the years when rains or crops fail, the practice of “drought brides”, thus girls who bring in a dowry, while being one fewer mouth to feed, contribute to pushing up the numbers of teen brides dramatically. Four of the 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage are in West Africa’s Sahel and Sahara belt, according to UNICEF.
In many of these communities, a family’s wealth is measured in terms of the herd of cattle they own and young girls are the medium of payment. As policy makers continue to lobby traditional heads to implement the CRA in local communities, the dilemma continues for girls like Ibrahim whose cries for freedom continue to fall on deaf ears.

Fatima, 12, Husband, 65 – The Dire Story Of Child Brides

It is common knowledge that West Africa is blessed with abundant mineral resources. Aside from the macro-economic factors that affect the price of commodities, the micro-economic factors of each country in the region dictate the pace at which their mining sector progresses.
Australia, Canada and South Africa are generally perceived to be first-class mining destinations and are highly revered by countries that harbour aspirations of replicating their successes. They are not immune from the global factors associated with mining, but they have developed sustainable, and implementable, mining policies with supporting financial networks. It is this that should be followed, not the comparison of resources.
At present, a number of mines in West Africa are facing a number of challenges, such as a difficulty in accessing finance as well as the global slump in the sector. As a result, investment in mining projects has slowed down; though there are investments being made with China-based Chalco recently announcing plans to invest $500 million in a Guinean bauxite project. Crucially the aluminium will be produced in Guinea, a major coup for Guineans, especially as the issue of capital flight plagues the continent. In more developed mining countries, part of their success has been the ability of the government to develop and implement policies to protect resources. There is also a concerted effort to aid industrial development and, where possible, finance is made accessible to companies who wish to acquire foreign assets.
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In many West African countries, would-be participants in the mining sector are restricted to small scale and artisanal mining due to an inability to obtain finance at competitive rates. In Nigeria, for example, two out of 25 banks have desks dedicated to solid minerals. Coupled with high interest rates for loans and a dearth of viable mining projects to finance, there is a catch-22 for banks to lend to participants in the sector.
However, with the development of the Solid Mineral Development Fund, there is fresh hope and, crucially, the political will to assist artisanal and small-scale miners with funding. Though there are on-going projects in Nigeria, the level of activity pales in comparison to Burkina Faso, which as recently as 10 years ago, did not have a notable mining sector to speak of. Despite its challenges, Nigeria remains an attractive proposition for foreign investors.
Some governments may not have the financial capacity to develop projects. They then need to ensure there is a stable political environment, with a clear understanding it acts as a crucial component in attracting investors.
South Africa, which is widely acknowledged as the premier mining destination in Africa, serves as a prime example to all. It has a wealth of experience to lend. However, the recent proposed revision of the mining code has triggered a wave of uncertainty among mining companies in the country. This is the second revision in recent memory and only goes to support the idea that investors require a degree of certainty, which they can marry with their long-term plans.
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Tanzania has also ruffled the feathers of multinationals operating in the country as recent policy changes have had an adverse effect on foreign investments. The political landscape of the continent often goes through periods of volatility. For the development of a nation to happen smoothly, government interference must be limited to policy development and implementation. International mining companies, along with the expertise and technical skills they provide, also increase the profile of the host nation they operate in. This, in turn, reflects well on the host nation’s ability to create an environment suitable for international best practices to be adhered to. The resultant effect is improved credibility and more investment.
Deterring investors through haphazard policy changes is tantamount to economic suicide. &#8211; Written by Richie Seun Johnson

Government Must Stay Away From Economic Suicide

Life in Nigeria today is like living in a dilapidated caravan, or driving around in a fancy jalopy.
When this sort of accommodation or transportation is your daily reality, then your long-term ambitions become hobbled by the pragmatic quest to simply make it to the next day’s hustle, the next salary, the next windfall or gift from that well-to-do cousin, and perhaps, for businesses, waiting for that large order that may never come. Under these faltering conditions, a balanced diet, quality education, satisfactory healthcare, comfortable and safe transportation, and strategic focus become luxuries.
For most folks, simply existing has become a risk; and for businesses and corporate citizenship, a wasteful pleasure. Phrases like “the economic growth and recovery plan” begin to sound somewhat pretentious. Another government mirage perhaps. Sadly, the disdain for diligence is rife and few Nigerians seem convinced that patriotism has its rewards. The paradox of hoping for affluence has become a pandemic, with citizens, companies and communities prowling around for scarce resources and opportunities like a herd of famished goats. Even government’s uptake of loans – $1 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and $1.3 billion from China’s Exim Bank for rail projects – has not restored confidence in the shaky polity. Another $1 billion World Bank facility is expected to flow into government’s coffers in 2017, says Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun.
“The economy is on the path to recovery and confidence in the macro-picture is key,” Adeosun told CNBC Africa anchor Wole Famurewa in February. “Government is focused on investing in the priority areas of power and infrastructure… even as we continue work on payroll clean-ups and efficiency at the state level…”
The dire economy will not stop government from taking its statutory pound of flesh from companies, as oil revenues now represent only 10% of GDP. So, tax reforms will take center stage. At 6%, Nigeria has one of the lowest tax to GDP ratios in the world, with Ghana at 15% and South Africa 24%, Adesoun cautions, warning that “we should be very careful about getting excited about recent crude oil price recovery.”
At the micro level, pervasive poverty, disdain for Abujanomics and the proliferation of dodgy pyramid/Ponzi schemes is the new social order. Camouflaging as financial literacy, network marketing or empowerment programs, they represent on one side, the quest for overnight wealth and absolute disregard for government’s agenda and promissory notes, and on the flip side, the emergence of a new breed of professional charlatans peddling crafty concepts in an increasingly sophisticated economy.  Somebody needs to commission a poll to measure Nigeria’s social desperation index.
In a risk-averse, reward-hungry society such as this, contemporary concepts and capabilities like coding, digital literacy, big data analytics, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things (IOT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are farfetched ideas. Non-profits like the Lagos-based Book Club, which has been promoting the altruistic pleasures of reading books and advocating for a return to the culture of heuristics, seem largely ignored, their activities lost in the babble of personal, communal and corporate survival.
The nation seems to have lost a large portion of its liberal ethos. The number of pepper soup joints and event centers has now surpassed the number of libraries and bookstores in the land. Clearly, the pursuit of leisure and lucre has overtaken the quest for the wealth of knowledge to be found on books – or e-books.
But it is difficult to grow a culture of reading and research when citizens go to bed every night with hunger in their bellies and hyperinflation on their minds. Consumer price inflation peaked at an 11-year high of 17.9% in September 2016 and had neared 19% by February. “2016 was defined by politics and policy spats… our currency and foreign exchange issues led to the economy catching cold. But as we entered 2017 the forex issue moved from being a cold into financial pneumonia stage,” Kayode Oguntayo, a Lagos-based entrepreneur told this writer.
Notwithstanding these issues, Nigeria’s $1 billion Eurobond was eight times oversubscribed during its early hours of trading on the London Stock Exchange last February. The 15-year bond offering 7.875% in trading is the first Nigerian offering since 2013 and the 2015 change of government. Nigerian legislators had last year rejected government’s plan to raise $30 billion through loans.
Could Nigeria be flirting with a new era of economic rejuvenation?

Risks, Rewards  And Eurobonds

Burkina Faso, as the third biggest gold producer in West Africa, behind Ghana and Mali, does not get the recognition it deserves. In addition to gold, the nation is blessed with manganese and other rare earth metals, making it a premier destination for mining. With this in mind, it is not surprising that the government is in talks with mining companies to develop a world-class manganese mine.
Gold is Burkina Faso’s most valuable export, accounting for almost 80% of its income. But, the reliance on gold is waning, with focus turning to the exploration of other mineral deposits. A diverse base of minerals, especially with the discovery of manganese, will help ensure that Burkina Faso develops multiple revenue streams.
Considering that there was no industrial mining in Burkina Faso up to 2007, the sector’s rise shows what can be achieved in a relatively short space of time with government support and relative political stability. Companies that have an interest in setting up operations in the country include Canada’s Endeavour Mining and UK-listed mining company, Toro Gold, both of which are active players in the West African mining space. Another Canadian miner, Roxgold, is in the process of completing an IPO to develop a 95,000oz concession. Key to Burkina Faso’s success is the high grade of its gold.
Despite a rosy outlook, there are challenges. Power shortage is hampering the progress of projects and the Burkinabe government has started to construct a 33MW solar power plant to combat the problem. This approach will hopefully encourage investors.
In addition to Burkina Faso, Mali has historically had a vibrant mining sector with the country hosting many productive mines. Gold mined in the West African country last year produced 50 tons of gold, with production expected to surpass 60 tons by the end of next year. With both Burkina Faso and Mali having a degree of political stability, coupled with low taxes and other incentives, the region will no doubt attract investors who might have been sceptical about the region just a year ago.
As Nigeria aims to kick-start its mining sector, there have been significant developments. Canadian company, Thor Explorations, has taken steps to develop a 535,000oz resource and could become a leading player in Nigerian mining. As exploration and new discoveries in the region ramp up, unlocking the potential of the projects will depend on the ability to raise finance, but it has to be the right type of finance. Traditional financing often ostracizes smaller players and curtails smaller projects. Crowdfunding is a method that is gaining traction, especially in advanced mining countries such as Canada. Whether this method can be replicated in Africa remains to be seen but innovation – be it technological or financial – will be advantageous for local and international companies.
In the last couple of years, mining has started to attract the attention of boutique private equity firms. In some cases, financing for mining projects can be misplaced. Private equity traditionally takes a long-term view, with the objective of matching long-term capital with long-term projects. This year has seen an increase in global private equity mining deals, with many mining companies considering these deals as the best way to advance their projects and also provide strategic and managerial expertise.
The cyclical nature of mining means timing is crucial for investors. The price of gold has improved significantly but, with other base metals still performing at low levels, appetite is tempered. Due diligence on any project will determine the way forward but despite advancements in legislation, the perceived lack of transparency and bureaucracy associated with license acquisition deters investor confidence.

Tag: West Africa

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