Focus
Innovation, Creativity’ll Take State Media To Productivity,
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has been described as a visionary leader for looking inward in appointing a professional, versatile and experienced journalist, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, as the Commissioner for Information and Communications in the state. Nsirim, who is a former chairman, Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and current Chairman, Rivers State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), was a two-time Chief Press Secretary to Rivers State Governors, Captain Sam Ewang and Sir Celestine Omehia, respectively; and rose from the ranks in the profession and the state civil service: He began as a Reporter in The Tide, then joined defunct SUNRAY Newspapers, before returning to the Ministry of Information and Communications where he rose from the position of UNICEF Desk Officer to become Director, and later, Permanent Secretary.
As one who has carved a niche for himself in the journalism profession and exceptionally managed information at different levels, Nsirim’s appointment did not come as a surprise because he had been prepared to hit the ground running on day one. Thus, immediately after his swearing-in by Governor Nyesom Wike on Monday, December 30, 2019, the commissioner swiftly approved a work plan aimed at repositioning the state’s information and communications management apparatus for greater efficiency, productivity and profitability.
To kick-start the onerous journey, he swung into action by visiting the state NUJ Press Centre to enlist the leadership of journalism community’s holistic support to enable him succeed. And in appreciating the appointment by the governor and the commissioner’s visit to show solidarity, Chairman of the state Council of NUJ, Stanley Job Stanley, assured Nsirim of members’ total cooperation.
He returned to the ministry where he held a closed door meeting with all directors on January 2, 2020, to chart the way forward. He also met with all information officers, during which he challenged them to be creative in the performance of their duties, cautioning against indiscipline and laxity. In fact, Nsirim particularly charged the information officers to regularly analyse government policies and programmes as there affect their ministries, departments and agencies as well as local government areas with a view to sensitizing, enlightening, informing, and educating the populace to enable them key in and partner with government to achieve set goals of guaranteeing peace, facilitating governance and sustaining development at all levels.
Having began by consolidating on the foundational basis for success, Nsirim also decided that the journey won’t be easy without carrying the state government-owned media houses along. Consequently, he embarked on the media tour with a visit to Rivers State Television (RSTV) January 7, 2020; Rivers State Newspaper Corporation (RSNC) and Government Printing Press (GPP) on January 9, 2020; and Rivers State Radio Broadcasting Corporation (RSRBC) and Garden City FM Radio on January 10, 2020.
At the RSTV in Elelenwo, Nsirim read the riot act to both management and staff, noting that discipline and creativity must be entrenched to give the station edge in the ever-competitive media space, boost productivity and profitability. While commending the General Manager of RSTV, Dafini Gogo-Abbey, management and staff for their efforts in publicizing government policies and programmes, he reminded them that more still needs to be done, especially in galvanising efforts to rewrite the negative narrative promoted by detractors to demarket the state, scare away investors and tourists and slow down the pace of development in the state.
Nsirim said, “I am convinced as commissioner for information, that we have the right professionals in the various departments of this organization who have the requisite training and experience to deliver on assignments. My job is to make you re-orientate yourselves, wake up every one that is sleeping, and to say to us that we need to roll up our sleeves for more work. We are privileged at this time in the history of Rivers State that we have a governor who is passionate to make Rivers State the destination of choice by rebuilding infrastructure, paying attention to education, healthcare delivery, agriculture, and manpower development, among others.
“And he is putting everything into ensuring that the NEW Rivers Vision Blueprint he enunciated when he took the oath of office in 2015 is implemented to the letter. We have a governor who does not speak from both sides of the mouth. What he says he will do, he has done and will continue to do.
“He has shown Rivers people that his second tenure will be like a first tenure. His Excellency wants Rivers State to be a pride of all of us, and he has demonstrated that with his style of governance. Your role is to use Rivers State Television to key into that development agenda.
“To key into that development agenda, you must be professional, you must be dedicated, you need to do a lot of re-orientation and personal development. If we do that collectively, we will be making a mark. And I am proud to say that when we celebrated 100 days in office of the governor’s second tenure, we were one state in the federation that had projects to be commissioned, and we did that for three weeks. His Excellency was on the road commissioning people-oriented projects. With a man that has that kind of vision, those of us in the media parastatals have a critical role to play. Now that the 2020 Budget has been announced, what are you going to do as a media house to ensure that the people for whom the budget is meant for get what they are supposed to get?”, he asked.
The commissioner said he expects that workers in the state television outfit begin to do sectoral analysis of the budget to help sell the programmes and policies of the administration to the larger population, and tasked them too be proactive.
“We are in a new dawn that calls for creativity and innovation”, he stated, assuring that workers’ welfare will be given priority but urged them to show their professionalism by making RSTV the viewers’ preferred choice. “We will not tolerate indiscipline. I had to hold a meeting with the management team before this general meeting, and I have empowered them to act decisively.
“I have empowered the management to utilize disciplinary measures to ensure that those who think that this is a place where you can come and do anything you like; earn salary and go, stops. If you are a member of staff here and you are part of those who are not dedicated to their duties, then you are going to be in trouble because I have told the management to draw up an appraisal system for this organization.
“Because it a public communication outfit does not mean that we won’t make profit. It doesn’t mean that we can’t shine like other television houses. The television house is a platform for creativity. If any staff here is creative, you will be sought after. The media house is a place where you can stir up your potential and distinguish yourself, if you are creative. The times now call for personal development”, he said, adding, “I would like to see more creativity and healthy competition. Television is glamour right from the dressing of news casters to diction. You need to understand that this promotion that His Excellency gave to me is our collective promotion, so we must reciprocate through improved performance. We can’t thank him enough.
“If you understand that this is the first time in our ministry where somebody will rise from the ranks, get to be permanent secretary and now commissioner, then you will realise that there is reason for this appointment: confidence and trust in our ability to excel. And because it is so, we can’t afford to let His Excellency down. We all need to redouble our efforts. So, I am going to demand from RSTV better programming and content. I am going to demand from the news casters to dress with class. I am demanding professional competence from RSTV”.
Noting that he expects to see changes immediately, Nsirim urged them to show commitment and dedication with the little resources that are available to them. “I have found out in my working career that what makes people stand out is when they are able to manage the little they have and show that they have potentials, and then, people will recognize them. We must be proactive as media houses, the platform you have accommodates lots of creativity and hard work. I want to see competition among those in programmes and other core areas, and we will be ready to partner the management of the station to honour those that are creative,” he added.
Earlier, General Manager of RSTV, Defini Gogo-Abbey, welcomed Nsirim to the organization, saying that many in the state-owned media have been asking for a commissioner that they can call their own.
“Most of us have been asking God to give us a commissioner, and that Lord, when you are giving us a commissioner, let him or her be a commissioner that will understand us. Let him be a commissioner that you will send to us. We thank God today that He has sent us a commissioner. He is not just a commissioner; he is a son of God, who, I guess is a commissioner for this time to work with Governor Nyesom Wike, Mr. Project”.
She described Nsirim as a thorough professional and somebody that knows the state-owned media and the peculiar circumstances facing them, just as he she pledged the commitment of the management and staff to continue to promote the activities of the state government with professionalism.
At the RSNC and GPP, Nsirim said that his familiarisation visit to government-owned media houses should not be seen as a ritual but designed to challenge the media houses on the urgent need to reposition themselves for greater productivity and profitability. He charged both management and staff on innovative, creative and productive ideas and strategies to move the organisations to the next level, and particularly noted that with innovative ideas, everyone has the potential to recreate The Tide Newspaper to achieve enviable heights never before imagined.
He reminded the workers that ideas rule the world and not money, and further charged the workers to think out-of-the-box, saying that he does not see any reason why the newspaper should not be on the newsstand on a daily basis, given the quality of manpower available.
“Let me challenge the men and women here that we have the potential to turn things around in The Tide Newspaper as part of ways to let government know that we are keying into the NEW Rivers Vision’s development agenda”, Nsirim emphasised, adding that the Editorial staff, as the rallying point of the flagship newspaper in the Niger Delta region, should lead the way in creating solid editorial content to drive the positive pro-development and investment message of the government and people of the state to the outside world. “I am expecting deeper editorial content on the policies and programmes of the state government,” he stressed.
“At RSTV the other day, somebody asked me when are we going to celebrate improvement of the state media houses? Let me tell us one thing: I am a family person and there are so many state newspapers that have closed down. I hope we are aware? They are no longer operating. If government has kept this place open, and the governor is still paying salaries, we shouldn’t wish it away. That is a major contribution. I know so many of us here don’t have less than five dependants, and this job you have here is helping you to maintain your dependants.
“The issue usually is: we need equipment. I have challenged even the RSTV because I am a family person. I have asked them: what you have now, what are you doing with the little that you have? We shouldn’t be like that man in the Bible that was given one talent. We know the story. That parable teaches a lot of lessons, all of us here can use what we have to make this newspaper the pride of Rivers people.
“I was here when we were printing 12,000 to 16,000 copies daily. In fact, we were running two editions, and circulating all over the country. We had Weekend Tide and Sunday Tide. I worked here to the point I was producing three pages every day. I produce my ‘Political’ page; I produce ‘Weekend Personality’ and also produce ‘Faces and Ideas’ on Sunday in this organization. We can go back to those olden days. It’s possible!” he stated.
Admonishing those in Advert Department to work hard to generate more revenue in 2020 than in 2019, as the viability of the corporation depends greatly on their ability to perform, Nsirim said, “I need to see a radical difference on how it was last year, and now. We can’t afford not to make progress this year in this corporation. We demand from you, beginning from tomorrow, greater productivity and efficiency. We are also going to be demanding profitability from you. If you generated N10.00 last year, I expect that this year, you generate N20.00. There is no excuse for failure. I won’t tell the governor now that because he has not given me money, then I will not work as commissioner. So it is for all of you.
“Those in Advert or you call it Business Development; you must generate money this year. The first assessment for all the media houses is happening this first quarter, between now and March. I must see a radical difference between how it was last year and now.
“We must demonstrate to the present administration that we are keying into its development agenda. What is happening here in Rivers State within the past four and half years is like a revolution. You will recall that in early 2015, he was told ‘we will see where he will get money to pay salaries. We all were owed salaries for three months then. When he came in as governor, he cleared those arrears, has been consistently paying our salaries, and has turned Rivers State to a construction site”, Nsirim noted.
The commissioner urged all management and staff of both RSNC and GPP to reciprocate government’s kind gesture in ensuring regular payment of salaries so as to make him leave shining legacies at the end of his tenure. Towards achieving the NEW Vision of the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, Nsirim also charged the workers to justify the governor’s confidence in them by redoubling their efforts for improved productivity. The commissioner noted that the governor’s decision to appoint a professional journalist that has grown through the ranks in the ministry as commissioner amounts to a vote of confidence in journalists in the state, which needs to be justified.
“The governor has made a strong statement by looking within our rank and file, and deciding that we have the potential to produce a commissioner (for information). What that means is that we must justify that confidence. In justifying that confidence, we have to change our mind-set towards our work in order to be more productive”, he stressed.
While noting that this is the first time such appointment has been made in the history of the ministry, Nsirim harped on the hackneyed common mind-set of staff who feel that working for a government-owned media means doing anything they like, saying that he believes that The Tide has the quality of men and women needed to recreate the newspaper and make it the envy of the world. “Everyone has the potential to recreate this organisation. The idea that this is a government parastatal, so, people can come to work any time they like has to stop. It is time for productivity. It’s only someone that doesn’t want to make progress that will keep doing something the same way repeatedly, and expect better result”, he said.
Nsirim, therefore, directed heads of all departments to draw up a template for appraisal of staff’s performance, saying that such templates should take cognisance of each department’s peculiar circumstances and functions. “If you are in Advert, your template will be different from those in Administration and Editorial”, he said, and tasked the various departments to complement each other while exhibiting the highest competitive character.
Noting some key challenges experienced by staff, such as obsolete equipment and depleting manpower, the commissioner charged staff to do their best with what is available to justify being given attention. “We are going to work collectively to show the world that this is a government-owned newspaper house where we can excel, be productive, and make profit. His Excellency is desirous to make Rivers State the destination of choice in this country, and he is not paying lip service to it. He is rather building the right environment, providing the appropriate infrastructure to promote health care, education, agriculture, and improving human capital development. I’m challenging both management and staff to think outside the box, be creative and innovative. Let’s demonstrate to the world that we have men and women in these organisations that have the potentials to turn things around. We are demanding from you greater productivity and efficiency”, the commissioner added.
“My tenure must make a difference. That is why I have come to challenge everybody now that we need to roll up our sleeves to work. It is when you work well that you become my friends. The general manager is my personal friend and my boss, and I am demanding a lot from him. So, he is going to push the heat to you. When he pushes the heat to you, don’t think that he hates you, we want results. The truth of the matter is: if we throw away the cap and that mentality that ‘this is a public corporation’, and make up our minds to work, we will succeed, because there is a spiritual import about synergy.
“There are so many people, let me say 20% of the population of this place just come to earn salary. There is nothing that is happening here that I don’t know. Of course, you know I should know. I can even call names department-by-department because here is my family. So, my appeal to everyone is that it is not going to be as it used to be. The Tide newspaper must be repositioned. We won’t stop at three editions per week anymore because we shouldn’t be publishing stale news. So, whatever it will take you to reorganize and bring everybody on the same page to make sure that we have more editions of The Tide, do it. The work is starting tomorrow, not next week, not next month.
“I don’t want to hear anything about challenges. I don’t want to lose the fire power to succeed. We are in a hurry to develop the state. The governor is in a hurry to develop the state. So, let’s keep aside the challenges confronting the corporation. I have talked with management heart-to-heart, and you will see things happening here from tomorrow because it is possible”, Nsirim said.
In his remarks on behalf of staff of Editorial Department, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), The Tide Chapel, Comrade Amadi Akujobi, thanked the commissioner for the visit, describing it as home-coming to celebrate his appointment with his colleagues and family members, as according to him, the commissioner began his journalism career from The Tide.
Akujobi harped on the need for more training and retraining of journalists to sharpen their skills and competences on emerging trends in the profession, saying that as a dynamic profession, it was vital for Reporters and Editors to undertake regular retraining to enable them compete favourably in the technology-driven media industry.
Also speaking on behalf of the RSNC Chapter of National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers (NUPPPPROW), the National Vice President of the union, Comrade Godwin Williamson, noted the various welfare initiatives of the new management designed to motivate workers for improved productivity, but solicited for more government attention to address the poor conditions of working tools in both organisations.
Williamson, who is also the state chairman of NUPPPPROW, explained that although both media outfits have quality and competent staff to take the agenda of government to the next level, but regretted that the lack of modern equipment and technology has undermined their productivity and obliterated profitability in a highly competitive media space.
Also speaking, the General Manager of RSNC, Mr. Vincent Ake, re-echoed the charge given by the commissioner, and called on staff to be ready for more work. “The commissioner has come, and he has charged us to worker harder. He has said we should roll up our sleeves, and do the much we can to ensure that the newspaper is sustained. And everybody should be ready to work because there is no food for a lazy man.
“Everybody should be innovative in whichever area you are. I am open to innovation. All we need is let the ideas come in, and we will implement them,” Ake stated, and assured staff that the management would organise training and retraining programmes to sharpen their skills and competences for greater productivity.
He explained that the welfare initiatives of the present dispensation were part of a deliberate policy to motivate staff to put in their best to fast-track the capacity and ability of the corporation to break even and step into an era of profitability. Ake, therefore, thanked the commissioner for coming, just as he reminded him that The Tide was his home, and he should be free to visit anytime.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Focus
Differentiation And Learning Strategies As Tool For Desired Learning Outcome
What is differentiation? Differentiation refers to the learning experiences in which the approach or method of learning is adjusted to meet the needs of individual learners with a focus on the how of personalised learning.” (Culottes, R. 2016). It is a process that helps learners who are struggling and help gifted learners learn faster, this way, teaching becomes easier for the teacher and makes it easier to achieve the desired learning outcome. In differentiation, the learning objective is the same but the means through which it is achieved may be varied. It is like having a destination and arriving there through various means, by road, rail, water or air. It is one of the three elements of individualised learning which involves changing the instructional approach so as to meet the various needs of students.
Differentiation could also entail designing and delivering instruction by using different teaching styles and also giving the learners various alternatives for taking information. It provides flexibility to both the teacher and the learner but the learning objectives must be clearly defined to enable learners work their way towards achieving it. We should not mix up differentiation with learning styles. Learning style presumes that a learner learns better in a certain way, be it visual, auditory, or hands on. Although a learner might find a particular learning style useful for a particular topic, it does not mean that the particular learning style will apply to all other topics, for instance, if a learner learns a topic through songs, it does not mean that the same learner will learn every other topic through songs. Learning is not always as straight forward.
How a teacher can use differentiation in the classroom.
When practising differentiation in the classroom, a teacher can teach a particular topic using various teaching techniques that meet the needs and interests of the learners, a teacher can decide to put learners in groups based on their ability or interest and at the same time has to vary the content of the lesson to meet the needs of the learners. In differentiation, the teacher considers the learner’s personalised learning style and ability when the lesson is being taught. According to Carol Tomlinson, differentiation can be done through the following:
Content: Here differentiation can occur in the learning activities which have to meet the interest and need of the learner. Bloom’ s taxonomy levels of remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating and creating, which involves different levels of intellectual behaviour from lower to higher level thinking come into play. The teacher applies these in planning the lesson so that various interests and learning styles are taken into consideration. Bearing in mind the objective of the lesson, the teacher then provides the learners with options on the content and together they study to achieve the set objective.
Process: These are methods which a teacher employs in presenting learning materials to keep the learner’s interest. Learners may need different levels of support, some work better on their own while others prefer to work in pairs or in small groups. Grouping can be done depending on the learner’s readiness or as a way of complementing each other. Support can also be given to learners depending on their individual learning styles and so the teacher has to prepare a lesson plan that caters for visual, auditory, kinesthetic or those who learn through words.
Product: At the end of the lesson, the learner shows mastery of the lesson by the product the learner creates. It can be in form of a song, quizzes, tests, a story, an art project or any other activities the teacher may deem fit. All these are to assess how the learner has mastered the concept.
Learning environment: The classroom environment affects learning and so the physical and psychological conditions of the learning environment have to be right such as the furniture, classroom arrangement and classroom management. The learning environment has to be safe, conducive and supporting in order to sustain the interest of the learners. Learning environment can also involve changes to habits and routines such as recess time, circle time, lunch time or outdoor learning.
What are the Importance of Differentiation in Learning?
Differentiation is important in the classroom because it caters for all types of learners, whether high ability learners or additional needs learners. It gives learners the opportunity to learn in diverse ways so as to meet learning objectives the best way they can. Differentiation helps instructors to connect with the different learning styles depending on which works best for the learners. All learners may not respond well with a game, a song may work better for others or reading for others.
Differentiation is a great learning instruction for learners with additional needs.
Differentiation provides a platform for learners to strive to achieve set learning objectives.
Differentiation motivates learners to learn in a manner that meets their interest and personalised learning style. We know that all learners do not learn the same way and so the teacher has to employ various learning styles to know which best resonates with the learners. What Experts say about Differentiation in Learning? According to Carol Tomlinson, differentiation is a way of honoring the reality of the learners. They maybe energetic, outgoing, quiet, shy, confident or self-doubting, they could be interested in a particular thing or in a thousand things, could be academically advanced or struggling with cognitive, sociological, economic or emotional challenges. Many speak a different language at home and learn at different rates and styles and they all come together in our academically diverse classrooms. Carol Ann Tomlinson (William Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor and Chair of Educational leadership, Foundations, and Policy).
Differentiating instruction is really a way of thinking, not a list of strategies. Many times, it is making decisions in the moment based on this mindset. It is recognising that “fair” does not always mean treating everyone equally. It is recognising that all of our students bring different gifts and challenges, and that as educators, we need to recognise those differences and use our professional judgment to flexibly respond to them in our teaching.” Larry Ferlazzo (award-winning teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California, who writes a teacher advice column for Education Week.
Another expert, Lisa Westman posits that all teachers want their students to succeed, and all teachers try to make this happen, that is all differentiation is. She writes that we complicate differentiation by not allowing ourselves to be provisional with how we apply the foundational pieces of differentiated instruction. Instead if we address these four questions in our instructional planning, differentiation will always be the result: what do my students need? How do I know? What will I do to meet their needs? How do I know if what I am doing is working? Lisa Westman (instruction coaching, differentiation, and standards-based grading consultant and professional development facilitator). “Differentiated instruction is dynamic and organic. In a differentiated learning space, teachers and students learn together. Students focus on learning the course content, while teachers tailor their instructional strategies to student learning styles.” Alexa Epitropoulous (media and author relations specialist at ASCD). How to apply Differentiation in Learning. To apply differentiation effectively, the teacher has to do the following:
i.Do a baseline test for all students in order to find out where they are and to device strategies to help each learner achieve the desired objective using appropriate means to deliver the content.
ii.Explain the learning objectives clearly and what the standard for success is, this is the key for differentiation to thrive, a classroom environment where learners work towards a clearly defined goal. Here, the need of the student is very important and the teacher has to identify them and create a supportive environment where differentiation is accepted by the learners themselves and for their peers.
iii. Know the individualised needs of their learners in order for teaching to be effective so that cognitive as well as academic outcomes can be achieved.
What is a learning strategy? A learning strategy is a way a learner organizes and uses certain skills to learn the content of the curriculum and to complete tasks effectively be it in the classroom or outside the classroom. Learners depend upon their senses to process information and many learners make use of one of their senses more than others. There are basically four types of learning strategies and they are as follows:
1. Visual strategies: here learners learn and retain knowledge better when the content is presented in the form of pictures for example, charts, diagrams and symbols. To apply this strategy in a classroom environment, the teacher needs to do the following: Make use of a lot of; colourful visual aids like charts, pictures and diagrams which must be well explained. Use different handouts for various concepts and leave spaces in them so learners can write in them. If using multimedia, screens have to show clearly.
2. Auditory strategies: this involves creating learning experiences where talking and listening take centre stage. These instructional methods can be employed in the following ways: Start a new topic with a background information of the concept to be learnt. Use activities like story-telling and group discussions to encourage vocal collaboration. Learners are encouraged to read aloud the questions. Conclude by giving a summary of the lesson
3. Reading and Writing: this makes use of the traditional ways of learning such as copying of notes, reading textbooks or handouts and taking notes. They seem to learn better by doing the following in the classroom: Provide written information on worksheets and other resources. Students are to rewrite notes. Convert charts and diagrams into written text. If using multimedia, use bullet points. Learn to reference written texts.
4. Kinesthetic strategies: this is also called tactile learning since it has to do with the sense of touch. This is the most physical of the learning strategies because kinesthetic learners learn best through instructional methods that involve movement, motion and touch. These learners are able to sense body position and movement in the classroom environment. Tactile learning is achieved through activities like moving, touching and feeling things. Below are some of the strategies to use: Engage learners in physical movement such as dance. Make use of flash cards when teaching. Students are to draw images of information as part of formative assessment. Provide learners with hand-on experiences. There is no single learning strategy that works for all learners because it’s not a one size fits all, as such it will be impossible to devise a generalized strategy that works for the whole class. The teacher has to apply the different learning strategies in a classroom learning environment so as to meet the needs and interests of the learners because a blend of these strategies will most likely produce the desired learning outcome and also motivate learners to have a deeper understanding of the concept taught.
Tassie, a curriculum development specialist resides in Port Harcourt.
Focus
#END Bad Governance: He Spoke Peace Tense, Protesters Understood!
Compact with meekness. Compassionate. Empathetic. Never of him to trample under foot, humans and their concerns. He listens; attentively. He shows genuine understanding; with humbling humility. So, he is endeared, not just to a few but to many.
And truly so, Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a political liberator. In him, Rivers State has a championing, new order, albeit, movement of renaissance: Berthing the people at a new coast of fresh breathe; freed from political manipulations, strangulation and enslavement. This is why ‘Rivers First’; call it a mantra, is not a mere catchy phrase, but a propelling commitment, and indeed, a reflection of the embodied resolve to work the better for Rivers State.
Here, the nationwide #EndBadGovernance street protest also took place, peacefully.
Nigerian youths planned and staged it to last 10 days, from August 1 to 10, 2024. And it was so, even if it fizzled out so quickly, lost steam so early in the State – did not last beyond four days. The intervention of Governor Fubara through his strategic crisis management approach anchored on more inclusive engagements, obviously assuaged frayed nerves.
The organisers tagged it #EndBadGovernance protest. It was their chosen channel. With it, they voiced their pains amidst economic challenges: Of heightened hunger, soaring cost of commodities and unbearable living conditions. They looked to President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to be more strategic. And he is doing so, nonetheless. More and more time is but solicited to see his policies being implemented, come through, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, in driving the national economy out of the woods.
Much more in that regard is known of Rivers State, several cushioning measures are being implemented to address the burden of excruciating economic realities on the people. Which is why Governor Fubara spoke up against the protest early enough. His position was firm. It was without a mincing of words, to the youths and to any other segment of the society. He made it clear that though, it is their fundamental right, the time they chose to stage the protest, is not right. This remained his counsel. The backdrop was to forestall a truncating of the prevailing but cherished sanity, peace and safety of lives and property that thrive here.
Street protests, unguarded, and when allowed to be hijacked, could bring tales of woes, such as the destruction of public facilities and personal property that took many years to bring to fruition. He insisted that if it must be staged, then ensure, nothing hampered the safety of lives and property. Just keep it peaceful: Give no room to political detractors. That reflected the message of Governor Fubara.
But political detractors always lurk around. If they are unable to hijack a thing, they become dramatis personae of what they conjecture. In fact, the hue and cry, baseless and meaningless hypes made by the then embattled Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tony Okocha in Rivers State, is a characteristic decoy. Mischief is central in his chosen political macabre dance. Otherwise, why dramatise a staged attack on APC billboard in front of its factional secretariat along the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway in order to put himself in a position to curry public pity, by playing the victim. So cheap. Sorely despicable. What was he thinking? That people around will not notice the drama play out? Even security details who monitored the protesters from Artillery to Pleasure Park never raised any red flag on their conduct around any property within that circumference!
You see, his kind, at such opportunity, raise false alarm without solid evidence to substantiate the veracity of the claimed attack at the weakest police interview. At best, what the public knows is calculated acts, wherein his hired folks, at his instruction, torn down the flex section of the billboard, which was performed before sponsored camera lenses. Even the Police authorities had disowned the incident, insisting that no office of any political party was attacked in Rivers State during the days of the protest. Come to think of it, even the protesters who marched from Artillery Junction to Pleasure Park never took notice of his antics and playbook. In fact, credible reports abound that nobody’s property, not even a politician’s residence in the State was attacked by the protesters. It is on record!
Thus, largely so, the protest was not destructive in nature in the State. Why? Governor Fubara had stepped in proactively. He doused the tension and anger. He identified those strategic groups, maybe not all but those possible contacts, and affiliates to the organisers who were tipped, maybe to coordinate the street demonstration in Rivers State. Governor Fubara engaged with them as individuals and collective. The security reports were of leading nature. So, eventually, representatives of those groups of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), stakeholders of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Rivers State ethnic and youth groups, Community Based Organisations (CBOs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Women Groups, Artisans and Traders, and the Ikoku Branch of Port Harcourt Motor Spare Parts Dealers Union, were brought together into one venue for dialogue; for mutual understanding of why the protest should not hold.
Heads of the security agencies in the State were also in attendance. At that meeting, held on July 31, 2024, Governor Fubara told them: “You are already aware of the political situation of our State, where people are looking for every avenue to destabilise this State. We don’t need to give them that opportunity to carry out that act. And that is the reason why, I, representing the Government, and the service commanders here, have always been in touch with you all, pleading that we should shelve this protest. And even if you have to do it, we should do it in a way and manner that it will not get out of control. I have information that you don’t have. I am aware of the people that are being hired to come into this State to cause mayhem. If anything happens here, we are going to be the greatest losers. Our property will be destroyed. Our economy will be destroyed. And when they finish, they will go back to their states.”
Those words were passionate. They resonated with the various groups amidst robust discussions. So, arising from that meeting at Government House in Port Harcourt, reason prevailed, positions aligned, and it was agreed that as groups, they will not participate in the protest.
In any case, some protesters still stormed the streets on August 1, in Rivers State. Not deterred, Governor Fubara went out and met with the group of protesters who stopped by at the gates of Government House. Standing amongst them unscathed, he addressed them, showing a glaring example of leadership: Courage. Acceptance. Endearment. Goodwill. He was the first so to do! Other elected representatives and political leaders had been overwhelmed by apprehension, and they unwittingly ran into hiding. But Governor Fubara showed his stuck as a leader when he made himself available to engage with the protesters, not done in a hurry, desperate impulse.
Because the moment was critical, he said: “I am one of you. I feel your pains, and in our Government here, we are doing everything to make life easy for our people. Our youths, I agree with you that there is hunger, but because we preach good governance, we are committed to make hunger disappear very soon. I am not against your protest, but we will not support any violent protest. We will not support anything that will destroy our State. We will not join forces with the enemy of progress (to destabilise our State). But if it has to do with the (peaceful) protesters, I don’t have any fears. Their demands are germane. I can understand them: hardship, bad governance, high cost of living, rent, medical bills. But we are coming from somewhere very bad. And we must start from somewhere to make things right,” he appealed.
With those words, his mien and presence, he inspired hope in them. He raised their downtrodden spirit to high heavens. It was organic. Surely, hope is enlivening. It strengthens the mind to trust in a blissful tomorrow. The protesters saw him as truer as a leader because he leaned his heart into the crisis, goodly too, to fully engage, motivate, and inspire them to expect greater accomplishments in the immediate or in the near future. It is this imbuing hope that kept the protesters peaceful, largely in the State.
And when a patch of the protesters saw his convoy pulled past Rumuobiakani Roundabout on the third day of the protest, they showed more excitement, cheered and chanted the praises of their most deserving people-centric Governor. The crowd of #EndBadGovernance protesters at the intersection of Trans Amadi Industrial Layout in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area waved Nigerian flag and green leaves while chanting: “Our Governor, carry go. Our Governor, we are solidly behind you and your government,” “We’ll support Governor that empowers the Youths”. The Governor came out of his car, waved back at them, and they cheered, their joy knowing no bounds. Thereafter, the Governor had easy passage as he continued his journey to attend the funeral ceremonies of late mother to the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Khana Local Government Area in Kono Community.
At Kono on August 3, he took opportunity of the ambience to re-echo the need for peace. He urged the protesters to give government time to implement policies and programmes already designed and being rolled out to address the challenges facing the people. He asked for patience, understanding!
At Eleme on August 6, for the commissioning of the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Plant built and installed by UNICEF in partnership with Federal Government, Rivers State Government, Canadian Government and HIS Towers, the Governor re-emphasised the primacy of peace and stability of the State as veritable tool for sustainable development. As he spoke peace and patience, the people cheered and chanted songs of support and cooperation.
Come to think of it: the Governor’s consistent emphasis on peaceful conduct of every resident of the State, and patience to allow the policies of government deepen their positive impacts on the people did not just resonate with the protesters alone. It also resonated with other well-meaning Nigerians both here at home and in the Diaspora, who were not part of the protest. It resonated with anchors and discussants, including lawyers, politicians, professionals from all walks of life, on major television and radio channels in the country and elsewhere. And it resonated with lawmakers across the country, including National Assembly.
In fact, the House of Representatives Technical Sub-Committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) said so on August 15 during an audience with the Governor in Government House, Port Harcourt. The sub-committee was in Rivers State to perform its oversight functions as mandated by law.
Speaking during the visit, the Chairman, Hon Miriam Odinaka Onuoha, commended the Governor for his wisdom and leadership in the effective management of the protest, by ensuring that while not denying residents their fundamental rights to peaceful assembly, procession and freedom of expression, he made sure that they exercised their rights in very peaceful manner without infringing on the rights of other Nigerians.
What to appreciate was that Governor Fubara did not speak politics to the protesters. He spoke to what they knew and had seen implemented by his administration. In meeting the expectations and challenges of Rivers residents as a measure embedded in his policies, he also showed them that he supports what the Federal Government is already doing. He reminded them that his Government was the first to release palliative buses, operating up until now, to ease transportation costs on students and all residents of the State, effective just few days after President Tinubu announced the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products.
Governor Fubara also reminded them that his Government was cushioning the increasing cost of living with the N4billion single-digit interest loan he floated for traders and small businesses in the State. It is a facility that is helping traders: mothers, fathers, and youths in the business line to grow their business capital base. These are added to the ongoing implementation of deliberately crafted policies and programmes that are ensuring the delivery of quality infrastructure in the health and education sectors to eventually provide affordable services to all residents in the State while also laying the groundwork that will make agriculture attractive to more people than usual in order to achieve food sufficiency and meaningful employment for the youths.
In all, it is indisputable that Rivers State is in good hands, and those who plotted to use the protests to cause anarchy and chaos, destroying critical State assets that had taken years to put in place, failed, even more woefully, this time.
Like the wise men keep saying, “God does not make mistakes”. The God we serve didn’t make any mistake when He choose Sir Siminalayi Fubara to govern the State and liberate its people from the clutches of desperate, self-seeking buccaneers, at this time in the life of Rivers State. Thus, as long as Rivers people come first in his calculations and decisions, Governor Fubara has come to stay, because he has the people’s back, always!
Nelson Chukwudi
Chukwudi is the Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State Governor.
Focus
Re-Igniting Rivers Agricultural Stakes
Let us agree on this: prima facie, in many parts of the world, Nigeria and Rivers State inclusive, agriculture has not been maximally harnessed. This is so because, what we have seen happen in the sector has not contributed to fulfilling the vital function of feeding the people sufficiently. It has also not provided basic commodities as required, or helped desirably, in the generation of stable income too.
But this is not what it should be, neither should it be allowed to be so. This is why productive hands should not remain idle and germane efforts merely wished away when deliberate and consistently implemented policies can coordinate robust agricultural activities, necessarily so, to ensure support for human survival and promote enduring well-being. Perhaps, this is what sane leaders do in any society that plans to grow and also feed its people.
administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is in such ranking: forward-looking and mindful of those things to do, that can help real growth of all facets of the society, howbeit, agriculture. It has taken decisions on what must be done in order to increase attention for agriculture, and mobilising requisite resources that will support in refocusing the interest of majority of Rivers youths, and indeed, agro-actors, towards harnessing agriculture potentials in Rivers State.
Nigeria has, regrettably remained a consumption-dependent economy, and Rivers State is a part of this quagmire. The reason for this is clear: age-long, chronic and troubling lack of holistic attention to public policy implementation on a consistent basis to achieve sustained progress. But pulling off from such stance, the Governor Fubara-led administration is resolved to strengthen the comparative advantage of Rivers State in the agriculture value chain. It is a herculean task but not impossible because the potentials are glaring. So, there has been careful examination of what should be done, and how it should to be done to achieve an agricultural growth status that will make the State stand out.
To start, Governor Fubara has taken a critical look at the level of existing support previously offered by the State Government to promoting agriculture before he assumed office. Books may not lie, even when there could be disparities in what is recorded and what can be seen on ground. That, in itself, does offer a bearing. So, at least, what is clear is that such support was often driven by the quest to achieve economic development, promote key target interests, set out the prescriptions and requirements that would boost agricultural production.
With mind set on the mantra of “Consolidation and Continuity”, vital decisions are being taken, arising from those critical scrutinies, not necessarily to undermine what existed but to establish a path for continuity. With a policy direction that should stimulate commercial farming, and let it signpost the level of awareness that should be created in achieving food security in the State, there has been a determined posture secured without ineluctably falling to the trappings of incoherence and poor coordination most policy initiatives had suffered.
So, to have a holistic perspective for the required results that are expected, the decisions being taken took into cognizance: the need to identify support or collaborations where none existed, commence one, and gear up efforts in seeking requisite and workable collaborations to achieve success. In areas where such support did exist, but were incongruous, a review has been streamlined to give a new direction. Where there was abandonment of any process, a revitalization has been decided and production capacities of endeavours of agro-actors strengthened.
There is also a focus on small holder farmers because their concerns are in keen consideration of what the administration intends to do in the sector. These farmers belong to the brackets of small and medium enterprises that do need greater opportunities facilitated for their agribusinesses in other for them to access credit that would enable them expand their portfolio. More efforts are being harnessed with a search for an effective synergy within favourable environment to attract investors and financial institutions into funnelling credit to farming endeavours and the process of having an updated databank is being formalised. Regardless, the Rivers State Government has brokered partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI) in the disbursement of N4billion to small scale entrepreneurs in the State. This is an initiative that should impact on the sector, nonetheless, if the beneficiaries were true to tact.
But of note is the review embarked upon by the government concerning its agricultural investment in the Songhai Integrated Farms. This farm is located in Bunu community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State. The Songhai Integrated Farms sits on a vast expanse of land measuring 314 hectares. Where it sits was, in 1985 established as part of the School-to-Land Farms project. But it was repurposed in 2011 to become Songhai Integrated Farms.
It had distinct production sections that included livestock production, crop cultivation, fisheries, forestry, engineering services, agro-industrialization, and the training of aspiring farmers. The farm started off with an environmentally-sustainable agricultural production system that harnessed a holistic value-chain approach to ensure higher incomes for farmers and processors, as well as other agro-actors to guarantee social and economic prosperity.
It was set up to operate a self-driven zero waste farming model designed to protect the natural environment by mitigating the impacts of climate change. So, each production section was made up of different units, overseen by specialists who work in synergy. Within the production line, nothing became discard-able waste since the finished products/byproducts were sent from one production unit to another in a sequential manner to further transform them into other useful products for human use. It was a continuous circle, and consistently so to promote sustainable economy.
Those features had been carefully enumerated to have a proper understanding of the venture that was to make Rivers economy bigger and more progressive. But either by commission or omission, it became lame because it was driven into despicable condition, or rather, because it was abandoned. Every facility became decrepit as a result. For almost a decade, it remained so, and nothing was operational there. The hope that once soared, about all the potentials and contributions it was to make towards food security, and to provide gainful employment for the teeming Rivers youths, died, albeit, for the time it was in limbo.
Also, laid in waste were all the structures, those that were constructed with concrete, metallic, or wooden, and others that were installed, over the ground and underground. Most office equipment were stolen too, and carted away by vandals. The entire premises of the Songhai Integrated Farms became overgrown with short and tall grasses. And it was dangerously bushy too.
Those were the sorry sight that Governor Fubara beheld when he visited the farm on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The billions of naira in Rivers tax-payers’ money that was invested in the Songhai Integrated Farms project by the State Government went down the drains. So, the visit availed Governor Fubara the opportunity to do an on-the-spot assessment of the present condition of the farm, and ascertain what possible ways to bring it back to production stream again. On that visit, the Governor was conducted round the facility by the Manager of the Songhai Integrated Farms Project, Dr. Tammy Jaja. The revitalisation works to be done looked massive and very demanding but nothing is insoluble with political will, wisdom and courage.
In his explanation, Governor Fubara asserted the urgency that is required in restoring and repositioning the State for sustainable economic growth and development. With his visit, arising from the resolution reached when they last had the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where they had considered the exigency of diversifying the nation’s economy and harped on the need to cushion current economic hardship experienced by the citizenry, he was determined to kickstart the version for the State. In his words, Governor Fubara said: “In our last National Economic Council meeting, because of the present situation of our economy, which you are aware; the issue of removal of fuel subsidy and other economic bites affecting everyone, everybody was advised to diversify. The other option is agriculture, and we were all advised to see what we can do to improve on food sufficiency.”
The Governor had assured that his Administration was determined to use the Songhai Integrated Farms as a launching pad to revolutionise agriculture in Rivers State. To achieve that, everything would be done to revamp the Songhai Farms. And when revitalized, the economy of the State could then be diversified, providing foundation for the people to be engaged meaningfully while also increasing the food sufficiency capacity of the State.
Governor Fubara assured: “As I leave here now, we are going to bring in all the stakeholders to discuss the way forward. What I am seeing here will require long-term planning and going back to the site to reinstate the installed facilities that have become desolate. The State Government will not just do that, we will bring in people who have the resources, expertise, strength and commitment to partner with us to bring back this place to life. The advantages to be derived when this place comes back to life include food sufficiency and employment generation. It will also address issues of youth restiveness.”
That process has begun. The people who had been identified to have the strength and commitment to partner the State Government were already in touch, and brought to the negotiation table. The talking has been extensive and intensive. The best among them with more enduring approach and sustainable model are at the verge of being engaged. Songhai Integrated Farms must be revitalized. That is the commitment and it remains unwavering.
While the discussions were ongoing, the farm has been repossessed by the Government. It would no longer be accessed freely as thorough fare to members of the public as it was in the days of abandonment. Gradually, the clearing of the short and tall grasses and trees are ongoing, and would be concluded, eventually. What shall be done with that project would be devoid of a lack of clarity and the adopted plan, nothing of abrupt disruption is anticipated. For this farm, the level of independence with which it would operate would be such that it could remain dogged, contest its place within the sector and drive food sufficiency process at a pace more sustaining and enviable for the State.
Another investment that is of critical concern to the Government is the 45,000-metric tonnes Rivers Cassava Processing Company, which is located in Afam Community, Oyigbo Local Government Area. This is a multi-billion-naira investment that was engineered as a public-private partnership (PPP) venture between the Rivers State Government, Shell, Vieux Manioc BV of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Embassy. Understandably, the motivation for establishing this processing factory was to address the challenges of value addition of the cassava crop in the value chain sub-sector. So, the factory was inaugurated on May 28, 2021, as a company that will support the economy of Rivers State to earn more revenue from the cassava value chain. The company then had a board of directors in place, which helped in the preliminary stages of preparations leading to its inauguration. But barely within the first two months of start of production, the subsisting administration then dissolved the board, which left the company without adequate supervision to help it actualize its core mandate.
Things remained so until March 7, 2024, when Governor Fubara visited the factory. The visit, the Governor explained, was propelled by the desire to see the level of effectiveness and efficiency of the existing production line. He explained that the team managing the factory, led by the Managing Director of the Rivers Cassava Processing Plant, Ruben Giesen, had requested financial support, in a letter sent to him. This, the team said, would enable them complete two more production lines at the factory to increase capacity utilisation in order to churn out more products.
Governor Fubara said: “I got a request from the people who are managing the cassava processing plant that we need to extend our support for them to complete two production lines that will give them a standard that they can start to supply in earnest to a lot of distributors who need the products from this plant. And I felt it would be proper for me to see what we have already invested, the stage they are at, so that it will encourage us to give more support.”
Governor Fubara further said: “From what I have seen here today, it is really impressive. I can assure them that we are going to give the financial support to ensure that the production lines are all completed. This is to encourage them to go into full supply of the products with international standards to anywhere in the world.”
The promise given by Governor Fubara to inject more funds is with the aim of revitalising this mega cassava processing factory in order to ensure that the finished products meet internationally accepted standards. Of course, these are well intended responses, and the drive is to ensure an increase in quantum of food production capability and attain the level of sufficiency while also creating gainful employment for the growing youthful population of the State.
It is obvious that the Governor Fubara-led administration clearly understands that Nigeria is the largest cassava producer at the global level. It is on record, that Nigeria accounts for about one-fifth (20%) of total cassava production worldwide. Indeed, Rivers ranked among the Top Five Cassava Producing States in Nigeria. It is, therefore, of necessity and thoughtful of a Government that cares for its farmers, to keep keen interest on this factory, and ensure that it is supported to enhance value addition, and guarantee employment for the people.
In fact, Governor Fubara knows that this factory would also promote adoption and the use of 10 per cent high quality cassava flour (HQCF) in bread and confectionery businesses, so as to reduce wheat importation and conserve foreign exchange earnings to meet other needs. Indeed, cassava is one of the defining ingredients of our family lives in this region, and it is a valued crop in Niger Delta and in other parts of Nigeria. So, this factory, with the promised support from the Governor Fubara-led administration, will attain full operational status. This will further be propelled by feedstock from about 3,000 farmers within the farming communities and other far away farmers in neighbouring communities.
What the people need to understand is that, as long as this factory’s capacity is not fully strengthened, it will be difficult for it to receive uninterrupted supply of raw materials from the thousands of hectares that could be cultivated to service it. By extension, this means massive waste of hundreds of jobs its prospect assures, particularly the over 20,000 farm families that will earn income to enhance their livelihoods and improve their standard of living.
Even as the threat to food security continues to alarm watchers in Nigeria with food inflation rate rising from 33.93% in December, 2023 to 35.41% in January, 2024, and not yet abating, these efforts of the Rivers State Government are to ensure that people do not spend more money before they can afford enough food for themselves and their families. Instructively, if there is no change in focus and the required actions are taken, guided by well-thought-out policy and implemented with the right political will, the threat to acute food security will be reversed.
It is possible that at the end of the day, these measures geared towards building sustainable food systems will feed everyone, everywhere, and every day. The cry of hunger is loud and palpably so. And Governor Fubara understands that only a focused attention on finding enduring solutions through strategic investments in boosting agricultural yields and increasing its value chain would address the needs of the people. This is why the Government sees the initiatives as a task that must be done. The Governor’s eyes will remain on the ball, until desired results are achieved with maximum impact. That is a promise he made to the people, a SIMple promise he has vowed to fulfil without fear of intimidation or favour.
By: Nelson Chukwudi