Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Ahmed Kuru at the weekend reiterated the fact that if at sunset AMCON is unable to recover its outstanding huge debt of over N5trillion, the debt burden would automatically become the debt of the Federal Government of Nigeria for which taxpayers’ monies will be used to settle in the long run.

Kuru who spoke in Abuja at the first seminar for AMCON Receivers/Receiver Managers in General Enforcement said the implication of such failure would be that the Nigerian public will be made to pay for the recklessness of only a few individuals who have continued to take advantage of the loopholes in our laws to escape their moral and legal obligations to repay their debts.

The AMCON Chief Executive who was represented at the event by Mr. Aliyu Kalgo, AMCON’s Group Head, Resolution Strategy at the 2-day event called on all AMCON partners especially in the receivership business not to allow a few individuals to escape with the commonwealth of all Nigerians. He however cautioned that whatever step AMCON Receivers intend to take in the process must however be in strict compliance and within the confines of the law.

Kuru who underscored the key role of AMCON Receivers in the debt recovery drive of the government agency said further, “…We reiterate, our Receivers are very key to the success of AMCON. In order to streamline the functions of our Receivers and make them more effective and accountable, we have developed a new Receivership Framework, which will henceforth govern our relationship in terms of management of the assets and accountability.

“We have had course to disengage some of our Receiver Managers due to non-performance. We did that because assets are being abandoned without cause or plan to come out of the debt. And at times Receiver Managers are confused about their responsibilities. Therefore, I urge the participants to partake actively in this interactive session and share some of their experiences with one another so that we can all succeed in our collective efforts to recover the over N5trillion from these recalcitrant debtor, which is a national assignment,” the AMCON Boss said.

Speaking in the same vein, Dr Francis Chuka Agbu SAN, the Senior Partner, Lexavier Partners and Mr Alheri B. Nyako, the Chief Executive Officer of Alheri Legal and Allied Services Consulting and a former Board Secretary/Director Legal at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) took their turn to amplify the position of the AMCON CEO as well as the many possibilities AMCON can leverage to hasten recovery given the enormous powers of receivership as well as winding up and bankruptcy proceedings in its Act, which they described as undisputable and potent tools for debt recovery.

Dr. Agbu SAN, who was also represented by Mr Mohammad Sani Umar described receivership as the most effective debt recovery tool within the current insolvency/debt recovery regime and challenged AMCON to leverage it to the maximum to help Nigeria especially now that the federal government needs a lot of money to bridge Nigeria’s financial challenged that have been heightened by the outbreak of the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

He said, “Receivership, as a debt recovery strategy, is arguably the most effective debt recovery tool within our current insolvency/debt recovery regime. This is primarily because of the control, which it gives to the debenture holder/creditor over the assets, or the assets and business of the debtor company. By virtue of section 393(4) of CAMA, upon appointment of a Receiver and Manager, the powers/control of the directors over the debtor company becomes immediately suspended. Even where the Receiver is not empowered to act as Manager, he retains executive control over such portion of the company’s assets, which have been charged.”

Narrowing down to how AMCON can apply the powers of receivership, the senior advocate of Nigeria added, “With respect to AMCON Receivership, the AMCON Act has further extended the powers/rights of AMCON-appointed Receivers beyond the scope of CAMA and the general principles on receivership. Firstly, pursuant to Section 48(3) of the AMCON Act, the Receiver’s powers to assume control over the assets of the company is not limited to the assets, which have been charged under the Eligible Bank Asset (EBA), but also included unpledged/uncharged assets.

“This extraordinary provision bestows a far-reaching advantage on AMCON in the realisation of outstanding EBAs by enabling AMCON to sustain maximum pressure on the debtor company (including its officers and shareholders) and increasing the pool of assets from which AMCON may realise the indebted sum.”

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Alheri Legal and Allied Services Consulting who insisted that AMCON must activate winding up and bankruptcy proceeding in its debt recovery drive argued that Section 52 of the AMCON Act has already provided for winding up of a debtor’s company upon a demand notice for a liquidated sum owed and failure to pay in full within 30 days, thus, making the inability to pay a debt a ground for winding up under the AMCON Act, which is similar to Section 408 (d) of CAMA.”

By Reginald Onabu

Culture separates, yet connects, the world. People are either pulled together or else separated by their cultures. The impact of culture is widespread and diverse. Culture, as defined by Livescience.com, is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.

Food is definitely an important ingredient of culture. Many times, what people eat, how they prepare what they eat and sometimes who can eat what, all depend on the prevalent culture. Indeed, people may connect to their cultural or ethnic groups through similar food patterns.

Naturally, the impact of culture on nutrition is high. In some instances, culture can inhibit the progression of healthy nutrition. For example, some cultures believe that if a child is given eggs to eat, the child will grow up to become a thief. Other cultures forbid their clansmen from eating a particular type of food, as this will offend the ancestors. There are places in this country where people don’t eat chicken and others forbid beef.

Certain food taboos and other cultural rites prohibit children from eating meat or eating coconuts. The belief is that these food sources will make them unintelligent. These cultural constraints and food biases may result in malnutrition and other nutrition-related ailments, including protein deficiency.

Protein deficiency, a type of malnutrition, is the lack of protein nutrients in the body, and it poses a significant problem in Nigeria. Protein is widely regarded as an essential building block of life. It is a macro-nutrient found in literally every cell of the body. Macronutrients are foods that the body needs in large amounts. Protein is an important ingredient used to build, maintain and repair body tissues and muscles.

Recently, at a webinar titled: ‘Nigeria’s food culture and the challenge of protein deficiency’, nutritionists and public health experts explored the nexus between the food culture in Nigeria and the protein deficiency situation.

The webinar was organised by Protein Challenge, which is the tag for the Nigeria Protein Deficiency Awareness Campaign. Protein Challenge is a protein-pull media campaign supported by the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and other partners in the country. It seeks, among other things, to create awareness about the prevalence, status and impact of protein deficiency in Nigeria.

The keynote speaker at the webinar, Dr Omadeli Boyo, a medical director and public health expert stated: “We need to sensitise our communities on the importance of protein consumption, taking into cognisance the knowledge, attitude and practices of the various ethnic groups.” He added that there is an urgent need to ensure that healthy food is made affordable and available to all Nigerians, to alleviate protein deficiency.

He remarked that most Nigerian families can hardly afford foods with high nutritional value, compelling them to feed mostly on starchy foods which are very high in carbohydrates. They are also often cheaper.

The truth is that notwithstanding the situation in Nigeria, there are solutions to the issues of food bias, food insecurity and malnutrition in the country.

Creating awareness of malnutrition and protein deficiency is the obvious first step. People need to be aware that eating a daily diet of only starchy foods or processed foods is unhealthy. As the Chinese proverb says, “whatever was the father of a disease, a poor diet was the mother.”

As Dr Boyo noted, sensitisation and education on the benefits of protein will play a key role in communities embracing healthy food cultures. Setting up policies to encourage diverse ethnic groups to eat fruits, and protein-rich foods will certainly help in dispelling certain food myths. Culture is learned, it can also be unlearned, although the process would have to be gradual.

Also speaking at the webinar, Ezekiel Ibrahim, President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), noted that agriculture is the cornerstone to proper nutrition, so the country must pay closer and more serious attention to it.

He revealed that some of the challenges poultry farmers face is both cultural and economic. These include limited access to quality seeds, trial and error farm method, poor funding of agricultural research institutes, weak value chain and the dearth of reliable data and statistics for planning purposes.

The issue is clear. We must change how we do things to change the narrative around malnutrition and protein deficiency in the country. All key stakeholders in the agricultural, health, food and nutrition space must advise the government on the need to ensure adequate food security for all people across the board.

Truly, it is only through embracing a healthy food culture that Nigeria, with its large and quickly expanding urban population, can begin to experience rapid changes in food habits. With proper dissemination of information, sensitisation and education, Nigerians will begin to actively seek and adopt a protein-rich diet. This will be a desirable cultural shift.

Besides, as people become more conscious of the need for a healthy lifestyle, they can explore the rich repository of unique local nutrient-rich foods. The government and indeed every relevant stakeholder must join hands to ensure that nutrient-rich foods are not only available but also affordable.

The challenge of providing good nutrition is global. In many instances, it is multidimensional. In Nigeria today, there is no part of the country, segment of the population and groups not impacted by nutritional issues. No part!

To understand the significance of nutrition, consider this: experts insist that maternal prenatal nutrition and the child’s nutrition in the first three years of life are crucial factors in a child’s neuro-development and lifelong mental health. Not getting enough nutrients early in life can have an impact that lasts a lifetime.

This is the challenge, where nutrients are inadequate or in excess, it leads to malnutrition. Malnutrition, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients.

Malnutrition covers under-nutrition, micro or macro nutrients deficiencies, and overweight and obesity among other unsavoury conditions.

According to UNICEF, “In Nigeria, malnutrition is a direct or underlying cause of 45 per cent of all deaths of under-five children.”

The UN Agency notes that “Nigeria has the second-highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under five. An estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), but only two out of every 10 children affected is currently reached with treatment. Seven per cent of women of childbearing age also suffer from acute malnutrition.” The situation looks grim.

However, the fact that malnutrition is an issue should not surprise anyone as hunger is a critical problem. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in a recent report about poverty and inequality from September 2018 to October 2019, said 40 per cent of people in Nigeria live below the poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) a year. This represents 82.9 million poor people. Everyone knows that the poor struggle to eat.

Now, the truth be told, the world is not unaware of the challenges. In fact, over the years, there have been plenty of efforts to eradicate hunger, attain food security and improve nutrition. The results have been askance.

The most ambitious yet is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to Wikipedia, “The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and intended to be achieved by the year 2030.”

The SDGs are interconnected. This means that action in one area will affect outcomes in others.

The goal for SDG 1, End Poverty and SDG 2, Zero Hunger is of particular interest. Consider the target for SDG 2 – to end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round by 2030.

The goal is audacious. Undoubtedly, nutrition is central to the actualisation of the current sustainable development agenda.

Sadly, in Nigeria today, a major cause of malnutrition, especially among children is protein deficiency. This happens when people do not get adequate amounts of protein from their diet.

Protein is widely regarded as an essential building block of life. It is found in literally every cell of the body. It is a macro-nutrient that is one of the three nutrients found in food that the body needs in large amounts. The other two are carbohydrates and fat.

Protein is an important ingredient used to build, maintain and repair body tissues and muscles.

Protein deficiency poses a major health problem in Nigeria. Besides, it places an economic and social burden on the state. Experts say that it is the most important risk factor for illness and death, with millions of pregnant women and young children particularly affected

Highlights from a recent nation-wide survey report, the Nigeria Protein Deficiency Report, identified high cost as a major disincentive for the consumption of most protein food sources in Nigeria. The report was unveiled at the recent launch of the Nigeria Protein Awareness Campaign.

The survey, which was designed to empirically determine the current status and dimensions of protein deficiency in Nigeria, sheds light on food consumption patterns among Nigerians.

According to the report, “51 per cent of respondents do not have adequate protein-rich foods due largely to high cost.” The report also showed that the fundamental factors determining the necessity of meal items consumed across the country are availability (79%) and affordability (68%). Think of the effect of poverty here.

The report indicated carbohydrates are the most consumed food amongst Nigerians. Rice topped the list with 91%, closely followed by ‘swallows’ (such as eba, amala, fufu, pounded yam, etc.) as 83%. 58% of sampled institutional providers (dieticians and nutritionists) insisted that the protein intake of Nigerians is generally quite insufficient.

According to Dr Omadeli Boyo, Medical Director, Pinecrest Specialist Hospital and a Public health expert, “The report lends credence to many of the long-held perceptions about food consumption in Nigeria. It is detailed, yet concise, clear and places in context food consumption patterns across the country.”

He noted that it is no surprise that, with carbohydrates as the most commonly consumed foods, incidence of malnutrition is today a prevalent public health concern.

Shedding more light on the protein deficiency campaign, Dr. Boyo explained that an important thing about the proposed campaign is that it aligns with the SDG 2, which seeks to ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’

Judith Igwe, a Nutritionist, said: “The report highlights the dimensions of protein deficiency in Nigeria. It also establishes that availability, affordability, taste, nutritional value and preference are factors that drive the choice of protein consumption among the target audience.”

The Nigeria Protein Awareness Campaign is a media campaign initiative, supported by the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and other partners to create awareness about the prevalence, status and impact of protein deficiency in Nigeria. Protein Challenge is the theme (tag) for the campaign.

USSEC acts as a knowledge, technical and promotion partner willing to work with relevant stakeholders across a broad section of the economy, from academia to healthcare, NGOs, agriculture, agro-processing and government, to proffer solutions that will enable everyday Nigerians overcome the risk of protein deficiency and live healthy, productive lives.

This is commendable. It is precisely the sort of coalition needed to tackle protein deficiency, broad-based, committed and in for the long haul.

Every effort to combat and curb protein deficiency contributes to unravelling the malnutrition challenges in Nigeria. The benefits of progress would be humongous. Citizens would be more productivity and this would naturally spur socio-economic growth. Children would equally become more attentive helping to bridge the education gap.

The economic cost of malnutrition is estimated to range from 2 to 3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Nigeria, it is as high as 11 per cent according to a UNICEF report. It is time to reverse this trend.