The Friday 16 August 2024 edition of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall C TY Buratai Block, Abuja. There were two presentations made by the Subject Experts on Eastern Europe and East and Central Africa.
The first presentation by Brig Gen AK Egwuagu (Rtd) on Eastern Europe, focused his presentation on how Ukraine Gets $125 Million Military Aid Package. The White House on Friday 9 August 2024, said the U.S was to send $125 million aid in weapons to assist Ukraine in its military operations against Russia, to cover air defence capabilities, radars to detect as well as counter enemy artillery and anti-tank weapons (Independent, 9 Aug 24). This latest package bringing the total amount of U.S. aid to Ukraine to $55.6 billion, became necessary as Ukraine launched its largest ground offensive on Russian soil since the beginning of the war in February 2022.
The U.N Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine revealed that July 2024 saw the heaviest civilian casualties in Ukraine since the start of the war in October 2022, with conflict related violence of at least 219 civilians killed and 1,018 injured within the month. The U.S. National Security spokesman, John Kirby had explained that Ukraine’s use of US – provided weapons in the offensive was in line with its administration’s policies as the latest offensive in the Kursk region had prompted Moscow to declare an emergency and sending reinforcements. The weapons in this latest aid package are to be drawn from existing U.S. stocks and will include Stringer missiles, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) ammunition and vehicles.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen AK Egwuagu (Rtd) pointed out that, the military support to Ukraine is in line with the US main foreign policy directive of promoting freedom, democracy and protecting human rights around the world, such that the values captured in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other global and regional commitments are consistent with the values upon which the U.S. was founded centuries ago. Since independence with Jaja Wachukwu as the first Minister for Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Relations, later called External Affairs, Nigerian foreign policy has been characterised by a focus on Africa as a regional power and by attachment to several fundamental principles including African unity and independence. Both Sections 19 of the 1979 Constitution and 19 of the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) clearly spells out the foreign policy goals of the nation as follows: “The State shall promote African Unity, as well as total political, economic, social and cultural liberation of Africa”. It is pertinent to note that Nigeria has not deviated from this plan and as the “Giant of Africa” has been able to uphold its foreign policy commitments and excelled in the restoration of peace and security within the West African sub-region and other troubled regions of Africa, including the fight against apartheid in South Africa from 1960 to the 1990s.
Nigeria played significant roles in the liberation of Angola in the 1970s, brokered peace in several African countries including Liberia, Sierra-Leone and Guinea-Bissau in the 1990s and Cote d’Ivoire, Darfur, Sudan, Mali, the Gambia and Togo from 2002-2018, with her contributions to peacekeeping and conflict resolution in Africa demonstrating its commitment to humanity, love and care for the African brotherhood as well as regional stability and security. On coming into office in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu GCFR, had made it clear that his administration’s primary foreign policy objective was to promote the best possible outcomes for Nigeria in all engagements with other nations, to restore peace and stability in the West African sub-region and the African continent as a whole, in line with the country’s history. Although the administration’s foreign policy directive is still unfolding and expected to evolve over time, the President’s inaugural speech had emphasized Nigeria’s commitment to Africa-centric approach on integration, development and peace, economic diplomacy highlighting cooperation, trade and investment as well as addressing regional security challenges of terrorism and banditry.
He recommended that, the Federal Government of Nigeria should uphold its foreign policy directive and ensure proactive use of peaceful negotiations at resolving internal or external conflicts and also the NOA should support the FCT, states and local governments to intensively promote social values, cordial relationship among the citizens, peace and stability within their areas of jurisdiction.
Similarly, the second presentation by Brig Gen ED Idimah subject experts on East and Central Africa, focused his Presentation on how Chinese Smart-Meter Manufacturer Launches Production Facility in Kenya. On 11 August, 2024, Capital FM Nairobi, reported that CHINT Global, a leading provider of smart energy solutions, has inaugurated a new manufacturing facility at Graylands Industrial Park located in Athi River, Machakos County. This new plant marks the tenth overseas operation for CHINT Group and is its second establishment on the African continent. The facility is set to manufacture various products including the CHD130 Single Phase DIN-Rail Meter, CHS120 Single Phase Smart Meter, and CHS320 Three Phase Smart Meter, catering to both residential and commercial sectors.
The meters will come equipped with anti-tamper technologies, flexible installation options, and secure communication protocols. “Our new factory in Kenya represents more than just a production site; it stands as a symbol of innovation, sustainability, and economic development for the region.” With a projected annual production capacity of 400,000 meters, the facility will initially create 40 jobs, with 90 percent of the workforce being local residents. The plant aims to achieve a localization rate of 30% to 40% for its products, with intentions to enhance this percentage as operations expand. Spanning 4,000 square meters, the factory will primarily focus on serving the Kenyan market while also having the capability to export to neighboring countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen ED Idimah stressed out that, Nigeria’s electricity sector has faced numerous challenges since the privatization of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in 2013. Metering has been identified as one of the major issues affecting the performance of the sector (Ibrahim et al., 2020). The current metering infrastructure in Nigeria is insufficient to cater to the growing demand for electricity. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC, 2021), only about 50% of electricity consumers are metered, leading to widespread reliance on estimated billing. Estimated billing has become a common practice among electricity distribution companies (DisCos) due to the lack of proper metering. This has resulted in consumer resentment and loss of trust in the electricity distribution system (Adebayo & Ojo, 2019). The absence of accurate metering leads to substantial revenue losses for DisCos. It is estimated that Nigeria loses about 30-40% of electricity revenue due to non-technical losses, which include inadequate metering (Ogunjimi et al., 2020). The metering system in Nigeria is also plagued by corruption and fraudulent practices. Instances of meter bypassing and tampering are prevalent, further exacerbating revenue losses (Adedayo, 2020).
He recommended that, the Federal Government of Nigeria should encourage investment in the establishment of local manufacturing facilities for smart meters and other electrical components, which can create jobs, reduce import dependence and stimulate economic growth and also develop regulations and standards that ensure locally manufactured smart meters incorporate strong data protection measures to safeguard consumer information and enhance national security.
