REPORT: LOCAL LANGUAGES TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL LITERACY by Peter Akindele

REPORT: LOCAL LANGUAGES TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL LITERACY by Peter Akindele

‘FINANCIAL Literacy’, according to the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development, financial literacy is defined as:
“Knowledge and understanding of financial concepts, and the skills,
motivation and confidence to apply such knowledge and understanding in
order to make effective decisions across a range of financial contexts,
to improve the financial well-being of individuals and society, and to
enable participation in economic life.” With this definition, I will
explore the different methods of using local languages to promote
financial literacy in Nigeria. I believe that the main purpose of
financial literacy is to ameliorate the economy in Nigeria.

There are hundreds of local languages spoken throughout Nigeria, the
eight most widely spoken being English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Ibibio,
Kanuri, Edo and Fulfulde. Considering how Nigeria was formed of these
different tribes, there are subtle cultural differences between them.
These differences must be taken into consideration as they would reflect
on the attitudes of the people and their way of communicating. This
then poses the question: “Should we use local languages in the first
place, or use a universal language to educate the people?” This is an
interesting question as there are multiple sides to this metaphoric
coin. Although, the use of a universal language i.e. English, would mean
that educating the masses would be far simpler as there could be
seminars held in a location that is suitable for all people to attend;
the person leading the seminar would also only need to be able to speak
English in order to communicate with the entire audience.
However, this method may not necessarily work. Using a generic language
requires those who are not familiar with this language to have to learn
it and be educated in it. This is a sufficient method for young
children, provided they have suitable teachers; however it does not
cater for adults. One’s ability to learn a language diminishes as one
grows older. The technical terms that are used in such a matter are far
more difficult for a non-native speaker to have to learn.
We must
not assume that those who are educated are financially literate. There
may well be people that have fantastic jobs that are not aware of how to
maintain their income and how to save properly. Being financially
literate is not only understanding how the economy works, but also
knowing how to manage one’s own personal finance.
There is a
correlation between financial literacy and financial inclusion: those
who are financially illiterate would also be financially excluded. As of
2010, 46.3 per cent of Nigerian adults were financially excluded. This
is almost half of Nigeria’s adult population; as a result, the
percentage of financially literate adults is bound to be low. In order
to promote financial literacy, we must first address those who are
financially excluded. It is my belief that the majority of those who are
financially excluded live in the more rural parts of the country. Out
of Nigeria’s 163 million people, 49 per cent of them are living in rural
parts of the country.   
The majority of these people would be
uneducated and are either not aware of the support that a bank can
provide them with; or simply live too far away from the nearest bank.  A
way to tackle this would be to create small branches in nearby towns
and subsequently send teams to the individual villages where the
majority of the financially excluded live.
    
Using local
languages puts the people at an advantage. The topic specific words are
far simpler to comprehend in one’s own language, as it does not require
one to have already mastered the foreign language. The main goal is to
make the people financially literate; therefore using their local
languages would be the most sensible method of doing so in this
instance.
By holding seminars in rural towns and
villages, we will be able to create awareness for the inhabitants whilst
communicating with them in their own regional dialects. A new form of
education could be instated by Central Bank. As teenagers are going to
be the next generation of people who impact the economy, making them
financially literate would have a great effect. The communications
department could create a team of teachers to travel to local village
schools, where they can educate the pupils in their own language.
Bearing in mind that many students will not necessarily see the need for
financial literacy at their age, there are particular methods that
should be used, which teenagers will find relevant and engaging. Visual
presentations could be developed to give them a basic understanding of
financial education. Board games similar to the likes of Monopoly, that
teach the value of saving, could be introduced in order to provide the
children with an understanding that they could then translate into their
own financial standings when they become young adults.
The
largest part of Nigeria’s exports, aside from oil, is Nigeria’s
agricultural products. Therefore, it is essential that the farmers are
aware of how to manage their finances properly. However, many farmers
are financially excluded and are not utilising their assets properly.
The Central Bank could set up miniature farmer’s business schools that
teach farmers more agronomic methods on how to grow their crops. The
cost needed to train a farmer on how to manage their finances and how to
harvest in the most efficient manner is a mere N3000 per farmer.
Alternatively, CBN could host an outreach programme in which they have
several teams that accumulate farmers in the local areas and run
workshops and hold lectures on how to become financially literate. As
most farmers that live in the rural areas of Nigeria would not have a
grasp of the English language, the best alternative is for these teams
to be fluent in the local language of the area. The benefits of this
method are that the farmers would feel far more comfortable being able
to relate with the CBN staff in their own language; moreover, as there
would be a group of farmers from the same area, there would be a level
of understanding amongst them which would enable them to learn more
effectively. 
    
According to Africa Finance Forum, the most
financially excluded people in Africa are the women. In order to tackle
this issue, we could create workshops in the markets of more rural towns
in order to develop the financial literacy of the women. Nigeria is
primarily a cash based economy. If CBN were able to create small teams
to promote the use of debit and credit cards, this would automatically
increase financial literacy, as the people would have to know how to use
their accounts, and in turn financial inclusion. The small scale
seminars would have to be held by someone who has a strong grasp on the
native language of the area in order to ensure that all of the women
receive the valid information necessary to become more financially
literate. Giving women a sense of financial importance within our modern
society promotes their sense of financial confidence, thus including
more women along with their personal, as well as business ventures and
projects, within the financially literate sector of our nation.   
In conclusion, it is evident that there is a lack of financial literacy
amongst a large proportion of the Nigerian population. But the CBN is
in a position to create awareness of the issue to those most affected.
To do this, one must address the aforementioned parts of society in the
local language, in order to ensure that the target group feel
comfortable and do not feel that they are being oppressed by a foreign
language.  This contributes to the elimination of financial illiteracy,
and promotes a more healthy and profitable relationship between the
marginalised, and the financial sector of this nation. 

Akindele is a 16 year-old student at African Leadership Academy. He
recently won the Sylvia Trott Prize for Languages for his achievements
in foreign languages, gaining A*A*A*A in Japanese, French, Spanish and
Mandarin respectively.  He has been nominated to receive the Lord Lexden
Academic Achievement Award at the House of Lords in March 2014.
NIGERIAN ANTI – GAY LAW

NIGERIAN ANTI – GAY LAW

Recently, the Nigeria government passed the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Law, a law prohibiting same sex marriage in the country which caused a lot of debates, criticism and commendation from various sectors of the country and also from the international community.  Also, persons accused of being homosexual have been investigated by the police, sometimes leading to arrests and various courts have

begun to punish homosexual behavior. The aim of this article is not to debate on the justification (or not) of the law but to inform about the provisions of this new law.

The law provides only marriages between a man and a woman shall be recognized as valid in Nigeria, thus a marriage contract or civil union between persons of the same sex is prohibited in Nigeria and therefore invalid or illegal. Also any certificate of marriage or civil union granted to members of the same sex by a foreign country shall be void and any benefits conferred by such certificate shall not be recognized or actionable in Nigeria. Religious houses and institutions are also precluded from solemnizing unions between members of the same sex. Persons who enter into same sex marriages or civil union commit an offence and are liable upon conviction to 14 years imprisonment.
Gay clubs and societies are also prohibited, so also are their activities. Any direct or indirect form of public show of same sex amorous relationships are also prohibited. A crime which is punishable upon conviction to 10 years imprisonment. Any person that aids or abets such acts as mentioned above are also liable upon conviction to 10 years imprisonment. The law also grants jurisdiction over such matters to the High Court. 
It should be noted that civil union according to the law means any arrangement between persons of the same sex to live together  as sex partners, and shall include such descriptions such as adult independent relationships, caring partnerships, civil partnerships, civil solidarity pacts, domestic partnerships, reciprocal beneficial relationships, registered partnerships, significant relationships and stable unions.
Adedunmade Onibokun 
@adedunmade
LEGAL RIGHTS OF THE NIGERIAN CHILD

LEGAL RIGHTS OF THE NIGERIAN CHILD


Best interest of a
Child to be of paramount consideration in all actions

         
 Section 1, Child’s Right Act (2003)
In Nigeria, children’s Rights are protected by law and held
sacred, not only does the law protect the child; it also stipulates punishment
for adults who take advantage of children or seek to negatively influence them.
The law seeks to prevent cruelty against children while stating the rights and
obligations of the Nigerian Child.

Prior to the 2003 Child Rights Act, Nigerian child protection
was defined by the Children and Young People’s Act (CYPA), a law relating
primarily to juvenile justice. In 2003, Nigeria adopted the Child Rights Act to
domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights
treaty that grants all children and young people (aged 17 and under) a
comprehensive set of rights.
In regard to legal contracts, the Act states that No child
shall enter into a contract, except as provided by the provisions of the Act
and any contract, except a contact for necessaries, entered into by a child for
repayment of money lent or for payment of goods supplied to the child, shall be
void. Other rights of the Nigerian child according to Part II of the Child’s
Right Act include:
– Right to survival and development.
– Right to name.
– Freedom of association and peaceful assembly.
– Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
– Right to private and family life.
– Right to freedom of movement.
– Right to freedom from discrimination.
– Right to dignity of the child.
– Right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities.
– Right to health and health services.
– Right to parental care, protection and maintenance.
– Right of a child to free, compulsory and universal primary
education, etc.
– Right of a child in need of special protection measure.
– Right of the unborn child to protection against harm, etc.

The Act prohibits Child marriage as no person under the age
of 18 years is capable of contracting a valid marriage, and accordingly a marriage
so contracted is null and void and of no effect whatsoever. In addition,
parents and guardians are precluded from arranging or facilitating child
betrothals and any person who marries a child; or to whom a child is betrothed;
or who promotes the marriage of a child; or who betroths a child, commits an
offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000; or imprisonment for
a term of five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
It is against the law to tattoo or mark the skin of a child,
any person who tattoos or makes a skin mark on a child commits an offence under
the Act and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand naira
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both such fine and imprisonment. 
Exposing a child to the use or trafficking of narcotics is a
serious crime and any person found guilty is liable on conviction to
imprisonment for life. Employing a child for the facilitation of criminal acts
is also an offence under the Act and any person found guilty is liable on
conviction to imprisonment for a term of fourteen years.
It is unlawful to have sexual intercourse with a child; any
person who contravenes this provision commits an offence of rape and is liable
on conviction to imprisonment for life. Where a person is charged with an
offence under this section, it is immaterial that- the offender believed the person
to be of or above the age of eighteen years; or the sexual intercourse was with
the consent of the child.
It may be interesting to note that a child may bring an
action for damages against a person for harm or injury caused to the child will-fully,
recklessly, negligently or through neglect before, during or after the birth of
that child. Also, where the father of an unborn child dies intestate, the
unborn child is entitled, if he was conceived during the lifetime of his
father, to be considered in the distribution of the estate of the deceased
father. Where the mother of an unborn child dies intestate before the child is
delivered, the unborn child is entitled, if he survives his mother, to be
considered in the distribution of the estate of the deceased mother.
Other sections of the Act also provide for the right of the
Nigerian Child, these sections of the Act that relate to legal issues affecting
the Nigerian child include; The duty of the State to protect children and
investigate the plight of children who need special care and protection; child
labour; harmful publications that negatively influence children; adoption, custody
and guardianship of children and the Child Justice Administration system. 
Adedunmade Onibokun  
REPORT: SOLVING WORLD POVERTY THROUGH MATHEMATICS (2)

REPORT: SOLVING WORLD POVERTY THROUGH MATHEMATICS (2)

By: Peter Akindele
FROM the above facts it is clear that the United Kingdom (UK) has the revenue and already spends far more on benefits than the minimum needed to provide each person who is currently out of work with the required $1.25 a day.  With approximately 47.9 per cent of the UK population in employment and a minimum wage of £5 on average,

it would require $15,000,000,000 per year to provide $1.25 per day for the 52.1 per cent of the population who do not work.  This is far below the $330 billion that is spent each year in benefits in the UK.  Even allowing for the higher living costs in the UK the amount needed to spend in order to eradicate absolute poverty as defined by the $1.25 threshold, would not exceed the $330 billion which is already being spent.    Therefore the important step for the UK would be to redirect some of this money into systems that would help to discover the people who are living in the UK who are not benefitting from the extensive welfare system in the UK because of ignorance.  This exact method could be adapted to any developed country with a similarly high GDP PPP per capita.

   Nigeria, like other such countries with low GDP PPP per capita, on the other hand would require a number of methods to deal with absolute poverty.  Seeing as the revenue for Nigeria would not allow there to be such an extensive benefit scheme, as seen in the UK, the solution will focus on ending employment and therefore raising money for the far smaller percentage who would not be able to work.  This would be done essentially by three ways:
• The enforcement of minimum wage set at approximately 196 naira ($1.25) an hour. Although this is equal to the amount needed for a day, the minimum wage has been set for an hour such that even if a person worked only one hour a day they would have the required $1.25 per day.
• Encouraging farmers to farm to sell i.e. offering financial incentives for expansion of business.  This is a problem that affects not only Nigeria but many developing countries with good agricultural land.  Many people farm only for themselves which not only reduces the amount that the government receives in tax but most importantly it fails to realise the opportunity for employment if farmers were encouraged to expand their business. This expansion would mean that more people would be employed and less people would then live under the $1.25 threshold. Although these financial incentives would cost the government additional money, this money could be recouped by the larger percentage of people in employment who are therefore paying income tax and raising revenue for the government.  Additionally, this expansion of agriculture would lead to an increase in exported agricultural goods which would lead to further revenue for the government which could be used on a benefit system for those who could never be provided with employment.
• Furthermore corporate tax within Nigeria will be halved to 15% for companies who seek to build companies in Nigeria with Nigerian employees.  From a look at the statistics it is clear that Nigeria is not making use of its most important resource: its 162,000,000 population and this is largely due to the lack of industry in Nigeria.  If corporate tax was halved it would encourage many of the rich in Nigeria to build companies in Nigeria and therefore create employment.     In a country that is notorious for the massive divide between the wealthy and the poor, the wealth of the “super-rich” can be used in investing in Nigeria based companies that would provide mass employment.    Additionally as can be seen by the 80% graduate unemployment rate it is clear that there is a large educated workforce for these new emerging companies.     The cut in corporate tax would enable these Nigeria based companies to compete with similar products that are imported. The money lost in corporate tax initially will be recouped through the increase in income tax paid by the increase in employees. Additionally the increase in the number of businesses in Nigeria will allow for the maintaining of revenue from corporate tax as even though the government would receive half of the amount it received previously, the increase in the number of companies would help to maintain the same amount of revenue from corporate tax. The lower corporate tax would also invite companies from other countries to settle in Nigeria so that they can pay lower corporate tax.  Seeing as this would only apply to companies with Nigerian employees it would also lead to multinational companies employing Nigerians.    Furthermore, seeing as these companies would be of a large size, the 15% corporate tax would represent a relatively large stream of revenue to the government.
    By employing these three main methods, not only would it rapidly decrease unemployment but it would raise revenue, largely through the increase in income tax from all the new employees. This would allow the creation of a welfare system for those who would be unable to work such as children. The amount needed to fund this welfare system would depend on the success of these measures in increasing employment. The more successful these measures are the less would be needed for the welfare system. This welfare state however is necessary.  It is impossible to create a system in which the entire population is in employment as you will always have groups such as children, the elderly and the disabled, who will be unable to work.  This would also apply to any country which currently does not have a welfare system in place. Any serious attempt to eradicate absolute poverty would require a system for those who are not in work. Although this report acknowledges that this would require a considerable sum, it is believed that through the implementation of the above measures, such revenue can be raised.  
    In conclusion, it is evident that world poverty is a severe problem that still persists in today’s world despite the numerous advancements that have been made.  In using both the UK and Nigeria, this report has made use of two different countries with very different circumstances.  By making use of the UK, a highly developed country, and Nigeria, a country with 68 per cent of its population living in absolute poverty, the aim of the report is to show measures that could be employed to eradicate absolute poverty in any country.     The measures suggested here are designed to be highly flexible and adaptable to the situation of any country.  As mentioned above, this report believes that the best way to eradicate world poverty is to tackle it in each individual country. Any attempt to simply regularise finance on a world scale is prone to be inefficient as it would fail to make the best use of the specific advantages available in each country.  Furthermore, it would be likely to overlook some of the particular challenges facing each country. The best system therefore is a close analysis of each country with a look to maximising its potential with the primary priority of eradicating absolute poverty in each country.  
REPORT: SOLVING WORLD POVERTY THROUGH MATHEMATICS (1)

REPORT: SOLVING WORLD POVERTY THROUGH MATHEMATICS (1)

By: Peter Akindele

“The test of a civilisation is the way that it cares for its helpless members.” –  Mohandas Ghandi
IN today’s modern society, it is clear that the world has become increasingly globalised and technologically advanced.

The extent, to which it is “civilised” however, is questionable.  If Ghandi’s definition of civilisation is correct and is to be followed then the modern world is far from civilised. Today, in spite of the numerous advancements in science and technology, it was estimated in 2008 that 22.4 per cent of the 6,700,000,000 people (1,500,000,000) on this planet lived below the poverty line as defined by the World Bank.  It is therefore essential that as a global society we seek to aid the large percentage of people who are living below the poverty line. This report will seek to explore how as we can use the various advancement in today’s society, particularly in the areas of mathematics and economics, to propose a system by which we may begin to seriously tackle the issue of world poverty.

Methodology  
In order to tackle the issue of world poverty it is imperative to first define poverty on an international scale.  The World Bank as of 2005 set the international poverty line as an income of $1.25 per day per person.  This is calculated by finding the minimum amount of money needed in order to buy the basic necessities for a human being.  This is what will be used in order to define world poverty in this report and therefore the problem which I am trying to tackle.  Therefore when this report makes use of the term “absolute poverty,” it refers to those people who are living on less than $1.25 a day. 
 As suggested above, the way in which this report aims to tackle world poverty will be focused on employment.  Although it is tempting to try and tackle world poverty with mass wealth redistribution it is clear that the problem of world poverty cannot be solved by a mere handing out of money to people below the poverty line.  It is a steady income that will allow people to live above the poverty line and it is therefore clear that the best way for this to happen is to create a system whereby employment could be assured for the vast majority of the population.  This report, however, does not assume that everyone is employable with the obvious examples of children and people that are severely disabled.  This report, therefore, is focusing on how to ensure the employment of all those who are in any way employable whilst also providing for those incapable of working.
  The next step in seeking to tackle the issue of world poverty is to acknowledge the diversity in the world and the differing circumstances that each country faces in seeking to tackle the problem of poverty.  Therefore, this report will not attempt to be a “one size fits all” solution; it will, however, through the use of two case studies, aim to show how governments may go about trying to tackle poverty in their own countries.  The diversity of the different countries in the world means that the most efficient way of tackling poverty is to have governments who are aware of their unique situations to eradicate absolute poverty in their own countries.  This, however, is not to suggest that these solutions are restricted to these particular countries.  It is the aim of the report to show methods of solving poverty that with a little adjustment for each country would be able to work for any country in the world.  For the purposes of this report, Nigeria and the United Kingdom will be used for a case study.  Nigeria has been used because it is a developing country with a relatively high population, fairly low GDP and its abundance of natural resources.  The United Kingdom on the other hand is a developed country with a high GDP with a relatively low population and a lack of many natural resources and has to a large extent eradicated absolute poverty.  
Data
In order to implement the model that will be suggested in this report, it is important to have a good grasp of the current economic climate of both of the countries in question.  Although there are many methods of assessing the economic health of a country, this report will make use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).  This has advantages over other measures such as GDP, since it accounts for the differences in the cost of living for differing countries.  Furthermore, the World Bank level of $1.25 is set according to PPP and, therefore, it is important that this is the primary way with which the economic health is measured.  However, it is important to note that GDP does not measure the individual wealth but rather the sum total value of everything produced and, therefore, it must be used in conjunction with the percentage of people said to be living under the $1.25 poverty line.  Below are the GDP PPP, GDP PPP per capita, population, unemployment rate and percentage of those living below the $1.25 poverty line threshold for both the UK and Nigeria.  This will give a good picture of the current economic state of both of these countries and what would need to be changed in order to solve the issue of poverty. The following data is taken from the World Bank website:
Country Nigeria United Kingdom
As can be seen from the above figures, there is a clear difference in the amount of revenue that is produced in each of these countries.  Furthermore, the 68 per cent of people living under the $1.25 threshold is especially alarming.  This makes it an extremely useful case study for studying how to solve world poverty as it is an especially extreme case.  As such the focus will be on Nigeria on this report.  The UK has been included so that it can be seen that absolute poverty, no matter how negligible, still exists in the most developed countries and is still of concern.  The data for an exact percentage of those living under £1.25 a day in the UK is unavailable; however it can be assumed that it is very low and at the most one per cent.

– To be continued