GDP

I did my best for Nigeria, says Buhari in latest New Year message

As his administration gradually ends, President Muhammadu Buhari has patted himself on the back by saying that he did everything possible to serve Nigeria.

In his 2023 New Year message to Nigerians, Buhari expressed the hope that the next president will take over and carry on his good legacy.

According to him, “as we receive the New Year, let us look with hope to 2023, the year to advance as a Nation towards unity, progress and prosperity.

“I offer my own personal congratulations, taking into account the various opinions and interpretations of our executive legacies. I welcome and accept both praise and criticism in equal measure, secure in the conviction that I did my best to serve our beloved country Nigeria.

"And I pray that the next president will also pick up the slack and continue the race to make Nigeria one of the world's leading countries by the end of this century."

President Buhari said that each New Year is an opportunity to reflect on the past year, reposition yourself and move forward with the New.

As we celebrate the chance to be alive in the year 2023, the President said that Nigerians should also acknowledge the passing of our brothers and sisters who did not make it to this New Year, praying that their souls rest in perfect peace.

He further said that this year was particularly important to him because this message is, in essence, a farewell.

According to him, after having the honor of serving Nigerians for more than seven years, he said that "my term as president in the most revered tradition of our ongoing and maturing democracy must necessarily come to an end."

Within the next five months, Buhari said, Nigerians would have gone to the polls and elected a new president along with new governors and a plethora of other elected officials at both the national and state levels.

He said that all these electoral and democratic principles work together because of the transcendent beliefs, beyond partisan politics, of you, the great citizen of Nigeria.

Buhari added that his personal commitment and executive promise to see to the letter that the 2023 elections diligently conducted by INEC are free and fair.

He promised that the collective electoral will and the votes of Nigerians will be fulfilled, even in the twilight moments of my turn.

He said: “reflecting on the year 2022 allows us as a government to examine our legacies of successes and challenges. As we celebrate our victories and review the obstacles, we must all understand that governance is a continuum, still imposing a transitional responsibility on this administration to provide the incoming government with an unbiased and objective roadmap to 2023.

“We as Nigeria; a country united under the will of God and actively growing as one indivisible entity, they have been trained year after year, decade after decade, to weather all stormy waters and emerge stronger and better where others have fallen and disintegrated. This has made us a unique nation throughout the world and on our continent.

“In the year 2023 Nigerians go to the polls to exercise our right to vote and elect a new administration, it is an important year for our country to ensure we have another smooth transition of government, to whomever the people have decided.

“This administration's historic Election Amendment Act will ensure that we have free and fair elections across the country. We as Nigerians must also take responsibility to ensure that we participate in ensuring that the 2023 elections are free and fair by not engaging in anti-state activities and other nefarious acts that may affect the conduct of the polls.

“We must also resist all attempts to be used by politicians to riot in any way to disrupt the election. We as a government will ensure that such activities are carried out to the full force of the law.

“As our law enforcement agencies continue to make the country proud, we must continue to help our patriotic forces by providing much-needed community intelligence. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that Nigeria remains safe and peaceful for all of us.

"Therefore, we have a duty and an obligation to support our troops and intelligence agencies by being vigilant and reporting anything suspicious."

President Buhari said that the fight against the insurgency in the north-eastern region has continuously registered very clear victories in the past year.

According to him, the federal government and the Borno state government have begun the return journey of internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes previously taken over by the insurgents.

He also said that more than 82,000 insurgents with their families have surrendered to the Nigerian army.

“Several surrendered insurgents are currently being processed by the rehabilitation program (Operation Safe Corridor). The fight against banditry, kidnapping and other crimes in the Northwest and other regions is gaining momentum and showing very clear results.

“One of which is the resumption of train service along the Kaduna to Abuja corridor,” he added.

After the EndSARS protest, Buhari said his administration took heed and instituted the ongoing Police Reform program based on a new Presidential Vision for Police in Nigeria.

He said that this new vision was framed in a clear roadmap that transcends the mandate of this administration and is based on six principles.

“Building trust and legitimacy Leadership, accountability and oversight, technology and digital media, community policing and crime reduction, officer training and education, funding, welfare, officer wellness and safety.

“This reform program is in its pivotal phase, but it has registered notable successes in improving police welfare and pay.

“Other gains have been the continued training of 500 police cadet trainers to enable a better training regimen for the first batch of 10,000 new cadets from 2022 with an additional 10,000 set for 2023.

“In support of these reforms, new material has been provided for the Nigerian Police to constantly improve its constitutional responsibility to enforce law and order, protect life and property, as well as peace and safety on the streets,” it added. Buhari.

Despite the current global economic crisis, Buhari said Nigeria has been able to weather the storms.

Inflation around the world is at an all time high, noted that the Federal Government has been determined through its economic interventions to stay afloat during this period. 2022 brought a combined impact of ongoing wars and the side effects of COVID-19.

According to him, “although creating its own fiscal challenges, we have continued to subsidize our energy costs to protect households from the inflationary pressure of high energy costs.

“In 2023, we are focused on building on our GDP and sustaining the huge increase in non-oil GDP growth.”

He said that the Nigerian Start-up Bill has been passed as a law, adding that this is seen as a big step towards lowering our unemployment numbers by boosting job creation and supporting the entrepreneurial drive of our youth.

He recalled that in his 2021 New Year speech he had mentioned the need to secure the future of our youth by recognizing that our youth are our most valuable natural resource, at home and abroad.

“In this sense, we work with the legislature to develop a law that allows turning their passions into ideas that can be supported, prepared and scaled in all regions.

“2023 will see the implementation of the Nigerian Start-up Act across the country.

The president promised that the year 2023 would indeed be a time when his administration would work to solidify itself in delivering key strategic priorities under our "SEA" (Security, Economic and Anti-Corruption) agenda.

He listed some of the key priority areas where we would direct our attention and strengths to include:

“Focus on SAFETY; We will continue to engage, push back, and dismantle the operations of internal and external criminal groups and extremists waging war against our communities across the country.

“We will also focus on ensuring that free and fair elections are held in February 2023. Our security forces are working together to ensure that the victories we have won in a war against insurgency, banditry, secession and other crimes are keep and more acquired victories.

“For the ECONOMY; our approach would be to maintain and build economic growth through the national economic diversification agenda that supports the goal of national food self-sufficiency and growth in non-oil sources.

“The ongoing infrastructure revolution by our administration will see us deliver key projects across the country in power, rail, highway, ports and technology.

“ANTI-CORRUPTION: In our administration's anti-corruption campaign, we have created new records in this fight, going from 117 convictions in 2017 to 3,615 convictions as of December 2022.

"We, as a government, are committed to ridding our nation of all forms of corruption, through collaboration with all arms of the Government to carry out this fight effectively," he added.

New Year 2023 Message from President Buhari

My compatriots and compatriots,

A very happy and prosperous new year to you.

First, I would like to thank and honor the Almighty who helped us through the year 2022 and has given us a chance to see another year. Each New Year is an opportunity to reflect on the past year, reposition yourself, and move on with the New.

As we celebrate the chance to be alive in the year 2023, we must also acknowledge the passing of our brothers and sisters who did not make it to this new year. May their souls rest in perfect peace.

This year is particularly important to me because this message is essentially a farewell. After having the honor of serving you, my countrymen, for more than seven years, my term as your President in the most revered tradition of our ongoing and maturing democracy must necessarily come to an end. In the next five months we would have gone to the polls and elected a new president along with new governors and a plethora of other elected officials at both the national and state levels.

All of these electoral and democratic principles are working together because of the transcendent beliefs, beyond partisan politics, of you, the great citizen of Nigeria. In addition, my personal commitment and executive promise to ensure that the 2023 elections, which are diligently conducted by INEC, are free and fair. The collective electoral will and the votes of Nigerians will be fulfilled, even in the twilight moments of my turn.

Reflecting on the year 2022 allows us as a government to examine our legacy of successes and challenges. As we celebrate our victories and review the obstacles, we must all understand that governance is a continuum, which still places a transitional responsibility on this administration to provide the incoming government with an unbiased and objective roadmap to 2023. We as Nigeria; a country united under the will of God and actively growing as one indivisible entity, they have been trained year after year, decade after decade, to weather all stormy waters and emerge stronger and better where others have fallen and disintegrated. This has made us a unique nation throughout the world and on our continent.

In the year 2023 Nigerians go to the polls to exercise our right to vote and elect a new administration, it is an important year for our country to ensure we have another smooth transition of government, to whoever the people have decided. This administration's historic Election Amendment Act will ensure that we have free and fair elections across the country. We as Nigerians must also take responsibility to ensure that we participate in ensuring that the 2023 elections are free and fair by not engaging in anti-state activities and other nefarious acts that may affect the conduct of the polls. We must also resist any attempt to be used by politicians to riot in any way to disrupt elections. We as a government will ensure that such activities are carried out to the full force of the law.

As our law enforcement agencies continue to make the country proud, we must continue to help our patriotic forces by providing much-needed community intelligence. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that Nigeria remains safe and peaceful for all of us. Therefore, we have a duty and an obligation to support our troops and intelligence agencies by being vigilant and reporting anything suspicious. The fight against the insurgency in the Northeast region has continuously registered very clear victories in the last year. The federal government and the Borno state government have begun the return journey of internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes previously occupied by insurgents. Furthermore, more than 82,000 insurgents with their families have surrendered to the Nigerian army. The rehabilitation program (Operation Safe Corridor) is currently processing several surrendered insurgents. The fight against banditry, kidnapping and other crimes in the Northwest and other regions is gaining momentum and showing very clear results. One of which is the resumption of train service along the Kaduna corridor to Abuja.

In the aftermath of the EndSars, our administration heeded and instituted the ongoing Police Reform program based on a new Presidential Vision for Police in Nigeria. This new vision is framed in a clear roadmap that transcends the mandate of this administration and is based on six principles: a) Building trust and legitimacy b) Leadership, accountability and supervision c) Technology and digital media d ) Community Policing and Crime Reduction e) Training and Education of Officers f) Financing, Welfare, Welfare and Security of Officers.

This reform program is largely in its foundational phase, but it has recorded notable successes in improving police welfare and pay. Other achievements have been the ongoing training of 500 police cadet instructors to enable a better training regime for the first batch of 10,000 new cadets in 2022 with a further batch of 10,000 by 2023. In support of these reforms has been the sourcing new material for the Nigerian Police must constantly improve its constitutional responsibility to enforce law and order, protect life and property, and peace and security on the streets.

Despite the current global economic crisis, we have been able to weather the storms. Inflation around the world is at an all time high, the Federal Government has been determined through its economic interventions to stay afloat during this period. 2022 brought a combined impact of ongoing wars and COVID-19 side effects. Despite creating its own fiscal challenges, we have continued to subsidize our energy costs to protect households from the inflationary pressure of high energy costs. In 2023, we are focused on building on our GDP and sustaining the huge increase in non-oil GDP growth.

Nigeria's Start-up Bill has been passed into law. This is considered a big step in reducing our unemployment numbers by boosting job creation and supporting the entrepreneurial drive of our youth. If you remember, in my 2021 New Year's speech, I mentioned the need to secure the future of our youth by recognizing that our youth are our most valuable natural resource, at home and abroad. In this sense, we work with the legislature to develop a law that allows turning their passions into ideas that can be supported, prepared and scaled in all regions. 2023 will see the implementation of the Nigerian Start-up Act across the country.

The year 2023 would indeed be a time when we would work to solidify ourselves in delivering key strategic priorities under our "SEA" Agenda (Security, Economy and Anti-Corruption). Some of the key priority areas where we would direct our attention and strengths include:

a. Focus on SAFETY; We will continue to engage, push back, and dismantle the operations of internal and external criminal groups and extremists waging war against our communities across the country. We will also focus on ensuring that free and fair elections are held in February 2023. Our security forces are working together to ensure that the victories we have won in the war against insurgency, banditry, secession and other crimes are upheld. and get more victories.

b. For the ECONOMY; our approach would be to maintain and build economic growth through the national economic diversification agenda that supports the goal of national food self-sufficiency and growth in non-oil sources. The ongoing infrastructure revolution by our administration will see us deliver key projects across the country in power, rail, highway, ports, and technology.

C. ANTI-CORRUPTION: In our administration's anti-corruption campaign, we have created new records in this fight, going from 117 convictions in 2017 to 3,615 convictions in December 2022. We, as a government, are committed to ridding our nation in every way . of corruption, through collaboration with all branches of the Government to effectively carry out this fight.

As we receive the New Year, let us look with hope to 2023, the year to move as a Nation towards unity, progress and prosperity. I offer my own personal congratulations, taking into account the varying opinions and interpretations of our executive legacies. I welcome and accept both praise and criticism in equal measure, confident that I did my best to serve our beloved country Nigeria and I pray that the next president will also take up the slack and continue the race to make Nigeria one of major countries in the world at the end of this century.

Long live the Nigerian spirit of oneness, togetherness and unity. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A happy and prosperous new year.

God bless you.

Muhammadu Buhari
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Naija News, Nigerian News, 9jaNews, Today December 30, 2022

NNN is a Nigerian news portal that publishes breaking news in Nigeria and around the world. We are honest, fair, accurate, thorough and courageous in collecting, reporting and interpreting news in the best interest of the public, because truth is the cornerstone of journalism and we diligently strive to determine the truth in every Nigerian news report. Contact: editor @ nnn.ng

"Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is the most populous country in Africa. It is geographically situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south in the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of ​​923 769 square kilometers (356,669 square miles), with a population of over 211 million Nigeria is bordered by Niger to the north, Chad to the northeast, Cameroon to the east, and Benin to the west Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Territory from the Federal Capital, where the capital Abuja is located. Nigeria's largest city is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the second largest in Africa.

Nigeria has been home to several pre-colonial indigenous states and kingdoms since the 2nd millennium BCE. C., with the Nok civilization in the fifteenth century BC. C. marking the first internal unification in the country. The modern state originated with British colonization in the 19th century and took its current territorial form with the amalgamation of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Lugard. The British established administrative and legal structures while practicing indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms in the Nigerian region. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on October 1, 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of democratically elected civilian governments and military dictatorships, until achieving stable democracy in the 1999 presidential election; The 2015 election was the first time that a sitting president had lost re-election.

Nigeria is a multinational state inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups speaking 500 different languages, all identifying with a wide variety of cultures. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa in the north, the Yoruba in the west, and the Igbo in the east, who together comprise more than 60% of the total population. The official language is English, chosen to facilitate linguistic unity at the national level. Nigeria's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and is home to some of the largest Muslim and Christian populations in the world, simultaneously. Nigeria is divided roughly down the middle between Muslims, who live mainly in the north, and Christians, who live mainly in the south; indigenous religions, such as those originating from the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups, are a minority.

Nigeria is a regional power in Africa, a middle power in international affairs, and is an emerging global power. Nigeria's economy is the largest in Africa, the 25th largest in the world by nominal GDP and the 25th largest by PPP. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa due to its large population and economy, and is considered an emerging market by the World Bank. However, the country ranks very low on the Human Development Index and remains one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, NAM, the Economic Community of West African States, and OPEC. It is also a member of the informal MINT group of countries and is one of the Next Eleven economies.

Newspapers published in Nigeria have a strong tradition of the "publish and be convicted" principle dating back to the colonial era when the founding fathers of the Nigerian press such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ernest Ikoli, Obafemi Awolowo and Lateef Jakande used their newspapers to fight for independence

Until the 1990s, most publications were owned by the government, but private newspapers such as the Daily Trust, Nigerian Tribune, The Punch, Vanguard and The Guardian continued to expose public and private scandals despite government attempts. to suppress them.

Laws related to the media, including newspapers, are scattered across various pieces of legislation. There are few good sources for discussion and analysis of these laws.

Some newspapers rely heavily on ads that can be placed by companies owned by powerful people. In some cases, this makes newspapers wary of reporting details of crimes or suspected crimes, and sometimes publish articles that clearly paint corrupt individuals in a favorable light. An analysis of newspapers shows a strong bias towards coverage by men, reflecting prevailing cultural biases. Few articles talk about women and there are few photographs of women outside of the fashion sections. Although profits have declined since the late 1980s, the number of publications has grown steadily. As of 2008 there were over 100 national, regional or local newspapers.

Online newspapers have become popular since the rise of internet accessibility in Nigeria; more than ten percent of the top fifty websites in the country are dedicated to online newspapers. Due to the improvement in mobile penetration and the growth of smartphones, Nigerians have started to rely on the internet for news. Online newspapers have also been able to circumvent government restrictions because content can be shared without the need for any physical infrastructure. The result has been a disruption of the traditional sources of news that have dominated the media industry. Recent online newspapers include Sahara Reporters, Ripples Nigeria and Premium Times." CREDIT: WIKIPEDIA

There are several newspapers in Nigeria such as Talkoon News, Lagos Mirror Daily Times, Star Naija, Tv (StarNT Nigeria), Sky News, Nigeria Tribune, Global Times Nigeria, Observer, Punch, The Tide, Nigeria Standard, Triumph, The Guardian, National Post, Naija News, Newswatch, Tell Magazine, TheNEWS magazine, PM News, This Day, Investors King, Complete Sports, Daily Trust, TheSun, Independent Nigeria, National Network, Next Leadership, Business Day, National Mirror, Nation, Uhuru Times, Peoples Daily, Newsdiary online, Netng, TheCable, Premium Times, Blueprint Newspaper, Opinion Nigeria, Entertainment Express, Daylight Nigeria, New Telegraph, The Authority, Ripples Nigeria, Stears Business, Politics Nigeria, Daily Nigerian, The Periscope News, Sahara Reporters, News Round The Clock, The Informant247, Business Hallmark, Daily Champion, Daily Post Daily Star, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, National Network (newspaper), New Nigerian, Nigerian Compass, Urhobo Vanguard, Thinkers Newspaper, National Mi rror, The News Journal, TheWill Newspaper, The ICIR, among others.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is a news agency owned and run by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as is the Nigerian Television Authority. NAN was formed partly to easily spread news across the country and to the international community and also as a means to counter negative stories about Nigeria. On May 10, 1976, a decree establishing the agency was issued, but its operations began two years later. . In March 1978, a board of directors was inaugurated, and pilot news operations began on October 2, 1978. The NAN provides the General News Service to subscribers in three bulletins that are published daily. The agency's website www.nannews.ng (formerly www.nan.ng) was launched on August 8, 2016 to provide news to the global audience primarily interested in news about Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. The agency has a network of reporters that cover all the states of the federation proving to be a valuable source of reports published by regional and national newspapers that lack national coverage.

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Regulation of the care services industry for professionalism, job creation — Appointments —

There is nothing more comforting for workers than knowing that their children and elderly relatives are being properly cared for.
In Europe, care, especially for young children and the elderly, is one of the fastest growing sectors.

The world body, in a report on care at work, highlighted the benefits of investing in care services and policies to alleviate poverty, promote gender equality and support care for children and the elderly.
The new report, titled 'Care at Work: Investing in Care Leave and Services for a More Gender Equal World of Work', also highlighted the need to balance work with care which is essential for societies and economies prosper and to significantly reduce gaps in care services.

The ILO's Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Work Maternity and Family Protection Specialist, Laura Addati, in the report, revealed that paid care work is an important source of employment, especially for women. women.
She said the care workforce represents more than eight percent of total employment of 12 million workers.

With its potential in job creation, he raised the need to strengthen social dialogue and the consultation process to develop a better system and mechanism on the important agenda.

Taking a look at the sector in Nigeria, the operators urged the Federal Government to shed light on the care service, stating that legislation is required to ensure compliance with the rules, as well as to regulate the conduct of care providers.

Noting that the care economy is growing as demand for child and elderly care increases in all regions, Arrowshot Care Solutions Chief Executive Officer Dapo Olugbodi said his organization stands ready to work with the Nigerian government to provide legislation for the care industry in Nigeria.
According to him, there are 15 basic standards of care that professionals in the care industry must meet.
He urged industry operators to focus on strong adherence to ethical standards in the performance of their duties.
He said these are primarily due to the duties of the life care industry and as a result a strong focus on professionalism should be the standard.

Care jobs are often low paid, physically and emotionally demanding, with heavy workloads carried out in unsafe conditions, inadequate training and poor career prospects and, in some extreme cases, in conditions close to slavery.

While caregivers are often underpaid, care is expensive for those who have to pay out of pocket.

Buhari attracts US investors, says Nigeria remains Africa’s largest single consumer market

As regional threats rise, Japan eases defense-only strategy

TOKYO (AP) — In a major break with its strictly self-defense postwar tenet, Japan on Friday adopted a national security strategy that states plans to possess pre-emptive strike capability and cruise missiles within a few years for a more offensive stance. against threats from neighboring countries. China and North Korea.

With China, North Korea and Russia directly to the west and north, Japan "faces the most severe and complicated national security environment since the end of the war," the strategy said, referring to World War II. She named China as "the biggest strategic challenge" — before North Korea and Russia — to Japan's effort to ensure peace, security and stability for itself and international society.

Possession of the counter-attack capability is "indispensable" as a deterrent to discourage enemy attacks, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference on Friday, calling it "a major change in Japan's post-war security policy."

“When the threats come true, will the Self-Defense Forces be able to fully protect our country? Frankly speaking, the current capacity (SDF) is insufficient," Kishida said.

Under the strategy, Japan's defense spending through 2027 will rise to about 2% of Japan's GDP to total about 43 trillion yen ($320 billion), 1.6 times the current five-year total.

Kishida said the new target sets the NATO standard for defense spending, a budget increase that has been his political priority since he took office in October 2021.

Due to its wartime past as an aggressor and the national devastation after its defeat, Japan's postwar policy prioritized economic growth while keeping its security light by relying on US troops stationed in Japan under their bilateral security agreement. Japan's defense buildup has long been considered a sensitive issue at home and in the region, especially for Asian victims of Japanese wartime atrocities.

But experts say China's growing influence, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and fears of Taiwan's emergence have led many Japanese to support increased capacity and spending.

"Taiwan's emergency and Japan's emergency are inseparable," said Ken Jimbo, a defense expert at Keio University, noting that Japan's westernmost island, Yonaguni, is only 110 kilometers (70 miles) from Taiwan.

The rapidly advancing missiles have become "realistic threats" in the region, making it difficult for existing missile defense systems to intercept, according to the strategy. North Korea has fired more than 30 ballistic missiles this year, including one that flew over Japan. China fired five ballistic missiles in waters near Japan's southern islands, including Okinawa.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated accusations that Japan was "ignoring the facts, deviating from its commitment to China-Japan relations and common understandings between the two countries, and baselessly discrediting China".

"Halting up the so-called threat from China to find an excuse for its military buildup is doomed to fail," Wang told a daily briefing on Friday.

South Korea said on Friday that Japan must consult with Seoul to receive consent before taking any action that seriously affects Seoul's national interests, such as exercising its rights to counterattack capability against the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it is "desirable" for Japan to implement the security policy to contribute to regional peace and stability.

The counter-strike capability outlined in Japan's new strategy, approved along with two defense strategy papers by Kishida's cabinet, will not be implemented until at least 2026 when deployment of the powerful long-range Tomahawk missile, favored by the navies, begins. from the US and the UK.

This ends Japan's 1956 government policy of setting aside the ability to counterattack and only recognizing the idea as a last-ditch constitutional defense.

“Starting with the fundamental strengthening of defense power, we must be firmly prepared for the worst case scenario,” the new strategy said.

US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel hailed the strategies as "a momentous milestone" for Japanese history, US-Japan relations and making a "free and open Indo-Pacific" an achievable reality.

Japan plans to spend 5 trillion yen ($37 billion) to deploy foreign-developed standoff missiles from 2026, including Lockheed Martin's Tomahawk and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, while Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industry develops a surface-to-ship guided missile. missile. To quickly respond to possible attacks, Japan will also deploy several standoff missile units at undisclosed locations.

Japanese defense officials said they are still negotiating the details of the Tomahawk purchase.

After raising its defense cooperation with Australia to semi-allied levels in recent years, Japan hopes to practice the new capability in joint exercises hosted by Australia and also involving the US military.

Japan says its exclusive self-defense policy has not changed, but "long-range cruise missiles represent a threshold capability that will fundamentally change Japan's deterrence approach," said Christopher Johnstone, senior adviser and president of Japan at the Center. of Strategic and International Studies. , He said.

"An effective Japanese counterattack capability would lay the foundation for a much deeper level of command and control integration with the United States than exists today," he added.

Japan says it will uphold its pacifist principle of high standards for weapons equipment and technology transfer. But some relaxation is planned to allow currently restricted exports of offensive equipment and components, including the next-generation fighter jets that Japan is jointly developing with the UK and Italy, as a way to bolster the defense equipment industry of the U.S. country.

The government of Japan has changed the name of what is known as a preemptive strike to "counter-strike capability," ostensibly to emphasize that it is self-defense. Despite the nuanced wording of the strategy, the main threat is China, for which Japan has had to prepare for "using the North Korean threat as a cover," said Tomohisa Takei, a retired admiral in Japan's navy.

The government says its use is constitutional if it is in response to signs of imminent enemy attack. But it's extremely difficult to do and Japan needs to improve its cyber security and fully rely on US intelligence to be able to detect the first signs of preparation for an enemy missile launch, experts say, to abort the attack effectively. effective without risking being blamed for first hitting. A deeper alliance between Japan and the United States will be required to develop the capability, Johnstone said.

Experts, including former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said the definition of the enemy's intent to attack was unclear and preemptive strikes could be considered first strikes.

Last month, Japan and the United States held a major joint military exercise in southern Japan to increase allied readiness.

___

Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

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Guyana Struggles to Manage Its Oil Boom, Avoid the Resource Curse

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.

The highlights this week: Guyana struggles to manage its newfound oil wealth, Peru’s political crisis deepens, and Argentines ditch their previous criticism of Lionel Messi ahead of a high-stakes World Cup final against France.

If you would like to receive Latin America Brief in your inbox every Friday, please sign up here.

From Backwater to Deepwater

Most South American economies have grown sluggishly this year. But Guyana has been an outlier—both in the region and the world at large. The small country is on track to boast the globe’s highest GDP growth rate of 2022—a staggering 57.8 percent—thanks to steadily rising output from an offshore field where ExxonMobil struck oil in 2015. It took a few years for the company to set up pumping operations in the area, which only produced its first barrels of oil in December 2019.

Guyana’s oil reserves are so vast that the country’s daily production is expected to rise from the current level of around 360,000 barrels a day to around 1 million barrels per day by 2027, dethroning Kuwait as the country with the highest level of oil production per capita worldwide.

Guyana was a relatively poor country before it struck oil seven years ago. Since then, the question of how these riches will be distributed has hung over the country’s politics. Many were worried that, without proper guardrails, Guyana would fall victim to the so-called resource curse, whereby an abundance of natural resources disincentivizes countries from developing other sectors and creates circumstances ripe for corruption. In 2016, government authorities agreed to a deal with ExxonMobil and partner firms that allots Guyana an unusually low cut of profits from an oil-rich exploration zone called the Stabroek Block.

“It’s the most favorable [for oil companies] I think I’ve ever seen in the industry, anywhere,” Tom Mitro, a fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Sustainable Investment and former Chevron financial officer, told Bloomberg.

Each quarter, the companies pay a 2 percent royalty fee to the government on revenue from oil produced in the block. They are allowed to devote 75 percent of that revenue to paying their previous and ongoing exploration costs, and the remainder is split 50-50 between the companies and the state. The range of costs the companies can deduct before giving profits to the government is unusually large, Mitro and other analysts have said. ExxonMobil told Bloomberg that the deal was consistent with agreements in other countries at such an early stage of oil exploration.

Dissatisfaction over how the largely Afro-Guyanese-backed government handled Guyana’s oil contracts was a key reason it was voted out of office in 2020, Guyanese journalist Kiana Wilburg told Foreign Policy. Now, the largely Indo-Guyanese-backed administration that replaced it is responding to the criticism by adjusting its preliminary terms for a new auction of oil leases that kicked off last week and will run through May. The areas being auctioned lie between the Stabroek Block and the coastline.

The draft rules include a 10 percent royalty fee to the government, set the cost recovery portion of revenue at 65 rather than 75 percent, and introduce a 10 percent corporate tax. After cost recovery, profits are still divided 50-50.

In late 2021, Guyana’s government created a sovereign wealth fund with oil revenues and soon afterward approved plans to spend nearly all of its holdings at the time. The government says it put around $600 million from the fund toward its 2022 budget, set to be around 44.3 percent higher than last year’s.

“Speaking to several young people there is an optimism about their futures in Guyana rather than what has been for decades a cynicism and an overwhelming impulse to migrate,” the editorial board of Guyana’s Stabroek News wrote in July about the oil boom’s impact on the local labor market.

Still, transparency advocates, opposition politicians, and investigative reporters in the country have pressed the government—so far with little success—to be more open and systematic about the way it is spending its oil money, including the $600 million earmarked for this year.

“Ideally, the proceeds should be geared towards orienting the economy away from oil and gas so that in 30 years when the industry … [has] to be dismantled, agro-processing, high-quality manufacturing and financial and technological services will be the pre-eminent features,” the Stabroek News wrote in an editorial in April.

The government says it is beginning to put such a transformation in motion. In July, it published a low-carbon development strategy that includes plans to invest in forest maintenance, tourism, and sustainable housing.

The strategy is part of Guyana’s answer to environmentalist critics who say it should not be drilling for oil at all. The other part of its argument hinges on historic injustices. President Irfaan Ali estimates that Guyana has around 30 years before global demand for oil dries up and argues that oil sold until then should benefit poorer countries most vulnerable to climate change. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who was a star at the most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, has made a similar argument, and Barbados is now preparing its own auction for offshore oil and gas leases.

Meanwhile, some Guyanese continue to scrutinize their country’s oil dealings. This month, social media users and opposition members criticized ExxonMobil’s placement of billboards across the country that read: “Guyana receives 52 percent of all profits from Stabroek Block.” There was no mention of the 75 percent of revenue that goes to oil company costs. An opposition member and former head of the country’s environmental protection agency called the billboards “propaganda to mislead and silence our people’s bonafide concerns.”

The terms of Guyana’s newest contracts may yet change. Mitro told Foreign Policy that based on what has been published, the new draft terms are unusual in that they contain no provisions for periods of time in which oil is especially profitable. Such a clause could hypothetically kick in during an oil price spike like the one that followed Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, increasing Guyana’s share of proceeds.

“Regarding oil and gas in Guyana, even though it was discovered in 2015, there is still a lot of about the fundamentals of the industry that many citizens are not fully aware of,” Wilburg said. She has thrown herself into the topic, hosting a show at Kaieteur Radio called Guyana’s Oil and You.

“There is still that information gap we are trying to close,” she added, about “what you should be demanding.”

Sunday, Dec. 18: Argentina plays France in the finals of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Sunday, Jan. 1: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is inaugurated as president of Brazil.

Peru’s state of emergency. Nationwide protests supporting ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo have grown violent over the past week, resulting in the closure of two airports and clashes with security forces that left at least seven people dead.

On Monday, new President Dina Boluarte, who took office after Castillo was impeached and detained following his Dec. 7 attempt to dissolve the country’s Congress, reneged on a previous statement saying she would not seek early elections and agreed to move the next vote up, provisionally to 2024. On Wednesday, Boluarte’s government also declared a 30-day state of emergency for the country.

Four Latin American governments on Monday released a statement of support for Castillo—those of Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina. Chile and Brazil did not join.

The Economist’s Michael Reid tweeted that the groups driving the protests include local politicians who want to use the public anger in the streets as a bargaining tool, organized hard-left parties that backed Castillo, and criminal groups such illegal miners and narcotraffickers who seek to capitalize on the chaos. Among the demonstrators, too, are rural Peruvians who feel disaffected and neglected by the elite in Lima, Peru’s capital, Reid wrote.

Stability in Peru requires that politics be able to address the grievances of this last group, legal scholar Alonso Gurmendi tweeted Wednesday. The Castillo administration proposed doing that but failed disastrously. “As things stand Peru’s elites are unable to understand the gravity of the crisis and they still think they can shoot their way to social peace. I fear they are gravely mistaken,” he added.

The catch in U.S.-Mexico ties. Two new investigations published by U.S. media outlets take a deep dive into how anti-narcotics cooperation between the United States and Mexico reached a low point in recent years, visible in the Mexican government’s sidelining of a top Mexican anti-drug operative, its slow-walking of visa renewals for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, and its backing away from the security cooperation program the Mérida Initiative.

Even as U.S. deaths from fentanyl, which is often trafficked into the country from Mexico, have risen—to an estimated all-time high of more than 70,000 last year—law enforcement authorities in the two countries have dramatically curtailed joint investigations, both the Washington Post and a New York Times Magazine/ProPublica collaboration reported.

Part of the decline in cooperation can be traced to the attitude of current Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who in his public discourse prides himself on pushing back against U.S. intrusions in Mexican internal affairs. Since his 2018 election, López Obrador has also worked to strengthen the authority of Mexico’s army. In 2020, following a binational anti-corruption probe that targeted a high-ranking retired Mexican general who had allegedly colluded with a Pacific Coast drug gang, López Obrador objected to the general’s arrest by U.S. authorities and then presided over the delays in DEA visas and subsequent chilling of cooperation.

For its part, the United States did not live up to its pledges to work to reduce demand for opioids, the Post wrote.

Washington has often held back from publicly criticizing López Obrador’s pushback to cooperation. That’s in part because the White House wanted his help controlling northbound migration, a senior Mexican official told the Times and ProPublica. “The [Biden administration’s] agenda consists of immigration, immigration, and immigration.”

Argentina supporters display a banner depicting images of soccer player Lionel Messi and late soccer star Diego Maradona before the start of the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Argentina at Lusail Stadium, north of Doha, Qatar, on Dec. 9.MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images

Messi-mania. Argentina’s World Cup final against France this Sunday is the last step between Argentina and “eternal glory,” an Argentine television broadcast claimed this week. The national team’s victory against Croatia in Tuesday’s semifinal led thousands of Argentines to flood streets, plazas, and even highway overpasses across the country in celebration.

But even if the national team walks away without the title this weekend, its World Cup campaign has already produced a powerful change in Argentine soccer fandom. Star striker Lionel Messi, who is considered by some to be the best player of all time, was once criticized by many Argentines for his repeated failure to win titles for the country while performing well for his club teams in Europe. Commentators said he had become too European after years of playing abroad, a critique that Argentine American journalist Jasmine Garsd explores in the NPR/Futuro Studios podcast The Last Cup.

Now, after a 2021 Copa América title and his current streak in Qatar, Messi appears to have won over any remaining doubters. In recent days, fans delightedly shared images of him together with Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona.

What is the official language of Guyana?

English

Spanish

Portuguese

Guyanese

Guyana is the only nation in South America where the official language is English. Much of the population speaks Guyanese Creole.

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In Focus: Chile Tries Again

Students demonstrate to demand a new constitution-drafting process near La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on Sept. 14.MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images

Three months after Chileans voted down a progressive draft constitution in a nationwide referendum, national lawmakers from across the political spectrum have agreed on guidelines to give the process another go.

Politicians from 14 parties reached a deal Monday that outlines a January to December 2023 drafting and approval process. For it to kick off, the proposal still must pass a formal congressional vote.

The suggested design of the second rewrite process aims to address factors seen as responsible for the first’s failure. The previous proposed constitution was drafted by an assembly of directly elected delegates, many of whom identified as political independents, and the document they produced was 388 articles long. It included extensive new provisions for Indigenous groups, nature, health care, and housing rights. After the draft constitution was voted down, leftist President Gabriel Boric said political leaders learned that “you cannot go faster than your people.”

The new framework appears designed to produce a less transformational charter. Under its rules, a team of experts appointed by Chile’s National Congress—where Boric’s party is in the minority—will outline a new document. Then, a group of 50 publicly elected assembly members will write their draft based on the outline. Finally, the draft will be “harmonized” before being put to a national referendum.

Like the first rewrite process, half of the elected constitutional assembly will be required to be women. In a shift, however, there will not be a pre-set minimum quota of Indigenous members. Instead, Indigenous seats will be allotted based on Indigenous voter turnout in assembly elections.

The deal represents “the return of political realism,” University of Santiago, Chile political scientist Marcelo Mella Polanco wrote for news site CIPER. The rejection of the proposed constitution was a significant defeat for Boric, who had supported it, but this new process appears to have a chance of success, Mella Polanco wrote.

An immediate topic that sprang into public debate was how exactly someone could be classified as an “expert.” The deal stipulated they be of “indisputable professional, technical, and/or academic trajectory.” These days, “who is indisputable?” economist Noam Titelman, a former student organizer with Boric, mused on Radio Duna.

Many in Chile’s academic community pushed back against the part of the deal that said the experts would not be paid for their labor, saying it encouraged recruitment from the ranks of paid think tankers who tended to be pre-aligned with political parties. Heeding their concerns, Boric called Wednesday to tweak the deal so that they would receive salaries.

Tracking the Akwa Ibom infrastructural development | The Guardian Nigeria News

In his 2019 manifesto labeled "Phase 2: Master Plan 2019-2023," also known as the "Completion Agenda," Governor Udom Emmanuel outlined eight areas on which to focus his administration's efforts. They are based on industrialization, aviation development, rural and riverside development, agriculture, human capacity development, security, infrastructure, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

While delivering his inaugural address for the start of his second term, Emmanuel said: “One of the key drivers of the economy around the world is the provision of modern infrastructure facilities. We will pursue this policy with messianic zeal. In my first term, we were able to build more than 1,000 kilometers of highways across the state and open up the interior to the free flow of goods and services. We will surpass this achievement with an emphasis on commercially viable highways. We will continue to invest heavily in the electricity sector, aware of the importance of having a constant electricity supply in our industrialization agenda. We look forward to working towards having power for all in our Completion Agenda.” This article looks at how Udom has fulfilled his promises in terms of infrastructure development in the state.

According to the World Bank's February 2021 press release, “85 million Nigerians do not have access to the electricity grid. This represents 43% percent of the country's population and makes Nigeria the country with the largest energy access deficit in the world. The lack of reliable power is a major constraint for citizens and businesses, leading to annual economic losses estimated at $26.2 billion (₦10.1 trillion), which is equivalent to about 2 percent of GDP. According to the World Bank's Doing Business report 2020, Nigeria ranks 171 out of 190 countries in obtaining electricity and access to electricity is considered one of the main constraints for the private sector." This report underlines the importance of the role of the supply and the constant supply of electricity in the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

Rapid industrialization, improved living standards, sustainable economic growth, steadily declining unemployment rates, and poverty are the results that stem from consistent access to quality, reliable electricity. The administration headed by Udom Emmanuel is committed to improving the power supply in Akwa Ibom, hence the massive electrification projects he has undertaken.

Some of the outstanding projects are the construction of the 2 X 5 MVA, 3/11 KV Injection substation, on Avenida Edet Akpan, Uyo; the construction of a 2 X 15 MVA injection substation at Victor Attah International Airport, the construction of a 2 X 60 MVA 132/33 KV power substation at Ekim, Mkpat Enin. Likewise, the administration has carried out the rehabilitation of the facilities of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution company in Etim Ekpo, Mkpat Enin, Ikot Ekene, Ikot Abasi Ekpu, the installation of a transmission substation of 1 X 60 MVA, 132/33 KV in Afaha Ube, Itam. In addition, it carried out the extension of the public power supply through a 33 KV dedicated line that extends from the Tropicana shopping center to the Victor Attah International Airport, the extension of the public power supply through a dedicated line of 33 KV to the Center for Control/Isolation of Infectious Diseases, Methodist Hospital, Ituk Mbang as well as the installation of public lighting in the state capital, Uyo.

Road infrastructure plays a crucial role in the economic development and growth of any society. Highways are like arteries through which the economy beats. By linking producers to markets, workers to jobs, students to school, and the sick to hospitals, roads are vital to any development program. In addition, providing access to employment, social, health and education services makes a road network crucial in the fight against poverty. Highways open up more areas and stimulate economic and social development. For these reasons and many more, road infrastructure is one of the most important public goods of a government. This is a fact that Emmanuel understands, hence the importance he attaches to road infrastructure.

Road construction has been done on a massive scale in the administration. Some of the road projects include the completion of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene dualized highway, the construction of the 6.4 km Nto Edino-Ekwere Azu highway with 2 bridges of 45 m span at Obot Akara LGA. In the same local government is the construction of the Nto Ide-Ikot Aruba bridge with an 80 m access road. One of the local residents had this to say about the project: “People lost their lives because of the bad bridge and road. People used to fall off the bridge. Access to the nearest hospital from Ubon Akwa and Abak Ukpom was not possible due to this bad bridge. The bridge was a threat to the people of Obot Akara, but now we are very hopeful that the construction of a new bridge for us will be successful. God will bless Governor Udom for this one act that he has performed today in Obot Akara.”

Another noteworthy road project in Ikono local government is the construction of 21.5 km of Ikot Anyan Ediene Ikot Ntia-Urua Nara-Ikot Nseyen Nkwot Nung Ukim Road with a 45 m beam bridge. Regarding this project, a local resident said: “This road was very bad. It was not capable of motoring. We had to find alternative routes and garbage trucks to get to other places. The importance of this new road is that the merchants in our community who were unable to travel to Ikot Ekpene will now be able to use this road to travel for their business. More development will be introduced to our community due to this new highway. Our Governor is a promise keeper. Not long ago he promised us this way, and now, he has come to manifest himself. May God bless our Governor."

The Emmanuel administration also completed the doubling of the 29 km Etinan-Ndon Eyo highway with bridges and spurs from Mbioto Ekpene Ituen to the Ikot Abasi Ishiet junction, doubling of the 23.4 km Etinan-Eket road, doubling of 19.5 km Eket-Ibeno Road Road, with bridges, dualization of 9.5 km Ring Road 3 (from Aka Road-Oron Road-Nwaniba Road with roundabouts), duplication of Ring Road 2 of 9.5 km 3.32 km (from Abak Road-Akan Road via Udo Udoma roundabout) and as the construction of the 14.1 km Odoro Ikpe/Ikot Nkon Obotme Arochukwu road with a 110 m span bridge located at the local government from Ini. Speaking about the immense impact of the project, a local resident said: “The Udom government has done well to build this road for us. We used to suffer with the bad way we had. It was very difficult for us to transport our agricultural products to the market. We carried bags of cassava on our heads and we walked down to the market because the road was not passable and we couldn't find motorcycles, so we walked from one place to another every day. But now, Governor Udom has given us a new path, and we are happy for the path that he has made for us, and now we can find cars and motorcycles that we can enter from one side of the market to the other.”

In addition, the administration has undertaken construction of 19 km Etebi-Enwang highway in Esit Eket and Mbo local governments, construction of 12 742 km Awa Iman-Asong-Ikot Edim-Ikot Emem highway in local governments of Onna and Mkpat Enin, the construction of a 19,317 km Anua-Mbak-Ishiet road, as well as the construction of the 15 km Ikot Akpan Afaha-Ikot Oku Usng road in Ukanafun local government and the expansion of Oron Road from Ring 3 to Victor Attah International Airport Road. Akwa Ibom State University has also been a beneficiary of administration with the construction of internal roads in and around its Obio Akpa campus. Also included is the completion of the State Secretariat Annex in Uyo (also known as the Dakkada Secretariat). Speaking about the impact of the project, Ms. Glory Essien, Head of Department of Labour, Ministry of Labor and Manpower Planning, said: “As back then, it was a den of thieves…a lot of bad things used to happen. In fact, people used to isolate this area completely because it was a dangerous area. But now, it's a beautiful place, now it's used by public officials. It is the good work of our dear Governor, His Excellency, Governor Gabriel Emmanuel Udom”.

The last seven years of the present administration have been one in which the government has consistently delivered the dividends of democracy. Just as the path of the just is like the bright light, shining brighter and brighter until the perfect day, the indigenous people of Akwa Ibom State can look forward to a better and brighter future in the final year of Emmanuel's administration.

Nigerian Chefs Seek Federal Govt’s Support

To advance the culinary profession and promote the Nigerian food culture worldwide, the Association of Professional Chefs of Nigeria (APCN) has once again called on the Nigerian government at all levels to support the profession as government support is very vital to the development of the profession in Nigeria.

This call was made by the association's president, Chef Paulinus Okon, while briefing journalists on the recently concluded West African Chefs Food Festival that took place in Ghana and briefing on the association's plans to host the festival in Nigeria next year.

According to Okon, it is important that the government support the association in its quest to develop the Nigerian food profession and culture.

It specifically called for patronage of its members by both government corporate bodies and good welfare packages.

He also shared his experience on a trip to Ghana saying that the trip to Ghana was interesting, adding that it was all because of having the West African Food Festival.

The Nigerian chef team that recently won two brown madders from the 16 West African countries participating in Accra Ghana added that Nigeria will host the West African Chefs Food Festival next year.

He thanked the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) for its continued support, stating that the association needs more support from the government because “Everything we do, we do for cultural heritage and of course we are showing the good image of our beloved nation.

“Our trip to Ghana was eventful and it was not just about cooking dishes but also showing our national dishes and that is also a way of showing our own food. So it's been very stressful and earlier this year we put up money to organize our own conference and it wasn't easy. So, the government should come to support the association so that we can position ourselves as it should be”.

The association also called on the government to establish the Ministry of Tourism as there is no state in Nigeria that does not have tourist attractions, adding that the Ministry of Tourism helps develop our GDP.