AFRICA WILL RISE!

"I AM A YOUTH, YOU ARE A YOUTH. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR YOUTHFULNESS? ARE YOU SIMPLY EXISTING OR YOU LIVE LIFE? HAVE YOU TOUCHED YOUR FAMILY, COMMUNITY, REGION, COUNTRY, CONTINENT, WORLD IN ANY SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WAY POSSIBLE. BY THE AGE 25-40, IF YOU AIN'T DOING SOMETHING, THEN YOU WILL HAVE A DIFFICULT LEGACY. START NOW-WITH A LOAF OF BREAD OR A BLOG TO EMPOWER YOUR WORLD"

By Cletus Suhfree Suh.

28/09/2013

History has shown the tenacity of African youth. Some of the most renowned figures of Africa’s independence struggle started their political engagements as young adults. By the time he turned 37, Kwame Nkrumah was deeply involved in the planning of the 1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester. Abdul Gamel Nasser, at 35, was a colonel in the Egyptian army and became President at 38.

Frantz Fanon at age 27 wrote his first book to worldwide critical acclaim. Other leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba and Modibo Keita were all, in their youth, thinkers and change makers, recognized for their contributions. Indeed, my own mentor, Amilcar Cabral, by age 26, had founded several student movements dedicated to promoting the cause of liberation of Portuguese colonies in Africa.

When he died at the age of 46, he had achieved more than many people do in several lifetimes. These are only a few examples of 20th century African leaders who, during their youth, were and continue to be a source of inspiration to Africans and the world at large.

By comparison, how well are today’s African youth leaders supporting Africa’s transformation process? Our youth is still struggling to make their voices heard in all spheres of influence. For example, the current median age of African leaders is 3 times the median age of the African population. African leaders seem to be less willing today to open up space for political engagements.

In North Africa for example, over a period of more than 40 years, failed to develop open and pluralistic political systems giving little scope for citizens’ participation, especially the youth’s participation in civil or political life. Analysts see this as one of the systemic failures that spurred the swathe of political uprisings, mostly led by unemployed young men and women

Approximately 54% of Africa’s youth is currently unemployed and more than three-quarters is considered poor. In many African countries, the informal economy is the largest provider of jobs for youth. For instance, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 96.2 % of young workers are claimed to be informally employed; in Cameroon the percentage would be 88.6 and in Zambia, it is said that no less than 99 % of working teenagers work in the informal economy.

In Africa, the tendency is that youth unemployment tends to increase with higher education levels. In Morocco, for example, ILO estimated that the unemployment rate for youths age 15-24 in 2004 was 7.7 percent for workers without a diploma, 28.1 percent for those with a baccalaureate, and 61.2 percent for those with a university diploma or higher. Although educational attainment levels are on the rise, Africa, compared to the rest of the world tends to lag behind.

This situation is worrisome. When we look at the current demographic mega trends, it is even an anachronism. Africa’s population is growing at a faster rate than any other region. Not only is it increasing in numbers but, more importantly, the population is growing younger.

In 2010, 20.4% of Africa’s population was between 15 to 24 years. Further projections show that by 2020, 3 out of 4 Africans will be on average 20 years old. It is also estimated that by 2100, 10 out of the top 20 most populous nations will be in Africa- these are Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan Tanzania, and Uganda. Whilst Africa’s population is growing younger, the irony is that other parts of the world are growing older.

The European Union, Japan, China and many other countries in the Americas are recording extremely low levels of fertility with severe repercussions on current labour supply. For instance, China and the EU’s labour supply are in a decline - after peaking in 2010 - and the Japanese population is expected to fall by up to a third in the next fifty years; with almost 40% of the population being 65 years old or older. Most of Latin America will also follow the same trend.

The glaring reality shows that there is increasingly an imbalance in the world’s demographic system and this has consequential effects on markets and social structures. A younger Africa with excess labour versus an aging world with manpower shortage. A younger Africa with a creative, resourceful and increasingly educated youth versus an aging world with demands for innovation and new thinking.


How do Europe, Japan, China and others aim to fill the void that is emerging in their societies as the skills, strength, labour and creativity gap left by their aging societies grow and affect their lifestyle? Today’s elderly generations in developed countries are able to enjoy a relatively prosperous retirement mainly because of their strong social welfare system, built on the shoulders of a large younger working population. To what extent can these countries sustain their social welfare contract with the old without re-negotiating a new contract with the places in the world where a large workforce will be able to sustain future generations?


This demographic and geographic asymmetry needs to be corrected by calling for a new global social order that takes into consideration the interest of intergenerational and intercontinental equity. Given that Africa will be the custodian of a younger generation, how can Africans “cut a deal” with the rest of the world, in order to harness the considerable potential that this demographic dividend represents?


Three hundred years ago, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, considered one of the most original philosophers of the Enlightenment, was born. His seminal work, ‘The Social Contract’ gives us a starting place for this discussion. Rousseau considered the possibility of balancing the relationship between humans and nature. He also looked at creating a society based on the principles of equality, freedom and participatory governance. The concept of a Social Contract was important in breaking the entrenched structural inequalities that existed in the 18th century and the promotion of the ideals of equality and human rights.

The 21st century is different from the Enlightenment era. Different challenges exist such as the paralyzing breakdown and collapse of an economic system that makes us question current economic models, the increase in the number, intensity and impact of environmental and social crises transcending national and continental borders and requiring collective global actions.

These new challenges call for, now more than ever, a need for alternative development thinking and a new intergenerational justice, where the needs of future generations inform the activities of the current generation.

Just as Rousseau’s Social Contract did, we need to create a new Social Contract that is based on the original principles but goes beyond them. It needs to address current challenges, such as creating a redistributive system that is “solidaristic” and helps to enhance both intra-generational and inter-generational equity as well as create new institutions that can lift people out of poverty.

This is the real challenge of the 21st century and Africa’s youthfulness potential cannot be taken out of the equation. African youth seem to be up to the challenge. Current change makers such as Ashish Thakkar, the youngest African billionaire, highly acclaimed Angolan writer Ondjaki, Ethiopian CEO of Sole Rebels shoe company Bethlehem Tilahuan, Saheed Adepoju, inventor of Nigeria’s first Android tablet and renown Ivorian footballer Didier Drogba continue to raise the bar in their areas of expertise.

Sovereign national dialogue or nothing.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013 BY PUNCH EDITORIAL BOARD
 

EVERY administration, at least in the last two and a half decades, has faced the fury of calls for Nigeria to be run as a federal state, instead of being a travesty of it. Clearly, inherent structural and existential challenges in the polity have made it a ghastly experiment thrown up by British colonial political patch-work of 1914. The situation needs urgent remedy. This was the kernel of a message The Patriots, a group of elder statesmen, forwarded to President Goodluck Jonathan recently.

In its 13-page memorandum, The Patriots emphasised the fact that the country is in dire need of transformation, the type only a Sovereign National Conference would guarantee. But the Ben Nwabueze-led group seems to have inflamed passions with its request. Unfortunately, the President and the Senate President, David Mark, have got it wrong right from the outset with the type of conference they envisage. Jonathan, in his response, said there was nothing wrong in Nigerians meeting for a dialogue. However, he added a caveat: “The limitation we have is that the constitution appears to have given that responsibility to the National Assembly. I have also been discussing the matter with the leadership of the National Assembly.” The Senate President toed the President’s line last week when he endorsed a national conference, yet shut the door against one with sovereign powers.

True dialogue elsewhere, just as it took place in Benin Republic in 1990, redefines national trajectories and reaches decisions to save the country from the precipice. Sovereignty resides with the people; any national conclave devoid of this sanctity is a waste of time. For 14 years, our democracy has been predicated on a constitution foisted on us by a marauding military on retreat in 1999. Its preamble reads, “We, the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Critics have argued that this is utterly fraudulent as Nigerians never met to produce the document.

However, an opportunity to change the status quo during the 2003 conference was lost because the convener, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, had a different agenda. As it lacked the imprimatur of the people, the conference did not take the country anywhere. If, therefore, personal interest is the motive for the envisaged conference, then, the conveners should beware! Nigerians have had enough of such chicanery. Sani Abacha, as a military dictator in 1994, also tried to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians as Obasanjo also tried to do nine years later. Our dream conference must be a no-holds-barred one.
Truly, the Nigerian Union has been shaky; it has been like a ship assailed by turbulent waves.  In many parts of the country, felons now question the authority of the State, brazenly kill fellow citizens in hundreds and throw overboard the country’s secularity in preference for rabid Islam-ism and violence.

For instances, in Borno State last week, Boko Haram insurgents, armed with AK 47 rifles, mounted roadblocks and spread bullets on hapless travellers, killing over 167.  Security personnel are not spared either in this continuing orgy of violence. Borno State’s case is not an isolated one. It is the same in Yobe and Adamawa states.  Ironically, full-scale military operations in these areas that came in the wake of the state of emergency declared in May, have not forced the outlaws to capitulate. This eerie atmosphere has been common too in Kano, Jos, Kaduna, Suleja and Bauchi, due to senseless bombings. Nigeria is indeed at the crossroads, and this is why many citizens no longer feel safe to live in states other than their own.

The masterminds of this mass hysteria are unrelenting in the pursuit of their evil agenda. Even Jonathan was forced to admit last year that their main goal was to drive him underground in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. This is most alarming!  This is certainly not the kind of country our founding fathers laboured for. Tony Blair, a former British Prime Minister, who is familiar with the chaos in artificial states, says, “A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in… And how many want out.” According to the 2013 global index of failed states, Nigeria occupies the 16th position, an infamous roll-call it has no business being a part of. Only the predatory ruling class and the hypocrites continue to play the ostrich, or pretend that all is well.

Mark abhors the country’s dismemberment, but the mass murderers and those who steal public treasury dry indirectly make it possible. When 70 per cent of the population live below the $1 per day poverty threshold, amidst plenty, the social milieu becomes volcanic. This is where the nation is now! Both Jonathan and Mark have critical roles to play in saving Nigeria. As we once argued, they must stand on the side of restructuring this skewed federalism that has only delivered crushing poverty to many families and torrents of bloodbath across the land. The fanciful assumption that Nigeria’s corporate existence is not negotiable must be done away with.

Rather than dodging the issue of a sovereign national conference, it is incumbent upon them to come up with ways to smoothen its process. The former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Sudan and Ethiopia, were countries with similar political alchemy with Nigeria. Unless we are ready to alter the shaky political structure, going the way of these countries will become inevitable.

10% PAY CUT FOR ALL ELECTED AND APPOINTED PUBLIC OFFICIALS FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS.

BY SEGUN BADMUS

23/09/2013

" The Nigerian University system is in a state of emergency. Three months running,our engine for growth has been under locks and keys. The success of the future of our next generation is being mortgage on a platter of indiscretion. Our school system needs an overhaul from primary to tertiary levels,it needs funding,it needs investments,it needs infrastructures,it needs well remunerated staffs with up to date technology to back up growths and developments.

The government instead of investing in education is busy creating overnight billionaires,deploying our resources in the purchase of arms and maintaining a big for nothing military,creating a class of people with no investment and tax trajectories.

We should be aware that many nations are competing in advancements in science and technological innovations,we instead have locked our schools and we are busy procuring arms for the protection of sectional interests,we are busy playing politics with virtually every issue of nationhood,we are busy grooming monsters that would eventually cause us mayhem.

Well, as a matter of urgent national priority,I advise that all elected public officials and appointed staffs at all levels of government should cut salary by 10% across board for the next 3 months. These funds should be credited to the Education Trust Fund beginning on October 1st 2013,the savings from these months should be a sacrifice for the future of our generation.We can collectively solve the problem, if we are all ready to make a sacrifice.

A new start is possible."

CNN's Christiane Amanpour's interview President Jonathan's

Nigerian Presidential Debate Pt.1 Of 3. (JOINTZNJAMZ@GMAIL.COM)

R. Kelly - When A Woman Loves

She loves for real!!

Jaheim - Put That Woman First (Official Video)

Putting that woman first

R. Kelly - Radio Message

This is a radio message to my baby,come back,come back.

The Big Debate (ep. 7, March 31): Why Poverty?

"Nigeria oil theft a global criminal enterprise"

By Ben Simon, AFP

Oil theft in Nigeria is a huge criminal operation affecting companies and states around the world, but interest in tackling the problem is low, Chatham House said in a report Thursday.

The new study from the London-based think-tank, based on interviews with some 200 government, private sector and independent sources, said "Nigerian crude oil is being stolen on an industrial scale."
Estimates on the scale of the problem vary, with some Nigerian officials saying 150,000 barrels per day is stolen, costing some $6 billion a year in lost revenue.
Chatham House, which also reviewed thousands of documents, said the figure was almost certainly more than 100,000 barrels per day.

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, with output at around 2.0 million barrels per day.
"Proceeds are laundered through world financial centres and used to buy assets in and outside Nigeria," according to the think-tank.

Few fully grasp the problem and those affected have shown little desire to act, it added.
"In Nigeria, politicians, military officers, militants, oil industry personnel, oil traders and communities profit," Chatham House said.

For Nigeria, cracking down could inflame tensions among powerful figures, particularly in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region, where unrest declined after a 2009 amnesty deal with rebels, but where stability remains elusive.
Despite rhetoric about the scourge of oil theft from Western governments and foreign oil majors, neither camp has fully attacked the problem, the report said.

There is "very little incentive for foreign partners to act, including risk of a diplomatic rift and almost no leverage," in part because of Nigeria's low aid dependence.

Global oil giants like Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, Chevron and ENI all operate in the Niger Delta, but it is "unclear how much export oil" these companies lose, Chatham House said.

"We have never reached the breaking point," one oil executive was quoted as saying. "Something always happens that rights the ship."
Among the majors, Shell has been the most vocal and is likely the hardest hit given its larger presence onshore.
But companies have in recent months sold onshore assets, seemingly to focus on deepwater projects, where the risks of theft and unrest are limited.

The initial stages of Nigerian crude theft are largely known, with gangs tapping into pipelines, pumping crude to smaller vessels which take it to larger ships for international sale.

A certain amount is refined and sold locally.

Chatham House said it was less clear where the illicit crude is taken abroad and how it gets there.

It partly reaches world markets through "co-loading", where stolen oil is put on a ship carrying legal oil. Documents are forged and the vessel departs seemingly laden with legitimate cargo.

The report suggests the United States, one of the largest markets for Nigerian oil, may not be a leading destination for illicit cargo, perhaps because US refineries more rigorously inspect incoming crude.
Refineries in regional markets, including Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast, were listed as likely buyers.

Various sources told Chatham House that refineries in China, India, Singapore and Eastern Europe all purchased stolen Nigerian oil, but the think-tank found little direct evidence to support any specific charge.
The report offered various possible strategies to tackle the problem, but said the priority should be to learn more, including sweeping intelligence gathering involving all those affected.

"Oil theft is a species of organised crime that is almost totally off the international community's radar," Chatham House said.

"Without better knowledge of how the stolen oil trade works, not every government can ignore it with confidence."

China is taking a leap forward to control world currency'

Published time: September 11, 2013 10:32

Chinese cars wait for export at a port in Dalian, Liaoning province. (Reuters/China Daily)

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China is vowing to make more reforms, among them cutting red tape and establishing the yuan as a world currency. The 7th Annual Meeting of the New Champions is opening in the Chinese city of Dalian, the gathering has become known as a 'summer Davos'. RT has talked to Dr. Pattberg about China’s prospects for introducing a new world currency.It is obvious that China is up to something hoarding gold like a dragon. In fact, it is taking a leap forward to control the world currency and to replace it with the yuan, Dr. Thorsten Pattberg, China expert at the Peking University, told RT.

RT: Do you think when China says it wants to make the yuan a global alternative to the dollar, is there any possibility of that happening at some point?

Thorsten Pattberg: Yes, it's perfectly reasonable to think that the Chinese want to see their currency become the next world currency, there's a plan. And of course China at the moment is purchasing more and more gold, this also plays into this. We heard they recently purchased several hundred tons of gold through Hong Kong, the trading hub. And of course if you hoard gold like a dragon, this is a lot about prestige. The mere presence of gold in your country gives rise to even more self-confidence and to this bling-bling sensation that China is really up to something. The mere intention to buy more gold in the future will certainly have an impact on the rise of gold prices in the world. So China is taking a leap forward to control the world currency and to replace it with yuan.

RT: The current Chinese leadership seems almost obsessed with reforms. Why? Isn't China in good enough shape as it is?

TP: It is still growing by 7.5%, it's enough for the current leadership. And of course China naturally is a reform-based society that announces reforms regularly. The new government is pursuing a range of new reforms, tax reforms basically. They want to transform the investment economy into an economy that is more focused on domestic consumption.

RT: With increasing wealth comes enormous changes in society, in national identity, can China itself keep up with its own economic growth?

TP: I believe that it will keep it up for the next 10 years at least. But there are a lot of things to do. The economy growth is actually faster than a lot of other things in China like the political maturity. Social problems are still looming in China. And one of the topics at the global forum is the work ethic. China wants to have a stake hold and make the rules of the game and shape them in the future, and it has to come to the table and discuss with Europeans and Americans how we deal together in the future. Not only on economic issues, but on political ones, on ecological ones, social and cultural ones. China has to catch up in all those fields quickly.

5 reasons why privatisation is bad for you

1. YOUR SERVICES GET WORSE

Private companies do not have a social purpose, their legal priority is making a profit for shareholders, not putting people first. This means they may end up cutting corners, or under investing in our services. They have a duty to make as much money as they can. Water companies ignore leaks instead of investing in infrastructure, while private company involvement in the NHS has been bad for patients. Private companies also have 'commercially sensitive' contracts, so they don't share information with others; this makes it harder for them to work in partnership to provide an integrated service.

2. YOUR COSTS GO UP

You pay more, both as a taxpayer and directly when you pay for public services. Value for money goes down because private companies must make a profit for their shareholders and they also pay their top executives more money. This means either we the people, or the government, or both, end up paying more than they did before. Fares on our privatised railways and buses are the most expensive in Europe, while people are also being hit with high energy prices.

3. YOU CAN'T HOLD PRIVATE COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE

If the local council runs a service, you know where to go to complain. But if a private company runs a service, they are not democratically accountable to you. That makes it harder for you to have a voice. Academy schools are less accountable to parents. Atos, the welfare provider, tried to silence disability campaigners instead of responding to their concerns.

4. STAFF ARE UNDERMINED

If you work in public services, privatisation will make your life harder. A Europe-wide study found that privatisation has had ‘largely negative effects on employment and working conditions’. There are often job cuts and qualified staff are replaced with casual workers, who are paid less and have worse conditions. This has a knock-on effect on the service being provided – for example, in the cases of care workers or court interpreters.

5. IT'S DIFFICULT TO REVERSE

Once our public services are privatised, it's often difficult for us to get them back. Not only that, we lose the pool of knowledge, skills and experience that public sector workers have acquired over many years. We also lose integration across different services (private companies often don't share information because it's 'commercially confidential').

BUT WAIT!

Aren’t private companies supposed to be better than the public sector? Doesn’t competition reduce costs and improve quality and customer care? No, because there is often very little competition; public services tend to be natural monopolies so there isn't much choice for consumers. Instead, government (local or national) asks private companies to bid for contracts running our services - but there's no real opportunity for our voices to be heard.

House of Reps to commence one-week oversight function

The legislator said that during the period, plenary session would be suspended to enable members concentrate on committee work

Members of the House of Representatives would commence a one-week oversight function to Ministries, Departments and Agencies from September 24, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, has said.
Mohammed (PDP-Kwara) announced this on Thursday in Abuja at a news conference.

He said that the oversight function would focus on the implementation of the 2013 Appropriation Act in order to ascertain the level of implementation of capital components of the budget.

The legislator said that during the period, plenary session would be suspended to enable members concentrate on committee work.
On September 17, the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, had decried the low level of implementation of the 2013 budget.

Tambuwal said that due to its poor implementation, members of standing committees would proceed on oversight function to all MDAs.
He said: “The level of implementation of the 2013 capital appropriation is below expectation given the early submission of the budget by the Executive and early passage by the Legislature.

“We have consistently advised that the procurement process be employed in a value added manner rather than the slavish adherence to and unproductive worship of procedures.”

Tambuwal said that in spite of the early passage of the budget by the National Assembly, much progress had not been made in its implementation.
“With the information and statistics at our disposal, there is no justification for this state of affairs,” he said.

The speaker said that the reports from the oversight function would be collated by the Committee on Legislative Budget and Committee on Research and Legislative Compliance.

He said that the report collated by the two committees would be presented to the House plenary for consideration.

Nigeria's property boom: only for the brave

By Joe Brock | Reuters – Sun, Sep 15, 2013

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By Joe Brock

ABUJA (Reuters) - On one of the most exclusive streets in Nigeria's capital sits a crumbling mansion with an unwelcoming message painted at its entrance: "BEWARE! THIS HOUSE IS NOT FOR SALE".

The warning refers to a popular property scam. In the most elaborate version, robbers break into your house while you are away, change the locks, and then produce multiple copies of fake title deeds. Posing as estate agents, they show buyers around your house and sell as many copies of the deeds as possible. When you get back, your house belongs to six people.

This sort of deception epitomises the tricky nature of Nigeria's real estate business, but despite the risks, there are huge returns to be had in a market where around 16 million homes are needed just to meet current demand.

Navigating through opaque land laws, corruption, a lack of development expertise and financing, a dearth of mortgages and high building costs will take courage and influential local partners.

"There are sizeable challenges to overcome but in many ways Nigeria represents the perfect storm for real estate investment; huge population, rapid urbanisation and a growing middle-class," said Michael Chu'di Ejekam, Director of Nigerian Real Estate at Actis, a London-based private equity firm.

Actis has $5.2 billion under management, including two sub-Saharan Africa real estate equity funds totalling $434 million, which it says are attracting U.S. and European investors.

Nigeria's population of nearly 170 million is bigger than Russia's and its economy is growing at 6 percent, a combination which is producing a new wave of property buyers from bankers and airline staff to mobile phone and fast food shop owners.

"I see demand from the middle-class higher than ever before," said Deolu Dara, Associate Vice President at Nigeria-based Avante Property Asset Management, which manages several multi-million dollar residential projects in Lagos.

A successful real estate investment in Nigeria can earn an returns as high as 30-35 percent, while rental income yields in cities such as Lagos and Abuja can easily reach 10 percent, developers and estate agents say.

MIDDLE CLASS

Property in Lagos, a heaving metropolis of around 20 million people, can be among the most expensive in the world with two-bedroom flats costing more than $1 million in upmarket areas.

However, the top-end range is dominated by well established players and developers should target middle-income workers in major cities, such Lagos, Abuja and the oil-hub Port Harcourt. The most popular units fall in a price bracket of 20-35 million naira, developers and estate agents say.

Nigeria's middle class make up around 23 percent of the population and earn around 80,000- 100,000 naira per month, according to report by investment bank Renaissance Capital.

In smaller cities and rural areas, a lack of information about land and regulation is off-putting, while a violent Islamist insurgency has made the north of Nigeria unattractive, despite huge unmet demand in cities such as Kano and Kaduna.

The majority of Nigerians live in poverty in shanty towns or in basic concrete block and iron-roofed houses they have built themselves, but building mass housing for the poor is not a popular investment.

"If you know the market, the people, focus on middle class and cherry pick your deals, you can clean out," added Dara, who said Africa's biggest oil and gas industry is also driving demand. One foreign oil major bought 300 flats recently.

Nigeria's construction and real estate sectors are growing at more than 10 and 12 percent respectively, a boon for foreign and Nigerian construction firms, including UPDC, Cappa D'Alberto and Julius Berger.

Yet, there is still not enough quality affordable housing because business is frustrated by widespread corruption, poor state infrastructure and a lack of expertise and financing.

Constructing a block of flats costs three times as much in Nigeria than in South Africa, builders say, and many developments are abandoned when projects run out of money or become slums because they are poorly built.

London-based estate agent Jones Lang LaSalle ranks Nigeria 96th out of 97 on its transparency index, just in front of Sudan but behind six other African countries.

Having support from powerful politicians or business magnates will help to avoid terminal financial pitfalls.

LOCAL PARTNERS

"It's a business that requires local partners and local knowledge or you'll run into problems," Dara at Avante says.

Avante's chairman is Wale Tinubu, the head of oil and gas firm Oando and a close relative of former Lagos state governor Bola Tinubu, who still wields influence there.

London-based Actis has given directorships to Nigerian energy firm Seven Energy and local conglomerate UAC.

Once the supply challenges have been overcome, there remains a problem with that huge latent demand. No mortgages. Unless you are willing to pay a 25 percent interest rate.

The mortgage debt-to-GDP ratio in Nigeria is under 0.5 percent, compared with 72 percent in the U.S. and over 30 percent in Malaysia and South Africa, government figures show.

"In places like America you seem to be able to buy property without a stress but it just isn't like that here," said Ike Ejekam, 31, who is about to buy a newly-built two-bedroom apartment for 20 million naira in a gated community in the popular Lekki district on the Lagos peninsula.

Ejekam represents the new breed of buyers who expect well-built housing with all the modern conveniences. He works at a branch of a local bank and is using his life savings and funds borrowed from family members to buy his property outright.

"I don't like to think about mortgages because it scares me when I see how difficult it is for my friends to get a loan."

Nigerian banks don't like giving out mortgages because reliable information about buyers and land is scarce, while there is no secondary market to offset the risks.

MORTGAGE DENIED

The government says it is trying to fix this by securing a $300 million loan from the World Bank to establish a mortgage refinancing company, which should free up some bank lending.

A Federal Mortgage Bank was also launched this year, which government hopes will help build 500,000 new homes. The bank plans to float a 200 billion naira mortgage bond, the proceeds from which can be handed over to home buyers with the state guaranteeing against default for five years.

The government is also discussing passing legislation to create a secondary mortgage market and to improve land laws.

"With this sense of urgency we could have a significant improvement in the mortgage market by 2015," United Bank for Africa CEO Phillips Oduoza told Reuters.

This optimism is also being felt by developers as dozens of well-financed projects are underway, including the Eko Atlantic City - a multi-billion dollar project built from 9 square kilometres of land being reclaimed from the sea in Lagos.

The billionaire Chagoury brothers, who are of Lebanese descent, are leading the mega-project, which will feature parks, swimming pools and skyscrapers with floor-to-ceiling glass. Banks, including France's BNP Paribas, Belgium's KBC and several Nigerian lenders are on board.

In Abuja, UPDC has started its 228-unit 'Metro City', which consists of well-designed blocks with balconies built in palm-fringed private compounds. Privately owned Churchgate Group is building its ambitious $1 billion World Trade Centre, a series of skyscrapers housing offices, flats and upscale shops.

"Nigeria is a huge real estate opportunity," said Ejekam at Actis. "The story is getting out, slowly."