In this episode, we dive deep into the growing challenge of youth unemployment in Nigeria, highlighted in our latest report. With over 400 million young people, Africa stands at a critical point to harness its youth for economic growth and job creation. But what are the obstacles, and how can we meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 8—ensuring decent work for all by 2030? Read more of our publications on youth employment, to unpack the data, and explore solutions to drive progress across the continent on our website at www.cseaafrica.org 

‘Tobacco use is killing us and our planet’! Annually, tobacco use kills about 8 million people globally and 29,000 people in Nigeria. The economic costs of tobacco attributable disease on the Nigerian economy is estimated at US$1.71 billion per annum including the direct and indirect costs of tobacco. Tobacco smokers’ life expectancy is at least 10 years shorter than that of non-smokers. Exposure to second-hand smoke is a serious health hazard causing more than 41,000 deaths annually. Pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to have a complication before and after child delivery. Children are not immune to this danger; each year, 150, 000 children under the age of five are killed by secondhand smoking. The deleterious effect of tobacco extends to smokeless tobacco,  also a known cause of cancer. The nicotine in smokeless tobacco increases the risk of sudden death due to irregular heartbeat (ventricular arrhythmias).

Tobacco use is not only killing people, it is poisoning our environment! Tobacco endangers the health of the planet with an environmental burden of 600 million trees cut down annually for tobacco production, 200 000 hectares of land cleared, 84 million tonnes of CO2 emitted, and 22 billion tonnes of water consumed. Moreover, agrochemicals used in tobacco cultivation poisons the land, soil and water, and tobacco production saturates the air with tonnes of toxins. Cigarette smoking alone pollutes the air ten times more than gas emissions. In the year 2019 alone, about 4,211,962 cigarette butts were collected from beaches and waterways globally. This implies that tobacco butt is the second most common type of environmental litre after food wrappers. The cigarette butts contain toxic chemicals such as nicotine and heavy metals which endangers aquatic life and microorganism. 

Tobacco Taxation can mitigate these challenges

Tobacco taxation, passed on to smokers in the form of higher cigarette prices, has been acknowledged not only as one of the most effective control strategies for decreasing smoking and its adverse health consequences but also as an effective strategy for reducing the environmental burden of tobacco. Unfortunately, tobacco tax as an effective measure which encourages smokers to quit and prevents others from taking up smoking is the least effective in Nigeria. This ineffectiveness majorly is a result of the low tobacco excise tax rate. In addition, despite the magnitude of the health and environmental burden of tobacco consumption in Nigeria, the overall performance of tobacco tax policies is very poor. The recent 2018 special excise tax on tobacco products only raises the excise tax burden from 12 percent to an estimated 17 percent. This is contrary to best practices and far below the ECOWAS and WHO recommended benchmark of 50 percent and 70 percent respectively. The current tobacco tax structure in Nigeria is too low to discourage tobacco use and protect the environment.

Poor quality tax governance in terms of accountability, responsiveness and sound public finance management is one of the underlying causes of Nigeria’s ineffective tobacco tax system. The tobacco industry takes advantage of the administrative loopholes to undermine tobacco tax reforms. Strong tax administration as well as improving enforcement capacity enhances the impact of higher tobacco taxes (WHO).

Moreover, tobacco industry interference posed a challenge in implementing effective tobacco taxation in Nigeria. The Tobacco industry is one of the booming industries in Nigeria. Domestic market share is around 66 percent, imported market share is approximately 24 percent and illegal market share accounts for 10 percent of tobacco market supply in Nigeria. Given its vast resources and market power, the tobacco industry is a powerful force that is not deterred by government actions. The tobacco industry employs several strategies to influence policy and postpone regulation. Delaying tobacco control laws and authorizing new tobacco products are all examples of these interference. Nigeria's legislative authorities should be active to ensure that the tobacco industry does not play a decision-making role in tobacco legislations.

Increased tobacco taxation and an effective tobacco taxation system should be elevated by the government as top health policy priority in Nigeria. The key viable elements to address the weak tobacco tax system in Nigeria are (i) implement a broad-based, uniform tax that is difficult to avoid (ii) extend regulations and tax policy on tobacco products and sales to eliminate single-use filters and reduce post-consumption waste. (iii) beware of tobacco industry interference and (iv) earmark tobacco tax revenue to improve public health and safeguard the environment. Nigeria's national health systems require a paradigm shift away from fragmented response approach and toward more improved systemic approaches. This could significantly increase funds for health care, improve environmental conditions, enhance public trust, accountability and welfare.

The rapid growth of AI is swiftly changing the world of work and business. Embedded in this growth is its potential to create new opportunities for gender equality. However, if not properly engaged or utilized, AI also has the capacity to reinforce gender bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. AI is gaining a lot of attention through advancements in machine learning and the increasing use of algorithms for pattern recognition. It is used across various fields and sectors to shape our economic, political, cultural, and social interactions; used in areas such as approval of bank loans, job recruitment, medical diagnostics, etc.

World leaders and governments are showing their commitment to the growth of AI by investing heavily in it. The US government’s federal spending on AI rose to almost $1billion in 2020 - which is about a 50% increase from its spendings in 2018 and the Canadian government also invested about $125million in its AI strategy in 2017. The private sector on the other hand has a leading position in investment in AI. Global total AI investment by the private sector was over $50billion in 2021 with Nvidia Corp and Alphabet Inc (Google) in the forefront, owning a large portion of about 50% of the total investment. However, with the issues of accountability and privacy violation prevalent in the present digital platform operation, leaving the powerful tool of AI unchecked can foster some of social issues in the digital space including gender discrimination. Therefore, in order to truly advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender considerations and issues alongside regulatory policies need to be mainstreamed in AI.

Gender Bias and AI

The gender bias found in AI takes up two forms. Bias in terms of the exclusion of women from the AI sector and Bias found in the building of algorithms. Gender equality in the workplace has been a critical issue for decades. About 80% of the male gender make up the workforce of the AI industry with only about 18% female machine learning researchers. It should be of great concern that women make up only a small percentage of the technological workforce; an industry that is seen as a force for societal transformation.

The first steps in building algorithms are the selections of training datasets. AI-generated patterns, predictions and recommended actions are reflections of the accuracy, universality and reliability of the data sets used, as well as the inherent assumptions and biases of the developers of the algorithms employed. Although one can say that AI is as good as the people behind it, it is important to note that one of the potentials of AI lies in its capacity to generate new solutions within the limits of inputs received. This is a fundamental aspect that needs to be kept in mind while training and implementing AI solutions for better gender equality.  Preventing gender biases in software applications, therefore, calls for better corporate governance that includes diversity in hiring and retention practices and enabling a work culture where gender equality principles are explicit and prioritise accountability.

Diverse teams made up of both men and women are not just better at recognizing skewed data, but they're also more likely to spot issues that could have or result in negative societal outcomes. Thus, emphasising the need for higher participation of women and gender experts in the process of principle formulations at the foundation level, and an improvement in the representation of women in technical roles and in the boardrooms of tech companies. Talent acquisition, as well as women empowerment, will therefore be critical in bridging the gender gap in AI and helping women gain their ground in the industry.

The way forward in bridging the gap

Considering the two forms of gender bias mentioned above, the following are highlights of key issues and proposed recommendations that need to be addressed in order to bridge the gender gap in the AI industry.

• In the building of algorithms, an inclusive unbiased dataset needs be used as AI learn from historical patterns by predicting the future based on the past. Therefore, using historical records to train AI without being cautious about these biases is like repeating history, but this time with a more powerful tool.
• Women need to be given opportunities to play an active role in shaping the next generation of technologies, so diversity is considered, and stereotypes are not reproduced.
• Capacity building and empowerment of women through education at the grass-root level to help them break into the AI sector. Creating awareness of the AI industry for girls in schools to spark their interest and also providing support for women making career change to easily transition into the sector.
• Creation of a robust and gender-inclusive AI guidelines, principles, and codes of ethics within the technology industry to help regulate activities in the sector.

With the passing into law of the reformed Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA, 2020) which replaces the CAMA 1990 Act, Nigeria is uniquely positioned to be in the top 20 of doing business rating globally by 2030. At this time when the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), one of the world largest Continental Trade Area (CTA)- with 54 African member nations signed,  the reformed CAMA Act could be a big boost to the Ease-of-Doing-Business (EoDB) for Nigerian Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to flourish under a competitive environment. This piece highlights some of the critical changes which the new CAMA Act introduces to the principal framework regulating the business climate in Nigeria and how it could promote MSMEs to be competitive under the AfCFTA.

Background of Companies and Allied Matters Act in Nigeria

Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) is one of the critical pieces of legislation which enhances better business climate and promotes Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs). The Act provides a regulatory framework for how businesses should be carried out in the country.The CAMA 1990 Act, which repeal CAMA act of 1968 reshaped the business environment of Nigeria in the 90’s. CAMA 1990 was passed into law to establish the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), providing for the incorporation of companies and incidental matters, registration of business names and the incorporation of Trustees of certain Communities, bodies and Associations. The Act was promulgated to repeal the Companies Act of 1968. However, in the last 30 years of promulgation into law, the Nigerian corporate landscape has transformed with global and regional demand for business integration. Hence, the CAMA 1990 Act was heavily hamstrung by several provisions of the Act which limits modern business practices in the light of national and global reforms. 

The private sector had clamoured for a reformed CAMA because the economy has changed, there are new parameters in the way of doing business both domestically and internationally. As a result of this, the need for public-private partnership in promoting sustainability in the business climate of the country after several attempts to review the CAMA 1990 was inevitable. Also, technological innovation in the business sector had propelled for collaboration for a new legislation that would align with global business practices. The signing into law of the CAMA 2020 has raised hope for the private sector with the recent regional trade integration (AfCFTA). However, without effective monitoring and implementation, this new reform especially in promoting MSMEs which are drivers of growth in developing nations would never fulfil its purpose. 

Figure 1.

Source: World Bank Group- Doing Business Reports

Nigeria had never been ranked in the global top 50 economies by the Doing Business report of the World Bank since inception, but the country had a steady EoDB score as shown in Figure 1. Also, Nigeria is reported as one of the 20 improvers of the ease in doing business among others- Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, and India.

The impact of CAMA 2020 Act in the Ease of Doing Business

The objective of the reformed CAMA 2020 Act is to promote legislation for regulatory quality and efficiency which would enable efficient EoDB for Nigerian businesses in general, and MSMEs in particular. MSMEs are the engine of growth for most developing nations. As can be expected, without reforms for enabling business environments to sync with global business evolution, most businesses may shut down due to economic and environmental shocks. It follows logically that without reforms in a rapidly changing global market, most firms-MSMEs especially may not survive beyond the unanticipated COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, the reformed CAMA 2020 Act among other things, made the starting and running of business more seamless and less expensive by operationalizing electronic platforms that integrate the tax authority and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Considering that Nigeria is largely dominated by Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), making business registration or company incorporation easier will bring in more businesses into the formal space. This also will enhance tax revenue for the government.  The Act has 870 sections and divided into 7 parts as against 612 sections in the repealed Act of 1990. 167 sections were completely new, while 91 sections were modified.

 Some of the major alterations made to the Act which directly promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria compared to the repealed Act and its implications on EoDB are highlighted in Table 1 below:

Table 1.

The amendments made in the CAMA 2020 Act may positively impact the EoDB in Nigeria especially at this time when the AfCFTA is implemented. Although, the Act had factored in new methods while embracing technological changes in the business world. It is expected that without practical implementation of the CAMA 2020 by the CAC, the country’s business landscape would not catch up with international business practices. Therefore, it is hoped that the practical administration of the new CAMA will help ease the strain of doing business, and will enhance productivity and promote ease of doing business in Nigeria.