SINCE Tuesday, a video shared on Twitter by special assistant to the president on digital and media, Tolu Ogunlesi, has triggered negative reactions, with many accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of not really answering a question asked or even doubting the clip’s authenticity. But checks by The ICIR have shown these allegations to be misleading.

The four-minute-long video shows Buhari’s speech, following a prompt from the moderator, during a panel of world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit held in New York on Monday.

“President Buhari, Nigeria has a very young population. Perhaps you might highlight what a pathway for a resilient future looks like,” the moderator said.

And in his prepared response, Buhari started by saying: “Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. I share the sentiment expressed by the Secretary-General that the world is on the verge of climate catastrophe. Undeniably, Climate Change is a human-induced phenomenon.

“It is now imperative that we must step-up our collective climate actions in line with the request of the Secretary-General. It is in this regard that I wish to reiterate Nigeria’s commitment to its obligation under the Paris Agreement, the aspirations enshrined in our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and ensure a resilient future that mainstreams climate risks in our decision making.”

He then announced Nigeria’s various plans to tackle climate change, promote afforestation, ensure the availability of potable water, and improve waste management.

Reacting to the clip, a number of Twitter users criticised Buhari for not answering the question logically and rather reading a written speech.

Rights activist and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement, Aisha Yesufu, teased Buhari and his supporters in several tweets.

“The WhatsApp meeting has been concluded and BMC has given Buharists their narrative. They are using RESILIENT from the question. They never fail to disappoint just like the incompetent clueless and inept Muhammadu Buhari they defend,” she wrote on Wednesday.

“At the end someone will tell Muhammadu Buhari that he did well and poor man will be feeling cool! Our enemies are usually the people with us who don’t tell us the truth,” she also tweeted. “No need engaging Buharists on their RESILIENT narrative. Let them have fun. It must be a herculean task defending the incompetence, ineptitude and cluelessness of Muhammadu Buhari.”

Saint Xavier (@SaintXavier2) also wrote in response to Ogunlesi’s tweet: “He was asked the place of the Nigerian youth in Nigeria’s future, but he read a readily prepared script that’s on climate change. Down this thread, all I see is people praising him for at least being able to read. That’s how hypocrisy numbs the brain and create mediocrity. Akpor!” His response has been retweeted 106 times and liked by 561 users.

“No connection between the question and the answer or did I miss anything?” Anene Chukwuemeka (@EmexOD) observed briefly.

No, it is not doctored

Checks by The ICIR revealed that the footage is not inaccurate and represents what truly transpired at the UN summit on Monday.

This is evident from a four-hour-long video of the morning session uploaded by the United Nations on YouTube. This version does not have the subtitle and transition included in the video released by the Presidency Office of Digital Engagement (PODE).

Other panellists read prepared remarks as well

The panel where Buhari presented Nigeria’s environment-friendly plans also had in attendance Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji; Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England; and John Haley, CEO of Willis Towers Watson.

Three minutes was allotted to each speaker for their contribution.

An assessment by The ICIR showed that the moderator’s remarks were not direct questions but simply prompts to introduce the panellists’ presentations as well as their country or organisation’s backgrounds.

In introducing Prime Minister Rutte for example, she had said: “The Netherlands is doing a lot on adaptation and resilience at home and abroad. Prime Minister Rutte, you have the floor.”

And she simply told Willis Towers Watson’s CEO, “Mr Haley, the Secretary-General is delighted that you are here today to launch a private sector-led initiative to strengthen the market for resilient investment. You have the floor.”

Just like Buhari, the Prime Ministers of Fiji and the Netherlands read entirely from pre-written speeches addressing similar questions of what their countries are doing to tackle climate change.

Carney and Haley appeared to briefly introduce their presentations extemporaneously before moving to read from their written remarks.

Comments ‘horribly wrong’, replies Ogunlesi

In an article published on Wednesday, Ogunlesi accused the Twitter users of “getting things horribly wrong and/or focusing on the wrong things, while completely missing the real/meaningful/actual message”.

The summit, he explained, was convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as an opportunity for world leaders to “come to New York on 23 September with concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade”.

The theme of the panel where Buhari was featured was “Towards a Resilient Future” and the rider was, “Announcement of plans to mainstream climate risk in decision making.”

“In other words, panellists were billed to deliver remarks announcing their country/organisation plans to build a resilient, climate-sensitive, future,” the special assistant noted. “President Buhari chose to deliver prepared remarks.

“And the moderator’s question, was, in keeping with the theme: ‘President Buhari, Nigeria has a very young population; perhaps you might highlight what a pathway for a resilient future looks like?’

“The President did exactly that, in his prepared remarks, over the next few minutes, highlighting what a ‘resilient future’ will look like in Nigeria — by focusing on the administration’s policies (the ones already being implemented, like the Green Bonds, and the ones set for implementation, like the new tree-planting campaign, and the energy mix target).

“His prepared remarks were wholly in alignment with the theme of the Panel event, and the question he was asked.”

Ogunlesi argued that it was up to Buhari to choose whether to respond extemporaneously or “to go the prepared remarks way”.

“He chose the prepared remarks way. And most importantly, he touched on the issues re: mainstreaming climate action for the future and for the young people of Nigeria,” he added.

By Damilola OJETUNDE.

THE Federal Government on Tuesday, September 3 commissioned what it claimed to be the largest off-grid hybrid solar power plant at the Bayero University, Kano. The plant was commissioned by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

The claim

“The Federal Government, under the Rural Electricity Agency, will commission the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa at Bayero University, Kano (BUK) under the Energizing Education Programme (EEP) today. The project will provide 55,815 students and 3,077 staff with constant electricity supply from the university’s 7.1MW solar hybrid power plant.”

The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Damilola Ogunbiyi, stated that “This is the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa; We, as Nigerians, should be very proud of, thanks to the commitment of the Federal Government towards sustainable energy and education.

The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, in a tweet on Tuesday also shared from his handle that he would accompany the Vice President to commission the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant. The post has been retweeted about 189 times and liked by 442 people as at the time of filing this report.

The same claim was shared on the official Twitter handle of the Federal Government of Nigeria, @NigeriaGov.

The tweet reads: “The @NigeriaGov (federal government), under the @realREANigeria (REA) will commission the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa at Bayero University, Kano (BUK) under the Energizing Education Programme (EEP) today.”

What is a hybrid solar power plant?

A hybrid power plant is one that generates power by using two or more sources of energy. It also refers to a combination of solar and energy storage. The plant combines solar power from a  power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of converting light into electricity.

Verification

To verify this claim, The ICIR did a search of the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa on the internet and also visited websites of contractors who have constructed solar hybrid power plants. The findings revealed that the commissioned power plant at the Bayero University, Kano is not the largest on the continent.

The largest hybrid solar power plant is in Burkina Faso. In March 2018, Wartsila, a power engineering firm completed the world’s largest solar hybrid power plant.

The power plant has a capacity of 15MWp (megawatt peak), doubling that of the BUK plant, and was awarded by the global renewable energy independent power producer, Total Eren, and African Energy Management Platform (AEMP).

As part of the verification process for the claim, Etore Thomas, the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Power, could not respond to calls and messages sent when The ICIR contacted her even as she read the message sent to her via WhatsApp.

The ICIR contacted Ayang Ogbe, Director of Promotion (Information and Outreach) at the Rural Electrification Agency ( REA). Ogbe referred The ICIR to the website of the REA where numbers of who to talk to can be gotten. However, calls placed to the numbers could not be reached.

We also contacted Wartsila, the engineering firm responsible for the construction of the largest solar hybrid power plant. Wartsila confirmed that the project in Burkina Faso is currently the largest solar hybrid power plant.

“I confirm that the project delivered by Wärtsilä in Essakane, Burkina Faso is to date the world’s largest solar hybrid project and therefore larger than the one delivered in Nigeria,” wrote Fabien Cadaut, Area Marketing Manager of Wärtsilä’s Africa Energy Business.

Conclusion

It is certain that Nigeria is not home to the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa. Rather, Burkina Faso, another country in west Africa is.

The claim that the BUK off-grid solar hybrid power plant is the largest in Africa is, therefore, INCORRECT.

By Rebecca Akinremi.

THE claim about the reduction in tuition fee of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) has been made by two popular social media users, both on Facebook and Twitter.

A Facebook group called PDP Social Media Observer Group posted on September 10 that Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State governor, reduced the tuition fee of LAUTECH to 65,000.

The group wrote: “Gov Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has reduced the tuition fee of LAUTECH from N250,000 to N65,000.

It described that as what “a governor should be”.

The group which itself has 62, 379 followers, at the time of writing, made the post more prominent as not less than 1,500 people shared it, while it received more than 1,200 likes.

Most of the comments on the group show that quite a number of people have believed in the information as some people commended the governor for the job done.

Earlier on September 6, a similar claim was made on Twitter.

Oladele Dada who posted the information was funded by United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to study Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue course at the Athabasca University, Canada which he completed in 2015.

He had a total follower of 6,369 people as at the time of writing this report.

https://twitter.com/realoladele/status/1169874972321316864?s=20

But checks by The ICIR revealed that the tuition fee of the University was not reduced to N65, 000. In fact, the institution fee has not been reviewed in 2019.

It is not from us — Media Aide to Governor Makinde

Chief Press Secretary to Makinde, Taiwo Adisa, told The ICIR that the Oyo State Government has no capacity to unilaterally reduce the tuition fee of the institution.

“The school belongs to two states. How can one of them now announce that it has cut the school fees when there are two owners,”  he said.

“It is not from us,” Adisa disassociated the state government from the post.

LAUTECH is jointly owned by Oyo  and Osun states.

Makinde had only recently said on September 5 that Oyo  State Government was ready to pay the Osun State’s share of the salary for the university staff.

“We’ve signed for workers’ payments but since it’s owned by both Osun and Oyo states, unfortunately, Osun State has not paid. This can not continue.

“Oyo State will have to pay the salary of LAUTECH (Osun’s share) because I don’t want the students to suffer,” Makinde had said.

No directive to review the tuition fees- LAUTECH spokesperson

Fadeyi Lekan, spokesperson of the institution, said the school has not received any directive to the effect of reviewing of the tuition fees in 2019. He added that the last time it was reviewed was 2018.

“We have not received such a directive,” said Lekan.

According to Agboola Sodeeq, a 200 level student in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering in LAUTECH, the tuition fee of the school ranges from N90,000 to N170,000.

He said the school has not made any statement regarding any reduction of the tuition fees. Sodeeq said the last time the fee was reviewed was in 2018.

He noted that the tuition fee for the indigenes of both Osun and Oyo states is different from the one non-indigenes pay.

“The indigenes pay N140,000, N120,000 and N90,000 in their 100, 200 and 300-500 levels respectively.

“Non-indigenes pay N170,000, N150,000 and N100,000 in their 100, 200, and 300-500 levels in that order,” he said.

Verdict

Thus, the claim that the governor of Oyo State has reduced the tuition fee of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) is false.

By ‘Kunle ADEBAJO.

FOLLOWING recent xenophobic attacks and violent reactions in Nigeria that have seen properties of companies believed to be owned by South Africans being damaged in protest, some have claimed that Shoprite, one of the affected companies, is a franchise brand and local stores are owned and managed by Nigerians.

“Shoprite in Nigeria is not owned by a South African,” one Twitter user, @HustlerVibez, with 23,900 followers wrote.

“Nigerians own it!! It’s a fucking franchise. Y’all are hurting your own people. You Nigerians should read more cause some of y’all are just plain stupid.”

The tweet has been liked over 3,600 times and shared by over 2,300 users. Several other users of the social media platform have made similar statements. But checks by The ICIR show that the claim is incorrect.

Our findings

The Shoprite Group has repeatedly referred to its stores in Nigeria and other countries as corporate stores. It did so in its 2017 integrated report, where it stated that it has 2,301 corporate stores across Africa, with 23 of them located in Nigeria. It  also did the same thing in its integrated report of 2018 when the number increased to 2,425 across Africa and 24 in Nigeria.

At the end of June 2019, Shoprite operated a total of 2,934 outlets in 15 countries: including 2,319 corporate stores, 25 of which are in Nigeria (24 Shoprite stores and one Usave store).

Corporate stores are different from franchise stores. According to Stefon Walters, author of Finessin’ Finances, in the case of retail franchising, a company “licenses its intellectual property, business procedures, business model and brand to a franchisee who then owns and operates the store”. He explains that the franchisee pays an upfront cost and then subsequently pays royalty fees to the brand owner. He must also uphold the corporate policies agreed upon.

On the other hand, in the case of corporate stores, “the parent company is solely responsible for all stores’ business-related activities. From picking retail locations to hiring employees to operations to tax planning, they handle it all”. This is also the explanation of Encyclopedia Britannica and US-based franchise consulting firm Accurate Franchising.

Shoprite, however, also has up to 418 franchise outlets, but these are not in Nigeria. Its OK Franchise Division, existing in South Africa, Namibia and Swaziland, franchises “five different types of retail formats (OK Foods, OK Grocer, OK MiniMark, OK Express & Sentra), a liquor outlet (OK Liquor) and a wholesale outlet (Megasave)”.

1.5 per cent of Shoprite staff in Nigeria

While Shoprite generally employs 147,478, over 2,000 of these are staff in Nigeria. The local subsidiary states that 99 per cent of its workers are Nigerian citizens and it has built a relationship with “over 300 leading Nigerian suppliers, small businesses, and farmers”.

Indirect subsidiary

Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Ltd is listed as an indirect subsidiary of Shoprite Holdings Limited in its financial statements of 2018, unlike some of its companies in South Africa and Mauritius. This was registered in Nigeria, according to the Corporate Affairs Commission, in 2004, and is based in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Parent companies do not have complete control over indirect subsidiaries and do not have enough interests to entirely affect their operations. An instance of this is a joint venture where one of the founding companies has more than 50 per cent interest. Indirect subsidiaries may be formed in order to raise capital or attract skilled partners.

Verdict

While it is incorrect to say Shoprite stores in Nigeria are owned and run by Nigerians, they are managed by an indirect subsidiary of the parent company. This means other individuals or corporate bodies have financial stakes in the venture.

It is also the case that Shoprite employs over 2000 people in the country, mostly Nigerians, and sells products from Nigerian farmers and local businesses.

By ‘Kunle ADEBAJO.

IN August 2019 many news outlets reported that the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, was burning at an alarming rate.

The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in Brazil, the country home to more than two-thirds of the forest, recorded over 70,000 fires across the region in 2019.

Many people have shared images of the fires and of animals killed in them on social media channels. But not all the burnt wild animals in the photos in circulation died in the Amazon.

In one popular tweet, shared over 3,700 times and liked by more than 4,200 users at the time of writing, a US woman shared four pictures of charred bodies of animals. She wrote that the photos showed “only few of that [sic] animals that have been affected by the fire. We must protect our wildlife #AmazonFire #PrayForTheAmazon”.

Reverse image search shows photos old

But all four photos in the post are from fires not in the Amazon rainforest, reverse image searches revealed.

The first photo appeared in reports on forest fires in the Aysén region of Chile in February 2019.

The second seems to show a crocodile burnt in Guanacaste National Park in Costa Rica during a forest fire in April 2016. 

The third photo appeared in a report of a fire near Mendoza, a city in Argentina, in January 2018.

And in February 2019, Social Media Hoax Slayer reported that the fourth picture shows a lizard that died in a forest fire in Guatemala. The site linked to a May 2016 report by Prensa Comunitaria, a local news agency in the country, which credited the image to Telenoticias de Petén.

While the Amazon rainforest really is on fire, the four photos in this widely shared tweet are from much earlier time and elsewhere.

This fact-check was produced as part of an Africa Check fellowship completed by ‘Kunle Adebajo, a journalist at Nigeria’s International Centre for Investigative Reporting.