BusinessDay 02 Oct 2020

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news you can trust ** friday 02 october 2020 I vol. 19, no 663

Economy: Buhari explains why petroleum prices must be adjusted ANTHONY AILEMEN, ISAAC ANYAOGU & DIPO OLADEHINDE

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igeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the country must further adjust petroleum prices in the wake of current global realities.

The president, in his early morning national broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 60th Independence anniversary, said the country’s revenue had experienced a 60 percent decline in the wake of current global coronavirus pandemic resulting in insufficient funds to meet budgetary needs.

“In addition to public health challenges of working to contain the spread of the coronavirus, we have suffered a significant drop in our foreign exchange earnings and internal revenues

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Nigeria declines in volume of movie production, soars in quality

As DVD gives way to cinemas, streaming platforms

OBINNA EMELIKE

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hile the global audiences are looking forward to Nollywood, t h e Ni g e r i a n movie industry, overtaking the

Indian movie industry after surpassing America’s Hollywood in production, the quantity of movies produced annually by Nollywood has declined heavily in recent times.

The African leading movie industry, which used to produce

an average of 2,500 movies annually in the 1990s and 2000, is now offering the market less than 1,000 movies annually, at a time the world is expecting the industry to increase production and possibly overtake Bollywood, the largest movie producer in

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Inside

Sanusi, Kolade, Peterside see Nigeria’s growth in meritocracy, accountability P. 2 Aig-Imoukhuede calls for PPPs to preserve our planet at UN summit on biodiversity P. 2

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President Muhammadu Buhari signing anniversary register during the Nigeria’s 60th Independence Day celebration in Abuja, yesterday. With him are L-R: Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to the President; Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker, House of Representatives; Patience Jonathan, former first lady; Former President Goodluck Jonathan; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and Aisha Buhari, first lady.

NAN

the world.

Currently, Nollywood produces an average of 700 films in a year with about $590 million annual revenue.

The development has also led to the disappearance of DVD as the most popular entertainment content format, while running the once-thriving DVD market, their distributors and producers out of business.

Emeka Onwubuya, CEO, TMT Movies, a movie distribution company, notes that the number of production is down because the trend now is highbudget movie, which gulps huge amount, takes time to produce and often premieres in cinemas or for streaming platforms.

“For you to produce a movie that will show in cinemas or that Netflix will stream on its platform, it has to be quality. The focus has shifted from quantity to quality now and it is impacting production figures,” Onwubuya says.

Speaking on the development, Kunle Afolayan, CEO, Golden Effects Pictures, and award-wining Nigerian movie producer, decries that NollyContinues on page 30

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news Aig-Imoukhuede calls for PPPs to preserve Sanusi, Kolade, Peterside see Nigeria’s growth in meritocracy, accountability our planet at UN summit on biodiversity Michael Ani &Temitayo Ayetoto appointed from each state, it Christopher Kolade, a dip- fuel subsidy funding, which he fails to require qualifications lomat and academic, speak- describedasadecade-oldscam.

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igboje AigImoukhuede, a Nigerian banker, investor and philanthropist on September 30, 2020, appealed to business leaders, investors and heads of government on the urgency to collectively fight for the preservation of biodiversity of the planet at the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The summit, a high-level virtual summit organised by H.E. Volkan Bozkir to support the first United Nations Summit on Biodiversity at the level of heads of state and government was themed “urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development.”

Speaking as the sole African non-state actor at the summit, Aigboje made a case for sustainable business practices and public-private partnerships to support biodiversity. The loss of biodiversity is not only an environmental issue, but also a developmental, economic, health, security and moral one, he said.

The UN reveals that biodiversity is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, with growing impacts on people and our planet and Africa is no exception. Bringing this home to Africa, Aigboje noted, “Africa is immensely rich in biodiversity and yet by the end of this century, Africa could lose up to 30 percent of its entire animal and plant species as a result of excessive exploitation, unsustainable industrialization, deforestation, pollution and many harmful human activities.”

In 2012, Aigboje led Nigerian banks and the central bank in the adoption of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles, making a business case for private sector

activism, stating, “Biodiversity provides annual benefits valued at approximately $120 trillion – more than the entire world economy. In contrast, the global financing needs for achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity is less than 1 percent of its annual economic benefits.

“It is the moral duty of every leader in the world who enjoys the privilege of responsibility to join the fight to save our planet. “Governments have a key role in enacting policies and programmes to protect and restore the earth’s ecosystems, including establishing incentives to encourage sustainable business practices as well as sustainable investments.

“However, the fight to save our biodiversity conservation should not be left to government alone, it requires multifaceted global efforts and collaborations by all stakeholders including the private sector, especially corporate leaders and executives.”

There is increased urgency to demonstrate leadership and commitment to improve our relationship with nature.

“The appearance of Covid-19 has shown that when we destroy biodiversity, we destroy the system that supports human life. If we continue at our current rate, the loss of biodiversity will undermine progress towards achieving 80% of the SDGs.” The summit is critical to galvanise urgent action to protect biodiversity, and to build political momentum and raise ambitions for the development of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, to be adopted in 2021. “The time to act is now,” he said, “delays and inaction may prove too costly for you and I.”

At 60, ICT contribution to GDP rises, but infrastructure investment fails to impress FRANK ELEANYA

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he information and communication technology (ICT) sector accounts for 15.09 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), as of the second quarter of 2020. It is a rise from 9.99 percent recorded in the previous quarter and a very big jump from 4.1 percent recorded in 2004, three years after the country issued its first telecom licence to the

private sector.

By this record, the ICT sector is the second-largest contributor to the Nigerian economy overtaking the oil sector for the second quarter in a row. Earlier in 2020, the current executive vice-chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) said the sector had attracted $70 billion in investment so far. Sadly, it has failed to uplift the infrastructure to

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L

eading voices of socioeconomic stability in Nigeria, Atedo Peterside, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Christopher Kolade have urged the government to prioritise meritocracy and accountability over individual and ethno-religious sentiments to drive Nigeria’s growth.

They spoke on charting ways forward during 2020 edition of ‘The Platform,’ a programme organised by Poju Oyemade, founder of The Covenant Nation, marking Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary, yesterday.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Emir of Kano, said pursuing the Federal Character policy of drawing representatives from respective states of the country at the expense of merit and competence will continue to hamper Nigeria’s development.

According to Sanusi, despite the constitution providing for ministers to be

that demonstrate appointees possess the capacity to deliver their mandate.

This trend, Sanusi said, profits individual interests and pushes the collective development of the country into jeopardy.

“When someone is appointed to a public office, what are the expectations and deliveries? There must be a periodic assessment, which should be public and transparent. What do you need to do to remain in an office? Is it to deliver or to just be loyal?”

Sanusi asked.

“So, if you take a minister from Kano, it doesn’t matter.

He could be the most uneducated human being. So long as he is from Kano, you tick that box,” he said.

The former central bank governor noted that the elephant in the room was the destructive trend of decimating institutions into tools that serve the interest of whoever occupied the executive position.

ing earlier on why lack of public trust in government is rife 60 years after independence, said representatives of the people often fail to give an account of their stewardship.

The country, according to Kolade, is not sensitively appropriated by individuals, and politics is prioritised over good governance as political parties derail from their objectives.

“If you represent somebody, you find out what the person really wants and you have an obligation to give an account of what you have done with the opportunity to be a representative. But they represent themselves and do not account to stakeholders,” Kolade said.

If the nation must move ahead, Sanusi urged that the politics of identity wielded by Nigeria’s elite in competing for the ‘national cake’ must be deemphasised.

Economically, he commended the government for discarding the anachronistic

However, he said, the country needs to encourage the movement of capital into production, explore diversification, invest in human capital development among youths and cater to the needs of girls’ education.

Creating opportunities for girls to escape poverty could solve intergenerational poverty and even maternal and child mortality, Sanusi said.

Having a progressive attitude to the rights of women, more than half of the population helps the country, he said.

Atedo Peterside, an investment banker and founder of Anap Foundation, said Nigeria was making a big mistake by not harnessing the potentials of its growing youthful population.

For him, the country has made it difficult for youths to attain positions on merit in various public organisations, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the central bank, among others.

Members of the #RevolutionNow protesting over lack of basic amenities in Nigeria during the Independence Day celebration in Lagos, yesterday.

At $89bn in 18yrs, illegal capital flight from Nigeria 2nd highest in Africa Endurance Okafor

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n almost two decades, an estimated $89 billion, equivalent to 18.69 percent of Nigeria’s GDP, left the country as illicit capital flight, according to UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2020.

The proceeds from oil export misinvoicing at $44 billion and $45 billion from import misinvoicing between 1996 and 2014 contribute to an average of $4.94 billion per year of capital flight from Nigeria, which is wealth sent

and held abroad.

Out of the 11 African countries reviewed by the UN’s trade and development body, Nigeria is only better than South Africa ($198bn) in terms of the value of illegal capital flight. The capital flight ($89bn) from Africa’s largest economy is higher than that of Ghana ($20.6bn) and Egypt ($32.6bn) put together ($53.2bn).

“Like the concept of migration, illicit financial flows have countries of origin and destination, and there are several transit locations,”

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President Muhammadu Buhari was quoted to have said.

According to the president of the most populous nation in Africa, the “fact remains that the funds involved often come from jurisdictions with scarce resources for development financing, depleted foreign reserves, a drastic reduction in collectable revenue, tax underpayment or evasion and poor investment in-flows.”

Analysis of the 2020 report by UNCTAD shows that Nigeria accounts for an estimated 46 percent of the

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capital flight on the continent, based on average estimates for 2013–2015, and 80 percent of the capital flight in Western Africa.

Nigeria’s annual estimated capital flight of $4.94 billion in the review period is 48.35 percent higher than the $3.33 billion reported for Angola (total of $60bn), Africa’s largest crude producer after Nigeria.

The UN’s trade and development body believes that capital flight is a significant problem in Nigeria. Despite

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PIB seeks creation of 3 new agencies, development of host communities KAMARUDEEN OGUNDELE, Abuja

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he new Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 submitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari seeks to protect and hasten development of host communities.

A copy of the bill sighted

by BusinessDay also seeks to scrap the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and replace them with a new agency to be known as Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA).

According to section 29 of the PIB, the authority shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of midstream and upstream petroleum operations in the industry.

It shall ensure the efficient, safe, effective and sustainable infrastructure development of midstream and downstream petroleum operations.

It shall as well promote, establish and develop a positive environment for international and domestic investment in midstream and downstream operations.

It shall also determine appropriate tariff methodology for processing of natural gas, transportation and transmis-

sion of natural gas, transportation of crude oil and bulk storage of crude oil and natural gas.

The authority shall also set cost benchmarks for the operations and provide pricing and tariff frameworks for natural gas in midstream and downstream gas operations and petroleum products based on the fair market value of the applicable petroleum products.

Money shall be appropriated to the authority on a first line charge.

The bill also proposes the establishment of Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.

The commission shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of upstream petroleum operations. It shall also ensure that upstream operations are carried out in a minimise waste and achieve optimal government revenues, promote an enabling environment for investment and ensure strict implementation of environmental policies, laws and regulations for upstream.

According to section 11 (2), appointments to the board of the commission shall be made by the president and be subject to the confirmation by the senate, except for the appointment of the ex-officio members under subsection (2)

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(e), (f) and (g).

On the commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to become Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the bill proposes that the NNPC Ltd will be incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act by the minister of petroleum.

It says “the minister shall at the incorporation of NNPC Ltd, consult with the minister of finance to determine the number and nominal value of the shares to be allotted, which shall form the initial paid-up share capital of NNPC Ltd and the government shall subscribe and pay cash for the shares. “Ownership of all shares in NNPC Ltd shall be vested in the government at incorporation and held by the Ministry of Finance incorporated on behalf of the government.

According to section 53(4), the ministry of finance incorporated in consultation with the government may increase the equity capital of NNPC Ltd. Section 53(5) says shares held by the government in NNPC Ltd are not transferable, including by way of sale, assignment, mortgage or pledge unless approved by the government.

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60 years of Nigeria defeating Nigerians DAVID HUNDEYIN

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n 1976, a young man returned to Nigeria after his university program to commence his youth service year.

He was posted to Sokoto where against all odds, he fell in love with the extreme weather and the rustic environment. Working in the civil service, he distinguished himself and received the highest recommendation from his bosses.

When the year was over, he expected that as was customary, he would be asked to stay and take up a full time position in the civil service.

Instead, he was told that such positions were reserved for indigenes and those from Northern Nigeria. “If you’re looking for a full time position, you’ll have to go back to your Lagos,” he was told, “The best we can offer you is a renewable 6-month contract.”

Bear in mind that at the time, being a first class university graduate with a promising resume was an almost guaranteed passport to success in Nigeria. Being offered a short term contract was nothing short of an insult as far as he was concerned.

Decades later after returning to Lagos and building a very successful career there, he would recount the story to his youngest son who would listen with rapt attention.

He would tell him that he did everything he was supposed to do and followed every rule and yet Nigeria still found a way to deny him. He couldn’t help the fact that he was from Lagos and it should not have

mattered anyway, he would say. Summing up the story, he would tell his little boy, “I learned that there is no such thing as ‘One Nigeria.’ Also, Nigeria is not fair, so you must protect your own interests at all times. This country is a jungle.”

The little boy who heard these words grew up, finished school, started his own career, watched his beloved old man die, and is currently dealing with several iterations of the same issue of Nigeria defeating the purest aspirations of its people. That boy is also the writer of this article. From 1960 through 1976 and down to 2020, it would seem as though Nigeria’s only proven existential function is to defeat Nigerians and create human sorrow.

‘Engage and don’t antagonise’ In 2020, 4 and a half decades after David Hundeyin Snr realised that Nigeria was set up to destroy his ambitions and he would have to constantly fight against the odds if he wanted more, it is more of the same. Not satisfied with merely denying its people of the resources and opportunities that other people take for granted in countries that are theoretically poorer, Nigeria is now a place where young people in the productive urban areas of the south effectively live under hostile occupation.

Going out and coming back home in one piece and without molestation at the hands of the Nigerian state has now become a genuine prayer point for its famously religious inhabitants. Rather than take a step back and ponder the absurdity of being terrified of what essentially amounts to their own elected government, young Nigerians have been trained to put their heads down, lie down quietly, take it and hope it will be someone else’s turn next time. Where my dad chose the “fight” option and taught his boys to likewise attack the world and beat it into their own vision

if it would not be agreeable, this is clearly not a popular position.

I was amazed and disappointed in equal measure to see a prominent campaigner against police brutality proclaim that his campaign was intended to “engage and not antagonise” the authorities.

He further proclaimed that the police whom according to House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, now inspire more fear in Nigerians than criminals, “are also victims” of the system.

Once again it appears that Nigeria has defeated even the best of it, and convinced them that demanding an end to rape, abduction, assault and murder at the hands of the operatives of an elected government is akin to “antagonising” them. We are all supposed to operate on the terms dictated by a country that has spent 60 years showing us in infinitely colourful ways that it does not give a hoot about our lives, hopes, dreams or ambitions.

You don’t have to accept it - but you’ve chosen to If you read up to this point expecting it to be another “awa kontiri e nor good o” type article, you should probably stop reading now because this is where I turn my eyes from the page, look you in the eye and tell you very directly - this is your fault. Nigeria is your doing. You are the one who makes the decision everyday to be defeated by a country that has no new tricks. You are the owner of your own destiny who has chosen to allow someone bamboozle or bully you into subservience. Nigeria does not have to be a mess, but since you have decided to politely “engage” (if at all), instead of loudly and vigorously asserting your personhood, why would it change?

What is the reason that the security services that are meant to protect you now openly hunt you like a human game? What

‘

Once again it appears that Nigeria has defeated even the best of it, and convinced them that demanding an end to rape, abduction, assault and murder at the hands of the operatives of an elected government is akin to “antagonising” them

Hundeyin is a writer, travel addict and journalist majoring in politics, tech and finance. He tweets @ DavidHundeyin.

Between you and I / Between you and me: Demystifying the usages of personal pronouns

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ersonal pronouns are deployed to specifically refer to persons or things. They constitute the most difficult aspect of pronouns for both native speakers of English and second-language users because they exhibit certain features, one of which is their ‘cases’. Three fundamental cases have been identified for personal pronouns thus: The subjective (or nominative) case: I, we, you, he, she, it and they.

The objective case: me, us, you, him, her, it and them.

The possessive case: mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its and theirs.

Instructively, the choice of subjective or objective cases in sentences is not arbitrary. The inference, therefore, is that certain English rules dictate what choice can be made in different contexts, and this treatise throws light on such rules. First and foremost, the subjective forms are used in the position of the subject, which is otherwise regarded as the performer of an action. This generates example sentences like: 1. Him changed one thousand naira for five two hundreds (incorrect).

He changed one thousand naira for five two hundreds (correct).

2. You and me like singing (incorrect).

You and I like singing (correct).

In those contexts, it is glaringly apparent that the personal pronouns are used in the doer positions; hence, the option of the subjective case. Following that, the subjective form is also used in the subject complement position.

Subject complements are simply nouns or pronouns that refer to the subject, and they succeed linking verbs such as is, are, am, was, were and seem. This grammatical situation is convincingly exemplified below: 3. It was her (incorrect).

It was she (correct).

The general reader should note that although the first sentence sounds natural; is recommended by some descriptive grammarians; and is heard among native speakers — especially in informal settings — it flouts the rule of standard usage. In that connection, grammar purists (or prescriptive grammarians) often frown upon the former usage. Consequentially, I would rather individuals aligned themselves with the standard usage while sitting standard examinations, as well as when conversing in formal settings. To further clarify this rule, it is noteworthy that the example sentences can be extended as: It was her (who did it) = Her did it — incorrect.

It was she (who did it) = She did it — correct.

In a similar vein, these are obtainable: 4. It is me who am the CEO of the multinational (incorrect).

It is I who am the CEO of the multinational (correct).

5. It was them who won the silverware (incorrect).

It was they who won the silverware (correct).

6. It was him who scaled the hurdles (incorrect).

It was he who scaled the hurdles (correct).

Contrariwise, the objective forms are used when the pronoun follows an action verb, as evidenced below: 7. She left we (incorrect).

She left us (correct).

8. Do you know he (incorrect)?

Do you know him (correct)?

9. Let we the students cooperate with the teachers (incorrect).

Let us the students cooperate with the teachers (correct).

10. Allow them to depart any minute now (correct). www.businessday.ng

The objective forms are also preferred after prepositions, which are words that indicate the relationship between two elements. Commonplace examples are in, at, on, of, between, beside, for and whatnot. Their occurrence with the personal pronouns is illustrated in the following sentences: 11. Between you and I, this relationship cannot work (incorrect).

Between you and me, this relationship cannot work (correct).

12. John’s father put the blame on you and I (incorrect) John’s father put the blame on you and me (correct).

13. It is impossible for you and I to travel to the Gambia (incorrect).

It is impossible for you and me to travel to the Gambia (correct).

14. She kept staring at he (incorrect).

She kept staring at him (correct).

15. According to she, the weather will be superb today (incorrect).

According to her, the weather will be superb today (correct).

Another essential rule is the preference for the subjective pronouns after the conjunctions ‘as’ and ‘than’. Textbook examples in this circumstance are: 16. He is as tall as him (incorrect).

He is as tall as he (correct).

17. She is more intelligent than them (incorrect).

She is more intelligent than they (correct).

These sentences can be further elucidated as: He is as tall as I (am tall) — correct.

He is as tall as me (is tall) — incorrect.

She is more intelligent than they (are intelligent) — correct.

She is more intelligent than them (are intel-

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is the reason Nigeria’s legislature churns out bill after bill expressly going after your social freedoms, rule of law and property rights? What is the reason Nigeria works hard to exploit every available opportunity to make life difficult for you instead of doing a fraction of what other countries manage to do for their citizens? Why can’t you have good things in life once you are in Nigeria?

It is because you have refused to push back where and when it counts. It is because you refuse to develop the ability to feel and sustain anger over a long period of time.

It is because you have the attention span of a goldfish, such that when the latest twitter hashtag dies down, your outrage dies with it. It is because you believe that a live dog is better than a dead lion, so you choose to kneel and cower in front of armed criminals in uniform, hoping that this will buy you some more time to experience the life of a dog.

You believe in existence instead of life, so you have given up the possibility of living like you could for the temporary assurance of living like you do. Whenever a maverick like someone mentioned at the outset who was trained to fight from a young age speaks up and threatens to make you feel bad about your voluntary enslavement, you predictably pile on them and drown out their voice so that you can communally share the mediocre comfort of misery in company.

For 60 years, this has been the case.

For another 60 years or more, it could well continue if the national entity as we know it somehow makes it that far. For as long as Nigerians continue to dress up their cowardice and mediocrity as “decorum” and equanimity, nothing is going to change.

THE GIFT OF GAB

GANIU BAMGBOSE ligent) — incorrect.

On a final note, it should be emphasised that, sometimes, both the subjective and objective variants of a personal pronoun could be appropriate in an instance, thereby generating two possible interpretations, as it is the case with the sentence below: She likes Dr GAB more than ___ (I, me).

The choice of ‘I’ will give the interpretation: She likes Dr GAB; I like Dr GAB. However, she likes Dr GAB more than I like Dr GAB. The choice of ‘me’, on the other hand, will imply that: She likes Dr GAB; she likes me.

Nonetheless, she likes Dr GAB more than she likes me.

In conclusion, it is important to affirm that the correctness of some sentences could almost alter their naturalness. Notwithstanding that, anyone who requires English language for formal transactions must be mindful of grammaticality.

Dr Bamgbose (Dr GAB) has a PhD in English and lectures at the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. He is a social commentator who writes on different issues of national concern and the author of daily online English lessons titled “English for Today” with hundreds of lessons available on his website www.englishdietng.com.

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Prospects for Agenda 2050 THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

OBADIAH MAILAFIA

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ithout much fanfare and drums, the federal government recently launched the Nigeria Agenda 2050 programme in Abuja.

Agenda 2050 is a long-term perspective plan that aims to reposition our country as one of the leading nations of the 21st century within the next 3 decades. It will be implemented within a framework of five-year Medium-Term National Development Plans (MNDPs). Several Technical Working Groups (TWGs) have been created. They range from the Macroeconomics Modelling Group to the International Relations and External Trade Group, of which yours sincerely is a member.

Agenda 2050 is a successor to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which expires this year ending. The ERGP came at the wake of one of the worst recessions in living memory. The APC-led administration was caught totally ill-prepared when global prices collapsed in 2015. And because they were not equipped to govern, they had no economic programme and no development strategy. Even the ERGP was something that was kind of foisted upon them.

It was not a truly home-grown solution as many would suppose.

I was a bit taken aback when the young men from a prestigious global consulting firm were the key people driving the project. Some of them

could have been my students when I was a business school Associate Professor in London in the nineties.

They also added insult to injury by bringing another expert all the way from Malaysia to assist with the implementation framework. The man, to my knowledge, had virtually no understanding of the dynamics and peculiarities of the Nigerian political economy.

Agenda 2050 is coming at a time when our country is more divided than ever. Trust is at a deficit. Most Nigerians do not trust this government and their intentions.

The rumoured $1.9 billion rail project to Niger Republic, for example, has outraged Nigerians groaning under the weight of poverty, hunger and higher petrol and electricity prices. To borrow money from the Chinese under commercial rates to construct a rail line leading to another man’s country, for which Nigerians yet unborn will have to pay is not only wicked and unconscionable; it is treasonable.

My humble reading of world economic history teaches me that the greatest leaps in social and economic progress are made when nations develop a sense of collective purpose and destiny. I fear that this government, whatever they come up with, is unlikely to win the minds and hearts of most Nigerians simply because of the trust deficit.

Nigeria jettisoned economic development planning in the eighties, when the IBB military junta were persuaded to pursue neoliberal “structural adjustment programmes”.

Strictly speaking, programmes such as Vision 2020 covering the years 2010-2020 and the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) were largely “rolling plans” rather than economic development plans as technically

understood. According to a recent survey by the World Bank, in 2019, some 143 countries went back to the tradition of economic development planning as compared to 32 in the year 2000. It seems clear that the pendulum is swinging back from neoliberal free market strategies of macroeconomic development policy management to more interventionist planning paradigms.

Nigeria’s Agenda 2050 is still in the early stages. But there are important lessons that must be imbibed.

First, a clear vision is imperative. It is said that, without vision, the people perish. We must evolve a clear and well-articulated vision of what our country will be 3 decades down the road. And that vision must be national in outlook and must be one that is shared by the national elites as well as the generality of the populace. For my part, we need a vision of Nigeria of the year 2050 to be that of a firstrate industrial-technological nation that is also a prosperous democracy and one of the leading nations of the 21st century. We want a country that is progressive and free and that nurtures the creativity and energy of its peoples in an atmosphere that respects human rights, the rule of law while guaranteeing equal opportunities for all.

Setting a clear vision, with realistic targets is among the most important factors for the success of Agenda 2050. I envision an economy with a GDP of $2 trillion and an average per capita income of about $18,000.

This would place us in GDP terms at about the same size Italy is today.

By 2050, Nigeria would be the third most populous nation on earth, at 410 million. In terms of GDP ranking, we should aim to be at least within the top 15 globally.

Nigeria has not been short on ideas and plans. The devil, as they

‘

First, a clear vision is imperative. It is said that, without vision, the people perish. We must evolve a clear and wellarticulated vision of what our country will be 3 decades down the road

say, has always been on the nittygritty of implementation. We must therefore put in place an effective implementation strategy with a clear understanding of ownership, monitorable targets, a system for monitoring and evaluation; accountability for results; adaptability in the face of unexpected contingencies; and an effective communication framework to get all stakeholders on board.

Linked to implementation is the imperative of designing a credible and effective financing framework.

We need all plans to be reduced to bankable projects – projects for speed trains, harbours, ports, new cities, highways, airports and power stations. We must plan rigorously on how to mobilise capital both internally and externally to finance our ambitious projects.

Development partnerships will also have to be framed between government and the organised private sector, civil-society, NGOs, women and youth groups and other key stakeholders, including foreign development agencies that share our vision.

Lastly, we need to benchmark ourselves against some economically successful countries for the purpose of collective learning. No country is perfect and no country has it all. But we can learn from the achievements of others in certain crucial sectors.

The countries I have in mind for benchmarking purposes are: Germany, South Korea, UAE, Singapore and Brazil.

Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development economist and public finance expert with a DPhil from Oxford obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 (text messages only)

Consistency

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n recent times it has just really occurred to me that consistency is a big part of what makes up success. The dictionary defines the word consistent as acting or doing things the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate. It is to be unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time. In the workplace, consistency is key.

Leaders are responsible for creating an environment where employees can happily put more effort into their jobs. A healthy work environment is vital to remain consistently consistent at work. Consistent employees are likely to perform better at work than employees who don’t perfectly fit in their workplace environment.

Ever-changing work expectations, contradictory business decisions and erratic management can be very confusing, but consistency helps employees feel secure about their work responsibilities and workplace demands.

Consistency builds trust on three levels. Dependable working conditions, clearly defined goals and predictable job demands, create a work environment that’s reliable. Employees don’t have to try to figure out if they are meeting expectations or if their boss is dissatisfied with their performance. Managers don’t have to micromanage subordinates who in turn feel secure about their duties. Each worker knows what they must contribute to the project, so tasks aren’t overlooked or ignored.

Consistency builds respect. Up-holding consistent values, maintaining short- and long-term priorities and communicating

strategically helps co-workers, subordinates and supervisors see you as competent. An individual’s consistency in the workplace builds respect both for them and the organisation.

Consistency breeds credibility. A manager’s reputation is built on the policies they enforce, actions they reward and pursuits they fund.

Employees notice when their boss values hard work, praises work accomplishments and supports healthy office communication.

A supervisor sets the tone for their subordinates. “Can your employees count on you?”

“Are your expectations fair and consistent?”

“Do you treat your subordinates fairly? Your credibility can most likely make or break your role as a manager.

Positive workplace decisions stem from rational and reliable behaviour. The ability to eliminate emotional decisions, as opposed to haphazard and inconsistent behaviour, makes the difference in a company’s long-term survival. Whether you are an entry-level employee or a supervisor, consistent rational decisions help you stand out as a dependable and trustworthy worker. Clients depend on you, co-workers need you and managers can’t get work done without you, so rational behaviour gives them a reason to trust your workplace decisions.

A stress -free office environment helps to build consistency. It could be easily developed by enabling employees to take short breaks to ease a build-up of stress which boosts productivity. Conflicts must be kept to a minimum.

They must be resolved quickly and effectively once they come up. Conflicts will always mani-

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fest but employees must know that you will be consistent in their resolution Building an effective communication system helps with work place consistency. Consistency in instructions, accolades and discipline are passed by communication. Without effective communication, operations might slow down or be stopped. Effective communication empowers everybody to collaborate in a crystal -clear manner.

One of the best tactics for effective communication is regular meetings top, down and across board. These meetings enable employees, voice new ideas confidently. This helps the organisation to consistently improve product development, customer service and operations.

The organisation should consistently provide learning opportunities. These days we actually tell people to get their own learning, but we know that there is a place for structured organisational learning. This most consistently enhances the performance of the workforce.

The truth is that in every kind of relationship, consistency is a key factor. I remember very many years ago, I used to make a home- made drink from some flowers. I have a brother who is a professor of pharmacy. He offered to help me get some measurements to make each batch.

When I asked why, he said it was so it could taste the same every time. He gave the analogy of a popular soft drink’s consistent taste. Nobody would buy it if they were not sure what it would taste like. People need to always know what to expect from you.

Consistency is brand building. What is a

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OLAMIDE BALOGUN

brand? It is the portion of a customer’s heart, mind and pocket that belongs to you. In today’s world where there are so many brands and they are all so easily accessible, right round the globe, there must be a way to distinguish yourself.

This is why not many people want to work for a one-man company, as they usually have no structures in place or flagrantly flout the structures. Consistency makes both staff and customers happy. As you can see from above, it is not only the responsibility of the organisation.

Have a great weekend. We honestly don’t know when the pandemic will be over so keep safe and even in your individual life, be consistent.

Balogun is the founder of Box & Cedar Ltd a boutique Recruitment and HR Consulting firm Www.boxandcedar.com

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Monday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMMENT

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Nigeria at Sixty – a case of religion without righteousness HUMANANGLE

FEMI OLUGBILE

A

s the Nigerian nation marks the sixtieth anniversary of its independence, it is a good time for introspection.

That the African continent as a whole has been bedeviled by atrociously poor leadership is a regular subject for discussion in beer parlours, as it is in the hallowed halls of academia. The African leadership environment is not just populated with past ogres such as Idi Amin Dada with his colourful language, his casual brutality and his simple-minded understanding of “Nationalism”. Or Mobutu Sese Seko, of whom the less is said, the better. In contemporary times, Presidents are awarding themselves endless terms in office, and leaders, bereft of basic trust among their people, are suspected of facilitating hidden tribal agendas.

It is difficult to see hope, but it is necessary.

In the analyses of the failed and failing states of Africa, not a lot has been said about the role of the citizens themselves in bringing things to such a sad pass, or what they could do to help kick-start a process of genuine redemption.

And yet the failures that are decried in leaders in the public space are exhibited every day in the lives of the

ordinary people. People lie and steal without the slightest compunction.

Citizens behave without the slightest consideration for other people.

Driving on the Lekki-Epe expressway is like going to war. Young and old, men and women, in lumbering SUVs move dangerously to block the nearest car from getting past them as if their very lives depend on it. They jump into other people’s lanes rudely. As soon as there is the slightest slowing of the traffic, instead of waiting in line, every car coming from behind forms another lane, and yet another.

In the end, a road designed to carry two cars abreast now has six ‘lanes’ of tightly-squeezed cars, trying to outdo one another and all tensed up to avoid collision.

It is possible to discern the psychology and prevalent moral tone of a nation from observing the social behaviour of its people on the roads.

Fela Durotoye has a video in circulation which describes his experience after stopping at a red traffic light in Lekki. He was suddenly assailed by the loud honking of the car behind him. The driver, a lady, was swearing at him and urging him to go through the red light. When the lights eventually changed, she was still visibly sore as she zoomed off.

The most prevalent oppression in Nigeria is not rich people oppressing poor people. It is poor people oppressing other poor people. Rich kids accused of being “yahoo-boys” and frog-marched to the nearest ATM by “officers of the law” to empty their bank accounts don’t suffer compared to poor road sweepers who are arrested by the same “officers” for “wandering”, slapped around, threatened with guns because they have no money, and bundled into unmarked vans to

spend months or years “awaiting trial” for “wandering”.

Nigeria’s values are in shambles. It is an uncomfortable way to live, and it is an impossible material on which to build a thriving, peaceful, productive and progressive nation. The efforts of even the most unimpeachable leader, were such to exist, becomes like the drama of Don Quixote, tilting vainly at the windmills.

The same failure of values permeates every aspect of the psycho-social life of the country. People are said to have sold fake COVID-19 results to international travelers, despite the danger to public health.

Nigerians are among the most religious in the world. Even the “officer” dragging the dreadlocked youth to the ATM to extort money is a devoted ‘elder’ in his white garment church.

The lady in the SUV abusing Fela Durotoye for stopping at the red light may have been on her way to Bible Study in her Church. The man selling fake CoVID19 results is a devout and generous donor at his local mosque.

The psychology of religious devotion in Nigeria is focused on “prosperity”, overcoming “enemies” and “making heaven”. The need to love one’s neighbour and do public good irrespective of what is happening around is not a strong part of the message.

The question arises – How do you begin to repair Nigeria’s values morass?

Better leadership and restructuring of the social space to have more equity, transparency and a level playing field in the nation would certainly help. On the other hand, setting up more government agencies like KAI and WAI to mouth slogans may just be more “jobs-for-the-boys”. There is

‘

Nigeria’s values are in shambles. It is an uncomfortable way to live, and it is an impossible material on which to build a thriving, peaceful, productive and progressive nation. The efforts of even the most unimpeachable leader, were such to exist, becomes like the drama of Don Quixote, tilting vainly at the windmills

Olugbile is a writer and psychiatrist. synthesiz@gmail.com

Globalisation and the Cross-Cultural Role of the Leader

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lthough we live in a globalised world, there are still challenges in defining a global organisation. Think of the global organisation as snowflakes; no two looks exactly alike. The most promising opportunities and the biggest challenges we face today are inexorably global. Our economy, environment, resources, education, and health systems all connect to, rely on, and affect the economies, environments, resources, and health systems in other countries. Therefore, we live and operate globally, and globalisation brings a web of people, systems, and processes.

Embedded in this interconnectedness are global leaders who appreciate the significance of culture, with the willingness to learn, be adaptive, and by educators.

For the leader to operate effectively in the global space, soft skills are essential, ranging from context, critical thinking, and effective communication. Especially in an environment where the world is becoming more dependent on technology in various forms, soft skills tend to be pushed into the background. Therefore, how do leaders transcend cultures, become effective across cultural settings, interact with culturally diverse individuals, leaders, and organisations, and create value in the global space?

Northouse opined that the concept of globalisation had created the need for leaders to become competent in cross-cultural awareness and practice. It is the foundation of the social order that people live in and the roles they abide by. Hofstede and Minkov added that culture is the unwritten rules of the social game passed on to newcomers by its members, nesting itself in their minds and influenced far more by their

experiences rather than by their genes.

Today’s global world requires that leaders understand other cultures and act with awareness and appreciation of differences. Leaders need to understand their own culture and its effect on people of different cultures. Global leaders adopt various cross-cultural tools congruent with the people’s needs using the human process, technostructural, human resource management, and strategic change. They must also understand how values help them to sustain cordial relationships with their people. Leaders must rise beyond immoral and unethical acts by focusing on learning about people’s cultural depth. Good ethics enhances the trust that enables people and businesses to adopt a leader’s new ideas and visions. Therefore, leaders must understand the forces shaping today’s global work, including values, norms, and new beliefs, coupled with innovation and changing demographics.

A global orientation must be in a leader’s perspective. Cabrera and Unruh believe that a global mindset is a must-have, and it is the core foundation of successful leadership. However, it is not an innate trait. Hofstede aptly described them as the software of the mind. It is about cultural awareness that comes through exposure, knowledge, and expertise in a non-native environment. People who possess a global mindset can interpret, analyse, and decode situations from various perspectives to identify the best route to successful collaboration in a multicultural environment. So, leaders who have a global mindset are more likely to succeed in working with people from diverse cultures. Developing a global mindset requires the following:

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Psychological capital: is regarded as personal attributes such as having a passion for adversity, the quest for adventure, self-assurance, and curiosity about other cultures. Hence, travel in cross-cultural experiences is strengthened through practice.

Social capital: This is about whom you know and how well you know them. It is the sum of the actual and potential resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit. It involves having intercultural empathy, interpersonal impact, and diplomacy; Intellectual capital: refers to the knowledge and understanding of the environment in which global interactions take place.

There are significant benefits for global business when their leaders have developed a global mindset. Leaders with a global mindset are experts who are effective in influencing people from different socio-cultural systems. They know about cultural, political, and economic systems in other countries and understand how global industries work. Leadership requires a mindset that is free from personal prejudices and cultural biases. Therefore, possessing a global mindset can reduce the chances of missing essential cues or even behaving outright offensively.

Embracing intercultural competence, which is the ability to function effectively in another culture, is crucial. The following tools, which are soft skills, enhance leader’s cross-cultural awareness and practice, especially when they want to function well across borders (Lundby and Jolton, 2010): Emotional intelligence: This comprises

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a lack of trust in government, and the prevalent sense is that everyone has to fend for themselves as best they can.

The failure of Values needs to be seen by Nigerians as an “illness” that could well be terminal. That insight is the first step to healing. Next, everyone has to “own” the problem, and the responsibility for solving it. Children must be taught virtue from the cradle and shown daily demonstration of it in the lives of their parents. A new code, not just of enforcement, but of self-monitoring, needs to be mainstreamed into the social space.

The people’s deep commitment to Religion could be mobilised in this existential battle. The focus could expand from just a narrow self-centered quest for “Prosperity” and “Heaven” to include providing positive influence and improving the condition of humanity at large. Pastors and Imams could insist that their members live by example. Religion would then be truly righteous.

Newspaper columnist Tunde Fagbenle has set up an NGO named Values Volunteers of Nigeria, focusing on advocacy and influencing school-age children positively. Other people could contribute by setting up structures and making themselves exemplars, starting from their homes.

The goal of building a great nation will daily get farther away from realisation unless a start is made immediately to reclaim the best of the lost values in Nigeria’s rich and diverse cultures, such as the attribute the Yoruba know as “omoluabi”.

Happy birthday, Nigeria.

THE LEADERSHIP FACTORY WITH

TOYE SOBANDE skills like self-awareness, impulse, control, and empathy. This is the ability to be perceptive and self-regulatory.

Social intelligence: This represents skill sets that are focused on getting along smoothly with others around us, and they consist of social interest, social self-efficacy, empathy skills, and social performance skills.

Adaptability: This is when a leader adapts easily in a multicultural setting through flexibility, dealing with uncertain work situations, learning new tasks, solving problems creatively.

Perspective taking: This consists of cognitive flexibility or problem-solving skills that entail the ability to embrace and understand the perspective of another person.

Cultural intelligence: This is a multifaceted competency tool that involves cultural knowledge, the practice of mindfulness, and a repertoire of behavioral skills.

The five-factor model of personality, which helps the leader understand diverse cultures, is an example of cross-cultural tools that leaders must adopt.

Sobande is a Lawyer and Leadership Consultant. He is a Doctoral Candidate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA, for a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership. He can be contacted by Email: contactme@toyesobande.com

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

EDITORIAL PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Frank Aigbogun EDITOR Patrick Atuanya

DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Tayo Fagbule NEWS EDITOR Osa Victor Obayagbona NEWS EDITOR (Online) Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

Nigeria’s unfinished success stories hold promises No country retires at 60

A

t 60, a Nigerian civil servant is expected to retire.

A plaque is presented for meritorious service and a party is organised for the retiree to recount the good old days.

Besides, it is a young country.

Even at 60. Over four out of ten Nigerians are below 14. The 87 million within this age bracket are more than the entire population of Germany. Just 3 percent (5.5m) of the 196 million Nigerians can boast of being older than the country but life expectancy is 53.95 years. And in democratic terms, it just turned an adult after 21 years of uninterrupted civilian rule.

These numbers are both impressive and depressing at the same time, reflecting the Nigerian promise and paradox.

Is remaining together the greatest achievement of Nigeria? Unfortunately, military coups (and civil wars) are still common in Africa.

Nigeria, unlike South Sudan, Central African Republic, Egypt, Mali, and Zimbabwe, has enjoyed uninterrupted democratic rule.

Soldiers cut short the euphoria of independence and short-circuiting Nigeria’s experiment with democratic self-government, ruling the country for 33 years of her history.

In 1999, just before the beginning of a new millennium, Nigeria said goodbye to khakitocracy and has managed to keep the soldiers in the barracks. Though military coups are no longer fashionable in Nigeria, elections are still rigged and the democratic system is flawed with too much power in the centre.

What should a country have achieved at 60? What achievements could be listed on a plaque presented to Nigeria to honour its nationhood?

The reasons for celebrating have been downplayed. Nigeria is marking its 60th anniversary during a trying period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken an already weak economy pushing it into a recession, the second in five years, and the worst economic contraction in a generation. The commotion the virus has caused in the economy is forcing President Buhari to make tough decisions. Like a patient taking medication and making lifestyle changes long prescribed by the doctor.

The year Nigeria turned 60 will of course be remembered for how COVID-19 disrupted lives and livelihoods.

The socioeconomic difficulties many are facing this year will not be forgotten easily. Still, 2020 will also go down as the year the global race to reduce carbon emissions began in earnest. China,

one of the biggest consumers of oil in the world, plans to cut its dependence on carbon emitting fuels by 2060. The race to batteries and hydrogen cell fuels will make oil producers irrelevant in this century.

The drop in oil prices, from which the government gets more than 60 percent of its revenues, has made the government see that the trillions of naira spent on subsidising petrol and electricity are unaffordable luxuries.

That itself is worth celebrating.

Doubters will say, we’ve been here before and as soon as oil prices rebound the government will make an aboutturn. Optimists will point out that this time it is different.

The changes happening mean this should be the first truly lowkey and sober Independence celebration. Nigeria is like a patient who managed to survive COVID-19, against the odds since those aged 60 are more vulnerable to the virus especially if they had previous health conditions like diabetes.

In such a reflective mood, such a patient is bound to think of successes achieved in life. In the case of Nigeria, the gains made in telecoms, movies and retail stand out. Growth in these sectors went underreported for years until 2013 when the GDP was rebased.

What this revealed was the immense consumer base within the coun-

try – young, burgeoning and with some spending power. Add to this steroid of diaspora remittances. Money the 1.24m Nigerians abroad send home has outstripped what the country earns from oil. PwC, a consultancy, says the $23.63bn sent in 2018 was “83 percent of the government’s budget, 11 times the Foreign Direct Investment flows and 7.4 times larger than the net official development assistance (foreign aid) received in 2017”.

Add to this the reform of pensions in 2004. So far over 8 million Nigerians are assured of a steady income source when they retire. The value assets in which the contributory pension scheme has been invested in the past 16 years is now over N8 trillion. Most of it invested in bonds and stock markets.

These are unfinished success stories. For instance, the 8 million workers taking part in the pension scheme represent 12 percent of the 70 million Nigerian workers. The gap to be covered is an opportunity, several dots remain unconnected (imagine transport, power and health infrastructure funded with remittances and pension funds.

Above all, the lessons learned from implementing such reforms can be replicated in other crucial sectors: education, health, agriculture, oil and gas.

Building Nigeria is a work-inprogress; retiring at 60 is not an option.

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

13

nigeria@60

After six decades of near blackout, Nigeria gears to keep the lights on ISAAC ANYAOGU

O

ver a hundred years ago, Ijora, now a densely populated Lagos metropolis was originally a swampy and water-logged village where residents coming from Lagos Island could reach their homes on canoes.

During the late 1890s, the colonial government established a railway terminus at Iddo, a nearby settlement.

In 1919, the colonial government commissioned a coal wharf at Ijora to unload coal for the use of the Nigerian Railway and soon after it constructed the Ijora Thermal Station to generate electricity for the railway and the environs close to Ijora. The first power plant built in the area was a 20mw power plant.

As with most things inherited from the colonial masters, electricity was centrally controlled. It started with the formation of the Electricity Company of Nigeria (ECN) to regulate supply and generation in 1951 and thereafter the Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was formed to manage dams in Nigeria, raising total installed capacity to 50MW at independence in 1960.

In 1972, the military government merged the NDA and ECN to form the National Electric Power

Authority (NEPA), a state owned vertically integrated power utility.

NEPA was a monopoly that was not commercially viable. It had significant managerial deficiencies and leakages, could not attract investment to ramp up generation, distribution and transmission though population was rising.

By early 2000s, the Federal Government began to restructure the sector. The National Electric Power Policy (NEPP) was developed to set the pace for reform. In 2004, the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) which includes generation, transmission, distribution and gas supply projects were undertaken to fast track the growth.

P r i v a t i s a t i o n b e ga n when the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) was passed in 2005.

The Federal Government created a Vision 2020 and Power Sector Road Map in 2010, which is a blueprint to conclude the privatization of the power sector.

In November 2013, the privatization of PHCN assets was completed and Manitoba Hydro International (MHI) was engaged as management contractors of TCN. The power sector reform created an independent sector regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as well as an initial holding

company, Power Holding Company of Nigeria, was created for NEPA assets and liabilities and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company was also created to manage commercial transactions.

Successor companies were formed – 6 generation companies (GenCos);11 distribution companies (DisCos); 1 transmission company (TCN); 2 special purpose entities. Individual DisCos and GenCos were transferred to the private sector through a core investor sale of a minimum of 51percent of the government’s equity.

But challenges such as technical, commercial and gas challenges hampered plans. Power plants require at least 3BSCFD of gas but

can only get 900mscfd of gas due to challenges with legally binding long-term gas supply agreements absent, inadequate gas transportation infrastructure, lack of guarantees and credit enhancement for gas payments and electricity tariffs that did not guarantee commercial returns.

GenCos too were troubled, with a capacity of 13,000MW, on average they could only produce about 5,000MW of power.

Unsettled invoices, power purchase agreements that were not bankable for foreign capital due to lack of guarantee and stringent Take-or-Pay condition on gas supply agreement constrained their ability to deliver power.

TCN says it has capacity

to wheel 8000MW of power but due to long lead times, high transmission losses, poor financing and a weak radial grid leading to frequent grid collapses, less than 5,000MW of power gets to customers. DisCos did not invest to improve their network, tariffs were not commercially viable and huge technical losses troubled distribution. Consumers too were hostile to tariff hikes.

New reforms The result is poor electricity access for millions.

“The country hasn’t performed well in 60 years,” says Ayodele Oni, energy lawyer and partner at Bloomfield law firm, “The power sector has consistently got worse until recently. Things have improved slightly and if all

hands remain on deck, the story should be different within the next decade.”

Over 80million Nigerians lack adequate power supply creating an opportunity for some companies to provide power to some off-grid communities using renewable energy sources, especially solar.

New policies including the waiver of the 35 per cent levy on imported meters and components, grants from the World Bank and the Central Bank to ensure mass meter procurement, the Meter Asset Provider regulations which has allowed third party investors the opportunity to sell meters to customers through DisCos will eventually lead to more people having meters and improving the commercial returns to the sector.

NERC has also acceded to a review of electricity tariff after operators had long complained that they do not guarantee commercial returns. The new service reflective tariff divides electricity customers into different bands allowing for those who use the most power pay higher rates.

On the technical aspects, the government has reached an agreement with German energy giant Siemens to embark on a complete overhaul of the transmission and distribution assets and could double Nigeria’s energy output in the next five years.

At 60, Nigerian Insurance industry still grappling with low penetration Modestus Anaesoronye

T

he growth of insurance business anywhere in the world is dependent on the growth of the larger economy. Nigeria is a developing economy with a lot of poor people and poor financial power to make economic decisions that can drive growth.

The implication is that the citizens still have very low economic power (purchasing power) to afford basic needs and so insur-

ance which is usually the least in their order of priority barely gets attention of the populace.

These accounts why market penetration is still very low at less than 0.4 per cent despite the huge population of about 200 million, with total premium of the industry at below N500 billion per annum.

60 years after independence, the insurance industry like many other sectors in the economy is still crawling despite a lot of efforts by operators and regulators to create market awareness. www.businessday.ng

Most a times, the lack of penetration is usually blamed on low level of awareness, but this is not really the truth as research findings show that it is largely due to low economic powers of many Nigerians, even though culture is also an issue.

In this case, when people are not able to acquire assets then insurance does not grow, given that the economy is dried of credits for housing, mortgage opportunities.

Dominic Onyeulor, an insurance broker in his

analysis of the state of the insurance industry today said the greatest challenge of the industry is poor state of the economy, which no doubt is as a result of the dwindling national revenue following the sharp drop in the price of crude oil being a mono-economy that largely depends on oil.

Onyeulor however noted that with Nigeria’s population estimated to surpass 200 million in 2020, and about 40 per cent of that within the youthful age, there is a huge opportunity for under-

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writers in Nigeria to explore and tap potential of a larger retail market for inclusive insurance.

The future of the Nigerian insurance industry is going to be eventful and vibrant as the industry continues to seek various means to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria, while also increasing its capacity to underwrite big ticket risks, come up with better technology infrastructure for distribution and better service delivery, as well as well innovative products.

He said it’s expected that @Businessdayng

the contribution of insurance to the GDP will increase tremendously when the ongoing recapitalisation of the sector is concluded by June 2021, with emergence of mega insurance and reinsurance companies.

That Nigeria is now 60 years means that the country is ripe for development in all ramifications, and this no doubt will impact the insurance industry as well as other sectors of the economy if government begins to make right policies that will increase the purchasing power of the average Nigerian.

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

nigeria@60

The long and bumpy ride to attracting investments MICHAEL ANI & MERCY AYODELE

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igeria may not be a good market for you to waste multimillion dollars investment in; a vast number of its citizens are poor and would not be able to afford luxury items.” These were the remarks from a foreign independent research team, sent to assess the viability of the Nigerian market for a telco after the telecommunication industry was deregulated in 2001.

That appraisal about the Nigerian market discouraged a lot of potential investors who were hitherto keen on tapping from the huge potentials in which the market could have offered as they were scared their investments may not pay off.

It was not until May 16 of that year that Econet now Airtel and South-African based telecommunication firm, MTN, shrugged off that narration to become the first GSM networks provider to make calls following the globally lauded Nigerian GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission earlier in the year.

Fast-forward today, that decision by the telecommunication firms is paying-off in thousand folds.

There are two major ways in which a country attracts investments. One is through foreign direct investment (FDI), popularly known as “sticky money”, while the other is the foreign portfolio investment, popularly known as “hot money”.

FPIs are investment types that attract foreigners through the purchase of stocks or bonds issued in Nigeria. The performance of this kind of investment largely depends on how profitable those assets are and the stability of the economic environment.

For direct investment, an investor would have to set up structures in the host countries. The distinction between these categories of investment is that FDI involves long term commitment while FPI (also known as hot money) is short-term - investors could leave in a snap.

While both investment types are important for any country, a country looking to the path of economic development, to create jobs and improve on its basic infrastructures, would seek more direct investments to its advantage.

Over the years, the successful operation of companies into Africa’s biggest

economy has been a mixed experience. For some, they have been able to stand the test of time while for many others it has been tough, sometimes to the point of closing shop.

Nigeria is one of the few countries that have consistently benefited from FDI inflow to Africa, thanks to its huge untapped market and its growing youthful population.

Nigeria’s share of FDI inflow to Africa averaged around 10 percent, from 24.19 percent in 1990 to a low level of 5.88 percent in 2001 up to 11.65 percent in 2002, data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed. During that period Nigeria was the second top FDI recipient in the continent just behind Angola in 2001 and 2002.

FDI forms a small percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), however, making up 2.47 percent in 1970, -0.81 percent in 1980, 6.24 percent in 1989 (the highest) and 3.93 percent in 2002. On the whole, it formed about 2.1 percent of the GDP. Prior to the early 1970s, foreign investment played a major role in the Nigerian economy. Until 1972, much of the non-agricultural sector was controlled by large foreign owned trading companies that had a monopoly on the distribution of imported goods. Between 1963 and 1972 an average of 65 percent of total capital was in foreign hands.

Because successive Nigeria governments have viewed FDI as a vehicle for political and economic domination, the thrust of government’s policy through the Nigeria Enterprise Promotion Decree (NEPD) (indigenization policy) was to regulate rather than promote FDI. The NEPD was promulgated in 1972 to limit foreign equity participation in manufacturing and commercial sectors to a maximum of 60 percent. In 1977 a second indigenization decree was promulgated to further limit foreign equity participation in Nigeria business to 40 percent.

Hence, between 1972 and 1995 official policy toward FDI was restrictive. The regulatory environment discouraged foreign participation resulting in an average flow of only 0.79 percent of GDP from 1973 to 1988.

The adoption of the structural adjustment programme in 1986 initiated the process of termination of the hostile policies towards FDI. A new industrial policy was intro-

duced in 1989 with the debt to equity conversion scheme as a component of portfolio investment.

The Industrial Development Coordinating Committee (IDCC) was established in 1988 as a one-step agency for facilitating and attracting foreign investment flow. This was followed in 1995 by the repeal of the Nigeria Enterprises Promotion Decree and its replacement with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Decree 16 of 1995.

The NIPC absorbed and replaced the IDCC and provided for a foreign investor to set up a business in Nigerian with 100 percent ownership.

Upon provision of relevant documents, NIPC will approve the application within 14 days (as opposed to four weeks under IDCC) or advise the applicant otherwise.

Furthermore, in consonance with the NIPC decree, the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provision) Decree 17 of 1995 was promulgated to enable foreigners to invest in enterprise in Nigeria or in money market instruments with foreign capital that is legally brought into the country.

The decree permits free regulation of dividends accruing from such investment or of capital in event of sale or liquidation. An export processing zone (EPZ) scheme adopted in 1999 allows interested persons to set up industries and businesses within demarcated zones, particularly with the objective of exporting the goods and services manufactured or produced within the zone.

If the report from the privatization programme is anything to go by, however, the transport and communication sector seem to have succeeded in attracting the interest of foreign investors,

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especially the telecommunication sector.

The coming in of Airtel, MTN and others into the telecommunication space greatly shaped Nigeria’s investment landscape and paved the way for numerous inflows into the country.

In 2001, MTN spent $285 million in acquiring a GSM license that ushered it into Nigeria. Soon after, the entry of Etisalat (2008) and the acquisition of Zain by Bharti Airtel (2012) brought in more foreign capital that has led to the impressive growth of the Nigerian telecommunication sector.

It also aroused the interest of local players into the telecommunications space. An example is Globacom, owned

by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga.

The sheer capital that flowed into the telecommunications space led in the sector’s contribution to overall GDP to 11 percent from an average 4 percent a decade before.

More resonating examples of FDIs can be found in the oil and gas sector. Nigeria has the big four international oil companies from Shell and Mobil to Chevron and Total.

In recent times, however, foreign direct investment into Africa’s most populous nation has dwindled.

From a high of over $2.5 billion on average between 2010 to 2014, FDI inflows fell to as low as $981.75 million in 2017.

Being an import-dependent nation, currency devaluation hurt the economy.

Rising inflation led to a loss in the real value of assets for investors.

Inflation climbed to 18 percent in 2017, the highest in six years, while investors were stuck in the country due to the inability to access dollars to repatriate their profit.

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To show the extent of the pain faced by investors at the time, data from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) noted that no fewer than 54 companies closed operations at the time.

Among these companies affected by Nigeria’s liquidity crisis at that time was Mr Price, Woolworth, Grif, Federated Steel, and Universal Steel It was not until April 2017 when the CBN created the Investors & Exporters (I&E) window, where foreign exchanges are traded at exchange rates based on prevailing market circumstances, that investors began to reinforce gradually.

Though with weak economic growth, the Nigerian economy was able to limp out of recession, expanding by 0.55 percent in the second quarter of 2017.

FDIs running into troubled waters Several foreign companies have come under the hammer of one or more of Nigeria’s regulators.

In October 2015, MTN Nigeria was slammed with a $5.2 billion (N1.04 trillion) fine by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for failing to meet a deadline to disconnect 5.2 million improperly-registered Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) lines.

According to the NCC, these lines had economic activities on them without proper registration.

The fine was however reduced to $1.7 billion after a series of negotiations with the Nigerian government.

Part of the negotiation to reduce the amount was the agreement for MTN to list on the Nigerian stock exchange (NSE).

Without fully healing from the 2015 saga, MTN Nigeria in 2018 entered yet another @Businessdayng

trouble. Nigeria’s central bank ordered it to refund $8.13 billion (6.96 billion euros) it illegally repatriated between 2007 and 2015. MTN denied any form of wrongdoings and dragged the CBN to court.

In the same period, Nigeria’s Attorney general of federation requested International Oil Companies (IOCs) to pay claims of $2 billion backlog of taxes These events sent negative signals to foreign investors as they withheld investment due to the perceived risk and uncertainty surrounding the Nigerian business environment.

Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company, USB as well as British multinational investment bank, HSBC were among two notable companies that pulled out from the Nigerian market partly due to what foreigners perceived as a harsh investment climate.

Within six years the proportion of FDIs to total investment flows dropped from 20 percent in 2016 to 4 percent in 2019. The actual value has stayed just below $1 billion since 2016.

Foreign portfolio investors to the rescue To keep dollars coming in, the country shifted attention more to the portfolio investors.

Nigeria became one of the most attractive markets in the world because of its attractive yields and carry trade.

Between July and October 2019, the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rates three times to bolster its economic activities. This led to a lower yield level of about 1.8 percent-2.0 percent. Compared to Nigeria, the average fixedincome yield for Treasury bonds between the periods of the US rate cut was around 14 percent.

Consequently, FPIs became a significant channel for acquiring foreign exchange in Nigeria. And the CBN continued to fuel this position.

The apex bank even restricted local investors from participating in the OMO market - a high-interest bond that attracted foreigners. It desired to use these OMO bills to attract foreign investors while pushing local investors to spend their money on other sectors like agriculture.

But at the time, no one knew Saudi Arabia would start an oil price war and that a virus will bring the entire world to a standstill; consequently crippling a major source of revenue, and hampering Nigeria’s abilities to pay obligations.

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nigeria@60

At 60, Nigeria ready to capture opportunities in domestic gas STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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magine a Nigeria where automobiles produce no smoke, rural dwellers cook with gas, farmlands yield five times more per hectare and factories run on clean, cheaper and secured energy resource - gas.

Achieving this pleasant future requires a domestic economy powered by gas for transport, cooking, agriculture, and industrial uses.

Despite its vast natural gas reserves Nigeria has been unable, in the past six decades, to latch on to the opportunities inherent in the commodity to drive sustainable economic development.

Nigeria has about 202 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven gas reserves, from around 187Tcf late last year, valued at over $460 billion and about 600Tcf of unproven gas reserves but only about 25 per cent of those reserves are under development, according to Shell.

Existing institutional, legal, regulatory, commercial and infrastructural frameworks have limited domestic gas utilisation and kept investment inflows into the sector low. From the Petroleum Act of 1969, Nigeria has evolved gas centred regulations and policy documents, such as the Gas Master Plan of 2008 and the National Gas

Policy of 2017.

Early signs of a quiet gas revolution In January, the ministry of Petroleum Resources inaugurated the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), and some early signs show that Nigeria may be heading towards a gas revolution, if all goes as planned.

Among the early steps to deepen domestic gas use, create jobs and stimulate a gas-enabled economic development is the autogas initiative. As from October 1, the ministry plans to roll out liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for automobiles.

According to Justice Derefaka, technical adviser on Gas Business and Policy Imple-

mentation to the minister of state for Petroleum Resources, the rollout would be collocated at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s 46 refuelling stations to demonstrate the government’s commitment.

The second phase would target over 600 NNPC’s lease and affiliate refueling stations.

This is in collaboration with Major Oil Marketing Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

The Department of Petroleum Resources has also given 9, 000 refueling stations green light to upgrade and dispense gas.

One million conversion kits

are already available according to Derefaka. There would be a value-added tax exemption for everything downstream for the domestic gas utilisation.

The ministry says it is engaging large fleet owners, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, local governments, conversion companies and dispensing facility owners to collaborate in the conversion and establishment of refuelling facilities nationwide, leveraging already existing pipelines and mother stations to reduce the burden of conversion on consumers, which is a major impediment to autogas development.

Abner Ishaku, technical adviser on downstream to the deputy minister who also oversees CNG initiative, said the NGEP had organised a se-

ries of engagement with major stakeholders in addition to those already mentioned to include Auto Mobile Assemblers, Nigeria Railway Corporation, to discuss the use of CNG as an alternative fuel for Nigerians.

The ministry also says it is engaging with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Labour Congress on the development of Nigerian Gas-based industries from textile manufacturing to the production of polymer resins.

Under the NGEP, local production of composite resins has been initiated (at the Indorama/Eleme Petrochemicals) to guarantee 100 per cent availability of local raw materials for the production of LNG, CNG and LPG cylinders and vessels. In this regard, two composite cylinder manufacturing plants (in Yenegoa and Lagos) are under construction

by Rungas Industries.

These initiatives require adequate domestic gas supply and the ministry is engaging with the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) for an additional 250,000MT currently exported for the domestic market.

Gas infrastructure investments and the resuscitation of state-owned gas infrastructure are receiving attention too. The ministry says it has resuscitated the WRPC LPG production facility and 7km pipeline and secured funding assurance

from the NNPC for the project.

A Committee on Gas Sector-Wide Review of the Domestic Gas Pricing Framework was set up in June, headed by Usman Yusuf, chief operating officer, Gas & Power, NNPC. The overriding objective is to deepen domestic gas utilisation.

With the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N250 billion intervention funds for the NGEP Nigeria may well be headed towards a new future, where gas gains ascendance as preferred fuel and sustainable economic development enabler.

In its ‘Framework for The Implementation of Intervention Facility For The National Gas Expansion Programme’ the CBN acknowledged that the unattractive state of domestic commercial production and utilisation of gas has constrained private investments.

Low levels, in turn, has resulted in the minimal production and utilisation natural gas in its various forms with negative economic, environmental, fiscal and social consequences.

Nevertheless, experts have urged the government to establish a separate regulator for the gas sector, akin to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to provide a comprehensive, real-time regulation designed to facilitate a robust linkage between electricity and natural gas.

Banking sector pulls weight on financial inclusion, payments system at 60 HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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t 60 years of independence, Nigerian banking sector can boast of milestone achievement in financial inclusion and payments system as an integral part of the electronic banking.

Banking industry today, had its origin as far back as 1883 when the African banking corporation was established.

The bank could not survive but later metamorphose to British Bank of West Africa, rebranded first to standard bank west Africa, standard bank of Nigeria and currently, what is known today as First Bank of Nigeria.

This was followed by the establishment of Barclays Bank, now Union Bank, which was formed by Anglo-Egyptian Bank and National Bank of South Africa in 1925, and British and French Bank for Commerce and Industry (United Bank for Africa) in 1949.

One striking challenge seen during the era was that Nigerian businesses were excluded from financial services as the colonial banks were established to serve the financial needs of the colonial government.

Following the gap created by the colonial banks, which denied access to credit facilities for indigenous businesses, Nigerians sought for ways to address the challenge, thus the establishment of Nigerian Farmers and Commercial Bank in 1947 and the Nnamdi Azikwe-owned African Continental Bank.

With the establishment of the indigenous banks, the need for regulation became sine-quo-none, leading to the creation of the G.D. Paton commission to research on the banking business in Nigeria and the enactment of the Banking Ordinance Act in 1952 which required that all prospective lenders must obtain licenses before establishment.

Subsequently, the Central

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was established in 1959. “Over the past 60 years, the monetary authorities, represented by the CBN, could be said to have fared relatively well in ensuring the stability of the financial system in Nigeria,” Uche Uwaleke, Professor of capital market, Nasarawa State University Keffi, said.

“For instance, we have witnessed a raft of banking sector reforms which saw the end of the era of State owned banks that were inefficiently managed as well as the era of fragmented banking institutions following the banking consolidation exercise, he said.

The industry at the time recorded increased number of banks opened for business after the independence. Hence, merchant bank branches to 144 in 1994 from 26 in 1985, while commercial bank branches increased from 1,297 to 2,541 during the same period and this led to financial distress between 1992 and 1994.

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There was banking sector reform under the leadership of Charles Soludo, former governor of the CBN, who raised the paid-up capital of Banks to N25 billion and that led to the trimming down of the number of banks operating at the time to 25 banks from 89.

Since then a number of initiatives and policies have been introduced by the regulator that have strengthened the sector to contribute to the economic growth of the country.

Sharing his thoughts on the sector’s achievements, challenges and expectations, Ayodeji Ebo, investment professional based in Lagos, said, one significant achievement the banking sector has implemented is the introduction of Internet banking, which has expanded into robust Epayment channels. This initiative has facilitated business transactions in Nigeria.

However, he said their role in financial intermediation has improved in the last year

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and requires more deliberate efforts to support the real sector. While being mindful of not accumulating non-performing loans, the banks can improve on the credit scoring system, which should be standardized for personal loans. Customers with higher credit scores should access loans at a lower rate. As a result, Nigerians will be more deliberate towards building a healthy credit score to achieve a lower rate of borrowing.

Ebo said the future of banking is digitalization and the ability of the banks to provide various products to their customers that return more value than having funds in savings and current accounts.

Today, 60 years after independence, Uwaleke said the banking sector is stronger. Prudential guidelines are in place while the CBN Act and the BOFIA Act have gone through a number of amendments aimed at strengthening the financial sector.

A number of developments @Businessdayng

in the banking sector, helped by technology and facilitated by the regulatory authority, are worthy of note.

These include agency banking, on-line transactions and other improvements in the payment system.

All these have helped to improve the rate of financial Inclusion in the country, he said.

Having said that, it is important to point out that monetary policies over the years have failed, on the average, to achieve inflation, interest rates and Exchange rates targets due in part to factors located in the structural bottlenecks in the economy including the huge infrastructure deficit and the country’s inability to diversify the export base away from crude oil.

Uwaleke said the way forward is for the government to clear these bottlenecks in order to reduce high operating costs for banks and enable effective transmission of monetary policy.

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Nigeria driving big economy with poor education sector MARK MAYAH & KELECHI EWUZIE

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etween 1960s and 80s, Nigeria education system was of high quality competing favourably with other nations in the world.

In those years, teachers were respected; standards were very high such that a standard six product had good skills for the workplace.

Within that period, the student population to a teacher was about 15 students to one teacher. The teachers were able to monitor the students and imparting knowledge was a bit easy. Infrastructure was adequate that enhanced learning.

The system also attracted funding from both the government and the missionary institutions and discipline was also high among schools. Government schools ran simultaneously with missionary schools.

Peter Okebukola, former executive secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), opines that between 1960 and 1975 that the system attracted respectable funding and the quality of delivery was comparable to what obtained in institutions all over the world.

“The system benefitted from a high dose of highly qualified local and expatriate staff”.

But from the late 1980s, the system started experiencing enormous challenges as the

government failed to match investment in the education sector with the growth in population.

For instance, from less than 3,000 pupils’ enrolment back in 1960, the figure skyrocketed to over 102,000 and to 32 million in 2020 in both public and private schools. Secondary school number and enrolment went from 1,227 and 24,640 respectively in 1960 to over 35,000 public and private secondary schools in 2018 with 12.4 million students.

To compound the challenge this pivotal sector was facing, the government took over the missionary schools without a plan for adequatefundingandmonitoring.

Examining the sector, Okebukola, said the education sec-

tor, therefore, found itself in deep crisis. “Challenges in education are too numerous. They include Poor quality training with many having low content knowledge of their teaching subjects.

Low level of remuneration leading to low enthusiasm for teaching and discouraging optimal performance on the job.

Mismatch of teaching subject with the subject assigned to teach in school, lack of interest in teaching as a profession, Weak capacity in using exciting teaching strategies to boost the academic performance of students.

Other challenges, he said include “Poor attitude to schoolwork as they look forward to cutting corners to pass, Negative

mind-set about the value of education owing to employment difficulties after graduation.

Other includes parents shamefully aiding and abetting their children to commit examination malpractice, some parents have too many children that they cannot afford to give quality education. Engaging their children in child labour practices like hawking when they are supposed to be in school. Low investment in education and paying lip service to funding education, Poor incentive structure for teachers and minimal scholarship opportunities for students, Inadequate provision of school facilities. Poor implementation

of educational policies and policy inconsistency, Political interference in the day-to-day administration of educational institutions. Failure to plan for the education needs of the rising population and Weak quality assurance especially at the basic educational level among others”.

Okebukola further explained that by the year 2000, the universities were short of everything but students. There was an acute shortage of staff to cope with the much-expanded system. Funding inadequacies persisted. Quality of instructional delivery was poor. Frequent strikes leading to closures exerted a toll on the quality of graduates. Incidences of examination malpractice, cultism and “sorting” did not abate.

On his part, Felix Salako, vice chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), noted that a population of about 205 million people with about 55% of youths who are mostly unemployed even with different levels of education is demoralising for the youths, many of the so-called employed are under-employed.

Unlike the first 20-30 years after independence, education provided meal tickets that provided adequate sustenance of families. The fallout of the current demoralising situation of unemployment is that many do not see the need to pursue

education vigorously again.

As countries across the world invest in education sector to facilitate human capital development to help push frontiers of learning across sectors, Nigeria is yet to find its feet after 60 years of independence, as it has failed to leverage its population and geographical advantages to develop this pivotal sector to stem huge brain drain and foreign exchange loss.

For Nigeria to leapfrog these challenges as it celebrates 60 years independence, Okebukola, opines that managers of the education sector must build and resource our schools to meet international standards and be learner friendly.

“Train a new breed of 21st-century teachers who are steeped in the use of modern methods of instruction and are at the cutting edge of knowledge in their subject matter”.

“Provide a curriculum running from basic through higher education that will lead students to develop 21st-century skills and make them acquire values of good citizenship”.

Improve funding to education and enforce transparency and accountability in the financing of education; set up a national network of quality assurance system for basic education with state inspectorates of education as nodes.

only about $1.42, against $18.

Since 2000, the highest level of spending was at 7.3 percent of total government expenditure in 2006. From 5.3 percent in 2015, it plunged to 4.5 percent against the 2001 African Union agreement that member countries will commit at least 15 percent of their annual budget to improve the health sector.

At 60, the bottom line of stakeholders’ concerned is that the political will to overhaul the healthcare system needs to be stronger to strengthening the health security of Nigerians.

Innocent Ujah, national president of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) says much

more needs to be done in terms of improving the quality of hospitals available to common people at the grassroots level.

“The capacity development is improving but we need more.

By and large, Nigeria has come a longwaybutwecandomorewith more staff,” he told BusinessDay. Doyin Odubanjo, former chairman, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, said the COVID-19 pandemic has pointed to the fact that the health sector needs the highest attention possible which will be shaped by a strong political will to deal with all the issues.

Standard health sector still elusive Anthonia Obokoh & Temitayo Ayetoto

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t Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the agenda on healthcare had begun to shift from expanding urban services to the development of rural health infrastructure and services. The national policy for health care services targeted the establishment of rural hospitals of about 24 beds, under the supervision of a medical officer who would look after dispensaries, maternal, and child welfare.

As healthcare management evolved into complex structures in the years leading up to independence, the control of healthcare services moved from the colonial office in London to regional governments in the east, west and northern Nigeria but with funding from the federal government.

By 1981, the Fourth National Development Plan had been birth to address three components of the Basic Health Services Scheme (BHSS): Comprehensive Health Centers (CHC) for communities of more than 20, 000 people; Primary Health Centers (PHC) to serve communities of 5000 to 20, 000 persons; and Health Clinics (HC) to serve 2000 to 5000 persons.

According to that plan, each local government area (LGAs)

would have a minimum of 7 PHCs and 30 HCs with at least one CHC at the apex of the health care services. The larger LGAs would each have, at least 12 PHCs and 50 HCs feeding into one or more CHCs. But 60 years later when Nigeria should be parading world class hospitals driven by innovation towards patient-centric care, only about 20 percent of 30,000 PHCs is functional. Most PHCs facilities lack the capacity to serve their core essence due to poor staffing, inadequate equipment and poor essential drug supply.

Several general hospitals today cannot confront emergencies with prompt clinical intervention.

The culmination of their poor performance has consistently piled undue pressure on underequipped tertiary hospitals struggling to focus on more complex medical urgencies.

The layout and performance of public healthcare management in Nigeria has been sullied and unconnected to the string of promising policies, strategic development plans and acts that havetrailedthesectorfordecades.

From independence till date, the giant thorn to health security for Nigerians remain lack of prioritization by the federal government a challenge that has dovetailed into weak www.businessday.ng

health infrastructures, loss of skilled manpower to better countries and poor health quality for Nigerians, particularly for the over 200 million poor population who depend on less than $1.9 per day for survival amid an inflation rate of 12.8 percent.

In 2020, dearth of beds still determines the survival rate of Nigerians as the country operates with 0.5 percent hospital beds per 1,000 people for a population of roughly 200 million.

Diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable disease within the country is still a hassle.

The largest economy in Africa faces dearth of storage facilities for health commodities. National health coverage remains far short of population, mounting the out-of-pocket burden on Nigerians by 77 per cent.

While the population continuestoexpand,healthexpenditure hasaveraged3.7percentofannual budgets in the last five years. The N315.7 billion allocated to health in the 2019 budget marks 3.54 percent of a total of N2.1 trillion.

Yet, neither full release nor implementation was achieved for the fund-starved sector.

Nigeria’s record of spending inconsequentially on healthcare is not an offshoot of recent decline in economy flourishing.

It dates back to the 90s.

From 1975 to 1980, N689

million was allocated to healthcare out of a total expenditure of N43 billion. This amounts to just 1.6 percent of the total proposed expenditure. The naira in 1975 was almost equal to $2 and Nigeria’s population hovered around 75 Million. It means per capita expenditure on health therefore was about $18 in 1975.

In the 2004 federal budget of N99.8 billion, the health sector got a record high N26.4 billion, 26 percent. However, with recurrent expenditure gulping the larger lion share, the population dangling around 130 million and naira at $0.007, the per capita expenditure was

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nigeria@60

Bitter-sweet tale of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector Odinaka Anudu

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t has been a bittersweet story for Nigeria’s manufacturing sector in the last 60 years. After Independence in 1960, the then Nigerian government came up with the Import Substitution Policy, with a view to reducing over-dependence on imports, creating a high number of local jobs and saving the foreign exchange. This was seen as a diametrically superb policy that was targeted at transforming the country from an agrarian to an industrial economy. But the policy failed because the British did not prepare Nigeria for industrialisation, according to a paper written by two researchers, Gabriel Aza Nyor and Dodo Ayuba Chinge. Economic historians say that the British colonialists merely paid attention to agriculture, which was supplying them with essential raw materials needed in their overseas factories. But on the flip side, this launched Nigeria into the global market as a strong agro nation. As of 1960s, Nigeria was world’s biggest producer of palm oil, accounting for 45 percent of global output. The country was also a major exporter of cocoa and rubber to the rest of the world.

However, the Import Substitution Policy crashed because early policy makers, like the current ones, believed that protectionism was a cure-all for the country’s fledgling economy.

An apparently young country pursuing an industrialisation mission thought it wise to start barring importation even when some of its industries would need foreign raw materials. Inevitably, this policy died a natural death and was replaced with the indigenisation policy. This later policy, also known as the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree, was meant to transfer ownership of firms operated by foreigners to Nigerians. Foreign firms were limited to certain businesses to allow locals to thrive and set up industries.

More so, it was pursued as part of the then government’s development plan of 1970-1974.

More than 1,000 hitherto foreign-owned firms were handed over to the locals. This policy attracted a lot of criticisms and was marred by corruption. Many Nigerians became suddenly rich and bought shares of several enterprises through the back door.

Some fronted for foreigners who were still silently controlling the businesses. However, it was a major set-back because of poor management and obvious lack of local skills to run those enterprises. Chibuzo Ogbuagu, a former assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, the United States, postulated that the policy was merely predicated upon the feeling of eco-

nomic and political nationalism and that economic efficiency might have been compromised because of a strong surge of nationalism.

It was later amended in 1977 to limit the number of companies an individual could have control over and streamline the type of businesses that would be done by foreigners. It must be admitted, however, that these two policies, which coincided with Nigeria’s first and second development plans, raised a bar for Nigerians and encouraged the rise of several industries and supporting infrastructure. Such industries like Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Aluminium Smelter, Delta Steel and many textile and palm oil firms sprang up within this period, making Nigeria an industrial giant. Kainji Dam and Ughelli Thermal Plant, among other infrastructure projects, also sprang up during this period.

Two development plans preceded the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) introduced by the self-acclaimed civilian president, Ibrahim Babangida.

But before SAP, the foundation laid earlier had been shaking, as crude oil had become the new darling. Even with oil glut and fluctuations in the crude oil market, policy makers and leaders had committed less money to research and development, while allowing companies to die due to high production costs and interest rate.

The SAP liberalised trade, and encouraged privatisation and exports. But it also ushered in unbridled importation of cheap and sub-standard products. In a liberal market, players must be fair. But this was lacking as local manufacturers could not compete partly because of high cost of production and influx of cheap goods. Also, there was no protection for infant industries www.businessday.ng

which, like children, needed protection.

The result of an off and on policy flip-flops was that manufacturing growth rate fell from 11 to 3.5 percent in 2009 while capacity utilisation in industries followed the same trajectory, falling from 70 to 34 percent, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria Bulletin. As the cost of production was rising, the government introduced Cargo Tracking Note, raising production costs higher. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said in 2009 that 839 firms shut down that year.

Within this period, policies on automotive industry, palm oil, rubber, cocoa and other nonoil export products were never implemented religiously.

However, the 2006 cement industry revolution was a big step in the right direction.

The then President Olusegun Obasanjo assembled the bourgeoisie and cement importers and encouraged them to set up local plants. As long as an

...the Import Substitution Policy crashed because early policy makers, like the current ones, believed that protectionism was a cure-all for the country’s fledgling economy

entrepreneur was willing to set up a local plant, they would be entitled to import quotas. This helped to shore up local production of cement, making Nigeria a net exporter today. Fourteen years down the line, Nigeria produces over 40 million metric tonnes of cement, with Dangote Cement, BUA, and Lafarge as the major players. This policy was, however, tested against rice by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, but it failed because it was abused, according to the then administration.

But here is the policy part.

Many firms have shut down because governments after governments had fluctuating import and export policies. Import duties were unilaterally relaxed or lowered by some regimes without due consultations with all the stakeholders. Export policies were inconsistent. The Export Expansion Grant (EEG), which was targeted at raising the competitiveness of Nigerian products at the global market, had been suspended five times by 2009. By 2013, it was suspended again, putting a lot of firms who borrowed from banks in jeopardy. Firms had borrowed from banks to process their exports on the hope that the government would, as promised, give them incentives.

But the government in 2013 suddenly suspended it. The EEG is not a Nigerian thing. It is the tool used by China to dominate the export world. Several other countries are providing it to their exporters to make them competitive. But up till now, it is yet to be reinstated, though a lot of processes have been undergone by exporters, including approval by both houses of the National Assembly.

The level of policy failures in recent times has been worrisome. Think about the cassava bread policy, which has

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now died a natural death. The Goodluck Jonathan administration, which promoted it, did not follow it through and those who invested money into cassava production with an eye on that policy might have lost a lot of money.

Then came the Automotive Policy, which was sincerely meant to enable Nigeria make its own cars at cheaper rates. Today, the policy is not implemented, though government officials make it seem otherwise. The 2013 National Automotive Policy imposed 35 percent levy and 35 percent duty on imported vehicles, amounting to a total of 70 percent.

Even with 70 percent fees paid on imported vehicles, importers of damaged or ‘accidented’ vehicles officially enjoy a rebate of 30 percent. What this has done is to encourage the importation of rickety vehicles, which make up 70 percent of imported cars today.

The age of most imported used cars in Nigeria is 15 years, whereas that of Algeria, Angola, Chad, Mauritius and Seychelles is three, according to a research done by PwC’s Andrew Nevin, partner and chief economist at PwC Nigeria.

This has kept most car assemblers out of business. The prohibitive levy and duty paid on imported cars have encouraged smuggling of vehicles into Nigeria. Officially, market for cars in the country is just 6,999 as against 555,716 in South Africa; 181,001 in Egypt; 168,913 in Morocco, and 94,408 in Algeria.

But hundreds of thousands of vehicles come into the country each year. So, of what merit is the policy?

Also, the Goodluck Jonathan administration had genuine technocrats willing to industrialise Nigeria, though some players took advantage of loopholes @Businessdayng

in the policies to make money.

But the 2013 National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) represents Nigeria’s most comprehensive industrial policy since Independence. Where is that policy, prepared by experts from reputable global and local institutions, including UNIDO? Like others before it, major sections of that policy have been abandoned and left in the shelves by the current Muhammadu Buhari administration. Assuming that investors banked their investments on that policy, what happens to those humongous investments? Many companies today are investing billions in backward integration and they need clear policies, funding and good business environment to operate efficiently.

More so, the rise of retail stores has such as Shoprite, Spa, Grocery Bazaar, among others, has helped to market made-inNigeria products better, making them competitive. However, the major challenge hurting Nigerian manufacturers is that they are producing for a majorly poor population that cannot afford to buy their products. Poverty is about 45 to 50 percent, with inflation at 13.2 percent. The economy shrank 6 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020m according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The manufacturing sector has been worse. Growth was -8.78 percent in the second quarter of 2020, as against -0.13 percent in the second quarter of 2019. In the last five Q2 quarters, manufacturing has only seen growth twice in Q2 of 2017and Q2 of 2018. Manufacturers say their key challenges are high cost of energy and poor infrastructure.

Four hundred CEOs of major manufacturing companies in Lagos said in the first quarter of 2020 that Apapa and Tin Can were threatening to shut down their companies.

In an interview conducted by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on critical challenges facing the sector in Q1 2020, 94 percent of the CEOs said that congestion at the ports had a significantly negative effect on their productivity and cost of production.

“Most worrisome are the issues of deliberate delay in cargo clearing time, raising of technical barriers, rejection of relevant documents by officers of the agency that approved import documents, multiple agencies with duplicated functions and other rent-seeking activities of vested interests at the port that excessively fleece operators,” they said.

Nigerian leaders must choose between the options of building a strong and resilient economy, and running a rent-seeking import-dependent system that breed poverty. The choice is theirs.

20

Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN

In celebration of Nigeria’s 60th independence, BusinessDay’s WOMEN’S HUB, a few weeks ago, put out adverts called Nominate Your Women Champions, where you were all asked to choose your WOMEN CHAMPIONS. Regular women doing phenomenal things.

trust that the light that you shine will continually radiate through all you do. Keep spreading the love that got you noticed and qualified you to be among the selected 60. Here is to greater heights, massive positive impact and lasting rewards!

From the 36 states of Nigeria including Abuja, there are various women giving their bit to the society, doing outstanding things. Their desire is to make Nigeria a better place and with little or no support, they are undaunted yet driven by their desire to be a caring shoulder to others.

Visit www.businessday.ng to download today’s edition of Women’s Hub Magazine where the 60 Champions have been profiled.

These women were nominated and after a thorough process of selection, we present to you the 60 women selected from all the entries received from all over Nigeria.

BusinessDay’s Women’s Hub congratulates you all and we www.businessday.ng

Congratulations!

Associate Editor, BusinessDay

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@Businessdayng

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 02 October 2020

21

AGRIBUSINESSINSIGHT Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Nigeria missing out on bigger slice of $1.5tn global food trade CALEB OJEWALE

I

n 1962, Nigeria’s food exports as a percentage of merchandise exports was 64.52 percent but by 2018 had dropped to 1.95 percent, yet, global trade in food continues to boom with more opportunities to cash in on account of the growing world population and industrial needs.

In fact, the global agri-food trade has more than doubled since 1995, amounting to $1.5 trillion in 2018, with emerging and developing countries’ exports on the rise and accounting for over one-third of the world’s total, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Described as the FAO’s flagship publication, the State of Agricultural Commodity Markets, 2020 (SOCO 2020) argues that global trade and well-functioning markets lie at the heart of the development process as they can spur

inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, and strengthen resilience to shocks.

“We need to rely on markets as an integral part of the global food system. This is all the more important in the face of major

disruptions, whether they come from COVID-19, locust outbreaks or climate change,” wrote Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General in the report’s foreword.

The report estimates that about one-third of global agricultural

and food exports are traded within a global value chain and cross borders at least twice.

The rise of global value chains is driven by income growth, lower trade barriers and technological advancements, which have transformed markets and trade processes, linking farmers to traders and consumers across regions and countries.

“Global value chains can make it easier for developing countries to integrate into global markets. As they link our food markets closely, they also provide a mechanism to diffuse best practices to promote sustainable development,” said the FAO Director-General.

In turn, by participating in global value chains, smallholder farmers can boost their food production and income. On average and in the short term, a 10 percent increase in agriculture’s global value chain participation can result in an increase of around 1.2 percent in labour productivity, finds the report.

Village market organises fair for traders to leverage online trading of farm produce CALEB OJEWALE

Nigeria at 60 and its agricultural prospects with a consistent policy KABIR IBRAHIM

P

rior to the discovery of oil the main attraction of Nigeria as a colony was its vast land, prospective mineral resources and a diverse population.

With the discovery of oil and the income from it the seeming prosperity changed the perception of our leaders

T

here appears to have been a surge in online trading of agricultural produce during the recent lockdowns across the country. The difficulty in physically accessing food markets during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns, brought to reality the ‘new normal’ of shopping perishables, other types of food stuff and groceries online.

Village market, an online platform in existence since 2016 saw a jump in access to it, and recently organised a fair to get more players in the food distribution value chain acquainted with using technology to reach new markets.

“We really took advantage during the lockdown and were able to sell and move even with problems of police on the road, yet experienced high percentage of sales,” said Aderemi Sanni-Banjo, who recently convened the Farm to Urban Table Fair by Village Market. “We could see for that short time that what we sold was quite enormous and encouraging. As a matter of fact, that was the time people who didn’t know us were getting to know us.”

Themed ‘Developing Integrated Digital Food Market’, the fair was organised to leverage on the emerging opportunities in using the internet as a way to have agricultural produce delivered from farms to urban dwellers, and cutting to the barest minimum, the interference of middlemen.

“Our vision is to try to

Smallholder farmers, according to the report are often missing out on the benefits of global value chains. Furthermore, the emergence of global value chains with the stringent food quality and safety requirements could further marginalize smallholders.

“We need to redouble efforts to include smallholder farmers in modern food value chains, thus securing rural incomes and food security in both rural and urban areas,” said Dongyu.

To achieve this, there is a need for broad policies to create an environment that enables markets to flourish and bolsters smallholders’ participation in global value chains - for example, better rural infrastructure and services, education and productive technology, the report finds.

Making required policy and infrastructural commitments could help Nigeria bolster its productivity in not only meeting local food needs, but also getting a bigger portion of the export pie.

tural Transformation Agenda culminating in President Muhammadu Buhari’s Agricultural Promotion Policy(APP).

The attention given to the Agricultural sector by this administration is commendable and promising.

As we continue to consistently pursue the promotion of Agriculture we will attain food sufficiency and ultimately the desired food security to

Cross section of exhibitors at the Farm to Urban Table Fair

eliminate middlemen, so we want to bring from farmers and directly to (consumers) Lagos,” said Sani-Banjo. She also explained the platform also has arrangements with some farmers and processors in a few states whose products are brought directly to Lagos.

“We have found from our statistics and research that the middlemen are one of the major problems in bringing food from villages to urban centres so we are trying to connect farmers directly and some are already on the network,” she said.

According to her, most of the products on offer via the platform are 5-10 percent cheaper than market prices and trying to make sure it achieves even cheaper prices.

A major problem, however, remains transportation.

“From the village to Lagos it costs so much to bring food,” www.businessday.ng

she said.

According to Sani-Banjo, while moving more businesses online may have become the ‘new normal’, it could be made a ‘better normal’, which will eliminate needless physical visits to often-rowdy markets. As people need to devote more time to being productive, she explained this emphasis on utilising online platforms will give people an opportunity to shop for food items at their convenience and have same delivered with ease.

The platform current operates two models; the affiliate model and the franchise model. In the affiliate model, people are able to sell their goods without a physical shop but by promoting links to existing online stores on the platform to get customers.

They can also have people signing up under them to

earn points. On the other hand, the franchise model also works with or without an existing physical shop but with a dedicated online store, with opportunities for mentoring, coaching and supplies of goods as may be required.

For food trading to thrive online, just like the conventional eCommerce platforms, she identifies limitations to include internet access, with many people not having access to the internet, and the cost of internet as well. She notes, however, that there is a need to continually educate people to move from the “normal to this better normal” in trading farm produce.

Integrity, she says is also very important because one of the reservations people have is integrity that they would get the right qualities and quantities for farm produce purchased online.

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such that Agriculture which used to be the mainstay of the economy took a back seat.

Policy inconsistency, misapplication of the oil resources, corruption and outright neglect are responsible for the current poverty and food insufficiency.

Beginning 1999, however, President Olusegun Obasanjo began to change the policy direction towards the restoration of the dignity of Agriculture. The late President Umar Musa Yar’adua and his successor President Goodluck Ebere Jonathan continued the effort through the Agricul@Businessdayng

propel the country into the club of first World economies like Singapore. While we congratulate Nigeria for its 60 years of Independence from colonial rule we pray for it to work tirelessly to attain food security in the next couple of years.

We firmly believe that this is doable by completely overhauling the management of the food system through innovation and if need be disruptive innovation.

Ibrahim is national president, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Malnutrition, protein deficiency surges in Nigeria amid COVID-19 pandemic ANTHONIA OBOKOH

S

ince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria has seen a surge in the number of malnourished persons in the country, experts say.

The experts who spoke at Protein Challenge Webinar Series 4, with the theme ‘COVID-19 and Nigeria’s Protein Deficiency Situation’ say children, female adults of reproductive age, pregnant and lactating women, elderly and convalescent are especially vulnerable in a pandemic, with a big effect on malnutrition.

They say that the obstruction in the supply chains for agricultural activities amid the initial lockdown has brought about a surge in food prices, thus making it more difficult for poor Nigerians to eat nutritional food.

They noted that malnutrition is multi-factorial and anything that affects any of these factors; agriculture, transport and logistics, health, spending, GDP, household finances will eventually affect peoples’ level of nutrition.

According to them, Nigeria has the second-highest number of children affected by malnutrition globally, with more than 2.5 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition with two out of 10

affected children have access to treatment.

The country also has the second-highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under five.

Adepeju Adeniran, said malnutrition will have shortterm or acute effects and “long-term” or chronic effects noting that the hidden truth is that protein sources will show their effects slightly later, but just as impactful.

According to the public health physician explained that for the Short-term effects energy giving foods will be out of reach of the whole household and effects will be first seen in the household vulnerable.

She further stated that in the long-term the growth and

development of foods will be out of reach of the whole household and this effect will be first seen in the household vulnerable but will affect other members, increase in infections and if prolonged will show effects in stunting and body development.

“In the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chain was severely threatened as farmers, transporters and food sellers were restricted in movements.

“Availability of food groups dropped, prices of food went up, household earning went down, scarcity of food by displacement occurred from the rural (producers) to the urban (consumers). No ability of the urban areas to produce their own food, leading to a displacement scarcity, harvests were lost as food was rotted

at production sites and food supply is not perfectly elastic,” Adeniran added.

Adeniran also spoke on the specific links of COVID-19 to protein deficiency, according to her, both animal and plant sources of protein are important dietary components of food.

“Humans consume mostly the adult form of animal proteins so it must take time to produce. Plant proteins are also an excellent source of the nutrient, which manages to by-pass the long time factor of production that animal proteins take.

While month-long disruptions have created effects that are not easy to reverse, Adeniran however advocated for a well-developed processing and storage systems to be designed to augment the effects of COVID-19 on nutrition.

In the same vein, Beatrice Chinyem Oganah-Ikujenyo, a nutritionist, from the department of Home Economics, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, said animal proteins (beef, mutton, pork, poultry, game and seafood are more expensive because of the cost of breeding, producing and processing when compared with plant protein.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessdayonline.com/

Experts call for improved healthcare financing to boost economic growth GBEMI FAMINU

H

ealth and economic Experts have called for the need to improve healthcare financing in order to develop activities in the sector for the benefit of the country’s citizens and for economic growth in the long run.

Speaking at the Pre-NES26 webinar themed “Healthcare Financing in Nigeria: Realities, Impediments and Opportunities” hosted by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) held recently, Olorunnimbe Mamora, minister of state for Health, said the pandemic has brought to the fore the inefficiencies in Nigeria’s

health system and the barriers to universal health coverage which serves as a ticket that guarantees all citizens access to quality healthcare without financial hardship. He added that as a result, the sector requires reformation which will fully utilize the opportunities inherent in the country’s healthcare industry “The current estimate of outof-pocket health expenditure is 77.5 percent and the funding gap for primary healthcare has been estimated at 84 percent.

Healthcare financing in Nigeria has suffered a huge setback as a result of the CVID-19 pandemic which has almost crippled our economy, it is however impor-

tant that primary healthcare is prioritized.” he said.

The minister also said that sustainable investment in the healthcare sector is vital for national economic prosperity and growth, adding that nations that priorities its citizens’ health tends to be economically productive and viable.

Yinka Sanni, chief executive officer (CEO), West Africa Standard Bank Group who doubles as a board member of the NESG, in his remarks, said the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for the country to deepen and rethink its approach to healthcare financing.

“In Nigeria, the perennial

challenge of poor infrastructure and shortage of Health workers due to decades of under-investment in healthcare has been exacerbated by the pandemic and its economic fallouts. It has brought to the fore the need to strengthen the country’s health system to build resilience against future occurrences and accelerate towards the attainment of the health-related SDGs” Sanni said.

Ben Akabueze director-general, Budget office of Nigeria, said Nigeria currently has the lowest public sector revenue to GDP ratio in the world, hovering around 8 percent which is about half of the African average.

Why embracing WHO 90-70-90 target crucial to eliminating cervical cancer in Nigeria CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

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espite being a preventable disease, the burden of cervical cancer is rapidly growing in Nigeria.

This life-threatening illness has continued to claim women’s lives, taken substantial toll on their health and monetary resources because of lack of access to affordable treatment, and continuous decline in the uptake of life-saving vaccines.

The increase in the incidence of the disease is due to key factors which include limited vaccination of girls against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), inadequate information on cervical cancer screening programmes for early detection as well as untreated early cancerous changes in the cervix.

If the federal government takes the above-mentioned into consideration, then these public health measures can go a long way to forestall precancerous changes to the cervix and reduce the chances of developing cervical cancer.

It has been posited globally that cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, and comes after breast cancer in Nigeria.

Also, it is the most prevalent female reproductive cancer in the country, and is primarily caused by infection with one or more of the high-risk types of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) – a Sexually Transmitted Infection.

Some of the risk factors of developing cervical cancer are early sexual Intercourse, early marriage, multiple sexual partners, continuous exposure to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STls), and smoking, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or other Immunosuppression.

Although Immunization programmes are primarily centered on babies, earlier studies have shown that when preteens (between ages 9 and 12) are vaccinated, it can prevent up to 90 per cent of HPV-related cancers later on in life.

As of 2020, less than a quarter of developing countries have introduced the HPV vaccine into their national immunization schedules, while

more than 85 percent of developed countries have done so. Similar disparities are also observed in the establishment of cervical cancer screening programmes, a report according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The WHO global target focuses on three key pillars which include preventing cervical cancer through widely distributed HPV vaccination, screening precancerous lesions, and treating invasive cervical cancer.

“90 percent of girls should be fully vaccinated by 15 years of age, 70 percent of women should be screened at least twice with a high-performance test by age 45 percent and 90 per cent of women with precancerous lesions or cancer should receive the appropriate care and treatment, including palliative care,” Tedros Adhanom, director-general WHO, urged member States to adopt the 90-70-90 target.

Speaking at a recent webinar meeting, Osagie Ehanire, Nigeria’s minister of health, , said cancer screening is still at a rudimentary stage in Africa, noting that 80 per cent of the continent is yet to have access to the Human PapillomaVirus vaccine.

Ehanire who disclosed this during the virtual meeting titled, “The State of Cancer Control Amidst Covid-19”, said the federal government is committed to the introduction of human papillomavirus vaccine into the routine immunization schedule by the first quarter of 2021.

“We will budget for it and match our words with action.

Nigeria is strongly committed to achieving the WHO’s global target of 90 per cent coverage of HPV vaccination of girls, 70 per cent coverage of cervical screening and 90 per cent treatment of cervical cancer by 2030. We have achieved this success before in HIV/ AIDS, we can do it again,” the minister assured.

With the introduction of HPV vaccine into the routine immunization schedule, and unfettered access to early treatment, no doubt it will set Nigeria on the path of eliminating Cervical Cancer.

Immunisation: Traditional leaders, religious bodies tasked to sensitise people SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

T

he Kwara Government has appealed to traditional leaders and religious bodies across the 16 local government areas of the state to support the government efforts on immunisation to their subjects and adherents.

Nusirat Elelu, executive secretary of the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency stated this recently at a Stakeholders Meeting on Routine Immunization and PHC in Kwara.

She says that Nigeria’s Nation-

al Programme on immunization has achieved some significant improvement in service delivery coverage in the last few years with huge investments by Governments and Development Partners.

Elelu, however, lamented that the ongoing pandemic has led to declined turnout and high dropout rates, leaving these children with inadequate protection from vaccine preventable diseases.

“There is the need to increase awareness and sensitization of caregivers on the threat posed to child survival by Vaccine Preventable Diseases.

“These can only be achieved www.businessday.ng

by an influential and respected group of people in the society.

No other group can adequately undertake this task than our respected and highly revered traditional and religious institutions,” she said.

According to Elelu, the support of the traditional leaders, in the past years has moved the state forward from the previous unacceptable position it occupied in Routine Immunization Performance and other PHC interventions.

The medical practitioner reiterated that the KWSPHCDA will continue to collaborate with partners to strengthen routine

immunization.

Elelu was optimistic that the outcome of the meeting will renew commitment to promote child survival strategies in different communities and religious assemblies.

Also speaking at the meeting, Michael Oguntoye, director of Primary HealthCare Development Agency noted that the state government is fully committed to the routine immunisation program.

Oguntoye emphasized that the support of traditional leaders and faith based organization is needed to ensure people across the 16 local government areas of

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the state immunise their wards and children.

Also, he observes that routine immunisation is the entry point into PHC, adding that the immunisation performance chart in Nigeria has indicated millions of child deaths had been prevented.

“Despite total commitment by government and donor agencies, there are still hindrances and poor outcomes from routine immunisation data,” he said.

Similarly, Ahmad Tsoho Health Specialist of the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), emphasized that there is a lot of work to be done as regards routine immunisation to reach all the @Businessdayng

eligible children across the state.

“Immunisation is the most effective public health intervention.

One out of every four children have no access vaccination,” he said.

Tsoho stated that UNICEF would continue to partner the state government and all other stakeholders to ensure that every child is protected from child killer diseases.

He commended the state government commitment towards routine immunisation, saying that in 2016, Kwara performance chart on immunisation was 49 percent but has improved to 54 percent in 2018.

Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

23

ENTERTAINMENT

‘Canon offers African filmmakers tools that support their creative requirements, storytelling’

With the investment of eight percent of its revenues in research and development, Canon has been pushing the boundaries in technology and innovation for ground-breaking products for filmmakers and imaging creatives globally. In this interview, AMINE DJOUAHRA, sales and marketing director, Canon Central and North Africa, unveils to OBINNA EMELIKE some of the innovative cameras, their impacts on film production, support for low budget movie production, and other partnerships with African film industry. Excerpt:

C

ongratulations on the many innovative offerings from Canon. Why did Canon invest in new technologies that support low budget movie production?

Advances in technology are having an increasing impact on society, and the pace of development continues to accelerate. To meet the challenge of these rapidly changing times, Canon stays on the cutting edge by actively pursuing research and development (R&D) around the world.

Canon cameras are developed after R&D informed by the input of customers through our closer to customer strategy. The feedback from the market allows us to understand and appreciate better the experience of a broad section of photographers and videographers of all levels of skills and experience. Each year we invest 8 percent of our revenues in R&D, pushing the boundaries in technology and innovation to develop and launch ground-breaking products.

In your view, which of the cameras are purpose-built for budget movie production?

It is Canon’s EOS C70. It is a compact and versatile camera that is the first to combine the powerful image quality of Canon’s Cinema EOS System range with the portability and flexibility of its EOS R line-up. For the first time ever, filmmakers using a Canon Cinema EOS System camera can enjoy the incredible possibilities of the powerful RF lens range.

Considering their hi-tech, are there trainings to expose directors of photography in movie production to the workings of the cameras, mainte-

nance, and servicing?

At Canon, we have always believed in empowering our customers and all photographers in general with knowledge and an opportunity to experience our equipment. We have the Miraisha initiative that supports the Canon Academy where we host regular sessions with various partners to develop skills of African youth in imaging. We also recently added a digital portal called Canon Connected as one of the ways in which we help develop the industry by sharing knowledge. Canon Ambassadors and other renowned photographers and filmmakers have recorded sessions where they share their skills to help people improve their skills while at home.

Wwe also looked at forging a stronger collaboration between us and our partners so we could work better together in serving our customers. We also aimed to expand the skills and tools of our technicians to be able to enhance our support to more customers.

What feedback are you getting from filmmakers who have used the new technologies in their production?

We have invested into more dynamic partnerships with creative industries, such as Nollywood. We have been fortunate enough to have Kunle Afolayan, award winning filmmaker, use our Cinema EOS C300 Mark II last year for his production of Mokalik and more recently for his latest film, Citation, where he used the cutting-edge EOS C500 Mark II camera. It is an opportunity to support the best creatives with the best equipment, so they achieve the best form of their vision, and hopefully win more

Amine Djouahra

awards on a global scale.

How accessible are the new cameras, which Canon intends to use in supporting low budget production?

Canon has provided African creatives some of the best tools to define it. We have already seen an increase of African content on global streaming sites as a reflection of innovative new ways of sharing content. At Canon, we worked very hard to be part of that revolution by providing award winning equipment that is also accredited by streaming platforms like Netflix. This sort of endorsement gives African filmmakers the confidence to know they are working with tools that will support their creative requirements, while meeting and surpassing industry standards. That alone means that our creatives are using exactly

the same standard of equipment as the best filmmakers and other imaging creatives globally. We are confident that this is the right step towards seeing more homegrown content on the biggest viewing platforms more regularly.

Apart from the cameras, what else is Canon doing to boost quality movie production in Africa?

Generally, we support professionals and enthusiasts with leading cameras and lenses.

However, we also bolster this support by actively developing future professionals. The long-term goal is to support the creation of a sustainable imaging industry in the region. We rely on our Miraish Programme to help us achieve this outcome of empowering young Africans with skills, experience and exposure

to help them reach their best potential in imaging. Miraisha is a combination of the Japanese word ‘Mirai’, which means Future and the Swahili word ‘Maisha’, which means Livelihood. Miraisha has been inspired by the company’s corporate philosophy, called Kyosei, which embodies the ideal of living and working together for the common good.

We also develop a relationship with the brand through Canon Academy and the Canon Tech Talk series, to address knowledge sharing and consumer education. The idea is to develop and support the market and its skills, and through this relationship, learn more about what African creatives want – then deliver innovative class leading products developed through lessons learnt from first-hand knowledge.

So far, are there partnerships with local movie companies and firms on movie production?

Canon hosted a private press screening of Golden Effects Pictures latest movie ‘MOKALIK’.

The private screening had exclusive guest attendance including members of the media, key industry stakeholders, cast and crew. Canon also showcased the full range of professional Canon cameras and lenses, enabling the Nigerian filmmaking community to network and get firsthand hands-on experience of Canon professional camcorders.

Following the Mokalik movie screening, produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan, using the Canon EOS C300 Mark II along with range of Canon Cinema Lenses CN-E14mm, CN-E24mm ,CN-E35mm, CN-E50mm, CNE85mm and CN-E135mm, Mo-

kalik stars the popular singer, Simi, alongside prominent actors such as Femi Adebayo, Charles Okocha and Faithia Williams through a deeply personal tale.

Kunle Afolayan said, “Mokalik is an ambitious film project that tells a story, which is unique and relevant to our society. It beautifully highlights diversity while distinctively addressing the issues around choice. Creating this movie has been an amazing experience and Canon made the experience even better with their support. The Canon EOS C300 Mark II – stunning 4K quality and versatility allowed me as a producer to experience creative vision in stunning cinematic details and provide footage suitable for extensive post-production work. The EOS C300 Mark II with Canon cine lenses range also helped the team to technically get one step ahead and create a world-class movie, which promises to break boundaries”.

How much impact do you think the new cameras will make on the quality of movies?

We provide award winning equipment. Africa in general has been an exciting market for Canon where we have grown ever since we have been doing business in the region. We have pioneered initiatives in many markets and these initiatives give Canon an opportunity to help our customers gain more value from their equipment as we share our knowledge with our customers so they can do more with their Canon equipment. For Canon we also learn more about what our customers truly desire and use these insights for our R&D which is why we continue to be the global imaging leader.

Open Doors Series celebrates Nigeria at 60 with stage performance, painting competition OBINNA EMELIKE

A

s part of its celebration of the 60 years independence anniversary of Nigeria, which it tagged, ‘The future is now’, Open Doors Series is presenting Brittle-ing Diamond, an enthralling play.

Written by Ahmed Yerima, produced by Ayobamidele Aladekomo, directed by Niji Akanni and performed by the Segun Adefila-led Crown Troupe of Africa, the play Brittle-ing Diamond puts a mirror in the face of Nigeria as it clocks its 60th year after independence.

It reflects the sacrifice of the military in Nigeria’s political trajectory, spotlighting its role in helping to sustain and consolidate

democracy. It was the military that rescued the First Republic from its descent into chaos. But for its intervention at that critical period in history, the entity called Nigeria would have disintegrated – barely five years into its attainment of self-governance from the colonial powers. The Nigerian Army, like the nation it helped to rescue, has had its own plethora of challenges; much of which arose from the nature and structure of the country and the idiosyncrasies of its military personnel.

However, the military redeemed itself by returning the country to democracy thereby reinstalling our hard-earned independence.

And by its continuous sacrifices in the theatre of war, the military has helped to sustain and consolidate democratic governance in the last www.businessday.ng

two decades.

The play is a re-work of Mirror Cracks by Ahmed Yerima, a professor, playwright and theatre director. However, the play has been refocused to examine the impact and relationship of the Nigerian military with the Nigerian populace. It also takes a critical look at silent issues in the military such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The re-work of the play is done specifically for the 60th celebration of the Nigerian nation; the themes were selected in a series of workshops, which involved Ayobamidele Aladekomo, the producer and Teju Kareem, the executive producer.

Moreover, one of the purposes of the production of the play is to also activate a mentorship programme even in the arts, by combining veteran and young actors,

experienced and new producers, experienced digital operators and budding ones alike to create a production that will be solely on zoom and enjoyable to the audience in the comfort of their homes.

As well, the play is intended to highlight the overall virtual theatre experience to tell the story of all heroes that have sacrificed their lives to the military and most importantly their civilian families.

Also, as part of the activities under its ‘Future is now’ programme for the celebration of the 60 years independence anniversary milestone, Open Door Series is organising a virtual art exhibition. “My New Nigeria on a Canvas of Unity” will be unveiled on October 1, 2020. The virtual exhibition will open for a period of 90 days to promote storytelling

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among the participants, Art for Peace Initiative Community and startups”, the organisers said.

The project is geared to spark youth creativity through exploration and exposure of their talents and skills towards building an egalitarian nation where unity, peace and justice will reign. The project is expected to produce a 15ft by 10ft “The New Nigeria on Canvas” painting by 60 finalists from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Produced by Foluke Michael, and coordinated by Olusegun Al-Maroof, a thorough shortlisting process has gone into the selection of the 60 artists and team leads out of the various applications submitted.

Meanwhile, six team leads have emerged from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria and they are @Businessdayng

currently working to select nine other painters from each zone.

The team leads are: Abdullahi Garba, from Jigawa for North West zone; Usman Usman, from Gombe for the North East zone; John Ali, from Nasarawa, for the North Central; Akan Edem David from Uyo, for the South South zone; Ifedilichukwu Chibuike, from Enugu city, for the South East zone and Ashaka Victory, from Badagry/ Lagos, for the South west zone.

The project, according to Open Door Series, will promote youth inclusiveness in national discourse, youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and art for peace initiative. The 60 participants will be trained and empowered for skill and entrepreneurship development in readiness to build the future now.

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

THE WEST Ondo 2020: Eleventh hour alliance possible between Jegede, Ajayi as Obasanjo wades in

Gov Abdulrazaq receives audited reports on road construction, stops payment on roads

PDP dangles Ondo central senatorial ticket before Mimiko

overnor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara state has directed that no further payment should be made to the contractor handling the Kwara State College of Education Road in Ilorin until the exact figures ascertained in line with an audited report that exposed some disparities between the work done and what was approved.

He equally suggested that the contractor might make refunds to the government if the variations of job done are below the balance of the amount of job said to have been left undone, though the government is yet to finish due payment to the contractors.

A statement from the Government Office said in a zoom meeting in July with the Elite Network for Sustainable Development (ENETSUD) Abdullateef Alagbonsi, the Governor proposed social audit to enable civic groups and host communities to track

RAZAQ AYINLA, and KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure.

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ess than 10 days to the Governorship Poll in Ondo state, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other chieftains of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have begun frantic moves to woo Agboola Ajayi, candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) back to PDP as part of political manoeuvring to win Ondo gubernatorial election.

These political moves by former president and some chieftains of PDP, including Uche Secondus, PDP National Party Chairman, were made as part of the political efforts to wrest power from incumbent Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state, having won the recently concluded governorship poll in Edo state.

Recall that the Election Review Committee of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 led by Governor Bala

Mohammed of Bauchi state, had recently met with the former Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan; former Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and former Senate President, David Mark in Abuja behind closed doors.

Findings revealed that the Governor Bala Mohammedled 2019 PDP Election Review Committee, categorically and particularly begged former President Obasanjo forgive them for the poor outings between 2015 and 2019, asking the elder statesman to deploy longstanding political experience of his, to savage ‘the sinking ship of Nigeria’ by helping them identify PDP problems and probably offer solutions to them ahead of 2023 General Elections.

This prompted a political meeting in Abuja between Segun Mimiko, former governor of Ondo state and National Leader of Zenith Labour Party and Obasanjo where Mimiko was reportedly persuaded upon to plead with Agboola Ajayi, deputy governor and

candidate of Zenith Labour Party to drop his ambition and work with Eyitayo Jegede of PDP ahead of next Saturday election.

It will be noted that Agboola Ajayi, who has a very large number of home-based loyalists from the Ondo South Senatorial District, was earlier defected to PDP, having fallen out with his boss, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of APC, but left PDP hurriedly for Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) when he could not secure governorship ticket of PDP. Speaking on the political arrangements ongoing ahead of Ondo governorship poll, a party chieftain, who was privy to the meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, said that “anything is still possible politically, even 24 hours are said be too long in politics if you consider what happened in 2016 when Jimoh Ibrahim, an aspirant of PDP, dumped the party to join Akeredolu of APC then when Court’s judgement didn’t favour him.

“What is possible in the coming Ondo poll is that Ag-

boola Ajayi might be stepping down for Jegede, Governorship Candidate of PDP, you can see that Baba Obasanjo is already talking to former Governor Segun Mimiko who is the major backbone and financier of Zenith Labour Party in Nigeria of today.

“Mimiko respects Baba Obasanjo very well and that is more reason why PDP leaders sent Baba Obasanjo to him to negotiate with him and part of the negotiations they had is that Mimiko will be given Ondo Central Senatorial ticket, a position he contested for and lost on the platform of ZLP in 2019 and I know he would want to go for that seat knowing full well that he has been longing for it after he left office as governor.

“PDP is also working to compensate Ajayi with options of running again as the deputy governor, in addition to some juicy posts and appointments for which I know he would accept at the end of the day, so, we must not rule out eleventh hour political alliance”, the source concluded.

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group of foreign and local investors that are being led by Ceplas Industries Limited, has begun moves to establish a new free trade zone in Ijebu-Remo axis, Ogun East Senatorial District with a view to creating a cluster of manufacturing industries that compete favourably with existing free trade zones in the country.

The new free trade zone if approved by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) will bring active free trade zones in the state to two after Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone in Igbesa, in Ogun West Senatorial District which is a partnership between Guangdong Province in the Republic of China and Ogun State Government.

Recall that former Governor Gbenga Daniel -led administration of Ogun state between years 2003 and 2011, facilitated three free trade zones to all three Senatorial Districts, namely, Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone in the West ; Olokola Free Trade Zone in the East; and Kajola Free Trade Zone in

L-R: Dotun Sorunke, permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Ogun State; Kola Adeniji, chairman, Niji Farms Group; Anthony Asiwaju, elder statesman and Asiwaju Balogun of Imekoland; Adewale Raji, group managing director, Odua Group and Adeola Odedina, Ogun State Comissioner for Agriculture during a working visit to the jointly-owned Cassava Farm at Imeko in Ogun state on Tuesday

the Central, but only Ogun Guangdong in the West is active as other two free zones are inactive.

But, as part of effort to reverse the trend for better economic prosperity, a group of new investors, majorly Indians that are led by the Ceplas Industries Limited, have, in partnership with Ogun State Government, approached the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) for approval to establish a cluster of manufacturing industries that export finished products to other African

countries.

This, according to the initiator, will increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product, create wealth, reduce capital flights and generate employment opportunities for the jobless Nigerians, thereby, boosting the country’s economies for which Ogun state will also benefit bountifully in terms of taxes and inflow of investments to the state.

Speaking during a dedicated industrial tour made to Celplas Plant in Sagamu by Ogun State Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Invest-

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ment, Abhijit Sanyal, Director of Operations, Ceplas Industries Limited, noted that with the pending approval of the new free trade zone, “many manufacturing companies have already shown interest in setting up factories within the zone and will begin operations once approval is secured from NEPZA.” Although, Sanyal expressed worries over the inability to access foreign exchange for hitch-free and early take-off the project if the approval is finally secured, he however said that right steps had been taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address some of challenges being encountered by the investors as he expresed optimism that all the challenges are surmountable.

Responding, the Ogun State Commissioner for Indudtry, Trade and Investment, Kikelomo Longe, said that Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration is creating a robust frame work for turning the state into industrial destination of choice for both prospective and existing investors, adding that challenges facing businesses in the state had led to the initiation of various policies and establishment of different Agencies to tackle them.

government projects as part of his efforts to guarantee value for public funds. One of the projects being tracked is the College of Education Road, Ilorin.

ENETSUD Deputy Coordinator Comrade, Aliu Mashood (Osho) told the governor that the audit revealed a disparity between what was contained in BEME and the actual job done with regards to the BEME contents, especially the length and the breadth of the road, amounting to N16.6m.

He said the length of the road in the BEME was 800 metres while the actual length on site was 696m, although ministry officials said the exact length on site is 700 metres.

Mashood urged the government to order the contractor back to site to add an additional 1 cm to its thickness and to refund the shortfall for the job not done.

Asked to explain the disparities observed, the project manager for the contractor Dotmic Options Limited Babatunde Akorede admitted that the length in the BEME differs from what was on site.

Odu’a Group partners Ogun to boost cassava production REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

Investors troop in as Ogun awaits NEPZA’s approval for new free trade zone RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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du’a Investment Company Limited’s on-going Cassava Cultivation and Processing Project at Imeko, Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State is set to experience a fillip as the Ogun State Government has pledged to support the project.

This was made known recently when the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ogun State, Adeola Odedina along with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dotun Sorunke and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agribusiness, Eva Adelaja visited the Cassava Plantation.

The team from Ogun State were impressed that since the operations started in late June 2020, 220 hectares of the land had been cleared and 86 hectares was planted at the time of the visit.

The commissioner remarked that in three months, the Cassava Plantation looked very healthy and the project was already having social impact with the engagement of 35 youths who are indigenes of the host community.

The Group Managing Director/CEO of Odu’a Investment Company Limited(OICL), Adewale Raji stated that the mandate is to clear and plant 1,200 hectares of cassava in 13 months and that the ultimate goal is to establish combined processing plants of 100 tons per day

fresh cassava value addition into High Quality Cassava Flour and High Quality Food Grade Starch.

The GMD said that the plantation would ensure raw materials availability for the plants. He commended Prince Dapo Abiodun, the Executive Governor of Ogun State for linking the administration’s focus with agriculture to industrial demand, job creation, food security and industrialisation.

He also commended the Ogun State Agric Ministry’s approach on strong value chain coordination and achievements in registering over 2,000 beneficiaries for rice cultivation and 3,000 beneficiaries for cassava cultivation under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.

Chairman of Niji Farms Group the Technical Management Partner of OICL on the entire project, Engr Kola Adeniji and his team were on hand to lead the tour of the plantation.

In his goodwill message, Anthony Asiwaju, Balogun of Imekoland, High Chief and Professor who represented the Onimeko, Oba Benjamin Olanite, thanked Odu’a Group for bringing the long awaited development to Imeko community and assured of the cooperation of the Imeko community towards the success of the project.

Meanwhile, OICL and the Ogun Agric Ministry have agreed to have further discussion on collaboration and partnership.

Team: RAZAQ AYINLA, Head; Correspondents: REMI FEYISIPO, Oyo; SIKIRAT SHEHU, Kwara; KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Ondo; OLA JOHN, Osun; Graphic: Fifen Famous www.businessday.ng

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

MONEYINSIGHT

Value of POS transactions declines

by N30 billion in August ...as volume drops to pre-COVID levels FRANK ELEANYA

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he value of total Point of Sale (POS) transactions in Nigeria declined by nearly N30 billion or seven percent to settle at N386.4 billion in the month of August, from N416.7 billion recorded in July.

The new data released by the Niger ia InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that while there was a decline from the previous month, the value represented growth on a year-on-year basis.

The value in August 2019 was N294.036 billion.

The volume of transaction failed to keep up as the month of August saw a drop of over 3 million or nearly 6 percent at 50.7 million from 53.9 million recorded in the month of July. In March, the month before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, volume of transactions surged to 52.249 million.

The drop may not be unconnected to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the income of many individuals and businesses. August also saw a surge in the number of POS terminals registered across the country. There are 570,601 terminals now

Traditional ruler, Engineer Olajide Alonge acknowledges the significance of Nigeria’s unity at 60

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business magnate, Olajide Alonge, in his independence message says, Nigeria’s 60years of independence despite those things that have retarded the country’s growth and other related issues.

According to him, “Nigeria is a great nation and God loves us so much to have made us weathered through the storms. Although, we certainly have not achieved everything that we planned to achieve as a country, but he is confident and optimistic the country shall soon reach her destination in its fulfillment to become greater nation as we progress. We, as Nigerian must be patient and cooperate with the Government of the day, in other to build a stronger and prosperous Nigeria.

“As we celebrate the beauty of vibrant culture, resilience and unwavering

pride of our people on this day, I congratulate anyone who calls himself a Nigerian and lives on this glorious land, regardless of the language you speak and what traditions you follow.

May you be independent in your thoughts and in your deeds, in order to create a blossoming paradise that future generations will be proud of as OUR UNITY IS WORTHY OF CELEBRATION, “ he said.

In his final remark, he salutes the President, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, Senate President, Ahmed Lawal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, the National leader of All Progressive Congress, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of FRSC, Mr. Boboye, Imspector General of Police Abubakar Adamu, and Nigerians in General, wishing them *HAPPY INDEPENDENT DAY CELEBRATION* www.businessday.ng

registered up from 548,592 recorded in July. The number of terminals deployed stands at 372,330.

Niyi Toluwalope, managing director and CEO of E-Tranzact told BusinessDay in an interview that the payment trend is gradually evolving and cards

are yielding the ground to mobile applications and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) channels. The NIBSS report found that mobile transaction volume dropped in August by 2.0 percent to 11.09 million from 12.22 million in July while the value shrank by 8 percent to N253.1 billion from N275.12 billion in July.

The attraction of the USSD channel is the ease of use, adaptability, and the fact that customers with any type of phone can easily make a payment without the internet.

A major challenge for POS terminals is unreliable internet which affects the chains of transaction settlement. The NIBSS real-time monitoring platform shows that daily transaction failures continue to be above 15 percent. As at press time, over 170,000 transactions out of 1 million were failed transactions.

FMN commemorates 60 years of creating innovative value in food production

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lour Mills of Nigeria Plc, (FMN) has announced activities to commemorate its 60 years existence of creating innovative and sustainable value in agriculture and food production.

Paul Gbededo, the CEO/GMD Flour Mills of Nigeria, said this year marks an impor tant milestone for Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc as it commemorate 60 great years of enriching lives and empowering communities.

According to him, FMN and Golden Penny have been with Nigerians, through the best of times and at the most difficult of times.

“FMN as a role model of private sector interventions in the public sphere, was particularly upstanding in this symbolic year of its existence, through supportive actions against the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic which disrupted lives, livelihood, communities and businesses worldwide,” said Gbededo

He opined that the socio-economic impact caused by the pandemic has emphasized the true value of FMN’s commitment to its customers. “... donation to over 15 states across the nation, catered for vulnerable Nigerians with food supplies and significantly expanded Nigeria’s testing capacity with 60,000 test kits, supporting the NCDC to manage the pandemic in Nigeria more effectively,” Gbededo stated.

Among the plethora of activities that will be taking place till the end of March 2021, will be the kicking off the Company’s anniversary celebration by unveiling its anniversary logo along with a revamped website. Interesting print and digital contents will also be deployed to highlight historical events, milestones and giveaway opportunities. “Our website will be updated regularly with additional information, images, videos and celebratory promotions,” he disclosed.

LEAP Africa celebrates young Africans at social innovators awards 2020 STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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ocial enterprises founded and run by social innovators are proving to be a veritable route to societal and environmental wellbeing. The Leadership Effectiveness Accountability and Professionalism (LEAP) Africa is set to reward young stellar African entrepreneurs in this space for the 2020 edition.

For two days, 2 – 3 October, the non-profit organisation in partnership with Union Bank Plc convened its 8th though virtual edition of the Social Innovators Programme and Awards (SIPA), themed “Mobilising Collective Action for Systemic Change: Countdown to 2030.” This has been inspired by the 2030 target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SIPA rewards outstanding social innovations and innovators. The value of so-

cial innovation is measured by its impact on society. This captures social solutions to challenges in local communities across West Africa. A vital achievement of SIPA is the awareness it creates through mentoring young Africans and equipping them with skills and tools to build scalable and sustainable social enterprises.

The conference and awards event has 33 speakers from across the globe.

One of these is Pamela Nathenson, executive director, World Connect and Melanie Perkins, co-founder, Canva.

Opportunities in different sectors of the economy will be highlighted.

“As an organisation, one of our two big focuses is ‘raising talents for the SDGs’ and we believe SIP and SIPA are vital to achieving this objective,” Femi Taiwo, executive director, LEAP Africa said. Over the years, we have enjoyed the partnership of Union bank in realising

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the objectives of SIPA not just in funding, expertise also.”

Winners are announced and three outstanding fellows of 2019/2020 receive awards. New inductees for the 2020/2021 set would be received too. They are drawn from a pool of applicants from Anglophone African countries.

“Union Bank is pleased to partner once again with LEAP Africa for the 2020/2021 Social Innovators Programme and Awards. We will continue to partner with programmes such as this one, which allow us to support the efforts of budding social innovators and entrepreneurs,” Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, head, Corporate Communications and Marketing at Union Bank said.

Since 2013, LEAP Africa, in collaboration with its partners, has supported over 130 talented young social innovators to build enterprises with their solutions covering diverse sectors and aspects of development such as agri@Businessdayng

culture, education, science & technology, gender, employment, health, energy and human rights.

For over 18 years, LEAP Africa has remained committed to its mission of equipping a new cadre of African leaders.

Its the journey started with the realisation that LEAP can transform Africa, one community at a time by changing the mindset of the people, promoting ethical leadership across sectors and influencing governance.

The organisation has enjoyed success in its field as it has inspired and equipped about 1,000,000 youth, teachers, Civil Society Organisations, business owners and social entrepreneurs to lead ethically while implementing initiatives that transform their communities, organisations and contribute to national development since inception.

LEAP achieves this through its training programmes, publications and most recently e-learning.

Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Hotels

Nigerian hospitality still gasps for breath at 60 OBINNA EMELIKE

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t the peak of colonial r ule in 1928, Ikoyi Hotel Lagos opened for the first time as a British colonial government’s guest house, and so also Hill Station Hotel in Jos that served colonial masters who were mining tin ore then.

With time, some of the guest houses transformed into world-class hotels, while others were redeveloped for other uses.

At Independence in 1960, the likes of Federal Palace Hotel emerged with more offerings. The hotel was the historic venue for the signing of the Independence Treaty between Britain and Nigeria.

Later in the 80s, more international brands led by Starwood Group started berthing in the country and ushering in brands such as Sheraton, and Le Meridien.

In 2014, the Nigerian hospitality industry recorded a wonderful milestone as a new hotel was opened almost every month in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Then, the industry was valued approximately N562 billion investments (about $3billion), and was still growing, while stakeholders in the industry were glad with the projection that total room supply in the industry then would grow from about 7, 229 in 2010 to about 11,335 in 2013 and to over 14,000 rooms by 2020.

Sadly, the celebration in the industry was short-lived as late 2014 ushered in sharp decline in performance that affected projections in the industry till date.

Today, we have over 15 international hotel brands across the country, over 8,000 hotels offering less than 14,000 rooms, over 25 hotels in the pipeline among many franchise and management

agreements. Yet, the rooms are not enough, service culture/offerings need to improve, skills honed and more investments as the industry hardly boasts of official fivestar hotels.

With the present economic downturn occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, the industry is seriously gasping for breath as occupancy has remained low for a long time, revenue targets are never met, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) hardly trickle due to no guarantee on return on investments, many projects are now suspended and lots of hotels now downsize to remain afloat.

As well, the impact of the pandemic has reversed all growth projections for 2020 and even 2021.

The projections were based on the fact that new hotels were opening almost every day, especially in Lagos and also, the Nigerian hospitality industry was leading the West African region in the number of hotels in the pipeline across 15 international brands.

Then, the figures were very impressive and wooed a lot of foreign direct investments (FDI), while local partners were busy signing MoU with foreign investors here on new hotel projects.

Despite the easing of the pandiemi-induced lockdown and the opening of the economy, the Nigerian hospitality industry is still struggling for recovery. Currently, stay unit

nights (average number of nights guests spend in a hotel) has dropped to 10 percent while the average occupancy rate in the sector hovers between 15-30 percent with negative impact on revenue, which was zero during the lockdown, and less than 3 percent over the last three months.

As well, the industry also risks delay of over 15 hotels under construction due to funding issues and poor economic outlook of the country that now discourage willing investors, especially foreign direct investment (FDI).

In view of the development, W Hospitality Group, a vital strategic advisor to the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), fears that recovery of the hospitality sector is going to be very slow.

Obviously, the slow recovery will impact negatively on the realization of projects in the pipeline as delays and cancellations are imminent in post-covid-19 era.

“The delay is expected to be a big setback on the delivery of 3,000 additional rooms to the current 12,000 rooms on offer in the Nigerian market, and may also hinder the industry from realizing the projected $507 million revenue in 2020”, W Hospitality Group explained.

The delay is the completion of the proposed hotels is worsening by the high interest rates between 2030 percent charged by the

banks.

The economic reality is also hitting the likes of Marriott, which many industry experts thought would have expanded across the country going by the momentum it gathered after the acquisition of Protea Group. Sadly, some brands are also leaving the country due to the dwindling revenue. Le Meridien left Ibom Hotel and Resort, InterContinental left Lagos, and Marriott International also declined in taking over some hotels, despite their world class facilities.

At present, Sun International is looking for buyers of their shares at Federal Palace Hotel, Best Western Hotel has left its Port Harcourt hotel, African Sun is gone, and some hotel brands are not willing to play here until the economy rebounds.

The pandemic presents an opportunity for investors to buy over properties or develop more properties with their hard currency.

As occupancy rates keep dwindling and revenue targets become very hard to meet, making most investors think the Nigerian hotel market has lost its confidence and stability, hotel experts are calling on the government to boost the economy, which will in turn impact the hospitality sector.

Despite the bad outlook, Tom Adigun, a hotelier, noted that there is hope for the industry as the Nigerian economy would definitely rebound.

“Our government should leave politics and face the economy as businesses are still weighed down by the impact of the pandemic. If the economy is given the needed attention and stimulus with commitment from government and private sectors, the economy will rebound and the hospitality industry will celebrate a better 61 years independence anniversary next year”. Adigun assured.

Brian Efa bows out as new management takes over at Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort

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ollowing the takeover of the property by a new management, Brian Efa, general manager, Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, has bowed out of office on October 1, 2020.

“I am happy to inform you that after nearly two and a half years, I will be stepping aside as acting general manager of Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort effective October 1, 2020”, Efa said.

According to him, an agreement had been reached between him and the Akwa Ibom State gov-

ernment, owners of the hotel, to handover the property to a management company.

As acting general manager of the independent hotel, following the departure of the previous management, Marriott International, Efa and his team worked tirelessly to reposition the hotel and its profitability, with room occupancy moving up from 35-40 percent to 85 percent and full occupancy.

While acknowledging that the last two years and nine months have been the most challenging in his over www.businessday.ng

15-year career, Efa noted that it was a great pleasure serving his state.

He has decided to spend the next couple of months

Brian Efa

with his family, whom following his appointment, he had been living separately from since 2018. Efa hopes to also take time to chart a new course of action for the development of the industry.

He wishes the new management company the best as they take over.

It will be recalled that Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort was among the Top 3 resorts named by panelists on the Naija7Wonders virtual conferences, during the first phase, which ran for 12 weeks from mid-June to early September 2020.

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Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels Four Points by Sheraton Hotel (Oniru Chiefatancy Estate,Lekki) Tel: +234 1 448 9444

Transcorp Hilton Abuja 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja Tel: +234-708-060-3000

The Wheatbaker #4 Onitolo(Lawrence Road), Ikoyi, Lagos.

Tel: 01 277 3560

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja 1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja.

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

Lagos Continental Hotel Plot 52, Kofo Abayomi St, Lagos Tel: 01 236 6666

Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja #38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja GRA100271, Ikeja Tel: +234-908-780 5555

206 Exclusive Hotel Plot 206 Oladipo Diya Road Opposite Olympia Estate

By Games Village Second Gate Durumi2 Abuja

Novotel Port Harcourt Address: 3 Stadium Road Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Tel: 0809 713 5734

Radisson Lagos Ikeja #42-44 Isaac John Street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos

Southern Sun IkoyI Hotel Address: 47 Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Tel: +234 1 280 5200 / +234 1 280 0630 Email: ssikoyi.reservations@ tsogosun.com

Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel 1A,Ozumba Mbadiwe,Victoria Island. @Businessdayng

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FEATURE

Meet Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, the man with answers to your housing needs Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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hmed Musa Dangiwa is an example of the wisdom of putting a round peg in a round hole when it comes to appointing people to run our national institutions.

The roundness of his peg comes from over 30 years in the real estate and infrastructure development sectors, which enables him to have specific ideas about the challenges of providing affordable housing to Nigerians and how to meet these challenges.

“We have provided over 9,000 houses, and have provided mortgages worth more than N110 billion within the last three years,” he says with relish. He continues: “Apart from that, we have also created a micro finance loan which is given to individuals, especially to renovate their house.”

Before taking over as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Dangiwa, an architect, had been managing partner of AM Design Consults, an architectural and real estate development consultancy firm, since 1996. Before then, he was at Jarlo international Nig. Ltd, a construction company.

There is no doubt that supervising several outstanding projects in diverse areas and sectors across the country has opened his eyes to the enormity of the nation’s housing deficits.

This includes his spell at TRIAD Associates, Kaduna, where he developed his professional career in designs and project management, rising to the position of associate partner in the group.

Dangiwa knows why people are reluctant to go for the mortgage option in addressing their housing needs. He says that a civil servant cannot pay 30 percent equity for a house, which is what is on offer in commercial banks.

So he led FMBN to come up with a drastic policy. “So we had to reduce the equity to 10 percent for a house that he has to buy for N10 million. The equity for houses between N5-10 million was reduced to 10 percent. But any mortgage that is below 5 percent is 0 percent, which means they don’t pay any equity. With that I was able to get more mortgage for Nigerians, especially the low and middle income earners, and some in the informal sector.”

Dangiwa had his first and second degrees in architecture from Ahmadu Bello University, Zarian, where he also earned an MBA He is an alumnus of the prestigious Wharton University Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and has attended numerous training courses in Housing Finance, Computer Aided Designs, Design and Build Workshops and Project Management, as well as several other professional and leadership training programmes.

One of the challenges in the housing sector that he has grappled with is “how to make affordable mortgages more accessible, and even if you have to provide mortgages there have to be underlining houses. Most of the houses I met were those built by developers, who sourced their funding basically from open markets at high interest rates and high cost of land, other costs which majorly increases the cost of houses.”

To address the issue of affordability, especially among civil servants, he says, “We had to enhance our construction panels in such a way that you will have to provide construction panels for developers, to give them affordable

Ahmed Musa Dangiwa

interest rates to create affordable houses and then we give mortgages.”

When he assumed leadership of FMBN, he realized that many of the houses that banks had built not subscribed because people could not access them due to their equities being too high. “So we created another program called “Rent to Own”. With this subscribers approach FMBN offices in the states, who will give them access to the house as tenants. While living in the houses as tenants, they pay either monthly or annual rents until the houses become theirs.

Dangiwa has also brought an insurance scheme to the mortgage housing sector. In the event that the house is destroyed by a storm, rain or other causes, insurance will be there to cover the loss, you, whose insurance also covers the eventuality of death, paying up the house on behalf of the deceased’s family.

Another innovation that Dangiwa has introduced is the use of certificates of occupancy (C of O) for lands. “Instead of them buying houses, we can give them individual construction loans to build the houses at their own pace on any location the land is situated,” he explains. Money is given to subscribers in 3 phases -- 30 percent to start it; we give you 30 percent to roof it and the remaining 40 percent for finishing.

“All these things you cannot get anywhere, because if you go to the open market, they give you a loan at 25-30 percent,’’ he reminds you.

“They cannot give you a loan of more than 5 years.”

He identifies land availability as one of the major constraints to the delivery of housing, due to the stringent conditions state governments attach to allocation of land. He notes that “Some government agencies take a lot of time to issue C of O. State governments have to ensure that they make access to land easy and they also have to make it easy for estate developers. Governments have to make sure that even if the lands are subsidized, there should be access roads into the land.”

At Sahel Mortgage Finance Limited from a property manager, he became head of Credit Control and later manager, Mortgage Bankwww.businessday.ng

ing division. In this capacity, he was involved in the design and delivery of a wide variety of mortgage products and real estate projects, especially social mass housing.

From a very unique perspective, therefore, he understands why developers build expensive houses. He links this to limited funds available to them. “First and foremost, they got the lands at very high costs – as high as 25 to 30 percent.

In banks they give construction finance at 25-30 percent interest rate, but here we give construction finance to developers at 10 percent, so we have reduced in such a way that constructions done by developers for FMBN subscribers are meant to be more affordable.”

He also highlights the need for the federal government to strengthen institutions that are into affordable housing. Specifically, for FMBN, there is the need for increased capitalization to at least N500 billion. That recapitalization will help a lot to ensure the availability of affordable houses to Nigerians.”

FMBN sent a memo to FEC for the required N500 billion. However, Dangiwa explains that the bank is not expecting this to be made available in a fell swoop. Realistically, it is looking for N200 billion as equity contribution from the government, while N300 billion will be sourced from investors who want to invest in FMBN. “Even the N200 billion does not have to come at once; it can be in two tranches, because we know the government has other priorities. But the point needs to be stressed that housing is also a priority, because it is one of the social responsibilities of the government to ensure that citizens have access to houses.”

Dangiwa has appealed to critics of the pace at which the government is implementing its affordable housing policy, vis-à-vis the need to subsidize the scheme, to “calm down.” He admonishes: “We should understand that there are no countries that have succeeded in providing affordable houses to its citizens without subsidy, which is very important to strengthen the institutions that are responsible for doing that. If institutions such as ours are not strengthened to function properly, it is going to be difficult for them.”

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He explains further: “People used to say most developed countries are not giving free houses, but they ensure that there are institutions that cater for the housing needs. For the high-end users, who usually buy their own houses at market prices, they may not be concerned but for the low and middle income earners, mortgage is the most important and convenient way of owning a house. You find out that once you start working in the foreign land, they make it easy for you to access mortgages for you to pay over a period of time and make sure you own a house.”

Given his vast experience from having traveled to many parts of the world, he sure must be inspired by examples, to which he responds: “My best example is Malaysia, which has been able to achieve that. Their mortgage system works very well. So does Canada’s, which also has a compulsory contributions scheme for individuals from the day they start working. That is the only way to have a pool of funds to ensure that people have their own houses.

In addition to worrying about the challenges of providing houses to the masses, Dangiwa has sought to address the welfare of FMBN staff. He recalls: “When we came on board we found out low morale at work for which many factors are responsible. There are people who are given housing loans, but you find out that their rental income is too low for even senior staff to own houses even on the outskirts of Abuja. So we had to make sure that their rental allowances were increased by 100 percent.

And we discovered that most staff have stayed for 10 years without promotion. So we had to promote staff, to motivate them to do better.”

He also implemented a programme of inclusion, when he found out that in the bank, there were some staff that were employed as casual staff. “I met 276 of such casual staff, who were denied permanent employment by the previous leadership. They kept on picking and using people as casual staff, some of whom were graduates, on a monthly salary of N40,000.”

He had to ensure rapid absorption of more than 50 percent of them into the system.

At the end of his term at FMBN, Dangiwa would like to be remembered for his efforts to use internal capacity to complete several abandoned projects; ensuring that staff’s compulsory contributions were promptly refunded on retirement, unlike in the past when it took up to two years for refunds.

He also effected decentralization of the bank’s operations. Of this he says: “Through decentralization, states now have the right to process and recommend for disbursement to head office, so they do the checks and balances and send to the head office.” As a result, the bank disbursed over N 31 billion in the past within three years ago, compared with the disbursement within the previous 25 years of the bank from (1992 to 2017), the disbursement was only N10 billion.

Before he took over the reins most of FMBN’s operations were carried out manually.

“Before, you only had a passbook and when you contribute; you didn’t even know what you were contributing,” he recalls. This did not help transparency and accountability. Now, many of its operations have been digitized. With just dialing *219#, customers can transact a lot of their businesses with the bank.

“So one of our legacies is digitalization of the operations of the bank,” he rounds off.

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

29

INSIGHT How certain things do not change in Nigeria Titi Omobude, Analyst

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s Nigeria attains 60, there is a sense in the saying that certain things just do not change in the country. Apart from the unusually long turn-around time for government led projects in Nigeria, we are confronted by some of the same issues since the last 30 years or more.

For instance, when Nigeria’s business elite and the top military brass gathered in Abuja for the first ever Economic Summit organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit, NESG, on February 18-20, 1993, there were presented with a list of national challenges, which if you look well, can be presented to a national gathering today.

At that first Nigerian economic summit in Abuja, the atmosphere was sombre, the air filled with expectation.

The military band rendered the national anthem to get proceedings off the ground but not many in that historic audience could take their eyes off the dire economic chaos confronting the nation.

The background to that first summit could be a fitting setting today, more than 27 years on as Nigeria celebrates its 60th Independence anniversary.

As the gathering was told at the opening, “despite abundant natural and human resources, Nigeria remains a basically poor country. Up to the end of the ‘60s, the country was self-sufficient in food production and even a net exporter of agricultural produce.

“Since the early ‘70s, as oil became a major foreign exchange earner and contributor to Gross Domestic Product, GDP, other sectors of the economy, especially agriculture and manufacturing, were relegated to the background.”

A critical look at the catalogue of Nigeria’s economic imbalances presented that day highlighted the pervasiveness of the use of CBN’s ways and means advances to fund the Federal Government just as it is today. Speakers at that gathering noted that agriculture had declined to the point of Nigeria becoming a major importer of food; industry was still largely dependent on imported raw materials; limited progress in industrialization with industry facing low capacity utilization and incapable of being competitive.

Infrastructure was said to be decaying and not meeting the demands of a rapidly increasing population and a modern industrial sector while human resources development had suffered from neglect as institutions and programmes failed to keep pace with global competitive and technological advances.

Finally, the audience was

The Abuja City Gate, gateway to the nation’s capital, being decorated with Nigerian flags in commemoration of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary.

told that “macro-economic structures had deteriorated due to intractable inflation, a suffocating internal and external debt burden, continued and seemingly irreversible Naira depreciation, increasing import dependence, steadily increasing interest rates, and erosion of savings and investments, with a consequent industrial decline and increasing unemployment.”

It was in the light of this litany of economic woes, said the Summit report, “That Chief E. A. O. Shonekan decided to bring both the public sector and the private sector together to explore jointly our economic problems and to formulate new strategies to address them”.

The objective was to establish an ongoing dialogue with the private sector; obtain feedback on the state of the economy and the current investment climate; define priority economic issues and formulate an economic action agenda for Nigeria and challenge the private sector to

be proactively involved in Nigeria’s economic development.

In the course of the three days that followed, participants were provided the opportunity to reflect on the specific problems impacting each industry, sector and sub-sector of the economy.

They also discussed the reforms and policy changes required to resolve these problems in the short, medium and long term. Finally, from these discussions emerged methods ad tools to ensure effective and prompt implementation of key action points with primary focus on the so-called new frontier priorities for government, which were listed as education, economic stabilisation, privatisation, deregulation, infrastructurisation and democratisaton.

Shonekan, who was then chairman of the Transitional Council and Head of Government, had welcomed participants in his well-received address titled “The Challenge

‘‘

It was in the light of this litany of economic woes, said the Summit report, “That Chief E. A. O. Shonekan decided to bring both the public sector and the private sector together to explore jointly our economic problems and to formulate new strategies to address them” www.businessday.ng

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Ahead”, in which he said Nigeria was at a watershed in many respects.

The highlight of his speech was to introduce the national campaign to increase savings and private sector investment to levels required to fund sustainable growth of the economy at the rate of 5-10 per cent in real terms per annum.

President Ibrahim Babangida delivered a moving presidential address titled “A Lasting Legacy” listing Nigeria’s urgent priorities to include cutting inflation to below 5%, stabilizing the exchange rate of the Naira, moderating interest rates in line with changes in the price levels, mounting an external debt relief programme aimed at securing generous debt relief, defining appropriate public sector roles which assist the private sector to become the engine for economic development and provision of an enabling environment to attract private investments on a large scale. It distinctly sounds like the presidential speech was prepared for today!

At the end of the three-day summit, a 128-page report was produced, titled “Economic Action Agenda”. It opens bluntly with the section, “Facing Reality”, which noted that “Nigeria needs the outside world at a point in time where we are increasingly marginalized by our failure to conform to global rules and by the relative greater attractiveness of other countries to private investment.”

Describing the economy as one in free fall, the economic action agenda set out the main deliverables as including letting free markets work which was meant to see phased increases @Businessdayng

in petrol prices with total deregulation, privatising refineries and establishing a free foreign exchange market for Nigeria.

According to the report, “the foreign exchange market is not well understood and it unfortunately has become a subsidy system for the informal sector and for banks that cannot compete.”

It was agreed that banks should be allowed to buy and sell foreign exchange without onerous documentation, thereby creating a free market.

It was agreed that upstream oil and gas companies, exporters and domiciliary account holders should be required to sell their FX on the free market and report statistically to the CBN. Under this rule, government parastatals, as well as sates and LGAs were to be required to buy foreign exchange on the free market. Finally, it was agreed that government borrowing should be totally through open market operations, OMO at free market interest rates.

On petroleum products prices, that first summit agreed that Nigeria should “adopt appropriate price for petrol products so as to recover all cost with reasonable returns.” Almost 30 years after, Nigeria is still struggling to see the light in this prescription.

The summit report urged that Nigeria should “make NNPC fully autonomous and fully commercialized.” This is what the new PIB seeks to do today and it is to the credit of the NESG and its leadership that it has remained consistent in advocating these policy shifts and many of what the government is being encouraged to do today, were first propounded almost 30 years ago. Happy independence!

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Economy: Buhari explains why petroleum...

Continued from page 1

due to 40 percent drop in

oil prices and steep drop in economic activities, leading to a 60 percent drop in government revenue,” Buhari said.

“In this regard, sustaining the level of petroleum prices is no longer possible,” he said.

The president noted that government was grappling with the dual challenge of saving lives and livelihoods in face of drastically reduced resources, adding that his government must face realities in the current circumstance.

“The government, since coming into office has recognised the economic argument for adjusting the price of petroleum. But the social argument about the knockon effect of any adjustment weighed heavily with the government,” he said.

Buhari, who gave a comparative analysis of petroleum prices among oil producing countries, noted that while in Nigeria the premium motor spirit (PMS - petrol) sells at N161 per litre, it sells higher in comparable countries.

“Chad, which is an oil producing country, charges N362 per litre. Niger, also an oil producing country, sells 1 litre at N346. In Ghana, another oil producing country, petroleum pump price is N326 per litre. Further afield, Egypt charges N211 per litre.

Saudi Arabia charges N168 per litre. It makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

He noted that “to achieve the great country we desire, we need to solidify our strength, increase our commitment and encourage ourselves to do that which is right and proper even when no one is watching”.

President Buhari listed several efforts made by his administration in the last three years, in support of the economy and to the weakest members of the society.

They include the Tradermoni, Farmermoni, the School Feeding Programme, job creation efforts and agricultural intervention programmes.

“No government in the past did what we are doing with such scarce resources.

We have managed to keep things going in spite of the disproportionate spending on security,” the president said.

He berated “those in the previous governments from 1999 – 2015 who presided over the near destruction of the country” for having “the impudence to attempt to criticise our efforts”.

He declared that in the current circumstances, “a responsible government must face realities”.

According to Buhari, the current economic challenges confronting the country necessitated the need to remove the wasteful petroleum subsidy.

Subsidy removal is a hot topic because it is politically

unpopular to reduce them and force consumers to pay more. Yet the oil incomes have fallen by 40 percent making it difficult to sustain them.

Labour unions threatened to embark on a strike action, which would have started on Monday but for engagement with government officials.

The labour groups succeeded in having the government suspend electricity tariffs for the next two weeks.

Nigerians on social media are faulting the comparison with Saudi Arabia because the country’s minimum wage is much higher than Nigeria’s.

“President Buhari forgot to mention that the minimum wage in Egypt is higher than Nigeria’s. He also forgot to mention that minimum wage in Saudi Arabia is 10x Nigeria’s,” @akintomide tweeted.

While Saudi Arabia has no official minimum wage for the private sector, the public sector has a minimum rate of 3,000 Saudi riyals (N305,139).

The Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, last year raised the country’s minimum wage, from $70 (N26,600) to $116 (N44,080) last year on the back of growth in the economy after the country went through four years of economic reforms, which include floating the currency, deregulation and removal of subsidies and improving the ease of business.

The Buhari-led government has been reluctant to implement these kinds of reforms. The central bank continues to keep different exchange rates and spends large sums of money artificially propping up the naira.

Nigeria has shut its borders for over a year shuttering smaller businesses and fuelling unemployment and illwill with its neighbours. Yet, the price of rice, which largely accounted for the closure to improve self-sufficiency has gone up selling between N25,000 and N29,000, over 30 percent increase before border closure.

In the midst of a difficult time for most Nigerians, the Federal Government is still unable to cut down on wasteful spending. It is yet to cut down unnecessary government ministries and agencies, sell off an expansive presidential fleet, or reduce wasteful expenditure by the National Assembly.

Most experts have also urged the Federal Government to reform the business environment including fixing its troubled ports, to attract the right investments that will grow the economy and improve the standard of living across the country.

Unlike other African countries, Nigeria with a population of about 200 million people imports more than 90 percent of products like gasoline and diesel, swapping its prized export – crude- for petroleum products that people need in their everyday lives. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Segun Aina, president, FINTECH Institute; Ibrahim Boyi, executive commissioner corporate services, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Lamido Yuguda, directorgeneral, SEC, during a meeting between SEC and FINTECH institute in Abuja. Pic by Tunde Adeniyi

Nigeria declines in volume of...

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wood used to have such

figures in the past, but that there is a drastic reduction in the quantity of production in recent times.

According to Afolayan, the quantity of production has declined very much, while the quality, which is the most important, is increasing daily.

“The numbers of production have drastically reduced.

The numbers they quoted five years back are not obtainable now,” he states.

Offering reasons for the reduction in quantity of Nollywood movie production, Magnus Okpi, a movie studio owner, notes that a lot of people are now doing high-end movies.

“Since you cannot make a lot of money from DVD, everybody is aspiring to do for cinema and some people are now shooting primarily for YouTube and some are shooting to go to Netflix,” Okpi says.

Okpi also notes that the emergence of streaming platforms, which are now commissioning films, impacted hugely on the business of the traditional producers, who could not cope with the new trend in movie production and especially, distribution.

With the successful acquisition of Genevieve Nnaji’s Lion Heart by Netflix, many film-

makers are now producing for streaming platforms as well as being commissioned now by the platforms to produce movies for them. Moreover, the high quality demanded by the streaming platforms is among the factors reducing the number of movies produced by Nollywood, as quality films take time and a lot to produce unlike the quick-fix DVD format.

“With Netflix, iRokoTv, Apple Music and other streaming platforms, high quality movie production and efficient distribution are guaranteed. So, Nigerian storytellers, movie directors and producers are finding it easier and more profitable doing business with the streaming companies than the old order where one man is in charge of everything,” Okpi states further.

For Afolayan, the number of production went down because the movie cartel has disappeared and distribution affected. According to him, a few years back, there was a big cartel in the DVD market with big network, which boosted the distribution across the country and Africa.

“Members of the cartel were not just the distributors, they were also the executive producers of the films. Just as big streaming platforms are now commissioning films,

these DVD distributors were the ones commissioning the filmmakers to make films for them and they put them straight on the DVD platform for distribution,” the movie producer explains.

Explaining further, Afolayan notes that the DVD market is no longer relevant, hence impacting quantity of production and hugely affecting the sector.

He notes further that some of the people, who were playing in that space at that time, have decided to upgrade, embrace technology among other production inputs, so that their films can be seen in the cinemas.

“If you are shooting highend film, it is not something you shot in three days like the ones they used to shoot for DVD before; your post production is not something you just do quick on a computer, you need to do sound, picture grade and all that. So, the talent has changed and this is one of the major reasons the number of production has reduced,” Afolayan says.

Martins Akhime, a creative content producer and record label owner, notes that technology is the major reason for the decline in DVD production, but has also improved the quality of movies from Nigeria.

“Yes, we have noticed the huge decline in the quantity of moviesproducedbyNollywood,

but the global audiences are happy with the huge improvementin the qualityof our movies now.Wearelosingoneandgaining another,” Akhime says.

In the same vein, Afolayan notes that technology is playing a big role in the decline of quantity and improvement on the quality of Nollywood movies as well as the shift from shooting movies to music videos by many directors of photography (DOPs).

“When Canon 5D camera came, it took over the entire music video industry. Lot of Nigerian musicians used to go to SA to shoot their music video and some of them used to bring in experts, but when the camera came, it changed the narrative completely and a lot of young DOPs are now turning more towards doing music videos instead of doing feature films,” Afolayan notes.

However, some industry experts think that the number of production will rise again, but not as high as it was in the DVD era.

“Now that everybody is playing, the number will rise again. Some people are shooting specifically for YouTube. I find it very amazing, it is really good and they get advertisers to put their adverts on their products. They are also getting remunerated on these films. So, it is a bit balanced but not what is used to be,” Afolayan states.

At $89bn in 18yrs, illegal capital flight... At 60, ICT contribution to GDP...

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some reduction, mainly due to declining oil prices, estimated capital flight peaked at $45.5 billion, or roughly $264 per capita in 2015.

According to the report, capital formation in Nigeria fell continuously, from 34 percent of GDP to 15 percent of GDP in 2015 and government revenue declined from 27.6 percent of GDP to 7.6 percent of GDP. This trend presents a challenge in promoting structural transformation, economic diversification and social development and in reducing poverty and inequalities. “Capital flight may be negatively associated with economic growth in the long term,” it explains.

Explaining that stolen

assets are the proceeds of corruption and countries in Africa face significant legal and practical constraints in dealing with stolen assets and reclaiming them, Nigeria is among the most active countries in recovering stolen assets and engaging with multilateral stakeholders.

Practical steps taken by the government to address illicit finance flight include the signing of bilateral agreements with Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States for the return of stolen assets, with the expectation that such bilateral agreements will act as a disincentive to the sending of illicit funds from Nigeria to these countries.

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Continued from page 2

the level expected to accommodate efficiently the demand of 147 million internet subscriptions.

Over the years, different governments have tried to play up the growing digital adoption as a sign the ICT sector is growing. Mobile subscriber number has surged to 198 million putting the country ahead of other countries in Africa. Nigeria is also ahead of peers in Africa in terms of internet subscriptions now at 147 million.

But, while broadband penetration has grown significantly from about 6 percent in 2012 to 42.02 percent in July 2020, it is a far cry from the global average of 58.8 percent and the rest of the world at 62.9 percent. It however

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eclipses the African average at 39.3 percent.

Different governments’ contribution to ICT In terms of investment, Nigeria’s internet growth has come a long way. Although the country has been slow in deploying infrastructure, it has over the years played up its intention to invest in the sector.

Ernest Ndukwe, former executive vice-chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), had said in 2004 that investment in the telecom sector ranked second only to the oil industry.

The period between 2001 and 2004 may have seen the biggest increases in technology infrastructure investment according to stakeholders who spoke with BusinessDay.

Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

31

Sports ‘Poor policies hindering Nigeria’s sports development’ Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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igerian Sports since independence has continued to lag behind other sectors in the country unlike developed nations of the world where sports business has become a major revenue earner and contributes significantly to the GDPs of those countries.

The Statistician-general of the federation, Yemi Kale, ha s rate d sp or ts’ contribution to Nigeria’s economic low, saying the sector accounts for 0.005 percent of the country’s GDP. He said Sports is valued at $500 billion globally, however, the sector accounts for 0.005 percent of Nigeria’s GDP which is not good enough.

Kale described sports as a small business in the country, but insisted that the sector has a capacity to stimulate economic growth and urged nation’s sports managers to agree on sporting activities that would constitute and focus on data integrity.

“Sports remains a small business in Nigeria, but has the potential to be much bigger. We need to agree on what sporting activities should constitute and focus on data integrity, collaboration with relevant agencies and most importantly ensuring the steady funding for data computing as related to the sports industry,” Kale stated.

Sunday Dare, Minister for Youth and Sports Development, noted there is a need to look into the 2009 National Sports Policy document.

“In 2009, we had the National Sports Policy. Prior

Sunday Dare, Minister for Youth and Sports Development

to that, we had a policy on Sports and Social Development. The latest one we have which is in 2009 is

P

The Spanish press reported last year the country’s tax authorities were pursuing Neymar for fiscal fraud dating back to his time at Barca, but it is the first time the information has been officially confirmed.

The Spanish tax office, contacted by AFP, did not say whether Neymar’s presence on the list was linked to his 2013 transfer to Barcelona from Brazilian club Santos.

But it said to appear on the list of the highest debtors the individuals had to fulfil several criteria, including missing the final deadline to pay the debt.

According to media reports Spain’s fiscal authorities are investigating two

Neymar www.businessday.ng

a business model you see the returns.”

The minister added that a proper policy framework can attract private funding and thus help to grow the sports industry and make it a revenue drive for the nation.

“If you know how policy w orks, when sp or t was classified as recreation, it had no budget line, it was not seen as business activity, it was not contributing to the GDP. The kind of government investment needed for that industry was unavailable under the three ‘I’s and one ‘P’: Policy to drive investment on the part of government and private sector, incentives on the part of the government for investors, and developing infrastructure across the country. If we have these pillars, the necessary funding will come from the public and private sector.”

FIFA kicks off construction of mini-stadium in Delta state

Spanish authorities say Neymar owes $40.5m tax debt aris Saint-Germain forward, Neymar, owes 34.6 million euros ($40.5 million) in taxes from his time in Barcelona, Spanish authorities said Wednesday.

The Brazilian has the highest personal debt in a list released by Spanish officials.

The list includes individuals and companies that owe more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million).

Neymar, who played for Barcelona from 2013 to 2017 before moving to the French club for 222 million euros in the most expensive transfer in history, tops the list of thousands of names published on the website of the Spanish tax office.

devoid of a business model.

It is essentially sports development devoid of a business model. When you

put that at par with other sporting regimes across the world, you would see that we’re clearly behind and that has been the bane of sports development,” the minister noted.

The minister highlighted possible potentials to explore for Nigeria to reap from sports as business.

“We have not been able to leverage private funding.

We have not been able to turn sports into a business.

So, the National Sports Industry policy, work has been ongoing for three years before I became a minister. What I’ve done is to accelerate that process towards developing a business model around our sports. And in June, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), actually reclassified sports from mere recreation to business. You go to Jamaica, you go to Brazil, South Africa, countries where sport is built around

of Neymar’s transfers, his arrival at the Camp Nou from Santos in 2013 and his switch to the French capital four years later.

Barcelona said the deal cost 57.1 million euros but according to Spanish authorities the club paid 83.3 millions euros for the attacker.

In 2016, he signed a new contract with the Catalans which included a progressive payment of bonuses but they refused to pay him the remaining 26 million euros in add-ons after he left for the Parc des Princes.

In June, a Spanish court dismissed the forward’s case against the club and told him to pay 6.79 million euros to the outfit, who claimed he had violated his deal.

Other footballers such as former Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar’s former Barca teammate Lionel Messi have also had issues with Spanish tax officials.In January 2019, Ronaldo, now at Italian side Juventus, was handed a suspended two-year prison sentence for committing tax fraud while he was in Madrid.The Portugal forward also agreed to pay 18.8 million euros in fines and back taxes to settle the case, according to legal sources.

Messi paid a two-millioneuro fine in 2016 in his own tax wrangle and received a 21-month suspended jail term.

W

orld football governing body, FIFA has commenced the construction of a ministadium in Delta state.

At the flagging-off of the project in Ugborodo, Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State, who was represented by the deputy governor, Barrister Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, said the citing of the project in Ugborodo is strategic and historical and would go a long way to foster unity among the Itsekiri, Ilaje, and Ijaw people, adding that it would also aid the development of the area in all facets.

Otuaro thanked FIFA and the NFF for the laudable project. The project is expected to be completed within six months.

“I want to start by specially thanking FIFA and the Nigeria Football Federation for this FIFA-forward project. The citing of this project here is strategic, considering the geographical location, as it will serve the Itsekiri, Ilaje, and Ijaw communities around the Atlantic Ocean area of the state’’.

“The citing of this project can only be done by Amaju Pinnick, who clearly understands the geographical location of this area. We can’t over-emphasise the importance of this laudable project as it will foster unity, build capacity and social harmony, attract more development and government presence and also aid the development of the round leather game of football.”

Amaju Pinnick, NFF

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Mohammed Sanusi, NFF general secretary presenting the certificate of mandate to Ebi Egbe of MoniMichelle company.

President, expressed his delight at the kick-off of the construction of the project while also thanking the government of Delta State for their support so far.

He urged the communities to ensure they give the needed support to the contractor in order to have an enabling environment to execute the project.

The member of CAF executive committee further listed the immediate benefits the communities would derive from the project, while also pointing out that FIFA is fully committed to making it a world-class facility.

“I am overjoyed that this is happening here today.

We started nurturing the idea of citing this project in this small community of Ugborodo two years ago and I am delighted that we have finally kicked it off. We want to use this project to correct the wrong notion that the Niger Delta is a volatile and restive area. We urge you to give the contractor all the support in order for him @Businessdayng

to do a good job. FIFA will monitor and ensure every detail is taken care of.”

Delta FA Chairman, Kenneth Nwamoucha, in his welcome address, hailed the world football-governing body, FIFA and the NFF for bringing the huge project to Delta State especially the riverine communities.

NFF general secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi thanked the government and the people of Delta State, urging them to see the project as a good omen of bigger projects to come.

He pleaded with the people of the State to continue to support their illustrious son, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who is well appreciated for his contribution to the development of football in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large.

Otuaro, however led the ground-breaking ceremony rites, even as the general secretary handed over the certificate of the project to MoniMichelle Construction Company to signal the commencement of the project.

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Nigeria @ 60: Sanwo-Olu mentors 60 school children Sahara Group boosts SDGs with John Seyi Salau

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agos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called off the ceremonial independence day parades on Thursday, opting for a low-key marking of the nation’s 60th independence anniversary with 60 school children, educating them on the significance of the day.

Sanwo-O lu, who was joined by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, hosted 60 primary school pupils drawn from various localities across Lagos for a no-holds-barred conversation about the independence day.

The event was held at the State House in Marina - a short distance from the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), where the instrument of independence was handed over to Nigeria’s founding fathers on October 1, 1960.

The event tagged: “Nigeria’s Future Diamonds”, was organised with an objective

to inspire patriotism among children and to give them orientation on civic duties required towards building the nation of their dreams.

The pupils listened with rapt attention, as SanwoOlu delved into the history, taking them on an elaborate lecture on the nation’s preindependence struggles and the roles played by each of Nigeria’s founding fathers who fought for freedom from colonialists.

The governor told them that each stanza of the national anthem was a reminder to every citizen to sustain the vision of a united and prosperous Nigeria, stressing that the collective labour of the nation’s past heroes would be in vain if future leaders failed to uphold the values.

He said: “Today makes it 60 years when our country, Nigeria, became independent from colonial rule. The freedom we are enjoying today did not come by accident; it was made possible by the collective efforts and

labour of the likes of Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Anthony Enahoro (all deceased), among many others, saying they were the ones who negotiated with the British and liberated us from colonial rule in 1960.

“Every time we sing the national anthem and recite the national pledge, we are reminded of the labour of these heroes, and our collective duty, as citizens, to keep alive the vision of a united and prosperous Nigeria. As young citizens, it is our duty as today’s leaders to protect your future. We understand there are challenges, but the effort of building the nation is on course. We will do our best to create a country in which you will be proud of being citizens.”

Sanwo-Olu observed that the nation had experienced high and low moments in its march to attain desired development, but said the current challenges would be surmounted if the citizens eschewed divisive tenden-

cies and work in common purpose.

The governor charged the children not to give up on the country, noting that there had been positive development recorded in the last six decades, which indicated that Nigeria of everyone’s dream remained achievable.

He urged the children to be patriotic and imbibe values that would promote the unity of the country.

Sanwo-Olu also advised them to start reading books that will educate them better on nation building and civic duties.

He said: “As you grow older, you will need to read books and there are authors, such as Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Peter Enahoro and Chimamanda Adiche. These books will educate you more on what it takes to build a nation and what roles you will need to play when you become leaders. You must never give up on the country, no matter how imperfect it might look.

launch of impact fund DIPO OLADEHINDE

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ahara Foundation, the corporate citizenship vehicle of energy conglomerate, Sahara Group, has launched the Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) and the Governance Unusual Programme to facilitate the generation of ideas and solutions towards increasing access to clean energy, mobilising partnerships to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and inspiring a good governance paradigm shift.

Sahara Foundation will drive the programme using the Sahara extrapreneurship model with an underlying ethos of “creating enabling environment for entrepreneurs”.

The fund’s capacity is set at over $100,000 with opportunity for incremental access by beneficiaries based on impact, reach and sustainability matrices targeted at supporting young social entrepreneurs in Africa with seed funding as well as providing access to mentoring from Sahara Group and other private sector partners, to scale up clean energy and sustainable environment innovations.

The programme is a strategic partnership involving Sahara Foundation, Ford Foundation, LEAP Africa and Impact Investors Foundation leveraging on strengths of the various partners.

Sahara Foundation has implemented various projects across its locations in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, impacting the lives of over 2,000,000 beneficiaries,

with youth accounting for over 50% of the beneficiaries.

According to Pearl Uzokwe, director, governance and sustainability, Sahara Group, “The Sahara Impact Fund and Governance Unusual programme will reinforce ongoing conversations on boosting entrepreneurial capacity and how individual responsibility can inspire a paradigm shift that will culminate in the “whole” gravitating towards “doing the right thing” – without equivocation.

Sahara Group is delighted to promote a robust movement for self-governance – one that challenges everyone to be the measure for “doing the right thing” against all odds.”

Uzokwe said applications for the SIF were open from September 29, 2020, to October 15, 2020. “Full details of the application process are available across our social media platforms @shaharapcsr and the Ujana Hub at www. ujanahub.com. Enquiries can also be sent to sahara.foundation@sahara-group.com,” she said.

The Fellowship is a leadership quest that starts from changing people’s mindset and birthing a new creed that ultimately stamps out the dominance of “business as usual” standards across the globe. The design of the project requires Fellows of the Impact Fund to participate in the Governance Unusual Programme with exposure to leadership training for social impact entrepreneurs targeting maximum impact and scalability.

There can’t be improved service unless there’s increased power production- Ajaero Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor, Lagos State interacting with a group of children from different schools in Lagos tagged ‘Nigeria Future Diamonds’, during the 60th Independence Anniversary, in Lagos, yesterday.

Increased trading Friday as investors cover lost bids, reinvest N133.97bn maturing NT-Bills Hope Moses-Ashike

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igeria’s money market may witness increased trading activities after the holiday as investors are expected to cover lost bids from the Primary Market Auction (PMA) and seek to re-invest maturing NT-Bills worth N133.97 billion.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)onWednesdayofferedNTBills worth N113.97 billion across the 91-day (N10.00 billion), 182day (N17.60 billion), and 364-day (N86.37 billion) tenors.

Ayodeji Ebo, investment professional based in Lagos said the stop rates declined marginally across all tenors on high subscription level. The 364-day bill dropped to 2.8 percent.

Nigeria’s treasury bills market closed on a positive note on Wednesday with average yield across the curve declining by 2 bps to close at 1.85 percent from 1.87 percent on the previous day.

Average yields across short-term and medium-term maturities compressed by 1 basis point and

7 bps, respectively, due to maximum buying interest witnessed in the NTB 25-Feb-21 (-10 bps) and NTB 11-Feb-21 (-9 bps) maturity bills, a report by FSDH research stated.

“The era of high returns from Nigerian Treasury Bills ended in 2019. Today, investors need to invest in a variety of other asset classes in order to obtain a reasonable return, without becoming totally exposed to any one asset class. That means that investment management is more complex and more necessary than before. Second, there is need for more information on fund performance in order to facilitate fund selection by investors and professional advisers. Fortunately, the industry and its regulator are moving in this direction, preparing the ground for a hugely expanded Mutual Fund industry in future, and creating the conditions for a significant capital base for the nation,” Guy Czartoryski, head of research at Coronation Asset Management, said.

Edo poly wins Canadian govt’s research grant Kelechi Ewuzie

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do State Polytechnic, Usen, has won the 2020 edition of the Carleton University and Canadian government’s grant for the Gendered Design in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) programme, addressing challenges predominantly faced by women in low-and-middle income countries.

The polytechnic won the grant valued in millions of naira to construct an ecofriendly generator for lowincome female artisans in Nigeria, with Ese Esther Oriarewo and Obokhai Kess Asikhia as primary and co-primary investigators, respectively on the project.

The gendered design in STEAM programme at Carleton University, funded by Canadian Government’s Interna-

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tional Development Research Council (IDRC), was awarded to 20 research teams in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with the 19 other teams domiciled in universities.

Rector of Edo State Polytechnic, Abiodun Falodun, reacting to the grant, said the institution continues to prioritise research and development as one of its core mandates, noting that the inclination to research was in furtherance of the target set by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration for state-owned institutions to pursue innovative, technology-driven methods to solving society’s problems.

According to him, “We are very excited that we secured the grant from the IDRC. It is an interesting chapter for us in the polytechnic because we are committed to time and energy to one of our core mandates, which is research.”

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Joshaua Bassey

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oe Ajaero, general secretary, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), says Nigeria will continue to struggle with abysmal power supply unless it is able to improve the level of production.

Ajaero spoke with select journalists in Lagos, saying power generation in more than seven years has fluctuated around 4,000 megawatts whereas Nigeria’s population has soared to an estimated 200 million.

“No country can grow its industrial base when its national plan fails to match power generation with its population growth rate,” Ajaero said, stressing that continuous increase in tariff would not solve the problem.

He argued that unless there is a conscious effort by the government and investors in the power sector to improve generation and weak infrastructure, improvement in service to electricity consumers would remain a mirage.

According to him, whereas what is acceptable as international standard is 1,000 megawatts of power to a one million population, Nigeria continues to stay at the bottom of the pyramid, struggling with 4,000 megawatts to 200 million popu@Businessdayng

lation.

He said the quantum of investments required to improve generation, transmission and distribution of power must be made, just as he accused the distribution companies of lacking technical competence to run the sector. Ajaero specifically noted that since the power privatisation in 2012, the investors have added “nothing” to what they inherited from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), a development he said negates terms of the power privatisation programme.

He submitted that increase in tariff would necessarily not lead to improvement in service to consumers, adding that “no single power plant has been constructed in the last seven years” while the distribution companies were still dependent on equipment pre-dating the privatisation.

“For example, 90 percent of transformers in the discos’ operations are overloaded, with no relief plan,” he said, adding that part of the power agreement was to be changing transformers but because the Discos want to maximize profit, they have refused to do so, leaving consumers to continue to pay for inefficiency in the system.

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news

Apapa: Reprieve underway as Marine Beach Bridge rehabilitation nears completion CHUKA UROKO

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or motorists on the Marine Beach Bridge in Apapa, who have endured worse traffic situation as a result of the partial closure of the bridge for rehabilitation, reprieve is on the way as the rehabilitation work on the in-bound lane is nearing completion.

Kayode Popoola, Federal Controller of Works in Lagos confirmed to BusinessDay on Thursday that the rehabilitation work was almost ready, adding that, contrary to earlier report that the bridge would be open to traffic next week, there was no definite time yet for opening the bridge.

“We don’t have a definite time yet when to open the bridge to traffic, but we are a lot closer than before. We will tell you when the bridge will be opened, but no definite date yet,” the controller emphasised, noting that the contractor was still working.

Adedamola Kuti, director, Federal Highways, South West Zone, also affirmed that the rehabilitation work was near completion, adding, “we are well disposed to opening the bridge to traffic, but no definite date yet because work is still ongoing.”

“When you don’t see the workers on the bridge, it does not mean they have gone on holiday; they may be working under the bridge or in their construction yard. That is what is happening on the Alaka Bridge

too. The contractor is working but people are not noticing it,” he added.

In the past five months, the contractor, Buildwell Plants and Equipment Industries Limited, has been carrying out rehabilitation work on the failed portion of the Marine Beach Bridge measuring 250 metres which has been closed since April, making driving experience on the bridge a huge dish of stress.

Popoola had disclosed to journalists during a tour of the facility that 10 expansion joints and 60 bearings were to be replaced with asphalting on the 250 metres stretch under rehabilitation.

When BusinessDay visited the project site on Thursday, it was observed that the replacement of the joints and bearings along with the final asphalting had been completed, actually raising hope of opening the bridge sooner than could be imagined.

“The repairs are being carried out in phases and the first phase has been completed and ready to be opened to traffic.

The 250 metres that we closed in April is completed. We have laid the asphalt, the remaining work now is to put the concrete to hold the expansion joint down,” Popoola said.

Another major repair work which the contractor is carrying out on the bridge is jacketing of the piers which, according to the controller, means increasing the width of the piers by putting reinforcement and then concrete.

Umar Ganduje (l), governor, Kano State, greets some members of the State Traditional Council, during Nigeria’s 60th Independence Day celebration at Sabon Gari Stadium, in Kano, yesterday.

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Crisis brews in UNIUYO over selection of new V-C ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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he senate of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) has disagreed with the management of the institution over the alleged manipulation of the selection process for the appointment of a new vice-chancellor.

Consequently, some senate members have petitioned the Governing Council, demanding the process be made democratic and transparent in line with the tradition obtainable in other universities.

According to the petition under the aegis of ‘The Concerned Senate Members in the University of Uyo’ and addressed to Enefiok Essien, the University’s vice-chancellor and copied the Governing Council chairman, Austin Awujo and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UNIUYO chapter, they alleged that the outgoing VC, whose five-year tenure ends at the end of 2020, has flouted the laid down process leading to the emergence of the new chief executive officer of UNIUYO. The petition signed by six eminent professors including a former deputy vice-chancellor, Trenchard Ibia, reads:

“A special meeting of the Senate was held on Monday, September 28, 2020, with an electronic circulated agenda tagged: ‘Member of Senate on the selection board for the appointment of a new VC for the University of Uyo’.

At the meeting, the registrar, Aniediabasi Udo, misinformed and thereby misled the senate by lifting, circulating, and reading section 4 of the Universities’ (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1993, as if that section is part of the process of appointing a new vice-chancellor.

The section 4 was read by the registrar as follows: “Where a vacancy occurs in the post of deputy vice-chancellor, the VC shall forward to the senate a list of two candidates for each of the deputy VC that is vacant (emphasis registrar).

“The VC willingly guided by the registrar’s misinformation, erroneously sought and obtained senate approval to appoint two senate members to the joint council and senate selection board.

“This is completely against the age-long known procedure and practice of election of senate representative to the joint council and senate committee. www.businessday.ng

Google partners Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation to drive post-COVID-19 recovery CALEB OJEWALE

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he tourism and hospitality industry has been one of the worst hit in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Google has now announced a partnership with the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation to help the Nigerian tourism sector recover and grow following the pandemic.

The partnership will among other things, culminate in a training for small businesses, digital skills initiatives for individuals and the launch of a new Google Arts & Culture collection called ‘Tour Nigeria’.

Google Arts & Culture, according to a press statement, has worked with the NTDC over a number of months to create an online exhibition of imagery, stories and commentary highlighting some of Nigeria’s beautiful, hidden gems. It covers destinations such as the Awhum Caves of Enugu, to the Farin Ruwa falls of Nasarawa, the Osun Osogbo

sacred grove of Osun state, and the Wikki Warm spring of Bauchi state. The project also features stories and photos from some of the most colourful cultural festivals in the country including the Yauri Rigata Festival, and the Kano Durbar Festival.

Folorunsho Coker, directorgeneral, NTDC, described the tourism sector as a key pillar of Nigeria’s economy. “Initiatives that support and promote domestic tourism are critical, not only for the sector but also because a stronger tourism sector will help Nigeria’s economy recover in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said. According to him, an expanded tourism sector will be able to drive employment and stimulate economic growth.

“Initiatives like Google’s that are grounded in data-driven insights into how the sector can be supported and grown - strengthens NTDC’s ‘Tour Nigeria’ strategy, which seeks to promote domestic tourism in Nigeria,” he said. The collaboration is also culminating in kick-starting the NTDC’s ‘Tour

Nigeria’ collection with Google Arts & Culture.

“Rich heritage, natural beauty and vibrant cities, Nigeria is a destination we all need on our travel shortlist soon,” said Amit Sood, director, Google Arts & Culture. “Even though 2020 continues to be a challenging year for Nigerians and travellers from around the world, I hope that this unique online experience created in collaboration with the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation - can contribute to further promote Nigeria’s iconic sites and capture its stories.”

The partnership with NTDC will provide support for the local tourism sector including providing training programs to enable businesses to leverage online tools they can use to grow their businesses. The programme also features a digital skills programme aimed at helping individuals to skill up so they can find jobs or further develop their careers within the tourism industry. SMBs are being assisted by way of digital migration programs to help them

get online, and expand their audience reach. And, lastly, the partnership will create exposure for Nigeria’s tourist attractions through Google’s technology offerings including virtual reality, 360° videos, Street View, ultrahigh-resolution “gigapixel” images and Google Arts & Culture initiatives.

“We’re always looking for new and creative ways in which technology can foster connections between people and the arts,” says Google Nigeria country director Juliet EhimuanChiazor. “‘Explore Nigeria’ is an expression of that desire and a tangible programme that demonstrates our economic support of and commitment to Nigeria.”

Google Arts & Culture and the NTDC have also launched a new ‘Explore Nigeria’ video series featuring top Nigerian social media influencers and YouTube creators. This videobased series highlights the best of Nigeria through the eyes of these influencers and can be found here at http://goo.gle/ TourNigeria.

Nigeria @ 60: Okowa urges FG to fix Benin-Warri highway to save lives Mercy Enoch, Asaba

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elta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa has urged the Federal Government to embark on total reconstruction of Benin-Warri highway which he said has collapsed.

Okowa also appealed to the government to give urgent attention to the Agbor-Eku road within the state, which is also in a deplorable condition.

The governor made the call at an interdenominational thanksgiving service at Government House Chapel, Asaba, to mark the 60th independence anniversary of the country.

He said that the poor state of the roads had accounted for loss of many lives and goods in accidents and robberies and also often resulted in loss of man-hours through traffic

snarls.

The governor assured that as soon as the rainy season was over, work on Warri Storm Drainage project and concrete tarring of some roads in the area would commence, affirming that his administration was committed to giving equal attention to every part of the state.

“I will use this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government to attend to the Benin-Warri road; it requires total reconstruction.

“The interventions we have been doing over the years definitely cannot bring any solutions at the moment. We will see what we can do as soon as the rains are over, but that road requires total reconstruction.

It is beyond our limit as a state and we hope that the Federal Government will look into that.

“Between Agbor and Eku

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has been very bad too, and almost impassable. We intervened in 2019, a palliative intervention; in 2018 we also intervened on that road. We intend to intervene soon after the rains.

“We have been talking with the federal ministry of works but that road (Agbor-Eku) is already under contract but that contract is slowed down because of paucity of funds at the federal level to meet with the needs of the construction.

“So, what we have to do is a palliative touch that can get the road motorable, hoping that funds will be available for the government at the federal level to drive the contract because both roads (Benin-Warri and Agbor-Eku) are federal roads.

“We will continue to do our best. I believe that the work on Ughelli-Kwale-Asaba dualisation is going on as fast @Businessdayng

as it is humanly possible. We will continue to do our best to fund that road,” he said.

Okowa implored the National Assembly to re-visit the Electoral Act amendment to guarantee free, fair, and credible elections at all levels.

According to him, with 21 years of unbroken democracy, Nigerians’ votes need to count in every election as it did in the September 19, 2020 gubernatorial election in Edo. This will enable them to believe that power to occupy elective positions is in the hands of the electorate.

He reminded Nigerians of the need to use the independence celebration to reflect on the journey so far and come out with workable plans on how to retool the nation such that the interest of the nation would take centre stage above other considerations.

Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

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Company Review

Three investment risk lessons from Thrive Agric’s revenue struggles FRANK ELEANYA

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he unraveling of revenue challenges and the consequent inability to meet up with contractual dividends commitment

by Thrive Agric in recent times would likely have investors scratching their heads on what to do when next they want to invest in similar platforms.

Thrive Agric is like a middleman that leverages digital technology to bring farmers, investors, or buyers together. Investors get the opportunity to support agricultural ventures by investing in farms at specific seasons. Those who invest earn a return on their investments depending on the duration and the amount they invest.

Since it was founded in 2016, the company has grown from 1,000 farmers to 39,000 farmers as of the end of 2019. Agric investments on Thrive Agric mature between 3 to 9 months and returns range from 6 percent to 25 percent.

In the past few weeks, the company has fallen into troubled times. Thrive Agric has reportedly not paid their investors since March 2020. The company confirmed to BusinessDay that it was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and offtakers inability to repay the investment they received.

Below are the three things new investors need to be mindful of when investing in agritech busi-

nesses.

Poor corporate governance This is arguably the biggest elephant in the room. The digital agriinvestment space is new and regulation is yet to take hold. The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) had in March 2020 released a regulatory document for crowdfunding platforms in the country.

Th e SE C ’s e x p o su re document classed Thrive Agric and similar platforms in a category called Digital Commodities Investment Platforms. This describes a digital platform that connects investors to specific agricultural or commodities projects for the purpose of sponsoring such projects in exchange for a return.

The regulation requires platforms like Thrive Agric to provide a capital requirement of N100 million ($263,157 using N380/$) which is far higher than the funding ($170,000) the company has raised so far.

It is highly unlikely that Thrive Agric has complied with the new capital requirements from SEC. BusinessDay’s query to the company in this regard was not answered.

In t h e ab s e n c e o f a proper regulatory environment, nothing is fully guaranteed, including investors’ funds. Several investors who spoke to BusinessDay said they were concerned with the little communication the company was providing.

Even when the company

managed to communicate and make promises, they were not kept, thereby eroding investors’ trust.

For instance, Thrive Agric has assured some investors, who were protesting, that it plans to clear the March and June backlog by September 30, the investors told Busin e s s D ay t h e c o m p a n y has made similar promises before and reneged.

But Charles Isidi, Head of Growth, Strategy, and Pa r t n e r s h i p s s a i d t h e seeming break in communication was due to the COVID-19 which did not allow for public gathering.

“We have told these customers that we can’t put everyone on a zoom

call and that would be the equivalent of a mob attack. And that they should select 10 people to represent the online agitators,” Isidi said.

Offtakers are humans too While the COVID-19 pandemic played a role, it was offtakers’ refusal to make payments that exacerbated Thrive Agric’s cash problem.

“A rep only called some days ago saying that they are yet to receive payments from offtakers,” Sandra Obiukwu, one of the investors who committed N255,000 to a farm advertised by Thrive Agric told BusinessDay. “My due date was yesterday and no official email has

been sent concerning the reason for the delay. However, I contacted them on WhatsApp about 2 days ago and their rep said they will be having a meeting with their offtakers yesterday. Till this moment no official email has been sent to explain the way forward.”

Offtaker as used in project financing refers to the party who buys the product being produced by the project or who uses the services being sold by the project (farm produce).

The project output buyer can be an independent third party or an affiliate of the project sponsor.

In project financings, the offtaker’s rights and

obligations under the offtake agreement must be coordinated with the project company’s rights and obligations under the loan documents, the construction contract, and other applicable project documents.

Although offtake agreements are legally binding, it doesn’t have provisions for a pandemic.

There’s insurance, but no coverage for a pandemic Thrive Agric is insured

by Leadway Assurance.

However, like the offtakers agreement, there is no insurance cover for a pandemic.

“Note that loss or damage to the insured crops/ livestock/poultry/farms directly or indirectly attributable to or caused by the adverse consequences of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which in turn affects the management or operations of the farm is not covered by the policy,” another investor who simply identifies hims elf as Austin told BusinessDay. Austin said his investment in Thrive Agric’s farms amounts to N800,000.

In essence, any hope of Thrive Agric recouping some of their losses through the insurer is very dim, hence affected investors would have to wait longer to get paid. Although the company has set March and April 2021 as timelines for clearing all backlogs, 52 investors said they would be owed N50 million by December 2020.

Bitcoin records 63 consecutive days above $10,000 surpassing 2017 milestone FRANK ELEANYA

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t is now more than 63 consecutive days in which the price of bitcoin has remained above $10,000. The milestone overshadows the record of 62 days set in 2017 from 1 December through 31 Januar y 2018, when bitcoin reached its all-time high of just above $19,900.

According to analysts at

Luno and Arcane Research, the move means bitcoin has established itself as a 5-digit cryptocurrency in 2020. The cryptocurrency continues to hold strongly in September even with the uncertainty that is present and the setback for many altcoins.

As at press time, the price of the largest cryptocurrency by market value was at $10,717 respresentwww.businessday.ng

ing a dip 0.33 percent within 24 hours.

The analysts also say the global market may impact the crypto market over the next few months, with the US election coming up in November and the constant uncertainty amidst the ongoing pandemic.

The market is also affected by reports that KuCoin, a Singapore-based

digital asset exchange was breached by hackers. The hacker made large withdrawals of bitcoin and ethereum tokens to an unknown wallet on Friday, September 25, 2020.

Other coins accessed by the hacker were the DeFi projects OCEAN, AMPL, COMP, and SNX. According to The Block Researcher, Larry Cermak, coins worth up to $280

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million were stolen during the breach, making this the third-largest exchange hack in history, behind Mt. Gox (2014) and Coin.

Johnny Lyu, KuCoin CEO explained that the hackers were able to obtain private keys to the exchange’s hot wallets. KuCoin said it transferred was left in the wallets to new hot wallets, abandoned the old ones, and froze depos@Businessdayng

its and withdrawals.

Luno in its latest weekly report found that the volume of bitcoin transactions has continued to trend downwards.

“The low volume over the past week indicates that neither bulls nor bears are confident in the current price range and confirms the relative uncertainty in the market right now,” the analysts said.

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Friday 02 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

ENERGYREPORT Oil & Gas

Power

Renewables

Environment

$10million Threading and Valve assembly project kicks off …NCDMB asks for more of such initiative olusola Bello

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s part of the efforts to deepen local content development in the country and conserve foreign exchange, a $10 million Threading and Valve assembly facility is being set up at the Lekki Free Trade Zone by Bell Oil and Gas. The integrated facility would provide a range of piping and tubular services for the oil and gas industry.

It would also have a Valve assembling plant, maintenance workshop, testing plant, a composite fabrication facility and also serve as a befitting fabrication yard in general.

The facility which groundbreaking was performed at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos and witnessed by officials of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) would play a very critical role by providing these services for the production of oil and gas.

Some of these services

are currently imported into the country at huge cost to the economy.

According to the Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of the NCDMB who was represented by Tunde Adelana, director Content and Evaluation at NCDMB, said as Nigeria celebrates her 60th year of independence, he believes that project like this would terminate the coun-

try’s dependence on massive importation of Threaded pipes so that she can derive the attendance economic benefits.

He said the establishment of a facility that would make it possible to assemble Threaded OCTG pipes and Valves in-country is a welcome addition to the list of existing assembly plants in the country as it is set to meet

IBEDC appeals to customers over poor electricity supply …says work is in progress to increase supply olusola Bello

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ollowing the disappointing supply of electricity to some of it customers, the Management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Plc (IBEDC) has apologised to customers at Mowe, Ibafo and Magboro over the issue poor.

The Chief Operating Officer (C00), John Ayodele said that the dismal power situation being experienced in those communities is a shared challenge between

Olusola Bello, Team lead,

IBEDC and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). He explained that the three communities get their supply from Oke-Aro 132KV/33KV Transmission station, and allocation by TCN for that area is 13 MW, whereas the communities require about 40 MW. He said because the TCN cannot allocate the energy required to serve all the customers at the communities, the only option at this time is to deploy intensive load management thereby ensuring that customers have equal hours of daily supply.

Graphics: Joel Samson.

“Another major challenge is that the 33KV which is a straight network is solely under the control of the TCN. Whenever there is a fault, the normal routine is that our Engineers must get an approval from the TCN before repairs can commence and this process is a bit challenging. Also depending on the nature of the fault and the terrain of the network affected the process becomes more cumbersome,” Ayodele added.

The IBEDC boss explained further that the company is working on the reconstruction of the old Owode-Egba network to enable some of the communities’ benefit from the newly commissioned Abeokuta Transmission Station at Kobape.

“We are also appealing to our unmetered customers in this locality to take advantage of the Meter Asset Provider Scheme (MAP) to get metered. Our staff are on strict schedules to ensure that customers issues are promptly addressed”.

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the key energy needs in the oil and gas sector.

“Nigeria deserves more of such initiatives in the oil and gas sector,” he said.

Kayode Thomas, managing director and chief executive of Bell Oil and Gas while speaking at the occasion said the assembly facility when completed is expected to reduce the cost of purchasing Threaded pipes and Valves

which are mostly imported into the country and create a reasonable level of employment opportunities for Nigerians.

He said: “The essence of the event was to break the ground and lay the first stones for what is essentially going to be a state of the art multimillion-dollar integrated facility, that will provide a range of piping and tubular services for the oil and gas industry. It would also have a Valve assembling, maintenance workshop, testing plant, a composite fabrication facility and also serve as a befitting fabrication yard in general He explained that in full support of the company’s vision to be a reference point in the industry as well as demonstrate its commitment to real and true local capacity development, it is moving further into the value chain ladder from being a supplier and an installer into actually doing something more enduring and adding more value to the economy He said Bell Oil and Gas has been very active in the

valve business as it supplies valve to a number international oil companies and also represent a number of internationally recognised original equipment manufacturers across the globe.

Explaining further, how the plants would function, he said the valve plant would enable Bell Oil and Gas assemble valves locally, maintaining and testing it locally with the state-of-theart equipment. While the composite pipe fabrication would make it possible for it to actually pre fabricate the pipes.

He said the facility would be unique and spectacular as it is going to be the first in Lagos area.

The idea to build the facility he said, was initiated about nine years ago but that there have been series of challenges that have threatened the realisation of the project. He said because the company has been focused on its vision and with the determinations it must succeed were things that have made the groundbreaking to reality.

Oil prices stuck in limbo as uncertainty mounts olusola Bello

O

il prices are unlikely to move much higher from the current levels in the low $40s, at least not for the rest of the year, a growing number of analysts and industry professionals say.

According to OilPrice.

Com, Oil has been stuck in a narrow trading range in the low $40s more or less since July after the market began to worry that even with large supply cuts from OPEC+ and curtailments in the U.S., demand will not recover fast and strong enough to draw down the record-high inventories that had built in the second quarter.

This year has been a year of uncertainties on all markets, including the oil market, but it looks as if uncertainties have grown since we entered the second half of 2020, instead of abating as analysts had predicted earlier this year.

Uncertainties about a second wave of COVID-19 and renewed restrictions on social gatherings in several major European economies are weighing on oil market sentiment. China’s ability

to continue propping up oil demand with record-high crude oil purchases is also called into question. The U.S. election is another major uncertainty and whatever the result, the markets, including the energy market, will be impacted.

In recent weeks, uncertainties over when (if ever) oil demand will return to the precrisis levels have increased with demand recovery basically stalled and China appearing to slow down its oil imports.

A lot of the major players on the oil market, including some of the largest independent oil traders such as Trafigura and Mercuria, have been bearish on oil near term, expecting global stocks to build in the fourth quarter – due to weak demand – before starting to decline.

The biggest independent oil trader in the world, Vitol Group, however, was quite bullish two weeks ago. The world’s stockpiles of oil have diminished by around 300 million barrels since peaking at 1.2 billion barrels early this summer, and are expected to decline by another 250 million-300 million barrels between September and December, Vitol’s chief executive

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Russell Hardy told Bloomberg in mid-September.

But another executive at Vitol, executive committee member Chris Bake, said on Gulf Intelligence’s weekly energy podcast on Sunday that demand is looking more uncertain amid a “huge amount of uncertainty” about COVID-19, economies, monetary stimulus, and oil demand.

“The conventional wisdom going into the fourth quarter was that things were going to improve,” Bake said, noting that “it doesn’t feel like we have a huge catalyst” for the rest of the year.

According to Bake, there is a “big push-pull between the demand and supply side, and the demand side right now looks very uncertain; the supply side probably will need to adjust to that.”

The deteriorating demand outlook comes just as OPEC+ is preparing to further ease – as of January – the current production cuts, leading to speculation that the group is set for a turbulent dialogue in the fourth quarter about its supply-fixing decisions.

There is uncertainty about OPEC+ “holding the line without making another move,” Vitol’s Bake said on the Gulf Intelligence podcast.

BUSINESS DAY Friday 02 October 2020

By Kemi Ajumobi

Kemi@businessdayonline.com

www.businessday.ng

Women in Business JANET FEBISOLA ADEYEMI

Remi Duyile

National President, Women In Mining, Nigeria

Former VP, Bank Of America, MD/CEO Premier Mortgage Solutions

D

J

anet Febisola Adeyemi is the current President of Women in Mining in Nigeria, an affiliate of International Women in Mining. She also served on the Strategic Development and Policy Implementation Committee of the 2016 Governor-elect of Ondo State.

She is part of a broad civil society network coordinating an intervention in the recent South Kaduna crisis. She notably served in Nigeria national House of Representative, Executive Board Member of ICRC, Senior Special Assistant to the Presidency on National Assembly Matters, Chairman of Ondo State Cocoa Industry, amongst other advisory committees and national developmental agendas.

During her term in the National Assembly, she served as Chairman on Irrigation, Flood and Erosion Control, subcommittee Chairman for Solid Minerals and Water Resources. She sponsored/ co-sponsored 15 bills enacted as law amongst several other initiative bills despite serving as a member of a minority political party. She declared her intention to run for senator of Ondo South District under All Progressives Congress (APC) on 17 September 2018.

Adeyemi serves on the boards of several non-governmental organisations, as a consultant to many bilateral and multilateral developmental organisations including World Bank and the United Nations, as well as many statewide committee developmental initiatives. She has organised several environmental-issue led workshops/conferences sponsored

by Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United Nation Development Program (UNDP), Federal Ministry of Environment, amongst many others.

She served on the committee for the creation of Nigeria Delta Development Commission (NDDC); planning committee on the flooding of River Niger; committee on the development of Water Resources Management and production of a draft bill on the conjunctive use of water in Nigeria; committee on security of lives

and property (in curbing the effects of armed bandits from the Niger Republic); committee member on Police Equipment Trust Fund; committee member of Issue of Climate Change; Small Hydropower Project Implementation in Nigeria; Advocacy for Gender Parity in Nigeria; United Nations National Consultative Group on Electoral Reforms in Nigeria; Affirmation Action Committee of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.

Adeyemi was elected to the House of Representative for Ile-oluji/Oke-igbo constituency in 1998. She served as author of several bills and worked across party lines on multiple occasions. She was regarded as a bridge builder as a result of her ability to work well with other political party members despite representing a minority political party.

She was known as an advocate for developmental agendas and gender equality; she sponsored the Circumcision of Women (Prohibition) Bill in 2000, which attracted many western scholars that led to the supervision of a doctorate thesis by a Canadian Scholar.

uyile has come a long way from the small Nigerian town of Ondo where she was born and raised. Over the course of less than 18 years, Dr. Duyile immigrated to the United States and managed to climb the corporate ladder of one of the nation’s most revered banking institutions, Bank of America. It was here that she shattered glass ceilings when she was appointed Vice President of Retail, Premier, and Mortgage Banking. Duyile served in this role managing over 600 financial portfolios of high net-worth clients for 17 years, until she decided that it was time to step into her true calling of helping others as a serial entrepreneur.

Having achieved so much within her own life, Duyile recognises the power in breaking one’s own self limitations. With this in mind, she has made it her life’s purpose to empower others in recognising their own strength and abilities.

Duyile has since validated her status as a speaker, gaining numerous certifications with The John Maxwell Group, Jim Rohn, and under the mentorship of renowned motivational influencer Les Brown.

As a certified speaker, trainer, and entrepreneur, Duyile has made others the focus of her life and business. In the years since leaving corporate America, she has established various foundations and in support of this vision including: her own mortgage company ( Premier Mortgage Solutions), an International consulting firm (Image Consulting Group), as well as a non-profit providing mentorship and financial literacy for women and girls (Legacy Premier Foundation). Under the umbrella of her companies she has become an empowerment mentor, community mobilizer, certified trainer, as well as an international keynote speaker.

Remi Served for five years in Akure, Nigeria as Senior Adviser and international relations liason for Diaspora affairs to the Ondo State Governor. Remi has attended many high-profile events such as dinners at the White House with former US President Barack Obama and congressional

events for the community in support of the legislatures.

Remi Duyile’s knowledge and leadership, is sought after and well respected.

Given her savoir-faire, Duyile has become a liaison working with various global agencies to connect the continent of Africa with the world.

She has spoken throughout Africa, Europe, and extensively within North America (Canada and the US) teaching financial literacy, offering entrepreneurial development, and encouraging millennials to engage in the Diaspora, among other things.

In integrity with her commitment to inspire others, in 2016, Duyile added the title of author to her ever-expanding list of accomplishments. Her book, Perseverance: Winning Key To Destiny was published in the US and is sold internationally.

While it is quite evident that Remi Duyile wears many hats, the one that she wears most proudly is that of being a devoted wife, and mother to three awesome children.

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