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news you can trust I ** friDAY 10 january 2020 I vol. 19, no 475

Start-ups break new grounds as disruptors turn challenges into profits ODINAKA ANUDU & GBEMI FAMINU

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ntil Chiniki Guard won $10,000 in Dubai at a technology event known as GITEX last year, many Nigerians did not believe that it was possible to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to any sphere of the nation’s life.

But the platform, founded

by Abdulhakim Bashir, uses AI Continues on page 34

Buhari recalls NBET MD, Amobi

₦2,846,382.00 -3.66

N300

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$-N 357.00 360.00 £-N 468.00 481.00 €-N 390.00 400.00

Crude Oil $ 65.29

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Spot ($/N)

I&E FX Window CBN Official Rate

362.80 306.95

Currency Futures

NGUS mar 25 2020 364.46

($/N)

fgn bonds

Treasury bills

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3M 0.00 3.52

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0.00 3.56

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10 Y 0.12

30 Y 0.04

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NGUS jun 24 2020 365.37

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NGUS jan 27 2021 367.48

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Markets rally on BUA Cement’s N1.3trn listing IHEANYI NWACHUKWU & SEGUN ADAMS

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he market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) reached a record high, Thursday, following the listing of BUA Cement plc on the Lagos bourse and investors’ increased interest in shares of bellwethers Dangote Cement plc, Lafarge Africa and MTNN plc.

Total market capitalisation

Lifts NSE market cap to new high Dangote Cement, MTNN, Lafarge stocks soar hit N15.16 trillion, the highest since around March 2018, as BUA’s debut capitalisation of N1.3 trillion coupled with gains in blue-chips helped the market sustain a record bull run after a

disappointing 2019.

The new entity, BUA Cement, will be the second-largest producer of cement in Nigeria by volume with factories in Sokoto State, North-East Nigeria

(2 million mtpa) and Okpella Edo State, South South Nigeria (6 million mtpa). A new 3 million mtpa plant currently being Continues on page 34

Tony Ailemen, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday reversed the dismissal of the managing director of the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company Limited (NBET), Marylin Amobi.

The president directed Amobi, who sacked on December 19, 2019, to resume immediately Continues on page 34

Inside

sponsored by

Dangote plans US office after commissioning refinery P. 2 L-R: Finn Arnoldsen, group chief operating officer, BUA Cement; Chimaobi Madukwe, group chief operating officer, BUA Group; Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Yusuf Binji, managing director, BUA Cement; Kabiru Rabiu, group executive director, BUA Group; Ahmed Aliyu, company secretary, BUA Cement; Otega Ogra, group head, corporate communications, BUA Group, and Gbolahan Oluwasegun, corporate finance, BUA Group, at the closing gong ceremony, after the listing of BUA Cement on the floor of the Exchange in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news World Bank projects weaker growth for Nigeria at 2.1% in 2020-22

Babajide Sanwo-Olu (l), governor, Lagos State; Abosede Adelaja (2nd l), permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, and others, during his visit to the ongoing teachers training tagged ‘EKO EXCEL’ (Excellence In Child Education And Learning) at CMS School Complex, Ilaje, Bariga, yesterday.

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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First time ever, 8 NNPC subsidiaries declare record N83.9bn surplus ISAAC ANYAOGU

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ight subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) declared a massive N83.9 billion trading surplus between September 2018 and October 2019, an unprecedented feat for the state oil firm long associated with making losses.

The NNPC recorded a cumulative N83.9 billion surplus last year led by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), which turned in a massive N249.3 billion from upstream activities, indicating that the corporation is ramping up explorative activities.

“All too often, the corporation gets criticised for poor performance, but now it has performed remarkably well and should be commended,” said Victor Eromosele, CEO

at M.E Consulting, a Lagosbased energy consultancy.

“Whatever the NNPC did to find its mojo, it should keep doing that.”

While the corporation has had periods where at least eight of its 15 subsidiaries declared a trading surplus, the amount realised in the period under review is the highest the corporation has ever realised from its subsidiary business. This far outweighed corporate headquarters, which is fast emerging NNPC’s biggest cost centre.

Analysis of the corporation’s record showed that in 2017, it made a cumulative trading surplus of N50 billion and for most of 2018 it did not record a trading surplus.

To arrive at a surplus or deficit computation, the corporation subtracts revenue from its expenses and reports the balance as surplus when it is positive and deficit when it

is negative.

In its October 2019 Financial and Operations Report, the NNPC declared a trading surplus of N13.23 billion, representing an increase of 54 percent over the N8.59 billion surplus posted in September.

The NNPC said total crude oil and gas export sales of $483.25 million was recorded in October 2019, which is an increase of 35.77 percentage point compared to the previous month. This implies that in the month under review, crude oil export sales contributed $396.94 million (82.14 percent) of the dollar transactions, compared with $267.97 million contribution in September 2019, even as the export gas sales for the month amounted to $86.32 million.

Overall, the October 2018-October 2019 crude oil and gas transactions indicated that crude oil and gas worth

$5.49 billion was exported.

To underline the increasing fortunes of the corporation in recent times, the September 2019 trading surplus of N8.59 billion, in turn, indicated a significant increase of 65 percent compared to the N5.20 billion surplus posted in August 2019, even as that beat the N4.26 billion surplus posted in July 2019, reflecting an increase of 22 percent, the NNPC said.

NPDC, the NNPC’s best performer last year, is becoming more prolific in oil exploration in Nigeria, leading to its getting awarded more fields. Last month, the NNPC signed a partnership agreement with Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to boost the reserve base. NNPC’s interest was transferred to NDPC as part of its efforts to grow NPDC into a mediumsized upstream company.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

igeria’s growth is projected to remain broadly unchanged, rising only to an average of 2.1 percent in 2020-22, the World Bank said in its January 2020 Global Economic Prospects.

This is weaker than previous projections, reflecting softer external demand, lower oil prices, and a slowerthan-previously-expected improvement in oil production in view of the lack of much-needed reforms.

“Growth in Nigeria is expected to remain subdued. The macroeconomic framework – characterised by multiple exchange rates, foreign exchange restrictions, high persistent inflation, and a central bank targeting manifold objectives – does not provide a firm anchor for confidence,” the World Bank said.

The report said growing uncertainty about the direction of government policies is expected to further dampen the outlook.

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.28 percent (year-on-year), in real terms, in the third quarter of 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In sub-Saharan African region, growth is expected to firm to 2.9 percent in 2020, and accelerate further to an average of 3.2 percent in 2021-22.

The pickup assumes that investor confidence improves in some large economies, that energy bottlenecks ease, that a pickup in oil production contributes to a cyclical recovery among industrial commodity exporters, and that robust growth continues among exporters of agricultural commodities. However, the forecast for 2020-22 is 0.4 percentage

point lower than previously projected, reflecting weaker demand from key trading partners, lower commodity prices, and adverse domestic developments in several countries.

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa moderated to a slowerthan-expected 2.4 percent in 2019. Activity was dampened by softening external demand, heightened global policy uncertainty, and falling commodity prices.

“With growth in emerging and developing economies likely to remain slow, policymakers should seize the opportunity to undertake structural reforms that boost broad-based growth, which is essential to poverty reduction,” said Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, World Bank Group vice president for equitable growth, finance and institutions. “Steps to improve the business climate, the rule of law, debt management, and productivity can help achieve sustained growth.”

On a per capita basis, the outlook translates into subSaharan Africa growth of 0.3 percent in 2020, firming to an average of 0.7 percent in 2021-22. In the projection, per capita incomes rise by more than 4 percent per year in several countries that, together, account for one-tenth of the region’s poor (e.g., Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal). However, per capita incomes contract among some of the largest economies that account for one-third of the region’s poor (Angola, Nigeria, Sudan).

Projected per capita growth for the region is insufficient to yield significant progress in poverty alleviation. Lasting improvements in labour productivity are needed to bolster growth over the medium term, the World Bank said.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Frontier, Paramount Fund lead equity funds performance in 2019

Dangote plans US office after commissioning refinery

… as funds lose N1.25bn in 1 year

... to help diversify wealth

ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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usinessDay analysis of the performance of 10 equity funds in Nigeria between January 4 and December 27, 2019 shows Frontier Fund topping the gainers chart with an 11.05 percent increase in its unit price, according to data by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Managed by SCM Capital Limited, Frontier Fund was the only asset class under the equity-based funds that reported a double-digit appreciation from N120.13 unit price at the beginning of the year to N133.41 as at December 27, 2019.

Paramount Equity Fund

which is managed by Chapel Hill Denham Mgt. Limited was the second and only top gainer after Frontier Fund.

The equity fund reported a unit price increase by 7.16 percent from N 11.74 on January 4, 2019 to N12.58 as at the last month of 2019.

“From a portfolio perspective, it means they delivered positive gains last year,” Ayorinde Akinloye, a research analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers, said.

The positive values by both funds put the equity-based funds on a new record as the first in two years. The last time the equity-based funds saw positive gainers was in 2017 when the Nigeria stock marwww.businessday.ng

ket was ranked the third best performing bourse globally.

In the period under review, Frontier Fund grew its net asset value (NAV) by adding N23.91 million to its portfolio from N234.84 million at the beginning of the year to close with a total asset worth N263.75 million.

Despite being the second top gainer, Paramount Equity Fund added more asset than Frontier Fund. The former grew its NAV by 21.93 percent, more than double the 10.96 percent reported by the latter.

Paramount Equity Fund grew its asset under management

by N62.43 million from N222.1 million in January to N284.49 million in December 2019.

“CHD and SCM must have posted positive returns which impacted Net Asset Value and consequently the price of the funds,” Akinloye said.

While last year may have ended well for the two funds, Stanbic IBTC, FBN Smart Beta, AXA Mansard, Meristem Equity and others saw their unit price slide.

FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund shed 23.8 percent in its unit price to post the highest drop in equity funds for the review year. The fund that is managed by FBN Capital Asset Mgt opened 2019 with a unit price of N159.91 and dropped to N129.17 as at December 27.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

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DIPO OLADEHINDE

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liko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, plans to take office space in New York to help diversify his investments and avoid the risk of currency fluctuations on his home continent.

The owner of the biggest cement company in subSaharan Africa will use the base and an existing one in London to become more global after the completion of a $12 billion, 650,000 barrel-aday refinery currently under construction in Nigeria.

“In Africa, you know we have issues of devaluation, so we want to really preserve @Businessdayng

some of the family’s wealth,” Dangote told Bloomberg TV’s David Rubenstein Show.

The 62-year-old Nigerian businessman became $4.3 billion richer in 2019 as his fortune continued to grow on the back of investments in cement, flour and sugar.

With a net worth of about $15 billion, he is ranked the 95th wealthiest man in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His conglomerate, Dangote Industries, includes the Lagoslisted Dangote Cement Plc and four other publicly traded companies under the Dangote umbrella that account for more than a fifth of the value of the Nigerian stock exchange.

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 10 January 2020

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news Supreme Court verdict: Okowa appeals for unity Francis Sadhere, Warri

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elta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has called on Deltans to be more united following the re-affirmation of his victory at the polls by the Supreme Court, which declared him as the duly elected governor of Delta State.

The governor made the call on Wednesday evening at a thanksgiving service held at the Government House Chaplaincy, Asaba, to celebrate the Supreme Court verdict.

“I want to thank Deltans for all your prayers and support and as we move forward, it is time to work for the good of the state; I cannot do it alone; as a government we require the cooperation of all; it is time for us to partner together; it is time to forget the bitterness.

“I will use this opportunity to call on my opponent, Chief Great Ogboru for him to realise that it is time for him to work together with the state government to build our state; I believe that truly everyone can make his contributions and impact whether he is in office or not as it is truly time for us to be united as it is in the best interest of the state to work together and continue to pray for God’s strength to move this state forward.

“God took us through the elections, through the tribunal, Appeal Court and now, the Supreme Court

and in each of the victories, we have always returned thanks to God because He alone has made it possible; we trusted in God and He has seen us through and today we have victory.

“This victory is dedicated to God because God willed it to be, to settle the state and to ensure that there is peace; to bring oneness among us because without peace and without oneness we cannot move forward as a people,” Governor Okowa, who attended the thanksgiving with his wife, Edith, his deputy, Kingsley Otuaro, and other top government functionaries, said.

He used the occasion to speak on 2023 elections saying, “I know that 2023 is not so far but, it is also not too near, so, there is a time for everything and now, it is truly time, as a government to work for the people; when the time to play politics comes we will play politics.

“For those of us in government, I want to plead that the best thing for us to do now is to work. There will be room to play the politics and

by His grace when the time comes, everything will work out smoothly; no one can make a Governor; only God can decide who becomes Governor; so, now we have to work together to achieve a Stronger Delta as we need to spend the next few years working for the people of Delta State.” www.businessday.ng

Lagos to close Nigerian Breweries’ Rail Crossing, other for rail project Joshua Bassey

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agos State government is closing two roads to traffic on January 9 and January 11, respectively.

This is to allow for the completion of the construction of the ongoing LagosIbadan standard gauge rail line, where the roads were located.

The state ministry of transportation said this in a statement that the Public

Works Department Level Crossing in Ikeja and the Nigerian Brewery Level Crossing in Iganmu area would be affected by the closure.

It said the PWD Level Crossing would be closed to traffic from 8pm on January 9 to 6am on January 10, while the Nigerian Brewery Level Crossing in Iganmu area would be closed to traffic same time on January 11.

“Alternative routes have been provided for road users to utilise during the

course of the construction to ensure that motorists reach their various destinations with ease.

“The closure has also been slated at this time to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted flow of work on the rail tracks,” it said.

According to the statement, motorists plying the Ikeja axis are advised to access their destinations th rou g h Ilu p e ju L e ve l Crossing and Ikeja Along Level Crossing.

Similarly, road users driving along Iganmu axis inward Surulere should make use of Costain Expressway and Orile Express corridor, Bode Thomas Street and Eric Moore Road.

“The Lagos State government is hereby appealing to the residents of the state, especially motorists that ply these corridors, to bear the pains. This project is aimed at achieving a seamless multi- modal transport system in the state.”

‘70% broadband penetration possible in Nigeria by 2025’

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he broad goal of the National Broadband Penetration (NBP) Committee to achieve 70% broadband penetration by 2025, analysts in the telecommunications industry have said.

A number of countries with lower gross domestic products (GDP) and per Capital Income have achieved greater broadband penetration raising the hope of the same possibility in Nigeria, the analysts have pointed out.

According to Emanuel Onajite, a research analyst whose research focus has centred on the impact of broadband penetration on low income econo-

mies, “There is an indication that Nigeria is finally waking up to the need for telecommunications as a major pillar for national development, the inauguration of the National Broadband Penetration Committee is a pointer to the fact that things are set to change.”

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, say the Federal Government and ministry are encouraging institutions to host their data in Nigeria.

While speaking to journalists, Pantami said the need to boost broadband penetration from 37.8 percent currently to

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over 70 percent in the next five years was the pedestal for NBP 2020-2025.

The plan should attend to about 195 access gaps in the country, where some 40 million Nigerians reside. The minister said pervasive broadband penetration will make Nigeria a truly digital economy. A 25-member committee, led by MainOne Cable CEO Funke Opeke, has been inaugurated, and the team is expected to come up with a plan by the end of Q1.

The committee is expected to take a critical look at where the country is, after painstaking review of the 2013-2018 phase and @Businessdayng

the status of penetration now.

The members were enjoined to examine the challenges with a view to proffering solutions.

According to Onajite, the committee is just settling down to work and should not be rushed as they work on structures that will deliver pervasive broadband for Nigerians by the set target of 2025.

The Presidency demonstrated its commitment to improving the broadband situation of the country and the National Broadband Penetration Committee is working on a holistic plan that will proffer solutions to these issues.

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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news

Amotekun not alternative to any conventional security agencies – South West governors REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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overnor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and chairman Governors’ Forum on Thursday cleared the air that the newly launched Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed ‘Operation Amotekun’ was neither an alternative to any of the conventional security agencies in Nigeria nor a state police.

While dispelling the rumours making the rounds that the outfit is a regional police, he noted that the Southwest governors were not out to undermine the integrity and sovereignty of Nigeria but were providing the Yoruba people with a “confidence-building strategy” to tackle crime and criminality in the sub region.

Each of the six states has procured 20 pick-up vans equipped with communication gadgets and 100 motorcycles for the takeoff of the Security Network.

Fayemi, who spoke at the launch of the security outfit in Ibadan, yesterday, said the region and its governors strongly be-

lieved in the unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its indissoluble sovereignty.

“Amotekun is nothing but a confidence building strategy for our people in the Western zone. When those elements that are going to work in the joint task force with the mainstream security agencies undertake this assignment, they are going to do it with the knowledge of the terrain, language and culture of the community they are going to work.

“Amotekun is not a duplication neither is it a replacement for the Nigeria Police Force.

Amotekun is a complement that gives our people the confidence that they are being looked after by the people they elected into office. We do not want this to create fear in the mind of anyone.

We are not creating a regional police force. We are not oblivious of the steps we need to follow in forming State police. We are law abiding citizens of Nigeria. We know that will require a constitutional amendment and we are not there yet,” he said.

According to Fayemi, Amotekun is nothing but a community policing response to a problem that our people would like to put an end to. But pending the time that the community policing strategy being put together by the Nigeria Police comes to fruition, it is clearly important that we give our people a confidence boosting strategy.

The governor, who commended the role played by the mainstream security agencies in tackling kidnapping and banditry in the zone, noted that Amotekun would reduce the burden on the agencies, he described as “overstretched.”

He stated, “We are daily assaulted by the spate of kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery across the length and breadth of the South West. We obviously sought succour in all the right places and the mainstream security tried their best in arresting the security situation.

It was in the context of this development that we lost the daughter of our leader in Afenifere, Pa Fasoranti.”

people out of poverty over the next 10 years and these are the kinds of things that will assist in that regard.

When people get employment, they get paid salaries and they are able to help their dependants. This project will go a long way in that regard,” he said.

He said the government is desirous and willing to assist all serious industrialists and all those that are serious about investing in Nigeria.

“We will within the laws of Nigeria do everything possible to assist to make sure that they are able to bring everything on track. This will be my first time here but it will not be the last because I intend to come back as many times as possible until the project is finally completed and start to produce,” he said.

Alok Gupta, group managing director, African Industries Group, in his address said the $600 million steel plant would provide jobs for 3,000 Nigerians and also bring in significant savings in foreign exchange by import substitution.

“Most importantly, we will be employing over 3,000 people and benefit the lives of many more. Our $600 million investment will be the largest non-oil FDI in the country and should encourage other mining industries to explore similar projects in the future,” Gupta said.

“The project will also bring in significant savings in foreign exchange by import substitution and also add to foreign exchange reserves when our mining project starts to export Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) to other West African countries. Already, our group manufacturing companies in Nigeria have been exporting steel and chemical products to various countries within the ECOWAS region,” he said.

Gupta, who said AIG currently employs 8,000 workers, said the company has 18 manufacturing plants in the country.

He listed other benefits of the steel plant which he described as a “project with a higher gestation period”.

FG pledges support for foreign investors in Nigeria GBEMI FAMINU

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oreign investors in Nigeria have been told not to entertain any fear of returns on their investments as the Federal Government will back them to recoup their cost and break even.

Adeniyi Adebayo, minister of industry, trade and investment, said this on Thursday while inspecting the steel plant being built by African Industries Group (AIG) in Jere, Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Adebayo said the new $600 million steel plant in Kaduna would help to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

“From what I have seen so far, I must say that I am very impressed.

I am happy that this is the sort of investment that we at the government like to see. I am happy with the number of people that will be employed,” Adebayo said.

“As you are all aware, the wish and desire of President Muhammadu Buhari is to lift 100 million

Edo engages firm to resuscitate moribund state-owned School of Nursing IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

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do State government on Thursday said it had engaged the service of a consulting firm to resuscitate and reopen the moribund state-owned School of Nursing and Midwifery.

The state governor, Godwin Obaseki, who made the promise during the launching of Nursing “Now Nigeria” and kick-off of the year 2020 Nurses/Midwives programme in Benin City, said the reopening of the institution was geared towards training of health personnel in the state.

Obaseki, represented by the commissioner for health, Patrick Okundia, said the Obaseki-led administration had resolved to deliver affordable and quality healthcare www.businessday.ng

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services to Edo people.

While noting that the quality of healthcare in the state cannot be achieved without skilled healthcare professionals, he added it was imperative to begin operation and addressing the issue of nonaccreditation of the institution.

“I would like to reiterate the commitment towards the reopening and reaccreditation of Edo State School of Nursing and Midwifery.

“I assure you work will start up soon. We have engaged a consulting firm and they have been tasked with the sole responsibility of ensuring that those schools become fully functional to the best standards.

“Provisions have been @Businessdayng

made in the 2020 budget proposal that was sent to the House of Assembly and by the end of this year, it is our desire to see those schools up and running,” he said.

He also disclosed that plans were underway for the renovation of 18 new Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) in a bid to provide accessible healthcare to Edo people.

Recall that in 2012 and 2014, the schools of Nursing and Midwifery, respectively, were shut down and their accreditation withdrawn for not meeting up to the standard requirements.

In her remarks, the director, Nursing Services, Alex Enunwaonye, urged nurses to renew their licences as and when due to avoid being tagged as quacks.

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news

US-Iran undeclared truce buys Nigeria additional ‘wait-and-see’ time STEPHEN ONYEKWELU & INNOCENT ODOH

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igeria occupies an uncomfortable position in the ongoing face-off between the US and Iran. It is Africa’s biggest oil producer and a member of the Organisation of Oil Producing Countries (OPEC), the global oil cartel of which Iran is a founding member.

The impact of the US-Iran spat on global oil prices is already being felt, albeit positively, and Nigeria is seen to benefit, although analysts say the oil price rally may not sustain in the long term.

Against this backdrop, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday met behind closed doors with Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, and Mele Kyari, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Although details of the meetings are unknown, Villa sources said discussions might have centred on the fallout of the cur-

rent tensions between the US and Iran, the likely implications on crude oil prices, and how Nigeria should respond.

But beyond oil, experts say it may not be out place for Iran to look up to Nigeria for assistance at some point if the tensions continue.

Africa’s most populous country harbours quite a chunk of Shi’a Muslims who pay allegiance to Iran. Nigerian Shiites are united under the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), whose leader Ibraheem El Zakzaky has been in detention for several years now. The US-Iran face-off may increase the movement’s nuisance value, Akin Oyebode, a professor of international law and jurisprudence, told BusinessDay. Oyebode, however, said Nigeria should at this point adopt a wait-and-see approach.

“The best Nigeria can do now is to adopt a wait-and-see posture. The US is scaling down their offensive and Iran is not ready for war. It is really too early to make pontifical statements on this matter of global scale,” he said.

Just on Thursday, the IMN threatened US President Donald Trump, saying he must pay for the “crime” he committed against Iran by killing a top Iranian military general, Qassem Soleimani.

Contrary to the Trump administration’s tag of “terrorist” on Soleimani, Ibrahim Musa, spokesman of the IMN, told BusinessDay in a chat that the slain general had instead played key roles in destroying terrorist groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

“Suleiman is a freedom fighter; he is a liberator, so for anybody to kill him extra-judicially and against international laws is not acceptable,” Musa said.

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs had called on Nigerian Muslims not to demonstrate against the killing of the general in order not to be misinterpreted as taking sides on what is considered geopolitical affairs, but Musa said the IMN would not be deterred from exercising its legitimate right to protest against injustice.

Minimum wage: TUC to shut down states failing to pay by January 31 JOSHUA BASSEY

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rade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has given states yet to negotiate and implement the N30,000 national minimum wage up till January 31, 2020, to pay the new wage or risk total shutdown of operations in such states by the organised labour.

Already, the congress has directed the leadership of all its state councils to begin mass mobilisation ahead of the January 31 deadline.

President of the TUC, Quardri Olaleye, who addressed journalists after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the congress, in Lagos, said of the 36 states in the federation, only six had begun the implementation of the minimum wage, 15 others in negotiation process, while the remaining 15 had not even started negotiation on the consequential adjustment of the expected new salary scale.

He said: “The Congress com-

mends the Federal Government for the eventual completion of negotiation with respect to the consequential adjustments and commencement of payment of the new National Minimum Wage to federal workers.

“Congress however advises all state governments who have not complied with the implementation and immediate payment of the N30, 000 minimum wage to commence negotiations and implementation on or before January 31, 2020, otherwise the state governments should be responsible for the consequences of their failure.

“State councils have been directed to commence mobilisation of their members immediately. This is no empty threat to the states. If they fail, by January 31, the governors should take responsibility for what will happen,” Olaleye said.

Speaking other issues, including rising insecurity in the country and threat to global peace, the TUC called on the Federal Government to inten-

sify more practical efforts towards wiping out killings, kidnapping and insurgency to save the country from total collapse.

Specifically, Olaleye urged the government to encourage more regions in the state to embrace the similar approach by the South-West, which has formed a special security outfit to combat insecurity in the six states that made up the region Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo and Osun.

In furtherance of global peace, the TUC said its members would be participating in a global rally against war on January 25, 2020; in view of the vulnerability of workers in war period.

On the proposed review of Nigerian labour laws, the TUC described it as a welcome development in the believe that some of the laws are out-dated, but warned that the organised labour would, however, resist “attempt from any quarter to remove labour issues from exclusive legislative list.

FG to leverage ICT to fight corruption, block leakages - Buhari Tony Ailemen, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to use technology for enhanced public service delivery, check corruption and block leakages.

The president stated this when he received the leadership of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPCN) and Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) led by its president, Charles Uwadia, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

President Buhari said ‘‘technology in public service delivery is no longer a luxury, but a pressing necessity.’’

Noting that Information Technology is the driving force for social and economic change, the President told

the IT professionals that his Government, through its actions, has demonstrated its commitment to convert these potentials to reality. ‘‘The future belongs to IT. What was unimaginable 20 years ago is a reality today. Accordingly, we have introduced numerous policies and have made substantial investments to ensure the benefits of this technology-driven age is felt by 200 million Nigerians.

“Indeed, our strategy for inclusive economic growth can only be achieved by leveraging the technology tools available to us,’’ he said.

President Buhari used the occasion of the courtesy visit by representatives of the computing and IT professionals in Nigeria to enumerate some benefits of using technological www.businessday.ng

tools to implement government policies. ‘‘Already, we have seen the benefits of using technological tools for lending to farmers as well as monitoring crop performance especially in some of the more remote locations. ‘‘We also leveraged technology to fight corruption and reduce leakages and inefficiencies in public service delivery. You are all aware of the significant investments we made to upgrade our policy and military platforms as we battle pockets of insecurity in parts of the country. ‘‘Furthermore, our social investment programs are built on technological platforms that allow us to positively impact the lives of some of poorest members of our society,’’ he said. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

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A plea for economic development planning THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

O

ne of the popular delusions in our national economic management is that development planning is bad and that all we need are so-called “rolling plans” and mid-term expenditure frameworks. The history of planning in Nigeria goes back to colonial times. Before independence, the departing British brought in economists from the World Bank to assist in designing our first five-year development plan covering the years 1962-1968. The distinguished American economist Wolfgang Stolper was one of the architects of our first national plan, about which he wrote with such nostalgia in his memoirs.

We have had altogether 4 national plans since independence: the First National Development Plan 1962-1968; the Second National Development Plan 1970-1974; the Third National Development Plan 1975-1980; and the Fourth National Development Plan 1981-1985.

In addition, there have been so-called “rolling plans” such as the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), the Seven Point Agenda and Vision 2020.

Vision 2020 was crafted in 2009 as a long-term perspective document with the target of increasing the national GDP to be among the top 20 by the year 2020.

Its implementation framework was weak while it was deficient in vital areas such

as industrialisation, technology and innovation. In January 2020, it is clear that we have been off-target by a wide margin.

With a total GDP of US$446.5 billion, we come 28th in the world GDP ranking.

The 20th position that we so coveted is currently held by wealthy Switzerland, followed in descending order by Taiwan, Poland, Thailand, Belgium, Iran, Austria and Nigeria.

In 1985 the Ibrahim Babangida military administration were foolishly persuaded by the Bretton Woods institutions to jettison planning altogether. Our halfbaked neoliberal economists who bought into the fraud were in no position to know that works such as those by Naomi Caiden and Aaron Wildavsky, Planning and Budgeting in Poor Countries (1974) were really sponsored stratagems to ultimately ridicule and discourage planning in developing countries. This is not to say we should by any means idealise planning.

Economic development planning is not a panacea for all economic ills. But I see it as a discipline and tool for resource and political mobilisation that enabled leaders and the nation’s economic managers to focus on long-term strategic policy choices. Economic planning also helps to minimise the rampant policy inconsistencies and instability that accompanies regime changes.

Contrary to what many suppose, the emerging countries that have enjoyed accelerated growth and structural transformation are precisely those countries that never jettisoned economic development plans. These include: China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Those countries have persisted with economic development in disregard to pressure from foreign powers. And the results have been salutary.

Many of the challenges that we face today are precisely problems that by their very nature require long-term thinking,

not just mid-term expenditure plans.

We in Nigeria would be well advised to go back to the traditions of economic planning. But we must do so devoid of ideological dogmatism. The idea of lumping planning under finance and budget is technically wrong. The person who plans the economy should not be the same person who spends the money.

An inherent conflict of interest will arise in such an arrangement.

It is my considered opinion that we should revitalise the National Planning Commission as an autonomous professional organisation; a centre of excellence attracting the best economists in the country. Regional and urban planning should also be integrated into the new planning framework. We should plan not only for accelerated sustainable growth; we should also plan for our cities and regions while adopting a comprehensive, strategic approach to the overall planning process.

We must embark upon a more ambitious project of accelerated agriculturebased industrial revolution anchored on inclusive growth that generates jobs for millions of our people. We need nothing less than a new philosophy of development that puts people at the heart of the development process.

Of course, without peace and harmony, nothing meaningful can happen.

Nigerians have become more divided than ever before, thanks to the private agendas of our population who put private interests before the welfare of the people. We need a coalition of Nigerians who believe not only in peace and justice but who can also be trusted to work hard to deliver solid outcomes in terms of the greatest good for the greatest number.

We therefore need forge a new national consensus on the goals and objectives of sustainable growth and national transformation.

‘

Contrary to what many suppose, the emerging countries that have enjoyed accelerated growth and structural transformation are precisely those countries that never jettisoned economic development plans

Bold action is also needed in economic reform, long-term strategic planning and in strengthening governance and institutional performance. The current administration’s commitment to anti-corruption is in the right direction. But we must also understand that fighting corruption is not a substitute for economic policy. There is a risk that we may be going off tangent by chasing thieves instead of focusing on the arduous imperatives of governance and rigorous implementation of economic policy.

We must of course recover all our stolen patrimony, but this must be seen as part and parcel of a policy drive for re-booting our economy and re-engineering growth and long-term sustainable development.

Equally important is placing priority on the private sector as the driver of growth. The notion that government knows everything and is best placed to tackle our national development challenges is part of the old thinking that we need to jettison. We need to reinvent government as a smart entrepreneurial state that focuses on areas in which it has the highest comparative advantage: infrastructures, education, health, security and other public goods, while reforming the civil service to make it more professionalised and effective. We must allow the private sector to become the engine and locomotive of growth while building an enabling environment for foreign investors and local businesspeople, especially SMEs.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng 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)

People to enable strategy and systems

W

elcome to the beginning of the year 2020. Many say it is the beginning of a new decade? Is it or is it actually the end of a decade. 2021 is the beginning of a new decade or is it not.

2020 is only the beginning of a decade if 0AD was a year and since it was not a year, we are at the end of a decade, not the beginning of one.

Respond with a superior argument only if you are a mathematician.

The world decides there are some dates that are important but you have to find what is important for you. So, for example 1999 is important for me only because it was the year my mother died. Why is the end of a decade important or not? Food for thought.

Having said that, the beginning of a new year always comes with many people trying to become better versions of themselves. Usually this lasts just a few days into the New Year. However, some people manage to actually change their lives. Those who succeed don’t just wish it, they deliberate on it, set smart goals that can be tracked and research how best to put structures in place that will ensure the achievement those goals.

Many organisations wish to change somethings but don’t have any idea where to start the change from. I just want to share a change management matrix that can work for many organisations. I did not come up with this and I am not claiming credit for it but I have used it often and it has always worked. Unfortunately, I can’t remember who came up with it. This matrix is very basic and has no doubt been replaced with more sophisticated ones but from a people perspective it still works The three things to focus on are your strategy, systems and people. At an organisational

level, process level and people and job level. On all these levels you have to determine the goal, the structure and the management (measurement).

All this sounds great but may be meaningless for some people. Your strategy is the plan you are going to put in place to achieve your goal.

The system is how you plan to achieve the goal, that is, the process you are going to use and the people are the different types of people you will use to achieve the goals.

All the above has to be based on the goals, the structure that you put in place to enable the process and the measurement of the efficacy of the whole thing in achieving the organisational goals.

Let us consider the people aspect of this change management matrix. The first thing that has to be sorted out is the organisational goals.

Many people just pull these goals out of thin air. The goals can be as a result of the results l management and planning tools. The goals could be based on five year projections from before or could dovetail from various budgets external to the organisation.

However, the goals are set, having ensured they are smart goals; you then put a structure that will help the achievement of the organisational goals. This structure will also have goals the achievement of which will result in the achievement of the organisational goals.

There must then be a system that will measure both the percentage completion of the goals as achievement is in process and the efficacy of the structure.

Back to the people issues. The people needed that will enable the organisation achieve her goals must be clearly enumerated. The people, the goals of the jobs they will do, the structure

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of the jobs and how these people and jobs will be managed (that is measured ) have to be clearly stated.

To achieve each process goal, the people must be identified. What type of people do you need? This is in terms of skills, qualification, behaviour, attitude and experience levels. So, this translates into a definition of the type of people you need. What behaviour will support the strategy, both process and organisational and even people? Which job should be employed into or who should be re-deployed or disengaged?

As an organization you must define what culture will deliver the right environment for the achievement of both the process and organisational goals? What target of performance must each person or team achieve?

The people structure, (remember this is what you put in place to ensure the organization gets the goals she has set for the people and ultimately the organisation) must include Job descriptions, job evaluations, reward structures, performance standards, performance measurements, team dynamics and team development plans, employee satisfaction surveys, training and development plans.

There are a few things that need to be in place for your people to not only deliver the goals but also to be happy doing their jobs.

Clearly a staff audit and job evaluation are necessary here. These days’ compensation surveys are not a big thing but they are actually still very relevant. In order to know who to benchmark with, you must be careful not to only benchmark within your industry but also within jobs that your people can be poached to do regardless of industry knowledge.

The organisation recruitment strategy must be overhauled. For example, do you have pipe-

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Olamide Balogun line recruitment or your critical roles can hold you to ransom? As said before Job specification, description and outcomes are critical success factors even though these days the jobs change extremely quickly due to technology and the increasing sophistication of the consumers.

Performance management must be in place because as we say, what you cannot measure you definitely cannot manage. This management should include appraisals (360 degree where possible). Leadership and Management Assessments. Back in the day, there was a great one called MAP (Managerial Assessment of Proficiency)…. Or such like.

Finally career management from recruitment to outplacement services where possible.

Define the type and role of employees to enable the organization achieve her goals, select them carefully, orientate them deliberately, evaluate objectively, reward them adequately, manage and develop them at all costs.

Welcome to 2020, whether or not it is the beginning or end of a decade will only be relevant if the year contains any relevance for you. The truth is that the years to a large extent turn out to be what you make of them. What is your plan?

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

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Donald trump, the evangelicals and predictions of end-times HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

D

onald Trump is going to win the presidential election for a second term in office in 2020.

It is a reality that does violence to the sensibilities of many good people, young and old, not only in the United States, but in many countries of the world.

To many people observing the world’s leading Democracy, the events of the past five years or so have provided a source of endless puzzlement.

In the beginning there was a man who was said to be unsuitable for political office by any of the criteria usually employed to determine these matters, according to those who knew about such matters. Although he was rich, he lacked social graces. He was crude and uncouth. He had no language, no gift of the garb - that great facility that seemed to be one of the hallmarks of American leadership, exemplified most recently

by Presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

He often took liberties with the truth, as a matter of course. In plain language, he was a serial and unrepentant liar, who, caught out in one lie, would simply replace it with another.

From many of his pronouncements,

and some of the causes he got involved in, such as the disreputable “birther” controversy around the place of birth of President Barack Obama, the first black President of America, it could be discerned that he was racist in his inner core, despite the fact that he flaunted friendships with some black celebrities, such as golfer Tiger Woods, the rap musician Kanye West, and flamboyant boxing promoter Don King. There were unsavoury rumours surrounding the size and source of his wealth and the manner of his business operations, and there was always more than a hint of scandal and crooked behaviour surrounding him and the people close to him.

That he went on to win the election is now a matter of history. In the process he appeared not only to rewrite the rule books, but to tear them up entirely.

Almost immediately after his election victory, the search began for meaning and explanation for what had just happened to the soul of America.

Logical answers have been sought to the question “How did Donald Trump win an election he was never meant to win?”

Experts have talked about the strange behaviour of the CIA director who wrote a bizarre letter to Congress about what would turn out to be a meaningless investigation into the Democratic Party’s candidate’s email account. There was talk that that helped to push the Trump horse across the finish line. The CIA director himself, initially lauded by candidate Trump for his patriotism, would become one of the first casualties to end up in the belly of the monster he might have helped to birth.

There were other explanations of

the Trump phenomenon. There was the “Trump base” – a Rust Belt populated with disaffected white working-class people who felt marginalised in an increasingly pluralistic America. There were border communities worried about unregulated immigration and the swamping of “true Americans” by “aliens.” There were out and out racists who were on the rebound from the Obama interregnum and believed that the white man needed to take back America.

Then there were the Evangelicals – the powerful collection of Biblethumping tele-evangelists and other Pentecostal ministers who ministered to large congregations and positioned themselves as the avatars and defenders of an unabashedly Christian USA. To many, the adoption of Trump by the religious leaders as a champion of Christian virtue and way of life was laughable. This was no epitome of Christian virtue. This was a man whose deep characterological flaws were on display every day.

Perhaps the critics should not have been so blithe in their dismissal of the impact of the Evangelicals. Perhaps they should have paid more attention to the issues that constituted the reason for their romance with Donald Trump.

Perhaps, in fact, far from being the “lunatic fringe” of the Trump base, the Pentecostals were the solid backbone around which the Trump superstructure hung, and the guarantee that he would win again in 2020, come what might.

For those “old” issues remain fresh and raw, and they go to the very essence of the modern democratic society in America and even the larger world.

In a recent interview on CNN, a

‘

To many, the adoption of Trump by the religious leaders as a champion of Christian virtue and way of life was laughable.

This was no epitome of Christian virtue.

This was a man whose deep characterological flaws were on display every day

mystified anchor asked why the Christian ministers were still solidly behind Donald Trump, who had now clearly proved himself a deeply amoral and totally unworthy human being in the public space. The answer from the Pentecostal Minister in front of her was quick. God used flawed vessels to achieve his ends – the Bible was replete with examples. Somebody had to stand up and draw the line on Abortion. And the matter of LGBTQ – well, you only had to refer to Sodom and Gomorrah, it was futile to rewrite the dictate of the Bible. How much freedom was too much freedom? Somebody was standing up here – yes, Donald Trump.

The respondent added one final, shocking line. These were End-Times, predicted long ago, she said. Many in her flock were expecting “The Rapture” in 2050. America needed a strong leader who would truly lead the world. These, she said, were the views, not of extremists, but many mainstream Americans, who would not dare discuss their feelings in public for fear of being howled down by the mob but would express themselves in the privacy of the voting booth, again.

It is interesting that these matters, which are not the subject of polite conversation, and which will not appear in the press, because they are not “woke”, may well determine who wins the next election, as they did the last.

Of course, a strong Economy, and even a possible war with Iran, will help the Trump cause further, as will the obvious absence of credible opposition.

It is all, as they say, a sign of the times.

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

Hexavian Business Laws for 2020 (2)

A

s we move deeper into January of 2020, here is a continuation of the 21 Hexavian Laws of Business for 2020.

This is the second of third part, and it explores law 8 to 14.

The law of creativity Go across boundaries. When we all think alike, then no one is thinking – BE CREATIVELY DIFFERENT in 2020. Think out of the box, as a matter of fact; think like there’s no box. To become a person of great ideas, put your creative instincts to test more frequently. In the words of Maya Angelou “you can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have”.

Practical applications and tips: Find out the places and time of the day that stimulates your creative juices. Then stay there more.

Leverage on the power of 4am. Have a jotter or a notepad app close by. Be open to everything and attached to nothing. Share ideas, after all, that’s what they are for. It’s in the nature of ideas for the best ones to not be fully formed at conception. So don’t be too passionate for you to not absorb change. Start and it may transit to something better. Ideas are by far the most common manifestation of the human spirit. It’s somewhat over rated as everyone has them. It’s the grit to follow through on them that makes all the difference.

The law of sacrifice I’m afraid that in 2020, there’s only one-way to succeed, sacrifice! People who have an edge are those who have made sacrifices or have started making them. To go up, choose something hard to give up – you may need to DENY TODAY’S DESIRES, TO ACHIEVE TOMORROW’S DREAM. Practical applications and tips: Take up more responsibilities!

The law of risks Take out your fears and then take off to your

dreams. Ships are safe at bay, but that’s not why they were made. Eagles learn to fly by jumping off the sky. In 2020, it is only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far it is possible to go. In the words of Mark Twain, “twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbour, and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, and discover”. Go on a voyage more frequently, bearing in mind that a distant traveller who does not return home with great wealth, must endeavour to bring knowledge and experience.

Practical applications and tips: Be open to everything and attached to nothing. Face your fears. In the words of Les Brown, “too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears”. Face your fears.

The law of innovation and technology If what you’ve done in the last years still looks big to you, then you haven’t done much this year.

If your process, lifestyle and pattern don’t make things better, safer, simpler, work faster and life easier, then it’s not it – REPLACE IT. Practical applications and tips: hang around younger people more.

The practical tips for this will be to stay radically open-minded. This means to be assertive yet open-minded. At every interaction and experience, practice to feed forward and not just feedback. In other words, you reminisce on whom did you talk to, what did you learn, what are you going to do about it?

The law of process and continuous improvement You are expected to grow daily, not in a day – KAIZEN. Always look for 3 things at every point in your life, what to START, and what to STOP and what to keep DOING. It’s important to have personal rituals and

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routines. Define them, with predefined cycles.

Do them consistently. Try not to break them.

Also, never pass on a defect, irrespective of who initiated it or who is responsible for it.

The law of management In whatever you do in 2020, be consistent.

Follow through. Also, create a professionally structured mode of operation and control. – Have a functional structure for what you do.

Practical applications and tips: Read management books. Join an institute of your choice.

Start an MBA or any higher degree. But more practically, volunteer or have an internship (even if you are not paid) with an industry or work of your interest. Try to be a consultantmanaging a series of projects, end-to-end, back-to-back.

For management to work, consider the Fayol’s principles for management. It is stated as follows Division of work – When employees are specialized, output can increase because they become increasingly skilled and efficient.

Authority – Managers must have the authority to give orders, but they must also keep in mind that with authority comes responsibility.

Discipline – Discipline must be upheld in organizations, but methods for doing so can vary.

Unity of command – Employees should have only one direct supervisor.

Unity of direction – Teams with the same objective should be working under the direction of one manager, using one plan. This will ensure that action is properly coordinated.

Subordination of individual interests to the general interest – The interests of one employee should not be allowed to become more important than those of the group. This includes managers.

Remuneration – Employee satisfaction depends on fair remuneration for everyone.

This includes financial and non-financial

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EIZU UWAOMA

compensation.

Centralisation – This principle refers to how close employees are to the decision-making process. It is important to aim for an appropriate balance.

Scalar Chain – Employees should be aware of where they stand in the organization’s hierarchy, or chain of command.

Order – The workplace facilities must be clean, tidy and safe for employees. Everything should have its place.

Equity – Managers should be fair to staff at all times, both maintaining discipline as necessary and acting with kindness where appropriate.

Stability of tenure of personnel – Managers should strive to minimize employee turnover.

Personnel planning should be a priority.

Initiative – Employees should be given the necessary level of freedom to create and carry out plans.

Esprit de Corps – Organisations should strive to drive internal brand loyalty. They should promote buy-in to the vision, team spirit and unity.

I will see you at the concluding part of this series.

Have a great 2020.

This content is inspired by the book “Hexavian Laws of Business” Uwaoma is a start-up, corporate restructuring and strategy consultant. contacteizu@gmail.com

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Editorial Publisher/Editor-in-chief

Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya

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

Raising electricity tariffs alone won’t keep the lights on

N

igerians are outraged over the purported increase in electricity tariff; it is understandable considering that service delivery is still poor. But this sector cannot grow if tariffs do not guarantee commercial returns. An increase alone, however, is insufficient to solve the problem.

While the DisCos are correct to say that current tariffs are unsustainable, we do not believe more income is the solution, especially when they have not shown fidelity in remittance to other market operators. We commend, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the regulator, for trying to address this tariff gap but we urge it to stay the course. It must resist political interference and do what is necessary.

NERC has been making concerted efforts to contain the impression that it was raising tariff, we think it should be

informing the public why this needs to be done. It gains credibility by also telling the public its plans to ensure electricity customers are metered and how it has intervened in cutting down estimated billings. This is a sore point for many consumers; it is not the rate of the tariff but the guarantee of power after paying.

Some pay double the current rate on self-generation through dirty generators.

According to section 17 of the MYTO -2015 order, the tariff should be reviewed twice every year measured against variables such as inflation rate, gas prices and foreign exchange rate and generation capacity. This has not been done since 2016. The latest review last December does not still guarantee a cost reflective tariff. But it is a good start.

Improved measures to hold DisCos accountable are also commendable. For instance, DisCos must now remit at least 45 percent of the value of power they receive (before they only managed paid 30 percent).

The Commission has also mandated the DisCos to cut down their Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collections (ATC&C) losses. We fear this is unrealistic as some may struggle, particularly those that are highly indebted or in crisisprone areas like Yobe.

We also do not understand the rationale for the Service and Market Operator to get their remittances in full, if everyone is taking a haircut, it makes no sense to exempt them considering that they are part of the problem.

Yet, the major factor constraining adequate power supply in Nigeria is technical. The national grid collapses from too little or too much generation.

Transformers and base stations are inadequate and many are worn and in need of repair or replacement. Gas turbines waste away due to inability to get feedstock to power them and many power plants lie desolate.

It is tempting to think the problem with the power sector

is money but over N1.3trillion intervention by the Federal Government has done little to dent the problem – throwing money at the sector is about as helpful as trying to stop a moving train by shouting at it.

Analysts say the bulk of the problem in the sector is largely human. It starts from government officials interfering with a sector that is supposedly privatised and overruling the regulator. DisCos have been unfaithful in fulfilling their performance agreement and operators often work in silos. Generation companies are not proactive in commercialising the power they generate and some consumers bypass meters to steal power.

To begin to solve some of the challenges in the sector: all the operators, the regulator and the government should shut themselves in a room and tell each other the truth; they are culpable and have failed Nigerians. All that is required to salvage the sector is already in their possession.

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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That post-Christmas Abuja weekend bank robbery; mad oh!

Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

M

y uber-postmodern daughter who is into alternative music and smart on pop culture introduced the word along with her sisters into the family lexicon nearly three months ago. Mad oh falls off Donatella’s lips like she created it and it is something she says often. As I am three years shy of sixty, I am careful not to sound inappropriate and therefore use new words in the pop culture landscape with much caution. But I have four young daughters out and about in my residence and honestly some of these things simply seep into your old traditional words and settle in. Mad Oh is one of them.

Although I use it sparingly and more in private among my family than in the public, I find it captures quite succinctly the recent unbelievable weekend bank robbery in Abuja.

It was simply a story straight out of one of my favourite TV shows when I was young, Tales of the unexpected. Bizarre as it was, it shook Abuja to its core. Daylight bank robbery on a weekend. When I heard, I could not help asking myself what psychotropic substance they were on to make them think this heist was going to be a walk in the park. The police

who stormed First Bank Mpape along with their military counterparts from Guard’s brigade are to be commended for an excellent job.

So these robbers with ages ranging from 19 to 30 felt it would be a piece of cake to walk into a bank on Saturday and get their Christmas gift. Ridiculous.

Whatever they were high on had them believe they were in a Rose garden where everything was mushy and colourful. No danger at all and they would float out of the bank with N7 million. Really? Clearly their reality had been blurred and when they were caught after being besieged and smoked out, they all surrendered with a whimper. What happened? I thought these were daring do devil may care guys, just testing their machismo on a local First Bank in Mpape. And as a writer, I imagined they would then move on to bigger things and we will read about them in fear. But they had their balls smashed at Mpape, one person down and four in the net and one on the run.

Guys, Guys! For me this has to throw up the many books on how not to rob a bank and some of the tales of foolish robbery attempts in history.

Let us even attempt to profile them and their patterns.

First is the robber who fell. Patrick.

According to his robber colleagues, now often referred to as “failed robbers” Patrick said he could fight and was taller so volunteered to stand at the gate as watchman. He is also said to have provided the guns for this robbery. I am trying to make sense of this. “Could fight, was tall.”

I don’t understand. Fight with whom?

Gun totting men of the law? What kind of fight did he envision? The end they say justifies the means so Patrick took the bullet for all.

The 2nd is Elijah reported age by the police, 19. I wondered all evening long when I heard his age. 19 year-old in a foolish bank robbery. But at his age, it is sometimes easy to forgive foolishness but not wrong doing. Because at 19, he is expected to know wrong from right. Now his life is stretched ahead of him in such sorrow. Messed up at 19. Tragic. What did he need all this money for? Shoes, girls, phone, fast cars or to pay school fees?

Whatever it was, the very idea was foolish in the main and he could have taken a sprint from these bad boys to preserve his life. Did anyone notice that he is the one singing the most like a canary? His age has a lot to do with this. Also I do not think it has sunk in yet how deeply in trouble he is. He may be thinking in his 19-year-old mind that this will all go away soon. Sad! There is also Obinna, the photographer whose age is given at 24 and Timothy Joe, 21. Children all, led by one man described as the mastermind and a staff of the bank. Enter the guy with big ideas for getting rich, Mafioso Larry Ehizo 30, who disabled CCTV cameras, drove the gang to the bank and gave out enough information for what he believed will be their New Year gift from God. Ehizo at 30 years old working in the Customer service unit of his bank did not understand that his entire action is not only at complete variance with his customer service training but that the consequences will live with him for the rest of his life. Please take a look at the lives he is taking down with him. Young men at the beginning of their lives. Our chief execution officer who it will seem to me sees himself as some sort of film star is now speaking in strange parables telling everyone who cares to listen that in fact he was just an

‘

I am even now more intrigued than ever before that this phrase Mad Oh has now found its way into the Urban dictionary attributed to Nigeria, off the streets of Lagos.

It is defined as an expression of surprise, shock or astonishment often caused by something unexpected or mind-blowing

Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, brand and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant. abu_eugenia@yahoo.com

Lagos road infrastructure and the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda

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overnment’s investment in transport infrastructure is a big factor in people’s quality of life. It is the backbone and chief driver of socio-economic development, which every country strives to achieve. Roads and bridges, in particular, change the face of landscapes; increase connectivity, bring societies closer to the outside world, and attract investment from far and wide.

Rightly, one of the cardinal programmes of Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration is the provision of world-class infrastructural facilities to support the growing population of Lagos State and serve as the development driver of a vision of being Africa’s model smart city, a global economic and financial hub which is a fundamental ingredient for economic growth and development.

The commitment to infrastructural renewal, expansion, upgrading and regeneration is borne out of the fact that it is a prerequisite to efficient and integrated transportation, health, waste management and education system. Hence, the strategic role of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to the overall performance and delivery of the major pillars of the development agenda of this administration tagged: THEMES. Thus, it really goes beyond routine that the first assignment of the Governor to the State’s Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure upon her assumption of duty was to conduct an assessment tour of some critical roads across the State. The Special Adviser, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye saw firsthand the trauma the people suffer on some of the roads and reported her findings to the Governor who felt the pains of the people and directed that palliative measures should be carried out to alleviate the sufferings of the people immediately.

Many people who mostly don’t understand what is involved in road rehabilitation wanted all the roads in the State to be fixed instantly. There was dissonance of noise and cynicism from different parts of the State and on the mass media.

The social media was abuzz, but the narrative is

changing very fast now that evidence of the government resolve to tame the monster of bad roads is becoming manifest.

Not that the governor did not prepare or understand what was to be done from the outset. Far from it, but the main objective of the government was/ is simply to apply the right treatment at the right time to achieve the desired level of service.

Lagos residents now attest to increase in the speed of work on road infrastructure across different Local Government Areas of the State which is in line with the promise to commence extensive road rehabilitation and construction once the heaviness of the rain subsides.

The on-going massive programme of road repairs, which the State has tagged ‘Zero Tolerance for Potholes Initiative’ amply attest to the determined drive of the administration to make road infrastructure a vehicle of its greater Lagos journey.

A drive through the streets of Lagos will also reveal that roads had been rehabilitated or ongoing in so many locations such as Mobolaji Bank Anthony; Sheraton section (Ikeja Bound), Ogudu road, Herbert Macaulay Road, Ogunnusi road, Apapa road, LASU-Iba road, Iju Road, Ajah Badore road, Ridwan Onifade/Ademoye street, Arida Bus Stop before Ikotun Oduduwa road, and TOS Benson (Ebute Roundabout inward garage). Others Cele-Ijesha link bridge (Okota road), Ijesha Lawanson junction by Otun Oba bus stop and Ishaga road by LUTH, Ondo Street Ebute Metta. Rehabilitation work has also been done at Agbado road (Lagos-Ogun Boundary to Ayinla Bus Stop), Ifako Ijaiye.

As part of the Roads Repair Programme, there is a Junction Improvement Scheme to resolve bottlenecks at critical junctions. 60 of such junctions have been identified, and in the first phase, upgrades have begun on four of them.

Guided by the aphorism that says good roads make crucial contribution to economic development and growth, the government has recently www.businessday.ng

completed and commissioned a whopping 31 roads in Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, marking a watershed in Sanwo-Olu administration’s stride to bring the dividend of democracy to the good people of Lagos and most especially the dwellers of Ojokoro LCDA, who are the direct beneficiaries of the 20.216km network of roads project.

The Pen Cinema flyover is another massive infrastructural project the government is very keen at completing very soon. As at Friday, January 3, 2020 when the Governor went on an inspection of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and Pen Cinema Flyover, the Agboju to Trade Fair section of the former had been completed while there is an assurance that pen Cinema Bridge will be delivered in six months’ time.

The State is also doing rehabilitation/ upgrading of the six-kilometre phase 1 of the 11-kilometre long Ijede road and upgrading of Oniru Network of roads under a Public Infrastructure Improvement Partnership (PIIP) arrangement.

It is now certain that the proposed 38Km Fourth Mainland bridge project which has been dominant on the to-do-list of the State strategic transport master plan will soon see the light of day. Following the Request for Expression of Interest (Request for EOI) issued on 27th November, 2019 and the public bid opening ceremony held on 18th December, 2019 at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, no fewer than 39 construction companies across the globe expressed interest in the construction of the Bridge. 32 companies have subsequently crossed the first hurdle in the jostling for the construction of the proposed Bridge.

From the explanation of the Special Adviser the proposed project comprises of road and bridges with a design speed of 120 kilometres per hour. It will start at Abraham Adesanya in Ajah, on the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe corridor, and traverses to the North West direction towards the lagoon shoreline of Lagos Ibadan Expressway via Owutu/Ishawo in Ikorodu.

Though Sanwo-Olu is paying similar attention

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optional extra in the movie and the lead actor is a man named Ernest who is now at large. Really Ehizo? Which one of us in this nation called Nigeria looks like an idiot to you? I take that back. Lol. While there are quite a number of idiots, we are certainly not all idiots. So say that again? Oh okay. Ernest told you if you did not do it, he will wipe out your family. Really? Wow! As a screenplay writer, I might get some money off this kind of weird script, I am just wondering which film producer will come along. As the story gets weirder, Ehizo attempts to point a finger at another person as the mastermind, before his gang members all describe his action in helping them gain entrance. Please what was the process for hiring this customer service officer who has now “fallen” the hand of those who interviewed him? Customer service is for brand protection. Ehizo, please explain how you understood it when you were hired.

Just looking at the entire saga, I know there is much more to come and it is still unravelling. Let’s keep our eyes on this unfolding story.

I am even now more intrigued than ever before that this phrase Mad Oh has now found its way into the Urban dictionary attributed to Nigeria, off the streets of Lagos. It is defined as “an expression of surprise, shock or astonishment often caused by something unexpected or mind-blowing”. See how it ticks all the boxes for this robbery incident. That Abuja weekend bank robbery Post Christmas of 2019, Mad Oh!

SEGUN OGUNDEJI & RASAK MUSBAU to other sectors, it is interesting that, going through different parts of the state, one will see Public Works Corporation, High-tech, Chinese Construction Company (CCECC), Metropolitan Construction Company, Arab Contractors, Messers Julius Berger, and other contractors working on different parts of the state roads. This is not just happening without a proper grounding. It is so because the government had focused on engaging stakeholders for collaboration and done its home-work properly when the complaints were on.

It could be recalled that the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure recently issued a statement that Lagos State Government will henceforth insist on Standard Operating Procedure, SOP, spelt out in all construction projects.

This was not only in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the administration; it was as a result of the ugly experience of the incessant failure of newly constructed structures before their lifespan expires. The experience confirms the fact that some contractors do not conform to the standard procurement process as Stage Certification and Approval, before a project proceeds to another level, is always part of procurement Law. For sure, space will not allow a comprehensive data of all that Sanwo-Olu has achieved on road infrastructural development. But there is no gainsaying; he has demonstrated leadership, unusual passion, more than enough capacity and unmatched pragmatism. The governor has kept the hope of a greater Lagos alive. In a sum, it is a fact that government do not have unlimited resources, and also cannot do everything at once, but Lagosians can rest assured that the Sanwo-Olu administration has a robust plan and timetable in place to ensure every part of the State benefits from this exercise as quickly as possible.

Segun Ogundeji & Rasak Musbau, Lagos State Ministry of Works & Infrastructure, Alausa, Ikeja.

@Businessdayng

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

cityfile Japan donates 221 classrooms in Oyo REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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apan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has donated 221 classrooms to 30 primary schools in Oyo State.

The donation was facilitated by the Universal Basic Education Board, with the benefitting schools spread across 21 local government areas in the state.

JICA is an agency established by the Japanese Government, to represent Japan on intervention projects. It coordinates Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan.

Oyo State government has applauded JICA for the donation, saying the move has increased educational facilities in the state.

The executive chairman of Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Nureni Adeniran, while receiving the JICA representatives, also commended the Japanese government for providing the facilities.

“Your intervention projects are timely; because they came at the time the basic education system was in need of them.

Speaking on behalf of the visiting team, the programme officer, International Development Research Institute, Tokyo, Ruiko Hino said the visit would create room for a feedback on the state of facilities to the Japanese and Nigerian governments.

Benue lists more roads for rehabilitation in 2020

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enue works and transport commissioner, Alexander Shaapera says more township roads would be rehabilitated in 2020.

Shaapera stated this in an interview with newsmen, Wednesday, in Makurdi, the state capital.

According to him, with the signing into law of the 2020 budget, the government is set to release money for the repair of the roads.

“The state government is committed to ensuring that there are good roads in Benue. We shall do everything possible to build good roads to ease the movement of goods and services,” he said.

Meanwhile, motorists in Makurdi have commended the state government for rehabilitating some of the township roads in Makurdi.

Some of the motorists in separate interviews lauded the government for rehabilitating the old Otukpo and Ishaya Bakut roads.

Two of the motorists, Aondozungwe Tyo and Victor Mba, however, appealed to the government to rehabilitate all major roads in Makurdi and open up more streets for easy movement.

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he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned residents of the SouthEast against arbitrary bush burning and setting up uncontrolled fire during the harmattan.

South-East coordinator of the agency, Fred Anusim, gave the warning in Enugu while speaking with the newsmen.

He said NEMA was sensitising communities in the zone on the dangers of indiscriminate bush burning and casual fire. The sensitisation, he said, was being

Residents queue at a public tap to draw clean water as the dry season hits harder in Suleja, Niger, on Wednesday.

Police promote 10,114 officers in one year Harrison Edeh with agency report

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he Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu on Wednesday said a total of 10,114 police personnel had been promoted since his tenure in January 2019.

Adamu disclosed this in Abuja during the decoration of newly promoted Commissioners of Police.

He said the total figure was made up of 7,127 Inspectors promoted to Assistant Superintendents (ASPs), 1,375 ASPs to Deputy Superintendents (DSPs) and 498 DSPs to Superintendents.

Adamu said the figure also included 566 Superintendents promoted to Chief Superintendents, 150 Chief Superintendent to Assistant Commissioners, 273 Assistant Commissioners to Deputy Commissioners and 75 Deputy Commissioners to Commissioners.

Additionally, 35 commissioners were promoted to Assistant Inspectors General while 14 Assistant Inspector Generals were promoted to Deputy Inspector

Generals.

Adamu said the 40 Commissioners of Police decorated were among the 75 promoted from the rank of Deputy Commissioner.

The IGP said that the promotions were guided by the principles of seniority and merit with records of discipline and valuable experience.

He said the capacity of human assets of any organisation, particularly, at strategic management level was fundamental to the attainment of goal and mandate of the organisation.

According to him, this is why it is often said that no organisation can advance beyond the competence and dedication of its strategic leaders.

He added that no organisational goals and plans could be attained without a crop of highly committed personnel to drive the implementation process.

The IGP noted that the assertion was more critical for law enforcement agency whose responsibility was to provide internal security like the Nigeria Police Force.

According to him, this is because, the

rapidly changing dynamic of crime and the attendant increasing threat to security required quality police managers with the requisite professional knowledge, experience and competence.

“It is in cognisance of this fact that I have since my appointment as the IGP been collaborating effectively with the Police Service Commission (PSC).

“The collaboration is to ensure that appropriate processes are emplaced to identify and promptly elevate deserving officers with unblemished service records for promotion.

“This is a strategic management approach directed at motivating the workforce of the Nigeria Police in committing to the duty of addressing current and emerging internal security threats,” he said.

The IGP urged the 40 newly decorated officers to the rank of Commissioners of Police to deploy their intellect, be civil to citizens and be guided by the need to respect extant laws.

He also called on them to demonstrate sound professional judgment in all their decisions.

Harmattan: NEMA warns against bush burning, careless handling of fire carried out in collaborate with other relevant agencies, organisations and community leaders in the zone.

He also advised hunters to avoid burning of bushes during hunting expedition, adding that farmers should also adopt clearing rather than burning of farmlands for cultivation.

“It is getting to the peak of harmattan, when cases of fire are high. We urge all www.businessday.ng

concerned to be mindful of bush burning as the crude technique leads to uncontrollable fire which could result in loss of lives and property.

“Smokers who drop cigarette ash carelessly must be mindful of such acts because they can lead to fire,” he said.

Anusim also admonished residents to imbibe the culture of safety and preven-

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tion, saying that it would go a long way to forestall fire outbreaks in the area.

He further advised the people to switch off electrical appliances when not in use as a safety measure.

“Residents should always keep emergency/fire service numbers of their various states handy in order to contact them in time over fire outbreaks,’’ he said.

@Businessdayng

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

15

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

EQUITIES

Stocks near 6-month high as market sees biggest gain since May 2019 OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE & SEGUN ADAMS

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tocks on Wednesday rose by the most in nearly eight months to its highest level since July, after Bellwether Dangote Cement gained 9.33 percent in the day.

The main equity gauge closed at 28,562.48 index point crossing 28,000 mark for the first time since July 12, 2019 while the market’s 3.54 percent surge was the most since the eve of President Buhari’s inauguration for a second term.

Lagos bourse has now extended its bull-run since boxing day to a record eight trading sessions which is the longest since early February 2019.

An early loss has characterised the first five trad-

ing days of every New Year since 2013, at least. 2020 has so far been an exception.

“The local institutional investors can’t sustain this bullish momentum,”

tweeted Ayo Ebo, Managing Director of Afrinvest Securities Limited. “I think profit taking may set in before Friday.”

Stocks now have a 6.41

percent year’s return in 2020. Last year, the market declined almost 15 percent to extend a decline that began in 2018.

The surge in the market

mid-week followed a rise in oil price after US’ killing of Iran’s top General in a drone attack.

On Monday Brent touch the $70 per barrel mark for the first time since May 2019 as the benchmark crude gained 1.9 percent in early trade to as high as $70.67 per barrel although pressure on price has eased.

Brent declined 1 percent to $67.59 per barrel around the close of trade on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

With rates crunching down in the Nigerian Treasury Bills, and large OMO maturities in the first quarter of 2020, analysts expect some funds to be channeled into the equity market.

However, bargain hunters seem to be behind the current rally in the stock

market.

At the end of trading on Wednesday, Dangote led the gainers’ chart with 9.33percent gain, P re s c o ( 8 . 0 0 p e rc e nt ) Okomu(6.19percent) Stanbic ( 6.25percent) while oil-giant, Total led the losers’ chart 3.52percent, Unilever ( 2percent) While oil-giant, Total led the losers’ chart by 3.52percent, Unilever, UAC also made the list.

Outlook for 2020 favours the Nigerian equities market according to United Capital analysts is for a rebound for the undervalued market.

Analysts at the Lagosbased investment bank in an outlook report said they expect the Nigerian Stock Exchange, which has declined for the last two consecutive years, to return 5.3 percent in 2020.

MARKETS

EM attracts $30.7bn in December on US-China trade deal, dovish major central banks ...flows rise to most in two years in 2019 SEGUN ADAMS

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merging Markets (EM) saw a sharp rise inflows last month, as de-escalating trade war and dovish major central banks pushed total flows in 2019 to the highest in two years.

Portfolio flows rose to $30.7bn in December, 54.27 percent more than November’s $19.9bn, data from the International Institute of Finance (IIF) shows.

The surge brings the total flow in full-year 2 0 1 9 , t o m o re t h a n $310bn, lower than in 2017 ($375bn) but significantly higher than i n cha l l e ng i ng 2 0 1 8 ($194bn), Washingtonbased IIF said in its latest monthly flow-tracker report.

Flows to EM in December, “continued their recovery from the most recent slump in August, as monetary easing by major central banks and a US-China phase one trade deal provided support,” IIF said.

Equity and debt flows in December were $12.9bn and $17.8bn, respectively.

Equity flows continued their recovery from a woeful August, as such flows to China grew to $10.1 bn while flows to EM excluding China rose to $2.8 bn for the first since July .

“Nevertheless, we remain cautious about the long-term strength of non-China equity flows due to positioning overhang and secular stagnation in EM,” IIF warned.

Rising debt burden amid tepid growth in

EMs has been of major concern to economists.

Nevertheless, lower rates in developed world have favoured flows to riskier markets.

The positive swing in equity flows was due to a large increase of such flows to EM Asia ($13.6bn compared to $7.3bn in November). Positive contributions also came from smaller outflows in Latin America and Africa and the Middle East, the Institute said.

It also said debt flows continued their robust performance, reaching $17.8bn in December and $54.3 bn in 2019Q4 while largely due to a result of positive dynamics in Latin America ($8.8 bn compared to $3.1 bn in November).

Meanwhile Emerging Markets in Europe stagnated and Africa and the

Middle East as well as Emerging Markets in Asia experienced declines, the latter significantly so ($4.3 bn compared to

$7.8 bn in November), IIF said.

Estimation of a broader measure of capital flows to EM (including

banking and FDI flows) was $0.7 bn in November, a large swing from October, which saw net outflows of $49.6bn.

L-R: Osagie Ikhuoriah, team lead, investment banking, C&I Leasing Plc; Bismarck Rewane, MD/CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited; Alex Mbakogu, executive director/chief financial officer, C&I Leasing Plc and Babatunde Oguntunrin, head, treasury, C&I Leasing Plc at a presentation of C&I Leasing’s Rights Issue Unique Investment Teaser Plan in Lagos.

16

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

Business Event

TECHNOLOGY

Samsung operating profit plummets 34percent as chip market bottoms out OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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he world’s biggest maker of memory chips, Samsung has warned that its operating profit in the fourth quarter for the period ended 30 December would likely fall 34 percent to 7.1 trillion won, that is about $6.1billion from 10.8 trillion won in 2018.

Like other chipmakers, Samsung has struggled since late 2018 as a weak global economy curbed spending by data centre customers and rising inventories of memory chips squeezed prices, ending a two-year industry boom.

But hopes for a rebound in chip prices are gaining momentum, and an expected easing in the US-China

trade war is lifting optimism that demand from server and 5G smartphone customers will return this year.

In the previous quarters, Samsung’s operating profit had more than halved from the same period a year earlier.

Samsung expects consolidated sales for the quarter to be around 59 trillion won, which missed market consensus of around 60.7 trillion won from Refinitiv SmartEstimate.

That was likely due to declines in the company’s revenue from the display business, which supplies smartphone and TV screens, as well as lower prices for memory chips.

Samsung’s Q4 mobile shipments rose from last year as sales in Latin America, South Asia and Europe were more robust,” said ana-

lyst Tom Kang at market researcher Counterpoint. “This was partially from Huawei’s overseas losses and Samsung’s new A-series,” he said, referring to Chinese rival Huawei Technologies Co Ltd which is tackling restricted access to U.S. suppliers.

Premium smartphone sales also boosted earnings, Kang said.

Samsung is expected to announce a new version of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone and a foldable handset on Feb. 11.

In displays, Samsung shut a liquid-crystal display production line in September, hit by falling prices and slower demand for television sets and smartphones coupled with rising competition from Chinese rivals. Samsung plans to convert the line for more advanced displays.

L-R: Made Kuti, musician and Grandson to Fela Kuti; TV Host and Daughter of Fela Kuti, Yeni Kuti; Bolanle Austen Peters, founder/CEO, BAP Productions; Femi Kuti, award winning Afrobeat musician; Nephew to Fela Kuti, Dotun Ransome Kuti, and Abasi-Ekong Udobang, senior manager, program implementation, MTN Foundation, at the MTN Foundation sponsored final showing of the musical Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens at Terra Kulture

COMPANY RELEASE

Airtel launches TV app, Video-on-demand

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i r t e l Ni g e r i a h a s launched its television app, Airtel TV in a bold step to redefine television viewing experience for customers.

Dinesh Balsingh, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, said the Airtel TV app would be a one-stop platform for everything entertainment – live TV, music videos, news, sports and lots more.

He said Airtel had partnered with Trace Africa, Discover Digital and other top content providers to redefine television viewing experience in Nigeria.

“The television app, which is available on Android and iOS, is subscription-free and offers registered users unlimited access to the entire Airtel TV content library as well as

enables them stream different content categories on the robust 4G network.

“In addition to the VideoOn-Demand service, Airtel TV offers live television across popular channels including Bloomberg, Trace (Urban, Africa, Mziki, Tropical, Gospel and Sport Stars), Gametoon, Fashion Box, Bollywood, Nautical, God TV, Inspiration TV and Al Jazeera, among others.

“The television platform would deliver the very best of television experience directly to all Airtel customers across the country,’’ Balsingh said.

He said that Airtel was revolutionising the television viewing experience for all its customers.

Balsingh noted that with Airtel TV, customers would have access to the best shows,

movies and the live television engaging them with premium content as well as bringing joy, happiness and laughter to everyone regardless of location.

“With our 4G network, which is the most robust and widest in the country, subscribers to Airtel television will enjoy a smooth and seamless viewing experience without hiccups and interruptions.

“We are confident that the television platform will delight, entertain and inspire Airtel customers as it offers first-class entertainment,’’ he said.

Balsingh said to access the Airtel television on the go, subscribers are required to download and install the app from Google Play Store or Apple S Store.

L-R: Debo Ogundoyin, speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly; Rauf Olaniyan, deputy governor; Seyi Makinde, governor; Olubamiwo Adeosun, secretary to the State Government, and Bisi Ilaka, chief of staff to the governor, during an Interdenominational New Year Service at Oyo State Government House in Ibadan

Osaigbovo Godwin (l), president, Rotary Club of Jos, receiving the Telemedicine ambassador, Global Offsite Care, United State of American (USA), Frances Kemelagha (m), at the inauguration of Telemedicine Unit at Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) in Jos With them is Edmund Banwat (r), chief medicial director, JUTH.

L-R: Lemea Ngbor-Abina, newly sworn-in judges of Rivers High Court, Mark Chuku, and Florence Feberesima, being congratulated by Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, after their swearing-in ceremony in Port Harcourt

L-R: Akin Abayomi, commissioner for Health, Lagos State; Rabiu Olowo, commissioner for finance; Sam Egube, commissioner for economic planning and budget; Gbenga Omotoso, commissioner for information and strategy, and Gbolahan Yishau, chairman house committee on economic planning and budget, Lagos House of Assembly, at a news conference on Appropriation Law Analysis in Lagos

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

MONEYINSIGHT

17

Iran’s revenge strike sends Bitcoin price on a bullish run FRANK ELEANYA

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hile most of the world relieves the nightmares of an escalating altercation between the United States and Iran, activities have increased in the bitcoin market. The price of Bitcoin briefly hit the $8,400 level as Iran fired over a dozen ballistic missiles at US and coalition military bases in Iraq.

It is the first time since November 2019 the price is pushing above a 200-day average. On Wednesday morning, the price was at $8,310 on the Coindesk Index whereas in Iran investors bought 1 Bitcoin at $24,000. In Nigeria, the price is selling at N2.9 million on the Luno exchange as of the time filing this report.

“There is certainly a link with investors, for example, buying gold and using digital assets for a small, but potentially high return, part of their allocation, but at Luno we think the price increase in BTC is down to more structural reasons,” Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of Luno said in an email response to BusinessDay. “This year we have seen a steady increase in Bitcoin sentiment which could be linked to the expected halving in May, and we have also seen hash rates, showing the level of mining, rise to an all-time high. In 2019, there was also a 17 percent increase in long positions, which shows that there is a lot of interest in the leading altcoin which is

helping to bring back buyers into the sector.”

Bitcoin began the new decade on a weak level, as a sell-off saw the price dropping below $7,000 representing a drop of as much as 4 percent on Thursday, 2 January. https://s3.cointelegraph.com/ storage/uploads/view/ef4d71f8dcb15a6ffd062e16183530c7.png The largest digital asset is coming off an eye-catching 2019 that saw gains of about 95 percent despite repeated bouts of volatility. However, the weak run in the first week of 2020 cast a pale on the market. LocalBitcoins, one of the largest exchanges in Africa, reported a significant drop in the volume of transactions for 2019.

Nevertheless, Gaius Chibueze, founder of www.abitrader.com, a cryptocurrency exchange said 2019 was a good year for Nigeria and Africa compared to 2018.

“More and more people came to know about Bitcoin in 2019 than previous years,” Chibueze said, “And the mentality around Bitcoin is slowly growing from speculative gambling to a solid investment. Before 2019 half of the people who bought Bitcoin in Africa bought into it through Ponzi and others get rich quick promise platforms. So when they weren’t getting rich as fast as they were promised many sold off which is why you talked of a drop in Volume on some exchanges.

And Bitcoin dominance is also slowly reducing as many of us are beginning to diversify our investments into other good cryptocurrencies like Tatcoin, BNB, ETH, and others.”

Experts also say the price of other commodities like gold and oil went up following the Iranian revenge strike.

Meanwhile, Nigeria retained its spot as the leading country in the number of bitcoin searches in 2019 on Google, a position it took in 2018.

Nigeria shared the top five positions with South Africa, Austria, Switzerland, and Ghana. A report conducted by Luno in 2019, a global exchange with presence

in Nigeria, on awareness of the cryptocurrency in Nigeria also found that Nigerians were more knowledgeable about the cryptocurrency than they were in previous years.

Nigeria made the most search for bitcoin between June 23 and 29 when the price of the cryptocurrency rose above $12,900 for the first time in over 17 months backed by consistent levels of volume. On June 26, Bitcoin broke out from a bullish pattern, rising in quick succession above $12,000 on strong momentum and high volatility.

The interest in Bitcoin dropped between July and August but picked up again in September this time below the June levels. Although the price dropped to $8350 in September, it was still about 2.5 times its 2019 low of $3,360, also set in February. It later broke the $10,000 level representing the highest closing price in 6 days.

Ekiti, Delta, Ondo, Edo and Osun states were the top five Nigerian states with the most searches.

Interestingly, Lagos did not make the top ten states. The rest states include Ogun, Enugu, Bayelsa, Anambra, and Oyo. However, data from coin.dance showed that by 28 December 2019 the volume of transactions on the LocalBitcoin exchange was in the red zone dropping to N477 million, indicating that awareness has not translated to demand.

The Nigerian government is expected to take decisive steps towards regulating the cryptocurrency market in the country in 2020.

Five sources of funding for young entrepreneurs STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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n addition to integrity, discipline, courage and hard work, young entrepreneurs also need funds to realise their dream ventures. Entrepreneurship can be both fun-filled and frustrating but time and persistence urge young entrepreneurs on.

Reliable and cost-effective seed money smoothen the journey. Below are five sources of funding for start-ups.

Seedstars Africa Seedstars Africa is a member of Seedstars Group, a Swiss-based venture builder that is active and invests in 35+ countries around the world especially in emerging markets in Asia, South America, The Middle East and Africa.

Through Seedstars World, it’s popular, highly competitive and exclusive start-up competition for start-ups in emerging markets, the company is able to identify promising companies to support with capital and techni-

cal help.

In 2014, Seedstars invested $330,000 in SimplePay, a young Nigerian third-party payment processing company that created a solution to disrupt payment services in Nigeria and Africa.

African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) The AWDF is the first pan-African women’s grantmaker in Africa.

Since the start of its operations in 2001, AWDF has provided $17 million in grants to 800 women’s organizations in 42 African countries.

The AWDF is an institutional capacity-building and programme development fund, which aims to help build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women’s movement. In addition to raising money and awarding grants, the AWDF will attempt to strengthen the organisational capacities of its grantees. www.businessday.ng

The AWDF only awards grants to organisations, not individuals. It awards grants ranging from $8,000 up to $50,000.

Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme Now in its fifth year, the over $100 million Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) is an annual programme of training, funding and mentoring, designed to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

Founded by Tony Elumelu, the successful Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist, the fund seeks to identify and support 1,000 entrepreneurs from across the continent each year over the next decade.

Each successful participant in the program gets an initial seed investment of $5,000 after a 12 –week mentoring program.

Another $5,000, structured as equity or an affordable loan, is

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also given to participants who meet certain milestones.

Over the next 10 years, the fund expects to support 10,000 start-ups and young businesses selected from across Africa who will ultimately create one million new jobs and add $10 billion in annual revenues to Africa’s economy.

The TEEP Fund focuses on citizens and legal residents of all 54 African countries. Applications can be made by any forprofit business based in Africa in existence for less than three years, including new business ideas.

CDC Founded in 1948, CDC is the United Kingdom’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) wholly owned by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). It is the world’s oldest DFI with a history of making successful investments in businesses which have become industry leaders.

CDC actively supports busi@Businessdayng

nesses throughout Africa and South Asia, and its portfolio of investments is valued at over £2.5bn (year-end 2013).

In November 2013, CDC announced a US$18.1m investment into Feronia, agricultural production and processing business focused on palm oil plantations and arable farming in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

African Development Foundation (ADF) The African Development Foundation (ADF) is an independent Federal agency of the United States government that was established to support African-led development that grows community enterprises by providing seed capital and technical support.

USADF connects community enterprises with capital and technical support. It helps organisations and businesses in Africa to create and sustain jobs, improve income levels, achieve greater food security, and address human development needs.

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN Making New Year resolutions…again?

KEMI AJUMOBI

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t’s a New Year, and as usual, people always come up with New Year Resolutions.

Did you keep the ones you made last year? What is the guarantee you will keep the ones for this year?

The first question is “Why do people make New Year resolutions? Truth is the numbers of people who make resolutions are always more than those who actually execute the resolution. Some of those resolutions include but not limited to, stopping bad habits, getting married, getting a new job, losing weight, making improved financial decisions, improving time shared with family and so on.

The reason people decide to make New Year resolutions is that the beginning of the year feels like a fresh start, and as such, people feel making promises to begin anew is all they need to start the New Year but in most cases, the resolve to start or even continue is usually not as easy as expected.

One way to try to accomplish your New Year resolution is to be realistic with your expectations and set goals that are feasible. One that is very common is the decision to lose weight. For instance, someone who says “I will lose 50kg by the end of February in 2020” may not be realistic in his expectations because losing a whole 50kg in two months requires more than words. Speak to a fitness coach

and let them help you work towards achieving what is feasible.

After all said and done, it will all depend on your determination.

Another crucial thing you need to do is, despite having a list of resolutions, it’s okay to start with baby steps. Try and focus on at least one, when you are about rounding that up, you can begin to look at the next on your list.

Trying to do everything at once may be too cumbersome and as such, you may end up not achieving anything at all and before you know it, 2021 is here and you are

topping the charts again for New Year Resolution Makers.

Please know that if your resolutions are always the same every year, it means you need to try to figure out why they were never accomplished in the first place, and work at the reasons so that when you include them in the New Year’s resolution, it is with the intent of making it work because, you have now identified the reason for not being able to accomplish it initially and you are now ready to actualise it.

Worthy of mention is that you

must understand change takes time. You must be patient in achieving your goals. The fact that you stipulated a certain time for it to be actualised and it hasn’t happened does not mean that you should give up hope on that goal.

Keep at it and soon, the results will show.

There is no one who determines to achieve something that is exempted from discouragement.

Many times, different things come up as distraction from achieving our goals; your eyes must be fixed on the mark you

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are planning to achieve. There are times you will miss out on your responsibilities meant to help achieve your goal, correct the error and move on. Do not dwell on the error or sulk over it. Consider it part of the process, dust yourself up and continue.

Also, know that when you face obstacles during this process, it is not time to withdraw, you made up your mind to go with the plan, and you must also make up your mind to see it through.

There are people who for instance know how you have been struggling with your weight and every time you share with them they say “We shall see”, yes, they will see because you are now determined to go all the way this time but please, know that they are not your determining factor. It’s your health, it’s your life, do it for you!

In your pursuit of achieving your New Year resolutions, ensure you have a journal to record your process. It helps you see how far you have come and encourages you to press on knowing that if you were able to achieve what you have done so far, then you can do more.

These are few guidelines to help achieve your New Year resolutions.

Hopefully, when I hear from you in 2021, we won’t be readdressing the same resolutions but new ones even as you look back to score yourself high marks for accomplishing the ones you set for this 2020.

Only 13% of women in Nigeria are using contraceptives DESMOND OKON

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ontraceptive prevalence rate refers to the percentage of women who are practicing, or whose sexual partners are practicing, at least one modern method of contraception. This is usually measured for women ages 15-49 who are married or in a union.

Female and male sterilization, oral hormonal pills, the intra-uterine device (IUD), the male condom, injectables, the implant (including Norplant), vaginal barrier methods, the female condom and emergency contraception, make up modern methods of contraception.

But with only 13 percent of women using contraceptives, there are more problems for Nigerians to worry about. The rate of the use of contraceptives by women in Nigeria was contained in report by World Bank. In the report, further shared by The Spectator Index, Nigeria is lowest among the

countries indexed.

This means that, women who want to space their kids, who are not ready for children and are sexually active but do not have access to contraceptives, would continue giving birth to kids they do not have the financial capacity to take care of said Elizabeth Williams, a sexual and reproductive health expert.

She explained to Women’s Hub that there would also be www.businessday.ng

an increase in unsafe abortions because, if young girls who are sexually active do not have access to contraceptives, then they would opt for abortions which is unsafe and could lead to many complications which could also lead to the death of the girl.

“It would also lead to an increase in maternal mortality meaning that we would have women who would be dying from birth-related issues be-

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cause if a woman is not fully recovered from her previous delivery, and immediately takes in and has to give birth again, her chances of her surviving or the baby surviving reduces because she hasn’t had time to recover,” she further explained.

But, apart from this, poor access to contraceptives leads to a population overshoot.

Williams said when there is a population overshoot, “we have more people that the society cannot take care of, we have a large population of dependence, rather than a large population of independence.”

“This means that society will always keep providing for these people, they will always be taking from the economy and not be giving back to the economy, and by doing that, we wouldn’t be able to achieve demographic dividends which is dividends accrued to a society or a country when their independence population is higher than their dependent population,” she told Women’s Hub. She added that Nigeria currently has a high rate of unmet @Businessdayng

needs for contraceptives. Unmet need for contraception is the percentage of fertile, married women of reproductive age who do not want to become pregnant and are not using contraception. The percentage was reported at 23.06 percent in 2018, according to the World Bank.

“We have a high number of women who need or want contraceptives but they don’t have access, and that is the why the number of women using is low,” she said.

Cementing Williams argument on lack of access to contraceptives resulting in a population overshoot, UNICEF recently announced the birth of 26, 039 babies born on the first day of the new decade.

These new-born Nigerians will account for almost 7 percent of the estimated 392,078 babies to be born on New Year’s Day globally – the third highest number of babies in the world, after India and China.

That is also another 26, 039 babies added to the current population of the country.

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HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Key issues to shape Nigeria’s healthcare sector in 2020 ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he quality and accessibility of health care have long been known to have a disproportionate impact on Nigerians wellbeing and the economy at large. Nigeria’s health sector performance in 2020 depends on the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing key fundamental issues that have continued to make it difficult to have access to quality healthcare.

Four essential elements are driving the major fall-outs in Nigeria’s healthcare transformation: poor universal health coverage, inadequate infrastructure, poor human resources planning, and management practices and structures causing brain drain and low budgetary of government commitments.

To this end, worrying health sector watchers have stressed that there is a need for the government to manage the improvement of primary healthcare centres and brain drain overwhelming Nigeria if they want to tackle back lodge experience of the huge supply-side problem, the country is challenged with.

Can Nigeria really improve the supply side in the healthcare space and improve development in tertiary health institution?

Nigeria’s health institutions of higher learning, especially the teaching hospitals have consistently been undermined by several government policies, a development that stalled

their developmental capacities in providing medical education and training to future and current health professionals.

Ola Orekunrin-Brown, chief executive officer (CEO), Flying Doctors Nigeria observed that it is high time health systems in Nigeria optimized resource allocation to focus on reducing the disparity in health-access and quality of health within the majority, rather than extending life for the minority.

Brown further informed that when individuals do not have the usual source of primary care because of geographic, financial, or other barriers, the care they receive through emergency departments maybe both costly and inefficient.

More and better working conditions, investment more technology for health is al-

IVF: Access bank to provide treatment financing for women ...Partners University College Hospital (UCH) IVF Center ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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vailable statistics shows that there are about 12 million infertile persons in Nigeria, which is almost 10 percent of the total population.

Increasing initiatives towards commercialization of cost-efficient treatments and reducing medical tourism for In-vitro fertilisation treatment (IVF) service out of Nigeria, Access Bank Plc has taken another step to show its commitment to the total wellbeing of women to provide affordable fertility treatments for the public and providing financing options to enable them receive quality healthcare services.

This partnership with University College Hospital (UCH) IVF Center is supported by the “W” Initiative flagship health solution — Maternal Health Service Support (MHSS), designed to help families overcome financial challenges in their quest for parenthood and wellness.

Speaking on the collaboration with UCH IVF Center, Victor Etuokwu, executive director, Retail Banking Division, at Access Bank Plc, said that one of the challenges faced by individuals and couples

trying assisted reproductive conception is the high costs involved.

“In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) No.3 on global health and well-being for all, we believe that this partnership will ease the burden of affordability and increase accessibility to quality fertility treatments,” he said.

According to Etuokwu, We are proud to have this laudable partnership with a renowned health institution such as the UCH. “Over hundreds of families have benefitted from the MHSS financing solution in accessing quality fertility and maternal health treatments and we have recorded scores of babies birthed from this scheme,” he stated.

Also, worthy of note is that the MHSS is not limited to fertility treatments, natal support and other specialized procedures such as hysterectomy (uterus removal), myomectomy (fibroid removal), dental, bariatric (weight loss), orthopedic treatments are also covered.

Women interested in fertility treatments can visit the UCH IVF center for consultations and access financial support from the Bank through their service touchpoints. www.businessday.ng

ready on the prospect.

Brown explained that an innovative approach to healthcare in Nigeria, using telemedicine, remote support for paraclinical healthcare staff and institution of robust systems to manage patient journeys is also what we need.

“In addition to this, embarking on protocolization of common and easily preventable disease management guidelines, task shifting and efficient referral systems will transform healthcare in Nigeria by improving accessibility and reducing cost,” she said.

Brown urged that poverty magnifies the need for healthcare whilst simultaneously decreasing the capacity to finance it, stating that Africa’s healthcare problems are mainly economic.

“With low per capita income, limited growth prospects, poor domestic revenue mobilization

potential, shortages of health manpower/brain drain and the highest disease the burden in the world, Africa faces extremely complex health financing decisions.”

“There is less money available to build and run specialist hospitals in Nigeria compared to the UK. By reorganizing our healthcare system, we can improve healthcare, but the issue of financing remains.

“To deliver healthcare that approaches the standard available in the developed world, Nigeria governments will not only have to find more sources of finance but also tackle challenges,|” said Brown.

Runcie Chidebe, executive director, Project PINK BLUE, Commonwealth Scholar, Transforming and Leading in Health Care, Birmingham City University says that he expects that Federal Ministry of Health can manage the current patient and

brain drain hitting Nigeria.

“It is unacceptable that in Nigeria we have one doctor per 5,000 people, only 3,000 doctors’ graduate annually and 88 percent of these doctors are considering traveling abroad for work.” “if Nigeria’s healthcare does not take this as a serious issue in 2020, then we may face the worst health indices ever, considering that Saudia Arabia and other countries are continuously making it easier for our doctors to leave Nigeria to their countries,” he said.

In mapping how Nigerian can go about reducing brain drain and improve primary healthcare to meet global standards of universal health.

Larne Yusuf, a medical practitioner based in Lagos said that the continually ignored the current trend of scarce human resources for health professionals from Nigeria is not been curtailed which does not bode well for the country.

“Governments need to invest in human resources which will reduce the underdevelopment of the country and will keep her people away from the vicious of poverty,” Yusuf said.

Doyin Odubanjo, chairman, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, said there was a need to make the primary healthcare centre functional to make them available to provide some level of delivery services when needed.

“The current backdrop and next steps for improving the quality of health care in Nigeria is through collaboration and addressing the gaps in primary healthcare,” said Odubanjo.

‘UCH is poised for better care for the critically ill patients’ REMI FEYISIPO, IBADAN.

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biodun Otegbayo, chief medical director(CMD), University College Hospital(UCH), Ibadan, has said that the focus of his administration will be to improve on the life of the hospital, adding that the country looks up to the teaching hospital to provide leadership in the health sector.

Otegbayo, a professor who stated this at the commissioning of the renovated and re-equipped Intensive Care Unit (ICU) center/ said “oftentimes, there are cases of needless deaths; it saddens my heart when patients that should be given first class treatment could not get it because of lack of basic equipment that is taken for granted in hospitals of equal status outside the country”.

While saying that the hospital’s new (ICU) is the best amongst public health institutions in the country noted with the new facilities now in place, UCH is poised for better care for the critically ill patients.

“With these new facilities, we can be sure of near-zero death cases henceforth,” Otegbayo said.

The CMD stated that his administration did a complete renovation and re-equipping of the right-wing of the ICU which has not been used for about three years at a cost of about N127 million, which he said were “pooled together from our internally generated revenue.”

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The equipment’s commissioned included seven mechanical turbo power ventilators; six multi-channel invasive monitors; one central monitor; four syringe pumps; four infusion pumps; six SAM-14 suction pumps; six electric beds; six air mattresses and two crash carts “We have the human resources; we are training and retraining them. At the same time, we are investing in developing our facilities to maximize the investment in human resources,” the CMD stated Otegbayo added that UCH is ready to collaborate with Oyo State government and any other state government that is ready in various areas when such requests are made in order to ease the burden placed on the institution by the high number of patients that thronged the hospital daily. @Businessdayng

Speaking on the project, Segun Ogunlade, a professor said the ICU center was in disarray before the renovation.

He said the new ICU unit is meant for six critically ill patients, adding that all the equipment’s installed are modern and one of the best that can be found around.

Similarly, Patricia Onianwa director of Nursing Services, , a medical doctor said before the renovation, the equipment’s at the ICU unit are obsolete and usually malfunction.

“For some time now, this place became dysfunctional because of the things that are not readily available for the management of critically ill patients.

“Now, management has resuscitated this place and it’s going to start working again. I will say it was not so bad but is better now,” she said.

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Tips for a healthier you in the New Year EDO nurses worry over high rate of quackery H

appy New Year and welcome back to work. When it comes to your health you should plan 2020 as a year with good health. A healthy lifestyle is important in the prevention of chronic diseases. With the New Year, decide to lead a healthy life to control the risk of diseases. Here are some simple healthy practices which you can follow in the New Year to control the risk of several diseases.

Instead of resolutions, try daily actions: Making decisions to live a healthy life is very important.

But it has been found that more than 92 percent of people do not achieve their resolutions. Hence, daily healthy habits are more achievable

than yearly resolutions.

Eat Real Food: It is better to eat food in their natural state. Organic vegetables and fruits are filled with antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals—basically, everything we need to support a healthy body. Eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies is always a healthy choice. When you look at your plate make sure 80% is fresh or lightly cooked vegetables.

Minimise Processed Food Intake: Healthy fats are important for providing energy, healthy cell membranes, and hormone balance. This can be found in avocado, coconut oil, olives, nuts, seeds, unheated olive and flax oil, clean salmon, nuts and seeds. Stay away

from margarine, vegetable shortening, fried foods, and anything with “partially hydrogenated” oil listed in the ingredients.

Drink Water: Drink 8 glasses of clean water a day.

Drinking enough water maintains fluid balance, which transports nutrients, regulates body temperature and digests food. Dehydration lowers energy levels and brain function.

Make exercise FUN, not a chore: The best way to do this is to figure out what kind of exercise you find fun!

Get enough sleep: Sleep is important and a lot of people tend not to prioritize it enough. If you aren’t sleeping enough, you are setting yourself up to fail, healthwise. It is possible to be doing

everything right – eating well, exercising regularly – and yet feel like crap and can’t lose weight. Often, one of the biggest reasons for this is because sleep is not enough.

Stay stress-free: Too much stress can take a toll on your health. It can increase the risk of serious health issues.

Stress can affect your day to day tasks as well. Try practices that can help you fight stress naturally. Exercise more often, meditate and stay organised to tackle stress.

Have a healthy 2020!

Ade Alakija, medical director Q-Life Family Clinic & Bukola Adeniyi, Consultant Family physician and travel medicine physician Q-Life Family Clinic.

a t h e r i n e E s e i n e, chairman, Edo state council of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) on Wednesday narrated how fake professionals truncated efforts made by the body to sanitise the profession in the state.

Eseine, who spoke to newsmen during a rally as part of activities to mark 2020, year of the Nurses and Midwives in honor of the 200th birthday anniversary of the mother of the profes-

alarming rate of quackery in the health sector, she however, urged the nurses to stand up to their responsibilities.

She noted that nursing is one of the professions bedeviled with quackery, and that “ any person can claim to be a nurse and that has affected it.

She identified inadequate legislations, lack of manpower as factors hindering the check of unlicensed individuals in medical practice.

She, however, called on medical personnel to uphold the tenets of the profession in a bid to provide

sion, Florence Nightingale in Benin City, said several efforts have been made to stem the activities of quack nurses in the state.

She said the programme with the theme, “Quality healthcare for Edo populace” is being organised by Edo state nurses in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to her, medical quackery remains a burden and continues to hamper quality healthcare in the state despite great amount of efforts by relevant stakeholders to curb the menace. “ There have been so many measures put in place to address quackery but because of inadequate legislations some of them do not yield the desired results.

“From time to time, we go out, visit private hospitals and we see a lot of things going on. Somebody who is not a nurse or doctor will open a clinic and perform surgery. So, anytime we find out such, we don’t hesitate to close down the place.

“But what we discovered is that, whenever we close down such health facility, some of the nurses relocate to other areas. And because of lack of manpower, we cannot really go round to be able to track down the perpetrators”, she said.

While decrying the

robust healthcare delivery to the nation.

In his remarks, Director of Nursing Services (DNS), Edo state, Alex Enunwaonye said the sensitisation rally is aimed at championing healthcare for people to attend Ante-natal care, use insecticide-treated nets, immunization, regular medical check-up as well as shun quacks.

She said the three-day programme will also be launching the #NursingNow, an advocacy body trying to bring nurses to the limelight.

Also speaking, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki reiterated his administration’s commitment to the training and retraining of healthcare professionals across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state and continuous sensitisation of people on the need to seek for medical care from qualified and licensed healthcare professionals.

Obaseki represented by the Commissioner for Health, Patrick Okundia, charged critical stakeholders in the health sector to rededicate themselves to the service of humanity.

He noted that all hands must be on deck to ensure that everybody has access to quality healthcare services without the challenges of traveling abroad.

IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, BENIN

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How bathing in warm water boosts your health

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e all can relate. The pressures of daily life provide a natural incentive to pace ourselves, and a warm shower or bath could act as a basic boost or relaxant, depending on the time of day.

However, research continues to prove warm water has significant benefits beyond a feel- Good factor, with some studies placing its health advantages on par with physical exercise.

Here are a few reasons why choosing warm water shouldn’t only be a matter of personal preference.

Kick-starts your day decreases stress. The heat from the water stimulates the heart to work harder and faster, thereby accelerating blood flow around the body. It’s also been proven to enhance oxytocin levels, which in turn elevates the mood and lowers stress.

According to Neil Morris, a psychologist at the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, bathing in warm water can significantly advance general psychological wellness.

Morris studied 80 people who took a bath with warm water each day for a fortnight and found that it diminished feelings of depression and pessimism while developing a pleasurable, hedonic tone.

A warm shower before bedtime typically soothes

HBL TEAM

the body, mind , and nerves. Apart from that, warm water also affects the body’s production of melatonin – the hormone that regulates sleep.

At night, the body’s core temperature naturally falls, triggering melatonin production.

A warm shower or bath around bedtime then slightly raises the body temperature, causing it to drop steeply on exiting the bathroom. This prompts a heightened production of melatonin, and more likelihood of a good night’s sleep – the benefits of which are widely recognised.

It lowers blood pressure and promotes muscle healing. Taking a regular warm bath - with its circulation and vascular function advantages - can help reduce blood pressure and stiffen blood vessels.

The effect of heat-induced blood flow on the body is tantamount to a light exercise session.

The warmth encourages muscles to expand and contract while loosening

joints, tendons and tissues.

Although not an enduring cure for pain, five minutes under warm water can considerably ease pain, spur healing and restrict inflammation.

It is a more convenient alternative than a massage and more organic than medical treatments.

Eliminates bacteria.

The elementary reason for having a bath is to cleanse ourselves. Clogged pores lead to blemishes and an accumulation of toxins in the skin.

Warm water opens up skin pores, making it easier to clean out dirt and impurities. The temperature increase also has an adverse effect on most bacteria.

Taking these baths or showers is particularly useful if there’s a wound, as it helps kill bacteria, fend off infection, and promote circulation in the injured area for faster healing.

Relieves cough and cold symptoms. Nasal congestion is as a result of inflammation in the nasal passages.

Inhaling steam from warm water activates the blood vessels in the face and nose, consequently opening up the airways, as well as loosening phlegm and mucus blockages that could be causing a cough or sore throat.

A warm bath also empowers the immune system to better fight viruses.

This list isn’t exhaustive - warm water’s various health merits range from weight loss to controlling diabetes. As it also has a number of physical wellness benefits, warm water bathing should not be reserved exclusively for cold weather.

Warm water is proven to naturally enhance the body and facilitate a sense of calm all year round.

So the next time you contemplate a warm bath, think past the pleasant experience itself to its longterm value. Your body will thank you for it.

Contibuted by Gaurav Bisaria, Director for Central Africa

ANTHONIA OBOKOH / Reporters. Email: obokoh.anthonia@businessdayonline.com

I David Ogar, Graphics

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BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

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PoS or USSD: Which is a cheaper way to include 40m unbanked Nigerians?

FRANK ELEANYA

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he Central Bank of Nigeria’s goal of increasing the number of adult Nigerians using financial services to 80 percent from 21.6 percent in 2010 - may not have gone as expected, but adoption to Point of Sales (PoS) and USSD have grown significantly in the past decade.

Apart from targeting at least 80 percent inclusion rate in 2020, the CBN also plans to raise the number to 95 percent by 2024. By September, figures from EFInA put the rate of inclusion at 63.2 percent, meaning as much as 36.8 percent adults still lack access. As the new decade unfolds, the actors pushing for all Nigerians to be financially included would have to decide between PoS banking also known as agent banking and USSD which offers the cheapest means to success in the face of new realities.

PoS terminals and USSD are seen as the primary vehicles capable of reaching millions of Nigerians who are financially excluded.

Agent banking is the provision of financial services by third party (agents) on behalf of a licensed deposit-taking financial institution and or mobile money operator. Unstructured Supplementary System Data (USSD) on the other hand is a Global System for Mobile(GSM) communication technology that is used to send text between a mobile phone and an application program in the network.

Agents in Nigeria use PoS terminals to offer banking services to their customers who usually live in areas where banks do not have a physical presence. Agents help people

with withdrawals, account opening, cash deposits and withdrawals, funds transfer, as well as bills payment.

EFInA’s data show that 3.3 percent of Nigeria’s adult population now carries out banking activities using agents, up from 2.6 percent in 2016. The Shared Agent Network Facility (SANEF) initiated by the CBN and Nigerian banks has so far recorded 70,000 partner agents across the country.

500,000 footmen The importance of PoS

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Banking to financial inclusion is basically the ability it gives individuals in remote places to fill up the spaces in financial services left by banks’ physical branches, lack of ATM terminals and poor road networks made worse by broken infrastructure support.

The CBN said it plans to grow its agent network to 500,000 by 2024. At present, First Bank through its Firstmonie service boasts of the largest agent network with over 40,000 agents whereas Paga which

has 24,250 agents is arguably the fintech firm with the largest banking agents.

However, despite some seeming growth in the recruitment of new agents by financial organisations, Nigeria still lags behind at 16.6 active financial access points per 100,000 people.

“Agency banking has never taken off in Nigeria because the banks don’t understand letting go,” said Victor Asemota, Continent lead at Interaction Design. “They don’t

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realize that risk management can be federated instead of centralized. The regulators also don’t fully understand what a full agent led banking paradigm is all about.”

PoS banking is also limited by the number of active terminals in circulation. While the CBN is busy making efforts to grow the number of agents to 500,000, less than 300,000 PoS terminals have been deployed as of November 2019 while the number of active machines is less than 200,000.

Agents mean fees The dependence on agents come at a significant cost to financial service institutions.

While the CBN in its guidelines issued for agent banking (Regulatory Framework Framework for licensing Super Agents in Nigeria 2015) regulated charges for various agent services, the experience at agent locations is that customers are frequently charged higher, sometimes more than the regulated price.

An EFInA study also found that 45.1 percent of the agents surveyed set the prices they charge customers. This may be due to the various costs involved in running agent businesses, which may not cover the agent’s overhead costs as well as unscrupulous behaviours by agents to earn more money. In addition, regulatory arbitrage exists in agent pricing as agents charge fees higher than the pricing stipulated for mobile money and agency banking to both classes of customers.

USSD sessions also come at a cost. Towards the end of 2019, regulators, telcos and banks were at loggerheads over charges on USSD. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), follow-

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ing the development, ordered telcos to suspend charges on USSD. The CBN later in December cut the fees banks charge on transfers, ATM maintenance and current account but left the USSD fees untouched.

Internet barrier While the PoS banking relies on individuals using the internet for functionality, the USSD allows the customer to interact directly with a financial service provider’s computers and without relying on the internet be able to open an account, make bank transfers, data recharge, bill payments, balance inquiry, and link BVN. But poor telecommunication infrastructure also makes USSD services seem unreliable. Often times users experience service fluctuations which can hinder productivity.

Literacy problem USSD have also been criticised as being too technical in terms of content for less educated people. To initiate a USSD service, users have to respond to different queries. Those least educated, least savvy populations which make up the largest share of the 40 million unbanked population may not find it very helpful to embrace a platform that is entirely only words, numbers and symbols that must be read.

“That speaks to the importance of simplicity in scripting USSD menus,” said Chris Czerwonka, a fintech expert.

“I would love to see research on the number of literate users of feature phones, who could interact with more detailed USSD menu text. They might use feature phones because of cost, lack of power, low and no 3G, etc.”

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

23

AGRIBUSINESSINSIGHT Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

‘Bitter experience with high value vegetables took us into Sorghum production’ Many people desert agriculture the first time they encounter substantial failure, but for WALE AKINTADE, managing director, Ikore Farms and Agritech Ltd, his challenges with producing high value vegetables meant he needed to think out of the box and find a new commodity. Akintade who is also vice-president, Southwest, National Association of Sorghum Producers, Processors and Marketers of Nigeria, shares some of his experiences with CALEB OJEWALE, on how profitable the business is becoming. Excerpts:

H

ow long have you been into agriculture?

I have been into agriculture for about 3 and half years. Let me say I back stepped into Agric.

I did not set out to be in Agric.

My line of business has been marketing communications and I have worked in that industry all my life.

Somewhere along the line, we moved into food processing and it was in the course of trying to source raw materials - because of the fluctuating nature of the cost of raw materials in my food-processing factory - that I stepped back and we started looking at how we could get raw materials cheaper. It was then I stumbled into agriculture and I realized that yes, it is challenging but it is also very exciting. We took up that challenge and started farming high value vegetables such as cucumbers, cabbage and watermelon among others.

We also realized that we could do grains, particularly because of the fact that we could store grain for a much longer time. In the course of doing all of that, we also realized quite a whole lot of frustrating experiences in the course of farming. Particularly, if you are not one of those big boys who could fully mechanize your farm. We thought that we could do something to solve some of these problems that we were also facing, and that was what informed Farm Troopers.

What is Farm Troopers all about?

Farm Troopers is a farm labour service company and we do a few things. We play in the area of providing labour services to farm owners. We take it right from land preparation services all through to planting, managing, harvest to post-harvest and all of that.

If you are into crop cultivation, farming has gone beyond hoe and cutlass, so we have very smart hand-held equipment and tools that we have and use on the farm. For instance, depending on the nature of your farm, if it cannot be ploughed or is not tractorable, we could bring stomp grinders to make it tractorable. We can use hand

tractors, we can use proper tractors and whatever machinery is required. We prepare your soil.

We can help you plan. We can also help you manage. We have boom sprayers that we bring in. We can spray insecticides or fungicides or whatever it is that you intend to do. We can manage that process to provide services at different points for you, also to harvest and even drying services depending on what you have farmed, as post-harvest service.

What would probably be more important to people is cost... [cuts in] We are also very mindful of that. Do not forget that I said to you earlier on that we are first farmers. We ventured into Farm Trooper because of our own frustration in the course of farming, particularly in this part of the world where we all depend on labour to come from far places; even from neighbouring countries. So we are quite mindful of cost and what we have done is benchmark our costs and come www.businessday.ng

down low on what you get on the streets. What that simply means is that if a particular service costs N10,000 on the street, with us you get it at about N9,000. Also, if it is going to take the manual labour people up to three days to do that work for you, we will get it done within a day or maximum of two.

Therefore, we save on time, save on cost and you save on quality because we do not use hoe and cutlass. We use light implements, light cultivators. We do not use 15metres Knapsack or whatever. Our sprayers are boom sprayers. The minimum we have is about 300 meters. What will take about 10 people to do for you at once, we get two people to do it and they do it and finish it in a jiffy. That’s the kind of service we offer; very high on quality, saves on time and on cost.

What failures have you encountered in agriculture and how did you overcome them, perhaps, others can learn from them?

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I started agriculture with high value (vegetable) crops, and I was particularly interested in that because of its short duration. Cucumber was ready for harvesting within a few weeks and other vegetables, within three or four months. But then again, as beautiful as those things are, we also realized that in our own case, we are also vulnerable, particularly when dealing with market people.

You harvest your cucumber in the morning and you must sell it within the next 24 hours or else, it depreciates. The more it turns from green to light green to yellow; you are losing money or even the whole thing.

But the beautiful thing again is that after that bitter experience, we chose to move into grains and we started doing sorghum. Interestingly, I am the vice-president, Southwest, of the National Association of sorghum producers, processors and marketers of Nigeria.

We realized that with grains, you can hedge your volatility.

If the price in the market is not so good, if you store your grains nicely, you can wait until the price improves and then you sell. But with vegetables, we are desperate, we are at the mercy of some of the buyers and they can give you terms that are not favourable.

They do not care how much you have spent. They just want to buy and make their money.

But the truth of the matter again, what we have also realized is that with sorghum, there are a lot of industrial buyers. Nigerian Breweries is doing well in that area. Guinness is doing massively well in that area, and also Nestle. They are not just buyers, but industrial users of sorghum.

Interestingly, sorghum that grows in the north can also grow in every other part of Nigeria and we know that from our experience. We also know a whole lot of other people that we have encouraged to go into Sorghum farming, so we know it’s doable in the southwest likewise the south-south and southeast. If I knew about sorghum, I would have dabbled into it. But now that we are here, we are good @Businessdayng

with what we are doing, we can only do more. We are getting hungrier by the day. Because we realized that the market is expanding and governments in the southwest need to promote sorghum cultivation. In 2020, we are going to be embarking on a tour to sensitize Governors, Commissioners of Agriculture to ensure that they support sorghum farmers, so that it becomes a structured crop in the southwest.

What is the average yield of sorghum that you get per hectare?

We do about 2.8 to 2.9 tons per hectare but we know we can do better. In fact, our target is to be able to do 3.5 tons per hectare.

When you did the cucumber and other vegetables, did you by any chance do an estimate of how much you lost?

Let me tell you the final straw that broke the camel’s back. I spent N1.4million, we had fungi infection, and it was a big loss. I am even ashamed to tell you how much we made from it to tell you how ridiculous it was.

How much?

Less than N400,000.

What do you think caused the fungal infection?

Fungal infections can be from a combination of so many things.

It can be triggered by water or something in the atmosphere or even something in the soil.

Of course, again, if you also do not quickly manage your weeds, it could also stimulate it or enhance it. So, you see, it’s a combination of so many things.

Fungal infections, actually, when you do crop farming, is one of the most difficult to handle.

It is not like insect invasion that you can handle easily or termite invasion. Most times for fungi, you do not know until you begin to see the effects and if you’re not careful, they spread quickly. It was a very bitter experience but then again, the reality of the matter is that we are here to stay. We realize that each challenge that we have encountered stirs up some thoughts in us and we look at how we can do things better.

24

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Hotels

Why you need to be cautious of hotel safety this year OBINNA EMELIKE

A

s businesses and offices open in the new year, there will be need for corporate travel s and other engagements that require staying days away from home.

Of course, hotels provide temporary accommodations for such trips and if you are staying in a hotel while on such a trip, you need to be on alert for security emergencies and also watch your space this year.

Moreover, access to your room by strangers in the name of waiters, and protection of your belongings, are the basic issues of hotel security. It is certain that people unknown to you such as the cleaning staff will enter your room when you are not present, and the door will be left open for a period of time each day. Well-managed hotels have elaborate security procedures in place to control who is issued a key.

Some hotels can monitor when and with which key a room is entered, and there are usually regulations about staff room cleaning procedures to thwart intruders. As well, out of the way hotels in some countries, especially less developed countries, often do not have secure door locks. In some cases, the hotel staff may actually target you and your belongings. Your level of security awareness and the precautions you take must be adjusted for each city and area you visit, but there are standard minimal precautions that apply almost

anywhere.

Here are some tips to protect yourself and your belongings when you travel this year: Do not leave valuables in your room when you are absent. Use the hotel safe, and get a receipt for what you leave there. Professional thieves and hotel staffs are usually aware of every possible hiding place for valuables.

Some hotels provide a safe in each guest room for storing valuables. Be aware that there could be an insurance liability coverage issue if you use a guest room safe rather than using the main hotel safe (for instance, your credit card loss/theft policy may not apply if you use the room safe). When you are in your room, lock the door, use the chain lock, and use your door peephole to identify people who knock at your door. In situations where there may be no chain lock and no peephole, you should carry a good quality traveler’s door lock, a

doorstop alarm that wedges against the base of the door, or a motion detector.

Do not open the door for unexpected visitors. Call the front desk to verify that someone claiming to be making a service call is from the hotel.

Overseas, where a language barrier may complicate such a call, you should definitely carry your own interior door lock so that even someone with a key may be barred from entering when you are in the room. Some hotels and motels that do not have their own dining facilities allow food to be delivered to your room from outside the hotel.

It is best to have such deliveries made to the lobby.

Delivery to your room allows an outsider to meet you, know your room number and determine whether you are alone. It is especially perilous for women traveling alone to have such details known by an outsider. Also, be careful about the leftovers you leave on a tray outside

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels your door. A single drinking cup with lipstick marks and/or remnants of a single meal can alert passersby to the fact that you are alone in the room and can help them to determine your level of vulnerability.

When you are sleeping, make sure that your deadbolt lock and chain locks are in place and that no window or sliding door will provide access to an intruder. When you are not in your room, you may want passersby to believe that it is occupied. If possible, find out the hours for maid service, so that you may place the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door and leave the TV or radio on at an audible level. At out-ofthe-way foreign destinations, this may be difficult because room cleanings may not be at appointed hours, and maids may have instructions to take down ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs in your absence.

Most security specialists advise you to keep your room key with you at all times in and out of the hotel so that no one (including hotel staff) can see by checking the front desk that you are not in your room. If you decide to use a hotel fitness room or pool, it is a good idea to leave your key at the front desk rather than with your belongings. At some foreign destinations, hotels require you to turn your room key in as you go out.

With a few simple precautions, you can improve your personal security and protect your belongings even if there may be criminals lurking about your hotel this year.

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

Cheers!

Hotel group acquisition creates mega player in Nigerian hospitality industry

W

ith the announcement of the acquisition of BON Hotels

by ONOMO Hotels, the Nigerian hospitality industry, and that of the continent as a whole, is set for a major shake-up.

The new group will now have a footprint spanning 15 countries with 4 300 rooms and a significant pipeline of 3, 000 additional rooms. In addition, the new group now jointly employs around 2, 200 people.

The news is significant for Nigeria’s hospitality industry where BON Hotels already has a stronghold with 10 existing hotels and plans to open another 22 hotels and residences over the next three years. The increased hospitality offering by a world-class group will serve to boost the region’s tourism industry

and have a positive knock-on effect for the economy.

The partnership seemed a natural fit for the two groups which have both long focused on investing in and uplifting Africa. ONOMO Hotels has successfully dotted the lines between the Francophone and Anglophone markets, while BON Hotels leads in Southern and West African markets.

“Combining our current hotel holdings provides us with a huge presence across the continent. This positions us as a major player in Africa’s tourism industry. As we look to the future, we want to penetrate East Africa and further cement our leadership on the continent – especially in Nigeria as this market has immense growth potential and is strategic for ONOMO Hotels,” says BON Hotels CEO, Guy Stehlik. www.businessday.ng

Both companies have strong family backing. CEO and founder of BON Hotels, Guy Stehlik and his family have a long association with South African and Nigerian hospitality, while ONOMO Hotels owes its history to the investment by Batipart Invest – a company founded and owned by the Luxembourgbased Ruggieri family which is one of the biggest private investors in hospitality in Africa.

This strategic partnership reflects the ongoing confidence of both groups in Africa as the go-to region for economic opportunities and growth, particularly in tourism. “An investment of this scale into Africa is immensely important for our continent’s economy and its citizens.

Pipeline projects are likely to create 3 000 new work opportunities which is significant news for a continent with so

much need for new jobs and skills development. Investors across the continent can also partner with the new hotel group to establish properties in a range of African countries,” says BON Hotels Executive Director for International West Africa, Bernard Cassar.

This deal will bring a greater variety of accommodation options to both business and leisure travellers, meaning the continent is able to offer more and attract further tourism.

In addition, members of the BON Hotels BONami loyalty programme will now enjoy benefits at both BON Hotels and ONOMO Hotels, making the programme more appealing to both domestic and international travellers.

BON Hotel owners are excited about the possibilities that the deal brings, but also the importance of African groups investing in Africa.

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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

Friday 10 January 2020

Harvard Business Review

BUSINESS DAY

25

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

#MeToo’s legacy NICOLE TORRES

LESSONS FROM THE MOVEMENT, AND WHAT WOMEN WANT NEXT. t has been two long years since The New York Times and New Yorker exposés into allegations of sexual abuse by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein ignited a global reckoning over the scourge of workplace harassment. In what has become known as the #MeToo movement, millions of women have shared their stories, hundreds of men have stepped down or lost their jobs and several states have passed legislation to protect more workers (including independent contractors and domestic workers) from mistreatment.

But the road to progress is a bumpy one. As soon as #MeToo got going, so did concerns that it was going too far. Critics worried about false accusations, lack of due process, punishments that exceed offenses, a thinning line between professional and personal conduct and an ever-expanding gray area of what constitutes inappropriate behavior. Researchers have attempted to quantify the backlash, and some of the data is troubling. A 2019 survey by the University of Houston found an increase over the previous year in the number of men who reported being reluctant to hire attractive women or meet with them one-on-one. A University of Colorado Boulder survey found that while overt sexual harassment is on the decline, sexism is on the rise.

So where are we on that road to progress? New books and a film offer insight into how the movement went mainstream, what it has achieved so far and what we, as employers and colleagues, must do to carry it forward.

Two prominent look-backs — “She Said,” by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and “Catch and Kill,” by New Yorker contributor Ronan Farrow — present engrossing accounts of their investigations into Weinstein and, in Farrow’s case, further allegations

I

against NBC’s Matt Lauer. The biopic about Fox News’s Roger Ailes, “Bombshell,” and the memoir “Whistleblower,” in which former Uber engineer Susan Fowler exposes its sexist “bro” culture, also reveal the forces that allow sexual harassment to persist in firms and enable perpetrators to evade accountability.

Kantor and Twohey describe a “cottage industry” for settlements that enriched lawyers and silenced victims.

They call out corporate leaders (in their book, at Miramax) who turned a blind eye to internal reports of abuse as “deeply complicit.” In too many cases, women’s only option in seeking redress was to go public, risking their careers, reputations and privacy, which seemed “inherently unfair,” the journalists write.

“Why was it their burden to publicly tell uncomfortable stories when they had never done anything wrong?”

Society has a poor track record of believing accusers (at least when they point a finger at white men). In the introduction to their collection of essays, “Believe Me, ” Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman argue that “we are close to a tipping point on trusting women” but are not

there yet. In one of my favorite pieces, “He’s Unmarked, She’s Marked,” writer and activist Julia Serano explores the concept of markedness, a linguistics term for diverging from the norm. Women, she writes, are already marked relative to men in our culture.

That means their “bodies and behaviors garner more attention” and their perspectives and experiences are relegated to subcategories (women’s issues, women’s studies). Markedness is also why, when accounts of sexual harassment are probed, questions such as “What was she wearing?” and “Had she been drinking?” are considered legitimate, whereas what he wore and drank doesn’t matter.

Serano notes that false allegations are rare — from 2% to 8% of cases — and that men are more likely to be victims of sexual assault than they are to be wrongly accused of it. She adds that those most likely to have their accounts deemed questionable are the most marked in our society, among them trans women, or women of color, or people with disabilities.

In “#MeToo in the Corporate World,” economist and consultant Sylvia Ann

Hewlett suggests that the “movement has not had a big enough tent.” She surveyed more than 3,000 professionals in 2018 and found that the well-publicized accounts of “older white guys hitting on younger white women” don’t tell the whole story: Latinas, gay women and men, and black men are the most likely to be sexually harassed at work.

Hewlett explains how sexual misconduct harms companies as well as people.

“Ongoing legal expenses, the loss of key rainmakers, and a crashing share price are just the beginning.” Her book lays out some prescriptions, from legal remedies to corporate policy changes to individual actions. I fumed at the advice not to “dress provocatively or otherwise signal sexual availability.” (Aren’t we past that by now?) But most of her recommendations — update core values, establish zero tolerance and make the CEO an advocate — are sound.

She cites Michael Roth, CEO of ad giant IPG, who not only emailed all 50,000 employees about zero tolerance for harassment but also installed a female CEO at one troubled affiliate. She also points to Abigail Johnson, Fidelity

chairman and CEO, who, after the dismissal of two top portfolio managers following allegations of sexual misconduct, moved her office to the floor where fund managers and analysts sit.

Another “Believe Me” essay, “Taking the Employer High Road to Address Sexual Harassment,” by lawyer Mónica Ramírez, shows how companies in high-risk industries like hospitality can do a better job of protecting vulnerable workers when existing laws fall short. For example, California restaurant Homeroom developed a color-coded warning system as a way for servers to alert managers to bad behavior without angering customers and risking tips.

“The Fix,” by Michelle King, Netflix’s director of inclusion, hammers home the point that employers are responsible for creating safe workplaces for women and for protecting them from not just harassment but also other forms of discrimination and threats to advancement.

“We accept the inequality women experience at work as the way things are and then hold women accountable for fixing it,” she writes. She outlines the many other barriers women face and concludes that women aren’t the problem: Antiquated organizations are.

Like King, I think it’s time we stop trying to “fix” women (or any other marginalized group) and start listening to what they have to say. We are beginning to believe them when they report sexual harassment — but do we believe them when they say they’re penalized for being confident and assertive, held to higher standards or underpaid relative to their white male peers?

In “She Said,” Kantor and Twohey assert that #MeToo “is an example of social change in our time but is also a test of it.” Believing women is the first step toward meaningful change, and it doesn’t mean taking them at their word — it means taking their word seriously.

Nicole Torres is a senior associate editor at Harvard Business Review.

26

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens: Truly an epic show OBINNA EMLEIKE

O

bviously, there are different aspects of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s life that are yet to be unveiled.

The late Afrobeat music pioneer, human rights activist, husband and father, lived a life that many perceived in different lights.

If you were at Terra Kulture Arena in Victoria Island, Lagos, during the festive period, especially the wrap-up show in the new year, you would appreciate how Bolanle Austen-Peters Production (BAP) effortlessly unveiled on stage another aspect of Fela’s life in an enthralling musical called ‘Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens’.

The musical is a sequel of Fela and the Kalakuta Queens, which was about the most-seen stage production in 2017. Since December 14, 2019, when it premiered and for the 10 days it lasted during the festive holiday, the musical excited appreciative audiences.

However, the wrap-up show on January 5, 2020, was phenomenal as the BAP cast and crew lived up to the audiences’ expectations.

From the moment the stage curtain opened with an inscription ‘Welcome Na De Shrine’ to kick-off of the play, until the cast bowed to the appreciative audience to signal the end of a stellar performance, ‘Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens’ was more enthralling than most guests imagined.

In the epic story of Fela, a legendary icon, the cast brought the late Afrobeat pioneer live on stage with perfect depiction of his character, enabling the audience to follow the man Fela, the myth, the legend and the unapologetic activist.

Through the unveiling on stage, the audiences discovered that Fela had troubles in his days, but his queens were the shock absorbers and reason he continued delivering good music and activism at the same time.

The musical also bared the emotions and worries of the queens, who left their parents (some at the verge of being disowned by families) to follow Fela.

For instance, Ihase, narrated how the melodious sound of Fela’s music, which she heard while on an errand o buy cigarette for her father, lured her to run away from home in Benin City to join Fela is Lagos, as well as, Naa Lamiley, who came all the way from Ghana to become a Fela dancer. There were glances into the squabbles among Fela queens all acted on stage. Fela had time table for sleeping with his queens and every one of them look forward

Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens cast amd crew

to her day. But the coming of Malaika, a beautiful woman from outside the country, changed it as Fela slept with her often and not according to the timetable. The undue advantage by the woman whom the other queens perceived as a stranger, incurred their wrath against her. There were disclosures on how Fela gave allowances to the queens and insistence that allowances are given to those who are useful to Kalakuta. There were also punishments to erring queens, ranging from cut in their allowances and forfeiture of bedtime with Fela.

The intrigue of the musical was the fact that popular Fela songs were performed intermittently with the stage play. From Dem Dey Craze, You Dey Bleach Ohh You Dey Bleach, Shakara to many other evergreen songs, the cast mocked Africans that copy foreign culture. They also mocked politicians who steal billions from

the Nigerian coffers with pen and are walking the streets free, while common criminals are languishing in jail for stealing food.

Again, Fela did something extraordinary when he married all dancers and named them Fela Queens after accusation by police and mocking by the society that the women were prostitutes. Fela said he married them to give them dignity and respect in the society.

But the song Zombie was another highlight. The stage showed police officers who were sent by their superiors to arrest Fela for his hard stand on government.

Fela was manhandled and taken to jail. It was at the prison that he got the name for his kalakuta Republic.

While in the prison, Fela was dumped in a cell called ‘Kalakuta’; a place for rascals, and it was at that point that he decided to rename his shrine Kalakuta Republic and vowed to use rascality

Bolanle-Austen-Peters (m), flanked by some membbers of Fela’s family at the wrap-up show www.businessday.ng

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to fight back government.

But the climax of the excitement on stage was the invasion of his house by soldiers, beating him, raping his queens, and burning his house. From that point, things fell apart as some of the queens were wounded, and some hospitalized. Though Fela was later released from jail, but things were not like before.

By the time the cast and crew were taking the final bow, the guests were sad that the play was ending because of its engaging nature.

Of course, there were many highlights at the wrap-up show, but the presence of some of Fela’s children was top among them.

Yeni, Femi and Kunle graced the final show. Femi came with Bade, his first son who is studying music in the same university Fela studied in the UK. As well, Laide and Lara, two of the living Fela Queens, were also at the wrap-up show.

Speaking at the show, Lara was appreciative of Bolanle AustenPeters for delving into this aspect of Fela’s life that was hardly in public domain.

“What you see this night is the real Kalakuta. Everything is pure, no artificial”, Lara said.

In same vein, Laide, another living Fela Queen, said, “This play truly depicts how Kalakuta used to be until soldiers came to beat, molested Fela and we the queens, but the burning of the house was the last thing they did and the attack impacted my health till today. The burning of Fela’s house affected us so much because they burnt our belongings. Fela took very good care of us, pay us our allowances and we had treasure”.

Yeni and Femi, both com@Businessdayng

mended Bolanle Austen-Peters for bringing to the fore other aspects of Fela’s life that many did not know, as well as, the superlative performance by the cast. But they decried that their father, family and the queens are yet to get justice. “The play is very emotional for us, especially at the end when they burnt the house. I usually shade tears because we lived through it. I will never forget the day we drove past my father’s house and it was burnt. I was with my brother, sister, mother and uncle. We have been trying to get to Fela all day and when we finally got there and saw the house and mother started screaming that they have killed them. So, every time I watch that part, I always cry because I live back to those days and I know that justice was never served to Fela or his wives or the family”.

For Femi, watching the play brought back pains. He asked those who are wondering why Fela’s children are not talking like their father to take to the streets and talk as Nigeria belongs to all.

“We saw all these happen to our father and family most Nigerians went back to their homes and pretended nothing happened because it wasn’t their families, they gave excuses why they could not support him. But some musicians across the world did worse than Fela, yet their country loved and supported them”, Femi said.

Excited at the successful staging of the play for 10 days, Bolanle Austen-Peters, BAP Productions, noted that the stage play was launched in 2017 to portray and preserve the history of Nigerian activism and the role played by Fela and his wives in fighting to make the government accountable to its citizens.

She attributed the success to the incredible cast and crew, support from Fela’s family, especially Yeni and Femi, Laide and Lara, the two living Fela Queens, among others.

“The journey of ‘Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens’ started two and half years ago because we wanted to discover other aspects of Fela’s life, especially what happened to the women who worked with Fela. Again, Fela was so iconic that we forgot that he had children and they all went through the challenges at that time and even after”, she explained.

She was happy that Fela’s family, the living queens and the audience attested to the great delivery of the true life story on stage at Terra Kulture. She also thanked all the sponsors; MTN, Ecobank, Africa Magic, Amstel, Channels TV, among others, for helping BAP to actualize the musical project this feative season, while promising more fantastic shows.

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

27

entertainment

Business etiquette

Janet Adetu Happy New Year 2020!

It’s a new decade! ear esteemed readers, thank you for your encouragement throughout the past year as you follow my column on Business & Life Etiquette. It has been a journey having to keep alert and abreast of times. I am happy to see that the paradigm mind shift and attitude towards the importance of personal and professional development trough protocol and etiquette has taken a turn for the best. To succeed in life it takes a whole lot of the art of learning new things, unlearning bad things and totally relearning good things of the past. We welcome the next new decade 2020 and look forward to bigger and better things to come. It is now time to be more assertive, affirmative and intentional about your actions in life and in your business. Let me kick start the year wearing my coaching hat, and opening with one of my personal quotes: “Achieving success is a lifetime goal Take it one day, one hour, one minute at a time You will surely get there!

Smile even when the tough gets going And the going gets tough The end result will be worth it!

As a certified high-performance coach all I would like you -to do this week is a business review. It is quite simple all you will need ia a journal and a pen and follow the questions listed below. If this assignment appears challenging then focus may not be a goal for you. If you schedule just a few minutes to answer these questions then you are keen on future progress, performance, projections and results. Remember I did say this year it will take a lot of intentionality, determination and drive to make a difference. Let us make it happened!

So here go!

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Staying confident this decade Being confident Welcoming the new year 2020 with a mindset that is positive is what is needed to embrace the future ahead, Looking back at 2019, it is expected that you will recall many trials, challenges, experiences, triumphs and yes lessons too. Being a new year and decade, this is a time of rejuvenation, setting higher standards for yourself and business as well as projecting for greater success in the future. To achieve this, will take true determination, commitment, tenacity, will power and the greatest attribute will be bouts of confidence most especially living in a technological changing economy of today.

Confidence is one powerful word that is important to adopt to forge forward and to achieve results. It is also among many an act that is taken for granted, overlooked for others or taken overboard by a few. To be able to project and position yourself for the new decade, building, boosting and presenting your confidence is a mission that must be embarked upon and accomplished.

Confidence is knowing that you can do anything and everything you want to do. It is also knowledge that at least you have put in your best.Too many times I see professionals, entrepreneurs, individualsand youths fall short of confidence in places where it matters most. This is a personal and professional development exercise that will help your credibility, integrity, trustworthiness and more both in the business and social scenes.

Your confidence is not hidden, it is seen loud and clear, whether in the way you dress, talk, walk, or even how you think. It is all about having the right attitude. Confidence is a decision of choice, to be confident, to

behave confident, to show confidence and to set confident goals for success.

Identifying confidence flaws Ove the years I discovered that there are numerous areas where confidence falls short or begins to let one down. They form the premise on which confidence must be built, worked on and sustained to be a better “You”. Let me mention a few that come to mind: Presenting “you” Confidence Flaws in believing in yourself and abilities starts with you and whether you have or lack core values. Confidence is built on personal awareness and driven by the inspiration to succeed. Are you proud of your work or what you do?

Do you come across as being a respectful person, or do you show others respect?

If you generally present yourself as being timid, quiet, and unassuming, you may just be limiting yourself, abilities and true value.Work on areas where you think you are shy or nervous. Project great eye contact, smile often, present yourself with clarity and consistency and give your selfcredit for good things you do.

Meeting others Many adults come across very conservative, shy, reserved, or sceptical when they are in a room full of known and unknown people. It starts with not being quick to introduce themselves and stalling when being introduced among other people.

Confidence is also flawed when one finds it a challenge to engage in conversation preferring to keep quiet and remain an onlooker.

It is a necessary skill being able to introduce yourself start small talk, and complete a conversation. Once you are networking or in tat setting take

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Your confidence is not hidden, it is seen loud and clear, whether in the way you dress, talk, walk, or even how you think

it slowly start with one or two people.

Allow the process to come naturally to you and build on it. Avoid negative body language, exhibit good mannerisms and be in control of your thoughts and you brand representation.

Dress sense I have seen several cases where a beautiful outfit is admired and bought fitting to perfection. Somehow on the day which it is to be worn the owner suddenly loses the confidence to wear the outfit. It appears too much for the day, occasion or event as they begin to find one excuse or the other as to why it is no good anymore. You are what you wear, first impressions will come instantly from what people seeof you. Perceptions right or wrong are also made based on first sight. Being comfortable in your sense of dressing is important as it directly affects your thoughts, actions and beliefs.

Put some thought into what you wear, think about the occasion, the day, the time, the people you are likely going to meet and what you are likely to be doing on the day. Wear your clothes with pride, let your personality show through. Do not try to be anyone else but you.

What you say You may be in a meeting in the office, a formal or social gathering what say and how you say it makes all the difference when looking for decorum or bad manners. It is simply seen in the choice of words that exists in your vocabulary and who you are with when you use wreck less talk.

Practice positive affirmative words.

Standby your utterances if meant well. Say No when you need to, as you strive to keep learning new things of life. Build your confidence profile, be known for great contributions and attributes. Work on your weak spots.

Stand tall this 2020 and transform your potential and discover the new you, Happy New Year once again.

Please feel free to connect with me if you have questions and enquiries personally and professionally.

Also please share your experience with me by sending an email to or janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com. / jtadetu@gmail.com Follow and like @janetadetu @jsketiquetteconsortium I look forward to hearing from you.

Mandilas Back to 50s, ignites nostagic feelings

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he serene private residence of John Mandilas (founder of Mandilas Group Ltd) at No. 42 Bourdilon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, burbled with excitement and funs when the company celebrated during the festive season.

At the party, the company relived what it coded as “Back to the 50s”, a stylish outing worth attending.

Mandilas Group used the occasion to celebrate, as well as, its 70th anniversary since the conglomerate was established in Nigeria.

The event venue was decorated with the traditional Nigerian national colours of green-white-green and fused with drama (Mandilas customer cares), fashion (best dressed staff) raffle draw and quiz to make the occasion more memorable.

The management and staff of the company dressed impressively in old-schools English wears, local Nigeria ashoke, adire, agbada to showcase the country’s cultural

heritage.

In terms of drinks, the local palm-wine was served fresh to guests as they consumed it with delight. Moreover, some interested guests got busy with the daft game, just for leisure.

Interestingly, the DJ busied himself playing the oldies including music of Sir Victor Uwaifo’s “ Joromi and If you see Mamaiwota”, Felix Liberty’s “Ifeoma”, Oliver De Choque’s ‘’Ogene Music’, Mike Okri’s “Time Na Money” and Chris Essien Igbokwe’s among other artistes’ evergreen tracks.

Of spectacular attention was the vintage Beetles brand of Volkswagen car displayed at the lounge with guest after guest taking snap-shot photographs and selfies in reminiscence.

It would be recalled that in 1953, Mandilas was given the sole right by the Nigerian government to import and sale Volkswagen cars in Nigewww.businessday.ng

ria; a brand popularized by Basil Mandilas to become the country’s number one car.

Speaking at the party, Gregory Eze-Okafor, director of Mandilas Group, went down the memorylane to recall founder of the company’s success story in business in the 50’s.

Eze-Okafor told his guests that John Mandilas’ business acumen and creativity gave him the ability to excel in any area he ventured.

On the Mandilas Christmas party, Eze-Okafor explained the rationale behind the idea of “Back to the 50s”, saying John Mandilas played a visible role in making the Yuletide to become a memorable and exciting season in the country.

“The occasion of “Back to the 50s”, brings happy nostalgia feeling about how Basil Mandilas taught people; how he posted yuletide greetings on the company’s notice board for all the staff, how he sent

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greeting cards individually to members of the management, as well as, up and down in the country, to the friends and associates, the religious and political leaders and the traditional rulers, among others”, Eze-Okafor recalled.

He remarked that in recognition of Mandilas’ legendary contributions to the development of trade and industry in Nigeria, NACCIMA installed the industrialist with the title of “National Life Vice-President” of the body.

The director also noted that Mandilas’ uncommon patriotism to Nigeria earned him with the Nigerian Naturalization Certificate No 1. on October 1, 1960.

Also speaking at the occasion, Ola Debayo-Doharty, group chief executive officer, Mandilas, who emphasised on customer care management, tasked the company’s staff to take customers needs seriously for Mandilas sustainability in @Businessdayng

business.

Debayo-Doharty noted that part of Mandilas success story is prompt response to the company’s customers needs, a culture that constitutes the organization’s core-value.

The group chief executive officer told the staff to represent the company well by driving its vision to greater heights.

“Be an ambassador by driving the vision of the company so as to expand the business to the next level”, she said.

She also stressed the need for the workers to develop themselves in information technology and skills in their areas of training in order to be in tune with the global dynamics, adding that the company is committed to providing them with the platform for personal development.

“Mandilas offers you opportunity for personal development in order to advance in your carriers.’

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BUSINESS DAY

news UTME: NIMC directs preference to JAMB candidates for NIN enrolment

Kaduna gas explosion: NALPGAM urges FG to regulate retailing of industrial gases

James Kwen & Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

IFEOMA OKEKE igerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has called for proper regulation of filling and retailing of industrial gases in the country following the recent gas explosion in Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna State.

Bassey Essien, its executive secretary, who made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday in Lagos, commiserated with the families of those who lost their lives in the January 4, 2020, incident.

It would be recalled that Simon Mallam, chairman, Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, and his son as well as three others were killed in the explosion.

Essien faulted claims that the explosion occurred at an LPG (cooking gas) retailing facility, noting that the cylinders involved contained acetylene gas used for industrial purposes by welders and other artisans.

He said: “The operations of cooking gas filling plants are highly regulated and monitored by the statutory government agencies.

“Members of NALPGAM, an association of all LPG marketing companies in the country, duly licensed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), also have put in place measures to self-regulate members.

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he National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has directed its staff in the 1500 enrolment centres across the country to give preference to prospective candidates for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) examination.

The assurances come ahead of next week’s commencement of UTME registration.

In new rules, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the examining body, has made it compulsory that only prospective UTME and Direct Entry candidates with the National Identification Number (NIN) will register and participate in the examination.

JAMB says the insistence on the NIN is to curb cases of multiple registration and other forms of malpractices perpetrated in the UTME process.

Prospective UTME candidates have raised fear on the possibility of getting the NIN before the February 17 deadline to enable them register considering the cumbersome huge difficulty at the NIMC enrolment centres nationwide.

But Jamila Ahmad, NIMC head of media, discloses that the Commission has dedicated systems for UTME candidates

to enable them meet the requirements.

While she calls for patience, she assures the Commission will be able to register the prospective candidates on time and urges those not yet registered at all to check the nearest centres.

Ahmad appeals to other registrants who are not writing UTME for example or rushing to get travelling documents to give NIMC a little time to focus on the candidates until the crowd is reduced.

“We are giving priority to all JAMB students. Over 50% of JAMB candidates have registered already,” she told BusinessDay in an interview.

“It is just a matter of students and Nigerians in general to have to learn to be patient. All our centres in the 36 states, including the FCT have been directed to give preference to JAMB students.”

“We are overwhelmed but that doesn’t mean we are afraid. We have 1500 enrolment centres nationwide so students who are not enrolled should check the nearest centre. Let them check our website our addresses are all over so they can move to another centre,” added.

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“This is to ensure that the industry operates within the prescribed safety standards and procedures.

“Just as the DPR monitors and regulates the LPG filling plants, same should be extended to other inflammable products too such as acetylene and other industrial gases.

“The safety of lives and properties of Nigerians are very dear to us. Filling and retailing of industrial gases have to be stoutly monitored.”

According to Essien, a similar incidentoccurredin2017atBadagry area in Lagos, where an explosioninashopwhereacetylenegas cylinders were stored and refilled recorded high fatalities.

He said: “Regulators should beam attention on the activities of practitioners dealing in acetylene and other industrial gases so as to check these recurrent incidences.

“Failure to do this and the frequent misrepresentation in the media attributing acetylene explosions to cooking gas will erode consumers’ confidence in the use of LPG and heighten the fear factor that cooking gas usage is unsafe.”

NALPGAM does not encourage refilling of gas cylinders in shops except at licensed LPG plants and would continue to play a positive role in deepening gas penetration in the country, he said.

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MTN Foundation brightens December with arts, culture productions

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ontinuing in its tradition of promoting the rich Nigerian culture and heritage, MTN Foundation sponsored a series of noteworthy theatre productions, rounding off the year 2019 on a high.

The December productions began with Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens, a musical drama centred on the life and activism of legendary Fela Kuti.

The production held at Terra Kulture and had multiple runs into January. The train continued with Five Maids of Fadaka produced by Ayo Jaiyesinmi, which tells a contemporary story of the travails of parents in ensuring a good life for their children.

For the first time, Joseph Edgar’s Emotan was staged in Lagos after an impressive outing in Benin City earlier in the year. Emotan tells the story of a well-respected food trader during the reign of Oba Uwaifiokun and Prince Ogun, who later took the name “Oba Ewuare the Great” after becoming the Oba of Benin. History has it that Emotan assisted Oba Ewuare in reclaiming the throne as Oba of Benin after several years in exile.

Exploring the rich history of our heroes past, the MTN Foundation sponsored OMG: The Musical produced by Ayo Ajayi, who is a graduate of the @Businessdayng

Muson School of Music scholarship programme funded

by MTN Foundation. OMG beautifully captures the story of three Nigerian activists, Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti, Margaret Expo and Hajiya Gambo Sawaba, who fought against injustice and pushed for emancipation of women in the society. For guests at each production, it was a beautiful experience to see Nigerian history dramatised.

The Arts and Culture cause of MTN Foundation is dedicated to retelling Nigerian and African stories, promoting family and national values and empowering skilled professionals within the country’s arts and culture ecosystem.

The tradition of empowering and supporting varying arts and culture productions started in 2010 with sponsorship of acclaimed productions such as Waaka, Saro, Fela, Legends, Oba Esugbayi, Our Son the Minister and many.

In 2019, the Foundation has sponsored over 10 theatre productions including Sound Sultan’s Broadway styled Jungle Story 2, Agbarho the stage play, the Nigerian Universities Theatre Arts Festival (NUTAF), Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFEST), and Life in My City Arts Festival (LIMCAF) and many more.

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Nigeria Customs’ 2019 revenue hits N1.34trn Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja

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i g e r i a Cu s t o m s Service (NCS) on Thursday said it generated N1.34 trillion in the year 2019, representing N969,831,167.83 higher than N887 billion targeted for the year and N139 billion over the sum of N1.2 trillion generated in 2018.

Commenting on this, Hameed Ibrahim Ali, comptrollergeneral of Customs, described it as a result of resolute pursuit of what was right rather than being populist by compromising national interest on the altar of individual or group interests.

He said, “The service revenue generation profile has continued to be on the rise annually as the ongoing reforms in the Service insists on strategic deployment of officers strictly using the standard operating procedure, strict enforcement

of extant guidelines by the tariff and trade department, automation of the Customs process thereby eliminating vices associated with the manual process.

“There has also been robust stakeholder sensitisation resulting in more informed/voluntary compliance as well as increased disposition of officers and men to putnationalinterestaboveselves.”

The comptroller-general in a statement signed by Joseph Attah, the Service public relations officer, said the partial border closure that had forced cargoes that could have been smuggled through the porous borders to come through the sea and airports raised revenue collection from N5 billion to N7 billion daily around the ports.

“Before the commencement of the border drill on 20th August 2019, revenue generation was between N4 billion to N5 billion but now NCS generates between

N5 billion to N7 billion daily.

“The partial border closure is a decisive action against the challenging issue of trans-border crime and criminalities, fuelled by the noncompliance to ECOWAS Protocol on transit of goods by neighbouring countries. NCS hopes that the ongoing discussions with our neighbours will yield permanent solution to the challenges of border security.

“The Service wishes to express its readiness to strictly implement the outcome of the ongoing diplomatic engagements. In the same vein the Service efforts to prevent the entry of items that could compromise the Security of our citizens, National Economy and the wellbeing of our people resulted in the seizures of 30,906 assorted items with a duty paid value of N62,134,426,199.00.

Minister directs NBC to immediately implement reforms to ‘sanitise’ broadcast Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

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inister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately implement reforms already approved by President Muhammadu Buhari to sanitise, regulate and re-position the broadcast industry.

The minister explained that the directive, which will come into effect this month, covered the provision for the regulation of the web and online TV/ radio, regulation of international broadcasters beaming signals into Nigeria, hate speech, human resource and staff welfare.

Others, according to him, are funding for the reforms implementation, monitoring, Independence of the Regulator and ease of issuing licences as well as competition and monopoly issues.”

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by Segun Adeyemi, special adviser to the President on

media, the minister said the directive became necessary following the submission of the report of the committee he set up to work out the modalities for implementing the recommendations. ‘’Following my satisfaction with the report, which was very professional and detailed, I wish to direct the Commission to take the necessary measures to effect the implementation of the various provisions therein,” he said.

The measures are also aimed at creating jobs, promoting local content, boosting the advert industry and bringing the broadcast industry up to par with the best practices from around the world, he said.

Major highlights of the minister’s directive include new regulations to compel broadcasters to utilise the content and services of Nigerian independent producers, in fulfilment of the regulatory requirements for 70 percent local content, “rather than the current abuse of the rules which allow many loopholes for the production

of such content in jurisdictions outside Nigeria.”

According to the statement, this will empower local producers with proper funding and investment, enhance foreign collaborations, develop the local industry, raise the standard of local productions and ultimately lead to job creation.

The new regulations will also ensure that producers of content are paid promptly for adverts and sponsored content placed on all TV, radio and broadcast platforms, ensure that the production of adverts are localised to create and promote local production and, where it is not, to attract a charge every time such an advert is aired, with the charge being put into a fund to help develop local expertise in production.

For musical content, a new regulation will ensure that broadcasters are prevented from illegal and unpaid use of musical works without payment of the applicable license fees and/or royalties required by music rights owners.

Poultry farmers relish gains of Obaseki’s agripreneur scheme

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oultry farmers in Edo State have hailed the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration and the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), on the success of the pilot phase of the Edo State poultry production scheme.

The Edo State Agripreneur programme is being implemented by the Governor Obaseki-led administration with support from the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) and is aimed at ensuring food security and wealth creation in the state.

In an interview with journalists, the farmers said the support provided by the governor to beneficiaries of the poultry production scheme, which is being run in partnership with the CBN, availed over 100 poultry farmers the opportunity to boost production and make decent profit from their farms.

The farmers were organised in six clusters for effective management and disbursement of the funds.

One of the beneficiaries, Edward Obasogie, said, “With the support of the state government and NIRSAL, I got 500 broilers, feeds, drugs and vac-

cines among other materials in the first phase of the Edo State Agripreneur Programme for Animal Husbandry.”

He said there are farmers

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in other clusters who received 1000 birds as the distribution was done according to the capacity of the pens owned by the farmers.

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news

Imo allocates land to Afreximbank for quality assurance centre HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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frican Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has received the certificate of occupancy for a fivehectare plot of land granted to it by the government of Imo State of Nigeria for the development of an internationally accredited quality assurance centre in the state.

Afreximbank is supporting the establishment of such internationally accredited African Quality Assurance Centres (AQACs) across Africa to support the continent’s industrialisation by ensuring that African products are manufactured to international standards and are able to trade in international market. The project seeks to raise the confidence of importers in African products and to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of “MadeIn-Africa” products.

Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha, who presented

the certificate of occupancy to Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah on January 6, during a meeting at the Imo State Government House in Owerri, pledged the commitment of the government and people to seeing to the successful execution of the project.

Ihedioha said the state planned to take full advantage of the opportunities that would be created by the project, which, he noted was coming at a time when the state had resolutely embarked on a transformation programme through industrialisation.

He listed some of the other projects being executed by the government to include the completion of cargo facilities at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri and the setting up of an industrial park.

In his response, Oramah thanked the government and people of Imo state for the parcel of land granted to the Bank and said that the

AQAC would generate new employment opportunities in the state.

Oramah said the AQAC project was aimed at addressing the key barriers affecting trade in Africa by strengthening compliance with international trade standards and with the technical requirements of export markets.

He pledged that Afreximbank would work with African governments and sub-sovereigns committed to making the lives of their people better and was ready to work with the Imo state government on the development of some of the projects it was pursuing, including the dry port, which would open the state.

Following the meeting, Ihedioha led the Afreximbank delegation to visit the land, which is located at Egb el u O bu b e a l ong Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Road in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area.

Twitter plans new conversation settings to shut out hecklers, unwanted responses FRANK ELEANYA

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or Nigeria’s elected officials, the new conversation features Twitter says it is planning may address the headache they face from constant heckling and criticisms of almost every post they make on the social platform.

“What we shared today are examples of what we’re planning on testing through experimentation, not necessarily representative of the exact features we’ll ship after learning and iteration,” Keyvon BeykPour, product lead at Twitter and founder of Periscope, said.

Twitter says it is in line with keeping its promise to promote “healthy conversations”. But some critics say it only enables public officials to censor who

they want to reply to their posts.

The new features may also limit the use of Twitter as engagement and conversational platform.

“Some of these options seem like they would allow harassment to happen on a whole new level,” said Breanna Conlon, a Twitter user. “Someone could drop your name without the handle, say things about you, lie about you, or spread misinformation without you or anyone that is close to you knowing. That seems dangerous.”

Suzanne Xie, Twitter’s director of product management, who made the disclosure at the CES event in Las Vegas, said the new feature “conversation participants” will be on the compose screen and it comes with has four options: “Global, Group, Panel, Statement”.

“We’ve really intentionally tried to make the images and footage that are captured on the ground at an event look different than other images and videos that you might attach to a tweet,” said Keith Coleman, Twitter’s head of consumer products.

When a user activates the Global option after making a post, he or she is inviting comments from anybody. The Group option limits reply to only the people a user follows and mentions. Panel option is for people a user specifically mentions in the tweet while the Statement will allow a user to post a tweet and receive no replies.

For instance, President Muhammadu Buhari’s budget speech or New Year speech would most likely come as a statement with no replies.

Three top Nigerian highest grossing movies at the cinemas in 2019 BUNMI BAILEY

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iving in Bondage: Breaking free, Chief Daddy, Merry Men 2, have been ranked among the highestgrossing West Africa films of 2019 in Nigerian cinemas, according to data from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).

Analysis shows that between January 1 and December 31, 2019, Living in Bondage: Breaking free, Chief Daddy, Merry Men 2: Another mission, Bling Lagosians, and Your Excellency in terms of movie ticket sales recorded N158.4 million, N153.5 million, N141.2 million, N120.1 million and N115.4 million, respectively.

CEAN is an association of cinema owners, operators and managers incorporated by the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria on February 13, 2018, and meant to promote and protect the value of cinema exhibition in Nigeria.

Yinka Ademuwagun, a consumer analyst at United Capital, said, “It is noteworthy that consumers are spending that much on leisure. And this is given that most of these figures are from urban areas where you will find cinemas. This says a lot about the Nigerian movie industry.”

Recently, watching movies in cinemas seems to be the new ‘thing in town’ and this is aside from its entertainment value, movie-going is quickly becoming a lifestyle in which people go to the cinemas with their loved ones and friends to see movies and relax.

Movie producers have found cinema premiers as a means of circumventing the plague of movie pirates. The Nigerian movie industry also has been churning out quality movies worthy of people’s time and money, which makes them cinema-worthy.

“Movie ticket prices usually range from N1,000 - N3000 across cinemas, depending on the packages that come with

it like complimentary drinks and popcorn. The major film distributors across cinemas in Nigeria are FilmOne, Silverbird Film, Geneis Deluxe cinemas and Metro Classic.

“I usually download the latest foreign movies because they are accessible and have good quality, but when it comes to the home movies, I watch it at the cinema. It is better enjoyed there,” Shola Abioye said.

Living in Bondage: Breaking Free is a 2019 Nigerian drama thriller film produced

by Charles Okpaleke and directed by Ramsey Nouah in his directorial debut. It is the sequel to the 1992 classic Living in Bondage and stars Kenneth Okonkwo, with Swanky JKA in his breakout role, and director Nouah as the main villain.

Chief Daddy is a Nigerian feature film directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, written by Bode Asiyanbi and produced by Mosunmola Abudu and Temidayo Abudu, which was released in December 2018.

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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INTERVIEW

‘BAFEST was birthed from a need to tell the true African story’ Following from the just concluded Born In Africa Festival (BAFEST) initiated by Access Bank plc, Amaechi Okobi, group head, corporate communications, Access Bank, speaks to Segun Adams on the idea and drive behind the initiative and other related issues. Excerpt: The BAFEST is in its second year already, what was the original idea and drive behind the creation of this initiative? orn in Africa Festival was birthed from a need to tell the true African story in all its glory. It is a day when our finest creatives showcase their talents to the world. The Western media is quick to portray Africa as a hotbed of poverty, starvation and despotism. It’s time we killed the perception that Africans are corrupt, fraudulent and even lazy.

We know the true picture and we want the world to know that Africa is a land of beauty, where the people are talented, hardworking and entrepreneurial. Some of the greatest men and women to walk the earth and wow the world in music, arts, fashion even science and technology are Africans. Therefore, we decided to beam the spotlight on the positive things coming out of Africa and that is why we created BAFEST, to not only bring Africans together to be entertained by Africans but to let the world know that there is so much more in Africa. We are amazing and it’s time for the world to take us seriously.

X Lagos for the advancement of the Nigerian visual art industry with the goal of making Nigeria a noteworthy destination for art collectors, as well as preserving what is a vital part of our history and culture as Nigerians and Africans.

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How will you rate the success of the Born In Africa Festival so far, with regards to the goal the bank set to achieve with the festival?

Now in its second year, the success and impact of BAFEST so far has been massive. In the first edition, we recorded over 14,000 attendees, but this year we had over ThirtyFive Thousand attendees. The quality of artists, film makers, designers and models we have showcased in the two editions are topnotch and the best in their industries.

Asides the number of participants, music, fashion, film and all, BAFEST is now an event people look forward to each year, and we are gradually getting global attention, which is what we want. Our goal is to attract the attention of the world by projecting our rich African culture and creativity, and I can confidently say that we are well on our way to achieving it.

Why has Access Bank decided to use entertainment as a key tool to change the African narrative?

We all know entertainment is a big thing in Africa and even globally.

African creatives by themselves

Amaechi Okobi

with little support have transformed the entertainment sector into a goldmine and we believe that BAFEST will be another platform t help multiply the efforts of African creatives.

Entertainment is a platform that brings people together, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, political affiliations and race. We all know entertainment is a big thing in Africa and even globally. African creatives by themselves with little support have transformed the entertainment sector into a goldmine and we believe that BAFEST will be another platform to help multiply the efforts of African creatives.

There are currently a lot of talented Africans artists that are taking the world by storm. So, with BAFEST we are only solidifying what African creatives have been able to set up for themselves and using it to let the world know that great things can come out of Africa and Nigeria particularly.

Asides entertainment, what other area does Access Bank leverage on to showcase Africa to the world?

As a bank, we have put our weight behind sports with support for platforms like the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon where runners from all over the world partake in the race. There is also the Access Bank www.businessday.ng

Charity Shield Polo Tournament, (in partnership with UNICEF) to support vulnerable children in the Northern part of Nigeria. Africa International Film Festival is yet another initiative designed to raise awareness about African films and telling our great stories to the global community through visual arts and memorable storytelling.

Access Bank also supports the African tech industry through our annual Disrupt conference hosted by the African Fintech Foundry, a tech incubator dedicated to fintech startups. We are constantly looking for platforms to promote the skills and talents that abound in Africa.

The bank also partners with ART

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Access Bank also supports the African tech industry through our annual Disrupt conference hosted by the African Fintech Foundry, a tech incubator dedicated to fintech startups

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You were present at the BAFEST and I am sure you had fun, what was the highlight of BAFEST 2019 for you and other guests?

I have many favourites, but the highlights of the festival for me would be the electrifying opening dance performance and the aerial drummers. The ambience at the BAFEST 2019 was a lively one; guests had several options of refreshment as there was a food court packed with vendors dishing tasty meals and drinks.

Attendees were also thrilled with captivating music performances from some of Africa’s biggest and finest acts including Niniola, Seyi Shey, Becca, Patoranking, Teni, Joeboy, Flavour, 9ice, Mr Real, Naira Marley and Burna Boy. The stage was lit by runway models displaying the works of top-notch African designers such as Tokyo James, Emmy Kasbit, David Tlale and a host of other talented fashion designers.

In your opinion how can the entertainment sector contribute to GDP growth?

If you have been observing closely, over the past decade the Nigerian entertainment sector has grown enormously. After oil, entertainment has turned out to be Nigeria’s major export. Our films are being viewed by millions in Africa and across the world; our fashion designers are being featured in international fashion shows and Nigerians and other people around the world have begun to embrace made in Nigeria designs. When it comes to creative art, it is also evident that Nigerian artists are pulling weight internationally and gaining massive patronage.

As for the music industry, it goes without saying, that Nigerian music is blazing hot and trending globally. We have the likes of Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido and so on selling out arenas both locally and internationally. All this shows that the Nigerian entertainment industry is already contributing to the economy and GDP of Nigeria, and even has great potentials to @Businessdayng

contribute even more.

All that is needed is further support from the private and public sectors through funding, government and private establishments through funding, creating a lasting structure and enforcing intellectual property laws. The Nigerian entertainment industry is arguably one of the large employers of Nigerian youth.

What is Access Bank doing to ensure that the youth in the entertainment industry have access to more loans?

As I said earlier, access to funding is a key factor that can help shoot up the Nigerian entertainment industry. Access Bank understands this perfectly and that is why we were quick to jump on the creative industry financing initiative sponsored by the CBN. In 2019, we were the first bank to take the responsibility of bringing players and key stakeholders in the entertainment industry under one roof, to educate and interact with them on how to access finance for their business.

Access Bank took a step further to provide necessary support such as legal, tax and business plan development support to entertainers willing to access the funds. Access bank is an entertainment and SME friendly bank, and we have several loan packages that can be easily accessed by youth in the creative sector.

Which segment of the entertainment sector is the bank going to give the biggest priority the year?

Access Bank will continue to support creativity with a mind to helping Africa become a giant in that space. Therefore, we will continue to support all the various elements of art and creativity, from fashion to art to music to film and even beyond.

This year, we have various activities lined up, covering various aspects and sectors. The Access The Stars reality show is on-going, the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon and Disrupt conference are also coming up. In the last quarter, Art X Lagos, AFFRIF, BAFEST and other initiatives will be coming up.

We will not relent in our quest to change the perception of Africa and Africans, and in 2020, we intend to do much more than ever before. We call on everyone to do the same as this can only serve to improve the outlook for Africa.

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Start-ups break new grounds as disruptors...

Continued from page 1

to prevent thefts in retail

stores from employees and professional shoplifters. It does this by monitoring and alerting shop owners about shoplifting and suspicious behaviour in real time.

Chiniki Guard is just one out of hundreds of innovations that have bestridden the Nigerian start-up landscape in recent times, as economic crunch and high unemployment force young Nigerians to create solutions for emerging challenges.

Virtue Oboro has designed Crib A’Glow, a solar-powered, foldable phototherapy crib that uses LED lights to help treat jaundice in new-born babies. She has made the technology available to hospitals and health centres in rural and semi-urban communities in Nigeria, leading to the treatment of over 600 babies. She was selected in September 2019 alongside five other start-ups in Africa by Africa Innovation Challenge (AIC) to receive $50,000 in funding and technical mentoring.

“It takes a lot of grit and determination to do business in Nigeria, and many young entrepreneurs are defying all the odds,” Fola Adeola, chairman, Fate Foundation, said at the 2019 Fate Foundation Annual Celebration held in December 2019 in Lagos.

Temie Giwa-Tubosun, founder and CEO, LifeBank, a start-up that works with hospitals to find lifesaving medical products, came to continental limelight in November 2019 after winning Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative’s $250,000 in Ghana.

LifeBank has saved many lives, providing blood and other health services during emergencies. The start-up has an app that connects hospitals with available blood supplies, and has developed what is known as SmartBag tag, a blockchain-powered system that tracks the safety record of the blood. It likewise has an app that allows blood donors to register and book appointments at blood banks closest to them. It has distributed over 16,000 units of blood, registered more than 3,500 donors, and worked with over 400 hospitals to save more than 4,500 lives, BusinessDay found.

“I look forward to continuing my journey to solve problems and make a significant impact on the future of Africa,” Giwa-Tubosun said after the prize in Ghana.

Babban Gona franchises thousands of mini farmer cooperatives across Northern Nigeria, trains them, and provides them with credit and inputs, including market access. It has provided 55,000 different loans and has made healthy food available to 280,000 Nigerians.

“Our goal is to make 1m farmers richer by 2025,” Lola Masha, executive director for corporate services at Babban

Gona Farmer Services, told BusinessDay in an interview.

“We have succeeded through our model to significantly increase the profitability of smallholder farmers 2.5-3 times more than the recorded average farmers produce in Nigeria,” Masha said.

In 2019, Sim Shagaya, a serial entrepreneur, returned with a new edtech start-up after raising $3.1 million seed round from TLcom Capital.

The platform, known as uLesson, integrates mobile platforms, SD cards, culturespecific curriculum and a network of tutors to close educational gaps for secondary school students in West Africa. It is expected to start fully next month.

“We are adding more babies in this country nominally than all of Western Europe.

Even if the government was super-efficient, it could not catch up with the educational needs of the young people that are coming up,” Shagaya said.

Nigeria’s entrepreneurship landscape is growing and is attracting funding from various types of investors.

Nigerian start-ups raised $178m in funding rounds in 2018, according to Techpoint Africa. They further raised $17.6 million and $24.7 million in the first and second quarters of 2019. But challenges of harsh business environment hurt the growth of many start-ups.

“Multiple taxation remains a major problem in Nigeria,” Toki Mabogunje, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), told BusinessDay in an interview.

“We keep hearing of streamlining of taxes, but businesses are still on the receiving end of public officers who want to raise internal revenue,” she said.

Access to Nigerian seaports has become a major challenge as Apapa and Tin Can seem captured by trucks and containers.

“There is need to address observed port-related challenges: dilapidated infrastructure, inadequate space, weak trade facilitation infrastructure, poor road network and the associated gridlock to enhance competitiveness,” the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said in a third quarter 2019 CEO survey.

Energy is the biggest headache as start-ups and small businesses face high running costs with 40 percent of their expenditure dedicated to fuelling their generators.

Ede Dafinone, chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group (MANEG), said the closure of Nigeria-Benin Republic border has caused humongous losses to exporters and a lot of businesses.

A number of businesses have been relocated because of insecurity, and analysts say except this is addressed, especially in the north-east, more businesses will shut down. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Gboyega Alabi, deputy governor, Osun State; Noimot Salako-Oyedele, deputy governor, Ogun State; Rotimi Akeredolu, governor, Ondo State; Seyi Makinde, governor, Oyo State; Kayode Fayemi, governor, Ekiti State; Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sport, and Enitan Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife, during the official launch of the AMOTEKUN ‘Zero Tolerance to Crime’

by South-West Governors’ Forum held at Governor’s Office Secretariat, Ibadan, yesterday.

Markets rally on BUA Cement’s N1.3trn listing...

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constructed is scheduled to be operational in 2020 in

Sokoto State.

BUA Cement also has the benefit of market leadership positions in its key regional markets of the North West, South South and South-East Nigeria due to its location and proximity to those markets. It also has a huge export market in Western Africa.

“We’ve always clamoured for companies that can attract investors to the bourse,” said Gbolahan Ologunro, equity analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers Ltd. “BUA’s listing, as well as MTN and Airtel’s last year, has helped improve liquidity.”

With 33.9 billion shares listed on NSE at N35 per share, BUA Cement plc has become the third-largest company after Dangote Cement and MTN Nigeria.

The indigenous cement maker’s listing followed the just-concluded merger between Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) and Obu Cement.

Exchange ratio is 1:1 representing the number of CCNN ordinary shares to be exchanged for OBU shares.

The date of transaction voting was December 4, 2019 with 99.93 percent of minority shareholders voting in favour

of the merger.

MTN Nigeria listed by introduction 20.35 billion shares at N90 per share in May 2019 while Airtel Africa joined NSE in a cross-border secondary listing of 3.76bn ordinary shares at N363 per share in July 2019.

Yusuf Binji, managing director/CEO, BUA Cement plc, said it was a major fulfilment for the group to have its shares listed after a merger of two companies that control significant markets in southern and northern parts of the country.

“BUA Cement is poised to add even more value to the Nigerian economy as a whole through this listing,” Binji said.

“Over the past few years, we have significantly ramped up capacity and currently boast the most efficient and integrated operations in the Nigerian cement industry.

This new publicly listed company will continue to deliver exceptional value to all stakeholders in the foreseeable future,” he said.

Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange, lauded Abdul Samad Rabiu, founder of BUA Group and chairman of BUA Cement, for bringing BUA’s expanded cement business to the NSE, describing it as a “show of confidence in the value the NSE offers”.

Buhari recalls NBET MD, Amobi...

Continued from page 1

and asked Nnaemeka Ewe-

lukwa, the acting MD who was appointed by Sale Mamman, minister of power, to step down.

This is coming two days after the president reversed the suspension of Damilola Ogunbiyi as managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).

Both Amobi’s dismissal and Ogunbiyi’s suspension were ordered by Mamman.

Reversal of Amobi’s dismissal was contained in a memo from the Office of the Secretary to the Govern-

ment of the Federation (SGF) signed Boss Mustapha, the SGF. The SGF also disclosed that NBET has been moved from the Ministry of Power to the Ministry of Finance.

The sack of Amobi was the climax of the crisis rocking Nigeria’s power sector.

Mamman had asked Amobi to step down with immediate effect in order to “restore sanity” in the management of the agency.

The minister had also directed the constitution of a five-man investigative committee to look into the allega-

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“It is exciting for the Exchange to record such a major listing at the beginning of the year,” Onyema said, noting that it was another opportunity for investors to have access to a company with a good track record. He said the company plans to move to the Premium Board of the NSE in a very short period.

While CCNN was the listed company before now, its merger with Obu Cement, both members of the BUA Group, gave birth to BUA Cement plc, an enlarged firm with a total installed capacity of 8 million mtpa.

With the listing, the shareholders should expect better returns because the company will be one of the top best dividend-paying companies, Binji said, adding that its installed capacity would be increased to 11 million mtpa.

In addition to meeting the demand from customers in its core regions in the country, BUA said the enlarged company would be positioned to distribute its products in new geographical markets, creating the potential for additional shareholder value creation.

“We expect the benefits accruing from greater economies of scale to accrue to many stakeholders,” Binji said.

BUA listed by way of offer for sale, which means that existing shareholders have to sell for new investors to be able to buy into the company.

The NSE puts the free float of mainboard listed stocks at 20 percent of the total issued shares, or N40 billion, whichever is higher. BUA Cement is expected to meet this in future.

The management of BUA was honoured with a closing gong ceremony by 2:30 pm in Lagos.

Meanwhile, Dangote Cement plc recently disclosed plans to buy back 10 percent (1.17 billion) of its shares in issue from shareholders. The aim of the share buyback which will be completed in 12 months is to improve the company’s return on equity (RoE).

The share repurchase programme serves as a means for firms to return cash to their shareholders. It also impacts positively the per share profitability of the firm, most notably the Earnings Per Share (EPS) due to the reduction in issued shares.

BUA Cement’s listing comes as the bullish run on the NSE extends to a record ninth trading session, driven by investors’ interest in value counters and positioning ahead of dividend yield amid full-year financials coming soon.

The market is also expected to profit from declining real yield in short-term government bonds. However, the outlook for 2020 relies significantly on macroeconomic outcomes, said Ologunro.

tions against the MD. NBET which was incorporated on July 29, 2010 had served as a special purpose vehicle for the purchase of electricity from the generation companies (GenCos), which it sells directly to the distribution companies (DisCos) through vesting contracts under the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

But Nigerians have been subjected to untold hardships over the epileptic power supply and what many see as over-billing in the system.

While electricity consumers are blaming lack of synergy between service providers and government agencies for

their woes, the new power minister recently stirred fresh controversy when he blamed his immediate predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, for failing to stabilise power, despite “huge spending”.

Mamman had in a statement signed by Aaron Artimas, his special adviser on media and communications, described it as “shame that he’s being attacked for trying to improve a sector Fashola couldn’t, even after billions of naira were pumped into the sector”.

As the blame game persists, the sector daily continues to perform below expectations.

@Businessdayng

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

35

Sports

Winners at 2019 CAF Awards Anthony Nlebem

O

n Tu e s d a y , January 7, the City of Hurghada, Egypt was agog as football icons, legends and stakeholders gathered for the 28th edition of the CAF Awards, an event to celebrate African footballers and officials who distinguished themselves during 2019.

The highpoint of the night was when Nigerian female football star, Asisat Oshoala, won the fourth African Women’s Player of the Year Award.

Oshoala, who plays for Spanish side Barcelona, beat Ajara Nchout of Cameroon and South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, who was crowned in Senegal last year to claim the title.

It is the fourth time the 25-year-old is being crowned the best African female footballer.

Oshoala garnered 351 votes, 30 more than Cameroonian forward Ajara Nchout and Thembi Kgatlana, who had 247 votes.

She won the award in 2014, 2016 and 2017, and was also among the final three in 2018 but lost to her South African rival Kgatlana, equalling the record of her compatriot Perpetua Nkwocha Also, Senegalese striker

and Liverpool star Sadio Mane won his first Africa’s 2019 Player of the Year honour on the night Mane was crowned the African Player of the Year, polling 477 votes ahead of his Liverpool teammate Mohamd Salah, 325 votes and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, 267 votes.

The 27-year old beat his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah of Egypt who won the award the last two years, as well as Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City).

Sane becomes the second Senegalese to win the award after El Hadji Diouf, who was

the winner in 2001 and after joining Liverpool in 2002.

Mane scored 34 goals and produced 12 assists in 61 ap-

pearances in 2019, according to CAF statistics.

Speaking about the award, he said, “I am really happy and at the same time I am really proud to win this award.

It’s a big day for me.”

“I’m ver y happy and proud to win this award. I thank my teammates at the Senegal national team and also my club, Liverpool for their support”.

In the youth category, Morocco and Borussia Dortmund defender, Achraf Hakimi, was crowned the African Youth Player Of The Year.

The 21-year-old beat Nigerian duo of Victor Osimhen (Lille) and Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal) to claim the prize.

The Egyptian Football Association won the Federation of the Year award.

Tanzanian afro-pop star,

Diamond Platinumz thrilled the audience with a live show of his music that saw the guests dancing in their seats.

Lebanese group Mayyas, winners of the 2019 edition of Arabs Got Talent, a television reality show, enchanted the audience with their choreography skills.

Hostility resumes as Premier League, Serie A games kick-off Anthony Nlebem

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ootball fans will be treated to a bumper action as games from the Premier League and the Serie A resumes this weekend.

L eading the pack of games is the Premier League encounter between Manchester United and Norwich City at Old Trafford on Saturday, 11th January.

Man Utd have struggled for consistency this season after winning only eight and losing six of their 21 Premier League matches, the most

recent being a 0-2 loss to long-time rivals, Arsenal.

Placed fifth on the log currently, the Red Devils’ chase for a top-four finish further suffered a setback following the absence of star midfielder, Paul Pogba, for a long term with an ankle injury.

However, embattled manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær will be banking on Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard to spearhead his team’s attack, while relying on Harry Maguire to provide solidity at the back.

Norwich, on the other hand, are heavily plagued by the threat of relegation as

www.businessday.ng

African Player of the Year Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool) African Women’s Player of the Year Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Barcelona) African Interclubs Player of the Year Youcef Belaïli (Algeria & Esperance / Ahli Jeddah) African Youth Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmund) African Men’s Coach of the Year Djamel Belmadi (Algeria - Algeria) African Women’s Coach of the Year Desiree Ellis (South Africa) African Men’s National Team of the Year Algeria African Women’s National Team of the Year Cameroon Federation of the Year Egyptian Football Association Goal of the Year Riyad Mahrez (Algeria vs Nigeria, Total Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2019 semi final) Special Award Kojovi Obilale (former Togolese goalkeeper) CAF-Fifpro Best XI Goalkeeper: Andre Onana Defenders: Achraf Hakimi, Serge Aurier, Joel Matip, Kalidou Koulibaly Midfielders: Idrissa Gueye, Riyad Mahrez, Hakim Ziyech Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

they are rooted to the bottom of the league table.

The Canaries have lost three of their last six games but manager Daniel Farke can take solace from their last two games, which ended in draws, and use them as a springboard for better performances.

Teemu Pukki will lead the charge to get the goals as the club’s leading marksman and will be complemented by Emi Buendia, Todd Cantwell and Kenny McLean in midfield, while Tim Krul will be hoping to keep a clean sheet in goal.

The blockbuster continues on Sunday, 12th January in the Serie A when Roma hosts defending champions, Juventus, at the Stadio Olimpico.

With the race for the Serie A title turning out to be an intriguing fight with Inter Milan, its long-time rivals, Juventus know they cannot afford to drop any more points in their title defence as they are currently second on the log. Manager Maurizio

Sarriwill be counting on the in-form Cristiano Ronaldo, still buzzing from netting his first Serie A hat trick on Monday, to use his trickery and pace to open up and cause trouble for the Old Lady in their opponent’s defence.

He will be paired upfront with fellow striker, Paulo Dybala; Miralem Pjanic and Aaron Ramsey will provide the much-needed supply in the midfield, while Leo Bonucci will be asked to ensure the defence is impenetrable.

Roma might be 10 points off the title chasers, but manager Paulo Fonseca knows that his side’s chase for a top four finish and a UEFA Champions League spot is still much on track. Despite their shock capitulation at home to Torino on Sunday, I Giallorossi will bank on Edin Dzeko to rake in the needed goals, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolo Zaniolo to provide the creative spark in midfield, while Alessandro Florenzi and Chris Smalling are expected to marshal the defence.

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Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o partnered Egyptian Mariam Amin as presenters of the ceremony and was assisted by Moroccan Fayrouz Al Karawani as special guests Egyptian Minister of Sport Ashraf Sobhy, FIFA and CAF Legends were treated to a wonderful evening.

Liverpool agree new kit deal with Nike Anthony Nlebem

P

remier League leaders Liverpool have signed a multi-year deal with Nike as their new kit supplier from the 2020-21 season to replace New Balance, the Premier League club said.

Liverpool were taken to court by New Balance last year after it was alleged the club was looking to switch to Nike once their existing contract ended in May 2020.

Boston-based New Balance, Liverpool’s official kit supplier since the 2015-16 campaign, said they should have been allowed to match

@Businessdayng

Nike’s offer.

However, the club successfully argued that New Balance could not match Nike’s offer with respect to marketing and distribution, with the judge ruling New Balance’s offer “less favourable to Liverpool” compared to Nike’s offer.

“We welcome Nike into the LFC family as our new official kit supplier and expect them to be an incredible partner for the club, both at home and globally as we continue to expand our fanbase,” the club’s managing director and chief commercial officer Billy Hogan said in a statement https:// www.liverpoolfc.com/news/ announcements/381644liverpool-fc-annou....

“As a brand, Nike reflects our ambitions for growth, and we look forward to working with them to bring fans new and exciting products.

“We’d like to thank New Balance for their support over the last few years and wish them well for the future,” Hogan added.

Nike will be the club’s official kit supplier for the men’s, women’s and academy teams from June 1, it said.

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

POLITICS & POLICY

Lagos PDP crisis: Court summons PDP leaders, threatens arrest Iniobong Iwok

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Lagos State High Court Thursday issued a fresh summon on five People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leaders to appear before it on February 10th to explain why they should not be arrested for contempt of Court.

Recall that on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, a special election committee set up by the National Working Committee of the PDP conducted an election to fill key executive positions in Lagos State chapter of the party.

However, the election was held despite an alleged subsisting court order stopping the NWC committee from going ahead with the election.

A day before the election, the immediate past chairman of the party in the state, Dominic Adegbola, and other executive members of the party were said to have secured a restraining order from the Lagos State High Court against the conduct of the exercise.

Presiding judge, OyekanAbdullai of the General/Civil Division of Court had noted that the November 13 election had no input of the state exec-

utive nor was it in compliance with the party’s constitution, while ordering that the status quo should remain.

The court had earlier ordered the PDP leaders to appear before it on 5th December which was ignored by the defendants.

But in a fresh summon signed by the judge, OyekanAbdullai, a copy of which was made available to BusinessDay, the judge ordered the defendants which includes a former Senator, Ben Obi and Biodun Olujimi, and four others to appear before it on February 10th to explain the rational for their action or risk

being arrested.

When contacted on the issue, the Publicity Secretary of Lagos PDP, Taofik Gani said the party had forged ahead and would not want to comment on the issue.

“We have moved ahead, I don’t want to comment on issues like this in our party; later please,” Gani said.

The Lagos State chapter of the PDP has been engulfed in internal crisis since after the 2019 general election. The crisis has led to the defection of several chieftains of the party in the state to the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) in the last few months.

Abiodun set to swear in commissioners Iniobong Iwok

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apo Abiodun, the governor of Ogun State, will today swear in the 19 commissioners recently screened and approved by the state Assembly.

The confirmed 19 commissioner-nominees would also be given their portfolios at the event slated to hold at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto Abeokuta at 11am prompt.

A statement by signed by Kunle Somorin, chief press secretary to the governor, made available to BusinessDay Thursday.

The statement said these commissioner-nominees

No worker in Oyo State will earn below N30,000 minimum wage — Makinde REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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overnor Seyi Makinde has assured that no staff in the state’s workforce would earn below the N30,000 national minimum wage.

He stated that once the Committee set up by his government to look into the modalities for the implementation of the wage completes its assignment, the government will stand side by side with the workers to implement the decision.

The governor noted that he was looking forward to a decision that would be agreeable to the civil servants as well as affordable and sustainable for the State government.

The governor made the declarations during the annual inter-religious service to usher in the 2020 working year, held at the Car Park of the Governor’s Office.

“On the new minimum wage, the committee has been set up, they are working and moving towards alignment but I promise you that this administration and the workers of Oyo State are on the same page on this ongoing negotiation. And when it is concluded, I give you the assurance that we shall stand side-by-side to announce to the whole world what we have agreed.

“Whatever we will agree upon is going to be in the interest of the workers and our state. First, our collective decision will be agreeable to everybody. Second, it will be affordable. Third, it will be sustainable.

“Before this administration came into place on May 29, they were paying percentages as subvention to the higher institutions. “Just a month before the previous administration left, they moved it to 100 per cent and we have been paying it since we came

in. I know that they do have agreement in some states and will still breach the agreement. But, here, once we sign that agreement, we will pay it.

“We won’t pay in percentages and I want to also state categorically that no worker in Oyo State will earn below the national minimum wage.”

The Governor also urged every resident of the State to join hands, put political affiliation and tribal sentiments aside to keep making Oyo State greater.

At the service, which was attended by the Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan; the Chief of Staff, Oyebisi Ilaka; the Secretary to the State Government, Olubamiwo Adeosun, political appointees and civil servants, the Head of Service, Amidat Ololade Agboola, maintained that 2019 was filled with challenges but that God had counted those in attendance at the event worthy to see a New Year.

Agboola, who welcomed political office holders and workers to the service, maintained that it was in 2019 that God blessed Oyo State with a Governor like Makinde, whom she described as godsent to the civil servants.

According to the Head of Service, the Governor has shown what leadership entailed: selflessness, even as she appreciated the Governor for demonstrating commitment to workers’ welfare and the repositioning of the civil/ public service in the State.

She cited the payment of salaries as and when due since the administration took office, noting that the general public in the State had been sharing in happiness engendered by that act.

She also commended the Governor for giving the approval for the reinstatement of some officers in the civil/ public service who were unjustly dismissed by the last administration; approval for www.businessday.ng

Seyi Makinde

Productivity/Merit Award to recognise the hard work of civil servants and the approval of N15 million for the renovation of offices in each of the ministries in the Secretariat Complex, among other areas.

She, therefore, charged civil servants to rise to the occasion by contributing their best quota towards developing the State, calling on them to give room for innovative ideas and a new way of doing things in the New Year.

But further in his speech, Governor Makinde maintained that though the administration was less than a year in office, it has causes to be thankful to God, because it has continued to enjoy tremendous goodwill, adding that it would not take the loyalty from the people for granted, as it will put in its best for the good of the people of the State in the New Year.

Makinde, who gave thanks to God for some of the remarkable feats achieved by the Government in 2019,

citing the increased funding to education, ongoing renovation and equipment of hospitals as well as the expansion of the State’s economy through investments in agriculture, small and mediumsized enterprises (SME) and infrastructure, among others, promised to continue on the path to growing and developing the State in the New Year.

He said: “As we gather here this morning for this interreligious service to usher in a new working year, it is the best time for each one of us to reflect on our accomplishments last year and then plan how to become better versions of ourselves this year.

“Our elders say that as we travel through the forest, we must always shake the trees so that people who are watching can quickly tell the distance we have travelled. This administration has been here for less than a year but the expectations that the people have of us is enormous. But we should be thankful that we have been enjoying the

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tremendous goodwill from the people and we must never take their loyalty for granted.

We must remain at the top of our game and put in our best for the benefit of the good people of Oyo State.

“When the Imam of the Government House was admonishing us, he emphasised that we must not do three major things; not to divulge secrets, not to give wrong information and we should not talk evil of ourselves, but people do all these three things.

“Someone even said that he was the governor of yesterday and I am the governor of today and that tomorrow’s governor will also come to rule. But I am surprised, because I doubt if that former Governor remembered he would one day leave office when he was on the governor’s seat.

“And in the sermon we just listened to, we have been implored to do all things with the fear of God. So, because I know that another governor will rule tomorrow, I will do things with the fear of God.” He however used the occasion to commiserate with all victims of fire incidents across the State, warned civil servants and residents of the State to work towards preventing fire disasters in their personal lives by setting smart goals and planning adequately in the New Year.

He further said: “In a way, we also want to prevent personal fires in our lives this year and the best way to do that is by setting smart goal.

So, we need to plan. Let us all set goals that will be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

And that is being SMART. We should plan now so that when we meet for the next interdenominational service, we will be able to look back as we are looking back at 2019 now, and have a cause to be thankful.” @Businessdayng

include, Afolabi Afuape, a former commissioner for sports in the state and another former commissioner for Agriculture, Tunji Akinosi.

Others include the pioneer Vice Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Sidi Osho and a former Rector of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Adeola Odedina as well as Olaolu Olabimtan and Gbolahan Adeniran.

The rest are Tomi Coker, Femi Ogunbanwo, Tunji Odunlami, Abudu Balogun, Kikelomo Longe, Mr Dapo Okubadejo, Oludotun Taiwo, Ganiyu Hamzat, Funmi Efuwape, Kehinde Oluwadare, Jamiu Omoniyi, Toyin Taiwo and Ade Akinsanya.

2020: Ortom promises new dawn for Benue people BENJAMIN AGESAN, Makurdi

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enue state governor, Samuel Ortom, has promised a new dawn for the people of the state as they entered into year 2020.

Governor Ortom said this on Thursday while addressing the first Benue State Executive Council meeting of the year 2020 at the Council’s Chambers in Makurdi.

The governor stated the need for all members of his Cabinet to work together with him in order to achieve the desired results which will make life bearable for the people of the state.

Saying that 2020 is a special year and for him and his cabinet members as a government, Ortom maintained that he is determined to give the people of Benue State the best of service delivery.

Hinting that he is aware of the gaps in the state civil service, the governor maintained that there is an urgent need to fill them.

He explained that his administration is already creating greater job opportunities for the youths in partnership with the private sector, promising that he will do more.

He also said: “We are concerned about Benue people who have little or no means of livelihood.

“We are worried about the health challenges facing our children and other vulnerable people and we are already taking steps to address the problems. We must not fail the people.

“As members of cabinet, I urge you be closer to the people. Let them know that you understand the challenges confronting them.

“I implore you to work closely with the people to identify their problems and the solutions needed to address those challenges.”

Friday 10 January 2020

FT

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

KATRINA MANSON, NAJMEH BOZORGMEHR AND ANDREW ENGLAND

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or now, President Donald Trump appears to have pulled off his high-stakes gamble to kill Tehran’s most powerful military commander without triggering a fullblown war with Iran.

But the Middle East remains dangerously on edge and analysts warn that the US will struggle to deal with the longer-term fallout of the assassination as it further empowers Iranian hardliners and Tehran’s militant proxies.

Both Tehran and Washington seemed to take calculated decisions to de-escalate after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at American forces in Iraq in retaliation for the US’s assassination of Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week.

The Iranian strikes caused no casualties and Tehran told the US through at least two back channels and in public statements that it was not considering a further military response. A former senior US military commander said the Trump administration had re-established deterrence “for now”. But he cautioned that other factors will influence what happens next, amid fears that Iran and its allies will only become more aggressive in their pushback against the US. The Islamic regime is renowned for taking strategic long-term decisions and has spent decades building a network of allied militias throughout the region to exert its influence and counter its foes. As head of the elite Revolutionary Guards overseas wing,

Trump’s gamble on Soleimani unlikely to end hostilities Middle East remains on edge amid fears of long-term fallout

Mourners at Qassem Soleimani’s funeral procession in his hometown Kerman on Tuesday. Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at American forces in Iraq in retaliation for his assassination in Baghdad last week. © AFP via Getty Images

the Quds force, Soleimani ran the network and steered regional policy.

The killing of such a high profile and influential commander was a stunning blow to the regime. But his death is only likely to reinforce Iranian leaders’ conviction that the role of its proxies is more important than ever as Tehran vows to drive US forces from the region.

“The strategic intent of Iran will remain intact,” said John Raine, a former British diplomat and senior adviser at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “There’s a strong chance that out of both practical considerations and tribute to Soleimani, Tehran doubles-down on what was the Soleimani doctrine and we see

more of all the activities of partners and so on.”

In contrast, he said that there was a greater chance of “strategic diversion” on the US side, including the threat that Iran and the factions it backs make Iraq an environment in which the US cannot operate.

There are already signs in Iraq that

the US’s killing of Soleimani, as well as a senior Iraqi militia commander, will lead to gains for Tehran and further weaken Washington’s diminishing influence. At the weekend, pro-Iranian Iraqi factions — which were being challenged by weeks of popular protests — claimed a victory when MPs voted to order the 5,000 US troops from the country.

Prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi backed the non-binding resolution, and while it is unclear how his caretaker government will proceed, the presence of American forces in Iraq looks increasingly tenuous. Some Iraqis and analysts, meanwhile, fear the emboldened pro-Iranian militias will now seek to crush the protest movement, dashing any hopes of reform that may have diluted Iran’s influence.

Another former senior defence official said the Pentagon leadership was initially caught off-guard by the strength of hostility to the Soleimani’s killing in Iraq. “I don’t think they grasped this could lead to the end of US troops in Iraq,” said the former official.

In Iran, the mass outpouring of grief as millions poured on to the streets for Soleimani’s four-day funeral procession provided a rare show of unity in the republic and a boost for a regime that has been under months of intense US pressure.

Wall Street strategists look to unearth the next ‘Fangs’

Donald Trump sees sharp increase in support for economic policies

Search is on to find a theme to rule the 2020s in the way Facebook and co did the 2010s

Exclusive FT-Peterson poll shows more than half of US voters believe agenda has helped economy

ROBIN WIGGLESWORTH

LAUREN FEDOR AND BILLY EHRENBERG-SHANNON

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year-end stock market rally and strong wage growth for low-income Americans have boosted public attitudes towards Donald Trump’s economic stewardship, with more than half of likely voters polled by the Financial Times and the Peter G Peterson Foundation saying they believe the president’s policies have helped the US economy.

About 51 per cent of Americans believe Mr Trump’s policies have either “strongly” or “somewhat” helped the economy, the first time a majority of respondents signalled their support for the president’s economic agenda since the FT and the Peterson Foundation began surveying American voters’ attitudes in October.

The response represents a sharp increase over the previous month’s FT-Peterson Economic Monitor, which showed just 44 per cent of likely voters believed Mr Trump’s policies ad helped the economy, while 47 per cent said they had hurt economic growth.

The poll showed voters sharply divided by party lines, with just 19 per cent of Democrats saying the

president’s policies had helped the economy, compared with 89 per cent of Republicans. But in a boost for Mr Trump, 43 per cent of independents said the president’s policies had helped, compared with 33 per cent who said they had hurt; the remaining 24 per cent said they had no impact.

Michelle Meyer, head of US economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, said a combination of low interest rates, housing market improvements and the year-end “high note” for the stock market were all likely factors in voters’ optimism.

Small-multiple line charts of the change in Democrat and Republican respondents’ opinion of Trump’s policies’ effect on the economy, showing a rise in the proportion of respondents saying Trump’s policies have helped the economy The S&P 500, the Wall Street benchmark, rose 8.5 per cent in the final three months of 2019, its best fourth quarter in six years.

Unemployment remained at historic lows at the end of last year, helping to drive up wages for all workers, particularly those in blue-collar sectors such as retail, hotels and restaurants. www.businessday.ng

T

he past decade was an extraordinary one for markets, with almost everything notching up huge gains. But if one were to encapsulate the period it would be “the decade of the Fangs”.

The make-up of this grouping varies. The original Fang club was Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, but many added Apple, to make it Faang, and Salesforce, to make Faangs. Some analysts even shoehorned Microsoft (Famangs?) into the group, while the New York Stock Exchange’s Fang+ index includes the likes of Tesla and Twitter, along with Alibaba and Baidu of China.

Today, the grouping is shorthand for the big, fast-growing US technology stocks that utterly dominated equity returns in the 2010s. The question now: whether the 2020s will be another Fang decade, or whether other parts of the stock market will usurp them.

Projections are hazardous.

But most investors and analysts expect tech companies to continue to reign in the coming decade — even if the leadership among them changes.

“Technology is still going to be quite dominant,” said Peter Oppenheimer, chief global

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

equity strategist at Goldman Sachs. “There’s been unbelievable growth in some companies, which have become megacaps.

It’s plausible that there are companies that don’t even exist today that will be big in a decade’s time.”

A graphic with no description Although every major sector has enjoyed strong gains, it is hard to overstate the importance of US tech stocks to the postcrisis market recovery. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google’s parent Alphabet and Microsoft have added to the stock market a total of $4.3tn in market capitalisation. That is more than the value of the UK stock market and nearly as much as China’s mainland stock market.

Technology now accounts for over 25 per cent of the US stock market’s value, making it the biggest sector by some distance.

While its dominance pales next to that of energy and materials in the first three quarters of the 20th century — or that of railway stocks in the second half of the 19th — its position now seems hard to dislodge.

Aside from a brief period in the mid-2000s when finance companies were flying high, tech has been the largest US stock market sector since 1990. Mr Oppenheimer sees little chance of that changing. “Historically, the stock @Businessdayng

market reflects the main drivers of the economy, and it tends to last,” he said.

However, the rally has left many of the Fangs — and the broader cohort of large, fastgrowing US tech companies — looking expensive. That makes the next decade dicier, when it comes to returns.

A graphic with no description Tech companies may continue to expand their businesses, but that does not mean that their stocks will thrash everything else to the same extent. For example, Microsoft’s stock peaked above $59 in December 1999, but it took 16 years to hit that level again after the dotcom bust — even though the Redmond, Washington-based company more than doubled its profits over that period.

Moreover, “Big Tech” faces a number of potential pitfalls, such as regulatory crackdowns, deglobalisation and backlashes from consumers, notes Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Aberdeen Standard Investments.

Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management, thinks investors should instead look towards adjacent, emerging sectors, such as stocks “focused on sustainable investing, digital transformation, genetic therapies and alleviating water scarcity”.

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FT

NATIONAL NEWS

Willie Walsh to step down as chief of British Airways parent IAG Irishman who led creation of group to be replaced by Iberia boss Luis Gallego TANYA POWLEY AND MYLES MCCORMICK

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illie Walsh is stepping down as chief executive of British Airways owner International Airlines Group after 15 years, handing the top job to Iberia’s Luis Gallego.

Mr Walsh, 58, will leave the role in March and retire from the company at the end of June. A former pilot, he has spent his career in the airline industry and has been a driving force of consolidation in the European sector.

His creation of IAG through the 2011 merger of Spain’s Iberia and BA made the company one of Europe’s most profitable airline groups.

Through his career, Mr Walsh has developed a reputation for hardnosed negotiation during industrial clashes, facing down unions at Aer Lingus, BA and Iberia over the past two decades, earning him the nickname “Slasher Walsh”.

“Willie’s achievements have been phenomenal, he has had a great success at turning around Aer Lingus and British Airways,” said John Strickland, a London-based aviation consultant.

Mr Gallego, who has led Iberia since 2014, said it was “a huge honour” to take over as group chief. “It is an exciting time at IAG and I am confident that we can build on the strong foundations created by Willie.”

The announcement comes after Mr Walsh said last November that he would step down within two years, before his 60th birthday.

Originally from Dublin, Mr Walsh began his career as a pilot with Ireland’s national airline Aer Lingus in 1979, ultimately becoming chief in 2001. He joined BA as chief executive in 2005 before taking the top job at IAG. As well as the two main carriers,

BA and Iberia, the group comprises low-cost carriers Vueling and Level, and Aer Lingus.

In November, IAG announced plans to buy Spain’s Air Europa for €1bn as it sought to open up the South American transatlantic market and turn Madrid into Europe’s next hub airport.

Mark Simpson, aviation analyst at Goodbody, said Mr Walsh would be “missed” given the “driving force he has been in building IAG over the past decade”.

But he added: “Luis brings a very strong record of business success in managing Iberia since 2014 and, as a key member of the executive team, his appointment maintains a consistency in the group’s strategy.”

IAG has said it is in a strong position to take advantage of any consolidation opportunities in the coming years. But the group faces challenges.

The outlook for the airline sector is tougher, with carriers scaling back expansion plans for this year in an attempt to protect ticket prices falling further because of weaker demand.

It must navigate Brexit, including confirming how it plans to meet EU ownership rules. Meanwhile, it will have to resolve regulatory hurdles around its acquisition of Air Europa and look at how it can streamline its portfolio of Spanish brands.

IAG has been hit recently by industrial action, with BA undergoing the first pilots’ strike in its history in September amid disputes over pay and working conditions.

The action grounded 2,325 flights and led to a 7 per cent fall in IAG’s operating profit, to €1.43bn, in the three months to the end of September. A deal with pilots was eventually reached in December, averting further disruption over Christmas.

Carlos Ghosn banned from leaving Lebanon Response to Interpol ‘red notice’ comes as Japanese officials rebut ex-Nissan chair’s defence KANA INAGAKI, LEO LEWIS AND CHLOE CORNISH

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arlos Ghosn has been banned from leaving Lebanon as Japanese prosecutors dragged his wife deeper into the drama surrounding him, in the latest blows to the former Nissan chairman who fled to Beirut last month after jumping bail in Tokyo.

The decision by a Lebanese judge was in response to an Interpol “red notice” for Mr Ghosn, the Middle Eastern nation’s state news agency reported on Thursday.

It came as Tokyo prosecutors lashed out at Mrs Ghosn, accusing her of “very malicious” behaviour as they laid out the basis of evidencetampering allegations against her.

Their comments followed Mr Ghosn’s televised appearance on Wednesday at which he decried Japan’s “evil” justice system and accused the country’s officials of colluding with Nissan executives to engineer his downfall.

In his first public remarks since his November 2018 arrest, Mr Ghosn justified his dramatic escape from Tokyo to Beirut by asserting his innocence and saying he had chosen the life of a fugitive in part because of bail conditions that banned him from seeing his wife, Carole.

Japanese prosecutors argued on Thursday, however, that the ban on contact between the Ghosns had

been justified because of her ability to affect the criminal case they were building against him.

Takahiro Saito, deputy chief prosecutor, said at a briefing they had been investigating Mrs Ghosn since April last year. Prosecutors allege that she then gave false testimony during questioning by judges regarding charges of financial misconduct against her husband. An arrest warrant for Ms Ghosn was issued last week.

Meanwhile in Lebanon, Judge Ghassan Owaidat called Mr Ghosn to a morning hearing over Interpol’s non-binding request for Lebanon to question and detain him, and a suit brought against him by Lebanese lawyers relating to his visit to Israel, which is technically illegal under Lebanese law.

Mr Owaidat allowed Mr Ghosn, a Lebanese citizen, to keep his residency permit but forbade him from travelling, according to the state news agency.

Lebanon, which does not extradite its nationals, said Mr Ghosn arrived in the country legally with a French passport and Lebanese ID, but it had put Beirut and Tokyo in an uncomfortable diplomatic position.

One of the charges denied by Mr Ghosn relates to $35m in payments made to Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SAB), an Omani distributor with ties to a friend of Mr Ghosn, between 2011 and 2018.

Robert Gibbins of Autonomy Capital, Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman, and Crispin Odey of Odey Asset Management © FT Montage

Argentine election shock wrongfoots hedge funds in 2019 Wider rally in stocks and bonds helps many managers to gains LAURENCE FLETCHER, ORTENCA ALIAJ AND LINDSAY FORTADO

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he shock electoral defeat of Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri helped turn 2019 into a tough year for some big-name hedge funds, even as a global stock and bond markets recorded a bumper year.

In a year in which the S&P 500 rose nearly 29 per cent and 10-year Treasury yields tumbled from 2.69 per cent to 1.91 per cent, Argentina wrongfooted several managers when a shock primary election result in August knocked the country’s stock market and sent its currency plunging against the dollar.

Peronist candidate Alberto Fernández went on to win the election in October, defeating incumbent Mr Macri, whose electoral programme was viewed as more favourable towards business.

New York-based hedge fund Autonomy Capital, an emerging markets specialist that manages about $6bn in assets, finished the year down 5.7 per cent, said a person

who had seen the numbers, despite the fund clawing back 8.5 per cent in December.

Founder Robert Gibbins told the Financial Times at the end of 2018 that he was making “a huge call” in predicting that Argentina would become a “normal country” in 15 years’ time.

Chart showing Hedge fund winners and losers in 2019, percentage return.

However, the fund lost 16.3 per cent in the first two weeks of August following the primary result. Autonomy, which made 17 per cent in 2018, declined to comment.

Also losing money in 2019 was Crispin Odey’s Odey European fund, which finished the year down about 10 per cent. It also suffered a loss during August’s sell-off in Argentina, although Mr Odey argued in a letter to clients at the time that it made “no sense for the next government of Fernández to default”.

Mr Odey’s fund nevertheless recouped a 11.4 per cent gain in December. This was helped by “the reduction in some political uncertainty in the UK post-December’s general election”, the firm said in a statement.

Some of Odey Asset Management’s other managers performed better, including James Hanbury’s Absolute Return fund, which gained 11.1 per cent during the year, and his Allegra Developed Markets fund, which was up 27.9 per cent.

Cutting exposure to Argentina before the turmoil helped Light Sky Macro, a $1bn New York-based hedge fund, to a 17.6 per cent gain last year according to investors. Light Sky, which is run by former Brevan Howard partner Ben Melkman, closed out a position in Argentina in the middle of the year. The fund was also boosted by strategically shorting US equities – despite a bull market – going long gold and silver, and betting on an economic reform in Brazil through currency and equity trades.

Meanwhile, London-based Glen Point Capital, an emerging marketsfocused macro fund that reportedly raised money from billionaire investor George Soros, lost 3.3 per cent last year, despite gaining 3.4 per cent in December, said people who had seen the numbers. Glen Point, which was set up by former BlueBay fund managers Neil Phillips and Jonathan Fayman, declined to comment.

Debt ‘crisis’ in poor countries driving public spending cuts Jubilee Campaign warns Sustainable Development Goals at risk because of rising debt service costs STEVE JOHNSON

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ising debt burdens are forcing some of the world’s poorest countries to cut already meagre levels of public sending still further, campaigners have warned.

All but one of a group of 15 lowincome countries where debt servicing costs consume 18 per cent or more of government revenues have cut non-debt related public spending since 2015, according to the Jubilee Debt Campaign.

Real public spending per person in the Republic of Congo more than halved between 2015 and 2018, the debt charity said, while it fell 35 per cent in Chad and 21 per cent in Mozambique, a country already in default after it borrowed more than $2bn, much of it concealed from the IMF, ostensibly to finance a tuna fishing fleet and maritime security projects, only for much of the money to be diverted to kickbacks for bankers and government officials, according to US prosecutors.

The findings come after the IMF warned in October that almost half of frontier market countries are either at high risk of falling into debt distress or are already distressed, up from zero as recently as 2014.

“The world must wake up to the growing debt crisis in poor countries. Ballooning debt payments and cuts in public spending are a recipe for disaster,” said SarahJayne Clifton, director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, who argued that meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to cut poverty and inequality required “large increases” in public spending, rather than cuts.

Between 2001 and 2015, 36 states, all but six in Africa, had $76bn of debt wiped off as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives.

However, a fresh wave of borrowing, fuelled by rising eurobond issuance and a surge in lending by China, has, in many cases, pushed interest burdens back towards predebt-relief levels.

The JDC analysed 60 low-in-

come countries for which the IMF has conducted debt sustainability analyses since 2017, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa but with a smattering in Asia, the Americas, the Pacific islands and the former Soviet Union.

External debt servicing costs for these states fell from an average of 16.6 per cent of government revenue in 1998 to 5.5 per cent in 2011, but have since risen to 11.1 per cent in 2018, as the first chart shows.

Line chart of Mean public external debt service cost for 60 low-income countries, as % of government revenue showing Rebounding debt burden The IMF’s baseline scenario is that external debt servicing costs will continue to rise to 12.8 per cent of revenues by 2022, which would be the highest level since 2000. Under the fund’s alternative “one economic shock” scenario, assuming a significant devaluation, fall in export revenues or slide in economic growth, the figure could rise, in theory, to 17.4 per cent.

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Former head of tax at Freshfields charged over illegal rebate scandal Ulf Johannemann and 6 ex-employees of now-defunct Maple Bank face prosecution in Germany OLAF STORBECK

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he former global head of tax at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been charged with fraud for his suspected involvement in a scheme that allegedly allowed a client of the firm to reclaim €383m in tax that was never paid, people familiar with events told the Financial Times.

Alongside Ulf Johannemann, six former employees of now-defunct Maple Bank have been charged

by Frankfurt prosecutors. In a more-than-400-page indictment, Freshfields itself is named as an “involved party” and could face a hefty fine if wrongdoing is found.

For several years, Mr Johannemann advised Maple Bank on the legality of “cum-ex” transactions. These transactions exploited a flaw in Germany’s tax code and resulted in authorities refunding tax that was never paid.

German financial regulator BaFin shut down Maple Bank in 2016, after it was overwhelmed by a demand to repay several hundred millions of euros in tax refunds that should not have been claimed.

A judge in Bonn, who is hearing the first court case related to cumex trades, which does not involve Freshfields or the latest defendants, said in December that such transactions may constitute criminal offences and that the punishment could be up to 10 years in jail.

Frankfurt prosecutors have been investigating Maple Bank’s cum-ex transactions for several years and in 2017 and 2018 searched offices belonging to Freshfields. The prosecutors’ office told the Financial Times that six bankers and one lawyer had been charged but declined to comment on their identities.

Freshfields and Mr Johannemann’s lawyer declined to comment.

A Frankfurt court must now decide whether the criminal charges should be pursued or dismissed.

Last month, Freshfields commissioned Florian Ufer, one of Germany’s top corporate crime lawyers, as its legal adviser for the scandal. Over the summer, it settled a damages claim from Maple Bank’s liquidators, agreeing to pay €50m.

Freshfields has previously said that Mr Johannemann resigned at his own request in late 2019.

Shortly afterwards, he was arrested by Frankfurt police. Mr Johannemann was released from jail on bail before Christmas. Two former Maple bank managers, who are considered flight risks, are still in custody.

A person familiar with the matter told the FT that a separate cumex related investigation against a second Freshfields partner who is still at the firm is ongoing.

Süddeutsche Zeitung reported first that Mr Johannemann and six bankers had been charged.

Investors still snapping up short-term loans from Fed Vice-chair Clarida says central bank will reduce intervention in repo market soon COLBY SMITH AND JOE RENNISON

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he Federal Reserve’s vicechairman, Richard Clarida, said the central bank was sticking to its guns and expecting to reduce its intervention in the short-term borrowing market soon, even as investors’ demand for cash remains high.

Mr Clarida told an audience in New York on Thursday that “it may be appropriate to gradually transition away from active repo operations this year” as it increases money in the system via the alternative method of rebuilding the central bank’s balance sheet.

Since short-term borrowing costs spiked in September, the New York arm of the central bank has injected billions of dollars in daily and short-term loans into the repo market, where investors exchange high-quality collateral such as Treasuries for cash.

The Fed also announced in October it would buy US Treasury bills at a pace of $60bn per month in an attempt to increase the amount of reserves in the financial system. The September shock was widely blamed on bank reserves falling too low.

“Ultimately we do think that the plan we announced in October, and that we are implementing, will get reserves up to the ample level,” said Mr Clarida. “Once we get to

that point, certainly we would not be expecting to have ongoing large repo operations as necessary.”

Mr Clarida’s comments came as market participants snapped up $83bn in temporary liquidity from the Federal Reserve on Thursday, with bids for a two-week loan just $700,000 shy of the maximum $35bn on offer.

Earlier this week, another $35bn two-week loan from the Fed, maturing on January 21, was oversubscribed. Market participants placed $41bn in bids.

Some people are sceptical the Fed will be able to extricate itself from the repo market this year.

“The Fed is stuck where if they stop doing repo operations, it will wean the market off cheap cash, but it will create volatility and drama as they do it,” said Scott Skyrm, a repo trader at Curvature Securities. “I don’t think the Fed is going to allow the market to have a period of volatility, which is why I think they are going to keep the operations going.”

Mr Clarida indicated on Thursday that the process of winding down the central bank’s repo interventions would be gradual, however, and would be discussed again at the next policy meeting later this month.

“Some repo might be needed at least through April, when tax payments will sharply reduce reserve levels,” he said.

Santander’s decision not to repay the €1.5bn bond last year wrongfooted many investors © Tolga Akmen/FT

Santander to repay capital bond one year after spooking market Spain’s biggest bank will redeem €1.5bn of debt that tested investors’ nerves ROBERT SMITH

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antander is preparing to repay a €1.5bn bond that briefly rattled the $200bn market for riskier bank debt last year.

The Spanish lender sparked confusion among investors in “additional tier 1” (AT1) bonds in February 2019 when it opted not to repay one of its equity-like securities at the first available opportunity, despite raising new funds.

But on Thursday, the bank said it would raise new AT1 debt at a lower cost, and would repay the disputed bonds in March. The lender, which is classed as a global systemically important bank, said it had approval from the European Central Bank to repay, or “call”, the bond.

AT1 bonds, which can be written off in times of stress, were introduced by regulators after the financial crisis to shore up banks’ balance sheets. While such bonds

have a perpetual maturity, meaning that they never have to be repaid, Santander was the first bank not to call the debt when the opportunity first arose, arguing it did not make economic sense to repay the bonds at that time.

“Everything about it was weird,” said Jérôme Legras, head of research at Axiom Alternative Investments.

He noted that months later Santander called a different bond despite it having a lower cost than the one it earlier deemed uneconomic to repay.

The decision not to repay the €1.5bn bond last year wrongfooted many investors and triggered fears of a sell-off across riskier bank debt, but the wider AT1 market took Santander’s decision in its stride.

These types of bonds went on to post their best annual performance on record, with the ICE BofA contingent capital index notching up a total return of more than 17 per cent in 2019.

European regulators have in-

dicated that financial institutions should not redeem their AT1 bonds if the borrower has to replace it with more expensive debt. Santander is set to issue new bonds at a 4.375 per cent yield, well below that of the 6.25 per cent AT1 it is repaying.

Santander’s decision to issue a new $1.2bn AT1 in February last year, at a time of weak demand for these risky securities, gave many investors the false impression that the lender was rushing to raise funds needed to call its existing bond. The bank also kept the market guessing until the last minute, finally announcing it would not repay the debt hours before a legal deadline.

Santander’s new bond sale on Thursday received about €7.5bn of orders from investors, in contrast to the sluggish demand it saw ahead of the call decision last February.

Santander struggled to sell that $1.2bn AT1 deal, meaning banks managing the debt sale had to hold some of the bonds on their own balance sheets.

Thousands of LCF bondholders may miss out on compensation Less than 2% will definitely receive redress, says Financial Services Compensation Scheme CAROLINE BINHAM AND SARAH PROVAN

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ust a tiny fraction of the 11,600 investors in collapsed investment group London Capital & Finance are certain to receive any compensation, according to the UK’s redress scheme of last resort.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme said on Thursday that just 159 bondholders, or 1.4 per cent, would definitely receive compensation, ending months of speculation for the first-time investors and retirees on whom LCF pushed unregulated mini-bonds before its £236m collapse a year ago.

A further 283 bondholders will receive nothing because they invested in LCF before June 2016, when the group became authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, the FSCS said.

But for the vast majority of bondholders, there is an agonising wait to find out whether their investments will be wiped out. The FSCS said that it must review on a case-by-case basis the vast majority of claims to

determine whether investors received misleading advice. However, it warned that “many customers will not be eligible for compensation on this basis”.

The LCF scandal has underscored the confusing thicket of regulation and compensation in the UK for investment products.

While LCF itself was regulated, mini-bonds are not and therefore not generally covered by the FSCS, unless bought after encouragement from a regulated adviser.

“It does not seem a fair or right outcome,” said one bondholder, who added investors are “trying to make sense” of the FSCS announcement but that the general reaction “is very negative”.

“There is a strong, arguable case that LCF was engaged in a number of regulated activities, albeit without FCA permission, which resulted in £236m of financial losses and for which there should be compensation,” the investor said.

Some bondholders claim they even received misleading advice from the FSCS itself before invest-

ing.

The FSCS is hoping to give another update at the end of February.

“I regret that LCF investors impacted by the firm’s failure have been waiting several anxious months to find out whether or not they may be eligible to receive compensation from FSCS,” said Caroline Rainbird, the scheme’s chief executive. “I appreciate that the initial decisions and outlook we are announcing today are likely to be disappointing to many LCF customers.”

The 159 investors will receive compensation by the end of next month. The small group switched from individual savings accounts, or ISAs, that were underpinned by stocks and shares to LCF bonds. The Treasury had authorised LCF as an official ISA manager.

The FCA, which has come under heavy fire for missing red flags around LCF’s business model, in December took emergency action to temporarily ban the promotion of certain mini-bonds to retail consumers.

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FT

ANALYSIS

Why Bernie Sanders looks indestructible

Leftwing senator’s tenacity spells danger for Democratic establishment EDWARD LUCE

H

eart attacks are not a recommended way of reviving a presidential campaign. But in Bernie Sanders’ case, last October’s coronary surprise came with two silver linings. First, it marked the start of his campaign’s recovery and the fading of Elizabeth Warren’s.

Second, it underlined the granite solidity of his base. Not even a heart attack could dampen their faith. Two stents and a record fundraising cycle later, Mr Sanders has good odds of winning the first Democratic caucus in Iowa next month — and New Hampshire the following week.

His stubborn following contrasts with the fluidity of the rest of the Democratic field. No one has much clue of the eventual outcome. Middle Eastern politics is more predictable than this. This time last year, most of the excitement was with Beto O’Rourke and Kamala Harris. Both ran weak campaigns and dropped out. For a few months it looked like Ms

Mr Sanders would lose. Such an outcome may look unlikely. But it is less unlikely, say, than Pete Buttigieg — the 37-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana — breaking through with AfricanAmerican voters, or Ms Warren winning the hearts of non-college educated white males.

The second threat posed by Mr Sanders is in some ways even worse for the Democratic establishment. It is also likelier.

Mr Sanders could stay to the bitter end and split the Democratic platform. He has the resources and people to do so. In the last quarter of 2019, he raised $34.5m from 1.8m individual donors.

This was more than double the number of donors Mr Biden garnered and far higher than the $22m he raised. Moreover, he did so without corporate help. Mr Biden, on the other hand, tapped 44 billionaires, which was slightly more than the 39 billionaires who helped Mr Buttigieg. The $20-average donation Mr Sanders received is a testament to his blue-collar loyalty.

If Bernie Sanders stays in the fight for the nomination till the bitter end, he would risk splitting the Democratic platform © AP

Warren had figured out how to be a frontrunner. But her ducking and weaving on healthcare turned out to be an act of enduring self-harm.

The Democratic left prizes conviction and authenticity, which are Mr Sanders’ defining qualities.

The 77-year old’s endurance poses two dangers to the Democratic establishment. The first is that Mr Sanders wins the nomination. This is not as far-fetched as it seems. With the exception of Bill Clinton in 1992, no Democrat has ever taken that prize without winning in Iowa or New Hampshire. Seven out of the last nine nominees won Iowa. Every campaign breaks some record so it is possible that Joe Biden could lose both early contests and still go on to take the nomination. But he would be badly wounded. At this point in 2008, Barack Obama was trailing Hillary Clinton in South Carolina. His Iowa victory transformed the race and he went on to win South Carolina. Mr Sanders could pull off the same feat.

In that case Michael Bloomberg would probably supplant Joe Biden as the party’s best hope of stopping the Bernie express.

It would quickly escalate into a battle between a grassroots socialist from Vermont and the Wall Street multi-billionaire. In a choice between populism and plutocracy, it is by no means clear

His campaign contains the outlines of a separate party. Last week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 30-year-old Democratic congresswoman who backs Mr Sanders, said that in another democracy she would be in a different party to Mr Biden. Her comment was interpreted as a threat rather than a truism. In reality it was both.

The gulf between Mr Biden’s centrism and Mr Sanders’ socialism would be spread across separate parties in another country.

It is hard to see how they will be reconciled before the Democratic convention in July. The bitterness that Mrs Clinton’s supporters feel towards Mr Sanders has not abated. Roughly a tenth of Mr Sanders supporters voted for Donald Trump in 2016. They could have made the difference.

It is tempting to say that Democrats are suffering from a Jeremy Corbyn problem. But the parallel is inexact. The Labour party’s heavy defeat in the UK election last month was partly attributed to Mr Corbyn’s leftist economics.

But much of it was about his lack of conviction on Europe. “All politics is local” is an American expression. The real parallel to Mr Sanders today is Mr Sanders in 2016.

Then, he came close to defeating Mrs Clinton. His chances against Mr Biden are at least as good. www.businessday.ng

Taiwan: concern grows over China’s invasion threat Beijing is ramping up its firepower and rhetoric, making defence central to Saturday’s election KATHRIN HILLE AND CHRISTIAN

T

here was a funfair atmosphere when Tainan Air Base in south Taiwan opened its doors to the public one Saturday morning in October. Multicoloured banners fluttered in the breeze, children pushed to get a front row spot and a “flying tigers” team of pilots looped their planes overhead.

But the motivation behind the display is deadly serious. Concerns are building in both Taipei and in the US — the unofficial guarantor of the island’s security — that China could be moving closer to launching the attack which it has been threatening for 70 years.

“Militarily, the other side has been doing [its] homework for a couple of decades. The threat is real,” says Enoch Wu, a Taiwanese former special forces officer who is running for parliament in Saturday’s election. “The [People’s Liberation Army] will achieve a certain credible capability to give that option to Beijing and say, here is that button you can push.”

While US officials do not yet consider it likely that China would use military force, they say the prospect is becoming less remote.

In the past decade, the PLA has dramatically expanded its presence and capabilities, undermining the US military’s freedom to operate in Asian waters and airspace. This has been accompanied by more aggressive rhetoric from Beijing.

The issue has taken centre stage in Taiwan’s election. Tsai Ing-wen, the incumbent president who has been more focused on defence than any of her predecessors over the past 30 years, is framing the race as a battle to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy against its authoritarian neighbour.

Washington is keen to bolster Taiwan’s defences to a level that would act as a strong deterrent. But beyond Taiwan’s shores, the tilt in the balance of power in the region underscores the growing competition between the US and China. Defence experts in both countries see Taiwan as the most likely point over which the two might one day clash militarily.

Ni Lexiong, a defence expert at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, says China would not rule out the possibility of a protracted war with the US. “No one has the answer of how to avoid this, which is why I think there have not yet been open hostilities,” he adds. “It is to a large extent an issue of psychological warfare. What risks are the two

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sides willing to take and do they dare end in mutual destruction?”

Beijing outspends Taipei on defence by a factor of 15 — Taiwan’s budget is expected to hit $11.9bn in 2020. Over the past decade, China has built and deployed intermediaterange missiles with which it could target US aircraft carriers and military bases in Japan and Guam, the two locations the US would be most likely to use if it intervened in any conflict.

Even if the US were to supply Taiwan with the latest radars, fighter aircraft and stealth technology, Taiwan would be unlikely to hold out for long against a PLA attack without outside help. Taipei believes the PLA’s goal is to build-up its military resources to the point where an offensive would be achievable in the next few years.

“We can debate whether it’s 2020 or 2022, but we know it’s not 2049,” says Mr Wu, who served on Ms Tsai’s national security council until last summer.

Ever since the Kuomintang, China’s former ruling party, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war, the Chinese Communist party has threatened to invade if Taipei ever moved towards formal independence. But while the previous generation of CCP leaders focused on wooing KMT politicians — with limited success — President Xi Jinping, who is also head of China’s army, has ratcheted up the pressure on Taipei.

“General Secretary Xi has stated that the Taiwan question ‘should not be passed down generation after generation’,” says a senior US administration official. Noting that Mr Xi refused to rule out the use of force in a speech last year, he adds: “Xi may be painting himself into a corner with regards to his own legacy.”

Mr Xi’s uncompromising stance has been accompanied by some sabre-rattling. In February, the PLA’s air force released a music video of a song called “My War Eagles are Circling the Treasure Island” featuring aerial footage of Taiwan.

In August, PLA fighter jets crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait for the first time in 20 years, a move Taiwan blasted as provocative.

The following month, a Chinese Twitter account which Taiwanese officials believe to be governmentbacked replied to a post by Taiwan’s president saying: “once we have dealt with Hong Kong, we will settle the scores with Taiwan, military unification is unavoidable, we’ll keep the island but won’t keep the people except for [Taiwanese pop star] Jay Chou”.

According to Taiwanese and US @Businessdayng

officials and military researchers, China would launch an assault on Taiwan with cyber attacks aimed at crippling communications inside the island and with the US. If successful, such attacks could rob Taiwan’s military commanders of the means to receive intelligence and pass on orders, and destroy the electronic targeting systems needed for missile defences.

Ian Easton, an expert on the PLA at Project 2049, a Washington think-tank, and author of a book on a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, says the PLA’s satellite and space capabilities have advanced to “remarkable” levels. “They have the ability to knock out the eyes and ears of the US and Taiwan forces,” says Mr Easton.

Cyber attacks would be followed by missile strikes and bombing raids to destroy as much of Taiwan’s air force and navy as possible and to wreck transportation, power and industrial infrastructure.

Simultaneously, Chinese sleeper cells in Taiwan and airborne forces would try to assassinate Taiwan’s president, premier and military commanders and capture many more politicians and military officials, according to the restricted circulation PLA materials cited in Mr Easton’s book.

“What we are concerned about is whether in wartime our command and control systems can remain unimpeded, whether the country can still be under effective command,” says Wang Ting-yu, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive party and head of the legislature’s defence committee.

Once confident Taiwan could no longer threaten it from the air, the Chinese military would try to bring over the troops to conquer and occupy the island.

The PLA currently lacks the capacity in ships and aircraft to transport an invasion force across the Taiwan Strait. According to US military experts, up to 1m troops would be needed to be confident of victory over Taiwan’s 200,000-strong military.

In addition, Taiwan has only 14 beaches suitable for a seaborne invasion, according to Taiwan government assessments — the rest of the 1,200km-long coastline is reefs, small rocky coves, sheer cliffs, mudflats or blocked with wave breakers and concrete piers. “Even those remaining beaches are problematic because they are not deep enough,” says Admiral Richard Chen, former commander of Taiwan’s navy and now a policy adviser to KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu.

42

Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 10 January 2020

BUSINESS DAY

43

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 09 January 2020 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 389,220.22 10.95 -5.60 475 23,524,991 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 285,565.17 8.35 -5.65 497 39,725,267 ZENITH BANK PLC 690,722.86 22.00 0.92 836 80,783,404 1,808 144,033,662 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 274,598.99 7.65 -0.65 562 41,619,342 562 41,619,342 2,370 185,653,004 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,361,123.51 116.00 5.94 359 10,297,756 359 10,297,756 359 10,297,756 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,982,088.80 175.00 6.71 303 4,844,703 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 248,060.05 15.40 3.70 242 13,693,669 545 18,538,372 545 18,538,372 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 346,888.07 589.50 - 73 211,567 73 211,567 73 211,567 3,347 214,700,699 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,710.00 85.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 9,739.18 3.65 -9.88 16 182,148 16 182,148 16 182,148 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 182,148 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 1 100 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 57,234.60 60.00 - 112 2,248,358 PRESCO PLC 57,050.00 57.05 9.71 52 1,519,140 165 3,767,598 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,500.00 4.25 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,620.00 0.54 8.00 19 951,527 19 951,527 184 4,719,125 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES JOHN HOLT PLC. 217.92 0.56 - 2 4,042 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 44,306.31 1.09 -2.75 138 82,817,436 U A C N PLC. 26,940.12 9.35 3.31 77 1,742,817 217 84,564,295 217 84,564,295 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 521.24 3.51 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 28,842.00 21.85 - 57 913,376 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 ROADS NIG PLC. 57 913,376 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 2,598.40 1.00 - 12 323,392 12 323,392 69 1,236,768 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 7,751.20 0.99 10.00 4 297,278 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 65,821.00 30.05 - 51 258,331 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 79,081.93 9.20 - 34 5,723,303 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 448,226.36 56.05 - 39 101,120 128 6,380,032 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 180,000.00 15.00 0.67 117 4,253,919 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 94,308.73 23.00 -1.71 88 13,579,985 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 8,485.31 1.07 -2.73 27 647,905 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 1 1,000 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 39,874.05 15.05 - 22 221,549 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 2,993.06 10.95 -9.88 2 190,764 257 18,895,122 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 19,815.03 10.55 - 23 141,122 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,165,125.42 1,469.90 - 33 32,918 56 174,040 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 6,004.05 4.80 - 30 441,532 30 441,532 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 23,227.29 5.85 - 56 364,286 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 109,155.10 19.00 -3.06 113 3,020,662 169 3,384,948 640 29,275,674 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 141,291.54 7.70 -3.75 202 6,300,608 FIDELITY BANK PLC 65,483.04 2.26 -4.64 161 22,917,283 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 957,984.88 32.55 4.16 274 18,832,170 JAIZ BANK PLC 20,624.97 0.70 1.43 35 1,723,872 STERLING BANK PLC. 57,580.84 2.00 -0.50 34 1,420,875 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 179,092.63 6.15 -3.15 93 1,822,556 UNITY BANK PLC 8,416.32 0.72 -10.00 18 947,982 WEMA BANK PLC. 29,702.34 0.77 -2.53 50 3,742,005 867 57,707,351 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 5,336.26 0.77 -1.28 24 1,237,573 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 21,525.00 2.05 - 8 120,026 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 3,414.60 0.42 7.69 1 100,000 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 22,820.04 2.20 - 0 0 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 9,279.59 0.63 -8.70 20 940,565 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 1 20,000 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,123.80 0.29 3.57 27 3,272,786 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 2,277.06 0.53 3.92 3 256,438 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 3,840.00 0.48 - 0 0 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 14 1,000,000 NEM INSURANCE PLC 12,778.82 2.42 - 11 259,000 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 -4.76 13 1,699,540 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,960.40 0.55 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,333.75 0.20 - 2 195,000 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,500.18 0.22 10.00 1 2,400,000 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 3 2,002,993 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 4 2,050,105 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 3 11,605 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 5,085.44 0.38 8.57 68 190,104,287 203 205,669,918 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,698.23 1.18 2.61 11 714,700 11 714,700

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MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,200.00 1.00 - 2 3,505 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 2 3,505 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 9,400.00 4.70 2.17 45 801,436 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 34,997.09 5.95 - 17 131,255 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 540.00 0.36 - 0 0 39,605.42 2.00 -3.85 186 38,481,684 FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,697.97 0.33 - 8 83,917 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 446,461.11 42.50 - 22 117,846 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 16,260.00 2.71 0.37 119 13,765,640 397 53,381,778 1,480 317,477,252 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 2,243.70 4.50 - 0 0 781.69 0.22 - 2 240,005 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 2 240,005 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 494.58 0.50 - 1 100 1 100 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 5,633.17 2.70 -3.57 24 688,500 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 6,338.15 5.30 0.94 73 3,032,203 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 3,743.76 2.17 8.50 16 235,932 1,063.53 0.56 - 12 235,051 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 125 4,191,686 128 4,431,791 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 888.00 0.25 4.17 16 10,454,337 16 10,454,337 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,323.81 0.45 - 1 1,000 1 1,000 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 437.40 4.05 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 287.07 0.58 - 5 18,597 5 18,597 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,690.58 0.36 -2.70 15 859,424 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 10,962.00 2.61 - 0 0 15 859,424 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,123,311.48 298.90 - 0 0 0 0 37 11,333,358 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,956.31 6.75 - 14 68,625 BUA CEMENT PLC 1,302,084.41 38.45 - 39 12,922,043 16,765.00 23.95 - 34 138,141 CAP PLC MEYER PLC. 265.62 0.50 -7.41 1 500,000 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 88 13,628,809 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,518.69 1.43 - 15 394,419 15 394,419 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 26,898.49 53.80 - 0 0 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 0 0 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 103 14,023,228 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 2,289.35 5.50 - 3 103,152 3 103,152 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 77.00 0.35 - 0 0 0 0 3 103,152 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,315.17 0.21 5.00 15 2,461,979 15 2,461,979 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 48,233.88 3.88 -0.51 79 1,946,746 79 1,946,746 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 53,332.04 147.90 - 20 34,813 CONOIL PLC 14,468.90 20.85 - 36 230,243 ETERNA PLC. 4,694.92 3.60 - 7 48,586 FORTE OIL PLC. 22,011.93 16.90 - 71 282,031 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 4,663.23 15.30 - 1 533 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 36,328.84 107.00 - 26 10,488 161 606,694 255 5,015,419 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,509.28 0.34 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 15,796.05 1.62 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 235.27 0.20 - 4 205,784 4 205,784 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2,623.26 4.45 - 0 0 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 431.34 0.92 - 0 0 0 0 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 1 5 1 5 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,259.15 2.75 - 1 1 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,328.25 1.12 - 6 188,845 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 37,241.98 4.90 - 0 0 7 188,846 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,320.00 0.36 - 1 20,000 1 20,000 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 223.78 0.37 - 1 5 LEARN AFRICA PLC 933.45 1.21 7.08 8 353,410 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 560.83 1.30 - 5 104,003 14 457,418 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 745.97 0.45 - 4 36,005 4 36,005 SPECIALTY INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 688.80 2.91 - 0 0 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC 1,126.31 0.20 - 0 0

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Women in Business

BUSINESS DAY Friday 10 January 2020 www.businessday.ng

By Kemi Ajumobi

Tinuade T. Awe

VIOLET ARENE (Ph.D)

Executive Director, Regulation Division, The Nigerian Stock Exchange

Founder/Chief Coordinator, African Women Capacity Building Network

T

inuade Awe is the Executive Director, Regulation at The Nigerian Stock Exchange. Prior to attaining the position of Executive Director at The Exchange, she was the General Counsel and Head of the Legal and Regulation Division, overseeing the activities of five departments.

She is responsible for providing effective leadership to ensure that The Exchange’s policies, business operations, and its relationships with regulators, its members, issuers, and other stakeholders are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Moreover, she has responsibility for the regulation of the two primary stakeholder groups of The Exchange, i.e., the Dealing Members that trade on The Exchange and issuers that have listed securities on The Exchange.

Additionally, she served as Secretary to the Council of The Exchange from January 2011 to October 2015. During this period, she played a key role in building the governance structure of The Exchange. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Investors’ Protection Fund of The Exchange and was re-appointed to the Board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) for a second time. Currently, Awe chairs the Corporate Governance Committee of the FRC Board which has the responsibility to review and implement the suspended National Corporate Governance Code.

She is also a member of the Finance and General Purpose Committee of the FRC Board.

Awe has a wealth of experience and a solid track record across organisations on three continents, including with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in The Hague, the Netherlands; the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva, Switzerland; and top tier law firms in Nigeria and New York.

At the ICTY, Awe served as Law Clerk to His Excellency, The Honorable Justice Adolphus Godwin Karibi-Whyte. Tinuade has been involved in major regulatory initiatives, including as Project Director of the CBN-SEC Joint Task Force on the Intervened Banks from April to August

2010 and as a key player in The Exchange’s interface with the investigators that conducted the forensic investigation of The Exchange in 2010. For seven (7) years, she was an attorney with the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, a leading law firm with global presence. At Simpson Thacher, her clients included global financial institutions and capital markets players. She also represented regulated entities in their dealings with their regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.

During parts of 2007 and 2008, Tinuade took time off from the law to indulge her passion for education as Anglophone West Africa Associate Director of Admissions for the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, a two-year educational institution established to develop young African leaders in all genres of human endeavour. At the Academy, she assisted with the design and implementation of the Academy’s student recruitment and public awareness strategy for Anglophone West Africa.

Awe has over twenty-four (24) years of professional experience. She has an LL.B Degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, graduating as the Best Female Student in the Faculty of Law. She finished at the Nigerian Law School with First Class Honors, graduating as Best Overall Student. She also holds LL.M Degrees from Harvard Law School, where she was a Landon H. Gammon Fellow, as well as The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where she graduated with Merit. At the LSE, she was a British Council Scholar. She is admitted to both the Nigerian and New York Bars.

Her interests include education, travelling, African art, and gender and development.

Sharing on gender equality, she says “Women are making progress in businesses, in the private sector, in the corporate world and the creative industry.

Women shouldn’t feel discouraged.

Though there is still a long way to go, there should always be initiatives for progress until gender parity is achieved.”

V

iolet .N. Arene is a rare breed, a Nigerian woman who straddles several areas of human endeavour in work experience. She is the former President of African Women in Leadership Organisation (AWLO). She represented AWLO at the 2018 United Nations Leader’s summit. She is also a recipient of the 2018 Global Empowerment Award, at the U.S House of Representatives 18th Congressional District of Texas. She was former General Manager NNPC and the initiator of the Management Development Programme of the NNPC. She is driven by a fierce commitment to human, social and national development in addition to women’s empowerment and capacity building. Among the many hats she wears, she is a family and women’s advocate, an educationist, teacher, trainer of business executives, TV producer and presenter, social counsellor, leadership mentor and well sought after management consultant and trainer.

With over sixteen years of remarkable experience in the Federal Ministry of Education rising to the status of Assistant Chief Education Administrator Officer and twenty years of distinctive service in the oil and gas industry (NNPC), exiting as a General Manager working directly with the C.E.O for five years. Six years of distinctive service as Group Training Co-ordinator of the Industrial and General Insurance Co. (IGI).

Arene is also one unique Nigerian woman who could be said to have traversed many career fields-from business management to the very successful stint in the communication industry (as Journalist) as TV Presenter, first for NTA Network for six years presenting the popular family program ‘Kith and Kith and today as an independent producer/presenter of the Voice of Eve TV, a women’s enlightenment and capacity building program; dedicated to advancing the cause of gender parity, and women in leadership.

The expected change everywhere for Africa’s developmental studies will start with leadership quality betterment, and that is where Violet is throwing her weight to catalyse positive changes.

Poised to give meaning and impetus to the hope of gender gap closure, Arene has

thrown her might into capacity building for women especially in senior level positions and executive leadership, the locum of impact. She is fired by the critical gaps in gender opportunities at the top and the parity of female executives.

“AWCBN” which stands for African Women Capacity Building Network has been initiated by her to achieve great results. Arene has secured a Technical Partnership with the Americas Empowerment Institute “AEMPIN” Houston, Texas, USA in affiliation with Texas Southern University “TSU”. This setup provides accredited certificates, validation and authentication for AWCBN initiative in executive leadership education and training for women and men also.

The AWCBN philosophy is to assist in capacity building of women for repositioning them to be a huge national resource for all nations with equal opportunities, freedom from self-limitations, discriminations, oppression, abuse and exploitation.

Violet’s belief is that with the recognizable assets of female superiority in almost all parameters of leadership especially quality performance, Africa and Nigeria needs more women in leadership and executive positions.

According to Arene “The percentage of females in all organisations benefiting from capacity building programs needs to be increased to enable the process of gender gap closure and increased benefits to organisations, hence the reason for dedicating my time to this cause.”

As a management consultant, Violet is President, Lydia Rock Consult Nig. Ltd., a firm of management consultants and training, well-known for its highly branded world-class training programs in Executive Business leadership And management.

She has a B.A History 2nd Class Upper, A University Scholar (University of Ibadan), Nigeria (1966), Post Graduate Diploma in Education, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Nigeria (1972), M.A. in Education (Counselling & Students Personnel) Arizona State University, Tempe, Phoenix Arizona, USA (1976) and Ph.D. in Education (Guidance & Counselling) University of Lagos, Nigeria (1981). Arene is the author of nineteen books to date.

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