BusinessDay 12 Nov 2019

Otedola donates N5bn for North-East intervention ...commits life to philanthropy, helping the underprivileged ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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illionaire entrepreneur and executive chairman of Geregu Power plc, Femi Otedola, has donated N5 billion to Save the Children charity to support its intervention in the North-East Nigeria.

Otedola made the donation on Sunday, November 10, 2019 at a ball organised by the Cuppy Foundation to raise funds for Save the Children, the 100-yearold United Kingdom-based charity which is the biggest children-focused organisation in the world after UNICEF.

Cuppy Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded by Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola (aka DJ Cuppy), Femi Otedola’s daughter.

Otedola, while making his presentation at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, said he has decided to devote the rest of his life to philanthropy because of what God has done in his life.

“God has been so kind to me in L-R: Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State governor; Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman, All Progressives Conlife and I feel highly privileged. The gress; Femi Otedola, executive chairman, Geregu Power plc; Florence Otedola, aka DJ Cuppy, his daughter; only way I can show my gratitude to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State governor, and Pauline Tallen, minister of women affairs, during the inaugural Gold Gala by the Cuppy Foundation where Otedola donated N5 billion

Continues on page 42 to Cuppy Foundation to support the work of “Save the Children” organisation, in Abuja.

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Alaghodaro 2019: Obaseki’s EdoJobs initiative gets commendations …as governor delivers 157,000 jobs in 3 years IDRIS MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

E L-R: Anselm Ojezua, chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State; Philip Shaibu, deputy governor, Edo State; Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State; Sam Igbe, Iyase of Benin Kingdom, and Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives Company/panellist, at the Alaghodaro 2019 Youth Summit in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday.

Brokers restructure portfolios to match insurers’ recapitalisation plans Modestus Anaesoronye

as 2020 renewal season begins

he 2020 renewal season has set in, and major insurance brokers in the market are weighing the risks level of underwriting firms and restructuring their portfolios in line with ongoing recapitalisation exercise in the sector.

The brokers, BusinessDay

gathered, are critically looking at each underwriter’s recapitalisation plan to be sure they place business with only those that will scale through the exercise come June 30 next year.

Renewal season is a time insurance brokers select underwriters for their different customers and make risk place-

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ment for the new year.

BusinessDay learnt that underwriters are also busy lobbying brokers on new accounts and renewal of existing business. They are also arranging their reinsurance treaties with major reinsurance companies locally and internationally.

However, while there is the

issue of recapitalisation, what many fear at this per iod of renewal is the issue of ‘rate cutting’, largely described as endemic in the industry.

Pricing is a big challenge for the market, one underwriter told BusinessDay, but said they

Continues on page 42

do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Monday received accolades for the EdoJobs initiative that has helped tremendously in addressing youth unemployment in the state.

Stakeholders at the 2019 Alaghodaro Youth Summit in Benin City, Edo State capital, commended Governor Obaseki’s determination to spur economic growth by deepening policies and initiatives targeted at job creation and entrepreneurship development.

The summit was part of activities to mark Governor Obaseki’s

Continues on page 42

Inside

Despite challenges, we’ve recorded huge successes in Taraba –Gov. Ishaku

P. 22-24

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Sanwo-Olu wins FMDQ markets enabler award ...challenged to upgrade Lagos financial markets ENDURANCE OKAFOR

F L-R: Jalel Trabelsi, Tunisian ambassador to Nigeria; Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing; Muhammed Dingyadi, representing President Muhammadu Buhari, and Abubakar Aliyu, minister of state for works and housing, during the 70th Session of Trans Saharan Road Liaison Committee in Abuja, yesterday.

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Nigeria missing as Mckenzie tips SA, others to benefit from AfCFTA LOLADE AKINMURELE

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igeria has been snubbed by a new research by global law f i r m, Ba ke r McKenzie and Oxford Economics that ranks countries that will benefit from opportunities to be unlocked by implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA).

South Africa, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Morocco are tipped to be the biggest beneficiaries of the agreement which is estimated to unlock some $3 trillion in growth opportunity.

With the biggest potential economic gain and business opportunities set to come from growth in trade between African nations, SA, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Morocco are likely to reap the rewards

of significant cross-border trade because they have open economies, according to the report.

Nigeria, which has the continent’s largest economy, didn’t make the cut for top five. Such a pessimistic assessment could come to cost the economy in terms of attracting badly-needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and could see other African countries steal the charge on Nigeria in securing investments.

“The results of our analysis show countries that have already been bold enough to create more open, business-friendly environments stand to make the biggest gains,” Mattias Hedwall, partner and head of Baker McKenzie’s Global International Commercial & Trade Group, said.

“The message should be that freeing up trade is going to be the big engine of

African growth through the 2020s and the first movers have the biggest advantages,” Hedwall said.

Back home in Nigeria, a message of free trade is lost on the government.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari recently shut the country’s land borders to all goods in what is an economic anomaly.

Countries rarely shut their borders for trade-related reasons. The countries to have done so in recent memory – Sudan, Rwanda, Eritrea and Kenya – did so when their security was jeopardised or during disease epidemics that had the potential to spread across borders.

However, President Buhari gave the order August 20 that the land borders be shut completely to curb the smuggling of one staple – rice.

Critics argue that im-

proving the efficiency of the Customs service is a better solution to checking smuggling rather than closing the borders altogether and frustrating importers and exporters of legal items.

Since the border closure, the price of food items from rice to frozen foods has jumped, creating all sorts of problems for consumers already reeling from weak economic activity.

The government argues the closure is aimed at protecting local producers of rice and other foods. That protection is coming at the cost of consumer wallets as people now have to pay more for items where supply has been affected by the border closure. The price of local rice has risen by over 50 percent, according to market surveys.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

More companies root for Rights Issues to retain shareholding structure Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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ore listed companies are supporting Rights Issues in their capital raising plans as core investors choose not to alter the existing shareholding structure.

In Rights Issue, public companies raise additional capital by giving existing shareholders the right to subscribe to newly issued shares in proportion to their existing holdings.

“Rights issues are a classic way to keep away from new activist investors, hostile acquiring attempts from competitors, corporate raiders, etc,” said Tejas Khoday, a chartered financial analyst and co-founder at Indiabased FYERS, Free Investment Zone.

Unlike Public Offering or

even Initial Public Offering (IPO), he noted that “a Rights Issue is a silent affair which does not attract any attention of the outside world”.

While the Nigerian equities market’s negative return year-to-date (YtD) at -16.28 percent further creates doubts around stocks valuations in case of public offerings, their take-up rates by investors and the issue of costs associated with public offering are also scaring corporates.

The equities market’s new low as typified by value erosion in some counters has further deterred many cash-strapped companies from approaching the market for public offerings at cheap prices. Unlike Rights Issue, public offerings are also made by already-listed companies that issue additional securities to the www.businessday.ng

public, adding to those currently being traded.

“Nigerian equities remain one of the cheapest emerging market equities.

Several bellwether stocks in banking, consumers and industrials remain well below fair value and trading close to 52- week lows,” said Lagos-based research analysts at FSDH Merchant Bank Limited. “Going forward, liquidity of stocks will drive performance as market will continue its choppy trading based in bargain hunting.”

UACN Property Development Company plc has received NSE approval for an equity capital raise of N15.96 billion by way of a rights issue to repay its short-term debt obligations.

R i g h t s I s s u e 15,961,563,260 Ordinary Shares of 50 kobo each at N1 per share which was ap-

proved on October 10 is on the basis of 43 new Ordinary Shares for 7 Ordinary Shares Held as at Monday, September 30, 2019.

On September 26, NPF Microfinance Bank Plc got approval for Rights Issue and Public Offer. The company got regulatory nod for a Rights Issue of 2,286,657,766 ordinar y shares of 50kobo each at N1.50 per share on the basis of 1 new ordinary share for every 1 ordinary share held as at September 12, 2019 and a public offer of 713,342,234 ordinary shares at N1.50 per share.

Last month, International Breweries Plc notified the investing public of its approved Rights Issue as proposed by the Board of Directors.

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•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

MDQ Securities Exchange (FMDQ Exchange) on Friday, November 8, 2019 hosted market participants, including its members, regulators, government agencies, local and foreign portfolio investors and a host of others to the second edition of its flagship FMDQ GOLD Awards (the GOLD Awards).

The very well-attended high-class GOLD Awards, which brought together various stakeholders in the FMDQ markets, domestic and international, provided a platform to acknowledge and formally recognise the contributions of participants within the FMDQ markets for the one year period covering October 2018 to September 2019, whose activities have directly impacted the development of the markets and positively contributed to making them “GOLD” – Globally Competitive, Operationally Excellent, Liquid and Diverse.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the FMDQ Markets Enabler Award to the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-

Olu, in recognition of his considerable contribution to market development as an exfinancial markets practitioner, and in acknowledgement of the opportunity availed to him, in his current position, to achieve transformational change in the Nigerian financial markets and overall economy. The award was geared at recognising some of the governor’s achievements, such as supporting FMDQ’s efforts to secure the admission of the Financial Centre for Sustainability, Lagos (FC4SL) as the 23rd member of the international network of financial centres for sustainability in May 2019 prior to his inauguration as governor of Lagos State, launching the FC4SL in October 2019 at FMDQ’s Exchange Place with the support of high-ranking government officials, regulators and private sector stakeholders, and signing a declaration with the leadership of FC4SL committing to advance green and sustainable finance in the Nigerian financial markets, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. The governor was

Continues on page 42

$629m Lekki Port deal signals robust investor confidence in Lagos – LCCI ODINAKA ANUDU

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he $629 million deal for the construction of Lekki Deep Seaport project is an attestation of robust investor confidence in Lagos State, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said.

Babatunde Paul Ruwase, president of the LCCI, said that Lagos takes a front seat as the most attractive investment destination in Nigeria.

Ruwase spoke at the closing ceremony of the Lagos International Trade Fair on Sunday.

The Lekki Deep Seaport project is jointly financed by a consortium of six banks, which include the African Development Bank (AFDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), RMB, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Standard Bank.

It is jointly owned and developed by the Tolaram Group, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State government as equity investors.

While China Development Bank owns 52.5 percent equity, Tolaram Group owns 22.5 percent, while the Nigerian Ports Authority and the @Businessdayng

Lagos State government own 5 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Ruwase cited official data by the National Bureau of Statistics which showed that Lagos State attracted $4.13 billion worth of foreign capital in the second quarter 2019 – 72 percent of total $5.82 billion imported to Nigeria – as a testament to the state’s capacity to attract investors.

He said the state continued to show readiness to partner private investors for inclusive growth and development.

Ruwase commended the resilience and faith of investors in the Nigerian economy while calling on governments at all levels to address the issues of enabling business environment in the country, especially regarding infrastructures.

“We need to do this in order to fully harness the huge enterprising resource of domestic and foreign investors for the diversification of our economy and the welfare of our people,” he said.

The Lekki port is expected to decongest the overburdened Apapa and Tin Can ports which entertain 5,000 trucks every day, according to the LCCI.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news

Use Twitter to create jobs, OkonjoIweala tells Nigerian youths Solomon Ayado, Abuja

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former minister of finance in Nigeria and director in the b o a rd o f Tw i t t e r, I n c , Ng o z i O k o n j o - Iw e a l a , has urged youths in the country to use the twitter social media platform as initiative to create jobs and end unemployment.

Okojo-Iweala stated this Monday during an interactive session of t h e A f r i ca n Un i ve r si t y of Science and Technology (AUST) with the CEO o f Tw i t t e r, Ja c k Pa t r i c Dorsey.

Dorsey was in Nigeria and visite d Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory to identify the science and technology problems of the country and proffer solutions.

Specifically, the twitter CEO was in the country to discover entrepreneurship talents and to harness them in order to set Nigeria and Africa on the pedestal of world innovative solutions.

Okonjo-Iweala, who is also chairman of the Board of Trustees of AUST, said apart from using twitter as media platfor m for socialisation, youths could devis e it to gain self-employment and extend the engagement to other jobless persons.

She said by creating j o b s t h r o u g h t w i t t e r, youths could engage in entrepreneurship by setting up businesses using the platform and in order

to address gender, social justice among other issues.

“Nigeria has one of the most dynamic young entrepreneurs in Africa and today, the CEO of twitter is in Nigeria for the first time in Africa. Apart from using this platform for socialization, I urge young people to use it to create jobs for themselves and for others.

“Jack is interested in e n t re p re n e u r s h i p a n d not just using twitter as a platform to create jobs. We have example of young Nigerians who have platforms in which they go from village to village providing things that the people cannot get from government.

“That is why we wanted him to come to Nigeria so he can do things for t h e y o u t h. Ap a r t f ro m c re a t i n g j o b s, Tw i t t e r can be used to address social problems, gender and social justice issues,” she said.

Meanwhile, the twitter CEO, Dorsey, explained that he was in the country to interact with young entrepreneurs, learn from t h e m a n d re a s o n h o w science and technology would be driven in the country. “ I a m i n Ni g e r i a t o learn from young entrepreneurs and twitter users to understand the problems they are facing in the country and proffer solutions on African innovations and technology,” he stated.

L-R: Ben Langat, managing director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO; Maureen Ifada, head, shopper marketing (ATB & Modern Trade), FrieslandCampina WAMCO; Nnakabnyi Uchenna Johnpaul, admin officer, zonal coordinator’s office, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lagos Zonal Office, and Chris Wulff-Caesar, marketing director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, during the Peak Breakfast Promo live draws, held in Ojuwoye Market, Mushin, Lagos.

DBN to build MSMEs’ capacity to access cheap loans Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja

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... disburses N100bn to small businesses en-owned/managed businesses while 51 percent so far were disbursed to youth-owned businesses.

To n y O k p a n a c h i , D B N ’s C E O , s a y s t h e bank’s new strategy has become impor tant because “a major challenge faced by the MSMEs is their inability to structure and put together a bankable business plan which makes banks view them as high risk and therefore unwilling to finance them.”

To fix the problem and make MSMEs attractive to DBN’s participating PFIs, Okpanachi says the bank’s “Chief Operating O f f i c e r w i l l w o rk w i t h relevant departments w ithin DBN to put together an immediate capacity building plan that

Edo, Army, NSCDC close ranks against infractions in oil, gas sector

evelopment Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has announced plans to build capacity of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to enable them access its cheap loans through the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs).

This is part of the bank’s new strategy to boost the growing network of MSMEs, which the wholesale bank is financing across the country, and also extend its reach to underserved areas.

Already, DBN has in the current year disbursed over N100 billion to over 95,000 MSME s cu tting across various sectors of the economy. 70 percent of the loans went to wom-

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Tam David West, former petroleum minister, dies at 83

do State government has strengthened ties with the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to go after individuals and groups involved in illegal activities in the oil and gas sector in the state.

Commissioner for Minerals, Oil and Gas, Joseph Ikpea, warned individuals and groups involved in such activities to desist forthwith or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

Ikpea said this during visits to the Nigerian Army 4 Brigade commander and the Edo State commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Benin City, Edo State capital.

The commissioner said the state would ensure measures were put in place to check the distribution of adulterated petroleum products in the state, warning against illegal road blocks mounted by a taskforce of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Indepen-

dent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to exploit and extort money from unsuspecting tanker drivers.

He reiterated that the Edo State Government would not tolerate any of such activities, adding that the Ministry of Minerals, Oil and Gas is the only regulatory body in charge of the oil sector in the state.

The commissioner said any association functioning as a taskforce or monitoring team in the state is illegal and would be made to face sanctions by the State Government.

He added that all petroleum dealers who were into the practice of shortchanging members of the public through altering of meters in petrol stations would be investigated and sanctioned.

The Commander, 4 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Greg Omoregbe, assured the commissioner of the unflinching support of the Nigerian Army in the fight against all illegalities in the oil sector as well as safeguarding the lives of Edo people. www.businessday.ng

DIPO OLADEHINDE

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igeria’s former minister of petroleum and energy, Tamunoemi David-West, died on Monday, at the age of 83.

The former minister of petroleum and world-acclaimed consultant virologist, was admitted to a private suite of the University College Hospital Ibadan 11 days ago. DavidWest, who was also an ex-commissioner for education in the old Rivers State, was confirmed dead Monday morning at 11:05am.

David-West was petroleum minister when Buhari was a military head of state between 1984 and 1985, at a time oil prices slumped to about $10 a barrel. David-West and his boss came up with a policy of ‘counter-trade’ to sell Nigeria’s oil.

will involve assembling a number of MSMEs in Borno State and making them go through an extensive capacity building programme.”

As part of this renewed focus, DBN is taking several measures, including the expansion of its capacity building programmes in the Nor th East, South East and North West, which have witnessed comparatively lower rates of disbursement.

The objective is to boost the capacity of local entrepreneurs to meet its requirements and qualify f o r i n cl u s i o n f o r D BN support.

At the bank’s first DBN MSME Summit held in Maiduguri, Borno State, Okpanachi notes that this

Until his death, the virologist lived in an apartment in the premises of the University of Ibadan.

How he was arrested by Babangida for drinking tea and collecting wristwatch from IOC Tam David West was removed as minister and arrested by the Babangida regime for allegedly contributing to the economic adversity of the country and “trading off the country’s interest” for a cup of tea and wristwatch.

“I don’t like recalling the wickedness of Ibrahim Babangida and Jibril Aminu against me,” David-West said to an interview last year.

“Aminu was then the Minister of Petroleum. I don’t want to recall it because it makes me sad. I wonder how a fellow human being could be so wicked, especially somebody that you served so well.

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is in line with the bank’s mandate to support the stimulation of diversified and inclusive growth and alleviate specific financing constraints that hamper the grow th of domestic production and c o m m e rc e by p rov i d ing targeted wholesale funding to fill identified enterprise financing gaps in the MSME segment.

DBN commenced le n d i ng o p e rati o n s i n November of 2017 with two microfinance banks namely, LAPO and NPF, with a pilot loan amount of N200 million to about 300 MSMEs. In its first full year of operations in 2018, the bank increased disbursements to about N30 billion and reached 35,000 MSMEs in the country.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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news

Experts meet in Senegal to discuss Africa’s future media industry

Afreximbank recommends account opening for achievement of AfCFTA goals

Modestus Anaesoronye

frican Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has recommended the use of open account terms for trade in Africa in order to facilitate the realisation of the intra-African trade aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and to enhance competitiveness.

Kanayo Awani, managing director, Intra-African Trade Initiative at Afreximbank, told guests recently during the opening of the 2019 Afreximbank Factoring Workshop in Durban, South Africa, that while letters of credit were relatively

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edia, technology, business, government and community leaders from across Africa and beyond have gathered in Dakar, Senegal, for the fifth annual Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators forum (ABMI).

Under the theme: ‘Business Strategies for African Media,’ the forum will explore some of the most promising approaches to fostering a vibrant, competitive media sector on the continent.

At a time when media companies around the world are facing challenges such as competition utilising new technologies, the spread of misinformation and, in some countries, decreasing press freedom, ABMI will explore how African media can navigate and adapt to the changing landscape.

Co-hosted by Justin B. Smith, CEO, Bloomberg Media Group, and Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief emeritus, Bloomberg News, the forum will also address the contribution media organizations make toward enabling economic growth by providing accurate, data-driven reporting and analysis to citizens, business leaders, investors, and public officials.

“The economy in Senegal is becoming increasingly diversified, so it is important that journalism and the media sector continue to develop accordingly,” said Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, minister of State and secretary-general of the Presidency of the Republic of Senegal, who opened forum yesterday. ““I am confident that the conversation taking place at the summit will help us continue to drive this growth forward.”

Speakers at this year’s forum include media owners, senior editors, investors, business leaders, government officials and community leaders from 20 countries across the continent and beyond, including: Amadou Mahtar Ba, co-founder and executive chairman, AllAfrica Global Media; James Bennet, editor, New York Times; Phillip Clay, former chancellor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Kelly Conniff, executive editor, TIME; Sachin Kamdar, CEO, Parse.ly; Retha Langa, eeputy CEO, Africa Check; Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, founder and chairman, APO Group; Thabile Ngwato, CEO, Newzroom Afrika; and Louise Stuart, mergers and acquisitions executive, Naspers Limited, among others.

“Advancements in technology, new competitors, growth of social media, and the increasing use of mobile devices are requiring media organizations across the globe to explore innovative strategies and build new business models,” said Justin B. Smith, CEO, Bloomberg Media Group.

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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expensive and cumbersome, open account transactions were cheaper and simply involved a business selling its receivables (invoices) at a discount to a third party called a factor.

Awani noted that access to finance remained a daunting challenge for most African companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and that, according to Global Banking and Finance Review magazine, SMEs face refusal for 53 percent of their trade finance applications.

“The continent needs factors to fill the trade finance gap and to support SMEs that

www.businessday.ng

cannot obtain traditional bank funding,” argued the managing director.

She added that factoring was necessary to help deal with the significant reduction in correspondent banking relationships in Africa, saying that sales in open account terms had highlighted that banks and non-bank financial institutions had the capability to access the global correspondent factoring network of Factors Chain International (FCI) to support international trade in a compliant, risk-managed manner.

Afreximbank was continuing to create awareness, demonstrate the relevance,

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and highlight the potency of factoring in Africa as part of its commitment to supporting the operationalization of the AfCFTA, she said.

That effort was also in keeping with the Bank’s ambition to use factoring as an instrument to implement its Intra-African Trade and its Industrialisation and export Development strategies, she continued.

Aysen Cetintas, education director of FCI, gave a rundown of the organisation’s work in support of factoring across the world, explaining that FCI was active in many countries.

Siza Sibande, head of the department of Economic De-

@Businessdayng

velopment, Tourism and Environmental Affairs of KwazuluNatal Province of South Africa, told the participants that the province had introduced SME financing in order to boost economic development.

The workshop, with the theme “Promoting Factoring in Support of Intra-African Trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area”, covered such topics as factoring and receivables finance; factoring as a solution to intra-African trade promotion; key success factors in setting up factoring activities; managing risk in factoring transactions; and insurance in factoring.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news

Logos to explore PPP initiatives in developing new businesses ... secures $629m investment in Lekki deep seaport Joshua Bassey & Seyi John Salau

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agos State government has indicated its readiness to explore new public-private partnership (PPP) initiative in developing new businesses to deepen trade and commerce in the state towards a sustainable job creation.

“My government will, therefore, continue to harness public-private machinery in developing new business opportunities in manufacturing, agriculture and agroprocessing, renewable power, oil and gas, transportation, and affordable housing development,” Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor, Lagos State, said.

Sanwo-Olu stated this at the close of the 2019 Lagos International Trade Fair, which also doubles as the 33th edition of the annual trade and commerce fair.

According to Sanwo-Olu, the state government will continue to build on existing legacies of past government in Lagos by supporting the growth of local economy. “... improving the ease of doing business, providing easy access to finance, repositioning the public service to better support businesses, and accelerating infrastructure investments.” Sanwo-Olu was represented by Lola Akande, the commissioner for commerce, industry and cooperatives.

Speaking further on the investment drive of the state, the

... as 2019 Lagos trade fair ends

governor disclosed that Lagos remained the largest market in Africa for state’s attraction as the preferred investment destination in Nigeria. This, he said, was responsible for the recent “financial closure worth $629 million for the development of the Lekki Deep Seaport was secured about two weeks ago.”

He said this move which, no doubt, would catalyse the speedy delivery of the port project, was a manifestation of the confidence of investors in the state.

On the recent upward movement on Nigeria in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking report 2020, where Nigeria moved 15 places upward, Sanwo-Olu stated that it was a clear testament of the efficacy of various reforms embarked upon by the current administration, as Lagos was one of the index states used for analysing Nigeria’s ease of doing business.

Babatunde Ruwase, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the success of the 2019 Lagos trade fair showed that foreign investors and businesses had demonstrated their faith in the Nigerian economy.

Ruwase however urged the Lagos State government to expedite action on a permanent site for the fair, as the current condition was not economical for businesses, and equally asked the government to continue to address the ease of doing business in the state.

MasterCard Foundation President to speak at LEAP Africa’s SIP Awards 2019 STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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EAP Africa in collaboration with Union Bank is set to hold its annual Innovators Programme and Awards (SIPA) 2019 at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre in Lagos on November 14.

The 2019 SIPA is the 7th edition of the awards ceremony where LEAP Africa, with the support of Union Bank, will unveil emerging Nigerian social innovators and change agents under the age of 35, who are operating in diverse fields across the country, and offer them sponsorship into the one-year Fellowship to scale their innovations into sustainable and thriving enterprises.

Billed to speak at the event is Reeta Roy, president/CEO of Mastercard Foundation, who will deliver the keynote at the event, will speak on this year ’s theme, “People, Profit, Planet: The Tripartite Win” to advance the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework and the possibilities of realising human development, sustainable enterprises and a safer

planet.

Pr ior to joining the Foundation, Roy was the divisional vice president of Global Citizenship and Policy at Abbott, and was vice president of the Abbott Fund. Roy also worked at the United Nations before joining the private sector.

Roy will be joined by globally recognised professionals such as Clare Omatseye, MD JNC International; Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro, Founder of MitiMeth ; Solape Hammond, SA to Lagos State Governor on SDGs and acting Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment amongst other award-winning social innovators in Nigeria as panelists at the 2019 SIPA. This year’s edition of the Social Innovators programme awards aims to bring key stakeholders and leaders across various business spheres into this forum to drive conversations, proffer solutions and highlight opportunities for collaboration in a bid to actualising the Sustainable Developmental Goals. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Yetunde Adeshina, director, Joyfully Married Foundation; Adelana Odutola, managing director 2; Oluseyi Williams, director/guest speaker; Oluranti Odutola, managing director 1/convener, and Fola Adebanjo, director, all of Joyfully Married Foundation, at the season 3 of the Foundation’s Clinic on Dealing with Critical Marital Issues held in Lagos.

Nigeria makes up roughly half of all women of reproductive age in West Africa ... records second slowest country adopting contraceptives ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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ground-breaking report on family planning in the world’s 69 lowest-income countries shows that Nigeria makes up roughly half of all women of reproductive age in West Africa, making the second slowest country adopting contraceptives.

Nigeria is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, with approximately 200 million people, despite the country was part of the first group of countries to commit to the Family Planning FP2020 partnership when it launched in 2012.

“Over 6.5 million women using a modern method of contraception and modern contraceptive prevalence rate (MCPR) growing at roughly 0.3 percentage points per year, and estimated that the percentage of women in Nigeria with an unmet need for a modern method of contraception (married/in-union) stands at 23.7% in 2019,” says a

new report, FP2020: Women at the Centre, produced by Family Planning 2020.

The report was launched Monday on the side-lines of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Nairobi, Kenya.

FP2020’s latest report is part of the 25-year arc of progress that has lifted hundreds of millions of women and girls since the Cairo Summit in 1994.

In Nigeria, a woman gives birth to an average of 5.5 children in her lifetime, the report estimates that as a result of modern contraceptive use in Nigeria, over 2.3 million unintended pregnancies have been prevented, and over 800,000 unsafe abortions and 13,000 maternal deaths have been averted in the last year alone.

The government of Nigeria is working with key stakeholders to address socio-cultural norms to address family planning such as: preference for large families, religious tenets, and women’s lack of decision-making power related to sexual and reproduc-

tive health.

According to the report, governments and donors around the world are recognising the importance of family planning programmes with donor government bi-lateral funding for family planning rising to $1.5 billion in 2018. This is the highest level since FP2020 was launched in 2012.

The report shows that in the world’s 69 lowest-income countries today more women and girls have access to family planning than ever before. It reveals that 314 million women and girls are now using modern contraception, with 53 million new users in the last seven years, and 9 million in the past year alone.

With almost 60 percent of its population under the age of 25, Africa is the world’s youngest region.

Ensuring that young women and girls have access to family planning is central to the continent’s future development, paving the way for more educated communities, healthier populations and wealthier nations.

FP2020: Women at the Centre has been produced by Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) – a global partnership that supports the rights of woman and girls to decide – freely and for themselves – whether, when, and how many children they want to have.

Beth Schlachter, executive director of FP2020, said: “The evidence is clear – when you invest in women and girls, the good deed never ends. Barriers are broken and opportunities open up that not only lift women out of poverty but can elevate society and bring about economic gains. No other single change can do more to improve the state of the world.”

She continued, “25 years on from the first ICPD, the family planning movement has gained huge momentum. Yet big challenges remain. With every day that passes, millions are denied the right to choose their own future. As we look ahead to 2030, we must continue to push for progress, build on what works well, and ensure we leave no woman or girl behind.”

Governor to receive implementation plan for Ondo Deep Seaport on Thursday AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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overnor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State will on Thursday in Akure receives the Project Implementation Plan for the proposed Ondo Deep Seaport from Ocean Infrastructure Management (OIM), a Spanish firm, and Franchise and Business Solutions Limited (FBS), its Nigerian partner.

The plan, which will be presented to the Governor during a high-levelled interaction meeting on the seaport project, will spell out milestones and timelines for the completion of the multi-billion dollar project.

Aina Egharevba, manag-

ing director/CEO of Amiable Consultancy and Logistics Services, consultant to the Ondo State government on the port project, said the deep seaport being championed by Akeredolu’s government would open up the economy of the state and create jobs for over 20,000 people in the coastal areas of the state.

Egharevba, who is a former executive director, Marine and Operations of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said some key milestones including the preparation of the port feasibility study; conducting preliminary surveys such as the bathymetric/hydrographic survey and geotechnical survey; soil resistivity test,

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Met-Ocean studies ; and topographic survey for the deep seaport, have been successfully achieved.

She said the feasibility study and conceptual master plan for the new port had been approved by t h e N PA , s ay i n g t h e Spanish team would also carry out a review of key project issues and establish common understanding of the project objectives with officials of the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ODIPA).

“After this meeting, we will be moving to the next crucial stage, which is the development of the Outline Business Case (OBC) and Final Business Case (FBC). @Businessdayng

We are committed to working with the Ondo State Government to realise the full vision of the Governor for the deep seaport,” she said.

Recall that on a recent investment drive trip to The Netherlands with President Muhammadu Buhari, Akeredolu said the Ondo Deep Seaport project was the future of the state.

“We are doing things for the next generation. We have started and there is no going back. The President has said most of the times that Ondo is the right place for a deep seaport.

We should not play politics with everything. This is the best place to have a deep seaport,” he said.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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news

Visa targets 20% stake in Nigeria’s Interswitch ahead potential 2020 London IPO SEGUN ADAMS

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he amount is $200 million. That’s what Visa, US-based global retail electronic network, is said to be considering for a 20 percent stake in Interswitch ahead of a potential listing of the Nigerian-based payments-processing company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) next year.

Interswitch, the owner of Verve card and Quickteller payment application, is a leading Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce company headquartered in Lagos.

According to sources, Visa is in latter stages of a discussion to become a cornerstone investor, owning up to a fifth of Interswitch, before the latter’s LSE debut in the first half of 2020, an IPO that has been delayed since plans of a dual listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London counterpart were announced in 2015.

Cornerstone investors, also known as anchor investors, are well-known institutional or individual investors that are invited to subscribe for shares ahead of an IPO to boost market’s confidence about the company’s shares to be floated.

News of the deal comes just a few months after Mastercard, another US-based global payments & technology company, invested $300 million in Dubai-

based Network International, the largest payments processor in the Middle East and Africa, ahead of its London IPO. A deal between Visa and Interswitch would see the former mimic rival, Mastercard, as both vie for the large, fast-growing but underserved digital markets in Africa-and the Middle East.

Interswitch’s reach extends to millions of users in 23 African countries including Kenya, Uganda and Gambia, and has presence offshore, making it a suitable partner for Visa.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Standard Bank Group Ltd. are among the banks said to be working on the flotation that would create another African tech unicorn (a startup valued at $1bn or more) after Jumia’s eventful LSE listing in April.

Interswitch had stalled the planned IPO (via dual listing) in 2016 when the domestic economy plunged into a recession following a downturn in the global oil market.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that sources said the dual-listing would be concluded before the end of 2019.

In response, the company told Techcrunch it does not comment on “market speculation”.

A possible target for 2020 would make about a half-decade since Interswitch had announced going public.

Chimamanda Adichie to receive UN Foundation ‘Global Leadership Award’ Modestus Anaesoronye

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himamanda Adichie will be honoured with the United Nations Foundation Global Leadership Award on November 20 in New York. She is being honoured for ‘her work using literature and storytelling to connect with people across generations and cultures.’

The award will be presented at the Foundation’s annual Global Leadership Dinner.

The UN Foundation acts as a strategic partner to help the UN mobilize the resources it needs to grow a diverse and durable constituency for collective action.

Its annual Global Leadership Dinner honours individuals and organizations who have shown ‘extraordinary

leadership’. It is widely recognized as a signature event for the UN community.

This year’s dinner, which takes place on the eve of the UN’s 75th Anniversary, is themed ‘We the Peoples’, to recall and honour the vision of the founders of the UN: to save future generations from the scourge of war, reaffirm faith in human rights and equal rights, ensure justice and international law, and promote social progress and freedom.

Adichie’s work is being recognised as a shining example of one that champions the values enshrined within the UN Charter. Previous honourees include former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Muhammad Ali and Kofi Annan.

Caleb University gets new Vice Chancellor IFEOMA OKEKE

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new Vice Chancellor has been appointed by the Governing Council of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos. He is Nosa Owens-Ibie, a professor of Communication, Media and Development.

Owens-Ibie took over from Ayandiji Daniel Aina, the outgoing Vice Chancellor, and his appointment takes effect from November 1, 2019. As a media and communication professional, he has been involved in qualitative research, professional practice in public relations and journalism and development work.

He coordinated the establishment and continues to administer the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) as General Secretary, and has published academic and developmental articles

in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

Owens-Ibie was a columnist in The Guardian on Sunday and Sunday Punch Newspapers for a decade, and has been a script writer for programmes on television and radio.

He has served for over 20 years as a panellist on one of Africa’s leading media awards - Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) in Nigeria, and has consulted for international development agencies including WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, and IOM, facilitated trainings and other capacity building programmes for government agencies, multinational companies and non-governmental organisations, and has coordinated the development of toolkits for ActionAid Nigeria in the areas of health and women’s rights.

Halima Dangote takes charge of Dangote Group commercial operations

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alima Aliko Dangote has been appointed as the group executive director (GED), commercial operations of Dangote Industries Limited, one of Africa’s largest and most diversified business conglomerates.

According to a release by the company, Halima is returning to the Group after serving on secondment in several capacities across two of its business units over the last five years. She is also a Trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the conglomerate.

In her most recent role, Halima served as executive director of Dangote Flour Mills. Remarkably, she led the turnaround of the business from loss in turnover to a profitable status, a feat derived from consistent high performance over time.

Previously, she served as executive director of NASCON, a manufacturer of salt, seasonings and related consumer products, which are enjoying huge patronage among consumers. She continues to serve as a non-executive director of NASCON. Halima is the president of the Board of The Africa Centre in New York, a uniquely focused centre providing a forward-looking gateway for engagement with Africa, while encompassing policy, business and culture. She is a Board member of Endeavour Nigeria, and is also a member of the Women Corporate Di-

rectors (WCD).

She has over 12 years of professional experience and has held several executive management roles. In her new role, Halima will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Dangote Group’s customer strategy to drive customer growth, improve customer relationship management, enhance customer experience and increase long term customer value, according to the release.

She will also be responsible for the implementation of the Group’s shared services strategy with specific oversight for the following functions; Commercial, Strategic procurement, Administration and Branding and Communications.

Halima, who has a strong passion for women empowerment, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the American Intercontinental University, London, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Webster Business School, United Kingdom.

She has attended a number of high profile leadership development programmes including: the Programme for Leadership Development (PLD) at Harvard Business School; Executive Development Programme at Kellogg School of Management; Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Executives at Columbia Business School. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Ubong Essien, dean, School of Eloquence; School Winner of the 13th anniversary and Cup Competition of School Eloquence representative of Queens College Yaba - Nnachi Grace, Chuks-Oruchalu Chinazam, Ronke Thomas. Representing director-general of NIMASA; Alatise Racheal of Queens College, and Patience Essien, registrar of the School of Eloquence, at the 13th anniversary and Cup Competition of School Eloquence in Lagos.

Gas will hold the key to Africa’s energy future - IEA Olusola Bello with agency report

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frica will emerge as a major player in natural gas markets as a producer, consumer and exporter with gas output poised to more than double in the next two decades, according to a new report recently released by International Energy Agency, reported by platts.

This is coming on the heel of a recent report by BusinessDay that Nigeria’s gas reserve has hit 200.79 trillion standard cubic feet (TSC), one year ahead of its planned target. It is about 5 trillion higher than what was obtained in 2018.

However, infrastructural challenges are preventing her from having the full benefits of this resource as many of the potential consumers cannot get it to utilise.

The country’s reserve has for many years hovered around 186 trillion standard cubic feet of gas with most of it coming from associated gas.

The increase is as a result of recent encouragement and policy directives rolled out by

... as Nigeria hits 200.79TSC the government, which are aimed at increasing the nation’s gas reserve for the purpose of boosting the economy.

According to IEA report, the share of gas in the energy mix in Africa is projected to rise to around 25 percent by 2040 from 5 percent now, the IEA’s Africa Energy Outlook 2019 has revealed.

IEA says the future for gas in the continent could look different due to a series of major discoveries in recent years - Mozambique and Tanzania, Egypt, Senegal and Mauritania, and South Africa, which collectively accounted for over 40 percent of global gas discoveries between 2011 and 2018.

“These developments could fit well with Africa’s push for industrial growth and its need for reliable electricity supply,” the report notes, as Africa will observe a huge rise in its population and the rapid industrialization of its economies, which will surge in the coming decades.

Oil production will plateau in the next two decades, as gas

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becomes a bigger priority for the key oil and gas producers.

Oil output will reach 8.2 million b/d by 2040 compared with 8.4 million b/d in 2018 while gas production will surge to 317Bcm in 2040 from 240Bcm last year. Mozambique, Tanzania and Egypt will be the main drivers of gas production, according to the report.

But developing gas infrastructure will be a major challenge because of “typically small market sizes and concerns about affordability,” the report adds.

With an oversupply looming on the gas market, “much will depend on the price at which gas becomes available along with the development of distribution networks, the financing available for infrastructure and the strength of policy efforts to displace polluting fuels,” the IEA states.

It stated that Africa’s importance in the global oil and gas markets will increase to the “growing appetite for modern @Businessdayng

and efficient energy sources.”

Oil demand in the continent will grow by 3.1 million b/d between now and 2040 due to the doubling of the car fleet along with increased demand for LPG as cooking fuel.

The report said African oil demand in 2040 would average 7 million b/d from 3.9 million b/d last year. This is higher than the projected growth in China and second only to that of India, IEA adds.

On the gas side, Africa will become the third-largest source of global gas demand growth over the same period, outlining its importance, not as products but also has a consumer.

Gas demand would increase to 317Bcm in 2040 from 158Bcm in 2018.

The report, however, sounded a note of caution to Africa’s oil and gas producers that due to the changing development models in Africa, countries that are highly dependent on hydrocarbon revenues are coming under increasing pressure.

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On the psychology of ‘having it all’ STRATEGY & POLICY

MA JOHNSON

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t was in the evening of Sunday 28 February 2016 in Savannah, Georgia, USA, I was listening to a homily in one of the local television channels. The man of God who delivered the sermon made reference to a portion of the Holy Bible which says that “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” (Refer Luke 19 vs 26, NIV). This powerful quotation was from our Lord Jesus Christ when He was telling His followers about the “The Parable of the Ten Minas.” This is the story of a man of noble birth who called ten of his servants and gave them not equally though, ten minas saying “put this money to work” he said, “Until I come back.”

Instead of setting the machinery in motion to make more money, some servants were busy complaining but kept the money. The wise servants who had capitalist brains were making more money in different proportions.

As soon as the sermon was over, I delved into debate with my family members and friends. You need to be there to see the manner of arguments that ensued for and against the attitude of the ten servants. As some were using the Holy Bible for crossreferencing during the discourse,

others copiously referred to ideas and concepts of philosophers that matter.

They equally referred to thoughts of those whose thinking shape the 21st century.

As for me, I suddenly remembered and cited the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which had on its agenda income inequality. We all know that all the fingers of the hand are not always of the same shape and size. We equally know that the level of economic inequality is so bad. So bad that even world leaders who either ignorantly or knowingly contributed to the problem, agree for the first time that unless a drastic step is taken, this ugly trend will undermine growth and social cohesion. How can anyone explain a world where 62 of world’s wealthier people own as much as the poorest 3.6 billion? Although, it was predicted in 2015 by Oxfam that the wealth of the top 1 percent would overtake that of the rest of the population by 2016, this prediction came to pass two months before the scheduled date.

Experts believe that instead of an economy that works for the prosperity of all, for future generations and the planet, we have created an economy for the one percent. They asked how this has happened for several years and why? They argued further that one of the underlying reasons responsible for this huge concentration of wealth and incomes is the increasing return to capital versus labour. While the share of the national income going to labour is reducing, the owners of capital are always smiling to banks through interest payments, dividends or retained profits. You can see and feel this inequality in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Are all these borne out of greed?

It has been observed from the

genealogies of mankind that human beings are the most complex corporeal created by God. Will Roger’s autobiography states that “The Lord so constituted everybody that no matter what colour you are, you require the same nourishment”. This expression reflects the philosophy of equality which perhaps would have formed the basic premise on which democracy stands all over the world. But imperfectly realised due to man’s greed. This is because man has always thought that the quality of life he lives is in the plethora of his possession. That is why a scientific study of the behaviour of man with respect to his desire for materialism is imperative.

According to Mahatma Gandhi, “earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not for every man’s greed.” A man driven by greed or envy loses the power of seeing things in their roundness or wholeness and his successes becomes failures. It is greed that have blurred the vision of most of our leaders that what they refer to as “success” had been assessed by the people they govern as a complete failure. If a society is infected with greedy leaders, they may achieve astonishing feats but they become increasingly incapable of solving the most elementary problems of everyday existence.

I have suddenly realized that many people are driven by materialism in our society. These are people who want to have everything including things they do not need. It is not only in Nigeria that you have people driven by the craze for wealth, it is all over the world. The desire to acquire wealth at all cost becomes the whole goal of their lives. It is wealth or nothing else.

The drive to always get more is based on the misconception that having more will make me happier, more important in the society and more secure.

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Experts believe that instead of an economy that works for the prosperity of all, for future generations and the planet, we have created an economy for the one percent. They asked how this has happened for several years and why?

But all these ideas are very untrue.

Some of us do not believe that possessions only provide temporary happiness. When the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed was quoted as saying that 55 Nigerians have stolen the sum of N1.34 trillion, I thought about this revelation for more than a week. The implication is that these 55 people can conveniently provide funds to enable about 10 states in Nigeria meet their capital and recurrent expenditures in 2016. It is unbelievable that a public servant owns houses worth about N4.0 billion in the society. This is crazy! While in office, he must have worked very hard.

When there is temporary happiness, things do not change. Those with kleptomaniac tendencies only get bored but want a newer, bigger, better version of wealth. In their ignorance, they do not know that it is also a myth that if they get more, they will be more important in the society. Wallowing in their ignorance, they do not know that “self-worth and net worth are not the same.”

Do you know that your value is not determined by your valuables? The most valuable things in life are not rooted in your stolen wealth. Let me tell you that the most common myth about money, is that having more will not make you more secure. It will not!

Wealth can be lost instantly through a variety of uncontrollable factors. That reminds me about an anonymous writing on a wall somewhere in the USA which says that: “when wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”

The article was first published in this column on 8 March 2016.

Johnson is an author and a retired naval engineer who has passion for African development and good governance

Competitive advantage: Repositioning Nigerian ports

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eaports are very important structures in the development of the economy of any nation because they are gateways for imports and exports.

The economic functions of seaports are to provide benefits to the original producers of the exports and the ultimate consumers of the imports which pass through the ports with globalisation, development of logistics and supply chains, the seaports role has been altered to integrate manufacturing and distribution systems into it.

Although, ports around the world have been strategizing on ways of improving efficiency since the 80’s, institutional reform of seaports such as restructuring of port operations and management has been the major focus to ensure that stakeholders benefit from competition and efficiency, thereby ensuring the economic benefits flow to consumers, for example privatisation has been an approach adopted by governments in many countries in past decades to improve the operational efficiency of ports through competition and strategic management.

Nigerian ports have experienced concerted efforts by past governments and different stakeholders such as, federal government collaboration with private sector and development partners to reposition the nations ports for greater efficiency and global best practices over the last decade, for example over the last two years, the present administration has focused on repositioning the ports through the National Action Plan on cross border trading coordinated by Presidential Ease of Doing

Business Council (PEBEC) and the series of Presidential Executive Orders targeted at ports efficiency.

Although, different governments in the past also made some efforts through different interventions such as the 2007 ports reforms led by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, which also attempted to resolve the challenges of infrastructure shortcomings, policy and regulatory inconsistencies, overlapping functions and duplication of roles among the MDAs, high incidence of corruption among port users, operators and government officials affecting the ease of doing business at the ports. With all this past and ongoing reform efforts notwithstanding, the Nigerian ports continue to lag behind its pairs in West Africa and other parts of the world.

Trading across Border, a world bank indicator which measures the efficiency of ports, ranked Nigeria at 183 out of 185 countries in 2017.

Delay of import and export processes, unofficial charges, human interface, technical breakdown and security concerns remain predominant in our ports and classified among the worst ports in the world. This is the major reason why Port stakeholders such as importers and exporters prefer neighbouring Ports such as Cotonou, Cameroun, Togo and Ghana.

Nigeria recently ordered closure of its borders with Benin, as well as those with all other countries a recent move by this present administration to tackle smuggling and associated corruption, which can also spur growth in the domestic agricultural industry and other sector to encourage production and consumption of local products and to help www.businessday.ng

boosts the economy.

Although, security is a very important to our nation at this time, we must balance it with the level of legitimate commerce and travel that will help create a higher degree of economic prosperity for our nation.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria was $397.30 billion in 2018 making it the biggest economy in Africa, corroborating the need for government to take urgent steps to reposition our Seaports through implementing and adopting modern strategies of boosting and achieving greater output and efficiency in the management of our seaports, for example Denmark’s strategic investments in offshore energy activities such as the investment in Ocean Wind farm was a laudable investment project that the government explored to generate 407 megawatts (MW) in its energy sector and was enough to cover the yearly electricity consumption of around 425,000 Danish homes.

Also, the need for Nigerian Ports Authority to look outside the box will go a long way if it wants to stay competitive globally, because the Port has all the potentials to be the busiest and most successful in Africa. There is need for Nigerian Ports Authority to have investments within and outside the Ports just like the example of the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) and the PSA Corporation at the Ports of Shanghai and Singapore respectively which have investments and businesses outside the Ports domestically and internationally.

Investments in other Ports will go a long way in the transfer of knowledge and growth if

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Festus Okotie

it invests in equity in other very efficient Ports globally, for example the 2009 deal of China’s COSCO Pacific signing a 35 year lease contract worth $4.2 billion to take over the management of the port of Piraeus in Greece and the ICTSI bid for Portek in June 2011 was a very strategic initiative and re-positioning strategy.

Reviewing the various concessions and leases entered into by Nigerian Port Authority with the various organised private sector will also ensure maximizing of the full benefits initiated by the government. This should also be critically analysed and reviewed, especially the obligations and responsibilities expected from the contracting parties with a view of identifying breaches and ways to remedy same.

Also, to be done is instituting recent and updated automated monitoring processes that will further enhance transparency, efficiency and operational excellence that can be translated to improved revenue generation to our economy and our nations ports at large.

Okotie, a maritime transport specialist, writes via fokotie. bernardhall@gmail.com, Fokotie@bernardhallgroup. com

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Culture and economic outcomes Rafiq Raji

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Cultural characterisations ost studies employ cultural characterisations of individualism and collectivism by Hofstede (2001), autonomy and embeddedness by Schwartz (1994), and trust and equality by Inglehart (2000).

Individualism, autonomy, egalitarianism, trust and tolerance have been found to be significant cultural traits for rich countries while embeddedness, hierarchy, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, market orientation, and equality are the dominant cultural dimensions in poor countries.

Hofstede defines his five cultural dimensions as follows: Individualism/collectivism is the degree to which individuals are expected to look after themselves or remain integrated within groups, usually around the family. Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Masculinity/femininity refers to the distribution of emotional roles between the genders. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Long-term/short-term orientation refers to the extent to which a culture programs its members to accept delayed gratification of their material, social and emotional needs.

Schwartz’s cultural values and their characteristics (in parentheses) are as follows: Harmony (unity with nature, protecting the environment, world of beauty); Embeddedness/Conservatism (social order, respect for tradition, family security, wisdom); Hierarchy (social power,

authority, humility, wealth); Mastery (ambition, success, daring, competence); Affective autonomy (pleasure, exciting life, varied life); Intellectual autonomy (curiosity, broadmindedness, creativity); and Egalitarianism (equality, social justice, freedom, responsibility, honesty).

Inglehart’s cultural values of trust, hard work & thrift, tolerance, public good provision, equality, and market orientation are self-descriptive.

Culture affects economic development A comparison of the results of an experimental Ultimatum Bargaining Game (UG) among the Machiguenga tribe of the Peruvian Amazon and participants in Los Angeles in America show significant differences in economic decision-making.

The experiment especially demonstrates that humans make economic decisions differently based on their values and beliefs. But even as this fact has always been reckoned, there was hitherto a reluctance to consider it as a factor in the explanation of economic phenomena because “explanations will become less clear-cut than they seem to be in the world of economic models.” Cultural economics studies have since been able to successfully use survey data, study of second-generation immigrants, and experiments to overcome this supposed measurement constraint.

Studies show individualist cultures engender higher economic growth relative to collectivist cultures. This is because “of the social status rewards associated with innovation in that culture.” And studies

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Culture also plays a role in financial development, which is germane to economic growth.

Specifically, a strong correlation is found between uncertainty avoidance and the financial development of a country

References are available at https://rafiqraji. com/2019/10/31/culture-developmentthe-case-of-africa/ “Dr Raji is chief economist at Macroafricaintel.

He was previously an Africa Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, London, UK. (Twitter: @ DrRafiqRaji)”

Our feeding habits

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find that this individualism-innovationgrowth nexus is robust to the effects of institutions and other growth-related factors. The suggestion is not that collectivist countries do not engender innovation.

Rather, it is that the innovation observed in collectivist cultures tend to be incremental and relatively irrelevant over time. Acemoglu & Robinson (2019) put it in the most straightforward way: “It doesn’t mean no innovation and no technological progress, as China’s own experience during the Song dynasty and the Soviet Union’s early success attest to.” The consensus view is that individualistic societies are likely to maintain their technological leadership and thus likely to remain richer.

Culture also plays a role in financial development, which is germane to economic growth. Specifically, a strong correlation is found between uncertainty avoidance and the financial development of a country.

That is, countries with high uncertainty avoidance or a low appetite for risk, tend to have relatively less developed financial systems (proxied by private sector credit extension and stock market capitalisation).

Incidentally, they also tend to have relatively lower levels of trust. Unsurprisingly, much of the developed world is characterised by a high level of trust. Generalised trust, where the goal of trust is towards the society, engenders economic efficiency while personalised trust, where the goal of trust is towards a small group (e.g., family, etc.), weighs on economic efficiency. Put another way, as most economic activities require dealing with strangers, countries with a generalised trust culture tend to be relatively more prosperous.

n the countries that we like to hail as saner climes, the obsession is to ensure that food costs are kept low so that the vast majority of the population can afford it. In Nigeria, we are constantly told, from a position of arrogance, that we should “tighten our belts”, or “change our mindsets”.

In August this year, my organisation, SBM Intelligence, published a report that was born out of our monthly food price collection. In collating our quarterly Jollof Index data, we have found that the majority of Nigerians spend a high percentage of their income on food, so in July 2019, we tested this out in a survey that took us to Ibadan, Suleja, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Jos, Makurdi, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Onitsha, Warri, Benin City and Lagos.

This survey’s result suggested that 63 percent of Nigerians spend all of their income on food.

Only 7 percent of our respondents earn more than N120,000 per month, while the results suggested that N60,000 per month was the cut-off point for discretionary income. Earn below that, and you’d have nothing to spend after eating.

Only 37 percent of our respondents earned N60,000 or more.

Just after its independence in the early 1960s Nigeria was self-sufficient with regards to rice. In that decade, annual production and consumption numbers were generally between 230 and 280K metric tonnes (MT).

By 1979 with the increase in population to 79 million people from 54 million a decade earlier, consumption had risen to 845K MT per annum, whilst production numbers had fallen

CHETA NWANZE behind at 370K MT. Why did Nigerian eating habits begin to shift in this period? The shift towards rice began in the big cities as people got busier and had less time to prepare heavier meals like yam or cassava. There are simply faster options to eat your rice with than yams. This is the same reason why noodles have gotten really popular.

Then there is practicality. In general terms grain lasts longer in the store than tubers. This makes rice cheaper in the long run and better for when it’s not in season.

Then there is infrastructure. In all of this talk we still pretend not to know that storing farm produce in Nigeria is extremely tough, and getting them to the cities from the farms is even tougher. The losses make for grim reading. Nigeria’s total grain storage capacity (both public and private) is estimated at 1.1 million MT, while total production of grain (rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, etc) is estimated at around 2325 million MT. This means that Nigeria has the capacity to store less than 5 percent of its total annual grain production.

Additionally, post-harvest losses of farm produce range anywhere from 20 percent to 52 percent of crops, due to factors ranging from poor transportation infrastructure to poor storage infrastructure. Indeed, the highest proportion of losses occur during market-oriented storage.

Compare this to Brazil, which has a total storage capacity of 169 million MT, and the European Union, which has a grain storage capacity of around 360 million MT, and is also one of the biggest exporters of grain in the world. The EU’s agri-

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cultural policy was once criticised for producing mountains of grain and rivers of milk and wine, only for these surpluses to come in extremely handy during the 2009 financial crisis as the EU was able to lean heavily on its reserves in order to keep food prices low. Nigeria, by contrast, is caught in a double pincer of underproduction on one side and grossly inadequate storage infrastructure the other, which then lead to huge post-harvest losses, and then require high levels of import in order to meet local demand.

Over time, starting from Operation Feed the Nation, there have been attempts, at least on paper, to boost rice production. With the boost from various agriculture initiatives in the late 1970s to early 1980s, production grew to almost 2,000KMT by 1990, just shy of the consumption numbers.

Unfortunately, production barely increased in the 1990s while the consumption rate continued to grow at the back of increased population growth.

By 2011, consumption volumes had almost doubled production at 4,800K MT and 2906K MT respectively.

Then came the aggressive initiatives by the Jonathan administration between 2011 and 2015 and subsequently by the Buhari administration post-2015 which has led to the highest production values ever at 4,900K MT. However, this is yet to catch up with consumption which is presently estimated at 7,300K MT, a deficit of 2,400K MT. In fact, going by storage capacity and post-harvest losses, it can be strongly argued that the focus of the government should be on

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infrastructure and not production. After all, even if Nigeria eventually produces enough rice to meet local demand, the inability to properly transport and store the said production means that it will be a wasted effort.

Back to the survey, I talked about earlier, and the biggest concerns for Nigerians with discretionary income appear to be to keep connected either via phone calls or on the internet, and clothing, 10 percent of respondents falling into each of those categories. Perhaps reflecting Nigeria’s housing shortage, only 2 percent of our respondents said that they spend their discretionary income on rent. It is more likely, however, that most Nigerians do not cater to rent from their monthly income and usually find other sources that will yield sizeable lump sums, either by borrowing or by looking for alternative income sources asides from their primary source to deal with rent and school fees.

Nigeria’s population is presently estimated at 200 million and rising at a rate of more than 3 percent. Rice production rate has been rising at less than 3 percent. Like the growth of the overall economy, the rice production growth rate needs to outstrip the population growth rate by 2:1 for up to a decade if Nigeria is to again become selfsufficient in rice production. Failing to do this, and urgently, would push more people into the range where they have no discretionary income to spend. The government’s policies ought to be geared towards raising the standards of living, not pushing more people into poverty.

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EDITORIAL Publisher/CEO

Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja NEWS EDITOR Chuks Oluigbo 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 GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu

Wanted: Bright young technicians

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igeria needs a national strategy for technical education. Technical and vocational educational training is an important but neglected aspect of Nigeria’s education system.

We are crazy about certificates. We are preoccupied with “academics” and have ignored practical education. Our fiscal deficit is nothing compared to our human capital crisis.

There are lessons to be learned from Britain’s prejudice against technical qualifications and how it lost the first mover advantage in the industrial revolution. Britain’s industrial sector declined because it took too long to realise and develop a national strategy for technical education, and it failed to establish a network of technical education institutions.

In the late 18th century, Britain’s apprenticeship system was superb. Highly skilled workers, mostly apprentices, mainly little-known technicians, mechanics and engineers predominated in three sectors of the British economy: textiles, transportation (road,

rails and canals) and precise instruments.

These men, who were active in the industrial revolution, have been called the tweakers-andimplementers. Britain’s advantage derived primarily from its cadres of skilled and creative tweakers.

The dominant route for transferring and acquiring skills in that period was an effective master-apprentice system. Their talent was tacit. That is, it was learned from hands-on instruction and personal experience, not from books.

The demand for such skills was so high across Europe that until 1824 it was illegal for technicians to emigrate. Samuel Slater, English cotton producer, father of the American industrial revolution, pioneer of the factory system was lured by incentives (bounty es) offered

by Alexander Hamilton, the first treasury secretary of the United States, for business intelligence on textile manufacturing since the British government forbade, for monopolistic reasons, textile workers from travelling overseas.

Britain lost its first mover advantage in the industrial revo-

lution to Germany and Switzerland. Both have maintained strong manufacturing sectors and they share one thing in common: apprenticeship programmes.

From age 15, children are apprentices. After spending a few years, depending on skill, they can make BMWs. And because they started young and learned from older people German and Swiss products cannot be matched in quality.

Studies conducted by influential individuals noted Germany’s industrial efficiency surpassed that of Britain because the German education system worked closely with industry and gave priority to the application of science in industry.

Our fiscal deficit is nothing compared to our human capital crisis.

Education is a bigger crisis than corruption; electricity can wait, bad roads can wait, but the development of Nigeria’s teeming youth can’t: a day missed is an opportunity lost forever.

Aliko Dangote says that, “As a nation, one of our major challenges to industrial development is not really funding, markets or raw materials, but rather

absence of highly trained and experienced human resources to drive growth.” Dangote should know. He is betting $9 billion on a fertiliser, petrochemical and refining complex.

There are obstacles to technical-vocational education. There is an underwhelming appreciation of skill- and work-based education that gives practical knowledge that can be applied to a specific sector of an industry.

Roadblocks to learning the scientific and technical principles that are the foundation of technical-vocational education include: low student morale, funding, examination-oriented curricula, lack of qualified teachers/instructors, weak literacy/numeracy skills of students and negative perception of work-based education.

Attention should be given to technical education not because of unemployment – technicalvocational education is not for dropouts.

Policymakers on their part must show commitment, interest in and knowledge of scientific concepts, and recognition of the strategic importance of science and its application to the economic future of Nigeria.

HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

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Online streaming: Television’s looming car crash In the media arms race to take on Netflix not all new services can survive Anna Nicolaou and Alex Barker

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eepti Kapoor was pushing 40 and her writing career had struggled to rise above the ordinary. Her first novel, A Bad Character, was published in 2014 and sold fewer than 2,000 copies. Ms Kapoor freelanced for websites like HuffPost, writing blog posts such as “I was a party girl, but yoga saved me from myself”.

Years later, she pitched Age of Vice, the first novel of a crime trilogy set in Delhi. In October, her agents submitted the manuscript to publishing houses in New York and producers in LA. What happened next was indicative of the spend-to-win mania gripping the entertainment industry. Within weeks, offers came rolling in from most of the big studios, with more than 20 bidders — a number that one publishing executive described as “unprecedented”.

Amazon wanted to make a TV series out of it, as did HBO. Michael Ellenberg’s Media Res bid; so did Fox’s FX Networks, via a partnership with Nina Jacobson’s Color Force, the studio behind Crazy Rich Asians. WarnerMedia separately pitched a feature film with producer David Heyman, who made the Harry Potter films.

FX won the auction, which closed last week, paying about $2m to option Kapoor’s books for a television series, according to people familiar with the deal. In comparison Hidden Figures, the book about three African American women who worked at Nasa and which was the basis for the hit film of the same name, sold for less than $100,000 in 2014. The high pricetag for Age of Vice comes as media groups scour for ideas that can be packaged into streamable content: last week, Disney chief Bob Iger announced that FX will make

shows for Hulu, the streaming service in which Disney owns a controlling stake.

Hollywood is in the midst of a costly land-grab. America’s traditional media empires are spending tens of billions of dollars as they fight back against technology groups that have ravaged their business. As the distribution model for entertainment is remade, a revolutionary ardour has seized the industry: the choice is to win the streaming battle against the likes of Netflix, or face commercial oblivion.

The immediate result has been clear: more television than ever before. There were 496 scripted TV shows made in the US last year, more than double the 216 series released in 2010. In the past eight years the number of shows grew by 129 per cent, while the US population rose only 6 per cent. The trend is set to deepen, as groups like AT&T’s WarnerMedia commission dozens of new series to convince people to sign up for their streaming services.

“This isn’t a gold rush, it’s an arms race. We don’t know if there is any pot of gold,” warns an executive at a big media group. “Once the music stops, there will be carnage. It might take three to five years, but there has to come a point when we come to our senses.”

In recent years, Netflix has spent tens of billions of dollars bankrolling its own content to build up an independent library, in anticipation that traditional media groups would eventually become rivals, rather than partners willing to license films and television series.

That moment has arrived. In the span of about six months, Disney, Apple, AT&T and Comcast are launching new streaming services, asking people to pay nothing for some servicesor up to $15 a month to watch their libraries of films and shows.

There are more television series being made than ever before in the US The goal, says Discovery Inc chief

executive David Zaslav, is to attract 150m subscribers and become “the third man standing with Netflix and Amazon”.

Netflix already has 160m paid global subscribers.

“It’s fear-driven frenzy over the same pie,” says Mr Zaslav. The battle over scripted entertainment is “going to be a mess”, he adds, “and in the end it’s not clear anyone will make money”.

The boom has awarded big Hollywood names, such as JJ Abrams, Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy, with nine-figure deals to make shows for streaming. But it has also trickled down to artists like Ms Kapoor, who is due for an estimated $80,000 pay cheque per episode to write and produce the upcoming series.

Nearly everyone the FT interviewed warned that this pace of spending is unsustainable, and that not all the new streaming services would survive. Tom Ara, co-chair of entertainment law practice at DLA Piper, predicts some “softening” on the content boom when the streaming battle shakes out. However, he does not expect it to return to pre-streaming levels because “streaming platforms have rewired our brains” to expect bingeable, movie-quality fresh content all the time.

After watching Wall Street reward Netflix for its boldness, the older media groups are under pressure to respond with new streaming services. “Time is of the essence,” says a senior film executive. “Every quarter if you are not saying you are going to do something that will compete with the streamers . . . you’re going to be punished for it by the street”.

Most executives trace the start of this high spending era to 2013, when Netflix paid a premium to snatch political drama House of Cards from HBO. It set the tone for Netflix for years to come: outspending traditional studios to attract the most sought-after scripts.

Years later, the studios are now mimicking the strategy, resulting in

‘

The trend is set to deepen, as groups like AT&T’s WarnerMedia commission dozens of new series to convince people to sign up for their streaming services

fierce bidding wars and soaring content prices. Netflix is regularly being outbid: earlier this year WarnerMedia bought the streaming rights to Friends, the 1990s sitcom, while NBCUniversal secured those to The Office — removing two of Netflix’s most-watched shows from its platform in 2020 and 2021.

Netflix executives say the price of the most popular content has jumped by a third from a year ago. Reed Hastings, chief executive, told investors last month the $100m Netflix paid for House of Cards would today be “a bargain”.

WarnerMedia’s spending on programmes is expected to double Mr Hastings continues to tell colleagues this is “no time to pull back”, arguing that “the best defence is a good offence”. But some in the industry see even this technology-based company reaching its limits after missing its subscriber targets for two consecutive quarters. “How many more [pricey films like] The Irishman can they viably make?” asked the chief executive of a film financing group. “When you make a mediocre [heist] movie like Triple Frontier for $125m . . . no conventional film financier would ever do that.”

One senior Netflix executive says the sentiment internally is that: “We already bulked up . . . Obviously we will still bid on things if they are exciting, but the sense is we got ahead of it.”

The streaming wars are expensive.

Netflix is set to spend $15bn on content this year, and has $12bn in long-term debt, and more than $20bn in commitments for future shows in off-balance sheet liabilities. Analysts at Wells Fargo noted that for every dollar consumers spend on a monthly Netflix account, they receive almost $1bn of content.

Disney and HBO Max are not far behind, with plans to each spend around $11bn in 2019 as they commission new series.

FT

Is software development the only career in technology?

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echnology is gaining many interests from all pillars due to its disruptive and transformative capacities. This also comes with lots of skills set and new career paths that are constantly emerging and evolving. Technologies like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Cryptocurrency etc. were obviously missing in the last decade but today they are trending.

Many firms around the globe are investing heavily on some of these emerging technologies.

And no matter how sophisticated these innovations seem, they will never create or manage themselves. It is humans with the right set of skills that will do that. If you do not understand them or have must have certain requisite skills you are likely to struggle.

To put it more frontally, technology as a career path is extremely vast and the more you are decisive on a specific path to thread, the better. Even if you decided to delve further in other technology fields, just be choose one and specialise on it. In the next 10-15 years, you will be regarded as an industry expert.

No doubt, the average Nigerian tech-enthusiast sees technology as a goldmine. Certain technology companies never cease to host and sponsor many code hackathons. Winners of these competitions in many occasions are a usually aided and connected to the industry big players.

The likes of Andela, Google, Microsoft, IBM and many others are on the forefront of supporting software developers, you can call them coders you like.

In fact, many Nigerian developers through

these companies have left the shores of Nigeria to either compete with others. Others for mentorship programs or conferences. It all varies and depends on the objective. These are some of the goodies that comes with being a Software Developer which is just is an aspect of technology. The enjoyment galore will continue for at least in the next decade until countries like Nigeria becomes completely matured and ripe for technology.

If you ask me if technology as a career is worth pursuing, my answer will be yes. The critical question that remains unanswered is which aspect of technology is that? The answer to that question should be tailored to passion and interest. Financial rewards should never be prioritised over them. The jerky idea of venturing into Software Development without evaluating and examining personal interest is completely ludicrous. This is a common mistake by many Nigerians who gaze firmly on things that do not matter in making a career decision.

A few times I had receive calls from folks who inquired from me when next would the big technology companies in Lagos host hackathons.

And a follow up to that question is usually about my opinion on choosing Software Development as a career. My response is usually simple, “it’s all about interest and passion.” You don’t just wish and like it, you need to be zealous and passionate to succeed in the tech space, either Software Development or another field.

Emphatically, you must sit down and examine if you really want to delve into any aspect of technology. I had taken a bold step in 2018 to

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learn the fundamentals of Python. It was still that same “wish and like” mindset that propelled me to register for the six weeks Python class. Here stood the red flag - I never sat down to ask myself critical questions. Do I really need this Python class even though they say no knowledge is a waste? You should be asking yourself that. I never did and prior to the end of the program, I had chickened out. Why did I even start? I liked Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, that wasn’t enough.

Just a reminder, Software Development aka coding isn’t technology no matter how melodic it sounds. That is not to discredit the advantages of becoming a developer. The massive demand for them in the layout market is increasing week in week out. However, you are also employable after learning certain technology skills aside from coding. There are jobs in the technology ecosystem that doesn’t require you to know how to code or develop a software. Such jobs are Design, UX or UI Specialist, Business Analyst, Project and Program Management, System Admin and General IT jobs, Technical Writing, Marketing and Sales, Tech Journalism, Blogging, and Media, Software and Games Testing etc.

Lately, I had a chat with Omowale DavidAshiru, Andela’s Country Director after her brilliant presentation on “Digital Divide” at the last CodeNaija Hackaton in Lagos. I asked her if she knows how to code, she said no. I wasn’t surprised.

Think about this for a second - Andela is an African company that identifies and develops software developers. This firm is owned by Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg, yet someone

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JUSTICE OKAMGBA with zero coding skills overseas the operation in Nigeria. That should ring a bell.

Steve Jobs didn’t ever write any line of code in his days in Apple. The legendary Apple Founder relied on his team to get technical jobs done. “He wasn’t an engineer and he didn’t do any original design, but he was technical enough to alter and change and add to other designs,” according to Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak.

There are many CEOs of technology companies who can’t write a line of code but they understand technology and how it works. They have many ideas conceptualised and all they need is to hire a developer to write the code. It is as simple as that.

Conclusively, technology is worth considering as a career. Critically and analytically choose a specific field and develop yourself. If you are passionate enough and willing to invest at least 3 hours every day, then, in the next 3 months, you won’t be a novice in the game.

Justice Okamgba writes from Lagos. He is a journalist, SEO specialist, and a web designer. godfreyjustice67@ gmail.com

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

MARKETS

Nigeria says tax credit scheme to fix bad roads has fetched N205bn LOLADE AKINMURELE

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iger ia’s road infrastructure development scheme, which taps private capital to breathe life into dilapidated roads, is beginning to yield much needed fruit, a senior government official said Thursday.

The Scheme has secured N205 billion worth of private investment since commencement this year, according to Adeyemi Dipeolu, the special adviser to the President on Economic matters.

Dipeolu, who disclosed this at the FMDQ Capital Markets Conference, Thursday said “The interest in the Scheme shows that Nigeria remains a compelling destination of capital despite our economic challenges.”

“There are huge opportunities in infrastructure and the government is keen to attract private capital into that space,” Dipeolu said.

The amount (N205 billion) is 47 percent higher than the entire public expenditure on transport infrastructure in 2018 and 62 percent of the total amount spent on Power, Works and Housing in the same period.

Details were not provided on the specific roads that attracted the money and the private investors behind the deal.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari signed, on 25 January 2019, the Executive Order No. 007 on RoadInfrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.

The ten-year Scheme is a public-private partnership (PPP) intervention that enables the cash-

strapped Government to leverage private sector capital and efficiency for the construction, repair, and maintenance of critical road infrastructure in key economic areas in Nigeria that have deterred business and economic growth.

According to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Nigeria has about 195,000 km of road network out of which about 32,000 km are federal roads and 31,000 km are state roads. In

total, only about 60,000 km are paved leaving 135,000 km of road untarred. A large proportion of the paved roads are in bad conditions due to poor maintenance.

Tunde Fowler, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), said in an interview in September that more than 10 local companies had applied for the scheme to receive 50 percent of expenditure in tax credits.

L-R: Remmy Nwachukwu, Manager, Trade Finance Anglophone West Africa, AFREXIM; Toki Mabaogunje, deputy president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Babatunde Ruwase, president, LCCI; Layo Bakare Okeowo, CEO, FAE Limited; Chiugo Ndubuisi, group executive, transformation and resources, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Hope Yongo, technical adviser to the managing director, NEXIM, during Africa Day at the ongoing Lagos International trade fair, held at TBS in Lagos.

Fowler said two companies had successfully applied to receive tax credits for infrastructure projects so far. One was part of the Dangote Group conglomerate, owned by the continent’s richest man Aliko Dangote, which will build a road under the scheme. He did not name the other company.

The Scheme is open to any Nigerian company (other than sole corporations), acting on its own or in collaboration with other Nigerian companies, and institutional investors wishing to construct or repair any road identified and designated by the Government as an “eligible road” under the Scheme.

Participants will be entitled to utilize the total cost (Project Cost), incurred in the construction or refurbishment of an eligible road as a tax credit against their future Companies Income Tax (CIT) liability, until full cost recovery is achieved.

As a further incentive, Participants will be granted a single non-taxable uplift.

The Uplift will be a percentage of the Project Cost, and the percentage to be applied is Monetary Policy Rate plus 2% on Project Cost.

The uplift will be included in the total tax credit available to each participant.

Oil&Gas

Smartflow braces for international expansion, celebrates decade in Nigeria DIPO OLADEHINDE

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o c o m m e m o rat e its tenth-year anniversary, Smartflow Technologies, a foremost provider of automation services in Nigeria’s downstream oil and gas sector has announced the intention of moving into other African and international countries.

At the annual Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Week, the continent’s leading oil and gas exhibition, Smartflow technology demonstrated how its suite of products and services have grown in the last 10 years and what its subsequent expansion plans are.

“In the next ten years, we plan on expanding our operations to other African countries, I also envision Smartflow in other countries outside of Africa,” Dolapo Adeyeye, founder

at Smartflow Technologies said.

Founded by Dolapo Adeyeye in 2009, Smartflow has risen to become the silent force behind many oil and gas players and large consumers of petroleum products; their suite of services have not only helped monitor activities on the forecourt and in storage facilities, they also ensure aviation oil marketers, farms, and manufacturing plants get value for their money.

Part sponsors of the OTL Africa Conference which held on 28 – 30 October 2019 at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos with over 3000 delegates, speakers, exhibitors and special guests; Smartflow has grown from humble beginnings to having offices in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

Speaking with journalists at the OTL expo, Dolapo Adeyeye said “all of our

products are inspired by the commitment to provide accurate solutions to real customer needs. Everything we do at Smartflow Technologies is done with the mindset of solving a problem or fixing a difficult situation. So when we listen to our customers and hear some of the challenges they’ll face, we on our part have to analyse, understand and create a product that will solve it, which is where we get our inspiration from.”

Adeyeye started Smartflow as a response to a gap he spotted whilst he was working with Bristow. He sought to help his clients explore better ways of working in the oil and gas sector and to make the downstream sector much more digital in its operations, and to provide players in the sector with a lot more information and data at their fingertips using technology.

Smartflow manufactures in its Lagos office, have partnered with several Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in the oil and gas

industry including GilbercoVedeeroot, Nivelco, GIR France, Graco, Wolftank amongst others.

The company’s clients

include Berger, Cadbury, Dangote, Conoil, Total, Exon Mobil, Forte, Nigerian Breweries, Okomu oil palm among others.

L-R: Remmy Nwachukwu, Manager, Trade Finance Anglophone West Africa, AFREXIM; Toki Mabaogunje, deputy president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Babatunde Ruwase, president, LCCI; Layo Bakare Okeowo, CEO, FAE Limited; Chiugo Ndubuisi, group executive, transformation and resources, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Hope Yongo, technical adviser to the managing director, NEXIM, during Africa Day at the ongoing Lagos International trade fair, held at TBS in Lagos.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

COMPANIES&MARKETS

BUSINESS DAY

TECHNOLOGY

Infinix releases low cost infinity-O display smartphone into Nigerian market …Focuses on the youth, with budget pricing, enhanced technology features JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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nfinix, an online-driven smartphone brand designed for the young generation has launched the S5, a device with the biggest infinity-O display which means that the phone has a curved display with thin bezels on the top and bottom to create more screen space for a better viewing experience.

The phone which targets the younger generation has been priced reasonably at under N70,000, even with packed tech features such as the 32MP (megapixel) AI front camera. It is also the only device with AI quad rear camera that offers memory options of 4GB RAM +64GB ROM and 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM. Speaking during the launch of the devices in Lagos recently, Benjamin Jiang, managing director, Infinix Mobile said; “At Infinix, we’re committed to bringing the latest technologies to young consumers in global emerging markets, keeping them trendy and up-to-date, whilst empowering them to be out standing in their communities. The launch of the S5 is a great manifesto of our brand purpose, as well as the mission of the S series for great

selfies and placing consumers at the center of attention.

With so many ‘bests’ in this price range, we’re confident that our customers will be able to stand out from the crowd.”

One of the key highlights of S5 is its 6.6-inch HD+ Infinity-O Display, which makes it the biggest display for smartphone under 70,000 naira in the Nigerian market.

The Infinity-O Display adopts a slimmer, bezel-less design, which allows S5 to achieve a 90.5% screen-to-body ratio.

With a 20:9 screen aspect ratio which follows the current cinema screen trends, S5 will provide users with a brilliant viewing experience. Immerse yourself in video streaming, gaming and image capturing.

“Infinix S5 is powered by MediaTek Helio P22 processor giving consumers the latest smartphone features and great technology at an affordable price, like support for 32MP In-Display selfie camera and 4 AI rear cameras.

The power-efficient Helio P22 allows MediaTek and device makers to bring ‘New Premium’ devices to market and reshapes expectations of what an affordable selfie camera smartphone can deliver,” Rami Osman, director Africa and the Middle East, MediaTek, said during the launch event.

Inspired by the nature of the quetzal bird, S5 adopts a quetzal feather pattern design.

To bring the inspiration to life and ensure that the gradient colors and patterns are perfectly presented on the devices, Infinix says its teams have invested tremendous efforts and conquered a lot of difficulties.

“The design of S5 is a manifesto of how Infinix strikes to combine stylish design with the latest technologies,” the company said.

The device is available in three colors – Quetzal Cyan, Nebula Black and Violet. S5 is equipped with a 4000mAh big battery with Xcharge function.

It adopts a MediaTek Helio P22 processor and runs on the AndroidTM 9 Pie system, together with so many tech features including the call answering sensor that allows users to pick up a call without touching the phone, by just waving your fingers over the screen.

According to the company, the Infinix S5 with 128GB and 6GB which will be available from the 19th of November 2019, will retail at the price of N62, 500, while the 64GB+4GB, available from the 12th of November is priced at N53, 000.

The S5lite with 64GB is priced at N46, 500 and the S5lite with 32GB is N42, 500. Both will be available in retail stores from the 19th of November 2019.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

Business Event

COMPANY RELEASE

Glenfiddich unveils new expression ‘Glenfiddich Grand Cru’ in Nigeria

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he world’s most awarded single malt whisky, Glenfiddich, has unveiled a new addition to their robust whisky collection, Glenfiddich Grand Cru with two exclusive launch events in Abuja and Lagos on Saturday, 19th and 26th October respectively.

The new whisky, Glenfiddich Grand Cru is first matured for 23 years in handpicked American and European oak casks and elegantly finished in rare French Cuvee casks.

It is an exclusive blend of the most exquisite flavours from Scotland and France.

Grand Cru is the first expression in Glenfiddich’s new range of high-end whisky, and contains notes of sweet brioche, pear sorbet, white grape and vanilla to create a rich palate and redefined drinking experience.

Glenfiddich hosted influencers and special guests at a grand reception of culinary exploration, elegant décor, and grand celebration at The Vue, Novare Mall, Abuja and Sky Restaurant, Eko Hotel, Lagos where they witnessed the unveiling of this unique expression of celebration.

Both nights started

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with the host, Eso Okolocha, giving a detailed description of the brand, followed by phenomenal entertainment from eclectic performers.

At the Lagos launch, Mark Thompson, the Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador to Scotland, took guests down memory lane with a brief history of Glenfiddich.

Renowned Chef, Chef Fregz, was also part of the celebration in Lagos, treating guests to exquisite food pairings across the Glenfiddich range, and a masterclass where guests were taught how to make unique dishes with Glenfiddich whisky.

L-R: Femi Olushakin, managing director, LAC Trucks and Spares Ltd; Kelvin Qin, manager, international business, IVECO Hongyan; MD Asia-Africa International FZE, Mr Li Young and Chairman LAC Trucks & Spares Ltd, Mr Rotimi Ashley-Dejo, during the “Wheels of Wealth” logistics summit and IVECO-Hongyan truck brand exhibition in Lagos

L-R: Adeyemi Omobowale, chief executive officer, Reddington Hospital Group; Naomi Ezeamaiwe, Together4ALimb 2019 beneficiary; Clement Ezeamaiwe, father of the beneficiary, and Yinka Sanni, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC; during the presentation of EduTrust funds to beneficiaries at the 2019 edition of the Together4alimb Walk, organized by Stanbic IBTC Holdings

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

AVIATION GUIDE

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in association with

Priorities Identified for MENA Aviation as challenging operating environment persists Stories by Ifeoma Okeke

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he International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments and industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to focus on four priorities to secure the future of aviation in the region against the backdrop of a challenging operating environment.

The four priorities are cost competitiveness, infrastructure, harmonized regulation, and gender diversity.

“The direction of the global economy is uncertain. Trade tensions are taking their toll. The region is at the nexus of conflicting geopolitical forces with real consequences for aviation. And airspace capacity constraints have become more extreme. But people want to travel. And economies in MENA are thirsty for the benefits that aviation brings,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO said in a keynote speech at the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) in Kuwait.

Cost-competitive operating environment IATA highlighted the need for low-cost infrastructure for airlines in MENA. “Some airlines in the region are doing well, but overall Middle East carriers are expected to lose five dollars per passenger this year—far below the global average of six dollars profit per passenger.

“Low-cost infrastructure is essential. Our message to governments is simple: follow ICAO principles, consult users with full transparency and recognize that rising costs have long-term negative consequences. Aviation’s benefits are in the economic activity that the industry catalyzes, not in the tax receipts it generates,” de Juniac said.

Infrastructure IATA recognized the foresight of govern-

L-R: Humphrey Oriakhi, head, Specialised Finance, PAC Capital Ltd; MD, Eric Okoruwa, PAC Capital Ltd.; Nelson Ocheger, Ugandan High Commission to Nigeria, Chris Oshiafi, Ambassador; Group CEO, PAC Holdings Ltd., and deputy group managing director, PAC Holdings Ltd., Sina Alimi at the Uganda-Nigeria Business Lunch held in Lagos.

ments in the region in developing airport infrastructure and urged them to harness the power of technology to ensure that the infrastructure operates efficiently for airlines and conveniently for passengers.

“MENA governments have understood that infrastructure investments are needed to capture aviation’s economic and social benefits.

But adequate infrastructure is not just about the bricks and mortar.

“The technology that we put into airports is as important. Passengers expect technologies like biometric identification and smart phones to shorten wait times and make airport processes more efficient,” said de Juniac.

IATA called on the region to continue to take a leading role in using technology to drive improvement in the passenger experience,

highlighting recent projects at airports in Dubai, Doha and Muscat that use biometric technology. The projects are aligned with industry’s One ID vision for biometric identification which enables paperless travel.

Harmonizing the regulatory environment IATA stressed the need for regulatory harmonization across the industry and urged governments to implement the global standards that they have agreed to.

Safety: De Juniac called on regulators in the region to use the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) to complement their own national safety oversight activities. Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iran and Syria have already done so. The safety performance of airlines on the IOSA registry is three times better than airlines not on the registry.

Consumer Protection Regulations: De Juniac raised concerns over the proliferation of disparate consumer protection regulations in the region and called on Arab states to follow ICAO guidance.

Boeing 737 MAX: De Juniac called on a united approach by regulators to help rebuild confidence in the Boeing 737 MAX as efforts continue to ensure a safe return to service.

Gender diversity IATA called for airlines in the region to support the recently launched 25by2025 Campaign.

“It is no secret that women are underrepresented in some technical professions as well as in senior management at airlines.

It is also well-known that we are a growing industry that needs a big pool of skilled talent. If we don’t engage the female half of the world’s population much more effectively, we won’t have the needed people power to grow,” de Juniac said.

The 25by2025 Campaign is a voluntary program to address the airline industry’s gender imbalance. Participating airlines commit to increase the number of women at senior levels and in key positions by 25 percent or to a minimum of 25 percent by 2025. MENA Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian have already taken up this commitment.

Building a sustainable future IATA addressed climate change and spoke about the industry’s efforts to cut its emissions.

De Juniac called on governments in the region to support the industry’s goal of capping carbon emissions from 2020 by participating in CORSIA—the Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Scheme for International Aviation—from the initial voluntary period.

“We must make CORSIA as comprehensive as possible from the voluntary period. In this region only Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have signed-up. This will cover most of the anticipated growth, but still we must encourage more states to join the effort,” de Juniac said.

NCAC, Cabo Verde Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, partner Akwaaba for Abuja Jabamah 2019

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ational Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Cabo Verde Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, NIHOTOUR have been confirmed as partners for the 7th edition of Abuja Jabamah.

The one day event is set to take place on the 18th of November 2019 at the Exhibition Hall of the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja.

Cabo Verde Airlines is making its first appearances at the tourism event organised by Akwaaba African Travel Market.

Cabo Verde Airlines, previously branded

TACV Cabo Verde Airlines, is a scheduled passenger and cargo airline based in Praia, Cape Verde.

It is the national flag carrier of Cape Verde, operating flights to West Africa, Europe, North America and South America and will commence operation from Lagos, Nigeria this December. This flight from Lagos will connect travellers to America, Europe and Latin America.

Ethiopian Airlines is no stranger to Akwaaba African Travel Market as it treated guests to a night of Ethiopian Experience at the just con-

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cluded event in Lagos.

Ethiopian Airlines is the biggest Airline in Africa. In its seventy plus years of operation, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivaled in efficiency and operational success.

As part of events lined up for the day, NIHOTOUR has partnered to treat guests to a city tour of Abuja.

NIHOTOUR, a Federal Government institution was established to meet the ever growing needs of tourism to provide best and quality service in the hospitality and tourism

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industry by introducing and training professionals in that field, as well as introducing post-graduate courses in the travel and tourism and hospitality fields. NIHOTOUR will be at Jabamah to educate the public on her offerings and services.

Abuja Jabamah is a Travel event put together by the organizers of Akwaaba African Travel Market in its efforts to drive domestic tourism.

It seeks to play host to a huge travelling population, hotels, tour operators and travel agents to recognised and Induct the 2019 batch of Nigeria’s Tourism 100 club.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Media business Nigerian Culture on spotlight at 2019 LAIF award …Rising profile of award gladdens AAAN members Daniel Obi

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his year’s Lagos Ideas Festival, Laif awards, in its 13 years history will definitely be amazing with full of glitz and glamour as everything around it this year is celebration of Nigerian culture.

The culture will be both in content and character as the dress code for the event is purely Nigerian. The jury for the award will perhaps have an eye in culture for winning creatives. The award which has the theme ‘Tori Tori of Laif’ is about promotion of telling Nigerian story.

But in terms of content, it will certainly be a keen contest this year from both old and young agencies that have created Nigerian-appealing striking Ads in all media platforms.

It will also be striking to see most Admen who have seemingly seen wearing suit as official dressing code for business adorn their Nigerian regalia for the award. The award is said to have become the most famous award in the advertising industry in Africa.

“It is one thing to imbibe what foreigners do, but if we don’t celebrate our own, who will do it”, the chairman of the committee, Steve Babaeko who is CEO of X3M Ideas told BusinessDay. It is expected that this cultural

identification and celebration will be sustained in the industry to deepen the knowledge of Nigerian culture. LAIF awards is one of the most consistence pillars of the milestone achievement of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN. This year also, the jury for the award comprises veterans and young advertising practitioners with officials from Ghana and other parts of Africa.

“This will be an exciting year when we see the best in Africa come to judge the best of work in Nigerian creative industry”, Steve said.

In the recent time of the award, clients whom the agencies work for have developed interest in the award to see whether their creatives will win awards.

In 13 years, the award has had much going for it in terms of organisation, participation and its rising

L-R: Brigadier General Abdallah A. Ahmad (Rtd); Tosin Adefeko, Managing Partner, AT3 Resources; Akintunde Akinkunmi, Author- Hubris, A Brief Political History of The Nigerian Army; and Bolaji Ayorinde SAN, Principal Partner, BA Law at the book reading and signing of Hubris held at Quintessence Ikoyi, Lagos recently.

BD Brand Talk

Story telling helps brands engage people Mike Umogun

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n the opinion of Chris Ogbechie, Professor of Strategic Management Lagos Business School, in today’s marketing world, the key issue is to create emotional brand attachment in all our marketing communications, therefore, brands need to actively cultivate relationships with customers. A powerful but meaningful way to do this is by good story telling. Storytelling is one of the oldest and most powerful modes of communication. Stories are more easily remembered by peoples because the human memory is story-based.

It’s the use of information in a narrative form to motivate potential and prospective targets.

In Africa, Nigeria stories are used in teaching simple lessons and for simplifying complicated moral situations. Not only does the story telling model work every time, the message lasts longer and impact of such stories profound.

Abidemi Junaid a communication evaluation specialist at the Kantar Company takes it a step further by saying most complicated messaging are better done by making the core issue simple thus making

profile and the organisers are doing much to sustain the feat as African respected award.

In 2018, SO&U, Insight Publicis, X3M Ideas and DDB won the highest number of awards.

While Insight won 24 medals- five gold, 10 silver and nine bronze medals, X3M Ideas won five gold, seven silver and eight bronze medals; SO&U won four gold, 11 silver and eight bronze medals. DDB won six gold,

transmission and comprehension faster and long lasting.

Consumers love a good story.

Stories are the reason we stay awake late to finish a book, watch a movie or binge watch on Netflix. Stories engage us like little else. So why do we not see more stories used in advertising? If done right, storytelling can make your communications more engaging, more impactful, and more motivating for your brand.

A story needs to be a clear narrative arc, one scene needs to influence or build upon another to tell a story.

For the purposes of advertising, however, not any story will do. It takes skill and thought to make a story an effective creative tool for your brand.

Kantar’s global neuroscience practice uses facial coding to demonstrate the power of storytelling as a creative tool to engage viewers, to identify whether a story is working for a brand and how it might be improved. Based on testing thousands of ads facial coding confirms what we have previously found in our Link pre-test: stories have huge potential to engage the audience and to motivate them.

While most consumers are indifferent toward brands most of the time, stories can help brands engage people www.businessday.ng

and overcome their indifference.

The first job of any advertising is to engage the audience, to attract and hold their attention, and story ads do just that. Story ads typically result in greater enjoyment and engagement than non-story ads, observed in both more expressive facial reactions and stronger ratings on the key Link questions, indicating a greater ability to attract attention and be remembered.

Once an ad has attracted attention it must then establish a motivating impression of the brand.

Academic research has shown that narrative transportation, or losing oneself in the flow of the story, predicts how well a viewer will recall a story and whether they will act later.

Research by Kantar confirms that, if well-crafted, story ads can have more motivational power than nonstory ads. The most successful messaging occurs in stories where the brand’s role is necessary, believable, and integral to the plot. I hope you are enjoying the story so far kindly permit me to take a leave now, but I would return in a few weeks to wrap up my story.

Umogun works with Kantar Nigeria

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four silver and nine bronze medals.

Other big winners on the night Culture with three gold and two bronze medals; Noah’s Ark with one gold, eight silver and 11 bronze medals; Up In The Sky with one gold, five silver and four bronze medals; Etu Odi with one gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

TBWA got four silver and three bronze medals; 7even Interactive won three silver and four bronze medals; 141 Worldwide now Nitro 121 garnered two silver and three bronze medals; Leo Burnett claimed two silver and one bronze medal; while DIJO and LTC Advertising got one silver and one bronze medal respectively.

Michael Zylstra, the chief juror, said some of the works assessed were of topmost quality and reflected the Nigerian environment.“If I have to, by way of explanation, explain the works that caught our attention and would be awarded tonight was the work that really resonated from a Nigerian perspective and had local insight. It was executed in a way that couldn’t be done in any other country,” he said.

Zylstra, who is the Chief Strategy Officer of South Africa’s Dentsu Aegis Network, said creative Nigerian works will soon gain recognition at international advertising awards if the current level of quality is sustained.

Mamador embarks on healthy breakfast campaign... targets school children

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n a bid to promote and encourage healthy feeding habits amongst Nigerians, Mamador has launched a campaign spurring Nigerians to adopt a healthy and balanced breakfast lifestyle. The campaign seeks to emphasise the importance of breakfast as the most important meal of the day as well as provide information on easy and affordable breakfast options and recipes.

The PZ Wilmar brand is also using this campaign to further introduce consumers to the latest addition in the Mamador portfolio – the Mamador Light Fat Spread. The newlyintroduced spread is said to contain ‘health and taste benefits that deliver on healthy nutrition and it is packed with nutrients that help children and

families have an active head start to the day, amongst other benefits.

According to a brand representative, the breakfast campaign will involve a series of activities geared towards sensitising the public on the need for a more healthy approach to breakfast. PZ Wilmar Food Ltd., through its new Mamador Light Fat Spread, seeks to reach and educate millions of children in select schools across the country as regards the importance of breakfast and the role it plays in their optimal bodily and mental functioning.

Assistant Brand Manager, Mamador, Omobolanle Akin-Fatodu, emphasised the need for families to not only eat breakfast, but also the healthy kind, which is the ultimate goal of the breakfast campaign.

ADVAN gears up for 2019 ‘Marketing Excellence West Africa’ Awards

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ll is set for the 9th edition of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria’s Awards for Marketing Excellence West Africa themed; ‘Business Value of Creativity’. The award ceremony which was launched in 2011 is scheduled to hold on the 17th of November, 2019 at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre Onikan, Lagos. The ADVAN Awards provides the opportunity for organizations and brands to gain competitive advantage @Businessdayng

by having their projects, initiatives, contributions, products, and services recognized.

Since its first edition eight years ago, ADVAN has continued to host the awards to reward the best in Marketing. The awards ceremony has continued to evolve and with this year’s edition, the association has added a few extra activities to make the awards ceremony more exciting and all encompassing.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

21

Branding Collaboration between government, banks, farmers essential to unlock Cold Chain industry - Forum Daniel Obi

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peakers at a recent forum in Lagos have established that for Nigeria to make progress in its agricultural development, feed the nation, benefit FMCG sector and export produce, relevant stakeholders such as banks, government, farmers and other players in the agricultural value chain should collaborate to ensure the success of Cold Chain industry.

Their argument is that enhancing farmers with facilities to store and refrigerate their produce for sell at local and international markets at the right time will make them and the nation progress in agricultural input.

Cold Chain and preservation of agricultural produce has also become more important at this time conscious eating has become central.

The forum was the second West Africa Cold Chain summit with the theme: ‘Unlocking practical Cold Chain solutions in Africa’ organised by the Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa, OTACCWA. It is also proffered that the Cold Chain industry will assist the nation reduce the annual post-harvest losses estimated at about $9 billion, a development that has frustrated some farmers from venturing into large-scale farming.

Today, Nigeria has closed its borders against importation of certain products such as rice and dairy products to enhance local farmers but stakeholders insist that inconsistent policy in this direction and lack of cold chain to store and sell the local produce by farmers will make government efforts a nullity.

Learning from India, a nation that has well developed cold chain sector which has enhanced the country’s agriculture sector, Anurag Agarwal, the CEO of New Leaf Dynamic Technologies, in New Delhi, India told Nigerians at the forum that the success of unlocking Cold Chain in Africa really means being able to benefit farmers who grow fruits and

L-R: Chris Parks; Tonye Cole and Kyari Bukar, judges, The Next Titan; Victor Olotu, Acting Head, Business Development and Strategic Planning and guest judge at The Next Titan’s board room session which was held recently in Lagos.

vegetables. “If the farmers see that they are benefiting from Cold Chain industry, they will produce more.

This will assist the nation growth and provide employment” Anurag said in India, farmers get 50% subsidy for investment in cold chain, they get tax breaks for such investment in cold chain, obtain single digit loan finance in cold chain and enjoy low import tariff for equipment to power cold chain. All these have assisted in the development of cold chain and enhanced farmers’ production.

The incentives by the Indian government, he said are on the realisation that it will be difficult to convert farmers from subsistence to commercial if they are not able to store and appropriate value for their produce.

On examples of how South Africa achieved a relative developed cold chain sector, Neal de Beer, who is director at Innovative Process Solutions, Gauteng, South Africa said his company which is into cold chain building can partner with Nigerian stakehold-

ers on cold chain development in the country “We have innovative solutions for cold chain. They are modular and expendable. They can be funded and financed with aid from Denmark and Finland. The infrastructure can be built anywhere and it is easy to transport. A farmer can start with small and expand as the need arises to prevent spoilage of agricultural commodities”, he said.

On powering the infrastructure, he said traditionally in sub Saharan Africa and Asia, South America it is electrically powered but in other climes generators can be deployed Sylvester Adejo of University of Makurdi, Benue State warned that post- harvest losses increases poverty.

Lolo Kadafa of Bank of Industry said the cold chain industry needs to demonstrate deep knowledge of the cold chain industry before funding is considered.

Other speakers who underscored the importance of cold chain in agricultural value chain offered different solutions on how to provide

IHS Towers restructures, appoints two new non-executive directors

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HS Holding Limited, one of the independent owners, operators and developers of shared telecommunications infrastructure in the world, has made two new appointments to its Board of Directors, according to a statement . John Ellis (Jeb) Bush, the current President of Jeb Bush & Associates LLC, has joined IHS’ Board of Directors as a NonExecutive Independent Director.

Bush was the Governor of Florida between 1999 and 2007, and the Florida Secretary of Commerce from 1986 to 1988. Bush currently serves as the Chairman of Dock Square Capital and of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. He was a senior adviser for Barclays in 2014 and a board member of Tenet Healthcare Corp.

Nick Land, a chartered account-

ant, retired as Executive Chairman of Ernst & Young LLP in 2006 following 36 years with the firm. Land has joined IHS’ Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Independent Director and Chair of IHS’ Audit Committee. Land also serves as the Deputy Chair of Thames Water Utilities Ltd and chairs the Audit and Risk Committee.

He is Chairman of The Instant Group and is also a Non-Executive Director of the Financial Reporting Council and chairs its Codes and Standards Committee.

He also sits on the board of Astro Lighting Ltd. Land has previously been a Non-Executive Director of Vodafone Group, Royal Dutch Shell, Alliance Boots, Ashmore Group and BBA Aviation. Moreover, Land is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Vodafone Group www.businessday.ng

Foundation, is an adviser to the Board of Dentons UK EMEA and chairs the Private Equity Reporting Group of the British Venture Capital Association.

Sam Darwish, IHS Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, said in the statement: “We are delighted to welcome Jeb and Nick to our Board. We look forward to the wealth of expertise and insight that they will each bring to HIS”.

Jeb Bush, Non-Executive Independent Director, said: “Through bold innovation and investments, IHS is playing a critical role in accelerating Africa’s technological revolution”. Nick Land, Non-Executive Independent Director and Chair of IHS’ Audit Committee, added: “I am excited to join IHS at a time of continued corporate governance development”.

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alternative energy to power cold chain industry in view of epileptic public power system.

In his presentation, Tony Tiyou, CEO and Editor in Chief, Renewables in Africa Limited said that understanding the cold chain, setting the project right and feasibility study to understand energy needs and benefits are significant.

Offering solution to energy source, Obiajulu of Asiko Power Limited argued for LPG as reliable energy source to power cold chain.

On the cost, he said business owners would prefer consistent power at slight high cost instead of epileptic power at reduced cost.

Speaking to BusinessDay, the vice president of OTACCWA, Tunde Okoya said the organisation was quite satisfied with the interest the forum generated and diverse views from key leaders of thought in the refrigeration industry who shared their experiences on the development of cold chain Nigeria.

He said Cold chain is seen as a sector that is very critical in furthering agricultural sector and the economy.

Guinness rewards fans at its promo

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uinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of Diageo Plc of the United Kingdom has rewarded its fans with exciting cash prices and airtime at its biggest and most rewarding promo, MVP. The promo which is still on, has seen fans every day, win exciting cash prizes and airtime.

Three extraordinary fans already won one million naira each during the Guinness MVP Promo on Monday, 20th October 2019 and Guinness Nigeria continues to make more fans smile home with millions as the MVP promo will run until 31 January 2020.

“Extraordinary Fans Made of More are integral to every football experience, sharing winning moments as such, loyal customers and football fans across the country are recognized by the Guinness MVP this season.

“Be the next Guinness MVP as there is over N100 million worth of airtime and other cash prizes to be won,” the company said in a statement.

Budweiser rewards distributors with Live EPL matches in the UK

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udweiser, a brand from the stable of International Breweries Plc, a member of the AB InBev family, has concluded plans to sponsor top-performing sales staff and distributors to watch select European Premier League matches as a way of rewarding and appreciating them for their hard work and commitment. A total of 54 persons are being rewarded for their performance in the recent financial year and to spur them on raising the ante.

In a statement, Tolulope Adedeji, Marketing Director, International Breweries, said this move is one of the company’s ways of celebrating its distributors and employees as critical stakeholders of the organization’s sales and distribution value chain having added value and contributed immensely to the business over the years.

Chain Reactions appoints Ex-Ogilvy and DDB’s Uche Ugorji as Vice President

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hain Reactions appoints Ex-Ogilvy and DDB’s Uche Ugorji as Vice President Chain Reactions Nigeria Limited, one of Nigeria’s foremost Public Relations and Integrated Communications Consulting firms and Nigerian affiliate to Edelman, the world’s largest Public Relations firm, has named Uche Ugorji as Vice President, Strategy and Business Development.

Managing Director and Chief Strategist, Chain Reactions Nigeria, Israel Jaiye Opayemi, announced in a statement that Uche Ugorji’s appointment as Vice President, Strategy and Business Development was effective Friday 1, November 2019 as part of a holistic and aggressive business development drive the company is embarking upon. @Businessdayng

According to Opayemi, “Uche Ugorji’s appointment is aimed at turbo-charging our bold client acquisition drive towards 2020 and beyond.

He will effectively function as a Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with the mandate to give our 5-year business growth plan the leadership kick it requires. We see in Uche a man with incredible understanding of the art of selling, hence our decision to put him in charge of our growth train.”

In his reaction, Uche Ugorji said in the statement, “I am super delighted at the opportunities ahead. I love the shared vision of Chain Reactions and the intentionality of its founder. It is bold and daring. I love the trajectory of the company, its international flavour in creed and in action. I love the company’s audacity to play big in not just Nigeria but in Africa.”

Managing

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Tuesday 12 November 2019

GOVERNMENT

BUSINESS DAY

23

the Executive Governor of the Nigeria’s eastern State of Taraba

ARCH. DARIUS DICKSON ISHAKU

BUSINESS

The Executive Governor of the Nigeria’s eastern State of Taraba

Interview with Public Sector Leaders

Despite challenges, we’ve recorded huge successes in Taraba –Gov. Ishaku Arch. Darius Dickson Ishaku, popularly known as DDI, is the Executive Governor of the Nigeria’s eastern State of Taraba since year 2015, twice elected by his people under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Ishaku, a seasoned architect, is also a former Minister of State for Power, Minister of Niger Delta and Minister of Environment on a supervisory role. He, in this exclusive and highly revealing interview with the BusinessDay team led by Bashir Ibrahim Hassan, GM, Northern Operations, explains how his administration has recorded huge successes despite enormous challenges, Darius, as Governor of Taraba State, is generally believed to be an epitome of humility, hardwork and dedication to duties towards effective delivery of good governance to his people. Excerpts

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our Excellency, where was Taraba State in terms of development when you took over and where is it now?

Thank you very much Bashir. First of all, let me start by appreciating you and BusinessDay newspaper for finding time to come and interview me.

When journalists come to interview me in Taraba, I know the pains they deliberately undergo to get here. We are stuck in a corner in the northeast part of the country and is not everybody that comes to this place, unless the person deliberately comes to find something here -- otherwise, people will prefer to meet you in Abuja or Lagos as the case maybe.

So, let me thank you for coming. I want to appreciate your newspapers’ concept of focusing on business, finance and economy. For your organization to focus on this sector is a well thought out idea. I wish people could have newspapers focused on housing and other sectors. On the whole, economy and finance play a vital role in the act of governance and I must appreciate you for this concept.

Coming back to your question on how we found the state, its’ a touching question and I have to take you back to during my campaign days. During the campaigns in 2014/2015, I had a cameraman with me on the team and I instructed him to be taking pictures and he captured the whole state in pictures.

In one of our campaign tours to Lau, we saw children sitting under a tree and the teacher hung a cartoon on the tree as a black board and was teaching them and I instructed the cameraman to capture the picture for me. Then there was a time we were going to Zing and we saw people fetching water where pigs were also drinking the water. They were scorching to get the water. They will wait for the water to gather for them to fetch and the pigs were also struggling with them. I directed that they should take the picture and that exposes my thinking of the situation or if you like the reality in the state.

I was in Gembu and I decided to go to the General Hospital and on getting to the hospital it suddenly began to rain. I was in a ward trying to see a patient and the roof was leaking. The patient and all of us were beaten by the rain water from the leaking roof.

We took several of such pictures which form my aspiration captured in my Green Book which I compiled shortly after taking over in 2015. I had already known that there were problems in education, water, health and food. If I have my way I will develop this state to the level that I will not need to go cap in hand in Abuja begging for allocation, because all I need is here -- petroleum is here, but we have more gas than even petroleum and the beauty is that the world is moving towards gas, forgetting about petroleum, if you know the de-

returned to the father and told him that he was only able to withdraw from one bank. The old man’s remark was that this government is not cooperating but my reply to him was that there is a different government in place. We made arrests and prosecutions. So many were charged . In fact a whole lot took place. I wouldn’t say we’ve achieved a hundred percent tightening the noose, but we have made significant progress in that regards by reducing the menace. I think I can beat my chest and proudly say I’m one of the few Governors in the country who is up to date with the payment of salaries of civil servants. When the American ambassador visited Taraba, I remember we were at an event and he whispered to me that he was going to talk about salary payments because he has noticed that payments of salaries in this country is a big deal and my reply to him was that he can go ahead and talk about it because as at then I had already paid the previous month’s salary and preparing for the next. I heard states like Kogi are owing over or about thirty-eight months. I remember once telling Aregbesola (former governor of Osun state and now Minister of Interior) that I will shave his beard for owning about 20 months’ wages of his civil servants (joke). Since I came here in 2015, I’ve been up to date with my salaries, except those two months that I refused to pay. We were able to build on the gains we’ve made.

velopment in the world economy now, and we have enough gas. Everything is here. I told Mr. President that Taraba state alone can feed the whole nation with rice. I shocked one of the Local Government Chairmen who came from Wukari recently. I told him that since I became Governor I have not been to my farm in Wukari local government Area, which is over 100 hectares. In that farm, I have a combine harvester and all the machines on the farm. Every year after farming my own, I will farm one square metre round the farm, take proper care of it and give it to the villagers who used to safeguard my farm, so I knew about the potential of the state long before I became the governor.

Of all these, my major challenge was that I inherited a very porous civil service that was disenchanted and not well trained. For the over 20 years, there was no employment in the state. And in gov-

ernance, an efficient civil service is key in the implementation of government policies and programmes. If you have an efficient civil service, anybody you bring will perform. Look at America, with all the noise Trump has been making, the American economy is growing even better than during the period of his predecessors, because the engine room is working properly. But here we are, a civil service grinding to a halt and when you talk people complain that the Governor stays in the office for too long.

That they have not seen a Governor staying in the office up to 11pm. In those days when I was in civil service, people used to take their jobs seriously and in two three days your request is approved or granted and there was efficiency in the system. As I speak to you, by next year three quarters of my civil servants will retire, so I have to do a quick interview, receive reports so as to prepare for the next line of action.

These were all done before the end of last year. Very soon we have to do some employment and see how we can reposition the civil service. When I took over, we were highly indebted, Fortunately I was not alone that probably no one would listen to at the center.

That is why the President had to do Paris club, salary bailout because we were crying. Worse than that, I was paying salaries and remember I told you there was no output, so it took me a time to discover that there were ghost workers and I blocked them. The ghost workers were a canker worm that had eaten deep into the entire fabric of the state. I remember the local government chairman from my LGA once approached me with a request to get 20 individuals employed into the local government service. I asked him if there was space and he answered in the affirmative. But mind you there was an outstanding salary arrears running up to 11to 12 months being owed the local government staff and we had no money to pay, so I had to be subsidizing from the state.

Meanwhile, I was still scratching my head

as to how I will tackle the payment of arrears.

As if that was not enough, another council chairman approached my wife with the same request for employment of local council staff.

She enquired why the council chairman was interested in only the names not even the forms they applied with and interviewed. He told my wife not to bother as all the salary of the names approved will be for her. She had to rebuke him and reported the issue to me.

Thereafter, we conducted rigorous investigation and I discovered that banks, account officers and a whole lot including retired civil servants and highly placed individuals were involved in the ghost workers’ scheme and this led to me firing successively three consultants I hired to make payments of local council staff.

These canker worm that I’m telling you about included both religious leaders and traditional rulers. It was so bad. A particular case in time was of a certain old man living in Ardo-Kola local government who sent his son every month to 10 different banks to make salary withdrawals. So, one day the young man

What about international investors coming in to work with you?

International investors are very-very scared of coming in to invest in Nigeria.

I will give you the example of a friend I have in Germany; he is a multi-billionaire; he has shares in Mercedes.

When I was in Germany and was talking about bio-gas, he took me to his farm with over 7000 cows. The feed is being taken by a conveyor belt into bio-gas. It is processed into electricity to power the farm and the excess goes to the grid. So, every month they come to his gate to drop a check of the electricity he sold to the national grid.

Meanwhile, he has his cows; they milk them every day and when they get old they slaughter them and the meat is sold. So, he came here and I gave him a Hilux. He went to Mambilla, but when he was coming he was warned not to go to the north east because of BokoHaram. He fell in love with the place, but unfortunately, two weeks after he left, the crisis on the Mambilla started and that kill his investment plans. He left and invested in southeast Asia.

No investor from Europe or America will come here to invest because they don’t see us as serious people. They see us barbaric and that we don’t know what we are doing. That you are going somebody will stop you and rob you or even kill you because he has gun, why?

All these are happening because people kill in this country and get away with

it, but over there, if you kill somebody today, tomorrow they will get you. So, why will somebody who is already very rich go to suffer himself by investing in such a place? Look, I was in Germany in 2016 for a mining show and the guy was telling us how they go 8000 feet down the ground to mine silver and how many metres they go to get gold.

You know this specimen bottle they give you in the hospital to get urine and stool for test? That was what they put the silver and gold in and I had a feel of all of them. And when it was my turn to talk I asked for the man who said they go down thousands of metres of to get silver and gold. I opened my containers and showed him: “Does this look like what you go down thousands of metres to get?” and he jumped at it and asked: “Where did you get this?” And I told him it was scooped from the surface.

He asked again: “Surface of the earth?

Where?” I told him Nigeria. He opened his laptop. “Where in Nigeria?” I said Taraba in the Northeast. He checked and said: “Aahh! Boko haram. No No No, my country will not even give me permit to go to Nigeria.” He said: “Oh my God! On the surface?”

I then stretch my hand and said: “This is Gold.” He asked: “Where did you get it? “I told him some people got it from the surface of the water. He said: “Oh my God!” And I took another one and he said: “This is Sapphire” and I said yes. He was marveled. I became a bride of the conference. Everybody in the conference was all over me, trying to enquire more about the Gold, Silver and the Sapphire. So, what we have here in abundance too is min-

ing, agriculture and tourism and the biggest of it all is tourism, but it is the most difficult thing to explore because tourism is connectivity. Tourism needs security, tourism needs peace. It was when I resumed here that I opened the airport in Jalingo. Tomorrow you can fly from here to Abuja. But before now, connecting Taraba through air was only via Yola international Airport. All roads connecting Taraba from both ends are bad. I cannot fix the roads because even the internal federal roads that I have built I have not been refunded by the federal government.

Your Excellency, there have been a clamor for a paradigm shift from youth empowerment to youth investment. How much have you done in the area of youth investment?

I will start by saying I started youth investment from day one when I resumed. That has been captured in my Green Book which I showed you earlier.

Taraba is an impoverished state. Check page 240 of this book, the picture here is my best picture. I am still looking for the person who took this picture to give him an award. Look at the caption of the picture. It was written by some journalists who came to interact with me over my achievements in the water sector. The first caption, the journalists wrote was “Excited mother and child: could this truly be clean water, Allah laa!” Another caption was: “Children in jubilation: at last here comes clean water. No more Continues on page 24

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Managing

GOVERNMENT

BUSINESS

Despite challenges, we’ve recorded huge successes...

Continued from page 23

going to the stream, no more sickness, no more waking up in the morning to look for water.” The pictures have said it all. We sank over 300 boreholes across the state in towns and villages. The ponds you have seen there no longer exist. I got the water man award of the year 2017. Some United Nations staff came by road to Jalingo from Abuja and we were having a ceremony in the hall, but the first thing the woman asked me was that when she got to Taraba she was stopping in every village fetching water and she wanted to know if that is in every part of the state. I picked this book and gave it to her. By the grace of God, we have solved that problem long time ago and the people are no longer struggling for water with pigs. We have sunk over 300 boreholes and before I leave, I intend that it should be more than a thousand. Here in this town I have spent the largest amount of money in water, amounting to over N7 billion.

When we came in there was problem of water for over one year. Electricity in this town is more than what you can find in Abuja, courtesy of my being a former Minister, and then I have bought and installed transformers and transmission sub-stations, just name them. In Jalingo today, we have ATM for water, the first ever in this country. Look at the picture on page 176. This man (water seller) used to go to the stream to fetch water and sell to people, but today, all he need do is to go to any of the water kiosks dotted all over the town using his water ATM, slot it and punch and fill his jerry cans; depending on the amount prepaid on his ATM card, it is immediately registered in the Water Board headquarters and the bank that so-so-so amount of money has been deposited. I sent 166 personnel of water board to Kenya under the World Bank to train and they are already back. They are waiting for the large commissioning of our water works. Other states are coming here to learn the technology. We are the first in the country with this innovation not even Lagos.

Now skills acquisition. Go to page 167.When I resumed here, we had 168 electoral Wards in the state and for every ward I would take people and train them. Aiahatu Ali from Gashaka was trained. She went and trained a widow and her daughter and opened another shop for them and bought them machines. Aishatu herself is doing well. Aishatu is overworked today. All the schools in the local government now come to her to sew their uniforms and others.

Aishatu is a success story in our skills acquisition programme. We have so many people who were idle before now that we have trained and are now doing very well. We have taken many youth off the streets, which have helped in addressing the issue of youth restiveness.

My wife has also done a lot in the area of empowerment and her own yields more result. Like the Koma people who were discovered in Adamawa state sometime in 1970, she equally discovered the Ngada people here in the state, courtesy of her visit to the area and consequently we gave them a development area -- see the pictures on page 102. During her visit they went with cars, parked and boarded motorcycles and ended up

trekking to access the village. The interesting thing about this is that it took them two days and two nights.

Because of the pains she took to access the place, a woman of over 100 years followed her down to see her off and when she got to where they parked their cars. The woman curiously asked what they were doing with the big things. She had never seen a car in her entire life of over 100 years. The woman was told that it was used for mobility carrying people from one point to another. The old woman was marveled and asked: “So what are they doing with the God given legs?” But four years down the line, you can’t believe that we have schools and hospitals there and the place is now totally open. My wife left this place and for two days. There was no communication because there was no network there. I was so worried, but they had all the security they needed, but truly it was disturbing.

When she came back, the news was all over and we needed to do something about the plight of the people.

Your Excellency, what legacy would you like to leave behind when you leave office and who do you have in mind as your successor?

I am working assiduously to see an end to insecurity in the state. We have not been lucky. When I came in here there was cattle rustling and it degenerated to herder/farmer crisis. I worked hard to bring it to a halt and suddenly the Mambilla/ Fulani

crisis erupted. What looked like a minor thing became a national issue, and later died down. Then came the herder/farmer conflict in Lau and the neighbouring villages of Adamawa State. To the glory of God, we brought it under control and we were able to do all the elections and just when we finished the election, a quarrel between a Jukun boy and a Tiv boy suddenly brought us into another mess. We are trying to tidy it up now.

We have sent security personnel to the affected places. We have also sent a delegation to Tor-Tiv to settle issues amicably. I have bought relief materials for the IDPs because it is not good that in 2015 the same person you sang hallelujah song for him in 2019 you are saying crucify him. All these we are doing are meant to down play it and I have asked all my people not to reply anybody even when I am insulted. We are working and gradually, for the past two weeks I have not heard of any incident apart from the incident in Jootar in Benue state where a Jukun man was slaughtered.

We are hoping that finally it will come to a stop. My slogan is give me peace and I will give you development and I am still on it.

On the legacy I would like to leave behind and whom to hand over the state to, these are totally in the hands of God. I don’t have anybody in human nature to endorse. I have seen in this country, people using their human sense to endorse others. But I will rather pray for God to bring somebody after his own heart, some-

one who thinks about people first to take over from me. That is the time that one needs to pray even more that God should give him somebody with equal or better vision, somebody with a heart for the people; somebody who thinks about the people first before himself. All these are attributes that are accumulated. Above all, you need somebody who is humble and willing to learn. When you are humble, people will be willing to teach you. You also need somebody who can build on what he has seen.

When I came in I was advised to probe my predecessors, including those who hurt me, but I said no. so it’s an act of God for you to have someone who will inherit you with discipline, decency and carry on with the projects of development. We will also look around, shop around and pray to God to give us that kind of person. I have seen all the godfathers who put people after them.

The first one year, quarrel will break up.

I was the one who told Akpabio in Japan that for the work he had done, he need to start training a successor. He said: “I have started” and I said: “God bless you”, and when he handed over I met him in the Governors forum and I congratulated him, but less than two years later, problem set in. So, one needs to pray to God for a good successor and if he is humble you will be filtering in your advice based on your past experience in office. But in Nigerian politics, we are premature and when people come, they see it as a do or die thing. It’s now that we are gradually bringing in some sanity into it. So, again prayer is the ultimate thing.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

25

Markets + Finance

‘Providing proprietary research, commentary, analysis and financial news coverage unmatched in today’s market. Published weekly, Markets & Finance provides all the key intelligence you need.’

Jaiz Bank is the most profitable Islamic lender in W/Africa BALA AUGIE

T

he rapidity of Jaiz Bank Plc’s earnings growth in last four five years is unprecedented, making it one of the largest Non Interest Banks in West Africa.

Analysts attribute the Bank’s success amid a tough and unpredictable macroeconomic environment to a talented workforce, excellent risk management strategy, friendly commercial and corporate products, and good leadership.

Jaiz Bank has proven that with the right mind-set, a business can thrive regardless of the environment it operates in, and running a non interest bank requires the deployment of both human and capital resources.

It has grow its grown its branch network from 3 branches in 2012- when it began full operations as the first Non-Interest Bank- to 30 branches, spread across the country.

Its balance sheet has grown from N12 billion in 2012 to about N151 billion, with asset financing of over N30 billion, which means it has the financial strength to weather the macroeconomic headwinds.

Jaiz Bank aggressive expansion has yielded fruit as its customer base has grown to over 230, 000, cutting across all strata of the society.

It is also making an inroad into the economy of Africa’s largest city, Lagos.The non interest lender has opened

Hassan Usman, MD, Jaiz Bank

new branches on Ikoyi, Marina, Apapa, and Ikeja, while it plans to stamp its footprint across the country.

Just like conventional Banks, Jaiz Bank takes deposits that are for tenors (which are not demand deposit), and uses this money to finance businesses, a strategy that adds impetus to Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME).

The Bank converts part of the deposit to equity, as it trades with customers’ money and shares the profit with them, a modi operandi that defers from conventional banking.

“We finance projects and needs of our customers based on lease contract with the customers for rentals to be paid …. we sometimes do sharing contract, which means we give capital to customers to trade,

and then we share the profit,” said Hassan Usman, Managing Director of Jaiz Bank.

Current account deposits surged by 194.58 to N57.09 billion as at September 2019, from N19.38 billion in 2016. Due to customers, which comprise of current account, JAPSA, and Mudaraba Term Deposit, surged by 151.47 percent to N141.21 billion as at September 2019, from N45.36 billion in 2016 Jaiz Bank faced some daunting challenges when it started operations a few years ago. It did not benefit from treasury management provided by the regulator.

While conventional banks that can pack their money in government securities to generate a higher return, Islamic lenders are not allowed partake in such transactions. They have to generate different produce provided by either the central bank or debt management office.

Despite these challenges, Jaiz Bank’s net income surged by 1068 percent to N1.25 billion as at September 2019, from a low of N107.18 million in 2016.

It successfully translated impressive revenue performance into profit growth as net profit margin increased to 16.30 percent in September 2019, from 3.20 percent in 2016.

To spur lending to small businesses and reduce poverty, Jaiz Bank has secured a N3 billion credit facility from the Bank of Industry (BoI).

The BoI Executive Director, SMEs, Shekarau Omar, expressed confidence at the ability of the non-interest bank to effectively disburse the funds to target groups.

In 2017, shareholders of Jaiz Bank had increased the bank’s authorised share capital from N15 billion to N25 billion, further adding impetus to its capital positions.

The Islamic lenders’ total asset surged by 142.89 percent to N151.94 billion as at September 2019, from N61.71 billion in 2016, data gathered

by BusinessDay shows.

It has been part of the process of ensuring financial inclusion through agency banking and also the use of technology to reach the unbanked, while using its e-banking platforms to bring banking service close to the people.

According to a 2018 survey

by EFINA Access to Financial Services, 36.8 percent of the adult population in the country are financially excluded.

This translates to a population of 36.6 million adult Nigerians who are excluded at the moment, with 44.1 percent male and 55.9 percent female.

It also disclosed that the country had a total adult population of 99.6 million, with 39.8 percent as the banked population which translates to 39.7 million.

The business potential for a Non-Interest Bank in Nigeria is enormous as such an institution has long been awaited by a population of over 93 million Nigerians Muslims representing over 50 percent of the country’s population of about 183 million.

Jaiz Bank’s strategic business focus is mainly on retail banking, having due regard to a report published by KPMG in 2006 which estimated the market for retail banking in Nigeria at $30 Billion.

Next year, Jaiz Bank will be paying its 26,000 shareholders spread over the six geo-political zones of Nigeria their first ever dividend, rewarding the owners for investing in the business.

Chairman, Jaiz Bank, Dr Umaru Mutallab, said the bank would work assiduously in the 2019 financial period to meet those regulatory requirements for dividend payment.

He said, “The board had tried to recommend the payment of dividend for the reporting period but the feedback from regulators meant it was not possible until we improve upon some specific performance benchmarks such as our capital buffers and reduction in nonperforming risk assets.

“This year, we are working assiduously towards ensuring that the bank meets all those

regulatory requirements for dividend payment in order to meet our aspirations of dividend payout to shareholders.”

About Jaiz Bank The Bank was created out of the former Jaiz International Plc which was set up in 2003/2004 as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to establish Nigeria’s first full-fledged Non-Interest Bank. It obtained a Regional Operating Licence to operate as a Non-Interest Bank from the Central Bank of Nigeria on the 11th of November 2011 and began full operations as the first Non-Interest Bank in Nigeria on the 6th of January, 2012 with 3 branches located in Abuja FCT, Kaduna and Kano.

The Regional Licence allowed the Bank to operate geographically in a third of the country. Also, based on recommendations from Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which is also a shareholder of the bank, Jaiz Bank PLC had partnered with Islamic Bank of Bangladesh (IBBL) for Technical and Management Assistance.

About Islamic Banking Non-Interest Banking is a profitable growing global phenomenon practiced in nearly 70 countries across the world including the United

BD MARKETS + FINANCE Analysts: BALA AUGIE www.businessday.ng

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

@Businessdayng

Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirate, Malaysia, China, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya etc. Global Banks like HSBC, Citibank, Barclays Bank etc. are also offering non-interest banking products and service.

It is an alternative financial service offering which is open to all irrespective of race or religion. It is based on the ethical principles of fairness, transparency and objectivity.

Non-Interest Banking offers almost all the services of conventional banks. The difference is that non-interest Islamic Banks do not give or receive interest, nor finance anything that is harmful to society like alcohol, tobacco, gambling etc. They also seek to avoid gharar- speculation, uncertainty deception and more.

Currently, about 50 percent of Nigeria’s total population of 183 million are craving for such Non-Interest banking services.

These people are desirous of ethical banking services which provide for socially responsible investment outlets. In a nutshell, Non-Interest Banking is real-economy oriented and profit and loss sharing arrangement where the mode of financing is mostly on mark-up, leasing and partnership basis.

26

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

‘If you dream big, the universe will arrange itself around you’ Listen in on the conversations of the characters who populate the workplace Emma Jacobs & Andrew Hill

T

Cressida, the superwoman hank you for coming to my book launch. If you’d told me a few months ago, when I wrote a LinkedIn post about my morning routine, that I’d be a published author, I’d have told you I couldn’t possibly fit it all in. With six kids and a global business, I’d have said, no way. Yet here is my latest baby, She Sweet. I didn’t come up with the title — I credit my assistant, sorry, chief of staff, for that gem.

But if you dream big, the univers e w ill ar rang e its elf around you. You just have to aim high and throw a bit, or a lot, of money at it.

O bv i ou sly I’ve ha d s ome help. Sher yl Sandberg read an early draft. Sheryl! Lean In was such an inspiration. How many women can lay claim to being the power behind the throne? And not just Zuckerberg but Trump too! Without Facebook’s news feeds he’d still be an obnoxious media star. Anyway, Sheryl pointed out that highlighting systemic issues won’t sell any books.

So I’ve cut out all the tales of institutional sexism. No mention of the boss who pushed me out when I announced my first pregnancy. I wanted women to believe speaking up in meetings, requesting pay rises and looking businesslike would enable them to reach the top. Why dismantle the system when you can work on yourself? There’s nothing more transformational than a blow dry and soft tailoring.

I wanted women to realise that kids needn’t get in the way of ambition. My philosophy has always been to earn enough to pay for someone else to raise them. There’s an art to pretending you don’t have kids — I’ve included a worksheet at the back. I reveal tips like telling your kids they share the same bir thday so you only have to organise one celebration. How to conduct parents evening via conference call. And my USP, breathing through the contractions while on a client call.

Anyway, go for th women

‘

and trailblaze. One woman at a time!

Baz, the personal trainer Simon is it? I’m Barry. Welcome to Uttermost Gyms. You can call me Baz, Bazzer, the Bazmeister, whatever. Can I call you, Si? OK: Simon it is.

What are you looking for from your “Extreme” workout today, Simon? Can you be a bit more specific? What do you do for a living? You move money.

Like in armoured vans? Filling ATMs? So you’ll be wanting to improve upper torso strength www.businessday.ng

. . . Ah, got it — that sort of moving money. How much? Ten million? Ten billion! I should have guessed from the new trainers.

A l l r ig ht, n o n e e d t o g e t shirty, Mr Master of the Universe. I don’t care what you’re the chief of. But we get a lot of your sort, telling your assistants to book the Extreme, to show who’s boss. But for the next 45 minutes, I’m in charge.

So: let’s do this! You’re already warmed up, but a few stretches to start. Grab that

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I don’t care what you’re the chief of. But we get a lot of your sort, telling your assistants to book the Extreme, to show who’s boss. But for the next 45 minutes, I’m in charge

@Businessdayng

back ankle and pull it in. All the way! Here, allow me. Just.

Pull. It. In! That hurt, did it?

Believe me, if it ain’t hurting, it ain’t working. And no, we are not done.

Now, press-ups. Keep those elbows in, work those triceps.

Get down, City boy, and give me 10! OK, five. All right then, one . . . and a half. Hands off your Apple watch! Whatever it is, it’ll have to wait.

On your feet, now, aaand lunge! Switch legs. Two more.

I’m not trying to humiliate you, no. What made you think that?

Now skip the length of the gym.

Skip, Simon! And back!

Says in my notes you want to get rid of that belly, so let’s work those abs, shall we, mate?

Grab the dumbbells. Those are the lightest ones, Simon.

Four, three, two, one. Lift!

Ke ep your core tight. Ar ms straight up . . . and gently down.

I said, gently down! Look out!

Well, that removes the temptation to look at your watch.

Take a break. What’s that?

I can’t hear you. Out of breath? Si: that is the whole point. But just think how much money you’ll be able to move after this!

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

27

What Good Is an MBA Anymore, Anyway?

Shelly Hagan

U

.S. business schools have a very big problem: Not enough people want an MBA anymore.

Applications are down across the board. The U.S. labor market’s continued expansion provides little incentive for those contemplating a graduate business degree to spend the time and money to get one. Meanwhile, anti-immigration rhetoric and restrictive policies by the Trump administration are scaring off international students, a traditionally lucrative group that often pays full price rather than rely on scholarships.

Part of the problem is selfinflicted. Despite the decline in applications, universities continue to raise tuition, placing an MBA out of reach for all but the wealthiest—or those willing to wager significant debt against the possibility of a high-paying job.

All of this means that it’s truly a buyer’s market when it comes to MBAs. Deans must do more to sell their programs, and that means convincing prospective students that a well-paying job will materialize. Many B-schools are touting expanded experiential learning programs that put students inside companies.

Some are working to expand their applicant pools via online course offerings for students who don’t want to relocate.

Bloomberg Businessweek spoke with deans at five U.S. business schools of varying sizes and rankings in our annual survey. They gave us their elevator pitch on why it’s still important to get an MBA, and why would be-students should attend their schools to get one.

Antonio Bernardo, UCLA Anderson School of Management Antonio Bernardo, dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, argues that an MBA is more valuable today than ever, in part because businesses are interacting more with stakeholders including regulators, particularly in the tech sector. Bschool programs teach students how to deal with the various ethical and legal issues churned up by data privacy concerns, as well as the appropriate role corporations should play when it comes to other headline issues, such as environmental regula-

tion and employee relations.

“The skills you learn in an MBA are probably more valuable than they have ever been,” Bernardo says. “And yet a lot of people are talking about it as if it’s a degree that is losing relevance.”

The Anderson School of Management, No. 12 in this year’s Bloomberg Businessweek ranking, benefits from its location in Los Angeles, a hub for technology, health-care, and media companies, many of which participate in the MBA program. In recent years, Anderson broadened the role of entrepreneurship in its degree program, enabling more students to create new businesses for their capstone project. Anderson also has a venture accelerator program in which students can spend six months creating their own company.

Brigitte Madrian, Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University Soaring tuition costs are an impediment to many who might otherwise seek an MBA. Brigitte Madrian, dean of the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University, says her program offers a relatively affordable alternative. Lower tuition www.businessday.ng

costs are made possible, in part, because of financial support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the school’s sponsor.

Tuition comes to $27,720 for the entire two-year program for members of the church; it costs twice that for everyone else. By comparison, the Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame, ranked one spot below No. 27 Marriott, charges annual tuition of $56,338 for its two-year program.

“Our students leave with less than $25,000 debt on average,” Madrian says. “This relatively low debt burden allows them to think differently about their employment options after graduation, so they can focus less on starting salary and more on opportunities for professional growth and development.”

Madrian, like Bernardo, emphasizes the breadth of experiential courses offered by the school. Among them is a program in which students invest the school’s venture capital fund or work on a consulting project with business clients.

state of the economy, Tuck School of Business Dean Matthew Slaughter says there will always be a sizable pool of applicants for MBA programs—individuals who see the degree as the ultimate source of analytical skills, functional expertise, and leadership capabilities that businesses will always seek out.

Slaughter says that Tuck, which leaped to the No. 2 slot, from No. 19, has been adapting its curriculum to keep up with what students and employers demand—a common theme among all five deans, given the prevalence of technological disruption across industries.

The school recently retired its statistics and decisions sciences courses, repackaging them into a data analytics course that has students work with such innovative data programs as R and Tableau.

In 2017, Tuck introduced a suite of courses that require students to travel abroad. They’re typically taught by Tuck faculty and focus on a specific industry in the host country.

Matthew Slaughter, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth Regardless of the current

Manoj Malhotra, Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University Manoj Malhotra, dean of

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@Businessdayng

the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University, says his school benefits from its location in Cleveland, given the healthcare industr y’s significant footprint in the area.

The school, which fell to No. 76, from No. 58, in the annual ranking, offers a joint executive MBA program with the Cleveland Clinic. Weatherhead also is developing a new health-care concentration for full-time students.

Last fall, the school began an MBA STEM track that allows students to complement their main degree with technologyrelated courses. The program is particularly attractive to international applicants, he says, since it allows them to extend their training for three years without having to obtain a work visa.

Malhotra says it’s important that business schools focus on the fundamentals, such as cost accounting and financial analysis. “Is the sky falling? I don’t necessarily think so,” he says of the decline in applications. Indeed, Weatherhead is tightening its recruitment process to focus more on quality than quantity, he says, part of a drive for better results in internship placement and job opportunities.

Francesca Cornelli, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University Francesca Cornelli says that an MBA program emphasizing teamwork and collaboration is the best way to prepare students for a fast-shifting corporate landscape. This shouldn’t come as a surpr ise, given that her school, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, has long placed a premium on teaching students how to work together in new and innovative ways.

“We are not just preparing you for the next job or the next five years,” she says of Kellogg, ranked No. 10. “We are preparing you to thrive in the world of change.”

While tuition at Kellogg is expensive—a one-year MBA costs $101,288—Cornelli says the results are worth it. Some 98% of Kellogg students receive a job offer within three months of graduation, she says. The median starting salary for graduates is $150,000.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

EDUCATION

Weekly insight on current and future trends in education

Primary/Secondary

Higher

Human Capital

Why Nigeria education sector must harness science for growth KELECHI EWUZIE

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ducation sector experts have called on managers of the Nigeria education sector to seek ways to harness the capabilities of her youths by equipping them with the technological and innovative skills which will be a catalyst for economic growth.

They observe that education, science and technology are now at the front and centre of the development debate across the globe, adding that it is imperative that concrete measures are put in place to harness the demographic dividend.

Wale Afebioye, an executive director and business development executive of Premier College Ijebu- Ode, Ogun State opines that its very pivotal that students exiting the education systems must be graduating with skills that reflect what employers actually need.

Afebioye maintains that the only way to achieve this is in Nigeria is if the private sector is better represented on education governance structures, the vocational

training programmes, and in curriculum design.

Isaac Adeyemi, former vicechancellor Bells University of Science and Technology, Otta, Ogun State further reiterated the viewpoint of Afebioye by adding that the private sector needs to be encouraged as partners to offer apprenticeships, internships and certification programmes.

Adeyemi insists this collaboration will help bridge the gap between what’s being taught in our learning institutions and the realities of the job market.

According to Adeyemi, “Investment in education, science, technology and innovation remain the primary instruments that will enable Nigeria competitive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution which is expected to usher in a transformation that will have a radical impact on job creation” On his part, Maurice Onyiriuka, an investment expert opines that for Nigeria to develop, there is a need for education and skills in science and technology through adequate and sustainably financed education.

He observes that the Ni-

geria we have in 2019 is the product of its education systems or our lack of the same, adding that collectively Nigerians can change by changing what happens in the education sector.

Onyiriuka further observes that Nigeria needs to turn its assets into capital and as such; education, science and technology are needed to empower people to be productive forces of progress.

“Investing in education and training is vital, but the constraint is funding and this is a major challenge.

If we are to progress in science and technology, there is a need to invest in this through adequate funding, we need to cultivate scientific, technological and innovation skills”, he said.

World Economic Forum 2017 report shows that come 2025 Nigeria is expected to add 1.9 million jobs and $20 billion in additional GDP will accrue as technology continues to offer people new opportunities to engage in online platform work and transition from informal to formal jobs.

CIAPS e-Platform to tackle sexual harassment in tertiary institutions, workplace KELECHI EWUZIE

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etermined to tackle head-on the prevalent i ssue s a roun d sexual harassment in universities, places of work across the country, Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS) the first paperless academic institution in Africa has launched an eplatform called ngrcampus. com/help desk in Lagos.

The informative e-platform according to CIAPS will provide solutions to any form of harassment meted out to undergraduates, postgraduate students in universities and employees in Nigeria.

Anthony Kila, CIAPS centre director says the vision behind setting up this help desk was driven by the need to urgently eradicate the sense of impunity of the perpetrators of sexual harassment and the sense of hopelessness of victims.

Kila while speaking at the launch of the platform in Lagos pointed out that move to address incidents of harass-

ment in Nigeria today should be of great national interest to both the government and private sector that are in a position to help.

Kila said the concept of the Help desk is fashioned to put an end to any form of harassment as a middle man channel between the victims and the other experts.

“Help desk is a middle man channel between the victim and the other experts and it is ready to carry out its duties having qualified and professional experts on ground to meet the need and help to proffer solutions to these problems”.

Kila further said that while the pioneers of this e-platform are passionate about this initiative, they are also eager to see that justice is meted out to perpetrators.

“Each case will be dealt with individually within 48 hours”, he said.

He called on well-meaning Nigerians to join this initiative to offer ideas and financial help, adding that confidentiality is the sole core of this initiative, keeping anonymous and secure.

Tola Adeniyi, former chairman of Daily Times www.businessday.ng

Nigeria while speaking at the unveiling of the informative platform said the help desk is not only restricted to schools or students, graduate, but workplaces, employees etc are also encouraged to be a part of this initiative.

Adeniyi noted that help desk is unique in its sense, unlike the other platform that only treat issues relating to sexual harassment,ngrcampus. com/help desk deals with all forms of harassment, sexual, extortion, sadism and other forms of harassments.

He charged the media especially the online media to enforce articles through their pen telling the world that there is a salvation desk for students, calling on parents religious leaders to subscribe to this great initiative.

The help desk hope to work with the students union, students affairs, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other students associated groups.

Adeniyi urged victims to visit the website fill the forms and place a complaint and experts will take it up from there.

Developing economies like Nigeria can only fasttrack and/or leapfrog their growth through targeted investment in STEM education development says Ibidapo-Obe, former vicechancellor, University of Lagos, Akoka.

According to him, “a practical way to do this is to do what

is generically referred to as reverse engineering. It is these institutions that must provide the roadmap to circumvent those roadblocks to indigenous technology enhancement necessary for driving innovation and development of the nation.”

He further pointed out that the nation must be prepared

to invest heavily in the STEM education, cutting across both the public and private sectors, stressing that the research facilities must orchestrate the brainpower of the staff, take responsibility for training new generation of talents and participate in the transformation of the nation’s science and technology base.

L-R: Vongai Nyahunzvi, Head of Region-Africa, Teach For All; Wendy Kopp, CEO, Teach For All; Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun state; Gbenga Oyebode, Board Chairman, Teach For Nigeria; Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach For Nigeria; Alero Ayida-Otobo, Board Member, Teach For Nigeria and Ayo Olajiga, Board Member, Teach For Nigeria after an official visit to the Ogun State governor by the team from Teach for Nigeria recently.

Expert urges students to strive for the best academically KELECHI EWUZIE

T

he Chairman, F e d e r a l E m e rgency Road Maintenance Agency, Tunde Lemo has challenged students to always strive to be the best in their studies and in everything they do.

Lemo gave this charge while delivering his speech at the Annual Student Leadership Summit of Caleb British International School, Lekki, Lagos.

The former deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Nigeria harping on the Theme of the Year “BE THE BEST” described the race of life as a pyramid where the base is wide but the top is narrow with limited space.

According to him, “We all start our journey at the base of the pyramid but as we go up, some people fall by the wayside. Not everybody will get to the top: The two things that will get you to the top are ATTITUDE and

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APTITUDE”.

Speaking on ambition, Lemo said, “My dream as a child in the primary school was to be a teacher. When I got into secondary school, my dream changed from becoming a teacher to becoming a principal. Later in life, I started thinking of becoming an accountant.

As I made progress in the bank, my dream was to b e c o m e t h e Ma nag i ng Director of the bank, I have achieved that dream and I even went ahead to become the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. I still have ambitions today; I have not stopped dreaming. You must continue to have good ambitions, he said”.

Using himself as a reference he said “As a firstclass graduate of accounting, you need attitude and aptitude to reach your altitude”. He advised the students to shun vices, build a good reputation @Businessdayng

and work hard to be outstanding in their studies.

Furthermore, adding to the story of his feats in his Elementary, High School and University days, Lemo said “My Position in my Primary and Secondary school days was always between First and Third Position. I graduated from the University with first-class and got seven out of fourteen awards in my faculty”.

Students of the school took turns to ask questions on career and the efforts of the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency on the situation of Nigeria roads.

Lemo applauded the intelligence of the pupils, noting the quality of questions they asked. He also commended the management and teachers of Caleb British International School for her standard of teaching and learning which he believes is a great contribution to education and national development.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

29

EDUCATION A School is only as good as its Teachers

OYIN EGBEYEMI

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he experience of working in the education sector has been very revealing. It is reflective of where the pain points lie in this very sector, which is indeed a rather broad and complex one especially today with the growing number of children of school age and the concern over the probability of access to quality education.

Notwithstanding the breadth and complexity of this sector, one common outcome across all tiers of schools is learning outcomes. This outcome is not far-fetched because we see the results in our daily experiences, even passively, not just based on our results in national and state examinations. e.g. children of school age walking

idly around the streets during school hours is essentially a learning outcome of 0; graduates who apply for jobs and are unable to write a coherent application letter or curriculum vitae is also a poor outcome of learning. The intellectual quality of people around us is essentially a reflection of what they have learnt; and where do they learn from? Homes and schools. If some people are lucky enough to have come from decent homes and attend decent schools, we would see the results. Those who don’t and are able to overcome difficult circumstances and environmental conditions and excel are merely just outliers.

Nigeria has huge potential by sole virtue of the availability of human capital. However, where we struggle in this is ensuring that the quality of this human capital is decent.

These days, it is common to hear employers say that many recruits that they come across are unemployable because they are limited in knowledge and skill set required to meet the demands of the jobs on offer. This is somewhat reflective of our education standards in the country. It is a narrative that has been going on for years and would continue if the right

changes are not made.

As simple as the statement “A school is only as good as its teachers” might be, sometimes it seems that we struggle to acknowledge and appreciate the value that quality teaching and learning provides to individuals. It even goes as far as some experienced educators saying that if they could they would try to get past all the bureaucracy that seems to be hindering movement and place their efforts on basic teaching and learning only.

It would be easy to assume that our teachers meet a certain minimum standard.

Studies that have been carried out in various states in the country have, however, revealed that the quality of teachers is actually a dire problem in Nigeria. One carried out by the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) brought forward concerns over the low numeracy and literacy skills in teachers in certain states. What was more shocking was that there was little disparity between the teachers who had graduated from teacher training colleges and universities and those who hadn’t. So this raises the question, “What is going on at the teacher training colleges

and other institutions?”

The role of teachers cannot be over-emphasised. It is actually critical to the delivery of quality education. If we don’t get this right, we should be very concerned about the quality of our citizens in the future, especially given the large and fast-growing active population in the country. This is why organisations such as Teach for Nigeria have been birthed and charged with the mission to educate the educators and reach areas that our current system cannot.

Bringing this to the point of view of parents: when selecting schools for our children, it is very important that we look out for the standards and quality of teaching at the schools we consider. This might be difficult to do if the parents have not had any initial interaction with the school, but they could take their scope of their search a little further by observing other children at the school, looking out for any published academic records or even getting referrals from parents at the school they may know.

Oyin Egbeyemi is an executive administrator at The Foreshore School, Ikoyi, Lagos.

NECO, stakeholders makes case for improved support for Mathematics education KELECHI EWUZIE

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he National Examination Council, NECO and other stakeholders in the nation’s education sector have reiterated the need for greater support for mathematics education in Nigeria.

Acting Registrar of NECO, Abubakar Gana, explains that since Mathematics is central to the development of “human and nation’s capacity,” the subject deserves all the support from the public and private organisations.

Gana who was represented

by Stephen Adebunmi at the 2019 finals of the Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools Mathematics Television Quiz Show sponsored Promasidor Nigeria

Limited said the competition has a bundle of transparent engines and modalities that identify and nurture geniuses in the field of Mathematics.

Adebunmi commended Promasidor for providing “an excellent platform” to showcase these young Nigerian Mathematicians and future inventors.

While congratulating the winners, he also saluted the courage of the other finalists for the spirit of participation and sportsmanship. “All the finalists have crossed several hurdles to get to the finals, but the very best will wear the crown. Therefore all of you are winners, but the crown will go to the champions. That is the spirit of every competition,” he said.

Oladipo Olatunde, a teach-

er with The Ambassador College, Ota Ogun State also asserts that Mathematics education will soar higher with more support from individuals and corporate bodies and commended Promasidor for the Cowbellpedia initiative. This line was also toed by Saheed Ogunlaja, who teaches at Zionfield Pinnacle School, Lagos.

Alphonso Agboola, an Education/Curriculum Management Consultant, based in Lagos also added that Mathematics, as the base of all other subjects, deserve more support across board.

Meanwhile, in a thrilling Cowbellpedia Mathematics competition final encounter last weekend, Michael Enehizena of The Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State and Oghenero Ologe of

L-R: Michael Enehizena, 2019 Cowbellpedia Junior category champion; Anders Einarsson , managing director, Promasidor Nigerian Limited; Oghenero Ologe, 2019 Cowbellpedia Senior category champion and Stephen Adebunmi, representative of NECO Ag. Registrar after the finals of the Cowbellpedia Mathematics competition in Lagos. www.businessday.ng

Foundation rewards teachers to boost excellence in A/Ibom ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

I

noyo Toro Foundation, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) has rewarded teachers for their dedication to duty and commitment to professional responsibility in Akwa Ibom State as part of its contributions to building a solid future using education as a platform.

At a ceremony attended by Governor Udom Emmanuel held at Ibom hotel and golf resort in Uyo, the state capital, the foundation presented cash prizes to teachers in key subject areas and also rewarded the best school principal in the state. The event which was the 12th in the series saw the grand mentor teachers’ award for three teachers in this category carting home a cash prize of N500,000 each.

Several public secondary schools were equally adopted for mentorship by prominent indigenes of the state in a move to encourage the students to be their best both in character and learning.

Among the winners in the English Language category were Dick Collins Efre from Migrant Secondary School,

Emeruke who took the first position, followed by Idaresit Iniunam Iniunam from community comprehensive secondary school, four towns, Uyo who took the second position while Alphonsus Oscar Ebebe from St. Augustine’s secondary school, Uruan Inyang in Ika local government area coming third.

Similarly, Sampson Akpan Usoh of community secondary commercial school, Iwok, Nsit Atai local government area took the second position in the Mathematics category, followed by Uduak Charles Udoaka came second from Community secondary school, Eka Uruk Eshiet, Etim Ekpo local government area. There was no winner for the first position.

However they were winners in Physics, Chemistry, Economics and History.

The breakdown of the award showed that first prize winners received N250,000, the second prize winner got N150,000 while the third place winners got N100,000 each.

Excel Favour Iniunam from Mary Hanney secondary school, Oron who won the principal’s award in an interview said she had to work extra hard to emerge the best principal.

Dufil Prima’s N4M scholarship boost education hope for 40 indigent pupils Zionfield Pinnacle School, Ikorodu, Lagos State won the crown in the Junior and Senior category respectively.

Also in the junior category, Abdul-Quayum Alli, of Ota Total Academy, Ota, Ogun State, and David Charles of Graceland International Secondary, School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, came second and third respectively.

Akinyemi Dabira of The Ambassadors College, Ota, Ogun State and Hezekiah Olabisi of Bibo Oluwa Academy, Ilesha, Osun emerged as first and second runner-up respectively in the senior category.

The two champions got N2 million each and an allexpense paid education excursion outside the country.

The first and second runners-up in each category received N1.5 million and N1 million respectively, while the teachers of the top prize winners were awarded N500, 000.

Those of the first and second runners-up received N400, 000 and N300, 000 respectively.

On his part, Anders Einarsson, managing director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited reiterated the commitment of the company towards education, saying it is the most important investment for the future of the children of Nigeria.

He maintained that the initiative has met its objectives and assured that Promasidor will continue to support the academic development of Nigerian children.

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KELECHI EWUZIE

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ufil Prima Foods as part of its commitment to empowering the Nigerian child through education has awarded a four million naira worth of scholarship to forty Junior Secondary School (JSS) students in four schools in AdoOdo, Local Government, Ota, Ogun State. The scholarships which are in fulfilment of Dufil’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) also included the provision of other sundry items.

The beneficiary schools were Iganmode Grammar School, Ansar-Ru-Deen Comprehensive College, Iju Ebiye High School and Sango Ota High School, all in Ota. A scholarship fund of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) each was given to the ten best students in JSS 3 in these schools based on the result of the last promotion examinations conducted by the schools.

Tope Ashiwaju, group public relations and events manager, Dufil Prima foods says the gesture was necessitated by the need to boost the quality of education and to safeguard the future of the country.

Ashiwaju observes that education is the bedrock of any development, adding that for a country to grow there is a need to invest in the educational sector. ‘Dufil Prima Foods is constantly searching for ways to improve the lives of our people @Businessdayng

both in the host community and in Ogun State in general.

Ashiwaju explained further that the social responsibility philosophy of the company is regarded as a strategy that not only improves lives, but also provides a friendly environment that encourages productivity. ‘CSR is how we colour the lives of people and communities around us.’ Ashiwaju said.

In his remark, the Vice Principal, Iganmode Junior Grammar School Ota, Ismail Salako applauded Dufil for their faithfulness towards social responsibility every year.

He said the need to invest in quality education cannot be overstated as it is synonymous with productivity and building a better society.

In appreciation of the gesture, Oloruba of Oruba Ota, Oba Wadudu Ajani Dehinde who commended Dufil for always filling the development gaps in the communities, applauded the gesture granted

by Indomie to the students in accessing quality education.

‘It is indeed an intervention to promote good quality education, this will go a long way in boosting the morale of the students and also serve as a motivation to others,’ he enthused.

The cheque presentation ceremony held at Iganmode Grammar School drew representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ogun State as well as the Traditional Head of Oruba Ota, Oba Wadudu Ajani Dehinde, the Oloruba of Oruba Ota.

30

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Investments

ENERGY INTELLIGENCE

Market Insight Companies Commodity Tracker Policy

OIL

GAS

PETROCHEMICALS

POWER

POLICY

MARKET

Africa’s investment plans inadequate to meet energy needs- IEA Nigeria’s crude oil

market is shrinking

DIPO OLADEHINDE

T

he current policies and investment plans in African countries are not enough to meet the energy needs of the continent’s young and rapidly growing population, a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) called the Africa Energy Outlook 2019 has said.

Reports say in Africa today, about 600 million people do not have access to electricity and 900 million lack access to clean cooking facilities. Yet “the momentum behind today’s policy and investment plans is not yet enough to meet the energy needs of Africa’s population in full,” IEA report said.

The report noted that Africa’s energy future is not predetermined as current plans would leave 530 million people on the continent still without access to electricity in 2030, falling well short of universal access and major global development goal.

But with the right policies, it could reach that target while also becoming the first continent to develop its economy mainly through the use of modern energy sources.

“While more than 99 percent of the population in North Africa has access to electricity, the situation is very different in the rest of the

DIPO OLADEHINDE

A

continent,” IEA noted.

IEA acknowledged that Africa has a unique opportunity to pursue a much less carbon-intensive development path than many other parts of the world.

Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director said Africa has a unique opportunity to pursue a much less carbon-intensive development path than many other paths of the world.

“To achieve this, it has to take advantage of the huge potential that solar, wind, hydropower, natural gas and energy efficiency offer,” Birol said in the report.

Africa’s natural resources aren’t limited to sunshine and other energy sources. It also possesses major reserves of minerals such as cobalt and platinum that are needed in fast-growing clean energy industries.

“Africa holds the key for global energy transitions, as it is the continent with the most important ingredients for producing critical technologies,” Birol said. “For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for two-thirds of global production of cobalt, a vital element in batteries, and South

Africa produces 70percent of the world’s platinum, which is used in hydrogen fuel cells.”

The IEA report also noted that although Africa has the richest solar resources on the planet however it has so far installed only 5 gigawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV), which is less than 1percent of global capacity.

“If policymakers put a strong emphasis on clean energy technologies, solar PV could become the continent’s largest electricity source in terms of installed capacity by 2040,”IEA noted.

STRATEGY

Wartsila is helping industries compete with hybrid power solutions ISAAC ANYAOGU

F

inland’s Wartsila, who provides smart technologies and lifecycle solutions for energy and marine businesses, is ramping construction of fuel plants that can be integrated with renewables to help industries resolve energy challenges and compete.

“The intermittent nature of renewables means they may not be best suited for baseload power, so we have designed solutions built around Engine Power plant where gas or other fuel source available can be integrated to help industries,” said Wale Yusuff, the company’s Nigerian managing director in an interview with BusinessDay. For over a decade it has been in Nigeria, Wartsila has developed an engine installed base of around 500MW for land based solutions, and another 400MW in marine/ offshore environment in Nigeria.

However, Yusuff said the company’s solutions are not just limited to industries, “Our focus is wherever there is a requirement for power, with the right off takers and necessary guarantees in place. We are discussing now with the gov-

Wale Yusuff

ernment, utilities and IPP projects developers,” said Yusuff.

Wartsila, envisions a future where energy is sought 100 percent from renewables. It also seeks to support efforts in securing flexible power generation that will keep the grid stable.

As the price of both solar PV and wind continues to fall, and as they remain immune to fluctuations in different fuel prices, Wartsila sees opportunities integrating them into plants to lower the blended cost of power.

Nigeria’s distribution companies can see opportunities in ramping investments in embedwww.businessday.ng

ded generation but this is not yet happening. Yusuff attributes this to challenges including a tough business environment and the economics involved in sustaining the arrangement.

“There was a time the DisCos took on the embedded power generation initiative but it never came to fruition. In business transactions, there is a requirement and a proposed solution, if they both match, then the business can be done. I think what has really happened is that the conditions are not favourable yet. It is not lack of technology or finance, but the bane of the industry, is the lack of the right

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policies such as cost reflective tariff, appropriate gas pricing, amongst others,” said Yusuff.

Yusuff also said that investments in power solutions are long term so there needs to be a solid power purchase agreement backed with adequate guarantees in place as well as security for the feedstock to achieve desired output.

“These are some of the things the financiers will want to see. If all these ingredients are not there the projects will not materialise,” said Yusuff.

The company’s boss further said that decentralised power is critical to solving Nigeria’s energy deficit.

He also called for a review of gas pricing and more synergy between government agencies, regulators and the operators.

“Wartsila does not just manufacture the engine, it has the capacity to deliver projects on EPC/ turnkey basis, providing O&M as well for the entire life of the plant.

Our offerings are however flexible as well. We can deliver from basic equipment supply to full turnkey solutions. We are ready to support the government’s efforts in the delivery of reliable, quality and efficient power to the people of Nigeria, Yusuff said. @Businessdayng

frica’s biggest oil-producing country recorded less volume of crude oil exports in the month of October. Data from IHS Markit Commodities at Sea revealed Nigeria has primarily been shipping crude oil to India, USA and other European countries, primarily Spain, Netherlands and France as October volumes have been pushed lower to 1.6 million bpd, having fallen below 1.8 million bpd for the first time since late July.

However, demand for rare large size Suezmax tankers increased, latest data from an algorithmdriven model for seaborne vessel movements IHS Markit Commodities at Sea has revealed.

Further breakdown revealed Nigeria exported crude oil of approximately 0.73 million bpd to the whole of Europe compared to 0.83 million bpd in September while India received 0.3 million bpd of Nigeria’s crude oil compared to 0.2 million received in the previous month.

“This is really a short time effect as it’s not always easy for oil buying countries to switch countries they buy oil from because of the contracts signed by both parties are long term,” Emmanuel Afimia an energy analyst at Afimia consulting services said.

Nigerian oil export plans are prone to revisions and delays, with cargoes frequently pushed from one month to the next.

There are also reports that Nigeria’s crude oil exports are under pressure as the United States is flooding Europe market with a large volume of crude.

In order to maximize the opportunities in its exportation of crude oil demand for shipping on large size Suezmaxes increased last month, with loadings having surpassed 1.45 million bpd for the first time since July 2018. This means that almost two Suezmax ships were fully loaded in Nigeria on a daily basis throughout October.

Nigeria uses mostly Suezmax vessels for its crude exports. Suezmax is medium to large-sized ships with a DeadWeight Tonnage (DWT) between 120,000 to 200,000. They are designed to pass through the majority of the ports in the world.

While the Supertankers also known as Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) had average volumes of 236,000 bpd, which was less than half the average volumes of 550,000 bpd loaded in Q3 2019.

VLCC also known as Supertankers are the largest operating cargo vessels in the world, these giant ships are capable of carrying a huge amount of crude oil in a single trip.

This means that there were only four full cargoes for VLCCs in Nigeria last month. Charterers seem to have preferred loading on Suezmaxes, as VLCC rates went through the roof much faster following the US sanctions on COSCO tankers.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

31

ENERGY INTELLIGENCE Policy

Will PSC review lead to oil windfall for Nigeria?

ISAAC ANYAOGU

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resident Muhammadu Buhari recently assented the bill amending the Deep Offshore (and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract) Act, so that Nigeria will now receive its fair, rightful and equitable share of income from its natural resources for the first time since 2003, he said.

Buhari blamed the inability to review the law on “a combination of complicity by Nigerian politicians and feet-dragging by oil companies” which he said that “for more than a quarter-century, conspired to keep taxes to the barest minimum above $20 per barrel – even as now the price is some three times the value.”

This amendment requires the Minister of Petroleum to call for a review of PSCs by the NNPC every 8 years and introduces offenses and penalties for violating the law such a minimum fine of N500million or minimum 5 years imprisonment or both upon conviction.

The amended law also introduces specific price reflective royalty rates. The previous law required a review of royalty rates where crude oil price exceeds $20 per barrel to ensure additional revenue for government but this was not effected for over two decades.

Now the amended law provides for review of royalty rates where crude oil and condensates price exceeds $20 per barrel using different rates according to price benchmarks. For example, when oil

prices rise to $60 a royalty rate of 2.5 percent will be charged and above $150, oil companies will fork over 10 percent as royalty rate.

The government said losses from non-review of the PSCs have reached over $21bn dollars and they hope to earn at least $1.5billion next year which will help fund the 2020 budget. Government officials have also made projections that Nigeria will earn billions of dollars in the coming years over the review.

However, the issues are more nuanced. Nigeria’s PSCs currently accounts for over 40% of Nigeria’s crude oil production. This is significant volume of crude produced and absence of the right fiscal terms will lead to loss of national revenue. Already, Nigeria has some of the least competitive fiscal terms among OPEC peers. Nigeria’s PSCs is the only oil fiscal term in the world that award zero royalty to government for drilling in deep offshore fields with depths of over 1,000km.

While in most of the PSCs,

changes in international oil prices or production rate affect the company’s share of production; Nigeria’s terms have remained constant.

Countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates set their terms according to the capacity of the acreages and prevailing economic indicators such as oil price and output.

The challenge is that PSCs by their nature involve the kind of investment and intellectual capacity Nigeria significantly lacks. The risks are also higher, which informs why the terms were writing so generously in favour of those taking the risks.

In amending the law, Nigeria has to answer a critical question, what incentives are there to mitigate the risk of investing in deep offshore?

How will it impact contracts already in place?

These questions are critical because smaller African countries including Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda are now competing with Nigeria’s oil and gas

sector for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). They are offering generous concessions because in a world where competition for capital has become fierce, attracting it requires careful strategy.

Mozambique has recorded the largest flow of FDI over the past eight years among its peers as recent discoveries multiplied proven reserves which will underpin the country’s projected economic recovery. Last month, US oil giant, Exxon Mobil announced $33billion investment into two liquefied natural gas projects in the country of 30 million people with less than 50 percent of Nigeria’s gas reserves.

This development raises questions about why investment dollars are fleeing Nigeria for smaller African countries and what will be Nigeria’s ability to remain competitive in a world where gas is on the ascendancy and oil slips from prominence.

International oil Companies have kicked against the amended law saying it will constrain new investments. Industry group Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), which represents oil companies responsible for 90% of Nigeria’s oil and gas, said this proposed law change, and the regulatory uncertainty it will create, could significantly undermine profitability for the projects, including large fields such as Shelloperated Bonga and Total’s Egina.

OPTS expects the changes to the law to slash future offshore production by 27% to 2023, cut $55.5 billion

With eyes on efficient cost management A A Rano expands operations …plans Lagos service stations STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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-R: Ghali Mustapha, general manager (LPG) AA Rano Nig. Ltd.; Farouk Idris, general manager engineering AA Rano Ltd.; Mumuni Dagazau, chief operating officer, AA Rano Ltd; Zainab Ndana, executive assistant to the general managing director, AA Rano Ltd, and Samuel Peppiatt of Trafigura PTE Ltd, at the Oil Trading & Logistics (OTL) 2019 Africa Downstream Week.

Founded a quarter of a decade ago, A A Rano Limited has focused on efficient cost management to stay competitive in Nigeria’s petroleum products marketing and retailing space that has been suffering from thin margins due to the Federal Government capped pump price.

L-R: Ghali Mustapha, general manager (LPG) AA Rano Nig. Ltd.; Farouk Idris, general manager engineering AA Rano Ltd.; Mumuni Dagazau, chief operating officer, AA Rano Ltd; Zainab Ndana, executive assistant to the general managing director, AA Rano Ltd, and Samuel Peppiatt of Trafigura PTE Ltd, at the Oil Trading & Logistics (OTL) 2019 Africa Downstream Week.

The Kano-based major oil marketer has also embarked on a new five-year wave of expansionary strategy, which partly informed its first appearance at the Oil Trading and Logistics

(OTL) Africa Downstream Expo 2019. From petroleum products marketing and distribution, the company has evolved into a full stream oil and gas company. This means it plays

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across the oil and gas value chain – upstream, midstream and downstream.

The company owns a 56 million-litres tank in Lagos and lifts 45, 000 barrels of per day of crude oil under

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from investment over the lifetime of deepwater projects and remove some $10.4 billion in potential government revenue by 2030.

But are these concerns valid?

Well, over a decade ago, analysts began warning of a time when the United States would rely less on Nigerian oil and today, not only have not conveniently ignored Nigeria’s crude, they are going after Nigeria’s other markets.

Recent overtures from China and Russia while flattering, has yet to go past mere declarations of intention.

China has invested in Nigeria’s oil sector but not at the scale of the IOCs and by the nature of Chinese investments, local capacity is rarely impacted as skills are rarely transferred or best practices applied.

So why the terms are due for a review, it is yet to be seen if they would actually lead to a windfall in the foreseeable future. This push for review comes at a time when oil companies are slashing spending budgets to shore up their balanced sheet, troubled by low oil prices and environmental concerns around the use of fossil fuels.

Beyond reviewing terms, Nigeria should be ramping monitoring expenditure and oil lifting by the IOCs to cut costs that may be claimed by operators to boost royalties as well as improving the regulatory and security environment in which they operate. The Petroleum industry bill should equally be passed with similar zeal and reform the state-owned oil firm to deliver greater value.

the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s Direct Sale – Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme.

“We struggle like every other company in the downstream oil and gas sector because the margins are thin. This is why we have aggressively pursued the goal of becoming a full stream company so that we can efficiently contain costs,” Mumuni Dagazau, chief operating officer of the company told BusinessDay on the side-lines of the OTL. Dagazau said that plans are already in top gear to build a retail petroleum products service station in Lagos. “We have concluded plans and talked with various stakeholders to acquire and open more outlets in the Lagos area before the end of this year.”

A A Rano is poised to take total control of the entire value chain from production to end user because the company now has put in place the neces@Businessdayng

sary assets needed to run production operations.

This, the COO maintained, will be achievable as the company will do things differently for the satisfaction of customers.

In line with its new fiveyear strategy, the company has introduced a new logo meant to increase and sustain the confidence reposed on it by various stakeholders. This comes across through constant innovation.

A member of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the company has grown from renting retail outlets to owning 115 retail outlets in 25 years; and has 600 trucks to convey products with. It has 20, 000 metric tonnes capacity of liquefied national gas (LPG) plant currently under construction in Lagos. Its subsidiaries include: Rano Petrotrade limited, Ranogaz Limited, A A Rano Transport Limited and Rano Lubricants Limited.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

OFFGRID BUSINESS

Solar energy firm Greenlight partners telecom firms STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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ajor telecommunication companies in Africa are providing the infrastructure that solar market leaders such as Greenlight Planet are taking advantage of it to serve millions of un-electrified consumers across the continent.

With the natural synergy between telecommunication companies and the payas-you-go solar industry, the company is pursuing a strong telecom-focused strategy that aims to have a far-reaching impact across the African continent.

The company has collaborated with more than fifteen telecom operators, banks and payment gateways to make Sun King products more affordable and accessible for rural individuals, increasing long-term value for a common consumer base.

Full-fledged sales and distribution partnerships have been launched with three leading telecom operators, Vodacom (Tanzania), Orange (Burkina Faso) and Telma (Madagascar), to en-

able sales of solar-powered energy solutions through each operator’s subscriber base and mobile money channels.

In addition, Greenlight Planet has integrated its innovative PAYG technology platform with leading mobile money providers across subSaharan Africa, enabling consumers to make continuous installment payments in a secure and simple way.

Greenlight Planet establishes

unique operating models with each telecom partner to best serve and work with each service provider’s strategic goals, local business model and competitive landscape.

“The time is right for telecoms to look beyond their traditional revenue earning models and explore innovative partnerships that can lead to a sustained increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) and customer reten-

tion,” Dhaval Radia, Senior Vice President at Greenlight Planet said “By expanding to rural consumer segments with value-added services such as PAYG solar products for daily energy and infotainment, telecom operators can help deliver higher value to their customer base.”

Recent collaborations between PAYG solar companies and telecom operators have demonstrated that PAYG solar customers are amongst

Report identifies clean energy options for global shipping industry ISAAC ANYAOGU

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new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has found that decarbonizing global shipping which currently accounts for 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 9 per cent of transport related emissions, through use of heavy fuel oil, will play a critical role in achieving climate objectives.

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) forecast, unless mitigation action is intensified, the significant rise in global trade volumes could see maritime emissions grow between 50 and 250 per cent by 2050.

The report titled Navigating a way to a renewable future explores the impact of maritime shipping on CO2 emissions, the structure of shipping and key areas that need to be addressed to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.

Speaking at the launch of the report from the Global Maritime Forum’s Annual Summit in Singapore, Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s director-general Francesco La Camera said it’s clear that the industry has recognised the urgent need to address its decarbonisation options. “Decarbonising transport is criti-

cal to a sustainable future.

Shipping is a major contributor to transport emissions and it is encouraging that the industry has shown a clear willingness to engage the energy sector to exchange ideas on low-carbon pathways.

“As the cost of renewables falls, the decarbonisation options available become increasingly competitive,” he continued. “By 2030 alternative low-carbon fuels could reach parity with heavy fuel oil, so it is vitally important that the ship industry prepares itself for a low-carbon future.”

Cutting carbon emission levels in 2008 by half in 2050, in line with IMO goals, requires a combination of clean energy options and

alternative fuels based on renewables, IRENA’s new report finds. This includes a shift from fossil fuels to alternatives like advanced biofuels and hydrogen-based fuels, upgrading onshore infrastructure and practices during docking, electrification and reducing fuel demand by improving operational performance.

Ready-to-use biofuels, such as Bio-LNG, hold tremendous potential as a transitional fuel which could gradually replace fossil fuels.

Other synthetic fuels being considered as potential replacements for conventional ones include methanol, hydrogen and ammonia. These fuels can effectively decrease, and even eliminate, emis-

sions in the shipping industry if produced from sustainable feedstocks using renewable electricity i.e. producing hydrogen through electrolysis.

Although currently not economically competitive, in the medium- to long-term, alternative fuels are expected to become viable as their prices fall, adoption grows, and technology improves.

Yet, a shift from heavy fuel oil to a clean fuel would also include adjustments to the refueling structure in around 100 ports which account for 80 per cent of global freight and the retrofitting of around 25 000 ships. Bulk and container carriers, as well as oil and chemical tankers, represent one quarter of the global shipping fleet and emit 85 per cent of global shipping emissions. Seven ports are responsible for nearly 60 per cent of the bunker fuel sales around the world. Singapore alone delivers 22 per cent of today’s total bunkering.

In terms of short distance applications, e.g. ferries and other small vessels, electric ships powered by batteries are currently a feasible option. In the long term, with improved battery storage technology and decreasing costs, full electrical propulsion can become economically attractive also for bigger, long-distance ships.

ANALYSTS: Isaac Anyaogu (Team Lead), Stephen Onyekwelu, Dipo Oladehinde

the most active profiles of mobile money users in subSaharan Africa, many opening their first mobile money account specifically to purchase a PAYG solar home system.

Ninety-eight percent of Greenlight Planet’s PAYG customers make roughly 60 mobile money payments between $2 and $5 each over a period of twelve to twentyfour months to complete their installment payment plans for a PAYG solar device.

The company has processed nearly 40 million mobile money payments from customers in Africa in the last three years.

This is a technology Africa’s most populous nation can take advantage of to provide for the country’s over 80 million Nigerians living in 8000 villages across without access to electricity.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a multinational professional services network with headquarters in London, only one in five people in Nigeria has access to power from the electricity grid. This leaves four in five people living in urban and rural communi-

ties to fend for themselves with makeshift and localised power solutions.

“It is critical that Nigerians take steps to understand and embrace the new starting points for energy provided by stand-alone renewable technology and mini-grids.

We believe these solutions provide a viable, bottom-up solution to the patchy availability of electricity in Nigeria,” Pedro Omontuemhen, partner and lead, Power and Utilities said.

But with more than 100 million mobile money subscribers, and nearly 600 million people that lack reliable access to electricity on the African continent, opportunities for telecoms and the distributed energy sectors to join forces remain tremendous, particularly in Nigeria.

Since inception, Greenlight Planet has installed nearly six million solar products, benefitting over 24 million individuals, across SubSaharan Africa through its direct distribution channels in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda and through more than 200 strategic alliances in 32 countries across the African continent.

Off-grid energy company PowerGen signs funding agreement with Shell, others ISAAC ANYAOGU

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owerGen Renewable Energy, a micro-utilities provider in Africa has signed an equity-based financing investment with funding from Shell’s New Energies business, as well as Omidyar Network, Acumen, Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), EDFI ElectriFI, Sumitomo Corporation, DOB Equity, and Micro-grid Catalytic Capital Partners (MCCP).

According to a release by the company, this round of funding follows a seed financing it closed in December 2016 led by DOB Equity and supported by AHI Venture Partners.

“We are excited to work with them to build the energy system of the future in Africa, helping to bring electricity to the millions of people without,” said Aaron Cheng, President of PowerGen. Brian Davis, Shell VP Energy Solutions, comments: “I am happy that Shell will be supporting the next chapter in PowerGen’s exciting journey towards meeting the electricity needs of more African customers. We see that Pow-

ergen’s local experience, capabilities and growth to date make it well positioned to serve the expanding African decentralised power market. The firm is a key part of our growing energy access business as we move towards Shell’s ambition to provide a reliable electricity supply by 2030 to 100 million people in the developing world.”

Africa’s energy poverty sees over 600million without access to electricity according to the International Energy Agency figures and approximately 80 percent live in rural areas.

The recent uptick in off-grid investments is helping to improve access.

“The funding will strengthen PowerGen’s position in its core African markets Kenya, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, and help it expand into new ones, as the demand for reliable, clean and affordable electricity in Africa continues to grow,” says PowerGen. The company also says it aims to connect one million more people to reliable electricity over the next five years, before accelerating its reach in the future.

Feedback: 07037817378, 08137433034, 08135447789

email: isaac.anyaogu@businessday.ng, stephen.onyekwelu@businessdayonline.com, oladehinde.oladipo@businessdayonline.com

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

BDTECH

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In association with

E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com

‘Our goal is to deliver access to smartphone financing technology’ PayJoy is a global provider of smartphone locking and smartphone scoring technologies that are used to reduce the risk of non-payment and enable smartphone financing and lending in emerging markets. In this exclusive interview with Jumoke Lawanson, Gib Lopez, the co-founder and chief operating officer of Payjoy talks about the need to use technology to increase access to finance, its partnership with leading original equipment manufacturers, technology regulation, expansion plans and other issues. Excerpts.

What is Payjoy and what are your plans for the Nigerian telecommunications sector? ayjoy was founded in 2015 with the mission of delivering access to smartphone financing technology to people in emerging markets worldwide. We are the leading enabler of pay-as-you-go smartphone financing. Payjoy enables consumers with no bank accounts or formal credit history to purchase smartphones in instalment payments. It does so by turning the smartphone into collateral through software technology that locks the phone when payments have not been made. We are active in over twelve countries including all four major regions; America, Asia, Africa, South East Asia.

see things like that we can either fix them or reduce the ability for people to make profit off stealing the phones.

We have partnerships with companies like Qualcom – the world’s leading chipset manufacturer and we have license agreement partnerships with major OEMs, so people can see that the smartphone locking technology is working and that builds our credibility.

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What informed PayJoy’s decision to bring the smartphone locking technology solution to Nigeria in order to aid device financing?

When we look at the globe, we think that most countries outside of the largest developed countries have a credit system that doesn’t function very well. There is very low credit penetration because there’s not much information on people. A lot of information that is out there isn’t very useful and may not be accessible. We think that with our technology, we can help reduce that barrier and help people get access to finance. Nigeria is a big, exciting country. It is a developing economy with a lot of potential and so when we looked at the African market, Nigeria was on the top of our list of countries to go into. We started in a couple of other African countries like Kenya, Zambia, Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire first and then expanded into Nigeria.

How important do you think smartphone phone financing/loan facilities are today, especially with the availability of very low budget smartphones?

I think there are two major things.

One is the importance of access to finance to buy technology and the other is the cost and capability of smartphones. People value the power and capability of high technology devices which usually cost more.

Gib Lopez

Things like sound quality, camera quality, battery capacity, ability to run all apps etc. are what people value. The reason why some people buy the cheaper mobile phones that cost about $60 or less is not because that’s what they desire, but because that’s what they can afford to buy at the time. What we do is that we can turn that $60 upfront purchase into a down payment, smooth out the rest of the payments and let them pay over time for the device they really want and need. When we see statistics on the changing nature of these prices, I think it’s born out of a constraint and not desire. People want the higher devices that are critically important for their lives and we enable that for them through our partners. On the importance of the loan, we typically find that in countries like Mexico, Kenya and Indonesia, people have a small amount of money every month but can’t come up with a huge sum of money in one month. If someone can come in and offer credit, they can afford to pay in bits to get something that’s really important to them. But because credit lenders don’t have the confidence that they’ll get repaid, because people can’t promise collateral and there isn’t a credit score, they don’t lend, so that market doesn’t move. When we come in, we enable

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them to virtually collect these devices as collateral so that the lenders can feel more comfortable lending. With this technology, they can actually lend meaningful amounts and totally transform the market.

How secure and reliable is your technology and how do you ensure that borrowers pay as at when due and stay within the terms and conditions of the contract for securing a loan?

Making sure that our technology is strong and secure enough to motivate repayment is our core business. When we started, people said this wouldn’t work in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico because very smart tech gurus will look for ways to break into the system, but over the years, our lock has been very resilient. We have tested it at very large scale with hundreds of thousands of devices all over the world in countries like Indonesia, Nigeria and India and our lock has held up. We have an amazing technical team coming from Google, Facebook, leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and chipset manufacturers. For us, that security is our number one priority. We have also spent a lot of time monitoring ways that people can break down the phone and sell off the parts. When we

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Considering that there is already lending for smartphone available in the country, how do you intend to make sure that Payjoy is successful in this market?

Lending for smartphone purchase tends to only be available to the top 5-10% of the population. People that already have plenty of money, documented income, credit history are the ones that the system already works for. Payjoy is aiming to solve it for the other 90-95% of the population that do not have any formal income or credit.

We can make this a profitable business for the banks, fintech companies, microfinance institutions to reach the low income segment of the population because we reduce the risk with our locking technology which will cut the default rate. I know in Nigeria, financial inclusion is a major topic, and we see ourselves as being a necessary ingredient for people to really reach to the 80% percent of the population otherwise it’s incredibly difficult to lend money when you know nothing about people without collateral or address verification.

With technologies like this, people are usually concerned about the security of information on their smartphone devices. How secure is data on the device with Payjoy?

This is something we take very seriously. We play in an ecosystem with Google, Android, leading OEMs and we have very close relationships with them and we rely on their security, so they enforce certain things. We just touch a different part of the phone and we do not touch information on the phone. When we lock your phone, we don’t have the capability to access personal information. The partners we work with are the only ones that can see your information.

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How have you been able to deal with the strict regulation of technology in Nigeria to ensure that you wouldn’t have a hurdle in future?

Every country is unique and has its own challenges. One of the reasons why we are very happy to be a technology provider in Nigeria is because it allows us to be more scalable, and so, we purposely go for fairly minimal level of integration and that’s why we don’t touch personal identifiable information. We adhere to all local regulatory and tax compliance which is necessary. But we are not licensing ourselves as a lender, we are not providing capital and that makes it much easier for us to expand across the globe.

Seeing that technology is indeed very dynamic, are there any plans for Payjoy to expand into other services apart from smartphone locking technology?

Our goal is to unlock access to finance for people around the world by reducing risk. The first technology we developed was a smartphone locking technology which is the collateral and collection piece. The next technology we are developing is a smartphone scoring technology which will be made available to any company that would want to use for data. Initially, we had thought of looking to develop locking technology for other devices such as TVs, laptops, PCs, etc. but what we realised is that if we expand from smartphones, the best next step was cash loans to buy anything else, which is more useful than locking other devices.

Payjoy raised $40million from top venture capital firms, how do you plan to keep raising capital and what do you intend to use the funds for?

Our most recent raise was $20million series B equity raise from Greylock Partners with participation from Union Square Ventures, EchoVC and Core Innovation Capital. The two things we are doing with this money is that we are continuing to invest in our technology to remain the global leader in smartphone locking technology and the second thing is hiring more people as we expand to help build our relationship with local partners.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

BDTECH

E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com

Why many organisations may not succeed in tackling cyber demands Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson with wired report

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s digitalisation continues to drive changes in businesses and economies, and the world becomes more and more digitally connected, cyber demands continue to increase as it becomes the centre of digital transformation in the fourth industrial revolution.

Although organisations across all sectors of the economy are investing more in digital transformation and significantly increasing technology spend year-on-year, research has shown that the current lack of cyber talent, adequate budget and operational alignment is creating a dissonance between what organisations aspire to, versus the current reality of their cyber posture.

According to Deloitte’s 2019 Future of Cyber survey, there are notable gaps in organisations’ abilities to meet cybersecurity demands for the future. Findings indicate that many cyber organisations are challenged by their ability to prioritise cyber risk across the enterprise (16 percent), followed closely behind by lack of management alignment on priorities and adequate funding, each at 15 percent.

“Cyber leaders today are fo-

cused on digital transformation as a catalyst for change for both the greater enterprise and their cyber agendas. The good news is the survey results show that organisations are no longer taking a wait-and-see philosophy to preparing for and responding to cyber incidents”, says Eric Mc Gee, risk advisory cyber leader, Deloitte Africa.

“There is a whole new way of

thinking that is starting to occur with how organisations are going to achieve their business outcomes, and that is with a cyber everywhere mindset,” he says.

Findings from the 500 C-suite cybersecurity executives surveyed also suggested that there is still much work to do in aligning cyber initiatives to executive management’s digital transformation priori-

Obafemi Olopade;entrepreneur, Eyitayo Okandeji; Globacom delegate, Funmi Roberts;chairman, board of trustees, WIMBIZ, Asue Ighodalo; chairman, Sterling Bank, and Justina Abdulateef; Globacom delegate, at the 2019 edition of WIMBIZ conference in Lagos recently.

Interswitch expands presence in healthtech space through acquisition of eClat

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nterswitch Limited, a technology-driven company focused on the digitization of payments in Nigeria and other African countries, has announced the acquisition of eClat Healthcare Limited, a Nigeria-based health technology company that aims to improve healthcare delivery in Africa.

The deal involves Interswitch acquiring a 60 percent stake in eClat through the purchase of shares from current shareholders and subscription to new shares issued by the company.

Founded in 2012, eClat Healthcare Limited specializes in assisting healthcare service providers in planning, designing and operating their unique practices through the deployment of its bespoke healthcare technology platform, designed specifically for the healthcare environment in Africa. eClat’s healthcare technology platform, consists of a core e-clinic software (including electronic billing, immunization, ante-natal and care pathway functions), as well as a variety of additional specialist modules.

Prior to the acquisition, eClat’s platform had become a leading Electronic Health Record (EHR) platform used in over 250 public and private healthcare facilities in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s healthcare system currently lacks adequate funding and a national framework, leading to operational inefficiencies. Interswitch says its strategic investment in healthcare

ties. There is a real gap that must be bridged, with finite budgets and resources as well as a lack of prioritisation by executive management. The overall consensus was that many organisations aren’t fully equipped to efficiently and effectively tackle today’s cyber demands.

The survey finds that while organisations are prioritising digital transformation, only 14 percent of

technology aims to address these challenges by modernising the healthcare sector in Nigeria and eventually in Africa through its innovative products and services. The combined product offerings of Interswitch and eClat are expected to, amongst other things, enable operators in the healthcare sector develop new capabilities, improve the efficiency of their core operations and facilitate seamless payments.

Due to the growing adoption of Interswitch’s healthcare product offerings by the operators, Interswitch’s healthcare technology platform aims to be one of the top industry platforms in Nigeria, which can be utilised as a major data source by healthcare policy makers for planning and efficiency improvements in the sector.

Commenting on the transaction, Mitchell Elegbe, founder and group managing director/chief executive officer of Interswitch, said: “We are a technology company that is innovating to deliver value across sectors that are critical to Africa’s social and economic development, our acquisition of eClat demonstrates strong progress along this strategy and alignment with our corporate vision.

Healthcare is rapidly evolving towards new, integrated and scalable models of care delivery that put the consumer at the centre. At the core of Interswitch’s expansion into healthcare is our ambition to prowww.businessday.ng

vide customers with greater access to healthcare across different interaction points beyond hospitals, such as at pharmacies and primary health care facilities, providing much needed services to patients across Nigeria and, in the future, in Africa. It also represents an opportunity to introduce a number of Interswitch’s products, such as our Verve Health cards, as well as our payment collection and disbursement solutions (Quickteller for business), that will drive much needed efficiency in payments for health services across the value chain”.

Also remarking on the acquisition, Wallace Ogufere, co-founder/CEO of eClat Healthcare Limited stated “The growing adoption of value-based care, combined with the increasing level of usage of patient portals across the industry, has made it critical to take a new approach to patient engagement solution design in Nigeria. We expect to tightly integrate the eClat capabilities into the Interswitch platform, adding functionality that would enable providers to reach their entire patient populations by leveraging existing patient contact information”.

This new acquisition by Interswitch represents the latest of several strategic investments executed by the company to enhance Interswitch’s product and service offering and expand its reach into new markets as the payments technology sector in Africa expands rapidly.

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cyber budgets are allocated to provide for cybersecurity in transformation efforts and less than 20 percent of organisations have security liaisons embedded within business units to foster greater collaboration, innovation, and security.

Also, although half of organisations (49 percent) have cybersecurity on their board agenda at least quarterly, half of boards are not discussing cyber as often as they should. More concerning is that only four percent of respondents say cybersecurity is on the agenda once a month.

“The aim of this survey report is to put the numbers into context and to expand the dialogue and acceptance of cyber everywhere so that organisations are not limited by it but empowered to embrace the opportunities it will create,” Mc Gee says.

As organisations embrace digital transformation and shift to the cloud increasing the complexity of technology infrastructure and outsourcing workloads to third parties, they are also expanding their cyber risk. Cyber will become more prolific across systems, platforms, and people — employees, customers, and partners. Deloitte notes that enterprise leadership will have to correlate all of that to stay ahead of the adversary and protect the organisation’s most valuable assets.

Vivo launches first ever dual pop-up front camera smartphone into Nigerian market Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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ivo, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer that recently decided to play in Nigeria’s competitive mobile phone market has broken the norm in the world of innovation with the launch of the first of its kind dual pop up camera and AI quad camera smartphone –the Vivo V17 pro.

Considering that camera has become very vital in the day to day activities of every individual in this generation, the OEM decided to showcase its strong consumercentric innovation approach by releasing the new V17Pro, focusing on brilliant camera systems as its first flagship device launched in the Nigerian market.

Speaking at the launch of the launch of the device in Lagos recently, Felix Lu, the country manager, Vivo said; “V17 Pro is a masterpiece that we are extremely proud of, as it reinforces our position as a pioneer in bringing best-in-class mobile experiences to the Nigerian market.”

The V17 Pro comes with 6 high-end cameras positioned in the front and rear of the device.

The 32MP dual pop-up camera and a complimentary 8MP wideangle front cameras ensure every detail is captured clearly. The 8MP super wide-angle selfie is able to capture wide angles up to 105-degrees, allowing perfect @Businessdayng

group shots.

Similarly, with the help of its 48MP main camera, 8MP wideangle camera, 2MP Bokeh camera and an additional 2MP macro camera, the device’s rear cameras are just perfect for that spot-on picture and also capturing landscape shots even further.

The V17 Pro smartphone also features twoimpressive beautifying features and is supported by qualcomm snapdragon 675 AIE processor with 8GB RAM + 128GB ROM that ensures performance for applications and system can be operated smoothly at any time.

Also speaking in response to questions from journalists, Tayo Odunowo, marketing manager, Vivo, said the company was ready to bring something entirely different and valuable to compete in the Nigerian market.

“We brought a top range device with 4100mAh battery and dualengine fast charging technology which brings higher durability and faster charging to address our unique power challenges in this part of the world,” Odunowo said.

V17 Pro is also designed for gamers. It comes with optimized game mode that brings out a smooth new gaming experience.

The multi-turbo acceleration technology actively tunes the operating system to ensure users can enjoy a more exhilarating game performance.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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property&lifestyle Lekki residents, Why Nigeria is our key market for stakeholders fault affordable housing—Shelter Afrique AMCON on Victory …partnership pact with FHF to deliver homes for low-income earners Stories by CHUKA UROKO

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or its large-size population, high housing deficit profile and low homeownership level estimated at 200 million, 17 million units and 25 percent respectively, Nigeria’s housing market is,clearly, a low hanging fruit for savvy and strategic investors.

This explains the investment interests shown by both continental and international institutions like Shelter Afrique which sees Nigeria as a key market for them, especially in affordable housing delivery.

Shelter Afrique is a partnership of 44 African governments plus the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Africa Reinsurance Company whose aim is to provide funding solutions for new affordable housing projects.

To fully leverage opportunities in the Nigerian market, the continental body recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nigeria’s Family Home Funds (FHF)—a social housing initiative promoted by the federal

L-R: Sammy Adigun, Director, Echostone Nigeria; Angela Ikade, Managing Partner, Paul Osaji & Co; Adedotun Bamigbola, Chairman, NIESV Lagos State Branch; Bola Adigun, Director, PwC and Guest Speaker, and Austin Otegbulu, Member, Board of Trustees, NIESV, at the NIEV’s Summit 3.0 in Lagos recently

government as part of its social intervention programmes.

The funds, which focuses on affordable homes for low-income earning Nigerians, has an initial shareholding by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority,.

It hopes that, by 2023,it shall have invested up to N1.3trn (US$3bn) in the development of 500,000 homes for low-income earners and, in the process,

create up to 1.5 million jobs and, through that too, enable homeownership.

At the agreement signing event which was prformed in Abuja by the chief executives of Shelter Afrique and FHF, Andrew Chimphondah and Femi Adewole respectively, the continental body offered insights into its affordable housing delivering strategy.

It pointed out that Nigeria is its biggest market. “We are very grateful to get into a partnership with Family

Homes Funds and we are delighted to sign the MOU. One of the things we realised when we re-strategized over the last few years is that beyond financing affordable housing, one of our strengths was leveraging our partnerships and networks,” said Chimpondah.

He explained that they were happy to be signing the agreement, not only because it fits into their strategic direction, but also because Nigeria is a key market and Family Homes

Funds has a better understanding of the local market.

“The idea is to co-fund specific deals, share market knowledge and operate in line with best practices. In the end, our core vision is to develop decent and affordable homes for all Nigerians and if we work together to solve the affordability challenge on the demand and supply side, we will be able to achieve a lot,” he hoped.

Earlier, Adewole had described the MoU signing as “a small but momentous occasion,” explaining that Shelter Afrique has been a housing financing organisation for more than 35 years with significant experience across very many countries while FHF is barely a couple of years old.

“This partnership and relationship birthed out of this MOU provide the beginning of what I hope and expect; we will work assiduously for it to be a very successful relationship and we will ensure that we create homes for Nigerians who need them most,” he assured.

The signing of the MOU, according to him, is the first in what would be a weekly series of meetings held by a committee with members drawn from both organisations.

Building the future today as Banana Island welcomes LucreziaBySujimoto … investors who buy off-plan today save 40% of market value

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n Banana Island, one of Africa’s most exclusive residential destinations, future is evolving as Sujimoto Construction Limited commences construction work on its ambitious LucreziaBySujimoto which hopes to change the skyline of its immediate environment and disrupt investment market.

Lucrezia is a new innovation in residential development. It promises to be the first of its kind not only in its exclusive location but also in Nigeria at large. The building is conceived to deliver to every resident an Imax cinema effect where a Hollywood standard cinema will be available for all residents to watch and enjoy in the company of family and friends.

There will be an interactive lobby reflective of what obtains in 5-star hotels; standard and convenient crèche, 4-metre floor to ceiling height that gives a royal effect in each room; Olympic-size pool, gym with the latest equipment by Technogym and a GRC façade.

“When we say we are building the best condominium, we are not bragging. We have done our research and looked through all the tall buildings in Ikoyi; no building shall compete with the Lucrezia,” ‘Sijibomi Ogundele, CEO of Sujimoto, assured in an interview with BusinessDay. Lucrezia will come wrapped in a rare façade system known as Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC), and the promoters assure that coming onboard early with them will give buyers strong pricing competitive advantage.

Ogundele explained that early investors, that is, those who buy off-plan now, will be saving about 40 percent above market value, saying that even though there are some empty buildings in Ikoyi and Banana Island, their own would always be sold out.

The reasons for this, he said, were two-fold, including the realization that many developers put immediate gratification above value creation; “so we made it a philosophy to

put quality at the foundation of who we are; clients can see quality, not only on finishing but the way we go the extra mile in delivering luxury.”

The other reason is the value they offer. At Sujimoto, it is essential for them to have a great pricing point, putting customer satisfaction first and giving early investors a strong competitive pricing point.

Their value proposition is such that, today those who bought apartments at their Gulliano, also in Banana Island, for N320 million per unit are refusing to sell at N450 million after less than 18 months.

Sujimoto believes in building with strong foundation which is why LucreziaBySujimoto, whose piling is about 80 percent completed, will be sitting on approximately 94 piles with each at 900 diameter,and going 45mm deep.

“We will not only do the pilling but we shall make sure all piles go through an Structural Integrity Test (SIT) which is what will make us sleep at night because for the

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next 1,000 years, you are guaranteed that the Lucrezia shall still remain standing,” he said.

The building is already garnering buyer interest which explains why, of the first batch of 6 units, released into the market, only one unit remains

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and Ogundele says that immediately they sell that off, they will close sales and start selling again when the building stands and this should be around April 2020, when the price is expected to have gone up 30 percent. @Businessdayng

Park Estate

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esidents and stakeholders in Lekki estates have faulted the action of Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) regarding the handling of the receivership case involving Victory Park Estate on the Lekki Peninsula, Lagos.

The residents, under the aegis of Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders Association (LERSA) which embodies all estates, communities and facilities from 1004 Estate up to Epe, contended that AMCOM could not be judge and prosecutor in its own case, more so as it violates court orders at will.

LERSA’s position was contained in a statement issued by the association and made available to BusinessDay in Lagos last week. It was signed by James Emadoye, the president of LERSA. Emadoye, who led a delegation of LERSA members to Victory Park Estate on a fact finding mission, wondered why AMCON, a creation of government, would not obey court ruling and decided to move to the estate to harass innocent citizens.

He recalled that the harassment started just few days after a Lagos State High Court presided over by Honourable Justice Jos declared unconstitutional the provisions of Section 34(6) of the AMCON Amendment Act No. 2.

Emadoye called for immediate intervention of Lagos State and federal governments, stating that the country’s developmental dreams would continue to be a mirage until “the big and mighty allow the laws of the land to take effect and all Nigerian citizens are subject to the laws of the land.”

“We wish to draw the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, chairman of AMCON, Muiz Banire and the managing director of AMCON, Lawan Kuru to the plight of the people,” he said.

Continuing, he said, “we are Nigerian citizens and we surely deserve the protection of the government.

We cannot allow anybody to undermine the law of the land; in the matters of Victory Park Estate and other similar matters, we deserve the protection of the constitution of the land; we deserve the protection of our elected custodian of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

property&lifestyle Your definition of real estate is tied to emotion … Investment success hinges on its effective application

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nly two things were made at creation: Real estate and human beings.

On one hand, the Universe consists of the earth’s crust, all the liquid, gas, and mineral elements. Included is the air space above and water surrounding or beneath.

To transform and manage the universe, the human being too was designed. In transforming the universe through the application of intellectual abilities, humans stretched the definition of real estate beyond the earth’s surface to the creation of mega-structures and businesses.

The land space, air space, water body and the galaxies even in the raw form have all been designed to sustain and support human existence. When we apply our imaginative and creative abilities to these forms, we create other kinds of valuable real estate property.

To some people, real estate means just having a roof for shelter. To others, real estate means the earth crust and every mineral it holds. What this means is

that real estate is what we make of it. Consequently, what real estate means to you will determine how you choose to go about its use to create wealth.

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man, has a clear personal definition of what real estate means to him and this is clear in the ways by which he approaches and extracts value from real estate. He creates the biggest businesses over and again. What does real estate mean to you and how are you creating relevant value from it that is meeting a need?

A question from a survey conducted in 2017, read: “What readily comes to mind when you first hear real estate?” 20 percent of respondents said the word “wealth” came to mind, 30 percent said “land”, 30 percent said “house” while 15 percent chose “money.”

Several reasons contribute to each respondent’s perspective on what came to mind when they first heard real estate. Some of those reasons include background, migration experiences, exposure, education,

self-discovery and personal development.

More often than not, real estate does not mean just one thing to an individual; meanings are progressive – ever-changing. A look at Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shows lucidly what real estate means and how it meets needs.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs divides human needs into three broad categories.

Basic needs category describe the safety and physiological needs such as food, water, and rest. The second category describes psychological needs which cut across our esteem needs, our need for belonging and love. The final category describes self-fulfillment and self-actualization needs.

It becomes evident that human needs across the board are largely emotional.

Meeting these needs can be emotionally fulfilling and rewarding. It is amazing that real estate meets needs across the hierarchy from bottom-up and this means that real estate also plays a huge role in our overall emotional fulfillment per time as further explained.

New homes on the way as Lagos, FIDC commit to Ilubirin Foreshore completion CHUKA UROKO

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t least 108 families in Lagos will be taken off the housing market in the next 12 months when Ilubirin Foreshore Housing project being developed by First Investment Development Company (FIDC) in collaboration with Lagos State government is expected to be completed and delivered to the market.

Given an average of six persons per family comprising father and mother, four children and two domestic staff, it means 648 residents of the state will have roofs over their head. Analysts say this is a significant reduction in the number of people without their own homes in the state.

Ilubirin is a moderate housing development. Its first residential offering called ‘the premier collection’ will be providing a total of 108 spacious apartments across five blocks consisting of 20 studios, 64 two-bedrooms and 24 three-bedroom apartments designed and detailed to provide fine places to live.

Recently, during an inspection tour of the facility, Lagos and FIDC said they were committed to completing and delivering the es-

tate, which is situated on the side-view of the picturesque lagoon on Lagos Island, to Lagos residents by 2020.

“With the commitment from both parties, Lagosians and, indeed, the general public which has been dreaming of a novel, all-purpose housing complex that seamlessly fuses living, commercial offerings and leisure will soon have such dreams fulfilled,” Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, Lagos Commissioner for Housing, assured.

“We have a solid plan to deliver the first phase of the project (residential) in the fourth quarter of 2020 to be followed by the commercial and entertainment/leisure parks in 2021,” AkinderuFatai assured further.

Ilubirin is a critically important development for Lagos as a city. It will rejuvenate the area and, according to the commissioner, government has a duty to ensure that more Lagos residents become home owners and that the homes themselves are built to global and international standards.

The commissioner is optimistic that, when fully delivered, the project would go a long way in addressing the housing deficit in Lagos, saying that his hope was www.businessday.ng

based on the initiative and steadfastness of the FIDC management to the realization of the Ilubirin dream.

Wale Bamgbelu, project director at FIDC, noted that there is “a collective determination and commitment from both parties to the timely delivery of Ilubiri, which will set a new standard for mixed-used housing estates.”

“Ilubirin will create a benchmark for future community development in Lagos state anchored on the concept of ‘live, work and play’ with not only residential offerings but also offices, shopping, new school, hotel, medical center, leisure facilities and a brand new Marina for the Lagoon,” he added.

Bamgbelu disclosed that a revised Master Plan was completed recently, stressing that this would help in optimizing the Marina and “creating a new shopping spine through the new neighborhood”.

The project director said that “Ilubirin, a Joint Venture between the Lagos state government and the FIDC, was set to become an aweinspiring neighborhood for a forward-thinking and aspirational community”.

The Basic Needs: The physiological and safety needs have been identified to be food, water, warmth, rest, security and safety.

Food from agriculture and water largely ground source.

Warmth and rest do not happen in isolation. We derive warmth and rest from a real estate object such as a built property. Likewise, security and safety arecreated within a bounded area.

For instance, when people move into a new city or location, they first depend on other people for shelter, safety, security, warmth and rest at least for a while.

These provisions provide support and keep the receiver in a positive emotional state for better productivity. The provider of the support system also, in turn, receives some reward which may be a feeling of high esteem or financial reward.

Shelter, safety, warmth and rest are provided and obtained inside a property (a subset of real estate).

Hypothetically, real estate makes being human possible. It delivers emotional fulfilment. It supports the

Talking Real Estate

With Oluwakemi Adeyemo essence and existence of life.

The Psychological Needs: Ever wondered why some people buy houses in highbrow environments?

While there are a number of reasons, chief on the list is because they want to belong and identify with a certain societal class.

Psychological needs are the esteem, belonging and love needs. Humans crave these emotions at varying degrees and want to have them fulfilled. Real estate is a basic tool that can be used to meet these needs.

You probably have been using real estate to meet these needs and you do not even know it! You derive esteem and feelings of belonging to a certain class or group of people when you occupy or use real estate in certain locations.

The Self-fulfilment Needs: Self-actualization is explained as achieving one’s full potentials including creative activities.The Dangote Foundation recently donated

1,200,000,000 worth of student accommodation to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Such a gestureis geared towards a level of fulfilment for the donor. To those who are recipients of the foundation’s kind gesture, a basic need have also been met using real estate.

Continuously succeeding at real estate investing hinges a great deal on finding a balance between how you define real estate and how you express that definition while meeting a high demand need. Yet keeping in mind that needs are progressive and change is inevitable.

Oluwakemi Adeyemo is a real estate wealth creation enthusiast, advisor, ambassador and author with extensive experience in real estate wealth creation and optimization. She is known for her diligent, meticulous, analytical and deep insight into the transformative power of real estate as a wealth creation tool.

Good news for travelers as Lagos-Ibadan Expressway opens in Dec CHUKA UROKO

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or motorists and Easterners who may be traveling home for Christmas celebrations, the announcement by the federal government that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be thrown open on December 15,2019 to ease the current congestion on the expressway is a piece of good news.

Since September this year, the expressway has been partially closed to traffic because of the on-going reconstruction work being done by the German construction giant, Julius Berger.

It has been pretty difficult for travelers and people who reside within that stretch of the expressway from Ogere to Kara Bridge as gridlock is a daily dose of jitters and suffering for them.

The decision to open the expressway in December was part of the outcomes of a recent stakeholders’ sensitization meeting involving the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Police, FRSC, Truck drivers, and the governments of Oyo and Ogun states, held at the Ratcon Construction Company (RCC) yard in Ogere, Ogun State.

Funso Adebiyi, Director, Highway Planning, South West, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, disclosed that there were plans to fast-

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track construction along that corridor, as all construction on the expressway would be suspended on December 15 to ensure free traffic during Christmas.

However, Adebiyi urged commuters to cooperate with contractors handling the project, as construction along the Ibadan axis being handled by RCC has reached critical stage that might cause discomfort to road users, especially truck drivers.

According to him, trucks and heavy duty vehicles parked indiscriminately along the road, especially at Ogere, would be relocated to a better place to allow for construction work along the Ogere axis of the road.

Adebiyi equally lamented the loss of two engineers to reckless truck drivers, stating that government cannot sit and watch the lives of innocent citizens wasted by reckless drivers, promising that the @Businessdayng

contractors will work round the clock to ensure speedy completion of the contract to deliver on the project.

Clement Oladele, the Ogun State Sector Commander of FRSC, urged contractors handling the road project to reduce the number of diversions on the road, stressing that most of the deaths recorded along the road occurred at the diversion points.

Oladele posited that diversion points are major challenge to traffic management along the corridor. He however pledged to enforce traffic rules on the road during the construction work.

Tijani Ahmed, secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Heavy/Mini Trucks, Ogere Branch, while speaking on behave of other stakeholders pledged the union’s cooperation with the contractor to ensure quicker completion of the project.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Friday 08 November 2019 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. 327,016.08 9.20 9.52 278 71,069,792 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 225,716.18 6.60 3.94 339 58,961,540 ZENITH BANK PLC 538,449.87 17.15 0.88 714 127,296,172 1,331 257,327,504 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 208,192.70 5.80 7.41 183 11,439,361 183 11,439,361 1,514 268,766,865 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,483,250.59 122.00 -0.81 105 749,797 105 749,797 105 749,797 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,484,505.98 145.80 -1.42 73 1,902,603 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 236,784.59 14.70 5.00 113 8,179,055 186 10,081,658 186 10,081,658

EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 332,471.18 565.00 - 12 454 12 454 12 454 1,817 279,598,774 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 11,873.80 4.45 - 11 16,335 11 16,335 11 16,335 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 1 200 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 1 200 1 200 12 16,535 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 50,509.53 52.95 - 19 58,921 PRESCO PLC 34,600.00 34.60 - 9 9,850 28 68,771 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,520.00 4.26 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,440.00 0.48 4.35 9 254,081 9 254,081 37 322,852 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 741.24 0.28 - 0 0 JOHN HOLT PLC. 214.03 0.55 - 1 4,972 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 41,054.47 1.01 1.00 24 3,015,305 17,864.04 6.20 - 49 738,812 U A C N PLC. 74 3,759,089 74 3,759,089 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 24,486.00 18.55 - 13 49,072 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 13 49,072 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 2,520.44 0.97 - 8 146,102 8 146,102 21 195,174 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 - 2 5,240 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 1 100 GUINNESS NIG PLC 51,035.92 23.30 - 72 1,860,258 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 80,801.10 9.40 -8.29 13 162,649 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 371,855.95 46.50 - 27 95,063 115 2,123,310 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 111,250.00 22.25 - 0 0 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 119,400.00 9.95 - 80 548,511 62,325.77 15.20 - 18 71,438 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,771.59 0.98 8.89 45 2,318,180 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 39,344.16 14.85 - 16 9,600 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,321.07 12.15 - 0 0 159 2,947,729 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 16,903.82 9.00 - 16 43,738 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 911,554.69 1,150.00 - 116 319,583 132 363,321 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 4,440.50 3.55 - 15 103,542 15 103,542 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 22,036.15 5.55 - 14 71,473 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 112,602.11 19.60 -9.47 59 1,207,483 73 1,278,956 494 6,816,858 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 128,446.86 7.00 - 62 3,284,728 FIDELITY BANK PLC 53,023.88 1.83 2.81 47 13,726,127 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 841,731.73 28.60 5.93 249 7,325,200 JAIZ BANK PLC 17,089.26 0.58 5.45 18 1,410,519 STERLING BANK PLC. 63,338.92 2.20 - 366 45,489,083 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 203,845.27 7.00 - 18 101,071 UNITY BANK PLC 6,662.92 0.57 -1.72 10 1,663,239 WEMA BANK PLC. 22,758.93 0.59 - 10 248,357 780 73,248,324 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 4,989.75 0.72 2.86 27 3,703,000 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 17,325.00 1.65 - 1 5,000 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 3,170.70 0.39 - 0 0 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 24,687.13 2.38 1.71 2 188,911 7,217.46 0.49 - 16 1,013,500 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 1,904.09 0.26 - 1 5,000 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 2,362.98 0.55 10.00 4 120,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,080.00 0.51 - 0 0 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 11 3,869,500 NEM INSURANCE PLC 10,561.01 2.00 - 8 58,708 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,745.10 0.51 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,400.44 0.21 - 2 26,000 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,668.16 0.20 - 0 0 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 - 1 4,000 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 4,282.48 0.32 - 24 756,062 97 9,749,681

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MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,515.30 1.10 - 1 25 1 25 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,200.00 1.00 - 1 100 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 1 100 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,900.00 3.95 - 78 3,180,823 32,350.25 5.50 10.00 8 175,465 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 660.00 0.44 - 1 100 FCMB GROUP PLC. 36,833.04 1.86 7.51 34 2,258,063 1,029.07 0.20 -4.76 3 147,497 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 387,517.72 37.00 - 12 42,158 12,600.00 2.10 -3.67 80 4,151,213 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 216 9,955,319 1,095 92,953,449 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 781.69 0.22 - 1 100 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 1 100 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 494.58 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 7,302.26 3.50 7.69 26 804,500 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 7,534.02 6.30 - 13 50,062 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 3,381.46 1.96 - 8 88,050 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 740.67 0.39 - 5 77,500 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 52 1,020,112 53 1,020,212 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 816.96 0.23 - 7 1,598,000 7 1,598,000 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 486.00 4.50 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 316.77 0.64 - 0 0 0 0 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,127.05 0.24 -4.17 11 765,327 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 9,996.00 2.38 - 0 0 11 765,327 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,157,510.66 308.00 - 8 777 8 777 26 2,364,104 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 2,173.68 7.50 - 6 5,750 CAP PLC 17,010.00 24.30 -4.89 47 36,609,101 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 230,011.27 17.50 6.71 96 4,338,326 MEYER PLC. 313.43 0.59 - 1 500 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 150 40,953,677 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,377.78 1.35 -3.57 4 1,114,351 4 1,114,351 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 26,898.49 53.80 - 2 46,251 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 2 46,251 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 2 11 2 11 158 42,114,290 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 2,547.42 6.12 - 0 0 0 0 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 - 2 60,000 2 60,000 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 83.60 0.38 - 0 0 0 0 2 60,000 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 1 3,289 1 3,289 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 41,396.60 3.33 -1.19 64 1,636,795 64 1,636,795 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 53,332.04 147.90 - 9 6,635 CONOIL PLC 10,686.86 15.40 - 15 30,429 ETERNA PLC. 3,716.81 2.85 - 16 80,431 FORTE OIL PLC. 20,709.45 15.90 - 31 45,165 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 4,663.23 15.30 - 6 20,409 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 41,829.09 123.20 - 7 1,418 84 184,487 149 1,824,571 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,642.45 0.37 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 17,551.17 1.80 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 270.56 0.23 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2,623.26 4.45 - 3 6,000 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 398.52 0.85 - 1 1,500 4 7,500 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,259.15 2.75 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,016.43 0.97 -9.35 12 787,290 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 41,042.18 5.40 - 2 110 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 14 787,400 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,800.00 0.40 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 205.63 0.34 - 0 0 LEARN AFRICA PLC 902.60 1.17 - 1 20 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 616.92 1.43 - 4 20,671 5 20,691 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 745.97 0.45 2.27 3 181,500 3 181,500

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

POLITICS & POLICY Appellate Court validates APC Abiodun’s victory against APM’s Akinlade RAZAQ AYINLA

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he Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday dismissed the case brought before it by governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Abdulkabir Akinlade, against the Governor of Ogun State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dapo Abiodun in the last governorship election.

In a unanimous decision delivered in Ibadan, the Appeal Court justices said the appeal “lacks merit and it is therefore struck out.”

Reading the lead judgment, Justice Muhammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma ruled d that the 10 grounds filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) challenging the victory of Governor Dapo

Abiodun has no merit and that the two appellants Akinlade and the APM - are overruled because of lack of merit.

“The respective objections raised by the two respondents are overruled and the emotions have no remit, answers to them are sustained and the two motions are dismissed,” he said.

Reacting to the judgment, the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yemi Sanusi said that the judgment had said it all, adding that the party will be well prepared to defend its mandate if the need arises for it.

“The judgment says it all, in this part of the world, nobody accepts defeat. We will not be surprised if they move from here to the Supreme Court and we are ready; anytime they want

Dapo Abiodun

to see us, they will meet us there,” he said.

Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the All Progressives Congress and Gov-

Kogi poll: SDP secretariat razed down 3days after candidate won court case VICTORIA NNAKAIKE, Lokoja

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arely three days after Natasha Akpoti, Social Democratic Party (SDP) standard bearer of the November 16 gubernatorial election won the case in court, the party’s secretariat located close to the All Progressives Congress (APC) state secretariat opposite Lokoja Local Government secretariat along Murtala Way has been vandalised and razed down by unknown hoodlums. Eyewitness account has it that the incident happened in the early hours of Monday, November 11.

The attack has raised the tension and apprehension

level in the state a matter of days to the election.

Mouktar Atima, the party’s state chairman, while confirming the incident, accused the ruling party, saying that the party released its thugs to unleash terror on their secretariat.

Atima said the development was a confirmation of the several threats received recently by the party’s candidate, Natasha Akpoti.

He said however, that no amount of harassment and destruction would deter the party and its governorship candidate from contesting and winning the Saturday, November 16, election, adding that they remain undaunted. He appealed to party faithful not to be

discouraged over the recent development.

In his reaction, however, Kingsley Fanwo, APC campaign council spokesman, dispelled the allegation that the hoodlums that burnt down the SDP secretariat were sponsored by the ruling party.

According to him, the party and its candidate are currently busy campaigning across the state and “has no time for irrelevant issues.”

When BusinessDay contacted Hakeem Busari, state police Commissioner, he said the police were aware of the destruction and have commenced investigation to bring the culprits to book.

ernor Dapo Abiodun, Barrister Wale Habeeb Ajayi, appreciated the court for delivering the judgment in good time, saying that

the judgment has shown that Dapo Abiodun is the governor of Ogun State by lawful votes.

Ajayi added that all the complaints about non-qualification as a result of delivering false affidavit were not applicable and allegations were seen to be frivolous by the court.

“We must appreciate the court for delivering the judgment in good time.

Elections have been held and a winner emerged and we must learn to accept defeat in all circumstances.

There was no reason we should be in this appeal.

But thank God the Court of Appeal has delivered its judgment in favour of the respondent and has equally confirmed that Prince Dapo Abiodun is the governor of Ogun State by lawful votes.

“That all the complaints about non-qualification as

a result of delivering false affidavit were not applicable, in other words, those allegations are frivolous and the court has so passed,” he said.

The Director-General, Dapo Abiodun Campaign Organisation (DACO) and former deputy governor of Ogun State, Segun Adesegun disclosed that the election was one that was well fought for by the people, adding that with the court judgment, the governor who has started well will now be more relaxed to do the job of governance better.

The Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly. Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo noted that the judiciary has played its role the way it should be played, adding that the judgment will aid the governor to continue with the good work he has started in the state.

Sowore: Durotoye decries FG’s continuous violation of court order Iniobong Iwok

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ela Durotoye, the presidential candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) in the 2019 presidential elections has lamented the continuous detention of the Omoyele Sowore despite a court order for his release.

Sowore, a journalist and human rights activist, was arrested on 3 August 2019 after calling for #RevolutionNow protest.

He is being detained despite that Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday 6th of November 2019, signed an Order for him and his associate, Olawale Bakare to be

released from the custody of the Directorate of State Security (DSS).

However, in a statement personally signed by him to journalists, Monday, Fela Durotoye, urge the DSS to honour the order of the Court and immediately release Omoyele Sowore & Olawale Bakare from its custody.

He said that the frequent violation of Court order by the Federal Government was a bad signal for the nation’s democracy and its citizenry.

According to him, “Any flagrant disregard for this Court order will only further prove this administration’s disregard for the rule of law at the hands of its ‘law enforcement agents’.

“Let it be known that every great nation is upheld by the Rule of Law and the world is watching Nigeria closely.

“Disregarding the release order will once again set a most unfortunate example that emboldens other lawbreakers and only further convinces the rest of the law-abiding citizens that we are under siege.

“And to every Nigerian citizen at home and in the Diaspora be assured that whilst our weeping may endure in this dark season of our nation’s history, do not despair, hold firm, don’t lose faith someday, sooner than later we all together will build Nigeria into a nation where peace and justice shall reign,” “Durotoye said.

‘Rerun election will be opportunity to widen PDP’s victory’ ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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he People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state says the rerun election being order by the Appeal Court will be an “opportunity to widen the margin of victory for PDP.” According to Ini Ememobong, publicity secretary of the party, the judgment acknowledges the widespread irregularities that occurred in Essien Udim Local Government Area, which were noted and highlighted in different

reports from observers.

“We welcome the judgment of the court and hereby indicate our preparedness for elections, as this will provide an opportunity for us to widen the margin of victory against Akpabio and the All Progressives Party (APC).

“We are expectant that Akpabio will very soon tender his resignation from his ministerial office to meet us in the campaign field, as the law demands.

“Our party urges the public to ignore the false stories www.businessday.ng

being peddled by members of the opposition APC about the judgment- which specifically ordered a rerun in Essien Udim Local Government Area alone.

“It is on record that the margin of victory currently outstanding is in tens of thousands of votes, which has not been affected by the judgment of the court.”

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State said it has been vindicated by the Appeal court

ruling over the outcome of the Akwa Ibom North West senatorial district elections.

It says it had earlier decried the “widespread violence and irregularities during elections in Essien Udim LGA, which it said had affected the outcome of the elections in area.”

The court re-affirmed as valid and preserved the elections as declared by the commission in 9 out of the 10 council areas that make up Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District.

It, however, ordered a re-

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run of the senatorial election within 90 days in Essien Udim council area only, where the commission had decried the “massive rigging and manipulations that culminated in the award of 61,329 votes to Godswill Akpabio alone in the area, intended to upturn the results of the other 9 local government areas.”

According to INEC, the accreditation figure from the Smart Card Readers (SCRs), confirmed by ticks on the voter register for the entire Essien Udim stood at just @Businessdayng

19,455.

In a statement made available to the media and signed

by Don Etukudoh, its public affairs officer, it stated that the commission had rejected “this travesty and maintained its position despite pressure, blackmail and threats to lives of lNEC officials.”

It pointed out that the affirmation of the commission’s position as exemplified by the Appeal Court ruling is victory for the electoral process and is heartily welcomed by the commission.

Monday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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news

eTranzact, Accounteer advocate open banking for improved services

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L-R: Alero-Ayida Otobo, founder, Incubator Africa/board member, Teach for Nigeria; Wendy Kopp, CEO/co-founder, Teach for All; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor, Lagos State, and Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach for Nigeria, during a courtesy visit by the Teach for Nigeria team to the Lagos State government in Lagos.

Africa’s start-up investment sets to outpace 2018’s $725m record level BUNMI BAILEY

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frican start-ups are on track to attract more investment that will surpass the historic $725 million raised last year.

In the 10 months to October 2019, African start-ups secured funding worth $699 million, $26 million short of the amount raised last year, a report by Maxime Bayen, a foremost African investment firm, shows.

“2018 was a breakout year for African start-ups. In total, they raised a historic $725 million, three times the total value of 2017 deals by some counts. 2019 is on pace to set new records,” the report states.

Also, this year has seen in-

… secures $699m in 10 months novation hubs such as incubators, co-working spaces, and other institutions that support entrepreneurs multiply and mature. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association counts 643 African tech hubs, up more than 40 percent from last year.

Gbolahan Ologunro, an equity research analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers, says Africa’s start-up investments may likely reach the same level of last year or surpass it, if the industry remains supportive of continued inflows for start-up investments.

“If the opportunities and potentials inherent in the

Edo showcases investment opportunities in China

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he Edo State government has showcased investment opportunities in its tourism and cultural sector at the 2nd Blue Cube International Arts Festival Exhibition, held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

The state government delegation was led by commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Osaze Osemwegie-Ero. Arts works from Edo State featured prominently for the first time in China at the festival, while delegates from the state shared cultural and artistic experiences with other renowned artists from over 11 countries.

Head, Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO), Kelvin Uwaibi, who was part of the state’s delegation, said the state government’s team held a business meeting with the aim of attracting investments in key sectors of the economy, adding that in attendance at the business meeting were business CEOs from Zhejiang Province.

He said Edo State would leverage on the opportunity

industry support funds, particularly for start-ups who are looking to exploring the fintech space, then it will outpace it,” Ologunro says.

So far this year, start-ups in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt have claimed 73 percent of deals over $1 million and 71 percent of the funding from those deals.

From the research report, this shows that these four countries continue to dominate Africa’s start-up scene though not to the extent they did last year. In 2018, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa alone claimed 78 percent of venture capital funding on the continent.

Despite Africa’s start-up space being more attractive to investors, 2019 investments are still below other continents in the world.

For example, Southeast Asia’s technology-driven startups raised close to $6 billion in more than 332 deals during the first half of 2019. In the first half of 2019, Latin American start-ups recorded $2.6 billion across 160 transactions in the first six months of 2019 and tech investment in Europe had €19.2 billion.

“Development in the fintech space in Africa is still largely below other regions in the world. Africa still falls short in what is obtainable in other regions of the world,” Ologunro states.

Reps speaker, Emefiele, IMF chief, others for FMDA conference

provided by the meeting to benefit from the bilateral trade relationship between Nigeria and China, which has reached $8.6 billion between January to June 2019 with 20.7 percent yearly growth.

He said the business executives at the meeting made commitments on building investment relationships between businesses in Zhejiang Province and businesses in Edo State.

Uwaibi described Hangzhou as the home to the Chinese tech giant, Ali Baba, adding, “The interaction with the local community would help in fostering cultural and economic ties between China and Edo State, as the state hopes to attract tourism investors from China in line with Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s drive of harnessing and developing cultural heritage and tourism industry.”

Among the Edo State Government’s delegates at the meeting are the Edo State House of Assembly member, Marcus Onobun; Osamwonyi Atu, Enotie Ogbebor, among others. www.businessday.ng

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peaker, House of Representative, Femi Gbajabiamila, the governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, International Monetary Fund (IMF), country chief, Amine Mati, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) director-general, Radda Dikko, among other dignitaries have confirmed their attendance at the second Financial Markets Conference of the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA).

In a statement, FMDA said the event scheduled for Friday, December 6, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, will focus on the theme: “The Nigerian Financial Market – An Agent for Growth and Development” with Emefiele as keynote speaker while Gbajabiamila will be special guest of honour, among other guest speakers.

It said the programme, which begins at 2pm, is an opportunity for the nation’s financial market operators, regulators, investors, corporates and other stakeholders to discuss ways of using financial market to facilitate economic development.

The conference subthemes include: “Unlocking Real Sector Development: SMEs as an Agent of Growth and Development IMF Perspective” to be presented by the guest speaker, Mati; the Role of SMEDAN in Enhancing Sustainable Business Growth for SMEs to be presented by Dikko; and Intermediary Role of Banks – SMEs As Springboard of National Economic Growth and Development to be presented by Managing Director/ CEO Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman.

Others are executive secretary/CEO Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Yewande Sadiku, will be speaking on “Growing SMEs through Government Policies & Incentives” and Principal at Africa Capital Alliance; Ladell Robbins will speak on the theme: “SMEs as an Agent of Growth and Development: Bridging Infrastructural Gap

by Private and Public Partnership.”

Also to speak is head, Counterparty Risk Trading at ABSA Capital, South Africa, Victor MofoKeng, will be speaking on the theme: “Risk Management as a Development Tool.”

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o drive the adoption of an industry-wide, non-partisan standard for stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial services ecosystem towards the provision of improved, customer-focused and tailored services, eTranzact International plc, Nigeria’s payment processor, and Accounteer, a cloud accounting solutions provider, have individually announced partnerships with Open Banking Nigeria, to advocate for open banking initiative in Nigeria.

This revelation was made recently after the leadership of eTranzact and Accounteer formally joined efforts with Open Banking Nigeria and other players in Nigeria’s financial services industry, including banks, fintechs, and professional services firms, for the advocacy, development and adoption of unified Application Programming Interface (API) standards for the attainment of further innovations in the financial services industry.

Niyi Toluwalope, CEO of eTranzact, commenting on the partnership expressed his excitement at the opportunity to contribute to the advocacy efforts, provide technical review for API specifications, and directly engage other industry stakeholders for the collective good.

“As a stakeholder within the Nigerian financial and payments ecosystem, we are aware of the opportunities for growth that come from innovation and financial inclusion. We are also aware of the challenges that fintechs face when integrating with banks using APIs, and we are excited about the efforts of

the Open Technology Foundation,” said Toluwalope.

He also confirmed the firm’s commitment to the implementation of its APIs and gateways in line with the Open Banking API standard.

According to a recent publication by PWC and Open Banking Nigeria, “APIs have become the world’s most popular means of integrating software systems.

However, the beauty of APIs is only appreciated when companies agree on common standards.” A similar instance where such standards have driven innovation and exceptional ease for consumers concerns debit card, which irrespective of the issuing institution, they are universally accepted at ATM/ PoS terminals around the world because issuers abide by a global standard.

“Accounteer would like to contribute to the Open Banking community because we work with banks across different use cases and would love to leverage some of your APIs to drive more value for our customers,” said Merijn Campsteyn, the CEO of Accounteer.

“We are delighted to have eTranzact and Accounteer join the group driving the adoption of unified API standards for financial services in Nigeria,” said Ope Adeoye, Open Banking Nigeria’s representative, “because among other benefits, they both would facilitate the attainment of a system that allows enhanced crossindustry collaborations which would immensely increase the number of product and service offerings available to consumers of financial services in the country.”

NAMA commences test run of category III ILS IFEOMA OKEKE

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igerianAirspaceManagement Agency (NAMA) has commenced the trial run of the newly installed Category III Instrument Landing System (ILS) at Runway 18 Right, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

Theexercise,whichstartedon Monday,indicatedthattheequipment is fully operational on test basis, even as all the ILS components – Localizer, Glide Slope and Distance Measuring Equipment arepropagatingsignalsoptimally.

Speaking at the commencement of the test run, Fola Akinkuotu, managing director of NAMA, said the alignment of the facility had already been done by the engineers.

This, according to Akinkuotu, is to ensure that the equipment aligned with the centre line of the runway and also that it is aligned with the descent path that will be comfortable to arrive the threshold at a good landing height to make a normal landing.

“In a couple of weeks, we will bring a calibration aircraft to fly in and certify that the equipment is good to go.’’

He said according to the timelines, CAT III ILS would be available at both Lagos and Abuja airports by the third week of De@Businessdayng

cember 2019.

Explaining the rationale for deploying the facility, Akinkuotu said the agency was responding to the demands and clamour by airlines for better navigational facilities in Nigeria.

“The CAT II ILSs we have right now are 800 meters visibility. With the CAT III system you will be able to come down lower and when you are closer to the runway you willbeabletoseeitbetter.ACATIII operation is a precision approach at lower than CAT II minima.

“A category III A approach is a precision instrument approach and landing with no decision height or a decision height lower than 100ft (30m) and a runway visual range not less than 700ft (200m).

“The deployment of CAT III ILS will reduce the landing and take-off minimas. The landing minimasarebasedonthefactthat you are coming from somewhere and you are able to land while the take-off minimas are predicated on certain aspects, among which is your ability to take off and if need be, you are able to land back to where you took off. Because we have better equipment, it will lower both minimas, so we expect to see an improvement in flight operations in the country in the coming weeks and months,” Akinkuotu said.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Otedola donates N5bn for North-East intervention Continued from page 1

him is to use my resources to support those who are underprivileged. This I intend to do for the rest of my life,” Otedola said.

“In a world full of conflicts, diseases, calamities and inequality, we all need to show the milk of human kindness, to reach out and comfort the sick and give a helping hand to the weak,” he said.

DJ Cuppy, who is a Board Ambassador for Save the Children and a member of the organisation’s Africa Advisory Board, said it was emotional for her to see people from all over the world attend the inaugural gala night.

“I stand before you with a big vision for our country and the less privileged. I founded the Cuppy Foundation to give to the less privileged in our society and for people living with disability,” she said.

She said the idea for the gala came two months ago when she visited Maiduguri and met a sick girl that urgently needed blood transfusion.

“There were many unfortunate children like that.

Some were even unlucky and they died. The experience was shocking for me. My heart broke. Ever since, my determination to serve the Nigerian children has been ingrained. I need help from you to help me in fulfilling my calling, not just as a DJ, but as a philanthropist,” DJ Cuppy said.

The event was designed to focus on conversations based around some of Save the Children’s initiatives such as bettering the lives of children in Nigeria who are in conflict and also tackling malnutrition. The gala featured various segments including an auction packed with unique items, a cocktail reception and a private dinner with special performances.

“This is just a start in driving awareness and creating change for our precious Nigerian children. Save the Children believes children are our future – they are, and the future is now,” she said at the event.

The event was well attended, with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo leading the pack. The roll call included Adams Oshiomhole, APC national chairman, Aliko Dangote, president, Dangote Group, Wale Tinubu, managing director of Oando, Nuhu Ribadu, former EFCC chairman, state governors, ministers, among others.

Otedola, a well-regarded philanthropist, has in the past donated to good causes.

In 2005, he instituted a N200 million scholarship for Lagos State undergraduates. In the same year he donated N300 million for the completion of the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja.

Otedola at various times donated N100 million to the Lagos State College of Primary Education, N100 million to the Central Mosque, Ilorin (Kwara State), and N100 million to the University of Port Harcourt (Rivers State).

He has committed to building and donating a faculty of engineering valued at N2 billion to the Augustine University in his hometown, Epe, Lagos State.

Recently, he made life-saving interventions by footing the medical bills of Christian Chukwu, former captain and coach of Super Eagles; Peter Fregene, former international goalkeeper; Majek Fashek, celebrated Reggae artiste, as well as Sadiq Daba and Victor Olaotan, veteran actors.

Save the Children was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 in order to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as provide emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts. The organisation operates in over 120 countries around the world. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40 percent of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

L-R: Nana Addo Dankwa AkufoAddo, president, republic of Ghana; Temitope Shonubi, executive director, Sahara Group, and Michael Ansah, CEO, Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, at the UNDP’s High Level Dialogue on Africa’s Money for African Development in Accra, Ghana.

Brokers restructure portfolios to match insurers’ recapitalisation... Sanwo-Olu wins FMDQ Continued from page 1

are committed to defining the direction because the firm is not going to accept risk not appropriately priced.

“We must be selective, but not to be too selective to the extent of endangering the life and survival of the smaller companies,” Ro t i m i Ed u , e xe cu t i ve vice chairman, Qicklink Insurance Brokers, said on phone in response to BusinessDay questions.

“We must be careful not to starve the smaller companies of the businesses they need to survive; after all we are expecting mergers, and you cannot be sure until the exercise is completed,” Edu said. “ You will be surprised that those companies you think will not scale through will raise the money and recapitalise.”

Edu, who said the recapitalisation exercise is good for the industry, noted, however, that it must be carefully conducted.

He called on the government to handle it with care

Alaghodaro 2019: Obaseki’s EdoJobs initiative gets ...

Continued from page 1

three years in office.

A panel of discussants that included Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media, Nnamdi Ezeigbo, CEO, SLOT Foundation, among others, noted that the various technology initiatives created by the state government to harness the entrepreneurial potential of the youths would go a long way in reducing youth unemployment and poverty in the state.

This is as a report by the

BusinessDay Research Intelligence Unit (BRIU) says the governor’s initiatives have led to the creation of over 156,994 jobs in the state in the last three years.

Presenting the report on Monday at the Alaghodaro 2019 Youth Summit, Aigbogun said Governor Obaseki is making good the promise to create 200,000 jobs.

“Not often do you find politicians delivering on their promises. The report has well laid-down illustrations with vital data as well as interviews with key players, from beneficiaries in the scheme or those playing vital role in ensurwww.businessday.ng

ing the success of the programmes. The result speaks for itself,” Aigbogun said.

The report revealed that Governor Obaseki through the Edo State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs) has created direct and indirect jobs along its different intervention areas, with “46,576 created through job tracking; 3,434 via job matching and placement; and 22,872 from the skills development and entrepreneurship programmes”.

“There are 27,732 beneficiaries under Edo Innovates; 1,376 at the Edo Food and Agriculture Cluster; 161 through the Edo Production

so that the industry can be protected.

“I expect that the exercise will be reviewed after six months, and if there are chances that some companies can still make it, they should be given additional time, say, three months or more to meet up,” he said.

Fatai Adegbenro, executive secretary, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), said brokers believe in the intent of the recapitalisation exercise – building capacity and market development.

Adegbenro said there is no cause for concern, but urged brokers to continue to monitor progress report from NAICOM, which is the overall regulator, to know what each company is doing and who has complied.

According to him, what brokers should be looking for is the security of their client’s assets, so that meeting claims obligation would not be a challenge.

He, however, advised underwriters to consider mergers for stronger ca-

pacity, as it is in the overall interest of the market to have bigger and stronger institutions.

NAICOM had on 20th May 2019 increased the minimum paid-up share capital of insurance companies in Nigeria to as much as 300 percent, requiring the existing 59 underwriting firms to shop for new capital or restructure portfolios.

In the new capital regime, life companies’ capital was increased from N2 billion to N8 billion; g eneral business from N3 billion to N10 billion; composite business from N5 billion to N18 billion, and reinsurance companies from N10 billion to N20 billion.

According to the Commission, the minimum paid-up share capital requirement shall take effect from the commencement date of May 20, 2019 for new applications, while existing insurance and reinsurance companies shall be required to fully comply not later than June 30, 2020.

Centre; 10,000 beneficiaries through the Ministry of Wealth Creation; 12,413 in the National Social Investment Programme; as well as 32,430 beneficiaries engaged through indirect jobs. This brought the total jobs created by the Edo State Government to 156,994,” Aigbogun said.

The governor, who was visibly excited with the report, reiterated his administration’s resolve to deliver on the promise to create a minimum of 200,000 jobs in his first term in office.

“During my electioneering campaign, I promised to create 200,000 jobs and people doubted it because they think politicians would

never give themselves such target. But I took the risk,” Obaseki said.

“I am glad, happy and proud today that at the last count, we have created almost 157,000 jobs in Edo State. The evidence is there.

When we came into office, our goal as an administration is to make the state a hub for businesses and production and we are achieving that,” he said.

He added that his administration remains focused on empowering more people through quality education, as well as affordable and accessible health services.

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•Continues online at www.businessday.ng @Businessdayng

markets enabler award

Continued from page 2

further charged to seize the opportunity availed to him to indeed make Lagos a leading financial centre in Africa by supporting the enactment of key legislations and policies that facilitate affordable housing, clean/renewable energy, zero waste management/circular economy, clean transportation, etc.

During his Special Address, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the GOLD Awards, recognised and commended the efforts of FMDQ in building a sustainable financial market. He added that FMDQ has proven to be a reliable partner to Lagos State; even as the State aspires to champion sustainable growth and development for the good of its people and committed to working assiduously toward upgrading the Nigerian financial markets to be at par with globally-recognised financial centres, such as London, New York, Singapore, amongst others.

The GOLD Awards also featured other key awards categories such as Primary Markets, Secondary Markets and the Members’ & Clients’ Choice Awards. Winning for a second time in a row, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited bagged the award for the Primary Markets Champion - Capital Markets Securities Origination; and the bank - Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC also emerged the Secondary Markets Champion, winning the FMDQ Dealing Member Award, amongst three others within the Group; Chapel Hill Denham won three Awards, including the FMDQ Registration Member (Listings) and the Debt Capital Markets Financing for Infrastructure Development Awards.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

43

FEATURE Blurry hope: Travails of Sokoto out-of-school girls IBRAHIM ADEYEMI

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henever Maryam hawks sachet water on the streets of Dundaye, Sokoto state, passers-by would whisper in empathy over the innocent-looking child, believed to be too young for such hectic hawking. Maryam would place a small cooler containing sachet water on her head, holding it firmly and shouting at the top of her voice.

In her native Hausa dialect, “Buy cold water,” the little girl will shout intermittently, as she tried to attract patronage under the sweltering sun.

Within a short period, the container of sachet water on her head was emptied by passers-by, who were not necessarily thirsty but patronising her out of pity.

Little Maryam seemed too immature to answer a lot questions from this reporter – too little to even know her surname, let alone her age - or perhaps for lack of formal education.

On a sunny Monday afternoon when children of school age were expected to be in school, Maryam was instead already out on the streets of Dundaye, plying her trade. Seeing little Maryam would often evoke a lot of emotions from discerning minds who at times wonder aloud, why such a minor should be on the streets, hawking under the scorching sun.

Shafahatu Abubakar was one of such sympathisers, who could not control her emotions when she set her eyes on the girl who was practically sweating while counting the little money she had made for the day. “Oh my God!” said the young lady with a frown on her face, hands raised above head, as she thumped a leg on the ground angrily. “Who are the Godforsaken parents that asked this little girl to be hawking around?” she yelled at no one in particular.

Alas! Maryam is not the only out-of-school child in Sokoto state and Nigeria as a whole. According to the United Nation International Children Emergency Fund; Nigeria still has 10.5 million out-of-school children — the world’s highest number. Sixty per cent of those children are in northern Nigeria. About 60 per cent of out-of-school children are girls. Many of those who do enroll drop out early.

Nigeria’s rapid population growth has been contributing to the current economic pressure on the country’s infrastructure, resources and even public services, UNICEF asserts, noting that children under 15 years of age account for 45 percent of the 171 million of Nigeria’s population.

Forcefully betrothed At Gidan Yunfa – a village in Sokoto central – what may have been responsible for the travails being witnessed by little Maryam was unfolded to this reporter. There, Hadiza Bello, aged 7, roamed the streets on bare foot, and just retuning from her morning hawking with little time to play (like other children would) before embarking on another round of sachet water hawking in the evening.

“I hawk sachet water in the morning and in the afternoon that

Maryam, hawks sachet water

Iyya, hawking ‘Tantu’

is what I do. I don’t go to school,” Hadiza said.

Hadiza said she would love to be in school but her hope of schooling is quite blurry because her parents would not allow her to go, even if she has the opportunity. When asked whether she had ever been to school, she said: “I was once in school but my mother stopped me from going there.”

As Hadiza spoke with this reporter, she looked left and right intermittently and wore an uncomfortable look that suggested she was afraid.

Her playmates who seemed to have an idea of what was wrong would later reveal that her parents must not see her talking to an adult male.

It turns out little Hadiza would be married off in a few years. When one of her neighbours mentioned that Hadiza had already been betrothed and would get married very soon, the little girl was silent and soon after, left the interview scene.

When this reporter met Hadiza’s mother, Ajia Inno, she evaded questions that probed betrothing the little girl without her consent. However, she revealed what according to her was the real reason her only daughter was not in school.

Her words: “I stopped her schooling so that she can hawk sachets of water and make some money for me; after all, she had not been serious with her studies.”

A woman should not be too schooled, said her mother, noting that only Hadiza’s husband – when she gets fully married – has the rights to send her to school, if he so wishes.

To Mallam Tukur Abubakar, an Islamic cleric in Sokoto, Hadiza’s mother was right. Corroborating, Abubakar said: “In most cases, the highest a girl child goes in education is primary school. Immediately after that, she is considered ripe enough for marriage. It is now left for her husband to decide whether she should continue her education or not.” www.businessday.ng

Hadiza’s parents risk being convicted to a fine of N500, 000, imprisonment for a term of five years or to both fine and imprisonment according to section 23 of the Child Rights Acts, for betrothing the little girl without her consent. However, Sokoto state is yet to domesticate the act since it was passed into law in 2003. Section 22 (1) of the same act prohibits child betrothal, stating that: “No parent, guardian or any other person shall betroth a child to any person.”

However, Sokoto is not the only state delaying the domestication of the Child Rights Act. UNICEF listed states that are yet to domesticate the act as Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi , Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states respectively.

According to Aisha Abdullahi, an activist, “what is stopping its domestication in Sokoto is the fear that if Prophet Muhammad did not prescribe a particular age that a girl should be married and if the ‘Ulamas’ (group of Islamic scholars) have not sat down to set a particular age for marriage, why should a group of people sit and decide when a Muslim man should marry off his daughter?”

Tears of little Iyya Like Maryam, Iyya Shamsu, 8, embraces the stings of Sokoto’s hellish sun every day. Iyya – at her tender age – is subjected to a daily hustle that even an adult would struggle to bear. She hawks what is called ‘tantu’, which in Hausa language translates as “fried coconut” on the streets.

‘Tantu’, as it is called in the local parlance, is not as lucrative as sachet water, thus Iyya earns little with much efforts. At 3:42 pm sometime in August, the child hawker had not made enough sales, commensurate with her efforts on the streets that day and she was about to give up.

When asked whether she has ever been to school, she said: “No! I

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don’t go to school, I am not meant to go to school. I only go to Islamiyya where I read the Quran every day.”

If Iyya has any opportunity to go to school, she told this reporter that she would really be willing to go.

But her parents are a big hindrance to achieving that, she said.

Largely, at Gida Yunfa – where she hails from – like many places in Sokoto, girls of school age are not allowed to go to school. Fear of being wayward, this reporter gathered, is the major reason parents would not want their girls to go to school in the state. Mallam Abubakar, the district head of the village was evasive while speaking with this reporter. Abubakar however stressed that though he has no female children but if he does have one, he would not allow her to go to school.

No flair for education Hadiza Lawal has a different story to tell, hers is a story of sorrow amidst the fear for schooling. She is 24-years-old now and has four children. At 16, she was married off and began her marital sojourn without any basic education.

Apparently, literacy is not her thing for she can neither read nor write. Matters of education get her easily upset she revealed, and demonstrated this while conversing with this reporter. She feels schooling is too difficult for someone like her, saying, “I don’t think I have the brain to go to school.” According to her, she has never attended any formal school, except for ‘Islamiyya’, a local Islamic school.

When asked if it was her choice not to go to school, she said, “what can a person do when they want something but don’t know how go about it?”

A reasonable number of married girls in Sokoto are like Hadiza, denied some of their fundamental human rights, such as: right to education, freedom from violence, reproductive rights, access to reproductive and @Businessdayng

sexual health care, freedom of movement, and the right to consensual marriage, due to the scourge of child marriages in the state, findings by this reporter have revealed.

According to UNICEF “As the most populous country in the [African] region, Nigeria has the highest number of child brides. An estimated 22 million child brides live in Nigeria, which accounts for 40 percent of all child brides in the region.”

Zainab Yunusa, co-convener of the Almajiri Initiative, a child right NGO in Sokoto expressed dissatisfaction over the views of parents in the state on girl child education, noting that female education is a germane phenomenon that should attract the attention of the state government.

“Once a girl is educated, she will inculcate the knowledge into her children; she is going to nurture a lot of people; her interaction in the society will differ from those that are not educated,” she said.

“One disappointing thing is that those girls that are not going to school also lack morals. They don’t have respect; when they talk, they will be calling their mothers by name. But I have never seen any educated girl calling her mother by name. And the problem is: our people see the educated girl as being wayward,” she said.

Waywardness has often been attributed as a reason for keeping the girl child out of school, but enlightened minds are more likely to make informed decisions that ensure their future is not put at risk. As Zainab pointed out, uneducated girls routinely demonstrate ‘disrespect and wayward attitude’, which in the first place was the reason for not sending them to school. This purpose appears to have been defeated.

Reporting for this story was supported by YouthHub Africa and Malala Fund.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

FT

BUSINESS DAY

44

FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper BRENDAN GREELEY

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he debate over whether the US should impose a federal tax on wealth has gripped US politics after Democratic candidate for president Elizabeth Warren tabled the plan as one of the pillars of her campaign.

Ms Warren has advanced the idea as a way of paying for her healthcare proposals. But the prospect is an uncomfortable one for the country’s billionaires. Microsoft founder Bill Gates last week questioned whether Ms Warren would be willing to sit down with him to discuss the plan — she responded that she would love to explain to him exactly what he might pay.

Here is what they might discuss.

What is a wealth tax?

Most of the US federal government’s revenue comes from taxes on income, such as personal salaries and corporate profits. The government also treats returns on investments as income, via a capital gains tax, but there is currently no tax on the principal of those investments — on wealth.

Individual US states tax homes and commercial property to pay for primary schools and local police departments, and the federal government assesses a tax on estates over $11m.

A federal wealth tax, however, would hit a household’s complete net worth every year, falling on all assets including homes, portfolios of stocks and bonds, art, land and yachts.

A graphic with no description How much would Mr Gates pay?

Ms Warren has proposed what her campaign calls an “ultra-millionaire” tax of 2 per cent on assets

The wealth tax plan worrying US billionaires Bill Gates is not the only sceptic of Elizabeth Warren’s progressive policy

Elizabeth Warren and Bill Gates, © FT Montage (Bloomberg/Dreamstime)

above $50m, plus a 1 per cent “billionaire surtax” on assets above $1bn.

Mr Gates is worth $107bn, according to Forbes. Ms Warren’s campaign says he would pay $6.4bn next year.

Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, economists from the University of California at Berkeley who designed the ultra-millionaire tax, have calculated that if the 3 per cent billionaire surtax had been in place since 1982, Mr Gates would have been worth $36bn last year.

Bernie Sanders, another leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, has an even more ambitious plan. It starts at 1 per cent on net worth above $32m, and raises taxes

Video of demonstrator being fired at captured on video as five month crisis escalates

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iolent clashes broke out across Hong Kong following the shooting by police of a demonstrator, in an escalation of the protests that have gripped the territory for the past five months.

Police confirmed that live fire had been used and that one man had been shot during confrontations with protesters, an incident that was filmed and circulated on social media. A separate video that also went viral showed what appeared to be protesters dousing a man in liquid and then setting him on fire.

In Hong Kong’s financial district, riot police fired multiple tear-gas rounds in an attempt to disperse protesting office workers, sending people fleeing into shopping malls for safety. The demonstrations and the heavy police presence also brought chaos to the territory’s transport system.

Many businesses closed their doors, while companies including HSBC and Deloitte advised their staff to leave work early, according to people familiar with the matter. Mainland businesses were also targeted, with an outlet of Bank of

China vandalised and set on fire.

The Hang Seng index slid 2.6 per cent, its biggest one-day drop in more than three months.

In a press conference on Monday, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, called the demonstrators “enemies of the people” who would never achieve their aims through violence. Yet the latest independent opinion polls show the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong residents blame the central government in Beijing, Ms Lam’s administration or the police for escalating violence in the territory.

The latest clashes, some of the fiercest yet, were in response to the death of a student on Friday, in what is being treated by some protesters as the first fatality linked to the months-long demonstrations. A series of vigils were held over the weekend for 22-year-old Chow Tsz-lok.

“I’ve come out during my lunch break to the front line for the first time today,” said a 25-year-old accountant who did not want to be named. “We are so angry about what happened to Mr Chow. We have to protect Hong Kong and our friends.” He added that his manager did not know where he was and until today, he had previously been a moderate protester. www.businessday.ng

rose to 22 per cent in 2012, from 7 per cent in 1978. The concentration has not changed since then; it is possible that richer families have seen lower returns on wealth, or that middle-class families have been paying down their debt.

Mr Zucman said the trend was the same, regardless of how you measure wealth. “If you look at income tax data, estate tax data, the Forbes ranking, they all paint essentially the same picture,” he said.

Mr Sanders says this alone is worth addressing, describing the last several decades of economic policy as a “massive transfer of wealth” from the bottom to the top. Ms Warren emphasises that “a family’s wealth is also an important

Credit Suisse names David Miller head of investment banking

Hong Kong hit by fierce clashes after police shoot protester ALICE WOODHOUSE, NICOLLE LIU AND SUE-LIN WONG

in steps until it arrives at 8 per cent for wealth over $10bn.

The Sanders campaign says that would put Mr Gates’ bill to a Sanders administration at $8.3bn, and that the plan would cut the wealth of billionaires in half over the next 15 years.

Why tax wealth?

Both candidates point out that wealth inequality is worse in the US than in any other developed country.

Mr Saez and Mr Zucman looked at public records of taxes paid on capital gains, and used them to infer the value of the underlying assets.

They found that the share of household wealth belonging to the richest 0.1 per cent of US families

measure of how much it has benefited from the economy and its ability to pay taxes”.

A graphic with no description Both candidates have pointed to revenue from their wealth taxes as a way to offset some of their spending plans, including government-run healthcare for all.

In a contentious public debate in October, Mr Saez said that wealth created power, which skewed politics. Lawrence Summers, an economist who served as secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, responded that it took only millions to be influential in politics and that Mr Gates had not been able to use his wealth to prevent an antitrust case against Microsoft from the federal government.

Mr Gates and other billionaires have pointed to their charitable contributions as a better use for their wealth.

A wealth tax would be levied on the value that an asset has accrued, without waiting for it to be realised.

The OECD has argued that this could encourage the wealthy to invest their assets in ways that provide more benefit to the economy, prompting more investment in start-ups and less in summer houses that do not generate returns.

Have other countries tried it?

They have, and many of them ended the experiment. In 1990 12 OECD countries relied on wealth taxes; by 2017, there were only four.

The wealth taxes were expensive to administer and even though household wealth grew, wealth tax revenues did not, suggesting widespread avoidance and evasion.

Swiss bank hopes to lift performance at struggling division STEPHEN MORRIS AND DAVID CROW

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redit Suisse has named David Miller the new head of its investment banking and capital markets business, replacing James Amine after four years in charge, as the lender looks to improve performance at the division.

Mr Miller, who has worked for the Swiss bank for 22 years, including as global head of credit and leveraged finance, inherits a unit that swung to a pre-tax loss in the third quarter and last month issued a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year.

Mr Amine, also a veteran of the bank, will leave the executive board and become head of private credit opportunities, based in New York, Credit Suisse said in a statement. Alongside the promotion of Mr Miller, Eric Varvel was named chairman of the investment banking and capital markets unit and Harold Bogle the vice-chairman of the group executive office.

Credit Suisse pinned some of the blame for a poor third quarter on a lack of mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings, as well as “challenging market conditions”.

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A weak quarter in investment banking was offset by robust inflows into its wealth management business.

Andreas Venditti, a banks analyst at Vontobel, said: “We know that Credit Suisse’s [investment bank] business is not going extremely well at the moment. This year, it looks like they’re not going to be anywhere near their return targets.”

Mr Venditti said he expected Mr Miller to reduce costs at the division. “What surprises some people is the lack of flexibility on the cost side: costs are pretty stable despite significant declines on the top line.”

Mr Miller’s appointment is the latest in a string of changes at the top of investment banks in Europe, which are struggling to boost profitability at a time of depressed M&A volumes and a choppy market for IPOs and securities trading.

In July, Garth Ritchie, the head of Deutsche Bank’s investment bank, left the lender and was replaced by its chief executive Christian Sewing.

Tim Throsby, who held a similar role at Barclays, left the UK-based bank in March, while UBS’s investment bank is under new leadership following the departure of Andrea Orcel earlier this year.

The management change comes @Businessdayng

as the bank’s chief executive, Tidjane Thiam, looks to draw a line under a damaging corporate espionage scandal that erupted after the bank hired private investigators to track former wealth management chief Iqbal Khan, who recently defected to UBS. Mr Thiam thanked Mr Amine for his “invaluable contributions” and “relentless dedication to clients” and said that Mr Miller’s “client focus, deep understanding [and] people leadership skills . . . put him in a strong position to lead [the investment bank]”.

One person briefed on Mr Miller’s appointment said Credit Suisse’s investment bank needed a “refresh”, noting that it had slipped down the league tables for capital markets transactions and M&A in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“David will prioritise improving M&A and look at galvanising the rest of the division,” the person added.

The moves prompted a reshuffle of executives further down the ranks at Credit Suisse. Jeff Cohen, global head of leveraged finance capital markets since 2017, will fill Mr Miller’s former role, according to an internal company memo. Mr Cohen will report to Brian Chin, chief executive of global markets.

45

BUSINESS DAY

FT

Tuesday 12 November 2019

NATIONAL NEWS

Jamie Dimon says ‘greedy’ bankers ‘let the American people down’ JPMorgan chief is only major Wall Street banker whose tenure predates financial crisis LAURA NOONAN

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amie Dimon said bankers “let the American people down” ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, calling out those who were “greedy, selfish, did the wrong stuff, overpaid themselves and couldn’t give a damn”.

The chief executive of JPMorgan Chase is the only head of a big Wall Street institution whose tenure predates the 2007-2008 financial crisis, that is estimated to have led to 9m job losses in the US. Ten million homeowners also lost their homes.

“I believe there were people . . . who were greedy, selfish, did the wrong stuff, overpaid themselves and couldn’t give a damn. Yes,” Mr Dimon told CBS’s primetime 60 Minutes news show on Sunday night, which averages 11m viewers.

Asked if he was one of those people, he replied “No”, first saying he bore no responsibility for the financial crisis and then saying he would take “some”. “It [the mortgage crisis] was a huge error, it was hugely damaging,” he said. “I think we let the American people down.”

He said he could understand how people felt as a result. “If you’re the average American you’d be angry about what happened, there was no Old Testament justice . . . A lot of people lost their reputation and money but too many people didn’t.”

The 63-year-old also touched

on his brush with throat cancer five years ago, describing finding a lump while shaving.

“When someone says to you: you have cancer . . . it’s almost like a punch in the face, the fear,” he said. “The hardest part was telling my family.”

“I just didn’t know how to do it.

I said I’m going to tell you something, it’s going to be OK.” He asked his wife to call his parents — who died of cancer within hours of each other in 2016.

“I couldn’t tell them that their son may die before them.” He has been in remission for five years, and said he never considered stepping down from JPMorgan Chase. “I love my job.”

In a section of the interview previewed on Friday, Mr Dimon hit back at US Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, who said the banker “and his buddies” should “chip in” to help others succeed since their success is partly built on “the opportunities, workforce, and public services that we all paid for”.

“Anything that vilifies people, I just don’t like . . . We shouldn’t vilify people who worked hard to accomplish things,” Mr Dimon said.

The banker, who frequently pronounces on the US economy and policy, was reported to have been considering entering the presidential race himself. He told 60 Minutes he “thought about thinking about it” and then decided not to.

Fighting back: Siemens boss slams EU and restless investors Kaeser’s reputation on the line as reforms fail to excite markets and shares flatline JOE MILLER

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oe Kaeser has become accustomed to walking on red carpets in world capitals alongside Angela Merkel, turning on the charm with heads of state as the unofficial poster boy of German industry.

But the Siemens chief executive, once the darling of the capital markets for his commitment to an aggressive restructuring of the 172-year-old conglomerate, now finds himself in a less appealing role.

With his tenure at the top of Germany’s most recognisable industrial brand due to end in 2021, the personable Mr Kaeser is facing an open revolt from key investors and persistent press predictions of a premature departure.

Six-and-a-half years after taking over a sprawling business in trouble, the Bavarian, who has spent almost 40 years at Munich-based Siemens, is credited with securing the group’s future through zealous cost-cutting and a series of mergers and spin-offs.

A graphic with no description Yet Siemens’ share price lingers in the same region as three years ago, with hopes of a revival likely to be held

back by a slowing global economy that Mr Kaeser warned last week would continue to weigh on the group’s sales.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the 62-year-old said he was still in the midst of fortifying Siemens against “massive transformative environments” that threaten the company’s profit pool, such as smarter cloud computing.

When it came to defending his legacy Mr Kaeser, who has a named successor, Roland Busch, waiting in the wings, struck a combative tone.

The wounds inflicted by Brussels in February when it blocked the merger of his company’s high-speed trains unit with France’s Alstom, were still apparent as he slammed the body, which he sees as having foiled a move to fend off Asian competitors.

“There is no point” in having a European Commission, if it “doesn’t come up with a joint approach on foreign economic policy, which enables us to be on the same table as China and the US”, he said.

If the commission, soon to be led by compatriot Ursula von der Leyen, fails to push through reforms that prevent such a scenario from recurring, it will amount to “nothing but a costly bureaucracy”, he said. www.businessday.ng

Evo Morales backed new elections on Sunday but was forced to resign hours later after the military urged him to stand down © EPA/Shutterstock

Evo Morales resigns as Bolivia’s president Leader alleges ‘coup’ after head of military urges him to step down over contested poll ANDRES SCHIPANI

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vo Morales has stepped down as Bolivia’s president after almost 14 years in power, following pressure from the chief of the armed forces and a string of resignations over a contested election that led to weeks of protests.

“I am resigning,” Mr Morales said in a televised address from his stronghold in the coca-growing Chapare region in central Bolivia, a move that unleashed a wave of unrest. “I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, that the fight does not end here. We will continue this fight for equality, for peace.”

Williams Kaliman, the chief commander of the Bolivian armed forces, had urged him to quit “for the good of Bolivia”.

Several ministers, including the deputy president, also resigned on Sunday while police arrested two senior officials of the electoral commission amid allegations of fraud in the October 20 vote.

With the resignation of Mr Morales’s deputy and the heads of both chambers of Congress — all members of his MAS party — Jeanine Áñez, a deputy head of Senate from the opposition, told local television that she might take over as interim president on Monday with the “only objective of calling for new elections and pacify the country”.

Mr Morales’s decision to resign sparked violent unrest in La Paz and El Alto, with scuffles on the streets and buses torched.

Late on Sunday, Mr Morales said that an arrest warrant for him had been issued and that his house had been ransacked by “violent groups”.

The Mexican government offered asylum to Mr Morales and revealed that 20 members of

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the legislature and the executive were already at the Mexican embassy in La Paz. Leftist leaders from Latin America and Jeremy Corbyn, head of the opposition Labour party in the UK, labelled Mr Morales’s resignation a “coup”.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Morales had agreed to call new elections “to lower the tension and pacify” Bolivia as protesters, joined by members of the police, challenged the results of a poll in which the president secured a controversial fourth term in office.

Last month, Latin America’s longest-serving president claimed to have won a razorthin majority over Carlos Mesa, himself a former president. But on Sunday, the Organisation of American States called the result “statistically improbable” and demanded another election.

“To Bolivia, to its people, to young people, to women, to the heroism of peaceful resistance.

I will never forget this day,” said Mr Mesa following Mr Morales’ resignation. “The end of tyranny.”

Pressure began mounting on Mr Morales on Friday when police forces across Bolivia came out in support of opposition protesters. On Saturday, Mr Kaliman said the armed forces would “never enter into a confrontation with the people”.

After accusing protesters of fomenting a coup, Mr Morales first called for a “debate to pacify Bolivia” and political talks. But this was swiftly rejected by several opposition politicians, including Mr Mesa, who said: “I have nothing to negotiate with Evo Morales.” He called the vote a “monumental fraud”.

Mr Morales claimed victory following an unexplained decision by the electoral commission to freeze updates of the election @Businessdayng

count for nearly a day when it appeared that Bolivia was headed for a second round of voting.

When the electoral commission resumed updates, they revealed Mr Morales had stretched his lead and was headed for outright victory. Protests reached their peak this weekend as demonstrators from several parts of Bolivia made their way to La Paz, sometimes clashing with Mr Morales’s supporters.

Mr Morales’s position became increasingly untenable after auditors from the OAS released a preliminary report early on Sunday highlighting “irregularities that vary from very serious to indicative” in the election and vote-counting process. The OAS recommended new elections.

As Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Mr Morales won three sweeping presidential victories and changed the Bolivian constitution. But he lost legitimacy after ignoring defeat in a 2016 referendum on whether he should be allowed to seek a fourth term.

While some Bolivians likened him to Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, his supporters still saw him as the man who mended a fractured and volatile country scarred by racism and poverty.

To them, he was heir to Túpac Katari, the Aymara leader who led a valiant but failed revolt against the Spanish in the 18th century. Under Mr Morales, poverty rates have almost halved while Bolivia’s gross domestic product has quadrupled on the back of gas and mineral exports.

“There has been a coup,” Mr Morales said as he announced his resignation. “My sin is to be indigenous, trade unionist and coca grower . . . We are going to carry the sentence of Túpac Katari — we will return and we will be millions.”

Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

46

FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

US stocks slide in morning trade PETER WELLS

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S stocks retreated from record highs, with investors still racked by uncertainty over trade talks and as political tensions in Hong Kong flared up.

Activity on Wall Street was subdued owing to the Veterans Day holiday, with equities trading but the Treasury market closed.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were each down 0.6 per cent from their closing highs on Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.4 per cent.

Donald Trump said on Friday he had not agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese imports, pouring cold water on media reports earlier in the week that suggested a thaw in the US-China trade war was at hand.

Hong Kong ’s Hang Seng tumbled 2.6 per cent, its largest one-day drop in more than three months, as a new wave of protests washed over the territory following the shooting of a demonstrator by police.

European stocks were weaker, with the broad Stoxx 600 down 0.1 per cent. London’s FTSE 100 was off 0.9 per cent.

Vodafone strikes deal with BT to expand broadband coverage Mobile group takes advantage of Openreach discounts to widen fledgling full-fibre network NIC FILDES

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odafone has struck a deal with BT to use its network to offer broadband to up to half a million customers in three British cities.

BT, via its Openreach network unit, is under pressure to upgrade rapidly Britain’s copper telephone lines to “full fibre” connections but needs to bring millions of customers who use other broadband brands on board to justify the cost.

BT supports the government’s plan to offer “gigabit” speed broadband to all UK premises by 2025 if certain conditions are met. That would include a switch-off date for older copper networks once full-fibre lines have been laid, which would spur a mass migration of customers on to the new network.

Openreach said last week it would offer steep discounts to its customers — the broadband service providers that also use its network — if they committed to heavy marketing campaigns at the local level and to connect large blocks of customers to faster fibre services.

The offer included free line rental for a year if the end customer switched to fibre from a Virgin Media cable line.

Vodafone has an agreement in place with smaller fibre builder CityFibre but has taken advantage of the Openreach discount to agree to expand its fledgling UK broadband

service to Bristol, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Full-fibre services offer download speeds roughly 20 times the current UK average. But only 8 per cent of the country can access such a connection and the race to speed up the country’s telecoms networks has become a battleground for the industry, pitting BT against Virgin Media and several smaller companies building local fibre networks.

Sky has held talks with Virgin Media’s owner Liberty Global about teaming up to build new fibre networks to compete with Openreach, while TalkTalk plans to team up with an infrastructure investor to back a new network.

Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said he was determined it would remain the “partner of choice” for the industry.

BT has estimated that the cost of upgrading the country to full fibre would be between £25bn and £30bn, and argues that it needs to ensure consumers switch to the new networks to justify that investment.

The discounts, which run until September 2022, are designed to bring on board companies such as Vodafone to stimulate that demand.

The deal with Vodafone comes days after the mobile phone company revealed it had won a contract with Virgin Media to switch 3m customers from BT’s EE network to its own.

LinkedIn: social nerds’ work

It is clear Microsoft overpaid for the professional networking site

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inkedIn is social media for business nerds. That seems like a thoroughly good thing when Facebook is mired in controversies.

These include spyware on its WhatsApp service and disputes over promotional posts. But curriculum vitae are no match for pouting selfies from “influencers” - even if some of their fan accounts are as fake as their tans.

Facebook launched in 2004, one year after LinkedIn. It made $56bn in revenue from 2.41bn users last year.

LinkedIn made just over $5bn from 654m users.

There was scepticism when Microsoft paid $27bn for the professional networking site in late 2016.

The software giant paid a 50 per cent premium in a deal that valued the workplace-focused network at around 80 times ebitda.

LinkedIn did well out of the deal.

So did company founder and Silicon

Valley nice guy Reid Hoffman. Microsoft claims it has been just as good from its own side. User numbers have jumped over 50 per cent since 2016. Last year revenues increased 28 per cent, with record levels of engagement. LinkedIn appears far less successful as a profits generator.

The website makes money selling adverts, recruitment services, and membership. Now that it is bundled into Microsoft’s “Productivity and Business Processes” segment, there are few details in quarterly earnings reports. But filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the full 2018 year show LinkedIn operates at a bottom line loss. The business owned a raft of intangible assets when Microsoft bought it.

LinkedIn’s operating loss was close to $1bn last year after amortisation charges were deducted. www.businessday.ng

Central banks’ mandates allow them to tackle climate change There is now a settled consensus that global warming is a financial stability threat ISABELLE MATEOS

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ove over, negative rates. There is a new issue baffling and dividing those running the world’s central banks: should they be helping to fight climate change? The answer has to be yes — within their mandates. For most central banks, that means taking significantly more action. But governments have their own part to play in spurring on indispensable market development.

The debate has been muddled because it has often conflated different aspects of central banks’ mandates: monetary policy, financial stability and management of ultimately government-owned assets. These differ widely in the degree to which they both require and permit taking climate change into account.

There is now a wide consensus that climate change is a financial stability risk. Research by BlackRock shows that asset prices often do not reflect true exposure to physical climate risks and those related to energy transition. Central banks have a responsibility to make the financial institutions they supervise treat these risks as rigorously as any other and many have begun to do so, following the Bank of England’s lead.

But so far there has been only limited movement towards applying the same logic to central banks’ own balance sheets — in fact, none in the form of haircuts on collateral and only a little in the form of investment universe definition. Yet central banks, too, should care about their true risk exposure. That risk may be negligible in portfolios consisting almost exclusively of high-grade government bonds, but many central banks now own substantial amounts

Devastation caused by bushfires in New South Wales, Australia. Climate change has been linked to the recent out-of-control blazes © Dan Peel/EPA

of corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities and equities, for which climate risk can be substantial.

Despite notable efforts by the Network for Greening the Financial System, there is much less consensus around using central bank balance sheets to fight climate change. Surveys indicate that some have started doing this in their portfolios unrelated to monetary policies, such as foreign exchange reserves, and more are in the process of considering it. But most are doing neither.

Caution is warranted: these portfolios have clear objectives — safety, liquidity and return for FX reserves, and specific risk-return targets for investment portfolios. Until relatively recently, it was not clear that a portfolio could be made more climate friendly without meaningful trade-off with these objectives. But financial markets have evolved, and research now suggests that it is possible to do so.

That leaves monetary policy portfolios. Here, the consensus is on strict market neutrality — that is to say, no green tilt. The case against such a tilt is clear. It is a slippery slope: today

climate change, tomorrow social inequality and more. On the other hand, many central banks have a secondary mandate to support the general economic policies of the government (or the EU in the case of the European Central Bank). Where these policies make fighting climate change a priority, shouldn’t the central bank then ask itself whether strict market neutrality, irrespective of whether it is necessary to achieve its price stability objective, is fully consistent with its mandate?

Central banks have a leading role to play in ensuring climate change doesn’t jeopardise financial stability. But they are also, now and for the foreseeable future, very large owners of assets that ultimately belong to the public. Wherever it is government policy to prevent and mitigate climate change, it logically follows that central banks should manage these assets to contribute to this goal as far as possible, without compromising their primary objectives. Their capacity to do this will increase as governments, agencies and the private sector increase climate disclosures and issuance of green securities.

UBS fined by Hong Kong regulator for overcharging clients Securities and Futures Commission says customers’ trust was abused for a decade PRIMROSE RIORDAN AND DON WEINLAND

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BS has been fined HK$400m (U$51m) in Hong Kong for overcharging thousands of customers for bond trades over almost a decade in a case regulators said exposed “systemic” control failures at the Swiss bank.

The Securities and Futures Commission said on Monday that between 2008 and 2015 Hong Kong clients of UBS’s wealth management division were forced to pay more for bonds and structured debt products after the bank added a further “spread” to the trades that clients in its flagship wealth management business had requested.

The Swiss bank also took two years to report the misconduct after discovering it, the SFC said of a practice that involved almost 30,000 transactions and about 5,000 clients accounts managed in Hong Kong. UBS has also agreed to repay about HK$200m to the affected clients.

“UBS fell far short of these

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expectations by systematically overcharging a very large number of clients over many years,” Ashley Alder, the chief executive of the SFC, said in a statement.

“Although each overcharge represented a fraction of each trade, UBS’s misconduct involved deception and a pervasive abuse of trust resulting in significant additional revenue for UBS to which it was not entitled.”

The penalty is the latest UBS has been hit with in Hong Kong.

In March, the SFC suspended for 12 months its Hong Kong licence to advise on corporate finance in connection with its failures as a sponsor of Chinese initial public offerings in an action that also saw several other major banks fined.

A lack of supervision of staff and “failures of the first and second lines of defence functions” of UBS contributed to the conduct, the regulator said its investigation had found.

In a statement, UBS said that it self-reported the misconduct and @Businessdayng

the “behaviour of the individuals involved is unacceptable and in strong contrast to the behavioural principles of our firm.”

It added that “the relevant conduct predominantly relates to limit[ed] orders of certain debt securities and structured note transactions, which account for a very small percentage of the bank’s order processing system.”

Between 2008 and 2017, UBS also charged clients fees in excess of standard disclosures or rates, the regulator said. UBS had taken disciplinary actions against more than 20 staff, the SFC added.

In June, UBS came under fire from Chinese netizens for comments made by an economist. In the so-called “swinegate” incident, the economist was chastised in Chinese social media for using the phrase “Chinese pigs” in a research report concerning swine flu. The situation resulted in the bank being dropped by Chinese clients on some investment banking transactions.

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Tuesday 12 November 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FT

ANALYSIS

How do you decide who gets the chop in a professional services firm?

Making an accurate assessment of who should get culled is far from straightforward ANDREW HILL

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erbalife Says KPMG Resigns as Auditor Amid Trading Allegations...A pedestrian walks past the offices for the accounting firm KPMG LLP in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. KPMG LLP resigned as the auditor for two companies and fired the partner overseeing its Los Angeles audit practice amid allegations the person leaked confidential client information to a third party who used it to make stock trades.

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/ Bloomberg KPMG UK said it will take into account how much money partners have billed and the strategic importance of their work when deciding who to let go © Bloomberg The person with the hardest job in professional services right now could be Tim Jones, chief operating officer of KPMG’s UK partnership.

As part of a restructuring following a string of hits to its reputation, from regulatory fines to the collapse of audit client Carillion, the firm is decimating its partners. Mr Jones has had the task of drawing up a list

“lockstep” system of reward, whereby members were paid according to seniority. Lockstep has faltered under pressure, though, from the extreme alternative of “eat what you kill”, where partners are paid on the basis of how much money they bring in — and are themselves hunted and poached by rival firms.

Between these two models lurk some awkward hybrids. Accountants’ crossbreeding with management consultants further complicates decisions on performance and partner value. A commercial focus on growth and profitability battles with the partnership ethos of professionalism, and individual partners struggle to resolve the conflicts, says Laura Empson of Cass Business School, who has studied leadership in professional services firms. She points out that under such circumstances, answering the question “who is best?” is not simple.

Commenting on the KPMG story, one well-informed reader described a matrix system of partner assessment at the Big Four accountancy firms, that takes account of sales, “quality of delivery”, risk management, and contribution to other departments. It is a nice-sounding

KPMG UK said it will take into account how much money partners have billed and the strategic importance of their work when deciding who to let go © Bloomberg

of colleagues whose Christmas is about to be ruined.

Chief operating officers are appointed to make these tough decisions. I’m reminded of a colleague who took a managerial role and said, chillingly, that it became easier to lay people off, the more such conversations you had. But it is not the fact of having to cull the herd that makes the task difficult, it is the nature of the beasts Mr Jones has earmarked for slaughter.

Managing even the most pliable of teams in the best of times can be exhausting and complicated. Partners of professional services firms, though, boast a combination of status, high pay and fragile ego that is almost unmatched in the corporate world. In a conventional partnership, they also own the business and bear collective responsibility for how it is led, making them naturally resistant to voting for their own demise.

Making an accurate assessment of who should get the chop and who should be spared is also far from straightforward. KPMG has said it will take into account how much money partners have billed and other factors such as the strategic importance of their work.

The difficulty of assessing partners’ contributions is one reason why partnerships developed the

formula for something that partners used to assess collegially.

In fact, research shows that collaboration across disciplines, in law or consulting, pays off in higher margins and greater client loyalty.

But it takes careful management to ensure such collaboration bears fruit. Even in the old word-is-mybond era, free-riders could exploit partnerships, slacking off while keener colleagues brought in the fees. As the reader points out, there are still “far too many partners who game the system . . . When a deal approaches [they] jump out of the woodwork to get involved so that they can claim credit for the sale”.

An objective assessment is blurred by the need to pay up to retain the leading professionals.

In this, accounting, consulting or law are hardly different from other businesses. When a partnership is under pressure, though, as KPMG is, sweetening one partner’s reward package simply to keep him or her on board further widens the cracks in the collective and fills them with envy, greed and resentment. A chief executive might be able to reimpose discipline in a conventional hierarchy. In a partnership, though, leadership is also shared. Senior or managing partners are merely first among equals. If they push colleagues into a corner, they may even face being ditched themselves. www.businessday.ng

© FT montage; AP/Sana | Rami Makhlouf, left, and his cousin Bashar al-Assad, leader of Syria. The Makhlouf family have bought several luxury apartments in Moscow

Syria: Assad, his cousins and a Moscow skyscraper An FT investigation reveals Russia is an important destination for some of the regime’s money HENRY FOY AND CHLOE CORNISH

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n a bend of the Moscow river glitters a glass and steel monument to Russia’s oil and gasfuelled economy and growing global swagger. Dominating the capital’s skyline, the City district’s skyscrapers have multiplied in recent years as money has poured in, dwarfing the Stalin-era Seven Sisters that were once Moscow’s tallest structures.

At the heart of the ostentatious neighbourhood sits the City of Capitals complex, a two-towered skyscraper that was once the tallest in Europe before it lost that crown in 2012 to London’s Shard.

Tenants include the Russian offices for the likes of Diageo, the beverages multinational, Italian fashion group Calzedonia and top Russian banks. Neighbouring towers house government ministries, five-star hotels and the country’s wealthiest business people.

What has not been previously disclosed is that the complex is also home to at least 18 luxury apartments bought by the extended family of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to keep tens of millions of dollars out of Syria as the country’s civil war raged.

Some members of the Makhlouf family, including several of Mr Assad’s cousins, and some of their relatives, have bought at least 20 apartments worth $40m in Moscow over the past six years using a complex series of companies and loan arrangements, illustrating Russia’s role as a critical guardian of the Syrian regime. It also exposes the role played by those dubbed “Assad’s fund managers” in helping the regime move money beyond the reach of western sanctions.

Property registration documents show that between 2013 and June of this year, the family and its associates — many of whom are under EU or US sanctions for their roles in the Syrian conflict — purchased the luxury apartments in the City of Capitals complex. In most cases they used

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a loan structure involving offshore Lebanese companies that now officially own the properties, according to an investigation by anti-corruption group Global Witness, and shared with the Financial Times.

Moscow has been a steadfast ally of Syria’s Assad family since their rule began nearly 50 years ago in the days of the Soviet Union.

But President Vladimir Putin has forged ever stronger ties with Damascus since 2015, when the Kremlin threw its military support behind the Assad regime.

Before the intervention by Russia, and earlier Iran, Mr Assad had lost control of two-thirds of the country. With his allies’ help, he now controls most of Syria once more after retaking territory from opposition rebels. But at a tremendous cost: the conflict has displaced more than 12m people, says the UN, and killed some 500,000, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research, although counting stopped in 2016. “[The property deals] are rare evidence of how Russia has helped sanctioned individuals who have assisted and benefited from the murderous Assad regime move their assets out of Damascus and evade international regulations,” says Isobel Koshiw of Global Witness. “It is allowing them to take refuge in Moscow where they enjoy luxurious lifestyles as Syria burns.”

The Moscow property deals reveal one of the mechanisms through which Syria’s ruling families have amassed, and sought to safeguard, wealth despite the financial sanctions — from travel bans to asset freezes — imposed on them in response to the brutal crackdown on protests nearly nine years ago. But they also shed light on Russia’s role as a safe haven for regime insiders and their money.

“Russia has from the beginning been helping the Assad regime subvert sanctions,” Lina Khatib, Middle East and north Africa programme head at Chatham House, told the FT. “It sees itself right now as the guarantor of the Syrian state @Businessdayng

and therefore [does] everything it can, whether militarily, politically or economically, to keep the Syrian state alive while also keeping it loyal to Moscow.”

Although relatively small the purchases hint at the growing commercial ties between Russia and Syria developed on the back of their military alliance. Russia has insisted that its companies will have a chance to profit from Syria’s natural resources, including phosphates, oil and gas, and eventual reconstruction. It has also sold Syria billions of dollars worth of weapons.

The Makhloufs’ Moscow properties suggest Russia is also profiting from the desire of the Damascus elites to place wealth offshore.

The purchases, even after Mr Assad had reasserted control over the country, hint that Syria’s superrich are still hedging their bets.

Of the 20 apartments, 13 were bought directly or by companies controlled by Hafez Makhlouf, 48, the former head of a key security force and a central player in the 2011 crackdown on peaceful protesters, while two were purchased by the wife and sister-in-law of Hafez’s older brother Rami, long considered Syria’s most powerful businessman. Three additional properties in Moscow skyscrapers were bought directly by the three other Makhlouf siblings.

At least four of the properties are being used as accommodation, according to additional reporting by the FT, including one jointly owned by Rami and Hafez’s twin brothers Iyad and Ihab.

None of the five Makhlouf siblings, Rami’s wife, sister-in-law or representatives of the offshore companies involved in the purchases responded to requests for comment from the FT. A Brusselsbased law firm which has represented members of the family did not respond to requests for comment. Another lawyer who had previously acted for Hafez and Iyad Makhlouf said he was no longer working for them.

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BUSINESS DAY Tuesday 12 November 2019 www.businessday.ng

Ayodeji Balogun: Trailblazing in a territory others founds daunting

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hen farmers prod u c e on their farms, they often face one major challenge; what next? What are they going to do with baskets or sacks of harvested commodities as the case may be, particularly when they are highly perishable or require special storage.

Access to market has been a major challenge in the agriculture sector for as long as the profession has existed in Nigeria, with producers often on the losing end. Even when access to finance is given as a challenge of farmers, the fact has remained; no matter how much credit is extended to any farmer, if they are unable to access markets (and profitably too), then they will default.

“Money does not matter if you can’t sell,” remarked Ayodeji Balogun, country manager for AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited and the regional director of Africa Exchange Holdings during a panel discussion at the 2019 BusinessDay Agribusiness and Food Security Summit.

Balogun is today, leading what is unarguably Nigeria’s most successful commodity exchange platform, through which he is enabling producers of different commodities get a guaranteed access to market.

In his roles at AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited and Africa Exchange Holdings, Balogun is pioneering the development of a private sector led commodities exchange and an electronic warehouse receipt system.

He previously worked on developing the company’s new market entry strategy in East and West Africa, and before joining AFEX, supported several private sector enabling policy initiatives at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Background and early professional years Balogun holds an MBA from Lagos Business School, a first degree in Mechanical Engineering and a diploma in Heavy Equipment Engineering from Penn Foster University, Scranton, US. He also recently graduated from the Global CEO Program at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University.

He has worked as an analyst with Unilever Nigeria Plc and an associate at Doreo Partners where he

contributed to the development of Nigeria’s Agriculture Transformation Plan in 2011. He was a visiting consultant to DFID (GEMS3) and the Ministry of Agriculture on value chain development and coordinator of the West African chapter of Aspen Network of Developing Entrepreneurs (ANDE).

As a fresh graduate after an undergraduate degree in Engineering, Ayodeji decided to follow his passion for business, going on to study for an MBA, with the ultimate objective to understand how institutions, and not just businesses were built.

He would later apply to the Elumelu Professionals Program – (formely known as African Markets Internship Programme (AMIP)), which as he was quoted on the foundation’s website was to give “some validation of the experience gained from my years of venturing as a young entrepreneur in an emerging market and the structured thinking capacity from the MBA. AMIP placed me among 30 other fresh MBAs from the best schools in Europe, North America, and Africa, and we had 100 days of cross-pollinating ideas and cultures and had an immersion into the African Business Landscape.”

Through the EPP, Ayodeji as noted by the Elumelu foundation supported several private sector enabling policy initiatives including designing the Nigerian National Competitiveness Council and drafting a bill to regulate the non-profit sector in Nigeria. According to him, his work at the Tony Elumelu Foundation gave the confidence and courage to compete. Within five years after the program and fuelled with his drive for business and building a career around Impact Investing/Finance, he has grown from an analyst to running the West Africa operations of a Commodities Exchange – African Exchange (AFEX).

He has also served on the board of some Nigerian Capital Market institutions and serving in advisory roles on food security and poverty alleviation across East and West Africa.

In his profile on the website of THNK School of Creative Leadership, Balogun stated that at AFEX, his team is building systems that leverage technology, innovative finance, and inclusive agriculture to connect smallholder farmers to commodity and financial markets.

Ayodeji Balogun

The leap into commodity exchange AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited (AFEX), a sister company of East Africa Exchange (EAX), was established in Nigeria in 2014 through a Public Private Partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to establish a Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) and Commodities Exchange in Nigeria.

AFEX Nigeria secured its license as a Commodities Exchange in compliance with the Investments & Securities Act (ISA), 2007 and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Rules & Regulations in March 2015.

AFEX is also the first private sector led and funded Commodities Exchange

in Nigeria and across West and Central Africa. Adopting lessons learned and challenges met during the establishment of EAX, AFEX Nigeria has built on existing logistics systems by providing warehouses across major grain-producing states in North-West, North-Central & North-East Nigeria.

This has led to the creation of trading terminals where processors, traders and farmers exchange value.

A timeline of AFEX’s existence shows that while it following its establishment in 2014, and subsequent licensing in 2015, in 2016 it launched the Grain Bank and Commodity Exchange Project with the West Africa Food Market (WAFM), targeting 100,000 farmers. It also launched the first struc-

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CALEB OJEWALE

Access to market has been a major challenge in the agriculture sector for as long as the profession has existed in Nigeria

tured Grain for Fertiliser Programme in Nigeria, and issued a £350,000 repo bond fully subscribed to by DFID. In 2017, the trading platform powered by Nasdaq was launched, and matched with a commencement in the distribution of weekly commodities price data.

The same year, its agribootser product was launched in partnership with OCP Africa, targeting 5,000 farmers and also taking part in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme as an aggregator. In 2018, AFEX launched the pilot of its flagship #CodeCashCrop event, which it says drives necessary conversation about the intersection of technology, finance and agriculture. The company also began on-boarding non-bank financial institutions on the Exchange for farmer financing In 2019, AFEX introduced Nigeria’s first ever commodities index - the AFEX Commodities Index (ACI), which tracks the changes in price for some

major agricultural commodities. It has also continued its capital market integration, introducing the first ever market education platform for commodities named ‘EdEX’.

A 2018 report on ‘Commodities Trading Ecosystem in Nigeria’ by the Securities and Exchange Commission noted that the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) was the only commodity exchange in the country for more than a decade when in 2014, the SEC registered AFEX commodities exchange, the first private sector commodities exchange Of the two exchanges in Nigeria, AFEX commodity exchange as noted by SEC is fully operational while NCX is not fully operational due to funding challenges occasioned by government’s inaction, amidst several other challenges.

The SEC report highlights AFEX’s performance over a period, noting for instance that volume traded on the platform ranged from 2,500MT in Q2 2016 to 1,943MT in Q4 2017 with a value of N213m and N235m respectively.

Volume and value traded peaked between Q4 2016 and Q1 2017, leading to the expectation of a much higher value by Q1 2018.

The report showed maize (especially white) as the most traded commodity, followed by soya beans, paddy rice, ginger and others (i.e. cowpea, wheat, yellow sorghum).

It further noted that the record of some activities already occurring on the AFEX platform is an indication of the potential available in Nigeria’s commodity trading. Also, given that the level of transaction is still far less than the total production in the economy there is ample room for growth in commodity trading in Nigeria.

AFEX’s approach is to leverage technology to build efficient supply chain networks within Africa’s rural agrarian communities, linking the farmers to both financial and commodity markets. At AFEX, Ayodeji and his team are taking bold steps to transform agriculture into a dynamic marketoriented one by working to provide finance to promote increased access to trade finance for micro, small and medium enterprises entrepreneurs in import/export sectors to enable them explore market opportunities.

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