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news you can trust I **friDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2018 I vol. 15, no 145 I N300

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Nigeria’s booming N17bn IVF market threatened by poor regulation Domestic fish ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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o r e Ni g e r i a n families are turning to the In-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure leading to a boom in a market valued at over N17billion as improved awareness fuels

Experts form group to tackle quacks offering low cost options industry shrinks More couples shake off cultural barriers with awareness as US ban persists Josephine Okojie & Bunmi Bailey

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igeria’s farmed fish market is shrinking as a ban on smoked catfish (siluriformes) and all fish products from the country into the United States (US) persists, fish farmers say.

The fish farmers who spoke Continues on page 33

Continues on page 33

Inside MATOPEDA SALAMI

Been through tough times, living her dreams, aiming for higher heights

MTN shares rally on CBN statement P. 2 about $8.1bn claims

L-R: Innocent Chukwuma, regional West Africa, Ford Foundation; Adeyemi Dipeolu, special adviser to the president on economic matters, office of the vice president; Okechukwu Enelamah, minister, industry, trade, and investment; Xavier De Souza Briggs, vice president/inclusive economies and markets, Ford Foundation; Kofi Appenteng, chairman, Ford Foundation, and Roy Swan, director, mission investments, Ford Foundation, at the 2018 Impact Investing Alliance of Nigeria convening, with the theme ‘Accelerating Impact Investing in Nigeria: Lessons and Opportunities’ in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo

Two middlemen found guilty over $1.3bn Malabu oil scandal DIPO OLADEHINDE

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court in Milan, Italy has found Nigerian Emeka Obi and Italian Gianluca Di Nardo guilty of corruption in Milan in a case

... Sentence comes ahead of main trial involving Shell, Eni one of Africa’s biggest, for about …next hearing on Sept 26 $1.3 billion. related to an oil deal involving Multinational oil companies Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Eni SpA

and the Nigerian government over the 2011 purchase of OPL 245, an oil field reputed to be

Emeka Obi is one of the mid-

Continues on page 33

Buhari names Amaechi DG, 2019 campaign organization …APC clears Ambode, Ganduje, el Rufai, Lalung for second term … governor’s forum moves for direct, indirect primaries Tony Ailemen & James Kwen, Abuja

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head of the formal take off of the 2019 Presidential campaign, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday approved the appointment Rotimi Amaechi as the Director Continues on page 33

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Friday 21 September 2018

Emirates seeks take-over of Etihad to create world’s largest airline IFEOMA OKEKE

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ubai’s flagship airline Emirates is looking at taking over unprofitable neighbour Etihad, Bloomberg reports, in a move that would create the world’s biggest carrier by passenger traffic.

The talks, which are at a preliminary stage, would see Emirates acquire the main airline business of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, which would keep its maintenance arm, according to people who spoke to Bloomberg, who asked not to be named because the matter is confidential. The negotiations could yet fall through, they said.

Were a transaction to go ahead the enlarged airline operation would be bigger than that of American Airlines Group Inc., which has a market value of $19.2 billion.

Any deal would require the blessing of the rulers of the richest sheikhdoms in the United Arab Emirates. For Abu Dhabi, which sits on 6 percent of global oil reserves, it would advance a drive to overhaul state-controlled entities as it adapts to lower crude prices. The airlines have traditionally been arch rivals, with their hubs competing to attract the same transfer passengers making long-distance trips between Asia and the West.

Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and President Tim Clark have previously played down speculation that the carriers might combine, Sheikh Ahmed saying in May that there have

never been merger talks. Clark said in June that the question was one for shareholders, while adding that he saw nothing happening in the short-to-medium-term.

A combination of the airlines would provide further evidence of the sheikdoms consolidating businesses to boost competitiveness.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai companies formed Emirates Global Aluminium, one of the world’s largest producers, in a $15 billion combination in 2013, and the two have studied a merger of their stock exchanges. The Dubai government was also the driving force in compelling Emirates to cooperate with local discount carrier FlyDubai.

Etihad has been shrinking its operations following the failure of a so-called equity alliance strategy that saw it invest in a number of generally ailing foreign operators to help feed more traffic through Abu Dhabi. One of those, Air Berlin Plc, collapsed last year while another, Italy’s Alitalia, filed for bankruptcy protection, causing the pact to largely unravel.

The Middle Eastern company also saw its own business come under pressure as a slide in the price of oil led to a drop in travel in crudebased economies. That contributed to a $1.52 billion loss in 2017, taking the two-year deficit at the airline unit to almost $3.5 billion. Fitch Ratings last month said it expected Etihad to continue losing money through 2022.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

Pinnick defeats Maigari, Ogunjobi; re-elected NFF President Anthony Nlebem

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he incumbent president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick has been re-elected into office for the second term in an elective congress held in Katsina state on Thursday, September 20th, 2018.

Pinnick makes history as the first NFF president to be elected for a second term in office.

Pinnick, the CAF executive vice president returned for another 4 year; 2018 to 2022 term in office with 34 votes from a total of 44.

Former NFF president, Aminu Maigari pulled 8 votes, Taiwo Ogunjobi got 2 votes and Chinedu Okoye the man that wants to build 72 stadiums in 4 years got zero votes.

Meanwhile, football stakeholders have advised Pinnick to carry everybody along when he begins his second term journey.

“He should re-unite warring factions for a better Nigerian football,” a delegate said.

In his first tenure, the Super Eagles, three-time African champions qualified for their sixth appearance at the 2018 World Cup and avoided the rancour that plagued the team in Brazil 2014, having boycotted a training session because of their bonus ahead of their game against France.

However, the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2015 and 2017 editions of the African Cup of Nations under his leadership and have not been impressive in the underage competitions.

L-R: Abiola Ogunbiyi, MD, SJ Tours and Allied Services Limited; Adanma Oni, Lagos State ministry of tourism, art and culture; Babatunde Ruwase, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and Olajumoke Fashanu, chairperson, LCCI Women Group, at the 4th business luncheon of LCCI Women Group in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

Stakeholders offer insights on attracting impact investments to Nigeria Endurance Okafor & Bunmi Bailey

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he growth of impact investment, an approach to achieve positive social and environmental impact while simultaneously earning financial returns has been hailed as breakthrough in practice of investment worldwide.

Experts have therefore outlined ways Nigeria can be attractive for such investments.

Professionals from the regulatory, banking, private equity among other sectors were gathered at the conference organised by Impacting Investment Alliance of Nigeria (IIAN), in partnership with BusinessDay yesterday, and they called for, the right policies, private-public sector collaboration and well-structured enterprises to boost impact investment in the country.

Roy Swan, Director, Mission Investments, Ford Foundation, explained that in the U.S, one of the most powerful policy that shaped certain markets is the community re-enforcement Act which was created in 1977.

“What they did was to require banking institutions to do a certain business in low income areas. And what that did over time was to unleash huge capital from large banking institutions that were directed specifically to capital deserts. And so the access to capital problem and everything that could spring from that was required by the congress to be address by the banking institutions.”

Vikas Bali, CEO of Intellecap during the panel session said his firm was able to create a successful business model because it has a very clear investment thesis.

“We identity the gaps in the

market, understand the populations and we go about creating these businesses that will deliver these products and service.”

Impact investment, according to Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), has the singular objective of unlocking private investment capital to complement public resources and philanthropy in addressing pressing global challenges.

A survey conducted by the GIIN in 2017 revealed that close to $114 billion of impact investing assets is currently being managed across the world.

The industry experts however see Nigeria and West Africa region as presenting significant new opportunities, if only leaders and entrepreneurs can work together to scale-up positive change.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

MTN shares rally on CBN statement about $8.1bn claims David Ibidapo

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TN Group Ltd.’s shares rose the most in more than six months after Nigeria softened its stance over claims that Africa’s biggest wireless carrier illegally transferred $8.1 billion out of the country.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made the accusation late last month, leading to MTNs share price falling by almost a third.

MTN has since provided additional information that may lead to

an “equitable resolution,” a spokesman for the authority, Isaac Okorafor, said on Wednesday.

Four banks -- Standard Chartered Plc, Citigroup Inc., Stanbic IBTC Plc and Diamond Bank Plc -have also given further detail on the transactions that will be reviewed by the CBN, Okorafor said. The Banks were fined about N5.67 billion for enabling the allegedly improper transactions.

MTN climbed as much as 8.9 percent, its biggest gain since March 8, and was trading 5.3 percent up at 77.30 rand by 1:05 p.m. in Johan-

nesburg on Thursday. The stock is still down 28 percent since the $8.1 billion claim was made on Aug. 29, wiping out almost $5 billion of market value.

MTN’s response to the double accusation was to go to court, saying allegations by both the Nigerian central bank and attorney general are unfounded, malicious and illegal. Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter flew to the country to reassure employees of the company’s commitment to the market, MTN’s biggest with about 66 million customers.

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Ending poverty 2030 not feasible- World Bank MICHEAL ANI

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he World Bank says that the global target of eradicating poverty by 2030 appears not to be feasible, due to the slow pace of poverty reduction seen across the Sub-Saharan region.

The international financial institution noted that though the number of people living on less than $1.90 a day has fallen to record low of about 655 million - or 9 percent of the world’s population, without significant shifts in policy, about 480 million people - some 6 percent of the world - will remain in extreme poverty in 2030, the majority in poor African countries which are lagging behind “Fewer people are living in extreme poverty around the world, but the decline in poverty rates has slowed, raising concerns about achieving the goal of ending poverty by 2030 and pointing to the need for increased pro-

poor investments,” Jim Yong Kim, World Bank president said.

“If we are going to end poverty by 2030, we need much more investment, particularly in building human capital, to help promote the inclusive growth it will take to reach the remaining poor.”

Ending extreme poverty by 2030 is a key target among 17 ambitious global development goals agreed at the United Nations (U.N.) in 2015.

But at least 10 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa will remain in extreme poverty by 2030 “under all but the most optimistic scenarios”, the bank said.

The World Bank said it forecast that extreme poverty has declined to 8.6 percent in 2018.

The bank said that the percentage of people living in extreme poverty globally fell to a new low of 10 percent in 2015 — the latest number available — down from 11 percent in 2013, reflecting steady but slowing progress, World

Bank data show. The number of people living on less than $1.90 a day fell during this period by 68 million to 736 million.

The deceleration in global numbers the World Bank said stems mainly from an increasing concentration of extreme poverty in regions where poverty reduction has lagged.

A case in point is Sub-Saharan Africa, where, under all but the most optimistic scenarios, poverty will remain in double digits by 2030, absent significant shifts in policy.

Slowing declines in poverty also reflect falling commodity prices, conflict, and other economic challenges for developing countries.

According to the bank, only two regions, East Asia and Pacific and Europe and Central Asia, have reduced extreme poverty to below 3 percent. The Middle East and North Africa region had previously been below 3 percent in 2013, but conflict in Syria and Yemen raised its poverty rate in 2015.

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NCAA gives foreign airlines December ALAT: How 13,000 people S&P ratings affirms Zenith Bank plc dealine on revenue automation saved over N7bn in one year highly vulnerable, outlook stable IFEOMA OKEKE

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he Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has given December 31, 2018 deadline to all foreign airlines that are yet to automate/ integrate on the Avitech platform for the remittance of five percent Ticket Sales Charge/Cargo Sales Charge [TSC/CSC] to do so or face severe sanctions.

A letter to that effect dated September 14, 2018 has been dispatched to the affected airlines on behalf of Muhtar Usman , the director general of the authority.

Except for Lufthansa German Airlines involved, the rest are all African countries carriers operating to Nigeria under the existing Bilateral Air Service Agreement [BASA].

The ultimatum is contained in the letter signed

by Edem Oyo-Ita, the director of Air Transport Regulation (DATR).

Sam Adurogboye, spokesman for the aviation regulatory body, explained that this is coming on the premise that in spite of regular meetings, reminder letters and follow-up by the authority to airlines’ man-

agement, defaulters refused to comply with the Federal Government directives on Aviation Revenue Automation Project (ARAP) and abide by the provisions in the BASA between Nigeria and their respective Countries.

It is important to note that, in line with Part 18.12.5 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs), 2015 that “all domestic and international airlines operating in Nigeria shall forward to the authority through an electronic platform provided by the authority, all relevant documents such as flown coupons, passenger or cargo manifest, air waybills, load sheets, clients’ service invoices and other documents necessary for accurate billing within forty-eight (48) hours after each flight” In the same vein Part V, Section 12(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 states that the five per cent TSC/CSC to be collected from passengers by airlines, be paid to NCAA. These collections which are shared among the agencies are meant for the maintenance of safety critical, provisions of infrastructural facilities and for meeting their numerous obligations.

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ince Goals on ALAT was launched a year ago, the digital bank has helped 13,267 people save over N7 billion, with an average monthly savings of N1 billion today.

ALAT is powered by Wema Bank.

Most times, the hardest thing about saving money is starting out; settling on a plan, or plans, that encourages discipline and is financially rewarding often proves difficult. It can be difficult to figure out simple ways to save money and how to use your savings to pursue your financial goals.

A recent survey on saving carried out by ALAT, the first fully digital bank in Nigeria, showed that the greatest drawback to effective saving isn’t insufficient income but that many don’t know how to save while others lacked discipline.

There are several ways to learn how to save but one of the best ways is to set a goal; thinking of what you might want to save for—anything from a down payment for a house to a vacation—and then figuring out how long it might take you to save for it.

You might even toss in how you could possibly source

additional funds to complement your saved income for your targeted goal.

Understanding this, ALAT unveiled a feature called Goals, a bouquet of savings options that help instill discipline while rewarding you for reaching your savings milestones. Given that many have different preferences in the terms of timelines, discipline and target for savings, three categories were created— the Fixed Goal which serves those seeking a strict savings plan; Flexi Goal for those in need of a not-too-rigid plan; and Stash which caters to those seeking a rewarding short-term savings option.

Groups of friends or members of families can pull funds together and save towards a single goal using the Group Target Savings or the Rotating Group Savings popularly known as Esusu.

Whichever savings category that fits the need, you are assured of a seamless automated way of saving while earning a 10 percent annual interest – three times the standard bank rate.

Beyond the savings and investment options, ALAT offers complementary features that help improve and sustain saving habits.

CYNTHIA IKWUETOGHU

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tandard & Poor (S&P) Global Ratings affirmed its long term and short term counterparty credit ratings of ‘B/B’ on Zenith Bank, which means that the bank is highly vulnerable to non-payment; and the outlook of the credit ratings remained stable.

At the same time, the agency affirmed the national scale ratings on the bank at ‘ngA/ngA-1’ which are both described as ‘strong’ as the bank has the capacity to meet its financial commitments.

Zenith Bank’s ratings reflected its balance sheet strength, which the agency (S&P) categorised as strong.

“The affirmation reflects our view that Zenith will continue to display better asset quality indicators than its domestic peers and sound revenue generation over the next 12-18 months despite slow economic recovery.” As stated by S&P Global Ratings.

The bank posted a total asset of N5.3 trillion as at June 30th, 2018, making it the second largest bank in the country. It recorded a stable revenue generation and earnings, despite the challenging operating conditions over the years.

Zenith’s capital and earnings were also assessed by the agency as moderate. The bank’s S&P ratings’ Risk-Adjusted Capital (RAC) ratio before adjustment reached 5.4 percent at the end of 2017, compared with 5.1 percent in 2016.

“We expect this ratio will be 5.2-5.5 percent over the next 12-18 months. We factor into our RAC calculation of a reduction in expensive fixed deposits and redemption of its $500 million Eurobond in April 2019. We also consider Zenith good fees and commission generation, and its dividend payout ratio of about 50 percent.”

“Zenith’s asset quality metrics improved in H1 2018 with credit costs declining to 0.9 percent and coverage by loan loss reserves increasing to 229 percent (following the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9 and including Stage 1 and Stage 2 provisions).”

In H1 2018, nonperforming loans (NPLs) declined in absolute terms, but increased in relative terms. It accounted for 4.9 percent of the loan book, compared with 4.7 percent at year-end 2017.

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Regulatory conversations: Does Nigeria have a philosophy of regulation?

SOJI APAMPA Olusoji Apampa is the CEO of The Convention on Business Integrity.

Twitter: @sojapa E-mail: aviga@ cbinigeria.com

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n the light of recent regulatory actions by the Central Bank of Nigeria against MTN Nigeria (where a record $8.1bn has been demanded and the company is now defending itself again in court) and their bankers (Citibank, Diamond Bank, Standard Chartered Bank &StanbicIBTC Bank) who were fined a cumulative ₦5.9bn deducted at source by the apex banker, The Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), BusinessDay Newspapers, The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), The Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) and ActionAid came together at CBI’s first public-private dialogue (under the banner of ‘Regulatory Conversations’) to discuss the effectiveness of Nigerian regulatory actions in attracting and retaining Foreign Direct Investment.

Two main schools of thought were considered: “Multinational corporations are crooks ripping Nigeria off ” and “Nigerian regulatory actions are inept leading to erosion of company value and flight of foreign direct investment.”

The discussion panel was made up of eminent persons such as Prof.

Bolaji Owasanoye, Executive Secretary of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption

(PACAC), Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, of Femi Falana & Co., Mr. Niyi Yusuf, Vice-Chairman of NESG, Mrs. Toyin F. Sanni, CEO of Emerging Africa Group, Mr. Frank Aigbogun of BusinessDay Newspapers and Mr. Osaro Eghobamien, SAN, Vice-Chairman of the Convention on Business Integrity. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Christopher Kolade, CON, former Chairman of Integrity Orgnaiztion Ltd. (Gte.). The event was UKAid funded, through Action Aid’s SCRAP-C Project (Strengthening Citizens Resistance Against Prevalence of Corruption).

Through the panel debate, the fact that capital is agnostic and non-sentimental was underscored. Foreign direct investors and domestic investors alike avoid jurisdictions where the regulatory environment is uncertain. Business needs regulation and needs it to be uniformly and fairly applied.

Another matter arising was that the ‘policing’ aspect of regulatory actions whilst necessary is not sufficient for the development of a sector – regulators need to use their powers to expand and moderate the business environment so competition by the rules can allow the best to emerge and new market segments to be developed and exploited whilst ensuring a level playing field through fair setting, application and enforcement of rules. It would be very surprising if any of this is completely new to a business reader however one of the conclusions that stuck with me, which the panel also underscored was that Nigeria seems to lack a philosophy of regulation.

What is a philosophy of regulation? I will illustrate this with an example. The College & Associa-

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capital is agnostic and non-sentimental was underscored. Foreign direct investors and domestic investors alike avoid jurisdictions where the regulatory environment is uncertain

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tion of Registered Nurses of Alberta regulating certain health-care entities call their approach, “right-touch regulation.” In right-touch regulation, they aim to “use as little regulatory force as necessary” and they explain further, “Right-touch regulation recognizes that there is usually more than one way to solve a problem, and regulatory force may not be the best answer.” So, they define a number of aims of their philosophy as striving to be 1.) Proportionate – using only the minimum amount of regulatory force needed 2.) Consistent – applying rules and standards fairly 3.) Targeted – focusing on solving a problem while minimizing side effects 4.) Transparent –using open, honest and user-friendly communication 5.) Accountable – subjecting themselves to public scrutiny and

being able to justify their actions 6.)

Agile – adaptable to change.

They further outline eight elements that guide their approach 1. They identify the problem first. By understanding the root issue, they can develop appropriate solutions.

2. They Look at the risks: how likely they are to occur, and the severity of likely risks.

3. They get close to the problem.

Look for a solution close to the problem itself; don’t implement a solution for the entire profession when the problem is isolated.

4. They focus on the outcome.

They don’t act on a solution due to process or external pressures or concerns; they do what is necessary to achieve the desired outcome.

5. They Use regulation only when necessary. If there is any solution that can achieve the outcome that doesn’t require regulation, they do that.

6. They Keep it simple. Basically, they are able to explain their approach to anyone, being clear and concise, and they are able to easily justify their actions. If they can’t do that, they believe it’s not simple enough.

7. They check for unintended consequences. The industry they regulate (health-care) is complex, so a solution may unintentionally affect other aspects of the system.

8. They Review and respond to change. Being flexible; if something isn’t working, or the environment changes, they review and change it.

It this ‘right-touch’ approach had been used by regulators in Nigeria, then rules would have been applied in a consistent, targeted, transparent, and accountable way with proportionate actions that avoid unintended consequences,

agile enough to adapt to changes within the industry being regulated. It is hard to imagine that wiping out one-third of the value of MTN as a result of the regulatory actions or requesting a fine of ZAR150bn on a company whose value is now ZAR135billion was part of the plan.

The panel discussed illicit financial flows (IFFs) from commercial activities including trade mis-invoicing, transfer mispricing (through under-invoicing and over-invoicing), unequal contracts as well as tax evasion and abuse of tax incentives, which are estimated to have cost Nigeria US$142 billion between 2002 and 2011. The panel agreed this was unacceptable and Nigeria has to improve effectiveness of its regulatory interventions.

Business persons in the audience during the interactive session emphasized the need for effective regulation of business in the public interest. Rather than calling for weak regulation, participants called for effective, evenly and fairly applied regulation but agreed that the best thing for business would be for it to inoculate itself against uneven regulation by better identifying regulatory risks, putting its house straight and having this independently assessed and rated to avoid unpleasant surprises from Nigerian regulators. The communique will be published in the newspapers over the coming days by the Convention on Business Integrity.

Participants at the event welcomed the format of “Regulatory Conversations” and called for this to be done monthly.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.

Is your organization paying lip service to empowerment?

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‘UJU ONWUZULIKE

Uju Onwuzulike is Nigeria’s leading authority on Systems Thinking and Strategic Management. He was a Steve Haines trained strategy and systems thinking expert and a former global partner of Haines Centre for Strategic Management, California, USA. He is the founder and Chief Results Officer of MCL – a strategy and outstanding performance specialist firm. He can be reached on 09091142093 or uju.onwuzulike@mclgroup.net.

t is common these days to hear leaders and managers say that: “their organizations cannot function properly without the right people”. Sometimes, we also hear organizations saying that “people are their highest or biggest asset”. As leaders and managers, a key question to ask ourselves is: how do we make the most out of that biggest asset in our organizations?

How do we get our employees to deliver more for the customers – since organizations exist to serve the customers? The truth is that it is very easy for organizations to act as though people are their greatest as-

set meanwhile such organizations may not have the right foundation in which to maximize the potentials or the capabilities of their workforce. That right foundation by which leaders or managers make the most out of their team members comes through empowerment.

The trouble often times comes from how managers understand what empowerment means and how it has robbed organizations of its successes. Some leaders and managers still see empowerment to mean giving employees or people the power to make decisions

that they ought to have made themselves. As a result of this understanding, some organizations find it difficult to engage the hearts and minds of their workforce. These leaders and managers’ misguided understanding of the word empowerment have made them to appear as if they are giving power to their workforce to drive results – and without those powers or approvals making progress might be a herculean task. Another believe stem from the fact that some organizations are already accustomed to the command – and –control structure, an feel that empowering workforce will mean taking powers and controls out from them.

A true fact unknown to some leaders and managers is that people in the organization already have or possess a tremendous amount of power within them. What do I mean? They already have powers that reside in their experience, in their knowledge, exposures, and even internal drives. They already have full prepared powers that they will bring to any organization they chose to work for. But unfortunately those powers in terms of knowledge, influence, exposures, what they can

do, and their positions are not utilized for the growth of organizations. Sometimes, they are allowed to go dormant unknowingly. Importantly, organizations need to have a re-think on how they view empowerment. They should begin to see empowerment as creating of an organizational environment that will unleash the knowledge, experience, and motivation that reside in people in that organization.

First and foremost, for empowerment to be entrenched as a culture in organizations – and not just a lip service, it requires a major shift in attitude. And the fundamental place that shift will emerge from is in the heart of every leader. One of the roles of leaders and managers is to ensure that employees utilize their experiences, skills, exposures, and also their contacts in a way that will make their organizations to be more successful. Talking of contacts for instance, some employees might have a couple of very important contacts that can be highly beneficial to the organization, but without being empowered or encouraged they might not let it out. So the key to empowerment is the ability of leaders

and managers to get people in their organizations to “let the powers” they have out for the good of their organizations. So empowerment is liken to letting people in your organization bring their brains to work and allowing them to use their knowledge, experience, and skills to build a formidable organization.

Final note: Employees on their part should not misconstrue empowerment to mean as though they were given the free rein to do as they please and make all the key decisions about their jobs. They should not fail to realize that the price of freedom is a sharing of risks and responsibility. But importantly, an empowered culture requires even greater accountability from every employee. Finally, empowerment breeds accountability, the earlier organizations realize that the better.

As always, I welcome your suggestions, requests and comments.

Happy reading and I look forward to hearing from you!

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Innovative financing and strategies towards social housing (part II)

AMAMCHUKWU OKAFOR Okafor is a policy researcher and strategist with an M.Sc. from Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany. He wrote via amam. okafor@gmail.com

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n part I of this two-part series, I argued that the price of land among other factors is a key driver of variation in price of rental units across locations in Lagos– as well as in Nigeria. Therefore, policies and strategies to create and finance affordable, low-income housing should begin from stabilizing the price of land and managing the distortions inherent in the current system of land administration.

Although, efforts are being made to restructure land accessibility process, challenges remain for residents and stakeholders who want to develop –inclusive– housing.

Hence, majority of housing delivery is still within the self-help approach and informal sector. The variation and distortion in the land pricing mechanism is grossly reflected in the spatial arrangement of the city.

A plot of land in certain residential parts of the city may range from 100 to 200 million Naira while in

another parts, it may range from 200, 000 to 10 million Naira. Travel from one part of the city to the other will reveal the price segregation phenomenon in the arrangement of the city. Consequent upon land pricing distortion, among other factors, rental for decent housing, are comparatively beyond the reach of many citizens as many of them are confined to slums and informal settlements across the city.

Speculation is another aspect.

Land speculation creates the distortions in market process that raise the price of land beyond normal market level. Even worse, given the high demand for housing and other productive demand for land, speculation prevents the optimal use of land and halts development.

Banana Island which was initially a government development has seen huge speculative purchases that have driven the price of properties to one of the most expensive in the country. Interestingly however, little over 50% of the land has been developed (HBS/AI report 2017).It is therefore pertinent to take steps in correcting these distortions that push the prices of rental units above the affordability of the common man.

Land subsidies and housing funds Governments interested in providing low-income housing can hold equities by providing land subsidies to the developers that emerged out of a competitive bidding process. The land should be accessible with developed road network and drainage channels to

prevent floods. The winning developers should be given access to low interest financing over a long-term repayment scheme. The government can establish social housing funds from which community developers and private developers interested in social housing investments can draw. A number of proposals on social housing investment funds were suggested in the report that followed the Lagos Development Envision Lab 2017 by Heinrich Böll Foundation and Arctic Infrastructure: Different types of funds including Habitat Fund, Construction Fund, Empowerment funds, and Social Housing among others were suggested targeting both the demand and supply parts of housing delivery. The funding structure is primarily targeted at income groups earning between N18, 000 and N40, 000 and will involve multiple stakeholders among which are Primary Mortgage Banks (PMIs), developers, building materials manufactures, trade associations and others.

Unused land taxes It is not consistent with common sense to have land fallowing in speculation when there are prevailing demands for housing units. But land speculation happens to be sound business intuition especially in Lagos where alongside an inflexible land tenure system, the process of land acquisition defeats transparent market processes and is underlined by high incidence of fraud. It is therefore intuitive to suggest that unused land be subject to taxation, proportionate to the value of the land after two years of purchase. This is likely to cut short the speculative time window, moderate

‘

It is not consistent with common sense to have land fallowing in speculation when there are prevailing demands for housing units. But land speculation happens to be sound business intuition especially in Lagos where alongside an inflexible land tenure system, the process of land acquisition defeats transparent market processes and is underlined by high incidence of fraud

’

any value accruable from speculative purchases within the two-year period. It may therefore free up idle lands for alternative uses – if not for social housing. An additional incentive may be to offer tax abatement to developers providing mixed income and affordable housing. Developers may also be given density bonuses which allow them to build more units per acre than the permissible level thereby increasing profitability per land area.

Summarily, it may be most effective to collaborate with cooperative housing societies in order to avert

likely distortions especially in the disbursement of funds and subsidies.

These housing societies, if formed within the community by community members with the purpose of providing low-cost housing, would be more committed to the welfare and development of their communities than external private developers with profit motives. More so, housing societies optimistically, would be easier to regulate on issues of rental pricing and speculative reselling than private actors. It is also possible to work with the community association of land owners who are willing to surrender their land titles in equity towards the construction of low-costs housing units. This way, the developers need not buy the lands, but issue equities or a fair share of the development units to the original landowners. This strategy is similar to the community land trusts (CLT) advocated by the New Economics Foundation which is a form of community-led housing which hold land collectively in a not-for-profit trust and used in ways beneficial to the community. There is no catch-all solution to the housing crisis, but the aggressive social exclusion motivated by gentrification in major cities in Lagos and across Nigeria, needs to be addressed and with urgency.

• This article is based on the report, Achieving Mixed and Integrative Housing in Lagos by Heinrich BöllStiftung and Arctic Infrastructure)

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

An obligatory but arduous task

TOCHUKWU EZUKANMA Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria macilin18@yahoo.com 0803 529 2908

I

did not sit-in on September 14th as directed by the secessionist movement, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). I could not have because I am opposed to Biafranism in all it form and hue. I am an unabashed proponent of the indissolubility of the Nigerian union. But, even if I were a secessionist, and rabidly pro-Biafra, there is no way I could not have accepted the likes of Nnamdi Kanu and Ralph Uwazurike as my leaders. They are ignoramuses, charlatans and their real motivations are suspect.

Chinua Achebe was quoted as saying that the problem with the Igbo is that they never do anything with their first eleven.

In other words, it is not the best and the brightest of the Igbo, but their second rates, that feature most prominently in the affairs of the Igbo. It is a conspicuous and lamentable reality that I cannot explain. It is a problem that is most glaring in the neo-Biafran movements. The leaders of the

neo-Biafran movements are not even qualified for the Igbo second eleven; they are in the ranks of our third eleven.

That millions of Igbo sheepishly follow these blustering ruffians and colorful thugs that preach secession and anarchy bleeds my heart. I have always known that the masses barely think; they prefer to just follow. No wonder, they have always been available and malleable tools in the hands of rabble-rousers and demagogues.

The follow–follow mentality of the Igbo masses is reinforced by the psychological ravages the civil war wrought on the Igbo. The lingering grip of the suffocating falsehood of the Biafran propaganda on Igbo minds fuels separatist tendencies among the Igbo and provides fertile grounds for the demagoguery of neo-Biafran rabble-rousers.

During the civil war, most Igbo came under the mesmeric sway of Ojukwu’s histrionics, personal magnetism and oratorical grace.

We fell for his propagandistic exaggerations and the disingenuous manipulation of information by the Biafran propaganda. It was my study and research of Nigerian (including Biafran) history that freed me from the stultifying hold of the Biafran propaganda.

I formed an informed and unbiased perspective on the civil war; and the recklessness and absurdity of Biafranism crystallized to me.

With my unprejudiced viewpoint of the civil war, I am con-

vinced that I have a moral obligation to help the Igbo discard the psychological baggage of the Biafran propaganda: fear, paranoia, self-pity and culture of victimhood.

My objective is to sensitize the Igbo to the charade of Biafraism, and get them to realize that we have no viable choice but to remain in Nigeria and lay claim to all our rights, entitlements and prerogatives. The only weapon in my arsenal in this obligatory, and of course, difficult task is my pen.

With my pen I desire to prod the Igbo to untangle the psychological fetters of the Biafran propaganda.

And thus, appreciate an impartial account of the civil war and the events leading up to it; form an objective opinion of Nigeria and the place of the Igbo in it; and realize that Biafranism was not for the good of the Igbo. It essentially advanced Ojukwu’s personal ambitions at the detriment of the Igbo. It was a thoughtless and impetuous political move that went against the grain of the Igbo military and political elite, ethnic minorities in Eastern Region of Nigeria, other Nigerians and the federal government of Nigeria, Organization of African Unity (OAU) and governments of Britain and the United States of America (which they clearly indicated to Ojukwu through their diplomats in Nigeria).

To give what was one man’s personal ambition a coloration of a struggle for national survival demanded excessive falsehood.

These were unrestrained,barefaced lies that lamentably took a grisly grip on Igbo minds. Their

persistent, protracted clutch on the Igbo psyche warped our mindset: it makes us suspicious and fearful of other Nigerians and left us wallowing in self-pity and feeling of victimhood. It is this dangerous and retrogressive mindset that explains our political problems in present day Nigeria; it relegated us to perennial losers in Nigerian politics, and makes us nostalgic for Biafra.

Nigeria is not breaking up and the Igbo cannot unilaterally break out of Nigeria. So, just like the earlier Biafranism, neo-Biafranism is a doom enterprise. It can only result to a colossal waste in Igbo lives, resources and efforts. And just like the earlier Biafranism, it can only set us backwards: undermine our political fortune and retard our economic and social progress. Moreover, one Nigeria is very beneficial to the Igbo. The earlier Igbo leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Michael Okpara and Louis Odumegwu- Ojukwu in their realism realized this, and thus, encouraged Nigerian unity. Our earlier unwavering commitment to Nigerian unity contributed immensely to our previous unparalleled, dazzling success and excellence across all spectrum of the Nigerian social life. It was Ojukwu’s secession that undid the Igbo. It cost the Igbo more than one million civilian lives, snatched away hundreds of thousands of men in the glory of their youth, and dispossessed us of much of our prior achievements.

I wield my pen with gusto, guts

and incandescent objectivity. My forthright articles on the absurdity of Biafranism have irked many Igbo, and consequently, brought me ostracism, insults and death threats. Apart from rejections, and caustic and unprintable insults, some have called me on the phone to threaten my life. They told me that they will kill me for opposing Biafra and insulting their leader, Nnamdi Kanu. However, for the repose of my conscience, I will continue to denounce Biafra and its leaders because no other single historical factor ever brought the Igbo so much death, destruction, pains, sorrow and psychological depredations as Ojukwu’s Biafranism. And the neoBiafran lunacy and the lunatics that champion it are out to do additional harm to the Igbo.

As for the insults, I find them exhilarating and invigorating.

Writing becomes a pointless endeavor for a writer, who, in his tepidity, cannot kindle the interest of his readers to the point of either agreeing or disagreeing with him.

I therefore relish responses to my articles - be them positive or negative, appreciative or offensive. As for the death threats, life and death are in God’s hands. The Bible tells us that a sparrow, which is sold two for a farthing, shall not fall on the ground without the knowledge of God. Is it then possible for a man to die without the knowledge, and at least, the acquiescence of God? The answer is No!

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

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BUSINESS DAY

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Editorial

Friday 21 September 2018

The Lekki-Epe expressway

PUBLISHER/CEO

Frank Aigbogun EDITOR Anthony Osae-Brown DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Bill Okonedo NEWS EDITOR Patrick Atuanya

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Adeola Ajewole FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dick Kramer - Chairman Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Albert Alos Funke Osibodu Afolabi Oladele Dayo Lawuyi Vincent Maduka Maneesh Garg Keith Richards Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Sim Shagaya Mezuo Nwuneli Emeka Emuwa Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo

T

he Lekki-Epe Expressway, built in the 1980s during the administration of Lateef Jakande and when the axis was just a rural settlement, became one of the busiest and congested roads at the turn of the 21st century.

Then, workers and school children had to begin their journey as early as 4am to have any hope of getting to their work places or schools in Victoria Island or Marina by 8 or 8.30 am. Commuters and motorists along the route groaned in pains for many years until the Lagos state government, in 2006, heeded their call and concessioned the reconstruction and enlargement of the 49.4 kilometre road (and the building of a 20 km coastal road) to the Lekki Concession Company Ltd. (LCC) on a build, operate and transfer basis. The government justified the Public Private Partnership deal as a strategic partnership with the private sector to ease the discomfort of Lagosians and boost the economic prosperity of the Lekki-Epe vicinity especially as the road will serve as the gateway to the proposed Lekki Free Trade Zone, new model cities and residential accommodations, business centres and financial and tourism hubs.

Guarantee was provided and work began in 2008.

However, since then, like most things Nigerian, the concession has ran into several problems notably delays and

agitations over the payment of tolls at three designated gates in less than 25 kilometres. Work on the road has since stopped at the Abraham Adesanya end of the road and the entire concession agreement has collapsed with the Lagos state government revoking the concession and paying off the concessionaires.

Meanwhile, buoyed by the expansion of the road, many housing estates, private houses, a university and businesses have sprung up along the axis. It can be said that many people and businesses are escaping the busy and congested Victory Island and Ikoyi and even Lagos mainland to the Lekki peninsular axis. Consequently the road has got very busy. In addition to all the developments planned along the axis, the Dangote refinery is being built along the corridor. The presence of Dangote refinery has attracted other related businesses such as Progress Maritime limited, OBAT Oil and Eko Resort and many other businesses to the area. The effect is that the road got very busy that the traffic gridlock of past years has returned with vengeance. Perhaps, due to design failures (for instance the king-sized roundabouts along the roads have become the greatest causes of traffic gridlocks), the congestions along the road are now unbearable such that a journey of 20 minutes could take 4 hours or more on a bad day.

It is not difficult to see that the road has become a huge problem even before take-off of the refinery, the Lekki Free Trade Zone,

the proposed airport and many other businesses along that route.

The expected development and prosperity cannot happen where there is no ease of movement along the corridor. Sadly, the promised coastal road that should have helped to reduce the traffic on the road has remained only a dream.

This is, in many ways, the Nigerian story. Governments are incapable of planning for future developments and even if they claim to plan, the plan remains only on paper and bears no connection with reality. In 2006, the Lagos state government developed an Integrated Rail Transport System to link the major population and activity centres in Lagos state. Seven lines including the 26 kilometre Green line that will run from Marina to the Proposed Lekki Airport was planned. Due to lack of funds, the government decided to start with the 27 kilometre Blue Line from Okokomaiko to Marina via Iddo. The contract was awarded, and work started since 2008 and was supposed to have been completed in 2011 and other lines begun. But, till date, the Blue Line is yet to be completed and the others lines remain only plans on paper.

It does not take rocket science to know that the Lekki Epe Expressway is grossly inadequate to handle the volume of activities that will come with the opening of the Lekki Peninsular axis to both human and commercial activities.

It also does not require rocket science to know that the best way to take away the traffic is either by

construction of another road, in this case, the long talked about coastal or a tram-train built still along the expressway. But no, such things never happen in Nigeria.

The Lagos state government has gone about town citing inability to attract private partners and investors as one of the reasons for the delay in the completion of the blue line. But why would the government expect any rational thinking investor to invest his/her money in a public infrastructure project in a highly combustible and uncertain policy environment like Nigeria’s? Coincidentally, it was the Lagos state government that arbitrarily aborted the last such investment (the concessioned Lekki Epe Expressway). By buying back the concession, the Lagos state government sealed its fate; made it very difficult or impossible to attract private investors to partner government in infrastructure provision.

Since government, by its actions, have signalled to investors that it alone can provide the infrastructure needs of the society, it must not complain of paucity of funds to do what is absolutely necessary to make life worthwhile for the people. The removal of some roundabouts and construction of a flyover bridge at Ajah are just mere tokenisms that cannot solve the problem of traffic gridlock on the expressway. Can the Lagos state government learn to be proactive and not always reactive, waiting for problems to arise before solutions are thought?

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 21 September 2018

13

CityFile

Niger to spend N2bn on reconstruction of Minna-Bida road- Official

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iger State government is spending about N2 billion on the reconstruction of the 84 kilometer Minna-Bida road, Ibrahim Balarabe, the state commissioner for works and infrastructure, has said.

Balarabe said in Minna on Wednesday that the road had been in deplorable condition due to the activities of heavy duty trucks plying it.

He explained that the project had reached about 75 per cent completion and expressed satisfaction with the level of the work done so far on the road.

“Our major challenges are the excesses of the heavy duty vehicle operators coming from Lagos to different part of the country as the state remains the gateway “We are spending billions of naira yearly to repair federal and state roads as a result of heavy duty trucks being loaded above their approved capacity,’’ he said.

The commissioner called on leaders of heavy duty trucks association to caution their members on the danger of overloading.

Balarabe called on road users to adhere to the traffic rules and regulations, to avoid unnecessary road accidents.

Lagos recovers N829.11m via mediation

L

agos State government says it has recovered a total of N829.11 million through peaceful as it relates to civil disputes among residents from January to August.

Adeniji Kazeem, the state attorneygeneral and commissioner for justice, made the disclosure at a news conference commemorating 2018 United Nations International Day of Peace.

The International Day of Peace, sometimes unofficially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually in September.

The day was first celebrated in 1982, and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and people. It is observed on Sept. 21 annually.

Theme is: “Right to Peace: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70.”

Kazeem, represented by the solicitorgeneral, Funlola Odunlami, said issues that dominated the mediation were that of landlords and tenants.

According to him, the Citizens Mediation Centre (CMC) registered 33, 670 matters in the period under review. Kazeem added that 18, 982 matters were mediated and resolved, while 4,701 matters were adjourned and referred to other government agencies for further processing.

He said that the CMC was an initiative of the state government to serve as a non adversarial dispute resolution centre.

According to him, this is through the use of mediation mechanism in dispensing justice fairly, speedily and without discrimination, fear or favour between disputing residents.

The centre has 18 units spread across the state; it is the thrust of the government to ensure that a unit is established in each council.

He said that this was to bring mediation services closer to the people, especially the indigents at no cost to them.

Kazeem said the existence of peace in any society was germane to democracy and a panacea to socioeconomic development and growth.

L-R: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Pauline Odey, trader, and Mariam Umoh, at the inauguration of TraderMoni in Nyanya market, Abuja.

Commuters groan on Mile 2-Badagry road JOSHUA BASSEY

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ommuters have continued to groan over persistent gridlock on the stretch of Mile 2-Badagry Expressway owing to unending construction works and the occupation of part of the road by articulated trucks.

The commuters lament they long hours spent between Iyana-Iba in Ojo and Mile 2 Bus Stop. The road had been under reconstruction since 2009 and there seems to be no end in sight.

Jude Eke, a staff of one of shipping firms in Lagos, lamented that transporters have increased their fare by over 100 per cent due to the situation.

“We are suffering on this road every day.

I spend four hours on this road before I get to Apapa my workplace.

“I have to leave my house by 4.30 a.m every day. Even at that, you will still meet gridlock on the road; it is not easy at all, government should come to our rescue,’’ Eke said.

Adebisi Kaka, who works with the Lagos State ministry of health, said that the problem being encountered on the road was stressing the road users.

“The situation is made worse by the unending construction works on the route for years now; no meaningful work is being done on the road; what we see is window dressing work,” Kaka lamented.

Also speaking, Kemi Lawal, a resident of Iba in Ojo area of the state, said she has been going the trauma since 2010 when she relocated from Surulere to their new home in Iba, along the Lasu-Iba road.

She said several times, she’s been attacked on the road by robbers, who take advantage of the gridlock to dispossess com-

muters and motorists trapped in gridlock of their valuables.

The mother of two described the long delay in the construction of the road by the state government as insensitive to the suffering of the residents and wondered why it was taking the government ages to deliver the project.

It would be recalled that former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola awarded contract for the expansion of the LagosBadagry road into 10 lanes from its original four lanes. The project was inherited by the current administration of Governor Akinwumi Ambode. However, the construction works have been unduly delayed, resulting in untold hardships for motorists and commuters especially around the Trade Fair Complex, Iyana Iba, Volkswagen axis, where the road has totally collapsed and made worse by flooding.

Obaseki taps Ecological Fund over gully sites IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

E

do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has tapped into the Ecological Fund to remedy gully sites in Auchi, Fugar and Agenebode axis in Edo North Senatorial zone.

This is coming after works were completed at the Ewu, Ibore and Queen Ede gully sites carried out by the state government and its partners.

Addressing journalists at the commissioning of the erosion and flood control projects in Agenebode, Etsako-East local government area of the state, Obaseki, represented by commissioner for environment and sustainability, Omoua Alonge Oni-Okpaku, said his administration was

doing a lot and working with the Federal Government to tackle erosion and flooding across the state.

The state government, he said, has completed 18 flood control projects and is mapping out more strategies to mitigate flooding in the state.

“We are looking at afforestation and planting of more trees and grasses to prevent erosion and flooding in the state. We have embarked on sensitisation campaigns in flood-prone areas and have also commenced assessment of the damage. We have also started the distribution of relief materials. People should not build on low-lands because the sea-level is rising as a result of climate change,” the governor said.

At the commissioning, Benjamin Uwujumogu, the deputy chairman, Senate Com-

mittee on Ecology and Climate Change, said the projects were executed by the Ecological Fund Office in the Presidency, to control flooding issues in the affected area.

He said over 48 projects are being executed by the Ecological Fund Office to tackle problems of desertification, soil erosion and flooding in the country.

“Before now, the people of Agenebode and environs have been suffering from flooding occasioned by heavy downpours but the Federal Government has brought succour to them by constructing a drain system measuring about 15 meters high,” he said, The Okumagbe of Uwano Kingdom, Agenebode, George Oshiapi Egabor, commended the federal and state governments for tackling the flood problems in the area.

Oyo: Monarch lauds residents over peaceful conduct of festival

A

seyin of Iseyin in Oyo State, Abdulganiy Salau, has praised residents of the community over their peaceful conduct and observance of decorum during the Oro festival.

The monarch, who gave the com-

mendation in an interview, said he was particularly happy with the peaceful conduct of youths and various interests groups during the festival which ended on Tuesday.

The festival observed for seven days is an annual event and had often resulted

in violence.

“I am very happy and pleased with the peaceful conduct and cooperation showed during the festival. We have shown the whole world that we are capable of managing our own affairs,” he said. NAN

14 BUSINESS DAY Policy

Investments

Market

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Insight

Friday 21 September 2018

Influencers

INVESTMENTS

REA outlines spending plan for World Bank $350m offgrid investment Stories by ISAAC ANYAOGU

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igeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) will spend the $350 million World Bank financial facility on hybrid solar systems to improve the economies of rural communities in the country ($150m); $75 million for standalone solar systems for rural homes, farms, and enterprises; $105 million for power systems to electrify public universities and teaching hospitals; and $20 million to provide technical assistance to the budding market.

The fund meant to develop off grid electricity supply systems in the country under the Nigerian Electrification Project (NEP), is also expected to increase electricity access to households and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), students and patients at federal universities and university teaching hospitals throughout Nigeria.

According to details on the agency’s website, the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) is a $350m Rural Electrification Programme supported by the World Bank to provide a pipeline of

potential local investments and financial incentives to catalyze the Nigerian off grid market, through the provision of detailed Market Data, Grant Funding and Technical Assistance.

The NEP is broken up into four main components: solar hybrid mini-grid, standalone solar systems, energizing education programme and technical assistance.

The technical assistance is meant to provide institutional and regulatory support for the REA, ecosystem support for projects and guarantee environmental and social

safeguards.

The NEP is equally expected to be a data-driven off grid electricity market model that could be copied by other countries in Sub Saharan Africa. It would utilize the fund from the World Bank to scale up rapid implementation of off grid power solutions across Nigeria and contribute to Nigeria’s fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) amongst other global development protocols.

When fully actualised, Nigeria could increase gender inclusion in her power

sector; improve the offerings of her agriculture; provide reliable power supply for 250,000 SMEs and one million households; ensure uninterrupted power supply in public universities and teaching hospitals; as well as keep her within her climate change obligations under the Paris Agreement.

Robust spending plan Further into the spending plans, the REA explained it would in the solar mini grids component, spend $70 million in competitive bidding for portfolios of mini

grid sites and $80 million connecting new customers with mini grids built to grid code standard. This would amount to $150 million.

It stated it expected the first-mover potential from this to manifest within the next five years when 300,000 households and 30,000 SMEs would be served by 1000 mini grids.

For the standalone solar home systems expected to gulp $75 million, the document indicated that $15 million would be deployed as ‘accelerator’ grants to high-potential importerdistributors; while $60 million will go to output-based grants and business model.

It noted the first-mover potential from this in the next five years would be 1.5 million households and micro-enterprises.

37 federal universities and seven affiliated hospitals would benefit from the $105 million mapped for university and hospital power systems. There would be EPC contracts for constructing power systems, in addition to Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contracts for 10 years. The power systems are however designed to operate independently from the national grid.

For the $20 million ear-

marked for technical assistance, the document stated that it would fund institutional support for the REA; investment pipeline development; financing needs assessment; regulatory support; pre-investment support to mini grid developers; ecosystem development for SHS; and environmental and social safeguards.

Timelines According to it, the World Bank in the second quarter of 2018 approved the NEP, while the NEP procurement process for mini grids and stand-alone systems would commence by the last quarter of 2018.

Deployment of the mini grids and stand-alone systems would however commence in the first quarter of 2019 with 250 mini grids and 500,000 stand-alone systems first deployed within this period.

The project would however be reviewed afterwards to identify the successes and challenges of implementing the strategy adopted.

REA says it has been working with the World Bank team to develop a robust project that when implemented will be the largest off grid electrification project in West Africa.

MARKET

9.5MW offgrid Ariaria Market power project to be completed soon, Buhari assures

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uhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president has provided assurance that the Ariaria market 9.5MW off grid power project will soon be completed when he received traditional rulers from Abia State led by His Royal Majesty, Isaac Ikonne, Enyi 1 of Aba on September 14 at the Villa in Abuja.

While no specific date given, the president also assured the monarchs that the issue of unstable electricity and other basic infrastructure in Ariaria market, a major trading hub in West and Central Africa, would soon be a thing of the past.

“Just last week, I was in China to attend the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation. During that visit, I personally met with executives of one of the largest cotton and garment companies in the world who will soon establish operations in Aba. “This is following a joint effort of attracting this inves-

tor by both the Federal and Abia State Government. The proposed investment will create thousands of jobs for the vibrant and creative youths in Aba. “I am very excited about this project. I have directed the Hon. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to ensure this investment is actualised within the shortest possible time,’’ the President told the visiting royal majesty and his entourage.

Meanwhile the Ariaria offgrid power project is being litigated at a Federal High court. Enugu DisCo who was allocated the franchise area that includes Ariaria market sued the private contractor developing the project along with REA over breach of its franchise area and allocating an unlicensed enterprise the right to distribute power.

NERC hurriedly issued the license to the private contractor.

Buhari recounted that during his visit to Aba in 2015 as a presidential can-

didate, he was warmly received and walked through parts of the market where he observed the lack of electricity and other basic infrastructure for its over 40,000 shops.

“As a government, we issued a presidential mandate to the Ministry of Power,

Works and Housing and the Rural Electrification Agency to energise the market.

“In June 2018, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission granted an electricity generation licence as well as a distribution licence for the market. This will enable the generation

Analyst: Isaac Anyaogu, Email: isaac.anyaogu@businessdayonline.com, 07037817378,

and distribution of 9.5 Megawatts of electricity within the market.

“The project is moving smoothly and I have been assured the market will be fully electrified soon. We are working closely with the State Government, Local Government, Traditional

Rulers, Market Associations and the community on this project to ensure this goal is actualised by the end of the year,’’ he said.

In h i s re ma rk s, E z e Ikonne lauded the President for successes recorded so far since he assumed office in 2015, particularly in the fight against corruption, agricultural revolution, infrastructure development and security.

On infrastructure development in the South East, His Majesty said: ‘‘ Mr President, I thank you for the massive federal roads rehabilitation going on in the South- East ; like the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, Port HarcourtElele-Owerri road, EnuguOnitsha expressway. ‘‘These roads were death traps for 16 years before you came into office, but today they are wearing new solid looks, though not completed but relief is already there with the level of work done so far.’’

Graphics: Joel Samson

Friday 21 September 2018

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

BUSINESS DAY

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Analysts optimistic of bank’s credit extension in H2

Pg. 16

Co m pa n y n e w s a n a ly s i s a n d i n s i g h t

NPA, China Port sign two years MoU on port development AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Guangzhou Port Authority, China, on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on port development.

The MoU was signed in Abuja by Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director of NPA, and the deputy directorgeneral of Guangzhou Port Authority, Yuan Yue, at the just concluded meeting of International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH).

The MoU would be for two years in the first instance with effect from the date the parties appended their signatures and may be renewed yearly based on mutual agreement.

It aims to share best practices, expertise in port operations, management strength, communication, cooperation on investment and promotion.

Other fields include innovative techniques, personnel, infrastructural and port scientific technical development to “jointly promote effective logistics, trade and information.”

Also, the MoU is designed to enhance port capacity for the service of regional economy on non-committal basis.

Under the arrangement, the parties shall cooperate with each other especially in the areas of logistics, Port industries, Port Culture and will endeavor to support each other to open a representative office where necessary in furtherance of the objective of the MoU. Speaking on the signing of the MoU, the deputy DG of Guangzhou port, Yue said the agreement is a framework for sharing information and ideas and port development.

She said, “The MOU is about two ports relationship to share information and ideas on how to improve the port.

We will talk about cargo build up to the shipping companies to make offer for more shipping lines.

According to Yue, “The parties will contribute jointly towards advancement of Green Port development and cooperation on port environment protection, energy-saving and emission reduction.

“The parties will establish an information exchange mechanism to regularly update each other on new de-

L-R: Sandra Momah, associate director, Tax Services (EY Nigeria); Temitope Samagbeyi, partner, Tax Services (EY Nigeria); Matthew Gbonjubola, head, international tax department (Federal Inland Revenue Services); Chinyere Ike, partner, tax services (EY Nigeria) and Ashok Thotie, finance manager (Salini Nigeria Limited) at EY Breakfast knowledge-sharing session on the New Transfer Pricing regulations, organized by EY Nigeria in Lagos.

velopment and popularise the application of information technology at the ports.”

“The parties will establish training programmes for management staff and technical specialists and planned exchanges for management staff of each other.”

Experts see corporate governance, risk management add impetus to investor confidence Seyi John Salau

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he strengthening of corporate governance and risk management across stakeholders’ groups, enforcement of rules and regulations without exemptions, but heavy sanctions for infractions are among factors that will drive investor confidence in the nation’s economy and capital market in particular.

An economist and financial expert, Abiodun Adedipe, stated this while speaking at the 8th annual conference, investiture of fellows and induction of associates of the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR) in Lagos recently.

Adedipe, who is also the Managing Partner, B.Adedipe Associates Limited, spoke on “Stratgeic Options to Drive Investor Confidence-The Role of Stakeholders”.

According to him, a high

sense of responsibility on the one hand and commitment to ‘project Nigeria’ on the other hand by all and sundry are the twin requirements for sustainably building investor confidence, and thus attracting the desired quantum of investments that will grow the Nigerian economy sustainably and inclusively.

“We must see ourselves in it, together as a team. No recriminations and no finger pointing,” he said.

Speaking further, he said investor confidence would be enhanced by robust policy environment with clearly defined rules and regulations, along with strict observance of the rule of law and sanctity of contracts.

“There should be constantly review and update market infrastructure to improve the convenience and ease of investment (doing business). Regulatory coordination should be strengthened to preempt regulatory

arbitraging, within and across borders. There should regular engagement of policy makers and regulators with operators.

Enforcement of rules and regulations without exemptions, but heavy sanctions for infractions. This should apply across the board – regulators, self-regulators, operators, issuing companies and investors.

There should be provision of more incentives for creative and innovative initiatives that foster market development, while professional bodies like the ICMR should promptly issue policy papers and professional opinions when issues bordering on investor confidence arise, no matter the parties involved,” he said.

According to him, whatever therefore, every stakeholder group does to strengthen governance, transparency, compliance, competitiveness and positive promotion of the Nigerian capital market is desirable.

“Friendly exchanges should be carried out in the general areas of expertise such as loading and unloading mechanism and equipment, electrical facilities, safety, engineering, information technology applications as well as exchanges of talent required

in the implementations of this MoU, learning from each other and working together for mutual benefits.”

The MoU, a copy of which was given to Businessday, states: “In case of inability to perform any obligation as occasioned by the MoU, no

party would be held responsible if the inability is caused by unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances which whether accidental or not, is beyond the control man or any of the parties as a result of the aforementioned referred to as (FORCE

Stanbic IBTC takes financial literacy campaign to Covenant University HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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n a move to impact financial knowledge on Nigerian youths, Stanbic IBTC Bank, in partnership with the Creative Youth Community Development Initiative, a Wole Soyinka Foundation, has organised a financial literacy forum for students of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun Stat.

Apart from raising awareness on good saving habits and financial education, the session also enabled the students and the university community at large to gain knowledge of banking products and services that are designed to meet their needs, especially the Stanbic BluEdge Youth Account.

The event had over 600 participants in attendance and fits perfectly into the financial literacy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) designed to encourage

children and young adults in schools to understand quite early in life the rudiments of money and its uses.

In her opening remarks, Nkoli Okoli, head, personal banking, noted that as the future belongs to the youth, it is imperative that they are grounded in financial matters to enhance the making of sound financial decisions and achieve lifetime financial security.

Nigeria’s banking industry, she noted, will continue to grow in sophistication, innovation and strength as the youth demography becomes significant in driving the future of banking in the country. Such impact can only be made when the youth are more enlightened.

Nkoli, represented by head, retail sales, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, Obinna Lewis-Asonye, stated: “Something as simple as saving money may seem easy, but without a

grasp of financial management, an individual may never develop the habit of making sound financial choices and with that comes mistakes and difficulties,” adding that saving is an essential part of being financially secure. LewisAsonye said students need to understand what money is and acquire basic money management skills such as living within a budget and handling credit and debt, all of which will put them in good stead for better management of finances and future success.

Lewis-Asonye, in his presentation, took the students through the wealth creation process, how to set goals and develop a financial and investment plan, as well as the allocation of resources and income.

The session touched on topics like how to start saving, benefits of saving, knowledge and planning skills.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS Analysts optimistic of bank’s credit extension in H2 …upstream oil and gas sector remains attractive despite volatile nature David Ibidapo

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he private sector of the Nigerian economy has been witnessing a draw back on credit facilities and allocations by deposit money banks.

However, analysts are optimistic that bank’s credit extension will improve in the second half of the year.

A report released by FBNQuest yesterday opined that “in H2 2018, we expect loan growth to pick-up to high single-digits as banks attempt to improve on H1. Upstream oil and gas, trade & commerce as well as manufacturing are likely to be beneficiaries”.

BusinessDay analysis of Tier one banks revealed that banks begun cutting down on loans and advances it extended to its customers at H1 2018.

According to financials released by 5 tier one bank to the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market, total loans and advances to customers declined by 6 percent from about N10 trillion in H1 2017 to N9.4 tril-

lion in H1 2018.

According to analysis, total loans and advances to customers by Zenith Bank and GTB declined by 11 percent respectively within the period while UBA, Access and First Bank saw loans decline by 10 percent, 3 percent and 1 percent respectively in H1 2018.

Also, banking data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), show total banking sector credit to the private sector declined by 2 percent to N15.3 trillion in Q2 2018 compared to N15.6 trillion in the previous quarter.

This is the lowest recorded since Q2 2016 after deposit money bank’s loans surged by 17.64 percent to N15.5 trillion from N13 trillion recorded in previous quarters.

NBS data revealed that deposit money banks are more exposed to the oil and gas sector of the economy than other sectors. According to the data, deposit money banks’ sectoral allocation of credit to the oil and gas industry accounts for about 23 percent of total allocation. Meanwhile

manufacturing and trade and commerce accounted for 13 percent and 7 percent respectively.

An assistant branch manager in one of the tier one banks who pleaded anonymity told BusinessDay during a phone conversation that, “the oil and gas sector is likely to be the most beneficial sector in credit allocations by banks in H2”.

“Banks to a large extent try to be safe with its credit extension however, despite the high volatility of the oil market, banks are willing to take higher risk which will guarantee higher return,” she concluded.

The Buhari led administration has promised the diversification of the Nigerian economy to boost non-oil revenue of the government.

However, “the CBN multiple interventions to support the sector and compensate for the poor supply from the DMBs has proved rather insufficient to meet its high demand for credit,” FBNQuest added.

Olukayode Pitan, managing director, Bank of Industry, (l) addressing the members & Excos of Nigerian Universities Accounting Students Association (NUASA) from the department of accounting, University of Jos, during their studying visits to Bank of industry at its Marina office in Lagos

According to NBS data, credit extension to the agricultural sector accounted for only 3 percent of total allocated credit in Q2 2018.

FBNQuest collaborates with NSE to raise cancer awareness HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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n line with its commitment to deliver impactful community focused initiatives, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc has embraked on partnerships with reputable institutions to implement financial literacy programs, women empowerment initiatives, as well environmental and social projects as part of its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability focus.

In furtherance of this,

FBNQuest Merchant Bank joined the 2018 NSE Corporate Challenge to support the fight against cancer. The event was a one-day competitive 5-kilometer race aimed at creating awareness on early detection and fundraising for the cause.

Proceeds from this year’s Corporate Challenge are planned towards the provision of free cancer treatment and screening facilities across Nigeria with the purchase of Mobile Cancer Centres (MCCs).

Through this sponsorship, the Bank reaffirms its position as a socially conscious organisation. In the financial literacy space, the organisation

trained over 1,800 students at secondary school level on the importance of saving and investing by leveraging platforms such as the Global Money Week and World Savings Day in support of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) financial literacy goals. Its activities also extend to female economic empowerment and capacity building seen in support for the Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ) annual lectures and conferences, which facilitate strategic discourse and highlight growth opportunities for women in an ever-changing economic landscape.

In support of education and skills development, the Bank recently partnered with the Teach First Nigeria (TFN) Training Institute, which recruits outstanding university graduates and young professionals of all academic disciplines to teach as full time teachers (Fellows) in underserved and low income schools. Through the program, Fellows will gain exposure to the realities of Nigeria’s education system, identify their role in building a wider movement for educational equity, and ultimately expand education and life opportunities for Nigeria’s most marginalised students.

IIA Nigeria seeks greater capacity for internal auditos Endurance Okafor

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n a time when organizations, businesses and even individuals are disrupted in per second basis, the Institute of Internal Auditors Nigeria (IIA) plans to provide internal auditors, stakeholders and the society at large with resources to position their internal audit functions.

The Nigeria arm of the global Institute of Internal Auditors wants to bring international and local expert to deliberate on the theme of its 2018 conference titled ‘Advancing Internal Audit in a Disruptive Land-

scape’.

“As part of IIA Nigeria’s initiative for promoting the internal audit profession in Nigeria via world-class services and programs, this conference shall be providing cutting edge and up to date insights that participants could implement to position their internal audit functions as truly trusted and indispensable advisers to their organisations,” Humphrey Okorie, the Chief Executive Officer of IIA Nigeria said.

The 2018 conference scheduled to take place at Oriental Hotel in Lagos from September 27-28, 2018 will have in attendance; Eric Yankah, the African

Federation Institute of Internal Auditors President, Shirley Machaba , member IIA Global Board, Osaretin Demuren , the Chairman of GT Bank, Daniel Asapokhai, the DG Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and among others.

Okorie while speaking in a press briefing in Lagos cited that “carefully selected mix of local and foreign experienced professionals shall be sharing ideas on the wave of digital innovations and implications on internal audit continual existence, internal audit agility, the role of internal audit in a changing world.”

Meanwhile, IIA is an international professional associa-

tion which has its headquarters in Florida, USA and it serves as the internal audit profession’s global voice, recognized authority, acknowledged leader, chief advocate, and principal educator worldwide “The modern internal auditor has been so placed in a position of playing pivotal role in assisting his or her organisation to continuously navigate through the wind of disruption, howbeit not without a neverending, comprehensive transformation, education, sharing and re-learning. Providentially, all of these aptly ties into the IIA Global motto of progress through sharing,” the institution said in a statement.

DMBs will however continue to maintain a cautious approach towards lending to the private sector, to avoid growing non-performing loans,

analysts say. Furthermore, despite the lower margins on Nigeria Treasury Bills, banks still prefer them because they are risk-free.

Heritage Bank partners NPA to support improved ports infrastructure AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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eritage Bank Plc has perfected plans to provide financing for building critical maritime infrastructures and other aspects of transport sector projects once policies driving the projects are well structured.

According to the bank, this would be done in partnership with the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), to boost infrastructural provisions around the port .

Ifie Sekibo, managing director/CEO of Heritage Bank, disclosed this as one of the panelists at the day-one of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) Africa regional conference, themed, “African Ports & Hinterland Connectivity,” holding in Abuja.

He also stated that banks are willing to provide the necessary financing and support, but insisted that maritime operators must be clear on where they are headed. “The government will need to develop policies that will manage infrastructure programmes and we as bankers will give support. We are sure we can support, and we are sure going to support,” he said.

He added that for the banking industry to have stake in financing maritime related projects, that banks must have an understanding on what the industry wants.

He said Heritage Bank decided to sponsor and attend the conference to understand the focus of the industry.

He also said the banks are willing to offer, and are working on the possibilities of developing long term loans with lower interest rates for operators in the industry.

Although “there is the cabotage fund and shippers are yet to take advantage of it. We are still struggling with the kind of long term funding shippers need to attain the level of optimization they need and talk is in progress. We are engaging the relevant stakeholders to make sure we get loans at cheaper interest rates for them but that can’t happen overnight” he noted.

“The commercial rates today are in the neighbourhood of 20 to 23 percent but the cabotage is between 9 to 13 percent interest rate. But how many of them have been able to borrow from the cabotage funds given the requirements?” he queried.

He however added that the fund is even for just ship building, thus other aspects of intermodal transport infrastructure to decongest the ports will require external financing.

Patrick Verhoeven, managing director of IAPH said improving hinterland connections is not merely a matter of hardware but also investing in software, namely people skills and smart information technology.

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Airtel 4G LTE to boost economic activities in Anambra Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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irtel Nigeria has rolled out 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution Service) in Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi and other major cities and towns in Anambra State to foster economic activities and business growth in the state through technology.

The telecommunications service provider says the switch to an upgraded 4G network in Anambra will boost trade and commerce; empower entrepreneurs, improve productivity, enhance personal effectiveness as well as enable telecoms consumers in Anambra to connect to their dreams.

Speaking during a launch event at Soprom Hotel in Onitsha Dapo Dosunmu,

regional operations director , South Region, who represented Segun Ogunsanya, chief executive officer/MD of Airtel Nigeria, said the 4G roll-out reaffirms Airtel’s commitment to empower more Nigerians, stimulate economic activities across all sectors as well as provide unfettered access to affordable and reliable mobile Internet services in Anambra.

“Today, we are unveiling our 4G service in Onitsha, Awka, Amawbia, Nkpor, Obosi, Ogidi, Ogbunike, Umuoji, Nsugbe, Onitsha and Nnewi.

With this launch, we will power people, businesses and aid governance through technology.

“Specifically, our 4G launch in Onitsha will help boost commerce and also provide entrepreneurs a veritable platform to connect with more stakehold-

ers,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Nkem Okeke, the deputy Governor of Anambra State, commended Airtel Nigeria for modernising its network infrastructure in Anambra State.

“This event calls for celebration as Airtel’s current upgrading and modernizing of its network infrastructure across manor cities has come into Onitsha, the major commercial city in Anambra State.

“It is my sincere hope that the Board and Management of Airtel will continue to be committed to the empowerment of Nigerians in general and Ndi Anambra in particular; advancing the telecommunications’ infrastructure that stimulates accelerated economic activities across all sectors as well as provide affordable and reliable mobile network to your teeming customers.”

L-R: Abasi-Ekong Udobang, senior manager, program implementation, MTN Foundation; Babatunde Idowu, dean, student affairs, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Denis Okoro, director, MTN Foundation; Yetunde Odejayi, permanent secretary, office of deputy governor, Lagos State; Henry Ojiokpota, zonal controller, Nigerian Communications Commission, and Demola Lewis, deputy dean of student affairs, University of Ibadan, During the MTN Foundation Scholarship Scheme Alumni Induction and Scholarship Award in Lagos.

AXA Mansard partners with Paystack for seamless transaction

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n a bid to help customer’s carryout seamless transactions, AXA Mansard plc, a member of the AXA Group has partnered with Paystack to offer clients a platform that provides friendly digital payment options. By this partnership, subscribers would now be able to make payments directly from the AXA Mansard website.

Paystack is the fastest, simplest way to accept online payments in Nigeria. It provides businesses with powerful growth tools in the form of a dashboard that helps them closely monitor and act on every aspect of their business performance, from granular transaction to detailed customer insights.

The platform gives subscribers the opportunity of performing transactions from signup to receiving real payments in less than 15 minutes. Subscribers would be able to make payment through automated route, which has been ascertained to be the most optimal channels that ensures the highest transaction success rates in the market.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and increasing the payment options to clients, we are pleased to announce this partnership with Paystack Payment Solutions,” stated Bayo Adesanya, chief digital officer, AXA Mansard plc.

He further noted that “A key way in which we are delivering

on this commitment is through the development of highly functional digital payment ecosystems that simplifies payments for both the subscriber and AXA Mansard. The process of initiating and receiving payments is easy to set up, seamless and real time. Subscribers would now be able to make payments directly from the AXA Mansard website.

“Funds settlements are also straight forward and there have been little or no reconciliation issues for transactions originating from Paystack. There are also additional analytical features on the dashboard, giving us the opportunity to better understand our customers and their behaviours on our platforms.” He added.

L-R: Ambrose Oruche, director corprate affairs; Frank Jacobs, president and Segun Ajayi-Kadri, director general, all of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), during the press conference on MAN 46th annual general meeting in Lagos.

Adron Homes to promote staff’s fitness, team bonding through games Endurance Okafor

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dron Homes, one of Nigeria’s leading property and real estate development companies plans to inspire physical fitness, team spirit, promote culture of togetherness and provide incentives and rewards to the company’s staff through its forthcoming 2018 games.

This was disclosed to BusinessDay at the unveiling of this year’s edition of the Adron Games which has the theme“Building Together” and the company says it was coined from Henry Ford’s saying that reads “coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, working together is success.’’

Speaking at the unveiling of the third edition of Adron games, Adetola King, the Group Managing Director

of Adron Homes said the company is convinced that sports and physical activity are essential to preventing illnesses and combating noncommunicable diseases, as such the real estate firm is committed to fostering and building healthier working environment in the Nation.

“Through the Adron Games initiative, we wish to appreciate and encourage the productive capacity of the sports sector, encourage innovation, communication and knowledge. Participation in physical activity and sport easily leads to a healthier population. Sport and physical activity have positive effects on both individuals and society in general. The value and effect of playing sport is bountiful, so we want to get more people being physically active safely from a young age, and help them stay active throughout their life, no matter what their economic or social background may be” Adetola explained.

Meanwhile, the Adron Games is a competition that brings the company’s staff from all the zones across the country together to battle for the prize of the most physically fit region.

Although the competition also gives Adron Homes’ public the opportunity to contest for honours.

This year’s edition is scheduled to take place from October 12 to 14 at the Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex.

The participants and winners will get various prizes ranging from N1 million to N500, 000, as disclosed by Wale Asifat, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the competition.

“The Adron 2018 Games will not just be about celebrating winners in the competition, it is essentially to inspire team spirit, promote a culture of togetherness, create leadership, foster new relationships, and Provide incentives and rewards,” the Lagos-based real estate firm said in a statement.

L-R: Akin Oyebode, CEO, LSETF; Bunmi Akinyemiju, CEO, Venture Garden Group; Ibiang Okoi, first prize winner, Visa LSETF Cashless Lagos Hackathon; Kemi Okunsanya, general manager, Visa West Africa,at the 2018 Cashless Lagos Hackathon in Lagos recently.

L-R: T.M Salisu, chairman, BOT, Jire Olanlokun Education Foundation (JOEF); Oye Ibidapo-Obe, chairman of event; Ayodele Olanlokun, secretary BOT, and Adebambo Oduwole, guest lecturer and University Librarian, Olabisi Onabanjo University, at the 12th Jire Olanlokun Educational Foundation(JOEF) Memorial Lecture which held at Julius Berger Hall, University of Lagos.

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INSIGHT

Nigerian pay-TV market: The dynamics, the competition ODINAKA ANUDU

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number of innovations have taken place in the Nigerian pay-TV industry in recent times, indicating that players are fashioning out ways of meeting the needs of the consumers in the most creative way.

Nigerians have recently been battered by economic vicissitudes, which have pushed them into seeking means of enjoying pay-TV services at cheaper rates.

Nigeria offers pay-television companies a huge opportunity for lucrative business. The country is populated by millions of television-loving households with huge appetite for programmes that give viewers alternatives to monotonous, limited programmes on the country’s free-to-air television.

The country has almost 200 million people, half of who are less than 30 years. This potentially provides an opportunity for pay-TV firms.

On the surface, the country represents a pay-television investor’s paradise, but the big question is, do consumers always get what they bargain for?

The market at a glance Despite the continuous growth of the PayT V market, the sector has recorded highest brand failure in recent times.

Fo r i n st a n c e, p ro m o t e rs o f brands like CTL, FSTV, DAARSAT, HiTV and lately, COMSAT and ACtv, all promised something big but have today gone into extinction.

But MultiChoice Nigeria and StarTimes have survived the onslaught. MultiChoice launched in Nigeria in 1993 with DStv. In 2011, it added a down market platform— GOtv. On the other hand, StarTimes, also a down market offering, launched in 2010. It added an up-market variant in 2015. Both have remained in business albeit with different levels of success.

The high mortality rate, however, has not discouraged other players from trying out their luck in the market. Currently, there is a new entrant—Kwese TV— owned by Strive Masiyiwa, the Zimbabwean investor behind Econet Wireless, the first telecommunications company to launch in Nigeria; and TSTV, which is yet to show glimpses of success.

Each of the new entrants, in different ways, has advertised its intention to change the paytelevision game but they are not appearing to be changing the status quo, leaving StarTimes and MultiChoice as the two main players.

The economy Nigerian economy went into

recession in 2016 and exited in the second quarter of 2017.

In spite of this, key fundamentals still show that the Nigerian economy is still not on its feet. The consumer wallet is shrinking with inflation at 11.14 percent. The Monetary Policy Rate, which is the benchmark interest rate in the country, is 14 percent.

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed in the second quarter of 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

According to the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report (Q2 2018 ), growth in Q2 2018 was –0.45 percent points slower than 1.95 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2018.

Making sense of numbers The numbers indicate that Nigerians need low-cost but high quality pay-TV services.

StarTimes has entered the space, providing quality services at affordable rates.

Just recently, the management of the firm reduced the price of its highest bouquet price, a development likely to further boost the relationship between the brand and patrons of Pay TV in the country. It announced a reduction in rate of its Classic Bouquet, with effect from Saturday 1st of September 2018.

The Pay T V company had

This technology, which requires no dish, coupled with minimal effect on the pocket, made many subscribers see the firm as an alternative. The pay TV did not just stop at providing entertainment at affordable rates

announced the reduction of its classic bouquet price from N2,600 to N1,900 in August, effective September 1, with an inclusion of four new premium channels: EbonyLife TV, Fox, ST Nollywood, and ST Kids.

Considering the current economic situation in the country, the timing of the reduction cannot be more appropriate.

Today, more Nigerians seem to be opting for a less expensive payTV option, citing the current economic situation in the country and the need to channel the scarcely available resources towards other pressing needs.

The company said it took the decision to lower rates to enable more Nigerians enjoy unlimited quality entertainment in sports, movies, drama and music at pocket-friendly prices with the hope that this would further reinforce its commitment to ensuring that Nigerians enjoy the best in digital entertainment for less.

Another step taken, which would boost the profile of the brand, was the declaration of a one month free access for all its subscribers in August, granting free access to all its new channels irrespective of the bouquet.

To some analysts, the last month free access was a good gesture that has further reas-

sured consumers of the commitment of the company. A subscriber, Ekom Simon, described the August free access as a loyalty gift that would further deepen the trust Nigerians have for the brand.

“To me, the free access is a symbol of love –extended to Nigerians by the StarTimes brand to show its commitment to an average Nigerian. It will go a long way in growing the affinity between the brand and the masses,” Simon said.

Beyond price reduction, the company has recently engaged in an aggressive upgrade in its channel list on the digital terrestrial platform, (antenna), allowing customers who use the antenna to watch as much as 100 plus exciting channels cutting across movies, news, sports, series, kiddies, animal documentar y, and religious channels, among others.

To Simon, this will put the StarTimes at a strategic position to compete well in the market. “What StarTimes has done in the area of upgrade will position it ahead of others,” the subscriber added.

Since StarTimes arrival, Nigerians have been enjoying pay-TV services at affordable rates.

Like a magic wand, the decision of the management of the company to target low income earners has changed the story.

Today, it is seen as maintaining a strong presence in the low income earners’ segment of the market.

At its launch in 2010, Pang Xin Xing, chairman of the company, didn’t mince words on his mission in the country. “With StarTimes, pay TV is no longer a luxury in Nigeria,” Xing had announced to a crop of journalists who spoke to him on the mission of the brand in the market.

At its official launch in Abuja early 2010, the management of the company promised Nigerians greater access to pay television services at an affordable rates. Truly, StarTimes Television Network Limited, then, provided its customers with over 35 cable television channels for just N1,000 monthly subscription.

It uses Digital Video Broadcast on Terrestrial (DVB-T), a technology, which does not require a dish. The pay-T V firm originally came with just a decoder, which was sold for N9,000. The technology has now been upgraded to DVB T2.

This technology, which requires no dish, coupled with minimal effect on the pocket, made many subscribers see the firm as an alternative. The pay TV did not just stop at providing entertainment at affordable rates.

In line with its Corporate Social Responsibility and fulfillment of its promise to ensure its products and ser vice are accessible across locals and national frontiers, StarTimes in collaboration with the Chinese government kicked off with the launch of a pilot satellite TV project in Abuja, a project which will eventually grant access to 1,000 villages across Nigeria.

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FINTECH News

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

BUSINESS DAY

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Company Review

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Mobile money: Nigerian banks’ biggest competition may not be telcos

to provide the needed financial support. This is very unlikely given the notorious trust issues that exist between banks and small businesses. This however can be dealt with by big telcos which outmatches the banks in terms of userbase and have better grassroot strategy to organise the agent networks.

While speaking to The New Times, Bart Hofker, MTN Rwanda CEO linked partnership and close collaboration between the two sectors to growth in financial inclusion.

“Telcos can be a channel for all the banks, we are stimulating it,” he said. “It however probably needs a little more time. It also requires technical work of feasibility and banks

need to gain confidence that we are not in their way. Banks should feel free to join us.”

But if collaboration fails, an opportunity opens for the big tech companies. Telcos in Nigeria may be big but they are no match to global players like Alibaba or Transsion that make their lunch from removing obstacles by any means necessary.

Jack Ma, Alibaba’s cofounder and soon to become ex-chairman (company announced he will be retiring in 2019), was in South Africa recently on his second visit to Africa. Apart from unveiling a $10 million Netpreneur Prize for innovative startups, his company signed an agreement with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and International Financial Corporation (IFC) to provide digital payment services to power Agenda 2030 which also ties into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) vision of the continent. That deal could see it become the most important payment link between small businesses in Africa and the AfCFTA dream.

Transsion which currently controls the smartphone market in Africa with 38 per cent ahead of Samsung’s 23 per cent recently announced a payment application called PalmPay to be launched on across Africa.

The mobile money market is larger than banks actually want to believe.

a new engineering team that will be based in Johannesburg. The company hopes to fill 30 vacant roles in its new regional office with additional roles expected as the business expands into more African countries.

“The long term positive

value that our industry and Luno can provide to people across the continent makes it an extremely exciting and rewarding endeavour,” Swanepoel stated. “It’s a huge opportunity to really live out our vision of upgrading the world to a better financial system.”

Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

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perators in the telecommunication service industry (telcos) in Nigeria are rearing to get their hands on mobile money operating licences, which will give them the opportunity to play in financial services, a situation many traditional institutions may be uncomfortable with. But could the biggest competition be coming from elsewhere?

Mobile money is an electronic wallet service that allows users to store, send, and receive money using their mobile phone. It can be used on both smartphones and basic feature phones.

At the ITU Telecom World 2018 in Durban on Tuesday, 12 September, the executive vice chairman (EVC) of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Umar Garba Danbatta, disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may soon lift the embargo on mobile money it placed on mobile network operators (MNOs).

According to the EVC, “The feeling I’m getting from the Central Bank of Nigeria is that very soon the telcos will be licensed.” He further revealed that the NCC and the CBN had set up a joint committee to look into mobile money licences for telecommunications groups after network operators in-

cluding MTN expressed an interest.

Should that statement become reality any time soon, MNOs like MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile could become mobile money players in no distant time.

Many experts have said that the non-involvement of telcos in mobile money is majorly the reason mobile money has not been successful in Nigeria like it has been in countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Cote D’Ivoire, Senegal, Rwanda and Ghana. Safaricom, Airtel, Tigo and MTN have mobile money licenses in these countries.

However, the space has a lot more to gain from a partnership than competition battles

between MNOs and banks.

Inasmuch as the MNOs command some of the largest users - MTN has 55.2 million subscribers in Nigeria - it is non-financial and non-telco companies with deeper pockets and more sophisticated technology that has been widely tested could prove tougher challenge to Nigerian banks. In recent times, these global business entities including Alibaba, Google, Transsion - makers of Tecno, Infinix and iTel range of phones - have made public their interest in the financial technology space in Africa.

At only 1 per cent penetration, Nigeria’s mobile money is bank-led. This is despite repeated efforts by the CBN

to drive penetration with the objective to deepen financial inclusion in the country. One recent effort was the launch of Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF) aimed at empowering 500,000 agent networks to offer basic financial services such as cash-in, cash-out, funds transfer, bill payments, airtime purchase, BVN among others, to an estimated 50 million unbanked Nigerians. The licensed mobile money operators are expected to deploy financial services agents’ outlets in under-served urban and rural areas in Nigeria.

The success of the scheme will depend on whether partnering banks will be willing enough

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Luno seeks more footprints in Africa’s crypto market

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uno has announced the launch of its African regional headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa as it seeks to deepen its market share in the virtual currency market on the continent.

The virtual currency firm

noted in a statement BusinessDay received, that while its presence on the continent has been limited largely to Nigeria and South Africa, it has been closely monitoring interests from the rests of the African market and believe that the time is ripe for its

expansion.

“We will be investing a significant amount of capital and resources into our African expansion over the coming months and years,” Marcus Swanepoel, co-founder and CEO of Luno disclosed in the statement.

Part of the plan for expansion includes strengthening its position in the Nigerian market from where it hopes to launch across a number of African markets “over the coming months.” There is also plan to build out the Africa coverage team and creating

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Falling health indices show life FG urged to proclaim prostate expectancy among Nigerians diminishing cancer awareness ANTHONIA OBOKOH

SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

ack of access to healthcare, rising incidences of diseases and debilitating stress caused by worsening economic condition are health indices that point to falling life expectancy among Nigerians.

Experts say to reduce the rise in Nigeria’s disease burden there is need for effective control measures to curtail diseases. This entails promotion of stress management and people need to adopt better lifestyle choices to reduce threats to life expectancy.

Life expectancy in among Nigerian males is 54.7, female 55.7 and total life expectancy is 55.2 which give Nigeria a World Life Expectancy ranking of 178, according to the latest World Health Organisation data published in 2018.

Reports show that Nigeria is among the worst in a country sample of 136 nations when it comes to poor healthcare delivery and insufficient access, says a new analysis published in The Lancet.

In February, Nigeria was ranked 187 out of 191 countries by an assessment that measures the level of compliance with the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), as very few among the populace are health insured, whereas even government provision for health is almost negligible.

“Providing health services without guaranteeing a minimum level of quality is ineffective, wasteful and unethical,” Muhammad Pate, co-chair of the commission and chief executive of Big Win Philanthropy and former minister of State for Health in

resident Mohammadu Buhari has been urged to make a proclamation on National Prostate Cancer awareness in the year 2018’, similar to that of the 1971 Cancer Act of the United States of America, in order to tackle the scourge of prostate cancer in Nigeria.

Sulyman Alege Kuranga, a professor of Urology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), who made the plea in Ilorin equally advocated for more government’s investment in prostatic healthcare development and research in the country.

Kuranga, while delivering the 180th Inaugural Lecture of the University, entitled “The Experience of a Urological Surgeon in a Tertiary Institution in Sub-Saharan Africa”, described prostate cancer as an “epidemic in waiting” and one of the leading causes of death among males worldwide.

According to the inaugural lecturer, “prostate cancer is a potentially curable disease and not death sentence. Saying, it can be cured with early detection and prompt access to good medical facilities.

Kuranga, however, noted that most patients present themselves late, thereby making palliative option the only treatment for the physician.

While identified ageing, family history, race, obesity, sexually transmissible diseases, cigarette smoking, vasectomy, benign prostatic hyperplasia, among others, as some risk factors for prostate cancer, he added that ‘early detection of prostate cancer is the ultimate of any Urologist so that the scourge and the menace of this disease can be reduced to the barest minimum.’

Kuranga, who is also a former Director of the Academic Planning Unit of the University of Ilorin, recommended that “the present of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should make a proclamation on National Prostate Cancer awareness in the year 2018, such as similar to that of passing of the Cancer Act 1971 (the so called war on cancer), as it was in the USA. “Also, government at all levels should organise and conduct a programme to promote awareness and early detection of prostate cancer as a matter of policy. This programme may include but not limited to the dissemination of information regarding the symptoms and signs of prostate cancer, the risk factors associated with it, the benefit of early detection, the treatment and consequences of delay in treatment.”

He noted that due to the nature of the health financing system in the country, it is difficult for most patients to fund the treatment required for prostate cancer.

“Facilities for radiotherapy are limited to five teaching

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Nigeria said.

The economic problems associated with the burden of diseases affecting the indices of health and life expectancy cannot be ignored.

Nigeria supposedly holds the title of the continent’s largest economy, only N1, 800 ($5) is what the 2018 budget provides for the health of over 190 million citizens, when the N340 billion health budget is calculated on per capita basis.

“What I always tell people is that lifestyle modification can prevent a lot of health diseases and extend life expectancy,” Oge Ilegbune, a general practitioner, head of strategy, development and outreach at Lakeshore Cancer Centre said.

According to her, most of the risk factors cut cross across the pathology and it still boils down to a healthy lifestyle.

“There is a need for people to engage in regular exercises, eat balanced diet, avoiding smoking, reduce alcohol intake, reduce stress, and get a good sleep.”

“It is important to be cautious of the environment in

terms of pollution, including exhaust fumes from vehicles and other machines,” Ilegbune said.

The level of stress people face is huge in the country and stress reduces our immunity, when you do not get enough sleep as well, the body cannot replenish its self the way it’s meant to.

Statistics show that the top causes of deaths in Nigerians are influenza and pneumonia causing about 305,460 (15%), Diarrhoeal disease 186,218 (9.16%), tuberculosis 175,124 8(62%), HIV/AIDs 168.900 (8.31%) and malaria 112,371 (5.53%).

Similarily, Adesimbo Ukiri, chief executive officer, Avon HMO said When the economy suffers, peoples health gets worst because there is almost no aliment that stress and thinking does not contributes.

“When the body is under stress and people are not sleeping well, there immunity does not work as well and they fall ill more frequently and much more easily.”

“I keep on saying that you cannot separate economic

growth from health, when you have a healthy workforce then they are more productive, able to think up creative, more innovatively and come up with solutions to what problem plaguing the society,” she added.

WHO report shows that Nigeria has only 5.2 per cent score in happiness adding that that contributes to put more Nigerians’ health at risk includes alcohol consumption with about 13.4 per cent, smoking both in male 17.4 per cent, female 1.4 per cent and obesity in male 4.6, female 13.1 per cent.

However, these are the top twenty causes of death data for Nigeria life expectancy which includes influenza and pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases, stroke and HIV/AIDS. Others are coronary heart disease, liver disease, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus, maternal conditions, malaria, breast cancer, meningitis, low birth weight, road traffic accidents, birth trauma, other injuries, falls, cervical cancer and lung disease.

Wellness HMO adopts, offers three women lifetime access

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n a bid to give back to the society, Wellness Health Management Services Ltd (Wellness HMO), one of Nigeria’s Nigeria’s leading health insurance providers, has adopted three women and offered them a seamless, lifetime access to quality health care called wellness for life.

According to the press statement made available to BusinessDay by the organisation, the three women are Comfort Segun, Afusat Jimoh and Bolajoko Ogunfowokan will have access the lifetime empowerment through Hadassah Healing Foundation, founded by Pastor Adenike Lamai.

The HMO said that the selected women would be educated on the benefits of the gift and how they can ac-

cess health care seamlessly with their access cards.

Adetutu Afolabi, executive director, Wellness HMO, explained that the women were selected through a raffle draw at the last Hadassah event that took place on September 15, 2018 at Teslim Balogun Stadium.

“After the raffle, each of them was given a ‘Wellness for Life’ gift certificate.”

“For as long as Wellness is in business, we will ensure the sustainability of this initiative, and we will not stop at three. We hope to increase the number of beneficiaries yearly,” she said.

According to Afolabi, The choice of Hadassah Healing Foundation is because the Non-Governmental Organisation furthers the cause of women in Nigeria through

community outreach programmes that help women acquire vocational and other life empowerment skills free of charge.

“For this year’s partnership, Wellness has decided to take the initiative a step further by adopting three women and taking care of their health needs for life.”

“Hadassah Healing Foundation approached us in 2015 to help conduct health screening for women, and we saw it as a good initiative.

“We believe that the vision bearer is doing a lot of good, because gathering less privileged women from all walks of life and deciding to teach them skills and also provide health services is a laudable project, especially because women are the pillars of the nation. When a woman is

empowered, her community flourishes,” she added.

On the acceptance and patronage of health insurance in Nigeria, she said: “The acceptance of health insurance, is very low compared to the adoption of same in other African countries like Kenya and Ghana. There is the need for more education on the benefits of health insurance plans and how it can be included in individual and organisations’ financial planning. You actually save more and can prevent financial frustrations associated with emergency healthcare needs.”

Wellness promises her subscribers on retail and corporate plans peace of mind and an opportunity to enjoy healthcare plans suited to their needs.

hospitals in Nigeria and there is no time whereby all the five are optimally functional at the same time.

“In the developed world, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United State of America, when one attains the age of 60 years, transport and medical services are obtained free of charge. The aged are put into consideration when laws are being formulated.”

“We therefore call on the National Assembly to enact a law that would allow the aged in Nigeria to access free medical treatment for prostatic disease.

“Similarly, Government should create Ministry of the Aged or better still Ministry of Men Affairs and provide special policies that will bring relief to the aged, especially as it relates to age-related diseases like prostate cancer and BPH. “There should be improvement in the financing of Tertiary Health Institutions so that up-to-date equipment can be purchased and relevant training provided. This will reduce medical tourism abroad.

“National Medical Laboratory Sciences Council should monitor the performance of PSA tests both at the public – State and Federal - and private laboratory facilities to ensure authentic and reliable results.

“And there should be an Act on prostate cancer; the Prostate Cancer Research and Prevention Act. The prostate cancer research and prevention institutes should be domiciled in tertiary institutions and funded by TETFUND, “he explained The inaugural lecturer also refuted myths associated with the prostate cancer disease, stressing that the ailment is more aggressive among black Africans who were more likely to be affected and die from prostate cancer than other men.

Giving his contributions to the development of the field of Urology in Nigeria through the laying of a solid foundation for urological practice and training at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Kuranga identified some challenges to the management of prostate cancer in Nigeria to include: inaccuracy of current staging methods due to lack of relevant equipment and tools for the diagnosis of the disease, lack of culture of effective screening, inadequate manpower among others.

Speaking further, the don pointed out that the prostate gland plays a central role in man’s sexual and urinary functions. Thus, he admonished men to eat healthy and minimise the consumption of saturated fat and red meat.

“Men’s diet should be rich in lycopene (tomato) and other nutrients such as carrots and fresh vegetables, which are in abundance in Nigeria.

“It is also advisable to consume foods that are rich in Omega–3 fatty acid derivable from fish,” he advised

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Experts say affordable medicine, scientific research drive sustainable business of health

Tuberculosis response still seen as global health failure

ANTHONIA OBOKOH

ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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xperts in the business of health and pharmaceuticals say harnessing capacity in the affordability of medicines and support for scientific research development will fast track growth in Nigeria’s health sector.

At the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, experts made passionate case for better, safer, more convenient and more affordable medicines and treatment regimens for diseases that afflict mankind, especially those that are endemic to our region of the world at its annual investiture ceremony in Lagos.

“The Academy of Pharmacy owes society a duty to help unravel better, safer, more convenient and more affordable medicines and treatment regimens for diseases that afflict mankind, especially those that are endemic to our region of the world,” Adelusi-Adeluyi, president, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy said.

Adeluyi said, the high point of this year’s ceremony was the announcement of the Academy’s Research and Innovation Centre which is named after Oludolapo Akinkugbe.

“This is a vehicle we created to give enduring impact to research and development in Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical space. It is for this reason

Cross section of Fellows of the Nigeria Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy at the NAPharm 2018 Investiture Ceremony recently held in Lagos

that research is central to our operations, one of the major reasons, indeed, that the Academy came to being,” Adeluyi said.

According to him, we want to complement local and international efforts that support scientific research and research activities.

“Much of the work we have done in this regard has been in the area of advocacy, in engaging government and policy makers on the essence of scientific research and why it is critical to provide better funding and other moral support to scientific research focused institutions as well as individual researchers,” Adeluyi said.

The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy is a specialised academy that among others, seeks to promote scientific research and professional development especially in the health, pharmaceutical

and related sectors in order to help overcome challenges posed by pain and disease as well as fast-track social and economic development in Nigeria and beyond.

However, Adeluyi noted that the “bestowal of the award on Oludolapo Ibukun Akinkugbe is a token of our appreciation of his enormous strides not only in the Pharmacy profession but indeed in all other aspects of human endeavour.”

“As he turns 90 in December, it is only fitting and proper that his number one constituency, pharmacy, kicks off the celebration of an illustrious role model whose legacy of love, sacrifice and service would be forever etched in our hearts and minds.”

“It is in the same vein that we induct General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma’s investiture as only the second ever Honorary Fellow of

the Academy. He remains one of the most passionate supporters of the Pharmacy profession and a most generous benefactor of scientific research,” he added.

Ernest Benson Izevbigie, a scientist and former vice chancellor, Benson Idahosa University, in his keynote lecture at the event titled, From Plant to Patient: Driving Research and Innovation for Industry called for the translation of research findings into societal values.

Izevbigie whose groundbreaking work on the use of bitter leaf, Vernonia Amygdalina in cancer and diabetes management has commanded critical acclaim globally provided critical research insights into how he has used bitter leaf in the management of breast cancer, prostate cancer and cervical cancer with results better than western drugs.

Experts says artificial ripening of fruits, causes cancer, liver, kidney diseases AGENCY REPORT

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he medical health experts gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) warns Nigerians against using chemicals to ripen fruits, saying substances like carbide are responsible for the rising cases of liver, kidney and cancer in the country.

The experts added that calcium carbide remained the most commonly used chemical for ripening these fruits and that application of this chemical always put severe pressure to become ripe prematurely.

“This is the same chemical that is used to manufacture firecrackers; they are also used as pesticides and they contain phosphorous and releases acetylene gas, which hastens the ripening of fruits,” Grace Olasumbo, a Nutritionist said.

According to Olasumbo when an individual takes in such poisonous substance, the chemical components would cause a fatal reaction which could affect the liver, kidney and throat.

“Intake of Calcium Carbide has also been found to be the leading cause of various health

HBL TEAM

conditions such as diarrhoea, severe gastrointestinal upset, eye problems, ulcers and emotional trauma.

“Others are restlessness, seizures, tremors, irritation of the skin, mouth, throat, liver and cancer,” she said.

Olasumbo advised that people should pick their fruits wisely at the stores or markets.

“Fruits such as bananas, mangoes, apples, watermelons, orange, peers, among others, should be properly checked.

“Most times, the colour of the fruits will not be uniform; it may have yellow and green patches unlike when it naturally ripens.

“The texture will also be hard even when it appears yellow.

“The fruits will also be low on flavour, less juicy and often will

not be as sweet as they should,” she added The nutritionist advised Nigerians to ensure adequate washing of fruits and vegetables before consumption and once the taste is odd, they should discontinue its intake.

Ibrahim Adamu, director, public health, Nasarawa State Ministry of Health, said most people indulging in the act were ignorant of the consequences and needed to be educated on the dangers of their action.

The official said that the ministry, in line with the directive of the Federal Government, had embarked on sensitisation programmes to alert people on the dangers posed by such practice.

“We are now trying to meet with the fruit sellers in order

to educate them because some of them may not know the dangers of their actions.

“We also intend to engage security agencies after sensitising the communities and cautioning the fruits sellers on the dangers of their actions in order to stem the tide,” Adamu said.

He said that the ministry was already collaborating with the state House of Assembly to enact laws for effective prosecution of those found to be engaged in such unwholesome practices.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Association of Fruits Sellers, Kano State Chapter, has appealed to members across the country to fear God and stop artificial ripening of fruits and related commodities because of its inherent health dangers.

The Public Relations Officer II of the association at Yan’lemu Market, Ado Shehu, made the call in an interview with NAN in Kano “I am using this opportunity to call on our members nationwide to have the fear of Allah in mind so that they will not cause any harm to consumers as carbide is dangerous to human health,’’ he said.

… WHO calls political leaders for urgent action to end TB

he World Health Organisation (WHO) sees slow gaps of tuberculosis response in countries as a challenge to tackle the world’s deadliest infectious disease, however calls all political leaders to take decisive action.

A release made available by the organisation on 18th September, advocates that political leaders gathering next week for the first-ever United Nations high-level meeting on TB will provide historic opportunity in tackling the epidemic.

The report reveals that although global efforts have averted an estimated 54 million TB deaths since 2000, but TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease.

“Countries are still not doing enough to end TB by 2030, warns the World Health Organization (WHO).

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO DirectorGeneral said we have never seen such high-level political attention and understanding of what the world needs to do to end TB and drug-resistant TB, “We must capitalize on this new momentum and act together to end this terrible disease.”

“To meet the global target of ending TB by 2030, countries need to urgently accelerate their response including by increasing domestic and international funding to fight the disease,” Ghebreyesus said.

The report further says that WHO estimates that a quarter of the world’s population has TB infection.

“Drug-resistant TB remains a global public health crisis showing that in 2017, 558 000 people were estimated to have developed disease resistant to at least rifampicin – the most effective first-line TB drug.

“The vast majority of these people had multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), that is, combined resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid which is another key first-line TB medicine,” the report states.

However, the WHO report provides an overview of status of the epidemic and the challenges and opportunities countries face in responding to it, The report reveals that underreporting and underdiagnosis of TB cases remains a major challenge of which

10 million people who fell ill with TB in 2017, only 6.4 million were officially recorded by national reporting systems, leaving 3.6 million people undiagnosed, or detected but not reported.

Ten countries accounted for 80 per cent of this gap, with India, Indonesia and Nigeria topping the list.

Another of it challenge show that less than half of the estimated one million children with TB were reported in 2017, making it a much higher gap in detection than that in adults.

Also treatment coverage lags behind at 64 per cent and must increase to at least 90 per cent by 2025 to meet the TB targets.

The report further states only around half of the estimated 920,000 people with HIV-associated TB were reported in 2017 of these, 84per cent were on antiretroviral therapy.

Most of the gaps in detection and treatment were in the WHO African Region, where the burden of HIVassociated TB is highest.

Only one in four people with MDR-TB were reported to have received treatment with a second-line regimen.

Globally, MDR-TB treatment success remains low at 55per cent, often due to drug toxicity making it impossible for patients to stay on treatment.

A month ago, WHO issued a Rapid Communication on key changes to treatment of drug-resistant TB based on the latest scientific evidence. These changes should result in better treatment outcomes and more lives saved. WHO is already working with countries and partners to roll out these changes.

The Organization predicts that at least 30 million people should be able to access TB preventive treatment between 2018 and 2022, based on new WHO guidance. Although preventive treatment for latent TB infection is expanding, most people needing it are not yet accessing care.

WHO strongly recommends preventive treatment for people living with HIV, and children under 5 years living in households with TB. Related new guidance was issued by WHO in 2018, to facilitate greater access to preventive services for those who need it.

ANTHONIA OBOKOH and ANI MICHAEL / Reporters. Email: obokoh.anthonia@businessdayonline.com I David Ogar, Graphics

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BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

Friday 21 September 2018

ManagementDigest

United way’s CEO on shifting a century-Old business model BRIAN GALLAGHER

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s the leader of a nonprofit, I ask people for money as a big part of my job — and I love doing it. Making the ask isn’t as hard as you might think.

United Way’s organizational roots go back to the 1880s, when local business leaders in Colorado created a way to pool employee contributions, which were then distributed to local charities. In the 1950s the United Auto Workers negotiated a plan that allowed employees at the big carmakers to donate money directly from their paychecks, and over the next few decades most of our donations came from payroll deductions.

Back then, the local fundraising entities were known by various names, including Crusade of Mercy, United Fund and Community Chest. In 1970, to better brand these efforts, we became known as United Way. I joined United Way in 1981, straight out of college, as a management trainee in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, office. At the time, a company’s donations would arrive in a big envelope. It would contain some cash, some personal checks and a summary sheet stating that, for example, 1,200 employees had agreed to payroll deductions.

Over the past few years we’ve worked to change that model — to transform ourselves from a primarily business-to-business model of fundraising (in which we work mostly with employers) to a business-to-businessto-consumer model in which we create a more direct relationship with individual donors.

This shift has been in the making since the early 1990s.

United Way suffered a scandal involving the longtime CEO, who was convicted in 1995 of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to federal prison. Much of the decade was spent recovering from that by revamping

our operations. During that process our donor model was starting to change. We began seeking out individuals who could make larger gifts. Today more than 25,000 people have each given more than $10,000 to United Way, and more than 600 have given $1 million.

Even as direct donations from individuals grew more important, we tried to increase our engagement with donors from inside our employer-partners.

In the mid-1990s I was the head of fundraising and marketing for our Atlanta organization.

We decided to send our biggest companies — Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Georgia-Pacific — surveys to help us better understand the interests of employees who were donating via payroll deduction. Among the many questions we asked was “What do you think the most important social issues are in Atlanta?” We received 186,000 responses. It was very clear that to be more successful, we had to find ways to get people more involved.

I became the CEO of United Way America in 2002, and a few years later I led our merger with United Way International. By then we had converted United

Way from a federation of local charities to a franchise model.

The local franchisees bring in donations, and the worldwide organization receives a percentage of revenue. We promote the brand, provide infrastructure and guide the strategy. Over the past decade a key piece of that strategy has been a digital transformation.

An important moment in the evolution of our digital strategy took place about six years ago.

I was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on a panel with Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce We were talking about how organizations can more deeply engage customers and other stakeholders. He told a story about Starbucks that stuck with me. In 2008 Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks as CEO, after being out of that role for eight years.

The company had lost touch with consumers, and Schultz was determined to fix that. The first thing he did was create an app that asked customers how they thought the coffeehouses could be improved. The company consolidated the top 10 responses and put them to a consumer vote. Then it implemented the top five fixes. The

process helped restore revenue growth.

That anecdote reinforced for me the idea that if you want people to be involved, you can’t just ask them for money — you have to really engage them.

Digital technology is the best way to do that at scale. By 2015 we had created a digital services operating group inside our organization. We worked with 11 of our local United Ways and created a website where donors could establish interactive online profiles. That allowed us to curate content we thought would interest them — such as relevant articles or volunteer activities. We were able to put together a donor database of more than 1 million people, who together represented more than half a billion dollars in giving.

Then we began measuring behaviors. We found that donors who engaged with us online gave more and continued giving from year to year. Shifting to online interactions also reduced costs: Participating local United Ways saw their marketing costs go down by more than $1 million.

In 2017 I saw Benioff at Davos again. We talked about the

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potential of digital tools to help organizations like United Way engage with donors and agreed to form a partnership: We would work with Salesforce to create a platform that could be used across nonprofits. By the end of 2017 we had signed up several companies to pilot the system.

It works like this: When you log in, you see your individual homepage, with your profile and photo. It tracks all the gifts you’ve made and all the volunteer hours you’ve committed to causes. The platform, called Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud, uses Salesforce’s Einstein artificial intelligence functionality, so the more you use it, the smarter it gets. If your behavior within the platform suggests that you’re especially interested in breast cancer awareness, the platform will begin highlighting content relevant to that cause.

We’ve continued to pilot the program in 2018, and the results are very good. In general, when people stop donating to United Way, it’s not because they have decided to do so; it’s because they changed employers or we lost track of them and stopped asking. The digital strategy reduces instances of that, lowering churn rates and helping us recapture lapsed donors.

The global economy is changing. More people now live outside their country of birth than ever before, and migration is increasing. Meanwhile, digital technology is blowing apart business models.

As that happens, we need new ways to bring people together and build community.

This isn’t rocket science. It’s a 21st-century version of what I did with paper surveys long ago. Ask people what they care about. Engage with them. Share information they are interested in. Then ask them to give, and there’s a good chance they will.

Brian Gallagher is the president and CEO of United Way Worldwide.

Friday 21 September 2018

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MoneyInsight Personal Finance: Investing Retirement

Taxes

Credit Cards

Home Buying

LSETF, Visa back ideas of 3 fintech teams in Lagos FRANK ELEANYA

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he Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and Visa have provided support worth over N3.5 million to three fintech teams that won the second edition of its Cashless Lagos Hackathon.

The teams which include Team Blended, Team Maverick, and Team LagosPay were presented with a check of N2 million, N1.5 million and N500, 000 respectively for taking the top three positions.

LSETF officials said the hackathon is in line with the Lagos commitment to encourage and support the tech ecosystem in the state. The trust fund has so far issued N80 million workspace vouchers to 50 startups. It plans to issue 25 more before the end of the year.

The Cashless Lagos Hackthon was launched by Visa in partnership with Lagos Innovates - an initiative of LSETF, and Passion Incubator with the objective of creating technology based financial solutions to help Lagos MSMEs carry out daily cashless transactions.

There were seven teams that competed for the grand prize of N2 million. The teams – Akuk, Blended, Eko Wallet, Tradekiosk, Lagos Pay, Mavericks, and Cashbox – had an opportunity to meet and interview five loan beneficiaries from LSETF. During the interview they were able to learn some of the payment chal-

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lenges faced by the small business owners. With the knowledge, each of them went to build a solution around it.

“The Hackthon is designed to solve problems around cash management for small businesses,” Akin Oyebode, executive secretary of LSETF told BusinessDay after the event. What we have done here is that we brought our beneficiaries - five women who are beneficiaries of our loan program - we brought them to see how we can use technology to improve their business.

Over the course of this weekend the seven teams have listened to them, interviewed them and have gone to create solutions to help solve some problems they have identified, especially relating to receiving payments and going cashless.”

The selected ideas are still prototype solutions; however the organis-

ers expect that the winning teams will go ahead – with the guidance of mentors – to translate them into real products that have market value.

Oyebode noted the presence of bank executives at the hackathon who are also interested in seeing how they can support the roll out of the solutions to their own customers.

“For the employement trust fund, one of our core focus areas is ensuring that we can work with private sector in solving problems. This is a demonstration of our ability to do that. If we can attract the right private sector partners who will come in to work with us because they trust that we can convene the right atmosphere and deliver the right solutions,” he said.

At the moment the hackathon is a yearly program. But LSETF expects to have it more frequently with private sector partners.

FRANK ELEANYA

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bandwidth and at what are you mismanaging bandwidth with too many activities? Manage Engine has fantastic applications that are user friendly,” Melanie Ayoola, executive director of Tranter IT said. “It has great dashboards for when your boss come calling for one report or the other: it could be a spur of the moment thing, something that he or she would usually not call for, the dashboard can present it to you in a minute with a few clicks.”

Tranter IT, one of Nigeria’s foremost IT services providers, commenced its partnership with Zoho Corp about five years ago, marketing Manage Engine software to customers in the Nigerian market.

With the help of its over 300 engineering workforce, Tranter IT has been able to push the software to the top of the market.

“Tramter IT maintains the relationship with Manage Engine by

sticking to very high service delivery standards and by putting the clients first and ensuring that whatever Manage Engine solution that they are investing is being utilised to the fullest,” Ayoola explained.

Currently, Tranter IT is the exclusive distributor of Manage Engine in Nigeria. Benarjee said it is a relationship Zoho Corp is happy to continue and perhaps expand in the coming years.

Manage Engine has both onpremise and cloud solutions. Benarjee told BusinessDay that Zoho Corp continues to add feature to ensure that the software is as secure as possible for customers.

The company has its own data centre where it is keeping and managing the product to maintain uptime.

“For us, with Manage Engine, the priority is the security. Data security is critical to our work,” Benarjee said.

Financing

Viable varsities-industry partnerships breed entrepreneurs STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

Tranter IT, Manage Engine partner to drive workplace automation, efficiency s industries and organisations leverage enterprise IT (information technology) to drive efficiency in the workplace, Zoho Corporation in partnership with Tranter IT has moved to deepen market share in Nigeria and Africa.

Adoption of enterprise IT - a strategy which details how organisations can transform the management of IT to maximise value - is expected to see more traction in coming years as companies move to reduce cost of running their business.

Sujoy Banerjee, manager, Channel Business at Zoho Corporation said in an interview that growth is already being witnessed across Africa, hence the need to expand the Manage Engine brand on the continent.

To be sure, Manage Engine is a suite of solutions that focuses on IT automation and enhancing the productivity and performance and ease of management of the IT department of companies. For large or small organisations that are rebranding work processes for better efficienc y, Manage Engine impacts the entire organisations in terms of monitoring the uptime and downtime and connectivity.

I m p o r t a nt l y , t h e s o f t w a re enables companies ensure that their expenditure on connectivity is well delivered.

“Are you utilising the bandwidth? Are you overpaying for

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here has been renewed call to intensify and scaleup partnerships between researchers in Nigerian universities and industry practitioners in order to create institution-wide culture of entrepreneurship and problem-solving among lecturers and undergraduates.

This clarion call was reiterated at the recent Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) first ever Distinguished Lecture as part of the global positioning of the institution to become competitive and provide solutions that have industry value and application.

Joseph Fuwape, vice chancellor of FUTA stated that the essence of the Distinguished Lecture series is to build up the exchange of ideas as part of the current global positioning of the institution which is already the premier university of technology in Nigeria in line with its motto of technology for self-reliance.

The lecture was organised by the International Strategy Office of the University and delivered

by Kufre Ekanem, a public relations/marketing practitioner and corporate affairs adviser at the Nigerian Breweries Plc. “Other countries have worked hard to encourage and support knowledge exchange linkages between academia and industries for decades, in order to strengthen global economic competitiveness by building a “knowledge economy” capability” Ekanem said as he present a paper titled “Global Perspectives on Collaborations & Partnerships between Universities and Industry.”

“By ensuring strong academiaindustry linkage, industrialisation has the potential to usher in innovation in the country and help us catch up” he said.

Historically, university researchers have collaborated with industrial scientists on marketable projects. News coverage at the turn of the twenty-first century might lead one to believe that this is a current phenomenon.

However, science historians have traced collaborations between European companies and university researchers back to the 1800s. In the United States, university-industry research relationships began with the industrial revolution.

Gurpreet Jagpal, director of research, enterprise and innovation and CEO South Bank University Enterprises holds that the days when universities existed in isolation, with university dons researching problems without direct bearing or relevance to societal problems are gone.

“I think universities should develop solutions to real prob-

lems. At the South Bank University, we interface with captains of industry. Our curriculum design and delivery are determined by industry and societal needs. Our lecturers and students work on problems that could be commercialised and they hold stakes in the eventual market value, when such concepts get to the market, this is the way to go I believe” Jagpal told BusinessDay in email response to an earlier story.

In h i s o n e h ou r le ctu re, Ekanem said that the competiveness, productivity, growth and reputation of Nigeria in the committee of nations will be tremendously accelerated if Nigeria followed the proven track and ensured the upscaling of collaboration and joint-impact between the academia and industry.

In the course of the lecture, Ekanem shared an advisor y framework for university-industry interactions, types and priorities of industry-university partnerships, best practices for University-Industry collaborations and partnerships and elucidated the opportunities available with existing international organisations or associations Utilising the internationally recognised Triple Helix model, Ekanem canvassed for understanding entrepreneurship, the changing dynamics of universities, innovation, socio-economic development and relations between the trio of university-industry-government to evolve an integrated knowledge economy in Nigeria.

Abiola Popoola, executive director, NetConstruct Nigeria and chairman at the event, emphasised the importance of collaboration between the University and industry for national development. According to him, the time for such lecture and topic is apt so as to ensure effective collaboration between the town and the gown.

He encouraged students of FUTA to make the best use of what they learned at the lecture and described Ekanem as someone who always walks his talk. “Kufre is not just a talker. He has lived his life in the industry. He understands collaborations” In his concluding remarks, Ekanem clarified that the type of collaboration being discussed is distinct from one sided philanthropy or corporate social responsibility (CSR) and also more beneficial than short term infrastructural projects. “The common focus of the collaborating entities must be on impact for society and aligned with the needs and purpose of both academia and industry. We may be late in starting or we may have flagged in recent years but it is critical to move fast and together in this globally proven direction.”

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As global hunger continues to rise, Nigeria’s progress doubtful

International commodity trading could mitigate impacts of climate change - FAO T CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

C

limate change has been reported for many years as a threat to the world’s food production, and a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations is suggesting the future of food security on the planet will depend on international commodity trading.

The state of agricultural commodity markets 2018 report, stated that in the coming years, agricultural trade could undergo further changes, reflecting the uneven and disproportionate impact of climate change on agricultural sectors across the globe. As climate change alters the comparative advantage and competitiveness of agriculture across regions and countries, some nations could lose while others could gain.

International trade could play a particularly important role in adaptation efforts, contributing towards food security in many countries.

In the short term, by moving food from surplus to deficit areas, trade can provide an important mechanism to address production shortfalls due to extreme weather events. In the long term, international trade could contribute towards adjusting agricultural production in an efficient manner across

countries.

José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General, stated in the report’s foreword, that to prevent economic and food security gaps between developed and developing countries from widening even further, “we must ensure that the evolution and expansion of agricultural trade is equitable and works for the elimination of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.”

“International trade has the potential to stabilize markets and reallocate food from surplus to deficit regions, helping countries adapt to climate change and contribute to food security,” he wrote in his introduction to the report.

“The uneven impact of climate change across the world and its implications for agricultural trade, especially for developing countries, underlines the need for a balanced approach to policies, which should enhance the adaptive role of trade, while supporting the most vulnerable,” said Graziano da Silva.

For that to happen, however, “wide-ranging policy

actions are necessary,” the FAO Director-General added.

Trade policies that promote well-functioning global markets, combined with climatesmart domestic measures, investments and social protection schemes are needed.

He explained that climate change will have an increasingly adverse impact on many regions of the world, with those in low latitudes being hit the hardest. This means that countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, many of which already suffer from poverty, food insecurity and various forms of malnutrition, will be disproportionately at risk. Agriculture in these regions will be negatively affected. Regions with temperate climates, on the other hand, could see positive impacts, with warmer weather benefitting their agricultural sectors.

Climate change can widen the economic gap between developed and developing countries.

“Unless we take urgent action to combat climate change, we can expect to see a very different global picture

of agriculture in the future.

Agricultural trade will also change,” he said.

According to the FAO, international trade has the potential to stabilize markets and reallocate food from surplus to deficit regions, helping countries adapt to climate change and contribute towards food security.

International trade rules established under the auspices of the WTO and newer mechanisms created under the Paris Agreement aimed at responding to climate change can be mutually supportive, argues The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets, 2018. To achieve this, national agricultural and trade policies may need to be readjusted to help transform the global marketplace into a pillar of food security and a tool for climate change adaptation, FAO’s report says.

This is because climate change will affect global agriculture unevenly, improving production conditions in some places while negatively affecting others - creating sets of “winners” and “losers” along the way.

he population of hungry people in the world has now reached 821 million, even as countries like Nigeria remain unable to adequately feed their growing population.

The recently released State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 report, noted among other things that; limited progress is also being made in addressing the multiple forms of malnutrition, ranging from child stunting to adult obesity, putting the health of hundreds of millions of people at risk.

Last year’s version of the report had put the population of hungry people at 815 million, after steadily declining for over 10 years, with Nigeria featuring rather prominently among affected places on account of the country’s northeast region.

Nigeria’s northeast was identified as being at high risk of famine in the report which was jointly authored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Buttressing this, another report, the 2017 global report on food crises by the Food Security Information Network, reports that an estimated 8.1 million people are food insecure in Northern Nigeria, with 4.7 million coming from the Northeast alone.

The situation does not appear to have gotten better, owing to several factors such as insecurity in a number of farming communities on account of herdsmenfarmers violence, insurgency which has brought farming to a halt for up to seven years in some parts of the northeast, and rampaging floods that have wiped

out farmlands.

The 2018 state of Food security report, noted hunger has been on the rise over the past three years, returning to levels from a decade ago. This reversal in progress sends a clear warning that more must be done and urgently if the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger is to be achieved by 2030.

The report noted that, the situation is worsening in South America and most regions of Africa, while the decreasing trend in undernourishment that characterized Asia seems to be slowing down significantly.

The annual UN report found that climate variability affecting rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons, and climate extremes such as droughts and floods, are among the key drivers behind the rise in hunger, together with conflict and economic slowdowns.

It also stated that Farmers in the Nigerian savannah and the Kagera region in the north of the United Republic of Tanzania are also noticing changing rainfall patterns and shorter growing seasons.

“The alarming signs of increasing food insecurity and high levels of different forms of malnutrition are a clear warning that there is considerable work to be done to make sure we ‘leave no one behind’ on the road towards achieving the SDG goals on food security and improved nutrition,” the heads of FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO warned in their joint foreword to the report.

“If we are to achieve a world without hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030, it is imperative that we accelerate and scale up actions to strengthen the resilienceandadaptivecapacityof food systems and people’s livelihoods in response to climate variability and extremes,” they said.

AfDB mulls staple crops processing zones to transform African agriculture

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he low level of value addition in Africa’s agriculture, many times, even non-existent has accounted for high post harvest losses, and poor finances of most farmers across the continent.

Africa is estimated to spend more than $35 billion annually to import food, a figure that could rise to $110 billion by 2025, if current trade trends continue. To reverse this, the African Development Bank has now said it intends to create staple crops processing zones (SCPZs) to help African countries become net exporters of processed foods and commodities.

The AfDB in a statement said it is already making investments to develop the SCPZs in a number of African countries.

For example, Togo will receive US$S29.5 million through the Togo Agro-Food Processing Zone Project (PTA-Togo). Plans are also under way to reach 15 countries in the next 5 years, including Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia,

Guinea, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Mozambique.

While it is unsure when or at what scale the SCPZs will be introduced in Nigeria, the country’s enormous potentials and need for processing cannot be overlooked. In cassava for instance, which ranks high on the country’s most cultivated and consumed staple foods, very little processing takes place to get optimum value from the crop.

The AfDB plan may also be a rehash of the existing SCPZ initiative in Nigeria, which the Agriculture Promotion Policy, 2016 -2020, says “has not yielded results. For example, Kogi SCPZ has not taken off due to withdrawal of Cargill, the anchor investor from the project.”

Yet, the SCPZs may hold solutions to some of Nigeria’s value addition challenges.

In BusinessDay’s previous reports from interactions with the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) it had been indicated by the body that

“Cassava has some major Industrial Products among which are Ethanol, Industrial Starch, Cassava Flour, Glucose Syrup, Sweetner etc. These products are also raw materials to numerous Industrial items with limitless domestic and export market potentials. This means Cassava can trigger massive Industrial Revolution in Nigeria to the extent that every Nigerian Village will have viable Cassava Industries.”

A document made available to BusinessDay in detailing what NCGA called cassava’s N10 trillion potential, also in-

dicated “Industrial Starch is another major product from Cassava. Industrial Starch is used in the Gum/adhesives, Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Book binding, Paper and packaging, Confectionery, Chemical and household products manufacturing, Batteries, Drinks, beverages, Baby foods, and Wood finishers etc.

“It might interest you to know that Nigeria imports over 95% of the Industrial starch used in the country,” said the letter, provided by Segun Adewumi, as NCGA’s president.

Apart from cassava, dozens

of other crops have multi-billion naira potentials, which can only be fully realised if SCPZs like those being promoted by the AfDB can be rapidly set up across Nigeria.

“I am convinced that just as industrial parks helped China, the SCPZs will contribute to creating new economic zones in rural areas that will help lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, through the transformation of agriculture into a viable and profitable business that will unleash new sources of wealth,” Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB president said at the 2018 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C. The processing zones are projected to create new markets for farmers’ produce and raw materials, which will become production centres for finished value-added products.

The SCPZs are also expected to reduce post-harvest losses and integrate agricultural value chains with supportive logistics,

such as warehousing and cold chains. Development of agricultural value chains based on SCPZs could potentially create market opportunities for millions of African farmers.

“These zones will be set aside and managed for agribusinesses and food manufacturing industries and other agro-allied industries. They will be enabled with the right policies and infrastructure such as roads, energy, irrigation, rail, ICT, waste management, and ports to help reduce business transaction costs and could benefit from government subsidies. SCPZs can transform the rural areas from zones of misery into zones of economic prosperity,” Adesina said, calling on local and international investors to invest in the scheme.

Agriculture in Africa is estimated to provide employment to 61 percent of the population but only accounts for 25 percent of its GDP. SCPZs are expected to reduce the gap and create increased opportunities for rural and commercial farmers.

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 21 September 2018

25

Hotels Airbnb; creating more local, authentic travel experience OBINNA EMELIKE

W

hen the Airbnb platform unveiled in August 2008, top among the concerns by global hospitality stakeholders was that it may not survive competition from hotels and other mainstream accommodation providers.

Well, 10 years after, the San Francisco, Californiabased online marketplace and hospitality service provider, has come to stay with its unique offerings that are far from anything experienced in hotels across the world.

Airbnb (AirBed & Breakfast) offers short-term living quarters, breakfast, and a unique business networking opportunity for those who were unable to book a hotel in the saturated market.

But what truly makes Airbnb unique is its accommodation options and experiences offered by the hosts to guests. Through the Airbnb website and mobile apps, hosts offer lodging, primarily homestays to wouldbe guests who live happily with the owners all through the stay.

Besides the homestays, the Airbnb concept offers extras to guests; from tourism experiences such as walking tours, day-tripper excursions, pub crawls, concerts to training workshops.

Today, Airbnb has hosted over 25 million guests on its platform, offering over 15,000 experiences in over 800 cities across the world.

However, the African con-

tinent has also witnessed phenomenal growth in the Airbnb offerings across countries and cities in recent time.

Since inception, over 3.5 million guests have arrived at Airbnb listings across Africa, while South Africa leads the listings on the continent with 2 million guests out of the 3.5 million recorded so far.

Roughly, half of the arrivals occurred just in the past year.

However, considering the year-on-year growth in guests arrivals, Nigeria records impressive 213 percent, Ghana follows with 141 percent and Mozambique with 136 percent.

Considering the place of Africa in the global growth of the platform, Airbnb decided to host its first African Travel Summit on the continent.

The event gathered over 200 delegates from Africa at Guga S’thebe in Langa, Western Cape region of South Africa. The delegates included 15 African grassroots organisations and innovators from eight countries.

The three-day event witnessed discussions by some of the brightest minds in African tourism around how technology can help more people to benefit from tourism.

In his opening remarks, Chris Lehane, global head, public policy and public affairs, Airbnb, noted that the summit was part o Airbnb’s $1 million investment to promote and support community-led tourism projects in Africa. He commended the phenomenal growth of Airbnb in Africa, especially in South Africa where it had an economic impact of $678 million in the past year and supporting over 22,000 jobs.

Lehane assured that the figures would improve across Africa with the Airbnb Africa Academy, an innovative programme aimed at connecting underserved communities to tourism in Africa through technology.

In one of the discussion sessions on ‘Finance as an enabler of technology and tourism development’, Sebastian Molineus, director at World Bank Group, urged participants to collaborate, take advantage of cheap funding or rather crowdfunding to execute tourism projects instead of waiting for loans that are difficult to repay.

In same vein, Mich Atagana, head, communications at Google, said Africans can leverage on technology to grow Airbnb offerings on the continent by pairing home owners who are not internet savvy with younger experience hosts who are contemporary.

But Larry Madowo, editor with BBC Africa, called for the need to tell authentic African stories that are devoid of negativities by Africans. By so doing, Madowo said more people will look for Airbnb listings across Africa because of the authentic experiences.

As well, Afua Osei, founder, She Leads Africa and moderator of the discussion sessions, noted that Africa is full of opportunities and she narrated how she left the United States of America to take advantage of such opportunities in Nigeria and Africa a large. She and Trevor Truuman, a South African fashion photographer, encouraged young Africans to dare more and exploit the goldmine of opportunities

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels

across the continent going

by Africa’s young and over 1 billon population potential and market.

Differing a little, Najib Balala, Kenyan secretary for tourism, urged the private sector to take over the development of the continent from government instead of waiting for government to offer them platforms. He cited instance with innovative mobile money platforms and tourism projects driven by private sector that are now supported by government in Kenya.

To grow Airbnb and the tourism, he called on African governments to remove all the hurdles to seamless travel across the continent, especially visas, closed borders, open skies, and high airfares.

Speaking earlier on the partnership with Airbnb at the Africa Travel Summit opening night soirée held at Workshop 7, Waterfront, Cape Town, Sisa Ntshona, CEO, South African Tourism (SAT), noted that inclusivity is a key driver and focus for SAT and Airbnb’s offerings speak to this and also help in providing a variety of options for the domestic and international traveler. “Homestays is a new category for us to look at and working closely with Airbnb on this will assist us in achieving our goals of attracting additional visitors”, Ntshona said.

Aside offering delegates opportunity to connect while seeing community-driven tourism come to life, the summit also offered other excitements such as learning traditional gumboot dance and other experiences from locals in Langa and Cape Town as well.

Four Point Hotels (Oniru Chiefatancy Estate,Lekki)

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

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

Tel: 01 277 3560

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

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

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

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

Best Western Hotel Hotels 12, Allen Avenue C/O Funmi (Front Office Manager)

Protea Hotel (GRA Ikeja) GRA Ikeja

Protea Hotel (V/Island) Off Ajose Adeogun Street, V/ Island

The Airbnb team at the summit

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

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AFRIMA takes continent-wide excitement to Ghana Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

F

rom November 21-24, 2018, lovers of music across all genres in Africa will be thronging Accra, the capital city of Ghana, for the 2018 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

Now in its 5th edition, the awards, which is taking place outside Nigeria for the first time, is the biggest music event on the continent with 38 categories, broadcast live to 84 countries across the globe and In partnership with the African Union.

As well, the host city/country benefit from the huge tourism traffic the award generates while it lasted and from repeat visits.

The 5th AFRIMA Host Country unveiling was conducted at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on September 6, 2018

by Mariama Cisse Mohamed, African Union’s acting director for Social Affairs; Angela Martins, head, Culture, and Mike Dada, president and executive producer, AFRIMA. While commending Nigeria for being a good host since inception of the awards, Amira Elfadil, Commissioner of Social Affairs, African

Accra, the host city of AFRIMA

Union Commission, congratulated Ghana on overcoming the competition involved in hosting AFRIMA and winning the host country rights through a transparent process.

“We are counting on the Republic of Ghana to fulfill all requirements and efforts to make AFRIMA 2018 a huge success. The 2018 edition of

AFRIMA is also the 5th edition of the continental awards and remains steadfast to the AUC’s values of promoting African unity and celebrating cultural uniqueness. Music and Entertainment are key sectors of the African culture industry stimulating the sustainable social development and growth of Africa. It is in this

light that the AUC is determined to support these sectors to continue to contribute significantly to Africa`s development and favorable economic advantage on the global stage”, she said.

Ghana is renowned as one of Africa’s fastest-growing region for music, entertainment, and commerce,

with a thriving tourism industry, and a diverse and rich cultural heritage. Accra, the capital city, is also a globally recognized city that boasts of monuments in culture, arts, and craft, with vast growth in business and tourism.

The 2018 edition of AFRIMA is geared to increase the tourism and entertainment equity of the state as the country prepares to receive an influx of international and continental dignitaries, AFRIMA 2018 nominees, music stars and executives who are attending the program of activities. The AFRIMA program of events provides the opportunity for Ghana to showcase the unique artistic, tourism and economic potentials of her culturally dynamic and beautiful cities. The program goes further to offer benefits that would help in raising the continental and international profile of the host country, including an opportunity to tap into the millions of participants and followers of the growing African music.

Activities scheduled to precede the main awards ceremony include the AFRIMA Welcome Soiree; Africa Music Business Summit; AFRIMA Music Village; Media Interviews/ Meet & Greet; and a tour of the historic Elmina Castle in Ghana.

Exciting choral festival on campus

African stars to lock horns at Glo Mega Music

n September 11, 2018, the main auditorium of University of Lagos came alive with colorful musical performances essentially by five Nigerian university chorale groups.

In an atmosphere charged with excitement, the choristers rendered a number of indigenous songs infused with drama interlude to aptly drive home the message at this year’s edition of the Intercollegiate choral festival captioned ‘Africa Sings 8’.

Organised by the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos, the musical concert featured chorales from University of Lagos, University of Port Harcourt, University of Ibadan, Mountain Top University and the Lagos State University. Also in attendance, was the Heavenly String Orchestra, which mesmerized the audience with classical music.

Some of the special dignitaries at the event include: Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe; Dean Faculty of Arts, Professor Muyiwa Falaiye; HOD Department of Creative Arts, UNILAG Professor Mrs. Adepeju Layiwola, immediate past DVC of the school, Professor Duro Oni, the event honoree Dr. D. K. Olukoya, to mention but a few.

Though in its 8th edition, this year’s event remains distinct for the inclusion of choirs from other universities, and was especially organized in honor of Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM), for his sustained philanthropic gestures towards the growth of the Nigeria music industry.

Speaking on the event, Albert Oikelome, director of programmes and senior lecturer in the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos,

nce again, the Globacom Mega Music concert is on the movie. It is featuring eight A-Listers, drawn from Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana at the Glo Mega Music slated for September 22, 2018 at the Fantasy Dome, Trade Fair Centre, Accra, Ghana.

The show is the fourth in the series of five shows planned by Glo Mobile Ghana for the delight o its subscribers in Accra and adjourning cities and towns. The company had earlier staged two comedy shows and one concert in the city.

According to the company, the eight A-Listers billed to lockdown the city at the concert will be led

by Ayodeji Balogun, who stages as Wizkid. Joint the Nigerian world class entertainer are; Emmanuel Andrews Samini, dancehall maestro; Stonebwoy, dancehall master; Yemi Alade; Tekno; MzVee, Ghana’s own diva; Kofi Kinaata and Tanzania’s finest voice, Diamond Platnumz.

The telecommunications outfit assured that the exceptional blend of performers would literally ‘shut down’ the city of Accra with their superlative performances at the show.

Wizkid, the lead artiste, is an internationally acclaimed song writer and singer who has continued to enjoy a successful run across the world, basking in the adulation of music lovers wherever he steps.

Samini, is a rare bundle of talent, master of a sonorous mixt of highlife, dancehall, reggae and hip-hop. He has a huge following across Ghana and beyond. On the other hand, Livingstone Etse Satekla, popularly known as Stonebwoy,

O

“If you take a poll of pop musicians in the country today, you will realize that a very high percentage of them passed through the class. Some of them passed through the university, some have risen to become music directors, and surprisingly, those that are really holding the ace right now, quite a good number of them are managers of musicians and producers, who passed through reputable choirs in some churches. The lesson they have learnt, is what they are using to galvanize the success that they have achieved in the music industry’.

Olukoya enjoined the students to imbibe the spirit of hard work and determination, which were his abiding principles as a student, and largely responsible for his success. He recalled the words of advice from his secondary school teacher who counseled him to escape poverty by reading vigorously.

“Boy, if you want to escape poverty, Read your books”. The Indian teacher had advised.

Most of the songs performed were composed by D. K. Olukoya, who has in his repertoire, over 70 songs so far, being his modest contribution to an industry he is passionate about. The songs include—E yin Baba by Dr. D. K. Olukoya, performed by UI Choir; Je ka Dupe Melody by D. K. Olukoya, arranged by Oludaisi David Aina and ably performed by LASU Choir; I no go Gree by D. K. Olukoya, arranged

by Albert Gilles and performed by UNIPORT Choir; Dakeje by D. K. Olukoya and many other remarkable compositions. The curtain was drawn with a magnificent performance of the Hallelujah Chorus by a mass choir of the assorted groups from participating Universities, directed by Dr. Albert Oikelome.

O

Wizkid, lead artiste for Glo Mega Music concert

is a highly priced award clinching afro-pop, dancehall and reggae artiste from Ghana whose fame transcends the country’s frontiers.

Vera Hamenoo-Kpeda, known to millions by her stage name, MzVee, is another afro-pop, dancehall and R&B performer. She released a single, Come and See My Moda, featuring Nigerian awardwinning songstress, Yemi Alade, who, incidentally, is also billed for the event on Saturday. Tekno had also featured in the maiden musical outing of the Glo Mega Shows in Accra last month.

According to Uche Ojo, head of business, Globacom, the company designed the music and comedy events to “appreciate our teeming supporters in Ghana. We are also using the events to welcome new subscribers to join the network and experience the best of services, especially data, from Glo, the grandmasters of data in Ghana”.

He disclosed that the response of subscribers during the past three events have been tremendously encouraging and promised that

this will “galvanize Glo to continue to do the best to offer excellent services to our growing subscribers across Ghana”.

To attend this music event, Glo subscribers can dial *5301# to opt in and use a minimum GHc20 for voice or GHc30 for both voice and data on their Glo line in 30 days before the event. With this, the subscriber gets an invitation from Glo through SMS and confirmation calls. Those who already qualified to attend last comedy show are also qualified to attend this music event.

New subscribers on the Glo network who wish to attend the show can purchase a pre-bundled SIM for GHc30 awith 3.2GB data that can be used anytime, register and get an invite. Such persons can get their tickets at select locations across Accra such as 37 Max Mart, Accra Mall Silverbird Cinema, West Hills Mall Silverbird Cinema, Airport Shell, Shell Dansoman, Baatsona Total, SMICE Phone Shop at Kotoka International Airport and at Junction Mall at Nungua.

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Business Etiquette

Movie Review - CRAZY RICH ASIANS

with Janet Adetu

LINDA OCHUGBUA

I

can’t remember watching an Asian movie at the cinema, but this - Crazy Rich Asian –was my first and believe me when I say it was worth it!

I am extremely excited to break it to all my readers especially the romantic movie lovers; this movie fits perfectly into your dreamy lovey-dovey kind of movie.

Crazy Rich Asians basically tells a story about a very wealthy and handsome young guy – Nick Young - who falls in love with a typical example of ‘’the girl next door’’ – Rachel.

During their relationship which had lasted for about a year, he never told her who he really was for fear that he might lose her; he was searching for a girl who would love him for who he was and not for his wealth.

If you could remember the epic storyline of “Coming to America”, then you have an idea of what this Asian movie is about, but, with a bit more intrigue.

I loved the first scene where they took us down memory lane, telling us how Nick’s family relocated to the UK and bought a very big hotel over and went on to owning other businesses.

Nick Young was born into wealth and affluence, yet he was as humble as ever and no one knew who he was except his old friends. He grew up in the UK and then moved on New York where he did his masters and worked for a while, along the line he met the love of his life Rachel Chu and from the moment he met her, he knew she was the one.

The movie took a whole new twist when they arrived his home; Rachel found out he was not just super wealthy and treated like royalty, but from the richest family in Asia.

The major problem was with Nick’s mother who didn’t like Rachel, hence disapproved of their marriage. She felt Rachel was of a lower class and would never fit into their circle.

You would need to see for yourself how the movie turned out because words fail me in describing how hard Nick fought for the love of his life.

The best scene for me was Nick’s friends church wedding entrance, how the lead singer performed and

Making the most of that Conference – P1

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Cast: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Harry Shum Jr., Awkwafina, Sonoya Mizuno Genre: Comedy & Romance Ratings: PG-13 (for some suggestive content and luggage) Runtime: 120 minutes Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures the moment water flowed in as the bride walked to the alter. It was absolutely breathtaking and I noticed some viewers had teary eyes.

The movie premiered here in Lagos and the organizers - Filmone Distribution –did quite a pretty good job.

I am sure majority of Nigerians would love and enjoy it.

Cast and Crew The movie was directed by Jon. M. Chu and written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim. The choice of location and costumes chosen were awesome, the production was also top notch and they did pay attention to details all through. There was something totally different and amazing about this particular Asian movie.

Verdict I would score Crazy Rich Asians a fantastic 9/10.

It couldn’t have been scored lower; it was a sweet

and unique Asian movie.

The twist of comedy and romance went down so well with everyone and we had a very good laugh and enjoyed every bit of this 2hours movie.

The production, cast, crew, storyline and locations chosen were totally awesome and amazing and I did have a good time from start to finish.

If you haven’t seen any Asian romantic and comedy movie, make sure you catch this in the cinema before it goes off because you would be so happy you did.

This is a 100% recommendation from me to you.

Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words, please send us a mail to linda@businessdayonline. com , also please do answer the question of the week on social media and stand a chance to win a free movie ticket.

Linda Ochugbua @lindaochugbua

onference Etiquette have you used it to your advantage?

When you attend conferences have you ever thought about your main goal or objective for being part of it?

Do you stop, think and act accordingly? Did it matter to you what you wore?

Conferences form the best bases, for networking, meeting potential clients, building relationships, making acquaintances, getting to know people.

The last conference I attended had over 3,000 (three thousand) delegates. I was amazed at the smooth execution of the entire program. Everything was planned to perfection, from the arrival of delegates, to the registration process, to the daily program schedules and timings, to lunch and tea breaks, down to the running of the sessions, feedback all the way through to the close of the conference. Interestingly unless we were all in the hall together you could not sense that indeed we were in the thousands.

What a huge opportunity to network with many people from around the world, it was simply phenomenal. I have noticed that when I attend much smaller conferences some delegates stay seated throughout with no intention of mixing or mingling.

Could it be that they are shy and exhibit introversive characteristics or they are not making the most of that conference?

Alarmingly I also have noticed that some simply have the wrong dress s e n s e w h e n att e n d i ng such formal settings. In most conferences we find they provide the positive platform for which you can show case “You” your business, your service, your product. Causal dressing leads to a causal mindset, and a causal perception of “You”.

There are a number of strategies that do need to be considered when you are planning to attend your next conference. En-

joy the read!

Conference Etiquette.

Date D etermine d and Diarized Many large conferences occur on an annual or bi-annual basis. A lot of thought and preparation goes into the planning of a successful conference, dates are usually announced in advance.

The first thing you should endeavor to do is diarize the date and keep track of other announcements to follow. This is to help you plan ahead and keep that date open if you have the intention of attending.

Venue Location Verified Once you have notified the date of your upcoming conference, it is important to familiarize yourself with

the venue location. Will it entail travelling locally or internationally? You will need to arrange logistics at this point, from travel ticket, to accommodation, feeding and your welfare.

It is always smarter to start this early.

Early Bird Bonus The essence of getting to know about a conference now is to take advantage of early bird fees.

Most times the early bird price is much more favorable than the fee attracted closer to the event. Taking advantage of the early notice can save you a lot.

It can be so easy to procrastinate assume to pay a little later then forget.

It may have happened to you where you have heard of the event, identified and noted the date and had it in mind to make that early bird payment in

your free time, somehow it escapes your mind before you know it the time of the conference is close and you unfortunately miss the early bird deadline. It can be quite disappointing.

Registration Route.

It is expected that you follow all registration procedures before, during and after a conference. Some sessions require you to choose ahead the workshop, seminar, breakout session you would like to attend. This helps them logistically place delegates to allow for a smooth execution of the program. It is always ideal to ask questions upon arrival when you are uncertain of the procedure. You will need to collect all registration

material, your name tag and other merchandise presented for the conference.

Accommodation Acquired.

Whether the conference is local, national or international, depending on proximity you may require accommodation services, read all information sent to you about the conference.

Take advantage of early bookings of hotels where the conference is taking place to avoid incurring extra transportation costs to the venue. Determine your length of stay and look out for conference packages that will favor you.

Please watch out for more tips in part 2 on conference etiquette.

Happy Reading!

Janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com

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Friday 21 September 2018

LegalPerspectives With Odunayo Oyasiji Case Review

Oyebanji v. State (2015) LPELR-24751(SC)

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WHAT TO NOTE: his is a review of an already concluded matter before the Supreme Court.

This matter is a criminal law matter but has its origin in business transaction. Therefore, issues like stealing, lifting the veil of incorporation, principle of alter ego all came up in the matter. The matter also gives insight into how criminality can creep into business disputes which are ordinarily civil matters. It also provides a typical example of when the court will look beyond the veil of incorporation covering a company and hold a director liable for wrongdoing.

FACTS: BAMINCO (NIG). LTD and ASSOCIATED COMMODITIES AND FOODSTUFF (NIGERIA) LIMITED entered an agreement for the former company to help the latter company to import tyres, tubes and granulated sugar as the latter company was unable to secure foreign exchange for the purpose of the importation. The transaction was consummated by the Managing Director of the former company (BAMINCO (NIG) LTD who is the appellant at both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court) and the officials of the latter company (ASSOCIATED COMMODITIES AND FO ODST UFF (NIGERIA) LIMITED). To this effect, a total of N1,180,59.75k (One Million, One Hundred and Eighty Thousand , Five Hundred and Ninety Three Naira, Seventy-Five kobo) was paid in instalments to the appellant. Letter of credit which expired on April 10, 1987 was issued in favour of the appellant by Nigerian Merchant Bank. This said letter of credit expired even before the appellant collected full payment from the complainant (Associated Commodities and Foodstuff (Nigeria) Limited) and same was not renewed. The appellant refused to renew the letter of credit despite several demands by the complainant.

The matter was reported to the police and this eventually led to the arraignment of the appellant before the High Court of Oyo State for stealing and obtaining by false pretence. The appellant was found guilty of stealing the sum of N1,273,093.75 contrary to and punishable under Section 390(9) of the

Criminal Code, Cap 30 VOL. II Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria 1978. The appellant was sentenced to five years imprisonment or to pay a fine of N5,000 (Five Thousand Naira) in lieu. The appellant being dissatisfied with the judgement of the High Court appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgement of the lower court and the appellant as a result appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issues for determination The appellant identified four issues for determination“1. Whether or not the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal and the trial Judge followed the legal procedure in lifting the veil of Baminco Nig. Limited suo motu.

2. Whether or not it is a misconception in law of the Court below to hold that the failure of a contracting company in an ongoing commercial transaction to renew a letter of credit amounts to an intention to defraud by one of its director.

3. Whether or not the transaction for which the Appellant was tried and convicted was purely civil and a contractual relationship between Association Commodities and Foodstuffs (Nig.) Ltd and Baminco Nigeria limited.

4. Whether the prosecutor proved the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt”.

The prosecution adopted the first issue above as the sole issue for determination.

The court agreed with the prosecution and based the determination of the appeal on the sole issue adopted i.e.

“Whether or not the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal and the trial Judge followed the legal procedure in lifting the veil of Baminco Nig. Limited suo motu (suo motu means ‘on its own’)”.

The court before adopting

the sole issue stated that the argument of the appellant is interwoven and went ahead to summarise the position of the appellant counsel as below“(i) That the prosecution failed to prove that the specified sum of N1,273,093.75 contained in the charge against the appellant were traced to him and that it was stolen from the Associated Commodities and Foodstuffs (Nig.) Ltd and they were collected by the appellant; (ii) That the money had passed from Associated Commodities and Foodstuff Limited to Baminco (Nig.) Ltd and there was no evidence adduced that the appellant to the exclusion of every other person had access to the money allegedly stolen; (iii) That the prosecution did not establish that the appellant acted outside the scope of his authority while acting for his company. Hence he cannot be convicted for working as an agent of a disclosed principal; and (iv) That the prosecution did not prove that the appellant had a mens rea (mens rea means ‘intention’) to steal money belonging to Associated Commodities.”

The court stated that the summary of the above is that the appellant’s counsel is challenging the act of the court in lifting the veil of incorporation to get to the appellant himself who is the person behind the mask.

Submissions/Argue ment.

The appellant’s counsel contended that appellant under the second count of the charge in the information under which the appellant was convicted was not charged as agent or director of the company (Baminco (Nig) Ltd. The counsel argued that the accused is not liable as the transaction was

with the company and the company is the proper party to be held liable. He also argued that the matter is a contractual one and as such has no criminal element to warrant the accused person to be arraigned in court. Instead, a civil suit should have been instituted. The prosecution opposed the appellant’s argument and argued that the decision and findings of the lower courts be upheld.

Judgement of Court The court in determining the sole issue in favour of the prosecution and thereby upholding the decisions of the lower courts went into the details of the matter before it. The court noted that the appellant was arraigned on a two count charge of stealing and obtaining by false pretence. However, he was convicted based on stealing alone. The court examined the meaning and elements of stealing by going into the provision of section 383 (1) (2)(3) and (4) of Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria Cap 30 Vol. II of 1978.

The court stated that the fact that the appellant was paid for the purpose of importation of tyres, tubes and granulated sugar was not in dispute. The main question is whether fraudulent intent to convert the money to his personal use can be inferred.

The court in arriving at a decision stated four things that must be proved to establish a case of stealing. They are “(i) That the things stolen are capable of being stolen:(ii) That the accused has intention of permanently depriving the owner of the things stolen.(iii) That he was dishonest and (iv) That he had unlawfully appropriated the thing stolen to his own use”. The court examined the evidences of witnesses and came to the conclusion that appellant never abided by the terms of the agreement and neither did he refund the

money paid to him.

Furthermore, on the argument that the company should be held liable instead of the accused person- the Supreme Court relied on the decision of Viscount Haldane L. C. in LENNARDS CARRYING CO. v. ASIATIC PETROLEUM CO. LTD (1915) A.C. 705 when he said at pages 713-714- “My Lords, a corporation is an abstraction. It has no mind of its own any more than it has a body of its own, it’s active and directing will must consequently be sought in person of somebody who for some purpose may be called on again, but who is really the directing mind and will of the corporation, the very ego and centre of the personality of the corporation.”. The court held that the trial court was right by disregarding the corporate entity of Baminco (NIG) Ltd and concentrated on the person behind the wheel of the company.

In supporting its decision, the court further referred to the case of BOLTON ENGINEERING CO. LTD V. GRAHAM & SONS (1957) I Q B 159 at 172-173 where DENNING L.J stated that “A company may, in many ways, be liken to a human body. It has brain and nerve centre which controls what it does. It also has hands which hold the tools and act in accordance with directions from the Centre. Some of the people in the company are mere servants and agents who are nothing more than hands to do the work and cannot be said to represent the mind or will. Others are directors and managers who represent the directing mind and will of the company and control what it does. The state of mind of the company of those managers is the state of mind of the company and is treated by law as such.”

Conclusion A company is a legal personality on its own. It can sue and be sued. It is a distinct person from its directors and the personality of the people behind the company should rarely be in issue.

The case under examination provides an exception. The veil of incorporation will be lifted and the personality of the person or people behind the company will be revealed and held accountable where it can be established that the person/people are hiding behind the veil to commit atrocities.

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FEATURE

Powering the last millions Solar power is bridging electrification gaps through both off and mini-grid solutions, which is helping to bring electricity to Nigeria’s 90 million rural dwellers without access to power. STEPHEN ONYEKWELU writes on milestones attained and the road ahead.

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he turned around and realis e d her w ildest dreams had come true.

She was reading a story book in her hut. It was 9:30pm. Her little hut, accustomed to darkness was lit by an energy saving electric bulb powered by an off-grid solar system. This might be Amina’s story but it is also about 90 million other Nigerians living in rural areas.

Seventeen years old Amina lives in a little village, on the outskirts of Kaduna state. She enjoys the benefits of electricity only when she travels to the city, 200 kilometres away, to visit her uncle, during school holidays. Her biggest challenge has been how to study and complete her school assignments at night. In the village, where she lives, they had no access to electricity.

However, Amina’s lot is improving. Her father, Usman, who is one of the leading entrepreneurs, owns a mill, where he grinds grains, tomatoes and other cereals for women who run restaurants in the area and for other non-commercial uses. For a long time he had to power his miller with generators but on one of his visits to Kaduna, he was introduced to solar power. Usman bought some solar panels, inverters and photovoltaic (PV) batteries for his milling house. Now, he powers his business with solar and Amina can study and complete her school assignments at night.

According to the World Bank, nearly 1.5 billion people are estimated to lack electricity supply in the world, half are in Africa. Nigeria alone is estimated to have over 90 million people living without electricity supply, most of who live in the rural areas. This is changing with solar home systems (SHS).

“Osoogun in Oyo state is a rural community I recently documented. They are connected to the national grid, yet never enjoyed electricity. Sadly no light for over one year, but now they’re very excited that solar home systems (SHS) will be provided for them” Adesoji Adejolu, creative director at Ultrashot, a media production and event streaming company, said on TweetChat under the aegis of #GridlessAfrica.

A significant amount of Nigeria’s economy is powered largely by small-scale generators (10–15 GW) and almost 50 percent of the population have limited or no access to the grid.

As a result Nigerians and their businesses spend almost $14 billion annually on inefficient generation that is expensive ($0.40/ kWh or ~N140/kWh or more),

poor quality, noisy, and polluting, according to the Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA).

Developing off-grid alternatives to complement the grid creates a $9.2B/year market opportunity for mini-grids and solar home systems that will save $4.4B/year for Nigerian homes and businesses.

“In the next 5-10 years, I believe there will be a significant increase in the deployment of decentralised renewables in Nigeria and Africa especially in the off-grid areas ravaged by energy poverty. There is a huge market with a lot of economic potentials” Adejolu said.

There is large potential for scaling—installing 10,000 mini-grids of 100 kW each can occur for 10 years and only meet 30 percent of anticipated demand.

Getting off-grid solutions to scale and commercial viability in Nigeria will unlock an enormous market opportunity in Sub-Saharan Africa across 350 million people in countries with smaller demand and/or less-robust economies.

The REA, tasked with developing the Nigerian off-grid power market, created the Off-Grid Electrification Strategy. It is a $9.2 billion (N3.2 trillion) annual market opportunity to supply off-grid and underserved customers with minigrids and solar home systems.

Access to finance is one of the major limitations to the rapid development of solar energy in Africa. But while traditional methods of obtaining project capital can be very limiting. Today’s world of micro-investors on platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo has paved the way for new platforms like SunExchange.

“What that allows is for individuals like you and I too invest as much or as little without the constraints and hurdles banks throw at start-up entrepreneurs.

You can invest in a cell, a panel or an entire array” David Hampson, emerging leader in the renewable energy sector said during August 9 TweetChat organised by Gridless Africa.

With sustained investment and expansion, in ten years, there would be larger networks of microgrids working together and independent from the grid. Maybe even integrate to the network. It would be like Europe during the 1800s with the industrial revolution and coal fired generation.

“With low electrification rates across sub-Saharan Africa, microgrids can provide a relief on existing networks and no longer need to transport electricity over great distances increasing efficiency.

Generate where it is needed” Hampson said.

One example of where minigrids are providing electricity and making lives better is Burundi.

There, solar powered ovens are

Access to finance is one of the major limitations to the rapid development of solar energy in Africa

providing business opportunities for women. Not only economically with a bakery business, but also with no longer requiring firewood, quality of life/health increases due to no smoke inhalation.

With an enabling environment, continued cost reductions, and targeted finance, the Nigerian mini-grid market can scale rapidly to over 10,000 sites by 2023, powering 14 percent of the population with capacity up to 3,000 MW and creating an investment potential of nearly $20 billion and annual revenue opportunity exceeding $3 billion.

REA established the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) to support the Federal Government of Nigeria’s (FGN) Rural Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan (RESIP), in order to help finance rural electrification expansion in Nigeria.

Mini-grids developed under NEP are expected to serve 300,000 households and 30,000 local enterprises.

The project is nationwide in scope, with early activities expected in Niger, Plateau, Ogun, Sokoto, and Cross River states.

The NEP will be implemented under a market-based approach— private firms are expected to develop mini-grids, with subsidies from REA, and roughly 1,200 minigrids are expected to be developed under the project.

Global wind and solar has hit a landmark figure of 1 terrawatt (TW) and a second terawatt will arrive by mid-2023 and cost 46 percent less than the first, data from Bloomberg NEF show. This is a success story Nigeria can learn from.

New output from the BNEF database shows that there were 1,013GW of wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generating capacity installed worldwide as of June 30, 2018. The 1TW milestone would have been passed sometime just before this date. The total is finely balanced between wind (54%) and solar (46%).

One of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria is its inability to supply reliable electricity through its decaying transmission infrastructure that has collapsed an average of once a month since January, 2018. Of course, there is also the challenge associated with gas supply to generating companies. Solar and wind offer alternatives that can lift the lives of rural dwellers especially amid these challenges.

Unlike traditional ‘poles and wires’, both solar home systems and micro-grids are likely to get cheaper in future as solar modules and lithium ion batteries will drop 37 percent and 54 percent between today and 2025, respectively.

The main areas of innovation for off-grid energy companies, however, will not be technological, but in distribution, demand management and the extent to which they leverage connectivity, data and overlaps with other sectors such as agriculture.

Some current trends highlight the opportunities: additional daytime load can reduce the average cost of electricity in a rural microgrid by 18 percent, mostly because it allows capturing more solar energy. Midday loads such as water pumping, cooling, agricultural processing or small industry is more likely to be income-generating than residential evening loads which are costlier to meet.

Small solar home systems provide a limited range of services, but are affordable and popular with consumers. In East Africa, it is estimates that kits consisting of several lights and basic appliances have reached a market penetration of about 10 percent, but have barely made inroads in other regions. By 2030, some 72 million households may use them, reached through both formal and informal channels.

This leadership position will mean East Africa will become one of the largest markets for solar home systems, with total capital spend exceeding that on grid extensions. Micro-grids are expected to play a larger role in Western Africa, where some governments are developing ambitious roll-out plans. In South Asia and the rest of Africa, the grid will maintain a more dominant role.

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Sports

Friday 21 September 2018

Joshua says under pressure ahead of Povetkin clash

Anthony Nlebem

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he international boxing community will stand still on Saturday night 22nd September, 2018 to witness Nigerian born British boxer Anthony Joshua defend his world titles against Russian Alexander Povetkin at the famous Wembley Stadium.

The much-loved Joshua, will hope to retain his IBO, WBA, IBF and WBO heavy weight titles, while seasoned boxer Povetkin attempts to strip his opponent of the titles, securing heavy weight glory for himself. It is set to be another big night for British boxing one that boxing enthusiasts will not want to miss.

The stakes are high as both fight-

ers enter the ring with an impressive track record. Joshua is currently the unified heavyweight world champion, with three of the four major world championships in the sport to his name. He returns to the ring following his victory against Joseph Parker by a unanimous points decision in March of this year. Joshua is a confident boxer, with the undefeated track record to back it up.

Joshua concedes that he feels under added pressure to get back to his destructive ways against Povetkin, 39, but used Lennox Lewis as an example of why he will not necessarily ‘go looking’ for a knockout.

“When I watch boxing I want to see a knockout so I get where people are coming from because I’m a fan of the sport as well.

“I remember when Lennox used

to fight and everyone used to say how boring he was, but now everyone will tell you how great he is and how slick he was.

“It’s about winning, beating that opponent in front of you. Every opponent will give you different opportunities and possess different game plans.

“If it is there, believe me I have that instinct to take them out. If it is not there, I know how to box and keep it simple. Sometimes you can go looking for it and you get caught, the tables turn and history rewrites itself.

“I’ve got to be clever now. These fighters are a bit better than what I used to fight so they don’t give me the opportunities that I used to get against lower level fighters.

“But if the opportunity comes I

will definitely knock him out and if he can’t take my punch power then he will get knocked out.”

Africa’s trusted source for premium sports content, and exclusive broadcaster for the fight, Kwesé TV will deliver all the ringside action live from Wembley Stadium. Kwesé will provide ample coverage for the fight across its viewing platforms.

Kwesé TV subscribers can enjoy live blow-by-blow action on their satellite TV decoders. Viewers who want to catch the fight on-the-go can do so through the Kwesé TV or Kwesé iflix apps. If you can’t tune in for the live action, Kwesé Free Sports will air a delayed broadcast of the fight on Sunday 23 September at 6.00pm.

Whatever your viewing preference, this multiplatform broadcast network has got you covered.

African audiences can join the estimated 90, 000 spectators expected at the Wembley Stadium by tuning into the various Kwesé TV platforms.

“We pride ourselves in broadcasting nothing but the best in international and African sporting action. As the home of premium sports content, Kwesé will once again provide exclusive coverage of yet another epic Joshua showdown. To catch the live action and see the continent’s son in action, visit your nearest Kwesé dealer to subscribe to the service or renew your subscription. This is one fight you do not want miss,” expressed Elizabeth Amkpa, general manager, Kwesé TV. Povetkin has been described by promoter Hearn as the toughest opponent of Joshua’s career and that includes Ukrainian two-time heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitscho, who was despatched in the centre of the Wembley pitch last year.

Greensprings deepens leaning through sport activities KELECHI EWUZIE

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reensprings School says their approach to education is one that incorporates sports into their educational framework thereby making them play big on sports investment.

Sport is essential to learning as it teaches children life skills like teamwork, leadership and patience; says Kemi Famiyude, Elementary school principal, Anthony Campus, Greensprings School.

An in-depth look at our sporting timetable during every school year only reveals the emphasis we place on sports as a fundamental part of our educational structure. She says.

We understand the importance of sports and physical education in the psychological and physiological development of our children and this is why as a school, our students have their PE lessons 2 times a week.

Greensprings School organises several events tied to sport activities during the school year. Some of which include basketball clinic, sports day and Greensprings Kanu Football camp (GKFC) which is held in April every year.

Our dedication to developing our students in this key area has led to our emergence as champions in various competitions. In 2016, our football team emerged national

champions at the GTBank masters cup and the Nottingham cup in the United Kingdom.

Furthermore education experts have reiterated the important role that physical education plays in the overall development of a total child.

They observe that by playing sports, students learn the importance of hard work, perseverance and the importance of grasping opportunities.

According to them, “Academic learning and sports complement each other, but it is often overlooked a lot by parents and institutions”.

Over the years, experts in the educational field have come to identify the critical importance of sports, games and recreation in the learning process.

Jomills Henry Braddock, research director of the University of Miami’s Center on sport in society in his research on the impact of sports in learning observes that students who participate in sports appear to perform academically well than their counterparts.

“Sports require teamwork in the pursuit of mutual goals to achieve success. With sports, young people learn to recognise and value the unique and important contributions of their diverse teammates.” says Braddock The Greensprings Kanu Football Camp has also produced 9 scholars till date some of which are part of the Nigeria under 15 and Under 17 teams.

F1 signs $100m sponsorship right with betting firms

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ormula 1’s owners have signed a deal to sell sponsorship rights to betting companies.

The deal with Interregional Sports Group, reportedly worth more than $100m, will allow F1 to develop in-play betting markets during grands prix.

F1 will also work with Sportradar to monitor betting-related fraud.

Managing director Sean Bratches said the deal would give fans “new ways to engage with the sport”.

Liberty Media completed an $8bn (£6.4bn) takeover of F1 from Bernie Ecclestone in January 2017.

As part of the deal, betting brands will be shown on physical and virtual trackside signage, as well as branded on-screen graphics.

North and South Korea agree to bid for 2032 Olympics

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orth and South Korea have agreed to jointly bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games, both countries leaders – Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in - said in a shared statement on Wednesday.

The leaders gave no details of which cities might host certain events at the Games, or of how advanced the plans were. The statement also mentioned that they had agreed to “participate jointly” at international competitions, including the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Traditionally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not announce host cities until seven years

ahead of the Games. This gives the two Koreas until 2025 to put together a bid. The idea of a joint bid for the 2032 Games was first mentioned last week by Seoul’s Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan.

If the two nations effectively bid for the Olympics, it could bring the Summer Games to the Korean Peninsula for the first time since 1988, when Seoul was host.

Germany, Australia and India have also announced their interest in hosting the 2032 Olympics.

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32 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Nigeria’s total debt stands at N22.4trn in Q2, 2018, says NBS CONRAD OMODIAGBE

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report presented by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown that Nigerian States and Federal debt stock as at end June, 2018 stood at N22.387trillion reflecting combined foreign and domestic debt.

Following a breakdown provided by the report, foreign debt is recorded at $22.08billion while domestic debt profile for the second quarter stood at N15.63 trillion.

Further breakdown of the report shows $10.88 billion recorded as multilateral debt; $274.98 million was bilateral (AFD), with an additional $2.12 billion bilateral debt financed by the Exim Bank of China, JICA, India

and KFW, while $8.80billlion was commercial.

Foreign debt recorded in the second quarter of 2018, shows a year on year increase of $7.03billion, with an increase also recorded in domestic debt measuring up to N1.57 trillion in comparison with its value as at 2017 within the same time period.

Federal Government contributes a massive chunk of total external debt valued with 80.76 percent of valued at $17.83trillion, while 19.24 percent leftover is contributed by a combination of all states including the FCT, with a value of $4.24trillion.

Of all states, Lagos State has the highest foreign debt profile accounting for 34.17 percent of total debt with Edo, Kaduna, Cross River and Bauchi States following

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FG’s financial inclusion will boost micro businesses, says Osinbajo KELECHI EWUZIE

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ice President Yemi Osibanjo says the Federal Government’s financial inclusion agenda through the TraderMoni programme will not only expand micro businesses but will also improve the welfare of artisans and small business owners.

Osibanjo added that TraderMoni, a Federal Government’s initiative that provides collateral-free loan of N10, 000 is a key pillar in the government’s financial inclusion agenda as it targets those at the grassroots: food sellers, petty traders, artisans and tricycle riders among others who hitherto have been turned back by commercial banks due to their lack of collateral and documentation.

Speaking at the Nyanya market in Abuja, Osinbajo noted that the programme was self-sustaining and progressive as once the initial N10,000 is paid back within a six-month period, the beneficiaries qualify for higher

sums of N15,000, N20,000, N50,000 and N100,000.

The Vice President during his tour of the market, witnessed the TraderMoni activation from the point of enumeration by agents to the confirmation of loan by implementation partner, Bank of Industry received via mobile phone and subsequently, the disbursement of funds via bank transfer or cash out.

He reiterated the commitment of the present administration in supporting the petty traders noting that their hard work and contributions to the economy have not gone unnoticed by the government.

Ahmed Shehu, chairman, Nyanya Market, commended the Federal Government for the initiative adding that the loan will help to improve the livelihood of the market men and women.

The TraderMoni scheme has been launched across several states including Lagos, Abia, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Osun, Katsina, Cross River, Kogi and Abuja.

NNPC records N17.16bn trading surplus, up 46% HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has consolidated on its operational performance with a trading surplus of 17.16 billion in the month of April, 2018.

Ndu Ughamadu, group general manager, public affairs division, of the NNPC, disclosed this in a statement, Thursday, saying it was part of the highlights of the corporation’s monthly financial and operational report for April, 2018.

The report, the 33rd edition since NNPC commenced the monthly publication of its financial reports is aimed at instilling a culture of transparency and keep stakeholders informed of its activities, indicated a 5.43 billion improvement representing 46.29 per

cent on the trading surplus recorded in the previous month of March, 2018.

According to the report released on Thursday, in Abuja, the trading surplus was achieved through a combined higher performance by the upstream.

Friday 21 September 2018

Insurgency: Methodist Prelate wants FG to seek foreign support SEYI JOHN SALAU

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ollowing the rise in insecurity and incessant attack on places of worship across the country, the Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN) Chukwuemeka Kalu Uche, has urged the Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government to seek technical support from world powers to suppress religious extremism in Nigeria.

Speaking in a recent interview with Business Day, Uche said the government cannot fight the insurgency in isolation. “I am disturbed. I believe that the government of the day is over- whelmed and its beyond their power, but they

are doing their best.

What I will also say is that they should involve international the community in the fight. I thank God that ECOWAS community are involved, but I would also want the government to go a bit further to get technical support from world powers like US, UK, France, China and others to help suppress or exterminate completely the incidents of insecurity,” he stated.

He, however, observed that there were other contributory factors in the country. According to the priest, factors like hunger, unemployment, maladministration are contributors to high rate of crime in Nigeria.

NDIC hosts IADI Africa regional AGM in Lagos HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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he Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is set host the next edition of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) Africa Regional Committee (ARC) annual general meeting and technical assistance workshop.

The event scheduled to hold between September 25 and 27, 2018 will focus on fi-

nancial stability and systemwide crisis preparedness.

Resource persons and participants in the event are expected from across Africa and beyond. The NDIC expects the event to provide a forum for information and experience sharing among deposit insurance practitioners from multiple jurisdictions to evolve strategies for addressing the potential risks of financial crisis in the global financial system.

Friday 21 September 2018

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33

NEWS Nigeria’s booming N17bn IVF market...

Continued from page 1

greater patronage but absence of

efficient regulation has constituted a threat, medical experts say.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 couples every year, turn to the procedure according to figures given by practitioners at the 7th International Conference on Fertility and Reproductive Health held in Lagos last year, who say they have the technology and expertise to compete globally.

At an average cost of N1, 706,000 for full procedure, it values the market at N17billion yearly.

Globally, the IVF market is expected to reach $27 billion by 2022, according to a report by Grand View Research, Inc, a U.S. based market research and consulting company.

The number of couples seeking the procedure in Nigeria may have doubled according to observations by half a dozen doctors interviewed for this story but without a regulator, many couples are turning to quacks who, at a lower cost offer poor service to couples concerned about the social stigma of childlessness in Nigeria.

“Increasingly, IVF treatment is becoming more acceptable and the market size is growing, but couples need to be discerning about who they turn to as no one is properly regulating it at the moment,” said Jide Ojo chief executive officer, the Bridge Clinic, a fertility centre based in Lagos.

Ojo further said a new body; the Association for Fertility and Reproductive Health (AFRH) is working out regulation for operating clinics.

This uptick in IVF procedure in Nigeria is attributed to a rise in the number of married couples suffering from infertility, owing to urbanisation,

pollution, stress, and lifestyle patterns.

“Men are beginning to realise that infertility is not a female issue alone, so they now submit themselves for treatment,” Ojo said.

IVF methods range from using ultrasound scans, blood and urine tests to accurately pin point if and when ovulation is occurring to the more complex Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) where an egg is assisted to be fertilised by injecting a single sperm into each egg using a microscopic technique.

BusinessDay gathered that the cost of the procedure is competitive in Nigeria compared to other countries.

A single cycle IVF treatment ranges between N870, 000 and N1, 760,000.

However, the average cost of the complete cycle in clinics of comparable quality abroad ranges from $12,146 (N4.3million) in the United States of America, to $6,475 (N2.3million) in Saudi Arabia, and $4,190 (N1.5million) in the United Kingdom.

Kemi Ailoje, chief medical director of Lifelink Fertility Clinic explained that the cost of IVF treatment depends on the diagnosis.

Some patients require the use of their own egg or sperm while others may benefit from donors and some may even need a surrogate.

“There is an increased level of awareness about IVF now in Nigeria with less stigmatisation and the success rate has also increased which makes it a viable option in the field of infertility management,” Ailoje, said.

Ailoje also harped on the need to improve regulation stating that in the last few years, the Lagos State government has had joint meetings with practitioners to ensure policy

is formulated and implemented by ART practitioners.

Abayomi Ajayi the managing director, Nordica Fertility Centre says better financing arrangement will reduce recourse to quacks.

“In Nigeria, we pay out of pocket and majority of Nigerians may not afford multiple cycles, but one of the ways we have encouraged them is to have packages that they can afford.

Apart from reducing the price, we also provide emotional support and give couples enough information before they even start to let them know the success rate,” Ajayi said.

“We also enlightened them that if the IVF fails, the best way to go about it is to embark on multiple cycles. The more the cycles that they do, the better their chances of success.”

Advanced ART facilities in Nigeria, has reduced medical tourism for IVR purposes, experts say. Clinics in the country have introduced newer techniques, which can offer better success rate at an affordable cost.

Faye Iketubosin, president AFRH, saidcoupleshavearighttohaveoptions.

“There are about 12 million infertile persons in Nigeria and it is their legitimate right in a democratic society like ours to have this right to life treatment and available evidence shows that a significant proportion of infertility in this environment is only ‘amenable’ through Assisted Reproductive Technology,” Iketubosin said.

“The rapidly unfolding development of ART practice informed the coming together of all centres in Nigeria to check unethical practices and abuse within the industry. The largely unregulated industry still solicits further involvement from the government in achieving the minimum standard for establishing IVF clinics.”

Buhari names Amaechi DG, 2019 campaign...

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General of his 2019 re-election

campaign organization A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi will serve as Secretary/Director General.

Shehu noted that Amaechi was the Director General of the BuhariOsinbajo Presidential Campaign Committee in 2014-2015 that won the elections and brought the current administration into office.

The new Director General, according to the statement, “will announce other appointments into the campaign structure as approved by President Buhari.”

President Buhari is the sole candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress APC, that will square up with the candidates that will emerge soon from the other political parties.

Rotimi Amaechi is currently serving as Minister of Transportation in the current administration.

The President had said that he is fully prepared to seek re-election for the office of the President in 2019.

The APC yesterday also cleared Governors Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos, Umar Ganduje of Kano, Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, Mohammed Bello of Niger, Abubakar Badero of Jegawa, Nasir el Rufai of Kaduna and Simon Lalung of Plateau states to contest for the second term ticket ahead of next week’s primaries.

APC cleared four of its second term Governors; Rochas Okorocha of Imo, Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo states who are seeking the party’s ticket to run for Senate seats.

The governors seeking second term and those seeking migration to the Upper Legislative Chamber were cleared after a successful screening

by APC officials in Abuja.

On his part, Governor Ajimobi who is seeking Senatorial ticket said, “The screening is a normal process

and it is just to access your eligibility as well as ability to win and I think that has been done.

According to him, “we have opted for indirect primaries and more importantly, we have so many people who are eminently qualified aspirants and for me, I have given them free hands, let them talk to all party members.

Meanwhile, APC Governors Forum at a closed door meeting with the party’s leadership on Wednesday resolved to adopt direct, indirect and consensus primaries as against the insistence of NWC on direct mode only.

Rochas Okorocha, Chairman APC Governors Forum told journalists at the end of the meeting that, “the NEC have declared that we are going to have direct and indirect primaries and the party at the state level will decide what type of primary to conduct.”

The Imo state Governor emphasised that, “we have adopted both direct and indirect and most of the states are going for indirect primaries, but for the president it is going to be direct.

“So we have all resolved and to assure Nigerians that we are ready for the primaries and we are ready for the main election as decided by NEC and we are sure that come 2019 APC shall have the victory.”

Also speaking to journalists, Nasir el Rufai, Governor of Kaduna state said, “There is no way one hundred percent of the party will agree to one thing. There will always be some that will disagree but the decision of NEC is that the majority of the state Executive Committee decided on the mode of primaries.

“And in Kaduna state that you mentioned which I’m the Governor by the grace of God, the majority of the State Executive Committee decided on indirect primaries. If one or two members don’t agree, that’s off that is not the decision of NEC.”

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

Domestic fish industry shrinks as US ban...

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to BusinessDay, say that some markets in Canada and Europe have

L-R: Adeola Ajewole, GM, marketing; Oghenevwoke Ighure, executive director, digital services; Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, all of BusinessDay; Ebiaho Emafo, MD/CEO, Eroton Exploration and Production, and Mercy Max-Ebibai, external and government relations manager, Eroton Exploration and Production, during BusinessDay team’s visit to Eroton in Lagos. Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Two middlemen found guilty over $1.3bn...

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dle men who had claimed that he deserved a share of the $1.3 billion, saying he helped mediate negotiations

between the oil giants and ex-Nigerian petroleum minister, Dan Etete.

According to the ruling, the two middle men were sentenced to four years in prison as they were guilty of helping to arrange a payment between the companies and the Nigerian government for an oil license in the country, which largely went to pay bribes.

Italian prosecutors proved that Emeka Obi received a mandate from Dan Etete to find a buyer for OPL 245, collecting $114 million while Di Nardo took $24 million of that amount for putting Emeka Obi in touch with Eni. Although, Emeka Obi and Gianluca Di Nardo can appeal the decision, the court seized over $100 million

from both of them, and the verdict could help bolster Italian prosecutors’ case against Shell and Eni. Both Obi and Di Nardo, accused of being middlemen and taking illegal kickbacks, had asked for a separate fast-track trial which, under Italian law, allows sentences to be cut by a third.

Barnaby Pace, anti-corruption campaigner at Global Witness, said: “This judgment will send shivers down the corporate spines of the oil industry.”

In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman for Shell said neither Obi nor Di Nardo worked on behalf of the company, adding it was waiting to see the fast-track judge’s written decision.

“Based on our review of the prosecutor of Milan’s file and all of the information and facts available to us, we do not believe that there is a basis to convict Shell or any of its former

employees of alleged offenses related to Oil Prospecting License 245 in Nigeria,” Shell said in a statement.

Also in emailed comments, Eni reiterated it had acted correctly in the purchase of OPL 245, saying it had worked directly with the Nigerian government.

Eni’s spokesperson said it has confidence in the judges in the case, and believes a “complete reconstruction of the facts” will show the company acted properly. The Thursday ruling, involving Emeka Obi and Gianluca Di Nardo, is a case running parallel to the main trial of both oil giants. It may however give clues to what might be round the corner for the two companies.

Analysts say Shell, which had for years denied responsibility, and Eni could potentially be forced to pay huge damages in the case after judges ruled that Nigeria had the status of victim.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

begun denying entry to the country’s fish products as a result of the ban by the US government.

“Our market for smoked fish is getting smaller by the day with the ban and the glut of imports of fish products into the country as well as smuggling,” Tayo Akingbolagun, former national president, Catfish Association of Nigeria (CFAN) says in a response to BusinessDay questions.

“The government has not been proactive about the problems in the industry, and things are getting very bad. We could see this in the last GDP report where the sector contracted,” Akingbolagun says.

The fishing sector contracted in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018 by 1.4 percent from a growth of 4.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) states.

Akingbolagun notes that some European markets have also started rejecting the country’s smoked catfish and other fish products too.

BusinessDay had on the 3rd of May, 2018 reported about the ban on all fish products from Nigeria into the US due to the failure of the government to fully supply information requested in the Self Reporting Tool (SRT) before the due date.

“It has been very difficult for us and our sales have reduced drastically since the ban. We mainly export

to markets in the US and Canada, now we are trying to sell locally but the demand has been very low,” Richard Agetu cofounder Richsi Nigeria Limited, makers of Ejazuki smoked tells BusinessDay. “We had to reduce our staff strength last month since we are not making as much sales as before,” Agetu says.

Nigeria has recorded tremendous growth in its fish production in recent years as output has increased from less than 500,000MT in 2011 to 1.1 million MT in 2017, data from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture states.

But stakeholders believe that the growth will be stalled by the US government ban and that the diversification drive of the country will also be hampered.

Muazu Mohammed, director of fisheries, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FAMARD) says that the ministry has sent in the Self Reporting Tool (SRT) to the United States since May and would continue to dialogue with the world’s largest economy.

“We have satisfied the requirement and we have sent it to them.

There are certain parameters that they are looking at and if the parameters are okay then they will we lift the ban. We just sent in a reminder they told us that they were still studying the documents,” Mohammed says.

Efforts to reach the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) proved abortive.

Politics & Policy

34 BUSINESS DAY Atiku names Iwuanyanwu, 58 others into presidential nomination council

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presidential aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has named Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and 58 other persons as members of his presidential nomination council ahead of the PDP presidential primaries.

Members of the council drawn from several states of the country are eminent stakeholders in the PDP and are expected to mobilise support from their respective states for the emergence of Atiku as the PDP presidential candidate.

Announcing the membership of the council, the Director General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation and former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel said: “The work of this council – as the name connotes – is to mobilise PDP delegates from all the states of the country for Atiku to emerge as the presidential flag-bearer of our great party.

“Of course, when by the grace of God our aspirant

L-R: Iwuanyanwu, Atiku and Daniel

becomes the candidate of the PDP, membership into this council will be expanded and more people will be drawn into the council.”

In his remarks, Atiku noted that the struggle for national renewal is usually a difficult one, but it is one that patriots must engaged in if they hope to improve the lives of their compatriots.

“Assembled here today (Thursday) is a diverse group of Nigerians, including experienced political leaders representing all regions and

segments of our country. You are all here because you want a better deal for Nigeria and Nigerians. You are here because you are committed to fighting for a better Nigeria, a Nigeria that works.

“Nigerians are yearning for jobs, for opportunities, for unity and security. We must work with them to deliver these. We must also restore truth in politics, justice and fairness in governance, and a genuine federal system that helps us address local priorities and run a more effective

and efficient government”, he said.

Responding on behalf of other members of the council, Iwuanyanwu remarked that “we owe the Waziri (Atiku) a huge sense of gratitude for finding us worthy for this national assignment.

“I have been in politics for nearly fifty years, and in all those years I have never seen our people this poor and I am sad when I see all of these things. My worry and my concern is ‘how do we reverse this situation?’

Osun 2018: PDP says police plan to arrest party leaders ahead of Saturday poll BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA & AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Osogbo

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he People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday alleged that the Nigeria Police Force planned to arrest the party leaders in all three senatorial districts of Osun State as part of its ploy to prevent PDP from emerging victorious in the Saturday governorship poll.

Speaking through Eddy Olafeso, national vice chairman, South West of PDP, in Osogbo, the party alleged that the plan was aimed at stopping those to be arrested from working for the success of the

PDP during the election.

The PDP, which fields Ademola Adeleke as its candidate in the governorship poll on Saturday, further alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had already deployed to Osun State two battalions of its vote snatching gangs to engage in various electoral malpractices.

“This is with a view to attacking polling stations in the stronghold of our party to destroy ballots and scare people away from voting; we therefore, call on the police and other security agencies to use all their energies to forestall that development,”, Olafeso said.

He continued: “We also demand of our party members and the voting populace to withstand the APC and its thugs wishing to stand between them and a free and fair election.

“We also ask INEC to ensure that its card readers are not malfunctioning anywhere on Saturday, electoral materials must also be supplied timely, any untoward development in this regard will be viewed seriously as a programmed action to injure our chances.”

On the purported invitation of the candidate of the party, Ademola Adeleke, by the police, Olafeso said the statement credited to the po-

lice that the standard bearer of the party was involved in a criminal offence few hours before the Saturday poll was “disappointing and totally indicative that a section in the police has descended into partisan politics by reducing itself into a mere parastatal of the APC. He however, lauded the Presidency for asking the police to withhold action on the matter momentarily, calling on the people of Osun to disregard the statement from the Police Force Public Relations Officer, describing it as “unfounded and in pursuance of an agenda that is not clearly stated.”

Senator refutes claims of bench warrant for dud cheque … As Abuja federal high court quashes illegal order JUMOKE AKIYODE

The senator representing Imo West, Hope Uzodimma has dismissed the story making the rounds on social and traditional media that there is a bench warrant against him by an Abuja Area court for allegedly issuing a N200 million bounced cheque.

Uzodimma said that the plot was masterminded by his political enemies because of his rising gubernatorial chances in Imo State.

A statement by the Senior Legislative Assistant (SLA)

in Abuja to Uzodimma said that some political detractors attempted to use a corporate body that defaulted in the execution of a sub-contract it got from Nigeria Global to twist facts and abuse the judicial process just to dent the soaring political image of the senator.

He wondered how a disagreement between two corporate citizens which has been a subject of litigation for some time now, and is still pending at the Supreme Court found its way to the area court.

“The facts are clear. Chitek

Engineering Limited was given a sub-contract to supply 1700 sheet piles at koko on or before March 2018. A bank cheque for two hundred million naira (2000000) was consequently issued to UBA to transfer the valued to Chitek upon successful execution of the said contract. Chitek failed to execute the contract and still proceeded to attempt to cash the cheque which was not issued in her name in the first place. When the cheque was naturally returned, the company went to court to enforce payment to them.

They lost at the High court and Appeal court and the matter is now at the Supreme Court,” Chidi Uzodimma, Special Assistant to Senator Hope Uzodimma said in a statement.

According to the SLA, the same company that went to the Supreme Court suddenly went to an Abuja area court which has no jurisdiction over matters of limited liability companies and added, “it is clear that some political enemies are using this company to dent the image of the distinguished senator.”

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Friday 21 September 2018

Osun guber: Now on the thumb of INEC, security agencies ZEBULON AGOMUO

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ike a student that believes he has read all that he needs to read to write and pass his examination, the 48 political parties that field candidates for the gubernatorial election taking place in Osun State tomorrow, see themselves as entitled to victory by virtue of their level of preparations.

For months now, there had been too many activities by the individuals who are standing election; their parties, stakeholders, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

There had been meeting upon meeting, some of which were held even outside the state.

Sleepless nights had gone into it; there were all manner of consultations within and outside the state.

Journeys were made by some of the aspirants outside the shores of the country to consult with Osun indigenes in the Diaspora. Indeed, people have invested their time, energy and resources in this election, each expecting bountiful and rewarding harvest.

INEC engaged the parties and candidates on many issues; the security agencies met several times to emphasise the need for the cooperation of one and all.

The candidates were told to put their supporters in check, reminding them that the gubernatorial election is not a do-or-die affair. There is the need for them to be gentlemanly in the competition.

A lot of money was deployed by the parties, the contestants and even INEC. Verbal salvos were hurled at various points, preparatory to the contest of tomorrow.

The primaries of some of the parties were stormy and came close to disintegrating some of the parties. The outcome of the selection process did not go down well with some party men and women, leading to bad blood. Some of these disagreements led to

litigations. Although the election is tomorrow, some of the issues raised in the course of preparing for the contest are yet to be resolved.

The vibrations experienced in the last few months at the peak of preparation elicited questions as to whether Saturday, September 22 would ever be a reality.

But the day appears to have come.

There had been genuine concerns raised over likely electoral fraud and violence arising from the ‘I must win” mindset of some contenders and parties. Some of the incidents during the recent Ekiti State gubernatorial election raised the apprehension level of many people. But it is believed that going by all the noise made about the electoral fraud in Ekiti, observers say that Osun may not witness

COMMENTARY a repeat.

But it is said that elections are won and lost, not at the polling booths, but while the votes are being collated. And this is where INEC is being taken to task.

By the time everyone must have done his/her beat, the buck stops at INEC’s table to declare who wins or who loses.

The security agencies also have a lot to do to ensure that the exercise goes peacefully. The huge number of policemen and other paramilitary personnel deployed

by Ibrahim Idris, Inspector General of Police (IGP), is already causing adrenaline rise in some people. If there is a reason to suggest that intimidation of voters in favour of a party is being carried out, it may discredit the exercise.

People are already talking about the needlessness of flooding Osun with 40,000 policemen and other paramilitary personnel. It appears that everyone has done all that needs to be done.

Into your hands, therefore, INEC and security agencies, we commend Osun!

Saraki in Bayelsa says Buhari lacks capacity to develop Nigeria SAMUEL ESE, Yenagoa

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enate President, Bukola Saraki has attacked President Muhammadu Buhari and All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government saying they lacked the vision, capacity and patience to develop Nigeria.

A G overnment House s t at e m e nt o n Thu r s d ay signed by Fidelis Soriwei, Special Adviser to Governor

Henry Seriake Dickson said Saraki stated this when his presidential campaign team paid a courtesy call on the governor in Government House, Yenagoa.

Saraki who said the country was in dire need of a leader like him with demonstrable capacity to unite the nation tasked Nigerians to replace the current APC leadership, which had caused disunity in the country.

Friday 21 September 2018

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35 NEWS

BUSINESS DAY

Trump blast OPEC for higher oil prices again DIPO OLADEHINDE

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s pr ice of Brent Crude the benchmark for Nigeria’s crude oil gradually creeps up to the $80 spot , United States President Donald Trump turned to his favorite method of communication Twitter on Thursday to criticize Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for being a monopoly and pushing oil prices higher.

“We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!” President Trump tweeted in his latest outburst against the cartel for keeping prices high.

Brent crude prices turned

lower after the US president’s tweet on Thursday, dipping 8 percent to $79.32 a barrel having earlier hit a session high of $79.83.

Since second quarter 2018, Trump has been calling on Saudi Arabia and its allies to ramp up production to offset the impact of renewed sanctions on Iran’s energy exports, which has helped to send crude prices higher.

However with Brent crude oil getting more close to a stable $80 a barrel, despite Saudi Arabia and Russia hiking production in the past three months, the president has once again expressed his opinion against higher oil prices.

The US president is keen to ensure there is no impact on domestic fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections as West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, is just above $71 a barrel.

As the coalition prepares

to meet in Algiers Ministers from more than 20 of the 25 countries will also be keeping an eye on Twitter as they discuss how to implement their agreed 1 million bpd production rise and whether to make permanent their market management deal beyond its expiry at year-end.

The US reckoned Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, as a key ally and will be keen not to see a price surge ahead of the US midterm elections November 6, with Trump’s Republican Party at risk of losing control of Congress. Many OPEC delegates have, however, privately been unhappy about Trump’s tweets making it difficult to maintain unity within the group, as Iran and Venezuela have railed against capitulating to the president.

US sanctions on Iran are set to hit Tehran’s oil sales on November 5, with S&P Global

Platts Analytics forecasting that up to 1.4 million bpd of Iranian supplies will be shut-in. Venezuela’s falling economy and Libya’s tenuous

of them from neighbouring countries, have descended upon our rural homesteads in Benue, Adamawa, Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Taraba and Kogi.

Under the pretext of pursuing non-existing usufructuary land rights, they have raped and maimed and killed. They have dise m b ow e l l e d e x p e c t a n t mothers and placed their unborn babies under the sword.

And to add insult to injury, a spokesman for the administration recently warned us to give up our patrimony or face an almost certain death by these foreign marauders.

As a consequence, many in our country have lost trust in the government as a fair and neutral arbiter, let alone protector, of the people. This government has failed in its most elementary duties as understood by statesmen from Thomas Jefferson to Sultan Mohammed Bello.

The international community watches with despair as our economy is run aground and our ship of state totters at the edge of dissolution. We have become like ships that pass each other at night. We who have lived and intermarried with Fulanis for centuries are being taught that we are now enemies who must slay one another at the slightest opportunity. A new gospel of hatred is being propagated in subtle and insidious ways through the privatisation and tribalisation of government and its institutions. Nigerians have become strangers and spectators in their own country.

It is for all the above reasons that I stand before you today. And I am compelled to say, echoing the Scottish divine, John Knox: Lord, give me Nigeria or I die!

Albert Einstein famously

declared that “God does not play dice with the universe”.

The Creator did not put our 200 ethnic communities together by mistake. He is doing a thought experiment to find out how ingenious we could be in creating a great melody out of our gaggle of tribes, some of them as ancient as the Egypt of the Pharaohs.

I have travelled the world in the course of a rewarding international career. No corner of the world makes my heart leap with greater joy like the immortal hills, rocks and springs of our green and pleasant land. Nowhere else does the sun shine for me with greater luminosity. We are blessed beyond our wildest imagination; endowed with all the natural resources to make us a great and prosperous nation. What has been lacking is leadership and purpose.

Now is the time for a new generation to wrestle the mantle of power from bigoted, ignorant, unenlightened and incompetent leaders.

Now is the time to take our country back.

Now is the time to keep hope alive.

We must muster a new coalition of patriots who believe in a truly united Nigeria; in our manifest destiny as one of the leading nations of the twenty-first century. We were meant to be a city on a hill; a light unto the nations.

Our vision is that of a New Nigeria in which natural resources are harnessed for the benefit of all our people. We believe in nation building. We will give priority to confronting headlong the demons of violence and insecurity. We will also focus on building a world-class infrastructures base. We shall launch a new industrial revolution that create jobs and expand the possibility frontiers of welfare and prosperity.

Zanganeh, who has railed against Saudi Arabia and Russia increasing production as Iran’s market share is threatened.

L-R: Peter Nggada, board member, Risk Management Association of Nigeria (RIMAN); Victor Olannye, executive secretary, RIMAN; Abraham Amkpa, board member, RIMAN; Magnus Nnoka, president, RIMAN; Patience Oniha, director general, Debt Management Office ( DMO); Umar Yayangida, chairman, RIMAN, Abuja Chapter; Joe Ugoala, director, DMO, and Funmi Adewole, RIMAN executive council member, at a courtesy visit of RIMAN officials to DMO’s Office in Abuja yesterday.

Covenant for a New Nigeria Continued from back page

security also present supply risks to the market.

One obvious absence from the Algiers proceedings will be Iranian oil minister Bijan

Meltdown: A White House on the...

We shall also launch a national dialogue on restructuring and political development. We aim to build a fair and more inclusive Nigeria where all the people are happy – where men and women are equal in law and in fact -- where all citizens fully participate in the decisions that shape their lives and the future of their children.

I believe in the rule of law and I am committed to social justice and the emancipation of the poor.

I believe in education; in the creation of an enabling environment where talent thrives. Our young people have excelled in the great Ivy League institutions of North America and elsewhere. When brilliant people are ruled by lesser minds it makes a mockery of our immense potentials and promise. The Greek philosopher Plato famously noted, and I quote: “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. This syndrome is buttressed by the moneybags that serve as gatekeepers in our political arena; men who glorify inferior minds in the hope that they can control them and bend them to their own will.

It is a system guaranteed to reproduce mediocrity as our dominant collective mindset.

Some of us are proud of the fact that we have not defrauded the state. We have not stashed away stolen funds with which to launch a lavish political campaign.

But we put our trust in the goodwill and indomitable spirit of the Nigerian people. Barrack Obama had no money and no political godfathers when he was elected president of United States. Emmanuel Macron came from nowhere to ascend the high magistracy of the French Republic. We will need volunteers among

our youths. We cherish the support of all those who share our ideals of a New Nigeria. We could sit here and grumble for a thousand years. Nothing will change.

One of Isaac Newton’s laws of motion states that a body continues in a state of motion until an equal and opposite force compels it to change direction. We have what it takes to make Nigeria great.

I have carefully weighed the risks. I am ready and willing and prepared. We are going into the arena to face monstrous giants. But we know that they are giants with feet of clay – paper tigers. As a great American statesman once said, what we have to fear is fear itself.

We stake our ultimate claim not in the moral superiority of our position, assured though it is; but in our faith in the resilience and indomitable spirit of our great Nigerian people.

To the youth, I say: Arise and Shine! Arise and take your country back! It is time for us to rise up in righteous anger. I appeal in particular to our women to rise up and be counted. In the words of the poetess Nana Asmau, daughter of the Caliph Usman Dan Fodio: “Muslim women, do not listen to the speeches of those who are misguided…

They deceive you when they preach obedience … without telling you of the obedience which is primarily due to Allah and his Prophet.”

In the words of a medieval Jewish sage, Rabbi Hillel: “If not me, who?

And if not now, when?”

Being a Statement by Dr. Obadiah Mailafia on the occasion of his declaration of intent to contest for the presidency of Nigeria under the platform of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Abuja, Thursday 20th September, 2018

Continued from back page

There is fear in the air.

Fear has always been in the air in the Trump White House, according to Bob Woodward, the journalist and author who wrote the story of the Watergate scandal that brought President Richard Nixon down. He supplied the second major assault on the White House during the same w e e k, pu b l i s h i ng h i s long-anticipated expose on the seat of American power. The book was titled – yes – Fear.

It is not certain where all of this is heading.

In a normal situation, there would have been stories of people falling on their swords. But not this White House. Everyone in this team has been selected because they embodied a part of the broad mish-mash of confused and sometimes contradictory in-yourface philosophy that was the Trump social agenda.

They wanted to be there, and they believed they deserved to be there, despite the fact that some of them hated their principal.

The Vice President declared on live television that he was ready to undergo a lie detector test to prove that he was not the author of the offensive article. That he could do that gave a glimpse of the atmosphere in the offices and corridors of the White House. Hushed conversations, suddenly stopping when a particular official approached. People going to the President when nobody else was

there to protest their innocence, and perhaps point a finger of suspicion at someone who had crossed their path. For a Nigerian observer of a certain age, it was reminiscent of the last days of the dictator Abacha, when the man was afraid of his own shadow, and even his closest deputies felt compelled to wear ‘Abacha’ badges on their uniforms as evidence of their unshakable loyalty to the goggled one.

Despite it all, as if to confound his critics and prevent them from declaring victory prematurely, the functions of government were going on. Here and there, whether because of Mr Trump or despite him, success came on certain issues. The tax cut seemed to be working.

Industry was booming.

Unemployment was down. Even the Trade and Tariff wars decried by many were not bringing the heavens down.

In Donald Trump’s White House, where everyone lived in paranoid suspicion of everyone else, and all feared what The Boss might do on Twitter during the night, America had a chance finally to confront the darkest recesses of its own soul and make a choice what type of animal it wanted to be – a nation bound together by ideas and values, or a land abandoning all the previous niceties of civilization and prospering in the grip of a strongman with the luck of the devil and the coarse sensibilities of a stone age hunter and gatherer.

Friday 21 September 2018

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FINANCIAL TIMES Turkey unveils plan to fight currency crisis

Bank of America’s investment banking boss to depart

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World Business Newspaper

EU leaders call for Brexit compromise at Salzburg summit

Meeting aims to smooth strategy for reaching deal on UK withdrawal by November GEORGE PARKER, MICHAEL PEEL AND ALEX BARKER

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uropean leaders on Thursday called for a new spirit of compromise over the UK’s exit from the EU, as they met to discuss how to remove roadblocks to a deal which they want to sign by mid-November.

Theresa May, the UK prime minister, told an informal EU summit in Salzburg on Wednesday evening that she could not accept any deal that split her country into two customs territories, with Northern Ireland hived off from the rest of the UK. Mrs May’s 10-minute Brexit speech over dinner illustrated the differences that remain between the two sides. But as EU leaders arrived at the summit venue on Thursday, there was a marked tone of conciliation.

Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president, said of Mrs May’s intervention: “It was interesting, it was polite.

It was not aggressive — she is doing her job.”

Sebastian Kurz, chancellor of Austria and holder of the rotating EU presidency, said: “Away from the hard media statements outside, I think both sides are aware they will only reach a solution if they move towards each other.”

Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s prime minister, said there had to be compromise on both sides.

“There is a much better atmosphere than in recent weeks and months.”

On Thursday, Simon Coveney, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, called on Mrs May to reach an agreement with the EU over the border, saying that Dublin only wanted to maintain the status quo on the frontier.

“I think [European negotiators] are going to considerable lengths to try to accommodate concerns around constitutional integrity because nobody here is looking to undermine the constitutional integrity of the UK,” he said.

The 27 EU leaders apart from Mrs May will meet over lunch in Salzburg on Thursday to discuss their strategy for reaching a Brexit deal ahead of a special summit in Brussels in mid-November.

Mrs May will stay in the Austrian city for talks after lunch with Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and to hold a press conference.

Both sides hope the Salzburg meeting will create momentum towards a deal and give Mrs May some political cover as she prepares to confront Conservative critics at home who despise her attempts to reach a Brexit compromise.

Former Conservative minister Mike Penning, once a May loyalist, told the Daily Telegraph on Thursday that the prime minister’s Brexit plan was “as dead as a dodo”.

Although EU leaders want to help Mrs May, there is also a determination not to compromise the EU’s principles in the search for a deal.

“We have very clear principles regarding the integrity of the single market and regarding precisely the Irish border,” said Emmanuel Macron, the French president.

Leo Varadkar, Irish prime minister, said he had had a good meeting with Mrs May on Thursday morning but that his government was hiring staff to prepare for the possibility of Brexit talks collapsing.

Ryanair rejects investor pressure to oust chairman David Bonderman re-elected despite sizeable shareholder protest at airline’s annual meeting ARTHUR BEESLEY

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yanair has rejected investor pressure for the departure of its long-serving chairman David Bonderman after a significant shareholder protest.

Mr Bonderman, chairman for 22 years, was re-elected to the board with support of 70.5 per cent of shareholders at the company’s annual meeting.

But that left a sizeable num-

ber of investors who failed to back him with some openly calling for a clear succession plan.

Alison Kennedy, of Aberdeen Standard Investments, which has a 0.9 per cent stake in the business, read a statement to the annual meeting in which she urged a plan be put in place to select his successor.

The lack of a plan “suggests a lack of focus on succession planning and suggests the board Continues on page A2

Theresa May arrives at the summit in Salzburg. The UK prime minister told EU leaders she could not accept any deal that split her country into two customs territories © Bloomberg

Bank of America’s investment banking boss to depart Christian Meissner steps down in wake of loss of market share in M&A MARTIN ARNOLD

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hristian Meissner is stepping down as Bank of America’s head of corporate and investment banking in the wake of the bank’s recent loss of market share in the mergers and acquisitions market.

Mr Meissner will leave the role at the end of the year and be replaced

by Matthew Koder, BofA’s president of Asia-Pacific, according to a memo from Tom Montag, chief operating officer of BofA. Mr Koder will move to New York.

The timing of Mr Meissner’s resignation after seven years in the position was a surprise inside the investment bank, according to colleagues.

But they said he had been expected to leave as early as next year after concern mounted over its slide in M&A advisory league tables in the past year,

particularly in its core North American market.

Colleagues of Mr Meissner said he had also taken some blame for the losses BofA took on its loans to Steinhoff, the South African home retailer.

BofA insiders trace some of Mr Meissner’s difficulties to his decision two years ago to promote Diego De Giorgi, his former colleague at Goldman Sachs, to be the sole head of BofA’s investment bank based in London.

The move shifted Karim Assef, the investment bank’s other co-head in New York, to become vice-chairman of the unit with a focus on client relationships.

Mr Meissner did not respond to a request for comment.

He played a key role in reshaping the corporate and investment bank after its merger with Merrill Lynch in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and

expanding its reach internationally.

However, the bank’s investment banking fees fell 7 per cent in the second quarter, prompting chief executive Brian Moynihan to say that its M&A advisory business “can do a better job”.

Mr Meissner, who was born in Austria, said in the memo: “I am very proud of what we have achieved during the last eight years. We have built a tremendous team around the world serving our clients and it’s been an honour to have led such a talented group of professionals.” His departure was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Montag said: “Under Christian’s leadership, the global investment banking business reached and maintained a top tier global ranking. His many contributions to our company have played a significant role in our success.”

South African central bank leaves rates unchanged Bank admits to a ‘series of major deficiencies’ in systems at Estonian branch FEDERICA COCCO

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outh Africa’s central bank kept interest rates on hold on Thursday at its latest policy meeting and presented a gloomier outlook for growth and inflation.

The South African Reserve Bank held its repo rate steady at 6.5 per cent, as expected by a group of economists polled by Reuters.

The SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago said it expects a rise by 25 basis points by the end of 2020. Four

members of the policy panel voted to keep rates unchanged while three members wanted them to rise. No one argued for a rate cut.

Mr Kganyago said on Thursday that the central bank now expected GDP growth in 2018 to be 0.7 per cent, compared to the 1.2 per cent forecast by the bank in July.

Pressure eased on the bank to raise rates after new inflation data on Wednesday showed consumer price growth easing to lower than expected levels and at 4.9 per cent, comfortably

within the bank’s target range of 3-6 per cent.

But the central bank said it expected the weaker rand exchange rate and higher oil prices to increase the country’s headline inflation to 5.3 per cent in 2018, 5.6 per cent in 2019 and 5.6 per cent in 2020 compared to their earlier predictions: 5.2 per cent, 5.4 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively.

The rand rallied to R14.40, up by 1.9 per cent against the dollar on yesterday’s close, also aided by the dollar’s broad weakness.

Mounting trade conflict threatens world economy, OECD warns Tariffs likely to lead to further inflation and chill investment, report says CHRIS GILES

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it-for-tat tariffs between the US and its partners are already damaging the global economy and pose a greater threat next year as trade slows down, the OECD said on Thursday.

In its interim economic outlook, issued days after Washington and Beijing announced some of the most sweeping tariffs for decades, the Paris-based international organisation said that to date the effect of the trade tensions had been “mild”.

But it added that the tariffs risked becoming more detrimental to global growth, which the OECD said

had now “plateaued”.

Laurence Boone, the OECD’s chief economist, said: “Look at goods trade growth, it is now slower than [gross domestic product growth]. Export order books have been coming down pretty much across the board.”

The forecasts expect the world economy to grow 3.7 per cent this year and next, a healthy rate compared with the early years of this decade. But the OECD has cut its growth expectation from its May forecasts by 0.1 percentage point in 2018 and 0.2 percentage points in 2019.

Most countries’ economic forecasts have been marked down, the

OECD said, partly as a result of weakness in the first quarter of this year and partly because of the expected impact of the trade conflicts and tightening financial markets.

The OECD noted the Trump administration’s threat to slap 25 per cent tariffs on $200bn of Chinese imports in January, adding that if such duties were imposed on cars, it could raise inflation by 1 per cent.

It said that US tariffs in January had already led to a 20 per cent increase in the US price of washing machines between March and July.

It also noted that US car exports to China were down 40 per cent in the year to July.

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Ryanair rejects investor pressure to oust...

Genetic detectives identify three cartels smuggling African

Continued from page A1

is not listening closely enough to shareholders”, Ms Kennedy said.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary said the “overwhelming” level of support for Mr Bonderman’s re-election would make a politician happy. Still, he doubted whether the chairman would stay for another two years.

“He knows it won’t go on forever. We know it won’t go on forever,” Mr O’Leary told reporters after the meeting.

“But frankly if we could encourage him to continue to chair the company for another couple of years, I personally would encourage him to do so. I don’t think he will.”

Kieran McLoughlin, senior independent director and a member of the board for 17 years, said the board had changed over the years. “There are plans for rotation. There are plans for renewal,” he said “It hasn’t been the same board over the last 20 years . . . We are aware of the views of certain shareholders. It is discussed at the nominations committee.”

Mr O’Leary, who has faced demands from pilot unions to stand down, said he had accepted an invitation to enter talks on a new contract when his current one expires next year.

The process would be “subject to extensive and what will undoubtedly be painful negotiations with Mrs O’Leary”, he said in a playful reference to his wife.

Mr O’Leary, whose 4 per cent stake in Ryanair is worth €316m, said he would be happy to move to a rolling 12-month deal from his current five-year contract.

“I’m not sure whether I want to sign up for another five years.

That would take me to 62,” he said.

“The board suggests I should sign up for a longer period. It’s not going to be a difficult conversation . . . I’m happy to stay for another couple of years.”

He said pay increases for cabin crew would add €200m to Ryanair’s annual costs, while the airline’s fuel costs would be €400m higher this year.

He expressed confidence in the face of industrial unrest that the company would settle all pay discussions by Christmas.

The company has been hit by industrial unrest and strikes that grounded some flights in the summer.

An Irish agreement on pay would be the model for other agreements, Mr O’Leary said.

“We are making good progress on union agreements despite what you read in the media,” he added.

“We are not simply going to roll over and concede to every demand the unions make . . . We will not and cannot concede to unreasonable demands.”

Friday 21 September 2018

Poaching kills 10% of continent’s 400,000 surviving elephants every year CLIVE COOKSON

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Finance minister Berat Albayrak said some infrastructure projects that have not been tendered out will be suspended © Reuters

Turkey unveils plan to fight currency crisis Relative decline and domestic exhaustion create an opening for realpolitik LAURA PITEL AND JONATHAN WHEATLEY

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urkey’s finance minister has slashed the country’s economic growth targets and promised to cut public spending by nearly $10bn as the country tries to rebuild shattered market confidence and find a way out of a currency crisis.

Investors welcomed the decision by Berat Albayrak, who was put in charge of the economy two months ago by his father-in-law, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to reduce growth projections to 3.8 per cent in 2018 and 2.3 per cent in 2019. The previous target was 5.5 per cent for both years.

But some were sceptical about the credibility of a proposal to reduce the budget deficit to 1.9 per cent of gross domestic product this year and 1.8 per cent in 2019.

They voiced disappointment, too, over the absence of a strategy to support Turkish banks, which face mounting bad loans.

The Turkish lira suffered volatile trading after the announcement but mid-afternoon was trading at 6.25 to the dollar, almost exactly where it opened on Thursday.

Turkey’s currency has lost 40 per cent of its value against the greenback since the start of the year. Last month the country was

plunged into a full-blown currency crisis after a row with US president Donald Trump compounded investor concern about the country’s economic imbalances.

The sliding lira has piled pressure on Turkish corporates burdened with foreign currency debt and the banks that lent them money. It has also sent jitters through other emerging markets amid fears of broader contagion.

Investors have been alarmed at the country’s economic management under the leadership of Mr Erdogan, who has railed against high interest rates and insisted that high growth is a priority.

A surprise decision by the country’s central bank to raise sharply interest rates was seen as a welcome sign that Ankara was willing to take steps to rebuild the confidence of international investors.

Although many economists now forecast a recession for next year, the reduced growth targets announced on Thursday by Mr Albayrak were seen as an important step in building on the rate rise.

“The new economic programme is based on more realistic GDP and inflation assumptions,” said Alvaro Ortiz Vidal-Abarca, chief economist for Turkey at the Spanish bank BBVA. The plan, he said, showed that the government was willing to accept “lower but more sustainable

growth”.

Paul McNamara, investment director for emerging market debt at GAM, said it was positive that Turkey had at least recognised that problems needed to be addressed.

“They have gone from how do we keep growth going to how do we accommodate a slowdown,” he said.

Some, however, were disappointed by the lack of detail on plans for pruning back public expenditure and investment.

The announcement offered few details on how important targets would be achieved, although Mr Albayrak promised to suspend some of Mr Erdogan’s showpiece infrastructure projects and bring in “more sound public-private partnership practices”.

Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of the consultancy Teneo Intelligence, expressed concern about the announcement that the country’s Emlak Bank, which specialises in real estate, would be restructured and strengthened to take the lead on financing the struggling real estate sector.

“This suggests that the government is (unsurprisingly) willing to provide more financial support to the beleaguered sector (packed with AKP-friendly firms) rather than forcing the required restructuring,” Mr Piccoli wrote in a note to clients.

Access Bank leads the charge to project Africa positively

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frica’s leading financial institution, Access Bank has restated its unalloyed commitment to positioning Africa as a continent viable for business and investment. This follows the announcement of its five-year strategic plan which, amongst other things, focuses on Africa in relation to the global community.

This direction accentuates the Bank’s current drive to enhance the perception of Africa by drawing the attention of the global community to the indigenous products of Africans; their rich culture, Arts and lifestyle as well as providing essential channels through which individuals, families, and businesses can fully participate in global commercial activities seamlessly.

The Group Managing Direc-

tor/CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, while speaking about the Bank’s direction, stressed that the focus is a continuation of an existing passion of the Bank to ensure that the world sees and appreciates the true representation of Africa.

“Over time, we have remained committed to raising the standard of banking practice in Africa without compromising the importance of our customers,” said Wigwe.

“Throughout our years of operation, we have realised how large the African continent has become, not only in terms of its viable business environment, but also the uniqueness of its people, culture, resources and lifestyle.

These are the stories we are happy to share and we are committed to take on a pivotal role in lead-

ing this charge over the next five years,” he added.

Access Bank is leveraging on technology, especially with its positive track record of innovative products such as the Access Africa; its cross-border transfer service, which is the fastest way to send and receive money across Africa, PayDay Loan and the recently launched Access WhatsApp Banking service. All of these products provide customers with seamless banking services that are fast, affordable, and convenient.

This indicates the Bank’s commitment to positioning and projecting the African continent as a fertile ground for business within a safe and secure banking environment for customers in Africa and across the world.

enetic detective work shows that three large criminal cartels dominate the illegal African ivory trade, which is slaughtering the continent’s elephants at an unsustainable rate.

An international team of scientists, working with law enforcement officials, published their findings in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday.

They say that genetic evidence will become an important weapon against poaching, which is killing an estimated 10 per cent of Africa’s 400,000 surviving elephants every year and yielding more than $1bn worth of ivory for sale, mainly on the black market in Asia.

“We reveal connections between what would otherwise be isolated ivory seizures — linking seizures not just to specific criminal networks . . . but to poaching and transport networks that funnel the tusks hundreds of miles to these cartels,” said Sam Wasser, the project leader and professor of biology at the University of Washington.

“It is an investigative tool to help officials track these networks and collect evidence for criminal cases.”

The team had earlier discovered how to tell the geographical origin of elephant tusks by extracting and analysing DNA from the ivory.

The new research, examining the genetics of hundreds of tusks from 38 large customs seizures at ports in Africa and Asia, shows how most of the intended shipments were put together by three smuggling cartels based in Mombasa, Kenya; Entebbe in Uganda; and Lomé in Togo. Several tonnes of ivory are sometimes hidden inside a single shipping container.

One finding of the investigation was that smugglers frequently, and inexplicably, split up pairs of tusks before shipping them out of Africa.

The team linked 11 of the 38 seizures by matching up 26 tusk pairs that had been separated after poaching and then concealed in different containers in the same port.

“There is so much more information in an ivory seizure . . . than a traditional investigation can uncover,” Prof Wasser said.

“Not only can we identify the geographic origins of the poached elephants and the number of [different elephant] populations represented in a seizure, but we can use the same genetic tools to link different seizures to the same underlying criminal network.”

Briefing journalists about the research, Prof Wasser and John Brown, a special agent in the US Department of Homeland Security responsible for fighting wildlife crime and smuggling in Africa, expressed frustration at Africa’s poor record of prosecuting the people responsible for largescale elephant poaching.

The cartel leaders have usually been tried for a single event and often escape conviction or emerge with a light sentence.

Mr Brown said that adding multiple counts of ivory trafficking to the charges, on the basis of scientific evidence, would increase the chances of bringing the leaders to justice.

Friday 21 September 2018

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FINANCIAL TIMES

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Bank of America’s investment banking boss to depart Christian Meissner steps down in wake of loss of market share in M&A MARTIN ARNOLD

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hristian Meissner is stepping down as Bank of America’s head of corporate and investment banking in the wake of the bank’s recent loss of market share in the mergers and acquisitions market.

Mr Meissner will leave the role at the end of the year and be replaced by Matthew Koder, BofA’s president of Asia-Pacific, according to a memo from Tom Montag, chief operating officer of BofA. Mr Koder will move to New York.

The timing of Mr Meissner’s resignation after seven years in the position was a surprise inside the investment bank, according to colleagues.

But they said he had been expected to leave as early as next year after concern mounted over its slide in M&A advisory league tables in the past year, particularly in its core North American market.

Colleagues of Mr Meissner said he had also taken some blame for the losses BofA took on its loans to Steinhoff, the South African home retailer.

Matthew Koder has been named BofA’s new head of global corporate and investment banking BofA insiders trace some of Mr Meissner’s difficulties to his decision two years ago to promote Diego De Giorgi, his former

colleague at Goldman Sachs, to be the sole head of BofA’s investment bank based in London. The move shifted Karim Assef, the investment bank’s other co-head in New York, to become vicechairman of the unit with a focus on client relationships.

Mr Meissner did not respond to a request for comment.

He played a key role in reshaping the corporate and investment bank after its merger with Merrill Lynch in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and expanding its reach internationally.

However, the bank’s investment banking fees fell 7 per cent in the second quarter, prompting chief executive Brian Moynihan to say that its M&A advisory business “can do a better job”.

Mr Meissner, who was born in Austria, said in the memo: “I am very proud of what we have achieved during the last eight years. We have built a tremendous team around the world serving our clients and it’s been an honour to have led such a talented group of professionals.”

His departure was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Montag said: “Under Christian’s leadership, the global investment banking business reached and maintained a top tier global ranking. His many contributions to our company have played a significant role in our success.”

Virtual Hub launches the first virtual office space service in Nigeria

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irtual Hub Nigeria launches virtual office space service, a new product targeting the growing demand for serviced office spaces, virtual office plans and conference/meeting room, booking from the multinationals, expatriates, startups, business owners, business coaches, trainers and freelancers’ markets.

The virtual office space service helps entrepreneurs and business owners work from anywhe re i n th e w o rld a n d st i l l maintain a professional image for their businesses. They do not have to worry about hiring staff as the virtual offices have the capacity to provide cleaning services, security, central receptionist and intelligent front desk personnel. Unveiling the product, Oluwatoyin Edun, GMD, Virtual Hub Nigeria, said “we make them save money by making sure they incur fewer expenses in running their business, they don’t have to pay for power supply, internet, security and so much more.”

The new product provides foreign and local entrepreneurs and business owners with a viable option than setting up, running and managing office spaces and overhead costs that come with hiring and maintaining staff.

Based in the heart of Lagos, Vir-

tual Hub Nigeria is a serviced office space and virtual office provider in the Government Reservation Area (GRA) on the mainland, helping the multinationals, expatriates, startups, big and medium scale businesses, coaches, trainers and freelancers’ markets. At the moment, some of its clients include Canon Nigeria, Azuri Technologies, Ideate Technologies, Alexia Media. With Virtual Hub Nigeria, the cost of setting up, running and maintaining an office space is eliminated. “Our office space comes with well trained, experienced receptionists and office administrators that give clients’ businesses a professional image,” said Edun.

According to Edun, the organisation also provides clients with a prestigious central business district office address and dedicated customer contact lines. In her words: “entrepreneurs, small and medium scale business owners struggle with setting up, running and maintaining an office space, especially in highly commercialized areas,” the gap which Virtual Hub Nigeria closes.

Virtual office space service has been built by professionals with years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry and it is run, managed and backed by Fusion Group Nigeria, the foremost facilities management, hospitality and tourism group in Nigeria.

Matthew Koder has been named BofA’s new head of global corporate and investment banking

Troubles multiply for India’s Jet Airways

Tax raid and injuries from cabin pressure incident add to financial pressures KIRAN STACEY

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ndia’s biggest international airline plunged into further trouble on Thursday after one of its flights was turned back following an incident involving the cabin pressure system, just hours after it emerged the company had been raided by tax officials.

A Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Jaipur had to return on Thursday morning after a loss in cabin pressure, resulting in dozens of passengers suffering bleeding from the nose or ears.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the crew of the Boeing 737 forgot to switch the pressure system on, while the company said it was taking the crew off active duty, pending further investigation.

Jet, founded in 1992 and the country’s oldest privately owned airline, said: “All guests were

deplaned safely and taken to the terminal.” First aid was administered to passengers suffering from nosebleeds and earaches, the airline added.

The news came just hours after it emerged that officials from the income tax department had searched its offices.

One tax official told the Financial Times they were trying to verify Jet’s expenses, while the company said in a statement that the visit was a “survey” by the tax department.

The company also said it had decided to stop offering free meals to those on its cheapest domestic tickets, who will instead have to pay extra if they want food.

India’s aviation industry has been growing rapidly for the past few years, boosted by low oil prices, which have allowed carriers to offer cheap tickets and

expand quickly.

Analysts say that Indian airlines have so many new aeroplanes on order that they dare not raise ticket prices, for fear of flying with empty seats.

IndiGo, the biggest Indian airline by passenger numbers, reported a 97 per cent fall in pretax profit, year on year, in its latest quarterly results, while SpiceJet announced a $5.4m loss in the three months ending June 30, compared with a $25m profit in the same period in 2017.

Jet appears to have been the worst hit, however, in part because it has an older and more costly fleet than its competitors.

In August the company announced it had lost $189m in the three months to the end of June, and promised $285m of cost cuts.

Earlier this month, it emerged it had not paid thousands of its staff as it preserved cash.

Exxon and Chevron join industry climate change group Companies have come under pressure from investors on efforts to address global warming ED CROOKS

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xxonMobil and Chevron, the two largest US energy groups, have joined the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, a group of companies supporting curbs on greenhouse gas emissions.

The move is the latest sign of how pressure from the public and investors is forcing the industry to address the threat of global warming.

Occidental Petroleum, the Texas-based oil group, is also joining the initiative, which was launched in 2015 with European companies including Royal Dutch Shell and BP making up most of its members.

The new arrivals mean OGCI members provide about 30 per cent of global oil and gas production.

Exxon and Chevron declined to join the initiative when it started but both companies have since changed their chief executives.

Darren Woods replaced Rex Tillerson at the head of Exxon at the start of 2017 and Michael Wirth replaced John Watson at Chevron in February.

The companies have come

under pressure from investors to disclose more about the potential implications for their business of policies to limit global warming.

They have also faced legal action from US states and cities over their contribution to the harm caused or threatened by rising global temperatures.

Mr Wirth said that Chevron was joining the OGCI “to work constructively on addressing the risks of climate change”.

Mr Woods said developing affordable solutions to address the threat would “take the collective efforts of many in the energy industry and society”.

He added that Exxon’s mission was to meet a dual challenge, “to supply energy for modern life and improve living standards around the world while minimising impacts on the environment”.

ING to assess $600bn loan portfolio based on climate impact Patrick Pouyanné, chief executive of Total, the French oil and gas group that was one of the initiative’s founder members, said on Twitter that the addition of the three US companies to the initiative “gives us more impact to lead the industry’s response to climate

change”.

Members of the OGCI, which include Saudi Aramco and China National Petroleum Corporation, agree to support the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, which set an objective of keeping the increase in global temperatures since pre-industrial times to “well below” 2C. They also each contribute $100m to the initiative’s investment fund, which puts money into technologies including carbon capture, utilisation and storage, reducing methane leaks from their operations, improving energy efficiency and cutting emissions from transport.

“Industry innovation and collaboration have a critical role to play in addressing climate change, and Occidental is excited to join OGCI’s efforts to create a loweremissions world,” said Vicki Hollub, chief executive of Occidental Petroleum.

She described Occidental as “the industry leader” in using captured carbon dioxide to improve oil recovery from reserves, adding that the technology “has the potential to help achieve global goals for reducing emissions”.

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Highlight of the news reports on our digital platforms this week

Best five stories this week FG releases N8bn to 3 nonacademic staff workers Federal Government has released total sum of N8 billion Earned Allowances to the three Non-Teaching Staff across Nigerian Universities. The three unions namely: Senior Staff of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non Academic Staff Unions of Associated and Educational Institutions (NASU)

FG’s list of ongoing projects in South-East contains truths, half-truths, lies An in-depth BusinessDay investigation shows that some of the projects listed by the Federal Government as ‘ongoing’ in the South-East region of Nigeria were

businessdayonline.com to catch up on full news stories.

POLL RESULTS: BusinessDay asked our digital audience this question: Do you believe that your vote will count in 2019?

57% of Nigerians on our digital and social platforms believe that their vote will count while 43% say their vote will not count, that there no need to vote, that the elections will be rigged, as always. These are the opinions of the everyday Nigerian as documented on our digital platfroms.

Private sector players to battle career politicians in 2019 Top private sector players are shaping up to do battle with career politicians in the 2019 elections across all positions from the Presidency to governorship.

Voting Pattern A research report on the elections conducted by BusinessDay Research Unit.

Video of the week

Feel free to write us and share your opinion at digital@businessdayonline. com to let us know what your preference is.

either completed before the advent of the present administration or are not going on at the moment.

Osun 2018: The candidates, their chances, their limitations

Poll of the week

On September 22, 2018, the electorate in Osun State will be going to the poll to elect a successor to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who has been in the saddle since November 27, 2010.

For more visit our website at

Tweet of the week

Cartoon of the week

A6

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 21 September 2018

Live @ the Stock exchange Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 20 September 2018 Company

Symbol

Deals

Current Price

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 231,423.77 8.00 0.63 80 20,203,355 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 266,755.49 7.80 4.00 169 12,768,588 648,337.60 20.65 -0.48 203 20,725,855 ZENITH BANK PLC 452 53,697,798 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 305,109.99 8.50 -1.18 176 19,459,422 176 19,459,422 628 73,157,220

BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 3,578,506.56 210.00 - 42 525,857 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 197,320.49 22.75 9.90 56 256,802 98 782,659 98 782,659

EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 353,066.74 600.00 -1.10 11 537,306 11 537,306 11 537,306 737 74,477,185 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 1 50,000 73,451.07 77.00 -3.63 12 488,897 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC 60,000.00 60.00 - 13 84,201 26 623,098 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 511.20 4.26 - 2 750 2 750 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,890.00 0.63 - 2 23,000 2 23,000 30 646,848

DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1,085.39 0.41 - 2 150 206.25 0.53 - 2 7,663 JOHN HOLT PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. 2,111.93 3.25 - 1 100 50,809.99 1.25 -0.80 102 9,320,770 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. 31,982.39 11.10 8.82 97 2,040,444 204 11,369,127 204 11,369,127

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 33,000.00 25.00 - 9 44,100 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 ROADS NIG PLC. 9 44,100 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 4,417.27 1.70 - 24 284,122 24 284,122 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,900.00 95.00 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 11,300.89 45.20 - 0 0 24,014.43 9.00 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 0 0 33 328,222

AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 13,701.62 1.75 - 4 34,600 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 1 340 GUINNESS NIG PLC 192,753.69 88.00 2.33 23 1,608,611 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 257,875.86 30.00 - 9 6,515 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 711,724.28 89.00 -1.22 76 257,965 113 1,908,031 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 37,000.00 7.40 -2.63 76 939,260 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 176,400.00 14.70 4.63 37 245,335 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 82,417.63 20.10 4.15 64 585,590 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 10,785.07 1.36 -6.21 35 1,605,650 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 1,158.30 6.50 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 49,014.61 18.50 -0.54 37 592,621 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,676.41 13.45 - 0 0 249 3,968,456 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 17,655.10 9.40 - 22 34,039 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,094,261.96 1,380.50 - 23 97,348 45 131,387 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 1 5 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3,439.82 3.30 - 21 288,765 22 288,770 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 49,630.96 12.50 - 22 66,055 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 247,035.23 43.00 - 20 70,802 42 136,857 471 6,433,501

BANKING DIAMOND BANK PLC 28,950.49 1.25 -1.57 28 573,100 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 339,466.70 18.50 2.78 49 1,078,600 FIDELITY BANK PLC 48,098.16 1.66 0.61 78 9,011,106 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 1,000,660.09 34.00 0.15 116 10,512,681 JAIZ BANK PLC 15,026.77 0.51 2.00 10 2,481,424 SKYE BANK PLC 10,271.42 0.74 5.71 79 6,184,821 STERLING BANK PLC. 41,746.11 1.45 - 13 577,718 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 168,900.37 5.80 - 24 60,264 UNITY BANK PLC 10,286.62 0.88 -9.28 18 863,933 WEMA BANK PLC. 23,144.68 0.60 3.45 31 3,784,056 446 35,127,703 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 5,613.47 0.81 -4.71 34 1,384,827 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 21,630.00 2.06 - 8 213,428 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,100.00 0.30 - 1 600 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 15,040.48 1.45 0.69 7 367,037 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 2,945.90 0.20 - 11 610,060 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 2,411.47 0.53 - 0 0 GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 1,913.74 0.50 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,964.80 0.32 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,416.73 0.33 - 12 379,150 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 2,835.58 0.66 - 2 14,575 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 5,120.00 0.64 - 14 549,100 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,240.00 0.28 - 9 242,700 NEM INSURANCE PLC 16,316.75 3.09 0.98 16 39,121,372 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 2,399.24 0.31 - 5 35,612 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,137.75 0.56 -9.68 5 178,478 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,733.88 0.26 8.33 10 1,052,257 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,001.80 0.24 - 6 203,543 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 5 307,200 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 7 565,500 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,680.00 0.23 - 1 100 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 3,605.33 0.26 - 1 100 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 4,951.61 0.37 5.41 45 2,797,681 199 48,023,320 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 3,567.15 1.56 - 1 900

Company

Symbol

Deals

Current Price

Trades

Volume

1 900 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,914.00 1.17 - 1 1,000 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 5,922.05 1.42 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 5,664.87 0.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 1 1,000 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,800.00 3.90 2.63 33 333,848 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 32,938.44 5.60 - 7 33,000 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 35,050.80 1.77 4.12 64 1,552,427 FCMB GROUP PLC. NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 1,234.89 0.24 4.35 14 402,633 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 424,774.33 42.00 - 21 604,899 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC 17,700.00 2.95 4.98 49 1,216,419 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 188 4,143,226 835 87,296,149

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 1,350.19 0.38 - 10 271,312 10 271,312 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 544.04 0.55 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 9,000.00 6.00 - 5 22,285 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 16,323.71 13.65 -4.55 18 246,956 2,303.00 2.35 2.17 28 525,393 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1,070.43 0.62 - 5 75,005 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 411.96 1.90 - 2 45,000 58 914,639 68 1,185,951

COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 1 50,000 1 50,000 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 1 100 680.40 6.30 - 2 620 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 381.11 0.77 - 1 5,040 4 5,760 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,314.90 0.28 - 0 0 16,590.00 3.95 - 0 0 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 0 0 5 55,760

BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,999.78 6.90 5.34 6 118,900 19,845.00 28.35 - 4 29,514 CAP PLC 29,783.26 23.70 -4.44 43 337,106 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 717.52 0.34 9.68 28 36,571,264 MEYER PLC. 361.24 0.68 - 0 0 2,356.44 2.97 -0.34 10 1,680,511 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,279.20 10.40 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 91 38,737,295 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 3,610.71 4.10 - 27 264,967 27 264,967 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 38,997.82 78.00 - 9 39,614 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 9 39,614 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 127 39,041,876

CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,752.39 4.21 - 0 0 0 0 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,803.64 8.20 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 55.00 0.25 - 0 0 0 0 0 0

ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,440.42 0.23 -4.17 27 1,643,977 27 1,643,977 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 65,264.92 5.25 0.96 79 1,026,333 79 1,026,333 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 64,546.55 179.00 - 16 14,421 15,197.55 21.90 - 19 64,003 CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. 8,150.90 6.25 - 18 171,373 FORTE OIL PLC. 29,305.82 22.50 2.27 108 1,158,119 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 8,701.65 28.55 - 7 5,340 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 64,407.29 189.70 - 15 14,564 183 1,427,820 289 4,098,130

ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 2,219.52 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 18,818.75 1.93 - 1 100 1 100 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 541.12 0.46 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2,652.74 4.50 - 4 4,265 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 365.70 0.78 - 1 10,000 5 14,265 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 674.44 0.21 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,801.22 3.10 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 4,718.87 2.27 - 3 3,100 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 51,302.73 6.75 - 3 700 6 3,800 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 5,280.00 0.44 - 3 5,400 3 5,400 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 302.40 0.50 - 0 0 LEARN AFRICA PLC 848.60 1.10 - 10 306,500 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 2 150

C002D5556

Friday 21 September 2018

A7

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 20 September 2018 GAINERS Company

LOSERS Opening

Closing

Change

N20.7

N22.75

2.05

N86

N88

2

UACN

N10.2

N11.1

FLOURMILL

N19.3 N14.05

WAPCO GUINNESS

DANGSUGAR

Market Statistics as at Thursday 20 September 2018

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N606.7

N600

-6.7

OKOMUOIL

N79.9

N77

-2.9

0.9

NB

N90.1

N89

-1.1

N20.1

0.8

CCNN

N24.8

N23.7

-1.1

N14.7

0.65

GLAXOSMITH

N14.3

N13.65

-0.65

SEPLAT

ASI (Points)

32,480.89

DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers)

O

L-R: Yimika Phillips, non-executive director, ETransact International Plc; Tinuade Awe, executive director, regulation, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Niyi Toluwalope, managing director/CEO, ETransact International Plc; Omowunmi Adedurotimi, company secretary and Adeyemi Adeyemo, Group Head, Financial Services during a Closing Gong Ceremony to introduce their new CEO to the capital market at the Exchange in Lagos.

tion of the potential risks, especially in relation to pre-election uncertainties, presents an opportunity for investors with a medium to long-term horizon to hunt for bargains immediately the market bottoms out”, United Capital analysts stated.

The stock market’s yearto-date (YtD) returns stood at -15.07percent at the close of trading session on Thursday September 20.

The analysts noted that with the performance of the

2.342

MARKET CAP (N Trn

Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

points from 32,375.12 points recorded the preceding trading day, while the value of listed stocks increased from N11.819trillion to N11.858trillion, implying approximately N40billion gain.

“We advise investors not to get derailed by the bearish outlook that has clearly characterised market performance since July 2018. We maintain that these temporary setbacks have typically been followed by recoveries.

“Hence, the crystallisa-

226,027,631.00

VALUE (N billion)

Stocks gain N40bn as investors buy Lafarge, Guinness, UAC, others n Thursday September 20, Nigerian stock market was able to erase previous day’s loss as investors showed interest in the stocks of Lafarge Africa Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, UAC of Nigeria Plc and twenty-two (22).

Meanwhile, investors moved to the Exchange to take profit from stocks like Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, and other 12 laggards.

Lagos-based United Capital Plc analysts reiterated in their daily insight to investors their investment strategy for H2-18, where they asked investors to “Buy the dip!”

In buying the dip, they recommend that investors should choose stocks which have demonstrated a solid history of resilient revenue growth, earnings stability, dividend consistency, and positive market sentiment.

The NSE All Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.33percent to close at 32,480.89

2,873.00

stock market at a negative YtD return in excess of 15percent, “the Nigerian Bourse is by far one of the worst performing across emerging and frontier markets”.

At the close of trading on Thursday, Lafarge Africa Plc stock price rallied most after its share price moved from N20.7 to N22.75, up

by N2.05 or 9.90percent.

Also following increased bargain, the share price of Guinness Nigeria Plc ad-

11.858

Lloyds Banking Group lists first Sonia-linked corporate bond on London Stock Exchange vanced by N2, from N86 to N88, up 2.33percent.

The share price of UAC of Nigeria Plc increased from N10.2 to N11.1, up 90kobo or 8.82percent. Flour Mills Nigeria Plc share price increased from N19.3 to N20.1, up 80kobo or 4.15percent; while Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc gained 65kobo, from N14.05 to N14.7, up 4.63percent.

Seplat stock price declined by N6.7 or 1.10percent, from N606.7 to N600; Okomu Oil Palm Plc followed after its share price dipped

by N2.9 or 3.63percent, from N79.9 to N77. Nigerian Breweries Plc stock price declined by N1.1 or 1.22percent, from N90.1 to N89; Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc was also down, from NN24.8 to N23.7, losing N1.1 or 4.44percent; while GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc declined from N14.3 to N13.65, down by 65kobo or 4.55percent.

In 2,873 deals, stock traders exchanged 226,027,631 units valued at N2.342billion.

NEM Insurance Plc, First Aluminum Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc were actively traded stocks on the Lagos bourse.

L

ondon Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has listed a new corporate bond from Lloyds Banking Group. The three-year sterling benchmark floating rate covered bond is tied to the Bank of England’s Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) and is the first such bond from a commercial organisation.

The bond, which lists recently on London Stock Exchange was 1.9 times oversubscribed and raised £750 million from institutional investors.

“We congratulate Lloyds Banking Group on the listing of the first corporate bond to be linked to SONIA, the Bank of England’s new reference rate.

As a Group we are working closely with customers and regulators in the transition to alternative reference rates globally. London’s markets are home to a diversified portfolio of fixed income assets and we look forward to welcoming further corporate bonds linked to these new rates,” said Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange Plc.

Honeywell Flour Mills N4.4bn after tax profit excites shareholders ...new Sagamu factory for commission in October

L

eading foods m a n u f a c t u r e r, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc (HFMP) held its 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday September 20, 2018 where the audited results of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2018 was presented to shareholders.

At the event which held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, the company announced that revenue grew by 34percent to N71.5 billion within the period under review, as against N53.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

A shareholder, Boni-

face Okezie, commended the efforts of the Board and Management of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc for the impressive results. He said he was particularly excited about the news that production will soon commence at the new Sagamu factory site, which should translate to higher sales and revenue.

HFMP announced that gross profit grew by 26percent from N12.7 billion in the previous year to N16.1 billion. The company also posted an impressive profit after tax (PAT) figure of N4.4 billion. At the meeting, the shareholders received and adopted the external

auditors reports as well as that of the audit committee.

Speaking at the event, Oba Otudeko, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc said that in the period under review, the company was extremely focused on its main priority which was consistent delivery of profitable top line growth through high capacity utilization rates.

Oba Otudeko assured shareholders that in the new financial year, the company will remain committed to its vision to build market strong, highly desired and recognizable consumer brands that are

well distributed across Nigeria.

The Chairman however called on the Federal Government to address the challenges associated with roads in and around Tin Can and Apapa ports, which is

affecting businesses operating from that axis. He encouraged the Federal Government to allow active participation of the private sector in the development and operation of ports in strategic regions of the country.

“The existing ports in Lagos are overcrowded.

There is the need for government to address these challenges to improve trade movement. Private sector participants should be allowed to build ports to support government’s efforts”, Otudeko said.

In his own remarks, Lanre Jaiyeola, Managing Director of HFMP said the company successfully

contended with macroeconomic challenges, including higher energy and transportation costs, through meticulous execution of its Continuous Improvement Strategy.

Specifically, Jaiyeola said the company implemented strategic projects to limit production losses, conserve energy, and to reduce downtime from equipment failure.

According to Jaiyeola, HFMP’s Management also implemented a carefully planned input-cost management strategy to ensure profitability, even amidst the pressures of the tough operating environment.

A8

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 21 September 2018

BUSINESS DAY

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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2018

Opinion Covenant for a New Nigeria

I

t is with a profound sense of duty as well as responsibility that I announce my candidacy for the office of President of our great fe dera l repub l ic und e r the platform of the African Democratic Congress (AD C ). Early this year, the coalition of Southern cultural communi ties (Afenifere of Yoruba land, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and PANDEF of the Niger Delta) entered into a new alliance with the Middle Belt Forum. The South mandated the Middle Belt to come up with four candidates that they could jointly screen with a view to anointing one for the presidency. A dozen candidates were screened in what was a rigorous and objective process. It is with great humility that I inform you today that I have been crowned as the best candidate.

I seek the presidency not because I think I am better than anyone. I seek it because I bear in my heart the pains and suffering of a wounded and traumatised people. I seek the presidency because I am a servant leader and a drum major for justice.

Two score and eight years ago the Union Jack was lowered and our greenwhite-green flag rose un-

der our glorious African sun. Nigeria was born as the land of promise. They have been years of tragedy and hope. We fought a bitter civil war in which millions lost their lives. We survived it. The discovery of oil brought with it the promise of untold wealth.

Schools were built; roads and highways were constructed; industries and businesses flourished.

Then the locusts arrived. History shows that militar y government is the most pernicious form of tyranny invented by human infamy. Impunity reigned supreme and with it the erosion of the institutions of civil governm e nt. Th e o n c e p rou d towers of academe were brought low. The best talents voted with their feet. Health facilities were undermined and the railways disappeared. Basic services such as water and electricity were destroyed.

But the worst affected was the moral fibre of society.

Our country became a vast cesspool of whoredom.

Religion became an instrument in the ser vice of division and strife. Our university became cesspools of prostitution and cultism. We became a byword among the nation; a cruel and wicked people reviled throughout the

THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

world.

The return to civil government in 1999 brought w ith it s ome hope. We overtook Egypt and South Africa to be the leading economy on the continent.

High oil prices guaranteed a steady stream of revenues into the national treasury. The economy was doing well but the people were not. The World Bank described our economic model as one of “jobless

‘

I have carefully weighed the risks. I am ready and willing and prepared. We are going into the arena to face monstrous giants.

But we know that they are giants with feet of clay – paper tigers

,

growth”.

Today, Nigeria has won the dubious prize of being the poverty capital of the world. We have some of the worst indices for child and maternal mortality to be found anywhere. Half of our population have no access to electricity.

Youth unemployment hovers around the 70 percent mark, particularly in the North East. The lights that once shone in the eyes of

HumanAngle FEMI OLUGBILE Physician, psycho-profiler and essayist

T

here is a meltdown going on in the White House, the home of the most powerful man in the world – Mr Donald Trump.

It is as scary as it is unprecedented.

It could prove, even now, to be a storm in a teacup.

It is not the end of the Trump Presidency, although many people would have loved it to be so. Despite the best exertions of its enemies, the Trump Presidency will probably stagger on to the end of its term, amidst invectives and scandals. It may even win another term, possibly in the face of a now-hostile Congress that has been taken over by its sworn enemies - the Democrats.

It started with a publication of an Op-Ed piece in the much-respected New York Times. The title

our youths have seemingly been extinguished forever.

Every year, thousands of our young people take the hazardous long trek across the Sahara through the Mediterranean in the vain hope of reaching a non-existent Eldorado in Europe.

Thousands are killed on the high seas while others die of hunger and thirst or under the swords of murderous Bedouin tribesmen.

Not too long ago we saw the

bewildering spectacle of young Africans manacled in slave chains in Libya.

Our young women have become sex slaves in the brothels of Arabia. The tragedy goes on.

Nigeria today stands at the precipice of history.

While we have survived one of the severest recessions in living memory, the livelihoods of our people continue to deteriorate on a daily basis. A government

m o re t ha n a ny o t h e r American President in living memory, has been the subject of extreme media vilification. What made it spectacular was that some of the more spectacular descriptions of Trump – which were

Meltdown: A White House on the rack of the piece alone was scary enough. ‘I am part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration’, the anonymous author proclaimed.

The Times is a newspaper that Donald Trump has had a running battle with since his ascendancy to power. He calls it ‘The Failing New York Times’.

This particular Opinion piece claimed to have been written by a top member of the Trump White House.

The paper gave cogent reasons for taking the unusual step of publishing an anonymous Oped. They had, they said, verified the source, and confirmed that the writer was truly a member of the White House staff.

The content was truly

that was trusted by the people has betrayed that trust and frittered away whatever moral capital it came with. We currently have a lopsided administration in which where you come from and whom you know is far more impor tant than what you know. Nepotism has bec o m e t h e o rd e r o f t h e day while merit has been thrown to the dogs. The much vaunted war against corruption has become a comedy of errors. Grand larceny is, paradoxically, waxing stronger. And what is worse, its pur veyors are protected by impunity and federal might. Those who dare to speak up are persecuted and hounded.

An atmosphere of fear and the culture of silence have taken over the soul of our republic. The idea of civic virtue – an idea as old as Aristotle and Ibn Khaldun – has been made a mockery of.

A particularly sinister development is the fact that our country has become the world capital of kidnapping, violence and banditry. Terrorism continues to strut in the north east like the proud harlot of Babylon. This week, a 25-year old international aid worker, Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, was abducted and killed in

surd, were being authoritatively confirmed by an insider. The President was erratic and unpredictable. Many of his own staff were working day and night to keep information from him which they feared might be dangerous in his hands. He changed his mind frequently over major policy

‘

In Donald Trump’s White House, where everyone lived in paranoid suspicion of everyone else, and all feared what The Boss might do on Twitter during the night, America had a chance finally to confront the darkest recesses of its own soul

,

mind-boggling. It was not because it was necessarily new. Donald Trump,

often dismissed by his supporters and even fairminded neutrals as ab-

issues, and nobody knew from moment to moment what he was going to say or do. In effect, the reader was informed, his staff labored to keep the country safe from their President. The cabinet had at one time mulled the possibility of declaring

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

Borno. Sixteen year old Leah Sharibu remains a prisoner of conscience because of her courage and religious convictions. Our army is virtually powerless.

The once great Nigerian army has become a weak, ill-equipped, divided, humiliated and demoralised rabble.

Meanwhile, the Middle Belt has become the new killing field by murderous h o rdes wh o know nei ther God nor Humanity.

Armed mercenaries, most Continues on page 35

him unfit and invoking a provision of the constitution that allowed them to remove an unfit President from office. And so on.

All of this was clearly explosive material, calculated to set the President and his White House of fire. It did precisely that.

Another man with equanimity could have kept his composure and simply laughed it all off as ‘fake news’, while sending his sleuths to investigate underground and do a thorough housecleaning to root out the ‘mole’. Not so the thin-skinned Donald Trump. He exploded! He was incoherent in his rage, and almost choked. Treason! The Justice Department and the FBI should immediately swing into action!

He demanded arrests. He sounded more like a tin pot dictator from Latin America or one of the old Soviet Republics than the President of the United States of America.

A s u r re a l s c e na r i o developed in the White House. It has persisted since. Everybody is on tenterhooks, not certain if they are under suspicion.

Continues on page 35

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WOMEN’S HUB Friday 21 September 2018

MATOPEDA

SALAMI Been through tough times, living her dreams, aiming for higher heights

BUSINESS DAY

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EDITOR’S NOTE

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elcome to another edition of Women’s Hub. My Leading Woman and cover personality is Matopeda Salami. She has been through tough times but she is living her dreams and aiming for higher heights.

Onyeke has become the first female Head of service in Benue state. A laudable achievement, we are hoping other states will follow.

Vanessa Cole’s summer experience in Egypt makes an interesting read.

We share with you beautiful pictures of some female celebrities who attended the traditional wedding of Kemi Lala Akindoju and Chef Gbubemi Fregene.

We share on Genevieve’s response to Netflix’s purchase of Lion Heart, we teach you how to make Nigerian coconut rice, I give my views on why people should not be pressured to say “I Do” when they are not ready.

For Desmond, Amidst misanthropy or apathy, we must make responsible choices. Find out why he opines so.

These and more we have for your reading pleasure.

Enjoy!

Leading Woman

BUSINESS DAY

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How has schooling abroad helped in your profession?

I work by appointments only. When I say a dress will be ready, it is ready on time. We always deliver on time. People buy people so my word is my bond. Excellent customer service is key!!! I am constantly training staff and I have just hired a front of house assistant for phone calls and emails. I learnt this while away and it has and is still helping me in running my business in Nigeria.

Day in your life you can never forget I was in Italy when I saw Beyoncé in my dresses. I remember that moment, then falling to the ground thanking God. It was such an amazing and overwhelming moment. I felt like I was walking on clouds days after.

Advice to every young lady out there, Single or unemployed Being single isn’t a curse. It is a season in your life. Trust the process, that amazing man, the king that God has created for you will come and soon. I believe as women we must be prepared. Better yourself. You must bring something to the table. You will be your husband’s help mate, read more, go to programmes that will help you. Don’t sit at home doing nothing, do something and make sure it’s productive. Prepare yourself mentally. It takes a wise woman to be successful both at home and in the work place.

Your opinion on increase in depression among the youths and your advice I think people feel ashamed and alone. It’s important that as a friend, we must always reach out. It is not about you, be there for that person. Social media doesn’t help because it portrays perfection and behind those pictures there is sometimes pain. We must always remember that. Everyone has some sort of issue or is going through something. Don’t sit down and accept the voices in your head. Talk more. Stay busy. Get help.

Why it is important to speak out As Africans, we don’t share enough. Every time I write a story on my page, I get people sending me messages talking about what they’ve been through. They are asking for help. They have just been motivated and inspired. You are not alone. You aren’t the only one going through it. You are not weak by sharing. It takes strength.

In the beginning I was born in London on March 12th, 1983. My mother separated from my dad, I think I was 3 and she married MKO Abiola. I lived in Lagos till I was 11 years old.

My mum always worked. She would have 3 projects on-going at a time. She was very good at taking empty spaces and beautifying it. After the June 12 elections, the police came to our house and I really don’t remember much but I just remember my mother being very scared. She sent all her children to stay in our friends’ houses separately. One day, she told us we were going to London on holiday and we never returned back to Nigeria. It was really tough at first. We stayed in a hotel for about a year and then moved to a 5 bedroom house in North London. I was the black sheep of the family. I broke curfews; I was always with my friends. I would come and my mum would beat me for disobeying her. She would then buy me trainers to apologise. The kids in my school always had a preconceived idea of how an “African child” should look. My mum was a fashionista so I wore skinny jeans and Nike trainers, I spoke very well, I was smart. Without trying I was always first or second in my tests.

Your past isn’t your future I understand that I had to go through all of that to be where I am now. I know that it built my character. I also know there is someone going through worse. My past reminds me of how God got me through it all and if He did it then, when there is another challenge I know that I can get through this as well. I know how to manage money better. I understand not biting off more than I can chew. I don’t regret my colourful past, I appreciate it. There has been a lot of pain but it is part of my process. I had to go through it. I also don’t look at trouble as a bad thing if this makes sense. I see it as something amazing is about to happen, if I can just push though

MATOPEDA SALAMI, been through tough times, living her dreams, aiming for higher heights KEMI AJUMOBI and not give up.

Journey into sewing I knew at 21, I wanted to work for myself. It’s hilarious because I wanted to do my own thing and not be told what to do but own my business and all I ever do is serve. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so whilst studying for my degree in Biological Science, I started courses in London College of fashion and other colleges to understand exactly what I was interested in and what I wanted to do.

In 2009, I bought my first sewing machine and started Frockit Rockit, making custom made Tshirts using social media as my marketing tool. I was in a very dark place. I didn’t know how I was going to do it but I needed to do something. I was tired of crying. I wasn’t eating. I was so unhappy no one wanted to be around me so I lost a lot of my friends. I sent messages to all my friends on Facebook stating I was having an event. I would have fabric, styles, a seamstress on site for measurements. It had never been done before. I did not have the money but I was determined. I knew sending the messages meant I was committed. So I would get paid and then use the money to buy fabric. I got paid the following week, I paid the printers and others. It kept me busy. I was excited. I was living again. That was 9 years ago.

Celebrities you have worked with I have worked with a few amazing people. Tiwa Savage, Osas Ighodalo, Adesua, Omotola, Angela Simmons and Beyonce to mention a few.

Your Beyoncé moment. What has that done for you?

Honestly, the most important thing was it brought me closer to God. “So you mean, I can ask YOU for something and if it is YOUR will for me, YOU will give it to me? Just like that?” I said to God. You see God is funny like that. He loved me when I was a naughty girl, when I didn’t really care but then He still blessed me. I probably didn’t feel it during the difficult times because I didn’t understand or know Him. When I started to have a relationship with Him, I understood that He is my biggest promoter. No one can promote like my God. He has taken me where no one had heard of me, a lot of people didn’t want to work with me, but He took me and did something with me that no other Nigerian had been able to do. Beyoncé wearing my dresses opened new opportunities for me.

Define your style My style is really dependent on my mood. I love being comfortable during the day time. So you would probably see me in ashift dress, relaxed. I also love dressing up. I love details, I love beading. I love feeling gorgeous.

KEMI AJUMOBI kemi@businessdayonline.com

Graphics by David Ogar

WOMEN’S HUB 7

usually work well under pressure as I am a solution provider.

igerian designer Matopeda Salami, popularly known as TopeFnR was born on the 12th of March, 1983 in London, United Kingdom.

A unique talent with a passion for beautifying women.

It all started with her mother, a woman who always had an eye for beauty, a flare for fashion and interior constantly sketching and working to make everything pretty. This greatly influenced Matopeda, inspiring her to grow to be a woman passionate about empowering, motivating and beautifying women through her clothes.

At 21, she was passionate about designing clothes that would help women feel like queens and wanted to do so on her own terms. She knew she wanted run her own business.

Matopeda quickly enrolled in London College of fashion to study Fashion design part time, while studying for a degree in Biological Science. This was so she could learn and acquire as much knowledge about the fashion industry as possible. Taking extensive courses in pattern cutting, sewing and so on to improve her knowledge skill set.

Her love, passion and colourful personality can be seen in all her pieces. She loves to see her clients sparkle and she is well known as the “waist snatcher”.

Nigeria has been her home for the last 5 years. Africa being the new frontier, she has worked hard on making her brand a house hold name.

In 2017, her business was rebranded and now goes by the name MATOPEDA, meaning I will continue to give thanks to God. Her life is a living testimony that anything is possible with faith and God. She is a woman who started with nothing, now living her dream and she is just getting started. Her dresses are beautiful, affordable and certainly unforgettable.

Being Homeless When my dad died, it became difficult. I had to get a job at 13. I was a papergirl. I loved it as it was during Christmas and I lived in a Jewish Community so they would leave Christmas cards with money. I would have 2 jobs at some point whilst going to school. We couldn’t keep up the rent, so we were evicted. We were always getting evicted. I remember one time, we were staying in a house and that place was bad enough but again my mum knew how to make it comfortable. We had to leave that place and there was an estate with incomplete houses so we broke in, they hadn’t even put tiles in so it was concrete. We slept on mattresses on the floor. None of my friends knew any of this was going on. We didn’t complain once. It became normal for us. We knew this was better than the alternative.

Friday 21 September 2018

Projects in the works We recently rebranded as MATOPEDA. We have become so busy with clients wanting bridal and evening dresses. They want details and the fit is very important, waist snatched. Clients trust us to make dresses without a fitting and we ship worldwide every day. I am working on a bridal collection so hopefully that will be ready in about 2 months.

Challenges I just moved from a one room small studio to a much larger store. You ask for a promotion and it is a blessing but also can be a burden. I have more tailors and beaders. My team has tripled in size so a lot more to manage. There aren’t enough hours in the day. I

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 21 September 2018

Onyeke breaks Head Of Service jinx in Benue Stories by DESMOND OKON

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he leadership of the Office of the Head of Service of Benue State will now be experiencing a feminine touch following the recent swearing in of Veronica Onyeke, who broke the jinx as the first female head of service of the state, 42 years since creation.

She was sworn in by the state governor, Samuel Ortom, who charged her to be committed to her duties, stressing that the oath she had taken was a commitment to God and humanity, and added that her appointment comes at a time the “civil service is facing a lot of challenges ranging from indiscipline, absenteeism and inability of the government to clear salary arrears among others”.

“This is the first time the state will be having a woman as the Head of Service. This is made possible by divine providence and because my administration is gender sensitive,” Ortom said in Markudi.

Expressing his belief in the ability of the new head of service to discharge her responsibilities creditably, the governor urged her to evolve policies that would turn around the civil service by enkindling hard work and dedication to duty in the civil servants.

Speaking to me on the matter, Mojisola Kehinde Alli-Macaulay an aspirant for the Lagos State House of Assembly, Amuwo Odofin local government constituency describes it as a bold move and commended Ortom’s administration.

“This, happening days after we had our training on #EmergeWomen, is a good omen that we are on a pathway. It may also be a coincidence, hence immaculate news in which we are pleased!

“Any Government that involves women to the wealth creation mechanisms, human capacity building and the process of polity formation would not only be harnessing it’s potentials to the optimum, but would have grown successfully, a multiplier effect on her citizenry,” Alli-Macaulay said.

Also, she stressed that appointments or call of duty into high gear box, or position should not be a subject of bigotry on gender.

“We live in a world where our women are controlling com-

Quotes on Millennials “We are not born to accommodate tyranny over our hearts, minds, bodies, or souls. We are here to confirm an abundance of loveinspired possibilities greater than such restrictions.” ― ABERJHANI, Splendid Literarium: A Treasury of Stories, Aphorisms, Poems, and Essays

“Millennials don’t want to be managed, they like to be led, coached and mentored.

This generation is on fire and ready to go. Are you ready to change the world?” ― FARSHAD ASL

“Millennials seek a mentoring sort of relationship as they are seeking to grow and learn. Use these opportunities to your advantage!” merce, heads of states, prime ministers et al across the world. If Nigeria, a country that’s blessed with natural resources is not keying into that opportunity, she is only short-changing her potentials!” she expressed.

Although Alli-Macauley revealed her little knowledge of her (Onyeke) background and experience in the civil service, she believes that “the appointment is merit based, and due diligence would have been taken before putting her up for consideration”.

Reacting to her new position, Onyeke said she was overwhelmed with joy for the privilege given her to serve in the elevated position.

She promised not to disappoint the governor and his administration and thanked him for the confidence reposed in her.

50 girls hospitalised after circumcision A

round 50 girls have been hospitalised in Burkina Faso after being subjected to a botched up circumcision, or female genital mutilation (FGM).

Some of the girls are as young as four years. Two 60-year-old women connected to the cutting have been arrested, along with the parents of some of the girls.

The minister of women’s affairs, Laurence Marshall Ilboudo, said the total number of girls circumcised is thought to be higher, but not all of them have been traced.

The circumcisions took place between 4 and 6 September in the Kaya area, about 100km (62 miles) north of the capital, Ouagadougou, she adds.

According to reports, a dozen of the girls have been admitted to the Kaya Regional Hospital and 38 to the Chiphra Protestant Hospital in Ouagadougou.

Some of the girls had suffered serious complications, Dr Dieudonne Ouedraogo said.

According to BBC report FGM has been illegal in Burkina Faso since 1996, and carries a jail term of up to three years.

Confirming this, Jean Paul Murunga Equality Now’s end harmful practices expert notes that Burkina Faso has been in the fore-front and a leader against female circumcision. It is among one of the first countries which had a law specifically banning the practice and criminalizing the practice.

Burkina Faso has a good law. The Burkina Faso government went ahead and created a national committee which was in charge of the fight against FGM. And this committee had police attached to it who would prosecute, investigate and arrest any suspected perpetrators. And also the police were mandated to do awareness campaigns. This went on for many years, from almost the 1960s up to early 1990s. Burkina Faso’s fight against FGM was lauded and was seen as best practice, according to Murunga.

“But as of late, the government has failed to budget for the national committee and this has meant that the national committee for the fight against female genital mutilation has not been as effective as it used to be. Therefore very few arrests have been done and very few cases have been followed through the court system and this is what prompted Equality Now to support one case in court last year in 2017, which led to the prosecution of 15 people” He said.

“This goes to show what happens when a government relaxes in the fight against female genital mutilation. This case shows how a government can have a good law, a good legal system against a practice but if it fails to effectively continue and intensify that enforcement of that particular law, then it puts its citizens at risk.

Murunga argued that the government needs to step in to respond faster so that these girls are protected.

“Ironically, this year Burkina Faso is hosting a worldwide conference in which the African Union is going to declare a war against FGM. It is ironic that at this particular time, when the government is so relaxed that these kinds of cases happen,” he said with disappointment.

― JONATHAN HAYASHI

I hear my own daughters talking about big companies polluting the environment, and then I realise they are talking about companies of which one I am running. But when I tell them to read the things we are doing, then they realise we are doing good things. But millennials are really a great lot.

-INDRA NOOYI

Millennials want to work for organizations that prioritize purpose as well as profit. It’s as simple as that.

-PUNIT RENJEN

Millennials, minorities, women - until we can connect with those populations, we’re going to have some difficulty electorally.

-MITT ROMNEY

The fact that millennials are fast at communication and expect transparency and don’t feel comfortable with hierarchy gets interpreted as us being impatient or entitled. These traits are perfectly normal given that we’re the first digital natives.

-CAROLINE GHOSN

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 21 September 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

Genevieve reveals why Netflix bought Lion Heart

ing this in my time. Don’t forget that some Nigerians were recently inducted into the Oscars jury, so this means that Nollywood’s Oscar dream is here,” Filmmaker, Charles Uwagbia, told Premium Times.

DESMOND OKON But to leverage on and sustain this speculated uphill struggle for Nollywood films, nother feather has been added to the the issue of funding, critical factor that cap of Nollywood’s global reputation, determines the quality of films the industry and burgeoning recognition through churns out should be addressed. the buying of Lion Heart’s worldwide viewing “For money, we had to self-fund unforrights by Netflix, a streaming media service tunately. Unfortunately, we don’t have adbased in the United States. equate funding for movies that we actually While this feat elicited positive responses intend to go global. There isn’t that provifrom colleagues, and brought eulogies to the sion yet,” Nnaji noted. producer, Genevieve Nnaji, what drew NetfAlthough Lion Heart is not the only lix’s attention to Lion Heart became a thing of Nigerian movie listed on the Netflix, it is curiosity. however the first original Nollywood film to However, she reveals that the success of be bought by the American movie streamthe film which invariably motivated Netflix’s ing medium. move was hinged on its authenticity.

This deal is significant because of the She told CNN: “I think it is the authenticity promotion and marketing that accompaof the story which is what I loved about it. It nies Netflix’s branding of a movie as its has provided an environment where I could original. showcase the things that made me proud of Other Nollywood films currently showour culture, our talents, our values. So it was ing on Netflix include Dearest Mummy really about that authenticity, and the story Fifty, When Love Happens, The Wedding speaks for itself. Plus, we focused a lot on the Party, Road to Yesterday, and The Visit. quality this time”.

Lion Heart is Nnaji’s directional debut. It This then implies that Nollywood could narrates the story of Adaeze, a young lady have a clear path for global prominence if a who steps up to the challenge when her culture for more authentic stories is develfather, Ernest Obiagu, is forced to take a oped. There’s a chance that it could be the step back from his company due to health most sort after movie industry in the world. issues.

And with this new Netflix deal, it is already She works with her crude and eccentric happening. brother to save the family business in dire “What this means is that we need to churn financial straits resulting in crazy and often out more quality movies, which are worthy of hilarious results. The movie features, Nkem such recognition. I am proud to belong to No- Owoh, Pete Edochie and Onyeka Onwenu llywood and even happier that I’m witnessamong others.

A

Vanessa and family

Summer in Egypt!

VANESSA COLE

T

he past few years after going far and wide for our summer vacations, my family and I have invested in exploring our own motherland, our continent, Africa! Mauritius and Morocco were our choices in the previous destinations and this year we decided on Egypt. One of the countries that proudly hosts one of the 7 wonders of the world.

With this in mind, we were excited to see what this historical and iconic country would have to offer. All a lot of people know about it are the pyramids and the river Nile. But visiting there made me realise that there is more to Egypt than meets the eye.

When speaking to people they would be shocked on our choice; “Egypt? Really!? Is it safe? What is there to do there? What is the food like?”

In all honesty I asked myself these questions too but my inner child being fascinated with ancient history had to go see the nation with my own eyes. I believed strongly that they must have developed beyond their history.

Boy I was wrong. We arrived in Cairo eager to see whether it had similarities to Morocco or the High end Middle Eastern countries.

I kid you not; it felt like we had entered a post-apocalyptic town.

There were masses of unfinished skyscrapers that people were residing. It was really a surprising scene.

However, we were to make the best of it and explore the royal history of Cairo. Our first endeavours were of course the great pyramids. These gigantic masses of sand and stone were awe inspiring in the dessert heat and exploring the tombs was a whole experiMaybe that’s why today their buildings and present infrastructure ence in itself. is bland.

Some beautifully designed in order to welcome the Pharaohs Another interesting time was the market visits and boat cruises, into their afterlife. The ancient Egyptians spent the majority of their Cairo was a bittersweet experience. money on preparation of the afterlife and building beautiful tombs.

We then moved to Alexandria, the holiday town for the masses of the habitants for a week, even after being encouraged that it was a day only type of destination. I experienced the beautiful sea side destination with Blue Ocean that dazzle. However, to our dismay, after hoping to have a variety of activities to do, the city was lacking in adventure and exploration apart from the old historic museum but come on, who wants to see only museums every day?! So we stuck to the beach and the hotel because like my fellow Nigerians will say, “We can’t come and go and kill ourselves”.

So overall, on my trip, I would not discourage people from going but make it quick. 3-5 days max if not, the place will suck out all your energy. If you’re a fan of history, a quick trip to the pyramids and one or two museums will leave you satisfied.

Coming back home, I saw Nigeria in a new and beautiful light.

It’s Okay to say that Nigeria is beautiful, it honestly is. We may not have perfected all that needs to be perfected but we can do better.

One area we need to improve is tourism…I tell you! We have to invest in our tourism, we can become sought after if our tourism is well developed and it can generate income for the economy and also global recognition for positivity. I believe in Nigeria!

5 WOMEN’S HUB

In saying “I DO”, the feeling must be mutual KEMI AJUMOBI

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ne of the highlights of the recently concluded Emmy Awards was the marriage proposal to Jan Svendsen by her friend, (now fiancé) Glenn Weiss.

Glenn took home the Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special Emmy and during his speech after receiving the award; he stated that he was grateful though the moment was bittersweet as his mother passed on few weeks ago. It was after the emotional mum reminding moment he went further to propose to Jan who certainly didn’t see this coming.

In his words, “Mom always believed in finding the sunshine in things, and she adored my girlfriend Jan. Jan, you are the sunshine in my life, and mom was right, don’t ever let go of your sunshine. You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend … because I want to call you my wife.”

The audience was ecstatic as Jan Svendsen, took the stage while he formally proposed and she said yes!

Beautiful story you would agree, you could tell that though she was shocked, she was extremely overjoyed to be his wife.

That is how it should be, both feeling and knowing that they are meant for each other.

While speaking to a young lady recently who just got engaged, she says she knows she made the wrong decision by saying yes to her ‘fiancé’ because he proposed publicly and she did not want to embarrass him so she said “Yes”. What a dilemma you would say.

She certainly doesn’t have a choice because if she keeps feeling the way she is, she will certainly have to let him know before the wedding.

The pressure the society places on intending couples can be much. The “ say yess…say yes” supporters who either naively are excited for them or feel the need to pressure the lady to say Yes because it is what must be done or because they had been in the know with the ‘groom’.

The pressure is multifaceted, pressure to marry from family and well-wishers, pressure to find the right person, pressure of uncertainty of the partner, pressure to propose, pressure to say yes and even after the “Yes” comes pressure to have children. Like the couple are not going through enough challenges, they are constantly being reminded of the need for children by parents who are in dire need to be called gramma and grampas, pressure from aunties, uncles, friends, name it.

While there are those who genuinely care and find time to check on the couples in this category, pray with them and assure them everything will be okay, there are those who are deliberate busybodies monitoring couples under this category, they become professional womb watchers, marking calendars, calculating and scrutinising the woman’s stomach at every opportu-

nity they have. If you belong to this category…STOP IT! Wedding is a day and marriage should be forever, never pressurise anyone to say Yes to a proposal she isn’t ready for. Lady, never waste his time, you are either in or out. If you know he has subtly hinted you before proposing and you said nothing, turning him down the day he proposes is impishness especially if you saw it coming.

Man, please understand that it isn’t everyone who appreciates the public proposal, in the time you are getting to know her you can find out what she likes i.e “I watched a movie sometime ago and the lady was upset when the guy proposed publicly, well I did not see anything wrong with his approach…if you are in her shoes, what will you do?” and her response will give you a hint on what to do or not to do. I gave you that info for free, pay me later.

Marriage is a beautiful thing though with its challenges but there is always room for learning and improvement. It therefore shouldn’t be rushed into because of whatever form of pressure life and humans present. The decision to say “Yes” is yours to make and after you do, stay therein. So when you say Yes, please mean it and respect the vows. Don’t say “I do” and later say “What did I just do?” you are responsible for your actions. Act wisely! No Pressure!

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Friday 21 September 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

BUSINESS DAY

Amidst misanthropy or apathy, we must make responsible choices DESMOND OKON

S

omehow, I found myself at CMS and since my ferry attempt failed, I opted for a bus. Soon, I found one. While I sat in a very dirty bus and on a seat that ached my spine, I pitied myself. But what made me burst was the sight of a makeshift accelerator. I could see the tiny cord that connects a pedal-like structure, wrapped with pieces of clothes and held together by tiny strands of fabrics.

“Ah! oga” I yelled out, pointing to it the lurking disaster “is this good? What if this thing fails? If it is bad why not change it, or get a better bus, or…” “Wetin do am?” he cut in shouting. “Is there anything good in this country?

See I don’t care about that one what I’m concerned about is my family.

“This is my business; your own should be getting to your destination. Do you know how many children I have sent to school with this”, he said, “my family is all I’m worried about”, he repeated.

That’s when I realized how degenerate some of us have become as a people. This man doesn’t give a hoot about his passengers.

In that moment, two words –‘misanthropy’ and ‘apathy’ came to mind in trying to explain this attitude and others’ I have seen.

Apathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic person has a deficit of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical, or physical life (by extension, human life) and

the world.

On the flip side, misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species or human nature. It is hatred for mankind.

These words may sound harsh or overboard. They may not aptly capture my thoughts, but my daily encounters leave me with fewer words to better describe the thoughtlessness of some Nigerians to the lives of others.

Many have lost their sense of morality, and dignity.

Most importantly, some have lost their sense of reverence for human life. Life in the world’s most populous black nation is no longer sacred, and this is evident in our actions against each other.

It is this lack of concern, or apathy towards the feelings of others around us that makes us ‘deaf’ to a woman’s cry for help when being physically abused by her husband, or vice versa.

You feel it doesn’t concern you, so you stay mute while she suffers on, then you brand it “family business”. But when domestic violence is mooted in the public, you’re the first to tweet about it. Hypocrite!

Apart from the bloodshed that has morphed into a culture in the North, the average Nigerian on the street

Novels to read

I AM STILL ALIVE

Compiled by KEMI AJUMOBI

By Kate Marshall

MAIDEN VOYAGE

T

“

his tense wire of a novel thrums with suspense, this book just might be the highlight of your summer.”–The New York Times.

Cheryl Strayed’s Wild meets The Revenant in this heartpounding story of survival and revenge in the unforgiving wilderness.

Jess is alone. Her cabin has burned to the ground. She knows if she doesn’t act fast, the cold will kill her before she has time to worry about food. But she is still alive…for now.

Jess hadn’t seen her survivalist, off-the-grid dad in over a decade.

But after a car crash killed her mother and left her injured, she was forced to move to

A Titanic story

by Sarah Jane

I

his cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness.

Just as Jess was beginning to get to know him, a secret from his past paid them a visit, leaving her father dead and Jess stranded.

With only her father’s dog for company, Jess must forage and hunt for food, build shelter, and keep herself warm. Some days it feels like the wild is out to destroy her, but she’s stronger than she ever imagined.

Jess will survive. She has to. She knows who killed her father…and she wants revenge.

sabella is shocked when her parents book her passage on the incredible Titanic and inform her that she’ll be sailing by herself. She is given an envelope and told the contents will explain everything, but she is forbidden from opening it until the boat reaches the U.S. Lucille is worried over her mother’s poor health, and her father is always distracted, never around. Left to her own devices, Lucille discovers some dangerous secrets that could tear her family apart. Abby is desperate. She’s all her little brother has in the world, and her only hope

is ready to jeopardize your life to survive, even if it is just for that day.

Similarly, “na only you dey suffer?”, or “He’s going to hell fire straight!” are types of comments you see when you visit an online thread on a suicide story. You see a lot of comments blaming the victim. You see an astronomical display of low emotional intelligence by some Nigerians.

In order to eschew sounding expansive, I’ll spare you details on the level human rights violation perpetrated

by Lagos commercial bus drivers and their conductors.

Though many commentators blame their shenanigans on the absence of proper government regulation, my clash with a grey haired bus man as narrated above, shows how valueless some people have become.

He blamed it on the retrogressiveness of the country when he asked: “Is there anything good in Nigeria?”

Another conductor once told me; “If you’re good in this country, you won’t take money home”.

So, what is the blueprint for making money in a government you aren’t happy about? Is it to be bad, become savages and kill each other? Misanthropy or apathy, which ever you believe is common in our midst; the truth is we can be better citizens.

O

n a humid summer day, the phones begin to ring: disaster has struck. Chateau de Sully, a Boeing 707 chartered to ferry home more than one hundred of Atlanta’s most prominent citizens from a European jaunt, crashed in Paris shortly after takeoff. It is the second-deadliest disaster in the history of aviation. Overnight,

penniless. Nineteenyear-old Piedmont Dobbs, recently denied admission to an integrated school, senses a moment of uncertain opportunity. And Mayor Ivan Allen is tasked with the job of moving Atlanta forward, the hedonism of the 60s and the urgency of the Civil Rights movement at his city’s doorstep.

Visible Empire is the story of a husband and

VISIBLE EMPIRE is to start a new life in New York. But the only way to do that is to smuggle her little brother aboard the Titanic and hope they can last the week without him getting caught. Three girls, three different classes on the ship, yet their pasts and futures are more intertwined than they know--and their lives are about to be forever changed over the course of the Titanic’s maiden voyage. That is, if they don’t all drown in secrets first.

By Hannah Pittard

the city of Atlanta changes.

Left behind are children, spouses, lovers, and friends faced with renegotiating their lives.

Robert, a newspaper editor, must decide if he can reconnect with his beloved but estranged wife, whose swindler parents have left her

wife who can’t begin to understand each other until chaos drives them to clarity. It’s a story of the promise and hope that remain in the wake of crisis.

8

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 21 September 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

Some celebrities at the traditional wedding of Kemi Lala Akindoju & Gbubemi Fregene

How to make Nigerian coconut rice

By ALL NIGERIAN RECIPES INGREDIENTS 3 cigar cups | 750g long grain parboiled rice 500mls Tomato Stew 600 mls Coconut Milk Chicken (whole chicken or drumsticks) Chilli pepper (to taste) Salt (to taste) 1 medium onions 3 stock cubes 1 tablespoon thyme Prawns (optional) BEFORE YOU COOK COCONUT RICE Prepare the tomato stew if you don’t have some in the freezer.

If you will use whole chicken, wash and cut the whole chicken into pieces.

Place the pieces in a pot; add water till it just covers the pieces of chicken, add the chopped onions, stock cubes and thyme and start cooking. The cooking time depends on the type of chicken. The rooster or cockerel cooks much faster than the hen but the hen

is tastier.

Cooking till done and add salt to taste. Put the pieces of chicken in a sieve to drain, and then fry with vegetable oil. You can also grill it in an oven. This is to give it a golden look which is more presentable especially if you have guests for dinner.

Now is the time to extract the coconut milk.

Parboil the rice, wash the parboiled rice and put in a sieve to drain.

COOKING DIRECTIONS Now we need a pot big enough to accommodate the rice till it is done. Bear in mind that the rice will normally rise by at least one quarter of its quantity from the parboiled state to the done state.

Pour the chicken stock, coconut milk and the tomato stew into the selected pot. Set on the stove to boil.

Add the drained parboiled rice, salt and pepper to taste. If necessary, top up with water to bring the water level to the same level as the rice. This is to ensure that all the water dries up by the time the rice is cooked.

Cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat. This way the rice does not burn before the water dries up.

If you parboiled the rice as described at parboiling rice for cooking coconut rice, the rice should be done by the time the water is dry.

Confirm that the rice is done by tasting it. That’s the way coconut rice is cooked.

Serve with Fried Plantain, Nigerian Moi Moi, Nigerian Salad or Coleslaw.